Archive Magazine CD 1995/Archive Magazine CD 1995.iso/text/magazine/volume_5

Text File | 1995-06-25 | 3MB | 57,189 lines

 What a Show!
5.1
It looks as if the 1991 Acorn User Show is going to be a memorable one.
Obviously, the launch of the A5000 is the main reason but I am sure that
there is going to be lots else there to see. Computer Concepts’ HiRes4
will be the first “under £1,000” (plus VAT) high speed, 600 d.p.i. laser
printer and their 300 d.p.i. flatbed scanner is another step forward,
keeping Archimedes at the forefront of low cost, high quality, DTP.
5.1
Many other companies are using this year’s Acorn User Show to launch
their latest products, so come and see us on stand number 73.... and
don’t forget your bring and buy charity software and hardware.
5.1
Welcome to year 5 of Archive − and Archimedes!
5.1
Well, thanks for re-subscribing into volume 5 of Archive. A very high
proportion of people whose subscription ran out at the the end of volume
4 have re-subscribed for volume 5 − more than I’d dared to hope. Thanks
for the vote of confidence. I hope you will not be disappointed.
5.1
It certainly looks as if the A5000 and all the other new products are
going to breath new life into the Archimedes market as we look towards
1992 − just as long as Acorn haven’t “done an A540” on us again and
under-estimated the demand. Come on, Acorn, you can do it! You have a
superb product if you can just get it out of the factory in sufficient
quantity.
5.1
We wish Acorn, and all our subscribers, all the very best for another
year of Archimedes.
5.1
             Paul Beverley
5.1

5.1
Products Available
5.1
•    A5000, the New Archimedes Machine − At the Acorn User Show, Acorn will
be launching, and actually selling, the new ARM3 based Archimedes
computer, the A5000. It is such an exciting product that we have
dedicated a complete supplement to explaining all about it.
5.1
The basic facts are:
5.1
•    25MHz ARM3 processor (giving 13 MIPs)
5.1
•    Fast (12 MHz) 2M memory expandable to 4M
5.1
•    Bundled with Acorn multisync monitor
5.1
•    1.6M floppy capable for reading (intelligently) all the Acorn formats
and also the 720k and 1.44M PC formats
5.1
•    40M internal IDE hard drive
5.1
•    RISC-OS 3 operating system
5.1
•    Unit starting price, including m/s monitor and hard drive £1499 +VAT
(£1761)
5.1
(No, that’s not a misprint − it really is less than £1800!) This looks
like a real winner especially when you take that price into account.
Well done Acorn! All they have to do now is produce lots of them − and
quickly!
5.1
•    A5000 Learning Curve − For an extra £38, you can buy an A5000 Learning
Curve (£1799 inc VAT) which gives you PC Emulator (1.6), DR-DOS 5.0,
Genesis Plus, First Word Plus, Acorn DTP, Pacmania and Lemmings plus a
two-hour tutorial on two audio cassettes and a Home Computing magazine.
5.1
•    A410/420/540/R260 price drops − The A440 has been discontinued but the
A410 and A420 are still available and their ex-VAT prices have been
dropped by £200 to £899 and £1099 respectively (£1049 and £1284 inc
VAT). The A540 and the R260 Unix machine have each been dropped by £500
to £2495 and £3495 respectively (£2925 and £4088 inc VAT).
5.1
(The A3000 price is unchanged at £599 +VAT.)
5.1
•    Acorn badged printer − Also to be launched at the A.U. Show is a JP150
inkjet printer with an Acorn badge. The cost is £276 inc VAT when bought
with an A3000 or A5000.
5.1

5.1
•    85M Removable drives − We are now stocking the new Syquest 88M
removable drives in Mac-type external cases. I have been trying one out
and they seem fine. They run at 900 kbytes/second (cf the 42M removables
at 580 k/sec). The formatted capacity is 84.7 Mbytes. The drives cost
£690 and spare cartridges are £140 each. (More details on page 21.)
5.1
•    A310 memory upgrades − IFEL have improved the deal they are offering
us on their 4M ram upgrades so we can now do it for £320 inclusive. It
is worth remembering that, as we say in our adverts, “price isn’t
everything”. In other words, you can buy memory upgrades at less than
£320 even including fitting plus carrier collection and delivery but it
may not necessarily be a good buy. From our experience, plug-in type
upgrades which use the ROM sockets are generally OK, but if your
computer is one of those where problems do occur, the money saving may
well not be worth it in the long run. We believe that the soldered-in
variety are the best bet.
5.1
Also, you will see adverts claiming “MEMC1a not needed”. We do not think
this is a good idea. Again, from our experience, most computers probably
will get away without fitting the MEMC1a on these upgrades but some can
cause problems and the problems may only become obvious when some other
hardware is added to the computer. For example, we had an A310 returned
with a SCSI hard drive which, apparently, would not work properly. Our
engineer, Ray Maidstone, eventually discovered that, although there was
a problem with the SCSI drive, the whole thing was compounded by
interaction with the memory board. This had been fitted some time ago
and had worked properly even without a MEMC1a. However, with the
addition of the SCSI drive, the combination would not work properly
without a MEMC1a. Although neither the memory upgrade nor the SCSI
controller apparently needed a MEMC1a on its own, we found that the
combination most definitely did.
5.1
Beware, too, of cheap DIY upgrades. If they work, that’s great, but we
have had more than one computer which Ray has had to spend quite a long
time on to find what was wrong. Often it was not due to bad soldering −
with many, it was a fault revealed by doing the upgrade. Whatever the
cause, it works out to be a very expensive way of getting a cheap
upgrade!
5.1
•    Archimedes Disc Rescue − No longer should “Broken Directory” or “Bad
Free Space Map” strike terror into your hearts, even if it is on the
root directory of your 100Mb SCSI hard drive! LOOKsystems have produced
their Archimedes Disc Rescue package which allows you to repair your
discs quickly and easily. The programs work with both hard drives and
floppy discs on most Archimedes filing systems such as ADFS, SCSI, IDE,
etc. The package includes three utilities, which will repair and recover
files, directories and disc maps by selecting the appropriate filing
system and drive number or by dragging the ailing file or directory onto
the icon bar. There is also a sophisticated disc editor, for more
confident users, allowing you to navigate around, edit and repair discs.
(It is even possible to edit some non-Archimedes formats such as DFS and
IBM.) The programs are accompanied by a manual that includes a disc
repair primer and an explanation of the Archimedes’ disc formats. It
costs £35 inclusive of p&p (no VAT) from LOOKsystems.
5.1
•    Bit-Mapped Fonts − Wyddfa Software has produced a family of four bit-
mapped fonts. Anwen medium, bold, italic and upright. They cost £3 each
or £9 for all four. These are not outline fonts and so you do not need
to have a copy Acorn’s outline font manager. However, the printout is
not as good as with outline fonts.
5.1
•    Capsoft Disc Nº2 − A disc full of Draw files for just £9 from Capsoft
(B J Thompson). It has a number of drawn fonts for poster and display
purposes and frame borders for DTP use. See page 53 for a review.
5.1
•    Careware Disc 14 − consists of !FarBeyond which is Tetris with a
colourful twist, !PolySaw which is a desktop polymos, an interactive
hyper cube, the classic game of life, Mandelbrot generator, caret
blinker module, !CheckTemp which displays info on WIMP template files,
an HP Deskjet 500 setup utility, an Epson FX printer emulator, a Basic
program compressor, a word wrapped printer utility for text files, a
Lempel-Zev-Welch compression utility and some easy FNs to produce Draw
files from Basic.
5.1
•    Christmas Allsorts is a collection of Christmas oriented Draw files
from Sherston Software. The price is £16.95 +VAT.
5.1
•    Clip Art / Line Art − Some new discs of clip art are available this
month from G.A. Herdman and Southern Printers. Contact them for details.
5.1
•    Compression − Computer Concepts are releasing a new utility which uses
Lempel-Zev-Welch (LZW) compression to load and save files in compressed
format “five to ten times as fast as other utilities such as !Spark”.
This should not be confused with the LZW utility on the Careware 14 disc
(see above) which is only a set of SWI calls for use within a program
environment. It is a full desktop filing system so it operates with all
RISC-OS applications directly. This costs £49 +VAT or £53 through
Archive. This means that for just £53, you can effectively double the
capacity of your hard disc − which has to be good value for money even
with the falling drive prices mentioned below.
5.1
(We have just got hold of a copy and it looks as if loading and saving
times are never more than 50% more than uncompressed filing and file
size savings can be as much as 80% on sprites, 70% on Drawfiles and even
text files go down by 50%. Programs, however, are not compressed at all
and the utility doesn’t even bother to try. One disadvantage is that it
takes up about 200k of RAM which may not be too helpful for those with
only 1Mbyte! A de-compressor is also provided which can be freely
distributed, so you can send compressed files to other people and they
will be able to un-compress them.)
5.1
•    Enter the Realm − The 4th Dimension has extended its games list to
include Enter the Realm which is due to be released at the Acorn User
Show. This is an arcade style game with 6 layer full parallax scrolling,
sampled sound & speech, 16 colour graphics with 256 colour screens to
set the scene. It has a story line that runs throughout the game, you
have various weapons, pickups, monsters, interactive characters to
interrogate, buildings to enter, scoreboard etc. The price is £24.95 or
£23 through Archive.
5.1
•    FaxScan − SpaceTech’s Faxscan which turns an Amstrad FX9600T or
FX9600AT fax into an Archimedes scanner is now available through Archive
(see Archive 4.12 p3). The interface on its own is £110. Please check
that your fax has a label underneath saying “FX2”. If it says “FX1” you
have a very early model and will need a different version of the
interface − but it still costs £110. The complete package of FX9600AT +
interface + printer cable is £570. Remember that what you get for is a
plain paper fax that will also send faxes straight from the computer
without having to print them out, a plain paper copier, an Epson
compatible printer, an answering machine, a telephone and a 200 dpi
scanner with sheet-feeder!
5.1
•     Fireball II Extra − The popular Archimedes “Breakout” type game,
Fireball II has now been re-released with a few extra features including
an editor but with 180 “fiendishly difficult” screens to complete. The
price is down from £24.95 to £14.95 from Cambridge International
Software or £14 through Archive.
5.1
•    First Impression − At last, there is some help with Impression (as
well as Archive magazine)! Stephen Ibbs, a lecturer at Bilston Community
College, has produced “First Impression” − a tutorial package for
Impression II. It consists of 250 pages in a ring binder looking
remarkable similar to the Impression ring binder and contains 13
tutorial chapters and 11 appendix chapters plus a couple of floppy discs
with example documents and templates. First Impression contains
reminders, hints & tips and self-assessment tasks. The cost is £29.95
from Stephen’s company, “Word Processing” or £28 through Archive. Both
include p&p.
5.1
If you want even more help, Stephen is offering a distance learning
package from Bilston College which is intended for those who cannot
attend normal college classes and wish to study at home. The course will
be £35 (plus the cost of the tutorial guide) and is suitable for all
ages.
5.1
More details of First Impression are given in the review on page 17.
5.1
•    Fun & Games − HS Software has provided us with three games in one,
under the title “Fun & Games”. It is aimed at helping 5 to 9 year olds
on National Curriculum Maths and English. “Coconuts” helps children with
sequencing and devising and repeating patterns. In “Burger Boy”, you
have to help make up orders for a fast food take-away. This covers a
range of skills including reading, matching, sequencing, auditory and
visual memory and addition to 10 and beyond. Finally there is “Tidy” in
which you help Emma and her pet parrot to tidy her bedroom. This again
helps with a range of skills. Fun & Games costs £19.95 from HS Software
or £18 through Archive.
5.1
•    Guitar Chord & Piano Keyboard outline fonts − Dalmation Publications
have produced two specialist outline fonts at £5.50 each (£10 for both).
‘Guitar’ makes it easy to produce chord windows for a range of stringed
instruments and ‘Piano’ provides a chord box creator for keyboards in
general.
5.1
•    Hi-Fi Sound Upgrade Module − Ray Maidstone has produced a plug-in unit
with flying leads to connect to an external amplifier. It bypasses the
high-pass filter circuit and so gives a much clearer sound than the
straight output. The unit is user-fittable and comes with full instruc
tions. The price is £24.80 from Ray Maidstone or £23 through Archive.
5.1
•    Karaoke Performer − EMR are launching a karaoke system that will work
with any cassette player and any Archimedes computer. Each set consists
of 6 professional backing tracks on audio cassette for just £10 + £1.50
p&p +VAT. The text of the song scrolls in various ways on the screen in
sync with the audio. The control program also allows a separate graphics
program or video controller to be used to make original backgrounds
during the performance. A free graphics animation is provided with each
set. Over 90 sets are already available from 50’s to 80’s hits and
featured artists. EMR also sell a Karaoke unit with echo microphone,
mixer and amplifier + speaker system to compliment the Karaoke Performer
costing £69 inc VAT.
5.1
•    Laser Direct HiRes4 − Computer Concepts are now producing a 600 dpi
laser printer for “under £1000” (plus VAT). They are using the very
popular Canon LBP4 and combining it with their Laser Direct interface
for just £999 +VAT (£1,100 through Archive). All the comments we have
made about this combination in earlier issues apply but the price has
now dropped, thanks to Computer Concepts, from £1,255 to £1,100. HiRes4
has an Epson emulation (128 grey-level printing), Econet & Nexus network
options, PC (and other) compatibility via the serial & parallel
interfaces and a 1-year on-site maintenance is included. This will help
to keep Archimedes DTP as the most affordable and effective DTP system
available on any computer system (especially when combined with the new
A5000!)
5.1
Just think about it..... A5000 + Impression + HiRes4 gives you 600 dpi
DTP for just £1760 + £180 + £1100 = £3040 (= £2587 ex VAT). Remembering
that the A5000 has ARM3 and 40M drive, you have a very powerful system.
The only thing you might want to add is another 2M ram.
5.1
For a professional flatbed 300 dpi scanner (see below), add £990 + £200
for a SCSI interface or buy a SCSI drive and use the interface.
5.1
Surely, that’s an unbeatable system! Will someone with contacts in the
outside world (well, outside Acorn) please tell them about this system?
5.1
•    Pandora’s Box − Another of 4th Dimension’s games to be released at the
Acorn User Show is Pandora’s Box which combines classic puzzles and
arcade action. It uses isometric 3D graphics. The game play is basically
that the beast has escaped from Pandora’s box and has to be captured and
returned from whence he came before he does untold damage to mankind.
The price is £24.95 or £23 through Archive.
5.1
•    Penguin lovers should go to the Colton Software stand (59) at the
Acorn User Show. Don’t ask me why. Rob Macmillan says it’s serious!
5.1
•    Scanlight Professional − A flatbed scanner offering 300 dpi 256
greyscale scanning. It uses the SCSI interface (which many people are
already using for hard drives), white-light scanning for accurate grey-
level scans and enhanced Scanlight software which includes scan selected
region, full grey-map control of brightness and contrast, instant image
rotate by any angle, sampling options to reduce Moire patterns, image
enhance options such as blurring, sharpening, etc. The price is just
£899 +VAT or £990 through Archive.
5.1
•    Scanlight special offer − For a limited time, we are offering
Scanlight Seniors (both A3000 and A300/400) for £380 instead of £434
(CC’s full price is £468.82). This is only while stocks last. Also, we
still have some of the Scanlight Juniors (mono) at £189 (cf CC’s price
of £220.07).
5.1
•    SCSI drives prices down − The drives we introduced last month are
selling well and we’ve managed to reduce the prices. We have also now
extended the range to include internal drives. When they are supplied to
us, they come with metalwork and cables suitable for the Apple Macin
tosh. However, the prices are so good that it is worthwhile buying new
metalwork to make them fit properly into the Archimedes. Part of the
pricing table we included last month is repeated so that you can see the
improvements in pricing. Also, Oak Solutions have changed their pricing.
Some of their drives have also decreased in price. (20M drives are no
longer available through N.C.S.)
5.1
EXTERNAL drives WITH podule
5.1
    WW    HS    Frog    AW
5.1
45M    500        520
5.1
50M        560        620
5.1
65M            550
5.1
80M    565
5.1
100M    695    760    620    790
5.1
200M    1060    1180    870
5.1
300M        2100    1290
5.1
640M        2850    1690
5.1
1000M            2290
5.1
If you look at the prices without podule, i.e. for those of you looking
for a second SCSI drive, the differences in price are more marked....
5.1
EXTERNAL drives WITHOUT podule
5.1
    WW    HS    Frog    AW
5.1
45M    400        320
5.1
50M        460        420
5.1
65M            350
5.1
80M    465
5.1
100M    595    660    420    590
5.1
200M    960    1080    670
5.1
300M        2000    1090
5.1
640M        2750    1490
5.1
1000M            2090
5.1
INTERNAL drives WITH podule
5.1
    WW    HS    Frog    AW
5.1
45M    405        490
5.1
50M        470        535
5.1
65M            520
5.1
80M    450
5.1
100M    570    660    590    700
5.1
200M    995    1090    840
5.1
Again, the prices without podule, show a more marked difference....
5.1
INTERNAL drives WITHOUT podule
5.1
    WW    HS    Frog    AW
5.1
45M    305        290
5.1
50M        370        335
5.1
65M            320
5.1
80M    350
5.1
100M    470    560    390    500
5.1
200M    895    990    640
5.1
•    Stop Watch − G.A.Herdman has produced a twin timer stop watch working
in the desktop. It has a large display suitable for class viewing using
either Porterhouse fonts from Applications Disc 1 or the outline font,
Trinity for better effect. It also has a lap-timer and will give a count
down with audible warning. It displays hours, minutes and seconds to
0.01s and 100 hours. £19.99 + £1.50 p&p from G.A. Herdman.
5.1
•    Three new games are due to be released by Krisalis at the Acorn User
Show: Lemmings which, in other computer formats, won a “Game of the
Year” award, Chuck Rock which according to the advert in Acorn User,
includes “parolex scroll” (Sorry, I couldn’t resist that − but even my
spelling’s not purfect!) and Manchester United Europe which takes that
club into European knockout competitions with both management decisions
to make and arcade action matches to play. Each game is £25.99 or £23
through Archive.
5.1
•    Turbo Type is a typing tutor from Cambridge International Software
Ltd. It features an on-screen keyboard during all exercises, digitised
sounds, large text option, exercise editor, metronome for improved
typing rhythm and has four levels of exercises: beginners who can
practise subsets or the complete keyboard, intermediate for typing easy
sentences, advanced for difficult sentences and short paragraphs and
numeric for those wanting to practice the numeric keypad. TurboType is
£24.95 from Cambridge International or £23 through Archive.
5.1

5.1
Review software received...
5.1
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
Southern Printers’ Draw Format Line Art Disc 2, !Sinewaver, !BasShrink,
Landmarks Victorians, Landmarks Rain Forest, Hawk V9 updated software,
Genesis Script Language book, HiFi Sound Upgrade Module, PrimeArt,
Dalmation Guitar & Piano fonts, ARCtist, Imagine from Topologika,
OutLook for Eizo 9080i.  A
5.1

5.1
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.1
Can you remember back to your childhood? How did you get on with your
father? What was your relationship with him like? For many people, the
thoughts raised by the word “father” are rather negative but let’s try
to be positive. What could or should that relationship be like?
5.1
Obviously, you would hope that the father would love and care for the
child and give comfort when the child was distressed. The father
wouldn’t let the child do just what it liked − that would not be loving
because the child, depending on its age, could face all sorts of dangers
and develop in all sorts of bad ways if not shown the right way to do
things. But there comes a point where the father has to let the child
make its own decisions − and that can be painful.
5.1
Suppose the child reaches a certain age and rejects the father’s
standards and ideas − and his love − and decides to go off and not have
anything at all to do with him any more. Imagine how that hurts the
father. Perhaps you know from bitter experience how that feels.
5.1
Well that’s how God feels when we tell him we don’t need his standards
or his love − we know better, we can manage perfectly well without him,
thanks very much. Maybe we’ve convinced ourselves that he doesn’t even
exist. That hurts him − He is broken hearted for us....  but....
5.1
God loved the world (and that means you and me) so much that he gave
Jesus, his own son, to die for us so that we could enjoy, once again,
that wonderful father-child relationship with God. Let me assure you
that if you decide to “come home”, you’ll get a wonderful welcome!
5.1

5.1

5.1
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
5.1

5.1
4th Dimension    P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.1
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
5.1
Acorn Direct    13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
5.1
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (−210685)
5.1
Ace Computing (p8)    27 Victoria
Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223−322559) (−69180)
5.1
Aleph One Ltd    The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(0223−811679) (−812713)
5.1
Atomwide Ltd (p20)    23 The
Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689−838852) (−896088)
5.1
Avisoft     11 Meadow Close, Wolvey, Hinckley, LE10 3LW.
5.1
Bilston Community College    Open
Business Centre, Green Lanes, Bilston, West Midlands  WV14 6EW.
(0902−353929) (−405545)
5.1
Cambridge International Software        Unit 2a,
Essex Road, London, N1 3QP. (071−226−3340) (−226−3408)
5.1
Capsoft (BJ Thompson)    8 Old Gate
Avenue, Weston on Trent, Derbyshire, DE7 2BZ.
5.1
Carvic Manufacturing    3 Shingay
Lane, Sawston, Cambridge CB2 4SS. (0223−834100)
5.1
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606−48511)
(−48512)
5.1
Colton Software (p24)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (−312010)
5.1
Computer Concepts (p30/31)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (−231632)
5.1
Dalmation Publications    37 Manor
Road, Teddington, Middlesex  TW11 8AA.
5.1
David Pilling    P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
5.1
Digital Services    9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS.
(0705−210600) (−210705)
5.1
EMR Ltd     14 Mount Close, Wickford, Essex, SS11 8HG. (0702−335747)
5.1
G.A.Herdman     43 Saint Johns Drive, Clarborough, Retford, Notts DN22
9NN. (0777−700918) (also 700918)
5.1
HS Software    56, Hendrefolian Avenue, Sketty, Swansea, SA2 7NB.
(0792−204519)
5.1
IFEL (p19)    36 Upland Drive, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 6BD. (0752−847286)
5.1
Lingenuity (Lindis)    P.O.Box 10,
Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 0DX. (0986−85−476) (−460)
5.1
LOOKsystems (p7)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (−764011)
5.1
Micro Studio Ltd    22 Churchgate Street, Soham, Ely, Cambridgeshire.
(0353−720433)
5.1
Oak Solutions (p12)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532−502615) (−506868)
5.1
P.R.E.S. Ltd    P.O. Box 319, Lightwater, Surrey GU18 5PW. (0276−72046)
(−51427)
5.1
Ray Maidstone (p23)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603−407060) (−417447)
5.1
Shenley Software    5 Coombefield Close, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 5QF.
(081−949−3235)
5.1
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666−840433) (−840048)
5.1
Silicon Vision Ltd (p11)    Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2AG. (081−422−2274) (−427−5169)
5.1
Southern Printers    47 Drake Road, Willesborough, Ashford, Kent TN24 0UZ.
(0233−633919)
5.1
Spacetech (p15)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.1
Techsoft UK Ltd (p16)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 4DA. (082−43318)
5.1
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733−244682)
5.1
Word Processing    65 Milldale Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, W
Midlands  WV10 6LR.
5.1
Wyddfa Software    3 Preswylfa, Llanberis, Gwynedd, LL55 4LF.
(0286−870101)
5.1

5.1

5.1
Ace Computing
5.1
From 4.12 page 22
5.1

5.1
Hints and Tips
5.1
•    FileUtils − Anyone using Ben Summers’ FileUtils should note that
<ctrl-shift-F2>, <ctrl-shift-F3> and <ctrl-shift-F4> will still call up
the FileUtils routines even when, say, working in Impression. This can
give a nasty shock if you are, for example, trying to insert preset
styles using <ctrl-shift-F4> and a “change filetype” dialogue window
pops up. Mike Hobart, Cambridge.
5.1
•    Installing Desktop C − If you have recently upgraded from C to Desktop
C, you may have a little difficulty installing Desktop C onto your hard
disc. When you first try to run the ‘Install’ program, it will stop
abruptly half way through the second of the four discs, with no clues as
to what has happened. This is because the ‘Install’ program tries to
create a directory called $.User. Cmodule, which already exists from
your previous installation of C and so the program crashes. The solution
is simple, just delete the old $.User.Cmodule directory before attempt
ing to install Desktop C.   D R Kennard, London.
5.1
•    LBP-4 CaSPL − Switching between Video output (for the CC Hi-Res board)
and CaSPL output of the LBP-4 doesn’t appear to be documented in the
manual. Here is how it can be done:
5.1
From Video to CaSPL mode:
5.1
1.    Hold down “Menu” for 3 seconds until “Mode=Video” is displayed.
5.1
2.    Tap the “Menu” key once to display “Mode=CaSPL”
5.1
3.    Tap “Enter”. The LCD will read “01 Ex Exit” then “00 Ready A4”
5.1
4.    Tap the “Off-line” key to take the machine off-line (if the green
on-line indicator is lit).
5.1
5.    Tap “Feeder Select”.
5.1
6.    Tap “Menu”. The menu as described in the manual is now displayed.
5.1
From CaSPL to Video:
5.1
1.    Take the printer off-line.
5.1
2.    Hold down the “Menu” for 3 seconds − “Mode=CaSPL” is displayed.
5.1
3.    Tap “Menu” again − “Mode=Video” is displayed.
5.1
4.    Tap “Enter”.
5.1
5.    You are now back in Video mode.
5.1
Mike, Bainbridge, Derby.
5.1
Impression Hints & Tips
5.1
•    Adding a frame at beginning of a story − It is not immediately obvious
(well, it wasn’t to me!) how to add extra frames into a story that runs
through a number of frames. Suppose you have two frames, B and C (I’ll
get to A in a minute) − perhaps they are two main columns on this page −
and you want to split column B into two frames leaving a gap in the
middle. What you do is firstly shorten frame B using the frame handle at
the middle of the bottom of the frame. Then you use <ctrl-I> and create
a new frame wherever you want it under frame B (let’s call it frame B2).
Now click on frame B with <select> and then on frame B2 with <adjust>
and the text will flow into it so that it runs B−B2−C.
5.1
Now suppose you want the text to start in a frame before frame B. (Let’s
call it frame A.) The technique is to create the new frame, A, wherever
you want it using <ctrl-I>. Then click on frame B with <select> and then
on frame A with <adjust>. The text will now flow into it so that it runs
B−A−B2−C−etc. (N.B. This won’t work unless frames A and B are on the
same page because you cannot flow text backwards across a page bound
ary.) Then click on B and use <ctrl-X> to delete it. The flow is now
just A−B2−C−etc. Finally, you create a new copy of frame B by using
<ctrl-V>, click on frame A with <select> and the new B with <adjust> and
the flow will be A−B−B2−C−etc.
5.1
•    Dual window problems solved? − A few issues ago, I mentioned the
problem that if you open a second window on a document and then expand
and contract that window (so that you can alternately use two different
scale views) each time you shrink view 2 using the icon at the top right
of the window, it doesn’t stay at the place in the document that you
have just been working on. It always seemed (in my case) to go back to
somewhere earlier in the document. No one has offered any solution but
it seems to me that it goes back to wherever you last added a frame into
that window. So if you want to “keep your place” in the second window,
use <ctrl-I> to create a new frame at that place in the document and
then use <ctrl-X> to delete it again. Crude, but it seems to work. (No,
it doesn’t, not always. Drat, I thought I had solved it! Come on,
someone must be able to solve this one − I’ll give a free Archive mug to
the first person to solve it. Ed.)
5.1
• Equasor and matrices − The biggest drawback Equasor has for me as a
mathematics teacher is its inability − at least in version 1.00 − to
handle vectors and matrices.
5.1
There is, however, a way in which a very credible matrix can be created
− with a small amount of extra work:
5.1
I build the columns as multiple fractions, and then enclose everything
in brackets; I drop the file into Draw, remove the fraction bars and
then align the brackets with the numbers.
5.1
Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany
5.1
•    Special characters − Now I’m sure you ALL knew this, but I didn’t
until I read this month’s PipeLine article. The Alt key is extremely
useful for inserting special characters in the text. I had discovered
that <Alt-space> (that’s holding the Alt key down and tapping on the
space bar) gave a ‘hard’ space where you don’t what the words (e.g. the
halves of a postcode) to be split across the end of one line and the
beginning of the next, and I had discovered the idea of using Alt
together with the numbers on the numeric keypad to produce special
characters, but how about this...
5.1
      a² + b² = c³
5.1
I produced that in seconds without using superscript. The ² is produced
with <Alt-2> and the ³ with (yes, you’ve guessed) <Alt-3>. In other
words, you hold down the Alt key, as if it were the shift key, and type
2 or 3. Here is a table of the ones I have found but note that this only
applies to Trinity font which I am using. Other fonts may be different
but, generally, they tend to stick to using the same symbols for the
same ASCII numbers which the Alt key produces. The third column is the
ASCII number produced.
5.1
<Alt-1>    ¹    185
5.1
<Alt-2>    ²    178
5.1
<Alt-3>    ³    179
5.1
<Alt-9>    ±    177
5.1
<Alt-0>    °     176
5.1
<Alt-C>    ¢    162
5.1
<Shift-Alt-C>    ©    169
5.1
<Alt-M>    µ    181
5.1
<Alt-R>    ®    174
5.1
<Alt-S>    §    167
5.1
<Alt-X>    »    187
5.1
<Alt-Y>    ¥    165
5.1
<Alt-Z>    «    171
5.1
<Alt-`>    ¬    172
5.1
(top left key under <esc>)
5.1
<Alt-,>    ×    215
5.1
<Alt-.>    ÷    247
5.1
<Alt-space>        160 (hard space)
5.1
If you have found any that I have missed, perhaps in other fonts, let us
know. Ed.
5.1
• Spell checking Edit documents − Whenever I typed a longish Edit text
file, I used to regret the absence of a spell checker. For Impression
users, this poses no problem:
5.1
Simply drop the Edit file in question into an empty Impression frame,
have Impression check the spelling, then export the text back into Edit
by saving just the text story without styles. You can drag the text
story onto the Edit icon to have another look at it or save it in the
usual way directly to a disk. The import/export takes just a few
seconds, so this is nearly as good as a spell checker built into Edit
itself. Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany  A
5.1

5.1
Silicon Vision
5.1
New
5.1

5.1
Colton
5.1

5.1
4.12 p21
5.1

5.1
Matters Arising
5.1
•    Archimedes’ Tutor − Simon Anthony has produced a Beginner’s D.I.Y.
Introduction to the Archimedes using the !Hyper application on Shareware
Disc 19. If anyone is interested they should contact him directly at 62
Rutland Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 5DG.
5.1
•    ArmSort − Fast Array Sorts − The author replies... The reviewer
(Ashley Bowden in Archive 4.12 p53) seems to have created a problem with
the flag values. The ArmSort documentation DID clearly state that for
the CALL sort “The parameters must all be variables, but may be of any
name”. If CALL sort,test%() ,128 is used, then it is Basic that objects
with “Syntax Error”, ERR=16, because it is a Basic requirement that all
CALL parameters are variables not constants. Thus it is rather unfair
for the reviewer to claim that to have to use variables is “.. very
unorthodox, and mention should be made in the documentation.” ArmSort
errors are comprehensive and are very clearly documented.
5.1
This ‘problem’ wasted about a third of the review, which could have been
better used to mention the PROCsort and SWI interfaces or the ability to
sort on absolute numeric values, or with null strings low or high.
5.1
May I also suggest that all software reviews should clearly state what
version is being reviewed: the ArmSort review copy was Version 2.12,
sent to Archive in February. The current Version is 2.51, which has the
following improvements: sort time reductions of between 30% and nearly
50%; the ability to sort strings from any position, or by length; the
ability to specify a key sequence; new procedures for a fast binary
search of sorted arrays; and all programs now do run easily from the
desktop. All users have had free upgrades and seem happy with the
product. Martin Avison, Avisoft.
5.1
(Sorry if we seem to have reviewed an out-of-date product but when
someone sends software to us for review, we have to assume it is a
“stable” version. If the software has gone from version 2.12 to version
2.51 since February, this indicates continuous development. This is fine
but, if significant changes are made, the onus is on the software
supplier to send us the latest version. This product was still on the
“software to be reviewed” list in the May edition of Archive. If Martin
had noticed this and sent us the latest version at that stage, the
difficulty might have been avoided. Ed.)
5.1
•    MidiVision Update − Koen Lefever has sent us an updated version the
MidiVision program on Shareware Disc 33. It is now compatible with the
new Acorn MIDI Podule ROM and capable of detecting real time messages.
The new version has been put on this month’s program disc.
5.1
•    PRES Disc Interface & DFS − In the review in Archive 4.11 p27 we
referred to difficulties in reading 40 track BBC discs. PRES suggested
that the problem may be due to “residual data” on the discs. In other
words, they are suggesting that the problem may lie with discs that have
been written onto by different 40 track drives, some with narrow heads,
as in 40/80 drives, and some with wider tracks as in true 40 track
drives. It would be interesting to hear other people’s experiences on
this. We have also found that it is sometimes necessary to slow the head
stepping time right down as low as it will go in order to read 40 track
discs. (We also used a rather old address for PRES. It is currently P.O.
Box 319, Lightwater, Surrey, GU18 5PW. 0276−72046, fax 51427.)
5.1
•    RISC-OS Dreaming − I would like to reply to Oliver Gunasekara’s
letter, RISC-OS Dreaming, published in Archive 4.12 p15. Many of
Oliver’s suggestions have been extensively discussed in the USENET news-
group dedicated to Acorn machines. Well-informed contributions from
Acorn staff (in a private capacity) and experienced programmers (RISC-OS
and otherwise) allow fairly definite predictions to be made as to the
likelihood of some of these suggestions being realised in later version
of RISC-OS.
5.1
Firstly, there is almost no chance of proper demand paged virtual memory
being implemented under RISC-OS on current generation ARM processors.
The problem is that much (if not all) of RISC-OS runs with the ARM
processor in its supervisor mode. In this mode, the ARM-2 and ARM-3 are
unable to implement virtual memory. Not enough information is saved to
enable execution to be resumed after an attempt to access memory not
physically present causes the MEMC memory controller to interrupt
execution. Thus, virtual memory would require a drastic rewrite of RISC-
OS so that any code that might access virtual memory runs in user mode
or avoids memory not physically present. Acorn almost certainly do not
have the resources to do the necessary rewrite. Simpler, less effective
forms of virtual memory such as swapping out non-running programs are
possible, but would still be very complicated.
5.1
Pre-emptive multi-tasking is, on the other hand, quite possible. It is
just that doing it without introducing subtle bugs into software written
under the assumption that multi-tasking is co-operative is fiddly. As
with virtual memory, the fact that RISC-OS did not allow for pre-emptive
multi-tasking, when originally written, makes it messy to implement
later on. Even running other tasks when the current task is blocked,
waiting for i/o, is rather tricky to implement though, according to the
grape-vine, this does indeed happen to some extent in RISC-OS 3.
5.1
As to nicer system fonts, better design, TCP/IP file-sharing and hot-
linking − let’s hope it happens. There’s no technical obstacle and these
are definitely things necessary for Acorn to keep up with the state of
the art. A new file-system allowing more files in a directory and longer
filenames would also go down well. It would be a real boon to people
like myself who have to use RISC-OS machines in conjunction with UNIX or
MesS-DOS boxes.  Andrew Stevens, Overton.
5.1
•    RISC-OS Dreaming − I would agree with many of the points about RISC-OS
2.0 put forward (in Archive 4.12 p15), by Oliver Gunasekara. However,
I’m not sure that making RISC-OS look more like other graphical
interfaces will necessarily bring us much benefit.
5.1
I am responsible for several different computer systems (micros and
minis) each of which has its own user interface from the quirkiness of
the Apple and Atari systems, to the smooth, powerful X-Windows systems.
Some of the staff prefer one system, some prefer another. It’s a bit
like choosing your favourite car, you get the one that suits you.
5.1
Strangely enough, considering its sales, the least popular GUI in our
department is Windows 3.0. Even allowing for its deficiencies, RISC-OS
seems to have become the preferred choice for more than half our
department. Whether this is due to RISC-OS itself, applications like
Impression or the speed of the ARM3 powered machines, I’m not sure. What
I am sure of is that RISC-OS is quite capable of winning converts from
other systems.
5.1
Even so, let’s hope that RISC-OS 3 contains a lot of those improvements
mentioned by Oliver. D Hutchinson, Sheffield.  A
5.1

5.1
Contact Box
5.1
•    Southampton Archimedes User Group is now established. They meet once a
month. For details, write (with S.A.E. please) to Dr Andrew Provan, 79
Roselands Gardens, Highfield, Southampton SO2 1QJ.
5.1
•    User Groups Unite! − We thought it would be a great idea to compile a
list of local user groups and Richard Corderoy has volunteered to be the
coordinator. So, if you run a local group, send the details to Richard
who can compile a list which can go on the monthly disc regularly and/or
be published in the magazine on occasions. The address is R Corderoy, 13
Church Walk, Worthing  BN11 2LS.  A
5.1

5.1
Techsoft
5.1
From 4.12 page 27
5.1

5.1
 First Impression
5.1
Robert Chrismas
5.1
First Impression is a guide to Computer Concepts’ DTP package, Impres
sion II. This guide is not produced by Computer Concepts, although the
letter accompanying the review copy says that it has been ‘approved by
Charles Moir’ of Computer Concepts.
5.1
The package
5.1
It would be easy to mistake the First Impression package for a copy of
Impression. The black ring binder and slip-case are just like the ones
supplied with Impression; the Computer Concepts markings are covered
with smart black sticky labels bearing the ‘First Impression’ title.
5.1
In the back are two disks in a plastic wallet. The price is £29.95
including postage from Word Processing or £28 through Archive.
5.1
The text
5.1
First Impression is divided into two parts. The first part introduces
the main features of Impression and is aimed at users new to Impression.
The second part, the appendices, explains the special techniques used to
produce some sample documents.
5.1
The first part is nearly 150 pages long and it is divided into thirteen
chapters:
5.1
• Introduction
5.1
• Starting Impression
5.1
• Starting a new document
5.1
• Saving your document
5.1
• Printing
5.1
• Inserting and removing text
5.1
• Applying effects
5.1
• Styles
5.1
• Rulers
5.1
• Frames
5.1
• Frame text
5.1
• Graphics
5.1
• Chapters and master pages
5.1
Each chapter takes the user through a series of exercises which
illustrate the topic. There are frequent reminders, helpful sub-headings
and chapter summaries.
5.1
Some of the chapters include written tasks, e.g. ‘Write down the
differences between null frames (and when they stop being null frames)
and guide frames. When would you use each type?’ Lined pages are
included to record your answers. I think this is a good idea but it does
seem a bit strange to take up a pen to write my answer when I could type
it into Impression. I looked in the back, but it did not have model
answers.
5.1
There is a comprehensive index covering the first part of the guide.
5.1
The substantial appendices (about 100 pages) form the second part of the
guide. They describe how to produce a variety of sample documents.
5.1
• Frames
5.1
• Simple questionnaire
5.1
• 2-column questionnaire
5.1
• Dropshadow
5.1
• Simple table
5.1
• Complex table
5.1
• Borders
5.1
• Overlines
5.1
• 3-column leaflet
5.1
• Superimposed text
5.1
• Master page
5.1
The appendices do not depend on one another so you could tackle them in
any order.
5.1
On the disks there are sample files which are referred to in both
sections of the guide.
5.1
Target audience
5.1
When I received this guide, one of my first thoughts was ‘the Impression
manual is pretty good and it includes a tutorial section, do we need
this?’ However, this view overlooks all the people who only use
computers in order to make a living, who regard time spent thumbing
through a manual and learning by trial and error not as a pleasant
recreation, but as time wasted. The power of the Archimedes and the
increasing availability of excellent packages like Impression mean that
more and more of these ‘reluctant users’ will be using Archimedes
software, and they will be prepared to pay for good quality instruc
tional material. We can expect to see more guides like this. Whether the
market is yet big enough to make them profitable remains to be seen, but
for Archimedes enthusiasts their arrival is an encouraging sign.
5.1
In fact, when I looked at the tutorial in the Impression manual it was
nowhere near as comprehensive as I remembered it. Also, there is quite a
lot in First Impression which would be attractive even to an existing
user. The appendices cover some of the trickier aspects of Impression
like tables with several lines of text in each box, and creating borders
in Draw, neither of which is trivial (although see later on borders).
5.1
Does it work?
5.1
For a proper opinion, I suppose that First Impression should be given to
someone new to Impression so that they could work through it, but there
was no time to try this. I felt that the exercises were well thought out
and a new user who had the patience to work through them carefully,
would be able to use Impression with confidence.
5.1
The guide covers a sensible range of features. As I looked at it, I was
again struck by the power of Impression and by how difficult it was to
introduce its features in a step by step way since so many of them are
interdependent. First Impression manages to cover each section without
assuming knowledge of topics not yet covered.
5.1
Problems
5.1
Determined students will probably welcome the thorough, systematic
design of this guide. More hasty personalities may find it hard to wait
for section seven to learn how to change the font size and style, and
they may not be prepared to wait for section twelve to learn about
graphics.
5.1
Some of the sections seemed quite difficult to follow. The text often
refers to earlier passages in the chapter and I spent some time hunting
back for the appropriate paragraph.
5.1
An example of the difficulty of introducing interdependent ideas in a
practical way can be found in the section ‘Inserting and removing text’.
In this section, there is an explanation of the terms ‘cut’ and ‘copy’,
then a list the ways in which the user can paste text, next comes a
short discussion of the function of the clipboard and only when all
these topics have been exhausted is the reader told how to highlight a
word (double click on it) or a phrase (drag the cursor). Since you have
to be able to highlight a section to cut or copy it, this chapter may
create a hint of suspense.
5.1
Although there are some illustrations, I would have liked more,
particularly illustrations of the menus and more examples of how the
document should look at different stages. However, there is a limit to
how much time can be spent producing a guide like this and illustrations
are particularly time consuming.
5.1
I could not create a new frame border with !Draw by following the
instructions in First Impression. When I put First Impression to one
side and made a few experimental borders I soon managed to copy the
border described. To be fair, First Impression does warn that the method
it describes is a ‘work around’ to cope with a problem/disagreement
between certain versions of Impression and Draw. I was not able to test
it with the versions described.
5.1
Some of the suggestions in the guide are questionable. For example, I
would not advise a user with a 1Mb machine to load a printer driver
before every session.
5.1
Other observations
5.1
It would be foolish to try to cram everything about Impression into a
tutorial guide. Neverthe-less I was sorry to see that First Impression
does not cover some features which I use regularly. For example, the
guide does not seem to mention that you can highlight a section of text
by clicking <select> at the beginning and <adjust> at the end. However,
Impression often provides several different ways to do the same thing
and users will have their own preferences.
5.1
Until I read this guide, I did not know that there was a ‘Ruler setup’
window. First Impression usually prefers to make adjustments to frames
and rulers by altering dimensions in windows, rather than by dragging
them and adjusting ‘by eye’. This is a sensible practice because you
cannot tell someone who is just starting to use a package, to adjust a
frame until it ‘looks right’.
5.1
At the moment, First Impression is only available from Word Processing
and N.C.S. However, Bilston Community College (see Factfile) is going to
offer a distance learning package based on the tutorial material. It is
thought that the cost of the course will be £35 in addition to the cost
of the tutorial guide. It will give users access to expert help on
Impression as they work through the tutorial. Extra tasks will be
available as well as telephone support. For more details of the course
write to “First Impression, Open Business Centre” at Bilston College.
5.1
Conclusions
5.1
This guide represents a great deal of work by someone who has a detailed
and comprehensive understanding of Impression. It does not cover all the
features of Impression but the author has made a sensible selection of
features and covered them in much more detail than the manual.
5.1
It will require commitment to work through all the exercises, but First
Impression will teach new users how to use Impression effectively. It
also contains information, in the appendices, which will be useful to
more experienced users.
5.1
I think experienced users who would not want to work through the first
section might feel that the price is a bit high, but Impression is so
good that some people are buying an Archimedes* so they can use it and
they will not notice an extra £30 for a good tutorial. If you have just
bought Impression and you are finding it hard going First Impression
should provide the help you need.
5.1
I was pleased to see that this sort of guide is now being produced for
Archimedes software.  A
5.1

5.1
IFEL
5.1
new
5.1

5.1
Removable Hard Drives
5.1
Paul Beverley
5.1
We have had a lot of enquiries recently about the removable hard drives,
especially as the prices have dropped over the months from £680 to £525!
We have given quite a bit of information about them in SCSI Columns and
news items but I am conscious that the information is very spread out
and nowhere is there an over-view. Here is a summary of the story so far
(with last minute added news about the new 84M drives)....
5.1
Removable hard drives have been in use on the Apple Mac computers for
several years and are now being used widely on the Archimedes. The
drives are boxed by various companies − we deal with Atomwide, well
known for its Archimedes involvement and two American companies, Frog
Systems Inc and MicroNet Technology Inc. However, the drive mechanism,
which is made by SyQuest Technology Inc., is the same in all of them.
All that each manufacturer does is to add a box, a power supply, some
connectors and, in some cases, a SCSI ID switch.
5.1
The drives look a bit like 5¼“ disc drives except that the slot is ½”
deep. The cartridge which goes into this slot consists of a solid metal
disc in a hard plastic case. To use it, you push the cartridge into the
slot and close the locking lever and the disc spins up to speed (this
takes about 12 seconds). When full speed is reached, the drive icon on
your icon bar gives you access to 42M (or 84M) of data. To change
cartridges, you dismount the drive on the icon bar and the disc spins
down to a stop (after 5 seconds). You can then remove the cartridge,
insert a new one, click on the drive icon. When it gets back up to speed
you have access to another 42M (or 84M) of data.
5.1
Removables as a back-up medium
5.1
As a back-up medium it is excellent − cheaper and faster than tapes
treamers and much quicker and easier if you want to look up the archived
data. If you want to save space, you can use a file compressor such as
David Pilling’s Spark or Computer Concepts’ new compression utility (see
Products Available). We have also just got hold of one of the long
awaited 84M Syquest drives which, with Compression would allow you to
back up a 100M drive very easily.
5.1
Removables as a main drive
5.1
However, removable drives shouldn’t be thought of just as a back-up
medium. You can use one as a main drive and have a number of different
cartridges, one for each area of work (or leisure) that you are dealing
with. Each cartridge can then have its own boot file to set up your
system in the most appropriate way. The cartridges have a write-protect
switch so they can be used in situations where data has to be protected
from deletion. My only reservations about using removable drives as a
main drive are related to reliability − see below.
5.1
Speed
5.1
These drives are fast − faster than some fixed hard drives. The average
access time is 20 milliseconds. Using the Oak Solutions’ SCSI controller
card, the 42M drive can transfer data at up to 590 kbytes/second and the
84M drive at 900 kbytes/second.
5.1
Here are some comparative speed tests in modes 0, 15 and 21 for a 45M
Worrawinnie, the two Syquest drives and a 100M Oak High Speed drive.
5.1
           45WW    42M     84M  100HS
5.1
0    659    590    900    1170
5.1
15    659    590    900    1156
5.1
21    55    361    590    735
5.1

5.1
We also did our other speed test where we copy the contents of the
Applications 2 disc (i.e. lots of files) from one directory on the drive
to another. We have in the past quoted these as the time in seconds but
to make it easier to judge the speeds we have divided the time into the
total data copied (420k) to give a rate in kbytes/sec.
5.1
           45WW     42M     84M   100HS
5.1
0    44    45    47    70
5.1
15    40    42    45    65
5.1
21    18    33    36    51
5.1

5.1
Capacity
5.1
SyQuest cartridges, when formatted, hold approximately 42M of data. The
one I am using now is 44,390,400 bytes (used + free) which is 42.33M
(where 1Mbyte = 1024 × 1024 bytes). (The new 84M I have just bought is
84.7 Mbyte formatted.)
5.1
Compatibility
5.1
The SyQuest mechanisms work with all the SCSI interfaces that we have
tried on the Archimedes (Oak, Lingenuity and Acorn). There have been
problems with the newer Acorn SCSI cards (AKA31, not AKA30) but this has
been overcome by a software fix which Acorn dealers can provide.
5.1
Robustness
5.1
When the cartridges are inserted into the drive, they should be treated
with the same care as fixed hard drives. However, the cartridges
themselves are extremely robust. At the manufacturers’ suggestion, we
threw one of the cartridges from one side of our office to the other. It
crashed onto the floor, bounced and rolled over a couple of times.
Putting it back into the drive and verifying it revealed that there
wasn’t a single error on it. I have repeated the test on occasions since
and found a similar robustness.
5.1
Reliability
5.1
When the SyQuest drives were first used on the Apple Macintosh, there
were criticisms about the reliability of the drives. It is unreasonable,
in my view, to expect that the removable hard drives should be as
reliable as fixed hard drives, because they are not held in sealed
units. SyQuest have greatly improved the quality of their drives to the
extent that, if you are wanting to use them as a back-up medium, I would
say that you are extremely unlikely to experience any problems. If you
use them as a main data storage medium and use them all day, every day,
as I do, you may find that you get an occasional data error. For me,
this is a small price to pay for the convenience that removable drives
offer. I ensure that sensitive data is backed up onto another hard drive
on a regular basis but if I do get  an error, all I have to do is
*defect the error out of the map and carry on as before.
5.1
Configurations
5.1
We sell SyQuest drives in two configurations: an Atomwide removable
drive and a “Mac-type” drive. The Mac-type drives are “Mac shaped”, i.e.
10“ x 10” and 2½“ high (designed to sit underneath a Mac computer)
whereas Atomwide’s drives are 6” wide, 4“ high and 10” deep − much
better suited to putting alongside an Archimedes computer.
5.1
Another difference is that Atomwide have used a more powerful fan and
placed it at the back of the drive unit whereas the Mac drives, being
flat, have the fan alongside the drive unit pointing downwards. The
positioning of these drives is, therefore, more critical because you
have to be careful that the fan outlet doesn’t become blocked. Never-
the-less, we still sell a lot of the Mac drives because people find the
noise of the high power fan rather distracting.
5.1
The other advantage of the Mac drives is that they have a SCSI ID switch
on the back. This is particularly useful in situations where you are
taking the drive round to a number of different computers which may
require a different ID setting.
5.1
The new 84M drives are, at the moment, only available in the Mac-type
format and look identical to the 42M drives.
5.1
Cost
5.1
Both configurations of 42M drive cost £525 each including VAT and
carriage. This includes one cartridge and a data cable. (You need to
specify the podule type because Oak, Lingenuity and Acorn all use
different types of connectors! − IDC, 25-way D-type and Amphenol
respectively.) Extra 42 M cartridges cost £75 each. The 84M drives are
£690 and the spare cartridges are £140 each.
5.1
If you want to buy a SCSI controller at the same time, we recommend the
Oak Solution’ SCSI podule because it is 16-bit for speed and not as
expensive as the Acorn one (which also needs a software patch which
Acorn are working on for us). The Oak podule adds £200 to the price and
is available as an internal podule for A300 and A400 series computers
and as an external podule for A3000. If you prefer an internal podule on
the A3000, we recommend the Lingenuity interface at £165. This is an 8
bit interface, not a 16-bit interface like the Oak podule. This does
make it slightly slower but in most applications this is hardly
noticeable.
5.1
Users’ comments
5.1
What I have written is based on the experience of the three we use in
the office and the one I have at home. The only other users I ever tend
to hear from are the few who experience problems with their drives, so I
get a rather jaundiced view of things! Perhaps others would like to
write in and let us know how all these removable drives are getting on.
5.1
The future
5.1
If you need more than 42Mbytes of removable storage on line at one time,
it is possible to get a dual 42M drive. The only problem is that the
cost is more than buying two individual drives. (I think it’s got
something to do with supply and demand!) The other possibility is the
new 84M cartridge drive which we have had a quick look at but not done
extensive tests on so far. They are apparently able to read the 42M
cartridges though they cannot write onto them. Just think, you could put
Unix on a single 84M removable cartridge!  A
5.1

5.1
Atomwide
5.1
From 4.12 page 7
5.1

5.1
Oak
5.1
New if it arrives by 9.00 a.m. on 26th September
5.1
Otherwise use
5.1
4.12 page 6
5.1

5.1
Computer Concepts
5.1
New
5.1

5.1
Computer Concepts
5.1
New
5.1

5.1
The Engineer Speaks...
5.1
Ray Maidstone
5.1
For the last few months, Ray Maidstone has been, effectively, the N.C.S.
Service Centre. He has done a great job fixing dead or dying Archimedes
computers for us and upgrading the memory of A310s. In doing so, he has
come across various recurring problems which could be avoided if a few
precautions were followed.
5.1
Here are some hints & tips which should help to keep your Archimedes in
tip-top condition. A word of warning though, some of the things I am
suggesting should not be attempted unless you really feel competent to
do so. The general rule is, if in doubt, ask for help!
5.1
•    300 and early 400 series keyboards − (See also the article on page 37)
These keyboards do not have sprung contacts coming together, but foil
closing over multiple contact points on sprung pads. Various people have
informed me that they have sprayed their keyboards with switch cleaner
to improve things when they have had intermittent contacts on one or
more keys. They may have got away with it, but it is my view that these
keyboards should never be sprayed with switch cleaner. The only
recommended method of servicing this item is to dismantle (but ONLY if
you feel competent to do so!) and remove foreign particles with a soft
brush and a vacuum cleaner. Anything sticky or difficult to remove is
best left to your Service Centre. WARNING: Using switch cleaner which
contains an organic solvent can destroy components within the keyboard
and slowly but surely render it useless. Be warned! (We have a dead
keyboard available for inspection if you are in any doubt! It was killed
by using Tandy’s Tix Electronic Switch Cleaner. Ed)
5.1
•    Mouse − If you unplug your mouse, the recommended procedure for
reconnection is to first disconnect the keyboard from the computer, plug
the mouse into the keyboard then reconnect to the computer. The reason
for this is that the mouse contains one solitary chip, which has no
protection from spikes at switch-on from the outside world, whereas the
keyboard has circuitry that is slightly better equipped to cope with any
misadventures. Plugging the mouse into the keyboard and then plugging
the keyboard into the computer is the safest method and could well save
you money.
5.1
•    Monitor smear − On the 400 series computers, it is possible to get a
composite video signal out of the sync socket which you can use for a
mono monitor. This is done by making links LK5 and LK6. However, if
these links are made, it can cause problems with certain high resolution
monitors. You get a certain amount of smearing on the ends of horizontal
lines. This effect is caused by the electronics of the Archimedes and
can only be cured by removing the links. (I have a confession to make.
Until we discovered this problem, we always tested our 400 series
computers using a mono monitor. We added links 5 and 6 but did not
remove them before sending out the computers. If you have had a 400
series computer from us, I suggest you check for this effect and remove
the links if necessary. Ed)
5.1
•    Video RGB outlet − On the 310 and early 400 series, it is possible to
destroy the VIDC chip by plugging in the video lead to either the
computer or the monitor if one or both of these items are switched on.
The electronics of this socket do not accept the slightest static
variation and any deviation will damage the VIDC chip. Whoops! − there
goes another £30! I have designed a multiple diode module as a service
modification which upgrades these old machines to the new static-
protected specification. Whilst Acorn confirm that my modification is
“Archimedes-legal”, they will not put their name to it as yet. This
modification has been particularly well received by schools, as it stops
pupils being able to blow up their computers!
5.1
•    Fan filters − With the fan driving air into the filter (lower half of
the diagram below) it is possible for the filter, in its blocked state,
to completely eliminate all airflow within the computer. However, with
the fan sucking air through the filter (upper half of the diagram
below), even if the filter becomes totally blocked, residual air
currents will still flow within the computer, providing some “last
resort” cooling. Also, with the filter on the outside of the fan,
cleaning couldn’t be easier. All that is needed is to slide the lid back
10 cm (or 4 inches for those of us still in Imperial!) and suck the dust
off the filter with a vacuum cleaner.
5.1
•    Hard drive parking − After much debate and the dismantling of two
unserviceable hard drives, I have found that, in order to give your data
maximum protection at closedown, *BYE must be followed by *SHUTDOWN.
These two commands, although slightly similar, do not seem to perform
the same task and, to my satisfaction, have been proven to be necessary
in the order stated. The effects of closing the drive down can be
verified acoustically and visually, e.g. *BYE will produce one staccato
tick noise and a short flash on the hard drive LED, but this does not
mean the drive is fully parked. Typing *SHUTDOWN will produce a multiple
wink of the hard drive LED and a triple tick noise from the drive. Take
my word that this guarantees total shutdown of the drive. If *SHUTDOWN
is typed without having typed *BYE, a single tick will be heard and the
drive will simply have moved the head to a different track, but it will
not be fully parked. (Different effects happen on different drives under
this condition.)
5.1
(Some may call this a “belt & braces” method, but when it comes to
protecting several hundred pounds worth of hard drive, I prefer to err
on the side of caution. Ed)
5.1
•    Removable hard drive parking − The command DISMOUNT brought up by
clicking <menu> on the SCSI icon, does not mean your drive is parked. It
simply means that the drive has shut its motor down and that the
software has “forgotten” about the drive in question. At this point, if
you switch the power off, the heads have been left out over the disc at
the last track you were using and will be in the same position next time
you switch on the power. In order to eliminate the possibility of power-
on destroying any data bits, the centre button on the removable drive
must be pressed and the drive fully disengaged with the lever. This
operation mechanically parks the heads off the disc and is the only way
to guarantee this.
5.1
•    Stray metalware − When removing the motherboard on the 300/400 series,
it is very possible to dislodge one or more of the spring speed nuts
(for the two rear self tapping screws that “get in the way” when
removing the board). Make sure these are firmly in place when reassem
bling − better still, remove them, clamp them slightly more closed and
refit. This will prevent any further mishap which could cause shorting
under the main PCB.
5.1
•    Stuck floppy discs − It is unfortunately possible, now and again, for
a floppy disc to become stuck in the drive. This will be due to one of
the following causes, and if you wish to keep costs to a minimum, NEVER
tug at, or forcibly remove, the stuck item.
5.1
(Again, we have u/s floppy drives available for inspection if you need
proof. Ed.)
5.1
1. The metal sliding cover on the disc can become widened, perhaps due
to being bent in the post, or being sat on or whatever. As the metalwork
of the slider opens, it will act like a ratchet allowing the disc to go
in but not to come out without difficulty.
5.1
2. The spring that returns the metal cover can become unlaced and behave
like a fish hook, snagging the unlocking post within the drive.
5.1
3. The metal screening plate on the upper disc reading head within the
drive can become dislodged and catching the plastic work of the disc
(particularly on the older Sony drives).
5.1
In ALL cases, if the drive is removed by somebody competent to do so,
you should find that delicate easing will allow the disc to come out
again without damaging the drive and, 9 times out of 10, the disc can
also be saved.
5.1
In the case of the metal head shield of the Sony drive, simply throw it
away as it was later found to be unnecessary. Where the metal gate of
the drive is distorted, it is quite acceptable to remove this item by
unfolding it and removing the spring. The disc will operate without the
metal cover but keep little fingers out − remember the 5¼“ floppies?  A
5.1

5.1
The filter is blocked but at least a little air flow remains
5.1

5.1
The filter is blocked and no through air flow is possible
5.1

5.1
Oak Tape Streamer
5.1
Gwyn Williams
5.1
My wife is writing educational packages for the Archimedes, and I use
the machine for WP/DTP work. Backup onto floppies was a time consuming
irritation on our A440 but the thought of backing up our new A540’s 100
Mbyte drive onto floppies was unbearable.
5.1
There were four practical possibilities: a second fixed hard disc, a
removable hard disc, Oak’s cassette streamer or their conventional tape
streamer, using DC600A type cartridges. The second fixed hard disc
sounded the most attractive and a 100 Mbyte hard disc is now relatively
cheap (Frog 100M drives cost £420 inc VAT, and 200M drives cost £670.
Ed)  but if you were as paranoid as I am, you would worry about a fire
destroying both or a power cut occurring during the backup. The cost of
the six disc cartridges needed to back up on a removable drive (3 for
main and 3 for subsidiary backup) was prohibitive*. I therefore went on
to discuss the choice with Oak Solutions.
5.1
The cassette streamer is not guaranteed to work with the Acorn SCSI
card, because the Oak card can output single bytes to the SCSI bus to
compensate for the slowness of the drive, but the Acorn card will only
send blocks.
5.1
The decision was therefore simple, I would have to fork out the higher
media cost of the high speed device and order a 60 Mbyte cartridge tape
streamer. In retrospect, it would have been cheaper to buy the cassette
streamer with an Oak SCSI card and throw away the Acorn one!
5.1
The arrival
5.1
It was packed in about forty times its own volume of polystyrene in two
cardboard boxes. Clearly no risks with couriers were being taken.
5.1
I was grateful that a tape cartridge was included in the package, as
waiting for that to arrive before testing it would have been like having
a Christmas toy without the batteries.
5.1
Documentation
5.1
The unit comes with clear instructions which are easy to follow, and
installation on the A540 was a simple matter of removing the terminator
from the computer and plugging in the tape streamer (remember to tell
the dealer which card you’ll be using: they have different connectors).
5.1
Instructions are given to configure the software to use a different SCSI
device number, but this was not necessary with the 540. The Acorn SCSI
card user guide has instructions about the order of turning devices on
or off, but tape streamers should cope with being turned on after the
computer, and it has given no trouble so far.
5.1
Software
5.1
The software provided (on disc) is easy to use. There is a desktop
application which loads onto the icon bar on the left, just like the
drive icons. It takes up 160k of RAM. Clicking menu on this opens a
window allowing the tape to be catalogued (to a text file: a catalogue of
a 56 Mbyte tape was 163k long), verfied, erased or re-tensioned (wound
forwards and then rewound: recommended on first use of a tape). The
software works fully within the desktop but tends to hog the computer
(except when cataloguing), leaving little or no time for other
applications.
5.1
Other options allow you to define the criteria for a backup and save them
as a file compatible with Mitre’s DiscTree format. The user has the
following backup options:-
5.1
 •    everything below one given directory (below more than one
directory at the same level is not possible, neither is it possible to
exclude a directory: a strange omission, which I hope will be remedied
in future versions.)
5.1
 •    only files matching a wildcarded name criterion
5.1
 •    only files of given filetype
5.1
 •    only files after a given date (with a handy “yesterday” option)
5.1
 •    including or excluding non stamped files
5.1
 •    only files before a given date, which can also be used with the
“after a given date” option.
5.1
 •    run automatically, and unattended, every day, week or month,
logging what it does if required.
5.1
It allows multiple backups onto one tape, and one backup (of a disc
larger then the tape, for example) to use more than one tape. It checks
each tape as you insert it and asks for confirmation if the tape already
contains a backup.
5.1
Speed
5.1
A tape streamer is obviously more convenient than floppy discs, mainly
because of increased speed of working. These timings refer to my setup
of an A540, Acorn SCSI card (the new AKA 31 card, a 16 bit interface),
internal 100 Mbyte hard disc as supplied with the A540, and the Oak 60
Mbyte TS60SCA tape streamer.
5.1
Bytes used on disc:     58 300 928
5.1
Time taken to backup:    11 mins 26
secs
5.1
Time taken to verify:    10 mins 34
secs
5.1
Time taken to catalogue:    11 mins 15
secs
5.1
These times include the time taken to reply to a confirmatory dialogue
box. They were done in Atomwide’s mode 106 (1088 × 432, 16 colours).
This is a data transfer rate of over 82 kbytes/sec, or almost 5 Mbytes
per minute for backup. A completely full hard disc could therefore be
backed up in 24 minutes. For comparison, at work I use a 20MHz 80386 IBM
clone, with a TEAC cassette tape streamer, which takes 6 minutes to back
up 10 Mbytes (and reboots the computer, a network file server, before
starting!), nearly three times slower than the Oak device at 1.7 Mbytes
per minute.
5.1
Restore
5.1
Restoring data from the tape is also very quick − about as fast as the
backup − but finding an individual file on the tape takes quite a time.
When the restore command is given, a window similar to DiscTree’s is
popped up after the tape is catalogued, so that restoring just one file
takes ten minutes; this part of the process multi-tasks, so you can
continue working, but multi-tasking during the backup procedure is
almost impossible, with long gaps between polls, and totally impossible
during verification. The restoring process is similar to using the
filer, so is straightforward and intuitive. As with the filer, the
“confirm” option can be turned off, a “newer” option can be specified and
existing files can be overwritten, and OakTape gives you the option of
keeping the original date stamp or setting it to the time at which it
was restored.
5.1
Summary and options
5.1
My decision to buy a tape streamer involved three considerations: the
value placed on my data, the value placed on my time, and cost. I would
not dream now of going back to floppy discs for backup, knowing that
backups would only be done weekly at best.
5.1
A second hard disc used purely for backup is the next cheapest option
and if I weren’t such a pessimist, I’d go for it. It would be quicker
than a tape streamer and, if your needs expanded, you could get a backup
hard disc twice the size.
5.1
If your main disc is 45 Mbytes or smaller, a removable drive would be
more realistic as you’d only need two disc cartridges for a minimum
backup regime.
5.1
The cassette streamer is cheaper than the High Speed tape streamer,
though I don’t know how slow it is. The major attraction of tape is its
speed. However, a 150 Mbyte cassette streamer could be purchased for the
price of a 60 Mbyte cartridge drive, so at least a visit to change tapes
would be avoided. When considering this option, bear in mind the
forementioned problem with Acorn SCSI cards/software.
5.1
The Oak High Speed series tape streamer is a fairly fast device, with
good supporting software, still streets ahead of that on the IBM clone
at my work place, even if it does take for ever to restore one file.
Against this is its high cost: the unit reviewed here costs a hefty
£1000 +VAT. A tape streamer for an IBM clone would cost under £600 +VAT
for an equivalent 60M external unit, remembering to add a little for
software.
5.1
Since this tape streamer was bought, Digital Services have brought out a
30 Mbyte machine for £600 +VAT (1.5 Mbytes/min, they claim), and I
understand that The Serial Port are working on one too. It may be worth
waiting, as the speed of this new offering is likely to be comparable,
and the price may be lower than that of the Oak.  A
5.1

5.1
(*To come to the defence of the removable drive, the cost has decreased
and is now just £525 plus £75 for each extra cartridge. Surely, only the
transient data needs backing up so two pairs of cartridges would be
sufficient to back up the A540’s drive. That would be £525 + 3 × £75 =
£750 inc VAT. Also, to be able to look instantaneously at any file
within the backup instead of waiting 10 minutes is rather different.
Also, at £420 for a 100M Frog, the option of buying two of them and
keeping one locked away in a cupboard (R.S.P.C.A. permitting!) is not as
daft as it sounds − we could even offer some discount on your second
Frog − say, two 100M Frogs for £790!  Ed.
5.1
STOP PRESS: The equation has just changed again. We now have 84M
removable drives available at £690 with spare cartridges at £140. Also,
CC have just released a file compressor (£53) which is extremely fast
and would make it very easy to back up a 100M drive onto a single 84M
cartridge. The sum is then £690 + 140 + 53 = £883!
5.1

5.1

5.1
PipeLine
5.1
Gerald Fitton
5.1
I find that most of the difficulties that my correspondents (and I) have
with PipeDream is because it has ‘too much’ built in flexibility! Some
of you say that many of these facilities are ‘obscure’ because they
appear as short ‘one line’ statements in the User Guide without anything
but the simplest of examples. Consider the explanation of the use of the
function Index(column, row) together with the functions Col(slot) and
Row(slot). It is limited to less than half a page but its inclusion in
PipeDream makes it possible to transfer to the cell containing Index,
the value of any cell in the document or any related document. Of
course, this flexibility means that, when you have learned the techni
ques (by reading PipeLine?), you can do much more with PipeDream than
you thought possible. I am still discovering ‘obscure’ features
mentioned briefly in the User Guide and, thanks to you, I get told of
many more ways of using them.
5.1
Colton Software have moved
5.1
Their new address is: 2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA
and their new telephone number is 0223 311881.
5.1
The Acorn Users’ Show
5.1
Jill and I will be attending the show on the Saturday and Sunday but not
on the Friday. Colton Software have offered us a place on their stand
near the Acorn Village as a place where you can meet us and have a chat
− so look for us there.
5.1
In the Archimedes World, Robert Macmillan is quoted as saying that
“exciting things are happening at Colton Software”. Robert has confirmed
to me that this is true but emphasises that PipeDream 3, version 3.14,
is ‘stable’ and that there are no further upgrades in the pipeline (!).
So what can these exciting things be? Come to the Users’ Show and maybe
we’ll find out together.
5.1
Graphics in PipeDream
5.1
By this I don’t mean importing Draw files but converting numbers to
graphs and charts. PipeDream 3 has a Hot Link (in-memory transfer) to
Presenter II and to Minerva’s GraphBox. If you have not seen these Hot
Links working then come to the Show and have a look. Perhaps there are
some developments in this area?
5.1
Linking files
5.1
In the August 1991 PipeLine column, I asked how you might feel about
losing Linking files. I received quite a substantial response from those
of you who don’t want to see them disappear. Typical is a note from
David Crossley who has 2 linking files per month for 2 years, 48 files
in all, which would all have to be in memory if they were dependent
documents. Linking files remain on the disc all the time and so do not
use up memory. Other readers have pointed out that they use linking
files as permanent storage.
5.1
Albert W Kitchenside makes the following comment: “I use a link file to
carry forward balances in my personal accounts. Whilst the dependent
files option could be used it would lead to a cluttered screen as every
file in the total set of accounts would load every time as every one
depends on its predecessor! This is correct if any updating of back
files is required but can only be avoided if the snapshot command is
used. That would delete the dependency and then, of course, automatic
updating of files due to the updating of some previous file would also
be lost! Using a linked file option, if a previous file has to be
updated so that the carry forward is affected then it is necessary to
sequentially load all subsequent files to achieve correct updating, in
all other cases only the current file needs to be loaded.
5.1
“Thus, I think it would be a retrograde step to remove an option which
can have a distinct action in PipeDream. If one has a set of files in
which a part of one is needed by another, particularly if that part is
unlikely to be updated and the files are large, then I believe that the
linked file option is essential unless there happened to be unlimited
memory available at all times, an improbable event!”
5.1
Iteration
5.1
Having received such a good response to my question about whether
linking files are worthwhile let me ask the same question about
Iteration. I already have one most interesting letter and disc from
Gordon Nicholas who uses PipeDream extensively. One of his applications
uses iteration to find the roots of an equation which can be solved only
by numerical methods. Have you any more reasons for retaining iteration?
5.1
Help with timetables
5.1
Bernhard Gantner from Lesotho would like to know if anyone has set up
PipeDream to help with school timetables. I have already sent Bernhard
Peter Wick’s application but if you have anything more that might help
then please send me a disc copy and I will put them together and send
them off to him.
5.1
The function atn2
5.1
This function is similar to the inverse tangent function but, instead of
having only one argument and returning a value between –pi/2 and +pi/2
radians, it has two arguments and returns a value between –pi and +pi
radians. Perhaps the simplest way of looking at atn2 is to regard it as
a rectangular to polar coordinate conversion function. You enter the x
and y coordinates into atn2 and it returns the polar angle between the
positive x axis and the line joining the origin to the point (x,y). Now,
in the User Guide on page 302 the function is shown as “atn2(x,y)” but I
have found that, using the usual conventions about x, y and the polar
angle, you have to enter the parameters as atn2(y,x). For example, the
point with coordinates (x,y) at (–1,+1) has a polar angle of +0.75pi
whereas the point (+1,–1) has a polar angle of –0.25pi. To get atn2 to
return the value +0.75pi you have to enter the values of x and y as
atn2(1,–1). Hence I would have written the atn2 function as atn2(y,x)
and not as it is in the User Guide. Do you agree with me or do you
prefer the convention of the User Guide?
5.1
Matrices
5.1
Whilst on the subject of notation, let me seek out your views on the
notation for matrices. I’ve always considered a 2 by 3 matrix to consist
of 2 rows and 3 columns. Thus, to me, a matrix called A of size n by m
has an element in the bottom right hand corner which I would refer to as
A(n,m). I would call a typical element A(i,j) where i is the row number
and j the column number. To make it clear in spreadsheet terms, for a
matrix A with its top left in cell A1 I would call cell B3 the element
A(3,2). In PipeDream, the function Index, which returns the value in a
cell (see page 308 of the User Guide for details), is given as Index
(column, row) which seems to me to be the ‘wrong’ way round but I don’t
want it changed now! Have I always been mixed up about the convention
for matrices or do spreadsheets always use them the opposite way round?
5.1
Editing printer drivers
5.1
Let me try to cover many readers’ questions, problems and suggestions in
a few paragraphs before going onto more difficult matters.
5.1
PipeDream printer driver files have the file type of !Edit so, if you
double click on a PipeDream printer driver, then the file will load into
!Edit. In !Edit you will see such things as [09] which cause some
confusion. The [09] you see in !Edit (as part of a PipeDream printer
driver) is not the four separate characters [, 0, 9 and ] but only one
character, ASCII code 9. If you type in the four characters where the
printer driver should have an ASCII 9, even though it looks exactly the
same in !Edit the printer driver will not work. A further difficulty
arises in !Edit. ASCII 9 is used by many applications as the ‘tab’
character but, in !Edit, you can not enter the single character ASCII 9
by tapping the <Tab> key; you have to use <Ctrl+I> (where I is the ninth
letter of the alphabet).
5.1
I prefer to edit my printer drivers in PipeDream. To edit an !Edit file
(such as a printer driver) in !PipeDream, first you must install
PipeDream on the icon bar by double clicking <select> on the !PipeDream
icon shown in a directory viewer. Drag the printer driver file onto the
PipeDream icon installed on the icon bar and you will find that the
printer driver has been loaded into PipeDream.
5.1
In PipeDream, the second column, column B, is the column into which you
type the ON code for the effect you want. For example, underline is
highlight 1 and, for the FX80, the code to switch on underlining is the
sequence ESC “” -1. This sequence must be typed in column B. You get to
column B from A by tapping the <Tab> key and it is this <Tab> which
inserts the ASCII 9 into the printer driver file. I believe that using
PipeDream is easier than using !Edit.
5.1
Highlight 3
5.1
Now to the more difficult matters. In the May 1991 Archive, I included a
complaint from Peter Nye. He could use printer highlight 3 as a general
way of sending extended printer codes from his Z88 to a printer but he
said that this method didn’t work with PipeDream 3 on the Archimedes! In
the August 1991 Archive I reported that Stephen Gaynor used this method
successfully on his Archimedes with his printer. Now I have another
letter from Peter saying that he still can’t get it to work.
5.1
First let me explain exactly what Stephen did. Stephen modified his
PipeDream printer driver so that the row containing H3 (highlight 3)
instead of being blank included ESC (and nothing else) in both columns B
and C. He loaded this PipeDream printer driver through the <Ctrl+PD>
menu making sure that ‘Parallel’ was selected as the ‘Printer type’. In
the document he was going to print, he included the highlight 3 command
with <Ctrl+PX>. This ‘prints’ 3 in inverse video on the screen. On his
printer, the code for underline on is E so Stephen typed in the letter E
immediately after highlight 3. This method of extending printer codes
works for him.
5.1
I had a try with my printer and what I have discovered is that all is
well if the characters following highlight 3 have ASCII codes between 32
and 126. Peter’s printer requires ASCII codes (decimal) 45 and 1 after
highlight 3 for underline on. Now ASCII code 45 can be entered as the
minus sign, −, so that is not a problem but neither Peter nor I can find
a way of entering ASCII code 1 in PipeDream. (Have you tried using the
character 1, i.e. pressing the <1> key which gives ASCII 49? Some
printers accept accept ASCII 1 or character 1 (ASCII 49) for “ON” and
ASCII 0 or character 0 (ASCII 48) for “OFF”. Ed) In many applications,
for example in Acorn’s !Edit, ASCII code 1 is entered as <Ctrl+A> (the
logic of this is that A is letter number 1 in the alphabet); in
PipeDream <Ctrl+ A> does not produce ASCII code 1 because it is
recognised by PipeDream as the command for recalculating the spread
sheet. Read on.
5.1
Why is PipeDream different?
5.1
PipeDream started life as View Professional on Acorn’s BBC computer. It
was included as firmware (on a chip) on the Z88 under the name PipeDream
and went on from there as PipeDream 2 which ran under MS DOS on IBM PCs
and compatibles and on the early Archimedes under the single tasking
‘Arthur’ operating system. RISC-OS did not exist at that time. Under the
Z88, MS DOS and Arthur operating systems the <Alt> key did nothing in
particular so Colton Software used it for commands such as the recalcu
late command (now <Ctrl+A> but <Alt+ A> under Arthur and on the Z88 and
PCs). When RISC OS replaced Arthur, Acorn gave the <Alt> key a new
meaning. For example, if you hold down <Alt> and tap R, <Alt+R>, you
print ®. In the same way <Alt+Z> gives the double chevron « which is
closed with <Alt+X> ». Anyway, you will see that if <Alt+R> gives ® then
there is no way in which it can also be used for the ‘Reformat para
graph’ command now achieved in PipeDream 3 with <Ctrl+R>. In the same
way <Alt+Z> could no longer be used for ‘Mark block’ nor could <Alt+X>
be used for ‘Edit expression’.
5.1
Apart from Acorn’s own RISC-OS software (such as !Draw and !Edit),
Colton Software’s PipeDream was the first commercial software to run
‘properly’ as a ‘multi tasking’ application under RISC-OS. Colton
Software decided that their new RISC-OS compliant version of PipeDream,
PipeDream 3, would use the <Ctrl> key wherever <Alt> was used in
PipeDream 2. The loss to us users, and to Peter Nye in particular, has
been that <Ctrl+A> causes the sheet to recalculate instead of entering
ASCII code 1 into the text. Read on!
5.1
Does <Ctrl+H> always work?
5.1
Now here is an obscure ‘bug’ which is caused by this use of <Ctrl>. The
command <Ctrl+H> is used in PipeDream to set the ‘Wrap margin’ (the
right hand margin, not of the column, but the place where text automati
cally wraps round onto the next line). The letter H is the 8th letter of
the alphabet so <Ctrl+H> is also ASCII code 8. Now, ASCII 8 is the code
for a backspace and is interpreted by RISC-OS as a backspace which
deletes the previous character. Sometimes in PipeDream 3, <Ctrl+H> has
the effect of deleting the character to the left of the cursor instead
of bringing up the usual ‘Wrap margin’ dialogue box.
5.1
When does it happen? It is always a good idea to start with an easier
question and work up to the hard one so we’ll start with, “Why does it
happen?”. In fact an easier question still is “What happens when you tap
a key?” When you tap a key, let’s say ‘R’, the RISC-OS operating system
detects an ‘event’ and places ‘R’ in the keyboard buffer (if there isn’t
room in the buffer then you’ll hear a ‘boing!’). A bit later on, say a
few milliseconds, the application you are running has a look at the
keyboard buffer and, if there is anything in it, then the first
character, in our example this may be our ‘R’ or something we typed in
before the ‘R’, is taken out and used by the application.
5.1
For word processing (and many other applications) having a well stocked
keyboard buffer is a good idea because then you can ‘type ahead’ of the
application. By this I mean that if the application slows down for a few
milliseconds (or even longer) for example, by having to update the
screen display, then the characters which you type in the meantime are
not ‘lost’ but are stored in the keyboard buffer and taken out when
there is a bit more time available. However, for some applications,
storing commands in a buffer for too long can cause a disaster. Think
about what would happen if you issued a format disc command that got
stored in a buffer long enough for you to change discs! In these latter
cases the keyboard buffer is flushed so that anything inadvertently
entered is removed before it can do any damage.
5.1
Back to <Ctrl+H>. The way that PipeDream works is that, whenever it
pulls a character out of the keyboard buffer it looks to see whether you
are holding down the <Ctrl> key at the moment the character is taken
from the buffer; note that this time is later than the time at which the
character was typed. So, if you have already released <Ctrl> by the time
when PipeDream takes your <Ctrl+H> out of the buffer then the ASCII 8 is
not treated as a PipeDream command but it is passed to the text string
editor which does its thing and deletes a character.
5.1
So what is the ‘work around’ for this obscure ‘bug’? Firstly, do not tap
and release <Ctrl> and a command key simultaneously; hold down the
<Ctrl>, tap the other key smartly and then, after a decent interval of a
tenth of a second or more, release the <Ctrl> key. Secondly, if you have
got PipeDream working hard doing a recalculation or if it has passed
control to Acorn’s Window manager module (redrawing your screen for
example) then either don’t give the <Ctrl+H> command until the action
has stopped or, if you do, then hold down the <Ctrl> much longer than
usual and check to see if you have just deleted a character.
5.1
Whilst I have been caught out by <Ctrl+H> sometimes causing an unwanted
delete I have not had similar problems with <Ctrl+I> (Insert or Tab) or
anything else for that matter. Have you?
5.1
Using !SparkPlug with PipeDream files
5.1
!Spark is a file compression utility. !SparkPlug decompresses the files
!Spark has compressed. The PipeDream files on the Archive disc are
nearly always compressed and I have been asked (often on the telephone)
how to unpack them by people who have read the cryptic ?Important file
(which Paul always includes) but need more specific advice.
5.1
The Pearcy files
5.1
I don’t know how it happened but, somewhere between my disc and the
Archive disc for August 1991 (Vol 4.11), the content of all the files in
the (!Spark compressed) Pearcy directory were changed to become the
content of one of Ron Pearcy’s files. All files were the same! Anyway,
if you want a decompressed version of Ron’s files then please send me a
blank disc, a label and a stamp and I will transfer Ron’s files to your
disc.
5.1
Problems using !SparkPlug
5.1
1. Whilst unpacking a compressed file, SparkPlug uses a file called
<Wimp$Scrap>. This is usually in the !System directory so the !System
directory must be available and, whatever disc it is on, there must be
room to spare.
5.1
2. Applications (by this I mean applications such as the Interword to
PipeDream file converter, which start with a ! and not PipeDream files)
can not be run from inside the !SparkPlug environment. Applications that
have names starting with a ! must be unpacked before running.
5.1
3. Files loaded into PipeDream will be given the file name <Wimp$Scrap>
by !SparkPlug. From within the !SparkPlug environment dependent
documents, inserted graphics and linking files will not be found by
PipeDream because the file name is not known. Hence, directories
containing dependent documents, graphics and linked files (and many
macros) must all be unpacked before running onto your hard disc or onto
a new floppy.
5.1
These problems are simplified if you have a hard disc and 4 Mb of
memory. They are aggravated if you have only a single floppy disc and 1
Mb of memory (e.g. an A3000).
5.1
Hard disc users
5.1
If you have a hard disc then you will have !System on your hard disc so
you will not have problem 1. You will still have to unpack those
applications which start with a ! and those PipeDream applications which
involve dependent documents, graphics, linking files and macros. You
will not need to unpack other PipeDream files.
5.1
Floppy disc users
5.1
If you have !System on a floppy disc (and have not got a hard disc) then
you might find yourself having to keep swopping disks to overcome
problem 1. To avoid this disc swapping I suggest that you create a RAM
disc of 250 kbyte (or more if you can afford it) and copy your !System
directory to the RAM disc. Double click on the !System directory (in the
RAM disc) to install it. If you do this then the <Wimp$Scrap> used by
!SparkPlug will be on your high speed RAM disc and this will avoid the
need for endless disc swops. Alternatively, copy !System to the floppy
disc as described in the section “Copying Files” below.
5.1
Copying files
5.1
!SparkPlug uses a few hundred kbytes so on a 1 Mb machine you will have
to quit PipeDream before using !SparkPlug.
5.1
Remove the PipeLine disc and put a blank disc in drive 0; for the
purpose of this description let us call this disc :NewDisc.
5.1
Open the $ directory of NewDisc. Drag your !System directory from
wherever it is (eg on the PipeDream disc) into the :NewDisc.$ directory.
5.1
Double click on the :NewDisc.$.!System directory to install it. It is
important that you double click on this !System before you double click
(or install) !SparkPlug so that !SparkPlug finds this !System for its
<Wimp$Scrap> file and not the old !System directory.
5.1
Insert the Archive disc and open the directory viewer. Drag the
compressed file from the Archive disc to the opened :NewDisc.$ direc
tory. You will have to swop discs to complete this file transfer.
5.1
Now click on !SparkPlug. Double click on the compressed file which is on
:NewDisc to open it as if it were a directory. All the files and
directories within the !Sparked file will show in a new directory viewer
with a name that finishes with a /. In this example there might be one
called :NewDisc.$.new_arc/ which, when opened, contains another
directory called :NewDisc.$. new_arc.PipeLine/.
5.1
Select the PipeLine directory from this directory viewer and drag it to
the :NewDisc.$ directory. This effectively decompresses the PipeLine
files placing them in a directory called :NewDisc.$. PipeLine.
5.1
If you wish you can then delete the compressed file called
:NewDisc.$.new_arc. Quit !SparkPlug from the icon bar, install
!PipeDream, open the PipeLine directory and load the PipeDream files.
5.1
In conclusion
5.1
Thank you all for the continuing correspondence. Keep sending it to me
at the Abacus Training address which you will find on the inside back
cover of Archive.  A
5.1

5.1
Cleaning Archimedes 400 Series Keyboards
5.1
Mike King
5.1
After a year’s constant use, certain keys on my Archimedes 440/1
keyboard refused to work and some keys stayed depressed after use. I
decided to strip down the keyboard to its component parts and thoroughly
clean it. Described below is how I set about the task.
5.1
Static precautions
5.1
Before dismantling the keyboard, you will need to procure an antistatic
mat to dissemble the keyboard upon. I personally use a large antistatic
plastic bag, designed for the protection of large printed circuit
boards. I made up a length of wire with a crocodile clip on one end. The
other end can be temporarily attached to the earth pin of a 13 amp plug.
It is vital that these precautions are taken, as the chips in the
Archimedes keyboards are of MOS construction and are very prone to
static charges which, if great enough, will destroy all of the main
keyboard chips.
5.1
Tools and other sundries required
5.1
For disassembly of the keyboard, only two crosspoint screwdrivers are
required − medium and small sizes will suffice. The best degreasing
agent I have found is isopropyl alcohol. An alternative is methylated
spirit, which can be obtained from any good chemist. Do not use any
other kind of degreasing agents; they may well have an adverse effect on
the keyboard component parts. The only other item required is a lint-
free cloth (an old handkerchief is ideal). Do not use any paper towels
or cotton wool for cleaning − they leave behind vast quantities of small
particles which will certainly cause trouble in the future.
5.1
Dismantling the keyboard case
5.1
Place the antistatic sheet on your table top and connect the earthed
crocodile clip to one corner. Now place on this sheet the inverted
keyboard and remove all of the case retaining screws around the edge.
Remove the four screws that retain the keyboard to the upper section of
the case. Store all the screws in a small tin or egg-cup.
5.1
Removing the PCB from the key-tops
5.1
The printed circuit assembly is connected to the key-tops by very small
crosspoint screws. It is necessary to remove all of these screws to gain
access to the contact side of the board. Do not lose any of these minute
screws. They are very hard to see when dropped onto the floor! There is
also one black-headed crosspoint earthing screw that will have to be
removed from the corner of the PCB before it can be finally separated
from the top section of the case. If you now inspect the contact areas
of the PCB you will probably be able to see a thin film of dust and
other detritus* covering most of the contact areas.  (*It’s a polite
word for bits of muck − I looked it up. Ed)
5.1
Degreasing the PCB
5.1
Place the PCB on the antistatic sheet with the contact areas of the
board facing upwards. Soak a small area of lint-free cloth with the
degreasing agent and apply to all parts of the board. Once the board is
clean, check all over the board with a magnifying glass to ensure that
there are no foreign particles still attached. Put the PCB in a safe
place until re-assembly.
5.1
(Ray, our resident engineer, adds that at this point you ought also to
remove the seven large screws holding the key chassis to the upper case,
remove the chassis and thoroughly vacuum out the debris that has
collected there. Otherwise, when you re-assemble the keyboard, the
particles that collect there will soon be down onto your freshly cleaned
PCB foils.)
5.1
Degreasing the key mechanisms
5.1
Each key mechanism consists of a small circular foam pad onto which is
stuck a circular tinfoil disc. Each of these discs will need degreasing
as well as the PCB contact areas. The tinfoil discs are recessed into
each key housing. The best way to clean these discs is to press each
key-top individually until the tinfoil disc protrudes slightly from its
housing. Use the degreasing agent sparingly, trying not to get any
solvent onto the sponge material of the mechanism, and gently rub each
tinfoil disc until it is clean.
5.1
Re-assembly
5.1
Before re-assembly, thoroughly clean out the casing using a small brush.
It is prudent to check before re-assembly that each individual key
mechanism can be depressed without sticking. Should you find a key that
sticks, undertake the following procedure. Remove the key-top from the
mechanism by gently prising it off with two small flat-bladed screw
drivers. Remove the rubber cap from under each key-top. You can then
gently push out the foam pad of the key concerned, by pressing with a
match stick from the top side of the switch. Note the orientation of the
switch mechanism as it emerges from its housing: it must be re-assembled
the same way as it came out. With the switch mechanism separated from
its housing, check for grit or dust affecting the action of the
mechanism. If on re-assembly of the key mechanism, it is still sticking,
try applying a small quantity of P.T.F.E. dry lubricant, which should be
available from an electronic components’ supplier. Do not use WD40 or
any other liquid lubricant for this task.You have been warned!
5.1
The keyboard may now be assembled in the reverse order that it was taken
apart. When re-installing the small screws that secure the PCB to the
key-tops, do not over-tighten them*, or you might find that you have one
or two sticky keys once again! This is because these miniature screws
are tapped into the bottom edge of the key mechanisms and over tighten
ing these screws can cause a bulge in this bottom edge, causing the key
to stick or jam.
5.1
(*Ray reckons that it’s not so much a case of over-tightening but more
to do with getting the screw in correctly to start with. Because they
are self-tapping, it’s quite possible to cross-thread these screws. What
you should do is, as you start to screw it in, if there is more
resistance than normal, back it of a bit further than the first starting
position and try again. Ray has had a number of keyboards that have come
to grief in this way.)
5.1
I have cleaned about 15 of these keyboards for friends and a local
technical college. They have all responded to treatment.
5.1
When using your computer, please keep all drinks at a safe distance from
the keyboard. The worst cleaning job I had to undertake, was when a cup
of white coffee was spilled over the keyboard! Nearly every key
mechanism had to be stripped down and thoroughly cleaned. It took me
approximately seven hours to clean! Another culprit is cigarette ash
which usually causes keys to jam, due to its gritty nature. It is a good
policy to keep the keyboard covered over when not in use.
5.1
Cleaning a keyboard will take about an hour to perform, but it is really
worth the effort, especially if you are a fast typist. The keys feel
very smooth to press after cleaning.  A
5.1

5.1
Language Column
5.1
David Wild
5.1
The debate about languages goes on and, so long as we don’t allow
ourselves to become bigotted, this can only be a good thing.
5.1
Acorn’s C upgrade
5.1
Two specific items have interested me this time. The first has been a
complaint I have seen about the ‘C’ upgrade, with the writer disap
pointed that the new version isn’t the object-oriented ‘C++’ as opposed
to just an ordinary compiler. It might have been a good thing if Acorn
had managed to produce the newer version but I presume that there could
have been problems with licences and so on.
5.1
What we often forget is that the Acorn versions of both ‘C’ and Pascal
give us many, though not all, the benefits of object-orientation in
allowing separately compiled modules which can be re-used in many
programs. Although these modules do not give inheritance, they do use
the fundamental principle of ‘information hiding’ with the calling
program only allowed access by the authorised route.
5.1
We must remember that there is no benefit for users in object-orienta
tion − or any other language feature − except in so far as they allow
the writing of better programs. Wearing my user, as opposed to my
enthusiast, hat I don’t care what language has been used to write the
programs that I use, so long as they do their job properly.
5.1
‘C++’ security
5.1
The other item, which has connections with what I have just written, is
a report in the current issue of “Computer Shopper” saying that the US
Department of Defence will not accept the ‘C++’ compiler for program
ming, because it is not sufficiently secure, and is insisting on the use
of ‘Ada’ instead. The objection seems to be the use of machine code
libraries which cannot be validated in the same way as the ‘Ada’
compiler even though it is very large.
5.1
If this objection is sustained. it has implications for all compilers
which allow machine-code extensions and will almost certainly exclude
all “WIMP” based programs unless compilers are rewritten to include the
windowing and multi-tasking extensions as integral parts of the
language.
5.1
Documentation revisited
5.1
Usually, when we talk about documentation problems, we are talking about
the instructions which come with a program we want to use. There is
another aspect of these problems which is the documentation maintained
by the programming team so that they know what is going on and why. The
problem isn’t just confined to amateurs; at work we have received
“corrections” from a software house which have cured the immediate
problem, but have reverted to an earlier problem because the wrong
version of the source program has been used.
5.1
A solution might be the “Squirrel” database (from Digital Services)
which I bought recently. As an ordinary database it is rather expensive
(£151.58) and it has limitations which will prevent it from being as
useful as it might be in general use. One important feature, though, is
that fields in the database can be files, of any type. This means that
it would be possible to create a database of modules with fields holding
the source code, the ‘aof’ file generated, the date of last compilation
and a text file giving reasons for the modifications made. (It also has
the incidental advantage of getting over the 77 file limit for a
directory.)
5.1
To use the ‘aof’ files for linking, it will be necessary to copy them
into an ordinary directory for the linker to find them but they can, and
should, be deleted again when linking is complete. As I said, it is
expensive as an ordinary database, but the cost would soon be recovered
if you could ensure that the correct version of the module is used every
time, and that a record of reasons for modifications − and testing
experience − can be kept with the code to which it applies.
5.1
“Squirrel” is produced by Digital Services Ltd of Portsmouth and I shall
persevere in trying to persuade them to eliminate some of the limita
tions because one thing the Archimedes needs is a really good
programmable database.  A
5.1

5.1
A3000 HardCard
5.1
Barry Thompson
5.1
I have just received one of those extremely compact SCSI HardCards which
has been designed especially for the A3000 computer by HCCS. The whole
device measures 18 cm front to back, 12 cm wide and 4.5 cm high, with a
protruding tongue which locates into the base of the computer.
5.1
The 12 volt power supply is obtained from a separate moulded mains plug
unit which has a flying lead that plugs into the back of the hardcard
via one of those miniature plugs that is usually seen plugged into a
telephone base. This plug can be modified in such a way that it would
require a small narrow bladed screwdriver to remove it. (Useful to avoid
sabotage in a school environment. Ed − an ex-teacher!)
5.1
In construction there is a sandwich which contains the NEC D8385 hard
drive at the top and the SCSI card at the bottom, component side down.
These two are separated by a thin insulating board which electrically
isolates the drive from the SCSI card.
5.1
The whole is surrounded by a sturdy metal case into which, on the right
hand side, is mounted what seems to be quite a powerful fan though it is
only just over an inch in diameter. This little device seems to keep the
hard disc case and card quite cool, even over long periods of use
5.1
The drive in use
5.1
After assembling the drive to the computer and plugging in the power
lead, all that is required of the user is to type in three simple
configuration commands (which are explained in the manual), press <Ctrl-
Break>, and verify the drive. The one that I have been using came
already formatted and there is 45M free space on the disc − a 100M
capacity disc is also available.
5.1
I have been able to do some comparative tests with a 45Mb Oak Worrawin
nie connected to the A3000, see below for details.
5.1
The tests were carried out by using Paul Beverley’s method, which
involves first a large data file writing test giving a speed in kbytes/
second and then transferring the contents of Application Disc 2 from one
directory to another. In this test approximately 420k of data contained
in 65 files is transferred. An ‘equivalent speed’ is then worked out
which makes it easier to compare the drives. It is simply 420k divided
by the time in seconds. All figures given are in kbytes/second.
5.1
                raw data rate          file
copy test
5.1
               HCCS   Worra     HCCS  Worra
5.1
Mode 0    451    659    21    44
5.1
Mode 15    436    659    21    40
5.1
Mode 21    291    55    17    18
5.1
The fact that the HCCS drive runs faster in mode 21 than the Oak drive
despite being 30% slower in modes 0 and 15 suggests that it has a larger
ram cache and so can “take up the slack” when the computer is busy
updating the screen. However, on the file copying test, which is a more
realistic test, the Worrawinnie is twice the speed in the lower modes
and catches up in mode 21. This is presumably because the HCCS SCSI
podule is 8 bit whereas the Oak podule is 16 bit.
5.1
Additional feature
5.1
Like most SCSI drives, this one has a socket on the back panel for daisy
chaining other devices. I can see this drive as a real boon to academic
staff who have an A3000 computer at home and want to use this data at
school/college. No lids to come off, just switch off the computer,
remove the power supply to the hardcard, remove the securing screws,
unplug the card, place in its original packaging and away you go. It
must be the A3000 owner’s answer to the removable hard drives that are
available! The cost is in the region of £410 inclusive of VAT. (If
anyone would like to discuss this drive then give me a call on
0332−690691.)  A
5.1

5.1
Small Ads
5.1
•    A3000 floppy interface inc switch to swap drives £22 inc p&p, A310 2M,
MEMC1a £600. Fitted with 20M hard drive £150 extra. Acorn monitor £100.
A3000 1M ram £35, A3000 User port / Midi £25. Phone 0780 −54537.
5.1
•    A310 colour, 4Mb RAM, 40Mb hard drive, ROM/RAM card with 96K RAM
battery backed. Acorn C Compiler Release 3, Programmer’s Reference
Manuals and Epson RX-80 printer £1000. Phone Mr Ball on 0258−480739.
5.1
•    Archway V2 £70, Powerband £10, Wimp Game £10, Pawn/Fish/Corruption
£15, Chocks Away 2 + Extra Missions £20, Saloon Cars £15, Worldscape
£10, Voltmace joystick £15, Break 147/ Superpool £15, Arcticulate £15.
Phone Mark on 0384−455066 5.30 − 7.30.
5.1
•    Ballarena £5, Terramex £3, Arc Pinball £7, Hostages £7, Interdictor II
£15, System Delta Plus II £35, Iron Lord £7. Phone 0233−629868 after 6.
5.1
•    Interdictor £9, Interdictor 2 £14, Wimp Game £9, Trivial Pursuit £9,
Superior Golf £9, boxed originals. Phone Chris on 0256−467574.
5.1
•    InterdictorII £17.50, Genesis £10, Conqueror £10, Flying Start II £12,
Pixel Perfect £10, ArcTrivia £10, RISC-OS Companion £12. Phone Barry on
0332−701969.
5.1
•    MultiStore II £180, Multipod digitiser/sampler £80 ono, E-Type £8,
Zarch £5, EMR Rhythm Box £15, Repton 3 £8, Terramex £5. Phone Jeremy on
061−483−2983,
5.1
•    Pace Series 4 external modem (2400S) V21/23/22/22bis, £150. Phone
Chris on 0271−850355 (evenings).
5.1
•    Scanlight Junior £100, and for 600dpi laser printing service telephone
Roy on 0263−70669.
5.1
•    Sony Magneto Optical Disc Units (NWP 559) £2500 inc VAT. Stephen
Jenkins, 081− 941−7899 (Fax −7895)
5.1
•    Swap − In exchange for video digitiser, I have Beebug A6 scanner
V1.03. Also E-Type £5, ET Designer £5, Arcendium £5, Olympics £5,
Powerband £8, Conqueror £8, Voltmace joystick £10, Watford 4-slot
backplane (2 layer) £15, Monitor swivel base £4. £60 the lot. Richard on
061−445−3369 after 6.
5.1
•    Techno-I digitiser with S-VHS upgrade, two weeks old, mint condition.
Cost £410, bargain at £300. Phone Iain Cameron on 0463−75251.
5.1
•    Tuition wanted for someone trying to use PipeDream in the Norfolk
area. One afternoon or evening a week during the winter months would be
fine. Preferably someone who can teach rather than a computer whizz-kid.
Contact Tom Beevor on 095387−306.
5.1
•    Wanted A3000 users to swap hints, tips, ideas, PD software etc. Dave
Burnett, 135 Park Road, Enfield, Middlesex EN3 6LN.
5.1
Charity Sales − The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money − ring us on 0603−766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
5.1
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
5.1
A440 computer (yes, a complete A440 computer with 20M drive − Tandon and
not Western Digital!) offers i.r.o. £500 (the price has come down
because we got no offers last month and the coming of the A5000 has
dropped the secondhand prices. Our engineer has checked it and it is in
good working order though we cannot, of course, offer any guarantee.
5.1
User Guides £1 + £3 postage, ArcWriter £3, DT-Talk £10, Acorn & RISC-OS
book £7, Assembly Lang book & disc £12, PipeMania £12, Archway 2 £45,
UIM £12, E-Type £8, ArcPinBall £12, Boogie Buggie £14, Interdictor 1 £9,
TwinWorld £10, Inertia £8, Man at Arms £9, CIS Utilities £8, Conqueror
£10, Magic Modem £40.  A
5.1

5.1
Help!!!!
5.1
•    Disabled Users − Tim Saxton, one of our contributors, is considering a
career change into working with computers to help disabled people. He
would be interested to hear from anyone with advice, ideas, unfulfilled
needs etc − either disabled users or those working with disabled users.
Contact him at Rock Farm House, 3 Acres Road, Bebbington, Wirral, L63
7QD or ring him on 051−645−7490.
5.1
•    Impression and !Chars. The utility !Chars is used mainly to enter “top
bit set” characters into documents. However it is also useful for
entering mathematical symbols, dingbats etc. It is tedious in this case,
after having “clicked” on the required character, to have to select the
correct font. A modified version of !Chars which entered the font
information (in Impression Document Description Format) as well as the
character code would be most useful. In fact Computer Concepts’ Equasor
has a such a utility, integrated with the rest of the program. Brian
Cowan
5.1
•    Outline font bending? − How about a simple program to transform
outline fonts, for example making it bold or oblique? This would be very
useful in extending the potential of ones collection of fonts. Brian
Cowan
5.1
•    PC Emulator compatibility list − Some long while ago, John Eden did an
excellent job compiling a list of those programs that worked on the
(old) PC Emulator. With the advent of the new PC Emulator, it would be
good to create such a list again. Would anyone be prepared to be the
coordinator? In the meantime, if you would like to send your reports in
to us at N.C.S., just tell us which version numbers of which bits of MS-
DOS software work correctly and we will pass it all on to whoever wants
to volunteer to co-ordinate it.
5.1
•    PD Software − There is now something of a proliferation of PD software
suppliers, some of better quality than others. There are some very good
programs around and there are some which are not worth the discs they
are copied onto.
5.1
The trouble is, how do you find the good programs? Our idea is to use
the Archive network. In other words, if you find a program that is
really worth having, if you tell us, we can tell the rest of the
subscribers.
5.1
David Holden has agreed to help by being the link person. So, if you
have a PD program that is really good, send information about it to
David, telling him which PD library it came from and he will compile
something for the magazine. So send your information (and the program as
well, if you like − but don’t expect David to mail the disc back to you
− he’s doing this voluntarily!) to David Holden, 39 Knighton Park Road,
Sydenham, London SE26 5RN.
5.1
•    Viruses? − While I was away on holiday I read an article in the
International Herald Tribune with the headline “Computer ‘Creature’
Mutates and Wows Scientists”. The substance of the article was an
account of recent research by a Dr. Thomas S. Ray, a plant biologist at
the University of Delaware. Although I may be wrong, my inference is
that this is something like John Conway’s “Life” program. However with
this new program, called “Tierra”, creatures can evolve and develop
features to preserve their existence. This is supposed to demonstrate
Darwinian evolution in operation. I have searched the literature for
further information, but so far I have drawn a blank. Does anyone know
anything about Tierra? Brian Cowan  A
5.1

5.1
Hardware Column
5.1
Brian Cowan
5.1
Regular readers of this column may well have got the idea that I am
obsessed with DOS. Many column-inches have been devoted to discussions
of possible DOS cards and, recently, the new PC emulator has excited my
interest. Although I protest that my interest in DOS is quite minimal,
this month’s topics again have a DOS connection.
5.1
PC podule
5.1
Yes, I have some firm news about a DOS card to be marketed by one of the
quality Archimedes third party manufacturers. Aleph One are working on a
386SX card which should be ready for demonstration at the Acorn User
Show. The SX version of the 386 has a sixteen bit external data bus,
ideal for interfacing in an ordinary podule. The CPU will run at 20 MHz,
although faster versions should become available.
5.1
Features
5.1
The card also promises to provide full VGA graphics (rather than the
EGA+ of the emulator), a true bidirectional PC printer port and a serial
port. There will be a socket for a 387 maths coprocessor chip if
required. Unfortunately, at this stage, there is no expansion slot,
which is very sad. As yet no price has been fixed − “below £600” is the
official statement. One Mbyte of RAM will be supplied as standard, but I
understand that it will be possible, by replacing the RAM chips, to have
4 Mbytes.
5.1
My interest in 4Mbytes of RAM is to be able to run the DOS version of
Mathematica but really, 4 Mbytes devoted to DOS is an incredible
extravagance. The clever thing would be to be able to use the RAM of the
DOS card as a RAM disc when DOS is not running. I believe a similar idea
was mooted for the RAM of the BBC Master 512 card, but I don’t know if
it was ever implemented.
5.1
At least one other company is working on a DOS card, probably using a
286 processor. However, I have no information on that product. But I am
pretty sure that both cards will be well-integrated with the new version
of Acorn’s PC emulator. They will hook into the emulator’s multitasking
windowing code. So, for the user, these products can be regarded
essentially as “hardware accelerators” for the PC emulator.
5.1
More on the PC Emulator
5.1
Last month I gave my first impressions on the latest version of the PC
emulator. While still not giving a review of that product, I have some
more observations and comments which, I think, deserve to be mentioned.
5.1
The emulator uses a configuration file when it runs. This specifies such
things as the location of any hard disc DOS partitions and the type of
graphics emulation required. The configuration file can also contain a
sequence of commands which are executed when the emulator is run.
5.1
The clever thing is that the emulator, together with a given configura
tion, can be installed by clicking on the relevant configuration file.
So a given DOS program can have its own configuration file, with
commands to run the program, the appropriate graphics adaptor specified
together with the correct hard disc partition(s).
5.1
The configuration file can be given the name of the DOS program, and
then clicking on the file will “install the program on the icon bar”
(with the emulator icon) as if it were a straightforward RISC-OS
application; the user need not even be aware of the DOS environment. It
would have been even better with a facility to run the program directly
rather than just install it but, nevertheless, well-done Acorn!
5.1
While on the subject of configuration files, I must correct a slightly
misleading comment from last month. While it is true that the configura
tion file, together with its associated software can support up to four
hard disc partitions, it should be remembered that Acorn’s current
version of MS-DOS (DOS 3.3) will only recognise two partitions while
running. DOS 5 will support four partitions and I think Acorn are
planning on switching to this soon. (I hear that some people already
have DOS 5 running under the emulator. Can anyone confirm this? Ed.)
5.1
Emulated hardware
5.1
The manual which accompanies the PC emulator gives some interesting
technical information. We are told precisely what hardware is being
emulated. The CPU is supposed to be an Intel 80188 chip. Then there’s an
8087 maths coprocessor, an 8259 interrupt controller chip and an 8253
timer chip. DMA (direct memory access) is provided by emulating an 8237,
while I/O uses an 8255 for both sound and the keyboard, with 8250 for
the serial interface.
5.1
80188 CPU?
5.1
So what is an 80188? The original PC CPU chips were the 8086 and the
8088. These were identical except that, while the 8086 had a sixteen bit
external data bus, the 8088 only had an eight bit external data bus.
Internally, the data bus was sixteen bits wide in both. In making the
usual boring PC from these chips, there was a considerable amount of
support circuitry required. The 8018(8/6) was essentially an 808(8/6)
with much of the support circuitry provided on-chip. Some minor CPU
enhancements were also added but, at the object code level, the chips
were supposed to be compatible with the older original CPUs.
5.1
New machines?
5.1
My understanding is that Acorn will be abandoning the ST506 interface
standard for hard discs. SCSI will remain for the “posh” machines while
IDE will be adopted for the lower end models. It goes without saying
that floppy disc drives will be the high capacity type.
5.1
There is a super fantastic chip which provides almost all the I/O one
could decently desire. That includes driving the floppy disc drive (high
density), hard disc drive (IDE), serial port at amazingly high speeds
and a bi-directional printer port. This sort of device will bring the
chip count of any new Archimedes down, whilst, at the same time,
providing enhanced performance. Unfortunately, things like dongles will
not work with the different printer port hardware.
5.1
The October issue of BBC Acorn User contains an “exclusive” rumour about
such a new machine, with an ARM3, pitched between the A3000 and the
Archimedes 540. DOS compatibility and the business market seem to be
important considerations. While BAU speculates on various bundled
packages, including DTP and PC emulator, thinking along these lines, I
am sure that an Archimedes (or even an A3000) bundled with an Aleph One
DOS card would be a highly desirable and competitive product. How about
it Acorn?
5.1
Floppy disc drive upgrade
5.1
You may have seen some publicity for a high density floppy disc drive
upgrade from Arxe Systems Ltd. This looks to be quite an exciting
product. The upgrade will consist of a replacement (high density) disc
drive together with a half width podule. The main features of the
product will be provision of a 1.6Mbyte ADFS format and the DOS 1.44
Mbyte format (using MultiFS 2). Later on, there should be a software
product to access Mac discs as well.
5.1
There are other features of this disc drive system which might not be so
apparent. The disc controller chip is one of the newer types with many
integrated features. Thus, formatting a disc and reading disc files into
RAM will use the minimum of CPU effort (unlike the situation with the
old 1772 disc drive controller). This means that even with the old 800k
format, the new drive will be a considerable improvement.
5.1
The disc controller chip can also support the higher density (4 Mbytes
unformatted) drives. At present, the drives are too expensive and not
terribly reliable but, at the right time, upgrading to these will be
simple.  A
5.1

5.1
Nature Clip Art Pack
5.1
Peter Jennings
5.1
Clip art has become something of a boom industry for the Archimedes in
the wake of all the DTP programs which have appeared. One of the
companies playing a leading part in providing sets of illustrations is
Micro Studio who now have 19 packs of Paint and Draw files, some in
colour, in their graphics library. Prices, some of them introductory,
range from £17.25 to £29.95 including VAT and postage.
5.1
Animals and natural history are strongly represented, with World
Wildlife and Pre-Historic Animals now joined by a two-disc Nature pack,
version 1.00. The discs come in a video-type case without a printed
manual and, although one is not needed, its absence does leave the case
strangely empty.
5.1
Wildlife and plants
5.1
The discs are not numbered and just have label pictures showing two
insects and a leaf respectively, to identify them as “Wildlife” and
“Plant Life”. Both have a ReadMe file which indicates that the Wildlife
disc is number one and contains the main program for viewing the
pictures. These are displayed in Magpie “binders” and a Magpie browser
is supplied for them. Clicking on the title page leads to an index of
the drawings, grouped under subjects. Clicking on an arrow beside each
name takes you to the page where the drawing can be found.
5.1
The Wildlife disc has seven pages of pictures in five categories. These
are, in order of size: Birds (18), Insects (14), Reptiles etc (6), Fish
(5) and Animals (3). The three animals are badger, watervole and
woodmouse, which has two illustrations. The number of animals is
surprisingly small but others have already been issued in the World
Wildlife pack.
5.1
The Plant Life disc has just two categories: Trees (23) and Plants (7).
There are 33 pages, plus the index, 27 of tree details (leaves, flowers,
fruits), five of tree shapes and one of plants; again rather a dispro
portionate mix.
5.1
The pages can all be printed out to produce a full, illustrated,
catalogue and any picture can be copied onto another disc or direct into
an application by clicking on it to produce a save box. Although the box
shows a Paint icon, the pictures can be saved as either Paint or Draw
files by dragging them to the appropriate application window.
5.1
There is an invitation on one of the discs to copy a form onto a blank
disc and send it to Micro Studio to be held for future free updates.
5.1
Clip art packages all have their limitations. Obviously, the subject of
this one is too wide to include illustrations of everything in nature
you may require. The small number of animals has already been mentioned
and there is, for example, only a single drawing of a spider. These come
in so many shapes that a similar sized pack could be filled with spiders
alone.
5.1
Do you need it?
5.1
The Nature pack costs £19.95 at its introductory price, which may seem
expensive for two discs with fairly simple drawings of 76 subjects.
However, there must be a very limited market, confined almost entirely
to DTP users and schools, for packages of this type. This means they can
not be sold as cheaply as more popular programs, despite competition
from public domain libraries.
5.1
This is a package which will either be of no use to you or you will need
very much, and would be happy to buy at almost any price, to save a good
deal of work and to provide a professional standard of artistic
skill.  A
5.1

5.1
Comment Column
5.1
•    Emulators/Software − The advent of the multitasking PC Emulator brings
into focus the question of good software. Suppose you have a choice
between an Archimedes non-multitasking program and a PC program to do
the same job: which do you choose, supposing they work the same and cost
the same? Answer, the PC version, because it now multi-tasks. The
writing is really on the wall for old-fashioned programs, and even
proper RISC-OS programs need to be at least as good as their PC
competitors. We do have a reasonable quantity of really good software
but not a wide range compared with the PC and Mac, and now the standards
for even small-user-base software are that much higher. I am not sure if
this is going to be a good thing, as it may put off authors. If the
applications do come forward, then it is a very good thing!
5.1
Mike Hobart, Cambridge.
5.1
• Public Domain libraries The growth in public domain software for the
Archimedes has been phenomenal over the past 18 months. Public Domain or
PD software is very cheap software written by programmers voluntary so
no profit is made. It was very prolific on the Amiga but did not really
start on the Archimedes until RISC-OS appeared. When I first got my
A3000 and started subscribing to Archive in March 1990, the amount of PD
for the machine was small. Started by pioneers such as Norwich Computer
Services and Alexander Goh (alias Sandie the Walrus) the PD libraries
have sprung up. Although poor quality programs have appeared on many
discs from many libraries, some useful utilities can be acquired − as
shown, for example by the review of DrawPlus (Careware 13) in Archive
4.9 p19.
5.1
Many pieces of PD software are too valuable to be without − some are
nearly up to commercial standard. For DTP enthusiasts, apart from the
excellent DrawPlus, John Kortink’s !Translator (Careware 13 or Shareware
32) is a extremely useful, converting foreign picture formats into
sprites for use in DTP. Some libraries also have a great variety of line
and clipart, and I notice that some outline fonts are appearing in the
Public Domain. Those who cannot warrant the expense of Lingenuity’s
Presenter 2 or Minerva’s GraphBox, will welcome !ChartDraw (Careware 5)
which, although only having a few features, draws graphs well and they
can be saved in Draw format.
5.1
For music enthusiasts, the ubiquitous Soundtracker by Hugo Fiennes is an
important piece of software. It plays very impressive tunes ported from
the Amiga and there are vast banks of these tunes available.
5.1
Unlike other types of programs, games seem to be under represented in
the PD world and those which exist tend to be of poor quality. However,
a few are worth having, such as Ballroom Blitz (Shareware 24), in my
opinion the best PD shoot-em-up, and YAIG (Shareware 16) which is
another fast invaders game. For the people who prefer slower relaxation
a ray traced version of Hangman exists (Careware 6), not to mention a
plethora of small desktop games such as Battleships (Shareware 18 &
Shareware 20).
5.1
PD really comes into its own in the field of small applications and
utilities. !PCDir (Careware 7), an excellent MS-DOS disc manipulator, is
a perfect complement to the PC Emulator, and numerous utilities for ADFS
hard and floppy discs are available. !Format, a simple truly multitask
ing disc formatter is the most useful, but for hard disc users, !Menon
(Shareware 38) is ideal to escape trudging through endless directory
structures.
5.1
For the mathematically minded, there are some really powerful fractal/
Mandelbrot generators around, and a Norwegian application called !3D-
Graph (Shareware 36) can plot equations, manipulate them and print them
out − almost commercial quality.
5.1
Demos and novelties are very common − these tend to be written by bored
programmers wanting to show off. Some of the best come from the
continent, !Cubitus is a cute animation from Bavaria and NoahDemo3
(Careware 5) is an excellent German effort. However, the golden demo
award must go to the Norwegian Brothers In Arm − if you haven’t got one
of their demos, get one, it really shows what the Archimedes can do (I
recommend !ARMScroll).
5.1
The world of the Public Domain is well worth exploring, but some words
of warning. Firstly, Public Domain is virtually free, so be prepared to
take the rough with the smooth. Some programs are excellent but some you
would not give disc room. The only PD source that I know of that selects
only the good programs for its discs is Norwich Computer Services (who
publish Archive), whose Shareware and Careware discs are good but, some
may say, a little expensive (I don’t think £3 is expensive!).
5.1
Secondly, do not expect outline fonts to be of high standard − if they
were good they would sell them at a much higher price, so only really
use them for headings. Thirdly, some unscrupulous libraries do not fill
their discs up. I do not see any point in this as it is only money-
orientated, and no one should make any profit out of PD.
5.1
Finally, keep an eye out for viruses − the situation is as yet not
serious but it could get worse.
5.1
The variety of discs and the number of libraries is confusing, so I
recommend to only use one or two − using too many you may find yourself
duplicating programs. Prices vary from £6 for the very best disc full of
programs (these are the Careware discs from NCS and, as all the profit
goes to charity, are a bit of an exception) down to 50p from some
libraries, if you send a blank formatted disc. Most of the programs I
have mention are available from most PD libraries so send an SAE to a
couple of the following for their PD catalogues.
5.1
Norwich Computer Services (Archive) − address on back page.
5.1
APDL    96 Lanehouse Road, Thornaby, Cleveland.
5.1
Arch PD    109 Ferry Road, Hullbridge, Hockley, Essex SS5 6EL
5.1
Cotswold PD    391 Cromer Road, Hellesdon, Norwich NR6 6LX
5.1
Telstar PD,    40 Alderbrook Close, Rolleston, Staffs. DE13 9AH
5.1
A more comprehensive list of libraries is on the monthly magazine disc
as a text file.
5.1
E. Hollox, Holt
5.1
•    Upgrading the PC Emulator − Before I start, I would like to point out
that I view the PC Emulator as an excellent piece of software and one
that most Archimedes users should seriously consider owning. These
comments relate to my experiences upgrading from an early version to
1.6, the multi-tasking version.
5.1
After having read the news about the new version of the emulator, I
quickly posted by discs and money to Acorn Direct and received my
upgraded version from them after three weeks. What I had been hoping to
emulate was a PC with EGA graphics and MS-DOS 3.3. However, this was not
to be.
5.1
The first disappointment came when I read the accompanying letter which
revealed that upgrades do not come with MS-DOS versions 3.3 and you are
stuck with version 3.21. This annoyed me, although not much, since 3.3
offers little advantage over 3.21. What was far more annoying was the
statement on page 25 of the manual saying that MS-DOS 3.21 had been
“briefly tested with the PC Emulator”. (I gather that 3.3 supports 1.44M
floppies whereas 3.21 doesn’t so A5000 owners may well want to look to
getting the MS-DOS updated. Ed.)
5.1
I then came to look at the emulator itself. There are two versions of
the emulator supplied, one for owners of 1Mbyte machines and one for
those with 2Mbyte or more of RAM. Now I suspect that there are still a
lot of Archimedes owners who have, like me, still only got 1Mbyte. This
limits you to !PCEms, the single tasking CGA version.
5.1
For those of you who do not know, CGA is a PC graphics standard which
basically allows 4 colours. EGA, EGA+ and MDA, (all of which are on the
2MB+ version) are better graphics standards. CGA is limited, to say the
least, and the ability to run in an EGA mode was perhaps my main reason
for upgrading. It was therefore a disappointment to find myself still
stuck with the same graphics as the previous versions.
5.1
Actually, the CGA emulation is slightly different. This becomes evident
when you first load in the new emulator and see a larger screen.
Unfortunately, it does not seem to be as good an emulation as old one. I
tried to run a game under the emulator that uses various tricks to get
different grey shades out of the CGA screen. It had worked fine under
the old emulator but, for some reason, instead of black and white I was
getting white with a mixture of cyan and magenta. The manual does,
however, state that the new CGA emulation may not work on all monitors
and even suggests a cure − a cure which, sadly, failed to correct this
problem.
5.1
I then tried to load a piece of copy protected software from disc. Now,
I accept that some disc based copy protection schemes will beat the
emulator, and I have encountered several pieces of software that I was
unable to use because of this. What surprised me was that this particu
lar software failed to load, even though it had previously worked fine
with my old version of the emulator.
5.1
The new version of the PC Emulator boasts that it now emulates a maths
co-processor and that this gives a speed increase of 14 with floating
point mathematics. Do not be fooled into thinking that this will mean
the emulator as a whole runs faster. According to Norton’s SI (a
standard speed check), the emulator was now only running at 90% of the
speed it ran at under the old emulator. I was running this without the
ARM 3 upgrade and I can only assume that the new code has been written
in such a way that it is more efficient for ARM 3 users. While speeding
it up for them, it has slowed it down for the rest of us. However, this
is only speculation − it may run slower on their machines as well for
all I know.
5.1
I did encounter one or two very minor advantages to the new emulator.
Firstly, I was able to use the mouse and it worked fine on every program
I checked. !PCEms can also be configured in such a way that you can now
return to the desktop from the emulator. Alternatively, you can
configure it so that you are unable to return and this gives you a bit
more memory to play around with, although fractionally less than was
available with the old emulator. Sound has also been improved to a
bearable level, although if you configure the emulator to run so it
cannot return to the desktop, you do not get the full available sound
due to one of the vital sound modules being unplugged. The Emulator
should also now work with CD-ROMs.
5.1
The manual is a great improvement over the last pitiful attempt and it
includes some useful details, like how to connect up to a modem or
another PC/Archimedes. My only criticism of the manual is that it still
says far too little about MS-DOS itself. Actual installation was easy
and there were no problems in accessing previously created hard disc
partitions or creating new ones. An extra utility is also supplied for
transferring files between MS-DOS and Archimedes formatted discs.
5.1
Overall, the latest version of the emulator is simply not worth
upgrading to unless you have 2Mbytes or more, or you desperately need to
be running a PC with a maths co-processor. If the latest version runs
faster than the older version under ARM 3, it is probably also worth
upgrading but you would have to check first to see if this is the case.
If you have 2Mbyte+, you should upgrade as soon as possible, if only for
the enhanced graphics that will be available to you.
5.1
Richard Forster, Altrincham.   A
5.1

5.1
DataKing Plus and DataKing Plus Junior
5.1
Dave Morrell
5.1
In Archive 4.7 p46, I reviewed DataKing, an educational database. That
version, although very good, was not a true RISC-OS program. DataKing
Plus is a fully multitasking, RISC-OS program complete with its own file
type for datafiles. It is also written in ‘C’ rather than in Basic.
5.1
The version I am using is 1.01 − a slight pre-release version. i.e.
there are a few minor changes still to be made to it. The manual comes
on disc at the moment as both an Impression document and as a text file.
When the final version is complete a full printed manual will be
available.
5.1
Once loaded, the DataKing icon sits on the icon bar and seems to happily
interface with any program I have tried it with. The icon bar menu
contains five entries: Info which gives the usual information about the
program the author and the user etc, New File which is fairly obvious,
DataKing Plus Junior which is a simplified version of DataKing Plus for
use by younger children, DataKing Plus which is the full version of the
program and Quit which, again, is obvious.
5.1
You can select which version of the software is used, the full version
or Junior and this decides what happens when you click <select> on the
DataKing icon or when a DataKing file is double clicked. All previous
DataKing files are compatible with DataKing Plus.
5.1
DataKing Plus
5.1
When creating a new datafile, a window comes up containing a set of
video recorder type controls in the top right hand corner, “Record
Number:  x of y” in the top left hand corner and a blank field A. The
field is grey and clicking on it changes the colour to light blue and a
grey caret appears at the left hand end. The field name is typed in and
if <return> is pressed, field B appears with the caret inside it. Field
B name is then typed in and so on. It is very easy, much quicker to do
than to explain. Once the empty database is set up, data entry is just
as fast. Clicking to the right of the first field produces the usual red
caret and the data can be typed in immediately. Data can be string or
numerical data.
5.1
The other way to set up the fields is to click with <select> as the
mouse pointer is dragged down the window.
5.1
Menus
5.1
If the menu button is clicked over the datafile window a five option
menu appears. These are as follows:-
5.1
Info gives information on the file in use. i.e. number of records and
fields and the total size of data in the file.
5.1
Charts leads to a graphical submenu of the different charts that the
program will produce.
5.1
Workshop leads to a submenu containing four entries, Print, Search, Sort
and Statistics which in turn lead to further submenus.
5.1
Edit leads to another submenu containing four options.
5.1
Save allows you to save the data in either DataKing format or CSV
format.
5.1
Graphical output
5.1
The ‘Charts’ menu contains twelve different types of chart for display
ing data. They are grouped in four sets of three. The first set deals
with the manipulation of raw data. You can produce a single field bar
chart of one field in each record of the datafile, a multi-field bar
chart of two or more fields from each record in the datafile with each
record having two or more bars side by side or a summative bar chart of
two or more fields but this time the fields sit one on top of the other
giving a combined height for the bar.
5.1
The next three give the same three bar charts but this time as a
percentage of the totals for the fields rather than just raw data.
5.1
Chart seven gives a comparative line graph of two or more fields from
each record with each field represented by a different colour.
5.1
Chart eight gives an X − Y Line graph showing the correlation between
any two fields.
5.1
Chart nine gives a frequency distribution of various data expressed as a
bar chart.
5.1
Chart ten gives a percentage comparative line graph between two fields.
5.1
Chart eleven gives a scattergram, with a line of best fit, showing the
correlation between two fields.
5.1
Chart twelve does the same as chart nine but expresses the data as a pie
chart.
5.1
All the charts can be saved as Draw files for use in DTP packages etc.
All the bar charts can be produced as colour filled charts or as outline
charts for children to colour in themselves.
5.1
Printing
5.1
The ‘Workshop’ menu contains four entries. Print has three further
submenus for formatting the printout. All the print options work on the
whole datafile unless a search has been applied, in which case, only the
‘found’ records will be printed.
5.1
The first is ‘Line’ which prints out each selected field of a record on
a separate line and, if required, will put a blank line between each
record.
5.1
The second is ‘Column’ which prints out a tabular set of data, again
with each record separated by a blank line.
5.1
The third is ‘Label’. This prints out all the data from a record on to
one label. The number of lines per label can be specified but only
single labels seem to be supported. I use an H.P. DeskJet and my labels
are either two or three across. I would like to see this supported as I
know several schools in my local authority now use laser or inkjet
printers.
5.1
The program itself does not seem to be printer dependent and printed
most things on my DeskJet. I would have preferred the program to use the
RISC-OS drivers or give an option for changing the printer commands. On
all the print options there is an option to use condensed print. This
did not work on the DeskJet but gave me a nice smiling face at the
beginning of the printing.
5.1
Searching
5.1
There are two types of search − simple or complex.
5.1
The simple search allows you to search for an item containing or not
containing a word or part of a word, or containing a number equal to,
less than or greater than a specified number. It searches one specified
field through all the records in the datafile.
5.1
The complex search allows a search for a match or not-match of a search
string, including or not-including a search string, values equal or not-
equal to a specified value, values less than or greater than a specified
value or values less than or equal to or greater than or equal to a
specified value on up to three fields per record.
5.1
Normal numerical values are recognised but a numerical value such as
£1.54 will not be recognised as it begins with a non-numerical charac
ter. Also, a number such as 10,000 will be recognised only as 10 because
‘,’ is not a numerical character. I think that this could lead to
problems with younger children. A possible better solution might have
been to specify either numerical or string data when the database was
first set up and then ignore any non-numerical characters in a numerical
field. This, of course, would introduce another complication for younger
users. As DataKing’s design brief was for ease of setting up and data
entry I can understand why this was done.
5.1
Sorting
5.1
The third item in the workshop menu is a sort facility. Records can be
sorted on up to three fields either numerically or alphabetically, in
ascending or descending order. One of the things I liked particularly
about DataKing1 was its speed. DataKing Plus is slightly slower in its
searching but it is a lot slower when sorting. When sorting the
‘Placenames’ file converted from ‘Key’ into alphabetical order of names,
DataKing took about 1½ minutes including writing the new file to disc.
DataKing Plus took 19½ minutes including sorting the file in memory but
not writing to disc. Writing to disc is done in the normal RISC-OS
manner. Files probably will not need sorting very often so I could live
with this but it was a bit of a disappointment.
5.1
Statistics
5.1
The final option on the workshop menu is statistics. This will give the
total, mean and standard deviation of a selected field.
5.1
Editing data
5.1
The Edit menu contains four options. The first is Advanced Editor. This
leads to another menu containing six entries. The first four are self-
explanatory, Go to record, Insert record, Delete record and Delete
field. Adding a field is done by selecting the last fieldname on any
record and pressing <Return>. Another field appears underneath and is
repeated throughout the datafile. This needs to be done carefully as the
auto repeat on the Return key could add too many fields. To add another
record to the datafile select the last item of data in the last record
and press <Return> or place the mouse arrow under the last field and
press <Select>. Another blank record is added to the end.
5.1
The fifth option is Auto Entry. This sets up the Return key to move to
the same field in the next record when editing or adding data rather
than to the next field in the same record.
5.1
The last entry is Copy. This will copy a selected field throughout a
specified number of records. i.e. If we were making an address database
of a class of children then the town and county fields could be entered
into the first record and copied throughout the rest. This could be a
tremendous time saver when you consider the typing speed of most
children (and some adults).
5.1
The next item on the edit menu is ‘Fast Data’. This is another time
saver for data entry. If you are entering data into a database and some
of the fields have entries coming from only a small choice, this choice
can be entered into the Fast Data option whilst the field is high
lighted. When entering data into that field afterwards, clicking on the
menu button brings up the standard DataKing menu with the fast data
options listed underneath. Clicking <Select> on one of these options
places it into the datafield.
5.1
The last two options on the edit menu are parts of the same facility.
Using the ‘Define as Function’ option, one field can be defined as a
function of one or more other fields and clicking on ‘Calculate’ will
change the function in that field to a numerical value. This works in a
similar way to the ‘Calculator’ function in DataKing.
5.1
Saving data
5.1
DataKing Plus will save data as its own files or as CSV files to be
loaded into other application, not necessarily databases. It will also
accept CSV files from other applications by dragging the CSV file to the
icon on the icon bar. This was not explained in the temporary documenta
tion and was found by trial and error. I loaded in a large file that had
been saved from PipeDream as CSV and the load time was fast.
5.1
DataKing Plus Junior
5.1
DataKing Plus Junior is a cut down version of the program designed to be
used by younger children. The main menu has only four options, Info,
Charts, Workshop and Save.
5.1
Info gives the same information as the full program whereas the charts
menu has only four options. There are bar charts for single or multiple
fields or for frequency distribution and a pie chart for frequency
distribution. This makes it much easier for younger children to make a
choice. Again the charts can be colour filled or outlined for own
colouring.
5.1
Workshop is limited to three options.
5.1
Print will only print the datafile record by record as it appears on
screen with a line between each record and Search will search the
datafile either alphabetically or numerically. The alphabetical searches
are for word or not word finds and works for whole words or part words.
The numerical searches are for less than, equal to or greater than a
specified number. The searches are simple searches, i.e. only work on a
single pre-chosen field at a time.
5.1
Sort will sort on up to three fields, alphabetically or numerically in
ascending or descending order. As with DataKing Plus, the sort seems to
slow exponentially with the addition of data. I am not a programmer and
have been told that in order to gain the flexibility and ease of data
entry there was a loss of speed on the sort routine. DataKing does get
there in the end though and I am fairly happy to accept the slow sort
speed because of the ease of data entry.
5.1
Conclusions
5.1
In use, I found DataKing Plus to be as easy as the original DataKing.
Data entry is very easy, setting up a new datafile is simplicity itself,
searching data is quite fast though not as fast as the original, sorting
is very slow but may not need doing very often and graphic output is
excellent and is everything most schools would need.
5.1
I would recommend this for most school use provided the datafile does
not need sorting very often as this could be very time consuming.
5.1
For a home database, I would like to see a more flexible label printing
facility and some way of changing the few printer codes that are used.
5.1
Improvements in final version
5.1
Several improvement have been made to the software since this version
was issued: When saving a file, an overwrite message is now given if a
file of the same name already exists. ArcLaser and Laser Direct printers
are now fully interfaced. When a field is set up as a function, it now
shows up in red rather than blue when selected. On screen the record
number and, if it is on, the ‘search on’ message now appear below the
tape recorder style icons on the top right. They now remain there when
the window is scrolled so they are always in view. When printing out in
column format, the left hand column, the first record, is now left
justified. All the others remain right justified. On the graphics side
the ‘line of best fit’ on the scattergram is now optional as many
teachers preferred their pupils to put in their own line.
5.1
At the moment, there is no intention to change the label printing
facility to cope with two or three labels across a sheet.
5.1
It is also a bit difficult to set up a printer configuration file to
cope with non-Epson standard printers. To get condensed print on a
printer such as the DeskJet, set the printer up for condensed print and
then print out as normal.
5.1
DataKing Plus is available from Shenley Software at £59 +VAT or from
Archive at £64. Prices include a site licence.  A
5.1

5.1
Capsoft Disc Number Two
5.1
John Schild
5.1
Capsoft Disc 2 is the second offering from Barry Thompson − an 800k disc
crammed full of Draw files. There are drawn fonts for poster and display
purposes and frame borders for use in DTP applications. Having spent
some time exploring its contents, my verdict is very quickly stated:
Impression 2 users who ever have a need to put a decorative border
around a frame should certainly buy a copy without delay. Users of other
DTP applications should seriously consider doing so.
5.1
The contents of this excellent disc have been prepared using !DrawPlus
and are presented in Draw format. Graphic and artistic quality is
consistently high. The file directories are arranged as follows:
5.1
Complete borders
5.1
A “borders” directory contains some 40 ready assembled borders designed
for A5 reproduction, but a helpful paragraph in the Readme file offers
stage by stage instructions for re-scaling to other sizes. These may be
used in any graphics application but a timely warning is given that some
of the lines might prove too thin for the comfort of Acorn DTP.
5.1
Impression borders
5.1
21 different styles of Impression borders are offered, all ready to drop
into the borders set-up routine. To meet the needs of different sized
frames, they are presented in several different proportions, a total of
something over 60 borders. A drawfile is included as a visual index to
the border designs.
5.1
I recall that when reviewing the earlier Capsoft disc I asked “How do
you prevent black frames looking funereal?” Mr Thompson’s response is
highly effective: you employ multiple thin lines. The almost delicate
tracery style of some of the Capsoft 2 frames is most attractive and
entirely free from the Funeral Director’s influence. This is the most
imaginative set of Impression borders so far encountered.
5.1
Drawn fonts
5.1
A fonts directory contains a number of striking and attractive alphanum
eric characters designed for headings and posters, and the Readme file
offers useful guidance on the use of DrawPlus to assemble these into
headings etc. As they stand, these are of limited value and Mr Thompson
could usefully consider assembling them into outline fonts accessible
from the keyboard.
5.1
Capsoft 2 may be obtained on payment of £9.00 by cheque payable to B. J.
Thompson at Capsoft Computer Services.  A
5.1

5.1
Competition Corner
5.1
Colin Singleton
5.1
We have a collection of Calendar Trivia this month. Some of my regular
correspondents may well say this is too easy. Perhaps we will see some
new names in the postbag.
5.1
Firstly, Friday the Thirteenth. There was one in September − one of two
this year. What is the largest possible number of Fridays the Thirteenth
in a year? And the smallest?
5.1
Is the thirteenth more likely to be a Friday than any other day of the
week? More specifically, in what proportion of months, in the long term,
does the thirteenth fall on a Friday? What are the proportions for the
other days of the week?
5.1
Secondly, Bank Holiday Monday. For non-English readers, I must explain
that there are eight English Bank Holidays in the year. These are New
Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the first and last Mondays in
May and the last Monday in August, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. If any
of the Christmas/ New Year dates falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the
official Bank Holiday is on the nearest available Friday or Monday
(occasionally Tuesday).
5.1
What is the largest number of Bank Holiday Mondays in a calendar year?
In the long term, in what proportion of years does this happen?
5.1
Repeat for every other day of the week.
5.1
Don’t forget the Gregorian Century Leap Year rule. A year divisible by
100 is only a Leap Year if it is divisible by 400.
5.1
Entries and comments please, either via Paul at NCS, or direct to me at
41 St Quentin Drive, Sheffield S17 4PN.
5.1
P.S. My apologies for an unfortunate error in last month’s puzzle, Prime
Gaps. The prime associated with the longest known gap certainly does
exceed 215, but I meant to say that it exceeds 1015. Sorry if you were
confused.  A
5.1

5.1
The winner of the August competition is Paul Skirrow of Ipswich with his
caption: “This ARM3 sure helps the allegro passages!” but we have given
a runner-up prize to Mr A. Shooter of Dunedin, New Zealand for “My name
ain’t Sam!”. Unfortunately, these were the only two entrants!
5.1
I have asked Colin if he’d like to take a rest from his monthly
competition work. (The £50 a month prize money being given to a small
number of entrants was a factor, I have to admit.) If anyone else has
any ideas for a competition, let me know. To add a bit of spice to it,
we could have the prize being the option to chose which charity should
receive the prize money which could be as much as, say, £500 − now that
would be worth playing for! Ed.
5.1

5.1
This ARM3 sure helps the allegro passages!
5.1

5.1
Render Bender II
5.1
Malcolm Banthorpe
5.1
Render Bender II is an updated version of Clares’ already successful
ray-tracing and animation package which was launched over two years ago.
As might be expected, it is now fully RISC-OS compliant so that it is
now possible to ray trace in the multitasking mode and consequently the
computer can still be available for other tasks during the often lengthy
process of rendering. It comes on two discs with a 56 page manual.
5.1
There was some criticism levelled at the original version of Render
Bender concerning the method employed for designing a picture. While
capable of producing some very impressive results, the scene had to be
defined in text using a scene description language. This meant that you
either needed to visualise the scene in some detail in your head or plan
it on paper before you started. Then you needed to work out the
coordinate position of each object before writing the scene description.
5.1
Defining how an object would move in an animation, similarly required
the estimation of an appropriate formula to describe the movement. In
other words, the picture initially generated by the program was often a
bit of a hit and miss affair depending on how skilled you were at
translating the picture you first thought of into numbers. Usually
several attempts were required, each time generating a thumbnail ray-
traced picture, before the desired result was obtained.
5.1
The fact that a number of impressive pictures and animations were
produced shows that many peop le were not deterred by this and it was
still probably quite a lot easier to use than the alternative, public
domain, QRT and MTV ray-tracers. According to Clares, with the new
version “you no longer have to be a mathematical genius” (so that’s why
the old version took me some time to achieve results).
5.1
Graphical front end
5.1
The major improvement in the new package is the inclusion of a graphical
front end application called ‘!Illuminator’. This allows you to create,
interactively, a wire-frame version of the scene by drawing and
positioning your own objects in a !Draw-like environment. There is even
a toolbox similar to that used in !Draw, although all operations are
also available via menus.
5.1
The ready-defined primitives such as sphere, cube, cone, disc, etc. are
still available, as in the original version, to build up into more
complex solids and, in addition, irregular surfaces and swept volumes
can be defined. The latter would allow, for instance, a vase or
wineglass to be defined by drawing its profile.
5.1
As with !Draw, objects may be grouped so that all future operations such
as repositioning, colouring, scaling or rotation will apply to the whole
group.
5.1
Clares have provided 14 basic predefined colours and surface character
istics include glass, metal, shiny, normal (matt) and glass. The range
of colours is adequate for most purposes but could perhaps benefit from
a mid grey to augment the included extremes of black and white.
5.1
As well as clicking <adjust> to select a number of objects, an alterna
tive method is provided by drawing a box around them. All objects, apart
from spheres, may be ungrouped into their component surfaces.
5.1
Lamps, observer position and observer target are also represented and
may be moved as required, as may the points on which directional lamps
are shining. Lamps cannot apparently be assigned a colour and so always
give white light. However, I found that, by placing a filter of coloured
‘glass’ in front of a lamp, a very satisfactory effect of coloured
lighting could be achieved.
5.1
Similarly, although the spotlight has a fixed beam width, it is easily
narrowed by creating an opaque ‘shade’ from a cylinder or cone. Three
different fonts are available, should you wish to include three-
dimensional text in your picture.
5.1
Illuminator gives you a choice of views of the scene such as front, top,
left, right. You can have as many or as few of these windows open on the
screen as you like and dragging an object in one window will cause all
the other views to change accordingly.
5.1
In addition, although you can’t use it to move objects, there is a view
window which shows the scene from your chosen viewpoint and lens and
therefore is a reasonable representation of the perspective as it will
eventually appear when ray-traced. If the scene is particularly complex,
it can take an annoyingly long time (well, long in Archimedes terms
anyway) to update all windows. In this case, it is possible to disable
the update in all windows apart from the Render Bender view. An object
can then still be dragged in another window but only the perspective
view will be updated and in much less time. The other windows can later
be forced to update.
5.1
As well as the wire-frame view, it is possible to select a solid view
which employs a simple form of hidden surface removal. Although this is
not guaranteed to give the correct view under all circumstances, and
certainly not where inter-penetrating surfaces are involved, it works
well most of the time and may give a better idea of how the final
picture will look.
5.1
Animations
5.1
In order to produce an animation, there are two main methods by which
you can define how an object moves. Firstly, and most easily, you can
define key frame positions. You simply enter a frame number, say 1, and
enter an object’s starting position, enter a new frame number, say 10,
drag the object to a new position and register it. Clicking on ‘compile’
will then cause Illuminator to calculate the object’s positions in
frames 2 to 9 and a ‘show all frames’ option will display the complete
move as a repeated image of the object.
5.1
Alternatively, you can enter a formula with ‘frame’ as a variable to
define the movement. It probably still helps here if you are something
of a mathematical whizz kid but more realistic movement incorporating
acceleration and deceleration, and hence giving the impression of an
object’s inertia, can be achieved if you are prepared to persevere with
it. You can also move the observer position in order to fly through a
scene.
5.1
Your finished scene can be saved, either as an Illuminator file for
future modification, or for direct use by !Render as a scene file. It is
possible to build up a library of useful objects as separate Illuminator
files and use them later in new pictures by dragging the object file
into an Illuminator window. In creating a scene file, a text file
consisting of the original scene description language is automatically
generated. This may subsequently be edited using !Edit or another text
editor, if required. Illuminator is also capable of loading a scene file
and interpreting it, but grouping and animation information will be
lost, so it is always best to save a picture as an Illuminator file if
you are likely to want to do any work on it in future.
5.1
The !Render application, as before, allows the sky, floor and viewing
lens to be defined and also whether you wish to produce a picture with
or without shadows. The latter will produce results faster. For an
initial idea of what the the picture will look like, you can choose to
generate quarter size, sixteenth size or even smaller pictures.
5.1
Although !Illuminator will give you a good general idea of what to
expect, it is not able to show the effect of the lighting arrangement
that you have defined and so these smaller, quicker traces are still a
good idea. Any 256-colour mode may be chosen for the final picture. If
you are producing an animation rather than a single picture, then once
all the frames have been generated they will need to be combined into a
film by the !Animator application.
5.1
Single pictures are stored in compressed form which is the same as that
used by ProArtisan. A supplied application called !Converter is used to
convert the compressed files into normal sprites. I note from the manual
that the same file format is being used for another forthcoming Clares
product called Illusionist, which is perhaps worthy of a brief mention
here.
5.1
As I understand it, Illusionist takes an alternative approach to ray-
tracing in order to produce realistic-looking pictures. It has, as one
of its main strengths, the ability to apply smooth shading to curved
surfaces, which (apart from spheres) in Render Bender and in most other
ray-tracing packages, have to be represented as a series of flat
polygons. Another major feature is the ability to apply texture maps to
surfaces so that, for instance, a wooden table really does look like
wood. I look forward to its release with interest.
5.1
Render Bender II is a major advance on the original which has, as noted
above, already shown itself capable of excellent results. The program is
now easy for almost anyone to use and looks set to attract a lot of new
users. If you’re interested in ray-tracing but have been deterred up to
now by the numerical aspects and if you don’t want to get involved with
the more comprehensive 3D editors such as Euclid and SolidCad, you would
be well advised to look at Render Bender II. (£135 from Clares or £120
through Archive.  A
5.1

5.1
!DrawAid
5.1
Tristan Cooper
5.1
It is an inevitable part of the computer programmer’s role in life that
he must spend a considerable part of his time re-inventing the wheel −
that is, writing procedures that he knows others have written before.
However, if he needs the function, then he has little choice but to
write the necessary code. Fortunately, the advent of Public Domain
software has begun to reduce this tendency, so that many well written
utilities are now becoming available at negligible cost. Beyond PD,
however, are those assemblies of useful and powerful routines that are
(a) too good to be given away and (b) need a manual to explain their
operation.
5.1
!DrawAid from Carvic Engineering of Cambridge is a good example of this
category of software. William Graham has recognised the need (within his
own engineering environment) for a means of producing a wide variety of
graphic and text images that are not easy to make with !Draw, but which
can be subsequently imported into !Draw, !Impression etc.
5.1
As he so rightly states ... (using !Draw) “Text entry into tables is
rather laborious and if you require text at an angle other than
horizontal, each text string has to be prepared from an outline font
using !FontDraw or !FontFX. All this takes time and can be frustrating.”
How true! (But you could use DrawPlus − Careware 13. Ed.)
5.1
To alleviate this problem, William has prepared !DrawAid which allows
the generation of !Draw files directly from Basic. This is not a Desktop
application in the normal sense, but is essentially a library of text
and graphic routines in Basic, plus a core program in which to assemble
them. To get the most out of this utility you would need to be reason
ably familiar with programming in Basic, though a non-Basic person might
manage reasonably well.
5.1
!DrawAid is supplied with a very well written, clear, concise manual
which explains the philosophy behind !DrawAid and goes on to take the
user through a demo program which produces a neat and nicely annotated
graph. This is followed by a listing of the core program called AidBlank
which is the bare bones of any user program and to which one can add
routines to call the various Library procedures. It is at this point
that a working knowledge of Basic becomes useful. Essentially, what you
are doing is using PROCs such as PROC_polygon or PROC_arrow _in. These
PROCs take a number of parameters that specify details like line width
and colour, fill colour, origins, centres, lengths and angles. By using
the occasional FOR-NEXT loop with suitably inserted variables, one can
quickly assemble a few routines that will draw quite complex and
colourful illustrations.
5.1
It is worth referring to the chapter entitled Other Facilities at an
early stage however. This gives details of the scales used i.e. metric
or imperial. This explains why my initial attempts came to nought, as I
had assumed I was working to Basic’s normal 1279 by 1023 screen, but my
graphics were nowhere to be seen, being halfway up the wall! William has
sensibly designed DrawAid around an engineering environment so that you
can specify either inches or millimetres with the result that is WYSIWYG
on screen and printer.
5.1
It is also relevant to note that a number of global variables are
predefined. These usefully cover such things as line and fill colour,
text style and weight, scales and line widths (from 0 to 5, but not 6 as
stated in the manual). Some of these variables may be usefully altered,
while others are best left alone.
5.1
Following on from the simple stuff, there is the facility to group
objects together. Initially, it appears that all objects produced by
DrawAid are in one group and cannot be separated. However, using ungroup
from the Draw menu will separate them so that they can be individually
manipulated. But what if you want some of them permanently grouped? No
problem − just specify the start and end of a group when using DrawAid.
These objects remain grouped within Draw.
5.1
No doubt you were as disappointed as I with Draw’s limited text handling
facility. Being unable to rotate text is a serious nuisance. With
DrawAid you can assemble text in a variety of colours and styles and it
will be produced as any other Draw object − scalable and rotatable to
your heart’s content; very handy for graphs and illustrations where
annotation frequently needs to be vertical or angled. The font available
is Vector, which is essentially Latin 1 (ISO 8859/1) with Greek and
other extensions.
5.1
Path objects are catered for within DrawAid with a number of path
procedures including rotate, shear, locate and scale. Thus, it is
possible to use the flexibility of path manipulation in the construction
of complex shapes. If you’re familiar with the use of path edit mode in
Draw, then these PROCs will be of use to you.
5.1
A file entitled UserFiles.Demos contains an interesting selection of 16
Basic routines which include Pi_Chart, CeltKey, Sprocket, Tables _1 &
_2, Maths and even Airfoils. These demonstrate how DrawAid may be used
with recursive routines, assembly of detailed tables, complex fancy
graphics and mathematically defined shapes for subsequent use in
engineering drawings.
5.1
Conclusion
5.1
The overall impression of this package is that it is professionally
written and not difficult to use. The manual is clear, concise and
complete, with only one error noted. If you use a DTP package and rely
on Draw for your graphics, you will already have discovered its
limitations. The combination of DrawAid and Draw will allow you much
greater versatility when producing graphics and will speed the prepara
tion of drawings and documents considerably. What must you pay for all
this effort? − a mere £10.
5.1
(Obtainable from Carvic Engineering, 3 Shingay Lane, Sawston, Cambridge,
CB2 4SS. Phone & Fax: 0223−834100)  A
5.1

5.1
The Engineer!
5.1

5.1

5.1
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666−840433) (−840048)
5.1
Silicon Vision Ltd (p11)    Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2AG. (081−422−2274) (−427−5169)
5.1
Southern Printers    47 Drake Road, Willesborough, Ashford, Kent TN24 0UZ.
(0233−633919)
5.1
Spacetech (p15)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.1
Techsoft UK Ltd (p16)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 4DA. (082−43318)
5.1
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733−244682)
5.1
Word Processing    65 Milldale Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton  WV10
6LR.
5.1
Wyddfa Software    3 Preswylfa, Llanberis, Gwynedd, LL55 4LF.
(0286−870101)
5.1

5.1
The review was based on a laser-printed proof copy of First Impression.
Stephen has already edited his tutorial guide in the light of Robert’s
comments and the modified version will be available at the Acorn User
Show a special show price of £25. The power of Impression DTP strikes
again! Ed.
5.1

5.1

5.1
Canon BJ-300/330 Printers
5.1
Martin Geddes
5.1
Many Archimedes users are finding their old 9 pin dot matrix printers
increasingly inadequate. Purchased at some expense several years ago to
accompany some venerable 8 bit micro, they are still capable of
acceptably legible output, but at a snail’s pace. Thus many people are
reluctant to invest in an expensive new printer when their previous one
is still performing. Having myself been forced to abandon my bulky old
printer when moving to university, I decided to take the plunge and buy
a high quality inkjet printer.
5.1
Attracted by the high speed and print quality of inkjets, combined with
their quiet operation, the 24 pin dot matrix option was rejected. This
left two contenders − the HP DeskJet 500, and the Canon BJ-300. (The BJ-
330 is the wide carriage version of the BJ-300). The Canon had one
overriding factor in its favour − it can handle fan fold paper whereas
the DeskJet cannot. Having seen the output from both, I can vouch that
the print quality is virtually indistinguishable, despite the Canon’s
higher (360dpi) resolution.
5.1
The BJ-300 is attractively styled and sturdily built. Consequently, it
is not particularly light compared to some cheaper 24 pin printers of a
similar size. However, measuring only 18“ x 13½” x 5¼“ and being able to
handle A3 portrait paper means it is not bulky. Paper can be fed in a
sheet at a time in the front, or tractor fed from the back. A cut sheet
feeder is available, and envelope handling is very satisfactory. A paper
park facility means that the fan fold paper need not be removed when
using cut sheets.
5.1
It works on a slightly different principal to other inkjets. Instead of
vaporized ink squirting on to the paper, the ink enters a microscopic
tube in which a small patch heats up rapidly. Some of the ink vaporizes
into an expanding bubble, which then forces a tiny blob of liquid ink
out. The bubble then recondenses in the tube. Hence Canon prefer to call
it a bubble jet.
5.1
Setting up
5.1
Setting up the BJ-300 is relatively simple, with easily accessible DIP
switches and a well laid out front panel. The only word of caution is
with the removable plastic cover over the printing area. This is too
darkly tinted, so you can barely see what is appearing on the paper
until it emerges from the printer. Also, the instructions are vague as
to how to fit it. For those still struggling, the two notches fit on the
two hinges in the very far corners of the printing area, and if you
press it down, it clicks firmly in place.
5.1
My first experiences with the BJ-300 were very discouraging, with lots
of smudged print emerging. After experimenting with several types of
paper, I found that this printer definitely dislikes paper easily able
to soak up ink while being poor at letting the solvents evaporate.
However, most types of paper produce good results − you too will need to
experiment. (Glossy paper seems to fare worst, along with certain very
slightly shiny coatings.)
5.1
Unlike the older BJ printers, the BJ-300 needs no special printer
drivers, working with !PrinterDM. Emulation of the Epson LQ printers and
the IBM ProPrinter range is provided. The Epson option, although it is
already supported by !PrinterDM, restricts vertical resolution to
180dpi. Included below is a minimal PrDataSrc file for the new
!PrinterDM (2.46), operating in IBM mode at 360×360dpi. Tack the usual
page/configuration data at the end. Ensure that you set the “control
codes” to “ignore” in !PrinterDM if you want the pure text output to
work.
5.1
The documentation is much better than average. A User’s Manual gives
setting up instructions and general advice, while an exceptionally
comprehensive Programmer’s Manual details every command sequence.
5.1
In use
5.1
The BJ-300 is very fast − the draft mode is the fastest I have ever seen
from a line printer, and is of a quality not dissimilar to a 24 pin
printer in NLQ mode. Draft mode means less of the expensive ink is
consumed. Letter quality is excellent (especially for pure text
printing), although careful inspection will easily differentiate it from
laser printed output. This is particularly noticeable for large expanses
of black where the paper gets slightly soaked. The letter quality speed
seems very favourable compared to 24 pin printers.
5.1
Although cut sheets as wide as A3 (portrait) can pass through the BJ-
300, only the usual 80 column area may be printed on.
5.1
For best results (even with an ARM3) you dump graphics output into a
file and then use Filer_ OpenDir Printer: to get a printer filer window.
Redirect printer output back to the parallel port and drag the file into
this window. In this way, the printer has less time to pause at the end
of lines and fewer minuscule gaps appear between lines.
5.1
Ink usage seems to be reasonable. I have used my Canon heavily for a few
months now with the original cartridge. There seems to be one ‘bug’ in
the printer. If you try to park a very long piece of fan fold paper, it
stops after about 1 foot of reverse feeding, beeps and dies. Only
turning off and then on will recover the situation.
5.1
The supposed problems of older inkjets with jets blocking up when the
printer is not in use seems to have been totally overcome with this
printer.
5.1
Conclusion
5.1
This is a very competent printer which is a good substitute for a laser
printer for those on a medium budget. It represents a major leap up from
dot matrix printers, while the tractor feed combined with draft printing
leaves plenty of flexibility for the programmer. The printer costs about
£420 (inc VAT); ink cartridges are £15, lasting for 500 000 characters.
However, the potential purchaser should be aware of the distaste with
which this printer regards some types of paper.
5.1
Sample PrDataSrc file for BJ-300 in IBM Proprinter Mode
5.1
version:               2
5.1

5.1
total_printers:        2
5.1
total_draft_printers:  1
5.1
total_nlq_printers:    1
5.1

5.1
nlq_mode:              0
5.1

5.1
features:       16_00000000
5.1
interlace:      0
5.1
line_interlace: “”
5.1

5.1
text_tab:             “<9>”
5.1
text_formfeed:        “<12>”
5.1
text_return:          “<13>”
5.1
text_return_lf:       “<10><13>”
5.1
..........................................
5.1

5.1
printer_name:   Canon BJ300 (360 by 360 dpi) (IBM mode)
5.1
printer_number: 0
5.1
text_alias:     -1
5.1

5.1
pxres:          360     ; dots per inch
5.1
pyres:          360
5.1
pxres_halftone: 360/8
5.1
pyres_halftone: 360/8
5.1

5.1
dump_depth:     48      ; 48 nozzles used, not interlaced
5.1
line_prologue:  “<28>CB<4><4>” ; select appropriate mode
5.1
line_epilogue:  “<28>CJ<04Introducing the Acorn A5000
5.1sp
Paul Beverley
5.1sp
On Friday 27th September 1991, Acorn Computers launched, to the
assembled press representatives, an exciting new computer to extend
their range − the A5000 (admittedly, not a very striking name!) The look
of the new computer didn’t exactly bowl anyone over either. It was quite
smart, but looked remarkably similar to many three-piece microcomputers
produced these days. But it was when Acorn revealed the power of the new
computer and we saw the price tag that we realised that Acorn have again
made a major step forward in terms of computing power per pound
(Sterling).
5.1sp
The A5000/2HD package
5.1sp
The package on offer is a 2 Mbyte (upgradable to 4M), ARM3 based
computer with their new operating system, RISC-OS 3. It has a 1.6M
floppy and a 40M IDE hard drive. There is also a high resolution multi-
sync colour monitor on a tilt and swivel stand. The price of this
complete package is an amazing £1499 (+ VAT) including the monitor.
Regardless of its looks or its uninspiring name, the A5000 is, without
any doubt, going to sell extremely well. Demand is going to far outstrip
supply for quite some time, I would guess, although Acorn say that mass
production of these new computers is due to start in January. They
wouldn’t be drawn on what they class as “mass” production but current
production rates are something in the region of 1,500 a month which is
tiny compared to what they could end up producing if this takes off in
the way I think it will. (Remember that, so far, Acorn have sold over
150,000 ARM3 based machines.)
5.1sp
Adrian Look and Brian Cowan, who also witnessed the birth of the A5000,
have written about the software and hardware aspects of the new
computer, so I will confine myself to the implications of the new
machine for the existing range of Archimedes computers and look at some
of the possible applications of the A5000.
5.1sp
The current version is an A5000/2HD to give it its full title but in the
new year, Acorn will be releasing the A5000/1FD. This will be a basic 1
Mbyte machine with no hard drive and it is planned to retail at £999
+VAT (= £1174). The reasoning behind this decision is, presumably, that
in this autumn quarter, the demand will be extremely high and they might
as well sell the full system while they can. In the new year, when the
full production comes on stream they will be more prepared to allow
people to choose to start with the basic machine and do their own memory
and drive upgrades.
5.1sp
(Actually, I’ve thought through the pricing of this and cannot see that
is likely that anyone will be able to beat the price of the A5000/2HD as
it is so aggressively priced.)
5.1sp
A5000 Learning Curve
5.1sp
If you want even better value for money than you should buy the A5000
Learning Curve package. This comes with the A5000/2HD and some extra
software plus a two-hour tutorial on two audio cassettes and a Home
Computing magazine. The software includes PC Emulator (1.6) with DR-DOS
5.0, Genesis Plus, First Word Plus, Acorn DTP, Pacmania and Lemmings.
For this, you pay an extra £38 − a total of £1799 inc VAT.
5.1sp
What about the opposition?
5.1sp
How does this new computer compare with the opposition? Is it really
more powerful? Well, I don’t profess to be a great expert on the current
generation of Apple Macs although, until the Archimedes came of age,
Archive magazine was produced on three Macs!
5.1sp
Acorn quoted a few figures for computing power saying that a top end Mac
Ci ran at 6.3 MIPs and a 386DX PC would run at a similar speed, whereas
the A5000 runs at 13 MIPs. Some will argue that Acorn are not comparing
like with like because they are comparing complex instruction set
computers (CISCs) with their own reduced instruction set computer
(RISC). However, the whole philosophy of RISC machines is based on the
observation that, for a large proportion of the time, CISC processors
are executing only simple instructions, so at twice the number of
instructions per second, albeit simple instructions, the A5000 really is
faster.
5.1sp
Having used Macs for quite some time, one thing I am certain of is that
having the operating system in ROM is a considerable advantage. Now,
with RISC-OS 3, the A5000 also has the Font Manager, 12 outline fonts
(i.e. 3 sets) and eight core applications also in ROM − !Edit, !Draw,
!Paint, !Configure, !Calc, !Alarm, !Chars and !Help. As one who has
spent many happy hours waiting for Mac applications to load from disc(!)
I believe that ROM based fonts and applications increase the “power” of
a computer significantly.
5.1sp
The other aspect of computer “power” which the Archimedes and the A5000
in particular demonstrate is programmability. At the hardware level, for
example, the video mode can be set at the flick of a mouse to any of a
wide range of standard modes provided on ROM. This can be extended by
using further screen mode modules which could be written quite easily by
third party suppliers like Atomwide and Computer Concepts. For the
programmer, there is a vast array of routines with appropriate “hooks”
to allow them to be used from within any programming language or from
machine code routines. There is also, in ROM, a “shared C library”
showing Acorn’s commitment to supporting those who are developing
applications using the C language.
5.1sp
With the new PC emulator and the processing power of A5000, we will no
longer have to apologise for the lack of speed when running MS-DOS
software. We can also now read 1.44M discs from PC’s and I believe that
a Mac disc reader is now a possibility with the new floppy drive
interface hardware.
5.1sp
What about the A3000/410/420/440?
5.1sp
How does the new machine fit in with existing Archimedes computers?
Indeed, does it fit in at all? Acorn have discontinued the A440 and
dropped the ex-VAT prices of the A410 and A420 by £200. So let’s look at
a few VAT inclusive prices to see how the different computers compare.
(These are prices as quoted to Archive members. They include discount on
monitors and memory upgrades but not on the computers to keep in line
with Acorn’s pricing policy.)
5.1sp
Each is priced with 2 Mbyte of memory.
5.1sp
               monitor:    standard
multisync
5.1sp
A3000     £935      £1185
5.1sp
A410    £1316      £1566
5.1sp
A420    £1500       £1750
5.1sp
A5000    (£1474)     £1761
5.1sp
That price comparison says to me that no one in their right mind, or at
least, who is in possession of the full facts, is going to buy an A420
since the A5000 has twice the floppy drive capacity, twice the hard
drive capacity, a lot more than twice the processing speed and RISC-OS
3! Even the A410 has very little to recommend it unless you really
cannot afford to stretch beyond £1316, and are prepared to make do with
low resolution display.
5.1sp
If you can wait until January(-ish), you could buy a 1M, floppy only,
version of the A5000 at £1174. If we guess at £90 for the 1 to 2M
upgrade and add a standard resolution monitor, that gives us £1474 or
£1724 if you want a multisync monitor − but that takes you to within £37
of the A5000/1HD with its 40M hard drive and Acorn multisync monitor. I
think Acorn are onto a winner − I can’t, at the moment, find any
sensible way to beat their pricing.
5.1sp
What about the A540?
5.1sp
The next question to ask is where the A5000 stands in relation to the
A540. The low price of the A5000 makes the A540 look grossly over-priced
at £3524 and so they have lopped £500 off the ex-VAT price bringing it
down to £2936. Acorn have also tried to separate the two by keeping the
memory of the A5000 down to 4M maximum (which obviously also keeps the
cost down) and by making VGA+ the highest graphics mode available. The
A540 has an SVGA mode but it is equally possible to give the A5000 an
SVGA mode by writing an appropriate screen mode module.
5.1sp
So how do the prices compare? If we take an A5000 and add 2M of ram
(£140) and a SCSI controller with a 100M drive (£790), we get something
that is on a par with the A540. On this basis, we get, for the two 4M
machines:
5.1sp
A5000 + multisync
£2691
5.1sp
A540 + multisync
£3392
5.1sp
The processor speeds are the same, they both have 4M of ram and a 100M
SCSI, so what does the A540 offer for the extra £600? Firstly, the A540
is easily expandable up to 16M by using plug-in memory boards (at £540
per 4M). Secondly, because the processor is on a separate board, it can
easily be upgraded to ARM4 or whatever becomes available. Thirdly, it
offers the high resolution monochrome mode (1152 × 900) which is not
available on the A5000 as it requires extra hardware to implement it.
5.1sp
However, at £600 less, the upgraded A5000 offers RISC-OS 3 (which could
be made available on the A540 but Acorn are making no promises), the
extra 40M IDE drive, a 2M floppy drive, space for a second 2M floppy and
the possibility of adding a 4M floppy when the prices come down
sufficiently. As far as memory upgrades are concerned, although Acorn
have “no intention of providing further memory upgrades for the A5000”,
they have provided contact points which would allow for the connection
of add-on boards with extra MEMC’s and memory and there is certainly
enough space in the box to fit them. It looks to me as if Acorn wouldn’t
be too unhappy to let the A410, A420 and A540 quietly slip into oblivion
− but I hasten to add that this just my own personal opinion.
5.1sp
Applications
5.1sp
Let’s turn our attention now to what we can actually do with all this
raw processing power. The three areas which Acorn quote as being ripe
for the A5000 are image analysis, multimedia and DTP. As I know little
or nothing about the first two, I’ll share my vision for the latter!
5.1sp
DTP systems − Cheap, but powerful !
5.1sp
If you are interested in setting up a DTP system then the A5000 must
surely be the best value on the market. To start with, the A5000 gives
you the speed of the A540 − about 13 MIPs, which compares well with the
6.5 MIPs of Apple’s latest, and most powerful, Mac Ci. Then you add to
that the improvements in the RISC-OS 3 operating system which Adrian
Look outlines for us in his article. In particular, the font manager is
in ROM and the facility is provided to have rotating fonts. Next, you
look at the price and speed of laser printers available for your DTP
system, e.g. Computer Concepts’ 600 d.p.i. Laser Direct HiRes 4 at £1100
inc VAT. This means you can get an extremely fast 600 d.p.i. DTP system
for just about £3,000 inc VAT and I challenge anyone to find a DTP
system of comparable power at under £10,000!
5.1sp
If you need a scanner, you can get a Computer Concepts 300 d.p.i.
flatbed scanner for £990 plus £200 for a SCSI interface which again is
well below prices of scanners for other DTP systems. Alternatively, you
could think of a Faxscan system. For £110, you can get an interface to
an Amstrad FX9600 fax machine which acts as a 200 d.p.i. flatbed
scanner. The interface plus an FX9600AT is £570 and this gives you a
fax, an answering machine and a telephone as well as a scanner!
5.1sp
Actually, if you want the HiRes 4 laser printer to be able to operate at
the full 600 d.p.i. instead of 300 d.p.i., you need to add a 2M to 4M
upgrade for the A5000 at £140. This gives you a total price of almost
exactly £3,000 (including VAT) plus a scanner if you need one. Also,
until the end of October, there an offer from Computer Concepts of a
free copy of Impression II with every laser printers − we think it is
the best DTP package available for the Archimedes and it normally
retails at an Archive price of £180.
5.1sp
Floppy based DTP?
5.1sp
It is also quite possible to think of being even more economical by
using a floppy disc A5000 for doing DTP. There are three families of
fonts held in ROM (which, with the Font Manager, would normally occupy
450k on disc − a significant chunk out of an 800k disc) along with many
other facilities that might otherwise have to be held on disc. In any
case, the floppies will hold up to 1.6 Mbytes, so even large publi
cations such as Archive, which averages 1.2 Mbyte per copy, could be
done on a floppy-only A5000. (This will have to wait until January when
Acorn release the A5000/1FD − the 1 Mbyte, floppy disc version of the
A5000.)
5.1sp
What is the future of the A5000?
5.1sp
By “1992 Q2” Acorn are supposed to be having a floating point accelera
tor available which will speed things up yet again on anything involving
floating point calculations. The only thing is that we don’t know how
realistic Acorn’s assessment is of the development time needed.
5.1sp
Even without the floating point accelerator’s extra speed, the A5000 is,
in my book, an absolute winner. As long as Acorn manage to ramp up their
production rates sufficiently to meet the demand, this could be the
start of another major success for Acorn and a shot in the arm (ARM?)
for the UK computer industry.  A
5.1sp

5.1sp
A5000 − The Hardware
5.1sp
Brian Cowan
5.1sp
At the Press Launch, we managed to get a fair amount of information
about the hardware of the new A5000 and we even persuaded Acorn to take
the lid off for us. There will be more information available once Paul
or I get hold of an A5000 ourselves, but here is the basic information
that I was able to glean.
5.1sp
Physical layout
5.1sp
The layout of the computer is very similar to the A300/400/540 in that
it has a separate keyboard, a box housing the main p.c.b., floppy
drive(s), hard drive and up to four podules, and then the monitor, on a
tilt and swivel stand which sits on the top of the main box. However, in
terms of the internal hardware, the A5000 is a substantially different
from the A300, A400 and A540, all of which were much the same −
certainly, they all used the same casing.
5.1sp
The physical differences are:
5.1sp
1)    The box is a wider but it is not as deep. I have illustrated the
importance of this by comparing the positioning of an A440 and an A5000
on a 30“ wide desk which is up against a wall so that cables cannot
over-hang the back of the desk. (The dimensions of the box are 100 × 430
× 340 mm − height, width and depth)
5.1sp
2)    The keyboard plugs in at the back of the computer. It has a
somewhat longer and more flexible cable than existing machines, so that
shouldn’t be a problem. In some circumstances, notably schools, it
should be an advantage because it is less easy for the plug to be pulled
out.
5.1sp
3)    The on/off switch is on the front of the computer beside the
floppy disc drive. Many people have told Acorn they don’t like having
the switch at the rear − particularly for special needs users.
5.1sp
Keyboard
5.1sp
The keyboard is not new; it the same one that is supplied with the A540.
Indeed, A410s and A420s are also now supplied with these same keyboards.
The only obvious difference is the lack of a pop-up keystrip holder.
Your keystrips have to rest on a ledge above the function keys. This
means that it is easier to swap keystrips because you don’t have to
force them into a keystrip holder but the negative side is that you can
lose them more easily.
5.1sp
Inside the box
5.1sp
When I looked inside the box, the first thing that I noticed was the low
chip count. I had speculated in my Hardware Column (Archive 5.1 page 43)
that, in addition to the ARM chip set, it might include a PC-type,
single chip I/O device covering IDE, floppy drives, parallel port and
serial port. It does so and this considerably reduces the number of
chips needed and provides more compatibility with PC devices.
5.1sp
Ram & processor speed
5.1sp
The RAM runs at 12 MHz as it does on the A540 (cf 8 MHz on the other
Archimedes) and the ARM3 clock is 25 MHz so it works a lot faster than
the older Archimedes computers. Acorn were claiming that it ran at 13
MIPs. It also has space to fit a FP accelerator chip though there wasn’t
a socket. This means that it can only be fitted by dealers and then only
by those with a “surface mount re-work station”. (Acorn say that it will
be a user-fitting job. Production machines will have sockets. Ed.)
5.1sp
The currently available A5000 comes with 2M of RAM, upgradable to 4M and
Acorn have “no plans to make higher memory versions available”. They
did, however, say that contact points have been made available which
would make it possible for third parties to add further MEMC’s and
memory boards. The RISC-OS software can, presumably, handle larger
memory because the A540, even with RISC-OS 2, can go up to 16 Mbytes
already.
5.1sp
Podules
5.1sp
There are the usual four podule slots which is an advantage over the
A540 which has one slot already taken up by a SCSI podule. RISC-OS 3
allows up to 16 podules but obviously the physical size and power supply
availability limit what can be done internally though it would be
possible, in theory, to build a 16-way backplane and supply a new metal
cover, tall enough to fit an extra power supply and a 12 more podules.
(And an extra big fan! Ed.)
5.1sp
Display options
5.1sp
In terms of hardware, the video output of the A5000 is the same as the
A540 or as an A300/400/3000 with a VIDC enhancer. In terms of software,
you can select any of the standard modes offered by RISC-OS. These
include modes up to VGA and VGA+ (640 × 480 in 256 colours) but stops
short of the Super VGA offered by the A540. This seems to me to be more
of a marketing ploy than anything − to provide an extra reason to
persuade potential purchasers, who are deciding between the A5000 and
the A540, that the extra features are really worth the extra money. As
far as we can tell, the A5000 is quite capable of generating SVGA. All
it needs is someone for someone to write the appropriate mode module. In
any case, those of us who have become used to modes like 102 (1152 × 448
in 16 colours) can have them as soon as someone writes the appropriate
mode module.
5.1sp
The computer apparently detects the type of monitor it is attached to
and sets the monitor type accordingly. I cannot immediately see how this
would work, but it must have something to do with the fact that it now
uses the PC standard D-type monitor socket with three rows of pins −
about 12 in total − instead of the 9 pin D-type used on the other
Archimedes computers.
5.1sp
The monitor which Acorn are bundling with the A5000 is a 14“ colour
multisync with micro-processor control. What happens is that, in the
automatic mode, it “learns” what settings to use for signals of a given
frequency and so automatically changes, for example, the x shift when
you change between certain of the Archimedes’ modes.
5.1sp
Floppy drive(s)
5.1sp
There is a single 3½“ floppy drive which works in a high density format
providing up to 1.6M on a single floppy disc. It also supports, as you
might guess, ADFS 800k in both D and E formats. However, there is no
mention on the Technical Specification sheet of whether it will handle
the older ADFS 640k L format. We were told that it would also read, but
not write, DFS discs and there is support for 720k and 1.44M MS-DOS
formats. (Acorn’s press information also mentions Atari formats up to
720k. Ed.)
5.1sp
There is space underneath the existing floppy drive for a second one and
there is a detachable front panel is provided to accommodate this. This
is in addition to, and not as an alternative to, the hard drive −
another improvement over existing Archimedes computers.
5.1sp
The floppy disc controller will actually handle 4M unformatted floppy
drives as well as the 2M drives supplied and so it would, in theory, be
possible to replace the drive with one handling the higher capacity
although the software would have to be changed (RISC-OS 4?) to deal with
it. Acorn have not used them in this unit as the aim of keeping the cost
down was far more important than getting extra capacity on the floppy
drives.
5.1sp
One other major improvement is that, because they have used the
intelligent PC I/O controller, floppy disc drive operations can take
place in the background. The effect of this is that loading and saving
are faster and formatting can take place while you continue with other
tasks.
5.1sp
Hard drive(s)
5.1sp
There is a single 40M Conner IDE hard drive (average access time 25 ms)
which feels fairly fast though we weren’t able to do any speed tests on
it. We couldn’t see anywhere obvious for a second IDE drive to fit or be
connected, but a 2½“ IDE drive might fit underneath the floppy drive
where the second floppy should go. There are no connectors for a second
IDE drive − you would have to daisy-chain onto the existing cable and,
if it was an external drive, somehow run the cable out of the back of
the computer. If you wanted other external drives, you could put in a
SCSI podule and connect to any of the available SCSI drives (which
currently go up to 1,000 Mbytes).
5.1sp
Although IDE has been used, this is transparent to the user as it has
been worked in with ADFS. The internal IDE drive is simply ADFS drive
:4.
5.1sp
Parallel port
5.1sp
Because they have used the PC I/O chip, the parallel port is fully bi-
directional. The advantage of this is that many more of the (cheap) PC
peripherals will be able to be used. One disadvantage (for the likes of
Computer Concepts and Oak Solutions) is that their dongles will no
longer work. CC are actively working on an alternative!
5.1sp
Serial port
5.1sp
The serial port is again more PC compatible in that it works to the
(earlier, lower spec) RS232 standard rather than the RS423 used on all
existing Archimedes computers (as used on the original BBC Microcomputer
back in 1981/2). The I/O chip is capable of somewhat higher speeds than
we have been used to although the Technical Specification only quotes
9600 baud.
5.1sp
To maintain backwards compatibility with Archimedes peripherals using
the serial port, Acorn have had to emulate the “features” of the old
(bugged) serial chips.
5.1sp
PC keyboards
5.1sp
The PC peripheral chip also provides facility for a (PC-type) mouse and
keyboard and although this has not actually been implemented, it only
needs a separate board with a couple of chips on it to do so. Acorn have
made provision for this by providing space for an extra socket on the
back panel of the computer.
5.1sp
EMR interference protection
5.1sp
Great care seems to have been taken to avoid the kind of electro-
magnetic radiation interference that characterises many of the Archi
medes computers. (In the research work I do, I have to switch the
Archimedes computers off while the readings are being taken. They are
then turned on again automatically and are set to boot up in order to
download and process the data that has been gathered.) Acorn have tested
the A5000 against a whole range of EMR regulations for different
countries and are, apparently, satisfied that they are going to be able
to sell it in a wide range of other countries.
5.1sp
PC Emulation
5.1sp
The comments I made in my Hardware Column about the PC Emulator (Archive
5.1 p43) apply to the A5000 except that it now runs as fast as it does
on the A540. The A5000 Learning Curve Pack apparently comes with DR-DOS
5 which should be an improvement over MS-DOS 3.3 currently supplied with
the PC Emulator if you buy it on its own.
5.1sp
Another important improvement which the A5000 provides is easy access to
PC format discs. You can format, read and write MS-DOS discs at 720k and
1.44M densities. When you put any disc into the drive and click on the
drive icon, it checks to see what disc type it is. If it is any of the
Acorn formats, things proceed in the, now familiar, fashion. If, on the
other hand, it detects a PC disc, it catalogues it (with full length MS-
DOS filenames) in a RISC-OS window and you can move and manipulate the
files as you would in RISC-OS. If you try to edit the files then a
certain amount of automatic filetype translation takes place. For
example, a .TXT file would automatically be loaded into !Edit. When you
try to transfer files across from PC to ADFS, again, filetypes are
translated where possible and, if necessary, filenames are truncated.
5.1sp
Also, MS-DOS partitions can be read from within the RISC-OS environment
which makes file handling much easier.
5.1sp
Actually, it is RISC-OS 3 that provides these extra facilities and this
should, eventually, be available for the other Archimedes computers,
although they would be limited to reading 720k discs.  A
5.1sp

5.1sp
View inside the Acorn A5000 box − A rough diagram drawn from memory!
5.1sp

5.1sp
A view showing the how the A5000 fits better onto a 30“ wide desk than
the A440.
5.1sp

5.1sp
A5000 − The Software
5.1sp
Adrian Look
5.1sp
Acorn Computers have been developing a new version of RISC-OS for quite
some time now and we have all been waiting (patiently?) and wondering
when it would see the light of day. I gather that the original intention
was to make it available for existing Archimedes computers before now
but the development has taken longer than had been hoped. Anyway, it has
now seen the light of day as RISC-OS 3 on the newly launched Acorn
A5000.
5.1sp
We have been able to try it out for a short while on the A5000’s that
were on show at the Press Launch and what we saw was very impressive.
Until we get hold of one ourselves, all we can do is list the new
facilities that we observed and supplement that with the information
given to us by Acorn themselves.
5.1sp
Firmware
5.1sp
Acorn’s spec sheet sums up the A5000’s firmware as consisting of RISC-OS
3, ADFS, ANFS, BBC Basic V and character sets ISO 8859 Latin 1 − 4 and
Greek. However, it looks as if the release ROMs have Basic VI which has
its own compression utilities and a facility to link in the floating
point emulator (also held in ROM) which will be very good news for some
people. Obviously, “RISC-OS 3” is where most of the goodies are, so I
will unpack that a bit more.
5.1sp
RISC-OS 3
5.1sp
RISC-OS 3 is a huge bank of operating system software which it is
difficult to do justice to in such a short article. So, in order to make
the best use of space, I will concentrate on the additions and improve
ments to RISC-OS 2, since I am assuming that this article will be read
by those who are already, at least vaguely, familiar with the current
operating system. So here is a list in no particular order:
5.1sp
•    Extension modules − All of the standard extension modules of RISC-OS 2
are included in RISC-OS 3 − Floating Point Emulator, ColourTrans,
Outline Font Manager and Shared C library.
5.1sp
•    Tasks − RISC-OS 3 can have up to 128 tasks running together as
compared to 32 with RISC-OS 2.
5.1sp
•    Compression routines − Basic VI has its own compression routines but
there are also compression routines for other types of files included in
the ROM.
5.1sp
•    Broadcast loading − RISC-OS 3 contains support for broadcast loading
which improves the speed at which applications and data can be loaded on
multiple computers on a network.
5.1sp
•    Named hard drives − Instead of just “:4”, “:5” etc on the icon bar,
you get the discname displayed.
5.1sp
•    Icon bar icons − The icons on the icon bar are grouped by RISC-OS 3,
regardless of the order in which they were installed. This means that
all the drive icons appear together, as do all fileservers etc.
5.1sp
•    High resolution icons − If you are working in a higher resolution, you
can change over to a set of icons that make better use of the hi-res
modes.
5.1sp
•    Interactive help − Facilities are provided within RISC-OS 3 to make
the setting up of interactive help much easier. In particular, it allows
help to be provided on menu items as well as on icons and windows.
5.1sp
•    Hot keys − Some new hot keys have been provided for opening a task
window (which no longer has to be done through Edit), moving the icon
bar to the front and initiating a shutdown procedure.
5.1sp
•    Screen blanker − This will shut down the screen display after a
specified length of time to preserve the monitor. The screen display is
restored as soon as a key is pressed or the mouse is moved.
5.1sp
•    Multi-tasking filer − Copying, moving and deleting files now take
place in the background. This is facilitated partly by improved
intelligence within the hard and floppy disc controller circuitry. The
same is true of format, verify and backup commands.
5.1sp
•    Multi-format filer − RISC-OS 3 allows MS-DOS files to be written to,
read from and even formatted. You can even access any MS-DOS partition,
as if it were a normal RISC-OS directory, and manipulate the files.
5.1sp
•    Multitasking free space display − The amount of free space available
on the floppy or hard drives can now be displayed continuously, being
updated as file operations take place. It can also be displayed in
Mbytes rather than the almost indecipherable numbers like 65587200.
5.1sp
•    Extra filer operations − You can now search for a file, set a filetype
or datestamp a file from the filer menu.
5.1sp
•    Windows facilities − There is now no limit to the number of windows
that can be open at one time and you can have windows which move off the
edge of the screen.
5.1sp
•    Font facilities − The new font manager allows fonts to be rotated and
transformed without having to be replaced by bit maps first; it can
cache single characters rather than blocks of characters; it supports
right-to-left scripts; it can cope with multiple font directories and it
supports different character set encodings.
5.1sp
(As a result of these changes, although documents produced on RISC-OS 2
will be usable on RISC-OS 3, the reverse is not true. This has signifi
cant consequences until such time as Acorn make RISC-OS 3 available to
the 150,000 existing ARM3 machines which, apparently, they are not
necessarily intending to do, according to comments they have made to
date.)
5.1sp
•    Fonts − There are 12 fonts in the RISC-OS 3 ROMs, i.e. Times, Homerton
and Corpus. This has a very significant effect on the possibility of
doing DTP and other font-dependent applications on a floppy disc system.
A font directory with Times, Homerton and Corpus occupies 450k. On a
1.6M floppy, that’s not too bad but it is a significant proportion of an
800k disc.
5.1sp
•    Desktop saving − An option on the Task Manager provides the facility
for saving the state of the desktop. This includes applications that are
running, open directory viewers, any logged-on fileservers, any icons on
the desktop background and the backdrop picture. This desktop state can
be restored on boot up by making it into a boot file. This makes it much
easier for non-technical users to customise their own boot up condi
tions. The “state” of the computer does not, however, include any
iconised windows or any opened application windows.
5.1sp
•    Shutdown − The Task Manager also provides a shutdown facility to
ensure that no applications have unsaved data, all network links are
disconnected and all hard drives are shut down.
5.1sp
•    Printer support − There is now a full printer queue facility; you can
drag several files to a printer icon and you can suspend the printing
and/or remove items from the queue; it indicates what proportion of a
file has been printed so far; you can have more than one printer active
at one time; it is much easier to create new printer types; printer
drivers can be named, so you can call them, say, “MyLaser” or
“YourEpson”; they will print transformed or rotated fonts or sprites;
they support font-downloading which is particularly important with
PostScript printers since it allows printing of Acorn fonts without
having to purchase the appropriate PostScript font for the printer.
5.1sp
ROM based applications
5.1sp
There are now eight ROM based applications. The fact that they are in
ROM means that they are always available on the icon bar and it also
means that they use less memory. !Edit, for example, needs at least 160k
to run from disc but only 64k from ROM. Also, you can choose whether any
(or all!) of them should start up automatically on boot-up although
there seems little point as they are always available on the icon bar
anyway.
5.1sp
Most of the applications have also been improved in various ways. The
following list of features is mainly based on Acorn’s documentation and
there are likely to be a number of other added features which come to
light as the A5000’s are used more widely.
5.1sp
•    !Paint − You can now replace a colour with transparent and transparent
with a colour. It offers scale x, scale y and shear. It has a timed
screen snapshot facility so that, after the snapshot has been requested,
you have time to get out the menus you want to be recorded as a sprite.
It allows you to use circle, triangle and square as a brush.
5.1sp
•    !Edit − This now provides column tab, overwrite and word-wrap modes.
It has support for wildcarded expressions in find operations as well as
the original magic characters. It works with an unlimited number of
fonts. It has support for editing Basic programs.
5.1sp
•    !Draw − This looks to have been substantially improved. (One wonders
if the programmers have seen DrawPlus!) There are now many keyboard
short-cuts; colour interpolation is provided to provide smooth colour
grading from one path to another; automatic scrolling of the window as
the mouse approaches the edge with <select> or <adjust> held down;
operations can now be undone; there is text to path conversion, though
this is not needed as desperately as on RISC-OS 2 because fonts can be
rotated without converting them to paths; text can be edited in situ;
sprites can also be rotated.
5.1sp
•    !Alarm − This has improved support for setting and resetting alarms, a
listing of alarms available in text format, repeating alarms to be set
within a working week, more control over repeating alarms (e.g. on the
second Sunday of every second month!), automatic changing between summer
and winter time and the facility to start up a task when an alarm time
is reached.
5.1sp
•    !Calc − At last, it uses the keyboard keys for input!
5.1sp
•    !Chars − Little obvious change here.
5.1sp
•    !Configure − This allows easy control over the configuration options
including the number of hard drives (plus some control over SCSI drives)
and floppy drives, various aspects of the network including those
relating to the broadcast loader, mouse sensitivity, keyboard auto-
repeat, memory allocation, sound, thresholds for fonts and the window
manager (including whether windows can move off-screen).
5.1sp
•    !Help − This now provides help on menu items as well as about icons
and windows.
5.1sp
Disc based applications
5.1sp
There are now sixteen or more disc based applications
5.1sp
•    !Pinboard − Files, directories and applications can be “attached” to
the desktop. Simply drag the file/directory onto the desktop. Windows,
including active ones, can be “iconised” to enable best use to be made
of the available desktop space. Clicking on a iconised window restores
it to normal. Backdrops can also be created from sprites in various
patterns.
5.1sp
•    !Printeredit − This allows you to create printer drivers and to
“common control” your printer. Apart from having printer drivers for
different printers available on the icon bar at the same time, you can
also have more than one printer driver relating to the same printer,
though obviously not more than one can be active at the same time on a
given printer. You can therefore, more easily, print out to one printer
in different formats. Just click on the driver to make it the active
driver (other drivers to the same printer are then shaded to show that
they are inactive) and just drop the file onto the active driver or
print from within the application you are using as you would normally.
5.1sp
Printer drivers are provided for Apple LaserWriter, PostScript, HP
LaserJet, Canon & Integrex 132 colour, Dot matrix Epson compatible.
5.1sp
•    !FontPrint − This allows RISC-OS fonts to be printed on a PostScript
printer. It will translate and/or download fonts as necessary.
5.1sp
•    !Scicalc − scientific calculator
5.1sp
•    !Puzzle − sliding block puzzle
5.1sp
•    !65host − 6502 emulator
5.1sp
•    !65tube − 6502 second processor emulator
5.1sp
•    !Clock − analogue face and hands
5.1sp
•    !Mailman − manager to send and receive electronic mail
5.1sp
•    !Maestro − This includes some new tunes and a score printing facility
5.1sp
•    !Patience − card game
5.1sp
•    !Tinydirs − This application, which allows directories to be kept on
the icon bar, is made virtually redundant by !Pinboard’s ability to
iconise windows. The only advantage is that it can be run from a boot
file whereas iconisation is only available as an immediate operation.
5.1sp
•    !Lander − Remember this one on RISC-OS 2?
5.1sp
•    !Madness − and this one?
5.1sp
•    !Magnifier − You do not need to run this application each time you
need it. When you run it, it installs itself on the icon bar and can be
picked up from there when needed.
5.1sp
•    !Usage − Shows the usage of the processor. If you have this running
during floppy disc operations, you will see a major difference between
the A5000 and the other Archimedes computers!
5.1sp
•    !Squash − (This was on the computer we tried but doesn’t appear on
Acorn’s current spec sheet for the A5000.) Simply drag a file onto the
squash icon on the icon bar and the file is compacted and replaces the
original file on the disc (or other filing system). The file icon is
replaced by squash’s own icon and, if you double click on the compacted
file, it is restored to its full size (assuming there is room on the
filing system) and the original filetype icon is also restored. If you
drag a directory onto the squash icon, the individual files within the
directory are compacted but the structure of the directory remains
intact and instantly accessible. (Until someone writes a PD uncompactor,
this will only be of use on your own computer or for file exchange
between A5000 owners.)
5.1sp
Conclusion
5.1sp
There are many facilities here that will make life much easier both for
the programmer and also the end user. It is a very exciting step forward
and I just hope that not too many extra “features” appear and that those
bugs that are already known will soon be put right. RISC-OS 3 is still
in EPROMs which are somewhat more expensive than ROMs, so Acorn will,
for a number of reasons, be keen to get RISC-OS 3 into a stable form. I
wish them well!
5.1sp
(That’s all very well for those lucky enough to get hold of an A5000,
but what about the rest of us? When will we be able to get our hands on
RISC-OS 3? Acorn will only say that they are “considering making it
available on other Archimedes computers”. In view of the fact that they
have sold over 150,000 ARM based machines, I suspect that they will make
every effort to get it working on other machines, and especially on the
A540 because it is supposed to be a “better” machine than the A5000
which it isn’t really if it only has RISC-OS 2 and an 800k drive.
However, Acorn have “no plans to provide an IDE interface or 1.6M drive
for the A540”. See also my comments about the relative merits of A5000
and A540 in the Introduction. Ed.)  A
5.1sp

5.1sp

5.1sp

5.1sp
My thanks to Brian and Adrian for all their hard work in getting this
supplement out so quickly after having first seen the new A5000. We are
all agreed that this is a very exciting new computer and wish Acorn well
with it and hope that it receives the coverage it deserves.
5.1sp
Paul Beverley, Editor of Archive Magazine (1/10/91).
5.1sp

5.1sp
><48><13>”

More cheap computers?
5.2
A quick look at the Small Ads this month will show you the effect of the
coming of the A5000 computer on the second hand Archimedes market.
Everyone (slight exaggeration!) wants to sell their old Archimedes and
get hold of one of Acorn’s latest offerings.
5.2
If you wanted an A5000 before Christmas, I don’t hold out a lot of hope,
I’m afraid. We’ve still got a lot on order with the distributors, but
we’ve also got a long waiting list of cheques sitting in our “A5000
Orders” file. Still, sending us a cheque will keep your place in the
queue and we don’t bank the cheques until we have computers to supply.
5.2
More subscribers!
5.2
Despite the fact that a number of people didn’t renew their Archive
subscription at the end of volume 4, our list of subscribers is already
back up to within a hundred of what it was before. I see this as just
another indication of the health of the Archimedes market. (I don’t know
if this is general − other magazines are more guarded about the length
of their subscription lists!)
5.2
More pages!!
5.2
We seem to be getting more advertising at the moment plus a steady flow
of articles, so this month’s issue has an extra four pages − at no extra
cost, of course! (So now, no one can complain about my half page
indulgence below.)
5.2
Best wishes from all at Archive,
5.2
Adrian, Ali, Ray, Roger, Paul & Sue.
5.2

5.2
Products Available
5.2
•    Acorn Desktop Assembler − Acorn have released a new version of their
well established Assembler − this time, it has a fully RISC-OS compliant
front end. It comes with two versions of the macro assembler, ObjAsm
which assembles programs into object (runable code) and AAsm which
assembles programs that can be run and debugged. It also includes
Acorn’s Desktop Development Environment.
5.2
The DDE includes a range of four interactive tools − DDT for debugging
executable images files, FormEd which is an improved version of the
template editor, Make which is a new desktop application for construct
ing programs from their sources and SrcEdit, a text editor derived from
Edit with some new features for constructing program sources. There is
also a wide range of Non-interactive tools: AMU − a compact alternative
to Make, Common − a utility to find the most common words in a file,
DecAOF − a utility for examining AOF files output by the compiler or
assembler, DecCF − a utility for examining chunk files, Diff − a text
file comparison tool, Find − a tool for finding text patterns in the
names or contents of sets of files, Link − a tool for constructing
usable modules, programs, etc LibFile − a tool for constructing general
purpose (library) routines, ObjSize − a utility to measure the size of
an object file, Squeeze − a tool to compress finished programs so they
take less space on the disc and WC − a text file word and character
counter.
5.2
The price of the Desktop Assembler, including DDE, is £175 from Acorn or
£155 through Archive.
5.2
•    Acorn Desktop C − Acorn’s new version of the C language now also works
in the desktop and comes with the same range of debugging tools as the
Desktop Assembler. Desktop C consists of the C compiler itself (a full
implementation of the 1989 ANSI standard), plus CMHG which allows you to
write modules in ANSI C, ToANSI which converts source C programs from
the PCC style to ANSI C, ToPCC which converts source C programs from the
ANSI C style to PCC plus the utilities of the Desktop Development
Environment as listed above. The price is £269 from Acorn or £240
through Archive.
5.2
•    Adventure Playground − Storm Software’s latest offering consists of
two explorations for children aged 6 to 9 that aim to “develop a wide
variety of educational skills: planning, decision making, logical
thinking, memory and strategy”. The price is £19.99 from Storm Software
or £19 through Archive.
5.2
•    Air Supremacy − Superior Software’s new simulation allows you to
choose between aircraft, ground or sea combat forces as the battle
progresses. Level one is set in Europe in 1918 with biplanes and tanks,
Level 2 is 1944 in the Pacific with fighter aircraft and gunboats, level
3 is 1991 with jet aircraft and desert tanks and level 4 is set in 2150
with futuristic aircraft and rapid attack hovercraft. £24.95 from
Superior Software or £23 through Archive.
5.2
•    Alexander is a remote sensing application from Lindis UK (a.k.a.
Lingenuity) allowing you to interpret and manipulate satellite images.
Facilities include averaging and gaussian filters for smoothing, Laplace
and median filters for image enhancement, four types of classification
and several different display options. The software on its own costs
£764 (£650 +VAT), a multi-user licence costs £2,350 (£2,000 +VAT) or buy
it bundled complete with an A5000 at just £2525 (£2149 +VAT) or as a
package with an A540 + Eizo 9070 for £4752 (£4044 +VAT).
5.2
(Taking £1761, the list price of an A5000, away from £2525 shows that
the first bundled deal gives you the software for just... err... £764!
Taking £764 away from the second bundled price of £4752 shows that the
A540 and Eizo 9070 would cost you £3988. However, the Archive price for
the A540 & monitor is £2930 + £850 = £3780 so you could save yourself
£208 by buying the software from them and the computer from us and get a
£200 software voucher which we give with every A540!)
5.2
•    Bambuzle − a puzzle game from Arxe Systems involves trying to fill a
series of “pods” with four balls each of the same colour from a
selection of different balls provided at each level. Getting the right
balls into the right pods is another matter − and you are working
against the clock! The price is £19.95 from Arxe or £19 through Archive.
5.2
•    Cartoon Collection is a set of four discs full of cartoon type
chracters in Paint format from Micro Studios. The price is £19.95 or £19
through Archive.
5.2
•    Charity Part Exchange − A number of people have asked us recently if
we do part exchange on computers − I think it might have something to do
with the coming of the A5000! Anyway, the answer has, so far, been “no”.
However, we have just had an idea....
5.2
For a limited period, we are going to try offering part exchange on
A310’s, A3000’s and A400 series computers plus hard drives and monitors.
What we will then do is to refurbish the machines and make them
available at cost to registered charities (and possibly also to schools
if enough become available).
5.2
So, for example, we can offer £300 off the price of, say, an A5000 in
return for your A3000. We will get Ray Maidstone to refurbish the A3000
and then make it available to charities for, say, £350 +VAT (which we
unfortunately have to add and pass on to the government − unless anyone
can see a legal way round it) which comes to £411 − rather less than the
full price of £695.
5.2
However, if you felt able to accept a bit less than the offered discount
then we could reduce the price that a charity would have to pay.
5.2
What about warranty? − We would offer a six-month warranty on the
refurbished machines although, given that we would be doing all this at
cost, it would be on the basis that the charity would be responsible for
getting the computer to us, we would repair or replace it and send it
back at our expense.
5.2
How much will you offer? − Well, we have to reserve the right to change
the amount being offered (or withdraw the scheme altogether if it’s
costing us too much) but, initially, we can offer...
5.2
A310    £200
5.2
A3000    £325
5.2
A3000 (2M)    £350
5.2
A3000 (4M)    £400
5.2
A410    £450
5.2
A410 (2M)    £470
5.2
A410 (4M)    £510
5.2
Colour monitor    £80
5.2
Multisync monitor    £120    *
5.2
ST506 hard drives    £5    (per 10M)
5.2
ST506 controller    £25
5.2
SCSI hard drives    £10
(per 10M)
5.2
SCSI controller    £40    *
5.2
* This applies only to certain types of monitor and controller. It has
to be entirely at our discretion.
5.2
(These figures are based on what one of our rivals is offering. It’s
slightly less, but then it is in aid of charity.)
5.2
What about other add-on hardware? − Other hardware will be treated on
its merits. Because we are doing this at cost, we will have to be sure
that we will be able to sell the items that you are offering us −
otherwise, we are going to be out of pocket.
5.2
What about all my data? − If you want to keep your hard drive and/or
computer so that you can transfer all your data, you can pay for the new
computer, have it delivered and then, up to one calendar month after the
purchase, return the old computer/drive to obtain your part-exchange
money.
5.2
•    Cheap computers?! − Acorn have recently re-launched their UK Teach
ers’, Academics’ and (now also including) Students’ Support Scheme. The
offer is a discount of £100 off the price of an A3000 Learning Curve
pack with monitor and stand (£899 inc VAT) or £200 off the price of an
A5000 Learning Curve pack, which includes the hi res monitor (£1599 inc
VAT).
5.2
This offer is available to teachers and academics (as before) but now
Acorn have extended it to full-time students in F.E. or H.E. whether
they are doing study or research. It also applies to teaching support
staff such as advisors, advisory teachers, inspectors and technicians in
schools and teachers’ centres. The term “academics” includes those in
teaching or research in teaching hospitals, medical schools etc.
5.2
Application forms are available from N.C.S. or your local Acorn dealer
and we would be happy to supply the computer(s) for you so that you can
benefit from our technical back-up service. There is an “assisted credit
scheme” for teachers and academics (but not students) but this is not
available through N.C.S.
5.2
•    Chequered Flag − Cambridge International Software’s racing car
simulation program has 4 race tracks, 3 levels of difficulty, design
your own car, manual or automatic gearbox, mirrors and you have single
races or can take part in a World Championship series. £24.95 from
C.I.S. or £23 through Archive.
5.2
•    Chuck Rock − is a parallax scrolling arcade game from Krisalis. Travel
around throwing rocks at appropriate things and picking up others. The
price is £25.99 from Krisalis or £24 through Archive.
5.2
•    !CL is a multi-tasking communications link with the Psion organiser.
It gives remote file access, print to file or printer, send or receive
Psion file etc. Available for £25 from Mark Godwin, 13 Prestbury Close,
Blackpole Village, Worcester  WR4 9XG.
5.2
•    CNC Designer for millers − Techsoft now have software available for
translating drawings created in Draw or in their own Designer package
into G and M codes for CNC millers. This adds to the software they
already have (though not previously mentioned here) for the control of
CNC lathes.
5.2
•    Control Logo − Longman Logotron have now finished their control Logo
for the Archimedes. It uses the same keywords as the BBC version and
allows you to control outputs and sense inputs and also has the facility
to regulate the power of outputs. It also adds extra primitives that
exploit the processing power of the Archimedes. The cost is £22 +VAT
from Longman Logotron or £24 through Archive.
5.2
•    Converta-Key − An alphabetic overlay for your keyboard which allows
children to use a keyboard set out in alphabetical order. This new
program from Triple R Education, the educational “arm” of the 4th
Dimension, works with other software as well as their own. It comes with
a range of introductory programs such as Hangman, Quizmaster, Anagrams,
Memory Master, Find It and Speed-type. The cost is £19.95 from Triple R
or £19 through Archive.
5.2
•    Creator Support − Alpine Software have produced a number of products
to help those who are using their arcade games designer package,
Creator. The Creator Support Disc, £19.95, provides various utilities
for games writers − sprite compressor, mode converter, sprite to Creator
object converter, background build up, plus an application to allow
Creator games to run in mode 9 for extra speed and to release more
memory. Sprite Library Disc 1, £5 provides sprites of various animated
characters and building blocks suitable for backgrounds. The Sound
Effects Disc 1, £5 is self-explanatory. Alpine are also now producing a
quarterly magazine called Alpine Express, £1.20 for three issues, but
free to registered Creator or ALPS owners.
5.2
•    Data Word − This is a database, from Triple R Education, aimed at use
within the National Curriculum. It works just like a card index but is
flexible enough to use it as a word processor. The cost is £19.95 from
Triple R or £19 through Archive.
5.2
•    DeskEdit − Risc Developments (a.k.a. Beebug) have produced a multi-
purpose text editor − all that !Edit should have been − with facilities
for use with Basic and C programming. £24.95 from Risc Developments Ltd.
5.2
•    DIY VIDC Enhancer − Atomwide have just released a new version of their
long established VIDC Enhancer. (For the record, they invented it and
others have copied their idea!) The hardware hasn’t changed, but the
software includes a modes editor. You can now load up any mode module
that is in memory and edit it to suit your monitor − even if it’s just
shoving it a bit to the right or to the left − and then save it as a new
module, customised to your needs. The new enhancer package is £25 +VAT
from Atomwide or £28 through Archive. If you have the Atomwide enhancer
(and NOT any of the copied versions) you can send your original modes
disc plus a cheque for £5 to Atomwide (NOT to us, please) and they will
send you a new disc and manual.
5.2
•    DrawAid − This application, which allows you to create Draw files from
within Basic programs, was reviewed in Archive 5.1 p57. Since then,
Carvic Manufacturing have (a) added extra features and a tutorial, (b)
corrected the bug that was reported and (c) moved from Cambridge to the
North of Scotland! The price of DrawAid is still £10 and the address of
Carvic Manufacturing is given in the Factfile at the back of the
magazine.
5.2
•    EasiWriter − When does a word-processor become a DTP package? Icon
Technology, who produced EasiWriter, refer to it as “more than a word-
processor” − and it certainly is. It allows text in columns, insertion
of Draw files, sprites and FWPlus files, has spell-checking and auto-
hyphenation, styles for emphasis, paragraph definition and setting
structure. N.B. It needs 2M to run on an Archimedes. (I have many
happy(?) memories of Icon Technology’s “MacAuthor” on my Apple Mac in
the very early days. Icon Technology certainly know what document
processing is all about.) It costs £150 +VAT or £160 through Archive.
5.2
•    Elite is here! − Hybrid Technology have just launched Elite on the
Archimedes. At last, the all- time best selling computer game has come
to the Archimedes which, I am sure, will do justice to this very popular
and addictive game. The Arcade bulletin board (081−654−2212) already has
an area specifically dedicated to discussions about Archimedes Elite.
The price is £39.99 from Hybrid or £37 through Archive.
5.2
•    Ethnic Borders is the intriguing title of a disc of 43 decorative
Poster borders from 4Mation. The cost is £10 +VAT or £11 through
Archive. The title is derived from the fact that many of the designs are
based on Maori art.
5.2
•    Fun School 3 − Database Educational Software have produced “six
stunning educational programs that will help to develop many skills
including number and word skills at your child’s own pace”. Their Fun
School 2 was the biggest selling educational package ever with, they
claim, over 150,000 UK sales. Fun School 3 comes in three complete sets
of six programs each for under 5’s, 5’s to 7’s and over 7’s. Each set is
£24.99 from Database or £23 through Archive.
5.2
•    Hawk V9 price drop. Wild Vision’s Hawk V9 digitiser has now dropped in
price to £199 +VAT. It comes with fully RISC-OS compliant software
providing an “extensive range of image scaling and enhancing options”
allowing sprites produced to be dragged straight into whatever desktop
applications you are using.
5.2
•    Illusionist − Clares new 3D graphics package that enables you to
create “any object of any colour, illuminate it with coloured light or
spot lights and render it in any 256 colour mode”. Features include 3D
editor, materials editor, anti-aliasing, saving in compressed or clear
formats, compressed formats being compatible with Pro-Artisan, Render
Bender II and Titler. The price is £99.95 from Clares or £89 through
Archive.
5.2
•    Lemmings which, in other computer formats, won a “Game of the Year”
award is now available on the Archimedes from Krisalis Software. Having
played it, I can see why it was an award winner. The scenario is that a
whole pile of little animals are entering the screen and have to be
guided to a safe haven before they fall off into something nasty. Sounds
a bit boring but I’m not a games freak and I found it absolutely
fascinating trying to work out how to get through each level. It costs
£25.99 from Krisalis or £24 through Archive.
5.2
•    Manchester United Europe is a football simulation from Krisalis which
takes you into European knockout competitions with management decisions
to make and arcade action matches to play. The price is £25.99 or £24
through Archive.
5.2
•    Memory upgrade for A5000 − Atomwide are just about to launch a memory
upgrade for the A5000. There is no definite price yet (but check on the
Price List which is printed later) but it will provide 4M for less than
£140 (the price of the Acorn 2 to 4M upgrade board) and it will be
upgradable to 8M by plugging in an extra MEMC and memory chips.
5.2
•    Money Matters − This is a suite of programs to teach currency facts.
It is based on the circus theme and is suitable for “tots to teens”. It
aims to teach children all about British coins and ways of tendering
money. At a more advanced level, it is designed with specific National
Curriculum attainment targets in mind. The cost is £19.95 from Triple R
or £19 through Archive.
5.2
•    Picture Book − A set of four educational games for children (no age
specified, but young, presumably) from Triple R Education. It consists
of an electronic version of an ABC book, an introduction to spelling, a
counting program and a ‘snap’ game. The cost is £19.95 from Triple R or
£19 through Archive.
5.2
•    PinPoint is a “new generation database” from Longman Logotron. Clearly
aimed at education, it provides DTP like facilities for creating and
publishing multiple page forms. It has a WYSI-WYG data entry system, a
table browser, statistics generation and graphical analysis, all of
which can be combined to produce reports based on data entered. The cost
is £99 +VAT from Longman or £105 through Archive.
5.2
•    Pirate is a swash-buckling adventure from Chalksoft for children aged
8 to 14. Steer your ship through uncharted waters coping with problems,
exploring passing ships. Logic, strategic thinking and map-making skills
are developed. It is aimed at Geography and Maths at Key Stage two. The
price is £23 from Chalksoft.
5.2
•    Repair work − Ray Maidstone, our repair expert nearly passed out when
I showed him a list of charges being suggested by one of our rivals who
have just opened a repair service. (e.g. the cost of repairing a basic
A3000 including “up to one hour’s labour” is £65 + parts + carriage +
VAT.) I won’t tell you his exact comments but I will paraphrase them as,
“Gosh, that sounds a little bit expensive − I wish I could earn £65 an
hour. Please tell your subscribers to send their computers, drives,
monitors etc to me and I will charge on the basis of how much work I
actually do on each one.”
5.2
So, there you have it, the Archive Repair Service is born! If you have
something that needs repairing, drop us a line or give us a ring and
we’ll see what we can arrange for you.
5.2
•    Replacement mouse − Clares are selling a mouse for the Archimedes
which has “tactile micro-switches, opto-mechanical sensors, high
resolution (290 tpi) and two direction sensors per axis to provide a
stable mouse pointer”. However, the best recommendation for it, as far
as I can see, is that it works and is about half the price of the Acorn
one! It costs £32 from Clares or £30 through Archive (cf £56 for the
Acorn replacement mouse.) (Actually, I didn’t find it too good as the
buttons are not separate “islands” − the whole of the front edge of the
mouse is “continuous button”. There is nowhere to rest your middle
finger when you are not using it and I found I got accidental <adjust>
clicks occurring − but to save £26, it may be worth it.)
5.2
•    ScoreDraw form Clares is a utility that takes a Rhapsody II score and
converts it to a Draw file. The cost is £61.95 from Clares or £57
through Archive. A sample printout is shown below.
5.2
•    SCSI controllers − Morley Electronics have two new SCSI controller
cards available. They are both 16-bit interfaces for speed and one has
an added RAM cache, again to speed it up more. The prices are £149 and
£199 +VAT respectively. The A3000 versions have to be external to the
computer and are cased in metal, so they are £169 and £219 respectively.
The Archive prices are £160 and £220 for A400/540/5000 and £180 and £240
for A3000.
5.2
We have done some speed tests to compare it with the Oak SCSI interface.
We tested it on an A3000 with an ARM2 processor connected to an Atomwide
100M high speed Quantum drive. We did the raw file loading speed test,
our “better test” where we copy the contents of a directory containing
all the files on Applications Disc 2 and the same test but using the
contents of Applications Disc 1. The results are shown in the review
article about SCSI versus IDE on page 19.
5.2
•    SCSI drives − We are also now supplying Morley’s 40M and 100M SCSI
drives. The Archive prices are £350 and £560 respectively for internal
drives and £435 and £620 respectively for A3000 drives. These prices
include a non-cached board because, as suggested by the timings of the
SCSI boards mentioned above, it hardly seems worth the extra £50 to have
the cached version. (Morley have done some comparative tests of their
boards against Oaks and say that for larger drives, 200M+, their cached
board “leaves Oak board standing”.)
5.2
With the proliferation of SCSI drives that we now sell and the various
SCSI interface options it has all got a bit complicated so let me try to
simplify things a bit. (Actually, the best bet is to ring us up, tell us
what sort of thing you are looking for, and we will advise you what
options there are.)
5.2
A3000 drives are the simplest in some ways because they have to be
external drives. In the 40 to 50M range, the Morley 40M is the cheapest
at £435 but then if you want something a bit faster and a bit bigger,
the Frog 45M with the Morley interface comes out at £480. This is an
external interface but if you want to, or have to, have an internal
interface, it has to be the Lingenuity one which is the same price as
the Morley one but is a bit slower being only an 8-bit interface. If you
want the fastest in this range, you would have to go for the Atomwide
50M drive with a Morley external interface at a total of £585 (£425 +
160).
5.2
If you want a 100M drive for your A3000, it works out that the Frog
external 100M plus Morley interface is the cheapest at £580 (£420 +
£160). For a faster drive, you could choose the Atomwide 100M plus
Morley interface at £755 (£595 + £160).
5.2
If you want an internal drive for an A310 or A410, the cheapest is,
again, the Morley 40M at £350 followed by the Oak Worrawinnie 45M at
£405 and the Frog 45M with Morley interface at £430. At 100M internal,
the cheapest is the Frog with a Morley interface at £530 (£390 + £140)
followed by Morley’s own 100M at £560 and Oak’s Worrawinnie at £570. For
higher speed, you could go for Oak’s HS drive at £660 or Atomwide’s 100M
with Morley interface at £645 (£505 + £140).
5.2
If you want an external drive for an A310 or A400 series machine (or an
A5000!) because you can’t fit an internal drive, there is a similar
range as for the A3000 but at slightly different prices because of the
different costs of the interfaces. In the 40 to 50M range, the Morley
40M is the cheapest at £425 but then if you want something a bit faster
and a bit bigger, the Frog 45M with the Morley interface comes out at
£460. If you want the fastest in this range, you could choose between
the Atomwide 50M drive with a Morley interface at a total of £565 (£425
+ £140) and the Oak HS 50M at £560.
5.2
If you want a 100M drive, the Frog external 100M plus Morley interface
is the cheapest at £560 (£420 + £140). For a faster drive, you would
have to go to the Atomwide 100M plus Morley interface at £735 (£595 +
£140).
5.2
If you are unhappy about the “unproven” nature of the Morley software
interface and prefer the extremely stable Oak software then you will
need to add £40 to the price of an A3000 podule and £60 for an internal
podule on other the machines.
5.2
•    Search & Rescue is a role play program for children aged 9+. An
emergency at sea is reported and, as Coastguard, it is your task to
coordinate the actions of lifeboats and helicopters. It brings in
elements of Maths, Geography, English, History and Science. The price is
£33.50 from Storm Software or £31 through Archive.
5.2
•    Sesame Street Crayon is a computer colouring book. Lots of pictures
for you to colour by clicking on the colour you want and clicking on the
area you want to fill. The result can then be printed on a colour
printer. It comes in two varieties, Numbers Count and Letters for You,
which gives a clue to the fact that these programs also have an
education content − rather like Sesame Street TV programme. Each pack is
£19 through Archive.
5.2
•    Sky Hunter is a computer program linked to BBC’s new TV series
starting in January 1992 − Look and Read. Sky Hunter is a peregrine
falcon and the children’s job is to catch some crooks who intend to sell
Sky Hunter illegally. To catch them, you have to solve various problems
along the way. This program, aimed at 7 to 9’s costs £24 +VAT from
Longman Logotron or £26 through Archive.
5.2
•    Statistical software − If you need to do statistical analysis then
FirstJR is a cut down version of Serious Statistical Software’s package,
First. FirstJR costs £49 with a school site licence for £140.
5.2
•    Step by Step Videos − Pedigree Films have produced a set of four
videos to help you with using the A3000 and other Archimedes computers.
They are £14.95 each (£14 through Archive). Up & Running (80 mins), Text
Processing (70 mins), Data Handling (55 mins) and Art & Graphics (55
mins).
5.2
•    Target Maths − This is a suite of four programs designed with specific
National Curriculum attainment targets in mind. Eliminator helps in
learning tables; NumberFax shows factors, odd and triangular numbers
etc; Scale Factor helps in reading linear scales and, at higher level,
improve arithmetic skills; Slider is a computer version of snakes and
ladders. The cost is £19.95 from Triple R or £19 through Archive.
5.2
•    The Font Book from Dalmatian Productions is a user guide for fonts on
the Archimedes range of computers. This 100+ page book comes complete
with a disc of outline fonts and decorative draw files for just £10.50
inclusive − cheques payable to T. Richards.
5.2
•    The Public Key − This magazine which promotes interest in Public Key
Cryptography has had to increase its charges as the initial levels were
not realistic to cover costs. Issue 1 and issue 2 each cost £3 (£4 from
EEC and £5.50 elsewhere). The disc containing the cryptography program
is £6 (£7 from EEC and £8 elsewhere). The complete package of two issues
plus disc is £11 (£13 from EEC and £17 elsewhere). Cheques (in dollars
or pounds sterling) should be made payable to George Foot.
5.2
•    Tower of Babel − an interactive 3D strategy game involving an
interconnecting network of towers, platforms and lifts. You have to take
control of robot spiders and program them to solve problems and puzzles
and interact with various other creatures. Alternatively, realtime
control is available for instantaneous reaction to the game’s develop
ments. £24.99 from Cygnus Software or £23 through Archive.
5.2
•    VoxBox − This is a supporting package to Rhapsody II, Maestro and
other music packages. It allows you to play scores, provides percussion
sounds, converts sound samples into Archimedes voices and allows you to
digitally synthesize voices by drawing waveforms or harmonics. The price
is £61.95 (inc VAT) from Clares or £57 through Archive.
5.2
•    Waterloo − This successful simulation from Atari, Amiga & PC’s is now
available on the Archimedes. The author, Dr Peter Turcan, seems to have
enjoyed doing the transfer. It has 3D perspective pictures of the
battlefield, sounds of canon and an English language parser to interpret
the orders that you, the commander-in-chief give to your subordinate
officers. The cost is £24.95 plus £1 p&p from Turcan Research Systems
and for that, you get a disc, full manual and a colour map of the
terrain and the initial dispositions of the armies.
5.2
Review software received...
5.2
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
Converta-Key, Data Word, Money Matters, Picture Book, !CL Psion comms,
VIDC Enhancer software, Fun & Games, Design Concepts fonts, Sky Hunter,
!BasShrink, Hawk V9 updated software, Illusionist, Vox Box, ScoreDraw,
Easiwriter, Bambuzle, Fun School 3 (over 7’s), Pirate, four Step by Step
videos, Base5 DBMS, PinPoint, Ethnic Borders, Turbo Type, Genesis Script
Language book, Air Supremacy, PrimeArt, Imagine, Waterloo, OutLook for
Eizo 9080i.  A
5.2

5.2
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.2
You would be amazed at the number of people, on our Technical Help
Service, who ring us up and state a problem and then our side of the
conversation goes something like... “Have you read the manual?”  “No?
Well the answer is on page ....”
5.2
Sue has just come back from running a Brownie Pack Holiday. “Do you
know”, she said, “of the twelve Brownies there, only four of them are
living with both their natural parents!” The experts analyse the problem
and amaze us all by saying that “children of broken homes are X times
more likely to have their own marriages end in divorce”.
5.2
I just want to shout out, “Won’t someone please read the Manual!” − I am
writing this through a veil of tears because it just cracks me up to see
so many people whose lives are in such a mess because of the poverty of
their marriage relationships.
5.2
What’s the problem? It’s not that we don’t know what’s right (although
the children of this generation are getting more and more confused about
what really is right) but it’s jolly hard work to do what’s right,
especially in a marriage. The Manual says that we need to get our
relationship with God right first, then He will be able to give us the
strength to make our human relationships work properly.
5.2
So, if your marriage is a bit rocky at the moment, it’s not a marriage
guidance counsellor (sorry, a Relate counsellor, as they are now called)
that you want in the first instance. Try reading the Manual or, better
still, go to someone you know who is a committed Christian and who reads
the Manual regularly and ask them, “How can I get my relationship with
God sorted out?”.
5.2
(If you do take my advice and find the joy of coming into a new
relationship with God, do tell me − it would be such an encouragement to
me because writing these comments is never easy.  Thanks,  Paul.)
5.2

5.2

5.2
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
5.2

5.2
4th Dimension     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.2
4mation    11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (0271−25353) (−22974)
5.2
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
5.2
Acorn Direct    13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
5.2
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (−210685)
5.2
Ace Computing (p34)    27 Victoria
Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223−322559) (−69180)
5.2
Aleph One Ltd    The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(0223−811679) (−812713)
5.2
Alpine Software     P.O.Box 25, Portadown, Craigavon, BT63 5UT.
(0762−342510)
5.2
Arxe Systems Ltd     P.O.Box 898, Forest Gate, London E7 9RG. (081−534−1198
evenings)
5.2
Atomwide Ltd    23 The Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689−838852)
(−896088)
5.2
Base5 (p31)        PO Box 378, Woking, Surrey GU21 4DF.
5.2
Beebug Ltd (pp10,14,23,24)    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (−60263)
5.2
Carvic Manufacturing     Moray Park,
Findhorn Road, Forres, Moray, Scotland, IV36 0TP. (0309−72793)
5.2
Chalksoft    P.O. Box 49, Spalding, Lincs, PE11 1NZ. (0775−769518)
5.2
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606−48511)
(−48512)
5.2
Colton Software (p9)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (−312010)
5.2
Computer Concepts (p32/3)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (−231632)
5.2
Cygnus Software    11 Newmarke Street, Leicester, LE1 5SS.
5.2
Dalmation Publications    37 Manor
Road, Teddington, Middlesex  TW11 8AA.
5.2
Database Publications    Europa
House, Adlington Park, London Road, Adlington, Macclesfield, Cheshire,
SK10 5NP. (0625−859444) (−879966)
5.2
Digital Services    9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS.
(0705−210600) (−210705)
5.2
Eterna    4 rue de Massacan, 34740 Z.I. Vendargues, France. (010−33 +67 70
53 97)
5.2
Hybrid Technology    88 Butt Lane, Milton, Cambridge  CB4 6DG.
(0223−861522)
5.2
Ian Copestake Software    10 Frost
Drive, Wirral, L61 4XL. (051−632−1234) (−3434)
5.2
Icon Technology    0533−546225 (or Mike Glover on 057−286−642)
5.2
Krisalis Software    Teque House, Mason’s Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate,
Rotherham, S60 2HD. (0709−372290)
5.2
Lingenuity (Lindis)    P.O.Box 10,
Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 0DX. (0986−85−476) (−460)
5.2
Longman-Logotron    Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LJ.
(0223−323656) (−460208)
5.2
LOOKsystems (p13)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (−764011)
5.2
Micro Studio Ltd    22 Churchgate Street, Soham, Ely, Cambridgeshire.
(0353−720433)
5.2
Morley Electronics     Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29 7TY. (091−257−6355)
(−6373)
5.2
Oak Solutions (p40)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532−502615) (−506868)
5.2
Pedigree Films Ltd     Unit B11,
Trinity Business Centre, 305 Rotherhithe Street, London  SE16 1EY.
(071−231−6137) (−237−5776)
5.2
Ray Maidstone (p22)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603−407060) (−417447)
5.2
Spacetech (p39)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.2
Storm Software    Beth House, Poyntington, Sherbourne, Dorset.
(0963−22469)
5.2
Superior Software    P.O. Box 6, Brigg, S Humberside  DN20 9NH.
(0652−658585) (−657807)
5.2
Triple R     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.2
Turcan Research Systems    83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071−625−8455)
5.2
Wild Vision    15 Witney Way, Boldon Colliery, Tyne & Wear NE35 9PE.
(091−519−1455) (−1929)
5.2

5.2

5.2
Computer Concepts
5.2
New or
5.2
From 5.1 page 30
5.2

5.2
Computer Concepts
5.2
New or
5.2
From 5.1 page 31
5.2

5.2
Colton
5.2
NEW
5.2
(or 4.1 page 12)
5.2

5.2
Risc Developments Ovation Advert
5.2
New
5.2

5.2
Hints and Tips
5.2
•    Fatal error type = 5 revisited (Archive 4.12 p9) − It’s not only !Edit
that reports this error, !Draw and some other Applications abort with a
similar error, but you might want to use !Edit, for example, with fonts.
The version in Archive 4.12 p9 simply hides the !Font-folder, so the
idea is to have the Applications just to see part of the !Fonts folder.
The easiest thing to do is simply to split up the fonts-directory into
directories − i.e. create two directories within !Fonts − in the first
directory (maybe SmallFonts within your !Fonts Folder) just put the
really necessary fonts in (just Trinity, Homerton, Corpus or so), but
remember that there may only be up to 50 fonts (approximately) −
including styles (say Italic, Medium, Bold etc). In the second directory
(maybe LargeFonts) put every font that is not already included in the
first directory.
5.2
The next thing to change is your !Boot and !Run-File from the !Fonts
application.
5.2
The !Boot file should read as follows:
5.2
| !Boot file for !Fonts
5.2
| *********************
5.2
IconSprites <Obey$Dir>.!Sprites
5.2
RMEnsure FontManager 2.42 RMLoad <Obey$Dir>.Fonts
5.2
RMEnsure SuperSample 0.04 RMLoad <Obey$Dir>.Super
5.2
Set Small$Fonts <Obey$Dir>. SmallFonts.
5.2
Set Large$Fonts <Small$Fonts> ,<Obey$Dir>.LargeFonts.
5.2
If “<Font$Prefix>”=“” Then SetMacro Font$Path <Font$Prefix>
5.2
If “<Font$Prefix>”=“” Then Set Font$Prefix <Large$Fonts>
5.2
SET Alias$@RunType_745 RUN <Obey$Dir>.FontHelp -Obey %%*0
5.2
SET File$Type_745 FontObey
5.2

5.2
The !Run file should read as follows:
5.2
| !Run file for !Fonts
5.2
| ********************
5.2
Obey <Obey$Dir>.!Boot
5.2
Echo Outline Font Manager 2.42 installed.
5.2
Echo Fonts now available:
5.2
Echo
5.2
FontCat
5.2

5.2
In addition, you have to create a Basic program called Fonthelp, which
should be situated in the !Font folder and should read like this:
5.2
REM >FontHelp  Version 1.00 20.1.91
5.2
REM *******************************
5.2
REM Written by: Martin Sperl
5.2
REM             Nattergasse 12/32
5.2
REM             A-1170 Vienna (Wien)
5.2
REM             AUSTRIA
5.2

5.2
END=&A000
5.2
DIM Data 255
5.2
SYS“OS_GetEnv” TO ENV$
5.2
ENV$=MID$(ENV$,INSTR(ENV$,“-Obey ”) +6)
5.2
*SET Font$Prefix <Small$Fonts>
5.2
SYS “Hourglass_On”
5.2
SYS “Wimp_Initialise”,200, &4B534154,“**LoadMore**”
5.2
 TO ,TaskHandle%
5.2
SYS “Wimp_StartTask”,“OBEY ”+ENV$
5.2
REPEAT
5.2
SYS “Wimp_Poll”,0,Data TO R%
5.2
UNTIL R%=0
5.2
SYS “Wimp_CloseDown”,TaskHandle%
5.2
*SET Font$Prefix <Large$Fonts>
5.2
SYS “Hourglass_Off”
5.2
END
5.2
Then create a sprite called “file_745” (maybe the same sprite as for an
Obey-file, but another colour) and include it in the !Sprites file of
!Fonts.
5.2
To start an application which can only handle some fonts without errors
just change the Filetype of the !Run-file with “Settype !Run FontObey”
to FontObey. Then you can start the application as normal without having
to worry about fonts at all.
5.2
Martin Sperl, Austria
5.2
•    Formatting PC disks − If, like me, you do not have a PC Filer on your
Archimedes you will have to format DOS diskettes (for use with the PC
Emulator) on a PC. If your PC has a 1.44M drive the standard FORMAT
command needs modifying. The command to use is
5.2
FORMAT  A:  /N:9  /T:80
5.2
This certainly works on the PS/2 55SX I have at work.  Richard Wheeler,
Wokingham  A
5.2

5.2
Impression H & T
5.2
•    Function key changes − Computer Concepts have chosen to use <ctrl-F3>
and <ctrl-F4> for ‘save’ and ‘search and replace’ instead of the more
standard <F3> and <F4>. If you prefer to use the latter, simply go into
the edit styles dialogue (<ctrl-F6>), select first italic and then bold
and, on each, change the keyboard shortcut (or delete it altogether), as
follows... You could, for example, change from <F3> to <shift-ctrl-F3>
by clicking in the shortcut box, pressing <ctrl-U> to delete the
existing text and pressing <shift-ctrl-F3>, at which point the words
“<shift-ctrl-F3>” will appear in the box. Click OK and <F3> will now
produce the desired “save” effect.
5.2
If you already have a lot of documents, this could prove a frustration
since you would have to do this with every document individually. Also,
you would need to go into Impression’s Auto directory and edit the
default document. Michael Ben-Gershon, Israel.
5.2
•    Only 77 graphics frames allowed in a chapter − Impression won’t allow
more than 77 graphics frames in a single chapter. This is due to the
ADFS limitation of 77 files per directory − earlier versions of
Impression (2.03) normally crashed after loading the offending file when
displaying. Impression 2.1 does not allow to save a file with more than
77 graphics-frames per chapter. I mentioned it to CC but they told me
“This is something that would be extremely difficult to overcome. It
should only affect a very small percentage of users”. So beware of too
many frames in one chapter !!! Martin Sperl, Austria
5.2
Couldn’t you get round this by putting several draw objects together in
a single file and then show different parts of the same file in
different frames? I haven’t tried it, but it should work. Ed.
5.2
•    Running Impression documents from !TinyDirs − If you use !TinyDirs to
install an Impression document on the icon bar and then click on it to
run it, a new copy of !Impress will be fired up even if one is already
running.
5.2
This seems to be because of a small mistake in the !TinyDirs.!RunImage
programme. In the PROCdataopen procedure are two lines which read as
follows:
5.2
900 q%?(44+LEN$(q%+44))=0
5.2
910 q%!0=(48+LEN$(q%+44))ANDNOT3
5.2
If you reverse the order of these two lines the program runs correctly.
Hugh Eagle, Horsham
5.2
•    Special Characters − The full list of ISO 8859 characters is included
in the Archimedes User Guide, e.g. page 455 for the Latin 1 alphabet.
However, it’s not too helpful in that it is listed in hexadecimal. If
you want to enter characters using <Alt> and the numeric keypad, you
need to know the decimal numbers. Those of you with EFF fonts will have
a manual that shows various of the character sets by decimal number.
This is particularly useful for Zapf Dingbats and MathGreek fonts. Jim
Nottingham, York.
5.2
(For those without EFF fonts, I have put an Impression file on the
monthly program disc so that you can print out your own lists of
characters just by changing the font in the style definition. Ed.)
5.2
• Wrong sprite colours in Impression − If, when you drag a sprite into
an Impression frame, the colours come out all wrong, it’s probably
because the sprite has not got a palette. If so, the answer is to give
it a palette, which can be done as follows:
5.2
1.    Load the sprite file containing your sprite into !Paint.
5.2
2.    Double click on the thumbnail picture of the sprite you want to
alter.
5.2
3.    Click <menu> over the sprite window that now appears, then move to
the Edit submenu and click on the Palette item at the bottom.
5.2
4.    Save the amended sprite file.
5.2
5.    Load the amended sprite back into Impression.
5.2
(Note: if you don’t want to keep the amended sprite, you can, if you
like, shortcut steps 4 and 5 and save the sprite direct from !Paint into
Impression.) Hugh Eagle, Horsham  A
5.2

5.2
Risc Dev’ments
5.2
IDE Drives
5.2
New
5.2

5.2
The IDEal Hard Drive?
5.2
Brian Philp
5.2
There has been a lot of interest recently in IDE drives which, coming
from the PC market appear to provide a cheap alternative to SCSI drives
− but how IDEal are they? Brian Philp sent an unsolicited article about
his experiences with an Ian Copestake’s ideA drive, then I discovered an
excellent article on the Arcade Bulletin board (081−654−2212) by Michael
Tubby giving a careful comparison of IDE and SCSI, including the
historical background. Michael has kindly agreed to allow us to publish
his article here. Finally, Ian Copestake very kindly allowed us to
borrow an 80M IDE drive and interface which I put through its paces. So,
at the end, I add my own personal views of the relative merits of IDE
and SCSI.
5.2
But let Brian Philp start...
5.2
Recently I bought an 80 Mbyte external hard disc from Ian Copestake
Software for my A3000. Today I installed their Whisper fan quietener.
This is to give you my impression of the products.
5.2
The hard disc cost £598 (inc VAT) which included an interface card which
was simplicity itself to fit. I switched on and there on the icon bar
was an extra disc drive icon. It told me that I had a massive
85,000,000+ bytes free. I made a standard 10M DOS partition but with 5M
of that filled and other files loaded, I now have more than 35M of the
disk full! So much for toying with the idea of a 20 or 40M disk.
5.2
The only drawback was the noise from the drive − mainly the fan. I
discovered that this drive also has the powersave feature of the
internal ideA drives and so, by setting *powersave n, the disc drive
shuts down after 5 × n seconds. This cut down the noise somewhat but the
fan noise was still intrusive. I rang the technical help number (who
were extremely helpful about a small misunderstanding that I had about
fitting the interface) and they informed me that they were designing a
fan quietener. Three days ago, Ian Copestake rang me to say they now had
the quietener and asked if I would like one (£17.63 inc VAT). I must say
I was very impressed with this quality of service. I had expected to
have to hunt round the journals waiting for an advert to appear.
5.2
Yesterday it arrived and I have just fitted it − again a very simple
task. Removing four screws (two at the front and two at the rear)
removes the top of the casing. One has to take a little care to slide
the casing slightly to the left to prevent the warning LED light from
catching on something inside. The casing then has to be laid on the
right hand side of the body of the drive because the lead to the LED
comes from that side. I am reporting this because the documentation does
not mention either which screws to remove (there are some others on the
side of the casing) or about the LED.
5.2
Switching on, the fan started up and then went quiet. This is a test
feature so that you know that the fan is working. There was still some
noise but when the powersave feature came into action virtual silence
reigned. There is a very slight noise coming from the fan which is
working at 10% of its maximum speed but it is hardly noticeable. The
ambient temperature is about 20°C and it has been on for about 1 hour
now without the fan coming into play. The difference is wonderful.
5.2
I can only strongly recommend ideA disc drives to anyone contemplating
the move to greater and faster storage. I have an A440 at work, so I
really appreciate the lack of noise and detect a greater speed of
working. However, I do not know how it compares with a SCSI drive. (See
the table below − yes, it is slightly faster than a 47M ST506 drive.
Ed.)
5.2
The only warning I would give is that a lot of software has been written
with the implicit assumption that ADFS is the only filing system. (ideA
uses its own IDEFS filing system software). This means that some !Boot
and !Run files have to be modified. This probably also goes for SCSI
drives. I have had some problems with some software − notably E-Type and
Holed Out. It seems to be related to the fact that the Shared C Library
in the !System folder is on the IDE drive and the software cannot find
it. There are also problems with some of the games software that changes
the configuration in order to steal extra memory.  A
5.2
The merits of IDE versus SCSI
5.2
Michael Tubby
5.2
This short paper describes the differences between Integrated Drive
Electronics (IDE) and Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) disk drives
and interfaces, and highlights the relative merits of both types of
interface.
5.2
What is IDE?
5.2
Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE), otherwise known as PC/AT disk
interface, is a system where the hard disk drive has the controller also
built into it. It was developed by disc drive manufacturers for the PC/
AT (286), 386 and 486 based machines to give reasonable performance and
capacity with low cost mass produced disc drives.
5.2
The interface cable to the computer is a 40 way ribbon cable which
carries the data bus, address bus and other timing signals straight from
the computer’s expansion bus. The disk drive appears to the computer as
a memory mapped peripheral emulating a standard PC/AT type disk
controller.
5.2
IDE is a market-lead “defacto standard” which has not been ratified by
any international standards committee. Not all manufacturers’ devices
are compatible or interchangeable − particular problems can occur when
two different makes or models of disk drive are used on one computer
system.
5.2
What is SCSI?
5.2
The Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) is a mass storage/peripheral
device interconnection bus which was evolved from the earlier SASI
standard. SCSI is an internationally defined standard by ANSI (X3.131/
86−109) and ECMA.
5.2
SCSI bus is used on a wide range of computer systems ranging from
personal computers through work stations to larger mini computers.
5.2
Physically, the SCSI bus is a 50 way ribbon cable up to 6m long with up
to 8 devices (including the computer(s)). Each device can be a disk
drive, disk controller (with one or more drives), tape streamer, CD-ROM
drive, terminal controller, high performance laser printer etc.
5.2
SCSI was designed with the concept of device/manufacturer interchange
ability and high performance in mind.
5.2
Conclusion
5.2
There is really nothing inherently “better” about IDE or SCSI. They are
rather different interfaces, designed for different purposes and market
places. Some advertisers have been hyping their products on the basis
that “IDE is newer and therefore better...” − this clearly is not the
case.
5.2
Acorn have now adopted IDE for internal hard discs on the new A5000
machine, but still support SCSI as the external disk drive interface and
interface for other peripherals (e.g. CD-ROM) on the complete Archimedes
range.
5.2
What to buy?
5.2
If you want a maximum of one or two hard disc drives (between say 20 and
200M capacity), connected internally with moderate performance, then an
IDE based system is likely to be most cost effective.
5.2
If, on the other hand, you want to be able to add several disc drives,
high performance (>1M/sec throughput), large capacity drives (>200M
storage per drive) or other storage or peripheral devices such as CD-
ROM, high speed printers, document readers/scanners, hard discs with
removable media, tape-streamers etc, then SCSI represents a better, more
flexible, interface standard.  A
5.2
Relative merits of IDE and SCSI
5.2
IDE
5.2
•    Low cost
5.2
•    Medium performance typically up to around 1M/sec
5.2
•    Supports disk drives only

5.2
•    Maximum of 2 devices
5.2

5.2
•    Storage capacity per drive typically up to 200M
5.2
•    Maximum cable length 20“
5.2
•    Manufacturers’ defacto standard
5.2
SCSI
5.2
•    Higher initial cost
5.2
•    Higher performance typically up to 4M/sec (See notes 1 & 3.)
5.2
•    Supports range of storage devices and peripherals, e.g. disk drives,
CD-ROM, scanners, printers, tape streamers etc.
5.2
•    Supports up to 7 controllers each with one or more disk drives
5.2
•    Storage capacity per drive typically up to 1.3 Gbytes. (See note 2.)
5.2
•    Maximum cable length 6m
5.2
•    Industry standard
5.2
Notes:
5.2
1.    SCSI bus can transfer up to 6 M/sec asynchronous but controller
cards on Archimedes cannot handle this speed.
5.2
    Acorn’s SCSI card (AKA-30) peaks at 1.5 M/sec and averages around 1.0
M/sec.
5.2
    The Serial Port’s SCSI card (ASA-160) peaks at 2.9 M/sec and averages
1.8 M/sec.
5.2
    The Morley cached card peaks at 3.98 M/sec.
5.2
2.    Storage capacity of SCSI drives can exceed the 512M limit imposed
by FileCore in RISC-OS. Disk drives greater than 512M have to be
partitioned into smaller logical units of 512M or less.
5.2
3.    Overall throughput is a function of disk drive make/performance,
interface card design/performance and CPU speed.
5.2
Wot?! No IDE?
5.2
Paul Beverley
5.2
When Ian Copestake started his pioneer work of selling IDE drives for
the Archimedes, almost a year ago now, we were asked if we would make
them available to Archive subscribers. At that stage we declined the
offer because we wanted to see a more proven track record on both
hardware and software before getting involved. This decision was born
out of bitter experience from the early days of SCSI drives on the
Archimedes. We had a lot of trouble with bugs in the software and poor
supply of drives and eventually felt that we had to stop supplying one
particular make of SCSI drives.
5.2
We have been asked several times recently why N.C.S. still hasn’t gone
into selling IDE drives. So, when Brian Philp’s quite positive review
came through, I decided to look into it again and asked Ian Copestake if
I could borrow one of the drives that Brian was using. However, as a
result of our investigations, we have decided to continue our policy of
not stocking IDE drives, so I felt it right to give our reasons.
5.2
Hardware reliability
5.2
There have been problems in the past with unreliable hardware − drives
and interfaces failing. However, from what I can gather, these problems
(which are bound to happen in the early stages of any new product like
this) have been ironed out and virtually all of the reports we have had
speak of the excellent service given by I.C.S. in sorting out such
problems. (Would that all such companies in the Archimedes market would
respond as well when things went wrong. There has been considerable
discussion on Arcade recently of problems experienced in dealing with
certain Archimedes companies.)
5.2
Software reliability
5.2
With any new product, there are likely to be bugs in the software. If it
is, say, a word processor, the worst that can happen is that a bug can
cause you to lose a document that you had been working on − frustrating,
but not disastrous. With a filing system, bugs in the software can have
more serious consequences − therefore I need to be sure that the
software is “robust”. The existing software has been in use over a year
now and so it should be OK but ICS are doing a complete re-write of the
software (see Ian Copestake’s comments below) so, until this new
software has become well-established, I would not want to trust my own
vital data to its care.
5.2
Compatibility
5.2
Michael Tubby has already mentioned that there can be problems with IDE
drives from different suppliers not being compatible with one another.
I.C.S. say that they are aware of the problem and have a “recommended
drive list” which they will give to any of their customers who want to
add a second drive to their existing one, though they do say that they
want to encourage customers not to buy the interface apart from the
drive(s). The only drive I have heard of that gives problems on some
SCSI controllers is the Syquest removable drive. It works all right with
Oak, Lingenuity and Morley interfaces but Acorn have STILL not got it
working on their (newer) AKA31 SCSI interface although it’s OK on their
(now discontinued) AKA30 SCSI interface. We do, however, have a software
patch to make the Acorn board work with Syquest but the author is
charging £30 for it!
5.2
Versatility
5.2
Again, as Michael has mentioned, IDE is only for hard drives whereas
SCSI, although more expensive to start off with, provides an interface
to other devices such as CD-ROMs, scanners, tape-streamers etc.
5.2
Speed
5.2
... or rather lack of it. I did the two standard speed tests that I
perform on most drives and the results are shown in the table opposite.
As you can see, in terms of speed, the 80M IDE comes below the 20M
Worrawinnie (except in mode 21). I.C.S. say that they are on the look
out for faster drives at a reasonable price. They have found one such
drive which runs at almost 1000 kbytes/sec, but it’s a 200M drive − more
than most people want these days. (Mind you, I remember when 20M was
thought to be quite a large drive!)
5.2
Beware of salesmen
5.2
At the Acorn User Show, a representative of one well known computer
peripheral supplier (not, I hasten to add, I.C.S.!), when asked about
the relative merits of SCSI and IDE said that IDE was faster (which is
not true), more reliable (highly debatable) and cheaper (true!). I
personally got much the same story from another such company when I
asked a similar question over the phone. In both cases, the companies
were selling IDE drives but not SCSI.
5.2
“Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?” I hear you say. “You’re
selling SCSI and not IDE and are recommending SCSI!” True, but the
difference is that I have not developed either and could sell either. I
have looked at the relative merits and have decided that I would not
want to recommend IDE to my customers and risk the come-back if things
went wrong. The two companies I referred to had, at that stage, only
developed IDE drives and not SCSI and were making recommendations purely
on the basis of where they could make the most profit. I have deliber
ately not bothered to look into the profit margins on the two types of
drives so that it didn’t influence my decision.
5.2
Cost
5.2
OK, the IDE drives can be cheaper than SCSI, initially, but if you want,
say, a flatbed scanner you are going to need a SCSI interface anyway −
or if you want a CD-ROM. So, it makes more sense to me to pay a little
more now to save money in the long run.
5.2
(You may say that you can’t afford scanners and CD-ROMs, but look what
has happened to the price of laser printers! Who would have thought,
even a year ago, that you would be able to get a high speed 600 d.p.i.
laser printer for under £1000 (+ VAT)? My incredibly slow, 300 d.p.i.
Apple Laserwriter cost me over £3,000 five years ago.)
5.2
Conclusion
5.2
I think it’s a case of “you get what you pay for”. If cost is the over-
riding influence than you have to look at IDE but if reliability, speed,
compatibility and versatility are important, then SCSI is worth
considering.
5.2
Ian Copestake comments: We are at the beta test stage with new software
which will improve speed performance by typically 20%. Further tuning of
this software will raise the figure. Software updates (i.e. a new EPROM)
will be offered to existing and current purchasers at a very modest cost
(probably about £15).
5.2
The maximum limit of two drives will be overcome, indeed, some suppliers
are already claiming to have done it. Storage capacity is becoming less
of a limitation − we can already supply 300M drives and this figure
rises all the time. The maximum cable length is 24“, not 20”.
5.2
(It would need a 30% speed increase to bring the 80M drive up to the
speed of the 20M Worrawinnie. Ed.)  A
5.2
    (a) Speed    (b) Copy Test 1    (c) Copy
Test 2    Archive Price
5.2
All speeds in kbytes/second        =
Apps 2    = Apps 1    Internal  External
5.2
                           Mode:    0    15
21    0    15    21    0    15    21

5.2
100M Atomwide (o)    1170    1170
735    66.3    60.5    46.5    83.8
79.0    61.4        700    790
5.2
100M Atomwide (mu)    1170
979    524    66.5    61.2    43.2
81.9    75.4    55.7        640
730
5.2
100M Atomwide (mc)    1170
1170    1116    66.3    61.6    46.7
84.0    79.0    62.4        700
790
5.2
100M Frog (Oak card)    888
888    285    61.9    55.0    39.2
67.8    64.6    44.5        590
620
5.2
(100M A540 Conner *    790
790    790    61.2    59.7    58.6
79.5    78.6    76.0        −
     −   )
5.2
(40M A5000 IDE *    817    817
716    46.4    46.0    44.0    59.6
58.1    56.8        −         −   )
5.2
65M Frog + Oak card    796
796    574    52.6    51.0    37.9
75.0    70.8    50.8        520
550
5.2
45M Worrawinnie    659    659    55
41.0    38.8    14.6    49.5    46.5
15.9        405    500
5.2
20M Worrawinnie    607    607    55
41.2    38.0    14.1    46.9    44.0
15.8        345    395
5.2
80M IDE from ICS    472    439
404    32.4    29.8    24.6    41.5
38.5    31.9        457    586
5.2
47M ST506    416    416    82    −      −
     −      −      −      −          −    −
5.2
(o) is using Oak podule,  (mu) is using Morley unchached podule and (mc)
is using Morley unchached podule.
5.2
* The A5000 and A540 drives are not a fair comparison in some ways as
they are being run on an ARM3 machine − all the other tests were done on
an A410 with ARM2.
5.2
Speed test results for a number of different hard drives
5.2
These are the result of some speed tests done to compare different
drives and interfaces. We tested them on an A3000 with an ARM2 proces
sor. We did the raw file loading/saving speed test (a), our “better
test” where we copy the contents of a directory containing all the files
on Applications Disc 2 (b) and the same test as (b) but using the
contents of Applications Disc 1 (c).
5.2

5.2
Small Ads
5.2
•    A3000 colour + £200 worth of software. Offers around £750. Phone
Shanwaz on 0703−677669 after 7 p.m.
5.2
•    A3000 colour, 2M ram + software, £700. Epson printer + ribbons £75.
Phone 0603−55303.
5.2
•    A3000 colour, 2M ram, serial upgrade, monitor stand, Epson printer
£800 o.n.o. Free delivery and set up within 50 miles of Aldershot. Phone
Darren on 0252−345641.
5.2
•    A3000 Learning Curve with Atomwide 4M board, Interdictor II & dust
cover − £750 o.n.o. Phone 0305−775507 evenings.
5.2
•    A310 2M ram (Atomwide), 20M drive (Oak SCSI) and Electrohome multi-
sync £900 o.n.o. Phone Mike on 081−579−0607
5.2
•    A310 colour 2-way backplane, 5¼“ interface, games £600. Phone Dave
after 6 on 0299−270443.
5.2
•    A310 colour 4M ram, 45M Oak SCSI, c.p.u. recently overhauled, £995.
Phone Colin Singleton on 0742−368797.
5.2
•    A310 Colour, Citizen Swift 24 printer, FW Plus, monitor stand, paper
and assorted PD £700 o.n.o. Acorn JP150 inkjet printer (brand new) £200
o.n.o. Phone Andrew on 0532−752798 evenings.
5.2
•    A310M colour dual 3½“ floppies, backplane, 5¼” interface £450 o.n.o.
Phone Arthur on 0276−22031.
5.2
•    A310M colour, 4-slot b-plane £500 o.n.o., Opus system solver + chair
£50, Uchida daisywheel printer with s-feeder £60, Roland DXY 880A
plotter £280. Phone 0986−872465.
5.2
•    A310M colour twin 3½“ disc drives (incl. old facia), IFEL 4-slot b-
plane, Voltmace joystick, Atomwide prototyping podule (unused; RAM
version), games, PD software £680 o.n.o. Phone Simon on 0603−226041 day
or −38342 evenings.
5.2
•    A410 2M, £600. Acorn multisync monitor (from A5000) brand new £380.
ARM3 £180. PC Emulator 1.7 £70. Phone Leslie Wiggins on 0602−421413 day
or −607822 evenings.
5.2
•    A410 2M, 40M hard disc, PC emulator & First Word Plus 2. £975. Phone
0228−26131 and ask for Bill.
5.2
•    A410 4M, 45M Oak SCSI internal, ROM/RAM podule with b-backup, PC
emulator. £750 o.n.o. Phone Arthur on 0276−22031.
5.2
•    A410 4M + 40M £925; Eizo 9060S £325. Phone Colin on 0786−61501
(even’s/weekends).
5.2
•    A410 4M + 42M drive, new mouse, PC emulator, NEC Multisync II £1200
o.n.o.. Might sell monitor separately. Phone 0886−21457.
5.2
•    A410 4M + 40M, Taxan 775, ARM 3, Laser Direct Hi-Res interface,
Watford 5¼“ drive + interface, £1800 o.n.o. Scanlight Junior £160.
Orrery £60. Genesis2 £70. Impression Business Supplement £30. PipeDream3
+ Hotlinks Presenter £110. Tracer £30. Phone Chris Bollard on
0752−783663.
5.2
•    A410 4M + 40M drive, NEC Multisync II £1000 (DM 3000). Phone Cornelia
on 0201 −641230 in Essen, Germany (evenings).
5.2
•    A410 4M + 47M drive, boxed, loads of software £1400. Phone Bob on
0249−813209 after 6.30.
5.2
•    A410 4M + 50M drive, 5¼“ drive and interface, with/without m-sync
monitor. Best offer. Phone 0952−613619.
5.2
•    A420, 4M, ARM3, Taxan 770+, 20M drive, £1,500. Phone Dave on
0603−441031. Leave messages any time, all calls returned.
5.2
•    Acorn 2-slot backplane with fan and instructions £25 o.n.o. Phone
0895−630344.
5.2
•    Canon BJ 130E bubble jet printer, sheet feeder, wide carriage. Offers
over £300. Phone Mike on 081−841−1463 (evenings/weekends).
5.2
•    Digitising tablet − TDS LC12 prof. quality tablet 12“ × 12” area, 4
button puck, up to 400 l.p.i., serial or parallel, £110. Phone
0903−65727, evenings.
5.2
•    EMR Studio Plus £120, EMR Midi 4 £75, System Delta Plus 2 £30, SDP
Reporter £20, 2nd internal floppy for A310 inc front panel £60, 2-slot
Acorn b-plane £20. Offers welcome. 10% of all sales will go to Archive’s
Charity Pot. Phone David on 0284−761801 after 5 p.m.
5.2
•    LaserDirect Qume, inc original toner/drum. £800. Armadillo A448M, 8bit
stereo sampler/midi including HighNote and Armadeus editing software.
Phone Glenn on 0932−567614 (near Staines).
5.2
•    LaserDirect Qume, still on first toner cartridge, latest !PrinterLD
inc Epson emulation. £750 o.n.o. Phone 0457−763649.
5.2
•    Magpie £30, Genesis 2 £100, Schema £60, Wonderland £20. Phone
0823−283346.
5.2
•    Microvitec 1455A med res colour monitor £125 o.n.o. Microvitec
Touchtec 501 touchscreen for monitor £125 o.n.o. Tektronic 2225 o’scope
£350. Phone 0932−232837.
5.2
•    Morley 2M ram expansion board for A3000 (expandable to 4M) £35. Phone
Dave on 0323−485773.
5.2
•    Philips CM8833 colour stereo monitor with leads £130. Phone
0454−772159 evenings.
5.2
•    Podules for A300/400 series (not A3000 or A5000) − WE digitiser £110,
Lingenuity colour converter for WE digitiser £90, WE Mk2 hand-scanner
£100, CC ROM podule (no RAM or battery) £20. Phone 0283−75345.
5.2
•    Scanlight Plus A4 with sheet feeder £300. Phone 0603−742638.
5.2
•    Wanted − First Word Plus version1. Phone 0228−26131 and ask for Bill.
5.2
•    Wanted Master Reference Manuals. Phone Colin on 0786−61501 (evening/
weekends).
5.2
•    Wild Vision Hawk V9 Digitiser inc. Fastgrab + ChangeFSI + Translator
£195. Phone William on 0279−424139.
5.2
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what “small”
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.2
Charity Sales
5.2
The following items are available for sale in aid of charity. PLEASE do
not just send money − ring us on 0603−766592 to check if the items are
still available. Thank you.
5.2
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
5.2
(Not much this month but we sold a lot at the A.U.Show. Indeed, with
Careware monies we raised over £2,000 in the three days!)
5.2
Interdictor £5, Artisan 1 £5, SigmaSheet £10, Hard Disc Companion £10,
Toolkit Plus £5, RISC-OS Companion £8, DiscTree £8, Dabhand Guide
Archimedes Operating System ArcBuffer £2, AutoSketch £20, The Wimp Game
£9, Maddingly Hall £8, First Word Plus £10, Guild of Thieves £5, The
Pawn £5, Timewatch £5.  A
5.2

5.2
Help!!!!
5.2
•    Clip Art Conversion − I have been given some clip art in Draw format
which was converted from the MS-DOS program, Arts & Letters. I have
access to the OS/2 and MS-DOS versions of Arts & Letters but have not
managed to convert files to Draw format myself. All I can do is to
convert to TIFF format and then convert that to sprite but there must be
some way of taking the object-oriented output of A & L and converting it
to Draw. Any ideas? Roland Nitsch, Vienna.
5.2
•    Compare utility − Can anybody help with a compare utility. I have a
number of files and applications from different PD sources which appear
to be identical. It would be nice to have a utility onto which I could
drag two files/ applications/ directories and then be told that the two
really are the same. Richard Wheeler, Wokingham
5.2
•    French & German dictionaries − My daughters would like to do their
French and German homework with 1st Word Plus. When it comes to spell
checking, this means French and German Dictionaries. Can anybody help
with these? (N.B. This does not mean a French or German version of 1st
Word Plus. The only change I am after is new dictionaries.) Richard
Wheeler, Wokingham.
5.2
•    Listening ear − Have you got a listening ear? (No, we’re talking about
counselling.) We need a “listening ear” symbol for use on documentation
for deaf people. A draw file would be best but if someone has a scanned
version, that would do. Rev Colin Brockie (part-time chaplain to the
Deaf) Grange Church, 51 Portland Road, Kilmarnock KA1 2EQ.
5.2
•    Midi sequencer − I have spent a significant amount of time over the
last two years producing a MIDI Sequencer/Composition package for the
Archimedes. I would like to make it available to others who may be
interested, but before giving it wide circulation, would like to put it
out to a limited number of people for beta test and review. Really, I am
looking for Archimedes owners with MIDI experience who are in a position
to make an unbiased assessment, and are willing to spend some time using
the system and recording their comments. I would also be grateful if
someone with the musical ability could produce some good demonstration
songs which will do justice to the software. I have produced some
demonstration songs, but they are limited by my own ability
5.2
I have produced a draft User Manual, and would expect to include a copy
of this with each review copy, since I am keen to receive comments on
the manual as well as the software itself.
5.2
Since I have other full-time work, I am not in a position to make the
firm support commitment necessary if it were released as a full
commercial product. On the other hand, I feel I have produced something
of value for which I would like to develop a solid base of users. If I
can get feedback indicating that it is worth continuing with, I am
willing to make modifications as a result of comments received and make
it available on a wider basis, possibly via Careware. Keith Parks, 18
Christchurch Road, Malvern, WR14 3BE.
5.2
•    MS-DOS 5 & Scanners − We mentioned last month that there were reports
that MS-DOS 5 has been seen working under version 1.6 of the PC
emulator. This is indeed correct and was confirmed by a number of
Archive readers. The next question we have been asked is whether any of
the PC compatible scanners work on the Archimedes under the emulator.
More likely, do any of them work on the A5000?
5.2
By the way, I had a number of offers to coordinate the PC Compatibility
list. Unfortunately, I lost the piece of paper on which I wrote down the
name of the gentleman whose offer I accepted! Would he contact me,
please? (Ooops!) Ed.
5.2
•    Rewritable optical drives − Does anyone know if it is possible to
connect an IBM PS/2 3½“ rewritable optical drive (P/N 6450162) to the
Archimedes via an Oak SCSI card? Roland Nitsch, Vienna.  A
5.2

5.2
Risc Dev’ments
5.2
Desk Edit
5.2
New
5.2

5.2
Risc Dev’ments
5.2
Hearsay II
5.2
New
5.2

5.2
Comment Column
5.2
•    A5000 − The Archimedes is dead! It’s official. Read the leaflet about
the new A5000, and nowhere will the name be found. Now, it’s A3000,
A5000, A540, and even the ‘A’ icon at the right hand end of the icon bar
has, under RISC-OS 3, become Acorn’s acorn logo. What happens to the
title of Archive magazine, not to mention Archimedes World?
5.2
The A5000 leaflet also tells us quite a lot about Acorn’s future policy.
The table ‘The A5000 in the Acorn Range’ shows us that the A400 range
has also gone completely. It also underlines what was said in October’s
Archive about the A540 looking rather dated for the alleged top-of-range
machine. It doesn’t take a genius to suggest that a new model (A6000?),
with RISC OS 3 and 1.6M floppies can’t be far away, presumably in the
new anonymous looking box.
5.2
The move towards peripheral PC compatibility is to be commended. As
Apple realised in 1989, allowing your machine to read PC discs makes
sense commercially and encourages peaceful co-existence in a situation
in which a refusal to accept such standards as disc formats would only
hurt the minority-interest machine.
5.2
This leads me to my major grumble; the price of higher resolution
displays for Archimedes, even if equipped with VIDC enhancers. Multi-
sync monitors, especially if larger than 14“, are very expensive. In the
PC world, VGA and SVGA monitors are much cheaper, and it seems that
Watford Electronics’ new SVGA VIDC enhancer might open up new possibili
ties. Why has no one, apparently, attached relatively cheap ‘A4 portrait
mode’ (i.e. vertical) high-resolution monochrome monitors to Archimedes?
Is the Taxan Viking II (at £900) the only ‘big-screen’ option?
5.2
So complex is the range of video standards which A310s to A5000s will
drive, and so plentiful is the range of monitors sold for PCs, that I’m
baffled. Multi-syncs are clearly the ‘guaranteed to work’ option, but if
I want anything larger than 14“ – and, currently enjoying a 17” standard
resolution screen, I certainly do – they are far too expensive. How can
I tell what will work on my A310, with an enhancer?
5.2
So, how about an article (or even a series) in Archive, along the lines
of ‘Everything you wanted to know about Archimedes video monitors, but
were afraid to ask?’ Please! Stuart Bell, Brighton.
5.2
(Part of the answer may be in Atomwide’s DIY VIDC Enhancer − see
Products Available − which would allow you to set up your own mode(s) to
work with whatever monitor you wanted to use.)
5.2
•    A5000 monitor identification − Brian Cowan comments in the A5000
supplement that the A5000 can tell what type of monitor is attached to
it. This achieved by the use of the standard PC style VGA connector.
This is a 15 pin D-type connector. The pins 4, 11 and 12 are used to
provide the monitor identification. A simple truth table is described
below to show how this works.
5.2
15pin VGA                 Pin:    4    12
11
5.2
Monitor ID bit    2    1    0
5.2
Mono    n/c    0v    n/c
5.2
Colour (Interlaced)    n/c    n/
c    0v
5.2
Colour (Non-Interlaced)    0v    n/
c    0v
5.2
0v = 0 volts,   n/c = not connected.
5.2
By reading the value at these pins, the A5000 can tell the type of
monitor that is attached to it. This information was found in a book on
IBM PC’s and may well be different for the A5000/RISC-OS 3.  (It must be
the same, surely? Ed.)
5.2
Mark Taylor
5.2
•    Acorn Show − We are holding a show of Acorn hardware and software on
Sunday 17th November, 1991 at the Junction 24 Motel on the A6 in
Kegworth village − near M1 J24 − 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The entrance
fees of £1 for adults and 50p for children will all be donated to a
local charity. Barry Thompson, Selective Computer Services, Weston on
Trent. (0332 −690691)
5.2
•    Acorn User Show − As predicted, there were a lot of new products
launched at the Acorn User Show. The trouble is that it was such a busy
show (good news for the Acorn market in general) that we didn’t get
chance to go round the other stands to find out exactly what was being
launched. Unfortunately, not all suppliers are good at telling Archive
magazine about their latest offerings. So, if there are new products you
know about that can be said to be “Products Available” and that have not
been mentioned yet, please write in and tell us about them. (Don’t phone
us, please, because our switchboard is already pretty busy with normal
day-to-day calls. Thanks. Ed.)
5.2
•    ARM Data Manual − Here is some help offered to Jonathan Heher, S
Africa, as requested in Archive 4.8. It is also a short review of a book
of great interest to all the Archimedes users.
5.2
‘Acorn Risc Machine (ARM) Data Manual’, published by Prentice Hall,
(ISBN 0-13-781618-9) is ‘the’ hardware and software (assembler)
reference for the whole ARM family, ARM 3 included. It consists of nine
parts: Introduction, 86C010 (ARM2), 86C020 (ARM3), 86C110 (MEMC), 86C310
(VIDC), 86C410 (IOC), plus other details regarding packaging, develop
ment tools and sales representatives.
5.2
It comes attractively packaged in a shiny ivory cover. The fonts and the
page layout are excellent throughout the book. Prentice Hall really know
how to print books, but this is something you don’t generally expect
with technical reference manuals.
5.2
The introduction gives an overview of the philosophy that originated the
ARM chip set and why it was so innovative, together with the basic
connection schemes that are the same, I guess, as implemented in the
Acorn computers. It is tempting to skip the introduction but if you did
you would be missing a well written, general description of the system
as a whole.
5.2
Then come the sections on the individual chips. It goes into great
detail about the inner workings of the devices. It is not an application
notes book but, clearly, anyone wishing to implement his/her ARM system
board could find all they need to know, and much of the information
could also be of use to the more adventurous Archimedes owner.
5.2
The ARM3 is also covered in great detail, and a replacement board
construction becomes relatively easy using the knowledge that you get
here. (Note the inverted reset, use a double clock frequency quartz and
divide it with a flip-flop to clean the signal.) If you are one of the
few Archimedes owners that don’t care to know how to interface the
memory controller to static ram or how to implement cascaded MEMC
systems, chapter 4 will help anyway with description of video, sound and
cursor buffer and the MEMC controller registers. The following chapters
deal with VIDC and IOC at the same level of completeness.
5.2
This book obviously doesn’t deal with the operating system and you must
have a copy of the  RISC-OS PRM if you want to access the free resources
(like Timer 1) without interfering with the system itself. Remember,
anyway, whatever you do, to follow Acorn guidelines.
5.2
‘Acorn Risc Machine (ARM) Data Manual’ is not targeted at the occasional
user, or the hardware faint-of-heart, but anyone familiar with a
microprocessor data sheets will find here the ultimate information about
the architecture of the ARM chip set. The instruction set is well
documented and explained, and this is what many users will find most
useful. Beware, though that there are some errata throughout the book
but I don’t know the number or seriousness of them. Hopefully, I’ll let
you know more when I have received an errata sheet. (Has anyone got
one?)
5.2
The style used throughout the book makes it a pleasant read, and was a
nice surprise. The contents are not easy unless you have some previous
knowledge of microprocessor systems. If you don’t, it would be better to
read some introductory books first. Of course, you must also have your
RISC-OS PRM at hand. All in all, highly recommended.   Maurizio Ferrari,
Albinea, Italy.
5.2
•    Cleaning keyboards − I totally agree with Ray Maidstone’s comments on
cleaning keyboards and using “switch cleaner” (Archive 5.1 p.25) I would
also add that certain keys are very difficult to reassemble if the
keycap is removed. The SPACE BAR, SHIFT, ENTER and CONTROL (I think the
list is correct − but I’m not taking my keyboard apart again just to
find out!) contain a “torsion bar”. This can be very difficult to put
back in place if it is removed from the keycap.
5.2
Also, I would like to comment on Ray King’s article on cleaning
keyboards (Archive 5.1 p.37). I think it should be made clear that when
he says “The other end (of the earth strap) can be temporarily attached
to the earth pin of a 13 amp plug”, he means the wire should be attached
to the earth pin inside the plug. A plug should never be part-ially
pulled out to attach a ground strap.
5.2
The best method is to use a proper “green” plug. This is a plug with
only the earth pin conected and the live and neutral pins being plastic.
The outside face of the plug has a connection point for attaching a
proper ground strap. I appreciate that a lot of people are not going to
be able to obtain these items but they really are the best tools for the
job. The plugs I have are made by “Vermason”. An alternative method of
obtaining a satisfactory earth is to attach your ground strap to the
chassis of the computer being worked on. Obviously the point to which
you attach your ground pin must be bare metal to get a good connection
and the mains lead must be left in the machine to provide a path back to
earth. The wall socket can be left switched off. (Obviously the computer
must also be switched off.)  Mark Taylor
5.2
•    DXF files (converting) − I have had many calls/letters from people
asking me for a utility to convert from Draw files to DXF. My
!WorksTools#1 disc does not do this, nor do I have any intention of
writing such a thing. My disk does enable people to write DXF files from
their own software. It is not a conversion utility. No more calls on
this subject please!
5.2
Having said that, the common problem is how to get from !Draw files to a
PC or a Mac. It appears, although I have personally not needed to try
this, that one route (possibly the only route?) is to use the !Draw/CGM
conversion utility on Careware 13. CGM (Computer Graphics Metafiles) are
the subject of a standard and, I believe, can be read by a variety of PC
applications with differing degrees of success. Any expert comments on
this would, I am sure, be welcomed by all those who have contacted me on
this subject.  Jim Markland
5.2
•    DXF files (problems with) − A number of problems have become apparent
with !Draw in the way it handles DXF files.
5.2
1.    !Draw, when used with recent versions of CLib will not read DXF
files at all. I understand that Acorn are aware of this. (Strange way to
treat an international standard!)
5.2
2.    !Draw issues a spurious error message when a DXF file is dragged
to it via a scrap mechanism. Interestingly enough, this doesn’t happen
if the file is dragged from !Edit. Simply ignore the message and carry
on.
5.2
Many thanks to Oak Solutions for confirming the above observations.
5.2
3.    Also via a scrap mechanism, !Draw will not accept certain DXF
files which it otherwise seems to read happily.... this is noticeably
troublesome using BLOCKS.
5.2
Jim Markland, 4 Shalford Close, Cirencester, GL7 1WG.
5.2
•    Deskjet 500 cartridges − If anyone is interested in getting Deskjet
500 ink cartridges refilled, you can contact M Thomson, Bank House, Main
Street, Aberfoyle, Stirling, FK8 3UG. You will receive details of the
refill service. It costs £4.95 which includes p & p. The other address I
have is Millenium 3, 413 Wembley Commercial Centre, 80 East Lane, North
Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 7XX. They sell several coloured refills in
plastic tubes − £7.00 for two.
5.2
If anyone has any empty cartridges they don’t want, please send me a few
− but contact me first! Rev John McGuire, The Rectory, Hot Lane,
Biddulph Moor, Staffs, ST8 7HP. (0782−513323)
5.2
•    Hard drive parking − Ray Maidstone says that the best way to park a
hard disc is first to perform a *BYE and then a *SHUTDOWN. The reason
the *SHUTDOWN produces a “triple tick” after the *BYE is that the drive
has been parked and all files have been closed. Therefore the drive has
to be un-parked and then re-parked by the second command (i.e.
*SHUTDOWN). The *SHUTDOWN command is different from the *BYE command
because it closes all files on ALL filesystems (i.e. RAM, ADFS and
SCSI). Mark Taylor
5.2
Ray’s answer to this comment is that not all drive ACTUALLY park when
you do a *BYE. He has proved it by taking a drive to bits and watching
what happens − anyway, yer pays yer money (for a hard drive) and yer
takes yer choice!
5.2
•    International Golf − The golf game on Shareware Disc 41 has now been
updated. A few minor bugs have been fixed and the program has been fully
tested with 1M machines. Adrian Look.
5.2
• Magnets and floppy disks − When, six years ago, the Physics Department
of my school at last received its first two computers, the colleagues
from computer science predicted doom for our software because of the
many magnets lying around in our rooms.
5.2
I was, therefore, horrified some days ago, when I unpacked some new
software and realized too late that I had put the disk right next to a
magnet lying on the table.
5.2
To my great relief, the disk had not been harmed at all.
5.2
This made me curious, and I experimented a bit. The results amazed me: I
put an old disk into a thin plastic bag (to avoid contamination with any
iron particles clinging to a magnet) and rubbed all twenty-odd permanent
magnets in our collection one by one all over the surface. This had no
effect!
5.2
I then took an iron-filled coil and sent a direct current of 10 A
through it, until it heated up so much that I had to switch off. The
magnetic field (350 mT) was about three times as strong as that of our
strongest permanent magnet. This made two files on the disk unreadable
(disk error 8 at ... etc ).
5.2
I then fed an ironless coil with alternating current, first at 50 Hz,
then at 40 kHz; here the effect was predictably more marked. The high
frequency field, which was very roughly 100 times as strong as that at
the top of my monitor (we have no calibrated measuring devices for such
fields) managed to make the disk totally unreadable when I left the disk
lying on the coil for an hour.
5.2
Conclusion? While it would be unwise to bring your disks into close
contact with a permanent magnet on purpose, don’t worry too much about
any magnets in the same room as your disks; do take great care, however,
where those electromagnetic fields are concerned which are emitted from
monitors, telephone bells and the like. Jochen Konietzko, Koeln, Germany
5.2
•    RenderBender 2 − Dave Clare writes...  I agree with Malcolm Banthor
pe’s review (Archive 5.1 p55) but there was one mistake. It is in fact
possible to alter the beam width of spotlights. You simply use the
Height function in the Functions menu, select the spotlight and move the
mouse. The two lines move to show the angle of the beam.
5.2
•    Teletext Adaptor − Would the person who bought the teletext adaptor
from our Charity Bring & Buy sale at the Acorn User Show please get in
touch with us as we have a couple of discs of software that go with it.
Ed.  A
5.2

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Base 5
5.2
New
5.2

5.2
Sound Sampling
5.2
Odd Bakken
5.2
Sound samplers are widely used on the Archimedes but some people are
dissapointed with the results. To get the most out of your sampler, you
need to have some basic knowledge about “Digital Sound”.
5.2
What happens when you sample a sound?
5.2
Let’s take a simple sound signal, a sinewave. How many samples do we
need to describe it? The crudest representation is two samples/period
(Figure 1). The resulting squarewave is certainly not a sinewave but if
we filter it, cutting off all its harmonic tones (3rd, 5th,
7th....harmonic), we have a sinewave, very similar to the original.
5.2
What happens then if we sample the signal with less than 2 samples /
period?
5.2
As the signal increases above half of the sampling frequency, it is
“mirrored” back (Figure 2).
5.2
Fout =  Fsample / 2 − ( Fin − Fsample / 2)
5.2
The result is bad distortion since it isn’t harmonically related to the
signal. So, when sampling sounds, it is essentially to sample with a
frequency, that is at least twice as high as the highest possible
frequency from the source. This means that if you use a CD player as the
source, you have to use a sampling frequency over 40 kHz. The sound
output from the Archimedes is filtered at about 10 kHz (Figure 3), so
the optimum sampling frequency is the default 20.833 kHz. This means
that you should filter the input signal at 10 kHz to avoid distortion.
5.2
Playback
5.2
When the sound is recreated from the digital data, it is represented in
steps (256 for the 8-bit Archie, 65536 for the 16-bit CD). If these
steps are not smoothed out (Figure 4), they will create unwanted
overtones. If you play back a sample at a very low replay rate you will
hear a tone which is caused by the harmonics from the square steps. The
optimum solution would be an active lowpass filter that follows the
sampling frequency both on sampling and replay. The next best solution
is to use a variable lowpass filter on the input with a graduated
frequency scale and with a high Q-factor (steep flange) to avoid
dampening of the high end of the frequency scale.
5.2
Conclusion
5.2
To get the best out of your sampler you must take care to do most of the
sound processing before you digitize the sound.
5.2
With an 8 bit sampler, you have a very limited dynamic range. You
increase the S/N ratio with 6 dB/bit (with linear sampling), so you have
only 48 dB to play around with, (the same as a telephone line), so use
all 8 bits! This means that, when sampling, the dynamic range of the
source signal should be reduced (compressed). A good way to compress the
sound is to record a cassette with Dolby C on, and then switch to Dolby
B when replaying it to the sampler.
5.2
If you use sampling frequencies below 40 kHz you must pass the sound
through a lowpass filter − try coupling a speaker output from your HiFi
to the cassette recorder/sampler (take care with the sound level!!), and
turn the treble all the way down. This sounds a bit drastic but, believe
me, it will sound better than undersampling the high frequencies − the
sound output is filtered anyway.
5.2
Don’t try to compensate for the built-in filter by turning the treble
up, as this will only introduce more “undersampling noise”. If you
increase the treble after sampling, (digital processing) remember that
you increase the noise level too!
5.2
If you use sampling frequencies below 10 kHz, you will hear a tone,
modulated with the sound level − this is the remains of the sampling
frequency passing “below” the 10kHz lowpass filter!  A
5.2

5.2
Figure 1
5.2

5.2
Figure 2
5.2
1 − 10 kHz input signal
5.2
2 − sampled at 16.66 kHz gives 6.66kHz out
5.2
3 − sampled at 14.28 kHz gives 4.28kHz out
5.2

5.2
Figure 3
5.2

5.2
Figure 4
5.2

5.2
Morley Teletext Adaptor
5.2
Patrick Bean
5.2
I have used both the Acorn and Morley teletext adaptors on the BBC model
B for several years and so, in the early days with my Archimedes, this
was one add-on that I missed. However, it was not long before I was able
to purchase the Morley unit for my computer. Teletext is the information
service transmitted in a coded form along with the TV picture by both
the BBC and ITV. The BBC’s system is called “Ceefax” and ITV’s is
“Oracle”. The text and graphics are viewed on screen using the Archime
des’ emulated mode 7 display.
5.2
Hardware
5.2
The hardware is almost identical to the BBC version − a cream coloured
box about 2“ high, 10” deep and 5“ wide linked to the computer via a
ribbon cable and a podule plug. There is also a small black mains
adaptor which connects to a plug that splits off of the ribbon cable
about half way along. The other end of this adaptor plugs into any 13amp
socket. This arrangement looks a little flimsy but has worked OK so far.
The line form the aerial plugs into a standard socket on the back of the
unit and that is all there is to it.
5.2
You are supplied with a disc holding the terminal software and a key
strip. On running the software, you have to tune the adaptor in to the
TV transmitter. This is done from the computer using the cursor keys.
The tuning is very fine, so it may take some time to get all four
channels spot on. Fortunately, the data can be saved to disk and will be
loaded back in whenever you run the system. If you are unlucky, you may
find that, after much tuning, your old aerial that has picked up
“Eastenders” and the like for years, is not quite good enough for
“Ceefax”. This could mean a booster or possibly a whole new aerial.
5.2
In use
5.2
If all goes well, you should soon be able to view the large amount of
information on both “Ceefax” and “Oracle”. The terminal software is easy
to use but my version does not multi-task. However, a RISC-OS version is
promised soon. You can save pages to disk and load them in again at any
time. Pages can also be printed to an Epson printer, but only the text
is printed, not the graphics. Eight presets are available so if (like
me) you can pick up French TV, then French Teletext can also be received
− on a good day it can be almost totally error free!
5.2
The “fastext” system is also supported. This will display a line of four
titles on the bottom of the page, in the four colours “red”, “green”,
“yellow” and “cyan”. Pressing the function key marked with the same
colour calls the page for this title. For instance, the sports index may
have the four titles “Football”, “Boxing”, “Snooker” and “Swimming” at
the bottom of the screen. Pressing <f1> (red) will call the Football
pages, <f2> (green) the Boxing, and so on.
5.2
I think that there is much scope for inter-active software such as share
dealing games run over a long time span and using live data or programs
that could read the news pages aloud using !Speech, etc etc. The design
of the software does not help in this respect as low level access is not
separated from the high level system. For instance, it would be nice to
have a module that accepted commands like *PAGE 100, *TRANSFER &7000 and
*DISPLAY &7000, and so on (as did the old BBC version!) just leaving the
programmer to do the high level stuff. As it is, the programmer has to
do direct access to the hardware using SYS calls.
5.2
Conclusions
5.2
Overall, I am pleased with the adaptor but the software could make more
use of the computer’s memory to store index pages and the like, thereby
making average access times shorter. Unfortunately, the BBC’s free
“Telesoftware” service has been discontinued. Even so, this unit has
many uses. I may attempt to write some inter-active programs and, if
they are good enough, I will send copies to Paul for possible publi
cation on the Archive “Shareware/Careware” disks. The Morley Teletext
Adaptor costs £125 plus VAT from Morley Electronics (or £120 through
Archive).  A
5.2

5.2
Ace Computing
5.2
From 5.1 page 8
5.2

5.2
PipeLine
5.2
Gerald Fitton
5.2
It was a real pleasure to meet so many of you at the Acorn User Show.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for us PipeDream users was Colton Soft
ware’s launch of PipeDream 4.
5.2
PipeDream 3
5.2
The first question you will want answered is “Where does this leave
PipeDream 3?”. Colton Software say that there will be no more enhance
ments of PipeDream 3 and that version 3.14 is ‘stable’. Here at Abacus
Training we shall still support PipeDream 3 and Colton Software have
said that PipeDream 3 will still be available for purchase.
5.2
PipeDream 4
5.2
Because PipeDream 4 is still being developed, it is available only from
Colton Software and not through the usual network of distributors and
dealers. The price of PipeDream 4 is £230.30 (including VAT); an upgrade
from PipeDream 3 to PipeDream 4 will cost you £94.00 (including VAT). If
you have a receipt to prove that you purchased PipeDream 3 on or after
1st August 1991 (from anybody) then the upgrade will cost you only the
difference in price between PipeDream 3 and PipeDream 4 which is £58.64
(including VAT).
5.2
So what is new about PipeDream 4? Well, it is bigger and better with
more facilities and an improved user interface. In addition to (nearly)
all the features of PipeDream 3, PipeDream 4 also includes charts,
‘custom functions’, a few other major enhancements and a large number of
minor improvements.
5.2
The charts are ‘Hot Linked’ to numbers in the expression slots and they
work at an impressive speed. Those of you who have the Hot Link version
of Presenter will be familiar with the way in which the graphs change as
you alter the values in the spreadsheet.
5.2
‘Custom functions’ is a facility which allows you to define your own
functions rather like a procedure or function in Basic. Parameters may
be passed to your custom function from cells in the main PipeDream
document. The program is written in a separate spreadsheet and the
programming language includes flow control commands such as Repeat −
Until, If − Then − Else, and can handle string variables (text) as well
as numbers.
5.2
Matrices can be defined as a variable type and operations (functions)
can be applied to a matrix with one simple command. As an example,
complex variables are treated as a 2 by 1 matrix. Vectors and tensors
can be entered as matrices and processed with your own custom functions.
5.2
Other changes include a much improved graphic and command user inter
face. For example, large height characters with large line spacing are
now displayed on screen as they will be printed. Selecting a font is
easier and the font selection command sequence can be recorded in a
macro. There is a format marked block command, you can save template
files (rather like having a variety of ini files), changing column
widths is now a simple mouse movement (or, even better, the widths of
tables can be set to automatic), operations on blocks is much more
intuitive and unwanted formatting (generally) does not happen.
5.2
However, the version available at present is still in the early stages
of development. Purchasers are warned by Colton Software that it does
have many problems (particularly with the graphs) and they have promised
a free upgrade to a more ‘stable’ version as soon as it is available.
You must register your purchase with Colton Software to receive news of
PipeDream 4 upgrades.
5.2
I have tried many of the PipeDream 3 applications from our PipeLine
discs on PipeDream 4 and, whilst the ReadMe files are generally OK, most
of the other files containing functions (particularly database func
tions) do not work correctly and some do not work at all. I believe that
the applications on the PipeLine discs are fairly representative of
people’s use of PipeDream 3 and that the difficulties of running them in
PipeDream 4 is a fair measure of the ‘problems’ that are present in the
current version. Because of these ‘problems’, I strongly recommend that,
if you are thinking of upgrading from PipeDream 3 to PipeDream 4, you
should first make sure that you have a good copy of PipeDream version
3.14 (upgrade to 3.14 if necessary) before you ‘trade in’ your
PipeDream 3 master disc and lose the possibility of ever having this
latest and probably final version of PipeDream 3.
5.2
To obtain your free upgrade of PipeDream 3 to version 3.14 you need to
send off your master PipeDream 3 disc together with a self addressed
label and a stamp. You can not receive an upgrade to 3.14 unless you
return your master disc.
5.2
Those of you who enjoy being at the ‘leading edge’ will get a lot of fun
from the present version of PipeDream 4 and those of you with a
substantial application in mind will be able to investigate the
potential of the new features of PipeDream 4. However, if you are doing
something which has to work (like your accounts), then you should
continue to use PipeDream 3 (version 3.14) for such things until the
problems of PipeDream 4 are resolved.
5.2
Colton Software have an honest reputation and I am sure that, when it
has been developed, PipeDream 4 will be a winner and that purchasers
need not fear that they will be left with an unusable product. In
launching PipeDream 4 in its present state of development, what Colton
Software have done is to offer early purchasers a unique opportunity to
help specify and tailor, nearer to their own needs, what is undoubtedly
going to be one of the most superb pieces of software available for the
Archimedes.
5.2
The syntax of some of the database functions has been changed so, if you
have PipeDream 3 and PipeDream 4 (and the knowledge and ability!) then I
shall be grateful for any utilities which you might produce for
converting PipeDream 3 files so that they will run under PipeDream 4.
Utilities which do the reverse will also be welcomed.
5.2
Finally, if you do discover any bugs in PipeDream 4, please let Colton
Software know rather than us here at Abacus Training. We will still act
as a clearing house for ‘bugs’ that you find in PipeDream 3 but, whilst
it is still being developed, not bugs from PipeDream 4.
5.2
Colton Software have moved
5.2
Their new address is: 2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA
and their new telephone number is 0223−311881.
5.2
Comparing Impression and PipeDream
5.2
Several times, particularly by people who have neither PipeDream nor
Impression, I have been asked to compare these applications as wordpro
cessors. Also, I have a few readers who use Impression regularly and
have recently bought (or use at school, college or work) PipeDream and
would like to know the difference. Before I start, let me tell you that
PipeDream, Impression and DrawPlus are the three applications which I
use most regularly and that I find they complement each other and so I
don’t really want to make comparisons of the type “This is better than
that”. What I will do is to explain why, when and how I use PipeDream
and (to a lesser extent) when I use Impression.
5.2
First, here is a tip for everyone. I use my hard disc to store appli
cations such as PipeDream, Impression and DrawPlus along with the System
and Fonts directories. I keep all my data files such as letters,
drawings, advertisements, etc, on floppy disc (with a backup). That way,
if ever my hard disc goes down (it hasn’t yet, but then, I always
dismount it by using *bye before switching off) I have only to install
the application from the master floppy − data unique to me is stored
safely on floppies.
5.2
I use PipeDream for invoices but not because money is numbers and
numbers imply spreadsheets but because PipeDream is more economical on
floppy disc space and I can use the database facilities of PipeDream.
5.2
My Abacus Training letterhead is a DrawPlus file on my ‘Invoices’ disc.
With PipeDream, this 18 kbyte file is stored only once on the disc and
the same file is called up in every invoice. With Impression this 18
kbyte would be saved as part of every document. The result of this
different approach to the insertion of graphics is that PipeDream uses
less disc space for the same number of invoices.
5.2
I hold a PipeDream database of addresses which takes up hundreds of
kbytes on a floppy disc which I keep separately from my Invoices disc. I
double click on my ‘Address’ file so that it is loaded into memory, then
I remove the Address disc, replace it with my Invoices disc and double
click on a blank invoice. The blank invoice contains dependent document
references to a file called [Addresses] (note that the dependent
document is not called by its full path name). Since there is a file
with the leaf name [Addresses] in memory, PipeDream does not look for
[Addresses] on the Invoices disc (it isn’t there) but uses the file
already in memory. I type a reference to the customer into one of the
slots on the invoice and the remainder of the address is filled in
automatically (using the lookup function). I mark the block containing
the address, give the command <Ctrl+BSS> (SnapShot) and then save the
invoice under a new name (in fact by the invoice number). I don’t have
Impression’s new mail merge software (part of their business package) so
I can’t make a real comparison here but, what I finish up with is a
‘stand alone’ invoice on a disc of invoices which does not depend, in
any way, on the address file because all the references to the dependent
document have been ‘SnapShotted’.
5.2
Continuing with my rather biased comparison, I use PipeDream for letters
because I can use my letter heading (only one 18 kbyte file on the
letters disc) together with a blank letter and my [Addresses] file
(you’ll remember that it’s on a separate disc). Letters contain a lot of
word processing so why not use Impression? Well, the Impression cut and
paste list is limited to one item whereas, with PipeDream I can have a
large paste list. In fact, in PipeDream you can choose the length of
your paste list − mine is fifty items. The command <Ctrl+EDC> (Delete
Column) puts a whole column on the paste list. If you then move the
cursor with <Tab> or <Shift+Tab> you can insert the column you have just
cut with <Ctrl+I>. Sometimes, using cut and paste this way is more
appropriate than using <Ctrl+BC> (Block Copy), <Ctrl+BM> (Block Move),
or <Ctrl+BRE>, (Block Replicate).
5.2
I have a PipeDream ‘library’ document with many standard paragraphs
which I load onto the screen. When I want one of these paragraphs in my
letter I mark the paragraph in the ‘library’ document, click the cursor
in the letter I am composing at the appropriate place and then use
<Ctrl+BC> to load a copy of my standard paragraph into the letter. I
find this easier than the Impression equivalent Copy to the (single item
paste list) followed by Paste.
5.2
On the plus side for PipeDream, I find that when printing a mixture of
graphics and outline fonts with RISC-OS printer drivers (such as an
invoice or a letter with the letter heading stored as a graphic),
PipeDream is almost twice as fast as Impression but I have no idea why
this should be the case.
5.2
Now on the side of Impression, it is more WYSIWYG, particularly when I
need to position graphics precisely, when I am using a mixture of font
sizes, with large fonts, or when I am using a line spacing other than 12
point. Impression documents can be scaled on screen and graphics don’t
‘fall off the edge’ of the display. Hence I tend to use DrawPlus
graphics files loaded into Impression together with text (often word
processed in PipeDream) for my advertisements.
5.2
Although I don’t use the facility myself, Impression can run two stories
in parallel such as main text and footnotes. The sequence of frames for
the main text is totally independent of the sequence for the footnotes.
It is difficult to see how this independence of two stories could be
achieved in PipeDream.
5.2
With Impression, you can have as many Styles as you need. In PipeDream
you have only one ‘style’. You choose your font using the ‘Print −
Printer font’ menu; you set up your ‘ruler’ by changing the column
widths and wrap margins; the line spacing for the one ‘style’ is set by
writing to the ‘Print − Printer line spacing’ dialogue box. Of course,
in PipeDream you have the equivalent of ‘Effects’ which can be changed
globally using <Ctrl+BSE> (Search and replace). I have no doubt that
when you need many styles in a short document then Impression wins.
5.2
Impression automatically reformats the whole story when characters are
added or deleted. In PipeDream, if the option ‘Insert on return’ and
‘Wrap’ are turned ON (use <Ctrl+O> to see the options dialogue boxes)
you will find that almost the same thing happens. I recommend that you
set these two options ON for word processing. However, with PipeDream,
you can turn either or both OFF; sometimes this has its advantages.
Something that many users of PipeDream don’t realise is that you can
change your options in the middle of writing or editing a document. One
of the best ways of doing this is with a macro. If you need to insert a
table in the middle of an Impression document all you need do is create
a new style.
5.2
With Pipedream, I recommend that you turn OFF both ‘Wrap’ and ‘Insert on
return’ when working on tables.
5.2
Another day, I will tell you about using a ‘Multi-file’ document in
PipeDream; each file in the list of files comprising the multi-file
document can have a different ‘style’. For those of you who can’t wait,
have a look at ‘Multi-file Documents’ on pages 210 to 212 of the User
Guide. The use of multi-file documents does overcome many (but not all)
of the difficulties which arise because PipeDream will accept only one
‘style’ per file. Multi-file documents will support a different ‘style’
in each of the files making up the document.
5.2
Finally, with PipeDream, you can mark only complete cells whereas
Impression allows you to mark a block starting anywhere. Some people
prefer to use Impression for wordprocessing because of this whereas
others (including me) find that they have developed a proficiency at
stacking the larger PipeDream paste list with <F4> (delete to end of
slot), <Shift+F4> (which deletes single words), and putting the words
back together with <Ctrl+I> (insert). You can use <Return> (to split
lines when ‘Insert on return’ is ON), <Delete> (to join lines together
when ‘Insert on return is ON) together with <F8> (delete row) or
<Ctrl+BD> (delete marked block) to place substantial amounts of text on
the paste list before inserting them where you want them to go. I find
that the size of the paste list and the versatile way in which it can be
used biases me towards PipeDream for word processing. However, difficul
ties arise if I get interrupted or forget what is on the paste list and
in what order!
5.2
So, to summarise, I find Impression is excellent for a mixture of text
and graphics which have to be WYSIWYG such as in an advertisement or
leaflet. For routine letters, invoices, orders and particularly labels
where the layout of the page is ‘stable’ but the content is variable,
then I find that the database functions of PipeDream together with the
more economical use of disc space and long paste list make it my first
choice.
5.2
In conclusion
5.2
If you have ideas, facts or opinions or think I’ve missed something out
of any of my articles then please write to me at the Abacus Training
address on the inside back cover of Archive. If you find ‘bugs’ in
PipeDream 4 then tell Colton Software (please don’t write to me!). If
you want ‘bugs’ you have found taken out of PipeDream 3 now that
PipeDream 4 is here you will have to make out a stronger case than you
would have a few months ago − but I will do what I can with Colton
Software.  A
5.2

5.2
Oak Computers
5.2
From 5.1 page 24
5.2

5.2
Contact Box
5.2
•    Arfon RISC-OS Club welcomes Archimedes & A3000 users. They will be
meeting soon in the Llanberis, Caernarfon area. Please contact Dr A Gwyn
Williams on 0286−870101.
5.2
•    South African Archimedes User Group − The organisers of the South
African Archimedes User Group would like to hear from Archimedes users
in S.A. and user groups in other countries with a view to exchanging
newsletters ideas etc. Please contact Mark Henderson, S.A.Arc User
Group, P.O. Box 1051, Wandsbeck, Natal, 3631, South Africa.  A
5.2

5.2
The A5000 − First Impressions
5.2
Des Fry, Malcolm Davies and Andrew Scott
5.2
Three of the lucky few who actually own an A5000 give us their first
impressions. There is a certain amount of repetition in what follows,
but these all came in rather close to the printer’s deadline, so I have
only done a limited amount of editing on them.
5.2
If you have an A5000, please let us know if there are any points of
interest to other people. It would also be interesting to know the
serial number of your computer − it gives us an indication of how Acorn
are getting on with production. As I write (31.10.91) the highest number
I have seen is 1000246. If yours is higher, let me know.
5.2
By the way, I trust you all received the A5000 Supplement that we sent
out last month. If not, let me know as we have a few copies left. Ed.
5.2
Anyway, let’s hear from Des Fry first...
5.2
Unpacking was fun, with more free software than I have ever seen before
− Acorn DTP, First Word Plus, Genesis Plus, PC Emulator (V1.7!),
InterDictor, PacMania and Lemmings. All but Lemmings were pre-installed
on the hard disc, including a 5MB DOS partition. You will be pleased to
know that DR DOS 5.0 comes with a weighty 477 page User Guide, plus a
reference card and release notes.
5.2
Now the hardware. Connecting it up was very easy − then came the moment
to switch on. It worked first time! First thing I noticed is that the
desktop boots up in Mode 27, it isn’t necessary to configure for the
Multi-sync monitor − it’s automatic. The new 15 pin cable feeds info
back to the computer enabling the monitor type to be determined.
5.2
I was slightly disappointed with the monitor for the following reasons:
the dot pitch is 0.39mm and I have been used to a Taxan 770+ LR (for
home use) at 0.31mm, so the display was not as sharp. I had read that
the monitor is micro-processor controlled and would automatically adapt
to the different modes. Although it does have an auto height switch,
this only appears to work in VGA and mode 12/15. The height and
horizontal position nearly always needs to be adjusted in other modes. I
think most users will be quite satisfied − it’s just that I have been
used to using better monitors. (I use an IBM 8514 with a 16“ monitor at
work.)
5.2
Mode 27 seems a very sensible default, as it has a scan rate of 60Hz
compared with 50Hz in modes 0-21. When switching to the lower scan rate
after an extended period of Mode27, flicker is quite noticeable. Modes
12 and 15 are also not as bright as multi-sync modes. There are 46 pre-
defined modes altogether.
5.2
The next thing I noticed is the icons on the icon bar. The hard disc now
has a name: IDEDisc4 and there is a new icon called Apps. The latter
acts like a ROM filing system and contains three sub directories − Apps,
Fonts and Resources. The first contains !Alarm, !Calc, !Chars,
!Configure, !Draw, !Edit, !Help and !Paint. Fonts contains outline fonts
for Corpus, Homerton and Trinity. Resources contains a staggering 58 sub
directories! These are all the ROM modules such as Clib and FPEmulator.
The main applications have been considerably enhanced. !Alarm is
terrific − everything you could possibly want from it. You can even set
an alarm to start applications e.g. to bring up a Do List using Edit.
!Configure can configure absolutely everything − there is no need to
leave the desktop anymore. The other applications will have to wait for
proper evaluation, but a quick try out reveals extensive changes.
5.2
RISC-OS 3.0 applications have three sets of icons, standard (!Sprites)
and !Sprites22 and !Sprites 23. These can be selected by the application
“!SetIcons” in the root directory. Selecting high resolution colour
gives 34 × 34 icons compared with 34 × 17 in RISC-OS 2.0. These are only
really suited to high res modes and give noticeably clearer icons,
especially diagonal lines.
5.2
Most people will discover the Pinboard by accident, just click <menu> on
the background. This allows you to pin files, directories and appli
cations to a backdrop of your choice. You may say that you have seen
this before, but not quite − you can iconise running applications as
well!
5.2
I do like the new filer. I can format, copy etc while I am typing this
letter − very impressive. I do like the new colour bars which tell you
how far the operation has gone. I also like the new Find option − just
select all or any lesser combination and type in a file or sub directory
name and it searches the directory tree and reports its location.
5.2
Printer drivers are a little more complicated, but there are hundreds of
printers now catered for. You can have several printer drivers operating
at the same time; this is more useful than it first sounds. Not only can
you have more than one printer connected, but you can have several for
the same printer − each with a different configuration. For example, I
have one for Monochrome printing giving the fastest print speed and one
for graphics printing. New users should read the manual, because the
printer configuration files are not stored with !Printers but are in a
sub directory on Apps2 called printers.
5.2
The task manager has new features such as automatic creation of desktop
boot files and I strongly recommend users to make a habit of using the
new shutdown option. This ensures that you don’t forget to save any data
in memory and parks the hard disc heads. The ARM 3 and the fast memory
certainly speed things up, but not as much as I expected. The hard disc
seems quite fast but I haven’t the patience to do any timings, I know
others love doing this.
5.2
(I think he’s having a dig at me but, yes, I have done the drive speed
tests. The results are on page 19 and I was quite pleasantly surprised
at how fast it was considering that it is IDE and not SCSI. In fact, it
seems to be faster than the 100M Conner SCSI drive as used on the A540,
though not as fast as the Quantum 100M drives used by Atomwide and Oak.
Ed.)
5.2
Users who were worried that RISC-OS 3 would not support 640k L format
mini discs can relax, L, D, E and the new F (1.6MB) formats are
supported. I can even format IBM PC discs at 360k, 720k, 1.2MB and
1.44MB together with Atari 360k and 720k formats. Finally, you may be
interested to know that the new JP150, which incidentally is function
ally identical to the HP Deskjet Plus but with extra fonts etc, is only
about a third of the size.
5.2
(At the Acorn User Show, a gentleman showed me some printouts that he
had done of a sheet containing text and graphics. He had got it printed
on various printers and, quite frankly, the printout from the Acorn
Inkjet was slightly better, if anything, than the 300 d.p.i. laser he
had tested, especially on the bits of very tiny text − mind you, it was
an Apple Laserwriter!)
5.2
Now it’s Malcolm Davies’ turn....
5.2
I am using the A5000 with a Technomatic 16 bit SCSI board plus two SCSI
drives − 105M Quantum internal and a 47M Seagate external. Also fitted
are a Techno-I digitiser and the CC Scanlight 256 scanner. Installation
was no problem, only requiring the backplane and supporting metalwork
plus existing drives to be pulled out − one screw plus a bit of easing −
to replace the IDE drive with the SCSI one.
5.2
The monitor is OK but I shall keep my existing NEC multi-sync and pass
the Acorn monitor on when I sell the A440/1. We now need more extra
modes such as 110 etc. (Atomwide are working on it and hope to have
something sorted out by the time you read this. Ed.)
5.2
At first, I had problems with the Techno SCSI and the interactive filing
system which didn’t seem to work together properly. (This is where we
find out which of the SCSI boards really ARE Acorn compatible!)
5.2
I also had problems with certain applications which didn’t want to start
up properly − it seemed to be related to having fonts in ROM. I have
since made some progress. In particular, I have developed a Deskboot
file that seems to overcome the apparent incompatibilities between the
SCSI filer supplied in ROM on my Technomatic SCSI board and the
Interactive Desktop Filer in the A5000. Also, the problems with some
RISC-OS 2 applications and the way they try to access fonts seem to have
been solved. My coding is not very subtle and, in some cases, may be an
overkill − but it appears to work so far! The comments below may be of
interest to other readers of Archive − especially perhaps those relating
to the use of fonts in older applications.
5.2
| Desktop boot file
5.2
|
5.2
| Note: FileSystem *Configured as (Techno) SCSI on start-up
5.2
|
5.2
| For Technomatic SCSI board + 100MB QuantumPro + 46MB Seagate
5.2
|
5.2
Adfs
5.2
WimpSlot -next 640k
5.2
ChangeDynamicArea -FontSize 128k
5.2
ChangeDynamicArea -SpriteSize 32k
5.2
ChangeDynamicArea -RamFsSize 0K
5.2
RMKill SCSIfiler
5.2
RMload scsi::HardDisc4.$.!System. Modules.SCSIfiler
5.2
SCSI
5.2
Filer_OpenDir SCSI::HardDisc4.$ 2 980 768 760 -sn -li
5.2
Filer_OpenDir SCSI::HardDisc5.$ 186 680 768 148 -sn -li
5.2
Run scsi::HardDisc4.$.!System
5.2
WimpMode 16
5.2
Run scsi::HardDisc4.$.Pinboard
5.2
Set Alarm$Options -timeout “10” -weekwork 62 -format “%z12:%mi:%se %pm.
%zdy/%zmn/%yr”
5.2
Run resources:$.Apps.!Alarm scsi::HardDisc4.$.Alarms
5.2
Run scsi::HardDisc4.$.!Fonts
5.2
Setmacro Font$Path resources:$.Fon ts.,scsi::HardDisc4.$.!Fonts.us
5.2
ed.,scsi::HardDisc4.$.!Fo
5.2
nts.surplus.
5.2
Run resources:$.Apps.!Edit
5.2
RMload scsi::HardDisc4.$.DskTopUtil.OscanMo
5.2
des.MegaMode
5.2
Run scsi::HardDisc4.$.DskTopUtil.!Me
5.2
gaMouse
5.2
Run scsi::HardDisc4.$.DskTopUtil.!k ey_click
5.2
RMload System:Modules.SerialUtil
5.2
Run resources:$.Apps.!Configure
5.2
Taking the Deskboot lines in order we can comment as follows:
5.2
ADFS − The machine is configured to switch on in SCSIFS from the board
and the two SCSI drives have been suitably *Configured. It seemed safer
to switch over to ADFS before RmKill’ing the SCSIfiler!
5.2
The WimpSlot and DynamicArea changes are automatically set up by the
Deskboot file − see manual.
5.2
RmKill SCSIfiler and RmLoad ....SCSIfiler − These replace the filer on
my board with the module supplied with the A5000’s application suite for
use with non-Acorn boards.
5.2
SCSI − Reset filing system and use the Acorn filer.
5.2
Filer_OpenDir.....on two Hard discs − Needed to ensure that the discs
are “seen” by the Interactive filer.
5.2
Run !System (?overkill?), WimpMode and Pinboard (Desktop background) are
straightforward.
5.2
Alarm settings − Alarm$Options are set by deskboot file; saved alarms
are held in file Alarms in the Hard disc root directory. Note style for
passing filename to !Alarm in ROM.
5.2
Font settings − Run !Fonts (?overkill?) as normal. To enable any
application requiring to access fonts to know where to go for them, we
must set up Font$Path to point to ALL the possible location directories.
In this example, the resources:$.Fonts directory holds Corpus, Homerton
& Trinity in ROM; !Fonts.used. (note the terminating full stop) on the
booted Hard disc root directory holds all my RISC-OS 2 fonts in normal
use and !Fonts.surplus. holds Corpus, Homerton and Trinity (in their
RISC-OS 2 format) plus any other RISC-OS 2 fonts that I have.
5.2
These three directories will be searched in turn each time a font is
called for by an application, particularly on initialisation of the
application, when default fonts residing in ROM only may not be found
and thereby prevent startup. The main problem would appear to be that
the data files in the ROM fonts are called Outlines0 and IntMetric0
rather than the RISC-OS 2, Outlines and IntMetrics.
5.2
It would of course be possible to write an IF... THEN...ELSE patch to
change these strings from one to the other when encountered, but the
proposed solution seems the simpler compromise and does ensure that
those applications that can access the ROM fonts will do so on a
priority basis.
5.2
The use of *SetMacro rather than *Set ensures that the paths are
searched each time that fonts are required. *Set can be re-set by
applications etc and is only effective the first time the paths are
searched.
5.2
Run !Edit, Megamode, !MegaMouse and !KeyClick are my own requirements on
boot-up.
5.2
RmLoad System:Modules.SerialUtil − This module is supplied on the Acorn
Applications discs and is advised to re-set the Serial Port’s parameters
to enable e.g. !Hearsay I, in my case, to run OK.
5.2
Run resources:$.Apps.!Configure − Installs !Configure on the icon bar
and allows me to re-initialise my two SCSI drives under the Acorn SCSI
filer. Once desktop is established with only floppy drive on the icon
bar, I have to:
5.2
1.    Open !Configure on the icon bar then open ‘Discs’ window.
5.2
2.    Click on ‘OK’ for the two SCSI drives, ignore dire warning! and
click on ‘OK’.
5.2
3.    Close !Configure windows
5.2
The results of this are:
5.2
1.    ALL discs initialised and fully accessible under the Interactive
DeskTop Filer.
5.2
2.    Applications can use ROM fonts except where there is direct
reference to xxx.Outlines and xxx.IntMetrics etc somewhere in the code.
5.2
3.    Fonts are accessed in the order − Rom (Resources:), Main disc
store (!Fonts.used.) or finally from main disc store of RISC-OS 2 fonts
in Rom (!Fonts.surplus.)
5.2
It has worked OK so far.
5.2
One further “quirk” that has come to light whilst playing around with
Deskboot files is that if the Autoboot radio icon is set in the Deskboot
window (Menu on the Task Manager then go to DeskBoot), the resultant
file, when saved to disc, sets the disc Opt options to *Opt 4,2 (i.e.
Run !Boot) and also configures that drive as the *Configure Drive
default. This is in the manual but may be missed. If saving alternative
!Boot files to another disc, it can be confusing to say the least if
that disc suddenly becomes your default boot disc as well as leaving
perhaps more than one disc with the *Opt 4,2 option set. I think that it
is best, in these circumstances, to turn the icon OFF and set *Opt etc
later.
5.2
That’s all for now and currently I rest content with a superb machine
that seems to run nearly all of my considerable pre-RISC-OS 3, ADFS
based software.
5.2
Finally, Andrew Scott...
5.2
The following comments and hints are based on my first week of using the
machine which, from the outset, I must say is brilliant, especially
compared with my old Archimedes A310.
5.2
During the time I have had the machine, I have tried quite a number of
applications. Now, whilst most of them have worked perfectly, I have had
problems with the following:  Atomwide Hi-Res. modes, Jinxter and
Corruption adventures (CIS Adventure pack), Beebug Toolbox disc sector
editor, Data Store’s FontFX (version 4.04), Mitre Software’s DiscTree
(version 2.16) and !DSEdit, PD sound sample player.
5.2
The Atomwide mode designer comes with a number of sets of modes for
various monitors, but none of these is completely suitable for the A5000
and Acorn’s multisync monitor. The mode designer application, however,
works fine, provided you remember to select monitor type 1, and machine
A540/A5000. Using this, it is quite straightforward to modify the hi-
res. modes (SVGA, 102 etc.) to produce working versions of these.
However, make sure that you work in mode 27 while defining the new
modes, as some of the other modes (12, 15 etc.) are redefined by the
standard mode module (MegaModes), and this can produce some strange
effects − they appear as two letter box shaped screens one above the
other!!
5.2
The adventures Jinxter and Corruption do not work with version 3.87 of
the SharedCLibrary which is in RISC-OS 3. However, they are supplied
with a very old version (1.01) which will work if you *RMKill the
version in RISC-OS 3 first. Better still, alter the !Run files to
automate this, and restore the RISC-OS 3 version afterwards. I have
included two suitable !Run files on the disc. On the monthly program
disc. Ed.)
5.2
The disc sector editor in Beebug’s Toolbox (version 1.00) does not work
at all on the A5000, and hangs the machine!!
5.2
FontFX from the Data Store (version 4.04) does not like the default
setting for the system macro Font$Path. However, if you edit out the
reference to Font$Prefix it works OK − not a perfect solution, but it
works. e.g.
5.2
*SetMacro Font$Path adfs::IDEDis c4.$.!Fonts.,Resources:$.Fonts.
5.2
DiscTree (version 2.16) from Mitre Software will load, but all attempts
to access a disc (hard or floppy) produce a fatal internal error.
5.2
!DSEdit, the excellent PD sound sample player will not play samples.
This is because the author has been ‘naughty’ and used an abbreviation
for the ChannelVoice command. RISC-OS 3 wrongly interprets the abbrevia
tion as the new command *ChangeDynamicArea and hence causes an error.
This is easily corrected by changing the abbreviation to the full
command. Acorn have issued a warning with RISC-OS 3 that a number of
commands have different minimum abbreviations, and have provided a file
on the RISC-OS 3 Support Disc to change them all back to what they were
in RISC-OS 2.
5.2
Something else that I have observed is that if you use the !Configure
application to auto-start any of the ROM based applications then this
will cease to work if you have a !Boot file on the hard disc which
includes a line like :
5.2
*Desktop -file <Obey$Dir>.DeskS tart
5.2
Instead you must include a line in the DeskStart file to run each of the
applications which you want to auto-start. e.g.
5.2
Run Resources:$.Apps.!Alarm
5.2
Hardware problems − (I have left this in to see if anyone has any ideas!
Ed.) I have discovered a fault with my machine, that concerns the real
time clock. Every time the machine is reset with either <ctrl-break>, or
turning it off and on again, the real time clock is reset back to the
last time that it was explicitly set too, e.g. using *Set Sys$Time or
the Set clock option on !alarm. The rest of the time, the clock appears
to function correctly.
5.2
My first thought was a loose battery connection. However, on opening the
case, I found that the machine doesn’t even have a battery! While the
case was off, I checked for any loose connections, but could not find
any.
5.2
Next, I thought that it might be a software fault and not a hardware
one, because the fault only occurs when the machine is reset, which is a
software function. I noticed that in the list of modules in RISC-OS 3
there is a new module called RTCAdjust which presumably stands for Real
Time Clock Adjust. Could this be causing the problem? The module
provides no star commands or software interrupts, only a service code
handler. I have not been able to confirm if this module is causing the
problem or not. Any ideas?  A
5.2

5.2
Archive Mugs
5.2
Robert Chrismas
5.2
Here, at last, is a product for the person who wants the Archive social
cachet but who hates computers.
5.2
These mugs are more versatile than removable hard disks. They can be
used for any beverage, warm or cold. In tests, they proved to be quite
suitable for watering flowers and smaller gardens although their
somewhat limited capacity proved an occasional restriction.
5.2
The mugs are of the traditional mug design, what topologists call a
doughnut − which says a lot about mathematicians if you think about it.
There is a generous space for fluid, a standard handle and omni-
directional mouth interface, or rim. They are finished in a simple white
colour with the Archive logo in blue and black covering over half the
outside. Sensibly, Archive have gone for the more traditional horizontal
arrangement.
5.2
Rather confusingly, the mugs also bear the inscription “The Subscription
Magazine for Archimedes Users”. Despite this, there have been no reports
of confused users attempting a quick thumb through for vital hints on
Pipedream’s use of Ctrl-Alt-Shift-CapsLock-Adjust. Also, at least one
regular reader of Archive reported that he was delighted because “it
doesn’t have one of those wretched reviews by Robert Chrismas in it −
chicken soup is a darn sight clearer”.
5.2
For most readers, the important question is ‘is it robust’. Well, would
the organisation which boasts of throwing removable hard disks across
the room make a fragile mug? Anything you can do to an removable hard
disk, you can do to this mug, and it’s micro-wave safe, which is more
than you can say for compact disks.
5.2
I bought three of these mugs, packed in the same plastic bag, at the
Acorn User Show and subjected them to some typical situations. Neither
the underground nor British Rail managed to produced so much as a chip.
I have been using these mugs while computing for a week now and so far
there have been no problems at all.
5.2
Conclusion
5.2
These mugs provide a valuable reusable storage space for fluid. They can
also be used to store pencils, pipe cleaners or sugar − not all at once.
5.2
They can be used in conjunction with almost any computer software,
although arcade games may require the use of the pause button.
5.2
Overall, they compare favourably with most other mugs and have a higher
capacity than teacups.  They would make an ideal Christmas present!
5.2
Archive mugs cost £4 each or £12 for four − or £3 each and £10 for four
if you collect them from the Archive office.  A
5.2

5.2
Canon BJ-300/330 Printers
5.2
Martin Geddes
5.2
Many Archimedes users are finding their old 9 pin dot matrix printers
increasingly inadequate. Purchased at some expense several years ago to
accompany some venerable 8 bit micro, they are still capable of legible
output, although at a snail’s pace. Thus many people are reluctant to
invest in an expensive new printer when their previous one is still
performing. Having myself been forced to abandon my bulky old printer
when moving to university, I decided to take the plunge and buy a high
quality inkjet printer.
5.2
Attracted by the high speed and print quality of inkjets, combined with
their quiet operation, the 24 pin dot matrix option was rejected. This
left two contenders − the Hewlett Packard DeskJet 500, and the Canon BJ-
300. (The BJ-330 is the wide carriage version of the BJ-300). The Canon
had one overriding factor in its favour − it can handle fan fold paper
whereas the DeskJet cannot. Having seen the output from both, I can
vouch that the print quality is virtually indistinguishable, despite the
Canon’s higher (360dpi) resolution.
5.2
The BJ-300 is attractively styled and sturdily built. Consequently, it
is not particularly light compared to some cheaper 24 pin printers of a
similar size. However, measuring only 18“ × 13½” × 5¼“ and being able to
handle A3 portrait paper means it is not bulky. Paper can be fed in a
sheet at a time in the front, or tractor fed from the back. A cut sheet
feeder is available, and envelope handling is very satisfactory. A paper
park facility means that the fan fold paper need not be removed when
using cut sheets.
5.2
It works on a slightly different principal to other inkjets. Instead of
vaporized ink squirting on to the paper, the ink enters a microscopic
tube in which a small patch heats up rapidly. Some of the ink vaporizes
into an expanding bubble, which then forces a tiny blob of liquid ink
out. The bubble then recondenses in the tube. Hence Canon prefer to call
it a bubble jet.
5.2
Setting up
5.2
Setting up the BJ-300 is relatively simple, with easily accessible DIP
switches and a well laid out front panel. The only word of caution is
with the removable plastic cover over the printing area. This is too
darkly tinted, so you can barely see what is appearing on the paper
until it emerges from the printer. Also, the instructions are vague as
to how to fit it. For those still struggling, the two notches fit on the
two hinges in the very far corners of the printing area, and if you
press it down, it clicks firmly in place.
5.2
My first experiences with the BJ-300 were very discouraging, with lots
of smudged print emerging. After experimenting with several paper types,
I found that this printer definitely dislikes paper easily able to soak
up ink while being poor at letting the solvents evaporate. However, most
types of paper produce good results − you too will need to experiment.
(Glossy paper seems to fare worst, along with certain very slightly
shiny coatings.)
5.2
Unlike the older BJ printers, the BJ-300 needs no special printer
drivers, working with !PrinterDM. Emulation of the Epson LQ printers and
the IBM ProPrinter range is provided. The Epson option, although already
supported by !PrinterDM, restricts vertical resolution to 180dpi.
Included below is a minimal PrDataSrc file for the new !PrinterDM
(2.46), operating in IBM mode at 360 × 360dpi. Tack the usual page/
configuration data at the end. Ensure that you set “control codes” to
“ignore” in !PrinterDM if you want the pure text output to work.
5.2
The documentation is much better than average. A User’s Manual gives
setting up instructions and general advice, while an exceptionally
comprehensive Programmer’s Manual details every command sequence.
5.2
In use
5.2
The BJ-300 is very fast − the draft mode is the fastest I have ever seen
from a line printer, and is of a quality not dissimilar to a 24 pin
printer in NLQ mode. Draft mode means less of the expensive ink is
consumed. Letter quality is excellent (especially for pure text
printing), although careful inspection will easily differentiate it from
laser printed output. This is particularly noticeable for large expanses
of black where the paper gets slightly soaked. The letter quality speed
seems very favourable compared with that of 24 pin dot-matrix printers.
5.2
Although cut sheets as wide as A3 (portrait) can pass through the BJ-
300, only the usual 80 column area may be printed on.
5.2
For best results (even with an ARM3) you should dump graphics output
into a file and then use Filer_OpenDir Printer: to get a printer filer
window. Redirect printer output back to the parallel port and drag the
file into this window. In this way, the printer has less time to pause
at the end of lines and fewer minuscule gaps appear between lines.
5.2
Ink usage seems to be reasonable. I have used my Canon heavily for a few
months now with the original cartridge. There seems to be one ‘bug’ in
the printer. If you try to park a very long piece of fan fold paper, it
stops after about 1 foot of reverse feeding, beeps and dies. Only
turning off and then on will recover the situation.
5.2
The supposed problems of older inkjets with jets blocking up when the
printer is not in use seems to have been totally overcome with this
printer.
5.2
Conclusion
5.2
This is a very competent printer which is a good substitute for a laser
printer for those on a medium budget. It represents a major leap up from
dot matrix printers, while the tractor feed combined with draft printing
leaves plenty of flexibility for the programmer. The printer costs about
£420 (inc VAT); ink cartridges are £15, lasting for 500,000 characters.
However, the potential purchaser should be well aware of the distaste
with which this printer regards some types of paper.
5.2
Sample PrDataSrc file for BJ-300 in IBM Proprinter Mode
5.2
version:               2
5.2

5.2
total_printers:        2
5.2
total_draft_printers:  1
5.2
total_nlq_printers:    1
5.2

5.2
nlq_mode:              0
5.2

5.2
features:       16_00000000
5.2
interlace:      0
5.2
line_interlace: “”
5.2

5.2
text_tab:             “<9>”
5.2
text_formfeed:        “<12>”
5.2
text_return:          “<13>”
5.2
text_return_lf:       “<10><13>”
5.2
..................................
5.2

5.2
printer_name:    Canon BJ300 (360 by 360 dpi) (IBM mode)
5.2
printer_number:  0
5.2
text_alias:      -1
5.2

5.2
pxres:          360  ; dots per inch
5.2
pyres:          360
5.2
pxres_halftone: 360/8
5.2
pyres_halftone: 360/8
5.2
dump_depth:     48   ; 48 nozzles used, not interlaced
5.2
line_prologue:  “<28>CB<4><4>”          ; select appropriate mode
5.2
line_epilogue:  “<28>CJ<04><48><13>”
5.2
                                        ; move down 48/360 inch
5.2
job_epilogue:   “<27>[K<4><0><5><37><128><128>”
5.2
                                        ; reset printer
5.2

5.2
.................................  A
5.2

5.2
Impression Business Supplement
5.2
Ivor Humphreys
5.2
It was clear from its launch that the Archimedes had great potential in
the area of desktop publishing (the more so when Arthur was superseded
by RISC-OS) and that, given appropriate software, it could comfortably
match, and probably surpass, the Apple Macintosh, which of course
totally dominates this field. The Acorn DTP package was disappointing in
some respects − it was little more than a re-write of an existing
program, Timeworks. However, both that and Beebug’s specially written
Ovation, are perfectly well suited to a good many of the tasks required
in professional typesetting. (Strictly, now that this kind of work is
undertaken on graphics-based computers, one should call it
imagesetting.)
5.2
Impression, on the other hand, had a stronger attraction for many of us
right from the time it was announced. In the first place, it was being
written by a company with such a well established track record for
innovative and ‘solid’ software: Impression’s forerunners, Wordwise and
Interword, rightly dominate the BBC Microcomputer wordprocessing arena.
It also promised significant additional advantages through being written
entirely in ARM code − specifically, it would therefore occupy a
comparatively small area of RAM and would operate at high speed.
5.2
Computer Concepts have steadily improved Impression since its first
release, adding many features along the way, upgrades which culminated
in the major new version, Impression II, earlier this year. This
enhancement includes tab-related vertical rules (making the creation of
easily-edited boxed tables an almost trivial matter), auto-saving and
provision for mail-merging, all of which widen its appeal to the serious
home enthusiast or the small business user.
5.2
Relatively few people require a paper output quality higher than can be
achieved with a laser printer, however, so CC sensibly decided to offer
an optional extra utility, Expression, to give fine control over the
PostScript output, rather than opting to enlarge the main program
itself. Expression is thus basically a ‘bolt-on’ application and it
works as a supplement to the regular Acorn PostScript printer driver.
Expression itself has been improved since its début and Version 2
includes provision for the output of four-colour separations. Originally
the utility was available separately but in its fully-fledged form it is
now the centrepiece of the Impression Business Supplement, where it is
partnered by a collection of new file loader modules, a mail merge
program called Importer, and a simple text sort utility.
5.2
Expression-PS
5.2
I mentioned the primary limitations of the Acorn PostScript printer
driver in my article “Creating the Right Impression” (Archive 4.9 p.39)
− basically its inability to produce pages larger than A4 and the long-
winded (and inevitably exacting) process involved in adding Acorn-to-
PostScript font translations to its PSprolog file. Expression-PS solves
both of those problems and adds a range of other features. As supplied,
it has a set of 15 built-in paper sizes ranging from A4 (8·27 × 11·69in)
up to what CC call “A3Long23” (11·97 × 22·75in), all of which are
readily edited in a text file called Paper, should the need arise
(perhaps to change the menu window name for convenience in a specific
project).
5.2
Two functions called Screen Density and Screen Angle affect the way the
dots on the page fool the eye into seeing continuous shadings. The
former parameter is set according to the kind and quality of medium
being used for the final output (bromide or film) and the number of grey
levels required. Screen Angle affects the way in which the dots are laid
out, 45° being the usual − the angle to which the eye is least
receptive.
5.2
Seven standard settings of Resolution are included, ranging from 600 to
2540 dots per inch, and this parameter is chosen to match to the
specification of the imagesetter in question. Eight different Screen
Types can also be selected; these change the shape of the individual
dots on the page if required; normally round is chosen.
5.2
Colour work is either, so-called, spot-colour or full four-colour, the
former used when one wants to add perhaps an additional colour, or
colours (of whatever colour ink the printer is instructed to use), to
particular elements of an otherwise single colour (i.e. black-on-white)
page. This might be done to highlight some headings, for example, or a
perhaps to tint the background of a table.
5.2
Full four-colour separations give a practically unlimited range of
colours for pictures, combining proportions of the CMYK set − the
standard printing process colours of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow plus Key (a
percentage of black which is used to enhance definition). Expression-PS
therefore has five Separation options: Cyan, Yellow, Magenta and Black
plus “All” which combines the colours to give the standard range of grey
tints in normal black-on-white work.
5.2
To produce a single spot colour separation pair, the Expression menu
button is set according to the colour used in the document and then the
normal Impression print sequence invoked. The other setting (black) is
then chosen and the print operation repeated so that two PostScript
files are generated, one for each colour. Two or three spot colours can
be used, each requiring an individual separation. Four-colour separa
tions require all four PostScript output files of course.
5.2
Finally, on the Expression menu, there are ‘radio’ buttons for Positive
or Negative film output. The default is Positive but the bureau can
reverse whatever setting has been made, if preferred, or if a mix-up
occurs.
5.2
The process of translating Acorn font names to their PostScript
equivalents is facilitated by two further buttons on the main Expression
menu: Match names and Add PostScript name. The Expression application
directory contains a text file, PSnames, which lists many of the likely
PostScript fonts, and simply selecting the Match names button causes it
to compare this list with the resident !Fonts directory, automatically
updating its own exprolog PostScript prologue file. Any PostScript font
names not already listed in PS names can be typed in by hand by
selecting the Add PostScript name option. It is then simply a matter of
running Match names again and pointing to the relevant names.
5.2
The exprolog file is sent as the header to any PostScript output file
and, as well as the complete list of fonts and their translations, it
includes all the relevant character encoding vector information. All the
likely vectors are present by default − standard Latin1, the Electronic
Font Foundry’s equivalent (EFF_Latin1), the Selwyn (Zapf Dingbats) and
EFF_Dingbats, Sidney − so exprolog is a pretty substantial file
(typically 22k). The one anomaly I noticed, having run the Match names
routine, was that the EFF_Latin1 vector information had been duplicated
a rather alarming number of times in the process. The duplications are
easily excised with !Edit (or indeed with Impression provided one uses
Save text story without styles) but no doubt CC will have eradicated
this bug in later releases − the review copy was Version 2.03.
5.2
The listing of every single Acorn font name contained in the !Fonts
directory with its PostScript equivalent is rather inefficient when
perhaps only two or three fonts might be used in a particular document.
There is a way around this: if a finished PostScript print file is
dropped on to the Expression-PS icon, the program looks through the file
to see which fonts are actually required and strips out all references
to the rest. Whether this is considered worth doing, however, depends on
the document type and size, since the actual file scanning process can
take rather a long time − a two-page A4 test document containing a
mixture of text and graphics took over five minutes! In practice, I have
only bothered to do this once or twice in several months of using the
program almost daily, since the process of printing to a PostScript file
is itself so rapid (a matter of seconds). A large font translation list
may slow down processing a little at the local PostScript Bureau but
it’s unlikely to be a significant problem and the listing of fonts for
which the bureau does not have equivalents produces only benign error
reports from the transfer program.
5.2
I should add here that although the foregoing may sound fairly elabor
ate, in practice it is quite straightforward and CC’s booklet is a model
of clarity and sensible advice. At GRAMOPHONE we have recently finished
a 700-odd page book The Good CD Guide 1992 which makes extensive use of
spot colour for a musical stave that appears under the heading of each
of its 1,200 CD reviews, and for various symbols. All of this went
through flawlessly − the PostScript output for the requisite black and
cyan separations was returned from the bureau as film ready for the
printing house.
5.2
The only obvious limitation in Expression’s colour handling abilities is
that, as yet, there is no control over so-called under-colour removal
(also known in the printing trade as “knock-out”). As its name implies,
this is a function which prevents the printing of one ink directly on
top of another − the under-colour is literally removed from the
separation. This is normally the preferred arrangement in spot-colour
work but, occasionally, it would be preferable to be able to switch it
off.
5.2
Mail-merging
5.2
The Mail-merging facility is another ancillary to Impression which will
significantly enhance its usefulness to small business users and, I
suppose, to the more organised home user! It requires Version 2.10 or
later of Impression and can also run with Impression Junior Version 1.10
or later. The relevant Business Supplement directory contains two
applications, !Importer and !Sort. The former merges a list of (typi
cally) names and addresses with an appropriately written Impression
document which contains merge commands that have been embedded via the
Misc(ellaneous) menu. When run, !Importer creates a dialogue box onto
which the Datafile is dropped followed by the relevant Impression
document icon. At this point, the document is ‘frozen’ in that it cannot
be edited, only printing being required from now on. The print options
are, as one would expect, either for individual records or for the
entire list.
5.2
!Sort is a simple utility which will re-order a text file into an
alphabetical list. The file can be of individual lines each separated by
a <Return> or can comprise fields such as complete addresses − in other
words multiple line entries separated by a whole line space (pressing
<Return> twice). Switches on the !Sort menu select the required mode and
also the option of discarding duplicate entries in the single-line mode.
5.2
New loaders
5.2
Completing the package is a collection of five new Impression file
loaders which facilitate the importing of text or data files from other
programs and/or computers. The simplest of these is LoadReturn which
simply strips Returns and LineFeeds, which can be helpful with some text
formats. LoadPipe is a dedicated PipeDream module which goes some way
towards making the two programs text-compatible, although various
PipeDream features are not converted. However, the manual does give
comprehensive help over the best ways to transfer complex documents
which contain, for example, tables.
5.2
LoadWP42 and LoadWStar convert text files from two of the most popular
MS-DOS wordprocessors, WordPerfect and Wordstar. Again, these are not
all-embracing but, for most likely purposes, will be more than adequate.
The Wordstar loader, for example, does convert italic, bold, underline,
sub- and superscript codes as well as fully justified text.
5.2
The most complex loader is LoadRTF − an emulation of the Rich Text
Format transfer system which is common to the Macintosh and PC. The
fully-fledged RTF language can support such aspects as font information,
style definitions, embedded pictures, 24-bit colour control, headers and
footers, and so on. Again, the range of options implemented is not
complete but many of the most important features have been successfully
incorporated. LoadRTF is supported by !MapUtil which is used to improve
font and character set matching between the different environments. I
have been able to verify the effectiveness of the WordPerfect and
Wordstar loaders, via the PC Emulator and !PC-Access, and also the RTF
loader from a test file prepared on a Macintosh, the file being
converted to MS-DOS format on the Mac.
5.2
(I have a small book that a friend has written on the Mac which I want
to convert to Impression (for obvious reasons!) and I tried using the
RTF loader. It worked beautifully on a test file but when I tried the
whole thing (102k RTF file) Impression crashed the machine. I divided it
up into four sections and tried again − same effect. I have sent it to
CC as a test case for them to improve the robustness of the RTF loader!
Ed)
5.2
As one would expect from this stable, the Impression Business Supplement
is a worthy addition to Impression. The complete package combines to
provide the user with a highly intuitive-to-use DTP environment which
can easily rival, and in many aspects out-perform, any on the market
place today. Some advanced page layout programs on the Mac (QuarkXpress,
for example) may offer rather more in the way of subtle typographical
control, such as options for track kerning, kerning tables and letter-
spacing, but none, to my knowledge, incorporate such a fine wordproces
sor, saving the user the inconvenience of flipping between two separate
programs, and none are so compact, operate at such speed or cost so
little.  A
5.2

5.2
The Engineer Speaks (again)
5.2
Ray Maidstone
5.2
As there were several comments of appreciation received regarding the
hardware care section labelled “The Engineer speaks” last month, further
points of interest have been forwarded and are listed here.
5.2
Headphone sockets
5.2
These stereo sockets are mechanically very delicate and several machines
have been in for repair. (This is presumably because these sockets are
getting used more now that there seems to be a little more notice being
taken of the fact that the Archimedes is capable of matching other makes
of computer, when it comes to music and sound effects.) The replacement
of these sockets is fairly simple but involves completely dismantling
your machine and getting the motherboard out.
5.2
More serious is the fact that we’ve had some machines in for repair with
the sound output chip blown. Although this is a very cheap repair, I can
only think that this was caused by people using the socket whilst music
was actually playing! Looking at the circuit diagram, I find it
difficult to see how shorting the contacts in the socket by plugging in
headphones, or whatever, whilst it is playing should be able to blow
anything up, but there it is. I suggest it would be for sensible to
cause your machine to be silent while plugging things into this socket.
5.2
RGB video output failure
5.2
Further to the question “Does disconnection or connection to the RGB
socket while things are switched on blow the VIDC (Video Output) chip?”
The answer is most definitely yes, even though several people have
expressed surprise, saying “Well, I’ve plugged and unplugged mine for
years and years, and I’ve never had any problems.”
5.2
The fact is that eventually it will blow up, as there simply isn’t any
static protection in the early machines. The modification I mentioned
last month has sparked a lot of interest. (Bad choice of words there,
Ray! Ed.) We can fit this for you and we can offer this item, fitted for
£15, but you will have to sort out the carriage.
5.2
This protection feature is already incorporated into the 400/1 series,
the 3000 and everything since, and will only be needed in the 300 series
and the early 440’s. To my certain knowledge, this modification has put
an end to the grief being caused by pupils “in the know” at a couple of
schools, deliberately plugging and unplugging monitors and Arabellas
(that’s what VIDCs are called) are not cheap.
5.2
A3000 crashes and aborts
5.2
My findings on this subject are a bit distressing and, to make matters
worse, I own one of these troublesome machines and can speak from
experience. We have had a slowly increasing number of people losing work
because their 3000 occasionally crashes with the “Abort on transfer”, or
“Address exception” captions coming up. These problems have been traced
to impedance peculiarities on the pin and socket connections of the
expansion ram cards. At first, the ram expansion itself was suspected
but we have finally discovered that these connections sometimes go high
impedance at the high frequencies of the ram access speeds. The
“sometimes” is what’s giving the problem, as the bulk of these expan
sions run trouble free.
5.2
My own belt and braces solution to this has been to remove the pins and
sockets, and replace them with gold plated counterparts − No more
problems! This, of course, is “open heart” surgery and, if not done by
an Acorn Service Centre, will invalidate any guarantee and, if it is not
performed using the correct equipment, it can destroy the machine as
well. (Solder suckers are completely incapable of performing this task
and the 4 layer board is too delicate to risk damaging.)
5.2
I have helped several people out with a temporary DIY tip that consider
ably improves the reliability of these connections. However, you should
only attempt this if you are familiar with opening your machine and
fiddling inside it. Locate the ram board, lift it off the P.C.B.
expansion pins and lay the board to one side. Take a can of WD40, or
Contek 9, but nothing else, and find a clean bottle top or small dish.
Spray some of this into the cup and, using a cotton bud, carefully rub
around all the expansion pins, taking care not to distort any. Do not
spray anything directly into the machine.
5.2
This should be done in a well lighted area and at the end, the pins
should be slightly moist (not too much and not too little!). Take the
ram card, and offer it onto the pins, checking that all pins align
properly into their relevant socket, and press it down. (Check that the
speaker wires do not get in the way.) Once the board has “bottomed”,
pull it back up again about ¼“ (6mm), and then ease it down until it
still about 1/32” (1mm) away from the bottom. Don’t push it all the way
down this time so that it leaves the connectors on “fresh” metal. This
procedure should temporarily relieve the crash situation but the
following test will reveal whether your problem is corrosive or
mechanical.
5.2
Leaving the lid off, (beware of the high voltages in the power supply if
your machine has a cardboard p.s.u. cover) connect your machine up to
monitor and mains − no other connections are needed − and switch on. You
should now have the desktop visible on your monitor. If your expansion
is Atomwide then very slightly rocking it from front to back (Do not
exceed ¼“ movement) will not disturb the display if the fault was
corrosion. If the fault was mechanical, you will see the Address
Exception or Abort error flag, in which case the problem is mechanical
and you need to rush to your nearest Acorn Service Centre.
5.2
If you have the Morley board, this is a little more difficult, as you
will have to carefully hinge up the keyboard and find a way of holding
it up (get someone to help you, as if you drop it you could short
something, or break the flexible connector strips) and now take hold of
the front edge of the board and raise and lower it about 3/8“ and watch
for the same effects as already mentioned.
5.2
(This problem would probably have been averted if the pin and socket
components used at time of manufacture had been the gold flashed type,
but this obviously would have increased the product cost.)
5.2
STOP PRESS
5.2
After talking to another dealer at the recent Acorn User Show, I have
been able to find out from a couple of their personnel (unofficially)
that Acorn did indeed have a couple of batches of A3000’s that came with
oxidized expansion pins. So I suggest that either you offer your machine
to your dealer for him to sort out, or heed the above instructions, and
also try a light rub with a very small piece of “Scotchbrite” or pan
scourer. Do not use anything metallic because that will leave a
residue.  A
5.2

5.2
The Engineer!
5.2

5.2
I-APL and the Wimp
5.2
Jim Markland
5.2
Some readers may recall an article I wrote about I-APL (Archive 4.9
p50). At the time, only an 8-bit version was available and I wrote
enthusiastically about the forthcoming availability of a 32-bit version.
This has finally arrived and, although I have only had a little time to
examine Paul Chapman’s offering, I feel that the arrival of this 32-bit
version merits some form of comment.
5.2
My position with regard to APL is very clear. I firmly believe that, as
a general programming language and a vehicle for thought, it is
unsurpassed. Strong words....which have to be taken in context. There
is, of course, no perfect programming language for what should be
obvious reasons.
5.2
APL was conceived many years ago when, to say that its approach was
revolutionary would have been a major understatement. As time has
marched on, however, the world of computing has changed dramatically.
The Wimp environment is very different from that of the teletypes which
APL originally inhabited, sophisticated spreadsheets have come into
being and even the inventor of APL, Ken Iverson, is working on a new
APL-like language ‘J’. (This will, I am assured, also appear on the
Archimedes.) What is the ideal toolbox for programming in a Wimp
environment? Do the requisite tools yet exist? How does I-APL fit into
the picture?
5.2
Accepting the desktop as the working environment, it quickly becomes
clear that the development of desktop applications from scratch can be a
very slow and painful process. There is a huge software overhead in
programming the Wimp. None of the conventional languages help in any
serious way. (Especially on the Archimedes.... where is a serious RISC-
OS Smalltalk or a Windows Basic?). There are, fortunately, several short
cuts which can be taken. One of these is to rely on the !Edit Task
Window to provide pre-emptive multitasking which certainly merits
consideration. My thoughts on this should appear shortly. (Next month!
Ed.) Code written for the Task Window is, however, easy to write but
maybe not so neat to use. I am presently of the mind that a better way
forward, for some purposes, lies in the selective use of two techniques:
5.2
(1) The use of model applications to be edited to suit specific needs −
this is self explanatory. Significant skill is required although
products such as Archway may prove successful in helping. Also see the
Risc User series on programming the Wimp.
5.2
(2) The use of a standard ‘front end’ which covers for data entry, file
handling etc. whilst permitting calculations/operations in any language.
More on this below.
5.2
Naturally, whether or not either of these is appropriate depends on the
application. Indeed, neither may be suitable.
5.2
In both cases. inter application message passing is used to the utmost
in order to drive ‘slave’ applications remotely. The wheel is, thus, not
re-invented every time a window has to be opened; the user toolbox thus
becomes very modular with the modules being reused wherever possible.
Naturally, rigorous standards have to be applied for this to work. Very
large applications follow the path of the dinosaur.
5.2
To some extent, spreadsheets may be considered to have much to offer.
Could one of these be of use? In many cases, the answer to this is
clearly ‘yes’. Every time I try to use one, however, I very quickly find
my options seriously limited. Recently, when evaluating Pipedream for
use in a very specific application, I found this to be all too true from
several points of view. Now, I don’t want to be misunderstood here!
Pipedream is actually a very nice piece of software and I certainly
don’t want to offend Colton, who were most helpful, or its dedicated
following. Spreadsheets are simply not my cup of tea. I have absolutely
no reason to believe that Colton’s ‘competition’ are any better. Indeed,
they may be far worse. Bear in mind that BEEP is an advanced Lotus
command!
5.2
The second of my two ‘solutions’ involves:
5.2
(1) A Wimp based multitasking cell editor. Facilities are provided for
import and export of data in various formats, changing of file type and
name and also the invocation of single tasking ‘calculation’... rather
like a spreadsheet although with restricted facilities. Why re-invent
the wheel? The key benefits of the cell editor are the range of file
types which can be handled (no big deal but very useful) and the ability
to process the data in virtually any language of your choice.
5.2
(2) An interpreted programming language for coding of instructions. The
interpreted language is preferred for speed of development but is not
essential. Use a compiled language if you must. Code must be capable of
being edited in a window alongside the cell editor. Single tasking eases
the coding process enormously and the choice of language gives enormous
flexibility. I have recently used Basic V using the Filetype &FD1
(BASICText) and !Edit for this purpose, the 8-bit version of I-APL
having been long abandoned due to its very tight workspace limitations.
BASICText files have a defined RunType and can be executed on a mouse
click, if appropriate.
5.2
The use of Message_DataOpen to broadcast filenames and types via
specific channels (not dissimilar to MIDI) to installed applications,
both from the multitasking ‘front end’ and from the single tasking
‘calculation’ subprogram. This allows the external applications to
respond selectively to files of the same type. Several applications are
able to respond ‘simultaneously’ to the same message.
5.2
These, along with a number of other features, I have incorporated into
an application presently known as !SS.
5.2
How does the 32-bit I-APL fit into this? Well, I-APL is the only APL
available on the Archimedes. I have very little hope that there will be
any other, since commercial APL vendors do not take the Archimedes at
all seriously. Above all else, APL is highly expressive and interactive.
It is capable of being used to develop manipulative code very quickly
indeed, providing you have a suitable data structure. APL is equally of
use as a programming language as it is a super calculator. It is often
described as a tool for thought. Can the same be seriously said about
Basic or Fortran or C? The answer to this is a resounding ‘no’. In this,
APL is supreme.
5.2
I-APL, as yet, is not at home under the Wimp, although I have had it
working, after a fashion, in a Task Window. It is designed to take over
the entire machine. This, of course, is not ideal. The application
programmer or ‘thinker’ needs windows just as much as an end user who
only wants to ‘point and shoot’. He also wants to type! Traditionally,
APL has provided the session manager, has provided the working environ
ment and has insulated the user so mercifully from the operating system.
In the future this must change. APL, as we know it, has to move into the
background: the Desktop is the workspace.
5.2
So I-APL has fallen at the first hurdle? Well yes... but hold on... it
is virtually free... so let’s not get too upset. Unfortunately, I-APL
Ltd, an international non-profit making organisation, is not able to
develop its ‘free’ interpreter at a pace commensurate with the rest of
the technology. One may argue that it should not even try to compete. I
fear that, if it does not keep up, it will not capture the imaginations
of the young audience it so needs to make it thrive.
5.2
What else does it lack? It needs a full screen editor, it needs to be
able to scroll output, it needs a compiled interpreter for greater
speed. It needs a better manual and much better example applications
without the untidiness (minor) in some of the workspaces which could
confuse a novice. An equivalent to the Basic LIBRARY statement would
also be useful. It also needs a front end. (Without getting into a
discussion of the beauty of the language proper, it is inherently not
well designed for handling polling loops. APL was, in fact, designed
with the idea of making traditional looping obsolete!) I am pleased to
be able to say that I am assured that at least some of these are being
attended to, although I would not care to hazard a guess as to when they
might appear.
5.2
I-APL32 does have the ability to offer huge workspaces. This costs a lot
of money on PC APL’s and, if we can combine the front end concept with a
window based full screen editor and session manager, and a few other
improvements, we are well on the road to having something special. I-APL
single tasking subprograms should capitalise on the strengths of the
language whilst not unduly emphasising its weaknesses.
5.2
I can only continue to offer my encouragement to I-APL to continue their
efforts. As for you, my readers... APL won’t find you, you must find it.
5.2
It is lots of fun to dream up new ways of doing things. Message passing,
for example, is a very interesting area where we can expect to see major
developments taking place. The operating system CLI and the graphical
user interface will also see changes. Earlier on, I relegated APL to the
background. In truth I would really like to see its philosophy embodied
in the CLI − what a challenge that would be to the GUI designers who can
presently mimic only the most naive monadic syntax!  A
5.2

5.2
I-APL Ltd Price List
5.2
    Address for enquiries:    Address for
orders:
5.2
    2 Blenheim Rd    56 The Crescent
5.2
    St Albans    Milton, Weston-super-mare
5.2
    Herts    Avon
5.2
    AL1 4NR    BS22 8DU
5.2
Disks are 360K PC disks except where specified. Other versions: special
order.
5.2
Part Nº    Item        Price
5.2
        I-APL and related Products
5.2
PC12    PC clone/Nimbus 360K disk & manual    4.50
5.2
AT12    PC clone/N 720K 3½“ disk & manual    6.50
5.2
BBC12    BBC 80T disk Master (& B with 32K sidews RAM) & manual
4.50
5.2
A12    Archimedes disk and manual
4.50
5.2
M12    Macintosh disk and photocopied manual    8.50
5.2
T3    Tutorial by Thomson & Alvord (45pp)    2.50
5.2
E4    Encyclopedia by Helzer (228pp)    5.50
5.2
S5    APL in Social Studies by Traberman (36pp)    2.50
5.2
P6    APL programs for maths classroom, Thomson (185pp)    14.50
5.2
        Disks for I-APL
5.2
FEMC    Disk of Functions for Thomson’s book by F Espinasse    2.00
5.2
FEK12    Maths kits 1 and 2 by Francis Espinasse    2.00
5.2
FEK34    Maths kits 3 and 4 by Francis Espinasse    2.00
5.2
MK    Morten Kromberg’s GRAF workspaces    2.00
5.2
ZVJ    Zdenek V Jizba’s Lessons workspaces    2.00
5.2
FINN    FinnAPL workspaces
2.00
5.2
        I S I Products
5.2
SAPL    Sharp APL/PC manual [sys] (350pp), disks & Tang. Math     42.00
5.2
APLIPC    Sharp APL/PC enhanced ver 20 for PC & AT clones     55.00
5.2
APLI386    Sharp APL/PC enhanced ver 20 for 386/486 in real mode
60.00
5.2
Part Nº    Item        Price
5.2
DAPLIPC    Disks only version of APLI/PC     21.00
5.2
DAPLI386    Disks only version of APLI386     26.00
5.2
SAR    Sharp APL Ref. Manual [lang] (qto 349pp) by Berry     18.00
5.2
JPC    ‘J’, (APL dialect): disk, Dictionary & Tang. Math     17.00
5.2
JMAC    The Macintosh version of JPC above: Mac 3.5“ disk     18.00
5.2
PIJ    Programming in J (inc. Dictionary) by K. E. Iverson     25.00
5.2
TryAPL2    Many can get TryAPL2 from IBM free. If YOU can, don’t buy from
us.
5.2
TRY720    TryAPL2 720K disk & manual (photocopy 41pp)    7.50
5.2
TRY360    TryAPL2 two 360K disks & manual (photocopy 41pp)    7.50
5.2
        Books
5.2
AAT    Algebra: an Algorithmic Treatment, Iverson (361pp)    6.50
5.2
SAAT    Solutions to foregoing by J Iverson (42pp)    2.00
5.2
EA    Elementary Analysis by K Iverson (218pp)    4.50
5.2
CNK    Calculus in a New Key by D Orth (286pp)    5.00
5.2
RCT    Resistive Circuit Theory by R Spence (qto 279pp)    7.50
5.2
TEY    APL Quote-Quad: The Early Years (qto 465)     11.00
5.2
SBA    A Source Book in APL (qto 140pp)    5.50
5.2
AI    APL and Insight by Berry et al. (89pp)    2.50
5.2
FCP    The Four Cube Problem by McDonnell (qto 27pp)    2.50
5.2
SM    Star Map by Berry & Thorstensen (41pp)    2.00
5.2
PA    Probability in APL by L Alvord (120pp)    3.50
5.2
IA    Introduction to APL by K E Iverson 1984 (110pp)    4.00
5.2
AL    APL Language Reference for foregoing (128pp)    5.00
5.2
IAT    Introducing APL to Teachers (25pp) by Iverson    2.00
5.2
IASE    Intro to APL for Scientists & Engs, Iverson (26pp)    2.00
5.2
AE    APL in Exposition by K E Iverson (61pp)    2.00
5.2
Please add £2.00 per parcel for packing
5.2
Prices are in £ sterling and include UK postage.  A
5.2

5.2
Hi-Fi Sound Upgrade Module
5.2
Jahinder Singh
5.2
Compared to most micros, the sound output from the Archimedes is very
good, especially when connected to a hi-fi. The sound output from the
VIDC goes through a high-pass filter circuit intended to take out
digital noise which occurs during sampling and digitising. Unfor
tunately, this  sometimes takes out the higher frequencies which give
the sound its quality and characteristics. The Hi-Fi Sound Upgrade
Module just released by Ray Maidstone aims to solve this problem by
maximising the bandwidth available from the VIDC but, at the same time,
minimising quantisation noise.
5.2
The package
5.2
The complete package consists of a user-fitable, plug-in board with
flying leads which connects to an external amplifier, installation
instructions and a disc containing a couple of non-distorted sound files
as a demonstration. A P.D. sound application called !Erasure (very good)
is also supplied which is provided to give an indication of the
enhancement. This Hi-Fi Upgrade will work on A310 and A400 series (new
and old) and the documentation states that A500 series and A3000
versions will soon be available.
5.2
Installation and testing
5.2
Installing the upgrade involves opening up the computer, removing any
podules plugged into the backplane, connecting the board to PL2 inside
the machine (diagrams supplied), connecting the power leads and finally
connecting the flying leads to an external amplifier. Clear plastic
sheets with sticky pads were provided to isolate the hi-fi board from
any potential shorts within the computer. Details of checking the
polarity of the sound channels are also provided.
5.2
After installation, I ran the !Erasure application again and was quite
surprised. Much more treble is now heard and cymbals and other high
frequency signals can now be heard easily. I tried some of my P.D. sound
samples and observed a bit of distortion with some of these. The
documentation states that this is due to the fact that a higher standard
of sampling is now required. In other words, the hi-fi module exposes
the poor quality of many of the sound samples used.
5.2
Conclusions
5.2
A lot depends on what type of sound quality people require from their
machines. Having my sound output coming from my hi-fi certainly adds a
lot more depth due to the amplifier. However, this upgrade module seems
to enhance the output further by making the output sound much ‘richer’.
Having such a upgrade in my machine now, I don’t intend to remove it.  A
5.2

5.2
Compression
5.2
Stuart Bell
5.2
The opportunity to ‘double my disc size for less than £60’ seemed too
good to miss, so, encouraged by the favourable comment in October’s
Archive, I took advantage of Computer Concept’s Acorn User Show price of
£49 inc. VAT, and invested in a copy of Compression.
5.2
Compression is effectively a separate filing system that sits between
applications and existing real filing systems (ADFS, SCSIFS, IDEFS),
compressing files as they are written, and expanding them as they are
read. Computer Concepts claim a saving of 50% for text files and as much
as 87% for screen-grabbed sprites. The time overhead for compressing and
expanding is put at 25%.
5.2
The package comprises a disc and a 24 page manual. The latter is well
laid out, decidedly non-technical, and clearly illustrated with screen
shots. Software piracy is discouraged not with a dongle nor a copy-
protected disc, but by the software requiring a once-only installation
procedure, giving the owner’s name, before it can be used. I can’t see
any problems with this for the honest user. Along with the main !Cfs
application is a PD de-compression utility which you may give away with
compressed files, so that recipients without Compression may read them.
5.2
Once installed and configured, Compression offers a new icon on the icon
bar for each disc drive (hard or floppy) which may store compressed
files. This is in addition to the usual floppy or hard drive icon.
Selecting the cfs icon allows access ‘through’ Compression, with
compressed files being shown as if uncompressed, and ‘full info’ giving
their uncompressed length. Selecting the usual drive icon shows
compressed files with a special ‘squeezed’ icon, and ‘full info’ gives
their physical compressed size. Thus, there are literally two ‘windows’
into each disc and its directories. Files can be compressed by copying
them to a cfs window from a conventional window, and expanded by the
reverse copy.
5.2
For example, to copy a compressed Impression document such as this
review from a hard disc to an uncompressed version on my floppy, to send
to Paul, I simply drag it from the cfs window on my ‘ToArchive’
directory to the normal adfs: window on the floppy disc. In practice,
this is the only time that one needs to use the ordinary window into a
directory; always using the cfs window will ensure that files are
expanded and compressed as required, and that there are no problems with
direct access to compressed files.
5.2
Incidentally, when installing Compression, existing files can be
compressed in bulk simply by copying a directory from a conventional
window to its cfs equivalent.
5.2
The manual warns against compressing applications. I tried it. The gains
are quite limited, unless, as with SigmaSheet, there are very large
sprites flying around. Likewise, one needs to be cautious when compress
ing other system files. In my initial enthusiasm, I made sure that my
!Boot and StartList files activated Compression, but then caused chaos
by compressing the StartList file, which needs to be read before !cfs
runs!
5.2
I conclude that it’s best not to get carried away compressing every
single file on your discs, but to concentrate on your own data files,
such as text, sprites, and Impression and other DTP documents – which
contain ASCII files.
5.2
In my use of Compression, I’ve encountered only one problem that, I
think, needs attention. It is that if you try to compress the contents
of a locked directory, the error is reported after the original has been
deleted. After my first panic, I realised that the directory is not
lost, but the safe copy made by Compression is called CfsTmpFile. A
simple renaming, and a change of access, solves the problem. If the
directory is an application, it must be renamed exactly as before, if
the proper icon is to be displayed. If the techno-phobic user is not to
be put off Compression, then I think that the potential chaos which
attempting to compress a locked directory might cause should be avoided
by Compression checking for locked status before the compression is
attempted.
5.2
Another problem which I found, and which the manual doesn’t seem to
answer, is how to initiate cfs directory displays from script files. For
example, my StartList file, called by !Boot, used to contain the line,
5.2
Filer_Opendir scsi::winny.$. Documents
5.2
so that the main document directory was displayed on boot-up. Attempts
to display the cfs window in a similar manner have failed.
5.2
Compression would seem to have two main uses. The first is to get more
data onto hard disc drives. It’s amazing how much space, for example, an
Impression document takes. The only warning I would offer is that if you
were thinking of getting, say, a 45Mb hard disc, and now think of saving
money with a 20Mb drive and Compression, remember that smaller drives
tend to be slower, whereas the overhead in using Compression means that
slightly faster drives should be used, not slower ones! The time
overhead is detectable, but certainly not excessive. It is better, I
think, to get a decent size drive initially, but know now that Compres
sion will extend its effective life by doubling its size when required.
However, with the higher capacity 2½“ drives still being rather
expensive, potential buyers of internal IDE drives for A3000s may feel
that, with Compression, 20Mb will be worthwhile, whereas before it would
have been too small. Computer Concepts claim compatibility with all
widely used filing systems, including IDEFS. I certainly had no problems
with my Oak SCSIFS.
5.2
The second main use of Compression applies to the use of floppy discs
for back-up. If you cannot afford tape streamers or removable hard
discs, then floppies are the only option. It is a happy coincidence that
what we back up most frequently – text files and DTP documents – are
precisely those file types which Compression squeezes most effectively.
So, the halving of the number of floppies needed is a significant
benefit for Compression users and is one less excuse for not backing up
regularly!
5.2
I have, until now, referred to ‘halving’ file sizes without supporting
that phrase with any real figures. Computer Concepts claim 50%, but the
test of any data compression system is the real-life ‘squeeze factor’,
bearing in mind time overheads. The latter, as I have said, are
detectable, but not significant.
5.2
As I write this article, I have the cfs window onto my main Documents
directory gives an uncompressed count of 10.1Mbytes. The conventional
window shows a physical size of 4.5 Mbytes. The files are mainly FWP and
Impression documents. The saving is 55%. Yes, I’m impressed with
Compression!  A
5.2

5.2
An Introduction to PD Software
5.2
David Holden
5.2
During the last year, many new Public Domain libraries have appeared.
New users may not realise that Archive was the first to publish Public
Domain material for the Archimedes on their ‘Shareware’ discs and the
inappropriate name that was given to these has stuck. Unfortunately,
most of the material on these is not in fact Shareware and this has lead
to confusion amongst Archimedes users as to what the term actually
means.
5.2
In the PC world Shareware is firmly established as a major software
distribution method and most users understand the various terms used. I
believe that if we wish the Archimedes with its comparatively small user
base to have plenty of good, cheap software then we must do all we can
to encourage the Shareware system, which so far is almost non-existent.
5.2
There are many types of software available from PD libraries. PC users
have invented names for the various categories: Demos, Bannerware,
Crippleware, Public Domain, Shareware etc.
5.2
Demos
5.2
Demos are programs which have no commercial value but mainly exist just
to show off the programmer’s skill. By their nature, they are almost
always Public Domain and normally graphics or games based. They are not
demonstrations of commercial software, programs of this type come into
the next two categories.
5.2
Bannerware
5.2
This is the term used for a functionally useless demonstration version
of a commercial product. The suppliers normally call these ‘Interactive
Demonstrations’ which mean that they ‘show’ you what the program is
supposed to do. In effect, they are disc based promotional material.
5.2
Crippleware
5.2
These are simplified versions of commercial products which allow the
user to get the ‘feel’ of the program and try out many of its features.
One or more of the major functions is disabled, however, to render the
program useless. Archimedes users will be familiar with these from the
Pipedream and Ovation discs which are widely available. Never pay for
crippleware. Would you be prepared to pay to watch a T.V. advert?
5.2
Crippleware is merely an advert on a disc. It is a very good way of
advertising but don’t be conned into paying any more for it than the
cost of the disc.
5.2
Public domain
5.2
This is software which has been given to the world by its author. In
most cases, the author actually retains copyright so it is not techni
cally placed in the Public Domain. This is a means of avoiding having
the program ‘ripped off’ for commercial purposes and is no bar to the
honest person copying and using it for his own purposes. You will often
find a message in a text file with this type of program which sets out
certain conditions if you use or copy it. Usually, this is along the
lines that you must not distribute a modified version or remove the
author’s name, you must not charge for the program and that you must
always include all the documentation. The author has freely given us the
use of his work so please always honour his wishes.
5.2
Shareware
5.2
Shareware is commercial software just the same as the software you buy
in the normal way. The only(!) difference is that, with Shareware, you
get the program free and only pay for it, or ‘register’ to use the
Shareware term, when you have tried it and decided that it is what you
want. This means that not only do you not pay until you are happy with
it but you pay only for the program and not for all the advertising and
fancy packaging which forms a major part of the cost of most commercial
software.
5.2
When Shareware was first ‘invented’, the idea was that the package
should be given away in its entirety and that users should be trusted
absolutely to send in the requested registration fee. This is still the
definition used by purists but most of the time now you receive either
an improved version or some extra features when you register.
5.2
There is a grey area between Shareware and Crippleware. The best way to
define the difference is that a Shareware program works. It is actually
useful. When you register you may get extra features but the author
still relies upon trust to get payment. Crippleware is not useful and so
no trust is involved.
5.2
Careware
5.2
There is one other category which will be familiar to readers of Archive
although perhaps not to others. The term Careware was invented in the
early days of Archive and the original idea was to add a bit on to the
price of certain PD discs and to donate this amount to charity. This has
now been expanded by some PD authors into a type of Shareware where
instead of sending a registration fee to the author you are requested or
required to send it to a nominated charity.
5.2
Counterfeit PD
5.2
One unfortunate result of the larger number of PD libraries is the
growing number of stolen programs which are appearing. So far the
Archimedes world is not cursed with the large amount of pirate copies of
commercial games which flood the Atari and Amiga market but we have our
own problems.
5.2
Like most people who write programs for the Archimedes I send a lot of
discs with updates of my own work to PD libraries and they normally
return them with a selection of their latest programs. I therefore have
a fairly good idea of what programs are in circulation and since I read
most of the publications devoted to Acorn computers, I also know what
programs are being published. A surprising number of the new programs
appearing are crudely disguised versions of other people’s work or taken
directly from material published in magazines. I have actually been sent
a disc containing a program which the library who sent it to me
described in their catalogue as ‘very good’. This was rather flattering
because I discovered it was one which I had written myself and sold to a
magazine. Someone had simply copied it from the magazine disc, removed
the copyright message and sent it to a PD library.
5.2
I don’t know why this is happening. It could be just a crafty way of
getting a free disc in return. Unfortunately, most PD libraries don’t
seem to take many care in vetting new programs. There have recently been
several embarrassing incidents where material sent to magazines as PD
and appearing on their discs has later turned out to be taken from
another publication. Many people seem to believe that if they type in a
published listing it becomes ‘their’ program. One trend is to take an
old magazine program, add a RISC-OS front end and pretend it’s your own
work.
5.2
The future
5.2
We desperately need a healthy Shareware market for the Archimedes. The C
compiler, assembler, text editor, spreadsheet, wordprocessor and
database I use on my PC are all Shareware products and as powerful as
programs in general use on the Archimedes but costing only a fraction of
the price of the Archimedes equivalents. This is not due to the
economies of scale of the much larger PC market. It is much quicker and
easier to write a program for the Archimedes than the PC but the simple
fact is that true Shareware has just not taken off.
5.2
I believe that we need to encourage Shareware if we are to improve the
variety and quality of software available. There is some very good PD
available but most of it has totally inadequate documentation and/or
bugs. If more of this software were offered as Shareware then the
quality would improve because people will only pay for programs which
are properly documented and bug free. The authors benefit financially
which encourages them to spend more time on writing better programs.
People are also more likely to contact the author of a program they have
paid for to ask for advice or make complaints and suggestions. I have
folders of letters from people who have sent me money for programs,
sometimes unsolicited, and quite often the queries raised lead to either
modifications of the programs or clarification of the documentation.
This is a vital part of the Shareware system. It keeps the author on his
toes and ensures that the programs constantly improve and do so in ways
guided by the users.
5.2
Finally my thanks to all of you who have written to me about your
favourite Public Domain or Shareware programs. I have tried to reply to
those letters that seemed to require comment and to return discs, but
time does not permit me to reply to everyone. Please keep sending your
letters and programs and I hope to write about them as soon as I can
organise all the information sent and try out all the programs.
5.2
Information to David Holden, 39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London
SE26 5RN.  A
5.2

5.2
Inspiration
5.2
Stewart Watson
5.2
I received a copy of Inspiration through the post a few days ago and sat
down to study a package for which I have been eagerly waiting now for
many months. Inspiration comes in the usual A5 package, inside which is
a master disk, a 72 page manual and a dongle.
5.2
Manual
5.2
Contrary to my usual practice, I decided to read the manual before
trying the program. The first thing that struck me was that there are no
screen dumps anywhere in the manual to give a picture of what you might
expect to see on screen.
5.2
Introduction
5.2
The first twenty pages of the manual are a general introduction for
computer novices on how to use a mouse, menus and how to make a back up
copy of the master disk. It also includes instructions for installation
onto a hard disk − simply copy all the files on the master disk into an
Inspiration directory. Finally, it tells you how to fit the dongle and
connect your computer to your midi instrument. This has one of the only
two graphics in the whole manual, a computer, a keyboard and two cables.
So far, however, the instructions have been thorough and clearly
written.
5.2
Reference section
5.2
It was when I started reading the reference section that I started to
have slight twinges of worry. On page 22 there is a space for a picture
of the control panel, which the instructions refer to, but there was no
picture. Anyway, on I go. The instructions still seemed to be clear and
concise until I got to page 32 which has not been printed at all − a
completely blank page. The further through the manual I read the more I
got the feeling of a product which had been rushed out before it had
been completely finished. Still, I’ve seen many first rate products with
patchy manuals before, and vice versa.
5.2
Fitting the dongle
5.2
My next disappointment came when I went to fit the dongle. There were no
retaining screws to hold the dongle onto the computer and, as it fits
between the printer lead and the computer, I do feel that this connec
tion could be a weak spot.
5.2
Running the program
5.2
This was when I really hit trouble. I have two machines, an A420 with 4
Mbyte and an EMR midi2 interface, and an A310 with 4 Mbyte and an EMR
midi4 interface. Though I could get the program to run, I could not
persuade it to respond over midi even with EMR’s Acorn SWI emulator
loaded. Now, as EMR have been alone in the Acorn music field for many
years, it strikes me as odd that any new product should be software
incompatible, let alone hardware incompatible.
5.2
On the plus side, it does import and export Maestro files, which means
that if you have a copy of Rhapsody II you can export files for
printing, as Inspiration itself has no score printing facilities.
5.2
Features
5.2
Inspiration can have up to nine pieces of music, or ‘reels’ in its
terminology, in memory at any one time and each can contain up to 256
tracks.
5.2
It claims to be accurate to 1/10,100th beat per minute tempo resolution
which is much more accurate than EMR Studio 24 V2 which is accurate to
1/1,440 beat per minute.
5.2
There is a continuous undo stack, which lets you retrace your steps
right back through your session. This could certainly be useful in
retrieving some masterpiece that you have mistakenly discarded.
5.2
The program has a very full midi spec and saves the setup you are using
when you switch off, so that you can return to exactly the same place
when you restart your work.
5.2
The program’s graphics were not always as clear as they might be but I’m
sure with greater use they would become more familiar.
5.2
My biggest worry came when I phoned the helpline and found that the
number is unobtainable.
5.2
My overall impression was of a program into which a lot of thought and
work had been invested, but which had been rushed out before it had been
completely finished and tested. I would advise anyone thinking of
purchasing Inspiration to check with their supplier to ensure that the
promised support from the authors is in fact available before parting
with any money. At almost twice the price of Studio 24 Version 2, and
more than five times the price of Rhapsody II, I think that Inspiration
is going to struggle to find a niche in the market.
5.2
Inspiration is available from Sound Proposition Ltd, 44 Udney Park Road,
Teddington, Middlesex TW11 9BG, price £299.95 including VAT.  A
5.2

5.2
The SQuirreL Data Base
5.2
Jochen Konietzko
5.2
Digital Services’ SQuirreL is, as the name suggests, an SQL (Structured
Query Language) database. It is fully RISC-OS compliant. It arrives on
two disks, one with the program itself plus a second program for data
importing and the other disk with two example tables.
5.2
The 220 page handbook comes in a ring binder; it begins with a general
introduction to databases and a tutorial. Throughout the text of the
book, there are lots of screen dumps (about two per page) showing just
what the text describes. Alphabetical index, glossary and table of
contents are all present and sufficiently detailed.
5.2
Creating a new table
5.2
A double click installs the Squirrel icon on the icon bar, a click on
this icon opens a window which allows the creation of a mask for a new
table. To create the mask, you click on a point of the Table Layout
Window where you want the top left hand corner of a field to be and drag
the pointer to the bottom right hand corner. A menu appears which gives
all the options for this field.
5.2
Types of data supported are string (fixed or variable length − both one
line), text (as many lines as there is free RAM), number (fixed or
floating − this includes currency and percentage; the format for any
type of number can be widely varied), Date, Boolean, DrawFile, Sprite
and AnyFile.
5.2
Draw and Sprite files are automatically recognized; they appear on
screen in a frame − much in the same way as they would in Impression.
There is, however, one very significant difference: Squirrel saves the
complete file, so that by double clicking on a picture, Paint or Draw
are loaded to allow editing.
5.2
The type AnyFile is particularly interesting; any file type known to
RISC-OS can be dragged into this field − only files, though, not
applications or directories. This makes it possible, for example, to
have a table with pictures of birds and bird song samples which could be
played by double clicking on the icon in the table window.
5.2
If you want to restrict entries into a field to one file type, you
simply replace the word AnyFile with the file type number in question.
5.2
A particular boon for those of us with many files of a certain type is
the “Learn” facility. If, for example, you have hundreds of SoundTracker
modules on your disks, you could create a small table containing some
fields for describing the module and one for the module itself and save
the empty table. If you then drag one module onto the Squirrel icon, a
window opens asking where this type of file is to be stored. You drag
the new table from the filer window into the Learn window, and from then
on, every time you drag a module of the same file type onto the Squirrel
icon, it is automatically stored into that table. Because Squirrel
stores the complete file, there is no need for a second copy on the hard
disk.
5.2
Entering data
5.2
Once a table has been created and saved, data can be entered into the
mask in any sequence the user likes; simply typing <Return> at the end
of every entry moves the caret to the next field. (The user can freely
define what is “next”.)
5.2
You can leaf through the records with the PageUp and PageDown keys and
with a GoTo... submenu.
5.2
As usual with relational databases, you can add new fields to the table
at any time without losing your old data.
5.2
Queries
5.2
The most important feature of a database is the ability to extract
information from a set of records, like “all unmarried men not born in
1970”; with Squirrel this is very simple, as you don’t have to remember
long lists of expressions from the database’s query language (in this
case, SQL). All it takes is to click on “Define Query”, then you can
open a Query filter window and simply drag the necessary fields into
this window; the arrangement of the various items on the screen gives
the logical structure of the query. Parallel fields mean “OR”, fields in
series mean “AND”.
5.2
In addition to simple text matching, the options supported are < , <= ,
> , >= . MATCHES allows the use of wild cards in the string, as does the
case sensitive LIKE.
5.2
The silly example I mentioned might look like:
5.2
This is internally translated into this SQL text, which, with most MS-
DOS SQL databases, you would have to write for yourself:
5.2
SELECT mar_state, sex, born
5.2
FROM ADFS::Festplatte.$.Datenbank. DDEDir
5.2
WHERE (mar_state = ‘never married’ AND (sex = ‘m’ AND (born <1.1.70 OR
born >=1.1.71 ))) OR (mar_state = ‘divorced’ AND (sex = ‘m’ AND (born
<1.1.70 OR born >=1.1.71 ))) OR (mar_state = ‘widowed’ AND (sex = ‘m’
AND (born <1.1.70 OR born >=1.1.71 )))
5.2
ORDER BY mar_state DICT, sex DICT, born
5.2
Everything you do with Squirrel can be saved to disk in various ways. A
query, for instance, can be saved as QueryFile (which can be used again
by simply double clicking), SQLFile (see above) and as a DrawFile of the
filter.
5.2
Relational Squirrel
5.2
Squirrel is a relational database, meaning basically that you can
combine two (or more) tables which have at least one field in common
(see “Choosing a database”, Archive 4.2, p.25ff).
5.2
This, too, works by dragging the fields from the two tables into a
window (called View) which effectively gives you a new table for
defining a query.
5.2
Reports
5.2
Squirrel makes full use of RISC-OS outline fonts and printer drivers.
You can print out the results of a query in the form of a list called
report.
5.2
The appearance of this report can be varied very easily by dragging the
fields of the table around in the report layout window and deleting
those you don’t want to appear in the report. If some fields contain
numbers, the report can perform simple arithmetic operations (SUM,
AVeraGe, MINimum, MAXimum, COUNT − they can be both local (reset to zero
every time the same operator is called again) and global (applying to
the whole report)).
5.2
Specifications
5.2
There is no limitation (except through the space available in RAM [for a
single record] or on hard disk [for the whole table − only one record at
a time is kept in RAM]) to the number of characters per field, of
characters per record, of fields per record, of key fields per record,
of record per file. 26 Tables can be linked in a relational query.
5.2
The sorting order can be ascending or descending, ASCII (0-9..A-Z..a-z)
or dictionary (Aa-Zz..0-9), and the fields for sorting may, in all,
contain 1000 bytes (25 × 40 characters, 250 × 4 characters etc − this
means that the type text which can have “infinite” length, but can’t be
used for sorting, only for searching.)
5.2
Fixed numbers can have up to ten digits; floating numbers can cover a
region of (roughly) ±10±38 (length 4 bytes) or roughly ±10±308 (8
bytes).
5.2
Data can be imported and exported from and to wordprocessors (as tab-
separated lists) and from and to spreadsheets and databases which
support the CSV (Comma Separated Variable) format.
5.2
Squirrel occupies 544 kbytes of RAM space. It seems therefore quite well
suited for 1 Mbyte machines.
5.2
Additions I would like to see
5.2
There are a few additions which would make Squirrel even better:
5.2
•    the ability to do a global replace. At the end of the last term I had
to leaf through every one of the 225 pupils’ records and manually
replace the school year and the class number with the new one; with a
global replace I would have had to change one school year and eight
class names.
5.2
•    the possibility to sort the records physically on the disk (the way it
was done with the old type of database which employed sequential
searches). As with most tables, I always use the same field (like the
family name) for sorting, this would save not just time but also a lot
of unnecessary hard disk wear and tear.
5.2
•    the ability to create a runtime version which could be sent to someone
else who doesn’t own Squirrel. (Admittedly, this feature is usually only
found in databases three or four times as expensive as Squirrel.)
5.2
•    a browse or list mode. As it is, there is just a report preview mode
which is not very useful as you can’t scroll through the preview. The
only option available is “next page”.
5.2
•    password protection for sensitive data.
5.2
Addition that is coming
5.2
According to the September issue of Micro User (page 97) Digital
Services plan to make Squirrel work with Computer Concepts’ inter-
program communication system, Impulse II.
5.2
Conclusions
5.2
The only point I really didn’t like when I bought Squirrel, version
0.90, was the protection against software piracy employed. Before you
can install Squirrel on your machine you have to type your name into a
registration window, then phone the makers and tell them exactly what
you typed in. They then give you a code which you also type into the
registration window and only this code makes Squirrel work.
5.2
At least, though, this procedure is necessary only once. When I received
my (free) upgrade from version 0.90 to 1.00 (1-May-91), it came with the
code already installed.
5.2
The UK price is about £129 + VAT from Digital Services Ltd. or £140
through Archive.  A
5.2

5.2

5.2
Serious Statistical Software    Lynwood,
Benty Heath Lane, Willaston, South Wirral, L64 1SD. (051−327−4268)
5.2
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666−840433) (−840048)
5.2
Spacetech (p39)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.2
Storm Software    Beth House, Poyntington, Sherbourne, Dorset.
(0963−22469)
5.2
Superior Software    P.O. Box 6, Brigg, S Humberside  DN20 9NH.
(0652−658585) (−657807)
5.2
The Public Key    c/o George Foot, Waterfall, Uvedale Road, Oxted,
Surrey, RH8 0EW.
5.2
Triple R Educational    P.O. Box
4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.2
Turcan Research Systems    83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071−625−8455)
5.2
Wild Vision    15 Witney Way, Boldon Colliery, Tyne & Wear NE35 9PE.
(091−519−1455) (−1929)
5.2

Spacetech (p8) 50th Edition of Archive!
5.3
Unfortunately, we didn’t realise in time that last month’s Archive was
the 50th edition! Have I really been producing this magazine every
single month for over four years now? Those of you with copies of the
first edition might like to dust them off and see just how far things
have come in that time. Will we still be here to celebrate number 100?
What will Acorn be producing in another four years time? I still find it
very exciting to be involved with the Archimedes range of computers.
5.3
Christmas Shopping
5.3
Last year we had a lot of people ringing us up just a few days before
Christmas saying “Could you possibly get this to me in time for
Christmas?” We always try our best to get goods out to people quickly.
(It would be interesting to know how you think we compare with other
companies!) However, if you are in a rush, there are a couple of extra
services we can offer.
5.3
Firstly, if you add £1 to your order, we will send it by first class
post. Mind you, packages above 800g, the second class limit, go by first
class anyway because we don’t use parcel post − it is too slow.
Secondly, if you add £10 to the order, we will send it by over-night
carrier. However, you must ensure that there is someone available to
accept and sign for the goods when they arrive, otherwise it can take
even longer than using first class post.
5.3
Christmas Wishes
5.3
As another Christmas approaches, it’s a joy to wish all our readers a
very happy and peaceful Christmas. We hope that 1992 will be a very good
year for you all.
5.3
      Adrian, Ali, Ray, Roger, Paul & Sue.
5.3

5.3

5.3
Products Available
5.3
•    4th Dimension game fix − If you are having problems running any of the
Fourth Dimension games, it is probably because they are trying to get a
quart into a (1M) pint pot. To make things easier, Fourth Dimension have
produced a configuration saver program which is available FREE from them
(not from N.C.S.!).
5.3
•    A5000 memory upgrades − Atomwide now have memory upgrades available
for the A5000. The 2 to 4M upgrade is £130 through Archive and the 4 to
8M is £470. This latter upgrade requires the MEMC to be taken out and a
socket put in its place − definitely not a DIY job, unlike the 2 to 4M
which can be undertaken by any sensible, technically minded person. The
price of the 4 to 8M upgrade includes two-way carriage.
5.3
•    A5000 1FD − the 1M floppy disc version of the A5000 (a “Product not-
Available”!) We said (quoting Acorn, by the way!) that the version of
the A5000 with 1M RAM, no hard drive and no monitor version would be
available in January. They are now saying that they will be available
“in small quantities only during the first quarter of 1992”. Rumour has
it that they will only be selling them to VARs (Value Added Resellers −
companies who sell complete systems with an Archimedes at the centre)
and not releasing them to the general public. So those of us who want to
supply a real “quality” system with an Eizo monitor and a SCSI drive
will have to wait for several months to come. Well, not quite....
5.3
•    A5000 monitor upgrade − A growing number of people are feeling that
the Acorn multisync monitor does not do justice to the quality of the
computer, so we are now offering the Eizo 9060SZ as our recommended
alternative. It provides a dot pitch of 0.28mm instead of 0.38mm and
better linearity. If you want an Eizo 9060, just add £200 to the price
as quoted with the Acorn monitor. So that means we have some spare
multisyncs....
5.3
•    A3000 monitor upgrade − As a spin off from the offer above, we have
some Acorn multisync monitors for sale that would be ideal for use with
the A3000. At £310 inc VAT, they are only £60 more than the Acorn
standard resolution monitor but allow you to go into the higher
resolution modes unavailable to users of standard resolution monitors.
5.3
•    A5000 IDE hard disc upgrades − We can now supply a 100M second
internal IDE drive for the A5000 for £380. This is a fast drive (as
IDE’s go!) and fits under the floppy drive.
5.3
•    Acorn printer sheet-feeder − Acorn are hoping to have, “fairly soon”,
a sheet-feeder unit for their inkjet printer. It should be available by
the time you read this − but ring before ordering, just to check! The
price is £69 +VAT or £77 through Archive.
5.3
•    Archivist is an “easy-to-use” database from Oregan Developments.
Designed in accordance with LEA guidelines, it is “ideal for education”.
The price £24.95 inclusive or £50 for an additional site licence from
Oregan Developments.
5.3
•    ARM3 prices down (and up!) − After dropping the price of their ARM3
upgrades to £199, Watford Electronics have put the price back up to £249
saying that it was only an “Acorn User Show Special Offer Price”. Aleph
One have just brought their price down to £249 +VAT. (£280 through
Archive) The A3000 ARM3 upgrades are now £249 + £35 fitting charge or
£340 through Archive. As I write, the CJE ARM3 is still available at
£199 +VAT or £225 through Archive.
5.3
•    Bonjour de France is a series of four Genesis applications on 9 floppy
discs for use in teaching French at Key Stages 3 and 4. The cost
including a teacher’s guide and over 100 worksheets is £95 +VAT from Oak
Solutions or £103 through Archive.
5.3
•    CalcSheet − Trail Software have produced a RISC-OS compatible
spreadsheet called CalcSheet which is aimed particularly at users with
1M computers and floppy drives. Features include keyboard short-cuts,
1000 columns by 9999 rows, 80 built-in functions, graphing facilities,
timed auto-save and macro facilities including a learn option. The price
is £99 +VAT or £520 +VAT for a site licence. A demo disc is available
from Trail Software for £5, deductible from the purchase cost of the
software itself.
5.3
•    Cataclysm (not ‘Catalysm’ as in all the big glossy adverts) is a new
arcade game from 4th Dimension. You have to avoid the inundation of your
spaceship by adjusting valves, pumps etc within a given time limit.
Watch out for the pressure valves, dissolving blocks and filters. £24.95
from 4th Dimension or £23 through Archive.
5.3
•    Chameleon is a utility for doing quick and easy colour changes to Draw
files. It provides a range of 16 and 256-colour palettes, including a
256 level grey scale, and allows selection and changing of colours from
each palette. It also has an HSV (hue, saturation, value) palette.
Chameleon is £25 +VAT from 4mation or £27 through Archive.
5.3
•    Colour printer drivers − Ace Computing have added to their wide range
of RISC-OS printer drivers one for the new Deskjet 500C sheet-fed colour
inkjet printer. The price from Ace is £15 inc VAT and p&p.
5.3
•    Glimpse is described by Sherston Software as the simple way to find a
clip art file. It allows you to view a miniature version of the file in
a filer window. Files can be loaded directly from a Glimpse window into
Draw, Paint or any RISC-OS application. The price is £8.50 +VAT from
Sherston.
5.3
•    Grievous Bodily ’ARM is another game from the 4th Dimension stable. It
is an arcade style game involving beating up some drug-smuggling baddies
using your expertise in kicking and punching and using weapons picked up
along the way. £24.95 from 4th Dimension or £23 through Archive.
5.3
•    Hilighter is Sherston Software’s new text and graphics presentation
package. It allows you to display information in a RISC-OS window and
have it linked so that users can explore the information provided. The
price is £45 +VAT from Sherston.
5.3
•    Holed Out Compendium − Fourth Dimension have released a version of
HoledOut that consists of HoledOut, Extra Courses 1, Extra Courses 2 and
HoledOut Designer − all in one pack for £24.95 or £23 through Archive.
5.3
•    J − The language J is now available for the Archimedes. Version 3.4 is
available from I-APL for £17.00 + £2 p&p. This includes A Dictionary of
J and Tangible Math rewritten in J.
5.3
•    Notate is a music composition program from Longman Logotron aimed, as
you might guess, at educational users. Its range of facilities includes
up to eight staves, synthesised and sampled sounds, accidentals and
repeats, auto-checking of note length relative to bar space remaining,
chord facility, configurability for different levels of user, auto
transposition, Midi file input and output and direct playing on Midi
instruments. The price is £57 +VAT or £64 through Archive.
5.3
•    Oak PCB for RISC-OS − Oak Solutions now have a PCB layout and
schematic design package available for just £150 +VAT (£160 through
Archive) or there is an educational price, including a site licence, for
£120 +VAT. Facilities include four copper layers, automatic generation
of drilling and solder resist layers, automatic movement of tracks if
components are moved, hard copy via RISC-OS drivers or via a supplied
HPGL driver, comprehensive parts library for both PCB and schematics.
5.3
•    Polyglot is a foreign language character generator which provides fast
and easy access to foreign language character sets when using RISC-OS
applications. £19.95 from Risc Developments. (Although it has the same
address as Beebug Ltd, they ask us to make clear that this is a separate
company.)
5.3
•    Recall is Sherston Software’s database designed with National
Curriculum in mind. The price is £39.95 +VAT from Sherston.
5.3
•    Revelation 2 is the CD-ROM edition of Longman Logotron’s education-
based art package (£119 +VAT or £125 through Archive.). Revelation was
created with particular emphasis on facilities for taking images from
other sources such as digitisers, scanners or video frame-grabbers and
processing them to create totally new pictures. Revelation 2 adds
various extra features including extra colour mixing, colour processing,
image effects (sharpening and dithering) and extra fill options.
5.3
It also comes in a CD-ROM version for £139 +VAT or £145 through Archive.
5.3
•    SmArt Suite is a linked graphics system from 4mation. When you load a
picture, different parts of it can be changed by selecting from a menu.
The package which is £55 +VAT (or £59 through Archive) comes with over
24 files on subjects including cars, shops, churches, maps of Britain.
Also available, as separate products, are discs on the subjects of
Leisure, Heraldry, Faces, Fashion, Homes, Trees and Gardens and
Dinosaurs. These discs are £16 each +VAT or £18 through Archive. SmArt
Filer is an application for those who wish to create their own sets of
SmArt files − £35 +VAT or £38 through Archive.
5.3
•    Teletext Adaptor Front End − The RISC-OS front end (written by Geoff
Titmuss) for the Morley Teletext Adaptor was mentioned 12 months ago in
Products Available but it is now available through The Really Good
Software Company at a price of £29.95.
5.3
I have had a play with it and would say that Geoff’s software brings a
new lease of life to the adaptor. It is a full multi-tasking RISC-OS
application and the Teletext screen appears in a RISC-OS window. Just
click on any of the numbers in the window and that Teletext page appears
in due course. Best of all, you can flick back to any of the previous
ten pages you have been looking at. This means that if you want, say,
the television programmes, you can select page 601 and get on with some
other work while the three screens making up that page are loaded, then
select 602, then 603 and finally 604. Then you can look at any of the TV
program pages at the click of a mouse button. One other extra feature is
that you can set your computer’s internal clock from the Teletext clock,
at the click of a mouse button. (See the review on page 27.)
5.3
•    Touchtech 3000 is an infra red touch screen for the Archimedes from
Microvitec which fits onto their Cub 3000 monitor. At £300 +VAT, it
comes with a suite of nine programs to develop colour recognition,
finger painting, simple addition, shape recognition etc for the teaching
of very young or special needs children.
5.3
•    Yes Chancellor 2 − Chalksoft have now released an Archimedes version
of their economic simulation package, Yes Chancellor. You are in the hot
seat at Nº 11 Downing Street and have to keep the UK economy from
collapsing. You have, amongst other things, to set taxes, control
interest rates, do wage bargaining and deal with membership of the
European ERM. This simulation is aimed at adults and economics students
and includes an information booklet written by a former Senior Official
of the Inland Revenue. The price is £23 +VAT or £25 through Archive.
5.3
Review software received...
5.3
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
CalcSheet, Converta-Key, Fun & Games, Sky Hunter, !BasShrink, Fun School
3 (under 5’s) & (5−7’s), Yes Chancellor 2, Revelation 2 (to be reviewed
by a Revelation 1 user, please), Holed Out Compendium, Notate, Glimpse,
Hilighter.  A
5.3

5.3
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.3
The Christmas season is a time when we tend to think, amongst other
things, about peace. There are some hopeful signs in certain parts of
the world, like the Middle East and South Africa, that moves are being
made towards justice and peace − although there is still a long way to
go.
5.3
I mentioned last month about the problems there are in so many marriages
and homes, and the root problem both at the international level and at
the personal level is the same − lack of peace.
5.3
OK, so what’s the solution? Well, the bible teaches simply and plainly
that unless and until individuals have peace with God, they cannot have
real peace with each other. In other words, until you have got your
relationship with God right, you haven’t really got a hope of getting
your other relationships sorted out.
5.3
You think that’s a load of rubbish? Well, maybe you’re right but the
more I read of the bible’s analysis of the problems that we face in our
lives and in the world, the more it rings true.
5.3
Things don’t always go right for me but one thing I can say is that I
have a deep peace in my heart that makes it possible to face the
difficulties of life. Where do you find out about this peace? Where else
but in the bible?! I know I keep saying this, but do read it.
5.3
My prayer this Christmas is that you will come to know the real peace
that only God can give.
5.3

5.3
4th Dimension     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.3
4mation    11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (0271−25353) (−22974)
5.3
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
5.3
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (−210685)
5.3
Ace Computing (p10)    27 Victoria
Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223−322559) (−69180)
5.3
Aleph One Ltd    The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(0223−811679) (−812713)
5.3
Alpine Software    P.O.Box 25, Portadown, Craigavon, BT63 5UT.
(0762−342510)
5.3
Arnor Ltd    611 Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 3HA. (0733−68909) (−67299)
5.3
Arxe Systems Ltd    P.O.Box 898, Forest Gate, London E7 9RG. (081−534−1198
evenings)
5.3
Atomwide Ltd    23 The Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689−838852)
(−896088)
5.3
Baildon Electronics    1 Fyfe
Crescent, Baildon, Shipley, W Yorks BD17 6DR. (0274−580519) (−531626)
5.3
Chalksoft    P.O. Box 49, Spalding, Lincs, PE11 1NZ. (0775−769518)
5.3
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606−48511)
(−48512)
5.3
Colton Software (p20)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (−312010)
5.3
Computer Concepts (p32/33)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (−231632)
5.3
Dalmation Publications    37 Manor
Road, Teddington, Middlesex  TW11 8AA.
5.3
David Pilling    P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
5.3
Digital Services    9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS.
(0705−210600) (−210705)
5.3
DT Software    13 Northumberland Road, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32
6HE.
5.3
DT Software    FREEPOST, Cambridge CB3 7BR. (0223−841099)
5.3
I-APL Ltd     2 Blenheim Road, St Albans, AL1 4NR.
5.3
Ian Copestake Software    10 Frost
Drive, Wirral, L61 4XL. (051−632−1234)(−3434)
5.3
IFEL (p18)    36 Upland Drive, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 6BD. (0752−847286)
5.3
Longman-Logotron    124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4
4ZS. (0223−425558) (−425349)
5.3
LOOKsystems (p9)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (−764011)
5.3
Morley Electronics     Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29 7TY. (091−257−6355)
(−6373)
5.3
Oak Solutions (p6)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274−620423) (−620419)
5.3
Oregan Developments     36 Grosvenor
Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield, B74 3PE.
5.3
Ray Maidstone (p15)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603−407060) (−417447)
5.3
RISC Developments Ltd    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (−60263)
5.3
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666−840433) (−840048)
5.3
Southern Printers    47 Drake Road, Willesborough, Ashford, Kent TN24 0UZ.
(0233−633919)
5.3
Spacetech (p16)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.3
Techsoft UK Ltd (p19)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 4DA. (082−43318)
5.3
Technomatic    468 Church Lane, London, NW9 8UF. (081−205−9558) (−0190)
5.3
The Really Good Software Company    P.O.Box 60,
Ashton-under-Lyme, OL5 9WW.
5.3
Trail Software    P.O. Box 283, London, SW11 2LL.
5.3
Turcan Research Systems    83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071−625−8455)
5.3
Watford Electronics    250 Lower
High Street, Watford, WD1 2AN. (0923−37774) (−33642)
5.3
Word Processing (p29)    65 Milldale
Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, W Midlands  WV10 6LR.
5.3

5.3
Small Ads
5.3
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what “small”
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.3
•    2M upgrade for A3000 (Morley expandable to 4M) £35. Phone Donald on
031−336−4491 (eves/weekends)
5.3
•    A3000 colour 2M ram, serial upgrade, monitor stand, Acorn DTP, FWPlus,
various games £700. Epson MX100 type III wide carriage printer + stand
£100. Phone Simon on 081−969−2565.
5.3
•    A310 colour 4M ram, 20M Acorn drive, IFEL 4-slot bp, can take RISC-OS3
ROMs, recently overhauled, £875 o.n.o. Phone 0734−572020.
5.3
•    A310 with 4-slot bp + lots of software £550. Citizen C120-D, 9-pin NLQ
printer, £90. Armadillo A448 sampler £75. Phone Lenny on 071−703−5675.
5.3
•    A440/1 ARM3 (30 MHz), VIDC enhancer, Eizo 9060 £1700 o.n.o. Panasonic
KX-P1124 with 63k buffer £200. MultiStore 2.0 £199. Phone 0780−66449
after 6 p.m.
5.3
• Acorn DTP £55, Pipedream III £40, Revelation I £20, Graphbox £20,
FWPlus I £10, Droom £8, Craftshop I £8, Grass £8, Picture Builder £5,
Twin World £10, Interdictor I £8, Apocalypse £5, Pawn £5, Guild of
Thieves £5, Jinxter, Fish .....  Phone 0273−682240 evenings.
5.3
•    Acorn JP150 inkjet virtually unused £210 o.n.o. Phone Arthur on
0276−22031.
5.3
•    Akhter 5¼“ dual 40/80 floppy drive £70. Fascia for A310 with single
floppy − offers? Phone Arthur on 0276−22031.
5.3
•    Autosketch v1.04, System Delta V2, Solid Tools V2, orig. discs &
manuals. £80 the lot. Phone Derrick on 0286−871181.
5.3
•    Beebug scanner with sheet feeder £400 o.n.o. Phone Martin on
0705−370623.
5.3
•    Brother 1509 dot matrix A3 printer with tractor feed £120 o.n.o. Phone
Arthur on 0276−22031.
5.3
•    Canon BJ130e bubblejet, 360 d.p.i., wide carriage (A3), CSfeeder,
tractor feed £360 o.n.o. Phone Arthur on 0276−22031.
5.3
•    Hard drive, Seagate ST125-1, ST506, 20M, 28ms access time, as new,
£80. Phone 023066 −630 (Bedford area).
5.3
•    Laser printer Mannesman Tally MT906, LaserJet II emulation, exc cond,
complete £425 o.n.o. Phone Ruislip 0895−630344.
5.3
•    NEC 40M ST506 drive for A410 £100, WE Mk2 hand scanner £80, FWPlus 2
£40. All o.n.o. Buyer collects or postage extra. Phone Miles Sabin on
081−980−2455.
5.3
•    Oak High Speed 100M SCSI internal drive, 2 months old, already full
£300 o.n.o. Juki 6100 daisywheel printer £50. Phone Ian Pomeroy 0245
−325205.
5.3
•    Prolog X manual − Has anyone got one they would loan or sell me? Phone
John on 0462 −893799.
5.3
•    Scanlight 256 £150 o.n.o., Watford 5¼“ drive + interface + backplate
£80, Canon LBP4/8 FX cartridge £75, D.A.C. fan quietener £12, Pipedream
3 £80, Presenter II hotlink £30, Orrery £70, Chocks Away £15, Powerband
£12, various fonts & discs etc. Phone Chris Bollard on 0752−783663.
5.3
•    SCSI interface for A3000 (Lingenuity) £135. Schema 1.18 £75, Hot-Link
Presenter 2.5 £38. Phone John on 081−395−6425.
5.3
•    Wanted − Laser Direct Hi-Res interface. Phone 0457−862743.
5.3
•    Wanted − Prolog Programming in Depth by Covington, Nute & Vellino.
John Carr, 81 Ameysford Road, Ferndown, Dorset, BH22 9PZ.
5.3
•    Wanted − SCSI controller and/or hard disc for A310. At least 80 M,
preferably internal. Phone 0883−345157.
5.3
•    Watford hand scanner A300/400 £90, FWPlus £20. Phone Mike on
0742−342870.
5.3
Charity Sales − The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money − ring us on 0603−766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
5.3
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
5.3
Artisan £10, Archimedes Buffer £2, Desktop Games £4, The Wimp Game £9,
First Word Plus £10, Corruption £5, Graphic Writer £5, Timewatch £5.  A
5.3

5.3
Oak Solutions
5.3
New artwork coming to you direct
5.3

5.3
Hints and Tips
5.3
•    AMX mouse − To replace the Archimedes mouse with an AMX mouse from a
BBC computer, all that is necessary is to change the plug on the AMX
mouse for a miniature 9 pin DIN plug. The correct plug can be obtained
from Maplin Electronics (0702−554161). It is stock number JX19V (price
82p +p&p). Cut the original 20 way IDC connector off the mouse cable and
then solder the wires onto the new plug. The pins are very close
together, so a fair amount of care is required. It is easiest to start
with the middle pins and work outwards. I found that the plastic housing
supplied with the plug was just too wide to fit into my A3000 but it can
easily be cut smaller with a sharp knife.
5.3
Paul Marshall, Loughborough.
5.3
(Has anyone got the connections to do the same sort of thing but with a
BBC Trackerball? Ed)
5.3
•    Cops and Plague Planet − I should like to pass on the following advice
received from Alpine.
5.3
Both Cops and Plague Planet re-configure the character set used to their
own. If you have a copy of Alpine Software’s ALPS (Adventure Language
Programming System) this contains a copy of the default Archimedes
character set e.g. $.!ALPS. Resources.defaultchr.
5.3
Copy this file to the appropriate games directory (e.g.
$.COPS.defaultchr), and add the following line at the very end of the
appropriate !Run file (e.g. for Cops):
5.3
Print <Cops$Dir>.defaultchr
5.3
This will then automatically reset the computer to the default system
font upon returning to the Desktop.      Rob Brown, Tadworth
5.3
•    Corruption and Jinxter − I have recently transferred a number of the
earlier Magnetic Scrolls adventure games from floppy to hard disc and
have encountered certain problems with their usage of the Shared C
Library !System module.
5.3
Fish! does not use the Shared C Library at all. Both The Guild of
Thieves and The Pawn came with version 3.50 of the Shared C Library and
they function with more recent versions without any difficulty. However,
my copies of Corruption (version 1.12) and Jinxter (version 1.30) came
with version 1.01 of the Shared C Library and they will not function at
all with any of the more recent versions.
5.3
What I wanted to achieve was an easy means of starting either program
straight from the Desktop and automatically loading the “old” version of
the Shared C Library. After some trial and error I have found one way
round this by modifying the !Run files for both applications.
5.3
Firstly, version 1.01 of the Shared C Library needs to be copied to a
suitable directory within the !System application on the hard disc (e.g.
$.!System.oldModules.CLib_v101).
5.3
Unfortunately the command RMEnsure will not only check for a particular
version of a module but it will also accept more recent versions. In the
!Run file I have therefore used this command to check whether a
subsequent version (e.g. 1.02) of the Shared C Library is already loaded
and, if not, the most up to date version is loaded from the !System
application. The command RMKill is then used to delete this module
before loading the “old” version 1.01 of the Shared C Library. Finally,
after exiting the program, the “old” Shared C Library is deleted, the
latest version (currently 3.75) is re-loaded, and the !Run file finally
returns control direct to the Desktop.
5.3
| !Run file for Corruption
5.3
| (or Jinxter − change references from “Corruption” to “Jinxter”)
5.3
| (requires Shared C library version 1.01 dated 13-Jun-88)
5.3
|
5.3
IconSprites <Obey$Dir>.!Sprites
5.3
WimpSlot -min 512K -max 512K
5.3
|
5.3
Set Corruption$CLibLoaded 1
5.3
RMEnsure SharedCLibrary 1.02 Set Corruption$CLibLoaded 0
5.3
If Corruption$CLibLoaded=0 then If “<System$Path>” = “” then Error
System resources cannot be found
5.3
If Corruption$CLibLoaded=0 then RMLoad System:Modules.Clib
5.3
RMKill SharedCLibrary
5.3
RMLoad System:oldModules.CLib_v101 .Clib
5.3
RMEnsure SharedCLibrary 1.01 Error You need SharedCLibrary
5.3
version 1.01 ONLY
5.3
Unset Corruption$CLibLoaded
5.3
|
5.3
Set Corruption$Dir <Obey$Dir>
5.3
Run <Corruption$Dir>.Corruption.f1 <Corruption$Dir>.Corruption.f2
5.3
|
5.3
|
5.3
RMKill SharedCLibrary
5.3
RMEnsure SharedCLibrary 3.75 RMLoad System:Modules.Clib
5.3
RMEnsure SharedCLibrary 3.75 Error You need SharedCLibrary
5.3
version 3.75 or later
5.3
Desktop
5.3
WARNING − any other programs active within the Desktop should be closed
down and any files saved before starting either Corruption or Jinxter −
especially those programs which use the Shared C Library! Perhaps
another reader can find a way round this?
5.3
Rob Brown, Tadworth
5.3
•    Elite − When you start Archimedes Elite, it prompts you to enter a
word from the manual, as an anti-piracy precaution. When it says “type
the word exactly as shown” it means the input is case sensitive. You
have to remember to take the Caps Lock off. This falls into the category
of “obvious to most people” but hopefully this hint will save somebody
the frustrating quarter of an hour which I spent trying to get the thing
to work when it first arrived.
5.3
People who are used to the 8 bit version of the game should watch out
for little things which have changed. For example, furs are now illicit
cargo in the same way that narcotics and firearms are. You are told this
in the manual but you have to look for it pretty carefully!
5.3
Neil Hoggarth, Winchester  A
5.3

5.3
Impression Hints & Tips
5.3
•    Position holding − My repeated plea for a way of holding the current
position in a document when you expand and contract the window has been
answered! A box of four Archive mugs is winging its way to Bob Potter of
Bath. He gave me the basic idea which I have amplified slightly.
5.3
Basically, as Bob pointed out, when you expand and contract the window,
Impression returns to the position that was current when the window was
small. (Surely, CC, this isn’t very sensible, is it? You are more likely
to change the current position when working in the full size window. Why
not change it whenever you move about within the document?) Anyway,
given that this is how it works at present, all you have to do to
maintain your position is, as soon as you have shrunk the window, press
<cursor-left> (and then <cursor-right> if you want to) so that the
current position will be displayed and remembered within the small
window. The only slight disadvantage with this is that if the small
window is very small, you will find the cursor near to the top of the
window when you expand it, not near the middle. Thanks, Bob!  A
5.3

5.3
Ace
5.3
From 5.2 page 34
5.3

5.3
Comp Conc
5.3
NEW
5.3

5.3
Comp Conc
5.3
NEW
5.3

5.3
Comment Column
5.3
•    Clip art conversion − Further to Roland Nitsch’s appeal for help on
clip art conversion, Arts & Letters does export to CGM, so he should be
able to convert with !CGM->Draw (Careware 13). However, one person did
send me some Clip Art which they claimed was supplied with A&L in CGM
format which did contain an incorrect header. The file was easy enough
to zap though. (I think it was that the length in the header was out by
1.) One of the problems with CGM is that it does not support Beziers.
One way round this is OS2 Metafiles, which do. I am currently working on
a Draw <-> OS2 Metafile conversion which should be available soonish.
Keith Sloan
5.3
•    DXF converting − Following on from Jim Markland’s comments last month
(page 28) I have looked at !Draw->DXF and there are a few problems...
5.3
    1) DXF does not support filled polygons of greater than four sides, so
filled areas are a bit of a challenge
5.3
    2) Autosketch only supports a subset of DXF and does not recognise
line widths. (Not a problem with AutoCad or others, I guess.)
5.3
    3) DXF supports cubic splines and NOT Beziers (in 2D as far as I can
tell). A cubic spline is NOT exactly the same as a Bezier. There is
mention of Bezier surfaces, but this appears to only apply to 3D.
Anyway, with Autosketch, I have only been able to generate splines in 2D
and also, with limited access to AutoCad, the same. I have coded a test
program that translates a Draw Bezier’s control points to DXF spline
control points but the result produces somewhat bulbous curves. If
somebody could send me a sample DXF file with a true Bezier, I could fix
and enhance the program. Either that or send me a good algorithm for
converting Bezier control points to spline control points.
5.3
(I know some PC magazine articles say that DXF supports Beziers, but I
think they are incorrect, just as they are incorrect about a lot of the
things they say about CGM. There are NOT a lot of different standards −
one standard and one extension − there are just a lot of PC programs
that only implement a subset and have varying interpretations of the
standard.)
5.3
I have an application !DXF-CGM available on request if somebody is
desperate to get from Draw to DXF i.e. Draw −> CGM via !Draw->CGM and
CGM −> DXF via !DXF-CGM.
5.3
    4) A lot of PC and Mac packages will accept Encapsulated Postscript
files, so it should be possible to print to disk with the Postscript
printer driver and then with some knowledgeable editing of the output,
create a file that could be imported. Or wait for the new CC’s
!ArtWorks.
5.3
    5) Has anybody got any free documentation on WMF format − Windows
Metafile Format ?
5.3
Keith Sloan, Cobblestones, Stairfoot Lane, Chipstead, Sevenoaks, Kent
TN13 2RD.
5.3
•    IDE review − The thing that would put me off an IDE drive would be the
20“ cable restriction. I would have thought one internal and one
external disk would be pushing it, let alone the 3 disks Ian Copestake
is talking about. Keith Sloan
5.3
The answer you will get is “It does work. I’ve tried it!” but that’s
what worries me about IDE − it’s not based on defined standards but on
what seems to work. What happens if your particular IDE interface just
happens to have slightly lower current drive than the ones they were
using when they tried it out?
5.3
In the original article that Michael Tubby wrote, he said that the
maximum cable length was 12“ but when I showed the article to Ian
Copestake to see if he thought it was fair, he said that it was actually
20”. Ray Maidstone, on the other hand, reckons that 20“ is pushing it
for the type of electronic driver circuitry that is used in IDE. (See
page 26.)
5.3
•    IDE review − I have just read the article(s) on IDE versus SCSI in
Archive 5.2 p16, and feel I just have to comment.
5.3
I have an IDE drive with an ICS interface and I think that you are being
extremely biased towards SCSI. There are several downright misleading
‘facts’ in the articles that do not do justice to IDE:
5.3
    a) My drive (a Seagate ST1144AT, 130Mb, bought independently from the
interface) does not run at 472k/s in Mode 0 like the one you tested, but
at 750k/s. This is such an enormous difference! As most of the article
keeps on bashing on IDE’s ‘slow speed’, I think this makes the evalua
tion completely worthless. In fact, ‘general’ SCSI drives are usually
around the same speed, up to, say 1Mb/sec (my IDE drive peaks at 1080k/
sec!). Why you mention 4M/sec for SCSI in your ‘Relative merits’ list is
beyond me: no drive on the Archimedes gets any faster than around 1.2M/
sec, so it is completely misleading to mention 4Mb/sec.
5.3
    b) Your speed comparisons compare one IDE drive with eight others on
ARM2 machines! How can you do this in the light of a fair comparison?
This is incredible!
5.3
(Let me give an answer to (a) and (b). Larger drives tend to be faster,
so you really need to compare drives of similar size in order to decide
which is faster. I have no way of measuring peak speed, but the Frog 45M
SCSI drive runs at an average speed of 796 k/sec and the Oak 50M HS
drive runs at 1122 k/sec compared with your 130M at 750k/sec. In March
1990 we reported that Oak had a 512M SCSI drive running at 1.57M/sec and
since then they have got an even faster one but I haven’t got the new
speed. Sorry, but SCSI drives ARE faster than IDE drives.
5.3
Why mention 4 M/sec for SCSI? Because SCSI is not only used for hard
drives but for other devices that might want to go that fast − you could
even have a couple of Archimedes computers back to back communicating at
4M/sec via SCSI − or even a bank of seven Archimedes! Ed)
5.3
    c) You argue that buying a SCSI interface saves money in the long run.
That’s only valid if you buy non-hard disc SCSI equipment in the future.
Even if you do, IDE interfaces are so cheap that you can afford a SCSI
interface later if you really need one. It becomes an even more invalid
point when you realise the prices of the SCSI add-ons that you’re
talking about, or even the differences in prices between hard drives.
This can easily be more than the price of an IDE interface!
5.3
Frankly, I think this is another example of you, I’m sorry to put it
this way, abusing being an editor and a seller. Be fair, what gives you
more profit, a SCSI or an IDE package? But still you have the cheek to
criticise the IDE manufacturers for the same thing! Is Archive a non-
profit organisation?
5.3
(Yes, Archive is a profit making organisation but I can’t tell you
whether we would make more profit on IDE or SCSI as I haven’t done any
comparisons of profit margins. In any case, if profit were our only
motive, we would sell both SCSI and IDE! Ed)
5.3
As an aside, prices for hard-drives in England are astronomically high.
I can easily get a drive for 30% (!) less than quoted English prices
anywhere in Holland or Germany! I wonder why everyone (including you)
recommends buying interface and drive at the same time!
5.3
So, in my opinion:
5.3
    a) I think you should have delayed publishing a speed comparison until
enough data had arrived. (Can IDE users help here by giving us some
speeds? Ed.)
5.3
    b) I think you should re-think and re-publish your reasoning behind
buying SCSI and IDE. There is much more to be said for IDE than brought
forward in the article.
5.3
    c) I think you should stop putting your mouth where your business is,
but rather try to help people reach a decent verdict when choosing
between IDE and SCSI. As most people have or are going to buy hard
drives, it is vital that there are fair comparisons dealing with this
subject.
5.3
John Kortink, Netherlands.
5.3
•    Ovation vs Impression − I have been using Ovation for over a year and
liked it a lot, but when I bought a LaserDirect Hi-Res printer, I found
that graphics (including borders) did not print out properly. There was
apparently a bug in the LaserDirect driver software, which I understand
has now been rectified (I must return my disc to CC for the upgrade).
Therefore, I bought Impression, despite my intense dislike of the
‘dongle’. It is in general excellent, although I do miss a number of
Ovation features.
5.3
In particular, I like the Ovation method of storing a document, as this
includes various preferences (such as viewing scale and rulers on/off
and their units) with the document. The quick <ctrl-key> combinations to
switch these options on and off for the current document are very handy.
I also like the intelligent use of desktop space when a document is
opened (instead of Impression’s silly little window which always has to
be expanded and re-positioned) and its longer menus rather than the
interminable dialogue boxes in Impression, which may have started out
small in version 1 but which are now much too long. It also seems to be
easier to select font styles (e.g. bold and Italic variants) from
Ovation’s menus.
5.3
Ovation’s built-in lines/arrowheads facility is invaluable for me, and I
am slowed down a lot by frequently having to import lines from my Clip
Art library. The border thickness setting is also surprisingly useful,
and I find Impression’s borders much more limiting as a result.
5.3
Even so, Impression scores positively in the areas of multiple views,
printing in pamphlet form and retro-active style changes, although I
understand that the last of these will be included in the next release
of Ovation. Neither of these DTP packages uses the same <ctrl-key>
conventions of a lot of other Archimedes software (such as PipeDream),
and I find it can be confusing switching between the various appli
cations to find that, for example, <ctrl-V> does different things and
produces ‘forced errors’ (to use a tennis term).
5.3
•    Reviews policy − (Colton Software have asked me to publish the
following statement....)
5.3
Dear Sirs and Madams,
5.3
I would like to protest in the strongest possible terms about your
policy of reviewing products from your own company and not reviewing
competing products from other manufacturers.
5.3
I refer to your article Archive Mugs (Archive 5.2 p45). Colton Soft
ware’s PipeDream mugs have been available for much longer than the
Archive equivalent, they are completely Acorn hardware and software
compatible, their use will not void your Acorn warranty and they are
cheaper (£3 each or £5 for 2). What’s more, they are prettier.
5.3
I look forward to seeing an in-depth review, with colour pictures, of
the PipeDream mug in a forthcoming issue of Archive.
5.3
I remain your obedient mug,
5.3
P.E.N. Guin
5.3
Percy Edward Norbet Guin of Colton Software
5.3
P.S. What about our key rings?
5.3
We, at Archive, take this sort of criticism very seriously as our
reputation for editorial integrity and impartiality is extremely
important to us. We have therefore asked Robert Chrismas to do a
comparative review of the two mugs and also to look at the key ring.
(See below − although we could not manage any colour pictures, sorry!)
If other suppliers feel similarly aggrieved, do please send us your mugs
and we will include them in the earliest possible issue. Ed.
5.3
•    PipeDream mugs − Within days of the publication of Archive 5.2, which
included the  controversial review of Archive mugs, a fax arrived at
Beverley Towers. The fax, from Colton Software, complained that it was
not fair to review Archive mugs unless rival mugs were also reviewed. It
was signed by Percy Edward Norbet Guin, who seemed to have got himself
into a flap about the matter.
5.3
Colton have since sent me a mug and a couple of key rings to review.
5.3
These mugs could be compared with Archive’s mugs, but, unlike these fine
mugs, comparisons are odorous. The facts must speak for themselves.
Colton’s mugs are mug shaped and about the size of a mug. They work
perfectly as mugs and look a lot prettier than some mugs. The unmistak
able Pipedream logo covers nearly a quarter of the outside. On the back
is the cryptic slogan ‘PIPEDREAM Breaking down the barriers’ and, below
this, the words, ‘Colton Software’. Percy’s letter hinted at a RISC-OS 3
version of the mug which presumably will not need a !Fonts disk either.
The present mugs are made in England, so you don’t have to boot DOS.
5.3
Colton’s key rings are, I’m sorry to report, the usual tacky wire ring
and blob of plastic arrangement. Inside the plastic blob is the message
‘Pipedream 4 The Works’. I flipped it over hoping to find ‘Colton
Software The Business’ but there was just a numeral four and a kind of
traffic light arrangement which probably means something to penguins.
5.3
I have looked into the mugs and there are no bugs at all; but then there
isn’t a user manual, a keystrip or a threatening letter from FAST
either.
5.3
The mugs cost £3 each or 2 for £5 which is jolly good value and
certainly a lot cheaper than PipeDream. Add 85p for p&p − it comes in an
excellent purpose-built polystyrene packing.
5.3
It is good to find that Colton are diversifying their product range − in
times of recession, it is important not to rely on just one item. Of
course, we wish PipeDream 4 every success, but it is reassuring to know
that if it lays an egg we can still look forward to the Colton egg cup,
the Colton dinner service and the Colton (Capo-De-Monte of the North†)
genuine porcelain sentimental figures.
5.3
Robert Chrismas, Gosport
5.3
†Cambridge? The North? Robert obviously thinks in terms of “Watford and
the North”. Or perhaps he was thinking of the North Pole? Or do penguins
live in the AntARCtic?  A
5.3

5.3
Hardware Column
5.3
Brian Cowan
5.3
The recent Acorn User Show was a much-hyped event. I suppose I must
admit to having been partially responsible myself. There were rumours of
some exciting new products but, as usual, many failed to materialise.
A5000 machines were in remarkably short supply notwithstanding all
Acorn’s publicity. The high density floppy disc drive from Arxe Systems
was shown in prototype, built on an Atomwide Apec card, but no produc
tion models were available. While it is true that I saw the 386SX card,
it was only a bare card with no components on it! However, I am assured
that both these products will be available soon; this is certainly not
another Mach Technology story. I shall also be discussing my experiences
with Cumana. (No, he won’t! I faxed the comments through to Cumana to
give them the right of reply and, following their comments, I thought it
was better to delay before we publish anything! Ed) But first some good
news....
5.3
RAM expansion for the 540
5.3
The A540 comes with 4M of RAM, but with sockets for three extra RAM
cards each containing 4M. So there is the potential to have a maximum of
16M of RAM. The main problem with all this is the price that Acorn are
charging for the RAM cards: something in the region of £500. When you
consider the present price of RAM, this is quite extortionate, even
considering that each card needs its own MEMC chip as well.
5.3
Doing the rounds at the Show I came across a RAM upgrade card for the
540 from DT Software. I was immediately struck by the elegance of its
design. This is a most beautiful small card containing the RAM chips in
neat line together with a MEMC and one other chip. The board is produced
to a very high professional standard − inspiring confidence. DT’s boss,
David Knell suggested I try one out so that I could let Archive readers
know all about it. I took it home, plugged it in my 540 and turned it
on. It worked. There is really not much more to say!
5.3
Over the past few weeks I have had the benefit of an 8M machine and I
have got quite used to it. There have been no problems at all. You
really don’t notice any difference, except that you don’t run out of
memory as I seemed to have been doing. I like to run Impression with a
fairly large font cache because of all the strange fonts required in
scientific documents. So if you want to run the PC emulator, a terminal
emulator for logging onto a mainframe computer, and the odd calculation
in an Edit Task Window, then you could be in trouble. There is certainly
a variant of Parkinson’s law in relation to RAM! But with the RAM
upgrade life has become much sweeter. I understand the board is
perfectly compatible with the Acorn upgrade boards; they can be mixed in
any combination. All in all a super product. The price is £249.95 +VAT
for one-off.  A
5.3

5.3

5.3

5.3

5.3

5.3

5.3

5.3

5.3

5.3
Language Column
5.3
David Wild
5.3
Probably the most important arrival on the scene recently has been the
Acorn Desktop Development Environment, which replaces the old Software
Developers’ Toolbox and the assembler package. While it is probably true
that most programmers don’t want to write large programs in assembler,
this new environment offers something for nearly everyone writing in a
compiled language.
5.3
Although the two assemblers, one producing stand-alone code and the
other giving an output file in ‘aof’ format, are the heart of the
package, there are many other good things in it. Perhaps the most
important is a new version of !Make which will work with any compiler or
assembler producing ‘aof’ files and allow the managed production of
programs incorporating modules, some of which may need recompiling or
re-assembling before they can be linked.
5.3
Although the system, as supplied, seems to assume that you will be
working in ‘C’, instructions are given for extending the system to use
other compilers as necessary. This extension is not very complicated and
doesn’t involve taking away any existing capability.
5.3
A text editor, !SrcEdit, is provided which gives the facility for
suitable compilers to go back to the source file when errors are
detected so that they can be corrected and compilation continued. Only
the new ‘C’ compiler offers this at present but the documentation
suggests that versions of other compilers will do so in future. In
addition to the magic characters offered by !Edit, the new editor offers
the extended editing facilities that were used in Twin. !SrcEdit gets
over the problem with having too many fonts but it is slightly disap
pointing to find that, although you can include different fonts in your
text on the screen, they are not saved with the text and so cannot be
printed. There are several other minor improvements but one which will
be very helpful to programmers working with languages like LISP, is a
bracket matching facility which will find the corresponding bracket at
the other end of the clause, and give an error message if there is no
bracket.
5.3
There is an improved version of !Debug which will work, at least at
machine code level, with any program produced by the linker with the
debug switch set. More recent compilers will allow you to step through
at source statement level and display the source as you go. Pascal
programs can be debugged at source line level but the source isn’t
displayed; we are promised a later release which will rectify this.
5.3
A new version of !FormEd is provided which, while it makes life very
much easier by allowing you to create or edit one window at a time,
doesn’t give any really new facilities.
5.3
In addition to !SrcEdit, !Make, !Debug and !FormEd, which Acorn groups
as the interactive tools there are several non-interactive tools. This
group includes the two assemblers and the linker, together with programs
for analysing ‘aof’ files, a program for maintaining libraries and a
number of programs which can be called text analysis programs. One lists
the words in a file with the number of times each is used, another
compares two files and lists the difference between them and another
gives the number of lines, words and characters in a file.
5.3
While some of the non-interactive tools, such as the assemblers and the
linker are essential for programming, the text analysis ones are a
little more of a luxury. What is exciting about them, though, is that
they are all command-line programs which are managed by a front-end
module which turns them into multi-tasking, RISC-OS programs without the
individual program needing to have all the WIMP management details
written into it. Instructions are given for adding this facility to any
program, such as a file filter, which doesn’t need any input once it has
started running. This front-end allows for the dragging of input files
and the dragging of save boxes for output together with the provision of
a scrollable window for printed output.
5.3
The linker is one such tool and the files that are to be linked can be
dragged into a window and the completed ‘aif’ file can either be dragged
to where it is wanted or the program can use a default destination
written into a definition file. One useful feature is that the file
list, which can include a ‘via’ file, is retained until you move it.
This is extremely useful when you are developing a program which needs
minor alterations − you can go through a cycle of edit, compile and link
with very few key presses other than those needed for the editing.
5.3
One of the few problems with the package is that anyone wanting to use
such non-interactive tools must have the package with the front-end
module and one or two other programs. I wrote to Acorn who have told me
that they are prepared to license the distribution of the necessary
files with “suitable” programs, in the same way as the Shared ‘C’
Library, but this will not allow you to send a program to someone else
unless you can justify the cost of the licence.
5.3
I have suggested to Acorn that one solution to the problem might be to
sell a text pack, comprising the front-end programs, together with those
I have described as text analysers, for a much lower price, possibly £20
as against the £200 for the full package.
5.3
For a keen programmer, the package is money well spent as I am sure that
it will make the work of developing programs very much lighter. I was
slightly disappointed to find the documentation, which is generally very
good, describing ‘C’ as “the language of choice” as I feel that the use
of the ‘aof’ concept takes away any need for such a choice. A completed
!runimage file can include many modules from different languages
depending on the type of problem to be solved and the experience and
skills of the programmer.
5.3
I hope that many libraries will become available and that they will be
judged on their effectiveness rather than their language base. I would
argue that if I produce a module to carry out a particular task, you
should subject it to all reasonable tests to decide on its fitness for
the job but you are not entitled to ask questions about the source
language any more than you are entitled to disassemble commercial
programs.  A
5.3

5.3
IFEL
5.3
From 5.1 page 19
5.3

5.3
Techsoft
5.3
From 5.1 page 16
5.3

5.3
Colton
5.3
New coming direct to you
5.3

5.3
PipeLine
5.3
Gerald Fitton
5.3
I would like to say a bit more this month about PipeDream 4 (hereinafter
called PD4 because it saves a lot of space!) but first a few topics
arising from my correspondence.
5.3
Brackets or minus signs
5.3
Paul Witheridge points out something I never noticed before. Making the
default ‘Brackets’ instead of minus signs causes PipeDream to display
positive numbers with a trailing blank space. In some of my spreadsheets
I have chosen a column width which only allows enough room for the
numbers I expect. I use minus signs as my default. If your ini file has
brackets as the default and if you load my spreadsheet into your
PipeDream then your default (brackets with its trailing space) will be
used and the spreadsheet will show percent signs, %, indicating that
there is not enough space in the column for the number. If this has
happened to you then if you change the <Ctrl+O> option to Minus and the
display will be as I intended it to be.
5.3
Generally, if I use my ini default settings and save a file then, even
if your default settings are different from mine, your defaults will be
used instead of mine. PD3 saves with the file only those settings which
are different from the ini default of the PipeDream which has been used.
5.3
Manual recalculation
5.3
Paul Witheridge also comments that, with one of his larger spreadsheets,
auto recalculation in PD3 ‘wastes’ too much time, gets into a loop or
crashes with a stack overflow. Setting to Manual recalculation solves
all these problems.
5.3
Another obscure ini problem
5.3
Elwyn Morris transferred his !PipeDream directory to another disc with
another name. When he came to try to boot up the second disc he kept
getting a message from the ADFS to insert the original disc. He
discovered that by loading the ini file from the second disc and then
saving it the ADFS messages stopped! His theory is that somewhere within
the ini file he had stored the original disc name. I haven’t investi
gated this phenomenon but it should be possible to load the ini file
into !Edit and have a look.
5.3
Give us back our 11 days!
5.3
Betty Mines knows the answer to why my ‘everlasting’ calendar gives what
seems an unusual September for 1752. My calendar spreadsheet correctly
follows the 2nd of September that year with the 14th. It is with some
regret that I am unable to quote Betty at length but she tells us that
Julius Caesar misjudged the leap year correction by about three days
every 400 years. By the time Pope Gregory had a look at whether Easter
was turning up in the right place (the first Sunday after the first full
moon after the Spring equinox) in 1582 we were about ten days adrift.
The Roman Catholic countries skipped the 10 days following the
4th October 1582 but we waited until 1752 when we were one more day out.
I’m not sure which country was the last to change from the Julian to the
Gregorian calendar but I believe one country waited until 1924!
5.3
On a somewhat seasonal note, Betty says that, before 1752, Christmas
fell nearly two weeks later than it does now, so that then the expecta
tion of a white Christmas was realised more often.
5.3
MultiStore to PipeDream transfer
5.3
Brian Varley saw me at the AU Show and told me about a utility he had
written which will convert files written in MultiStore to PipeDream
format. If you wish to reverse the process he has another program which
will do this. Each program costs £20 and you can buy them from him.
(Contact Brian Varley via Abacus Training)
5.3
AutoSave in PipeDream
5.3
I have had about a dozen letters arising from a Risc User utility which
AutoSaves every few minutes from !Edit and !Draw quite successfully. It
fails with !PipeDream. Why? We don’t know but Barry McElroy from South
Australia has a solution. His solution is to throw away Risc User’s
AutoSave and use the AutoSave utility available on the David Pilling
PipeDream Extras disc. It is unfortunate they have the same name as they
are two completely different programs.
5.3
Running macros
5.3
From several sources, I have been told that an alternative way of
running a macro which is sometimes most useful is to drag it over the
open PipeDream window that you want it to operate on. If you do that
then you won’t execute the macro on the wrong file by mistake.
5.3
The function atn2
5.3
C J Mills explains that mathematicians use a different nomenclature from
the rest of civilization when referring to ‘polar angles’. PD3 works
clockwise from the North Pole (giving the Northing first followed by the
Easting) whereas mathematicians work anticlockwise from the x axis
(giving the x coordinate followed by the y).
5.3
In PD4, atn2 doesn’t exist but atn_2 does. The syntax of atn_2 uses the
mathematician’s convention of Eastings before Northings and gives the
polar angle anticlockwise from the x axis!
5.3
PipeDream 4
5.3
That brings me round to Pd4. Perhaps a measure of my growing familiarity
with, and confidence in, PD4 is that I am writing this month’s PipeLine
article in PD4 rather than in PD3 before exporting it to Impression
(Paul’s preferred format for Archive). As I write, the
9th November 1991, I have version 4.01 which seems to react more
‘smoothly’ than version 4.00 and I definitely pronounce it to be
‘usable’. I have been given a date for version 4.10 which I don’t think
is meant to be a secret but, just in case, let me tell you only that it
is a date well before Christmas! By the time you read this, etc, etc.
With any software having the sophistication of PD4, there are bound to
be residual bugs and so Colton Software would like you to let them (on
me!) know if you find a bug − in any version of PD4.
5.3
New features
5.3
Let’s start with the good things about PD4. These are the features which
I believe will wipe out the opposition and endear you to PD4 long after
you have recovered from the trauma of changing from the PD3 with which
you are so familiar.
5.3
Template files
5.3
Gone is the ini file with all its problems for the likes of me who get
files from you (but without your ini file) and can’t find out why you
have a problem because with my ini file it doesn’t happen. Gone is the
saving of blank letterhead, invoice and even blank label files. With
PD4, I can save a template containing text, drawings (e.g. a logo), the
appropriate printer driver and the file is saved with the cursor at the
right place for me to start typing, running a macro or loading a block
from another document. The template is saved with the <Ctrl+FI> command
which, in PD3, was used to save the ini file. When you use the New
document command from the icon bar, you can step through all your
templates until you find the one you want to load for the job in hand.
5.3
Mouse control
5.3
This is improved and I have yet to learn all the tricks but here are
some that I have found useful.
5.3
To change the width of a column (e.g. to widen column A) you drag the
edge of the column (the line between the A and B at the top of the
sheet) with the mouse. You can also drag the wrap width with the mouse
one column at a time or you can ‘link’ together a range of columns so
that they all have the same right margin. Better still, for many
tabulated documents, is the auto width option which automatically widens
a column if you need a little extra space.
5.3
You can drag the mouse over a range of cells to mark the block or you
can use the mouse adjust button to mark the second point of a marked
block (rather like Impression).
5.3
There is a click box at the top left of the PD4 window which replaces
<Ctrl+Q> or it will mark the whole sheet.
5.3
Arrays
5.3
Arrays are an interesting new feature which I have used and like. An
array can be a range of slots (as in Schema) or (unlike Schema) it can
be a hidden spreadsheet of many cells located within one slot. The
advantage of arrays is that all the cells within the array can be
processed by a single instruction. This leads to simple operations such
as adding together a couple of numeric arrays or more sophisticated
processing such as the idea I have outlined in the paragraph below
called ‘Thesaurus’ (guess what that might do).
5.3
Arrays can contain mixtures of numbers and text and can be operated on
by your custom functions (see below).
5.3
Variable names
5.3
As in the Basic language, you can now give meaningful names to vari
ables. You can give a name to a fixed value or to a slot or to an array
and the values you want can be in a dependent document and (of course)
they can be variable. It seems to me that PD4 works more quickly with
names than with cell references so this is a feature I am going to
exploit.
5.3
Custom functions
5.3
You can write your own functions. In practice, you write a custom
function in a separate spreadsheet which PD4 then calls into memory as a
dependent document. These custom functions can process a mixture of
numbers and text and the language includes ‘flow control’ commands such
as Repeat − Until. Unlike the blanket iteration of PD3, in PD4 you can
use a custom function to target your iteration. Custom functions will
accept arrays of mixed numbers and text as the input parameters and will
output either single values or an array of mixed numbers and text.
5.3
Thesaurus
5.3
No! There is no thesaurus in PD4 but I can see how, in principle at
least, a custom function could be written which inputs one word and
outputs an array of synonyms. If someone likes the idea and is willing
to think this through up to the point of writing a specification of the
Thesaurus function then maybe we can all add our few favourite synonyms
to it as we can, at the moment, exchange user dictionaries. What is
important is that we all agree on the syntax of the Thesaurus function
before we start!
5.3
Charts
5.3
The charts which were (I quote Colton Software) ‘fragile’ in version
4.00 are much more ‘stable’ in version 4.01. It is an understatement to
call them ‘stunning’. Furthermore, they are ‘hot linked’, work in the
background and they are fast.
5.3
WYSIWYG
5.3
In PD4, when you change the line spacing, the screen display will change
to show the new line spacing. Tall fonts appear to be tall and not
squashed from above.
5.3
Converting from PD3
5.3
This is the nasty bit about PD4. It is not what you might call com
pletely ‘downward compatible’. Not every file created in PD3 will run in
PD4. Perhaps more difficult will be getting to know and use the new,
better ways of doing things, not least the improved user interface.
5.3
What’s missing?
5.3
Facilities which are in PD3 but have been removed from PD4 include
Iteration and Linking files. Multi file documents are retained in PD4
but are not documented nor are they fully supported. Some of the control
commands have been changed to make them more logical but the old command
has been retained but not documented. For example <Ctrl+BNT> is now the
documented command for changing number slots to text slots (and text to
numbers); previously, in PD3, this was <Ctrl+ENT>. You will find that
<Ctrl+ENT> has been retained but not documented.
5.3
Column and Row recalculation are no longer available. However, I find
that the ‘natural’ choice which has replaced Row or Column works much
more smoothly than in PD3 and the stack overflow problem of PD3 just
doesn’t happen any more. Background calculation is less obtrusive, so I
am much happier to use auto than I was with PD3.
5.3
What’s been changed?
5.3
There are two major changes in the syntax of the database functions
which seriously affect running PD3 files in PD4.
5.3
The condition is no longer a string and the single quotes must be
removed. The conditional sum dsum(A1A100,‘A1>0’) doesn’t work. The
condition must be expressed as a range; the above formula becomes
dsum(A1A100,A1A100>0). The # used to ‘fix’ a condition is no longer
required. The function dsum(A1A100,‘A1> B#1’) is no longer valid; you
must use dsum(A1A100,A1A100>B1).
5.3
Strings can be entered only with double inverted commas.
5.3
The hyphen can be mistaken for a minus sign. For example, Start-Finish
is a valid way of abbreviating the text phrase “start to finish” in PD3
but, in PD4, in a slot on its own, it could be the difference between
two variables (names) called Start and Finish.
5.3
The function index(col,row) has a new syntax which includes an extra
argument, the array over which the index is to be evaluated. The
arguments col and row are now offsets from the top left corner of the
array.
5.3
What is Abacus Training going to do?
5.3
One approach we could have taken (but rejected) is what I might call the
HCF approach (highest common factor − instructions which work in both
PD3 and PD4). However, the PD4 user interface is so much smoother to use
that, if we had done this, we would not be showing you how to get the
best out of PD4 nor would we satisfy PD3 users.
5.3
So far as the PipeLine discs are concerned, we have decided to rename
the PipeLine series which contain applications which run best in PD3 as
PipeLine 3 and create a new series of discs called PipeLine 4 with
tutorials, advice and applications which run in PD4. If you decide to
upgrade from PD3 to PD4 then you can convert your PipeLine 3 subscrip
tion to a subscription to PipeLine 4 at any time. What you will not be
able to do is to exchange your old PipeLine 3 discs for new PipeLine 4
discs for free.
5.3
4Sight and the PD4 Demo disc
5.3
I read and noted with interest David Holden’s remarks about Crippleware
in Archive last month. He asks “Would you . . . pay to watch a TV
advert?” Let me answer a question with a question. Would you be prepared
to pay to read a review of some software you might want to buy? Now to a
harder question. Would you be prepared to pay (a relatively small
amount) to try out some software you’re interested in before you pay a
lot more to buy it and risk finding out too late that (in spite of the
glowing review) it doesn’t do what you want? My own view is that
Crippleware does serve a useful purpose. A few months ago, I bought some
Crippleware (which shall remain nameless) and I was glad that I did
because then I didn’t waste money by buying the real thing.
5.3
Anyway, if you are tempted by PD4, you must make up your own mind
whether to take a chance on upgrading to PD4 from the glowing reviews
(or this column) or whether you should buy some Crippleware which might
help you decide (either way) with more certainty. What we (Abacus
Training) are offering is a pair of discs for £5.00. One is Colton
Software’s PD4 demonstration disc which has the Save and Print functions
and, I think, the SpellChecker disabled; undoubtedly this falls within
the definition of Crippleware. The second is our 4Sight disc which
contains tutorials and worked examples which are designed to help you
appreciate the new features (arrays, templates, variable names, custom
functions, smoother user interface, etc) of PD4 as well as sections
(with macros where appropriate) which we believe will help you convert
your favourite documents from PD3 to PD4.
5.3
As I write, 4Sight is not complete and the PD4 demo disc will not be
available until version 4.10 is released. However, this should be before
Christmas and, by the time you read this, the package should be
available so, if you are interested, let us know.
5.3
The PipeLine column
5.3
What I shall try to do here is to distinguish between PD3 and PD4
applications. So please, when you write to me, let me know whether what
you have sent in is suitable for PD3 or PD4 (or both). I don’t know what
proportion of you will upgrade from PD3 to 4 or to what extent those of
you happy to stick with PD3 will still need the support of this column,
but I will have to be guided by the correspondence I receive in
proportioning out the pages Paul is prepared to place at my disposal.
5.3
If you have just bought PD4 and would like to share your views on
whether or not it was worthwhile upgrading or if you have any advice,
comment or criticism (but not PD4 bugs yet!) then please write to me at
the Abacus Training address on the inside back cover of Archive.  A
5.3

5.3
The Engineer Speaks
5.3
Ray Maidstone
5.3
•    Hard drive mounts − Several customers have had cause to ship their
Archimedi to me for repair, and a hardware problem has come to light.
Some of you have purchased hard drives that have been mounted on thin
aluminium brackets. These rather flimsy brackets easily distort under
small amounts of G stress and, unfortunately, a few harddrives have gone
to the great hard disc graveyard in the sky. Aluminium was used by the
Airforce because of its tensile properties, and should (due to this very
fact) not be used to anchor a hard drive. These small brackets deform
under stress and leave the drive “flapping” about.
5.3
Another comment about brackets − a lot of them are fine for their
supporting properties but not very good when it comes to air circula
tion. This can be improved by either punching some 3/8“ holes in the
sides, or by buying a pair of Paul’s new nifty side brackets at £4 a
pair. We have had a few instances of over-heating causing premature
decease of drives, particularly with back planes full of podules and a
partly blocked filter. It is possible that, by reducing the bracket
size, this could have been avoided.
5.3
•    *Shut and *bye − The last word! I have not, at any time in my
comments, stated that the suggestions I have made are law, I have merely
offered the result of my findings to those who hadn’t a clue of what was
going on. There are a few small, old drives that need both, but most
only need one command to park. The removables, however, most certainly
do not park, and only the operating lever finally parks the heads. These
findings came about from observations of partially dismantled units
operating under standard command use.
5.3
•    LBP4 laser printers − I have been asked about switch on/off procedures
for these, and I reckon that, to minimise “spikes”, the order should
be... when switching on, either do so all together or the printer last,
and turning off, either do it all altogether or switch off the printer
first.
5.3
•    Cooling − Following the success of quietening the fans on Archimedes,
external hard drives have now been added to the list, and no heat
problems have arisen (mainly because of 14 months of actual proving
before releasing). Whilst assessing the quietening for these drives, it
was surprising to find just how mechanically noisy some makes of fan
were, as nearly 50% of the noise from the unit was being conducted
through the chassis assembly.
5.3
I have also been asked “If I don’t like Acorn’s cooling method, what
would I like instead?” My reply is that, in my opinion, the current fan
with or without a quietener (that never lets the fan speed drop below
75%) is not quite enough in the real world. Particularly if the filter
is on the inside, hardly anyone appears to pay much attention to keeping
the filter clean. Therefore, I have found a rather nice miniature fan
(currently being used by Morley in their external hard drives) that,
when introduced into the opposite side of the case to the present
arrangement, and being set to push air out of the case as the other
sucks it in, really gets some cooling done.
5.3
A cautionary note about airflow is not to stand external floppy and hard
drive units too close to the sides of the Archimedes, or soft surfaces
under the A3000, as “what goes in must come out” and I have seen several
instances of hot machines being caused by the proximity of external
surfaces. The A3000 has a power supply that runs quite hot and, being
encased in fireproof cardboard, (on the earlier machines, anyway) made
things even more heated. I am using the miniature fan, aimed at the end
of the P.S.U., to assist temperature differences in this rather enclosed
environment. If anyone is interested in more details, let me know. This
small fan gives off very little sound and certainly improves longevity.
The lack of space inside the A3000 generally adds to the poor cooling in
the P.S.U. and any air movement is better than none.
5.3
I made the comment above about fan quieteners not slowing the fan more
than 75% because, in the course of my development, I also tried systems
that reduced the fan speed to 40%, and also did one trial where I
stopped it all together for the first quarter hour, as no heat would
build up until after this. The fan would then thermostatically cut in
and then run in a varied way subject to temperature requirements. These
were all dropped due to the fact that, as the Archimedes box is not at
all aerodynamic, once the temperature began to build up, certain items
within it started to experience particularly large temperature rises
i.e. hard drive, P.S.U. and floppy drive. The final unit chosen simply
took the fan below the noise of air flare speed and, together with the
chassis decoupling grommets, removed so much noise that only the sound
of the hard drive rang in the ears. I would caution people against using
controllers that slow the fan excessively.
5.3
•    IDE cabling − I notice that IDE drive cables have been quoted as long
as 20“. I have it on very good authority that in some cases, even 12” is
pushing it. This is because IDE signals tend to be far more easily
corrupted than those on SCSI lines. So please be warned and keep them as
short as possible.  A
5.3

5.3
Help!!!!
5.3
•    Bridge program − Does anyone know of a bridge program for the
Archimedes? Either commercial or PD? Kevin Moore, Hove.
5.3
•    DTP editor − When Ian Lynch stepped down as DTP Columnist in December
1990, someone else offered to take over. Unfortunately, he seems to have
been too busy and hasn’t managed to produce anything. The lack of DTP
articles and ideas is a major omission in Archive. Is there anyone out
there who could to take over? If so, please get in touch with us as soon
as possible. Thanks.
5.3
•    Elite? − The Archimedes Elite manual states that rank is no longer
simply determined by number of kills achieved. Has anyone figured out
what criteria are used? I’ve been playing for weeks, I’ve got all the
gear (including a military laser) and I’m still rated “Mostly Harmless”.
Contact Neil Hoggarth, 18 Stanmore Lane, Winchester SO22 4AJ.
5.3
• Interference with dongles – Could anyone suggest a way of restoring
the screening on the printer cable on an Archimedes. I have a WorraCAD
and an Impression dongle with a dongle dangle to get the dongles down
below the desk. Can anybody tell me if there is any self adhesive
screening tape or other cure available?
5.3
J.R.McLachlan, Hertford
5.3
(WorraCAD is now supplied without a dongle, you may be interested to
know. Ed.)
5.3
•    Investment software − Does anyone know of any investment software for
the Archimedes? Either commercial or PD? (NOT Silicon Vision’s Share
Holder!!!) M Lowe, Loughton.
5.3
•    PC Emulator compatibility list − Some long while ago, John Eden did an
excellent job compiling a list of those programs that worked on the
(old) PC Emulator. With the advent of the new PC Emulator, it would be
good to create such a list again. Would anyone be prepared to be the
coordinator? In the meantime, if you would like to send your reports in
to us at N.C.S., just tell us which version numbers of which bits of MS-
DOS software work correctly and we will pass it all on to whoever wants
to volunteer to co-ordinate it.
5.3
•    Schema features − If you are using Schema and have ideas of features
that it should have or that it should not (i.e. bugs) please pass them
on to Mr J R Buckley, Bramley, Goring Road, Steyning, W Sussex BN4 3GF
who is collating such things for Clares ready for Schema 2.
5.3
•    User group − Is there one in the South Shropshire / Worcester /
Hereford / West Midlands area? If so, please contact Nigel Price on
0584−810484.
5.3
•    WorraCAD − If anyone could give help to a beginner trying to use
WorraCAD, please contact Nigel Price in Worcestershire on 0584−810484.
5.3
Help Offered
5.3
•    Scanned photos − If anyone wants colour or mono photographs scanned,
Peter Hughes is offering to do 10 photos, mono or colour for £5, all of
which will go to charity. Contact him c/o Promotional Designs Serving
Commerce and Charities (PDSCC for short!), P.O.Box 332, Bristol BS99
7XL.  A
5.3

5.3
Teletext Adaptor Software
5.3
Patrick Bean
5.3
Within days of my review of the Morley Teletext Adaptor being published,
in Archive (5.2 page 30), I received (via Paul), a copy of a multitask
ing display program for the adaptor, called !Teletext. This software was
originally sold by “Ivoryash Limited”, but is now marketed by some
people called “The Really Good Software Company”. In my review of the
adaptor itself, I did comment on some shortcomings in the original
program, in particular the lack of multitasking. Happily, almost all of
these problems are fixed in this new package, giving a totally “point
and click” system, running under the RISC-OS desktop.
5.3
The display
5.3
The main teletext window is resizeable and displays the mode 7 screen to
a good standard. The emulation does not however include double height or
flashing. Some colours look a little odd, as the standard desktop
colours are used. These of course can be changed from the palette in the
normal way. The output can also be changed to mono, useful for printing.
The character size does not change when the window is resized, only the
amount of the page that you can actually see at any one time. This is a
shame (at least for partially sighted people like myself) as the desktop
display is of course much smaller than the full screen mode 7 on the old
system. However, if this is a problem, one of the many PD screen
magnification applications should help. Graphics are shown by redefining
the system font. This means that international characters above ASCII
160 will not display correctly once !Teletext has been run.
5.3
In use
5.3
On running the software an icon appears on the icon bar. Clicking
<select> over this icon brings up two windows, one for the main display,
the other (called the remote) containing “buttons” for all the usual
operations such as “hold”, “reveal”, four channel presets and, of
course, the ten numbers.
5.3
A very useful option for recalling (from memory!) any one of the last
ten viewed pages, has also been included.
5.3
The point and click interface goes even further, however. Moving the
pointer onto the page display window and clicking on any three digit
page number will enter that page number as if from the “remote”. This
approach also works with the four “fastText” titles that can usually be
seen at the bottom of each page (just click on the one you want).
5.3
Pressing <menu> over the application icon (on the icon bar) brings up a
menu containing not only the normal info and quit, but also some handy
options for setting the computer’s real time clock to the teletext time
and for redisplaying the remote, if you have accidentally closed it. The
channel data file can be copied from the old disk, so you won’t have to
go through all that tuning again! If however you do need to make changes
this too is done using the mouse and this is considerably easier to do
as you just flick from channel to channel instead of adjusting the
actual frequency.
5.3
The program multi-tasks correctly but there is a significant delay each
time a page is transferred from the adaptor. We are told that this
slowness is because of the method used to connect the adaptor to the
computer. The ten page memory already mentioned helps in this respect as
the page asked for may already be in the computer’s memory and so will
not need to be transferred again.
5.3
Saving data
5.3
Pages can be saved to disc either in full colour or as a text file. The
colour files can be reloaded in to the system at any time (even when the
adaptor is not connected). The text files can of course be loaded into
!Edit. If you have a colour printer !Paint can be used to grab the
current screen as a sprite, for later printing.
5.3
Overall
5.3
This package is a vast improvement over the Morley software, and well
worth the asking price. The lack of double height is a pity, but this
omission is probably because of the limited number of characters
available for redefinition. The other comments (in my first review)
about the difficulties of writing inter-active software still hold true,
but this is not the problem addressed by this package. If you use your
teletext system regularly then it is well worthwhile upgrading. The
multitasking teletext software costs £29.95 from “The Really Good
Software Company”.  A
5.3

5.3
ProTips
5.3
Peter Jennings
5.3
This is mainly a brief progress report on the latest version of Protext.
Arnor have now issued a new upgrade, which is version 5.09. This is not
yet the RISC-OS compliant one, which has now been put back to “early
next year”, but has some useful improvements.
5.3
The biggest improvement I have found is that this version seems to have
cured the “PROTEXT!X not found” problem when saving, although there is
no mention of this in the new ReadMe file. This just has the additional
note that: “This version contains an extra enhancement that will cause
the config, fsort and convert programs to be found even when they are
not visible either on the search path or in the current directory. If an
external program cannot be found, Protext will now also look in its own
directory for it.”
5.3
As all my Protext files are on hard disc within the !Protext directory,
I can now sort without having to exit the program first.
5.3
The upgrade seems to have solved some problems with loading and starting
up Protext which I have heard about, in one case after the initial copy
of the new version was found to be faulty and was replaced.
5.3
Backup files
5.3
Apart from the advantages which will come from a RISC-OS compatible
Protext, one improvement I would still like to see (and I have suggested
it to Arnor) is to change the prefix given to back-up copies from “B!”
to either “B.” or, better still, “Backup.” so that they are saved into a
separate directory. Protext creates new directories automatically when
they do not already exist, so there would be no additional action needed
by the user. As well as leaving more room in the main directory, this
would avoid the truncation, and possible duplication, of file names
which are already nine or ten characters long, as most of mine are.
5.3
Other people’s methods are often of interest, sometimes to copy or
improve. Mine is to file letters in a directory named with the last two
digits of the year, such as “92”. Each file name is made up from the
first six letters of the intended recipient’s name followed by the
numbers of the month and the day. So a letter to Paul Beverley written
on January the 25th would be named “Beverl0125”. If I also corresponded
with a John Beverley the file names would be modified to “BeverP0125”
and “BeverJ0125”. This keeps each year’s correspondence in alphabetical
and then chronological order. When the directory is filled, I rename it
by adding an “A”, to make it “92A” and open a new 92 for the rest of the
year or until this is also filled, when it becomes “92B”. This keeps the
same number for the current directory throughout the year and saves
having to remember whether a new one has been opened.
5.3
Marginal problems
5.3
I have received a query from a reader who has been having problems with
the left-hand margin in Protext documents. He keeps getting lines
indented by one character. This can be caused by a wrongly set up ruler.
The left-hand margin is set by Protext at the “L” on the default ruler.
When you set a new ruler, either with <ctrl-R> or by typing it in, the
new ruler should begin with a “>” only. If you have “>L” at the start,
you will see that the default ruler at the top of the page has moved
right one character to line up the “L” with the one on the new ruler,
thus setting the left margin one character to the right. This will take
effect from any lines typed below the new ruler.
5.3
Version 5.09 of Protext seems to have removed the bugs that bothered me
in earlier versions. If you still know of any problems, I would be
interested to hear about them, with or without a work-around, by way of
a letter to Archive. I would also be interested in any useful tips which
may be worth passing on to other users.  A
5.3

5.3
First Impression
5.3
New
5.3
Coming direct to you
5.3

5.3
Waterloo
5.3
Tord Eriksson
5.3
Numerous war games have been devoted to the epic battle of Waterloo, but
this is the first for the Archimedes. It is a conversion from another
computer, but the manual doesn’t say which. I presume it was a Spectrum,
as you will see....
5.3
The Waterloo game
5.3
What first impresses the buyer of ‘Waterloo’, by Dr Peter Turcan of
Turcan Research Systems, is the quality of the box, manual and map. It’s
the best I’ve seen; good layout, high quality paper and no big and
clumsy plastic boxes.
5.3
The manual covers everything you would want to know about the game − the
political prolog to the battle, the uniforms used by the different
troops, the names of the major officers involved and, not least, a very
good bibliography! A historian would be impressed!
5.3
There is very little to grumble about except the fact that the perspec
tive view over the battle field is not very realistic, (even if the
manual prides itself that it is much more realistic than other war
games) as I don’t think aerostats were used for battle reconnaissance
nor was the line of sight many miles. The visibility is outstanding and
with the help of the ‘telescope’ you can easily identify friend or foe
(pointing with the mouse outside the battle area is the easiest way of
using the ‘telescope’ close up − this is not mentioned in the manual).
5.3
The telescope gives you verbal information (amazingly enough!) and is
not too good at giving correct distances − everything is either ½ mile
away or 1 mile away. Otherwise it’s very handy in avoiding shelling your
own troops.
5.3
When shooting with black powder, as was the norm at the beginning of
19th century, the main practical difference from today’s wars, with so-
called smokeless powder, is the fact that black powder produces so much
smoke that visibility is a great problem! If you haven’t got fog before
the start, as Gustavus Adolfus had at Lütsen, you soon have man-made
fog! This is a fact of life that the game dispenses with by ignoring it.
5.3
Graphics of yesterday
5.3
The landscape, presented in 3D perspective, is 100% flat even if the
printed map tells another story. (I would have preferred a Lander-type
landscape.) The graphics are, on the whole, primitive: Horses are drawn
1 or 2 pixel wide, or if they are amassed, stacked cubes. (Low cubes =
infantry, double height cubes = cavalry). Trees are drawn in the same
way but the houses are fairly convincing, as are pennants and flags,
being 2D by default.
5.3
I think the game would have been easier to get used to with a bird’s eye
view instead, like standard war games. To avoid the gamester being all-
knowing, only a small part of the map could be visible at a time − just
as you ‘look east’ or ‘look west’.
5.3
It took quite some time to get used to giving orders in the way that the
parser likes. Still, due to the very friendly way it worked, you can
learn quickly, as the parser works like a Spectrum’s editor: The cursor
flashes at the offending word.
5.3
The fact that some names on the map are different from the names used
within the program is very bad: Rosomme, near Napoleon’s HQ on the map,
is Rossome from the game’s point of view!
5.3
Wellington’s rout
5.3
Another odd feature is when Wellington goes into a rout, which he does
quite often. The program says that you, as Wellington, are disorganised
and can’t give orders or receive reports. Then you run off the game area
and even if you stop in the middle of your own army on the way, you
can’t tell them a single thing.
5.3
At the same time, you can stand perfectly alone in your own square mile
without being disorganised?!
5.3
Each time Wellington has run off in his boots he has won the battle,
some way or other....
5.3
Game-playing
5.3
The rest is a delight: You can give some very complex commands like:
‘Reille, at 12.30 p.m. form a defence line from Hougoumont, linking with
Kellerman to Plancenoit linking with Lobau.’, or ‘Kellerman give support
to Drouot’, or ‘All corps, transfer 10 divisions of artillery to Orange’
or ‘All corps, shell enemy 1 ½ mile southeast Chantelet.’.
5.3
You read all messages passed to and from the different commanders (if
you set up the game that way!), you watch the guns shell the enemy etc.
5.3
Conclusion
5.3
If it weren’t for the rather primitive graphics, that remind me of my
Spectrum, I would recommend this, without hesitation, for anyone
interested in war games. You will certainly be busy giving orders,
making battle damage assessments and trying to keep away from your
enemy’s shelling.
5.3
The parser, also a dear echo of my Spectrum days, the manual and the
game itself were absolutely perfect (even if my computer crashed once −
the first commercial program to do so, not counting DTP programs).
5.3
After having played the game numerous times, both as Wellington and
Napoleon, the end of the battle is almost always the same: Wellington
wins! Sometimes he manages very well without the Prussian army, but
mostly 50% or more of the casualties on the French side are inflicted by
the army under Blücher (who was Swedish, I gather! Ed.). Without the men
in black, or light blue, history might have evolved quite differently...
5.3
Maybe, some time in the future, Dr Turcan will add Lander-like graphics
and more life-like soldiers and horses.
5.3
Then it would only be anti-war sentiment that would keep it from
stardom!  A
5.3

5.3
6502 Assembly on the Archimedes
5.3
Paul Skirrow
5.3
Until recently, I have been using System ADE+ 65C02 macro assembler on a
BBC Master Turbo for developing some very large 6502 programs (around
2.5MB of source code in total). When my BBC hard disk failed, I decided
it was time to move over to the Archimedes and develop the 6502 source
code there. I investigated the Cross 32 Meta assembler, but soon
dismissed it because it lacked many of the features which I used
extensively in the old 8 bit assembler. In particular it does not
provide any form of looping structures to allow a section to be
assembled several times (very useful where speed is important and you
want something to run as fast as possible by repeating 3 instructions a
large number of times). Neither does it allow string handling, whereas
ADE+ provides the equivalent of MID$ − invaluable for parameter
processing within macros.
5.3
Unfortunately the ADE+ assembler won’t work, as it stands, with any of
the 6502 emulators, because it is a two ROM system with the assembler in
one 16k ROM, and the linker and memory management unit (MMU) in another.
The linker will run on its own, so there is no problem, but the
assembler needs all of its variables set up by the MMU before it can
assemble anything. Fortunately, these variables are documented in the
ADE+ technical reference guide, and I eventually managed to coax the
assembler into assembling my source code by setting up its memory just
like the MMU would before it is run.
5.3
The end result is superb. The ADE+ assembler running under the 65tube
emulator is actually significantly faster than on a BBC Master Turbo
which had a 4MHz 6502 processor (this is largely due to the much faster
hard disks of the Archimedes). On the new A5000 it can assemble 600k of
source code in around a minute (or about 300 lines per second), and this
is still running under the 6502 emulator. This is the same order of
magnitude as the Cross 32 Meta assembler, which is rather surprising
when you consider ADE+ was written to work on a BBC model B computer
about 6 years ago (although to be fair, the meta assembler can cope with
a wide range of processors and this is bound to slow it down).
5.3
If anybody is interested in running the ADE+ 65C02 assembler on the
Archimedes I would be happy to supply my program and documentation to
make it run, and if there is enough demand I will cover the process in
more detail.  A
5.3

5.3

5.3
A5000 and RISC-OS 3 − More Comments
5.3
Paul Skirrow
5.3
After reading the Archive preview of the A5000, we turned up at the
Acorn User show within an hour of it opening on the first day, and
despite having a large cheque ready in our sweaty hands, we were still
too late to take a machine away with us. We (a small electronics firm
designing and building computer controlled audio test equipment) ordered
three at the show and Acorn did eventually manage to get them to us
within a week, although we did have to argue with them a bit, and I
understand that many people have had to wait quite a while.
5.3
The A5000 Learning Curve package comes with around 20 discs, 20 manuals
of various sizes and a plethora of update sheets, release notes and
addenda − quite overwhelming even for the hardened Archimedes user but
well worth the extra £38 over the cost of an A5000, although I doubt
that many will want to use First Word Plus or Acorn DTP when they see
the alternatives. Both have major shortcomings, for example, First Word
Plus cannot use the Acorn printer drivers and hence misses out on most
of the benefits that RISC-OS brings, while Acorn DTP can only show the
document at a few sizes (50%, 100%, 200%) which is very limiting (I
often use 130% to make an A4 document fill a mode 78 screen width). The
list goes on and on. I would recommend one of the many serious DTP
packages, such as Impression, or Ovation − they are vastly superior for
both word processing and DTP.
5.3
The machine itself is a joy to use. It feels extremely fast and smooth,
and it took me quite a while to find anything which would slow it down
at all. In particular, text rotation in Draw is superb, while Chocks
Away in ARM3 mode is simply awesome. The following describes some of the
new features and the way in which they are implemented.
5.3
Resources filing system
5.3
This is effectively a ROM filing system which holds Draw, Edit, Paint,
Configure, Chars, Calc, Help and Alarm, as well as the basic font set
(Trinity, Homerton and Corpus) and a massive directory containing all of
the sprites and text messages used by the system (this makes it easy for
Acorn to produce foreign language versions, and I think Acorn are
working on an Italian version which Olivetti will sell). These resources
can also be used by other programs running on the machine to save
duplicating them. An icon for the resources appears on the icon bar next
to the disc drive icons, so it is always accessible. The user can choose
which of the built-in applications should install themselves on the icon
bar when the machine starts up, and any which are not installed can then
be loaded later by opening the resources filing system and double
clicking on an application to run it. Note that not everybody will want
to have them all running automatically, because they all claim workspace
memory even though they actually live in ROM. Draw, Paint, Edit and
Alarm use 80k, 80k, 48k and 48k respectively (compared with 288k, 256k,
224k and 64k in RISC-OS 2).
5.3
Draw
5.3
Draw, like any application on the A5000, is very smooth and fast. Text
and sprite rotation are simple and virtually instantaneous (vertical
text is ideal for labelling diagrams and is long overdue) and text can
be edited so you no longer need to delete and re-type. There are a lot
of keyboard short-cuts and start up options which can be saved, as for
any other application, in a !BOOT file created by the Task Manager.
Colour rendition has been improved, by dithering, to extend the
effective colour range. The thin-line selection bug has been fixed and
the grid drawing has also been speeded up significantly. There is also
an undo option in case you delete something by mistake.
5.3
There is a new option, similar to that provided in Draw Plus, which
converts an object to a path outline − this is very useful with text
objects which, once transformed, can be manipulated as graphics objects.
It certainly makes FontDraw redundant, although it does not provide the
flexibility of FontFX.
5.3
A major new feature is the ability to interpolate between two objects
(which must contain the same number of points). You specify how many
steps to use and Draw draws the specified number of intermediate objects
and interpolates the colours. This is very nice for creating shading
backgrounds, fading from any colour to any other at any angle, as shown
below:
5.3
This feature can also have some uses in blending shapes together − you
could transform a car into a robot, if you wanted, provided the two
objects had the same arrangement of lines. Draw actually creates new
objects in the Drawfile which then behave like any other discrete object
(although they are grouped with the two original objects). This means
that the new grouped object can be stretched and rotated, but you cannot
change the angle of one of the original objects and expect the interpo
lated objects to change accordingly. Computer Concept’s forthcoming
ArtWorks package wins here because it doesn’t create new objects, but
does the interpolation during the rendering phase. Thus the initial
objects can be changed and the interpolation will still work correctly.
5.3
As far as I can tell, the Draw file format is identical to that used in
RISC-OS 2, with the addition of rotated text and sprite objects. Old
applications are certainly quite happy to load the new Draw files and
there does not appear to be any compatibility problem at all, although
they obviously cannot use rotated text or sprites.
5.3
Paint
5.3
Paint is also very fast, especially at sprite rotation but, unlike Draw,
it modifies the original sprite, as expected (so rotating by +30° and
then by −30° does not restore the original, whereas Draw and Impression
always keep the original untouched). Again, there are plenty of key
short cuts and configuration settings to determine how you want Paint to
start up.
5.3
Shear and scale are also provided and it is possible to replace a colour
with transparent, or transparent with a colour, but only globally.
5.3
Unfortunately, Paint can still only use the system font and knows
nothing of outline fonts. The palette is still awkward to change and
there is no provision for simple contrast or colour adjustment as found
in many scanner packages. These are glaring omissions and I am sure that
they will be included in Artworks. I have also managed to crash Paint a
few times, usually when doing a sprite rotation, although it is not
repeatable.
5.3
Paint file format
5.3
The sprite file format is unchanged, which is useful while transferring
files between RISC-OS 2 and RISC-OS 3 machines. Unfortunately, this
means that there is no 24 bit colour support, and no resolution
information stored within the sprite file, although I understand that
Acorn are working with key developers to produce a new format which
supports both. 24 bit colour is essential for serious colour type
setting, although is not too relevant for the majority of users. Storing
the image resolution within a sprite file simplifies image manipulation
because it allows scanned images to be dropped into DTP systems and
printed at the original size without any problem. Some scanner software
overcomes this by producing Draw files which contain the resolution
information in addition to the sprite image, but this is clumsy.
5.3
Meanwhile, Impression users with scanners should know that a 30% scaling
of a mode 12 sprite will print using a one to one correspondence between
sprite and printer pixels on a 300 dpi printer. (This is because a mode
12 sprite has pixels which are 2 OS units wide, and 1 OS unit is 1/180“,
so a mode 12 pixel is 1/90” or at 30%, 1/300“). Printing mono scanned
images will therefore give better results if a scaling of 30%, 60%,
90%... is used with the “Enhanced graphics option” turned off. Now you
understand why sprites should have size information stored with them to
make things simple...
5.3
Edit
5.3
Edit has a few changes − in particular it supports two levels of
wildcards (magic characters for novices and full wildcard expressions
for the experts). It can also load and save Basic programs directly
(with or without line numbers) so Acorn no longer include the Basic
editor with this machine. At first, I was a bit unsure about this, but
you quickly learn to appreciate the benefits of editing a Basic program
without line numbers, especially when you can do it from the desktop.
For those that really want it, the old Basic editor module (ARMBE) works
without problems.
5.3
Unfortunately, there is still no support for TAB characters, i.e.
actually doing a TAB operation when a TAB character is encountered −
instead it appears as [09]. Expanding TABs to spaces is clumsy because I
want to be able to edit source files with the TABs left in them.
5.3
Printer support
5.3
The old printer drivers have been replaced by a new printer manager into
which printer definitions can be loaded and a large number of printer
definitions are supplied. This is more complex to set up than the old
printer drivers but, once set up, it is very easy to use. The new
printer definitions are more specific to particular printers, so, for
example, the HP Deskjet Plus driver knows that the printer cannot print
multiple copies automatically like a LaserJet and it also uses the
compressed graphics modes to minimise data transfer and provide fast
printing.
5.3
It is possible to have multiple drivers on the icon bar and make one
active by simply clicking on it. This is very useful if you have two
printers on a machine (we often use a Deskjet Plus on the parallel port
for A4 and an Epson FX850 on the serial port for labels). It is also
possible to have one driver for a network printer and another for a
local printer.
5.3
Printing of sprites and grey level images can now use dithering instead
of half-toning and this gives much better results on printers with
300dpi resolution or less (where the control over the dot size used for
the half-tone is poor).
5.3
A utility is also provided to download RISC-OS fonts to Postscript
printers where necessary, so all of the low-cost Archimedes fonts can
now be used by any Postscript printer or typesetter. This will be useful
to us for downloading a “box font” which we designed ourselves so that
we can put boxes round key definitions.
5.3
Font manager
5.3
The font manager can now generate and cache transformed text (e.g.
stretched, rotated or sheared), and this facility is used by Draw for
fast rotating and transforming text. Hopefully, we will also see other
applications making use of this feature (in RISC-OS 2 applications have
to go to great lengths to rotate text by 90°). The font manager can now
cache single characters instead of 16 character chunks and this improves
speed and memory usage significantly (a single large Dingbats character
will no longer flush a large part of your font cache and waste time by
generating 15 unwanted characters).
5.3
Pinboard
5.3
Pinboard is similar to the numerous backdrop and StickyBd programs
around, but better than any I have seen. It is very straightforward to
use, with full control over icons, grouping, gridlock, tidy etc. It can
also ‘iconise’ a window (<shift-select> on the close box) and reduce it
to an icon. While iconised, menus belonging to the application can still
be accessed by using <shift-menu> over the window icon (<menu> alone
gives the pinboard menu). This feature has been present on Apple Macs
and Microsoft Windows for a while and is extremely useful for keeping
your desktop tidy.
5.3
There is an error in the documentation about Pinboard. It can’t be
enabled or disabled via the configuration application, as the manual
suggests, but it should work after a cold start, or after running a
!boot file containing Pinboard commands.
5.3
Filer
5.3
Copying, formatting, deleting and verifying now take place in the
background (if there is enough free memory) and this really is very
pleasant to use. It is even possible to be formatting a floppy, deleting
a directory and copying another directory all at the same time. Loading
of applications still holds everything up, although it is about twice as
fast as an A440 with an ST506 hard disc. The free space display now
appears as a bar graph in its own window. This stays on the screen until
closed and is updated as disc operations take place.
5.3
PC/MSDOS format discs are recognized automatically and treated just like
an Acorn format disc, and this is even easier to use than PCdir or
MultiFS, being totally transparent. Similarly, the PC hard disk
partition can be double-clicked to open a directory viewer onto it. The
format command now supports a wide range of disc formats, including the
360k, 720k, 1.2M and 1.44M PC formats.
5.3
The filer uses smart quotes ‘’ in its messages which would be quite
nice, except that old BBC applications running under the emulator know
nothing about characters with the top bit set and end up translating
them into keywords. For example, 6502 Basic now says “File PAGE fred
TIME not found”.
5.3
Another bug in the filer appears when interactive help is in use. When
moving the pointer over sub-menus the error “Message token... not found”
sometimes appears. This is not serious as it usually goes away if you
repeat the operation, but it is annoying.
5.3
Boot files
5.3
Boot files can now be created using the Task Manager which will save a
!boot file on your disc and configure the machine to auto boot when
powered up. It will also set the disc option (using *OPT4,2) and
configure the number of the drive onto which you save the !boot file.
5.3
You need to take care when doing this because it saves everything about
the current state of the machine, including window sizes and positions,
options, icons and paths names for applications which have been seen
etc. This means that if you have opened a filer window onto a floppy,
the name of all of the applications seen on that floppy will be stored
in the Boot file. So every time you start the machine up, the boot file
gets executed and in turn it tries to run the boot files on the floppy
which it knows about. This isn’t a problem providing you know about it,
but it can be confusing. The solution is always to start from cold when
creating a boot file and to think very carefully about what you are
doing. You should not attempt to create a boot file after you have been
using the machine for any other task, because it will end up taking a
long time while it boots all of the applications it thinks it ought to
know about.
5.3
Configure
5.3
Configure has been improved so that it can now control much more (but
not all) of the configuration settings stored in CMOS RAM. Again, some
care is needed because some of the settings (including font cache size
etc) are also stored in the boot file described above and these settings
override the configuration settings stored in CMOS RAM.
5.3
Squash utility
5.3
This is similar to Spark, although possibly a bit faster. However, it
cannot compress directories into a single file − it can only compress
each file within a directory. Squashed files must be unsquashed by
double-clicking on them before they can be used (whereas Spark decom
pressses them as they are loaded and is therefore much more friendly).
5.3
Unfortunately, the RISC-OS 3 release note says that there is a bug in
Squash which occasionally causes it to corrupt files! I would therefore
be very wary of using it on anything important (and certainly would not
use it without decompressing the squashed file and comparing it with the
original). This is a great pity because it would be nice to have a good,
fast compression program available to everybody. I suspect that Spark
suffers from similar bugs, and certainly wouldn’t trust it with anything
important. Hopefully Computer Concepts have got it right with Compres
sion, but this remains to be seen (no, I don’t work for them − I just
happen to think that Impression is the best thing since hierarchical
filing systems...).
5.3
Interactive help
5.3
Help is built into the ROM (accessed via the Resources filing system)
and now gives help on menu entries. Most of the Acorn applications are
now much more helpful.
5.3
Basic
5.3
Basic V version 1.05 is built into ROM, while Basic VI (also known as
Basic 64) is supplied on disc. The difference is that Basic VI uses 64
bit floating point arithmetic and will use the floating point co-
processor when available. Without a co-processor, it provides much
higher precision arithmetic (with a slight reduction in speed). The co-
processor is still a few months away and will cost around £500.
5.3
PC Emulator v1.70
5.3
This is not supplied with the A5000 as standard, but does come with the
A5000 Learning Curve pack. It is very similar to V1.60, but will work on
any RISC-OS machine (unlike v1.60 which will not work on the A5000) and
it has support for 1.44M high density floppies. The speed of the A5000
makes the PC emulator quite usable, although it is very difficult to put
an exact figure on the improvement. Do not be tempted to run Norton SI
and expect a meaningful result because this is not a real PC and cannot
be quantified as one. Direct screen access can be very slow, making most
games unplayable, whereas text and graphics output via BIOS calls, hard
disc access and maths programs are pretty quick (especially if they use
the maths co-processor). Suffice it to say that Turbo Pascal v5.0 can
compile over 50 lines per second and it is very usable − the only
problem is slightly sluggish cursor movement in the editor. Unfor
tunately, it still doesn’t support any form of extended memory, so you
are stuck with the 640k limit. This isn’t a big problem, but considering
Acorn have gone so far with this product, you would expect them to
include this. Meanwhile, the 8087 maths co-processor emulation is superb
and definitely worthwhile because it really does speed up maths
intensive programs quite significantly.
5.3
New screen modes
5.3
There are now 47 screen modes and these include modes similar to
Impression modes 66 and 82 which nearly everybody uses (incidentally,
the various NewModes modules which I tried worked fine, so you can still
use your favourite modes from a RISC-OS 2 machine). The highest
resolution available is 800x600 in 16 colours, and many modes use a 60Hz
refresh rate (instead of 50Hz) to reduce flicker. The system is very
fast when using the bigger screen modes, unlike ARM2 machines which slow
to a crawl if you start using 256 colour modes, this machine just keeps
on going. (Atomwide’s A540 modes disc, which seems to work OK on A5000,
provides, amongst others, mode 102 which I use all the time which is
1152 × 448 in 16 colours. Ed.)
5.3
Pipes
5.3
This is a method for communicating between two multi-tasking processes
which is used extensively in the UnixTM world. One tasks sends output to
another task via a pipe, and the pipe itself appears just like any other
input/output stream or file. Acorn have implemented this as a RAM filing
system, called “pipe:”. One program creates the pipe buffer and
specifies its size, for example:
5.3
*CREATE pipe:TEMP
5.3
The sending task can now open this file and write to it in the normal
way (e.g. using OPENOUT and BPUT), while the receiving task can open it
and read from it (using OPENIN and BGET). Unlike a normal file, tasks
will be suspended as necessary. For example, if a program tries to read
from the pipe when there is no data in the pipeline, it will be held up
until data appears. This doesn’t stop the entire machine, just the task
waiting for data. Similarly, any task sending data will be suspended if
the pipe buffer becomes full and restarted when the receiving task reads
some data from the pipe.
5.3
Pipes can be used for simple tasks such as filtering output before it is
displayed (e.g. removing control characters etc). They could also be
used for buffering data (to printers, for example) or for transferring
data between applications. In RISC-OS 2, data is either transferred in
chunks using special inter-task messages, or by saving to a scrap file
on disk. Messages are more difficult to program so many tasks use the
scrapfile on disk which is clumsy if you are short of disk space or
using a floppy based system. Pipes will allow tasks to communicate in a
much simpler manner.
5.3
Programming interface
5.3
Acorn have put a massive amount of effort into improving the operating
system routines available to the programmer. This will not immediately
affect the user but, given time, it is hoped that applications writers
will make use of these new routines to make their jobs easier and their
programs more powerful. The rotated text facility is just one example
and there are plenty more.
5.3
Personally, I hope that they now support Draw files properly to get
round the current mess. If you use C there is a library of routines for
manipulating Draw files, provided in the SharedClib. If you use any
other language this library is not available, so you have to render Draw
files yourself. This means that programs like FontFX and Graph must each
include a large chunk of software which really ought to be in RISC-OS
itself. If anybody knows about this, please let me know.
5.3
Compatibility
5.3
The following applications work without any problems: Translator
(V6.45), Spark (V2.14), Pipedream (3.14R), View and Viewstore (under the
Tube emulator). However, FontFX doesn’t work because it gets confused
about the new font paths (with fonts in the Resources: filing system
etc). ChangeFSI fails because it gets its menus corrupted. PC emulators
V1.60 and below don’t work, but V1.70, supplied with the Learning Curve
works fine. Programs which use any kind of disc protection are unlikely
to work because of the different floppy disc interface. Chocks Away
works fine, but Saloon Cars doesn’t.
5.3
Impression (V2.13 and V2.14c) also fails because it cannot “see” its
dongle through the new printer interface. Computer Concepts say that
version 2.15 will be available “real soon now”. (We have 2.14e which
seems OK on the A5000. Ed.)
5.3
Hardware
5.3
The new shape is much better and fits onto a typical desk well because
it is now 19“ wide (for rack mounting?) and a lot less deep. It has the
on/off switch at the front of the unit and even provides a switched
mains outlet at the back so you can now turn the whole system on by
pressing a single button at the front of the machine. (The documentation
says it is only for connection of a monitor, but I think I will ignore
that and add my printer and teletext adapter at the same time − I doubt
that there are any problems there, just don’t plug an electric fire into
it!)
5.3
The fan in the A5000 is at the rear of the machine which makes it a
little quieter and there is space for two floppies at the front. The
power supply is now on the right hand side (moved over from the left
hand side in the A400 machines).
5.3
At the rear, most of the sockets are similar to those on current
Archimedes machines, but there is now only one monitor output and that
is a 15 way VGA type socket, as found on most PCs, and this also
provides automatic monitor detection by the computer. The BNC composite
video socket is not provided.
5.3
Inside the machine, RISC-OS 3 is fitted in four large EPROMs, providing
2M in total, and there is also space for another ROM. Acorn intend that
this be used to provide extensions to the operating system without
replacing the main RISC-OS ROMs. This could therefore be used to provide
foreign language support, or even to extend RISC-OS and upgrade some of
the modules.
5.3
The A5000 comes with 2M of RAM at the moment although the next low cost
version may only have 1M. Personally I think that 1M is very restrictive
and makes the machine difficult to use, despite having so much in ROM.
2M is a reasonable amount, but you still run out fairly often (try
running the PC emulator with an EGA display mode and 640k of PC RAM on a
2M machine − it isn’t easy). 4M is ideal and makes the machine much
easier to use. The memory upgrade requires a memory board to be plugged
inside the machine and Atomwide already have a 4M board available for
£110 +VAT (£130 through Archive) and it is expandable to 8M but this is
an Atomwide only upgrade involving taking the MEMC off the main board
and adding a header mechanism. (The 4 to 8M is available now at Archive
price of £470.) Acorn’s more expensive board will restrict you to 4M
total and isn’t available yet.
5.3
Software protection
5.3
Every Acorn A5000 has a unique machine ID which can be read by software
running on the machine. This is quite new to personal computers although
it has been available on larger machines for a while, and is intended as
a form of software protection. You tell the software supplier your
machine ID and they sell you a version which will only work on that
computer (or alternatively the software can configure itself by reading
the ID the first time it is run).
5.3
Personally, I am not very happy with this kind of protection. We have
standardised on the Archimedes and now use several of them in various
departments, including software development, accounts, customer support,
production testing, documentation etc. If a machine fails anywhere we
can replace it within minutes and have the system running again, but if
we have protected software on the A5000 which only works on a single
machine we will lose this flexibility. It also means that you cannot
share a package between two machines (for a few months I used a single
Impression dongle on two different machines and moved it between them as
necessary), surely software suppliers have no right to restrict such
practices? I can lend out or share anything else that I buy, so why not
my software (providing only one copy is run at any one time)?
5.3
Acorn monitor
5.3
The multisync colour monitors supplied with the A5000 are quite
reasonable. There are four knobs on the front panel to control vertical
size, horizontal position, contrast and brightness. There are also a
couple of switches to select between auto and manual screen height, and
normal or extra width. There is no control to adjust vertical position
and the A5000 TV configuration option is useless because it loses the
top or bottom line if it is used (this seems like a bug to me).
5.3
The dot pitch (the physical spacing between the different colour dots on
the screen) is 0.38mm which is poor compared with the more expensive
monitors with a 0.28mm dot pitch, but quite adequate for normal use (the
larger the dot pitch the more fuzzy the resulting image will look,
regardless of the resolution the computer is generating). It is not as
sharp as my old Mitac monochrome multisync, but this, along with all of
the other mono multisyncs is sadly no longer in production. Most
manufacturers now concentrate on the PC market, and only provide mono
VGA monitors. If you want a multisync you have to have colour. For
tunately, Acorn have realised this problem, and made most of the screen
modes produce a reasonable display on a VGA monitor. This means that you
can buy a cheap, high resolution monochrome VGA monitor (for around
£100) and still have the flexibility of using different screen modes
with it, although some of them are a bit squashed (vertically) to make
them work correctly on the VGA monitor.
5.3
Documentation
5.3
RISC-OS 3 comes with a User Guide and an Applications Guide as well as
the usual Welcome Guide. This is about twice as many pages in total as
you get for RISC-OS 2 but, surprisingly, you no longer get a Basic
manual with the machine. This seems strange considering the masses of
books and disks which Acorn supply with the Learning Curve pack, but
presumably they expect fewer people to be writing their own programs and
more to be using the applications provided.
5.3
A new Programmer’s Reference Manual for RISC-OS 3 is being written, but
I don’t know when it is likely to be available. Until it appears, it is
impossible to use any of the new operating system calls which Acorn are
enthusing about. (If anyone is desperate to see a copy, we have ordered
an (expensive!!) photocopied pre-release version of the RISC-OS 3 P.R.M.
from Acorn. If anyone is desperate to refer to it, they could make an
appointment and come and read it in the office but I suspect that it
will be chained to Adrian’s desk!)
5.3
Other improvements
5.3
I cannot hope to cover everything in an article of this size, and there
really are a lot of minor improvements. For example: clicking with
select over the task manager brings up the task display, <shift-f12>
bring the icon bar to the front of the window stack, <ctrl-f12> opens a
task window, configure allows the screen to be blanked after a specified
time, windows expand automatically if stretched into a screen bound
aries, Alarm can save plain text files and can show a list of the alarms
etc. Many of these improvements really are nice and you miss them when
you go back to using RISC-OS 2.
5.3
Summary
5.3
The A5000 is a very impressive machine which is extremely nice to use.
It certainly makes the old A440 feel very slow and clumsy, and I can
highly recommend upgrading.
5.3
Many people predict a flood of second-hand A400 machines now, similar to
the flood of A300 machines over the last few months. However, it is
important to remember that you can now upgrade an A400 machine to an
ARM3 processor for around £280, and this will run only slightly slower
than the A5000 (which uses higher speed memory). RISC-OS 3 will be
available for A400 machines some time next year (I would guess that
Acorn will price it around the £100 mark to encourage people to buy it).
So for a £300 upgrade you get something very close to an A5000, but
without the 1.6M floppy disks, the slightly higher speed and the
capability for higher resolutions displays. A difficult decision, but
either way you end up with a very impressive machine.  A
5.3
A5000 Audio Filter and Other Comments
5.3
Jeremy Mears & Arthur Brend
5.3
Jeremy starts... Stunning as Acorn’s new machine is, it is still not
faultless. I would like to highlight the main oddities I have encoun
tered and include details of the audio filter bypass operation for the
A5000, described in Archive 4.7 p 21 for the rest of the Archimedes
range. One listen to the output from the A5000’s audio jack and the days
of lifeless, ‘deflated’ audio on my 310 came rushing back. Acorn is
still piping the filtered audio for the internal speaker to the
headphone jack, which means that the output you get through an amplifier
or headphones is nowhere near as good as the un-filtered sound that the
machine is capable of.
5.3
The audio filter on the A5000 is just the same as on previous machines
(excluding the A3000). The connector is the same 10 way jumper plug,
which, looking from the back of the computer, is located 2 cm in front
and 1cm to the left of the 3.5mm jack. Still looking from the back, row
1 is on the left and row 2, surprisingly, is on the right. The nearest
pin of row 1 is the left channel and the far pin is the right channel.
Connections to these pins and using any of row 2 for ground works fine
(and it’s a lot cheaper than paying £25 for one of Ray Maidstone’s mini-
boards!)
5.3
Monitor problems
5.3
Finally, my biggest ‘quibble’ about the A5000 is the distortion present
on the Acorn multi-sync monitor. This is a problem I have looked into,
and it appears only to occur in its worst forms in non-multisync modes.
The only symptom in mode 39 (which is an absolute joy to use in the
Desktop) is de-focusing in the centre of the screen which is easily
cured by keeping the contrast down a bit. The same cannot, however, be
said for the other forms of distortion.
5.3
In non-multisync modes, there is a definite bulge in the centre of the
screen, so that when whole or part of the screen is scrolled horizon
tally, the effect is as though you are looking through water! The above
distortion also occurs on a friend’s machine, along with bending of the
display. Often, the display on my monitor will twitch and wobble in low
resolution modes, noticeably increasing as the monitor warms up. The
later symptoms of twitching and movement could just be a fault in my
display, though personally I suspect they are a feature of this make of
monitor. If you are simply a desktop user using multisync modes, this
problem will not be at all significant, except when using packages such
as ProArtisan which leave the desktop and run in non-multisync modes,
where distortion can be more noticeable.
5.3
If, like me, you use mode 13 as a convenient mode for programming/
coding, the problem may well be more serious. I have written to Acorn
about the trouble and they say they are aware of the problem and busily
(I hope!) trying to sort it out. (You get what you pay for! Acorn have
used a relatively cheap multi-sync monitor. If you want to buy, say, an
Eizo 9060SZ to benefit from the higher resolution (0.28mm dot pitch
instead of 0.38mm) and better linearity, N.C.S. can supply it with a
Learning Curve A5000 instead of the Acorn monitor, for an extra £200,
making a total of £1999. Ed.)
5.3
Overall
5.3
These problems aside, the A5000 is a phenomenally powerful and value-
for-money system. £1800 gives you a 40M hard drive, 2 M RAM, 1.6 M
floppy, multi-sync, a superb Basic and Assembly language and hundreds of
pounds worth of quality software. RISC-OS 3 is significantly more
polished than its predecessor, particularly with the new multi-tasking
PC Emulator and main applications now in ROM. Also, as if that weren’t
enough, according to the November issue of BBC Acorn User, Acorn may be
going to bundle the JP150 inkjet printer with all A5000 Learning Curves!
− the output from this being almost as breathtaking as the A5000
itself.  A
5.3
Arthur Brend sent us some “comments from an A5000 owner”. Many points
had been mentioned elsewhere so I edited them out. If the remainder
seems to lack continuity, it is the scars left by the editor’s knife,
not Arthur’s pen.
5.3
In transferring from an A410 with a standard resolution Acorn monitor, I
expected a more dramatic increase in clarity from a multi-scan monitor;
differentiating between zero and eight remains a problem for a 61-years
old pair of eyes. Or is it that Acorn should now abandon their system
font in favour of something elegant? The screen presentation now seems
dreadfully coarse and old − has it changed since the Beeb?
5.3
On the other hand, the screen reflects much less and can be used in
brighter sunlight. Also − a real bonus − it does not attract dust and
dirt.
5.3
Transferring Pipedream from the A410 to the A5000 proved no problem;
likewise all the other working files. Not having an interconnect cable,
I did it by the disc-ful. (Does anyone know of suitable software to make
a serial-link transfer reasonably painless? Ed.)
5.3
I have configured the system to blank out the screen after 5 minutes’
idleness. The first time it happened was only slightly disconcerting.
The screen is re-activated by any keystroke or mouse movement. Beware of
keystrokes used for this purpose − whatever you strike is entered into
the work in hand.
5.3
The shutdown command from the Task Manager menu is very convenient.
Remembering Ray Maidstone’s article (Archive 5.1 p26), it will be
interesting to know whether he thinks that it does everything that it
should.
5.3
One last task awaited me before I could say that I had successfully
transferred from Archimedes to A5000 − dreaded printing! Text printing
was no problem. There was no need to change cables − all worked as
before.
5.3
Graphics printing worked, but the result was grey instead of black. I
have fought printer drivers before and shall no doubt have to do so
again. Suffice it to say that a little note in the Read_Me file for the
Canon Bubble-Jet BJ-130e to the effect that DIP switch 2-1 should be ON
would have saved me hours, expletives, sweat and tears.
5.3
But there is always a silver lining; my struggles did lead me around and
into a complex set of menus and options. When − only when − one
understands them and has carried out all the setting up, the system is
an improvement.
5.3
One may now stand equipment weighing up to 25 kg (½ cwt to we old
dodderers − quite a weight) on top of the computer which should
accommodate most large-screen multisync monitors.  A
5.3

5.3
PD Column
5.3
David Holden
5.3
When I first offered to write this column I had in mind something
similar to the regular features in certain lesser magazines. Since
Archive started Archimedes PD, it seemed strange that it was now the
only publication which almost ignored it. This is even stranger when you
bear in mind that, unlike the others, Archive derives only a small part
of its income from commercial advertising and so is in a unique position
from which to compare PD with commercial software without upsetting the
advertisers.
5.3
Having read a lot of letters in the past weeks, I believe that this is
not what you want from me. If you just want to know what’s available,
and from where, it is simpler to send for a few catalogues. I have lots
of these and I can assure you that after you have read a couple, they
become very repetitive as the same programs appear in most of them.
Several people have asked if it is possible to have proper reviews of
some of the better PD programs. This seems like a good idea because, if
you glance at your newsagents shelves, you will see at least three
magazines now devoted entirely to reviews of PD and Shareware for the PC
Amiga and Atari computers.
5.3
If Paul permits, I would therefore ask you to write to me and tell me,
in depth, about the programs you use regularly. Tell me about the
programs’ strengths and weaknesses. Preferably, put it on a disc as a
text file and if I find that a program is popular, I will pick out the
most interesting parts from your comments and include them in my next
article. That seems a good way of telling everyone what users think of a
particular program and a lot better than conventional reviews, which
would simply be my opinion.
5.3
The Indispensable PD
5.3
From your letters, there would seem to be certain programs which no
Archimedes user can afford to be without. The names crop up repeatedly,
so if you haven’t got any of these then I suggest you rectify the
omission at once. So far as I am aware they all appear on Archive
Shareware or Careware discs.
5.3
!PCdir (Careware 7)
5.3
One of the earliest non-trivial PD programs, this is still the best way
of transferring files between Archimedes and PC discs. It opens a filer
window on a PC disc just like a normal ADFS window. Perhaps with the new
PC emulator, !PCdir might be thought less useful but I doubt it. You can
install !PCdir on a 1Mb machine while running a major application like
Impression. You can then drag text files directly from a PC disc to an
Impression window. You will need a lot more than 1Mb to do that with the
new PC emulator.
5.3
By the way, if you read the text file with !PCdir you will see that it
is actually Careware, that is, a donation to a named charity is
requested. I wonder how many of you, who told me how useful !PCdir is,
have actually sent a cheque? (Although N.C.S. does make donations to the
author’s charity from the Careware money. Ed.)
5.3
On this subject, a lot of people have told me how much they like my
utility Desk Aid. The printer control and text printer seem particularly
popular. Thanks for all the kind comments but I couldn’t help noticing
that some of the names didn’t appear on my list of registered users.
Since Desk Aid is Shareware and not PD you really should register and as
it’s free, you might just as well have included the registration form
while you were writing to me. It wouldn’t even have cost the price of
another stamp!
5.3
!DosForm
5.3
One feature missing from !PCdir is the ability to format. I can
recommend !DosForm for this job. Anyone who has formatted discs using
the PC emulator will know how long it takes. !DosForm is a desktop
application which operates as a background task, so you can format a
pile of PC discs while doing other things. There is no text file with
the version that I have, just a copyright message in the program saying
that it is written by ‘Garf’. Well, whoever you are, thanks Garf.
5.3
!Menon (Shareware 38)
5.3
A lot of people find !Menon invaluable. It is an application to open
directories or run applications without the need to work your way down
through a long file path and wait while the Filer loads all those
unwanted sprites and sets up all those unwanted OS variables that
inconsiderate programmers have put in their !Boot files. !Menon also has
a ‘hot key’ feature so that you don’t even need to use the !Menon menus.
5.3
!DrawPlus (Careware 13)
5.3
This is an improved version of !Draw by Jonathan Marten. If you use
!Draw, you really must get DrawPlus. Speaking as someone whose artistic
ability on a scale of one to ten is about minus five, I am not qualified
to say very much about it but the general opinion seems to be forget
!Draw and get a copy of !DrawPlus.
5.3
The existence of applications like !DrawPlus makes me have grave doubts
about Acorn putting !Draw, !Paint and !Edit in ROM for RISC-OS 3. Many
people prefer the PD programs !ED or !StrongEd to !Edit and, with the
new desktop text editor from Risc Developments, I wonder how long it
will be before !Edit is superseded?
5.3
!ArcFS
5.3
This is an application which is invaluable if you need to look at discs
containing files archived with !Spark. Many PD libraries and magazines
now archive their discs. When you install !ArcFS, it allows you to run
or copy archived files directly from their own filer windows. This saves
lots of time de-archiving files just to find out what they are. Earlier
versions had a few minor bugs and quirks but these now appear to have
been fixed.
5.3
Free PD?
5.3
Paul suggested I might like to comment on the fact that Beebug are
giving ten discs of PD software with each A5000 sold. At first sight,
this might seem like a good idea. It costs very little and the purchaser
gets lots of PD software to play with. For PD and Shareware authors it
might seem that anything which distributes programs is a good thing but
I have some reservations. For PD programs to be widely available we need
good PD libraries. If programs are to be given away with computers, how
will they survive? If no-one is buying the discs, why should anyone
bother to continually update and improve their programs and send the
updates to the libraries?
5.3
I am inclined to the opinion that this is not such a good idea. One or
two discs to give the new Archimedes owner the idea that you don’t have
to spend a fortune on software is fine. More than that is stopping the
legitimate libraries doing their valuable work.  A
5.3

5.3
Piano and Guitar Fonts
5.3
Stewart Watson
5.3
These are two Fonts designed by Toby Richards to enable easy assembly
and manipulation of piano and guitar chord boxes. For example:-
5.3
Getting started
5.3
The fonts come in an application folder which can be immediately loaded,
or the application folder can be opened and the fonts copied into your
!Fonts directory, from where they can be used like any other font.
5.3
Both fonts are best manipulated in Draw, DrawPlus or some other graphics
package rather than directly in a DTP program, as windows are often more
easily moved around the page. Once you are happy with your finished
chord box, it can be imported into your DTP program like any other Draw
object.
5.3
Using Piano Font
5.3
Firstly, install the piano font and then load Draw. The author suggests
using Zoom, but I found that, when starting to use these fonts, it was
best to set a text size of about 100 pt. This enables you to see clearly
what is happening on the screen.
5.3
The next step is to input some information. I suggest that, the first
time you use these fonts, you start by inputting a complete stave, (you
will notice that the cursor moves forward). Then move the cursor back to
where it was and then input your other information. Having done that,
you will probably be able, quite happily, to follow the author’s
instructions to input all the extra information first, and the chord
window last, as it is the only symbol that moves the cursor forwards.
5.3
Using Guitar Font
5.3
The procedure is exactly the same as with the piano font and, once
again, it is only the chord window that advances the cursor.
5.3
Documentation
5.3
The instruction leaflet supplied with each font is well structured and,
as long as you remember that it is only the chord window that moves the
cursor forwards, you should have no problems
5.3
When I received the review copy of the fonts, I had one or two queries
which I raised with the author and, by return of post, I recieved a most
helpful letter with a revised version of both the fonts and the
documentation which more than answered my questions.
5.3
There are several uses for these fonts, and I’m sure anyone involved in
education will see them as a boon and a great time saver. When combined
with a music notation package such as ScoreDraw (see page 51), they
could prove an invaluable aid in music publishing.
5.3
This is a really clever idea, well presented at a very reasonable price,
and I’m sure it will arouse a lot of interest and maybe we will see some
more specialised fonts in the future.
5.3
Piano Font costs £5.50 inc p&p, Guitar Font costs £5.50 inc p&p or both
fonts can be purchased together for £10.00 inc p&p.
5.3
These fonts are available from Dalmation Publications, 37 Manor Road,
Teddington, Middlesex TW11 8AA, (cheques made payable to Toby
Richards).  A
5.3

5.3

5.3
Basic V, Windows and Task Windows
5.3
Jim Markland
5.3
Serious users of the Archimedes may find themselves confronted by one or
other of the following problems:
5.3
•    How to use the desktop effectively for real problem solving appli
cations using ‘homegrown’ code but without the hassle of writing
extensive graphical user interfaces.
5.3
•    How to present a programming environment to a novice which offers him
the satisfaction of using the Wimp, yet at a level he can comprehend.
5.3
Bearing in mind that many users are usually trying to solve real
problems, and are often not particularly interested in the computer
itself and frequently find that their targets can change mid stream; how
can they develop new code quickly, without a major effort, with a
minimum of knowledge and without reinventing the wheel to do it? How can
that impatient novice find some satisfaction? This article offers one
solution to these problems.
5.3
In terms of programmer productivity and ease of use, the APL language is
highly acclaimed and cannot be recommended too highly for many appli
cations. APL is an exceptionally powerful language which has very strong
and dedicated following. Software development time in APL is typically
very short in comparison with other languages. However, a really good
version of APL has yet to appear for the Archimedes and the user may be
forced to adopt Basic V as the interpreted language for use on this
computer. The development of pukka multitasking applications with pop-up
menus, icons etc is extremely time consuming in Basic V and not at all
cost effective if the real objective is to obtain an answer to a
technical problem reasonably quickly; neither is it satisfying to the
novice who wishes to see impressive results for his efforts. Surpris
ingly, the Acorn manuals give little guidance in these respects.
5.3
Assuming that a spreadsheet is either unavailable or unsuitable for the
task in hand, Basic V can in fact become a natural choice for some
applications, especially if an interpreted language is required. An
interpreted language removes the time penalty of compilation and can be
much more user friendly when it comes to error messages and debugging.
Basic V is also relatively fast and offers access to assembly language.
That Basic V is effectively free, is no disadvantage.
5.3
Now, utilities are becoming available which do ease application
development in Basic. Archway 2.00 from Simtron is an example of this.
Archway comes with extensive documentation and offers short cuts to the
development of full blown applications. The very extent of the documen
tation is, however, daunting. Many youngsters and busy not-so-youngsters
might trade grandiose results for less research in the first instance.
5.3
How then can one proceed using Basic V on its own?
5.3
Initial thoughts for vector graphics, say, might be to output DXF files.
As !Draw understands DXF (&DEA) at a basic level, suitable files can
then be dragged into a !Draw window, the results can be examined, edited
if need be for printing, or exported to another computer. Alternatively
CSV (&DFE) files could be used as fodder for graph plotting packages
such as Presenter or GraphBox. Either way output appears in windows.
This approach has a great deal to recommend it, but can one not do
better than this? Is it not possible to take more advantage of the
operating system and have the target application windows pop up and
update automatically?
5.3
Stepping back a little for the moment one may look at the overall
problem to define some objectives with regard to the following:
5.3
•    The format of the files in which the Basic codes are to be stored, the
editing and handling of them
5.3
•    The format of files used for the storage of data and the accessibility
of the data therein to humans for reading, editing and printing
5.3
•    The environment in which the programs will be run
5.3
•    The presentation and output of results.
5.3
As a result the following targets might be agreed upon:
5.3
Basic
5.3
•    Basic programs should be capable of being handled in either tokenised
Basic (type &FFB) or ASCII format.
5.3
•    Tokenised Basic files to be edited with the ARM Basic Editor with a
suitable Wimp front end. Basic ASCII text files to be edited in !Edit or
accepted as input to the ARMBE.
5.3
•    A new file type BasicText (Acorn type &FD1) is available for ASCII
format Basic. The use of this is desirable in order to enable Run and
Load Types to be defined and to identify the file with Basic.
5.3
•    In either case, having a mouse click action which automatically
invokes the editor would be very convenient.
5.3
Data
5.3
•    Data should not be stored in programs
5.3
•    Data files for input and output should, wherever possible, be in ASCII
format so they can be read/modified in !Edit or printed legibly. This
can also ease the transfer of data to/from other computers. Unfor
tunately, the use of such files is not always feasible or practicable.
5.3
•    User filetypes should be avoided. Remember that the detailed internal
formats used by a ‘jobbing’ programmer may change dramatically in a
relatively short time and that, in any case, there is a strong chance
that a user filetype will be picked which is already in use in the
public domain. (i.e. everyone likes to use the obvious ones e.g. &001)
5.3
•    Filetype Data (&FFD) is fine although other standard Acorn file types
recognised by other applications may be preferred if some flexibility is
required. &FFD files should contain an internal header to indicate the
format of the data to follow.
5.3
•    Files suitable for examination and editing with a suitable spreadsheet
type editor have obvious attractions. However data files which use
spaces rather than commas as delimiters can make files easier for humans
to read.
5.3
Environment
5.3
•    Data filenames should be passed to the program as a parameter at run
time. The program to be written should not respond automatically if a
user double clicks on such a standard filetype.
5.3
•    The program should be capable of multitasking. Any time penalty
incurred because of this is assumed to be acceptable.
5.3
•    A minimum of SYS commands should be employed. The need for the
Programmers Reference Manual should be reduced to the lowest possible
level.
5.3
•    Regularly used functions should be kept in a Library
5.3
•    Simple facilities for mouse click selections are desirable.
5.3
Output
5.3
•    Editable, resizeable etc. windows should be used for output to screen
in the desktop. These should pop up automatically.
5.3
•    Files that are output by the program should be in standard formats for
reading into external applications and for printing.
5.3
•    As a general principle, full advantage should be taken of applications
that are already available for the display of data, such as !Edit and
!Draw. The example programs provided in the recent Risc User “Mastering
the Wimp” series may provide a suitable platform for modification to
suit particular needs.
5.3
These guidelines give a framework to follow and, taking these on board,
with a little lateral thinking, the following very neat solution
emerges:
5.3
Having assembled various utility applications, most of which are in the
public domain or are available very cheaply, code to fulfil the above is
written to be executed from an !Edit task window. (If wanted, it will
probably be necessary for the programmer to encode the &FD1 and click-
to-edit features himself until suitable applications become more widely
available.) This immediately provides a multitasking capability with no
code overhead whatsoever. There is no need to initialise a task, to
establish polling loops and then, later, to close down the task. The
task window itself does all this for you. The task window is, however,
not used for editing, long listings or large amounts of output, (these
are more efficiently carried out in other ways), but is used for running
the program, the passing of filenames as run time parameters and access
to the operating system.
5.3
SYS“OS_GetEnv” is used to read the parameter string from within the
program, a short Library of Basic routines being required to parse it.
Other Library routines permit output files to be written to a RAM disk
(for speed). For text, these are in &FFF Text format, for vector
graphics they are in the ‘unreadable for humans’ (unlike DXF) &AFF Draw
format.
5.3
Here comes the clever bit....
5.3
Having created what are essentially scrap files of particular types in
the RAM disk, broadcast Message_DataOpen 5 is issued by a Library
utility so that any tasks already running and capable of loading the
same can then spring into action. Message_DataOpen is normally broadcast
by the filer following a double click on a file in order that suitable
pre-installed tasks have a chance to respond to the particular file type
without unduly launching a new copy of the task. The subterfuge of
issuing this message from the task window has the same effect. File
types other than &FFF and &AFF can be used, of course, providing
suitable applications are available which will respond to the message.
(Unfortunately the current version of !Draw does not respond to DXF
files in this way.)
5.3
Should this message be issued for &FFD Data files (and it’s a safe bet
that no commercial application is likely to react to these) it is
possible to have a tailor made external application respond accordingly
and, providing that application does not acknowledge the
Message_DataOpen, it is possible to have as many different applications
as required responding to the same message. It is, however, necessary to
define an appropriate, possibly null, RunType action for the &FFD files
in order to avoid unwanted error messages.
5.3
Hey Presto! The basics have been established for a ‘Hot Link’ with only
one SYS Command! (The other was used to read the run time parameter
string.) Output automatically pops up in an !Edit or !Draw window every
time the program issues the message.
5.3
In !Edit, the window is automatically redrawn each time, updating the
window contents on each message. In !Draw a new window is launched
preserving a record of previous runs. Either way, this is a very
positive step in the right direction. When output automatically appears
in these applications windows it then becomes available for drag saves
to disk through the filer, and can be printed or DTP’d, subject to the
facilities of the application in question.
5.3
For all of this, very little work is required. It should be stressed,
however, that this is not a true Hot Link in the Colton PipeDream sense,
which requires its own message sequence. It can, however, have a not
dissimilar effect providing target applications respond to the given
filetype. Unfortunately, the HotLink graph plotting packages which have
the Colton HotLink facility do not appear to respond to Message_DataOpen
for CSV files.
5.3
Two further tricks − SYS“Wimp_ReportError” can be used to give a two way
dialog box for simple run time choices and *Filer_OpenDir is useful to
open the RAM directory for direct drag saves. A higher resolution
multisync mode is very useful too so that work can be spread out for
examination.
5.3
System variables can also be used as a basis of communication between
the task window and other applications. Their values can be read using
SYS“OS_ReadVarVal”. This allows the use of tiny applications which set
system variable flags to be used as choice icons in filer windows and
which can be made to open and close automatically. The use of system
variable flags also enables the task window program to receive feed back
from a suitable external application to which data may have been sent
using Message_ DataOpen. A recent Risc User Wimp Debugger used system
variables as a basis for communication between applications; this,
itself, may have wider uses.
5.3
In using system variable feedback, it is important to be careful to take
account of the fact that the task window program is unlikely to be ‘in
sync’ with the Wimp Poll loops of external applications. This requires
that each party to the communication process knows what to do at the
right time. A by product of this asynchronous behaviour is that it is
necessary to be careful if, say, it is desired to have reasonably
accurate time-stamping of acquired data. In feedback systems where a
high level of automatic message passing takes place, it can arise for it
to be impossible to get any other messages into the system ...even to
stop the process. In this case, the opportunity for human intervention
is desirable to safeguard data. Once understood, however, these issues
are likely to be relatively minor for many purposes and should present
little difficulty.
5.3
Now the programmer has not directly used any icons, menus, polling loops
or big application directories and, outside the Library, no indirected
data yet a very practical solution to the initial problem has been
produced, saving lots of time. A maximum of four or five SYS Commands
has been used and it has been unnecessary to consider any task, window
or icon handles. Not bad! The potential benefit such applications could
offer to the programmer is considerable. To make the most of the
concept, however, more practical applications which will respond
suitably to Message_DataOpen are desirable. There is also a need for new
relocatable modules to give easy to use, but more comprehensive, dialog
boxes than that offered by SYS“Wimp_ReportError”.
5.3
With a suitable cell type editor, it should be possible to build a
simple interactive spreadsheet environment with the plus that a real
programming language lies behind it. In this case, a system variable
would be set by the cell editor as a flag for the task window program to
indicate that a scrap file update had taken place.
5.3
A version of !Draw which both responds to DXF files and updates rather
than supersedes its existing window would be ideal. It is not beyond the
realms of human ingenuity to display a Draw file, to drag the data
points around as required and to export the edited data back to the task
window for further processing or back-calculation. Graph plotters which
respond to the message for CSV/TSV or similar files would also be very
helpful.
5.3
Fortunately, users of file types such as DXF or CSV (for which there
appear to be few, if any, applications capable of responding suitably to
Message_DataOpen) do have another course of action open to them when the
target application has an icon resident on the icon bar. This is to
issue Message_DataLoad to that icon. Unlike broadcast Message_DataOpen,
however, this new message is very specifically targeted and it becomes
necessary to know the appropriate icon handle. The task window program
may either assume or request this information or, for the more adven
turous, it may interrogate the icon bar window using
SYS“Wimp_GetWindowInfo”. Whichever way is adopted, the desired effect of
data being automatically loaded into the target application(s) is
achieved once more when Message_DataOpen is issued. Also, for the less
faint hearted, users of Euclid will find that it is possible to launch
an object rendering in the Euclid editor window by sending a Mouse_Click
reason coded message to the Euclid filer; predetermined responses to
dialog boxes may be dealt with similarly. Both icon and window handles
can be found using SYS“Wimp_GetPointer Info”.
5.3
Finally, what about the Hourglass? This is of very limited use when
initiated from a task window as the Hourglass may still be active when
the Wimp passes control to other applications. An alternate way of
marking that a task window is active would therefore be useful. One
solution to this problem is to use SYS“Wimp_SetIconState” to invert the
colours of the Task Manager ‘switcher’ icon on the far right of the icon
bar. This can be toggled as required (albeit at the expense of a minor
amount of unwanted screen output in the task window) and doesn’t
interfere with other applications which do not use this feature. If the
inverted colours don’t appeal, the sprite can be redesigned!
5.3
Do note, however, that programs written along the lines suggested will
not run other than under the task window if they require run time
parameters and/or issue Messages and that, in certain circumstances,
several copies of the same program multitasking simultaneously may not
happily coexist. Several different programs may, of course, be run
sequentially from an Obey file, with onward communications as may be
necessary.
5.3
A relatively simple Basic V development and run time environment which
gives access to pop up windows is thus available to the programmer. If
this isn’t enough, he had better buy Archway and the PRM and knuckle
down for some long sessions. Pity it took so long to discover this
simple solution! It remains to be seen what improvements Acorn will make
to the !Edit task window option in the new release of RISC-OS.
5.3
Utilities required
5.3
•    !Edit, !Draw plus other suitable applications of your choice
5.3
•    Small Library of Basic routines. (Must be tokenised)
5.3
•    Tokenised files are edited using a Desktop utility which leads to the
Basic editor. It should also be capable of accepting BasicText files.
5.3
•    A utility to convert Basic files to and from BasicText format.
BasicText files should be capable of being handled with/without line
numbers.
5.3
•    A utility which will print both Basic and BasicText files, preferably
in a small point size for convenience.
5.3
•    A utility to run Basic in the Command Window for quick trials.
5.3
•    A utility to Close files which remain open following a run time error.
5.3
•    A utility to Change the Current Directory
5.3
•    Screen Modes enhancer/generator
5.3
•    Optional suitable cell type editor  A
5.3

5.3
Christmas Allsorts
5.3
Robert Chrismas
5.3
Christmas makes me cringe. It’s not that I am against a season of peace
and good will − quite the contrary. Nor do I object to the mixture of
sacred and secular; that goes with the human condition. However, at the
first hint of jazzed up carols and plastic overweight Santas I switch to
Scrooge mode. So I did not start with much sympathy for Sherston’s
latest product.
5.3
What you get
5.3
For £16.95 + VAT you get four A5 ‘Activity Cards’, three disks, a 28
page A5 booklet and a card showing all the draw menus.
5.3
One of the disks has a copy of !Draw. The others are full of 256 colour
!Draw files with a Christmas theme. The files are divided into direc
tories: Animals, People, Scenes, Reindeer, Cards, Food, Toys,
Decorations and Greetings. The disks are not copy protected and
institutions which buy the package are free to copy the disks and the
activity cards.
5.3
The clip art
5.3
The clip art is carefully drawn. It takes full advantage of the 256
colour modes. Since some of the colours are quite subtle tones, I was
not sure how well the drawings would print out, but an Integrex printer
produced very acceptable output. Monochrome output on a matrix printer
was generally unsatisfactory but you might use some of the drawings with
clear outlines in DTP documents. Laser printer output was clear enough
but not very exciting.
5.3
If all the fill colours are changed to white then, with a little editing
on a few of the files, you have some effective line drawings suitable
for manual colouring.
5.3
The drawings are constructed with many hidden, or partially hidden,
lines. Scaling calculations and re-drawing cause long delays on standard
Archimedes. Teachers should be warned that there may be cries of “Miss,
Miss” (or “Sir, Sir”), “it’s crashed”. However my ‘primary adviser’
(thanks Dave) remarked, ‘my children will happily sit and watch the
printer printing, they will not get bored watching a picture being
drawn!’
5.3
The guide booklet
5.3
The guide is divided into two parts. The first part has an 8 page guide
to the key features of !Draw. It includes sections on loading !Draw and
loading, saving and printing files. The second part has monochrome
prints of the some of the clip art. It gives the leaf name, scale and
the size of each illustration.
5.3
Three of the activity cards give step by step instructions to produce a
Christmas card, an Advent calendar and a Nativity scene respectively.
The last card covers editing lines in !Draw so that you can modify the
pictures.
5.3
Style
5.3
There are lots of guides to the !Draw program. Most try to explain all
its features. I have often tried to write guides like this. Unfor
tunately, most adults, and almost all children, given a comprehensive
guide book, skip through it, trying out ideas, and only reading a
fraction of the text.
5.3
Christmas Allsorts is quite different. The booklet manages to summarise
all the features of !Draw you need for the activity cards in a few
pages. It is written in short clear paragraphs, most no more than a few
lines, with important words emphasised in bold and lots of illustra
tions. It does not tell you everything about !Draw, but what it does say
has an excellent chance of being read.
5.3
The activity cards are equally clear and to the point. They leave some
room for creativity in the choice of drawings and their final arrange
ment. You will not learn !Draw from them but, with a little help or some
trial and error, you should be able to produce a design of your own.
5.3
More able secondary school children, already familiar with !Draw, will
probably be able to use the cards with little help, but I would be
inclined to do a demonstration ‘work through’ for the whole class first.
5.3
For younger children
5.3
The text on the activity cards is probably a bit too difficult for
children in junior schools. They might also have difficulty in selecting
!Draw objects and loading them successfully. My ‘primary adviser’
suggested that a teacher might create a file containing some suitable
drawings so that the children could concentrate on arranging these
first.
5.3
Conclusion
5.3
You could buy this package for the clip art alone. It is handy to have a
selection of drawings on one theme conveniently grouped like this. The
price does not seem unreasonable if you remember that they will be
useful every Christmas for years.
5.3
To get the best from the drawings you will need a colour printer.
5.3
I found the re-drawing time tedious, but this may have something to do
with a strong desire to buy an A5000.
5.3
The booklet and the activity cards are written in a clear effective
style.
5.3
I liked this package. Later on in the term I am going to use it with one
of the middle school classes who visit my college. Sorry Scrooge but,
after all, it is Christmas.  A
5.3

5.3
ScoreDraw
5.3
Stewart Watson & Jonathan Puttock
5.3
First some comments from Stewart Watson....
5.3
ScoreDraw is a utility which at its simplest gives greatly enhanced
printout of Rhapsody files. It does, however, offer several other
options, like the facility to save pages as Draw files, which can be
edited in Draw and then exported to a DTP package. It comes in the usual
Clare package which contains a single disc and a 28 page A5 manual.
5.3
Manual
5.3
The manual is clear and concise, and the instructions on getting started
are particularly good. I did feel that the chapter on exporting to DTP
was a bit skimpy, and when I tried to use it, I had a couple of false
starts before I achieved the required result. This was simply because,
having taken my Rhapsody file through ScoreDraw to DrawPlus, what I
should have done was draw a box round the section I wanted, then save
selection, rather than saving the whole file, which includes all the
extra white space at the top and bottom of the page. This was my only
minor quibble, otherwise the instructions are very easy to follow.
5.3
ScoreDraw disc
5.3
On the ScoreDraw disc is an update directory which upgrades Rhapsody II,
versions below 1.23, to enable them to communicate with ScoreDraw. Once
upgraded, ScoreDraw appears as an extra option on the Rhapsody II score
menu. There is room for Rhapsody and ScoreDraw on a single disc, and
then Rhapsody will load ScoreDraw directly when required. There is also
a demo directory and a music library of useful musical symbols.
5.3
Once a page is saved as a Draw file, extra information can be added,
e.g. phrasing marks, or extra text. Once again the instructions are very
helpful, and everything works exactly as described in the manual.
5.3
Summary
5.3
I have always felt that the poor print quality was Rhapsody’s weak
point, but now, adding ScoreDraw to Rhapsody II allows you to produce
publishing quality printout of music scores for less than £125. Well
done Clares.
5.3
Jonathan Puttock continues....
5.3
It seems that Clares do listen to customers and reviewers. When Rhapsody
II appeared, it was nice to see how many of the points in the review in
Archive (and other reviews) had been noted and acted upon. Thank you,
Clares!
5.3
However, there were clearly some aspects which they did not find
feasible to automate completely, such as phrasing marks and hairpins for
(de)crescendo. It was also a disappointment that fonts were still not
used in the headings and text. However, Clares promised that a new
program was on its way to deal with these problems by providing Draw
format output. That program, ScoreDraw, has just been released.
5.3
When I first heard about Scoredraw, I thought the price was rather high
for a file format conversion program; however, when I received it I
discovered that it does more than just file conversion. Scoredraw takes
a Rhapsody file, either from disk or through a link from Rhapsody 2
menus, and reformats it with more care than Rhapsody manages. The notes
are Draw objects instead of sprites, fonts are used for headings, lyrics
and dynamic markings, and more conventional notation is used for
triplets and 1st/2nd time bars. The user also has more control over the
formatting, so that, for example, the indentation of the first system to
make space for the stave titles can be removed.
5.3
Once the score is formatted, it can be printed direct from ScoreDraw.
Alternatively, it can be saved again as a Rhapsody file, with the extra
ScoreDraw formatting information included, or as a Draw file. Using Draw
then allows great flexibility in adding extra symbols or for fine
adjustment of the results, such as shifting overlapping accidentals or
moving a dynamic mark which clashes with a note stem. I was surprised
how easy it is to create very neat phrasing marks using Bezier curves.
On the disk there is a library of 17 Draw files, giving musical symbols
which are not provided by Rhapsody. These include appoggiaturas, bowing
marks for string players, coda and dal segno.
5.3
The only problem I had with the program was that sometimes it would give
fatal error type 3, when first loading a score, apparently when reading
in the fonts. However, on reloading the program I usually found the
error did not reappear.
5.3
The 28 page manual provides the information needed to run the program.
It includes a section of advice on editing scores with Draw and brief
notes on transferring files to a desktop publishing package.
5.3
ScoreDraw costs £57 through Archive, so it represents a significant
extra investment on top of the price of Rhapsody 2. However, as a
flexible music printing package with publishing quality results, the
combination of the two programs at under £120 must compare very
favourably with programs available on other machines.
5.3
ScoreDraw is available from Clares Micro Supplies for £61.95 inc VAT or
£57 through Archive.  A
5.3

5.3
Vox Box
5.3
Stewart Watson & Jonathan Puttock
5.3
Vox Box is a suite of four applications which further enhance Rhapsody
II. Like ScoreDraw, it comes in the usual Clares package with an A5
manual and two disks. Disk one contains the four applications and disk
two contains a large number of very good and very useful sound samples.
5.3
The four programs are: Perform − Enables the setting up of a play list
which can include Rhapsody files, MIDI files and sound samples. VoxBeat
− Turns sampled percussion sounds into a module to enable easier
programming of rhythm patterns. VoxSample − Converts sound samples into
voices for use in Rhapsody etc. VoxSynth − Synthesises Archimedes voices
digitally.
5.3
Perform
5.3
Perform is a RISC-OS application which can be loaded by double clicking
on the icon in the usual way. A menu is then obtained by clicking <menu>
on Perform on the icon bar. There are four options:- Info, Play, Panel
and Quit. The first and last are as usual; Play starts a previously
assembled Perform file; and Panel opens a control panel with play, stop,
pause, skip forwards and skip backwards controls.
5.3
Perform will play up to 12 Rhapsody files, MIDI files, or sound samples
in sequence. It will also load voice modules and Perform files, which
allows you to nest performance programs for unlimited playing time. The
only real restriction is that the files must all be available from your
filing system when required, which presents no major problem unless you
are multi-tasking using a single floppy system.
5.3
To set up a program, click <select> on the icon bar, and drag filenames
into the program window. There is a dustbin available in the program
window if required.
5.3
The manual is very clear, and assembling Perform programs could hardly
be easier. Programs can be saved for playing later.
5.3
If you have access to a sound sampler, it is simplicity itself to sample
the titles of your pieces and include these as part of a Perform
program. A neat application with lots of uses.
5.3
VoxBeat
5.3
Voxbeat allows you to assemble a drum kit with one sound (bass drum,
snare drum etc.) assigned to each note of an octave, giving a maximum
total of 12 different sounds. The whole set can then be saved as a
module which can then be used in Rhapsody.
5.3
It is the same idea as used on many multi-timbral synthesizers, where
one sound is a drum kit spread across the keyboard. The limit of 12
sounds in VoxBeat might seem a bit of a limitation but, in reality, one
module will be more than enough for most people’s uses. For pieces with
particular rhythm sound requirements special modules could easily be
built.
5.3
On the second disk there is a range of very good quality percussion
samples, possibly all you’ll ever need. Of course, you don’t have to
restrict yourself to percussion samples − any suitable samples, vocal,
instrumental or sound effect can all be included if required.
5.3
VoxBeat will be a boon to rhythm programming and, like Perform, is
simplicity itself to use.
5.3
VoxSample
5.3
VoxSample attempts to get over the problems of using sound samples of
acoustic instruments.
5.3
A VoxSample sound is made up of two parts, the initial transient,
followed by one or more cycles of the sample to form the sustain
section. Included are facilities to alter the pitch of the initial
transient, and amplitude and pitch envelopes can be added to the sample.
5.3
On disk two are a selection of brass, keyboard, percussion, strings and
wind samples, together with a directory of others which includes 5
basses, guitar, harp, marimba, choir and vibraphone.
5.3
These can all be loaded into VoxSample, edited and resaved under the
same or different names, but I must say that the quality of the sounds
provided is extremely good and may result in VoxSample being under used.
For myself, I would like to have seen one or two ‘different’ samples
included, just to show a bit more of what VoxSample can do.
5.3
VoxSynth
5.3
Each VoxSynth module provides 8 independent voices and each modules
takes up less than 5k. Each voice is defined by two waveforms, each
representing one complete cycle. At the start of a note, the first
waveform is used but it gradually changes into the second as the note
progresses. Waveforms can be drawn by hand, synthesised from harmonic
components or created using a form of FM synthesis. Amplitude and pitch
envelopes can be superimposed on the sound. Like VoxBeat and VoxSample,
facilities are included for playing sounds, either directly from the
keyboard or via MIDI, if available.
5.3
VoxSynth is by far the most complex program of the four, but it just as
easy to get going. It is just that, to achieve predictable results, a
certain degree of familiarity with harmonic theory is required. If you
don’t have that knowledge, you can either use VoxSynth to enhance your
knowledge or simply have a lot of fun experimenting with sound in a
random way.
5.3
The combination of Rhapsody II, VoxBox and ScoreDraw gives Archimedes
users a great deal of control over music input and output, be it written
or played. I find it very difficult to find fault with Scoredraw or
VoxBox and, at the price, they are exceptionally good value.
5.3
Jonathan Puttock adds...
5.3
I found VoxBox enormous fun. It is very easy to produce very passable
voices both from VoxSample and VoxSynth. The samples provided on the
samples disk are very good. Also, on one of the Shareware disks there is
a utility for stripping the samples out of Soundtracker modules. I found
that these were a good source of samples to play around with. (Was that
Shareware 39 which has a Soundtracker to Rhapsody converter? Ed.)
5.3
A major feature which is worth mentioning is that you can have Rhapsody
playing music in the background, and hear the effect immediately if you
are editing the voice that Rhapsody is using − remarkable!
5.3
I had one problem with VoxSample. It tries to produce a sustained note
by repeating several cycles from somewhere near the end of the sample.
The user has plenty of control over this but for some samples without a
regular pattern, it is impossible to get a good sound. It would be
better to fade out the sample at the end in these cases. At a particular
frequency, you can do this with the amplitude envelope, but the
amplitude envelope is fixed in time and when played, say, an octave
higher, the sample is only half as long. One could perhaps do with an
amplitude envelope fixed to the sample length in addition to the time-
fixed one. Nevertheless, overall I was very impressed with VoxBox.
5.3
What a pity Clares do not supply the Perform program with Rhapsody 2, or
at least with ScoreDraw. It is a nice adjunct to Rhapsody 2, and fills a
minor gap in the facilities provided with that program; but there must
be many users who would like to use it with Rhapsody 2, but do not want
to buy the Vox series of programs.
5.3
Vox Box is available from Clares Micro Supplies for £61.95 inc VAT or
£57 through Archive.  A
5.3

5.3
Techno-I  Digitiser
5.3
Brian Baker
5.3
Last July I purchased a Techno-I digitiser. What follows are my findings
to date. This is not the result of intensive study, but of occasional
use by an ‘average’ purchaser.
5.3
Opening the box
5.3
The package consists of a Techno-I interface card, a disc, mounting bits
and the manual. The A3000 version (£333.70 inc VAT) comes cased and
plugs into the expansion connector. The A300/400 version (£298.45 inc
VAT) is a single width podule which is installed in the backplane in the
usual way. I installed the card in my 440/1 with no problems. My only
complaint about the hardware is that the screws that are provided for
fixing the half width blanking plate, also provided, are slotted and not
the crosshead type as used on all other backplates. Basic static build
up precautions are required when handling the card. These, with the
fitting and checking procedures, are clearly explained in the manual.
Video input to the digitiser is via a composite BNC as standard, or an
S-VHS option (£119.85). Adjustments are from software.
5.3
The book
5.3
The manual is A5 wire-bound. The font is clear and the pages are easy on
the eye. There are two pages of index and 51 pages of information. This
includes some error message information, a specification list, file
format details (sprite and multimedia) and more detailed information on
some of the menu options.
5.3
The bulk of the manual is taken up with a step by step guide through the
menu options. The menu boxes are shown as they appear on the screen with
the relevant option highlighted. The text explains the use of the
option, and cross reference is made to more details elsewhere in the
manual. I find this an excellent way to lay out the information. It
makes any explanation easy to find and, if you forget where an option
is, the route to it can easily be found. This method is obviously easier
to do where there is a small number of options. On applications which
have a large number of options it may be difficult to do, but would make
using the program much easier.
5.3
There are a large number of printing errors. These are mostly spelling
errors rather than technical ones, so they do not mislead the user of
the program. These mistakes should have been corrected at the printing
stage as they would have easily been spotted if someone had taken the
trouble to read the proofs.
5.3
The software
5.3
The disc contains !TechnoI, the main application, !Telly, which is for
the viewfinder, Examples and ChangeFSI. I have not used the latter, so
it is not considered in this review. It has been suggested to me that
the use of ChangeFSI will not produce results equal to the original 25
bit colour resolution. If anybody knows otherwise, let’s hear from you.
5.3
The disc is not protected and is easily transferred to a hard disc or
backup floppy. A 256 colour mode is required for Techno-I. When you are
in the correct mode, double-clicking on Techno-I will load the two
applications and an eye will appear on the right of the icon bar. If
there is a suitable video input connected, the eye will be blue for a
colour signal and grey for monochrome. Two other versions of the eye
indicate incorrect mode or invalid signal. The manual says that Techno-I
has been designed to work on 1 Mbyte machines but having only 1M of RAM
does place certain limitations on what you can do when the captured
image is being processed. The section to which you are referred “for
more information” is not in the manual, so I do not know what these
limitations are.
5.3
Menus
5.3
Clicking <menu> on the eye icon gives the usual quit option and access
to the info window. The viewfinder can be turned on and the viewfinder
set-up menu is available from this menu as well as the main menu. The
save sprite window can also be displayed from here and from the main
menu.
5.3
The viewfinder can be 1/4 or 1/16 of the screen area. The update of the
larger viewfinder will be slightly slower than the smaller size. The
display can be in monochrome or (with a suitable signal) colour. The
display can also be adjusted for brightness, contrast and colour from
this menu. Adjustment of variables is generally by dragging a bar along
a slider. The keyboard arrows cannot be used, while holding down
<select>, to give fine movement of the pointer as they can with some
applications. As the digitiser does not capture the whole screen, the
section or the picture to be digitised is selected by positioning a
frame, which defines the required area, within an area representing the
full picture. This is the area that will be seen in the viewfinder. For
most practical purposes, this can be left in the central position. The
final option on this menu is to turn the gamma correction on and off.
5.3
The main menu allows further setting up to be carried out. The process
ing of the signal before it is displayed in the viewfinder, or captured,
is adjusted from the input video menu. The variables are noise filter
ing, hue, luminance delay, edge enhancement, colour, brightness and
contrast. The latter three are not the same adjustments used for the
viewfinder. The video source (TV/VCR, BNC/SVHS) can be selected.
Choosing auto will capture a colour picture, if present, or monochrome
if not. A monochrome image can be taken from a colour input if required.
The chrominance filter can be turned on or off.
5.3
Techno-I accepts various standards of PAL as well as two types of NTSC.
For some reason, the factory set default is for Belgium/Yugoslavia.
Selection of the decoding is by clicking on the symbol next to the
required standard.
5.3
Changes made to the default settings can be saved and will be used when
Techno-I is loaded. The factory defaults can be recalled if required.
Zoom lock and the cutting box can be enabled in this section. When
Techno-I tests its RAM, ROM and video processor, input information and
the results of these tests are shown in a status window.
5.3
The display window allows control over the way the captured image is
displayed. Techno-I captures two frames when it digitises. The frames
can be displayed separately or together in the window and they can be
interlaced or superimposed. The display can be dithered or pure. Gamma
correction can be adjusted by a slider or writable icon. It can also be
turned on/off from here as well as the from the viewfinder display. The
manual shows the gamma correction capable of being set to two places of
decimals but it can only be set to one place.
5.3
The sprite size window has four pre-set options and writable icons to
set the user’s choice. The pre-sets range from 512 × 256 to 640 × 512.
Changing the sprite size will cause the display of the captured image to
change to the new values. A writable icon displays the sprite name, if
it has one, the size of the sprite, in bytes, and the screen mode.
5.3
Digitising
5.3
Clicking on Digitise in the main menu will transfer the current input
into the main display window. The settings mentioned previously are used
to determine the way the image is displayed. The display can be flipped
around the X and Y axis and the RGB balance can be changed. A zoom
facility will scale X and Y from 1:999 to 999:1 independently. If
required, X and Y can be locked together to use the same scaling. There
are options to display the sprite within the window boundaries by re-
scaling or by re-calculating the sprite dimensions. The options will
also adjust the window boundary to fit the screen or return the scaling
to 1:1.
5.3
The digitising of the picture takes approximately 40 seconds, as do
changes from the display menu. Other changes to the displayed sprite
take around 30 seconds but can be done in combination. That is, the R, G
and B can all be changed at one time or separately. The same applies to
colour, brightness and contrast. All changes refer back to the original
stored images so that, each time a setting is changed, it is the
original which is changed and re-displayed, and not the displayed image.
5.3
Printing
5.3
The print menu, which cannot be brought up with the print key, gives
various choices. There is a choice of printing the whole scanned area,
the current window or a marked area (more about this later). The print
can be from 1:9 to 9:1 via writable icons or clicking on arrows, and can
be at the current zoom, scaled to fit the window or as a standard
sprite. The number of copies can be set as can the orientation. Techno-I
uses the RISC-OS printer drivers. If one is loaded, its name is
displayed.
5.3
My only experience of the print facility, so far, is that it does not
work. The few times I have tried it have resulted in a print of the
lower half of the image. As most users will be dragging the image into a
DTP package this is not too much of a problem. The image can also be
dragged into any other application that can handle sprites, such as
Paint and Draw. I do not have the facility to print in colour. I have
printed from Impression to my 24 pin dot matrix. The quality is better
than direct from Techno-I but not good. I think that, with a bit more
customising of the Techno-I settings, I will improve the printing from
Impression to an acceptable level.
5.3
Saving
5.3
There are two formats used for saving. There is the normal sprite
format, which is recognised by other applications, and multi-media. The
sprite saving window allows naming of the file and the sprite. It also
shows the size of the sprite, in bytes and pixels, the mode that the
sprite is in and the mode in which the sprite will be saved. The latter
is a writable icon. There is also a ‘save section’ option (more about
this later). The sprite can be saved to disc or dragged to another
application in the usual way.
5.3
Images saved as multi-media can be loaded back into Techno-I for further
processing. These formats are not compatible, so sprite files cannot be
loaded into Techno-I and multimedia files are not accepted by appli
cations which use sprite files. I assume that other applications exist
which produce multi-media files that can be used by Techno-I and vice-
versa. I have experienced problems in loading files back into Techno-I.
The display has to be set for single frame or the image is corrupted.
Whether this is a problem, or is just not covered in the manual, I am
not sure.
5.3
Cutting box
5.3
This is described in the manual as allowing a marked area to be saved or
printed. A selected area can also become the displayed sprite, anything
outside the box being deleted. Unfortunately, on the version of Techno-I
that I have (v1.01), this option has not been implemented so I cannot
say any more about it. A section of the sprite can be saved via the ‘get
screen area’ option in Paint.
5.3
Conclusions
5.3
Techno-I does produce excellent results. Although I have not been able
to compare it with other packages, I do not think the images produced
could be better.
5.3
I have been unable to obtain an acceptable colour image in the view
finder, so I usually use it with the settings adjusted for monochrome.
Because of the delay between the incoming image and update of the
viewfinder, short as it is, it can be difficult to capture the exact
image you require from a moving source. I use the viewfinder to set the
frame position and watch the T.V. screen to capture the right picture. A
picture cannot be grabbed from a VCR in still frame. The top of the
picture is distorted as Techno-I cannot lock onto the signal correctly.
At worst, the icon bar displays will appear and disappear and, if this
is allowed to continue, Techno-I will say it has run out of program
memory and quit. This can also occur in fast forward / reverse.
5.3
User values can be saved, but only one set. It would be useful to have
the facility to store more. You may, for instance, require one set of
values for colour digitising and another set for monochrome. Although
the factory settings can be re-called from within the program, user
settings are only available when starting Techno-I.
5.3
The manual requires re-printing to correct all the errors. These spoil
what is otherwise a good example of how to present information. The
print option should be sorted out and the option allowing use of the
cutting box implemented.
5.3
There is no registration card supplied with Techno-I which may mean
upgrades will not be readily available. I feel that this package has
been released before it should have been. Further work is required to
make the most of the hardware.  A
5.3

5.3
Cross-32 Meta-Assembler
5.3
Jahinder Singh
5.3
Computers produced by Acorn, from the humble BBC Microcomputer to the
present day range of Archimedes machines have all come with a built in
assembler and, by using the minimum of effort, the full processing power
of the computer has been available. However, just released from Baildon
Electronics is their ‘Cross-32 Meta-Assembler’. Now, not only can
Archimedes owners program in ARM code, but they can get down to some
serious development work on other microprocessors, micro-controllers and
digital signal processors (DSP’s) using the Archimedes.
5.3
The Cross-32 Meta-Assembler is a table based macro cross-assembler that
compiles programs for numerous different target processors on any
Archimedes with RISC-OS. This assembler uses a ‘meta-language’ to
describe the relevant aspects of the desired target processor. The meta-
language description is stored in the form of a table which is read in
early during the first pass. By using a flexible instruction table
structure, the assembler is thus able to compile assembly language
source code for most microprocessors, micro-controllers and some DSP’S
with an address word length of 32 bits or less. Also, by developing
tables that translate the assembly instructions into the equivalent
binary codes for the host processor and thereby allowing direct
execution, microprocessor emulation is possible. With this version, the
following processor families were catered for.
5.3
ARM 2/3
5.3
1802/5/6 COP400
5.3
37700 COP800
5.3
50740/37450 H8/300
5.3
6502/C02 H8/500
5.3
65816 NEC7500
5.3
6800/1/2/3/8/6301/3 NEC78C10
5.3
6805/HC05 PIC16C5X
5.3
6809 SUPER8
5.3
68HC11 TMS3201X
5.3
68000/8/10/302 TMS3202X
5.3
8041 TMS34010
5.3
8048 TMS370
5.3
8051 TMS7000
5.3
8085 TMS9900/95
5.3
8086/88/186/188 Z8
5.3
8096/C196 Z80
5.3
Z180/64180 Z280
5.3
(more to be released .....)
5.3
If you happen to use a processor other than the above, all that is
required is to write a new processor table or to modify an existing
table.
5.3
The package
5.3
The complete package offered by Baildon Electronics consists of a single
disc, a registration card and a manual. The manual is excellent − not
only is it very professionally produced but all aspects of the software
have been described in detail without causing confusion. It makes good
bedtime reading!
5.3
The software supplied on disc is installed in the usual manner − it can
also be executed from the command line or from within an Obey file. As
well as the main program, the disc contains the numerous processor
tables, example source files corresponding to each target processor and
a directory with !System (containing the current version of the Shared C
Library) and !SysMerge.
5.3
Using the software
5.3
A lot of credit must go to Baildon Electronics for the production of
this software. The cross-assembly process is very simple and consists of
first producing an ASCII text file containing the target processor’s
mnemonics and assembler directives. This text file is then dragged onto
the installed icon on the icon bar and, provided this source file is
syntactically correct, contains valid opcodes, operands, labels and the
correct directives, then the assembler will produce a hex output file
plus a list file if desired.
5.3
A lot of control is available with the input source file and the output
files. Each assembly line is free format − that is, labels need not
start in column one − with each line containing some or all of the
following sequence of identifiers:
5.3
  line#  label:   operator   operand(s)  ;  comment
5.3
Operands can consist of numeric constants (32 bit signed or unsigned),
string constants and arithmetic operators which, in combination with
labels, may be used to form operands. Most of the operators and their
precedence are taken from ANSI C.
5.3
The hex output can be controlled by having the option of producing pure
binary output (8, 16 or 32 bit), Intel formats (regular and extended) or
the Motorola formats S19, S28 and S37 corresponding to 8, 16 and 32 bits
respectively. The user also has the option of enabling and disabling
output to the hex file which is useful when defining locations in RAM.
5.3
An output listing can be obtained which also displays all the labels
with their corresponding values. Whenever an error is detected during
the cross-assembly process, the software informs you on what line the
error occurred. A detailed account of all error messages is included in
the manual.
5.3
The ultimate test
5.3
At work, I have just completed work on the development of a 6809
microprocessor embedded control system. The development of this system
was carried out on an in-circuit emulator connected to a PC. What I
decided to do was to convert my PC source input to an Archimedes format,
make some changes to assembler directives and insert two ORG (Origin)
directives to separate data from code. After performing the cross-
assembly process, I converted the produced hex file (text file) from
Archimedes format back to PC format and then onto EPROM. After applying
power to my hardware, the hardware functioned correctly.
5.3
Conclusions
5.3
As you have probably guessed, I like this package. Both the documenta
tion and the software are very easy to understand and use. For people
who carry out a lot of development work on a variety of processors, then
this product is ideal. A lot of time and money can be saved in the
learning and purchasing of individual cross-assemblers, leaving more
time & money for program development. Educational institutions would
really benefit from this package. During my undergraduate days I used
many different processors, but, each time I also had to learn how to use
the corresponding assembler. Using this product, which already has all
the necessary tables which I required then, would have saved a lot of
time.
5.3
I’ve used a lot of cross-assemblers at work such as the one marketed by
Enertec Inc (which targets 42 microprocessors and has a universal linker
and librarian), the one marketed by the Lear Com company and the cross-
disassembler by Logisoft and AD2500. Cross-32 compares very favourably
with these products.
5.3
However, a few minor points which I didn’t really like are as follows :
5.3
1)    The software should have stated the size of the program in bytes
i.e. at the bottom of the list file. Although this figure can be
calculated it is usual to display it.
5.3
2)    During the assembly process, the software temporarily takes over
the complete screen (goes to mode 0) and returns you to the desktop
after a successful assembly or if an error is detected. It would have
looked better if another window had opened containing all the relevant
details. Although you might not have much time to access other multi
tasking applications, it would have appeared fully RISC-OS compliant.
5.3
3)    At present there is no support for a linker or a librarian −
hopefully I will not have to wait too long.
5.3
Overall, a very good product which performs its function with ease.  A
5.3

5.3
Technomatic    468 Church Lane, London, NW9 8UF. (081−205−9558) (−0190)
5.3
The Really Good Software Company      P.O.Box
60, Ashton-under-Lyme, OL5 9WW.
5.3
Trail Software    P.O. Box 283, London, SW11 2LL.
5.3
Turcan Research Systems    83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071−625−8455)
5.3
Watford Electronics    250 Lower
High Street, Watford, WD1 2AN. (0923−37774) (−33642)
5.3
Word Processing (p29)    65 Milldale
Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, WV10 6LR.
5.3

5.3

5.3

5.3
First Words and Pictures
5.3
Simon Anthony
5.3
First Words and Pictures from Chalksoft is an early reading package
aimed at young children and special educational needs students. This is
a very wide range to cover but Chalksoft make a very good stab at it.
The program is written with a careful balance between ease of use and
flexibility which causes a few problems, but they are easy enough to
avoid once they have been recognised.
5.3
The idea of the program is to present a simple everyday scene showing
articles or actions which have to be correctly identified. A word or
sentence describing part of the scene is displayed at the bottom of the
screen and the mouse or cursor keys are used to move a pointer in order
to select the relevant area. An illuminating arrow shows which area is
being selected before the choice is finalised by the reader. If the
answer is right, the selected area enlarges with a gentle tune as a
reward. If it is wrong, the computer ‘sneezes’ as they select it. The
score does not go down and there is no long term indication of failure
to put off the less able reader. After a preset number of questions
there is the option to have another go with the same or different scene.
5.3
The program in action
5.3
The opening screen shows the Chalksoft banner. Pressing <return> gives a
menu with options to allow you to alter every aspect of the program.
There are so many variables that an unassisted user can get lost in its
depths. I would prefer access to this menu to be hidden in much the way
that escaping from the program is achieved, that is by using ctrl +
another key.
5.3
The feel of the main program is pleasant and friendly. The artwork is
primary schoolbook type and the music sounds a little twee. This does
not make for an exciting game but that isn’t the idea. After the preset
number of correct answers has been made, a congratulatory message floats
down the screen while another tune tinkles away happily. There are ten
scenes each with eight questions. By changing the options, these will
easily last a morning without repetition. The options have been designed
in consultation with real teachers and are not just the whim of a back-
room programmer. Every time it is used, more and more subtle aspects
emerge due to the flexibility provided. It is not immediately obvious
that the program lifetime would be longer than a few hours but my
experience is that at least special needs students gain a very great
deal and keep coming back for more. The program is not disturbing to
other people in the same room.
5.3
The ‘off computer’ aspects of this package are very important. The
ability to print out the words, sentences and line drawings of the
picture elements and scenes allows colouring in, writing the labels by
hand and simple displays to be made. Learning is improved by using as
many parts of the brain as possible and so these facilities provide good
educational value. They show the care and attention to detail that
typifies the main body of this program.
5.3
One problem that I found is that older children with reading difficul
ties tend to be put off by the childlike presentation. Perhaps Chalksoft
could produce a version of the program with an older emotional feel but
set at the same reading age.
5.3
The program installs easily on a hard disc or network and can be run
from the desktop or autobooted from the disc. It is not copy protected
and so there is no danger of damage to the master disc destroying this
valuable addition to the educational range.
5.3
Conclusion
5.3
First Words and pictures works well. It does teach reading skills and
will hold the attention as long as the user doesn’t feel they are being
patronised by the style. In a group of mixed ability, this can be a
problem. At home or in a matched group of emotionally young pre-readers
there are no such reservations. At £22 plus VAT it is a bit pricey for
the impoverished parent but for an educational establishment it is good
value for money.  A
5.3

5.3
Southern Printers Archimedes Line Art Disc 2
5.3
Hugh Eagle
5.3
Southern Printers Line Art Disc 2 contains 40 Draw files in compressed
form (together with !SparkPlug to aid decompression). There are
altogether about 1240k bytes of data on the disc which costs £9.00 fully
inclusive from Southern Printers. Disc 1 in the series is still
available for £5.50 and you can buy both discs for £12.50. The low
prices are to discourage illegal copying. If you send an SAE, they will
send you a complete set of illustrations to help you decide whether you
want to splash out!
5.3
I don’t know whether there are any Archimedes users left who have not
discovered the fun that can be had with Draw files. You can print them
out and enjoy them for what they are, or use them for ornate letter
headings, or to liven up party invitations, or as illustrations in DTP
documents and a host of “interactive” programs like Genesis, Magpie and
so on. Unlike sprites, the lines and curves remain smooth and unjagged,
however much you scale them up or down or rotate them. Using Draw or
DrawPlus, you can stretch or distort them, select bits of them, change
colours and use bits and pieces from different drawings to build up
montages. With programs like Poster or DrawBender, you can bend them or
shape them any way you want them!
5.3
There is a wide variety of objects in this collection, but it is
probably fair to say that the majority can be categorised as fauna and
flora, buildings or locomotives. A lot of trouble has clearly been taken
over most of the drawings and they have been stylishly drawn. Some of
them, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, are very elaborate; on the other
hand there are some, like the smiley face, which take simplicity to
extremes! My favourites include the very handsome parrot.
5.3
Are they good value? There is now quite a lot of competition, ranging
from Archive Shareware to quite expensive professional offerings. My
preference is for simpler drawings, since they often have more impact
when printed. Also they are nicer to use because the computer can draw
them more quickly and you can get more on a disc! (There are some
particularly good examples, drawn with great flair, on Shareware 18.)
However, if you want the particular pictures in this collection, the
disc is certainly value for money. And full marks to Southern Printers
for making available a complete set of illustrations so that you can
make up your own mind.  A
5.3

5.3

5.3
Acorn’s New PC Emulator (Version 1.60)
5.3
Rob Brown
5.3
The first software PC Emulator was introduced by Acorn Computers not
long after the launch, in the Autumn of 1987, of the Archimedes itself.
Shortly afterwards, Acorn announced that it would be concentrating on
software emulation of the PC rather than trying to produce a hardware
solution. Thus, this early version of the PC Emulator (1.00) was, over
time, superseded by versions 1.09, 1.20, 1.21 and 1.33; the latter being
released in late 1989. Early versions were relatively slow and were
provided with very limited documentation; additional customisation or
configuration of the emulator was not, generally, a straightforward
task.
5.3
Although version 1.33 of the PC Emulator was an improvement over earlier
versions and was: “....designed for use with RISC-OS 2.00....”, it did
not function within the RISC-OS desktop and, when started up, performed
a reset and cleared the Archimedes desktop of any other tasks that may
have been running at the time. All these versions were supplied with the
MS-DOS PC operating system. Version 1.34, when included with the various
Learning Curve packages, was supplied with DR-DOS instead of MS-DOS.
5.3
I have recently obtained version 1.60 of the PC Emulator (as an upgrade)
and, in this article, I hope to give an impression of its more signifi
cant features. At the outset, it is worth mentioning that I have an
Archimedes A310, upgraded to 4M and fitted with a hard disc (but not
ARM3).
5.3
What do you get?
5.3
The full upgrade kit consists of 4 discs:
5.3
PC Emulator MDA/CGA/EGA multi-tasking (min 2M memory)
5.3
PC Emulator CGA single-tasking (min 1M)
5.3
Acorn DOS Support Disc (DOS format 720k)
5.3
CD-ROM Support Disc (DOS format 720k)
5.3
plus the following documentation:
5.3
PC Emulator Guide (manual)
5.3
Upgrade Kit Release Note
5.3
Supplementary Release Note
5.3
End-User Licence Conditions
5.3
Owner Registration Form
5.3
User Licence Agreement
5.3
The latter two have to be completed and returned to Acorn Computers (in
a pre-paid envelope), although it does seem as though these are designed
more for organisations than private individuals. Both PC Emulator discs
include an updated version of the Upgrade Kit Release Note as a ReadMe
file.
5.3
Documentation
5.3
The PC Emulator Guide is more extensive than previous manuals, and runs
to just over 30 A5 pages; it is well written with illustrations where
relevant, although there is no index. The documentation does make
reference to the inclusion of MS-DOS version 3.30, as opposed to MS-DOS
version 3.21 which was included with my original PC Emulator package.
However, the Acorn DOS Support Disc only includes the 3 files AMOUSE.
COM, GETFILE.EXE and PUTFILE.EXE. I understand from Acorn that version
3.30 of MS-DOS is not available as part of the upgrade and is only
supplied to purchasers of the complete package; but there is apparently
little functional difference between the two versions.
5.3
The software
5.3
For those with an Archimedes with the minimum 1Mbyte memory, there is
what Acorn describe as the “small” PC Emulator; this only allows single-
tasking and the basic PC CGA graphics. This is virtually identical to
version 1.33, except that it does start from and return to the desktop
leaving any other tasks intact. For users with 2Mbytes (or more) memory,
the “large” PC Emulator allows full multi-tasking and provides MDA (b/
w), CGA, EGA and EGA+ (VGA) PC graphics.
5.3
MultiFS
5.3
Both emulator discs include MultiFS (from Arxe Systems, version: 1.41a).
This appears to be a DOS only version of the product reviewed in Archive
3.12 p35.
5.3
Double-clicking on the MultiFS icon displays a series of DOS floppy and/
or hard disc icons on the icon bar, labelled as per DOS conventions
(e.g. the first floppy disc drive is labelled “:A”, a second would be
labelled “:B” and so on). These behave exactly like the ADFS (or SCSI)
icons and allow DOS floppy/hard disc directories/files to be displayed
as if they were RISC-OS; except that the display of DOS filenames is
truncated to 10 char-acters, instead of the full 8 character name and 3
character extension. MultiFS provides the usual desktop functions (such
as move, copy and delete, plus format: both 360k and 720k) for DOS discs
and also permits transfer between RISC-OS and DOS discs. There is a Name
Translation option which may need to be used to avoid any potential
problems in transferring files between RISC-OS and DOS.
5.3
The MultiFS !Run file is set up for a specific hard disc path-name, so
if you have a different name (or use a SCSI hard disc instead of ADFS)
this will need to be edited. Furthermore, it does not seem possible for
both MultiFS and the PC Emulator to access the same hard disc at the
same time, MultiFS produces an error message that the: “Hard disc
file....is in use by another application”.
5.3
MultiFS compares very favourably with the other desktop DOS utilities
that I have used previously: PC Dir (from Keith Sloan, latest version on
Careware 7) and PC-Access (from Minerva Software). Trying to run all
three products alongside each other is not to be recommended since they
appear to ‘clash’ in a variety of ways. PC-Access appears to have more
functionality than PC Dir, and in turn MultiFS appears to have the edge
in terms of features over PC-Access.
5.3
Installation
5.3
Whilst installation of either PC Emulator is basically straightforward,
it is a task that is best undertaken with the PC Emulator Guide to hand;
the manual has a specific section detailing the upgrade procedure.
5.3
For users of floppy discs, it is simply a question of updating the
!System and !Fonts applications using the !Merge application, included
on both PC Emulator discs, and then using the appropriate new emulator
disc in place of the old one. The !Fonts application is only included
with the “large” emulator and is used when operating within the RISC-OS
desktop.
5.3
For users with a hard disc, the procedure is still relatively straight
forward. Although the manual indicates that the old PC Emulator and its
associated files can be deleted at the start of the upgrade process, I
was more cautious and chose to defer this until I was satisfied that I
had completed the upgrade process correctly!
5.3
Having updated the !System and !Fonts applications and determined
whether to install the “small” or “large” emulator, its files are copied
to a suitable directory. If you are upgrading, you are warned not to
create a DOS hard disc file as you already have one. The PC Emulator is
now loaded (by double-clicking on its icon) onto the icon bar and the
existing path-name typed into the Hard disc drive file box of the
Configuration menu; this configuration is then saved, which should allow
the PC Emulator to start from the existing hard disc partition. Version
1.33 set a limit of 32Mbytes for each hard disc; although there is no
mention in the documentation for the new version of a similar limit, I
understand from Acorn that it does still apply. For obvious reasons, I
did not amend the size of my existing hard disc partition!
5.3
If you are installing the PC Emulator for the first time on a hard disc
there are four stages involved:
5.3
1.    Creating a RISC-OS file for use as a PC hard disc.
5.3
2.    Partitioning the PC hard disc for DOS.
5.3
3.    Formatting the PC hard disc.
5.3
4.            Copying the DOS files onto the hard disc.
5.3
Configuration
5.3
The inclusion of this menu option (only available when there is no PC
window open), simplifies the task of selecting the various PC Emulator
start-up options. There are five of these which, if changed, need first
to be saved before the appropriate emulator itself is started:
5.3
1.    PC RAM size. The default setting is “All”, which means that the PC
Emulator will emulate a PC with up to 640k memory. However, there does
not appear to be any provision of or support for expanded/extended
memory.
5.3
2.    Erase RISC-OS? This option is only available on the “small” PC
Emulator. This deletes specified RISC-OS modules to maximise the memory
available to DOS; but using this option renders inoperable the very
useful feature of being able to switch between the RISC-OS desktop and
PC environments.
5.3
3.    Floppy disc drives. This allows for additional 3½“ or 5¼” internal
or external drives to be added beyond the default of ‘A’ for the
internal 3½“ drive. If more drives are added than actually exist, an
error message is displayed when the PC Emulator is started that: “More
floppy discs specified than exist”, and any extra drives are ignored.
Although my external 5¼” disc drive is 40/80 track switchable, it is
also possible to edit the Configuration file to ‘DoubleStep’. This means
that I can leave the drive set to 80 track, and it will read/write from/
to DOS 5¼“ 360k (40 track) discs. However, there does not appear to be a
similar ‘DoubleStep’ facility within MultiFS.
5.3
4.    Hard disc drive files. This allows a hard disc drive to be created
or added, and/or existing path-names amended (see Installation above).
5.3
5.    Display adaptors. This option is only available on the “large” PC
Emulator. There are four basic types of display adapter available: MDA
(b/w), CGA, EGA and EGA+ (VGA), each of which uses increasing amounts of
memory. Within the EGA option, there are additional sub-options for EGA
monitor (normal or multisync) and EGA memory (64k, 128k or 256k). The
Task display indicates that the memory in use by the “large” PC Emulator
application can range from 1440k (MDA/CGA) to 1728k (EGA+), for the
“small” application it is 960k; these are based on a configuration of
the full 640k emulated PC memory.
5.3
In use
5.3
Running either the “large” or “small” PC Emulator is straightforward.
Its icon is first double-clicked and loaded onto the icon bar; selecting
this icon then displays the PC screen in a window (“large” PC Emulator)
or displays the PC screen in full (“small” PC Emulator). Users with
floppy discs will then need to insert the DOS system disc (to boot DOS
and obtain the A> prompt); users with a hard disc should find that DOS
should boot automatically (leaving them at the C> prompt).
5.3
However, I found that forgetting to switch on the external 5¼“ drive
connected to my Archimedes caused the PC Emulator to ‘freeze’ with a
blank PC window until any key is pressed and then the usual DOS prompt
of C> appeared; this is apparently caused by DOS searching through each
drive in turn for a ‘bootable’ disc. Furthermore, it is important to
leave the floppy disc drive(s) empty when booting DOS from a hard disc,
otherwise a: “Non system disc or disc error....” message will appear.
5.3
From the icon bar, there are a number of menu options: Info, Configura
tion (see above) and Quit are common to both emulators. Additionally,
once the “large” PC Emulator has been started, there are options to
Single task or Freeze the emulator. The latter ‘pause’ option, which is
also automatically selected if the PC window is closed, means that any
RISC-OS tasks will run somewhat faster; this can then be cancelled by
clicking on the PC Emulator icon to re-open the PC window.
5.3
Having selected the Single task option, it is then possible to switch
back to multi-tasking by clicking the middle mouse button (the same
method is used to switch from the PC screen of the “small” PC Emulator
to the RISC-OS desktop). The PC Emulator Guide states that: “When
running in Single task mode, the emulator will run slightly faster.
Screen updates in particular will be faster”. By way of illustration,
the following table shows the time taken to load a PC spreadsheet
program, to load a 100k file into it, and to re-calculate a simple 5,000
cell spreadsheet. All timings were based on loading from 3½“ floppy disc
and using desktop mode 15 (on an Archimedes not fitted with an ARM3
upgrade), timings for the previous version 1.33 are also included for
interest. (See table below.)
5.3
Whilst these are by no means comprehensive benchmarks; they do indicate
broadly comparable timings except when using multi-tasking operation
and/or the higher resolution PC graphics modes. It does not seem
possible to have more than one PC window open at once; trying to load a
second version of the emulator from a hard disc produces the error
message that the: “Hard disc....cannot be opened....”. Even trying to
load a second version of the PC Emulator from floppy disc fails,
irrespective of whether it is loaded before or after the hard disc
version, since no form of keyboard input appears to be possible in
either PC window.
5.3
Whilst the DOS screen colours are reproduced correctly when single-
tasking, this is not always the case when operating within the RISC-OS
desktop, particularly when using a 16 colour mode; this is less
noticeable in a 256 colour mode. I also found it necessary to alter the
horizontal/vertical control settings on my multi-sync monitor to obtain
a proper display of the higher resolution PC graphics modes. Obviously,
I had never needed to use its VGA setting before!
5.3
Once the PC Emulator has loaded the PC environment, you are largely on
your own as far as the Acorn documentation is concerned; but it would be
unreasonable to expect Acorn to provide a step-by-step DOS tutorial.
There are a few pages outlining the more commonly used DOS commands, and
one appendix in the PC Emulator Guide contains a list of suggested
“Further reading”.
5.3
In addition, the Acorn DOS Support Disc provides a Microsoft compatible
mouse device driver; unfortunately none of my (limited) range of PC
software uses a mouse, so I have been unable to try this out. The same
disc also includes the GETFILE and PUTFILE utilities for transferring
files from/to RISC-OS/DOS; but, in practice, I imagine that most users
may well find the MultiFS application more convenient. Not having a CD-
ROM unit, I have not had the opportunity to try out the CD-ROM Support
Disc.
5.3
Use with 40/80 track drives
5.3
In addition to the ‘DoubleStep’ facility already mentioned under
Configuration; DOS also provides a command − DRIVPARM − to control the
configuration of floppy disc drives. There is a brief note in the
Upgrade Kit Release Note referring to this command, with particular
reference to formatting discs from within MS-DOS version 3.21. In case
it may be of interest, part of my CONFIG.SYS file includes the following
commands:
5.3
DRIVPARM=/D:0/F:2/H:2/S:9/T:80
5.3
DRIVPARM=/D:1/F:0/H:2/S:9/T:40 where: D (drive) is a number with 0
corresponding to A, 1 to B etc.
5.3
F (format) is 0 for 360k, 2 for 720k.
5.3
H (heads) is the number of heads − usually 2 for double sided.
5.3
S (sectors) is the sectors per track − 9 for both 360k and 720k.
5.3
T (tracks) is the tracks per side − 40 for 360k and 80 for 720k.
5.3
In other words, I have set up the internal 3½“ disc drive to read/write
from/to DOS 720k (80 track) discs and the external 5¼” drive to read/
write from/to DOS 360k (40 track) discs.
5.3
Conclusion
5.3
With access to only a limited range of PC software, I am not in a
position to give a view on compatibility. However, Acorn provide a list
of the more significant PC applications that have been tested success
fully with the PC Emulator (including DBase IV, Excel, Symphony, Ventura
2.0 and Wordstar V6); they also provide a further listing of some
software requiring specific configuration (including Windows 3, under
EGA+) and a note of a few programs which do not work at all under the
emulator. Acorn also provide a technical description of the emulated PC,
in case it is required for specific PC programs’ installation routines.
5.3
Without a doubt, version 1.60 of the PC Emulator offers significant
advantages over earlier versions, including: better documentation,
easier configuration, multi-tasking operation (plus a ‘clean’ return to
the desktop from single-tasking) and emulation of additional PC graphics
modes. At an upgrade price of £34.08 (including VAT) from Acorn Direct
(for existing owners of the MS-DOS version), and with MultiFS included
‘free’, it seems a real bargain. The new price of the PC Emulator
(through Archive) is £96.  A
5.3

5.3
Fact-File
5.3

5.3
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
5.3

5.3
4th Dimension     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.3
4mation    11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (0271−25353) (−22974)
5.3
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
5.3
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (−210685)
5.3
Ace Computing (p10)    27 Victoria
Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223−322559) (−69180)
5.3
Aleph One Ltd    The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(0223−811679) (−812713)
5.3
Alpine Software    P.O.Box 25, Portadown, Craigavon, BT63 5UT.
(0762−342510)
5.3
Arnor Ltd    611 Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 3HA. (0733−68909) (−67299)
5.3
Arxe Systems Ltd    P.O.Box 898, Forest Gate, London E7 9RG. (081−534−1198
evenings)
5.3
Atomwide Ltd    23 The Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689−838852)
(−896088)
5.3
Baildon Electronics    1 Fyfe
Crescent, Baildon, Shipley, W Yorks BD17 6DR. (0274−580519) (−531626)
5.3
Chalksoft    P.O. Box 49, Spalding, Lincs, PE11 1NZ. (0775−769518)
5.3
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606−48511)
(−48512)
5.3
Colton Software (p20)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (−312010)
5.3
Computer Concepts (p32/33)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (−231632)
5.3
Dalmation Publications    37 Manor
Road, Teddington, Middlesex  TW11 8AA.
5.3
David Pilling    P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
5.3
Digital Services    9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS.
(0705−210600) (−210705)
5.3
DT Software    13 Northumberland Road, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32
6HE.
5.3
DT Software    FREEPOST, Cambridge CB3 7BR. (0223−841099)
5.3
I-APL Ltd     2 Blenheim Road, St Albans, AL1 4NR.
5.3
Ian Copestake Software    10 Frost
Drive, Wirral, L61 4XL. (051−632−1234)(−3434)
5.3
IFEL (p18)    36 Upland Drive, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 6BD. (0752−847286)
5.3
Longman-Logotron    124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4
4ZS. (0223−425558) (−425349)
5.3
LOOKsystems (p9)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (−764011)
5.3
Morley Electronics     Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29 7TY. (091−257−6355)
(−6373)
5.3
Oak Solutions (p6)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274−620423) (−620419)
5.3
Oregan Developments     36 Grosvenor
Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield, B74 3PE.
5.3
Ray Maidstone (p15)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603−407060) (−417447)
5.3
RISC Developments Ltd    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (−60263)
5.3
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666−840433) (−840048)
5.3
Southern Printers    47 Drake Road, Willesborough, Ashford, Kent TN24 0UZ.
(0233−633919)
5.3
Spacetech (p16)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.3
Techsoft UK Ltd (p19)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 4DA. (082−43318)
5.3
Technomatic    468 Church Lane, London, NW9 8UF. (081−205−9558) (−0190)
5.3
The Really Good Software Company    P.O.Box 60,
Ashton-under-Lyme, OL5 9WW.
5.3
Trail Software    P.O. Box 283, London, SW11 2LL.
5.3
Turcan Research Systems    83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071−625−8455)
5.3
Watford Electronics    250 Lower
High Street, Watford, WD1 2AN. (0923−37774) (−33642)
5.3
Word Processing (p29)    65 Milldale
Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, W Midlands  WV10 6LR.
5.3

5.3

5.3
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
5.3

5.3
PC Emulator version:    v1.33
v1.60       <−−−−−−−− v1.60 “large” −−−−−−−−>
5.3
        “small”         CGA    EGA(256k)  EGA(256k)    EGA+
5.3
                normal    m/sync
5.3
Load spreadsheet program:
5.3
single-task     39s     37s     36s
37s     38s     38s
5.3
multi-task    -     -     39s
39s     39s     40s
5.3
Load 100k file:
5.3
single-task     1m 00s     1m 03s
1m 03s     1m 03s     1m 10s     1m 18s
5.3
multi-task    -     -     1m 21s
1m 21s     1m 21s     1m 21s
5.3
Re-calculate 5,000 cell spreadsheet:
5.3
single-task     28s     28s     28s
28s     32s     38s
5.3
multi-task    -     -     38s
38s     39s     39s
5.3

5.3
    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA. (0305−822753)


Archimedes − The DTP machine
5.4
Outside the Acorn world, if you mention desktop publishing, people’s
thoughts automatically go to Apple Mac. Yes, you can do DTP on lots of
other machines, but the Mac is the benchmark against which all others
are judged.
5.4
Having been involved with the Apple Mac for over five years, I am well
aware of the Macs’ DTP capabilities. I know what we are up against, but
I feel very strongly that Archimedes computers, software and peri
pherals, could challenge the dominance of the Mac, at least in the UK.
5.4
I say “could challenge” because it’s one thing to know that £4,000 can
buy you an A5000 DTP system equivalent to a Mac system costing over
£10,000, but it’s another thing to get the message across to people who
have never even heard of Acorn, let alone the A5000.
5.4
Norwich Computer Services is only a very small company but we are doing
what we can to spread the gospel of Archimedes DTP. We are currently
producing a small, free A5 booklet entitled “Desktop Publishing on
Archimedes Computers”. If you’re thinking of going into DTP yourself, I
think you would find the booklet helpful. Also, if you would like to use
any of these booklets to give to others to help spread the word, just
tell us and we’ll send you as many as you can use. It’s advertising for
us, so we’re happy to stand the cost.
5.4
Acorn DTP System
5.4
Acorn are going to be doing their part to spread the Archimedes DTP
gospel by producing and marketing a complete DTP system. This will be
based round the A540 with a Laser Direct HiRes8 printer and Impression
(what else?!) but full details have not yet been released.
5.4
Best wishes for 1992!
5.4
All the staff at Norwich Computer Services join together to wish you all
the very best for the New Year. We hope that 1992 will be a very good
year for you all.
5.4
      Adrian, Ali, Ray, Roger, Paul & Sue.
5.4

5.4
Products Available
5.4
•    A5000’s back in stock − The stock situation on A5000’s seems to change
weekly. Anyway, as I write (2/1/92) we have both A5000 Learning Curves
and straight A5000’s without Learning Curves in stock. No, sorry, not
the A5000 1FD (1M no hard drive version). We have some on order but we
gather that Acorn are not releasing any for the foreseeable future. As
far as we know, Acorn are only supplying them to VARs (Value Added
Resellers), i.e. companies who buy them and add their own software and
hardware etc which they then sell as a complete system.
5.4
We can help you in customising by  (a) offering alternative monitors
e.g. we supply an Eizo 9060S for £200 above the price including the
Acorn multi-sync (b) offering a second additional internal 100M IDE
drive for £380 (having tested that it is compatible with the Acorn IDE
interface − see comments on page 12) and (c) offering £100 in part
exchange on a Conner 40M IDE drive (i.e. replace the 40M with 100M for
£280) but this offer is at our discretion as we don’t want to end up
with lots of 40M IDE’s we can’t get rid of. Also, we can offer (subject
to availability) a second additional internal 40M IDE drive for £120
(the extra is to account for extra cabling and labour) but I won’t put
this on the Price List − it’s complicated enough already. If you are
interested, give us a ring. So, based on a Learning Curve pack, here are
the combined prices...
5.4
    2M      4M      8M
5.4
A5000 (40M)    £1799    £1929
£2399
5.4
A5000 (40M + 40M)    £1919    £2049
£2519
5.4
A5000 (100M)    £2079    £2209
£2679
5.4
A5000 (40M + 100M)    £2179
£2309    £2779
5.4
then add £200 if you want an Eizo 9060S instead of an Acorn m/s or £270
if you would prefer a Taxan 795 or £460 for an Eizo 9070 (16“) or £910
if you want an Eizo T560i 17” Trinitron (see below for details).
5.4
•    A5000 Technical reference manuals − Acorn have produced a technical
reference manual for the A5000 which consists of about 40 pages of text
plus 9 A1-size drawings including assembly diagrams, circuit diagrams
and component layouts. The price is £65 from Acorn or £62 through
Archive. (They are in stock now.)
5.4
•    Atomwide 200M SCSI drives − The 200M Pro Quantum drive mechanisms that
Oak Solutions use in their High Speed drives are now available from
Atomwide in their own boxes. I am using one on my A540 and it is
noticeably faster than the 100M Conner in the A540 itself. (1350 kbytes/
sec cf 790 k/sec) The prices, through Archive, are £705 for an internal
drive and £795 for an external. (These prices are without podule.)
5.4
•    Careware and Shareware Four new discs of PD software are available
this month:
5.4
Careware 15 is ‘religious’ clip art: dove, lion, lamb, fish, sheep,
spring lamb, whale, holly, Santa, snowman, snowflakes, tree, 14
different crosses, handshake, open hands, praying hands, anchor, bible,
censor, crown of thorns, handbell, pulpit, scroll, baptism, boy praying,
person kneeling, nun, bishop, singers, robed figure, Bede, Coverdale,
Tyndale, Wycliffe, church yard, lighthouse, Westminster, helmet, inri
scroll, signpost.
5.4
Careware 16 has clip art images from ILEA designed to promote “positive
images” of people of different races, gender, ages and disabilities.
5.4
Shareware 42 has twilight, sun and moon rise/set calculator, gravity
simulator, various blank sheets for personal organiser, clipart
(includes typewriter plus sprites of car, crash, masks, town crier,
tanks, policeman, poundsign, scissors, scouts symbol, world map),
desktop Pacman game, draughts, Escape from Exeria, Guardians of the
Labyrinth, various desktop patterns, wall paper designer(?), address
label database, desktop backdrop, “approximate” clock, current directory
set utility.
5.4
Shareware 43 is a DBK raytracer with demo files. (Members’ prices are £6
for Careware and £3 for Shareware.)
5.4
•    ChartWell is a sophisticated graph and chart package from Risc
Developments. It provides horizontal and vertical bar charts, line
graphs, pie charts, scatter diagrams and polar plots. £29.95 from Risc
Developments Ltd. (Although it has the same address as Beebug Ltd, they
ask us to make clear that this is a separate company.)
5.4
•    Cumana SCSI interfaces − Cumana have now released three SCSI inter
faces: 16 bit internal for A310/400/5000, 16 bit external for A3000 and
8 bit internal for A3000. The prices are £151, £161 and £130 respec
tively (+VAT). One major plus of these interfaces is that they include
CDFS so you won’t need to pay for an upgrade to the software if you buy
a CD-ROM system. (We have one of each for evaluation, so we hope to
check whether, for instance, they will work with Computer Concepts’
ScanLight Professional. A report will, hopefully, appear next month.)
5.4
•    Eizo T560i monitor − If you want a really top-notch 17“ monitor for
the Archimedes, this is it! It’s a Trinitron tube with 0.26mm dot pitch
which, on a 17” monitor is very fine and it has the advantage of the
flat Trinitron tube. However, the best part about it is that it is
(extremely) intelligent. It is microprocessor controlled so what you do
is to teach it any new mode you want to use. With a push button control,
you can adjust brightness, H size, V size, H position, V position, side
pin (to cut out pincushion distortion), trapezoidal (again alters the
shape of the screen), H static convergence and V static convergence.
Then having adjusted each of those parameters for that particular screen
mode, it remembers them so that when the same signal appears again, the
monitor says, “Ah, I know that mode” and displays it exactly as you had
adjusted it. Then you can switch to another mode you use commonly and
adjust that to get optimum use of the screen.
5.4
The price? Oh, yes, the price... “only” £1240 inc VAT and carriage! Is
it worth it? Well, I’m using one at the moment and it is certainly very
impressive but for me personally, the extra £450 over the Eizo 9070
would be difficult to justify. This is partly because I use the same
mode 99.9% of the time, so having to re-adjust the screen when going
from mode to mode doesn’t worry me. Also, the T560i, like the Taxan 875,
can’t quite cope with mode 102 (1152×448) and so you have to use mode
106 (1088×448) i.e. 6% fewer dots across the screen. Still, if you
change modes a lot and especially if you want to use the same monitor on
different types of computer and want the extra resolution then the T560i
is for you.
5.4
(I’ve got one of the new Microvitec 20“ autoscan (microprocessor-
controlled) monitors on order, so I’ll let you know how I get on with
that − the Archive price is likely to be £1590.)
5.4
•    Flight Sim Toolkit − Simis Ltd have released a flight simulator editor
for just £44.95 inc VAT or £42 through Archive. It allows you to produce
your own flight simulations by using a ground editor, a 3D shape editor
for objects like trucks, planes, etc, an aircraft model editor which
controls the plane’s flying characteristics and, finally, a cockpit
editor.
5.4
•    Freddy Teddy is back − Topologika have released a third in the Freddy
Teddy series for infants. This time Freddy Teddy is in The Playground.
The Playground is £29.95 +VAT, which includes a free site licence, or
£32 through Archive.
5.4
•    Hard Disc Companion II − Risc Developments’ update of their hard disc
backup program is now available for £45 +VAT. It is faster than the
original and has many new features including backup to hard drive as an
alternative to floppies, backup certain filetypes only or ignore certain
filetypes. It can also be used for backing up networks. (Their adver
tisements claim that it is “the best selling hard disc backup program”
but I doubt whether, at £45+VAT, they could possibly have sold as many
as Shareware 36 which, at £3, has a hard disc backup as one of its many
programs and utilities.)
5.4
•    Hearsay II − Beebug’s new comms package is now fully multi-tasking.
£75+VAT from Beebug or £82 through Archive. See the review on page 34
for more details.
5.4
•    Morley prices drop − The Morley SCSI disc drives have dropped in price
and the 40M drives have been replaced by 50M. The new prices are given
on the price list but are summarised here in comparison with various
other drives. Atomwide (AW) and Frog drives come without podule and so
can be paired with Oak, Morley uncached (Mu/c) or Morley cached (Mc)
podules. The figures in italic are high speed drives.
5.4
EXTERNAL drives (with podule)
5.4
    WW    HS    Frog    Frog    Frog    AW
AW    AW    Mrly    Mrly
5.4
            Oak    Mu/c    Mc    Oak
Mu/c    Mc    Mu/c    Mc
5.4
45M    500        520    460    510
5.4
50M        560
620    560    610    435    485
5.4
65M            550    490    540
5.4
80M    565
5.4
100M    695    760    620    560    610
790    730    780    570    620
5.4
200M    1060    1180    870    810
860    995    935    985
5.4
300M        2100    1290    1230
1280
5.4
640M        2850    1690    1630
1680
5.4
1000M            2290    2230    2280
5.4

5.4
INTERNAL drives (with podule)
5.4
    WW    HS    Frog    Frog    Frog    AW
AW    AW    Mrly    Mrly
5.4
            Oak    Mu/c    Mc    Oak
Mu/c    Mc    Mu/c    Mc
5.4
45M    405        490    430    480
5.4
50M        470
535    475    525    360    410
5.4
65M            520    460    510
5.4
80M    450
5.4
100M    570    660    590    530    580
700    640    690    570    620
5.4
200M    995    1090    840    780
830    905    845    895
5.4
•    Prophet − Apricote Studio’s combined Stock Control, Invoicing and
Accounts program is called “Prophet”. (I’m sure there is a good reason
for the name though it escapes me at the moment unless it relates to the
biblical quote, “and behold, he shall make a great prophet”!) The price
is £169.95 from Apricote or £157 through Archive. If you already have
either Account Book or Invoice Program, you can get the full package for
£69.95 from Apricote and if you have both, it will cost you just £39.95.
5.4
•    ScanLight prices drop − With the coming of the ScanLight Professional,
Computer Concepts have dropped the price of the A4 Scanlight to £399
+VAT with sheetfeeder and £299 without. (Archive prices are £435 and
£325 respectively.) They have also dropped the Price of ScanLight Junior
(not the 256 version) to £129 +VAT or £140 through Archive. There is
also an upgrade to the software which offers improved grey-map control
using a bezier curve along with simpler brightness and contrast
controls. It now also includes image enhancement functions such as
sharpening. CC claim that ScanLight is the only scanner software that
offers realtime greyscale dithering of images to produce near photo
graphic on-screen representations. This software upgrade will be
available to all existing ScanLight owners free of charge.
5.4
N.B. ScanLight Professional only works reliably with certain SCSI
controller boards − Acorn, Morley and Lingenuity. In some cases, it
works OK with the Oak SCSI board and CC are actively trying to get it so
that it works consistently with Oak boards. However, they are NOT
working on any others because they are not Acorn compatible. It does NOT
work with the TechnoSCSI board. ScanLight Professional is available
through Archive at £970 inc VAT or £1070 with a SCSI podule.
5.4
•    ScreenTurtle − Topologika’s latest release is a “friendly” turtle
graphics program called ScreenTurtle. It uses a parser so that if it
doesn’t know the command you type in, it guesses! It has on-screen
interactive help and it ‘ticks’ commands that it likes. As well as the
standard Logo features, it has absolute directions, “BEARING” and
“HEADING”, as well as positive and negative Cartesian co-ordinates. To
extend turtle graphics into the realm of art, there is a turtle
generated colour FILL as well as a mouse controlled PAINT. The price is
£39.95 +VAT from Topologika or £43 through Archive.
5.4
•    Software from Germany − There is a thriving Archimedes software
industry in Germany. One example of this is Klein Computers from
Ruesselsheim, near Frankfurt. They have developed five items of
Archimedes software: MouseRecorder (£25) for creation of demos, BestForm
(£49) which is a formula-editor for DTP, 2D/3D FunctionPlotter (£20)
which includes Drawfile output, G-Draft (£49) a CAD package and HD-
Backup (£10) which includes other disc utilities. All these prices
exclude VAT which, presumably, would be charged by customs on entry to
UK, though small items are often ignored, I think. Klein computers would
prefer a Eurocheque written in DM (but who, in the UK, uses Eurocheques?
even in 1992!). (A demo of BestForm appears on the monthly program
disc.)
5.4
•    TinyLogo/TinyDraw is now available from Topologika in a new version
(at the same price of £29.95 +VAT or £32 through Archive) which includes
adjustable shapes, colours preserved on export, undo, error checking, 3
pencil thicknesses etc. An upgrade for existing users is available for
£5 +VAT (+ £1.50 p&p) if you send back your old disc plus proof of
purchase to Topologika (not to Archive).
5.4
•    !Transfer is a new utility which will allow you to transfer text from
any icon in any RISC-OS application to any other. This has many
applications − for example, you could grab a name and address from a
database and drag it straight into a wordprocessor. !Transfer is just
£8.95 from Apricote Studios or £8 through Archive.
5.4
•    Typestudio is Risc Developments new text effects package which allows
you to draw and edit text, save in Draw or internal formats, print using
RISC-OS drivers and add or remove effects. These effects include
moulding to shapes, flowing along lines, shadowing, slanting, 3D and
mirroring. All this for just £45 +VAT.
5.4
Review software received...
5.4
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
CalcSheet (needs a second reviewer to act as “referee”), Landmarks
Victorians and RainForest also need a “referee”. Converta-Key, Fun &
Games, !BasShrink, Holed Out Compendium, SmArt Graphics System.  A
5.4

5.4
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.4
How many New Year’s Resolutions did you make this year? The New Year is
a great opportunity for making a new start, turning over a new leaf etc,
etc. The trouble is, we all know what happens... within a few days (or
hours?) we slip back into whatever it was we decided we would avoid.
Hmmm!
5.4
The basic problem is that although we know what we ought to do, it’s
just such jolly hard work trying to do it. Even though we know in theory
that, in the long run, things will be better for us and for those around
us if we take a particular course of action, we so often go for the
easiest way in the short term − and suffer the consequences later.
5.4
This is where the Christian message is such good news. Firstly, it gives
us a motive for doing what is right − when we discover how much God
loves us and we grow to love him too, we want to do things to please
him. Secondly, if you think that Christians seem to have an inner
strength, you’re absolutely right! It sounds fantastic, but Jesus said
he would live in us and Christians will testify that, with God living in
them, they can do things that would be impossible without God’s
strength.
5.4
I pray that, in 1992, you will discover more of the love and power of
God that is found in Jesus Christ!
5.4

5.4

5.4
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
5.4

5.4
4th Dimension     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.4
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
5.4
Academic Software    Sourby Old Farm, Timble, Otley, Yorks, LS21 2PW.
(0943−88−628)
5.4
Acorn Direct    13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
5.4
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (210685)
5.4
Acorn Training Centre    Unit 5,
Cambridge Technopark, 645 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8PB.
(0223−214411)
5.4
Ace Computing    27 Victoria Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223−322559)
(69180)
5.4
Aleph One Ltd    The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(0223−811679) (812713)
5.4
Apricote Studios    2 Purls Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire, PE15 0ND.
(035−478−432)
5.4
Arxe Systems Ltd    P.O.Box 898, Forest Gate, London E7 9RG. (081−534−1198
evenings)
5.4
Atomwide Ltd    23 The Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689−838852)
(896088)
5.4
Baildon Electronics    1 Fyfe
Crescent, Baildon, Shipley, W Yorks BD17 6DR. (0274−580519) (531626)
5.4
Base5 (p22)    PO Box 378, Woking, Surrey GU21 4DF.
5.4
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727−40303)
(60263)
5.4
Cambridge International Software      Unit 2a,
Essex Road, London, N1 3QP. (071−226−3340) (226−3408)
5.4
Chalksoft    P.O. Box 49, Spalding, Lincs, PE11 1NZ. (0775−769518)
5.4
CJE Micros    78 Brighton Road, Worthing, W Sussex, BN11 2EN.
(0903−213361)
5.4
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606−48511)
(48512)
5.4
Colton Software (p21)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (312010)
5.4
Computer Concepts (p32/33)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (231632)
5.4
David Pilling    P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
5.4
DT Software    13 Northumberland Road, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32
6HE.
5.4
GL Consulting Ltd    8 Agates Lane, Ashtead, Surrey, KT21 2NF.
(0372−272937) (279362)
5.4
Godders Ware    13 Prestbury Close, Blackpole Village, Worcester, WR4 9XG.
5.4
Irlam Instruments    133 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4HN.
(0895−811401)
5.4
Klein Computers    Hasslocherstrasse 73, D-6090 Ruesselsheim, Germany.
(010−49−6142−81131) (81256)
5.4
Krisalis Software    Teque House, Mason’s Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate,
Rotherham, S60 2HD. (0709−372290)
5.4
Lingenuity (Lindis)    P.O.Box 10,
Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 0DX. (0986−85−476) (460)
5.4
Longman-Logotron    124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4
4ZS. (0223−425558) (425349)
5.4
LOOKsystems (p7)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (764011)
5.4
Microvitec Ltd    Bolling Road, Bradford, BD4 7TU. (0274−390011)
(734944)
5.4
Minerva Systems    Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(0392−437756) (421762)
5.4
Morley Electronics     Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29 7TY. (091−257−6355)
(6373)
5.4
Next Technology Ltd    St John’s
Innovation Centre, Cambridge, CB4 4WS. (0223−420222)
5.4
Pedigree Films Ltd    Unit B11,
Trinity Business Centre, 305 Rotherhithe Street, London  SE16 1EY.
(071−231−6137) (237−5776)
5.4
Ray Maidstone (p22)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603−407060) (417447)
5.4
RISC Developments Ltd    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (60263)
5.4
Serious Statistical Software    Lynwood,
Benty Heath Lane, Willaston, South Wirral, L64 1SD. (051−327−4268)
5.4
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666−840433) (840048)
5.4
Simis Ltd    26 Chittys Walk, Keens Park, Guildford, GU3 3HW. (0483−233048)
(235275)
5.4
Software Solutions    Broadway
House, 149−151 St Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ.
(0954−211760) (211760)
5.4
Spacetech (p8)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.4
Technomatic    468 Church Lane, London, NW9 8UF. (081−205−9558) (0190)
5.4
Topologika (p15)    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL.
(0733−244682)
5.4
Watford Electronics    250 Lower
High Street, Watford, WD1 2AN. (0923−37774) (33642)
5.4
Word Processing    65 Milldale Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, W
Midlands  WV10 6LR.
5.4

5.4

5.4
Computer Concepts
5.4
From 5.3 page 32
5.4

5.4
Computer Concepts
5.4
From 5.3 page 33
5.4

5.4
Hints and Tips
5.4
•    A5000 monitor problem − One problem which various people seem to have
had with the Acorn A5000 monitors is intermittent contact on the mains
cable but the solution is simple. When you plug the power cable into the
monitor, it seems to go in but actually, to get it fully home, you have
to push it very firmly.
5.4
•    Draw files in Impression − Did you know that when using Draw files in
Impression frames, it is possible to “zoom” in on a part you want to
concentrate on and bring it up to “fill the frame”? This means you can,
for example, call up a file of, say, a fruit filled bowl and then choose
the apple to fill the space available in your document or show a group
of cartoon figures and, in the next frame, have a “close up” of one
face. Since Draw files are capable of incredible scaling, their should
be no real loss of detail involved.
5.4
The procedure is simple. Create a frame for the draw file. Open the
directory containing the Draw file. Drag it into the frame in the usual
way. Changing the shape of the frame with its handles using <select>
will “crop” the picture until only the part you require is visible. Then
enlarge the frame using the adjust button on the corner handles. The
cropped picture will “grow” with your mouse movements. (Well, stone me!
I didn’t know that! Please keep sending these “obvious” hints − they are
not obvious to everyone. Ed.)
5.4
Incidentally, don’t try moving a frame containing a Draw file around the
page using the usual method of pointing inside it, holding down <select>
and waiting for the blue lines to appear. If you don’t wait quite long
enough, the graphic moves inside the frame and bang goes your careful
alignment! Instead, hold down <ctrl> when you press <select> and the
frame can be moved safely and immediately. Kevin Beales, Shropshire.
(The latter hint was also sent in by Johannes Thordarson of  Ice
land.)  A
5.4

5.4
Small Ads
5.4
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what “small”
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.4
•    A310 base unit + 2nd external 3½“ drive and interface (Technomatic)
£600. Microvitec 1451 monitor £150. Phone 081−391−2582 evenings.
5.4
•    Apocalypse £15 o.n.o., Drop Ship £10, StarTrader £6, E-Type £10. Phone
Simon on 0654− 791−671.
5.4
•    Archeffect for FX, manual & disc. Beebug’s serial link & disc. Any
reasonable offers. Phone Stephen on 0843−298902.
5.4
•    Pace Series 4 2400S modem (Hayes V21/23/22/22bis) £130 or part
exchange for Eizo 9060S or similar. Might consider swap for fast 40/50M
ST506 drive. Phone Chris on 0271−850355.
5.4
•    Recent graduate, programmer, keen on Archimedes, very good knowledge
of C, Basic + ARM code, seeks employment, anywhere. Unemployed but very
employable, just what you need. Will send full C.V. on request. Phone
0245−74402.
5.4
•    Serial Port joystick interface £18. Blowpipe £6. inc post. Phone K.
Beales on 0746−862011.
5.4
•    Wanted for A3000 − hard disc (80M +) preferably SCSI, LinCAD or Solid
Tools and CGI Genlock. Contact Neal on 0734−420836.
5.4
•    Wanted for A310 − hard disc plus interface, IFEL bplane, PipeDream,
Impression, Multisync monitor. Phone 0442−67952 eves/weekends.
5.4
•    Wanted − Computer Concepts ROM/RAM podule. Martin Zanders, Snippes
traat 19, 8450, Bredene, Belgium.
5.4
Charity Sales − The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money − ring us on 0603−766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
5.4
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
5.4
Arcade 3 £6, Corruption £5, Acorn DTP £20, Tempest DTP £20, Lemmings
£18, Pacmania £12, Euclid £15, Superior Golf £8, Interdictor 1 £5,
Trivial Pursuit £10, Saloon Cars £19, DiscTree £9.  A
5.4

5.4
Help!!!!
5.4
•    Italian Archimedes needed − Christian Ghezzi is trying to get hold of
a second hand A310 or A410 but is finding it difficult as he lives in
Italy. Can anyone help him? Write to him at Via B. da Urbino 2 − 20035
Lissone (MI), Italy.
5.4
•    PC emulator compatibility − If anyone can tell us of programs that do
or do not work under PC emulator versions 1.6 or 1.7, would they please
send the information to Mike Clinch who has agreed to collate all the
information for us. Please send him as much detail about version numbers
of software and what configuration you were using including the version
of DOS. Mike Clinch, 2 Parkhurst Road, Bexley, Kent, DA5 1AR. (No phone
calls, please.)  A
5.4

5.4
Comment Column
5.4
•    A310 + ARM3  − I have recently had my A310 fitted with a CJE Micros’
ARM3 and a MEMC1a. I thought about it for some time because of the price
and whether it was worth fitting one to my machine (which has a hard
disc and 4 MB of RAM) because the arrival of the A5000 has reduced its
second-hand value further, from about £500 to £200! However, the price
of the upgrade has fallen to £293 and so I took the plunge. (It’s now
down to £225 through Archive. Ed.) I was especially keen to get fonts
cached faster and Draw files drawn faster. I haven’t seen any published
figures for the speed increases for actual documents etc. so I have done
some myself.
5.4
The times in seconds with ARM3 cache off and on are as follows:
5.4
Cache       Fonts   Draw files  Multistore
5.4
Off    31.4    15.8    144
5.4
On    9.2    5.0    71
5.4
Ratio    3.45    3.12    2.04
5.4
All were taken in Mode 78 (a 192k Computer Concepts mode). The speed of
the A310 with cache off is about 10% faster than a plain A310 without
MEMC1a, so the above speed increases of my upgraded machine should be
increased by a further 10% when comparing with a plain A310. The fonts
times are for caching them in RAM in a test Impression file with many
sizes of Trinity and Homerton characters, the RAM font cache of the
Archimedes being cleared before each test. The Draw files were a
miscellany of designs that took a long time to draw. The Multistore test
was a search of an 800-record file. (Indeed, the continuous browse went
too fast to see each record as it whizzed past − I had to turn the ARM3
cache off!) The increase in speed in these tests and in real documents
and various programs is very great indeed, and sufficient to effectively
get rid of the irritating delays while fonts cache and Draw files draw.
5.4
But everything goes faster: sliding across Wimp menus; moving windows;
calling up dialogue boxes; paging documents; loading !PrinterDM and
running Mandelbrot (both much faster), etc. The ARM3 comes with a module
that must be run and can be included in your !Boot file. I recommend the
upgrade.
5.4
One drawback, though, is that some A310s (e.g. mine!) and A540s have a
problem in coping with printing at the high speed of the ARM3. Lines are
split horizontally, in e.g. Paint and Impression. A free modification is
available. In the meantime, if this afflicts you, choose File on
!PrinterDM (reached by clicking <menu> on the !PrinterDM icon) and type
a path and file name. “Print” with the cache on. Then, switch the cache
off, reset !PrinterDM to Parallel (or Serial if it was that before),
drag the new file to the PrinterDM icon and it will print properly.
However, the length of an A4 document saved at 360×360 dots resolution
exceeds the capacity of a floppy, so use your hard disc or reduce the
resolution.)
5.4
I have had two demonstrations of RISC-OS 3 on a friend’s A5000. It
certainly has some nice enhancements but I do not think that it is a
very big improvement on RISC-OS 2. In any case, it is reported that it
will be available for A300 machines in the summer for about £50. (I
heard it was going to be more like £100 but less for education. Ed.) All
this therefore leads me to conclude that you should consider an ARM3
upgrade before exchanging your A300 range machine for an A5000. Steve
Kirkby, Sutton.
5.4
•    A5000 Hard Disc crash − Users of A5000’s (and anyone using RISC-OS 3
on other machines − legally or illegally!) ought to know that we have
had two occurrences now of hard discs being made completely unreadable −
all data lost! We don’t yet know what is causing it but I’ll tell you
the circumstances in which it happened so that (a) you can try and avoid
it happening to you and (b) you can report to us any similar experiences
you have had which might help us to track down the problem.
5.4
In both cases (one was us and the other was one of our contributors) the
map and root directory of the hard disc was over-written with rubbish so
that the system said something like, “I don’t recognise that kind of
disc”. In one case it was an A5000 and the other was an A540 running a
development version of RISC-OS 3. The common factors were that it was a
removable hard drive running on Oak’s SCSI interface (version 1.16
software). We reported the problem to Acorn but their response was that
it was probably a code clash with Oak’s software and that they should
look into it before Acorn would get involved. With holidays and their
move to new premises, Oak haven’t yet responded to our report of the
problem.
5.4
Our only other clue was the, in our case, the drive was OK before we
pressed <ctrl-break> but not afterwards.
5.4
•    A5000 (again) − (We have had another A5000 first impressions report
sent in (no more, please unless you really have something new to add!)
and so I have chopped it down dramatically, leaving only those bits
which I don’t think have been said before. The result may be rather
disjointed but I’d rather do that than waste valuable space repeating
other people’s eulogies. By the way, has anyone got any NEGATIVE things
to say about the A5000? Ed.)
5.4
I really am impressed at how professional the system is in terms of
presentation. If this had been my first computer it would have been so
easy and it certainly beats setting up certain video recorders! Acorn
have achieved a Macintosh-like ‘plug-in and go’ convenience with this
machine (and that is intended to be high praise).
5.4
Tony liked Draw’s interpolation ability and produced this very simple
but effective graphic...
5.4
Here are some bits and pieces which Tony found interesting:
5.4
Filer_OpenDir has been fixed so that it properly processes its argu
ments. There is no longer any need for silly Alias$ variables to make it
work. It also permits a whole host of options about the window’s
appearance and size.
5.4
There are new commands, Filer_Boot and Filer_ Run which, when applied to
applications in an Obey file, prevent the delay of the remainder of the
Obey file until after the application’s termination (more flexible than
DeskTop -file).
5.4
There is, at last, a Mode command.
5.4
The system is supplied with a data compression program called Squash
(yet another LZW implementation) which is simply a front end to a RISC-
OS 3 module, a sign of things to come?
5.4
Configure allows the setting of a PrinterBuffer size − I presume that
this works.
5.4
Clicking <select> on the task manager icon (now an acorn) opens the task
display.
5.4
The Cache command controls the ARM3.
5.4
Draw, Paint etc can have their start-up options customised (so now Draw
can start up with the Selection tool selected!).
5.4
How fast is the A5000? Not breathtakingly so, it must be said. The
following are some comparisons of A5000 and A310 in different modes. The
ARM3‘s ability to cope with higher resolution screen modes is perhaps
the strongest point. (Note that my A310 has a MEMC1a which gives it 10%
more speed − the same as an A3000.) The test used the standard Dhrystone
program as supplied with Acorn’s C compiler and compiled using the
Version 4 compiler. The timings are kDhrystones per second over 100,000
iterations.
5.4
Mode    Size    A310  A5000(1) A5000(2)   Norm.
5.4
0    20k    6.0    6.8    18.6    100%
5.4
12    80k    5.2    6.2    18.1    97%
5.4
15    160k    4.2    5.4    17.2
92%
5.4
28    300k    −     3.7    15.6
84%
5.4
The A5000(1) column is with cache disabled, giving an ARM2 equivalent.
The difference from the A310 presumably being accounted for by the
A5000‘s faster RAM. In the A5000(2) column, the 3× to 4× ARM3 benefit is
as expected. The Norm. column expresses the A5000(2) column normalised
against Mode 0 (=100%). While the A5000(1) column is almost halved (55%)
by the move from Mode 0 to Mode 28 the ARM3 cache holds up 84% perfor
mance − impressive.
5.4
Here are some acknowledged bugs:
5.4
The Squash utility is noted in the Release Notes as having a “rare
problem” causing it to corrupt certain repetitive files. However, this
refers to version 0.26 and my machine came with version 0.28 which
postdates the Release Notes so it may have been fixed.
5.4
A late addition to the Release Notes (which was dated November!)
recommends inhibiting ADFS file buffers via the command...
5.4
Configure ADFSBuffers 0
5.4
to avoid a “slight chance” of data corruption or errors. This will slow
Hard Disc performance on randomly accessed files.
5.4
From experience so far, the system is reasonably robust. I experienced a
(non-repeatable) crash with Maestro and background-processing and have
had slightly odd filer operations on a couple of occasions.
5.4
The jury is still out on the floppy drive on my machine. I have had a
single failure of background backup (not repeatable) and it resolutely
refuses to read the Lemmings disc with which the A310 has no problems in
either drive.
5.4
JP 150 printer − For me this was a simple ‘freebie’. I saw an unimpres
sive printout at the show and thought little more about it. However, on
trying the machine, I have somewhat revised my opinion. The print
quality is actually very good and certainly rivals 24-pin matrix
printers. ‘Near-laser’ quality is an exaggeration and the ink comes out
damp (beware of smudging) but it is certainly very usable with good
blacks and greys. The small size and quiet operation of the printer are
also attractive as is its genuinely clever physical design (the paper
path is almost straight and all the guides fold up into a small box with
no dust-traps).
5.4
Most of the conclusion has already been said elsewhere. The A5000 is
very much the machine Acorn had to build, using as it does all the
‘current’ technology. RISC-OS 3 is good but not as big a step forward as
RISC-OS 2 was over Arthur (RIP). The IDE disc seems fine in practice (I
had wondered whether I would regret not having SCSI).
5.4
For those committed to Acorn machines, this is a well priced, fast and
friendly machine. If you are not committed to Acorn, the same money will
buy a lot of ’386/’486 PC (if you can cope with MS-DOS full time) or a
decent Mac. The sums don’t do justice to the amount of bundled software
and subsequent prices, in the Acorn world. For me, dedicated Macintosh
fan as I am, I wouldn’t have anything else. Tony Still, Bournemouth
5.4
That last comment is more significant, perhaps, than many people will
realise. As an ex-Mac user myself, I am well aware of what Macs can do
and would say that, in terms of raw power, the A5000 is equivalent to
Macs costing at least twice the price. However, Mac adherents are,
generally, extremely loyal and won’t normally hear of anything that
could rival their beloved machines, so when a Mac user says the A5000 is
good, you’d better believe it! Ed.
5.4
•    Fourth Dimension game problems − I noted that the first item in the
‘Products Available’ column in the December issue of Archive is the
!Configure program from Fourth Dimension.
5.4
I think that it would be as well to warn readers that this is only a fix
for lack of memory. I recently wrote to this company asking for guidance
and information about the program ‘Chocks Away’ which ran very satisfac
torily on my 410/1 (upgraded to 2M) until I bought a Taxan 795 monitor
and fitted the accompanying Atomwide VIDC enhancer. Subsequently, all I
got was a broken up picture.
5.4
The reply from Fourth Dimension consisted of a photocopied sheet
representing the accompanying program as being the cure-all for problems
of varying amounts of memory, various hard disc interfaces, ARM2 or
ARM3, plus third party peripherals such as digitizers, sound samplers,
scanners, etc. which may have been fitted.
5.4
I did not feel particularly confident that this was going to be the
answer to my problem (in spite of having been assured by a 4th Dimension
spokesman, at an earlier show, that they had now bought a Taxan 795 and
were investigating this!) but felt that I had nothing to lose, since I
had already saved my configuration on a similar program. The !reconfig
program was run and, as expected, failed to provide an answer to the
broken picture problem. The standard fix at this point had always been
to reboot the machine which salvaged the screen output. Unfortunately,
the result of reconfiguring the machine had been also to reset the
monitor type to 0 (instead of the required type 1), so that it was now
impossible to read the desktop in order to be able to re-run the
!ConSaver. A frantic period of blind mouse pointing/typing ensued before
sanity was restored. So, multisync users should be warned of the
problems facing them if they use this program!
5.4
What I find so infuriating about the whole thing is that the November
issue of the BBC Acorn User carried a cover disc with a demo version of
‘Chocks Away’ which ran without problem on my set-up. On this showing,
people could buy the program and then subsequently have all manner of
troubles. Does this amount to false representation? Stan Haselton,
Abbots Langley
5.4
We normally advise people that if they are keen to be able to play all
games without problems, the Eizo 9060 is really the only multisync that
is fully usable. All the others (except, I think, the Taxan 770) need a
VIDC enhancer and this can cause problems in some modes with some games.
Ed.
5.4
• IDE review − In addition to John Kortink’s remarks in Archive 5.3,
p.11/12, I would like to quote some results of a large test of several
dozen hard disks in a major German (MS-DOS) computer magazine.
5.4
Amongst other things, they also tested a number of pairs of hard disks
which were mechanically identical differing only in their controllers.
Here are the speeds according to Coretest (kbytes/sec):
5.4
    IDE    SCSI
5.4
Fujitsu 134 M    627    633    +1%
5.4
Fujitsu 171 M    627    633    +1%
5.4
Maxtor 120 M    1222    770    −27%
5.4
Quantum 199 M    1311    992    −24%
5.4
WD 207 M    1957    1711    −13%
5.4
I think that these values show quite clearly that one cannot say that
either of the two controller types is definitely faster; the only valid
statement is that in each case that disk will be faster which has the
better controller; apparently IDE for the Archimedes simply is not yet
so far in its development as SCSI. (Could it be that the above tests
were done on 8-bit interfaces? The Archimedes’ 16-bit SCSI does speed
things up significantly. Ed.)
5.4
The future may well bring IDE disks which will leave the existing SCSI
disks standing! Jochen Konietzko, Koeln, Germany
5.4
• IDE review − I have to write and protest at John Kortink’s rather rude
and, I believe, unfair comments in Archive 5.3, p.11/12. He accused the
Editor of bias − but I cannot detect any − only an opinion based on a
reasoned argument. John seems so obsessed with speed comparisons that he
seems not to have noticed the important lack of common standards in IDE
interfaces. I read most of the published Acorn magazines and have
followed the IDE vs SCSI argument for some time. My feeling has been
that SCSI would be a better interface to install de novo, so the article
only confirmed my views.
5.4
I am changing my 440/1 for an A5000 but need a larger hard drive than
the 40M IDE one supplied. My local dealer has agreed to substitute a
200M IDE drive but is having problems getting his Rodime drives to work
with the Acorn interface − which only proves the point. Dr I G Pace,
Stamford.
5.4
•    PD software − Mike Williams (of Beebug Ltd) writes... I was a little
surprised to see the comment of David Holden (Archive 5.3 p43). He
appears to be critical of Beebug for giving away PD discs free of
charge. I thought the principal of PD software was that the software
itself was not charged for but that it was acceptable to make a charge
for the service provided, which is what we normally do. Indeed, we are
sometimes criticised for levying too high a charge, but we do have to
include VAT and we have to account for the time spent on running the
library at normal salary rates. Now we appear to be criticised for
providing some of our PD discs free!
5.4
But surely David Holden is missing the essential point about PD software
in the comments he makes. I thought authors and PD libraries operated
with the intention of making a wide variety of software available as
freely and cheaply as possible.
5.4
Perhaps you would like to comment on David Holden’s assertions.
5.4
Mike Williams, Beebug (aka Risc Developments Ltd.)
5.4
As far as I am concerned, both David and Mike have missed the point!
Yes, the intent of PD software is to get it distributed as widely and
cheaply as possible but without using it for “commercial gain”. Now, you
don’t have to actually charge money for something to get commercial gain
from it. The question is, “Why are Beebug offering 10 free discs of PD
software with every A5000?”.  If they are doing it out of the goodness
of their hearts to make PD freely available then that is very commend
able. If, however, they are offering the PD discs in order to persuade
people to buy A5000’s from them rather than from someone else, then they
are using the PD authors’ work for their own commercial gain.
5.4
If Beebug really feel that they are making money on their PD software
and want to give some away why don’t they give a free PD disc to each of
their subscribers as Archive did some while ago?
5.4
Also, if Mike wants to talk about the pricing of PD discs, can he really
justify £4 +VAT for each disc? We started off the Archimedes PD movement
nearly four years ago selling discs at £3 each (including VAT) and the
price has never gone up. We too have to pay “normal salary rates” to our
PD librarian. If we charged £4.00 +VAT each, we’d be making, almost £2
profit per disc. If you multiply that by the 10,000 or so PD discs we
sell each year, we could afford a FULL TIME librarian! Ed.  A
5.4

5.4
Phases #2
5.4
Doug Weller
5.4
Phases #2 is the second stage of Northwest SEMERC’s simple word
processor written for teachers of children with special educational
needs. It is called Phases simply because it is being written in phases,
each an upgrade of the one before. It can be used in a variety of ways.
It is a simple word processor comparable with Prompt/Writer or Stylus
for the BBC. It can be used with two columns, graphics and different
print sizes to provide basic DTP, and can have fixed graphics with a
fixed text area to allow it to be used like Caption.
5.4
Using Phases
5.4
Using Phases as a simple WP is very straightforward; double click on the
!Phases icon and the program loads. Then simply click at the Phases icon
on the icon bar and you get a word-processor screen (one size only).
Position the mouse pointer and you can start writing. Press the menu
button and a very simple menu appears, allowing you to save, change the
letter size, the font, print, create a note pad or go to the tool box.
Some of these functions (e.g. letter size) can be accessed through
function keys, and a keystrip is provided. Phases operates in the
current screen mode.
5.4
Fonts
5.4
Five fonts are provided; Ghost, Joined, Jotter (a bit like Homerton)
Jotter Oblique and Script. These can be applied to separate lines or
paragraphs, but not to areas within them. Likewise, any of the six font
sizes (illustrated on the menu in full size) can be applied to any
paragraph or separate line.
5.4
The notepad
5.4
This is just what it says; an area in which notes or ideas can be
stored, and which is saved with the main work. Its most likely use is by
the teacher, for ideas, questions, story starters, etc. The notepad can
be printed out separately from the main screen.
5.4
Screens
5.4
From the toolbox, three screens can be chosen; one column, two columns,
or Front Page, which provides two top lines, one for a large size
heading and the other for the date, price, etc. Below these the page is
set to two columns. This can be very useful in allowing children to do
‘newspaper’ pages for topic work, etc.
5.4
Pictures & graphics
5.4
Ten pictures, up to a maximum of 160k, can be used in any Phases
document, in either !Draw or Paint format. These can be dragged into a
document and then moved or resized. The Toolbox offers a ‘Picture+’
option, which allows copying of a selected picture, for instance to
create a border. Pictures (or text) can be deleted from the Toolbox
menu.
5.4
Saving work and deleting files
5.4
Phases files are saved in the standard fashion, by typing the file name
into a Save as: window and then dragging the icon into a Work directory.
Pressing <F8> provides a simpler method of saving − a window appears
into which the file name can be typed, after which pressing <return> or
clicking on an OK box saves the document in the work folder. Documents
are saved into up to three sub-directories, so to delete files pressing
<menu> over the Phases icon provides a delete files option which can be
used to delete all files associated with a particular document.
Documents can also be saved as ASCII files for importation into other
programs.
5.4
The Designer
5.4
This is Phases’ most powerful feature, allowing the construction of
documents with fixed font types, letter size, page colour, pictures,
etc. For labelling map or filling in forms created in Designer, etc.,
wordwrap can be turned off. Borders can also easily be created within
Designer.
5.4
Printing
5.4
Printing is done from a menu using the normal RISC-OS printer drivers.
The menu allows selected pages to be printed or all pages, and when
using a colour printer, allows the background colour to be omitted.
5.4
Extras
5.4
Phases comes supplied with a work disc with various pictures and ideas
(animals, space travel, transport, a cheque completion exercise, etc.
The Northwest SEMERC has also created a number of supplementary
packages, including a disc with 14 very nice borders. These borders can
be changed easily using the Designer to make smaller borders, or to
change the page, paper and text colours when loaded.
5.4
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
5.4
This supplementary package is based on Eric Carle’s popular picture
book, It contains two concept keyboard overlays and files for each page
of the book. Each Phases file has the appropriate pictures (‘fixed’
using the Designer) and an associated notepad with words the child might
want to use. The pictures are also provided as separate sprites which
could be used in stories,
5.4
Clip Art Disc #1
5.4
This disc includes sprites of flags (b&w and colour), maps, arrows and
pointing hands for use in Phases; very useful indeed if you are short of
clip art.
5.4
Christmas Disc
5.4
Obviously, this is a disc full of Christmas ideas! Story overlays, some
lovely borders, a variety of secular Christmas sprites and enough
sprites to do a fully illustrated version of the nativity are on this
disc. Also included is a letter page for children to use to write to
Santa! An added bonus is some lovely illuminated letter pictures − large
red capitals decorated with snow and holly.
5.4
Summary
5.4
This is a very useful package for young children or older children with
special educational needs. Its price makes it easily affordable. This
very advantage could be a disadvantage if it were seen as a substitute
for a fully fledged word processor such as Pendown or Impression II,
with their search and replace facilities, adjustable page size, spelling
checkers, etc.  Further ‘phases’, however, promise block cut and replace
and the ability to produce some nice cloze procedures. I have only one
niggle about the program, and that is the fact that your !Fonts
directory must include the Jotter font. I couldn’t find this mentioned
in the manual and it took me a while to find out why !Phases kept giving
me an ‘illegal window handle’ message when I tried to load it using my
ordinary !Fonts directory.
5.4
Phases#2 costs £15. Additional discs (Borders, Clip Art, The Very Hungry
Caterpillar, Christmas Disc) each  cost £7.50.  A
5.4

5.4
Topologika
5.4
New
5.4

5.4
Oak SOlutions
5.4
From 5.4 page 6
5.4

5.4
Designer Fractals
5.4
Robert Chrismas
5.4
There are many programs around now which draw fractals. Part of the
fascination of these programs is that the program and data do not seem
to give any indication of the appearance of the fractal. It is fun to
see an unexpected pattern ‘emerging’ from a few fairly simple lines of
code. With a computer, it is easy to produce the picture if you have the
program. However, it is quite a different problem to look at a fractal
and be able to write a program to produce it on your computer screen.
This article will explain how to create ‘designer fractals’.
5.4
More reflective, and perhaps more mathematically inclined, readers may
have paused at the start of this article and thought ‘well I’ve seen
some things called fractals, but I’m not at all sure what one is’. You
may be encouraged by this quotation from the book ‘Fractals Everywhere’,
by the mathematician Michael Barnsley: ‘Fractals are not defined by a
short legalistic statement, but by the many pictures and contexts which
refer to them.’
5.4
Michael Barnsley’s Collage Theorem provides the key to producing our own
fractal designs. In fact, the collage theorem allows us to create
fractals which are ‘close’ to any shape at all. Here we will concentrate
on creating 2D fractals which can be defined by small sets of ‘simple’
transformations.
5.4
Affine transformations
5.4
Affine transformations can stretch, squeeze, rotate, mirror and also
move a shape but they cannot bend or tear it. An affine transformation
(in 2D) can be described with just six numbers. For each point x, y we
calculate a new point x1, y1 as follows:
5.4
x1 = ax + by + e    y1 = cx + dy + f
5.4
Take the co-ordinates of a simple shape and any six values a,b,c,d,e,f,
calculate a new set of co-ordinates using the equations above, plot the
new co-ordinates on squared paper and join up the dots. The shape has
been transformed. One nice thing about affine transformations is that
straight lines stay straight so you only need to work out where the
corners are. If you like, you can take a point somewhere on a line and
transform it just to make sure it ends up on the transformed line.
Likewise points inside the shape stay inside.
5.4
The !Draw program can perform affine transformations on selected
objects, but copying some affine transformations in !Draw requires
careful combination of rotation and enlargement (or reduction) because
in !Draw shapes can only be squashed along the x and y axes.
5.4
Similitudes
5.4
If we restrict a, b, c, d so that
5.4
a = r cos q,  b = − r sin q  c = r sin q  d = r cos q
5.4
the transformation can only move, rotate and reduce or enlarge the
shape. All the angles must stay the same. In fact, the transformation
will enlarge the shape by a factor r and rotate it by an angle q.
5.4
If we use
5.4
a = r cos q   b = r sin q  c = r sin q  d = − r cos q
5.4
then the same applies but we also mirror the shape.
5.4
It is comparatively easy to find the values a, b, c, d, for a similitude
because we can measure the enlargement (r) and the rotation (t). From
these it is easy to calculate the required values. The values e and f
simply move the shape across and up.
5.4
The collage theorem
5.4
The collage theorem says that we can define a fractal ‘close to’ a given
shape by finding a set of transformations of the shape which just cover
the shape. The transformations, which must all reduce the size of the
shape, can overlap.
5.4
Barnsley gives two algorithms for producing fractals described by a set
of transformations. The ‘Random Iteration Algorithm’ is described here.
It takes any point within the fractal and applies one of the transforma
tions (chosen at random) to it. The new point must also lie within the
fractal because the transformation maps the whole fractal onto part of
itself. so the new point is plotted and the process is repeated. This
should take an infinite time to fill in the whole shape, but since
computer pixels are of finite size, a reasonable approximation to the
fractal can be produced in no more than a long time.
5.4
Since it can be hard to find a point within the fractal to start with,
you can start with any point and do about ten iterations before plotting
any points. (Not very rigorous, but it works.)
5.4
The program
5.4
 10 REM >FractalIt3
5.4
 20 REM Robert Chrismas
5.4
 30 REM 19911116
5.4
 40 :
5.4
 50 MODE 0:REM MODE 18 for multisync
5.4
 60 PRINT “Computing Fractals from Iterated Function systems”
5.4
 70 PRINT “======================== =========================”
5.4
 80 PRINT ‘“From an idea in ‘Fractals Everywhere’ by
5.4
 Michael Barnsley”
5.4
 90 PRINT ‘“This program uses the ‘Random Iteration Algorithm described
on p86.“
5.4
100 PRINT ‘“The data lines define a number of sets.”
5.4
110 :
5.4
120 PROCpause
5.4
130 CLS
5.4
140 :
5.4
150 max_dim% = 20
5.4
160 DIM a(max_dim%), b(max_dim%), c(max_dim%), d(max_dim%)
5.4
170 DIM e(max_dim%), f(max_dim%), p(max_dim%)
5.4
180 :
5.4
190 REM Select the right data lines
5.4
200 set% = 1
5.4
210 REPEAT
5.4
220 READ d$
5.4
230 UNTIL d$ = “%”+STR$(set%)
5.4
240 :
5.4
250 READ description$,max_equation%
5.4
260 READ xf,xc,yf,yc : REM transform to screen co-ords
5.4
270 FOR c% = 0 TO max_equation%-1
5.4
280 READ a(c%), b(c%), c(c%), d(c%), e(c%), f(c%), p(c%)
5.4
290 IF c%>0 THEN p(c%)=p(c%-1)+p(c%)
5.4
300 PRINT p(c%)
5.4
310 NEXT c%
5.4
320 REM Next line may suffer from rounding errors, use integers?
5.4
330 IF ABS(p(max_equation%-1)-1)> 0.00001 THEN PRINT“Probabilities don’t
add up to 1”:STOP
5.4
340 :
5.4
360 CLS
5.4
370 PRINT description$
5.4
380 x=0.5: y=0.5: c% = 0
5.4
381 REM q% = equation number
5.4
390 REPEAT
5.4
410 r=RND(1)
5.4
420 q% = -1
5.4
430 REPEAT
5.4
440 q% = q% + 1
5.4
450 UNTIL p(q%)>r
5.4
460 xn=a(q%)*x+b(q%)*y+e(q%)
5.4
470 yn=c(q%)*x+d(q%)*y+f(q%)
5.4
480 x=xn:y=yn
5.4
490 c% = c% + 1
5.4
500 IF c% > 100 THEN POINT x*xf+xc, y*yf+yc
5.4
510 UNTIL INKEY(0)<>-1
5.4
512 *SCREENSAVE fractalsc
5.4
520 END
5.4
530 :
5.4
540 DEF PROCpause
5.4
550 PRINT“Press SPACE”
5.4
560 *FX 15
5.4
570 REPEAT
5.4
580 UNTIL GET$ = “ ”
5.4
590 ENDPROC
5.4
 600 :
5.4
 610 DATA %1
5.4
 620 DATA Sierpinski Triangle,3
5.4
 630 DATA 10, 0, 10, 0
5.4
 640 DATA 0.5, 0, 0, 0.5, 0, 0, 0.33
5.4
 650 DATA 0.5, 0, 0, 0.5, 0,50, 0.33
5.4
 660 DATA 0.5, 0, 0, 0.5, 50,50,0.34
5.4
 670 :
5.4
1150 DATA %2
5.4
1160 DATA “Sea Horse”,2
5.4
1170 DATA 500,500,500,300
5.4
1180 DATA 0.46,-0.4,0.4,0.46,0.4, −0.2,0.5
5.4
1190 DATA 0.46,-0.4,0.4,0.46,0.0, 0.7,0.5
5.4
Notes on the program
5.4
The program could be tightened up a bit, but I am afraid that once I got
it working, I was too interested in producing fractals to do so.
5.4
For better resolution, you can divert the output to a massive sprite. A
full description of the method would make this (already lengthy) article
far too long.
5.4
You can include any number of fractals in the same program. The data
lines have the following format:
5.4
DATA %<Fractal Number>
5.4
DATA <Name>,<Number of equations>
5.4
DATA <X scale>,<X displacement>,
5.4
<Y scale>,<Y displacement>
5.4
Then as many equation lines as required:
5.4
DATA <a>,<b>,<c>,<d>,<e>,<f>, <probability>
5.4
The ‘Fractal Number’ should be different for each fractal. The value of
‘set%’ (line 200) selects the required fractal.
5.4
The X and Y scales and displacements allow the fractal to be defined
with any size and then re-scaled to fit the screen.
5.4
The ‘probability’ is the probability that that particular equation will
be chosen next. The probabilities must add up to 1. Give transformations
which reduce the size the most the lowest probabilities or they will
fill in too quickly.
5.4
Stick to similitudes at first, because it is easier to work out values
of a, b, c, d, e, f for these.
5.4
Here is some typical data:
5.4
DATA %3
5.4
DATA Fern,4
5.4
DATA 100,500,100,0
5.4
DATA 0,0,0,0.16,0,0,0.01
5.4
DATA 0.85,0.04,-0.04,0.85,0,1.6,0.85
5.4
DATA 0.2,-0.26,0.23,0.22,0,1.6,0.07
5.4
DATA -0.15,0.28,0.26,0.24,0,0.44,0.07
5.4

5.4
DATA %4
5.4
DATA Fractal Tree,4
5.4
DATA 2000,500,2000,0
5.4
DATA 0,0,0,0.5,0,0,0.05
5.4
DATA 0.42,-0.42,0.42,0.42,0,0.2,0.4
5.4
DATA 0.42,0.42,-0.42,0.42,0,0.2,0.4
5.4
DATA 0.1,0,0,0.1,0,0.2,0.15
5.4

5.4
DATA %5
5.4
DATA “Hooks”,3
5.4
DATA 1000,0,1000,0
5.4
DATA 0.5,0,0,0.5,0,0,0.33
5.4
DATA 0.5,0,0,0.5,0.5,0,0.33
5.4
DATA 0,-0.5,0.5,0,1,0.5,0.34
5.4

5.4
DATA %6
5.4
DATA “Boxes”,4
5.4
DATA 1200,0,1000,0
5.4
DATA 0.5,0,0,0.5,0,0.5,0.25
5.4
DATA -0.5,0,0,0.5,1,0.5,0.25
5.4
DATA 0.5,0,0,-0.5,0,0.5,0.25
5.4
DATA 0.33,0,0,0.33,0.33,0.33,0.25
5.4
DATA %7
5.4
DATA “Chaos”,20
5.4
DATA 60,0,60,0
5.4
DATA 0.1,0,0,0.2,1,0  ,0.04:REM C horiz 2
5.4
DATA 0.1,0,0,0.2,1,4  ,0.04:REM C horiz 2
5.4
DATA 0,-0.2,0.25,0,1,0,0.08:REM C vert 5
5.4
DATA 0,-0.2,0.25,0,5,0,0.08:REM H vert 5
5.4
DATA 0,-0.2,0.25,0,7,0,0.08:REM H vert 5
5.4
DATA 0.05,0,0,0.2,5,2 ,0.02:REM H horiz 1
5.4
DATA 0.1,0,0,0.2,8,4  ,0.04:REM A horiz 2
5.4
DATA 0.1,0,0,0.2,8,2  ,0.04:REM A horiz 2
5.4
DATA 0.1,0,0,0.2,9,0  ,0.04:REM A horiz 2
5.4
DATA 0,-0.2,0.1,0,9,0 ,0.04:REM A vert 2
5.4
DATA 0,-0.2,0.2,0,11,1,0.07:REM A vert 4
5.4
DATA 0.2,0,0,0.2,12,0 ,0.07:REM O horiz 4
5.4
DATA 0.2,0,0,0.2,12,4 ,0.07:REM O horiz 4
5.4
DATA 0,-0.2,0.15,0,13,1,0.05:REM O vert 3
5.4
DATA 0,-0.2,0.15,0,16,1,0.05:REM O vert 3
5.4
DATA 0.15,0,0,0.2,17,4,0.05:REM S horiz 3
5.4
DATA 0.15,0,0,0.2,17,2,0.05:REM S horiz 3
5.4
DATA 0.15,0,0,0.2,17,0,0.05:REM S horiz 3
5.4
DATA 0.05,0,0,0.2,17,3,0.02:REM S horiz 1
5.4
DATA 0.05,0,0,0.2,19,1,0.02:REM S horiz 1
5.4
Why are fractals fashionable?
5.4
Mathematicians seem to be fascinated by fractals because they are
beautiful and interesting. However, people who do not find this
sufficient may be impressed that such complicated shapes can be
described with so few numbers. In fact, work is going on now to
investigate the possibility of using fractals to develop more efficient
methods of data compaction.
5.4
References:
5.4
Fractals Everywhere by Michael Barnsley − Academic Press Inc.  A
5.4

5.4
‘Typical fractals are not pretty’ − Barnsley
5.4

5.4
In this example the shape has been rotated by 60° and ‘enlarged’ by a
factor of 0.5.
5.4
So t = 60° and r = 0.5
5.4
Hence
5.4
a = 0.25
5.4
b = − 0.433 (ish)
5.4
c = 0.433 (ish)
5.4
d = 0.25
5.4
Since the shape has been moved 6 across and 2 up:  e = 6 and f = 2
5.4
This result can be checked by calculating the position of a few
transformed points and comparing them with the diagram.
5.4

5.4

5.4

5.4
A Sierpinsky Triangle
5.4
The blobs showing how it can be covered by a collage of  transformations
of itself.
5.4
If the bottom left of the triangle is the point 0,0 then blob R (the
easiest) is given by:
5.4
a = 0.5    b = 0    c = 0    d = 0.5    e = 0    f = 0
5.4
P is given by something like:
5.4
a = 0.5    b = 0    c = 0    d = 0.5    e = 0    f = 0.5
5.4
(e and f depend on the scale chosen)
5.4

5.4
Colton
5.4
From 5.3 page 20
5.4

5.4
Base 5
5.4
From 5.3 page 31
5.4

5.4
PipeLine
5.4
Gerald Fitton
5.4
The current version of PipeDream 4 (December 1991) is version 4.11. This
is not the ‘final’ version because I have a note with mine which says,
“In very early 1992 we will have a version of PipeDream 4 available with
enhanced charts. This will include the following features:
5.4
    Option for log scaling of axes
5.4
    Saving of dynamic charts
5.4
    Option for stacked charts
5.4
    Fill to axis option
5.4
    Line of best fit
5.4
“This will be a free upgrade. If you are interested in these facilities,
please send us your master disc in the new year marked ‘Enhanced charts
upgrade’ so that we can upgrade you when the enhanced version is
available.”
5.4
PipeDream 4 charts
5.4
Anything worthwhile takes a little time. If you have spent some time on
PD4‘s charts and have any hints and tips for others, I shall be most
interested to hear from you. If you have something more substantial on
PD4’s charts then, I assure you, it is in great demand.
5.4
Family trees
5.4
Chris Bell has written to me on this subject. He has the makings of a
database but is running into problems. If you have written such an
application or would like to correspond with Chris about the best way of
storing and recovering such data from PipeDream (3 or 4) then please
write to me and I will forward it to him.
5.4
Sierpinski’s Gasket
5.4
I had not heard of this until Allan Wang asked me what method Sierpinski
used to create his Gasket. If you know anything about Sierpinski or his
Gasket then please write to me! (I suggest you check on the Arcade
Bulletin board. (081−654 −2212) I saw something on there about Sierpin
ski curves. Ed.)
5.4
Z88 Archimedes link
5.4
Don Reekie and many others ask about transferring files between the Z88
and Archimedes. The ‘standard’ way of linking the two machines is to use
an EPROM containing PCLINK in the Z88 and, on the Archimedes, the !Z88
utility provided with PipeDream by Colton Software. Gordon Lindsay-Jones
tells me that the 9-pin to 9-pin cable required to link the Z88 and the
Archimedes is different from the ones usually available for PCs. Hence
problems for the unwary.
5.4
What is the solution? David Holden can supply both a correct cable and
some software for the Archimedes which does not require an EPROM in the
Z88 nor does it require !Z88 running in the Archimedes. Please write to
me if you are interested and I will pass your letters on to David.
5.4
PipeDream printer driver
5.4
John Downard, amongst others (including me), wants an HPjet printer
driver which has been modified to use the PC-8 character set instead of
the ECMA-94 character set used by Colton Software’s version of this
driver. The ECMA-94 set is almost identical to the Archimedes Latin 1
(the default) character set so, if you have ECMA-94 on your printer,
then you need few if any character translations. The PC-8 character set
has a different value for the £ symbol and most other top bit set
characters. If you have modified the HPjet driver to include the PC-8
translations then we would like to hear from you.
5.4
Labels
5.4
Yes! I know that there are many complicated ways of producing labels
with PipeDream which are most useful if you want to write “to all the
members of a hockey club every week” (to quote C A Martin). However,
what he and several others ask for is something much simpler which can
be used on a ‘one off’ basis to print a single label. Perhaps the
simplest system I have seen, up to now, is one devised by John Jordan in
which up to nine lines of column A are used for the address. John sets
his page length, <Ctrl-PY>, to nine lines and then sends the file (one
address if that’s all it is) to his tractor feed printer using a
PipeDream printer driver. His labels are of the 9-lines per label
tractor fed type and so the printer stops in a position ready for the
next label.
5.4
If you have an alternative method, or if you have developed John’s
further, then C A Martin, Derek Banks and many others would like to hear
from you.
5.4
PipeDream Junior?
5.4
No! There is no PipeDream Junior in the pipeline but I have a letter
from Michael Roscoe who considered buying PipeDream 3 and, after trying
out the Demo disc, came to the conclusion that PD3 was not what he
wanted. His specification is for an improved spreadsheet (i.e. better
than PD3) plus built in charts and outline fonts. He was not interested
in the database and word processing functions. His letter implied that
he would like a lower price than that current for PD3.
5.4
Well, PD4 is a much more sophisticated spreadsheet than PD3. I continue
to be pleasantly surprised because, with it, I can now do so many of the
things I thought impossible (or too difficult for me) when I tried them
in PD3. The charts are working well in version 4.11 and promise to get
even better “in very early 1992”. Many of the things I wanted to do with
Presenter but couldn’t, such as pictographs, I can do with PD 4.11.
5.4
However, coming back now to Michael’s requirement, although PD4 meets
his specification for an improved spreadsheet with charts, he will
regret that the database and word processor functions are still present
(and there are some improvements). There are other more broadly based
and more subtle improvements (such as the improved graphic user
interface) and so Michael’s implied requirement for a lower price
(PipeDream Junior was his idea) has not been realised and my opinion is
that that PDJ will not happen. Would you like to see a PipeDream Junior?
What do you think about the price of PipeDream 4?
5.4
Upgrade from PD3 to PD4
5.4
I have begun to see advertisements for PD4 and, by the time you read
this, I am sure that NCS will be offering PD4 to new PipeDream users at
a discount on Colton Software’s price. However, I am advised that, for
the foreseeable future, upgrades from PD3 to PD4 will be available only
direct from Colton Software. Their price for an upgrade is £94.00
including VAT. If you bought PD3 on or after 1 August 1991 then you can
get the upgrade more cheaply.
5.4
Indented paragraphs
5.4
Some of you prefer to use indented paragraphs (as most newspapers and as
I was taught to do at school) rather than the more modern style called
‘blocked’ left. If you do prefer indented paragraphs then, with many
word processors, you just tap the <Tab> key at the beginning of each
paragraph. With most word processors (and DTP applications such as
Impression) this causes no problem if you want to alter the first line
or reformat the whole text. With PipeDream, you can have problems
because <Tab> puts the caret into the next column. If you use <Tab>, the
first line will be in a different column from the remainder of the text.
This gives problems when words are added to the first line and refor
matting sometimes causes columns to slide past each other.
5.4
My advice if you want an indented paragraph is to add a few spaces with
the space bar at the start of each paragraph rather than use <Tab>. It
avoids all the problems.
5.4
Whilst on the subject of word processing, I am surprised how many people
still use <Return> at the end of each line. With any word processor, the
only time you use <Return> is at the end of a paragraph or when you want
to ‘force’ a new line.
5.4
Horizontal spacing
5.4
Many who use outline fonts regularly ask what spacing (characters,
points, etc) <Ctrl-W> and <Ctrl-H> represent. The values are measured in
characters if you are using the system font but, if you print at 100%
using RISC-OS drivers, then what does say an 80 ‘character’ width
produce in inches, centimetres or points on paper? I came up with an
answer for one questioner but she told me later that her printer
couldn’t be working like mine! I now suspect that different printers and
the various RISC-OS printer drivers print out a different width for the
same 80 ‘character’ PipeDream page.
5.4
Here’s an experiment I would like all of you with RISC-OS drivers and
outline fonts to carry out. Create a one line file which has the digits
012345 6789 in an outline font repeated as many times as necessary
across the first line to just fill 50 ‘characters’ (i.e. just fill a
column which has been set so that both <Ctrl-H> and <Ctrl-W> are 50).
You can use a page of fully justified text if you prefer; just set
<Ctrl-H> to 50 and reformat with <Ctrl-R>. Print out the file using your
RISC-OS drivers and then, on the printed paper, measure the width of the
printed line. Having done that, please write to me and let me know the
width or, even better, send me the printed copy. Also let me know the
type of printer and the printer driver you used.
5.4
PipeDream to Impression
5.4
This export utility has been supplied by Colton Software with my PD4. I
don’t know (because I haven’t had a chance to try it yet) whether it
works with PD3 as well as PD4. Give it a try and let me know how you get
on.
5.4
Typing tutor
5.4
John Wakeling has been looking for some time for a typing tutor. Can
anyone help? (How about Turbo Type from Cambridge International
Software? £23 through Archive. Ed.)
5.4
Mathematical modelling
5.4
Gordon Nicholas has sent me a disc containing PipeDream applications for
finding roots of equations, numerical integration, numerical solutions
to differential equations, etc, together with worksheets (for students)
in Impression format. Write to me if you would like to be put in touch
with Gordon.
5.4
Blank sheets
5.4
Derek Banks has PD3, an HP-500 DeskJet and an A3000. With !PrinterLJ he
always gets a blank sheet before printing. Does anyone else have this
problem (I can’t reproduce it)? Can anybody help?
5.4
Invalid number of output bits
5.4
If you get this error message when RISC-OS printing a marked block, you
will be intrested to know that a work around is to move the caret
(cursor) out of the marked block before tapping the <Print> key.
5.4
Address for correspondence
5.4
Write to me at the Abacus Training address on the back inside cover of
Archive.  A
5.4

5.4
PD Column
5.4
David Holden
5.4
Firstly, I would like to correct a misunderstanding arising from my
article in the November Archive. I mentioned various demonstration discs
that are available (‘Crippleware’) and said that these are merely
advertising matter. Unfortunately, in an attempt to be brief I did not
enlarge upon this and I seem to have left many people with the wrong
impression.
5.4
When I said “don’t pay more than the price of a disc” I didn’t mean
about 40p. A more realistic price, bearing in mind postage, packing,
cost of copying etc. would be around two pounds. At this price, most
companies will actually be subsidising the discs and, to return to my
original theme that Crippleware is advertising, this is the way it
should be. If a company is proud of its product and believes it is
better than the opposition, it should be prepared to subsidise these
discs in the same way as it is prepared to pay for other forms of
advertising. If the company is not prepared to subsidise them I would
invite readers to ask themselves why. Are they not quite as confident of
their product as they would have us believe? Would they prefer that we
bought it after reading the conventional adverts or seeing a short
demonstration before we discover its weaknesses as well as its good
points?
5.4
The best means of circulating this type of advertising is, of course, PD
libraries. They have much lower overheads and they can supply discs to a
large market at absolutely no cost to the original supplier. Some cut
down versions of games are already distributed by PD libraries but the
only positive response I obtained during a quick telephone survey
amongst the ‘serious’ software producers was from Colton Software. If
you are running a PD library don’t take that as permission to copy the
Pipedream demo discs. For this you must write to Colton Software and
ask, although I gather that permission will be granted to reputable
libraries.
5.4
The most common excuses given revolve around the Acorn Font Manager and
licences for the various fonts required by most packages. I appreciate
that there are difficulties but I am sure a way around these could be
found if the will existed. After all Computer Concepts recently gave
1500 free copies of an Impression Junior demo to Micro User readers.
5.4
It is often said of advertising that only 10% of it does any good. The
problem is that nobody knows which 10%. I suggest that a functional
program of this type in the hands of someone who is interested in buying
a similar product would almost certainly fall within the ‘useful’ 10%.
It might be thought that ‘free’ discs given with magazines are an
alternative but I don’t agree. The ‘shotgun’ rule of advertising also
applies to these. If the material is distributed by a PD library then
the customer has taken the trouble to send for the disc and has actually
paid for it so must be seriously interested, while the cost to the
originator is absolutely zero. Please software producers, think about
it. What have you got to lose? This must be the cheapest and best form
of advertising available.
5.4
New software
5.4
I have recently been sent two interesting discs by the Archimedes Public
Domain Library at 96 Lanehouse Road, Thornaby, Cleveland TS17 8EA. The
first of these contains a program called AMFtrack which is an editor for
Soundtracker modules. This is similar to the commercial program Tracker.
It seems to do many of the things that Tracker does, but since it’s PD
it’s a lot cheaper! It is certainly worth getting if your interests
extend to this area and you don’t need the extra facilities of Tracker.
5.4
The second disc contains lots of programs and other material about
fractals. This all originates from the Archimedes Fractal Group. Much of
it is not new but it is a good introduction to this fascinating subject.
If you want to know more about fractals, I suggest you get a copy of
this disc which also contains information on the A.F.G.
5.4
Copyright and PD
5.4
There have been major problems recently over copyright amongst some PD
libraries. They are not alone. Some material sent to magazines and
included on their monthly discs has turned out to be copied from other
sources. There is also some confusion over what is copyright and what
isn’t. In fact, there is only one rule that should be observed by
libraries. Everything is copyright. This may not always be true but in
99% of cases it is.
5.4
You might think that if you obtained a program from a PD library then it
should be PD. Unfortunately, since most libraries obtain their material
from other libraries and there is quite a lot of copyright material
circulating this isn’t always the case.
5.4
To understand what Public Domain actually means, we must look at the
source of the term and this, as with much computer jargon, is America.
In the USA there is a law that computer programs originating in national
institutions such as colleges shall be ‘in the public domain’. This is
an eminently sensible law − after all, the material was produced with
public money, so why shouldn’t the public benefit? The problem is that
the term which has a precise legal definition within the U.S.A. has
found its way here where its meaning is much more vague.
5.4
Most of the time, the precise definition doesn’t matter. Many programs
contain documentation which says something like ‘this program is Public
Domain’ or ‘this program may be freely used and distributed’. You might
think that this makes it Public Domain but quite often it doesn’t. PD
programs frequently have conditions attached to this notice. Often this
says that the writer’s name must not be removed and that there must be
no charge made for the program. If the message waiving copyright has any
condition attached, however minor, then the program is NOT public
domain. Once the author has made a program public domain, he/she has no
further rights over it at all, so no conditions can possibly be imposed.
Legally such a statement makes about as much sense as someone making a
will leaving all of his property to himself. If conditions are imposed,
there is a basic contradiction so the material is not public domain.
There is a difference here between a requirement and a request. If an
author says ‘this program is Public Domain but please don’t remove my
name’ it may well be PD but if he says ‘you must not remove my name’
then it certainly isn’t.
5.4
For most purposes there isn’t any difference. If the author has given
permission for his program to be copied, used and distributed without
payment then you are entitled to do all of these things. The main
difference can be seen when commercial organisations become involved.
There is absolutely nothing to stop someone taking a true PD program,
repackaging it, and selling it in the guise of a commercial product.
Acorn actually sold Kermit, albeit with a few additions of their own,
and most purchasers didn’t realise that they were buying PD This is
perfectly legal since the program originated in America and has been
declared Public Domain under USA laws.
5.4
What must be remembered is that unless the program actually is PD you
have absolutely no right to copy or use it. You have only the author’s
permission and if this permission has conditions you are legally obliged
to obey them. If you do not, you are breaking the copyright laws. It is
no defence to say you didn’t see them. In this country, everything is
copyright unless it specifically says otherwise. You won’t find a
message in Archive forbidding you from copying anything published, not
because the material isn’t copyright but because the law says that it is
unless declared otherwise. Similarly with a computer program. You must
assume that it is copyright unless there is a specific message indicat
ing the contrary.
5.4
PD and the A5000
5.4
I have had an interesting letter from Andrew Campbell who points out
that a lot of current PD programs don’t work with the A5000. I realise
that many are made obsolete by RISC-OS 3 since one of the things PD
programs have done is help make up for omissions in the original RISC-OS
and a lot of these have now been corrected. At the moment, we are in
limbo because the new OS exists but only a lucky few who have an A5000
have access to it. I expect that when it is released to us less
fortunate mortals, a new wave of PD programs will appear to make up the
deficiencies in RISC-OS 3. Yes, they will be there, nothing is perfect,
and as usual PD programs will rapidly appear to fill in the gaps. My
worry is that the existing RISC-OS is so good (if you think RISC-OS has
faults try using the highly acclaimed Windows on a P.C.) that if Acorn
price the upgrade too high most users will not upgrade. Incidentally,
don’t be fooled into thinking that earlier models such as the 300 series
won’t be able to use the new version. I am certain that as soon as RISC-
OS 3 is available (probably before) there will be a variety of ‘third
party’ solutions to enable it to be fitted to every model.
5.4
Thanks to sensible pricing combined with the inadequacies of Arthur
almost everyone upgraded to RISC-OS when it appeared. The user base for
the Archimedes has expanded greatly since that time and a lot of that
expansion, thanks to the A3000, has been amongst younger users. The
advantages gained by upgrading to RISC-OS 3 seem much less than from
Arthur to RISC-OS and the price anticipated for the RISC-OS 3 upgrade
seems to be in the region of a hundred pounds, or about three times the
RISC-OS 2 upgrade cost. This is much too high for a lot of people,
especially younger users to whom this will represent an awful lot of
money. If Acorn price it at this level, a large proportion of Archimedes
owners simply won’t upgrade and we will then have two operating systems
in circulation. If you don’t think this is important then read some of
the Atari and Amiga magazines which have lots of letters saying either
‘program X won’t work with my machine which I bought last year’ or ‘why
don’t programs use the extra facilities of my model’. The minor changes
from Basic 1 to Basic 2 on the old BBC micro all those years ago still
create problems and many magazine listings don’t use them. I hope that
most programs will work happily under either OS but if Acorn want to
avoid the confusion that will ensue if we have two versions of RISC-OS
in circulation, I suggest that they greatly reduce the projected price
of RISC-OS 3.  A
5.4

5.4
Watford Electronics’ Mk II ARM3 Upgrade
5.4
Stuart Bell
5.4
If Archive articles had subtitles, then the one for this review would
almost certainly be ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’. Why? Read on...
5.4
In the world of cars, there are BMWs, (which most of us look at from
afar) which introduce new technological developments before anyone else
but which remain, for financial reasons, never more than the focus of
our dreams. Then there are Fords, which get us from A to B just as well
as the BMWs, but cost rather less.
5.4
The same seems to be true in the world of ARM3 upgrades. People like
Aleph One work at the ‘leading edge’ of technology but their prices,
though recently falling quite dramatically, keep their products out of
the hands of the more impecunious Archimedes owners. The “Ford” of ARM3s
is, perhaps, the Watford Electronics upgrade. The price is lower, but
does it get us from A to B, or from 8 MHz to 25 Mhz, as effectively?
5.4
I started my enquiries when the price for Watford’s Mark 1 upgrade fell
to £299 + VAT. My enquiry about people’s experience of it in the Archive
Help! column brought two responses. One was totally positive, the other
totally negative, on the grounds of the unreliability of the ‘wood and
gold foil’ header which plugged into the old ARM2 socket. Hmmm.
5.4
Then, just before the Acorn User Show in October, I heard about their
“Mark II” upgrade, boasting a newly designed connector and a price of
£199 + VAT!
5.4
Hence, 11.15 a.m. on the Friday of the Show saw me at the Watford stall,
with them already sold out. New supplies arrived by 2 o’clock, so I
returned home expectantly. For the money, you get a four-layer circuit
board, 53mm x 45mm, with a surface-mount ARM3, a 50Mhz crystal, another
chip, and a few capacitors. With the board comes an 8 page A6 leaflet,
with very clear instructions, a disc of utilities and a ‘special
extractor tool’.
5.4
Watford will do the upgrade for £35, including two-way courier service.
I chose the quick DIY method: Stage one: Remove the cover and the floppy
disc drive. No problem. There is no conflict with my IFEL soldered-in
4MB RAM upgrade (which is now available from Archive). Stage two: Use
the special tool to remove the ARM2. Problem! The prongs of the tool
wouldn’t fit the slots in the socket holding the ARM2. So, I gently
filed the prongs until they did fit. Then, apply a gentle rocking
motion, as per the instructions. The prongs − arguably (though I’m
doubtful) weakened by being filed down − bent. Repeat − same result.
Ditto, Ditto.
5.4
A very small flat screw-driver would fit into the ‘south east’ slot, and
apply the leverage that the ‘special extractor tool’ failed to. But, to
get the correct angle at the ‘north west’ corner needed the back-plane
removing, which needed the SCSI podule removing. Once all were out, the
ARM2 device came out quite easily.
5.4
I make no claims to be an engineer, but I have built quite a lot of
hardware for earlier computers. I conclude that the ‘special extraction
tool’ is simply not “man-enough” if the ARM2 is at all reluctant to come
out. My solution was a little time-consuming, but works.
5.4
Stage 3: Rebuild the machine and switch on. All is well. Stage 4:
Activate the !Cache utility and, again, all is well, and much faster!
5.4
The benefits of the ARM3 have been well rehearsed in Archive and don’t
need repetition. One advantage that hasn’t been mentioned much is that
printing can be significantly faster. In my case, the Impression / HP
DeskJet+ combination − certainly not one chosen for speed − took six
minutes for a very complex A4 page with an ARM2. With the upgrade, this
processor-intensive task takes just two minutes. The £199 + VAT is worth
it for this saving alone. Everything runs much more crisply and my four-
year old A310 now runs much like the drooled-over A5000s.
5.4
So what are my conclusions? The ARM3 board itself is superb. It looks
very well made, the new connector seems beyond reproach and the package
undercuts all the other ARM3s by at least £100 + VAT. Similarly, the
documentation and software are fine.
5.4
But, I do not believe that my experience with the ‘special extractor
tool’ will be unique. Even if other ARM2 sockets have wider slots, and
don’t require the tool to be filed down a little, I don’t think that
‘tweezer-type’ tools are adequate to remove four-sided devices like the
ARM2. My approach worked, and I wished that I’d not bothered with the
tool at all. Alternatively, you can pay the extra £35 for Watford to
install it for you.
5.4
In short, after an hour’s “agony”, the “ecstasy” makes it well worth it
at £199 + VAT. I really can’t see the point in paying £299 + VAT or more
for effectively identical products. But it would be even better if the
“special extractor tool” wasn’t so pathetic! With that problem sorted
out, the Watford Electronics Mark II ARM3 upgrade would be like a BMW
for the price of a Lada.  A
5.4
The equation has changed again now as Watford have put their ARM3
upgrade price back up to £249 +VAT, saying it was a Special Show Price
and Aleph One have brought theirs down to £249 +VAT or £280 through
Archive. CJE’s ARM3 (see page 9) has stayed at £199 +VAT (£225 through
Archive). Ed.
5.4

5.4
Lemmings
5.4
Tim Beverley (aged 13)
5.4
Lemmings which was declared “game of the year 1991” has now come to the
Archimedes. It comes in a well decorated box with one disc and an
instruction booklet which contains all the necessary information for
loading, playing the game and what the different icons mean. Also, there
is an example of the game and how to play it, using small illustrations.

5.4
Lemmings are creatures of very little brain, so when they fall out of
their home they just walk onwards regardless, not caring that they are
about to fall to their deaths. The object of the game is to make sure
the lemmings don’t fall to their death by building bridges over the
different kinds of holes and helping them get to their home by digging
horizontally, vertically and diagonally through hills and other
obstacles. You have to do all of this in a given time and you have to
rescue a certain percentage of the lemmings on each of the 120 levels.
5.4
The levels are split up into four categories starting with Fun, which is
to get the player used to controlling the lemmings, then Tricky which is
a little harder, then Taxing which is even harder and lastly Mayhem
which is virtually impossible. There is a different, well-known piece of
music accompanying each level, although this can be switched off if you
prefer.
5.4
At the beginning of each level, it will give you the information you
need to know like how many lemmings there are on that particular level,
what percentage of the lemmings you have to save to complete the level
and the rate at which they will come out of their home. When the
lemmings fall out of their home they come at different speeds, in the
range from 01 to 99 − the higher the number, the faster the lemmings
come out. It is possible to speed up and slow down the rate of the
lemmings by pointing to and clicking on the plus and minus signs in the
bottom left-hand corner of the game screen. The speed at which they come
out is important. At first, you don’t want them to come out too fast as
you may not have chance to set up the necessary bridges, holes etc to
stop them committing suicide, but once the way is clear for them to get
to their new home, speed is of the essence as you have to get enough of
them home before the time runs out. In some levels, the balance between
these two is what is so critical making it difficult to complete
successfully.
5.4
Also at the bottom of the game screen are all the skills that the
lemmings may have. There are Climbers which can climb up vertical
surfaces, Floaters which have parachutes (well, umbrellas!) so that they
can fall down long drops without killing themselves and if a lemming is
given both these skills he is known as an Athlete and these skills last
for the remaining time in that level. Then there are Blockers which stop
other lemmings going past a certain point and Bombers which blow up
single lemmings after a 5 second countdown.
5.4
Other facilities available are, a pause icon which pauses your game and
gives you time to think, a “nuke ‘em” icon which you double click on and
it blows up all the lemmings on that particular level in case you want
to give up and start again and in the bottom right-hand corner there is
a small map of the level that you are on and if you click somewhere on
that map you go to that place on the full screen display.
5.4
There is another menu screen which you automatically go onto after
loading the game. It has four choices, Start which starts the game, New
Level which, once clicked on, makes it possible to type in a password to
jump levels, Music/FX which toggles between playing Lemmings with music
and limited sound effects or no music but full sound effects and an icon
which lets you choose which set of levels you want to play e.g. Fun or
Mayhem and if you choose, for example, Mayhem it starts you off on the
very first level in that set.
5.4
Overall
5.4
The background graphics are very good and the graphics of the actual
lemmings are also quite good given that they are so small. Generally,
the graphics compare very favourably with other games. Lemmings compares
very well with other games in terms of playability and it is very
addictive and can be very frustrating. Indeed, the front cover of the
box has a disclaimer saying that the manufacturers cannot be held
responsible for loss of sleep, hair or sanity of those who play the
game.
5.4
Lemmings costs £24.95 from Krisalis Software or £23 through Archive.  A
5.4

5.4
ScanLight 256
5.4
Tord Eriksson
5.4
The well-known range of ScanLight scanners from Computer Concepts has
lately been extended with two ScanLight 256, one hand held, Junior and
one A4-size flat-bed scanner. There are two different interface cards,
one for Archimedes and one for the A3000. The software and firmware (in
ROM) is the same for all models and the only thing that that differs is
the hardware.
5.4
 Using the ScanLight Junior 256
5.4
It is very easy to get started, at least after you have fitted the card
(mine didn’t fit too well, so I had to do some metalwork). You run the
software from floppy or install it on your hard disc. If you double
click on the scanner file icon, you soon have a bigger scanner icon on
the icon bar.
5.4
When you click on that, you can start using the scanner immediately, by
setting the scanner and control panel to coincide, e.g. the same density
on both. There are switches for scan mode, resolution and brightness
that you can control, in addition to the scan on/off switch.
5.4
You are strongly recommended to use the same scanner driver as the
scanner you are actually using, to be able to use all the functions
available. Most of the time you will get a usable print anyway.
5.4
As the name suggests, it can cope with 256 levels of grey, but your
printer will certainly not! For most uses, 200 d.p.i. with 16 levels of
grey is perfectly all right, but I got better results with the “D”
(dither) option than the 16 level (4 bits-per-pixel) or 256 level (8
bit-per-pixel) option. If this is due to a fault I do not yet know.
Scanning in monochrome was excellent and line-art, like drawings and
printed text, were very well reproduced. (See illustration opposite −
top left.)
5.4
Only Impression II can handle the 176 or 256 levels of grey that the
scanner can produce. Both Paint and Draw makes them into multi-coloured
images that look very scientific but could hardly be called enjoyable!
5.4
The examples opposite are, in my view, really impressive. Both were done
in monochrome, one with hardware dithering (imitating grey by printing
dots), one without. On the whole, line-art was better reproduced than
true grey-scale objects, such as photos, paintings or stamps.
5.4
The software and manuals
5.4
The software adds further complications as it adds sampling to the raw
scan, making it less jagged, quite like anti-aliasing. You can also
control the greyscale etc.
5.4
There is definitely room for some improvement in making the software
easier to use; for instance, the scanned images on screen varies in
size, depending on the resolution you are using, so you spend a lot of
time trying to get them to a practical size. Too small and you can’t see
the details, too big and it flows outside your desktop (memory
permitting!).
5.4
Otherwise, the two manuals gave answers to all the questions you might
have, including a lot of hints and tips about problems that might arise.
One manual is applicable for all versions of hardware and one is
specially for the scanner combination in question. As far as the manuals
are concerned, they are, in short, excellent!
5.4
Conclusion
5.4
If you want to use illustrations in your letters etc. and have got fed
up with the standard clip-art, why not use a scanner and either draw
them yourself or steal them from somewhere!
5.4
It takes much longer to create a drawing on screen, using DrawPlus or
similar, than drawing them on paper and then scanning them in. Or you
can combine the two, using scanned pictures and drawings in your Draw
files, in combination with the usual Bezier curves of Draw or DrawPlus
(Modesty was done with a combination of both!).
5.4
If you use lots of illustrations or need to keep computer files on
people (not allowed in Sweden!), the package is well worth the money.
Disregarding the poor fit of the backplate and the odd quirks of the
software, it is a stable, well-made product that will stand quite a bit
of wear and tear. The Archive price is £245.  A
5.4

5.4
Modesty, by Jim Holdaway,
5.4
and a photo of me and Grandad
5.4
were easily reproduced.
5.4

5.4
Hearsay II
5.4
Mike Hobart
5.4
Hearsay II is a fully RISC-OS compliant, multitasking and much improved
version of the original Hearsay program. Both claim to be the complete
Archimedes communication package, and this would seem to be a fair claim
for Hearsay II. The problem about writing a review of such a comprehen
sive piece of software in this field is that you need a vast array of
hardware to test it on: modems of many sorts, and a link to a mainframe
or mini. I have only used it as a mini-computer terminal, so I restrict
my comments to this aspect. I have had the package for several months,
in two versions, on b-test.
5.4
First impressions
5.4
The program installs itself on the icon bar, with a telephone-and-modem
sprite, and occupies just over 500k, without buffer space. Several
options of terminal are available via menu at this point: Viewdata,
Minitel, ANSI, VT 52, 102, or 350, Tectronics 4105, teletype or Campus
2000, any of which can be set as the default. When you click on the
Hearsay icon, your chosen terminal window appears (in positive or
negative video). Gone is the colourful (garish) front end of Hearsay I!
Within the terminal window, <menu> will bring up a goodly array of
options, most of them with sub-options, even unto the third or fourth
level thereof. There are no ambiguous icons, though you may need to read
a little before settling for your selections. A nice feature is a quick
selection set of radio buttons for the most commonly used line signal
combinations (baud rate, parity and stop bits).
5.4
Mainframe terminals
5.4
The VT terminals are very satisfactory, with a configurable buffer which
allows you to scroll back to stuff which is “offscreen”. Line settings
can be done by hand but there is, again, a very convenient radio-button
quick setup panel. File transfers are easily performed: just drop the
file in the VT window and it will join the output queue. Then ask the
host to receive and select send from the menu. A vast array of file
transfer protocols are available, including X-,Y- and Z- modem and
Kermit.
5.4
The feature which I enjoy best is the Tek terminal. I can make use of
the graphics programs on the lab’s mini supercomputer and zoom in on the
bit I am interested in at the level of the terminal. Best of all, I can
export the graphics as Draw files, for instance straight into Impres
sion, or into a Draw program for further refinement. The result is that
I can have a printout which is better than is available from the big
machine itself. Switching between the text and graphics “planes” is
automatic if your host system supports X-protocols.
5.4
There are other nice touches: I can close the VT window, but leave it
listening out for new data. Or I can close it and reopen, just carrying
on with my session (not good practice, I know, leaving yourself logged
on to a big machine).
5.4
Other features
5.4
Modem users seem to be well catered for, with drivers for a number of
popular models and nice auto-dial facilities. I have not tested any of
these. Nor have I tested one of the more advanced features of Hearsay
II, its C++ - like script language. This allows you to take control of
almost every aspect of the package’s workings and to set it up to do
exactly what you want. I am sure that this is powerful stuff, and since
the author is David Pilling, I am sure it is very well done. However,
since I do not write C, let alone C++, and because I have not felt any
need of the facilities, I cannot comment further.
5.4
Conclusions
5.4
As far as I am concerned, this is the package which we had been waiting
for in the lab. It does everything we want, and it is a pleasure to use.
Our uses are quite limited, however, and this is not a comprehensive
review but if every aspect of the program lives up to what I have used,
I can see few dissatisfied customers. The manual is clear, complete and
comprehensible.
5.4
The program costs £75+VAT from Risc Developments or £82 through
Archive.  A
5.4

5.4
First Words and Pictures
5.4
Simon Anthony
5.4
First Words and Pictures from Chalksoft is an early reading package
aimed at young children and special educational needs students. This is
a very wide range to cover but Chalksoft make a very good stab at it.
The program is written with a careful balance between ease of use and
flexibility which causes a few problems, but they are easy enough to
avoid once they have been recognised.
5.4
The idea of the program is to present a simple everyday scene showing
articles or actions which have to be correctly identified. A word or
sentence describing part of the scene is displayed at the bottom of the
screen and the mouse or cursor keys are used to move a pointer in order
to select the relevant area. An illuminating arrow shows which area is
being selected before the choice is finalised by the reader. If the
answer is right, the selected area enlarges with a gentle tune as a
reward. If it is wrong, the computer ‘sneezes’ as they select it. The
score does not go down and there is no long term indication of failure
to put off the less able reader. After a preset number of questions
there is the option to have another go with the same or different scene.
5.4
The program in action
5.4
The opening screen shows the Chalksoft banner. Pressing <return> gives a
menu with options to allow you to alter every aspect of the program.
There are so many variables that an unassisted user can get lost in its
depths. I would prefer access to this menu to be hidden in much the way
that escaping from the program is achieved, that is by using ctrl +
another key.
5.4
The feel of the main program is pleasant and friendly. The artwork is
primary schoolbook type and the music sounds a little twee. This does
not make for an exciting game but that isn’t the idea. After the preset
number of correct answers has been made, a congratulatory message floats
down the screen while another tune tinkles away happily in the back
ground. There are ten scenes each with eight questions. By changing the
options, these will easily last a morning without repetition. The
options have been designed in consultation with real teachers and are
not just the whim of a back-room programmer. Every time it is used, more
and more subtle aspects emerge due to the flexibility provided. It is
not immediately obvious that the program lifetime would be longer than a
few hours but my experience is that at least special needs students gain
a very great deal and keep coming back for more. The program is not
disturbing to other people in the same room.
5.4
The ‘off computer’ aspects of this package are very important. The
ability to print out the words, sentences and line drawings of the
picture elements and scenes allows colouring in, writing the labels by
hand and simple displays to be made. Learning is improved by using as
many parts of the brain as possible and so these facilities provide good
educational value. They show the care and attention to detail that
typifies the main body of this program.
5.4
One problem that I found is that older children with reading difficul
ties tend to be put off by the childlike presentation. Perhaps Chalksoft
could produce a version of the program with an older emotional feel but
set at the same reading age.
5.4
The program installs easily on a hard disc or network and can be run
from the desktop or autobooted from the disc. It is not copy protected
and so there is no danger of damage to the master disc destroying this
valuable addition to the educational range.
5.4
Conclusion
5.4
First Words and pictures works well. It does teach reading skills and
will hold the attention as long as the user doesn’t feel they are being
patronised by the style. In a group of mixed ability, this can be a
problem. At home or in a matched group of emotionally young pre-readers
there are no such reservations. At £22 plus VAT it is a bit pricey for
the impoverished parent but for an educational establishment it is good
value for money.  A
5.4

5.4
My World
5.4
Doug Weller
5.4
This is a fascinating bit of content free software from Northwest
SEMERC, designed for teachers of special needs children but suitable for
a wide age range in mainstream classes. It was produced  collaboratively
by six LEAs, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire,
Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire. Its excellent illustrated manual
was also produced on an Archimedes!
5.4
Object based content free software
5.4
This is an entirely new type of content free software. It was originally
produced to give a teacher of children with very severe learning
difficulties a way of keeping a daily diary without the need to write −
but it has gone far beyond that. Basically, it uses the Draw module in
RISC-OS and screens created by !Draw to provide a wide variety of
contexts in which symbols or pictures (Draw objects) and text can be
easily manipulated, within a fixed structure, using the mouse.
5.4
Using My World
5.4
After loading, My World takes up the whole screen.  A menu is offered
allowing the user to see the various screens that are available, to save
a screen, to print (portrait or landscape, automatically scaled to print
as big as possible) and to change to desktop mode. Desktop mode not only
allows you to use other facilities (for instance, to load a printer
driver if you forgot to do so!) but also offers a magnifier box − this
is particularly useful if it is necessary to adjust the position of
objects precisely.
5.4
Clicking <menu> on the My World icon on the icon bar also gives a choice
of print and display options and also the ability to set the size of the
font cache. This is a real bonus for teachers (probably the majority)
who don’t want to get involved with the RISC-OS Task Manager.
5.4
My Diary
5.4
My World comes with 21 screens, and other screens discs are available.
My Diary is the application the program was originally designed for.
When loaded, the screen shows a diary form (2 blank rectangles with
clock faces under them showing different times of the day) and 14 Rebus
symbols for activities such as swimming, painting, playing, wheelchair,
etc. These objects can be dragged into position simply by pointing at
them, pressing <select> and dragging a copy of the object around the
screen, leaving the original object in place. As this was designed
originally for children with limited fine motor control, there is no
need to hold down <select>. When in place, pressing <select> again drops
the copy at the chosen position. Pressing <adjust> makes it disappear.
5.4
Once this has been done, the object becomes a movable object, which can
be moved around using <select>. If desired, pressing <adjust> returns
the object to its original position. In the left hand corner of the
screen there is a dustbin icon, where objects can be dragged if they are
no longer wanted. A Text icon allows the creation and editing of movable
text objects.
5.4
The screens provided cover a variety of subjects, including Punjabi and
French, sequencing activities using beads, a frog and a car to put
together, sentences to sequence, and a weather map. Any of these screens
can be edited in !Draw and new screens can also be created using !Draw
and the template screen provided.
5.4
Simple Stuff
5.4
There are four ‘Simple Stuff’ additional discs of screens. ‘Simple Stuff
Sampler’ includes a maze, a Pelmanism game, an alien, an electric lamp
and a caterpillar to put together, various maths shapes activities, a
match puzzle screen, etc. A skeleton screen offers you a completed
skeleton made up of 18 objects (bones and groups of bones) which can be
separated and then put back together! This idea is expanded in ‘Simple
Stuff Skeletons’, which is much more detailed and has two versions, one
plain, the other with a ‘ghosted’ drawing to help you. A text pencil
allows labels or notes to be added. A4 scaled !Draw files are also
provided which can be printed out and linked with paper rivets to make
an articulated skeleton.
5.4
The Patterns and Maths discs offer a variety of pattern blocks in the
case of the former, and games and investigations on the latter. Many of
these are very nice but there are a few where I felt that, for most
children, the computer was unnecessary. For instance, real Cuisenaire
rods seem much more interesting than computer ones!
5.4
Summary
5.4
This is a fascinating piece of software with many uses. Some of the
screens provided are excellent; others might be more suitably done away
from the computer, although often computers provide motivation not
otherwise available.
5.4
It costs £15, plus £7.50 for each of the associated discs: Simple Stuff,
Simple Stuff Maths, Simple Stuff Skeletons, Simple Stuff Patterns.  A
5.4

5.4
Notate
5.4
Stewart Watson
5.4
Notate is a new music notation package from Longman Logotron. With their
long history of involvement with education it is no surprise to find
that Notate has been pointed in that same direction. However, like many
other products aimed at education, the potential for private users
should not be overlooked.
5.4
Notate arrives in an attractive A4 box, containing two disks, an A4
manual, a registration card and tear-off keystrip and a reference card.
The two disks are in a sealed envelope, marked “Important − Read before
opening”, followed by the licence terms. The disks are not protected but
a message appears on the screen each time the program is loaded. This
disappears as soon as a key is pressed, but it contains the reference
number of the user. This is, in my view, by far the most sensible form
of software protection offering maximum protection for the manufacturer
together with minimum hassle for the user.
5.4
What can Notate do?
5.4
Here is a list of the claims made in the publicity and some of my
comments on each.
5.4
Up to eight individual staves − Each stave is monophonic (it can only
have one note playing at a time) except for a chord track which I’ll
explain later. Notate was obviously designed with the internal sound
chip as the sound source because a maximum of eight notes at one time is
the limit.
5.4
A wide range of synthesised and sampled sounds − The sounds provided are
varied and excellent.
5.4
Ability to use accidentals and repeats − This works OK.
5.4
Full range of time and key signatures with control over tempo and volume
− Control over tempo and volume is confined to setting the tempo and
overall volume at the start only. That is there is no way at present to
include speeding up and slowing down, or dynamics within a score.
5.4
Automatic checking of note lengths relative to the bar space remaining −
Notate does not allow you to put too many beats in a bar, a ‘Not enough
space in bar’ message appears if you attempt to do this, but it will
allow you to leave a bar incomplete, assuming that the rest of the bar
will be filled with rests.
5.4
Easy-to-use tape recorder control panel − The control panel is very
clearly laid out with all the usual controls.
5.4
Chord facility − This is an interesting feature, as it allows complete
chords to be inserted with one keypress. Once a chord track has been
selected a window opens showing a small note-named keyboard and offering
a choice of major, minor, 6th, 7th, Major 7th, minor 7th, augmented and
diminished. The chord track uses four voices which means that there are
only another four voices available for other parts.
5.4
Mixer control to adjust stereo balance and volume of all tracks − This
is a pop-up window accessed through <f6> which, interestingly, automati
cally reconfigures itself to the number of tracks used.
5.4
Configurability for different levels of user − Like Pendown, Longman’s
word processing package, it is possible to restrict the number of
options available. This makes the screen easier to read, and the program
easier to use, for younger children.
5.4
Editing facilities which, like word processing, include cut, copy, move
and delete within bars staves or between compositions − These editing
functions are well thought out and use the standard Acorn key short
cuts. Selecting a block is down by simply clicking and dragging.
5.4
Up to four compositions editable simultaneously − As Notate allows up to
four songs in memory at one time, sections of one song can easily be
copied into another.
5.4
Ability to transpose single parts or whole compositions − The transpose
options are good in that they allow you to set the key signature as well
as the transposition interval.
5.4
Export and import of MIDI format files allowing transfer between
packages − Files can be imported from Compose World and Inspiration, but
they will have to be monophonic parts. Surprisingly there is no facility
to load Maestro files. Files can be saved in three formats, Notate,
Maestro or Midi. Thus, Notate files can be exported to Genesis and
Magpie, or Rhapsody II into Scoredraw into DTP, if necessary.
5.4
Ability to play via MIDI where a suitable interface is available − It is
because this option is available that it seems strange to have
restricted Notate to eight note polyphony.
5.4
Song files
5.4
The song files supplied are interesting and varied from African drumming
to Rap and from Rock to Classical. The voice modules supplied are
extremely good and the output, when amplified, is very impressive
indeed.
5.4
There is a very good Read_me file inside the application with informa
tion about the Template files and pattern files supplied. These
templates are a very useful way of getting started quickly because they
remove the need for setting up tracks and voices. The pattern files
contain basic rhythm patterns which can be used as building blocks.
5.4
Printouts
5.4
The options for printout are large, medium and small, portrait or
landscape. The quality is good though pixelated (a new word but I like
it. Ed.), comparable with a printout from Rhapsody II but not as good as
Scorewriter or ScoreDraw.
5.4
Summary
5.4
Notate is a well structured package and what it does, it does well. The
writers have done their homework and produced a product that I think
will be well received by the education market.
5.4
It seems a pity that the conditions of use prohibit the copying of any
part of the documentation, as there are fifteen pages of ideas for
teachers to try with pupils and there are accompanying song files
supplied on the program disk. These pages could easily have been
supplied as a set of worksheets with no copying restrictions thus saving
a lot of retyping. Another possibility would have been to supply the
text on disc ready to be customised and printed.
5.4
There are one or two worrying limitations. There is no provision for
real time input, though it is promised in the first upgrade in early
1992. There is only scope for two lines of text, a title and composer,
no choice of size or format and no lyrics. This is an area that the
writers are currently exploring and developments in this area are
probably afoot.
5.4
The version I am reviewing is 1.00 and is a well thought out, well
presented package. A lot of time and effort has gone in to saving users
time and trouble. If you need a package to enable you, or your pupils,
to get music onto paper, or want to experiment with composition, Notate
could well be the package you have been waiting for.
5.4
Notate is available from Longman Logotron price £59 + VAT for a single
user (or £64 inc VAT through Archive) or £190 + VAT for a primary school
site licence or £330 + VAT for a secondary school site licence.  A
5.4

5.4
Astronomy on your Desktop
5.4
David Taylor
5.4
I have produced a standard wimp application based on some of the
astronomy routines in Shareware 10. The application, named !Daylight,
displays the times of sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset and the
beginning and end of civil twilight for any date and for anywhere on
earth at the click of a mouse. The program could be very useful for
historians, for authors of historical novels or for anyone planning
future activities dependent upon daylight. The ease of use of the
graphical interface and the astonishing speed of recalculation demon
strate the capability of the Archimedes perfectly.
5.4
!Daylight uses two new filetypes, location which holds latitude,
longitude and placename and filetype event which holds a particular date
in addition to the other data. Double clicking on one of these file
icons will start the application with that file already loaded,
calculated and displayed in two seconds or less. Alternatively, you can
start the application by double clicking on the !Daylight icon and a
location file named “default” held in the application directory will be
loaded and calculated for today’s date. The default file can easily be
altered by the user to hold his or her home town or location of choice.
These filetypes are not registered with Acorn so conflict is possible.
Once the application is running, fresh locations or events may be loaded
either by double clicking on their icons or by dragging the icons to the
main window, all precisely according to the Acorn guidelines.
5.4
The latitude and longitude are displayed in writable icons and may be
changed at will. The time displayed initially is zone time which does
not take account of summer time or other national idiosyncrasies. The
zone time is shown in a writable icon and the event times displayed are
modified whenever this icon is changed. By setting this icon to
longitude divided by 15, local mean time is displayed. Click on the word
zone and it will change to local. The time then shown is the local
apparent time based on the sun being on the local meridian at 12h00.
This is the most appropriate time to use in a historical context since
mean time has only come into common use in the last hundred years with
the general availability of accurate clocks. Zone time has only appeared
since the introduction of radio time signals. The time displayed can be
changed to Universal Time by clicking on the word local. In all cases
the events displayed are for the date at the location of interest.
5.4
If you play with the arrows under the date for a few minutes you will
discover that the date may be changed by the day, month, year or
century. The date displayed changes from the Julian to the Gregorian
calendar in 1582. Thursday, October 4th, was followed by Friday October
15th. This is a function of the library procedures and since it was by
Papal decree, I have not had the temerity to change it, although the
Gregorian calendar was not adopted in protestant Britain until 1752. In
consequence, dates given between 1582 and 1752 in British history books
may have to be converted from the Julian or old style calendar to the
Gregorian or new style calendar. Add ten days between 5th October 1582
and 29th February 1700. Add eleven days between 1st March 1700 and
September 1752. The retrospective dates on the Julian Calendar are not
taken back before Saturday, 1st January in Anno Domini 1. There seems to
be no firm agreement on whether a year 0 should be included or not. It
is all hypothetical in either case. Any historian seeking accuracy to a
particular day before this date would be well advised to work directly
to the scale of Julian days.
5.4
The menu leads to save boxes for event files, location files or text
files. If a text file is dragged to !Edit or !Impression, the file is
transferred without being written to disc first. I have seen frequent
mention of this multitasking facility but have yet to see another
application written in Basic that does this.
5.4
I undertook this project as an exercise in programming the graphic
interface. The hands-on experience has been invaluable. I did not expect
to have to rewrite astronomy routines. The original routines of Dr
P.J.Duffet-Smith are excellent. For any time given as a Julian day and
fraction thereof, they evaluate the ecliptic longitude from a polynomial
and then transform it to Right Ascension and Declination, allowing for
parallax. These routines found their way to the Archimedes through D.
Fangandini and Ivor Clarke who converted them to BBC Basic style
procedures but still left all the GOTOs in place. The GOTOs are now
replaced by structured control statements so the procedures may be used
as a separate library and the logic is easier to follow.
5.4
The sunrise problem is one of those calculations where the numbers
required to give a solution depend upon the solution. This is more
evident in the case of the moon than of the sun. Moonrise, which can
occur at any time of day, is a function of Right Ascension which changes
at a mean rate of 51 minutes per day. To calculate the Right Ascension,
you need to know the time of moonrise and you cannot calculate the time
of moonrise without the Right Ascension. The computer is suited to using
the iterative method in solving these problems. The more iterations
used, the longer the solution takes. Even the Archimedes takes a moment
to work through the many polynomials describing the moon’s complex
motions.
5.4
In rewriting the procedure that calculates moonrise and moonset, I have
reduced the number of times that the Right Ascension of the moon is
evaluated from seven to four without degrading the accuracy of the final
result. There were other reasons for rewriting the rising and setting
procedures. The old routines kept on stepping into the wrong day
particularly when calculating events away from the meridian of
Greenwich.
5.4
The time of sunset is calculated for the instant when the centre of the
sun is at an altitude of 0 degrees relative to the horizontal plane of
the observer. The sun is then described as having a zenith distance (the
angle from the observer’s vertical) of 90 degrees. Owing to the dip of
the observer’s horizon below the horizontal, and the effect of atmos
pheric refraction, neither of which is a constant, it is generally
accepted that the moment of sunset is that when the lower limb of the
sun touches the visible horizon. It is therefore not practical to
display sunset times to the nearest second although the original
routines did this.
5.4
A new procedure added to the library calculates the times of the
beginning and end of civil twilight. These are the limiting moments when
the horizon is clearly visible at sea or a grey goose can be seen at a
mile on land. The corresponding zenith distance is 96 degrees.
5.4
The diagram shows how the hour angle and azimuth at sunrise and sunset
are derived from right ascension and declination. It shows the relevant
triangles on the surface of the celestial sphere viewed from outside.
The celestial sphere is a mythical ball of indeterminate radius onto
which the bodies are projected from the point of view of the observer.
The actual radius is not required because all the distances which are
the lengths of the sides of the triangles used are arcs of great circles
and measured as angles at the centre of the sphere. Events are seen by
the observer, O at the centre of the sphere. PP‘ is the polar axis and
ASBR is the observer’s horizontal plane. RSNM represents the path of the
sun through the sky, rising at R and setting at S. The sides of the
spherical triangles required are RZ or SZ, the observer’s zenith
distance, which is always 90 degrees, PR or PS, the sun’s co-declination
and PZ, which is the observer’s co-latitude. ZPR and ZPS are the hour
angles and PZR and PZS the azimuths for rising and setting respectively.
5.4
From the usual spherical triangle formula
5.4

5.4
since the zenith distance is 90 and cos90 = 0, this may be simplified
to:
5.4

5.4
There has been quite a lot of interest recently in calendars and dates
and I am sure that this application will be of interest to some of the
Archive readers. If you are interested to take this project further,
please contact me at 64, Redmond Road, Hamilton Hill, 6163, Western
Australia.  A
5.4

5.4
Break 147 & SuperPool
5.4
Patrick Bean
5.4
This is the latest offering (well, one of them! Ed) from the Fourth
Dimension, who brought us E-type, Powerband, Holed out and Chocks away,
so expectations are high. The games come on three disks, one master disk
and one for each of the two games. I wonder if this means that we can
expect to see more table games running under this same system?
5.4
On running either game, you are presented with a menu offering demo,
practice, match and tournament. In Demo, the computer simply plays
against itself. Practice lets the user place balls anywhere on the table
and play from that position, so trick shots and the like can be set up.
Match lets two players, one of which can be the computer, play a match
of up to 35 frames. Tournament lets you set up a competition with many
players. On selecting match, a second menu appears. From this menu it is
possible to save and re-load matches, set the number of frames in the
match and set the volume level. A table of results can also be dis
played. This second menu can be returned to by pressing <escape> during
the game.
5.4
After the two menus, you are shown a 3D view of the table. Moving the
mouse left turns the table right and vice versa. At first, this can make
you feel a little sea sick as the table and balls roll around before
your eyes. It will not take long, however, to get the hang of the
control system. You can position yourself (your viewpoint) anywhere.
Even height can be changed so making bridge shots easier. When your
viewpoint is correct, just click on <select> and your cue will appear in
front of you on the table and in the top left-hand corner of the sceen
along with a large cue ball with a dot on it. This dot shows the point
at which the cue will strike the ball, so that fine adjustments can be
made in order to give spin etc.
5.4
When you are happy, draw back your cue (mouse) and push it forward, the
speed at which you do this determines the power of the shot. That is all
there is to it − no power guages as in some other simulations. On
striking the ball, some very good sampled sound adds to the overall
realism. If, after the shot, there is a touching ball, the referee will
announce the fact and the ball in question will flash.
5.4
In the event of you missing the ball or committing some foul, the
referee will inform you of your transgression, again in high quality
sampled speech. All rules of both games appear to have been implemented
correctly. On potting the cue ball, it is placed in the “D” from where
you can position it exactly. Once you have taken your shot, you can
again move your viewpoint even while the balls are still moving! If you
heard a ball go down but did not see where it went you have the ability
to replay the shot viewed from any angle. Alternatively, you can set an
option in one of the menus so that a particular ball involved in the
shot can be tracked to its final resting point. A dotted line can also
be displayed before you take the shot showing the path along which the
cue ball will travel.
5.4
Practice mode should be used at first in order to familiarise yourself
with the control system. After that you can use the match option to play
either against the computer or another human. Later, a tournament can be
setup with a number of players of both types. The computer’s play is of
a very high class, as can be seen from the demo mode. It’s potting and
positional play are good but it is not quite so careful about where
other balls such as the BLACK! are going. Its skill is almost unbelie
vable with double and cut type shots.
5.4
The documentation states that..... “The ball calculation accuracy in
both of these simulations is to a scale movement of plus or minus 0.635
of a millimetre. In addition to this, the rotational accuracy is to 1.75
minutes of arc. Or to put it another way, in ‘Break 147’ you can hit a
ball in any of 12,288 directions from any one of 4,147,200 possible
locations on the table.” However, in order to utilise this, a monitor
with a display of 2880 by 1440 pixels would have to be manufactured.
Such a display mode would need 4 Megabytes of screen ram!
5.4
Overall
5.4
This game looks like being another winner for the Fourth Dimension. My
only complaints are that the table is a little fast (the balls can
sometimes float around the table as if they were in outer space) and the
computers play is far too good!!!
5.4
Well done Fourth Dimension and Mr. Keys. Break 147 & SuperPool costs
£24.95.  A
5.4

5.4
Scientific Software − Computer Algebra
5.4
Brian Cowan
5.4
There has been some correspondence in another magazine concerning
scientific software − or the lack of it − for the Archimedes. Although I
generally concern myself with matters of hardware in the columns of
Archive, in my day-time job as a scientist I use all manner of scienti
fic software. I thought it would be a good idea to acquaint interested
readers with what is available. So I am proposing to write an occasional
column which, over the next few months, will discuss and review all
manner of Archimedes software which has a scientific connection.
5.4
Currently I have had experience of using specialised products in the
following areas: Computer algebra − mainly Reduce but also Derive under
the PC emulator, General scientific DTP − Impression and TEX, Equation
generation for DTP − Equasor and the newly released BestForm, Statisti
cal software − First from Serious Statistical Software, Graph and data
plotting − Chris Johnson’s GraphDraw and other programs. Some of my
students and I have developed software in other areas, which might be
covered in some future articles. If there are any more categories of
scientific software which readers are interested in, please let me know
and I will try and cover them.
5.4
Archimedes only
5.4
My main concern will be for dedicated Archimedes software although, for
comparison, I will occasionally mention DOS software which can run under
the PC emulator. My general impression is that there is a growing
collection of scientific software available which, while not able to
compete with DOS or Mac software in sheer quantity, certainly makes up
for this by quality and power − helped of course by the raw power of the
ARM. Writing for DOS machines is a real challenge − it is the modern day
equivalent of trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear − but ARM
programmers should not become blasé and complacent. Computer Concepts
have shown the way in terms of what can be achieved; other software
houses know the standards to which they should aspire.
5.4
Computer algebra
5.4
There is a danger in trying to re-invent the wheel. A few years ago
(well, quite a few actually!) I did not even know of the existence of
computer algebra software. I had a really interesting problem involving
the manipulation of some algebraic equations which I was doing using the
quaint methods of pencil and paper. It soon dawned on me that I should
not spend time doing things I was not good at: I am much too careless at
that sort of thing. I realised that my computer, an original BBC model
B, would make fewer mistakes. Thus I sat down and wrote a program in BBC
Basic to perform my algebraic calculations. It worked well, even if it
took all night to do some of the more complicated operations. I even
invested in a 32016 second processor, such was my enthusiasm, and then I
graduated to an Archimedes. From then on, I was hooked on computer
algebra and, in reading all about it, I discovered that there was a
range of commercial software packages available.
5.4
More than just algebra
5.4
It is worth pointing out that the term computer algebra is rather an
understatement for this sort of software. As a minimum, most packages
include the following facilities: arithmetic to arbitrary precision,
manipulation of algebraic quantities such as multiplying and dividing
algebraic expressions, operations with matrices including the solution
of linear equations, solution of other classes of equations, different
iation and integration of algebraic expressions.
5.4
Available packages
5.4
There is a range of computer algebra packages around for a variety of
different computers. The list of packages includes Scratchpad, Mathe
matica, Macsyma, Maple, Reduce and Derive. Each have their own
advantages and disadvantages and, generally, a particular package has
its particular computer type or types on which it runs. To the best of
my knowledge, Reduce is the only system which runs on the Archimedes in
native mode; Derive, which runs under DOS, is usable with the PC
emulator. Many algebra packages are written in Lisp, which is ideally
suited for such applications.
5.4
Reduce
5.4
Reduce is one of the older of the computer algebra packages around. It
was originally developed specifically for doing calculations in quantum
electrodynamics, but it soon blossomed into a general system with many
applications. These days, it is much-beloved of those concerned with
computer algebra research and it boasts probably the best indefinite
integration facilities around.
5.4
Calculus
5.4
I should perhaps explain a few things about “computer calculus”. Of
course, differentiation and integration are the inverse of each other
but, as every maths student knows, differentiation is relatively
straightforward while integration is not. One seems to have to learn
many methods for integration and to have to guess which method to use
when. The fact is that there is always a definite procedure to be
followed when differentiating an expression; differentiation is
algorithmic. Conversely, integration is not. It is thus difficult to
program a computer to perform integration. A great breakthrough came
with the discovery of the Risch-Norman algorithm which, for the first
time, provided a well-defined procedure to be followed in integrating a
wide class of functions − this is the same Norman, guru of Acorn, who is
associated with various of the language compilers for the Archimedes,
including C and Lisp.
5.4
Other facilities
5.4
Reduce performs all the tasks mentioned in the check list above and it
performs them well and quickly. One of the advantages of it being an
established package is that there is an increasing number of third party
(public domain) programs available which can be incorporated for all
sorts of purposes. Thus, the latest Archimedes version comes with the
following PD add-ons: Vector algebra and calculus, Calculus of modern
differential geometry, Generation of code in various computer languages,
Groebner bases, Limits, Solution of ordinary differential equations, 3-D
vector analysis in curvilinear coordinates, Root finding, Symmetries of
partial differential equations, Summation of series, Taylor and other
power series.
5.4
The next few sections will show some examples of what can be done. The
first listing is the summary of a Reduce session.
5.4
Example 1 − Magnetic field calculation
5.4
The problem here is to produce a uniform magnetic field at the centre
between two similar circular coils. The field is most uniform when the
coil separation bears a certain relation to their diameter. This is
known as the Helmholtz configuration. The Reduce session finds the
required coil separation and then it calculates the field homogeneity at
the centre.
5.4
Each line of input in a session is numbered. I have deleted some lines
in the interests of clarity and space. So here we start with line 2 in
which I typed in the formula for the magnetic field at the centre
between two coils. The radius of the coils is taken as unity, Z is the
distance along the axis from the centre and LH is the separation of the
coils. I terminated the first line with a $ which causes the program not
to echo the result of the input.
5.4
Line 3 substitutes the value 0 for Z in the formula for the field; this
gives the magnetic field at the centre. As this line is terminated by a
; the result is printed out on the next few lines. Note that the outputs
are printed in lower case, while the inputs are in upper case.
5.4
In line 4 we want to find the derivative of the field at the centre. A
double operation has been done here. DF(BH,Z) differentiates BH with
respect to Z and then the value Z=0 is substituted in. The answer is on
the next line. It is zero. There is no magnetic field gradient at the
centre and in fact by symmetry all odd derivatives vanish there.
5.4
The second derivative is evaluated in line 5. See how the function DF
can be used for higher derivatives. As in line 4, the value Z=0 has been
substituted in as we are interested in what is happening at the centre.
I did not want to print out the cumbersome result, so the line is
terminated with a $ and, in line 6, I told it I wanted things to be
factorized.
5.4
The symbol WS stands for work space, meaning the contents of a particu
lar “line”. Line 7 tells the program to evaluate line 5, and it is
printed out in factorized form.
5.4
The Helmholtz configuration is that which makes this second derivative
zero. We want to find the separation LH which results in this. This is
done in line 9 which solves the equation LS=0 for LH. The equation has
four roots, as shown in the curly brackets. The imaginary roots are
clearly non-physical and the two real roots are physically equivalent:
LH=½, telling us that the separation of the coils should be half their
diameter.
5.4
In line 10, we explicitly set LH to be ½, so that it is no longer a
variable. Note that global assignment is effected with the Algol/Pascal
:= symbol while the usual equals sign = is used for arithmetic equality
and local assignment.
5.4
The resultant field at the centre is then obtained from line 12 and, as
we can see, the answer is exact; no rounding is done. It is up to the
user to specify the precision for floating point approximations.
5.4
At this stage, I decided to load in a third party program to express the
magnetic field in a power series in Z. The TPS package is much more
efficient and fast than successive differentiation followed by substitu
tion. The package is loaded in line 13 and it is used in line 14. PS is
one of the functions provided, giving a power series. We want the field
BH expanded in powers of Z about the point Z=0. The result follows. The
first term, independent of X is the field at the centre, as calculated
above. The next term is in Z4, indicating that all lower order deriva
tives vanish.
5.4
Obviously, such a calculation could be done by hand but, apart from the
effort involved, there is always the possibility of making silly errors.
5.4
Example 2 − Power series
5.4
Before I had the TPS package, I had written my own power series
procedures. These are shown in the second listing. Lines starting with a
% are comments. The procedures are given the self-explanatory names
TAYLOR and MACLAURIN, and their definitions are fairly straightforward.
The statement SCALAR is the equivalent of LOCAL in Basic while the
structure of the FOR loop is very similar to that in Basic.
5.4
Example 3 − Definite integration
5.4
One serious limitation of Reduce is that it does not do definite
integration, although the indefinite integration (anti-derivative)
facilities are second to none. The third listing shows a short procedure
for evaluating the definite integral by substituting at the end points.
Of course, this is the usual method of doing this and, for respectable
functions, it works well. For badly behaved functions it will not work
and of course, as it stands, this function will not cope with infinite
limits.
5.4
Archimedes Reduce implementation
5.4
I have been using Reduce version 3.3 on the Archimedes for some few
years. This was a single-task program which took over the whole machine,
although I had hacked the program about to make it run in a Task Window.
This obviously slowed the program down somewhat but the advantages were
plenty. I could then edit procedures and chunks of instructions in an
Edit window, and I could see where files were, in their directory
viewers. Then by unlinking the Task window I could export chunks of a
session as text to a document. In fact, this is how the first listing
was produced. This version of Reduce ran under the Acorn Lisp compiler
(now discontinued).
5.4
It should be pointed out that Reduce is hungry for RAM. It requires a
minimum of 2 Mbytes to run and it is better with more. All algebra
packages, by their very nature, need large amounts of RAM. It is
remarkable that the PC Derive works as well as it does within the DOS
constraint of 640k; much work must have gone into optimising the code to
run well in a small area of RAM.
5.4
Reduce version 3.4 is now available and I have had my copy for a few
weeks now. This uses CSL Lisp: Codemist Standard Lisp, which is a new
version for the Archimedes, written mainly in C. This has the advantage
of having hooks to the window manager etc. Not surprisingly, version 3.4
runs in its own window and installs itself on the icon bar. However,
there are a number of differences from standard RISC-OS applications.
While a Reduce calculation is being done, control is not passed back to
the machine. This is quite a good idea and it means that there is no
significant speed loss by running in a window. You can scroll back over
the window a limited way but unfortunately there are no cut/paste
facilities. In that respect, it is not so good as my hacked version 3.3.
In principle, however, I should be able to get the new version running
in a Task window; I have not tried yet.
5.4
Another advantage of the old version was that there was a graphics
module, written by Arthur Norman, which (in single-task mode only)
provided some elementary 2d and 3d graph plotting. This obviously does
not work with the new version so, at the moment, there is no graphics
support. Within a windowing environment, the sensible thing to do is to
export the graphics data to a graphics window. Thus all Reduce must do
is to prepare the data for export. It then becomes the task of the
graphics widow to do the display properly. I have been working on this
but I still have a long way to go!
5.4
The Archimedes package
5.4
Reduce 3.4 comes on eight floppy discs! In fact, the compiled program is
on two disc, the others containing the sources, libraries and documenta
tion. Unfortunately you don’t get the full CSL Lisp package; this must
be purchased extra if you need it for development work. There are two
manuals provided. One is the documentation for Reduce 3.4 and the other
contains information on the user-contributed modules. These manuals are
perfect-bound and I am worried that they will fall apart soon if they
are used too much. Fortunately, the documentation on the discs includes
these manuals but they are in TEX format and so can not be read directly
without a TEX previewer.
5.4
Conclusion
5.4
I estimate that Reduce is my second most used software package (Impres
sion + Equasor being my first). I have found it invaluable despite its
few shortcomings. It is probably rather too expensive for the casual
user but for serious mathematical work it is superb. It is much more
powerful than Derive, although that package does definite integration
and it provides graphics facilities. Unfortunately, I have not had an
opportunity to use Mathematica, which is supposed to be good and has
excellent graphics, but there is no Archimedes version available; nor is
there likely to be.
5.4
The full price of Reduce 3.4 is £320 + VAT but, until the end of the
year, owners of Reduce 3.3 can upgrade for £185 + VAT.
5.4
Archimedes Reduce 3.4 is available from:
5.4
Codemist Ltd., “Alta”, Horsecombe Vale, Combe Down, Bath, BA2 5QR.
Telephone: 0225− 837430.
5.4
Example 1
5.4

5.4
2: BH := 1/((Z—LH)**2 +1)**(3/2) + 1/((Z+LH)**2 +1)**(3/2)$
5.4
3: SUB(Z=0,BH);
5.4

5.4
                2
5.4
           2*(lh  + 1)
5.4
—————————————————————————————————
5.4
        2         4       2
5.4
 sqrt(lh  + 1)*(lh  + 2*lh  + 1)
5.4

5.4
4: SUB(Z=0,DF(BH,Z));
5.4

5.4
0
5.4

5.4
5: SUB(Z=0,DF(BH,Z,2))$
5.4
6: ON FACTOR;
5.4

5.4
7: WS 5;
5.4

5.4
 6*(2*lh + 1)*(2*lh — 1)
5.4
——————————————————————————
5.4
        2         2     3
5.4
 sqrt(lh  + 1)*(lh  + 1)
5.4

5.4
9: SOLVE(WS(5)=0,LH);
5.4

5.4
        1      1
5.4
{——— ,lh=———,lh= — i,lh=i}
5.4
        2      2
5.4

5.4
10: LH := 1/2$
5.4

5.4

5.4
12: SUB(Z=0,BH);
5.4

5.4
    16
5.4
———————————
5.4
 5*sqrt(5)
5.4

5.4
13: IN “$.!REDUCE.R34.RED.TPS”$
5.4

5.4

5.4
14: PS(BH,Z,0);
5.4

5.4

5.4
  16*sqrt(5)          2304        4        315392        6      7
5.4
(————————————) — (—————————————)*z  + (———————————————)*z  + O(z )
5.4
      25           625*sqrt(5)          78125*sqrt(5)
5.4

5.4
Example 2
5.4

5.4
% TAY/MAC
5.4
%                TAYLOR AND MACLAURIN EXPANSIONS      BPC/7July89
5.4

5.4
% For the Taylor expansion
5.4
%     1st argument is the function
5.4
%     2nd argument is the expansion variable
5.4
%     3rd argument is the point of expansion
5.4
%     4th argument is maximum power required
5.4

5.4
% For the Maclaurin expansion
5.4
%     1st argument is the function
5.4
%     2nd argument is the expansion variable
5.4
%     3rd argument is maximum power required
5.4

5.4
   PROCEDURE TAYLOR(F,X,X0,N);
5.4
      BEGIN
5.4
         SCALAR SS, DD, FA;
5.4
         DD := F;
5.4
         SS := SUB(X=X0,F);
5.4
         FA := 1;
5.4
         FOR I := 1:N DO
5.4
            BEGIN
5.4
               FA := FA*I;
5.4
               DD := DF(DD,X);
5.4
               SS := SS + SUB(X=X0,DD)*X**I/FA;
5.4
            END;
5.4
         RETURN SS;
5.4
      END;
5.4

5.4

5.4
   PROCEDURE MACLAURIN(F,X,N);
5.4
      BEGIN
5.4
         SCALAR SS, DD, FA;
5.4
         DD := F;           % the function - for repeated
differentiation
5.4
         SS := SUB(X=0,F);  % partial sum of terms
5.4
         FA := 1;           % for the factorials
5.4
         FOR I := 1:N DO
5.4
            BEGIN
5.4
               FA := FA*I;
5.4
               DD := DF(DD,X);
5.4
               SS := SS + SUB(X=0,DD)*X**I/FA;
5.4
            END;
5.4
         RETURN SS;
5.4
      END;
5.4

5.4
   END;  A
5.4

5.4
Example 3
5.4

5.4
algebraic procedure defint(y,x,a,b);
5.4
      begin
5.4
         scalar integ;
5.4
         integ := int(y,x);
5.4
         return
5.4
         sub(x=b,integ) - sub(x=a,integ)
5.4
      end;
5.4
end$
5.4

5.4

5.4
Sinewaver
5.4
Tristan Cooper
5.4
If you have ever been fascinated by the shapes formed by sine waves,
especially when more than one of them interfere with each other, then
this selection of programs from ‘Jimbo’ of Computer World is for you.
Jimbo is clearly entranced by the behaviour of sine waves and makes
extensive use of them in various graphical ways, using text, blobs, dots
and lines. He allows us to create a wide variety of fascinating shapes
using the Archimedes’ speed and colours to great effect.
5.4
Before I describe Sinewaver itself, here is a quick rundown of all the
other programs on the disc.
5.4
•    Tunes − five sound tracks to give you some background music.
5.4
•    !Mellow − an interesting selection of exercises in coloured graphics,
giving smooth colour control, but with inadequate explanation (see
below).
5.4
•    !Paletter − a comprehensive and easy to use means of producing your
own palette.
5.4
•    Key2Dots − a less than exciting display of moving blobs or lines.
5.4
•    MouseyFun − plot lines or dots on the screen and they’ll be slowly
deleted after a while. Fun?
5.4
•    PlainDotty − this gives you a feel for the shape of things to come as
sine wave related movement is depicted using moving coloured blobs. But
don’t believe the instructions − you’ll need / & ‘ not . & ; to alter
the values.
5.4
•    Vectors-3D − rotating tetrahedron in basic colours.
5.4
•    Autorotate − I couldn’t make this do anything useful due to lack of
detailed instructions.
5.4
•    Keyrotate − select one of several line drawings and rotate it through
all possible axes.
5.4
•    Shapemaker − make your own drawing for use with Keyrotate.
5.4
•    BasicFX − some attractive exercises in text manipulation which could
be nice to use in one’s own applications.
5.4
•    BirdMaths − a pretty representation of a bird flaps around the screen.
5.4
•    Dycp − type in your own text and see it bounce up and down.
5.4
•    SineDemo − demo version of Sinewaver.
5.4
•    Waveydesk − yet another ‘facility’ to make a mess of the desktop.
5.4
•    Wiggle − a broad coloured line streams down the screen under mouse
control.
5.4
!Sinewaver
5.4
Getting Sinewaver to start is not the easiest thing in the world! I
think Jimbo is a little over protective of his software, frankly.
Firstly, is there really a need for a window to open asking whether I’m
legally entitled to use this software? particularly as there is no way
to close it. Secondly, the password codes are written on crimson paper
with crimson highlighting. The intention is to make it impossible to
photocopy it; unfortunately, it also makes it very hard to read. Then,
the instructions for use of the passcodes is so ambiguous that I had to
contact Jimbo to find out how to use them! Call me stupid if you like,
but I bet I won’t be the only one to fail to get past this stage without
help.
5.4
Once running, Sinewaver gives us a main menu with options on playing
with the sinewaves, editing, saving and loading data, merging sinewaves,
information and quit.
5.4
At this point, the best bet is to go for ‘playing’ and see what happens.
This is the default setting in which 30 spots swirl around the screen in
an elliptical form. Try holding <shift> and/or <ctrl>. These cause non
deletion of the spots and cycling of colours, producing some very pretty
effects. Pity they can’t be saved as sprite files. Clicking <select>
will send you to the editor, allowing alteration of all the parameters
currently in use, in terms of x and y radii, counts, speeds and steps,
Sine counts and phases; plus number of dots, after images and phases.
I’m not at all sure quite what all these mean, and there is no explana
tion that I can find to tell me. However, altering some of them,
particularly the last three, then returning to the display, produces
patterns of increasing intricacy and delight. At this point, you might
feel that your perseverance is starting to pay off. By experimenting
with different values of the various parameters, you will eventually get
a feel for what everything does and should be able to maintain a
sensible display and produce a vast variety of pretty shapes at the same
time. Take your time and don’t change more than one thing at a time
until you fully understand what’s going on.
5.4
There are a number of default sine waves that have been supplied which
can be combined in various mathematical ways such as addition, subtrac
tion, division etc, and some default parameter settings which are worth
trying out.
5.4
The information page is not very informative, unfortunately. Jimbo uses
some of his text manipulation tricks to produce a rather garish and
uncomfortable display which includes little useful data. Which takes me
to my main grouse...
5.4
Criticism
5.4
I have no doubt that Jimbo knows a great deal about sinewaves and
programming the Archimedes. However, as with so many programmers, he
seems to assume that the users of his work will be able to read his mind
when it comes to actually running the programs. What is the use of
sophisticated software, capable of producing fascinating and entrancing
effects, if we can’t understand how to use it? There can be no doubt
that many hours of blood, sweat and tears went into writing this wide
range of programs. A couple of hours of careful thought, perhaps with
the help of an inexperienced user, might lead to two or three pages of
clear instructions, plus comprehensive on-screen help.
5.4
Conclusion
5.4
I understand that the asking price for this software is around £4. It’s
easily worth that much, notwithstanding the criticisms, and Jimbo tells
me that he intends to do something about the instructions. Let’s hope
so. There is also a competition for the most original and interesting
Sinewaver pattern. So for more details, contact Jimbo, (aka James
Wilkinson) 13, St Peter’s Road, Droitwich, WR9 7BJ.  A
5.4

5.4
AnDi Oddule
5.4
Peter Thomson
5.4
The AnDi Oddule is the first of a series of modules from Baildon
Electronics and Morley Electronics Ltd that communicate with the
Archimedes computers through the I2C interface.
5.4
AnDi is an an input / output unit with both analogue and digital
interfaces. It costs £49 +VAT.
5.4
I2C interface
5.4
The I2C bus is an integral part of the Archimedes computer’s internal
communication system. It is a standard system for exchange of data
between integrated circuits and forms part of the expansion bus. The
Oddule’s lead plugs into an adaptor that in turn plugs into the
expansion socket. At only £84+VAT this is the lowest cost option. The
Oddules can also plug into the I2C socket on Morley’s Analogue and User
Port for A3000 expansion board. The Oddules can be daisy-chained so that
several can be used on one interface at the same time.
5.4
Analogue input
5.4
This unit is quite fast. It can collect up to 10,000 analogue values per
second in total from four channels. These are 8 bit conversions and all
8 bits are available with no internal noise degrading readings.
5.4
The voltage to be measured must be between 0V and 5V. If an external
reference voltage, less than 5V, is used then the conversion is between
0V and the reference voltage. The converter can also be configured to
measure the difference between two channels. The input circuit draws
less than 0.1 nA except when the voltage moves outside the permitted
range. Any channel not in use should be tied to analogue ground and not
left floating.
5.4
Analogue output
5.4
There is one channel available which can be outputting a signal at the
same time as the analogue input or digital input / output is in use.
Potentially, this is also very fast at 10,000 changes per second but
providing meaningful data at this speed requires assembly language
programming skills. This interface will cope easily with the fastest
programming available in Basic. This output is also an 8 bit conversion
between 0V and 5V or between 0V and a reference voltage. This output
cannot drive a large current and an amplifier using an external power
source is needed to make full use of it.
5.4
Digital input / output
5.4
There are 8 digital channels giving eight input and eight output
connections. Each channel can be configured separately as input or
output. The input uses 5V logic, and when this is connected, will also
drive the output for that channel.
5.4
The digital output should be connected to an external DC power supply up
to 50V with a maximum current of 400mA on one channel and a total
maximum of 1A for all eight channels.
5.4
Hardware
5.4
The unit is mounted in an 8cm by 14cm plastic case with all connections
to the top surface. All connections are made to the analogue and digital
terminals with screw clamp bare wire connectors. There is a single LED
that shows the 5V line to the Archimedes is on.
5.4
A 5V terminal is provided on the module. If this is short-circuited, it
is protected by a diode, but may result in failure of the diode in a
fail safe mode. The diode then needs replacing.
5.4
The electronics inside is based on four chips, each mounted in a socket
and easily replaced should the need arise. The digital output device can
be directly substituted with a higher voltage rated chip.
5.4
Software
5.4
All functions of this module are under the control of a single command;
SWI “IIC_Control” (&240)
5.4
Several modules might be in use on the I2C bus at the same time. The
first parameter is the address that identifies the module to be
controlled. The address can be changed by altering links inside the
module. The least significant bit of the address includes a 1 to read
data from the module, or a zero to send data to the module.
5.4
The second parameter is the pointer to a block of data. If the operation
is to send data to the module then this data will be placed here before
the SWI is used. If it is reading data from the module then the data
will be placed here by the SWI.
5.4
The third parameter is the number of bytes of data to be sent or to be
collected. This is only limited by the memory available for the reserved
block of data.
5.4
The SWI in ROM on the Archimedes cannot support the highest rates of
data transfer to the module. An improved version is available from
Baildon Electronics. This worked well with all options except four
channel analogue conversion at the highest possible speed, when it does
not start with the same channel each time it is used but Baildon
Electronics have now ironed out this minor problem.
5.4
User Guide
5.4
The user guide gives detailed technical information and is very
comprehensive in this respect, including circuit diagrams for the
modules and examples of circuits for connection. This may be too
technical for some users as it assumes a general knowledge of digital
electronics, but is essential for project development. Perhaps a
separate guide to experiments without the technical background would be
useful.
5.4
The user guide explains SWI “IIC_Control” and gives a listing that
demonstrates the features of the module. This listing includes functions
for most input and output routines that could be included in other
programs. It would be useful for the novice programmer if this listing
was explained in more detail.
5.4
Conclusion
5.4
The AnDi Odule is excellent value for money. The connections are not
suitable for young children but for GCSE work and ‘A’ level project work
it seems ideal. The possibility of increasing the number of channels
available by daisy chaining units must make it a practical solution for
teaching interfacing at university level and for industrial development.
5.4
Software control of the unit is straight forward − I would expect it to
be adopted by most control software packages in the future. It is
already supported by “Sparkle” control software.  A
5.4

5.4
Saving Disk Space
5.4
Mike Hobart
5.4
This article started as a review of Compression, but Stuart Bell’s got
published with great speed. Had I been as quick writing mine, the gist
would have been much the same. The advertisements tell you that you can
“double your disc space”, and this is not an unreasonable claim, though
it does need some qualification. As usual, it is a case of “you can’t
get something for nothing”. I have a suspicious turn of mind, so I did a
bit of extra research before sending off the review and got some
surprises.
5.4
Strategies
5.4
The following seem to be possible strategies for making sure that you
have the storage you want:
5.4
1. Invest in hardware. The options range from higher density floppies,
through bigger or removable hard drives to tape-streamers and optical
storage. They all cost money.
5.4
2. Compress the data. I have experience of two systems: Compression and
Spark. Both have their uses, as explained below.
5.4
3. Get more organised. This is the solution favoured by Gerald Fitton,
who uses PipeDream for all the jobs which do not need the DTP features
of Impression, partly because it is much more economical in storage
space (Archive 5.2 p36). It is a very sensible strategy, but most of us
are weak-willed, as the inside front cover often points out!
5.4
Compression programs
5.4
Compression programs do contain a special danger: every bit (hopefully!)
of a compressed file becomes significant. This is bad news for Adrian
Look, who wrote the no-doubt excellent Archimedes Disc Rescue. The
problem is that compressed files are total gobbledegook (well, to
paraphrase a bit from the old Apple II manual, if you can read them,
then you are a mutant and will go far in computing!), so a little gentle
mucking about with the odd bit on the disc will totally destroy the
data, whereas in plain form it just wrecks a character or a Basic token.
5.4
Compression (CFS) appears to serve essentially the same main purpose as
Spark. However, there are important differences, which makes possession
of both attractive (see table). CFS is immensely faster and demands less
space and workspace. However, it does not offer encryption, nor does it
know about other compression formats and it costs much more. The
compression each achieves is very similar, not surprising as they both
apply the same algorithm.
5.4
At least, this is how it might seem if you ask for a count on your
directories and files, but it is not that simple. Most important, CFS
does not compress directories, which means that they and their contents
can swiftly be accessed. Spark does archive the directories, and so it
can save a great deal more space. As far as I can see, it does not
compress them, or at least not all of them, but it does cut out the free
space.
5.4
There is a funny “feature” of count: it does not take directories into
consideration. The result of all this is that, although the effective
ness of the two programs is about the same on files, and by count they
seem to be doing the same, Spark can make a dramatically better job of
compressing directory trees. The drawback is that you need enough free
space and time to unpack your way to where you want to go, and you
cannot run applications direct from an archive. They have to be unpacked
first. Spark is a far better archiving program than Compression, but it
does cost time.
5.4
Sadly, Compression is at a disadvantage where I would like it most: the
compression of short items generated in Impression. As all Impression
users know, every Impression document is saved as an application, in
other words, a directory tree including !run and !runimage files. Each
chapter has a subdirectory and there is a master chapter directory. It
is therefore possible to produce a vast amount of storage demand by
saying next to nothing in a number of chapters or a number of documents.
On the other hand, if you write a book as a single “chapter”, the
overheads are relatively trivial. Compression will do well with the book
but appallingly with the multi-chapter document. However, you might
never know this, unless you measure the change in your free space.
5.4
Problems with CFS
5.4
The problems are all avoidable, but take note, all the following is
based on genuine experience, which may not improve my image as an
intelligent computer user!
5.4
1. If your hard disc is brim full, then buying any data compression
program will be very frustrating. You can compress your data, but you
will have to make some space first by off-loading onto another medium.
The amount of space you can free determines how conveniently you can do
the compression of existing files. Each file which you compress must be
compressed into a different directory from that in which it currently
lives. You can compress whole directories at a stroke, but you need
enough free space to copy the source directory in its compressed form.
It is only after the file or directory has been compressed that you can
claim your new space by deleting the uncompressed parent. The smaller
the amount of free space you have available, the more piecemeal your
approach must be.
5.4
2. Some file types do not respond to compression, as their data is too
unstructured, or (in other words) because they are already efficiently
organised in terms of space occupancy. Programs and fonts are the most
obvious examples. Compression will not compress files which it considers
not to be worthwhile.
5.4
3. It is possible to compress files which you would much rather not
compress. If you do accidentally compress your boot file, you can sort
things out by restarting the machine with shift depressed. Then you can
open file windows, start CFS manually, drag the compressed file from the
CFS directory to a “direct” directory (not the root directory), check it
is O.K. and then delete the compressed boot file and replace it with the
uncompressed one.
5.4
4. There is a fatal clash between CFS and the Z88 filer program that
comes with Pipedream. Following the dreaded “Abort on data transfer at
....”, all filing systems (other than PCDir) are irretrievably lost, as
far as I can tell. I have tried to *RMreinit, without effect. BIG RED
BUTTON TIME!
5.4
Discipline for Impression users
5.4
If you need to save space as an Impression user, the best answer is to
save text only, not whole documents, and then compress the text. It is a
bit of a bore, but it gives dramatic savings for short documents. Also,
do not save graphics both as source and copy in Impression. If you want
to save them in Impression, you can dump the source and get at them by
holding down <shift> while double clicking on the Impression directory
icon, thus opening its filer window for further rummaging.
5.4
Discipline for other material
5.4
It may also be worth hunting out rubbish in bought-in and PD programs.
Do you need all the documentation within the application? Do not pass on
PD programs without it, but possibly remove it from your working copies.
Does the application include modules which you already have in your
system folder? It is not uncommon to find copies of CLib, ABClib and
FPE. Do you need all the examples and “freebies”?
5.4
Examine all your files: have you used it this quarter? If not, archive
it. Have you used it this year? If not, dump it on a labelled floppy in
a cardboard box! Have you looked in the cardboard box this millennium?
Well, perhaps I am getting ahead of myself, and we shall all have
infinite optical drives by 2000 AD.
5.4
Make sure that you leave some space on your hard disk, preferably at
least 10%.
5.4
Conclusion
5.4
Buy a storage system which is plenty big enough for your imagined needs,
preferably one with the option of adding. I am a fan of removable
drives, indeed, I suspect that I was the first to use one on an
Archimedes. A removable can get you out of all sorts of difficulties.
5.4
Buy Compression unless you are a speed freak, you can afford infinite
storage or you are paranoid. To my surprise, someone who should be “in
the know” suggested to me the other day that there is no speed penalty
in using CFS to unpack files, as the computing time is more than
compensated for by the reduced file transfer time. Probably depends on
your hardware − more true for ARM3 and less true with express SCSI
drives.
5.4
Buy Spark for your deep archives.
5.4
Use neither for core bits of your system (!boot, fonts and programs).
5.4
Tidy up your disks at no financial penalty. Use the space saving options
offered by Impression or compact storage offered by (e.g.) Pipedream.
5.4
a) Large directory of assorted stuff, but few sprites, many sub-
directories.
5.4
Before compression     3,554,304
5.4
CFS’d by count    1,266,304     35.6%
5.4
CFS’d by D free     2,479,104     69.7%
5.4
Sparked by D free    1,246,208     35.1%
5.4
Time to CFS    2.5 mins
5.4
Time to Spark    25 mins
5.4
b) Large single chapter in Impression.
5.4
Before compression    143,772
5.4
CFS’d by count     73,632    51.2%
5.4
CFS’d by D free     77,056    53.6%
5.4
Sparked by D free     64,768    45.0%
  A
5.4

5.4
Clares’ Illusionist
5.4
Malcolm Banthorpe
5.4
Illusionist is a graphics package designed for editing and rendering 3D
objects and scenes allowing very realistic images to be generated.
5.4
I have written previously about ray-tracers such as RenderBender,
SolidsRender and ArcLight which attempt to generate realistic images by
effectively taking into account the paths of all rays of light from a
scene which reach the viewer by both direct and indirect routes and is
thus able to take into account reflections and transparency. The main
drawback to this approach is the time taken to render a scene.
5.4
Illusionist goes for a simpler approach of rendering whole polygons at a
time, taking into account direct lighting and thereby allowing pictures
to be generated in a fraction of the time that would be taken for ray-
tracing. The penalty for this speed is that the shadows cast by objects
cannot be shown (although surface shading can) and neither can mirrored
or transparent objects be represented. If this were all that there was
to Illusionist, it would be a fairly useful 3D editor and rendering
system but not a particularly remarkable piece of software.
5.4
There are, however, a number of facilities which make it something
rather special. Notably, sprite and picture files can be mapped onto the
surface of any object so that they can be given the texture of, say,
wood or marble. Secondly, although all surfaces are defined as polygons,
smooth shading may be applied. This results in a much better representa
tion of surfaces which are supposed to look smooth. While the actual
shape of an object is not changed by this operation, by defining a
surface as a large enough number of polygons and applying smooth
shading, the effect is the same as if the surface were perfectly smooth.
For example, depending on its screen size, a cylinder composed of 20
polygons will generally appear to have a circular cross-section. When
these features are coupled with anti-aliasing and a very effective
colour-dithering algorithm, the result is some of the most realistic
images I have yet seen generated on an Archimedes. The extra reality
given to objects by texture-mapping and smooth-shading more than
compensates, in many instances, for the lack of shadows and other
limitations.
5.4
The editor
5.4
Illusionist is supplied as two discs and a 56 page manual. The main disc
contains the !Illusion application, plus a number of components for
picture building and some example pictures while the second disc
contains more components and examples. Once the main application has
been installed on the icon bar, clicking on it brings up an edit window
which is used to design objects and scenes. The window consists of four
panes showing top, side and front views plus preview. The latter shows
the scene in wire-frame format taking into account the observer
position, target and lens. This view can optionally be displayed full
screen. To the left of the edit window is a toolbox providing access to
the most commonly used ways of creating and manipulating objects. Other
facilities are available via menus and also, in many cases, via keyboard
short-cuts. The top, side and front views can be zoomed and panned to
facilitate detailed work on them but I would have preferred them to be
in the form of resizeable windows so that they could also be enlarged.
5.4
Objects are always defined in terms of series of polygonal facets, each
of which is defined as a series of connected points. An object may
therefore be created from scratch, polygon by polygon, entering a series
of points by clicking as the cursor is positioned appropriately in all
three windows, and then entering how the points are connected. The
cursor may be positioned by the mouse purely visually or, optionally,
the three coordinates of the cursor may be displayed so that pre-planned
objects can be accurately defined and positioned. This is, however, the
most time consuming way of defining objects and need only generally be
employed for irregular shapes. Many objects can be adequately repre
sented using a selection of the built-in primitive shapes such as
sphere, cube, hemisphere, torus, cone, etc. As any shape can be
independently scaled in each of three planes, there is plenty of scope
for creating new objects. In addition, “sweep” objects can be defined by
rotating a profile. This makes it easy to create circular shapes
typified by goblets, vases and cups. A single polygon may also be
extruded into three dimensions. An optionally displayed variable grid
and grid lock are available. An unusual but potentially useful feature
is called “attract”. Here the cursor looks like, and behaves like, a
magnet. Any selected group of points are drawn towards the magnet, the
degree of attraction for any given point being proportional to its
distance from the magnet. This, together with scaling, provides plenty
of scope for distorting the primitives into new solids.
5.4
Once an object has been defined, it may be necessary to access a single
facet in order to adjust its position or to define its colour or texture
map. To do this, it will be necessary to select all of the points which
define that surface. This operation is fundamental to the operation of
Illusionist but is, as the manual admits, a little complex to explain in
words. However, after following the example in the manual, it turns out
to be a lot easier to do than it first appears and, fortunately, the
process does not have to be repeated all that often. Any selected group
of points (from a single point through a group of facets to a collection
of objects) can be given a label which will then appear in a separate
label window. Thereafter, that group of points may be reselected merely
by clicking on the label. I learned early on in my exploration of
Illusionist that it is a very good idea to give a label to everything,
as soon as it has been defined − this can save a lot of time later. As
mentioned above, any group can be scaled in any direction as well as
rotated and positioned so that complete scenes can easily be built up.
Complete scenes may be saved to disc as a “vector” file which will also
contain information concerning surface colours and textures. By saving
single objects, they may then be used in future by merging them into new
scenes.
5.4
Surfaces
5.4
Any surfaces can be assigned a colour or texture map and given a surface
type such as matt, metal, shiny, plastic or self-luminous. Colours are
not limited, as in the case of RenderBender, to 14 but are defined as 24
bit values with 256 levels each of red, blue and green, giving a
theoretical total of 16,777,216. A texture map is a mode 12 or 13
sprite. As well as the sample maps provided, new ones could be created
with any suitable paint package such as !Paint or Artisan. A scanner or
digitiser and camera could also be useful here. Facets may be rendered
as the flat surfaces that they really are or with smooth shading. The
precise way in which the sprite is mapped onto a surface may also be
defined − for example, you can select the number of times that the
sprite is repeated over a surface.
5.4
The surface type determines how specular reflections (highlights) are
handled. Ideally, metal surfaces should often include a reflection of
surrounding objects. While reflections are not strictly speaking
possible with this package, there is a feature called environment
mapping which, used with care, can contribute greatly to the realism. An
‘environment’ is the optionally rendered background to a scene defined
in terms of four colours. By default these are: sky top − blue, sky
horizon − white, ground horizon − black, ground bottom − green. For any
surface, the degree to which the environment is reflected can be defined
and helps particularly in making metallic surfaces look realistic.
5.4
Lighting
5.4
Up to fourteen lamps may be positioned to light a scene and there are
two types of lamps available. Point lights shine all directions while
spot lamps are directional and have variable beam width. The colours of
both types can be defined in terms of red, green and blue components.
The overall brightness of a scene and ambient lighting can also be set.
Some care with the positioning of lamps will help to make the missing
shadows less obvious. One effect of their absence can be to make an
object on a horizontal surface appear to be floating above it.
5.4
Rendering
5.4
When it comes to actually rendering a scene, it is a good idea to start
with a “mini test”. This is just approximately 1/16th of a screen and
gives some idea of any changes to lighting or positions of objects or
viewpoint that may be desirable. Full screen rendering can be in any
256-colour mode and may either be multitasking or take over the
processor, with the screen optionally disabled, for maximum speed. If
the anti-aliasing option is chosen, four values are calculated for each
screen pixel (therefore taking four times as long) but the resulting
image is superior in having jagged edges smoothed out. If you are lucky
enough to have a PCATS Graphics Enhancer, this is also catered for.
Images may be finally saved either in compressed form or as standard
sprites. It is possible so save the complete 24-bit information,
although a single mode 21 image would take up 960 k. The wire-frame view
may be saved in !Draw format.
5.4
Conclusions
5.4
Overall, I was very impressed with this package. Apart from my minor
niggle with the small size of the design windows, I found it easy to
use. It is the first application of its kind that I have seen for the
Archimedes and is capable of results that look as though they were
produced on something very much more expensive. Highly recommended.
(£99.95 from Clares Micros or £89 through Archive.)  A
5.4

5.4
Prime Art & Imagine
5.4
Peter Thomson
5.4
Both PrimeArt and Imagine are art packages which use the mode 15 screen
display as the painting area. They both use the RISC-OS printer drivers
and the outline font manager but they are very different in most other
respects.
5.4
Icons and menus
5.4
Clicking <menu> on Prime Art’s screen displays an icon based toolbox
menu. This includes a colour selector at the top and a very useful text
help panel at the bottom. An array of 32 icons provides immediate access
to a wide range of painting and drawing options. I thought the icons
were rather too small to start with but once I had identified the
function of each, I found no difficulty in using them.
5.4
I also appreciated the rapid access to many of the options. Pressing
<menu> a second time on the toolbox or selecting the relevant icon
displays a text menu with a comprehensive range of options.
5.4
Imagine only provides a series of text menus with a fairly complex tree
structure. The selection of a new option requires this system to be
negotiated each time which I found annoying. Imagine also has a help
facility which displays text windows at each stage of the menu selec
tion. These were useful the first time I ran the program but after that
I found them very intrusive and switched that option off.
5.4
My testing panel of seven and eight year olds had little or no dif
ficulty making selections from Prime Art’s menus but found those of
Imagine very frustrating.
5.4
Configured menus
5.4
Both packages provide a facility to limit the selection of options
available to young children. Imagine does this by simply deleting the
option from the menu tree. Prime Art offers a much more sophisticated
facility to place the chosen options on the toolbox. All 32 icon spaces
on the toolbox can be assigned in any order to any of the options
available in the package. The same icon may be present several times to
produce a larger button area.
5.4
Colour choice
5.4
Prime Art has a simple colour display system that takes up very little
space on the toolbox. Two columns each display the eight basic palette
colours. One from each column is selected. A horizontal band between the
two now shows all the shade variations in between. Although the squares
of colour are tiny, my testing panel found it simple to use, and easier
than the colour sliders in !Draw.
5.4
Imagine uses a palette that displays all 256 colours as a square on the
screen. Again the individual colours are tiny. Choosing a colour is made
more difficult because the colours in the palette don’t quite match the
same colour when placed on the screen,
5.4
Brushes and sprays
5.4
Imagine has the bigger selection of brushes. It has two basic brush
shapes in each of four sizes. You can also pick up a line of pixels from
the screen which then becomes a brush or paint with a small rectangle of
pixels to produce a texture effect. Sprays can be round or square and
the user can define the size and density.
5.4
Prime Art has six brush shapes selected from the tool kit that function
for both spray and painting.
5.4
Colour fill
5.4
Prime Art can produce some spectacular effects with a range of banded
colour fills in addition to plain fill. The colours used are the shade
variations between any two of the eight basic palette combinations
giving fifty-six colour patterns. The colour change is either smooth or
banded, fitted round other colours or not, round or vertical or
horizontal.
5.4
Unlike ProArtisan, the width of each band cannot be changed.
5.4
Imagine can only offer a plain fill with an option to fill to a colour
in addition to replacing an area of one colour.
5.4
Shapes
5.4
Both packages offer straight lines as well as outline and filled shapes
in triangle, rectangle, circle, ellipse sector, segment and arc. Imagine
also offers square, parallelogram and spiral. The last is not easy to
control.
5.4
Cut, paste and sprites
5.4
Imagine uses the screen as the work area for these options which has a
serious defect; you cannot place a copy that overlaps the original
without risk that the new copy covers part of the original before it has
been copied. Rectangular areas of the screen can be flipped left-right
or up-down. The option Transform allows a copy to be rotated, enlarged
or reduced as well as fitted into any four sided area.
5.4
Prime Art uses the much more flexible system of sprites. Any rectangle
can be copied from the screen as a sprite and added to a RISC-OS sprite
file. Sprites can be imported from other packages or exported to them.
Any sprite can be selected and scaled to any size, rotated to any angle
before placing on the screen. The selected sprite can be used to tile
any rectangular area, or a tiled pattern of sprites used in a flood fill
or painting option.
5.4
Printing
5.4
Both use RISC-OS printer drivers. Prime Art allows the whole screen to
be printed in various sizes, including a four page poster size. With
Imagine, the printer driver must be loaded before the program but any
part of the screen can be selected and printed out.
5.4
Prime Art special options
5.4
The Prime Art application sits on the icon bar. Other applications
remain intact but not accessible while the drawing screen is in use, but
you can switch between the desktop and the drawing screen which also
remains intact. This means that you can run Paint alongside as a sprite
editor. The review version would only allow exchange of the sprite file
via disc, but the next version should allow Prime Art and Paint to work
on the same sprite file. I found it useful to run two copies of Prime
Art side by side in the same machine. They do not interfere with each
other at all and sprites can be exchanged via disc. I used a RAM disc in
a 2Mb A3000 and found this very easy.
5.4
This package has two painting options called Mix and Cover which allow
the shade of a new colour to be modified by the colour previously on the
screen. This is particularly useful for adding light and shade to a
scene and also for adding colour to a digitised photo. Wash blends the
shades between groups of pixels, and a ‘cycle brush’ cycles through the
shades of a chosen pair of colours. I was pleased to see the return of
Rays, straight lines radiating from a point which was a feature of the
art package that came out with the first 310s and Arthur.
5.4
All options in the next version will be selectable with a single key on
the keyboard in addition to the toolbox and the text menus. The review
version has the keyboard short-cuts but you need to follow the menu
structure. This will be a very useful feature when it is implemented.
5.4
Imagine special options
5.4
Imagine has two alternative screens but one is lost if the other is
printed. Although other applications remain intact, there is no way of
interacting with them. Other pictures can only be loaded as full mode 15
screens. Sprites cannot be loaded or saved. A novel feature is that the
whole of the screen can be covered by a pattern of lines formed from
triangles, squares, hexagons, circles or any quadrilateral. The size of
the shape and the way the lines are displayed can be selected. Another
feature is that an area of the screen can be selected and copied in a
brick like pattern to cover the whole screen. The horizontal offset can
be adjusted.
5.4
One feature I particularly liked was the use of symmetries in drawing.
The line that you draw is repeated with a symmetry centred on the middle
of the screen. Those available are left/right, up/down and up to eight
fold rotational symmetry.
5.4
Documentation
5.4
Both guides describe all the options available. The guide for Prime Art
is better presented and includes illustrations of the toolbox and all
the menus. I also prefer its wire comb binding which allows it to remain
flat on the desk.
5.4
Conclusion
5.4
Both programs have some interesting features but Prime Art stands out as
being easy to use with all its features easily accessible for even the
youngest user. It doesn’t have all the features of ‘ProArtisan’, but has
some which that package lacks including the ability to interact with
other packages on the desktop. Prime Art is certainly my best buy.
5.4
Prime Art from Minerva Software costs £79.95 + VAT (or £87 through
Archive) and includes a primary school site licence.
5.4
Imagine from Topologika is £39.95 (£37 through Archive) and includes a
school site licence.  A
5.4

5.4
Step By Step Video Guides
5.4
Peter Jennings
5.4
Learning how to use a computer or a new piece of software is made so
much easier if you are fortunate enough to have someone to show you what
to do. Most of us have had to rely on reading instruction manuals, and
perhaps magazine articles, followed by trial and lots of error. Now, for
the first time, there is a series of four video guides to demonstrate
how to make a start in computing, text processing, data handling and art
and graphics, all using the A3000/Archimedes range. They cost £14.95
each (£14 from Archive) and running times vary from 55 to 80 minutes.
The full price is a half or a quarter that charged for some videos
designed for PC machines, where the potential sales are much bigger.
5.4
The videos come in smartly labelled plastic cases, illustrated with an
A3000 and small screen shots and with a lengthy blurb on the back,
detailing the contents. Above the title of each is the legend: “A step
by step guide to the Acorn BBC A3000 and Archimedes range +
applications”. This is the only mention anywhere that the videos are
designed for users of anything other than the A3000. The details on the
back and the commentary on tape refer only to “your A3000” with no
acknowledgment that you may be using any other model. This does not
really matter except, perhaps, to a complete beginner getting to grips
with the machine for the first time who may wonder if he has bought the
wrong model, or the wrong video, if his micro is not an A3000.
5.4
Professional videos are expensive to produce and, with a market limited
to A3000 and Archimedes users, they have, of necessity, to be low
budget. These appear to be made with a single camera with production
techniques limited to a few changes of shot, some screen insets and an
occasional mix. The presentation is adequate rather than polished. More
important, though, are the videos’ contents and the way the instruction
is given and both of these are generally good.
5.4
Up & Running
5.4
The first and, at 80 minutes, the longest in the series, is “Up &
Running” which is aimed at the complete beginner. I found the start
confusing and my first thought was that the wrong tape had been put in
the box. The opening titles ended with some down-screen wording saying
“Other titles in this series” then a full screen title: “No. 2 Text
Processing” and a commentary which began by talking about word process
ing and desk top publishing. I had to rerun it and read the introduction
more carefully to realise that this was an advertisement for the other
three videos, taking up about the first three minutes of the tape.
5.4
The instructions began with presenter Graham Pragnell opening the box of
an A3000 Learning Curve and displaying the contents. The manuals were
put aside, never to be seen or referred to again. The viewer was then
shown how to connect the computer to various types of monitor and to a
printer. Everything was clearly explained and Graham Pragnell quickly
established his credentials as an actual user by advising that the mouse
plug was a tight fit and giving his own tip for inserting it. There was
no mention that other Archimedes have a separate keyboard and slightly
different connections and do not need a monitor support. A brief look at
a 400 series machine would have been a good idea here.
5.4
With the A3000 all connected and switched on, the normal start-up screen
was shown then a demonstration of what to do if there was just a * on an
otherwise blank screen (switch off and switch on again while holding
down the “R” key). The mouse was demonstrated, with insets of the screen
to show the pointer movements, and the terms “software”, “hardware” and
“WIMP” were explained. No previous knowledge was assumed. Even the
correct way round to insert a disc was shown and everything was taken at
a slow, steady pace with close ups and screen shots to make the
instruction clear.
5.4
That took up about the first 15 minutes of the tape and most of the rest
was devoted to tutorials on using some of the programs on the two
applications discs, beginning with Configure and going on to Edit, Paint
and Draw. Programs were saved on a previously prepared disc, titled
“Housekeep” but confusingly referred to, at different times, as “working
disc” and “storage” as well as “housekeeping”. The programs were named
as “Graham1”, “Graham2”, “Graham3” and so on, with no suggestion of
giving meaningful titles. Default file names such as “Untitled” were
cleared, a character at a time with the Delete key rather than the time-
saving <ctrl-U>.
5.4
The instruction was given as one long tutorial although it is unlikely
that anyone just learning to use a computer would be able to assimilate
it all at one sitting. I think it would have been better to separate
different sections with some visual punctuation, such as a picture flip,
with perhaps a music “sting”. This would also have made it easier to
find the different subjects when spooling through on subsequent
viewings. The first section, on assembling the computer, would be
unlikely to be viewed again once the machine had been set up. A mix
between subjects was occasionally used on other tapes in the series.
5.4
Text Processing
5.4
The second tape, Text Processing, is said on the case to be 70 minutes
long but the cassette label shows a more accurate “75 mins approx”. It
demonstrated the use of two word processors, First Word Plus and Phases,
which is for younger users and was described as being half way toward
desk top publishing, and one full blown desktop publisher, Ovation. I
was particularly interested in the tutorial on Phases as this was a
program I knew nothing about. The instructions showed how to produce an
illustrated document, printed in two columns, with different fonts and
text in varying sizes and colours. Even with no prior knowledge of the
program, I found each stage very simple to follow. At the end of the 13
minutes’ instruction, I was confident I could do all that had been shown
and I think most school children from the age of about eight or nine
would have been able to tackle the job with similar ease.
5.4
First Word Plus and Ovation were dealt with up to a similar standard;
that is a good basis to begin using them. The full facilities offered by
these sophisticated programs were not all shown, and could not be in the
time available on the video, nor were there any advanced hints and tips
for experienced users.
5.4
My review copy of this video had a fault, causing the picture and sound
to break up for a few seconds, 42 minutes from the start. The tape did
not appear to be physically damaged so this may be a recording fault
during copying which could affect others in the batch. (This was
actually an error on the master tape! However, it has now been cor
rected, I gather. Ed.)
5.4
Data Handling
5.4
Video 3, Data Handling, is nominally 55 minutes long although nearly
five minutes of this is taken up by blank leader tape, titles and
advertising for the other videos in the series.
5.4
It began with an explanation that data handling can include text,
numbers, pictures and sound, followed by a 33 minute look at the various
programs which form Data Sweet. These comprise Data Plot, a graph
program; Data Pick, a data base with text and icons; Data Card, which is
similar to Data Pick but has key words replacing the icons, and Data
Calc, a spreadsheet. They were all demonstrated in enough detail to get
anyone using them. Data Sweet is, however, a very individualistic
package and anyone who had learned to use these programs would find some
marked differences in other integrated programs.
5.4
Immediately after Data Calc there was a brief look at Schema, which was
described as a professional spreadsheet. This took about a minute and a
half, and was a demo rather than tuition, so anyone whose interest is
confined to this program would not find the video worth buying.
5.4
The next nine minutes were devoted to the Squirrel database with
instruction on setting up fields, entering data and searching. Menus
were used throughout and the short cuts offered by function keys were
never mentioned. The tuition was detailed enough for anyone to begin
using the database although it was admitted that this was too sophisti
cated a program to be explained in full. Again, this program has its own
way of doing things which are not the same in other databases.
5.4
The video ended with a two-minute demo of Genesis and a four-minute look
at Magpie, using existing databases and with no attempt to show how to
set up your own.
5.4
Art & Graphics
5.4
Video 4, Art & Graphics, also a nominal 55 minutes, began with a look at
the Technoscan hand scanner. A picture was scanned from a book, cut to
shape and printed and then loaded into Paint to be cleaned up. This was
done by using a white “paint spray” and “pencil” to remove grey marks
from the background. Unfortunately the grey marks were completely
invisible, despite adjusting contrast and brightness on my television
monitor.
5.4
Two programs were then shown in some detail. The first was Revelation
where the use of tools, shapes and colours were demonstrated. A picture
was loaded and manipulated, changing contrast, colours and colour
saturation and even producing a negative image. By that stage, I was
hoping to see a picture actually created but this was not done. As this
is one of the shortest of the four videos there would have been ample
time to show an artist actually using the program to do more than the
doodles which were all we saw produced.
5.4
Poster had a more practical demonstration, with full instruction on
reshaping, sizing and moulding both text and pictures then adding a
border to produce a complete poster.
5.4
Computer aided design (CAD) was limited to three and a half minutes with
an educational program, KiddiCAD, which manipulated blocks of colour.
Then the video ended with a display of pictures from various art
packages, mostly unidentified, which showed the standards which can be
reached by competent artists.
5.4
Who should buy them?
5.4
All the videos have clear, step by step, demonstrations of how to use
the main programs they feature and they will be of most value to new
users of those particular programs. There is probably nothing which is
not in the program manuals but the combination of clear explanations and
demonstrations make the information much easier to understand and
absorb.
5.4
Up & Running is an excellent introduction for beginners, either those
completely new to computing or those who have come to the A3000/
Archimedes range from other micros, including the BBC-B and Master.
Experienced A3000/Archimedes users will find it too elementary, unless
they have not so far used the Edit, Paint and Draw applications.
5.4
Text Processing will be of most value to new or potential users of First
Word Plus, Phases or Ovation. It would also be of use to anyone who is
uncertain whether or not to venture into word processing or desk top
publishing as it shows what these packages can do and how easy they can
be. The standard is too elementary for experienced users of them.
5.4
Data Handling would be of most use to anyone interested in Data Sweet
and for beginners with Squirrel. Schema, Genesis and Magpie are demos
rather that tutorials and it is not worth buying the video just for
them, although their inclusion does help to provide a fairly wide
overall look at data handling.
5.4
Art & Graphics gives a good idea of what can be done with a hand scanner
and an art program, particularly Revelation, but it is not an art tutor
and will not teach you how to create your own Van Gogh. There is a good,
very detailed, explanation of how to use Poster. Parents and schools may
find the look at KiddiCAD a useful extra.  A
5.4

5.4
Tracing and Drawing Conclusions!
5.4
Tord Eriksson & Rob Sherratt
5.4
(Tord sent us a review of David Pilling’s Trace utility which I sent to
Rob Sherratt, our new DTP editor to check out. We then received another
unsolicited review of Trace from Jochen Konietzko which agreed with Tord
and Rob’s conclusions but didn’t really add anything. So here is Tord’s
review followed by Rob’s own comments. Ed.)
5.4
Sprites do not scale very well − any jagged edges get worse if a sprite
is enlarged, just as the original non-outline fonts got worse if you
enlarged them. We call characters like that bit-mapped and pictures made
the same way, sprites.
5.4
The latest way of doing things is doing it as if it were drawn by hand,
by using Bezier curves. A Bezier curve is a mathematical way of
describing twisting or straight lines. This is the method used by !Draw,
!DrawPlus and the Outline Font Manager, because the outline fonts are
exactly that − Bezier Curves.
5.4
The problem has been in making illustrations with !Draw. Any complex
illustration takes an awfully long time, but the result is very small in
terms of bytes used and can be scaled up and down without any problems.
5.4
So normally, for a detailed illustration, !Paint would be used to make a
sprite (which could become many hundreds of kbytes), while for simple
illustrations, like schematics, maps etc. !Draw (or !DrawPlus) is much
more suited.
5.4
Scanners, that are becoming increasingly popular, are also producing
large complex sprites (even if they might be in !Draw sprite format,
i.e. a sprite within a Draw file). The real disadvantage of scanned
sprites is their size − many get too big to be saved directly to disc
and some of them don’t fit even after compression with !Spark or similar
utilities.
5.4
Enter the sprite converter: The Tracer
5.4
There have been sprite converters around for some time for Macs, but
most have been quite expensive and not too successful in converting.
5.4
Archimedes users have two to choose between: Trace 2.02 (Trace, at
£5.99, is available from David Pilling.) and Midnight Tracer (Midnight
Graphics, £60).
5.4
Midnight Tracer doesn’t handle colours and is a bit expensive in
comparison with Trace, even if it is quicker, so I’ll concentrate on
Trace. (Tracer was reviewed in Archive 4.11 p35.)
5.4
The disc is supplied with a number of sprites and draw files (some are
just perfectly converted), a ReadMe file containing a short manual and
Trace itself. The program is written by David Pilling with some help
from Jason Williams.
5.4
The manual covers all aspects of using !Trace and fills three A4 pages
in printed version. The program is so easy to use that the manual is
rarely needed.
5.4
Using Trace
5.4
After double clicking on the icon, the program installs itself on the
icon bar. When you click on this icon two windows will open, one
labelled “Sprite” and one labelled “Draw”. If you drop a sprite onto the
“sprite” window it will resize automatically, but you can set the “zoom”
manually, if you want. Then you only have to open the menu and click on
“Trace” to starts converting the sprite into a Draw object. This is very
computer intensive work, so this is best done on a computer with an
ARM3, as the computer might be busy for a long time.
5.4
To make life simpler, David has added a batch mode where you fill a
directory with sprites and then drop it on the Tracer icon. This starts
batch processing, creating a new directory called Draw in the same place
that the sprite directory came from. This is an ideal job for your
computer to do during the night, as some complex sprites take a long
time to convert, even with an ARM3.
5.4
Conclusion
5.4
I had some problems in the beginning, trying to convert very small
sprites: This was not very successful and gives little or no saving in
terms of kbytes on your hard disc. Being a black and white fanatic, I
mainly tried black and white sprites (scanned photos, drawings etc.).
The result was little short of amazing, especially on big sprites as the
one of the car opposite. The amount of detail is a bit less, but not
much, and you can now manipulate the draw picture in !Draw, !DrawPlus,
Poster, DrawBender etc. As long as the originals are big enough, the
results will be great, although it does fail on some occasions (too
little contrast or too few details).
5.4
Is it worth the money? I think it would be worth £25 if it were to be
sold commercially but you only have to pay £5.99!  A
5.4
(Here are Rob Sherratt’s comments....)
5.4
I fully agree with Tord Eriksson’s conclusions (and I would pay more for
David Pilling’s !Trace than Midnight Graphics !Tracer even though I had
previously bought Midnight Graphics’ !Tracer). I would like to amplify a
couple of things Tord mentioned as well:
5.4
“Jagged edges”
5.4
I am fairly sure these are not a function of !Trace but are instead the
result of anti aliasing of the resulting image when displayed on the
Arc’s screen, or when printed on a low resolution printer. I took two of
Tord’s draw files (generated by !Trace) which appear with “jagged edges”
on the screen, and when scaled and printed on our LaserDirect Hi-Res
they appear almost perfect − no jagged edges at all (see Car opposite).
I doubt if I could say the same for the original sprites. I understand
that David Pilling’s software incorporates “best fit” algorithms which
are specifically designed to smooth out the lack of resolution between
pixels in the original images. This means that the “traced” images are
normally much better than the original sprites..
5.4
Automatic colour sprite / draw conversion
5.4
Just drag the full colour sprite into !Trace’s sprite window and up pops
a full colour !Draw object version of the same in the draw window.
Straightforward images can take just a few seconds with an ARM3. This
automatic conversion of colour (or greyscale) sprites is just not
possible with Midnight Graphics’ Tracer product − and to do the
operation manually using it can take hours! Unfortunately, I couldn’t
test really complex colour sprite conversion with David Pilling’s
program because with my (older) version 2.00, !Trace alerted with the
message “trap occurred while in trap handler” and exited. I believe this
occurred while reaching the free memory limit on my machine. This fault
is most probably fixed in the current version. (Tord was using 2.02 and
Jochen used 2.05 and neither mentioned this problem, so I assume it is
now fixed. Ed.)
5.4
Simple images vs complex images
5.4
There is a danger of asking a program like !Tracer to do the impossible
and process fully toned 256-colour or grey scale images. If you tried
(eg by using !Draw to manually trace each object using bezier curves) to
turn such an image into its components, then you would soon discover
that continuously varying colour images can produce a million or more
tiny component objects, where one component object is a single con
tinuous shape of one “spot” colour.
5.4
If the original image can be pre-processed in some way (e.g. during
photo-electronic scanning) to reduce it to less than 16 greys or
colours, you have reduced the number of objects by a factor of sixteen −
and the resulting draw file will be that much smaller and !Trace will
complete its processing at least 16 or more times more quickly. Even
sprites with 16 colours/greys can be worthless for tracing if they
contain a very “grainy”, or finely shaded, texture. In these cases, the
draw files can be larger than the sprite files from which they were
generated.
5.4
In fact, for full colour DTP work, we use Impression II to draw the
boxes where we want the illustrations and then we cut out and spray
mount colour photos! There isn’t (well, not yet, anyway) an economic way
of electronically scanning, processing, storing and printing A4 full
colour 300 dpi images.  A
5.4
(Rob and his wife Carole have recently started an Archimedes-based DTP
business called EasyCo. It mainly serves Felixstowe and district, and
was prompted initially by the needs of their local church. Rob is also a
full-time software engineer working for a local telecoms company and has
responded to my plea for editorial assistance on DTP matters in Archive.
He is also keen to encourage “mutual support” links with other Archi
medes owners in his locality. He can be contacted on 0394−672292. Ed.)
5.4

5.4
DeskEdit
5.4
Brian Rowlands
5.4
DeskEdit is a wonderful piece of software, written in C, that deserves
to be on everyone’s icon bar. It is multitasking and replaces Edit,
BasicEdit and Twin and all for the very modest price of £25. On
reflection, if it had a spelling checker, I would certainly use it as a
word processor. Thus, one program to do all your daily chores.
5.4
Acorn would do well to promote its use and even provide it free with
each machine it sells. However, as it consumes 300k, compared with just
160k for Edit, memory problems arise on 1M machines when compiling C
source code with it in residence. There are many A310s on the market and
I would think few eager to waste money on RAM expansions.
5.4
Installation
5.4
DeskEdit sits unassumingly on the icon bar ready to serve with a
T(text), B(Basic) or C engraved. A neat dustbin icon can be appended
too. If one wishes, a nice sound module can be incorporated that
provides a more discernible and pleasant alternative to the standard
Acorn bleep prompt. To get a printout, I had to install an Acorn Version
2 printer driver. (See your local dealer or the July 1991 issue of
Archimedes World or Shareware 17.) Customisation of the default settings
and auto loading of files is child’s play.
5.4
Manual
5.4
The 45 page manual was written on the editor which is testament to the
versatility. I found the text succinct, lucid and logically arranged so
that it could be easily read in an hour. Familiarity with Edit will
shorten the learning curve considerably. First reading left me thinking
I had mastered the package. After just a couple of hours trying the
various options out, a warm fuzzy glow came over me and I was all set to
put it to serious use!
5.4
General comment
5.4
The author has mirrored the features found in Edit and, to some extent,
Twin in respect of function key usage, menus and keyboard shortcuts.
However, a lot more is provided − so much so that you wonder how you
ever coped before. The use of the mouse and menus takes away the need to
have to memorise key sequences. With time, and not that much either, the
shortcuts seem natural to use and don’t demand special memory skills. If
need be, a neat on-screen mini-help manual can be displayed which would
certainly assist the faint-hearted.
5.4
Editing
5.4
Many enhancements of the search routines of Edit have been provided and
all to good effect. Undo is there but with the ability to vary the
buffer size. An extra buffer called “Undelete” is available to absorb
text that has been deleted and from which we can extract its contents; a
character, word or line at a time. It even has a clipboard.
5.4
For me, an exciting marker and position finder facility is built into
the software. With the find examples given, it soon becomes apparent
that there are very many uses for this in either long documents or
programs. Consequently, locating specific points or indexing is made so
very simple.
5.4
Macros
5.4
Ten user definable macros are available for each of DeskEdit’s three
languages (Text, Basic, C) and are activated through the ten digit keys
on the numeric keypad. A dialogue box can be called up to view and edit
them. These I found a boon and of great value when writing a program.
Each is 250 characters in size which means complex and lengthy struc
tures can be created.
5.4
Hardcopy
5.4
A truly marvellous set of page and printer control options are included.
They provide the user with margin settings, headers and footers enabling
one to customise output, even date stamp copy. Gone are the dreary days
of standard program printouts. Now an author can be creative and copy
can be catalogued. Everything I wanted was there with clear instructions
on use. One essential improvement that needs adding would be to know
where a page break occurs as text is being typed.
5.4
Basic programs
5.4
Dragging a Basic program onto the DeskEdit icon detokenises it and loads
it into an edit window. Elementary syntax checking is done as you type.
I suppose something is better than nothing. After changes, saving
retokenises the file. What could be simpler? An option exists to load a
program stripped of its line numbers which is fine provided that you are
not one of those people who reference lines using GOTO’s and the like.
If you are, stick with the Basic Editor.
5.4
C programs
5.4
The editor has extra features for use when typing C source code. If you
have been looking for such and were disappointed with Twin and Edit,
look no further. No longer will you wish you could do something since
you will probably find that you now can.
5.4
Auto indent and a simple line syntax checker are provided to bring
clarity to your writing and improve your efficiency. Keyboard shortcuts
are available for moving to the start of either the next or previous
function definition. Don’t expect miracles from the checker, but if it
does do a valuable job and a message window appears whenever it thinks
something is wrong.
5.4
Summary
5.4
If you, like me, use an editor a lot then DeskEdit is a must. My only
reservation is the difficulty of compiling C programs on a 1M machine.
With such a sound pricing structure, Beebug (alias Risc Developments
Ltd) will get more of my business.  A
5.4

5.4
Minerva Systems    Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(0392−437756) (421762)
5.4
Morley Electronics     Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29 7TY. (091−257−6355)
(6373)
5.4
Pedigree Films Ltd    Unit B11,
Trinity Business Centre, 305 Rotherhithe Street, London  SE16 1EY.
(071−231−6137) (237−5776)
5.4
Ray Maidstone (p22)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603−407060) (417447)
5.4
RISC Developments Ltd    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (60263)
5.4
Serious Statistical Software    Lynwood,
Benty Heath Lane, Willaston, South Wirral, L64 1SD. (051−327−4268)
5.4
Simis Ltd    26 Chittys Walk, Keens Park, Guildford, GU3 3HW. (0483−233048)
(235275)
5.4
Software Solutions    Broadway
House, 149−151 St Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ.
(0954−211760) (211760)
5.4

Products Available
5.5
•    A5000 floppy drive extension cables − Ray has made up some extension
cables (£18 each) so that you can have a socket at the back of your
A5000 to plug an external floppy drive into without going inside the box
each time you want to connect and disconnect. Note that these are not
electronic buffers. Acorn say they don’t need to be buffered although,
in view of the problems noted in the Comment Column on page 9, it might
be good to have an interface. That’s not for buffering but to provide a
degree of flexibility over the various control lines used by different
types of drives − not all floppy drives are recognised if they are just
plugged straight into the socket.
5.5
•    A5000 availability − We still cannot get enough A5000’s, especially
the Learning Curve version − well, they come in fits and starts. Acorn
have said that their will be more available in mid-February so, if you
want an A5000, I suggest you send in a cheque to book your place in the
queue.
5.5
•    Acorn Publishing System − Acorn have launched a DTP bundle comprising
a 4M A540, Eizo 9060S monitor, and Computer Concepts HiRes 8 printer,
Scanlight Professional flatbed scanner (300 d.p.i. 256 grey levels),
Impression II, Equasor and the Impression Business Supplement. All for
£4995 +VAT = £5869. The price of these products separately is £6196 even
at Archive discount prices.
5.5
(I know what you are thinking, “Why use an A540? Why not an A5000?”.
Part of the reason is that, being realistic, to make good use of a 300
d.p.i., 256 grey level scanner, 4M of ram is hardly going to be enough
and, officially, the A5000 is only a 4M machine. Also, the Acorn multi-
sync may be cheap but it’s not realistic to think of using it for a
system of this calibre. So, now that Atomwide are shipping their 8M
upgrades for the A5000, what would an 8M system cost using each
computer. Adding £315 for a 4M upgrade to the A540 gives £6182. Compare
that with making it up with a 2M A5000 plus £590 for a 2−8M upgrade
including replacing the 40M IDE with a 100M high speed SCSI and the
Acorn multisync with an Eizo. That would cost you, at Archive prices,
£5935. For the extra £247, you gain the ability to go up to 16M but you
lose the ability to use 1.6M floppy discs and, at present, access to
RISC-OS 3, though that will soon (?) be available for A540 costing in
the region of £100 thus increasing the difference to approx. £347.)
5.5
•    Acorn SCSI card / Syquest removable drive solution − Those of you who
have had problems running the 42M and 84M Syquest removable hard drives
on the A540, (i.e. on the latest version of the Acorn SCSI podule), will
be pleased to know that we have a fix which seems to work OK. Acorn are
working on a “proper” fix − they have been for some considerable time
now − but at least this will allow you to use the removable drives. If
you want a copy of the software patch that Adrian has written, just send
us a blank, formatted disc and a small donation for our charity pot and
we’ll send you a copy.
5.5
•    Aleph One ARM3 prices down (again!) − Aleph One have now joined CJE
Micros in providing ARM3 upgrades at £199 +VAT (£225 through Archive).
5.5
•    Atomwide SCSI drives − The prices of Atomwide drives has decreased
this month and the range has been extended to 400M. This is good news
because they use the fast, high quality, Pro-Quantum drives which seem
to be about the best drives around at the moment. I am using a 200M Pro-
Quantum as my main drive and, as I have said before, it is ffffast! They
are the same drives that Oak use for their High Speed range but the 100M
and 200M now work out cheaper, even with the Oak SCSI boards. The prices
are....
5.5
    50M    Internal −    £285
5.5
    100M    Internal −    £395
5.5
    200M    Internal −    £685
5.5
    400M    Internal −    £1055
5.5
    50M    External −    £370
5.5
    100M    External −    £485
5.5
    200M    External −    £775
5.5
    400M    External −    £1145
5.5
Add £200 to each for an Oak SCSI podule so that you can compare prices
with the Oak HS range.
5.5
•    BibleMaster − Many readers have asked if there is a computer version
of the bible available for the Archimedes. I have looked around for ages
and found nothing. (Does anyone know different?) So, I am breaking with
my normal rule of not supplying PC products! BibleMaster is a new
computerised bible for PC compatibles, which works under the PC emulator
provided you have at least 4M free in your PC partition. It is based on
the New International Version and is sold by Hodder & Stoughton for
£49.95 inc VAT (£45 through Archive). You can look at two passages at
the same time, export text to disc for inclusion in word-processed
material (but check the copyright situation first!) and you can keep and
edit a verse list for study purposes. It has over half a million cross
references and an on-line help facility.
5.5
•    !Bulletin is a bulletin board communication system from XOB for use
over Econet networks. It provides the usual bulletin board services
including electronic mail, special interest groups and closed user
groups. This fully RISC-OS compliant software runs on any Archimedes,
supports up to 1,500 users and comes with a site/network licence for £67
from XOB.
5.5
•    CableNews is Lingenuity’s new frame-based presentation system. It
allows you to prepare presentations from sprites and draw files and with
text using outline fonts. The price is £169 +VAT from Lingenuity with
educational prices and site licences also available.
5.5
•    CalcSheet − Following comments from a reviewer, (the review was never
published) Trail Software has removed CalcSheet from sale with immediate
effect. Any customers who are unsatisfied with the product can have a
full refund from Trail Software.
5.5
•    CoCo is a control language for the Archimedes produced by Commotion.
For £49.95 +VAT, it provides a RISC-OS environment control language that
will allow you to operate an interface device with switch inputs and
outputs as well as motors with variable power and direction control.
Lego UK have adopted CoCo for use with their InterfaceA.
5.5
•    Concept keyboard − Northwest SEMERC have produced the Oldham Overlay
Keyboard (a concept keyboard by any other name). This A3 board with 128
switches costs £166.67 +VAT from NW SEMERC. There is an optional switch
input (£50 +VAT) to allow special needs switches to be connected for
people with severe physical difficulties.
5.5
•    Detour is a file manipulation utility to enable you to overcome
problems with software written to run on a specific filesystem, drive or
directory. It can be used for a number of purposes including acting as a
virus protector. The price is £19.95 inc VAT from Electronic Solutions.
5.5
•    DrawPlus update − This has now been updated to version 2.10. It
includes some minor bug fixes and is compatible with the A5000. The
updated version has been put onto Careware Disc 13. Existing Careware 13
owners can send their discs back for update − a further small charity
donation would be appreciated but is not obligatory.
5.5
•    DTP For All − Bruce Goatly’s new book has just been published by
Wileys / Sigma. It costs £12.95. For details, see the review on page 22.
5.5
•    Electronic Bible − Here’s the ultimate(?) add-on for your Archimedes.
A pocket-sized electronic bible (smaller than a personal organiser) with
LCD display and full ASCII keyboard that contains the whole of the bible
− both old and new testaments − plus concordance and thesaurus. It
allows you to look for the occurrence of multiple words − you could
find, say, all the places where the words “Jesus” and “Pharisee”
occurred in the same verse or within a couple of verses (you choose) −
this is much more powerful than a straight concordance. The Electronic
Bible has a serial link, so we are working on a cable and software to
allow the output to be fed into an Archimedes. Electronic Bible costs
£250 from Hodder & Stoughton or £235 through Archive and the link will
soon be available for £25, we hope.
5.5
•    Ethernet card for A3000 − Atomwide are now marketing an Ethernet card
for the A3000 at £229 +VAT (or £255 through Archive). It can be used
with thin Ethernet cabling and Acorn’s TCP/IP or AUN software to provide
cost-effective networking to mainframes, minis etc. This is an internal
8-bit podule but a 16 bit standard podule version for use on thick or
thin Ethernet will also be available in a couple of weeks time. The
price will be the same as the A3000 version.
5.5
•    FastType − Micro Guide have published a typing tutor under the title
FastType. It is a fully RISC-OS complaint application. It is also
supplied with a disc of PD special needs software as the author is
continuing to develop FastType particularly for those with special
needs. The cost is £19.95 inclusive from Micro Guide.
5.5
•    Floating point accelerator − DT Software have harnessed some PC
hardware − an 80287XL FPA − to improve the speed of the Archimedes
floating point functions. It comes on a single podule and, in software
terms, is linked in to where the floating point emulator normally
resides. It has the great advantage (unlike the Acorn FP co-processor)
of being ARM3 compatible. The 80287XL is, apparently, almost equivalent
to an 80387 and it runs at 37 MHz. (A 60MHz version is under develop
ment!) It provides 3 to 4 times speed increase on multiply on an A540
and even better improvement on lesser machines. Trig and transcendental
functions show an even more marked improvement. The price is £174.95
inc-luding VAT from DT Software or £165 through Archive.
5.5
•    Geoscan the world geography database has been updated to take account
of some of the changes that have taken place in world geography
recently(!) and has also had various new features added including
!Geobrief which contains background information on over 200 countries
and territories. This is in a common text format which allows for easy
inclusion in WP / DTP work by students. There is also an application
which allows students to print out the main information in various ways
to a standard dot-matrix printer. The price for the new version of
Geoscan is £45 from Passkey Marketing or £42 through Archive.
5.5
•    Good Impression − is a book of layouts, designs and graphics which can
be created with Impression. It costs £26.95 from ‘Word Processing’ or
£25 through Archive. For more details, see the review on page 47.
5.5
•    Helix Basic is a “fully functional Basic V language interpreter”
designed to allow “anyone, whatever their programming experience to
write professional RISC-OS compliant multi-tasking programs.” Quite a
claim! The price is £99.95 inc VAT from Craddock Computer Systems.
5.5
•    Insight is a data-logging package from Longman Logotron. It provides
the software interface for data-logging interfaces such as Sense and
Control, LogIT and Philip Harris. It allows data to be taken in either
at very high speed or on a “time-lapse” basis and provides analysis and
display of the received data. The price is £69 +VAT from Longman
Logotron or £75 through Archive.
5.5
•    James Pond, the fishy special agent, is now available. This is an
arcade adventure with a “green” slant and a degree of humour. £25.99
from Krisalis or £24 through Archive.
5.5
•    Key Author − a multi-media Presentation System produced by ITV Schools
division. It aims to provide a multi-media system that links in with
their Key Plus database system. The cost depends on the type and size of
establishment purchasing it from an individual user at £55 and a (<150
pupil) primary school at £65 to a (>800 pupil) secondary at £180 and a
FE/HE college at £450.
5.5
•    Mah Jong, The Game − Mah Jong Patience has been out for quite a while
now but here is the proper Mah Jong game. You have to pit your wits
against three other players, all of whom are the computer playing a “no
holds barred” game. This implements the Western rules of Mah Jong, not
the original Chinese rules. The cost is £22.50 from Cambridge Interna
tional Software or £21 through Archive.
5.5
•    MatchMaker seems to be the ultimate in interfacing for special needs
applications. It will allow “any switch to... operate any Archimedes
program”. Quite a claim, but Matchmaker itself contains a sophisticated
micro-processor system and has its own 20 × 4 character LCD display.
This is available for £850 +VAT from SRS Systems Ltd.
5.5
•    PC emulator upgrades (listen carefully, please, while I try to
explain... ) There are two upgrade products to allow you to obtain the
1.7 version of the PC Emulator, one for MS-DOS users (“the AKA48 PC
Emulator 1.7 upgrade”) and one for DR-DOS users, i.e. those who bought a
Learning Curve pack (“the AKA45 PC Emulator 1.7 + DR-DOS 5.00 upgrade”).
5.5
Who should upgrade? It’s only really users of A5000’s (since 1.6 doesn’t
work on RISC-OS3) or those with versions before 1.6 that need to
upgrade.
5.5
How much does it cost? For MS-DOS users, the AKA48 costs £17.62 inc VAT
if you already have 1.6 or £34.07 if your version is earlier than 1.6.
For DR-DOS users, the AKA45 which includes an upgrade from 3.41 to 5.00,
costs £45.82.
5.5
Where do I get it from? You can only get your upgrade by mail order
(though they do accept official orders from educational establishments)
from Acorn Direct in Wellingborough.
5.5
What do I have to send? Send a cheque payable to ‘Acorn Direct’ (or
official order) with your PC Emulator disc to Acorn Direct, (not us!).
If you have version 1.6, send the “small PC Emulator (CGA) disc”. For
AKA48 (MS-DOS) do NOT send your MS-DOS disc. For AKA45 (DR-DOS) you must
send your DR-DOS registration number.
5.5
How long does the offer last? You must upgrade before 27th March 1992.
5.5
If there is anything you don’t understand, please DON’T ring Norwich
Computer Services but address your queries to Acorn Customer Services on
0223−245200.
5.5
•    PC expansion card − (breaking the normal rules about only mentioning
products that are actually available now) Aleph One’s 386 PC expansion
card should be available by the end of February at £495 +VAT (or £545
through Archive). It is claimed to offer between 10 and 20 times the
speed of the software emulator alone (though that is presumably
comparing with a non-ARM3 machine). It uses a 386SX compatible micropro
cessor and has 1M of ram upgradable to 4M and occupies a single half-
width podule. In operation, it is just seen as an extension to the
original PC emulator but it does allow very rapid, almost single key
switching between the PC environment and RISC-OS. We saw it operating at
the BETT Show with Flight Simulator running at a very respectable speed.
(Watford Electronics were also supposed to be showing their PC card at
the BETT Show but potential customers were told that it would be
available “soon” but that they were unable actually to demonstrate it.)
5.5
•    Printer drivers  − We are going to be stocking Ace Computing’s printer
drivers including their latest one for the Deskjet 500C colour printer.
They are £16 +VAT each or £17 through Archive. Printer drivers available
are Deskjet 500C, Paintjet, Epson JX and compatibles (inc Star LC10,
XB24 and Citizen Swift-24 with colour ribbon), Canon PJ 1080-A and
ColourCel.
5.5
•    Removable SCSI drive prices down − The prices of the removable drives
and cartridges have dropped again this month. The 42M drives are now
under £500 − well, £495 − but that includes VAT and carriage. The extra
42M cartridges are now £70. The 84M drives are down to £680 and the
extra cartridges to £120.
5.5
•    Shareware Disc 17 update − Acorn have now released a RISC-OS Extras
Extras disc which we are distributing as Shareware Disc 17. The disc
contains the latest printer drivers, modules, etc (version numbers shown
below) along with a virus killer and protection module. If you already
have Shareware 17, send it in for an update but we would be grateful for
a small donation to charity to accompany it. Thanks.
5.5
Modules: Econet 5.48, Hourglass 2.02, IRQUtils 0.12, NetFiler 0.24,
NetFS 5.53, NetPrint 5.30, NetStatus 2.01, SoundScheduler 1.13, VGAModes
1.45; printer drivers: !PrinterDM 2.46, !PrinterIX 2.46, !PrinterLJ
2.46, !PrinterPS 2.46; system: !Scrap 0.53, !SysMerge, !System 0.52
which includes Clib 3.75, Colours 0.52, FPEmulator 2.80, MessageTrans
0.06, WimpUtils 0.04; utilities: BigDelete, FSVersion, SetStation; virus
kit: !Killer 1.17, VProtect 1.06.
5.5
•    Twilight is a screen saver program with a difference from The Really
Good Software Company. It is multi-tasking so that applications that are
running can continue even after the screen has been switched off. It
also has password facilities and a hot-key combination that sends your
screen to sleep instantly. The price is £29.95.
5.5
•    Want a dirt cheap A540?! − You may have seen adverts for A540’s at
£1999 +VAT (£2349); well, we know a man who can sell you one for even
less! Seriously though, if you are interested in a new A540, we may be
able to get one for you at (just) under £2000 inc VAT. They won’t be
covered by Acorn warranty because they are already several months old
(although unused and boxed) but we would cover them with our own NCS
warranty. Give us a ring if you are at all interested.
5.5
•    A3000 spares − A company that uses A3000 motherboards has a fair
number of A3000 cases, power supplies and keyboards sitting around
gathering dust. We can sell them at about half the normal spares price,
i.e cases £15, p.s.u.’s £24, keyboards £18. Give me a ring if
ineterested.
5.5
Review software received...
5.5
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
Insight, Graphbox Professional, Mah Jong The Game, Converta-Key,
Archivist, TurboType & FastType (Is there an RSA typist who can assess
them?), Detour, Helix Basic, Twilight.  A
5.5

5.5
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.5
I received a letter this week that assured me, basically, that the bible
was totally unreliable. Now, I don’t think that most scholars (Christian
or non-Christian) would agree with that view but it does highlight a
problem for many people, “Can we really trust the bible?”
5.5
I faced this one when I was a student; I read the bible and it seemed
reasonably self-consistent; I read books that said that the historical
and archaeological evidence was very supportive; I read books by eminent
scientists who believed the bible; I saw, and was impressed by, the
lives of fellow students who believed the bible but still I wasn’t sure
if I personally could trust what the bible said.
5.5
What clinched it for me was when someone said, “Would the kind of God
that the bible portrays, give you an unreliable document and ask you to
base your whole life on it?”   I hope that helps.
5.5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5.5
“If the evidence is so strong” my correspondent would say, “why doesn’t
everyone believe in the Jesus of the bible?” Why indeed? If you read the
bible and supporting books, the evidence is compelling.
5.5
Let me ask you a question. Why are Mac owners so reluctant to believe
that the Archimedes is a serious contender for DTP use? If someone
challenges the basic beliefs which you have always held, it takes a good
deal of courage to risk looking into it. It may be costly. You might
have to sell your Mac, buy an Archimedes and admit to your Mac owning
friends that you think you’ve found a better way! Now, that takes a good
deal of courage! Are you prepared to risk it?
5.5

5.5

5.5
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
5.5

5.5
4th Dimension     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.5
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
5.5
Acorn Direct     13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
5.5
Acorn Computers Ltd     Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (210685)
5.5
Ace Computing     27 Victoria Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223−322559)
(69180)
5.5
Aleph One Ltd    The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(0223−811679) (812713)
5.5
Atomwide Ltd    23 The Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689−838852)
(896088)
5.5
Base5 (p7)    PO Box 378, Woking, Surrey GU21 4DF.
5.5
Cambridge International Software      Unit 2a,
Essex Road, London, N1 3QP. (071−226−3340) (3408)
5.5
Capsoft (p30)    8 Old Gate Avenue, Weston on Trent, Derbyshire, DE7 2BZ.
5.5
CJE Micros    78 Brighton Road, Worthing, W Sussex, BN11 2EN.
(0903−213361)
5.5
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606−48511)
(48512)
5.5
Colton Software (p20)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (312010)
5.5
Commotion     Redburn House, Stockingswater Lane, Enfield  EN3 7TD.
5.5
Computer Concepts (p32/33)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (231632)
5.5
Craddock Computer Systems    20 Osyth
Close, Brackmills Industrial Estate, Northampton  NN4 0DY. (0604−760991)
(761800)
5.5
Dalmation Publications    37 Manor
Road, Teddington, Middlesex  TW11 8AA.
5.5
David Pilling    P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
5.5
DT Software    FREEPOST, Cambridge CB3 7BR. (0223−841099)
5.5
Electronic Solutions    Ceralyn,
Maindy Croft, Ton-Pentra, Mid Glamorgan. (0443−430355)
5.5
Godders Ware    13 Prestbury Close, Blackpole Village, Worcester, WR4 9XG.
5.5
ITV Software    6 Paul Street, London EC2A 4JH (071−247−5206)
5.5
Krisalis Software    Teque House, Mason’s Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate,
Rotherham, S60 2HD. (0709−372290)
5.5
Lingenuity (Lindis)    P.O.Box 10,
Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 0DX. (0986−85−476) (460)
5.5
Longman-Logotron    124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4
4ZS. (0223−425558) (425349)
5.5
LOOKsystems (p19)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (764011)
5.5
Micro Guide    58 The Square, Newtongrange, Midlothian  EH22 4QE.
(031−663−0888)
5.5
Micro Studio Ltd    22 Churchgate Street, Soham, Ely, Cambridgeshire.
(0353−720433)
5.5
Morley Electronics     Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29 7TY. (091−257−6355)
(6373)
5.5
Northwest SEMERC     Fitton Hill CDC, Rosary Road, Oldham  OL8 2QE.
(061−627−4469)
5.5
Oak Solutions (p31)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274−620423) (620419)
5.5
Passkey Marketing    P.O.Box 649, Shenley Lodge, Milton Keynes, MK5 7AX.
(0908−669879)
5.5
Ray Maidstone     421 Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603−407060)
(417447)
5.5
Risc Developments Ltd (p8)    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (60263)
5.5
Spacetech (p34)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.5
SRS System Ltd    Unit 6, Benacre Drive, Fazeley Street, Birmingham.
(021−643−2877) (0442)
5.5
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733−244682)
5.5
Trail Software    P.O. Box 283, London, SW11 2LL.
5.5
Turcan Research Systems    83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071−625−8455)
5.5
Word Processing    65 Milldale Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, W
Midlands  WV10 6LR.
5.5
XOB    Balkeerie, Eassie by Forfar, Angus, DD8 1SR. (0307−84364)
5.5

5.5
Computer Concepts
5.5
New
5.5

5.5
Computer Concepts
5.5
New
5.5

5.5
PC Software Compatibility
5.5
Mike Clinch
5.5
Thanks to those who sent in information on software compatibility with
the new emulator. The results of the first batch are tabulated below. I
have quite a bit of other information on people’s experiences with some
of the items and I will put this together later on. Where known, I have
put in the DOS version.  I have found that, with some software, the DOS
version is critical. There are major differences between versions 3.2
and 3.3 − the Backup and Restore utilities are not compatible between
these versions.
5.5
    DOS    Remarks
5.5
A86 8088/8086 Assem    3.2
5.5
Auto Route    3.3
5.5
Bannamania    3.3    Slow!!!
5.5
Bible Illustrator (1990)    DRDOS 5
5.5
Checkit V1.0    3.2
5.5
Chi Writer V4.0    3.2    Slow
5.5
Compserve Info Manager    3.3 & 5    V.
Slow
5.5
Dataease V4    3.3 & 5
5.5
Deep Space 3D V2.0    3.3
5.5
Flight Simulator 4    3.2
5.5
Galaxy V2.2    3.3
5.5
Microsoft C V5.1    3.2
5.5
Mirror 111    ?
5.5
Norton Utilities V4.6    3.2
5.5
PC Tools V3 & 4.2    3.2
5.5
Quick Verse Bible Concrd    DRDOS 5
5.5
SID86    DRDOS 5
5.5
SPSS-PC+ V3.0    3.2    Big
5.5
Supercalc V5.01C    3.2
5.5
Trees II    3.3
5.5
Wordstar 6    3.3
5.5
Ventura Publisher    5.0
5.5
Xtree 1.0    3.2
5.5
Non Runners:
5.5
Lotus 123 3.0 & 3.1    ?
5.5
Notes: Compsoft Information manager runs too slowly to use. Bannamania
is slower than on an old IBM. Dataease and Chi Writer both take a bit of
time to load and Chi Writer runs slowly. I was not able to install
Dataease using DOS 3.2. I had some problems installing DOS 5 via the
upgrade path. SPSS-PC+ is a statistical package and it takes up 12.7 M
of disc space.
5.5
My phone number is 0322−526425 and my Silicon Village Mbox is
322526425.  A
5.5

5.5

5.5
Base 5
5.5
From 5.4 page 22
5.5

5.5
RISC Developments
5.5
new
5.5

5.5
Comment Column
5.5
•    A5000 problems − We have had a number of A5000 owners reporting the
same sort of hard drive problems as we mentioned last month but on the
internal IDE hard drive. It looks as if it may be a RISC-OS 3 problem
but we’re still not sure. Here is one of the comments so that you can
compare notes....
5.5
Following on from your comments on hard disc problems with the A5000, I
thought you might be interested to hear of my problems. Both myself and
a friend caused our hard drives to become inaccessible with RISC-OS
reporting “ŶDisc not recognised − Is it formatted?” whilst attempting to
fit external floppy drives to our A5000s. (*See below. Ed.) My dealer
contacted Acorn and was given the following rather odd cure which did in
fact work: ‘Run the old A400 series HFORM program, accepting all the
default values; it will generate loads of errors but let it run for 10-
15 seconds and then reset the machine.’ This worked and the disc was
restored with nothing lost − the problem is presumably with the
controller getting in a mess rather than the disc itself being cor
rupted. When I spoke to Acorn later, the person I spoke to said it
wasn’t a known problem and the fix was just Ŷ“a known method of waking-up
dead hard discs”! My friend managed to make it happen twice, myself only
once, but I have still not actually managed to get an external floppy
working. I’ve tried both a 3½“ and 5¼” drive but neither work − I get
different errors in both cases! I wonder if anyone has successfully
added a second floppy to the A5000 and can help me. Acorn say it should
just Ŷplug in and go” but not for me.  Brian Debenham, Chelmsford
5.5
*Another reader had similar problems of apparently trashed hard drives
as a result of trying to connect floppies and eventually solved it by
changing link 21 which is connected to the “disc change register” of the
interface controller chip. It’s a bit of a black art as no one seems to
know why it works but it does! All link 21 does is to change the “floppy
drive type”. What we found was that using two different makes of 3½“
drive, with the link in one position, it would recognise one but not the
other and in the other position it would recognise the other but not the
one. If you want to try your luck, we now have floppy drive extension
cables at £18 each. (See Products Available, page 2) Ed.
5.5
•    A5000 problems − You asked for negative A5000 comments − I don’t have
too many really apart from the one above. There are bugs in RISC-OS 3 of
course, most of which are quite minor, but there are some annoying
oddities. *BACKUP from the command line only copies used sectors like
RISC-OS 2 does, but the desktop backup on RISC-OS 3 copies all sectors
used or not whereas RISC-OS 2 only copied used sectors.
5.5
My only other negative comment is not really Acorn’s fault but it
concerns the non-loading of protected or illegally-written software −
mainly games. Obvious candidates are Eterna and 4th Dimension. The
latest Krisalis games I’ve bought have been unprotected − an admirable
policy. I see Eterna are asking A5000 owners in their latest ads to
“send the disc back to our French address” although they don’t say
whether that is for replacement or refund. I bought three new Eterna
games at the Acorn User Show when I bought my A5000 − none of them will
load. Brian Debenham, Chelmsford
5.5
We can echo the comments about problems with games on the A5000. The
answer is to check with the supplier before buying. We are reticent
about publishing a list of those that don’t work because the suppliers
will be trying to get them to work again and may have done so by the
time any list is published. Ed.
5.5
•    A5000 problems − After using the Pace Nightingale modem very success
fully with BBC ‘B’, Master and A3000 computers, accessing Prestel,
StarNet, TTNS etc., I found that it would not work with the A5000.
5.5
Acorn eventually explained: “The RS232 serial port of the A5000 does not
support split baud-rate working, e.g. 1200/75. It is therefore necessary
to use a modem which can buffer the 75 and re-transmit at 1200.”
Evidently the Nightingale doesn’t, being as unintelligent as its owner!
5.5
This information is not documented, so far as I can tell − the handbook
simply notes that the interface is RS232, whereas I see from the
handbooks for earlier machines that their interfaces were RS432. Perhaps
that explains it − I wouldn’t know. E. Cobbold, Great Yarmouth
5.5
•    A5000 good points − Here are a few comments which I haven’t seen
mentioned yet...
5.5
− All my discs, even my cheapest bulk packed ones, can be formatted to
1.6M with no defects. (True, but it will be interesting to see whether
you start to get data errors on them quicker than you do on 800k. Ed.)
5.5
− There are high definition sprites available for the multisync modes,
and it is possible to redefine your own window tools (Close, Back,
Toggle, Scroll Bars, etc.) – I have redefined mine to look like Windows
3 on the PC, as I like the 3D look and am a regular user of a PC at
work. (The !Windows3 and !3dIcons applications are on the monthly
program disc.)
5.5
− The font catalogue is now cached in RAM so starting applications such
as Impression is very quick. It no longer has to search through all
those font directories on disk, which used to take about 20 seconds for
me. It now takes about 4 seconds to load Impression from the hard disc.
(cf 30 seconds to load PageMaker 4.0 on a Mac Plus with a 45M SCSI
drive! Ed.)
5.5
− Shift-Double click loads any file into !Edit. This is extremely
convenient.
5.5
− There is now a rechargable battery powering the CMOS RAM, so you don’t
need to worry about changing the batteries.
5.5
A5000 Bad Points
5.5
− The so-called SVGA modes (29-31) are not really SVGA resolution
(normally 1024 × 768), but are in fact EVGA (800 × 600).
5.5
− !Paint 1.41 (18-Sep-1991) has many bugs in it (I’ve only noticed b & c
when using Mode 31):
5.5
a)    When adding sprites to an existing file, if they would be outside
the existing sprite file window, then the toggle size icon does not cause
them to be displayed, and dragging on the Scroll bars will not bring
them into view. The window size icon must be dragged to the left so that
the layout of the sprites is reformatted. (This is difficult to put into
words!!)
5.5
b)     Sometimes when editing files with large numbers of sprites in them
(such as 22 sprites from !SetIcons) the file name in the save box is
gobbledegook (e.g. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ). I haven’t been able to repeat this to order,
so I don’t know the situations exactly, but trying again to save it
brings up the correct filename.
5.5
c)     When expanding a sprite by inserting columns or rows, or by
adjusting the size, I sometimes get “Invalid column or row” messages
coming up, sometimes completely crashing the machine, requiring a re-
boot and losing all my unsaved data files.
5.5
− Many games do not work, as they write directly to the CMOS RAM before
rebooting, and this seems to be arranged differently, so the new
configuration is often meaningless. This is particularly a problem on
games from Eterna, which remove the hard disc and other things. Mike
Gregory, Fareham.
5.5
•    DeskEdit − Lee Calcraft of Beebug writes... Thank you for the very
positive review of DeskEdit which you published in Archive 5.4. The
review was based on version 1.02 of DeskEdit. A new version (1.20) was
released on 15th January which contains a number of enhancements and, in
particular, improves the performance of DeskEdit in Basic and C modes.
5.5
Your reviewer felt that programs containing GOTOs etc. were less easy to
edit using DeskEdit because it could (obviously) not strip line numbers
in such cases; but working with numbered Basic programs has now been
made much easier with the new version. An automatic LISTO 1 is applied
when numbered programs are loaded, and these spaces are automatically
stripped when a program is saved. Moreover, since new line numbers are
automatically inserted when you press <return> and warnings are given if
overlaps occur − editing with line numbers is quite painless.
5.5
In Basic mode, there is now also a single key save-and-run from the
desktop, allowing virtually instantaneous testing of programs and
applications as you edit them. The procedure and function browser has
been improved too, so that you can browse procedure and function
definitions in both directions (<ctrl-D> takes you to the next defini
tion, while <ctrl-shift-D> takes you to the one above etc).
5.5
Other new features that may be of interest include dynamic date
insertion, left and right justify, bracket matching, align columns and
the char info option (<ctrl-?> puts up a box giving the ASCII code of
the character at the caret in hex and decimal, and any special function
it may have − e.g. Bold On etc.).
5.5
Existing users may upgrade to 1.20 by sending their original disc,
together with £2 and an SAE to DeskEdit Upgrade 1.2, Risc Developments
Ltd., 117 Hatfield Road, St Albans AL1 4JS. New purchasers automatically
receive the new version (price £24.95 inc VAT).
5.5
•    Hearsay II advertising claims − I need a VT220 terminal emulation and
so I need to be able to re-program the six keys at the right of the
keyboard (Insert, Home etc). I was interested in the fact that Hearsay
II is advertised as having a “fully definable keyboard”. I rang Risc
Developments (who answered the phone as “Beebug” despite their protesta
tions that they want to be known as “Risc Developments”) and asked them
about it. Apparently it means that the function keys are fully defin
able, not the whole keyboard as I had inferred from their advert! Oh
well, does anyone know how I can get a VT220 emulation? Alan Highet,
Nottingham.
5.5
•    Imagine & PrimeArt − Thank you for Peter Thomson’s review of Imagine
and PrimeArt (5.4 p56). As the author of the first (and cheaper!)
product, I’d like to correct a few inaccuracies in his report.
5.5
On icons and menus, I can only say that none of the thousands of
children who passed through the Art Machine exhibition in London (where
a no-keyboard Imagine was running with no instructions) reported any
difficulty; indeed, we received many comments that menus were “easier to
understand than those pictures (i.e. icons)”. I would also note two
things: the menus remember your previous choices, so no mouse movement
is necessary; and (ruefully) my original version, before the testers got
at it, had about 30 choices all on display rather à la PrimeArt!
5.5
Your reviewer noted that selected colours “didn’t quite match the same
colour when placed on the screen”. He’d better check his monitor, say I!
The match is, of course, perfect − how could it be otherwise on a 256-
colour mode screen? What may have confused him is the 16-colour attempt
by the mouse pointer to mimic the 256-colour choice; blame Acorn’s
hardware − we programmers do our best!
5.5
The reviewer is incorrect when he claims that “you cannot place a copy
that overlaps the original without risk that the copy covers part of the
original before it has been copied”. Since the copy is a sprite (! how
else would one do it??) and can be moved between the two screens, I
wonder where he got this idea from?
5.5
I defy anyone to run a program with two mode 15 screens alongside, say,
Paint, on a 1M machine − which is what most schools possess. Hence the
loss of one screen for printing − there just isn’t room on a basic
machine. The same problem applies to exporting sprites − no room on a
small machine. Users found the second screen so useful (for doodling or
testing an idea, say, or for holding lots of bits which could be placed
properly on the other screen at will) that we decided its pluses
strongly outweighed the space minuses.
5.5
I would have liked to have seen some more “special options” mentioned:
the grid, zoom, outliner, etc. Ah well...
5.5
But, having said all the above, all programs have their super points as
well as the good ones. I love the outliner, for example. But yes, I’d
like to fool around with PrimeArt’s fills, Atelier’s wrapping, Revela
tion’s colour processing; but at the price I’ll leave them. One day,
maybe. Thanks again for the review. Peter D. Killworth, Oxford.
5.5
•    Imagine & PrimeArt − The reviewer replies....
5.5
Icons and menus − We tested the programs by showing a class of 8 year
olds and a class of 7 year olds how to use both programs. They were then
asked to draw pictures with both programs (one child per computer with
their form teacher + myself present). We made note of how often the
children asked for help and what signs of pleasure or frustration were
shown. These children have free use of the computer room for lunch time
activity and we observe what programs are in use and how they are being
used.
5.5
It was very clear to both of us that these children found PrimeArt much
easier to use. They quickly became frustrated with the menus system for
Imagine but, when using PrimeArt, changed their options every few
seconds to create the effect that they wanted. In the free activity
period, PrimeArt became very popular and has been put to a lot of use
whereas Imagine gets no use at all. Older children are quick to try out
anything new that comes into the school. PrimeArt has become the main
art package for GCSE work displacing Artisan and Paint. I don’t think
any child has used Imagine after trying it out.
5.5
Colour menus − I have got the standard monitor with the first 310’s,
standard monitor with A3000 Taxan 795 and A5000 standard monitor. I have
just set up Paint (small colours), PrimeArt and Imagine on all computers
to display their colour palette and asked a group of 15 year olds (in a
maths lesson) to comment on the colours without indicating any reason
for the request. I was surprised by the unanimity of their verdict.
5.5
The colours of Paint, even though only the small colours were displayed,
were described as the clearest and giving a good range. The colours on
PrimeArt were described as clear. Those of Imagine as being predomi
nantly blues and greens shading into black. Their views coincided with
my own.
5.5
Copy − In Imagine, if a copy is made using the transform option, and the
copy is placed over the lower right part of the original, then the copy
becomes a copy of the copy. I have rechecked that this is the case.
5.5
Memory − In the review I say that I have used a 2M system for running
PrimeArt alongside other applications. I think that this full compliance
with RISC-OS is very important. We have upgraded all our A3000’s to 2M
and will do the same with our 310’s this year. All new computers will be
4MB or higher.
5.5
I think that the low costs of these memory upgrades make them excellent
value for money. I would agree that it is not possible to run PrimeArt
alongside Paint in a 1M system but I don’t accept that this is a reason
for preventing those with more memory from utilising it fully.
5.5
Special Options − Most have been mentioned. I don’t think a reviewer has
to cover every possibility, but enough to give a good ‘feel’ of the
program.   Peter Thomson, Casterton School
5.5
•    Monitor resolution − May I make some comments following on from those
in issue 5.2 of Archive concerning Acorn’s multisync monitor. I decided
to do a few calculations concerning what resolutions are achievable for
a given dot pitch and screen size. I have assumed that monitor tubes
provide the same 4:3 rectangle as TV tubes, and that the dots are as
high as they are wide. The results, I think you’ll agree, are quite
revealing.
5.5
    Screen     Dot    Max pixels    For example
5.5
      size    pitch    (x)     (y)
5.5
    (diag)    (mm)
5.5
    14“    0.42    677    508    Std col.
5.5
    14“    0.39    729    547    A5000 m/s
5.5
    14“    0.28    1016    762    Eizo 9060
5.5
    14“    0.26    1094    821    Taxan 795
5.5
    14“    0.25    1138    853    Sony CPD
1404E
5.5
    16“    0.28    1161    871    Eizo 9070
5.5
    17“    0.26    1329    996    Eizo T560i
5.5
    19“    0.28    1379    1034
5.5
    20“    0.31    1311    983    Microvitec
2038
5.5
    21“    0.28    1524    1143
5.5
It seems quite obvious that Acorn’s multisync monitor is only just
capable of displaying the standard RISC-OS modes and was probably chosen
with that in mind. However, when it comes to the really big high res
modes provided by Computer Concepts or Atomwide then the A5000 monitor
is just not up to it. Apart from its being able to scan at the higher m/
s rates, it is only marginally better than the standard colour monitor.
Even the Eizo 9060 represents a considerable improvement. Interestingly,
the Eizo T560i though having a smaller screen size, can achieve a
slightly higher resolution than the 2038 (though presumably the extra
size of the 2038 makes it look more impressive!)
5.5
I’ve tried three separate monitors (all Acorn A5000 types) and on all
three the Vertical Gain (Man/Auto) switch is totally useless. In the
Auto position only a couple of the available screen modes fit on the
screen. Also, the Horizontal Gain (Nor/Add) switch is almost useless − a
variable control would have been much more useful than a two position
switch. As the Auto doesn’t do what it should I have to contend with
adjusting the vertical gain and horizontal shift controls when switching
between my preferred Mode 39 and Modes 12, 15, 21 etc.
5.5
After all those gripes, I’d better say something complimentary. Having
previously only used a standard monitor, the A5000 monitor does provide
an improvement with Modes 12, 15, 66, etc. Also, being able to use the
m/s modes makes it a considerable step from the standard monitor. It
also looks nicer − the standard monitor was very box-like. And finally,
it’s cheap!
5.5
David Lenthall, London
5.5
•    PD software − In the comments I made last month about Beebug’s policy
on using PD discs to attract computer sales, I made a factual error
which overstated Beebug’s charges for PD software. I said that they were
charging £4 +VAT for their discs when in fact it is £4 including VAT.
Apologies for that but looking at the actual adverts, I see that it
doesn’t say whether the £4 includes or excludes VAT. Also, Mike Williams
would also like me to point out that the £4 is made up of £3 for the
disc plus £1 postage and packing. The reason I quoted £4 is so that it
could be compared directly with the £3 that we charge which includes VAT
and postage and packing. Beebug then charge only an extra 50p postage &
packing for each extra disc, so if, for example, you buy two discs, they
cost £6 + £1.50 which is only £3.75 per disc. Sorry for the misleading
information. Ed.
5.5
•    RISC-OS3 − Here are some idiosyncrasies’ in RISC-OS 3 firmware.
5.5
With !Configure’s off-screen switch settings, if the “to bottom and
right” is OFF and “in all directions” is ON then, when attempting to
drag beyond the right (or bottom) of the screen, the window is bounded
though the pointer continues to move (though without dragging the
window). Moving the pointer back (button still held down) the window is
not picked up by the drag operation until the pointer is back to the
same position as when the separation occurred.
5.5
Also, when either of these switches is ON, and one attempts to resize a
window beyond the right (or bottom) of the screen, the window grows to
the left (or upwards). This is really nice, though I feel it deserves a
switch setting of its own, rather than being associated with the
bounding ‘off screen’ switches.
5.5
You can drag the scroll bars with <adjust> and this enables you to
scroll in both x and y dir-ections using either of the scroll bars. This
is very handy, particularly with Draw files, though I didn’t notice it
mentioned in the documentation.
5.5
Task Manager ShutDown − I am not sure how complete the shutdown
procedure is, though the restart is definitely not up to scratch. My
hard disc !Boot file contains Pinboard commands, all of which are
ignored during the restart process although the remainder of the !Boot
file is performed correctly. I use good-old <ctrl-break> to restart.
Also, the restart option doesn’t go through the RAM test (which is fair
enough, it having been done at power on). I’ve now started using a PD
!ShutDown utility which works fine. Upon restarting, it causes a harder
break than Acorn’s utility, with RISC-OS going through the RAM test and
complete execution of the !Boot file. David Lenthall, London
5.5
•    Scanners, OCR and PC’s − I read Tord Eriksson’s enthusiastic report on
the Scanlight 256.  In his enthusiasm, he omits to mention one fatal
flaw in the current scanners for the Archimedes.  There is no Character
Recognition Software, so anything that is scanned remains as a sprite.
5.5
In the same issue, the benefits of the Archimedes over the Apple Mac are
trumpeted.  One of the major advantages of the Mac is the ready
availability of scanner software that includes character recognition,
and very well it works, too.
5.5
I would also like to take to task all the reviewers who praise the PC
Emulator to high heaven.  No doubt it IS a clever piece of software, but
is too little, too slow.
5.5
I have some software, written with Clipper 5, which I need to use on a
regular basis for my work.  Not only is it exceedingly slow, (the
opening logo takes 45 seconds to run, instead of the 2 seconds on a 386
and the 2 to 3 minutes to update files is painful.)  It also keeps
crashing!
5.5
As far as I can see, anyone with the money to buy an Archimedes and who
needs MS-DOS is far better off with a 386 or 486 now that prices have
fallen recently.    Eddie Lord, Crawley.
5.5
•    Schema-line? − I had hoped to start off this series by writing an
article last month. After conversations with Dave Clare, I put it off
hoping that Clares would provide me with an update on problems with
Schema which had come to light from users’ letters. However, nothing was
forthcoming from Clares either last month or this, so I feel I must
start the ball rolling.
5.5
Firstly, the thing that seems to have attracted most people to Schema is
its powerful macro language. The collecting and publishing of macros was
one of the objectives of this column. If you have any interesting ones
please pass them on to me and I will ask Paul to put a few in the
monthly program disc.
5.5
The other main reason for this column, is to publish the various
problems that users have found and pass them on to Clares. I hope that,
by this method, I can get answers both from you, the users, and from the
program writers in Northwich and Glasgow and so provide an interactive
column that both PipeDream and Impression have enjoyed for some time in
this magazine.
5.5
If you have any comments that might help these articles, please drop me
a line or call me on 0903−813524. James Buckley, Bramley, Goring Road,
Steyning, West Sussex  BN44 3GF.
5.5
•    Waterloo − I bought Waterloo as soon as I saw it mentioned in Archive
and I have a number of comments and additions to make to Tord Eriksson’s
review of the game. I would recommend this program to anybody interested
in wargaming. I like the way in which the game simulates the confusion
of military conflict and, in particular, I am impressed by the way that
the game captures the ebb and flow of a real battle. I also feel that
the game provides a good historical reconstruction of the battle of
Waterloo.
5.5
Landscape − The landscape is not 100% flat as Tord remarks, but
contoured, with dark green lines representing the various slopes. Hills
restrict line-of-sight and their slopes have an important effect on
combat. The maximum line-of-sight is 2 miles, but it is rare to be able
to see anything more than 1½ miles away.
5.5
Graphics − The graphics are certainly not state of the art, but Tord
does not mention that the program is exceptionally fast and, as always,
there must be a trade off between speed and more realistic graphics.
Personally, I find the graphics acceptable and feel that the cube
structures used to represent troops reasonably resemble a block of
uniformed men seen in the distance.
5.5
Wellington’s rout − I think that Tord misses the point with respect to
Wellington’s penchant for panicking. The general’s rout for much the
same reason as other soldiers. If Wellington or Napoleon come under
heavy artillery fire, or if they are are directly attacked by enemy
troops, they will panic and run. So, if you don’t want find yourself
unable to give orders, don’t get too close to the fighting and, for the
same reason, watch out for where your counter-part is currently
stationed in order to direct shelling or troops at him.
5.5
Wellington set his troops up in a very strong defensive position. One
important element of his strategy was that he situated much of his force
on the reverse slope of the road which leads from Braine Laleud to just
north of Smohain and thereby concealed from the French troops. This is
an aspect of the battle which the game brings out extremely well. An
unfortunate consequence of this strategy, however, is that Wellington’s
own field of view is restricted, so that if he wants to directly observe
the course of the battle (instead of staying at Waterloo and relying on
battle reports) he is forced to get close to the front line thus leaving
himself vulnerable.
5.5
Changing the course of history − It is possible for Napoleon to win. It
is necessary, as Napoleon himself realised, to knock the Allies out
before the Prussians arrive in strength. It is important to realise that
a significant amount of the Allied army are Militia units and that
Wellington has few troops of the calibre of the French Guards. Further
more, the bulk of the Allied mounted units are light cavalry. Lastly, if
the French can push the Allies back and in general get them off balance,
the Allies will have difficulty in regrouping their artillery.
5.5
One strategy that I have used to great effect is to mount a rapid attack
in force against Wellington’s east flank. This strategy begins with
sending D’Erlon, Kellerman and Milhaud, supported by Drouot, against La
Haie and the ridge just to the north of it. You should be able to send
the Allied flank reeling and, from this vantage point, be able to swing
your troops west along the ridge all the way to La Haie-Saint itself
(and if you are lucky even to Mont-St. Jean Farm) whilst also leaving a
defensive force in La Haie, Frichermont and Plancenoit in order to hold
the Prussians back. Gareth Bellaby, Nottingham
5.5
•    W(h)ither the Archimedes? − Here are some thoughts from a long-term
Acorn-user with a particular interest in Civil & Structural Engineering
and technical graphics applications.
5.5
These musings have been prompted by various recent developments and
events, with rather more time for thought in these depressed times than
one would wish and, more recently still, an unexpected trip overseas
where I was helping a large UK consultancy finish a major elevated
expressway project just before Christmas.
5.5
First an apology − perhaps there are no other similar Archimedes users
out there in which case this article is about as much use as a spare set
of Arthur OS chips! The indications are not hopeful: several contribu
tions to Archive on subjects such as PDT, Plane Draft and CASA have
elicited very few contacts or queries. PDT, which is Oak Solutions’
flagship CAD program has sold “in the thousands” and CASA, a structural
analysis suite from Vision Six certainly deserves to sell. One or two
other articles/products with some relevance have appeared, e.g. Jim
Markland’s !Works and recent thoughts on getting over the RISC-OS hurdle
for “own-use” applications. However, the vast majority of interest in
Archive (and elsewhere) has been in connection with DTP, education, non-
technical graphics, DTP, games, bits of music/ sampling ...oh! and DTP!
5.5
No complaints if the Archimedes starts to sell widely in the DTP world,
but it’s just such a shame that such a good “user’s” computer has
apparently made no inroads in the real world of professional engineering
design. PC Engineering programs are plentiful, and many are very pricey
indeed. Why so few for the Archimedes? Let’s take an example in
CAD....in a word, Autocad.
5.5
When the Archimedes was young and 1M was vast, and 640 × 512 resolution
was the business, AutoDesk released AutoSketch, and rumours circulated
to the effect that they would port over Autocad when the potential user-
base became viable. They never did.
5.5
Now I have played with Autocad over the years on various machines and at
various release levels but could not get on with it. AutoSketch has
never been a serious contender. PDT was a much more likeable program −
but: PDT was not the ideal vehicle for my sort of work, although I have
actually produced many drawings with it. It has been steadily improved
and can be thoroughly recommended for Mechanical Design. However, it
does impose certain constraints upon the user and, above all, it is a
“closed program”. No real “hooks” or means of access/enhancement are
available to the user save DXF file exchange, which is only part of what
is required. I also purchased WorraCad which does provide some of the
‘missing’ features not in PDT at the expense of frustration due to
having to use RISC-OS menus to get at everything. I am firmly of the
opinion that single-tasking is the best format for CAD, as speed is
paramount. Moreover, PDT’s menus are much easier and more predictable
than WorraCad’s, but why-oh-why can’t they be user-modified?
5.5
Enter Autocad release 11 which I recently saw being used on a project
featuring some 5000 separate drawings, produced entirely on PC’s (386’s
with a few 486’s) and my eyes were somewhat opened. For a start, the
usability of the software on current fast PC’s was a surprise. Next, the
add-ons which had been written in-house for the requirements of Civil
Engineering detailing, vastly increased productivity. Further, the
tricks which were being dreamed up to integrate Lotus and other
specialist software enabling data extraction, processing and reintegra
tion were very tasty. Take for example the processing of Autocad
Reinforced Concrete drawings to automatically compile Bending Schedules
− this was a user produced routine, not a commercial product. This is
not possible with PDT as the file structure is not documented.
5.5
The point is, against my inclination, I was impressed. OK, so the
software is expensive at around £3000 but so is the time one expends on
learning and using any system. More and more professional users are
turning to industry standard programs which, like Autocad, will simply
not run on a non-PC machine. (Even if you accepted the slowness of
Archimedes emulation, Autocad insists on a 386/387 machine, so no go
unless you have a PCcard.) (That is on its way − I saw it working on the
Aleph One stand at the BETT Show, running Flight Simulator (what else?).
Production versions should be available shortly. Ed.) However, as speed
is vital for CAD work why haven’t we got a ‘native’ version? Further
more, is even ARM3 technology up to the task? Computer shopper recently
referred to Acorn’s RISC family as ‘dated’.
5.5
Of course the A5000 is a welcome machine; but is it the technology or
the price which is right? Also RISC-OS 3 must represent a great deal of
work, but it is apparently not staggeringly better than 2. Not surpris
ing as 2 was such a big leap forward. However the point is why have the
perfect operating system if few people ‘out there’ are using it and the
marque becomes a programmer’s/user’s cul-de-sac?
5.5
You know things are getting serious when the logic for ‘that new
machine’ starts pointing towards a 486 PC thingy instead of the
preferred A5000/A540 approach. Question : has anyone seen AutoCad
running on an A260 under Unix? You see, PC’s have moved on. They’ve
actually got a lot better. Extended memory management (transparent to
the user in Autocad 11), Mouse versions of programs like Norton
Commander and even Windows make the DOS headache less onerous.
Reluctantly, one has to acknowledge that the reasons for staying with
Acorn become less obvious, even for an avowed Acorn-ophile.
5.5
I would still prefer to keep buying British (hardware and software),
keep my trusty Basic V (or VI) platform, have access to genuinely good
programs such as PipeDream at realistic prices, and I don’t want to be
excommunicated from Archive!
5.5
So where does that get us? Some possible conclusions are :
5.5
• Acorn need a fast ARM4 machine soon to stay ahead on speed if not
compatibility.
5.5
• Aleph One need to succeed with their PC card. I would be keen to see
this run Autocad with a 387 installed.
5.5
• Other software houses need to support wider professional interests
than currently fashionable; as an act of faith.
5.5
• We Acorn-users need to stand fast also as an act of faith, or
alternatively....
5.5
• We could all shut up shop and move over to PC’s.....
5.5
In an effort to further the debate (what debate?), the following is a
list of Civil Engineering Software which I have written which, although
not yet at a commercial level of polish RISC-OS-wise, is never-the-less
capable of serious application, together with typical prices of PC type
equivalents. It may be of interest to someone − if so, please contact
me.
5.5
!Highway − horizontal alignment design of road networks including
circular and spiral curves, verges, footways, spurs; full screen
display; data output and export of DXF drawing files with all curve,
chainage information etc, automated. PC say £500−£700+
5.5
!Vertcur − vertical curve super-elevation design, direct output of HPGL
(or DXF) file to plotter etc. PC say £200−£400
5.5
I have hopes of combining the above in a suite with (perhaps) Euclid
control of 3D data for visualisation, drive-throughs etc.
5.5
!Storm91 − Storm and Foul drainage design suite using Modified Rational
method; full invert computation and automatic plotting, labelling,
manhole table output etc in DXF. PC say £600
5.5
!PlotWise − HPGL plotfile controller and optimiser. (This is my most
advanced effort in RISCware to date!)
5.5
!Digitiser − Produce DXF file of point data from plotter acting as a
digitiser.
5.5
!Frame90 − 2D Frame Analysis program
5.5
!Design − Miscellaneous structural design routines for R/C, Masonry,
Steel design etc.
5.5
PDT.FontEdit − Edits PDT fonts!
5.5
Anyone care to collaborate with me in order to at least polish some of
these up to commercial quality so that the choice of software is
widened? I wouldn’t mind some return for the months of effort involved
to date, but if there are no takers perhaps I’ll offer them all to Paul
for a CareWare (CivilWare?) disc.
5.5
Finally, if this does nothing else but prompt a storm of protest as to
why I’m missing the point, great! Let’s talk about it! Richard Fallas,
Buckinghamshire.  A
5.5

5.5
Cartoon Collection
5.5
Len Randall
5.5
The Cartoon collection from Micro Studio is a graphics library for the
Archimedes series. The collection comes on four discs and covers... Disc
one − animals and toys: animals has a bee, butterfly, cat, dog, hare and
a tortoise. The hare and the tortoise are illustrated on the cover of
the disc box to give you a flavour of the type of thing you can do with
them. Toys cover wooden type toys, dog, horse, soldier, teddy etc.
5.5
Disc two has more animals − frog, cow, rabbit, monkey, etc. The objects
cover a lamp, radio, TV, chair etc.
5.5
Disc three has almost four times as many pictures as the previous two
discs. The characters range from butcher and baker to a shepherdess and
a vicar. No I’m sorry they didn’t put in the candlestick maker − a bit
remiss.
5.5
Disc four covers transport and gives you a selection of cars, planes and
other vehicles including a fire engine, tractor and train.
5.5
So you can see there is quite a selection for making, for example,
posters for toy fairs and sales, specialised birthday cards, etc.
5.5
All the pictures are in Paint format so they can be coloured easily by
following the instruction sheet enclosed with the discs. The pictures
are large and will need sizing. This can be done quite simply in Paint
by using the sprite as a brush and changing the x and y scale of the
sprite_brush when you create your new sprite. On the other hand if you
have !Scaler by Midnight Graphics you will be able to scale the image up
and down at will. Once you have your image as its own sprite, you can
you colour it as you wish.
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
The way that the clip art is presented, using Magpie, could have been a
little slicker and all four discs could have some form of linkage.
5.5
However, as you can see from the illustrations, they can be made to fit
different sizes and shapes. (It’s easy in Impression frames.) So, as
with most clip art type pictures, it’s up to you what you do with them
but this package could be useful for youngsters creating their own
stories. Also, with some work in Tracer (or David Pilling’s Trace.) you
could produce Draw files to animate.  A
5.5

5.5
Sky Hunter
5.5
Richard Rymarz
5.5
Longman Logotron have produced a number of high quality software
packages for use in schools: Pendown, Revelation, Magpie and, most
recently, Pinpoint spring to mind. So it was with a certain amount of
excitement that I opened the brown packaging to review Sky Hunter.
5.5
As usual, the accompanying booklet was beautifully produced and written
with a splendid picture of a peregrine falcon on the front. Opening it,
I discovered that the software has been written for the whole range of
Acorn computers. Immediately my suspicions were aroused that this might
perform under BBC emulation or was an ‘enhanced’ Archimedes version.
This proved correct because when clicking on the Sky Hunter application
the computer was taken over by the program and no further use was made
of the wimp environment. It was like stepping back in time as the
program asked me to press the space bar, arrow keys and the return key
over and over again. However, in practice, this did not seem to matter
as the children who field tested the software were used to a mixed Acorn
environment and had no difficulties.
5.5
The program
5.5
Sky Hunter is an adventure program linked to the BBC television program
for 7-9+ year olds called ‘Look and Read’ (although it can be used
independently). This will be broadcast during the whole of the spring
term 1992 and tells the story of two crooks who are involved in the
illegal sale of peregrine falcons. The children track down the nasty
pair and, with the help of the police, bring them both to justice.
5.5
The software provides a number of problems that the children have to
solve, including anagrams, suffixes, a logical tiling problem, naming
parts of a bird, animal recognition and a sliding block puzzle. There
are twelve problems in all, the last being a traditional “adventure”
involving no text entry. A menu is provided to allow the children to
continue having completed particular chapters.
5.5
Responses become easy as familiarity grows but the sliding block puzzle
always caused frustration. Most problems are language based and readily
lead to activities away from the computer. Here the booklet is very
helpful giving lots of ideas to develop and extend the themes and
provide enough work to last many weeks. More help is given at the back
of the booklet, guiding the teacher through a whole range of English,
Mathematics, Science, Geography and Technology attainment targets (for
those who are interested). Further themes include any branch of
ornithology, canals, zoos, puzzles and anything else the imaginative
teacher or child can come up with.
5.5
Use in the classroom
5.5
It is suggested that work around the computer should be group − based to
provide the necessary discussion, hypothesising and collaboration. Two
groups were given the opportunity to consumer test the program, albeit
under strained conditions: the last week of the term before Christmas.
5.5
The first group − bright year 3 children (7+) enjoyed the program but
struggled with some of the language. They found the puzzles stimulating
but there was a need for teacher involvement since they were unsure of
some words and the nature of one or two of the problems. However, with
support work away from the computer, they would surely succeed.
5.5
The second group − average Yr 5 children (9+) had far fewer problems.
They loved every bit of it, revelling in the logical mature of the
story, coping with the puzzles admirably and becoming totally embroiled
in the story. Perhaps it was a touch too easy for them but this is not
necessarily a bad thing − the accompanying work is just as important.
5.5
Conclusions
5.5
Sky Hunter is an excellent program which may or may not be used with the
television programme and is ideal for school group use. It is well
suited to the target age group. The documentation is first rate,
providing a springboard for many weeks’ work. One small quibble: why do
Archimedes users have to pay more than Model B and Master owners for the
same program?  A
5.5

5.5
The DTP Column
5.5
Rob Sherratt
5.5
Yes, the DTP column has started up again, thanks to a ‘team’ of four
Archive members who have volunteered their help. The editorial task will
rotate on a monthly basis. A “feature” of the team is that we will be
independent of everybody except Archive DTP users, and we will not even
show favouritism to NCS, although Paul Beverley does have the ability
not to print what we have written! (The editor utters an evil laugh as
he wields his electronic scalpel!)
5.5
The ‘first priority’ being worked on by the team is to put together a
list of possible future DTP-related articles. We have some ideas which
are not necessarily the same as those of the Archive public, so please
write with any ideas relating to DTP on the Archimedes that you would
like covered in future articles (or submit the articles yourselves!)
5.5
So far, it looks like the DTP column will contain the following topical
areas:
5.5
•        News, rumours and comment.
5.5
•    Reviews − new products relating to DTP and comparisons with existing
products.
5.5
•    Hints, tips, questions and, wherever possible, answers.
5.5
•    Design − a series of articles on what makes one design “good” and
another one “bad”.
5.5
•    DTP “swap area”. The idea of this is to increase each others’ skills
and techniques in DTP by swapping work we have done. A list will be
maintained of Archive members wanting their names, addresses and phone
numbers published together with the type of work they are doing and
there can then be a general “free for all” where we contact each other
and exchange material. Please send details to Rob if you want to
participate.
5.5
We cannot always write individual replies, but your views and letters
will be very welcome and will be taken into account when the DTP column
goes to print.
5.5
If you plan on writing a long article on a DTP topic, get in contact
with Rob first to avoid possible duplication of effort − sadly four
people sent in contributions on !Trace last month − sorry to Jochen and
Ian that your excellent accounts apparently arrived too late to be
‘merged’ with Tord Eriksson’s and my bit!
5.5
“You can’t be serious... can you?”
5.5
The DTP editorial team and several other Archive readers discussing
priorities for the DTP column, consider that the ‘number one’ factor
prejudicing the ability of the Archimedes to make major impact in the
“real world” DTP market place is not the machine, its operating system,
the application software available, IBM compatibility, Mac compatibility
or any other technical factor, but is instead the fact that hardly
anyone out there knows a thing about it!
5.5
We are sorry to have to say this because, technically, Acorn is such a
brilliant company and has given those of us “in the know” some fantastic
value-for-money DTP and educational equipment, but Acorn seems to have
concentrated all its effort on technical developments. (There is a
rumour that there will soon appear an Archimedes notebook and even
further into the future we hear an advanced graphics machine is on the
drawing board.) (Keep your eyes and ears open for the portable but don’t
hold you breath for the big, super graphics machine would be my advice.
Ed)
5.5
Rather than these facts inspiring us with the enthusiasm they would once
have done, they instead fill us with great concern. Why dump millions of
pounds into the development of new equipment when what you already have
is a potential market leader and just needs a big marketing and sales
push? We cannot see how a company the size of Acorn can market a
“platform” of about a dozen variants of leading-technology hardware
without a sales and marketing department which approaches the size of
the technical and manufacturing departments. Surely Olivetti can tell
Acorn this?
5.5
Some of the “DTP editorial team” have considerable professional
experience of competing platforms for DTP use, such as the Macintosh and
PC/Windows 3 platforms. We all get our work done faster on the Archi
medes and find it easier to use and would very much like it to become
“world best practice”. The trouble is that the rest of the world hasn’t
heard of it.
5.5
We would welcome a considered response to the above from Acorn; even
perhaps a statement of what the rumoured tie-up between Acorn and CC
means to the marketplace? Also a public statement from Acorn on the
future possibility of Olivetti’s marketing strength giving assistance to
the Archimedes / DTP market place would be welcome.
5.5
(You may have noticed that Impression II won the Computer Shopper Award
for the “best non-PC business package for 1991”. The judges said that it
was “rated as comparable to market leaders like Quark Express and
PageMaker”. Ed)
5.5
The Tempest is over
5.5
Clares’ Tempest DTP package has been withdrawn from sale. They had been
promising an upgrade for quite some time but have finally admitted
defeat and have offered a refund to people who feel aggrieved.
5.5
Stand up and be counted!
5.5
We have received a copy of “The Good CD Guide 1992” published by General
Gramophone Publications and sent to Archive by Ivor Humphreys who is the
Audio Editor.
5.5
Priced at £12.95, this 680 page reference guide will be really useful to
all listeners of Classical Music, but of particular interest to this
column was the fact that it was entirely produced using Impression on an
Archimedes. The Good CD Guide also contains many full colour photo
graphs. (I suspect these were “pasted up” after Impression had done its
bit. I’d like to know if anyone has “cracked” the technicalities and
economics of doing full 24bit colour work with publications of this
size.)
5.5
Ivor Humphreys also sent one of Gramophone’s “Awards 1991” − a CD of
extracts from the 1991 Gramophone award winners. Of significance is the
fact that the disk label was printed using Impression, with FontFX being
used to bend the copyright notices around the perimeter.
5.5
Well done, Gramophone! Perhaps Archive magazine should start its own
Annual Awards to be able to award you one for being the first major
publication outside the “Archimedes owners’ marketplace” to make serious
DTP use of the Archimedes − unless any reader knows otherwise!
5.5
Whistle while you wait ...
5.5
We have been disappointed to learn that the “CPU hogging” function of
the release 2 printer drivers has not been fixed in the current releases
with RISC-OS3. Many people have asked for a proper queueing system to be
implemented which would allow the printer drivers to do background
printing of Sprite, Draw and Impression files. As it is, if you print
onto a dot matrix printer in “bit image mode” you may have to wait 15 to
20 minutes before you can have your machine back.
5.5
Background printing of graphics files is something that Mac and PC users
have been able to do for several years. We would welcome comment from
anyone at Acorn reading this!
5.5
DTP on the Archimedes − DTP for all
5.5
A new book from Bruce Goatly has just been published by Sigma Press,
price £12.95.
5.5
Until now, the only tutorial book I have found which covers DTP on the
Archimedes is Stephen Ibbs’ “First Impression” (Reviewed by Robert
Chrismas in Archive 5.1 p17). First Impression is, of course, a specific
guide to the use of Computer Concept’s Impression software. (A review of
Stephen’s follow-up, “Good Impression” appears on page 47.)
5.5
Goatly’s “DTP for all” is aimed at someone starting from scratch,
thinking that the Archimedes is a good machine, and then asking “how do
I get good DTP results on it?”. The book has sections covering all
leading Archimedes WP/DTP software (yes, 1WP, Acorn DTP, Ovation and
EasiWriter are all covered as well as Impression), and is split into
twelve sections:
5.5
1    What is DTP?
5.5
2     Equipping Yourself
5.5
3     DTP with Word Processors
5.5
4     Edit and Draw: Budget DTP
5.5
5     DTP Software for Education
5.5
6     Essentials of DTP
5.5
7     Text Handling
5.5
8     Graphics in DTP
5.5
9     Rudiments of Design
5.5
10     DTP in Practice
5.5
11     Preparing the Camera Copy
5.5
12     Duplication and Finishing
5.5
What is DTP?
5.5
Many people thinking of buying a book on DTP would think they already
know what DTP is. However, in this first chapter, Goatly explains very
concisely some of the technical “pitfalls” that many of us trip over. He
describes how outline font technology works from screen to printout, and
the full set of terminology used in the printing trade − points, picas,
setting, leading, baseline, ems, ens, standard paper sizes, full tone
and half tone illustrations, etc.
5.5
Equipping yourself
5.5
The initial section is entitled “The RISC-OS Advantage” and describes
all the features we know and love. However, I was disappointed that
Goatly didn’t draw more of a comparison with the Mac’s System 6/7 and
Windows 3 on a PC because many believe that RISC-OS as an application
support platform is greatly superior to both of these. Would any reader
like to volunteer to draw up a comparison table for publication?
5.5
However, the remaining 80% of the chapter gives very useful advice
including presenting a number of “pros and cons” tables for all the
Archimedes WP / DTP packages on the market. Sensible advice is given on
what hardware will be needed and then a set of hints and tips is given
on how to get started − explaining how all the Font Manager configura
tion parameters work.
5.5
DTP with word processors
5.5
Text based packages covered here are First Word Plus, PD3 and Easi
Writer. Goatly’s “get you going” approach will be useful to new users of
these packages and also to those considering such a purchase. The bulk
of the chapter is devoted to EasiWriter which Goatly admits can achieve
documents “with the outward appearance of DTP”, while still being
predominantly text based rather than graphic-based.
5.5
Edit and Draw: Budget DTP
5.5
I found this a very interesting chapter because I did not realise that
so much could be done when importing text into Draw. (I really must read
the User Guide some time!) Goatly exploits the full extent of Draw’s
capabilities to show how multi column layouts including graphics can be
achieved. There are also some tips on how to avoid pitfalls when using
Draw for DTP − the most common trap being italicised characters having
their overhangs cropped off by the “frame” which Draw constructs around
them.
5.5
DTP software for education
5.5
Two educational packages are covered − PenDown and Desktop Folio. I am
glad that educational packages have been covered in a book on “DTP for
all” because, in the Archimedes marketplace, the majority of users are
still in education.
5.5
Essentials of DTP
5.5
Using Impression and Ovation as models, Goatly explains all the
terminology and concepts behind frame-based DTP on the Archimedes. The
comparison between the way Ovation and Impression operate would be
useful to anyone wondering which product would suit them best.
5.5
Throughout the rest of the book, Ovation and Impression snapshots are
jointly used to illustrate Goatly’s material.
5.5
Text handling
5.5
A really excellent chapter which explains everything you ever needed to
know about laying out and manipulating text for use with a DTP package.
The use of special effects with FontFX, FontDraw, Poster and others is
also covered.
5.5
Graphics in DTP
5.5
After an initial discussion of where you can get graphical material and
software from, a large part of the chapter discusses scanning techniques
and how to incorporate and manipulate pixel-based and object-based
graphic files within a DTP document.
5.5
Rudiments of design
5.5
Most of the “golden” rules in document design are given here. I found
especially useful the section describing the many different ways
paragraphs on a page could be adjusted to fit the space available.
5.5
DTP in practice
5.5
This chapter is over 40 pages − I think the longest in the book − and
rightly so. Several complex example documents are illustrated, which
Goatly then explains, so that the reader can see how they were con
structed.
5.5
Preparing the camera copy
5.5
This covers the various different ways of getting DTP documents printed
out, comparing pros and cons of each method. Goatly goes through the
detail of how to get adequate DTP output on a dot matrix printer (if you
wait long enough), and then spends the majority of the chapter discuss
ing page printers and PostScript.
5.5
Duplication and finishing
5.5
This final chapter covers different ways of mass-producing your work,
giving a tick list of advantages / disadvantages for each method. Goatly
also explains, in some detail, how pages are laid out for folding and
stitching
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
Bruce Goatly has done a magnificent job with this book which represents
very good value for money at £12.95. Construction of the book is a
significant achievement in itself, because it was entirely done using an
Archimedes and Impression, and camera ready printout was done on a
Computer Concepts LaserDirect/LBP8 printer.
5.5
The Readers Write!
5.5
•    Printing on an FX80 from within Impression − Patrick Dowling from
Australia writes that he would like a DTP column!! He also sends the
following tip which was contained in a letter to him from Computer
Concepts:
5.5
Using Impression’s PrintLX module in draft mode to an Epson FX80 printer
for plain word processing, it is simpler to use the Corpus (mono-spaced
Courier typewriter equivalent) font instead of the default 14pt Trinity.
12pt Corpus font on screen prints Pica font on paper (10 chars per
inch). 10pt Corpus font prints in Elite (12 c.p.i.). The former allows
72 characters across the default Impression A4 page, the latter 86.
Selecting Bold produces emphasised Pica or double-strike Elite.
5.5
Patrick also asked CC whether there was a way of getting Impression to
make use of proportional spacing on the FX80 while printing in draft
mode. CC said (Dec ’91) that they hadn’t found how to yet.
5.5
Can any reader with Impression and an FX80, or compatible, contact Rob
if they know how to do this? It would probably involve an understanding
of the innards of CC’s PrintLX module and how to add the codes ESC, p, 1
to cause the printer’s proportional spacing to be turned on.
5.5
Note: prior to purchasing a Laser Direct HiRes4 printer, I used to own
an Epson RX80 printer (which did not have in built proportional
spacing). I had to live with the fact that it took 20 minutes to print a
justified page from Impression in high resolution mode − but the results
were really good and comparable with those on a 300 d.p.i. laser
printer.
5.5
•    Graphic file formats − Neil Whiteley-Bolton (now a co-Editor of the
DTP column) from Amsterdam writes that his main ‘complaint’ about the
present Archimedes / DTP setup is that the RISC-OS printer drivers do
not, at present, support 24-bit colour file formats such as TIFF or
Clear, and hence there is no point (currently) in persuading CC and
other application writers to incorporate TIFF or Clear file import /
print capability within their products.
5.5
CC’s ‘Artworks’ combined with the Laser-Direct Hi Res interface may
offer a ‘way out’ of the loop for low resolution (600 dpi) output, but I
agree that PrinterPS badly needs an upgrade that will be compatible with
the full capabilities of packages such as Artworks. I have written on
behalf of Archive to CC to ask about Artworks among other things, and we
will let you know as soon as I hear back − I believe their letter was
lost in the post and so missed this copy date!
5.5
I will also try writing to Acorn on behalf of Archive readers on this
topic, but would prefer to “collect together” one or two more items
first.
5.5
•    Graphic drivers for printers − John Evans from Winchester has written
his own typesetting and printer interface program to drive an HP
Laserjet IIISi printer using HP’s PCL 5 language. His driver works
perfectly for sprites and text, but he does not currently have the
capability of rasterising Draw files.
5.5
He asks the following:  (a) Does anyone have any C subroutines for
rasterising Draw files?  (b) Is there any product which allows you to
convert from a Draw file to a Sprite file (other than by doing a
screendump first!)  (c) Is there a way of converting from Draw/Sprite
format into TIFF format to enable file interchange with people using
PCs?
5.5
In partial answer to question (c), you need a copy of John Kortink’s
!Creator (C/W 13), !Translator  (C/W 13) and !GreyEdit (S/W 40) programs
which will allow conversion and image processing between Sprites and
most foreign graphic file formats including TIFF. Registration costs £10
cash only to John Kortink, Middelhuisstr. 17, 7482 EL Haaksbergen, The
Netherlands.
5.5
You can convert sprites to Draw files using David Pilling’s !Trace
program reviewed last month, but I do not know how to do the reverse
other than by doing a screendump.
5.5
•    Wierd and Wonderful − Rob Sherratt (who?) uses Impression v2.13 and
sometimes encounters crashes when working on documents of more than 7 or
8 pages. The crashes arise after cutting and pasting at or around
‘control-G’ frame breaks and occur when trying to save the Impression
document, but saving selected text works OK.
5.5
The error messages are either “Internal error code Eskw or ER00 or Eu02
or Epsb.” Following these, the only way “out” of the error alert loop is
to click on cancel and abort Impression and your unsaved work. Help
please? (Don’t panic, Rob, it is known about and corrected in later the
version I am using now, 2.14i. Ed.)
5.5
One important role of an “Independent” DTP column is to build up a
database of significant problems in each version of the leading DTP
packages and to be able to advise readers on the current status, any
workarounds, and if the suppliers are working on providing a fix. If
people would like to write to Rob with any currently unresolved problems
they have, he is willing to build up the “fault log” database and liaise
with suppliers once sufficient “evidence” has been collected.
5.5
DTP Swap Area
5.5
This area will contain the names and addresses of “new” people who have
agreed to swap DTP material they have published. The aim of this is to
improve one anothers’ skills by the exchange of printed ideas. No money
should change hands.
5.5
If you want to “swap” with anyone, you must first publish your name and
address and area of interest, and then write directly to whoever you
want to do a “swap” with.
5.5
If we get hundreds of “swappers”, Archive may consider publication of a
small directory. Such a directory would not be “publicly available”, but
only on request to those who have asked for their own names and
addresses to be included in it.
5.5
If anyone wants to supply me with any original graphic they have
published and would like to see printed in this column then please send
it on disk and in a form which I can import to Impression. Try to supply
something which will fit in a 2.5 inch square area.
5.5
New Names and Details:
5.5
John F.O. Evans produces a church magazine called the Dever, which has a
circulation of 300+. He would like to “swap” with others doing similar
work. His address is Mijas, Winchester Road, Micheldever, Winchester,
Hants. SO21 3DG.
5.5
Rob and Carole Sherratt produce a weekly church magazine called In
Transit, which has a circulation of 120+. They have also produced
software technical guides and a book of verse and short stories. They
are interested in doing “swaps” with anyone prepared to accept a church
magazine in return! Their address is 134, High Road West, Felixstowe,
Suffolk. IP11 9AL.
5.5

5.5
Panorama + The World
5.5
Just recently, a combination of two low-cost programs have given my
children (well, me really) so much educational pleasure that I thought I
should write about them and pass the tips on. The programs are firstly
David Pilling’s “Panorama − Draw the World” (Disc 33) at £5.99, and
secondly Glynn Clement’s “The World” which is available on the Risc User
Volume 4 Special Disk at £4.95. (I thought if that name gets printed it
would show how unbiased Archive really is!)
5.5
Panorama
5.5
David Pilling’s latest masterpiece comes on (and can be run from) a
single floppy with helpful !ReadMe instructions, and is a fully RISC-OS
compliant application coupled with a huge database of 180,000
coordinates of continental outlines, lakes, rivers, state boundaries,
positions and names of most cities, etc. Using the database, the
application can produce “satellite views” from any point above the
world, or can produce various types of continental maps of any specified
area of the world.
5.5
The program operates to up to 5 levels of resolution − 5 (the lowest)
taking only a few seconds to plot (a rather sketchy) globe, and 1 (the
highest) taking a minute (or three if you’re not using an ARM3). The
highest resolution plots can be zoomed 50 times (or more) their original
size (both in Panorama and in !Draw) to produce detailed maps of (for
example) the southern part of the UK, or of Texas, USA.
5.5
Globe coordinates
5.5
To get the most out of Panorama and The World (which I’ll come on to in
a minute), you and your children will need a globe marked with degrees
longitude and latitude. What we used was a really excellent cardboard
“cut out and make” globe − The Tarquin Globe − which costs about £3 from
Tarquin Publications, Stradbroke, Diss (0379− 84218). This “do-it-
yourself kit” comes with a little fact-book about the Earth which will
answer any questions about world geometry / time zones / date line etc
your children may have.
5.5
The World
5.5
Glynn Clement’s program displays an approximate ‘cylindrical projection’
view of the world at any selected centre of longitude, and superimposes
onto that the ‘sinusoidal-ish’ pattern of day and night cast by the sun.
The sun’s position can either be displayed in ‘real time’ (reading the
date and time from your Archimedes), or at a point in date/time
specified by you. It is really useful to be able to see at what time
daybreak and sunset will ocur in a different part of the world to be
able to gauge how receptive someone living there will be to receiving a
phone call from you. I don’t find the ‘timezone difference’ gives me a
good enough idea of what mood they’ll be in! This program in conjunction
with Panorama and a suitable Globe will complete the set of ‘educational
tools’ needed to allow children to further their knowledge of world
geography.
5.5
Introductions
5.5
It may be of interest to you to know who the main DTP contributors will
be....
5.5
Rob Sherratt is an Electronics Engineer working in Network Management
System Design at BT’s Research Labs. His wife Carole (with Rob’s help at
present) is using her Archimedes/Impression setup to produce literature
and newsletters for the local church. The longer term plan is for the
business − EasyCo − to break even!  (Rob is going to act as coordinator
for the DTP column.)
5.5
Richard Hallas in Huddersfield is a freelance music typesetter and does
commercial desktop publishing using Impression. Among other things he
will be handling reviews of all scorewriting packages.
5.5
Richard Else is Head of the Film and Media department of Sheffield City
Polytechnic. He mainly uses Impression on his Archimedes but has used
many other packages and has produced material for both TV and print.
5.5
Neil Whiteley-Bolton in Amsterdam is using his Archimedes / Impression
for professional DTP use in producing a Hi-Fi magazine and technical
journals. His current PostScript output files for the Hi-Fi magazine are
40 Mbytes in size, so he uses a Syquest removable disk to post his work
off for typesetting! Neil is a Systems Developer with the European Space
Agency.
5.5
The new address to which all contributions and questions for the DTP
Column should be sent is: Rob Sherratt, 134 High Road West, Felixstowe,
Suffolk. IP11 9AL.  A
5.5
(We had a letter from a reader asking why we were totally ignoring
Ovation. I have passed the letter on to Rob and next month’s column will
no doubt deal with it. However, it is interesting to note that all the
four contributors are using Impression rather than Ovation. Could we
hear, please, from anyone who is using Ovation for serious DTP work?
Ed.)
5.5

5.5
PD Column
5.5
David Holden
5.5
Not a virus
5.5
I have mentioned before the fact that copyright material keeps finding
its way into the catalogues of seemingly quite respectable libraries and
onto magazine disks. The recent ‘incident’ by Archimedes World is
probably one such example.
5.5
In the December issue of the magazine customers were asked to return
their November disk and offered two new disks in return. No explanation
was given. Despite assurances to the contrary, many people believed that
the disk had been infected with a virus and although the magazine has
been full of denials ever since, there is still no explanation.
5.5
The real reason is very simple. On the November disk there was a PD
program called !ModeUtil. This is a ‘front end’ for screen mode modules
allowing you to select your chosen mode from a menu. Nothing particu
larly startling, except that the modes available were obtained from the
Newmodes module which is part of with Computer Concepts ‘Impression’ and
the Newmodes module was included with the program! As usual, the person
who did this proudly, signed his name and address!
5.5
Passing over the fact that it’s almost impossible to understand how
anyone at Archimedes World could have failed to spot this because the
module isn’t disguised in any way and contains Computer Concepts
copyright message (unless, of course, they never looked), I am left
wondering why they didn’t simply tell the truth. I’m quite sure that,
for months, many people who obtained this disk have been worried about a
possible virus and the lack of any explanation for the recall has done
little to reassure them. So, if you are one of these, please worry no
more.
5.5
(This IS a virus
5.5
Just to show how easily these things happen, the February Archive
magazine disk and Shareware 42 were both sent out with the icon virus on
them! Sorry about that, folks. Adrian is very careful about this sort of
thing. The trouble is, Paul received an update of the !Daylight
application, tried it out on his computer at home, picked up the icon
virus which his sons had picked up from school and updated the two discs
just in time for them to be sent out to the unsuspecting subscribers.
5.5
Still, he’s not alone... the magazine disc with the February Archimedes
World contained the module virus, a rather worse virus than icon as it
is more difficult to remove and seems to spread far more easily. Ed.)
5.5
Hard disk backup
5.5
In the January issue, the subject of hard disk backup was raised and the
PD program on Shareware 36 mentioned as a good solution. While this is
an excellent program, I would suggest that a conventional backup program
is not what most people need, and I will describe the solution that I
adopt.
5.5
The first problem to be considered is the amount of data that needs to
be backed up. If you have a 40M disk and it is about half full then,
assuming around 750k of data on each floppy, you will need over 54 disks
to hold your backup using conventional methods. Why 54 and not 27 since
27 × 750k is 20.25M? Well, Murphy’s Law (‘Anything that can go wrong
will go wrong’) means that a backup is only worth having if the backup
has a backup. You therefore need at least two sets of backup disks
(normally called ‘Father’ and ‘Son’) and backup to each alternately. So,
if there is an error in the most recent set, you still have the previous
ones. If your data is particularly precious, a third set of disks
(‘Grandfather’) should be used as well.
5.5
In fact, most of the time, a large part of a hard disk doesn’t need to
be backed up. Major applications, Draw, Edit, Pipedream, Impression,
fonts, etc. can easily be recreated from the originals if necessary. You
must of course back up any configuration files but these are normally
quite short. What you actually need to back up is all the files created
with these applications, !Boot and !System directories and Library (if
you use one).
5.5
The number of files can be much reduced if you keep some of your data on
floppies instead of the hard disk to start with. Programs such as
PipeDream and 1WP don’t really need to have their files on a hard disk
so if you put them on floppies and keep a backup of the floppies not
only does this drastically reduce the amount of data on your hard disk
but it also makes it a lot easier to find the file you want.
5.5
Using this strategy greatly reduces the amount that needs to be backed
up. Further suggestions were given in the article ‘Saving Disk Space’ by
Mike Hobart in last month’s Archive. Less data = fewer disks = less time
required, which means that you will be more inclined to make regular
backups. If you are wondering what all this has to do with PD I shall
now tell you. I use the PD program !PackDir written by John Kortink to
back up my hard disk. This is not a conventional backup program but it
IS designed specifically for hard disk backup. It uses LZW compression
techniques to compress an entire directory or directory structure.
!Packdir reduces the size of most data files to around 50% of the
original, so you need fewer disks for your backups. You can also use it
to compress backups of floppies which further reduces the number of
disks required. It’s quite fast, taking about one minute to compress 1
Mbyte of data, which is no slower than most conventional backup programs
and a lot faster than !Spark.
5.5
!PackDir is available from most good PD libraries and I can heartily
recommend it.
5.5
Beebug ‘free’ PD again
5.5
You may have read Mike Williams’ comments on my remarks about Beebug
giving away ten disks of PD with each computer sold. While I believe my
original reason was valid, I confess that I was moved more by a feeling
that there was something wrong about the practice, even though I wasn’t
sure exactly what, than from conviction that the reason I gave was the
best one. The answer that our Editor gave to Mike Williams, that it is
against the spirit of PD to use it for financial gain, even if the gain
is indirect, is the correct one. I am happy to accept the rebuke that I
should have thought of it myself and I am pleased to find a better
reason to support my original feelings.
5.5
This should by no means be taken as a criticism of Beebug. It is simply
one of those things upon which everyone must make their own moral
judgement. Since my sympathy is with the principle of PD, I find myself
opposed although there are perfectly valid arguments to the contrary.
5.5
Finally...
5.5
The frantic boom last year when new PD libraries appeared almost daily
seems to have ended at last. Most of these were run by inexperienced
well intentioned enthusiasts who believed that all that was necessary
was to buy some blank disks, send for copies of programs from estab
lished libraries and then sit back and collect the money. Many of them
have discovered that there’s a LOT more to running a successful library
than that, and they are now disappearing at about the same rate that
they appeared.
5.5
Possibly, as a consequence of this, I have received some reports of
customers sending money to libraries and not receiving disk(s) in
return, or only after further letters and/or phone calls, although the
cheques have been cashed. This seems to apply mainly to catalogue disks
and a couple of names have appeared more than once. There are many
perfectly valid reasons why this could have happened and I don’t want to
make anyone unduly apprehensive about sending money to libraries but if
you have had any problems please write and tell me.
5.5
Please write to me at 39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London SE26
5RN.  A
5.5

5.5
Small Ads
5.5
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what “small”
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.5
•    A3000 colour 2M ram (expandable to 4M), monitor stand £650. Lingenuity
42M SCSI external drive + A3000 interface £400. Phone David on
0223−842505 (after 6).
5.5
•    A3000 2M ram, CM8833 + stand + expansion card case £620. Panasonic
KXP1124 £150. Phone 0275−843322 (Bristol).
5.5
•    A310 with 2 M ram (Atomwide), 20 M SCSI (Oak) drive, Electrohome
Multisync monitor (14“), PCemulator 1.7, FWPlus, Genesis, Acorn DTP +
various PD software, £795. Phone 081−579−0607.
5.5
•    A310 + 4-slot bplane, manuals + software, £500 (£600 with std colour
monitor), inc. discount vouchers towards RAM/ARM3 upgrades. Acorn JP150
Ink Jet printer (new), £225. Citizen C120-D 9-pin Dot Matrix NLQ
printer, £80. Armadillo A448 Sampler card and s/w, £70. Phone Lenny on
071−703−5675.
5.5
•    A410/1 with 4M ram, ARM3 (30MHz), VIDC enhancer, Oak 70M internal
(fast) drive, Acorn multi-sync. Offers (serious) phone 0276−20575 (after
6).
5.5
•    A440 4M ram, 20M drive, Ex cond £550 o.n.o. NEC Multisync II £275, PC
Emulator 1.6 £30. Phone Graham on 081−943−6163 (day), 0784− 244881
(eves).
5.5
•    A5000 computer (2M HD) with monitor. New unused, was £1761, accept
£1699. Ring Roger on 061−799−9845 (eves).
5.5
•    A5000 with multisync, 2M, 40M IDE, JP150. Absolutely as new. £1750.
(or will split) Phone 0494−522704.
5.5
•    Brother HR15 daisywheel printer + 3 wheels + ribbons £200, Graphbox
£35, Interword £15, InterSheet2 £15, SpellMaster £25 (all Archimedes
disc versions). Phone 081−989−2666.
5.5
•    Camcorder and Hawk V9 digitiser. Phone 0366−501001 for details.
5.5
•    Canon BJ130e wide carriage, sheet-feeder, new cartridge, £300 o.n.o.
Phone 051−606−0289.
5.5
•    CC podule for Laser Direct LBP4 £300. Phone Leslie Wiggins on
0602−421413 (day) or 607822 (eves).
5.5
•    Chocks Away £12.50, Extra Missions £10, Break147/Superpool £12.50,
Saloon Cars £12.50, E-Type £5, Olympics £10, Holed Out £5, Pacmania £10,
Interdictor 2 £10. Phone 0672− 810545 (5p.m. onwards or Saturdays).
5.5
•    Citizen Swift 24 Colour printer, inc. cable + Ace’s RISC-OS printer
driver + colour sprite dump, £190 o.n.o. Phone 081−655−0399.
5.5
•    EasiWriter (v 1.04) unused £75. Phone Don on 0942−716860.
5.5
•    Econet Filestore E20 plus 4 Master E.T. Terminals. Offers. Phone Mr M
Gwynne on 0584−872846 (day) or 0568−85410 (eves).
5.5
•    External 3½“ drive + interface for A3000 £70 + postage. Phone Alan on
061−247−1198 (work) or 0204−41459 (home).
5.5
•    Father requires help understanding the operation of late son’s A305
and printer. City of Cambridge area. Phone John Pearson on 0223− 860500.
5.5
•    HP Deskjet 500 + spare cartridges + FX80 emulation cartridge + printer
driver. £300 o.n.o. Phone Steve on 0302−535891.
5.5
•    MultiFS £18, First Word Plus1 £12, Power Band £12, UIM £12, Nevryon,
Twin World £10, PacMania £8, Word Up Word Down £5. Phone Mr Wickham on
0992−712836.
5.5
•    Saloon Cars, Midnight Graphics Clip Art 2, Tactic, Leaderboard,
Tracer, Z88 + accessories, PD Elite commander editor, laser printing and
scanning services. Contact Michael Pargeter on 0462−434061 (eves).
5.5
•    ST506 hard disc interface plus 20M drive + 4-slot backplane, £125.
Phone Brian on 091−536− 4462 (eves).
5.5
•    Voltmace Delta-Cat Joystick unused £9, Twin £4, Interdictor 1 £3.
Phone Richard on 0264− 361475 (eves).
5.5
•    Wanted SCSI interface for A310. Also ARM3. Phone Brian on 091−536
−4462 (eves).
5.5
•    WE Hand Scanner 2 £70, First Word Plus 2 £30. Both o.n.o. buyer
collects or postage extra. Phone Miles Sabin on 081−980−2455.
5.5
Charity Sales − The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money − ring us on 0603−766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
5.5
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
5.5
RISC-OS Companion Vol 1 £5, Saloon Cars £19, PC Emulator 1.6 MS-DOS £50,
VIDC Enhancer £18, Masterfile II £25, Watford Electronics £5 voucher £3,
InterDictor 1 £10, Conqueror + Corruption + Quazer £18.  A
5.5

5.5

5.5

5.5
Capsoft
5.5
New artwork
5.5

5.5
Hints and Tips
5.5
•    A5000 PC delete danger – I found out the hard way that deleting the PC
directory (and probably Drive_C as well) gives a disc error over the
area of the deleted partition. The only solution is to reformat the hard
disc and restore the last backup. J.R.McLachlan, Hertford.
5.5
Yes, there does appear to be a problem here. The same thing happened to
us. In theory, the idea is that Drive_C is a filetype that is not
deleteable. The trouble is that on the A5000, it seems to get confused
and half delete it, leaving a blank entry in the file table (seen as a
blank line in the filer window if you use “full info”). The answer is to
change the filetype to, say, FFF with
5.5
*SETTYPE $.<pathname>.Drive_C FFF
5.5
before you try to delete it. Ed.
5.5
•    BBC Tracker Ball − In December’s Archive, Paul asked for a wiring
diagram to convert a BBC tracker ball to an Archimedes one. I have
converted an old Marconi tracker ball for use on the Archimedes using
the following diagram.
5.5
The nine wires come out of the bottom of the tracker ball socket as I
have drawn it. Socket 1 is marked, or it is on mine.
5.5
The connections are as follows...
5.5
    9-pin    Trackerball
5.5
    mini DIN    Socket
5.5
    1    3    yellow
5.5
    2    6    black
5.5
    3    7    brown
5.5
    4    9    grey
5.5
    5    2    orange
5.5
    6    1    red
5.5
    7    4    green
5.5
    8    8    white
5.5
    9    5    blue
5.5
The colours are the colours on mine. They may differ between various
tracker balls. A mark 1 Archimedes mouse lead will also fit this
particular tracker ball but two leads need swapping round.
5.5
Connectors 6 and 7, in my case red and brown, need to be changed over.
This can be accomplished with a needle by gently lifting the black
plastic clip above the connector with the needle whilst pulling gently
on the wire to be removed.
5.5
December’s article was, I think, for a mark 1 AMX mouse. I have a later
AMX mouse which is the same design as the early Archimedes mouse and the
lead is a straight swap.
5.5
Dave Morrell, Middlesbrough
5.5
•    Elite Cheat − Here is program that will create a commander file for
use with Elite. It gives you the most needed items to get around a
little better than before, especially the docking computer, (most
welcome). When you have successfully loaded it in, use galaxy map to see
where to go, a little bonus is waiting: Front beam laser, rear beam
laser, large cargo bay (35 tons), docking computer, E.C.M. system, four
missiles.
5.5
REM>:0.$.Elite_com
5.5
REM Program by Scott Edwards
5.5
REM 3-1-92
5.5
REM It is important that you have
5.5
REM the correct checksums on the
5.5
REM right line, the program will
5.5
REM inform you if you have a wrong line.
5.5
MODE0:OFF
5.5
DIM store% &1000
5.5
checkcode%=38901:code$=“”
5.5
line%=390:inc%=0
5.5
FOR l%=0 TO 17
5.5
FOR blk%=0 TO 15
5.5
READ code$
5.5
dat%=EVAL(“&”+code$)
5.5
checksum%=checksum%+dat%
5.5
?(store%+inc%)=dat%
5.5
PRINT dat%,~dat%
5.5
inc%+=1
5.5
NEXT
5.5
READ checkcode%
5.5
IF checksum%<>checkcode% THEN
5.5
PRINT “You have a data byte incorrect at ”;line%
5.5
STOP
5.5
ENDIF
5.5
line%+=10:finalcheck%=checksum%
5.5
checksum%=0
5.5
NEXT
5.5
IF finalcheck%=checkcode% THEN
5.5
PRINT“You have a correct file for saving”
5.5
REPEAT
5.5
INPUT“Enter the commander name for your file  ”;A$
5.5
UNTIL A$<>“”
5.5
SYS“OS_File”,10,A$,&C87,,store%, store%+&11C
5.5
ENDIF
5.5
PRINT“Program is Finished,now run ELITE and use your new commander”
5.5
END
5.5
:
5.5
REM Commander file for ELITE
5.5
:
5.5
DATA 16,B5,DC,72,DF,DD,20,C9,F2,3C, 54, EB,32,6F,EF,09,2244
5.5
DATA E5,F9,61,E3,31,12,B8,70,85,F3, FE,A9,EB,11,02,DD,2439
5.5
DATA 31,43,F2,80,D5,F6,81,FA,70,92, 9A, 72,B9,EB,FC,B9,2707
5.5
DATA C9,B1,42,CE,85,DD,F6,7F,5D,00, D2,9A,92,D2,6F,FC,2553
5.5
DATA B9,2F,F9,62,CF,B5,62,B8,7B,5E, 98,7E,AF,68,DC,AA,2413
5.5
DATA DD,39,30,CD,40,D6,B5,EF,53,70, 9E,91,E9,99,EC,DB,2568
5.5
DATA F1,2C,B1,50,C1,F5,4D,F7,EE,72, 97,52,A1,59,FC,A7,2558
5.5
DATA FD,78,B2,CD,22,CA,AD,FF,54,7F, 3D,52,67,0A,66,D7,2204
5.5
DATA F8,23,39,20,A2,B4,86,B4,6C,7D, 0B,1D,09,4A,D3,44,1663
5.5
DATA D3,37,3F,07,0F,06,A6,63,23,E3, 1D,18,84,80,84,D4,1541
5.5
DATA AA,8A,6B,10,8D,3B,39,43,EB,56, C6,B6,81,48,9F,1E,1846
5.5
DATA 9A,77,2C,64,DC,BA,A5,49,10,CE, BD,17,33,EF,5E,D4,2091
5.5
DATA A5,01,E8,E0,8D,12,71,30,6B,53, F9,F5,E9,47,02,B2,2110
5.5
DATA 91,37,22,7D,F1,F6,A4,7A,DC,C2, 9C,8A,B5,FE,7C,CB,2602
5.5
DATA 38,E2,DA,CF,49,E0,80,BF,CF,20, 6A,6E,E7,24,69,39,2207
5.5
DATA 7E,74,89,36,A6,69,0B,36,B7,A9, 33,46,99,DD,35,07,1676
5.5
DATA 34,D0,D6,93,1D,CF,F0,9B,03,0F, 61,EC,D6,13,E8,71,2181
5.5
DATA 48,83,01,29,F7,5A,82,75,32,A8, BA,41,00,00,00,00,1298
5.5
S Edwards, Stourbridge
5.5
•    First Word Plus 2 − In Archive 3.12 someone was bemoaning the lack of
a key that would toggle insert mode on and off. In fact the <insert> key
itself will do just that.
5.5
Robert Fuller, Basingstoke.
5.5
•    Lemmings Passwords − For all you bald headed insomniacs....
5.5
Taxing Level
5.5
02 Justforyou    03 Runandflee    04
Doortodoor
5.5
05 Stillalive    06 Fixedmyfix    07
Anurebevan
5.5
08 Helpmemate    09 Drinknwine    10
Tenpercent
5.5
11 Stickuptwo    12 DiginDelve     13
Hisbadluck
5.5
14 Teensforth    15 Teensfifth    16
Notsosweet
5.5
17 Driveukcar    18 Votesforme    19
Tenstonine
5.5
20 Doublesten    21 Lockandkey    22
Twoelevens
5.5
23 Justforme    24 Lemmingmore    25
Jiveanjive
5.5
26 Lemsinafix    27 Lemsheavon    28
Gardengate
5.5
29 Startowine    30 Fivexsixis
5.5
Mayhem Level
5.5
02 Nearlygone    03 Spendspree    04
Onthefloor
5.5
05 Uncleclive    06 Clogclicks    07
Difference
5.5
08 Waitanwait    09 Eatanddine    10
Tentontess
5.5
11 Binisthree    12 Twotimesix    13
Returntome
5.5
14 Twicelucky    15 Nineandsix    16
Charitynum
5.5
17 Stillyoung    18 Comesofage    19
Olderstill
5.5
20 Numbtwenty    21 Olderlemms    22
Lemminduck
5.5
23 Soonbefree    24 Lemmsstore    25
Lemmsdrive
5.5
26 Yourinafix    27 Lemtodevon    28Twostoplay
5.5
29 Oneafterme    30 Lemmgfinal
5.5
Robin Jefferies,  West Sussex.
5.5
•    Improving Logistix (v0.01) RISC-OS compatibility − As anyone who has a
copy of Logistix will be aware, the RISC-OS support files to “upgrade”
the package to run from the desktop do nothing except allow the
application to be launched from the desktop! (I do not know if there was
ever a subsequent release of Logistix since v0.01 − I assume not, as I
was a registered owner and was never informed of any update.)
5.5
In the case of old programs upgraded through the support disk, it’s
likely that some of the software houses did not have any real experience
of RISC-OS before the deadline date for the disk, so they may be excused
for the minimal level of compliance. (Acorn could not be considered to
have had any such excuse, but Logistix wasn’t actually written by them,
they only marketed it for Grafox.)
5.5
The directory structure of the “upgraded” !Logistix was rather messy,
and all pathnames were specific to the directory structure, therefore
not transportable from drive 0 and the $ directory. This makes it
impossible to install on a hard disk without some editing. The major
annoyance in using the application is that clicking on Logistix data
files does nothing except give an error message! Files can only be
loaded by first loading Logistix, then keyboarding through the menu
system.
5.5
The application directory can be arranged far better for RISC-OS by the
movement of a few files, and a little editing with !Edit. Dealing with
the directory structure first...
5.5
All that the user wants to see of Logistix is the !Logistix application
icon which can be double clicked on to start it. Your !System directory
should contain a directory called Modules which contains the latest
version of the FPE, Clib, Colours etc. As upgraded after using the
support disk, a Logistix floppy disk contains the following directories:
5.5
!System − A system folder which still requires updating with the RISC-OS
extras disk for the newer versions of Clib etc. (The latest Floating
Point Emulator (2.80) should also be placed in the Modules directory
inside this.)
5.5
!Logistix − The RISC-OS startup directory containing the !Boot,!Run and
!Sprites files.
5.5
Logistix − The actual Logistix program files and a (now outdated)
Floating Point Emulator.
5.5
MAKE A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR DISK then, using the backup copy...
5.5
Move the Logistix directory into the !Logistix directory.
5.5
Copy the latest FPEmulator you have into the !System.Modules directory.
5.5
(You may then delete the copy in the Logistix directory.)
5.5
Using !Edit, edit the !Logistix.!Boot file to contain the following
lines:
5.5
| !Boot for !Logistix version 0.01
5.5
| Updated to allow autoload
5.5
| (This is an OBEY file)
5.5
Set Logi$Dir <Obey$Dir>
5.5
IconSprites <Logi$Dir>.!Sprites
5.5
Set File$Type_DFF Logistix
5.5
Set Alias$@RunType_DFF Obey <Logi$Dir>.InitFile %%*0
5.5
Edit the !Run file so that it becomes:
5.5
| !Run for !Logistix version 0.01
5.5
| with better RISC-OS compatability
5.5
| (This is an OBEY file)
5.5
IconSprites <Logi$Dir>.!Sprites
5.5
WimpSlot -min 500k
5.5
RMEnsure FPEmulator RMLoad <System$Path>Modules.FPEmulator
5.5
Dir <Logi$Dir>.Logistix
5.5
LGX
5.5
The use of “<System$Path>Modules.” to reach the FPEmulator and setting
up the system variable <Logi$Dir> allow proper transportability of the
application, and it can now quite happily be installed anywhere in the
directory structure on a hard disk. Clicking on a data file causes RISC-
OS to check if a command has been matched to that file type. The system
variable Alias$@RunType _xxx has to be set up for files of the type in
question. If it has not been set up then you will get the error message
“No run action specified for this file type”. This is exactly what
happens with Logistix and similar applications written before (and even
since!) RISC-OS made its appearance. The addition of the line Set
Alias$@RunType_ DFF Obey <Logi$Dir>.InitFile %%*0 in the !Boot file
corrects the original omission, along with the following Obey file.
5.5
The file described here can be used with most applications which require
keyboard input to load files, the exceptions being those which clear the
keyboard buffer on start up. In principle, the method is simple. An Exec
file is used containing the commands or keystrokes to be executed as
though they had been entered at the keyboard. Due to the fact that only
Obey files can process the Obey$Dir system variable, it could get a
little bit confusing.
5.5
One way around this is from an Obey file:
5.5
1. Collect the startup pathname from RISC-OS and put it in a system
variable.
5.5
2. Using an Obey file, create an Exec file (by using Spool and Echo)
containing all the commands which require to be carried out to start the
application and set it up for a load operation.
5.5
3. Echo the system variable containing the full pathname into the Exec
file.
5.5
4. Exec the file which has just been created.
5.5
There is one small problem. When trying to write to the FIRST file being
created by a *Spool operation, extraneous data flows into it before the
data! A dummy file is spooled first to get rid of this before the real
file is created.
5.5
Using !Edit, create a new Obey file as follows, (You may miss out the
comment lines, but please leave in the fact that it is public domain and
attributed to me.)
5.5
| “InitFile” − Public Domain by
5.5
| D.Potter 26/6/90
5.5
| Allows keyboard emulated loading
5.5
| by double-clicking on a data file
5.5
| in the RISC-OS desktop.
5.5
| Intended in this version for
5.5
| Logistix, but the principal will
5.5
| work for other programs which do
5.5
| not clear the keyboard buffer at
5.5
| startup.
5.5
| This is an Obey File. (Exec files
5.5
| do not allow passing of system
5.5
| parameters.) To pass actual
5.5
| commands to Logistix, (or any
5.5
| similar application), an Exec file
5.5
| must be used.
5.5
| The Exec file is built by this
5.5
| file, including the full path for
5.5
| the startup file that was clicked
5.5
| on.
5.5
| The !Boot file for app. must be an
5.5
| Obey file containing the commands
5.5
|      Set Logi$Dir <Obey$Dir>
5.5
|      Set Alias$@RunType_xxx Obey <Logi$Dir>.InitFile %%*0
5.5
| (As well as any other commands
5.5
| already there)
5.5
| Where xxx is the filetype for the
5.5
| data file (DFF for Logistix).
5.5
| Logi$Dir will be the directory
5.5
| where the application resides, and
5.5
| is automatically set up when the
5.5
| application’s !Boot is first seen.
5.5
| Note : the | characters at the
5.5
| start of the above lines should
5.5
| NOT be in the !Boot file!
5.5
|
5.5
| Put the pathname information in
5.5
| temporary system variable Lload$
5.5
Set Lload$ %*0
5.5
| Clear extraneous data which
5.5
| appears when a file is written to
5.5
| at this stage by dummy spooling.
5.5
| This data is not needed here any
5.5
| more!
5.5
Spool <Logi$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Echo <Lload$>
5.5
spool
5.5
| Now create the actual Exec file
5.5
| which will run LGX and issue the
5.5
| commands.
5.5
Spool <Logi$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Echo || !LoadFile − Transient program built by InitFile
5.5
 (PD) by D.Potter 1990
5.5
Echo *Run <Logi$Dir>.!Run
5.5
|
5.5
| Send the Logistix load sequence −
5.5
| Note : NO SPACES in the sequence!
5.5
| /L = load, L= Logistix data file,
5.5
| <Lload$>= Full filename,
5.5
| A= All to be loaded  (You might
5.5
| want to use a different load
5.5
| sequence)
5.5
| (Where a return is required such
5.5
| as after the filename here,
5.5
| simply start a new Echo statement
5.5
| for the next command.)
5.5
|
5.5
Echo /LL<Lload$>
5.5
Echo A
5.5
|
5.5
| Close the file
5.5
Spool
5.5
|
5.5
| Set its file type
5.5
SetType <Logi$Dir>.!LoadFile Command
5.5
|
5.5
| Lose the temporary system variable
5.5
UnSet Lload$
5.5
|
5.5
| And run the file just created!
5.5
Exec <Logi$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Save the above file as InitFile in the !Logistix directory.
5.5
Now click on the !Boot file in the !Logistix directory to set the system
variables. (You won’t always have to do this, as the !Boot file will be
run the first time you open the directory containing !Logistix. You only
need to do it at this time because you have been messing about with the
files, and the !Boot file may be different now than when it was last
run.) Clicking on any Logistix data file will now load Logistix and the
data file ready for use. You will still have to set up any default
prefixes etc.
5.5
It is not possible to do this automatically with a simple file such as
the above, because the full pathname would require to be split up to
provide the path to your file directory minus the filename. i.e. you
would require string handling facilities such as in Basic.
5.5
Note: The Logistix application itself still sets the CSD to the Logistix
directory within the !Logistix application directory. Implementing a
fully RISC-OS compatible version would require rewriting of the actual
coded LGX file, which is not possible without both the source code file
and the full approval of both Acorn and Grafox.
5.5
Other applications requiring a parameter block in memory − Other
programs (in Basic) written before RISC-OS, which will autoload a data
file at startup if a parameter block is set up in memory, could be made
to auto load using a version of the following routine. Again, this
builds an exec file which is run in Basic, using simple string handling
to split off the filename from the full pathname.
5.5
This example file was built to implement auto loading under RISC-OS on
an old BBC program which was written for DFS, and without re-writing
could not handle full pathnames, therefore it includes a line to set the
current directory to the application directory.
5.5
Note: This particular version works due to Basic being selected during
the execution of the Exec file and the memory accessible to both the
file and the program is that assigned by the selection of Basic. Any
other programs (e.g. integrated packages) which are to use the shared
parameter block must (obviously) use the same memory, so must not move
out of Basic (return to the desktop) in between the programs, but simply
chain each other.
5.5
This actual file will be irrelevant to most users, but it does show a
method of getting around the conversion of system variables to actual
data therefore easing the amount of work involved in conversion of BBC B
and Master programs to Archimedes. I know that re-writing the appli
cations might be more sensible, but this is aimed at people who know how
an application works, but didn’t write it in the first place!
5.5
|    “Autoload”
5.5
| A Customised version of “InitFile”
5.5
| −  Public Domain by D.Potter
5.5
|                             7/7/90
5.5
|       —— Information ——-
5.5
| Allows parameter block loading by
5.5
| double-clicking on a data file
5.5
| in the RISC-OS desktop.
5.5
| Intended in this version for the
5.5
| upgrade of an old BBC/Master
5.5
| program called Datbase, but the
5.5
| principal should work for other
5.5
| Basic programs which when started
5.5
| up check a parameter block in
5.5
| memory, and if found to be valid,
5.5
| will load the file referred to in
5.5
| the block.
5.5
| eg. Old “Integrated” suites of
5.5
| programs which allow files to be
5.5
| left as active or current for each
5.5
| program in the suite.
5.5
|
5.5
| This is an Obey File.
5.5
| An Exec file is built by this file
5.5
| including the filename for the
5.5
| startup file that was double
5.5
| clicked on.
5.5
| The !Boot file for app. must be an
5.5
| Obey file containing the commands
5.5
|       Set DatBa$Dir <Obey$Dir>
5.5
|       Set Alias$@RunType_xxx Obey <DatBa$Dir>.AutoLoad %%*0
5.5
| (As well as any other commands
5.5
| already there)
5.5
| Where xxx is the filetype for the
5.5
| data file. (DatBa$Dir will be set
5.5
| to the directory where the program
5.5
| & this file reside when the !Boot
5.5
| file is run)
5.5
|
5.5
| Put the full pathname information
5.5
| in system variable DBload$
5.5
Set DBload$ %*0
5.5
| Clear extraneous data which
5.5
| appears when a file is written to
5.5
| at this stage by dummy spooling.
5.5
| This data is not needed here
5.5
| anymore!
5.5
Spool <DatBa$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Echo <DBload$>
5.5
spool
5.5
|
5.5
| Now create the actual Exec file
5.5
| which will run the program and
5.5
| load file.
5.5
Spool <DatBa$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Echo || !LoadFile − Transient program built by AutoLoad
5.5
 (PD) by D.Potter 1990
5.5
Echo *Basic
5.5
Echo REM this particular application requires the CSD to be it -
5.5
Echo *Dir <DatBa$Dir>
5.5
Echo REM The startup parameter block for this application
5.5
 is at &F000, with
5.5
Echo REM the filename held at &F100, any conditions for
5.5
 printing at &F110,
5.5
Echo REM the record number to display at start up held in R%,
5.5
Echo REM and HIMEM held in H%
5.5
Echo HIMEM=&F000
5.5
Echo H%=&F000
5.5
|    Echoing a system variable
5.5
|    causes it to be converted to
5.5
|    the real data.
5.5
Echo F$=“<DBload$>”
5.5
Echo REM Split off the actual filename itself (This
5.5
 particular example is
5.5
Echo REM for conversion of a BBC B/
5.5
Master program which
5.5
 has restricted
5.5
Echo REM filename length, and therefore can’t handle
5.5
 full pathnames)
5.5
Echo REPEAT:F$=MID$(F$,INSTR(F$,“.”)+1):UNTIL INSTR(F$,“.”)=0
5.5
Echo $&F100=F$ : $&F110=“”:R%=1
5.5
Echo MO.12
5.5
Echo CHAIN“DATBASE”
5.5
|
5.5
| Where a return is required after a
5.5
| command such as L for load, simply
5.5
| start a new Echo statement for the
5.5
| next command − a return will be
5.5
| put in.
5.5
|
5.5
| Close the file
5.5
Spool
5.5
|
5.5
| Set its file type
5.5
SetType <DatBa$Dir>.!LoadFile Command
5.5
|
5.5
| And do it!
5.5
Exec <DatBa$Dir>.!LoadFile
5.5
Douglas Potter, Glasgow
5.5
•    Oak SCSI on A5000 − Using the ‘free’ menu option on a SCSI disc on the
iconbar doesn’t make use of the new Free module in the RISC-OS 3 ROM. To
correct this, include the following line in your hard disc boot file :
5.5
Set Alias$Free ShowFree -FS scsi %0
5.5
That’s all there is to it. Now, whenever you select ‘free’ from the SCSI
menu, a Free window pops up. The ‘%0’ picks up the device (disc drive)
name. Should you then subsequently wish to use Free from the command
line, use :
5.5
%Free [<disc spec>]
5.5
Typing ShowFree at the command line (with no parameters) reports the
command syntax.
5.5
David Lenthall, London
5.5
•    Refilling ink cartridges − We have, in past issues, published comments
about refilling inkjet cartridges with various types of ink. Tord
Eriksson sent in another such comment a while ago but I didn’t publish
it. He now writes....
5.5
Remember my recommending using water or fountain pen ink to keep your
printer going when your ink supply is gone? You didn’t publish it
(sensibly enough!) and I ran into deep trouble with it. I thought the
printhead was a goner (and messed it up further...), as the printer
didn’t work properly. After buying a new £100 head, with no improvement,
I found out that the reason you shouldn’t refill the cartridges is that
air easily leaks into the paint container if you disconnect it many
times (as when injecting ink) because the membrane gets worn. This means
that suction isn’t up to specification and you get uneven paint
delivery.
5.5
You may publish this as a warning − water does not harm a Canon BJ-what-
ever printer − but the side-effects can be very troublesome! I could
have spent the £100 on something more sensible!!!    Tord Eriksson,
Sweden  A
5.5
Impression Hints & Tips
5.5
•    Function key changes (cont’d) − In addition to Michael Ben-Gershon’s
excellent hint in Archive 5.2, p.12: Why not go the whole way and put
all those styles (like those fonts you use regularly to enhance your
texts) into your Impression default document, after you have assigned a
function key to each of them?
5.5
There are quite a lot of possibilities; in addition to those fields on
the function key strip that are quite empty, you can remove the default
styles you may not need (like hanging indent) and if there are some of
those ten scales offered which you never use, you can simply take over
those keys for your own styles.
5.5
You will find that the editable field which allows you to define a
keyboard short cut is slightly unusual: It accepts only certain entries
(function keys, <Shift>, <Return>,..), and it is not necessary to delete
the existing content with <Ctrl-U> − just click in the box, enter the
new combination and click on OK. (Don’t press <Return>, because that
simply means that the short cut for your style is the Return key!)
5.5
Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany
5.5
• Sprite files in Impression − Kevin Beales told us (Archive 5.4 p5)
about Impression’s ability to scale pictures in Draw format. In this
context, he forgot to mention something even more remarkable: Impression
can also scale sprites! This works in exactly the same way as he
described.
5.5
Of course, due to the well known problems of jagged edges/loss of
detail, you shouldn’t scale up or down too much; but if you have a
sprite that is just slightly too big or too small for its intended
place, then this feature of Impression is certainly extremely useful!
5.5
Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany
5.5
•    Illustrated Impression documents − I often include sprite and draw
files in my Impression documents (for test papers and the like).
5.5
One minor problem is that one can’t really edit those graphic frames in
an Impression document. Therefore, to have the corresponding files
always on hand, I save them into the document’s directory (after opening
a window on this directory by <shift>-double clicking).
5.5
This is one more reason for buying Compression: A typical sketch I make
with DrawPlus is reduced from about 6k to about 2 kbytes. A screen shot
made of an oscilloscope application I use takes up 100 kbytes; Compres
sion reduces this to just about 5k bytes (!). This means that even
pictures that appear in several documents don’t clog up the hard disk
too much, if you always save them together with the documents they
appear in.
5.5
(Surely, though, the Draw files are already in the Impression document
directory? Why not edit them directly from there? Two drawbacks, I
suppose... you don’t know which file is which because they have names
like Story2 and Story4 (but you could identify them if you have full
info set in the filer window because of their size) and secondly the
changes to the Drawfiles are only displayed then next time you load the
Impression document. Ed.)
5.5
(By the way: Can anyone tell me whether this hint will become obsolete
once Computer Concepts’ much vaunted Impulse II will be available, that
is, whether you will then be able to open a graphic file saved somewhere
by clicking on a graphic frame in an Impression document?)
5.5
Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany
5.5
•    Tiny left hand margin − I often wondered why the default document on
the Impression disc has a left hand margin set on the base style of a
couple of millimetres. Because of my sense of symmetry, I reduced that
to zero as soon as I started using Impression. Surely, if you create a
new master page with, say, 10cm margins, you don’t want the lefthand
margin to be 10.2cm?
5.5
Suddenly it dawned on me... yes, I know I’m slow... the reason for the
small lefthand margin is to make it easier to position the cursor to the
left of the first character on a line. If, as I do, you have zero margin
in the base style, you’ve got to judge the mouse cursor fairly accu
rately otherwise it goes onto the paper margin and turns into a hand.
Well, yer pays yer money... but I think I’ll stay as I am. I have too
many documents to change them all. Ed.
5.5
•    Impression speed users’ tips − I find that if you can get into the
habit of using <adjust> reverse scrolling, it really does save time,
especially when I am laying out the magazine and the screen is cluttered
with windows. Just press <select> to scroll down and switch quickly to
<adjust> to go back up again without having to move the mouse and locate
the other end of the scroll bar − which could be under another window
anyway.
5.5
Also, <adjust> can be extremely useful, again with a cluttered screen,
for moving windows whilst keeping them where they are relative to the
other documents. It takes practice, but it speeds things up in the long
run. Ed.  A
5.5

5.5
Help!!!!
5.5
•    Artificial neural networks − I don’t suppose there are many, but is
there anyone out there who is using the Archimedes for work on anything
to do with artificial neural networks? If so, please phone Dr Alan
Fielding on 061−247−1198 (work) or 0204−41459 (home).
5.5
•    Canon BJ-10e bubble jet printer − I cannot recommend this printer
highly enough. I purchased mine for £190 + VAT and it gives me printout
to rival that of a laser printer at a fraction of the cost. I do have a
problem though – paper. Some paper is not suitable for use on inkjets,
as the ink soaks into the fibres of the paper and forms a tiny blot
which shows itself as irregularities along what should be a clear smooth
edge. Other paper is very good. Is there any way of telling which is a
good paper before purchasing 500 sheets of it? Could anyone recommend a
good paper?
5.5
You can get single colour cartridges for this printer, and with some
colour separation software, you could use it as a colour printer. Anyone
know of any such software? Mike Gregory,  Fareham
5.5
•    Cross32 Meta Assembler − Two people sent us reviews of Baildon
Electronics’ Meta Assembler. I published one but the second one has some
useful further information. Unfortunately, I can not find the name of
the person who wrote it and I don’t like publishing anonymous articles.
5.5
•    Interference with dongles – Could anyone suggest a way of restoring
the screening on the printer cable on an Archimedes. I have a WorraCAD
and an Impression dongle with a dongle dangle to get the dongles down
below the desk. Can anybody tell me if there is any self adhesive
screening tape or other cure available? J.R.Mc Lachlan, 23 Sadlers Way,
Hertford SG14 2DZ.
5.5
•    Keyboard/mouse recorder − Has anyone written a module which will
record keypresses, mouse movements and button presses and then replay
them at a later date? Mr K. R. Cox, 14 Bramley View, LightCliffe,
Halifax  HX3 8ST.
5.5
•    Multi-ring binder − Where can one obtain a multi-ring binder suitable
for replacing the spiral wire system used for the PipeDream and ProText
manuals? C A Martin, Shanklin.
5.5
•    Scrabble for the Archimedes? − Does anyone know of a Scrabble program
for the Archimedes? Elaine Fieldhouse, London.
5.5
•    Software installation on hard disc − Now that there are lots of people
out there with various different species of hard disks (ADFS, SCSI and
IDE), I think it would be a good idea for Archive to produce a table of
which software can be run from which type of disk.
5.5
I would be happy to act as a contact point so that anyone who can fill
any gaps in the table or make any additions or corrections could drop me
a line and I could produce you a table from time to time for publication
in Archive.
5.5
In general, it seems only to be games programs that are difficult to put
onto hard disks. The only non-game that I have of that refuses to run
from my SCSI removable is EMR’s Soundsynth.
5.5
I have produced the following table based on examining the games that I
own and on reading reviews in magazines.
5.5
In the table, “yes” indicates that it can be from disk either by just
copying the files or by running a supplied installation procedure.
“edit” indicates that the !Boot or !Run files need to be edited. “root”
indicates that the program can only be run from hard disk if it is in a
specific directory, usually $, $.Library or $.Resources. “prot”
indicates that the game can be run from hard disk, but that the original
floppy is still required for the copy protection mechanism. “no”
indicates that it cannot easily be run from hard disk. (In some cases it
may still be possible to alter the code to get it to run from hard disk
but only with some difficulty.)
5.5
Program    ADFS    SCSI    IDE
Comment
5.5
Apocalypse    no    no    no
5.5
Arcendium    edit    edit    ?
5.5
Chocks Away    no    no    no
5.5
Conqueror    no    no    no
5.5
Corruption    no    no    no
5.5
E-Type    no    no    no
5.5
Fish    yes    yes    ?     Memory is tight.
5.5
Herewith Clues    no    no    no
5.5
Holed-Out    no    no    no
5.5
Hoverbod    ?    no    ?
5.5
Inertia    no    no    no
5.5
Interdictor-1    yes    yes    ?     Memory
is tight.
5.5
Iron Lord    yes    yes    ?
5.5
Jet Fighter    no    no    no
5.5
Lemmings    yes    yes    ?
5.5
MIG29    yes    ?    ?
5.5
Nevryon    no    no    no
5.5
Pacmania    edit    ?    ?
5.5
Plague Planet    root    root    ?
5.5
Quazer    prot    prot    ?
5.5
Terramex    no    no    no
5.5
Twin World    yes    ?    ?
5.5
UIM    yes    yes    ?     Memory is tight.
5.5
Wimp Game    prot    prot    ?
5.5
Wonderland    yes    ?    no
5.5
Zarch    no    no    no
5.5
On a 1Mb machine there may be memory problems when a game requires so
much memory that there is little room for the SCSI or IDE controller
software.
5.5
There are rumours of a fix for getting Wonderland to work on SCSI.
5.5
Mike Williams, 111 Evering Road, London  N16 7SL.
5.5
•    Software installation on hard disc (2) − Ever since I purchased a new
machine with a hard disc several months ago, I have been frustrated/
annoyed by the inability to install some items of software due to heavy
disc protection or just badly written code.
5.5
To enable me to have these items of software readily available on my
hard disc, I have waded through reams of Basic and assembler in an
effort to install them. Luckily, due to my experience as a programmer, I
have managed to install everything I wanted sooner or later.
5.5
However, I realise that I am probably in the minority and that there are
many people who simply have to put up with using floppies because they
cannot install their software on to a hard disc.
5.5
To this end I propose the following solution.
5.5
I would be willing to offer my experience in these matters as a service.
That is, people would send me originals of their software and I would
extract a version that could be easily installed on a hard disc.
5.5
This obviously raises a few problems.
5.5
Firstly, would I be breaking or breaching copyright by altering
published software to enable it to be installed?
5.5
Secondly, would the publishers take kindly to me producing versions of
their software which are easy to copy?
5.5
The only solution I can see to this problem is a co-operation between
myself and the publishers whereby I insert, at various points in any new
version I produce, an encoded serial number. This serial number I record
along with the details of the user that sent it and the product
concerned.
5.5
By doing this, if any illegitimate copies were found, the company
concerned, by contacting me, could find the source of the copies through
my records.
5.5
Therefore by offering this service I see the following advantages and
disadvantages:
5.5
Advantages to users:
5.5
1. Ability to have previously uninstallable software easily accessible
on their hard disc.
5.5
2. Ability to archive/backup this version to floppy therefore not
endangering their original copy.
5.5
Disadvantages to users:
5.5
1. The cost of the service on top of the original price of the software.
This would probably be somewhere in the region of £5 depending on how
many discs the new version requires.
5.5
Advantages to publishers:
5.5
1. Greater use of their software.
5.5
2. More satisfied customers at no cost to themselves.
5.5
3.    Serial coded software protection built into each installed piece
of software.
5.5
Disadvantages to publishers:
5.5
1.    Software easier to copy.
5.5
I would welcome any advice, comments or suggestions on this subject by
users and publishers alike to see whether it would be a viable (and
legal) service to provide.
5.5
I can be contacted at 43, Kingfisher Walk, Ash, Aldershot, Hampshire
GU12 6RF.
5.5
Darren Sillett.  A
5.5
Help offered
5.5
•    Tierra − Some time ago there was a query in Archive magazine from
somebody looking for a program called Tierra, a sort of evolution
simulator.
5.5
Well, I’ve managed to get a copy of the program and would like to pass
it on.
5.5
The program itself consists of documentation, C sources and IBM
executables and comes to about 500k in total. It’s the sort of thing
that takes an overnight run on a PC, so it’s not really suitable for
running on the Archimedes under the PC Emulator. Indeed, it’s very
complex and powerful, and not for the casual user. I suppose it could be
compiled to run on the Archimedes in native mode, but it’s not a trivial
task and I’m certainly not up to it.
5.5
Anyone who’s interested can have a copy in return for a formatted floppy
and an SAE.
5.5
Lorcan Mongey, 56 Salisbury Court, Dublin Road, Belfast BT7 1DD.
5.5
There was also an article in the Computer Section in The Guardian on
Thursday 9th January about Tierra. Ed.  A
5.5

5.5
? “Now PC compatible” ?
5.5
With the coming of Aleph One’s 386 board for the Archimedes, we have
more ammunition for those who say, “Oh, but I must have PC
compatibility”. It still won’t satisfy everyone in that area but it will
draw a few more of those who can see the potential of the Archimedes’
processing power and operating system but have to convince their bosses
of the commercial viability.
5.5
? “Better than an Apple Mac” ?
5.5
As a DTP system, the Archimedes, and the A5000 in particular, is capable
of giving the Macs a run for their money. Rob Sherratt, in our newly
launched DTP Column, has something to say about this. I would just add
that Mac users are extremely difficult to convince that anything could
be as good as their beloved Macs. One Mac adherent came into our office
and asked about the Archimedes (more to convince himself of what he
already knew, I suspect, than to be prepared to change his mind). He
wasn’t all that impressed by what I told him so I offered to give him a
demonstration.
5.5
When he saw me load Impression AND a 64 page 1.2 Mbyte magazine file in
under 8 secs his jaw dropped ever so slightly. (Pagemaker alone on my
Mac Plus takes 30 secs to load, then a further 38 secs to load a half
Mbyte document.) Then I showed him Draw, Paint, Edit, Calculator & Alarm
all loaded instantaneously from ROM and got them all running (at the
same time as my 1.2 Mbyte Impression document). He paled visibly −
especially when I threw up the task display and showed him that, out of
4 Mbytes, I still had nearly a Mbyte left to play with!
5.5
“What percentage kerning can it do?”, says he.  “I don’t know” says I,
“let’s try... Wot? Wot? Wot do you think?”  “Oh”, he said “but what
percentage can it stretch and compress the characters?”  “Well, I don’t
know” says I, “let’s try... Wot? Wot? Wot do you think?” He didn’t buy
an Archimedes but his prejudice was slightly dented!
5.5
Cheers,
5.5
   Paul B
 Look! vertical kerning too !!!!!!
5.5

5.5
PipeLine
5.5
Gerald Fitton
5.5
Although, as I write, the current version of PD4 is 4.11 I have been
told that version 4.12 will be available as a free upgrade before the
end of January 1992. If you have not done so yet, then send both your
master PD4 program disc and your PD4 Examples disc to Colton Software
together with a self addressed label and return postage. Mark your
envelope ‘Enhanced Charts Upgrade’. I cannot carry out this upgrade.
5.5
Bugs in PipeDream 4 Version 4.11
5.5
If you find any ‘bugs’ in PD4, please let Colton Software know about
them (not us here at Abacus Training). They will appreciate it if you
send them an example on a disc together with a ReadMe file explaining
the bug, problem or difficulty you are experiencing; it really is
difficult to decide exactly what problem you are experiencing without an
example on a disc.
5.5
The first of two ‘bugs’ in version 4.11 (cured in version 4.12) which
troubles many of you is that sometimes recalculation is incomplete. I
have had quite a few letters (and discs) giving examples of sums which
have given you the wrong answer. When I have loaded the corresponding
disc file, PD4 gives me the right answer. You can see how confusing I
have found this ‘bug’. My suggestion to you is that, until you get
version 4.12, save the file, delete it, reload it and then look at the
calculated answers. Suspect that your PD is corrupt only if calculations
are wrong after reloading.
5.5
The second ‘bug’ concerns path names to dependent documents. Sometimes,
but not always, a slot reference to a dependent document is corrupted if
the dependent document has not been loaded into memory first. A ‘work
around’ until you receive version 4.12 is to load the dependent
documents first and then load the document which calls them. An
alternative, which I use, is to double click on the ‘top’ document which
then loads all the dependent documents, delete the ‘top’ document (which
appears to be corrupt) and then reload it from the disc.
5.5
PipeDream 3 to 4 upgrade
5.5
As I write (13th January 1992), already more than one third of our
PipeLine user group have upgraded to PD4 and this proportion is
increasing rapidly. Making reasonable assumptions, I expect that at
least three quarters will have upgraded before this issue of Archive is
in your hands.
5.5
Whilst asking for a conversion from PipeLine 3 to PipeLine 4, many of
you have taken the opportunity to write me a letter telling me what you
think of PipeLine and PD4.
5.5
Firstly, many thanks for all the pleasant remarks about PipeLine.
Secondly, apart from two readers who are yet to be convinced, all
comments about PD4 glow with praise and conclude that, at £94, it has
been worth upgrading. Much of this praise is for the much improved
Graphics User Interface (I am told ‘GUI’ is pronounced ‘Gooey’ and not
‘Gee-you-eye’) which makes marking blocks, changing column widths,
entering functions and their arguments, etc, so much easier. However,
there is also praise for the more ‘instant’ feel of PD4; this is because
it executes more tasks in the background so there is no ‘type ahead’ and
almost no waiting for the hourglass to stop running.
5.5
Since there are still ‘bugs’ in PD4.11 (nearly all of which can be
‘worked around’), I find this a remarkable tribute to the faith you have
in Colton Software’s ability, integrity and willingness to put right
anything you find wrong with PD4 (contrast this with, say, the Acorn
DTP). (or Schema! Ed) Undoubtedly, this faith is due, in part, to all
the substantial improvements (upgrades) to PD3 provided by Colton
Software free of charge.
5.5
Now, and in the foreseeable future, upgrades from PD3 to PD4 can be
obtained only through Colton Software. The price is £94.00 (UK)
including VAT unless you bought PD3 on or after 1st August 1991.
5.5
Credit where it’s due
5.5
I want to mention a particular someone here and also say that I wish
that I hadn’t mentioned my hard disc in the November PipeLine column!
Yes! In mid-December the original 20Mb hard disc on my A440 died
suddenly in the middle of printing out a file. I know it wasn’t due to
overheating because I’d installed one of the NCS fan filter and battery
kits a couple of months earlier. I think it must be the electronics
because it died so suddenly and catastrophically. Is it repairable?
5.5
(Nope, I think you’ll find that it’s not worth the cost of doing so, in
our view, as you still end up with a potentially unreliable hard disc −
which is not a “good thing” to have. Ed)
5.5
Anyway, I telephoned Norwich Computer Services at 3.00 pm on a Wednesday
afternoon and received a plug-in 40Mb replacement by courier at 11.00 am
the following day. It took less that half an hour to change the hardware
(most of you would take much less time than this) and, thanks to the
fact that I keep (nearly) all my data files on floppy with only
applications on the hard disc, I had everything important up and running
within an hour. So, my congratulations to Norwich Computer Services for
a rapid and efficient service − please take a bow. (To be fair, because
Gerald is a contributor, he does get slightly preferential treatment!
Ed)
5.5
Mind you, what I had not done was to save on floppy my personal
configurations of applications such as my PipeDream ini file and my
Impression and DrawPlus preferences, nor had I saved my customised hard
disc !Boot file. So beware, save your application configuration files as
well as your data. In the case of PD4, this means that you should save
your Templates, Pictures, Dictionary and customised Printer drivers on
floppy in case your hard disc, like mine, goes down.
5.5
PipeDream 4 — the Trend(,) function
5.5
Some of you have had problems understanding the explanation of Trend(,)
given in the PD4 reference manual. The syntax for this function is
correctly given as Trend(Linest, x_data) but you are not told the nature
of the arguments. Linest is a row vector such as {1 ,2} representing the
line y = 2x + 1; in its most general form, Linest is {c , m} and its
arguments are the c and m of the straight line y = mx + c. The second
argument of Trend(,) which I have called x_data, is a row vector of
values of x. The function Trend(,) returns a row vector ‘hidden’ in the
one slot containing the values of y returned by the formula y = mx + c
for the corresponding values of x.
5.5
The problem most of you have had is that you have used a column of data
for the x values and Trend(,) will not accept a column vector for the
x_data argument. The easiest way around this problem is to use the
function Transpose(). For example, if the x data is in the column A3A9
then Trend({1 , 2},Transpose(A3A9)) will return a row vector with the
values of y corresponding to y = 2x + 1.
5.5
As a final example, suppose you have x data in A3A9, the corresponding
scattergraph y data in B3B9 and you want to output into C3C9 the values
of y on the line of best fit corresponding to the range A3A9 of x data.
To do this you enter the following rather long function in slot C3:
5.5
set_value(C3C9,transpose(trend (linest(B3B9,A3A9), transpose(A3A9))))
5.5
I have included a simple example of this formula on the Archive monthly
disc. By the way, in column D of the example, I have calculated the
‘errors’ and in slot D11, I have used array multiplication to find the
residual sum of squares using the formula Sum(D3D9*D3D9). Please let me
know how you get on!
5.5
Multi-file documents in PipeDream 4
5.5
Although there is no documentation supporting multi-file documents, you
can load such a document into PD4 using <Ctrl FL>. After loading, you
can use all the other PD3 commands for next file, previous file etc.
5.5
Linking files in PipeDream 4
5.5
No, there are no linking files in PD4, but D A Crossley has sent me a
set of files with custom functions which partly overcomes the problems
of the missing facility. Generally, the strategy is to define a (do-it-
yourself) custom function which intercepts the PD3 Read and Write
functions and acts appropriately. If you do this, you will not have to
modify your PD3 document for it to run correctly in PD4.
5.5
I have included all D A Crossley’s files on the Archive monthly disc.
5.5
In conclusion
5.5
I have been surprised at the speed at which you are upgrading to PD4.
Please keep informed of your need for continued support for PD3. Write
to me at the Abacus Training address on the inside back cover.  A
5.5

5.5
 Good Impression
5.5
Robert Chrismas
5.5
Good Impression, from ‘Word Processing’, is a book of layouts, designs
and graphics which can be created with Impression. The suggestions
include posters, titles, logos, letter heads and stationery. It is
intended to complement the tutorial, First Impression, reviewed in
Archive 5.1 p17.
5.5
Like DTP Seeds?
5.5
You may well have seen 4Mation’s book of designs, created with Poster,
called DTP Seeds. The author of Good Impression has certainly been
influenced by DTP Seeds. He says in his introduction that many of his
ideas are based on those in DTP Seeds. Even some of the example titles,
like ‘Armchair Mountaineering’, have appeared in both books. However,
the designs in Good Impression are all created with the Impression
software and, unlike DTP Seeds, there are detailed instructions
describing the creation of each design.
5.5
With Good Impression, you also get three disks which contain all the
designs shown in the book. They were not available for review but I
understand that they will contain the Impression files from which the
book was printed, with just the text removed. So you will be able to see
exactly how each design is built up in Impression.
5.5
Contents
5.5
Although the book is divided into chapters but many examples use a range
of techniques and so the chapter headings provide only a rough guide to
the contents.
5.5
• Using FontDraw
5.5
• Two column design
5.5
• Frame control
5.5
• Creative titles
5.5
• Using characters effectively
5.5
• Using borders creatively
5.5
• Using Dingbats as borders
5.5
• Shadows and tints
5.5
• Using Gradtint
5.5
• Text grids
5.5
• School stationery
5.5
• Business stationery
5.5
• Further ideas
5.5
There are about 100 pages and, as a rough guide, there is about one
example or idea on each page.
5.5
While there are some comments about what makes a design ‘work’, and even
a few deliberate examples of design faults, most of the book is about
how to produce different effects.
5.5
Although it seems to be intended chiefly for people who have recently
started using Impression, I expect that even the most experienced users
will find some useful suggestions. The idea which pleased me most was
one of the simplest: if you define a style with just the background
colour set you can get a bar across the whole line by selecting the
style and pressing <return>. The bar will keep its position in the text
if it is reformatted, and its height will match the size of the
surrounding font.
5.5
The illustrations are excellent. In many cases, several stages during
construction are shown as well as the final design.
5.5
Although the text does show some development, the earlier explanations
being more detailed than later ones, you could dip into this book and
use designs without working through it all. Indeed, reading the whole
book (as a reviewer must) is pretty boring since a typical section
sounds like this ‘Double-click in the top left frame to open the Alter
graphic dialogue. Set the angle to 45 degrees and click <adjust> on Fit
to frame ...’
5.5
No artistic skills required
5.5
A surprising feature of the book is that it does not suppose any
artistic or drawing skill. In some places !Draw is used, but usually
just to change fill and line colours and to rotate objects. The text
frequently reminds you that the graphics can be rotated in Impression if
you do not want to use !Draw. Near the end, the author suffers a minor
lapse and suggests that you produce a circle in !Draw, but quickly adds
that you could use !FontDraw to convert a circular Dingbat to a Draw
file instead.
5.5
You would think that this severely limited the designs which could be
produced. I was surprised at the variety of graphics which can be
produced without ‘freehand’ use of !Draw. One trick which is used
frequently is to convert a single character into a draw file with
!FontDraw. The draw file is then loaded into a frame and enlarged so
that only a small part of the character is visible in the frame. This
certainly makes you more aware of the variety of shapes in both the
normal characters and the Dingbat font.
5.5
While I was impressed by the author’s skill at producing a variety of
designs there were times when I felt his determination to avoid any
drawing was unreasonable. For example, one example shows how to produce
a bar graph entirely from Impression frames. Anyone who can learn to use
Impression should not have too much difficulty creating simple geometri
cal designs in Draw, and there are times when this is the simplest way
to get a particular effect.
5.5
Reservations and warnings
5.5
The pages have been reduced from A4 to A5 size. This means that the
measurements of the designs do not correspond to the values given in the
text.
5.5
Some of the examples were produced with the extra borders pack from
Computer Concepts. The book also uses a range of fonts from Poster and
from the Electronic Font Foundry.
5.5
The book contains lots of ideas and suggestions, but not much guidance
on good practice. More comments about appropriate ways of using the
ideas would have been welcome. I suspect that most people using DTP
packages have more trouble with design than they do with the computer
software, they just don’t notice it.
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
This is the only book on using advanced Impression effects which I have
seen. It costs £26.95 which I felt was a little bit expensive − even
allowing for the good quality binding and three disks. However it has
lots of interesting ideas and examples with clear, easy to follow
instructions.
5.5
(Note: The Illustrations are from ‘Good Impression’, but I have had to
change a couple of fonts.)  A
5.5

5.5

5.5
From an idea in ‘Good Impression’
5.5

5.5
FOUR CORNERS MARKETS P.L.C.
5.5

5.5
Butterflies
5.5

5.5

5.5
and
5.5

5.5

5.5
  Moths
5.5

5.5

5.5
From an idea in ‘Good Impression’
5.5
 − notice the   big letter ‘S’.
5.5

5.5
Developing a RISC-OS Utility − Part 4
5.5
Darren Sillett
5.5
After a few months break, Darren continues his series about developing
your own RISC-OS utility. The first three parts were in 4.8 p40, 4.10
p53 and 4.12 p41. Ed
5.5
By popular demand, I’m back with another instalment. This month I am
going to look at how to implement those nice file load/saves that all
your favourite applications achieve by the dragging of file icons.
5.5
Background
5.5
I have decided to expand the utility being developed to enable the user
to load and save the CMOS ram settings of the computer. As this is not a
simple task, I will just tackle the loading this month and look at the
saving in the next article.
5.5
Loading is achieved by dragging a file icon to the application icon. We
need to make sure that we have defined the file type for the file we are
going to load and that a suitable sprite exists for this file type.
5.5
To ensure that the file type is defined, add the following line to both
the !Boot and !Run files of the application:
5.5
Set File$Type_FF2 Config
5.5
Next create in your !Sprites file a sprite called ‘file_ff2’ (and
optionally one called ‘small_ff2’). This will be used as the file icon
for any of the files that the application saves.
5.5
N.B. Config/FF2 is Acorn’s official file type for this type of file.
5.5
RISC-OS messaging system
5.5
All dragging operations concerned with icons are handled using the RISC-
OS messaging system. This comprehensive system allows different tasks to
communicate by sending and receiving messages. To implement file load/
saves, our task must communicate with the desktop Filer.
5.5
When you drag a file icon onto any task’s icon or window, the Filer
sends a message to that task informing it that a drag has occurred.
5.5
This message is a block of data which contains the following
information:
5.5
− the size of the block in bytes (maximum 256),
5.5
− task handle of the message sender,
5.5
− the sender’s reference for this message,
5.5
− a previous message’s reference, or 0 if not a reply,
5.5
− message action code,
5.5
− message data, dependent on the message action code.
5.5
The message action codes concerned with transfer of data between tasks
are:
5.5
1 − Data Save,
5.5
2 − Data Save Acknowledge,
5.5
3 − Data Load,
5.5
4 − Data Load Acknowledge.
5.5
So, when you drag a file icon onto our task’s icon, the Filer sends a
Data Load message to our task. Our task retrieves the details about the
file from the message data and, if it is a file which it is interested
in (i.e. has the correct filetype), it loads the file and sends back to
the Filer a Data Load Acknowledge message.
5.5
Additions and amendments to !RunImage
5.5
To incorporate the CMOS load/save routines into the application, you
will need to add/amend the following lines:
5.5
 286 PROCicon_string_set(info%,4, “1.01 (12-Jan-1992)”)
5.5
 321 WHEN data_load% : PROCdata_load
5.5
1300 DEF PROCdata_load
5.5
1310  LOCAL my_ref%,size%,file_typ% ,file_name$
5.5
1320
5.5
1330  PROCget_data_load_info(my_ref% ,size%,file_type%,file_name$)
5.5
1340  IF file_type% = &FF2 THEN
5.5
1350    PROCsend_message(data_load_ ack%,my_ref%)
5.5
1360    PROCload_cmos(file_name$)
5.5
1380  ELSE
5.5
1390    PROCok(“Sorry, don’t recog- nise that type of file”)
5.5
1400  ENDIF
5.5
1410 ENDPROC
5.5
1500 DEF PROCload_cmos(file_name$)
5.5
1510  file% = OPENIN(file_name$)
5.5
1520  FOR location% = 0 TO 239
5.5
1530    SYS “OS_Byte”,162,location%, BGET#file%
5.5
1540  NEXT location%
5.5
1550  CLOSE#file%
5.5
1560 ENDPROC
5.5
Program notes for !RunImage
5.5
286 − Sets the string in the Information Window to reflect the current
version number/date.
5.5
321 − Calls PROCdata_load whenever a Data Load message is received by
the application.
5.5
1300, 1330 − Retrieves the data from the Data Load message. This is the
sender’s reference, the size of the file, the file type and the file
name.
5.5
1340, 1360 − If the file type is the correct one then send back a Data
Load Acknowledge message and call PROCload_cmos to load the file.
5.5
1380, 1410 − Otherwise display an error box informing the user that you
do not recognise that type of file.
5.5
1500 − 1560 − Routine to load in the CMOS ram setting from the specified
file name.
5.5
Additions and amendments to Wimplib
5.5
To add the template and error routines to the Wimplib program, the
following additions should be made:
5.5
  68 data_load%=3 : data_load_ack%=4
5.5
1820  SYS “Wimp_LoadTemplate”,, template%,icon_space%,
5.5
icon_space_end%,-1,name$,0
5.5
 TO ,,icon_space%
5.5
2300 DEF PROCget_data_load_info (RETURN my_ref%,RETURN size%,
5.5
RETURN file_type%,
5.5
RETURN file_name$)
5.5
2310  my_ref%    = wimp_block%!8
5.5
2320  size%      = wimp_block%!36
5.5
2330  file_type% = wimp_block%!40
5.5
2340  file_name$ = FNget_string( wimp_block%+44)
5.5
2350 ENDPROC
5.5
2600 DEF FNget_string(pointer%)
5.5
2610  LOCAL a$
5.5
2620  WHILE (?pointer% <> 0) AND (?pointer% <> 13)
5.5
2630    a$       += CHR$(?pointer%)
5.5
2640    pointer% += 1
5.5
2650  ENDWHILE
5.5
2660 =a$
5.5
2700 DEF PROCsend_message(message_ id%,my_ref%)
5.5
2710  wimp_block%!16 = message_id%
5.5
2720  wimp_block%!12 = my_ref%
5.5
2730  SYS “Wimp_SendMessage”,17, wimp_block%,wimp_block%!20,
wimp_block%!24
5.5
2740 ENDPROC
5.5
2800 DEF PROCok(message$)
5.5
2810  !wimp_block%     = 0
5.5
2820  $(wimp_block%+4) = message$ + CHR$(0)
5.5
2830  SYS “Wimp_ReportError”,wimp_ block%,1,application$
5.5
2840 ENDPROC
5.5
Program notes for Wimplib
5.5
68 − Define constants for the message actions that we are interested in.
5.5
1820 − Fixes a bug in the last article which caused problems when
loading more than one template.
5.5
2300, 2350 − Retrieves the data from the message. Note the use of RETURN
variables to send the values back to the caller.
5.5
2600, 2660 − Returns a string giving the memory location that it is
stored at.
5.5
2700, 2740 − Sends a message.
5.5
2800, 2840 − Displays an error box with a single OK button.
5.5
Saving your CMOS ram settings
5.5
In order to test that your application is loading the file, you will
need a file to load! The following program will save your settings to a
file called ‘Configure’ in the current directory.
5.5
10 file% = OPENOUT(“Configure”)
5.5
20 FOR location% = 0 TO 239
5.5
30 SYS “OS_Byte”,161,location% TO ,,byte%
5.5
40 BPUT#file%,byte%
5.5
50 NEXT location%
5.5
60 CLOSE#file%
5.5
70 OSCLI “Settype Configure FF2”
5.5
80 END
5.5
Alternatively, if you are lucky enough to have RISC-OS 3, you can use
the !Configure application in the Apps folder to save your settings.
5.5
What next?
5.5
In the next article I will expand the application to allow you to save
the CMOS ram files as an illustration of how a simple file save can be
implemented.
5.5
Finally, if anyone has any ideas, problems or suggestions, I can be
contacted either through Archive or at 43, Kingfisher Walk, Ash,
Aldershot  GU12 6RF.  A
5.5

5.5
Language Column
5.5
David Wild
5.5
Since the last language column, I have received an interesting letter
which I reproduce in full. I am sure that the best way forward is to
move to the idea of assembling programs, in the industrial sense of the
word, from pre-written parts which have already been tested and made
crash-proof as far as is humanly possible. The language in which these
parts have been written should be totally irrelevant except to the
original programmer and those whose job it is to maintain it.
5.5
Apart from reducing the problem of testing, designing program segments
to be used in this way would also lead to a vast reduction in the cost
of producing programs tailored to specific users. In many cases, the
difference in the requirements of Bloggs & Co, on the one hand, and
Juggins & Co on the other, is quite small and could be dealt with by
using different procedures in among the standard structure of the main
program.
5.5
Designing programs in this way is different and many people will,
perhaps, resent having to change methods but it is the only way that we
will get programs that are not “fragile”. There have been many examples
of commercial software where minor changes to one aspect of the program
have led to bugs in other parts and we need to get away from this in
future. Impression has suffered from this kind of a bug, according to
CC’s own magazine, and there was no doubt about the fragility of the
early versions of PipeDream 4.
5.5
Designing as an assembly of sub-assemblies should enable us to design
programs which are crash-proof from the start, even if all the options
don’t work immediately, by the use of “stub” modules which just return a
message until the final version is written.
5.5
Graham Carter writes...
5.5
In Paul Skirrow’s article on the A5000 and RISC-OS 3 in Archive 5.3 p38,
he mentioned that the shared C library is not available to other
languages. This has prompted me to let you know some of my experiences
and wishes for the future of programming languages on the Archimedes. I
can’t decide whether what follows is a plea for Help, Feedback, or
something to be included in your Languages column....
5.5
I have the Acorn Fortran, Pascal and C compilers. I use Pascal a lot,
can get by in Fortran and am slightly familiar with C. I started to
develop a collection of graphics routines in Pascal which duplicate the
commands available in Basic but, as well as producing on-screen
graphics, create a Draw file at the same time, for high quality
printing. Although it would be easy to duplicate this code in Fortran,
it would be so much better if Fortran could call these routines
directly.
5.5
I have wanted to do mixed-language programming on the Archimedes for
several years but the Acorn compilers all differ in their interpretation
of the APCS. The manual for C release 3 says (page 463) that “[the
procedure call and stack disciplines] are observed by Acorn’s C language
implementation for the ARM and, eventually, will be observed by the
Fortran and Pascal compilers too.” On page 480 it says, for Fortran and
Pascal, that “The Acorn / TopExpress Arthur /RISC-OS Fortran-77 [Acorn /
3L Arthur / RISC-OS ISO-Pascal] compiler violates the APCS in a number
of ways that preclude inter-working with C, except via assembler
veneers. This may be changed in future releases of the Fortran-77 [ISO-
Pascal] product.”
5.5
I have contacted Acorn several times to enquire about updates to the
Pascal and Fortran compilers but am not optimistic. An interesting point
is that the Fortran and Pascal compilers supplied with RISC iX are Acorn
front-ends to the C compiler back-end (code generator); does this mean
that mixed language programming is available under RISC iX? Since the C
compiler for RISC-OS is more or less the same as that for RISC iX, does
anyone know why the RISC iX Pascal and Fortran front-ends can’t be used
with the RISC-OS C back-end, thereby making mixed language programming
possible? It is probably more complicated than I imagine, but it would
be interesting to know just how difficult this would be to achieve − if
anyone from Acorn is reading this, would they care to comment? It would
be useful to be able to call the functions from the shared C library
directly from other languages, for the same reasons that they should be
used from C in preference to linking in ANSIlib.
5.5
Nick Smith’s XLib and PCompile discs (available from David Pilling) make
Pascal usable from the desktop, and enable WIMP programs to be written
in Pascal. These discs are really useful as they show just what can be
done with Pascal under RISC-OS.
5.5
I don’t think there is a big enough user base for Fortran or Pascal to
encourage Acorn to further develop these products; support for them
appears to be very limited. For example, the desktop debugger can’t
display source for Pascal whereas the older version could. Also, the
linker supplied with C version 3 works with Pascal and Fortran and
produces much smaller executables but does not include any of the
traceback information provided by the older release. For example, a
failing Pascal executable produced with the old linker gives this
output:
5.5
“Execution error − input has been requested when EOF is true
5.5

5.5
Executing line 42 in TIDY_SPOOL starting at line 1 of module tidy_spool
CHARACTER = Chr(13)
5.5

5.5
input has been requested when EOF is true in TIDY_SPOOL at line 42 of
module tidy_spool“
5.5
but the new linker gives:
5.5
“Execution error − input has been requested when EOF is true
5.5
program failure, event 14 11 0”
5.5
which is not very helpful, particularly when the program is very large,
as there is no indication of where the error occurred.
5.5
For the last year, I have been trying to track down a Modula-2 compiler
being written by Rowley Associates. I was told that it followed the APCS
and allowed linking with routines written in C. It appears that this
project has been shelved for the time being, although I believe a
version is available for RISC iX.
5.5
I would be very happy to hear from any readers who know:
5.5
(a) what “assembly language veneer” is required to perform mixed
language programming under RISC-OS, or
5.5
(b) why Acorn doesn’t release the RISC iX Fortran and Pascal compilers
for RISC-OS, using the NorCroft C compiler back end, or
5.5
(c) how to call routines in the shared C library from languages other
than C, or
5.5
(d) what plans Acorn have for future support of Pascal and Fortran, or
5.5
(e) any news of a Modula-2 compiler for RISC-OS,
5.5
 Graham Carter
5.5
Graham’s letter is very relevant to the matter in hand and I would be
grateful for any comments from readers who have had any experience of
mixed language programming. I have had success with linking modules
written with ObjAsm into Pascal programs but have not yet tried the
other way round.
5.5
Page 18 of the supplementary manual for release 2 of the Pascal compiler
gives details of the “assembler veneer” needed to make Pascal modules
usable from other languages and I will try this out in the next few
weeks.
5.5
Computer languages
5.5
A while ago I mentioned the magazine “Computer Languages” which I picked
up at an exhibition but which seemed to be unobtainable in this country.
After seeing a small article in “Computer Shopper”, I wrote to an
organisation called Pascal Language Forum, of PO Box 30, Fareham, Hants
PO16 8LZ and obtained details of membership of their organisation. For
£30 a year, they provide a newsletter, bulletin board, annual confer
ence, a software library, assistance from other members and the magazine
“Computer Languages”. Not surprisingly, most of the material at the
moment is PC or mainframe based but the administrator tells me that all
Archimedes users would be very welcome. The 1992 Pascal conference will
be held at Reading University on April 3rd/4th and non-members of the
Forum are welcome to attend.  A
5.5

5.5
Sparkle
5.5
Peter Thomson
5.5
Sparkle is a simple structured control language from Morley Electronics
Ltd. It costs £59 +VAT.
5.5
It was reviewed using a “Lego” interface connected to the user port on
the Morley expansion board and with an AnDi Oddule connected to an I2C
connector on the expansion port of an A3000.
5.5
The program is fully RISC-OS compatible, sitting on the icon bar and
displaying all its features in windows. Most menus are displayed by
clicking on the icon on the bar rather than in the window displayed.
5.5
Writing programs
5.5
You need to have !Edit installed in order to write a program. This means
that there is no reporting of errors as you write. The program uses a
series of statements without line numbers and should be saved to disc as
a text file. Sparkle loads the program and displays it in a window,
although it cannot be edited in this new window. The current line is
highlighted as the program is run. If there is an error in the user’s
program then execution stops and the error is reported in another
window. In order to correct the error you must check which line is
highlighted when the error is reported, load the program into !Edit,
correct the error, resave the program to disc and then reload it into
Sparkle.
5.5
Device drivers
5.5
There are different versions of Sparkle are available depending on which
devices are to be controlled. This is so that the options available for
input and output in the program and on display are restricted to those
available at the interface. You must specify which interface units you
plan to use when you order Sparkle. I think it would be much better to
have a file of device drivers on the disc so that the user could select
from a comprehensive list and reconfigure it if required.
5.5
Structured language
5.5
Sparkle makes use of the following structures:
5.5
IF − THEN − ELSE
5.5
WHILE − ENDWHILE
5.5
FOR − NEXT
5.5
REPEAT − UNTIL
5.5
and the use of PROCEDURES
5.5
Each channel of digital input can be counted with a counter dedicated to
that channel. There are also eight timers which, when switched, on
increment at 0.01s intervals. In the program, these times can be
expressed as seconds, minutes or hours. There are no other variables
available to store numerical data in a control program.
5.5
Input to the control program can come from digital input or from
analogue input and it can also make use of a mouse button, but not the
keyboard at the same time.
5.5
A control program is very readable with short simple phrases. e.g.
5.5
MOTOR 0 FORWARDS
5.5
IF INPUT 4 ON THEN MOTOR 0 STOP
5.5
Special features
5.5
The language has several unusual features that improve the screen
display when a control program is executed. Draw files can be displayed
to illustrate the control process. It has the ability to load a Tracker
music module or sound samples and to play them. It can also control the
display of animations from Tween or Mogul.
5.5
Data logging mode
5.5
This is a separate mode of operation and does not run at the same time
as a control program. It collects values from the analogue port or from
the AnDi Oddule. Only one time interval can be used at one time with a
minimum interval of 1/100s. Up to four channels are logged with the
results displayed as a linear graph in a window that can be scrolled and
zoomed to examine the values in more detail. The logged values can be
saved in CSV format for use by other programs. The data logging mode is
easy to set up and use.
5.5
The guide book
5.5
The user guide is well presented in A5 format in a wire comb binding. A
tutorial section explains the operation of the language in a straight
forward manner. Each command is then described on a separate page. This
section is particularly well set out and easy to understand. The program
disc also includes examples that illustrate the use of all key words and
all the special features of the language.
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
This is an excellent program for teaching control to children aged 8 to
14 years. It would also be very useful as a tutorial for the teacher new
to the subject. I found it particularly effective with the “Lego”
interface.  A
5.5

5.5
The Engineer is Back Again !
5.5
Ray Maidstone
5.5
Scanner sockets
5.5
Having now had to repair several scanner podules on both 3000 and 300/
400 series machines, I have noticed a weakness in the socket used for
the hand held scanners. The edges of the plug pins are squared off at
the ends so that they are able to snag the metal electrodes of the
sockets and cause the socket to fall to pieces! Other than choosing a
different type of connector, the only successful advice I’ve been able
to give to those people unfortunate enough to have had theirs repaired,
was to push the plug in gently and, if resistance is felt before the
plug is fully home, oscillate the plug very gently as it is pushed in −
particularly when the socket is new. So far, this advice has been 100%
effective.
5.5
VIDC’s still blowing up
5.5
Having succeeded in stopping VIDCs being damaged by static (using the
mod I’ve developed for the A310’s and old A440’s) I have still been
receiving machines with damaged chips. However, this time it is due to
the fact that the owners have fitted unbuffered audio take-off leads to
their sound sockets (10 way pin set). (As explained in Archive 4.7 p21,
Ooops! Ed.). Anything which is earthy or leaky (technical terms for
electronically iffy) plugged onto this connection can directly blow up
the output current transistors, the audio pre-amp chip and indeed the
VIDC itself. What people may not realise is that this connection point
is NOT a safe place to just connect any old thing up to. This is why I
made the Hi-Fi adapter kit. Unfortunately, in a later issue of Archive,
Jeremy Mears questioned the need for my piece of hardware, and stated
that it was cheaper to just connect straight onto these connections.
Firstly this is not very ‘hygienic’ electronically and also you will
hear raw quantisation noise that my board has been specifically tuned to
remove. Well, at the price the Hi-Fi boards sell for, I’ll never be a
millionaire, but at the rate I’m still changing VIDCs, I might become
richer that way. Keep up the good work! (Replacement VIDC’s are £38
without labour.)
5.5
A5000 podule sizes
5.5
If you are the proud owner of an A5000 and you’ve decided to connect
your 400 series podules into it, you may not have noticed that they
don’t fit properly. In fact, they are about 2mm too short, and so, to
guarantee proper connection into the backplane, a couple of spacer
washers will have to be put between the board’s fixings and the external
metal plate to make up the difference. This measurement difference was
due to the fact that Acorn have now apparently standardised the podule
board size.
5.5
A5000 power connectors
5.5
Another little ‘nasty’ spotted on a few A5000’s whilst upgrading the
memory was that the ¼“ spade terminals used to connect the power to the
motherboard have not been soldered properly. If your machine was
received without any memory upgrade, it might be worth a look before a
dodgy connection starts upsetting the precious files on your hard drive!
(But don’t even THINK of getting your soldering iron out if the
terminals are loose! Ed.)
5.5
A310 Memory upgrades
5.5
I feel very saddened by the number of cases of people who have had to
send in their 310’s because they attempted to install a memory upgrade
and came unstuck as it is quite easy to damage the PCB in some way. The
various firms producing these memory PCBs are not to blame, but perhaps
I would comment that there are nowhere near as many competent solderers
out there as people who think they are. BE WARNED − the motherboard is
delicate and manual solder suckers are just not suitable, which is why
Acorn Service Centres have to buy a desoldering station (for a mere
£700).
5.5
Terminal burn-out
5.5
In the course of repairs, an odd job made itself known. Upon checking
current and heat levels, I decided to find what was causing the ¼“ spade
terminals to actually burn out at the wire crimp point. I checked the
system and found that upon switch-on there was no characteristic beep
and the desktop environment was also missing. I would have tried a
<ctrl-break> but this particular unit didn’t have a keyboard so I had to
suffice with power off.
5.5
I stripped out the obvious visible damage and replaced the four spade
connectors, checked the work with a meter and then switched on again. I
switched off again after about 8 seconds, as there was still no visible
sign of life. I confirmed continuity and noticed the presence of a fair
amount of heat had been generated. There were no power indicators
present, so I decided to refer back to the manual but was surprised to
find that nowhere in the Acorn backup material was there any reference
to a Swan Electric Urn Nº 526−3kW unit. It was at this point that I
noticed the absence of the usual Archimedes sticker and decided to ask
Paul about this discrepancy, whereupon he informed me that he had in
fact slipped the N.C.S. Tea Urn in with the other repairs hoping I
wouldn’t notice!
5.5
(Actually, it was one of the church’s urns but he made an excellent job
of repairing it − I think Ray can repair just about anything! Ed.)
5.5
Silly icons
5.5
On an even sillier note, I have noticed that my Rabbit (Hare? Ed) and
Tortoise (comical icons for those of us who possess the wonderful ARM3)
have wandered far and wide. Soon, an animated version of the Bunny will
be available. Let me know if you’re interested.
5.5
MR45 vacuum cleaners
5.5
A rather disconcerting problem with removable drives is rearing its
head. Any spinning surface causes airflow dispersal and by nature of
centrifugal forces, air that is thrown off the outside of the disc is
replaced by incoming air at the centre of the disc. This will cause the
disc to attract dust not only into the drive mechanism, but also onto
the surface of the disc. I have successfully cleaned several of these
machines now, but I would not advise the general populous to attempt
this. Also, I do not know of a way to clean the DISC in the cartridge!
Please be warned, and consider ways of keeping your removable drives in
as dust-free an area as possible. Perhaps some kind of small door
covering the face of the drive might help, but as this is a new finding
NO information is currently available.
5.5
310 upgrade etc
5.5
As far as I am aware, all the companies who produce upgrade boards and
add-ons include satisfactory instructions, but there is one point that I
feel that is often not made clear. If you are thinking of doing one of
these upgrades yourself, just how much skill and knowledge are required?
I have had to rescue several people who started doing an upgrade
themselves and got into a mess. If you can do it yourself, you obviously
save money but, if you get into a mess, it can often end up costing you
rather more than the dealer-fit cost.  A
5.5

5.5
Music Column
5.5
Stewart Watson
5.5
Multi-timbral synthesizers and sequencers
5.5
I have had a fair amount of correspondence lately from people who have
had trouble getting their sequencers working so as to take full
advantage of the facilities provided by their synthesizers.
5.5
Let’s take, as an example, a Korg M1 being used with Studio 24+. The M1
is eight part multi-timbral (it can produce up to eight different kinds
of sound at one time), and 16 note polyphonic (it can produce up to
sixteen different notes at one time).
5.5
Getting started
5.5
The first thing to do is to set up the M1 so that it can be controlled
from the computer.
5.5
1.    Select a combination that you are prepared to overwrite. (When you
save your new combination the previous one will be lost.)
5.5
2.    Enter global mode and switch off memory protect internal (so that
you can store your new combination).
5.5
3.    Make sure that program change enable is on. (This will allow you
to select different voices for each part during the course of a song.)
5.5
4.    Switch Local off. (This separates the keyboard from the synthes
izer, so that playing the keys produces no sound directly.)
5.5
5.    Press combination edit (to edit your chosen combination).
5.5
6.    Select Multi. (This allows the M1 to be used as a multi-timbral
synthesizer.)
5.5
7.    Select the eight voices you use most often including drums.
5.5
8.    Assign each voice to a different midi channel, e.g.
5.5
Voice    Programme    Midi
5.5
    Number    Channel
5.5
Piano    41        2
5.5
Acoustic Bass    26        3
5.5
Drums    09        4
5.5
Guitar    04        5
5.5
Pan Flute    08        6
5.5
Brass    01        7
5.5
Dreamwave    20        8
5.5
Tenor Sax    62        9
5.5
    It is best not to use channel 1 as it is, by default, the global
channel which means that any changes received on that channel affect
every part.
5.5
9.    Save the combination that you have just assembled.
5.5
10.    Enter global mode.
5.5
11.    Switch on memory protect (to protect your new combination).
5.5
Setting up Studio24+
5.5
1.    Make sure that midi thru is selected. (This will send the
information received from the keyboard of the M1 back out from the midi
out port to the M1 and will make it play the chosen voice on the current
midi channel.)
5.5
2.    Set the midi channel of the metronome to the same as the channel
for drums on the M1.
5.5
3.    Set the pitch of the metronome to suit your taste.
5.5
4.    Set up a default pattern for Studio 24+ with the midi channels set
to match the M1.
5.5
You can now control the M1 from the computer and enter programme changes
into each part as required.
5.5
The Korg programme numbering system starts at 1 rather than the usual 0,
which means that you have to add 1 to the programme number of the voice
you are selecting: e.g. to select piano voice 41 you would have to enter
42 in the preset window.
5.5
The system I have outlined above can be altered to suit most available
multi-timbral synthesizers.
5.5
I have included a drumlist for an M1, a dummy file for Studio 24+ and a
clipboard of some basic rhythm patterns for inclusion on the monthly
disc.  A
5.5

5.5
!CL − Psion Link
5.5
Peter Creed
5.5
Perhaps, like me, you were eagerly awaiting the arrival of version 1.6
of the PC Emulator, in the hope that, at last, the Comms Link software
for the Psion Organiser would actually run on it! If so, you are about
to be extremely disappointed. Once again, the Comms Link software bombs
out with the all too familiar message, “Undefined Opcode, System
Halted...”
5.5
I had previously tried every programming trick that I could think of, to
make the Comms Link software work and had been thwarted at every turn,
so I was delighted to hear that a new software house called “Godders
Ware” had designed a program called !CL for the Archimedes & Psion
Organiser, that was rumoured to be fully multitasking. I immediately
offered to review it since I have had some dismal experiences with
previous Psion-Archimedes comms software.
5.5
I was not to be disappointed though, initially, getting things up and
running was far from easy and required several calls to their technical
expert, Mark Godwin. To be fair though, this was due to an unusual SCSI
Hard Disc setup on my part and Mark Godwin was able to remedy the
problem in the software promptly and since then the program has worked
correctly.
5.5
Presentation
5.5
!CL comes on a single 3½“ disc with an on-disc manual in both !Edit and
First Word Plus formats. This could possibly be a limitation to those of
you without printers but you can still easily view the manual on screen
whilst !CL is running.
5.5
On the disc are several applications:− !CL, !OnTime, !Opendir and
!PS_Split. The first, !CL, is the multi-tasking communications program.
!OnTime is a freebie which the company has supplied as an appetiser for
their future range of programs. It is designed for modem freaks who run
up massive phone bills. Using it, you are able to pre-set a warning time
which will pop up a suitable message when you have been on-line for too
long.
5.5
!Opendir is also rather useful. Once it is loaded onto the icon bar, you
simply drag an application over to it and release, whereupon it opens a
filer window into the application directory, no more shift-double-
clicking.
5.5
!PS_Split is another rather useful application. Once loaded, you can
drag an OPL (Organiser Programming Language) program icon onto the
!PS_Split icon and release it which then splits into an OPL text file
which is readable in !Edit and an Obj (Object) file which is the
compiled OPL code. This is very useful if, like me, you are an OPL
program developer and you wish to supply your end users with the object
code only.
5.5
Installation
5.5
!CL can be run from floppy disc or installed on a hard disc. However,
you must briefly insert the floppy disc into its drive whilst the
program seeks its security code. I had a very long discussion with the
company regarding this method of protection since I had given up using
System Delta in the past simply because I could not be bothered to keep
finding the master disc and putting it into the drive. A professional
programmer’s time is money and when you have spent nearly a thousand
pounds to get SCSI Hard Disc speeds, you do not want to waste time
messing about with floppy disks. I was met with what I consider to be
the most positive and refreshing attitude on the part of any software
company that I have ever dealt with and what they suggested was this.
They would re-write the protection so that after one check, the software
could run for about a month before asking for another security check. If
that security check failed, then the software would not run again.
5.5
The idea behind this was that the company was fully aware that more
unscrupulous users would be tempted to copy !CL and swap it amongst
their friends and with this method they could! The friends could then
use it for a trial period of one month to see if they liked it, before
it stopped working. Furthermore, the company felt that they would like
to reward loyalty to their products and so each time you buy a further
product from them you get a bigger and bigger discount! What is more,
your friends, on presentation of your security code would get an
introductory discount too! Well, all I can say is that if their
programming is as innovative and positive as their marketing strategy,
then we are likely to see some very good products from them. I am
surprised no-one has thought of the idea before!
5.5
!CL in use
5.5
Of !CL itself, I can only say that it is a joy to use. Clicking on the
application loads a Psion Organiser icon onto the icon bar. Pressing
<menu> over the icon, brings up a menu with various setup options. Baud
rates, timeouts, retries and even the time spent multitasking, can be
set from this menu as can file paths and printer options. If you have
the Psion Organiser plugged in, using the CommsLink cable and the
adaptor, then once the !CL application is loaded, the Psion will wake up
in the same way that it does when you run the more familiar CL.EXE
program on a PC.
5.5
What sets this program apart from all the other Psion-Archimedes
programs that I have seen, is its ability to use the proper Psion
communications protocol. This gives access to some pretty sophisticated
file swapping from Archimedes to Psion and back again.
5.5
XFunctions
5.5
The company has also thoughtfully supplied a suite of OPL programs to
run on the Psion which give a range of commands that mimic the XTSEND
and XTRECV functions on the Psion. Further commands mimic the XFOPEN and
XFCLOSE type functions which give access to the full Archimedes type
path names and allow you to remotely access files on the Archimedes,
from the Psion Organiser itself.
5.5
However, if you are not keen to program such advanced file transfer
functions, the MGCOM program supplied will allow you to back-up and
restore every single file on an LZ. Users of a CM or XP Organiser can
backup their data files too, but any other type of file has to be sent
using the X Functions since the CM & XP lack the DIRW$ function.
5.5
By selecting transmit from within the comms menu on the Organiser and
clicking “Online” on the !CL menu, you can send the full range of File,
Procedure or Notes files to the Archimedes and these are routed straight
to a default set of directories contained within the !CL application
itself. The program automatically detects the filetype and routes the
incoming file to the appropriate directory. This can give rise to an
amusing ten minutes or so trying to find what you thought was a text
file in the text directory only to find it has appeared in the data
directory. This is no particular problem as long as you are reasonably
familiar with the file types that the organiser can send. My only real
criticism here is that it would be handy if there was a menu option to
open and view the various file directories rather than having to keep
clicking <shift+select> on the !CL Icon. Still, you can use the !Opendir
application that they have supplied. Alternatively, you can alter the
default file paths using the “File paths” option on the !CL main menu.
5.5
Printing
5.5
Using !CL, it is also possible to print directly from the Psion, via the
Archimedes, to a parallel printer, again from an option set on the main
!CL menu. If you have a serial printer, you can print to a file first,
disconnect your comms link, connect the serial printer and print out the
file that way. I have also tested the !CL program with the popular
Autoscribe program for the Psion and found that the transmit and receive
options from Autoscribe also work with !CL.
5.5
Compatibility
5.5
!CL has been tested on an A410 with ADFS Hard Drive and ARM 3, an A310
with Oak SCSI hard disc, 4M ram and ARM3 and an A5000. It will work at
the full 9600 baud rate though you will need a special adaptor cable,
details of which are given in the manual.
5.5
If you think I sound impressed, yes, I am. This software vastly out-
ranks both the CommsLink software for the PC and all the other
Archimedes-Psion programs that I have seen and, at £25 + p&p, is
exceptional value, although for this amount you do not get a pre-printed
manual.
5.5
Godders Ware are currently working on a version for the Psion Series 3
though I have heard various horror stories about the Series 3 though
Mark Godwin reports that his Series 3 has behaved impeccably. In short,
it is well worth hanging on to your LZ’s and buying !CL, just to see how
good it is!  A
5.5

5.5
Using ArcFS
5.5
Tord Eriksson
5.5
In the January issue of Archive (5.4 p41) Mike Hobart wrote about
compression programs, comparing Compression (Computer Concepts) and
!Spark (David Pilling).
5.5
There is now an alternative available from David Pilling: ArcFS, written
by Mark Smith.
5.5
This is somewhere in between Compression, that makes a complete separate
filing system with new drive icons etc, and !Spark which is a compres
sion utility that sits on the icon bar, that unpacks ‘arced’
directories, recognisable by a flash across the directory icon.
(!Sparkplug is a PD version of !Spark that only unpacks.)
5.5
!Spark’s drawbacks
5.5
The major drawback with !Spark is that you must unpack an application,
by dragging it to another directory, before you can run it.
5.5
To take an example: An Impression document has to be dragged out before
you can use it and that is both bothersome and time consuming. !Spark
indicates this by showing the default icon and not the application’s
icon. If you try to run it anyway, you will be greeted by an error
message!
5.5
Compression, or CFS, does run applications directly but does not
compress directories. This means that, for example, Impression docu
ments, with a lot of small files inside (each document is a pseudo-
application in itself), does not compress very well.
5.5
!ArcFS − the golden compromise?
5.5
ArcFS behaves very much like !Spark, as it installs itself on the icon
bar, but it does not make a complete new filing system, like CFS or
PCDir.
5.5
The compression format seems to be the same as for !Spark, so a
directory compressed with !Spark is readable with !ArcFS and vice versa.
Even the menus and the options are similar, so the ardent !Spark user
will feel very much at home.
5.5
What is it good for then? Well, let me show you by taking a directory
with 17 Impression documents, most containing illustrations. There was
also a minor text file; in all 2,086,972 bytes. According to Mike
Hobart, Impression documents, with a lot of chapters and illustrations,
like my documents, compress very badly if you use CFS.
5.5
Not having a fully functional version of CFS (I just got the PD version)
I couldn’t make a full test, as I couldn’t compress the directory with
both programs. Mike did a test of a single chapter Impression document
and CFS compressed it to 51.2%, !Spark 45.0%.
5.5
!ArcFS compressed my 2,086,972 byte directory to 953,573 bytes; that is
a 45.7% reduction! That compares very well with !Spark’s compression of
a single file (according to Mike Hobart): 45.0%.
5.5
So !ArcFS does what !Spark does and more. Also, it is as easy to use as
CFS and costs next to nothing in comparison!
5.5
Problems
5.5
No compression system is a panacea, neither CFS nor !Spark nor !ArcFS.
5.5
First, compression takes time: I compressed a huge library of sprites
yesterday. With !ArcFS I had to wait half an hour before I could access
the computer again! It freed a lot of space on the hard disc so it was
worth it and, fortunately, un­packing is much faster. Anything that
loads faster than a floppy disc drive is OK with me....
5.5
CFS, or Compression, is probably much faster, as Mike Hobart’s tests
show (even if he used !Spark instead of !ArcFS).
5.5
David Pilling himself warned me that compression programs sometimes
create havoc and that the first release of !ArcFS was problematic: If
you decided to delete a sub-directory in an arced directory the whole
lot went AWOL − lost and gone forever!
5.5
This have now been fixed and I have not experienced any problems with
version 1.07. As long as you do not compress the programs you normally
use, I can’t see anything dangerous happening. Huge programs, like
Impression itself, are better left alone as their unpacking takes some
time. Loading Impression documents that have been compressed can be
troublesome if you use the auto-save facility, because Impression
doesn’t always know if the program is properly saved into the arced
directory, so you can get an error message.
5.5
One solution is to set the auto-save to ‘prompt’, then you will not have
any mysterious messages and the file will be saved correctly. Also, I
would say that nothing essential should ever be left on your hard disc
without back-ups, as hard discs are prone to collapsing at the most
unfortunate moment.
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
My hard disc was, a week ago, filled up almost completely. Now, thanks
to !ArcFS, I have 16 Mbytes free to use!  A
5.5

5.5
Enter the Realm
5.5
Stephen & David Sloan (aged 11 & 9)
5.5
Enter the Realm, which is one of the latest offerings from the Fourth
Dimension, has been dubbed, in many magazines, the sequel to Nevryon. It
comes in a video container which seems the standard packaging for 4th
Dimension games.  The game is contained on three disks and has a small
players’ manual like Nevryon.
5.5
The game
5.5
Enter the Realm is hardly like Nevryon except for the sound and graphic
quality which are as good, if not better than Nevryon’s. The scenario is
the usual 4D style except it is better than Nevryon’s and goes like
this: “You have to travel to Karidor, a land of magic, to fight Evil,
(which always finds its way into arcade games in one way or another) and
bring Good back to Karidor. You lead a knight, by the name of Kharas,
and find weapons to proceed through different areas of Karidor, fighting
evil and helping to revive good.” Loading is strangely through the
desktop instead of the now familiar <shift-break> routine.
5.5
The first thing that you notice is that the sounds during load-up are
synchronised with the disk drive noises and this soon leads on to a good
piece of sampled music. Pressing <space> leads to the “Prophecies of
Karidor” and then a note informing you to insert the second disk. After
doing so, a scroll appears telling you to press <fire> to start or <R>
to redefine keys. Pressing <fire> brings you to a piece of text which
tells you about the level you are going to start on, with accompanying
music. Pressing <space> brings you to the level start and one major
difference from Nevryon is now revealed (unless you have guessed
already) that you are on foot. Other differences are that there is no
music, only sampled sound, which is either an improvement or disappoint
ment, depending on your tastes. It scrolls in both directions and there
are no password options. The playability is excellent; the best of any
arcade game, even outside the Archimedes, though at first it is a little
bit hard to get far.
5.5
The graphics claim to be all hand drawn and there are good end-of-level
pictures which look like digitised paintings and all the sounds are
sampled. Voices come on for starting and ending the game area and the
weather effects are brilliant.
5.5
As Kharas, you first set off across a land not unlike Antarctica, in
search of the great wizard, then into a rural area of forest and town,
later into a cave to destroy a dragon, eventually back across the rural
area and on to a desert. After this it is on to the city gates, the city
itself and then into a tunnel type level, to fight the evil wizard. I
don’t know if there are any more levels because I haven’t got any
further and there aren’t any screenshots of another level.
5.5
Adversaries come as bouncing or rolling spherical objects, falling,
rising, stationary, flying and walking or running objects. Colliding
with any of these decreases your energy. When all energy is lost you
lose a life but continue from where you are. The pickups include
weapons, which boost the damage rating of a shot or upgrade it or
downgrade it; hearts, which replenish lost energy in the life being
used; skulls which decrease energy; shields which give five seconds of
invulnerability; alien freezes which stop all objects for five seconds;
wideshot and spreadshot which fans out weapons, and straightshot which
cancels out this effect; smart bombs which destroy all on-screen aliens
and background features; powerups which increase the damage of a weapon;
extra lives; and gems, gold bags and crystals which give 100 points.
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
This is a great game with excellent graphics, sound and playability and,
at £24.95, surely makes it the next game to get and probably the best
game for the Archimedes to date.  A
5.5

5.5
ScanLight 256 update
5.5
Tord Eriksson
5.5
In my recent review of the ScanLight Junior 256 from Computer Concepts
(Archive 5.4, p30) I stated that I had problems using the four bit and
eight bit modes (16 and 256 levels of grey).
5.5
Since writing the review, these problems have disappeared altogether and
the probable cause was a badly fitting backplane! (Sorry, Computer
Concepts!) I have converted hundreds of pictures by now, and I can only
say that I can’t understand how I managed without a scanner before!
5.5
After a while, you realise that a flatbed scanner is a blessing in most
cases, as it is very tricky to pull the scanner at the correct speed and
straight across the illustration you want to scan. You often end up with
a twisted illustration, like Judge Dredd! (See opposite.)
5.5
For the adventurous
5.5
Any individual sprite named ‘scan_image’ can be processed with the
ScanLight 256 software. You will see some odd results if the sprite
originally was a 256 colour sprite, as a mode 15 screensave. But help is
at hand:
5.5
!Translator and !Creator, by John Kortink, both available from Archive
(on Careware 13), can convert the sprites to monochrome before further
manipulation with ScanLight software. There is a also a utility from the
same author called !GreyEdit (on Shareware 40, amongst others) that can
process your grey sprite by increasing contrast, adding various types of
sampling etc.
5.5
!GreyEdit is very easy to use, after you have converted your sprite to
the Clear format. This is yet another format that one has to live with
due to a software writer’s idea of a so-called better format
(!Translator can produce Clear files).
5.5
Anyway, the end result can be very far from the original sprite! If you
are not content with manipulation of the image with !GreyEdit or
!Translator, the sprite can then be re-converted into a ‘normal’ sprite
and manipulated with ScanLight’s software. Enjoy yourself!
5.5
Conclusion
5.5
When you buy a scanner, buy a flat-bed scanner if you can afford it!
This will, in the long run, be a very wise investment, as long as you
have enough RAM! 16Mb chips are becoming available, so an A4 400dpi, 256
grey levels, scan is now possible (more than 8 Megabytes!), but not for
owners of unexpanded A3000s!
5.5
If you have got less than 2M you might as well forget using scanners, as
they do need lots of room for their sprites, even before saving to disc!
5.5
The ScanLight 256 Junior works perfectly for scanning small photos,
stamps, even negatives, but is not ideal for bigger things.
5.5
After the initial problems which I mentioned in my review last month,
scanning and converting sprites with !Trace have become my favourite
occupation in front of the computer. Computer Concepts can only be
congratulated for the ScanLight Junior 256 pack!  A
5.5
(The problem is that, at the moment, Computer Concepts are having
trouble getting supplies of the scanning heads so they don’t think there
will be any ScanLight 256’s available for the next few weeks. Ed.)
5.5

5.5
The Font Book
5.5
Stewart Watson
5.5
The Font Book is the latest product from Toby Richards, the creator of
the excellent piano and guitar fonts reviewed in Archive 5.3 p44. It
describes itself as “An easy-to-follow Guide for the Archimedes” and
that is exactly what it is.
5.5
Contents
5.5
Included are chapters on the history of fonts, how to make a fonts disc,
using the font manager, draw and sprite fonts, a buyer’s guide, etc. The
book comes with a free disc with four outline fonts, some draw fonts and
some clip art.
5.5
The book
5.5
The book is 107 page, A5-sized and is comb bound, similar to many
software manuals. It is well laid out and I found it an entertaining
read. It is full of useful information on how to use the fonts you have
available, as well as having pages of examples of text manipulated in
Draw, Poster, FontFX and Stretch.
5.5
It is the kind of book that Acorn should have commissioned and supplied
to everyone buying an Archimedes, as it explains clearly, in language
that is easy to follow, what it is possible to produce using the
facilities available.
5.5
The disc
5.5
The four featured fonts can be used with any application which makes use
of outline fonts and have been tested by the author on the following
programs:
5.5
Impression, Ovation, Acorn DTP, Draw, Poster, PipeDream 3, FontFX and
DrawPlus (PD).
5.5
The fonts are:
5.5
1    Art Deco − a 1920’s style of typeface, effective in titling, design
work or as an alternative body type.
5.5
2    Inline − a bold display font for posters and magazines.
5.5
3    Phineas − a display font.
5.5
4    Quiz − a modern face, probably best suited to titling and display.
5.5
The fonts don’t feature a full set off 255 characters but the author
promises free upgrades on receipt of the original disc accompanied by an
S.A.E.
5.5
The three Draw fonts on this disc can all be manipulated just like any
other Draw file (i.e. rotated, line thickness changed, given colour
fills etc.). They are:
5.5
1    Animate − a rather cartoon-like script font for less formal design
jobs.
5.5
2    Lombardic − a traditional ancient style of lettering which can be used
to create a feeling of the ‘old world’.
5.5
3    Phineas Italic − an italic version of the outline font which can be
used for headlines or posters.
5.5
Decorative & shape clip art
5.5
A set of decorative panels and shapes are included, which can be used to
spice up your DTP pages or graphic design job. The panels, for example,
could be dropped into DTP picture frames to form decorative borders or
headers.
5.5
Summary
5.5
I wish I had been able to buy this book four years ago. It would have
saved me many hours of head scratching. Though most of the information
might be available from other sources, it is extremely useful to have it
all together in one reference book. If you use fonts at all, I would
suggest that you buy it − you’ll enjoy it as well as learning from it.
5.5
The Font Book is available from, Dalmation Publications, 37 Manor Road,
Teddington, Middlesex TW11 8AA, price £10.50, inc p&p (cheques payable
to ‘Toby Richards’).  A
5.5
Variable Filetype Variables
5.5
David Lenthall
5.5
I have just read David Taylor’s interesting article on Astronomy in
Archive 5.4 p39, where he mentions in passing the possibility of clashes
caused by different programs using the same non-registered filetype.
Having come across this problem where some of my own software conflicted
with PD software which I had subsequently obtained, I decided to come up
with the following scheme, along with a couple of general purpose Basic
routines.
5.5
Requirement
5.5
This proposed scheme would enable programs which used non-registered
filetypes to be user-configurable as to which filetypes they actually
used. After all, variables are variable.
5.5
The basic idea is to use system variables which are set up in the !Run
file (and thus easily alterable by the end user) and for the program to
read the associated values and use these within the program.
5.5
I am not proposing that one should change standard filetypes − that
would lead to chaos. However, a PD address book program, for example,
with its own private filetypes would be an ideal candidate.
5.5
The idea is even more relevant for programs written in C, as these
programs can’t be changed by the end user, whereas those with the know-
how could modify Basic programs without too much difficulty.
5.5
My solution is only mildly tedious for the end user and is certainly
preferable to not being able to use a piece of software just because its
filetypes clash with something else.
5.5
For programmers
5.5
Include within the !Run file along with the usual (for example)
5.5
  Set File$Type_7FF DataFile
5.5
definitions, something like :
5.5
  Set FT$DataFile 7FF
5.5
which sets up a variable which can then be inspected by the program. In
the program’s initialisation stage include the line (e.g.) :
5.5
  myftype% = EVAL(“&”+FNreadsysvar( “FT$DataFile”))
5.5
and include the following functions within your program code :
5.5
DEF FNreadsysvar(varname$)
5.5
 LOCAL len%,reply%
5.5
 SYS “XOS_ReadVarVal”,varname$, block%,256,-1,0 TO ,,len%
5.5
 IF len%=0 THEN
5.5
   reply%=FNreport(“System variable‘“+varname$+
5.5
”’ does not exist”,1)
5.5
   END
5.5
 ENDIF
5.5
 SYS “OS_ReadVarVal”,varname$, block%,256,0,3 TO ,,len%
5.5
 block%?len%=13
5.5
=$block%
5.5
:
5.5
DEF FNreport(message$,flag%)
5.5
 !block%=0
5.5
 $(block%+4)=message$+CHR$0
5.5
 SYS “Wimp_ReportError”,block%,flag% ,task$ TO ,reply%
5.5
=reply%
5.5
You will also need to have dimensioned block% to 256 (or more) bytes in
the main initialisation routine.
5.5
Then, in the program’s save routine use a command of the following form
:
5.5
  SYS “OS_File”,10,fname$,myftype% ,,start%,end%
5.5
and wherever tests are made on the filetype, use these variables rather
than constants, ie
5.5
  IF b%!40 = myftype% THEN
5.5
rather than
5.5
  IF b%!40 = &7FF THEN
5.5
though you shouldn’t be using constants anyway, should you?
5.5
Besides being useful for providing general error messages and prompts,
the FNreport function is also useful whilst developing a program, as it
can be used to display the value of a variable at a particular point
within the program. E.g. to see the value of a variable count%, use the
line:
5.5
  reply%=FNreport(“count = ”+ STR$count%,17)
5.5
The returned value can generally be discarded, though it becomes of use
if a value of 3 is passed to flag%, which will cause the dbox to contain
two action icons (Ok and Cancel). In this case, if Ok is clicked, 1 is
returned. Clicking on Cancel returns 2. Provided your program was
started from within the desktop, this function can even be called prior
to a call to Wimp_Initialise.
5.5
Let’s go further
5.5
With RISC-OS 3’s new Filer_Run command, the possibility of nested Obey
files is much greater than it was with RISC-OS 2, and so using the
variable Obey$Dir within a program will produce unexpected results
should nesting have occurred. So always use a private system variable,
e.g.
5.5
  Set MyApp$Dir <Obey$Dir>
5.5
in the !Run file and then lines of the following form:
5.5
  SYS “OS_File”,255 ,“<MyApp$Dir>. Config”,baseaddr%,0
5.5
within the program. The above line would load into memory (at baseaddr%)
a configuration data file contained within the application directory.
The principle outlined above can be extended to modify lines such as
these, e.g.
5.5
  appdir$ = FNreadsysvar(“MyApp$Dir”)
5.5
in the initialisation, and then
5.5
  SYS “OS_File”,255,appdir$+ “.Config”,baseaddr%,0
5.5
For end users
5.5
For an end user confronted by a program incorporating this feature and
making use of filetypes which clash with some piece of software already
owned, all that is needed is to change the values assigned within the
!Run file,
5.5
  Set FT$DataFile xxx
5.5
along with any definitions of the form :
5.5
  Set File$Type_xxx DataFile
5.5
  Set Alias$@RunType_xxx Run <MyApp$Dir>.!Run %%*0
5.5
(changing the values xxx). Then edit the names of the file sprites
(within the !Sprites file) to reflect the new filetype value(s), and
finally use SetType on any relevant data files amongst your collection
of discs.
5.5
And finally
5.5
It may be a good idea to compile a list of non-registered filetypes used
by programs which are publicly available. Maybe somebody already has, if
so then how about sharing it?  A
5.5

5.5
Colton
5.5
From 5.5 page 21
5.5

5.5
Oak
5.5
From 5.5 page 16
5.5

5.5
Risc Developments Ltd (p8)    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (60263)
5.5
Spacetech (p34)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.5
SRS System Ltd    Unit 6, Benacre Drive, Fazeley Street, Birmingham.
(021−643−2877) (0442)
5.5
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733−244682)
5.5
Trail Software    P.O. Box 283, London, SW11 2LL.
5.5
Turcan Research Systems    83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071−625−8455)
5.5
Word Processing    65 Milldale Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, W
Midlands  WV10 6LR.
5.5
XOB    Balkeerie, Eassie by Forfar, Angus, DD8 1SR. (0307−84364)
5.5

  Wot!? No Editorial?!
5.6
Sometimes I have a burning issue that I want to air in this editorial
slot but sometimes I have to scratch around for something to say. I’m
sure most editors will relate to that feeling. You don’t just want to
waffle; you want to take the opportunity to say something worthwhile. I
can’t think of anything worthwhile, so I’ll shut up, go away and let you
read the magazine!
5.6
Bye for now,
5.6

5.6
Products Available
5.6
•    3D Construction Kit is Domark’s new program for creating 3D anima
tions. Design your own house and “walk through it” even before it’s
built or build and fly your own plane. The price is £49.99 inc VAT (£46
through Archive) which includes an instructional video cassette. (See
Comment Column on page 20.)
5.6
•    A400 series discontinued − Acorn have decided, not surprisingly, to
cease production of the A400 series computers. There are still some
machines available and there may be some bargain prices around,
especially for A420s. If the price is right, you could throw away the
20M drive and put in a decent-sized SCSI drive. (For example, we have
one A410, 4M with 40M ST506 drive available at £1190. Give us a ring if
you are interested.)
5.6
•    Bible Base − This is a RISC-OS compliant package using a PD version of
the King James Bible. It comes on six floppy discs and can be run from
hard disc. It is £12 inc p&p from Bernard Veasey, 24 Drift Road,
Nyetimber, Bognor Regis, West Sussex  PO21 3NS.
5.6
•    CD-ROM − Cumana have reduced the price of their CD-ROM from £399 to
£299. The ROM drive has an average access time of 350 ms and a data
transfer rate of about 150 kbytes/sec. (There are apparently a number of
Archimedes-specific CDs under development including an encyclopaedia
from PEP Associates which was being demonstrated at the BETT Show.)
5.6
•    David Pilling’s program discs − Over the months, we have mentioned
David Pilling’s excellent series of discs of Archimedes software.
Despite the fact that they are so good, we have not, in the past,
stocked them. The trouble is that they are so cheap (£5.99 each) that
it’s impossible for us to give a discount on them and still cover our
costs. However, there has been so much demand that we have decided to
sell them at £6 each so that you can have the convenience of being able
to order them from Archive alongside other items without having to make
a separate order. If you only want David’s discs, it is obviously better
to go direct to him, especially if you want several discs because, if
you buy four discs at a time, you get one free. We cannot operate that
offer. We have decided to stock the most popular discs. (The numbers in
brackets are references to Archive reviews or comments.)
5.6
EMACS (2.6 p36 + 3.3 p11) − The classic text editor. A multiple buffer/
document editor with built-in programming language. Comes complete with
manual, online tutorial and several programs. Includes full working C
source code.
5.6
MicroSpell − 43,000 word spelling checker, MicroSpell is a spell checker
for EMACS but works with other applications, too. It can also be loaded
as a module to provide continuous spell checking while you type and
instant access to the dictionary with *spell command.
5.6
Chess − (4.9 p59 + 4.12 p25) Play Chess on the RISC-OS desktop. Fully
RISC-OS compatible version of chess. Computer will think of its next
move, whilst you use other programs. Many features; load and save games,
edit board, computer play, step through game, algebraic notation, on
screen clocks, undo move, save game setup, print games etc.
5.6
CrossStar − Wimp based crossword puzzle solver. Fully RISC-OS compliant,
desktop based crossword puzzle solver. Includes over 200,000 words.
Saves completed grids as Draw files for use in DTP etc. Solves inter
locking clues. Multiple/user defined dictionaries. Dictionaries can be
edited or browsed through. Add new words to dictionary.
5.6
Spark (3.4 p22) − File archiver for RISC-OS which lets you keep files
and directories in archive files in a compressed form. It will unpack
zip, zoo, lzh, tar (both UNIX and Archimedes), Compress and arc (SEA, PK
and Archimedes) files from IBM PC’s or other systems. It can also create
PC compatible arc files. Spark can code and decode, uucode, atob (CET+)
and FCET files. DES data encryption gives password protection of files.
(Bonus items on the disc include !BackDrop which lets you stick files
onto the desktop background, some PD applications, the old ‘arc’ and
over 1M of nice colour pictures.)
5.6
MTV Raytracer − Database driven raytracing renderiser (mentioned in
Brian Cowan’s review of Scientific Software on page 55) which will
convert a geometric description of a scene into a 3D raytraced image
that can be saved as a sprite. All reflections and shadows in the scene
are calculated to give life-like pictures. Primitives − spheres, cones/
cylinders, polygons and patches. Demo images, database files, C source
code, instructions and background info.
5.6
StarChart − Boldly go with a RISC-OS multitasking program that uses a
database of 9,000 stars etc to produce star maps. Also calculates the
positions of the planets and shows them on the maps. Star maps are in
the form of Draw files and can be imported into !Draw or other
applications.
5.6
NovaPaint − Extensive 16 colour paint package. Features: easy to use;
primitives (lines, curves, circles, ellipses, triangles, rectangles,
etc.); tools (user-defined brushes, airbrush, auto-shader, colour fills,
colour-cycling brush-es/rectangle drawing, etc.); palette tools (define
graduated palettes, compress palette, colour mixing); effects (pixel
average, area squash/stretch/distort/rotate, sphere wrap, cylinder wrap,
‘blob’). Plus the Fontmaster two-tone font system (including a font
editor and 23 fonts as well as bold, shadowed, underline and italic
styles); undo function. Pictures can be saved as sprites or in a special
compressed format (which can be used outside NovaPaint), 8x zoom at
which level fills, lines, triangles etc. can be drawn as well as pixel-
level editing. All drawing options can use ‘transparent’ colour to
achieve irregular area copies etc; help facility and manual. 14 demo
pictures.
5.6
Panorama − Draw the World (5.5 p26) − 180,000 coordinates outlining the
lakes, rivers, continents, state boundaries, etc of the world and a
program that can produce Draw files from them. You can make your own
maps of any part of the world and then use them in DTP etc. Includes the
positions of nearly 1,000 cities. Does simple, cylinder, Mercator and
perspective projections. Can be used from a single floppy disc and
requires no setting up.
5.6
ArcFS (5.5 p59) − Compressed Filing System, ArcFS is a filing system
using the powerful LZW data compression algorithm. It allows files to be
saved in much less disc space. Because it is a true read/write filing
system, programs can be used in the normal way. So you can press <F3> to
save files back to the filing system and Impression documents can be
loaded by dragging or double clicking. Compatible with all normal filing
systems. Offers a choice of compression method. Files can be encrypted
for security. Can also read Spark and PC format archive files. Space
saved depends on file type e.g. sprites may use only 10% of normal.
5.6
Trace (5.4 p61 + Comment Column, page 25) − Trace takes sprites and
turns them into Draw files. Sprite format clip art is cheap and
plentiful and you can make your own with a scanner. Draw format clip art
is expensive and has to be painstakingly drawn by hand. Sprites take up
lots of valuable disc space. Draw files are smaller. Sprites cannot be
scaled easily. If you try to make them bigger, they develop jagged
edges. Unlike some trace programs, Trace will work with colour sprites.
Tracing is not magic − not all sprites will give good results.
5.6
•    Deskjet 500 Colour printer drivers. Both Ace Computing and Risc
Developments now produce printer drivers for the Deskjet 500 Colour. Ace
Computing’s driver costs £16 +VAT or £17 through Archive and Risc
Developments’ costs £15 +VAT.
5.6
•    Desktop C and Desktop Assembler upgrades − It is still possible to
upgrade your old version of C or assembler to the desktop version which
includes the DDE. All you do is send the original disc plus an appropri
ate cheque to Acorn Direct at Wellingborough. The inc VAT costs are as
follows:
5.6
C release 3 to Desktop C    £99.87
5.6
C release 2 to Desktop C    £123.37
5.6
C release 1 to Desktop C    £123.37
5.6
Assembler to Desktop Assembler    £88.12
5.6
Software Developer’s Toolbox
5.6
                     to Desktop Assembler    £88.12
5.6
•    Dreadnoughts is the second wargame product for the Archimedes from
Turcan Research Systems Ltd. The author, Dr Peter Turcan, obviously
enjoyed converting Waterloo to the Archimedes and has followed it with
this simulation which allows you to fight the sea battles of the First
World War − seven different scenarios are provided. The price is £34.95
from Turcan Research Systems and there are two extra scenario discs at
£16.95 each − Ironclads which includes various battles from Japanese-
Chinese and Russo-Japanese conflicts and Bismark which provides six
scenarios from the Second World War.
5.6
•    Eizo monitors − Sadly, in their wisdom, Eizo have discontinued the
9070 16“ monitor. There is now a big gap between the 14” 9060SZ (£530)
and the T560i (£1240). If you are looking for a monitor, turn to the
Comments Column on page 21 where I have given my personal views about
various multisync monitors. Ed
5.6
•    EMR are continuing to produce new music based programs and hardware as
well as producing updates to their existing products. Studio24 Plus is
now up to version 3 (£249 inc VAT), Scorewriter PMS has been updated
(£499 inc VAT) as have RhythmBox II (£29.95 inc VAT) and SoundSynth II
(£49.95 +VAT). There are now eight Creations sound sample discs at two
for £17 +VAT. MicroStudio is an interactive recording studio for home or
school music teaching (£79 inc VAT). It allows you to learn the left and
right hand parts whilst following the music on screen. Symphony Music
Library and Modern Music Library consist of several discs of music, for
use with EMR music systems, costing between £3 and £15 inc VAT.
Storybook is an educational program that allows you to play and/or
produce your own stories with animated pictures and sampled sounds (£59
+ VAT). Extra stories are available at £39 +VAT a set. Mister Sound
Recorder is a tool for young children to allow them to record and replay
their own voices and sound around them. (£15 inc VAT) DreamWave is “the
only complete synthesizer for the Archimedes”, providing internal sound
creation for use with Maestro and other programs (£39.95 inc VAT).
Orpheus is a sophisticated voice editing system for Midi instruments
(£29.95 inc VAT). Karaoke Performer allows you to link a cassette
recorder to your computer and have a sing-along  session. The words are
given in a scrolling display and the words are highlighted in case you
lose your place! Sets of six songs cost £19.95 inc VAT per set. VuMusic
II allows you to play back music from a Midi system or one of the other
EMR programs along with user generate sprites (£39.95 inc VAT). If you
just want to play the music, you can use Music Player (£19.95 inc VAT).
Midi Analyser is a utility for Studio24 Plus which monitors data
received on the Midi interface with printout if necessary  (£19.95 inc
VAT). !SXFS is a system exclusive filing system that provides simple
recording and playback of any system exclusive data from Midi instrument
(£9.95 inc VAT). WFS to module sample converter is a utility that
converts EMR waveforms to relocatable modules (£9.95 inc VAT). Sound
Tracker to EMR waveform converter is a utility that removes sound sample
data from Sound Tracker files and converts them to EMR waveforms (£9.95
inc VAT). The Midi4 Acorn SWI emulator allows EMR’s Midi4 interface to
be used with Acorn’s standard SWI calls (£6.95 inc VAT). Maestro File
Converter changes Maestro files to Studio24 / MicroStudio format (£9.95
inc VAT). RhythmBox Converter changes RhythmBox note data to Studio24 /
MicroStudio format (£9.95 inc VAT).
5.6
EMR also has a range of hardware add-ons. As well as their Sampler 8 and
Midi4, they now produce SMPTE which is a full spec SMPTE to Midi control
expansion card at £129.57 +VAT, A3000 Multi-Interface which provides
Midi, sound sampler, analogue and user port at £79 +VAT and A3000
Expansion Tower which allows A3000s to connect up to 5 standard half-
width podules and has space for a hard drive. The tower costs £260 +VAT.
5.6
•    FAXPACK − Computer Concepts, after a long gestation period, have
finally given birth to their FaxPack which is their internal fax card
for Archimedes computers including the A5000 (fitted externally on an
A3000). Instead of printing your fax and then putting it through a
conventional fax machine where it is scanned and digitised, you can,
from your own application, “print” (FaxPack just appears as a printer
driver) straight to a fax interface and off down the telephone line.
This avoids the time, trouble and cost of having the intermediate paper
copy. If you don’t have a laser printer, this represents a considerable
time saving as you can send complex graphical images without waiting for
them to print out first.
5.6
This is a fully multi-tasking application, even allowing faxes to be
received in the background while you get on with other tasks. You can
communicate with other machines that have a FaxPack interface and
transfer files using the LZW compression algorithm to reduce transmis
sion times. (Equivalent speeds can be as much as 20k baud.)
5.6
The fax interface has auto-dial or manual modes and uses tone or pulse
dialling. It offers 9600 bps operation with fall back to 7200 and 4800
bps, compatible with all Group 3 fax machines. It will auto-answer, and
you can set the number of rings before answering.
5.6
It comes with a name and address utility program which allows you to
auto-dial the phone numbers directly from the phone book.
5.6
The price? Oh yes, it costs £299 +VAT (+£10 carriage) or £345 through
Archive.
5.6
•    Junior Database is a RISC-OS compliant database aimed at the edu
cational environment − for children aged six and upwards. The emphasis
is on good layout and ease of use. It has colour graphics and a hot-
linked personal tutor (sounds like fun!). Junior costs £53 +VAT from
Iota Software or £57 through Archive.
5.6
•    Good Impression − A book of layouts, graphics and designs for
Impression. Sincere apologies to Stephen Ibbs about our review last
month (p47) in which Robert Chrismas said that it only had about 100
pages. In fact it has 207 pages! Good Impression is numbered in
chapters, not consecutively through the whole book and what I suspect
happened was that Robert counted the pages by counting the pieces of
paper making up the book, forgetting that there are two pages on each
piece of paper! Sorry if we have mislead you − personally, I think that
Good Impression is very reasonably priced at £25 through Archive.
5.6
•    Image Outliner is Iota Software’s offering on the sprite to Draw file
conversion front. It works in full 256 colours and is fully multi-
tasking. The price is £79 +VAT or £85 through Archive.
5.6
•    Image Scan is an overhead image scanning system from Iota which uses
the latest CCD technology with rotating mirror and lenses. Being an
overhead system. it can be used for items that are not flat (see the
picture below) or are delicate and cannot have a hand scanner dragged
over them. It comes in modular form, so you can buy the different
components as finance allows. The basic black and white scanner costs
£399 +VAT (£450 through Archive). Then, to speed up the communication
with the computer, there is a fast parallel card costing £99 +VAT (£110
through Archive). If you want to expand to colour, the upgrade kit
including colour head and software costs £149 +VAT (£165 through
Archive) and a lighting unit is available to provide even illumination
of the objects being scanned. This costs £92 +VAT (£105 through
Archive).
5.6
•    Junior PinPoint is a version of Longman Logotron’s “new generation
database”, PinPoint, aimed at primary schools. It has a reduced set of
facilities and a simplified user interface. It is intended for use at
Key Stages 1 & 2. The cost is £24 +VAT from Longman or £26 through
Archive.
5.6
•    PAL colour decoder − Pineapple Software have produced a PAL colour
decoder. This allows an Archimedes monitor to be used as a TV set (by
using a video recorder as a tuner) or as an S-VHS TV monitor. The
decoder also acts as an S-VHS adaptor for the Pineapple Digitiser (or
any other digitiser that requires R, G, B and sync signals). The price
is £79 +VAT.
5.6
•    Pineapple digitiser software − Pineapple have released a new version
of the software for their colour digitiser. This comes as a free upgrade
to owners. It provides the facility to capture a sequence of frames −
the fastest is up to every third frame − and it could be used for time-
lapse camera work. There is also a replay facility with variable replay
speed.
5.6
•    PC 386 Card − Aleph One has launched its PC expansion card for the
Archimedes. This remarkable single-width podule works in conjunction
with the PC Emulator (v1.6 or greater), and provides a 20 MHz Intel
80386SX-compatible PC in a window (or, if you prefer, full-screen) with
VGA, EGA, CGA or MDA graphics − truly two computers in one! It is fitted
with a bi-directional parallel port and an RS232 serial port, and comes
with 1M RAM as standard. The card can be upgraded to 4M RAM and can
optionally be fitted with an Intel 80387SX floating-point processor. The
basic price for the 1M version is £495 +VAT; the 4M version is £625 +VAT
and the floating point processor costs another £99 +VAT. Archive prices
are £545, £680 and £110 respectively.
5.6
•    Smart Art! − 4Mation have launched yet more packs in their SmArt
series. Each costs £16 +VAT from 4Mation or £18 through Archive.
SmArtoons has twelve characters, two backgrounds and a suggestions file
and is aimed at the creation of animations and cartoons. Aliens consists
of lots of different aliens. Look SmArt has a number of animal faces and
human faces with a whole range of facial expression. The existing
packages, Leisure, Homes and Faces are now also available in French and
German (£16 per language per pack +VAT or £18 through Archive). Finally,
they now have a Modern Languages pack covering words associated with
meals and looking at items on a supermarket shelf. This two disc set
which has all the words in each of nine modern languages (French,
German, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian, Hebrew and Greek)
costs £20 +VAT or £22 through Archive.
5.6
•    Special Needs Trackerball − Northwest SEMERC, in collaboration with
Penny and Giles, have produced a trackerball for the Archimedes for use
by people with poor motor control or learning difficulties. It is more
rugged than the conventional trackerballs and has special functions such
as the ability to simulate “double-clicking” (a difficult task for some
special needs users) by a single key press. Dragging, which also causes
difficulty, is made easier with a single key. Special keys are also
provided to allow movement to be limited to up/down or left/right only −
particularly useful for navigating your way through menus (which the
able-bodied sometimes find difficult!). The ArcTracker, as it is called,
costs £269 +VAT from Northwest SEMERC.
5.6
•    Split an Image is Sherston Software’s latest offering. For £19.95
+VAT, you get around 100 draw files of cartoons of “the rich and famous”
− could be quite useful with the forth-coming general election!
5.6
•    TouchType is a typing tutor from Iota Software Ltd. Chris Drage in
Acorn User described as “the definitive typing tutor for the
Archimedes”. It costs is £49.95 from Iota or £46 through Archive.
5.6
•    Touch window from Lindis is a transparent membrane that fits over the
monitor and provides a resistive matrix of 256 × 256 points to provide a
touch screen effect. Put it on the table and it becomes a concept
keyboard. Put it over a picture on the table and it can be used for
tracing. The price is £235 +VAT which includes driver software, cables
and p.s.u.
5.6
•    Widgit Software has produced a number of programs aimed at primary and
special needs areas. Screenplay (£35 +VAT) allows you to produce simple
animations and stories by adding foreground pictures onto a background,
adding text titles and sound. You can add animation or you can create
exercises for the pupils to do using the collages that you have
produced. Gridit (£30 +VAT) is a flexible program designed to develop
spatial awareness, early number skills and logical thinking. It is
versatile enough to be used for those with severe learning difficulties
and also right up to children at Key Stage 2. Blob 1 and Blob 2 (£18
+VAT each) are two programs centred around a friendly little character
called “Blob” and are aimed at developmentally very young children. They
operate from single key / switch inputs. Count with Blob (£20 +VAT) is a
range of early number activities for infant and nursery level children.
5.6
Review software received...
5.6
We have received review copies of the following: Archivist, Junior
PinPoint, Dreadnought, DeskJet 500 Colour Printer Drivers (Ace and
Beebug), Colour Separation utility for colour printing, Mah Jong the
Game (needs an experienced Mah Jong player) MicroSpell, MTV Raytracer,
NovaPaint, SmArtoons, StarChart.  A
5.6

5.6
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.6
After my comments about the way so many marriages are messed up these
days, I want to think a bit about the children. Look around you at the
children you know. How many of them have to watch their parents ‘at war’
with one another? How many of them are with a parent who has lived with
various different partners? What chance do these children and young
people have of forming stable relationships with that kind of
background?
5.6
Oh, it’s easy to point the finger at other people, but if you are a
parent, or have any influence on young people, what kind of example are
you giving them? That’s a frightening thought − well, it is to me. I’m
not just talking about morality in relationships − though that is
obviously very important.
5.6
Presumably, you try to show your children the value of the individual
and how to respect other people’s views, even when you don’t agree with
them. Hopefully, you try to show them that you care for the future of
this planet...   I’m sure you could continue this list with other good
things, but I want to ask you, “What lead do you give your children,
spiritually?”
5.6
“I believe we should tolerate each other’s religious views and shouldn’t
try to ram religion down their throats.”  OK, so you’re not going to
force your views onto your children, but what are your views?
5.6
“Well, I think we ought to do good to other people. I try to do that and
I’m as good a “Christian” as those who go to church. Many of them are
hypocrites anyway!” I have no doubt that you are a good person and I
have no doubt that, sadly, many people who go to church are hypocrites
but what have you got to offer your children? Why should they even
believe in God?
5.6
There are many really genuine and loving people who act as if God didn’t
even exist. They have a morality, but where does it come from? In most
cases, it’s a cultural hang-over from the days when Britain was a
Christian country. But what have we to offer our children??!! We can’t
just pluck a morality out of thin air. Why should they accept the moral
standards of this generation of parents? Who are you (or who am I?) to
tell them what they should believe or how they should behave?
5.6
Children are often more spiritually aware than we give them credit for.
They know there’s more to life than the purely physical and material
things with which we fill our lives. Many of them are more aware than we
are of the reality of the unseen spiritual world. Why do so many
children get involved with ouija boards and the like?
5.6
I believe that there is a spiritual emptiness in their lives because of
the spiritual bankruptcy of ours. If there is a spiritual void in your
life, what is that communicating to your children? If you don’t know how
much God loves you, how can you communicate anything of that love to
your children. If not for your own sake, then for the sake of your
children, ask someone you know and respect, who is a Christian, how you
can fill the spiritual emptiness in your life.
5.6

5.6

5.6
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
5.6

5.6
4th Dimension     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.6
4mation 11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (0271−25353) (22974)
5.6
Abacus Training     29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
5.6
Acorn Direct     13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
5.6
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (210685)
5.6
Ace Computing     27 Victoria Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223−322559)
(69180)
5.6
Aleph One Ltd     The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(0223−811679) (812713)
5.6
Archimedes World     Argus House, Boundary Way, Hemel Hempstead  HP2 7ST.
(0442−66551) (0442−66998)
5.6
Arxe Systems Ltd     P.O.Box 898, Forest Gate, London E7 9RG. (081−534−1198
evenings)
5.6
Atomwide Ltd     23 The Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689−838852)
(896088)
5.6
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727−40303)
(60263)
5.6
Colton Software (p15)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (312010)
5.6
Computer Concepts (p32/33)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (231632)
5.6
Cumana Ltd     Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guilford  GU3 3BH.
(0483−503121) (0483−503326)
5.6
Dalmation Publications     37 Manor
Road, Teddington, Middlesex  TW11 8AA.
5.6
David Pilling     P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
5.6
Design Concept     30 South Oswald Road, Edinburgh, EH9 2HG.
5.6
Digital Services     9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS.
(0705−210600) (210705)
5.6
Domark     Ferry House 51−57 Lacy Road, London SW15 1PR. (081−780−2222)
5.6
DT Software     FREEPOST, Cambridge CB3 7BR. (0223−841099)
5.6
EMR Ltd     14 Mount Close, Wickford, Essex, SS11 8HG. (0702−335747)
5.6
Iota Software Ltd      St John’s
Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge  CB4 4WS. (0223−421542)
(0223−421543)
5.6
Irlam Instruments    133 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4HN.
(0895−811401)
5.6
Jim Markland     4 Shalford Close, Cirencester, Gloucester, GL7 1WG.
5.6
Klein Computers     Hasslocherstrasse 73, D-6090 Ruesselsheim, Germany.
(010−49−6142−81131) (81256)
5.6
Linear Graphics      Unit 39, Mochdre Industrial Estate, Newtown, Powys,
SY16 4LE
5.6
Lingenuity (Lindis)     P.O.Box 10,
Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 0DX. (0986−85−476) (460)
5.6
Longman-Logotron     124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4
4ZS. (0223−425558) (425349)
5.6
LOOKsystems (p9)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (764011)
5.6
Minerva Systems     Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(0392−437756) (421762)
5.6
Morley Electronics     Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29 7TY. (091−257−6355)
(6373)
5.6
Northwest SEMERC     Fitton Hill CDC, Rosary Road, Oldham  OL8 2QE.
(061−627−4469)
5.6
Oak Solutions (p10)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274−620423) (620419)
5.6
PEP Associates     55 St Paul’s Drive, Chatteris, Cambridge, PE16 6DG.
5.6
Pineapple Software     39 Brownlea
Gardens, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex IG3 9NL. (081−599−1476)
5.6
Ray Maidstone (p22)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603−400477) (417447)
5.6
RISC Developments Ltd    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (60263)
5.6
Sherston Software     Swan Barton,
Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH. (0666−840433) (840048)
5.6
Spacetech (p39)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.6
Triple R    P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.6
Turcan Research Systems     83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071−625−8455)
5.6
VisionSix Ltd (p31)    40 Royal
Oak, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 2DA.  (0665−510682) (0665−510692)
5.6
Watford Electronics     250 Lower
High Street, Watford, WD1 2AN. (0923−37774) (33642)
5.6
Widgit Software     102 Radford Road, Leamington Spa  CV31 1LF.
(0926−885303)
5.6
Word Processing     65 Milldale Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, W
Midlands  WV10 6LR.
5.6

5.6
Computer Concepts
5.6
From 5.5 page 32
5.6

5.6
Computer Concepts
5.6
From 5.5 page 33
5.6

5.6
Above and below, samples of scanned images from an Iota scanner.
5.6

5.6
Help!!!!
5.6
•    American square dance programs? − There is apparently a PC-type
program to enable calling moves to be choreographed on screen. Is there
an Archimedes version? If not, does anyone know where the PC version
comes from? J Daniels, London N21.
5.6
•    Archimedes projectors? − Chris Evans of CJE Micros would like to hear
from anyone who has experience of using an OHP type projection system to
display Archimedes screens. Epson do such a projector, he believes. Has
anyone tried it on the Archimedes? Chris Evans, 78 Brighton Road,
Worthing BN11 2EN. (0903−213900) (We’d be interested, too. Ed.)
5.6
•    Pattern recognition − I would like to obtain data sets, especially
images, suitable for evaluating classification, clustering or image
analysis algorithms − ideally some of those used in pattern recognition
literature. Please contact Graham Jones, 21e Balnakeil, Durness, Lairg,
Sutherland IV27 4PT. Phone 091 −181−396.
5.6
•    Portuguese Archimedes Users? If there is anyone in Portugal using an
Archimedes, please contact Gerry Knights, Casa Tropicana − Pateo,
Albufeira, Algarve.
5.6
•    RISC-iX users? − Are there any RISC-iX users around who would like to
share information (other than comments about the fact that we still
haven’t got RISC-iX issue 3, eighteen months after issue 2)? A.J.
Dobson, 203 Birmingham Road, Enfield, Redditch B97 6EA.
5.6
•    SCSI II implementation − Does anyone know of, or is anyone proto-
typing, a SCSI II implementation for the Archimedes? I want to try out
some optical discs that can store 128M on a 3½“ disc. However, the
interface must work on RISC-iX. A.J. Dobson, Redditch.
5.6
•    UNIX C to Acorn C − I am trying to convert a UNIX C program onto the
Archimedes but Acorn’s C compiler fails the UNIX system functions
read(), write(), lseek(), etc. Has someone written a C library called
‘UNIXLib’, which contains these functions? Contact Paul Bissonnette,
Ludwig-Thoma−Str. 2, W-8156 Otterfing, Germany.  A
5.6
Help Offered
5.6
•    Artificial neural nets − If you would like an implementation of a
WISARD net with C source, send a blank floppy and SAE to Graham Jones,
Durness, Lairg, Sutherland  IV27 4PT.
5.6
•    Draw file to Sprite conversion − In answer to John Evans’ query (5.5
p25) there is a program called RevXtra which comes as part of Longman
Logotron’s Revelation package which converts Draw files to sprites.
Robin Mattocks, Tadworth.
5.6
•    Keyboard/mouse recorder − There was a request last month for a program
to record and replay mouse movements and button clicks. Such a program,
Mouse-Recorder, is available from Klein Computers Germany. (It was
mentioned, albeit very briefly in Products Available the previous month
− Archive 5.4 p5.) Brian Cowan.
5.6
•    Scrabble − There is an excellent game of Scrabble that runs under the
emulator (V 1.6) and has a huge dictionary. It comes on a PD disc from
PC Assist Ltd (031−557−6432 / 9094). The only disadvantage is that the
emulator has to be configured to EGA so only about 80% of the board is
visible at one time. Allan Brown, Edinburgh.
5.6
•    Screening dongle cables − There was a request last month for informa
tion about screening of dongle cables. Apparently, RS Components sell
suitable screen material but it’s not cheap as you have to buy it in
reasonably large quantities. However, some people have had success with
double-sided adhesive tape and aluminium foil. Brian Cowan.  A
5.6

5.6
Language Column
5.6
David Wild
5.6
I have now received the agenda for the meeting of the Pascal Language
Forum which I mentioned in the last language column. It takes place on
the 3rd and 4th of April at the University of Reading and has a number
of potentially interesting sessions even for those whose work is not
primarily IBM PC oriented. Two in particular, on the first day, are to
do with “Quality Assurance and Development in Pascal” and “Source Code
Control”. On the second day the keynote address is on “Human Computer
Interface” and this is a subject on which the Archimedes has much to
offer.
5.6
Unfortunately, the meeting is rather expensive at £70 for members and
£100 for non-members with a booking fee of £20, but it would be nice if
some of the professionals writing in Pascal for the Archimedes could
begin to talk to other programmers and show them that we are not writing
for a “toy” machine.
5.6
Following the BETT show, I upgraded my copy of “Genesis” so that I could
study the script language included with it. I have received the upgrade,
but not yet the book, so I can’t really comment on it, but I am rather
interested in the idea of being able to do some of the work by using the
pointer on the screen and then refining it by editing the script
language. One of the problems with ordinary compiled languages,
including Pascal and ‘C’, is that you need to know quite a lot about the
way the compiler and linker work before you can even write the customary
“Hello World!” program. Something like Genesis can get you in at a much
higher level and allow non-programmers to be much more productive,
although in a limited field.
5.6
Many years ago, I worked with a decision-table pre-processor which
allowed the definition of parts of programs in a rather more understand
able way and then turned them into standard COBOL statements for
compilation. The COBOL included lots of “GOTO” statements but many of
the objections were avoided because nobody was expected to maintain that
language; all changes were made to the decision tables which were then
re-processed. Has anyone heard of any similar work being done in any of
the more modern languages? If they have, I would like to hear of any
experiences.  A
5.6

5.6
Hints and Tips
5.6
•    Alt key problems − (I think I’ll have to write this in six-foot high
letters. We’ve said it several times, but people keep missing out on
it.) If your <alt>-keypad numbers don’t give the special characters you
think they should, type *UNPLUG and you’ll probably find that someone or
something has unplugged the InternationalKeyboard module. If so, do an
RMREINIT InternationalKeyboard and all will be well. Ed.
5.6
•    Copy key use − I had not realised until recently that the copy key has
the function of “delete right” (as it does in Impression) in most RISC-
OS applications.
5.6
•    Floppy backup – (I know it’s obvious but...) On a single floppy disc
machine, if you want to backup up floppy discs in one chunk, i.e.
instead of having to take the discs in and out twice, call up the task
manager and increase the “Next” memory allocation to 800k or more. If
you don’t, it loads 640k into memory and copies that and then copies the
last 160k separately.
5.6
•    External floppy drives on A5000 − There seems to be some concern and
confusion over connecting extra floppy drives to the A5000 and over the
fact that ADFS treats the drives in a different way from previous
Archimedes computers. Let me try to explain.
5.6
The A5000 motherboard can access two internal floppy drives and two
external drives. However, many modern 3½“ drives can only be configured
as drive 0 or 1. Thus to allow a full complement of four drives, drive
selections 2 and 3 are transformed into 0 and 1 but on a separate ribbon
cable (as in a PC).
5.6
Here is the problem: If one internal drive is fitted (physical drive 0/
1) and an external drive is added (addressed as drive 3), then to access
the external drive you must ‘*configure floppies 4’, with the result
that you have two useless floppy drive icons!
5.6
The solution that Acorn has is: Logical to physical drive mapping,
whereby ADFS can be configured with two floppies but would access
physical drive 3 when requested to read from logical drive 1. In order
to achieve this, ADFS must determine which physical drives are present.
This is achieved after reset (or rmreinit) by performing a ‘restore’
operation on each physical drive and then testing for a track 0
indication from a functional drive. The following table depicts a
typical example:
5.6
      Physical Drive   Present    ADFS drive Nº
5.6
    0    −    −
5.6
    1    Y    :0
5.6
    2    −    −
5.6
    3    Y    :1
5.6
This has a benefit for production by permitting the single internal
drive to be physical drive 1, which is the default for the PC world, and
hence not requiring link changes. Note that the 82C710 controller fitted
to the A5000 has 48mA sink capability and therefore does not require a
buffer board to operate with 5¼“ drives fitted with 150R pullup
resistors.
5.6
Drive mapping was the main reason for accessing the floppy after a
reset, but once this approach was adopted, several other features were
possible.
5.6
(1) 40 track drive detection. MultiFS allows 40 track discs to be read
in 80 track drives but, if a real 40 track drive is fitted, the double
stepping mode is inhibited. This test is performed on all physical
drives detected and works by first seeking to track 44 (a 40 track drive
will block at track 40, 41 or 42) and then seeking to track 2 (42 step
pulses). A 40 track drive will indicate track 0 at completion. Thus, if
you have a 40/80 switchable drive, you should type ‘*rmreinit ADFS’
after changing mode to ensure ADFS knows about the change.
5.6
(2) During shipping, some floppy drives can have their heads shocked
beyond track 0 (negative track number). The 40 track drive detection
scheme ensures these drives will be recalibrated correctly.
5.6
(3) If you ‘*configure’ too many floppies, ADFS will only install the
number detected. Conversely if you ‘*configure’ too few drives, ADFS
will not use the excess physical drives (the physically greater drive
numbers will be ignored). Lastly, if the configured floppies is 0 then
ADFS will not attempt to select any floppies.
5.6
If you have configured the correct number of floppies, the extra time
spent ‘booting’ should normally be less than 250ms, that is 80 x 3ms
step pulses to detect a 40 track drive plus the time to initially
restore the head. Note that a configured 12ms step time is now trans
lated on an A5000 to 25ms to allow for very old/slow 40 track 5¼“ drives
sometimes found on prehistoric Beebs.
5.6
I think this should explain the different behaviour of ADFS on A5000.
(Could this also explain why the A5000 floppies seem slow compared to my
A540? Ed) However, if you are trying to connect 5¼“ drives to the A5000,
one other factor needs to be taken into account. Unless they are
modified, 5¼” drives cannot be mixed with 3½“ drives on the same ribbon
cable because of differences in pin out of the ‘disc changed’ and
‘ready’ signals. To work correctly on the internal drive connector, pin
34 must present the ‘disc changed’ signal (or be disabled) and pin 2
carries the density select from the FDC.
5.6
Therefore connect the 5¼“ drive on the external (middle) socket and make
the following link changes to the A5000:
5.6
LK18 (north and west of socket) in the West position (viewed from front
of m/c); LK19 (north and east of socket) should be removed (park the
jumper on the centre pin only); LK21 (south and west of socket) should
be removed (park the jumper on either pin).
5.6
These links only affect the external socket. To give the full informa
tion on it.
5.6
LK18 selects logic hi (west) or logic lo (east) for the high density
signal from the FDC
5.6
LK19 selects ‘density’ to drive (west) or ‘disk changed’ from drive
(east) or neither (removed) on pin 2 of drive interface
5.6
LK21 enables (jumper fitted) the disc changed signal from pin 34 of the
drive interface.
5.6
Your drive should then be configured as drive 0 or 1, remembering to
*configure floppies 2
5.6
The above information was culled from a bulletin board by Brian Debenham
of Chelmsford. One of our other subscribers got some help from Steve
Picton at IFEL who referred him to pages 1-23 and 1-26 in the A5000
Technical Reference Manual and included a useful table for link changes
as follows:
5.6
Drive type    link 18    link 19
link 21
5.6
PC-AT 1M / 2M    1-2    2-3    1-2
5.6
PS/2 1M / 2M    2-3    2-3    1-2
5.6
older 1M types    *    1-2    2-
3
5.6
most 5¼ drives    *    don’t fit    2-
3
5.6
    * = either position or don’t fit at all
5.6
It’s difficult to get at these links, so a pair of long nosed pliers is
extremely useful.  Bob Potter, Bath.
5.6
•    Lemmings − Did you know that a ‘blocker’ can be released by hitting it
in the right place with a ‘digger’ and also by burrowing very closely
underneath with a ‘basher’?
5.6
•    MS-DOS users − Even in CGA emulation, the latest emulator screen
updates can be very slow. However, some of the new utilities (like EDIT)
have a ‘switch’ to allow faster CGA updates so...
5.6
EDIT MYFILE.TXT /G
5.6
will edit the file with quicker screen updates (/G means “switch G”). In
true Archimedes style, HELP <command> now gives the syntax and meaning
of commands (about time, too!).  Paul Bamberger, Hinckley.
5.6
•    !MultiFS bug (with PCEmulator 1.70)? − Those of your readers using the
latest version (1.70) of the PCEmulator on RISC-OS 2 may be interested
in the following problem which I found recently. I have reported it to
Acorn, but have not had response yet. I understand that users of RISC-OS
3 need not use !MultiFS with the PCEmulator because of their different
disc handler, so they need not read further into this hint.
5.6
Following the correspondence in Archive about how to shut down a hard
disc reliably (See Archive 5.1 p26 ‘The Engineer Speaks’.) I now type
*SHUTDOWN just before turning off the power on my A540. After loading
!MultiFS on the icon bar, and then quitting it again, I found that when
I typed *SHUTDOWN, sometimes it just hung, sometimes I got an error
message, something like “Address exception at &01889 CE0”, and then I
could do nothing until after resetting the Archimedes, (<ctrl-break>
would not work). After the reset, *SHUTDOWN normally worked as usual,
occasionally, I had to turn off the power to reset it.
5.6
After a little research I found that when !MultiFS quits, it removes the
MultiFS module, but leaves MultiFS in the list of filing systems held by
‘FileSwitch’. Thus when *SHUTDOWN is trying to shut down all filing
systems, it cannot cope with MultiFS as the module is no longer loaded.
5.6
You can check which filing systems are known to ‘FileSwitch’ with the
following BASIC program:
5.6
 10 REM >FScheck  test which filing
5.6
 systems exist
5.6
 20 PRINT“Number Name”
5.6
 30 @%=6:DIM fsname% 20
5.6
 40 FOR F%=3TO255
5.6
 50 SYS “OS_FSControl”,33,F%,fsname% ,21
5.6
 60 L%=−1:REPEAT:L%+=1
5.6
 70 UNTIL fsname%?L%=0
5.6
 80 IFL%>0 fsname%?L%=13:PRINTF%“ ” $fsname%
5.6
 90 NEXT
5.6
To make ‘FileSwitch’ forget about MultiFS use the program below:
5.6
  10 REM >DelMultiFS  delete multifs filing system
5.6
  90 REM  see whether MultiFS is still loaded, if not, exit
5.6
 100 SYS “OS_FSControl”,13,“MultiFS” ,0 TO ,F%,T%
5.6
 110 IF T%=0 END
5.6
 120 REM  next line removes MultiFS
5.6
 130 SYS “OS_FSControl”,16,“MultiFS”
5.6
 140 END
5.6
While reporting this problem to Acorn, they gave me a very helpful
statement of the essential differences between the various ways of
closing down a hard disc system, which I feel sure they will not mind my
passing on.
5.6
*SHUTDOWN closes all open files on all filing systems, logs off all file
servers, causes hard discs to be parked.
5.6
*DISMOUNT closes all files, unsets directories and parks the given disk
(The currently selected drive on the current filing system is assumed if
this command is given without specifying the disc.)
5.6
*BYE closes all the files, unsets directories and parks the hard discs
on the currently selected filing system.
5.6
So you see the engineer was quite right, they are different. It depends
what your current disc is, and only the *SHUTDOWN parks the disks on ALL
the filing systems.   Kate Crennell, Didcot.
5.6
•    Mysterious error message from Hard Disc Companion II − In Archive Vol
5.4 page 3 you described the new version of the program from Risc
Developments. I upgraded from my old version recently and found that the
new version does not allow comments in the ‘Ignore’ part of the file
used to specify which directories and files are not to be backed up. I
found this a very useful feature of the previous version, and I should
like any other users who regret its passing to join me in asking Risk
Developments to put this feature back as soon as possible.
5.6
This is mildly annoying, but I found a more serious problem. The first
time I used the ‘Hard Disc Companion II’ it worked beautifully, but the
second time, it would not load onto the icon bar, instead I got the
usual ‘traffic sign’ warning window and a message “File not found at
line 49”. Neither the !Boot nor the !Run files had 49 lines in them. The
program is not written in Basic, so it has no line numbers. I eventually
found that since making my first full backup and trying to do the next
incremental backup, I had deleted one of the files which I had previ
ously said I wanted to ‘ignore’ in the ‘Choices’ file. Luckily, it is
possible to edit the ‘Choices’ file with !Edit, so I just took out that
line. I have reported this error to RISC Developments and they said they
hope to make the error message more informative and tell you the name of
the file which is missing.  Kate Crennell, Didcot.
5.6
•    Paper for inkjets − I have a Hewlett Packard Deskjet 500 inkjet
printer. I have had great trouble finding good paper − the main problem
seems to be how absorbent the paper is; too absorbent and you will get
white patches in your black areas, but not absorbent and it will smudge
across the paper! If you go into most paper suppliers or printers, they
will be happy to give you various samples that you can try. Make sure
when you test the paper that you include very small text, thin and thick
straight lines at various angles, fine and thick curves, shading, large
black areas and bit mapped graphics. I have ended up using “Mustang
Copier − Long grain 80gsm” for my draft printing (as it is cheap − about
0·5 pence per sheet) and Croxley Script 100gsm for quality work (this
works out at about 3 pence per sheet but is water marked and has a nice
feel to it). There is probably better paper available − I have only
tried about twenty types.  Paul Bamberger, Hinckley.
5.6
•    Pandora’s Box problems? − There seems to be an incompatibility between
Pandora’s Box and Acorn’s AKA16 MIDI card (v3.14). Therefore, to load
the game, simply type: *RMKill Midi <return> before attempting to run
it.  Rob Brown, Surrey.
5.6
•    Psion Organiser and the Archimedes − The PD program !Download, written
by Emmet Spier, works very well with the Psion Organiser. To upload from
an Archimedes to an Organiser, I created an application called !Upload,
consisting of a suitable sprite and a !Run file as follows:
5.6
IconSprites <Obey$Dir>.!Sprites
5.6
Filer_OpenDir serial:
5.6
C. Parker, Hong Kong.
5.6
•    Second internal 3½“ drive on the A5000 − I have fitted a second 3½”
drive internally on my A5000 with no problems at all.
5.6
The 3½“ drive fitted to the A5000 is a Citizen model OSDA20C. These do
not seem to be generally available in the UK. The Citizen OSDA39C is
easy to get and the ONLY difference (according to my experience and
Citizen UK) is that the drive light is a different colour. They are
generally available for about £75 + VAT but I got mine for £35 + £10
overnight delivery + VAT = £52.88 from:
5.6
CD2000, PO Box 1061, London Road, Slough, Berks SL3 8RE (0753−553366)
(fax 0753− 554661) who were super efficient and helpful.
5.6
There is a power plug already inside the A5000, so all you need is a 9“
drive cable. I have altered NO links or switches on the A5000. All I did
was set the tiny slider switch on the drive (next to the socket for the
data cable) to the opposite position on the drive already in the
machine. (Actually, this wouldn’t make any difference, as explained in
the section above about external floppies on the A5000. Ed)
5.6
You need 4 off 18mm spacers and 4 off screws (6BA I think) to fit the
drive to the bottom of the A5000 case. I used various spacers and nuts
to make up the 18mm and the drive has worked faultlessly. With RISC-OS 3
being so slow at any disc backing up or copying, the second drive is
essential.  Colin Thompson
5.6
•    Shrinking windows − A rare bug has just ‘bitten’ me while using
Impression. It’s not a bug in Impression, in fact, but a bug in RISC-OS
2. I was trying to change the size of the window on a large Impression
file by using the sizing icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the
window. The window jumped to about an inch high and would not go any
longer unless I clicked to open the window to full screen size − that
worked fine but as soon as I touched the sizing icon, the window
contracted! I tried various other Impression files but they were OK. I
restarted Impression, I cut and pasted the text, I saved the text and
created a new document but the window kept jumping back to this reduced
size! A phone call to CC revealed the reason. In RISC-OS 2, if the
window size is exactly 65,535 OS units in size, it gets confused and
loses the top bit of the window size number and thinks it’s a somewhat
shorter window. All I had to do was to create a new page in the document
and all was well. Alternatively, I could have changed the magnification
− even 1% change solves the problem. Presumably, the chances of it
happening are small (1 in 65,535?) and it has to be a large document −
mine was 28 pages displayed at 140% magnification.  A
5.6

5.6
Oak Solutions
5.6
From 5.5 page 31
5.6

5.6
Colton
5.6
From 5.5 page 20
5.6

5.6
Comment Column
5.6
The editor would like to point out that the views expressed here (and
elsewhere in the magazine, for that matter!) do not necessarily reflect
the views of the editorial staff of Archive magazine or of Norwich
Computer Services. This is an open forum in which readers can express
their views − as long as they are not libellous(!). Obviously, we do all
we can to check the factual accuracy of any comments made here.
5.6
Having said that this is an open forum, I do exercise a degree of
editorial control and, in particular, I will only print comments when I
believe that the intent of the writer is to improve the state of the
Archimedes market in general. If I feel that anyone is being destruc
tively critical, I will not print the remarks. So, I trust that any
company (including Acorn!) who feels “got at” will accept any criticism
that appears here in the spirit in which it is meant. In any case, as
you can see from some of the comments this month, we do allow
individuals and companies to exercise the right of reply.
5.6
•    A5000 or A310? − Which way to go? There are many existing 300 and 400
series owners who are wondering whether it is worth upgrading to an
A5000. The new machine is undoubtedly far superior to its predecessors,
but is it worth upgrading, or waiting for the next model (A6000)? These
are the thoughts of the owner of an A340+. (4 M, SCSI disk(s), VIDC, 30
MHz ARM3 etc.)
5.6
Against Upgrading to A5000
5.6
(1) The new Acorn multisync monitor is not a patch on multisyncs like
the Eizo 9060. The picture flickers and does not work very well in some
screen modes (e.g. mode 12!). If I bought an A5000, I would feel I was
throwing money away on an unuseable monitor. (NCS will swap the Acorn
monitor for an Eizo 9060S for an extra £200 − if you buy the A5000 from
us, that is! Or we can make some allowance if you want some other type
of monitor. There are many users of the standard resolution Acorn
monitors who want a multisync but can’t afford £500+. We have no trouble
in selling Acorn multisync monitors at £310. Ed.)
5.6
(2) Disc capacity is only 40M. For serious users, I would recommend a
minimum of 100M. Why isn’t there an option for this ? (NCS will add an
extra internal 100M IDE for £380 or swap the 40M for a 100M for £280.
Ed)
5.6
(3) Most of the PCB is surface mounted. This makes it more difficult to
expand the machine. If Acorn ever release the ARM4/5/6 processor, it
will probably be easier to retrospectively fit these to 300/400 machines
using a plug-in board (as the ARM3).
5.6
(4) Only 2M of RAM is fitted as standard. The first thing that most
A5000 users will want is more memory.
5.6
(5) Most powerful graphical computers now handle 24 bit colour. The
A5000 video circuit is not much of an improvement on my A310 with a VIDC
enhancer. I think that the next Acorn machine will have to have better
VIDC and MEMC circuits for improved graphical/memory performance.
5.6
(6) The keyboard hasn’t improved much since the A310 (Although there is
room on the main PCB to take a PC type keyboard interface, this is not
used.)
5.6
(7) The secondhand price of a 310 (even full of goodies) is not very
much now. This increases the effective price of the A5000.
5.6
(8) It is possible to fit an expansion board in the 300/400 that gives
you the same disc controller chip as the A5000. This allows for 1.6 M
floppies, IDE drive, bi-directional parallel port etc. I’m not sure if
this is mapped into the same memory location as the A5000 controller
chip but if it is, it should work under RISC-OS 3 just like in the A5000
! (Has anyone got any details of such add-ons? Are they actually
available? The DT Software one certainly isn’t ready yet. Ed.)
5.6
(9) Acorn have made the A5000 more like the A310 by dropping the high-
resolution monochrome video and 32 bit expansion bus (only podule banks
A and C are used − just like the A310). This should not be a problem
because I think that only the Acorn floating point expansion card (for
the 400 series machines) uses the 32 bit bus − and that doesn’t work
with the ARM3 anyway.
5.6
For Upgrading to A5000
5.6
(1) RISC-OS 3. This is not going to be available for the 300/400/A3000
machines, so it is rumoured, until the autumn!
5.6
(2) A major difference to the 300/400 machines is the inclusion of a co-
processor socket for a floating point accelerator. This requires direct
connection to the ARM3 (25MHz) bus so it would be difficult to fit to a
300/400 series machine.
5.6
(4) A new clock is available to the VIDC (25.175 Mhz) so that VGA
monitors can be driven more accurately. Not sure what use this is to a
RISC-OS user.
5.6
(5) The power supply is more beefy (10 amps at 5 volts).
5.6
(6) These is room for an extra floppy (or hard) disc drive. Also 1.6 M
(1.44 M PC) floppies can be used. This is VERY important to people like
myself who use their machines ‘at work’.
5.6
(7) The main RAM in the A5000 is clocked at 12 MHz (against 8 MHz in
300/400 machines). This should make the machine rather quicker, although
the exact speed improvement depends, as ever, on one’s particular
application. However, 60ns dynamic RAM is widely available. Acorn should
have made it a 16 Mhz machine with a 40 MHz ARM3 ! (Some people want
everything! Ed)
5.6
Acorn are not planning to sell the A5000 that I want to buy. Therefore
my intention is to wait and see what happens. The longer Acorn dither
about launching an entry level A5000, the more I consider continuing to
upgrade my A310 with yet more expensive add-ons.  Ralph Barrett, Oadby.
5.6
One important comment I would make from our experience at NCS is that
the more add-ons you put into a machine, especially an aging A310, the
more likely you are to get hardware problems, including hard disc
crashes, caused by bad interconnections on plugs and sockets and aging
components in power supplies. I’m sure Ray Maidstone will bear me out on
this one.... yes, he’s nodding! Ed.
5.6
•    CFS − Mike Hobart’s discussion of the Computer Concepts Compressed
Filing System (CFS) in Archive 5.4 p51 suggests that he is confused
about this utility.
5.6
It is not the case that “each file which you compress must be compressed
into a different directory from that in which it currently lives”. It is
hard to imagine that anyone would tolerate such a nuisance. I have
compressed the entire contents of my 50M hard disc using CFS, with the
exception of a 20M DOS partition and files involved in my boot sequence.
At no time have I been obliged to relocate files in order to compress
them.
5.6
CFS provides an alternative drive icon for every filing system on which
you install it. Clicking on a CFS drive icon gives access in the
familiar way to a hierarchy of CFS directory viewers, which present your
files to you in a compression-transparent way (i.e. as if nothing were
compressed at all). When you click on a normal drive icon, you access
the underlying file system and directory viewers reveal your file
structure as it really is − peppered with compressed files. CFS viewers
do not display different directories or files from those which you see
in non-CFS viewers: they just display the objects in your non-CFS file
system as if they had not been compressed.
5.6
To compress a file, or all the files in a directory, you drag the object
from a non-CFS viewer into a CFS viewer. To uncompress an object, you
drag the object in the opposite direction. Neither of these actions
duplicates any files. Any file can always be seen in both non-CFS and
CFS viewers: compressing it just causes it to appear with a Compression
icon in non-CFS viewers; decompressing it just causes it to appear with
its normal icon in any viewer. Thus Mike is also mistaken when he
writes, “you can compress whole directories at a stroke, but you need
enough free space to copy the source directory in its compressed form”.
Compression requires only enough free space to maintain a backup of the
source file being processed, and this is automatically deleted when
compression is complete. Thus, you can always compress a directory as
long as there is space for a transient backup of the largest single file
it contains.
5.6
Mike’s statement that “It is only after the file or directory has been
compressed that you can claim your new space by deleting the uncom
pressed parent” is very dangerously erroneous. Should you compress
everything in some non-CFS directory and then delete the “parent”, you
will not find your data safe in CFS. It will be gone: you have deleted
it.
5.6
I am very satisfied with CFS. By issuing *CFS at a safe distance into my
boot sequence, I make it the default filing system and thereafter
scarcely notice its existence. I have not bothered to avoid compressing
filetypes which do not compress well, e.g. apps. With thousands of files
in my system life is too short to be fussy, and compression causes no
problems, even when it does no good, unless you try to run compressed
files from outside CFS. The compression ratio is very impressive
considering the speed of the system: COUNT now reports more than 60M of
data on my CFS root directory, while FREE shows that only 39M are
physically used. Setting aside the uncompressed 20M DOS partition, this
means that some 40M have been squeezed down to 19M.
5.6
I have noted two pitfalls. The first concerns compressing or decompress
ing objects which are locked against deletion.
5.6
Suppose I attempt to compress a locked file MyFile by dragging it from a
non-CFS viewer to a CFS-viewer. This raises a Wimp error from the Filer
informing me that an unspecified object is locked. When I OK this error,
I find that MyFile has vanished. In its place is a compressed file
called CfsTmpFile. If I browse CfsTmpFile via CFS, I find that it is
indeed the compressed version of MyFile. So I try to rename it to
MyFile. Again, this raises a Wimp error from the Filer: the source
object is locked. Presumably, this is the same object to which the first
error referred. When I view the access flags on CfsTmpFile, I discover
of course that it is locked against deletion. This is what prevents it
being renamed, since renaming is tantamount to copying and deleting.
Finally then, I unlock CfsTmpFile and rename it to MyFile.
5.6
Suppose next that I attempt, instead, to compress a whole directory,
MyDir, by dragging it from a non-CFS viewer to a CFS viewer, and that
MyDir contains at least one locked file and at least one locked
subdirectory. If MyDir itself is not locked, then this proceeds without
a hitch, notwithstanding that MyDir contains locked files and locked
sub-directories. However, if MyDir is locked, the Filer complains as in
the previous case. When I OK this error, I now find that MyDir has
vanished, and that in its place is a directory CfsTmpFile, which is
locked against deletion and contains the same objects as MyDir − all of
them successfully compressed. So I unlock the directory CfsTmpFile and
then rename it to MyDir.
5.6
It is not obvious how to account for all this behaviour (which is
mirrored for decompression). I will suppress my own speculations here.
The point of practical value is this: When a (de)compression process
falls foul of a locked object, it can appear that the source object is
lost and that the target object has not been created; but in fact the
source object has been removed and the target object has been created as
CfsTmpFile in the same place. You will need to unlock this object; then
you can give it the correct name.
5.6
The second pitfall I have encountered with CFS can arise if you cause an
application to save its configuration while CFS is the current filing
system. In this case, the Config file will get saved in compressed form,
whether you like it or not. If the application happens to be run in your
boot sequence before CFS is activated, then the boot-sequence will
encounter some sort of error when your application cannot understand its
configuration data. You can avoid such snags nearly always by ensuring
that your boot-sequence runs CFS before any other applications. The one
case in which this will not work is when the Config file is !CFS.!Config
− !. Should you decide to install a new CFS filer for one of your drives
while CFS is current, you will find yourself in exactly this position
next time you boot up. CFS will have compressed its own Config file and
will be unable to start. Then, if you have compressed your hard disk
wholesale, you will be completely cut off from both programs and data;
in particular you will be unable to uncompress !CFS.!Config − because
CFS will not start. Your only salvation at this point is to re-install a
CFS filer for your hard disc from the master floppy, use it decompress
!CFS.!Config, then reboot your machine. Much better, always ensure than
you are working in a filing system other than CFS whenever you install a
CFS filer. Mike Kinghan, Oxford
5.6
•    CFS − Mike Hobart replies... Well, bless my cotton socks! I had not
realised that you can do anything so daft as to drag a file or directory
from one filer window onto “itself” in another and have something useful
happen. OK, that is what it says in the manual, but I thought I knew
better or I did not read it. Clever stuff from CC.
5.6
However, Mike is being a little illogical on the question of deleting
files. If you do it his way (i.e. the official CC way), you obviously do
not delete after compression. Compression has done it for you (subject
to the locked and CfsTmpFile hint, which I also did not realise). If you
do it my way, making new compressed directories, then you do delete the
old ones when you are satisfied that the new ones are OK. My way will
suit those with paranoia normalis! (Those with a horror of letting the
program do things to precious files without checking.) Mind you, I have
not had any lost data from Compression, and I do use it for all my new
compactible stuff, so maybe my paranoia is not so normal.
5.6
My experience with compression ratios is quite a bit worse than Mike’s,
but almost all my material is text, much of it in small packets. Sprites
can compress spectacularly: I have a scan of a letter in 1-bit-per-pixel
form, which compresses from 646k to 48k. It obviously all depends on how
close to random in content a file is, and I have no complaints about the
way files are compressed: I believe it is as good as you can get without
very fancy mathematics.  Mike Hobart, Cambridge.
5.6
•    Digitised Pictures − In Archive 5.3, p27 a service by PDSCC, PO Box
332, Bristol BS99 7XL was mentioned, offering a colour-scanning and
digitising service. I have made much use of the service for 256-colour
scans. Prices are reasonable at £7 for scans of 6 to 8 photos 140 mm ×
100 mm max. including two discs and postage. They have a leaflet.
Service is lightning-fast. I am very impressed indeed with the quality
of scanned photos. Avoid dark photos. Slides were not good. To get scans
of slides, I suggest you get them printed at 140 mm by 100 mm by a photo
shop and send the prints.
5.6
Only the standard Archimedes modes can be done (including multisync)
because of a limitation of the Risc User software on their Spectra
scanner, but RU are working on a fix to cover custom modes such as those
provided with Impression. You should specify the mode: 21 seems best.
You also need to specify the size of the image you want, as it will
appear when displayed in the mode you specify. If you will want to
display the sprite in another mode, take into account the size differ
ence between the modes.
5.6
The aspect ratio of the image varies, (that is, the ratio of length,
horizontally, to width, vertically) partly due to the scanner and partly
due to the screen mode in which the sprite is displayed, as follows. A
square image (ratio 1.00) has a ratio 1.06 on Mode 21, 1.23 in Mode 28
and 1.165 in Mode 79 (a Computer Concepts’ mode). So your picture will
be widened by an amount depending on the mode of display. Since mode 21
has square pixels, the 6% increase in width in that mode must be caused
by the scanner, so each of the other modes must be responsible for
increasing the width by 6% less than the above figures suggest.
5.6
You can correct this by loading the sprite into Draw and moving one of
the ears in its selection box to reduce the width. Don’t Save the
sprite: that will only save the original. To save the modified version,
use Paint’s “Get screen area” (reached from its Icon Bar) to grab the
modified sprite, remembering to give it a new filename.
5.6
Reductions to make sufficient correction can be made in this way without
degrading the image and, in fact, the image size can be increased as
well although much over 10% does degrade.
5.6
I have found that if a scanned photograph (not just one done by PDSCC)
which was prepared in Modes 21 or 28 is displayed in Modes 75 or 79,
there is a slight greenish patchy cast in some areas such as mid flesh
tones (e.g. under chins or sides of bare legs), and brown grassy
hillsides can be slightly grainy in that mode. These modes produce
‘bigger’ screens, i.e., images are smaller than in Mode 21. Since all a
mode change does is to alter the size (and aspect ratio) of all pixels
but does not otherwise change them, the effect must be due to my monitor
(a Taxan 770 plus multisync). Skin tones in sprites do contain some
green pixels. Perhaps green amongst medium browns gets exaggerated in
some way in the bigger modes. Has anyone got any explanation? This
month’s disc contains two sprites from my photos, to show the high
quality (SDownsWay and StChelys). The former shows the green cast on the
ploughed field on the left in Modes 75 and 79. (The green water in the
latter is natural).  Steve Kirkby, Sutton.
5.6
•    Domark’s 3D Kit − I ordered Domark’s 3-D Construction Kit for my A420/
1 in December. Delayed by packaging problems, it was sent at the end of
January. The stout box held a 20 minute demo & tutorial video covering
8-16-32 bit versions, a registration card, a well-printed 62 page A5
manual and the Archimedes Version 1.0 disk. This disk was not copy-
protected, and a working copy runs from hard or floppy disks. I only
tried ADFS. The copyright and F.A.S.T. notices are discrete.
5.6
The 3D Kit is great fun. The control panel is complex but includes UNDO.
It behaves like a 3D version of Draw. It does not ray-trace! You start
with a set of simple flat and solid shapes, then stretch, move,
duplicate and stack them. It uses ½ cm units, but only triangles and
your view can be rotated. All else must be NS or EW. The Version 1.0 Kit
is more LEGO than CAD, but Domark promise better to come. The Kit’s
Freescape Control Language provides easy animation and events. Play the
Demo game, then explore it for ideas and 3D-clip art.
5.6
The Archimedes 1.0 version is single-tasking, like the original PC
Emulator. It needs at least 700k of applications RAM. The manual
explains how to fit it into 1M machines. It does not recognise a RAM
disk. On exit, it returns to an intact desktop. The environment is very
PC-like, with pull-down menus and short-cut buttons. The filing
facilities are adequate. Up & Down tree buttons simplify directory
searches. Objects, methods, data etc have their own prefixes so each
part of the program knows its own files. There is a minor bug in the
Save-File menu. You have to click off to the right of the NAME? prompt
before a blank text box appears. I spent 45 frantic minutes finding
this!
5.6
The object editor is easy to use at first. Objects may be grouped and
moved as a set. Multiple areas provide isolation. Things get tricky when
the number of objects increases. Cuboid34, Pyramid12, Group5, Routine43
is the editor’s best. Objects are not named and Grouped objects not
indented or flagged. You need to access the Group editor and keep notes.
Alas, there is no obvious LIST facility and Edit can’t read the files.
Perhaps the official Kit User Group can help?
5.6
The 3D Kit Version 1.0 is great fun. Think of it as a 3D version of
Draw, with those vital utilities still to come. Don’t tackle a big
project without careful planning. Domark promise library disks and
support. Nik Kelly, Liverpool
5.6
•    Hearsay II DOES have a programmable keyboard − Ooops, we’ve done it
again! We have mis-represented Beebug / Risc Developments. Sorry! This
time it is over Alan Highet’s comments in Archive 5.5 p11. He said that
the advertising claim about Hearsay II having a “fully definable
keyboard” was misleading because you can only re-program the function
keys. In fact, that it is not true. You can program almost all the keys
including the ones he wants for VT220 emulation. In fact, the six keys
that Alan mentioned are already programmed to give the VT220 escape
sequences.
5.6
Our only mitigation is that Alan rang Beebug to check his facts and
based his comments on the (incorrect) advice he was given over the
phone. Sorry for any implied slur on Beebug’s advertising ethics.
(Anyone who has read the editorial in this month’s Risc User will
realise why I don’t want any more misunderstandings.)
5.6
•    High density floppy discs − In response to earlier comments about
using double density discs (800k) on the A5000 as if they were high
density (1.6 M) discs, A.J. Dobson wrote and explained why it is not a
good idea to do so. The explanation talked about magnetic field
strengths, domains and the use of cobalt in the material but, from a
practical point of view, what it boils down to is that double density
discs may format to high density and accept data but beware that, in the
course of time, you may find that they become progressively unreadable.
So it may seem a useful economy, but don’t rely on it as a long-term
solution. A.J. Dobson, Redditch.
5.6
•    Module virus − Last month, we reported that Archimedes World had a
strain of the module virus on their February program disc and that the
virus was worse than the Icon virus. Since then, several virus killers
have been produced and updated that will remove the infection without
any harm to the system what-so-ever. To their credit, Archimedes World
have now recalled (and replaced) the infected disc and offered an
additional program disc along with the appropriate virus killer.
5.6
•    Multisync monitors − The subject of multi-sync monitors is a dangerous
one to pronounce upon because it is so subjective. You only have to read
the debates on any of the bulletin boards to see totally opposing views
being expressed. I find that some monitors impress me when I first see
them but then, as I use them, my keenness fades. It’s no good just
seeing them for five minutes at a computer show or in a show room. The
acid test is whether, after continuous use, they still seem easy and
pleasant to use. I have used the monitors under discussion for at least
several days each and, in some cases, considerably longer. Anyway, for
what it is worth, here are my views.
5.6
I am sad that Eizo have seen fit to discontinue the 9070 as that has
been my favourite in terms of value for money for a medium sized monitor
for quite some time. However, that leaves us with three 14“ multi-sync
monitors (Acorn AKF18, Eizo 9060 and Taxan 795), one 17” (T560i) and one
20“ (Microvitec 2038). These are the only monitors we have actually
experienced working on the Archimedes machines and so are the only ones
we sell. One reader says he has a NEC 3D working but when we tried it a
couple of years ago we had no success. However, on his advice, we are
going to try it again as soon as we can − also the 4D and 5D which may
provide some competition in the medium and large sizes.
5.6
In the 14“ size, I actually prefer the Eizo 9060SZ (£530) to the Taxan
795 (£600 including a VIDC enhancer) even though it hasn’t got quite
such a small dot pitch (0·28mm cf 0·26mm). To me, it seems just as clear
and I don’t like the two line shadows that appear across the screen on
the 795. These appear on all Trinitron monitors and are something to do
with the construction of the tube. The lines are not noticeable on a
moving picture or on a grey background but with a white background (as
used in Impression which I use all day, every day) the lines are clearly
visible though, after a while, you tend not to notice them. The Acorn
AKF18 is obviously not going to be as clear as the other two 14”
monitors as its dot pitch is only 0·39mm but at £310, it is good value
for money compared to £530 and £600. It is certainly better than the
Acorn standard resolution monitor at £255 which, not being multisync,
cannot display the hi-res modes at all. (It can only display 256
horizontal lines, not 512.)
5.6
Going up to 17“, I think the Eizo T560i (£1240) is an extremely good
monitor, despite what I have just said about Trinitron tubes! The
display is the clearest I have seen on any monitor. In terms of
functionality, it is also the best of all those we stock. With all the
14” monitors, as you change from mode to mode, there is always some
adjustment needed in position and size of the screen display. The T560i
is microprocessor controlled which means you can “teach” it every aspect
of the screen shape, colour, size, position, brightness etc for each
mode you use − you can even adjust out the pin-cushion and trapezoidal
distortion and the vertical and static convergence for each individual
mode! This means that, once you have got it set up, you can use every
square inch of the screen in virtually every mode without having to do
any knob-twiddling. I say ‘virtually every mode’ because in the low
resolution (256 line) modes, like mode 12, you can only expand the
picture vertically to about half the height of the screen. Mind you, the
display is so clear that it’s perfectly usable. It’s clearer than it
would be on a 256 line monitor but it just feels as if you’re not
getting full value for money because the whole screen is not being used!
As with the Taxan 795, it uses a Trinitron tube, so you do get the two
shadow lines but it is nowhere near as obvious as in the 795.
5.6
(Eizo are currently trying to convince me that the T560iT is worth the
extra £100 or so over the T560i. They say that the anti-reflective
coating on the screen makes it much clearer and it is also designed to
the very tightest radiation regulations in Europe. However, until I have
actually tried one, I am not prepared to comment.)
5.6
My current favourite at 20“ is the new Microvitec 2038 (£1540) which,
again, is micro-processor controlled although it hasn’t got the range of
variables of the T560i − just size and position of screen. It is well
able to display the full resolution that the Archimedes can produce but,
I find, is unnecessarily large for desk work. Indeed, when I used the
2038, I had to move my desk away from the shelf on which the monitor was
supported. For a classroom display it is excellent but for individual
work, I feel that it offers no significant advantage over the T560i, so
my advice would be to save yourself the £300 and buy a T560i (or a
T560iT????).
5.6
VIDC Enhancer I am often asked if a VIDC enhancer is needed with multi-
sync monitors. In the case of the A540 and the A5000, the hardware
includes the equivalent of a VIDC enhancer, so all you need is the
appropriate enhancer modules. Atomwide have produced an A540 enhancer
modes disc (£5 through Archive) but not yet one specifically for the
A5000, though in my experience, the A540 version seems to work on the
A5000.
5.6
!SetIcons on RISC-OS 3. One other point to make is that, with the A5000
you will find that the hi-res icons from the !SetIcons application are
not very effective in some of the modes like 102 or 106. Paradoxically,
you are better with the lo-res icons. The reason is that modes like 102
and 106 are actually a lo-res modes! They are lo-res in the sense that
the icons only occupy a small number of screen pixels − that’s why you
can get so much info on the screen at one go. The hi-res icons, are
designed for those modes which use more pixels to display each icon so,
by reducing the number of pixels, you get a picture which can actually
look worse than in a lower resolution mode.
5.6
•    OCR software − Having seen OCR at work on PC’s, I have come to the
conclusion that spotting errors in the resulting text takes so long that
OCR is no more than a gimmick − hardly a useful tool unless you are
extremely slow at typing. Paul Bamberger, Hinckley.
5.6
•    PC software compatibility − As a result of last month’s short
selection of compatible software I have had calls from as far away as
Sweden. I need to be a little more specific about the differences
between Dos 3.2 & 3.3. The incompatibility is only between the Backup
and Restore files in the two versions. If you backup with a 3.2 Backup
and try and restore with a 3.3 Restore it will not. You will need to
restore the files with Restore from version 3.2.
5.6
Software    Dos
5.6
As Easy As    3.3
5.6
Calendar Creator 3    3.3
5.6
Chessmaster 2100    3.3
5.6
Direct Access 5    3.3
5.6
Fast Back 2.1    3.2
5.6
Gem Windows    3.3
5.6
Harvard Graphic 2.3    3.3
5.6
Harvard Project Manager 3    3.3
5.6
Lotus Agenda 2    3.3
5.6
Lotus Magellan    3.3
5.6
Lotus Symphony    3.3
5.6
Money Manager PC    3.3
5.6
Norton Commander 3    3.3
5.6
PC Globe 3.01    3.3
5.6
PC Today Virus Scan F19    3.3
5.6
PC Tools 6    3.3
5.6
Portex Professional 2.5    3.3
5.6
Printmaster 3    3.3
5.6
Q & A 3    3.3
5.6
Safety First PAT    3.3
5.6
Snijders-Oomen 1.0    3.3  *
5.6
Sidekick 1.58    3.3
5.6
Sideways 3.21    3.3
5.6
Time Works 2.1    3.3
5.6
Xtree Prof. Gold 1.3    3.3
5.6
Word 5.5    3.3
5.6
Word Perfect 5.1    3.3
5.6
 *Snijders-Ooman Non Verbal Intelligence Scale v1.0 − Runs on emulator
v1.7 with Dos 3.3 version 1.1 runs on DrDos 5.
5.6
Non Runners:
5.6
Jetsetter 5.0    5.0
5.6
This loads and works with the mouse fairly happily until you try the
“Trace” function then the whole system locks up on an unknown Opcode and
I can only get back into the emulator by turning the machine off. Mike
Clinch
5.6
•    Scan:Align − Tord Eriksson rightly pointed out in his review of
ScanLight 256 (Archive 5.5, p.61) that hand-held scanners suffer from
problems of alignment, resulting in twisted or skewed images. Happily, I
can report that if you are reluctant to trade in your hand-held scanner
for a flatbed scanner because of the cost, you can instead buy an
alignment aid, Scan:Align by name, that can solve the problem by guiding
the scanner head and holding the illustration steady. I came across it
in a PC mail-order catalogue and hoped it would improve my ScanLight
Junior’s performance.
5.6
The equipment consists of a robust flat plastic base, inscribed with
various grids and gauges, to which is attached a thin clear acetate
sheet and over that a hinged guide frame. The packaging also contains
four plastic templates of different designs to match various scanner
head sizes.
5.6
The principle of operation is simple: the scanner head fits snugly into
the template, which slides between the edges of the guide frame, thus
keeping true alignment for the whole scan. The acetate sheet is for use
with items that are too small to be gripped by the frame edges: just
slip them under the sheet, which is thin enough (in theory) to keep the
image crisp.
5.6
At first, I was stimied because none of the templates matched the
Mitsubishi scanner. A quick phone call to the manufacturers in Dallas,
Texas, established that I could post or fax a tracing round my scanner
head to them to obtain an appropriate template. I opted for the latter
method, and within four days (not bad!) an envelope arrived containing a
different template, at no cost apart from the phone and fax calls. Even
the new template didn’t quite fit, however, which is not really
surprising because Scan:Align is squarely aimed at the PC and Macintosh
market; however, a little careful shaving with a penknife quickly
achieved the desired fit.
5.6
Does it work? Well, practically any flat surface would, I suppose, have
been an improvement on my old set-up, but the grids made it easy to
align the originals, and the clear sheet certainly held small artwork
well without introducing distortion. At 400 d.p.i. it isn’t easy to
align straight lines parallel to the scan direction to an accuracy of
better than three or four pixels over a scan of about 10 centimetres
(which is a tall order anyway, I feel), but at least they are straight.
The unretouched example frame shown below was originally 11 centimetres
tall.
5.6
Overall, despite the initial teething trouble, the Scan:Align works
well, and now I can scan originals wider than the scanner by doing it in
strips and then assembling them either by putting DTP graphic frames
together or by using Paint to produce one large sprite. So who needs a
full-width scanner?
5.6
Scan:Align isn’t cheap, but it’s effective. It costs £51.05 (inc VAT &
carriage) from Power Up! Software U.K. Ltd, 100 Mytchett Road, Mytchett,
Camberley, Surrey GU16 6EZ (0252−376000).  Bruce Goatly, London
5.6
•    Scanlight Professional − Ever since Computer Concepts announced the
Scanlight Professional flat bed scanner, I have been eager to see how
good they really were. Now that we have them available ex-stock, Paul
finally agreed to let me to ‘play’ with one.
5.6
I wanted to see what it would be like to use a scanner that was fast and
which you did not have to ‘drag’ over the image several times before
getting a usable result − or at least I found that I used to need
several attempts, I don’t know about anybody else!
5.6
Setting the scanner up was very easy indeed. It only took a matter of
minutes to unpack and install. This was partly due to the fact that I
had an Acorn SCSI card which did not need to be told about the scanner,
but apparently even this is a simple enough operation. The controlling
software is essentially the same as the Scanlight 256 (cf Archive 4.11
p24), which is effective and simple to use − although there are a few
minor bugs.
5.6
A full page (216mm x 300mm) mono image took only 25 secs to scan at 300
dpi. This time is approximately the same for the 16 and 256 grey scale
scans. Unfortunately, you will find that scanned images require a lot of
memory. A full page mono image takes up almost 1.3M. A full page 256
grey scale image would take eight times as much memory, over 8M!
Unfortunately, I only have a 4M machine so I couldn’t try it out.
Perhaps, CC should think of using a compression system?!
5.6
Despite my lack of memory, I was able to scan everything I wanted and
with great ease. I even managed to use some of the simple image
processing provided (without referring to the documentation, tut tut) to
enhance the images I had obtained, save them as sprite files (or, if
required, a draw file) and then import them into my own documents.
5.6
The resolution of the image was also astounding − as, I suppose, it
would be with any 256 grey scale, 300 dpi scanner. I was really taken
back by the detail reproduced when I scanned the front of a Hayes Car
Maintenance Manual. Especially when you consider that all I had to do
was lay the book on the scanner and tell the computer to scan!
5.6
If I had to recommend the Scanlight Professional above the other
Computer Concepts’ scanners, I would say that it offers excellent, high
resolution scanning facilities with a great deal of ease and accuracy.
The fact that the scanner uses a SCSI interface also offers a potential
saving for existing SCSI users. However, at £970 (Archive members’
price) you should consider whether you really need the accuracy and the
extra time that can be saved, bearing in mind that with time and
patience (and a little co-ordination on my part), similar results can
still be achieved with the other CC’s scanners.   Adrian Look, N.C.S.
5.6
The picture opposite just gives an example of the sort of thing you can
achieve − and that with a ScanLight JUNIOR 256, not the Professional.
5.6
•    SkyHunter − (The co-author replies...) Thank you for your review of
SkyHunter in Archive 5.5 p18 and especially for taking the care to test
the program with a variety of groups of children.
5.6
I was particularly interested in the reviewer’s response to the program
taking over the whole of the screen whilst running. I did consider the
possibility of writing it as a desktop application but could not, in the
end, see any good reason. The nature of each puzzle generally requires
the whole screen to be visible, in order for the puzzle to be meaning
ful. I do feel cautious about the trend to say that everything should
automatically run in a window, especially for the age range for whom
this program is intended. I would be pleased to see further debate on
this, particularly from other practising teachers.
5.6
The reviewer is right in saying that the Archimedes version is slightly
more expensive than the BBC model B and Master versions. However, the
Archimedes does benefit from redesigned graphics and the sprite handling
routines were also re-written to take advantage of the greater perfor
mance and memory of the Archimedes. Can I also reassure readers that
this is not a program which runs under BBC emulation but runs from, and
correctly returns to, the desktop.
5.6
Teachers who find the Sky Hunter application a valuable resource might
like to know that I am currently working on Archimedes versions of two
other Look and Read adventures which I originally wrote for the BBC.
These will be available in the Autumn, also published by Longman
Logotron. Peter Smith, Co-author of Sky Hunter.
5.6
•    Technical Help − As you may know, Archive runs a telephone Technical
Help Service. The idea is that, for a £10-a-year registration fee, you
can phone us up with your technical problems and we will try to give you
an answer you there and then. If not, we’ll try to pass you on to
someone else who should be able to help.
5.6
However, if you don’t register with the T.H.S., I’m afraid that we
cannot answer your telephone technical questions (unless they are sales
enquiries, e.g. “What disc drive ought I to buy?”) − it would not be
fair on those who have paid their £10, if we spent time giving answers
to other people. We have had one or two irate people on the phone who
think that being a subscriber to the magazine should entitle them to use
us as a consultancy. We’d like to help, but there are limits to what we
can do. So, what we say is that non-THS people can write their queries
down on paper and send them in to us and we’ll answer them as soon as we
can but please don’t give Ali or Adrian a hard time on the phone just
because they refuse to give you telephone technical help. Thanks.
5.6
•    Trace from David Pilling − When I read the review of David Pilling’s
Trace application in Archive 5.4 p61, I could see it was going to be a
very useful tool for DTP, and at the price of £5.99 even an impoverished
student like me could afford a copy.
5.6
I would endorse the recommendation of your reviewers. For example, I
took and converted a PCX format image of a Care-Bear from an IBM format
Shareware clip art collection. I converted this into an Archimedes
sprite using !Translatr (Careware 13 or Sharewares 32 or 43) persuading
it to output a 360k colour sprite in mode 82. As the original was a
black and white image, I used pattern fill to produce colour, I used the
standard Paint application to replace dot-filled areas with colour
fills. This took about 40 minutes of careful work but could be done a
lot quicker with a more sophisticated art package. The result from this
I fed into Trace, waited about 15 minutes (on my ARM 2) and the result
was an 18k colour Draw file which is easy to tinker with to get the
colours etc just right. The improvement in versatility of these images
from Impression II is significant and I don’t have to keep the large
sprite on the computer any more. Trace is a simple package to use,
though with some images, the ‘error’ setting needs to be tinkered with
to end up with simple curves in the resulting Draw file.
5.6
It’s only really worthwhile doing this sort of manipulation to an image
if you expect to use it several times over. The alternative of enlarging
with a photocopier and cutting and sticking onto the final print before
it is copied is usually much quicker for almost all practical purposes −
assuming there is a photocopier to which one has access. However, this
way is a lot more fun and there is much more versatility in the
processing. Ian Gooding, Queen’s College, Edgbaston.
5.6
(Also, the results of your labours can be passed on to other Archimedes
users on disc − we now have a lovely Care-Bear on the office wall!)
5.6
•    Virus Kit v1.17 − Some people have had a few problems running version
1.17 of the virus killer, which is supplied on Shareware 17 and on the
Archive 5.5 program disc. Here are a few hints that might help you to
solve them:
5.6
(i) You should let your Archimedes see either a !System folder or !Scrap
file before running the !Killer application.
5.6
(ii) Some sticky backdrops clash with the !Killer application and so
should not be used at the same time.
5.6
(iii) If you have caught the module virus, it is possible for the
VProtect module in the !Killer application to become infected and so
prevent the program from being run.
5.6
• Acorn Virus Kit (latest) − Acorn have decided to make the latest
version of The Virus Kit (currently 1.26) available through Pineapple
Software rather than Acorn Dealers. This will allow them to keep tighter
control over the version being distributed and any updates. Contact
Pineapple Software for availability though distribution isn’t due to
start until May.
5.6
•    Wimp programming oddities? In the process of developing a wimp utility
in 100% machine code, I’ve come across a few things that other program
mers might like to look out for...
5.6
Menus − You can click the mouse in a menu one pixel above the first menu
item (and also one pixel below the last item). The result is that
Wimp_Poll returns a menu tree of zero length to your program i.e. the
first word is returned as −1. Once I had found this (it crashed my
program completely on random mouse clicks!) I tried it out on all the
programs I could find. The easiest test is to click the menu button and
then the adjust button without moving the mouse. Most commercial
programs weather it OK, just redrawing the menu. Some that don’t are
Menon 1.86 (which gives a “bad string” error), Ian Copestake’s IDEFS
(which comes up with “File ‘:4’ not found”), and the Cross-32 assembler
(which corrupts its menu title to “Crosr 32”).
5.6
Zooms − I’ve seen <adjust> reverse-scrolling mentioned several times,
but this applies (or should apply, anyway!) to just about anything with
arrow icons on it; notably the zoom-windows in Paint/Draw and all the
nudge arrows in Impression.
5.6
Variable Filetype Variables − Regarding David Lenthall’s article in
Archive 5.5 p 63, I’m using a user file type and have found that the way
round file type clashes is, in fact, already built into RISC-OS! You
don’t need to create extra system variables to shift file type numbers
about:
5.6
SYS “OS_FSControl”,31, “FileTypeName” TO ,,FileTypeNumber%
5.6
works equally well (now we just have to persuade everyone to do this
rather than using absolute file types in their programs). Fred Williams,
Cannock Wood  A
5.6

5.6
Scanned from a photograph with ScanLight Junior 256 ouput as
256 greylevels 150 d.p.i.  Printed at 600*300 d.p.i. at 100% original
size.
5.6

5.6
Scanned with ScanLight Junior 256, output as 256 greylevels at 80 d.p.i.
Printed at 600*300 d.p.i. at 50% actual size.
5.6

5.6
Hardware Column
5.6
Brian Cowan
5.6
Floating points
5.6
When I bought my A540 machine last year (yes I know, with hindsight, it
was a silly thing to do) I was told that a Floating Point Accelerator
chip would shortly be available on a replacement A540 ARM3 CPU card. I
am still waiting. In the mean time the A5000 has arrived, with a space
on the circuit board for the FPA chip to fit directly.
5.6
As I have explained in the Hardware Column before, Acorn’s old-style
floating point coprocessor cannot be used on an ARM3 system because the
RAM cache sits between the CPU and the external data bus. The coproces
sor then has to be connected to the “raw” data bus of the CPU (the
coprocessor bus). In many cases, the old coprocessor was still rather
slow and hardly worth the £500 or so that Acorn were asking for it. The
FPA chip, when it arrives will be suitable for the A5000 and the A540,
but what about the ARM2 based machines? Obviously, a combined ARM3+ FPA
upgrade will become available, seeing as the FPA chip must be connected
directly to the ARM3 coprocessor bus. Perhaps ARM3 upgrade manufacturers
will offer part-exchange trade-ins.
5.6
DT Software’s FPA
5.6
While we are all waiting for Acorn’s elusive FPA chip, there is another
option available from DT Software. As mentioned in last month’s Archive,
they are launching a floating point accelerator podule, based on an
80287XL chip. This is the floating point coprocessor used by the 80286
CPU in all those PCs and it will perform IEEE 80 bit arithmetic, running
at 33MHz. This is a clever idea, to harness an industry standard chip
for Archimedes use. Everything depends on the software support. In use,
the podule plus its software replaces the function of the floating point
emulator. Thus it should be invisible to the user (except for its
speed!) and usable equally with ARM2 or ARM3 systems.
5.6
The claim is that it gives between three and four times speed increase
on multiply and even faster improvements on trigonometrical functions.
On ARM2 machines the speed increase should be even greater. At £174.95
(£165 through Archive), this is an attractive product for speeding-up
your machine. Remember, it will do nothing for Basic V, although it will
improve the speed of the A5000’s optional higher precision Basic VI,
which uses external floating point support. I am sure that this unit
will be a boon to power users of Draw and other graphics programs which
make intensive use of floating point (and trig) calculations. I will let
you know more when I have had a chance to try one.
5.6
PC cards − again
5.6
I can’t believe for how long I have been writing in these columns that
we should be having a PC card “soon”. As I write this, I have yet to see
one but I am expecting that by the time you read this I will actually
have one of my own.
5.6
There are two companies that I know of working on PC cards, Aleph One
and Watford Electronics. Both products will be based on a 386SX CPU, a
popular version of the 32 bit ’386 having a 16 bit external data bus.
Both single width podules will have space on them for a 387SX floating
point coprocessor and both will support DOS partitions on hard discs and
will read and write DOS floppies on the internal floppy drive but there
are some subtle differences between these two products. The Aleph One
card is designed to appear as a super-fast version of the PC emulator,
while the Watford unit should be seen as a PC hooked into the Archi
medes.
5.6
Video options
5.6
The Aleph One programmers have been working hard optimising the code for
driving the screen display. In many respects, this is the weak link in
the scheme since, in going through the Archimedes display hardware, the
PC screen and graphics are still being emulated. This is unavoidable
when running the DOS session in a window but when single-tasking, there
is another option. The PC card could then drive the monitor directly.
This is the mechanism adopted by Watford. Their card includes full VGA
hardware with 256k of video RAM. The monitor is connected directly to
the DOS card, while the Archimedes video output is looped into the DOS
card. A software-controlled switch then routes either the Archimedes’
video or the DOS video output to the monitor, so that you can get the
best of both worlds. Using this system, in full screen mode, you should
get the full speed of the PC on your podule. However, my understanding
is that when running the DOS session in a RISC-OS window, the implemen
tation relies on having an appropriate driver − a text/character based
driver is available and others may be produced. This is a different
approach from the Aleph One full graphics implementation, which includes
CGA, VGA and EGA.
5.6
Expansion
5.6
Another difference between the two products is that the Watford card
will have a full standard ISA 16 bit expansion bus. Thus, one will be
able to use 8 or 16 bit PC expansion cards. This opens up a whole range
of expansion options, including dedicated hard discs, floppy discs,
keyboard etc. The hardware sounds superb but performance will depend on
the quality and the facilities provided by the software.
5.6
RAMifications
5.6
The Aleph One card comes with 1M of RAM, which, by changing the chips,
may be increased to 4M. Watford’s card has 2M as standard, with space
for another 2M. With this sort of RAM on a card, it is a pity to waste
it if DOS is not being used. It would be highly desirable to use the
RAM, in that case, as a RAM disc for RISC-OS. This should be fairly easy
to implement. Slightly more complex, but possible, would be to have this
extra RAM appear as Archimedes RAM. Then on the other side, if DOS is
running but the card does not have sufficient RAM for the application,
it would be sensible if the card could “borrow” RAM from the Archimedes.
Hopefully software to support such operations will be forthcoming.
5.6
Coprocessing
5.6
But there is more. If you have a DOS card with a ’387 floating point
coprocessor installed and if you are not running DOS, (or even if you
are) it should be possible to utilise the card rather as the DT Software
FPA, to assist RISC-OS in performing its floating point calculations.
Thus the DOS card should be able to function as an FPA.
5.6
Finally, let us turn the tables in considering graphics with the Aleph
One card. Unlike the Watford card, in full screen mode, this card still
sends its graphics to be processed by the ARM before display. So, in
effect, the ARM chip could be regarded as a graphics coprocessor for the
DOS card. There are many possibilities for exploiting such a system. In
all these discussions, the hardware will be defined but I hope that I
have demonstrated that there are exciting possibilities for software to
exploit the hardware in unusual ways. These may well be where DOS cards
in the Archimedes make the most impact.
5.6
Emulator “features”
5.6
Let us now consider a few questions which are partly related to the PC
emulators and partly to some new features in RISC-OS3. As mentioned in
Archive last month, with version 1.70 of the PC emulator, DOS partitions
are given a special file type, FC8 (DOSdisc), which are not deletable.
These files have some other interesting properties. Their icon looks
like a hard disc drive in a directory folder which is a good representa
tion of what these files are. Now RISC-OS3 has MultiFS built in, so that
clicking on one of these files opens up a DOS directory viewer and the
DOS files may be accessed directly; MultiFS comes into action quite
invisibly − very neat!
5.6
The problem is that this no longer happens if the PC emulator is
running. If you try to access the DOS partition from RISC-OS, an error
comes up telling you that the file is already open. In some respects
this is understandable since DOS speeds up hard disc access by cacheing
the disc map in RAM. So, if there is any external interference of the
disc then DOS will not know about it and disaster could follow.
5.6
Solutions
5.6
Of course, problems would only occur when writing to the partition from
outside DOS; reads should present no problem. This could be fixed quite
simply. In fact, it would be possible to write to the partition as well,
if the emulator thought it was dealing with removable hard discs. Then
every time RISC-OS wrote to the partition it would then wiggle the “disc
changed” line and DOS would re-catalogue the disc before continuing. I
hope something will be done along these lines because, as I have said,
using DOS on the Archimedes is all very well, but where it really scores
is in cooperative interchange between the DOS and RISC-OS. Data exchange
via a “scrap” file is an important component in this.  A
5.6

5.6
Small Ads
5.6
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what “small”
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.6
•    A3000 2 M RAM, analogue & user port, colour monitor boxed & unused
£700. 1M upgrade (Oak) for A3000 £30. Midi interface & user port (AKA12)
boxed & unused. Phone Max or Jayne on 0706−852581.
5.6
•    A310 + IFEL 4-slot backplane + PC emulator. Boxed as new. £300 o.n.o.
Phone 0986−872465.
5.6
•    A310M, DTP software, Render Bender, PC emulator 1.6, Genesis & games
£540 (or will split). Old PRMs £9, various magazines, EMR sound sampler
£60, Watford digitiser £75, Acorn colour monitor £110. Phone Stephen
after 6 p.m. on 061−973−0529.
5.6
•    A540 base unit £1800, C release 3, £50, Programmer’s Reference Manuals
£40, Software Developer’s Toolbox £20, unopened copy of Lemmings £20,
BBC Basic V Guide £10. Contact Mr Gwyn Willams on 0286−870101.
5.6
•    Acorn Desktop Assembler, as new (unregistered), £145. Phone Ray Waters
on Colchester 0206−841119 (eves).
5.6
•    APEC card with RAM £35. Genesis II £90. Nevryon £10. Voltmace Joystick
£15. Interdictor £15. Powerband £10. All o.n.o. Phone Simon Lincoln on
0603−226041 (day) or 38342 (eve).
5.6
•    Beebug 5¼“ interface (A300/400) + DFS s’ware £20. Phone Mike on
07687−78514 (eves).
5.6
•    Colourjet 132 hardly used, new cartridges, new roll paper, £300. Phone
Mark Flemming on 0244−535204.
5.6
•    Computer Concepts ROMs (for CC or Acorn ROM/RAM podule): InterChart
£10, InterSheet £15, InterWord £15 and SpellMaster £20, plus 3 x 32k
static RAM chips £10. Also disc software: PC Access £10 and E-Type £5.
Phone Rob on 0737−832159 (eves).
5.6
•    First Word Plus 2 £25. Phone Mr Phillips on 0732−454707.
5.6
•    First Word Plus 2 (not from Learning Curve) £30, Atelier £30, Rockfall
£10, System Delta Plus £25, Enter the Realm £12, Apocalypse £10. Phone
06977−46786.
5.6
•    Laser Direct Qume, good condition, hardly used, includes original
toner and drum. Only £600 o.n.o. Phone Glenn on 0932−567614.
5.6
•    MultiStore II £140 o.n.o., EMR Rhythm Box £15, Repton3 £8, Terramex
£5. Contact Jeremy on 061−483−2983.
5.6
•    Oak High Speed SCSI 100M drive, 4 months old £250. Juki 6100 daisy
wheel, many ribbons & wheels £50. Phone Ian on 0245−325205.
5.6
•    PinPoint £70, Junior Impression £60, Magpie £40, Geoscan £35. All new
and unregistered. Phone 0736−63918.
5.6
•    Risc User magazine 1.1 to 5.1 complete bound issues. £25 plus postage.
Phone Chris on 0271−850355.
5.6
•    Wanted − 4-slot backplane for A310, hand scanner, FWPlus II, Impres
sion II and anyone interested in a Derby User Group. Phone 0332−557751.
5.6
•    Wanted − Acoustic coupling device suitable for Archimedes, IBM etc. Or
does anyone know how to make one? Phone Kevin on 0404−822633.
5.6
•    Wanted − Dead or alive (but preferably dead cheap!) A310s or A305s.
Phone Arthur on 0603−765073.
5.6
•    Wanted − Multi-sync monitor for use with modes 0-21, 24-28 and SVGA if
possible. Must be cheap. Phone Stephen after 6 p.m. on 061−973−0529.
5.6
•    Watford Hand Scanner A300/400 £90. Z88 micro, 256k RAM, PC Link,
software £200. Phone Mike on 0742−342870
5.6
Charity Sales − The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money − ring us on 0603−766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
5.6
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers that
you could donate to charity, please send it in to the Archive office. )
5.6
A3000 2M memory upgrade £40, RISC-OS Companion Vol 1 £5, Saloon Cars
£19, Masterfile II £25, Watford Electronics £5 voucher £2 !!, InterDic
tor 1 £10, Conqueror + Quazer + Corruption £18, Watford A310 4M memory
upgrade £180, Zarch £10, ArcComm £30.  A
5.6

5.6
DataWord
5.6
Ashley Bowden
5.6
DataWord is a new product from Triple R Education, a branch of 4th
Dimension. The program is advertised as “unique”, combining, as the
title suggests, elements of both a database and a word processor.
DataWord costs £19.95 including VAT and UK postage. I mention this first
to give you an idea of where the product is targeted. The program has
only the most basic features of a traditional word processor and just a
small subset of the usual database functions. The publishers’ philosophy
is that most software has too many features which never get used and, as
they clearly are aiming at the school market, they want to keep things
simple.
5.6
The basic structure
5.6
A DataWord file can be thought of as a series of cards which contain
text. Each card has a free style format − there are no fields to contain
information in a pre-arranged layout. There is a simple editor which
allows text to be entered and the cards can be manipulated, allowing
information to be recalled and organised in a number of ways.
5.6
The program is therefore best suited for textual data which need not be
highly structured. This would include project work in a junior school,
say, and perhaps even more advanced research by older students or other
adults.
5.6
The package
5.6
The program comes on a single disc and is accompanied by a 12 page A5
manual. In fact, there are two versions of the program supplied − one is
a proper RISC-OS application and the other is intended for those who are
not familiar with the desktop. This review is primarily concerned with
the former. The manual is not Archimedes specific and does not give
exact details of how to access each facility. I was a little disap
pointed with this, initially, and thought that Triple R could have run
to the expense of a separate manual but they had a better idea, of which
more later.
5.6
There is a function key strip for use only with the non RISC­OS version
of the software. There are also two plastic keyboard overlays for those
not conversant with a normal keyboard. One has the usual QWERTY layout
but the keys are labelled with lower case letters and the other has the
keys redefined in alphabetical order. There is a small utility program
which can set these options.
5.6
In use
5.6
The word processor is simple and intuitive to use. There are no special
effects such as bold and italic and there are no advanced features for
manipulating the text. However, the package does what it intends to do
in this area and it is possible to enter a screen full of text and have
it printed out, all within the space of a few minutes.
5.6
The database functions implemented are again very much in accordance
with the scope and aims of the program. Records can be sorted alphabeti
cally by the first few words of each record. So if you wanted to create
a file of famous composers you would need to put each person’s name as
the first words, with the surname first.
5.6
Each record can be marked. This can be done manually or as the result of
a search. You could, for example, mark all the records which contain the
word Austria and then work with or print just these.
5.6
There is a search and replace facility and a search and display option
although, since this only displays the first occurrence of a given
string, it is best used when a word appears only once in the whole
database e.g. Brandenburg, which might only appear on the card devoted
to Bach. It is also possible to replicate a given card several times
which is useful if you want a template for a predefined layout, such as
an address book. There is a good range of useful housekeeping features,
which I will not cover minutely, but which includes the ability to
insert, delete and move records around, to print all or part of the
database and to load and save individual records.
5.6
Links
5.6
If you are not satisfied by what has been described so far, the package
has even more versatility through a system to link cards. This has two
main applications. The first is to provide for quizzes and multiple
choice tests. In this case, the first twenty cards, say, would each
contain a question and these would be linked to other cards which gave
appropriate messages in response to the user’s answer. A scoring
mechanism can also be activated if DataWord is being used this way.
5.6
The second use of links is to create a flexible route through a
collection of information. As an illustration of this, let me describe
the manual which I thought was missing. This is, in fact, stored as a
DataWord file and provides an excellent way to learn about the system,
especially for a reviewer! One card in this file describes ‘searches’.
It is linked to three others which describe in further detail the
various search options. All the user has to do is click with <select> on
one of the four link ‘buttons’ which every DataWord card has.
5.6
In conclusion
5.6
If you wish to store large amounts of textual information in a flexible
way and perform simple database operations on them then DataWord
represents a simple to use but very effective option. It is attractively
priced and seems to meet its stated aims. It is versatile in that
quizzes and programmed learning are easily catered for. I also found it
reasonably easy to import the material which I created into !Edit,
although this is not a feature built into DataWord, and a working
knowledge of !Edit is required. I could find no mention of the fact that
each card can only contain 32 lines and trying to create more caused the
program to crash. There was also another small bug in the program. I
have mentioned these to Triple R who feel confident that they can be
sorted out. They will then have an impressive program which will appeal,
I imagine, to those teaching young children but others may also find it
worthy of serious consideration.  A
5.6

5.6
The DTP Column
5.6
Richard Hallas
5.6
Greetings from the musical quarter of the DTP Column’s editorship! As an
Archimedes owner who spends a good deal of time using his machine for
typesetting music, I will be dealing with any musical DTP-related
matters that may arise in future issues. I would like to invite any
interested parties to comment or enquire about this aspect of the
Archimedes’ abilities. To the best of my knowledge, with only one
serious package available for it (Scorewriter/PMS), the Archimedes is
more or less ignored in the professional music-typesetting world; as
with other areas of DTP, it is the Macintosh which basks exclusively in
the limelight. Having used a Mac before graduating to something better,
I can say that, as with general DTP, if only the Archimedes were given a
wholehearted push in the right direction, it could probably oust the
competition.
5.6
(Talking about pushing, I’m still working on “A Guide to DTP on Acorn
Computers”. It’s growing by the minute and will include comparisons with
DTP on Mac and 486 PC systems. I will, initially, be offering it f.o.c.
through adverts in the Acorn press but hope, eventually, to pluck up
enough courage to offer it through adverts in P.C.W. and the like! Ed.)
5.6
News and Views
5.6
The majority of this section seems to relate to products from Computer
Concepts:
5.6
•    ColourDirect − As you might guess from the name, this will be a full
colour printer along the lines of the existing LaserDirect family,
(although it uses inkjet technology, not laser and it doesn’t use a high
speed video interface) and it will be capable of printing a full-colour
page on A3 paper at 360 dpi. It uses Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black
inks as expected, and these can be replaced individually. The price will
be in the region of £2,000. Compared with colour laser printers, working
at 300 dpi on A4 paper, which generally start at around £12,000, this
sounds like an important step forward for Archimedes computers.
5.6
The printer is a brand new model from Canon which is to be launched on
the Mac, PC and Archimedes platforms simultaneously; Computer Concepts’
task has been to produce a 24-bit colour driver for it. This is, in
fact, ready but we have to wait for the official launch of the printer
by Canon. You should expect to see something during the Spring.
5.6
(Charles Moir sent us a couple of printouts from ColourDirect and they
are VERY impressive. Both the colour and the resolution are excellent.
Charles remarks though that you shouldn’t be thinking in terms of
LaserDirect speed. A printout of an A4 page takes, at best, around 4
minutes and a full A3 page about 7 minutes. For a top quality A3 image
produced by ArtWorks, it can take 15 minutes to print out − mind you, at
24-bit colour, that represents about 12 Mbytes of image data! However,
the printer drivers that CC have written for the ColourDirect operate
fully in the RISC-OS background which minimises the time that your
computer will be tied up during printing. Ed)
5.6
•    Impression 2.16 has been released and is the first stable version to
be fully compatible with RISC-OS3 machines. It contains a couple of
changes compared with version 2.14 − intelligent, multi-tasking screen
updating, and the ability to drop a graphic straight into the text
without the need to use embedded frames.
5.6
Computer Concepts had previously released a few copies of version 2.15,
but it had some bugs that meant it would not work properly under RISC-OS
2. Anyone using version 2.15 with RISC-OS 2 should request an upgrade to
Impression 2.16.
5.6
Computer Concepts have asked us to say that if anyone finds a fault with
the version of Impression they are using, they should firstly return
their Impression master disc 1 and ask for an upgrade to the current
version. If the same problem persists, please let CC know all the
details of the problem, and send them some sample files which illustrate
it.
5.6
In general it must be stressed, though, that if you are not experiencing
any problems, you should not ask for an upgrade just for the sake of
having the very newest version, since it costs Computer Concepts to
provide such a uniquely generous system of upgrading. If everyone tried
to get the latest versions all the time, CC might have to start charging
for upgrades. (How about sending a stamped addressed sticky label to
showing goodwill towards CC for their generous upgrade policy? Ed)
5.6
•    Thesauruses (Thesauri?) − CC will shortly be releasing a stand-alone
thesaurus. Initially, it will integrate fairly crudely with other RISC-
OS applications: clicking on a word will type it in for you at the
caret. However, future versions of Impression should integrate properly
with it and let you look a word up by simply double-clicking on it in
the document window. The thesaurus is based on the Collins printed
thesaurus and has 9,000 root words and 120,000 synonyms in total. A
likely price is £39 +VAT.
5.6
Risc Developments (Beebug) are also working on a thesaurus called
Desktop Thesaurus. This will have 11,000 keywords and 90,000 synonyms
and will cost £19 +VAT.
5.6
•    Artworks is looking good, by all accounts. The first release is likely
to occur in Spring and it is expected to have a price tag similar to
that of Impression. Computer Concepts considers it to be the cleanest,
most modular and quite simply the best all round program they have ever
produced, which sounds very hopeful indeed! CC is looking for high
quality example artwork to include with the final package, so any
computer artists who feel they can dedicate a fair amount of time to
producing some good quality pictures should contact Computer Concepts.
5.6
•    ScanLight Plus software upgrade − The January issue of Archive (5.4)
contained a ‘Naughty Bit’ in the news pages. Yes, there is an updated
version of the ScanLight Plus software, but no, it isn’t available yet,
and it isn’t free of charge either! The software is being completely
revised and will need a new manual. CC can hardly be expected to give
expensive manuals away, so there will certainly be a small charge for
the upgrade, probably in the region of £5-£10, although this, like the
release date, is not yet fixed. The new version, when it appears, will
contain many more features than the existing software, and these include
a comprehensive range of image enhancement and manipulation options. It
will also be possible to edit the grey-map by dragging the points of a
curve around, and adding extra points to make the curve more complex;
the grey-map hugs the curve, and this provides a much easier way of
setting the levels than having to adjust each bar by hand as in the
previous version. Having used a pre-release version, I can say that it
is very impressive so far, but the product is still a fair way from
being complete.
5.6
•    FaxPack − After three years, this has finally been completed and is
now available − in small quantities! Faster than practically any other
alternative, CC’s FaxPack allows background data transfer and can be
used with any scanner and printer. £299 +VAT (£351.32).
5.6
•    Scorewriter − EMR’s Scorewriter music typesetting package has been
around for some time, and is the only serious quality package of its
kind currently available for the Archimedes. If bought directly from its
author, Philip Hazel, it is called PMS (for “Philip’s Music Scribe”); I
have been using the program semi-professionally in its PMS guise for
some time, and can heartily recommend it. However, the program takes
text files as input, and produces its output directly to the printer or
as a draw-file: therefore, the only way of checking output is by viewing
it in Draw. Help is at hand: Philip Hazel is currently doing a total
rewrite of the package, and PMS 2 will operate in a window on the
desktop − much more friendly! This is still some months off, however;
more news nearer the time.
5.6
Impression Hints & Tips
5.6
This month’s hints and tips have been submitted by the following people:
Computer Concepts (CC), Richard Hallas (RH), Paul Beverley (PB), Patrick
Dowling (PD), Rob Sherratt (RS) and Steve Kirkby (SK). Many thanks to
all.
5.6
•    Hyphenation − If you want to be able to switch hyphenation on and off
easily, create a new style with <ctrl-F5>, give it a name such as
“hyphenated”, go down to the section where it deals with hyphenation,
switch hyphenation ON, go to the bottom and select an unused key short-
cut, say <ctrl-shift-F1> and save the new style. Now, to switch
hyphenation on for a given paragraph, select the paragraph (using <ctrl-
@> or quad-click with <select>) and press <ctrl-shift-F1>. Alterna
tively, if you want hyphenation on for most of the document, edit the
definition of the basestyle to have hyphenation ON and create a new
style, in the same way, whose only attribute is that hyphenation is OFF.
(As an aside, I have always found it difficult to find the line dealing
with hyphenation in the edit style window but I now know why. If you
click in the scroll bar three times, half of the word “hyphenation” is
visible at the bottom of the window. Click again and half is visible at
the top of the window − very easy to miss. So, either slide the scroll
bar or simply remember that it is only just visible at the edge of the
window.) − PB.
5.6
•    Ligatures − The word ‘ligature’ actually means ‘tie’ or ‘bandage’ and,
in typesetting, it refers to groups of two or more letters which are
joined together. In professional typesetting, several exist but the
Archimedes’ font system has just two: fi and fl.
5.6
Impression provides no handy short cut to access them, so if you wish to
use them, you need to do two separate searches through the entire text
as follows: bring up the find text box and enter fi into the first slot,
ensuring the Case sensitive switch is on. Then move the caret into the
second box, hold down <alt> and type 158 on the numeric keypad. A single
character will be entered which, when viewed in an outline font which
supports it, will appear as fi. For fl, repeat the process, but replace
all occurrences of fl (obviously) with character 159. Remember to do a
case sensitive search, since replacing Fi and Fl with the ligatures will
make them lose their capital letters.
5.6
Not all fonts (especially the PD ones) contain the ligatures, and some
PD fonts have them in the wrong places. You should replace the normal
letters with the ligatures after you have finished your document because
Impression’s spell-checker does not take them into account and will
query any words containing them. This month’s disc should contain a
system font file which I have created; it is identical to the standard
one, except that the previously undefined characters have been created
to look like the outline font characters they produce, so you can see
things like smart quotes and ligatures in Edit. It’s useful to load this
in the boot-up sequence. − RH.
5.6
•    Rotated text in Impression − Those lucky enough to own an A5000 will,
of course, have the new versions of Draw and Font Manager. Charles Moir,
director of Computer Concepts, suggests the following tip: since the new
Font Manager can rotate text by itself, create some text in Draw, and
import it into an Impression graphic frame. Dragging in the frame with
<adjust> should now rotate the text or you can set the angle precisely
in the ‘Alter graphics’ dialogue box. − RH
5.6
•    Hyphens and minus signs − Character 153 is very useful as a hyphen −
as you can see! In fact, it is really the minus sign (compare it with
the plus and you will find they are both the same width and their
crossbars are at the same horizontal position − see for yourself −+−+−);
the minus sign on the keyboard actually produces a short hyphen of the
sort which should be used to break words at the ends of lines. Anyway,
Impression provides handy access to this character: simply press <ctrl-
shift> in conjunction with the minus key. Characters 151 and 152 are the
en (–) and em (—) dashes respectively but, unfortunately, these have no
handy short cuts. − RS & RH.
5.6
•    Finding effects − If you want to be able to look through a document
and find where a particular effect occurs (as opposed to a style) all
you need to do is modify one line in the ‘UK’ file in the Resources
directory inside the !Impression application. As supplied, there is a
line that says “Cnf1:” − all you have to do is add an E making it
“Cnf1:E”. Next time you start up Impression, you will find that, when
you click on the arrow at the right of the search string box, it will
list not only the styles but also the effects. (In case you have
forgotten, I published a hint a year ago to explain that, to find a
particular effect or style, you should select it from the menu on the
search string box and follow it by an “@”. In other words, look for any
string following the place where that effect / style is first switched
on.) − PB.
5.6
•    Double scale − on later versions of Impression (about 2.14g onwards)
you will find that <shift-F12> no longer doubles the scale of the
current view. This is because <shift-F12> is used on RISC-OS 3 to toggle
the icon bar forwards and backwards. Double scale has now been moved to
<ctrl-shift-F11>. − PB.
5.6
•    Reverse characters − From 2.15 onwards, there is a keyboard short-cut
that I have been asking for since I started using Impression in earnest
− swap characters. If you press <ctrl-shift-Q>, the two characters
either side of the cursor swap places. This is very helpful because it
allows you to correct, very quickly, one of the most common tpying
errors! − PB
5.6
•    Single word spelling check − If you want to check the spelling of a
single word, you don’t need to select the whole word − just place the
cursor somewhere in the word and use <ctrl-W>. (I suppose everyone
except me knew that anyway!) I find that this speeds things up
especially if, as you are typing, you get to a word that you don’t know
how to spell; all you do is to have a go at typing the word and then,
before you press space or full-stop, press <ctrl-W>. If it is incor
rectly spelt, it is selected and the spelling box appears with,
hopefully, a guess at the right spelling. Click on “Replace” and away
you go.
5.6
Also, if, while you are typing, you get a spelling error bleep then, as
long as you haven’t started to type the next word, you can press <ctrl-
W> and correct the erroneous word. − PB.
5.6
•    Avoiding smart quotes − In the magazine, I like to use “smart quotes”
rather than plain quotes but they look a little funny on program
listings. If I want to paste in an article which contains programs as
well as straight text, I have a problem. Either I can switch smart
quotes OFF on the Preferences list and then edit them into the text or I
can leave it ON but edit them out of the listing. Then I had a brain-
wave (-storm?). I realised that the only time I use the Corpus font is
for program listings, so I never need to have smart quotes in that font.
All I did, therefore, (well, Adrian did for me) was to load Corpus into
FontEd (Careware 7) and edit the smart quotes so that they are the same
as the normal quotes. This can be done by editing each smart quote in
turn and copying the plain quote into its place. − PB.
5.6
• Rotating sprites − Draw-files can be rotated within Impression but, in
the normal course of things, not sprites, scanned pictures or bit-image
clip-art etc, unless Enhanced Graphics is switched on. This is hidden
away in Preferences, the one in the icon-bar menu, not the one in the
Document sub-menu. It is effective immediately and does not need to be
saved as a preference option. (When switched on it also automatically
switches on Greyscale Dithering but that can be switched off again if
not wanted.) Scanned images etc can then be rotated inside Impression by
entering an angle in the Alter Frame box. Remember also, when subse
quently reloading the file, to switch on the Enhanced Graphics again,
(if it’s not saved as a preference) as this won’t happen automatically.
− PD. You can also rotate the image by dragging within the graphic frame
using <adjust>. − RS.
5.6
• Spurious form-feeds − Using dot matrix printers (e.g. FX80) you may
get an extra form-feed between pages when printing a multi-page
document. The solution, (thanks to Alan Williams of Acorn, Melbourne,
for this one) is to set Scale in the ‘Print’ box to 97 or 98%. No
further problem! − PD.
5.6
• The underline trap − If you set up underline when creating a Style,
maybe for a sub-heading, do not try later to remove the underline with
<shift-ctrl-U>. Probably nothing at all happens but, sometimes, the
screen goes inverse and panic reigns until Reset is pressed! − PD. I
tried without success to repeat this problem with release 2.16, but
<shift-ctrl-U> caused no ill effect. It did not cancel the underlined
style either, which I guess is correct. − RS.
5.6
• ¼ ½ ¾ characters − These are available on <alt-188>, <alt-189> and
<alt-190> respectively in the main fonts − Trinity, Pembroke, Homerton
etc and several others but by no means all. Many fonts conform in
general, but with omissions, to the character set laid out in Appendix 5
of the manual. Most contain a bullet (•) on <alt-143>, (or <shift-ctrl-
H>) and a decimal point (·) on <alt-183>. The ones that don’t, Optima
and Hull for instance, have their bullet on <alt-183> and a different
set of characters in the row 128 to 159 including, for instance, TM. In
general, there seem to be two main variations for this row while System
is completely on its own. The characters in 160 to 255 appear more or
less standard across the board where they are present, though most fonts
omit some and some (PD and magazine fonts particularly) omit most if not
all the top-bit-set characters, save for the £ symbol. With <alt-215>
and <alt­247> it’s a toss-up whether you get × and ÷, or Œ and œ, or
nothing at all. (!Chars in Impression’s Utils directory is a useful
reference but much better is Beebug’s !CharSel which looks identical but
has a pointer showing the character number.) − PD.
5.6
• Fit lots − If you want to know or have forgotten what it means, it
does not appear in the index. You will find it on p.144 on the last, and
easily missed, page of ‘Print’. − PD.
5.6
• Frames − How to put a frame around an existing chunk of text? You
can’t! The only way is to move the chunk to the clipboard, create the
frame and then copy it back in. − PD. You can also create a number of
new frames which fill the area occupied by the old frame, click in the
old frame area and then press <adjust> in the new frames. Text will then
flow from the old frame into the new one and, if you stretch the new
frames so that there is no printable area left in the original frame,
the desired effect can be achieved. − RS.
5.6
• Master pages − It seemed perfectly logical to me to press ‘New
Chapter’ on the key-strip when I wanted to start a fresh document with
other than the default master page. I got the new master page all right
− as well as the default page I didn’t want and found no way to get rid
of it. (You need to move to the unwanted chapter, then use <menu>
<Edit><Delete Chapter>. − RS) You can alter the current chapter to use a
different master page by using ‘Alter Chapter’ which is not on the key-
strip. The key short cut is <shift-ctrl-A>. Be aware that if you are
viewing the master pages when trying to do this, you will find ‘Alter
Chapter’ greyed-out on the Edit sub-menu. The answer is to go back to
the document page, remembering which number master page is wanted and
try again there. Also note that if you want to use one of the three-
column master pages, (numbers 7 or 8) remember the default frames are
only Guides and you must create new frames before anything can be typed
in. − PD.
5.6
• Guide frames − It is really most provoking, having carefully followed
the manual to find the screen blandly refusing to operate as stated. Can
anyone suggest why my guide frames do not remain visible? I create them,
(sub-menu New Frame) on the document page or on the master page, click
elsewhere and they just vanish. They are not a lot of use if I can’t see
them, so which little hidden detail in the manual have I failed to
register, please? − PD. Guide frames are always positioned as the
rearmost (back) frame on the page. If you make sure all text /graphic
frames on the page are local frames (<menu><frame> <alter frame><make
local>) and then reduce these in size, you will see the yellow guide
frames that you had created. Guide frames are mainly of use when setting
up a master page, though. − RS. Am I missing something here? Can’t you
just make it visible by using <ctrl-F10> to alter the frame and changing
from a white background to transparent? − PB.
5.6
(By the way, I hadn’t come across the idea of turning a master frame
into a local frame. If you hadn’t either, read up in the Impression
manual on page 84 then have a play with it − it could prove a useful
facility. − PB)
5.6
• Font cache full error − Even with the cache set to a ridiculous size,
750k or more, this error recurred and anyway, isn’t the cache itself
supposed to clear enough space for a new font if necessary? I found that
some silly PD game had unplugged SpriteUtils module and restoring it
seemed to resolve the difficulty. It’s not only PD games that do this −
the demo version of Cataclysm sent out by Archimedes World unplugs
virtually everything including the Font Manager. Even a power off /on
will not restore unplugged modules. If you aren’t sure whether anything
has been unplugged, type *UNPLUG and it will list any unplugged modules.
− RS.
5.6
• Rule off errors − The Impression manual is a bit short on advice when
the package refuses to do what it should and it is totally silent on the
subject of errors. What do you do for instance when the machine throws
at you: “Overflow while transforming point, print aborted” ? I had been
trying to print a landscape document containing a few vertical rules.
Later, I noticed one of the rules slightly projecting beyond the edge of
the frame. I went to the Style Edit box and switched ‘Rule-off’ on, and
set it to 0pt. I must have done something right − the next time I tried,
it produced a perfect print-out! − PD
5.6
• Shift and control symbols − Patrick sent a detailed account of using
!FontDraw to generate a graphical representation of the <shift> and
<control> keys − as they appear in Impression menus − and then continued
to incorporate these into embedded frames at 30 or so points in his
text. He also asked if there was an easier way? − PD. Yes there is. Use
the Acorn Font Editor and David Pilling’s D2Font Drawfile to font
converter which is on the same disk as his Trace program (now available
through Archive for £6). You will end up with a new outline font which
can be used within Impression just like any other font and which can be
used within a style and assigned to a function key to turn it on and
off. If anyone has the time to do this, please would they send Archive a
copy of the resulting font for the magazine disk? − RS.
5.6
• Find within a group of frames − If the currently selected frame is a
group of frames then the <find text> menu option is unavailable. To make
it available, select a frame that does not contain a group and which
contains at least one letter, (or create such a frame and text character
if necessary). Then, to find or replace throughout the document
(including all grouped frames), turn on the <whole document> button in
the <find> dialogue box, and use find or replace as normal. − SK.
5.6
The Readers Write!
5.6
In fairness to Ovation
5.6
− Q: Chris Wragg writes with concern at Archive’s “undisguised bias”
against Ovation. He would like to hear from other Ovation users, and
lists several features of Ovation he is very pleased with. Firstly he
does not like scrolling menus as used for some Impression features (e.g.
the Style editor) and prefers Ovation’s non-scrolling equivalent.
Secondly, he prefers the fact that Ovation does not require a dongle
hanging off the back of his machine and, thirdly, he prefers Ovation’s
price at two thirds that of Impression. He asks Archive to encourage
competition rather than a monopoly
5.6
− A: There is no deliberate policy of prejudice in the editing of
Archive magazine. In fact, regular “appeals” have been printed in
Archive magazine for readers to supply hints and tips relating to the
products they are using. We receive five or six “tips” a month relating
to Impression but none relating to Ovation. There is no censorship.
There just appear to be no Ovation users prepared to contribute to the
magazine. So please write again (to me) with dozens of hints and tips
from your use of Ovation, and we’ll gladly print them and perhaps start
an Ovation Hints and Tips column if there is enough interest from other
Ovation users. We would also like to print short articles relating to
the use of Ovation in producing quality DTP material. Also feel free to
use the DTP “swap” area to exchange material you have produced using
Ovation.
5.6
Richard Hallas who has produced the bulk of the DTP Column this month
has both Impression and Ovation and agrees with you that Ovation is an
excellent product and that there are capabilities within both Impression
and Ovation that neither share. − RS.
5.6
More style for Impression?
5.6
− Q: Steve Kirkby from Surrey asks whether there is a way (using
Impression) of merging a set of styles from one document into another
with the option of the second set of styles automatically overwriting /
updating the first set? He is fed up with deleting Basestyle2, Bold2,
Underline2 etc ad nauseam.
5.6
− A: No. Not unless CC have something up their sleeves they haven’t told
Archive about yet. − RS.
5.6
DTP Swap Area
5.6
This area contains the names and addresses of “new” people who have
agreed to swap DTP material they have published. The aim of this is to
improve one another’s skills by the exchange of printed ideas. No money
should change hands.
5.6
If you want to “swap” with anyone, you must first publish your name and
address and area of interest, and then write directly to whoever you
want to do a “swap” with. Archive may publish a directory of “swappers”
if there is significant interest in this area. The other “rules” were
printed in Archive 5.5 p25.
5.6
Over the last month, Rob Sherratt has received several dozen “swaps”
with short letters and often disks attached. He will undertake to
personally “swap” some of his own material for that received. However,
nowhere in the letters do most of the writers indicate that they wish
their own name and address to be published in the Archive “swap” area −
and this was one of the “rules” published in last month’s magazine.
5.6
You must agree to publish your own name and address and area of “swap”
interest before asking people to swap with you. Unsolicited “swap
requests” are forbidden! Because many of those people writing to Rob
Sherratt have not given their permission for their particulars to appear
in print, they are not listed below. This is a great shame because the
list of swappers would, by now, have been several dozen.
5.6
New names and details:
5.6
George Foot has a keen interest in Public Key Cryptography and produces
the magazine “The Public Key” on his Archimedes using Impression. He
will “swap” with anyone interested in his DTP style and in cryptography.
His address is Waterfall, Uvedale Road, Oxted, Surrey  RH8 0EW.
5.6
Richard Hallas (DTP editor for this month), is very interested in all
areas of DTP, but particularly in music typesetting. In his business, he
has produced much printed material including cards, note paper and
dissertations (with musical inserts within the text), and would like to
offer samples of these as swaps. Also, if anyone needs help on musical
aspects of DTP then Richard is willing to be contacted directly at his
address which is 31 Skelton Crescent, Crosland Moor, Huddersfield, West
Yorkshire  HD4 5PN. [Please note however that if you would like your
correspondence and any answers to be published in the Archive DTP
Column, your letters should be addressed to the DTP Column’s coordinator
(Rob Sherratt) − address at the end of this column.]
5.6
W.B.Rees is interested in doing swaps of Church Magazines, and as well
as the usual DTP set-up, he runs the “Biblesoft PC Study Bible” under
the PC emulator, which helps in preparation of study notes, etc. His
address is 8 Park Terrace, Tenby, Dyfed  SA70 7LY.
5.6
Peter Blenkinsop would like to swap material produced in the science and
IT area for secondary education. He is particularly interested in years
9 to 11 for Suffolk Coordinated Science (Key stage 4). He has developed
student booklets for all the physics units (using Impression). Has
anyone done the rest? His address is 5 Leggatts Close, Watford, Herts
WD2 6BG.
5.6
Keith Burrage uses Ovation to produce Christian literature for BYFC and
local churches. His business is called “Christian Technical Services”.
He would like to swap literature such as his ReMarks newsletter for St
Mark’s church. He would like to see an objective comparison table drawn
up between Ovation and Impression. (Richard Hallas − help please?). His
address is 9, Peartree Court, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire  AL7
3XN.
5.6
Points of Style
5.6
We hope to devote the Points of Style section of the DTP Column to
specific topics concerning the construction of different kinds of
documents using DTP software: posters, leaflets, pamphlets, brochures
and the like should all come under the spotlight at some point or other.
However, a good starting point before we embark on the former topics is
to look at some basic English grammar, since a good understanding of the
way our language works is fundamental to desktop publishing. This
month’s Points of Style is therefore devoted to a piece of punctuation
which most of us get wrong from time to time.
5.6
The apostrophe
5.6
Incorrect use of apostrophes can mar DTP work which is otherwise of a
very high standard. All leading Archimedes publications get it wrong
from time to time, and although Archive is one of the best on correct
use of grammar, occasional mistakes’ (sic) still creep through! (That
one didn’t slip through! Ed)
5.6
There are numerous different situations in which the apostrophe should
be used.
5.6
•    To indicate possession:
5.6
    Archive’s discerning readership is correct; Richards book is not.
5.6
•    To form contractions.
5.6
This is where a single word is shortened, or two or more words are
brought together into one. Contractions (or elisions) may involve
certain verbs (such as I’m for I am and You’re for You are) or nouns
(such as ma’am for madam − involving just one word − or o’clock, for of
the clock − involving three words). For example, isn’t is correct but
isnt isn’t! In modern usage, it is permissible to omit a leading
apostrophe from common words which are used in their abbreviated forms:
it is no longer considered necessary to write ’phone when you mean
telephone, or ’pram when you mean perambulator, as these forms now look
rather pedantic.
5.6
•    To abbreviate dates, although this is an optional usage.
5.6
It is correct to write the ’90s, meaning the 1990s, but it is just as
correct (and more modern) to simply write the 90s. Generally, using an
apostrophe to pluralise a date − the 1990’s − is just about acceptable
(it is an old usage which is becoming unfashionable), whereas the ’90’s
is very ungainly. The best advice is to leave apostrophes out of dates
altogether.
5.6
•    To pluralise single letters, numerals and symbols.
5.6
    Southern Upholstery Sale!!! Save £££’s!!!
5.6
    There are two 3’s in 33.
5.6
    There are two a’s in this sentence.
5.6
All three of these examples are correct but, in modern usage, the
apostrophe could be omitted from the first two, since it is more
indicative of possession than plurality. The third example obviously
does require the apostrophe: if it were removed, the sentence would be
nonsensical.
5.6
The use of apostrophes with plurals should normally be avoided at all
costs, the rare exceptions being those mentioned above.
5.6
A common cause of confusion in the computer press (pay attention, Paul!)
is the use of apostrophes with objects which contain digits in their
names. For example, writing A5000’s are now in stock is absolutely
wrong. A5000 is, effectively, a noun, and should not be treated like a
date or a single digit.
5.6
(Perhaps I’m being a bit thick, but I don’t see why that is “absolutely
wrong” whereas “two 3’s in 33” is acceptable. Would “There are three
30’s in 90” be correct? Then how about “three 3000’s in 9000”? Ed)
5.6
Another common source of error is the difference between its and it’s.
Here, the apostrophe (as you would expect) indicates contraction rather
than possession; it’s is short for it is. Therefore, you would be
correct to write It’s a sunny day and The cat licked its paw, but not
Its a sunny day or The cat licked it’s paw. (This would expand to The
cat licked it is paw.) A similarly incorrect form which is found quite
often is the superfluous insertion of an apostrophe into a possessive
adjective: you would be correct to write Sheila’s kangaroo, but you
should never write The kangaroo is her’s.
5.6
•    To create the past tense of a verb which is itself an abbreviation:
5.6
    He OK’d the proposal
5.6
    Tyson KO’d Bruno in the fourth round.
5.6
These are both correct. However, if written out in full, the apostrophe
would of course not be used.
5.6
A final difficulty is knowing which side of an s to put the apostrophe.
For example, mothers’ refers to more than one mother (e.g. Mothers’
Union) whereas mother’s refers to a particular woman (e.g. this mother’s
child). For singular nouns or names ending in s, the final s is better
removed: the Archimedes’ printer drivers is better than the Archimedes’s
printer drivers.
5.6
I hope that this article has helped clear up some doubts in people’s
(note the use of the apostrophe!) minds. The apostrophe is probably the
most badly used punctuation mark in our language, and I hope that this
article has served as a reminder for those readers whose memories of
English lessons are not as cloudless as they might be!
5.6
The Font Book
5.6
Richard Hallas wrote an excellent review of Toby Richards’ Font Book
which he had written in parallel with Stuart Watson, apparently, but due
to the fact that Stuart Watson’s review appeared last month, I have not
been able to print all of Richard’s text. For the most part, the text I
have omitted is in agreement with what was printed last month and I just
print Richard’s conclusion which does not fully agree with Stuart’s. In
future, could everyone who plans to review or contribute any substantial
material relating to DTP, contact Rob Sherratt who will try to make sure
this waste of effort does not happen again? − Ed.
5.6
The Font Book is nicely produced and contains some very good material
along with some sensible advice, but I have to say that it could have
been made a lot better by the addition of more extensively detailed
sections for the technically-minded, the omission of some rather
unnecessary sections, and a description of more up-to-date software. It
is, in fact, very much a beginners’ book, and will provide the inexperi
enced with a good introduction, but experienced users will find little
in it of real use. However, the asking price is not excessive, given the
limited market, and the free font disc is a very good reason for buying
the book, and will be even more so when it has been updated.
5.6
Italic − A Font Utility
5.6
This is a font utility from Design Concept, 30 South Oswald Road,
Edinburgh  EH9 2HG. It costs £10 plus £2 p&p (£3 overseas). Written by
Roger Spooner, its purpose is to create new fonts from old, and it will
rotate, stretch and slant your existing fonts to create new versions.
5.6
In fact, it would strictly have been more correct to call the program
Oblique, since no computer program could ever create a true italic font,
which requires quite different forms for many of the letters. This minor
point aside, the program actually does much more than you might expect
of it from the title, since you can enter a formula for the way the
output font is to be transformed, not just how much it is slanted.
5.6
Once it is loaded onto the icon bar, you can enter four details into a
small dialogue box: the suffix to be appended to the existing font name
to create the new one; a ‘Gradient’ setting, which just provides a
constant for use in the equations; and values into ‘Y=’ and ‘X=’
equation slots. For example, the default setting of x=x+(y*Grad) and y=y
will create an oblique font whose slant is dictated by the Grad setting;
x=−y and y=x will create a font which goes upwards. You can use more
complicated equations with trigonometric functions to rotate fonts, and
various examples are provided.
5.6
Having set the options, you drag a font folder onto the Italic icon and
wait for a few seconds while your new font is created. That’s all there
is to it; it’s very simple and easy to use.
5.6
The one major drawback with the review version of Italic is that it
completely ignores scaffold data in the font; the altered font has all
its points disconnected, and it is left to the user to move and
reconnect the scaffold lines if he wishes − a task which is indescrib
ably tedious. However, in practice this makes little difference to the
appearance of the font when printed.
5.6
On balance, this little utility is excellent and is good value for
money.
5.6
News from BETT ’92
5.6
Rob Sherratt
5.6
Of major interest to the DTP Column besides the Computer Concepts stand
(see the News and Views section of the DTP Column) were changes that
Digital Services have introduced to their Squirrel database, and the new
RISC-OS compliant version of LinCAD launched by Linear Graphics.
5.6
Squirrel and Mailmerge with Impression
5.6
Digital Services’ Squirrel database has undergone some enhancements
since its review in Archive 5.2 p62, and Digital Services were demon
strating a version which provided Mail Merge output of text data into
Impression.
5.6
Squirrel is a blindingly fast and user friendly database capable of
storing any Archimedes file (text, graphics, sound) − but not appli
cation directories or Impression documents. It is constructed as a
‘client/server’ pair, and is capable of operating over Econet − your
machine running the ‘client’ front end, and the server sitting somewhere
else containing the company’s data. Full multi-user file and record
protection and locking schemes are provided.
5.6
Take a database file containing 10,000 names and addresses. Look up
‘Jones’; the 60 records are found instantly (no perceptible delay). This
is due to the fact that every field (not just the first) is indexed
using a B-tree direct look-up algorithm. It’s only if you asked Squirrel
to look up records using a leading ‘wild card’ (e.g. find ‘*ones’) that
it has to search and compare every record in the database and, of
course, that takes time.
5.6
On the question of whether “mail merge” of graphical information into
Impression could be provided, and whether support for Application
directories and Impression files could be added in future; Digital
Services said they were interested in doing this, although they were
obviously constrained by the size of the user base at present.
5.6
If you want a fast and powerful database for the Archimedes, have a look
at Squirrel which costs £140 inc VAT from Archive.
5.6
Linear Graphics’ LinCAD
5.6
This is a fully featured RISC-OS compliant CAD package for the Archi
medes. It provides facilities such as automatic dimensioning and
labelling of objects; automatic isometric and extruded projections of
objects; automatic construction of ‘repeat patterns’ (e.g. brickwork);
full colour capability (but not fills); background printing utility via
plotters; scalable text − rotation and path following; and support for
RISC-OS printers (but not backgrounding yet!). Files are saved in Draw
format, which means areas can be colour filled later, and the results
can be imported into DTP packages.
5.6
The price was £150 plus VAT for a single user licence, with various
library packs (e.g. Kitchen design, Electronics, Pneumatics) at £35
each. We will be printing a full review of the product in the April
issue of Archive.
5.6
DTP Contributions
5.6
A few “hiccups” here as we get the new DTP Column running smoothly.
Firstly, please don’t expect Rob or one of the other DTP editors to be
able to write individual letters in reply. There just aren’t enough
hours in the day to answer over 20 letters a week individually. We all
have full time jobs as well as doing the Archive DTP bit as a hobby!
However, we will always print a summary of material you send in provided
it is of general relevance to Archive readers.
5.6
We are always grateful to people who feel able to send in long articles,
but please phone Rob first, to make sure your work will not be dupli
cated by someone else. Please could longish articles or letters be sent
in with an accompanying disk to save us re-typing it all? We will return
disks if you send an S.A.E.
5.6
Forgive us if the “incentives” do not appear to be great. However, your
work will appear in print for the benefit of other Archive readers and
you will be helping to promote the “user community” feel which Archive
has always sought to promote.
5.6
The address for all contributions and questions for the DTP Column is:
Rob Sherratt, 134 High Road West, Felixstowe, Suffolk  IP11 9AL.  A
5.6

5.6
DOS Benchmarking & PC Emulator 1.6
5.6
Lawrence Brightman
5.6
I had originally intended to write an article about benchmarking
different DOS versions in order to see which one would run the fastest
using the new version 1.6 of Acorn’s PC emulator for the Archimedes.
However, as I told different people about it, interest seemed to spread
beyond just the Archimedes owners that I knew. I also tested DOS
versions on other than Archimedes’, i.e. 80286 and ’386 PCs from various
manufacturers, ones that the Archimedes has to compete against in the
marketplace. In the course of doing the benchmarking, I came across
incompatibilities that the new emulator had with certain features in the
latest DOS versions.
5.6
The results of the benchmarks, which took several months, are shown
below. All are times in seconds, i.e. larger numbers = slower speed.
5.6
The incompatibilities of the new emulator with the new DOS versions are
as follows:
5.6
• QBasic, the new Basic interpreter in MS-DOS 5, does not work. Because
the new text editor is written in QBasic, the text editor won’t work
either, which means the awful Edlin has to be used, unless you have some
other decent DOS editor. The previous emulators also had a problem with
DOS Basic and were very particular with what versions they ran. DR-DOS 6
doesn’t even bother with supplying a Basic interpreter, so there is no
problem here.
5.6
• Memory managers such as HIMEM.SYS will not work. You can get ABOVE
DISC, which is an older third party memory manager, to run as an
expanded memory manager, using either a hard disc or a ram disc as
expanded memory. The problem here is that it claims about 100k of your
main memory when you run it, so you have less for those programs (which
are, sadly, the majority) which only recognize the standard 640k.
5.6
The main problem here is the type of chip which Acorn chose to emulate,
the 80188. I hope that at least the 80386 will be used in future
versions, so that it could be made to recognize extended memory more
effectively, and so use more of the available RAM in a 4M Archimedes, as
well as allow multitasking in Windows 3. For this reason, we cannot use
one of the main advantages of these new DOS versions, the ability to
‘loadhigh’ system drivers and other parts of DOS into high memory,
thereby increasing the usable amount of 640k base memory.
5.6
• Task switchers which swap programs to disc in MS-DOS 5 and to either
disc or extended memory in DR-DOS 6 work, but only by swapping to disc
(hard disc only).
5.6
• DOSKEY, the command line keystroke recaller, works properly in MS-DOS
5 but I cannot get it to work in DR-DOS 6.
5.6
• Mode commands, which can effectively increase the number of lines you
get on screen, do work for up to 43 lines, but not 50. This holds for
both MS-DOS 5 and DR-DOS.
5.6
• Superstore, the data compression utility in DR-DOS 6 does work. With
this installed, real time compression is achieved, so you get an
effective doubling of disc capacity on hard discs. I am currently
running a 20M partition on my 50M hard disc, but through the use of this
utility, I have closer to 40M for DOS. The benchmark above in DR-DOS 6
was using this utility and, as you can see, it is only about 20% slower
than normal. This utility is available separately as Stacker, but I
cannot see the point of paying close to £100 when you can get it free as
part of DR-DOS 6, which costs less than half the price.  A
5.6

5.6
TEST            MS-DOS 3.3    DR-DOS 5    MS-DOS 5    DR-DOS6
5.6
Composite
5.6
  Ackermann    27.36    28.02
27.42    29.56
5.6
  Sieve    154.56    154.78    154.50
167.47
5.6
  Whetstones    36.70    30.50
30.22    33.63
5.6
Calculation
5.6
  Integer Math    3.02    2.69
2.69    2.91
5.6
  Trigonmetry    10.38    13.57
10.32    10.93
5.6
  Floating Point    0.54    0.55
0.49    0.54
5.6
  Pi Calculation     281.87283.35
280.32    307.14
5.6
Screen Writing
5.6
  ANSI Text    401.75    98.24
104.06    75.77
5.6
  Plain Text    106.70    84.72
86.26    63.90
5.6
  Graphics    165.43    165.43
164.50    181.70
5.6
Storage
5.6
  Store    8.90    10.008.57    11.98
5.6

5.6
Bambuzle
5.6
Geoff Scott
5.6
The aim of the game is quite simple. Each of the fifty levels in
Bambuzle consist of a single static screen. On each level, there is a
network of pods interconnected by pipes. You have to fill up each of the
pods with four balls of the same colour. The coloured balls run along
the network of pipes and are collected by the pod at the end of the pipe
as long as the pod has a free space. If there is already a ball
occupying that space in the pod then both of the balls will be
destroyed. When a pod has four balls in it, all of the same colour, the
pod will explode. When you have exploded every pod on the screen you
will have completed the level. Sounds simple doesn’t it?
5.6
Well think again. Just to make life even harder for you there are
several traps included along the pipes. These include tiles which change
the colour of the ball travelling along the pipes, and tiles which will
only allow balls of a certain colour to go past. Combined with the
already difficult job of filling each pod, these traps certainly mean
you have your work cut out for you.
5.6
Having played the first half a dozen levels, I felt that the game was
destined to fall into the group of having played-it-once-and-completed-
it. However, after the initial warm-up levels, I had to think again −
there was life in the game yet! The game soon became very challenging
and enjoyable and the hardest part was trying to concentrate on about
four different areas of the screen at once.
5.6
There were, however, quite a few points about this game which I thought
let it down quite a lot.
5.6
To start with, there was the age-old moan about having such a long time
to wait between games. Having to wait for all of the fancy scrolling
displays between each of the games soon becomes a bit of a drag.
5.6
Also, I found that having to save your name to disc each time you gain a
high score, was also rather time consuming. I think the game would be
greatly improved by being able to start each game quicker and by being
given the option as to whether or not you want to save your name to disc
when you obtain a high score. The game would be a lot quicker to load,
and save high scores too, if you could put it onto hard disc but the
copy protection stops you being able to do so.
5.6
The worst part of the whole game is that, in the much later levels, no
matter how skilful and fast you are, you also have to rely too much on
luck to get you through the levels. Because you are racing against the
clock, if there is a situation where you need a certain number of balls
of a particular colour in a certain amount of time, it doesn’t matter
how fast you are, if the right coloured balls don’t happen to come
along, you can’t complete that level.
5.6
The only other thing missing from the game, as far as I can see, is a
ball speed control making the balls travel either faster or slower.
5.6
Mind you, having got all of the moans out of the way, I must say that I
found this game thoroughly enjoyable and very challenging. I would say
that it is definitely worth considering adding this to your collection.
(Bambuzle is £19.95 from Arxe Systems or £19 through Archive.)  A
5.6

5.6
Multi-Media Column
5.6
Ian Lynch
5.6
Unfortunately, pressure of work has prevented the production of a Multi-
media Column for several months. I hope to get back into the swing of
things now, although I can’t guarantee to have something every month.
5.6
Engineering vs DTP?
5.6
In last month’s Archive, I came across “W(h)ither Archimedes” (p15) in
which the author laments the lack of engineering support for the
machine. He draws the conclusion that since PCs have improved greatly
over the years, the ARM machines are becoming less competitive. I think
this illustrates an important point about computers which is often not
given sufficient consideration. Some machines are better at some things
than others and it depends on what you want to do as to how important
certain things are. Desktop publishing has become such a talking point
on the Acorn platform because it has volume application and RISC-OS
(particularly RISC-OS 3) in conjunction with ARM3 make an ideal platform
for applications such as Impression. Add to this direct drive laser
printers and you will find that the price and Macs and PCs will take
time to catch up particularly because of the inertia created by their
current ways of doing things.
5.6
In professional engineering, the writer says that multi-tasking is not
such an advantage, and perhaps the built-in maths coprocessors in 486s
also give PCs an advantage. This is possibly why this aspect of ARM
software applications has not developed as well as some might have
liked. However, there are plenty of inexpensive engineering applications
for schools who do not want the complexity of AutoCad (even if they
could afford it). It all comes back to relevance and suitability for the
task. I predict that the diversity of operating systems will increase
not decrease and that the PC panacea of technological uniformity will be
seen to be just as unattainable as communism has proved to be in
political spheres.
5.6
Multi-media
5.6
So what has this to do with multi-media? Well simply that it is becoming
a potentially volume seller which is ideally suited to the type of set
up that the Archimedes supports. Unlike DTP, multi-media is a lot less
well defined and we are still at a stage where there are lots of clever
pieces of hardware and software about, some of which do not do too much
from a practical point of view but which have great potential. It may
well be that multi-media is simply a generic term which covers a whole
host of technologies with a wide variety of applications.
5.6
Portable multi-media
5.6
I recently had a demonstration of a Dolch 486 portable multi-media
workstation. It had a built-in CD-ROM with specialised de-compression
hardware, Windows-M (the multi-media version of Windows 3), a sound
card, thin film transistor (TFT) colour screen etc. Apart from portabil
ity, it represents the top end of MS-DOS multi-media and cost several
times the price of an A5000. Some part of this cost was the colour
screen. LCD screens are no good for moving pictures because of slow
refresh rates and so an expensive TFT screen is employed.
5.6
Marketing
5.6
Should Acorn be marketing multi-media portables then? I think not,
certainly not in the short term, for the reasons outlined earlier. The
strength of the machine is in low-cost volume markets such as education
and training where they already have an established base. There are
several authoring systems available, !Genesis, !Magpie, !Avanti, !Key
Author to name but four. What is now required is a lot of low-cost
applications which support specific objectives such as “science in the
national curriculum” or “language learning for business”.
5.6
Positive or negative?
5.6
On the plus side, there are a lot of you out there quite capable of
putting together multi-media applications and making a few bob selling
them. There are some very good tools such as !Draw, !Tween and !Euclid
which are low cost and enable the authoring of some very professional
multi-media products quickly and efficiently.
5.6
Unfortunately, there are problems too. First, the disc space taken up by
any reasonable application is large. This is can be a particular problem
with 800k floppies and, as yet, very few people have the new high
density drives. Distribution on CD-ROM is not a viable proposition
unless you can afford the cost of pressing discs and there are, again,
relatively few CD-ROM users though the price of CD-ROM drives has fallen
and they could become as common as hard discs in the near future.
Syquest cartridges are too expensive and again relatively few people
have Syquest drives.
5.6
Another problem related to storage is speed. I suspect that the A3000
without a hard disc and situated in a school is the typical Acorn
machine. Multi-media applications usually benefit greatly from speed of
data transfer (a major headache for CD-ROM development) as well as
space, and ARM2 and a single floppy is not a good combination. The
application developed on an A540 may not run at all satisfactorily on a
1M A3000 with bit-mapped fonts and a single floppy.
5.6
These problems are not confined to the ARM world − try running a recent
PC flight simulator on an early XT, or Quark Express 3 on a Mac Classic
with a single floppy − but it does provide a dilemma for developers. On
the one hand it would be nice to stimulate the state of the art market
and, on the other, sufficient sales volumes are needed.
5.6
An assumption of ARM2 with a standard resolution monitor, a single
floppy, outline fonts with Homerton and Trinity available, is reason
able. 2M RAM is also becoming a must for any realistic work in multi-
media.
5.6
What’s new?
5.6
Well, perhaps not brand new, but I have now got a copy of !Magpie from
Longmon Logotron and Key Author from Anglia TV for review. !Magpie is
very similar to Genesis I, but first impressions are that the graphics
in the demonstrations are much more attractive. This is more to do with
the artistic ability of the author than anything inherent in the
software, I suspect, but it does provide that professional touch.
Genesis II is certainly more flexible when it comes to customised
applications because of the script language and it benefits from volume
of sales owing to being in the market first and its connection with the
Learning Curve. Like Genesis, Magpie includes an application to enable
non-Magpie owners to look at applications distributed by authors.
5.6
Key Author is produced by Anglia TV and makes use of the fact that there
are many Key and Key Plus data files in existence owing to the develop
ment on the BBC micro. I haven’t as yet had time to have a detailed look
at this but I will say more about both !Magpie and Key Author in future
columns.
5.6
Acorn
5.6
Acorn have themselves produced a system for compressing video and
replaying it from disc or CD-ROM in the form of ARMovies. For those
without the facilities to get video tape materials to digital format, a
company called Uniqueway Ltd (0222−615782) will compress video from a
variety of sources at a cost of £100 per minute. Applications such as
!Magpie already have desktop video buttons for replaying and contolling
these films in a window on the desktop.
5.6
Irlam Instruments
5.6
Irlam Instruments use a different approach to get live video on the
desktop. They have produced a board which digitises video from a camera,
tape or analogue laserdisc and displays it directly in a scalable window
on the RISC-OS desktop. Since all the work is done on the board, there
is very little taken from the ARM, so things do not slow down and a full
24-bit colour palette can be made available, vastly improving the range
of colours. This approach is relatively expensive with the board costing
over £1000 but it does provide a very sophisticated digitiser and frame
store. I have heard that Wild Vision are also working on a similar
product.
5.6
Endproc
5.6
Well that’s all for this month. If you have any ideas or contributions,
please write to: 1 Melford, off Buckingham Road, Tamworth  B79 7UX.  A
5.6

5.6
PipeLine
5.6
Gerald Fitton
5.6
Whether you are a PipeDream user or not I have some general advice for
everyone this month − so read on. However, first a few comments
specifically for PipeDream users.
5.6
PipeDream 4 version
5.6
Version 4.12 was issued on 10th February 1992. If you have not already
done so then send both your PD 4 and your Examples disc to Colton
Software for your free upgrade. Mark the envelope ‘Enhanced Charts
Upgrade’.
5.6
Well, my prediction that version 4.12 would be with you before the end
of January 1992 was just a little optimistic. I also predicted that at
least three quarters of our PipeLine user group would have ‘converted’
their PipeLine subscription from PL3 to PL4 before receiving the
February Archive. The current figure is 78%. PD 4 is popular. The
general view of those who have not yet upgraded is that the upgrade from
PD3 to PD4 costs more than you would have wished (doesn’t everything?)
so you are going to wait and see. The view of those who have upgraded is
that it is worth the price they paid for it!
5.6
It is interesting that the most positive comments are about the new,
easier to use GUI (Graphic Users Interface), the spreadsheet custom
functions, arrays, names and other new features rather than the much
publicised graphics (charts) − perhaps you haven’t got around to using
them yet? I delayed writing this column with the intention of making the
‘Enhanced Charts Upgrade’ of version 4.12 charts my ‘feature of the
month’ and I have ‘had a go’ but not sufficiently to produce a reason
able article. However, regarding the charts, I do like what I see and
will write more soon.
5.6
Consideration of version 4.12 brings me round to Trend from last month.
My ‘Trend’ application, included on the February Archive disc, does work
in version 4.11 but doesn’t work properly in version 4.12. What happens
is that PD 4 gets into a loop and runs out of memory! I think the
problem is that, in version 4.12, the way I have used the set_value(,)
function looks like a circular reference but it didn’t in 4.11. However,
nothing terrible happens and, by clicking on the slot with the circular
reference and then on the green tick, the apparent circular reference
and its associated memory problem disappears. I have used set_value(,)
this way in other applications which I have sent to correspondents
because I thought it was a good way of doing what they wanted. If, when
you get your version 4.12, you have problems with set_value(,) in files
I have sent you, then at least there is a work around. I have asked
Robert Macmillan to look into this ‘new’ problem. We might have to find
a way of eliminating the circular reference.
5.6
Page widths
5.6
Thanks to all of you who sent me printouts of a 50 character width file.
I can now say quite categorically that if you set up a column 50
characters wide (using <Ctrl W> and <Ctrl H> both set to 50) then, using
RISC-OS printer drivers, this will print to a width of 111.5mm (about
4.38“ in Imperial units). Following on from this, the 72 character width
which is so popular with many of you, because it just fits a mode 12
screen, will print to a width of 160mm (6.3”). A4 is about 210mm wide
so, if you want a balanced margin then you need a 25mm margin on each
side. Some of this margin will be built into the page definition of your
!PrinterLJ (or !PrinterDM etc), but if you make those ‘lost’ margins
equal to zero then 25mm = 11 PipeDream characters.
5.6
StartUp
5.6
I believe that when the Archimedes was born the first purchasers were
mainly enthusiasts. They recognised a ‘good’ machine when they saw it
and they were ‘computer literate’ enough not to have problems with RISC-
OS, Desktops, WIMPs, dragging files, using and updating modules. More
recently, the Archimedes is being bought and used by engineers,
scientists, lawyers, accountants, teachers, writers and many others
whose expertise is not in unravelling the meaning of error messages such
as “Module not found at line 2065” but whose expertise lies in being
able to use a ‘tool’ such as the Archimedes to do something much more
‘useful’ than practice their ‘computer literacy’.
5.6
I have had too much correspondence recently, particularly from pur
chasers of floppy disc machines (but also some who have hard discs), who
have also bought PipeDream, Impression, DrawPlus, Revelation, DeskEdit,
etc, etc and who get frustrated by mountains of cryptic error messages
such as the one above or requests to keep putting different discs (with
obscure titles which seem to be a day of the week!) into the floppy
drive (and still without any measure of success). If this has happened
to you, or if it hasn’t yet, but you think it might, then this article
may help you − whether you are a PipeDream user or not.
5.6
I have decided to keep the ‘technical’ background for another occasion
and in this one concentrate on ‘how to do it’. This is the method of
setting up your discs, files, etc. ‘Hard disc’ users should create the
directories named below (!System, !Fonts and !PrinterLJ) in the root
directory of their hard disc rather than on separate floppies.
5.6
However, first a small ‘hiccup’ with version 4.12. The first few discs
of PD 4.12 slipped through with a command on line 5 of the !Run file
which keeps asking you to insert your Examples disc even when you have
successfully transferred your !System files to your hard disc (or, with
a floppy disc system when you have followed the instructions below). To
rectify this hiccup all you have to do is disable or delete line 5 in
the !Run file which reads:
5.6
Set PipeDream_Preload$File
5.6
adfs::Examples.$.Preload
5.6
To disable a line, insert a | (the character just above <Return>) at the
start of the line such as is present at the start of line 6.
5.6
What you’re going to do
5.6
You are going to make yourself a “System” disc, a “Fonts” disc, a “RISC-
OS printer” disc and learn how to use them. When you have made them, you
switch off the Archimedes and, immediately after switching on, put your
‘new’ discs into the floppy disc drive (and click on the :0 icon) in the
order System, Fonts, Printer. You do this before you put in discs
containing !Edit, !Draw, !Paint, !PipeDream, !Impression or anything
else. Because you will have named the discs (see below), when you are
asked for the disc called “System” you will know which one to pop back
into the drive.
5.6
The System disc
5.6
Start with a blank, formatted disc or one on which everything has been
deleted. Place the disc in the floppy drive :0, click <menu> over the :0
icon and use the ‘Name disc’ option to name the disc as System. Write
the word “System” on the disc label. The system disc should contain only
one directory called !System. I have asked Paul to put a copy of my
!System directory on the Archive disc. My !System (on the Archive disc)
has a few ‘extra’ features such as new settings for Copy$ Options (see
Archive 3.12 p32) so that ‘Newer’ files overwrite old ones of the same
name (without having to delete the old one) and it loads a virus
protection module (also on the disc) and so prevents your discs becoming
contaminated. I have also included this !System application on our user
group’s February 1992 PipeLine 4 disc. Copy this or any other !System
directory (e.g. the one from the PD 4.12 Examples disc or the one from
Shareware 17) onto your otherwise blank System disc.
5.6
Double click <select> on the !System directory which you have just
copied to your System disc (this is important).
5.6
Place your PipeDream 4 Examples disc in the :0 drive. Do not double
click on the !System directory of that disc but ‘drag’ the !System
directory from the PD 4 Examples disc to your System disc. You will be
prompted to swop discs many times (there is an easier way using a RAM
disc but I won’t describe it here) and, at the end of this time
consuming task you will have a system disc which ‘works’ with !PipeDream
and many other packages. If you have another application such as
!Impression that you use fairly often then ‘drag’ the !System directory
from that package onto your System disc. If you have !Presenter,
!Revelation, or anything else with a !System directory, then do the
same.
5.6
To overcome the “Newer” problem (Acorn’s default Copy$Options do not
copy a new file over an old one of the same name), many packages now
contain a !SysMerge application which checks the dates of modules and
copies over when “Newer”.
5.6
If you have contracted the “module” virus, the date stamp on some of
your modules will be incorrect and you may finish up copying an ‘old’
module over the top of (and so deleting) a more recent version. Because
of this possibility of having the wrong date stamp (due to a virus
infection) on your working disc you should always use the !System from
the master discs of a package and not from your working disc.
5.6
Probably the best thing to do now is to quit everything that is on the
icon bar, switch off, wait about 30 seconds and switch on again. Write
protect your new System disc and put it in the floppy drive and then
open it with a single click on the :0 icon.
5.6
The Fonts disc
5.6
To use the graphics features of PD 4.12 you need Acorn’s outline fonts
module. This module is provided on the PD 4.12 Examples disc. Start
again with a blank formatted disc and name it Fonts. The only directory
on that disc should be one called !Fonts.
5.6
Drag the directory called !Fonts from any package containing it (e.g.
the PD 4 Examples disc) onto your otherwise blank Fonts disc.
5.6
Double click the select (left) mouse button on the !Fonts directory
which is on your new Fonts disc. You can now ‘drag’ !Fonts directories
from any package such as !Impression directly onto your Fonts disc.
5.6
If you buy some separate fonts, you will find that they have names such
as OldEnglish. Almost certainly you will be sent a directory called by
the font name (i.e. a directory called, for example OldEnglish) rather
than a directory called !Fonts. In that case you must ‘open’ your !Fonts
directory before copying across the fonts. This is how you do it. Hold
down the <Shift> key and double click select on your !Fonts directory to
open a window into the ‘innards’ of !Fonts. Now ‘drag’ OldEnglish (or
whatever it is) into the newly opened window (i.e. into the ‘innards’ of
your !Fonts directory).
5.6
Generally, to make a font such as “OldEnglish” available to a package
such as !PipeDream, you must have put your Fonts disc in the floppy
drive (and clicked on :0 so that !Fonts is displayed on screen) before
using !PipeDream. If you have !PipeDream already on the icon bar when
you add, say, “OldEnglish” to your Fonts disc then !PipeDream will know
nothing about the existence of “OldEnglish” until you quit PipeDream and
reload it.
5.6
Once again, having got this far, I suggest that you Quit everything,
switch off, wait, switch on, insert your System disc, click on :0,
insert your Fonts disc and click on :0 before doing anything else.
5.6
RISC-OS printers
5.6
RISC-OS printing is different from PipeDream printer driver printing.
5.6
In the same way as you have created System and Fonts discs you should
create a disc called Printer and copy across (by dragging) one of the
RISC-OS drivers to it. RISC-OS printer drivers have names such as
!PrinterLJ (LaserJet), !PrinterDM (DotMatrix), etc, and are available
from Norwich Computer Services as part of Shareware 17. Shareware 17
also contains up-to-date versions of nearly all the modules you will
need in the Modules subdirectory of your System disc.
5.6
Unlike !System and !Fonts, you have to double click on !PrinterLJ (or
!PrinterDM, etc) to install the printer driver on the icon bar. If you
are going to use Impression or PD 4 then I recommend that you ‘load’ the
printer onto the icon bar before you put your Impression or PD disc in
the drive.
5.6
Using packages
5.6
My recommendation about using packages such as PipeDream on a floppy
disc machine is that you keep your program files (e.g. the !PipeDream
package) on a disc on its own and use many separate floppy discs for
your different applications of that package. My recommendation for hard
disc users has been published; keep packages on the hard disc and data
on floppies.
5.6
For example, you (like I do) might have a disc which you call Letters.
On the floppy disc called Letters I have a large number of directories.
A typical directory might be 9201 which contains all letters I have
written in January 1992. I have another disc called Invoices and yet
another called DTP I do not, and I strongly suggest that you do not, put
your data files on the same disc as the package (a package such as
Impression or PipeDream). Colton Software have put the Pipe-Dream 4
package on a disc called PipeDream 4 so that, if you are asked by the
computer to put PipeDream 4 (or System or Fonts) in the disc drive then
there is no ambiguity in your mind about which disc to ‘show’ to the
computer.
5.6
Summary
5.6
Make yourself System, Fonts and Printer discs. Immediately after you
have switched on the computer put each of these discs (in the order
System, Fonts, Printer) in the drive and click on :0. You can close the
‘windows’ after you have opened them. Remember to double click on the
printer driver after opening your Printer disc.
5.6
Next put your package disc (e.g. the disc called PipeDream4 containing
only the directory !PipeDream) in :0 and double click on the package
icon (such as !PipeDream). Finally, put your data disc (such as your
disc called Letters) in drive :0 and go to work.
5.6
If you need modules, fonts, printer, or the package disc (i.e. a disc
such as PipeDream4), or even your data disc (e.g. Letters) then the
computer will keep track of what it needs and where it is.
5.6
Finally
5.6
I hope that this is of some help to you. Please write to me at Abacus
Training (see address on the back inside cover of Archive) if you find
any snags, problems or difficulties with this way of doing things. I
would also like to get some idea of just how many of you have had
problems and how many of you this explanation has helped.  A
5.6

5.6
Scientific Software − Data Presentation
5.6
Brian Cowan
5.6
The response to the first Scientific Software Column has been quite
encouraging. I received a number of letters with suggestions for topics
to be considered. Kate Crennell sent a letter emphasising the importance
of the Fortran language in scientific programming and the shortcomings
of the Acorn implementation. She is building up a PD Fortran library for
the Archimedes. More details in a future issue, but serious academic
users, particularly those interested also in contributing can get in
contact with Kate via the JANET network to [e-mail].
5.6
Plotting software
5.6
The plotting of graphs is one of those repetitive tasks for which the
microcomputer is ideally suited. I have heard it said that “almost every
research student writes his/her own graph plotting program”. Although a
slight exaggeration, this emphasises the point that, in reality, a full-
featured graph plotter will be extremely complex and it takes a long
time to learn the wrinkles of someone else’s program. It can be easier
(and even quicker!) to write one’s own. A good desktop environment
should change all that; the key point is the standardised user
interface.
5.6
As is often the case, the PD programs come first and, as is also often
the case, the quality of PD programs can be very high. Chris Johnson
produced ChartDraw (Careware 5) and GraphDraw (Shareware 38), although
now updated and these are complemented by his MultiPlot, CurveFit and
FnPlotter. Recently Risc Developments brought out their ChartWell and
now we have Minerva’s Graphbox Professional. Of a more specialised
nature is Jim Markland’s Contour on the !Works Tools #2 disc.
5.6
The first part of this article is about plotting data provided by the
user. There are a couple of other programs specifically designed to
display and plot mathematical functions, apart from FnPlotter. These are
Functionplotter from Klein Computer and Fx2 from Silica Software
Systems. These will be considered in the latter part of the article.
5.6
The GraphDraw suite
5.6
From time to time there are various improvements being made to Graph
Draw. I shall discuss my experiences with the latest version, 1.06a.
Data is conventionally entered, from the keyboard, into an editing
window as a sequence of x,y pairs. The points may be joined by straight
lines or a least squares fit curve may be drawn. There is a choice of
straight line or polynomial up to 5th order and there is also a clever
cubic spline option with a choice of fit factor. The figure shows a
fifth order polynomial fit to some data:
5.6
There is also a limited range of transformations which may be made to
the data prior to plotting and fitting.
5.6
Once the graph is displayed, one can choose various layout options, and
captions may be inserted for the axes and the title. The graph may then
be stored as a Draw file, for further editing/modification or for
including in DTP or printing directly. Also, there is the facility to
save the data and graph information as a file, type 7F3 (GraphFile).
Essentially, this consists of a header and a footer with the data in
standard comma separated variable (CSV) format. GraphDraw recognises
this file type, so clicking on such a file loads it directly. Alterna
tively, one may drop a CSV file, produced with Edit or perhaps
automatically from some measuring instrument, onto the GraphDraw icon.
After a warning that the file type is not recognised, the data will
nevertheless be loaded. Personally, I prefer to type my data into Edit
and then load it in rather than using the in-built data editor.
5.6
MultiPlot
5.6
A limitation of GraphDraw is that only one graph can be displayed. This
difficulty is overcome, however, with another program from the suite
called MultiPlot. GraphDraw provides the facility to save the graph data
in a format suitable for importing into Multiplot. This is similar to
GraphFile, but with different header and footer information. This
filetype is 7F6 (PlotFile).
5.6
Other members of the suite
5.6
If it is required to fit a curve through some data with a functional
form other than those supplied by GraphDraw, then one uses CurveFit.
Once again, there is a data entry window, which is not absolutely
necessary to use. A GraphFile data file may be dropped directly in as
may CSV. Once the data is in, the points can be plotted directly to see
what they look like, or a parametric fit may be requested. The function
is entered in Basic format (the program uses EVAL) with up to ten
coefficients which are to be determined. Guesses have to be given for
the coefficients and the required accuracy of the fit specified.
Clicking on the “proceed” box then starts the process of iteration until
the fit to the desired accuracy is found. The various coefficients are
then given.
5.6
If you know the function you want to plot, then FnPlotter is the program
to use. Up to four functions can be plotted together. At the moment,
both CurveFit and FnPlotter do produce Draw files of their results but
they are not able to export their results in MultiPlot format, which
would make them even more useful. I understand that Chris Johnson will
be implementing this in a future version.
5.6
Finally there is ChartDraw. This produces pie charts, line graphs and
bar charts. Here the horizontal axis is non-numerical. The program is
perfectly straightforward in use and, as expected, it produces Draw
files.
5.6
ChartWell
5.6
This program from Risc Developments uses a really clever approach
exploiting the desktop philosophy to the full. It does not display its
graphs and charts at all; it produces a Draw file for display by !Draw.
This is an interesting idea. After all, everyone has !Draw and it is a
superb program (undervalued to my mind), so why not use it? Thus
ChartWell describes itself as a file conversion program − you give it a
data file and it produces a Draw file.
5.6
Data is input in CSV format; the file type is not important. So you can
use files produced with Edit or those exported from spreadsheets or
whatever. The data file can contain one column of text and up to six
columns of numerical data. One then selects, from a menu, which should
be on which axes. There is a choice of bar chart, line graph, pie chart,
scatter graph or polar plot.
5.6
For the scatter graph, the points may be joined or a “best fit” line may
be fitted to the data. The choice of fitting functions is a straight
line, a power law, exponential and logarithm. These are very useful for
display but remember they are least squares fits to the transformed data
and therefore, except for the straight line, they are not unbiased
estimators of the “true” curve. With these fits the regression equation
is printed at the top of the graph as the example shows:
5.6
Chartwell provides the facility for displaying error bars on the data
points, both x and y. However the displayed error is the same for all
points. Considering their clever menu system for the data columns, they
could have allowed for individual errors to be entered as another column
of data.
5.6
For polar graphs only, there is the facility for plotting a given
equation. This is a useful feature, but I would have thought it just as
desirable for x-y plots as well.
5.6
Graphbox Professional
5.6
This is a Rolls-Royce of a program from Minerva Software. It has a data
entry/editing window, or data may be input as a file in CSV or SID
(Software-Independent Data) format. In fact, SID files are given the
file type C7D, with their own distinctive icon but as Graphbox does not
recognise the file type, double clicking is no good and the files must
be dropped on the Graphbox icon.
5.6
The excellent manual tells us that are 43 different types of graph which
may be produced. Of course, many of these are bar and pie charts in
various styles, what might be termed “business graphics”. Of more
scientific interest are scatter graphs, line graphs, vector diagrams,
Argand diagrams, polar graphs, triangle charts and 3D surface charts
with a choice of views. Some selection! Error bars of different sizes
may be included.
5.6
Lines and curves
5.6
Displayed points may be joined by straight lines. Graphbox also provides
an interesting option of joining the points by a Bezier curve. This puts
a smooth curve through all of the points, which looks nice. There is
also a least squares fitting option for a straight line, a parabola or a
cubic. Also, the fit parameters may be exported either as text or in CSV
form, suitable for importing into a spread sheet or by Bezier curves.
5.6
Looking good
5.6
There are facilities for plotting functions, entered as a Basic-like
string, while polynomials up to order five may be specified by giving
just their coefficients. These are useful features but such graphs
cannot (so far as I can gather) be incorporated into plots of data.
5.6
There are numerous ways of ensuring that the graphs look good. With some
simple codes, the various captions can include subscripts, superscripts
and an alternative font − perhaps Greek. A problem with the pre-RISC-OS
3 font manager is that it will not support rotated text, as required for
labelling the y axis. Graphbox Professional gets around this problem,
presumably, by converting the font data its outline curve. The following
graph is from the examples on the Graphbox disc. It gives a good
indication of the potential of the program.
5.6
Three dimensional graphs may be plotted from an array of data points as
the following indicates, again taken from the program disc:
5.6
Here we also have text written at an angle. However, while it may be
legible on paper, my screen display is unreadable because, as with an
ordinary Draw object, there is no hinting of the text.
5.6
Plotting conclusion
5.6
If you want to plot graphs then you must try the GraphDraw suite of
programs. They will do almost everything that is required. Remember,
since the files are output in Draw format, they may be edited and
finished off using !Draw. If, however these programs do not satisfy your
requirements then why is this? If you require polar plots or error bars
(of the same size) then ChartWell may suit your needs. For high-class
graphics, versatile error bars, Bezier fits through data and a host of
other features, you need Graphbox Professional. A very impressive
program, but quite expensive.
5.6
For truly versatile plotting/curve fitting, etc. one really requires
integration with a spreadsheet so that the data may be manipulated and
processed with curve-fitting macros. GraphBox Professional provides
HotLinks which may be used with PipeDream. At present, I don’t use
PipeDream, so I don’t know whether it is adequate for that sort of
application. I have Schema (which drives me up the wall!) which does
have a powerful macro facility, but no HotLinks.
5.6
Contour
5.6
We now come to a rather specialised program. It may be argued that a
three dimensional graph is not very “scientific”. It is difficult to
measure values because of the problems of the direction of view,
perspective, etc. and the fact that the 3D image is realised on a 2D
sheet of paper (or screen). Imagine that we want to represent the
temperature all over a flat surface. The x and y axes could represent
the coordinates of the surface while the z axis, the height, would be
the temperature. An alternative method of display, on the 2D surface, is
to join all points corresponding to the same temperature. This gives a
series of contours − lines of constant temperature − over the surface.
5.6
An example
5.6
Calculating the contours is not entirely trivial since it involves
interpolating between the data points to find coordinates, not on the
data grid, corresponding to a given temperature. This is precisely what
Jim Markland’s Contour program does. The picture on the next page shows
contours of magnetic field for one quarter of a solenoid.
5.6
The top left hand corner is the centre of the coil. Here the contours
are most widely spaced, indicating that the field is most homogeneous.
The bottom right hand corner, where the lines bunch together, is where
the field varies most rapidly. This graph was created from a grid of 25
by 50 data points in CSV format, which were loaded into Contour. The
program produced a DXF file which was loaded into Draw, from which it
was saved as a Draw file. DXF is a standard graphics format and such
files may be imported into a variety of programs on PCs, MACs etc. There
are also facilities for exporting data as sprites. Surfaces may be saved
as MTV polygons which can, for instance, be used with the MTV ray-tracer
available from David Pilling (now also available through Archive for
£6). It is also possible to export surfaces in Euclid format. Then the
power of Euclid may be used to manipulate the surface. This is a superb
program − if you need to visualise surfaces and create contours.
5.6
Function plotting
5.6
As we have seen, both FnPlotter and Graphbox Professional allow the
plotting of curves from Basic-like commands. There are, however two
other programs specifically devoted to plotting functions, with some
rather interesting facilities. Klein Computer, a German company now
producing software for the Archimedes, has come out with Functionplot
ter, while Fx2 is available from Silica Software Systems.
5.6
Functionplotter
5.6
This program supports 2D or 3D plots using rectangular coordinates. In
both cases, the equation is typed in a Basic-like format. For 2D graphs,
one may display either the function or one of a range of its properties
such as the first, second or third derivative, the curvature or even the
evolute! Also, there is a range of calculational options. The position
where the function, its first derivative or its second derivative is
zero may be found and the integral may be evaluated over a specified
range.
5.6
For 3D plots the function of y and z is entered. The surface may be
viewed from a choice of angles with or without hidden surface removal.
An example is shown below.
5.6
The number of steps may be specified by the user. Obviously the more
steps, the longer it takes to calculate and to draw the surface and, of
course, the larger the resultant Draw file. Calculations may also be
performed for the 3D case; both the surface area and the volume may be
found. There is also the option of plotting contours, so this ties in
very nicely with Contour discussed above.
5.6
There are three things which come to mind which would make the program
even better. There is no support for outline fonts. Really, this is no
serious problem since editing for presentation can be done in Draw or
DTP. It would, however, be nice if polar plots could be included and I
would like the facility for saving, editing and reloading given
equations.
5.6
Fx2
5.6
This program complements the previous one in many ways. Only 2D graphs
may be produced but there is a choice of Cartesian or polar plots.
Cartesian graphs may be specified in parametric form where both x and y
are given in terms of another variable. There is a range of calculation
options including integral, volume and surface of a solid of revolution,
curve length, mean value, RMS value, centroids and moments of inertia.
It is also possible to calculate roots in a given interval. Involving
differentiation, one can obtain the slope, equation of the tangent to a
point, equation of the normal and maxima and minima. This is quite an
extensive selection.
5.6
Equations are entered in Fx2 in algebraic mode. Thus to enter a power,
say xa, the ^ symbol is not accepted and one must use the “cursor up”
key to enter the power, which shifts the following text up in the
equation window. I believe that the advantage of an algebraic display is
outweighed by the versatility of a Basic type of entry. For example, it
is impossible to enter abc which could be entered as a^b^c.
5.6
Fx2 comes with its own outline font called FXchars. This is essentially
the familiar Trinity (Times) with the addition of the square root sign
and the greek alpha, beta, gamma, delta and pi. This is loaded in when
the program is run. Pi is recognised as its numerical value and there is
the option to define values for other constants. Thus by default e is
defined as 2.71828. There is the option for automatic scaling of the y
axis, once the x range is specified, and the colours of lines may be
chosen. One particularly useful feature is the ability to save equation
specifications as a file.
5.6
Bottom line
5.6
There is an increasing range of software around. My advice is to try the
PD programs. These may give you what is needed and, if not, then
investigate what commercial programs might suit. I was very impressed
with Graphbox Professional and Functionplotter, but I still think that
for many applications, the GraphDraw suite of programs is more than
adequate − particularly since Draw can always be used for final editing,
such as moving the data points closer to the regression line!
5.6
For plotting functions, try the PD FnPlotter. This gives no calculation
options and we must wait for a future version to export files in
MultiPlot format to integrate it fully into the program suite. Function
plotter and Fx2 have various extra facilities which you may require. The
choice depends on your needs and your pocket.
5.6
Products covered
5.6
GraphDraw is on our Shareware 38 disc costing £3 and ChartDraw is on our
Careware 5 disc costing £6, both available from Norwich Computer
Services. Once you are registered with Chris Johnson, their author, you
can obtain the latest versions of these together with FnPlot, MultiPlot
and CurveFit.
5.6
ChartWell is produced by Risc Developments and it costs £29.95 +VAT.
5.6
Graphbox Professional costs £129 +VAT from Minerva Software (£135
through Archive).
5.6
Contour is part of the !Works Tools #2 collection from Jim Markland. The
disc costs £30.
5.6
Fx2 comes from Silica Software Systems. It costs £59.95, but includes a
20-machine site licence.
5.6
Functionplotter costs £20 from Klein Computers in Ruesselsheim,
Germany.  A
5.6

5.6
Target Maths
5.6
Brian Philp
5.6
This is a suite of four programs: Eliminator, Number Facts, Scale Factor
and Slider. The blurb says that they are aimed at specific National
Curriculum targets − Number and Algebra with levels varying from 3 to 6.
5.6
Eliminator. This is a good idea for helping with practice on multipli
cation tables. It has 16 sums to do “in reverse”. You can make mistakes
but you have to get a perfect score to go on to the next level. The
levels are named: Novice, Expert and Genius. I think the inducements to
progress will not attract more then a small group of pupils − and they
may be the ones who do not need it anyway. If this could be improved it
would be quite useful.
5.6
Number Facts. This is in two parts. Both are screens showing the numbers
from 1 to 100. In the first part you can explore to find which are
triangular, prime, square even or odd. The second is a game for two
players where you have to move to a number with the given property. The
player can choose the property and different properties get different
points. The first to 50 is the winner.
5.6
Scale Factor. This is for practising decimals and shows a marked ruler.
There are four levels, the later two asking for the addition or
subtraction of decimals to be pointed at on the scale. This is a very
useful program for pupils at this level.
5.6
Slider. This is a snakes and ladders game with numbers. The snag is that
the snakes and ladders are invisible! It seems to be of limited use but
perhaps I have missed the point.
5.6
There are one or two annoying aspects to the programming. The computer
is not left in its normal state after finishing the program. In
particular, the numbers in the system font are changed and the keyboard
auto-repeat rate is changed. The only way of leaving most of the
programs is by pressing <escape>. There should be a clean menu style
method of exiting which returns the computer to its original state.
5.6
Conclusion
5.6
More could be done to improve these programs − then they would be very
useful for an institution where remedial maths or enhancement of maths
is required. Educational programs always seem to be expensive for what
they offer. Here you get 110k of code of which 50k are sprites and the
rest Basic programs. You will have to judge whether or not this is value
for money. (£19.95 from Triple R or £19 through Archive.)  A
5.6

5.6
Mandelbrot  Bakeware
5.6
Basil Davis
5.6
We have had comments that we don’t give enough ‘real programming
examples’, so Basil, who is something of a Mandlebrot expert has
provided a program that really works and has a practical application
that even non-computing friends and family will appreciate1. After
January’s designer fractals, we have some fractal bakeware. Ed.
5.6
To set the context, let me quote two excerpts from The Pocket Oxford
German Dictionary.
5.6
   Mandel f. (-n)  almond    Brot n  bread; loaf
5.6
It is not generally realised that the word Mandelbrot translates from
the  German  as  Almond Bread.  The following was ‘inspired’(?)  by a
recipe2  in Amygdala Issue 21 giving  an  end product which the
Americans call scones and we would probably call rusks. This can be
converted into Operational Code by any culinary minded reader and used
to produce a tasty “hardcopy”.  The author has found that the judicious
use of an infusion of Twining’s T42 (Darjeeling version)3  can improve
some of the procedures, particularly PROCeat.
5.6
The program uses Metric units throughout − the earlier Imperial units
version can be converted with the tables to be found in A Beginner’s
Guide to Cashbook Cookery4.  For optimum results, it is essential to use
an efficient compiler such as Cordon Bleu or Haute Cuisine. During
assembly, a co-processor such as Kenwood or Moulinex can speed up the
processing.
5.6
For other examples of Fractal Bakeware why not try Consommé Julienne –
derived from Julia sets and incorporating 64 bit software (mostly
carrots and swedes). John Greening5 has described the preparation of
Menger Sponges which are, however, inedible and not to be confused with
Victoria Sandwich Sponges.
5.6
The program is dedicated to the memory of the mathematician George Boole
(1814–1864) without whose logic it would never have seen the light of
day. It is not suitable for Microwave ovens, the radiation from which
can cause ROM damage. Gas and Electric Modes are catered for but not
Multi-sink.
5.6
The author accepts no responsibility for damage to either sense of
humour or digestive systems.
5.6
REM >AlmondBred
5.6
REM  Bakeware Recipe for Mandelbrot translated from the original German.
5.6
REM Version 2 (metric) by Basil Davis
5.6
REM Version 2a − Virus protection included
5.6
REM April 1st 1992
5.6
PROCprepare
5.6
PROCingredients
5.6
PROCassembly
5.6
PROCshape
5.6
PROCbake(45)
5.6
PROCslice
5.6
PROCbake(15)
5.6
PROCeat
5.6
END
5.6

5.6
DEFPROCprepare
5.6
Oven_On = FALSE: In_Oven = FALSE
5.6
Beating = FALSE : Pressing = FALSE
5.6
Slicing = FALSE
5.6
WHILE NOT Oven_On
5.6
        Oven_temp$=“15 C”: Oven_temp = 15
5.6
        Heating=FALSE: Oven_Ready=FALSE
5.6
ENDWHILE
5.6
shape$=“”: minor_axis$=“”:Mouth_Open=FALSE
5.6
diameter$= “”: tsp$=“teaspoonful”: Virus$=“”
5.6
ENDPROC
5.6

5.6
DEFPROCingredients
5.6
NoOfEggs=3:  Egg$=“Yolk”+“White”+“Eggshell”
5.6
IF Egg$=Egg$ +Virus$  AND Virus$=“salmonella” THEN
5.6
PRINT “Buy fresh eggs and consult your GP”
5.6
ENDIF
5.6
Sugar$  = “180 gm”: Cooking_Oil$  =  “225 ml”
5.6
Flour$ = “55 gm”: Vanilla$ = “1” + tsp$
5.6
Baking_Powder$ =“2” + tsp$
5.6
Sultana$ =“250 gm”
5.6
Almond$  = “450 gm coarse ground”: Flour% = 1
5.6
ENDPROC
5.6

5.6
DEFPROCassembly
5.6
Beating = TRUE
5.6
WHILE Beating
5.6
   mix$=Sugar$
5.6
      FOR I% = 1 TO NoOfEggs
5.6
         Egg$=Egg$ − “Eggshell”
5.6
         mix$=mix$ + Egg$
5.6
      NEXT I%
5.6
      mix$ = mix$ + Cooking_Oil$
5.6
      WAIT
5.6
      mix$=mix$ + Vanilla$ + Almond$ +Sultana$ + Baking_Powder$
5.6
      REPEAT
5.6
         mix$ = mix$ + Flour$ : Flour%+=1
5.6
      UNTIL Flour% = 6
5.6
ENDWHILE
5.6
Beating = FALSE:  ENDPROC
5.6

5.6
DEFPROCshape
5.6
Oil_BakingSheet = TRUE
5.6
FlourOnHands= TRUE
5.6
shape$ = “Cylinder or Roll”: Rolling = TRUE
5.6
WHILE Rolling
5.6
   REPEAT
5.6
   UNTIL mix$=shape$ AND diameter$= “5 cm”
5.6
ENDWHILE
5.6
Rolling= FALSE: length=LEN(mix$)
5.6
Pressing=TRUE
5.6
WHILE Pressing
5.6
    REPEAT UNTIL mix$=shape$+“flat_bottom”  AND  minor_axis$ = “2.5 cm”
5.6
ENDWHILE
5.6
Pressing = FALSE: ENDPROC
5.6

5.6
DEFPROCbake(minutes)
5.6
LOCAL bake_time, t
5.6
bake_time = minutes*60*100
5.6
IF NOT Oven_Ready THEN
5.6
   Oven_On = TRUE
5.6
   REPEAT
5.6
      Heating = TRUE: Oven_temp+ = 5
5.6
   UNTIL Oven_temp >170 AND Oven_temp <180
5.6
      Oven_Ready = TRUE
5.6
ENDIF
5.6
WHILE Oven_Ready
5.6
   In_Oven = TRUE
5.6
   t=TIME: REPEAT UNTIL T−t > bake_time
5.6
ENDWHILE
5.6
In_Oven = FALSE:  ENDPROC
5.6

5.6
DEFPROCslice
5.6
Slicing = TRUE: NoOfSlices% = 0
5.6
WHILE Slicing
5.6
   REPEAT
5.6
      length− = 2: NoOfSlices%+ = 1
5.6
   UNTIL length < = 2
5.6
ENDWHILE
5.6
Slicing = FALSE
5.6
ENDPROC
5.6
DEFPROCeat
5.6
Heating=FALSE: Oven_On=FALSE
5.6
Appetite=TRUE
5.6
REPEAT
5.6
   slice = 1: Mouth_Open = TRUE
5.6
   INPUT slice: NoOfSlices%− = 1
5.6
UNTIL NoOfSlices = 0  OR Appetite = FALSE
5.6
Mouth_Open = FALSE
5.6
ENDPROC
5.6
References
5.6
1 Especially true on the first of next month!
5.6
2 L.Herzmark  Recipe   Amygdala #21, 8, 1990
5.6
3 Available from most computer cookshops.
5.6
4 E. Bakeswell & B.Eaton  “The Beginners Guide to Cashbook Cookery”, 2nd
edn., xxviii, Norwich University Press, 1990.
5.6
5 J. Greening  “Three Dimensional Fractals”, Risc User  4, (2), 23,
1990.  B
5.6

5.6
Developing Hardware Projects
5.6
Paul Marshall
5.6
I have written this article to explain how I was able to use my
Archimedes to develop and successfully build a microprocessor based
project.
5.6
IRIG timecodes
5.6
The project that I had been given was to generate a timecode which may
be recorded onto video and audio tapes so that they may be resynchron
ised at a later date. There are a variety of standards used for this,
the most popular ones were devised by the Inter-Range Instrumentation
Group in 1959.
5.6
The code to be used in my application is known as IRIG­B. This encodes
the time of year once a second at a data rate of 100 bits a second and
then modulates the resulting data stream with a 1kHz sinewave. The
timecode may therefore be read back off a tape to a resolution of one
thousandth of a second.
5.6
Microprocessor solution
5.6
I decided to build the timecode generator using a microprocessor based
design. Using a microprocessor requires a facility for writing the
program, assembling it and copying the resulting code into an EPROM. I
felt that it would be helpful to be able to be able to perform all these
tasks directly from the Archimedes.
5.6
I had an assembler to run on a PC, so I transferred this onto a hard
disk partition to use under the PC Emulator on the Archimedes. The
assembler required a text file containing the program to be assembled.
Rather than use a PC based text editor I used !Edit to type in the text
file. This has the advantage that the Archimedes desktop is available
for use whilst the program is being written and large screen modes can
be used.
5.6
Using a filing system such as Multi-FS allows the text file to reside in
the PC partition on a hard disk so no difficulty is found in swapping to
the PC Emulator to run the assembler. The new multi­tasking PC emulator
makes the task of swapping from desktop to PC and back again very easy.
It is no longer necessary to restart the machine to return to the
Archimedes desktop. One difficulty is that, whilst the PC Emulator is
running, the text file is inaccessible. The PC Emulator does not close
the hard disk partition file.
5.6
I included the commands to run the assembler in the ‘Startup Text’
option in an Emulator configuration file. Therefore double clicking on
the configuration file causes the PC Emulator to be run. This then runs
the assembler.
5.6
The assembler produces listing and object files. The listing file is
similar to the original program but contains errors and warnings at
appropriate places. By loading both the original and listing files into
!Edit, the errors can quickly be located and corrected.
5.6
EPROM programming
5.6
The object file generated by the assembler is in Intel­80 format. This
is a text file containing the contents of the EPROM. The format is well
documented in Intel Data books so it was fairly easy to write a Basic
procedure to interpret the file.
5.6
The next step is to take the data and program it into an EPROM. These
memory chips require exposure to Ultra-violet light for 20 minutes to
erase them. The programming algorithms require 12.5 or 25 volts, so
while not impossible to build, the programmers require a considerable
amount of work. To avoid this and the need to buy an eraser I decided to
use non-volatile RAM chips instead. These appear as normal RAM chips but
have an integral battery to retain the data when power is removed.
5.6
The Acorn I/O podule provided me with an equivalent to the 1MHz bus
found on BBC computers. This provides sufficient addressing and data
lines to address the whole of an 8k non­ volatile RAM with minimal extra
circuitry. I wrote a Basic procedure to write data to a given address
using the Acorn software interrupts and used it in a multi-tasking
application which takes the object file and programs it into the RAM
chip. Using the Interface Manager module written by Simon Huntingdon, a
professional looking front end can be designed. This gives a complete
system for writing the software and transferring it into the micropro
cessor system being developed from the desktop.
5.6
Circuit design
5.6
Before the stage of programming code is reached, it is necessary to
produce a circuit schematic which should be clear and consistent. This
must then be transferred into a printed circuit board layout or
strip­board design.
5.6
!Draw is a very convenient tool for drawing out circuit schematics. It
has been improved on by Jonathan Marten with his program !DrawPlus. This
has two main advantages over !Draw. The first is the use of libraries.
This permits a number of basic units to be placed in a library and then
dropped into a draw file. This is an ideal way to store commonly used
circuit components. The second advantage is that information such as the
grid options is stored with the drawing. This makes it easy to set up a
blank document with the options set up as required and a title block
which can be locked in position.
5.6
Printed circuit boards
5.6
There can be no doubt that a printed circuit board makes a project
instantly appear more professional. While there are printed circuit
board layout programs available for the Archimedes, I have found that
!DrawPlus again comes into its own. With the ability to select layers,
the pads can be locked into position and it is easy to design double
sided boards.
5.6
With a significant number of Archimedes owners able to obtain access to
laser printers, high quality output of the drawfiles may be printed on
laser transparencies and then used as masks to make the circuit boards.
5.6
To help lay out PCB tracks I have designed a font of half a dozen
characters. These include the round pads and both the horizontal and
vertical pads for integrated circuits. When rendered at 8 point on a
0·1“ grid these provide the correct spacing for a 1:1 plot of the PCB
design.
5.6
Testing
5.6
It is extremely unlikely that the circuit will operate correctly the
first time it is switched on! In my microprocessor design, I therefore
included a parallel output port. This was connected up to a 20 way IDC
plug. This can be connected to the User Port on the parallel I/O podule.
I put some extra instructions in the program that was running on the
project board in order to write numbers back to this port. Thus, the
state of the circuit can be read back and displayed on the screen. This
makes it very quick to see exactly where the processor is going wrong.
5.6
Finally, for analogue parts of the design, I have designed and built a
fast analogue to digital interface. The interface (originally designed
as a sound sampler) can sample at 80 kHz so can be used as an adequate
storage oscilloscope. The resulting traces can be stored as sprites.
These can be added into DTP as part of a final report.
5.6
Conclusion
5.6
I hope that I have illustrated above how the Archimedes is an extremely
powerful tool for hardware project development. From the original
design, through PCB layout and software assembly to debugging and
testing, the Archimedes is an ideal companion. In addition, the cost of
the software to perform all these tasks is extremely low.  A
5.6

5.6
Part of one side of a PCB drawn using !DrawPlus
5.6

5.6

5.6
Northwest SEMERC     Fitton Hill CDC, Rosary Road, Oldham  OL8 2QE.
(061−627−4469)
5.6
Oak Solutions (p10)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274−620423) (620419)
5.6
PEP Associates     55 St Paul’s Drive, Chatteris, Cambridge, PE16 6DG.
5.6
Pineapple Software     39 Brownlea
Gardens, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex IG3 9NL. (081−599−1476)
5.6
Ray Maidstone (p22)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603−400477) (417447)
5.6
RISC Developments Ltd    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (60263)
5.6
Sherston Software     Swan Barton,
Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH. (0666−840433) (840048)
5.6
Spacetech (p39)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.6
Triple R    P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.6
Turcan Research Systems     83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071−625−8455)
5.6
VisionSix Ltd (p31)    40 Royal
Oak, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 2DA.  (0665−510682) (0665−510692)
5.6
Watford Electronics     250 Lower
High Street, Watford, WD1 2AN. (0923−37774) (33642)
5.6
Widgit Software     102 Radford Road, Leamington Spa  CV31 1LF.
(0926−885303)
5.6
Word Processing     65 Milldale Crescent, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton   WV10
6LR.
5.6

5.6
Stop Press!!
5.6
•    Oak prices drop − The Oak SCSI disc drives have dropped in price. The
new prices are given on the price list but are summarised here in
comparison with various other drives. Atomwide (AW) and Frog drives come
without podule and so can be paired with Oak, Morley uncached (Mu/c) or
Morley cached (Mc) podules. The figures in italic are high speed drives.
5.6
INTERNAL drives (with podule)
5.6
    WW    HS    Frog    Frog    Frog    AW
AW    AW    Mrly    Mrly
5.6
            Oak    Mu/c    Mc    Oak
Mu/c    Mc    Mu/c    Mc
5.6
45M            410    430    490
5.6
50M    360    400
405    425    485    360    410
5.6
65M            440    460    520
5.6
100M    530    580    510    530    590
515    535    595    530    580
5.6
200M    870    920    760    780    840
805    825    885
5.6
400M
1175    1195    1255
5.6

5.6
EXTERNAL drives (with podule)
5.6
    WW    HS    Frog    Frog    Frog    AW
AW    AW    Mrly    Mrly
5.6
            Oak    Mu/c    Mc    Oak
Mu/c    Mc    Mu/c    Mc
5.6
40M
435    485
5.6
45M            440    460    520
5.6
50M    410    460
490    510    570
5.6
65M            470    490    550
5.6
100M    590    640    540    560    620
605    625    685    570    620
5.6
200M    920    970    790    810    870
895    915    975
5.6
300M            1210    1230    1290
5.6
400M
1265    1285    1345      A
5.6

5.6
Acorn Desktop C
5.6
Timothy Partridge
5.6
Desktop C is Acorn’s replacement for ANSI C Release 3. The package
comprises two distinct but complementary products − ANSI C Release 4 and
the Desktop Development Environment (DDE). The DDE provides an inte
grated set of tools to assist the programmer and make writing and
debugging programs quicker and easier. The package has a heavyweight
feel about it and is aimed at the programmer who wants to get the job
done with the minimum of fuss.
5.6
Installation
5.6
Inside the slip case are two manuals (one for each product), four floppy
disks, some quick reference cards showing the disk directory structure
and a release note. Acorn recommend using a machine with a minimum of 2M
of RAM and a hard disk. Floppy disks can be used, but some swapping is
needed.
5.6
An install application is provided to set up the correct directory
structure and copy the files. I was very pleased to see that it
recognised that I had a SCSI hard disk, since some products have only
heard of ADFS. I already had C version 3 installed, but everything went
without a hitch and the compiler worked first time.
5.6
C compiler
5.6
The compiler conforms with the ANSI C standard and provides a full set
of standard functions. In addition, functions for writing programs to
run on the desktop are provided. These are comprehensive and almost make
such programs easy to write! Several simple example programs are
provided to illustrate the basic principles.
5.6
In use, the compiler performs many checks and, whenever something is not
quite right, gives a warning about the assumption it has made. I prefer
this to the silent approach some compilers take which allows some coding
errors to slip through and cause problems later.
5.6
The 456 page manual is mainly for reference purposes and contains
summaries of all the functions. One chapter introduces writing desktop
applications using C. Another chapter covers using memory efficiently.
The manual does not provide any tutorial information for someone wanting
to learn C, nor does it provide details of how the desktop works or what
standards should be followed to be consistent with Acorn applications.
Full details about the desktop are in the Programmer’s Reference Manual
which has to be bought separately. When I was learning C, I liked “The
Waite Group’s New C Primer Plus” by M. Waite and S. Prata, Pub Macmil
lan, ISBN 0672 22687 1, which is a general introduction.
5.6
Version 3.75 of the shared C library is supplied and this corrects a
large number of minor bugs found in previous versions. The compiler has
changed little from Release 3. There are some new functions to assist
with printing and interactive help. Memory management has been enhanced
so that many programs can expand their original Wimpslot settings if
desired. It is claimed that the code produced is slightly more efficient
(but I haven’t checked this). The most important change is that the
compiler is compatible with the Desktop Development Environment.
5.6
Desktop Development Environment
5.6
The DDE contains four major applications − a text editor, a window
template editor, a “make” utility and an interactive debugger. There are
also fifteen other utilities which are desktop compatible front-ends to
programs that run from the command line. Many of these were first
released in the Software Developer’s Toolbox which the DDE replaces.
5.6
The manual has 292 pages, with each utility given a separate chapter,
and I found it easy to understand. There is also information on how to
add new utilities and compilers so that they integrate with the DDE.
This information is mostly for the benefit of software houses, but I am
pleased that Acorn are being open and allowing third parties to compete.
5.6
SrcEdit
5.6
SrcEdit is an enhanced version of Edit designed for editing program
source files.
5.6
While editing text, help can be obtained on a selected word by pressing
<F1>. A window appears giving more information. The help file provided
gives details of ANSI C functions and their parameters. The help file is
simply a text file and it is easy to add your own information and
reminders.
5.6
A “find the matching bracket” function is provided to help track down
those irritating strays. No facilities are provided to insert ready made
constructs.
5.6
An extremely useful feature is Throwback. A compiler can be told to
“throwback” errors to the editor. Any errors during compilation appear
in SrcEdit’s throwback window. Double-clicking on one of these errors
displays the appropriate file with the cursor positioned on the error
line ready for editing. This is a great time saver.
5.6
FormEd
5.6
FormEd is a window template editor. Windows can be designed on the
screen and then saved in a template file for use by a program. The
program simply loads the file and the windows are ready for use. This is
far easier than trying to work out all the numeric parameters by hand
and typing them into the program.
5.6
FormEd has been available separately for some time. The version supplied
(1.24) has some useful improvements. Instead of displaying all the
windows in a template file at once and giving a chaotic desktop, it
displays a selector window, in a similar manner to Paint, displaying
sprites. Clicking the close box of a window now simply removes it from
the screen rather than deleting it from the file.
5.6
Make
5.6
The Make utility provides a simple way of recompiling a program. Large
programs are frequently split into several files so that only the parts
that are changed have to be recompiled. It is easy to forget to
recompile a file, especially late at night! Make checks which files have
been altered since the program was last compiled and issues the
appropriate commands to construct the latest version. I even use it for
single file programs, since compiling is simply a matter of double-
clicking on a Make file.
5.6
Make has to be told which files make up your program. Programmers who
have struggled with the syntax used by AMU (Acorn Make Utility) will be
glad to know that Make provides a friendly front end to AMU − all you
have to do is drop the source files and link libraries onto Make’s
window, and Make works out the details.
5.6
When Make is asked to recompile a program, a window appears showing the
progress. This is similar to a Task window in Edit and the Desktop
continues to multi-task. One annoying feature is that if a program is
compiled several times, a new window appears each time. If the old
windows aren’t closed, Make can run out of memory or windows.
5.6
DDT
5.6
As its initials suggest, the Desktop Debugging Tool helps to get rid of
bugs! It is a significant improvement over the old ASD supplied with C
version 3. ASD can’t debug desktop programs, DDT can! In order to use
DDT properly, programs must be compiled and linked using the debug
option − this includes information about the original program text in
the final program.
5.6
DDT allows programs to be run one line at a time, or continuously, until
a certain specified condition occurs. A program can be made to stop on
reaching a particular line or function, when a particular variable
changes, when a certain SWI is used or when a WIMP event occurs.
Variables can be displayed or altered and functions invoked. The program
source is displayed in a window with the current line indicated.
5.6
Because it is usually not possible to call WIMP functions while a
desktop program is paused, DDT contains its own window manager to
display windows. It must have taken Acorn some time to make this work
properly. When the program being debugged is paused, DDT is the only
thing usable on the desktop and all multi-tasking stops. When the
program is restarted, the desktop works normally.
5.6
DDT makes debugging programs much easier. Compiled programs can be
difficult to debug since, unless a tool like DDT is available, the only
way to find out what is happening is to put extra statements into the
program to display useful information. Apart from being time-consuming
to insert and requiring recompilation, debugging statements sometimes
upset the normal operation of the program and cause further bugs! DDT is
a great time-saver and, best of all, works with desktop programs.
5.6
Other utilities
5.6
Acorn have written a FrontEnd module which allows command line programs
to be started from the desktop and passed parameters based on settings
made on a window. Each program becomes an application. Enough informa
tion is given for programmers to add their own utilities.
5.6
The utilities supplied are as follows:
5.6
AMU is the Acorn Make Utility, which Make calls to remake programs.
5.6
CC is the C Compiler. Many users will prefer to run it using Make,
rather than dropping the appropriate files onto it every time.
5.6
CMHG creates headers for modules written in C.
5.6
Common reads a text file and counts how many times each word appears.
5.6
DecAOF and DecCF decode AOF and Chunk files respectively. If you don’t
know what these file types are, you won’t want to use these utilities.
5.6
Diff compares two text files line by line and reports differences.
5.6
Find searches multiple files for a text pattern. Matches can be thrown
back to SrcEdit if desired.
5.6
Link combines object files to create an executable program. It is
usually invoked by a compiler or Make.
5.6
LibFile maintains the libraries used by Link.
5.6
ObjSize reads object files and reports on the size of data, code and
debug information in them. It could be useful for determining Wimpslot
sizes.
5.6
Squeeze compresses programs so that they take up less room on disk and
load faster. The programs automatically decompress themselves when run.
5.6
ToANSI and ToPCC convert C source code between the ANSI and PCC
standards.
5.6
WC reads text files and counts the number of lines words and characters.
5.6
Conclusion
5.6
Desktop C is ideal for the serious programmer wanting to develop desktop
programs or relocatable modules in C. The DDE allows the entire
development process to be run from the desktop and contains many time-
saving utilities. The main benefits of upgrading for owners of Version 3
are the throwback of errors and the DDT desktop debugger. New users
obtain a good, solid compiler with a range of useful support tools,
including the debugger.
5.6
The only snag with Desktop C is the price. An upgrade from ANSI C
Version 3 costs £99.87 (upgrades are only available from Acorn Direct).
A new copy costs £267.93 (Archive price £240). A company writing C
programs will probably consider that the productivity benefits justify
these prices. Individuals will find them rather steep.
5.6
Acorn no doubt want to recover some of the money spent having this
package developed, but the pricing puts the product at the expensive end
of the market and won’t attract people who want to learn C. For these
people, products like Beebug’s C at a third of the price look attractive
since they won’t be too bothered about validated ANSI conformance, the
lack of a debugger or how well the compiler libraries will keep in step
with Acorn.
5.6
Acorn also sell a product called Desktop Assembler which provides ARM
assemblers and the DDE. People who want to program in C and Assembler
have to buy the DDE twice! Surely Acorn could give an option to upgrade
to a combined package.
5.6
In summary, Desktop C is good quality, but at a price!  A
5.6

5.6

5.6

5.6
Paul B
5.6

5.7
Reviews Special
5.7
The reason for the extra 16 pages this month is an attempt to get some
of the huge backlog of reviews into print. There is no extra charge to
you, but please don’t expect 80 pages every month − it costs a lot extra
in printing and postage. (Apologies to those who are still waiting to
have a review published − I suspect that we may have to have another 80
page issue next month!)
5.7
The DTP Machine
5.7
It has been quite an eye-opener, preparing the booklet, “Desktop
Publishing on Acorn Computers”. It has taken rather longer to write than
I thought, partly because of the difficulty of finding anyone who could
talk sensibly to me about using PCs for doing DTP. (I felt I had to do a
three-way comparison.) However, now that I have finished the booklet, I
am fully convinced that Acorn are onto a definite winner.
5.7
The basic conclusions of the booklet are as follows: You can use PCs for
DTP if you really have to, but it is better to steer clear. For high-end
DTP, especially where you are doing a great deal of artistic design work
or wanting 24-bit colour or vast ranges of fonts, the Mac still reigns
supreme. However, for 98% of potential DTP users, Acorn systems are as
powerful and as user-friendly as Mac systems costing more then twice the
price.
5.7
Why aren’t Acorn shouting this from the rooftops? I don’t know, but I’m
not going to wait for them to get going. You may already have seen
adverts for free copies of the DTP booklet in the Archimedes magazines
but N.C.S. has started advertising in non-Acorn magazines as well as in
non-computing magazines like “Writers’ News” and “The Author”. We’re now
contemplating stepping into the lion’s den and advertising in Mac User!
5.7
If you can help to spread the good news to any potential DTP users, you
can have copies of the booklet to give to them. Just drop us a line.
5.7
Happy reading!
5.7
5.7
Products Available
5.7
•    Aliped − A multi-directional scrolling game from Alien Images / Dabs
Press in which you wander around a castle trying to shake off the spell
that has been cast upon you by the evil step-mother of a fair princess.
The price is £14.95 from Dabs Press or £14 through Archive.
5.7
•    Budget DTP − is a new book from Roger Amos, published by Dabs Press at
£12.95 (£13 inclusive through Archive). It shows how you can use Draw
and Edit to do DTP on Archimedes computers (RISC-OS 2 only) without
going to the expense of buying a DTP package. Chapters include, What is
DTP?, Draw in depth, Edit in depth, The font system, Page layout, etc.
5.7
(I was amused to see that although “the author’s text was prepared using
!Edit and !Draw”, the book was produced “using an Apple Mac DTP system”.
Ed.)
5.7
•    Charm − This compiled language with assembler, linker, editor,
tutorial, two games (including source code) was mentioned by David Wild
in his Languages Column (Archive 4.11 p34). It now has a desktop shell
from which to run the utilities. The program is distributed by David
Pilling and is now available through Archive at £6.
5.7
•    Colony Rescue − This new adventure game from Alien Images / Dabs Press
is set in 2143 AD when the universe has started to contract, causing the
innermost galaxies’ fine balance to be upset. Their only chance is you
in your humble rescue ship! The price is £14.95 from Dabs Press or £14
through Archive.
5.7
•    Desktop Publishing on Acorn Computers − This booklet which I offered
free of charge two months ago is finally in print. I am sorry that it
has taken so long to produce but once I got started on it, it grew and
grew. I employed two consultants to give their expertise in comparing
Acorn systems with Mac and PC and the resulting document is 20 pages
long! The evidence as to the superiority of Acorn systems over Macs,
pound for pound, is quite staggering. If you know anyone who is
interested in setting up a DTP facility, let us know and we’ll send them
a copy of the booklet. I have reproduced part of the booklet in this
month’s magazine because I think it is important information. (See pages
69.)
5.7
(I offered the booklet free of charge and  will stick to that offer if
you are seriously interested in buying a DTP system. However, if all
subscribers asked for a free copy just because it was free, it would
cost me a couple of thousand pounds. So, if you felt you could contrib
ute to the cost, I would be most grateful. The cover price is 75p, but
50p would just about cover the printing and postage.)
5.7
•    Grievous Bodily ’ARM − Fourth Dimension’s latest offering is a
“brutal, uninhibited arcade beat ’em up” game. The excuse for the punch
up is that you are trying to save the city from an evil scientist who is
making vast amounts of cheap illegal narcotics and you have to ‘get him’
in order to save the city from his grip! £24.95 from 4th Dimension or
£23 through Archive.
5.7
•    Newton − Longman Logotron have produced another package extending the
use of their Logo language. Newton enables pupils to study the concept
of forces. You can give your turtle mass, apply forces to it and see how
it behaves. You can also explore frictionless surfaces, bouncing balls
and collisions. The cost is £19 +VAT from Longman Logotron or £21
through Archive.
5.7
•    (another) PC Emulator upgrade − Version 1.8 of the Acorn PC Emulator
(AKA70), which incorporates support for VGA graphics and Expanded memory
LIM 3.2, will be released on April 21st 1992. The RRP remains the same
at £99 +VAT (or £96 inc VAT through Archive).
5.7
The product includes the new version of the emulator, MS-DOS3.30, a
revised manual and MS-DOS CD-ROM extensions (MSCDEX 2.20). You can
configure the emulator to use VGA support, which allows you to run DOS
applications which make use of VGA. This includes many of the range of
CD-ROM titles listed in the NCET CD-ROM scheme for schools.
5.7
The memory requirements of version 1.8 when running without VGA support
are the same as version 1.7. You can run DOS applications in single-
tasking mode only in 1M but to use both multi-tasking and single-tasking
modes, you need 2M or more.
5.7
When configured to use the VGA support, some applications may need more
than 2M to run in multi-tasking mode, but will still run in single-
tasking mode. This includes the CD-ROM titles for which you need 4M, if
you want to run them in multi-tasking mode.
5.7
There will be an upgrade to 1.8 (AKA71) for existing owners of the PC
Emulator available from 1st June (sic) until 1st September 1992. It will
contain the 1.8 PC Emulator and manual only, with no CD-ROM extensions
or DOS disc; users retain their current DOS disc.
5.7
The price for upgrading to 1.8 is £9 +VAT from version 1.6 or 1.7 and
£29 +VAT from a version earlier than 1.6. This upgrade is available for
all existing owners of the PC Emulator, whether originally supplied with
MS-DOS or DR-DOS.
5.7
There is a special upgrade offer for Educational institutions which are
using version 1.6 or 1.7. This allows institutions to purchase one unit
of the upgrade for £9 and copy the disc to replace all their units of
1.6 and 1.7.
5.7
The PC Emulator 1.8 manual (AKJ35) is available separately at £8 (no VAT
payable).
5.7
•    PDSview − Spacetech have produced a package which allows access to
data from NASA’s Planetary Data System available on CD-ROM. The viewer
allows you to enhance images, use false colour or construct true multi-
spectral colour images, to make “movie” sequences as well as examine
features such a volcanoes or to make 3D projections of the surface of
planets. The package is fully RISC-OS compliant and the PC Emulator is
not required to run the package. PDSview forms a powerful image
processor in its own right. PDSview is £99.50 +VAT (£108 through
Archive) and this includes a disc full of sample images. If you have a
CD-ROM, you can then buy a two-disc sampler set of some 1,500 images
which includes various views of volcanoes and views from a range of
spacecraft including Voyager, Nimbus, Landsat, NOAA, etc. The sampler
set costs £40 +VAT (or £44 through Archive). The main database of images
− 26,000 in all(!) − comes on 12 CDs and covers the complete Voyager
mission. This costs £200 +VAT (or £220 through Archive).
5.7
•    RISC-OS 3 printer driver − A5000 owners will be pleased to hear that
Ace Computing have now done a RISC-OS 3 printer driver for the HP
Deskjet 500C. It will also work on the HP PaintJet and the PaintJet XL.
The price is £18.80 inc VAT from Ace or £17 through Archive.
5.7
•    Starch − An arcade action game from Alien Images / Dabs Press set in a
launderette! Harry and Dave are working through the night trying to
clear the backlog of unfinished washing. (Doesn’t exactly sound an
exciting scenario but Ed’s two sons, aged 11 and 13, certainly enjoyed
playing with the review copy of the game.) The price is £14.95 from Dabs
Press or £14 through Archive.
5.7
•    Titler − Clares Micros have released their new video titling and
presentation package called Titler. For £149.95 inc VAT (£135 through
Archive) you get two packages − Titler itself which you use to combine
input from Artisan2, Artisan, Illusionist and RenderBender II and add
titles in various fonts to create screens for display − and Sequencer to
combine the screens together with special effects such as fade, wipe,
scroll, etc. It also takes input from Tracker and Armadeus. Link it with
a genlock system and you can create professional standard video-titling.
5.7
•    Vidi-Archimedes − A video digitiser for the Archimedes from Rombo
Productions. For £149 +VAT, you get a digitiser that can grab frames
from moving video at 320 × 256 pixels in 16 grey shades and can replay
frames at 10 per second. If you work from a still video image, you can
use the built-in electronic filters to build up a full colour image at
up to 640 × 256 in 256 colour.
5.7
Review software received...
5.7
We have received review copies of the following: Aliped, Archivist,
Arctist, Control Logo, Creator, Grievous Bodily ’ARM, Newton, Starch,
Split an Image, Titler.  A
5.7
5.7
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.7
We’ve had a couple of complaints about this section of the magazine −
especially after last month. Some folk get really upset by it and write
very strong letters of complaint. I’m sorry if my comments upset you but
you don’t have to read them! If you think it’s using up space that you
have paid for, the extra 16 pages this month, which you haven’t paid
for, should be more than enough recompense.
5.7
The way I see it is this, I use this section of the magazine to present
the claims of Jesus Christ to anyone who is prepared to consider them.
If Jesus’ claims are not true then these few comments won’t do anyone
any real harm but if they ARE true then it is extremely important
information that I am trying to communicate − in fact, it’s information
with (spiritual) life and death implicatioms.
5.7
In the current climate in the UK, it is not the done thing to “talk
about religion” − well, not in public, anyway − and you certainly
shouldn’t try to pass your ideas on to anyone else. This to me is
lunacy. If God doesn’t exist then, fine, let’s eat and drink and enjoy
ourselves for tomorrow we may die. However, if God is real and can be
known as a person, as the Bible claims, then this is Public Domain
information that should be freely distributed without any financial
gain. Please don’t try to slap a copyright notice on God’s truth as
revealed in the Bible. When God came to earth in the form of the  man,
Jesus of Nazareth, he firmly placed this information about himself in
the Public Domain.
5.7
5.7

5.7
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
5.7
5.7
4th Dimension    1 Percy Street, Sheffield  S3 8AU. (0742−700661)
5.7
4mation    11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon  EX32
8PA. (0271−25353) (0271−22974)
5.7
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts  SN2
6QA.
5.7
Acorn Direct    13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants  NN8 2RL.
5.7
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge  CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (0223−210685)
5.7
Aleph One Ltd    The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge  CB5 9BA.
(0223−811679) (0223−812713)
5.7
Arxe Systems Ltd    P.O.Box 898, Forest Gate, London  E7 9RG.
(081−534−1198 evenings)
5.7
Base5    PO Box 378, Woking, Surrey  GU21 4DF.
5.7
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire  CW9 7DA. (0606−48511)
(0606−48512)
5.7
Colton Software (p22)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge  CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (0223−312010)
5.7
Computer Concepts (p40/41)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts  HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (0442−231632)
5.7
Craddock Computer Systems    20 Osyth
Close, Brackmills Industrial Estate, Northampton  NN4 0DY. (0604−760991)
(0604−761800)
5.7
Cream PD    38 Baunton, Cirencester, Gloucester  GL7 7BB.
5.7
Cygnus Software    11 Newmarke Street, Leicester  LE1 5SS.
5.7
Dabs Press    22 Warwick Street, Prestwich, Manchester  M25 7HN.
(061−773−8632) (061−773−8290)
5.7
David Pilling    P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool  FY5 1LR.
5.7
I-APL Ltd     2 Blenheim Road, St Albans  AL1 4NR.
5.7
Icon Technology    9 Jarrom Street, Leicester  LE2 7DH. (0533−546225)
5.7
IFEL (p34)    36 Upland Drive, Plymouth, Devon  PL6 6BD. (0752−847286)
5.7
Linear Graphics    Unit 39, Mochdre Industrial Estate, Newtown, Powys
SY16 4LE
5.7
Longman-Logotron    124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS. (0223−425558) (0223−425349)
5.7
LOOKsystems (p29)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich  NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (764011)
5.7
Minerva Systems (p11)    Minerva
House, Baring Crescent, Exeter  EX1 1TL. (0392−437756) (0392−421762)
5.7
Oak Solutions (p24)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire  BD10  9TE.
(0274−620423) (0274−620419)
5.7
RISC Developments Ltd    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts  AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (0727−60263)
5.7
Rombo Productions    Baird Road, Kirkton Campus, Livingston  EH54 7AZ.
(0506−414631) (0506−414634)
5.7
Spacetech (p12)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset  DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.7
Superior Software    P.O. Box 6, Brigg, S Humberside  DN20 9NH.
(0652−658585) (0652−657807)
5.7
5.7
Computer Concepts
5.7
From 5.6 page 32
5.7
5.7
Computer Concepts
5.7
From 5.6 page 33
5.7
5.7
Hints and Tips
5.7
•    A5000 floppy drive problems − There have been a number of comments in
Archive about the slowness of the A5000’s floppy drive. Could this be
due to a bug which RISC-OS 3 has with the ADFS buffers. There was a note
with my machine when it was delivered saying that the ADFS Buffers
should be configured to zero due to a bug which causes occasional data
errors. Configuring thus makes the floppy drive incredibly slow during
copy operations with a track access taking more than 2 seconds. I
preferred to have the speed and I spoke to Peter Dunn of Acorn at an
Open Day in Glasgow recently who told me that the adfs buffers problem
had only appeared with the Acorn DTP and that it shouldn’t be a problem
with other programs like Impression. Indeed they had their A5000s
configured with ADFS Buffers set to 16k so I copied them.
5.7
Then just the other day, Impression 2.16 dropped through my letter box.
A couple of days later, I had two relatively complex newsletters to
typeset. The first crashed during a save operation, losing most of the
text. I thought ‘That will teach me to make back-up copies in future.’ I
remade the document successfully. The next job was done with two copies
on the hard disk, a main and a back-up. The main would auto-save and I
would make a back-up by adding a ‘b’ to the filename. Well into this
job, it crashed. Both copies were corrupted, so I gave up and returned
to version 2.14f. No further problems. A word with Computer Concepts and
they suggested that I return the ADFSbuffers to zero.
5.7
I’d be interested to hear if other A5000 and Impression users have had
similar or other experiences with their setup.  David Woods, Glasgow
5.7
•    ArcDFS and !65Host − If you try to use ArcDFS with the 6502 emulator,
you may get a “Bad DFS emulation” error. John Fletcher of Dabs Press
says: “This is because the manual does not fully explain how to use
ArcDFS with the emulator. The way to access a DFS disc, is not to type
*DISC, but to type: *Dir dfs::<drive number>. You should also change
drive using the above command instead of *Drive.”  P Northing, Sheffield
5.7
•    Bringing windows to the front − To move a window to the front, you
must click on its title bar. This often involves moving other windows to
get to it. However, I have just discovered that clicking on the window’s
adjust size icon (bottom right) also brings the window to the front.
This ‘obvious’ hint may help prevent too much window shuffling!  R
House, Andover
5.7
•    Canon Bubblejets BJ300 & BJ330 − There are some undocumented features
on these machines that make cleaning and changing ink cartridges a bit
easier. The normal cleaning cycle is started by pressing the shift then
the cleaning keys. An extended cycle is started by pressing shift then
pressing and holding cleaning and then pressing shift again.
5.7
There is a function called reference aging which sprays ink all over the
printed area of the paper. Be warned though that this uses a lot of ink
and the ink is very difficult to remove from hands, etc so have a poly-
bag handy to pop the sheet in!! The sequence can be stopped by turning
the printer mains off. Press shift then press and hold cleaning and then
press card and paper together and release cleaning.
5.7
I’ve been using “Report” photocopier paper in my BJ300 and the print
quality is superb.  Ned Abell, Kidderminster
5.7
• Changing the file allocation of a hard Disk − My A410/1 is equipped
with an internal 40M ST506 hard disk (NEC). Recently I added an external
SCSI hard disk (cached Morley “Cheetah”, 100M, fitted with a Rodime
R3000 disk). When I compared those two drives, I made some very
unexpected discoveries.
5.7
I copied the entire content of the internal disk (39M) to the new drive,
because I wanted to soak test the old disk. To my amazement the SCSI
“free” window showed that I had already used up no less than 62M of
space! I phoned the (very friendly and competent) Morley help line, and
they told me that larger drives usually were formatted differently from
small ones (with larger blocks), because this improved their speed
performance.
5.7
They advised me that if the extra space was more important to me than
speed, I should use the formatter on the Morley support disk to alter
the size of allocated blocks. I fiddled around with this application and
found that it is indeed possible to change the space needed for a file
quite considerably; in the configuration that I finally chose, the 39M
from my old disk actually occupied slightly less space − below 38M!
5.7
What is more, the speed tester showed a slightly worse performance, but
any improvised speed tests I did myself (like copying 3M of files from
RAM disk to hard disk and back) showed these differences to be quite
negligible.
5.7
So: If you buy a new (second) hard disk, it might be a good idea to
check how it administrates data, before you do any serious work with
it!  Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany
5.7
•    DFS reader and A5000 − When the DFS reader (Shareware 31) is run on
the A5000, it fails with “Unknown or missing variable at or about line
260”. This can be cured by adding the following line:
5.7
215 large% = TRUE : full% = TRUE
5.7
M Pullin, Cheltenham.
5.7
•    Econet interface faults − We had a big mains spike that ‘took out’
twelve BBC B Econet interfaces. At first, the Masters and Archimedes
machines seemed OK but further investigation proved otherwise. The
findings may prove useful to others.
5.7
There are two types of Acorn Econet cards, (plus the XOB one) an old one
and a newer one. All the machines with the old type of cards seemed fine
after the spike but none of the newer ones worked! Our first thought was
that they were zapped by the spike. However, on closer examination, when
we disconnected the old type machines from the network, the ones with
the newer type card started to work. Looks like some of the old type
cards are faulty but still working. The old style cards definitely seem
more fault tolerant than the new ones! A faulty old style card can still
work but it will stop other machines with the new style cards from
working!  Dave Leckie, Fort William.
5.7
•    HP Deskjet 500 & RISC-OS 3 − Here is a tip about the RISC-OS3 printer
drivers and the HP Deskjet 500. The graphics margins given in the HP
configuration for the A4 (Generic Deskjet) are a bit conservative.
5.7
    Top − 12.5mm
5.7
    Bottom − 19.9mm
5.7
    Left − 5.0mm
5.7
    Right − 7.0mm
5.7
From the manual and from my own experiences of using the printer and
seeing where it can print to, I have come up with new values which are:-
5.7
    Top − 1.5mm
5.7
    Bottom − 10.5mm
5.7
    Left − 3.2mm
5.7
    Right − 3.2mm
5.7
I have used these values very successfully ever since I got the machine.
The RISC-OS 2 printer driver for the Laserjet/Deskjet has problems when
it has different values for top and bottom margins because it prints out
in landscape mode in the opposite direction to the way the margins have
been set. i.e. it prints out last, the part of the sheet which is shown
by the print borders to be the top! RISC-OS 3 has sorted this out
allowing the maximum printing area to be available. It can be very
important when using Impression’s ‘fit lots’ facility to reduce pages to
have as much room as possible as margins are reduced as well.  David
Woods, Glasgow
5.7
•    Paper for inkjets − I too have had much trouble obtaining good paper
for my HP Deskjet 500. The manual recommends photocopy paper and that
you should use the paper’s correct side (as marked by the arrow on the
end of the packet). I have found photocopy paper to be poor no matter
what side I try. The results usually come out ‘furry’ where the
absorbency of the paper has caused the ink to creep by capillary action.
Prior to the type of ink sold by Hewlett Packard being changed to a more
permanent one, some photocopy paper gave white patches within areas of
black which I think was due to a degree of waxiness repelling the ink
from spots but this phenomenon happens no more.
5.7
(Acorn Inkjet owners can also benefit by using the HP DJ 500 cartridges
as they are the same fitting. Ed.)
5.7
The new ink seems to give good results with some types of paper but
rather ‘furry’ with others. Interestingly, I found that Croxley Script
80gsm, similar to that mentioned by Paul Bamberger in Archive to be very
poor. I have settled on two paper types for ‘cheap and good’ and
‘expensive and excellent’ printouts. The cheaper paper is ‘Plus Fabric
70gsm’ from Empire Fine Papers at about £7.50 for 500 sheets. This gives
consistently sharp, even results although it does wrinkle if there are
large printed dark areas.
5.7
For printouts intended for further copying by a photocopier or at a
printing company (or for making letterheads for small businesses) I have
found that a type of paper generally described as ‘laid’ paper,
available in various brands, is excellent, costing about £15 a box. It
is smooth on one side and has a fine, ribbed pattern on the other. Both
sides accept ink very well and you often see the paper used for
prestigious company printed letterheads. I have used both ‘GB Classic,
White Laid, 100gsm’ and ‘Conqueror, High White Laid, 100 gsm’.  David
Woods, Glasgow
5.7
• Printing on labels or A3 paper − Most RISC-OS printer drivers have
difficulty with anything other than A4 paper. Although they have a page
length setting, they do not tell the printer the page length to expect,
so the printer still assumes that it has 11“ or A4 size paper (usually
determined by a DIP switch). This is fine when printing on individual
sheets or when using a sheet feeder to feed labels or envelopes but it
causes serious problems with tractor feed labels or with A3 paper.
Imagine printing on 1” tractor feed labels from Impression. The
Impression master page must be defined to be 1“ length and, similarly,
the printer driver’s page length must be set to 1”. The first label is
printed and the printer driver sends a form feed character telling the
printer to advance to the next form (page). Unfortunately, the printer
driver assumes that it is using 11“ paper and feeds over the next 10
labels, simply because the printer driver did not define the printer’s
page length. Similarly, printing on A3 paper (using a Canon BJ330 for
example) fails because the printer thinks it is using A4 paper. The
solution is for the printer driver to pass on the page length setting to
the printer and this is a very simple change for Acorn to make.
Meanwhile, it is necessary to modify the page start and end strings
manually. With RISC-OS 2 drivers this can be difficult, but with RISC-OS
3 the printer driver editor allows it.
5.7
With an Epson compatible printer, the page length can be defined by
putting ESC,“C”,n in the page start string, where n is the page length
in lines (1/6“ per line). With an IBM compatible printer, an extra
ESC,“2” is needed on the end. Furthermore, it is sometimes necessary to
change the page end string which is often set to perform a printer reset
(ESC,“@” on Epson printers) after every page − this should be removed
completely. Note that these changes must be applied for each resolution
setting that is to be used and that a new printer driver file should be
saved with its name and type set appropriately to indicate that it is a
different version for a special page size.   Paul Skirrow, Ipswich
5.7
(Acorn are aware of the problem and have found at least a partial
solution − see the comments below, page 9. Ed.)
5.7
•    Mandelbrot bakeware − I have written a short PROC to improve Basil’s
Mandelbrot program (Archive 5.6 p57):
5.7
DEFPROCdebug
5.7
WHILE flour=flour+weevils
5.7
  REPEAT
5.7
    GETweevil
5.7
    BPUT# weevil ON blockA%
5.7
    BEAT blockB%
5.7
  UNTIL dead%=TRUE
5.7
  weevils-=1
5.7
ENDWHILE
5.7
ENDPROC
5.7
The variable declaration: Mouth_Open=FALSE is the best I’ve seen so far!
I have another for anyone who typed the program in:
5.7
Egg_on_face=TRUE.
5.7
Joseph Seelig, Harrow.
5.7
•    Ten tips for larger memories − The article on better use of available
memory (Archive 4.6 p52) set me thinking and here’s a tip for those of
us who don’t have a hard disc. I have 4M in a 310, two 3½“ internal
floppies and an external 5¼” drive.
5.7
If you look at what you use your computer for, it breaks down into a few
task areas as well as playing games. I create a Task disk for each
activity and that sits in the 5¼“ drive and I have one each for DTP,
business and drawing. Each disc has !System, different !Fonts and the
appropriate applications that I can cram on using !Compression.
5.7
Each task disc has two Obey type files called !boot and startlist to get
everything up and running and here I put in a plug for the excellent
!DeskEdit utility from Beebug which allows even me to get this working
quickly.
5.7
Let’s look at the business Task disc which is called “LrgeBus1”.
5.7
The !boot obey file consists of one line...
5.7
Desktop-File adfs::LrgeBus1.$ .startlist
5.7
and clicking on this runs the second file called startlist. As you
probably know, if this Task disc were in drive 0 it could be set to auto
start each time the computer was turned on, by setting the disc to *OPT
4,3 and the computer to *Configure Boot.
5.7
The second obey file called startlist sets up the essential tasks that
you will need but some of these are squeezed on the disc under the
!Compression filing system. If you specify “cfs#adfs” as a filing system
to get them to load, the computer throws a wobbly so I set up two
aliases as the first lines of startlist.
5.7
Set Neds$Dir adfs::LrgeBus1.$
5.7
and
5.7
Set NedsCFS$Dir cfs#adfs:: LrgeBus1.$
5.7
you can then get the computer to find the bits you want by using:
5.7
<Neds$Dir>.!System
5.7
and to load various fixes found in the system modules directory into
memory like..
5.7
RMLoad<Neds$Dir>.!System.
5.7
modules.WimpUtils
5.7
and then to get !Compression up and running
5.7
<Ned$Dir>.!CFS
5.7
Now a word about !Fonts. I use Swiss as my main business font. You need
to edit the run file of !Fonts and put in a “desktop” command at the end
after “FontCat”or it will stop and ask you to press space. I also tailor
the run file after the line “Echo Font Manager 2.42 installed.” with the
lines
5.7
Echo Neds Business Fonts now available:
5.7
Echo
5.7
because I like to personalise things!!
5.7
Back in startlist, we can now run...
5.7
<NedsCFS$Dir>.!Fonts
5.7
which are compressed and then in a compressed directory called resources
5.7
<NedsCFS$Dir>.resources.
5.7
!PrinterDM
5.7
<NedsCFS$Dir>.resources.!Alarm
5.7
and anything else you need and the last line is
5.7
desktop
5.7
The whole process is very easy to achieve and each task disc can be
tailored. The drawback is that its a bit on the slow side and all my
fonts have to be uncompressed before I use them but I do set a large
Fontsize.  Ned Abell, Kidderminster
5.7
• Transferring PC files with the Emulator − It is true that the multi-
tasking PC Emulator does prevent access to the PC hard disc partition
while it is running and it is therefore necessary to quit the emulator
before a file created by a PC program can be read in RISC-OS. This is
because RISC-OS does not know whether the PC hard disc partition is in a
valid state or not (i.e. a PC program may be writing to an open file).
However, it is possible to transfer files between RISC-OS and the PC
emulator by using floppy discs. After the PC has written a file to the
floppy it may be necessary to dismount the floppy disc (using the menu
item) and re-open it by clicking on the floppy icon to make RISC-OS read
the directory again (otherwise it may not realise that it has been
changed). This works with RISC-OS 3, but should also work with any of
the various PC disc readers.  Paul Skirrow, Ipswich
5.7
•    Watford mouse − If you need to replace the plug on a Watford mouse
(old version) my experience may be useful. The original plug is moulded
onto the cable, and it took careful dismantling with a sharp knife to
discover where each wire went.
5.7
I purchased the replacement plug from Maplin Electronics (code JX19V
0.82p, page 177). This plug has three disadvantages; firstly it has no
cable strain relief, so you must be sure of your wiring, secondly, it is
extremely difficult to disassemble and thirdly you need to shave a small
amount from the front to fit it into the socket of an A310. (I don’t
think it would fit too well on an A3000!) The wire colours are as
follows (functions as on p469 of the A310 User Guide):
5.7
 Pin    Function    Colour
5.7
1    X Reference        white
5.7
2    Switch 1        yellow
5.7
3    Switch 2        red
5.7
4    0V return        brown
5.7
5    X Direction        green
5.7
6    5V supply        black
5.7
7    Y Reference        blue
5.7
8    Switch 3        orange
5.7
9    Y Direction        purple
5.7
M Angove, Caerphilly
5.7
•    Wonderland on SCSI − I’ve managed to get Wonderland to work on SCSI.
What you do is:-
5.7
Obtain the SCSI “fix”, which Archive will supply if you send them a
charity donation (minimum £2). However, it’s also on this month’s
program disc.
5.7
Run the INSTALL program on the “fix” disk, using the “fix” disk when
asked for disk “ONE”, then the original disk “TWO”, “THREE” and “FOUR”.
5.7
When the installation is complete, use !Edit to modify the “win”
application code. Look for the second occurrence of the text “adfs” and
replace it with “scsi”. (If you replace the first one, it all seems to
work until you save or restore a game position.)
5.7
To get it to work on SCSI with 1M memory you need to unplug more modules
than you would with ADFS, because SCSI, SCSIFiler and SCSIDirCache take
up some space. I find that I need to unplug:− Debugger, Draw, EcoNet,
FontManager, IIC, NetFS, NetPrint, NetStatus, PaletteUtil, Percussion,
RAMFS, RAMFSFiler, ShellCLI, SoundChannels, SoundDMA, SoundScheduler,
StringLib, SystemDevices, WaveSynth.
5.7
Mike Williams, London N16.
5.7
The following hints and tips are taken from the February Acorn Customer
Services Newsletter.
5.7
•    RISC-OS 2 printer drivers
5.7
1) We have had reports of the release 2 printer drivers producing the
following error message:
5.7
    “Invalid number of output bits”
5.7
This error is produced when you attempt to print a sprite that was
created in a 256 colour screen mode such as MODE 15 in a 16 colour mode
such as MODE 12. The solution to the problem is to print in MODE 15 if
this error occurs, or to print the sprite in the mode in which it was
created.
5.7
2) When attempting to load any of the many RISC-OS 2 desktop printer
drivers the following error message may be displayed:     “Filing
System or path ‘Printer:’ not present internal error xxxx”
5.7
The error is caused by one of the printer driver support modules
becoming unplugged from the operating system. To resolve the problem,
the first action to take is to find out which modules are unplugged.
This information can be found by typing the following command from the
command line:
5.7
*UNPLUG
5.7
It is then necessary to re-insert the modules that *UNPLUG has shown as
being unplugged with the following command:
5.7
*RMREINIT <ModuleName>
5.7
Once you have used *RMREINIT to re-initialise all the modules, you
should then perform a <ctrl-break> to ensure all the modules have
started correctly.
5.7
3) Printing labels on small page lengths can sometimes cause problems.
5.7
a) !PrinterDM (2.46) reads a system variable called PDriver$DMExtra at
the start of each print job and sends it to the printer before the
actual data stream. PDriver$DMExtra has to be set using GSTrans format
so, to set a page length of nine lines, you would use:
5.7
*SET PDriver$DMExtra |[C|I
5.7
You would use |[C|J for ten lines and |[C|K for eleven lines and so on.
This command can be executed explicitly from the command line (after
!PrinterDM has been loaded) or incorporated in the !Run file.
5.7
b) Set the (Graphics) clip window to the appropriate size from
!PrinterDM’s icon bar menu. If the stationery is continuous, you can
leave the top and bottom graphics margins set to zero.
5.7
c) Finally, you need to tell the Wordprocessor you are using, the page
size of each label.
5.7
•    RISC-OS 3 printer drivers − Loading RISC-OS 2 printer drivers into
Acorn A5000s with RISC-OS 3 can cause problems if an attempt is then
made to load the RISC-OS 3 !Printers application from the Applications 1
disc or directory if stored on the hard disc.
5.7
!Printers will report the error “!Printers requires PDriver 3.16 or
later”.
5.7
The error occurs because the RISC-OS 2 printer driver loads an older
PDriver module than 3.16. The solution to the problem is to type from
the command line.
5.7
*RMKILL PDriver
5.7
*RMREINIT PDriver
5.7
This will allow you to load the new !Printer application supplied with
RISC-OS 3 on the A5000.
5.7
•    Maestro − Version 1.75 has a problem where notes are displayed at
double-height in certain modes. This may be fixed in the field by
deleting or renaming the sprites22 and !sprites 22 files.
5.7
•    PC Emulator hints & tips
5.7
1) Deleting an unformatted or non-system PC Emulator hard disc partition
on an A5000.
5.7
RISC-OS 3 looks at the PC hard disc partition (DOSDisc, &FC8) as if it
were a filing system and therefore before it will delete the partition,
it must look inside to find out what files are there. To be able to
delete an unformatted partition it is necessary to fool the operating
system into believing that it is not a PC partition, by changing its
filetype. However, it is not possible to change its filetype from within
the desktop and the following information gives details of how to change
the filetype from outside the desktop. The file can then either be
deleted from the command line as shown below or from the desktop.
5.7
a) Press <F12> from the desktop to get the command line (*Prompt)
5.7
b) Type:
5.7
*SETTYPE ADFS::4.$.PC.Drive_C TEXT <return>
5.7
*DELETE ADFS::4.$.PC.DRIVE_C <return>
5.7
2) The Archimedes keyboard has a U.S. style PC layout. You should not
therefore use KEYBUK or KEYB UK in the Autoexec batch file. Also, the £
sign on an Archimedes keyboard doesn’t exist on a PC keyboard, so to get
a £ sign you will need to enter its ASCII code 156:
5.7
Under the emulator, hold down the ALT key and type 1 5 6 on the numeric
keypad. (Remember to have Num Lock on).
5.7
3) Configuration − ‘Startup Text’ − The startup text is only intended
for use with a hard disc partition, not for floppy based systems. The
problem is that the first characters of the startup text are lost
because they are taken as a reply to the ‘Insert DOS Boot Disc and press
any key’ message which you get when running the emulator from floppy
discs.
5.7
The startup text should also not be used unless you have an Autoexec.Bat
and Config.Sys file. If you do not have these, the startup text is taken
as a reply to confirming the date.
5.7
4) PC Software compatibility − there are some screen redraw problems
with WordStar 4 using the !PCEmS emulator. However, no problems have yet
been reported using the large !PCEm emulator.  A
5.7
5.7
Animynd Life
5.7
Simon Anthony
5.7
I will not describe in detail John Conway’s Life concept, except to say
that it emulates the effects of simple life-death rules which govern
single cell behaviour as seen amongst multiple groups of cells. The
resulting interactions between cells seem to show life-like responses to
overcrowded or growth favourable conditions. I am sure Archive has
carried a detailed descriptive article in the past but I can’t remember
when.
5.7
(In Archive 1.6 p 32, Tony Brain gave a machine code implementation of
Life and some description, though I wouldn’t call it “detailed”. Ed)
5.7
Animynd Life came for review as a disc clipped within its 12 page white
paper instruction booklet. This A5 manual-ette is not very inspiring to
look at but it contains information to delight those already ‘in the
know’ concerning life implementations. All the instructions and general
information required to run this program are easily and clearly
provided, as is a history of ‘Life’ itself. However, had I not already
known something of the fascination available from Life simulations, I
would probably not have gone much further than running the program once.
5.7
The program runs from either the desktop or the command line without
problem. It takes full control of the computer in order to run as fast
as possible. This lack of multitasking and the general appearance of the
entire package may put off some people but the beauty of Animynd Life is
in how it runs, not in how it looks. The screen is a simple two colour
(blue and yellow) display running under mouse control. Everything works
intuitively although sometimes the response of the mouse is a bit fast.
I found it far too easy to accidentally move through, and out of, the
options of a pull down menu.
5.7
Animynd Life uses a square but otherwise full screen at frame rates far
above any other Life implementation that I have seen. I believe it is
also unique in providing two different life-type algorithms, although
the author says the ‘3-4’ version is not very interesting. I must
disagree with him there because I have found diagonal gliders when
running in this mode which I think are not possible under the normal
rules.
5.7
The main difference between this and any other Life program, apart from
speed and screen size, is the ability to load, save, catalogue,
replicate, manipulate and generally muck about with the life formations.
The program comes with a library of 70 odd of the most famous life-
forms. The glider, glider gun, machine gun, aircraft carrier etc are all
included. This aspect definitely makes this program a winner for the
committed lifer but don’t expect to impress anyone who doesn’t realise
just what it is doing!
5.7
In conclusion, this is a dull looking package but it is very well worth
digging out its bright hidden qualities. In use, and in comparison to
other similar but more flashy programs, Animynd Life is a splendid full
screen, full feature, very fast scientific life implementation. I would
not want to be without it. At £20 it is a bit pricey but the author, Mr.
R.R.Thomas, has written a winner which will grow and grow on you!
5.7
(Animynd Life is available from R.R.Thomas, 9 Oughtonhead Way, Hitchin
SG5 2JZ.)  A
5.7
5.7
Minerva
5.7
New
5.7
5.7
Comment Column
5.7
•    ArcFS − ArcFS is ideal for reducing the space occupied by users of
Impression who have a busy correspondence. Literally, it reduced the
space occupied by Impression documents on my hard disk from 10M to 2M.
Computer Concept’s Compression made absolutely no difference to the
space occupied on the hard disk for this mass of correspondence, though
it did reduce the files sizes slightly but lost out on the directory
overhead. ArcFS’s speed seems comparable to that of Compression and is
perfectly acceptable in use on the hard disc. However, backing up the
resulting compressed directory to a floppy, a daily task for my method
of operation, is considerably faster on ArcFS than either ADFS or
Compression as only one file is saved, the compressed ArcFS file of all
the correspondence. It is also a winner against Spark for its speed and
ease of use. Finally, its price, £6 (through Archive), compared with £53
for Compression, means there is no competition; ArcFS wins hands down.
Tim Powys-Lybbe, Windsor
5.7
•    Archimedes software on JANET − Since January of this year, the
Lancaster University Computer Centre’s UK National Public Domain
software library has opened an Archimedes section which is updated at
regular intervals.
5.7
Readers with access to the Joint Academic Network (JANET) via UNIX can
transfer files to their local mainframe using the command hhcp
uk.ac.lancs.pdsoft:micros/arch/riscos/a/“directory name”/“remote
filename” “local filename”.
5.7
Access to the Database which contains thousands of items of PD software
for all formats can usually be obtained from your local pad by typing
call lancs.pdsoft and then following the simple instructions on screen
to log into the library. Only 45 users are allowed on at any one time,
so avoid peak periods.
5.7
Sparkplug 2 is required on the Archimedes to Uuencode the files and de-
archive them. This is available in the directory micros/arch/riscos/
tools along with full instructions for its recovery. The Email address
for any queries is uk.ac.lancs. pdsoft.  Tom Waller, Aberdeen
5.7
•    Apostrophes − Richard Hallas’ comments in the DTP Column last month
about the use of the apostrophe have produced some interesting reac
tions. It’s always dangerous to make statements in print about what is
or isn’t good practice in terms of written English. It stirs up an
amazing amount of animosity, letters being written with almost religious
fervour. The letter following is one of the least vitriolic!
5.7
I am of the opinion that the section written about the use of the
apostrophe in the latest edition of Archive contains a number of
misleading remarks.
5.7
Firstly, in the interests of good style, let me point out that the use
of apostrophes to indicate contractions should be kept to a minimum in
formal writing. In most instances, phrases such as ‘it’s’ should be
written out in full; contractions are best used to give a naturalistic
feel to conversation when writing out direct speech.
5.7
Secondly, there is no historical justification for adding an apostrophe
to single letters to indicate plurality, as was claimed in the last
column on page 41. The three examples quoted are all wrong! Each is an
ordinary plural, so the use of the apostrophe is incorrect in each case.
5.7
The first example should read: “Southern Upholstery Sale! Save £££s!”
5.7
The second is an example of sloppy style. Numerals should be written out
as words in prose. The example ought to read: “There are two threes in
thirty three.”
5.7
The third example is more complex, in that adding an ‘s’ to the letter
‘a’ leaves the reader with a confusing sentence. However, this is no
justification for slapping in an apostrophe willy-nilly! The best
solution, in my opinion, would be to use single quotes or italics to
mark off the letter ‘a’. Failing that, why not rewrite the sentence
altogether?
5.7
It is important that you promote good writing habits in your columns.
Computers have a role to play in improving literacy, so I trust you will
publish a full retraction in your next issue.
5.7
I recommend that anyone interested in the historical development of our
language read Otto Jespersen’s excellent book “Growth and Structure of
the English Language” for further clarification. There is an excellent
section there on the development of Saxon Genitive to the modern day
apostrophe, which should satisfy even the most voracious curiosity.
James Ducat, Bath
5.7
Jonathan Barnes of Watford suggested Fowler’s “Modern English Usage” and
“You Have a Point There” by Eric Partridge.
5.7
Richard Hallas replies: Let me deal with these points in turn. Yes, I
agree that in formal writing, contractions should be avoided except in
speech. However, my article was about how to use the apostrophe
correctly on the occasions it is used, not about the broad contexts in
which it should be used.
5.7
Regarding my three examples in the second column of page 41, I agree
that these are open to criticism, but if Mr Ducat’s sources categori
cally state these usages as being incorrect, then it is obviously one of
those blurred areas, because my own (recent) source states that they are
correct. Not all cases are clear-cut. In fact, before writing the
article and checking my own opinions, I would have agreed that “Save
£££s!” was correct whereas “Save £££’s!” was not; I was forced to revise
my opinion and I would now accept either quite happily, with a marginal
preference for the former. However, the apostrophised version is not
incorrect according to my source.
5.7
The second example is indeed sloppy style but was picked simply to
illustrate the usage of the apostrophe in this context. I was not
passing judgement on when this form should or should not be used, but
simply showing how the apostrophe should be applied if this form is
chosen (which should, I agree, be in an informal context). As such, the
example as it stands is correct.
5.7
(As an aside, I would like here to answer Paul’s editorial remark within
the article itself. “Two 3’s in 33” is correct because there are two
figure threes in ‘33’; Paul’s “three 30’s in 90” is a different case,
because it is mathematical. If I had written my example in the same
context as Paul’s question, ‘3’ would have been ‘11’, because 33 is
divisible by 11 three times. My example’s meaning, however, is that the
number 33 contains two figure threes.)
5.7
As for the third example, I agree that if written out in formal English
this should read “This sentence contains two occurrences of the letter
a”. As it stands, the example could equally well omit the apostrophe and
use italics in a word-processed document; but what if it were hand-
written? Single quotes could suffice, but would not strictly be correct,
and this is the precise reason for my example in the original article!
Consider the sentence “Mind your P’s and Q’s”, which could not be
sensibly rewritten. This example is correct, and rewriting the sentence
as “Mind your ‘P’s and ‘Q’s” would, taken in isolation, give it quite a
different inflection. The only other way this sentence could be written
correctly is to omit the apostrophes altogether, but if P and Q were
lower case, this would be less acceptable. If you look this sentence up
under “Mind” in both the Concise Oxford Dictionary and the Oxford
Reference Dictionary, you will find that the Concise quotes “Mind your
Ps and Qs”, whilst the Reference quotes “Mind your P’s and Q’s”.
Although curiously inconsistent, both are correct, and if the sentence
were written with lower case letters, “Mind your p’s and q’s” would be
preferable. I therefore stand by my original example and I would
certainly never dream of “slapping in an apostrophe willy-nilly”.
5.7
Archive generally displays a high standard of English, and I am somewhat
distressed that Mr Ducat implies that my article promotes bad writing
habits. I wrote an informed article, not one off the top of my head.
Whilst I agree that some of the points raised above are open to debate,
for the most part my column’s accuracy is indisputable and I have no
intention of retracting any of it. The apostrophe is a very subtle piece
of punctuation and, in certain cases, its correct usage is a matter of
opinion. I have presented my opinions, and Mr Ducat has stated his; I am
sure that neither one of us is in a position to lay down the law in
absolute terms.
5.7
(OK guys, that’s it! I did hesitate whether to include Richard’s
original article in the DTP Column but after the effort he had put into
writing it, I hadn’t the heart to remove it. Anyway, I have now decided
definitely that there will be no more discussion of good and bad English
within the pages of Archive. Sorry! Ed.)
5.7
• Compression − Following on from last month’s comments about Compres
sion, I would like to add that there is another problem when Compression
is used with RISC-OS 3. The RISC-OS 3 filer copies files by reading as
many as it can into a buffer and then writing them out. If the last file
will not fit entirely into the buffer then as much as possible is read,
the buffer is written and then the filer carries on reading at the point
it had reached in the last file. If Compression is used to compress a
directory on top of itself the operation fails with a “File Open” error
if a file is only part read before being written. This is because the
filer has left the file open and Compression therefore cannot overwrite
it. It does not corrupt the file, and clicking on the SKIP option will
continue with the other files. You can then go back and compress the
file which failed afterwards.
5.7
A better solution is to ensure that the buffer is big enough to hold all
of the files in one go and this can be achieved by increasing the size
of the Next slot in the task manager. Alternatively, you need to do what
Mike Hobart suggests and copy into another directory before deleting the
original and copying the compressed version back (all very tedious).
Fortunately it is not a problem with small files and directories which
can be read in a single pass. My compression ratios have been typically
3:1 on Impression documents, although a handful of special computer
generated digital audio files have actually been made bigger by
Compression!  Paul Skirrow, Ipswich
5.7
• DOS Benchmarking, Part 2 − In his article in Archive 5.6, p.44,
Lawrence Brightman told us that the PC emulator, version 1.6, doesn’t
work together with QBasic and thus not with the MS-DOS 5.0 text editor.
The good news is: Version 1.7 does!
5.7
On the other hand, he told us that it is possible to increase the number
of lines on the screen to 43; well, not really. If you use programs
which support the mouse, then the mouse driver does not recognize the
mode change and looks for the screen’s contents in those lines where
they were in 20 line mode! (At least, this is what happens when I
configure the Norton Commander to 43 lines.)  Jochen Konietzko, Köln,
Germany
5.7
•    Education statistics − I thought you would be interested to know that,
according to the Research Support & Marketing organisation, during the
last 9 months of 1991, the A3000 sold more than five times as many as
any other model of computer into the education market. The A3000 had 37%
of the market which was 6% up on last year.
5.7

5.7

5.7
• HP Deskjet 500C Drivers − I recently bought both the Ace and the
Beebug printer drivers, but I was disappointed that neither provided any
control over the printer’s settings. They only provide one halftone dot
size setting and do not give any access to the printer’s ink depletion
modes (which control the amount of ink going onto the paper to give
better results). Furthermore, they both came with the wrong paper margin
settings (this really is inexcusable as the driver is being sold for one
printer which they must have tried...). Both of the drivers I received
were RISC-OS 2 drivers which cannot print text when used RISC-OS 3, and
although both companies promised an update “real soon”, I haven’t
received either yet (7th March). Both of the drivers gave very dull
colours with my test printouts until I tried lightening my images with
Translator before printing. The improvement was staggering, but the
correction really ought to be done by the printer driver, so I hope that
the ones provide some control over the image brightness and colour
(especially as RISC-OS 3 provides a printer palette mechanism).  Paul
Skirrow, Ipswich
5.7
•    J: An Advanced Programming Language − I have long been infuriated by
Acorn’s attitude to programming languages. Their philosophy is to
provide a friendly environment in which the user is provided with easy
to use applications. This sounds fine... but where do these applications
come from? ...and what about ad hoc needs which don’t warrant long
agonizing and boring sessions struggling with the Wimp?
5.7
If the programmer is happy with C or Assembler, he appears to be well
looked after; although these are not suitable for many purposes and a
full set of tools does not come cheap. The Basic programmer is something
of a second class citizen and, nowadays, anyone else seems to be simply
ignored; Acorn’s ‘head in the sand’ attitude to Fortran is incredible in
view of the huge base of existing scientific software. Do recent
complaints about the narrow range of serious software available on the
Archimedes not grate on the ears of Acorn’s shareholders? A broader
capability could emerge much faster if a wider range of powerful
programming tools were made available and at low cost... otherwise the
‘toy computer’ syndrome must stick.
5.7
My support for the use of APL as a programming language (and disdain for
spreadsheets) has been voiced in Archive on a number of occasions. I
have, however, been rather disappointed with I-APL on the Archimedes,
even in its 32 bit version. Whilst waiting for something better to turn
up, I have developed a vision of the type of environment which I would
like to have. This comprises a window within which one may enjoy a
smooth dialogue with the computer via the medium of a highly expressive
and powerful interpreted language. From this window, one may interact
with the rest of the desktop world: external files are seen merely as
variables which can be manipulated at will. My cell editor (referred to
in a recent article) was developed as a key part of this external
environment.
5.7
This vision has now been more or less achieved. Thanks to J.
5.7
J is an advanced APL and includes virtually all the extensions to APL I
have ever imagined. It has an impeccable pedigree; coming from Ken
Iverson, the originator of APL. APL was developed at Harvard by Iverson
in the 1960s and J represents the culmination of Iverson’s many years of
experience developing and working with APLs.
5.7
J uses conventional ASCII characters and runs very smoothly in its own
window. It enables very rapid development. It costs very little and must
be the most powerful language available on the Archimedes. I find it
very difficult to describe J in a way that really does it justice...
although there are, of course, some negatives. However, more than
anything, I would say that it enfranchises the intelligent user in a way
that nothing else even approaches.
5.7
Whereas spreadsheets focus upon the data values, J focuses upon the
structure of the data and the processes to be applied to it. If you are
happy working in the abstract then J is for you. In fact, J is a
complete, unambiguous and exceedingly rich mathematical notation. If you
are seriously interested in mathematics or computing, you cannot afford
not to look at J. It will not, however, be everyone’s cup of tea, nor is
it a panacea.
5.7
J is said to be Shareware, although you will have to buy the manuals,
without which it will be hard to make real progress. J and documentation
are available from I-APL Ltd.  J is designed to be used alongside other
applications such as text or cell editors and graphics packages. (For
some purposes !Transfer from Apricote Studios may be found to be a
useful additional utility.) It is almost trivial to get started... try
4+3! Importantly, any given version is absolutely standard across all
computers. J was programmed in C by Roger Hui and ported to the
Archimedes by Paul Chapman. I like to think that my initial letter to Mr
Iverson played a small part in bringing J to the Archimedes. Jim
Markland, Cirencester
5.7
A copy of J will appear on the monthly program disc. Ed.
5.7
•    PC card panacea? − There is a lot of excitement over the announcement
of PC expansion cards from Watford and Aleph One. However, I would
question whether, for most Archimedes users, they represent good value
for money at the current price.
5.7
I realise that a lot of development has gone into producing these
products and both of these companies deserve to profit from this, so
please don’t think that I am criticising them. I am looking at the
products entirely from a user’s point of view.
5.7
For most users, the PC Emulator is reasonably satisfactory. Of course,
we would like it to be faster but it does run almost all PC software.
Very few programs I have tried give any trouble and all of those that do
also exhibit problems on some ‘normal’ PCs. For the occasional user, it
gives access to the vast world of PC Shareware and PD and allows you to
bring home the odd bit of work from the office and at a reasonable
price.
5.7
What advantage do we get for the £500 or so that the new boards will
cost? Both are based on the 386SX processor. This is a ‘cut down’ 386
which uses a 16 bit data bus in place of the 32 bit bus of the ‘proper’
386. It is regarded as the ‘entry level’ processor to run Windows on a
PC. I expect most people who will be interested in these boards will
want to use Windows. The recognised minimum requirement for this is 20M
of hard disk space and 2M of RAM, so you will lose a large slice of your
hard disk and need another 1M of RAM, about £40, for the Aleph One card
(I gather that the Watford card will have 2M as standard). Remember that
I said “minimum”. You will also need a multisync monitor and, ideally, a
1.44M drive because you require VGA screen modes and most Windows
software is too big for 720k disks. So, unless you already have an
A5000, you will probably need to spend even more before you can even
begin to realise the board’s full potential.
5.7
Because of the different approach used by the two designs, there may be
additional costs. As I understand it, the Aleph One board is intended to
work with the multi-tasking PC emulator as a ‘hardware emulator’. If
this is so, you will obviously need the emulator and if you haven’t got
one this will add another hundred pounds to the price. The Watford board
apparently is more of a ‘complete computer’ with its own video driver.
One problem here is that it only has 256k of video RAM which, if not
expandable, means it will be right at the bottom end of the VGA standard
where 512k is the norm and 1M Super VGA is becoming increasingly common.
To run a 386 at anything above bare minimum level, you also really need
MS-DOS 5 to make use of extended memory, (normal MS-DOS only recognises
640k). I also don’t know what users who have DR-DOS will do because
Microsoft have so far been rather unco-operative with Digital Research
so you can’t run Windows with DR-DOS!
5.7
Now, most Archimedes users are probably not fully aware of the current
price of this type of computer, so I expect I shall shock many by saying
that you can buy a complete 386SX computer with VGA colour monitor,
keyboard, a 1.44M disc drive and a 44M IDE hard disc for about
£650−£700.
5.7
So for less than an extra £200 or so you can get a ‘real’ 386SX. Since
it will read and write 720k or 1.44M disks, you can transfer files to
your Archimedes and nothing multi-tasks as well as two separate
computers! You will also have a full 40M hard disk for your PC appli
cations without eating into your Archimedes’ disk. You will probably be
able to get a copy of MS-DOS 5 or DR-DOS 6 and Windows 3 either ‘thrown
in’ or at vastly reduced price and these could cost you about £150 if
bought separately, which narrows the gap even further or eliminates it
altogether.
5.7
The big advantage of the expansion cards is, of course, that they fit
inside your Archimedes. In my own case I have sufficient space for my PC
beside my Archimedes. so it’s no problem but I realise that others might
not be so lucky. For many people, especially A5000 owners, there will
also be a cost saving and this may be important if your budget is tight.
5.7
The two boards announced so far represent a similar proposition to the
80186 co-pro board for the Master computer. At £400 this was just too
dear at a time when the Amstrad 1512 was available for less than £500.
It was only when Acorn stopped production and reduced the price to £200
to clear stocks that they sold like hot cakes. If these 386 boards were
on offer for around £300, they would be good value for money. If you
think this seems too cheap, remember that a 386SX motherboard for a PC
with 1M of RAM can be bought for about £170 one-off retail. At the
asking price of around £500 I think they are just too dear, although I
predict that the price will soon come tumbling down as have the price of
ARM 3 upgrades recently.  David Holden, Sydenham
5.7
The next item is comment about the Aleph One card and this is followed
by a reply from Alex van Someren covering both sets of comments. Ed.
5.7
• PC Emulator and the Aleph One PC Card − Brian Cowan was discussing the
speed of screen updates in the PC Emulator last month. As he pointed
out, all screen access from the emulated PC must be intercepted and
emulated to make it appear on the RISC-OS screen which slows down screen
access enormously. I find that text based programs are pretty good but
anything which is graphics intensive such as a graphics-based game or
Windows 3, runs pretty slowly even if you are using an ARM3.
5.7
However, I understand from discussions with Aleph One at the BETT Show
that they are working, with engineers at Acorn, on a Windows 3 display
driver to work with RISC-OS. Windows normally accesses screen memory
directly, but it does support display drivers to enable it to work with
intelligent graphics displays which would rather look after themselves.
This allows high resolution displays to use their own bit-blitter or
graphics processor to do fast screen updates. All that Windows 3 needs
to say is “move this rectangle over there”, “draw this filled bezigon”,
“write this font string at 32 point”, etc. and the display driver gets
on with it while the PC carries on doing its PC thing. By writing a
Windows 3 driver which simply passes all of the windows calls to the ARM
running RISC-OS, the ARM can take over and do what it is told. This
allows the PC to carry on with its program while the ARM does very fast
screen updates (similar to the old BBC Tube system where an I/O
processor looked after the screen and the second processor ran the
user’s program, issuing calls to do writes to the screen as necessary).
If Aleph One succeed with this project, their PC card will look like a
fast PC with a blindingly fast intelligent graphics system (the ARM).
This is similar to the way Acorn have intercepted the maths co-processor
calls and passed them directly to the ARM to speed up maths programs.
This works very well and some of my maths-intensive programs have
actually run at the same speed on my A5000 running the PC emulator as on
a real 25MHz 386. The Windows driver would also be useful to people
running the PC emulator with Windows 3 without the Aleph One card, and I
understand that Aleph One might release it separately when it is ready.
Paul Skirrow, Ipswich
5.7
•    386PC form Aleph One − Alex van Someren replies... Thank you very much
for the opportunity to reply to these two comments. It’s good to air
these issues in public so that people can make up their own minds about
what is most suitable for them.
5.7
Aleph One does not intend that their 386PC should be seen as a direct
alternative to buying a cheap Taiwanese PC clone and nor have they
promoted it as such. Each approach has its pros and cons − you may well
be able to find an apparently cheaper PC clone. However, a stand-alone
PC alongside your Archimedes will never offer the close inter-operabil
ity that the Aleph One 386PC offers. Specifically, we see the 386PC as
having the following advantages:
5.7
1) The 386PC can operate as a multi-tasking RISC-OS application, which
means that it can remain on the screen at the same time as other RISC-OS
applications. This allows graphics and text from PC applications to be
imported directly into RISC-OS documents by simply bringing up a menu
and dragging an icon. It is worth noting that this is apparently not the
case with the (as yet unavailable) Watford Electronics product, which
switches screens wholesale.
5.7
2) The DOS partition file used by the 386PC and PC Emulator is also
directly accessible to RISC-OS 3 or !MultiFS. It is therefore unneces
sary to copy files onto a floppy and walk them from one computer to the
other. You can simply drag them back and forth on the desktop using the
mouse.
5.7
3) The 386PC allows users to benefit from their existing investment in
peripherals: you cannot use your direct laser printer on the PC, but you
can on an Archimedes with a 386PC fitted. Similarly, you need to move
your CD-ROM drive back and forth if you want to use it on two computers,
but not if you use a 386PC.
5.7
4) The 386PC offers more power than a PC of apparently the same
specification. In the first place, the Aleph One 386PC benchmarks show
it to be faster than “real” PCs of the same speed. This stems from the
superior disc and graphics capabilities of the Archimedes. However, this
is not the limit of the Archimedes involvement: Aleph One will shortly
release a software extension known as a “Windows driver” which will
allow the Archimedes to act as a graphics accelerator for Windows which
will be equivalent in performance to add-in cards for PCs costing
£500−£1,000. Similarly, disc cacheing and Novell network extensions are
also in the pipeline: equivalent PC add-in cards for these functions
cost further hundreds of pounds; for the 386PC these are simply software
upgrades.
5.7
Clearly, there will always be some users for whom the separate PC
solution is the more attractive, especially if they have the money and/
or technical expertise to take advantage of the Taiwanese clone or self-
assembly route to PC ownership. Our advice to them is: Go and buy a PC!
For Archimedes owners with a need for convenient, fast, well-integrated
DOS compatibility under RISC-OS we are shipping the product hundreds of
customers tell us they have been waiting for.
5.7
(386PC cards are available from stock at N.C.S. Ed.)
5.7
•    PD Software − There has been quite a bit of discussion recently, in
various quarters, as to whether commercial companies ought to be
involved in selling PD software and, if so, at what price. Following
comments in this magazine about Beebug’s policy of giving away PD
software with computer systems, they have stopped doing so and have also
reduced the price of their PD discs to £1.60.
5.7
This action on Beebug’s part and the general discussion on various
bulletin boards has caused us, here at Archive, to consider our position
and to wonder whether we should reduce the price of Shareware and/or
Careware discs. It could be argued that the cost of a disc plus a
paddibag, plus postage plus VAT hardly justifies the price of £3.
However, there are other factors to be taken into account − for example,
the general over-heads in running a business. If you then add something
for specific staff involvement in setting up and maintaining the library
plus the cost of the auto-loader disc copier and a dedicated A440 to run
it, £3 doesn’t sound too bad.
5.7
The other factor that has to be taken into account is that, each year,
Archive magazine raises of the order of £20,000 for charity, mainly
through the sale of Careware discs. For each £6 Careware disc, Archive
takes £1 towards expenses and gives £5 to charity. Take off the VAT
(15p) and that only leaves 85p which hardly covers our expenses. This
means that on Careware discs, Archive itself is effectively contributing
hundreds of pounds to charity (over 3,000 discs a year). On this basis
alone, we are happy that our current policy on Shareware and Careware is
“within the spirit of PD”.
5.7
In case you are interested, in 1989/90, Archive’s charity efforts raised
£19,600, in 1990/91 it fell to £17,800 but in the first eight months of
our 91/92 accounting year, we have raised £15,400. Assuming it continues
at that rate, we will have about £23,000 to distribute this year. (N.B.
We try to donate the money as soon as it comes in so that we cannot be
accused of using the interest on the money for our own gain!) As it is
such a large amount of money, we try to spread it round as much as
possible, so that a wide range of different charities benefit. These
have included Spastics Society, R.A.D.A.R., British Blind Sport, Norwich
City Care, Mencap, Marie Curie Foundation, Guys Hospital, National
Federation for the Blind and P.H.A.B., to name but a few.
5.7
•    SCSI/IDE compatibility − Here is an update to the hard disc compat
ibility table. New entries are in bold.
5.7
In general, there are no problems with non-games programs. The only
exceptions I know of are EMR Soundsynth, which only works from floppy;
and Ovation, where there is a problem with software protection, but
Beebug will promptly supply a version customised for a particular filing
system.
5.7
“Yes” indicates that it can be from disk either by just copying the
files or by running a supplied installation procedure. “Edit” indicates
that the !Boot or !Run files need to be edited. “Prot” indicates that
the game can be run from hard disk, but that the original floppy is
still required for the copy protection mechanism. “No” indicates that it
cannot easily be run from hard disk. (In some cases it may still be
possible to alter the code to get it to run from hard disk with
difficulty.)
5.7
 Program              ADFS  SCSI  IDE    Comment
5.7
 Apocalypse    no    no    no
5.7
 Arcendium    edit    edit    ?
5.7
 Arcade Soccer    no    no    no
5.7
 Arcade 3    yes    yes    yes
5.7
 Boogie Buggy    no    no    no
5.7
 Break 147    no    no    no
5.7
 Cataclysm    no    no    no
5.7
 Chocks Away    no    no    no
5.7
 Chopper Force    no    no    no
5.7
 Conqueror    no    no    no
5.7
 COPS    yes    yes    yes
5.7
 Corruption    no    no    no
5.7
 Drop Ship    no    no    no
5.7
 E-Type    no    no    no
5.7
 Enter the Realm    no    no    no
5.7
 Fish    yes    yes    ?    Memory tight
5.7
 Grievous Bodily     no    no    no
5.7
 Herewith Clues    no    no    no
5.7
 Holed Out    no    no    no
5.7
 Hoverbod    ?    no    ?
5.7
 Inertia    no    no    no
5.7
 Interdictor 1    yes    yes
yes    Memory tight
5.7
 Interdictor 2    yes    yes
yes    Memory tight
5.7
 Iron Lord    yes    yes    ?
5.7
 Jet Fighter    no    no    no
5.7
 Lemmings    yes    yes    yes
5.7
 Man At Arms    no    no    no
5.7
 MIG29    yes    ?    yes
5.7
 Nevryon    no    no    no
5.7
 Olympics    no    no    no
5.7
 Pacmania    edit    ?    yes
5.7
 Pandora’s Box    no    no    no
5.7
 Plague Planet    yes    yes
yes    Not early
5.7
 versions
5.7
 Powerband    no    no    no
5.7
 Pysanki    no    no    no
5.7
 Quazer    prot    prot    ?
5.7
 Saloon Cars    no    no    no
5.7
 Terramex    no    no    no
5.7
 Twin World    yes    ?    yes
5.7
 UIM    yes    yes    ?    Memory tight
5.7
 White Magic    no    no    no
5.7
 Wimp Game    prot    prot    ?
5.7
 Wonderland    yes    no    no    A
SCSI fix
5.7
 exists
5.7
 Zarch    no    no    no
5.7
On a 1M machine, there may be memory problems when a game requires so
much memory that there is little room for the SCSI or IDE controller
software.  Mike Williams, 111 Evering Road, London  N16 7SL.
5.7
•    Screen sizes, A5000 monitors and the VIDC − Acorn have defined the OS
unit to be 1/180th inch. Pixels on higher resolution monitors are
usually 2 × 2 OS units, which corresponds to 1/90th inch or 0.28mm
(using 25.4 mm/inch). This is an average to good resolution for multi-
sync monitors.
5.7
The problem with this definition comes when you work out the size of the
screen. A BBC sized screen mode (1280 × 1024 OS units) has a diagonal of
SQR (12802 + 10242) = 1639 OS units or 9.1 inches. This is equivalent to
a cramped Mac Plus screen. An SVGA screen mode has a diagonal of SQR
(8002 + 6002) pixels =1000 pixels or 11.1 inches, which is still quite
small.
5.7
These numbers give a clue as to why Acorn broke its own rules and made
the pixels on the A5000 monitor 0.34mm across. This changes the size of
an SVGA screen mode to 13.4 inches, which fits nicely on a 14 inch
monitor. The drawback is that everything is displayed at 120% normal
size. This magnification also occurs on the standard monitor.
5.7
Acorn’s video hardware is now starting to look quite dated − the PCW
Unix Column reviewed the R260 recently, and the reviewer was bemused by
the fixed 256 colour palette and the way the machine speed changed in
different screen modes. These hardware problems are coupled with a messy
and limited software interface. Perhaps when it is updated (hopefully in
the near future − keep an eye on ARM Ltd for the new VIDC), the hardware
will use dual ported video RAM so that screen DMA does not slow down the
machine the way it does now, and have many more than the current 16
palette registers (at least 256, for fully flexible palettes in 8 bit
modes) and expand their width from 12 bits to 24 bits allowing true
colour. The software needed to support this would be in the form of a
new bit map type to supersede the sprite file and improved colour
selection − perhaps using the ColourTrans module?  A Finch, Dorset
5.7
•    Waiting for Acorn − I am sure that I am not the only person who thinks
that the Acorn market is all about waiting − waiting for Acorn to
deliver the goods!
5.7
Take three important products: the floating point accelerator, the Acorn
portable and RISC-OS 3. The most extreme example is the FPA. This was
first announced for the A540 way back in October 1990. When the A5000
was launched in October 1991, it even had a socket for the FPA which was
scheduled for release in the first quarter of 1992. However, there is
still no sign of it appearing.
5.7
The Acorn portable, surely a product badly needed in the Acorn range,
has been discussed for well over a year. Again, there is still no sign
of it appearing as a saleable product.
5.7
RISC-OS 3 did appear with the A5000 last October and, at the time, it
was announced that the intention was to provide it as a replacement for
RISC-OS 2 in existing machines. Still there is no sign of this happen
ing. The current rumour is that it won’t be released until the Autumn.
5.7
Acorn really will have to sharpen up their act if they are going to
survive in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
5.7
Michael Lowe, Loughton.
5.7
I can understand Michael’s sense of frustration, especially about the
FPA. Mind you, Acorn have never actually announced anything official
about the portable or even about the likely date for RISC-OS 3.
Companies often “talk about” products as part of their customer
research, so talking about a product cannot even be taken as saying that
it is under development.
5.7
I gather that the hold up on the FPA is that it is just one of the jobs
on ARM Ltd’s books but that some of the other projects like ARM6 etc are
being given higher priority. I’m sure we all feel that they ought to get
on with the FPA but, in a real world, companies have to make decisions
about priorities in terms of what is actually going to earn some money
and keep the share-holders happy and the company afloat.
5.7
From what I can gather, RISC-OS 3 is supposed to be ‘almost ready’ for
blowing into ROM but it will still be several months before quantities
of ROMs will be available for the market because of the time taken to
get the actual ROMs done. For both the FPA and the portable, obviously
Acorn would like them to be available tomorrow but my (slightly
educated) guess is that neither will be available until the autumn and
the portable might even be later.  A
5.7
5.7
Please write or telephone for complete details about our wide range of
space science resources for the archimedes, including the new image
processing package, PDSview, that gives access to the massive databank
of NASA images that have been released as well as providing powerful
processing for weather satellite or any other digital image. Over 27000
raw data images are available from us on CD-ROM. Also ask about the
award winning !Orrery application which brings the planetarium into your
home or classroom.Our new weather satellite software which is compatible
with existing hardware will be out soon. This allows up to six animation
sequences, with unlimited frames, to be collected concurrently on the
desktop as a background task. This is truly a BREAKTHROUGH in the field
of meteorological satellite image data collection.
5.7
5.7
Colton
5.7
From 5.6 page 15
5.7
5.7
    Aleph One 386PC Card
5.7
Brian Cowan
5.7
As I anticipated last month, my 386PC card from Aleph One has finally
arrived. At present I have an extremely early version of the supporting
software, the final version of which is still under development. So this
must be regarded as a very preliminary review.
5.7
The product
5.7
The package consists of the PC card, a disc containing the software and
a slim eight page user guide. Not much in the way of documentation but,
to quote from the guide, “You may be surprised that these instructions
are so brief; the fact is that the 386PC is so much like a real IBM-
compatible PC that very little extra explanation is required. And so it
proved to be. In particular, if you have experience of using the Acorn
PC emulator, then there is very little extra that one needs to know.
5.7
I eagerly installed the card in my A540 machine The actual card is
extremely densely packed with chips, having a single empty socket for a
’387 maths coprocessor. The 1M of RAM is socketed so that it may be
changed for 4M if required. There are two connectors on the rear panel:
a parallel (printer) port and a serial port.
5.7
The PC emulator
5.7
As I understand it, users must have a copy of the PC emulator installed
on their machine in order to use the PC card. I think this is part of
the licensing agreement between Aleph One and Acorn. In practice, I
don’t think that the card uses much of the emulator’s software, although
it might be planned to use the config files and the emulator’s editor
for these files, which also creates and specifies the location of hard
disc partitions.
5.7
In use, the 386PC is very similar to the emulator. An icon appears on
the icon bar (with a green screen rather than the emulator’s blue one).
Clicking on the icon then initiates the PC boot-up sequence in the usual
way.
5.7
Speed
5.7
There are two reasons why one might want to use the PC card; reasons why
the emulator might be inadequate. These are speed and compatibility. I
started with a few speed tests, comparing the time taken for the
emulator and the PC card to perform various tasks. I tried a range of
examples, from straight number crunching (no FPU present), to graph
plotting, algebraic computation and running the Autoroute program. I was
using an A540 and I expect similar performance would be obtained on
A5000 machines. I found a fairly uniform speed increase of between four
and five times. Of course, the speed increase compared with an ARM2
machine would provide a further factor of about four.
5.7
Compatibility
5.7
Turning to the question of compatibility, the PC card, unlike current
versions of the emulator, supports extended memory, although I have not,
as yet, tried that out. PC emulator users will know that the compatibil
ity of this software product is remarkably high. I found only one
program which would not run under the emulator and that functioned
perfectly with the PC card. Of course, having the true PC printer port
enables those products to be used which have hardware protection in the
form of a dongle.
5.7
As yet, the PC card does not run in a RISC-OS window. I am assured that
the next version of the software, due to arrive any day now, will
support this in the same way that the emulator does. There are other
facilities that future versions of the software will support. Currently
all PC printing goes to the PC card’s printer port. The option to pipe
this to the Archimedes’ own printer port and/or print via RISC-OS
printer drivers, perhaps to a Laser Direct, should be available soon.
5.7
Conclusion
5.7
In all this is an exciting product, although its final appeal will rely,
to a large part, on the software support which becomes available for it,
particularly for cross DOS/RISC-OS operation. For a discussion of other
considerations see the comments by David Holden in the Comment Column on
page 17.  A
5.7
5.7
Oak
5.7
From 5.6 page 10
5.7
5.7
Language Column
5.7
David Wild
5.7
Recently, I had a telephone call from a man with an unusual problem. He
was developing a Pascal program using his own A3000 and some of the
A310s at the school where he works. Sometimes, when he came to link the
compiled program, he would get a message that the “symbol table was out
of date”. What was especially odd was that, because these are all
floppy-only machines, he was actually using the same disks every time.
After a certain amount of digging, it transpired that on some of the
machines the clock had not been set correctly for the date and as this
doesn’t show up on the screen no-one had noticed. When all the dates had
been brought into line, the problem disappeared again. I’m still not
quite sure why the linker should have cared about the date of the symbol
table, but there may be a slight clue in the next section.
5.7
On the principle that the devil shouldn’t have all the best tunes, I
spent some time trying to adapt Acorn’s Desktop Development Environment
to accept Pascal as well as those languages for which tools are
provided. I have prepared a DDE tool for Pascal compilation and this
works as expected. By setting this up on the icon bar together with the
Link tool, you can develop a program with only the key-presses needed
for the source editing and then two mouse-clicks for compilation and two
more for linking. All this can happen with other tasks running as all
the DDE tools are multi-tasking. (A copy of this tool is included on the
monthly program disk.)
5.7
Another advantage of using the DDE method is that all the files
connected with the project itself are in one directory which can be kept
anywhere you like on the hard disk. (A hard disk is necessary for any
real use of the DDE anyway.) This means that there is no more trying to
sort out which of the source files belong to which project and no more
naming problems where a sensible name for a source file can’t be used
because it is already in use for another project. As the linked object
files turn up as a !Runimage in the same directory, everything is where
you need it for all the stages of editing, compiling, linking and
testing. Then, when you have finished with the project, you can move the
whole directory onto a floppy disk at one go without the risk of leaving
some of the files behind, taking up valuable space, or deleting files
which should have been left there. A great advantage of the RISC-OS
system is that you can keep your files where they are needed and let the
computer do the work of finding the programs. Far too often, on PC’s at
work, you are faced with a Supercalc or Wordstar directory with lots of
files in them and very little indication of what they are. How much more
civilised is the idea of a directory dealing with, say, a house move,
containing PipeDream files for the calculations, Impression for the
sales leaflets, Draw and Paint files for the illustrations and source/
object files for any programs which you needed to write − all in one
place.
5.7
Encouraged by the success of my DDE tool, I then set about registering
Pascal with the DDE Make tool so that I could bring the work down to a
double-click on a makefile. I found that I could get a makefile to work
for an initial compilation but for regular use there is a snag caused by
the fact that the Pascal compiler doesn’t date stamp the object files
that it produces. If the object files are not stamped the make utility
sulks − understandably − because the date is the only way of deciding if
this compilation is really necessary. While it would be nice to have a
Pascal compiler which offered rather more facilities such as giving
smaller finished programs by using the shared ‘C’ library, I would be
very grateful for a compiler which date-stamped the object files, and
generated code which observed the Acorn procedure call standard. With
the idea of “assembly”, as mentioned in my last article, most of the
other things needed can be done by using libraries of separately
developed modules.
5.7
Another useful feature of the DDE is the facility for creating libraries
of object code from which the linker can extract what is needed. I feel
that these should be more efficient than the idea of grouped procedures
in largish modules that was the only way using the Pascal compiler
alone. The problem with the module is that the linker cannot extract
only those procedures which are required by the other programs and has
to link the whole module. It might be a good idea to include all your
modules in one large library as this would certainly simplify the
instructions for the linker. I can’t see any obvious disadvantages but
would like to hear your views.  A
5.7
5.7
PD Column
5.7
David Holden
5.7
Regular readers will be aware that, despite the name of this column, I
am also interested in Shareware. Unfortunately, there isn’t much true
Shareware about for the Archimedes but in the last month or so there
have been some events in the PC world, the effects of which might (I
hope!) spill over into our comparative backwater.
5.7
In the past, a few PC Shareware programs have ‘gone commercial’. That
is, the rights have been purchased by an organisation which has then
sold the program in the conventional manner. There are several programs
where early versions are available as Shareware but later versions are
marketed in the ‘normal’ way. There have also been a few occasions where
the opposite has happened, when the producer of a hitherto commercial
product has announced that in future it may be regarded as PD. Normally,
this only happens when it is well past the end of its useful life and
the company no longer wishes to support it.
5.7
Recently, two commercial programs, one almost a household name, have
been ‘given away’ on the cover disk of a magazine just like Shareware or
PD programs. The first to appear was Borlands famous ‘Sidekick’.
Admittedly, it was version 4 and the company have just released version
5 but it was the complete unabridged program with documentation on the
disk. Borland say they will regard anyone who has a copy as an author
ised user and give them a low cost upgrade to version 5, which is
similar to the Shareware method where registered users get an improved
version.
5.7
The second program is from the people who made waves last year by
reducing the price of their spreadsheet Super-Calc from over £300 to
£79. Computer Associates have allowed their wordprocessor ‘Textor’ to
appear on a magazine disk. Admittedly, it doesn’t have the manual but
this was apparently due to C.A. not really understanding what was
required rather than an attempt to avoid providing documentation and the
magazine contains instructions for using the program.
5.7
C.A. Textor is not ‘state of the art’ and has not been actively marketed
in Britain as an individual item but it has been sold successfully in
the USA and also in this country bundled with Super-Calc and a companion
database Super-DB as ‘C.A Office’ for over £150. It is, however, a
perfectly adequate product with mailmerging and some spreadsheet
functions, at least the equal of, or superior to, many existing
Shareware wordprocessors. Again, there is an obvious commercial motive
since C.A. have just announced a new version of Textor for Windows but
once again users who have a copy of the ‘give-away’ program get a cheap
upgrade.
5.7
So what does this have to do with the Archimedes since these are both PC
programs? Well for many years, the practice of software producers has
been to charge as much as the market would bear. Profits were therefore
very high once the original development costs had been recouped so they
could afford large advertising budgets. A few years ago, a considerable
amount of the advertising in magazines was for software. If you pick up
a PC magazine now you will find that most of the ads are for hardware.
Much of the software ‘advertising’ is now being done via new product
news and reviews. If this indicates a certain amount of belt-tightening
amongst software producers it could be that they are looking for cheaper
and perhaps better ways to promote their products.
5.7
Releasing an earlier version of a program as (more or less) PD is one
way of doing this. It’s very cheap, it reaches a large number of people
and they get to try it out at leisure. At first sight, it might appear
that it cuts out the retailer but not so. Since the aim is to increase
sales of the current, upgraded product, these need to be purchased from
somewhere and the retailer is the obvious place. Admittedly, he won’t
get so much money for an upgrade as for a normal sale but then he won’t
need to spend as much time demonstrating since the customer would
already be familiar with the package. This system therefore facilitates
the move towards warehouse and mail order sales which are becoming more
popular.
5.7
If this is the way things are going, I wonder how long it will be before
we see similar methods used for the Archimedes. For example, why not put
the manual for First Word Plus version 1 on a disk and allow it to be
distributed by PD libraries? It’s now completely obsolete so it can’t
lose any sales but it might encourage some people to ‘upgrade’ to the
current version. What about the now obsolete PipeDream II? Why not let
PD libraries distribute it with reduced documentation on disk and offer
registration with the printed manual for about £40? There must be many
early pre-RISC-OS versions of programs which could be sold in this way.
It wouldn’t reduce sales of the later versions, quite the opposite,
because users who had the money would want the multi-tasking version
anyway and most people prefer to upgrade to an improved version of a
program with which they are already familiar rather than learning a new
package from scratch. It might also encourage people who would otherwise
simply ‘pirate’ a copy to make do with the legitimate if obsolete
version.
5.7
This would greatly swell the numbers of applications available from PD
libraries. At present someone can buy an Atari, Amiga or PC and get
plenty of good, cheap software from PD and Shareware. There are very few
‘proper’ applications available for the Archimedes in this way so unless
you are happy with !Edit, !Draw and !Paint, you must not only pay more
for your computer (even though it’s worth it) but before you can make
serious use of it, you have to pay out even more money for commercial
software. If decent, albeit obsolete, software was available for very
little outlay, it might encourage people to buy an Archimedes rather
than the competition. The more Archimedes sold, the bigger the potential
sales for software so everyone benefits in the long run.
5.7
Despite the apparent advantages, I suspect that the reluctance of the
software industry to have anything to do with Shareware will prevent it
from happening. I would certainly be interested to hear the views of
people both inside and outside the commercial world on the concept.
5.7
Clip art
5.7
Another new catalogue disk arrived and, as usual, I was more interested
in what was on the disk than reading the documentation. It was entirely
devoted to clip art, Draw files and sprites and this seems a very good
idea. Most PD libraries have a collection of this type of work but it
would be nice to have one that specialises in it.
5.7
The samples appeared above average and, at last, I looked more closely
at the documentation. It was then that I realised my mistake. The disk
was from a company called DEC-dATA and when I saw the price, £6.95 per
disk of your own mix or £4.95 for standard disks, I realised that it was
certainly not a PD library. At this point, I decided to have another
look at the samples.
5.7
Unfortunately, while above average for PD, I’m afraid I didn’t think
that some of them came up to what I would require for commercial prices.
The drawing of a Thames Barge, while quite nice to look at, has quite a
few inaccuracies and the Tramp Steamer seems to have the hull and
superstructure drawn with a slightly different perspective. The scanned
sprites however appear to be of high quality and the catalogue is
certainly extensive. There is also a series of database files in various
formats which would be useful for educational perposes. If you are
interested in this type of item contact DEC-dATA, 60 Danes Road, Exeter
EX4 4LS.
5.7
Music only
5.7
I have just received a catalogue from a new PD library. This is not an
unusual event but the reason I mention it is because this is a library
with an important difference − it is devoted entirely to music.
5.7
Most libraries have lots of Tracker and STracker tunes but the Cream PD
catalogue contains almost nothing else. The advantage for computer music
(?) fans is that instead of buying a disk with the librarian’s choice of
tunes, you can select your own from the Cream catalogue and pay 30p per
tune, with a minimum charge of £1.50 per disk. This could be a bit
dearer than the price per disk charged by some libraries but, since you
choose what you want, you don’t pay for a disk with ten tunes on it,
nine of which you already have. Cream also claim that they have the best
collection of tunes and, from a brief look at their catalogue, I
wouldn’t want to disagree.
5.7
The Cream catalogue disk costs £1 and is available from Cream PD, 38
Baunton, Cirencester, Gloucester  GL7 7BB
5.7
New typing tutor
5.7
I have been asked, quite a few times, if there is a PD typing tutor for
the Archimedes. Until recently, so far as I am aware, there wasn’t. I
normally resist the temptation to use my privileged position to mention
my own programs but this time, in view of the interest in the subject, I
shall make an exception. As there is obviously a demand, I have just
written a typing tutor called ‘Architype’. By the time you read this, it
will probably be available from some PD libraries and I expect it will
appear on an Archive Shareware or Careware disk in the near future.
5.7
Please write to me at 39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London SE26
5RN.  A
5.7
5.7
Small Ads
5.7
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what “small”
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.7
•    2M A3000 RAM upgrade non-expandable £30. Phone 0283−31403 anytime.
5.7
•    A3000 with 2M RAM, bridge with extra 3½“ and 5¼” drives plus ScanLight
Junior £650. Phone K Tompkins on 0276−28932.
5.7
•    A3000 with 2M RAM, serial interface, Atomwide VIDC enhancer and Acorn
AKF18 multisync monitor £695. Phone on 0242−234342 (after 6 p.m.).
5.7
•    A310, 4M RAM, 20M drive, ARM3, CC ROM/RAM board, 4-slot bp, Taxan 795
+ VIDC enhancer, Qume LaserDirect + toner kit, Watford Hand Scanner II,
Impression II and other fonts and software, plus Z88 with 128k RAM card.
£1,800. Phone Roger Bunnett on 0322−662642.
5.7
•    A310, colour monitor, 4-slot bp, manuals and software £550. Acorn
Inkjet printer (new) £225. Armadillo A448 sampler & software £70. Phone
Lenny on 071−703−5675.
5.7
•    A310 with lots of software £500 o.n.o. Phone 04617−398.
5.7
•    A400 spares new: mouse (old type) £30. 2M memory chips £60. Phone
081−751−2120 (eves).
5.7
•    A410/1, 2M RAM, 40M drive, colour monitor, Impression II, + 50M other
software inc. Tracker, PRM, Graphbox & Equasor £990 o.n.o. Also Epson
LX80 NLQ with cut-sheet feeder £70. Phone Tim on 0784−430198 or
081−560−7310.
5.7
•    A410/1, 4M RAM, 20M drive, Acorn colour monitor, Beebug 5¼“ interface
£950, Old PRM’s £9, Chocks Away Compendium £25, WorraCAD £60, Zarch £10,
Archimedes Assembly Language (2nd Ed.) £10. Phone 0780−740363.
5.7
•    A410/1, 4M RAM, 40M drive, ARM3, VIDC enhancer, 5¼“ interface, Taxan
775 monitor, PC emulator etc £1,600. Phone Paul on 041−777− 6608 (after
8 p.m.)
5.7
•    A420 ARM-3, 4M RAM, 40M hard drive, Watford VIDC enhancer. £1100 ono.
Will throw in some free software (PD and registered commercial pack
ages). Phone 0256−54103, fax 0256−50575.
5.7
•    A5000 2M 40M IDE plus multisync monitor with free software. Brand new,
unwanted gift! £1699 Phone Roger on 061−799−9845 (eves).
5.7
•    Archway II £50. Phone Paul on 041−777− 6608 (after 8 p.m.)
5.7
•    Canon BJ10ex with printer driver £200 o.n.o. Acorn ROM podule with
optional ram chips fitted £40. Phone 051−606−0289.
5.7
•    First Word Plus II £30, Tracker £15, Pandora’s Box £10, Transfer £2,
CrossStar £2, Panorama £2, Trace £2. Phone Alan on 0233−629868 (eves).
5.7
•    Graphbox Professional − unwanted gift, unopened £75. Phone Dave on
0642−592161.
5.7
•    PC emulator (1.60) £50, Arthur PRMs Offers? Compression (uninstalled)
£40, Arcterm 7 £55, Mad Prof Mariarti £10, Mig 29 £30, UIM £10,
TwinWorld £10, Iron Lord £8, Guild of Thieves £10, Zarch £8, Tactic £7,
Stranded £15. Phone 0247−457655.
5.7
•    Philips standard colour monitor £100, WS4000 modem £80, GEC datachat
modem £30, Prism 1000 £20, 4 slot backplane & fan £30, 40M ST506 NEC 3½“
drive £200, Atomwide (Avie) ST506 Hard drive podule £120, 5½” 40/80
drive + interface £50. All o.n.o. Phone 0247−457655.
5.7
•    ScanLight Plus perfect condition £170. Phone Jonathan after 4.30 p.m.
on 081−451−0471.
5.7
•    Wanted − Acorn Assembler or Desktop Assembler package. Phone
0283−31403 anytime.
5.7
•    Wanted − Ground Control Teletext adaptor. Phone 051−606−0289.
5.7
Charity Sales − The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money − ring us on 0603−766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
5.7
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
5.7
Vox-Box £35, ArcComm1 £20, C-Front £8, InterDictor 1 £8, Masterfile II
£18, Saloon Cars £15, RISC-OS Companion Vol 1 £3, Pacmania £8,
FunSchool3 (Under 5s) £15, A3000 2M upgrade (expandanble to 4M) £35,
Morley 2M A3000 upgrade £30, VIDC Enhancer £18, Watford Electronics £5
voucher £2, CC ROM/RAM podule with battery backup + I-Sheet and I-Word
£30, Screened printer data cable £2 per foot.  A
5.7
5.7
PipeLine
5.7
Gerald Fitton
5.7
Thank you all for your most interesting and kind comments about last
month’s PipeLine. It seems that all too many of you have had problems
such as cryptic messages about swapping discs when RISC-OS is trying
(unsuccessfully) to find modules that are not where it thinks they ought
to be. I incorrectly believed that this problem was restricted to floppy
disc users but it isn’t. As a result of all the correspondence, I am
encouraged to extend my advice to hard disc users and then to give
advice on the related topic of PipeDream 4’s ‘Choices’ and related
default ‘Options’. !Impression suffers in the same way so let’s have
something about defaults!
5.7
Hard disc users
5.7
One rule I suggest you adhere to is that RISC-OS must see the !System
directory on your hard disc before it sees the !System of any of your
other packages. Make sure you click on the hard disc icon (the one on
the icon bar) to open that window and show its contents to RISC-OS
before you open any other windows. Some of my hard disc correspondents
have auto boot sequences that almost work. Their difficulties have
arisen only when their auto boot sequences don’t work!
5.7
After a great deal of effort, I have a method which ‘works’ every time
(but it is not the only solution). I suggest that, if you are having
auto boot problems, you might consider mine as a basis for yours.
Although it is not essential, boot sequences are generally in two parts.
5.7
The first of mine I have called !Boot and you will find a screen shot of
it together with the PipeDream Layout menu on the next page. You will
see that the first line, Run scsi::HD4.$.!System .!Boot, shows my
!System.!Boot file to RISC-OS; this is so that Modules, a sub directory
of !System, can be found. The second line, as I recommended last month,
shows the !Fonts directory to RISC-OS.
5.7
I bought one of Paul’s ‘cheap’ A540s about a month ago (Still one or two
available − see the back of the price list. Ed.) and hence my hard disc
uses the SCSI filing system. You might need to type ADFS where I have
SCSI. By the way, whilst I have heard the expression “Acorn’s flagship
model” used to describe the A540, I didn’t realise how good it is! My
quick comment is that, like multi scan monitors, you will only appre
ciate how good these machines are when you have one. They come complete
with ARM 3, 100M SCSI hard disc and built in “Multi scan VIDC” hardware;
they can be upgraded from the standard 4M of RAM to 16M. Don’t tell me
you’ll never need more than 4M; PipeDream compresses files as they are
saved to disc and expands them in RAM. I have a 150k spreadsheet that
expands to over 500k in RAM and I got caught out with my first shot at a
PipeDream 4 spreadsheet for predicting the result of the 1992 General
Election; it was 250k on the disc and expanded in RAM to a size that
wouldn’t run on a 4M machine! Finally, they have a SCSI port on the back
of the machine as standard so, when I can afford it, I shall be able to
plug in a CD ROM drive and call up paragraphs from the CD Encyclopaedia
Britannica straight into PipeDream!
5.7
The next two lines of my !Boot file load the modules necessary to run my
Eizo 9070S multi scan monitor (I agree with Paul’s implication that it
is a shame that this monitor has been discontinued − I don’t know what I
did without it). My final line, Desktop -file scsi::HD4.$.!Boot1, calls
the second part of the boot sequence and runs a file called !Boot1 which
appears in the screen shot containing the PipeDream 4 Font menu.
5.7
The first line of !Boot1 opens my HD4.$ (root) directory and, by so
doing, it runs the !Boot file of every package (called Applications by
Acorn) starting with a ! in the HD4.$ directory and so finds their icon
and displays it in the $ directory window. I like to have !Alarm,
!PrinterLJ and !PipeDream installed on the icon bar automatically, so
calls to the !Run files of those packages are in my scsi::HD4.$.!Boot1
file. You will see that I have disabled !VIDCplus by putting a | (just
above the return key) at the beginning of line 4 of !Boot1. If you want
!Paint, !DrawPlus, !Impression, or anything else booted onto the icon
bar then !Boot1 is the place to do it. I have temporarily disabled my
Atomwide !VIDCplus package because I found that it didn’t work with my
setup. You see, I have configured my A540 (by moving hardware links) to
monitor type 4 (to suit my Eizo 9070S) and it will be another week or so
before Atomwide have their mode designer working for type 4 monitors.
When I get the upgraded A540 version VIDC disc back from them I shall
reinstate !VIDCplus by removing the | (using PipeDream to do it).
5.7
HelpLine
5.7
Following on from my extensive ‘start up hint’ in last month’s PipeLine,
I have had a most pleasant letter from Angus Mackenzie. He has offered
to “spend a little time on the phone with any new proud owner ... in
difficulties” and suggests that a list of such phone helpliners should
be included in Archive. For our part, here at Abacus Training, I shall
include such a list on the PipeLine discs if only because, as a full
time lecturer, I am often not at home when Jill answers the phone.
5.7
PipeDream’s start up options
5.7
Many attributes of a file are saved with PD3 files. Those attributes
which are not saved with the file can be found in a file called [ini]
which act as default options. I found that many of the problems
experienced by my correspondents ‘disappeared’ when I loaded their disc
file into my PD3. After much heart searching, I traced most vanishing
problems to differences in our [ini] files where my correspondent,
usually by mistake rather than by design, had an unusual or unwise set
of ‘attributes’ in their [ini] file.
5.7
Just as I got used to the full range of [ini] problems in PD3, Colton
Software decided to launch PipeDream 4! The equivalent of PD3’s [ini] is
PD4’s [Choices] file. So, the possibility arises in PD4 of having
problems not unlike the [ini] problems of PD3 but often these are of a
more serious nature. For example, you may have many files you created in
PD3 which, when you load them into PD4 and try to print them, appear to
have a default of 99 copies; or you may find that ‘wrap’ and ‘insert on
return’ are always set to the ‘wrong’ values and keep ruining your
carefully laid out work.
5.7
In PD4, more attributes are saved with the file you are working on than
in PD3 so, when a PD3 file is loaded into PD4, your [Choices] are used
to ‘fill out’ the set of attributes. Also, if you drag, say, an obey
file such as !Boot into PD4 in order to amend it, then [Choices] will be
invoked! I’m sure you’ll see now why a careful choice of [Choices] is
important! What follows is a description of how to select and save your
[Choices].
5.7
Choices
5.7
Position the mouse over the PipeDream 4 icon (the one on the icon bar),
click <menu>, run the pointer through Choices and you will be presented
with a screen such as Choices shown below. Set up your Choices from this
menu. For example, I use a paste depth of 50 rather than a smaller value
such as 10. To change the default paste depth, run the pointer through
the option Paste depth and enter your preference in the dialogue box
which appears.
5.7
Run the pointer through New document to choose what will become your
default template for obey files and the like. Click on the OK box and
you will have a blank PipeDream document on the screen.
5.7
Options
5.7
Position the mouse within this PipeDream window and use the menu button
and pointer to produce a screen similar to that shown in the Options
screen shot. Select your preferences.
5.7
At this stage (or later) you may also make changes to the number and
width of columns; you must do that sometime.
5.7
Font
5.7
Choose a font for your default document as shown in the screen shot
Font. RISC-OS must have seen your !Font directory before PipeDream is
loaded if you want to ‘see’ your fonts on this menu.
5.7
Layout and Printer
5.7
Choose your Print − Layout and Print − Printer parameters from the menus
shown in the screen shots headed Layout and Printer.
5.7
Print
5.7
This is a more difficult default ‘option’ to set up. I switched off my
printer and sent my default file to the switched off printer (one copy!)
and then tapped <escape> to get out of the mess!
5.7
Template
5.7
Now you have set up your template, you should save it as a Template
file. You do this with the command <ctrl-FI> (hold down the <ctrl> key,
tap F then I and, finally, release <ctrl>). I suggest that you name this
template [Default].
5.7
Choices again
5.7
From the pop up PipeDream menu (the one which appears when you click
<menu> over the PipeDream icon on the icon bar) run the pointer through
New document and reload your [Default] document. Check the column and
wrap widths and check the Options, Font, Layout, Printer configuration
and the Print menus. If anything is not as you want it to be, make the
amendments before you save it again as a template file.
5.7
Finally, from the pop up PipeDream menu select Save choices. Now quit
PipeDream (from the icon bar). Double click on !PipeDream (or reboot the
machine with <ctrl-reset>) and drag to the installed PipeDream icon one
of your obey or text (!Edit type) files. If they have all the
‘attributes’ which you hoped for, try something more ambitious such as a
PipeDream 3 file!
5.7
In conclusion
5.7
Let me say again that I was most pleased with the response to last
month’s PipeLine article. Please let me know how you find this one. If
you have any comments, improvements, criticisms, etc then please write
to me at the Abacus Training address on the inside back cover of
Archive.  A
5.7
5.7
IFEL
5.7
New
5.7
5.7
EasiWriter
5.7
Alan Highet
5.7
EasiWriter calls itself a word processor but it manages to display a lot
of the characteristics of a desktop publishing package and was written
by the same team that wrote MacAuthor, so it has a good pedigree.
5.7
Documentation
5.7
The box contains two discs with the main program on one and examples on
the other. As the program requires Clib 3.75 and font manager 2.44 these
are also included. There is a loose page giving all the necessary
installation information, a plastic function key card and a 161 page
handbook which was written and typeset on an Archimedes running
EasiWriter and printed on a Canon LBP-4 giving a good example of what
can be achieved.
5.7
The handbook is divided into three sections and is a model of clarity.
The first section is a tutorial which gets you started straight away and
only tells you enough to accomplish each task without weighing you down
with too much technical talk.
5.7
The program
5.7
Clicking on the icon bar icon opens a window with a red caret at the top
of the text area. Above that are various displays showing the Structure
in use and what is selected if anything. There are also options for
formatting text and increasing or decreasing the viewing window.
5.7
The first thing I noticed was the use of the backspace key rather than
the delete key to delete the previous character. This has been inherited
from the PC world but the Delete key also works.
5.7
Unlike some document processors, EasiWriter doesn’t use Frames and
Styles for the text layout but relies on Structures. A Structure can be
a Chapter, a Section or Sub-Section, a List or a Sub-List,  a Table, a
Figure or a Picture.
5.7
You can create a Chapter structure which automatically gives you a
heading and a body style. For instance, the first line you type may be
centre aligned in 14 point Trinity-Bold and on pressing <return> you
move to left aligned 10 point Trinity-Medium with three Tab stops set.
Sections, as the name suggests, are normally a small part of a chapter
and, as such, can contain their own styles. Lists are a particular type
of paragraph allowing the easy creation of, surprisingly, lists. Each
item in a list may be preceded by a bullet or any other character you
choose. The handbook suggests the use of numbers but this would only be
useful if the number increased automatically on each press of <return>.
5.7
A very useful facility is the ability to include tables of figures in a
similar fashion to a spreadsheet. The Table Structure allows you to do
exactly that but adds a very comprehensive set of formatting commands
allowing you total control over the placement and justification of every
item in the table.
5.7
Figure and Picture are very similar and allow the inclusion of drawfiles
or sprites in your document which can be inserted into a line of text or
positioned on their own. Once on screen, the pictures can be cropped and
resized although they cannot be rotated.
5.7
All graphics, paragraphs, lines and even documents may have their own
borders selected from a list of nine choices.
5.7
Having introduced you to all the various Structures, the handbook takes
you through the editing and spell checking of a document and altering
all aspects of text fonts, styles and formats. Finally, you are shown
how to create a Stationery pad which is a custom document containing all
the various styles you require for a certain type of document.
5.7
The spelling checker is a delight to use. Not only does it display a
list of possible words but it also display the word in the context in
which you’ve used it. It will also prompt you for what it feels is
questionable capitalisation! English language is the dictionary supplied
but other languages are available from Icon Technology. All text styles
can be assigned a language and if that dictionary is available it will
be used. If it is not present then the words will be ignored.
5.7
Conclusions
5.7
There are far too many ‰small things I keep finding − I cannot mention
them all but anybody wanting a full feature document processor would not
be unhappy with EasiWriter and it certainly matches up to its descrip
tion as a full WYSIWYG word processor with all the usual cut, paste,
copy and find options.  My only complaint, if you can call it that, is
that it requires 704k of memory and therefore requires a 2M machine to
run.  A
5.7
5.7
Base5 DBMS and PairData
5.7
Rob Wears
5.7
These latest offerings from Base5 were reviewed on an A310 with 4M RAM
and an Oak SCSI drive. Base5 DBMS is the core of a database management
system but before you all yawn and turn to the next page, Base5 is
different.
5.7
Base5 has been designed with flexibility in mind. It is a set of
libraries of Basic procedures and functions which allow users to develop
their own database applications. As such, and providing you can program
in Basic, it is a truly programmable database system. The package
consists of spiral-bound (yellow!) A5 manual and a single (yellow!)
disc. As this is a review, I took the unusual step of reading the manual
first before having a go.
5.7
Documentation
5.7
The manual is well written and produced. It is divided into four
sections. The first deals with the jargon associated with databases, so
if ‘relate fields’, ‘record selection’ and ‘exports’ mean nothing to
you, this section will provide guidance with the minimum of pain.
5.7
The second section deals with the stand-alone database provided on the
disc, !Base5 (please note the “!”). Whilst describing what this can do,
the manual also tells which of the Basic routines is used to achieve
each of the effects described − a neat little touch which I found very
helpful when it came to trying to program my own database.
5.7
The third section is a series of tutorials aimed at gradually producing
your own database. Be warned, however, the manual assumes that you have
a working knowledge of Basic programming, such as that required to
produce a WIMP based program, for example. The sophisticated routines
provided will be of no use whatsoever if you cannot integrate them
successfully into your own program.
5.7
Finally, the fourth section is a reference section, detailing in depth
the Basic routines supplied, together with brief descriptions of the use
of Base5 DBMS with compilers (ABC and RiscBasic) and the variables
supplied to make WIMP interfacing more manageable.
5.7
!Base5
5.7
The disc contains the stand-alone database application, !Base5, together
with the Basic libraries (data handling, relational database support,
maths and basic statistics), a module to support formatted input,
command files to start !Base5 automatically in various configurations
(e.g. to maximise memory on a 1M machine) and a marvellous directory
full of examples.
5.7
!Base5 would appear to be more than adequate as a database application
in its own right. All the usual features are there, including condi
tional searching, sorting and comparison but, unfortunately, there are
one or two unusual “features” as well (more on these later). Data fields
are of fixed length, which can be wasteful of disc space, but fields can
be of character, date or numeric format and can be modified (e.g.
lengthened or shortened) even if they contain data. Obviously, it is
quite risky to fiddle about with the structure of a database which is
actually in use but, in my opinion, the risks are far outweighed by the
benefits of not having to start all over again from scratch on finding
that the initial structure of the database doesn’t quite meet all your
eventual needs.
5.7
It is possible to import data in four formats (Text, CSV, SDF and
DataKing), and to export data in five formats (the four mentioned plus
PipeDream). Unfortunately, there is a “feature” with the export routines
in that attempting to save data in PipeDream format by simply specifying
the filename and dragging the icon to the appropriate directory is
unreliable and occasionally crashed the machine. However, typing in the
full pathname worked every time, and the data loaded as expected into
PipeDream (version 3.14).
5.7
Further problems came to light whilst working through the routines
described in the manual. Initially, I could not get the example
relational database to work at all, getting repeated “Drive Empty” error
messages. I tracked the problem down to the relate file, which is ADFS
and drive specific − modification of this using Edit solved the problem
easily. I did find it somewhat irritating, however, as I had followed
the instructions in the manual to the letter. Subsequent examination of
other example files (such as the report files) revealed that they were
all ADFS specific − the manual should mention this.
5.7
Another “feature” cropped up amongst the various functions for analysing
data. When attempting to find the best fit straight line relationship
between atomic number and boiling point I somehow managed to delete all
the data in the “elements” example database, but I was unable to
reproduce the error with any of the other data supplied. However, that
sort of occurrence can ruin your whole day if it happens to involve your
only copy of the “Yellow Pages” database that you have just spent a
month compiling!
5.7
The report designer functions adequately but does not support fancy text
effects. In fact, the manual proudly states that !Base5 does not require
any of the printer driver modules supplied by Acorn. I think this is a
mistake. Surely everybody has access to one of Acorn’s printer drivers?
Still, you can direct the output to a spool file, and load this into a
package like Impression for smartening up.
5.7
Missing from !Base5 at present are a mail-merge facility, and the
ability to designate a field as a mandatory entry field (i.e. one in
which some data must be entered before the user can move on to the next
record). However, given the very nature of the system, these omissions
and “features” should be regarded neither as permanent, nor as
crippling.
5.7
Also contained on the disc are examples of what can be achieved with the
Base5 DBMS, including sophisticated manipulation of dates, control of
keyboard input and even a simple 29-line Basic program to draw a map of
the UK from information contained in a !Base5 database.
5.7
PairData
5.7
The other package supplied for review, PairData, is a smaller (but still
yellow) A5 manual and a single (yellow) disc. The disc contains a
library of Basic routines to handle co-ordinate pair data, together with
a utility, !MouseIn, to generate such data using the mouse, and a set of
examples which include mapping the rings of Stonehenge and the junctions
on the M25 − two cosmic mysteries to whet most people’s appetites.
Sensibly the package makes no attempt to deal with the mechanics of
traffic flow on the M25! Both the manual and the disc material are of a
high standard.
5.7
Conclusion
5.7
I have a confession to make. I still program in Basic. It’s not that
I’ve got anything against any of the other languages, but it’s just that
I know how to do things in Basic, and see no need to learn another
language. I am also reasonably confident in my ability to produce a WIMP
based program. I like these products and feel that they have tremendous
potential for cavemen such as myself who still insist on programming in
Basic. I am concerned that a lot of people will avoid Base5 simply
because it is Basic and not something really clever, like C. In
addition, I am afraid that its quirky nature prevents me from recommend
ing !Base5 in its current form to anyone who wants a ready-made database
management system. I feel it functions adequately as an introduction to
the system but should then be left behind when you use Base5 DBMS to
produce your own database application. However, these reservations
aside, Base5 DBMS is incredibly flexible and, at £69 for the core suite
of routines, it is reasonable value for money. I have no hesitation at
all in recommending it to those who are prepared to program in Basic and
to make the effort to develop their own applications.  A
5.7
5.7
Hard Disc Companion v2.05
5.7
Rob Wears
5.7
The latest version of this hard disc backup utility from RISC Develop
ments Ltd was reviewed on an A310 with 4M of RAM, ARM3 and an Oak SCSI
drive.
5.7
Having bought a hard disc, you are immediately aware of how vulnerable
you have become to the loss of lots of important data at a stroke.
Wiping the root directory of a floppy disc would only lose a couple of
Mbytes of data at most (even with compression programs), but with a hard
disc you can lose everything very quickly.
5.7
Having spent all my money on the drive itself, I frugally decided to use
the !Backup 3 (v3.00) as supplied on Shareware disc 13. Initially this
was more than adequate, and I was very impressed with the way it
remembered about the free space on the floppies it had seen and kept
asking for the appropriate floppy back when it came to a suitably sized
chunk of data. However, as the amount of data on the drive grew, the
need to change the backup discs so often rapidly became a pain, and
greatly increased the time taken to make a backup. So I tried compacting
the data to be backed up using first !Spark, and latterly !ArcFS, on a
separate partition of my hard disc (thanks to the clever Oak SCSIFS).
5.7
That greatly reduced the number of floppies needed to make a backup, but
added another step in the path, so the time spent making a full backup
actually increased. It was also possible to make some of the Archives
too big to fit on a floppy, with the result that they weren’t copied to
floppy at all. !Backup 3 allows an exclusion list of files to be ignored
by the backup process, but this list has to be edited using !Edit, and
although not a technically difficult task, it is time consuming. The net
result of all this was that backups became less frequent and on more
than one occasion I accidentally deleted my only copy of important
documents.
5.7
Hard Disc Companion II
5.7
Then came Hard Disc Companion II. The package consists of a single
floppy disc and a very smart A5 manual supplied in a sturdy cardboard
box. The manual optimistically promises that the software will encourage
you to make regular backups. Personally, I found it hard to believe that
it would be able to persuade me to spend my time making backups instead
of having just one more go at that Anarchy system in Elite. The manual
itself is well laid out and describes in great detail most of the things
you will need to know in order to use the program effectively. The only
two omissions I could find will be discussed later.
5.7
The software
5.7
The disc contains the !Backup utility (which itself contains the two
other utilities concerned with extracting files from the backups, namely
!Restore and !Retrieve), !System containing the latest version of the
shared C library and !SysMerge. The disc is not copy protected but
!Backup does ask for your name on first use and subsequently incorpor
ates it into the program. Personally, I favour this method of software
protection as it in no way inconveniences the majority of legitimate
users.
5.7
Installing on a hard disc is simply a matter of dragging the application
to the desired directory. The promised flexible configuration of source
and destination is every bit as good as it sounds, with on-screen help
for those with advanced “manual-phobia”. My previous experience of this
was endless typing of alterations to script files in !Edit. It is
pleasant now to be able to use the desktop instead by simply dragging a
directory icon to the source and destination directories, in whatever
filing system you wish, e.g. another SCSI hard disc or ADFS for
floppies.
5.7
Three types of backup procedure are offered, Full (which is self
explanatory), Incremental and Differential. The latter two will only
backup those files which have been added or changed since the last Full
backup, and hence are less time consuming. Differential is supposed to
use the same set of floppies as the Full backup and is said to be slower
than Incremental. Either I was missing something or else there is a
problem in the current version of the software because I could find no
difference between Incremental and Differential backups, either in time
taken or in sets of floppies used.
5.7
Once you have decided on source, destination and type of backup, you
have the option of selecting specific files, directories or even
filetypes to ignore during the backup procedure. These choices are made
in a very friendly, desktop environment and can be saved as special
configuration files which allow you to start up the application with all
your favourite settings.
5.7
Initially, it left me feeling very relieved − perhaps the day of the
painless backup had finally arrived. Unfortunately, on further testing,
I discovered that if you were foolish enough to delete, move or alter
the name of any of your specified files or directories, !Backup sulks
when you load it, and tells you “File not found at line 17” before
loading without the script file. This is the first area in which the
manual is deficient. It doesn’t even hint at possible problems in this
area, let alone offer remedies, and the error message is one of the
least helpful that I’ve ever come across. After some detective work, I
found that this problem lies within the script file. If you’ve only made
one change, you can load the script file into !Edit and adjust/remove
the offending item, but if you’ve made wholesale changes, you will find
it easier to simply start again from scratch.
5.7
Archiving to floppies is remarkably easy − !Backup asks you for new
floppies as it needs them, and will format them as necessary. Files are
compressed as they are archived and long files can be split over more
than one floppy (but the manual does not recommend trying to backup your
PC partition this way). You are also given estimates of the length of
time and number of floppies needed to complete the backup. I think the
program assumes that the size of the floppies is 800k, but not having
access to the 1.6 M drives, I was unable to test this. The number of
floppies always seems to be over estimated, but that is the safest
option. The backup can be suspended and resumed later or aborted
completely. A record of all backups made is kept in a text file within
the application. Also hidden in here is a file called messages − editing
this will allow you to specify the minimum file size that you want to
try to compress and to encourage the program to attempt to compress more
files. The default options are that files less than 2k will not be
compressed at all and that no attempt at compression will be made if
!Backup thinks that it cannot reduce the size to 70% or less. These
figures are optimised for ARM2 machines and the program can achieve much
greater compression if you have an ARM3 and if you edit this file − the
manual does not mention this flexibility.
5.7
The !Retrieve and !Restore applications are stored in the backup
archive, so it should always be possible to get data out even if you
thought your only copies of these were on your crashed hard disc.
!Restore not only puts everything back, but it actually puts it all back
where it came from (except all the things that you told !Backup to
ignore). I was more than a little relieved to find that it did work
well, having reformatted my hard disc to test it. (That’s what I call
dedicated reviewing! Ed.) !Retrieve allows you to retrieve individual
files from the archive and allows wildcard searches. However, you cannot
retrieve groups of files at a time which means, for example, that you
have to reassemble your Impression documents manually.
5.7
Conclusion
5.7
Hard Disc Companion II is very good at what it does. It copes not only
with backup to floppies but also to other hard discs and is not filing
system dependent. Backing up to floppies is still slow and tedious but
at £45 for Hard Disc Companion II and say £40 for thirty 3½“ discs, it
is still a lot cheaper than a second hard disc or a tape streamer. The
minor niggles that I have mentioned should not dissuade you from buying
it if you own a hard disc, and I suspect that those niggles will be
ironed out in future versions. It may not be the definitive package for
the Archimedes/A3000/A5000, but it is certainly the best hard disc
backup utility that I have ever used.  A
5.7
5.7
Air Supremacy
5.7
Jahinder Singh
5.7
Air Supremacy, the latest offering from Superior Software is a cross
between Zarch and Conqueror. The year is 2150 and wars are being waged
over the Antarctic for control of what remains of the earth’s resources.
You are at Remote Combat Terminal J19 as part of a multi-national
coalition that is attempting to restore the balance of power in the
world. The terminal consists of two isolated airfields entirely
surrounded by enemy territory. Being heavily outnumbered, only the best
pilots, the Aces, are given access to the few remaining craft at the
terminal and allowed to enter the Combat Arena in the great battle for
Air Supremacy and overall victory. To graduate to Ace status, you must
carry out your training in the Combat Simulator, with scenarios based on
three 20th century wars. To complete a level, all enemy surface units
and aircraft including any reinforcements must be destroyed.
5.7
Each of the three levels within the Combat Simulator is based on an
infamous 20th century war. Level one is Europe 1918 which puts you in
control of biplanes and old tanks. Proceeding onto level two, Pacific
1944, you are in control of aircraft and gunboats. Level three, Arabia
1991, involves jet aircraft and desert tanks. Access to guided missiles
is also provided in this level. In each level, you can switch between
aircraft and ground or sea forces as the battle develops. However, this
is much more than a simple ‘shoot-em-up’ game, being able to switch
between aircraft and surface forces requires a lot of thought and
strategy. To complete each level (not an easy task) requires the use of
each craft.
5.7
Planning your strategy is very important. The airfield control towers
relay your radar information and thus are important strategic targets
for enemy surface units. Loss of one control tower leads to interference
in your Global Radar and makes completing a level more difficult. The
two airfields are entirely surrounded by hostile territory and control
centres. A successful strike on any of these will temporarily relieve
the intensity of the attacks. However, as time progresses, the number of
enemy units will increase as reinforcements arrive. Thus it is in your
interests to complete a level in the minimum time. The limited fuel load
in the Simulator levels adds to the time constraint.
5.7
After having completed each level in the simulator, you are then allowed
to enter the Combat Arena in 2150. Here you control space-age fighters
and rapid attack hovercraft. There is a lot of activity within the
Combat Arena, everything is a lot faster and very dangerous. To assist
you in the Combat Arena with all this extra activity, access to special
offensive/defensive functions is available. A smart bomb destroys all
enemy units which, at the time of detonation, are within the view of the
landscape. The Quantum Leap allows your craft to jump to a new random
location. This is a last resort function as it is very energy demanding.
An Energy Shield is also available which, when operated, deflects enemy
fire but drains the energy resources.
5.7
Air Supremacy is similar to Zarch and Conqueror. Any vehicle can be
controlled by mouse or keyboard. Before playing the game, you can view a
demo mode to gain some understanding of flying and fighting techniques.
There is also a practice mode which is very useful. The game is very
fast with smooth scrolling and realistic sampled sounds. The graphics
(excellent shadowing) are also similar to Zarch and Conqueror. Unfor
tunately, there are no hills − everything is flat. Both Zarch and
Conqueror had realistic three-dimensional hilly landscapes and, for me,
this has made the difference between a very good game and an excellent
game.
5.7
Air Supremacy (£23 from Archive) is a good buy, will run on all machines
and offers a mixture of arcade-style fighting and strategical planning
during these cold winter nights. If you manage to complete the Combat
Arena level, not only can you claim your congratulatory certificate from
Superior Software, but you can continue at the Super-Ace levels in order
to increase your credits and Order of Merit, until you reach the highest
possible order, AIR SUPREMO.  A
5.7
5.7
The DTP Column
5.7
Richard Else
5.7
There has been a lot of response to previous DTP Columns − thanks very
much for all your letters. As a result, much of the column this month is
devoted to your comments and hints, together with news about Impression
and Ovation.
5.7
News and Views
5.7
• Artworks and Impression – Obviously, all Computer Concepts’ efforts
are presently going into the release of Artworks, but there look like
being long term benefits for Impression users. Charles Moir tells us
that the colour separation system used in Artworks will eventually find
its way into Impression. This supports a more advanced colour handling
mechanism than currently available in Impression and would then give
Impression the same colour separating abilities as Artworks i.e. spot
and process separations directly from Impression and overprint control
on a style or on an object by object basis.
5.7
However, don’t hold your breath for Impression 3 (?), because Charles
adds, “Exactly when this will happen is anyone’s guess, but it is not
likely to be before the end of this year.” However, perhaps now is the
time for Computer Concepts and the users of Impression to get together
to make sure that the new version fulfils as many users’ needs as
possible. I personally would rate kerning tables as near the top of my
own particular list, but perhaps CC should invite registered users to
list their five most significant improvements. Getting the response of
over 10,000 users could be a daunting task, but if CC chose to use their
Archimedean newsletter, I am sure that comments of real value would
emerge.
5.7
• Ovation protection − Following a query from reader Robin Mattocks who
wrote to complain about the protection system used on Ovation (and
checking that my copy, which is unprotected, was a standard version) I
spoke to John Wallace, software manager at Risc Developments. He was
able to confirm what I suspected − namely that there has been a change
of policy. Indeed for the last six months or so Ovation has been
unprotected and existing users can get this version if they return their
original disc with an SAE. However, before everyone rushes to the post,
John informed me that some minor enhancements are on the way and this is
why Risc Developments had not publicised this news. John said that they
are not undertaking a major upgrade, but are providing some enhancements
requested by users including pamphlet printing and draft printing,
together with one or two other improvements that he would rather not
reveal at this stage. It is thought that a small charge of about £5
would apply to cover this upgrade. So watch this space!
5.7
I had not used Ovation in its protected form but having used System
Delta Plus (where the original disc needs inserting every time the
program is run) and having wanted to run Impression on other computers
(including one in my local library), it is clear that any copy protec
tion system makes a trade off between user friendliness and fairness to
a company’s investment in its product.
5.7
So the policy change does mean that we, as users, have a responsibility
to use such software fairly and legally. Incidentally, I would be
interested to know what effect making Ovation protection free has on
Risc Developments’ sales!
5.7
• High density interface – Arxe Systems are releasing their interface
“very, very soon” and are presently putting the final touches to it.
They should start shipping “any day” and the product is said to be
compatible with A300/A400/A540 and A3000 machines, although 300 series
machines will require a replacement front panel. It occupies a single
podule slot in 400 series machines with the new drive unit replacing the
internal drive. A separate version is planned for internal fitting on
the A3000.
5.7
However, it can’t read the new “F” format discs from the A5000, as these
are very dependent on RISC-OS 3, but an upgrade is planned when RISC-OS
3 becomes available separately. Customers purchasing the HDI before
April 30th will get a free copy of Multi FS 2 which is, in any case,
necessary for the 1.2 & 1.44 M formats. The price is £199 + VAT, and
orders are now being taken for the product.
5.7
Impression Hints & Tips
5.7
There’s no shortage of hints and tips this month and there is a special
emphasis on mail merging, printing and uses of Impression’s “save
graphics” facility.
5.7
•     Mailmerge (1) − There have been some queries about mail merging
with Impression, so Rob Sherratt contacted Computer Concepts to outline
the problems. Rob wrote, “I have tried to use the Business Supplement
(Importer) and Impression to mailmerge a set of addresses to generate a
sheet of laser labels where each label contains successive fields from
the database. I have come to the conclusion that it can’t be done at
present − unless you tell me otherwise! I can print, say, a sheet of 24
labels for the same addressee (using a variety of methods) − but I
cannot print 24 labels for different addressees unless I enter the data
manually. Isn’t this a normal requirement for mailmerge programs?
5.7
“It seems to me that Impulse’s ‘Merge’ command causes Impression to do a
‘Delete then merge’ operation, coupled with a small change to Importer’s
user interface to toggle the ‘Delete vs Duplicate’ option on and off. As
well as, or instead of this, you might like to consider adding a new
pair of methods to Importer – :Importer Next record and :Importer
PrevRecord – which would allow the user to build a composite ‘24-up’
merge template where each frame in the template might contain the
following merge commands;
5.7
    :Importer Getfield 1
5.7
    :Importer Getfield 2 etc
5.7
    :Importer Next Record
5.7
On receiving the Next Record message, the Importer application would
reset its field counter to 1 and would scan forward for the start of the
next record.”
5.7
Charles Moir agreed that !Importer would not allow different names and
addresses to be imported into different frames and thought that Rob’s
new command to move onto the next record would work, but again that’s
another improvement that will have to wait for Impression 3 (if that is
the correct title!).
5.7
However, Charles did have this useful suggestion, “whenever we have had
a requirement to produce labels in this fashion (e.g. for mailing the
Archimedean magazine) we have gone about it in a different, and I would
suggest, a simpler way. First we create a master page that has separate
frames for each label. These are then linked together so they all form
part of one flowing story, so text will flow from one frame to another.
Presuming you have the name and address list in ASCII form with some
identifier between records − all you do is drop the file into the first
frame. All the names and addresses then flow into successive frames,
creating new pages as required. If the names and address are fixed
length records it is only a matter of making sure the label is the
correct size to hold exactly one record and it should all format
correctly. Even if the records are not the same length all that is
required is a single search and replace operation to replace the record
separator with a
5.7
 command to make sure each new record starts in a new label.
5.7
(If you use label sheets that have no selvedge, i.e. the whole A4 page
is divided into exactly 24 equal spaces, you just create one simple
master page whose size is just 70mm × 37.1mm. Then all you do is ensure
you have “ignore page borders” set and “fit lots” and it prints
beautifully. Ed.)
5.7
“The only disadvantage of this system is that it loads all the names and
addresses in one go. However, we use this system for mailing 10,000
names and addresses on a standard 4M machine and so space is not a
problem. In fact, I don’t think something like !Importer would cope with
anything like that number of records satisfactorily. This method has the
advantage that you can see and edit each record individually if
required, and you can print any required range of pages or multiple
copies, etc.”
5.7
•     Mailmerge (2) − Stuart Bell had more modest needs. He wanted to
send a basic letter with a customized “Dear ...” beginning, and an
address in a box at the bottom of each letter. His solution to create
the skeleton letter as a master page <ctrl-F2 − Edit − New Master Page>.
In this master page type everything, except the names for the salutation
(the “Dear . . .” bit). Then create two frames on the master page, one
for the name, the other for the address box, and make text flow from one
to the other.
5.7
Now, leave the editing of the master page and return to your document.
Alter the chapter so that your newly created master page is the one for
that chapter and you will see your letter appear, with boxes for the
name and address. Type in the name of the first person, and their
address, using <ctrl-G> to advance to the next frame, as required.
Impression will generate new pages as necessary, each containing the
same letter.
5.7
In order to make the salutation look neat, you may need to move the
‘name’ frame on the master page, to line up “Dear” with the name. Check
this with a large scale view of your document.
5.7
Now, the whole point of a mailing list is not to send one letter, but to
make it easier the next time you write to the same people. To change
your letter, save the original document under another name – e.g. if
originally “Letter1”, save it now as “Letter2” to avoid losing the
original letter. Then simply change the letter on the master page of
Letter2 to produce your new letter. Alternatively, create another new
master page and alter your chapter to use it.
5.7
To produce a simple listing of your mailing list, create a master page
with many frames stacked in a vertical line (or any other close pattern
for that matter). You will then have a simple list of the names and
addresses in a tabular form.
5.7
I know that most mailmerge packages offer more complex facilities than
this penny-pinching approach, such as selecting certain names out of a
list. However, if your needs are as basic as mine, then it certainly
beats the laborious task of producing twenty (or two hundred) virtually
identical letters manually!
5.7
• A merge program? − On a related note, identical pleas from Peter
Blenkinsop and P Closier: “has anyone written a merge program for
Impression?” Peter has several two page documents he would like to merge
into one (longer) document, mainly for ease of printing, although he
admits that a printer queue system might do just as well. No doubt other
users would also find this useful, so has anyone cracked this particular
nut? Batch printing would undoubtedly be useful for the next release of
Impression (with perhaps the incoming document forming a new chapter),
but we do also need a proper printer queueing system for Acorn printer
drivers. (Laser Direct owners already have one. Ed)
5.7
• Viewing clip art – Impression’s ease of manipulating and printing
Sprite and Draw files has been touched on by others but the following
may be of interest. Just as with fonts, one really needs to see a print-
out of one’s collection of clip-art files in order to pick out the one
that’s just right for a particular job. I have done this by setting up
my collection on a set of standard Impression pages laid out with 5 rows
of 4 frames, each frame filled with a clip-art object. The sheets when
printed out then provide a ready reference and can be saved economically
as Impression documents using ArcFS/Spark/Compression.
5.7
The beauty of this is that in future you can ignore the individual clip-
art files and work from the saved Impression document. You choose the
frame you want and save it as a graphic to the RAM disc. Then drag the
icon from RAMFS to the Impression frame you have set up to receive it.
Note that you have to use the RAM disc as an intermediate stage for the
transfer. If you drag the icon directly across to the new Impression
frame you get a message to the effect that Impression cannot save a file
to itself. (Jack Evans)
5.7
Don’t forget though that there are a number of commercial programs that
allow you to view clip art and these might be more useful if you are
constantly adding new images to your collection. Incidentally, an
earlier version of Glimpse (Sherston Software) used to hang up the
computer if presented with a DrawPlus file. I am glad to report that
this was fixed (v1.02 and later) and, although the program ignores
unknown file types, it will not cause any other problems. If you have an
early issue of Glimpse, Sherston advise you to call them for advice and
they tell me that they are further developing the program.
5.7
• Taking graphics from documents – Paul Skirrow writes in response to
the Impression Hints & Tips by Jochen Konietzko (Archive 5.5 page 41)
and also makes use of the save graphics facility. It is true that
graphics cannot be edited within Impression, but it is a simple matter
to click on the graphic frame to select it and then use the <save
graphic> option on the document menu (or use <shift-ctrl-T>). I rarely
bother keeping separate copies of graphics files now, I just save them
from Impression directly into Draw, modify them and then save them back
again. (With PipeDream, things are different as it does not take its own
copy of the graphics file, but simply stores the filename, so modifying
the file on disc will change the image in the PipeDream document.)
5.7
It is true that the draw files are stored within the document directory
(called story1, story2, etc), but they should not be edited because
Impression stores information about them elsewhere (in the !DocData
file). It is possible to crash the entire system by modifying a graphics
file within an Impression document. I have always regarded Impression
documents as no-go areas − they belong to Impression and use Computer
Concepts’ own format which is not published and which could be changed
between Impression versions.
5.7
The only disadvantage with using the <save graphic> option is that it
always saves the graphic as a draw file, even if it is a sprite. If you
want to edit a sprite, you must therefore drag the draw file from
Impression to Draw, select the object and then use the <save sprite>
option on the save menu to save into Paint. This is clumsy, especially
if memory is short, in which case you will have to save the intermediate
files to disc before loading into Paint. Computer Concepts do this
mainly to simplify the inner working of Impression (it means everything
can be regarded as a Draw file which may contain sprites). Another
argument for using Draw files to hold sprites is that they contain
absolute size information, whereas the sprite format does not. It
therefore makes a lot of sense for scanners to produce Draw files
containing the scanned sprite together with absolute size information
describing the resolution of the scanned image. The <save graphic> menu
item only appears when a graphic frame is selected (whereas the RISC-OS
guidelines suggest that unavailable menu items should be shaded so that
the user knows they are there).
5.7
Could Impression be made to pass graphics files to Draw and Paint when
they are double clicked? Perhaps Computer Concepts would be prepared to
implement this. I also think that there should be an easy way of
transferring data between applications generally without bringing up a
save menu. I know that we are all used to it now, but it is not really a
“save” operation that you are doing when transferring things between
applications, and the filename is certainly irrelevant when you are not
saving to a filer window. One approach, adopted by Squirrel, is to make
a click-drag from a Squirrel window to another application transfer the
data by doing a save automatically. This is extremely useful in Squirrel
and means that an address can be transferred to a letter very quickly
without using a menu. I have also adopted this technique in some of my
programs where <click-drag> is not used for something else, but
unfortunately, many programs use <click-drag> for their own operation.
What do other people think? Could we standardise on a <shift-drag> or
<alt-drag> to do a save. (This would also work with filer windows using
the default or last filename).
5.7
•    Styles used and unused − When I am preparing the magazine, I use one
big file that contains all the things like hints & tips, comments, small
ads, products, etc, so I am forever importing new bits of text into it
and then exporting them back out into the magazine. This means that the
style list grows longer each month so, every now and then, I remove
unwanted styles. To do this, I select the whole text with <ctrl-T> and
pull up the edit styles window with <ctrl-F6>. I click on the style
selection menu button and there is a list showing which styles, in the
whole story, are used and which are unused. I can then select and delete
the ones that aren’t needed (remembering to click the delete button with
<adjust> so that the window stays on-screen).
5.7
Sometimes, I want to remove a style completely even though it is being
used. If so, I select all the text, pull up the style menu and click on
the style to be removed. That will remove all occurrences of it. Don’t
forget though that a style may also be used on a master page, in which
case it will not delete. This can actually be put to good advantage
because I don’t want to accidentally delete, say, “bold” just because it
is not used in the file as it stands. To prevent accidental deletion,
create a new dummy master page, create a text frame and type in a few
choice words and give them the styles that you want to maintain
permanently within the document. They cannot now be deleted acciden
tally. − PB
5.7
•    Kerning − On Impression, kerning is extremely easy to achieve,
especially with the keyboard short-cuts. If you want to (R)educe the
space between adjacent characters, simply put the cursor between the two
characters and type <ctrl-R> a number of times. If you over do it,
simply (E)xpand the space a bit using <ctrl-E>. If you can’t make a fine
enough adjustment with <ctrl-R> and <ctrl-E>, go through the menu
options to call up the kerning menu and adjust the number. Remember that
if you want to try a particular number without losing the kerning
window, click on Set with <adjust>, not <select>. For vertical kerning,
use <ctrl-U> to move the text (U)p and <ctrl-J> to er... (J)ump
downwards?! (Can anyone think of a better mnemonic?)
5.7
The trouble with kerning being so easily available is that it’s easy to
hit <ctrl-R, E, U or J> by accident. I have tried to use search and
replace to locate any spurious kerning in a document but cannot find any
way to do it. You can, of course, export the text with styles and load
the text into Edit and search for “{but I would have liked a simpler
way. Any ideas? Still, if you can see roughly where the spurious kerning
appears, simply go through the menu to get the kerning window up on
screen and use cursor left and cursor right to move the cursor around
through the suspect areas. If you move past a kerning statement, the
numbers will flick up in the kerning window. To remove the kerning,
click <adjust> on the Clear button and go back to using the cursor keys
to search for other kerning statements, finally clicking <select> on
Clear. − PB
5.7
•    Impression speed users’ tips − (Reprinted from Archive 5.5 where the
last two lines were accidentally omitted!) I find that having got into
the habit of using <adjust> for reverse scrolling, it really does save
time, especially when I am laying out the magazine and the screen is
cluttered with windows. Just press <select> to scroll down and switch
quickly to <adjust> to go back up again without having to move the mouse
and locate the other end of the scroll bar − which could be under
another window anyway.
5.7
Also, <adjust> can be extremely useful, again with a cluttered screen,
for moving windows whilst keeping them where they are relative to the
other documents. It takes practice, but it speeds things up in the long
run. − PB
5.7
•    Search & replace on styles − Impression appears to have the facility
to search and replace on styles. Indeed, you can search for a style
using {name” }@, where @ is the wildcard for “any text” but, sadly, you
cannot replace with another style name, despite the fact that there is a
menu button on the Search & Replace window to allow you to put a style
name into the Replace box. I don’t know why CC haven’t implemented this
facility. They obviously intended to do so because the menu button on
the Replace box has no other purpose − as it stands, it is totally
redundant. Perhaps it could be implemented in Impression III but, in the
meantime, you can do it in Edit, though it’s a bit cumbersome.
5.7
Suppose, for example, that you have a document with various headings all
using “Heading” (marked on <F2> as Sub-heading) and that you want to
change some of them to a sub-sub-heading, let’s call it “SubHead”. What
you will have to do is to click somewhere in the text and use <shift-
ctrl-T> to save the text. Save it with styles, perhaps into a ram disc.
Then load that into !Edit and use search & replace to, selectively,
change  into . (The reason for using  is to catch, in one go,  ON} and
OFF} and } all of which can occur in the document.)
5.7
To get it back into the original document, click back in the main text
in the Impression document, select the whole text with <ctrl-T>, set it
all back to base text with <ctrl-B>, delete it and then go back to the
Edit document and save the text into the Impression document. Remember
though to save the document before you start messing about with it in
this way. You can get in an awful mess if you edit the text file
incorrectly.
5.7
If CC can’t add the style search & replace feature into Impression,
perhaps someone could produce a simple editing application for us. As
the Impression text is loaded into it, it would create a list of the
styles available then it would allow you to search and replace using a
menu to provide you with a list of the styles it knows about. Could
someone write that for us, please? If you’d like to have a go, get in
touch with me at Archive. − PB
5.7
•    Style problems − When I am preparing the magazine, I save the text of
each of the articles, with styles, as edit files in one directory. I
then have a dummy Archive magazine document into which I insert the
various edit files. If I have a particular space to fill, say about a
page and a half, I link together the title frame and the text frames
that are to make up the article. I know roughly how long each article
is, so I drop one of the edit files into the title frame. Sometimes, it
turns out to be just too short or too long and I want to delete it, but
if I just mark it with <ctrl-T> and delete it and then drop in another
edit file, I find that the whole text ends up in the same style as the
main heading − then it really is too long! As far as I am concerned,
this is a bug in Impression. Anyway, the “work-around” is to mark the
whole text and press <ctrl-B> first, to change it all back to base
style, before deleting the text. On a long file, especially if a lot of
it is displayed on screen, this can take quite a time. Does anyone know
a quicker work-around?
5.7
Also, I find that, fairly often, the title is left justified instead of
centred as its style specifies. If I click on the title, type a single
character and delete it, it springs back to the centre − another bug,
but one that’s easy to get round. − PB
5.7
•    RTF loader − To transfer WP files from the Mac (or PC versions of
Microsoft Word, I guess) you can use the RTF (rich text format) loader
that comes with the Impression Business Supplement. The RTF loader is
fairly intelligent and knows to swap things like ë into ’ because the
fonts on Mac and Archimedes use some different ASCII numbers. However,
unless it has been fixed, it sometimes hangs up with some of these “top-
bit-set” characters. For example, I was trying to transfer a cook book
and it hung up (the whole machine!) every time it came across a degree
symbol as in 100°C. The answer was to search and replace the degree
symbol into, say, an equal sign or some other character not used in the
text, transfer with the RTF loader and then search and replace back
again. (Some of you may have noticed the repeated occurrence of ë
instead of ’ in one of Risc User’s articles last month − I guess they
are still using Macs for their magazine and the Archimedes to Mac
conversion is not as intelligent.) − PB
5.7
• Blank pages printed − If your printer sometimes prints blank pages (as
Patrick Dowling explained in Archive 5.6) it is probably because the
printer driver’s bottom margin is set too small. The printer drivers
send all the data they are told to send for the page and then send a
form feed character. If they send so much that the printer just goes on
to its next page and the driver then sends a form feed character the
printer will eject a sheet. Make sure that the printer’s DIP switches
are set to disable perforation skip and check any others which determine
the page size. When entering the bottom margin into the printer driver’s
paper size entry, it is important to be on the conservative side and
make this a fraction larger than you think it ought to be (by a couple
of mm). The only disadvantage to this is that you will lose the ability
to print in this borderline area, but at least you will avoid the
mysterious blank pages which can otherwise occur. Unfortunately, printer
manuals are notoriously awkward, especially when you are looking for the
top and bottom margins, and most of the printer drivers are supplied
with the incorrect default settings (to be fair, some drivers are
written for a range of printers which each have their own unique paper
margins).  Paul Skirrow.
5.7
(I passed this hint on to one of our Technical Help Service members a
couple of weeks ago and she confirmed that it worked. All she did was to
increase the paper size from 297.00 mm to 299.00 mm and she got no more
blank pages. Ed.)
5.7
• Entering special characters into Impression − There is an updated
version of !Chars on this month’s disc which can enter special charac
ters into Impression without needing to tell Impression which font they
came from. It works just like Chars (or NewChars2 to be precise) and
provides quick selection of common fonts (Dingbats, Symbol, System and
Trinity) as well as passing the font information to Impression in DDF
form. Note that RISC-OS 3 defines the system font to be the same as the
Latin 1 fonts, complete with the “ and ” characters, but RISC-OS 2
doesn’t, so it will help if you use the new System font provided on the
Archive 5.6 program disc if you are using RISC-OS 2.  Paul Skirrow.
5.7
•    PC file transfer − Impression saves text files with an LF-CR termina
tor rather than the CR-LF terminator which is used by most PC programs.
This can confuse a lot of PC programs which automatically ignore the
first character after a LF (which they expect to be a CR), and Computer
Concepts have agreed to fix this some time.  Paul Skirrow.
5.7
In the meantime, you can presumably use !Edit’s search & replace
facility to change \x0A\x0D into \x0D\x0A remembering to set the magic
characters to ON. Ed
5.7
Ovation Hints and Tips
5.7
• Master documents – Hilary Ferns has sent details of master documents
she has created for use with Ovation. Her design for A4 and A5 letters
will be particularly useful for newcomers to either DTP or Ovation, and
her templates for an A5 four sided leaflet, an A5 booklet, A6 leaflet
and a greetings card or notelet are valuable time savers. With Hilary’s
permission they are on this month’s program disc in Ovation format, but
here is just one example of how Hilary used Ovation to produce an A5
four sided leaflet.
5.7

5.7
This is the format of our weekly church news-sheet, which displays news
about all the events in bordered frames − rather like the ads page of
the local newspaper. It is printed on A4 paper, photocopied and folded
neatly in half.
5.7
I use an HP Deskjet 500 printer, so all the margin settings are based on
this. Printer paper size is A4.
5.7
1. Set up a new document with the following settings:
5.7
        A4
5.7
        Landscape
5.7
        Single-sided
5.7
        2 columns
5.7
        Gutter 24mm
5.7
Margins – Top 12mm, Left & Right 12mm, Bottom 8mm
5.7
2. Open up the Master page for your document and include on this any
regular heading, logo, etc. that you may require. We always have our
church logo at the top of the front page, together with a “welcome”
greeting. These are placed in picture frames at the top of the right-
hand column, i.e. the front of the leaflet when it is eventually folded.
5.7
3. Obviously, page two will not want these headings, so you will now
need to create a new chapter (“New Chapter − After current Chapter”) and
specify chapter two starting at page two (“Modify chapter”). Delete your
frames from page two. Remember too to think about any paragraph styles
that you are likely to use.
5.7
4. Go back to your document and delete the existing pages one and two.
You will now have a simple document with two A4 sheets, each with 2
columns and a wide gutter. Within this framework you can create text and
picture frames, making sure they do not overlap the central guidelines.
I tend to display most of my text in individual text frames with
borders, often with a nested picture frame for a picture or “FontFX”
generated heading. Only rarely do I type directly into the principal
text frame.
5.7

5.7
5. You may want to have text which flows from one page to the next.
However, using the principal text frame, the text will not flow back up
to the “back” page of the leaflet. To do this you will need to create a
text frame to fit within each column and use the “link” tool to flow the
text from the front, to the middle and onto the back. This is quite
simple to work out. (see diagram).
5.7
6. Save your stylesheet. Printing out such a document is straightfor
ward. Change to “landscape” on the “Print setup” before saving
stylesheet.
5.7
The Readers Write!
5.7
• A first for Impression? − This month, Secker & Warburg will be
publishing Transit of Venus, Julian Evans’ account of his travels in the
Pacific which looks at the impact of the West on that part of the world
since Captain Cook first went to Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus
across the sun.
5.7
Of particular interest to the DTP column, as the credit page of the book
records, is that it was designed and typeset on an A540 using Impression
II and LaserDirect HiRes, making it (until someone refutes the claim)
the first hardback produced with this combination. In passing, I would
also say that it was done the hard way, via a manuscript written in
Wordstar, which was multi-tasked with the PC Emulator to tidy up the
Impression version set up on-screen alongside. (see Jack Evans’ letter
in Archive 4.12 p13).
5.7
• A History of Birding World − Roy Robinson is the graphics editor of
Birding World – a subscription-only magazine with a print run of 5,600
and with subscribers in 45 countries. It is produced to a very high
standard and is a good illustration of a natural progression in DTP. It
was originally printed from an Amstrad PCW dot-matrix output with the
PCW being later coupled to an Epson GQ3500 laser printer. However, Roy
got hold of an A3000 & Acorn DTP in 1989 and progressed from dot matrix
output to laser printer. Eventually, he moved to Impression and the
magazine acquired 400 series machines. Since May 1990, the bulk of the
Birding World has been typeset from Impression by disc to a Linotronic
300. It is interesting to note that any last minute changes are pasted
in with text printed directly from CC HiRes Laser Direct − which sounds
a good testimony to the quality of that printer.
5.7
• Computer transcripts of ancient languages − A most imaginative use of
FontEd and Impression to produce new fonts has been sent in by Ronald
Alpiar. He’s undertaking an ongoing programme to produce computer
transcriptions of the earliest surviving New Testament languages e.g.
Greek, Syriac, Arabic, Armenian, Georgian, etc. He’s also undertaken
colour ink jet printing with his Canon BJ-10e by running each sheet
through the printer four times (for black, red, blue & green) and re-
filling the original ink cartridges. His method is to dismantle the
cartridge, thoroughly wash out the black ink from the cartridge and felt
using distilled water and, after drying, to recharge with coloured inks
from System Insight. If you’ve the time for such work, the results are
highly impressive and its a real pity that Archive isn’t printed in
colour so you could appreciate the results! Incidentally, Mr Alpiar is
now experimenting with printing in other media including synthetic and
real sheep and goat parchment, calf vellum and Egyptian papyrus. I look
forward to hearing about the results of this work.
5.7
• Typesetting bureaux – There have been a number of queries about
typesetting bureaux and Impression. Does any one know of such bureaux
offering to work directly from Impression documents? If details are
forwarded to Rob, we will publish a list in the near future.
5.7
Linear Graphics’ LinCAD
5.7
We briefly mentioned details of this package last month, but since then
I’ve had an opportunity to try out the package. I had hoped to write a
full report but for reasons that will become clear (I hope!) this is
more of an interim assessment. LinCAD is aimed primarily at the
education market but it may also appeal to a number of people who would
use it as a design tool or as a specialist graphics package or within
general DTP work. The program requires 2M of memory and the program
installs itself on the icon bar in the usual way, although two addi
tional boxes marked “current action” and “absolute co-ords” are also
placed on the icon bar and initially cover the disc drive icons. After a
brief panic, I found these can easily be repositioned − provided no
current action has been selected.
5.7
Initially, you are presented with a worksheet like that of Draw, but
there the similarity ends for LinCAD can be measurement driven, whereas
Draw is object driven. The program has an array of features commonly
used in CAD work; these range from lines with options for thickness,
style, colour, joined, parallel, bisector line, line at an angle,
bisector to two lines, tangent to arc/circle and, perhaps most impres
sively, freehand trace.
5.7
A similar range is also provided with the creation of arc, circle,
triangle, box, spline and bezier curves. Text can be input using both
outline and wireframe fonts − the latter are less detailed than outline
fonts (but quicker) and are a usual feature of design work. However,
using outline fonts, text can be manipulated in a wide variety of ways
with predetermined outline and fill colours, although it should be noted
that this colour infilling is restricted to text. You cannot, for
instance, colour shade a circle, although a number of hatching options
are available. To achieve colour filling, the object would have to be
exported to Draw. Perhaps designers don’t colour their objects in this
way, but for the rest of us this would be a bonus!
5.7
I found many desirable features in LinCAD. These include mirror line
which as the name implies, allows everything created on one side of a
line to be simultaneously mirrored on the other. A most impressive
feature is the facility to automatically extrude (either left to right
or right to left) an isometric shape from a block of items on the
worksheet.
5.7
Complete items are output either as LinCAD drawing files, block files
(these contain individual items − in effect, mini drawings − that can be
saved and re-imported into future work), and can be converted to Draw or
Sprite file format. However, the package does not use the standard RISC-
OS printer drivers, although a number of common printers are supported
e.g., Epson emulation, HP LaserJet/DeskJet and Integrex. Whilst this is
undoubtedly the most common hard copy for CAD work and provides schools
with high quality colour output, it would be good to see more printers
supported in a future release as more general users of the package,
including students, may wish to output using their own printer. A work-
around is to export completed work from the program (using the “convert
& save” option) as a Draw file and print that way.
5.7
Overall, LinCAD is a very capable package but I can see a number of
areas that would benefit from improvement in a subsequent release. It is
unfortunate, but not necessarily Linear Graphics’ fault, that the
program operates in a different way from Draw. Users familiar with that
package, might find some operations (those involving editing, for
example) a little strange at first, although other users, such as school
children, will benefit from the immediacy of the “erase” action where it
is not necessary to know the construction of the item. You simply point
and rub out! More significantly, I found that while some key short cuts
were supported, many operations involved extensive use of the menu tree,
and if you need to make two or more consecutive selections, that
involves starting from the beginning of the menu each time as clicking
<adjust> didn’t keep the menu on screen in the normal RISC-OS manner. I
am sure these points can be addressed in a future release.
5.7
If I had a wish list, it would include full “rubber banding”. To give an
example: if you have two objects, say a circle and square, joined by a
line and subsequently reposition one of those objects, then with rubber
banding, the line would automatically adjust to the new path. In the
meantime, I would recommend you try and see a demonstration before
purchasing. Its strengths lie in the ability to provide automatic
dimensioning of objects and construction of repeating patterns; its
ability to import pre-drawn objects into the worksheet and the large
range of the facilities built into the program.
5.7
So why isn’t this a full review? The program offers so many combinations
of features that its use can extend well beyond CAD work and I can see
many creative uses to which it can be put. That is the area I will now
begin to explore! I hope we can provide an update in a future DTP Column
and perhaps put some examples, in Draw format, on a future monthly disc.
5.7
The price is £175 plus VAT for a single user licence and an additional
£35 + VAT for additional programs on a site. There are also various
library packs to go with the package (e.g. Kitchen design, Electronics,
Pneumatics) and these are £35 + VAT each but no additional fee is
charged for a site licence on these.
5.7
DTP Swap Area
5.7
This area contains the names and addresses of “new” people who have
agreed to swap DTP material they have published. The aim of this is to
improve one another’s skills by the exchange of printed ideas. No money
should change hands.
5.7
If you want to “swap” with anyone, you must first publish your name and
address and area of interest, and then write directly to whoever you
want to do a “swap” with. The other “rules” were printed in Archive 5.5
p25.
5.7
Just one additional name this month: Hilary Ferns, 9 Bramleys, Kingston,
near Lewes, East Sussex  BN7 3LF, uses Ovation and is interested in a
broad range of DTP work including church leaflets, advertising leaflets
and card design.
5.7
DTP Contributions
5.7
I’m particularly interested in compiling an article for a future issue
of Archive on scanning and am looking for creative uses of scanning
devices and images. I would be interested in seeing examples of artwork
produced in this way and hope to provide an overview on what sort of
work is being done; what combinations of image, scanner, additional
image manipulation software and printer give good results. Please send
examples on both disc and print with details of the scanner and printer
used and mark them “Attention − Richard Else.”
5.7
Fellow editor, Richard Hallas is compiling an article on the design and
use of fonts using Acorn’s FontDraw and David Pilling’s DT2 Fonts. He
will also be making an objective comparison between Ovation and
Impression. Any contributions should be marked “Attention − Richard
Hallas”.
5.7
However, all contributions go via the coordinator of the column, Rob
Sherratt, 134 High Road West, Felixstowe, Suffolk  IP11 9AL.
5.7
An SAE guarantees a reply and return of discs. Until next month, when
Neil Whitely-Bolton (our fourth member) will introduce himself, that’s
all for now and I hope all these names aren’t too confusing!  A
5.7
5.7
Help!!!!
5.7
•    A5000 compatibility − It would be useful to be able to publish a list
of products that do not work properly on the A5000 / RISC-OS 3. So, if
you have found problems with any software or hardware working on the
A5000 (including problems with RISC-OS 3 itself!) let us know and we
will (a) check them out with the supplier and (b) publish our findings
and their response.
5.7
This will be useful for warning potential purchasers against products on
which they would otherwise waste their money, it will enable suppliers
to report back as and when they get their products working properly on
A5000 / RISC-OS 3 and it will also bring public pressure to bear on
those suppliers who seem reluctant to update their products.
5.7
•    Desktop Interword or Intersheet − Has anyone managed to provide a
desktop interface for either Interword or Intersheet, which allows files
to be double-clicked on or dragged to an icon in RISC-OS and then
Intersheet or Interword loaded from ROM with the appropriate file?  J
Bean, 1 Abrahams Cottages, Fordwells, Nr Witney, Oxford  OX8 5PP.
5.7
•    !Diary − This is a program that appeared in Risc User some time ago
and appeared to work well. Unfortunately, with the coming of Impression
and PipeDream with new CLib, etc it has now started crashing the system.
The Risc User experts haven’t managed to sort out where the problem
lies. Has anyone else managed to get it working?  Danny Fagandini,
Dulwich.
5.7
•    Hard disc comparison − Does anyone know of a program (or could anyone
write a program) that would compare the files on two hard discs by name
and datestamp, making a list (to printer or file) of the files on one
disc that do not appear on the other or have a different datestamp?
George Foot, Oxted.
5.7
•    Hardware developers wanted − AFE Computer Systems Ltd (Hong Kong),
suppliers of real-time Stockmarket information, are looking for hardware
developers to work as sub-contractors (in UK) on Archimedes communi
cations projects. Please contact Dr Andy Green on fax number
010−852−543−7886.
5.7
•    Logitech Trackman − Is it possible to use the Logitech Trackman
(trackerball type thing) on the Archimedes? If so, can someone tell us
how to fix the connections, please?  Angus Mackenzie, Halesowen.
5.7
•    MicroStudio − Is there any way to make the EMR MicroStudio program
compatible with The Serial Port’s Econet Midi card? R Raes, 29 Vier
Ambachtenstraat, 4551HA Sas van Gent, Holland.
5.7
•    Science Teachers’ Shareware − Are you a science teacher? Have you
written any good science programs or other support material for science
teaching? Would you be prepared to share your materials with other
teachers and receive their materials in return? If so, I would like to
hear from you. I am looking for good quality programs which make good
use of the Archimedes’ facilities for use in secondary school science
departments.
5.7
In order to make the scheme really worthwhile, I will have to insist on
a minimum standard of presentation. Programs do not have to be long and
complex − often it is better to have a short simple program which makes
a single point effectively than a long and complex one which requires a
lot of getting used to (and probably doesn’t do what you wanted anyway).
On the other hand, programs must be user-friendly and, as far as
possible, self explanatory. The use of icons and the mouse rather than
the keyboard helps a lot in this respect. Programs which present a blank
screen saying “Velocity?” will not even be given a second look.
5.7
All programs should be written as a desktop application with a !Run
file, a !Sprites file and a !RunImage file. They do not have to be
multi-tasking, but they should be RISC-OS compatible (i.e. they should
run from and return to the desktop without fuss). In addition, the
application directory should contain a !ReadMe file with a full
description of the purpose of the program, information about the target
age/ability range, etc, suitable NC attainment targets, instructions on
how to run the program and suggestions for its use in the classroom. If
possible, please include support materials such as worksheets. If the
program is compiled, please include the source code. Other types of
material such as worksheets (!Impression and !Draw files only), Genesis
files, etc. would also be welcome.
5.7
Unless you give me other instructions, I will include a standard
copyright message file which acknowledges the authorship and which
contains the following passage: “This program is NOT public domain. The
copyright belongs solely to... You may copy this disc and give it to
someone else, and you may make small modifications to the source code
and other files on the disc provided that you do not alter this file in
any way other than by adding your own name to the end. If you have found
a use for this program, please send an appropriate sum to the author at
the following address....”
5.7
All contributions will be acknowledged and eventually, authors should
expect to receive their discs back filled with goodies from other
authors. As editor of the scheme I shall reserve the right to modify,
combine or reject programs but all authors should receive something.
When I have built up a sufficient library of programs, I may be in a
position to advertise them more widely and I may have to make a small
charge to cover administrative costs but copyright and profits will
remain with and return to the authors concerned. I may, of course, get
no programs at all(!) but if you have an offering, send it to Oliver
Linton, Greenacres, Quatford, Bridgnorth, Shropshire  WV15 6QG.
5.7
(We hope this scheme proves useful but I thought I ought to point out
that it is Oliver’s own initiative. Archive has no involvement in, or
control over, this projected scheme. Ed.)  A
5.7
Help Offered
5.7
•    Screening cables − In Archive 5.6 p8 a suggestion was made about
screening printer/dongle cables. Rather than using a combination of
double-sided adhesive tape plus aluminium foil, why not try adhesive
aluminium tape as used, for example, for intruder alarms. One source of
this is RS Components’ stock Nº 609-994, “window foil” in 50m reels at
about three pounds a reel.  Bob Ames, Norwich.
5.7
We have also been given some screen ribbon cable for our charity sale.
This is normal printer ribbon cable but with a metal mesh screen layer
and then a strong plastic coating on the outside. You would have to fit
your own connectors onto it, but we can sell 12“ pieces at £2 − in aid
of charity, of course.
5.7
•    Unix C library − In answer to the query last month (Archive 5.6 p7), I
have obtained a copy of a C library that provides Unix system functions.
I will send a copy of this to anyone who sends me a disc (and return
postage, I suggest Ed). Simon Callan, 2 Malden Road, Boreham Wood,
Herts.  WD6 1BW.
5.7
•    Wonderland on an IDE hard drive − Virgin Mastertronics (Magnetic
Scrolls) have now produced a fix which will allow Wonderland to be
installed on IDE hard drives. They can be contacted on 081−960−2255.  A
5.7
5.7
Power Search: A Quiet AI Revolution − Part 1
5.7
Michael Houlder
5.7
The search and replace function in Twin, the original Arthur OS text
editor, has always been regarded as powerful. The new Desktop C, release
4 of the Acorn ANSI C compiler, has a new version of !Edit called
!SrcEdit which has a very similar, if not identical, function. This is
offered in addition to the rather limited “Magic Characters” option
which is still supported. !SrcEdit is, in fact, part of the Acorn
Desktop Development Environment and is available also with the new
Desktop Assembler.
5.7
I have written a RISC-OS compliant compiler for a simple structured
language which has, as its basic expressions, search & replace sequences
using the same symbols and format as !SrcEdit. This compiler is now
under test and is awaiting some final interface decisions before
release.
5.7
Since use of the !SrcEdit search & replace function in the various forms
above could be pretty widespread, I thought I would:
5.7
•    introduce the function to those who have not yet met it,
5.7
•    give a different perspective for those who have used it before,
5.7
•    show how experiments can be set up to find out how it works,
5.7
•    try to identify exactly why the function is so powerful, and
5.7
•    suggest how powerful filter programs can be built with the availabil
ity of a compiler.
5.7
!SrcEdit − a vital open standard
5.7
More and more major programs provide ASCII text data files either
directly or as alternative formats; e.g. Impression with its ‘Document
Description File’ format (DDF), PostScript, Comma Separated Value files
(CSV) for database and spreadsheet software, etc. Text files, of course,
are the medium of exchange for most programming languages.
5.7
This provision is directed towards a need, always, to change data or
extract information from data in a way that suits the individual user.
However, individually tailored data, by itself, is not enough. The way
of changing things must be open and accessible to all potential users.
5.7
!SrcEdit provides the basis of an open standard and an opportunity to
become expert in that standard. It deserves detailed attention for this
reason and also for the reason that its search function is more powerful
than both its forbears in the UNIX world and the majority of similar
functions available on the Archimedes.
5.7
AI enters quietly
5.7
GREP, VI and LEX are program development tools available on all Unix
machines. They are part of the enormous strength of that working
environment. They are available also for the Archimedes under RISC-OS
and may be obtained from David Pilling. The search and replace function
in !SrcEdit descends directly from these and similar tools.
5.7
The language for creating or combining search patterns in these tools
stretches all the way back to 1951, to Prof S. Kleene’s ‘regular’
expressions for describing just those events that could be recognised by
the simple neural network models available at the time.
5.7
While the search pattern language in !SrcEdit may be close to that of
LEX, etc, its interpretation by the software controlling the search is
open to question. Acorn’s documentation is rather sparse and there is no
published specification. Also, some of the more esoteric parts of
!SrcEdit’s interpretation appear to be contrived and arbitrary. For my
own purposes, I needed a strong, fully controllable implementation of
!SrcEdit’s function. I wanted also to find precisely why the function is
so powerful. And so, I wrote my own code in C to emulate !SrcEdit
closely, but in a consistent and non-arbitrary manner.
5.7
My key experimental conclusion is that the !SrcEdit function is modelled
best by a ‘back-tracking’ tree search procedure driven by a ‘null
heuristic’. LEX and the other Unix systems make use of what could be
described as ‘maximum lookahead’ search. (These terms will be explained
in the second instalment of this article.) A ‘back-tracking’ tree search
is a standard AI procedure and is substantially more powerful than the
‘maximum lookahead’ variant used by LEX.
5.7
Hence the title for this piece and my belief that this is how a quiet AI
revolution should happen: by increasing the power of apparently normal
tools with embedded and unannounced AI techniques.
5.7
Patterns and streams
5.7
Moving now to discuss use of the search function and its language, this
section will show the basic intuitions that are involved, as well as
simple usage.
5.7
The most important is the forgetting of any structure in the data. The
text being searched is considered as a stream or list of characters,
including tabs, line feeds, spaces etc. The search function is like a
pointer moving over each character of the stream in turn. A picture of
the process is as follows.
5.7
The movement is predominantly in one direction as shown by the arrow.
5.7
The search function attempts to accumulate a continuous match with the
characters of the search pattern given to it. As shown above, the
pointer is at the initial ‘l’ of the text string “line of text”. If the
pattern were “line of text”, we would expect the search function to
report success as soon as it had passed the final ‘t’ of “text” in the
stream. It would have accumulated successful matches with the search
pattern as it passed over each character of the string “line of text”,
including the spaces and any other non-printable characters. The
following gives a picture of the requirement.
5.7
    Pattern:    l i n e   o f   t e x t
5.7
            ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­
5.7
            ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯
5.7
    Target:    l i n e   o f   t e x t
5.7

5.7
Each character in the pattern is given explicitly. So the pattern
matches the target if, and only if, each character of the pattern is
matched by consecutive characters of the target location in the text
stream.
5.7
At each match success or failure, the pointer moves the target location
on to the next character in the stream. So, after a successful match
with “line of text”, the pointer will be testing a new target location
starting with the line feed character following the word “text”. Since a
line feed fails to match the first pattern character, that target
location will fail immediately. The next target location to be tested
will start with the character ‘a’ from the word “and” on the next line;
and so on to the end of the stream or text file.
5.7
The function is one of search and, optionally, replace. At every target
location that successfully matches the search pattern, the target may be
cut out and the replacement string is inserted in its place at the
user’s discretion. The next target location to be tested starts, as
expected, with the character following the replacement string.
5.7
Take, for example, the need to replace all or some instances of the text
string “line of text” with the string “meandering stream”. !SrcEdit
offers a dialogue as shown below to control the user input required. The
pattern and replacement strings are inserted into the writeable icons
labelled “Find :” and “Replace with :” respectively. Care should be
taken to avoid insertion of unintended spaces as they may not be
visible. The command “Go” starts the search.
5.7
A further dialogue box offers additional control over the search; e.g.
should the search & replacement be selective with replacement of each
successfully matched target being at the user’s option or should all
successful targets be replaced without the need to involve the user?
5.7
Of the other controls shown in the diagram above, only the radio switch
that is labelled “Wildcarded expressions” will be discussed.
5.7
The strict equality between characters in the pattern and and those in
the target is a very limiting condition. Say, at some point in the text
stream, the string “line of text” occurred with a line feed in place of
one of the two spaces. The strict equality condition would cause this
target to fail; a failure which may be contrary to the user’s intention.
5.7
The radio switch “Wildcarded expressions” offers the opportunity to use
a very powerful language to create both search and replacement patterns.
5.7
Search pattern language
5.7
Selection of the radio switch causes a table of control characters to
appear as an extension to the dialogue box. The table is shown below.
Each smaller box in the table contains first a short one-word explana
tion of the function of the language control character which follows it.
So “Hex” is an explanation or label for the control character ‘!’. It
should be noted that !SrcEdit uses a non-ASCII graphics character
instead of the symbol ‘!’.
5.7
The search pattern language consists of characters decided by the user
interspersed by control characters from this table.
5.7
Control characters in the table form five types, as follows, using
labels rather than the symbols themselves:
5.7
• operators : Ctrl, Normal, Hex.
5.7
• pre-defined sets: Newline, Any, Alphanum, Digit
5.7
• set constructors : Set (left), Set (right), Not, To.
5.7
• repetitions: 0 or more, 1 or more, Most.
5.7
• replacement fields : Found, Field#.
5.7
The first four are used to make search patterns and will be discussed
now. Replacement fields will be described in a second instalment of this
article.
5.7
Search symbols − Operators
5.7
An operator transforms the meaning, or even the symbol itself, of the
character or characters following it. Within a search pattern entered in
the !SrcEdit dialogue, an operator symbol, not the corresponding label,
will change how !SrcEdit interprets the character symbols that follow
it. Operators are not part of the pattern to be matched against target
locations; but they help form such a pattern by allowing the entry of
character codes which could not otherwise be entered.
5.7
Ctrl, ‘|’, must be followed by one character from the range ‘@’ to ‘_’,
underscore. It transforms that character into the corresponding ASCII
format control code from the range 0 to 31. So “|z” will correspond to
Ctrl-Z which could mean end-of-file depending on context.
5.7
Normal,‘\’, must be followed by any one character. Without the operator
Normal, the control character symbols from the table are always read as
such by !SrcEdit. Sometimes, the user will need to use one of these
symbols as an ordinary character instead. Normal forces the ordinary
usage of any character. So, “\|” will allow the symbol ‘|’ to be used as
just that character and without its special meaning.
5.7
Hex, ‘!’, must be followed by two characters which must be in hexadeci
mal number format. i.e. the characters must be either numbers or letters
from the range ‘a’ to ‘f’ or ‘A’ to ‘F’. So, “!7f” stands for the
decimal number 127 and “!09” stands for the decimal number 9.
5.7
Search Symbols − Pre-defined Sets
5.7
Take the example we have been using, “line of text”. Assume that a line
feed, a tab, or space occurring between “line” and “of”, or between “of”
and “text”, is of no concern. We need to be able to say so in the
pattern language. The mechanism to do this is an ability to define a set
including these items. With a set, rather than a single character in the
pattern which must be equal to that of the target, there is a choice of
any member of the set: space, tab, line feed.
5.7
Four pre-defined sets are defined:
5.7
•    Newline, ‘$’, stands for the set containing only one character, line
feed.
5.7
•    Any, ‘.’, stands for any of the 256 one byte ASCII characters.
5.7
•    Alphanum, ‘@’, stands for the decimal numbers plus the lower case
alphabet plus the upper case alphabet and the underscore character; a
total of 63 characters.
5.7
•    Digit, ‘#’, stands for the decimal numbers, ‘0’ to ‘9’.
5.7
Search symbols − Set constructors
5.7
As well as pre-defined sets, set constructors may be used to create sets
specific to the user’s requirements. There are four ways to make such a
user-defined set of characters:
5.7
•    use the user set constructors [ and ] with a list of members. So [abc]
represents the set a, b, c.
5.7
•    use the user set constructors [ and ] with a range of members using
the To control character. So [a-d] represents the set a, b, c, d.
5.7
•    apply the Not operator to a single character. So ~a stands for every
character except a.
5.7
•    apply the Not operator to any set. So ~# stands for every character
that is not a number.
5.7
So, a set containing space, line feed, and tab would be defined by the
pattern string “[ $!09]” where 09 is the ASCII code for a tab. The whole
pattern to ignore a line feed or tab instead of a space in either of the
two locations would be “line[ $!09]of[ $!09]text”.
5.7
Search symbols − Repetitions
5.7
The pattern above is still too restrictive. The user might not be
concerned at the number of spaces, tabs, or line feeds that occurred
between “line” and “text”. The above pattern will fail if more than one
from the set “[ $!09]” occurs in either of the two locations. The
mechanism for handling this problem is an ability to describe repeti
tions within the pattern. There are three different repetition forms:
0 or more, 1 or more, and Most. Each of the symbols corresponding to
these labels must be followed by either a specific character, a pre-
defined set symbol or a user-defined set.
5.7
0 or more followed by the character ‘a’, i.e. “*a”, will match “a”,
“aa”, “aaaaa”; any number of the character ‘a’ occurring next to each
other. It will also match “”; i.e. zero characters, ‘a’, next to each
other. In other words, “*a” acts as the null pattern which matches
anything at all.
5.7
1 or more followed by the character ‘b’, i.e. “^b”, will match “b”,
“bb”, “bbbb” etc; but will not match “”. The pattern requires at least
one ‘b’.
5.7
Most followed by the character ‘c’, i.e. “%c”, will match as many of the
character ‘c’ as occur next to each other. If it is possible to match
“cccc” at a particular target location, then no match of less than four
characters will succeed. In general, saying what “%c” will match is
difficult without knowing the rest of the pattern of which it may be
part.
5.7
Returning to the example, the user might require at least one space, tab
or line feed in the two locations, but be unconcerned at how many more
than this there are. The pattern in this case would be
“line^[ $!09]of^[ $!09]text”.
5.7
Search pattern grammar
5.7
An English grammar determines how valid language components may be
joined together to make a grammatically correct or valid English
sentence. Similarly, but at a much simpler level, the search pattern
grammar determines how a valid search pattern sequence may be made. A
semi-formal outline of the grammar follows.
5.7
Starting at the top, a valid pattern sequence consists of a number of
valid search components.
5.7
There are four types of valid search component:
5.7
•    specific character; e.g. the ‘l’ of “line of text”.
5.7
•    specific string; e.g. the whole of “line of text”.
5.7
•    set of characters; e.g. “[ $!09]” or “@” or “~#”.
5.7
•    repetition; e.g. “*a” or “^#” or “%[ $!09]”.
5.7
A specific character is any ASCII character that is not a control
character or any character that has been normalised by the Normal
operator.
5.7
A specific string is any string composed of specific characters put
together.
5.7
A set of characters is either a pre-defined set or a user-defined set as
described in the two sections above on search symbols.
5.7
A repetition is a repetition control character followed by either a
specific character or a set of characters.
5.7
Experimental conclusions
5.7
It is relatively easy to set down a grammar for most simple languages.
The grammar, more or less, states what can and cannot count as valid. It
does not say how valid sentences or sequences are to be interpreted.
This is many times more difficult.
5.7
The easy answer is to say “look at the software”. The way the program
behaves gives all the interpretation that is needed. This is certainly
true, but not very useful if our intention is to understand either how
to use the software or how the software works. We are left with the need
to extract our own explanatory model from what we see of the program’s
behaviour.
5.7
We have two problems in attempting to do this:
5.7
•    we may experience only a small part of the behaviour of a complex
program. Therefore, we may build our own explanatory model on insuffi
cient information.
5.7
•    we may find it difficult to integrate arbitrary and inconsistent
program behaviour into a clean and intelligible explanation. Our
difficulty may be subjective or objective. It is subjective if our
ability is insufficient to extract real explanations. It is objective if
the program was written in an arbitrary and inconsistent way. It should
be noted that any real engineering project is going to present both
subjective and objective problems in this area.
5.7
Interpretation for the search pattern language is saying how sequences
or sentences in the language match against a range of possible targets.
The difficulties lie in interpreting combinations of search components,
not the individual components themselves.
5.7
The following are the main interpretation rules that I have been able to
extract from experimentation with !SrcEdit and which have enabled me to
build an effective emulation:
5.7
•    any 1 or more repetition can be written as either a specific character
or a set of characters followed by a 0 or more repetition. In other
words, “^[ $!09]” could be rewritten as “[ $!09]*[ $!09]”.
5.7
•    any Most repetition that is not the last component in a sequence is
equivalent to a 1 or more repetition. i.e. “%abc” equals “^abc” since
the repetition “%a” is followed by “bc”.
5.7
•    any combination of 0 or more components matches by filling in from the
left. i.e. Extend the match of the leftmost component as far to the
right as possible before matching the next-to-leftmost 0 or more
component.
5.7
•    any 0 or more repetition that is the final component of a sequence is
a null component. Any 0 or more may match with a zero target but any
final such component must match with a zero or null target.
5.7
•    the null pattern sequence is invalid. A null sequence is composed of
null components. i.e. only 0 or more components. Such a sequence is
invalid.
5.7
•    any Most repetition that is the final component of a sequence matches
as far as possible to the right.
5.7
With these rules, a very simple and clear model can be built for
interpreting search sequences. The next instalment of this article will
describe the model and explain the ‘back-track’ tree search algorithm
using this model.
5.7
The definition and interpretation of replacement patterns will also be
covered. Their use in experiments will be detailed and the practical
purpose behind my compiler will be shown.   A
5.7
5.7
Snippet
5.7
Jochen Konietzko
5.7
Snippet, from 4Mation, is a combination of a screen capture program and
a sprite editor.
5.7
The package
5.7
The box contains a disk with the program itself and an installation
routine which vanishes after you have typed in your name. The handbook
(42 pages, table of contents, index), with lots of screen shots, is very
detailed − if sometimes a bit too basic (it even reminds the users to
switch on their machines before loading Snippet). My version of the
handbook came with two sheets of addenda; apparently, the fine tuning of
Snippet is still very much in progress.
5.7
Program features
5.7
Snippet is fully RISC-OS compliant. It installs an icon on the icon bar
and puts two modules into the RMA. Snippet needs about 190k of memory in
all but if you only want the screen shot facility, the amount of space
used is just 25k of RMA.
5.7
The screen shot module is very powerful; by pressing two keys at the
same time (by default both <Alt> keys) the whole screen or any part of
it can be saved or saved in compressed form or printed; this works not
only on the desktop, but also with Basic programs and the 6502 emulator
(these sprites may have to be edited because I found some strange colour
effects in some saved 6502 screens). According to the Snippet handbook,
PC emulator screens can’t be saved; with version 1.7 of the emulator,
however, there were no problems at all − both PCEm and PCEms screens
could be saved quite easily.
5.7
The second part of the program is “Snippet the Utility”, which offers
all the facilities of Paint, and beyond this the following extras:
5.7
• sprites can be combined to create montages,
5.7
• borders may be added,
5.7
• colours of sprites may be changed quite easily,
5.7
• the Colours window does not have to be continuously on the screen; it
appears under the pointer every time you click <adjust>
5.7

5.7
• the size of sprites may be changed (by zooming, then doing a renewed
screen save),
5.7
• sprites can be rotated,
5.7
• text may be entered using any of the fonts in the !Font directory,
5.7
• one sprite may be used as background for another (you can, for
example, type in a text, and the letters are not black but show the
pattern of the background sprite, as if a sheet of paper, with cut-out
letters, had been placed onto a second, textured sheet),
5.7

5.7
• BBC screens may be converted to Archimedes sprites,
5.7
• sprites may be converted between modes,
5.7
• all sprites in the Pictures directory may be shown as an automatic
“slide show” with the Carousel option,
5.7
• outlines can be softened with the “disperse” option which is similar
to the spray can except that it just rearranges the colours by swapping
randomly selected pixels,
5.7
• for exact positioning of any elements in a drawing, a grid can be
superimposed which separates individual pixels (only with magnifications
of at least 400%).
5.7
Problems
5.7
Colour handling is very simple in 16 colour modes, but not in 256 colour
modes: The palette shown always has just 16 colours, so that you have to
use the sliders if you need any other colours; you can’t just pick them
out by pointing at the right one.
5.7
I have found a few incompatibilities: The ZoomBoxer module which causes
a Mac style animation of opening and closing windows and the PlaceIt
backdrop program cause fatal errors and have to be removed before
running Snippet (neither Glynn Clements’ SuperBD nor Martin Würthner’s
NeXT style AppDock create any problems), and the desktop must not be
configured in such a way that windows can be pushed off the edges,
because Snippet tends to place newly opened windows with their title bar
just above the upper edge of the screen (this may cause trouble with
RISC-OS 3! If you like a “limitless” desktop under RISC-OS 2 and still
wish to use Snippet, you should get hold of F.Oeinck’s NoBound module
which can be easily killed and then loaded again after leaving Snippet);
other than that, Snippet has never, in the first eight weeks of regular
use, produced any errors on my machine.
5.7
Conclusion
5.7
For those who want to capture screens where up to now they found it
impossible (in single tasking games, for example!), and for those who
found the sprite manipulations offered by Paint not quite sufficient,
this is an excellent buy!
5.7
Snippet is produced by 4mation Educational Resources and costs £29 +VAT
(£31 from Archive).  A
5.7
5.7
Landmarks: Rainforest and The Victorians
5.7
Hugh Eagle
5.7
(Editor’s comment... Hugh sent in the following review which isn’t too
complimentary. When we get such a negative review, we try to double-
check to make sure that it isn’t overly critical. We have therefore sent
a copy of the review to Longman for their comments and have also shown
The Victorians to a practising teacher to see how she got on with it.
She did not see Hugh’s review.
5.7
Longman Logotron and Stephen Grand, the software author, have been given
the “right of reply” which they have taken up and their comments follow
those of Andrea Rosinger.)
5.7
Landmarks: Rainforest and Landmarks: The Victorians are two programs in
a series of simulations designed to allow pupils to talk, through the
computer, to a girl called Betumi in the present-day South American rain
forest or a boy called Ernest in a Victorian mill town. The programs are
open-ended in that there is no specific plot or task to achieve. They
have no purpose other than to allow the user to find out as much as
possible about the worlds that they present. They are produced in
conjunction with a schools’ television series, but can be used indepen
dently of it. They are published by Longman Logotron and cost £19 plus
VAT each (£21 inc VAT through Archive.)
5.7
Our previous experience with “educational” software on the Archimedes
has been with Droom, which has given us all many hours of pleasure. As
three years have passed since that was produced, and vast improvements
have been made in the quality of Archimedes software generally, we had
great expectations of these two programs, especially bearing in mind
that they come from one of the most highly regarded suppliers in the
field. Unfortunately, we have experienced little but disappointment and
frustration.
5.7
Before I continue, I must point out that we have reviewed the software
as home users. We cannot comment on its value for use in schools. Our
children have looked at the programs both with their parents and with
their friends and have spent as much time on them as we imagine they
would have done in the classroom, if not more. Our idea was that they
would write the review themselves and, initially, they were quite
interested but they rapidly became disappointed and bored, and soon we
all felt that we were sticking with the software more out of duty than
pleasure.
5.7
So what is wrong?
5.7
First, the “user interface”: apart from the fact that two windows are
displayed, one containing the text and the other pictures designed to
illustrate the text, no use whatsoever is made of the Archimedes’
superior capabilities – not colour; the pictures are in black and white
– not the mouse; all the dialogue has to be typed in (although you can
use the cursor keys for Go North, South, etc.) – not speed of response
nor the way the program conveys information: everything the computer
says to you is typed out at a snail’s pace (even with an ARM3).
5.7
You might just as well be using a BBC micro were it not for the
pictures, but they are of a dismal standard. They are monochrome, low-
resolution and dark – with few exceptions it is difficult to make out
what they are showing. They’re so depressing to look at that they
detract from rather than enhance the enjoyment of the program. They show
you hardly anything that is not mentioned in the text and contribute a
lot to the general sense of frustration. At the very beginning of “The
Victorians” there is a picture that clearly shows (well, not clearly,
but through the gloom all one can see is) a horse in the middle of the
road, so you ask Ernest to describe the horse. What does he say? “I
can’t see it.”
5.7
These programs do actually achieve one thing that would not be possible
on a BBC and that is keep track of time – if you switch off and come
back a day later, you find that a day has passed in the imaginary world.
Although this is initially mildly intriguing, so far as we can see, it
is merely a gimmick. You may find yourself in a new place on your
return, but otherwise the passing of time doesn’t seem to be used as an
opportunity to add anything to the experience. In fact, it can serve to
frustrate: in “The Victorians” on day four Ernest tells you it is Sunday
and he is “not allowed out”, and the program ends abruptly just when you
think he might be doing something interesting (at last!) like going to
church. Incidentally, none of the children was inclined to persevere
until day 4: only my wife, who says she has nothing better to do(!), had
the stamina.
5.7
The manual says that the techniques used in these programs “have been
developed from the familiar computerised Dungeons-and-Dragons adventure
games, although at a level of sophistication well beyond all but the
very best.” Have the authors seen Wonderland, I wonder?
5.7
This brings me to the second main complaint which is that the protagon
ists seem very stupid. They fail to understand half the questions you
ask, even the most obvious ones, and even when they’re about things that
the manual has suggested you find out about. They forget what they told
you only seconds before and once they have started their spiel there is
no way of interrupting them. Also, they refuse to describe things that
are in front of their noses.
5.7
A typical conversation proceeds as follows (bear in mind that the
pupils’ booklet encourages you to find out as much as you can about
Victorian dolls and dolls’ houses):
5.7
Ernest:    I am in my sisters’ bedroom.
5.7
Us:    What can you see?
5.7
Ernest:    There’s only sissy girls’ things in here. You know, dolls and
all that. I can see a doll-house and some dolls.
5.7
Us:    Describe the dolls.
5.7
Ernest:    Some of them have got china heads, but the best ones have got
wax heads. All of them have got bodies made out of cloth, filled with
stuffing. They’re wearing old-fashioned dresses, with big crinolines,
like nobody wears no more.
5.7
Us:    What are crinolines?
5.7
Ernest:    Who cares? What shall us do now?
5.7
Us:    Describe the doll-house.
5.7
Ernest:    Some of them have got china heads ..... [ and so on as before,
with no way of interrupting the flow! ]
5.7
It may be that we are the stupid ones, and that if only we persevered we
could learn a lot from this software, but it didn’t take much of this
sort of thing to persuade us that we would be better off reading a book,
or going to a museum, or watching telly to find out about the Victorians
or the rain forest .... and we would certainly get more out of playing
Lemmings, which to my mind has far more educational content than these
most disappointing programs.  A
5.7
Landmarks − The Victorians
5.7
Andrea Rosinger
5.7
The children (Year 6) already under way with their Victorian topic, were
enthusiastic to tackle the program. (Their thirst for using the computer
is insatiable and they even stayed in at playtime!) However, after two
or three short sessions their enthusiasm began to wane.
5.7
The information contained nothing really new to them, even after only a
short time on the topic, and they found ‘Ernest’ a little bland! It was
good to have “photographic” images but this undoubtedly encouraged the
children to want to see more − the inside of the school, the privvy,
etc!
5.7
It was a shame that the program was not more complex; the children
expected to be dealing with a simulation with a problem to solve, not
just find that they had to refer to books to answer questions that they
had no real motivation to answer. The cave was a repeatedly visited
locality and a great source of interest but it never really revealed
anything new.
5.7
The pupil’s booklet accompanying the program appeared boring to the
children although it covered several of the “questions” we were involved
with in our own research − it would have been more appealing if the
questions had come from the computer with ideas and help-lines in the
booklet.
5.7
The program was voted a poor second to our TV programme (How we used to
Live) I’m afraid, despite their initial enthusiasm and eagerness to give
it a try.
5.7
Personally, I feel that it has possibilities if the ‘storyline’ is
developed, but it is rather shallow and undemanding for Upper Juniors or
any child with a good experience of computing and its possibilities.  A
5.7
Longman’s Response
5.7
Nicola Bradley of Longman Logotron replies.... Luckily, we don’t all
like the same movies or the same computer software, and Hugh Eagle and
Andrea Rosinger are fully entitled to their opinion of our Landmarks
packages. However, thank you for giving us an opportunity to comment on
their reviews. Our first point is that these programs have been very
well received generally by reviewers and teachers − selling more than
10,000 copies last year, with hardly any returns from dissatisfied
customers.
5.7
The second point we would like to make is that designing software for
the classroom is really not the same as designing an educational game
for home use. Interestingly, the Landmarks author, Stephen Grand, is
also a successful games author. To quote him on just one of the points
raised by Hugh Eagle: “The output is not slow because the code is
inefficient, but because it is deliberately slowed to an average 9 year
old’s reading pace. This helps to support the feeling that the replies
come from a human being ... Slow output always irritates adults, but
never the children. In the classroom, the children (working in a group)
tend to read the text aloud, then discuss their response at length.
Nothing would be gained by printing at a faster rate.”
5.7
Our third point is that Landmarks has to be judged on its own terms: “
... the children expected to be dealing with a ... problem to solve”.
This isn’t what Landmarks is for; it is designed to help children gain a
feeling for time and place, to provide a map for the imagination on
which later work can build. The middle of a project is probably not the
best place for a session with Landmarks; it would be more appropriately
used as a starting point. Anyway, thank you for noticing our soft
ware.  A
5.7
Landmarks is also available for Nimbus and IBM which may explain why the
user interface is not as good as Archimedes users have come to expect. I
presume, too, that the program was prepared on Nimbus or IBM and then
ported across onto Archimedes because Stephen Grand points out in his
letter that, “I neither own, nor, if avoidable, use an Archimedes”.
Ed.  A
5.7
5.7
Tower of Babel
5.7
Jochen Konietzko
5.7
Cygnus Software’s “Tower of Babel” is a strategy game without any
element of chance. Each scene has a well defined goal (destroy some
objects, collect others, with or without time limit) and, in most
scenes, it is possible to look at the setup and devise a strategy before
the clock starts running.
5.7
The package
5.7
The game arrives in a black cardboard box which was reminiscent of the
old AcornSoft boxes for the BBC Model B.
5.7
It contains one disk − with 719 k of game and a module for streamlining
the RAM of 1M machines to make running the game a possibility − and a 45
page handbook which contains...
5.7
•    the story behind the game; this is somewhat inconsistent, as there is
talk about a tower which was built with the help of three inter-galactic
robots who want to leave against the wishes of the locals, and who have
to reach the top of the tower to signal to their space ship; in the game
itself, however, each level contains nine scenes and each of these
scenes is called a tower.
5.7
•    a detailed description of all the objects encountered in the course of
the game
5.7
•    descriptions of the nine short tutorial games on the disk
5.7
•    a tower designer(!) which can be used to build additional towers
5.7
The tower designer
5.7
The scope of the game is best understood by looking at the designer
first.
5.7
Each scene (tower) consists of up to four floors (levels), each with up
to 8×8 squares − the whole setup resembles four chess boards, often with
squares missing, stacked vertically.
5.7
Traffic between floors is possible with lifts.
5.7
The player has at his disposal three specialised spider-like robots,
descriptively named Zapper, Pusher and Grabber.
5.7

5.7
They have to cooperate to reach the goal set but a large number of
nasties try to prevent them. There are fixed and mobile zappers, fixed
and mobile pushers (if a spider is hit by a pusher beam, it becomes
inactive until it has been pushed to the very end of the field and, as
the pushers are indestructible, this may be the end of the game if the
spider is pushed into a dead end), proximity mines and time bombs, floor
eating lizards, crawling worms and ‘watchers’.
5.7
The last two don’t hurt but they get in the way, and sometimes it is
extremely hard to get past them. There are also helpful pieces like
glass blocks which can be pushed into the line of fire of the zappers,
reflecting their beams and thus destroying them, remote controls for the
lifts and ‘freezers’ which stop all enemy action for a few seconds.
5.7

5.7
Each scene can be tailor made with the help of several menus; every
surface can be coloured with one of 256 colours, and the sky can be
decorated with moons, meteors, thunder and lightning.
5.7
There is no music, just the sounds belonging to the individual scenes −
soft steps of the spiders, explosions, hum of large machines and
thunder.
5.7
The game
5.7
The game is completely mouse controlled. All operations of the game
itself can be performed by clicking <select>. The player can look at the
scene through any one of seven ‘cameras’, one for each of the three
robots, and four positioned outside of the tower to the north, east,
south and west. The robots can fire (shoot, push or pull respectively),
move forward, backward, turn left or right and the outside cameras can
be moved up, left, right and down with the same controls.
5.7
The screen can be configured in several ways. There are three styles for
the control panel, the robot cameras can be inside the robot or above
and behind.
5.7

5.7
The scenes are shown in full three-dimensional perspective − even the
sounds fit quite nicely into the geometry: An explosion that happens
nearby is very loud whilst one which occurs at the other end of the
field it is hardly audible.
5.7
All this needs an enormous amount of computation, with two consequences.
Firstly, all objects are strictly geometrical, so that the machine can
compute all changes (like the gradual shrinking of a retreating scene)
fast enough. However, I found that after a few absorbing minutes, that
the lack of cute pixel graphics does not really matter any more.
5.7
Secondly, ARM2 owners will notice a limitation on their machines: When a
scene is crammed with objects, only the ARM3 is able to handle fast
camera moves smoothly, without short stops.
5.7
The right hand side of the control panel is used for programming the
robots. Sometimes, in a scene with a time limit, all three robots have
to do things simultaneously to be finished in time and the player can
control only one robot at a time. However, each robot can perform up to
eight operations in programmed mode (bottom right).
5.7
The difficulty of the problems varies considerably; there are some very
simple scenes and others which I still have not solved after a dozen or
so tries. However, as you can proceed to the next group of nine scenes,
once you have solved seven of the nine in the present group, it is
possible to save the few very difficult ones for later.
5.7
Conclusion
5.7
Tower of Babel has me totally addicted − I had to limit myself to
solving one scene a day. Things will be even better for those who have
other game owners within reach, because they can exchange their own
scenes created (very easily) with the tower designer. The only (very
minor) niggle I have is the fact that the game was so very obviously not
written for the Archimedes (there is a credit for the “68000
programming” in the hand book); there are pull down menus (lots of them
− to leave a game that is still running you have to click on no less
than 8 fields in a series of menus) and the handbook keeps talking of
“the left mouse button”.
5.7
Other than that, I can most thoroughly recommend it to anyone who loves
strategy games.
5.7
The UK price is £29.95 inc. VAT (£28 from Archive).  A
5.7
5.7
Archway and HelixBasic
5.7
Brian Cowan
5.7
Many people would like to create their own desktop multitasking
applications. There are a number of different ways in which one could go
about such a task. At one extreme, the “sledgehammer” approach, would be
to read the Programmer’s Reference Manual from cover to cover − in other
words to start from scratch. At the other extreme, one can start with
some simple but well-written existing application and modify (cobble) it
to perform the required task. There is also a whole range of possibili
ties between these two.
5.7
Intermediate, but closer to the first suggestion, one could follow the
comprehensive series of articles on this topic which have appeared in
some of the magazines, including Archive. Nearer to the second extreme
is to work from a specially written application “shell”, the bare bones
of an application, produced specifically for developing into realistic
software. Two examples of these, which spring to mind, are the PD Wasp
(Wimp Application Support program) demonstration, written by Jan-Herman
Buining, and the Icon Bar Shell, written by Ben Avison and published in
the June 1991 Risc User and recently extended. This approach can be
quite a gentle and enlightening introduction to WIMP programming,
particularly if the shell program is well-documented.
5.7
The trouble with the sledgehammer-like approaches is that a large
investment in time and effort must be made before even the simplest of
applications can be produced. The other extreme seems attractive. It has
the (apparent) merit that one does not have to understand everything in
the programs and one proceeds on a trial and error basis. The disadvan
tage here is in the unforeseen problems which may arise; if you don’t
thoroughly understand your program then disaster will strike sooner or
later. Whichever of these approaches you adopt, your programs will
contain large chunks of routine WIMP-management code.
5.7
Archway and HelixBasic are systems for the production of desktop
application programs which have been designed to circumvent most of the
above-mentioned problems.
5.7
HelixBasic
5.7
HelixBasic is a Basic interpreter which is used instead of the Acorn
interpreter. Its intention is to do everything that the Acorn interpre
ter does, while providing an extensive range of commands for controlling
the WIMP. One review of HelixBasic said that this was the Basic
interpreter which Acorn should have provided with the Archimedes. I
could not agree more. However, if it had been produced by Acorn, I think
it would have been rather different − maybe this will give Roger Wilson
some ideas!
5.7
Programming environment
5.7
In fact, HelixBasic provides an entire environment for the creation of
desktop applications. There are standard !Boot, !Run and !RunImage files
which are part of a prototype application, and a !Sprites file which
would be created using Paint. The body of the program is in a text (file
type FFF) file called BasicProg, although it can be “crunched” for
security reasons if required.
5.7
One has the choice of using the HelixBasic editor for creating every
thing, or else the BasicProg may be written using a text editor. I chose
the latter option because there were some bugs in my first version of
the editor which caused it to crash without warning. I was later to
discover that only applications written using the HelixBasic editor can
be subsequently reloaded into the editor for modification.
5.7
Documentation
5.7
Initially, I was rather daunted by the HelixBasic manual. It comprises
some 240 pages and it is more in the nature of a programmers’ reference
manual: plenty of technical details but no overview or introduction to
the system. There was also a small addendum. Luckily there is a 28 page
tutorial booklet devoted mainly to the construction of an example
application: a graph plotter. This was all very instructive.
5.7
Getting started
5.7
I read the tutorial booklet, skimmed through the manual and started
creating my first HelixBasic application. One of the things I like about
interpreted languages is that you can try your program out as you go
along. I created an application which installed itself on the icon bar.
With a few extra lines I had produced the Info box with its text which
behaved in the standard RISC-OS manner. It was just as easy to create a
save box which opened up when required. The next job was to actually
make the application do something. I decided to reach for one of my
standard “workhorse” programs: a fast Fourier transform. With the final
application, I would drag a file of data to the application, the Fourier
transform would be calculated and the file of results would be dragged
to a window to be saved.
5.7
Since HelixBasic is supposed to support the entire Basic V repertoire of
instructions, the next part of the job was easy. My Fourier transform
program already consisted of a procedure, so I simply included the text
version of this in the BasicProg, to be called from the body of the
program. With my finished application I was eager to try it out.
5.7
Debugging
5.7
Disaster! The program crashed and the process of debugging began.
Experienced WIMP programmers will know what a problem this is because
the whole machine can “hang up”. I had been warned that HelixBasic did
not, as yet, implement the returning of parameters from procedures, so
this was the first modification to be made. It then transpired that
arrays could not be passed in a procedure, necessitating further
alterations. By this stage, I was despairing of getting the thing
running. The final hurdle was overcome when I discovered that multiple
statements on a line separated by colons were not supported.
5.7
The acid test
5.7
Finally my application would run. I was quite excited at this and I
eagerly embarked on some speed tests to study the efficiency. Using my
Helix Basic application, a 1024 point Fourier transform took approxi
mately one hundred seconds. This is to be compared with a similar Basic
V application (using Archway) which completed the same tasks in under
two seconds.
5.7
The lesson to be learned from all this is that one departs from Acorn’s
Basic interpreter at ones peril (unless it is to use a compiled language
such as C). I think that for all its attractions of simplicity,
HelixBasic is still at a very early stage of its development, with many
flaws remaining to be ironed out.
5.7
Archway
5.7
In philosophy, Archway is similar to HelixBasic except that it operates
within Acorn Basic V so that one has the full power and compatibility
from the start.
5.7
Archway comes on four colour coded discs. The programs must either be
installed on a hard disc, or a system floppy disc must be created. At
Archway’s heart is a library of Basic V functions and procedures for
managing the WIMP side of things so that, again, simple applications can
be produced with only a few lines of code. However, Archway is much,
much more than just this; it is an entire application development
environment with utilities or “tools” to assist in almost every stage of
producing a complex piece of desktop software.
5.7
Complexity
5.7
I was initially rather intimidated by Archway’s complexity. It seemed
that a fairly large investment in time needed to be made before the
simplest of applications could be created. The question is whether that
is worthwhile. Perhaps one would be better off studying the Programmer’s
Reference Manual and writing applications from scratch. However, it soon
becomes apparent that there is so much routine WIMP “book-keeping” code
that is required in applications and that this is often rather similar
from program to program. Thus it makes a lot of sense to have a number
of different program “shells” to which some ready-made procedures may be
added.
5.7
Program structure
5.7
Archway programs do not have a Templates file. Instead there Windows
file which is edited, not with Acorn’s FormEd application but from
within Archway tools. As with HelixBasic, there are tutorial examples to
get you going, although they are much more extensive and they require
more concentration to get into them. The manual also provides much
useful information, although its 300 or so pages can be rather daunting
at first sight. Incidentally, there is also a most extensive collection
of useful functions and procedures covering such areas as mathematical,
statistical and calendar calculations. In all, Archway is a system which
will handsomely repay the investment in learning how to use it.
Ultimately, there is no limitation to its potential because new features
can be provided in Basic code if required.
5.7
Comparison
5.7
The areas of application of these two packages is rather different.
HelixBasic was originally seen as being suitable for teachers wishing to
write small desktop programs for school applications. This is quite an
appropriate task where it would function well. The idea of a Basic
interpreter which includes WIMP support in such a natural way is quite
brilliant. My reservations are in the areas of compatibility, speed and
versatility. However, for simple programs, this is not too much of a
limitation and the benefits of such simple programs are overwhelming.
HelixBasic is still under development and a new version of the editor is
currently being produced. I understand that a compiler may also become
available later in the year.
5.7
For those people wishing to produce more complex programs and programs
which run at full speed, Archway is the appropriate product. It is
possible to get a long way using the Archway manual, although eventually
most users will want to refer to the Acorn Programmers Reference Manual.
One of the beauties of the Archway system is that the full power of the
WIMP is always at ones disposal. Archway is also under continuing
development and I understand that the next version is being brought into
line with RISC-OS 3.
5.7
Archway costs £99.95 inc VAT and is produced by Simtron, 4 Clarence
Drive, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 4RZ. (£92 through Archive.)
5.7
HelixBasic also costs £99.95 inc VAT and is available from Craddock
Computer Systems, 20 Osyth Close, Brackmills Industrial Estate,
Northampton NN4 0DY. (£92 through Archive.)  A
5.7
5.7
DTP − Acorn, Macintosh or PC?
5.7
The following is an extract from “DTP using Acorn Systems” published by
Norwich Computer Services. It is 20 page booklet, price 75p, giving a
great deal of useful information for anyone thinking of buying a DTP
system and wondering what equipment and software is needed.
5.7
There is still a great deal of pressure to use Apple Macs or PC
compatibles (see the articles on pages 11 and 12 of DTP using Acorn
Computers). The reason generally given is the need to be compatible with
other users. Some people write off Acorn systems as being “odd-ball” and
therefore not worthy of consideration. We believe that compatibility
should taken be into account as one factor but it should not be allowed
to obscure the other issues. The questions is, which really is the best
DTP system for your particular needs?
5.7
“You’re biassed!”
5.7
Some people will, quite reasonably, say that an Acorn dealer is not
exactly the best person to edit an independent review of the relative
merits of three systems, only one of which he sells! When you see the
price/performance figures, you will think we are exaggerating the claims
and fiddling the figures. In fact, we have done just the reverse. We
have been careful to take the lowest price figures we could find for
Macs and PCs and quoted list price figures on much of the Acorn
equipment and ignored available discount prices.
5.7
Also, to validate the comparisons, we employed two independent con
sultants. Steve Nichols, MAIE, DIP, who writes and lectures about DTP on
Mac and PC systems helped us to compare Macs and PCs. Because Steve had
no experience of the Acorn systems, we also employed Carol Atack, a
journalist and author. Carol uses Macs exclusively in her work but works
closely with several ardent Acorn system users. Carol is very strongly
pro-Mac so, as well as getting her to check the main three-way compari
son, we have given her space to explain why she prefers Macs. However, I
have taken the opportunity to put some counter arguments alongside her
comments. There are, of course, differences of opinion − some things are
a matter of taste − but Carol and Steve have been given opportunity to
check the facts which, we think, speak for themselves.
5.7
Other Contributions
5.7
We have also had considerable help from Rob Sherratt who spends much of
his time during the day doing DTP on a Mac IIci. He then comes home in
the evening and helps his wife Carole to run her commercial DTP business
in which she uses Acorn systems. (We also know him as the Archive DTP
Column editor and coordinator!)
5.7
We are also very grateful to Ivor Humphreys of General Gramophone
Publications Ltd who uses both Acorn systems and Macs in a professional
setting. He too has checked through the comparison for us.
5.7
The Comparison
5.7
The comparison was done by starting with a system specification and
seeing how well it could be implemented using each of the three types of
computer and seeing how much it would cost. The specification was as
follows:
5.7
•    easy to use WIMP interface and filing system
5.7
•    line / object oriented graphic drawing
5.7
•    good document preparation system with English spelling checker
5.7
•    display 256 colours at better than 640 by 480 pixel resolution
5.7
•    scalable PostScript compatible fonts for screen and printing (about 5
font families)
5.7
•    fast 600 d.p.i. laser printer
5.7
•    scanning capability of 400 d.p.i. with up to 256 greyscale
5.7
•    ability to create sprite (pixel) graphics in up to 256 colours,
capture screen images and edit scanned images
5.7
•    as much compatibility as possible with other file systems and formats
to allow transfer of text and graphics.
5.7
5.7
Notes on the System Comparison
5.7
In a simple table, it is not really possible to do justice to all the
arguments, so here is some more discussion of various issues raised in
the comparison on the previous to pages.
5.7
Filing system speed
5.7
The reason for the speed difference between Mac IIci and A540 is partly
due to the way Apple have implemented the SCSI filing system which is
acknowledged to limit the speed more than it could. We measured the time
taken to load Impression II and a 2.8M document on an A540 and found
that they loaded into memory in under 10 seconds. To load PageMaker onto
a Mac IIci takes about 30 seconds and to load a large DTP file can take
a similar length of time. However, the difference in speed of response
is not just the speed of the SCSI filing system but is also partly due
to the way the two systems use memory. (See note opposite on memory
usage.)
5.7
Scalable fonts
5.7
Whilst it is true that the numbers of fonts available for the Apple Macs
must run into the thousands, there are one or two other points that
should be noted. First of all, the majority of DTP users are unlikely to
want more than a small handful of fonts − which are available on the
Acorn systems at less than half the cost of Mac fonts.
5.7
Secondly, the vast majority of the Mac fonts are Latin1 fonts, i.e. if
you are dealing purely with Western European languages there is no
problem. However, the number of Mac fonts available in Latin2, 3, 4 or 5
is much more limited as is the supply of non-Latin alphabets. The
Electronic Font Foundry has a list of 285 Latin 1 fonts, modest by Mac
standards, perhaps, but these same fonts are also available in Latin2,
3, 4 and 5. They also have 8 Cyrilic fonts, 6 Greek fonts, a Hebrew font
and 48 Indian fonts as well as several symbol fonts.
5.7
So, for the vast majority of users, the limited number of scalable fonts
is not a significant factor in the comparison.
5.7
Laser printer speed and cost
5.7
The reason that the Laser Direct printers are so fast and so cheap is
that they use a different technique from most laser printers. If you are
using a conventional PostScript laser printer, the computer “describes”
the page − i.e. what words in what sizes and fonts, and what lines,
shapes, shades, etc go where on the page. This page description is sent
down to the printer which has its own micro-processor and memory. The
printer’s processor then works out what dots go where on the page and
then prints the page.
5.7
With the Laser Direct, the computer does all the calculation of what
dots go where on the page and that information is then sent down to the
printer. This represents a lot of data to transmit, so Computer Concepts
have implemented a high speed parallel “video” interface to the printer.
5.7
The first reason that the Laser Direct printers are so fast is that the
RISC processors in the Acorn computers are ideally suited to the task of
working out the dot patterns on the paper and do it very quickly.
However, this is not where the main gain in speed is experienced. When
you want to print pixel graphics (scanned images, for example) on a
PostScript printer, the whole of the scanned image data has to be sent
down to the printer as it cannot be “described” by PostScript. As the
link to the printer is not a fast parallel link, this can take quite a
long time which slows down the printing process even further. This can
mean waiting minutes for a printout instead of seconds.
5.7
One other result of using the Laser Direct technique is that the printer
does not have to have a powerful processor with lots of memory − the
computer’s own processor and memory is more than adequate. This
therefore reduces the price of the printer. Also, because the fonts are
described by the computer, the printer manufacturer does not have to pay
royalties to Adobe for using PostScript, which again reduces the price.
5.7
Memory usage
5.7
When comparing systems, it is important to be aware of the amount of
memory used by the different applications. For example, on a Mac IIci,
even with 5M of RAM, it is not possible to have PageMaker and FreeHand
and Word all loaded at the same time. However, on a 4M A540, you can run
Impression DTP, Edit, Paint, Draw and PipeDream (a spreadsheet/WP/
database package) all at the same time and still have nearly 1M of RAM
available as a “font cache” to speed up the display of the fonts on the
screen.
5.7
The reason for this very economical use of memory is that the Acorn
operating system, RISC-OS, is in ROM. This also means that switching the
system on is faster as these routines don’t have to be loaded from disc.
5.7
(The other advantage of having the operating system in ROM is that it
makes the computer less vulnerable to viruses. On Macs and PCs, viruses
can modify parts of the operating system with unfortunate consequences.
The Acorn operating system, being in ROM, cannot be changed so the
viruses have to be somewhat ‘smarter’ if they are to do any real
damage.)
5.7
The new operating system, RISC-OS 3 (currently only available on the
A5000 but soon to come to the A540 as well) is held in 2M of ROM. This
is means that even more RAM space is saved because Draw, Paint and Edit
plus five other smaller applications as well as three complete families
of fonts (12 fonts altogether) are held in ROM. This again speeds up the
system and reduces memory usage even further.
5.7
The other advantage of the Acorn system is that it is very easy, if you
do run short of memory, to reallocate its usage. In a review article in
Byte Magazine, March 1992, Dick Pountain says of the operating system,
“RISC-OS provides an excellent interactive memory manager in its Task
Display window (streets ahead of anything on the PC or the Macintosh)
that allows you to free and reallocate memory on the fly without
quitting any of the programs.”  A
5.7
5.7
The Bible in ASCII
5.7
John Schild
5.7
The day of the Electronic Bible has arrived. Two products, BibleMaster
and the Electronic Bible are being marketed in the UK by christian
publishers Hodder and Stoughton, and the availability of a privately
produced Bible reader, Bible Base, was announced in Archive 5.6 p2.
5.7
The two Hodder products are not as similar as I had at first imagined.
The Electronic Bible is a small self-contained unit, 155 × 90 × 20 mm
closed, which opens to reveal a miniature qwerty keyboard, a set of
dedicated function keys and a 110 × 35 mm LCD screen, carrying 8 lines
of 40 characters. Somewhere deep inside, it holds the entire text of the
New International Version of the Bible. Equally international is its
origin: made in Hong Kong, published in the USA and marketed in the UK
by Hodder and Stoughton.
5.7
BibleMaster is a PC software pack which arrives in a box positively
bristling with MS-DOS disks − nine 5¼“ floppies and six 3½” floppies. I
would award the accompanying manual only a B– for clarity of communi
cation and purpose, but it was sufficient to guide me through a lengthy
programme of disk swapping and coffee drinking to install the software
inside the PC partition of the hard disk on an A440 machine. Whereas the
Electronic Bible sticks to Americanisms in the NIV Bible text − Joseph
predictably wears a coat of many colors − BibleMaster has accommodated
itself to anglicised spelling.
5.7
Bible Base is a collection of public domain ASCII text files of the 1611
Authorised Version of the Bible brought together by some neat and
friendly software for reading in a RISC-OS style window.
5.7
The Electronic Bible
5.7
Opening the tiny Electronic Bible and switching on brings to the screen
a list of credits and copyright details which helpfully fade before you
have time to read them, to be replaced by the passage of scripture which
was displayed at the last power-off. The inevitable trade-off for the
unit’s small size is that the keys are small and a bit vague and my
aging eyes do not find the screen very comfortable. Contrast is limited
and there are no descenders on the characters. Good incident lighting is
needed for clear visibility of the text, but the catch is that the
screen is highly reflective, which does not help when the light source
is behind you. Screen refresh is rather slow. The keys are rubber, a bit
squidgey in feel, and rather small for my stubby fingers to engage
accurately. Power is taken from 4 AAA size batteries or a mains adaptor.
5.7
The ten function keys provide a remarkably wide range of options.
Because of the limitations of the display I really can’t see anyone
sitting down with the Electronic Bible for a good read. However, for
rapid access to a desired passage and for word searches in the manner of
a concordance, it is little short of astonishing.
5.7
Scanning along the row of function keys, Find will probably be the most
used option. On selection, the display clears to bring up an input
screen, asking first whether the whole Bible or a limited range of books
is to be searched. Having established the search limits, up to four
words may be entered (employing “AND” logic only) and the search
commenced. Verses containing the chosen words (in any order) are then
displayed on the screen, the arrow keys providing for each occurrence to
be viewed in turn. The search words are displayed underlined and a list
of all the verses in the chosen books containing the search words may
also be brought to the screen. No concordance was ever as easy to use as
this! There is even a quaint little option among the function keys,
labelled SYN, which provides a glossary of antique words peculiar to the
Authorised Version and their most often used synonyms in the NIV. Sadly,
some things cannot be had at any price. I am not very familiar with the
NIV, and some verses I just could not find using the concordance alone
because there is no provision for wildcards or “fuzzy” searches.
5.7
Moving along the line of function keys, Book, CH,V will also be an
option in frequent demand. As the name suggests, it accepts in turn the
name of a book, a chapter and a verse, allowing abbreviations as soon as
they are unambiguous. It instantly displays the chosen text which may
then be paged up or down. Another function key accesses a Table of
Contents − that is, headings placed in the text but not part of the
text, which can then be viewed. So that if, for instance, you knew the
beatitudes were in Matthew’s Gospel, but not where, this option would
provide an access route. It is a bit confusing that headings are also
picked up in word searches although they are not part of the text.
5.7
Bookmarks may be placed at any point in the Bible text, and up to 800
words of notes may be stored using the built-in Note Pad facility,
related in memory to any chosen verses. The compilers have found space
somewhere to store some foot notes, identified by * in the text and
displayed by pressing the Foot Note key. With mysterious forethought,
the programmers of the Electronic Bible also provide, hidden under the
Mode button, an alarm clock and a calculator! Auto Scroll and Help
buttons complete the line-up of function keys.
5.7
I should mention that the editor has undertaken, if possible, to produce
a lead and software to link the Electronic Bible to your Archimedes, to
drag text across to your own documents. Its arrival will no doubt be
flagged up in a future issue of Archive. (We are having real problems
with it − not technical problems but communication problems − trying to
find someone at Hodder & Stoughton who knows what is going on. We’ve
tried contacting the States but they haven’t bothered with the serial
link there. It’s only in the U.K. that they seem interested to do
anything about it but as yet we haven’t managed to find anyone who can
help us. Ed)
5.7
BibleMaster
5.7
BibleMaster (BM from now on) operates in the PC domain, on MS-DOS 2.11
and later, requiring 4M of space on a hard disk and at least 256k RAM
but preferably much more. It works very happily under version 1.7 of the
PC Emulator. Although identified as issue 1.0, on my short acquaintance
with BM, it seems to be free of bugs. Naturally, its presentation on the
Archimedes screen will depend on the chosen configuration of the
emulator. For my own use I chose EGA graphics in combination with
Computer Concepts’ mode 82. The BM screen display was clear but somewhat
cluttered. Layout is typical PC style with lots of nice double line
frames drawn round everything in sight.
5.7
Under the BM default setting, two windows occupy the left and right
halves of the screen, which are used for the viewing of scripture texts.
Displayed along the top of the window are the eight principle options
which will be described later. A small text entry box opens up towards
the bottom of the screen to receive search strings or Bible references,
and a much larger text entry screen with full editing facilities may
also be opened to receive the user’s own notes which may be linked to a
Bible reference and saved to disc. A status line and a set of function
key operation reminders complete the screen.
5.7
Reading from left to right, the screen top options are Help, Search,
Display, Verse List, Notes, Utilities and Quit. Help brings up a screen
full of combination key functions and a reminder about a second
contextual help option, while Utilities and Quit allow alterations of
the BM screen layout, access to DOS, and temporary or final exit from
the program.
5.7
Search and Display will be the most used options and operate in a manner
broadly similar to that of the Electronic Bible, but with rather more
flexibility. Pressing <alt-S> brings up the search menu of three
options. A search range may be specified and either a Phrase or a Word
search commenced. A phrase search will seek out only a string identical
to that keyed in. Word searches are much more flexible, allowing
wildcards, AND or OR logic, to search for any number of words occurring
in a single or, by choice, several verses. These options are defined by
keying in special characters into the search string. In their absence,
the defaults seem to be quite sensible.
5.7
Once a search has been completed, all verses in the selected book range
are displayed in the left-hand window, with a verse identified as the
current verse by a cursor alongside the verse number. The search words
are highlighted. Various key strokes allow the paging and scrolling of
text in this window. Pressing <shift-tab> will bring the passage
containing the selected verse to the right hand window, where it can be
scrolled and studied. When the cursor stands against a verse in the
right hand window, pressing <F10> will bring up huge numbers of cross
references to that verse in the left hand window. The effect is to
reduce the most complex searches for words and themes to a rapid and
simple routine.
5.7
The Display option leads off to three menu choices, the first of which
brings up either a search or cross reference verse list to the screen.
The second option allows the reference of a passage to be entered and
brings that passage to the right hand window, while the third brings up
any user’s notes which might have been stored on disc, indexed to any
chosen text. The next option, Print operates similarly, allowing a
chosen verse list, passage, or notes to be printed, with some basic
printer configuration options, or saved to a disc file. This is the
gateway for transferring text or notes to RISC-OS. The text material is
directed to a disc file in the PC domain and imported into the RISC-OS
environment via a utility such as MultiFS or PCDir.
5.7
Verse lists in BM are lists of verses which have been compiled by
searches, and the Verse List option allows such lists to be managed −
edited, sorted, saved and retrieved from a filing system.
5.7
When the cursor is positioned against any verse displayed in a window,
pressing <F9> opens the text editor which takes over the whole screen.
User’s notes may be written and edited in this mode and saved to disk,
indexed to the highlighted verse. <F8> displays user’s notes without the
editing facility. The Notes menu option allows for the management and
export of note files. A nice feature of BM is that notes do not need to
be stored on the hard disc, but can be tagged with an identifying name
and saved to a floppy disc. Thus different users of the same computer
can keep their own notes separate and in their own possession. What is
lacking in the manual is any simple instructions for non-expert DOS
users to back up their notes from the hard disc to a floppy disc as an
added security.
5.7
During my investigations, I encountered two “quirks” − text imported
into RISC-OS employs really strange quotation marks, which become even
more confused if Impression’s “smart quotes” facility is used. Secondly,
when the utility provided to exit temporarily to DOS was used, it was
not actually possible to get back into BibleMaster, an error message
being generated instead, indicating insufficient memory.
5.7
Bible Base
5.7
Bible Base is a much less ambitious application than BibleMaster.
Written specially for the Archimedes, it is described as a Bible reader,
and its primary use is to bring any chosen chapter or verse quickly to a
reading window and provide for a passage to be printed, saved to disc or
dragged via a filer icon to a word processor text window.
5.7
It comes on six floppy discs, disc 1 containing the reader program and a
hard disc installer, while the other discs carried the text files of the
King James version of the Bible. The whole package can either be run
from floppies or installed on a hard disc, where it occupies a little
over 4 M of memory. The good news, however, is that this memory demand
can be halved by running it under Computer Concepts Compression utility,
without any obvious penalty. When run from floppies, selecting a book of
the Bible from the index prompts for one of the text discs to be
inserted. When run from a hard disc, the appropriate text file is
automatically located and brought to the screen.
5.7
Bible Base loads to the icon bar. Selecting it brings an index window to
the screen. From this, books may be chosen either from an index or a
GOTO box into which book, chapter and verse may be entered. Two reader
windows may be opened at once, the primary window being the larger with
its text loaded into memory for quick scrolling. The second reader is
smaller, and text is loaded from disc as it is scrolled.
5.7
Along the bottom of the reader window, a line of options is displayed in
menu style. Mouse selection enables the text to be scrolled, paged and
printed. Text displayed in the main window may in addition, have three
markers added for quick reference back. Clicking with the menu button
over an open primary reader window allows the display font and text size
to be altered at will as well as providing the save option and an
alternative route for printing.
5.7
Bible Base offers no word search facilities, but because the Bible books
are presented as text files, these may be extracted from the application
and loaded into a text editor, where they may be worked upon with the
editor’s own search facilities.
5.7
Conclusions
5.7
Ever since BibleMaster was introduced to the UK market, I have been
wondering whether I could run it under Acorn’s new multitasking
emulator, dragging out verses or passages for quotation when keying
Sunday sermons and Bible studies into Impression. I am very grateful to
Paul Beverley for providing me with such an opportunity. My conclusion?
Yes, it can be done, parking text temporarily on a disk and accessing it
via MultiFS, the disc read/write utility supplied with the new emulator.
It is quite slow on an ARM3-less old 440 and I could not make it work as
I wished on less then 3 M of memory with just the emulator, Impression
and a printer driver installed.
5.7
However, with all these limitations, at under £50, (now £38, see below!
Ed.) BibleMaster has to be very good value for money if you have the
hardware to run it. It is powerful software, competently written, which
offers a range of Bible study tools never before available to the
scholar and expositor.
5.7
The Electronic Bible is not able to offer all the powerful facilities of
BibleMaster, but excels as a highly portable quick reference text and
concordance. It must surely find a place in the hands (and the pockets)
of those who must leave their PCs behind on the desk and who do not
aspire to a lap-top.
5.7
At £12, Bible Base has to be a gift for readers who are still at home
with traditional language, and who wish no more than to bring a Bible
text to their desktop in an easy to read window, for browsing or
copying.  A
5.7
The problem with BibleMaster, at the moment, is supply. Hodder and
Stoughton quickly sold out their first printing of the manual and have
been trying to decide what to do next! They have just decided to upgrade
BibleMaster by including the Good News version alongside the NIV. This
new version is not available yet, but when it is, it will probably sell
for £60 +VAT (£65 through Archive). In the meantime, they have reduced
the price of the NIV only version to £35 +VAT (£38 through Archive).
This re-printed version should be available by the time you read this.
We are also working on the possibility of doing a full RISC-OS compliant
Archimedes version for Hodder, but that is just at the negotiation
stage.
5.7
We haven’t given up on the project of doing an Archimedes link for the
Electronic Bible − but there are problems both of a technical nature and
of an administrative nature. I hope that Electronic Bible owners will
bear with us − more news will be sent to you as soon as we get something
sorted out. Ed.  A
5.7
5.7
Pandora’s Box
5.7
Richard Forster
5.7
Parkinson’s Law states that “Work expands to fill the time available for
its completion”. I suppose that the computing equivalent would be that
“Programs expand to fill the space available to them”. Archimedes games
are rapidly becoming larger, due mainly to large amounts of sprites and
sound samples, and there will no doubt come a point soon where software
will come with stickers bearing the legend “2 Mbyte required”.
5.7
I mention all this because “Pandora’s Box” is big. This is not so much
because it has more data than other games, but because it requires a
minimum of 780k free. As you might imagine, this stretches a standard 1M
machine.
5.7
The first time I ran the game it refused to run, so I reset my machine
by holding down <R> when switching on, ran the memory optimisation
supplied, *unplugged various modules, including the harddisc, and tried
again. It failed. Trying again, this time with the task manager open,
revealed that the process freed 792k, but that this was dropping to 776k
when the disc was catalogued.
5.7
After trying a few more things, I resorted to calling the 4th Dimen
sion’s helpline number, which was usefully stuck on the inside on the
box. The person I spoke to was helpful, suggested various things I’d
already tried, insisted that it should run, and said no more. After a
final frustrating few minutes I did manage to hit upon a solution. If
you find yourself stuck in the same situation simply follow the
instructions to get as much memory as possible, and then before
cataloguing the disc press <F12>. At the prompt type !Pandora and then
when it crashes saying “Memory in use”, simply type !Pandora again.
(This is a typical comment we get from a number of readers about games
that are hard to load − mainly 4th Dimension.)
5.7
The game is an arcade adventure, set in a land where a great evil has
been unleashed. The objective of the game is to collect four amulets
which are scattered around, and use them to seal the infamous box. Your
surroundings are made up of five distinct sections − a village where you
start, a ruined temple, a mine, a castle and an interconnecting outside.
These are populated by a variety of helpful and dangerous creatures,
from shopkeepers and thugs to skeletons and lemmings.
5.7
The game is made up of over 200 locations which are individually
displayed in perspective as you enter them. You are able to move your
character, Merlin, around the rooms, manipulating objects and avoiding
nasties. A bar showing how much energy you have, is shown at the top of
the screen, and this increases or decreases depending on whether you are
being hit or are resting. Once your energy is gone, the game is over,
although fortunately there is a save game facility, so all need not be
lost.
5.7
The village area provides a gentle introduction into the game. It allows
you to become accustomed to movement and to handling objects without
having to spend all your time trying to stay alive. It also has a few
simple puzzles of the “find and return object” kind. These range from
returning a late library book to collecting, and then producing, a cake.
The first few of these are very simple, although others do require some
thought as to which object fulfils each of the various requirements. The
arcade element is, as already mentioned, quite gentle and although you
can find or buy weapons to defend yourself, it is possible to survive by
just dodging.
5.7
Once outside the village, the arcade element goes up quite a few notches
and you’ll yourself biting the dust rather quickly at first. The puzzles
also get harder, becoming more cryptic, and some of them begin to
require some dexterity to navigate. The temple, which is really the next
major area, is almost entirely puzzles and offers a pleasant respite
from the outside area.
5.7
The graphics throughout the game are of a very high standard. Each of
the five areas has a different set of sprites and they are all atmos
pheric. The most impressive graphics are some of the animated
incidentals, the fountains being particularly good with the spray
shooting up and falling down in individual droplets. The only drawback
to the graphics occurs in a few rooms where the 3D perspective becomes
unclear, but this is used to good effect as the basis of some subtle
puzzles.
5.7
Use of sound is limited to the odd sample, most noticeably when you
sustain damage. These are effective, but their rarity value means that
the game does not have a very impressive audio side, although the almost
obligatory tune with the introduction screen is quite good.
5.7
“Pandora’s Box” is supplied in a sturdy plastic box and comes with two
discs and a 5 page manual. The discs are very heavily copy protected,
which means that you will not be able to make backups and also that your
disc drive will make a rather unhealthy sound as it scrapes across the
disc surface. The other drawback of the protection is that you are
unable to run the game from a hard disc, or indeed from a ram disc. One
particularly annoying upshot is that, should you wish to save or restore
the game, you have to swap discs. Also, if you are unlucky enough to
mistype when restoring a position, you’ll find yourself swapping discs
several times before you can play again.
5.7
The manual is extremely well written and very funny in places. It deals
with the basics of running and playing the game, before going on to give
a selection of twelve handy hints. It also mentions various curious game
statistics, such as “Approximately 789 million frames per year.”
5.7
Overall “Pandora’s Box” is an excellent arcade adventure, with a good
balance between thinking and action. The rising level of difficulty in
the game is about right and the later stages of the game should keep you
playing for a quite a long time. Various aspects of the package though
were poor, specifically the difficulty in getting it running and the
restrictive copy protection. Despite this, it offers good value for
money and, hopefully, more games in the same vein will appear.
5.7
“Pandora’s Box” costs £24.95 from The Fourth Dimension or £23 through
Archive.  A
5.7
5.7
Linking the Z88 and the Archimedes Link
5.7
Gordon Lindsay Jones
5.7
The Z88 is considered by many to be the most convenient addition to the
Archimedes as a mobile keyboard. This computer offers many self
contained facilities making it good value for money. It is the size of
an A4 notepad, powered by mains adapter or four MN1500 batteries which
allow about 20 hours of computing. In the switched off mode, the
batteries provide power for the RAM, maintaining files in memory for up
to a year.
5.7
The display is an LCD screen, eight lines of 100 characters, easily
scrolled to the required section. The full size keys of rubber-like
material make the keyboard silent in use. The default RAM is 32k but
this can be increased by inserting one or two 128k RAM packs into slots
in the Z88.
5.7
The Z88 offers PipeDream and a Basic similar to Acorn Basic, but using
different tokens for filing; obviously, colour and graphics are not
available. Desktop facilities include a diary, calendar, calculator,
clock and alarm. It can drive a printer directly; the inbuilt printer
driver can be edited to suit the printer and highlights required.
5.7
Z88 to Archimedes link
5.7
Because the files stored in the Z88 depend on the power of the bat
teries, some backup is advisable in case of battery failure. The obvious
procedure is to transfer the files to the Archimedes disc storage
system. Articles have appeared previously in Archive but they have
mostly been reviews of software available, giving the impression that
the transfer is straightforward and will work first time. There are many
difficulties which can trap the unwary. The purpose of this article is
to explain how to avoid or overcome them so that, hopefully, readers
using this link will succeed first time.
5.7
Systems available
5.7
There are two methods available. One is for those who have installed
Pipedream in the Archimedes, using an EPROM in the Z88, a suitable cable
linking the serial ports, and software in the Archimedes which comes
with PipeDream. Transfer is possible direct to PipeDream in the
Archimedes. The cable is not the standard nine pin, but the correct one
is available from Colton Software.
5.7
The other method, for those who do not have Archimedes PipeDream, uses
software in the Archimedes only and a suitable cable available from
David Holden. His system also allows transfer of Basic files in either
direction with conversion between the Z88 Basic and Archimedes Basic,
and he can supply, to registered users, software to convert Z88
PipeDream text to Interword, First Word Plus or plain text. Direct
printout of Z88 files is possible by transfer to the Archimedes RAM; the
printing takes place as a background task while both machines are
released for other use after the rapid file transfer.
5.7
Problems in the transfer
5.7
There are certain conditions which must be satisfied for a transfer to
succeed and these are not always obvious from the Z88 manual. The
transfer between serial ports requires the baud rates in both computers
to be the same for a given direction, although a different pair may be
chosen for the reverse direction. Most systems work at 9600 baud, but if
errors occur, especially in transfer of Basic files, use a lower rate.
As the Z88 does not use 4800 baud, this means dropping to 2400 baud.
Once a reliable rate is obtained, this can be set as default for future
use. Similarly, parity and other parameters must be set at each end and
generally the default values of the Z88 should be used.
5.7
The principle at the Z88 end is to set it to Import-Export mode, typing
<S> or <R> for send or receive, and the filename of the file to be sent
or received. The transfer takes place when the command is made on the
Archimedes but the Z88 screen reports on progress. If the transfer
fails, delete the filename from the Z88 file catalogue and try again, at
a lower baud rate.
5.7
The traps
5.7
Care must be taken when sending files from the Z88. If the file is Z88
PipeDream text, you must know how the text was saved from Pipedream.
When Saving, the option “Save as plain text” is answered. If the default
No is used, the file is a PipeDream textfile which can be fed directly
into Archimedes Pipedream or converted by software to other word
processor files or ASCII text. If the option Yes is taken, the file is
ASCII text and care should be taken when using conversion software. If
in doubt, the transferred file can be loaded into Edit and unwanted
Pipedream codes removed.
5.7
In the Z88 printer driver editor, the option “send line feeds” must
always be set to Yes. The No option was intended to prevent double
spacing if a printer were set for automatic line feeds. However, this
option causes code zero to be sent but not the CR code 13, so text is
printed without line feeds; words are broken when the printer reaches
the end of a line and is forced to continue on the next line. Therefore
the printer used must be set to require external line feed command.
5.7
Direct printing from the Z88
5.7
In addition to adjustments above, the printer baud rate and other
parameters must match those of the Z88. Check that the printer and its
buffer are not set to 4800 baud, as this cannot be set on the Z88 to
match.
5.7
Printing from Basic is possible by a subroutine explained in the Z88
manual, but beware of an error in the instructions which come with the
Cambridge Computers Z88 serial printer cable. Printout is enabled by
writing to a file called :PRT so text is sent by the command used to
write to a file, e.g.
5.7
PRINT#ch,“text1”+“text2”+CHR$(10)
5.7
Line feeds need to be inserted, but note that only one string may be
sent, the + sign being used to combine strings into one. The method
valid for other files using commas and shown in the cable instructions,
does not work. If you attempt to use commas, e.g.
5.7
PRINT#ch,“text1”,“text2”+CHR(10)
5.7
to send successive strings to the printer, it will not print anything.
If you wish to print from Basic often, it is worth writing a procedure
called DEFPROCPRINT(Z$) which can be added to Basic programs so that
5.7
VDU2:PRINT“text1”:VDU3
5.7
is replaced in the Z88 by
5.7
PROCPRINT (“text1”)
5.7
The steps required in this procedure will be found in the Z88 manual.
5.7
Help!
5.7
If these traps are avoided, Z88 to Archimedes transfer becomes straight
forward. The Z88 Dabhand Guide is a useful addition to the Z88 manual
giving more details and examples. After falling into so many traps
myself, I would be happy to try to help any readers still having
problems.
5.7
David Holden can be contacted at 39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London
SE26 5RN.  A
5.7
5.7
Guardians of the Labyrinth
5.7
Gareth Bellaby
5.7
This is a maze game with a degree of similarity to PacMan. The object of
the game is to find the exit from each of the six levels of a dungeon.
In your way, there are a number of special doors which can only be
opened by collecting a set number of shields. A further limitation is
your life energy. You lose energy by moving, opening normal doors or by
crossing the bones of previous explorers, although the amount of energy
lost in this latter case can be decreased by collecting individual bone
pieces. Energy is replenished by eating bowls of fruit and by collecting
the shields. Finally, there are the ubiquitous guardians who, if they
catch you, automatically kill you.
5.7
Guardians of the Labyrinth requires some degree of planning and is quite
fun to play, but play suffers, because the game takes a long time to
initialise. This is especially frustrating as the game has to re-
initialise each time that you die, and you’ll die frequently. Also, the
keyboard does not seem to be very responsive.
5.7
The game starts from the desktop and will return you there without
disrupting any other programs. However, if you have any modules loaded
then you will either have to RMKill them or, if you have enough memory,
change the !Run file so that RMASize sets the relocatable module area to
200k more than your normal setting.
5.7
The game has the feel of a slightly superior Public Domain program, but
its extremely low price (£3.49 including postage, no VAT) reflects this.
(A demo version of this program appears on Shareware 42. Ed.)  A
5.7
5.7
 Paul B
5.7

  Count your blessings!
5.8
Just recently there has been a spate of Acorn-bashing letters coming
into the Archive office. What most of them boil down to is that “Acorn
aren’t producing new hardware and software fast enough”. I have made
room in the magazine for some of these comments but I do think that it’s
time some people started to count their blessings.
5.8
“We want a new, more powerful, cheaper, more colourful, more portable
computers!” they cry. Well, yes, we would all like to see new products
coming out of Fulbourn Road, but how about comparing what is currently
available from Acorn with what is available from other suppliers?
5.8
In terms of DTP (sorry to keep on about it!) the A5000 and A540 knock
spots off the opposition − as I have shown in my DTP booklet. Having
just come back from seeing Acorn’s new CD-ROM package, I can see that
the same is probably true for multi-media, although it is not an area I
know much about. (Are there any multi-media experts out there who could
do some writing for us?)
5.8
As far as I can see, Acorn are making great efforts to maximise the
potential of their existing high-powered computers whilst, of course,
continuing to develop new machines for the future. It’s a matter of
opinion as to how much time and money should be spent on each, but I
wish them well.
5.8
What can we do to help? Well, by all means, let’s tell Acorn what we
would like to see in terms of new computers but let’s also make a real
effort to maximise what we have already got. Let’s find ways of
increasing the effectiveness of our existing processing power. I believe
Archive and its subscribers have an important role to play in this and I
hope you will work with us in building up Acorn’s reputation.
5.8
Sad news
5.8
Those of you who know my father-in-law, Eddie Roberts, will be saddened
to hear that he is seriously ill with cancer in Priscilla Bacon Lodge,
Norwich. Over the years, he has done a tremendous amount of work, behind
the scenes, to help Norwich Computer Services, not least by his faithful
help in sending out the magazines − stuffing and sealing thousands of
envelopes each month. Many of you will have met him at the early Acorn
User Shows. I would just like to say how grateful we are to him for all
he has done for us in the business as well as for us personally.
5.8
We are very grateful, too, for the concern, prayers and support that
many people have shown us at this difficult time. I hope that these
difficulties won’t, in any way, spoil the service we give at Norwich
Computer Services but if it does, I trust you will bear with us.
5.8
With very best wishes,
5.8
5.8
Products Available
5.8
•    A5000 CD-ROM offer − Acorn are offering to education (yes, education,
only, I’m afraid) a “complete A5000 CD-ROM system” for £1799 +VAT. This
consists of an A5000 (not Learning Curve), 40M IDE, 4M ram (not 2M),
Acorn multisync monitor, Cumana CD-ROM drive and SCSI interface, a pair
of mains powered stereo speakers, seven CD-ROM discs (Hutchinson
Encyclopedia, Revelation 2, Space Encyclopedia, Times and Sunday Times
Sampler, Illustrated Holy Bible, Illustrated Works of Shakespeare,
Sherlock Holmes), PC Emulator 1.8, !CD Player to play audio CDs, Cumana
SCSI utilities, ChangeFSI, three CD caddies, mouse mat, Access to Cumana
CD-ROM hotline, £25-off voucher for a year’s subscription to NERIS, £30
voucher for a year’s subscription to The Times and Sunday Times CD
(RISC-OS version). This package will be available through Archive. (An
A3000 upgrade version to add on to an existing A3000 is said to be
“available 1 July” and will be £599 +VAT.)
5.8
I have been down to Acorn to look at this system and it looks very
exciting, especially when you compare it to the offerings for Mac, PC
and Nimbus, etc. It seems to be another area, like DTP, where Acorn
could shine because of the high power/price ratio of the A5000. We
really need someone to write something for Archive about it. The trouble
is that, unlike DTP, I make no claim to be an expert on it. Any offers?
Ed.
5.8
•    Archimedes Open Day − The University of Sussex is having an Open Day
on 2nd July to demonstrate the use of the Archimedes in the teaching of
Mathematics and Statistics. Contact Dr D.R.Robinson on 0273−606755 for
details.
5.8
•    Base5 programs − There are now two more programs to add to the Base5
database management system. They are AdMaths which is an advanced
mathematics and statistics package and Mailmerge which is a flexible
mailmerge system allowing the merging of information from different
databases. The prices are £25 and £10 respectively but there is no VAT
payable on them. (Base5 itself costs £69.)
5.8
•    Cheap A540’s − We can still get hold of a few of the cheap (but brand
new) A540’s that we mentioned last month. They will be £1925 inc VAT and
carriage each. (Beebug still have three available, they tell me, at
£1875 − yer pays yer money...) We also have a couple of ex-demonstration
A540’s. These have been reconditioned and have a full 12 months’
warranty. These cost £1725 inclusive.
5.8
•    Chameleon upgrade − 4mation have produced a new version of Chameleon
which has “lots of new features including fountain fills”. The new price
is £37.50 +VAT (or £41 through Archive) and the old program is no longer
available. The upgrade from the old version is £12.50 +VAT but is only
available direct from 4mation.
5.8
•    ClearView − A new hypertext application is available from DEC_dATA. It
allows you to display, search, cross-reference and print text files. The
application costs only £10. There are two ClearView files available −
Columbus’ First Voyage (£6.95) aimed at primary and lower secondary and
Scientists and Inventors (£8.95) which contains the biographies of over
300 scientists and inventors. There is also a version of ClearView that
allows you to compile your own files. This costs £50 from DEC_dATA.
5.8
•    Clipart − Primary Education Services are producing large amounts of
clip art on a whole range of subjects aimed especially at primary
education but useful for anyone interested in the particular subject.
The discs are £5 each (+ VAT) or £4.50 each if you order 4 or more discs
at once. Add £1.50 for postage and packing. The subjects currently
available are as follows (most are single discs but those which are two-
disc sets are marked with a super-scripted 2): Pets, Farm Animals,
Wildcats, Birds of Prey, Pond Life2, The Body, The Circulatory System,
The Human Skeleton, Man in Space, Leicestershire2, Sikhism, Mecca and
Medina, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Christmas, The Romans, The Vikings and
The Greeks.
5.8
•    Colour scanning and printing − BirdTech are offering services of
colour scanning using a Sharp JX100, laser printing using a Laser Direct
600 d.p.i. and colour printing using a Deskjet 500C.
5.8
(The leaflet that BirdTech sent us was very impressive − it was in
colour but it was crystal clear, laser quality. The technique used is
simple but very effective. The coloured parts − a big bold title and a
logo − were printed on the DJ500C and the main text was printed
separately on the laser printer. The overall effect made you think it
was done on a colour laser printer. It wasn’t until you looked carefully
at the colour parts that you realised they were not such high quality as
the main text.)
5.8
•    Datapower − SterrySoft has produced a new database for schools use.
Its capacity is 960 records with up to 24 fields. It uses a 24 field by
24 record spreadsheet type display and has a range of editing and
reporting facilities. The cost is £29.95 (no VAT).
5.8
•    Desktop Thesaurus − Risc Developments have produced a desktop
thesaurus which is fully RISC-OS compliant. You can type in the word you
want to check or you can “save” it from an editor or DTP package into
the thesaurus window and it will offer you various alternatives. £19
+VAT from Risc Developments.
5.8
•    Diction is a RISC-OS compliant dictionary program from New Era
Software. It has a 6,000+ word dictionary and costs £15 (no VAT) from
New Era. This price includes a site licence.
5.8
•    Dictionaries for German, French and Spanish − New Era Software have
produced fully defined G.C.S.E. dictionaries in three European langu
ages. These are RISC-OS compliant programs and costing £25 each (no VAT)
from New Era. This price includes a site licence.
5.8
•    Digitising tablet − Techsoft have just produced a new digitising
tablet with a 12“ × 12” active area. It comes with both a stylus for
freehand work and a puck-type pointer with cross-hairs for accurate
work. The software is a sophisticated mouse emulation program so that
the tablet can be used with any applications software. The price is £175
+VAT.
5.8
•    Eizo F550i − Eizo UK have just produced another new monitor that looks
as if it might be a replacement for the now discontinued 9070. It is the
F550i. The basic facts are: 17“, 0·28mm dot pitch, flat screen (but not
Trinitron), microprocessor controlled, Archive price £890 inc VAT &
carriage. It will need a VIDC enhancer (£28) if used with A300/400/3000
computers or an enhancer modes disc (£5) if used with A540 or A5000. I
am using one at the moment and am extremely pleased with it, especially
the microprocessor control which makes it much easier to use when
changing from mode to mode. Once set up in the different modes that you
use, there is no need to make any adjustments to the size, position or
shape of the display. The display is so clear that I can display the
whole of the double page spread of this magazine and still see the words
clearly enough to edit the text − well, not clearly enough to want to do
a lot of editing at that magnification, but it is possible which it
certainly wasn’t on the 9060 or the 9070.
5.8
We also stock the Eizo T560i which is 17“ but 0.25 mm dot pitch and uses
a Trinitron tube. The members’ price is £1240. Putting the two side by
side, it seems to have exactly the same resolution as the F550i but the
T560i’s colours are much more saturated and there is a much greater
range of brightness available.
5.8
•    Floptical drives − Morley Electronics are the first company (to the
best of our knowledge) to implement the new floptical drives on the
Archimedes. These are very high density (20M) floppy drives that use
optical techniques to give accurate enough tracking to achieve the high
packing density. The same drives will also read, write and format 720k
and 1.44M floppy discs. This is an advantage to non-A5000 owners as it
adds 1.44M to the list of disc formats they can read. Morley are working
on the suppliers of the flopticals in order to get information that will
allow them to write software to read and write all the Acorn formats.
The flopticals could then be used as a replacement for a standard floppy
drive.
5.8
The drives are available now and sell at Archive prices of £625 for the
external drive, £475 for the internal (which can also be fitted by a
dealer or a competent DIYer into an A5000 as a second drive), £685 for
an external drive plus a podule and £570 for an internal drive plus a
podule. Each drive comes with one floptical disc. Extra discs cost £35
each or £165 for a set of 5. These are SCSI devices, so IDE owners will
need to buy a separate SCSI podule.
5.8
Owners of existing Morley SCSI podules need a software update which can
be obtained from Morley for £10 +VAT. Owners of other SCSI podules will
have to replace their card with a Morley one because you cannot have two
SCSI podules in a computer at once and none of the other podules, as
yet, will support the flopticals. (We have asked Oak Solutions about the
situation but have not, as yet, had any response. Lindis UK say that
they do not, currently, have any plans to write suitable software so
that they can be run from their SCSI interfaces. Acorn are, I would
guess, unlikely to extend their SCSI software to include flopticals.) We
hope to have a floptical drive for testing purposes in the next few
days, so we will give further reports next month.
5.8
•    G-Draft − is a 2D CAD program which can output to HPGL plotters or dot
matrix printers via files in Draw format that are passed to the RISC-OS
printer driver. It is fully RISC-OS compliant and offers a range of
features including automatic dimensioning, 8 layer drawings, HPGL input,
symbols can be input from or output to disk libraries, etc. The price is
£80 excluding VAT but including postage from G-Soft in Germany.
5.8
•    Graphics & font packs − Logan Interactive have produced a series of
fonts and graphics packs: Bullets (highlighting symbols) £8.95, Liner
(family of 4 fonts) £24.95, Sunshine (decorative font) £8.95, Railway
mapping symbols (2 fonts + graphics) £24.95, Transport 1 (transport
pictograms − 1 font + graphics) £16.95 and Transport 2 (route diagram
symbols − 1 font + graphics) £16.95. Here is a sample of Transport 1: a
f  g  h  m  y .
5.8
•    Inkjet refills and cheap inkjet cartridges are available from a
company called HCS (not HCCS of Acorn fame) on 0800−252−252.
5.8
•    Interacter 1.60 − The Fortran user interface/graphic subroutine
library, Interacter is available from Interactive Software Services. It
is a subroutine library which allows menus, forms, text windows and high
resolution graphics to be added to Fortran software in a system
independent manner. It is available for RISC-OS, RISC-iX, DOS, DEC VAX/
VMS, PRIMOS and various other Unix systems. The RISC-iX version costs
£950 +VAT for a two-developer licence (or £570 +VAT for education). A
single user RISC-OS licence costs £195 +VAT (£146.25 +VAT for
education).
5.8
•    MicroDrive World Edition − Cambridge International Software have
produced a version of their well-established 3D golf simulator with
seven courses covering English parkland, Spanish riviera, US lakeside,
US pine forest, Caribbean, Scottish links and Portuguese coastal. £29.95
from CIS or £27 through Archive.
5.8
•    National Curriculum Planner and Database − New Era Software have
produced a database and a planner for those having to plough their way
through the administration involved with the National Curriculum.
NCPlanner is aimed at the task of recording National Curriculum
assessments and NCBase is used to generate progress charts. The two
programs together cost £25 or £40 inclusive of site licence and
automatic upgrades.
5.8
•    PinPoint upgrade − Longman Logotron have issued an upgrade to their
PinPoint database. The extra facilities, including horizontal bar and
line charts and extra options for many of the existing features, is free
of charge to existing owners. All registered users of PinPoint should
have received their free upgrades by the end of April.
5.8
•    Precision is a RISC-OS compliant reading program produced by New Era
Software and aimed at special needs students. It has facilities for
learning, testing and recording and uses a limited number of selected
words. You can also include pictures if you wish and it costs £20 (no
VAT) from New Era including a site licence.
5.8
•    PrimeArt upgrade − PrimeArt from Minerva will now work in mode 21 and
has new features including support for concept keyboards, sticky menus
and brush latching. The upgrade costs £10 +VAT from Minerva. The
PrimeArt package is £79.95 +VAT or £87 through Archive including a
primary or special needs site licence.
5.8
•    PrimeArt display kit − Minerva now produce a program to allow you to
create a rolling demo of PrimeArt pictures just by dropping the files
into a directory. The price is £12 +VAT from Minerva.
5.8
•    Science control software and hardware − SterrySoft produces a control
box (£19.95) and three applications packages (£9.95 each). The control
box connects up to an analogue port (not standard on Archimedes but
available as an add-on podule) and provides inputs that can be used for
temperature sensors, pendulum recording and car-on-ramp type
experiments.
5.8
•    !SFXM − This is Cambridge International Software’s new sound effects
maker. In software, you combine oscillators, noise generators, envelope
generators, pulse generators, low-pass and high-pass filters, multi
pliers, sample and hold, variable delays, echo and reverb, etc to create
interesting new sounds. Apart from the fun aspect and applications where
sound effects are needed, I can see this being used in education as a
way of investigating the effects of some of the fundamental components
such as filters, delays, etc. The price is £39.95 from CIS or £37 from
Archive.
5.8
•    Supermarket is a RISC-OS compliant program produced by New Era
Software and aimed at special needs students. It is a simple simulation
of a supermarket and comes in five different languages under the names
Supermarket, Archfarchnad, Supermarkt, Supermarché and Supermercado. The
programs are £10 each from New Era (no VAT) including a site licence but
if you buy more than one at a time, the first one costs £10 and extra
languages are then £8 each.
5.8
•    Swiv − Krisalis have ported their Atari/Amiga etc game, Swiv, onto the
Archimedes. Fly a helicopter gunship or drive an armoured jeep and...
...well, blow everybody up, I suppose! The cost is £25.95 or £24 through
Archive.
5.8
•    Tapestry software − SterrySoft has produced a program that will allow
you to design tapestry on a 50 × 40 grid in 8 colours with two styles of
stitch. Designs can be saved for later use and colour printed. The cost
is £9.95 (no VAT).
5.8
•    Virus watch − Pineapple Software have introduced a new service for all
Archimedes owners to combat the growing threat of viruses. The service
will operate as follows:
5.8
1)  On payment of a small annual registration fee (£24 + VAT), customers
will receive a disc containing details of all known Archimedes viruses
together with software developed under licence from Acorn Computers
Limited, which will render all of the known viruses ineffective. Further
discs will be sent out to customers during the year as more viruses
become known and, in the case of any particularly damaging virus, an
immediate innoculation disc will be sent to all customers.
5.8
2)  Pineapple will act as a central point for collecting information
about new viruses. Any Archimedes users who suspect they have suffered
the effects of a new virus (i.e. one that is not cured by Pineapple’s
latest release of software) should send full details to Pineapple.
5.8
3)  In extreme circumstances (if all else fails!), they will offer an
‘on site’ cure to customers, although the cost of this will have to be
arranged on an  individual basis.
5.8
Pineapple would like to stress that they are not trying to make a profit
out of the warped pleasure that some people seem to get from creating
these viruses − hence the charge which, it is estimated, will just about
cover the running of the service.
5.8
Unfortunately, judging from the experiences of PC users, viruses are
here to stay but Pineapple think they may at least be able to help
control the problem even though it is unlikely that it can ever be
completely eliminated.
5.8
Review software received...
5.8
We have received review copies of the following: Aliped, ClearView +
Columbus (hypertext file), Control Logo, Creator, Minerva Business
Accounts, Newton, Pirate (educational), Primary Education Services Clip
Art, SFXM, Starch, Split an Image, Transport 1.  A
5.8
5.8
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.8
Being a Christian doesn’t mean that you are immune from the trials and
tribulations of life. What it does mean, however, is that even when
things don’t go according to (man’s) plan you can still experience a
real sense of peace and security. If you know that God is, ultimately,
in control and that He knows what is best for each one of us, it gives
you strength to face almost anything.
5.8
God is in the business of transforming suffering. He takes what is,
seemingly, evil and brings good things out of it. The supreme example of
this is that Jesus, who was willing to do things God’s way, was prepared
to suffer and die because He knew that through it He would bring new
life to his followers. Jesus did die but death could not hold him and He
is alive, today! Hallelujah!!
5.8
5.8
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
5.8
5.8
4mation     11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon  EX32
8PA. (0271−25353) (22974)
5.8
Abacus Training     29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts  SN2
6QA.
5.8
Acorn Computers Ltd     Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge  CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (0223−210685)
5.8
Ace Computing (p6)    27 Victoria
Road, Cambridge  CB4 3BW. (0223−322559) (69180)
5.8
Apricote Studios (p30)    2 Purls
Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire  PE15 0ND. (035−478−432)
5.8
Base5     PO Box 378, Woking, Surrey GU21 4DF.
5.8
BirdTech     16 Weynor Gardens, Kelling, Holt, Norfolk  NR25 7EQ.
(0263−7066)
5.8
Cambridge International Software    Unit 2a,
Essex Road, London  N1 3QP. (071−226−3340) (071−226−3408)
5.8
Colton Software (p16)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge  CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (0223−312010)
5.8
Computer Concepts (p40/41)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts  HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (0442−231632)
5.8
Database Publications    Europa
House, Adlington Park, London Road, Adlington, Macclesfield, Cheshire
SK10 5NP. (0625−859444) (879966)
5.8
DEC_dATA     60 Danes Road, Exeter EX4 4LS. (0392−221702)
5.8
Domark    Ferry House 51−57 Lacy Road, London SW15 1PR. (081−780−2222)
5.8
Gnome Computers Ltd    25a
Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire PE19 1BG. (0480−406164)
5.8
HS Software    56, Hendrefolian Avenue, Sketty, Swansea  SA2 7NB.
(0792−204519)
5.8
Hybrid Technology    88 Butt Lane, Milton, Cambridge  CB4 6DG.
(0223−861522)
5.8
Ian Copestake Software (p24)    1 Kington
Road, West Kirby, Wirral  L48 5ET. (051−625−1006) (1007)
5.8
Krisalis Software    Teque House, Mason’s Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate,
Rotherham  S60 2HD. (0709−372290)
5.8
Logan Interactive Ltd    2 Frances
Street, Langholm, Dumfriesshire  DG13 0BQ.
5.8
Longman-Logotron     124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4
4ZS. (0223−425558) (425349)
5.8
LOOKsystems (p10)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich  NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (764011)
5.8
Minerva Systems     Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter  EX1 1TL.
(0392−437756) (421762)
5.8
Morley Electronics     Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear  NE29 7TY. (091−257−6355)
(6373)
5.8
New Era Software    204 High Street, Woodville, Swadlincote, Derbyshire
DE11 7DT. (0283−812818)
5.8
Oak Solutions (p46)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274−620423) (620419)
5.8
Pineapple Software    39 Brownlea
Gardens, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex IG3 9NL. (081−599−1476)
5.8
Ray Maidstone (p23)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich  NR3 4EH. (0603−400477) (417447)
5.8
Risc Developments Ltd (p12)    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts  AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (60263)
5.8
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666−840433) (840048)
5.8
Simis Ltd    Headley House, Headley Road, Grayshott, Surrey  GU26 6TU.
(0428−605833) (607791)
5.8
Spacetech (p45)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset  DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.8
SterrySoft     4 Sterry Close, Clowne, Derbyshire  S43 4BN. (0246−811128
evenings)
5.8
Techsoft UK Ltd    Old School Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd  CH7 4DA.
(082−43318)
5.8
Triple Archimedes     P.O. Box
4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661)
5.8
Turing Tools (p11)    149 Campbell
Road, Cowley, Oxford  OX4 3NX. (0865−775059)
5.8
Wild Vision    15 Witney Way, Boldon Colliery, Tyne & Wear  NE35 9PE.
(091−519−1455)
5.8
5.8
Computer Concepts
5.8
From 5.3 page 32
5.8
5.8
Computer Concepts
5.8
From 5.3 page 33
5.8
5.8
Ace
5.8
new artwork
5.8
5.8
Hints and Tips
5.8
•    A5000 filing system problems − There have been more comments about
problems with losing files on the A5000. We suggested last month that
you take Acorn’s advice and configure the ADFSbuffers to zero. In the
light of further experience, we would suggest it even more strongly.
This problem occurred with Impression but we have had reports that it
also happens with other software. You have been warned. Ed.
5.8
David Pilling adds... In the last Archive, you had a piece from someone
saying that it is necessary to *configure ADFSBuffers 0 to make Acorn
DTP and Impression work properly. The official line according to Beebug,
is that unless A5000’s are configured like this, they will corrupt their
hard discs sooner or later. There are well documented cases of this
occurring. In addition, many programs, ArcFS and the Beebug hard disc
backup for example, won’t work unless ADFSbuffers are set to zero.
5.8
It is also common advice to load the SerialUtils module before attempt
ing to use comms programs. The naive point of view is that SerialUtils
does something clever that allows buffers to work. That is not so,
SerialUtils actually prevents buffers from doing anything. It is
therefore much more efficient to stop your comms program from loading
any buffer and not bother with SerialUtils. SerialUtils will apparently
also prevent things like printer buffers from working.
5.8
New versions of Hearsay cope with all this automatically and there is a
version that uses the buffer manager built into RISC-OS 3. However, we
are still having discussions with Acorn over whether this works properly
in RISC-OS 3 as fitted to the A5000.  David Pilling, Blackpool.
5.8
•    A5000 second floppy drive − In Archive 5.6 p12, it said that if you
were putting an external 5¼“ drive onto an A5000 it should be connected
into the middle socket of the three. That is not correct. It should go
into the one farthest East. The internal drive goes in the middle one.
The other point to note is that it said the external drive can be set to
ID zero or one. That it true but it should perhaps should have been
spelt out more clearly that it should NOT be set to either two or three.
If it is, it will not work properly. Ed.
5.8
•    Adjust clicking (RISC-OS 3) − Most people will, by now, have cottoned
on to the idea that clicking open a directory with <adjust> closes the
parent directory viewer and that clicking the close button with <adjust>
opens up the parent. One extension of this on RISC-OS 3 is that clicking
the close button with <adjust> while holding down <shift> doesn’t
actually close the window but does open up the parent directory.
5.8
•    Directory date stamps − When copying a directory and its contents, the
destination directory is created with the current date stamp, as opposed
to being created and then stamped with the date of the source object.
(Looking through the PRM I haven’t been able to find a way of stamping a
file to a date other than that held in the real time clock.)
5.8
In the case of application directories, the application directory’s date
stamp appears to be copied through, but on closer inspection this is not
so. The application directory is created with the current date stamp (as
for normal directories) however, the date which the filer presents the
user (for the date of the application directory) is actually the date
stamp of the !RunImage file.
5.8
RISC-OS 3 automatically detects an attempt to move from one directory to
another on the same media, and performs a Rename operation instead of a
copy, whereby the date is retained. (Possibly, RISC-OS 3 also has a
facility for stamping a filer object with a specified date, although I
will not know about this until the RISC-OS PRM is released!)  D
Lenthall, London.
5.8
•    Exiting the desktop (RISC-OS 3) − With RISC-OS 2, you could set up an
obey that would exit the desktop by making the last line:
5.8
FX 138,0,252
5.8
and as long as no text was output by the obey file, the desktop would be
exited. The same can be done with RISC-OS 3 by placing the above line in
the obey file twice. It also works with the keys, press <shift−ctrl−F12>
twice and the desktop is exited. Also when <shift−ctrl−F12> has been
pressed F12 (*Commands) and <ctrl−F12> (Task Window) still work!
Warning: If you do use this then the ADFS will be reset, losing the
current directory.  P Bedford, Peterborough.
5.8
•    Extra validation flags − With RISC-OS 3, a number of new validation
flags are available for when you are designing window templates. So far
I have found the following:
5.8
Border Flags − these require the border flag to be set on and give an
icon a 3D border similar to Impression’s, they all begin with a B (or b)
and are followed by a number to give the border type:
5.8
0    Single raised border.
5.8
1    Double border for grouping.
5.8
2    Triple border for default action icons.
5.8
3    Triple border for writable icons.
5.8
4    Single recessed border.
5.8
5    Standard single line border.
5.8
6    Triple recessed border similar to type 3.
5.8
Border type 0 and 3 can be followed by a comma and then a number between
0 and 15 to define the colour to slab to.
5.8
Pointer definition − you can define an icon so that the pointer changes
shape when over the icon. This is done by placing a P (or p) in the
validation string followed by the name of the sprite containing the
pointer shape. Try sprite ptr_double.
5.8
Many others may be available with other parameters for the above options
but until the RISC-OS 3 Programmers’ Reference Manual is available we
won’t really know. Most of the above is available in RISC-OS 2 by using
the Interface module by Simon Huntington.  P Bedford, Peterborough.
5.8
•    Iconised windows with Impression (RISC-OS 3) − If you want to
distinguish Impression documents that have had their windows iconised,
generate an icon called ‘ic_impressio’ and place it in the !Sprites file
in the !Impress directory. Mine is the Impression quill & pot in a
window (ic_?).  P Bedford, Peterborough.
5.8
•    Menon hotkey − If you use Menon’s hotkey facility, a problem can arise
in that it may not work if you have a window open that contains the
caret (e.g. Impression). However, it will work if you hold the alt key
down at the same time as the hotkey i.e. <alt-ctrl-H>. P Bedford,
Peterborough.
5.8
•    Oak drives with Acorn SCSI card − If you are using an Oak drive with
an Acorn SCSI card (e.g. if you own an A540), you may find that you are
unable to dismount the drive and that you get a ‘Bad parameters’ error.
5.8
Hard drives that are formatted using an Oak SCSI card include additional
information in the boot block which the Acorn card objects to. To solve
these problems (especially annoying with removable hard drives!), you
will have to format the disc with Acorn’s SCSIDM.
5.8
Unfortunately, it is not that simple. When the desktop is started up,
the Acorn card looks at all of the drives that are available. Once it
sees an ‘incorrectly’ formatted Oak disc, it will not allow SCSIDM to
access the drive. This means that you will have to start up outside of
the desktop in order to format the disc. This can be done by typing
*Configure Language 0 <return> from the command line and then pressing
<ctrl-break>.
5.8
Once this has been done, you can format your drive in the usual way −
see pages 11-12 of the SCSI Expansion Card User Guide.
5.8
To start up in the desktop again, simply type *Configure Language 4
<return> from the command line and then press <ctrl-break>.  Adrian
Look, N.C.S.
5.8
•    PC file transfer revisited − When transferring text files from PC to
the Archimedes (or vice versa), it is necessary to convert the carriage
returns (CRs) to line feeds (LFs) and vice versa. This can be done using
the search and replace facility of Edit, but it is much quicker just to
use the in-built transfer ‘CR<->LF’ which is available from the ‘Edit’
submenu or to press <F8>.  G Riley, Cheshire.
5.8
•    PC screen fonts revisited − In Archive 4.12 p10 there was a hint that
explained how to change the screen font of the PC Emulator to any BBC
screen font. Since then, the program has been updated to include EGA+
and ECD definitions.
5.8
The EGAROM looks to contain two sets of character definitions: EGA+ 16×8
cells and ECD 14×8 cells, as opposed to the ROM file which (amongst
other things) contains the 8×8 cells used in the other modes. The
following program will convert these character sets for EGA+ and ECD
modes in a similar manner to my previous program:
5.8
REM >EGAFONT
5.8
REM Merge BBC FONT file into !PC EGAROM file
5.8
REM NB. *** COPY ORIGINAL EGAROM FILE BEFORE RUNNING THIS ***
5.8
:
5.8
ON ERROR REPORT:PRINT“ at line ”;ERL :CLOSE#0:END
5.8
DIM rom% &2000,C%(7)
5.8
R$=“:4.!PCEM.EGAROM”
5.8
OSCLI(“*LOAD ”+R$+“ ”+STR$~rom%)
5.8
:
5.8
F%=OPENIN(“:4.BBCFONTS.NEWFONT”):REM File of type &FF7
5.8
:
5.8
REPEAT
5.8
A%=BGET#F%
5.8
IFA%<>23THENPRINT“This is not a BBC font file!”:END
5.8
O%=BGET#F%:PRINT“Char &”;~O%;“ ”;: VDU23,255
5.8
REM  EGA+ chars 16x8 − double horiz. thickness
5.8
P%=O%*16
5.8
FORI%=0TO7
5.8
C%(I%)=BGET#F%:C%=C%(I%):VDUC%
5.8
REM − assemble 8x8 char array
5.8
rom%?(P%+2*I%)=C%
5.8
rom%?(P%+2*I%+1)=C%
5.8
NEXT
5.8
VDU255:PRINT
5.8
REM  ECD chars 14x8 − blank first and last three rows
5.8
P%=&1000+O%*14
5.8
rom%?(P%+0)=0:rom%?(P%+1)=0
5.8
rom%?(P%+2)=0
5.8
FOR I%=0TO7:rom%?(P%+3+I%)=C%(I%): NEXT
5.8
rom%?(P%+11)=0:rom%?(P%+12)=0
5.8
rom%?(P%+13)=0
5.8
UNTIL EOF#F%
5.8
CLOSE#0
5.8
:
5.8
OSCLI(“*SAVE ”+R$+“ ”+STR$~rom%+
5.8
“ + 2000”)
5.8
END
5.8
This program has been tested in both modes by squeezing every last byte
out of my A3000 and through the use of the PD multisync ‘emulator’ − I
could just about stand the flickering! The ECD characters are a little
smaller due to the difficulty in mapping the default 8 onto 14 rows,
however, it does result in greater line spacing and arguably improves
readability.
5.8
Finally, I suppose that if anyone needs to redefine the MDA1 outline
font (has anyone found anything which uses the MDA mode?), they could
use !FontEd or a similar application to change the font name of their
preferred outline font to MDA1. The MDA0 font would appear to contain
definitions for the ‘additional’ IBM character set and, as such, is less
likely to require redefinition.  P Bready, Glasgow.
5.8
•    Printer buffers − RISC-OS 3 provides a configurable printer buffer.
Use the command:
5.8
*Configure PrinterBufferSize <n>K
5.8
to set the buffer size to <n> K in length. This does not seem to be used
by the RISC-OS 3 printer drivers but is used outside the desktop
environment. To check the buffer has been configured, perform a <ctrl-
reset> after the configure command, go into Basic and type:
5.8
PRINT ADVAL(-4)
5.8
the result will be the size of your printer buffer.  P Bedford,
Peterborough.
5.8
•    Translator tips − Translator can easily be used to convert a sprite
from one screen mode to another. From the Translator menu, simply
deselect the ‘Pop up > Auto mode’ option, and then select the ‘Process >
Sprite output > Output mode > Current’. Select the desktop mode for the
output sprite and drag the sprite to be converted onto the Translator
icon. Finally, save the converted sprite from ‘Misc > Save > Full’
option.
5.8
When printing foreign graphics files on a monochrome printer, better
results can be obtained by selecting the ‘Black and white’ option from
the Translator menu i.e. the sprite is converted into 256 grey scales.
(I think this is because there is less distortion of the colours than
when fitting the sprite to the 256 desktop colours available and then
the printer driver using ColourTrans to convert them to monochrome
information.) C Paul, Manchester.
5.8
•    Waiter and MultiFS clash − You can’t run The Data Store’s Waiter with
the version of MultiFS that comes with the new PC Emulator. You must
quit Waiter before running MultiFS.  J Thompson.
5.8
•    Window bug (RISC-OS 3) − There is a bug in the windows redraw routine.
If you use !FormEd to define a window with a vertical scroll bar, no
horizontal scroll bar and no size icon, then turn on the horizontal
scroll bar, being careful not to cover where the size icon would be with
the menu, you will see that no box is redrawn in the area where the size
icon should be. If you drag other windows over this window the result is
a mess in the area where the size icon should be. As this example shows,
the result is not as expected.  P Bedford, Peterborough.
5.8
•    Window movement (RISC-OS 3) − If you use <adjust> in the scroll bar
areas to provide reverse movement, you may find useful the facility for
complete window scrolling. If you click adjust and hold on either slider
bar, the pointer vanishes and if you move the mouse, the window is
scrolled in the same direction. This only works if both scroll bars are
on a window.  P Bedford, Peterborough.  A
5.8
5.8
Turing Tools
5.8
New artwork
5.8
5.8
Risc Developments
5.8
From 5.5 page 8
5.8
5.8
Comment Column
5.8
•    Base5 − Thank you for the very fair and positive review of Base5 last
month. Mr Wears mentioned some problems that caused his machine to
crash. The version he was using for the review was a pre-release version
produced in October 1991. The current version does not, as far as I am
aware, suffer from the same problems. I am also pleased to say that
there are two more programs available for use with Base5 − AdMaths and
MailMerge − and more are under development.  Mike Logan, Base5, Woking.
(See Products Available for more details. Ed.)
5.8
•    Virtual memory − With the arrival of RISC-OS 3, I would have expected
some kind of virtual memory system. I expected this because even MS-
Windows and Unix support a form of virtual memory (VM). Unfortunately
RISC-OS 3 does not do so.
5.8
On the monthly program disc, you will find a demo application called
!VMM − which demonstrates the use of a virtual memory manager (VMM) −
and two Basic programs. ‘PrimeSieve’ is a program which counts the
number of primes between 0 and a given top limit. The highest possible
top limit that can be entered is restricted to the amount of free RAM
allocated to Basic at run-time. ‘VM-Sieve’ is basically the same as
‘PrimeSieve’ but instead of using RAM it uses virtual memory. The
conversion wasn’t done optimally and the program could be made to run
faster and more efficiently. The purpose was to demonstrate the VMM in
action.
5.8
VM can be seen as the ultimate low-cost memory expansion. The size of
the VM is only restricted by the amount of free space on a given filing
system. The problem with this VMM is that it requires other applications
to support it. When the VMM is installed on your system, you do not gain
extra memory automatically. Only applications specifically written for
this manager can use VM.
5.8
Ideally, VM should be supported by the Task Manager. If the VMM is under
Wimp-control, applications and application workspace can be swapped in
and out of RAM when needed. Secondly, applications that require extra
memory can then create their own blocks of VM.
5.8
As it stands, the VMM is not complete. It could be enhanced greatly with
cache-techniques, multi-page swapping, etc, building on and improving
the techniques used by UNIX and MS-Windows. I discussed this with F van
de Pol (who ported Berkeley’s Spice to the Archimedes desktop) and he
agreed that this project has great potential.
5.8
The reason why I tell you all this may be clear. The VMM is worth not a
penny if it is not:
5.8
a) supported by some major software houses/applications  OR
5.8
b)    (even better) part of the Task Manager.
5.8
Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the resources to exploit the
vast potential of this idea. I am hoping that Acorn will consider this
seriously and agree that it ought to be developed further.  Maurice
Hendrix, Holland.
5.8
•    Whither Acorn? − Mike Cook of Micro User fame writes... As I have had
at least one article published in every edition of The Micro User, I
feel that my dedication to Acorn’s computers is beyond question.
Unfortunately, I do feel that over the last year or so Acorn have lost
their way. It is now over five years since the RISC machine was launched
− in fact, at that time, the model B was as old as the A310 is now! I
feel that the RISC machines have failed to develop sufficiently, the
major fault being that the designers are locked into the same chip set.
The major failing concerns the computer display and here I have found
that several Archive readers have got their definitions wrong.
5.8
All Acorn’s RISC machines have four bit colour, that is, four bits
define the colour you see. There are 24 palette registers or 16 of them.
There is a trick done in the hardware that allows 256 colours to be
displayed at one time but this does not make it an 8 bit colour machine.
I read many calls for 24 bit colour capability, but Acorn must first
provide an 8 bit capability. By this I, and the rest of the world, mean
that each colour in the 256 colour modes is definable by an 8 bit value
in the red, green and blue. This is not 24 bit colour! A true definition
of 24 bit colour is where each pixel is represented by three bytes and
you can display as many of the available 224 colours as will fit on the
screen. In short, 8 bit colour uses a definable palette whereas 24 bit
colour uses no palette.
5.8
Without 8 bit colour, Acorn’s machines are becoming less and less viable
for real applications. True, 24 bit colour would be an advantage but
can’t replace an 8 bit system as 24 bit colour uses no look up table.
Unfortunately, using 8 bit colour in a desktop environment needs much
more software support than Acorn are prepared to offer. I think the
problem lies in that Acorn’s developers are more interested in the raw
computing power than they are in making computers that people want to
use.  Mike Cook, “Micro User”.
5.8
It is nice that Mike feels able to use Archive to air his views. I
presume he considers Archive a more appropriate forum for “discussing
Acorn” than Micro User!
5.8
Anyway, it will be interesting to see what other Archimedes users think,
but I would strongly challenge Mike’s suggestion that Acorn’s computers
are “less and less viable for real applications”. What “real
applications” do you want to do that could be done more effectively with
true 8 bit colour?
5.8
On the DTP front, the colour capabilities are perfectly adequate for 99%
of user’s applications and, as we have shown quite clearly in our
booklet, you can do DTP more cheaply and effectively on Acorn machines
than on any other computer currently available. Yes, it would be “nice”
to have 8 or 24 bit colour − you could show off how colourful your
machine was − but would it be more effective for “real” jobs? No, I
think it would be less effective because it would be somewhat more
expensive and/or not as fast as existing machines. Ed.  A
5.8
5.8
The DTP Column
5.8
Neil Whiteley-Bolton
5.8
“Groetjes” from the Netherlands! For my part I intend dealing mainly
with professional DTP issues and will endeavour to answer any queries
readers may have regarding image-setting, PostScript and scanning. Until
such time as I receive specific requests for information, or articles, I
will concentrate on those topics which I have learned about the hard
way!
5.8
News and Views
5.8
•    Acorn versus Mac − I started writing this article just after receiving
a draft of Paul’s guide “Desktop Publishing using Acorn Computer
Systems” and I endorse Paul’s belief that the Acorn machines, with the
right software, can successfully compete with well established Mac-based
systems. Most of the work I do is in colour – the particular area where
comparisons with “Mac” based systems show the Archimedes and associated
DTP software at its weakest. The Archimedes’ limitations are in two
specific areas:
5.8
It is not possible to display more than 256 colours simultaneously on
screen, making accurate onscreen “presentations” difficult, if not
impossible, to realise and image processing a nightmare.
5.8
More importantly, at least as far as professional DTP is concerned, the
Acorn PostScript printer driver does not support any of the TIFF or EPS
file formats – so it is impossible to produce PostScript output from
high quality colour scanned images.
5.8
Both of these problem areas are receiving attention. Acorn now seem to
be paying more attention to the needs of professional users and are
working hard to improve the graphics performance of the machine
although, realistically, we are unlikely to see high resolution 24 bit
colour from Acorn until the launch of a machine based on a new ARM chip
(around 18 months from now? − Yes, that would be my guess, too. Ed.).
Meanwhile a UK based company, Simis, is working on a “Hi-Res” board for
the Archimedes which will not only provide high screen resolution
(1280 × 1024 pixels) and 24 bit colour under the desktop, but will free
the main CPU from video processing – providing a performance improvement
of around 40% when compared with a standard ARM2 machine working in high
resolution screen modes. I believe the hardware is ready, with the
software development (a rewrite of large chunks of the operating system
is necessary) well underway. Price is expected to be around £1,500 –
contact Simis on 0483−233048.
5.8
The PostScript problem will vanish following the launch of Artworks,
which CC will be shipping with a new PostScript printer driver capable
of handling all of the file types recognised by Artworks. Future
releases of Impression will allow TIFF, EPS and/or Acorn’s proprietary
format files (if they ever get round to defining one) to be ‘tagged’ to
Impression documents.
5.8
Nevertheless, I feel strongly that the current limitations need not be
an insurmountable barrier to the production of high quality colour
output on the Archimedes – a great many professional Mac bureaux still
have the image separations physically ‘pasted’ into the film when
including high quality photographic images in their page layouts.
5.8
The reasons for this are twofold:
5.8
Firstly, a great many professionals do not believe that PostScript
provides sufficiently high quality.
5.8
Secondly, and in my opinion more importantly, high quality bit-map image
files can be gigantic and this has a number of implications. Computers
used to display and process image files many megabytes in size need to
have extremely large amounts of memory and/or an extra level of software
sophistication to handle the streaming of data to and from disk. The
cost of image setting increases dramatically with file size – images
setters costing as much as £80,000 need to be kept working full time if
they are to pay for themselves and PostScript files of large bit-map
images can tie up an imagesetter for long periods of time, making the
process prohibitively expensive.
5.8
Most, if not all, of these problems will be answered by PostScript II –
a redefinition of the language which provides amongst other things, more
intelligent handling of bit-map image files. Adobe start shipping
PostScript II later this year.
5.8
I also gather from Computer Concepts that Artworks will eventually
support PostScript II.
5.8
•    Acorn PostScript bureau – There is now at least one PostScript bureau
offering output “direct from an Archimedes to film”. They have an 8M
A540 driving a Linotronic 200SQ directly. They can accept either
Impression or PostScript files and can produce separations from your own
pictures and paste these into your films. Files can be sent either on
floppy or Syquest removable hard disc. Contact Andrew Brown or Matthew
Fifield of Arch Images in Peterborough on 0733−53355.
5.8
Another bureau has just made itself known to us. Taylor Lambert
Advertising in Brockham, Surrey offers a full bureau service for bromide
or film. They take Impression files as such or PostScript files on
Archimedes, Apple or MS-DOS discs. Contact John McGovern on 0737−844044.
Ed.
5.8
•    Ovation – I have received a copy of Ovation (version 1.25S) which I
hope to get to grips with  over the next few months. Please keep those
Ovation hints and tips coming!
5.8
Image-setting
5.8
Hints & Tips
5.8
•    Make sure you ask the image-setting bureau to produce films in a form
that your printer can use. e.g. Can he use ‘right reading positive’?
5.8
•    Only use high quality PostScript fonts such as the range from EFF –
mistakes can be expensive.
5.8
•    Ensure that the client ‘accepts’ a bromide ‘proof’ before having the
work printed.
5.8
•    Scanning − if you do your own scanning, rather than having it done via
a bureau, use the lowest possible scanning resolution that is consistent
with the screen resolution being used by the printer − i.e. a 150 l.p.i.
screen (a typical value for high quality magazines) requires no more
than 150 dots per inch scan, assuming a reproduction ratio of 1:1.  A
5.8
5.8
Colton
5.8
From 5.7 page 22
5.8
5.8
PipeLine
5.8
Gerald Fitton
5.8
I must start by thanking you for all the correspondence we have received
recently. We have just about managed to keep up with it but, if a reply
to your letter has seemed a little brief, please don’t take it as an
indication that it was less interesting than others; it has been the
volume that has led to the brevity.
5.8
I believe that what I have to say this month about hardware, packages,
applications and user groups will interest you even if you do not
possess a copy of PipeDream; so read on and then write to me with your
views. If you do write, please let me know whether your views are for
publication or not!
5.8
PipeDream 3 and PipeDream 4
5.8
For the last few months, I have been collecting together your comments
about the PipeDream 3 to PipeDream 4 upgrade and the different futures
you see for your use of either package. Let me first mention the most
popular pair of comments. Those that have not upgraded from PD3 to PD4
express serious dissatisfaction and even anger about the price of the
upgrade. Those that have upgraded are most enthusiastic and, when asked
about whether they believe the upgrade was value for money, all but two
have said “Yes” or “Most definitely yes!”. When I relay this fact to an
angry owner of PD3 the usual response is, “Well, they would, wouldn’t
they?”.
5.8
I want to move on from these instant, but nevertheless important,
reactions and discuss the future of PipeDream, particularly PD3, our own
PipeLine User Group and even the future of Archive − but in a general
historical context which, I believe, will be of interest even to non
PipeDream users. Before embarking on that thesis, I must write a
paragraph each on a couple of other topics.
5.8
Upgrade price
5.8
Colton Software have confirmed to me that, for the foreseeable future,
all upgrades from PD3 to PD4 will be handled solely by them. The price
is £94 including VAT and UK postage (overseas it is £90 excluding VAT
but including £10.00 extra postage). There is an educational discount
available and a special arrangement for those who bought PD3 after the
1st August 1991. Let me emphasise that I am convinced that the price of
the upgrade will never change during its lifetime.
5.8
PipeDream 4’s new features
5.8
Colton’s advertisements for PD4 emphasise the hot linked graphics and
the custom functions. From my correspondence, a different picture has
emerged. It seems that most of you with PD4 have still not got to grips
with custom functions and hot linked graphics are rarely mentioned! So,
what is it that has made PD4 a “value for money” upgrade? Well, what
seems to have impressed you most is that PD4 is more pleasant to use
than PD3! This subtle improvement is not the result of one new feature;
indeed, it is due to many small changes and most, if not all, of these
have not been given any publicity.
5.8
One such improvement is the way in which recalculation is more of a
background operation; the noticeable effect is that, when typing, cursor
movements are instant and the annoying ‘type ahead of the screen
display’ of PD3 doesn’t happen. Another is that more attributes are
saved with a file. These range from saving the printer driver name (and
number of copies) to saving the position on the screen. Yet another,
commented on by many as being one of the subtle changes which make the
upgrade “value for money”, is the improved and more intuitive ‘feel’ of
the Graphic User Interface (the use of the mouse pointer and the mouse
buttons). It seems to me that appreciation of the advertised and more
prominent new features of PD4 (such as the use of names, arrays, custom
functions and hot linked graphics) is yet to come! Write to me, let me
know what you think and then watch this space.
5.8
The future
5.8
All products, even excellent magazines such as Archive (or Punch), have
a life cycle in which there is a final phase, death! Let’s have a look
at the life cycle of computer products. I will look at hardware (the
Archimedes), software packages (such as Acorn’s DTP, Impression and, of
course PipeDream), applications (such as the letters you type, your
favourite database of telephone numbers, leaflets and church magazines)
and finally user groups (such as PipeLine).
5.8
Hardware
5.8
Most of you will know that, during the 1980s, Acorn saturated the market
with the BBC computer; by this I mean that by about 1986 or 1987, every
one who wanted to buy one already had one. Acorn were unable to sell any
more and almost went into bankruptcy. The two founders of the company no
longer own it. Indeed, it is only because Olivetti saw the potential of
the RISC chip that they bought up the remains of Acorn and it is only
because of the commercial viability of the Archimedes that spare parts
for the BBC computer are still available. Other computers that were
around at the time such as the Sinclair Z81 (1981), the VIC and Dragon
are now names forgotten by history.
5.8
In 1988, the Archimedes was a computer ahead of its time. Recently,
there have been well informed Archimedes users who, having seen and used
Windows on a ‘modern’ PC, say that it is becoming increasingly difficult
to recommend the Archimedes to first time buyers. Does this augur the
demise of the Archimedes? Has it reached the downward part of its life
cycle? What shall we, as users of the Archimedes, do if no more are sold
by Acorn?
5.8
(Surely, you cannot be serious about Windows on a ‘modern PC’, can you?
It is atrocious! Let me quote some unsolicited comments from a letter
written by a subscriber whose full-time job involves using PCs as well
as Acorn machines... “Even on a ’486, DTP runs like porridge” and
“Windows 3 is the biggest dog’s breakfast I have ever had the misfortune
to use” and “RISC-OS and the desktop are smooth, intuitive and quick,
three adjectives I would never apply to Windows 3”. No, Gerald, the
Archimedes has not reached the downward part of its life cycle and there
is more where that came from. Acorn are NOT dead yet, not by a long
chalk! Ed.)
5.8
Packages
5.8
Many spreadsheets such as Matrix3 existed for the early Archimedes but
it did not survive the change from the Arthur operating system to RISC-
OS. There is no further support from Cambridge Microsystems, the writers
of Matrix, because they do not expect any more sales. Such packages as
ArcWriter, Graphic Writer and Acorn DTP are no longer supported by the
writers because, having saturated the market (every one who wanted one
had one) there was no further revenue for the writers. When there was no
more revenue, the writers walked away from the companies (many closed
down) before they lost the profit they had made. It is difficult to see
what else they could have done.
5.8
PD2 ran under the Arthur operating system and a ‘cheap’ upgrade to PD3
was offered to all registered purchasers of PD2. I know of no one still
using PD2. Certainly the upgrade, although ‘cheap’, did bring Colton
Software the revenue necessary for the continued development of PD3. PD3
owners have had up to 14 upgrades completely free (the current, and I
believe final, version is 3.14) but, by the middle of 1991, practically
all those who wanted PD3 had already bought it and new purchasers were
almost non existent. Because Colton Software did not charge users for
any of the 14 upgrades to PD3 then, by mid 1991, their only source of
revenue (new purchasers) must have been declining. PD3 was at the ‘end’
of its marketing life.
5.8
Colton Software tell me that version 3.14 of PD3 is ‘stable’ and that
the residual ‘bugs’ are minor, obscure, known and easily worked around.
I agree that most users would not benefit from a further upgrade. It is
doubtful if any PD3 users would be willing to pay Colton Software for
the cost of removing the few remaining very minor and obscure ‘bugs’.
That is why I am sure that PD3 will be developed no further. So, what
are users of PD3 to do about technical support for the package they find
so useful?
5.8
In early 1991, a rival spreadsheet, Schema, was launched and, because it
had features such as graphics and custom functions not in PD3, many of
my correspondents told me that they were considering upgrading from PD3
to Schema. Indeed some did put their PD3 into cold storage and bought
Schema (and told me why in no uncertain terms). If Colton Software had
not developed PD4 and if they had not charged PD3 owners for an upgrade
to PD4 then maybe the well used and most useful PD3 hot line at Colton
Software would, by now, have ceased to exist! In my view, PD4 is better
than Schema but, if Schema were to be developed further, say Schema 2,
then the developed Schema might out-perform PD4. My point in mentioning
Schema here is that, without revenue from new sales, Schema will not be
supported by the writers for long. I believe that Schema 2 will not be
developed simply because revenue has or will ‘dry up’ before then.
5.8
Many other packages with good potential developed for the Archimedes
have gone that way. Squirrel has great potential as the definitive
database package for the Archimedes but how long will it be possible for
Digital Services Ltd to pour money into much needed development without
the revenue which comes from sales of the partly developed product? At
this difficult (and risky) stage of its development, do you feel like
supporting Digital Services by buying Squirrel?
5.8
More than a few of you who have been supporters of PD3 for a long time,
are considerably annoyed by the price that Colton Software are asking
for the upgrade from 3 to 4. I can quote one of my correspondents; he
feels “let down” after the support he has given to Colton Software by
using PD3 and subscribing to PipeLine. To use a currently fashionable
expression, I can relate to that.
5.8
However, let me put to you another side of this story of the life cycle
of PipeDream. I have in front of me a copy of a questionnaire which
Colton Software, and we on their behalf as part of a mail shot of our
own, sent to all registered users of PD3 about a year ago.
5.8
Question D3 reads:
5.8
Providing after sales support is expensive.
5.8
 Would you prefer to see this paid for by:
5.8
(i)  A higher initial price for the software
5.8
(ii) A yearly maintenance charge
5.8
(iii) Charges by enquiry, e.g. telephone charging by 0898 number
5.8
(iv) Other, please state
5.8
Let me put it to you (please write back to me); you can rationalise the
‘high’ price that you must pay now for the PD4 upgrade only if you, like
we here at Abacus Training, believe that your use of PD4 will receive
more support in the future from Colton Software than say Acorn’s DTP
does or Schema will from their respective writers. By handling the
upgrade themselves, Colton Software ensure that all the revenue from the
upgrade goes to them and helps them to provide free technical support
and to finance further improvements in PD4.
5.8
However, where does that leave you, a user of PD3 who isn’t going to
upgrade? Read on.
5.8
Applications
5.8
For the user, applications are the whole reason for buying and maintain
ing their total computer system. They buy hardware (such as an
Archimedes), they buy a package (such as Impression or PipeDream), they
invest time in learning how to use it and finally create their own
application (lecture notes or CVs). Many people are happy to read the
books that come with the package and develop their own application
(letters, personal database, label printer, statistical analysis, etc).
Others need help. Where does that help come from? Read on!
5.8
Although you might not realise it at the time of purchase, one of the
most important assets a package can have is that, when the time comes,
you know that you will be able to transfer your own precious data files
to a newer and better package, perhaps one which runs with new hardware.
5.8
Wordwise Plus was and still is an excellent word processor for the ‘old’
Acorn BBC computer. It has come from a good stable, the writers of
Impression, Computer Concepts. It is because Wordwise was such an
excellent word processor with its own programming language (now these
programs would be called macros or custom functions) that Norwich
Computer Services exists today to bring Archive to us. By this I do not
mean that Archive is produced using Wordwise Plus − although it is true
that Paul used the programming language of Wordwise Plus to process text
for the early editions of Archive − as a text processor, there was
nothing as efficient as Wordwise Plus available for the Archimedes. No!
I mean that Norwich Computer Services exists today because it earned a
reputation for providing Wordwise Plus user support second to none. I
remember receiving ‘Wordwise Times’ (I still have some copies in a dusty
file) from Paul Beverley and deciding to buy the three individual A4
size booklets which they produced in support of Wordwise Plus. Archive
exists today because of the success of ‘Wordwise Times’ and ‘The
Complete Wordwise Plus Handbook’.
5.8
Between 1982 and 1986, the principal use I made of my old Beeb (I still
have it linked to the Archimedes by a serial cable) was to produce the
originals of my college lecture notes − what a time saver when I came to
update them the following year! I have been able to transfer those
Wordwise format notes first into PD2 and then to PD3 and now to PD4. I
know that, if and when the time comes, I shall be able to get them out
of PD4 and into my next package, even if that package (PD5?) runs on an
80586 based machine under windows!
5.8
When it comes to life cycles, data files (such as my lecture notes and
my early reviews for Archive) outlast both hardware (the Beeb) and the
package (Wordwise Plus). The files you create using PD3 will outlive the
PD3 package.
5.8
User groups
5.8
I believe that one of the best ways of getting help with hardware (such
as the Archimedes or the Cambridge Z88) and software packages (such as
Wordwise or PipeDream) is through membership of a user group. In the
days of long ago, receiving ‘Wordwise Times’ had a ‘user group feel’
about it because the writers of the Wordwise Plus programs were users
who wanted to share their expertise. Now, as a subscriber to Archive I
have that user group feeling only more so. One of the reasons I enjoy
contributing my PipeLine column to Archive is because, to quote Paul,
“Archive has the feel of a user group” and I believe I am giving
something back for all the help I received from ‘Wordwise Times’ and the
products advertised therein. Archive is a user group based on the
Archimedes. PipeLine is not only a column in the Archive magazine but it
is also a user group based on the PipeDream package; subscribers receive
a disc of PipeDream applications every three months.
5.8
Our PipeLine user group provides technical support for the transfer of
files from many Beeb formats such as Interword, Masterfile and ViewSheet
to PipeDream format. Ian M H Williamson has volunteered to coordinate
this activity.
5.8
When hardware manufacturers cease production and go into liquidation
(like the manufacturers of the Bugatti have) and when writers of
packages (such as Wordwise) cease to maintain and improve the product
for lack of revenue then, if it is still widely used, the activity of
user groups increases; individuals get together and support each other.
I have paid up my subscription to Archive to issue 10.1 (the August 1996
issue?) partly because I believe that if Acorn were to cease production
of the Archimedes or go into liquidation, Archive would have an even
more important role to play as the magazine which is the journal of an
Archimedes user group.
5.8
Disgruntled PD3 users have asked if, with the coming of PD4, there will
be any support for PD3. Part of the answer is that until last summer
(when the demand finally stopped) Colton Software continued to support
View Professional (the original PD1 which ran on a Beeb). I believe
that, if they continue to develop enough new products to generate
revenue, then PD3 will still be supported − but not improved. Another
part of the answer from us is that the main reason we decided to ‘split’
PipeLine into a PipeLine 3 and PipeLine 4 was so that we could give
dedicated support to both PD3 and PD4 users rather than half serving
both groups. Our comments about freely ‘converting’ subscriptions from
PipeLine 3 to PipeLine 4 at any time is intended to reassure our
members, it is not a veiled threat that the support we give to PD3 users
will gradually fade away. Whether it does fade away or not depends on
the continuing demand and on that alone. In the end, it is up to PD3
users. If they continue to support one another then PipeLine 3 as a user
group will continue. If the users decided to buy new hardware, perhaps
an IBM 80586, or use new software such Ventura Publishing, Lotus, Excel
or even PD5 with Windows 6, then our final act of support for PipeLine 3
subscribers will be to help them to transfer all their documents to run
with the new hardware and software! However, I believe that here at
Abacus Training we shall be continuing to support PD3 for a long time
yet to come.
5.8
Statistical functions
5.8
I have received a disc from Gordon Nicholas containing custom functions
for student’s ‘t’, the F distribution and linear regression. The
functions are on this month’s Archive disc. Please drop him a line if
you find them useful. Please write to me if you have anything similar to
offer. I am in the process of compiling a library of custom functions
for PD4.
5.8
Address
5.8
If you wish to write to me then my address is that of Abacus Training
which you will find on the inside back cover of this month’s Archive.  A
5.8
5.8
SmArt
5.8
Ian O’Hara
5.8
It is difficult to know exactly how to describe SmArt, but 4mation
describe it as “a linked graphics system”. The best way to describe what
this means in practice is to give an example.
5.8
Imagine a picture of a house. You don’t like the roof so you click on it
and are given a selection of different roofs. To add a garage, click on
the space where a garage would go and you are offered the choice of
different designs of garage. You can then change other features of the
house and finally save the resulting picture as a drawfile. The result
is customised clip art.
5.8
The package
5.8
SmArt comes on two discs, one containing the program and the other some
sample SmArt files. Both the program and the files are protected until
they are initialised. The initialisation involves typing in your name so
that it appears together with a serial number every time the program is
run. The initialised software is unprotected and can be copied in the
normal way. Initialising the files means they can only be run with one
copy of the program. I couldn’t even use the demo files from the review
copy on the school’s copy of SmArt.
5.8
I did have one problem with initialising the files. Using my usual
procedure for dealing with new programs, I loaded the files into a RAM
disc, copied them and tried running the files from the RAM disc. There
was nothing in the documentation to tell me not to do this. The computer
asked me to put the original disc back in the drive. A few clunks and
whirrings later the file said it could only be used with the school’s
copy of SmArt. Next day, I went to use the files and was told they were
not yet initialised and then that they were corrupt. I returned the disc
to 4mation with a letter and they replaced it by return of post. They
also said they would take steps to ensure that the problem could not
occur again.
5.8
Up and running
5.8
The program is fully RISC-OS compliant and runs in the usual way from an
icon sits on the icon bar. SmArt files can then be double clicked or
dragged onto the icon. When this is done, you are presented with a
picture on the screen. I will use the file on churches as an example of
what happens then.
5.8
As you move the pointer over the church, it changes. If you click
<select>, a dotted red box appears around the object and you are given a
list of possible options. Doing this over the top tower gives sixteen
options including a spire, pitched roof and a pinnacle. The nave, tower
and windows can all be changed.
5.8
If <menu> rather than <select> is clicked over the object, a different
menu appears. The top option on this is Objects. Objects is rather like
clicking <select> over part of the picture except that it gives you a
complete list of all the objects that can be changed. In the case of the
church, there are fourteen different objects. Each of the objects leads
to a further submenu giving all the options for that object. This may
sound complicated, but the pupils with whom I have used the program
picked it up after three or four minutes of instruction. The other
options on the main menu allow you to save the finished picture and view
it at different scales.
5.8
SmArt file contents
5.8
One important point to realise about SmArt is that the ability to change
the pictures is limited by what is put into the original SmArt file.
These files are built up from a number of drawfiles linked together
using another program called SmArt Filer (£38 through Archive). If the
original file of the church didn’t contain a drawfile of a church spire
then you could not add it to the church. The program does not have any
concept of what a church is or should look like. All it does is fit
drawfiles, that have already been drawn, together in different ways.
5.8
The SmArt package comes with over twenty sample files ranging from the
house and church I described above to pictures of Santa and maps of the
British Isles. The sample files are generally very good but I am not
sure of the likely use of one or two of them. However, these files are
really just meant to be a taster as there is a whole range of special
ised discs sold separately. These contain very much more detailed files
based around particular topics. The Fashion disc, for example, contains
two collections; one of dresses, the other of separates. They allow you
to pick different outfits and see what they look like. It is possible to
change the colours using Draw or, better still, Chameleon. Pupils doing
textiles have found this very useful. Other discs currently available
include Homes, Trees and Gardens, Faces and Leisure and others.
5.8
More SmArt files
5.8
4mation are committed to producing more discs and were demonstrating, at
the BETT Show in January, a number that were under development. The
discs would seem an ideal way to produce clip art around various
historical themes covered by the national curriculum, e.g. a disc on the
Romans or Ancient Egypt.
5.8
One other use for SmArt is in teaching vocabulary for modern languages.
One of the files on the SmArt disc is about a duck and has all the
object menus in French. I am not sure how effective it is but it
certainly is a fun way of learning. I understand that this is an area
where 4mation will be producing more discs.
5.8
Overall
5.8
I have been very impressed with SmArt and have found it very easy to
use. The pupils I have used it with have enjoyed using it. The Faces
disc is a great favourite at lunch time. For the price of £55, including
a site licence, it is a very cheap method of producing customised clip
art. The specialised discs cost £16 each − again very cheap considering
the amount of work that has gone into them. All-in-all, SmArt is
strongly recommended.  A
5.8
5.8
A Desktop Front-End
5.8
Paul Witheridge
5.8
I have written a RISC-OS desktop application called !BootA which
provides a simple front-end for running non WIMP-based applications and
utilities as if they themselves were proper desktop applications.
5.8
Such utilities would normally have to be started by command outside the
desktop environment or from within an !Edit task window or at the very
least by pressing <f12> in the desktop in order to enter the command.
5.8
By using !BootA as a front-end, the application or utility looks very
much like any normal RISC-OS desktop application. It has an application
directory on which you double click to install the application on the
icon bar, and you can then drag files to this icon for processing by the
application.
5.8
We have put the !BootA application on this month’s program disc along
with several example applications. (Because of space, we may not get on
all the applications Paul has sent us. Ed.) All I will do here is to
explain a bit about !BootA so that you can see if it would be worth
getting hold of the monthly program disc.
5.8
All the applications accompanying !BootA (e.g. !Lock, !UnLock, etc) are
actually examples of using !BootA as a front-end for non Wimp-based
applications. These are referred to below (and in the !BootA !Help file)
as ‘client applications’ to emphasise that they rely on !BootA to do
many of the things for them that a real RISC-OS desktop application does
for itself.
5.8
Trying out !BootA
5.8
The !BootA application on the disc is set up so that when you double
click on it, you install all these example ‘client applications’. You
would normally never do this. Rather, you would double click on
whichever individual ‘client application’ you wanted to install. This
would automatically start up !BootA, although no icon for !BootA itself
would appear on the icon bar, only the icon for the client application.
5.8
However, to get a feel for the use of !BootA, you can double click on
the !BootA icon to install the icons for all the example client
applications. Then you can click <menu> over these icons one by one,
choosing ‘Help’ for each one. This will give you a brief summary of what
each application does. You can also examine the ‘CmdOpts’ option on
these menus. This will display a dialogue box for entering additional
input for the application. Some of the applications will have default
‘CmdOpts’ information, others will have none.
5.8
Summary of !BootA functions
5.8
To summarise, !BootA provides the following services for its client
applications:
5.8
•    installing the client application’s icon on the icon bar when you
double-click <select> (or <adjust>) on that application’s icon in a
directory viewer window
5.8
•    displaying a menu with a ‘quit’ choice when you click <menu> on the
installed icon and removing it from the icon bar if you choose this
‘quit’ option
5.8
•    providing a ‘help’ option in the same menu and displaying a brief help
message if you choose this ‘help’ option
5.8
•    running the client application when you click <select> or <adjust> on
the installed icon or when you drag a file or directory to it (clicking
<adjust> over the installed icon will also remove it from the icon bar)
5.8
•    responding to requests for help text from the ‘!Help’ application
(which displays the text in an ‘Interactive help’ window)
5.8
•    supplying additional input (‘command options’) to the client appli
cation when it is run
5.8
•    changing the sprite used to display the client application icon on the
icon bar when requested to do so (see the description, on the disc, of
the BootAutil program for more details of this).
5.8
As touched on above, you do not need to install the !BootA application
before installing the first client application on the icon bar. !BootA
is automatically activated when you double-click on a client application
icon in the directory viewer window and becomes resident in memory at
that point.
5.8
Note that, at this time, the client application itself has not been
started and is not using any memory. Only !BootA is actually active and
using memory. !BootA simply records the whereabouts of the client
application directory so that it can issue the appropriate ‘*RUN’
command when the time comes. However, this does mean that the client
application directory must be accessible at that time − no problem with
a hard disk but, with floppy disks, RISC-OS may call for the diskette to
be re-inserted if it has been removed in the meantime.
5.8
When you install a second client application (by double clicking on its
icon in a directory viewer), this initially causes another copy of
!BootA to start up but this second copy immediately realises that the
first copy is active and passes the responsibility for the client
application to it and then shuts down. This means that only one copy of
!BootA will be resident in memory regardless of the number of client
applications installed. Note: installing a large number of client
applications may cause !BootA’s memory allocation to expand as it adds
details of the additional applications to its internal tables.
5.8
Double-clicking on the !BootA icon itself will cause !BootA to start up
and to install automatically a list of client applications contained in
the ‘!Init’ file of the !BootA directory. This list is initially set up
to include all the example client applications, so you should edit it to
eliminate the ones you do not want installed in this way. (Note: !BootA
will ignore any item in the list that begins with ‘|’.)
5.8
See the ‘!Help’ file in the !BootA directory for more details.
5.8
I hope this proves a useful utility. If you have any suggestions for
improvement, please contact me via the Archive office.  A
5.8
5.8
Ian Copestake
5.8
New artwork
5.8
5.8
Glimpse − Clip Art Filer
5.8
Jahinder Singh
5.8
With the abundance of clip art available these days, an application to
view and control draw and sprite files from a filing system environment
is an obvious thing to develop. Sherston Software have just released
Glimpse, a simple application which allows miniature versions of a
number of draw and sprite files to be displayed within a window. The
draw and sprite files within this window can then be loaded directly
into other RISC-OS applications in the normal manner, or can be
controlled using the filer.
5.8
The package
5.8
The complete package offered by Sherston Software consists of a single
disc and an eight page A5 manual all enclosed within a plastic folder.
The manual is well produced and all aspects of the software have been
described in detail. The last page of the manual is a five step guide to
using the software entitled, “For those who don’t want to read this
manual”. Unfortunately, I only discovered this after I had read the
manual.
5.8
The software
5.8
!Glimpse is a RISC-OS compliant application which, once loaded, appears
on the icon bar. It will run on the full range of Archimedes machines as
well as the A3000. The software is protected, but with the possibility
of installing the software onto a hard disc. Using !Glimpse is very
straight forward. A directory containing draw and/or sprite files is
dragged over the !Glimpse icon. A window opens which displays miniature
versions of any draw and/or sprite files, along with an icon indicating
the file type and its name. A menu can be opened within this window
whose options are similar to the standard Filer menu. The draw and
sprite files within this window can then be loaded directly into other
RISC-OS applications in the standard manner. It is also possible to have
multiple !Glimpse windows with the ability to copy sprite and draw files
from one window to another in the same way as in the Filer.
5.8
Under normal circumstances, it is not possible to tell whether a sprite
file contains one or more sprites simply by looking at the file’s icon.
Usually, the sprite needs to be loaded into !Paint or other packages, to
identify the sprites and then to use them separately. !Glimpse provides
a solution to this problem in that sprite files which contain more than
one sprite are displayed with a multiple sprite icon. The contents of
this sprite file can then be displayed by selecting the ‘Open File’
option from the !Glimpse menu.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
!Glimpse is a useful utility which provides a totally compatible filer
for controlling clip art. It performs its function with ease and it is
especially useful when large quantities of clip art are involved. You
may feel that the use of meaningful filenames would make this product
obsolete. However, at a price of £8.50 + VAT and with the ability to get
quick access to independent sprites, this product could certainly make
the control of clip art easier and faster. Overall, a simple application
to use, which performs its function with ease.  A
5.8
5.8
Gnome X-Terminal Emulator
5.8
Mike Hobart
5.8
An X-terminal is a keyboard, a three-button mouse, a screen as fancy as
you can afford, and a good helping of intelligence and memory to provide
the display in response to coded messages from the Unix host. If you can
afford it, you can have half a square yard or so of super-high resolu
tion colour monitor, plus a pair of graphics planes to smooth the motion
of the display. If you need to ask the price, you cannot afford it! The
Gnome X-terminal emulator provides a more realistic alternative. Note
that I have said nothing about local storage and output functions.
Neither a stand-alone terminal nor the emulator provide them. This is a
major distinction from the more common communications packages, e.g.
Hearsay II which supports “cut and paste” of text, output spooling and
graphics grab as a Draw file. You can get data from the Unix host onto
your own micro but only by file transfer.
5.8
The Gnome package and installation
5.8
The Gnome package comprises a program disk containing the X-terminal
emulator and an Internet communication program, essential for use of the
emulator; two support disks containing mainly compressed bitmapped X-
fonts (note: outline fonts do not readily mix with X), and a no-nonsense
ring-bound manual with a decidedly technical but friendly feel. Minimum
hardware is 2M of RAM; RISC-OS; hard disk, multisync, VIDC-enhancer (not
needed on A540 or A5000) and more RAM very desirable; ARM3 an embellish
ment. Installation comprises transfer of the program files and de-
compacting the fonts, using a command from the * prompt. You need to
edit the configuration files so that the emulator “knows” about your
hardware and the machines it is supposed to be able to talk to. Gnome
did most of this for me, as I had had a demonstration: I work close to
their base. I did have a few trivial problems, all sorted out by a phone
call to Gnome. One of the mysteries is that you need to list a ficti
tious host name after the last genuine one! You also need to register
your machine with the network manager and tell the emulator what it is
to be called by the host. Finally, you need a means of communicating
with the host. In our case, it is a thin-wire Ethernet connection, via
an Acorn Ethernet card supplied by Gnome. Econet is the other sensible
alternative. Apparently, a modem is also possible, but it would be
extremely slow.
5.8
In use
5.8
The emulator lodges an icon on the icon bar but takes over the whole of
the screen when you ask it to connect with the host. It returns to the
desktop by pressing <Break> twice. The session can be resumed by a click
on the appropriate session icon. The display quality is obviously
dependent on hardware quality, but the present series of Acorn computers
do not support a complex enough graphic standard to offer the kind of
display quality you can expect from a dedicated terminal in the £2500
range.  However, the investment in an Acorn/Gnome system could hardly be
that high: an A5000 plus Ethernet card and software would be a few
hundred less. A standard resolution colour monitor would look pretty
pathetic for graphics, a multisync and a VIDC enhancer look quite good,
and a Super VGA system slightly better. High resolution monochrome
offers the best resolution but this is not available on the A5000). The
system works, it provides very rapid screen updates and that is all
there is to say!
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
That may sound abrupt, but it is really all there is to say: the system
is to be judged on whether it works, how much it costs in money and
hardware demands, how easy it is to install and how well supported it
is, and, importantly, how nice it is to look at. Thereafter, it is up to
you to make the most of your Unix host. In my judgement, it passes the
test in all cases, especially if you need an economical solution which
does not add to the clutter on your desk. If you spend the whole day
using X-windows, you do not need a micro-computer anyway, and you should
buy a terminal.
5.8
X-Terminal Emulator costs £199 and an Acorn Ethernet card costs £225,
both plus VAT, from Gnome Computers Ltd.  A
5.8
5.8
Help!!!!
5.8
•    A5000 monitors − I want to put two monitors onto an A5000. Is there
any kind of adaptor available? On the other Archimedes computers you can
use the mono output and the RGB for the two separate monitors but the
A5000 only has the RGB output. Can I double it? K Musselwhite, Warwick.
5.8
•    Archimedes BBS on InterNet? − Is there an Archimedes BBS on InterNet?
My InterNet address is [e-mail]. Christian Ghezzi,
Lissone, Italy.
5.8
•    Archway II with MultiStore − I have been using the *SD commands within
an Archway program designed to display pupil records in a format to suit
our needs and to selectively generate mailshot files for use with
PipeDream. This worked fine with the first version of Archway but causes
an address exception error within the Archway module of version 2. Can
anyone help? Contact P Story, King Edward’s School, North Road, Bath
BA2 6HU.
5.8
•    Armadillo A616 − Is anyone using the Armadillo A616 Sound Sampler AES
interface? If so, I would like to discuss problems and offer some help.
Phone Paul Skirrow on 0394−380307 (work).
5.8
•    LaserDirect and quick text − Does anyone know how to save the
Quicktext option on the Qume LaserDirect? Contact M Wilson, 10 St Peters
Crescent, Morley, Leeds  LS27 9NY.
5.8
•    Milton Keynes helper needed − A disabled lady in Milton Keynes is
having trouble with her computer. It’s a BBC Master actually, but this
is the only forum I have for asking for some help for her. She is trying
to use some of the programs that run under Wordwise Plus that were
written by one Paul Beverley (many years ago!). She just needs someone
with a bit of technical ability to help her along. Please either contact
Marjorie Chappell on 0908−607012 or Paul Beverley on 0603−766592.
5.8
•    RISC-OS 3 C library − Does anybody have a RISC-OS 3 C library which
can render the new format Draw files? This is NOT the shared C library −
the RISC-OS library is separate. I want to write a PD module to render
Draw files for use in other applications. Alternatively, does anybody
else want to write one? Phone Paul Skirrow on 0394−380307 (work).
5.8
•    RISC-OS 3 Pinboard − Can anyone tell me why you can only get Pinboard
to work after a reset and not when you exit the desktop and then re-
enter the desktop. Is this a bug? Contact P Bedford, 5 South Green,
Coates, Peterborough  PE7 2BJ.
5.8
•    RISC-OS 3 printer drivers − I use a Citizen Swift 24 printer with my
A5000 but I had a fair bit of trouble configuring the new printer driver
to print text. I have to remove the 12 from the Do Formfeed printer
definition otherwise a formfeed would occur after each line was printed
while printing a 1stWord+ document!  Is this a bug in the printer
driver? My version is 0·22. Contact P Bedford, 5 South Green, Coates,
Peterborough, PE7 2BJ.
5.8
•    Zerejdiah video digitiser − Has anyone made the digitiser that
appeared in Elektor last year? I can’t get mine working even though the
hardware seems to be OK on a scope. I just get vertical bands of noise
from the video input. Also, the software sometimes gives address
exception errors for certain screen widths. Tony Abbey, 40 Laureston
Drive, Leicester  LE2 2AQ.  A
5.8
5.8
Language Column
5.8
David Wild
5.8
Just after I put the disk with last month’s article in the post, I
received another letter from someone with the “symbol table out of date”
problem. Once again, it was caused by different dates in the machine’s
internal clock and was easy enough to cure. I am not sure why the
problem should have happened now but wonder if 1992 is sufficiently far
from 1988 to cause the linker to object. Acorn did suggest that the
cause could be an incorrect directory structure, but that wouldn’t
account for the problem occurring on some machines and not others when
the same disks were used.
5.8
One thing which comes out of this is the benefit of passing problems on
to me. This is not because I have all the answers, which would certainly
not be true, but because we, the subscribers to Archive, probably have,
between us, the answers to most of the problems once they have been
raised. I should be happy to act as a clearing house for such informa
tion and will let you have a personal reply if you send a stamped
addressed envelope. I can’t give much help on ‘C’ and Fortran but I can
raise your questions in this column.
5.8
It turns out that my comments about the Pascal compiler not date-
stamping files isn’t quite correct. If you don’t use the “-st” option,
everything is done as it should be and you can then use the makefile in
the way it is intended. The compilation is very slightly slower but you
do get the advantage of multi-tasking as well as the added convenience.
Double click on the source file, edit, save, double click on the
makefile and there you are with a nice new compiled program.
5.8
I did find an interesting minor problem with my !Pascal tool for the
DDE. Rather than create the whole thing from scratch, I copied the !Link
tool and made such changes as were necessary. When I set up the “desc”
file, I wanted icon 6, which turns on the Acorn extensions, to be on by
default but the radio button would only come on when I clicked on it.
All the other dependencies worked correctly and it took a long time, and
some correspondence with Alan Glover of Acorn, before I realised that
the “save options” had been set up in !Link with icon 6 turned off.
Where the result of saving the options is stored, I am not sure, as I
examined all the files in trying to solve the mystery, but they seem to
override anything put in to the “desc” file.
5.8
Language snobbery
5.8
I was interested in the article about Base 5 and the author’s comments
on people who looked down on Basic because it “wasn’t clever enough”.  I
am sure that there are quite a lot of people with this attitude, which
has always applied to languages which were designed to let relatively
ordinary users write programs. I have mentioned before that when I
started programming in Cobol there were many established programmers who
sneered at what we were doing because “real programmers write in machine
code”. The only real test of a programming language is “Can you write
good programs with it?” and there can be no doubt that many excellent
programs have been written in BBC Basic on the original Beeb and on the
Archimedes.  A
5.8
5.8
Apricote
5.8
New Artwork
5.8
5.8
!Prophet and !Transfer
5.8
Ned Abell
5.8
About three years ago I started my small business and therefore needed
an accounts package. The logic was simple: I hoped it would save me
time, control my expenditure and lower my accountants’ bills. It did!
5.8
I chose the Accounts Book package from Apricote Studios because it was
cheap. I bought their Invoice Program as well. I have to admit that I
hacked the two into one application and they have been co-existing very
happily ever since!
5.8
Apricote Studios are very helpful people (despite my hacking!) and, over
the months, I’ve kept in touch, hearing about the development of a new
program that would improve my “hybrid” , so I was very pleased when they
asked me to test their new business package called “!Prophet” which is
RISC-OS windowing software that will provide your business, club or
school with Accounts, Stock, and Invoicing packages together with VAT
collation, valuations and full exporting of data − all in one appli
cation. You don’t have to use all the segments − just the ones you need.
5.8
Juggling
5.8
In any business, you must keep your eye on the financial ball and losing
sight of it can be costly. You need to know who has paid you and who
hasn’t, because non-payment has become a recession art-form. Do I have
enough stock to fulfil that order? What’s the fax number of that
customer in Leeds? What’s my customer number with Maplin?
5.8
Basically, !Prophet holds a database of your customers and suppliers
with extra information about them. It holds a database of your stock
with mark-ups and information about your business. If you change any
part of that information all the facets of the program can draw on the
changed data as soon as you open a window!
5.8
With any new accounts package, you don’t ditch your old system and move
to a new one just because it is there − you have to see whether it will
do the job. I have to report that despite not having a manual and even
with the profit and loss forecasting side of the program missing, it was
a painless experience. It will be a tight fit on a 1M machine − I ran it
on a 340 with floppies under RISC-OS 2.00. (The advertising now says it
is for use on machines with 2M minimum. Ed)
5.8
“Miscellaneous”
5.8
!Prophet’s front end is a window that holds selection panes for the
stock, invoicing and accounts segments and a set of miscellaneous
options. You can set user details such as the company name, address,
post code, phone, fax and VAT number. VAT codes can be set to one of
five levels as required and the VAT period set and reports generated and
printed. The addition of extra codes means you can set transactions to
an “EC” rate to cope with the new VAT forms. What is clever here is that
the format allows New Zealand or European tax layouts to be used as well
as coping with changes to our own UK forms. It is very future-proof.
5.8
Security can be provided by means of passwords for the Main Menu,
Suppliers, Stock, Customers and the Ledgers, so the package is suitable
for distribution to employees who may not be required to have access to
parts of the package. The preferences option allows setting of the total
number of suppliers, stock lines, ledger entries and customer numbers,
as well as automatic timed saves and automatic update of the sales
ledger. There is a useful four bank calculator.
5.8
!Prophet saves its main file in a special file type (c88) containing all
your information. This in future could be double clicked on to run
!Prophet and to load this data back into it. As it contains the
configuration as well as other data, you can configure the package in
different ways simply by loading different files.
5.8
!Transfer − the stock solution!
5.8
Looking at the segment called “Stock”, I started by transferring my list
of suppliers into the new system. This could have been done by typing
but there is now a better way.
5.8
Because I had my supplier list on a Pipedream file I was able to call up
a new utility from Apricote called !Transfer and capture text from a
PipeDream4 window onto the appropriate field of the !Prophet supplier
database card. This utility works by using <adjust> and <select> to
successively capture from one writable icon to place it in another. When
text has been captured the computer bleeps − it bleeps again with a
different tone when the text is in its new place. Using it with
PipeDream4 was easy if I selected the required information into the
formula line and grabbed it from there. No frills or fuss and it works.
This saved me lots of typing. What’s good about the utility is that it
uses the Window system to do this. If any application uses a writable
text window then !Transfer can take icon text from it and copy it to
another application. There is an icon bar control of on/off and insert/
replace − that’s it! It works beautifully with DeskEdit and the writable
fields in !Impression.
5.8
This simple test completed, I saved my suppliers as a “SuppList” file. I
also exported my suppliers into Pipedream in a different field order as
an exercise as !Prophet supports both Text (FFF) and CSV (DFE) file
export. I also tried all this under !Compression with no problems.
5.8
In a different part of the stock segment, data is held on the various
stock items that you might use. In my case I count my blank video and
audio tapes by length and type as well as by number. This data is
entered on another card type layout and shows my supplier for each item
as well as costs, markups, and re-order numbers. Entering a list cost
excluding VAT plus a markup automatically fills in the retail cost
including VAT. You can fill in a retail cost including VAT and the
program will work out the other values and the correct VAT. This is very
useful for example in the Hotel trade for offering special deals. Again,
I used a combination of typing and “!Transfer” to create the cards. Each
card can accept a value of several decimal points of a penny upwards so
the price of individual video labels can be entered! You can copy from
card to card by using <Shift><Copy>.
5.8
Once finished, an instant stock valuation is possible. Now the program
is also able to prompt me to re-order and has an Order Form Template and
order number generator. As the RISC-OS printer driver system is used
with the Font manager to produce Orders, it is possible to get the usual
good result.
5.8
There is also a daily cash sales window and also stock best sellers and
index and search options for your stock. Searching by supplier brings up
the products you use. A supplier can also be yourself, so I “supply”
services such as video editing, production and consultancy and these are
logged as hourly rates which can then be invoiced or duplicated tapes
can be stock at a special price.
5.8
Invoicing
5.8
You can follow similar actions to create your customer database but for
“Invoice Program” users, Apricote have allowed you to drag your existing
customer details file into the customer database where it automatically
loads and fills out much of the “card”. You can then add additional
information that might be required such as special references and
invoice prefix. The program allows a complete printout of suppliers and
customers with options to switch off various fields. Address labels can
also be printed and the Customers saved as a “CustList” in Text or CSV.
5.8
Using a similar system to the order generation, invoices and credit
notes can be created. A template would go to all customers and the
invoice number can be set up. A nice touch here is that all the
information required appears on the invoice as a default. You then set
the font x and y sizes to zero to get rid of unwanted information and
move the remaining information around to the position you want. The
description of individual invoices are created in a small window which
is saved as a !Prophet data (C87) file. Using <menu> on the customer
field brings up a list of all your customer names, select one and the
details fill in from their last invoice, if one exists. You then amend
these details to create the current one. Entering stock adds up the
totals on the invoice and decreases the totals on the stock cards
prompting an order if below a pre-set level. You can set the payment
status, link the invoice to the sales ledger and even print it out after
a future date or vary the early settlement discount between different
customers.
5.8
Accounts and schools
5.8
The accounts segment holds the expected Bank, Sales and Purchase ledgers
for up to £22 million plus utilities like Accounts that set up 12
different bank, credit, deposit or cash areas. Again files can be
dragged from The Accounts Book to set up these areas.
5.8
In a school, this would be invaluable as the school exchange trip, CDT
materials, music and other budgets could all have their own control. An
additional point to note is that because of the instant effect of
changes, the program, as well as being of use in the school office,
would serve the additional use of demonstrating “what if..” problems and
book-keeping skills to students as well as providing a useful demonstra
tion of the window environment in the computing room.
5.8
There is analysis by value of the main sales and purchases that have
been made and to keep that critical overall eye on several parts of the
accounts, there will be a profit and loss balance sheet as well as a
report option which will export to, for example, !Schema.
5.8
Entering data is simplicity itself. Press <return> in the date box and
today’s date is inserted − because it now knows the date, the correct
Tax point is automatically entered. Press <menu> over the customer entry
and a list appears to select from. Having entered a cheque reference in
that box, next time press <return> and the next cheque number is
entered. You can put in as much or as little as you like. As !Prophet is
dynamic, when you open up the Bank Account page, this will be  updated
already!
5.8
Headings are used to analyse sales and purchases. You can have up to
twelve main areas and each can be subdivided into eight portions so
that, for example, the office could show its expenditure on wages
postage, stationery, telephone, electricity, rates, fax and furniture,
allowing a high degree of detail on where you are spending money and
from where you get your money. You don’t need to remember codes here as
selecting the main item brings up the sub-headings.
5.8
Niggles
5.8
Applications written by others, seldom are as perfect as mine (but they
work!!) so it is not surprising that there are a few things I would like
to change. Apricote have a good record of listening to customers, so
expect your suggestion to be looked at seriously.
5.8
I would prefer graphics such as my logo on documents and you can’t
import drawfiles into orders and invoice templates. This is being looked
at. The style of business you operate is also a factor in that I tend to
issue invoices which are “wordy” whilst this system starts off as being
more factual and offers a list of items on the invoice but this could be
lack of customisation of the templates on my part.
5.8
Looking to the future
5.8
There is no doubt that this software is good value, has been very well
thought out and presented as well as being very well written. It co-
exists happily with all the properly written software that I’ve got and,
try as I might, I can’t make it crash! I am told it is RISC-OS 3 / A5000
tested. As it multi-tasks, it is a natural to create accountancy
information to export into PipeDream for manipulation or via PCDir to
the accountants’ Lotus 123. For example, because fax information is held
in the database it should be possible, with a small utility, to export
files to Fax-Pack which would automatically dial the suppliers number
and send an order! I’m successfully exporting !Prophet information into
PipeDream4 and Impression to create company reports and graphs.
5.8
I feel that this is a benchmark package for business in that it provides
such easy links between existing applications, is intuitive and
unassuming. Above all, you get the feeling that this will be software
you will use on a daily basis and it’s very “future-proof”. Simple
points are that the colours used are not garish and the layouts
uncluttered and it’s lightning fast! Apricote implement a free support
scheme and registration and returning the master disc will bring the
latest version with the profit/loss segment when it is ready as well as
future upgrades. The application includes a support disc with examples
of files and templates. There is also a demonstration disc and the cost
of this is refundable against purchase.
5.8
I found the switchover very painless and, after a month, am still heard
to say “Oh they have thought of that, too!” The proof is in the using,
and I now trust the system and have switched my accounts to !Prophet.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
!Prophet provides the middle ground. It can be used across a wide range
of business from service and education to manufacturing, is robust in
terms of its data management and can be expanded either by the use of
existing multi-tasking applications or by specially created utilities,
yet is simple to use despite having many segments.
5.8
If the application has any failings it is that its middle of the road
price might suggest to some users that it is not as capable as other
more expensive accounting systems. This just isn’t true. It is worth
sitting down and making a list of the functions you do want and then
comparing your list with what the available packages provide. Remember
that by multi-tasking this application with others you already own,
designed to do other specific tasks, you can get the results you want.
5.8
I said earlier that I thought this was a benchmark product. If Acorn
were to market a Business Package then !Prophet would be one of the
essential parts.
5.8
!Prophet costs £170 plus VAT from Apricote or £157 from Archive and
includes !Transfer.
5.8
The demonstration disc is £10 including VAT from Apricote (refundable
against purchase).
5.8
!Transfer on its own is £8.95 including VAT from Apricote, £8 from
Archive.  A
5.8
5.8
Hilighter − Multi-Media Database
5.8
Peter Jennings
5.8
With four or five commercial and public domain multi-media presentation
databases already available on the Archimedes market, any newcomer to
the field has to have something different to offer. With Hilighter,
their “information management system for the Archimedes and A3000”,
Sherston Software have gone for a simple-to-use approach and a (liter
ally) colourful gimmick.
5.8
As with similar programs, it allows the user to build up a folder of
information to be displayed a page at a time. Anyone viewing it can move
from page to page by clicking on the text or picture of the subject(s)
they wish to pursue.
5.8
The gimmick in Hilighter is to model it on the chunky fibre-tipped pens
used to highlight important sections of a document with broad strokes of
brightly coloured transparent ink. Here, the colours are used to mark
the words or pictures to be linked to other pages.
5.8
Hilighter costs £45 +VAT and comes on three discs, with a 34-page user
guide, an eight-page booklet on “Using Hilighter in the Classroom” and a
quick reference card, all packed in a slim double-sided folder. One of
the discs contains the program. The other two, which are not protected,
have sample folders and fonts. Schools and other multi-users pay two or
three times the single-user price, depending on their size, for a site
licence and receive all three discs unprotected. Single users get a
protected program disc which has to be present in the floppy disc drive
even if the program has been copied onto hard disc. Anyone who dislikes
this restriction can register their ownership and exchange the program
disc for an unprotected version for a handling fee of £6. This form of
removable protection allows Sherston to supply the program on approval.
5.8
Getting started
5.8
Loading the program puts an icon, representing a capped highlighter pen,
on the icon bar. Clicking on this brings up a reminder that a file needs
to be loaded or a new folder opened. The reminder box contains an icon
which can be dragged to a directory window to create a new folder which
is then automatically opened at page one. When a new or existing folder
has been opened, the capped pen on the icon bar changes to an uncapped
one − a neat touch typical of Sherston.
5.8
Two page sizes
5.8
Pages have a default size which fits onto a mode 12 screen or they can
be enlarged to A4, which uses more memory. Both sizes can be included in
the same folder but you need to make up your mind which size you want
before doing too much on a page as changing the size loses any high
lights on it.
5.8
A toolbox appears beside each page and can be turned off when not
needed. This shows the nine colours available for highlighting, an
eraser, two sizes of nibs, text and select icons and a browser arrow.
5.8
Any or all of the nine colours can be used to highlight text or pictures
on a page and each different colour can be linked with a different page.
Each of these new pages can then be linked with up to nine others in the
same way. The two nibs provide a choice of thick or thin strokes to
apply the highlights, which can be added freehand or, more neatly,
inside regularly shaped boxes. The eraser will remove the colour
similarly.
5.8
The highlighting can be toggled on and off with the Tab key and this
does not affect the links which have been made. The highlighting could
be left visible for use in the completed folder but this would really be
an option just for text-only folders as any graphics would have their
original colours and some of the detail masked.
5.8
A useful selection of Draw files is provided with arrows and text
buttons with phrases such as “Next page”
5.8
Rectangular text areas are opened with the mouse and can be dragged to
size and positioned on the page. The text is typed in or entered from an
Edit file and a border can be added. It can also have the font, colour
and background colour changed. Draw and sprite files can be dragged onto
the page and both text and graphics can be moved and resized but not
rotated.
5.8
Resources file
5.8
Draw and sprite files needed in a folder can be stored in a resources
file and any others used from outside sources will automatically be
added. They can be dragged from the resources window onto any number of
pages, as required. Hilighter pages are also included in resources but
text is not stored there unless it has been created in a Draw file.
5.8
Pages are very simply linked by bringing up a writable icon window for
any Hilighter colour which has been used and entering a name or number
for the page that is to be linked to it. The page will then be created,
or loaded if it already exists, and opened. Each page is automatically
saved when another one is opened or can be saved from a menu at any
time.
5.8
Clicking on the browser arrow in the toolbox allows you to move from
page to page by clicking on the highlighted subjects. There is a
permanent icon at the bottom of each page allowing you to return to the
first page and an extra icon, up to a total of 20, is added for each
page visited. These let you return directly to any of the last 20
previously opened pages but, except for the page one icon, they are all
identical and do not show the page names or numbers, which rather limits
their usefulness. They can, however, be cleared and a new set started at
any time.
5.8
Other facilities
5.8
The latest version of Hilighter (1.02), which has just been released,
has an added facility to cycle through a selection of pages automati
cally, with a chosen viewing time for each, to form a rolling demo. The
selection can be saved in the folder and reloaded for future use.
5.8
The current page or a complete folder can be printed from a sub-menu
which is accessed from the main menu or, more directly, by using <Print>
on the keyboard. Links can also be printed at the side of the page but
it is then reduced in size by 25%.
5.8
Folders can be made independent of Hilighter, allowing anyone not having
the application to read the folders but not make any changes to them,
although from version 1.02, objects can be selected and saved out from
the viewed page. Independent folders can be freely distributed, but not
sold for commercial gain without a licence, provided they do not contain
other people’s copyright material.
5.8
Programs of this type have numerous uses and some of the suggestions put
forward for the classroom can have equal application at home or in
business. For example, clip art can be stored in Hilighter folders where
it can easily be viewed and dragged out for use. Also, I liked the idea
of using a family tree as the basis for an album of information and
pictures, particularly if a scanner is available to include photographs.
5.8
How does it compare?
5.8
Hilighter’s big strength, compared with similar programs, is its
simplicity. It is very easy to learn and to use, with clear instructions
printed and illustrated in an excellent user guide and demonstrated in
an example folder. The present versions can include only text and
pictures, which is probably sufficient for most uses. There is to be an
upgrade to add sound but there are no plans at the moment to include
animations. Hilighter has a low-cost rival in the public domain program
Hypertext (available on Shareware disc 19) which offers some of the
features although its instructions are not very easy for a first-time
user to understand.  A
5.8
5.8
Small Ads
5.8
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what “small”
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.8
•    3½“ drive for A300/400 £70. M J Harwood, 7 Kingswood Road, Manchester
M14 6RZ.
5.8
•    A310 with 4M ram, 40M drive, 4-slot bp, ARM3, much software, £750.
Phone Ray on 081−864−7208.
5.8
•    A310 with colour monitor, 4 slot bp, manuals and software, £550. Acorn
JP150 printer (new) £225, Armadillo A448 sampler card £70. Phone Lenny
on 071−703−5675.
5.8
•    A5000 LC with Acorn monitor, as new £1500. Atomwide removable SCSI
hard drive, 2 cartridges & SCSI podule £350. Phone 0536−724981.
5.8
•    Acorn AKF18 multisync monitor £200. Perfect condition. Phone
0666−502214.
5.8
•    Acorn colour monitor £135, ArcComm1 £10, Z88 computer 32k RAM, two
PSUs, PClink ROM, Archimedes lead & file transfer software, Z88 Eprom
magazines £145. Phone 0424− 717702.
5.8
•    Alpha Base (new) £20, Home Accounts £15, System Delta Plus 2 +Ref.
Man. £30, PC Emulator (MS-DOS) £30. Phone 081−778−2659.
5.8
•    Computer Concepts’ ROMs InterChart £10, InterSheet £15, InterWord £15,
SpellMaster £20. Disc software: PC Access £10, Genesis+ £10, E-Type £5.
Phone Rob Brown on 0737−832159 (eves).
5.8
•    Digitising tablet TDS LC12 professional tablet, 12“ × 12” area, 4
button puck. Software to use in place of Archimedes mouse. £110 Phone
0903−65727 (eves).
5.8
•    Enter the Realm, Zelanites the Onslaught, Saloon Cars £19.95 each. All
three £58.85. Phone 0223−63545.
5.8
•    Frog 100M external SCSI drive £300. Phone Leslie Wiggins on
0602−421413 (day) or 607822 (eves).
5.8
•    Impression 2.14 £100. Phone Paul 041−777−6608.
5.8
•    JP150 printer £150 +VAT. Phone Paul Skirrow on 0394−380307 (work).
5.8
•    MIDI 4 Interface, EMR Studio 24, System Delta Plus 2, SDP Reporter,
2nd Internal Floppy for 310 inc. front panel, Mig-29. Sensible offers to
David on 0284−761801. (10% of all sales to NCS’s Charity Pot.)
5.8
•    Oak 200M high speed internal SCSI drive (no podule) 1 year old, 1 year
warranty remains. £450. Phone 0276−20575 (eves).
5.8
•    Pace Nightingale “manual” modem + leads for BBC and A3000 £10, Hearsay
version 1 £10, ArcComm2 £25. Phone Ernie Cobbold on 0493−740557 (eves).
5.8
•    RenderBender 2 new, unregistered £80. Acorn DTP £80 o.n.o., First Word
Plus 2 £30 o.n.o., Pacman £12, Superior Golf £12. Phone/fax Peter
Warrington on 061−248−5454.
5.8
•    Solid Tools £200, Autosketch £30, System Delta Plus £30, Chocks Away
£12, Extra Missions £12, Pandora’s Box £14, Grievous Bodily ARM £14,
Games Creator £30. Must sell. Reasonable offers. Phone Neal on
0734−420836.
5.8
•    Wanted 4 slot backplane for A310, hand scanner and Impression II.
Phone 0332−557751.
5.8
•    Wanted Canon BJ 100/130/300/330 printer. M J Harwood, 7 Kingswood
Road, Manchester  M14 6RZ.
5.8
Charity Sales − The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money − ring us on 0603−766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
5.8
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
5.8
40M IDE drive £180,  Beebug 5¼“ disc buffer £8,  Beebug Serial Link Kit
£5,  Alerion £5,  Corruption £5,  Karma (beta release 0.30) £10,  Tilt &
swivel monitor stand £15,  I/O podule new software £5,  E-Type Designer
£5,  ArcComm1 £15,  C-Front £5,  InterDictor 1 £5,  Masterfile II £12,
Saloon Cars £12,  RISC-OS Companion Vol 1 £2,  Screened printer data
cable £2 per foot.  A
5.8
5.8
MiG-29M Super Fulcrum − The Sequel
5.8
Tord Eriksson
5.8
Simis, Krisalis and Domark have now gone one better and produced an
improved MiG-29 simulator.
5.8
In its latest version, MiG-29M Super Fulcrum, the aircraft is a fly-by-
wire machine that will out-perform most opposition. Luckily for us, it
is not yet in series production...
5.8
Unpacking
5.8
The program arrives in a big lavishly illustrated box, complete with a
twin-language manual (my copy is in Italian and English), a book
covering almost all modern military aircraft and two discs.
5.8
The technical facts and history of the development of the Super Fulcrum
is well presented and generally correct. The manual is printed in a very
odd way with a lot of graphics underneath the text. This is probably
meant to dissuade photocopier users but it doesn’t make the reading very
easy!
5.8
There are some mysterious instructions, especially in the approach
chapter, where you are recommended to lower the landing gear at 500 kph
and then recommended to lower it again on the final approach. Double
presses on the “L” key would stove the gear and make the landing very
messy.
5.8
From the thick manual, you gather that the program is available on a
number of other computers, such as PCs and Amigas. So there must be a
great many Fulcrum flyers out there in computerdom.
5.8
There is now a two-player mode, with two computers hooked up via the
serial interfaces. This means that you can probably connect two
dissimilar computers and fight together against evil F-16s, Harriers and
Mirages. Not having two computers, I cannot say if this is possible, but
it seems to be the thing for simulators to do today!
5.8
The game starts, as usual, with some fancy graphics then moves on to a
cockpit view of the HDD, the Head Down Display, that contains a map,
buttons for setting way-points, two fighter modes and the start game
button. You can either be master or slave in the two-player mode, by
selecting the appropriate button − Are you ready to strap in?
5.8
Flying the Super Fulcrum
5.8
Those familiar with the first version of MiG-29 can rest assured − all
control keys are the same, including the dead select button on the
mouse.
5.8
In contrast to the earlier version you can now choose if you want Air-
Surface misses only, or Air-Air, instead of the default mix.
5.8
The aircraft behaves pretty much like the old MiG, but the instrumenta
tion has been upgraded, with a very nice radar that has a special mode
for shooting down enemy aircraft.
5.8
Compared to Interdictor II, this feels much more like the real thing and
quite an improvement graphically to the first MiG simulator.
5.8
MiGs in UN service
5.8
The scenario of MiG-29M is drastically different from the predecessor’s,
probably due to the new political situation, so we are no longer forced
to fight the evil Chinese or zap the freedom fighters (someone else’s
terrorists). Instead we are the jolly guys with blue berets, trying to
restore order after a military coup in a undefined country, “somewhere
in the mid-south America...”. Who ever heard of mid-south America?!
5.8
In short we break up the rebel support lines, shoot at anything moving
in sight, destroy bases and, eventually, take the enemy HQ. End of
“game”.
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
As usual, not everyone will return victorious and there is no cheat mode
as in Interdictor II, where you can fly an indestructible “brick”. You
can select a simple aircraft or a more realistic one, but you will be
busy flying either one!
5.8
A very good simulator for devotees like me. Fully recommended!  A
5.8
5.8
Elite − Gold Edition
5.8
Jahinder Singh
5.8
Back in 1984, the release of both the tape and disc versions of Elite
was one of the major breakthroughs for the Acorn range of machines. This
cult 3D space game now re-released on the Archimedes looks set to repeat
the phenomenal success of its previous versions on the BBC Micro,
Commodore 64, Spectrum, Amiga and PC. Launched by Hybrid in October at
the BBC Acorn User Show, Archimedes Elite broke all previous records for
initial game release on the Archimedes.
5.8
Its first production run, which was intended to cover the Christmas
period, was entirely consumed by the end of November. Faced with a
further production run to meet the Christmas demand, Hybrid decided to
upgrade the package. The new Gold Edition leaves the program itself
largely unchanged but includes some extra support materials.
5.8
The game
5.8
Just in case you’ve spent the last eight years cooped up in some feline
infested pit, on some anarchic planet within the Santarri galaxy and are
now wondering what all the fuss is about, I’ll give a very brief summary
of Elite.
5.8
As the commander of a Cobra Mk3 spacecraft, you must learn the skills of
trading between planets (anything from food and textiles to narcotics
and firearms). As your wealth accumulates, you add more equipment to
your ship (anything from extra missiles, docking computers − most useful
− to military lasers). While trading, you must also become proficient in
combat to fend off any undesirables who have suddenly taken a fancy to
your cargo.
5.8
These skills of successful trading and combat are used to increase your
status within the Elite universe, starting from ‘Harmless’ and slowly
progressing towards ‘Elite’ − not easy. During this progression, you can
gain the reputation of being a clean lawful trader or an unscrupulous
pirate. The powers that be may then decide to enlist your help in
missions of mercy or aggression.
5.8
When Elite was released in 1984 the sense of freedom and excellent 3D
graphics led many to the conclusion that Elite was the ultimate game.
The 1991 version of Elite is the same game with the addition of some
improvements. The game now uses solid 3D graphics, the inclusion of some
animated 3D sequences for launching and docking, dots on planet surfaces
to show shape and rotation as well as moons around some planets. The
mouse (not easy) or the keyboard can be used to fly your ship. The mouse
tends to give improved responsiveness and manoeuvrability. Trading has
also been improved. As well as the addition of some nice graphics, the
use of the mouse has speeded up this task.
5.8
There are a number of new ships in this version of Elite. Hognose
(Hognoses? Ed.) are missionary ships intent on converting any non-
believers that they come across. Ships flying in formation are a common
and pretty site, usually police vipers on a training exercise or ships
flying together for protection against any undesirables. The missions
are more involved than in the original game with complex scenarios now
possible.
5.8
Elite is also fully RISC-OS compliant, a standard which all Archimedes
software should adopt. One moment you could be involved in the battle to
save the universe, the next you may be word processing a letter to your
bank manager. You may then return to Elite and complete this battle by
killing off those last few remaining Thargoids.
5.8
The package
5.8
The Gold Edition of Elite is packaged in a box similar in size to a
video cassette. Inside one finds an assortment of goodies:
5.8
    1) Elite User Guide
5.8
    2) Flight Training Manual
5.8
    3) Colour poster
5.8
    4) Commander registration card
5.8
    5) Elite shirt order form
5.8
    6) 24 ship data cards
5.8
    7) Trading record pad
5.8
    8) Program disc
5.8
    9) Function key strip
5.8
Owners of the original Elite pack can get the Gold Edition extras upon
returning their original control key guide to Hybrid. Those who bought
their package other than direct from Hybrid should include the sum of £3
to cover handling.
5.8
The game installs and runs like any other RISC-OS application and will
operate on any Archimedes machine with 1M of ram. The software is
protected such that once the game has been loaded, a word chosen by the
computer at random from the Flight Trading Manual must be entered. This
protection mechanism is also activated at various times while playing,
once docked at a space station.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
Without any doubt, the 1991 version of Elite with its enhancements is an
excellent game and has lost none of the atmosphere of the original game.
Anyone who enjoyed Elite in 1984 will almost certainly spend many more
hours flying through the galaxies. It won’t take long for any newcomers,
who are still thinking whether or not to purchase Elite, to become
addicts.
5.8
Elite in 1984 was a major breakthrough for the Acorn machines. This 1991
version, although very good, had the opportunity, with the availability
of all the extra computing power of the Archimedes over the BBC Micro,
of becoming the ultimate game for the Archimedes.
5.8
This version is basically the same as the 1984 version with a few very
good extras added. However, the game certainly doesn’t stretch the
Archimedes anywhere near it limits. Hopefully, when Karma is completed,
it will be what the 1991 Archimedes version of Elite could have been.
Overall, a good product which will provide much enjoyment for a long
time to come.  A
5.8
5.8
Fun & Games
5.8
Hilary Ferns
5.8
This package from HS Software is comprised of three programs − Coconuts,
Tidy and Burger Boy, each on a separate disc and packed together in a
simple A5 plastic-backed wallet. Backup copies are not permitted but you
can return a damaged disc which will be replaced at the cost of the disc
and postage. The documentation is a straightforward leaflet explaining
clearly how to use each program.
5.8
The pack is advertised as being suitable for ages 5−9 but, in practice,
you will find that Coconuts and Tidy are aimed at infant children,
whereas Burger Boy spans the whole age group.
5.8
The games are all loaded in the usual way, by double-clicking. They are
not truly multitasking but any programs and work will still be on the
Desktop when you return. Each program uses a large amount of memory but
will run quite happily on a 1M machine, providing you close down all
other applications first.
5.8
Graphically, all three programs are very clear. The programs use some
digitised pictures and speech, which certainly add to the general
presentation. All are mouse-controlled and work with any of the mouse
buttons, making play very simple. All have clear ‘play’ and ‘end’
buttons. Successful games are rewarded by suitable musical animations −
no doubt a delight to children but coming with monotonous regularity to
the adult ear! Also, errors are acknowledged with a distinctive noise.
5.8
Each game works at varying skill levels, so can be tailored to specific
needs. This is done simply by clicking the mouse in labelled boxes
before the game starts − by teacher, parent or the child themselves.
Each game is provided with random values, quantities, etc so a child
will not be able to “get the answer” from the previous player.
5.8
Coconuts
5.8
The screen shows four tropical trees, each with a different variety of
fruit (pineapples, oranges, coconuts and lemons). ‘Helpful Herbert’
jumps up to the trees to pick the fruit of the player’s choice to
complete the pattern on the screen. At its simplest level, it is
monotonous for even the youngest player, but introducing different types
and sizes of fruit, increasing the length of the sequence and giving
less time for the task can be quite a challenge for 4-5 year olds. It
would have perhaps been nice to have had an option for the children to
set up a sequence of their own to copy. It teaches matching, sequencing,
repeating patterns and number recognition.
5.8
Tidy
5.8
“Emma, tidy your room at once!” is the instruction from Emma’s Mum. The
player has to guide the parrot to put the right toy in the right place,
in response to a written command on the screen. Commands are in a nice
clear font (included on the disc) which is suitable for young readers.
Digitised speech which accompanies the writing can be turned on or off.
Prepositions ‘on’, ‘in’, ‘under’, ‘behind’ and ‘in front of’ can be
introduced and adjectives ‘big’ ‘small’, ‘long’ and ‘short’. At higher
skill levels, several instructions are given at once and the words
vanish from the screen before the task is complete − quite a test for
the memory, particularly if you are including all the prepositions and
adjectives. This program practises early reading skills, memory and
comparisons of size and shape.
5.8
Burger Boy
5.8
Of the three programs, this is suited to the widest age range. ‘Helpful
Herbert’ is serving customers in a busy burger bar, selling burgers,
chips, coke and milk shakes, and you have to show him which items to
reach on the shelves. Although Herbert moves quite fast, for very long
orders this can become tedious. The orders are politely given using
digitised speech with words on the screen. The speech can be turned off
in order to practise reading skills. System font is used, presumably
because long orders in a larger font would take up quite a lot of screen
space. However, it seems adequate for the age group here. Younger
children can opt to have the orders in picture form.
5.8
The game can be set up to include any number up to the four types of
food and sizes ‘small’, ‘medium’ and ‘large’ can also be included. You
certainly have to work quite quickly in this burger bar at higher skill
levels, as the order vanishes from the screen leaving you to remember
the two large cokes, three medium shakes and one small shake (or was it
two?). Prices can also be optionally introduced at varying levels of
difficulty, using £‘s, pence (in units of 10) or both. The child then
has to add up the total. Quite a test of mental arithmetic at the higher
levels.
5.8
The successful game is rewarded by seeing (and hearing!) the customer
eat his meal, followed by the inevitable indigestion − an element which,
no doubt, most children will find highly amusing. (At least our customer
has a few manners, in that he says “pardon me”.)
5.8
Skills covered include matching, sequencing, reading, memory, addition
and understanding money. (Giving change is not included).
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
I like all three programs and feel there is a place for them in school
and in the home. They are entertaining, while providing practice in
basic skills at National Curriculum Keystages 1 & 2 in Maths and
English. I wonder if people buying for 7-9 year olds, however, may
prefer to see Burger Boy sold separately, the first two programs being
infant material. Very good value for money (£18 through Archive).  A
5.8
5.8
!BasShrink Version 2.10
5.8
Hutch Curry
5.8
BasShrink version 2.10 is a Basic program compactor. The purpose of
!BasShrink is to provide a simple and effective method of squashing
Basic programs by the usual methods of shortening variable/procedure/
function names, deleting blank lines, REMs and spaces and concatenating
lines.
5.8
BasShrink in use
5.8
The procedure to squash a Basic program is:
5.8
(1) Load !BasShrink by double-clicking on its icon. It will then appear
on the icon bar although it should be pointed out that the version under
review does not multi-task while doing the compression. According to the
author, there will be a Version 3 BasShrink in the near future which
will properly multi-task.
5.8
(2) The main input window may be opened by clicking on the icon on the
icon-bar. This window allows the user to set the options controlling the
compression.
5.8
(3) Drag the Basic file either to the icon on the icon-bar or to the
main input window. If the main data window is not open, it will opened
automatically.
5.8
(4) Amend the options as necessary.
5.8
(5) Amend the output filename and/or drag the file to the destination
directory, or just click OK to overwrite the original program.
5.8
(6) Wait while the program is squashed.
5.8
Options
5.8
!BasShrink provides a very useful range of options to allow the user to
control the degree of compression desired. Essentially, the more options
that are set, the greater the degree of compression and the lower the
clarity of the source. Therefore, it is probably good practice to keep
the original uncrunched source as well as the compressed one for the
purposes of modifications, bug-fixes etc. The options are controlled by
flags which are listed below. Prefixing the flag with ‘’- turns that
option off.
5.8
c     −     concatenate (join) lines
5.8
l     −     remove blank lines
5.8
-p <str>     −     don’t shorten if linestart <str>
5.8
r     −     remove REM statements
5.8
*     −     remove *| statements
5.8
s     −     remove spaces
5.8
-v     −     verbose
5.8
A     −     ASC(“<char>”) −> <number>
5.8
D     −     affect DATA statements
5.8
F     −     shorten function names
5.8
I     −     represent integers shortest
5.8
P     −     shorten procedure names
5.8
S     −     SWI “<name>” −> SWI <number>
5.8
V     −     shorten variable names
5.8
The user can save the current state of the options by clicking on the
‘Save options’ icon. These options will become the default whenever
!BasShrink is run. It is also possible to reset the options to the start
up state by dragging the options file onto the icon-bar icon or the main
input window.
5.8
How good is it?
5.8
To evaluate !BasShrink, a large number of programs were passed through
the compactor with a request for differing degrees of compression. In
general, the results were very good in that:
5.8
(1) The programs still ran.
5.8
(2) The degree of compaction was well controlled by the selection of
options.
5.8
(3) The maximum compaction was very effective.
5.8
As typical examples of the sort of programs that a user might wish to
compact, I selected a medium length non multi-tasking PD graphics demo
(program A) and a quite substantial and fully RISC-OS compatible
application (program B) that I had written. Program A is actually an
appalling program in terms of its style and structure. The program is
linear and peppered with GOTO’s, GOSUB’s and RESTORE’s. The original
length of Program A was 13k. After maximum compaction, the length was
reduced to 10k and the compactor properly dealt with all the specific
line references. Program B was originally 70k in length and included
both Basic ARM assembler and a multitude of SWI’s. The presence of this
particular bit of assembler revealed the only serious bug I found in
quite extensive testing. !BasShrink was quite convinced that TSTP was
not a valid assembler mnemonic and refused to have any more to do with
the program. However, on putting a REM in front of the offending line,
!BasShrink crunched the program down to 26k. This was a most impressive
saving and indicates the sort of compaction of which !BasShrink is
capable.
5.8
Possible improvements
5.8
There are a couple of improvements that could easily be implemented to
improve the ease of use. The first is that the save box should not use
the input file name as the default output name. I would suggest instead
that the program construct a default name by adding something to the
original name such that an input file of !RunImage was saved out as
!RunImageXX or something similar. One of the options of !BasShrink is to
replace the SWI names with the corresponding SWI numbers. This is very
useful as the program will run faster with the numbers as the OS doesn’t
have to go and look them up at execution time. The ability to do this
translation necessarily depends on the module being found in either ROM
or RMA. What was a bit irritating in !BasShrink was that it did not
provide notification that one or more of the modules were not found.
This did not affect the running of the program as it merely did not do
the translation. It was only on inspection of the resulting output that
it became apparent that maximum compaction had not been achieved.
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
I would heartily recommend !BasShrink to anyone doing a lot of program
ming in Basic. This will be an even stronger recommendation when the one
bug is fixed. I am looking forward to Version 3 and hope it removes one
or two small niggles as well as multi-tasks properly. Version 2 of
!BasShrink is available for only £5.00 (this includes the full source
code). Version 3 of !BasShrink when completed will also be £5.00, with a
discount of £2.50 for version 2 owners. Interestingly, an earlier
version of !BasShrink has been placed into the public domain and may
therefore be found on bulletin boards, etc. This version is on this
month’s program disc and will allow someone to evaluate whether
BasShrink will do what they want or not before parting with £5.00.
5.8
!BasShrink can be obtained from the author John Wallace at Architype
Software, 54 Parkes Hall Road, Woodsetton, Dudley, West Midlands
DY1 3SR.  A
5.8
5.8
Please write or telephone for complete details about our wide range of
space science resources for the Archimedes, including the new image
processing package, PDSview, that gives access to the massive databank
of NASA images that have been released as well as providing powerful
processing for weather satellite or any other digital image. Over 27000
raw data images are available from us on CD-ROM. Also ask about the
award winning !Orrery application which brings the planetarium into your
home or classroom. Our new weather satellite software which is compat
ible with existing hardware will be out soon. This allows up to six
animation sequences, with unlimited frames, to be collected concurrently
on the desktop as a background task. This is truly a BREAKTHROUGH in the
field of meteorological satellite image data collection.
5.8
5.8
Oak Solutions
5.8
From 5.2 page 6
5.8
5.8
PD Column
5.8
David Holden
5.8
I’m going to devote this month’s column to two Archimedes disc based
magazines, ‘Absolutely’ and ‘Illusions’. My reasons for this are that
both have close links with PD (as will become apparent) and that, so
far, I haven’t seen any mention of this type of ‘opposition’ in any of
the conventional Archimedes magazines.
5.8
Absolutely is published by the same people that run the Datastream PD
library and, although it is a separate entity, the links with Datastream
are apparent. Illusions is run by a former Absolutely contributor and
the similarities can be seen.
5.8
I believe that there is at least one other disc-based magazine devoted
to the Archimedes so, in order to be fair, if the publishers of any of
them would care to send me copies, I will try to include details of them
at a later date.
5.8
Similarities
5.8
The magazines have a number of similarities. Both have a single disc
containing articles and one (Absolutely) or two (Illusions) discs of
archived PD programs, although I understand that Illusions will probably
only have a single disc of PD in future. Both cost £3 per monthly issue
or £7.50 for three months. Each magazine has a mix of contents, reviews,
articles on programming, tips for games, etc roughly similar to their
conventional, printed counterparts.
5.8
The ‘Reader’ programs
5.8
At the heart of any disc based magazine is the method used to display
text and illustrations. Illusions uses a RISC-OS compatible reader
program whereas Absolutely uses the fully RISC-OS compliant ‘Magpie’.
Both systems have a ‘contents page’ to which you can return at any time.
5.8
Magpie is a ‘multi-media’ program which allows illustrations to be
linked to the text. It is also fully multi-tasking and the text appears
in normal desktop windows. This means that, by altering the desktop
palette, you can define your own colours, if you wish. I particularly
like the way that games reviews can be linked to screen shots. This is
certainly the best argument for disc based magazines and the strongest
point in favour of Absolutely. On the other hand there is no doubt that
the ‘fancy’ fonts used by Magpie, although attractive to look at, are
not quite as easy to read from the screen as the standard 8×8 system
font used by the Illusions program. Perhaps a change of font might be an
improvement.
5.8
The Illusions system is certainly faster in operation but it has one
major fault, you can only move forwards through the text. There is no
way to move back to the previous page. This makes reading some of the
articles extremely frustrating. If you want to refer to something that
has just scrolled off the screen, you must return to the contents page
and start again from the beginning. Also, it is not as easy to change
the colours and those used, black text on a grey background, are not
particularly convenient in conditions where the ambient lighting is
bright. One less important fault is that, although the Illusions reader
program correctly returns you to the desktop when you quit, it resets
the desktop palette to the default colours and not those actually used
at the time the program was invoked. This is a minor detail which could
easily be corrected in the program but to people like myself who
frequently use a slightly different palette, it is rather annoying and
particularly noticeable when writing an article like this where I was
constantly going to and from the Illusions program.
5.8
Both systems have a facility to print the text if required.
5.8
The content
5.8
The best parts of both magazines are the games reviews. In particular,
Absolutely seems to have taken a lot of trouble over these and they are
well laid out and with a consistent format. I would like to see a few
more screen shots simply because I believe that this is one area where
disc magazines can score heavily over conventional printed media and it
would be a good idea to use this ability to the full.
5.8
The only other articles of any substance are programming tutorials.
Again, this is an area where this type of medium could excel but once
more its advantages have not been fully exploited. The substance, in
both magazines, is good but it would be nice to see some alternative to
the text-and-program-examples system which has been copied directly from
conventional magazines. I’m not sure exactly how this could be done but
I feel that there must be some way of using the fact that you are
dealing with a program actually running on the computer rather than
simply reading from a printed page to make the whole thing more
exciting.
5.8
I’m afraid that most of the remainder of the contents of both magazines
is rather disappointing. In both cases I get the feeling that there are
a lot of references that I would understand better if I were a regular
reader or were better acquainted with the editorial team. Unfortunately,
this gave a rather incestuous feel which is probably attractive to those
‘in the know’ but might tend to alienate new readers. Illusions in
particular feels more like a club magazine than a nationally distributed
periodical. However, younger readers, or those who have followed the
magazine from the beginning, might actually like this.
5.8
Since both magazines contain pleas for articles, it could simply be that
they are having difficulty finding sufficient material and it is this
that is dictating the style and paucity of material rather than the
editors’ choice.
5.8
The PD disc(s)
5.8
From the samples I have seen, the Illusions PD portion appears superior,
mainly because I prefer their choice of content. There is also twice as
much although this may soon cease to be the case. Illusions seems to
concentrate on many small utilities whereas the Absolutely disc contains
a few major applications and demos. There must obviously be a certain
conflict of interest here with the Datastream PD library although I have
no doubt that everything possible is done to minimise this.
5.8
I am not too keen on the large amount of PD with both of these
magazines. At present, the PD content outweighs the magazine by a factor
of at least three to one and I think this is rather too much. It would
certainly be much better if the ratio are in the other direction and I
would hope that if either or both continue to thrive and attract more
written content, this will be the case. It is certainly much easier and
cheaper to fill a disc with PD than pay people to write articles, as
conventional publications have discovered, but in the long run it will
not gain a large number of subscribers.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
The big advantage of a disc magazine is its immediacy and the fact that
it can be published with a low overhead and consequently an extremely
small launch circulation. It therefore becomes possible for a small
group of people with little money but a lot of enthusiasm to publish a
national magazine. Unlike conventional, printed matter, there is almost
no production delay so the potential for news and new product reviews is
enormous, although this would imply a closer relationship with the
industry than such small organisations are likely to be able to realise.
5.8
It is probably unfair to make direct comparisons with conventional
publications but nonetheless such comparisons must be made. The obvious
correlation is with Archimedes World which costs about the same.
Archimedes World has about the same amount of software, although the
plus here is that most of it is original, but the whole editorial
content of either Illusions or Absolutely would probably fill less than
one full page of Archimedes World.
5.8
On balance, I preferred Absolutely but this is very much a subjective
choice and I would urge anyone with an interest to try both. It can also
be seen that the two magazines are still evolving and they will no doubt
each develop their own specialities in the future. As for the concept of
disc-based magazines I’m still not really convinced, mainly because of
media limitations − they can never contain as much text as the printed
page − but once again I suggest you try them and make up your own mind.
5.8
Please keep writing to me with your comments about PD and related
subjects at the usual address, 39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London
SE26 5RN.
5.8
Absolutely is available from 26A Bull Lane, Rayleigh, Essex  SS6 8JD and
Illusions is available from 42 Wimbourne Gardens, Ealing, London  W13
8BZ.  A
5.8
5.8
Beginner’s Guide to Comms & Modems
5.8
Eddie Lord
5.8
Over the many years that I have been ‘playing’ with personal computers,
I have managed to ignore the comms side of computing completely, having
never felt the need to go ‘on line’. However, the company I work for has
recently introduced a Bulletin Board Service (BBS) for some of its
employees − this has forced a radical rethink on my part. If you thought
that computers had a lot of jargon, just wait until you see what the
world of comms has to offer. Without having a rudimentary knowledge of
this jargon, nothing appears to make sense. Here then is a potted guide
to this awful jargon − I hope it will spread a little bit of light.
5.8
Before looking at the various modem standards, it will be helpful to
have some understanding of the comms process.
5.8
Inside the Archimedes, data is sent to and from the ARM chip 32 bits at
a time along a parallel data bus. To communicate with the outside world,
this is then reduced to a 16 or 8 bit data bus via the peripheral
controller (IOC). To get information down the PSTN (Public Switched
Telephone Network) the 8 bit bus has to be reduced to a single carriage
way and sent via the serial interface, one bit at a time.
5.8
Also, the PSTN was never designed for digital signals, so direct
connection of the serial port to the telephone lines would not work. The
data to be sent must first be converted (or modulated) into an audio
(sound) signal that can be sent via the PSTN. Hence the use of the modem
(a MOdulator/DEModulator). All that has to be done now is to agree how
the data is to be transmitted and at what speed. This is not as
straightforward as it seems.
5.8
The Comms pathway
5.8
First, let us look at the comms pathway, and immediately make a
distinction between the computer to modem path and the modem to modem
path. The reason will become clear later on.
5.8
Straight away then we find ourselves bogged down with jargon. Computers
are generally known as DTE’s or Data Terminal Equipment. Modems on the
other hand are known as DCE’s or Data Communication Equipment.
5.8
The physical connection between DCE’s and DTE’s requires a minimum of 3
lines for ground, transmit and receive. These connections are set out in
the interface standard, the most common of which is the RS232 standard.
5.8
The DCE to DCE connection can either be direct, via a leased line, or
via the PSTN. In this instance, we are interested mainly in the
telephone connection.
5.8
Type of data to be modulated
5.8
Data can be organised and sent in one of two ways. The first is
asynchronous communication otherwise known as start stop transmission.
This was developed from the teletype machines, where each character
typed was parcelled up and sent individually, with the system idling in
between characters.
5.8
The secondly is synchronous communication, also known as ‘bit stream
synchronisation’. This involves sending a group of characters in a
single stream without any gaps.
5.8
For most domestic users who are accessing bulletin boards, asynchronous
comms is the most common form of data transfer. Using some of the more
intelligent modems, the computer can, in fact, talk to the modem
asynchronously, leaving the modem to convert to synchronous transmis
sion. This is quite transparent to the user.
5.8
Asynchronous transmission
5.8
(Start bits, data bits, parity bits & stop bits)
5.8
In asynchronous transmissions, data is sent one character at a time. It
starts with a start bit, followed by the 7 or 8 data bits, representing
the character, then a parity bit is sent followed by a stop bit (or
two).
5.8
The start and stop bits form a parcel around the character so that the
receiving modem knows when the character has been sent. Although there
is only ever one start bit, there may be one, one and a half or two stop
bits. The idea of more than one stop bit was to create a delay for the
old style electro-mechanical teleprinter machines allowing them to keep
up with the data flow. All the modern systems use one stop bit since,
these days, there are no mechanical gubbins involved.
5.8
The parity bit is used as a simple error checking device, since the
noise in the telephone network can corrupt the individual bits being
sent. In other words, a 0 may be corrupted to a 1. The parity bit is
added to make up the number of 1‘s in the character being sent to be
either odd or even. If the computer is set in advance to odd or even
parity, counting the number of 1’s that are received provides a simple
check on the character transmitted. If a single bit is corrupted, the
parity check indicates that an error has occurred but if two bits are
corrupted, the parity check would fail to show up the error.
5.8
In an interactive environment, you would probably notice any failure of
the parity check as it would result in a spurious character on screen.
However, in large data files such as programs, uncorrected errors are
unacceptable.
5.8
Therefore, the parity check has fallen into disuse and alternative error
checking is carried out in software. Most comms data is now sent with
the parity set to zero. This allows an extra bit of data to be sent.
5.8
The ASCII code defines 128 different characters (0 to 127) for the
various letters of the alphabet, upper and lower case, numbers,
punctuation, plus some important control codes. Only a 7 digit binary
number is required to define all 128 characters, i.e. you only need 7
data bits.
5.8
Unfortunately, not all manufacturers adopted this standard, notably IBM,
who extended the code to 8 data bits. The addition of one more data bit
allows the number of different characters to be sent to be doubled to
256, (0 to 255). The IBM character set allows some graphics and
mathematical characters to be sent. Other manufacturers adopted other
different extended character sets.
5.8
Most PC and BBS systems, therefore, use 8 data bits, no parity bit and
one stop bit (8n1).
5.8
The other most common setting, used with mainframe systems, e.g. Prestel
and CompuServe, is 7 data bits, even parity and one stop bit (7e1).
5.8
If the protocol is unknown, try 8n1 first but, if this give 50% garbage,
try 7e1. If this fails, try odd parity, 7o1. It must be emphasised that
your software must be set up in the same way as the remote computer.
5.8
The Archimedes can set the number of data bits between 5 and 8. Stop
bits can be 1, 1½ or 2. The parity bit can be odd, even or none. The
default setup for RISC-OS machines is the same as the BBC Master, 8 data
bits, no parity, 2 stop bits (8n2).
5.8
The speed limit for asynchronous does not normally exceed 9,600 bps
(bits per second) or 19,200 bps on dedicated links or leased lines.
5.8
Synchronous transmission
5.8
So far, we have only talked of asynchronous communications and this is
the way all personal computers communicate with the outside world. In
other words, information can be sent and gaps between characters cause
no problem because each character is wrapped up in a parcel of start and
stop bits.
5.8
With synchronous transmission, no start and stop bit is sent and so the
sender and receiver must be synchronised to each other at a fixed rate.
The flow of characters must be constant and if there are no characters
to be sent, padding characters must be sent instead. This is an
expensive method due to the extra circuitry required for buffers to hold
excess data and timing circuits. As the start and stop bits are missing,
a 20% faster rate of data flow is possible.
5.8
In fact, many of the more expensive modems (using V42 for example)
actually use synchronous methods when talking to other expensive modems
but this is transparent to the user. Asynchronous communication is used
between the computer and modem, although synchronous transmission can be
supported provided the software and the modem are compatible.
5.8
Full duplex, half duplex
5.8
As a piece of jargon “duplex” is a real humdinger. The trouble is that
it can take on two different meanings altogether.
5.8
The PSTN or switched line is only a two wire circuit which, in simple
terms, means that transmissions can only take place in one direction at
a time. Each modem taking turns to send and receive. This is called half
duplex.
5.8
A leased line, which is a permanent connection rented from the phone
company, is a four wire circuit. This allows data to be sent in two
directions at once. This is known as full duplex.
5.8
However, full duplex can be achieved on the PSTN if both modems can
subdivide the frequency bandwidth of the two wire connection into two
distinct channels. This method is good up to about 2400 bps but for
faster speeds, more sophisticated techniques are required.
5.8
Both modems must be able to support these methods if full duplex is to
be achieved.
5.8
Unfortunately, terminal devices also use the term full and half duplex
to mean something entirely different.
5.8
Half duplex (or local echo) means that characters typed and then
transmitted are also printed on the local screen. Not only does the
computer software have the local echo feature but the local modem may
also have an echo feature. That achieves the same thing so it is
sometimes possible to get two letters on the screen for every one you
type. In this case, you can configure the software to give local echo
OFF or use a command (or switch) to set the modem local echo to OFF.
5.8
When a terminal is in full duplex mode, each character typed is
transmitted but not immediately displayed. The device at the other end
must echo back the character to the originator which then displays it on
the screen. This is sometimes known as echoplex or host echo.
5.8
Usually, when configuring your software, local echo is not required, as
the other computer will echo back the letters you type to show that it
has been received correctly.
5.8
Baud rate and bps
5.8
Acorn refer in their manuals to the baud rate, as the rate of data
transmission. Modems manufacturers. however. talk of bits per second
(bps). Baud and bps are often taken to mean the same thing although
strictly speaking these are not the same.
5.8
The baud rate is actually defined as the number of times the carrier
signalling elements change per second. Sometimes each signal element can
carry two or more bits of information, allowing the actual information
throughput in bits per second to be faster than the baud rate.
5.8
Since it generally takes 10 bits to transmit a single character (1 start
bit, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit) a baud rate of 2400 bps will give a
rate of 240 characters per second. If we could get rid of the start and
stop bit then the transmission rate would be correspondingly higher, by
20%. In fact, these rates are never achieved in practice because of
inefficiency of the system.
5.8
Flow control (handshaking)
5.8
Flow control, or handshaking, is required to prevent the modem or
computer from being swamped by data it cannot use. Each unit must have
some method of regulating the flow of data and sending a signal to stop
the data flow if necessary. If the available buffer space is filled with
data, any excess data will be lost.
5.8
For example, if the line is noisy and an error occurs, the data has to
be retransmitted. The flow of data must, therefore, be stopped whilst
the retransmission takes place. In fact, many of the latest modems have
automatic speed buffering, allowing different rates of data flow between
the computer and modem and the modem/modem connection.
5.8
There are two methods of flow control − hardware control (RTS/CTS) and
software control (Xon/Xoff).
5.8
RTS/CTS uses two of the RS232 serial lines to start and stop the flow
and can only, therefore, be used between the modem and computer. (See
later for explanation of the RS232 lines.) It has the advantage that it
is independent of the data.
5.8
Xon/Xoff control can also be used between computer and modem, and is the
most common method used between modems. In this case, the software sends
the Xoff character (ASCII code 19 or Ctrl-S) to stop the flow and Xon
(ASCII code 17 or Ctrl-Q) to start the flow. This allows control of the
data from the keyboard, but has the disadvantage that the Xon and Xoff
characters cannot be used freely in the data.
5.8
For intelligent modems with protocols such as MNP, when used by both
modems, flow control will be provided automatically between modems.
5.8
Flow control is rarely needed on a micro to micro basis because the file
transfer protocol provides for flow control. This is because it waits
for each block of data to be acknowledged before the next one is sent.
5.8
File transfer protocols
5.8
These protocols, which are controlled by software, are required to allow
transfer of files regardless of the hardware and software used. Before
the latest error-correcting modems were introduced, error correction of
various sorts were carried out in software. There was also a need for a
method of sending binary files as opposed to just text files. There are
many of these file transfer protocols available and this is yet another
variable that has to be set when setting up comms software.
5.8
All these protocols essentially use the same method. The file is chopped
up into blocks of a fixed size and start-of-block and end-of-block
markers are added, followed by a checksum. The receiving computer
calculates its own checksum and sends an acknowledgement (ACK) if the
checksums agree. This is also the signal to send the next block of data.
A negative acknowledgement (NAK) is sent if the checksum does not agree.
If NAK is sent, the data is retransmitted.
5.8
Once again, it is important that the file transfer protocol used is the
same at each end. BBS systems and your comms software will give you a
wide choice.
5.8
ASCII − Not strictly a protocol, but included here to point out some of
the differences. It consists of 128, 7 bit codes (0-127) representing
all the letters, numbers and some control codes. As stated earlier, many
computers implement an 8-bit set of characters. Often these are not
standard but the lowest 128 characters are always the same.
5.8
Only text files should be sent, as there is no error checking and a
minimum of flow control. Xon/Xoff being the only method available. Use
7e1.
5.8
X-Modem − This was developed by Ward Christensen in the late 1970’s as
one of the first public domain error checking protocols. Although fairly
primitive by today’s standards, it is often included in comms packages
for compatibility. It uses 128 byte blocks, using half duplex mode.
Files must be a multiple of 128 bytes long. Only one file at a time can
be selected. There is also a 4 second delay (10 seconds in some relaxed
versions), before the receiving computer concludes there is an error and
sends a NAK. Error checking is by an 8 bit checksum which is not always
dependable.
5.8
X-Modem CRC − An improvement to X-Modem is to use a 16 bit CRC (Cyclic
Redundancy Check). It always attempts CRC first and if this is not
acknowledged, reverts to checksum error checking for the rest of the
transmission. Note that, often, X-Modem is specified when X-Modem CRC is
intended, giving rise to download faults.
5.8
X-Modem-1k − Essentially, this is CRC X-Modem with 1k (1024 byte)
packets. Whilst this is faster on good lines, it requires more retrans
missions on poor lines. Sometimes, X-Modem-1k is mistakenly called Y-
modem, in which case Y-Modem may be called Y-Modem (batch).
5.8
WX-Modem (Windows) − Most protocols divide the data to be transmitted
into ‘packets’, which are sent one at a time. With WX-Modem, up to four
packets may be sent before any acknowledgement is required. This
minimises delays and improves throughput. The window is the number of
packets sent before acknowledgement. Not all protocols allow this and
before windowing became established, the more versatile Z-Modem was
introduced.
5.8
Y-Modem − This is the same as XModem-1k except that it allows multiple
files in one transfer, (sometimes known as “batch” mode). Unfortunately,
there are many sub-variations of Y-Modem and care is needed to ensure
that the software is using the correct implementation. Not all software
follows the full Y-Modem specification.
5.8
1k blocks do speed up transmission on good lines but any error means
that the whole 1k block has to be retransmitted. So, on noisy lines,
throughput can be slower than X-Modem.
5.8
Similarly, Y-Modem also suffers from line delays whilst waiting for the
receiver to acknowledge the previous transmission and then send the next
block.
5.8
Y-Modem G − This was specially designed with error-correcting modems in
mind. Here the blocks are transmitted continuously, without waiting for
ACK to be sent, There is no error-correction and if any error is
detected the whole transfer is aborted. So this is a special case, used
only for hard wired connections or with error-correcting modems.
5.8
X-Modem 1k-G − This is a variant of X-Modem-1k, similar to Y-Modem-G in
that no error correction is provided, as it expects the modem to provide
this.
5.8
Z-Modem − This is the most advanced protocol, allowing multiple file
transfer. It varies the size of each block to cater for noisy telephone
lines, giving the best of possible results. Transmission is continuous,
only stopping when an error is detected. Throughput of data is much
higher than previous protocols. Interrupted transfers can be restarted,
even if you accidentally unplug the phone. 16 and 32 bit CRC checking
are provided.
5.8
Kermit − (Yes, named after that frog!) One of the disadvantage of the X-
Modem family of protocols is that they require a full 8 data bits per
byte. Some computers, mainly main frames, cannot handle this 8th bit,
requiring only 7 bits. They cannot cope with ASCII codes 0 to 31 and the
DEL character (ASCII 127).
5.8
Developed by Columbia University, it uses 7 or 8 data bits for transmis
sion. Kermit will convert the 8th bit when required. Long blocks (1024
bytes) can also be sent and full duplex mode is supported.
5.8
This is not a very efficient protocol but it is very often required when
talking to mainframes. It is also very good on noisy lines.
5.8
CET − This the standard Viewdata Telesoftware protocol designed to allow
users of Viewdata systems such as Prestel, to download the software.
5.8
CET+ is an enhanced version of CET which allows a faster transfer of
files. Your bit setting should be 7e1.
5.8
Others Protocols − There are many other protocols but I have just
mentioned the most common ones. Many of them are really only enhance
ments of existing ones.
5.8
CompuServe have designed a number of its own protocols such as QB and B
plus, for use on the CompuServe Information Service.
5.8
The CCITT and Bell standards
5.8
The history of modems and their standards is typical of the electronics
industry as a whole, being governed by the amount of clout a company has
and the cost of developing higher speeds and, of course, geography.
Fortunately, the latest modems conform to the CCITT standards and, as
such, are compatible with one another. The Consultative Committee on
International Telephone and Telegraph (CCITT) is the international body
that sets the standards for worldwide communication. All areas of
communications are covered, such as modulation and speed, error
correction and data compression techniques.
5.8
The other major standard is the Bell standard in the USA. A brief
description of each follows:
5.8
Bell 103 − This is a common standard but the slowest available in the
USA. Bell103 is not compatible with the European equivalent standard V21
and uses a different frequency for the carrier tone. Only asynchronous
transmission is supported by this standard.
5.8
Bell 212A − This was the second modem standard to find wide application
in the USA and is equivalent to V22.
5.8
Although Bell 212A uses the same modulation techniques as the CCITT V22
standard, the two are not compatible because of the different answering
tones used. (Bell212 sends a tone of 2225 Hz, V22 2400 Hz).
5.8
300/300 V21 − This is the lowest and slowest standard at 300 bps
asynchronous only, both for transmit and receive. Modulation uses the
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) technique in which a specific tone denotes
a logical one and a second tone a logical zero. It is maintained in most
multi-speed modems for compatibility with older services.
5.8
1200/1200 V22 − Modulation is by Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK)
in which the phase of the carrier signal is shifted by any one of four
phase angles. The carrier wave can change phase up to 600 times a second
or 600 baud. Each baud can carry two bits of data, raising the through
put to twice the baud rate of 1200 bps. Transmission and reception can
be at 1200 bps, both asynchronous and synchronous. It also has a fall
back rate of 600 bps. The bandwidth of the phone line is split allowing
full duplex communication.
5.8
75/1200 V23 − V22 was very expensive initially, so a cheaper compromise
was introduced, giving a split standard of 75 bps transmit and 1200
receive. The 75bps back channel made it ideal for the various Viewdata
services such as Prestel. As a result, V23 is now restricted to Europe.
Any modem made with the US market in mind will almost certainly not
include this protocol.
5.8
2400/2400 V22bis − This is an extended version of V22 and, at 2400 bps,
is compatible with modems from the USA. Modulation is by Quadrature
Amplitude Modulation at 600 baud. This combines both phase and amplitude
modulation techniques. Because each baud represents 4 bits, the
throughput of data is increased to 2400bps for both transmit and receive
(asynchronous and synchronous). A V22bis modem when operating at 1200
bps will follow the V22 format, that is DPSK modulation, which means
that at this speed (1200 bps) the modem cannot communicate with an
American modem using the Bell 212A standard.
5.8
9600/9600 V32 − This is based on a modified Quadrature Amplitude
Modulation technique for data rates of 4800 bps at 2400 baud. For the
higher rate of 9600 bps, a more sophisticated modulation technique is
used, called Trellis Code Modulation (TCM). An asynchronous-to-syn
chronous converter is built into the modem, allowing asynchronous data
to enter the modem and be sent on as synchronous data. This permits full
duplex (2 way), 9600 bps asynchronous transmission to occur synchron
ously. In this instance, the two channels share the same bandwidth
whilst some clever echo cancellation techniques sort out which is
transmitted data and which is received data.
5.8
(Note that fax machines also operate at 9600 bps but have their own V
standards.)
5.8
14400/14400 V32bis − This extends the V32 standard to 14400 bps, whilst
allowing fall back rates of 12000, 9600, 7200 and 4800 bps. The baud
rate remains at 2400, the extra data bits being encoded by ever more
phase and amplitude changes. These phase/amplitude changes have been
squeezed so tightly together that any noise on the line could easily
mimic these changes. Error detection and correction become increasingly
important at these high speeds due to the sensitivity of the transmis
sion techniques.
5.8
Other Standards − There are other standards, eg V27, V29, but the
standards listed above are the most important for one’s modems. The
accompanying table summarises the different standards.
5.8
Error correction and data compression
5.8
Error correction is required to cope with noise on the phone line,
retransmitting data that is corrupt, so that only error-free data is
sent to the terminal. Error-correcting modems work by transmitting data
in frames. Each frame consists of a header, then the data itself,
followed by the CRC error check. These extra bits of information are
called the modem overheads and are set irrespective of the length of the
data packet in the frame. If the receiving modem does not agree with the
error check, it asks for the data to be retransmitted.
5.8
The CCITT also have standards for error-correction and data compression
which are covered below. Other manufacturers also have their own
standards, some of which have become industry standards, notably MNP by
Microcom. For error-correction and compression to work, both modems at
either end of the phone link must conform to one of the standards
discussed below. Once linked together, the two modems automatically
negotiate which is the best protocol to use.
5.8
Microcom network protocol (MNP)
5.8
Microcom is a modem manufacturer who evolved a set of standards over
time, releasing some of them into the public domain in an attempt to
create the standard of the day. MNP classes 1 to 4 deal with error
control and are in the public domain, whereas classes 5 to 10 are
licensed by Microcom. Each class gives a steady improvement on the last
class but all higher classes can revert back to a lower class.
5.8
MNP Class 1 − This is used for error-correction only and gives the
lowest performance level. It uses asynchronous, half duplex transmis
sion, providing only about 70% efficiency, a 2400bps modem would give a
throughput of about 1700 bps. It is rarely used now.
5.8
MNP Class 2 − This is again used for error-correction only, using
asynchronous, full duplex transmission. It works by confirming each byte
sent, by having the receiving modem echo back each character. It is
about 85% efficient, so a 2400 bps modem would give a throughput of
about 2000bps. This class is provided in software form by The Serial
Port’s ArcTerm 7 comms package.
5.8
MNP Class 3 − This improves on Class 2 by using synchronous, full duplex
transmission, which improves the efficiency to about 108%, so at 2400
bps, the modem delivers about 2600 bps. This is achieved by transmitting
data in blocks without the start and stop bits, which should give an
uplift in throughput of 20%, but the modem overheads cut this down. The
computer still sends data to the modem asynchronously, but the modems
talk to each other synchronously.
5.8
MNP Class 4 − This is an error-correcting protocol which adds two
techniques. Adaptive Packet Assembly gives enhanced performance, on good
telephone lines, by sending larger data packets to increase throughput.
On bad lines, smaller packets are sent and although this increases the
overheads, it is better than continual retransmission because of errors.
Data Phase Optimisation reduces the modem overheads by eliminating some
of the house keeping.
5.8
Throughput is increased by up to 120% − 2400 bps gives 2900 bps
throughput.
5.8
MNP Class 5 − This class adds data compression in real time. Data is
compressed as it arrives at the modem, before transmission, and is
expanded at the other end. The amount of compression will depend on the
type of file, but it works best on plain text files giving up to 2:1
compression ratio. Based on a compression ratio of 1.6:1 throughput can
give a 200% efficiency − a 2400bps modem can now deliver 4800 bps. For
some files which are already compressed (Sparked!), the throughput may
actually decrease because Class 5 will expand the data, because it tries
to compress in real time rather than look at the whole file.
5.8
MNP Classes 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 − All these classes exist, each one an
improvement on the earlier class, but they are now mainly restricted to
MNP’s own modems.
5.8
CCITT standards
5.8
By the time the CCITT standards for error-correction and data compres
sion were ratified, MNP levels 2 to 4 had already become the industry
standard, because they had been put into the public domain. Since 1989,
the CCITT V42 standard has now become the industry norm.
5.8
V42 − This is the error-correcting CCITT equivalent of MNP Class 4. V42
also includes MNP Class 1 to 4 so that all MNP Class 4 modems are
compatible with V42 modems, although V42 is a marginally better
standard. At the beginning of a call, V42 modems will automatically fall
back to MNP 4 if V42 cannot be supported.
5.8
V42bis − This is the CCITT standard for data compression. Modems that
use V42bis also include V42, ensuring compatibility with MNP Class 4.
V42bis is more efficient than MNP Class 5, or MNP 7 but, being differ
ent, is not compatible with either. V42 is intelligent in that it
analyses the data to be sent and only compresses the data that can
usefully be compressed. Compression factors up to four times are
possible. Files already compressed are not expanded as with MNP Class 5.
5.8
Error-correction versus file transfer protocols
5.8
Herein lies some confusion − why have a file transfer protocol for
error-checking and an error-correcting modem? The difference is partly
historical and partly technical.
5.8
Historically, the File Transfer Protocols were developed because of the
real need for a more sophisticated error-checking system than the parity
check. This was in the days before error-correcting modems were readily
available. Even now, error-correcting modems are not cheap in the UK,
even though the prices are falling.
5.8
From the technical standpoint, error-correcting modems only provide
error-correction between the two modems. This is invisible to the user,
giving the appearance (to the user) of a perfect line. Once again it
should be noted that error-correcting modems only work if there is a
similar modem at both ends of the line. Note also that ALL information
that passes down the phone line is error-checked, not just the file
being transferred. This of course includes commands and screen data.
5.8
In fact, the early protocols such as X-Modem and Kermit, developed
before error-correcting modems, assume that the modem will not introduce
any delays. As the older protocols send smaller blocks than the modem,
the use of the modem’s error-correction can actually slow things down.
This is because the modem uses larger blocks of data, but is forced to
send smaller blocks than it is capable of, thus reducing its efficiency.
5.8
This problem can be solved if the modem can wait for several blocks to
be sent by the computer software, then send the collected blocks as a
complete package down the phone line. This is known as spoofing. (Who
invents these names?!)
5.8
RS serial interfaces
5.8
RS232 is the usual connection between modem (DCE) and computer terminal
(DTE). The interface specification allows for 25 signals to control the
flow of data. For asynchronous transmission, nine to twelve conductors
may be used. (Nine connections are used for the Archimedes, see below.)
Synchronous transmission typically require 12 to 16 conductors.
5.8
A signal is said to be ON if the pin voltage is between +3V and +15V,
and OFF if the pin voltage is between −3V and −15V. (Later specs
increased this to +/−25V).
5.8
The RS232 specification is now very old, and has been updated to RS423.
As long as a serial device is compatible to either, all will be well.
5.8
Modem                                    Serial Port / DTE
5.8
Power Supply    −−−−−1−−−−−    Earth
5.8
    −−−−−7−−−−−    Signal Grd
5.8

5.8
Data    <−−−−2−−−−−)    Transmit
5.8
RTS    <−−−−4−−−−−)    Circuits
5.8
CTS    −−−−−5−−−−>)
5.8

5.8
Data    −−−−−3−−−−>)    Receive
5.8
Carrier Detect    −−−−−8−−−−>)    Circuits
5.8

5.8
Data Set Ready    −−−−−6−−−−>)    Control
5.8
Data Term Ready    <−−−−20−−−−)    Circuits
5.8
Ring Indicator    −−−−−22−−−>)
5.8

5.8
The above diagram gives the RS232 interface layout for an asynchronous
connection. The various circuits are explained below:-
5.8
TXD Transmit Data is the actual line along which the transmitted data is
passed from computer to modem.
5.8
RTS Request To Send is a signal from computer (DTE) to modem (DCE) to
put the modem into transmit mode, ready for transmission. Prior to
sending data, the computer must have received CTS signal from the modem.
5.8
CTS Clear To Send is a signal from modem (DCE) to computer (DTE), to
indicate that the modem is ready to transmit. The CTS signal is sent
after the modem has been given a RTS signal. When the CTS signal is off,
the modem is telling the computer not to send any data.
5.8
DCD Data Carrier Detect is a signal from the modem (DCE) to computer
(DTE), indicating that a carrier tone is being received from the remote
modem. Only a set tone is received − no data is passed yet. The DCD
signal will also switch on the LED of the modem if so equipped. If the
LED goes out during a session, the link will be terminated due to loss
of carrier.
5.8
RXD Receive Data is the actual line along which the received data is
passed from the modem to computer.
5.8
DSR Data Set Ready is a signal from modem (DCE) to computer (DTE)
indicating that the modem is connected to the phone line and ready to
send data.
5.8
DTR Data Terminal Ready is a signal from computer (DTE) to modem (DCE)
to control the modem’s connection to the phone line. Sometimes used for
flow control, though RTS is more usual. Typically, dropping the DTR
(voltage) will cause the modem to hang up.
5.8
RI Ring Indicator indicates that the modem is receiving a call, i.e.
ringing tones. It is used by auto-answer modems, to kick-start the
computer into action.
5.8
Modem connections
5.8
Modems are usually supplied with a cable having a 25pin D connector at
each end. The Archimedes requires a 9pin female D connector similar to
the IBM AT computer. The Archimedes serial chip appears to handle the
CTS and DCD lines differently and the majority of software writers have
agreed on the wiring of the serial port shown below. Rewiring is a
relatively simple job, as the pin numbers are embossed into the plastic
support for the pins.
5.8
  Arc 9 pin                              Modem 25 pin
5.8
  1    DCD *
5.8
  2    RXD    <−−−−−−−−−    RXD    3
5.8
  3    TXD    −−−−−−−−−>    TXD    2
5.8
  4    DTR *    −−−−−−−−−>    DTR    20
5.8
  5    0vs    −−−−−−−−−−    SG    7
5.8
  6    DSR    <−−−−−−−−−    CTS    5
5.8
  7    RTS    −−−−−−−−−>    RTS    4
5.8
  8    CTS *
5.8
  9    RI     <−−−−−−−−−    DCD    8
5.8
The pins marked with a * should be wired together.
5.8
This is how my modem is wired and it works on my A410/1 both with and
without the PC emulator. The PC emulator notes indicate that a standard
IBM type cable will work.
5.8
Terminal emulations
5.8
So far we have looked at just transferring files but in order to talk to
any other type of computer, the keyboard of the remote computer or
terminal must be understood by the home computer and vice-versa. In
other words, our comms software must be able to emulate the other
terminal. (As seen earlier, the ASCII codes 0-127 are common to all but
the upper 128 are not). Codes for cursor control, function keys, keypad
and colour graphics codes for the screen must be interpreted correctly.
5.8
Once again, we have more variables to cope with, as there are many
different terminals to emulate.
5.8
Emulators you will come across are VT52, VT100/102, Tektronix, ANSI, and
Teletype. Prestel and other Viewdata BBS will require a viewdata
emulator. ☓☓
5.8
Hayes command set
5.8
The commands for controlling the modem functions, developed by Hayes
Microcomputer Products, have become the de facto industry standard.
Whilst the basic Hayes command set is standard, some manufacturers have
extended the commands to allow control of the more intelligent modems.
5.8
The commands consists of the letters AT (for attention) followed by
specific codes, which can be up to 40 characters long. For example,
5.8
ATDT884105
5.8
will tell the modem: Attention, Dial Tones 884105. Hence they are
sometimes called the AT command set.
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
Here then is sufficient information for anyone to be able to pick up a
modem specification sheet and understand all the gobbledegook. It may
not have been easy reading but I hope it will prove a valuable refer
ence.
5.8
It is a sad fact of life that quad speed modems can be bought in the Far
East for about £65, including the local telephone company approval.
Modems here in the U.K. must, of course, have the green BT sticker
before they can be connected to the BT PSTN.  A
5.8
5.8
 SUMMARY OF MODEM STANDARDS
5.8
    Standard    Data    Transmission    Modulation
Duplex    Baud
5.8
        Rate    Technique    Technique
5.8

5.8
    Bell 103    300    Asynchronous    FSK
Half/Full    300
5.8
    Bell 212A    300    Asynchronous    FSK
Half/Full    300
5.8
        1200    Asyn/Sync    PSK
Half/Full    600
5.8

5.8
    CCITT
5.8
    V21    300    Asynchronous    FSK
Half/Full    300
5.8
    V22    600    Asynchronous    PSK
Half/Full    600
5.8
        1200    Asyn/Sync    PSK
Half/Full    600
5.8
    V22bis    2400    Asynchronous    QAM
Half/Full    600
5.8
    V23    600/75    Asyn/Sync    FSK
Half/Full    600
5.8
        1200/75    Asyn/Sync    FSK
Half/Full    600
5.8
    V32    4800    Asyn/Sync    QAM
Half/Full    2400
5.8
        9600    Asyn/Sync    TCM
Half/Full    2400
5.8
    V32bis    14400    Asyn/Sync    TCM
Half/Full    2400
5.8
5.8
Borders & Ethnic Borders
5.8
Kevin Beales
5.8
The explosion of interest in DTP work on the Archimedes and the amazing
possibilities of Impression have led to an ever increasing demand for
good graphics to meet the newly discovered potential. These two discs
are perfect for that.
5.8
Borders
5.8
Borders is crammed with over 100 different designs of frame border for
Impression II, version 2.14 being recommended. Each has been designed by
readers of “The Archimedean”, Computer Concepts’ own newsletter.
5.8
Using them is simple. The procedure is outlined on page 191 of the
Impression II manual, but the disc comes complete with a 12 page booklet
which contains a step by step guide. It also illustrates each of the
borders as they appear in their directories on the disc. In addition,
full information is given as to their size, both in terms of their
relationship to the frame they enclose and in memory bytes.
5.8
The range is incredible, from simple ones such as “Photo”, producing the
very useful effect of old fashioned photo mounts in the corner of a
frame, to elaborate combinations that allow users to create very
idiosyncratic effects as lines curl in and around each other. A
directory of historically inspired frames contains several art nouveau
and art deco examples while users wanting frames to recall the ancient
Celts, the Tudors and the Victorians will not be disappointed. Teachers
even have a directory for different school departments such as CDT,
comprising various hand tools; Art, using palettes and paint and Home
Economics, made up of cups, pans and jugs. It is useful as a source of
clip art if nothing else!
5.8
Frames are made up with bows, flowers, leaves, Greek pillars, fruit,
pins, grey tones, lines of various thicknesses and boxes of various
size. There is even one consisting of a “cut here” type line, complete
with open pair of scissors which my son has used successfully, realising
that you don’t need to use a border on every side of a frame. Indeed one
of the joys of this disc is the ability to mix frame borders, simple
with elaborate, or to put them into !Draw and customise them to your own
design. My own favourite at the moment has got to be one of the “Quote”
series. It consists of a thick line broken by a pair of huge speech
marks. Used above and below a quotation in a church magazine or
newsletter, it can be perfect for setting off a page of rather plain
typing. Its effect is dramatic but so simple to achieve − and that is
the real value of this disc. It allows the user to have that special
effect which turns amateurish DTP into something special so that it is a
disc no serious DTPer should be without and I thoroughly recommend it.
(£15 from CC or £14 through Archive.)
5.8
Ethnic Borders
5.8
Ethnic Borders by Wynne Croll is a similar product, a disc from 4Mation
for use with their excellent program, Poster. Of course, text and
graphics produced in Poster can be saved as Draw files and included in
Impression. This can be a simple way to create an eye-catching effect.
“Children’s Corner”, for example, bent to fit the corner of a page in a
magazine or newsletter makes a dramatic statement easily identified
with, and the addition of clever borders to such effects can be the
icing on the cake. I have used the “Paper Clip” border around text
produced in Poster to provide a “memo board” style note of dates-to-
remember to liven up a school parents’ newsletter.
5.8
The 43 borders on this disc have been created by New Zealander, Wynne
Croll, and many show an influence of Maori art. Others, taken from the
ancient “Book of Kells”, are rich in interlocking Celtic curves.
5.8
The disc contains an application which, when run, provides Poster with
the Draw file information for its borders library. If this application
is opened, the draw files themselves can be seen. The disc does not come
with any kind of booklet illustrating the borders, so a utility like the
PD “Display” or the new “Glimpse” will be useful to check them out. Some
offer intriguing possibilities, such as “Barb”, based on barbed wire or
“Cats”, based on... cats! There are borders influenced by Indian and
medieval European art, together with 19th century English wood carving.
Some are amazingly complex, two colour designs, claiming a lot of memory
but staggering in their effect, especially when printed by laser
printer. Others are delightfully simple: a bunch of grapes hanging over
the rays of a setting (or rising) sun in the diagonal corner.
5.8
The total range of borders is more limited on this disc than the one
from Computer Concepts, but their detail is often finer and more
luxuriant. It is a specialist product but those working in fields where
there is a need for the more exotic such as book plates, mounting poetry
for framing, or the covers of magazines, etc should seriously consider
it. (Ethnic Borders is £10 +VAT from 4Mation or £11 through Archive.)  A
5.8
5.8
Holed Out Compendium
5.8
Rick and Myles Thorne
5.8
This is a golf game which comes on two discs with a helpful leaflet
which gives playing guidelines, club performances from the fairway,
(very useful for total beginners) and some ideas about coping with wind,
strength and direction.
5.8
There are four skill levels: Beginner, Enthusiast, Amateur and Profes
sional. The first three categories are assisted, reducing or eliminating
the effects of bunkers, wind and the rough, but the professional
encounters all hazards.
5.8
Up to six players per round can play in a stroke play situation (with
default names synonymous with the Beatle era!) and two in a matchplay
game. Each player is easily recognised by their colourful outfits.
5.8
The first disc simply boots in the program and prompts the players to
insert a courses disc. Having done so, the player is given the choice of
receiving instructions or not. If the choice of instructions is taken,
three pages of comprehensive text, describing everything from club
selection to constructing a hole, are shown.
5.8
Instructions
5.8
Page one tells the players how to use the mouse, offering advice for
club selection, direction of play and power of shot. Players have the
ability to slice or hook a shot.
5.8
Page two describes how holes can be edited and offers two groups of
options. The first draws various objects such as fairways, water and
bunkers on the hole and the second controls the edit actions. All
actions have their own HELP text which makes playing the holes quite
straightforward. The player is told how to save the holes being played
and how to view a hole.
5.8
Page three advises how to construct a hole, mentioning some of the
drawbacks with certain designs. Having read the instructions, the player
is given the choice of playing or editing.
5.8
Editing
5.8
Six courses are available for editing and, after clicking onto one of
them, a view of each hole is shown in turn. Below the view, in the icon
bar, is a series of options which can replace existing ones. Each
obstacle can be moved about, replaced or discarded until you are
satisfied. This operation is simple because the information given is
quite comprehensive. However, we found drawing bunkers difficult and had
to reload because we were unable to escape or return to the menu.
5.8
Playing the game
5.8
Playing the game is enjoyable because of the different skill levels. A
competent player can play as a Professional against a player new to the
game who can play as a beginner or enthusiast. There are six courses to
play on and, having selected one of these, each hole can be previewed or
the game can be started immediately.
5.8
Once a game is chosen (matchplay or strokeplay), each player types in
his or her name and is given the option of playing as a left or right
hander. In some cases, it appears to be easier to play lefthanded. The
skill level is then chosen and the players are asked to agree that the
selections they have made are correct.
5.8
Each hole appears in turn, the view always being from behind the
player’s club. A window offers choice of club and a variety of informa
tion about the hole to be played. The leaflet provided is extremely
useful for club selection.
5.8
Having chosen a club, a square cursor has to be positioned in the
direction the ball needs to be hit. Then a club power meter appears on
the screen, giving a range of power between 0 − 100%. This is a really
important part of playing the hole as the distance the ball travels is
dependent on the percentage level of power chosen.
5.8
The mouse is also important at this point because the player can choose
a hook (select), straight (menu) or slice (adjust) shot. The golfer
swings his club in a very relaxed style whilst the player watches
enviously at the ease at which the stroke is played. The graphics are
excellent, mimicking a golfer’s movements quite realistically.
5.8
After every hole, each player is told what he has achieved for the hole
and congratulated if he has done well. Correct golfing terms are used
throughout. A score card appears, showing each player’s score and an
invitation to continue or quit is given.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
After an initial period of frustration, just like every golfer goes
through on a real golf course, playing the game gets easier as the skill
level of the player increases. We really liked the sound effects,
especially when the ball finally sunk into the hole.
5.8
Because there is a great variety of courses and ways of playing, plus an
opportunity to change the construction of holes whenever a change is
felt necessary, we believe that the Holed Out Compendium will keep us
amused for many hours to come. Besides, it’s much cheaper than paying
for the real thing and it can be played in comfortable surroundings, no
matter what the weather is like!  A
5.8
5.8
Networking the School
5.8
Geoff Gates
5.8
This is not meant to be a “how to do it” article. It is more a case of
“how I did it and survived”! Hopefully, this article will stir up some
correspondence on the much ignored (in Archive anyway) subject of
networking.
5.8
For some years now I have wanted to put a network into the school. The
single greatest problem has been its high cost. With the advent of a
government initiative we, like other schools, managed to buy a number
Archimedes computers which we sited in a small room converted from two
toilets next to the library and I started buying software to go with
them. (As a matter of interest there were some people who thought we
would be better off buying Amstrad WPs.)
5.8
After a very short while, it became obvious that some form of mass
storage or network was ceasing to be desirable and had become instead a
necessity! We had bought a number of software site licences and, with
the software that came with the Archimedes themselves, each machine had
8 or 9 discs by its side. One or two of the discs came in for a great
deal of use and so would crash regularly; usually when I was teaching a
more boisterous group of kids as far as possible from the computer room
and with the teacher involved being computer illiterate and probably
also anti- computers.
5.8
A hard disc in each machine was an impossible dream then. However, we
had been given a reel of network cable so I looked again at a network
option. We couldn’t afford the dedicated fileserver and the network
hardware very easily. Then Level 4 arrived. We bought a 47M SCSI hard
disc so all we needed now was the network interfaces and the Level 4
software itself. The cheapest interfaces I could find were from XOB with
an integral clock and terminator in one interface and a terminator in
another. By the time I actually started putting in the wiring,
‘Broadcast Loader’ was also released and I bought that as well.
5.8
When the room was originally converted, some very nice trunking was put
in on the wall to hold the mains cabling. There were two other sections
for signal cables built into the sides. Pulling the cover off was hard.
I laid the main cable around the room and put in ten outlets. For each
outlet the outer insulation and the shielding was removed from the main
cable. Then the wires inside were separated and pushed into the IDC
slots. A flying lead connected to a standard din socket screwed into the
trunking cover had its wires also pushed into the correct slots. A
screwdriver was needed to press the wires in because the cheap plastic
device I bought to do the job was useless after the first time. Putting
the trunking back together was the hardest part. I had forgotten my
rubber hammer to bang the cover home and in the end my hand felt like
cheap steak.
5.8
The computers were easily opened and the XOB interfaces were easily (but
with much sweat on brow!) pushed into the computers. The sticky labels
were pulled off the Econet sockets and the cables connected between
trunking and computers. Then I turned the network on. Econet icons
appeared on all the machines except one. Power off and a quick push on
the interface produced the icon when the power came back on. XOB had
sent the clock set to the standard Econet clock speed. A little utility
from them showed a nice healthy clock on each machine.
5.8
At this point I must tell you that XOB were very helpful, (by ringing me
back at home for half an hour and this from Scotland) going over how to
do each step. Ten Brownie points for XOB.
5.8
Installing the fileserver was RISC-OS simple. Fiddling with the boot
file was a little bit of a pain until I installed the non-standard Boot
from the user group which Acorn in inexplicable wisdom had included and
which worked perfectly. Now, at power-on or control-break, whatever
software-name you include in the Deskstart file in the Armboot appli
cation is present on all the computers around the room. Strangely
enough, however, it is faster to load only the Broadcast modules at this
stage and then load, by clicking on an application’s icon on all
machines simultaneously, the required application.
5.8
Any software that is to be available on the network has to be set to
public read-access (that includes Armboot). It was a very difficult
thing to believe the ease with which the whole thing was done. Apart
from physical tiredness there was none of the despair we must all know
when staring at the screen and saying “Why, Why, won’t you work?’ It
just worked! Next step is to extend the cabling around the whole school.
5.8
Of course that is not the whole story − the rest lies with other
people’s software or equipment. Logotron’s Numerator didn’t put its icon
on the icon bar, but if you clicked on the space on the icon bar where
the icon should have been, the program’s window opened. One or two
pieces of software are naughty and call directly to files in ADFS which
causes problems on our SCSI driven Network.
5.8
These were not big problems however; Schema on the other hand was − and
is! Broadcast takes some space from each machine and with that and
Schema’s need for 640k, it won’t even load across the network with our
1M machines. (Upgrade the memory, I hear you say.....there are now 15
unexpanded machines in the school!! Which comes first; memory or new
machines?)
5.8
Also, there is a timing error between the serial port and our Fujitsu
Postscript printer. “It’s nothing to do with us, see the Acorn/Fujitsu”
is the only answer I get. NCS and Lingenuity have offered advice but no
luck at the moment. So my serial connection is running at 2400 baud and
big pictures produce ‘Comm-Error’ nearly every time. Again I hear a cry;
“use the parallel port connection instead.” The printer, using the
parallel link, accepts the data then locks up until it times-out!! I
can’t be sure but I think PrinterPS doesn’t send the last command or
else it is just lost on the way! Any help here would be gratefully
received.
5.8
Apart from these, there is only one real irritation left (apart from a
mate whose school has just bought a Nexus system to go with his Econet
and another school which has bought two Laser-Direct printers) and that
is my clock speed. I have increased it to the point where the mark is
down to the minimum of 1 microsecond and the space (the information is
transmitted here) is 1.5 microseconds long. I think there will be
improvements perhaps by lengthening the space again but without being
able to see if there are any requests for repeat transmission of
individual blocks over the network I cannot tell if the system is
optimised. Anyone with an answer here?
5.8
In the long term, with their drop in cost, I will probably purchase
hard-drives for each new machine. We will buy a 200 M hard drive and
give everyone some space to save on the network as well as on their own
disc. Laser-Direct printers are a must. All I need is money. Anyone got
any cheap Archimedes? Or a couple of thousand pounds?  A
5.8
5.8
J is Here
5.8
Glyn Emery
5.8
As reported in the April edition of Archive (5.7 p16) Kenneth Iverson,
the inventor of APL, has now come up with a new language called J, and
it is available on the Archimedes. Iverson calls J a dialect of APL; but
there are enough new features in it to justify calling it a new
language.
5.8
J uses the standard ASCII character set, taking the 30 non-alphanumeric
symbols on a standard keyboard and using them either alone or followed
by a point or a colon. In this way, it provides a richer set of
operators even than APL. Moreover most operators in J can be used either
monadically or dyadically. For instance, the circumflex ^ used dyadi
cally denotes “power” in J (as it does in several other languages) thus
3^4 yields 81. Used monadically, it denotes a power of e, i.e. ^1 is
2.71828. ^ with a point yields a logarithm. Thus x^.y gives the log of y
to base x. Used monadically with a point, it gives the natural log. The
“shriek” mark ! has its conventional monadic meaning of factorial. Used
dyadically, however, it gives binomial coefficients.
5.8
J goes further than APL in generalising mathematical concepts. For
instance, while ^ denotes power in the conventional sense, follow it
with a colon and it becomes extended to operators, allowing them too to
be raised to a power, i.e. to be applied a specified number of times.
Particularly useful is ^:_1 which denotes the inverse of the operator
that precedes it. ^:_2 denotes the inverse applied twice. (Note that J,
like APL, distinguishes between the operator − and the sign _ .)
5.8
Operators are called “verbs” in J, and operands “nouns”. There are also
“adverbs” (such as ^:) which modify the action of verbs, “conjunctions”
and even “gerunds”. For instance, the conjunction & can be used to tie a
particular base to the logarithm verb so that, for instance, 10&^.
defines a monadic verb that yields common logarithms.
5.8
A particular feature of J is that it allows verbs to be combined in
interesting ways. To take a simple example, we calculate the mean of a
set of data by totalling it and then dividing by the count (or tally) of
items in the data. Thus we may define the process of calculating a mean
as (total divideby tally). Such a sequence of three verbs is known in J
as a “fork” and it is something that occurs often in mathematics.
Formally the fork (f g h) applied to a noun x is defined by:
5.8
(fx) g (hx)
5.8
In J, a verb to calculate a mean is therefore defined as follows:
5.8
mean =. (+/%#)
5.8
the slash / being an adverb that applies the + in turn to all the items
in the data, the % sign denoting “divideby” and the hash # indicating
“tally”.
5.8
Operating-system calls are achieved by using the symbol !: , which is
therefore called the “foreign” conjunction. The action depends on the
arguments used with it. For instance 0!:55 terminates a session, while
1!:1 followed by a file spec. reads the file as a string.
5.8
J is described by its designer as “intended for use in teaching
mathematics and related topics”; so it should be of particular interest
to teachers and lecturers. However, it is a real programming language
that can be used with profit in a variety of applications.  J is
shareware, and it appeared on last month’s program disc.  However, if
you send £16 + VAT + £3 p&p to:
5.8
    I-APL Ltd
5.8
    56 The Crescent
5.8
    Milton
5.8
    Weston super Mare
5.8
    Avon  BS22 8DU
5.8
you will get an Archimedes disc with some useful text files on it as
well as a dictionary of the language.  For an extra £8, Iverson’s
booklet “Tangible Math” for it is also recommended.
5.8
Alternatively, you could get the PC version from I-APL.  It runs under
the emulator; but it seems a bit slow.  Moreover, the Archimedes version
permits editing with the mouse, while the PC version seems only to have
a line editor.  However, the PC version may include other things, such
as some script files (the PC equivalent of command files) that you can
use to define useful “foreign” verbs.  On boot-up, the system looks for
a script file called profile, which it automatically obeys at the start.
5.8
A word of warning, though:  nobody pretends that J is easy to learn.
This is partly because of the inherent difficulty of the concepts
involved and partly because the literature (of what little has been
produced to date) makes few concessions to the needs of ordinary
mortals. However, I can promise that anyone who makes the necessary
effort will find the experience most rewarding.  A
5.8
We put a copy of J on last month’s program disc, but as Jim Markland
said in his comment last month, it’s not a lot of use without the
dictionary that comes with the full package. Ed
5.8
5.8
Picture Book & Money Matters
5.8
Simon Anthony
5.8
These two packages from Triple R are aimed at early learning or learning
impaired students.
5.8
Picture Book is a set of four programs. The first offers the student a
picture to go with each alphabet letter, dog for d, cat for c, q for
queen, etc. Each picture comes with its own tune or sampled sound
effect. In this program only, the pictures can be expanded. The second
program allows matching of letter to picture, letter to letter or
picture to picture as a snap game. The third, ‘Spell It’ tests keyboard
input until the correct letter is typed and adds it to the growing
spelling list. The last program, ‘Count’em’ does just that − lets you
count the number of pictures shown.
5.8
Money Matters offers students simple money maths questions asked by a
number of cartoon clowns. There are four programs ranging in order of
difficulty, coin recognition, addition, change and coin selection to
reach a given sum. Each stage can be reached from a main menu and, when
running correctly, is obvious to a student with reading ability.
5.8
The following comments may appear somewhat negative. I have not even
begun to plumb the deeper aspects of these programs as I have been put
off both program packs by irritating problems at every stage in their
use.
5.8
Picture Book in use
5.8
Firstly, there were loading problems. On my 310, with customised CMOS
ram setting, the required 640k was not available. Even altering the task
manager setting to provide enough memory did not let the program go
further than opening an error report window, with nothing in it, not
even an error report! Investigation showed that a ‘run on error’ line
was causing this hangup. Removing it showed me what the real problem
was. The program needs to run in mode 15. What a pity that the program
neither told me nor did the job itself. A readme file suggested that I
did a CMOS destroying cold reset if I had any problems in loading.
Conscientiously I did just that. Fortunately, my settings are stored in
a Basic program in my CC ROM podule, so when the program failed to start
I could easily restore my preferred settings. Many people may not have
this fall back position and would find life very tedious indeed.
5.8
Once I had selected mode 15 and juggled my mere 1M of memory around
enough to make 640k available, the program did run at last. Not a very
good start.
5.8
Keyboard problems
5.8
Triple R Education think that the qwerty keyboard layout is confusing
for early learning students. They are right. However, to turn the
keyboard into one with an alphabetical layout is, I think, storing up
trouble for the future. One of the most annoying things I remember from
my school days is learning one way of working only to be told that it
was wrong. I would far rather have been told the truth to start with. As
it was, I learned not to believe my teachers.
5.8
As I have indicated, the program comes with two ‘revolutionary over
lays’. There is one with the qwerty keys replaced with alphabetical
ordering. I strongly advise students and teachers alike to avoid its use
at all times (although Money Matters can only be used with the overlay).
The other overlay gives the qwerty keys the same lower case type face as
used in the program. The mechanical aspects of the overlay are probably
of high quality as they say − although I managed to accidentally damage
it easily − it is the concept to which I take exception.
5.8
The first menu screen gives as option 5 the legend ‘5 Qwerty Keys’. This
makes me think the program is already running in Alphabet mode. It is
not. Pressing this button changes the legend to read ‘5 Alphabet mode’
(or some such). The keys just don’t work! Very odd. I think that the
menu sense is reversed on this sample copy.
5.8
Once it was running...
5.8
There is no help in learning alphabet order and nor does the program
show any upper case letters. The thin plastic overlay only shows lower
case letters to make things simple but they are arranged ‘abcde...’
rather than qwerty. There is no lower case qwerty overlay.
5.8
By this time I was feeling pretty fed up with it. One of my students
loves the program and plays it incessantly (annoying the rest of the
group as the sound cannot be turned off or quietened as far as I can
see). However, it cannot be written off!
5.8
Money Matters in use
5.8
Money Matters came with a detached disc cover. Again this fault was
trivial but unless you can work out what to do the program could be
classed as rubbish at first sight as accidentally touching the perma
nently open disc window would have destroyed the data. Again, not a good
start.
5.8
Worse was to come. Initially, I could not get past the first two
introductory screens. The keys acted either sluggishly or not at all.
Further investigation showed that the program will only go any further
with the keyboard overlay. This is a great disadvantage despite the
seeming ease with which the overlay can be mounted and removed. I
managed to get it wrong first time and damaged the plastic getting it
right. Once I was pressing the right keys I had to take the overlay off
again to find the reason for another problem. The second screen took me
back to the first, perhaps because of another ‘run on error’ program
line.
5.8
That turned out to be a lack of sprite memory. If you are running the
program on a 2M machine there will be no problems but, with only 1M, the
default setup does not leave enough memory to enter the required mode 15
in the first place. Money matters does at least tell you that mode 15 is
needed rather than just hanging up in the error window saying nothing.
Why can’t it also tell you about sprite memory? There is a most useful
Memalloc module available these days which is very easy to fit into any
program.
5.8
Once it was running...
5.8
The questions are shown pictorially and are pleasantly animated although
it looks as if a BBC B could handle the graphics. The ubiquitous Triple
R keyboard overlay is the only way to use this program as areas of the
keyboard rather than specific keys are used to select coin denomina
tions. The screen representations of the coins themselves bare little
resemblance to the real thing which robs the concept of a lot of
potential value in my mind.
5.8
It’s not all bad!
5.8
A great deal of effort has been put into both these sets of programs. It
is very unfortunate that many users with only 1 Mbyte are likely to send
back their discs as being faulty due to poor documentation and mislead
ing information in the readme files.
5.8
I feel that I cannot do justice to the actual working or value of either
of these programs because of the problems I have mentioned. In my view
both are basically good in concept but have been let down by poor
implementation.  A
5.8
5.8
FunSchool 3 (Under 5’s)
5.8
Bob and Lisa Ames
5.8
Our first encounter with the FunSchool series was via a friend’s
purchase of FunSchool 2. We didn’t buy our own, and the loan copy was
soon returned! It was notable for its jerky graphics and annoying little
foibles; such as games which needed a very high degree of accuracy when
moving things, e.g. letters, shapes, etc.
5.8
Let me say that the FunSchool 3 (under 5’s) set of six games is much
better − three year old Lisa found out about the control keys before I
could read the manual!
5.8
There are six programs on the disc: Gallery where titles or captions
have to be put under pictures; Actions in which Teddy acts to your
command, sitting or playing or dancing; Counting − count the items
correctly and Teddy climbs stairs to honey; Painting where the farm
appears when you choose the colours for each bit; Matching which
provides a series of coloured shapes to be matched and teddy climbs a
tree; and Letters where large letters have to be matched to a choice
from the alphabet.
5.8
I maintain that any program should be self explanatory, especially
considering the age range for which it is intended. It seems a waste of
technology and/or manpower to have a teacher stand over the monitor
explaining things that should have become clear from the program itself.
I feel that youngsters cannot easily follow someone else using a
computer − it is far better to work things out individually and to ask
for help when needed. That, at least, is how things tend to run at City
University, where I run the Music Dept’s Recording Studios and Computer
Composition Workstations; the principle is one of learning by doing.
5.8
I normally obey Techno-Law Prime Directive, “Only at the last resort
read the manual”. Well, running the risk of a midnight visit from the
TechnoTroops, for this review you understand, I did read the manual; it
showed how simple things could be − a very few controls; just the space
bar to move things about, or the mouse buttons; arrows for placing and
<return> for confirmation. <F10> changes the level of the current game.
5.8
Most of the manual is devoted to teachers’ notes, i.e. possibilities for
expanding on the games outside the computer environment. I think this
section is quite useful but it is a shame that we have to start talking
about paper or card and pens, rather than staying within the computer. A
set of tools could have been provided so that the extra activities
suggested could all be done within the computer; the cards for Snap, the
letter grid with large and small versions of letters; these should all
have been available within the realm of the computer.
5.8
I somehow object to the All-Types-Of-Computer manual. It seems that it
is too expensive to print an Archimedes-only version and we are treated
to a loose leaf after-thought insert which tells us to pretend we have a
Atari ST and follow the ST instructions − with one exception; but I have
10 Atari STs at work and that is why I chose an Archimedes for myself!
Surely for the purchase price, it would not have been too much trouble
to print an exclusive version for the Archimedes? If economy were really
needed, perhaps money could have been saved by using smaller packaging −
Lisa was quite disappointed by the contents of “such a big box on the
outside with so little inside”.
5.8
While on the subject of documentation, I object to being congratulated
by the guarantee card for buying “the most impressive educational
software ever, at a very reasonable price” − even if I did, it isn’t! I
also wondered why the phone help line is only available during BT’s peak
charging time (9 to 11 am) but then again, have you ever tried to
contact Database by phone? Not a process to be undertaken in less than
half a day!
5.8
There is one oddity, after using the mouse for other educational
programs, e.g. the brilliant Craftshop, the mouse buttons are far too
sensitive. Despite being quite adept with Craftshop, which I consider
needs a careful hand, Lisa seems quite unable to move one space at a
time with the mouse buttons in FunSchool 3 − (even I can’t with any
degree of accuracy). I think there should be a facility which allows
auto repeat setting to be changed (and restored after the game is exited
in orderly fashion), or the mouse withdrawn from action altogether −
although that would be a backwards step! The earlier games in the series
use the mouse quite effectively, so I consider these should too.
5.8
Here is a cute idea − the Counting game shows an example of the things
to be counted in the bottom corner, for those who haven’t yet mastered
the art of reading; I think this principle should have been applied to
the Painting game; we had great fun with this with yellow sheep and blue
cows, but Lisa couldn’t read the on-screen questions − “What colour do
you want the sheep?” and had to refer to me all the time − a small
picture of the next object to the drawn and painted would have been
useful.
5.8
I use the above interruptions as an excuse for the evident lack of order
in this review − written on a Z88 while Lisa plays on the Archimedes.
5.8
The Counting game rewards a correct sequence of counting with Teddy
taking another step up the stairs to the honey. Any wrong answer should
result in a new series of questions being started but, as it is, the
program goes on and asks the rest of the questions, so the child can
forget that a wrong answer has been given and wonders why the reward
isn’t forthcoming.
5.8
The usual Teddy rewards for correct choices apply to most of the games,
Teddy gets an ice cream if you choose the right letter, or if you match
the pairs of shapes, he climbs further up the tree, etc. (A neat little
addition, in the Matching game, is that he peeps sideways from the tree
− but you will have to be quick to spot him!) A “sad sound” is the
response to a wrong choice and Teddy doesn’t get the reward.
5.8
To rectify one of the deficiencies of Fun School 2, the positioning of
the captions in Gallery needs only a rough accuracy. This is because, as
soon as the caption is positioned with the arrow keys, mostly over the
target, the site greys out and so the caption is placed automatically
when <return> is pressed. The previous version of the “moving game”
(where a box had to be filled with shapes) needed a very much greater
accuracy, which was all but impossible for a little hand.
5.8
However, a little more thought would have shown that students are being
taught mouse control more and more; most “proper” computers are supplied
with a mouse now, so why use the arrow keys? For an Archimedes product,
the set of six programs seem oddly incoherent with their use of the
controls.
5.8
Minor grumbles: in the Matching game it is OK to use <return> to choose
the second matching one of the pair, but the first one (the one to be
matched to) should be selected automatically. Also, the “selection box”
round the current selection is different for first and second choices −
one solid square boundary and one dotted boundary. This makes the
selected boxes look quite different. This even confused Granny who was
visiting!
5.8
Judging by Lisa’s progress, Letters seems to be pitched well down the
age range, probably two to three, while Actions requires reading skills
around four years; but the actions shown probably would not interest an
older child. The other sections all seem aimed at 3 years or so.
5.8
Actions progresses in level 4 onto a house building stage for Teddy but
that required a higher degree of reading skill than Lisa currently has,
so that required me to do all the work, matching current actions with
written descriptions correctly to get another piece built. No doubt Lisa
will be able to get that section “under her belt” soon. This at least
gives some long term life to the product.
5.8
One last point − as Lisa can now one-finger-type easily, it would have
been nice for her to input her choice, e.g. of matching letter, or
number of teddies, etc by keyboard − but perhaps a later program in the
series will do enable her to do that.
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
Generally, a good suite of programs − a vast improvement on the last
time I saw FunSchool. A few minor grumbles could be cleared up and it is
only just worth £25 (but then I consider all commercial software
expensive). Unfortunately, we have not had the programs long enough to
say anything about their long term attractiveness.  A
5.8
5.8
Fun School 3 (Over 7’s)
5.8
Sarah Brown
5.8
The Fun School series of programs is probably the best selling and most
popular collection of educational games. The new release Fun School 3
package for the over 7’s priced at £24.99 from Database Publications (or
£23 from Archive) will only help to retain this prestigious reputation.
The package is comprised of a registration card, instruction manual,
badge and program disc. The disc is not copy protected and easily
installs on a hard disc.
5.8
The package contains six programs, four of which are educational games;
planetary maths, sentences, word search and treasure search. The other
two programs are educational utilities; database and robot draw. The
manual is concise with easy to follow instructions, though not specific
to the Archimedes. It includes notes for parents and teachers in
relation to the National Curriculum. The programs are so diverse that I
shall comment on each separately.
5.8
Planetary Maths involves solving sums before they hit a spinning force
field. With 5 levels of difficulty, young children and adults will be
challenged to produce the highest score before their ‘energy reserves’
are depleted. The similarity to many arcade games encouraged my
volunteers to keep trying to achieve a place on the ‘high score’ table.
5.8
Sentences tests traditional English language skills of spelling,
punctuation and grammar. This program was surprisingly popular. The
robot character, common to all the programs, prompts with clues when
necessary. It is possible to create new sentences for custom-designed
mistakes.
5.8
Word Search is similar to word square puzzles found in many magazines.
As the grids are created each time the game is played, the same word
lists provided can be used again and again. Word lists can be amended,
however, and new ones created, those given containing 150 of the most
commonly mis-spelt words.
5.8
Treasure Search is a game that introduces ideas of relative distances
and directions. An optional timer adds a competitive element to what is
basically just a list of instructions to follow. These are important
concepts, especially in the classroom, but once the ideas of scale,
compass direction and angles of rotation are mastered, there is little
left to inspire in this game, even with a variety of backgrounds
provided. It does however prove a good introduction to Robot Draw.
5.8
A dancing robot “Robie” provides reward and failure responses for these
games and for previous Fun School collections. The facilities for
teacher / parent input are good. The sound and graphics are much
improved from Fun School 2 and all the software seems much less
cumbersome.
5.8
The final two programs really provide value for money and because they
are part of a games package, may well be used more than if provided
separately.
5.8
Robot Draw is a version of the popular educational programming language
Logo. It is not just another drawing program but provides an excellent
introduction to programming, as each line, movement or colour used in
the pictures represents a line of program.
5.8
Using a series of commands, a ‘turtle’ pointer is moved around the
screen. A record command allows you to repeat a set of commands as a
‘macro’ subroutine, and thus complex programs can be built up. With
help, a child can be taught how to plan and then build a program.
Samples are provided for children to examine how these macros have been
constructed. This is not a game and the conversion of a drawing into
lines of programming is quite a difficult concept to grasp. Results are
slow, so guidance and encouragement should be given to stimulate the
child especially if the program is used away from the classroom.
5.8
Database provides an introduction to one of the most important uses of
computers. The National Curriculum, in Information Technology, states
that pupils should be able to “insert and amend information in a
computer database” and “use software... ...so that data can be captured,
stored and retrieved.” This program provides a simple environment in
which to store, sort alphabetically and search in information files.
Eight sample files are provided and playing with these is perhaps the
best tutorial in constructing a personal database. The Europe file
contains lots of information on languages, currencies, population and
capital cities and is a valuable resource by itself. A test option is
also included for both the Fun School and any newly constructed
databases. This widens the scope of the program and helps teach the use
of a database but, for stand-alone quiz production, would be rather
contrived!
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
The program set would be most useful in a primary school classroom or a
home where it would offer a wide range of activities from solo games
playing to a class exercise and all for the price of some short lived
games! I think this will prove just as popular as its Fun School
predecessors.  A
5.8
5.8
Power Search: A Quiet AI Revolution − Part 2
5.8
Michael Houlder
5.8
(If you find the following article a bit hard going, don’t give up.
Instead, read the last paragraph and it might give you the necessary
incentive to ‘go through the pain barrier’ and make it to the end with
an increased knowledge of the scope and potential of power searching.
Ed.)
5.8
!SrcEdit is a new version of the desktop text editor, !Edit, and is
supplied as part of the new Desktop Development Environment (DDE). It
provides a new search and replace function and is now as powerful as
Twin, the original Archimedes text editor. In its search algorithm, it
is at least comparable with its Unix forbears: e.g. LEX, a compiler
front end and lexical analyser, GREP a string finding tool, etc.
5.8
The intention of this article, as a whole, is to identify why the
function is so powerful and to suggest ways in which the power can be
used effectively. This identification and utilisation of the power are
not easily achieved. The extent to which I have succeeded is due to the
needs of programming my own emulation of the function. I have written a
compiler for a simple structured language which has, as its basic
expressions, the same symbol sequences as the !SrcEdit function. The
compiler will be released shortly and will, perhaps, make the function
discussed here more widely available and used.
5.8
Closer to the meaning of data
5.8
The search and replace function is directed primarily, but not exclu
sively, to the manipulation of ASCII text data files. These are
described as being without structure. This means that the meaning of the
data is carried through words and by patterns of words; a medium which
can be understood everywhere.
5.8
Structured data carries a meaning only through the imposition of an
arbitrary regularity. This has significance only for the specific
algorithms to which the structures correspond.
5.8
Search pattern sequences match word patterns in ASCII data. Since no
arbitrary structure exists in the data, the search patterns must express
directly the meaning that the user intends. Algorithm-driven compromise
is avoided.
5.8
For this reason, once people have come to grips with the initial
complexity or are fluent in the language, powerful programs are easy to
write.
5.8
Formal search pattern grammar
5.8
In part 1 of this article, last month, I described the interface
provided by !SrcEdit and loosely defined the grammar of the search
pattern language. Just as an English sentence is valid and carries a
near-unambiguous meaning, if it is constructed in agreement with English
grammar rules, so a search pattern sequence is valid and carries an
unambiguous interpretation, if it is constructed strictly in agreement
with the following grammar rules:
5.8
•    A search sequence is a number, greater than 0, of search components
set together in a sequence or list, at least one component of which is
not a ‘0 or more’ repetition.
5.8
•    A search component is one of: a specific character, a specific string,
a set of characters or a repetition.
5.8
•    A specific character is any character that is not a search pattern
control symbol unless it has been normalised by the normal operator.
5.8
•    A specific string is any string composed of specific characters put
together.
5.8
•    A set of characters is either a pre-defined set or a user-defined set.
5.8
•    A repetition is a repetition control symbol followed by either a
specific character or a set of characters.
5.8
•    A user-defined set is either a bracketed set or a negated set.
5.8
•    A search pattern control symbol is one of: a pre-defined set symbol, a
set construction symbol, a repetition control symbol or a character
operator.
5.8
•    A pre-defined set is one of the four symbols: ‘.’, ‘$’, ‘@’, ‘#’.
Respectively, these are named for interpretation purposes as: ‘any’,
‘newline’, ‘alphanum’ and ‘digit’.
5.8
•    A set construction symbol is one of the four symbols: ‘[’, ‘]’, ‘~’,
‘’-. Respectively, these are named as: ‘left set’, ‘right set’, ‘not’
and ‘to’.
5.8
•    A repetition control symbol is one of the three symbols: ‘*’, ‘^’,
‘%’. Respectively, these are named as: ‘0 or more’, ‘1 or more’ and
‘most’.
5.8
•    A character operator is one of the three symbols: ‘\’, ‘|’, ‘!’.
Respectively, these are named as: ‘normal’, ‘control’ and ‘hex’
operators. They are not part of the search sequence themselves. They
change the status of the character or characters that follow them,
either by normalising search pattern control characters or by re-coding
hexadecimal or non-printable ASCII values. !SrcEdit uses a non-printable
graphics symbol instead of ‘!’.
5.8
•    A bracketed set is a combination of character lists and character
ranges put together in any order between a ‘left set’ bracket and a
‘right set’ bracket.
5.8
•    A character list is a list composed of characters that are not set
construction symbols unless they are normalised or out of context. For
instance, in “[abc[d]”, the second ‘[’ cannot be ‘left set’ and is,
therefore, out of context. Again in “[-xyz]”, ‘’- cannot be the range
symbol ‘to’.
5.8
•    A character range is a list of three characters with the middle one
being the ‘to’ symbol and the outer two being characters that are not
set construction symbols unless they are normalised or out of context.
The outer two are not required to be in any order; i.e. “[a-t]” is
equivalent to “[t-a]”.
5.8
•    A negated set is the set construction symbol ‘not’ followed by either
a specific character, a pre-defined set symbol or a bracketed set. Such
a component may not be null; “~.” is excluded.
5.8
•    For no good reason, !SrcEdit excludes the repetition “%.”. As this
component is important, standing for “the rest of the file”, my compiler
supports it.
5.8
This completes the definition of a search pattern sequence. Using the
interpretation rules listed at the end of part 1, we can translate such
a sequence into a simpler form composed of just fixed and variable
length elements.
5.8
However, we must first see how the replacement part of the search and
replace function allows experiments to be made to discover these
interpretation rules.
5.8
Replace pattern language
5.8
The search and replace function works with three patterns. The search
pattern is defined by the search sequence. The search mechanism finds a
data pattern which matches the search pattern. The replace mechanism
uses the match found together with the replace pattern to make a
replacement string which can be used to replace the particular data
pattern. A replace pattern is defined by a language of replace sequences
in a similar way to search patterns.
5.8
The strength of the !SrcEdit replace mechanism is that it allows the
selective use of parts of the match actually found. Some of the search
components are fixed and any match for these is known beforehand, but
others are not fixed − such as repetitions or sets. These components
give a choice. What corresponds to them cannot be known until a
particular match is made. They are described as being ambiguous.
5.8
For instance, the search sequence “a~[b–d]efg *.^h” has five components;
in order, these are: specific character, negated set, specific string,
‘0 or more’ repetition, and ‘1 or more’ repetition. The specific
character, ‘a’, and the specific string, “efg”, are fixed; but the
negated set, “~[b–d]”, and the repetitions, “*.” and “^h”, are
ambiguous.
5.8
The replace sequence can refer to ten of the actual values corresponding
to these ambiguous components by using replace components, called
numbered fields, numbered from 0 to 9.
5.8
The replace sequence can refer to the whole of the match actually found
using a component called the ‘found string’. Additionally, specific
characters and strings can be used together with ‘newline’ and the
character operators from the search pattern language.
5.8
Formal replace pattern grammar
5.8
A replace sequence is valid if it is constructed in agreement with the
following grammar rules:
5.8
•    A replace sequence is a number, greater or equal to 0, of replace
components set together in a sequence or list.
5.8
•    A replace component is one of: a specific character, a specific
string, a newline, a numbered field or a found string.
5.8
•    A specific character is any character excluding three: ‘$’, ‘?’, ‘&’,
unless they have been normalised by the normal operator.
5.8
•    A specific string is any string composed of specific characters put
together.
5.8
•    A newline is the replace control symbol ‘$’.
5.8
•    A numbered field is the replace control symbol ‘?’ followed by a
single decimal digit, ‘0’ to ‘9’.
5.8
•    A found string is the replace control symbol ‘&’.
5.8
This completes the definition of a replace pattern sequence. The replace
pattern language and the replace mechanism are substantially simpler
than those for the search function on its own.
5.8
Experimental method
5.8
Interpretation for a replace pattern means determining the replacement
string which is created for any match between a search pattern and a
data pattern. The replace language is simple. So, given a match, replace
interpretation is easy and straight forward. Relying on this ease,
interpretation can be stood on its head to find, by using the replace
ment string, how data and search patterns match.
5.8
When the way particular search and data patterns match is known,
generalisations can be made and tested. These are then expressed as
rules such as the interpretation rules of part 1 of this article.
5.8
A search-replace pattern example
5.8
The above gives an outline of the experimental method used both to
produce and to justify the interpretation rules given in part 1. I won’t
go any further into this matter now except to give an example which
illustrates why the following rule is justified:
5.8
•    Any combination of ‘0 or more’ components matches by filling in from
the left.
5.8
Let “*[ab]*[bc]*[cd]end” be a search sequence. It has four components;
in order: ‘0 or more’ repetition of the user-defined set “[ab]”,
‘0 or more’ repetition of the set “[bc]”, ‘0 or more’ repetition of the
set “[cd]” and the specific string “end”.
5.8
Let “aaabbbcccend” be a data pattern which matches this search pattern.
5.8
Let “?0/?1/?2/” be the replace sequence. So, “?0” will take the value
matched by “*[ab]”; “?1” by “*[bc]” and “?2” by “*[cd]”.
5.8
The replacement string generated in these circumstances is “aaabbb/ccc//
”. Now, the questions settled by this experiment are:
5.8
•    Should “bbb”, part of the data pattern, go with “*[ab]” or with
“*[bc]”? The left search component of the two takes it as shown by the
replacement string.
5.8
•    Should “ccc” go with “*[bc]” or with “*[cd]”? Again, the left search
component of the two takes it; even leaving any match with “*[cd]”
empty.
5.8
Experience of examples like this causes a generalisation to emerge. Once
it has emerged, further work must be done. Firstly, it should be made as
precise as possible. Secondly, it should be tested; perhaps by an
analysis of boundary conditions. Those readers who have either Twin or
!SrcEdit might possibly enjoy completing this process as an exercise!
5.8
A simpler search pattern language
5.8
Search sequence components are either fixed or variable in length. That
is, the possible data patterns that can match them are fixed or variable
in length.
5.8
The search component “c” can only be matched by the data pattern “c” of
length 1. Similarly, the component “abracadabra” is of fixed length 11.
The set components “@” and “[abcd]” are of length 1. These are all of
fixed length.
5.8
However, the component “*a” can match data patterns: “”, “a”, “aaaa” and
so on. This, and the other repetition components, are of variable
length.
5.8
The first interpretation rule listed in part 1 says, in effect, that the
‘1 or more’ repetition is redundant. It can always be replaced by a
fixed component of length 1 followed by a ‘0 or more’ repetition. i.e.
“^x” can be rewritten as “x*x”.
5.8
The second interpretation rule says that any ‘most’ repetition, NOT the
final component in a sequence, is equivalent to a ‘1 or more’ repeti
tion. Hence, it is redundant with the given exception.
5.8
Taking a final ‘most’ component as a special case, the only variable
component is a ‘0 or more’ repetition.
5.8
A fixed component is either a specific character, a specific string or a
character set. The character set will be ambiguous by offering choice
but is still of fixed length. Any number of these fixed length compo
nents set next to each other still give a pattern of fixed length. So
consecutive fixed components can be combined into one of a new type of
fixed component.
5.8
Thus, a search pattern sequence can be translated into a number of new
fixed components in a list. Each fixed component has at least one
variable component between itself and the next fixed component.
5.8
A picture of the new form might be of a spring or a concertina. The
fixed components are the end and intermediate frames of the concertina.
The variable length components are the bellows between the frames. The
new form, as well as being simple, makes it easier also to program the
search function.
5.8
A guaranteed match
5.8
Look at the search sequence “start*.finish”. It has two fixed components
separated by the variable “*.”. The data patterns this will match
include: “startfinish”, “startxxx xxx xxxxfinish” and so on. The
variable component could be equated with the English phrase “don’t
care”. No matter how far away the word “finish” is from “start”, no
matter what there is between, the search pattern will match.
5.8
Once “start” is found, the maximum possible match for “*.” is also known
− in this case, the whole of the rest of the file. If a match for the
fixed component, “finish”, occurs anywhere within the range of this
maximum, then there is a match for the whole search pattern from “start”
to this occurrence of “finish”.
5.8
The meaning of individual variable components is clear. Hence, given a
starting point for the match, it is clear what the maximum match for any
single variable component can be.
5.8
Knowing this and the result discussed in the section “A search-replace
pattern example”, we know how to find the maximum possible match for any
number of combined variable components: Accumulate the maximum match for
each component in turn, working from the left.
5.8
Let f1v1v2v3f2 be a search sequence translated into the new form with f1
and f2 standing for combined fixed components and with v1, v2, v3
standing for some variable components. Then the following guarantee can
be proved.
5.8
Following on in the data from a starting match for f1, if there is a
match for f2 at some point anywhere within the range of the maximum
match of the combined variable components v1v2v3, then a match can be
found for the whole sequence from the start up to this point.
5.8
What this means is that the image of a spring or a concertina is a good
one. They both can be squeezed in and out up to some maximum limit and
they can rest at any point in between.
5.8
The concertina image is better as it fits better with there being more
than just two fixed components. But then the question rises: where do
the concertina frames rest when there are many intermediate positions
for them to do so? This brings us to a discussion of search algorithms
and of back-tracking tree searches.
5.8
LEX against !SrcEdit
5.8
Take the search sequence “begin*.end” and the data pattern “begin end
end end”. The LEX algorithm will match the search pattern from the
“begin” until the third “end”; i.e. it matches the variable component
“*.” onto the string “ end end ”. An unlikely intention! Try the GNU
version of LEX from David Pilling or read p.129 of the Sun Unix
documentation for LEX.
5.8
This suggests that LEX finds the limit of the maximum match for the
variable component and works backwards from there looking to find the
first match for the following fixed component “end”. This appears to be
a search algorithm that gives priority to variable components and uses
these to determine how to match a subsequent fixed component. We can
call this approach the method of maximum lookahead.
5.8
!SrcEdit, on the other hand, matches the variable component onto the
single character string “ ” and ends the match with the first “end”.
This algorithm gives priority to the subsequent fixed component. From
the start, it finds the first match for the subsequent fixed component.
It need only check that this occurrence is within range of the maximum
match of the intermediate variable components. If this is the case,
then, by the guarantee given in the previous section, there exists a
match for the whole sequence.
5.8
The !SrcEdit approach is preferable. It gives the first of all possible
matches and is exhaustive of all possible matches when back-tracking is
added. Secondly, since the match for a subsequent fixed component is
made first, the pattern “*.” can be properly translated as “don’t care”.
The alternative with LEX is a laborious enumeration of the “don’t care”
states. The pattern programmer has to concentrate very hard about what
is “don’t care”; a practical contradiction! LEX has compromised any
opportunity of natural pattern programming with its own implementation
needs.
5.8
Back-tracking tree search
5.8
!SrcEdit is substantially better but is apparently not consistent when
there is more than one group of variable components. I was not able to
generalise a single search algorithm that agreed with all the examples
tested. There is need both for a single algorithm and for one that has a
very clear intuitive model. The best fit to !SrcEdit that met these
conditions was a back-tracking tree search algorithm.
5.8
Take the search sequence “begin*.at*.at*~tend” and the data pattern
“begin at at at end”. The search sequence has more than one group of
variable components. The three groups, each containing just one variable
component, are separated by the two “at” fixed components. The match
with the data pattern will be used to show what I mean by back-tracking
and also the divergence shown by !SrcEdit.
5.8
The scope or maximum range of the first two variable components goes to
the end of the data. So, working from the left and taking each fixed
component in turn, the first two “at” strings of the search pattern
match with the first two “at” strings of the data.
5.8
However, the maximum range for the third variable component now goes
only as far as the ‘a’ of the third “at”, since it excludes the
character ‘t’. The range does not include the string “end”. Hence there
is no match for the final fixed component and the whole match must fail.
However, there is more than one match choice for each “at” in the search
sequence. An ‘intelligent’ algorithm will attempt to recover from
failure by examining these other choices.
5.8
If the first data “at” is chosen for the first search “at”, there are
two choices for the second search “at”. If the second data “at” is
chosen instead, there is just one choice for the second fixed component.
If, however, the third data “at” is chosen, there is no choice for it.
That the choices for the second fixed component are dependent on the
choices for the first indicates that a tree algorithm is appropriate for
examining other choices.
5.8
Starting from the root of the tree at the top, the labels of the
branches show the choices of data string made to match with the search
sequence fixed components. The levels correspond to the search sequence
fixed components in the order given. The subscripted “at” strings refer
to the choice of 1st, 2nd or 3rd “at” in the data pattern.
5.8
Both the outer paths end in an X. This says that with the choices shown
on the paths, the match has failed. The two inner paths end in OK and
both result in matches. Of the two successful paths, the one on the left
corresponds to a back-tracking algorithm; while the one on the right
shows the choices made by !SrcEdit.
5.8
A back-tracking algorithm, making a leftmost choice each time, will
first try the outside path on the left. It will fail and will recover to
the last node before the failure at level 2 and try again. In this case,
there is only one further choice at that node, labelled “at3”. The
algorithm will take that choice and succeed.
5.8
!SrcEdit will take the same outer left path and will fail. However, it
appears that !SrcEdit, when confronted with failure, recovers to the
root of the tree and takes the next available choice from there at level
1 which is labelled “at2”.
5.8
The danger is that a match has been missed by !SrcEdit. The back-
tracking method, however, finds it. Indeed, if it had continued failing,
it would recover backwards from node to node right up to the root of the
tree and would eventually cover all possible matches.
5.8
If a tree has some nodes or levels with many choices or branches leading
off them, a leftmost selection of the next available choice, as shown
here, requires a great deal of processing time and may be inefficient.
In these cases, it is useful to have some rules of thumb to help make
the best choice depending on the circumstances and not to stick to a
rigorous leftmost choice. Such rules are called heuristics. A null
heuristic corresponds to the rigorous leftmost choice.
5.8
!SrcEdit sometimes shows a back-tracking capability rather than choosing
a whole new path each time a path fails. For this reason, and because of
the need to use a clear intuitive model, my compiler uses a back-
tracking tree search algorithm with a null heuristic.
5.8
In a third and final instalment of this article, I will show some of the
practical applications of this approach of pattern programming. Using
the DDE and with the aid of a compiler such as mine, I will show how
simple, effective filter programs can be built. One example will be a
filter to list all the styles used in an Impression document.  A
5.8
5.8
Hawk V9 Upgrade
5.8
Michael Carter
5.8
Wild Vision have released another version of the !Fastgrab software
which accompanies the Hawk V9 colour digitiser. A description of the
original software and hardware appeared in Archive 3.7 p13. This is a
look at the differences from the earlier Fastgrab v.1.21 and the new
v.1.43, which also incorporates an improved version of ChangeFSI
(v.0.82). The hardware platform used for the review was an Archimedes
410 (upgraded to 4M) with an ARM2.
5.8
Software
5.8
!Fastgrab is the desktop application which protects the user from the
hardware. The core part though is ChangeFSI, which is the work horse of
so many graphic applications, of which more later. Also provided by the
driver module in ROM is a suite of seven SWI calls for those masochists
who wish to bypass Fastgrab and construct their own applications.
5.8
Fastgrab
5.8
Upon loading Fastgrab, the first noticeable feature is the pretty new
icon on the icon bar, that of a camcorder. At last, the whole machine
does not freeze if no composite PAL signal is present. Once the video
source is functioning correctly, the same style window opens showing the
live display. All the old menu options from this window are still
incorporated along with some new additions. These are...
5.8
•    New frame size and live size windows of 64×32 pixels and Single Field
even or odd.
5.8
•    The new frame and live size gave much faster updates but were much too
small to be of much use. As before, the 512×256 pixel live frame still
takes too long to update, perhaps my fault for being ARM3-less.
5.8
The Single Field option enables one field of an interlaced video frame
to be grabbed. The object of this is to avoid the ‘vibrating’ effect, as
Wild Vision call it. One hazard has been that straight lines as in the
edges of buildings sometimes came out with serious “jags”. This new
option helps to overcome this and is an extremely worthwhile option to
experiment with.
5.8
ChangeFSI 0.82
5.8
This is the where the real improvements lie, with the original options
much improved, and some new ones − precise matching, disable dithering,
brighten picture, black correction and gamma correction.
5.8
“Precise matching”, the manual says, “uses a colour matching algorithm
which uses lookup tables for better colour output.” Well it’s true. I
was able to obtain much better images, and all the colours could be
greatly improved.
5.8
Disable dithering turns off the error diffusion algorithm used by
ChangeFSI.
5.8
Brighten picture is another great asset. The whole image can be
brightened by a fixed amount but the amount cannot be adjusted by the
user.
5.8
Black correction is for improving the quality of sprites for use with a
‘write black’ output device using dispersed dot dither (as opposed to
clustered dot dither).
5.8
Gamma correction is another important addition. Cathode Ray Tube
displays do not have a linear relationship between the brightness of a
spot and the applied voltage. Instead of the response being brightness =
constant × voltage it is brightness = constant × voltage ^ (1/gamma).
Using this option, the image colours can be made lighter or darker
giving a much better display depending on the monitor to be used.
5.8
As with all graphical operations, even our speedy Archimedes appear to
crawl at times, and using ChangeFSI is no exception. However, this
version, in my simple tests, is 20 to 23% faster which has to be good
news.
5.8
Verdict?
5.8
I only have a few gripes... there is still no facility to crop the
images, as with Computer Concepts’ ScanLights, which I believe is a
major omission − it hinders exporting sprites straight to DTP and
presentation applications.
5.8
It is also a pity that we have to pay so much for an upgrade which I
think ought to be nearly free (£29.00 inc. VAT and carriage for
!Fastgrab 1.43, a new ROM and revised product manual) especially as now
the price of the digitiser package has been reduced by a staggering
£100. It does not instill much consumer confidence to know you have paid
so much more with NO modestly priced software upgrade support.
5.8
Wild Vision’s reply is that “if you were able to work out the costs of
producing such a package, bearing in mind the relative volumes, I feel
you would conclude that the price is in fact more than reasonable.” As
the former is only my opinion, I’ll leave you, dear reader, to form your
own!
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
With this new software, the marvellous improvements in the output image
over the previous already excellent results, odd bug fixes, extra
options and savings in processing time, make this upgrade well worth
while and I feel that I can thoroughly recommend it.  A
5.8
5.8
Landmarks, Rainforest
5.8
Simon Anthony
5.8
In view of the differences of opinion between Longman Logotron and our
reviewers about some of the Landmarks packages, we sent Simon a copy of
the Rainforest package so that he could give us a second opinion.
However, having read his comments, we had a look at it ourselves in the
Archive office. So, with apologies to Simon, I shall be interjecting
fairly frequently during the review. Ed.
5.8
The Archive Editor gave this program to me to review, desperate as he is
not to publish anything nasty about a product. Hugh Eagle reviewed it
first and his comments were published in the Archive 5.7 p61 along with
a response from Longman. My impressions contained in this second review
were formed before reading last month’s comments but I will also try to
answer a few of the points raised there.
5.8
Rainforest tells you how people live in a rainforest. The program is
designed to let the committed computer user discover details of another
civilisation in their own time by means of typing simple questions and
reading the very simple but interesting answers. It is just one of a
continuing series of ‘Landmarks’ programs which are linked with the BBC
schools’ programmes.
5.8
I must at once say that this review only covers the Rainforest package
as bought off the shelf and can not include its role in the context of a
schools’ television backup or as part of their wider scheme of things.
This point should be remembered as it is relevant to the question of
what you want from a computer education program. I want education.
5.8
I approached this program in two ways. Firstly as a special needs
computing lecturer, secondly as a Green Party (lost deposit!) politi
cian. My hope was that the rainforest theme would go some way towards
sweeping my party to a general election victory... in ten years when the
kids can vote! Maybe it will help − as a piece of green education I
loved it! There is no sloppy sentimentality about the real life in a
rainforest here. The monkeys ‘seen’ in the trees are described by the
text as being ‘good to eat, especially their brains’.
5.8
Problems, and the lack of them
5.8
My students found no problems with the text speed but found the repeated
responses irritating. There are several minor but also irritating errors
in the responses. For example, in the location called ‘the garden plot’
I typed ‘describe the trees’. It replied...
5.8
I can’t see an old hollow tree. It looks interesting; shall I look
inside it? now.
5.8
The punctuation and illogicality of the statement is Longman’s.
5.8
(I checked this myself because it seemed unlikely that an educational
package would operate in such a way. I, too, asked it to ‘describe the
trees’ and it came up with exactly the text that Simon described. I
replied to the boy’s question by saying ‘yes’. The answer was, “I see”.
I then said, “Look inside the hollow tree” and was told “I can’t see it
now. Here comes Patuwe.”− How frustrating!
5.8
I then went back and asked him again to “describe the trees” and in
response to the same illogical statement, I asked him to “look inside
it”. This time I was given a description of the clearing in which I was
standing and told various things about the garden. I could go on... but
I won’t... and I still haven’t managed to find out what was so interest
ing about that hollow tree! Ed.)
5.8
I typed ‘what can you see?’ and in its response, the words “andbananas”
ran together.
5.8
These are not major problems but, coming as they do, near the start, it
is off-putting for a poor reader or someone with a short attention span.
Also, it’s not the sort of standard you would expect from an educational
package from a well-established company like Longman Logotron.
5.8
The boy who was taking us on a conducted tour of the forest, talked
about his mother and his ‘other mother’ but then when asked about his
‘other mother’ couldn’t understand the phrase and just told us about his
mother.
5.8
As an amateur programmer and devotee of bells and whistles, I must
uphold the disparaging remarks made by Hugh Eagle concerning the drab
aspects of the presentation. On the other hand, Longman are right when
they say the slow text update speed is just right for some slow readers.
5.8
(The thing that I thought was wrong about this was that the speed of
typing cannot be changed. I read through a paragraph that took over a
minute to type out and then, because I accidentally pressed one of the
cursor keys to go in a direction that was not allowed, it typed out the
whole of the same paragraph again and there was no way of speeding it up
or stopping it. Children these days are used to much more immediacy than
this and will soon get bored. Ed.)
5.8
Suggested improvements
5.8
The keyboard buffer stores your key presses made while the machine is
slowly answering your questions. It should dump them, only accepting
input when the answer has been completed. Perhaps this could be put in a
configuration file together with text display speed. Also, repeated
answers could be flagged as such and abbreviated to avoid annoying an
accidentally repeating questioner.
5.8
The program installs on a network with no problem but the paperwork
(obviously) does not. An improvement would be for the map to be
displayable in the picture window. The lack of colour in the pictures is
not a great problem. I feel the disappointingly poor resolution of the
black and white images could have been overcome by the use of draw
files, which then could even provide the enhancement of colour. The
program does not use the full power of the Archimedes (nor does it need
to) but a more clever question decoder would surely have been possible
considering the machine’s capabilities.
5.8
(This is where having to have the same program available on IBM’s and
Nimbus computers is a limitation − you end up with the lowest common
denominator. Ed.)
5.8
Good points
5.8
I was very impressed by the quality of the teacher and pupil manuals.
The lesson plans are a byword in good structuring. In a traditional
classroom environment, with one computer and a well matched class, this
program (Rainforest) has a great deal to offer. It is not, and does not
need to be, a showpiece of computer gimmickry. Nice though it would be,
flashiness would detract from the whole purpose of the exercise.
5.8
Conclusion
5.8
The bottom line with my special needs students was that they would not
stick at it. They wanted flashing lights, bells and whistles. In my day,
this program would have enthralled me. Unfortunately these days children
have moved past that level of enthralment by the age of three.
5.8
I have no doubt that it would work splendidly in a well structured, one
to one teaching environment or a ‘traditional’ school classroom.
However, leave them alone with it and they turn it off and find
something else to play with.
5.8
In many ways, I liked Rainforest. Despite its drabness, it is education
ally very informative, if not entertaining. It reminded me very much of
the ‘Look and Learn’ books from my youth. This is not a fond memory. If
it was my money, I would not buy it − I’d watch the film.  A
5.8
5.8
Oak-Recorder
5.8
David Shepherdson
5.8
I had hoped to be able to bring you a comparative review of Oak-Recorder
and Hybrid’s Arc Recorder but Hybrid are apparently having problems with
their offering and are currently returning money to those who ordered
one.
5.8
Before these where announced, I spoke to the Fourth Dimension about
their !Articulate Speech package as I wanted to be able to include voice
relocatable modules in my own programs. !Articulate, unfortunately, can
only be used if everyone who gets your program also has a copy of the
!Articulate disk. Ah well!
5.8
Shortly after this, I saw the release notes for Oak-recorder and then
Arc-Recorder in the press. Reading the Oak “preview” it sounded good, IF
you had Genesis, which I don’t. Hybrid released details of their
offering − this one would create regular voice relocatable modules as
well as Genesis modules. This certainly sounded the better of the two
for my purposes because, as well as working from a microphone, you could
also plug into a hi-fi through a line socket. My Fairy Godmother
appeared at this point (I have been called some funny things in my time!
Ed) and I looked forward to getting my hands on both these items.
Unfortunately, only the Oak one is currently available.
5.8
The package
5.8
The Oak-Recorder came in a substantial box and my first impressions of
the unit were very good. The microphone is a lot bigger than I expected
− it is a massive, gold-topped beast, though as the body is made of a
rigid plastic, it is also very light. The sixteen page manual is
actually only an eight page one because only the right hand side has
text, the left being taken up with menus or headings. The manual,
however, is quite sufficent − it even suggests that the hardware is
robust enough for use in schools. The disc is not copy-protected, so you
can make a backup to work from. In fact, the first thing you are
instructed to do is to make a backup copy.
5.8
The software I was supplied for the review is version 1.11 and it comes
with its own !System directory which has Colours, FPEmulator and
ABCLibrary, V4.01 which the software needs! So if, like me, you have a
hard disk with your own !System, you should update it from the !System
on the Oak disc before loading the actual sampling software. It also
loads in items held in the other application directories, so all need to
be stored together, unless you feel like editing and moving bits and
pieces.
5.8
Hardware fitting
5.8
Plugging the “Oak Recorder housing” into the parallel port of your
computer is the next action. If you have a dongle fitted, the manual
says you can plug it directly into that, but as I don’t have a dongle, I
can’t comment on that. However, as far as the printer is concerned, it
is an either/or fitting − you can have either the recorder plugged in OR
your printer. Still, you won’t want to record while the printer is
making its own noise, but it would have been nice to be able to leave
the printer connected because fitting the recorder is not that easy
since there is very little room to get a screwdriver in to tighten up
the screws that hold the unit to the parallel port.
5.8
Software installation
5.8
Installing the software is easy − just double click on the various
icons. In addition to the !System directory, there are !OakRecord,
!GenSample, !GenLib and !Browser applications supplied. !OakRecord is
the one which does the hard work. Clicking <select> on this gives you a
window, a little like a Draw window, which has a tool-box pane on the
left. The toolbox has five icons which are used for the “widely used
actions”. Clicking <menu> on the main window gives you the Sample menu
with four options, three greyed out at the start, Info, Save, Selection
and Record.
5.8
Recording sounds
5.8
Record is the only one you can select at first. The sampling software
starts off set to 2 seconds of recording. The manual suggests that you
don’t extend this too much because each second takes up 10 kbytes. I
tried it out but the results were inaudible! I have an amplifer plugged
in to my sound port but didn’t have any success even when I turned this
up high.
5.8
Oak provide a couple of samples on the disk, though you have to search
for them (they are buried in the !GenLib.resources.Sample directory).
The Phone sample did work, but only just while the “YouRang” seemed to
lock up my computer for a brief period. I was getting discouraged but
then I remembered that some programs alter the volume setting. I pressed
<F12>, typed in VOLUME 120, pressed <return> and tried again. It nearly
blew me across the room! It worked all right but I forgot that I had
turned up the amplifier!
5.8
There is an option in the software to allow you to delay actual
recording until you “trigger” it, but you would have to practise this
bit as I ended up losing the first part of the sample when I tried it.
The screen display is removed during sampling; normal sampling is done
with a white screen, while triggering has a weird effect on the screen
with it jumping until you click the switch on the microphone, or speak.
5.8
Modifying the sound samples
5.8
Once you have captured your sound, what can you do with it? You can mark
a section which can then be played back by itself, or it can be copied,
moved, deleted or saved as a sample itself. There is, however, no way of
modifying the sound.
5.8
To make any major changes you need to get hold of something like !DSEdit
to add echo or whatever. To convert to !DSEdit format and back again
you’ll also need !SampConv from M. Farrow. Both are PD, as far as I
know, and are excellent! One thing I didn’t find was any noise trans
mitted by holding the microphone which was a pleasant surprise, but you
may end up with a slight click if using the microphone switch. You can
edit this out using the recorder software − it takes a little practice
but is well worth the effort.
5.8
Simply speaking into the microphone is easy, even if you do feel a
little self conscious at first. Unfortunately, when I tried to take a
sample from the television I got too much interference to make it
feasible. Not having a line input taking a sample from the hi-fi means
you have to hold the microphone up to the speaker − perhaps not the best
of methods, but it does work quite well. I’ve now managed to connect my
video’s Skart socket to my hi-fi, so I’ve done a few extra samples by
holding the microphone in front of the speaker.
5.8
Playback
5.8
Playback is done from within software either by clicking on Play or by
using the Genesis !Browser application. If, like me, you do not have
Genesis, you’ll need some method of playing the sample back other than
through the recorder software itself. You can use the Genesis browser
!GenSample application, but it only works in the desktop, not in your
own programs.
5.8
There is not an easy way to use your samples in your own programs, for
example as voice modules, which is a drawback I feel. However, you can
search through the !GenLib directory for a RModule called GS_Support
which plays a sample back as a star command of the format:
5.8
*PlaySample <Filename>.
5.8
However, I’ve also found a way of doing that in a program. There was no
documentation provided for the Genesis Support Modules, so perhaps this
is obvious to Genesis users, but if you load in the GS_Support Module,
then attach the following routine to your own programs, you can load a
sample, or samples, into memory and call them as you need.
5.8
10 X%=OPENIN(“<sample_name>”):Y%= EXT#X%:CLOSE#X%
5.8
20 DIM sample% Y%:SYS“OS_File”, 255,“<sample_name>”,sample%
5.8
30 SYS “GS_Support_PlaySample”,, sample%,Y%
5.8
In this example, line 10 finds the length of the file, line 20 DIM’s
enough room for it and loads it in. You should substitute the pathname
for <sample_name>. Line 30 allows playback of the sample.
5.8
Conclusions
5.8
Apart from the minor problems already mentioned, it did lock up on me to
the extent of needing a <ctrl-reset> to get out of an error loop. Short
of something like Armadeus, there is nothing like it on the market now
and, at the price (£33 through Archive), it’s a bargain. I would still
have liked to compare it to Hybrid’s offering, but when used with
!DSEdit to add echo and so on, it is highly recommended.
5.8
Included on this month’s program disc are some sound samples done
through the Oak-Recorder and also a list of the SWI calls which will be
included in an enlarged manual in due course.  A
5.8
Now a couple of extra comments from Paul Fellows of Oak Solutions....
5.8
We don’t alter the volume setting, preferring instead to assume that it
is set at a suitable level  for the machine. This depends so much on
taste, speaker response, amplifiers, etc.  However, we will bear the
comment in mind for future reprints of the manual.
5.8
We have new software under development for release soon which makes
voice modules and also has a number of other features such as doing
FFTs, allowing the play and record rate to be selected etc.
5.8
We have issued licences to a number of major software houses allowing
them to distribute the GS_Support module so they can include sound
samples in their own software − I understand that several applications
are already (or will soon be) making use of it.  A
5.8
5.8
The Engineer is back again !
5.8
Ray Maidstone
5.8
Batteries
5.8
A300/400 owners should check their batteries, because recently, half a
dozen machines that I have “repaired” have had no more wrong with them
than corrupt configuration due to dud batteries. Also, bear in mind that
many of the early 310s are now into their 4th year and the battery
terminals may be dirty or corroded.
5.8
ROM sockets
5.8
A rather more ‘interesting’ failure has been several machines dying
because of bad contact on the chip sockets. The remedy is simply to
remove the 3-4 year old chip sockets and replace them with new ones. (I
think it is worth pointing out that some of us have become so used to
our Archimedes just going on and on... that we forget just how long it
is has been going on and on. Quite a lot of A310’s are coming in these
days with ‘senile dementia’!) For some strange reason, this problem does
not seem to affect the main chip set (four square chips) but these
sometimes need a gentle press to clean their contacts.
5.8
A5000 monitor connections
5.8
The 15 pin output connector on the A5000 is not just another socket to
plug in and out of, because this socket has the ability to sense what is
happening out in the real world. If the plug were allowed to cause an
intermittent connection or be plugged in and out too quickly, it could
cause the machine to become confused with its CMOS settings, or cause it
to lock up completely needing a power-on reset to clear itself. The
answer?! Always keep the connector screwed in and always switch the
machine off when changing monitors. You have been warned!
5.8
Apologies
5.8
I was unfortunate enough to contract the latest flu virus, which laid me
low for 5-6 weeks. I would like to apologise to those who may have been
inconvenienced by this.  A
5.8
5.8
Paul B
5.8

 Tomorrow’s Worlds
5.9
The title comes from a fascinating article in Mac User, (1st May 1992)
which explains how Apple are planning to “harness the power of RISC”.
They are intending to use a “modular approach” to their system program
ming using this “new” computer architecture. I couldn’t help a wry smile
as I thought back almost five years (yes, five years) to that seminar at
the Acorn Training Centre when the first RISC-based computer was
revealed and they told us about things called relocatable modules that
are designed so that “the system software will be modular and
extensible”. (In fact, that last quote was pinched from the Mac User
article!)
5.9
Actually, the laugh is going to be on us if we are not careful. The
article goes on to describe the huge range of power systems that Apple
are intending to deliver over the next few years. If a company as small
as Acorn can deliver machines as cheap and powerful as the A5000 with
their limited resources, think what Apple could do with their massive
network of engineers and developers. Still, there is one thing that will
slow them up quite considerably − “Apple has had to bite the bullet and
move to high-performance RISC technology even though it is incompatible
with current Motorola 680X0 CISC devices.” In order to maintain
backwards compatibility with the huge installed base of 680X0 machines,
they will have to develop 680X0 emulators to run existing software.
Then, because of the speed limitations of the emulators, they will have
to rewrite all the applications software to run in native mode on the
new RISC machines.
5.9
If reports in the June Archimedes World are to be believed, Acorn are
about to launch “a number of new computers later this year”. They speak
of the portable (a huge hole in Acorn’s range) and a couple of A3000
replacements, one aimed at the home market and one aimed at schools (but
no mention of a high end VIDC 2 machine). Well, I hope AW is right
because, although we have a head start where RISC is concerned, I fear
that the Apple is rapidly gaining on us.
5.9
Come on, Acorn, you can do it! and we will support you in every way we
can!!
5.9
Bye for now,
5.9
5.9
Products Available
5.9
•    A5000 drives − If you prefer to keep your podule slots free and want a
second large hard drive for your A5000, as well as the 120M drive at
£380, we now have a 240M drive at £675 and a 420M drive at £1150. These
can be fitted in the space underneath the floppy drive.
5.9
•    A5000 2M memory upgrades − Atomwide now have a non-expandable 2M
upgrade for the A5000 at £89 +VAT (or £100 through Archive). It is
vertical mounting and is therefore easier to fit than the expandable 2M
upgrade (£130 through Archive) since you don’t have to remove the floppy
drive and hard drive.
5.9
•    !BBCLink − Turing Tools have produced a “pre-compiling link editor”
for BBC Basic. The idea is that Basic compilers normally do not
recognise the LIBRARY function, so BBCLink enables you to call routines
that are not in the actual code to be compiled, just as long as the
routines exist in other sources referred to within the file. This brings
the idea of object-oriented programming within reach of the Basic
programmer. !BBCLink is £39 for a single user, £229 for a commercial
site licence, £189 for an educational site licence and there is a demo
version for £5, refundable on purchase of the full version. (There is no
VAT as Turing is not VAT registered.)
5.9
•    BirdTech scanning and printing − The phone number we gave last month
for BirdTech’s scanning and printing service was wrong. With apologies,
it should have been 0263−70669.
5.9
•    Careware 17 should be ready by the time this magazine goes to press,
possibly even 18 as well. See the Price List for details.
5.9
•    CD-ROM upgrade for Acorn SCSI cards − Acorn have released an upgrade
to enable their SCSI cards to be used to run CD-ROMs. The software is
the same for both versions of the Acorn SCSI card but for owners of the
earlier AKA30 cards, there is a simple board modification to be made.
The AKA31 has a link change instead. The price of the software and
instructions is £19.95 +VAT or £22 through Archive.
5.9
•    Design Concept’s fonts − Design Concept are continuing to increase
their list of outline fonts. The latest additions are Chinese and Katiyo
− both English characters but the former in a Chinese style. (See page
63 for a review of some the earlier fonts and programs.) For a free
catalogue, write to Design Concept.
5.9
•    Direct Laser Printers − Calligraph now have a wide range of direct
drive laser printers (i.e. the same sort of thing as the Laser Directs).
Bottom of the range is a Qume (300 d.p.i., 6 p.p.m.) at £899 + VAT
(Archive price £990). Then there is a 600 × 300 d.p.i., 4 p.p.m. Canon
at £969 + VAT (Archive price £1080). This is the equivalent of the
Computer Concepts’ Laser Direct LBP4 except that the CC version goes up
to 600 × 600, not just 600 × 300 d.p.i. The next one up is the equiva
lent of CC’s LBP8 − ArcLaser 600-8 is a Canon 8 p.p.m. printer offering
600 × 400 d.p.i. for £1399 +VAT (Archive price £1560). If you are
looking for an even faster printer with a dual bin facility then the new
ArcLaser 600-12 is a Qume laser printer offering 600 × 300 d.p.i. at 12
p.p.m. (Archive price £1560).
5.9
Calligraph also have a cheap laser printer with a deep paper tray that
is ideal for network use − ArcServer is a 300 d.p.i., 8 p.p.m. Taxan
printer and comes complete with network spooler software for £1069 + VAT
(Archive price £1180).
5.9
•    DrawPrint & Plot is Oak Solutions’ updated version of their WorraPlot
ter. DrawPrint is a tiling program for outputting Drawfiles in sizes up
to A0 on A4 sheets. DrawPlot is a RISC-OS driver for HPGL plotters. The
files it produces can be transferred to PC format discs and sent to
cutting or plotting bureaux for the final product to be produced. The
price is £39.95 +VAT or £43 through Archive.
5.9
•    Eizo 17“ monitors − I have now had several hours of practical
experience of using the various Eizo 17” monitors. The newest one I have
been looking at is the T560iT which is a higher spec version of the
T560i. It has an anti-reflective coating on the screen and has achieved
the MPR II standard. It also has lower electrostatic emission character
istics so that it complies with the more stringent Swedish TCO
regulations. It is, therefore, more expensive than the T560i − £1360 at
Archive prices compared with £1240, so is it worth paying £120 for the
extra “T” ?!
5.9
The advantage of the anti-reflective coating is that you won’t find
yourself having to angle the monitor to avoid reflections from strip-
lights or other strong light sources. If you are definitely always going
to be working in a low ambient light level, then the only advantage
would be the higher safety standards. However, being realistic, most of
us will, on occasions, find ourselves with some sort of bright light
causing reflections. I would say that if you can justify paying £1240
for a monitor, it would be false economy not to stretch the extra £120
for the T560iT at £1360.
5.9
So, how does the T560iT compare with the F550i? Is it worth the extra
£470? (£1360 − £890) First of all, I must say that the F550i is an
excellent monitor and anyone moving up from a 14“ monitor of any type
will see a significant improvement. With all three 17” monitors, the
micro-processor control makes them so much more user-friendly. They can
be set up in each of the modes you use to give the optimum display using
every last millimetre of the screen (except in modes 12 & 15 which are
half height and three-quarters width, though none the less very usable).
5.9
What then do you get for the extra £470? The first advantage of the
T560iT’s Trinitron tube is that you get a brighter screen. I found I had
to run the F550i at full brightness all the time and when the sun was
bright (in England, in May?!?!) I really could have done with a bit more
brightness. This is particularly noticeable with Impression because it
uses a white background. The problem with the F550 is that, if you try
to make the whole screen white, it really cannot cope and it goes a
little grey. To see this effect, create a new blank document and
increase the magnification to give you a complete white screen. Size it
down to a couple of inches square, put the pointer over the top right
hand corner of the window ready to open it out to full screen size and
cover the rest of the screen with a couple of A4 envelopes. Watch the
square of white in the top lefthand corner of the screen as you click
the mouse to open the window to full size and you will see the drop in
brightness. I also tried this with the Trinitron tube and couldn’t see
any change in brightness.
5.9
The other difference between the two tubes is the colour saturation.
This is clearly seen if you put up, say, the test card from Atomwide’s
VIDC modes disc. (You will need this disc or a VIDC enhancer to use any
of these monitors.) If you have two computers and can put the two
monitors side by side, you will see a definite difference in the
intensity of the colours. The F550 colours are more pastel, if that’s
the right word.
5.9
In defence of the F550i which, as I have said, is an excellent monitor
at £890, I have always found the non-Trinitron tubes less tiring to use
than the Trinitrons (well, the Taxan 795 which is the only Trintron I
had tried prior to the T560i). This could well be because the display is
not as bright or colourful and is therefore more restful. Also, the
Trinitron tubes do have a couple of dark shadow lines across the screen
which would never be seen on a television with a constantly moving
display but, with a steady white background, these dark lines can be
clearly seen. Having said that, the lines are a lot less obvious on the
larger tubes than on the 14“ ones and, in use, I haven’t found the
T560iT at all tiring to use. Because I use it all day, every day, I
think I can justify the extra cost and will be sticking with the T560iT.
5.9
•    Epson emulation − We have managed to find an Epson emulation for the
Acorn JP150 printer. The cost is £98 through Archive. It means that any
recalcitrant software that insists on printing to an Epson printer can
be used with the Acorn JP150 printer. This is likely to be particularly
useful with the PC Emulator.
5.9
•    Flopticals’ price down − Just after the last magazine went to the
printers, Morley dropped the prices of their floptical drives. The new
Archive prices are as follows: 20M external £490, 20M external + podule
£580, 20M external + cached podule £630, 20M internal floptical drive
£400, 20M internal + podule £490, 20M internal + cached podule £540. The
20M discs are £29 each or five for £115 (= £23 each). Note that, at
present, the Morley podules are the only SCSI podules that will support
the floptical drives. Also, currently, the drives will not read any of
the Acorn formats, only 720k and 1.44M MS-DOS formats.
5.9
•    Keynote is the primary version of the KeyPlus database, aimed at
children at Key Stages 1 & 2. It is produced by the education department
at Anglia Television and costs £27.50 +VAT for an individual copy with
site licences between £30 and £250 depending on the size of the
establishment from <150 pupil primary schools to FE and HE colleges.
5.9
•    KiddiCAD − Oak Solutions have a 3-D building block program − a bit
like building with Lego but in 3-D. The object can be viewed from any
position and any angle. You can build blocks into sub-assemblies, save
them and then use them to build up an even bigger model. Views of the
models can be printed with standard RISC-OS printer drivers. (£69.95
+VAT or £76 through Archive.)
5.9
•    Le Monde à Moi − This is a skills development package designed to
stimulate spoken and written French in children from 9 years upwards.
Based on a set of pictorial scenes, there is a range of sorting,
matching and sentence construction tasks that can be done. The price is
£15 +VAT from Northwest SEMERC.
5.9
•    Graph_IT is Sherston Software’s graph drawing software aimed specifi
cally at schools. “It has been designed to produce professional looking
graphs quickly, accurately and easily, without having to master a
complicated spreadsheet or database package.” The graphs can be saved as
Graph_IT files or as Draw files, so that the output can be used with
other WP or DTP packages. The price is £19.95 +VAT from Sherston
Software and this includes three fonts: Junior, Montclair and Tabloid.
5.9
•    Italian disc magazine − Raffaele Ferrigno tells us that there is now a
disc-based Archimedes magazine in Italy. Apparently it is bimonthly and
it is free! More details from Raffaele Ferrigno at Via Andrea d’Isernia
16, 80122 Napoli, Italy.
5.9
•    Nº62 Honeypot Lane is a new program from Resource aimed at primary
school work in a whole range of subjects. It is based round the idea of
exploring and discovering the routines and relationships that exist
within a household through a year. The price is £29.95 for a single user
and £74.95 for a site licence.
5.9
•    Pesky Muskrats − This new game from Coin-Age Ltd bears certain
resemblances, in the basic game strategy at least, to Lemmings. The
difference is that you are trying to kill all the Pesky Muskrats instead
of saving them. The price is £25.99 or £24 through Archive.
5.9
•    ScreenTurtle is Topologika’s easy-to-learn turtle graphics program. It
is a fully RISC-OS compatible program and offers a range of Logo
features but always with the aim of making it accessible for the younger
users − aimed at 8 to 13+ year olds. The price is £39.95 + VAT or £44
through Archive.
5.9
•    Shareware 44 − “Fortran Friends”, compiled by D.J. and K.M. Crennell,
contains: a desktop tool allowing compilation, linking and execution;
fast binary input/output, callable from Fortran; thirty-three graphics
routines emulating Basic commands, e.g. CALL LINE(IX1,IY1,IX2,IY2);
forty-four Sprite_Op routines; eleven utilities, e.g. J = IGET() which
simulates Basic’s GET command; a general SWI calling routine; fifty-one
wimp routines + some utilities; utilities to create Draw files for
‘path’ and ‘text’ objects; utilities to plot a line graph through a set
of X,Y points; various algorithms, originally part of the ACMToms;
Fortran applications − using SpriteOps for manipulation of objects made
of spheres, using wimp routines to display polyhedra from pre-stored
datafiles; advice for converting a Basic program to Fortran; list of
reported bugs in Fortran77 release 2; list of commercial suppliers of
libraries callable from Fortran; list of bulletin boards accessible from
JANET.
5.9
•    Shareware 45 − contains: typing tutor, address book and label printer,
easy-to-read font for children, modes 20 & 21 for Acorn multisyncs, Draw
options object killer, menu screen grabber, sprite & draw file
previewer, clipart including: Body − brain, eyeball, eyes, germ, hand,
inner ear, nervous system, skin1, skin2, skull/brain; chemical equip
ment: beaker, bunsen, distillation, conical flask, separation funnel;
General: blast furnace, tap; Pond: beetle, pike; Transport: glider,
lorry1, lorry2, plane.
5.9
•    Shareware 46 − contains: Basic compressor & cross referencer, module
information utility, regular expression finder (for cross referencing),
File/directory lister for RISC-OS and PC partitions, simple assembler,
desktop ‘filer’ utility.
5.9
•    Shareware 47 − contains: desktop keystrip, selective disc backup, a
utility to make ‘plinth’ sprites, (another different) typing tutor,
desktop eyes, orbital mechanics simulation, four dimensional cube
display, three games: !Bang − desktop bomb squad, Inertia screen
designer and !Zoo − a guessing game / expert system.
5.9
•    Squirrel update − Digital Services have produced a new version of
their Squirrel database. Version 1.10 has a huge range of new features −
I have a list of features 2½ pages long which I do not intend to try to
summarise! All registered Squirrel owners will get their upgrades free
of charge and the end user price has not changed − still £140 through
Archive.
5.9
•    The Crystal Rain Forest − Sherston Software have produced a new
educational adventure game. The scenario is that you have to help the
King of Oglo who has been poisoned by some evil tree-fellers. To save
him, you have to find some magic crystals hidden deep in the forest. The
adventure is intended to be both a starting point for conservation and
nature work and also a fun way to teach children how to use Logo. All
the puzzles encountered are related to Logo and are presented in a
structured manner so that pupils learn about Logo almost without
realising it − well, that’s what Sherston claim! The price is £35 +VAT
from Sherston Software.
5.9
•    The Public Key − Issue 3 of The Public Key is now available. This is
the magazine specialising in public key cryptography. For more details,
see the advert on page 10.
5.9
•    Vector − 4Mation’s new drawing package, Vector, is now available at
£85 +VAT (£92 through Archive). Written by Jonathan Marten (of DrawPlus
fame), it has a range of new features including replication of images,
masking of objects (so that parts of one object will “show through”
another object), radiation (replication + rotation), path-merging,
interpolation, new path patterns, etc, etc. (See comparative review on
page 13 − but a full review will follow as soon as it is ready.) A demo
version of Vector is included on the monthly program disc.
5.9
•    X-fire − yet another all-singing, all-dancing, shoot-em-up arcade game
from 4th Dimension. The price is £24.95 or £23 through Archive.
5.9
Review software received...
5.9
We have received review copies of the following: Aliped, Careware 17,
Careware 18, Control Logo (needs Longman Logotron Logo), Diction,
Keynote, Disc Rescue, Newton (needs Longman Logotron Logo), Nº62
Honeypot Lane, Pesky Murkrats, ScreenTurtle, Shareware 44, Shareware 45,
Shareware 46, Shareware 47, Supermarket (English, French, German &
Spanish), X-Fire.  A
5.9
5.9
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.9
Let me start with an interesting statistic − ten out of every ten people
are going to die. (Sharp intake of breath... “He’s not going to talk
about death, is he?”) It’s funny, isn’t it, that in the U.K. today one
thing you are not supposed to talk about, except in hushed tones when
someone “passes on”, is death.
5.9
Why shouldn’t we talk about death? Are we afraid of it? Do we think that
if we avoid talking about it, it won’t happen? The bible isn’t afraid to
talk about death − the word “death” appears 127 times, “die” comes 42
times and “dead” comes 146 times − and that’s just the New Testament.
5.9
Well, is it the suffering that is often associated with death that gags
us? Why should it be? Often, dying can be relatively painless − or so I
gather! It’s living that’s really painful! There is a tremendous amount
of physical and mental suffering that is not directly associated with
death.
5.9
Let’s face it, I don’t really know why we are afraid to talk about death
but one thing I do know is that, for bible-believing Christians, there
is no fear in death. Such joy awaits us − the joy of knowing God 100%
and experiencing His love in full measure − that death is, dare I say
it, something to which we actually look forward. I don’t much fancy the
process of dying but when I’ve gone through it, it’s going to be
absolute heaven!
5.9
5.9
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
5.9
5.9
4th Dimension     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661) (0742−781091)
5.9
4Mation     11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon  EX32
8PA. (0271−25353) (0271−22974)
5.9
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts  SN2
6QA.
5.9
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge  CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (0223−210685)
5.9
Apricote Studios (p11)    2 Purls
Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire  PE15 0ND. (035−478−432)
5.9
BirdTech     16 Weynor Gardens, Kelling, Holt, Norfolk  NR25 7EQ.
(0263−70669)
5.9
Calligraph Ltd      53 Panton Street, Cambridge CB2 1HL. (0223−461143)
(0223−316144)
5.9
Cliff Kohlmeyer (p5)    Coyfes,
Station Road, Groombridge, East Sussex TN3 9NB. (0892−864357)
5.9
Coin-Age Ltd     23 Cooper Street, Nelson, Lancashire BB9 7XW.
5.9
Colton Software (p28)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge  CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (0223−312010)
5.9
Computer Concepts (p32/33)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts  HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (0442−231632)
5.9
Data Store     6 Chatterton Road, Bromley, Kent. (081−460−8991)
(081−313−0400)
5.9
Design Concept     30 South Oswald Road, Edinburgh  EH9 2HG.
5.9
Digital Services     9 Wayte Street, Cosham, Portsmouth PO6 3BS.
(0705−210600) (210705)
5.9
ICS (Ian Copestake Software) (p12)    1 Kington
Road, West Kirby, Wirral  L48 5ET. (051−625−1006) (051−625−1007)
5.9
LOOKsystems (p19)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich  NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (0603−764011)
5.9
Morley Electronics     Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear  NE29 7TY. (091−257−6355)
(6373)
5.9
Northwest SEMERC     Fitton Hill CDC, Rosary Road, Oldham  OL8 2QE.
(061−627−4469)
5.9
Oak Solutions (p20)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274−620423) (0274−620419)
5.9
Ray Maidstone    421 Sprowston Road, Norwich  NR3 4EH. (0603−400477)
(0603−417447)
5.9
Resource     Exeter Road, Doncaster  DN2 4PY. (0302−340331)
5.9
Risc Developments Ltd     117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts  AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (0727−60263)
5.9
Sherston Software     Swan Barton,
Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH. (0666−840433) (840048)
5.9
Simis Ltd     Headley House, Headley Road, Grayshott, Surrey  GU26 6TU.
(0428−605833) (607791)
5.9
Spacetech (p6)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset  DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.9
Topologika     P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough  PE7 3RL. (0733−244682)
5.9
Turing Tools     149 Campbell Road, Cowley, Oxford  OX4 3NX. (0865−775059)
5.9
Techsoft Ltd (pp19 + 51)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd  CH7 4DA. (082−43318)
5.9

5.9
5.9
Computer Concepts
5.9
New artwork
5.9
5.9
Computer Concepts
5.9
New artwork
5.9
5.9
Paul B
5.9
5.9
Need a Hard Disk Drive for your Archimedes?
5.9
Want to spend up to 30% less than almost anywhere else?
5.9

5.9
Then call me!
5.9
Here are some examples:
5.9
    IDE    SCSI
5.9
42MB    £220    £250
5.9
80MB      270      270
5.9
130MB      310      315
5.9
213MB    455    499
5.9

5.9
All sizes available. Prices vary from time to time. Simply phone or
write to us with your requirements, and we will respond that same day
with a quote. We can also get MFM format drives for the A400 series.
5.9
Cliff Kohlmeyer, Coyfes, Station Road,
5.9
Groombridge, East Sussex TN3 9NB
5.9
0892 864357
5.9
Visa & Access accepted
5.9
5.9
SpaceTech
5.9
From 5.8 page 45
5.9
5.9
Comment Column
5.9
•    ... by any other name − Humble apologies to Richard Gates of Reepham
High School, Norfolk who wrote the article last month about Networking
the School. I unintentionally re-Christened him as Geoff. Sorry about
that!
5.9
•    DTP response − I thought that readers might be interested to know how
much response we have had, so far, to our adverts in various Acorn
magazines, offering a free DTP booklet. Here is the “Top Ten” chart:
5.9
Acorn User    163
5.9
Micro User    131
5.9
Archimedes World    128
5.9
Beebug    88
5.9
Risc User    37
5.9
Educational Computing    21
5.9
We have also taken out an advert in the June issue of Mac World! It will
be interesting to see how much response we get from that.
5.9
•    PC Compatibility − Here are just a few more pieces of PC software that
will run on the PC Emulator.
5.9
Software    Dos    Remarks
5.9
Borland C++ V2.0    3.3    V. slow
5.9
Chiwriter V3.02    3.3    Slowish
5.9
D86 V3.22 debugger    3.3
5.9
Paradox V3.5    3.3     No mouse
5.9
Quattro-pro V3.0    3.3    Slow
5.9
Turbo Assembler V1.5    3.3
5.9
Turbo Debugger V1.0    3.3    No
mouse
5.9
Turbo Pascal V5.5    3.3    No mouse
5.9
Mike Clinch
5.9
•    PD TeX − The public domain TeX program is freely available via
Internet file transfer from the following site:
5.9
phoibos.cs.kun.nl address 131.174.81.1,
5.9
and via JANET from the Newcastle Info-Server (which also has hundreds of
PD programs for the Archimedes, with a lot of serious and good software,
plus demos and sounds) it has the following Janet address:
5.9
[e-mail]
5.9
To obtain an Index of all Archimedes software send a mail message with
the following content:
5.9
line limit 1000
5.9
request: sources
5.9
topic: archimedes index
5.9
request: end
5.9
This will then send the index to your Janet mailbox. I do not know
whether you can download files via local BT PADs as I do not possess the
equipment to try!
5.9
It should be noted that TeX requires at least 10M of hard disc and 2
megs of memory! Readers may also like to know that I have a copy of the
Archimedes port of MINIX, the program that is known as mini-unix. It is
Public Domain and was written by Martin Patzel, and is intended as a
starting block for budding code hackers, OS writers and Unix fans. It
would be an interesting challenge to continue the process and write a
fully functional OS. It should be noted that a PC already running MINIX
1.5.10 is needed for part of the unpacking process!! I also have a copy
of a PD version of UUCP, known as RUCP, and micro-Emacs that were found
on the info server (not D Pilling’s version).  Richard Ingram, Horsham
5.9
•    Sow much four spelling chequers! − Won knight sum phew daze a go,
being a try full board, icon clue dead the tit was thyme two sea watt a
spelling chequer wood do with an aviary day peace of righting. Eye sat
my sulphate my usual plaice at the key bored of my valley ant Acorn and
a sigh typed, I weighted in vein fore the yew till it tea too come
plane, butt knot a whirr did it take except shun to.
5.9
Aye no, of coarse, that a yam vary hard to pleas butt in too sheiks of a
lam stale I was shore that this was not rite four me. The hare on my
head stood up and I had quite a nasty tern when the lack of so fist
decay shun in such annexe pensive product was slayed bear. The real eyes
a shun that sow much cache had bean pay doubt to a choir a prod duct so
pour, maid me ring my hands. Know underwear in a recession!
5.9
Their is amoral two this storey as yew have know doubt already guest.
Bee knot sow shore yore chequer nose it all, in spy toff what the
cellars of the are tickle may have lead dew too be leave.
5.9
To bee fare though, a grate deal of prays is jew two pea pole a bull to
pro juice such works oh fart. Tony Stauber, Qatar, Arabian Gulf.
5.9
•    Virtual Memory, Minix − (Some comments inspired by the letter on
Virtual Memory in last month’s Archive − 5.8 p13.) I did consider
writing a virtual store system for RISC-OS some time ago but gave up as
I didn’t have a sufficiently useful application. For general use, the
main problem I can see is that only interrupts in user mode can be
handled cleanly. Some system calls are passed addresses to parameter
areas and one must be certain those areas are in store − even OS_WriteS
could give trouble. The easiest and most useful general way of imple
menting virtual store that I can think of is to reimplement or put a
veneer around the Clib module so that C programs using only ANSI C
facilities could be paged. Direct calls to _kernel routines, or use of
RISC_OSLib facilities, would, I think, be difficult to handle in
general.
5.9
I will, however, be implementing virtual store for another project I
started recently. I’m porting Minix so it works within RISC-OS. Minix is
a small educational version of Unix by Andrew S. Tanenbaum and others
and is documented in his book ‘Operating Systems: Design and Implementa
tion’ published by Prentice-Hall (1987). Minix can be used freely for
educational purposes. Working slowly it’ll be a year before I release it
for general use. I’m hoping to do a fairly complete implementation
running under the desktop and well integrated with RISC-OS. Currently,
I’m planning that C compiling tasks will be handed over to RISC-OS but
if someone would like to take on the rather daunting project of porting
Gnu C++ then a complete free educational Minix system could be
produced.
5.9
David McQuillan, Wokingham.
5.9
(On the monthly program disc are some utilities which David supplied.
They come with source code and could help in putting a veneer round
calls to the C library functions.)  A
5.9
5.9
Small Ads
5.9
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what “small”
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.9
•    A310, Acorn colour monitor IFEL 2M memory, MEMC1a, PC Emulator,
Euclid, some games & PD, £700. Phone 051−606−0289.
5.9
•    A410, 4M, 5¼ disc interface, Archway 2, £700 o.n.o. Phone 0634−360650.
5.9
•    Acorn DTP £55, PC Emulator 1.6 £45, CC ROM/RAM podule + 7 × 32k RAM +
battery backup £45, Graphic Writer £10. Phone Ken on 0460−54311.
5.9
•    Arc-PCB Professional as new £200. Phone Steve Frost on 081−743−8000
ext 5844.
5.9
•    Brainsoft multi-podule − sound/video digitiser & modem £75. Phone Mr C
Bailey on 0908−661980.
5.9
•    CC Qume LaserDirect 6ppm printer complete £500. Marconi trackerball
new, boxed £20. Phone 081−993−2361.
5.9
•    Computer Concepts’ ROM/RAM podule with battery-backup and InterWord
£25. Phone Michael on 081−508−8534 (after 7p.m.).
5.9
•    Computer Concepts’ ROMs − InterChart £10, InterSheet £15, InterWord
£15 and SpellMaster £20. Also disc software: Genesis Plus £15. Phone Rob
Brown on 0737−832159 (eves).
5.9
•    Cumana 3½“ drive with internal p.s.u., compatible with Archimedes, £45
as new. Phone 0536−724981.
5.9
•    Rodime 210M drive unused, auto-parking, 18 ms, £350. Phone John
Woodhouse on 0928− 701222.
5.9
•    Z88 with German keyboard, 128k RAM, 128k EPROM, 2 × 32k EPROM,
Centronics parallel cable, EPROM eraser £150 or 450DM. Phone Roland in
Germany on 541−683925.
5.9
Charity Sales − The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money − ring us on 0603−766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
5.9
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
5.9
J programming language + “Tangible Math” £20, C-Front £5, Insight £45,
Mah-Jong the Game £12, Corruption £5, Archimedes Masterfile II £10,
Alerion £4, all four Step-by-Step Archimedes training videos £28 (or £9
each), Screened printer data cable £2 per foot.  A
5.9
5.9
Hints and Tips
5.9
•    Auto-destruct! − There are applications, like Impression, that have an
auto-save facility. Auto-save is a very helpful facility and I use it
myself but, with Impression (and perhaps other applications), there is
an option to auto-save without prompt. In other words, every few
minutes, without you being able to stop it, it will save the current
document on top of the original document on disc. If you can’t already
see the danger of this, an anecdote might help...
5.9
Tord Eriksson sent an article (over 400k long including various draw
files) all the way from Sweden on a single floppy disc and there was no
space on the disc for a duplicate copy of the document. I loaded the
article and was playing around with it prior to editing it for the
magazine. I was trying to see if the text was all one story and so had
cut and pasted various bits when suddenly I got the message “The file
has just been saved”. Fortunately, I hadn’t actually deleted anything
important just prior to the auto-save, but it does go to show that you
should never send a file to someone else having left the preferences set
to auto-destruct, sorry, I mean auto-save. Ed.
5.9
•    Compression − Contrary to the review of Compression in Archive 5.2
(page 57) it is possible to initiate cfs directory displays from script
files. This might prove useful for those who want to use cfs as the
default filing system and who want to automatically display the root
directory on switching on the Archimedes. The problem is that the line,
5.9
Filer_OpenDir CFS#SCSI::Work.$
5.9
will not work unless the CFSmodule is active and it is inadequate to
simply run the !CFS application before this line in the script file. The
trick is to set up a !Boot application (as always) and to use this
application’s !boot (or !run) file to load the CFSmodule and activate it
before calling the script file. Assuming the !CFS application is hidden
away on the hard disc in the directory $.Utils. Filehndlng, this can be
achieved using the following commands:
5.9
|Load CFS
5.9
RMEnsure CFSModule 1.10 RMLoad $.Utils.Filehndlng.!Cfs .CFSModule
5.9
RMEnsure CFSModule 1.10 Error CFSModule not loaded
5.9

5.9
|Initialise CFS and set the
5.9
|scratch dir for it to use
5.9
|in handling files
5.9
NewCFS SCSI:4
5.9
CFStemp SCSI::Work.$.!System
5.9
|The !cfs !boot file should be
5.9
| run to allow the correct icons
5.9
| to be “seen” by the system:
5.9
$.Utils.Filehndlng.!Cfs.!Boot
5.9

5.9
| run desktop, load applications
5.9
| and display root directory
5.9
Desktop -file <HardBoot$Dir> DeskBoot
5.9
The script file, in this case called DeskBoot, used to load the
applications and open the root directory should be something like this:
5.9
Run <r>!System
5.9
Run <r>!Scrap
5.9
Run <r>!FontsPlus
5.9
Run <us>!StickyBD
5.9
Run <um>!Alarm
5.9
Run <uf>!Dustbin
5.9
Filer_OpenDir CFS#SCSI::Work.$
5.9
The commands “*Newcfs” and “*CFStemp” are not documented in the
Compression manual but are explained in sufficient detail in the *Help
feature of the CFSmodule itself. (Type *help cfsmodule for a list of the
commands, then do a *help for each individual command for more details.)
5.9
There is an example !boot application on the monthly program disc.  Rob
Wears, Birmingham.
5.9
•    Speeding up SQuirreL − If, like me, you often have lengthy queries and
reports for the SQuirreL database to perform, you may have wondered why
it makes no difference at all when you drag the table in question onto a
RAM disc.
5.9
The reason for this is that SQuirreL makes extensive use of the !Scrap
application; if you copy this, too, to the RAM disc and double click on
it, the hard disc will be silent.
5.9
Just don’t forget to double click onto the version of !Scrap on your
hard disc when you remove the RAM disc!
5.9
Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany.  A
5.9
5.9
Apricote
5.9
From 5.8 page 30
5.9
5.9
ICS
5.9
From 5.8 page 24
5.9
5.9
The Public Key
5.9
New Artwork
5.9
5.9
Draw Graphics De-luxe!
5.9
Tord Eriksson
5.9
There are few computers that have a bigger selection of graphics
software than the Archimedes. Today, the selection is so wide and
diversified that it is quite bewildering if you are trying to choose the
right software to meet your needs and fit your budget.
5.9
Pixel-based art packages, like !Paint, have their uses, especially for
on-screen graphics, but for the professional artist, it is vector-based
packages, like !Draw, that are essential.
5.9
This is even more so if you want to mix text with graphics or want to
manipulate text. In this “competition”, there are five teams assembled,
made up from programs that cost between £3 and £89 (+VAT) but all are
still very cheap compared to Mac software.
5.9
At the end of this test, I have made a few comments about some other
useful programs.
5.9
TypeStudio − Power at a price
5.9
Risc Developments have presented a program that rivals software from
Letraset or Adobe which cost more than twice as much (TypeStudio costs
around £40 from Risc Developments).
5.9
TypeStudio (version 1.06 tested) manipulates text in a number of ways,
some more useful than others, and includes some basic draw tools to make
paths and moulds for the text.
5.9
The manual is a delight to read, as usual with Risc Developments’
products, and using the program is very straightforward: First you make
a path or mould, then you type in the text and that is it!
5.9
The program is so simple to use that you really don’t have to be
literate because all the manipulation is done with icons and buttons.
5.9
Among the exotic ways you can transform text is the 3-D effect which is
very striking − I have not found this in the other packages.
5.9
On the other hand, there are no built-in features for setting text in a
circle − a quite useful feature. To do this with TypeStudio you have to
make a circular path or import one made with !Draw or some other
dedicated vector-graphics package.
5.9
Naturally, you can also manipulate other draw objects by putting them in
a mould.
5.9
Points for...
5.9
Used together with !DrawPlus, it is a very powerful and easy-to-use tool
for creating text wrapped round cylinders, poured into cones or slanted
backward. The limit is your imagination!
5.9
The manual is very helpful and the program is easy to master.
5.9
Seven very nice fonts are included in the package including Bookmark, a
Bookman look-alike and SwissB, Beebug’s version of Helvetica.
5.9
...and against
5.9
To my amazement, there are no key­short cuts of any kind. No <ctrl-X> to
delete a selected object − as used by most RISC-OS packages! This is
rather annoying, to say the least.
5.9
I would have liked some more built-in draw tools − although this is not
essential, as you still need !Draw.
5.9
Imported paths and moulds sometimes refuse to work as such (happily,
“ungroup” solves most problems).
5.9
Poster − Power from New Zealand
5.9
As this program, from 4Mation, has been around for some time and is well
known to many readers, I will concentrate on the differences between
Poster and TypeStudio, as both manipulate text and draw objects. (Poster
costs around £80.)
5.9
No icons, no toolbox
5.9
In sharp contrast to TypeStudio, Poster uses no icons and there is no
toolbox on screen − nor are there any buttons to press. It is all done
by key short-cuts or menus and there are a lot of them!
5.9
The manual
5.9
Fortunately, all the short-cuts are printed on the back cover of the
manual − but in black on very dark blue paper. Not a very clever choice!
From two feet away, it is impossible read the text, even under good
lighting conditions. 4Mation, please, next time you print the manual,
why not use light blue, light green, yellow or even white on the cover?
Just a thought...
5.9
This manual is overwhelming − it uses every typographical trick in the
book and then some more. You will find inverse text, bold, bold-italic,
index numbers (inverse sometimes) in small circles, diagrams and
hundreds of illustrations and examples. In short, DTP Galore! Try not to
make your own work as crammed with features as this because it actually
makes reading and understanding more difficult.
5.9
Poster DTP
5.9
As Poster has some DTP functions, in addition to the text and draw
manipulation part, it can be used to produce magazines, booklets, etc.
5.9
You have menu options to create columns, change justification, line
spacing and you can change fonts globally. In short, it is possible to
do DTP!
5.9
Making a Poster
5.9
As the program’s name implies, it is at its best when making posters,
cards and stationery.
5.9
To this end, you have hundreds of fancy borders and eighteen fonts −
most of them so-called fancy fonts, not suitable for running text but
excellent for headlines and banners.
5.9
There are seventeen built-in print sizes, with variations, from A0 to
very small formats. They have even catered for US formats.
5.9
Manipulating objects and text with Poster takes some time to get used
to, as it is all done through menus but, when mastered, it is plain
sailing!
5.9
Points for...
5.9
Poster from 4Mation is a very powerful program with lots of features,
including some DTP functions. As with TypeStudio, you have to use !Draw,
or similar, to get the most out of it as it has no draw tools of its
own.
5.9
With Poster, it is easy to import and export moulds, paths and text.
After you have learned the 30+ key­shortcuts (including <ctrl-x>!) you
will have a very good program at an even better price!
5.9
There are 18 fonts included − some very neat.
5.9
...and against
5.9
The manual is a bit over-enthusiastic and the package is a bit pricey.
(However, it is good value for schools and colleges because the price
includes a site-licence.)
5.9
Low-cost opposition
5.9
Two programs, costing around £10 each, can rival TypeStudio and Poster.
The two are !FontFX (version 4.10) from Data Store Software and
DrawBender (version 1.01) from Ian Copestake.
5.9
Neither !FontFX nor DrawBender comes with a proper printed manual but
DrawBender comes with a leaflet and three fancy fonts.
5.9
FontFX − Version 4.10
5.9
This is a small utility from Data Store Software that can transform text
to draw objects and/or set them in circles; fast, easy and efficient.
So, you either get your text as a straight row of draw objects or in a
circular mode. As with TypeStudio and Poster, you can control the colour
of the outline and the fill and it is a perfect tool for making badges,
etc. With !Draw, you can easily modify the result to produce ovals
instead of circles. Sadly, the text then becomes a bit distorted.
5.9
DrawBender − Version 1.01
5.9
DrawBender is a moulding tool, from Ian Copestake, that can be used in
many different ways. The only restriction is that it can’t mould text
around the outside of circular objects easily as the mould needs to be a
continuous line. With TypeStudio and Poster, it is enough to stack two
slit-open circles on top of each other and make them into a can-shaped
mould (see below).
5.9
The mould to the left is for DrawBender and on the right is a typical
TypeStudio or Poster mould.
5.9
Setting up the moulds takes some practice but it is well worth the
effort. New moulds can be made with !DrawPlus, !Draw or similar
programs. Any box or circle can be made into a mould, by flipping it
over, as the path has to go towards the right (compared to !Draw’s
drawing habit).
5.9
To watch DrawBender in action is exciting: You can follow the moulding
of a bit of text (in draw format), or a transforming object, as it
happens.
5.9
Points for...
5.9
They are cheap.
5.9
There are outstanding features in both packages. !FontFX easily replaces
!DrawFont and FontDraw, plus adds a lot of new tricks. Neither Type
Studio nor Poster sets text in a circle as quickly or easily.
5.9
...and against
5.9
I would love to have a proper printed manual....
5.9
There are not enough features. For instance, there is no way with either
program to let text follow an arbitrary path, as you can with the
preceding two packages.
5.9
Vector − The victor?
5.9
Jonathan Marten’s (and 4Mation’s) drawing package, Vector, has just been
released. (The price is £85 +VAT or £92 through Archive.) This is
closely related to DrawPlus, Jonathan’s version of his !Draw update,
that Acorn didn’t want to distribute.
5.9
DrawPlus introduced libraries in which you could save your favourite
objects so that you can then use them again and again.
5.9
Vector will also enable you to use draw objects as masks that let the
background seep through. I can’t show this very well as the demo version
I am using is without save or print functions. (See screenshot below).
5.9
In many ways, Vector is the ideal complement to all the previous
packages. (We will try to fit the demo version onto the monthly program
disc.)
5.9
Points for...
5.9
All the things that made DrawPlus a success are part of Vector, plus
many new features such as a Mac-like toolbox and the excellent masking
function.
5.9
...and against
5.9
Price unknown. Refuses to load font names like:
Futura.Condensed.Extrabold.Oblique, i.e. names in four parts.
5.9
Pure Fontasy − The pathfinder
5.9
A powerful manipulator of text, much newer than Poster but not as new as
TypeStudio is Fontasy from Ian Copestake Software. (Costs around £25.)
5.9
It is simpler than either of the preceding packages, as it cannot mould
text, just distort it or let it follow paths. However, it is a very good
“pather”.
5.9
Manual
5.9
The manual is a simple affair of twenty pages, not even stapled
together. It is well written and you quickly get going in your manipu
lating efforts.
5.9
Operation
5.9
Using Fontasy is very easy and can be learnt in a couple of minutes. You
type in your text in a text-window, after having made your choice of
font and size. After a window has opened with the text in the right
font, you are ready to follow a path, if you want. This is done by
dragging a path into the window and the text will then follow it
automatically − very quick and easy.
5.9
This took less than two minutes from scratch with Fontasy and DrawPlus!
5.9
The way I did it was to use DrawPlus to make an undulating line, select
it, save it as selection and then drag the icon across directly to the
Fontasy window. Bingo! If you want to distort the text further you can
lean the characters, slope them, set them along an arc, make a circle or
whatever else you want to do.
5.9
This program does not use paths visible on screen and you cannot make
new paths, so DrawPlus, or similar, is an essential tool to be used
together with Fontasy − if only for viewing the ready-made paths!
5.9
Fontasy’s ability to produce several objects at the same time is worth
mentioning, plus the fact that you can alter the result without starting
again. You can move, re-size, rotate or reverse letters or groups of
letters individually.
5.9
Points for...
5.9
This is, in many ways, an improved FontFX that does anything you want,
except pure moulding. It has a very short learning curve and a well
written manual.
5.9
...and against
5.9
If you want to set text in circles, you are better off with !FontFX.
5.9
I would have liked to have a “see path” feature so that you could see
which path is the best for your need.
5.9
The manual is a bit flimsy and will not stand everyday wear and tear.
5.9
Chameleon − The Draw colourer
5.9
Until now it has been the colouring of draw objects that has been most
problematical. With !Trace (£5.99) and Midnight Tracer (£46) you could
convert your grey-scale sprites to draw objects but then you often ran
into trouble. (!Trace also handles colours easily!)
5.9
Chameleon (v. 2.00 tested), from 4Mation, changes all that. Suddenly, it
is your imagination that is the problem, not the draw objects in
themselves. It is a very easy-to-use package and I will show what it can
do by modifying a couple of the draw files used earlier in this article.
You can either use buttons or menus, to set which object or objects are
going to be affected by your manipulation.
5.9
The program comes in a thin wallet together with a short but, very
clear, manual − in colour!
5.9
The program is as good at using colour as it is at using grey-scales and
will improve any Archimedes user’s abilities.
5.9
Points for...
5.9
This is excellent software. It is easy to use and gives very nice
results and some unique effects.
5.9
...and against
5.9
It is rather expensive (£41) for what it does.
5.9
Conclusion
5.9
If you have a spare £100, you could do worse than to spend it on buying
most of the programs I’ve tested. Each and every one has its advantages
and weak points but if I had to write a priority list for a new
Archimedes owner, it would look something like this:
5.9
1. Vector − This is so much better than anything else available.
5.9
2. Chameleon − I will use this program a lot − it really delivers a new
dimension to vector graphics.
5.9
3. Any of the three main “moulding” contenders but I think that for a
“green” user, TypeStudio is the easiest to understand and use.
5.9
For those more experienced, I would warmly recommend Fontasy, together
with DrawBender. If you cannot afford that, buy DrawBender and !FontFX.
5.9
I take it for granted that you have DrawPlus. If not, get it from any of
a number of PD sources, including Archive (Careware 13) − or buy Vector!
5.9
Poster is the only program that pretends to be jack of all trades: a DTP
program, a “moulder” and a “pather” rolled into one. Without doubt, it
is the most powerful of them all but it is questionable whether it is
worth £89.
5.9
Instead of buying Poster, I would recommend Ovation (or Impression
Junior) plus DrawBender and FontFX. They would be slightly more
expensive but are much more powerful and they are proper DTP programs!
5.9
In addition, I think it is essential to buy a tracer (a program that
converts sprites to draw objects) and David Pilling’s !Trace is the best
and by far the cheapest!
5.9
(Poor PC and Mac users! − The power of graphics software is ever
increasing and we Archimedes fans still have a great advantage over PC
and Mac users; our software is generally much cheaper!)
5.9
Don’t forget Impression
5.9
Before finishing, I must stress that a lot of graphics manipulation can
be done with Impression II, as is very well explained in the little book
“Good Impression”. Highly recommended! (Available from Archive at £25.)
5.9
Addendum
5.9
A nice complement to DrawBender is OnePath (© Risc User) that makes one
path out of many. I used it to make the mould on one of the preceding
pages and used that for the illustration on this page.
5.9
For this review, I also received two printer utilities for “tiling”.
That is, they will print big draw files by dividing them up in smaller
pieces, in true poster fashion, using several sheets of paper if need
be.
5.9
The two are 4Mation’s !Drawprint and Ian Copestake’s Placard and they
seem to do similar jobs, although the latter is a far more complex piece
of software. I will test them in detail before passing any judgement on
them.
5.9
Also from Ian Copestake comes Special. This is a small utility in the
tradition of Acorn’s !Chars. It has two windows, one showing half of all
printable characters at a time, in any font and size while the other,
smaller, is a clipboard that contains those characters you use most
frequently. By using <adjust>, you can drag across those characters you
want to be within easy reach in the clipboard. They are easily deleted
with the help of a small menu.
5.9
When you have chosen the characters you want to have in the clipboard,
you close the bigger window and save the settings. After having renamed
the run file to !Boot (or made a copy called !Boot) you can save Special
to your Impression directory. Each time you open that directory, you
will have the little clipboard present.
5.9
It is a very nice utility and has already replaced my program, CharSel.
For me, it is essential to have the characters that are missing in a
Swedish keyboard. A Briton wishing to write to me could put “Ö” in the
clipboard (or use Alt-214).
5.9
The traditional method for twin language usage is to use the interna
tional keyboard and toggle between the default keyboard (usually
English) and your designated keyboard, in my case Swedish.
5.9
Thanks!
5.9
Many thanks for the help, directly or indirectly, and kind assistance
of: Ian Copestake, Risc Developments’ John Wallace and Mike Williams,
Neil Souch and Mike Matson of 4Mation, David Pilling, Jonathan Marten
and Paul Beverley, of course.
5.9
Anyone who wants to correct or discuss anything I’ve written or who has
tips on how better to use our machines as graphic tools, please, don’t
hesitate to write:  Tord Eriksson, Övralidsg. 25, S-422 47 Hisings
Backa, Sweden, or phone (evenings): [phone]
5.9
All letters addressed to me will, eventually, be answered.
5.9
(P.S. There is no tracer, at any price, available for PC or Mac users
that can handle colour or grey-scales, not even the famous Freehand 3.0
manages it. David Pilling’s !Trace does just that for Archimedes users,
and costs £5.99, all inclusive!)  A
5.9
5.9
TypeStudio, DrawBender, OnePath and Chameleon were used for this
“Wroooommm!!!”
5.9
5.9
Help!!!!
5.9
•    Acorn multisync monitor (AKF18) − Has anyone done a VIDC enhancer
module for this for use with Atomwide’s VIDC enhancer? If so, is there
any chance of releasing it into the public domain? Please contact the
Archive office.
5.9
•    Autosketch −> Draw − Does anyone have any experience/tips on importing
Autosketch files into Draw? The User Guide says that Draw will accept
them (DXF files) but I can’t seem to get Draw to recognise it as a DXF
file. Do I have to change the filetype? Phone Neil on 0283−734602 (day)
or 0283−813606 (6 p.m. onwards).
5.9
•    Cross32 Meta Assembler review − One of our subscribers sent in a
review of Baildon Electronics’ Cross32 Meta Assembler − before
Christmas, I think. Unfortunately, I have no record of who it was and
don’t want to publish it without a name. I was hoping the reviewer would
contact me but so far he has not done so. If it was you, could you drop
me a line, please? Thanks. Ed
5.9
•    “Sprite does not exist” − Has anyone had this error when printing via
a RISC-OS printer driver? If so, does anyone have a diagnosis or at
least a work-around to avoid it? If so, please contact the Archive
office, even if it is to provide us with information about when you
think it happens. It would be helpful to know things like, What
applications were you using? Which driver was it? Did the configuration
of the machine have any effect? Any information you can give us would be
much appreciated.  A
5.9
5.9
Multi-media Column
5.9
Ian Lynch
5.9
The coming of low cost digital video has been long-awaited. Now it is
here in the form of Acorn’s !Replay and Apple’s Quicktime. What does the
future hold and how will Acorn fit in?
5.9
Why digital?
5.9
In theory, analogue systems are more accurate than digital simply
because every point of data on the signal is there. However, analogue
signals also carry any noise and distortion and the systems of transmis
sion often contribute to these undesirable effects. On the other hand,
digital systems have the advantage that noise can often be eliminated
and enough of the information in an analogue signal can be captured to
give more than satisfactory quality. Added to this, digital systems
storage media do not normally produce lower quality through wear
(compare a tape and record to a CD) and any serious wear simply makes
the system unuseable (e.g. a disc fault).
5.9
Video − a special case
5.9
In the case of digital video, the argument is not as straightforward
because it is difficult to get enough of the detail into digital format
and back onto the screen quickly enough for continuous moving pictures.
Digital video is definitely poorer in quality than a good VHS tape
(though I have seen plenty of VHS recordings which are worse quality
than Acorn’s !Replay) unless expensive specialist hardware is added to
the computer. This is not to say that the quality will not improve. I
expect it will and I would be surprised if by, the end of the decade,
digital systems on desktop computers are not a lot better quality than
current tapes. However, at present, we have to settle for the fact that
the “digital means better quality” adage is not true in this case.
5.9
The advantage of digital
5.9
Digital data does, however, have another significant advantage. It is
easier to manipulate, edit and add effects to digital files than it is
to try and alter analogue signals. It is also not too fussy about the
storage medium as long as there is a lot of it. There is generally more
compatibility between systems for manipulating digital data than there
is between analogue systems. Imagine going to the video shop and getting
a 3.5 in disc with Star Trek 12 in digital format, open a window on your
desk top and watch the movie while finishing that bit of DTP you needed
for work. Perhaps rather trivial, but likely to be possible before too
long.
5.9
More problems
5.9
Realistically, CD-ROM is the only sensible way to transfer significant
quantities of digital video between machines but it has the great
disadvantages of being very slow to transfer the data and being read-
only. In other words, getting data onto a CD is not a straightforward
matter and getting it off again can require the same patience as loading
a game from a cassette on a BBC B.
5.9
Syquest cartridge drives have become more popular but a 42 Mb cartridge
would only hold a few minutes of digital video and the cartridges are
much more expensive than CDs. Magneto-optical drives are looking more
promising with 3.5 inch discs of 120Mb and upwards. However, unless
compression techniques improve, discs are going to have to be capable of
storing a gigabyte of data if routine film distribution is to be
possible.
5.9
Compatibility and copyright
5.9
Once inexpensive means of storing digital video are available, and
assuming the reading and writing of discs is straightforward (CDs may be
popular with copyright holders for a while!) what is to stop broadcast
quality copies being made of all the films in the library? The answer is
nothing! − and so the problems of software piracy pale into insignifi
cance compared to video and audio fraud. The other problem, especially
for Acorn, will be film format. If all the films are in a standard
format, Acorn will have to support it and the chances are it will not be
!Replay (or perhaps any of the existing formats). It would be wrong to
make direct comparisons with the VHS/Betamax situation where technically
inferior VHS became the standard because analogue systems are far more
hardware dependent. If a future format was published, software could be
written on any machine to support it. It would even be possible to
translate between digital formats in the same way as !Translator and
!ChangeFSI, but whether or not this can be done without loss of quality
is doubtful.
5.9
Applications today
5.9
For the time being, !Replay works as well if not better than anything
else currently available and the main use seems to be in CD-ROM
applications which will include digital film clips as well as audio,
still pictures and text. This adds a new dimension to the idea of an
encyclopedia and there are bound to be new ideas for innovative uses of
the technology which may make playing simple video films redundant.
5.9
Any contributions about multi-media should be sent to Ian Lynch, 1
Melford, off Buckingham Road, Tamworth, Staffs  B79 7UX.  A
5.9
5.9
PD Column
5.9
David Holden
5.9
With the possible exception of the BBC computer which it replaced, the
Archimedes is the easiest computer I have ever tried to program. It has
a good built-in interpreted Basic with an incorporated assembler that
tempts the most unambitious programmer into trying the mysteries of
machine code. It has (in my opinion) the world’s most powerful and user-
friendly operating system which is fully documented and designed to have
its routines used by programs, even Basic programs. To own an Archimedes
and never write a program is like owning a Ferrari and employing a
chauffeur.
5.9
The ease with which it is possible to program the computer leads to a
large number of PD programs. Unfortunately, the fact that it is so easy
to write programs doesn’t necessarily mean that they are any good. In
fact, it is a tribute to the Archimedes that most of the stuff that I
see actually works, sometimes badly, sometimes well, and occasionally
brilliantly − which makes wading through all the different programs
worthwhile. If you think it strange that I should find this surprising,
I suggest you investigate Amiga, ST and PC Public Domain where, although
there are some wonderful programs available (mainly as Shareware), a
large proportion simply don’t function.
5.9
I often receive letters from people who have written or want to write PD
programs, asking for advice. The trouble is that they nearly always ask
the wrong questions. The most common are ‘how do you get ideas for
programs?’ and ‘how do you get them distributed?’. The answer to the
first is ‘either it was something I needed myself or someone else had
already done it badly’ and to the second is, ‘just send it to a few PD
libraries and if it’s any good, people will tell you’.
5.9
Of course, the questions and answers are really more complicated than
this but broken down to basics that’s about all there is to it. The
question that almost nobody asks is ‘How do I write a good program?’,
which is much more difficult. What I will try to do is to point out some
of the most common mistakes that I see (and have made myself) and some
of the things that a programmer can do to make his/her work useful to
the largest possible number of people. This month I will deal with only
one item but in my opinion it’s the most important of them all.
5.9
The most important item
5.9
I have found that as much as 90% of programs fail dismally in one main
area − documentation. It is very tempting to think that once you have
completed your masterpiece, the hard work is done but, in fact, writing
the program is normally the most enjoyable part of the exercise. There’s
an old saying ‘the job isn’t finished until the paperwork’s done’ and in
this case ‘paperwork’ means the User Instructions.
5.9
I have received more letters about the documentation of my programs than
anything else. I hope that those letters, many offering constructive
criticism, have helped me to improve my offerings and I would urge all
prospective programmers to learn from the mistakes that I have made.
They have certainly made me more conscious of my spelling since bad
spelling is one thing that someone will ALWAYS write to complain about.
5.9
In fact, I don’t wait until the end to write the instructions. When the
program begins to take shape, but before every detail is finished, I
start to write the manual. At first sight, this may sound a bit strange
since it might appear difficult to write instructions for parts of the
program that are not yet written, but it actually helps me to look at
the whole thing from a new perspective. If I can’t write clear, concise
instructions for the user then something about the design of the program
is probably wrong. Similarly, it forces me to examine the way the
program interacts with the user and to clarify in my own mind the way
the ‘front end’ will appear since this is often the last part to be
written.
5.9
What this illustrates is that the instructions are not just something
that you write as a chore when everything else is finished. They should
be an integral part of the programming process. The sensible programmer
writes the instructions as he writes the program, even if they are
simply a series of scribbled notes.
5.9
Clear instructions are also important because it is vital for the user
to know what should happen. When a program is first released, it will
almost always have some bugs. Often, these will not be found by the
programmer but soon appear when others try to use the program. If there
is no proper documentation, the user won’t know what is supposed to
happen and so will often just discard the program. If the instructions
are clear, he/she will probably take the trouble to write or phone to
ask ‘What am I doing wrong?’. Quite often this leads to the programmer
finding out that it’s the program, not the user, that is going wrong and
fixing it.
5.9
Don’t forget the obvious
5.9
The amount of documentation a program requires naturally depends upon
its complexity. Sometimes a few lines will suffice but sometimes you
need a 100 page manual. Whatever the requirements, there are certain
rules which must be followed.
5.9
The first mistake made by many people is to forget to say what the
program actually does. I have thrown away dozens of possibly useful
programs simply because this fact was omitted. It seems perfectly
obvious that the first thing any documentation should explain is the
purpose of the program but it is surprising how often this essential
piece of information gets left out. At one time I would examine the code
and try to work out what these programs did and then try to make them
work. Now I just consign them to the ‘reformat’ pile. Life is simply too
short to waste time on them.
5.9
Don’t be fooled into thinking that ‘help’ applications are a substitute
for proper instructions. These should be used in addition to documenta
tion and not as a substitute. If your program is even slightly
complicated, the user will want to print the instructions and retire to
an armchair to examine them at leisure and you can’t do it with Help
applications.
5.9
Of course, some programs don’t really need any instructions. It is easy
to think of several where the purpose and operation is self evident but
these are normally straightforward utilities.
5.9
The !Help file
5.9
The front line is the !Help file. Its purpose is to explain, in a few
words, what the program does and how to get it running. It might also
describe how to find the full operating instructions and how to print
them. The !Help file should be restricted to not more than 11 lines of
less than 59 characters. Why? Well, because that is the size of the text
window that will appear in which to display the text when you click on
‘Help’ and haven’t set up a Run Alias for text files (and a lot of new
users might not have discovered how to do this). You could argue that
everyone knows how to hold down <shift> and <ctrl> to stop the text
scrolling but why should they? It’s your job as programmer to make the
whole thing ‘idiot proof’ and so you should ensure that your !Help text
requires no more that simple ‘point and click’ knowledge to display it.
5.9
If you must use more than 11 lines then include a <ctrl-N> (VDU 14) code
at the start of the text to stop the window scrolling − and don’t forget
to put a line saying ‘Press SHIFT for more’ at the appropriate place in
the text.
5.9
If your program is complicated, it will require a proper manual. If this
is to be of real use to the user it must be written in the correct
format. The manuals accompanying PC Shareware programs are generally a
good guide to the correct methods to use but I shall describe my
experience with one of the less well-written ones as an example of some
of the worst mistakes that can be made.
5.9
How NOT to do it
5.9
A few weeks ago I sold my old 286 PC to a friend. Since he is a builder
who knows nothing about computers, I promised to load the hard disc with
lots of programs (Shareware and PD of course) which might be useful to
him and help him get started. I also decided to print out the manuals of
many of these simply because it would save him a lot of time. I began to
wade through my collection and installed the wordprocessors Galaxy and
New York Word (Galaxy is highly recommended and works acceptably fast
using the PC Emulator) and then I found Word Fugue. I de-archived it and
looked briefly at the documentation using a text editor. Then I gave the
program a try. It seemed an extremely powerful and user-friendly
wordprocessor and I couldn’t understand why I had overlooked it in the
past. However, when I tried to print the manual, I discovered the
reason.
5.9
The manual was written as a series of linked files in the wordprocessor
format. Although it was possible to examine them using a text editor, in
order to print them with proper page numbering, etc you need to use the
actual wordprocessor... but in order to use the wordprocessor you need a
manual! Now I am reasonably ‘computer literate’, so I was able to work
out how to do this but for a complete novice it could have been a
problem.
5.9
Then the fun started. Firstly, sections of text were in bold or
underlined. This was no problem for me because I was using an Epson
compatible printer and standard Epson codes were used, but what if I had
used a daisywheel or inkjet? Combined with the next problem this could
have been a major nuisance because the printer codes would have been
printed out as normal characters.
5.9
As soon as I started printing, the second problem manifested itself. The
text was a full 80 columns wide. A major mistake. When you print the
80th letter on an 80 column printer, it moves down to the next line. The
wordprocessor then sends a linefeed at the end of the line so the
printer moves down another line, leaving a blank line. This, in itself,
might not be a problem but what happens when you reach the bottom of the
page? The printer will be a line ‘out of step’ with the wordprocessor so
the text on the next page will start one line lower. Very soon text is
being printed right over the perforations and the headers are appearing
in the middle of the page.
5.9
I recognised the ‘dot commands’ which set the left margin so I reduced
the margin width and started again. Still no luck. The margin wasn’t a
constant width but changed frequently. Luckily my printer has a front
panel control which enables me to switch it to 96 characters per line
so, rather than search the entire file and change all the margins, I did
this and started again. Everything seemed to be working OK so I left it
running. The next time I looked it had all gone wrong again. I had
printed out about 40 pages and most of them had the header in the middle
of the sheet!
5.9
So what was wrong now? The answer was in the footers at the bottom of
each page. These consis-ted of the page number, centred, and the chapter
title to the right. This was not right aligned but TABed to the right.
This was OK for the first two chapters which had short titles but as
soon as a chapter with a long title came along, the line was overflowing
and everything was out of step again.
5.9
By this time I had wasted about 60 sheets of paper, a couple of hours of
time, a lot of wear on my printer ribbon, (not to mention my temper),
and I still had nothing useful to show for it. I then realised why I had
never properly tried Word Fugue before. I simply couldn’t be bothered to
go through all this just to print the manual. By now, I was determined
not to be defeated so I spent an hour going through the entire file and
shortening any line which looked as if it might be too long. The next
try was successful. How many people would have persevered (I didn’t when
I first tried it) and how many would have been able to make the
necessary changes?
5.9
Presumably, the person who wrote the manual tried it out but it would
only have been possible to print it properly on a 132 column Epson
compatible printer with 11 inch fanfold paper. Nothing else would have
worked.
5.9
The lessons
5.9
There are several important lessons which can be learned from this
example. The most important is that documentation should always be a
plain ASCII text file. Use only the characters 32 to 126 because
characters 128-255 depend entirely upon the individual printer. For the
same reason, avoid the ‘£’ (pound) and ‘#’ (hash) characters. These
actually have the same ASCII value (35) and will be printed the same
although which character is printed will depend upon whether your
printer is set to the English or American character set. The Archimedes
‘£’ (ASCII 167) is completely non-standard and will not be correctly
interpreted by any printer. Similarly, don’t use any printer codes for
pitch or underlining.
5.9
The only non-printable character permitted is the form feed code, ASCII
12. This is recognised by just about every printer. It is much better,
when breaking your text into pages, to use a form feed rather than
‘padding’ each page to the correct length with blank lines. If you
assume a maximum page length of 66 lines and use form feeds, the text
will print out correctly on 11 or 12 inch paper or even on single sheets
when the form feed will eject each sheet and wait until the operator
inserts a new one and switches it back on line before continuing.
5.9
There will, of course, always be someone who uses so-called A4 fanfold
paper and so can’t set up his printer to the correct page length with
the DIP switches. (I say so-called because since the sprocket pins on a
tractor feed are always exactly half an inch apart ALL fanfold paper
must have a sheet length which is exactly divisible by ½“. There is no
such thing as A4 fanfold. Don’t just take my word for it, measure it!).
There is no easy answer to this problem, but since this type of paper is
normally of high quality and expensive, most people who use it will also
have some 11 inch cheaper stuff for draft work.
5.9
Assume that you will always lose about three lines at the top of the
page. Most printers can’t print right to the top of the sheet, so you
must make allowances.
5.9
Page numbering
5.9
If your instructions take up more that a few sheets you will need some
sort of contents list or index. It therefore follows that the pages must
be numbered. You can avoid this chore by using a system of chapter and
paragraph numbering but this is tedious for the reader and even more
tedious for the writer if you subsequently re-arrange your text.
5.9
From the foregoing, it might be thought that it is better to put the
page numbers at the bottom of the page rather than at the top because
the top few lines will probably be blank. In fact, it is better not to
have a footer at all but to use a header instead. This is because the
amount of text on each page will vary so if you use footers, you will
need to pad out the page with blank lines to avoid the footer appearing
halfway up the sheet. Having no footer, but allowing for about six blank
lines at the bottom of a page, you will also not have the problems that
arise if the printer requires more space than usual at the top of the
sheet. All that will happen is that the space at the bottom will be
reduced. If you use footers, it could end up printed at the top of the
next page.
5.9
If your manual is big enough to need page numbers, it is also best to
give it a left margin at least six or seven characters wide. This will
enable the user to staple the pages together along the left hand side to
make it into a ‘book’ which is far easier to use.
5.9
If you write your instructions in this way then the user can load them
into Edit and read them before deciding whether they want to take the
trouble to print them. If they have used an earlier version, they can
delete all the parts that are common to the old version and print only
the new pages. The file can be printed by simply COPYing it to the
printer. (Press F12 and type ‘copy <filename> printer:’ where <filename>
is the name of the instructions file). In fact, it is normally best to
include a simple OBEY file in your application directory to do this.
5.9
Please continue to write to me at: 39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham,
London SE26 5RN.  A
5.9
5.9
DIY Flight Simulator
5.9
Tord Eriksson
5.9
Anyone who is interested in flight simulators and wants to know how to
make one for themselves need look no further. Simis Ltd have produced a
do-it-yourself simulator called Flight Sim Toolkit just for you! (£44.95
inc VAT or £42 through Archive.)
5.9
The package
5.9
When you open the box you’ll find two unprotected discs (a very good
idea!), one thick manual and a leaflet. The latter is for those who
wants to rush off flying in circles at once and gives a short summary of
how to get started.
5.9
One of the discs contains two complete flight simulators, one called
Tornado and the other called WWI, so you could start with that before
tackling the art of creating a complete simulator by yourself. The main
program is a group of editors, one for creating the objects or shapes
seen within the simulator, one for creating the aircraft’s character
istics, one for creating the instrument panel and last the world editor,
which is used to place the shapes inside the “world” within which you
will be flying.
5.9
Editing a world
5.9
The easiest way of learning how to do something is to use a trial and
error basis. So open the WWI directory on your copy, having made sure
that the operating system has “seen” the world editor before, and double
click on the world file icon.
5.9
This will open a map covering the entire “world” with all objects or
shapes drawn in as squares. If you highlight an object you will see its
true character, if it is big enough. Press “zoom” in the toolbox menu
and you will automatically zoom in on the shape in question − something
that looks good in Impression or Draw.
5.9
The easiest way of modifying the world is to delete the highlighted
object with <Ctrl-X>. To add objects you drag shapes from the shapes
directory inside WWI. Very complex worlds can be created, filled with
objects.
5.9
Creating a new aircraft
5.9
To make a new aircraft you double-click on the Camel file and you will
see a very odd looking aircraft in a window. This is the aerodynamic
equivalent to the double-decked Camel. Try moving the wings forward,
delete the tail or change the anhedral to dihedral. This new aircraft
will behave very differently from the original − most likely it will be
uncontrollable!
5.9
If you want, you can put modern equipment on board, such as Air-Air or
Air-Ground missiles.
5.9
To install radar and other modern aids into your aircraft, there is a
cockpit editor. This is very straight forward to use and you drag the
things you need from a menu or tick them off from a list. With Paint you
can create a new panel, or modify the old, and then install the
instruments.
5.9
With some effort, you can have a Camel equipped as well as any modern
Tornado! If you borrow a Tornado from the Tornado simulator you’ll find
to your horror that the enemy’s Fokkers are suddenly as fast as your own
aircraft!
5.9
The problem of shapes
5.9
The only thing that has caused problems for me (and the reviewer in Risc
User, March 1992) is the shapes editor. With this you can create new
objects (shapes), modify them and view as 3D shapes or in three views,
just like any technical drawing.
5.9
To create a box, you draw a square one unit wide, then move one unit up
and create another square. Easy as stealing apples. The problems comes
when you want to colour the different sides of the box. If you want an
open box you will have to colour at least nine sides.
5.9
Let us begin with the bottom... If the box is to rest on the ground, you
just have to colour the inside bottom by selecting that polygon and then
setting the colour. Then you have to turn the box onto its side creating
new squares that you colour on both sides. If you forget one side it
will become invisible from that direction!
5.9
The easiest way of learning how to do this is to modify an existing
shape. It is still a very complex task and, if you study the Fokker, you
will find one of its wheels transparent from one side! The easiest way
to modify the Fokker is to enlarge it, say a 100 times. Then it is very
easy to study the details of the aircraft, and you realise how complex
it can be to create even a simple thing such as a silo.
5.9
You will also have to change the distance from which the object becomes
visible, as otherwise you might crash into the gigantic Fokker before
you see it! There are three versions of every object depending of the
distance from your aircraft. For huge objects it is sensible to copy the
near view to the middle and far views. Normally you have lots of detail
on close objects and almost none on distant objects.
5.9
With your new and modified shapes in your shapes directory, you can go
back to the world editor and include the gigantic Fokker in one corner
of the game area. As all enemy aircraft are Fokkers they will now be
gigantic! To avoid this you could rename the big Fokker to Richoven.
5.9
In a menu, you will now be able to set attributes, such as durability,
if it is a piece of scenery, etc. You can also set the shape of the
object after it has been destroyed. You can choose any shape from the
shapes directory − why not a tree?
5.9
After many hours of creating shapes, editing worlds, aircraft and
enemies, you will have a new fully functional flight simulator, quite
like the first Simis simulator, Interdictor. Controls are those of the
MIG simulators, minus a few and there are some features not available in
Interdictor, such as outside view.
5.9
Surface-to-Air missile sites, navigational beacons, enemy-producing
hangers and much more are also available from menus in the world editor.
5.9
In short, very complex games/simulators can be created, if you have the
patience!
5.9
Conclusion
5.9
Considering the cost, around £40, and that it takes some real effort to
create a new simulator, Simis’ Flight Sim Toolkit is not for everyone.
However, for those who are diligent enough, it will be a blessing − just
as adventure game editors have been very good for the adventure market.
5.9
There are some rough edges, such as the shapes editor that could be made
more user-friendly. Also irritating is the way all the toolbox menus
remain open after the window they control is closed. Very confusing and
silly!
5.9
Many things are very pleasing, such as the world editor and the cockpit
editor. The aircraft editor is a bit annoying, as you can not create
aircraft with foreplanes, such as the EFA or Viggen, nor aircraft with
long wings like the U-2. My next try will be a seaplane or a flying
boat, looking for submarines ...
5.9
When your simulator is finished it is OK with Simis for you to sell it
as your simulator, as long as you tell the user that it was created with
Simis’ Flight Sim Toolkit.
5.9
Be diligent and you might earn a living by selling your very own
simulators, created with Simis software!  A
5.9
5.9
Oak
5.9
From 5.8 page 6
5.9
5.9
How fast is your Archimedes?
5.9
Tord Eriksson
5.9
(+Laurence Brightman)
5.9
The development of computers and computing power is blindingly fast.
Things which, five years ago were considered unattainable are now
possible for the mere amateur. I will illustrate this by doing an old-
fashioned benchtest on four computers, each representing a small step in
complexity and a great step in speed.
5.9
Byte benchtests and PCW
5.9
It was the American computer magazine Byte that pioneered the benchtest
ing of computers in the early eighties and the British magazine Personal
Computer World quickly followed in Byte’s footsteps, publishing their
own variant called PCW Benchtest.
5.9
This is now no longer used but it does give a good idea of the perfor
mance of a computer, even if the test does not contain any spreadsheet
recalculations, that essential item for economists, nor any CAD/CAM
performance tests.
5.9
The test programs are written in Basic and consist of six different
tests. The first one times integer calculations:
5.9
 1 TIME=0
5.9
10 REM INTMATH
5.9
20 PRINT“START”
5.9
30 X%=0
5.9
40 Y%=9
5.9
50 FOR I%=1 TO 1000
5.9
60 X%=X%+(Y%*Y%-Y%)/Y%
5.9
70 NEXT I%
5.9
80 PRINT “FINISH”,X%,TIME/100
5.9
The second times floating point calculations, by using floating point
variables instead of integer; otherwise exactly the same as Test 1. The
third test checks the trigonometrics:
5.9
 1 TIME=0
5.9
10 REM TRIGLOGMATH
5.9
20 PRINT“START”
5.9
30 X =0
5.9
40 Y =9.9
5.9
50 FOR I%=1 TO 1000
5.9
60 X =X + SIN(ATN(COS(LN(Y))))
5.9
70 NEXT I%
5.9
80 PRINT “FINISH”,X ,TIME/100
5.9
The fourth checks the speed with which the computer writes text to
screen:
5.9
 1 TIME=0
5.9
10 REM TEXTSCRN
5.9
20 PRINT “START”
5.9
30 FOR I%=1 TO 1000
5.9
40 PRINT “123456789qwertyuiop”, I%
5.9
50 NEXT I%
5.9
60 PRINT “FINISH”,TIME/100
5.9
The fifth test does the same with graphics:
5.9
 1 MODE 2
5.9
 5 TIME=0
5.9
10 REM GRAFSCRN
5.9
20 PRINT “START”
5.9
30 FOR I%=1 TO 100
5.9
32 FOR Y%=1 TO 100
5.9
40 PLOT 45, I%,Y%
5.9
42 NEXT
5.9
50 NEXT I%
5.9
60 PRINT “FINISH”, TIME/100
5.9
The last test is a test of the disc storage performance and it can vary
widely with the disc type used. The access-time for the floppy drive is
always the same and the RAM disc is roughly twice as fast as the the
rather slow SCSI drive, depending on mode:
5.9
 1 TIME=0
5.9
10 A=OPENOUT “SCSI::SCSI4.$.TEST”
5.9
20 PRINT “START”
5.9
40 X$=“123456789qwertyuiop”
5.9
42 FOR I%=1 TO 1000
5.9
44 PRINT#A,X$
5.9
50 NEXT I%
5.9
52 CLOSE#A
5.9
60 PRINT “FINISH”,TIME/100
5.9
For comparison, I used an old Spectrum 48K, a Compaq 386 and an Amstrad
CPC. The A3000 was first tested as delivered (no VIDC Enhancer nor ARM3)
and then with everything ON!
5.9
Test number    1.    2.    3.    4.
5.    6.
5.9
Spectrum 48k    −    18    227    84
84    46³
5.9
Amstrad CPC     4·5    8    16
160    22    29¹
5.9
Compaq DeskPro 386      1·0
1·0    3·9    25·5    5·0    5·0²
5.9
A3000, mode 78    0·4    0·4
1·6    13·0    2·45    2·62¹
5.9
A3000, turbo!    0·05    0·06    0·3
1·8    0·52    0·78²
5.9
A540 (R/O2)    0·038    0·045
0·20    1·16    0·37    0·54²    2.01¹
5.9
   A540 : Compaq 386    ×26
×22    ×19    ×22    ×14    ×11
5.9
A5000    0·043    0·050    0·26
1·38    0·43    0·79²    6.12¹
5.9
   A540 − A5000    12%    10%
22%    16%    14%    32%    67%
5.9
[ A540 (R/O3)    0·037    0·043
0·23    1·36    0·42      0·80      1.4
5.9
   A540 (R/O2 − R/O3)    −3%
−5%    12%    15%    12%      32%      −44%]
5.9
486 (BBC Basic)    0.19    0.19
0.11    5.60    0.93    0.15
5.9
   A540 : 486 (BBC)    ×5.0
×4.2    ÷1.9    ×4.8    ×2.5    ÷3.6
5.9
486 + co-processor    0.05
0.03    0.07    3.24    0.50    0.11
5.9
   A540/486    ×1.3    ÷1.4    ÷30·3
×2.8    ×1.2    ÷4.9
5.9

5.9

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5.9

5.9

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5.9

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5.9
(Where the comparison represents a gain, it is shown in bold and where
it is a loss, it is in italic.)
5.9
Notes:    ¹ = floppy,   ² = hard disc,   ³ = microdrive
5.9
The figures speak for themselves, but remember that an A540 or A5000 is
even faster! Compared to the top of the range Compaq 386, the Archimedes
is lightning fast! (Times in seconds.)  A
5.9
I have added the A540 and A5000 tests and also added a comparison of the
A540 with the Compaq (which speaks for itself) and a comparison between
A540 and A5000. I did the tests on the A5000, naively thinking that the
A5000 with RISC-OS 3 would be faster than the A540 but as you see, it is
slower by a noticeable percentage. The difference in Test 6, the hard
drive test, is not surprising as you are comparing a 40M IDE with a 120M
SCSI but the fact that the A5000 is slower on the other tests is
interesting. In particular, it is interesting to see comparison of Test
6 done on floppies on A540 and A5000, the latter being only about one
third the speed. I did another couple of tests on the floppy drive
speed, I copied a disc with about 500k of files and directories (Program
Disc 5.7, actually) from floppy to ram disc and then wrote it back again
to a blank disc. The times for A540 were 39s and 78s, respectively and
for A5000 were 81s and 158s. This is not as bad a speed reduction as
Test 6 − both represent a 52% reduction in speed compared to A540/RISC-
OS 2.
5.9
[The tests on RISC-OS 3 on the A540 are a bit tentative because it was
comparing two different A540s, not the same machine which the ROMs
swapped over and it is not the latest version of RISC-OS 3, so we will
re-do these tests when RISC-OS 3 is released officially.]
5.9
Has anyone else done any other speed comparisons? Ed.
5.9
Another Speed Comparison
5.9
Laurence Brightman
5.9
Here is a comparison of ARM and Intel architectures with RISC-OS and MS-
DOS operating systems. The table opposite shows some figures which were
arrived at using a set of ‘C’ Unix benchmarks. The figures are timings
in seconds − except for Dhrystones, which are units of speed
measurement.
5.9
    6 Mhz IBM AT      25 Mhz Arc     33Mhz  80386
8 Mhz Arc    25 Mhz Arc
5.9
    80286 DOS 3.3    PC Emul 1.6    (64k cache)
DOS 5    RISC-OS    RISC-OS
5.9
Ackermann    5.76    10.05    0.659
2.05    0.968
5.9
Dhrystones    1,253    469
10,204    3,048    8,620
5.9
Integer Math    0.439    0.714
0.054    0.459    0.069
5.9
MS-Sieve    34.89    36.208    3.626
13.413    3.742
5.9
Pi Calculation     43.62    93.406
4.95    4.022    0.838
5.9
Floating Point Math    1.373
0.274    0.249    0.249    0.0598
5.9
Storage (Hard Disc)     3.296
6.318    0.934    0.339    0.199
5.9
Trigonometry Test    10.934    6.538
1.758    4.241    1.307
5.9
Text Screen Speed    50.274    40.879
11.978    6.367    2.784
5.9
Graphics Screen    16.51    79.45
2.48    2.055    0.7884
5.9

5.9
Ackermann    ÷8.7    ÷15.3    =
÷3.1    ÷1.5
5.9
Dhrystones    ÷8.1    ÷21.8    =
÷3.3    ÷1.2
5.9
Integer Math    ÷8.1    ÷13.2    =
÷8.5    ÷1.3
5.9
MS-Sieve    ÷9.6    ÷10.0    =
÷3.7    ÷1.03
5.9
Pi Calculation     ÷8.8    ÷18.9    =
×1.2    ×5.9
5.9
Floating Point Math    ÷5.5
÷1.1=    =    ×4.2
5.9
Storage (Hard Disc)    ÷3.5
÷6.8    =    ×2.8    ×4.7
5.9
Trigonometry Test    ÷6.2    ÷3.7    =
÷2.4    ×1.3
5.9
Text Screen Speed    ÷4.2    ÷3.4    =
×1.9    ×4.3
5.9
Graphics Screen    ÷6.7    ÷32.0    =
×1.2    ×3.1
5.9
The second half of the table takes the 33MHz 386 as the norm and shows
how many times faster (× in bold) or slower (÷ in italic) the others are
by comparison.
5.9
Generally, the main benchmarks that are used between different architec
tures are those utilising compiled, as opposed to interpreted,
languages. Reliance upon interpreted languages will usually produce
large discrepancies because of the different efficiencies between them.
The article certainly does show the relative efficiencies of the
different Basics.
5.9
Although there are always differences between different compiled
versions of the C benchmarks, if they are compiled with any optimisation
turned off, the results will be closer to the actual differences in
hardware than the efficiencies of the language versions. If done with
optimisations turned on, one is back to testing the language version
rather than the hardware.  A
5.9
5.9
The DTP Column
5.9
Rob Sherratt
5.9
First, an apology − I did not anticipate the volume of correspondence
that this column would generate and I overestimated the free time I had
available. I have therefore decided that I can no longer continue as
either “DTP coordinator” or a regular DTP editor. Hopefully, a new DTP
editor will come forward to join the excellent team of Neil Whiteley-
Bolton, Richard Hallas and Richard Else (contact Paul Beverley if you
are interested). In the meantime, please could all correspondence for
the DTP column be marked “DTP column” and sent to Paul Beverley c/o
N.C.S.?
5.9
News and Views
5.9
In the absence of input from the major Archimedes suppliers or software
houses, I thought I would draw one or two comparisons from use of my
A440 and the machine sat to its left which is a 20 MHz 80386DX also with
4 Mbyte RAM and running Windows 3.1 and the Lotus SmartSuite appli
cations. Both machines are connected to my LBP4 laser printer − the
Archimedes via a LaserDirect interface and the PC via the parallel port.
5.9
The first comparison is on the “ready to use” time after power on. The
Archimedes is ready in about 20 seconds and the PC takes 90 seconds. The
next comparison (which is not really fair since I am not aware of a
direct drive laser interface for the PC) is the printing time for
identical two page documents. The Archimedes takes 30 seconds and the PC
takes 180 seconds. Next comes the filing system. Loading or saving any
file on the Archimedes can be done directly and all files are iconised
at all times. On the PC, nearly all applications require you to thread
through lists of textual directories and files before you find what you
want. The exception is the File Manager which is now quite nice in its
own right, except that there is no interaction between it and the file
menus of all the other applications.
5.9
All the above may seem to damn the PC out of hand. However, the quality
and spectrum of much of the business application software (when you do
eventually manage to run it and load files) exceeds that available on
the Archimedes. Presentation graphics (producing slide shows with
uniform graphical style), spreadsheet and charting software, business
accounting software, databases, etc, are available with such variety and
in most cases high quality on the PC under Windows. We have yet to see a
real “business market” appear for the Archimedes, although products such
as Impression and Ovation in the DTP sector are still superior in
facilities, ease and speed of use to anything available on other types
of machine (Macintosh and PCs included). I trust that Artworks will
compete proudly in the areas of Graphics creation and Presentation
Graphics but we will have to await the review copy.
5.9
Ovation Hints & Tips
5.9
The following was submitted by Hilary Ferns, for which we are very
grateful. She adds that the Ovation manual is full of hints and tips
like these (and identical to some we have already published − oops!).
5.9
•    Selecting tools − Using <select> to choose from the toolbox will
automatically return you to the text insertion icon after you have
performed one action with that tool. Using <adjust>, however, will allow
you to remain with your chosen tool until you decide to select the next
tool again yourself. This is useful when you want to draw several lines
or frames, or link a number of successive boxes.
5.9
•    Using picture frames − The default ‘inset’ for a picture frame is 0
mm. (For a text frame it is 1 mm.) Ovation will scale your imported
picture with the bottom and left sides aligned to the frame. I have
discovered on many occasions these sides of a picture (Draw or Sprite
format) to have been slightly cropped. This is not always obvious on
screen but is quite noticeable when printed. I now offer various answers
to this problem.
5.9
1. Set inset to 1mm before importing the picture.
5.9
2. If you want to move the picture within the frame, whatever the inset
you are ln danger of losing a fragment on any edge. You can give
yourself more space by either increasing the frame size (often not
suitable) or by decreasing the size of the picture by 1% in each
direction.
5.9
3. Remember too that holding down shift while moving the picture will
restrict movement to horizontal and vertical directions only, thus
enabling you to move the picture more accurately.
5.9
I find the keyboard short-cuts for scaling a picture within a frame
particularly useful <shift-ctrl-G> to scale and <shift-ctrl-H> to fill
the frame.
5.9
•    Text to Draw path object − The character selection application
(!CharSel) supplied with Ovation, apart from offering access to
alternative characters, also allows a single character to be changed to
Drawfile format. To do this, you select the character with <adjust>. The
resulting Drawfile icon can then be dropped into an Ovation picture
frame. Various interesting effects can be obtained by using these
characters in headings (together with a bit of imagination!).
5.9
•    Default style-sheet − In the !Ovation application directory is a
style-sheet called ‘Default’. This is the one used each time you load
Ovation and click on the icon to open up a document. This can be
replaced with a style-sheet of your own choice, e.g. one you use
regularly, but it must be called ‘Default’. This would mean that you
will always have your own particular choice of paragraph styles defined
when Ovation is run. This is a very useful facility not to be missed.
5.9
The next few hints and tips were sent by Aneurin Griffiths from Trefin,
Dyfed. Again we are most grateful and are glad to see a number of
readers redressing the Impression/Ovation balance by sending in some
really useful Ovation tips.
5.9
• To draw short lines using the “line-tool” − Draw a long line, even
passing through text, and press <select>. Now shorten the line by
placing the pointer on the red box at the ‘long end’ of the line, and,
using <select>, shorten the line to the required length.
5.9
• Printing labels using computer sheets with 2 or 3 rows of labels − If
the sheets are not A4 size, adjust the page size on the printer menu.
Carefully measure the distance from the top of the sheet to a point half
way between the first label and the second label. Use ‘View 200%’ and
mark a horizontal guide line by placing the pointer on the side ruler
and pressing <select>. (Fine adjustment is possible using <adjust>.)
Measure the distance from the mid point previously taken to one mid-way
between label 2 and 3. Carefully draw a guide line as before. Other
guide lines can now be drawn with the same spacing.
5.9
Vertical guide lines can now be drawn in the same way. Now draw a text-
frame in the first of the rectangular spaces, allowing space for the
margins around the label. At this stage it is a good idea to save the
layout as “Blnk_xy”, where values for the label size could be coded.
5.9
Enter the text in the text frame. Then select Object − Duplicate Frame,
and enter the appropriate number (‘requirement’ − 1!). Without changing
the instructions further, a stack of labels will be shown. These are now
easily moved to their positions on the grid using <adjust>. Obviously,
the labels on one printed sheet may be all the same or assorted. It is
sensible to make the first printout on an A4 sheet and then the A4 and
the sheet of labels may be matched from the top and left margins. Any
necessary adjustments can be easily made. Using this method the sheet
feed system is used. This works very well with a Canon BJ130e printer.
5.9
• Using Ovation’s spelling checker − It is important to realise that the
checker must be started at the beginning of each Chapter when checking a
document composed of more than one Chapter. After Ch.1, select the first
page of Ch.2 and start the spell check again.
5.9
This from Albert Kitchenside, Addlestone, Surrey:
5.9
• Importing Text from PipeDream − The Ovation manual recommends
importing PipeDream text by holding down <ctrl> while dragging the
PipeDream text file into an Ovation frame. This has the effect of
converting single line terminators into spaces to allow Ovation to
reformat text within a frame. However, Albert finds that lines between
paragraphs and headings are erroneously removed using this method. He
has sent a Basic program which processes files correctly prior to import
into Ovation. They are in the directory PD/OV on the monthly program
disc.
5.9
Impression
5.9
Hints & Tips
5.9
•    More than 76 graphics per chapter − If you really want to have more
than 76 graphics per Impression chapter, then use David Pilling’s ArcFS
to store your document. You will then be able to store an unlimited
number of graphic files, but you may find the access times a bit slow!
Also, RISC-OS 2 users should be aware that a bug manifests itself after
the 9358th file and filenames become confused. − Martin Sperl, Austria.
5.9
•    More than 76 fonts available at once − Continuing the ‘trick’ above,
it is also possible to have an unlimited number of fonts available
simultaneously by copying all files from your !Fonts directory into an
ARCFS archive (plus all the extra fonts that you have always wanted to
use), and then insert the following line (for example, assuming the new
archive is called “Font”) into your !Boot file within the new archived
font directory:
5.9
Set Font$Path ARCFS#Font:$
5.9
You can then cause the new set of fonts to be loaded automatically by
inserting the following line within your system startup sequence (after
ArcFS has been run!):
5.9
OpenArchive SCSIdisc4::ARCFS#Font
5.9
(You need to substitute the name for your own hard disc in place of
SCSIdisc4.) Also, please note that to avoid a speed penalty in system
startup, you do not have to use compression when creating the font
archive and you will still save approximately 2k of disc storage per
font. − MS
5.9
•    Viewing the screen without moving the cursor − Hold down <Shift> and
<Ctrl> and then use the arrow keys. It changes your view on the
document, left, right, up and down, without moving the cursor position.
This is useful if you don’t want to have to change the magnification to
something smaller, and thus lose the legibility of the screen font. −
David Crofts, Bury St Edmunds
5.9
• Large capitals in normal text − If you like having a large letter to
add emphasis to the start of a paragraph but have found that the
subsequent line is spaced too far beneath, there is a solution:
5.9
Edit the Main Heading style (or create a new style), clicking on the
120% button, and then changing the Line Spacing box to the same as the
Font Size box e.g. 24pt as default. The problem, as you can see above,
is solved! − DC
5.9
•    Substitute for colour in documents − Try a little variety in Black and
White. For a poster I did recently, I redefined some of the font colours
in styles to grey palettes. This gives an interesting variety to the
print density if you have a decent printer driver. − DC
5.9
•    Bullet point − <shift−backspace> is a short-cut to enter a • bullet in
the text. − DC
5.9
•    Deleting styles from the menu − another of those hints that everyone
else probably knew about all along...
5.9
When you merge pieces from several old documents into one new text, this
often means that your style menu becomes unnecessarily long.
5.9
You can delete those unwanted styles in the “edit style” window, with
one snag:
5.9
If you click first onto a style in the style list, then on “edit style”,
any attempt to delete that style will bring up an error message.
5.9
This is because clicking into the style list automatically selects a
style at the cursor position.
5.9
Therefore, after you open the edit window, you must first deselect the
style before it can be deleted!  − Jochen Konietzko, Köln, Germany
5.9
•    Installing Impression on the A5000 − While helping a relative to setup
his A5000/Impression system, we discovered that the installation program
for the DTP installs the old Font Manager (v2.44) onto the !Fonts
directory and all the old files associated with it. The ability of the
new Font Manager (v2.49) to address multiple font directories is lost
and Impression only ‘sees’ either the ROM fonts or the hard disc fonts.
I suggest that anyone installing Impression is urged to remove the
support files in the fonts directory after the installation process
(leaving the actual fonts themselves behind) and reload the files within
the fonts directory on the Apps 1 disc. Hopefully, Computer Concepts
will alter the !Install program to take account of the changes in RISC-
OS 3. − David Woods, Glasgow
5.9
• More on Impression styles − Various readers have written with queries
on styles called ‘table’ and ‘default’ that appear on the style menu
with Impression version 2.16. These are not (in themselves) new program
features or bugs − they are just extra styles stored as part of the
!Default document stored in !Impress.Auto. The facilities provided by
the ‘table’ style are all as documented in the very first Impression-2
User Guide and are automatically set up for you if you import spread
sheet data using the LoadCSV+ loader which comes with the business
supplement. If the extra styles cause you problems or conflict with any
of your own style names, all you have to do is open a blank document,
edit the offending styles and click on the delete button to remove them
and save the document with the name !Default in one of your own
directories. Now quit Impression, open !Impress.Auto and move the
“original” !Default document elsewhere and replace it with the one you
just created. Now when you start Impression, the offending styles will
not appear. You may like also to set up your most frequently used master
pages and other styles using the same method. − Rob Sherratt,
Felixstowe.
5.9
•    !Impression with !Compression − The message from Impression
“Incompatible document version” means you are trying to load the adfs
icon into the application rather than the compressed icon!!  − Ned
Abell, Kidderminster
5.9
The Readers Write!
5.9
Impression Junior and Function Keys
5.9
Q: Chris Dawson uses Impression Junior and asks whether his favourite
fonts can be accessed from function keys. He also asks for advice to be
printed on the use of the Impression draft printer drivers.
5.9
A: Although Impression-2 allows styles (including font changes) to be
assigned to function keys, this facility is not included in Impression
Junior. On the use of draft printer drivers, the most common problem is
the generation of spurious form feeds. You can avoid this by setting
‘scale’ in the print box to 97% (as printed in March 92 Archive). You
must also have the correct Impression printer driver loaded in the
!Impress. Extensions directory − the ‘standard’ RISC-OS printer drivers
cannot be used.
5.9
32 bit graphics boards?
5.9
Q: Martin Sperl from Austria says he has seen advertisements for a 32
bit graphics board for the Archimedes − called the “Millipede Apex
Imager” which costs about 10,000DM, depending on memory size. Does
anyone know the address for Millipede, or can you forward to Archive a
data sheet/advertising literature if you have any?
5.9
Problem with PrinterBJ?
5.9
Q: David Crofts from Bury St. Edmunds writes that he recently bought the
PrinterBJ driver from EFF. It “uses all 64 pins of the Bubble jet”, but
apparently causes some problems with Impression. He often gets the
message “Sprite does not exist” and the printing stops in the middle of
a page. It also didn’t seem to like his grey fonts and printed them as
black. The double-pass BJ driver he had purchased from Beebug earlier
did it all right. He now plans to try Computer Concepts’ BubbleJet
Direct to improve speed of printout.
5.9
A: I can’t help directly, not having a bubble jet printer. Could anyone
else, who has knowledge of EFF’s bubblejet printer driver, comment on
this?
5.9
Keeping track of Draw and sprite files?
5.9
Q: Steve Hutchinson of Gloucester would like help keeping track of his
Draw and Sprite files.
5.9
A: You can use a program called !Glimpse from Sherston Software which
costs around £8 plus VAT. (It was reviewed last month, page 26. Ed) This
displays a picture gallery of miniature versions of all your draw and
sprite files. Also Hugh Eagle has written a Shareware program called
!PickAPic which does a similar job very competently. This may be
available from Archive’s Shareware library by the time you read this.
5.9
DTP Swap Area
5.9
This area contains the names and addresses of “new” people who have
agreed to swap DTP material they have published. The aim of this is to
improve one another’s skills by the exchange of printed ideas. No money
should change hands.
5.9
If you want to “swap” with anyone, you must first publish your name and
address and area of interest, and then write directly to whoever you
want to do a “swap” with. (Please do not write to Archive to ask us to
organise swaps for you.) Archive may publish a directory of “swappers”
if there is significant interest in this area. The other “rules” were
printed in Archive 5.5 p25.
5.9
Finally, thanks to the scores of people who have written to me with
swaps? I have tried to make sure that all your addresses have been
included in Archive where you have given permission for them to be
printed. If anybody has been forgotten, please let me know. I have to
confess to having a large personal backlog of letters to reply to, and
hope to be corresponding shortly, with copies of our own material.
Please have patience! I would still like to be on the ‘swaps list’
despite no longer having time to be involved in the full DTP column. My
address for swaps is 134 High Road West, Felixstowe, Suffolk IP11 9AL
5.9
New Names and Details:
5.9
Alan Warren produces work for local printers and various individuals but
would really like to be involved producing material for clubs, churches,
etc. Anyone wanting to contact Alan in this regard, or who would like to
swap samples of work (Alan sent us some questionnaires and news sheets)
should write to: 25 Woodlands, Seaham, Co. Durham SR7 0EP.
5.9
Steve Ellacott produces church magazines and evangelistic material on
his Archimedes A440. Although he has mainly used Acorn DTP, he has just
switched to Impression. His Archimedes is also used to produce mathe
matical texts, although he prefers to edit formulae manually to give
better control over layout, rather than use something like Equasor (any
comments from Equasor users?). He is especially interested in hearing
from people who have succeeded in graphing mathematical functions and
producing Draw file output. (Schema and PipeDream can generate Draw
files from spreadsheet data, so you could use your formulae inside the
spreadsheet, then plot the resulting data later.) Anyone wanting to swap
with Steve should write to: 161 Ditchling Road, Brighton  BN1 6JB.
5.9
Charles and Pam Barraball jointly edit “Crossing” − a monthly church
magazine with a circulation of 300+ and printed as an A5 pamphlet from
Impression. Storage problems are overcome with Compression and the
prolific use of chapters. Bulk text is input to Pipedream first. Anyone
wanting to swap material should write to: 287 West Barnes Lane, New
Malden, Surrey KT3 6JE or telephone 081−949−0708.
5.9
Jean and John Daniels produce an A5 magazine for St. Andrew’s Church,
Enfield. The magazine has a circulation of 1200+ and is largely produced
using Impression and incorporates as much graphical material as they can
lay their hands on. Anyone wanting to swap should write to: 13,
Shrubbery Gardens, Winchmore Hill, London N21 2QU or telephone
081−360−8716.
5.9
Steve Hutchinson bought his Archimedes this year to help produce the
vast volumes of material he writes for Scripture Union. He also writes
song books and uses Rhapsody and Scoredraw − and plays his compositions
through his MIDI keyboard as a last check before publication! He would
like to swap any of his “non SU copyright” resource material with anyone
interested. Please write to: 19 Larkhay Road, Hucclecote, Gloucester GL3
3NR.
5.9
Paul Cayton produces a monthly church magazine − St. John’s Yeadon −
with a very nice colour cover, and has amassed vast volumes of Christian
clip art, much of which is PD. He would like to swap magazines and PD
clip art. Please write to: 55 Coach Road, Guiseley, West Yorkshire LS20
8AY  A
5.9
5.9
PipeLine
5.9
Gerald Fitton
5.9
I deliberately delayed sending this month’s contribution to Paul until
the May 1992 Archive was released. This was so that I could give you
some idea of the early response to last month’s article. There has been
a lot, but I shall wait until I have collected more replies on this
‘hot’ topic before summarising your replies − but one thing won’t wait.
If you have a closer look at what I said, I did not express an opinion
about whether the Archimedes “has reached the downward part of its life
cycle”, what I said was “there have been well informed Archimedes users
who, having seen...  say that it is increasingly difficult to recommend
the Archimedes to first time buyers”. I asked you the questions; I kept
and am still keeping my opinions about the Archimedes and about Squirrel
to myself until I hear more from you! Please write to me but make sure
you let me know whether your thoughts are for publication or not.
5.9
One of the ‘hottest’ topics is summarised by a question which I didn’t
ask but which I implied. “You must choose from two packages of similar
specification from two different software houses. One is about 50% more
expensive that the other. You believe that you will get more long term
support such as a help-line, upgrades and future support from the more
expensive one. Which do you buy?” Have a look at the advertisements for
N.C.S. in some other magazines and you will see that NCS make a virtue
out of the slightly higher prices of some products!
5.9
PipeDream 3 version 3.14
5.9
It is opportune to remind you that the latest (and probably final)
version of PD 3 is version 3.14. If you have not upgraded to V 3.14 then
send us your disc together with a self addressed label and return
postage. Colton Software have provided us with the means (and the
permission) to upgrade your PD 3 to V 3.14.
5.9
‘Interface module not found’ error
5.9
If you are getting an error message that certain modules cannot be found
then have a look at the !Boot and !Run files of the application you are
trying to load. They probably have a series of commands for loading
modules such as:
5.9
RMEnsure FPEmulator 2.80 Load System:Modules.FPEmulator
5.9
Change such lines as these to:
5.9
RMEnsure FPEmulator 2.80 RMLoad System:Modules.FPEmulator
5.9
The difference is “RMLoad” is used rather than “Load”.
5.9
Interword to Impression
5.9
I have received questions about transferring Interword to Impression and
I have also seen it as a !Help request in Risc User. The solution for
PipeDream owners is to use the application !PipIn to convert files from
Interword to PipeDream and then use the application !PD_Impress to
convert to Impression format. It takes less than a couple of minutes and
it works (nearly) every time. Ian Williamson has a wide range of
‘conversion’ applications and utilities so please get in touch with him
if you have any problems with converting ‘old’ files to (and from)
PipeDream format. (If you just want to transfer from Interword to
Impression, why not use the Inter-Word loader provided with Impression
itself? Ed)
5.9
Prizes for charts
5.9
If you can create an interesting looking chart using Colton Software’s
PD 4 graphics then you can win a prize! Since the charts are hot linked
you can ‘tweak up’ your drawing by changing the values in the spread
sheet. You can use the PD 4 demo disc and the screenshot facility of
!Paint if you do not have the full version of PD 4 so, all of you, have
a go!
5.9
Dutch kalendar
5.9
No! Kalendar is not a spelling mistake. This is a PipeDream application
which you will find on the Archive monthly program disc. Day and month
names are in Dutch. The week numbers are also displayed. If you type in
a different year then the kalendar is recalculated.
5.9
Crib Card
5.9
Douglas Bell has sent me two versions of a crib card, one for PD 3 and
one for PD 4. They summarise all the commands, maths (and other)
functions, function keys, etc. You use Douglas’ application by printing
out the crib card and keeping it handy (stick it by your monitor). These
too are on the monthly program disc.
5.9
Lost characters
5.9
Roger King has sent me a letter which he produced on his A5000 using
PipeDream and a PipeDream printer driver. If he uses an odd number of
spaces to indent the first line of his paragraphs and if the first line
of a paragraph (the indented line) finishes with a two letter word, then
he loses the second letter of the two letter word. Does anyone know what
is going on? Have you had this problem too?
5.9
Rounding errors
5.9
On the Archive monthly disc you will find a directory called Rounding.
Within it there is a file [Zero01]. Only one slot, A3, is used. It
contains the ‘formula’ given below:
5.9
1−(0.1+0.1+0.1+0.1+0.1+0.1+0.1+
5.9
0.1+0.1+0.1)
5.9
Now, if you are quick at mental arithmetic I’m sure that you’ll be able
to work out the answer. Here’s a clue − it’s not a lot!
5.9
If you don’t have the Archive monthly disc then you’ll have to type in
the formula to find out what it adds up to. Use <Ctrl LDP> to change the
number of decimal points to F (floating or free format) and you will see
that the answer is displayed not as 0 but as:
5.9
1.1102230246251565e−16
5.9
What, you may wonder, is the meaning of e−16? Well, it means that you
have to ‘shift’ the decimal point 16 places to the right. This means
that the number given by the formula is:
5.9
0.00000000000000011102230246251
5.9
565
5.9
This is a small number but it is not zero! Why is this? Well, the ten
0.1’s in the formula are each stored in the Archimedes in binary
floating point. Binary floating point consists of a ‘mantissa’ and an
‘exponent’. The mantissa is the sequence of digits which you get if you
divide 1 by 10 in binary. The exponent is a way of expressing where the
‘binary’ point (like a decimal point) is placed. The problem arises
because, if you divide 1 by 10 in binary, you do not get a terminating
series but a series that goes on for ever. If you divide the number 1 by
7 in decimal you get a similar effect − 0.142857 142857 142857 .... !
This happens because 7 cannot be ‘built up’ from the prime factors of
the number base, 10 (whose prime factors are 2 and 5). In decimal, the
number 16 can be ‘built up’ by multiplying four lots of 2 together so
you will find that 1 divided by 16 in decimal does terminate; in fact
the answer in decimal is 0.0625 exactly. Numbers with denominators such
as 25, 50, 64 and 128 will terminate in decimal because they can be
‘built up’ from the product of powers of 2 and 5.
5.9
The number base for binary is 2 and it is a prime number. Hence, the
only numbers with mantissae which terminate in binary have denominators
which are integer powers of 2 such as 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. Those
numbers which have mantissae which terminate in decimal because the
divisor is divisible by 5 (one such number is one tenth, 0.1) will not
terminate in binary. If the true, correct series of digits for the
mantissa does not terminate then the series has to be truncated (chopped
off!) and the number held in the computer is approximate. When you add a
lot of similar numbers together (I have added ten lots of truncated
0.1’s) then all the ‘lost’ bits add up to something small but
noticeable. In the case of the example in [Zero01], the amount ‘lost’ by
truncating a single 0.1 is about 0.00000000000000001.
5.9
Now, such a small amount might seem trivial to you but, sometimes, it
isn’t. If you have the Archive monthly disc then load up the file
[Zero02] − a screenshot is shown opposite.
5.9
Slot A1 contains 0.1 and slot B1 contains 0.2. Slots B1 to B10 contain
$A$1 because I replicated $A$1 into those ten slots. Similarly column C
contains ten ‘copies’ of the value in A2. The <Ctrl LDP> value (Layout
Decimal Places) is F as before. In B13 I have sum(B1B10); in C13 I have
sum(C1C10). In D1 I have B1+C1 which is replicated down column D. You
will see that D13 contains the difference between the sum of the values
in the D column and the sum of the values in row 13. Of course, these
should be the same and you will see that they aren’t! There is a
difference in the 16th decimal place. Normally such a difference would
have no noticeable effect on the working of your sheet but, if D13
contained:
5.9
if(sum(D1D10)=(B13+C13), “Correct”,“Error”)
5.9
then the value returned would be “Error”!
5.9
I have had many discs (and letters) containing sheets that “don’t work”
because two values that should be equal aren’t.
5.9
There is a variant of this rounding problem. The int() and mod(,)
functions also give ‘wrong’ answers in some cases. I had trouble with
mod(#,7) in my original calendar program where I was trying to find the
day of the week; sometimes I was one day out! What is the answer to this
‘incorrect rounding’ problem? Well, before the days of computers, in
fact many hundreds of years ago, mathematicians doing ‘sums’ in decimal
were aware of the problem. The ‘classic’ answer is to keep track of the
rounding errors and make allowances. With a computer it is a bit harder.
You should add 0.5 before using int() so, for example, if you want the
integer part of the number in D100 you do not use int(D100) but int(D100
+ 0.5). Similarly with mod(,). If you want the modulus of the number in
D100 (ie the remainder) after dividing by 7 then use mod(D100 + 0.5,7).
There are similar considerations if you want to round a number (money
for example) to say 2 decimal places. First add 0.005, multiply by 100,
find the integer part and finally divide by 100. The number in D100,
rounded to 2 decimal places is int(100*(D100 + 0.005))/100.
5.9
From the printout; you will see that, in PD 4, the number 0.1 is not
held as a truncated number but has been rounded up to
0.10000000000000001, an exact binary number. In PD 4, you will find a
function called round(,). The round(,) function executes the formula I
have given in the previous paragraph but it takes up less space on the
disc and it ‘works’ more quickly.
5.9
In conclusion
5.9
Please continue to write to me at the Abacus Training address given on
the back inside cover. If you have a problem or comment of more than a
few lines, or if you have an example file, it does help me to understand
exactly what you mean if you send a disc file rather than a printout. It
also helps me to make your comment or application available to others
much more easily.
5.9
Many thanks for all your letters. I enjoy them.  A
5.9
5.9
Language Column
5.9
David Wild
5.9
Acorn DDE − I was just beginning work on this article when the current
issue of Risc User arrived, together with the associated disc. On the
disc is a sample application which includes the “FrontEnd” and
“DDEUtils” modules which are normally only available with either the
latest version of the ‘C’ compiler or the assembler. There is also a
very much better Pascal compilation tool than the one I put on a recent
disc. The “Risc User” tool has been extended to allow “throwback”, which
means that compilation errors will lead you back to the right place in
the source program ready for corrections to be made. At the moment the
throwback routine only works with SrcEdit but even with this restric
tion, the £4.75 that the disc costs is more than justified by the
extension of the Archimedes capabilities.
5.9
By the use of this software, it will be easy to produce such programs as
file filters which will multi-task without the program itself needing to
know anything about windows and polling. Any other person to whom these
programs are to be distributed will need to have the necessary modules
but I presume that Acorn will be prepared to licence them to others in
the same way as they have done for Risc User. For non-commercial use, it
will be necessary to suggest that your users buy a copy of the disc; one
purchase will support all the programs written in this way.
5.9
In the long run, I hope that Acorn will consider these modules to be an
essential part of RISC-OS so that every Archimedes user has access to
them without needing to think about it.
5.9
Language choice
5.9
In my last article, I said something about language snobbery, especially
in regard to Basic. There still seems to be some of this about but I
think that is diminishing and will go on doing so as Basic becomes more
powerful. That said, we must accept that there are disadvantages in
using interpreted Basic for programs to be distributed. One is that the
whole of the source code must be included, leading to the temptation to
use very short variable and procedure names thereby increasing the risk
of subtle errors caused by accidental re-use of variable names. Perhaps
more serious is the fact that your source code is available to those who
would improve it. While it would be a brave programmer who would argue
that his or her program could not be improved, it is very difficult to
provide support if there is a risk that the program being supported is
not the same as the one sent out. I have had this experience with
programs written for work and it is extremely frustrating.
5.9
How much this matters depends on the amount of support you really have
to give; with magazine discs where you need only offer to put out an
amended version on the next disc, it is not as serious as with a program
that users have bought to do a useful job.
5.9
A Basic compiler brings the language up on a par with ‘C’ and Pascal for
the normal run of programming work.
5.9
Lisp and its derivatives such as Scheme, while they can be used for
ordinary programming, are really for specialist requirements although
they can be very interesting to use.
5.9
On a recent Archive disc there has been a new language, ‘J’, which is a
descendant of APL. This was the “language of the future” some years ago
but it still seems to be as specialised as Lisp. Part of the problem, I
think, was that there was a time when it was grossly oversold. There
were claims that, with APL, you could write a program in an hour while
with Cobol it would take four weeks. While it might have been true of
some specialised programs which I wouldn’t have tried to write in Cobol
anyway, I am sure that it wasn’t true of most of the programs with which
I worked.
5.9
There does seem to be a tendency for some people to suggest that program
design is not very important and the examples they use come from the
mathematical sector. Here, the design work is often done in the
mathematics itself. In general use, program design is a large part of
the work and no language can eliminate that.  A
5.9
5.9
FaxPack
5.9
Ned Abell
5.9
FaxPack, Computer Concepts’ fax card for the Archimedes, is a really
remarkable product that nearly didn’t make it. It first saw the light of
day about three years ago and needed British Telecom approval to be
connected to the UK telephone system. This approval had to be re-sought
even if there were minor changes to a product, yet the product had to be
developed to get approval!! Faced with national criticism, BT simplified
the procedure and FaxPack has finally emerged.
5.9
Knock Knock
5.9
The package contains a modem card, an excellent 96 page manual, a disc
of software and a telephone line splitter. Fitting it to my 300 series
was not a problem as I had a backplane to plug it into, the only other
connection being to the sound circuits on the main board via a header
plug.
5.9
On most machines the sound link allows you to monitor the calls being
sent or received and this is very useful. However, this isn’t possible
on an A3000 and, in addition, you will need a metal housing for the
podule.
5.9
Computer Concepts advise a minimum of 2M of memory and a hard disc
although I’m coping with a floppy drive system. The manual advises
checking the podules and then connecting to the phone line. This is
where the passive splitter could be useful. For those outside Britain,
the 1.5 metre cable is terminated with a type 431A standard line plug −
a local telecom dealer may be able to offer an adaptor.
5.9
Open the Box!?
5.9
The software is one disc full of applications. There is !FaxMngr which
controls the configuration of the podule and the receiving of Faxes and
!PrinterFP which sends the faxes. Then there are other utilities such as
a good address book, !Faxes which controls the display and filing of the
faxes and a copy of LQEmulate.
5.9
“..now this is clever..”
5.9
Where CC have been super-clever is that they haven’t built a dedicated
fax podule! What they have built is a modem card that works at fax
speeds and they have coupled that with a ROM full of software that does
the real business of controlling the modem and assembling the fax image
and they have added desktop software that controls the ROM − thus it is
an open system.
5.9
Where this system differs from a conventional fax machine is that, in
due course, the software will be upgraded to support file transfers to
other FaxPacks − with error correction and automatic detection of a
distant FaxPack. Existing faxes work without correction, so CC have
released the unit as a straight-forward fax and will upgrade the
software later to support file transfer. The technical manual will also
become available at this point. This file transfer opens up several
exciting possibilities in that you will be able to transfer data to and
from remote machines and also control them. For example, I would be able
to write this article and fax it to Paul’s machine rather than post the
disc or fax a newsletter to the printers. I could also develop software
in cooperation with others in different parts of the country and swop
files with ideas − the list is endless.
5.9
Saving money
5.9
A word here about how you connect up to the telephone network. Because
faxes are used more and more in business, it makes sense to consider a
dedicated telephone line for the fax. However, this is expensive and may
not be justified in a lot of cases. If you work the FaxPack manually,
you must remember to leave the computer connected to the line when you
are out − but then do you give priority to the ansaphone or to the fax?
5.9
The answer is to use a fax splitter. This means that the incoming line
goes to the primary socket (which, in U.K. law, is the phone company’s
property) and then an electronic splitter is used to create two more
outlets, one for phone and one for fax. If a caller rings in, he hears a
recorded announcement and then the call is diverted to the fax socket if
the unit hears fax tones. If there are no tones detected, it is routed
to a phone (which could be an ansaphone).
5.9
There is also another type of splitter that doesn’t have an announce
ment. These units can also detect conventional modem tones.
5.9
Whatever you use, you will need a new style square socket for the fax.
If you are having one put in, remember that you can choose to rent only
the line − BT to remove their instrument on request and allow you to
supply your own phone. The reduction in rental will soon cover the cost
of the new phone.
5.9
Receiving − no paper
5.9
The FaxPack does more than send and receive faxes but it does do this
incredibly well. Because it is an electronic system, you don’t need
paper unless you have to print something out. This means that the
definition of the received fax can be very good − down to 6pt, which
would be very difficult to read on a conventional machine. You also save
money on Fax rolls. The disadvantage is that you have to leave the
computer switched on. The !faxes utility allows you to read your fax or
discard it or, by using the supplied edit utility, turn all or parts of
it into sprites for inclusion in other projects. Some character
recognition software could be just what’s needed here!
5.9
To receive a fax, you run !FaxMngr, configure it for your system,
nominate a directory for your incoming faxes and wait for a call. The
system will auto-answer after up to 255 rings or you can answer the
phone and set it off manually. You can set the software to display it on
the screen if you prefer. As this is handled in the background, it is
possible, according to the manual, to play “Lander” whilst this is going
on − but you could also be doing other more useful tasks!
5.9
Sending
5.9
Sending a fax is done very cleverly. You can use your favourite
application to create the document, then you simply use !PrinterFP as
your printer driver and “print” the document. This turns the printed
page into a fax and sends it. In RISC-OS 2, only one driver can be used
at a time so you put !PrinterFP up only when you need it. In RISC-OS 3,
however, you can select which printer driver is currently active, so you
can easily toggle between hard copy and sending a fax. This is why there
are two fax utilities − !FaxMngr and !PrinterFP, as it is possible for
those of us with good old RISC-OS 2 to receive faxes whilst using
another, separate “paper” printer driver.
5.9
Dialling
5.9
FaxPack can use either pulse and tone dialling and detects tones from a
digital exchange.
5.9
If, in any document, in any application, you include the text:  {0442
231632}
5.9
then !PrinterFP will input that number for dialling and dial it (if set
up to do so) and replace the brackets and the string in the document
with spaces as it is sent. Your document will then appear, in this case,
on Computer Concepts’ fax machine. This is a very clever idea as it is
application-independent. You can also dial by clicking on a field in the
address book, manually, or by typing the number into !PrinterFP. Be
careful if you are using Impression because, when importing text, it
recognises curly brackets as a command and may strip them out.
5.9
One short-coming of the dialling software is that you can’t configure a
pause in the dialling. This could be required if the FaxPack were on an
extension of an exchange which needed a pause in order to give time to
access an outside line. Also, a major omission is that the !FaxMngr
configuration should accept a customer number and dialling code and user
prefix for systems like the UK Mercury low cost trunk connection. This
would allow the user to configure computer recognition of calls capable
of being dialled at lower cost.  Because the computer is left on, it
will also be easy to send faxes automatically at different times to use
cheap rate calls to other time zones.
5.9
Addresses
5.9
The address book is very useful and can be set up to either pass the
phone or the fax number to the FaxPack. This will allow auto-dial of the
fax number for transmission or auto-dial of the number for voice
transmission.
5.9
So, if you find the entry for “Archive” and click on the phone number
and the phone action is set to the voice dial option, FaxPack will dial
and you will hear it ring on the computer (not on an A3000) and when it
is answered, you pick up your phone and talk.
5.9
The software could be improved here as the whole book is set with either
fax or voice dial action, so you can’t have both systems in the same
book − you need a Fax Address book and a Voice Dialling book. Logically,
you would have each number set with the different action. All the data
is held in a file using up to 15 lines of text for each entry so it is
very easy to create new address books. There is also a comprehensive
search facility to find a contact by any field.
5.9
!LQEmulate is included because some text preparation systems won’t talk
to RISC-OS drivers so it would be impossible to send a fax from these
programs. As Laser Direct and FaxPack share a similar interface,
!LQEmulate converts the Epson control codes from Twin, Basic, FWP,
Wordwise and the Inter series into a driver for FaxPack.
5.9
Merging
5.9
There is also the !PrinterFP option to send output to a file. If you had
to send one fax to several people, it could be prepared with this
option, then !PrinterFP could be switched from file to fax and the file
dropped onto the icon, dialling each call manually − but there is a
better way!
5.9
!PrinterFP will support the syntax
5.9
{- command}
5.9
where merge-command is suitable for your mail-merging system. For
example, for those using !Importer from the Impression Business
Supplement, the command would be:
5.9
{getfield #}
5.9
where GetField # is the fax number field in the data base. “Printing”
this message many times to the FaxPack means that each time it is sent,
it looks up the next person on the list so it is possible to auto-dial
lots of clients with individually addressed faxes!
5.9
Back patting time
5.9
Do you need a fax machine of this complexity? Well, I think that it is
no bad thing to have more facilities than you currently need. In any
case, despite its advanced capabilities, FaxPack is easy to use with a
very clearly written manual. I bought FaxPack for the future additions
of file transfer but it is so useful to fax messages or reminders to
people, even including pictures, that it is paying for itself even
without the file transfer.
5.9
It is a business tool I am really going to use − I’ve now linked it into
!Prophet to fax orders automatically to my suppliers. Also, communicat
ing off-peak with the USA saves me money.
5.9
This type of forward-looking hardware and software can’t fail to develop
the appeal of the Acorn range − Computer Concepts should be rightly
pleased with themselves. It is a highly rated and worthwhile addition to
my computer which will be even better when the file transfer option is
finished.
5.9
FaxPack costs £299 from Computer Concepts plus £10 courier delivery −
that’s £363.08 including VAT (or £345 through Archive).
5.9
The Technical Manual will be £10 (no VAT) when the software is final
ised.  A
5.9
5.9
Programming the WIMP − Interactive Help
5.9
Chris Johnson
5.9
One of the selling points of any WIMP environment is ease of use and the
presentation of a common interface. Acorn has, at various times,
encouraged programmers to follow specific guidelines when producing
RISC-OS software. One of the applications provided by Acorn as part of
RISC-OS is !Help. This is on one of the application discs supplied with
RISC-OS 2 and is in the RISC-OS 3 ROM. I am sure that most programmers
will have tried this out at sometime or another. It may be installed on
the icon bar and clicking on its icon opens a window which can display
up to four lines of text. This text relates to the object (window or
icon) which lies under the mouse pointer and is updated in real time as
the pointer moves. Many of Acorn’s own applications will continually
display helpful text while !Help is installed. However, very few third
party applications, and even fewer PD or shareware applications,
interact fully with the !Help application. This is not altogether
surprising, since there is no information even in the Programmers’
Reference Manual on how to go about cooperating with !Help. It can also
be quite time consuming to provide comprehensive help in a large
application.
5.9
WIMP messages
5.9
Articles on WIMP programming appear regularly in Archive. See, for
example, the current series by Darren Sillett (4.8, 4.10, 4.12 and 5.5).
Therefore, I do not propose to deal at great length with general aspects
of programming the WIMP but only to develop the subject sufficiently to
put the current topic within context. Many WIMP programmers will be
familiar with much of the following but I hope they will bear with me. I
will give enough detail to allow any WIMP programmer to implement
interactive help and, at the same time, include sufficient background to
interest anyone who is just venturing into the world of WIMP program
ming. Since the routines are designed to be inserted into other
programs, I have not included any line numbers. (We all use text editors
and no GOTO’s anyway, don’t we?)
5.9
The essential core of any multi-tasking RISC-OS program is the polling
loop. This takes the form
5.9
REPEAT
5.9
  PROCpoll
5.9
UNTIL finished%
5.9
The program continually calls the routine PROC poll, which is the
program’s way of asking the WIMP manager to tell it what is happening.
The operating system returns a stream of events to the program relating
to mouse clicks, key presses, opening and closing windows and so on.
Each event has a unique identifying number. Let us write a skeleton
procedure for dealing with the events (see below). The program calls
SYS“Wimp_Poll” with the address of a parameter block in R1. I have
assumed that a block of memory of 256 bytes has been reserved using DIM
and that the address is in block%. The value passed in the variable
mask% allows us to tell the WIMP not to bother us with certain events.
If mask%=0 then every event, including NULL events, is passed back.  The
operating system returns the event number in the variable reason% and
stores all the details about the event in the block of memory. What it
actually stores there depends upon the type of event.
5.9
The events which interest us at the moment are 17 and 18 which are, in
Acorn notation, User_Message and User_Message_Recorded. These are very
similar except that, in the case of User_Message_Recorded, the originat
ing task expects an acknowledgement to its message. It is through the
passing of messages that different multi-tasking applications communi
cate with each other.
5.9
DEF PROCpoll
5.9
LOCAL reason%
5.9
SYS“Wimp_Poll”,mask%,block% TO
5.9
                       reason%
5.9
CASE reason% OF
5.9
  WHEN 17, 18 PROCreceive_ message(block%)
5.9
ENDCASE
5.9
ENDPROC
5.9
The message block
5.9
What does the block of data contain when we receive a message? The word
at block% + 16 contains a number detailing the message action. The
message itself (if there is one) starts at block% + 20 and the total
length of the message block, rounded up to a word boundary if necessary,
is held in the word at block%. In block% + 4 is the task handle of the
originator of the message and, in general, the words at block% + 8 and
block% + 12 contain unique references to the messages generated by the
WIMP so that sender and receiver can identify particular message
sequences to each other.
5.9
To summarise:
5.9
    block% + 0    length of message block
5.9
    block% + 4    sending task handle
5.9
    block% + 8    my_reference
5.9
    block% + 12    your_reference
5.9
    block% + 16    message action
5.9
    block% + 20    message text or data
5.9
How we decode the message
5.9
The first thing we do is look at the message action in block% + 16. One
action which all tasks must respond to is 0, which is the quit message.
On receiving this message, a task has no choice but to tidy up and close
itself down. Message actions 1 − 7 all involve loading and saving of
data by dragging icons between filer windows and applications or double
clicking on an icon in a filer window.
5.9
A message action of &502 is a request to our application to send some
help text to the !Help application. Most applications simply ignore this
message action and !Help then can do little more than display an empty
window. We are going to be much more user-friendly and respond to this
request.
5.9
DEF PROCreceive_message(b%)
5.9
CASE b%!16 OF
5.9
  WHEN 0: finished%=TRUE
5.9
  WHEN &502  PROChelp_ requested(b%)
5.9
ENDCASE
5.9
ENDPROC
5.9
We respond by sending a message which contains our helpful reply, back
to the !Help application.
5.9
Constructing our reply
5.9
Let us take it step by step. The contents of the first part of the
message data block have been outlined above. The message data sent as
part of message action &502 contains all the information we need, i.e.
the mouse pointer co-ordinates, the mouse button state and the window
and icon handle, if any, under the pointer. For this article, we will
make use only of the window and icon handles. When we send the message
back, we will use the same block of memory to contain the message.
5.9
1.    To identify the message as a reply to the help request, we must
give it a message action number of &503. This will go in block% + 16
5.9
2.    We copy my_reference into your_reference.
5.9
3.    We will identify the window and icon so that we can send the
appropriate message. These are contained in block% + 32 and block% + 36
(the data block starting at block% + 20 is of the same form as that
returned by SYS “Wimp_GetPointerInfo”).
5.9
4.    Construct the message text and place it at block% + 20.
5.9
5.    Place the length of the message (rounded up to a multiple of four)
into block%. The length is the length of the message text + 1 for the
carriage return + 20 for the message header. The simplest way of
rounding up to the next word boundary is to add 4 to the total length
and then mask off the lower two bits of the result. We do this by
AND’ing with NOT 3 (i.e. in binary this is:
5.9
    %11111111111111111111111111111100).
5.9
6.    We are now ready to send the message, as type 17, since we do not
expect any reply. When sending a message using SYS “Wimp_ SendMessage”
remember that R0 contains the message type (17 here), R1 the address of
the message block. R2 contains an indication of the destination of the
message. In this case, R2 contains the task-id of the intended recipient
(!Help) of the message, which is obtained from the message block (block%
+ 4) we received requesting help.
5.9
The Basic code to do all this is given below.
5.9
DEF PROChelp_requested(block%)
5.9
LOCAL help$
5.9
LOCAL window%, icon%
5.9
block%!16 = &503
5.9
block%!12 = block%!8
5.9
window% = block%!32
5.9
icon% = block%!36
5.9
help$ = FNget_help_text
5.9
               (window%,icon%)
5.9
$(block%+20) = LEFT$(help$,232)
5.9
!block%=(LEN help$+25) AND NOT 3
5.9
SYS“Wimp_SendMessage”,17,block%
5.9
,block%!4
5.9
ENDPROC
5.9
What does FNget_help_text() look like? It is a simple matter to produce
some help text depending upon the window and icon context by using
nested CASE statements.  Some skeleton Basic code is given below.
5.9
DEF FNget_help_text(w%,i%)
5.9
LOCAL h$
5.9
CASE w% OF
5.9
  WHEN window_1%
5.9
    CASE i% OF
5.9
      WHEN icon_1%
5.9
        h$=“This is the help
5.9
            text for icon one“
5.9
     REM the rest of the icons
5.9
    ENDCASE
5.9
  REM the rest of the windows
5.9
ENDCASE
5.9
=h$
5.9
The main task now for the implementer is to come up with a set of useful
help messages for all the windows and icons in the program.
5.9
Help message guidelines
5.9
The maximum length of a piece of help text is fixed by the total length
(256 bytes) of the message block, including the message header. In case
I get carried away when writing help text, I include in
PROChelp_request() an instruction to truncate the text if it exceeds 232
characters.
5.9
Fortunately, we do not have to worry about any formatting of the text,
since !Help does this to fit the text to the size of the interactive
help window, putting line breaks in at suitable spaces and coping with
window resizing. (You may have noticed while using !Help that the window
does not resize in the ‘normal’ way, i.e. the width and height cannot be
changed independently. This is so that all the message can be
displayed.)
5.9
If you specifically wish to force a newline to occur at a certain point
in the text, use the |M method to include the newline character. For
example “This is one line of text.|MThis is another.” would appear in
the Help window as:
5.9
This is one line of text.
5.9
This is another.
5.9
Remember that you can only display a maximum of four lines of text,
however short they may be.
5.9
I hope I have given sufficient information to allow WIMP programmers to
provide interactive help in their applications. I am always impressed by
the speed at which even ARM2 based machines update interactive help
messages in real time.
5.9
In an extension to this theme, in a further short article, I will
outline how any application can make use of the MsgTrans module to
extract help text, error messages, etc. from a single text file which is
held as a resource of the application, in the same way as template and
sprite files are resources of the application.  A
5.9
5.9
Scanning Negatives and Dias
5.9
Tord Eriksson
5.9
In this third piece on scanning with the ScanLight Junior 256, we will
deal with scanning negatives. Dia-positives are not mentioned because
they behave exactly like negatives but in reverse! (See also Archive 5.4
& 5.5.)
5.9
The negative side
5.9
Computer Concepts tell the buyer of their scanner that it can even be
used for scanning negatives and turn those into positives. This is
perfectly true but not very useful as a negative normally has an
enormous grey-scale that no hand-scanner can reproduce.
5.9
The reason why a negative has a greater density scale than any photo on
paper is simple. The negative is made to be enlarged and as you enlarge
anything the contrast goes down, just as things becomes fuzzier and
fuzzier with increasing distance.
5.9
The main advantage with doing enlargements of vector graphic objects
(draw objects) with the help of computers is that the grey areas keep
the same perceived greyness, as the black dots are always the same size.
They only increase in number.
5.9
If you enlarge photographically, you will find that the contrast goes
down as you increase the size, as the raster dots becomes bigger and
bigger. If you decrease the size of the graphic then the contrast goes
up − so much, sometimes, that grey areas become solid black.
5.9
The positive side
5.9
Scanning a negative is only possible if you can control the back-light’s
intensity. The negative has to be big enough; 6 × 6 cms negatives are
ideal. If you scan with the negative on top of a white sheet of paper
with no back lighting, you effectively double the contrast which is not
recommended!
5.9
The best light source is a light box that can be regulated in intensity
(taking out one of the fluorescent tubes made mine perfect!) or a
window. If you use a window, hang a piece of paper on the outside of the
glass so that you can create a bit of semi-shadow.
5.9
To get a usable result, you must find whereabouts on the light box a
negative will be best scanned. If the light is just a bit too bright,
nothing will be visible and if it is just a bit too dark, you will end
up with a black strip! When you use the window you have to find where
the light is OK, maybe by adding another piece of paper on top of the
first!
5.9
When the scan is OK, you just click on the inverse icon and voilá, you
have a positive picture. This will look quite awful as you will see lots
of irritating scan lines across the picture (In monochrome B&W this will
not be a problem).
5.9
Conclusion
5.9
The resulting grey-scale picture is really not good enough for publi
cation but could be used as a rough and ready indication of what picture
should go where in your publication, so that the print shop knows what
to do. For good results, I recommend making a contact copy of the film
and then scanning the copy. It is a much better and easier solution!  A
5.9
5.9
Chameleon
5.9
Ian O’Hara
5.9
Chameleon is a program which allows the user to alter the colours in
drawfiles. Not very amazing you may think − nothing more than you could
do with Draw itself, but just try changing all the colours on a very
complex drawfile with lots of objects. It is not that easy, especially
if you want to replace a colour globally. Chameleon allows you to do
other things that Draw won’t do − but more of that later.
5.9
Chameleon comes on a single disc and is protected in 4Mation’s usual
way, i.e you cannot copy the disc until you initialise it by typing in
your name. It is a fully RISC-OS compliant program.
5.9
Once installed on the icon bar, it is activated by dragging a drawfile
onto it. Two windows pop up, one containing the drawfile and the other,
the various tools that can be used. The tools are split into two rows.
On top are the tools concerning the area involved and below the type of
operation. Below this are boxes showing an enlarged copy of the area of
the drawfile currently under the pointer and one containing the current
colour selected.
5.9
Colour changes
5.9
Colour can be changed locally which means that only the object directly
under the pointer is affected. It can be changed globally so that every
time that colour occurs it is changed. The other three options involve
drawing a box on the drawfile around the objects that are to be changed.
These options are: within the box, under the box and outside the box.
The difference between the first two is that ‘within’ only acts on
objects that are wholly within the box whereas ‘beneath’ will change all
objects which overlap the box.
5.9
Seven types of operation are possible. The first is a straight colour
replace and is the one I tend to use most. The next two options concern
changing the colour but keeping the same shade. These will either
produce a greyscale image or one in a colour of your choice. The fourth
and fifth options will lighten and darken the image and the last two
will alter the saturation of the colour. Only the first of these
operations would be possible within Draw without using Chameleon.
5.9
Colour selection
5.9
Choosing the colour to use is done on a separate window. There are three
ways to pick the colour. The first two use the standard windows which
are used in most programs to choose and edit colours found. The third
method is one that I particularly like. This uses a colour cube. You set
the red level and the window provides a display which adds increasing
levels of green and blue in the horizontal and vertical directions. It
is the best way I have yet seen for picking related colours. No longer
do you have to play with sliders or take pot luck on the normal 256
colour palette. You can also see how shades go together. This has been
very useful when used with the SmArt Fashion disc.
5.9
As well as changing the fill colour of path objects, it is possible to
change line colours, text colours and sprites. Chameleon treats sprites
within drawfiles as single objects, so if a colour is changed then this
is done globally within the whole sprite. To help change the colour of
lines, you can use the shift key which has the effect of picking a line
which is often very thin regardless of the magnification. Holding down
the <ctrl> key has the same effect for text.
5.9
Menu options
5.9
Both of these sets of operations are also found on the main menu. Other
options on the main menu are Tools and Save. The first option on the
tools submenu allows you to lock colours so they can’t be changed by
accident. The next two are to do with the size of the drawfile and the
magnification with which it is displayed. Below this are facilities to
undo and redo actions. This facility allows you to go back and forward
through several changes. I have not yet found the limit. It is not
possible to use this facility with 256 colour sprites.
5.9
Colour separations
5.9
The Save menu allows the resulting file to be saved in various ways. The
simplest is as a straight drawfile. The other two options allow colour
separations. The first will produce a directory containing four files
for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key. These are used by commercial printers
to produce full colour prints. It is a pity that more art packages don’t
include this facility. The second separation option will produce a
directory containing files of each colour used in the drawfile. You get
a warning if more than four colours are used and there is a limit of 64.
Quite useful for producing Japanese style woodcuts (or multi-layer
p.c.b.’s Ed).
5.9
The future?
5.9
Chameleon is not being left as it is, 4Mation are still working hard on
it. One option being planned for it is graduated fills. How the
resulting image will be stored, I am not sure. If it produces a whole
series of drawfiles, it will result in a very large file. Maybe Acorn
should look at using Display PostScript in future machines. Don’t all
write off to 4Mation about this yet − when I spoke to them recently, it
appeared to be still at least 2 months away.
5.9
Conclusion
5.9
Whether Chameleon is worth buying depends on how many of its features
you are likely to use and how much you value your time. I have found the
program very useful and feel that it is well worth its £25 price tag.  A
5.9
5.9
Power Search: A Quiet AI Revolution − Part 3
5.9
Michael Houlder
5.9
Most of us are familiar with the simple search and replace functions
provided by most word and document processors.
5.9
We might have a document with references to Mr Jones which we wish to
change to Mr Smith. We could read through the text of the document
changing each instance of “Jones” to “Smith”. If the document was
lengthy or complex, we could spend much time editing the text manually
without a guarantee that we had changed every instance required.
5.9
Better, we should use an available search and replace function. This
will present each instance of “Jones” in the text and invite our consent
to its replacement with “Smith”. The function takes a fraction of the
time of the manual process as our attention is focused only on instances
of “Jones”, nothing else. The function also increases the chances of a
correct modification of the document as, again, our concentration is
directed explicitly and exclusively to each instance of “Jones”.
5.9
If a ‘global’ search and replace option is available, we may be
sufficiently sure of our document to choose to use the option and have
all the changes from “Jones” to “Smith” made fully automatically. The
changes, in this case, will not be checked individually by ourselves.
Nevertheless, it is guaranteed that every instance of “Jones” is
converted without exception.
5.9
Definitely something else again
5.9
By ‘power search’, I mean something much more powerful than the simple
function given in this illustration. Power search was offered on the
Archimedes first by Twin, the original non-multi-tasking text editor. It
is now offered on the desktop by !SrcEdit, the new RISC-OS text editor,
which is supplied as part of the Acorn DDE.
5.9
Its background comes from the very strong software development environ
ment that is provided by Unix. In particular, it relates to the use of
‘regular’ expressions to define search patterns by programs such as LEX,
GREP, VI, etc.
5.9
In the illustration of a simple search and replace function, “Jones”
acted as a search pattern to be matched by similar patterns occurring in
the document. There is no ambiguity about this fixed and constant
pattern. The only thing that will match the pattern is the string
“Jones”. The match depends only on that string. Nothing in the surround
ing context of the document will make any difference. Hence, the
replacement of “Jones” by “Smith” is context-free.
5.9
The power of power search
5.9
!SrcEdit provides a language for describing search patterns which are
general and abstract. Such patterns are capable of matching large
numbers of radically different data patterns which share some abstract
characteristic.
5.9
For instance, the search pattern “^@” will match with an infinite number
of different data patterns. Two examples are: “1” and “xxxxxx”. These
are radically different: a repeated single character string composed of
a number and a multi-character string composed of a single lower-case
alphabetical character.
5.9
However, they share two abstract characteristics. They are both strings
of length greater than one. Both characters, ‘1’ and ‘x’, are instances
of the set of alphanumeric characters used by many programming languages
to form variable names. These two shared abstract characteristics are
captured exactly by the search pattern. ‘^’ identifies the property of
non-zero length. ‘@’ stands for the set of alphanumeric characters.
Hence the pattern describes the class of non-empty strings formed just
by alphanumeric characters.
5.9
Search sequences may be made from indefinite length components, such as
“^@”, and fixed components, such as “Mr ” or “ Jones”, placed together.
The search sequence “Mr ^@ Jones” allows replacement by “Smith” only in
those cases where the first name of Jones is given. The replacement is
dependent on the context.
5.9
Replacement using power search is, therefore, context-sensitive.
5.9
A companion replacement pattern language defines the replacement pattern
which does not have to be fixed as “Smith”. It may refer to all or part
of the match actually found by using either the ‘found string’ symbol
‘&’ or a ‘numbered field’ symbol such as ‘?0’.
5.9
Call the combined search and replacement patterns a transform and write
it with connecting and terminating symbols, ‘=>’ and ‘;’, as follows:
5.9
search_sequence => replace_ sequence ;
5.9
Quotes will mark the beginning and end of both search and replacement
sequences. Any quote contained inside either sequence will be marked as
natural using the ‘normal’ operator: e.g. \“.
5.9
The transform “Mr ^@ Jones” => “?0”; replaces any string such as “Mr
Simon Jones” with the string “Simon”. The numbered field in the
replacement pattern refers to whatever is found to match the indefinite
length component “^@”. The transform isolates and, hence, identifies the
first name of any Mr Jones. Such patterns can be used to extract
information from data rather than just change it.
5.9
Replacement using power search is, therefore, informative.
5.9
Interpretation of ‘most’ repetitions
5.9
The interpretation of the ‘most’ repetition symbol ‘%’ was treated
primarily as an exception in the previous parts of this article. It is
an important function and needs to be defined more precisely.
5.9
Any ‘most’ repetition, such as “%a”, must occur either followed by
another search sequence component or as the last component of a search
pattern sequence. If it is followed by another component, “%a” is to
interpreted identically as the 1 or more repetition “^a”.
5.9
If it is the last or only component, then it will be matched by the
maximum possible match for “^a”. That is, there must be at least one
match for “a”; i.e. at least one character ‘a’. However, the repetition
will continue to match however many more characters ‘a’ follow the
first.
5.9
“^a” and “*a”, similarly in the last position, take the opposite or
minimum match. “*a” here will always match the empty or null string.
“^a” will match just a single character ‘a’. So, given the data string
“baaaaa” as the next to be searched, the repetitions in the last
position of a search sequence match as follows:
5.9
•    “b%a” matches “baaaaa”
5.9
•    “b^a” matches “ba”
5.9
•    “b*a” matches “b”
5.9
There are some problems with the scope of the expression denoted by “a”
in this definition. !SrcEdit itself supports only a restricted class of
expressions. That is, “%a” behaves as defined here only for natural
printable characters given without operators such as ‘a’ itself and for
the pre-defined set symbols ‘@’ and ‘#’. For cases such as “%!61”, “%[a-
z]”, “%~a” or even “%\a”, it behaves as the 1 or more repetition “^a”.
For the search element “%.”, it reports an error and the search and
replace function stops processing
5.9
There appears to be no real justification for these restrictions. My
compiler tests out fine so far without them and supports all cases
including “%.” This latter repetition is particularly important as will
be seen later.
5.9
Acorn’s examples
5.9
The interface to the search & replace function in !SrcEdit provides
three styles of function: interactive, global and count. ‘global’ is the
automatic application of a search & replace transform to all matching
instances. ‘interactive’ describes the presenting of each matching
instance to the user for confirmation before replacement. ‘count’
extracts information from the data; namely, the count or number of
matching instances.
5.9
Five examples are given by Acorn to define the possible uses and
applications of the search and replace function, as follows:
5.9
•    “[a-z]” => “”; As a transform, this would cause all characters from
the range ‘a’ to ‘z’ to be deleted. Using the ‘count’ function, the
number of lower-case characters throughout the document will be given
instead.
5.9
•    “%@” => “”; The ‘@’ is a symbol standing for the set of alphanumeric
symbols: ‘a’ to ‘z’, ‘A’ to ‘Z’, ‘0’ to ‘9’, and ‘_’. Importantly, this
set excludes spaces, tabs, newlines and other word separating charac
ters. Hence “%@”, being the last and only component of its sequence,
matches with any word of any length. Using the count function, this
transform counts the number of words in a document.
5.9
•    “%@” => “(&)”; Using the interactive or the global functions, this
transform surrounds each word with round brackets.
5.9
•    “\#include \”h\.%@\“” =>
5.9
 “#include \”?0.h\“”; Using the interactive or global function, this
transform re-writes the ‘include’ directives for an ANSI C source file.
It changes the string #include  “h.stdio” into  #include “stdio.h”. “?0”
maps to the first ambiguous field of the search sequence which is “%@”
and, in the case of the example string, matches with “stdio”.
5.9
    In the expression for the transform, the quotes contained in the
directive surrounding the file name are written qualified by the
‘normal’ operator. The two patterns are then acceptable to both !SrcEdit
and my compiler.
5.9
•    “~[ -~$]” => “”; The square brackets define a set of the range ‘ ’
(space) to ‘~’ together with newline. This set contains all printable
ASCII characters. Its negation with ‘~’ defines the set of non-printable
characters. Hence, this transform deletes all non-printable characters
from a document.
5.9
Evaluation of examples
5.9
It is not enough for replacement to be context-sensitive in the marginal
way detailed in an earlier paragraph. The language for defining the
context for replacement must be sufficiently rich to capture that
context in an expression without reliance on purely accidental factors.
5.9
Take the ‘include’ directive example above. Spaces are word de-limiters
for the ANSI C compiler and, hence, are invisible to the compiler. It
makes no difference whether or not there are spaces between the three
main parts of the ‘include’ directive string: “#”, “include” and
“h.stdio”.
5.9
Absence of such additional spaces is an accidental factor. The transform
example will match the intended targets only if those ‘include’
directives just happen to be written without additional spaces. Any
directives that contain extra spaces will be perfectly intelligible to
the compiler but will be missed by the transform.
5.9
The search language is quite capable of capturing the precise properties
that make all ‘include’ directives recognisable by the ANSI C Version 4
compiler. A better, but not perfect, search sequence is
5.9
 “\#* include* \”h\.%@\“”.
5.9
However, the new search sequence is a complicated expression and will
become more so as various attempts are made to come closer to what is
required; a process of refinement.
5.9
A similar process of refinement of a description is implicit in the
second and third examples. The first of these counts the words of a
document. The second puts brackets round all words. The initial
description of words is given by the search sequence “%@”. This will
include numbers as well as names: e.g. “1” from “1. Item One etc”.
Should “1” count as a word to be counted or as a word to be bracketed?
Almost certainly not! We would expect to see a refinement of the
description of a word such as: “%[a-zA-Z]”; with, perhaps, the further
refinement “[a-zA-Z]%[a-z]” until the precise context required by the
document is captured.
5.9
The first example, counting lower-case characters, and the last example,
deleting non-printable characters, are good illustrations but are
trivial and do not use the potential of the language.
5.9
It is, perhaps, an attractive generalisation to say: either the uses of
the search and replace function in !SrcEdit are trivial or they involve
a succession of complex refinements of some context description.
5.9
A pattern programming model
5.9
Such a generalisation would be wrong. It fails to note that a number,
possibly large, of trivial steps can be combined to produce something
that is non-trivial.
5.9
The ability to extract information from data was mentioned earlier in
this part of the article. The utilisation of such an ability is a
programming task. This section attempts to say what sort of programming
is involved; to provide some sort of basic abstract model.
5.9
Unless a specific application function is created, such as ‘count’
mentioned in the Acorn examples, the use of a search and replace
function must depend on replacement. Search on its own is passive. At
best, it can direct the user’s attention to a particular instance.
Extraction of information is an active process. The information produced
as a result must be in a data form capable of being used by other
functions or systems.
5.9
Dependence on replacement means that the process is one of reduction in
the content of the data. Otherwise, there is no advantage in the
replacement; things would remain largely as they were at the start.
5.9
For example, take the task of extracting from a document the first names
of every man called Jones. We may assume that every individual in the
document is introduced at least once in a formal manner: e.g. Mr Simon
Jones. We use a similar search sequence to that mentioned earlier:
“Mr* ^@* Jones”. There may be references in the document to individuals
such as Mr Paul Smith, Mr Jones, or just plain Jones. The search pattern
will avoid matching with any of these unwanted instances.
5.9
The problem is that the first names corresponding to “^@” have that
property only by their context: “Mr ” and “ Jones. The parts of that
context are not uniquely associated with the target first name string;
their combination is. The initial reduction must be to eliminate that
context-sensitivity. This is brought about by introducing unique markers
immediately before and after any target first name string.
5.9
ASCII text is composed of only the first 128 of a total of 256 eight bit
character codes: using my symbol for Hex numbers, this is the range
“!00” to “!7F”. Hence, if the text is ASCII, the top half Hex numbers
from “!80” to “!FF” are available to act as unique markers since they
cannot occur in the text. Some word processors use what are called “top
bit set” characters from the top half range. In this case, markers can
be created out of digraphs or even trigraphs. A digraph is a pair of
characters, such as “XX” or “YY”, whose composition together does not
occur in the document. If necessary, a trigraph can be used; this is an
unusual composition of 3 characters. Digraphs and trigraphs are ways of
extending the set of symbols representable by an 8 bit code.
5.9
Thus the context-sensitivity of the required instances can be eliminated
by the transform:
5.9
“Mr* ^@* Jones” => “YY?1XX”;
5.9
The second ambiguous field in the search pattern will be matched to a
required first name. This is then mapped to component “?1” in the
replace pattern as numbered fields start with “?0”.
5.9
If the transform is applied to the document exhaustively until no more
instances can be found, the following statement is true: All and only
first names applying to Jones’ are in the form “YYzzzXX” where zzz is
any number, more than 0, of characters giving the name.
5.9
That is, the wanted information lies between digraphs “YY” and “XX” in
that order; while, on the other hand, there is unwanted data between
each pair “XX” and “YY” in that order.
5.9
This fact could be used in a second reduction to delete all data between
any pair “XX” and “YY”. But the first digraph in the document is “YY”:
to mark the first required name. There is no “XX” before this in the
document to mark the unwanted data that might exist before the first
required name. Similarly, the last digraph in the document is “XX”,
marking the last required name. There is no following “YY” to mark any
subsequent unwanted data.
5.9
Hence, a necessary pair of transforms introduce an initial “XX” and a
final “YY”. They use the ‘most’ repetition “%.” which represents that
string which is the remainder of the document.
5.9
“%.” => “XX?0”;
5.9
“%.” => “?0YY”;
5.9
!SrcEdit forbids the use of this search pattern. Those without access to
mine or a similar compiler must introduce the appropriate digraphs by
hand.
5.9
A final transform will delete unwanted data and the digraphs themselves.
It will introduce a newline character also to ensure that each required
first name occurs on a separate line, with perhaps an unwanted initial
blank line:
5.9
“XX*.YY” => “$”;
5.9
Through this discussion and from the example itself, we may derive, at
least, an initial abstract model of pattern programming. It has three
characteristics as follows:
5.9
•    the destructive reduction of unwanted information through the use of
replacement
5.9
•    the exhaustive application of search and replace transforms until no
more matching instances are found
5.9
•    the application of lists of transforms, each of which is taken in
order and applied exhaustively.
5.9
The need for a compiler
5.9
The use of the word ‘compiler’ here is loose. The intention is to
distinguish !SrcEdit from other tools which run programs written in the
pattern matching language.
5.9
!SrcEdit can be called a simple interpreter for the language and suffers
from serious limitations for practical use as a stand-alone tool. It
performs excellently in combination with my compiler as it allows very
graphical, immediate testing of transform components. Once tested, these
can be incorporated into a disc file program for the compiler.
5.9
The fundamental limitation on !SrcEdit is that it accepts only keyboard
input. All search and replace patterns must be keyed in as individual
characters. There is no option for accepting input from any other
source, in particular disc files. This has a number of drawbacks which
are directly avoided by a compiler:
5.9
•    The work involved in manual keyboard entry of a program is very
wasteful if the program is of any length and is to be used frequently.
5.9
•    Required levels input accuracy cannot be sustained through complex and
lengthy programs.
5.9
•    While separate file records of programs entered into !SrcEdit can be
maintained, the direct connection of these with active programs entered
through the keyboard is broken. Thus, it is difficult to undo steps in
the refinement of a program. Certainty in knowing which previous version
caused which effect has gone.
5.9
•    Automatic creation of programs is not possible. Information may be
extracted from a document such as the list of first names in the example
earlier. Repeated use of a compiler via an Obey file and a higher level
pattern program can use this list of names to generate a whole set of
secondary programs which can be executed under the control of the Obey
file. Alternatively, control of the whole multi-layered process can be
given to !Make or !AMU. These are Acorn’s versions of Unix automatic
software project control systems.
5.9
•    Modular development is an important feature of any software produc
tion. In effect, this is the composition or combination of programs.
Pattern programs can be combined either manually or automatically under
a compiler system. This cannot happen with !SrcEdit.
5.9
•    !SrcEdit can run only simple transforms. A compiler will understand,
in addition, a number of program control operators such as conditionals,
procedures, REPEAT and REPEAT LIST... END and so on. These operators,
which can be nested, extend the range of possible programs enormously
without compromising the abstract pattern programming model mentioned
earlier.
5.9
An example using Impression
5.9
Particularly when various Impression documents are joined together, the
list of styles defined in the document can grow large. It is useful to
be able to determine easily which styles are actually used in the
document as opposed to just defined.
5.9
This example shows how a pattern program can be written to output a list
of the styles used in a document. It will involve use of the compiler;
but it will be possible to trace manually the program’s execution on a
small data file using just !SrcEdit.
5.9
Impression documents have an alternative ASCII text format called the
Document Description Format (DDF). Files in the DDF format contain, as
well as the document text, all Impression display and format commands.
The commands are expressed in a language for which the grammar is
supplied in the Impression manual.
5.9
This states exactly how the application of any style at any point in the
text will be described in the DDF file. It must be in the form:  or .
The problem is to create a list of just the names of styles enclosed
within the curly brackets and quotes, such as Bold and Italic. This
problem is very similar to the example of finding the first names of
various Mr Jones’ mentioned in some document.
5.9
There are two additional problems however. Firstly, style names may
include spaces and other punctuation symbols: e.g. “Main Heading”, “Sub-
Heading”, etc. Secondly, instances of any particular style application
may be repeated many times. The list of style names produced by pattern
programming must keep any spaces etc. The list also must not contain any
repetitions.
5.9
Take the problem of repetitions first. Acorn’s DDE, as well as !SrcEdit
itself, contains a number of valuable support tools. One of these is
called Common. This program analyses an input text file and produces as
output a list of the different words found in the input, together with
their frequency of occurrence. Thus if there were 4 instances of the
word “Italic” in the input, Common would produce an output line of the
form: 4 of ‘Italic’. There would be only one instance of Italic in the
output. Common has the effect of suppressing repeated instances.
5.9
A program to produce the list of styles will have three stages con
trolled via an Obey file:
5.9
•    Extract a list of styles using a pattern program similar to that for
extracting a list of first names, given in an earlier example.
5.9
•    Run Common on the output from the previous stage in order to suppress
repeated or multiple instances of a style name.
5.9
•    Clean up the output from Common using a second pattern program.
5.9
Take the problem of style names containing spaces. This is a problem not
for pattern programming but for Common. It is not possible to tell
Common what it should regard as a word separator. As a result, it will
treat “Main Heading” and “Sub-Heading” as four separate words.
5.9
The pattern programs must make up for this deficiency. They do this by
using the digraph and trigraph principle discussed earlier. The first
pattern program obtains its list of style names, possibly containing
repetitions. There will be one style name to each line. It then replaces
all cases of ‘ ’ each with the trigraph “XXX” and all cases of ‘’- each
with “YYY”. The second pattern program, in addition to cleaning up the
output from Common, also replaces the trigraphs with the original
symbols.
5.9
In the pattern programs that follow, “!80” and “!81” are used as special
markers in the manner already discussed. “/*” and “*/” are the standard
ANSI C comment markers.
5.9
Pattern Program 1:
5.9
“{”!80?0$!81“ ;    /* isolate styles */
5.9
“%.” => ”!81?0!80“;  /* begin & end */
5.9
“!81*.!80” => “”; /* delete unwanted */
5.9
“ ” => “XXX”;
5.9
“”- => “YYY”;
5.9
Sample Common Output:
5.9
    Total number of different words: 4
5.9
    8 of ‘SubYYYHeading’
5.9
    4 of ‘indent’
5.9
    2 of ‘NoXXXParagraphXXXSpace’
5.9
    2 of ‘Author’
5.9
Pattern Program 2:
5.9
“*.$%.” => “?1”;  /* remove summary */
5.9
“*.‘^@’$” => “?1$”;  /* isolate styles */
5.9
“XXX” => “ ”;
5.9
“YYY” => “”-;
5.9
An opportunity to try the software
5.9
There is a simplified version of the compiler on the monthly program
disc. It includes some  documentation. The compiler, though simplified,
should be of general use.
5.9
The Impression pattern programming example above will be supplied as a
utility to be installed on the icon bar.  A
5.9
5.9
Friendly MS-DOS?
5.9
Robin Garrity
5.9
MS-DOS is a very unfriendly operating system, a fact which even
Microsoft seem to acknowledge. There are several ways to overcome its
inherent problems, such as learning DOS and being very patient, using
Windows and using DOS Shell.
5.9
This article will show how to simplify using DOS, virtually eliminating
the use of the command line and allowing applications to be started with
one keypress!
5.9
DOS
5.9
Learning a certain number of DOS commands is essential, unfortunately,
and is covered in many books. Unless the new PC Emulator manual is much
better than the present ones, buying a DOS book is a necessary evil but
there are much easier ways of getting the most out of your PC ...
5.9
Windows
5.9
Windows programs for the PC, either Microsoft’s Windows 3 or Quarter
deck’s DESQview, try to create a windowed multi-tasking environment not
unlike RISC-OS. Quarterdeck is very powerful and allows the use of
standard, single-tasking PC programs, but at a significant speed
penalty. Also, expanded memory is a requirement.
5.9
Of the two, Windows 3 (now 3.1 with 1¼ million advanced orders!) is the
most popular alternative and works under the present PC Emulator (1.6/
7),  in EGA+ mode, even though it usually requires a VGA adapter. It is,
however, painfully slow even on a genuine 80386 machine and needs
specially written software to benefit from the features which we, as
Archimedeans, take for granted (RAM to RAM transfer, shared printer
drivers and scalable fonts). Its biggest disadvantage, however, is that
it needs huge amounts of disc space, typically 7M just for the Windows
system alone before you try and use any applications! Since most
Archimedes users will be operating with a software emulator and a hard-
disc partition or floppy disc, this, together with the cost and
incredible slowness of the display, make this an unrealistic option. By
far the cheapest and simplest solution is to use a DOS shell.
5.9
(There seems to be a problem getting Windows 3.1 working on current
emulators. Anyone succeeded? Laurence Brightman says that it needs a
’286 emulation with extended memory or a ’386 emulation. He also says
that TrueType scalable fonts are included in Windows 3.1 and that it now
occupies 10M of disc space! Ed)
5.9
DOS Shell
5.9
A DOS shell is a front-end which allows easy access to DOS programs and
usually provides most DOS commands via menus along with a host of disc
and memory utilities. Both MS-DOS and DR-DOS have shells included in the
later versions, so if you have them (versions 5 or 6 respectively), read
the instructions and configure your machine appropriately − it is worth
the effort. There are two major commercial packages available, however,
which combine the features of a DOS shell, a desktop and numerous
powerful utilities: X-Tree Professional and PC Tools. I am reasonably
familiar with both packages and both are capable of broadly the same
functions. I use PC Tools daily, so I shall use this as an example to
illustrate the advantages of using a shell.
5.9
PC Tools
5.9
The latest PC Tools version is 7 (for MS Windows), but the version I use
is 5.5 (6 is similar, but I still prefer 5.5). Create a sub-directory
(essential for all PC software because of the huge number of files
contained in most programs) called PCTools and follow the installation
instructions in the manual. The program is now ready.
5.9
At the C:\> prompt, type
5.9
cd c:\pctools
5.9
pcshell
5.9
(If you only have a floppy based system, put the disc in drive A:\> and
type pcshell.)
5.9
A screen will appear, much like the one shown opposite, with the
contents of either your hard-disc root directory or the floppy in drive
a: as appropriate. If the directory readout is different from what you
know is there, use the “Options − Re-read the tree” menu option to show
PC Tools your up-dated directories. By playing with it (my way), or by
reading the manual (the sensible way), you can find your way around the
large number of facilities available to you, e.g. disc compression and
backup, formatting discs, copying selected files, directory maintenance,
etc, etc, but a little bit more configuration will allow you to save
much effort later.
5.9
Use the Text Editor in PC Tools to edit your autoexec.bat file (if you
don’t understand what this does, check in the PC Emulator manual or in a
DOS book as it is very important to the efficient running of a PC!) to
add the following lines:
5.9
cd c:\pctools
5.9
pcshell
5.9
When you re-boot your system, you will now see the PC Tools DOS shell on
the screen rather than the stark DOS prompt. You can now use the shell
to run any program, on floppy or hard disc, in one of two ways. To run a
rarely used hard-disc program, or a floppy disc program, select the
appropriate run file (the one with the same name as you are used to
typing at the DOS prompt plus the .exe, .bat or .com extension) and
press <ctrl-enter>. After a confirmatory dialogue box, the PC Tools
screen will disappear and the program will run in exactly the same way
as normal. When you’re finished, exit your program in the normal way and
you are returned to PC Tools, not to DOS! The more you use this, the
more useful you will see that it is. There’s more ...
5.9
Hard disc users can use the “Options − Modify Applications List” option
to add as many programs as you have on your hard disc to a list which
pops up automatically when you start up, thus reducing the starting of
DOS applications to one, user definable, keypress! There’s more ...
5.9
As mentioned earlier, DOS programs tend to have an awful lot more files
than you actually need so, after backing-up the originals, selectively
delete the files you don’t need using the standard filing facilities in
PC Tools. Which ones are they? Well, you have to make intelligent
guesses much of the time but large numbers of printer drivers are
superfluous, as are the different VDU drivers. Tutorial files and
spelling checkers/thesauri (use the Archimedes ones!) can come off and
you’d be amazed at how much disc space you gain. Now use PC Tools’ disc
compression and read at the bottom of the screen how much free space you
have. To give you an illustration, On my 10M partition, I am running the
following software with no problems:
5.9
    MS-DOS 5
5.9
    PC Tools 5.5
5.9
    SuperCalc 5
5.9
    DBase IV 1.1
5.9
    Autoroute 2.1
5.9
    WordPerfect 5.1
5.9
DBase IV usually needs 4M, WordPerfect 3.5M and SuperCalc 5 nearly 2M
etc, so you can see the advantages to be gained by judicious deletion of
files. OK, I haven’t got a lot of space left for data, but what are
floppies for?!  A
5.9
5.9
Insight
5.9
Peter Thomson
5.9
Insight consists of two programs, one designed to handle analogue
measurement and one designed to handle digital measurement in the school
science laboratory. It includes a set of pupil workcards, a user guide
and a teacher’s guide. It is produced by a team based at Leicester
University School of Education and published by Longman Logotron. The
price is £69 +VAT.
5.9
The review version is 1.05 and was tested on A5000, A3000 and A310
computers.
5.9
A range of probes were used with the analogue ports from HCCS, Morley
and Acorn. LogIT was used with the serial port.
5.9
Sensors
5.9
Insight will only work with a range of sensors from SenseIT , S&C ,
LogIT and Philip Harris. There are no options for the user to set up
other interfaces, but if SenseIT is selected as the interface, any
analogue probe using the analogue interface such as Measure-IT can be
used. SenseIT requires the computer to be enhanced with an analogue
port. The others require a working serial port. S&C and LogIT sensors
are identified automatically when the interface is selected as is the
Philip Harris interface.
5.9
Measurements taken from the analogue port are always real-time, but this
can continue as a background task while other desktop programs are in
use. LogIT connected through the serial port can also operate in real
time mode or it can be programmed with instructions from Insight,
disconnected from the computer and operated in remote mode and then the
results uploaded at a later time.
5.9
Analogue measurement
5.9
The interface and the font to be used for display are selected from a
menu on the icon bar. Other options are selected from standard RISC-OS
menus or from a control panel window.
5.9
Up to four channels of analogue measurement can be recorded at any one
time (three when using LogIT). All four channels are sampled at the same
rate and for the same time period. The maximum sample rate of 10 per
second is only allowed for periods up to one minute. 2 minutes will only
sample at 5 per second. This gives a maximum data store of 600 readings
per channel for some time intervals but it is 720 for others.
5.9
Sensors which are recognised by the system automatically use calibration
and display units predetermined by the software. This works well for
those sensors which are recognised but only a limited range is covered.
There is no facility for the user to add new sensors to the list.
5.9
Unrecognised sensors can be calibrated between two points. For example,
a temperature sensor would be connected to the interface with the
calibration option selected from Insight. The sensor would be placed in
boiling water and the value 100 entered from the keyboard. This would be
specified as the high fixed point. The sensor would then be placed in
melting ice and the value 0 entered at the keyboard, specified as the
low fixed point. The calibration assumes a straight line relationship
between the two fixed points. The calibrated values are then used in the
display. Up to four sensors can be calibrated at one time. If the data
is then saved this can be used as a set-up file to avoid the need to
recalibrate the sensors each time they are used. Calibration data cannot
be swapped between files and sensors cannot be moved to different
channels without recalibration.
5.9
Remote operation
5.9
LogIT was well supported in immediate mode but it was not easy to use in
remote mode.
5.9
LogIT comes with its own software which is very effective and simple to
use and worked on all the computers tested. Insight programmes the LogIT
module in a different way which is not compatible. Insight programming
was only straightforward if the LogIT unit was reset first, one series
of measurements taken to completion and the result uploaded. The LogIT
unit had to be reset and reprogrammed before the next set of readings
were taken. If the results were uploaded before the planned time had
elapsed, the missing results were uploaded and displayed although
garbage. Logotron are aware of this problem and expect to have it cured
on the next version. LogIT worked with its own software on the A5000
computer with no problems. I could not get Insight to program LogIT
remote on the A5000 although it worked on the 310
5.9
Display
5.9
Each display appears in a window. If the window is resized then the
display is altered to fit the new window size.
5.9
The main display is a line graph. The horizontal axis can display clock
time, elapsed time, or one of the four channels can be selected. Each
channel is plotted on its own vertical scale.
5.9
One scale can be displayed to the left of the graph and a second can be
displayed to the right of the graph. The scales used can be selected by
the user but the values marked on the scale are calculated by the
program to give ‘sensible’ values. A range of 0 to 28 results in a scale
marked off in units of 5. A scale of 0 to 1061 is marked off in units of
200. If the range selected for display is less than the full range of
measurements in the experiment then the value outside the range is
plotted at the top or bottom of the graph. There is no option to change
the scale used for display while an experiment is being recorded. There
is no option to display grid lines on the graph, and there is no option
to change the grey background to the display although this can be
changed by altering the palette on the icon bar. The plotted lines can
be thin or thick to improve their visibility to a class.
5.9
The numerical values being logged are displayed on the control bar.
These values are updated every second if time intervals are shorter than
one second. There is an option to display these values as large digits
on screen, this works well on the A3000, but with a maximum size of
1.5cm on the A5000 normal monitor I thought these were a bit small. The
values can also be displayed as a vertical bar chart.
5.9
After the sequence of readings is complete there is an option to zoom in
on a particular part of the graph. This has a maximum of 20× but there
is no indication of how far you have zoomed, and trying to pick a
smaller area of graph for display results in an error message rather
than giving you the maximum zoom. Zooming in on a graph that is close to
the limits of the range of plotted values produces lines which overlap
the axes labels at the base of the graph. A graph with a span of 0 to
100 seems to be incorrectly plotted between 0 and 1. In the analysis
section, the cursor lines do not match the graph lines in this area.
5.9
Printing out the graph is straight forward, using RISC-OS printer
drivers, but the quality of the graph lines is poor as it is a dump of
the graph as a sprite. A much better printout can be produced by
transfer of the data in CSV format to Pipedream 4 or GraphBox.
5.9
Analysis
5.9
The Analyse menu provides a number of useful options for data handling.
It acts on the data displayed on the graph with numerical values being
displayed in a small window. The number of decimal places to be
displayed can be selected by the user.
5.9
The calibrated X and Y values of any data item or the time interval
located by the cursor can be displayed.
5.9
The gradient of any data line can be displayed. The default time
interval is 0.8s and this is easily changed in a settings menu.
5.9
The difference in value or the ratio of values between any two points on
the same line can be displayed, but not between different probes. The
ratio can be Y1/Y2 or Y2/Y1.
5.9
The area underneath the plotted lines of data can also be displayed
between any two points.
5.9
The Data menu provides the facility to display graphs based on the
application of a function to the recorded data. Up to four such graphs
can be displayed at any one time in addition to the four data graphs.
5.9
Processing can take the form of simple operations such as A-B or A*B or
more complex formulae.
5.9
Predefined functions are Average and Trial fit. Average calculates a new
value from ten adjacent old values. Trial Fit allows three options,
straight line, power function or exponential. Further curve generating
functions can be developed by selecting from a series of generalised
functions on a menu and modifying them to suit your own requirements.
5.9
Saving a data file
5.9
Saving a data file in Insight’s own format stores all the details of
probes, calibrations and processing. Saving in CSV format saves only the
processed data. Only data saved in Insight’s own format can be reloaded
into Insight. This means that the graph analysis of Insight cannot be
used on data from other sources.
5.9
Digital
5.9
This is a separate program with no links to analogue data. It handles
two digital inputs only. When configured as ‘SenseIT’, it uses the two
digital lines that connect the “fire” buttons on the analogue port.
Otherwise it can only use LogIT and SAC interfaces.
5.9
The range of possible measurements is very limited. The length of an on
pulse from A, the length of an on pulse from B and the time between A
switching on and B switching on. These can be combined in a sequence so
that a slotted card passing a light gate will produce a sequence of
measurements. The number and length of slots in a card can be entered
from the keyboard, as can the mass of a trolley carrying the card and
the distance from gate A to gate B. The software can use these values
with the recorded data to display time, speed, velocity, acceleration,
momentum and kinetic energy. The formula used to produce these calcu
lated values can also be displayed. These are all displayed with
appropriate units.
5.9
The results of these measurements are displayed in a table with the
facility to process this data with simple formulae in adjacent columns.
Totals and averages are two functions provided. Other simple formulae
can be constructed by the user. New columns cannot be added after the
data has been collected and average and total functions will only work
on the column to the immediate left.
5.9
The data can also be displayed as a graph. e.g. velocity / time, but the
graph display does not offer all the options available on the analogue
program and they are not as well implemented. It seems strange that this
package should have two different graph drawing routines.
5.9
The recorded data can be displayed as a bar chart but this cannot be
printed. The user guide suggests that the graph will print out but this
did not appear as an option on the menu of the review version. Only the
table of values can be printed.
5.9
There is no facility to count pulses such as those from a Geiger unit or
other pulse sensors.
5.9
I found this section very limited and a very complicated way of using
simple time gates.
5.9
Guides and work cards
5.9
The package comes with a teacher’s guide, a user guide and a set of
pupil work cards. The user guide starts with a very simple and clear
explanation of the mouse and windows for first time users of the
Archimedes. There is a good menu by menu explanation of how the analogue
section works but I think that more explanation of the data analysis
section is needed, particularly on the construction of formulae for data
analysis. The digital section also has a menu by menu explanation, but
it requires more illustration of appropriate choices and again the use
of formulae to analyse data needs to be explained.
5.9
The teacher’s guide provides an excellent summary of the use of computer
based measurement in the school science laboratory.
5.9
The work cards are well presented on A4 laminated card. The twenty
experiments cover a wide range of ideas all suitable for science lessons
for 11 to 16 year olds. Each one covers the problem to be investigated,
questions that guide the pupil toward a solution, suggestions for the
appropriate probes and time intervals, questions to guide discussion
after the experiment is complete and suggestions for further
investigation.
5.9
Conclusion
5.9
Insight version 1.03 has some ragged edges. I particularly disliked
windows with scroll bars that don’t scroll and the unfriendly zoom on
the graph. The Analogue program is more polished than the Digital
program but it would be more useful if data from other sources could be
loaded and processed. The printout of both could be better. It would be
a big improvement if a program like this provided hot links to spread
sheets and graph drawing programs.
5.9
The links to LogIT also need to be improved to match the ease of use of
LogIT’s own software. Although the latter has only limited facilities
for analysis and printing, a new version is due for release early in
1992 and a review should follow shortly after.
5.9
Logotron are aware of these problems and hope to release a new version
soon to overcome them.
5.9
Insight has a lot of good points, particularly with its facilities for
data analysis and its guides and workcards.
5.9
Its main advantages are in the facilities available for data analysis
and that it is fully multitasking so that measurements can continue
while the computer is used for other tasks.
5.9
Insight is suitable for both GCSE and A level science work.  A
5.9
5.9
Design Concept’s Fonts and Programs
5.9
Steve Hayes
5.9
Design Concept’s programs and fonts were originally reviewed in Archive
4.8 p52 by Robert Christmas. Since then, Design Concept have improved
some of its fonts and programs and also created quite a few more. What
follows is an overview of Design Concept’s products and a review of the
additions and improvements.
5.9
Design Concept fonts
5.9
The fonts supplied by Design Concept are contained in a !MoreFonts
directory which, when clicked on, allows the fonts on the disc to be
‘added’ to the fontlist as selected in your normal !Fonts directory.
This is quite a useful feature and allows non-harddisc users a simple
method of accessing many fonts − more than one disc worth! Contained
within the !MoreFonts directory is an obey file called !OnlyHere which,
if run, selects only the fonts within the !MoreFonts directory to be in
the fontlist. The fonts are very reasonably priced at £2.50 for any one
font and £1.00 for additional fonts of the same family.
5.9
Almost all of the fonts have lots of skeleton lines and Scaffolding
(hinting). This improves the appearance of the letters especially at
small point sizes. The exception to this is Copperplate Bold and
DemiBold which appear to have little. I suspect that this may be because
the font is still under development − this subgroup do not appear in
Design Concept brochure. Interestingly, these two fonts printed out a
little smaller than the actual point size yet looked very good at 300
d.p.i. All the Design Concept fonts have excellent appearance when in
print and, even at smaller point sizes, the definition is good. Some of
the earlier fonts which Design Concept made have been added to and
improved. This, in some instances, is a subtle addition such as
characters 146 and 147. The full font sets is as follows:−
5.9
Acropolis (regular), Ainslie (regular, bold, oblique, bold oblique),
Beacon (regular, oblique), Celtic (regular), Copperplate (regular, bold,
demibold), Diamond (regular), Flip (regular), Goffik (regular), Hobart
(regular, oblique), Katiyo (regular, oblique), Khut (regular, oblique),
LCD (regular, oblique), Sparta (regular, oblique), Subway (regular),
Tron (regular, oblique), and Trust (regular, oblique, solid, solid
oblique).
5.9
The fonts are not PostScript compatible, although I suspect that many
Archimedes owners would not be affected by this. Some of the fonts could
be described as exotic, although I feel many of the fonts could be put
to many practical uses. The script fonts Copperplate, Ainslie and Flip
look particularly attractive. A small sample from several of the font
groups is shown overleaf.
5.9
All in all, I feel the Design Concept fonts are a very good buy for
anyone wishing to increase their font collection cheaply whilst
maintaining more than reasonable quality. My only criticism is the
problem with Copperplate mentioned above.
5.9
Design Concept software
5.9
The software which Design Concept sells consists mainly of utilities
which in some way will make our life at the keyboard / mouse easier.
5.9
Fontlist (Version 1.11) (£3) is a program for listing, in a drawfile,
all available fonts. It is quite useful for reference and for printing.
The point size can also be altered. I liked this utility.
5.9
Freehand (Version 1.24) (£5) allows you to create freehand drawings
easily and then save them as drawfiles. Various options determine the
mouse speed or thick/thin line preference. I found this easy to use
although practice was needed to produce a satisfactory drawing.
5.9
KeyCaps (Version 2.03) (£4) is a program which allows you to see what
your available fonts look like on screen in optional point sizes. This
was my favourite utility. I found it easy to use and liked the ease with
which I could quickly compare different fonts.
5.9
Killer (version 2.01) (£4) allows you to Kill(!) any program, appli
cation or window, i.e. to stop them running. It can even kill your disc
drive icons or the task manager! On the safer side, it allows you to
have complete control over any window whether or not the window controls
are on screen. This is quite a powerful utility but must be used with
care.
5.9
Muncher (£2) This program opens a window and draws a constantly changing
pattern. The utility works by drawing one part of its continually
changing pattern at every opportunity. If your programs are truly
multitasking, muncher should operate smoothly. It also helps to tie up
the computer and therefore slow other programs down if needed. I was not
overawed by this utility although I can see its uses.
5.9
Shade (version 1.31) (£4) This program allows gradient fills for Draw
files of up to 256 shades between two colours. This program has been
improved to allow easier colour selection. Unless your printer has
colour, grey shading is all you will be able to see.
5.9
Speedo (£2) This little program allows you to test the speed of
multitasking. It is designed to show up badly written software and its
inefficiency. The polling speed is shown in Hertz.
5.9
Back (Version 1.68) (£5) This is a more substantial offering. It has a
facility to display a sprite picture in the background on the screen
but, more usefully, it allows, with some setting up, various facilities
such as screen blanking and a menu on the background for running
applications or executing commands. It consists of a program
(!Buildback) to create the background menu you prefer and the main !Back
program.
5.9
Conclusion
5.9
I feel the software is good but with a few reservations. One is that a
large amount of PD and Shareware has been written for the Archimedes and
some of it is as good as and better than some of the applications here.
I wonder whether Design Concept would be better off releasing the
software in a similar manner to the Data Store utility discs, where, for
a set amount, you get all of the utilities rather than charge for small
individual offerings. I wouldn’t normally pay for small programs of this
size unless I was absolutely sure they were what I wanted. I can’t help
feeling that I wouldn’t know this unless I tried some of them out before
I bought them. This comment should not detract from the fact that the
programs are useful and are worth buying should they be what you
need.  A
5.9
5.9

5.9
5.9
The “screensaved” picture above shows the negative and the inverted
“altered” image.
5.9
5.9
The photo above was made from a typical 6 × 6 negative.
5.9
5.9
Roger Spooner of Design Concept says that all the fonts are now fully
skeletoned and some have scaffold lines. Copperplate has been upgraded
and the sizes are now corrected and even. Ed.
5.9

5.10
Portable Power is here
5.10
Acorn have finally released information about their new portable
computer − and it looks good, very good! Last week, we went down to
Cambridge for a hands-on session with the “Acorn A4”. The only stipula
tion Acorn made was that we should not publish anything before 1st July.
5.10
So this issue of Archive (which is slightly earlier than usual!)
contains eleven pages of detailed information about the A4. However, as
a result, quite a few reviews have had to be left for succeeding months.
I know it is frustrating not to be able to read reviews of all the
latest products (and doubly so for all those waiting for their own
reviews to be published!) but we judged that information about the A4
ought to take priority.
5.10
Very many thanks to all who have written reviews and articles. Once
again, there are a lot waiting to be published. I may have to do another
80-page issue to try to fit them in. However, I have done two 80-page
issues already this year and they are rather more expensive to print and
post.
5.10
Archive is on the up and up
5.10
I am pleased to say that, despite the recession, Archive subscriptions
are increasing. It seems that much of the growth is by personal
recommendation so, if you think that Archive is good, why not take
advantage of the offer on the back of the Price List and earn yourself
an N.C.S. voucher?
5.10
Eddy Roberts
5.10
It is with great sadness that I write of the death of my father-in-law,
Eddy Roberts. After a relatively short illness, he died of cancer in
early June. It is difficult to find the right words, but I just want to
express my gratitude for all that he has done for me and my family − and
for Norwich Computer Services. We loved him very much and will miss him
greatly.
5.10
Many thanks for all your expressions of love and concern.
5.10
Yours, as ever,
5.10
5.10
Products Available
5.10
•    Acorn Portable − The new Acorn portable computer is here! Turn to page
5 for full details.
5.10
•    Animals − The latest offering in 4Mation’s set of SmArt files is
Animals which provides nine animals with various backdrops to put them
on and a set of ideas for their use. The price is £16 +VAT from 4Mation
or £18 through Archive.
5.10
•    ARM3 prices down − CJE Micros have again dropped the price of their
ARM3 upgrade − this time to £169 +VAT or £195 through Archive. Aleph One
are maintaining their price of £199 +VAT on the basis of their belief
that it is a technically superior product. We are making a slight
concession to CJE’s price drop and reducing the Archive price of the
Aleph One ARM3 to £215. (The A3000 version remains at an Archive price
of £285 including 2-way carriage.)
5.10
•    Banner − Kudlian Soft have produced a RISC-OS compliant banner-maker
which uses outline fonts and RISC-OS printer drivers to create banners.
You can either print them on fanfold paper along the length of the
paper, or on page-based printers such as Deskjets or Laser Directs,
ready to fix together to make up a composite banner. The price is £15
+VAT or £17 through Archive.
5.10
•    BasShrink − After the review in Archive 5.8, Architype have modified,
improved and enhanced their Basic program compressor and produced
BasShrink 2.14.
5.10
•    Calligraph 600 d.p.i. laser − Calligraph are now selling a (true) 600
d.p.i. A3 size, 8 p.p.m. direct drive laser printer, the TQ-1200. This
is true 600 d.p.i. and, with image enhancement, can give a simulated
1200 d.p.i. (In the same way, the CC Laser Directs are really 300 d.p.i.
but with image enhancement give a simulated 600 d.p.i.) The TQ-1200 has
a 250 sheet paper cassette, can handle paper sizes from A6 to A3 and has
a 150 sheet multi-purpose feeder option which enables it to take
envelopes, transparencies, labels and also paper plates and Plazer
plates. You can also add an extra 250 sheet paper cassette for dual bin
use or for heavy network use. The output is VERY impressive. I am hoping
to do some blow-ups next month to show the difference between 300/600
d.p.i. printing and 600/1200. The price is £4995 +VAT from Calligraph or
£5650 through Archive. If you want to use it at full resolution, I guess
you will need a machine with at least 8M of RAM.
5.10
(•    Carewares 17 & 18 − There has been a delay in the production of
the two Careware discs we mentioned last month, so this is to say that
Carewares 17 and 18 are NOT available yet.)
5.10
•    CSVtoText − This application was written, initially, to solve the
problem of getting PinPoint output in CSV format and converting it into
a sensible format for putting into Impression. However, it can be used
for any such conversion from CSV to text. The price from Architype
Software is £9 for business, secondary or tertiary education and £5 for
home, primary, infant or junior schools. (A PD version of CSVtoText is
included on this month’s program disc.)
5.10
•    Eizo 9070’s − Yes, that does say “9070”. Eizo have found a number of
the very popular 16“ monitors that they discontinued in favour of the
new F550i. The rrp was £899 +VAT (£1056). We sold them at an Archive
discount price of £790 inc VAT (rrp’s on monitors are never very
realistic!) and can offer these monitors at £690. However, if you want
one, you will have to move fast − indeed they may all be gone by the
time this gets into print.
5.10
•    ExcellonDrill − Anyone using ArcPCB and having access to an Excellon
automatic drilling machine will be pleased to hear that Silicon Vision
have produced a driver to enable you to create drill files. The price is
£75 +VAT from Silicon Vision.
5.10
•    Floating point co-processor − If you want a 387SX floating point co-
processor for the Aleph One 386 card, they are available for £108
through Archive.
5.10
•    Gods − This is an arcade game converted from the Atari by Krisalis. As
Hercules, you have to search the depths of an ancient city in search of
immortality. The game boasts 15 different weapons systems plus 20
potions and power-ups plus a host of intelligent monsters. The price is
£25.99 from Krisalis or £24 through Archive.
5.10
•    Interface podules for A3000 − Commotion now sell two interface podules
for the A3000. The original user/analogue port podule at £49.95 +VAT is
now joined by a user/analogue/midi port podule at £79.95 +VAT.
5.10
•    Nebulus − Another arcade game from Krisalis. This one involves
destroying giant towers that someone has built in the sea. You start off
in your mini-sub and try to demolish the towers without getting wiped
out yourself. The price is £25.99 from Krisalis or £24 through Archive.
5.10
•    Ovation 1.3 − By the time you read this, Risc Developments should have
released an update to Ovation. This will now include mail-merge,
pamphlet printing, rotating pictures, First Word Plus importing and a
Thesaurus hotlink. The price is still £99 +VAT or £110 through Archive.
5.10
•    Removable hard drives − There has been another drop in the price of
the removable hard drives. The 42M drives are now down to £455 inc VAT
(cf Morley’s 42M at £499 +VAT) and the 84M down to £670 inc VAT (cf
Morley’s 84M @ £699 +VAT). The cheapest we could find elsewhere for the
42M drives was £449 +VAT = £527, so we are still keeping Archive’s
prices well below the competition.
5.10
•    RISC-OS Turbo Driver for BJ10ex − This is the first in a series of new
printer drivers produced by Computer Concepts. The idea is that they use
CC’s FastText rendering technique developed for the Laser Directs and
now benefiting users of other printers. They print up to three times as
fast as the standard Acorn printer drivers. The driver for the BJ10ex is
the first of a series and provides half tone printing in up to 128 grey
levels as well as plain text printing in any font style, portrait or
landscape. The drivers come bundled with twelve Acorn outline fonts plus
the Acorn outline font manager. The software plus lead costs £49 +VAT
(£53 through Archive) or you can buy it with the printer for just £249
+VAT (or £275 through Archive).
5.10
•    ScanLight Junior 256 − After a long delay due to difficulty of supply,
the ScanLight Junior 256 scanners are available again. Supplies are a
little bit limited because the demand is so high but, as of today, I can
say that they are actually “in stock”. There is also a price drop.
ScanLight 256 is now £199 +VAT or £225 through Archive.
5.10
•    Toner cartridges for Telethon − Are you wondering what to do with
those used toner cartridges? Surely, they should be able to be re-
cycled? Well, they can and you can make some money for the ITV Telethon
fund-raising marathon. The EcoCare Group will give about £3 to £4 per
cartridge to charity. If you live in East Anglia, they will collect the
cartridges from you − just ring 0263−513553 to arrange collection.
Otherwise, you can send your old cartridges to us and they will collect
them from here.
5.10
•    SPECIAL DEALS − One of the three Acorn distributors is closing down
and is selling off Archimedes hardware and software. For example,
Prolog-X, which sold at £179, is available for £25. Marconi Trackerballs
(normally £56) are £35. PrimeArt (was £87) is £25 and Numerator (was
£80) is £25. For a full list, see the extra sheet in the Price List.
5.10
Review software received...
5.10
We have received review copies of the following:
5.10
Aliped, Banner, !BBCLink, Control Logo (needs Longman Logo), Crystal
Rain Forest, CSVtoText, Diction, Disc Rescue, Graph-IT, ScreenTurtle,
Shareware 44, Shareware 46, Shareware 47, SmArt files in French &
German, Supermarket (English, French, German & Spanish).  A
5.10
5.10
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.10
At the end of last year, a close friend’s father died of cancer. During
the time of his illness, and after his death, I felt a real sense of
frustration at not being able to do anything to help. Not having been
through the experience of watching a loved one suffer and die, I could
only really guess at how she was feeling before and after his death.
5.10
However, as you will gather, we have just been (are going) through a
similar experience ourselves. We have found tremendous strength through
the love, prayers and practical support of our friends here in Norwich,
and our Archive friends, too! Your prayers too have been a great
strength to us over this difficult time − we don’t know how we would
have coped without all the support we have received.
5.10
The suffering we have been through has, in no way, lessened our faith.
Indeed, I just don’t know how people who don’t know God’s love in Christ
actually get through such times! I know that it doesn’t prove that
Christianity is true just because it helps me. Never-the-less, because I
believe that Christ’s claims are true, experiences like this help to
confirm the truth of the biblical claims.
5.10
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort
we ourselves have received from God.” 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 3
& 4.
5.10
5.10

5.10
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
0603−766592 (−764011)
5.10
5.10

5.10
5.10
Computer Concepts
5.10
From 5.9 page 32
5.10
5.10
Computer Concepts
5.10
From 5.9 page 33
5.10
5.10
Paul Beverley
5.10
5.10
ICS
5.10
New artwork
5.10
5.10
Acorn’s New Portable Computer
5.10
Paul Beverley
5.10
In mid-June, Adrian and I took a trip down to Acorn’s Fulbourn Road
factory where we were able to “get our hands on” one of Acorn’s new
portable computers. I’m sure you have lots of questions about it, so
I’ll see if I can answer them. I will start with some factual informa
tion including Acorn’s own spec sheet and then give some more subjective
views of what we think of the new machine and its future.
5.10
The name
5.10
The name of the new computer is the “A4”.
5.10
The size
5.10
The size of the new computer is also A4!
5.10
Lay a sheet of A4 paper on the desk and that is the footprint of the new
A4 computer. As you can see from the pictures on this page, Acorn have
gone for a fairly conventional layout with the LCD screen (no, sorry,
it’s mono, not colour) on the underside of a flip-up lid revealing an
83-key UK PC keyboard.
5.10
The basic specification
5.10
The A4 is in no sense a cut-down machine. It runs on a 24MHz ARM3 and
has 2 or 4M of RAM running at 12MHz; RISC-OS 3 is in a 2M ROM and the
display is VGA − 640 × 480. The hard drive is a 60M 2½“ IDE and the
floppy drive is 2M, as per the A5000, so it will handle all the Acorn
formats plus the MS-DOS formats up to 1.44M.
5.10
In other words, in terms of processing power, this is an A5000 in a
notebook case! It even has a bigger hard drive than the A5000 − 60M
instead of 40M.
5.10
The price
5.10
The basic configuration (model I) with 2M and no hard drive is £1399
+VAT (£1644) and the model II with 4M and a 60M hard drive is £1699 +VAT
(£1996). The education prices are £1099 +VAT and £1399 +VAT respec
tively. The price includes a mouse and a mains operated battery-charger.
5.10
The weight
5.10
The A4 with 60M hard drive and including the battery pack, weighs almost
exactly 3kg.
5.10
The wait (!)
5.10
How long will you have to wait to get hold of one of these new compu
ters? Well, official Acorn sources say that they will be going into
full-scale production in September. Basically, there will be just about
a couple of hundred made over the next month or so and then the full
scale production will start in September. What it boils down to is, if
you want one, send a cheque into us a.s.a.p. and we will service orders
in strict rotation as we get stocks.
5.10
The screen
5.10
The display is produced on an LCD screen 182mm × 137mm consisting of 640
× 480 cells. This is a so-called 9“ screen, i.e. 9” across the diagonal,
compared with the standard Acorn 14“ monitors which are more like 13”
across the diagonal. (The tube is 14“ diagonally but only 13” is used
for the display.)
5.10
The standard screen mode for the A4 is mode 27, the 16 colour VGA mode.
It is possible to display other modes but the low resolution modes like
12 and 15 come out as a half-height screen which is quite difficult to
read.
5.10
The technology used for the screen is “twin layer Formulated Twisted
Nematic”. (No, it doesn’t mean anything to me either!) What Acorn have
done is to write a special 15-grey-scale driver for the screen to get
the best effect of displaying a colour signal on a monochrome screen.
You may wonder why it is 15 and not 16 grey levels. This is explained in
a technical note at the end of this article but it is to do with the
fact that the grey scales are obtained on what is basically an on/off
matrix of pixels, by switching each pixel on and off all the time. It
leaves each pixel on for a greater or lesser proportion of the time in
order to give the effect of various shades of grey.
5.10
For those of you not familiar with LCD screens, it is worth pointing out
the limitation of this kind of display. First of all, you will find them
difficult to use where there is a high level of ambient lighting. The
display is artificially lit with fluorescent edge-lights. The brightness
of this lighting can be adjusted but, even at maximum brightness, as the
ambient light level rises, the display becomes less clearly visible
because of the lack of contrast.
5.10
The other limitation is that there is a slight time delay as the display
changes. This means that moving objects leave a track across the screen
− only for a fraction of a second, but it can render some software
(especially games!) unuseable on an LCD screen. The A4 has a standard
video output as well, so if your portable is to be used between, say,
two different sites and you can afford to have a conventional monitor
available at each, you can avoid the problems of having to use an LCD
screen.
5.10
To illustrate the limitation of the LCD screen, when we first sat in
front of the A4, we couldn’t find the pointer on the screen. How do you
find the pointer normally? Well, what I do is to wiggle the mouse about
and look for a moving object on the screen. If you try that on the A4,
you will never find the pointer! The only way to find it is to move it
hard over to the left of the screen and leave it stationary and look up
and down the edge of the screen until you find it. (An Acorn spokesman
said that, on the production machines, there would be a re-defined mouse
pointer which would be more easily visible.)
5.10
Connectivity
5.10
Working round the edges of the computer, on the front is an on-off
(rocker) switch and an LCD display of the battery state showing 20, 40,
60, 80 and 100% charge.
5.10
Along the right hand edge is the floppy drive and, underneath a flip-
down cover, a headphone socket, a socket for an external AT-type
keyboard (see under Comments below), a mouse socket and an RS232 serial
port. Apart from the external keyboard socket, these are functionally
identical to those on the A5000.
5.10
Along the back of the case, again hidden behind a flip-down cover, are a
standard bi-directional Centronics parallel printer port, a battery
charger input socket (9-pin D-type socket) and an external monitor
socket (15-pin D-type socket). There is also a reset switch on this back
panel.
5.10
The fourth side is where the battery pack slides out and it has a
removable cover where an Econet upgrade can be fitted. This is not the
standard Econet circuit board as used on all Acorn machines since the
Master 128. There is nowhere near enough room for a circuit board of
that size!
5.10
The only other controls are on the underside of the lid alongside the
LCD display. There are controls for the brightness and contrast of the
display − brightness being the strength of the side-lighting of the
screen − and five LEDs which are actually duplicated on the top of the
lid so that they can be seen even if the lid is down. The five LEDs are
power ON/OFF, battery state (see below), battery charger status and
activity light for the floppy and hard drives.
5.10
The battery and charger system
5.10
The battery lasts between about 2½ and 3½ hours depending on how much
use you make of the hard drive and how high you have the side-lighting
on the LCD screen. Charging takes about 7 hours from empty to full. You
can get a spare / replacement battery pack for £50 +VAT. The battery
packs have a finite life, said to be around 1,000 complete discharge/
recharge cycles.
5.10
The A4 has a sophisticated system for reducing power consumption. First
of all, there are obvious things like automatically switching off the
hard drive when not in use. This can be set to happen after 1, 2 or 5
minutes of non-use. (You can also force the drive to spin down by using
a keyboard short-cut.) The LCD screen switches off after a period of
non-use and there is also a mechanical switch which operates when the
lid is closed.
5.10
The more sophisticated system is the dynamic power management. What
happens is that, as long as the computer is doing something active, the
processor and memory operate at the full 24MHz and 12MHz. However, as
soon as the computer idles − even for, literally, a fraction of a second
− the speeds are dropped to 6 and 3MHz respectively, thus saving more
power.
5.10
If you want to keep track of the amount of power remaining in the
batteries, there are several ways. We have already mentioned the LCD
display on the outside of the case showing 20% charge bands. Then there
is the LED indicator referred to above. If it is green, it means it is
on trickle charge, amber means it is on quick charge, flashing green
means you have some sort of fault, flashing red means the battery is
getting low and blinking red means that the computer has been forced to
shut down!
5.10
The computer is quite intelligent about shutting down. If the battery is
getting low, it suggests, quite politely, that you ought to shut down or
plug in the power connector. If you ignore that warning (which is
difficult because the LED flashes, the screen flashes on and off and the
loudspeaker gives a double-bleep) it will, after a few minutes, shut
down automatically with the loss of any un-saved files. Some appli
cations, however, have been set up to take this eventuality into account
by providing an auto-save facility. When you subsequently start up the
system, a dialogue box will alert you to the fact that it has previously
been shut down because of battery discharge, so you can then go and see
whether your file(s) have been saved successfully.
5.10
The mouse
5.10
The mouse supplied with the A4 is a Logitech mouse, as are the ones
supplied with current machines, but it is a new design. It is, appar
ently, a “sculptured mouse”. In other words, instead of being angular
like the existing Logitech mice (which are shaped vaguely like a segment
of cheese, come to think of it!) it is rounded to fit into the palm of
the hand.
5.10
The keyboard
5.10
If Acorn have reduced the keyboard from 103 to 83 keys, does that mean a
reduced functionality? Actually, in some ways, the functionality has
actually increased − but let me explain, first of all, how the missing
functions have been implemented. It all revolves round a new key that
doesn’t appear on standard Archimedes keyboard − the <FN> key. If you
hold this key down, many of the existing keys take on a new definition
which is printed in green on the front side of the relevant key-tops.
5.10
Numeric keypad emulation
5.10
Because there is no numeric keypad (which actually accounts for 18 of
the 20 missing keys) Acorn have provided a numeric keypad emulation.
This is done by using <FN> (like <shift> or <alt>) with keys 7, 8, 9 to
give... 7, 8, 9(!), then U, I, O for 4, 5, 6, and J, K, L for 1, 2, 3.
The keys around them are used for the keys around the matrix of numbers
on the keypad.
5.10
It is obviously going to be a nuisance to have to hold down <FN> all the
time, so you can “go into FN mode” by holding down <FN> and pressing and
releasing <Numlock>. Repeating the process switches FN mode off again.
5.10
Mouse emulation
5.10
In case you don’t want to get the mouse out of its carrier, there is a
keyboard mouse emulation provided. Again you use <FN>, or switch into FN
mode, and then the cursor keys move the mouse pointer and <Q>, <W> and
<E> perform the functions of <select>, <menu> and <adjust>.
5.10
Extra keyboard functions
5.10
The addition of the <FN> key has enabled Acorn to provide some extra
functionality. There are hot keys: <FN-f9> inverts the video and <FN-
f10> blanks the screen and puts the hard drive to sleep. The <FN> key is
also used to make up for the lack of <f11> and <f12>. The <FN-f1>
combination is equivalent to <f11> and <FN-f2> simulates <f12>. So, for
example, you can shut down the computer with <ctrl-shift-FN-f2> which is
equivalent to <ctrl-shift-f12>.
5.10
The other way in which the keyboard is improved is via the use of the
<alt> key to give special characters including accented characters. For
example, <alt-4> gives ¼, <shift-alt-R> gives ®, <alt-M> gives µ, etc.
The accented characters are produced by using <alt> to generate the
accent followed by typing the character onto which the accent is to be
added. This includes acute, grave, circumflex, umlaut, tilde, cedilla
and the one on top of the Å whose name I do not know!
5.10
The case
5.10
The case is covered with grey ‘suedecoat’ epoxy resin bonded paint. This
gives a velvety look to the surface which is quite stylish. The only
clue to the contents of the box, when it is closed, is a single Acorn
logo. Once the lid is lifted, you can see the word “Acorn”, another
Acorn logo and, on the opposite side, the simple legend, “A4” − but
nothing to say whether it is a model I or a model II.
5.10
The carrying case
5.10
Acorn have produced a custom-designed carrying case for the A4 (costing
£35 +VAT). The main compartment of the case houses the A4 and has a
separate subsection for the mouse. On the inside of the lid of this main
compartment are pockets for floppy discs, pens, etc and a large pocket
that would take papers and/or thin manuals. There is then a separate
compartment, with its own zip opening, to take the battery charger and,
possibly, a spare battery-pack. One nice touch is that the case has both
a hand-grip and a shoulder strap − and the shoulder strap is easily
detachable via two very firm plastic clips.
5.10
Documentation
5.10
The A4 comes with a Welcome Guide, which includes a RISC-OS tutorial, a
RISC-OS 3 User Guide, a RISC-OS 3 Applications Guide and a Portable
Guide. This “portable guide” is well named as it is both a guide to the
portable, and also it is a portable guide − i.e. it is only about 25cm ×
10cm and would slip easily into a pocket or handbag. It is wiro-bound
and has sections marked with cardboard tags so that you can quickly turn
to the section you require. It does not seem to contain any information
that is not included in the A4 Welcome Guide but it represents a very
helpful extract from it for reference purposes “on the move”.
5.10
Acorn A4 Technical Specifications
5.10

5.10
Central processing unit
5.10
ARM3, 32bit RISC processor with integrated 4k cache, clock rate 24MHz
(6MHz in automatic powersave mode)
5.10
Memory
5.10
2Mbyte OS ROM.  2Mbyte RAM (model I), 4Mbyte RAM (model II)
5.10
    − 32bit datapath throughout, all memory directly addressable
5.10
    − clock rate 12MHz (3MHz in automatic powersave mode)
5.10
Floppy disc drive
5.10
3½“ 2Mbyte (unformatted)
5.10
    − 1.6M, 800k and 640k ADFS formats
5.10
    − 1.44M and 720k DOS formats
5.10
Hard disc drive (model II)
5.10
2½“ 60Mbyte formatted capacity internal hard drive (IDE interface)
5.10
    − auto-parking
5.10
    − automatic powersaving, software configurable spindown delay
5.10
Parallel interface
5.10
Industry standard Centronics® compatible (25pin D-type female)
5.10
    − low level bi-directional capability via OS interface
5.10
Serial interface
5.10
Industry standard RS232 (9pin D-type male, AT pinout)
5.10
    − 75-9600 baud via OS interface, software rate selectable
5.10
Sound system
5.10
Two channel, 7 position, 8 voice, full stereo sound system
5.10
    − compact internal mono speaker
5.10
    − stereo jack socket (32W 3.5mm, for headphones or amplifier)
5.10
Display system
5.10
Twin layer Formulated Twisted Nematic (FTN) LCD display panel
5.10
    − fluorescent edgelighter with brightness adjustment
5.10
    − 640 × 480 (VGA) pixel resolution
5.10
    − 182 × 137mm viewing area (4:3 aspect ratio)
5.10
    − 15 greyscale shades via Acorn patented greyscaling engine
5.10
Industry standard video interface (15pin VGA D-type female)
5.10
    − VGA, VGA+ (256 colour) and SuperVGA (800 × 600)
5.10
    − automatic monitor detection and identification
5.10
Keyboard
5.10
Internal 83 key UK PC layout with embedded numeric keypad
5.10
    − full 3mm travel, force reflex curve
5.10
External AT-type keyboard port (6pin miniDIN, PS/2 pinout)
5.10
Mouse
5.10
Three button ergonomically designed mouse, 200TPI resolution
5.10
Battery pack
5.10
1800mAh rechargeable Nickel-Cadmium, solid block construction
5.10
Mains supply / Charger unit
5.10
Separate mains supply / charger unit
5.10
    − quick and trickle charge rates under control of the power management
system         (around seven hours to full charge)
5.10
    − recharge time independent of system operation
5.10
    − auto-ranging mains input (100-240Vac), IEC320 inlet connector
5.10
Power management system
5.10
On-board independent microprocessor management of battery charging and
power utilisation enables battery life of between 2½ and 4hrs, dependent
on use)
5.10
    − minimises power consumption, even between keystrokes
5.10
    − user-configurable powersave settings for display blanking and hard
disc spindown delay
5.10
    − separate LCD five segment indicator reflects battery charge state
5.10
    − iconbar battery monitor provides graphical display of charge status
5.10
Networking
5.10
Via optional Econet network interface module
5.10
    − full Econet network filing system included in RISC-OS ROM
5.10
Operating System
5.10
(in 2Mbyte ROM plus applications on disc)
5.10
RISC-OS 3.10 second generation co-operative multi-tasking Operating
System, executing directly from     ROM
5.10
    − seamlessly integrated graphical WIMP user interface
5.10
    − almost instant availability (no loading from disc)
5.10
    − secure (far harder to corrupt than disc-based operating systems)
5.10
    − uses substantially less RAM and disc space than disc-loaded
alternatives
5.10
    − key base applications, outline font manager and three font families,
integrated multi-tasking file management system and interactive help
application –         all in ROM
5.10
    − multiple character sets (ISO8859 Latin1 to 4 and Greek)
5.10
    − additional applications suite (pre-installed on hard disc model)
5.10
In ROM:
5.10
Task and memory manager, palette utility and Basic V language
5.10
Alarm    − clock and multiple alarm application
5.10
Calc    − simple four function desktop calculator
5.10
Chars    − facilitates input of any characters from the set
5.10
Configure    − desktop and system configuration utility
5.10
Draw    − object orientated drawing package
5.10
Edit    − fully featured text and Basic program editor
5.10
Help    − window based context sensitive help application
5.10
Paint    − pixel and sprite editor
5.10
Pinboard    − enables objects to be ‘pinned’ to the desktop
5.10
On disc:
5.10
a number of applications including:
5.10
PrintEdit    − create new dot matrix printer definition files
5.10
FontPrint    − downloads font definition files to PostScript® printers
5.10
Printers    − printer manager, supports multiple independent printers
5.10
Squash    − file, application and directory compression utility
5.10
Maestro    − create, edit, play and print music definition files
5.10
SciCalc    − fully functional desktop scientific calculator     application
5.10
ChangeFSI    − high quality image manipulation application
5.10
T1ToFont    − converts Adobe® T1 font files to RISC-OS outline fonts
5.10
Manuals (included)
5.10
    − Comprehensive Welcome Guide (including RISC-OS tutorial)
5.10
    − Portable Guide (ready reference to key aspects when on the move)
5.10
    − RISC-OS 3 User Guide
5.10
    − RISC-OS 3 Applications Guide
5.10
Physical
5.10
Robust polycarbonate main unit enclosure, sub-micron copper plated with
nickel overplate inside and out; ‘suedecoat’ epoxy resin bonded paint on
external surfaces.
5.10
Computer unit: 297 × 210 × 53mm, weight 2.3kg (excluding battery)
5.10
Mains supply unit: 147 × 74 × 44mm, weight 420g (excl. 2m mains lead)
5.10
Battery pack: 140 × 111 × 25mm, weight 720g
5.10
Mouse:  100 × 60 × 30mm, weight 120g (including 1.8m lead)
5.10
Environmental
5.10
Operating: +5 to +35°C, 10 to 80% RH, up to 2,500m altitude
5.10
Non-operating: −10 to +60°C, 5 to 95% RH, up to 10,000m altitude
5.10
Standards Compliance
5.10
Designed, manufactured and type-tested to EN60950 (BS7002).  Manufactur
ing facility registered to BS5750 part 2.
5.10
Options
5.10
ALA67    Shoulder bag – for ease of transporting system, manuals, charger
unit and accessories such as spare battery packs − £35 +VAT
5.10
ALA60    2 Mbyte RAM upgrade (i.e. model I upgrade to 4 Mbyte) − £110 +VAT
5.10
ALA62    60 Mbyte internal Hard Disc upgrade − £350 +VAT
5.10
ALA65    Additional battery pack − £50 +VAT
5.10
ALJ22    Acorn A4 Technical Reference Manual £65 (no VAT)
5.10
AKA70    PC Emulator (v1.8) £99 +VAT
5.10
Comments
5.10
Looking at the information we have got so far about the A4, various
thoughts come to mind − here they are, as random jottings...
5.10
The opposition
5.10
I went along to the local Apple Centre to have a look at the Powerbook
series of computers − the direct rivals to the A4. The A4 is certainly
more powerful than the mid-range 140 series Powerbooks and is roughly
comparable with the top-end 170 series. Certainly, the screen display of
the A4 is very noticeably faster than the 170 although, having a maths
co-processor, the 170 may have the edge on computation speed.
5.10
To set the comparison in context, the Powerbook 140 with 4M RAM and a
40M drive costs £1995 and the 170 with 4M RAM and an 80M drive is £3150
− getting on for twice the price of the 4M/60M A4 at £1699. Remember too
that 4M ram on an Apple is NOT equivalent to 4M on an Acorn machine. The
operating system on the Apple consumes a huge amount of RAM (in contrast
to Acorn’s OS which is in ROM and uses RAM only for workspace) and the
Mac applications take up a lot more RAM than Acorn’s applications. For
example, on a 4M Mac, I could only just fit PageMaker and MS Word with
not a lot of room to spare.
5.10
The display resolution of the Powerbooks is only 640 × 400 − even on the
170 series − whereas the A4 is 640 × 480. The 140 series screens seem to
be the same as the A4 in terms of the way that moving objects are rather
blurred. However, the 170’s screen uses a different type of LCD screen
which seems much more responsive and doesn’t have the same blurring
effect on moving objects.
5.10
External keyboard
5.10
What a good idea it was to provide the facility for an external AT-type
keyboard! Now anyone who wants a really top-notch keyboard can buy one
and can attach it to an A4. For high-speed secretaries used to using
high-quality keyboards, this is good news. (I wonder if this means that,
when RISC-OS 3.10 appears, we will be able to add an AT keyboard to the
A5000? The hardware is there already − it’s just a question of whether
we will be able to get at the RISC-OS code needed to run the external
keyboard.)
5.10
Wot! no trackerball?
5.10
Acorn have gone against the norm by choosing to provide a mouse with the
portable and not a trackerball as, for example, with the Powerbook
computers. They have a 64-key keyboard at the back of the case with a
trackerball right in the middle of the front of the case. The idea is
that, as your fingers are over the keys, your palms can rest on the
edges of the case and your thumbs are over the trackerball. I didn’t
like this arrangement as it requires a completely different technique
for operating the trackerball − very different from the way you use a
mouse. It certainly wouldn’t have worked well for the RISC-OS desktop
because of the use of three buttons instead of the Mac’s single button.
5.10
In the circumstances, I think the choice of a mouse was a wise move. The
case is VERY tightly packed already and the addition of a trackerball
would have necessitated a bigger case. Also, it is difficult to see
where, ergonomically, you could have placed a three-button trackerball
relative to the keyboard.
5.10
If you only want to start up an application and get typing, the
keyboard-mouse simulation will be quite adequate and if you really need
to do some heavy mouse-work, all you need to do is find a space to lay
down an A4-sized book and do your mousing on the back of that − it forms
quite an effective mouse mat for the Logitech mice because they use
rubber balls.
5.10
All-in-all, I think it was sensible to go for keeping the mouse-addicts
happy at the risk of incurring the wrath of trackerball fans. In any
case, they can still take their trackerballs along with them and plug
them in instead of the mouse. (Does anyone know of a smaller, self-
contained trackerball than the rather bulky Marconi one?)
5.10
Connectivity issues
5.10
One possible criticism, especially when comparing with the Powerbooks,
is the lack of connection to an external hard drive. The Powerbooks have
a SCSI drive (albeit rather slower than the A4’s IDE drive!) and also
have a connector for an external SCSI drive. This makes transferring
data to and from the portable much easier than on the A4.
5.10
Acorn would argue that you can use the Econet interface for data
transfer but that’s no better than the Powerbook which has an Appletalk
connector. Also, what about customers who have a single Archimedes of
some sort and want to use it with an A4? It isn’t going to be economical
for them to buy a complete Econet system just to transfer files from one
to the other.
5.10
What we need is some enterprising programmer to write an RS232 filing
system and sell it with an appropriate lead to link two Archimedes
computers together. At 9,600 baud you would be transferring at about 8
kbytes/second and if the file transfer had automatic compression/
decompression, this could probably be doubled. (There is no shortage of
processor speed at either end!)
5.10
The only other possibility I can think of is using the Centronics
interface, which is bi-directional. However, this would only work
between A4 and A5000 as they are the only Acorn computers that have the
bi-directional facility. I have no idea what sort of speed could be
achieved. Does anyone else know?
5.10
Stone me! Literally a couple of hours after I wrote that last section, I
was given details of Atomwide’s forth-coming “RemoteFS”. This is a
filing system that will allow two computers to access each other’s
drives independently, from the desktop as a multi-tasking background
task. The physical link could be two modems or a direct RS232 link,
Ethernet interfaces or a direct connection via the parallel port . The
latter interface would give transfer speeds in excess of 300 kbytes/sec
i.e faster than ST506 hard drives and about the same speed as a small
SCSI hard drive.
5.10
“Ah, but the A4 only has an Econet interface, not Ethernet” − if you
hang on, there will soon be an Ethernet interface for the A4 that runs
via the parallel printer port − those clever chaps at Atomwide again!
5.10
Both products are supposed to be available in the fourth quarter 1992,
i.e. they should be in good time for the A4 itself.  The cost of the
software plus a parallel printer cable will be “somewhere in the region
of £50”.
5.10
Hardware notes
5.10
For those interested in the internal hardware of the A4, the first and
most obvious comment is that the circuit board is very compact.
Virtually all that goes on an A5000 pcb has been fitted into a space no
more than 280mm × 85mm. (The A5000 keyboard measures 300mm × 240mm and
the 2M to 4M upgrade is on a separate p.c.b.)
5.10
We didn’t dare take a screwdriver to the portable we were examining (one
of only two at Fulbourn Road at the time) so all we could do was to lift
off the hatch into which the Econet interface is fitted. The RAM seems
to consist of four 1 Mbyte RAM chips and the 2 Mbytes of ROM are set up
on an amazing header mechanism so that the ROM chips are actually
stacked on top of the RAM chips. There is an auxilliary ROM socket (as
on the A5000) and that contains a ROM with the battery manager utility
and a few other portable-specific modules in it.
5.10
The only other point to note is that all the components that we could
see, apart from the ROMs, were, not surprisingly, soldered directly to
the circuit board.
5.10
Software notes
5.10
It may be of interest to some of you to see the modules list for the A4.
Those in italics do not appear, as far as I can see, on the A5000.
5.10
MOS Utilities    3.10 (30 Apr 1992)
5.10
Podule Manager    1.26 (09 Dec 1991)
5.10
FileSwitch    2.08 (15 Apr 1992)
5.10
ResourceFS    0.14 (12 Mar 1992)
5.10
UK Messages    0.45 (03 Apr 1992)
5.10
MessageTrans    0.23 (30 Mar 1992)
5.10
Territory Mgr    0.13 (25 Apr 1992)
5.10
UK Territory    0.18 (30 Apr 1992)
5.10
Window Manager    3.16 (30 Apr 1992)
5.10
Desktop    2.43 (02 Apr 1992)
5.10
Task Manager    0.75 (25 Apr 1992)
5.10
!Alarm    2.37 (24 Apr 1992)
5.10
!Calc    0.52 (01 Apr 1992)
5.10
!Chars    1.13 (01 Apr 1992)
5.10
!Help    2.19 (01 Apr 1992)
5.10
Printers    0.34 (23 Apr 1992)
5.10
ADFSFiler    0.61 (23 Apr 1992)
5.10
ARM3 Support    1.09 (11 Dec 1991)
5.10
BBC BASIC V    1.05 (10 Apr 1992)
5.10
BASICTrans    1.00 (05 Mar 1991) English
5.10
Buffer Manager    0.22 (14 Apr 1992)
5.10
Colour Selector    1.07 (15 Apr 1992)
5.10
Debugger    1.39 (13 Apr 1992)
5.10
DeviceFS    0.26 (09 Mar 1992)
5.10
Drag A Sprite    0.03 (12 Dec 1991)
5.10
Drawing Module    1.05 (03 Mar 1992)
5.10
FileCore    2.41 (06 Apr 1992)
5.10
ADFS    2.67 (28 Apr 1992)
5.10
Filer    1.64 (23 Apr 1992)
5.10
FilerSWIs    0.03 (04 Mar 1992)
5.10
Font Manager    3.07 (30 Apr 1992)
5.10
FPEmulator    2.87 (09 Dec 1991)
5.10
Free    0.21 (11 Apr 1992)
5.10
Hourglass    2.08 (27 Mar 1991)
5.10
IIC    0.12 (28 Apr 1992)
5.10
International    1.24 (22 Apr 1992)
5.10
IRQ Utils    2.50 (11 Sep 1989)
5.10
NetFiler    0.72 (03 Feb 1992)
5.10
NetStatus    2.06 (01 May 1991)
5.10
Obey    0.29 (23 Apr 1992)
5.10
Palette Utility    0.45     (24 Mar
1992)
5.10
Parallel Device    0.34 (17 Mar 1992)
5.10
Printer sharer    3.18 (30 Mar 1992)
5.10
Printer driver    3.28 (31 Mar 1992) for bit image printers
5.10
PDumper Support    0.11 (23 Apr 1992)
5.10
PDumperDM    0.34 (25 Apr 1992)
5.10
Int’l Keyboard    0.31 (04 Mar 1992)
5.10
Pinboard    0.50 (23 Apr 1992)
5.10
PipeFS    0.13 (11 Dec 1991)
5.10
Portable    0.29 (22 Apr 1992)
5.10
RAMFSFiler    0.28 (12 Mar 1992)
5.10
ResourceFiler    0.12 (03 Feb 1992)
5.10
ROM Fonts    0.14 (01 Apr 1992)
5.10
RTCAdjust    0.03 (27 Mar 1991)
5.10
ScreenBlanker    2.15 (25 Apr 1992)
5.10
Serial Device    0.21 (06 Mar 1992)
5.10
Serial Support    0.17 (03 Feb 1992)
5.10
ShellCLI    0.25 (10 Dec 1991)
5.10
SoundDMA    1.20 (01 Mar 1992)
5.10
SoundChannels    1.27 (22 Apr 1992)
5.10
SoundScheduler    1.17 (30 Apr 1992)
5.10
SpriteExtension    0.46 (23 Apr 1992)
5.10
SpriteUtils    1.09 (10 Dec 1991)
5.10
Squash    0.21 (27 Feb 1992)
5.10
SuperSample    0.07 (12 Dec 1991)
5.10
System Devices    1.25 (02 Sep 1991)
5.10
TaskWindow    0.47 (23 Apr 1992)
5.10
Window Utils    2.50 (11 Sep 1989)
5.10
Filter Manager    0.08 (22 Apr 1992)
5.10
WaveSynth    1.13 (20 Mar 1992)
5.10
StringLib    1.11 (23 Mar 1992)
5.10
Percussion    1.10 (23 Mar 1992)
5.10
C Library    3.99 (23 Apr 1992)
5.10
Filer_Action    0.29 (13 Mar 1992)
5.10
!Configure    1.41 (30 Apr 1992)
5.10
!Draw    0.88 (25 Apr 1992)
5.10
!Paint    1.61 (23 Apr 1992)
5.10
!Edit    1.44 (09 Apr 1992)
5.10
DOSFS    0.43 (26 Apr 1992)
5.10
BatMgr    0.07 (25 Apr 1992)
5.10
Technical note
5.10
Tim Caspell of Acorn answers two technical questions about the LCD
display.
5.10
“Why 15 greyscales, not 16?”
5.10
RISC-OS maps the 8 grey tones and 8 colours through VIDC into a
luminance value. Greyscaling is then achieved in hardware using a ratio
of OFF to ON time. This ratio has to be sensible and 50:50 mid-grey is a
sensible mid-point to achieve the best contrast. Accordingly, the
hardware divides the 100% ON and the middle 50% ON point into 8 shades
and then inverts to achieve the other 8 shades. Thus 50% ON, inverted,
is also 50% OFF, i.e. greyscales 7 and 8 are the same shade:
5.10
100% ON         50% ON   50% OFF       100% OFF
5.10
|                    |   |                    |
5.10
0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7 = 8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15
5.10
                      ——-
5.10
              identical mid-grey
5.10
“Why not 32 or even 64 shades?”
5.10
Time domain multiplexed greyscaling is a compromise between contrast
ratio and the onset of perceptible flicker or graining. It becomes
progressively harder to distinguish between adjacent shades as the
number of shades increases, but flickering of individual pixels becomes
more obvious on passive display technology as the ON time becomes
shorter relative to the OFF time at a given frame rate. The font manager
uses only 16 shades for good anti-aliased text and little is gained by
doubling the number of shades whilst flicker starts to become apparent.
5.10
Conclusion
5.10
Compared with the opposition − the Apple Powerbooks − the A4 looks
really impressive. Once again, in terms of speed (and that includes
processor speed, display speed and hard drive speed), Acorn’s RISC
technology wins again. If you need high computational speed for maths-
intensive applications, the 170 series may have the edge over the A4 −
but it costs nearly twice as much.
5.10
My only reservation is whether there are enough people out there who
actually need (want?) a portable. Will Acorn sell enough to pay for the
development costs? If you just want a portable for remote text entry,
the Z88 represents a cheaper alternative, albeit with an inferior
keyboard. Is a powerful portable like the A4 more than just an executive
toy? (I’d be interested to hear your views on this issue.)
5.10
Anyway, if you do want a “real” portable computer and not just a remote
text entry system, the A4 is a winner − it is a portable power-house!  A
5.10
5.10
The
5.10
Acorn A4
5.10

5.10
An A5000
5.10
 in an
5.10
A4-sized
5.10
box
5.10
5.10

5.10
keyboard
5.10
5.10

5.10
3½“ drive
5.10
5.10

5.10
battery pack
5.10
5.10

5.10
2½“ hard drive
5.10
5.10

5.10
main p.c.b. (280mm × 85mm)
5.10
5.10
The A4’s basic layout showing how Acorn have squeezed the A5000 quart
into an A4 pot.
5.10
5.10
    Powerbook 170    Acorn A4
5.10
RAM    4M    4M
5.10
ROM    Start-up only    2M
5.10
Hard drive    80M    60M
5.10
Display    640 × 400    640 × 480
5.10
Keyboard    64-key    83-key
5.10
Input device    Trackerball    Mouse
5.10
Price    £3150    £1699
5.10
Education price    £2362    £1399
5.10

5.10
5.10
Powerbook
5.10
photo
5.10
5.10
A4
5.10
(reduced from page 5 picture to same size as powerbook)
5.10
5.10
A4 computer photograph with the background masked out.
5.10
Make it as big as possible without getting too close to the text.
5.10
5.10
A4 back view
5.10
arranged as you think best
5.10
5.10
A4 side view
5.10
arranged as you think best
5.10
5.10
Minerva
5.10
From 5.7 page 11
5.10
5.10
Hints and Tips
5.10
•    RISC-OS 3 & DOS filenames − DOS filenames (including extensions) are,
in general, longer than the maximum length of a valid ADFS filename (10
characters). It is not always possible to copy or move DOS files from
hard disc partition or floppy discs directly to the ADFS.
5.10
The !MultiFS utility, as supplied with the PC Emulator, solves this by
allowing you to truncate the DOS filename while the translation process
takes place. Another very useful option (which I often use when copying
files from C programs) is to force !MultiFS to handle DOS extensions as
directories (hierarchical).
5.10
However, when the filetype of a DOS partition on your ADFS hard disc is
set to ‘DOSdisc’, RISC-OS 3 will display a filer window for the
partition when you try to open the folder, while !MultiFS just ignores
it (i.e. no :C drive on the iconbar). This is all very nice but RISC-OS
3 doesn’t offer the nice name translation options mentioned above. To
enable !MultiFS to display your DOS partitions just set their filetype
to ‘data’ before you start !MultiFS. Remember to use the command line
and not the filer menu, because the latter doesn’t allow you to change
the filetype of DOSdiscs. I inserted three lines for each DOS partition
in the !MultiFS !Run file to swap between ‘DOSdisc’ and ‘data’ type
partitions when !MultiFS is started:
5.10
*Filer_CloseDir <PCe$Drive_X>
5.10
*SetType <PCe$Drive_X> Data
5.10
directly after setting the system variable <PCe$ Drive_X>, and
5.10
*SetType <PCe$Drive_X> DOSDisc
5.10
at the end of the !Run file (although the comment tells us not to do
so).
5.10
Unfortunately, there are some bugs in !MultiFS: When you copy to a
MultiFS filer window, you must ensure name translation is not set to
hierarchical, otherwise you will end up with wildcards (‘?’) in
filenames. When this happens, you must use DOS itself to delete the file
because RISC-OS fails to wipe those objects. Another bug appears if you
shut down your system after using !MultiFS. This results in an error
report and a task manager crash.  Paul Groot, Holland.
5.10
•    Sprite does not exist error − In answer to last month’s query in the
Help! section, the ‘Sprite does not exist’ error only occurs with the
old version of the printer drivers. It can be solved by simply using a
later version of the printer driver e.g. v2.44 or later (as per
Shareware Disc 17).
5.10
Progammers take note: The error is cause by programs that print sprites
using their names and not their pointers.
5.10
Many thanks to all those who called − too numerous to mention!
5.10
•    High resolution PostScript? When printing sprites to !PrinterPS, the
resulting output may be lower quality than, for example, a 600 dpi
LaserDirect (using !ShowPage), even when printing at 300 dpi. A solution
is to change the configuration file of !PrinterPS to make it think the
resolution is higher e.g. change the ‘pxres’ and ‘pyres’ parameters to
600.  J Thorn, Cardiff.
5.10
•    Problem with Font$Path − I recently experienced a problem with
Impression 2.16 that took a long time to solve. The problem manifests
itself by Impression, on starting, reporting an error ‘Not Found’. If
you select OK to continue, the following error is reported ‘Illegal
window handle’ and at this point you have to quit, because continuing
results in the second error message. After about two hours of trying to
find the problem − as the error messages are not particularly helpful −
I discovered that the problem lay with Font$Path.
5.10
I have two !Fonts directory, one with a small number of outline fonts
and one with a large number. Also, my second font directory pulls in the
fonts in my first directory by use of the Font$Path variable. I had
moved the locations of these directories from an Apps folder to the root
folder of my hard disc and this was causing the problems. The ‘Not
Found’ error is caused by Impression not finding the first directory in
the Font$Path and the second error is caused by the fact that a Font
Menu can’t be created, as the specified directory does not exist.
Indeed, most applications that support outline fonts will also give
similar error messages.
5.10
I have written a small program (on this month’s program disc) that will
test the validity of Font$Path and a call to this program should be
placed as the last line in any !Fonts.!Run file. A copy of FontTest will
need to be copied into all !Fonts directories i.e.
5.10
| !Run file for !Fonts (version 0.11, 10-May-89)
5.10
|
5.10
Iconsprites <Obey$Dir>.!Sprites
5.10
|
5.10
| Kill newer versions of Font Manager
5.10
|
5.10
RMKill FontManager
5.10
RMKill SuperSample
5.10
|
5.10
RMEnsure FontManager 2.42 RMLoad <Obey$Dir>.Fonts
5.10
RMEnsure SuperSample 0.04 RMLoad <Obey$Dir>.Super
5.10
|
5.10
SetMacro Font$Path adfs::
5.10
HardDisc.$.!Fonts., <Font$Prefix>.
5.10
Set Font$Prefix <Obey$Dir>
5.10
|
5.10
<Obey$Dir>.FontTest
5.10
The program firstly checks that Font$Path exists and then reads the
environment variable and checks its size. The length of this variable
has to be greater than zero for it to point to a valid !Fonts directory.
5.10
It then checks that every reference in Font$Path points to a valid
directory. This is done by an OS_File call (line 680) which will return
2 if the filename given is a directory. If the file reference does not
exist, an error will be generated and the Fonts directory !Run file
needs to be modified.
5.10
I have included an example of the problem on the program disc in the
‘Example’ directory. If you click on !Fonts2 an error will be generated
as the Font$Path contains a reference to a file !Fonts3 (not a direc
tory). Andrew Ferguson, London.
5.10
•    ArcFS and sticky backdrops − I have a backdrop application on my
machine with all the sprites for the various applications held in an
archive in order to save disc space. In order that the sprites can be
seen, in theory they should be de-archived first. Thanks to my son,
Neil, I have the following set of ArcFS commands in the !Run file of my
!Boot application on the hard disc.
5.10
RMEnsure ArcFS 0 RMLoad System: Modules.ArcFSMod
5.10
RMEnsure ArcFS 0 Error I cannot find the module
5.10
OpenArchive <Boot$Dir>.SpriteLib Sprites
5.10
IconSprites ArcFS#Sprites:$. !Sprites
5.10
CloseArchive Sprites
5.10
C Walker, Wymondham.
5.10
•    Elite Commanders − On this month’s program disc, there is a program
which allows you to edit Elite commander files. There are also three
commander files with missions to accomplish. S Edwards, Stourbridge  A
5.10
5.10
Help!!!!
5.10
•    386 podule printing?  Has anyone else had problems printing from the
Aleph One 386 PC card?  C E Watt Ltd, Sunbury-on-Thames.
5.10
•    Archway − Is there anyone out there who could offer help to Archway
users? Simtron seem unable to help − they are too busy developing the
RISC-OS 3 compatible version to be able to help users of existing
versions, it seems. Would anyone be interested in forming an Archway
Users’ Group? If so, please make contact via the Archive office and we
will pass names and addresses on to interested parties so that you can
organise yourselves. Perhaps someone could do an Archway article or
series of articles − a sort of “ArchLine” or whatever.
5.10
•    Basic V rounding errors?  Does anyone have a program, perhaps in
assembler, which avoids the rounding errors caused by the Basic V STR$
command?  Contact E Hollox, 78 Grove Lane, Holt, Norfolk  NR25 6ED.
5.10
•    Fonts − Does any one know of any good screen fonts and/or outline
fonts which can be licensed at a reasonable price, or is there an artist
out there willing to design some?  Contact Peter at Storm Educational
Software, Coachman’s Quarter’s, Digby Road, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3NN
(0935−817699).
5.10
•    PC link-up − Has anyone successfully linked up an Archimedes (A5000 in
particular) to (dare I say it?) an Amstrad PC? I want to be able to
transfer files directly using the LinkMaster system under the PC
emulator.  B. B. Warren, Lymington.
5.10
•    Science teachers’ Shareware − If you have any science programs or
support materials, please send them to Oliver Linton, Greenacres,
Quatford, Bridgnorth, Shropshire  WV14 6QG. It could be a worthwhile
investment. (See Archive 5.7 p53 for more details.)
5.10
•    Using !FontEd − When using !FontEd to set up a completely new font,
does any one know how to set up the corresponding IntMetrics file?  £10
sent to charity for the first reasonable explanation!  Contact Ronald
Alpiar, 84 Dudsbury Road, West Parley, Dorset  BH22 8RG or telephone
0202−575234.  A
5.10
5.10
Colton
5.10
From 5.9 page 28
5.10
5.10
Comment Column
5.10
•    Archway support − Am I the only one having problems with Archway? I’m
not saying that the program is useless − quite the contrary. It’s just
that when I do have problems and try to ring Simtron to get some answers
to my problems, all I ever get is an ansaphone. Has anyone managed to
get any software support from Simtron? Is there an Archway users’ group?
Could someone form one? (I’d like to, but haven’t got the time.)  Tim
Edwards, Northampton.
5.10
Tim’s comments are, sadly, fairly typical. We cannot even help people
who subscribe to our Technical Help Service as we don’t use Archway
ourselves and we cannot find anyone who does use it and who would be
able to field questions. Can anyone help? Ed.
5.10
•    Eriksson/Brightman speed comparisons (See Archive 5.9 p29) − There is
a need to be specific about the hardware if these things are to be of
any use. The article compared an Intel 486 with the A540. Was that a 25,
33 or 50MHz 486? It makes a world of difference. You also tested a 486
“+ coprocessor”. The standard 486DX has the maths coprocessor built in,
so what does this mean? Maybe that you weren’t using a DX but the cut
down 486SX which lacks the coprocessor and may be clocked as slow as
16MHz? No, Acorn machines feature secondary cache but so do most high
end PCs. It can easily make a 50% difference on CPU/memory benchmarks.
Was there any and if so how much? On PCs, hard disc and screen perfor
mance have got little to do with CPU power − it has much more to do with
bus architecture, speed and bandwidth, access time, hardware disc
cacheing and so on. Saying that the machine is a 486 conveys nothing on
these matters. As it is, there’s comfortably a boiled-down performance
differential of 400% between the extreme possibilities for the machine
you were matching with the A540.
5.10
Brightman, of course, is right in his point that interpreter-based
benchmarks tell you next to nothing about the underlying hardware unless
you can run the same interpreter on all the target machines. That was no
problem for the PCW benchmarks, since they were always testing PCs using
GW Basic, but with Archimedes versus other architectures, you’ve got no
common language implementation, even when you’ve got a common language.
The idea, for instance, that an ARM3 is intrinsically 5 times faster at
integer maths than any i486 would be fantasy, although that’s what your
first test table would suggest.
5.10
Sadly, however, Lawrence is too credulous when it comes to using diverse
compilers to pace diverse machines. His own C benchmarks have the
striking feature that on all the tests which appear to reflect CPU/
memory function (i.e. the first four), the 25MHz ARM3 comes in slower
than the cached 33MHz 386, while all those which reflect peripheral
performance, or floating point emulation, make the ARM3 substantially
faster. Five years ago, by common consent, the 8MHz ARM2 was faster than
the 25MHz 386, so it is difficult to believe that trebling the clock and
putting 4K of primary cache on the processor have achieved so very
little.
5.10
In fact, the Archimedes lack-lustre showing on CPU/memory function
reflects the relative merits of the two C compilers and not the
capabilities of the hardware. Dhrystone is the key metric of CPU/memory
performance. (Ackermann, Int Math and Sieve are frivolities by compari
son.) Here we have a rating of 10,204 for the cached 386 and a mere
8,620 for the ARM3. The 386 figure was doubtless delivered by a rather
good American 80x86 C/C++ compiler − the competition among them is
savage and has bred quality. The ARM3 figure was obtained, I suggest,
with the Beebug C Development System, about which one can only say that
it is rather inexpensive. For preference, I use the Acorn C compiler and
with it I get different results. A vintage 1988 A310 with an ARM3
upgrade, but still of course running the old 8MHz memory bus, tops
15,400 Dhrystones/sec in mode 12, courtesy of Acorn C Release 3 or 4. In
mode 1, it beats 16,100 (exact numbers varying slightly from run to
run). An A5000 with the new 12MHz memory system rates above 18,200 in
mode 12. Turning off all the default compiler optimisations (which
incidentally is explicitly NOT demanded by the Dhrystone spec) makes
precious little difference to this result. To get down around Lawrence’s
number I have got to disable the ARM3 cache.
5.10
We cannot meaningfully (never mind effectively) isolate relative
processor performance from the efficiency of language implementations.
The only alternative to talking language-based benchmarks is to talk
MIPs, and MIPs aren’t portable: one ARM MIPs is not the same quantity of
anything as one Intel 286 MIP or one IBM 3090 MIP. This does not mean
that the goal of making objective comparisons across diverse architec
tures is hopelessly compromised but it does mean that comparisons have
to absorb the language variable. Adopt a stable and searching benchmark
like Dhrystone (for integer), one with goals it can defend against a
specially optimised compiler; then it is reasonable to say that a
machine is as fast as the best compilers can drive it. On that basis,
the A5000 would be around 80% faster in CPU/memory function than a very
fast 386. That is technically credible. For further context, the Compaq
Deskpro 486/25 rated around 19,000 Dhrystones/sec in the Byte Benchmarks
(although any 486DX will walk away from the ARM3 at floating point
maths, thanks to the integrated FPU).
5.10
Exercises such as Lawrence’s, need to employ language implementations
which at least are not materially worse than the best, and the language
variable needs to appear in the picture. To be sure, hardly any
Archimedes owners will be any the wiser for knowing which compilers
produced the figures used to compare it with a 386, but let’s face it,
the game of inter-architecture metrics − irresistible as it is to
enthusiasts in all camps − just does not yield any useful information
that the technically innocent reader can understand without a lot of
help.  Mike Kinghan, Oxford
5.10
•    MIDI − I’ve often wondered about the actual size of the Acorn market.
It would be interesting to know just how many copies (of various
software titles) have actually been sold (registered?!). I would
particularly like to know just what level of interest there is in MIDI,
in Archimedes circles, e.g. how many copies of Inspiration, Studio 24+,
Rhapsody, etc are actually in use.
5.10
MIDI is very well supported on the Mac/ST/PC and, to a lesser extent, on
the Amiga but the Archimedes just doesn’t exist in the eyes of the major
MIDI software producers. One of these, a German company (Steinberg
Research) has ported its world-famous ‘Cubase’ sequencer from the ST to
the Mac and now also the PC, so it’s not a case of these software houses
dealing with just one brand of computer. With the Archimedes’ apparent
popularity in Europe, I find it surprising that Steinberg (at least)
have not ventured onto the Archimedes.
5.10
Most of the companies which support the Mac/PC are based in America,
where Macs/PCs are cheaper than Archimedes are here, so they’ve no
reason to write for the Archimedes (or to even consider it). I’ve harped
on about this subject before but the level of my frustration grows as
time passes. I bought an A310 in March 1988, upgraded to an A410/1 and I
now have an A5000 (i.e. I like Archimedes). However, this may well be my
last Archimedes machine. MIDI is failing to happen on the Archimedes
whilst, on the Mac, the applications are getting better all the time
(some quite astounding, though at a price). I’d prefer to stay with
Archimedes, as I share Paul Beverley’s opinion that the Archimedes is
better than the Mac in terms of its firmware, price and useability. (The
smaller Mac Quadra costs about £5,500 and that’s without a hard disc or
monitor!) A number of MIDI sequencers on Mac, PC and ST platforms can
now operate alongside a 16 bit A-D-A card providing 2 or 4 channels of
CD-quality digital audio recording at the same time as MIDI data
recording and playback.
5.10
Paul has done more than his fair share in terms of promoting DTP on the
Archimedes (with the help of a really strong product like Impression).
To effectively promote MIDI on the Archimedes, a sequencer of the same
calibre as Impression is needed. Pandora’s Inspiration showed a lot of
promise and was definitely a move in the right direction, though the
support and development has not been forthcoming − a great shame, in my
view. EMR’s Studio 24+ deserves a mention, though it is targeted mainly
at the education sector, which is EMR’s forte.
5.10
The MIDI standard itself has developed since its inception in 1983. In
particular, ‘General MIDI’ proposes a standard whereby each MIDI voice
change message will select a voice of a predetermined type (string,
piano, flute, etc) irrespective of the manufacturer of the synthesizer
device. This is aimed squarely at multi-media applications where a tune
could be sure of having the piano parts played by a piano and flute
parts by a flute whether using a Roland, Yamaha, Korg or whatever
synthesizer (provided it sports the ‘General MIDI’ logo). If multi-media
is to take off on the Archimedes (as it hopefully will) the state of
MIDI will have to improve, if we’re not to lose out to the Macs and PCs
in this new race. MIDI is a fascinating marriage of music and computers,
and it can be very satisfying to produce ‘works of art’ which can sound
just as professional as many of the pieces you’ll hear on the radio.
David Lenthall, Walworth, London.
5.10
•    PD TeX − The JANET address we gave last month (page 7) for obtaining
the public domain TeX program was, apparently, wrong. Instead of:
5.10
[e-mail]
5.10
it should have been:
5.10
[e-mail]
5.10
Sorry if we caused any confusion, but we had no way of checking whether
the information we were sent was correct. Ed.
5.10
•    Power Search − Part 3 − In Michael Holder’s article last month there
was a typographical error caused by pasting the text in and out of
Impression. On page 57, in Pattern Program 1, the first line should have
been
5.10
“{”heading“ Off}
5.10
and not
5.10
“{{ Style ”Heading“ Off}.
5.10
It was the curly brackets that confused Impression! Sorry about that.
Ed.
5.10
•    Software support − (Dave Clare writes...) I am writing in connection
with the Pipeline Column (Archive 5.8 p17 ff) which I consider to be
grossly misleading, incorrect and unprofessional.
5.10
On page 18, Gerald Fitton states that ArcWriter, Graphic Writer and
Acorn DTP are no longer supported by the writers. I cannot speak for the
others but for Graphic Writer this is totally untrue. In fact, we issued
a new release only last week to deal with its use on RISC-OS 3. Had your
reporter checked his facts with us then he would have known this.
5.10
As a reputable software house, I am most annoyed at Gerald Fitton’s
implications of lack of support. It may be uneconomical for us to
support older packages but this is a service that we provide to our
customers as a matter of good business practice. In fact, we even
support all of our BBC products right back to the first release 10 years
ago.
5.10
On page 19, Gerald Fitton says “without revenue from new sales, Schema
will not be supported by the writers for long. I believe that Schema 2
will not be developed simply because revenue has or will ‘dry up before
then.“ Where does Mr. Fitton get his information from? He certainly does
not have access to our sales figures, so how can he make such ridiculous
statements? Nor does he have access to our plans for software develop
ment of Schema or any other product.
5.10
I am not prepared to say, at this stage, what our plans are for future
products but I can say that what Mr. Fitton is saying is total hogwash.
His comments about our products and others are not based on knowledge
but on speculation and his comments are dangerous and harmful to our
industry in general and to Clares in particular. I am amazed that you
chose to print such an article in Archive.
5.10
Most of the software houses in the Acorn world offer backup on their
products. I have always been satisfied when contacting other software
houses as a user. It is no fluke that most of the top Archimedes
suppliers were also supplying software for the BBC all those years ago.
5.10
I trust that you will make the position of Clares clear to your readers
and I am sure that most of the other software houses will be in
agreement and offer similar service to their customers. If they don’t
then the customer has the ultimate sanction of not purchasing any more
products from that company.  Dave Clare, Clares Micro Supplies.
5.10
Gerald Fitton replies... I am grateful to Dave Clare for having written
to Archive about my May 1992 article. I’m not sure who originated the
saying “There is no bad publicity” but I first heard it said by
President De Gaulle. Let’s hope that both Dave’s company and my PipeLine
Column will benefit from an airing of our views but let’s also hope that
readers of Archive will have revealed to them a greater truth than
either Dave or I could bring to them on our own.
5.10
Dave considers my article “grossly misleading, incorrect and
unprofessional”. Let me start with the easy bit. We all make mistakes
and for my errors I sincerely apologise.
5.10
One advantage for the readers of a magazine such as Archive is that,
when I make a mistake there is always someone out there to tell me about
it; the subject is aired and the readers benefit. For example, I had no
idea that Graphic Writer had been upgraded to run under RISC-OS 3 and
(although it might be a risky surmise on my part inviting further
criticism of my remarks) I suspect that many Archive readers have now
had this brought to their attention for the first time. (Dave’s letter
was the first time I heard about the Graphic Writer upgrade and we still
(on 22nd June) have not had a press release about it. Ed) I look forward
to a review appearing in Archive. Making mistakes that can be put right
is called ‘gaining experience’.
5.10
Now for something which was harder for me to take − “misleading”. Well,
I hope not. Perhaps some of my words failed to express what I meant as
clearly as I believed they had − so let’s try again. In the world of
Acorn products there are very few (if any) disreputable software houses.
Certainly, it was not my intention to imply that any of the companies
whose products I mentioned were in any way disreputable. In particular,
Clares have a very good reputation for good products and good product
support. The point which I was attempting to make was that, however
honourable the supplier, if the company fails to generate new revenue
from profitable products, it will be unable to continue its support for
“older packages” that “may be uneconomical” (I quote from Dave’s
letter). It is fortunate for users of Clares “older packages” that
Clares has ‘new’ profitable products which ensure the continued
existence of that support.
5.10
As an aside, another of my points was that support for PipeDream 3 (such
as a telephone help line at Colton Software) does not necessarily mean
further development of PipeDream 3. There are products that I, and I’m
sure many Archive readers, have bought which were produced by honest
suppliers (whose names are now history) and for which current support is
no longer obtainable not because of any wish to cheat the customer but
because those companies no longer exist.
5.10
What I was trying to get across was that part of the money you pay for
an upgrade from PipeDream 3 to PipeDream 4 is paid as an expression of
your faith in continuing user support for both PipeDream 3 and
PipeDream 4 from Colton Software. My (only partly) substantiated view is
that when it is explained to potential users, they would rather pay a
bit more for a product which they believe will get continuing support
into the future than they would pay less for a product which they
believe will not ‘last’ as long.
5.10
Finally, the part that hurts − unprofessional. Well, I suppose in the
sense that all contributors to Archive give their services freely, I am
truly an Amateur. However, I’m sure that that is not what Dave means.
Let me take the proverbial Bull by its proverbial Horns!
5.10
Schema is a direct rival to PipeDream and I am well and truly biased in
favour of PipeDream. Let me be completely unprofessional and say that it
is my unsubstantiated belief that most readers of my PipeLine column
will accept that I am totally biased in favour of PipeDream. What I
expect is that they will take into account my irrational bias when
reading my comments about the future of Schema. I am sure that this
exchange (Dave’s letter and my reply) will give readers of Archive
something to think about. In particular, I’m sure that many more of
those people who have not yet bought a spreadsheet will have a good look
at Schema and treat all my remarks about it with well deserved (and even
invited) scepticism.
5.10
To underline my total bias and lack of professionalism, let me get one
last comment in about PipeDream versus Schema. What Schema could do with
is a Schema-Line in Archive − come to think of it, wasn’t one proposed
in a reader’s letter to Archive a couple of month’s ago? (James Buckley
tried to start something in February Archive 5.3 p27 but there was
little or no response. Another mention in Archive 5.5 p14 brought little
response either. Ed)
5.10
In conclusion, let me repeat my thanks to Dave for airing his views. It
is such exchanges of diverse views which leads to greater truth and I
welcome such opportunities; maybe Dave does too (see De Gaulle’s
remark). My intention was to be a little controversial, even biased but
not malicious. I intended to lead readers to an understanding of the
life cycles of different types of products and services − I hope I
succeeded − but I’m sure we’ll both find out soon after our letters are
published!
5.10
It was not my intention to upset Dave (or anyone else) and, to the
extent that I have done so, I am truly sorry. Gerald Fitton, Abacus
Training.
5.10
•    Whither Acorn? etc − I accept regretfully that we shall have to wait
for the “new machine” before we get 3×8 bit colour. You ask why we want
it. Certainly I cannot use the colours effectively (I am colour-blind!),
but I would like to be able to render greys at more than 16 levels
without fudges and dithers. I have a colleague who really needs this for
his work on images of the eye. I also suspect that we shall “need” it
when we have it! How often does any Archimedes owner sit down first at
their old model B? I could even write this letter with a pen − but you
would not be able to read it!
5.10
Frustrating as it is to have to wait, I think that Acorn users are in
better shape than their DOS (or Mac) counterparts. We have a 32-bit
machine which has been largely stable in its hardware since its
introduction and which has an operating system about four years old
which gives very full downward compatibility and still beats the
opposition. The opposition have a constantly-evolving set of processors
which have been 32-bit for a while, but whose programs and operating
systems are largely written down to earlier standards and which benefit
from the modern chips largely by their raw speed, rather than their
internal sophistication (complexity?). They still have no competitive
operating system, not Windows, nor OS/2 nor System 7.
5.10
We should also be sensitive to some inevitable facts and remember what
has really happened. The bigger the change in complexity of systems, the
longer it takes to make full use of them. The step from 8-bit to 32-bit
processors was a very large one and, as I suggest above, the process of
digestion is still incomplete in other computing circles. It has been
quite slow in the Acorn world also. Arthur was a stop-gap operating
system which made the ARM chip set do everything a Master could do
(ADFS, etc) and supported windows. We loved to write little graphics
programs and to wonder at the speed of it all, but we word-processed
under the 6502 emulator using View or Interword. Then we got Arc-Writer
for free and wished we hadn’t, and a discount on First Word Plus.
PipeDream 2 competed with Logistix and various other PC “ports” did
their jobs and the delete key did not and the backspace arrow did.
Euclid was, if I remember rightly, the first program to use the WIMP at
all seriously.
5.10
RISC-OS 2 was a huge improvement and gave us a usable form of multi-
tasking. RISC-OS 3 offers a little more, but packs in some applications
and tidies up some loose ends and supplies a few wishes. We have some
outstanding programs at good prices and are still getting major new
applications: Art-Works, for example. It is only two and half years
since Impression became available and it has been stable and widely used
for only about 18 months. Most users are still finding ways to get the
best from it, and will be for some years to come. Good, powerful
programs take time to write even if their authors are very clever and
hard-working. They also take time to use to advantage and although the
fun of learning a new package and doing unheard-of things with it
diminishes, the usefulness increases, albeit more slowly. The machine we
have is a little less exciting than it was a couple of years ago and we
still need some really good software, especially a database manager of
true quality but it is only less exciting because we are used to it. I,
for one, look forward to affording a personal direct-drive laser printer
and some more software.
5.10
If the next or next-but-one machine is halfway to a supercomputer, we
shall still be hoping to run Impression and Art-Works on it: faster and
prettier, by all means, but we shall not be expecting a newspaper page
layout program or virtual reality games on release day. I hope it is a
sort of supercomputer, with facilities for an ARM for each application,
fancy threaded multi-tasking and multi-processor task-sharing for the
hard jobs, but if it is, the beast’s life will be long because no-one is
about to put that sort of power into your spectacle frames with a head-
up display so that you can compute as you walk along the pavement or
produce the Starship Enterprise’s computer for you to chat to.
5.10
Five years from model B to Archimedes was technologically reasonable but
the finances collapsed and threatened the project. Seven years from
Archimedes to whatever is next is reasonable too, provided that next is
really quite a big change. It is good news that there have been no
horrible “flops” in between. (Remember the B+ and the Master compact, to
say nothing of the Acorn Business Machine?) Certainly, it would have
been nice if A5000 had had a new VIDC, but it just does all the old
things a bit better and for a more reasonable price. It is the Master to
the A310’s BBC B. It and the portable should keep Acorn afloat until the
next big step. Let us hope it will be as amazing as were the model B and
the A310 in their day. Perhaps we shall have to be satisfied running
“ports” from a Cray until the real stuff arrives in five or eight
years!  Mike Hobart, Cambridge.  A
5.10
5.10
PipeLine
5.10
Gerald Fitton
5.10
This month I want to concentrate on printing from PipeDream since, over
the last two years, it has resulted in more correspondence than any
other single topic. First, though, here are a few other points.
5.10
Charts
5.10
If you can produce a good chart with PD 4, you can win a prize from
Colton Software. The figure called Humber Bridge has been created that
way; it looks even better in colour. The file of data producing it is on
the Archive monthly disc.
5.10
Labels
5.10
The current version of PD 4 is version 4.13. Send both your program and
examples disc to Colton Software for a free upgrade. In the Labels
directory of the Archive monthly disc you will find a file called
[labelsheet] which was inadvertently omitted from early copies of PD 4.
5.10
Options
5.10
Peter Blenkinsop has sent me a letter which I have included on the
Archive monthly disc. It describes an application which keeps a record
of the choices that students have made for their option subjects and
generates lists from the data.
5.10
Future support for the Archimedes
5.10
Have I stirred up a hornet’s nest? Your views on the future of the
Archimedes and Acorn are certainly strongly polarised. You believe one
attractive feature of the world of the PC is that there is “lots of
software and hardware available” but you also believe that, with a few
notable exceptions, when it comes to specialised packages (e.g. DTP or
spreadsheets) the software available for the Archimedes outclasses
software for the PC in performance and often in price. Most of you, but
not all, believe that the Desktop compares favourably with Windows 3.1
(and equalled by the Mac). With the exception of the Archimedes computer
itself, you seem less sure about hardware (such as scanners), particu
larly if you are interested in colour. The ARM 3 hardware upgrade and
the RISC-OS 3 operating system receive unstinted praise, ARM 3 more than
RISC-OS 3 but that might reflect their relative availability rather than
their value.
5.10
However, I am sure I detect an undercurrent of apprehension about future
support for Archimedes users. The basic concept of the Archimedes (a 32
bit reduced instruction set computer with up to 32M of RAM, ‘64 colours’
and the potential for ‘multi-tasking’) is now as old as Acorn’s original
BBC was when the Archimedes was launched. What is the next revolution?
Is it parallel processing distributed amongst many machines or
ARM chips? Is it multi-media (CD-ROMs full of data)? Will you want to
buy it? What would you use it for if you bought it? One thing all of you
are most positive about is that, unless you can ‘export’ your personal
data files to packages (maybe different ones from the ones you use now)
which run on the next generation of machines, you won’t buy one!
5.10
What has this to do with PipeDream?
5.10
If you own PipeDream then I think that you can be more confident about
the exportability of your data files than with most other Archimedes
packages. Why? The track record of Colton Software starts with PD 1.
That first version of PipeDream was called View Professional and ran on
a BBC computer. With a minimum of modification, all data files created
in View Professional will still load and run in ‘current’ versions of
PipeDream.
5.10
I believe that, if Acorn develop a Socrates (philosophical), Newton
(mathematical), Gaussian (probabilistic) or even a Cantor (infinite
arithmetic) machine, Colton Software will be there with their
‘SmokeRing’ or ‘Mirage’ package. Furthermore, I am sure that you will be
able to ‘export’ to Acorn’s newest machines the personal accounts
application which you first tinkered with using View Professional,
enlarged into a useful spreadsheet with PD 2, made into a multi document
application when you bought PD 3 and then later added easy to read
charts and custom function analysis with PD 4.
5.10
Printing from PipeDream
5.10
Enough of these visions of the future. Back to printing in the present.
What happens when you print from PipeDream depends on whether you have
selected printing to be “Parallel” or “RISC-OS”. You select which form
of printing you want from the dialogue box which pops up when you hold
down the <Ctrl> key and tap <P> (upper or lower case) and then <D>
(usually referred to as <Ctrl-PD>).
5.10
PipeDream printer driver printing
5.10
If, when you execute <Ctrl-PD>, the first dialogue box reads “Parallel”,
this form of printing is that referred to in the PipeDream user or
reference guide as “PipeDream printer driver printing”. You have to use
a suitable PipeDream printer driver, the name of which is either typed
into (PD 3) or is an option selected from (PD 4) the second dialogue
box. Although it is possible for you to start with a blank sheet and
define the characteristics of your PipeDream printer driver (from within
PipeDream) it is almost certain that you will find that one of those
supplied with PipeDream (or made available by PipeLine contributors)
will suit your printer. For example, most dot matrix printers use the
Epson codes, so you can use the FX80 printer driver for all of those.
Another printer driver supplied suits daisy wheel printers such as the
Juki and yet another the Hewlett Packard range (LaserJet, DeskJet, etc).
You will find one of the printer drivers supplied with PipeDream a good
starting point for developing your own if you feel you must.
5.10
One important thing which you must understand about using PipeDream
printer drivers is that PipeDream does not receive any information from
the printer. In particular, it does not receive information about the
width occupied by a printed character and so it is more than a little
difficult to reproduce on the screen character widths used by a printer
printing proportionally-spaced text. I am often asked how to generate
fully justified proportionally spaced printing using a PipeDream printer
driver. The quick answer is, “With very great difficulty and very
unreliable results”. My strong advice to you about PipeDream printer
driver printing is that you use it only for evenly spaced (ie mono
spaced) printing. Fonts such as Courier, Pica and Elite (found on
printers) are monospaced.
5.10
I suggest that, if you are going to print using PipeDream printer
drivers, you should use only the System font for the screen display. If
you do this, you will find that, in mode 12, a PipeDream screen
(including the borders) will accept a page width of 72 characters
without losing anything off the right hand edge of the screen. If you
use condensed printing, you might find a mode 16 screen useful.
5.10
So, you might ask, “If you can’t use all the clever features provided by
the more sophisticated printers then what are the advantages of
PipeDream printer driver printing?” The answer is that it is fast. This
is because only one 8 bit ASCII code is sent to the printer for each
letter printed. Typically, a page of A4 requires about 3,000 characters
to be sent to the printer and this takes seconds. The speed of printing
is limited by the printer, rather than the speed of data transfer, and
printing takes place at about a line of text per second.
5.10
The major disadvantage of PipeDream printer driver printing is that you
cannot print any graphics (draw files, sprites or charts) and this is
something that, with increasing frequency, many of you now want to do.
5.10
RISC-OS printing
5.10
RISC-OS printing does not use any of the text features of the printer.
In fact, each printed letter is created out of a thousand or more small
dots. Typically, there are about 300 dots per inch both across and down
the page. Some printers produce sharper outlines than others, not
because of the so called ‘resolution’ (measured in dpi, the number of
dots per inch) but because of the diameter of the dot. For example, it
is possible using an Epson FX80, which uses 8 pins, to print at a
resolution of over 200 dpi but the effect is generally ‘blurred’ because
the dot diameter is substantially larger than a 200th of an inch. The 24
pin printers are much better at the same resolution because the dots
have a smaller diameter. Better still are the bubble and ink jet
printers because the dot diameter is even smaller. Laser printers have a
dot diameter not much larger than a 300th of an inch, so printing at 300
dpi produces a ‘crisp’ outline.
5.10
A page of A4 is about 8 inches by 11 inches and typically each square
inch will contain 300 by 300 (= 90,000) dots. I will save you the
arithmetic; this is about 8 million dots per page. When RISC-OS
printing, not only do these 8M bits have to be sent to the printer in 8
bit bytes but also the values of the 1 million bytes have to be computed
by the Archimedes! A million bytes for a RISC-OS printed A4 page is
about 300 times greater than the 3000 bytes required for PipeDream
printer driver printing. No wonder it takes ten minutes or more to RISC-
OS print an A4 page.
5.10
Generally, what frustrates you is not so much the actual time it takes
to RISC-OS print but the fact that printing is not multi-tasking. By the
way, even in RISC-OS 3, printing from most applications, including
Impression and PipeDream, is still not multi-tasking. Well, as we shall
see, something can be done about that but first a bit more about the
support that PipeDream needs if you are to use RISC-OS printing.
5.10
Fancy fonts
5.10
There are two (some would say three) types of fancy fonts available for
the Archimedes. If you have RISC-OS 2, resident within the ROM chips, is
a ‘bit-mapped font manager’ together with some typefaces (I’m not sure
how many) including Trinity and Homerton. This is the first type of font
and, although you may get acceptable results on the screen, you will not
get good results when you come to print. The reason is that each letter
is designed as a fairly course matrix of dots which probably doesn’t
match your printer resolution. If these are the only fonts you have,
RISC-OS printing will give poor results. I still receive many letters
from readers who are using RISC-OS printing of bit-mapped (RISC-OS 2 ROM
based) fonts asking why their printed results are so bad. If you have
this problem then read on.
5.10
The second font manager is generally referred to as the ‘Outline font
manager’. Most people who have this second system received it, together
with a ‘starter’ set of typefaces (including Trinity and Homerton), as
part of a desk top publishing package such as Impression or Ovation. It
is supplied on disc as an application directory called !Fonts. Each
character is ‘drawn’ as a set of Bezier curves similar to a Draw file.
It is only after being drawn at the correct size that the character is
converted to a bit-map (dots) at exactly the resolution required by the
printer (a similar, faster but slightly less accurate process is used
for the screen display). You will see that, using this approach, the
printer receives the ‘best’ dot pattern for every character at every
point size.
5.10
Now here’s a solution to the ‘poor quality printing’ problem which has
been the subject of much correspondence. The !Fonts directory must be
shown to RISC-OS 2 before PipeDream is installed on the icon bar
otherwise PipeDream may use the ‘old’ bit-mapped font manager. The
outline font manager, but without any typefaces, is supplied with PD 4
but not with PD 3. The outline font manager will use the bit-mapped
fonts in the RISC-OS 2 ROM set (e.g. Trinity and Homerton) if it cannot
find those typefaces within the !Fonts application directory. Perhaps
you can see that, if you first install PipeDream and then use your
Impression fonts disc to ‘show’ your fonts to the operating system, you
might get ‘bit-mapped’ fonts (from the RISC-OS 2 ROMs) rather than
‘outline’ fonts (from the Impression disc) sent to the printer by the
RISC-OS printer driver! Not what you wanted (or expected). I bet I’ll
still get letters about it though!
5.10
What some would call the third type of font is just a variant of the
second. It is the font manager supplied with RISC-OS 3 on the A5000. It
is possible that RISC-OS 3 will be available as an upgrade for earlier
Archimedes by the time this article reaches you. (Nope, sorry, not yet!
Ed.)
5.10
(By the way, when it does become available, RISC-OS 3 is a straight
plug-in replacement for the RISC-OS 2 chips on those ‘cheap’ A540
machines still available from NCS; another reason why an A540 is such a
bargain!) (I still have a couple left, but when these ones have gone, I
don’t think there will be any more available for as little as £1925 inc
VAT. Ed)
5.10
You can use the RISC-OS 3 font manager with RISC-OS 2 fonts but the
RISC-OS 3 font manager supports new features such as auto-kerning. The
RISC-OS 3 ROM set includes improved versions of Acorn’s ubiquitous
Trinity and Homerton typefaces which (I believe) make use of these new
features.
5.10
One point I must make about RISC-OS 3 is that, if it ‘sees’ them, it
will use modules from disc rather than modules from ROM because it
assumes that they are newer. I can foresee problems here for PD 4 users
with RISC-OS 3. Do not use the font manager supplied with PD 4 (or
Impression for that matter − delete it from your working disc) if you
want to use the RISC-OS 3 font manager.
5.10
RISC-OS printer drivers
5.10
If you want to use the RISC-OS option (rather than PipeDream printer
drivers) to print from within PipeDream then you need not only an
outline font manager and some outline fonts but also a RISC-OS printer
driver. Once again, most people who have these, received them with a DTP
package such as Impression but the chances are that, when you had your
Impression (or whatever) upgraded, you did not get the RISC-OS 2 printer
drivers upgraded! The early versions still work OK but they are
generally much slower than the later versions.
5.10
RISC-OS printer drivers are not supplied with PD 4 but Acorn’s latest
printer drivers are supplied as part of the RISC-OS 3 ROM set. I do not
know if the RISC-OS 3 drivers work with RISC-OS 2 but I know that the
RISC-OS 2 printer drivers will not work with RISC-OS 3. I suggest that,
if you do intend to upgrade to RISC-OS 3, it might be as well to wait
for that chip set with its new font manager, fonts and printer drivers
before expending time and effort tuning up your RISC-OS 2 system.
Perhaps the Archive Editor has some idea of how long you’ll have to
wait. (September would be my guess. Ed.)
5.10
You should be able to obtain recent versions of RISC-OS 2 printer
drivers from your ‘local Archimedes supplier’ (available from N.C.S. as
Shareware 17) but, if you do have problems, write to me and I will let
you know the best way of obtaining them.
5.10
Background printing
5.10
When you RISC-OS-print from within PipeDream (or Impression for that
matter) the printing ‘takes over’ the machine so that it stops multi-
tasking − it stops you doing anything else.
5.10
One excellent way of speeding up printing is to use a Laser Direct.
These consist of a ‘bare’ laser printer and an expansion card which fits
inside the Archimedes. I am told that it is possible to RISC-OS print a
page of A4 in a minute or two rather than the ten or fifteen minutes
taken by a more typical laser. (Mine takes 20 or 30 seconds. Ed.)
5.10
If you haven’t got, or can’t afford a Laser Direct then try the
following method which will ‘work’ for a single A4 page but is not
likely to work if you want to print much more than a single page
(because you may run out of memory).
5.10
From within PipeDream, set your printer dialogue boxes to RISC-OS-print,
not to the printer, but to a file. You should give the file a name; such
as [PrintFile]. I suggest that, if you have enough memory, it is best to
set up a RAM disc of about 1200k and save the [PrintFile] generated to
the RAM disc. If you don’t have enough memory but do have a hard disc,
save to that. It is unlikely that an 800k floppy will have enough space
to accept the rather large file and, in any case, floppies are slow.
Although the ‘print to disc file’ operation takes over the machine (so
that it will not multi-task), the time it takes is only a fraction of
that taken when printing to the printer. You will probably find it
acceptable. You can now drag the [PrintFile] onto the installed
!PrinterLJ (or !PrinterDM) icon and printing will proceed in the
background, allowing you to continue using the machine for something
else. Beware, the files generated are large, typically 1M per A4 page
using a 300 dpi resolution.
5.10
Although it does not give the same benefit, you can save a PipeDream
printer driver ‘printed’ file to disc and then drag it to the installed
!PrinterLJ icon. I have not tried it but I have been told that you can
‘queue’ such files by dragging them one after the other onto the
!PrinterLJ icon. (If you do try any of these techniques, with or without
success, please let me know how you get on so that I can report your
findings to others.)
5.10
Printing problems
5.10
Using PipeDream printer drivers, the problems range from difficulties
printing top bit set characters correctly (such as the £ symbol) to an
inability to select a non-default typeface at the printer. These
problems usually go away with a little gentle adjustment to the
PipeDream printer driver.
5.10
The most common problem with RISC-OS printing (excluding those I have
mentioned above) is spare blank pages. Generally this is because of page
length mismatches. One method which is often successful with both
PipeDream and Impression is to reduce the size of the image sent to the
printer. Change the scale in the Print scale dialogue box to, say, 97%.
The longer-term solution is to adjust the page size either at the
printer itself (on some printers you can set the page size with dip
switches) or by using the page and border settings in the RISC-OS
printer dialogue boxes.
5.10
If you have a printing problem, even better if you have a solution too,
then please write to me and I’ll include your remarks in a future issue
of PipeLine.
5.10
In conclusion
5.10
In many of the paragraphs above, I have referred to Impression as well
as PipeDream. In this, I have been encouraged by the correspondence you
have sent me. It seems that many of you who have PipeDream and read this
PipeLine column also have Impression; many of the comments you have made
to me apply to both. As I said earlier, I must be careful not to upset
the Editor (who has a dedicated DTP column) but by all means write to me
about those things which PipeDream and Impression have in common and I
will see what I can do.  A
5.10
5.10
Apricote
5.10
From 5.9 page 20
5.10
5.10
Spacetech
5.10
From 5.9 page 6
5.10
5.10
Vector − A Winner on RISC-OS 3!
5.10
Tord Eriksson
5.10
Writing a review of a piece of software that you really like is often
more problematic than writing an angry, defamatory piece.
5.10
Vector, programmed by Jonathan Marten of DrawPlus fame with contribu
tions from Mike Matson, Paul le Beau, Don Slaven and Geoff Preston, all
from 4Mation, is a program that I like enormously and will probably
spend hundreds of hours using.
5.10
At £85 +VAT from 4Mation it is not cheap but for those who like vector
graphics (i.e. in draw format), it is just perfect! This is especially
so for the owners of RISC-OS 3, as some features are not available with
RISC-OS 2.
5.10
So, if this review is overly critical, it is not due to what Vector does
but what it omits to do!
5.10
Unpacking
5.10
Vector arrives in a slender wallet with lots of impressive graphics on
the outside. Inside, there are two discs, a registration card, a leaflet
about computer fraud and a manual. After having initialised your program
disc by writing a unique identification text into a window (and sending
that text off to 4Mation on your registration card) you are able to run
and copy the program as much as you want.
5.10
If you send off a copy illegally to a friend, 4Mation will be able to
trace you through the ID number and your text. The initialisation ought
to be done in the shop, to save the buyer from temptation...
5.10
This is the best copy-protection scheme I have come across. Not fool-
proof, but not idiotic, like the one Ovation used to have (RISC
Developments now sells Ovation without copy-protection.
Congratulations!).
5.10
Manual excellence
5.10
This is one of the best manuals I’ve ever come across. It is well
organised, clearly written, has clear illustrations, mainly in colour,
and is made to last. In short: “Perfick!”.
5.10
It is a bit surprising that there is no list of key short cuts on the
outside back cover, as that is the 4Mation tradition. It would have been
easy to do as the cover is white, so there would be no problems of
contrast as on the dark cover of the Poster manual! (There is a list but
it is on pages 100 and 101).
5.10
Vectoring
5.10
A lot of Archimedes users have come across DrawPlus, so most would feel
at home using Vector, even if the toolbox is now incorporated in the
window border, in true Apple Mac fashion.
5.10
There are numerous new functions included, such as interpolating between
two draw objects (see “Vector hints” overleaf), radiating a single
simple form to make a complex pattern or making multiple copies of a
single object.
5.10
Radiating problems
5.10
The problem with the radiate function is that it is not possible to
radiate text if you have RISC-OS 2.0. A simple graphic form is easy to
radiate, but text has to be converted first to a path with some other
package, such as DrawPlus, DrawFont or Fontasy.
5.10
No “Text to Path” for RISC-OS 2!
5.10
The Archimedes user who hasn’t got an A5000 or a pre-release set of
RISC-OS 3 ROMs, will not be able to do very much manipulation with text
characters, because the original DrawPlus’s “Text to Path” function is
not included.
5.10
There is a “Text to path” for RISC-OS 3 owners, but it does not work
with RISC-OS 2. (Any of the following packages will do the conversion:
DrawPlus, DrawFont, FontDraw, FontFX, Fontasy and TypeStudio.)  Kerning
and dithering are similiarly for RISC-OS 3 owners only.
5.10
Replication − advanced copying
5.10
Another new function is replication. This is a method of making multiple
copies of an object, in varying sizes if you want, without having to use
the copy function (<ctrl-C>) again and again. It is best described by
giving an example:
5.10
Path merging
5.10
It is often a great help if you can take a number of different paths and
combine them into a single path. The merged paths take less space and
are sometimes essential, e.g. for producing masks as shown in the
illustration top right of this page.
5.10
Masking pictures
5.10
In addition to making your own mask by using the method shown in the
illustration, there is now a built-in masking facility that is very
powerful. With Draw or DrawPlus you could, with a great deal of effort,
split a path into two parts and then make a path like the merged one in
the following example...
5.10
In Vector, it is very easy and the advanced masking feature can create
stunning effects, but it will not be reproduced in an Impression
document, sad to say. We’ll have to wait for the next version of
Impression! (Not even DrawPlus managed it!)
5.10
Reversing paths
5.10
In DrawPlus, you can reverse paths by flipping objects over, say a
circle. More complex objects, like a graph, could become silly if you
flipped them. Why would you then want to reverse paths, the learned
reader asks, quite reasonably.
5.10
Well, firstly, it is essential for some programs to have the path the
right way. For example, DrawBender doesn’t work very well if the path is
the wrong way round.
5.10
Secondly, if you want some text to follow a path, using TypeStudio or
Fontasy, it is quite annoying to get the text reversed.
5.10
Thirdly, it affects the results when you interpolate. If the result
looks a mess, try reversing one of the paths! (See “Vector hints”
opposite.)
5.10
Zooming in and out
5.10
Zooming is now much easier with a multitude of ways to do it (function
keys, PageUp, PageDown and menu). You can zoom quickly and easily from
5% to 2000% − enough for most users!
5.10
No moulder nor pather
5.10
To my surprise there are no tools for moulding a draw object, nor is
there a tool for letting text follow a path as in Poster, Fontasy or
TypeStudio. So, I still recommend buying DrawBender and FontFX or, if
you can afford it, TypeStudio. Poster and Vector can interchange files
in Poster format. As an excellent “pather”, there is Fontasy. (Fontasy
plus DrawBender costs the same as the excellent TypeStudio alone.)
5.10
Printout
5.10
At printout time, the program can handle draw files bigger than your
printer can. There is no need to buy a special printer driver to provide
tiling facilities − it’s part and parcel of Vector.
5.10
If you just want to print part of a huge drawing, you can easily tick
off which printed pages you are interested in and the program will
prompt you when to change paper. The paper margins are shown in the main
window (see below).
5.10
4Mation’s own !DrawPrint and Ian Copestake’s Placard are functionally
very similar, but they draw the object on the setup menu so that you can
see exactly which pages you are interested in. Vector buyers get this
built-in! It couldn’t be easier!
5.10
I’ve used this function to make templates for a parafoil kite and it
certainly turned a slow and painful process, doing it manually, into a
speedy and far more exact chore for the printer!
5.10
Conclusion
5.10
I have only really touched on a few of Vector’s features, as it takes
time to learn such a comprehensive package as Vector.
5.10
The present version is the original version and, as such, might have
some defects. (I recommend you use it separately from Impression as it
once upset the window handling with text spilling over onto the
background, etc. I saved, rebooted and could not make the computer
repeat the odd behaviour − I probably need new ROMs − Is anyone willing
to give me some RISC-OS 3 ROMs? Mike Matson of 4Mation has come across
the problem when using early versions of RISC-OS 3, before 3.10 but I
was using RISC-OS 2.)
5.10
For the RISC-OS 3 user, it is very good value for money, even if
DrawPlus costs much less. It is easier to use than the old classic and
can save files in a number of different formats, including compressed
files that Chameleon can use directly.
5.10
There are one or two restrictions for RISC-OS 2 users, including no
text-to-path function, no kerning and no dithering, so it is not as good
value for money for those who haven’t yet got RISC-OS 3.
5.10
The text-to-path function à la DrawPlus could easily have been included
− a shame it wasn’t!
5.10
However, most of us will change to RISC-OS 3 in the near future and then
the value automatically rises.
5.10
I can only congratulate 4Mation and Jonathan Marten for producing such a
powerful drawing package. Vector is a must for your Christmas list to
Santa Claus!
5.10
(Illustrations were either Vector samples saved with Snippet, also from
4Mation, or made by me with Vector.)  A
5.10
5.10
The basic form, a wavy blob, has been replicated eight times and turned
45° at each replication. Rotated text can only be printed from within
Vector, if not converted to draw objects first.
5.10
5.10
Vector Hints − not in the manual!
5.10
If the paths rotate the wrong way, you get...
5.10
5.10
If the paths rotate the “right” way, you get...
5.10
5.10
If the paths originate at the same point, you get...
5.10
5.10
Remember, always have the same number of points in the paths. The
interpolation in the first example was without reversing or flipping
either of the paths.
5.10
5.10
The paper margins are shown on the main window and the printer setup
menu is used to deselect those pages you don’t need.
5.10
The Eppler profile was “plotted” on an A0 page. The paper margins shown
are A4 size.
5.10

5.10
5.10
Screenshot: This is the most impressive piece of vector graphics I have
seen. It consists of hundreds of objects and is very lovely in any 256
colour mode. Sprite programs for Amiga used to show off with this King
Tutankamen casket, but this is almost as good and can be zoomed without
losing any detail!
5.10
5.10
Ace
5.10
From 5.9 page 6
5.10
5.10
Oak
5.10
From 5.9 page 20
5.10
5.10
Using the Shared C Library
5.10
Simon Callan
5.10
One of the biggest problems with programming in assembler is having to
write all the code used in the program, as there is no library of useful
routines for the programmer to use, and the programmer has to develop
these all himself. However, a complete library of almost all the
routines that a programmer could need have been provided by Acorn in the
Shared C Library.
5.10
The Shared C library contains all the routines that comprise the ANSI C
library. This covers input, output, string manipulation, handling of
times and dates, and access to files, all in a neat, easy to use package
that requires little space. This is especially so in RISC-OS 3, where
the library is held in ROM.
5.10
To use the Shared C library, you will need any assembler that produces
AOF object files and a copy of Acorn ANSI C (release 3 or 4).
5.10
APCS-R call standard
5.10
When you use the Shared C library, you have to follow the same standards
that the C compiler uses. The most important of these is the APCS-R call
standard, which defines the use of the ARM registers and the handling of
the stack.
5.10
Under APCS-R,  the registers are split into three groups; the argument
registers − a1 to a4, f0 to f4, the variable registers − v1 to v6, f4 to
f7 and the call-frame registers sl, fp, ip, sp.
5.10
On entry :
5.10
    a1 to 4 contain the first four arguments, with any further arguments
being held on the stack
5.10
    fp contains 0 or points to the stack backtrace
5.10
    lr contains the return address and processor flags for the return
5.10
    sl points 512 bytes above the end of the current stack chunk.
5.10
On Exit :
5.10
    a1 or f0 may contain the returned value (if appropriate)
5.10
    fp, sp, sl, v1-v6 and f4-f7 contain the same values as they did on
entry.
5.10
When the routine is called, it should generate a stack backtrace
structure or frame so that it can return correctly to the calling
routine.
5.10
Once the frame has been created, the routine must check that there is
sufficient space on the stack and call the stack extension code if
necessary.
5.10
On the return, the routine should restore the registers from the stack
frame.
5.10
Using the Shared C Library
5.10
The other main requirement for using the Shared C Library is that the
entry point for the assembler program must be called main and this must
be exported so that the library initialisation code can call this point
at the start of the program.
5.10
On entry to the main code, a0 and a1 will contain the values that
correspond to argv and argc in a C version of main.
5.10
To call a Shared C Library routine, you need to import the routine, set
up the arguments and call the routine using BL.  If the routine has four
arguments or less, these are placed in a1 to a4 while further arguments
are placed on to the stack. As an example, the C function call printf
would be coded as follows.
5.10
printf(“%d %d %d %d %d\n”,1,2,3,4,5);
5.10
IMPORT    printf
5.10
LDR    a2,#5
5.10
LDR    a1,#4
5.10
STMFD    sp!,{a1 ,a2}
5.10
LDR    a4,#3
5.10
LDR    a3,#2
5.10
LDR    a2,#1
5.10
ADR    a1,format
5.10
BL    printf
5.10
ADD    sp,sp,#8
5.10
The final line ADD sp,sp,#8 is needed to remove the two parameters from
the stack.
5.10
On return from printf, a1 will contain the result from printf while a2
to a4 will all contain undefined values.
5.10
If a function returns a structure of more than one word in length (4
bytes), it is represented as an implicit first argument which points to
where the result is to be stored.
5.10
i.e. struct a func(int b) is rewritten as void func(struct a * , int b).
5.10
And finally ...
5.10
As the RISC_OSLib and UnixLib (mentioned in Archive 5.6 p7 and 5.7 p54)
libraries also conform to APCS-R, the full contents of these libraries
also become available to the programmer, making the writing of desktop
programs in assembler much easier.
5.10
I have written a few example programs that are included on the monthly
program disc.
5.10
If anyone would like further help, I can be contacted at 2 Malden Road,
Borehamwood, Herts  WD6 1BW, or via E-Mail ZSJC@UK .CO.GPT.
5.10
References
5.10
Acorn Desktop Development Environment
5.10
    Appendix F − ARM procedure call standard
5.10
RISC-OS PRM’s
5.10
    Appendix C − ARM procedure call standard
5.10
Acorn ANSI C release 4
5.10
    Assemble language interface
5.10
    Machine-specific features  A
5.10
5.10
Small Ads
5.10
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what “small”
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.10
•    3½“ external drive + interface for A3000. Epson LX400. Phone
0773−872927.
5.10
•    A3 concept keyboard + overlays £100 or will swap for 20M+ hard drive
for A3000. Phone Tracy on 0362−691745 (eves).
5.10
•    A3000 with 2M Acorn multi-sync monitor, VIDC enhancer, serial u/g, +
software and games £800 o.n.o. Phone 081−898−0447.
5.10
•    A3000 with 4M, second 3½“ drive, user port / midi − £475. Phone
021−744−4879.
5.10
•    A310 with colour monitor, 4-slot bp + software, £525 o.n.o. Armadillo
A448 Audio Sampler + s/w, £70. Phone 071−703−5675.
5.10
•    A5000 Learning Curve new in February. £1250. Phone Chris on
0276−412643 (daytime).
5.10
•    A5000 Learning Curve brand new. £1545. Phone Nick Baker on
081−944−7154 (day) or 081−946−2860 (evening).
5.10
•    Acorn colour monitor £100, GEC Datachat modem £30 ono, Prism modem
£20, 4 slot backplane £30, 20M ST506 NEC 3½“ 28ms drive £120, Atomwide
(Avie) ST506 podule £100, Acorn PC emulator (1.80) £65, Arthur P.R.M.s
(offers?), Mig 29 £30, UIM £10, Twinworld £10, Zarch £8, Tactic £7,
Stranded! £15, 40M ST506 drive £200. Phone 0247−457655.
5.10
•    Amstrad FX9600T fax machine/telephone suitable for use with FaxScan
interface £200. Phone Keith Parkes on 0684−565516. (We still have one or
two Faxscan interfaces on offer at £50. Ed)
5.10
•    Atomwide 4-slot backplane £15. Phone 0332−557751.
5.10
•    Citizen Swift 24 colour printer inc sheet-feeder £160. Phone Mike on
0844−237348.
5.10
•    CC ROM/RAM podule with battery back-up, InterWord & SpellMaster, 2 ×
32k RAM. £45. Phone 0272−736237.
5.10
•    CC ScanLight Plus as new £120. Phone Jonathan after 5 on 081−451−0471.
5.10
•    G-Draft Demo − A PD demo copy of the G-Draft technical drawing program
is available from G-Soft, Runkeler-Str. 3a, W-6251 Beselich 4, Germany.
(Also on this month’s program disc. Ed.)
5.10
•    Pace Linnet 24 modem − unwanted, unopened prize. New styling V22 £175.
Phone 0603− 872071 (evenings).
5.10
•    Sony HVC 3000P colour video camera, ideal for digitising £145. Hard
Disc Companion latest version 2 £30. Saloon Cars, Break147+SuperPool and
Arcticulate £17 each. Phone 0932−245301.
5.10
•    Wanted ARM 3. Phone 0247−457655.
5.10
Charity Sales − The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money − ring us on 0603−766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
5.10
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
5.10
Alerion £3, C-Front £3, Corruption £3, Insight £45, Holed-Out Compendium
£12, J programming language + “Tangible Math” £20, Archimedes Masterfile
II £8, Screened printer data cable £1.50 per foot.  A
5.10
5.10
The MsgTrans Module
5.10
Chris Johnson
5.10
Browsers of application directories may have noticed in some appli
cations a file called ‘messages’, which appears to be simple ASCII text.
In it, one finds the text of error messages, etc that the application
may pop up. You may also have noticed that these same applications load
a module MsgTrans. This module provides an interface between the
messages file and the application. (MsgTrans presumably is an
abbreviated form of message translation.)
5.10
The messages file is a resource file of the application, as are the
templates, !sprites files and so on. One of the advantages of holding
the text of all error messages, help messages, and even menu items, in a
file separate from the program code itself, is that it is then a simple
matter to update the text. More importantly, it can be customised to
languages other than English.
5.10
The A5000 has the MsgTrans module in ROM, and the standard error
messages exist in a number of different languages, the appropriate one
being selected as part of the machine configuration.
5.10
Acorn has provided library routines for using the MsgTrans module for C
programmers in release 3 and 4 of the C compiler, but there has been
little information around for users of other languages − not even in the
Programmer’s Reference Manual.
5.10
The information below is based only on my own experience and has been
gleaned by trial and error and some guesswork. However, the routines
appear to work without any problems in my own software although there
may be errors and omissions, for which I apologise in advance!
5.10
Overview
5.10
A text file of messages, usually (but not necessarily) called ‘messages’
and contained in the application directory, is loaded by MsgTrans into
the RMA area. Any particular application may have only one message file
open but different files could be loaded at different times if
necessary.
5.10
Each message has a tag or identifier associated with it. The tag may
consist of up to ten alphanumeric characters terminated by a colon (:).
The message is terminated by a control character such as carriage return
or line feed (newlines can be incorporated in the message by the usual
means, i.e. |M). The application passes the tag, together with an
address at which the extracted message is to be placed, to the MsgTrans
module by way of a SWI call. MsgTrans then looks up the message and
transfers it into application workspace for the application to make use
of as it may. Since the message file is in RAM, the lookup is very fast.
The message file can be used to provide interactive help messages, error
messages, etc.
5.10
MsgTrans has more tricks up its sleeve. Some error messages may wish to
display, e.g. a file name, or some other dynamic parameter. This is
possible, since you can pass up to two further string arguments to
MsgTrans, which are inserted into particular positions in the message
(marked by %0 and %1 in the original message text).
5.10
Several procedures must be provided by the application to interact with
MsgTrans. These are outlined below.
5.10
Loading the message file
5.10
To load a file, the MsgTrans module must be informed of the file name,
and also the file length, so it can reserve sufficient RMA space for the
file. A possible procedure to load a message file is shown below.
5.10
DEF PROCload_messages(name$)
5.10
LOCAL ERROR
5.10
ON ERROR LOCAL RESTORE ERROR: ERROR 255,“Cannot open message file ‘“+
name$+”’ (”+REPORT$+“)”
5.10
SYS “MessageTrans_FileInfo”,, name$
5.10
DIM msg_blk% 256
5.10
SYS “OS_Module”, 6,,, 17+LEN(name$) TO ,,msg_desc%
5.10
$(msg_desc%+16)=name$
5.10
SYS “MessageTrans_OpenFile”, msg_desc%, msg_desc%+16
5.10
ENDPROC
5.10
In this PROC we first of all set up a local error handler in case of
problems. We then ask MsgTrans to read in the file info for the file. We
reserve 256 bytes to hold the message text using the DIM statement (If
you are going to use more than one message file, then this DIM statement
should be in the program initiation, since we do not need to keep
reserving more memory.) The SYS “OS_Module”, 6 call is used to reserve
some memory in the RMA. We need 16 bytes for data used by MsgTrans to
identify our message file and where it is in memory, plus sufficient for
the file name + the CR character (i.e. 17 + LEN name$). The address of
the memory reserved is returned in R2. We then poke the filename into
the memory block, having left the first 16 bytes for use by MsgTrans,
and load the message file, passing the address of the memory block in R0
and the pointer to the filename in R1.
5.10
Looking up a message
5.10
A function that returns the appropriate message is given below.
5.10
DEF FNlookup_message(tag$,arg1$, arg2$)
5.10
LOCAL flags%,length%,msg$
5.10
SYS “XMessageTrans_Lookup”, msg_desc%,tag$,msg_blk%,
5.10
 256,arg1$,arg2$ TO ,,,length%;flags%
5.10
IF flags% AND 1 THEN
5.10
   msg$=“This is the ”+task$+“app-lication. Consult the
5.10
 help notes for further information.”
5.10
   ELSE
5.10
   msg_blk%?length%=13
5.10
   msg$=$(msg_blk%)
5.10
ENDIF
5.10
=msg$
5.10
The function is passed three arguments − the tag, together with the two
additional strings to be inserted into the message. These can, of
course, be empty if there is nothing to be inserted. The MsgTrans module
is invoked using the SYS “XMessageTrans_Lookup” call, which is passed
the following parameters in order. R0 − the message file info block; R1
− pointer to the message tag; R2 − the block of memory where the message
is to be placed; R3 − the length of the message block; R4, R5 − pointers
to the two additional argument strings. The length of the actual message
is returned in R3. We also need to check the processor flags on return.
Note the semi-colon before the variable flags.
5.10
If the message is not found (i.e. the tag cannot be matched), then the
overflow flag (V) will be set on return. We check for this by AND’ing
the flags with 1 (in any SYS call the flags value returned corresponds
to the binary number %NZCV, where the flags NZCV have the usual ARM
meanings). If no message is found, we can either return an empty string
or, as in this example, we can substitute a standard message. In the
normal case, there will be a message found, and this is dealt with by
the ELSE part of the conditional statement. We ensure that there is a CR
at the end of the message and then extract the message using Basic’s $
indirection operator.
5.10
Closing the message file
5.10
This is a very simple operation. Note that we use the X form of the SWI
calls, since we do not wish to generate any errors at this time.
5.10
DEF PROCclose_messages
5.10
SYS “XMessageTrans_CloseFile”, msg_desc%
5.10
SYS “XOS_Module”, 7,, msg_desc%
5.10
ENDPROC
5.10
SYS “XMessageTrans_CloseFile” releases the memory used to store the
message file, while the SYS“XOS_Module”,7 call releases the other block
of RMA memory we reserved for the message file information back to the
common pool for further use.
5.10
PROCclose_messages would normally be called when the task was about to
quit but remember that an application can only have one message file in
operation at once, so it might be needed if we wish to change the
message file while the application is running.
5.10
A typical application close down sequence might look like the following
(see previous articles on WIMP programming).
5.10
DEF PROCresetWimp
5.10
ON ERROR SYS“XWimp_CloseDown” :END
5.10
PROCclose_messages
5.10
SYS“Wimp_DragBox”,,-1
5.10
SYS“Hourglass_Smash”
5.10
$wBlock%=“TASK”
5.10
SYS“Wimp_CloseDown”,task%,!wBlock%
5.10
ENDPROC
5.10
MsgTrans on the A5000
5.10
Anyone who has an A5000, and has had a look at some of the messages
files may have noticed that there may be many occurrences of e.g. \S or
\a, which are actually abbreviations for often used phrases. For
example, \S is expanded to Click SELECT to, while \a becomes ADJUST.
This use of abbreviations reduces the amount of RMA space needed to
store the message file.
5.10
I include a function which will do the same thing for a RISC-OS 2
machine. I have tried to include in it any expansion carried out by the
A5000 (found by trial and error). You could modify the function to
recognise your own abbreviations. Since the MsgTrans module has already
done any expansions it recognises, this function will not interfere with
the newer version of MsgTrans on the A5000 but simply becomes redundant.
In use, the message returned by the lookup function is passed to
FNexpand_msg before being displayed.
5.10
DEF FNexpand_msg(h$)
5.10
LOCAL s$, m$, index%
5.10
s$=“”
5.10
WHILE INSTR(h$,“\”)>0
5.10
  index%=INSTR(h$,“\”)
5.10
  s$+=LEFT$(h$,index%-1)
5.10
  m$=MID$(h$,index%+1,1)
5.10
  h$=MID$(h$,index%+2)
5.10
  CASE m$ OF
5.10
    WHEN “A”:s$+=“Click ADJUST to”
5.10
    WHEN “a”:s$+=“ADJUST”
5.10
    WHEN “D”:s$+=“Drag with SELECT to”
5.10
    WHEN “d”:s$+=“Drag with ADJUST to”
5.10
    WHEN “G”:s$+=“This option is greyed out because”
5.10
    WHEN “R”:s$+=“Move the pointer right”
5.10
    WHEN “S”:s$+=“Click SELECT to”
5.10
    WHEN “s”:s$+=“SELECT”
5.10
    WHEN “T”:s$+=“This is the”
5.10
    WHEN “W”:s$+=“This window is”
5.10
    WHEN “w”:s$+=“window”
5.10
  OTHERWISE
5.10
    s$+=“\”+m$
5.10
  ENDCASE
5.10
ENDWHILE
5.10
=s$+h$
5.10
In order to make use of this function, it is necessary to modify
slightly the code given in the earlier article on interactive help. The
new version of PROChelp_requested() is given below.
5.10
DEF PROChelp_requested(block%)
5.10
LOCAL help$
5.10
LOCAL window%, icon%
5.10
block%!16 = &503
5.10
block%!12 = block%!8
5.10
window% = block%!32
5.10
icon% = block%!36
5.10
help$=FNget_help_text(window%,icon%)
5.10
help$ = FNexpand_msg(help$)
5.10
$(block% + 20) = LEFT$(help$,232)
5.10
!block% = (LEN help$ + 25) AND NOT 3
5.10
SYS“Wimp_SendMessage”,17,block%, block%!4
5.10
ENDPROC
5.10
A simple application is included on this month’s program disc to
demonstrate the use of MsgTrans, as well as interactive help, using
routines very similar to those described in these articles.  A
5.10
5.10
Multi-media Column
5.10
Ian Lynch
5.10
A recent press release from Acorn describes a project supported by
“Lingua” an EC organisation which promotes language learning and
cultural exchange throughout Europe. The project is designed to develop
multi-media language learning materials in support of vocational
language learning and its history might be of interest to Archive
readers.
5.10
Chance meetings
5.10
There must be a lot of technological progress which never comes to
fruition because people with relevant expertise never actually meet.
Eloquent came about because I was talking to Malcolm Bird, Acorn’s
Technical Director, and my languages colleague Stephen Hagen about
language laboratories. It seemed strange to me that the basis of these
has hardly changed since I was at school in the late sixties − audio
tape, microphones and exercises which I found to be the most completely
boring lesson of the week. I could never work out why a subject which
was based on communication insisted on wrapping me up in a sound proof
booth for 40 minutes unable to communicate with anyone but the damned
tape which kept asking the same silly questions. There has been some
progress, with a degree of computer control for the teacher, piped video
and different ways of scheduling lessons but it is surprising that Sony
and Tandberg, the major players in this market, have not capitalised on
the recent advances in the audio and video capabilities of computers.
5.10
Digital languages
5.10
Stephen was already thinking about interactive learning particularly
after seeing the ILP laservision discs and some language discs on the PC
from Vector. I thought we should investigate a possible situation where
a fully digital system based on a low cost computer system could be
implemented. This would have the advantage that all the added value of
E-mail and DTP would also be available to students. At this time !Replay
and the A5000 were not known to us but Malcolm seemed sure that most of
the technical requirements would be available by the time the project
was due to start.
5.10
Contacts
5.10
Funding a development project is always difficult but Stephen approached
Lingua with a brief outline of what we proposed to do and they were
immediately interested. Firming up the details required several meetings
in places as varied as Gateshead, London and Brussels. A critical step
required Acorn and Stephen to find interested parties abroad since
Lingua funding is dependent on cooperative ventures. A meeting of
interested parties from Crete, Italy, Belgium and UK was held at the CTC
Trust in London. There was some debate about IBM compatibility but since
language laboratories are not currently PC compatible, I argued that for
development purposes, this was not a major issue. I then gave a
demonstration of an A540, indicating the potential for moving pictures
and audio and this seemed to convince those present that this was the
best way forward. Once the methodology is established, no doubt
materials can be ported to other platforms if there is a demand and it
is cost-effective to do so.
5.10
Filling in forms
5.10
The next step was to fill in the necessary application forms for Lingua
assistance and again Stephen’s knowledge of the way to do this combined
with my technical knowledge and DTP skills meant our application would
stand out both in terms of procedures and presentation. Almost a year
after the first meeting and discussion of the project, the news came
through that the application had gone through without amendments. I am
told that this is quite unusual and there were similar bids on other
platforms which were unsuccessful.
5.10
What will be done?
5.10
Without going into too much detail, materials will be developed which
support specific vocational courses in several languages, notably Greek,
Italian, German, English and French. These will be interactive and will
make use of digital audio and !Replay for digital video. In parallel
with this, a language learning network based on A5000s and Ethernet will
be used at Thomas Telford School in order to explore and experiment with
the possibilities of a digital language laboratory. It will, of course,
be possible to use this multi-media network for other functions since
the methodology developed for languages is likely to be transferrable to
other subjects such as science and engineering.
5.10
Further information
5.10
If you want to find out more about this venture, contact Stephen Hagen,
Project Manager, CTC Trust, Emmanuel College, Consett Road, Gateshead
NE11 0AN (091−460−2031).  A
5.10
5.10
The DTP Column
5.10
Richard Hallas
5.10
A rather curtailed column this month, I’m afraid, due to a number of
factors, not least the bringing-forward of the publication date to
accommodate the news of the Acorn Portable!
5.10
The reason for the absence of the Readers’ Write section, though, is
that I have not received any letters! This may possibly be due to the
slight confusion following Rob Sherratt’s decision to leave us, so
please make sure that in future you write to the DTP Column c/o Paul
Beverley at the usual Archive address. Your correspondence will then be
passed on to whoever is editor of the month (unless of course you
specify one of us by name). Please keep sending your hints and tips for
Ovation and Impression, along with your other points and queries.
5.10
News and Views
5.10
• Ovation 1·3 − This latest version of Ovation is just being prepared
and should be available by the time you read this. The numerous new
features include the following: Mail merge of CSV files; Pamphlet
printing; Rotated draw file illustrations (and sprites with RISC-OS 3);
Importing of FWPlus files; Thesaurus hotlink; Improved key short-cuts;
Faster draw file rendering; Fast draft printing via RISC-OS printer
drivers. The price remains fixed at £99 +VAT, and users of previous
versions can upgrade by returning their original program disc to
Risc Developments (not Archive) enclosing payment of £5 + VAT + £1
carriage (£6·88 inclusive).
5.10
• Thesaurus 1·10 − The latest version of Risc Developments’ Desktop
Thesaurus has been expanded to included over 13,750 keywords and nearly
135,000 synonyms (compared with 11,000 keywords and 90,000 synonyms in
previous versions). An improved compression system means that the entire
application now occupies under 450k of disc space. The new version
incorporates an Ovation 1·3 hotlink for users with both packages,
allowing instant transfer of words between the two. The price is still
£19 +VAT and upgrades are available by returning the original disc to
Risc Developments, along with payment of £2 + VAT + £1 carriage (£3·35
inclusive).
5.10
• ScanLight Professional − Computer Concepts will be launching a new
version of this desirable piece of equipment in August. It will utilise
a new model of scanner from the ones issued previously, although it will
be functionally the same: an A4 flat-bed 300dpi SCSI device. However,
the new model will have a number of advantages over the old one. Its
economic dimensions make it only a little bigger than actual A4 size,
and it operates marginally faster than the previous model. Most
importantly, from the buyer’s point of view, it will be 33% cheaper than
its predecessor! This new version will cost £595+VAT (£665 inc VAT
through Archive) and it should work with all SCSI cards, provided the
manufacturers have followed all Acorn’s guidelines. (It has been
successfully tested with Oak, Acorn, Morley and Lingenuity cards.)
5.10
Impression Hints & Tips
5.10
•    Mailmerge in Impression: So it seems that there are no tips like old
tips (Archive 3.9 p20). I claim that Charles Moir learned the trick he
uses from me! Just one point to add, though. You have a choice between
linking frames on a master page and not linking. If you link, the text
flows through the frames on a page and then on to the first frame of the
next page. This is probably convenient for small mailing lists without
use of a database. If you do not link frames, text flows from page to
page within the homologous frame. I recently helped to run a biggish
scientific meeting which involved mail shots to about a thousand
potential delegates and a full feedback of booking information to about
450. The database resided on a Mac, the most widely-used computer in the
lab, and an output file was generated in <Tab> separated format, ported
to a DOS disk, then to PipeDream. Individual columns (fields) or groups
of columns were then extracted, linefeeds replaced by
5.10
s, and the fields dropped into the right frames of the first page.
Perfect registration was retained: the last person’s details did belong
to him! All I had to do was to edit some of the less wise entries in the
“comments” field of the database, which might have been taken as casting
aspersions on the intelligence, rationality and financial or moral
rectitude of some the participants! This method obviates the need to
generate a report format for your database. You just extract the data
you want for each of your frames and drop it in. Some fields get used
twice, such as parts of names, once for the address (lined up with an
envelope window), and once for the Dear... line.
5.10
We also produced sheets of individualised meal tickets. The purpose here
was to ensure that none of the three eating places got all the dele
gates. We operated a “swap-shop” but needed to know who was swopping
with whom. Named tickets solved this. In this case, I extracted the
names once and dropped then into the first (unlinked) frame. To make a
copy in the next frame (×450), <Ctrl-T> to mark all the text in the
frame, 450 pages deep, <Ctrl-C> to copy it and then <Ctrl-V> to paste it
into each frame. The printer who perforated the sheets was quite
impressed by the product: he had never seen the like. He certainly had
no idea how easy it was (save for feeding 450 sheets of card into the
laser printer).  Mike Hobart, Cambridge.
5.10
Image setting − Another firm which does image setting is Stylus
Publications Bureau of 98 Wilberforce Road, Finsbury Park, London N4
2SR. They also do colour slides and CibaChrom prints and overheads from
Draw and Impression. However, they covered so much of their literature
with gold leaf that I wonder if they are still trading!  Mike Hobart,
Cambridge.
5.10
Points of Style
5.10
This time I’m going to have a brief look at something very basic to all
DTP:
5.10
General legibility
5.10
By this I am not referring to page composition itself, as that is a
subject in its own right. Whilst the overall legibility of a page can be
affected by the way in which text flows from one area to another, or
indeed the way the blocks of text on the page are laid out, this would
come under the heading of ‘page layout’.
5.10
Legibility is not a very precise term, because it can be affected not
only by the design of the page and the type sizes and styles used, but
also by the colours of the page and the conditions under which it is
viewed. A well-designed page may nevertheless become illegible if it is
printed on excessively white or shiny paper and viewed under unfavour
able conditions.
5.10
In typography, the term ‘legibility’ refers to the ease with which text
may be read. The two most common styles of typefaces in current use for
reading matter are ‘roman’ and ‘sans-serif’. Seriffed faces incorporate
small finishing strokes at the ends of letters, derived from the pen and
the chisel, whereas sans-serif faces omit these. In fact, sans-serif
faces are quite modern and have only been in general use from the early
years of this century, although the first sans-serif face to include
lower case letters appeared in 1835. Interestingly, the first modern
sans serif face to come into general use was the one designed in 1916 by
Edward Johnston for use by the London Underground Railway; it is still
being used today for this purpose.
5.10
Sans-serif faces were originally known as ‘grotesque’ because of their
sharp difference to their seriffed counterparts and were designed for
their attention-drawing qualities, rather than as body text in their own
right. Today, of course, sans-serif body text is seen quite frequently
but seriffed text is definitely preferable for body text. Serifs are,
after all, there for a purpose: (a) they help to keep letters a certain
distance apart; (b) they help the eye to track from left to right in a
uniform manner, thereby making for a less stressful read; and (c) they
help to differentiate between the upper halves of individual letters,
since we recognise letters by their upper rather than their lower
halves. (You can convince yourself of this by covering up the top half
of a line of text and then trying to read it. You may succeed, of
course, but if you were to cover the lower half instead, you would find
it much easier to read the text.)
5.10
This preamble is building up to a set of three rules which are basic and
essential to publishing and which are very well-known to all traditional
typographers. It is worth dedicating a short article to them, as they
can easily be overlooked by computer users who have a temptingly large
selection of fonts at their fingertips.
5.10
1.    Sans-serif type is intrinsically less legible than seriffed type.
5.10
2.    Well-designed roman upper- and lower-case type is easier to read
than any of its variants, e.g. italic, bold, caps, expanded or condensed
versions.
5.10
3.    Words should be set close to each other, and there should be more
space between the lines than between the words.
5.10
These rules may seem so obvious as to be not worth stating but they are
absolutely basic to the art of typography and should not be overlooked.
The very fact that they are overlooked prompts me to write this article.
I shall say a little about each of the rules in turn.
5.10
1. As mentioned above, serifs are there to help the eye track along the
line without skipping or getting lost and, generally, seriffed letters
are more easily distinguished from each other than are their sans-serif
counterparts.
5.10
Of course, this does not mean that sans-serif text should not be used as
body text; it is perfectly suitable for this purpose, and lends a more
modern feel to the page. However, the absence of serifs does make the
text a little more difficult to follow and, for this reason, a larger
line spacing setting is advisable if much sans-serif text is to be used.
It is also a good idea to break up such text with illustrations and
cross-headings.
5.10
It has become quite common, particularly in magazines, to mix seriffed
and sans-serif type in different sections of the same page, although
this should be done with caution. A ready example of this idea being
used well is BBC Acorn User magazine, which uses seriffed type for its
main text, but tastefully employs sans-serif type for individual text
boxes and captions.
5.10
2. This rule is really only a general principle which can be seen not to
hold true universally. In particular, oblique faces, being only slanted
versions of roman faces, are easier to read than true italics. True
condensed faces are also often as easy to read as roman faces, as they
have been specifically designed as body text. The EFF fonts OldSchbook
and NewSchbook (originally named Century Old Style and New Century
Schoolbook) provide a good example of this: OldSchbook was designed in
1894 for Century magazine and was designed to be slightly condensed to
suit the publication’s dual-column layout. It was succeeded only about
six years later by its uncondensed counterpart, NewSchbook. The rule
certainly holds true, though, for Impression’s Condensed and Expanded
effects available from the ‘Effect −>Text size’ menu and also for the
rather more refined ‘Font aspect ratio’ setting in the ‘Edit style’
dialogue box. These options simply pull or squeeze standard font
definitions and, whilst they can be useful when used with discretion,
they do not form true condensed faces. They certainly should not replace
a true condensed font if one exists.
5.10
3. The width between words should normally be about the same as the
width of the letter ‘i’. This is of course taken care of for us computer
users by the font definition. What is not taken care of, however, is
line spacing and, in general, the longer the line to be read, the wider
should be the gap between successive lines. Impression provides a
helpful 120% switch in the ‘Edit style’ box. This is a very good overall
compromise but it should not be taken as a hard and fast setting. Books,
for example, are frequently set in 10pt type with an 11pt line spacing.
It all depends on context, and a narrower line spacing is more accep
table for a dual- or triple-column layout than for a single-column one.
Again, it has to do with making it easy for the eye to track along the
lines of text without slipping.
5.10
However, the space between words should never be allowed to exceed the
space between lines and, if a mono-spaced font such as Corpus (Courier)
is to be used, the fact that spaces in such fonts can be quite wide
should be taken into account when considering an appropriate line
spacing. The eye reads words in clusters rather than letter-by-letter
and if the gaps between words become too large (particularly in
combination with an inadequate line spacing) it becomes easy for the eye
to skip down a line by accident. It is surely better to overestimate the
line spacing than to make it too small. I have occasionally seen amateur
documents in which the ascenders of one line of text actually overlap
the base line of the line above. This should be avoided at all costs.
5.10
Final word
5.10
There are countless types of reading matter, intended to be read in just
as many ways. It is impossible to lay down universal laws, and common
sense and taste must prevail. These rules are intended for larger-scale
projects such as books, magazines or journals, and apply to subjects
intended for continuous reading. Obviously, it would be silly to take
them to heart when designing an eye-catching poster. Rules are there to
be broken, of course, but as with all arts and crafts (and typography is
both), before one breaks the rules, one should first be the master of
them.  A
5.10
5.10
The Public Key − Issue 3
5.10
Colin Singleton
5.10
It took the advent of the computer to inspire something fundamentally
different from the elaborate replacement codes used by the intelligence
services during and after the Second World War. Messages could now be
treated, not as discrete letters, but in blocks as large numbers. With
this insight there came a change of name. Coding gave way to Cryptogra
phy [Greek kruptos hidden + graphos writing]. In 1977 Rivest, Shamir and
Adleman (now known collectively as RSA) devised a system of cryptography
based on a problem which mathematicians had wrestled with for centuries.
It is virtually impossible to factorise a large number if it has just
two very large prime factors. The result is the most secure encryption
system yet devised.
5.10
What RSA did is explained in Issue Nº 3 of The Public Key, recently
published by George Foot and Roger Sewell. With this issue, you also get
software on disc so that you can use the latest and most secure form of
cryptography on your Archimedes. The literature and software are
essentially free, except for a charge to partially cover production
costs. Issue Nº 3 costs £3 (£4 in the EC, £5.50 elsewhere). The software
is supplied with the magazine, on a free disc (though this policy will
be reviewed at the end of August). Cheques please, in Sterling or US$,
to G Foot ‘Waterfall’, Uvedale Road, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0EW.
5.10
The principle of the RSA system was explained in Issue Nº 1. Anyone
wishing to join the club must calculate for himself (using the software,
which does everything for you) a pair of parameters, satisfying the
necessary mathematical relationship, known as the Public Key and the
Private Key. The Public Keys for each person are so-called because they
are published openly, as in a telephone directory. Each person’s Private
Key, however, must be kept a closely guarded secret. The mathematical
requirements are built into the program. The user needs no knowledge of
the technicalities.
5.10
To encrypt a message, the sender must present to the software, disc
files containing the text of the message and the Public Key of the
intended recipient. The program uses the key to encrypt the message. The
disc supplied contains, as well as the software, a directory of Public
Keys for all current participants. New readers are invited to generate
their own keys and submit them to the directory.
5.10
The recipient presents to the software the encrypted message, together
with his own Private Key (stored on disc by the software when it was
first generated). The program uses this key to restore the original
message. Readers who already have the first version of The Public Key
software will be interested to know that a new version is now available.
It works in the desktop and is generally more user-friendly.
5.10
It’s as easy as that and it really works! Although the encryption keys
are public knowledge, as is the method of calculation, the message is
secure. This is because, in order to calculate the Private Key from a
Public Key, a ‘spy’ would need to find the prime factors of the Modulus
− a large number held within the Key − and that is well nigh impossible.
For those who are interested, the mathematical principles, including the
restraints on suitable key values, and an explanation of ‘Why it Works’
are set out in the magazine, in much greater detail than in previous
issues.
5.10
The Public Key caters for all levels of interest. Plaudits received
include “... such a lot of good material and up-to-date news ... a most
informative and interesting copy”, from a professional security
consultant, and “There’s a lot of really interesting material in it.
You’ll be turning commercial, if you keep up that standard!”, from a
well-known software producer.
5.10
The cryptograhy software necessarily includes some fairly hairy large-
integer arithmetic routines. Issue Nº 2 explained how these could be
used, via the software provided, in ‘calculator mode’. Issue Nº 3
explains how the individual routines can be used in your own Basic
programs.
5.10
Previous issues of the magazine (reviewed in Archive last year) devoted
themselves to the mathematical principles and the software. Issue Nº 3
turns to the practical considerations. The authors admit their failure
to find a practical application to interest users of home computers.
Nevertheless, a substantial part of the magazine (including a twelve
page Stop Press!) is devoted to reports of commercial applications,
either implemented or proposed, mainly in the USA. Much of this material
was received just before publication (some of it after distribution had
started!) and is presented largely as received with minimal editorial
review.
5.10
Careful reading reveals a wealth of information about what is happening
in this field, including the in-fighting, both mathematical and
commercial. It seems clear to me, from all this activity, that a public
system will come. In years to come, it will be accepted as readily as a
fax machine and be virtually as easy to use. But how a public system
will work and, most importantly, which mathematical principle will be
used, is far from clear. At first reading, all this literature is a
little overwhelming, but it is essential reading. After all, we will
probably all be using cryptography before too long.
5.10
I found the article on the USA Federal Standard for Digital Signatures
somewhat worrying. This proposed Standard seems to me to be a Great Leap
Backwards. It employs a very cumbersome mathematical process (which is
explained in detail in the article), apparently for no better reason
than to avoid paying royalties to RSA, which is patented in the States
(though not elsewhere).
5.10
What is a Digital Signature? It is a very important technique within the
cryptography system (whichever system it is) to enable the recipient to
be sure that a message really has come from the stated author, and not
from an impostor. To find out how it works, and to make use of it, read
The Public Key.
5.10
This issue enlightens us to the fact that RSA is not the only crypto
graphic principle being proposed, and not just for patent reasons. In
the States, the Data Encryption Standard (DES) is already in being and
in use. The calculation is simpler than RSA and the computing much
quicker. There is, however, considerable doubt being expressed as to the
level of security which it offers. I hope a future issue of The Public
Key will explain the mathematical background to DES, since this appears
to be fundamental to the debate.
5.10
The current leaders in the race for a public system apparently employ a
hybrid system in which the highly secure but slow-to-process RSA
technique is used to encrypt a secret key needed to decrypt the actual
message using the faster DES system. I would like to see The Public Key,
in a future issue, summarise the various cryptographic techniques
proposed, identifying the mathematical principles of each, the level of
security and the practical benefits or otherwise.
5.10
The proposed hybrid was devised some years ago because the computer time
required to encrypt a message of any length using RSA made that system
impractical. It is therefore of great interest to learn from the
magazine that Thorn-EMI (in the UK!) have produced a prototype for a
custom-built slave processor to fit inside an IBM PC (inevitably, I
suppose), which will handle RSA encryption and decryption. It is claimed
to work at around 30Kbits/sec, which is faster than public ‘phone lines
can transmit the data. This, surely, should signal the end of hybrid
systems in favour of the simple and flexible, but very secure, RSA
system?
5.10
Watch this space! Better still, read The Public Key!  A
5.10
5.10
The Children’s Graphics Pack
5.10
Joe Gallagher
5.10
The Archimedes is attracting a respectable range of clip art selections
both from commercial and public domain origins. As a teacher, I have
felt that few of them were that appropriate for primary age school
children. The Children’s Graphics Pack of clip art from Micro Studios is
an attempt to redress this deficit. It consists of a two disc set
costing £19.99. Both discs are uncompressed which, while making life
easier for novice users, does mean that there isn’t room for an awful
lot of files, especially where sprite files are concerned.
5.10
The package isn’t simply a bundle of clip art. The compilers have
included sample narratives in the form of several !Edit files, the idea
being that these will be used in conjunction with the Draw files and
!Paint files to produce simple stories. Instructions are given on how to
import both types of file into !Draw. The idea of including the text
stories is quite a nice one, although I doubt if many schools would be
using !Edit as their sole vehicle for text processing. Nevertheless, it
does provide a common format which all purchasers can use. What does
seem redundant, given the intended age range of the users, is the
detailed instructions on how to import text blocks into !Draw including
setting up headers for different fonts and text sizes, a difficult
enough feat for adults! Maybe it points to a need among Archimedes
wordprocessing / DTP packages to be a bit more “smart” at importing
plain text files.
5.10
The collection
5.10
The first disc is comprised of Draw files and is divided into three
sections; People, Animals and Objects. While there are some quite well
drawn pictures in it, notably the clown Charlie Chalk, there is much
which feels like padding. For example, there is a directory of shapes
which includes several pictures which, one feels, would not take any
user very long to knock up with the aid of !DrawPlus. There is also a
directory of drawn names on flapping flags as well as three files
consisting solely of drawn letters and numbers. Many of the drawings are
very cartoon-orientated to the point of being stereotypes. They remind
me a bit of those very bland Dick Bruna drawings which used to prolifer
ate in infant schools. This is even more the case with the sprite files
on the second disc. There’s a silver lining on every cloud though and,
due to their simplicity, the sprite files do translate very easily into
Draw files using David Pilling’s !Trace utility.
5.10
Conclusion
5.10
All in all, it’s a pretty eclectic compilation. I like the idea of clip
art around themes, especially for the early years of education. It could
be developed more fully though, perhaps with pictures with more explicit
links, say built around well known stories (copyright permitting!). As
it stands, this set of discs offers a reasonable collection of early
years’ images although it’s by no means cheap at the price. If you’re
prepared to hunt around a bit you can find much more of a variety of
such images in shareware collections from the PC world, not to mention
those available for the Archimedes.
5.10
The Children’s Graphics Pack costs £19.99 and is available from Micro
Studio. (Or £19 through Archive.)  A
5.10
5.10
Grievous Bodily ’ARM
5.10
Myles Thorne (aged 13)
5.10
Grievous Bodily ’ARM (£24 through Archive) comes on two discs which are
handily numbered. With the discs you get two leaflets, one explaining
how to re-load if the game does not boot up first time. It also contains
useful facts about the computer.
5.10
The second leaflet describes how to play the game and it explains in
detail what the game is about. The basic idea of the game is that a mad
scientist has developed a cheap and easy way to manufacture illegal
narcotics. You have to find and destroy him, going through certain
levels as you do so. The leaflet also tells you the default keys and
explains how to change them.
5.10
!Keys
5.10
Boot up the first disc and you will get an option of redefining the keys
or playing the game. A double click on !Keys will send you to a bright
blue screen with the current keys written on it. To change the keys
press the space bar and then type in the keys you want for each action.
When you have finished, press <return> and it will send you back to the
option of re-defining the keys or playing the game.
5.10
Loading the game
5.10
When the option of !G.B.A. is chosen, the game loads and goes through
several stages of telling you who made the program and other informa
tion. The last screen is a picture of a fist with Grievous Bodily ’ARM
written boldly round the edge. While all this happens, the music for the
program is playing. The music is of excellent sound quality. At the
bottom of the screen, in purple, it asks you to insert disc two and then
press any key after doing so. When you boot this disc up several options
are shown.
5.10
Options
5.10
There are four options displayed, of which one is to exit to the
desktop. The last choice is to play the game.
5.10
Playing the game
5.10
The first level starts outside Byfords with a cat standing near and the
droning sound of a manhole cover popping up and down. After passing both
of these you are confronted with three cats and two ladies with whips.
Beware! The cats are not as friendly as they look! I find that if you
get a drug addict to the corner of the screen he can be punched without
any harm to yourself. After those obstacles, your timing and rhythm will
become very important. There are two more manhole covers going off
together with cats sitting near them. A flying kick is the best way of
disposing of these. Then two men will appear, one at the front and one
at the back. If you punch these alternately they will fall to the ground
and disappear. Then your timing will again become important as two more
manhole covers stare you in the face. These go off at a different speed
to the other ones so don’t be fooled. After this you have two ladies
with whips and a man to contend with. Completing this will take you on
to the second level. On the first level you had manhole covers to look
out for but in the Warehouse (second level) you have gas lamps and band-
saws to dodge. In the office, (third level) you have secretaries
throwing typewriters at you and tea ladies running very fast.
5.10
Conclusion
5.10
At first, the frustration of not being able to play the game prevented
me from enjoying it. As I got better, it started to grow on me. I think
the sound quality of kicking and punching is very good but the sound of
hitting someone was the best. The first two levels were easy but the
third level was very hard. The graphics were quite good, especially on
the second level in the warehouse. I enjoyed the game and still have not
completed it. A note for worried parents is that I don’t think it would
teach children to become violent any more than cartoons of Turtles.
Overall, I think this is an excellent buy.  A
5.10
5.10
Acorn − The Future?
5.10
Ian Lynch
5.10
There has always been a critical element both inside and outside the
Acorn fraternity and Acorn, like IBM, have undoubtedly made some bad
decisions (certainly from the users’ viewpoint) in the past. However, I
wonder if the present criticisms concerning bringing out new machines
are really warranted. Since 1987 we’ve had the 310, 440, 410/1, 420/1,
440/1, A3000, A540 and A5000. We also know (well at least some people
think they do!) that a portable is imminent. (This was written before
Acorn’s embargo date for releasing information about the portable. Ed.)
I would say that this compares favourably with Apple, IBM, Commodore and
Atari in the desktop microcomputer stakes. I would also be very
surprised if there were not other machines due for release within the
next 12 months and don’t forget RISC-OS 3 development, !ChangeFSI,
!Replay and the PC Emulator. Considering the size of Acorn, I am frankly
amazed that they get so many new and innovative products out at all.
5.10
Of course, size can’t be an excuse. Acorn have to compete with the likes
of Apple and IBM on a product basis and I can already hear echoes of
full 8-bit colour palettes, 24 bit per pixel colour graphics display,
machines people want, etc. I would argue that IBM compatibles are not
necessarily the machines that people want − they are the machines that
they deserve because they are gullible enough to believe the marketing
machine of the computer industry. Admittedly, many PC users have no
choice if they are linked into large corporate decision-making which
dates back to the early eighties. However, many PC users who are not in
this situation, believe that there is no alternative and most of them
have no experience of anything else with which to compare their systems.
Even if Acorn had a 20 MIP, 24-bit colour, 16-bit audio all-singing,
all-dancing workstation, some would still buy a 386 SX with Windows
because it’s the industry standard. I occasionally have doubts myself
but all I know is that as soon as I start using Windows, I realise that
while it is in its present form, my own preference for work-efficiency
is to use RISC-OS.
5.10
Machines or applications?
5.10
Paul rightly pointed out the benefits of DTP on Acorn systems. How
important is displaying 24 bits per pixel on a colour monitor? Well, in
my view, not as important for real practical operation as high speed,
high quality, low cost output, which outline fonts together with
Calligraph and Computer Concepts printer technology makes possible. OK,
Acorn need to support a better palette and bring out a new VIDC soon
(and 16-bit audio will also need to be part of this to compete in the
multi-media stakes) − otherwise, they won’t stay in the game. However,
the storage and processing demands of huge colour graphic files has made
systems which can handle them in anything more than a token way, very
expensive − and this is not Acorn’s market (yet).
5.10
I can’t see how 24 bit per pixel colour is of practical use without a
high quality monitor, a lot of RAM and a very big hard disc. A single
300 dpi, A4 page with 24 bits per pixel requires 24 M of storage. A
24bit VGA screen needs 1 M of video memory and probably a separate
graphics processor, if it is to be manipulated in real time. With
limited resources, priorities have to be set and ARM 3, MEMC1a, RISC-OS
3 and an improved PC Emulator must have been thought more important than
colour palette restrictions.
5.10
Usable technology is about ‘limiting factors’ and a balance between cost
and benefit. End users should think about what they want to do and look
for systems which provide for the needs in the most efficient and cost-
effective way − although this is complicated by support needs and
previous history. The Archimedes used to be an enthusiast’s machine with
little software but a lot of horsepower. The horsepower argument is now
less significant but low cost, high quality software which takes maximum
advantage of the processing power is making the RISC-OS machine a much
better choice for ordinary end-users, particularly in certain specific
areas of application. Undoubtedly, the relative merits of one system
against another is subject to some fairly violent variation when a new
machine is launched. Things change and so should attitudes.
5.10
Continuity
5.10
I couldn’t understand Mike Cook’s argument (Archive 5.8 p13) that Acorn
were not developing new machines because they were locked into their
chip set. PCs are locked into Intel, Apple into Motorola and Acorn into
ARM. Acorn could, of course, design a new machine and start again from
scratch (I am sure Roger Wilson would love to do this) but would it
really be in the best interest of current users?
5.10
The 8-bit BBC Micro had a severe bottleneck on addressing memory and all
sorts of convoluted and innovative ways were found to get round this
problem. The main limit on the development of applications in those days
was the restricted addressing range which IBM unfortunately allowed
Microsoft to build into MS-DOS. Even 16-bit processors are not normally
memory bound in themselves. How many people have 16M in their A540 and
regularly run out of memory? Memory refresh speed is another limiting
factor which was not a problem with older systems. Acorn made a brave
decision to stay proprietary and to go to 32-bit processing, missing out
the 16-bit stage when the 8-bit BBC had been stretched to its limit.
They could have become another clone manufacturer but I for one am glad
that they didn’t.
5.10
Limiting factors
5.10
So what are the limiting factors now? The answer depends on what you
want to do with your computer. For monochrome DTP and document produc
tion, the hardware is probably good enough and major improvements will
come from better software, better ergonomics and lower cost, higher
quality peripherals. It could be argued that good optical character
recognition (OCR) software is a greater need than better colour
resolution, for example. I have talked to several small printers who say
they are not interested in colour at present.
5.10
Third parties are still bringing out innovative software which is better
and less expensive than that on other platforms. If you get a chance,
take a look at TechWriter from Icon Technology, Image Outliner from Iota
and Vector from 4Mation, not to mention Artworks from CC (when it
becomes available). For high quality colour and volume sales in markets
realistic for Acorn, data transfer to peripherals needs to improve,
storage costs need to be reduced and high quality monitor prices need to
come down. Most of these are beyond Acorn’s control.
5.10
Another developing field is multi-media and I have done quite a bit of
delving into this for the Eloquent project, to which I have had
considerable input. As far as digital video is concerned, CD-ROM is, at
present, the only viable source with enough capacity at low enough cost
and this has some severe limitations. Data access and transfer speed is
limited by CD technology and the size of affordable memory buffers and
so there are limiting factors beyond simple processor speed. !Replay is
as much about clever coding as it is about ARM3 and we should not forget
that Acorn’s innovation is often as much to do with software as it is
hardware. Witness BBC Basic, RISC-OS and ChangeFSI.
5.10
I have no doubt that Acorn could produce a new hardware platform which
would provide hundreds of MIPs. (DEC already have − but power consump
tion and heat dissipation is a tremendous problem.) It would perhaps
have a software emulation of the ARM in order to run existing software.
However, there would be many other technical problems beyond simple
processing speed. This is, in my view, looking at things from the wrong
end of the telescope. The first question is, what would we do with such
a machine? Also, how much would it cost? What would the cost of
peripherals be in order to support this amount of processing power? How
easy would it be to program? and so on. From a marketing point of view,
Acorn have to consider which markets are most appropriate and then
ensure that their products are competitive within these markets.
5.10
Past to present
5.10
Education is Acorn’s biggest market and they can’t afford to abandon it.
This is well understood in the company and all the evidence I have shows
that Acorn staff are well ahead of Apricot, ICL, IBM and Apple in their
approach to educational computing. Research Machines (RM) are possibly
more vulnerable to PC clone manufacturers because they are selling the
same product and RM, like Acorn, are small. However, it is an unfor
tunate fact of life that there are teachers who believe the industry
standard rhetoric, even in primary schools. For this market, a wide
variety of generic and low cost software tools and peripherals is needed
with as much connectivity as possible. Some specific tools in some areas
of the curriculum, realistic site licence prices for quality appli
cations and low cost support are all important and Acorn are generally
ahead in most of these areas. In this respect, magazines such as
Archive, Risc User, Archimedes World, Micro User and Acorn User all do
their bit. The days of IT being wordprocessing, databases and spread
sheets should be long gone.
5.10
Present and near future
5.10
DTP is a very promising area where potential customers may know little
about computers. For this reason, a complete end-user solution that can
be sold to small companies and printers is a very good idea. Price
becomes more important in a recession and this might actually help
divert Apple sales to Acorn. Without doubt, better colour support and
more support from typesetting bureaux are needed but there is neverthe
less still a substantial and untapped market.
5.10
A consistent development route should include targeted advertising in
non-Acorn magazines and the trade journals that printers read. It is
absolutely essential to have support and training built into system
sales and a continued commitment to development of supporting software
such as OCR, fax, PostScript, fonts, higher resolution printers, better
design software, colour printing and, of course, better colour support
for the display.
5.10
Present and further into the future
5.10
Multi-media is the most hyped area in computing to-day. In many
respects, it is still at the stage of a solution looking for a problem.
As Commodore have found with CDTV, the public are not prepared to pay a
lot of money for something they don’t really need. Involvement with
focussed developments such as the Eloquent project for multi-media
language learning is more likely to bear fruit than simply marketing
something for a generic multi-media consumer market which does not
exist.
5.10
The multi-media machine of the near future needs to cope with hi-fi
audio and digital video without any hassle to the user. It will
therefore be capable of CD-quality audio (both sampling and playback)
displaying moving colour pictures which are of TV quality and perhaps
digitising and compressing video in real time too. Such a machine will
need to be at a cost similar to the current price of an A5000 if Acorn’s
traditional markets are to benefit. These facilities are available today
albeit at very high cost.
5.10
The potential to revolutionise educational and training applications
will only be realised if (and it is a big “if”) storage and data
transfer facilities are available which are low cost and capable of
matching the demands of applications. In other words, future products
will have to match needs and be offered at the right price.
5.10
Summing up
5.10
In my view, Acorn’s future is dependent on three things:−
5.10
•    maintaining high performance at low cost related to identified needs,
through a combination of software and hardware innovation,
5.10
•    identifying markets in which they are realistically competitive,
5.10
•    ensuring better support and training for end-users than that provided
by their competitors.
5.10
Acorn have a better track record in the first of these than in the other
two, but selling to technically enthusiastic individual users needs to
be maintained. After all, this group is largely responsible for a lot of
the innovative software applications running under RISC-OS and hardware
sub-sytems. There will always be some of us who prefer to have a machine
which is interesting because it is different − in the same way that we
do not all want to drive Ford Escorts.
5.10
It has taken time but Acorn has woken up to the idea that complete
solutions in specialised markets such as the Acorn Publishing System (in
partnership with Computer Concepts), is a potential way of going beyond
their traditional markets when constrained within tight budget limits.
5.10
With the increase in the number of grant-maintained schools and
weakening back-up from LEA advisory services, it is those dealers who
can offer educational support who will benefit in the educational
markets. Also, Acorn’s arch rivals, RM, have a major problem in that
they supply directly to schools, with support coming from LEA advisers.
So, Acorn should capitalise on securing the educational market by
targeting schools who have, in the past, had to buy RM under LEA
pressure and who now have a free hand. They also have to realise that
the same argument also applies to their competitors and so they need to
maintain a value-added element which PCs and Macs do not have. A lot of
this value-added element is enthusiastic users such as you, the Archive
readers, who realise that one person’s standard is another’s monopoly
and who have a genuine interest in a “computing culture” for its own
sake.  A
5.10
5.10
I’m not sure that multi-media really needs a new VIDC, 16-bit audio,
etc. As Ian says, multi-media is, to some extent, a solution looking for
a problem. I personally think that its acceptance will depend on low
cost turn-key systems being offered rather than some of these expensive
over-hyped ‘demo’ systems you see at multi-media shows. Write to Ian to
tell him what you think. Ed
5.10
5.10
PD Column
5.10
David Holden
5.10
Mistakes Dept
5.10
I received several letters (most on A4 fanfold paper!) complaining that
my remarks about A4 paper in last month’s column were wrong. Sorry about
that. What I had meant to say is that some so-called A4 fanfold paper
isn’t true A4, which is 112/3 inches long, but actually 11½ inches. The
way to spot the difference is to look at the punch holes. If they are
all neatly lined up when the paper is folded, as happens with 11 and 12
inch paper, then it can’t be true A4.
5.10
New libraries
5.10
It’s nice to see that the recent diminution of the number of PD
libraries is beginning to reverse. This month, I received two catalogues
from new(ish) libraries.
5.10
The first was from Equinox. This library specialises in individual
programs. Most applications cost 30p each, with smaller files, most
Tracker and Maestro tunes, artwork, etc at 12p each. There are also a
number of compilation discs of clip art and sampled tunes at 70p per
disc. There is a minimum charge of £1.20 inclusive.
5.10
When I wrote to Equinox pointing out that 30p each would work out rather
more expensive than many other libraries for someone who wanted a lot of
applications, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an almost immediate
reply. They had obviously taken my criticism seriously and now intend to
introduce a new series of discs made up of compilations of applications
at 80p per disc. This is cheaper than most libraries and certainly
answers my earlier complaint.
5.10
The catalogue is fairly comprehensive and the choice of compilation
discs and pick-your-own makes it well worth a look. The catalogue/demo
disc cost 70p from Equinox Public Domain Services, 27 Station Road,
Earls Barton, Northampton  NN6 0NT.
5.10
The second catalogue was from RML which is a more conventional library.
The printed catalogue doesn’t fully describe each disc’s contents and
the on-disc catalogue, which does, isn’t yet complete so it’s a bit
difficult to be sure exactly what is on each disc − although most appear
to be full. There has been an attempt to put similar items on the same
disc which is more than many libraries bother to do. Catalogue and
sample disc costs 90p from RMLPD, 24 Penryn Close, Norwich  NR4 7LY.
5.10
Free PipeDream demo
5.10
You may have noticed that a PipeDream 4 demo disc was given away with
this month’s Acorn User. I have also been told by a couple of libraries
that, as a result of my earlier comments, they contacted Colton Software
and asked for permission to include this disc in their catalogue. All
were pleasantly surprised by the reaction after experiences with other
companies. So, if you missed the cover disc it’s now widely available
from PD libraries.
5.10
On the subject of PipeDream, I should like to endorse the comments made
by Gerald Fitton recently in PipeLine. PipeDream 4 is a major upgrade
from version 3 and the work put into it is probably greater than into
most completely new programs. If you need the extra features then the
price asked is not excessive. If you don’t then why complain? The fact
that version 4 exists doesn’t make version 3.14 work any less
effectively.
5.10
It is quite common for well known names to sell programs for PC’s which
have serious flaws. When people complain, they are told that the bugs
have been fixed and the upgrade to the new version is available at a
cost of £40−£60. When they get the upgrade, they discover that the bugs
have been fixed but the program has been ‘enhanced’ and new ones have
appeared. When they complain, they are told the bugs have been fixed and
the upgrade to the new version is available at acost of...  ...and so
on.
5.10
Experienced purchasers of PC software give the advice that you should
never buy version x.0 of a product. Wait for version x.01 or even better
x.1 − that way, at least it will probably work. The people who produce
software for Acorn’s computers have always resisted this type of
extortion. Companies like Computer Concepts, Clares and Colton Software
have offered us free or nearly free upgrades as their products have been
improved and faults eliminated. The step up from PipeDream 3 to
PipeDream 4 is a major enhancement and, as such, it has a price.
5.10
‘Free’ software again
5.10
The trend that I wrote about recently of obsolescent versions of PC
software being given away or released as − more or less − Shareware is
continuing. The June issue of PC-Plus came complete with version 2.2 of
Lotus Symphony. This was not drastically cut down or crippled, although
the manuals and spelling checker are not included. Anyone who has a copy
of this program will be regarded as a ‘registered user’ and can obtain a
cheap (by Lotus standards) upgrade to version 3 for £99.
5.10
Lotus Symphony is a popular integrated suite containing a spreadsheet
(123 compatible of course), a wordprocessor, a database, a graphics
presenter and a comms program. It’s certainly not second rate and the
‘normal’ price is around £600. In the version supplied, it’s perfectly
useable and although there are no proper manuals, comprehensive on-
screen help is available and the main operations are described and a
function key strip is provided. I’m disappointed, but not surprised,
that no-one is doing anything similar for the Archimedes.
5.10
With the great power and complexity of modern programs, I don’t think
the old methods of selling software are always the best. When it first
appeared, I obtained the Ovation demo disc. Like most of these discs,
including the PipeDream demos, it had nearly all of the features of the
full program but you couldn’t save your work and the printing function
was crippled. This might seem like a good idea to the people who produce
these discs who are paranoid about software piracy and ‘invent’
statistics to reinforce their paranoia, but it makes it impossible to
evaluate the program properly. I played with the Ovation disc several
times. Each time, because I had been unable to save what I had done
before, I had to start again from the beginning. Had I been able to use
the program properly, I might have actually bought Ovation because,
having spent time learning the program and found it satisfactory, why
buy another and start the learning process all over again?
5.10
I would suggest that it is much better to restrict these demos in some
other manner. (I shall continue to use the PipeDream demo as an example
because it is one with which I am most familiar.)
5.10
What if it had a reasonably full manual on the disc and most of the
functions of the full program but was restricted to around 8 columns by
60 rows. That represents about one normal page and is enough to be
actually useful. Shock and screams from the people who sell software.
“If you give people a program that actually works they’ll use it.”
Correct! “Then they won’t buy the real thing.” Wrong! The whole idea is
to give them a program that works. If you only need a spreadsheet that
is limited to one page it’s most unlikely that you would buy PipeDream
anyway, so no sale has been lost. However, once you’ve become used to
your single-sheet PipeDream, what do you do when your business expands?
That’s right, you buy the real thing because, by that time, you have
become used to it and all your old work can still be used.
5.10
In fact, that is one of the ways in which Shareware works. Many people
use a Shareware program for some time without registering. When they
want an improved version or their use increases and they feel that the
program has ‘earned’ its cost they register. I know it’s not the correct
way but it’s what many people actually do and at least they register in
the end.
5.10
To illustrate the point, I shall confess what happened when I bought my
first BBC computer. I had spent all my available cash on the computer
and a cheap printer and could only justify it by my intent to use it for
my business. I needed a decent wordprocessor but I was determined not to
spend any more money until I had proved that the computer could earn its
keep. What solved the impasse was a friend who gave me a copy of
Wordwise blown into an EPROM. Yes, pirated software. What was the
result? A few months later, when Wordwise Plus appeared, I bought a copy
and wiped the old EPROM. Later on, when Interword appeared, I bought
that, too. If I had not ‘borrowed’ that original Wordwise chip, I might
have found a cheaper alternative and so never purchased the later
Computer Concept’s products.
5.10
Companies like Lotus, Borland and Computer Associates aren’t allowing
their programs to be given away like this from philanthropic motives.
They have discovered that once someone has actually used a piece of
software in the real world ,rather than just playing with it, they soon
discover that they want the latest version and the proper manuals. You
don’t ‘lose’ a sale by giving away a complete obsolescent or old version
of a program. The person who continues to use that old program wouldn’t
have bought the latest version anyway, but once you have him using the
old version, he might buy it in the future, and meanwhile he hasn’t
bought the competition. In fact, you haven’t lost a sale by giving away
the old version, you’ve ‘hooked’ a potential future customer.
5.10
Please keep writing to me at 39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London
SE26 5RN.  A
5.10
5.10
Arctist
5.10
Marc Young
5.10
At only £24.95, Arctist from the 4th Dimension may sound like a bargain
when compared to other art packages on the Archimedes, but does it
measure up?
5.10
It arrives in a video box on a single disk with a fifty page manual. The
manual describes the facilities one by one but explains nothing that
cannot be gleaned with a little experimentation. When I encountered
problems, the manual offered little help.
5.10
Loading
5.10
As Arctist runs only in mode 15, I initially had my desktop set to mode
15 before running. In this event, the software loads up onto the icon
bar, from where it can be run as normal. I tried it, to see what
happened in mode 12. Surprisingly, after a message informing me that it
would not run in non-256 colour modes, my Archimedes needed to be re-set
before any other software could be used.
5.10
Features
5.10
On paper (or, more importantly, on the back of the box) Arctist has
quite a good range of features. It boasts rotation up to 28 times faster
than !Paint, masking tape, zooming, proportionally spaced outline fonts,
etc, etc. Just take a look at one of the adverts − looks quite impres
sive, doesn’t it?
5.10
Unfortunately, in use, the package is seriously flawed. There are a
number of serious bugs, some causing the program to crash the entire
machine with complete loss of data. There are also a number of problems
which simply make the software unpleasant to use. The majority of these
points could easily have been sorted with the minimum of fuss. It seems
almost as if the program has been rushed out with little or no testing.
5.10
In use
5.10
When run, the program clears the entire screen except for a column down
the left of the screen. At the top of this column is the 256 colour
palette. Beneath this is a bar showing the currently selected colour and
beneath this is a list of all of the options available. Each option is
selected by clicking with <select>. Some options have further sub-
options which may be accessed by clicking on the main option a second
time.
5.10
There is no differentiation made between the ‘physical’ functions, such
as Rectangle, Draw, Circle, and the others, such as Palette, Disk, etc.
For example, having selected the Circle function, if you then want to
use the Palette option to select a new colour, you will have to re-
select the Circle option after selecting your chosen hue. This problem
also effects the Undo option. Undo simply takes the screen back to the
state it was in prior to the last menu option selected − even if no
changes were made to the screen using that menu option. Also the Undo
option does not undo itself − a real pain if you select it accidentally.
5.10
Conclusions
5.10
Unfortunately, I could find little to recommend this package. Almost
every aspect is flawed in some way or another. Even the features which
could have made this an exciting package are implemented poorly. Take
the spray gun for example. There is an option to allow the spray to use
different shades of the selected colour, rather than simply randomly
plotting pixels of the colour. I would expected that, as the colour
built up, the shades would become darker. Instead they grow lighter. Add
to this the occasional random pixel appearing, cursors left behind,
crashes, divide by zero errors, circles plotted incorrectly (and believe
me, I could go on, and on!) and you will see why not only can I not
recommend this package but I must positively advise you to steer well
clear!
5.10
Epilogue
5.10
Because of the negative nature of this review, I contacted Paul before
sending it in and I agreed to write to the 4th Dimension to get their
comments. In the meantime I also experimented with two “free” 256 colour
art packages − one Careware offering and one, surprisingly called
Arctist Plus (but no relation) which is on a Shareware disc.
5.10
Of the two other art packages, I felt they both compared favourably with
Arctist. They lacked some of the features of the commercial package but
then they contained features that Arctist lacked. The ‘feel’ of an art
package is obviously a very personal thing and I confess I found none of
the packages particularly pleasant to use. Having used many art packages
on other computers, I feel that there is certainly a gap in the market
for a well-planned, fully featured, cheap package on the Archimedes.
5.10
I received a prompt reply from the 4th Dimension (which came by post,
rather than Tardis) containing two disks and a short note explaining
that I appeared to have an early version of the package. The second disk
was simply a collection of clip-art and I am unclear whether this
accompanies the standard package. The program disk was certainly a later
version and the bug encountered when loading in a non-256 colour mode
had been fixed. Unfortunately, none of the other bugs seem to have been
corrected. This version had the Basic program unprotected, so I suppose
it would be possible to hack about and fix the bugs if they cause
annoyance. Personally, I felt that the package as a whole was not good
enough to warrant this degree of effort.  A
5.10
5.10
Charm Enchants Students
5.10
Robert Chrismas
5.10
Charm is a compiled high level language from David Pilling. David’s
products are always good value and Charm, costing only £5.99 is no
exception.
5.10
Who needs Charm?
5.10
After playing with Charm, I decided I would like to show it to one of my
computing classes at Portsmouth College. We spent about eight hours of
lesson time on Charm. My main aim was to give practical experience of
using a compiler and linker to students starting the A level computing
course. As a bonus, although we only scratched the surface of Charm, the
students did find out what is was like to start a language they had
never seen before.
5.10
Programs can be compiled and linked from the desktop or from the command
line. A text editor is included in the package but my students preferred
to work from the desktop, writing their programs with Edit.
5.10
Documentation
5.10
The documentation is contained in text files on the disk, about 60k
altogether. Although there is lots of information, I found it hard to
use. I wanted to know how to write programs in Charm; instead I was told
a lot about how the compiler worked. I gave my students copies of the
manual but I also provided work sheets which summarised parts of the
manual and provided simple example programs and exercises.
5.10
Charm comes with many library functions but I am not sure the documenta
tion covers all of them. I would not be able to write anything as
ambitious as the example provided on the disc − a RISC-OS compliant
chinese checkers program − without more information.
5.10
Thanks to Charm, my students gained confidence in their programming
skills and they seemed to enjoy learning Charm despite the occasional
frustrations.
5.10
User feedback
5.10
Here are some of their comments:
5.10
Henry Deane: I have never tried anything like Charm before but it is fun
and has helped my programming structure. Definitely worth a try!
5.10
Mark Puddick: I quite liked Charm as it was more interesting than Basic.
At first it was a little complicated linking programs.
5.10
Gavin Dolling: I had never written in a high level compiled language
before. Charm was a challenge.
5.10
Louise Kelly: I thought it was quite difficult and complicated to learn.
5.10
Stephen Chan: A very good language which enables you to write modular
code. This was very useful when writing programs because you could link
them together without writing the code again. This made programming much
simpler. The listings looked more professional.
5.10
Andrew Goodale: I enjoyed Charm because it gave me an insight into other
high level languages apart from Basic. It also allowed me to use a
compiler and to link modules from separate programs, although at times
it did prove quite tough to do so. It was a worthwhile vacation from
Basic, enjoyable and educational. It improved my programming.
5.10
Conclusion
5.10
Louise is right, Charm is difficult, especially if you are used to using
an interpreted language, but Henry is right too, it is fun. The only
person who was disappointed was our bursar, Charm was so cheap that I
bought the site licence with petty cash, so she could not reclaim the
VAT.  A
5.10
5.10
Printer Drivers for DJ 500 Colour
5.10
Mary Hudson
5.10
There are two printer drivers available for the HP Deskjet 500C colour
printer, Ace Computing’s at £16 + VAT or £17 from Archive, and Risc
Developments at £15 + VAT.
5.10
Both come without documentation but have a Readme file on the disc. Risc
Developments’ is much more detailed than Ace’s and would be very helpful
if you want to do more than use the <print> option from a package like
Impression.
5.10
Both drivers installed happily on my hard disc; the Risc driver needed
an updated !System (provided, with !Sysmerge).
5.10
Once installed on the icon bar, clicking <select> on the printer icon
brings up a window with the name of the driver. Clicking on this cycles
through various options. The Ace gives you two resolutions for the
Paintjet but only one (300 × 300) for the Deskjet, while the Risc gives
three resolutions (75 × 75, 150 × 150 and 300 × 300) for the Deskjet
only, and options for monochrome graphics and choice of paper feed
(normal or envelope). Clicking on <menu> brings up the usual dialogue
for setting up paper size and margins; again the Risc driver has more
options than the Ace.
5.10
To test colour printing, I tried a page in Impression (in mode 15) using
coloured text and a sprite imported from Paint, and both drivers enabled
the printer to produce first class results on the high resolution
setting, each taking ten minutes or more for a single page. On its lower
resolutions, the Risc driver did a draft print much more quickly but the
quality was obviously poorer.
5.10
Colour graphics from !Draw were very well done too, with nothing to
choose between the drivers. A page from !Genesis printed out with
background colours but text was all in a greyish-black instead of the
multi-coloured text on the screen. A graph from !Schema printed out
perfectly. Again there was no difference between the drivers.
5.10
Using the black cartridge both drivers accepted a test file from Edit
dropped directly onto the printer icon, though when using the Ace driver
I had to press the <eject> button on the printer to get the paper out.
It was not possible to print black text from !Impression (except for
draft printing using the printer modules) or black and white graphics
from !Draw using either driver. I was immediately prompted to change the
cartridge. If you used the colour ink cartridge, the page was printed in
a greyish black, very slowly. This seemed a waste of expensive coloured
ink and time. !PrinterLJ copes perfectly well with black printing.
5.10
 Conclusion
5.10
As a colour driver, either one gives excellent results in the highest
resolution, but only the Risc driver enables you to do a draft colour
print. Neither is much use for black printing but !PrinterLJ will cope
with that. Unfortunately, it seems to be impossible to have both
PrinterLJ and a colour driver on the icon bar together. (It is now
possible on RISC-OS 3. Ed) As the prices are very much the same I would
choose the Risc driver as it has slightly better instructions and more
options available.  A
5.10
Since the version Mary reviewed, Ace have added the extra 75 × 75 and
150 × 150 and their price includes both a RISC-OS 2 and a RISC-OS 3
driver on the same disc for the Archive price of £17 inc VAT. To the
Beebug price of £15 +VAT, you have to add £2 p&p, so at £17 +VAT
(=£19.98) the equation is changed in favour of the Ace driver. Even the
Risc User members’ price is £13.50 + VAT + £2 p&p which comes to £18.21.
Ed.
5.10

5.10

5.10
5.10
Tiny Draw and Tiny Logo
5.10
Simon Anthony
5.10
Topologika have updated their early learning programs to version 2.00.
Tiny Draw is a simple draw package and Tiny Logo is a mathematical
computer language introduction which has quite extensive educational
uses because Logo’s industrial incarnation can be used to do anything
from scanning brains to building cars.
5.10
Both programs come on the one disc. The first thing you must do before
using either of them is to register it. This is a one off event which
takes a bit of courage, but there is really nothing to worry about. It
simply involves running the program !Register which burns your inputted
details on to the master and onto any subsequent copies of the program
as a security measure before it can be used.
5.10
What do you get?
5.10
There is plenty of room to spare on the disc so some of the rest holds
various application programs such as a configuration utility, a sprite
converter and a Big Pointer. However, the programs are not ‘stand alone’
to start with because they also need to see !Fonts before they will do
anything. There is an !Install program that copies the relevant Trinity
font to your master disc but only from the Apps1 disc supplied with the
computer.
5.10
How does it run?
5.10
Once it is registered and the fonts have been installed on the disc, the
computer end has to be sorted out. When you click on Tiny Draw, the
program asks you to select mode 15 or it won’t run. So you set that, as
it says, with the pallet icon. Re-run it and it says it needs a font
size of 72k, so you set that with the task manager. Then for a third run
attempt you give it a try and it asks for sprite size of 72k or more as
well. Once all is ready, the menu comes up. Why couldn’t they have used
the Memalloc module? Even stranger, the Basic installation program MK2
proudly boasts that Memalloc is not needed − this seems very odd.
5.10
How does it feel?
5.10
Anyway, once it is running, Tiny Draw is a delight to use, save for one
thing. The screen update is so slow that even very gentle movements of
the mouse produce a string of dots rather than a constant curve. This
does lend a certain childish charm to the pictures but I found it
irritating and restrictive of free artistic movement. However, my
students didn’t, and the program was, after all, designed for them, not
for me.
5.10
The colours are bold and well chosen. They are displayed as an easy to
select column to the left of the drawing area. A black hole helpfully
marks the colour menu as a colour is selected from it but the response
is again rather slow as if lots of things were going on in the back
ground. The tool kit is displayed beneath the drawing area. It uses
simple icons which need no explanation. Provision is made for square,
rectangle, triangle and circle drawing each with two selections of size.
5.10
Updates?
5.10
There is a review of the previous version of Tiny Draw (and Logo) in
Archive 4.3 (December 1990). The only update I can tell from reading
that previous review is that there is now a ‘delete last alteration’
function, done by clicking on a cross. Also, there are now three line
thicknesses, not two.
5.10
Tiny Logo
5.10
What is it? Well, read the 1990 review for a brief description. Not much
has changed since then. For those of you who don’t know what Logo is,
Tiny or otherwise, I will simply say it is a computer language which can
be used to control the movements of a robot. Simple commands like up, 3,
right, 7, etc move a ‘Turtle’ (in this case, a blue arrow) around the
screen leaving (or not leaving) a coloured line behind it. These
commands can be strung together and then repeated to make patterns or to
teach shape recognition. Tiny Logo does not allow angles other than
multiples of 45. These are shown as a menu at the top of the screen with
a choice of ‘distances’. There is now a delete facility as requested but
it does not go as far as an edit mode for strings of commands. The
maximum length is still only 20 so maybe it’s not that much of a
problem.
5.10
Error!
5.10
From time to time an error window comes up.
5.10
‘Tiny Logo has had a problem with what you were asking it to do. Please
inform Topologika so that they can rectify the problem (933,6170)’
5.10
In this case my investigations showed that the problem was in using the
function keys when running from the network. Until this message came up
it had looked as if the program would run easily on a network. Since
then the message has not reappeared but, dutifully I hereby inform
Topologika.
5.10
Function keys form a large part of the operation of both programs. Disc
filling and quitting can only be done this way so don’t lose the
keystrip!
5.10
I can’t say I like that much, but then the standard menu button method
could confuse a child.
5.10
Conclusions
5.10
This disc is a low price, easy to use package for the early learner. My
students rapidly lost interest with Tiny Logo which was sad. They needed
time to be told why it was useful to draw lines on the screen in a
repeatable way. There just isn’t the time in class these days to manage
that, at least not with my groups. Tiny Draw fared better. The start up
reconfiguration of the font size, sprite size and Mode puts them off
even now. It is not the complexity of doing it themselves that is the
problem here, just the irritation. They have now graduated to ProArtisan
and poor old Tiny Draw isn’t used much if at all now.
5.10
So, good to start with, but be ready to move on!  A
5.10
5.10
Micro Studio Ltd     22 Churchgate Street, Soham, Ely, Cambridgeshire.
(0353−720433)
5.10
Minerva Systems (p16)    Minerva
House, Baring Crescent, Exeter  EX1 1TL. (0392−437756) (0392−421762)
5.10
Oak Solutions (p40)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274−620423) (0274−620419)
5.10
Ray Maidstone    421 Sprowston Road, Norwich  NR3 4EH. (0603−400477)
(0603−417447)
5.10
Risc Developments Ltd     117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts  AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (0727−60263)
5.10
Silicon Vision Ltd     Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex  HA1 2AG. (081−422−2274)
(081−427−5169)
5.10
Simtron Ltd     4 Clarence Drive, East Grinstead, W. Sussex  RH19 4RZ.
(0342−328188)
5.10
Spacetech (p34)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset  DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.10
Topologika     P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough  PE7 3RL. (0733−244682)
5.10
4th Dimension     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661) (0742−781091)
5.10
4Mation     11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon
EX32 8PA. (0271−25353) (0271−22974)
5.10
Abacus Training     29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts  SN2
6QA.
5.10
Ace Computing (p39)    27 Victoria
Road, Cambridge  CB4 3BW. (0223−322559) (0223−69180)
5.10
Acorn Computers Ltd     Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge  CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (0223−210685)
5.10
Aleph One Ltd     The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge  CB5 9BA.
(0223−811679) (0223−812713)
5.10
Apricote Studios (p31)    2 Purls
Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire  PE15 0ND. (035−478−432)
5.10
Architype    54 Parkes Hall Road, Woodsetton, Dudley, West Midlands
DY1 3SR.
5.10
Calligraph Ltd     53 Panton Street, Cambridge CB2 1HL. (0223−461143)
(0223−316144)
5.10
CJE Micros     78 Brighton Road, Worthing, W Sussex  BN11 2EN.
(0903−213361)
5.10
Clares Micro Supplies     98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire  CW9 7DA. (0606−48511)
(0606−48512)
5.10
Commotion     Redburn House, Stockingswater Lane, Enfield  EN3 7TD.
5.10
Colton Software (p20)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge  CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (0223−312010)
5.10
Computer Concepts (p32/33)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts  HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (0442−231632)
5.10
David Pilling     P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
5.10
EcoCare Group     Unit 3C, Cromer Business Park, Middlebrook Way, Cromer
NR27 9JR. (0263−513553)
5.10
Electronic Font Foundry    Granville
House, 50-52 Upper Village Road, Ascot  SL5 7AQ. (0344−28698)
(0344−872923)
5.10
ICS (Ian Copestake Software) (p4)    1 Kington
Road, West Kirby, Wirral  L48 5ET. (051−625−1006) (051−625−1007)
5.10
Krisalis Software     Teque House,
Mason’s Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate, Rotherham  S60 2HD. (0709−372290)
5.10
Kudlian Soft    39 Dalehouse Lane, Kenilworth, Warwickshire  CV8 2HW.
(0926−55538)
5.10
LOOKsystems (p19)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich  NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (0603−764011)
5.10

5.11
There’s something in the air!
5.11
Ardent Acorn-watchers will be aware that there is something in the air
at the moment. We have just seen the launch of the A4 and Archimedes
World are trying to convince us that Acorn are poised to launch a couple
of other new machines. The bulletin boards are humming, too. Ian Burley
of Acorn User has been dropping very guarded hints on the Arcade BBS,
about the processors to be used in Acorn’s new machines saying that
“what Acorn are using might be a bit surprising”! He also says that we
might not have to wait until the B.A.U. Show to find out.
5.11
A new games-oriented machine seems a very good bet and Acorn will
presumably be doing their best to have it available in time for the
B.A.U. Show in mid-October. They must also be looking to produce
something new at the higher end in due course and they really ought to
rationalise the existing range − it takes ages to explain to customers
the pros and cons of the A5000 and A540!
5.11
Anyway, Archive was the first magazine to bring you the full technical
details of the A4 last month (as with the A5000 last year) and so we
will be doing our very best to maintain that reputation over the next
few issues of Archive. Watch this space...
5.11
“My Archive is late!”
5.11
I know that many of you look forward to receiving your copy of Archive
each month and start getting impatient if it is late. Unfortunately, at
holidays times, producing 12 issues a year means that it is difficult to
meet the deadlines, so I hope you will bear with us...
5.11
Have a good holiday!
5.11
5.11
Products Available
5.11
•    Analogue simulation package − Mijas Software have produced a general
purpose ‘analogue’ simulation package called ArcSimp. It provides
integrators, summers, function generators, trig functions, etc and will
allow you to model all sorts of different systems. ArcSimp costs £50
including VAT and p&p from Mijas and they also sell a demonstration
version for £5 refundable against a purchase of the full system.
5.11
•    Archimedes Basic Compiler (ABC) − Oak Solutions, who now distribute
the ABC compiler, have produced a version 3. This is a re-presented
version with extra facilities and sells at £99.95 +VAT or £105 through
Archive. We hope to have a review of it in due course.
5.11
•    Castle Life − Oak Solutions have produced a package to allow children
to explore a mediæval castle, using plans and views to plan and execute
their own “visit”. The material relates to History Key Stage 3 and
Technology Attainment Target 5. Two discs, one manual and twelve
worksheets cost £50 +VAT from Oak Solutions.
5.11
•    Clipart by the volume − 23 volumes of clip art from Image Club
Graphics of Canada which were originally only available on Macs and PCs
are now available in Archimedes Draw format. Matt Black (that’s the name
of the company) sells the 23 volumes for £29.95 each. A full catalogue
is available from Matt Black for £7.95 inc p&p.
5.11
•    Clipart on CD-ROM − APA Multimedia have produced “The Really Useful
CD-ROM Vol. 1” at £49 +VAT which contains “megabytes of clipart in Draw
and sprite format” plus some sound samples.
5.11
•    DrawBook − A great help for those doing budget DTP is Emerald
Publishing’s DrawBook. It allows you to combine drawfiles, one for each
page, to create a book. The order and contents of the book can be edited
and it also enables headers and footers to be printed on each page. The
cost is £15 +VAT or £16 through Archive.
5.11
    Landmarks − Longman Logotron have just released another two in their
Landmarks series of educational information packages. They are “Aztecs”
and “Columbus” and each costs £24 +VAT or £26 through Archive.
5.11
•    My Town/Village is a resources pack (£7.50 +VAT) for use with the My
World Package (£15 +VAT) from NW SEMERC. It includes a range of
pictorial scenes depicting towns and villages through the centuries.
5.11
•    Multiple CD-ROMs − Cumana have reduced the price of their “6-pack” CD-
ROM drives to £1499 +VAT. These provide six drives that can be used on a
network, all 6 drives being accessible simultaneously.
5.11
•    PenDown Plus − A new version of PenDown has been released (£79 +VAT or
£85 through Archive). Extra features include a new 65,000 word diction
ary with check-as-you-type, font find-and-replace, table editing,
mailmerge and address database.
5.11
•    Portable trackerball − (Ed’s wish in last month’s “A4” article has
come true!) PEP Associates have converted the Logitech Trackman Portable
− a serial trackerball − to work on the serial port of the new A4 (and
presumably also the A5000, though that is less relevant). You can buy
the full package including carrying case, various cables and adaptors
and the A4 software for £95 inclusive or for £45 you can get just the
software and the trackerball (with, presumably, a cable to connect to
the A4). If you already have a Trackman Portable, you can buy the
software on its own from PEP for £19.
5.11
•    Professional Tools Pack 1 − Electronic Solutions have produced a set
of RISC-OS utilities for £14.95 +VAT. These include monitor protector
and data security program, colour enhancement software, animated generic
ARM3 control software, module protector utilities, key-activated
utilities and utility manager, multisync monitor emulator, system speed
controller and a fix for RISC-OS 2’s “FileCore in use” bug.
5.11
•    Prolog is back! − Keylink Computers Ltd have produced a version of
Prolog for the Archimedes (2M or more). It costs £69.95 +VAT and uses
the standard Edinburgh text. It comes with a 120+ page manual with a
large amount of background information.
5.11
•    Risc Basic Compiler − Silicon Vision have produced a version 3 of
their Risc Basic Compiler which also links in with Acorn’s DDE. It sells
at £149.95 inc VAT or £135 through Archive. We hope to have a review of
it in due course.
5.11
•    Saloon Cars De-Luxe − Fourth Dimension have now produced a de-luxe
version of Saloon Cars. For £34.95 (£33 through Archive) you get a range
of new and improved features. They have taken into account the fact that
some people have hard discs (onto which it can be installed), more than
1M and ARM3. In other words, on more powerful machines you will be able
to get more detail and/or speed.
5.11
•    SolidCAD release 5 is now available from Silicon Vision. It has a
bigger manual, a module for high speed animation, SuperPlot driver,
SuperDump driver, 24bit RGB output, high speed rendering (claiming to be
“the fastest rendering package”), drawfile output, etc. £149.95 inc VAT
from Silicon Vision.
5.11
•    The Last Ninja − In another series of battles against evil, you have
to use swords, nunchakus and shiraken stars to rescue the stolen scrolls
of Ninja. You also have to solve some devious puzzles in over 140
“action-packed screens”. The Last Ninja costs £24.95 from Superior or
£23 through Archive.
5.11
•    ThinkSheet − In the very early days of Archive, I asked for an ideas
processor for the Archimedes. Having got used to using one on the Mac, I
felt I was missing out. At last there is one available. Fisher Marriott
Software have had a Nimbus and PC version available for a while but have
now released a fully RISC-OS compatible version for the Archimedes.
ThinkSheet allows you to enter text, organise it, search through it and
reorganise it to your heart’s content − all in the RISC-OS environment.
Then you can export your text to a WP or DTP package. Facilities are
also provided for transferring information to and from ThinkSheets on
Nimbus and PC. The price is £39 +VAT from Fisher-Marriott and £89 +VAT
for a school site licence.
5.11
•    Training galore! − Several companies are now offering training courses
for end-users. Broad Oak Computers in Bishops Stortford (0279− 718767)
do courses on Impression, Squirrel, Schema, FWPlus, Artisan, Pendown and
the PC Emulator. They charge £50 +VAT per day. They also do a correspon
dence course on BBC Basic V. Acorn Computers in Cambridge (0223−214411)
do courses on Impression, Squirrel, Schema, PC Emulator, PinPoint,
Vector, PipeDream, Revelation and Magpie, plus more general ones on the
Learning Curve software and one on Graphics, Animation and Video. They
charge £49 +VAT per day. Minerva software in Exeter (0392− 426160) do
courses on Archimedes Awareness, Draw/Edit, Atelier, MultiStore/
Flexifile, Desktop Office, Impression and TimeTabler. They charge £60
+VAT per ½ day, £110 per full day or £150 per full day depending on the
course.
5.11
Interestingly, they all say that the most popular courses are the
general introductory ones and the ones on Impression. Does anyone know
of other companies doing such courses? Do any of them cover other
applications such as Ovation?
5.11
Review software received...
5.11
We have received review copies of the following: ABC Compiler version 3,
ArcSimp, Castle Life, CSVtoText, Draw Print & Plot, KiddiCAD, !Killer,
PenDown Plus, Professional Tools Pack 1, Saloon Cars De-Luxe, Screen
Turtle, Shareware 46, ThinkSheet.  A
5.11
5.11
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.11
“Christianity is just a crutch for those people not strong enough to
cope by themselves.” I wonder if you have heard that scornful criticism?
Well, it’s wrong in the sense that being a true Christian is NOT an easy
option − there are some ways in which it would be a lot less hassle just
being a “nice agnostic”.
5.11
However, my main point this month is that it is actually true −
Christianity IS a crutch! Let me explain by analogy...
5.11
I am sure you can all think of an occasion when a friend or relative has
been ill but they wouldn’t accept it and have tried to lead a normal
life only to end up flat on their backs − perhaps worse than they would
have been. If someone has, say, a sprained ankle and they refuse to use
a crutch or walking stick, wouldn’t you (rightly) say, “He’s daft! If
only he would do what the doctor told him... ”.
5.11
The bible’s diagnosis is clear − every individual on earth is limping in
some way or other and needs support. At the very least, we need the
support of each other (I mentioned my particular appreciation of that
last month) but what we need above all is to listen to God’s diagnosis
and accept His cure for our spiritual malaise.
5.11
If you have even an inkling that you might be in some kind of need,
spiritually, wouldn’t it be better to acknowledge it and let God show
you the cure? Why go around pretending that all is well? Would it do any
harm to seek out someone you know to be a committed Christian and ask
them for advice?
5.11
Sadly, twentieth century (European) man says, “I can manage by myself −
I don’t need any help, thank you”. He throws away his spiritual
crutch...    ... and falls flat on his face!
5.11
5.11

5.11
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
0603−766592 (−764011)
5.11
5.11
4th Dimension     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661) (0742−781091)
5.11
4Mation    11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon  EX32
8PA. (0271−25353) (0271−22974)
5.11
Abacus Training     29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts  SN2
6QA.
5.11
Acorn Computers Ltd     Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge  CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (0223−210685)
5.11
Acorn Training Centre    Unit 5,
Cambridge Technopark, 645 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8PB.
(0223−214411)
5.11
APA Multimedia     Unit 8, Henley Business Park, Trident Close, Medway
City Estate, Strood, Rochester, Kent  ME2 4ER. (0634−295222)
(0634−710193)
5.11
Arxe Systems Ltd (p16)    279B Romford
Road, Forest Gate, London E7 9HJ. (081−534−1198)
5.11
C.I.S.    Unit 2a, 436 Essex Road, London  N1 3QP. (071−226−3340)
(071−226−3408)
5.11
Chalksoft    P.O. Box 49, Spalding, Lincs  PE11 1NZ. (0775−769518)
5.11
Commotion     Redburn House, Stockingswater Lane, Enfield  EN3 7TD.
5.11
Colton Software (p12)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge  CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (0223−312010)
5.11
Computer Concepts (p32/33)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts  HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (0442−231632)
5.11
Cumana Ltd     Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guilford  GU3 3BH.
(0483−503121) (0483−503326)
5.11
David Pilling    P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
5.11
Electronic Solutions    Ceralyn,
Maindy Croft, Ton-Pentra, Mid Glamorgan. (0443−430355)
5.11
Emerald Publishing    P.O.Box 324,
Cambridge  CB1 3HB. (0223−355399)
5.11
EMR Ltd     14 Mount Close, Wickford, Essex  SS11 8HG. (0702−335747)
5.11
Fisher-Marriott Software    3 Grove
Road, Ansty, Warwickshire  CV7 9JD. (0203−616325 or 366748)
5.11
I.C.S. (p20)    1 Kington Road, West Kirby, Wirral  L48 5ET.
(051−625−1006) (051−625−1007)
5.11
ITV Software    6 Paul Street, London EC2A 4JH (071−247−5206)
5.11
Keylink Computers Ltd    2 Woodway
House, Common Lane, Kenilworth, Warwickshire  CV8 2ES. (0926−50909)
(0926−864128)
5.11
Longman-Logotron    124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4
4ZS. (0223−425558) (0223−425349)
5.11
LOOKsystems (p11)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich  NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (764011)
5.11
Matt Black     P.O.Box 42, Peterborough  PE1 2TZ. (0733−315439)
5.11
Minerva Systems    Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter  EX1 1TL.
(0392−437756) (421762)
5.11
Northwest SEMERC    Fitton Hill CDC, Rosary Road, Oldham  OL8 2QE.
(061−627−4469)
5.11
Oak Solutions (p4)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274−620423) (0274−620419)
5.11
Oregan Developments    36 Grosvenor
Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield  B74 3PE.
5.11
PEP Associates    34 Tiverton Way, Cambridge  CB1 3TU. (0223−212251)
5.11
Ray Maidstone     421 Sprowston Road, Norwich  NR3 4EH. (0603−400477)
(0603−417447)
5.11
Really Good Software Co.    P.O.Box 60,
Ashton-under-Lyme  OL5 9WW.
5.11
Silicon Vision Ltd    Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex  HA1 2AG. (081−422−2274)
(081−427−5169)
5.11
Spacetech (p22)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset  DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.11
Superior Software    P.O. Box 6, Brigg, S Humberside  DN20 9NH.
(0652−658585) (0652−657807)
5.11
Techsoft UK Ltd (p15/19)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd  CH7 4DA. (082−43318)
5.11

5.11
5.11
Computer Concepts
5.11
From 5.3 page 32
5.11
5.11
Computer Concepts
5.11
From 5.3 page 33
5.11
5.11
Paul Beverley
5.11
5.11
Oak Solutions
5.11
From 5.10 page 40
5.11
5.11
Hints and Tips
5.11
•    A5000 hard disc replacement − One drawback with the A5000 is that the
40M hard disc quickly fills up. Being in this position, I decided to
replace mine with a larger one.
5.11
Researching prices, I found that IDE drives bought direct from suppliers
advertising in magazines such as Personal Computer World are much
cheaper than the same drives advertised in the specialist Acorn
magazines. Would any IDE drive work? A friend told me that Seagate IDE
drives did not work correctly on A5000s but Connor (as already fitted to
my A5000) and Maxtor (as fitted to another A5000 I know of) should be
OK, as well as Quantum. Another friend recently bought and fitted an NEC
drive to his A5000.
5.11
I bought a 120M cached Quantum drive (the GM120AT). The drive, from SMC
who advertise in PCW, arrived the day after I ordered it.
5.11
The fitting was extremely simple. After a backup and power off I removed
the cables, undid the four screws under the old drive (it is necessary
to remove all the drive cables and lift out the metal bracket to which
the drives are fastened) to release it and slotted in the new one − no
problems! The drive was already low-level formatted and, although the
hard disc formatter supplied with RISC-OS 3 didn’t recognise the disc
shape, I just selected ‘Initialise’ and that was it. The drive worked a
few seconds after switching on.
5.11
In use, the drive feels very fast. I have measured a data transfer rate
of 1060k/sec, compared to 800k/sec for the original drive and an average
access time of 7ms(!) as compared to 18ms.
5.11
Similar drives advertised specifically for the A5000 in the Acorn press
are £50­£100 more. Some of these include splitter cables, allowing the
old drive to remain (there are already mounting holes for a second drive
on the A5000, drilled in the case below the floppy disc drive). I intend
to make my own in the next few days − it will cost about £10.
5.11
So I would recommend anyone wishing to upgrade their A5000’s internal
disc drive to do it themselves. Just obey the following rules:
5.11
−  Shop around for the best deal in the general computer and PC press.
5.11
−  Buy a low profile 3½“ AT IDE drive made by Quantum, Conner, Maxtor or
NEC.
5.11
−  Make a backup of your old hard disc before commencing the changeover.
5.11
−  Use the RISC-OS 3 hard disc formatter to initialise the new disc, no
need to format.
5.11
−  If you want to use both drives, Maplin Electronics sell everything
you need to make the splitter cables.
5.11
Perhaps a list of known A5000-friendly IDE drives could be compiled?
Seán Kelly, Leighton Buzzard
5.11
•    Acorn SCSI card − If you buy the CDFS/FSCSI upgrade for the Acorn SCSI
card, there is a link change to be made on the AKA31 version of the card
but if you have one of the older AKA30 cards, it is slightly more
complicated.
5.11
The upgrade consists of putting a 27512 EPROM in place of the existing
27256 EPROM. To enable the extra address lines, hardware modifications
are needed. Links 1, 3, 4 and 5 remain unchanged but link LK2 was open
and has to be closed and link LK12 was closed and has to be opened. On
the AKA31 boards, these changes can be made by moving a link but on the
AKA31, this will involve cutting a track on LK12 and soldering a link on
LK2. This should not be attempted unless you are competent to make such
a modification and it will, in any case, invalidate the warranty on the
board. Acorn dealers should do the modification for you although there
may be a charge unless you buy the upgrade from them. Tudor Jones,
Barnet.
5.11
•    Automatic kerning and RISC-OS 3 − The font manager has this facility.
Currently it is only available with the standard ROM fonts (Trinity,
etc.). Presumably, EFF will update their fonts to include kerning pairs.
To use auto-kerning, simply set bit 9 of R2 in all calls to SYS
“Font_Paint”.
5.11
10 REM >KernDemo
5.11
20 REM Example of automatic kerning
5.11
30 REM For RISC-OS 3 ROM fonts only
5.11
40 MODE 15:OFF
5.11
50 SYS “ColourTrans_SetFontColours”,0,0,
5.11
&F0F00000,14
5.11
60 SYS “Font_FindFont”,,“Trinity. Medium”,50*16,50*16 TO hdl%
5.11
70 SYS “Font_SetFont”,hdl%
5.11
80 REM Kerning off first
5.11
90 SYS “Font_Paint”,,“WAWA no
5.11
kerning here!“,%0000010000,10,500
5.11
100 REM Kerning on now
5.11
110 REM Set bit 9 in R2
5.11
120 SYS “Font_Paint”,,“WAWA this is kerned.”,%1000010000,10,300
5.11
130 SYS“Font_LoseFont”,hdl%
5.11
The ease with which this can be done leads me to wonder why CC haven’t
provided it as an option in Impression.
5.11
To rotate fonts, set bit seven of R2 in “Font_ Paint” and pass the (draw
style) transformation matrix in R7. Note that old style calls to
“Font_StringWidth”, etc don’t take account of kerning or transformation.
A new SWI “Font_ ScanString” is used to do this. Rob Davison, New
Zealand
5.11
•    Basic 1.05 Bug − A really annoying bug exists in all versions of Basic
except the floating point version supplied on the RISC-OS 3 application
discs.
5.11
Consider the following two statements (type them in if you feel like
it.)
5.11
a=210
5.11
b=2.10*100
5.11
These two variables should hold the same value. They seem to be the
same, as you can check with:
5.11
PRINT a,b
5.11
IF a=b PRINT “SAME”
5.11
etc.
5.11
If you have RISC-OS 2 then both the above checks will say that they are
the same. RISC-OS 3 Basic 1.05 will not print ‘SAME’ in the second test.
The reason for this can be revealed by trying the following:
5.11
PRINT INT(a),INT(b)
5.11
PRINT STR$(a),STR$(b)
5.11
These problems seem to occur because of the limited accuracy of floating
point numbers in Basic. My program stored times at centisecond resolu
tion internally and I wanted to scale these times to seconds for the
user. I did a usertime=centitime/100 but ran into problems when I tried
converting the usertime variable back into a string with STR$(usertime)
5.11
My solution (and I’m not saying it’s a good one) is as follows:
5.11
A short ARM code routine intercepts the WRCHV vector and stores
characters printed in a buffer. The routine is linked in just before a
PRINT realvar statement and killed off just afterwards. You can then
extract the string from the buffer via normal means. An example program
follows:
5.11
10 REM >string
5.11
20 REM provides a STR$( function
5.11
25 REM that avoids some floating
5.11
30 REM point problems in Basic
5.11
40 REM By Rob Davison, May 1992
5.11
50 REM Public Domain
5.11
60 REM
5.11
70 PROCassy
5.11
80 PRINT “First the old way -”
5.11
90 PRINT STR$(2.10*100)
5.11
100 PRINT “Should be ”;FNstr(2.10 *100)
5.11
110 PRINT’“Another example”
5.11
120 PRINT STR$(0.6)
5.11
130 PRINT “Should be ”;FNstr(0.6)
5.11
140 PRINT’“Bye now.”
5.11
150 END
5.11
160 DEFPROCassy
5.11
170 DIM code% &100
5.11
180 REM ’possy’ is a buffer. Can be scratch space but MUST
5.11
 be big enough.
5.11
190 DIM possy &100
5.11
200 FOR opt=0 TO 2 STEP2
5.11
210 P%=code%
5.11
220 [OPT opt
5.11
230 .intercept
5.11
240 STMFD R13!,{r0-r3 }
5.11
250 LDR R1,posaddr
5.11
260 STRB R0,[R1]
5.11
270 ADD R1,R1,#1
5.11
280 STR R1,posaddr
5.11
290 LDMFD R13!,{r0-r3 ,PC}
5.11
300 .posaddr EQUD possy
5.11
310 ]
5.11
320 NEXT
5.11
330 ENDPROC
5.11
340 REM this is the string function
5.11
350 DEFFNstr(number)
5.11
360 LOCAL ERROR
5.11
370 ON ERROR LOCAL SYS “XOS_Release” ,3,intercept,0:REPORT:PRINT ERL:END
5.11
380 !posaddr=possy:REM reset pointer to start of buffer
5.11
390 SYS “XOS_Claim”,3,intercept,0 :REM claim the vector
5.11
400  PRINT number
5.11
410 SYS “XOS_Release”,3,intercept,0 :REM and release it immediately
5.11
420 REM Extract the string and get rid of leading/trailing rubbish
5.11
430 str$=$possy:WHILE LEFT$(str$,1)= CHR$32:str$=RIGHT$(str$,
5.11
LEN(str$)-1):ENDWHILE
5.11
440 WHILE ASC(RIGHT$(str$,1))<32: str$=LEFT$(str$,LEN(str$)-1)
5.11
:ENDWHILE
5.11
450 =str$
5.11
Rob Davison, New Zealand
5.11
•    Basic V rounding errors − Last month, (Archive 5.10 p19) Mr E. Hollox
asked for help with the STR$ rounding. I hope that the following will
help solve his problem. No actual specifics were given on his problem,
so I’ve assumed that he’s working with monetary units (i.e. two decimal
places). This may not be correct in this instance, but will probably be
relevant to a large number of users and should provide Mr Hollox with a
starting point for the solution he wants.
5.11
In simple terms, the solution is to avoid decimals; to work only with
integer variables. At first glance this may sound like an odd solution
when a number of decimal places are required, but it’s not as strange as
you may think.
5.11
Firstly, the use of integer variables does not restrict you to the use
of integer numbers − not when you are making use of STR$, anyway.
5.11
Secondly, integers make for faster programs, as I’m sure everyone
realises (unless they program an Atari ST in GFA or Atari Basic!)
5.11
Thirdly, and more importantly, integers are far more accurate than real
numbers due to the way in which they are stored. The method of storage
does have a negative effect, however, in that your range of numbers is
restricted − though the range available should be enough for most
people’s needs. Page 21 of the Archimedes’ BBC Basic Guide details this.
Remember that the more decimal places you require, the lower the range
becomes.
5.11
So, onto the solution to the problem...
5.11
Your ‘real’ number must be stored as an integer 100 (for 2 dp users)
times as big. Whenever any output is required, a routine must be used to
convert it to a string and insert a decimal point at the correct place.
For inputting, the reverse is required; the decimal point must be
removed.
5.11
The function FN_Int_To_Str carries out the decimalisation of your
integer number:
5.11
DEF FN_Int_To_Str(Int%)
5.11
LOCAL Real$
5.11
Int%=ABS(Int%)
5.11
IF Int%<10 THEN Real$=
5.11
“      00”+STR$(Int%)
5.11
IF Int%>=10 AND Int%<100 THEN Real$=“      0”+STR$(Int%)
5.11
IF Int%>=100 THEN Real$=RIGHT$
5.11
(“        ”+STR$(Int%),9)
5.11
Real$=LEFT$(Real$,7)+“.”+
5.11
RIGHT$(Real$,2)
5.11
=Real$
5.11
You must call the function with string$=FN_Int_ To_Str(number%) where
string$ is your variable to hold the decimalised string and number% is
your variable holding the stored number. The routine returns the number
as a string with two decimal places, and right justified (in a ten
character field).
5.11
The minus symbol ruins the simplicity of the routine, so an absolute
value is taken of the number. Minus numbers aren’t difficult to cope
with but, as they weren’t part of the problem....
5.11
The function works by converting the integer number to a string and then
adding spaces to the left in order to right align it. This is done by
the three IF statements and, possibly, is the more complex part of the
routine.
5.11
In the first case, the number is lower than ten (i.e. 0 to 9) so the
final figure will be of the form “      0.0x” − hence six spaces and two
zeros are added.
5.11
In the second case, the number is in the range 10 to 99, so the figure
will be “      0.xx” − six spaces and one zero are added.
5.11
In the third case, the number is over 100 (over 1.00). In this case,
rather than add the correct number of spaces for its size (6 for 100 to
999, 5 for 1000 to 9999, etc.) we add the maximum required and truncate
the resulting string to its rightmost nine characters.
5.11
The result, in all three cases, is a right aligned integer number in a
nine character string.
5.11
Then we have the easy bit. The first seven characters of the string are
taken, a decimal point added, then the last two digits − problem solved.
5.11
The reverse function is even simpler:
5.11
DEF FN_Str_To_Int(Real$)
5.11
LOCAL Int%
5.11
Real$=FN_FormatNumber(Real$)
5.11
Int%=VAL(LEFT$(Real$,7))*100+
5.11
VAL(RIGHT$(Real$,2))
5.11
=Int%
5.11
This function is called with number%=FN_Str_ To_Int(string$) where
string$ is your variable containing the string and number% is the
variable that will contain the integer number.
5.11
The first thing the function does is to pass the string to another
function in order to ensure it is of the correct format before convert
ing it to a number. This is dealt with below.
5.11
The function then calculates the integer part of the number (positions 1
to 7 within the string), multiplies this by 100, and adds the fractional
part of the number (positions 9 to 10 − after the decimal point.) The
result, an integer number 100 times the real number, is returned to the
calling routine.
5.11
I could have simply used Int%=VAL(Real$)*100, making the routine much
simpler. Then the inaccuracy of real numbers is risked once more. In
between Real$ and Int%, the number is stored as real until it is
multiplied by 100 and put in the integer variable. The method I’ve used
circumvents this risk, but introduces another factor. The format of the
number within the string must be correct. For the above conversion to
work, this must be a two decimal place number, with the decimal point as
the eighth character of the string. This is where the third formula
comes in:-
5.11
DEF FN_FormatNumber(Number$)
5.11
LOCAL Length%,Point%
5.11
Length%=LEN(Number$)
5.11
Point%=INSTR(Number$,“.”)
5.11
IF (Point%=Length%-1) AND
5.11
(Point%>0) THEN Number$=Number$+“0”
5.11
IF (Point%=Length%) AND (Point%>0) THEN Number$=Number$+“00”
5.11
IF Length%=0 THEN Number$=“0”
5.11
IF Point%=0 THEN Number$=Number$+ “.00”
5.11
IF Point%=1 THEN Number$=“0”+ Number$
5.11
Number$=RIGHT$(“       ”+Number$ ,10)
5.11
=Number$
5.11
This routine looks far more complicated than it actually is. The second
routine, above, passes its Real$ to this function which formats it to
two decimal places and ensures that the final string is 10 characters
long.
5.11
In this sense, it is a routine that can be used independently of the
other two; by calling it with New$=FN_FormatNumber(Old$) where Old$ is
the unformatted number and New$ is the result.
5.11
It works by determining first the length of the string, then the
position of the decimal point within the string. With a two decimal
place number, the position of the point would be 2 less than the length
of the string.
5.11
The first IF statement adds a single zero if the position of the point
is 1 less than the string’s length but only if the decimal point’s
position is larger than zero − in which case the number is an integer
and would have been accidentally multiplied by ten.
5.11
The second IF adds a double zero if the point is at the end of the
string. This is not done if the position of the point is zero, in which
case the string is null and represents nothing.
5.11
The third makes the string equal to “0” if it is found to be null.
5.11
The fourth adds “.00” to the end of the string if there is no decimal
point − i.e. if the number is an integer.
5.11
The combination of the third and fourth IF’s result in the null string
(“”) becoming “0.00”
5.11
The fifth IF adds a zero to the string if the decimal point is at the
very beginning − if the number is lower than one and is lacking the
leading zero.
5.11
Finally, before returning the result, a number of spaces are added to
the left of the number which is then truncated to the rightmost ten
characters. Hey presto, a nicely formatted number.
5.11
The three routines are on the enclosed disk, in the form of a procedure
library − details of how to use such are on page 92 of the BBC Basic
Guide.
5.11
Though the routines, as given, are for numbers with two decimal places −
and with a field width of ten − it shouldn’t be too difficult to alter
them for other requirements. Unfortunately, the higher the number of
decimal places, the more (and more complicated) IF’s are required. It
shouldn’t be too difficult to write routines that accept the number for
conversion, together with the number of decimal places and the field
width but, as I said before, this was just intended to provide Mr Hollox
with a starting point for his solution. Vince Hudd, Soft Rock Software.
5.11
•    Bible Master with RISC-OS 3 − Having found a list of verses or cross
references, it is possible to import the text into an Archimedes word
processing (or DTP) package.
5.11
(i) Load the PC text into !Edit and then
5.11
(ii) Use the wildcard search and replace option searching for %[ $x76-
xFF] (note that the square brackets start with a space) and replacing
with a space.
5.11
This will remove all the screen control characters and multiple spaces.
The resulting text can then be saved and/or loaded into most word
processors.  S Wright, Basingstoke
5.11
•    Deskjet 500C and RISC-OS 3 − Recent contributors on the subject of the
HP Deskjet 500C have tended to concentrate on the best type of paper to
use. I will not attempt to further that debate, but rather recount my
efforts to produce envelopes to match the quality of their contents.
This turned out to be less straightforward than I had expected but I
eventually succeeded. Most of my printing is from Impression Junior, so
the following will apply to Impression II users and, although I am using
an A5000,  the RISC-OS 2  drivers are not crucially different.
5.11
Using the Alter Pages sub-menu in Junior, create a custom page the same
size as the envelope. A standard A4 envelope seems to be 218mm by 110mm.
Create a suitable frame for the name and address and save the file as
‘envelope’. Load the !Printers application and create a custom page of
the same size, also called ‘envelope’. I have used margins of 10mm all
round which show up unambiguously in the Junior window. Click on <Save
Settings> in the page set-up menu and <Save Choices> from the main menu.
Go to the ‘configure’ option from the printer control menu, select the
new ‘envelope’ option and click on OK. The printer margins will now be
visible in the Junior window. Insert an envelope face down in the out-
tray of the printer, sliding it into the guide slots provided and
keeping the right hand edge against the edge of the tray. At this point,
the HP manual is misleading. Do NOT press the envelope button on the
printer. Simply press <Print> on the computer and then <Return>. The
envelope will now be properly printed. If the envelope button on the
printer has been pressed, the envelope will be passed disdainfully
through the printer and the address will appear on the next sheet of
paper from the in-tray.
5.11
In the prison where I work, I have recently been involved in running an
Anger Control Programme which required a couple of dozen overhead
projector transparencies. These can be produced to a high standard on
the 500C and, of course, in full colour. The transparencies used must be
designed for use with inkjet printers since they require a special
material to absorb the ink. There is, however, one major problem − the
appropriate material is rather expensive. Hewlett Packard’s own
transparencies cost about £75 inc. VAT for a box of 100. For me, this is
too many and far too much money. Eventually, I found that NOBO produce a
box of 50 for a slightly lower price per transparency and these should
be available from a good office supplies firm. The inadequate black
produced by the colour cartridge on the 500C is particularly noticeable
on an OHP and I found that a more satisfactory result could be obtained
by printing each transparency twice; once for black and once for the
coloured areas. Registration seems not to be a problem for the bold text
and graphics which are the norm for this kind of presentation. This
technique also saved an awful lot of expensive, coloured ink.
5.11
Incidentally, the UNDO facility on RISC-OS3 !Draw(or in !DrawPlus) was a
considerable help in creating the colour ‘separations’ for this process.
I could delete either the black or the coloured areas of the image
before printing and restore them by pressing <F8>.  A Trout, Lancs.
5.11
•    Deskjet 500 DIP switches − For those just buying Deskjet 500 printers,
it may be worth knowing that the default setting of the DIP switches is
not too helpful. Try the following settings instead...
5.11
           Bank A                         Bank B
5.11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8   1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5.11
¯  ¯  ­  ­  ¯  ­  ¯  ­        ¯  ­  ¯  ¯  ¯  ¯  ¯
5.11
This seems to work OK − it sets things like skip-over-perforation OFF
and A4 paper instead of some US size.  Steve Hutchinson, Gloucester.
5.11
•    Dragging solid sprites − RISC-OS 3 has, built in, the ability to solid
drag sprites from save dialog boxes. The solid drag option is stored in
CMOS in a ‘hidden’ location on bit 1 of byte 28. The following commands
will set bit 1 without disturbing anything else in this byte.
5.11
*Basic
5.11
SYS “OS_Byte”,161,28 TO ,,v%
5.11
v%=v% OR %10
5.11
SYS “OS_Byte”,162,28,v%
5.11
Now try saving a file from Draw/Edit/Paint, etc.
5.11
(Comparing the A5000 to an A440/1+30Mhz ARM3, the 440 runs at about the
same speed as the A5000 in mode 12, but at about 1/3 of the speed in
mode 28.)  Rob Davison, New Zealand
5.11
•    Personalised application templates − Many users may not have realised
that it is often possible to alter the windows and templates used by an
application. Most programmers use the FormEd application or one of its
derivatives to create a Template file which contains the window
definitions used by the program and this can often be seen in the
application directory normally called, not surprisingly, Templates.
5.11
If you have a copy of FormEd, which is supplied with all Acorn’s
compilers but is also available from most PD libraries (Shareware Disc
20, Ed), you can load these templates and alter them to suit your own
ideas and preferences. What you must not do is change the number of any
of the icons or the program won’t behave properly. You must also be
careful if you create any extra icons that they don’t overlay any
existing button icons since the Wimp doesn’t report clicks on icons
which are hidden behind others with a higher number.
5.11
As an illustration, I have included a set of modified windows for Edit.
Since some of these now use sprites there is also a sprite file and you
must insert a line to load these in the !Run file or the windows will
look rather bare. For simplicity, I have included a !Run file with the
extra line in it.
5.11
Rename your existing !Run and Templates files something else (in case
you don’t like mine) and copy the files !Run, Templates and sprites2
into the !Edit application directory. Now when you run Edit the new
windows will be used.
5.11
Note that the main text window is also changed. When Edit opens a new
file the main text window opens in whatever form the template was
created. Just load the Templates file into FormEd and drag the text
window around the screen and resize it until you are satisfied. Then
save the templates. Next time you open an Edit window, that is the size
and position it will assume.
5.11
I don’t claim that these examples are particularly brilliant but they
are certainly an improvement on the original and will help to show how
you can customise standard programs. David Holden, Sydenham.
5.11
•    Pinboard problems − Several people (well, at least two anyway!) appear
to have had problems with Pinboard running under RISC-OS 3. It would
seem that the Pinboard module is automatically UNPLUGged following an
exit from the desktop. One solution involves using an alias to re-
initialise the Pinboard. If you have a desktop !Boot file then, before
the Pinboard command (if there is one), insert something like the
following:
5.11
Set Alias$NewDesktop %RMreinit Pinboard |m %Desktop |m
5.11
Obviously, in place of NewDesktop you can use any name that you like
(note that abbreviations still work so, in this case, you could use New.
to carry this out.)  If you wish to re-run the !Boot file on exiting
from command line mode, add -F !Boot after the %Desktop command.  If you
do not have a desktop !Boot file, use the Desktop Boot function from the
Acorn menu on the iconbar.
5.11
From now on, to get back from the command line (after using the Exit
option), type New.  (or your appropriate alias) rather than Desktop.
5.11
Simon Moy, Norwich Computer Services.
5.11
•    Truncated filenames and RISC-OS 3 − It took me a long time to discover
that you type *Configure Truncate off  to stop the O.S. automatically
truncating filenames when saving and therefore (possibly) overwriting an
old version of a file which I wanted to keep!  A
5.11
5.11
Colton
5.11
From 5.10 page 20
5.11
5.11
Comment Column
5.11
•    A5000 startup time − The only real moan I have is the incredible
length of time it takes to get over a <ctrl-reset>. Surely Acorn could
make the memory check optional, couldn’t they? I thought the whole point
of having an OS in ROM was to eliminate delays imposed by the OS loading
off disc?   Rob Davison, New Zealand
5.11
•    Laser Direct printers − We seem to have been spreading dis-information
about laser printers! In particular, in comparing CC’s Laser Directs
with Calligraph’s printers, we have got confused over the question of
“When is a 600 d.p.i. printer not a 600 d.p.i. printer?” So here are
Calligraph’s comments...
5.11
How many dots per inch are you getting? − There are few features which
really separate one laser printer from another: page output per minute
and dots per inch resolution are the two main price-fixers. Nearly all
laser printer manufacturers are in the business of increasing the
resolution of the bare printer engines via several hardware and software
techniques, so that for not much greater cost to the manufacturer, they
can sell a higher specification printer.
5.11
Canon’s collection of techniques is called AIR (Advanced Image Refine
ment); we at Calligraph call a 300 d.p.i. engine that is being over-
driven to a pseudo 600 d.p.i., a “600 d.p.i. effect” or sometimes we
just leave it as “pseudo-600”.
5.11
In the June issue of Archive under “Products Available”, there is a
statement that Computer Concepts’ direct drive Canon laser printers are
higher resolution than ours. In fact, they are both “600 d.p.i. effect”.
There really is very little difference between the CC Canons and ours −
except of course that ours cost less! If you want true 600 dots per
inch, Calligraph have a genuine 600 d.p.i. A3 printer, as mentioned in
the July issue of Archive, which can be driven up to 1200 d.p.i. effect.
5.11
For more details, contact:  Calligraph, 53 Panton Street, Cambridge.
0223−461143.
5.11
•    PC Board ‘bundling’ − There are two PC boards available for the
Archimedes using 386SX processors. (Are there? “Available”? I only know
of one − from Aleph One. Ed.) Compared to the PC Emulator these offer
vastly increased performance. Many people in this country buy PCs
because of the vast software base and I even know one or two people who
have reluctantly traded down from Archimedes to PC because of this. In
the education world, some establishments buy Archimedes computers,
others buy PCs because they believe that their students are more likely
to come across PCs in the ‘real’ world.
5.11
Acorn should offer a ‘Learning Curve Plus’ package with a bundled PC
card instead of a bundled PC Emulator. Schools, businesses and home
users would be able to buy a single computer which gave them the
superior useability and superb applications and speed of RISC-OS
together with the ability to run any PC program at a decent speed. At a
stroke, Acorn would eliminate the competition of PCs in the education
market thereby ensuring that as many computer buyers of the future as
possible knew about the wonderful Archimedes computers. All users of
Archimedes computers would benefit from the increased amount of
investment in software production that would result from increased
sales. What say you, Acorn?
5.11
Seán Kelly, Leighton Buzzard
5.11
(One point I think you have missed, when sweeping away the PC oppostion,
is the cost of such an A5000 LC Plus compared with PC clones. Ed.)
5.11
•    !PickAPic update − Hugh Eagle has sent us an update of his !PickAPic
application on Shareware 45. This includes some improvements and a
‘serious’ bug fix.  A copy has been put on this month’s program disc.
5.11
•    Video matters − The news that Computer Concepts have bought a majority
stake in Wild Vision is very good news for those of us interested in
video, as the expertise in hardware and software from the two existing
companies will compliment  each other very well. With Artworks on the
horizon, the previous experience of developing operating systems for
Impression and a successful range of genlocks and digitisers, the
combination might start to tackle ambitious projects towards home
versions of the non-linear video editors now starting to storm the
broadcasters editing rooms.
5.11
It is surprising that the Acorn range hasn’t yet been used because it
could do the job more cheaply in very much the same way that DTP with an
Acorn can be so much more affordable than DTP with a Mac. Mind you,
Millipede are using Acorns very successfully in their broadcast graphics
system. To give you an idea of the possibilities, the Avid “Air Play”
system, which was launched recently in America, allows news quality
pictures and sound to be played back into transmission at high quality
out of a digital store. You go out and shoot the story, run the takes
into the computer on the way back and edit. The system is low quality −
hence news gathering − but it will get better. Because it is digital,
you can re-cut as many times as you like, re-sequence, etc, all in
double quick time. The information stays where it is − all you do is
create instructions on how to get to the parts you want.
5.11
With conventional tape, you run to the bit you want, copy it, run on to
the next sequence, copy it onto the end of the first bit, run back to
the next bit... Cheaper systems with lower resolution are becoming
popular in, for example, advertising agencies as you copy the tape into
the machine, experiment as much as you like with sequences, fades, etc
and when you are happy, take a list of numbers out of the machine on
disc − the edit decision list − and feed that into a computer on a very
expensive video suite where the original tape is automatically edited
and mixed to your commands.
5.11
As systems improve over the next couple of years, it is quite feasible
that the home camcorder owner could feed the tape into an Acorn machine,
edit it and re-record it, with no loss of quality, back onto tape − or
we might even be recording onto compact discs.
5.11
CD-I − In London at the end of April, the 3rd Multimedia event was
staged and “Interactive CD” from Phillips was officially launched in the
UK. Basically CD-I is a disc similar to the compact disc but it brings
together pictures, sound and data controlled by your computer or a
keypad. We are used to Audio CD, we are getting used to CD-ROM for
looking up Encyclopaedias and are starting to appreciate packages such
as Acorn’s Replay for turning Video into digits and back again. CD-I
will bring all these together into one package allowing you, for
example, to sit in front of the computer, slot in a disc and participate
in all sorts of activities like learning course work, languages, playing
games, doing quizzes, watching films and listening to music. The initial
CD-I machines won’t support Full Motion Video but that’s not too far
away. This is a tribute to Acorn who have managed it on a home
computer!!
5.11
CD-I will be big and it is dependent on the computer companies providing
authoring systems and, as home-recordable CD is now available, record
able CD-I might be soon... well it doesn’t take a genius to see that in
two to three years time, a CD-I add-on for the computer will be taken
for granted. I’m sure that there is a lot of close co-operation already
going on behind the scenes to provide Acorn compatible products and to
set the software standards.
5.11
CD-I is all about standards, as the major manufacturers have accepted,
and already we are seeing it starting to overshadow Commodore’s CDTV
machines which they will probably make CD-I compatible. CD-I will be a
world product as there is no television standards problem. Discs made in
Catford could also play in Kyoto on different players. Because Acorn
computer users are already used to emulating the other types of
computers in software, our machines could become ideal authoring
platforms. This move could distance Acorn from the education market
whilst paradoxically providing greater support for it and moving the
company sideways into a more mainstream position in computer circles.
5.11
Cable News − This presentation software was shown at last October’s
Acorn User Show and it looked very good, too. My latest news is that the
program is due for imminent release and I will review it as soon as
possible. There is a review of !Titler a new presentation package from
Clares elsewhere in this issue. Ned Abell, Kidderminster.
5.11
•    24 bit colour (yet again!) − On the whole, I agree with Mike Cook’s
comments in the May issue (Archive 5.8 p13). However, I would strongly
disagree with his definition of an 8 bit display. The Archimedes does
display 8 bit colour graphics in that writing a byte to the screen
memory updates one whole pixel and there are 256 individually address
able colours. Mike Cook is actually talking about 8 from 24 bit colour,
meaning that all 256 colours can be individually redefined from a
palette of sixteen-odd million. This is what the PCAT’s enhancer
provides (though admittedly with less than perfect software compatibil
ity). As for the editor’s comments about ‘showing off how colourful...’.
As anyone who has even glanced at Byte/CGW/PCW/MacWorld, etc lately
would know, there is a very big market for software and hardware that
can handle 24 bit colour graphics (or anything approaching it). Don’t
some of the Acorn magazines still produce their colour pages on Macs and
PCs? You can bet that ArtWorks would be a more effective package with
true 24 bit colour. (Mind you it should be pretty good anyway...)
5.11
RISC-OS 3 is a step in the right direction in terms of software support
for more colours. It has the colour vector to allow the PCAT’s Enhancer
to work with ColourTrans, and it has support for colour calibration and
conversions to the CIE standard used in the ‘real world’. However, the
current hardware is not capable of driving a 24 bit board with reason
able resolution. Sixteen bit colour may be possible and this would
provide a reasonable halfway point but only if RISC-OS 3 supports it to
all levels. (It doesn’t seem to.)
5.11
It is interesting to note that Acorn Replay works in the PCAT’s 16 bit
colour modes − VIDC 2 compatible perhaps?
5.11
Rob Davison, New Zealand  A
5.11
5.11
Techsoft
5.11
From 5.9 page 51
5.11
5.11
Arxe Systems
5.11
New artwork
5.11
5.11
Artworks − A Work of Art
5.11
Tord Eriksson
5.11
Those who have a keen interest in graphics and computer art will soon
(well, relatively soon! Ed.) have a new offering that promises to beat
them all − ArtWorks from Computer Concepts. This program looks like
being the equivalent of Vector, Chameleon, DrawBender and FontFX rolled
into one!
5.11
For this review, a pre-release copy (version 0.868) was supplied by
Computer Concepts, including a pre-release manual and dongle, with a
dangle, that also looked decidedly pre-release!
5.11
The manual
5.11
The manual, at the moment, is just a short summing up of some of the
features in ArtWorks, known bugs through the program’s development
history and some comments from the programmers about the problems
encountered. The laser-printed manual is already 32 pages long.
5.11
Compared to many manuals I have read and used this is a very good one
and a fascinating one at that! Hopefully the final manual will be even
more complete and in colour, as ArtWorks’ forté is it’s colour handling.
5.11
Installing ArtWorks
5.11
Artworks comes compressed on one disc, plus a disc of sample files (this
might be different in the final release). Unpacking, using CFSreader, is
fairly simple and I guess it is possible to run it as is, if you use
CompressionFS.
5.11
I had problems with the dongle at first because it would not work when
fitted behind the Impression dongle. Then when I changed the order,
everything was all right for a day or so. Then, for a while, Impression
refused to work and then, finally, they both worked again. (I hate
dongles!!)
5.11
Iconbar behaviour
5.11
When sitting on the iconbar Artworks behaves very much like Impression
in that you can open multiple views in different sizes and resolution
(more about this later). Opened “documents” stay open until you delete
them from the iconbar list, just as with Impression.
5.11
Fastest yet
5.11
The manual mentions that the redraw time is quicker than the opposition
can muster and that is certainly true. A complex picture which took a
minute or so with DrawPlus or Vector was done in a few seconds. That
this is quicker than redraw on a 486, as it is stated in the manual,
sounds plausible but I have no means of checking it. In short, it is
amazing!
5.11
Variable resolution
5.11
ArtWorks is the only program I have so far tested in which you can
change the screen resolution. If you want speed, use only wireframes; if
you want stupendous dithering effects, go to the maximum. This is
controlled, in eleven steps, by an icon on the “infobar”. Five is comics
style illustrations, with good colouring but little or no dithering, One
is the barest wireframe and Eleven is the full works! The program is so
intelligent that it uses dithering to simulate a better palette than
normally available so that, if you want it, mode 12 looks like mode 15,
mode 15 looks like a VGA. Impressive!
5.11
This dithering effect is supported by Impression − by choosing enhanced
graphics and grey-scales. Newer versions of Impression will support
direct import of ArtWorks files. As yet, you have to use the excellent
import/export function to convert the file to draw format. (Read the
copy of this article on the monthly program disc to see the function −
sorry, only for Impression users!) (Only if we can fit it on − which I
cannot say at this stage. Ed.)
5.11
Freehand drawing made easy
5.11
No other program has made freehand drawing as easy as this. In most
programs, you have to click your way forward and decide if you want to
do lines or Bezier curves but with Artworks you just keep the button
down until you want to stop the line and the program decides where to
put the “points”. A child would master it in one minute, no problem! I
really liked this feature and at once wanted it in DrawPlus and Vector.
(Maybe it will be in next version, please, 4Mation?)
5.11
There are more drawing tools than in any other program. For example,
there is a tool for making Mac-like squares (those with rounded corners)
and you can make exact squares and circles by holding down <Ctrl> at the
same time as you use the ellipse or rectangle tool.
5.11
Blending
5.11
In Vector, you can interpolate between two lines or figures, as long as
they have the same number of Bezier points. With ArtWorks, the number of
points is of no importance, thus making the work much easier.
5.11
In both Vector and ArtWorks, these two objects can have any colour and
the program will interpolate, or blend, from one to the other. As far as
I have tested, you cannot yet separate the different intermediary stages
as separate objects. When exporting ArtWorks in draw-format, you only
get the two extremes, not the blends. So, at the current stage of
development, Vector has an upper hand there!
5.11
Radial fills and similar matters
5.11
Toned fills, such as radial fills, where one colour blends into another,
are fully functional in this version. To my dismay, the technique used
differs from Chameleon (from 4Mation), so there can be no swapping of
files! Otherwise, the effect is very similar and equally striking! Both
make the shine of a Snooker ball easy to reproduce and both makes a very
good job of it! This is used to good effect on the Rover Mini and the
bird − isn’t it a Great Tit?
5.11
Envelope − poor man’s moulding
5.11
There is no moulding tool as such, but an envelope tool. This works in a
somewhat different manner: It is a tool that makes it possible to twist
and deform the object(s) selected by pulling and moving the Bezier
points of a box containing the selected object(s). It works very well
for simple twisting and turning − not as powerfully as DrawBender but
lightning fast by comparison!
5.11
A similar tool, using straight lines instead of Bezier curves, called
the Perspective Tool, can be used to change the view of things. Neither
tool is very amazing or unique − both are outclassed by DrawBender,
except in speed!
5.11
Conclusion
5.11
Considering the effort put into ArtWorks, the amazing redraw speed, the
excellent export and import possibilities (even to and from Macs and
PCs) and the sheer quality of it all, one can only wish it good luck.
This program is easy to use and combines many features of other
programs, at a price.  A
5.11
P.S. To dongle or not to dongle
5.11
(I took the liberty of reducing Tord’s three paragraph anti-dongle
diatribe to the following single paragraph but obviously the existence
of Impression + Artworks + etc (????) means that the debate will
continue.)
5.11
Dongles are a real pain, especially if you have more than one program
which uses them. However, if I have to choose between two dongles or no
ArtWorks, I would, with a sigh of regret, choose the latter.
5.11
(With the A5000 and the A4, there is going to be an alternative to the
dongle for Artworks and Impression. Computer Concepts are hoping to make
use of the serial number contained in each A5000 and A4 so that you can
have a customised version, which will then only work on the one
computer, created as a replacement for your dongle. That would give you
the advantage of not having a dongle but the disadvantage would be that
if your computer died on you, you could not transfer your dongle to
another computer.)
5.11
P.P.S. Example files on disc
5.11
(Tord has given us some example files to put on the monthly program disc
but I am not reproducing his explanation of them here in case there
isn’t space for them all on the monthly disc. When I am producing the
magazine, I don’t really know until the very last minute which articles
I am going to be able to fit in, so I don’t know which files will be
competing for space on the monthly disc. If you don’t have a regular
disc subscription, check the list on the back of the Price List to see
what I have managed to include.)
5.11

5.11
5.11
Techsoft
5.11
From 5.9 page 16
5.11
5.11
ICS
5.11
New artwork
5.11
5.11
Help!!!!
5.11
•    Agenda link − Does anyone know of a multi-tasking link to an Agenda?
Peter Sutton, Derbyshire.
5.11
•    Canon LBP-8 − A1 laser printer − Does anyone have a RISC-OS printer
driver for a Canon LBP-8 Model A1 laser printer? This printer does not
have the video interface so I cannot use the CC Laser Direct interface.
Bernard Veasey, 24 Drift Road, Nyetimber, Bognor Regis  PO21 3NS.
5.11
•    Free space? − Does anyone know how (in RISC-OS 2) you can check, from
within a program, whether there is enough room on a disc for a file
before you save it?  It seems obvious that there should be a SWI call
for this, but I can’t find it!  Hugh Eagle, 48 Smithbarn, Horsham,
Sussex  RH13 6DX.
5.11
•    GNU G++ compiler − Does anyone have the source code for the GNU G++
compiler (GNU’s version of C++, fully ANSI C++ compliant). I need this
as I am developing my own Inmos T414/800 Transputer Podule and want to
port this version of C++ to it − well at least have a go. Also, I would
like to get hold of any of the other GNU applications/utilities. Do they
do a C/Fortran/Pascal compiler as well? Basically, I would like to get
hold of all GNU software and port it to Archimedes.  Richard Ingram,
Horsham
5.11
•    James Pond cheat − A few months ago, Acorn User published a poten
tially useful ‘cheat’ for James Pond: “If you press <Tab> and type in
‘the name of a well-known Swedish guitarist’ you can apparently go
direct to any level you choose.  Unfortunately, we don’t know the names
of any Swedish guitarists!  I wonder whether any Archive readers could
help? (Also, does anyone know any similar cheats for Chuck Rock?)  Hugh
Eagle, 48 Smithbarn, Horsham, Sussex  RH13 6DX.
5.11
•    MIT X-Windows − Is anyone doing/interested in trying to port the
latest version of MIT X-Windows (X11R5) to the RISC-iX system? All the
source code can be downloaded from the MIT Internet file-server (address
on request)? It works on VAX 4.3bsd Unix.  Richard Ingram, Horsham
5.11
•    More than 4 podules −  Does anyone know of a system for fitting more
than four podules to an Archimedes computer? Tim Edwards, Leek.
5.11
•    Outline fonts − The !Help file in !FontEd says, “The scaffolding
mechanism is described in greater detail in a paper which is available
separately from Acorn. Since it requires various diagrams, it cannot
adequately be reproduced here. If you are not familiar with Roger
Hersch’s article, I would recommend that you read this paper before
continuing.” Unfortunately, Acorn says that this paper is no longer
available from them as !FontEd is an unsupported utility. Does anyone
have access to this paper or any other detailed information about Acorn
outline font system? I would be glad to pay for any photocopying. David
Turner, 7 Felden Street, London  SW6 5AE.
5.11
•    Scottish country dance programs? − There is apparently a PC-type
program to enable calling moves to be choreographed on screen. Is there
an Archimedes version? If not, does anyone know where the PC version
comes from? R. Eastland, Waterlooville.
5.11
•    Sharp 9500-H laser printer − Does anyone have any experience of using
this printer with the Archimedes? Any help would be much appreciated. M.
W. G. Adams, 8 Inf Bde HQ, Sig Sqn, BFPO 807.  A
5.11
Help offered
5.11
•    Archway − We mentioned last month the difficulty of getting technical
backup from Simtron regarding Archway. Gwyneth Pettit of Academic
Software has offered to help out where she can. She is prepared to act
as a centre for information interchange about Archway, so if you can
offer help or if you need help, contact Gwyneth Pettit at Academic
Software, Sourby Old Farm, Timble, Otley, Yorks  LS21 2PW or ring her on
0943−880628. Remember, however, that Gwyn is doing it out of the
goodness of her heart, so send S.A.E.s, blank discs, etc, as appropri
ate, to ensure that she doesn’t incur any expenses on your behalf.  A
5.11
5.11
Spacetech
5.11
New artwork
5.11
5.11
Adding Floppies to the A5000
5.11
Vic Budd
5.11
Having read the snippets by Bob Potter and Colin Thompson in Hints and
Tips, Archive 5.6 p11,12 & 14, I feel it is time for a more detailed
covering of points related to adding floppies, both internal and
external, to the A5000.
5.11
Drives galore!
5.11
Colin’s internal A5000 floppy drive was a Citizen OSDA20C and he was
able to purchase an equivalent drive, Citizen OSDA39C, from CD2000. I
telephoned CD2000 and, as with Colin’s drive, mine arrived the next day.
The delivery note showed an OSDA39C but the drive was labelled OSDA20C.
I removed the cover of my A5000, only to find that the drive fitted was
in fact an OSDA75C!
5.11
The invoice from CD2000 also stated that the drive was 1.44M for a PC
AT. The point is that a high density floppy drive intended for a PC,
will only work in high density if high density discs are used. (It can
sense the type of disc by whether it has a hole opposite the write-
protect hole.) Furthermore, it will not format or read high density
discs in double density, so you could not choose to format an HD disc in
either D or E format.
5.11
Since the drive appeared to be in every other way identical to that
fitted to my A5000, I thought it might be a ‘links’ job. I rang Citizen
(Europe) who confirmed that it was indeed a case of changing the links
and suggested that I should compare the setting with those on the drive
already installed in the computer.
5.11
The only problem with this is that the links are not easily accesible.
They are in the middle of the ‘sandwich’ between the drive and the
p.c.b. because they are not really intended to be altered once the drive
has been assembled for a specific job. If therefore, the reader feels at
all dubious about performing delicate operations in inaccessible
locations, this is the point to ‘contact your local dealer’!
5.11
How to do it
5.11
Holding the drive at eye-level, look into it from the rear. To the left-
hand side is the power plug and if you look beyond that, it is just
possible to see two rows of three pins running from left to right. There
should be two links installed. If the links bridge the centre and left
pins of each set of three, the drive is set up for a PC and will need
changing for the A5000, so that they are on the centre and right pins.
It is a tricky undertaking but I managed it by using a jeweller’s
screwdriver and fine tweezers, working under a magnifying desk light.
(If the top cover of the drive is removed, access and visibility are
improved.) Of course, if the links are already in the right position,
you can breathe a sigh of relief and pass on.
5.11
How to install your second floppy
5.11
I will try to give a ‘blow by blow’ account of how to install the second
floppy but it must be said that your warranty would be affected if you
managed to cause damage to your A5000. In reality, however, it is a
straightforward job if you know the procedure.
5.11
Procedure
5.11
Start by removing the top cover of the computer after extracting the six
securing screws beneath the case.
5.11
Remove the four screws holding the backplane to the drive mounting
plate, unplug the backplane and put it somewhere safe for the time
being.
5.11
Unplug the power supply and data ribbon cables from both the floppy
drive and the hard drive.
5.11
Remove the single holding screw in the centre of the drive mounting
plate and, by lifting this from the recesses at the sides of the case,
the whole unit, complete with drives, can be taken out.
5.11
Next, remove the plastic front escutcheon from the computer case. This
is secured by six lugs which have to be pressed down gently to enable it
to be withdrawn. The plastic blanking cover for the second drive should
be pressed out.
5.11
Behind the escutcheon is a single screw holding a metal blanking plate
which must be discarded to allow the second drive to be placed in
position.
5.11
The second floppy drive can then be fitted to the bottom of the case, as
Colin said, using the fixing holes provided, which line up with those on
the drive. (In my case I used 18mm spacers cut from a plastic rod bought
at a model shop, and drilled to take the screws − also obtained from the
shop.)
5.11
I presume from his remarks, that Colin used a separate ribbon cable
which he plugged into the spare − or external − connector in the A5000.
This is not satisfactory if, like me, you wish to add an external 5¼“
drive.
5.11
A better way
5.11
Anyway, there is a simpler way. Since the ribbon cable connecting the
existing floppy drive passes the connector on the second drive, it is
only necessary to add a second 34 pin IDC header socket to that cable at
a suitable point to connect it to the extra drive. You can then do what
is intended, use the centre connector for internal drives and leave the
external connector free.
5.11
See that the micro-switches on the two floppy drives are set to 0 and 1,
as mentioned by Colin. (This is required when two drives are ‘daisy-
chained’ from one connector). You are now in business!
5.11
If everything is all right at this point, the A5000 can be re-assembled,
in reverse order, and configured to two floppies − the work is then
complete. If, however, you wish to add an external floppy drive, the top
cover should not be put back and you should read on.
5.11
Fitting a 5¼“ external floppy drive
5.11
I wanted to add a Mitsubishi 5¼“ drive with P.S.U. to use on just odd
occasions. Provided the ‘pull-up’ resistor pack (in some cases a row of
links, in others it looks like a socketted I.C.) is in place, no special
interface is required.
5.11
I had a spare disc drive ribbon connecting cable available. I cut off
the disc drive connector which is normally pushed onto a row of contacts
on the drive circuit board and, in its place, I clamped a 34 pin IDC
male connector, onto which the female connector on the ribbon cable from
my disc drive could be plugged.
5.11
I set the links on the A5000 circuit board as Bob detailed − LK18 and
19, links anchored on one pin only, and LK21 set across 2 − 3.
5.11
The adapted ribbon cable was plugged into the spare (external) connector
in the computer and secured to a point mid-way along the drive mounting
plate with double sided adhesive tabs. It was then routed to the rear of
the A5000 and out between the two podule blanking plates, which provide
plenty of space for this if they are loosened and re-positioned slightly
apart. I anchored the cable with sticky tabs again at the rear of the
computer. This was a very satisfactory and inexpensive way of adding the
extra drive − which can easily be unplugged and separated from the
A5000. (If anyone wishes to purchase a cable already made up, N.C.S. has
them at £18.)
5.11
It is of course important that the ribbon cable does not become 180
degrees twisted in all this. A simple way to ensure this does not
happen, is to visualise the rear of the disc drive placed against the
right-hand side of the A5000 (viewed from the front). The ribbon cable
should have no twist when connected to both.
5.11
Finally, set the drive number link on the 5¼“ drive to 0 and it will
become floppy drive 2, or 1 if there is only a single internal floppy
drive. (Remember to re-configure the number of floppies.)
5.11
Problems?
5.11
Yes, there were a few problems but nothing too serious. Using
‘Apps.!Configure.Floppies’, configure the A5000 to three floppies. All
is well (provided the power supply to the 5¼“ drive is switched on
before the computer) and three icons appear on the iconbar. If the power
to the 5¼” drive is off, only two icons appear. This is fine unless you
suddenly find you wish to use that drive. I have ‘!Configure’ from
‘Apps’ on my iconbar so, with a click on !Configure, ‘Floppies’ shows
that I have three floppies available. A click on OK produces a warning
about open files, a further click on OK and the third floppy icon
appears on the iconbar. This is a bit irritating but not a big problem.
In any event, even that can be eliminated if the power to the 5¼“ drive
is always switched on with the computer. Unfortunately, one gets used to
things, and my old A410 didn’t care whether the external drive was
switched on or not − it merely said “Drive Empty” if I tried to access
it. The A5000 is not so accommodating in that way, although it has many
other advantages.
5.11
With the PC Emulator
5.11
Things are just a little more complicated with !PCEm. If three floppy
drive icons are on the iconbar, and !PCEm is configured to three
floppies, the HD partition is shown as ‘D’ but if only two icons are
present, it is shown as ‘C’. (I understand that MS-DOS v5 has the
facility to enable the HD partition always to be shown as ‘C’ and any
additional floppies to be configured to ‘D’, etc.) I am sure that the
DOS boffins will have some solution for this but I dealt with it as
follows:
5.11
My !PCEm is configured to two floppies since I only use the 5¼“ drive on
rare occasions.
5.11
I have made the first line of my CONFIG.SYS file:
5.11
CHAIN = D:\CONFIGA.SYS
5.11
This makes the computer jump to CONFIGA.SYS, which is identical to
CONFIG.SYS except that all references to ‘C’ are replaced by ‘D’. If it
finds ‘D’, it runs the file but if not it returns and runs CONFIG.SYS.
Thus whether my HD partition is ‘C’ or ‘D’, I am up and running.
5.11
I can use my 5¼“ drive with !PCEm merely by temporarily re-configuring
it for three floppies (always making sure there are three icons on the
iconbar and the power switched on). Obviously, none of this would be
necessary if only one internal and one external floppy were installed.
5.11
Conclusion
5.11
Despite difficulties encountered on the way, I am very satisfied with
the outcome and hope these comments will be of use to other readers.  A
5.11
5.11
PipeLine
5.11
Gerald Fitton
5.11
Following the open letters sent by Dave Clare and ourselves we have
received many letters which are most complementary about both Clares and
(from the same writers) Abacus Training. You are particularly complemen
tary about the way in which Archive publishes both letters in full when
there is a difference of opinion or a misunderstanding; many of you have
said how much you have benefited from the exchange of views.
5.11
Background printing
5.11
Oh dear! Last month I made a mistake and I have had so many letters
about it. They fall into two categories; those of you who complain that
you can’t get background printing to work in the manner I described and
those of you who have let me know how to do it. The mistake arose
because I was copying blocks of text from several partly written files
to my column for Archive and changed my mind about the sequence of
paragraphs many times. In the confusion, I produced what might be
described as ‘rubbish’!
5.11
The mistake I made was to say “From within PipeDream, set your printer
dialogue boxes to RISC-OS print, not to the printer, but to a file.”
What I should have said was “From within PipeDream set your printer
dialogue boxes to RISC-OS and Print to Printer. At the printer icon
(installed on the iconbar) choose to print, not to the (parallel)
printer but to a file.” If you do this correctly then you will produce a
disc file (about 1M per A4 page) which can be printed in background by
dragging it to the printer icon on the iconbar.
5.11
Having replied to those who couldn’t get the original version to work,
some wrote back to me pleased with the result, others have found that
the time taken to RISC-OS ‘print’ the file to disc took as long as to
RISC-OS print it to the printer. I did find a substantial speed up but I
must admit that I had changed from my A440 (fitted with ARM 2) to an
A540 (fitted with ARM 3) at about the same time so maybe I didn’t make
completely comparable timings. However, from your letters, printing
times seem to vary much more than can be explained by differences
between the page contents. Since receiving your letters I have looked
again at notes sent to me by Robert Macmillan (Colton Software). From
them, I see that RISC-OS printing ‘takes over’ most of the free memory
in the Archimedes as work space. If the amount of free memory is too
small then printing slows down. Exactly what is too small is rather
vague but the slowing down effect seems to start when the free memory is
smaller than about 0.5M.
5.11
A second cause of slow RISC-OS printing is the font cache being too
small for the range of font types and sizes needed by the document. All
writers agree that the optimum font cache size varies with the nature of
the document but, after studying the many recommendations, it seems that
32k is a minimum and that 128k is advisable for those which contain
fonts having many intricate lines. In some of my documents, I have a lot
of graphics, many of which contain fonts at various different point
sizes and some with non-standard heights for their widths. When I am
printing those documents, I find that the time taken to print the
document falls as I increase the size of the font cache until it has
been increased to 512k. Of course, if you increase the size of the font
cache then you are taking away memory from the printing operation so, if
you have only a couple of megabytes of RAM, you will have to compromise.
I have 8M in my A540 and when I look at the task manager, I often find
that I have exceeded 4M!
5.11
Virus protection
5.11
I have been asked by PipeLine subscribers what precautions we take to
ensure that no viruses are passed on via the quarterly PipeLine discs or
via the discs which we send every month to Archive. Of course, there is
no foolproof method but this is what we do.
5.11
Abacus Training subscribes to Pineapple Software’s virus protection
scheme. Pineapple charge us what we reckon is a fair price for this
service and they regularly send us copies of an application called
!Killer. !Killer is updated whenever a new virus is reported to
Pineapple. When you send us a disc first I move the write protect tab to
protect your disc then I run !Killer over your disc. If I come across a
virus then I let you know right away!
5.11
As an extra precaution, we load a module called VProtect (provided by
Pineapple) as part of our boot sequence. The module checks every
application and file before loading it to the desktop and this provides
some protection against viruses unknown to !Killer.
5.11
After compiling our quarterly PipeLine disc, we check the master (and
our hard disc) with !Killer before duplicating all the PipeLine discs.
5.11
In company with nearly all other software providers, we are unable to
check for new, unknown viruses so that there is always the possibility
that we receive a disc containing an unknown virus which is not detected
by VProtect. In that case, it could get onto the monthly disc we send to
Archive and on the quarterly discs we send to PipeLine subscribers. We
believe that the chances of this happening are small.
5.11
Direct fax ‘printing’
5.11
My son is much more familiar with the PC market than I am. When he came
round last week he told me that there is a ‘new’ combined PC-Fax machine
on the market which he has tried out. He typed his fax message into a
standard PC word processor (he said that almost any WP would do) and
then, instead of printing the document followed by feeding the printout
into the fax machine he sent the document direct to the fax output.
5.11
Normally I avoid buying obsolescent machinery because it is often
difficult or impossible to get support (let’s not go into life cycles
again!) but I made an exception when I saw an Amstrad FX9600AT going at
a fraction of its previous price. Why? One of the features of the
Amstrad FX9600AT is that it has a standard ‘Centronics’ input port. You
can connect a parallel printer lead from any computer (including the
Archimedes) to the Amstrad FX9600AT and send faxes direct from almost
any word processor.
5.11
No sooner had I received, set up and tested the fax machine than I
received a ‘phone call from a PipeLine subscriber wanting to know how to
use PipeDream to send a fax direct through her Amstrad FX9600T (not AT
because it has no answering machine). At the time I received the call I
didn’t know how to do it but I had read enough to know it was possible.
When I eventually got it working, I rang her back with my solution. I
know that it is unlikely that you will be able to buy an FX9600AT now
(though I saw a similar machine at Dixons a couple of weeks back) but
there may be other fax machines that have this facility or such fax
machines may soon become available. Anyway, because I’m sure that direct
fax ‘printing’ will become the way to do it in future, I’ll explain how
I’ve set up the Amstrad FX9600AT to run from PipeDream.
5.11
The Amstrad can be set to emulate an IBM Proprinter or an Epson FX
series printer. I set it up as an Epson because I am more familiar with
the ‘escape codes’ for that machine. I connected my Archimedes A440
parallel printer port to the fax machine with a standard Centronics
lead. I loaded a simple document into PipeDream and displayed it in the
System font. I loaded the PipeDream printer driver called DotMatrix
(provided by Colton Software with PipeDream 4 but you could use the FX80
driver if you have PipeDream 3) and, using the <Print> key, sent the
file to the ‘printer’. Nothing happened because I’d forgotten to tap the
‘On Line’ key on the fax machine but, when I did, the fax machine
printed out my file locally as if I was receiving a fax. I’m not sure of
the exact resolution of the Amstrad fax machine but the quality of the
(local) printout is similar to a ‘Near Letter Quality’, 24 pin, dot
matrix printer.
5.11
One ‘problem’ which took me quite a while to resolve was that, after
local printing using PipeDream printer drivers, the fax paper cutter
didn’t cut the paper! The solution, when I found it, was quite simple;
tap the On Line key to take the ‘printer’ off line and, after feeding
out an inch or so, the cutter cuts the paper.
5.11
Sending a fax direct from PipeDream differs from local printing in only
one respect. Naturally, you have to dial up the number of the BT
subscriber to whom you want to send the fax and you still tap the On
Line key so that the FX9600AT receives the PipeDream file. The extra
operation is to tap a key on the fax machine called Text which directs
the input from the ‘Centronics’ input to the telephone (fax) output. The
quality has pleasantly surprised the receivers of the faxes I have sent
this way and (as I said earlier) I am sure that it won’t be long (if not
available already) before other fax machines include a ‘Centronics’
input port. The reason why the received quality is so good is because
the characters generated by the Amstrad’s Epson emulator are at a point
size which matches exactly the resolution used by the fax system; the
characters have no blurred edges and there is no need for any ‘anti-
aliasing’.
5.11
Direct RISC-OS fax ‘printing’
5.11
The Amstrad FX9600AT (and I’m sure other fax machines with a Centronics
input port and Epson emulation) will accept ‘graphics’ files. The method
of use is to create a [PrintFile] by setting PipeDream to Print to
printer but to redirect the output of your !PrinterDM RISC-OS driver to
a file (see above). I could get the Amstrad to work as a graphics
printer only at 240 by 216 dpi (i.e. not at lower resolutions). The
[PrintFile] can be printed locally (On Line ON and Text OFF) or sent out
as a fax (On Line ON and Text ON) by dragging it to the !PrinterDM icon.
N.B. Remember to redirect the output of !PrinterDM to the Printer.
5.11
Scanning
5.11
One more feature of this (unfortunately) obsolete machine. It has a data
output port. I know that scanners which are available now for the
Archimedes have resolutions of at least 400 dpi and boast as many as 256
grey scales; the Amstrad FX9600AT can be used as a 200 dpi monochrome (2
level − black and white) scanner or with 16 grey scales at 50 dpi.
Monochrome, 200 dpi resolution is an adequate resolution for (black and
white) line drawings. The sprites produced can be incorporated into
PipeDream files and printed at 200 or 300 dpi with scarcely any
noticeable loss of quality. The 50 dpi 16 grey scale resolution is more
suitable for copying photographs.
5.11
I was fortunate in being able to buy one of the last FaxScan interfaces
(made by Spacetech) from Norwich Computer Services. It worked first
time. I loaded Spacetech’s application called !Faxscan, fed a picture
(on paper) into the FX9600AT, tapped two keys (Fine and Copy) simultane
ously and, within 15 seconds, the scan was complete and the sprite
lodged safely in the Archimedes memory ready to be saved and loaded into
PipeDream!
5.11
I know that I’ve spent quite a lot of words on this, now unobtainable,
fax machine but my justification is that I believe similar machines
either are available or will become so. If you are thinking of getting
into the world of fax then, with suitable hardware and software,
PipeDream is an excellent way of creating your documents for direct fax
‘printing’.
5.11
One final point. At Abacus Training we do not have a phone line which is
dedicated to fax so, if the machine is on Automatic then you will get a
combined answering/fax machine. If it is on Manual then we have to tap a
Fax receive key to receive an incoming fax − that’s fine unless we’re on
an extension in another room!
5.11
Language training
5.11
In some future PipeLine columns, I shall be taking a look at custom
functions. This month, I am limiting myself to a short introduction.
5.11
Some years ago teaching programming in BBC Basic on BBC B or Master
computers was much more popular than it is now. At that time Basic
programming was considered to be part of any ‘Understanding IT’ course.
Nowadays, teaching programming has been replaced by training in the use
of packages such as a word processors, spreadsheets, databases, graphics
and the like. Indeed, many schools and colleges have bought site
licences for PipeDream for that purpose. In the world of the PC, many
spreadsheets include a feature similar, but I believe inferior, to the
custom functions of PipeDream 4 (in some other spreadsheet packages
these are called ‘macros’ − not to be confused with PipeDream macros).
5.11
As the uses of spreadsheets become more widespread, varied and complex,
so it becomes necessary for pupils, students and users in general to be
able to write custom functions. Apart from having to learn the program
ming language used to write custom functions themselves, teachers and
lecturers are finding that, unlike earlier generations of students, the
present generation has not been taught programming in any formal way.
The result is that many of the custom functions written by their
students are ‘badly written’.
5.11
Both ‘well written’ and ‘badly written’ programs usually work most of
the time; both types sometimes fail. The difference between the two is
often only apparent when you want to debug, modify, improve or extend
the program you (or maybe someone else) has written. Short ‘bad’
programs can usually be written much more quickly than ‘good’ ones, so
too many programmers with no formal training pick up bad habits when
they start programming. This is particularly true if they write short
‘bad’ programs which work. Early ‘bad’ habits learnt by pupils and
students are often the most difficult to break.
5.11
Some languages encourage ‘good’ programming. Others permit ‘bad’ or even
‘very bad’ programming. Having spent some time studying it and having
had many discussions with Colton Software, I think I would put
PipeDream 4’s custom function language in the ‘fairly good’ category!
However, in designing a language it is always necessary to compromise
between the desire to have enough flexibility to do something ‘clever’
and enough constraints to discourage ‘bad’ programming. The compromise
is usually to recommend a set of ‘conventions’ which automatically lead
to ‘good’ programming, a set of conventions which you should break only
when you know that it is essential so to do. The conventions which I
shall pass on to you have been approved by Colton Software.
5.11
By the way, we need a name for this custom function programming
language. For now, I shall call it ‘4ProL’ (PipeDream 4 Programming
Language) but, if you have a better name then write to me. I am sure
that, if you come up with a good one then I can persuade Robert
Macmillan to send you a totally useless prize (or even a PipeDream mug
and key ring)!
5.11
Within all but the simplest programming languages, the manner of
processing the data (best included as variables with meaningful names)
is based on four concepts. Not this month, but later, we shall study
these concepts under the headings: “Sequence” (the order in which the
commands are executed), “Repetition” (such as “for  -next” loops),
“Decision” (such as “if  -then” statements) and “Interrupt” (which will
include the use of the ‘4ProL’ commands, ‘input’ and ‘alert’). However,
for now, you will have to content yourselves with just one example
(approved by Colton Software) on the Archive monthly disc. This example
generates prime numbers.
5.11
If you have the Archive monthly disc and look at the custom function
sheet [c_Prime] (note the convention, approved by Colton Software, to
prefix a custom function sheet with ‘c_’), you will see that, for each
named variable, the PipeDream 4 function set_name(“name”,slotref) is
used only once and that is when the local variable is declared (declar
ing variables before assigning values to them has no equivalent in BBC
Basic) and that a slot in the custom function is reserved for the named
variable. Thereafter, the PipeDream 4 function set_value(name,value) is
used to assign values to the local variable; these assigned values
‘appear’ in the named slot. The PipeDream 4 function
set_value(name,value) can be compared with a Basic statement such as
x = 6.
5.11
Finally
5.11
Thank you for all your letters and especially for your good wishes and
encouragement to continue to write about subjects which only peripher
ally link with PipeDream. The address to write to is that of Abacus
Training which you will find on the inside back cover of Archive.  A
5.11
5.11
Small Ads
5.11
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what “small”
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.11
•    A3000 with 4M RAM, serial u/g, Acorn monitor, stand, WildVision
expansion case £650. Phone 0302−722781 (after 6).
5.11
•    A310, colour monitor, IFEL 2M board, PC emulator, Euclid, games & PD
£600. Acorn ROM podule with RAM chips £33. EFF printer driver for BJ
printers £6. Details 051−606−0289.
5.11
•    A410 with 4M RAM, 50M drive + multisync monitor, £950. Phone
0372−740678.
5.11
•    Acorn  monitor £100, 40M ST506 NEC drive £200, 20M ST506 Miniscribe
drive £100, Atomwide ST506 hard drive controller £100, GEC Datachat V21/
23 modem £30, Prism 1000 V21/23 modem £20, PC Emulator V1.33 £55, Tactic
£8, Stranded! (Adventure) £12, Twinworld £10, U.I.M. £8, Zarch £8, MiG
29 £25. All prices o.n.o. Arthur PRM offers? Phone Gareth on
0247−457655.
5.11
•    First Word Plus (not LC version) £30. Pacmania £10. Phone 0705−552067.
5.11
•    PC emulator £60, Compression £35, Lemmings £10, Pacmania £5, WS3000
modem £60. Phone 081−698−3372.
5.11
•    ScanLight Junior 256 as new £130. Phone 0923−820651.
5.11
•    Teachers Alert! Three quality educational programs (Infant Maths,
ArcArt and Snap) for the Archimedes.  All for only £2 including postage
and packing.  Write to NSoft, 160A Drum Road, Cookstown, BT80 9DW.
5.11
•    Wanted − Laser Direct HiRes card. Phone Ian on 061−431−5985.
5.11
Charity Sales − If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes
computers you could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive
office. We will sell them at the Acorn User Show in October which is a
more effective way of raising money than doing it by post.  A
5.11
5.11
NovaPaint
5.11
Simon Anthony
5.11
NovaPaint comes from David Pilling’s ever growing collection of low
cost, high quality public domain programs. This massive offering has
been created by Jason Williams − it must have taken him years. You could
be forgiven for expecting very little for a price of only £6.00 but you
would be wrong.
5.11
NovaPaint is a 16 colour, full function painting application which is
really a suite of inter-related programs nested in a complex menu
structure. The disc is filled to capacity with thirteen utilities,
folders and Basic programs. The folders contain many more files. These
include multiple demonstration pictures, palettes, fonts and text files.
The latter go a long way to explain what all the functions can achieve
and how to make them do it. The size of the index to the NovaPaint text
file manual gives another indication of the vast range of facilities
offered. I counted about 150 entries. (The other utilities include a
font editor and a RAMcram program which allows alteration of the size of
a RAMdisc without losing its contents.)
5.11
NovaPaint in use
5.11
So, it is big, very big, but what is it like to use? When I first loaded
the disc and double clicked on an ‘n’ shaped icon, I was rewarded with a
rather impressive title screen. This is a fine demonstration of the
power of NovaPaint. All agog, I waited for the obligatory menu page to
be displayed. It wasn’t. The screen went black and then the Desktop
reappeared, this time with the pretty ‘n’ sitting on the icon bar. The
next obvious thing to do was click on the ‘n’, which I did. At this
point, my hopes fell.
5.11
The menu page was then displayed but it is very drab and uninviting with
lots of text and a large block of colours in a menu laid out in a
remarkably unartistic fashion. Anything more likely to put off a
tentative user is hard to imagine. From here, clicking <menu> changes
the screen to black with a small dot-outlined box in place of the
pointer. Holding down <select> paints a continuous trace in the current
colour. All very average − and at this point I gave up.
5.11
It was only later, when my conscience pricked me, that I once again
loaded NovaPaint. My negative impressions soon fell away as I began to
discover the true power, flexibility and mind numbing scope of this
package. NovaPaint requires more than one simple review to do it justice
− several pages a month would perhaps be enough. Unfortunately, it will
take the average user a very long time to plumb the depths of the
NovaPaint instructions − this is another drawback. Such an unapproa
chable program, even one with such power, cannot hope to gain a
widespread following. NovaPaint has been written as an artistic utility
for a programmer rather than as a tool for an artist and, as such, it is
best suited to the artistically dedicated, computer literate and budget-
restrained type of user.
5.11
All the same, I offered it to the acid test of my partially computer
literate students. Here, I was surprised. The previous month they had
tried out Tiny Draw, a children’s starter art program, which they didn’t
like as it left a string of dots rather than a painted line. NovaPaint
produces curves as smooth as the mouse will move. As changing colour is
easy − just click <menu>, select the colour and click <menu> again to
get back to the picture − my students quickly grasped the essentials of
quality computer doodling and were soon happily creating much the same
work as they normally manage when using Pro-Artisan.
5.11
The on-screen presentation may not be as good but the comparison between
a £6 Public domain program and a full price product is a remarkably good
match. Every facility I have heard of is supported by NovaPaint. In
other more expensive packages, these facilities are selected via the
full power of the WIMP system, requiring the user to learn the meaning
of multiple icons. NovaPaint does everything in simple Basic and ignores
the WIMP completely. This is a case of a few on-screen words saving
hours with the manual because you can’t remember dozens of icons.
5.11
On balance, my reservations about the poor presentation on screen and
the daunting complexity are outweighed by the extreme care and attention
to detail which has been lavished on the program. The author has made it
easy to add more facilities to NovaPaint and even tells you how to do it
yourself. He only asks that he be sent a copy of any upgrades for
inclusion to the advertised package. Now that is real public domain.
5.11
I can’t imagine much more that could be added. If you want to smear a
picture, wrap it round a sphere, average the pixels, swap your pre-
defined colours around or perform any of the 150 other tricks, NovaPaint
is for you. (My top score on the Snake game is 37. I found it deep in
one of the menus. Snake is almost worth £6 by itself.) Who needs Pro-
Artisan anyway?  A
5.11
5.11
Split an Image
5.11
Alan Highet
5.11
Split an Image is a collection of 177 drawfile cartoons split into
groups of heads, bodies, shoulders, hats and backgrounds. The software
is supplied on four discs enclosed in a plastic wallet along with a 24-
page user guide, four activity cards and a quick reference card to all
the Draw menus (RISC-OS 2 only).
5.11
The original artwork was drawn by Paul Hutchinson, scanned using
Scanlight Professional and converted to drawfile format using Image
Outliner. The files are split across three discs under the headings of
Politics, Music, Sport, Royals, TV/Films and Bodies. Also included are
speech bubbles, shoulders and hats.
5.11
The fourth disc contains a copy of Draw, System with the latest version
of Clib, background scenes, a tutorial and an outline font called
Montclair.
5.11
I was pleased to see that although the drawfiles are copyright,
permission is given for any printing containing the files to be freely
distributed.
5.11
My first question on seeing this product was why I would want to spend
roughly £20 on this product when there is a wealth of drawfiles
available in the public domain. Having used this package for a few weeks
now, I have answered my own question. The professional quality of the
software shines through. From the well written user guide through to the
activity cards, everything is well presented and finished to a profes
sional standard.
5.11
The drawfiles themselves are superb, although one or two of them aren’t
that good a likeness, the attention to detail makes them stand out above
anything I’ve seen in the public domain.
5.11
An example of the quality of the product is that each drawfile head is
comprised of two identical outlines, the one you see being overlaid on a
white outline thus making sure the head is not transparent. This is far
more sensible than trying to fill the outline as this sometimes causes
fill problems with complicated shapes.
5.11
The various parts of the face can be selected and altered as required
with some interesting results, some of which can be quite useful. For
instance, if you select a smiling mouth and flip it vertically you get a
sad mouth.
5.11
The four activity cards, along with the tutorial on disc, take you
through assembling a character, adding a speech bubble, adding text,
manipulation of the various parts of the drawfile and then assembling a
scene.
5.11
I have no hesitation in recommending this software and if, like me,
you’re surrounded by talented artists but can never get a pen to do what
you want, this is your opportunity to compete, at least in the cartoon
stakes.  A
5.11
5.11
MicroDrive World Edition
5.11
Jochen Konietzko
5.11
Various articles have covered 4th Dimension’s Holed Out (for example,
Archive 5.8, pp. 60/1). I have therefore decided to use this well known
game as a reference and describe the ways in which MicroDrive is
different.
5.11
Classification
5.11
MicroDrive is a “3-D” golf simulator featuring real courses from various
parts of the world; there is no course editor.
5.11
The package
5.11
The MicroDrive World Edition comes in a thin book-like cardboard
package; the two disks are stuck behind the front and back covers, and,
inside it, there is one A4 sheet of instructions. This sheet should
urgently be rewritten, as it gives hardly any information about the many
unusual features of MicroDrive (more about this later).
5.11
Disk one is the program disk; it contains the game itself and two
courses: Lauren Hills (English parkland) and San Rivero (Spanish
Riviera); the Extra Courses disk offers five more locations: Mile Oak
Lakes (US lake side), Olympia National (US pine forest), Palm Sands
(Caribbean), St. Anns (Scottish links) and Val do Lago (Portuguese
Coast). Both disks are available singly, as MicroDrive and MicroDrive
Extra Courses.
5.11
Installation
5.11
To run the game from floppy disk, you just have to click on its icon in
the usual way.
5.11
Installation on a hard disk is simple − just drag the game into the
directory of your choice. This means that, unlike Holed Out, players of
this simulator won’t get stiff wrists from endless disk swapping − in my
view, a major advantage! The game runs on both ADFS and SCSI hard disks
but I have no access to an IDE disk.
5.11
Installation of the five extra courses needs marginally more work: Drag
all files from the CBACK, CDATA and CLOAD directories on the courses
disk into the same directories inside the game itself.
5.11
The game, together with the extra courses, takes up 1.4M of disk space.
(Compression reduces this to 498k.)
5.11
It should run easily on a 1M machine, as it needs only about 480k of
free memory.
5.11
Warning: Make sure that you have enough free memory, because if you
don’t, you won’t receive any error message; the title page is loaded,
then the machine freezes. Also, make sure that you don’t have any
unsaved files lying around on your desktop, because, as far as I can
tell, the only way to leave the game is through a reset, which is rather
annoying. This is MicroDrive’s only genuine weak point, as far as I am
concerned.
5.11
Playing the game
5.11
When you start the game, you are first given a choice of the available
courses; for each course, you can look at an overview by clicking
<Adjust>.
5.11
Then you can choose the kind of game you want to play. The options are:
one to four players, competing in the categories stroke, Stableford (not
explained in the “Manual”) or match (one player against one or two
against two).
5.11
Each player can be right- or left-handed and play in one of three skill
levels, which differ only in the responsiveness of the ball to hooks and
slices, and in the “size” of the hole.
5.11
Each player can set his handicap, and play can start at any of the
eighteen holes of each course. Unlike Holed Out, there is no need to
click your way through a succession of screens to set up your game, as
all options are collected in one big table on one screen.
5.11
For each hole a map can be shown, with helpful hints, like these:
5.11
For the game, there are remarkably realistic views from the usual
position behind the player. Unlike Holed Out, trees are not all
identical, but (I suppose) modelled on those in the original courses;
the lawn is tinted in many shades of green and most of the items on
screen are anti-aliased. (It is interesting to note that, as in real
life, the holes are not always in the same place on the green.)
5.11
The ground structure of the original courses is reproduced so that you
may, for example, tee off from a hill top and play down towards a hole
beside a lake, where the flag actually shows the direction of the wind
or hangs limply down when the air is still.
5.11
All this gives a very dense atmosphere, but has one obvious (slight)
disadvantage, when compared to Holed Out. Computing each individual
scene puts much more strain on the computer, so that a view with many
differing elements can take up to six seconds to build up (with an ARM 2
this grows to a maximum of about fifteen seconds, with an average
somewhere around eight seconds.) In Holed Out, loading a scene is about
three times as fast.
5.11
However, I prefer the short wait because the reward is a series of
really individual, recognizable views. In Holed Out, all the courses
look much the same because of the uniformly flat terrain and the
restriction to just one tree shape, repeated endlessly.
5.11
The array of clubs available differs slightly from that in Holed Out:
Driver (only from the tee), just one wood (#3), irons #1 to #9, wedge,
sand wedge and putter. You choose a club by moving the mouse up and
down, which scrolls through the list of available clubs, and then
clicking on <select>.
5.11
The actual play is totally different from the other simulators I know,
as there are no “gadgets” which help you fine tune your swing, like a
power meter and a slice meter.
5.11
With MicroDrive, the only help given is the wind vane and the distance
the ball can move through the air − over level ground, without wind.
5.11
You determine the flight path of the ball through a “real time” control
of the player on the screen − One click on <select> starts the leisurely
up-swing, the second click starts the down-swing. The really tricky part
comes now − you have to click for a third time! This third click
simulates the release position of the hands during the down-swing. Early
in the down-swing you will get a hook, halfway down the ball will fly
straight, late release will produce a slice. Without the third click the
flight path becomes almost totally unpredictable.
5.11
This method has two advantages − it feels far more natural and it is
more difficult to reproduce a given flight curve, so that the game will
remain a challenge much longer.This approach also means that the motion
of the player sprite really reflects the strength with which you hit the
ball; in other simulators you use the power meter to decide how hard to
hit, and only then does the little player move − always executing a full
swing, even if you just gently nudge the ball.
5.11
Once a ball has landed on the fairway or the light rough, it stays
visible as a tiny white dot − its size very nicely changing with the
distance to the viewer − while the other players do their thing (in
Holed Out only one ball at a time is visible.)
5.11
This applies even on the green (another feature not mentioned in the
manual). There is a “marker” for every ball on the green in the form of
a faint blueish smudge which, unless you know what it is, can easily be
mistaken for a speck of dust on the screen.
5.11
You’ll notice another point where MicroDrive takes a far more realistic
approach than Holed Out if you manage to land a ball beneath a tree.
5.11
In Holed Out, a ball can land right at the foot of a tree; if this
stands on the fairway, you can hit the ball with any club − even the
driver! − and it will climb almost vertically into the air and land on
the other side; in MicroDrive such an attempt would simply have the ball
smash into the trunk and bounce off or let you see it vanish into the
foliage and then, mostly, drop to the ground some feet away.
5.11
In this context, MicroDrive has another feature which I have not seen in
any other golf simulator. If your ball has landed far outside the
fairway, it is easy to get back. All you have to do is move the cross
hair sights all the way to the left or right edge of the screen. This
will cause the view to rotate by 45° and so, by doing this eight times,
your player turns once around his axis (this isn’t mentioned in the
manual either).
5.11
The complete game takes place in the three dimensional view, including
putting. This makes some holes rather tricky because it is naturally
hard to judge the slope of the green on a flat screen; your best bet is
to watch closely while the scene is drawn (always from back to front);
if you miss this, you have to make do with such clues as the direction
to the nearest lake, the distortion of the rectangular “mowing” pattern
of the lawn on the green and, of course, the way the ball rolls (...and
rolls ... and rolls ... on some steeply slanted greens).
5.11
The only aspect where the realism of MicroDrive breaks down is the sound
which is definitely thin and unsatisfactory. (The sound has just one
thing in common with that of Holed Out. Both games have − unlike, for
example, International Golf − no bird song or other “environmental”
noises.)
5.11
The atrocious instruction sheet fails to inform about so many features
that I keep discovering new things. There is no mention of the fact that
it is possible to save a position (one for each course) and continue
later where you stopped, nor of the fact that, during match play,
clicking <menu> will bring up a dialogue box asking you whether you want
to give up.
5.11
Maybe I will yet find a way to quit the game in an acceptable manner,
which is simply not mentioned anywhere in the instructions!
5.11
Price
5.11
MicroDrive is produced by Cambridge International Software, Suite 2A,
436 Essex Rd., London N1 3QP; the World Edition costs £29.95 (£27 from
Archive).
5.11
Conclusion
5.11
Except for the missing Quit option and the laughable instruction
leaflet, I like this simulation very much indeed! Actually, I find
MicroDrive so much superior that I have “moth-balled” my Holed Out
Compendium disks and just dug them out for a quick spate of “disk-
jockeying” in the course of writing this article.  A
5.11
5.11
Music Typesetting on the Archimedes (1)
5.11
Richard Hallas
5.11
This is the first article of a short series in which I shall be looking
at the music printing packages available for the Archimedes and
examining their suitability for publishing professional scores. Although
every Archimedes owner has access to Maestro, the free music program
supplied with their machine, this is a very limited piece of software
with no facilities for printing out whatsoever (at least, not in the
RISC-OS 2 version).
5.11
There are currently only three packages available which are capable of
printing music: Scorewriter/PMS, Rhapsody II with ScoreDraw and Notate.
This article will deal with PMS, the next with Rhapsody and the third
with Notate. Then I shall draw up some conclusions about all three. Many
Archimedes users will have heard of Rhapsody and Notate but Scorewriter/
PMS has been hiding in the background for quite some time attracting
little, if any, attention and, to the best of my knowledge, has never
before been reviewed in an Acorn magazine. I have been using it in my
own small business, KeyNote, for over a year now and propose to rectify
this undeserved lack of attention right away!
5.11
Scorewriter: Philip’s Music Scribe
5.11
This program has not only a long and interesting history, but also two
names! My unwieldy title combines the two; the program is called
Scorewriter if bought from ElectroMusic Research (EMR), but PMS if
bought directly from its author Philip Hazel. It actually started life
before the Archimedes itself − on Acorn’s short-lived Cambridge
Workstation. As a consequence, it is written in BCPL, which is highly
unusual for an Archimedes application. Since it has been around so long,
it does not make use of the Archimedes’ Wimp system to any great extent;
rather, a windowed front-end is provided to send parameters to a
command-line-driven program. PMS can be bought in two forms, identical
except for the fact that one includes a program to produce PostScript
output in addition to the RISC-OS printer driver output provided by both
versions.
5.11
When I bought PMS as a newcomer to the Archimedes, one of the first
questions I asked about PMS was ‘Does it work in a window?’ I had used a
Macintosh SE/30 for a year to publish a mediæval manuscript which I had
transcribed and edited, and I produced my edition using a typesetting
program called NoteWriter. Being a Macintosh product, of course, it
worked in a window and I wanted to have something similar on my new
Archimedes. In this respect, I was to be disappointed because the answer
to the question is a firm ‘No’. As a command-line program, PMS takes a
text file for input, processes it and then squirts out a second file
suitable for one of the output programs. If you are using a PostScript
printer, you send the file to the PostScript output program; otherwise
you send it to PMS’s printer driver output program which will either
print the music directly or create a drawfile or sprite for you.
5.11
This three-stage process may seem rather complicated. The situation is
alleviated somewhat by the provision of a Wimp front-end which lets you
drag in files, set parameters and launch the output programs. However,
there is no getting around the fact that PMS was simply not designed for
a WYSIWYG interface and, as such, is a little difficult to use. However,
I must say in its defence that once the effort has been made to learn to
make the best use of PMS, it can be considerably faster and easier to
produce music in the form of text input than having to fiddle around
positioning notes on screen with the mouse.
5.11
A comparison with NoteWriter is quite interesting. Actually, I should
perhaps say “contrast” because NoteWriter is about as different as it
could be from PMS, considering both have the same end-product in mind.
NoteWriter is, in fact, a very specialised drawing package and is
musically ignorant. Whilst it is useful to be able to see the music on
the screen when entering it (and there is the handy option of hearing
the pitch of each note as it is placed), any mistakes you make in layout
or rhythm simply go unnoticed by the program. It has no facilities for
part extraction or automatic text underlay − you have to position every
syllable yourself. Worst of all, it is impossible to do any major
reformatting without redrawing the whole page manually. (NoteWriter
costs £300.)
5.11
By contrast, PMS is the musical equivalent of a word-processor. It knows
quite a lot about musical notation and will generally make a very good
stab indeed at putting together a page for you. Admittedly it can’t be
right all the time and many things will need tweaking but the flexibil
ity of the system is enormous. Whereas NoteWriter will let you set a
page (with some difficulty), PMS will let you set a symphony. Funnily
enough, PMS isn’t very good at doing musical examples, which are
NoteWriter’s forte. They can be done but can take a disproportionate
amount of setting up. The setting up is half the battle; once you have
got the overall page layout ready in PMS, you can just type in the notes
by their names and let PMS do all the formatting for you.
5.11
It is revealing that, with NoteWriter, I could get through about 50 bars
of four-part vocal music (excluding text underlay) in eight hours’ solid
work. In the same amount of time with PMS, and pushing myself, I can get
through 250 bars of equivalent music but including underlay text. Given
that underlay text is a significant task in itself, this means that PMS
is about six times faster to use than NoteWriter.
5.11
When you call PMS to process your file, it throws up a command window
and reports its progress as it goes along. Watching, you can tell which
bars are going on which lines on which pages and PMS will also indicate
if, for some reason, it was unable to justify a line to fill out the
width of the page. PMS also checks that all the bars are the right
length and, as I have said, performs all alignment and underlay text
positioning automatically. It also makes a very good attempt at
positioning and shaping slurs, as long as you tell it where they should
start and end. You can force new lines and pages at any point and
suspend temporarily unused staves from printing. If, when all the music
is entered, the last page is not filled, you can set the overall
magnification and/or note spacing to make it just right and the bars
will be redistributed as necessary.
5.11
Of course, checking is the drawback. You must output your music to check
it, probably as a drawfile. Processing large files can be a little time
consuming but generally PMS zips through pages with quite impressive
speed, especially using an ARM3. There is a direct screen-output mode
for checking purposes but this is really very crude and I never use it.
The only thing you can accurately check is the pitch and duration of
notes, not the articulation markings, etc.
5.11
The usefulness of drawfile output cannot be overstated. Apart from the
pure convenience of being able to check exactly the same output on the
screen as on the printer, drawfiles can be dropped into a desktop
publisher and combined with other text and graphics, thereby allowing
musical examples in essays, or even something as simple as the setting
up of a hymn-sheet. All PMS symbols are contained in an outline font,
which is very useful as you can put musical symbols into text and refer
to A‘ major, for example.
5.11
Input files
5.11
To give some idea of the kind of work involved in creating music with
PMS, take a look at the illustration of a fairly simple input file, used
to create the arrangement of the Londonderry Air. The first section sets
up the overall page layout, with all numbers specified in points.
Headers and footers can be set up to appear on every page with different
ones for the first and last pages. Various overall settings for the
piece are made here, such as the bar numbers (here specified to be at
the start of every line) and the magnification of the page and spacing
between notes. Many settings can be overridden in specific instances, if
necessary. Any number of staves can be printed on top of each other
(specified by the Staffspacing directive) by using a spacing of 0. In
this example, four staves are used to provide two lines of music, each
of which has chords with stems going up and down; staves 1 and 2 are
printed together, as are 3 and 4, with a spacing of 66 points between
the two.
5.11
The initial setup section in the input file is followed by the data for
each line of music in turn. A maximum of 32 lines is allowed. The system
of note specification is simple and logical − a lower-case letter is a
crotchet or shorter note and an upper-case letter a minim or longer
value. The letters can have added dots to create dotted notes and a ‘+’
extends the value of a note, whilst a ‘−’ acts as a flag, so that ‘−’
means quaver, ‘=’ semiquaver, ‘=−’ demisemiquaver and ‘==’ hemidemisemi
quaver, which is the shortest available value. Jumps up and down octaves
can be made by using the ‘‘’ and ‘`’ characters. Signs and ornaments can
be added to notes by adding a short command between backslash characters
− for example, ‘\f\’ means fermata (pause sign). Interspersed with the
note data are various instructions to start and end slurs whose ends and
curvatures can be specified. Horizontal brackets behave in a similar way
and both can be drawn with dotted lines. Hairpins are specified by
putting ‘<’ and ‘>’ symbols where they start and finish and the ends can
be positioned independently. Of course, text markings can be put in very
simply. Only the Trinity font can be used in the standard version of PMS
but this is all that is generally needed and the four members of the
family can easily be specified within the text string by using, for
example, ‘\bi\’ for bold italic.
5.11
For complex scores, in which you want to use part extraction, for
example, variables can be set up and conditional statements used to
alter parts of the layout for special purposes.
5.11
Conclusion
5.11
PMS is a very capable program indeed and will do almost all standard
notation. I like it very much but it must be said that it is not an easy
program to get to grips with. If you want to do professional quality
music printing on the Archimedes, PMS is your only choice at present but
you must be prepared to spend a great deal of time learning the program.
It is definitely one of those pieces of software whose manual should
always be close at hand. There is a plethora of options available and
whilst the input language is not difficult to learn, it can be quite
confusing at first.
5.11
PMS costs £150 for the standard version, or £500 for the version with
the PostScript driver program. The latter version does have a small
number of facilities which are unavailable in the cheaper version (such
as the ability to use PostScript fonts), but unless you specifically
need PostScript output, the cheaper option is much better value, and
more likely to meet the needs of Archimedes owners who generally have
little need for PostScript anyway.
5.11
It is worth mentioning here that PMS2 is on the way. This will work in a
similar way to PMS1, taking a text file as input, and will probably be
file-compatible. Where it will differ is in checking and correcting the
music, which you will be able to do by dragging notes, etc around in a
window. In fact, it will be a proper desktop application rather than a
command-line driven one and will probably combine the best of both
worlds with the fast text-file entry and the convenience of correcting
in a window. However, nothing is final yet and PMS2 is many months away
from completion, so if you need PMS now, buy it! Not only do you have no
real alternative for professional quality work but you will also be
getting a flexible, comprehensive and generally excellent program − but
be prepared to spend time with it.
5.11
The author, Philip Hazel, can be contacted at 33 Metcalfe Road,
Cambridge CB4 2DB. Phone 0223−65518.  A
5.11
Heading 20 “|Londonderry Air” 60
5.11
Heading “||\it\arr. Richard Hallas” 36
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Heading “”
5.11
Heading “”
5.11
LastFooting “” 20
5.11
LastFooting 10 “Typesetting by \bi\KeyNote||\rm\31 Skelton Crescent,
Crosland Moor, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD4 5PN ”
5.11
Key E$ Time 4/4
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brace 1-4
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bracket 0
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barnumbers line 8
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hairpinlinewidth 0.5
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systemgap 77
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startlinespacing 2 0 4
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staffspacing 1/0 2/66 3/0
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linelength 520
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magnification 1.12
5.11

5.11
[Staff 1] [treble 1]
5.11
[nocheck] [nocount] [stems above] “Andante”/a/u10 [slur] d- e-f- |
5.11
g. f- g-c‘-b-\!>\g- |
5.11
f-e- c. [endslur] [slur/co2] e- g-a- |
5.11
b. c‘- b-g-e-g- |
5.11
F_/a f- [endslur] [slur/slco2/ru2] d- e-f- |
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g. f- g-c‘-b-g- |
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f-e- c. [endslur] [slur/co2] d- e-f- |
5.11
g. a- g-f-e-f- |
5.11
E_/a e- [endslur] [comma] [slur/srco4] b- c‘-d’- | @half-way
5.11
e‘. d’- d‘-c’-b-c‘- |
5.11
b-g- e. [endslur] [slur] b- c‘-d’- |
5.11
e‘. d’- d‘-c’-b-g- |
5.11
F_/a f- [endslur] [slur/srco6] b-\!-\ b-\!-\b-\!-\ |
5.11
g‘. f’- f‘-e’-c‘-e’- | b-g- e. [endslur] [slur/co2] d- e-f- |
5.11
g-c‘-b-g- f-e-c-d- |
5.11
E+\f\ [endslur] | @end
5.11
[endstaff]
5.11

5.11
[Staff 2] [treble 1]
5.11
[nocheck] [stems below] [hairpins below] “\bi\mp”/b d- c-d- |
5.11
e-f-e-c- e $c\!>\ |
5.11
$b` a`-b`- a` (g-%b`-)(f-b`-) [reset] Q. < b`-_/b;b`- < |
5.11
(f-$b`-);>;(e-b`-) q > Q [reset] b`-_/b;b`- d e c-e- |
5.11
D Q [reset] q- > d- c-%b`- > $b`- < d- c-d- < |
5.11
e. d- e $d |
5.11
c a` %a` a` |
5.11
e. e- e-d-b`-d- |
5.11
[move 6] > e-;[move 3];d-c-a`- > b`- < (g-e-) (a-e-)(a-f-) < | @half-way
5.11
“\bi\mf”/b (b.g.) b- b-a-(g-d-)(a-d-) |
5.11
e e-d- c- < e- e-f- < |
5.11
“\bi\f”/b (g.e.) g- g-g-g-e- |
5.11
< [move 6] f-c-e-f=e= d- < d-\!-\ e-\!-\ [move 4] a-\!-\ |
5.11
“\bi\ff”/b ($d‘.g.) > (d’-g-) (c‘-a-)(c’-a-)(a-e-)(a-e-) |
5.11
e e c- > %b`- c-;[move 4];e- |
5.11
“\bi\p  \it\molto rit.”/b e. e- c > a`-b`- > |
5.11
B`+ | @end
5.11
[endstaff]
5.11

5.11
[Staff 3] [bass]
5.11
[nocheck] [stems above] “con \mf\£”/b/d8 b- a |
5.11
b. a- b-a- e |
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e E e |
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e (af) g-b- (%af) |
5.11
f a f- b- b-b- |
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b. b- b-a- g |
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e e e e |
5.11
b. c‘- b-f-g-a- |
5.11
g a-f- g- b- a-b- | @half-way
5.11
b. q- Q [reset] q- e-e‘- e’- e‘-e’-b-f- |
5.11
g-b- g. b- a-a- |
5.11
g. q- Q [reset] q- c-c‘- %b- b-c’-$d‘-d’- |
5.11
C‘ b- b-\!-\ c’-\!-\d‘-\!-\ |
5.11
b. b- c‘-c’-a-c‘- |
5.11
b %a $a- a- a-%a- |
5.11
b-$a-g-g- g f-a- |
5.11
G+ | @end
5.11
[endstaff]
5.11

5.11
[Staff 4] [bass]
5.11
[nocheck] [stems below] b- a-b`- |
5.11
E_/b e- a`. |
5.11
g` A` a` |
5.11
g` b` e f` |
5.11
B`_/b b`-;[move 4];a-g-f- |
5.11
e-d-c-b`- e e |
5.11
a` a`-g`- f` f` |
5.11
b`-c- b` b` b` |
5.11
E_/b e- e- a-b`- | @half-way
5.11
e. g- a-a- b` |
5.11
e c-b`- a`- g`- a`-b`- |
5.11
c. f- E |
5.11
a` %a` b`- [move 4] a-\!-\ g-\!-\f-\!-\ |
5.11
e. e- a-a-a-a- |
5.11
g #<f %<f- %e- $e-c- |
5.11
b`. %b`- c $b` |
5.11
E`+\f!\ | @end
5.11
[endstaff]
5.11
5.11
Multimedia Column
5.11
Ian Lynch
5.11
Last month, I indulged myself by writing two pieces for Archive and, in
the second, I mentioned that multimedia was a solution looking for a
problem. Paul reinforced this by saying that he doubted whether 16 bit
audio and better colour were needed. Giving more thought to this, I
think the problem is that the term multimedia is about as broad as the
term computer. In a sense, the BBC B was a multimedia platform with
sound, animations, text, etc. The big difference is quality. I think
Mike Hobart hit the nail on the head in the Comment Column last month
when he said that we shall “need” it when we have it. I can remember PC
users decrying graphical user interfaces only a few years back. The way
they wax lyrical about Windows 3.1, now they have it, one would think
that they had invented the idea.
5.11
What is multimedia?
5.11
I do not believe that multimedia is a classification like wordprocess
ing. Even this has developed into DTP and The Wordperfect Corporation is
now incorporating QuickTime films in its Mac wordprocessing products.
The term “multimedia” has been used by marketing people to help give a
fresh angle on selling product when it is really a term which covers
almost all software applications to one degree or another. It is much
more a natural evolution than a revolution on graphically orientated
computers and it subsumes older technology to produce enhanced products
in the television industry, for example. Multimedia is now becoming
synonymous with digital desktop video and it really is much more than
this.
5.11
Improved audio and video
5.11
I was probably wrong to say that Acorn needed 16-bit audio and more
extensive colour for multimedia since this is not much more than saying
Acorn will need better computers in future. I do stick by the fact that
for games, music and certain areas of instruction, 16 bit audio will be
expected by customers in the not too distant future. PCs do this by
adding on hardware boards and if Acorn can manage it on a standard
machine it will give them competitive advantage due to simplicity of use
and lower costs. Digital video (!Replay supports 15 bit colour) will
improve in quality simply by improving the video hardware and the
available palette. It should be possible to do this now at relatively
low cost (certainly compared to 1987). At the more advanced end,
developments such as the Apex board from Millipede which goes beyond 24
bit per pixel graphics by defining 256 levels of transparency in another
8 bits per pixel, point the way to what is possible. It is arguable
whether TV style video graphics capabilities are needed in general
purpose computers but the capability is certainly not too far off.
5.11
Multimedia Show
5.11
Shows are the place to find out what the rest of the world is doing. The
Multimedia Show at Olympia was smaller than I remember it being last
year. A similar situation to Which? and signs of the recession, I
suspect. So what was there to see? There was the usual hype with CD-I,
CD-TV and CD-XA all being pushed hard and I must say that some of the
computer based CD products were being sold simply on CD hype.
5.11
CD-XA
5.11
CD-XA (extended architecture) was an interesting one − it’s the new
industry standard for CDs which store moving pictures. The demonstration
was a 386 running an application for teaching business people how to use
the telephone (this seems a popular activity in business circles!). The
screen layouts and graphics were very professional and had a small
window probably about 4cm square demonstrating how to answer the ’phone
using a small film. This is where I wasn’t impressed. The sound and
video did not appear well synchronised, so the presentation appeared
rather like a badly dubbed foreign film, probably the result of a low
frame rate.
5.11
The over-all operation, choosing a route through the screen options, was
slow and tedious. A lot of this is to do with slow CD access times and I
might have less patience than most, but I can see a lot of people
getting rather frustrated with this. I asked the demonstrator why XA was
needed and what it cost. He knew how much it cost, £300 for an extra
board on top of the cost of the CD ROM drive and the application, but he
had no idea why it was needed except that “you can’t get moving pictures
without it!” I was tempted to tell him about Replay but decided I would
be wasting my breath.
5.11
CD-I and CD-TV
5.11
I moved on to CD-I and CD-TV. What will digital video look like on
these? I wondered. Unfortunately, I didn’t find out. All the demonstra
tions used carefully chosen material with full screen stills forming
backgrounds to small areas of overlaid moving graphics. When pressed
hard, one demonstrator said CD-I with full screen motion video would be
available later in the year. So what’s new?
5.11
I was on holiday in France recently and visited EuroDisney. Philips have
sponsored a whole building there with a couple of rooms dedicated to CD-
I. CD-I is designed as a consumer product and is nowhere near as
flexible as a general purpose computer. It is rather like a games
console but with more serious applications such as a library of digital
photographs in mind. It is another example of how multimedia is not a
simple application but a wide variety of applications based on a variety
of hardware and software. (If you can put up with queueing and the
expense, there are some interesting technologies applied at EuroDisney.)
5.11
QuickTime
5.11
Back with the multimedia show, Apple were making quite a thing out of
QuickTime which is a similar product to Acorn Replay, and they had it
running on a variety of Macs. The centrepiece piece was a Quadra 900 (if
you think a 540 is expensive, look up the list price on one of these
beasties) Even on this machine, demonstrations were limited to tiny
images though 25 frames per second was possible as with Replay on ARM3.
What was impressive was a camera which grabbed films (me in this case)
and converted them to QuickTime format for immediate playback. The board
(not the camera) to enable this cost about £500 and this seems an area
where a little catching up is required since making Replay films is not
at present straightforward. QuickTime films can be integrated with
HyperCard and some interesting effects were possible using masks. For
example, an outline shape of France was used as a display area for a
QuickTime film. Genesis, Magpie and Avanti all have potential for this
type of thing.
5.11
Lamb in sheep’s clothing
5.11
I was nearly impressed with QuickTime on a lesser 16 bit Mac which
seemed to be doing a good job of showing a QuickTime film of a hovering
bee. The picture was small, but the animation looked good and this was
only a 16-bit machine. On closer inspection, the film was actually
managing only a few frames per second but since the subject was a slow-
motion film anyway it masked the relatively poor animation. The moral is
that you can’t always believe what you see at shows!
5.11
Some comparisons
5.11
From what I have seen, PC compatible digital video is inferior to Replay
unless you pay for hardware add-ons which make the thing a lot more
expensive and somewhat more complicated. CD-I and CD-TV are interesting
but do not yet prove to me that they live up to the hype. They are, in
any case, aimed at consumers in a similar way to games consoles and are
not direct competitors with general purpose computers though they could
affect the available market in some areas. QuickTime has a lot of
potential but is limited on less powerful machines and I was not shown
any quarter screen films at 25 frames per second such as can be run on
an A5000 with Replay.
5.11
Replay seems to have the best motion fidelity. By this, I mean that
movement is natural and synchronises well with sound. This is because
frame rate is guaranteed whereas, with QuickTime, frames are dropped if
the processor can’t keep up. QuickTime-intensive applications are likely
to be expensive if only because they will require expensive machines for
animation fidelity.
5.11
Spatial resolution is more difficult to compare since no-one could show
me a decent quarter screen film, though all said it was quite possible
(so why weren’t they showing it?). Colour resolution appeared a bit
better in QuickTime than in Replay though it is difficult to make fair
comparisons when there is a big difference in picture sizes. I suspect
that the restricted colour palette available to Replay has an effect
and, as mentioned earlier, new video hardware which makes use of
Replay’s 15 bit capability will be needed before some of the lack of
colour precision (particularly quantisation effects) can be eliminated.
5.11
Well that’s all for this month. I hope to take a closer look at
Millipede’s video graphics developments next. If you have any ideas or
contributions, please write to: 1 Melford, off Buckingham Road,
Tamworth, Staffs, B79 7UX.  A
5.11
5.11
PD Column
5.11
David Holden
5.11
Those who have ordered disks from APDL recently will probably have
discovered that I am taking over the library. The original proprietor,
Peter Sykes, no longer has the necessary time to devote to it. It will
be ‘business as usual’ during the change-over, so if you have sent an
order to the old address, Peter will to continue to supply disks to
avoid delays, although new orders should preferably be sent to me at the
address at the end of this article.
5.11
The initials APDL stand for the Archimedes Public Domain Library and
this indicates something of its history and why I was willing to take
over. As the name suggests, APDL was the first library ever (after
Archive, of course) for the Archimedes. It has never sold cheap disks
where the volume of the contents is more important then the quality but
has instead concentrated on trying to supply the latest versions of the
best programs. Peter has always attempted to obtain material direct from
the authors rather than from other sources. This helps to ensure that
the latest and most up-to-date programs are available. APDL has always
given support to authors and this will certainly continue.
5.11
I will be taking the opportunity to re-organise the catalogue, so even
if you have a recent one, it will probably soon be out of date. For a
short period, if you send me any disc with a recent APDL label, I will
return it with a copy of the new catalogue when it is ready without
charge. (Don’t forget to make a copy of the disk before you send it to
me.)
5.11
In the past, APDL also distributed the Archive Shareware and Careware
disks. This started in the very early days of the Archimedes when both
Archive and the concept of PD were less widely known. There is now no
reason for this and so the Archive disks will be discontinued.
5.11
I also hope to add to the few PC disks in the catalogue. There is a lot
of superb Shareware for PC’s and, by using the PC emulator, this will
hopefully extend the range of programs available for the Archimedes.
They will all be checked to ensure that they run properly and at an
acceptable speed under the emulator.
5.11
I shall certainly try to avoid using this column to advertise APDL so
this is the last time I shall talk about it at length. However, I hope
that it will give me the opportunity to extend my knowledge and
understanding of the Archimedes PD and Shareware scene.
5.11
Dirty pictures
5.11
You will probably have noticed that the proprietor of a PD library has
been convicted for distributing pornographic material on computer disks.
The library in question was dealing with PC programs but there is quite
a bit of this stuff about, both pictorial and prose, for other compu
ters, the Amiga in particular. Amigas tend to be owned by ‘young
persons’ and I doubt very much if libraries ask for proof of age before
sending the disks. For that reason alone, I am opposed to any of this
material being sold by normal libraries.
5.11
Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be much in evidence for the Archi
medes. I don’t doubt that, with the availability of cheap scanners and
the amount of material now being ported over from the PC and Amiga, it
will soon start to appear in bulk. Some is being sent from Scandinavian
countries already. Hopefully, Archimedes owners are a bit more mature
and sensible than most, so there shouldn’t be much of a market. I would
certainly urge all libraries to have nothing to do with it.
5.11
Copyright infringements
5.11
There have also recently been a number of raids by Trading Standards
Officers working with F.A.S.T. (the Federation Against Software Theft,
who act against software pirates) and the Performing Rights Association
and prosecutions will doubtless soon follow. No, not more obscene stuff
but copyright material. The bulk of this is computer music, although
some was commercial software and magazine cover disks.
5.11
I have mentioned this point about computer music in correspondence with
libraries in the past and warned that soon F.A.S.T. and the P.R.A. would
act. They now appear to have done so. If you have, for example, a
Tracker version of the theme from ‘Neighbours’ in your library, you have
been warned. There is no legal difference between selling a computer
disc containing sampled material and a pirated tape of a record.
5.11
As for magazine cover disks, the sample disk sent by one of the
libraries I mentioned last month had a program stolen from a magazine on
it. Some libraries actually advertise magazine disks in their
catalogues. Since Archimedes libraries are comparatively small, they
have so far not attracted the attention of F.A.S.T. but don’t think that
will always be so, especially when libraries issue catalogues advertis
ing pirated material.
5.11
More about documentation
5.11
Two months ago, I wrote about documentation for PD programs. I had
intended to continue last month with some further comments and advice to
PD programmers but other more immediate items took precedence. This
month, I will continue by describing some of the minor but annoying
‘faults’ that programmers sometimes include.
5.11
I often find text files which are not properly formatted. They have
obviously been written using Edit on an 80 column screen. When read with
any other screen width, the lines are split in the wrong places. Always
properly format the text. I had thought this so self-evident that I
didn’t bother to mention it but I have noticed several programs with
this problem.
5.11
Another less common fault is to use justified text. It might look pretty
to have the right hand edge of your text all neatly lined up, but in the
standard system font or printed without microspacing, it is tedious to
read. Remember that instruction texts and manuals will normally be
printed out in draft mode which is altogether different from properly
kerned and microspaced fonts.
5.11
Application sprites
5.11
It is normal to define the icons for the application sprites in the
!Boot file with the line ‘Iconsprites <Obey$Dir>.!sprites’. Put this
line in your !Run file as well. There are two reasons for this. Firstly,
if the program is required to respond to ‘file clicking’ and the user
sets up a Run Alias for the filetype, the program may be Run from this
command without the OS ever having ‘seen’ the application directory and
hence the !Boot file. If this is done, and the application sprites are
not also defined in the !Run file, the application will start up and
install itself correctly but the sprite on the icon bar will be
‘invisible’, which can be a bit disconcerting.
5.11
The second reason is that if the line appears in the !Boot file, RISC-OS
loads the sprite definitions as soon as it sees the application. Most of
the time this is OK because, without them, the application will just
have the default sprite and not its own, which doesn’t look very pretty.
However if, like me, you have dozens of disks of PD and want to look
through them for a particular program, there is a delay as all those
unwanted sprites are loaded. Also the Wimp doesn’t discard them
afterwards, so the RAM taken up is not relinquished until the computer
is reset. Like other people who have a lot of disks of PD, I often
remove or disable that line in the !Boot file. When you actually run the
program, if the sprites are also defined in the !Run file, they are
loaded so that the program can display its icon on the icon bar but,
until then, your RAM is left uncluttered.
5.11
Don’t forget that the iconsprites defined in the !Boot file should only
be those required by RISC-OS before the application is run. It should
contain the sprites for the application icon and any sprites for
filetypes to aid identification. Any sprites not required until the
program is actually run, should be in a separate sprite file loaded by
the !Run file or by the program itself.
5.11
Several PD programs use sprites with standard names like ‘radioon’ and
‘radiooff’ and define their own sprites with these names. Unless it is
absolutely essential, don’t use ‘standard’ names for any sprites you
define. If you do, they will replace the normal sprites and so appear in
every other applications windows. This can be very annoying. If you
define sprites for your windows, give them unique names. It may make
things a bit more awkward when you create the windows but it makes it a
lot easier for everyone else.
5.11
Defining OS variables
5.11
Another similar suggestion concerns OS variables defined by the program.
The most common is a line defining the name of the application direc
tory. You often see in !Run files the two lines:
5.11
Set MyApp$Dir <Obey$Dir>
5.11
Run <MyApp$Dir>.MyProg
5.11
when a single line would suffice:
5.11
Run <Obey$Dir>.MyProg
5.11
There are only two valid reasons for defining an OS variable in this
way. Firstly, if your application needs to respond to ‘file clicking’,
you must define an OS variable to the name of the application directory
in the !Boot file (and also in your main !Boot application, if you have
one) so that RISC-OS will then know where to look for the ‘owner’ of
that filetype if you should subsequently double-click on one. The second
reason is if the application needs to be able to find its directory
after it has been loaded and initialised.
5.11
You should normally only use an OS variable if the application requires
access to its directory after initialisation. If it simply has some sort
of Setup or Data file in its application directory or a sub-directory
thereof, which it requires when it is first run, then <Obey$Dir> will
suffice.
5.11
Even in this instance, my personal preference now is to expand the
<Obey$Dir> definition and record this internally. This is easy enough to
do. Remember that if RISC-OS subsequently ‘sees’ another version of the
program, your OS variable could be reset to the new version which can be
a nuisance. I have often had mysterious requests to insert a certain
floppy disc after running an application from my hard disc because a
duplicate exists on one of the floppies that I have used. Owners of hard
disks may have experienced this problem if they have used a magazine
disk or some other disk with a copy of !System on it. Every time RISC-OS
needs something from the !System directory it asks for the floppy
because it has ‘forgotten’ about the copy on your hard disk.
5.11
If your program does set up an OS variable (and any others that the
program creates) it should be *unset when the program is terminated,
unless it is required for file-clicking when it must, of course, be
retained.
5.11
Both of these points are comparatively minor but they are good program
ming practice and it is also good manners not to fill up other people’s
computers with unnecessary clutter. Every additional variable and sprite
slows the computer slightly.
5.11
RunImage
5.11
I strongly disapprove of the practice of calling the actual program code
!RunImage. I know that this is what Acorn recommend but that doesn’t
make it any more sensible.
5.11
There are good reasons for giving standard names to !Boot and !Run
because the OS needs to be able to find them. However, the program code
is only invoked from the !Run file so it does not need a standard name.
I probably have several hundred program files all called !RunImage.
Provided they are kept in their original directory, and just Run in the
normal way this isn’t too important but it is very easy to delete the
wrong one or, when writing programs, to copy the code to the wrong
directory. If you are writing in Basic, it is also normal to put the
name of the program in the first line and if the program name is
RunImage, it is very easy to type SAVE and save it to the wrong
directory, perhaps overwriting another application. This problem has
manifested itself on more than one occasion − I have run a program only
to have something totally unexpected happen.
5.11
My own preference is to give the program code the same name as the
application but without the ‘!’. This is simple, obvious and completely
unambiguous. This is one instance when I urge you to ignore Acorn’s
recommendations and do the sensible thing.  A
5.11
5.11
LogIT
5.11
Peter Thomson
5.11
LogIT is a small portable data logger. It is aimed at measurement in
school science lessons and biology or geography fieldwork but would be
equally of use wherever a series of readings from measuring probes is
required. LinkPack software controls the programming of the data logger
as well as the display of information on screen. LinkPack+ extension
improves the analysis options and the ability to transfer data to other
programs.
5.11
This review is based on LogIT plus LinkPack+ version 4, working on
A5000s and A310s.
5.11
Hardware
5.11
The hardware is robustly constructed and should stand up well to school
use. Three probes can be used at a time. When using light, sound and
temperature probes, the complete unit only measures 15cm × 7cm × 3cm,
both small and light enough to slip into a pocket. There is a comprehen
sive range of probes available, all constructed to the same high
standard. If you have already got probes with a 1 volt output, you can
connect these to an adapter. Other sensors can be constructed by the
enthusiast with a little skill and knowledge, to plug into LogIT using a
second adapter.
5.11
The main advantage of using LogIT’s own probes is that these are
automatically recognised by the system and calibrated results are
displayed. This can save a lot of time when a new experiment is being
set up.
5.11
A second group of sensors provides digital inputs to the system for
timing, starting measurement and marking positions on a series of
readings. These range from push switches to light gates and reflective
switches.
5.11
LogIT will operate from rechargeable batteries and extends their
lifetime by going into low power sleep mode between readings. A mains
power pack is very useful for laboratory work but this should not be
used outside. The LogIT unit itself must be kept dry when used outside.
5.11
Software
5.11
The software will run from hard or floppy disc with three program icons
sitting on the bar − two utilities and the main program. The first
utility called LogIT collects results from the LogIT hardware and stores
them on disc in LogIT’s own format or in CSV or SID. This last format is
a recent Software Independent Data format that includes details of
sensors, units and scales as well as the raw data.
5.11
The second utility converts existing LogIT files into a wide range of
formats suitable for Schema, PipeDream, Key Plus, GraphBox and Presenter
2 as well as CSV, SID and tab formats.
5.11
The LinkPack+ program has a limited icon bar menu but the full menu
appears at the top left of the  display. This takes over the whole of
the screen but leaves other applications intact.
5.11
Setting up
5.11
Setting up LogIT for an experiment is very straight forward. You plug in
the three probes you are going to use and then select the option
‘program LogIT’ from the menu. Selecting the sub-menu option ‘start
condition’, gives you several options with a choice of time interval or
duration for the experiment. A further alternative is to record on a
button push. Sub menus allow choice of the time interval. Now you return
to the main menu and select the option ‘setup LogIT’ − the process is
intuitive and very painless. It works reliably with GCSE children
setting up their own experiments.
5.11
If the LogIT unit remains connected to the computer during the experi
ment, the results can be displayed in real time as well as being
recorded for later analysis. Up to four sets of results can be recorded
remotely before the unit must be connected to the computer and the data
downloaded.
5.11
Results display
5.11
The graphic display is clear but does not match the quality of presenta
tion of PipeDream 4 or GraphBox.
5.11
The results of each of the three probes can be displayed on its own
scale, each with its own axis displayed alongside the graph.
5.11
In analysis mode, any part of the graph can be selected and displayed on
a larger scale. The numerical value of any point on the scale can also
be shown in a table above the graph. The gradient of the line can also
be shown but I could find no way of adjusting the time interval on which
this calculation was based. Two points on the graph can be selected by
the cursor. The difference between them can be shown.
5.11
The analysis menu provides the option to smooth a graph by averaging
adjacent points. Filtering replaces single readings, which differ by a
large amount from those on each side, with the average of those on each
side. This is to remove spikes.
5.11
Calculations can be performed on the section of graph displayed to show
maximum and minimum values, average value and area under the graph.
5.11
The default mode of displaying the data is to plot each value separately
against time. One data channel can also be plotted against the values
from a second data channel. Offsets and altered scales can also be used
on the data so that the user has full control of the way that data is
displayed.
5.11
Sensors which provide a digital output frequency proportional to an
analogue value are counted for one second at each time interval.
Individual events can also be counted over longer time intervals, but
the events need to be separated from each other.
5.11
Expansion units are available (not reviewed) to provide four change-over
relay outputs, to provide an audible alarm and memory cartridges that
can store programs and set up LogIT away from the host computer.
5.11
Documentation
5.11
There are several guides with this equipment − all models of clarity. An
A5 booklet provides clear and simple instructions for the use of LogIT.
A4 folders contain a software guide which describes the use of all the
options in a clear and logical way. A teachers’ guide provides detailed
information on using your own probes, setting up and running the
software plus photocopier masters for a comprehensive range of experi
ments. A technical guide is also available but this would only be needed
by the enthusiast who wanted to write new programs for LogIT.
5.11
Technical details
5.11
... from the technical guide.
5.11
LogIT is a Z80 based processor with 16k ROM and 8k battery-backed RAM.
Communication with the host computer is via RS232 serial link at 9600
baud, 8 data, 1 stop, RTS/CTS.
5.11
Analogue sample rates are 300 readings per second on one sensor at 8 bit
resolution or 100 per second at 12 bit resolution. Digital event timing
has a 10 µs resolution for single events or 25 µs for multiple events.
5.11
Frequency sensors can be used up to 30kHz.
5.11
Conclusion
5.11
LogIT has impressed me with its reliability. It is one of the few
packages that I have had to review that has never crashed the system. It
has also been one of the easiest as the documentation provides clear
instructions at all stages. Most of the time, the documentation was not
needed as the sequence of menus is well thought out.
5.11
A slight minus point for me is the failure of the program to use printer
drivers, restricting graphic output to Epson compatibles.
5.11
I have used PipeDream 4 to process data and produce further graphs and
found that the combination of the two did everything that I required of
them.
5.11
I have no hesitation in recommending LogIT with LinkPack+ for school
use.
5.11
LogIT and LinkPack+ are available from Griffin and George.  A
5.11
5.11
PinPoint
5.11
M Dixon
5.11
PinPoint is being marketed by Longman Logotron as “a new generation of
database for the Acorn Archimedes Computer”. In carrying out this
review, I have been very impressed with the Analysis Workbench which is
the application suite for analysing the contents of the database.
Overall, PinPoint is a very attractive piece of software and I can think
of many occasions when I wish I had had access to it. The distribution
box contains a well presented manual which I found very helpful as a
first time user. However, there are limitations to PinPoint in terms of
(a) scope, since it operates on a single data table at a time, (b)
functionality, since it does not have a programmable query language and
(c) layout of textual output, which cannot be designed as part of the
report generation.
5.11
The approach taken by Longman Logotron is to allow the user to define a
screen which has text and field definitions associated with it. The
definition of the fields for the screen specifies the underlying data
table. That screen is then used for data capture and also can be used
for browsing through the data already entered. An analysis workbench is
provided which allows the analysis of data in a data table. The analysis
allows the selection of records in the data table according to complex
criteria. However, there is no join that can be defined between the
underlying data tables so the system is currently a single table
database system. PinPoint uses a tool set with icons displayed on a menu
window.
5.11
One of the most attractive features of the system is that the software,
both for the form definition and for the report and graphical output,
has been based upon an object-oriented approach. The user can manipulate
blocks of objects in a very easy way; this is consistent with modern
good software engineering practice.
5.11
It is clear that Longman Logotron have geared their material towards
schools and have placed considerable emphasis on the use of PinPoint
within the curriculum; this should not discourage other potential users,
many of whom could benefit greatly from the quality of analysis
available from the workbench.
5.11
Longman Logotron have introduced their own terminology, which they
justify as being the type of language used in the home, rather than
using computer technical terms. They envisage the data being collected
on a set of sheets of paper and kept together in a stack. I leave it to
the reader to decide whether adding the term “sheet” to the existing set
of terms, record, row and tuple, and adding the term “stack” to the list
of table, data table, relation and file, is a helpful enhancement of
terminology.
5.11
The review was carried out on an ARM2 machine with 2M of memory.
5.11
Forms
5.11
The basic approach to the definition of a data table is to require the
user to define a data capture form. The format is to have a field name,
called a question, which appears on the form. The user then defines an
external representation for the data items which is used by Pinpoint to
construct a window for data capture and display. The user can very
easily modify the form with the use of the appropriate tools. A question
and its window can be moved separately or together as a block; groups of
questions can be moved around as blocks. A short field name is also
required and this name is used in selections and report output.
5.11
The font for questions and text can be changed using the font and size
defined by a Pen Style tool. There is also the capacity to paste in
graphics from draw and sprite files. Once the basic form definition
tools have been mastered, this is a form editor which will be easy to
use both for screen presentation and for paper output for completion in
a survey. The form editor is often a very weak feature of database
systems while being of crucial interest to the user; Longman Logotron
have done an excellent job with this one.
5.11
PinPoint supports a range of field types including character, date,
integer, decimal numbers and boolean. There is a multiple choice
question field type which also allows an ordering of choices. The user
can define a multi-line character field, up to ten lines of up to fifty
characters. These additional field types indicate that Longman Logotron
have deliberately put effort into users’ requirements which normally
need a work-around.
5.11
Data input / update
5.11
Data input follows a simple record by record style with cursor control
behaving in a sensible way. A small quibble is that <return> acts as
both a field and a form terminator. This means that when <return> is
pressed on the last field, the sheet is completed and the user is
supplied with a new (blank) sheet for completion. Since there are other
keys which allow for the movement to next field, this is unnecessary. It
is understandable that the form completion is not restricted to the Save
Sheet icon as this would be not be appreciated by experienced users but
<F3> could be made the only keyboard terminator. In update mode,
<return> simply tracks round the windows.
5.11
I was pleased to see that there was effective date validation including
correct treatment of February in leap and non-leap years.
5.11
The stacks (data tables) allow duplicate sheets to be entered and there
does not appear to be any facility to enforce uniqueness on any column
values.
5.11
In selecting sheets for update, there is a simple search facility in
which a value match can be used to retrieve a sheet. It appeared that
once a sheet had been updated, the selection criterion was lost so I was
unable to perform a selection on a set of sheets for update since the
selection window with Next sheet on it disappeared. Nor was I able to
see a way of performing a bulk update of existing sheets. There was no
direct “backout?” from updating a sheet but a simple indirect method was
available via the change sheet icons which provide a warning menu with
the possibility of forgetting the change to the existing sheet.
5.11
Disk storage requirements appeared to be about three times what I would
have expected from making a simple guess at the number of bytes required
to store character, integer, real, date and boolean fields.
5.11
Searching
5.11
The selection criteria that may be applied to the stack of sheets are
very powerful.
5.11
A very simple search is provided for use with the data capture side.
Fields are broken up into character, number and date types. A search for
a match can be defined and the sheet containing the first match is
displayed; a simple Next sheet menu allows the user to see further
matches on a sheet by sheet basis. The form used for the display of the
retrieved sheets is the form used for data capture. The order of search
is the system issued record number which results in a FIFO retrieval
order. For a form with both integer and real numbers defined as fields,
this type of search would retrieve a match on either. While this may
seem to be imprecise, I can think of many occasions when such a feature
would have been an advantage, e.g. searching for a significant string in
text and in a headline, start and end dates.
5.11
There is also the facility for allowing wild card searching on character
fields. The # character is used to indicate a single wild character but
there does not appear to be any wild string character. Unfortunately,
once an update is performed on the basis of the selection made, the
search is restarted from the beginning, even though the selection
criterion is retained, when search is recalled on the menu.
5.11
If the stack is put on the work bench, a powerful and precise set of
selections can be applied. The sheets are displayed in table format and
the user has the ability to decide which fields are displayed, and the
order of the columns, using very simple tools on the default output. The
user can also change the display width of the output columns. The whole
of the stack appears to be read into memory when it is loaded into the
workbench − this means that there is a significant delay on loading and
unloading from the workbench. However, the actual operations on the
stack, once loaded, are fast. I have only exercised a subset of the
facilities because of time constraints. I constructed a test database of
1300 sheets, with many duplicates, consisting of character, integer,
real, date and boolean field types, to exercise this part of the
functionality. The output can be sent to file which can then be printed
or refined before printing. The output can be incorporated into an
Impression document edited, and have the font changed.
5.11
Essentially, the user is presented with a menu containing the names of
the fields and must choose one of them. For number and date fields, the
<, =, > and range operators are available. For character fields, the
search can be for an included string. Although the range selection is
accepted, I was unable to get it to work for character fields. The
ordering on character selection is what I expected from ASCII values
i.e. 1 < A < a.
5.11
There is the option of making the selection or excluding the selection,
on matching from the operators. The operators can be combined using
repeated application of the selection. The user can also request the
presentation of certain statistical data such as the sum, mean, median
and standard deviation from both the selection and the full stack. It is
this kind of selection and analysis which will make PinPoint very useful
to such a wide range of users.
5.11
The user can select the order in which sheets are displayed according to
values in a field. The sorts can be nested, so several levels of
ordering are available for the same stack. The selection and ordering
criteria are displayed on the screen in an easily readable text format.
5.11
Graphical output
5.11
PinPoint allows the user to select pie charts, bar chart histograms,
graphs and scatter diagrams for the output of a stack or selected sub
set of it. The graphs can be produced as either frequency/ percentage or
cumulative graphs. It is very impressive that the selection criteria are
included in the annotation of the graph so that the user is not expected
to keep a manual check of what has been done.
5.11
The output is in the form of objects which can then be further manipu
lated. For example, a pie chart can produced which is then pulled apart
into slices for further clarity. The annotation can be moved around and
additional items added to the diagram using the drawing tool set. The
units which were used in the definition of fields are included in the
annotation. It is possible to require the output to be in the form of a
three dimensional projection; this was a feature which was very useful
when plotting histograms in which one of the values was very much less
than the others. The pen style can be changed to allow the definition of
different font and point size. More than one graph can be put on the
same page. The only failure I found was when attempting to construct a
scatter graph of height against date (of birth); the system ran out of
memory, failed softly and prompted the user to stop another application
to release extra memory. I showed that the actual graph could be
constructed by using a smaller stack.
5.11
Import / export
5.11
The exchange of data with other applications is via CSV files. The
export of data is a straight forward menu option. Importing data needed
the loading of a separate utility which does not install on the icon
bar. I tried to use this import data facility with one of PinPoint’s
distribution stacks but it failed after 135 sheets. Longman Logotron
found a similar effect and suggested that the distribution file had a
fault. I successfully used the Import facility to load 1320 rows into a
stack which I defined from scratch myself and the stack behaved normally
in further use.
5.11
Documentation
5.11
PinPoint comes in an attractive box with a 175 page manual. This is well
written and easy to use for a beginner. The first 100 pages have a set
of eleven lessons which constitute a tutorial and are a good introduc
tion to using PinPoint. The rest of the manual is reference material. I
was pleased to see that, unlike many manuals, there is an index which
can be used for tracing material in both the tutorial and the reference
section.
5.11
The database approach
5.11
C. J. Date, stated the general guidelines for the database approach as
“data being integrated and shared”. His intention was that database
developers should be able to concentrate on manipulating the data and
allow the database management system to handle the internal representa
tion and storage of the data.
5.11
PinPoint follows the modern pattern of having a record identifier which
is independent of the data and this is very welcome, although it is
stack (table) specific rather than system wide.
5.11
The level of integration of data is limited by the fact that it is
geared to a single table approach. It is not possible to construct a
sheet (record) based upon more than one stack (table) using a join
operator. This means that if a user wishes to construct a database with
data about Customers and the invoices raised for a customer it would be
necessary to paste the two pieces of information together using a text
processor. In its advertising material, Longman Logotron claim that
PinPoint can provide multi-file analysis. This refers to the ability to
analyse, one at a time, the contents of more than one stack and to
output the results in the same report; for compatible data, two graphs
can be overlaid.
5.11
The review was carried out using a single user version of the software.
However, there is a site licence for a multi-user version of the
software for machines connected via Econet. I have been told by Longman
Logotron that a stack (table) may be accessed by more than one user in
read-only mode but that only one user can access the stack for update,
with the locking being applied by the underlying operating system. This
means that table locking rather than row locking is applied.
5.11
Taking the usual interpretation of data sharing in a single user context
to indicate that the data is shared between the data capture and data
analysis programs, PinPoint provides that element of sharing. However,
the range of analysis and update is restricted to the programs provided.
5.11
For stacks (tables) on the Analysis Workbench, PinPoint applies a set
level approach to the retrieval of data, satisfying the conditions
imposed on the selection. However, there does not appear to be a
facility for bulk update of sheets (records) according to some selection
criterion. Projection, selection of columns, is also straightforwardly
available from the workbench.
5.11
PinPoint costs £99 +VAT from Longoman Logotron or £105 through
Archive.  A
5.11
5.11
Econet Column
5.11
Neil Berry
5.11
After an absence of over a year, the ‘Econet Column’ has returned!
5.11
I thought that it might be nice to make a return to the pages of Archive
by giving away a free gift − several free gifts in fact − in the form of
some new networking software, written by Alan Williams in Australia.
5.11
The first program, available on this month’s program disc, is !awServer,
a Level IV style fileserver for RISC-OS machines. There are still a
number of deficiencies within the program and it is still in a very
experimental state but very useful none-the-less. It is an Acorn
compatible server as far as possible and mimics the Acorn style of space
accounting, group and user names. It is also password file syntax
compatible with Acorn servers. It is limited by the nature of the RISC-
OS filing systems that it serves. Most of these will be instantiations
(Acorn’s word not mine) of filecore and as such will have an upper limit
of directory entries that is lower than a normal fileserver.
5.11
It is a multi-tasking program that looks to the Econet like a fileserver
and maps the RISC-OS filing system world into Econet protocols, allowing
up to ten discs to be seen from the Econet − a disc simply being
somewhere pointed to by a RISC-OS directory name. Each exported disc
could be a directory on a hard disc or they could in fact be different
hard discs. Each exported disc can have its own name and can have its
own password file which does not have to be in the exported area (a
useful security point). The password file syntax is compatible with
Level3/Filestore and, as a consequence, users/groups, etc are exactly as
they would be on Level3/Filestore. It should export any RISC-OS filing
system and has mostly been beta tested with ADFS but also Acorn SCSI and
TCP/IP NFS. Some filing systems may not report free space properly but
all other functions should work.
5.11
At its current level of development, !awServer should be regarded as a
useful utility rather than a replacement for an Acorn server. There are
currently only known to be four client requests not supported by the
server. They are *LOAD & *SAVE as command line operations, the CatHeader
and UID function call. The only machines likely to be affected by these
three are Atoms Systems or Archimedes-only nets using the broadcast
loader.
5.11
You will need to do a little work setting up the server before you can
use it. The server’s operational parameters are set up as system
variables in the !Run file before the server starts. You should edit
that file to suit your own situation. Briefly, the items that can be set
are as follows;
5.11
Set Server$DevX:ClientAreaName Adfs::4.$
5.11
Set Server$DevX_PWF Adfs::4.$. Passwords
5.11
This pair of lines can be repeated up to ten times, from X=0 to X=9. It
defines the locations of the areas you wish to serve and also the name
that area will have when viewed from the net. You should substitute
appropriate names in place of ClientAreaName in the above example. You
can see from this that you can serve any area of the RISC-OS filing
system world. The second line above is where to find the Password file
for the area. It should be noted that it is not necessary for the
password file to reside in the shared area and so it can be hidden from
the clients.
5.11
The following line sets the maximum number of users that can log on to
the server.
5.11
Set Server$Users 10
5.11
It is also possible to get the server to write a trace file of all the
requests made by the clients. The following line would set up a trace.
5.11
Set Server$Trace <Obey$Dir>. TraceFile
5.11
At the bottom of the page is an example of the trace file output (some
have been shortened to fit on this page);
5.11
It should be noted that the trace file gets very big, very quickly and
should only be used in exceptional circumstances. It may be helpful in
reporting bugs.
5.11
Version 0.5 introduced a command line option −NOICON. This causes the
server to run under the wimp but not to create an iconbar icon. This
helps to reduce desktop clutter! It can still be killed via the task
manager.
5.11
You could start the server with a line like:
5.11
Run <Server$Dir>.!RunImage −NOICON
5.11
Subsequent versions of the program introduced support for broadcast
loading, extended file handles for ARM machines (up to 32 open objects),
*SETFREE, *TIME, *DATE and *DISCS as built-in commands, as well as
wildcards within disc names.
5.11
Applications for which the software has already been used, include
loading an educational package called ‘Craxis’ onto a Master 128 from a
VAX. Essentially, !awServer was running on a 440 serving a filing system
called NFS. NFS was a mount to an NFS server running under VMS on the
VAX via Ethernet. Other people have been experimenting using it to serve
fonts from RAM disc. Basically, your imagination is the limit to what
you can do with this program! There is a problem serving CDFS and it is
suspected that it is actually a problem with the hardware, not the
software. Free space may not return properly for strange filing systems,
some server function calls are not supported yet and programs that lock
the password file may make it very upset! Apart from these teething
troubles, it is a very nice piece of software which is being updated as
you read this. Any major bugs that you find whilst using the program,
apart from the ones mentioned above, should be sent to me so that they
can be corrected. If there are any improvements that you would like to
see, then note those down (be as detailed as possible please) and also
send those to me for possible inclusion in future versions.
5.11
What next?
5.11
Next month, I will bring to you the second of Alan Williams’ suite of
programs, a spooling printer server! As before, I can be contacted at:
21 Pargeter Street, Stourbridge, West Midlands  DY8 1AU (no phone calls
please). If you have any comments about this column or would like to
offer some ideas or tell the world about some new simple method of doing
a tedious networking job, then write in and tell me. I can’t promise to
answer all letters individually but I will try to give any subjects
raised an airing on these pages.  A
5.11
5.11
Server started at Sat,23 June 1990.11:13:19
5.11
Sat,23 June 1990.11:13:24 0.1 Stranger *I am FRED
5.11
0.1 Client Function 21 Read user environment
5.11
0.1 Client Function 14 Read disc names.
5.11
0.1 Client Function 6 Find :Archimedes.$.ArthurLib type 101.
5.11
0.1 Client Function 7 Shut 4.
5.11
0.1 Client Function 18 Read name of dir on
5.11
0.1 Client Function 3 EXAMINE for title and ACCESS.
5.11
0.1 Client Function 3 EXAMINE for title and ACCESS.
5.11
0.1 Client Function 3 EXAMINE for title and ACCESS.
5.11
0.1 Client Function 3 EXAMINE
5.11
0.1 Client *Lib WORK
5.11
Typical trace file output
5.11
5.11
Twilight − The Screen Protector
5.11
Jahinder Singh
5.11
Twilight by ‘The Really Good Software Company’ is a useful screen
protecting utility. Image burn on monitors can be a serious problem but
it happens so slowly that you hardly notice, until it is too late and
the icon bar is etched onto your screen. Image burn is caused by the
phosphor dots on the inside of the screen getting over-used and worn
out. However, because only one image is being displayed most of the
time, only specific dots get damaged. Twilight installs a module that
keeps track of user input to the machine − mouse movement or the
pressing of a key. If nothing happens for a predetermined time, the
screen is blanked out and a changing pattern appears instead. To return
to the machine simply involves moving the mouse or pressing a key and
the normal screen is restored instantly.
5.11
At present there are quite a number of these screen protectors available
for the Archimedes in PD. Twilight however, offers several unique
features. Unlike most other screen protectors, Twilight is multi-
tasking, even when protecting the screen. Tasks such as printing can
continue in the background − most useful. There is also a password
feature which can be activated if you have to leave your machine
unattended, just in case you are writing a love-letter or something else
confidential. The software can also be configured to commence as soon as
the machine is switched on or reset, such that access is still pro
hibited. The screen can also ‘be sent to sleep’ by pressing the current
‘hotkey’ combination or by moving the mouse to a selected corner. There
are quite a number of effects which can be chosen − or the software can
be instructed to select effects at random. It is also possible to write
your own special effects.
5.11
Other features
5.11
The time between the absence of user input and the activation of screen
preservation can be changed. It can also be disabled, thus allowing
either the hotkey combination or the movement of the mouse to the
desired corner activating screen preservation. The hotkey combination
can also be changed from its default setting of <ctrl-shift-tab>. There
is also a mini-filer allowing for the quick manipulation of effects.
5.11
The package
5.11
The complete package consists of a well produced A5 manual and a disc.
The software is very easy to use and it won’t take too long to skim
through the twenty-four page manual. The program will run on the
complete range of Archimedes machines. Before using Twilight, there is a
short installation procedure because of copy-protection. Each copy of
the software is also serialised.
5.11
Conclusions
5.11
Twilight is a useful utility which performs its function very well. Once
installed, the software only requires about 14k (dependent on the
effect), so most people should be able to squeeze it in somewhere.
5.11
There are lots of similar PD packages available. I have tried !DimWit,
!HangFire, !MonitSave, !Saver, !ScrSave, ScPres, ScrBlank and VduSaver.
At the end of the day, a screen protector is a screen protector.
Twilight certainly compares very favourably with all these other
packages while at the same time offering several unique features, most
notably being able to multitask.
5.11
To conclude, this is a useful piece of software priced at £29.95.  A
5.11
5.11
Key Author
5.11
Joe Gallagher
5.11
Multimedia is really catching on in the educational world these days.
Even my head teacher, fresh from a consciousness raising session for
heads, took me on one side the other day to say how impressed he was by
these CD-ROM thingumajigs and how we should think about getting one for
the library! Now this is the very same man who starts talking about next
year’s budget whenever I mention the possibility of buying a few extra
printer ribbons!
5.11
For those of you who actually have CD-ROMs in need of driving, the
choice is expanding rapidly in terms of multimedia packages which can
put some of their features to good use. Key Author, part of the Key
family of information handling programs from Anglia television, is one
of several which have recently arrived on the scene.
5.11
The version which was supplied for review was 1.00 and came in the form
of a single disc accompanied by a ring bound manual.
5.11
The manual is adequate, if rather brief. Given the relatively recent
popularity of multimedia, I think that some sort of of tutorial would
have been in order as well as, at least, one example presentation to
view and dissect. I say this as the result of several hours of building
presentations, very much by a process of trial and error, only to find
that they weren’t running properly because of some feature that was only
hinted at in the manual. This, as it stands, gives the very minimum of
information necessary to get started.
5.11
Genesis comparisons
5.11
I’ve experimented with Genesis and found it to be a very flexible
program. While Key Author does share many features with Genesis, it does
have an altogether different feel to it. For a start, it does not have a
script language. All operations are carried out through menus. It is not
as interactive in use as Genesis, although there is an option, when
creating a page, to execute that page. However, if you wish to try out
page links, you must run the presentation in its entirety using the
supplied run time browser. Moreover, Key Author is much more structured
than Genesis in its approach and seems aimed, very specifically, at
creating stand-alone presentations which have already been planned in
some detail. This results from several features which are at the very
heart of the program.
5.11
Doors and windows
5.11
The first feature concerns ways of exiting from a page. These are chosen
from the menu on each page edit window. As with other authoring systems,
you can configure your presentation to move on to the next page by
setting up “hot-spots” which you click on, or by assigning keys to do
the job. In Key Author, you can additionally select a Timeout option
which enables your presentation to move automatically to the next page
after a specified period of time has elapsed. In fact, you have to
specify the time assigned to your page or your page will exit instantly.
5.11
The timer
5.11
This time aspect of Key Author pages also applies to the objects that
you place on a page. Objects can be “saved” to the timer enabling you to
determine at what point in time the object will appear on the page and
also when it will disappear. This attribute can be applied not only to
graphics or text objects but also can be used with other media which Key
Author recognises such as video or audio. When you save something to the
timer, the object disappears from the page window and you have to choose
Timer from the Display menu in order to access it. This brings you to
the timer window where display sequences are represented as bars on a
time scale. These are a bit like the slider controls used in palette
menus. The timer is a very well thought out feature which enables the
author to construct and amend quite elaborate, synchronised sequences of
events involving multiple objects. It could even be stretched to create
some rudimentary animation. My only quibble is the very fact that saving
an object to the timer involves removing it from the page that you are
editing. You can, of course, choose the Execute option to see what your
finished page, with the timed objects, will look like to the user.
However it would be preferable, in terms of ease of page construction,
for your timed objects to remain on screen with perhaps some indication
as to their status. As it stands, in order to edit or even re-position a
timed object, you need to select Edit from the timer window and then
return to your page to carry out your action. Having done this, you must
then re-save the object to the timer!
5.11
Linking pages
5.11
Because of this, it is advisable to plan ahead in some detail when
devising a presentation in Key Author. This is made all the more
necessary by the way in which pages are linked. This program is much
less open ended or forgiving than Genesis. For instance, if you
construct a page that has no exit, your knuckles will be rapped when you
come to execute your presentation. This is necessary because, in its
present form at least, the presentations produced run only in full
screen mode, although they do return to the desktop after execution.
This reminds me of a similar feature of Avanti, reviewed by Ian Lynch in
Archive 4.12, and presumably is likewise intentional on the part of the
designers.
5.11
The two programs share another feature in their use of a flow chart
style planning window. In Key Author, this is not only an aid to
planning your presentation in a structured way but is in fact the only
way of making links between one page and another. After you select the
first page to be executed, you drop this onto the overview window and
“ghosts” are created in accordance with the number of exit conditions on
the page. Once you have set up your other pages, with their exit
conditions, laying out your presentation is simply a matter of dragging
page icons from the page window to the appropriate “ghosts” in the
overview window.
5.11
Pitfalls
5.11
There is one problem with this way of designing your presentation. If,
at a later stage, you decide to add a new exit to a page, say to branch
off to a new page, then this amended page will be removed from the
overview along with any other pages that are attached to it. Tough luck
if your page is near the beginning of your presentation! You will have
no alternative but to rebuild your structure from that page onwards.
5.11
Media and hardware supported
5.11
Key Author supports most types of media that are found in Genesis
applications with the exception of Euclid and Mogul files. In addition
to Draw, Paint and Edit files, the program can use Key Plus datafiles
and maps. With the appropriate interfaces, it can control devices such
as CD-ROM players and it can use sound that has been sampled through a
microphone or a cassette player. Other potential sources of material are
interactive laservision discs incorporating moving sequences, still
images and sound.
5.11
Apart from navigating your way through a presentation using a mouse or
keypresses, the presentation can also be set up to be used with a
touchscreen. The manual says that other RISC-OS compliant programs can
be launched from within presentations, returning to the presentation
upon exiting, This does seem to work with most well behaved programs but
is very demanding on memory, so if you’ve got less than two megabytes of
memory I’d forget it.
5.11
Organising your page
5.11
There is more than adequate control of page layout. Although you are
restricted to importing plain Edit text files, you can alter the format
of these quite extensively from within the program in terms of font
styles and sizes, etc as well as both vertical and horizontal justifi
cation. Text objects from !Draw can be imported but these are treated as
graphic objects. Although there is no Library facility as such, you can
share common resources within a presentation by creating a master page
and copying this to create new pages. Unwanted objects can be disposed
of by determining their duration via the timer. In addition, by
switching off the default Clearscreen option for a page you can retain
buttons or graphics from a previous page.
5.11
Tools
5.11
The program does come with several built in tools which can be made
available to the end user when running a presentation. These include a
calculator, notepad (for jotting down notes), compass, stopwatch, tape
measure, pencil and a screen dump facility which uses RISC-OS printer
drivers.
5.11
Conclusions
5.11
Used in conjunction with a CD player, Laserdisc or sound sampler, it
should be possible to create some very impressive presentations with Key
Author. Even if you are limited to using Paint, Draw and Edit files, you
should be able to still produce some very effective work for a rela
tively small outlay. The structured nature of the program would lend
itself well to any sort of authoring activity but it would be equally at
home as a medium for simple text and picture presentations by children.
The program seems fairly robust considering the number of the version I
was using. It is difficult to draw valid comparisons with Genesis as I
think that each program approaches multimedia in a slightly different
way. Nevertheless, with prices starting from £55 for an individual user,
Key Author represents extremely good value, especially if you are an
existing Key Plus user or already have some usable hardware add-ons.
Unfortunately, you can’t distribute your finished masterpiece to anyone
who isn’t covered by the site licence for the program without written
agreement of Anglia Television. This is a pity as it would be a nice way
of schools and teachers sharing resources. Maybe they will relent and
market the run-time reader, !SysAuthor, separately for a small fee. Who
knows? − It could spread the word.
5.11
Key Author is produced by Anglia Television and is available from: ITV
Association, 6 Paul Street, London EC2A 4JH. Prices vary with size of
school.
5.11
P.S. After seeing these comments, the publishers have agreed that they
will formally announce that the !SysAuthor reader program is to be
public domain. They have also developed a version of Key Author which
includes the ability to handle Replay files. This should be released
soon.  A
5.11
5.11
Aircraft and Kite Design using Vector
5.11
Tord Eriksson
5.11
There are few areas where Vector is an absolute gain over DrawPlus, but
the aircraft builder will certainly find Vector very useful. Whether you
are building model aircraft, hang gliders, parafoils or man-carrying
home-built aircraft, you should get a great deal of help from Vector, as
long as your designs are less than the maximum paper size, B0 (roughly
1m × 1.4m).
5.11
A wing of many ribs
5.11
Having calculated the wing area, weight, normal speed and other
variables using a pocket calculator or perhaps PipeDream, the next task
will be designing and building the wing. The first thing that many a
budding aircraft designer stumbles on is the manufacture of the ribs on
a tapered or elliptical wing.
5.11
Most wings, be it a gull’s wing or a man-made one have one wing profile
at the innermost point in the wing, usually at the centre of the
aircraft or where the wing disappears into the body, and another one
near the tip, where it’s usually a symmetrical or a so called semi-
symmetrical profile. In between these extremes the profile changes
gradually from the thick inner profile to the thin tip profile.
5.11
The length or chord of the wing-profile usually changes, too, as most
square tipped wings are very inefficient.
5.11
A third complication is the fact that most wings are twisted a bit, to
avoid the risk of the tips stalling before the middle of the wing. If
the tip stalls first, the aircraft will be uncontrollable at low speed.
5.11
These basic considerations are equally valid if you plan to make a
propeller, where the twist is much more marked as the path of a
propeller is a helix through the air.
5.11
Styrofoam wings
5.11
If you make a straight or tapered wing of styrofoam, you only have to
make the innermost rib and the outermost rib of plywood or metal. These
are to be used as templates for the hot wire or the file we use to form
the plastic in between. It is then imperative that they are mounted at
the correct angle on the block of foam so as to ensure that the wing
gets right amount of twist (also called wash-out). If you use this
technique, you have little or no use for Vector, except for enlarging
the wing profile that you might have scanned from a book or plotted from
a table of coordinates.
5.11
Classic wings
5.11
If, instead, you use the classic method of building the ribs of balsa
wood or, in the case of parafoils, ripstop nylon, you will be greatly
helped by Vector and its interpolation function. First of all, you draw
the innermost rib, including a horizontal help line and the chord line,
just to be able to check that the profile has the right angle to the
horizon:
5.11
Then it’s time for the tip rib. If you want dihedral, that is, a V-
formed wing when seen from the front, you simply place the horizontal
line further down. You might use someone else’s drawings and then just
copy the distance, otherwise you have to calculate it yourself − most
easily done by drawing the wing from the front in full scale and
measuring the distance. In this example, I have put in a lot of twist,
much more than is normal to show the effect:
5.11
To make the profiles inbetween you just use the Vector interpolate
function, but there are some things to do first:
5.11
To make the interpolation easier, you need to merge the paths of each
profile and its help lines.
5.11
Secondly, make absolutely certain that the number of points in the paths
are the same in both “profile templates” and that the paths rotate the
same way, otherwise the result will be nil or useless.
5.11
Let’s make a wing of ten ribs per side:
5.11
Hey presto, we have all the ribs inbetween! By moving them apart, in the
usual manner, it is very easy to print them in any size you want and use
the printouts as templates. If the wing is to be elliptical, you have to
manually place the ribs so they form an elliptical outline.
5.11
Naturally, you might need some extra ribs between the innermost ribs of
the original straight-tapered wing, but that can easily be made with yet
another interpolation.
5.11
Fuselages made simple
5.11
Fuselages are made the same way, with a round nose that blends into a
square-ish centre to end in a thin tail boom − a perfect job for Vector!
First the tail end bulkheads, seven of them in this case.
5.11
The “nose job” is done in the same manner, beginning with the same
bulkhead but ending with the nose tip.
5.11
As with an elliptical wing, you have to manually set the distances
between the different bulkheads to get the rounded nose form, otherwise
the fuselage will have a straight taper both in the rear and the front.
5.11
Jalbert kites and things
5.11
The possible uses of Vector are unlimited, including boat-building,
railroad planning, map-making, graphics and freehand drawing. I have
mainly used it this first month for making kite rib templates, a couple
of yards long, for Jalbert kites (also called parafoils). These are
closely related to modern parachutes but are just made for fun and
normally used tethered.
5.11
Their main advantage, compared to classic kites of cloth and sticks, is
that they can easily be rolled up, put into a pocket or small bag and
forgotten. Try taking a four square metre classic kite on the bus and
you will see the problem. A parafoil is invisible until you unpack it
and, if the line breaks or the kite gets out of control, no-one will be
hurt − it simply turns into a bundle of cloth and strings dropping out
of the sky.
5.11
Big Jalbert kites are very powerful so a strong line is needed. A
Jalbert less than a square metre (as the small one in The Penguin Book
of Kites − highly recommended) will, in a moderate wind, pull on the
towline with some twenty pounds, so big kites need big guys or a
suitable object to tie the line to (cars, trees or big rocks are
recommended). If the kite has a single towline, you have to use brute
force to get it down, if the wind doesn’t abate. With twin tow lines, or
more, it’s child’s play to get it down. If you use three lines it can
even do aerobatics!
5.11
Saved by Poster
5.11
My latest kite turned out to be bigger than Vector could handle. (ANSI
B0 being the largest format it can handle − slightly bigger than A0.)
5.11
I was quite desperate, even planned to cut the templates in half, until
I remembered Poster (also from 4Mation).
5.11
In Poster, you can make up any page size you want, even pages 1000 ×
1000 inches long are OK. So I made a 2000 × 500 mm page of the original
B0 page I had made in Vector. Now the wing ribs had ample room and I
could use Poster to print the gigantic templates. The biggest needed ten
A4 pages for its printout. These sets I then glued together, cut out and
used as templates. The most elegant templates I’ve made!
5.11
Any week now I will have it finished...
5.11
Conclusion
5.11
With a little imagination and using the excellent printing facilities in
Vector, or Poster, you can make your own Jalbert, Microlight or Union
Jack.
5.11
If the project takes some time, it is probably due to the fact that you,
like me, forgot the golden rule among aeronautical enthusiasts: KISS!
(Keep It Simple, Stupid!) Good luck and remember: The sky is the limit!
5.11
P.S. If there are any other uses for Draw programs that you think the
general public might not know about, please write to me.
5.11
I am personally interested in anything aeronautical that involves
Archimedes computers, especially design programs that help the builder
choose the right engine, wing profile, wing area and weight.
5.11
The only programs I have are some programs in Basic for other computers.
Is there nothing for Archimedes? Those with information, please write to
me c/o Archive or direct to:
5.11
Tord Eriksson, Övralidsg. 25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden. All
letters will be answered but SAEs help a lot! (SAE’s for use in Sweden?
You can’t buy Swedish stamps in UK − try sending him an international
reply coupon. Ed.)  A
5.11
5.11
A typical model aircraft wing profile:  The Eppler E 193, suitable for a
range of aircraft types.
5.11

5.11
5.11
The main rib with its chord line and the horizontal help-line below. The
angle of attack is positive.
5.11

5.11
5.11
The tip rib with a lot of wash-out, making the angle of attack negative.
5.11

5.11
5.11
All the rib templates plotted on top of each other, but easily separated
from each other with any Draw program, including Draw itself!
5.11

5.11
5.11
Archivist Database
5.11
Peter Jennings
5.11
Databases have always been one of the core programs for home and office
computers and there has never been a shortage of them on Acorn machines.
At a time when every new database program seems to come in all-singing,
all-dancing style, Oregan Software Developments have produced one in
more traditional form, handling only words and figures. So, are they
hopelessly out of touch with the Archimedes market? Far from it.
Sprites, animations and sound samples are rarely needed for everyday
records and Archivist, while simple to use, offers some unexpectedly
advanced features for the modest price of £24.95. An unlimited user site
licence, with a set of quick reference sheets for the classroom, is
available for £50 more.
5.11
Archivist is described as a “professional database management system”
and Oregan say its ease of use has been tested with “extensive trials”
in schools. Since its issue at the beginning of the year, the program
has been upgraded at least twice with some significant improvements and
the latest version (2.40) has been sent, free of charge, to all users.
5.11
Archivist comes as a single disc, unprotected but with an identifiable
serial number, and with an encouragingly short 17-page manual whose
slimness is a reflection of the program’s simplicity rather than any
lack of features or instructions. Disc and manual are packed in a video-
style case along with a function key strip and a registration form which
will ensure that you receive advice of future updates.
5.11
PD importer program
5.11
The disc contains the main Archivist program and a separate Archivist
Designer which is used to create a new database. Both programs put
scroll shaped sprites on the icon bar, distinguished only by a pen for
Archivist and a scalpel for the Designer. There is also an Importer
program making it possible to use files from other databases. This has
been put into the public domain so that updated versions can be obtained
from PD libraries as well as from Oregan, who supply them free of charge
if a blank, formatted, disc is sent. There is a list of the databases
supported and it will also accept CSV and TAB files from other,
unlisted, programs such as Masterfile. Two public domain fonts, called
Arizona (equivalent to PostScript’s Revue) and California, are supplied
in Roman and Italic versions and there is a folder of example files.
5.11
Although Archivist does not accept graphics or sound samples it does do
quite a lot with words and figures. It has primary and secondary
sorting, a range of simple or complex searches and allows printing out
as cards or with the data set out in columns. Figures can be manipulated
and calculations made, as in a spreadsheet, by using mathematical
commands and formulae. Dates can be entered automatically in a choice of
nineteen different formats. The program is fully RISC-OS compliant.
5.11
Archivist files are physically scrambled but confidential records can be
kept even safer from prying eyes with an optional password, which is not
stored in the file.
5.11
The manual begins with a couple of pages of introduction, advising that
Acorn’s interactive help system (on Applications Disc 1, supplied with
the computer) is used to the full. Then it defines the database
terminology of “field”, “card”, “file”, “form” and so on. It helpfully
uses the analogy of a book as being the equivalent of a file, with a
page being a card and a line of text a field. Also included are
elementary instructions for using the mouse and for loading and saving.
Finally, there is an explanation of how to use the program.
5.11
Designing a card
5.11
A new file is set up by clicking on the Designer icon, which opens two
windows, one a blank card and the other a toolbox for creating the
fields. This is a delight to use. The field type is set by clicking on a
radio button. The title, maximum length of data (up to 75 characters)
and any default text required are entered in appropriate boxes. Another
click and the field title and box appear on the card you are designing.
They can then be dragged into place and resized with the mouse pointer.
A background grid can be used for positioning, and either titles or data
boxes can be aligned with it. Finally, the size and shape of the card is
set by adjusting the window, as required, before saving the finished
design. This is not saved as a separate format file − the information is
all stored with the card.
5.11
One oddity is that data boxes do not appear on the card at their set
maximum size when the field is saved. The data box is always two
characters longer than the maximum size set, up to a length of 13
characters. So, unless the box is changed afterwards, longer entries may
not be seen in their entirety without moving the cursor along. There is
an Info panel in the toolbox, showing the X and Y positions and the
visual length of the field but these settings cannot be made until after
the field has been saved. Although settings can be entered in advance,
they are ignored when the field is created and all the field names and
data boxes appear at the top of the card, piled on each other, until
they are dragged into place.
5.11
When the visual length of the data box is being changed, a bug makes it
necessary to set this number to one character more than required as the
number mysteriously changes to one less than entered when the window is
first closed.
5.11
Fields can be of five different types: Text, accepting any letters and
numbers; Integer, for whole numbers only; Real, which takes whole
numbers or decimals; Formula, which is for making automatic calculations
as in a spreadsheet, and Date, where the card will be automatically date
stamped in a chosen style.
5.11
A card can be reloaded into Designer and changed at any time without
losing any of the data already entered.
5.11
There are some restrictions. Fields cannot be deeper than one line.
Titles are limited to a maximum of 10 characters each and this often
means that abbreviations have to be used. There is no choice of colours,
other than for the temporary grid used during designing, and the cards
appear with black text and white boxes on a light grey background.
5.11
Quick entry
5.11
Data can be typed into each field in the normal way and can be moved or
copied by use of a clipboard. There is also a quick entry facility from
a window which accepts up to sixteen separate lines of text or figures,
entered in advance by typing in or dragging from a text file. Clicking
on a button beside any of the lines inserts it directly into the chosen
field, thus making it delightfully quick and easy to handle repetitive
entries. It is even quicker and easier to set up default entries when
designing the card. They can then be overwritten later where not
applicable.
5.11
If a default formula is entered in this way, the result of a calculation
can appear in a box automatically when the figures are entered in their
own fields.
5.11
There is a nice touch when saving − the pen on the Archivist icon
scrawls away on its scroll of parchment!
5.11
Data can be sorted and searched in a variety of ways. There is an “Easy
Search” which opens a large window in the form of a blank card with
field titles. The data to be sought is entered into the appropriate
field or fields and the search begun. This is quite quick and, once
completed, a list of the cards which match the search specification is
shown. Clicking on any of them will display the chosen card.
5.11
More complex searches can be carried out by entering Basic-type
“expressions” and there are examples in the manual showing how operators
such as INSTR, LEFT$, STR$ and VAL can be used, making this a very
powerful facility. The example files help to make the method clear.
5.11
Printing can be in system or outline fonts, using RISC-OS printer
drivers. Cards can be printed exactly as seen on screen or changed to
your own requirements so that, for example, the field boundary boxes
need not be shown if you are printing on prepared forms. The database
file name can be printed at the top of each card, if desired. An even
more useful option is to print the data in columns headed with the field
names. Fields can be printed in a different order, in different column
widths or omitted altogether. Printer information and other variables
can be customised in a “setup” window either temporarily or saved as a
default.
5.11
Export facilities
5.11
Data can be exported as plain text or in CSV or Draw file format, for
use in other applications such as DTP programs or word processors and
graph or chart-drawing packages. There is a built-in virus warning which
is triggered off if anything has been added to the application direc
tory. I discovered this because when I transfer a program to hard disc,
I usually save the subsidiary programs and files into the main direc
tory, where they can be easily be found. Despite not being able to do
this, I think that any measure against virus infection is very welcome.
5.11
Sound and pictures can be fun to have in a database but they do add to
the cost of the software. So, if you just want a straightforward filing
system, for words and figures, you will find Archivist a versatile,
easy-to-use, database and very good value at just under £25.  A
5.11
5.11
Pirate
5.11
Simon Anthony
5.11
This is an adventure offering in the ever growing early learning series
from Chalksoft. The aim of the game, which is educational, is to sail
and swashbuckle your way through simple but time consuming tasks,
collecting items without sinking your ship or being forced to walk the
plank by another pirate. The program comes on two discs but the second
part of ‘Pirate’, on its own disc, will only run after you have
completed the first stage. Once you have earned sufficient experience
points, you can swap discs and go for part two. However, it will only
run if it is loaded by the first part (a restriction which I found
annoying for review purposes). The new scenario is a land-based hunt for
yet more treasure and a captured King. In both parts the user has the
chance to learn a bit of simple map making and map reading − that is
unless you get killed first. Chalksoft hope that a surviving Pirate
player will have gained valuable help in Key Stage Two work in Geography
and Mathematics.
5.11
Disc one loads from the Desktop by clicking on a Boot shaped icon or by
pressing <shift-break>. The standard Chalksoft tree logo is displayed
with the first hint of the simplicity of the upgrade from the previous
BBC incarnation. The system font is used throughout but the computer
default has been replaced with an attempt at a script font. This is
rather chunky but perfectly readable even when expanded to four times
size for prominent messages. Here is the first problem − when the
program is quit, the old system font is not restored. Only a hard break
will get it back. No matter − let’s get on with the program.
5.11
Pirate in use
5.11
The logic of the mouse-operated click boxes takes a bit of getting used
to but, once grasped, it is quite easy for the computer literate to
remember. The method of saving presents a confusion which could have
been avoided. Clicking on the save box, which can be reached by pressing
<escape> at any time, allows the position to be saved − which is fine −
but I know that you should not to put anything other than letters or
numbers in a file name (just in case). Chalksoft, however, realise that
their students may not, so they have error-trapped the input routine.
This error trap is faulty. I used a ‘minus’ sign out of pure devilment
and the save window flashed something at me so fast I couldn’t read it.
My investigations showed Chalksoft’s error message which in effect says
“don’t do that” but the flag that bought it up is not cleared after the
first brief showing and so it causes an error itself. This error loop
can only be broken by pressing <escape> once more. My students would be
very irritated to lose a day’s work that way. They would have given up
and pressed <ctrl-break>.
5.11
The next problem comes after having successfully saved the position. If
you want to continue from where you left off you can’t just intuitively
click on ‘play’. The program’s internal flag indicating whether this is
a new game or a continuation from a previous attempt is only set by a
‘load’ − a ‘save’ forces you to start again. This is silly.
5.11
On my review copy, there is another, far more important error in the
program. A missing bracket from the end of line 5780 crashes the whole
thing. This line is run when the player declines the offer to explore
‘Dragon Island’. As a programming error, this is very minor but in terms
of a crashed (or should I say sunk) program, it scuppers the entire
offering and takes all its credibility down with the students’ hard
work.
5.11
The graphics are quite artistic − a very low density airbrush has been
used to give impressionistic rather than photo-realistic or cartoon
images. The paperwork claims that Pirate “take(s) advantage of the power
of the Archimedes”. Well, yes I suppose it does a bit. The fight scenes
are nicely done and the graphics for falling off things are a treat
worth ‘dying’ for. All the same, the Archimedes can do far, far better,
but doesn’t have to and so Chalksoft don’t have to over-play that card.
Flashiness could well detract from the educational content. However,
that does not excuse the sound which is very poor and is definitely the
worst aspect of the program. It is a single channel (nothing wrong with
simplicity) default ‘Beep’ envelope which grates almost as much as the
frequently repeated tune. Surely Chalksoft could have found something
other than “Blow the man down”. I would have liked to hear the Captain
Pugwash theme but even that would get on my nerves if it was played at
almost every screen update. The irritating ditty can be turned down, or
even off, at the start of each part but it cannot be altered during play
without saving and starting again. For the review, I had it turned off
and so may well have missed some other, better prepared sounds (but I
doubt it).
5.11
There are several other strange aspects of the program but the important
things are the good parts. I have spent two days playing it for this
review − that has to be a good sign. Granted, I speeded it up by
shortening the delay. I had to hack the program (for which I apologise
to Chalksoft) − that facility could be put in the start-up menu. The
display speed is fine for the average early reader but as the lines are
shown one at a time, the meaning of the sentence can be disturbed by the
wait for the end of it on the next line.
5.11
There is a lot of humour in the style and presentation which kept me
playing until I had won through to the end. I can’t normally complete
adventure programs − even Granny’s Garden is too tough for me, (remember
the Beeb?). Pirate has the same flavour. The tunes are as bad but I am
sure it will rank as a “goody” in the classroom. The game play is
randomly set which is perhaps a little unfair on a child who is doing
their best not to get killed but then what else is fair in life? Random
chance can be averted through good map making and the magic of computer-
aided resurrection. It is a sensible precaution to guard against spells
of bad fortune, such as walking the plank, by saving your position each
time you take the flag of another ship or find something good to
collect. Acts of God in part two (being killed by a lightening strike or
a rock fall) are just as unpredictable but far more deadly as there is
no save facility.
5.11
This is all mentioned in the notes but they should have been reprinted
for the Archimedes rather than be amended with a compliments slip giving
the Archimedes control instructions. Are things so tight at Chalksoft
that they have to trim their sails? Don’t spoil the ship for a ha’peth
o‘ tar, say I. With a bit more effort in error checking, all will be set
fair for a program to treasure. Pirate is a good buy but it costs £23.00
so don’t be too quick in helping the kids to solve it.  A
5.11
5.11
Seven bulkheads in a tail section, all made by interpolating from the
front one to the last one and the five in the nose, to the left.
5.11

5.11
5.11
Wing profiles that fit full-sized aircraft as well as model aircraft are
few indeed. Two classic examples are  Clark Y (black) from the Thirties
and the Eppler 797 (grey), the latter, a modern equivalent. These
reproductions were scanned with Scan-Light Junior 256, the scans
corrected with Snippet (Paint works as well!), converted to Draw format
with !Trace, arranged and coloured with the help of Vector!  The
physical likeness is evident, but the reproductions are not exact, as
hand scanners easily slip....
5.11
5.11
ScanLight Junior 256
5.11
If anyone has bought a ScanLight Junior 256 from us in the last two or
three months, there may be a small modification you can make to your
ScanLight that will improve its scanning quality. Contact N.C.S. if you
are interested.  A
5.11

5.12
Wow, wow, WOW !!!!
5.12
Well, what else can you say? We are used to Acorn releasing a new
computer every year or two but they have amazed us by releasing twelve,
yes TWELVE, new computers in one go. Well, OK, it’s not twelve entirely
different computers − some are variants with different memory, hard
drives or bundled software but none-the-less it shows that Acorn are
moving into an entirely new gear.
5.12
They are seriously attacking the consumer market with products ranging
from the A3010 Family Solution pack (a 32bit RISC computer at under
£500!) to the A4000 Home Office pack and they are providing extra
solutions for education with the A3020, A4000 and floppy disc A5000s.
5.12
Also aimed at education is the Pocket Book computer (which will also
interest the home user) and the new Acorn Universal Networking File
server software which will considerably enhance the networking
possibilities for RISC-OS machines by providing seamless linking of
Ethernet and Econet systems.
5.12
RISC-OS 3 is here!
5.12
RISC-OS 3 is now available for all Archimedes users. Acorn are obviously
keen that we should all upgrade as soon as possible and so, for a
limited time, the upgrade is available for £50 inc VAT and p&p through
Archive. (The full price will be £90 inc VAT and p&p.)
5.12
A new member of the N.C.S. team
5.12
Welcome to Simon Moy who has just joined the merry band at 96a Vauxhall
Street. Simon, like Adrian Look, is a graduate of the local University
of East Anglia. He will be working for both Norwich Computer Services
and Look Systems. (He seems to know a lot about Psion Series 3 computers
which bear an entirely unremarkable similarity to the Acorn Pocket Book
computer!)
5.12
Simon has joined us at an exciting time − I reckon Acorn are really
going places and we’re happy to be involved. Our contribution, hope
fully, is to get the latest information out to you, the subscribers, so
that you too can be in at the beginning of each new move that Acorn
makes.
5.12
Yours, as ever,
5.12
Products Available
5.12
•    12 new Acorn computers!!!!! Yes, this month, Acorn have launched
twelve new computers as well as some other new products. Actually the
twelve are variants of four new computers (A3010, A3020, A4000 and Acorn
Pocket Book) and the A5000. Here are brief details but for full
technical details, see the enclosed supplement.
5.12
•    A3010 Family Solution is based on the exciting new A3010 computer and
is aimed at the home user. The A3010 uses an ARM250 processor which
gives it 50% more processing power than the current A3000. For £499 inc
VAT you get a computer that will connect to either a TV or a standard
resolution monitor or a multisync monitor. It has two joystick inter
faces (Atari switched-type), 1M RAM, upgradable to 2M, and comes with a
game (Quest For Gold), a wordprocessor (the new version of Easiword −
see below) and an audio training tape.
5.12
•    A3010 Learning Curve uses the same computer as the Family Solution but
is upgraded to 2M of RAM and is bundled with more software and comes
complete with an Acorn AKF40 monitor. For £799 inc VAT, in addition to
Easiword and Quest For Gold, you get a set of Genesis applications and
PCSoft (PC Emulator, by any other name, but now with DR-DOS 6).
5.12
•    A3020 is also an ARM250-based computer. However, in place of the TV
modulator it has an interface for an IDE hard drive and, in place of the
two joystick ports, there is space for networking circuits, either
Econet or Ethernet. The basic A3020 has 2M (upgradable to 4M) and comes
with an AKF40 monitor (see below) for £749 +VAT (£880) or £799 +VAT
(£939) with an AKF18 multisync monitor. There is also a 4M version with
a 60M internal IDE drive (which does not take up the mini-podule slot).
This costs £899 +VAT (£1056) with the AKF40 or £949 +VAT (£1115) with
the AKF18 multisync. (The exVAT education prices of the A3020 computers
are all £100 less than the end user prices.)
5.12
•    A4000 − The A4000 is basically an A3020 in a metal case but with a
larger (80M) hard drive. The A4000 looks very much like a ‘slim-line’
A5000. Like the A3020, it takes just one internal mini-podule. With an
AKF40 standard resolution monitor, it costs £949 +VAT (£1115) or with an
AKF18 multisync, it costs £999 +VAT (£1174). The exVAT educational
prices of the A4000 are £100 less than the end-user prices.
5.12
•    A4000 Home Office − This is a package aimed at the serious home user
and consists of an A4000 system, an advanced wordprocessor (EasiWriter
II from Icon Technology) and Desktop Database from Iota Software. With
an AKF40 monitor, it costs £999 +VAT (£1174) or with an AKF18 multisync,
it costs £1049 +VAT (£1233).
5.12
•    A5000 prices DOWN (and drive sizes UP!) The A5000 is now available in
two formats: the 2M/HD80, similar to the current A5000 but with 80M
drive instead of 40M at £1399 +VAT (£1644) and the 4M/HD120 with 4M of
RAM and a 120M hard drive for £1599 +VAT (£1879). (The education prices
are £1199 and £1399 +VAT respectively.) The A5000 Learning Curve version
is £1699 inc VAT and is based on the 2M/HD80 version. These computers
are still supplied with the AKF18 multisync monitor although some
dealers (including N.C.S.) may be persuaded to trade in an AKF18 against
a more expensive multisync monitor.
5.12
•    A5000 hard-drive-less computers − There are now two A5000 computers
available without hard drives (but with AKF18 multisync monitors). The
A5000 ES has an Econet interface and 2M of RAM and costs £1299 +VAT. The
A5000 NS has an Ethernet interface and 2M of RAM and costs £1399 +VAT.
(The education prices of these two computers are £1199 and £1299 +VAT
respectively.)
5.12
•    Acorn Pocket Book − Acorn have launched a pocket-sized computer
(developed in co-operation with Psion and bearing a remarkable similar
ity to the Psion Series 3). These will have an Archimedes link with
software that will make the Pocket Book appear as a filing system on the
host computer. The cost is £249.95 inc VAT.
5.12
•    AKF40 monitor − Acorn have launched a new monitor aimed particularly
at the A3010 and A3020 computers. It is functionally the same as the new
AKF17 standard resolution monitor with stereo sound output but it has a
tilt and swivel stand. The A3010 and the A3020 are not as deep as the
A3000, so the monitor can be self-standing, behind the computer.
5.12
•    AUN Level 4 Fileserver − The new version of Acorn’s Fileserver
incorporates the Acorn Universal Networking software. The price is £399
+VAT.
5.12
•    10 Out of 10 Maths is the first of a new series of educational
programs from Triple R, the educational arm of Fourth Dimension. Each of
the 10 out of 10 packages, including 10 Out of 10 Maths, consists of six
educational games. Each package will have two manuals − one for the
teachers and one for the pupils. Also, each will come with three sets of
graphics, the idea being that they are designed to appeal to different
age groups. This package covers areas of addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percentages, estimation,
units and powers. The software also includes a scoring system so that
teachers can see how the pupils are progressing. The price is £25.95
from Fourth Dimension or £24 through Archive.
5.12
•    2067 BC − “A wacky arcade caper, set in a weird era where just about
anything can and will happen. As Terrance Pterodactyl, you’re challenged
to complete your missions to resume life as you know it in 2067 BC.”
This new game from Oregan Developments costs £16.95 (no VAT).
5.12
•    Analogue simulation package − Mijas Software has produced a general
purpose ‘analogue’ simulation package called ArcSimp. It provides
integrators, summers, function generators, trig functions, etc and will
allow you to model all sorts of different systems. ArcSimp costs £50
including VAT and p&p from Mijas and they also sell a demonstration
version for £5 refundable against a purchase of the full system.
5.12
•    Colorgraf 0516 is an 8-pen A3 plotter for £295 (no VAT). It is HPGL
compatible, so as long as you have an appropriate driver such as
DrawPrint & Plot, it represents a very cheap plotting option. It can use
cheap felt-tip pens (e.g. a box of 50 for £2.99 from Asda). These
plotters are being imported from Czechoslovakia by O G Brown, 2 Westend
Villas, Westend Parade, Gloucester GL1 2RY. If you want to do a screen-
dump, software is available from the same source for £35 (no VAT).
5.12
•    Cyber Chess − Fourth Dimension have added chess to their long list of
games for the Archimedes. This is a RISC-OS compliant, 3D simulation
version − with 2D as an option. It implements full chess laws including
en passant, underpromotions and the 50/75 move rule. Cyber Chess is
£49.95 from Fourth Dimension or £46 through Archive.
5.12
•    Desktop Office version 2 − This is a slightly updated version of
Desktop Office from Minerva with a few extra features. The main change
is that it also includes a copy of the new Easiword as well as the
Wordwise Plus look-alike that version 1 contains. The price is £99 +VAT
or £108 through Archive.
5.12
•    Easiword version 2 − The original Easiword was a multi-tasking
Wordwise Plus look-alike and the new version is a First Word Plus look-
alike. The price is £59 +VAT or £64 through Archive.
5.12
•    Geordie Racer − This software from Longman Logotron is based on the
popular BBC School TV series, “Look & Read : Geordie Racer” which is due
for its next broadcast in Spring 1993. The TV programmes are aimed at
young readers aged 7 − 9 years and the software is an adventure game
designed to improve their reading skills. The price is £24 +VAT or £26
through Archive.
5.12
•    Grid Algebra − This is the first Archimedes package produced by the
Open University Centre for Mathematics Education. It provides a dynamic
visual approach to algebra for primary and secondary level teaching. The
program relates horizontal and vertical movements over a grid to the
four basic operations of number. Algebraic expressions are generated by
journeys made over the grid. The price is £25 inc VAT from the O.U.
5.12
•    Molecular modeller − Arachne Software are producing a molecular
modelling package which, when completed, will sell at around £50. In the
meantime, if anyone wants a demonstration disc, they are available from
Arachne for £5 refundable against a purchase of the full package.
5.12
•    Nevryon II − This is an upgrade of the original Nevryon shot-em-up
game from the Fourth Dimension. The main enhancement is the two-player
mode so that you can work together to defeat the aliens. The price is
£19.95 from Fourth Dimension or £19 through Archive.
5.12
•    PlayBack − Risc Developments have produced a real-time mouse and
keyboard recording and replay system called PlayBack. A PD version of
PlayBack is also supplied which can be distributed freely to allow
others to replay the sequences you have recorded. The price is £19 + VAT
from Risc Developments.
5.12
•    RISC-OS 3 is now available for all Acorn Risc-based computers. The
full upgrade will cost £89 inc VAT but, until mid-1993, it will be
available at the special price of £49 inc VAT (£50 through Archive
including postage because the manuals are so very heavy). For this, you
get a set of ROMs, fitting instructions, new Applications Discs and the
full RISC-OS 3 documentation and 3.10 Release Notes.
5.12
Owners of A305, A310 and A440 (not A440/1) will need larger ROM sockets
fitted. These are available as a dealer upgrade for £30 inc VAT.
5.12
Schools (or anyone else for that matter!) wanting large numbers of RISC-
OS 3 upgrades can buy a 10-station set for £399 inc VAT. This includes
one set of discs, one set of documentation and ten sets of ROMs.
5.12
A5000 owners can get an upgrade from RISC-OS 3.00 to 3.10, the latest
release, for £19 inc VAT. This includes the ROMs and the 3.10 release
notes − a 40 page document giving the extra features of RISC-OS 3.10.
5.12
(Knowing what happened when RISC-OS 2 was released, I suggest you send a
SEPARATE cheque just in case demand outstrips initial supply. We will
hold your cheques in the order in which they arrive and send out the
upgrades in strict order. Archive readers are the first to know about
this upgrade, so you can be at the head of the queue if you send a
cheque straight away.)
5.12
•    Saloon Cars De-Luxe Extra Courses Volume 1 − 4th Dimension have now
added an extra courses disc to their De-Luxe Saloon Cars game. It costs
£19.95 or £18 through Archive. (N.B. Saloon Cars Deluxe does not work on
Archimedes computers using Taxan 795 monitors.)
5.12
•    ScanLight Professional − A new version of ScanLight Professional is
now available. It utilises a new model of scanner and although it will
be functionally the same, an A4 flat-bed 300dpi SCSI device, it has a
number of advantages. It is only a little bigger than actual A4 size and
it operates marginally faster than the previous model. Most importantly,
it is cheaper than its predecessor! This new version is £595 +VAT (£665
inc VAT through Archive). It should work with all SCSI cards, provided
the manufacturers have followed all Acorn’s guidelines. (It has been
successfully tested with Oak, Acorn, Morley and Lingenuity cards.) N.B.
This scanner can produce images over 8M in size, so you need to think
carefully about what type of machine you are going to use with it.
5.12
•    SCSI hard drives − We have another supplier for Mac SCSI hard drives
that work out cheaper than their Archimedes equivalents. (The price
advantage of the Mac drives from Frog Systems has decreased so we have
stopped selling them.)
5.12
        Internal    External    Access
5.12
    40M    £230    £320    20ms
5.12
    100M    £375    £465    17ms
5.12
    180M    £500    £590    17ms
5.12
    400M    £890    £980    14ms
5.12
    650M    −    £1340    14ms
5.12
    1000M    −    £1760    14ms
5.12
All the drives come with 5-year warranty except the 40M drives which
have 2 year warranty.
5.12
•    Shareware 48 − The latest Shareware disc is Acorn’s Pascal for use
with their Desktop Development Environment. Full details are on page 41.
5.12
•    Silicon Vision prices drop − Silicon Vision has decided that “to
encourage higher volume sales” it is dropping the price its Archimedes
software. The new prices, including VAT, are as follows, the Archive
prices being in brackets after each one.
5.12
ArcPCB    £125    (£116)
5.12
Solid Tools    £275    (£255)
5.12
Solid CAD    £99.95    (£93)
5.12
FilmMaker    £79.95    (£74)
5.12
Solids Render    £99.95    (£93)
5.12
RoboLOGO    £49.95    (£46)
5.12
RiscBasic Compiler    £99.95
    (£93)
5.12
RiscFORTH Compiler    £99.95
    (£93)
5.12
SuperPlot    £24.95    (£23)
5.12
SuperDump    £24.95    (£23)
5.12
ShareHolder    £125    (£116)
5.12
Datavision    £99.95    (£93)
5.12
These prices supersede the ones we reported last month (which came from
an earlier Silicon Vision press release).
5.12
•    Talking Pictures is “A colouring book that talks” from Wyddfa Software
(£20 inc VAT). This RISC-OS compliant package is a colouring book with
digitised speech aimed at encouraging language development in the under
fives.
5.12
•    Vector 1.02 is now available. This includes the missing text-to-path
feature that RISC-OS 2 users need. It also allows corrupted drawfiles to
be loaded and provides automatic creation of mask substitutes which,
unlike Vector’s own masks, are renderable by other applications.
Existing users can upgrade free of charge by returning their Vector
Applications disc to 4Mation.
5.12
•    Vision Digitiser is a very low-priced video digitiser from H.C.C.S. −
£49 +VAT or £55 through Archive. For more details, see the review on
page 43.
5.12
Review software received...
5.12
We have received review copies of the following: CSVtoText, (more)
Design Concepts fonts, Disc Rescue (we have a floppy-disc-user’s view
but need a hard disc user and preferably someone fairly technical to
have a look at the manual which is very detailed), DrawBook, Geordie
Racer, Grid Algebra, Landmarks Columbus, Landmarks Aztecs, Saloon Cars
De-Luxe (the first reviewer had a 795!), ScreenTurtle, Shareware 46,
Talking Pictures, Touch Type.  A
5.12
Government Health Warning − Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
5.12
We all tend to take things for granted. In my case it was the hard drive
that held the 20,000 names and addresses on our database − you can read
about its sad demise in the Comment Column on page 8.
5.12
Far more important to avoid is taking people for granted. It’s so easy
in our materialistic society to allow things to take up more of our time
and energy than people. It’s worth doing a regular check. Whether it’s
colleagues, family or friends, ask yourself, “Am I taking so-and-so for
granted?”. If you are, make a point of showing your appreciation or
concern. Do something that will show you care.
5.12
Most importantly of all, are you taking God for granted? Do you think of
Him as a celestial ‘999’ service, only to be contacted when things go
seriously wrong? He’s still there even when we think we don’t need any
help and, paradoxically, it’s when we think we are “all right thank you”
that we are actually most in need of God’s “helping hand”.
5.12
Lastly, do you take your own life for granted? I don’t mean to be
melodramatic but any one of us could be an EX-Archive subscriber
tomorrow! “I’ll get round to thinking about this Christianity lark some
time. I’m just rather busy at the moment.”   Please, don’t leave it
until tomorrow − it may never come!
5.12
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
0603−766592 (−764011)
5.12
4th Dimension     P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742−700661) (0742−781091)
5.12
4Mation    11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon  EX32
8PA. (0271−25353) (0271−22974)
5.12
Abacus Training     29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts  SN2
6QA.
5.12
Ace Computing (p9)    27 Victoria
Road, Cambridge  CB4 3BW. (0223−322559) (0223−69180)
5.12
Acorn Direct    13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants  NN8 2RL.
5.12
Acorn Computers Ltd     Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge  CB1 4JN. (0223−245200) (0223−210685)
5.12
Arachne Software     Orchard Cottage, East Morden, Wareham, Dorset  BH20
7DL.
5.12
CIS    Unit 2a, 436 Essex Road, London  N1 3QP. (071−226−3340)
(071−226−3408)
5.12
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire  CW9 7DA. (0606−48511)
(0606−48512)
5.12
Colton Software (p14)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge  CB5 8LA. (0223−311881) (0223−312010)
5.12
Computer Concepts (p32/33)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts  HP2 6EX. (0442−63933) (0442−231632)
5.12
Dabs Press    22 Warwick Street, Prestwich, Manchester  M25 7HN.
(061−773−8632) (061−773−8290)
5.12
DEC_dATA    60 Danes Road, Exeter EX4 4LS. (0392−221702)
5.12
Design Concept    30 South Oswald Road, Edinburgh  EH9 2HG.
(031−668−4518)
5.12
HCCS Ltd     575−583 Durham Road, Gateshead  NE9 5JJ. (091−487−0760)
(091−491−0431)
5.12
Ian Copestake Software (p31)    1 Kington
Road, West Kirby, Wirral  L48 5ET. (051−625−1006) (051−625−1007)
5.12
Keylink Computers Ltd (p10)    2 Woodway
House, Common Lane, Kenilworth, Warwickshire  CV8 2ES. (0926−50909)
(0926−864128)
5.12
Lingenuity (Lindis)    Wood Farm,
Linstead Magna, Halesworth, Suffolk  IP19 0DU. (098−685−477)
(098−685−460)
5.12
Longman-Logotron    124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4
4ZS. (0223−425558) (0223−425349)
5.12
LOOKsystems (p5)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich  NR5 9AY.
(0603−764114) (0603−764011)
5.12
Mijas Software     Winchester Road, Micheldever, Winchester  SO21 3DJ.
(0962−89352)
5.12
Minerva Systems (p6)    Minerva
House, Baring Crescent, Exeter  EX1 1TL. (0392−437756) (0392−421762)
5.12
Oak Solutions (p21)    Suite 25,
Robin Enterprise Centre, Leeds Road, Idle, Yorkshire BD10 9TE.
(0274−620423) (0274−620419)
5.12
O.U. Maths Education Centre    The Open
University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes  MK7 6AA. (0908−274066)
(0908−653744)
5.12
Oregan Developments    36 Grosvenor
Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield  B74 3PE.
5.12
Primary Education Services    72 Kimberley
Road, Leicester  LE2 1LF. (0533−733063)
5.12
Ray Maidstone     421 Sprowston Road, Norwich  NR3 4EH. (0603−400477)
(0603−417447)
5.12
Risc Developments Ltd    117 Hatfield
Road, St Albans, Herts  AL1 4JS. (0727−40303) (0727−860263)
5.12
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666−840433) (0666−840048)
5.12
Silicon Vision Ltd    Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex  HA1 2AG. (081−861−2173)
(081−427−5169)
5.12
SJ Research    J1 The Paddocks, 347 Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge  CB1
4DH. (0223−416715)
5.12
Spacetech (p13)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset  DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.12
Turcan Research Systems    83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071−625−8455)
5.12
Watford Electronics    250 Lower
High Street, Watford  WD1 2AN. (0923−37774) (0923−33642)
5.12
Wyddfa Software    3 Preswylfa, Llanberis, Gwynedd  LL55 4LF.
(0286−870101) (0286−871722)
5.12
Computer Concepts
5.12
From 5.11 page 32
5.12
Paul B.
5.12
Hints and Tips
5.12
•    Free Space − (Ref to Archive 5.11 p21) − The call to check the amount
of free space on a disc is ADFS_FreeSpace. On entry, R0 points to the
disc specifier and on exit R0 contains the free space and R1 contains
the size of the largest object that can be created. E.g.
5.12
SYS“ADFS_FreeSpace”,“:0” to free%,largest%
5.12
Change the ADFS to RamFS, SCSIFS or whatever you’re using.
5.12
•    Free space on hard discs − For some time I had been concerned by the
apparent discrepancy between the figures returned by COUNT and FREE for
the space used by files on my SCSI discs. I was aware that COUNT only
counts the actual files and that FREE counts all the space used but I
still felt uneasy and my discs seemed to fill up alarmingly quickly.
5.12
ADFS floppies use 2k for every directory and there is an initial 4k
overhead for the map on E format discs. My impression was that the same
amount of space would be used for each directory in all Filecore
systems, including SCSI, but that the map would take more space
depending on the size of the disc.
5.12
So the first thing I did was to estimate the number of directories on my
120M disc. I make full use of the directory structure to organise my
data, not to any great depth but with some width. RISC-OS encourages
this and, of course, applications are directories too. I reckoned there
were well over 1000 directories on the disc, but at 2k per directory,
this did not account for the difference.
5.12
With a little experiment of adding a directory and looking for the
change in free space, I found that a directory was taking a staggering
28k! This was where the space was going, but why?
5.12
My Oak SCSI card is managed by their SCSIForm program which allows some
flexibility in defining the format of the disc. Having backed-up, I did
some experimenting with the parameters.
5.12
I changed the sector size, but the minimum value for the 120M disc was
512 bytes and, for a 42M removable was 256 bytes. I imagine the lowest
possible value of 128 bytes is only for small discs. Anyway, the changes
I made had only very small effects on space or disc transfer times. The
default is 512 bytes per sector, so I left it at that.
5.12
Next I changed the file allocation size. This defaults to 2k on the
large disc and 1k on the other. The minimum is 256 bytes. The larger
values are chosen, I believe, to speed up transfer times to large files
on larger discs. I did not think this parameter would have an effect on
the structure, but look at the table below. The results were impressive.
For a loss of transfer time of less than 5% I was gaining a saving on
structure of 7 times! There were similar results for the smaller disc.
5.12
    File Alloc’n  (bytes)    2048
    1024    512    256
5.12
    Map Space (k)    57    47
    68.5    124
5.12
    Dir’y Space  (k each)    28    15
    7.5    4
5.12
    Mode 0   (k/sec)    1959    1864
    1864    1864
5.12
    Mode 21  (k/sec)    994    955
    955    955
5.12
I have not delved any further into why more than 2k per directory is
taken in SCSI but the figures suggest 14 blocks are used: 13 are <256
bytes and the other is 512-768 bytes.
5.12
When I settled on a file allocation size of 256 bytes, I recovered about
30M of extra space on the larger disc − about £200 worth, perhaps. Some
of this saving comes from taking much less space for the multitude of
small !Run,!Boot and !Sprites files.
5.12
The only other make of SCSI of card I have access to is a Cumana one in
school, running in a fileserver for 600 users. This too has 1000+
directories. The Cumana SCSIManager program only offers formatting with
default values, so I changed the format using my Oak card and made
similar impressive savings. The disc runs happily with the Cumana card,
as you would expect, but will not dismount. This is no penalty with
self-parking heads.
5.12
I then found an old ADFS hard drive and did the same check, finding that
a new directory takes 12k. RAMFS takes a straight 2k. I would be
interested to know if the same problem applies to IDE discs and what
formatting is possible with other SCSI cards.  Steve Drain, Portland.  A
5.12
Comment Column
5.12
•    Hard drives − Learning the hard way − Hands up all those who used not
to bother taking back-ups of hard drives... until you had a crash and
lost a load of data? Well, we thought we had learned that lesson by
proxy from all the customers who have come to us with their tales of woe
− until it happened to us!
5.12
In the Norwich Computer Services office, we used to back up our main
address database regularly onto a floppy disc. Then when it grew too
large to fit on a floppy, even with compression, we started taking a
removable drive across to the database computer to do the backup.
Gradually we got more and more lazy about backing up because of the
effort of connecting and disconnecting the removable drive from one
machine to another. (We didn’t think we could justify the cost of a
removable drive just for backup.)
5.12
Last week, Ali said, “The drive light seems to be on permanently and the
computer has locked up.”  The drive seemed well and truly dead − we
couldn’t get it to respond at all. Help, panic! When did we last do a
backup? Nearly three months ago!!!!! How big is the database? We have
(or should I say had, before the crash!) nearly 20,000 names and
addresses on it. Arrrggghhh!!!
5.12
We opened up the computer and found that the fan filter was absolutely
SOLID with dust and, not surprisingly, the hard drive was roasting hot.
Again, you see, we don’t follow our own advice − we don’t change the
batteries and fan filters once a year even though we have piles of
annual service kits on our stock shelves!
5.12
Anyway, we have learned our lesson from the episode and, thankfully, the
story has a happy ending. We left the case open and tried to start up
the drive again after it had cooled down for an hour − no joy − still
dead. Then, after another hour (and more fervent prayer!) we tried
again... and the drive sprang back to life! The drive is still going
strong but we have put a removable drive on the computer and are backing
up rather more frequently! (The 42M removable drives are now down to
£425 − a good investment, especially if you already have a SCSI podule.)
5.12
Hard drives are generally very reliable, but DON’T rely on them. Ask
yourself the question, “What would happen if that hard drive died
suddenly and irretrievably?” and if the answer is that you would be in a
mess, do something about it now − don’t learn the hard way!
5.12
•    RISC-OS 3 self-tests − In response to Rob Davison’s comment about the
A5000 startup time on page 13 of Archive 5.11, I would like to give a
description of what the startup/reset self-test involves.
5.12
This self-test, which is performed by A540 and A5000 computers, and
probably the A4, is performed by the motherboard, before the operating
system is invoked. As a result, it cannot easily be disabled. The self-
test involves checking that the Operating System ROM links are correctly
set, and then checking the memory for faults. On an A5000 (and A4), the
floppy drives are then initialised. This was explained in a recent issue
of Archive. If any part of this self-test fails, the floppy disc drive
light is flashed.
5.12
From experience with an A540 fitted with RISC-OS 3.08 (pre-release) and
a number of A5000 systems, I can say that the main delay with an A5000
is the initialisation of the floppy drives.
5.12
Although the self-test takes a number of seconds, it is extremely
useful. Our A540 is currently running its second version of RISC-OS 3.
When we re-installed version 2.01 due to disc corruption problems, we
confused the ROM link settings. As a result, the self-test failed and
prevented use of the machine. This probably protected the ROM chips from
serious damage.  A
5.12
Ace
5.12
From 5.10 page 39
5.12
KeyLink
5.12
New Artwork
5.12
Prolog Explained
5.12
Rob Lucas
5.12
Prolog is a logic-based computer language which allows the programmer to
define rules and facts, and to ask questions, more commonly called
queries, about these. In English, facts are statements like, ‘The sky is
grey’ or ‘The wind is from the West’. Rules are statements like, ‘I go
shopping if the weather is fine and it is Saturday’ or ‘It will rain if
the sky is grey and the wind is from the West’. A rule is characterised
by ‘if’, or its equivalent, connecting some conclusion with one or more
premises.
5.12
When we ask Prolog a query, such as the Prolog equivalent of the English
question, ‘Will it rain?’, Prolog will use the facts and rules in its
database to try to construct a proof that it will rain, and it will
report whether or not it was successful. It will construct a proof by
demonstrating that the query can be logically deduced from the rules and
facts.
5.12
In this example, Prolog starts with the query ‘Will it rain?’ and uses
the rule ‘It will rain when the sky is grey and the wind is from the
west’ to establish that it must satisfy, or know to be true, the two
separate statements: ‘the sky is grey’ and ‘the wind is from the west’.
If these two facts do exist for the Prolog system, i.e. if it has been
told them, then the query is satisfied and the Prolog system will report
this. Here is how such a rule and the required facts may be expressed in
Prolog:
5.12
rain :-
5.12
    wind_is_westerly,
5.12
    sky_is_grey.
5.12
wind_is_westerly.
5.12
sky_is_grey.
5.12
The first three lines constitute the rule, while the final two are the
facts. Given that ‘:−’ is the Prolog equivalent to ‘if’, and that the
comma (,) represents ‘and’, the rule may be read in a way that corre
sponds very closely to the English rule: ‘rain if wind is westerly and
sky is grey’. Similarly, the facts may be read as: wind is westerly and
sky is grey. If we were to enter this rule and the two facts into
Prolog’s database and ask the query ?− rain. i.e. Will it rain?, Prolog
will reply ‘yes’. (Queries always start with ?−.)
5.12
Of course, there is a great deal more to Prolog than this but this
simple method of logical deduction; is very much at the heart of Prolog
and is the only method by which anything, trivial or otherwise, can be
achieved.
5.12
Variables
5.12
We can use variables in rules to make more general statements than the
above. We can express the rule ‘all men are mortal’ in Prolog like this:
5.12
mortal(X) :-
5.12
    man(X).
5.12
Note the use of the variable denoted by the uppercase letter X. This
rule should be read, mortal(X) is true if man(X) is true (or can be
proved). If we have the facts:
5.12
man(plato).
5.12
man(major).
5.12
Then the query ?− mortal(X) will give us first plato and then major, but
no more. This is because Prolog is using what is called the ‘closed
world assumption’. This means that it can only deduce information about
what it has been told. Another important point is that we could make the
query ?− mortal(major). which would use the rule to try and prove the
fact ‘man(major)’.
5.12
Our rules can be very much more complex, allowing for large chains of
deduction to be made. A rule can also have many different parts (more
formally called clauses) that mean it may be satisfied in different
ways. For example we could add the clause:
5.12
mortal(X) :-
5.12
    animal(X).
5.12
If the first clause for mortal should fail then the second clause will
be used automatically as an alternative means of proving mortal.
5.12
Lists
5.12
Prolog has a data structure called a list which is a way of representing
some ordered set of objects. We denote a list by the use of square
brackets. For example, the following line is a fact which has as its
only argument a list of three items:
5.12
example_list([sealing_wax,cabbages,kings]).
5.12
The query ?− example_list(X) will cause X to stand for the list
[sealing_wax,cabbages,kings]. There is a notation provided that allows
us to get at the first element (known as the head) of a list. This uses
the | character to separate the list into its head and tail. For
example:
5.12
?− example_list([H|T]).
5.12
causes X to be set to sealing_wax and T to be set to [cabbages,kings].
Note that the tail of a list is also a list. An empty list, i.e. a list
with no members, is denoted by [].
5.12
We are now in a position to define some very elegant rules for manipu
lating lists. Consider a rule which determines whether an item is a
member of a given list. We might make the query:
5.12
?− member(cabbages,L).
5.12
where L is some list, and require this to be true if cabbages is in L.
To check that an item is the head of the list is very easy:
5.12
member(H,[H|T]).
5.12
This will succeed whenever H is the first element of the list because it
requires H to be the given element and the head of the list being
examined. If this is not the case, we can check the rest of the list
with:
5.12
member(X,[H|T]) :- member(X,T).
5.12
because T is the tail of the list, and using member with the tail as the
second argument will now cause X to be checked as being the same as the
head of the tail, and so on. This is an example of a recursive rule, one
that calls itself, being used on a recursive data structure, one that
can be defined in terms of itself (a list is an empty list or it is an
element followed by a list). This leads to very succinct and powerful
rules. Here’s one for concatenating two lists:
5.12
append([],L,L).
5.12
append([H|T],L,[H|U]):-
5.12
    append(T,L,U).
5.12
?− append([shoes,ships],[cabbages],L).
5.12
L = [shoes,ships,cabbages]
5.12
The first clause reads that the empty list concatenated to any list
gives the same list. I’ll leave it to the reader to try and figure out
the second clause (a hint is that the resulting list must start with the
same element as the first list which is why H appears where it does).
Prolog’s ability to deal with lists of symbols so elegantly makes it an
ideal language for natural language interpretation. The famous Artifi
cial Intelligence program ‘Eliza’ can be coded in less than one hundred
lines. (Eliza mimics the responses of a psychiatrist to a patient’s
input and caused a stir when it was first written because someone was
fooled into pouring her heart out to it. It was originally written in
LISP.)
5.12
Prologue
5.12
I hope that this has given you some of the flavour of Prolog. It’s
impossible to explain every aspect of a language in one short article
but you should have gained some idea of the power and flexibility of a
deductive approach to programming. If you decide to have a go at Prolog
programming, I can guarantee a totally new and rewarding experience
which will make you view all your programming tasks in a new light.
5.12
Rob Lucas works for Keylink Computers Ltd who produce the only (as far
as we know) currently available version of Prolog for the Archimedes.
Rob has agreed to write a series of articles about Prolog on the
Archimedes, in which he will be taking things at a more leisuredly
pace.  A
5.12
Spacetech
5.12
From 5.11 page 22 but with the extra bit as above
5.12

5.12
See the world at the Acorn User Show with...
5.12

5.12
Colton
5.12
From 5.11 page 12
5.12
Hardware Column
5.12
Brian Cowan
5.12
It is usually about this time of year that I give my apologies for the
absence from these pages which is occasioned by the universities’ ‘silly
season’. On reflection, however, it is likely that for the students it
is their, perhaps only, ‘serious season’! Much has happened in the last
few months, so let’s get stuck in with a catalogue of recent disasters
which have befallen some of our computers.
5.12
Senile dementia
5.12
By computer standards, the first Archimedes models are now becoming a
little long in the tooth and some are beginning to show signs of their
age. In my laboratory, we have only ourselves to blame when the
keyboards become encrusted with grime and the monitors have such a thick
layer of dust on the screens that you think the brightness control must
be faulty. This generally happens because a computer can be running an
experiment continuously for many months during which time the byword is
“keep off”.
5.12
Unhappy memory
5.12
A more serious aspect of the ageing process is that some things wear out
and faults do develop. On one old 440 machine, all of a sudden, strange
problems started. This computer was being used to run a particular
experiment and one day it ‘hung up’. The controlling program was written
in Basic but it called bits of compiled Fortran and C code − a mess, I
know, but at least it worked. Or, I should say, it used to! One morning,
an irate colleague intercepted me as I arrived, with the news that the
program would not run. The strange thing was that every other program we
tried worked perfectly. I was convinced that someone had made a change
to the program − as, of course, one can with Basic without having to do
anything so drastic as recompiling.
5.12
I had had a similar problem once before when trying to run a “desktop-
ised” version of a frequently used Fortran program. What had happened
there was that, from the desktop, there was not enough RAM for the
program, but Fortran did no checking; it simply read from and wrote to
memory belonging to other applications − clearly, a recipe for disaster!
The solution was simply to reserve adequate RAM with WimpSlot. The
recollection of that got me thinking about memory allocation. Since the
present program was not running from the desktop I could not use
wimpslot. As a stab in the dark, I entered the desktop and reserved
plenty of RAM for the next task using the task manager. Then I quit the
desktop and ran the program. It worked − and I was hailed a hero!
5.12
Problem solved?
5.12
The experiment was now working but maybe another problem would surface.
Was the system unreliable? What was going on? My colleague was convinced
that there was a hardware problem with the computer; he had written the
original program and so he had faith in that. He was right because when
we changed the computer over (no small job as it involved swapping hard
discs and some rather dilapidated podules) the old program worked first
time with no black magic.
5.12
Not quite
5.12
The next clue to the mystery arrived by accident. We tried backing-up a
disc on the troublesome machine and observed that even using the Q
option, the machine was prompting for multiple disc swaps. It was clear
that the machine could not find the RAM that we knew was there. It began
to dawn on us that perhaps some of the RAM was faulty. So we ran the
RamCheck program in the Software Developer’s Toolbox and, lo and behold,
it told us there was chunk of faulty RAM. What was slightly surprising
was that the task manager indicated 4M of free RAM as did the Basic
start-up line when run in single-task mode. I was reminded of all those
times I had waited impatiently after switching a PC on, while it
laboriously went through checking all its RAM. Maybe it is not such a
silly idea after all. I don’t know whether RISC-OS 3 checks this; I know
it does some checking. (Yes, it does − see the Comment Column on page 8.
Ed.)
5.12
RAM replacement
5.12
So we had some duff RAM − what about changing it? It is difficult to
identify the physical address because all addressing goes through the
MEMC chip. I tried a small machine code program together with a logic
probe on the chips. It was a tedious task, but it looked as if all the
problem was in one chip. They say it’s not what you know, but who you
know − this is very true! I phoned up Martin Coulson at Atomwide to ask
his opinion. Yes, it was possible for RAM chips to fail and, yes, it is
difficult, without the correct gear, to find which chip is responsible.
However, he told me that he had the gear and, in fact, he has developed
an Archimedes trouble-shooter’s probe (I believe under commission from
Acorn) for this very purpose. (It is called an Archimedes post-tester
but is only available for purchase by registered Acorn dealers.)
5.12
I took the machine to Atomwide’s Orpington headquarters for repair.
Essentially, what Martin did was to insert some special test ROMs in
place of the RISC-OS ROMs and plugged in his test probe to the circuit
board. When the computer was turned on, the display on the probe flashed
as the Archimedes stepped through its test routine and, within a minute
or so, the location of the faulty memory chip flashed up. Brilliant! The
faulty chip was replaced and everything was fine.
5.12
Moral
5.12
The moral of the story is that it always pays to deal with a reliable
supplier rather than a “box-shifter”. It is possible for a hardware
fault to develop and faulty RAM might go undetected for quite some time.
5.12
Printer madness
5.12
Now for the next disaster. One of my colleagues is a Luddite. He is
still using the original version of First Word Plus together with the
First Fonts scientific character set. You may recall that the extra
character set is downloaded to the printer where it is stored for use.
This all worked very nicely until disaster number two struck.
5.12
On downloading the fonts, the printer went berserk, printing a few
garbled characters on a page and then ejecting it. This would carry on
until the printer had disposed of about a ream of paper. Originally, I
was blamed for the problem because, in attempting to cure the Luddism, I
had installed an Impression dongle on the machine. However, that turned
out not to be the problem. We changed printers − no improvement. We
checked the CMOS RAM settings − nothing strange there. However, once
again, on changing computers, the problem disappeared.
5.12
Finding the fault was difficult because we needed the printer connected
to see what was happening but the printer just kept spewing out paper.
In the end I hit upon a plan. Using <Ctrl-B>, characters can be sent
directly to the printer. I then typed in ABCDEF, and the printer echoed
@BBDDF. Checking the ASCII codes I had the answer − or at least part of
it. Bit zero was dead − it was always zero. That also explained why the
printer kept ejecting the paper − each line feed (ASCII 13) was being
transformed into a form feed (ASCII 12)!
5.12
I started with my logic probe on the PCB and, as expected, the printer
buffer/latch chip was faulty − bit zero output was high impedance.
Something I had learned from the dead RAM saga was boldness! I took my
side cutters, cut all the legs off the chip, desoldered the remaining
stubs from the board, inserted a new chip and soldered it in place. I
was feeling pretty pleased. I announced that the machine was fixed,
invited an admiring audience, and switched on. Pride comes before a
fall, or so they say. On trying the printer, the same problem occurred,
with pages shooting out all over the place. I checked the replaced IC
and its line zero was dead! What had killed it? Eventually, I discovered
that each of the printer port output lines has an RC network to stop
ringing in the data lines. The ceramic capacitor on line zero had gone a
short circuit. Quite a surprise.
5.12
I replaced the capacitor. Having removed the new IC, I was not going to
be caught again, so I installed a socket for the next one. This time,
when I switched on, everything was OK. I am usually reluctant to suspect
hardware as, in my experience, most faults have their origin in
software. This balance of judgement might change as software gets
better, while machines get older.
5.12
Hard disc deaths
5.12
I don’t know what the expected life span for a hard disc drive is
supposed to be, but we have just laid to rest the third dead drive in
the laboratory. The original Weston Digital drives which Acorn supplied
with the original hard disc upgrades died ages ago. I think there was a
problem with that batch and they certainly did not last long. (A number
have died at 12 months + 1 day! Ed.) However, a Seagate 40M ST506 drive
has just packed up after about two years of service, so perhaps we
should start buying them in bulk!
5.12
We have never actually had a hard disc “crash”. In each of the three
failures, it was the motor drive bearing which had seized-up. This is,
perhaps, not too surprising because one thing which was common to all
three failures is that the drives had been used on machines which ran
for long periods without interruption. In other words they could be on
continuously for months at a time.
5.12
Now there is one school of thought which says that computers are best
left on all the time. In general, I think that makes a lot of sense, as
long as the monitors have either automatic blanking after a predeter
mined time or if they are switched off when not in use. However, there
is still a problem with the hard discs, presumably when the bearings
cool down. Sometimes such seized-up drives can be got running by
repeatedly switching them on and off. However occasionally a bolder
approach is needed.
5.12
The Weston Digital and the Tandon drives had their motors externally
accessible. With these units I was able to poke at the flywheel and
apply some WD40 lubricant to get things moving. This usually gives
another two years or so of life to a drive. Unfortunately, the newer
Seagate drives have the motor inside the sealed housing. In desperation,
I opened one such unit in what I would call a “relatively clean”
environment, lubricated the bearing and resealed the case. This drive
has now been running for a few months with no problem. I have no
illusions that this will last forever but the procedure did enable us to
rescue the data on the disc and we have learned to make regular back-
ups.
5.12
Maybe the answer is in the new generation of IDE drives which can be
configured to have an automatic power-down when they have not been used
for so many seconds. I will have to look into this.
5.12
Floating point acceleration
5.12
There is still no news of Acorn’s floating point accelerator. However, I
have news of two others. The DT Software accelerator using a ‘387 chip
has been written about before. I don’t know whether they are in
existence yet (Nope! Ed.) but the idea is sound and there should be at
least a fourfold speed improvement on floating point operations. The
beauty of this system, as with the Acorn accelerator, is that apart from
the speed improvement, the hardware is not visible to the user because
it simply tales over from the floating point emulator. When I have tried
out the DT product, I will give you my evaluation.
5.12
For those with a serious interest in floating point number crunching,
there is another product − although it is in a rather different price
league. Riverside Machines Ltd produce a range of accelerator boards for
various computers, using the Intel i860 RISC chip. Unlike the ARM,
Intel’s chip was designed with floating point speed in mind and, running
at 40 MHz, it is capable of a staggering 80 Mflops (million floating
point operations per second), which is very much faster than anything
the bare Archimedes could achieve.
5.12
The RM05 board is a double-width podule, plugging into the I/O bus
(although it does not use the coprocessor bus). It contains an i860
chip, a ROM, a clock, various glue chips and a choice of between 2M and
32M of RAM.
5.12
It should be pointed out that this is not a floating point accelerator
in the usually accepted sense. Programs must be written specially to
make use of this hardware and, to this end, the RM05 ROM contains a
Unix-like operating system kernel and there are also various language
compilers available. Depending on the clock speed and the RAM capacity,
these accelerators cost between £2520 and £4500. I hope to be reviewing
one for you within the next few months.
5.12
Portable
5.12
At last the A4 Notebook has been announced. I shall be working abroad
for the month of August and, ideally, I would have liked to have taken
an A4 with me to give it a good going-over. Unfortunately, I could not
get hold of one so I will be renewing my acquaintance with pencil and
paper, while using the odd PC when really desperate.
5.12
From reading the specification of the new machine, my main reservation
is the lack of a SCSI interface, particularly for my Syquest removables.
I understand that one of the “quality” companies will be manufacturing a
SCSI converter which attaches to the bidirectional printer port. This
sounds good but we shall have to wait and see what sort of speed
performance is possible.
5.12
I wonder what Computer Concepts will be doing regarding their dongles. A
portable will be very unwieldly with a dongle sticking out the back. One
assumes the machines will have personalised identification codes so a
dongle-free but still protected version of Impression is a possibility.
5.12
(As we mentioned last month in the preview of Artworks, there is going
to be an alternative to the dongle for Artworks and Impression. Computer
Concepts are intending to make use of the serial number contained in
each A5000 and A4 so that you can have a customised version, which will
then only work on the one computer, as a replacement for your dongle.
Ed.)
5.12
My other concern relates to the mouse. Acorn have stated that they
considered a tracker ball, but decided that three button operation with
a tracker ball is difficult. Well, I have been using a tracker ball for
years and there is no problem at all if the functions of the left and
middle buttons are reversed. It is quite simple to roll the ball with
your thumb while holding down the centre button with a finger to effect
a “drag” operation. I certainly don’t want to carry around a mouse which
is almost as big as the computer!  A
5.12
Small Ads
5.12
(Small ads for Archimedes and related products are free for subscribers
but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the material
you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people don’t know what “small”
means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we would
not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending small ads
(especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential. Ed)
5.12
•    45M SCSI A3000 Hardcard (unused) £325, Cumana 1M ram A3000 £35, PRES
disc buffer A3000 £35, PRES monitor stand £17.50. Phone 0332−701969.
5.12
•    A3000, 2M (can be increased to 4M), serial upgrade, Phillips CM8833
monitor £740 o.n.o. 4M upgrade for A3000 £100. Phone 0943− 878172.
5.12
•    A310, colour monitor, CJE 4M RAM, MEMC1a, 20M drive, PC Emulator 1.7,
5¼ interface, £950 o.n.o. Phone 091−487−6061.
5.12
•    Cumana dual 80 track double sided drive with own PSU £60, WS3000 V21/
23 Hayes modem £50. Phone Jean-Paul Hamerton on 081−693−5647.
5.12
•    Elite (Gold edition), Tactic, Leaderboard, Midnight Tracer, Clips 2,
Tracker, Z88 + accessories. Phone Mike Pargeter on 0462−434061.
5.12
•    Hitachi 672 HP compatible A3 plotter with Worra-Plotter software £130.
Presenter 2 £20. Phone John Savage on 0525−23625.
5.12
•    Micro User magazines, vols 1-4, any reasonable offer. Norton AntiVirus
PC software, unused £65 (was £105). Phone 0727−861835.
5.12
Charity Sales − If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes
computers you could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive
office. We will sell them at the Acorn User Show in October which is a
more effective way of raising money than doing it by post.  A
5.12
Using the A4 Notebook
5.12
Paul Beverley
5.12
The original notes I wrote about the A4 Notebook were based on a couple
of hour’s use in a back room at Fulbourn Road. Having actually tried to
use an A4 in a real life situation, I have a few more considered
comments to make.
5.12
Generally, I continue to be very impressed − the ability to have
“Archimedes power” with you wherever you go is absolutely brilliant.
However, there are a few niggles that have arisen. There are one or two
things which make life difficult but I have found solutions to some of
them.
5.12
Most of my comments, for obvious reasons, relate to the use of Impres
sion on the A4 but some are more generally applicable.
5.12
Problems in high ambient lighting
5.12
The first and most obvious problem is the difficulty of finding the
pointer and the cursor when you are working in high ambient lighting
conditions. I have a program for enlarging the pointer (I’ve put it on
this month’s program disc) but it isn’t ideal, so if someone can provide
us with an improved version, I’d be very grateful. The hourglass is big
enough but the double-pointer that appears in RISC-OS 3 when you are
dragging files is rather small and is easy to lose in high ambient
lighting conditions so if someone could write a program to change that,
again I’d be most grateful.
5.12
When using Impression in high ambient light, it was particularly
difficult to find the cursor so I edited the sprite file in the
Impression resources directory and blackened up the ‘ptr_caret19’ icon
which is used for the mouse pointer. This makes it more visible as it
moves over the text. However, I couldn’t find any way of blackening the
flashing text cursor itself. Does anyone know if it is possible to do so
without?
5.12
One thing I also noticed was that the lefthand side of the screen is
more strongly lit than the right hand side. Apparently this is because
the side lighting is from one side only. In practice, you soon get used
to it and hardly notice it.
5.12
Screen angle
5.12
It may be because I am tall, but I find that the angle of tilt of the
screen is not ideal. I like to have the screen so that I am looking at
it square on. Unfortunately, the A4 screen will not tip back far enough
for me, so I have had to get used to it being at a bit of an angle. I
could tip the whole A4 backwards a bit but it isn’t very good trying to
type with the keyboard tipped backwards. Indeed, some people would want
to have the keyboard angled forwards which would make the screen angle
even worse.
5.12
Battery manager
5.12
When I first saw the A4, I thought that the battery management on screen
was a little unnecessary − it duplicates the LCD display on the front of
the case, so why bother? However, having used it in a real life
situation, I find it extremely helpful to be able to see out of the
corner of my eye just how much ‘life’ I have got left. It even has an
arrow on it to show whether the batteries are charging or discharging.
This gives you some reassurance when the charger is connected because
you can see that it is actually charging. It also acts as a reminder if
you are using the computer in a situation where you could connect the
charger but haven’t thought to connect it.
5.12
Also, the LCD display only tells you if it’s 20%, 40%, 60%, etc whereas
the battery manager has a scale which gives a more accurate indication
of the battery life. Mind you, you have to be careful after you have
taken the battery pack out. The A4 Welcome Guide says that after taking
the battery pack out you can give the battery manager an estimate of the
charge held in the battery. It also says that you can revise your
estimate but, in my experience, once you have given an estimate, the
‘Estimate’ option is greyed out on the menu. The only way to change the
estimate, it seems, is to remove the battery again. After you have
removed the battery, the LCD display indicates that you have 20% charge
and it stays that way when you try to charge the battery. Then when it
is absolutely fully charged, it jumps straight up to 100%. I was
convinced that the A4 was malfunctioning because I saw that it was
staying at 20% even though it was apparently charging. The answer is not
to take the battery out unless you absolutely have to do so.
5.12
One thing to be careful of here is that, as it says in the A4 Release
Notes, the battery manager can get very confused if you take the battery
out but only for a few seconds. So, if you do take the battery pack out,
leave it out for, say, 30 seconds − and make sure that the battery
charger is not connected while you do so. In other words, give the
capacitors in the battery manager hardware plenty of time to discharge
fully.
5.12
Keyboard problems
5.12
The positioning of keys can cause some grief. The worst change in my
view is that they have swapped the positions of the <caps-lock> and
<ctrl> keys so that the <ctrl> key is down next to the front edge of the
keyboard. (This is the standard position on PC keyboards.) It means that
<ctrl-A>, <ctrl-S> and <ctrl-D>, which I use regularly for editing, are
not easy as to use as they were − neither are <ctrl-X>, <ctrl-C> and
<ctrl-V> for cutting and pasting. If anyone could write me a program
that would reverse the operation of these two keys, I would be most
grateful.
5.12
Those who are used to using smart quotes in Impression will find that it
is now a real pain. The open quotes are where you would expect them to
be (on the close square brackets key) but the close quotes have migrated
down to the bottom lefthand side of the keyboard just next to the
<shift> key because that is where Acorn have put the backslash key.
(Again, this is the standard position on PC keyboards.) Mind you, I
don’t think it’s fair to blame Acorn for this one. If CC had chosen open
and close brackets, with <ctrl>, to perform open and close inverted
commas, all would have been well − perhaps CC could be persuaded to
change this on the next version of Impression?!
5.12
The <delete> key has migrated to the front edge of the keyboard but,
fortunately, the <backspace> key above the <return> key is in vaguely
the same place as <delete> on the traditional Archimedes keyboard and
has the same effect in most applications.
5.12
Some of the <alt> key combinations that you may have become used to
using with Impression seem to work differently on the A4. For example,
the × character doesn’t come from <alt-,> but from <shift-alt-,> and ÷
comes as <shift-alt-.>.
5.12
Using different keyboards
5.12
We have done a bit of experimentation with different keyboards attached
to the A4. It says in the documentation that you need a PC-style AT
protocol keyboard with a 6-way mini-DIN plug − as used on PS/2 compu
ters. However, it doesn’t specifically say that you shouldn’t use the
standard Archimedes keyboard, so we tried one out. It plugs straight
into the side of the A4 and the mouse then has to be connected into the
keyboard instead of the normal mouse-hole on the side of the A4. It
appears to work − certainly, the keys work OK − but there are real
problems with the mouse. When dragging files, they are sometimes dropped
off en route to their destination − which can be a real nuisance at
times. Worse still, in the course of such a movement, it can even pick
up different files as it moves over the top of them. When I rang Acorn,
they confirmed that the A4 is NOT intended to be used with Acorn
keyboards. Never-the-less, you may not want to go to the expense of
buying a PC keyboard and we found that the Acorn keyboard was usable in
Impression, though I wouldn’t risk using the mouse to do any file
manipulation.
5.12
We looked through a PC magazine and found a suitable PC keyboard to try
out. It was a Compaq keyboard for a PS/2 and cost £75 +VAT. There may
have been cheaper ones but this one worked fine and had a good feel −
better than the A4’s own keyboard − though it still has some keys in the
‘wrong place’ as mentioned above.
5.12
The other problem of using external keyboards is that you lose the <Fn>
key. This doesn’t matter for mouse or numeric keypad emulation but it is
a nuisance that you cannot do a <Fn-F9> to invert the video or a <Fn-
F10> to switch off the hard drive. However, the former can be done
before you connect the external keyboard and the latter can be done
through <menu> on the battery manager if it is loaded.  A
5.12
Oak Solutions
5.12
From 5.11 page 4
5.12
The DTP Column
5.12
Richard Else
5.12
I am devoting the majority of this month’s column to a review of two new
hand-held scanners. The effective use of images is a key element within
DTP work, and both these scanners make the job of putting original art
work into a document a lot easier. But first, our regular business...
5.12
Impression Hints & Tips
5.12
Ŷ•    Problems with version 2.17 − If you are having problems with version
2.17 − such as the machine hanging up when you select large areas of
text − don’t blame Impression! Basically, what is happening is that CC
have implemented message-passing via the Wimp for their thesaurus and
these messages are rather large. This is a perfectly valid thing to do
under Acorn’s RISC-OS programming guidelines but not all filing systems
have been written to allow for such large messages and they end up over-
writing areas of memory − hence the crashes. Filing system versions
known to be a problem are:
5.12
    Oak SCSI version 1.11
5.12
    Ian Copestake IDE version 1.13,
5.12
    Serial Port IDE version 1.01, March ’91
5.12
CC say... “If your Archimedes gives problems, contact your Acorn
supplier or the appropriate company. Please do not contact Computer
Concepts − these problems are not caused by Impression but by the filing
system.”
5.12
The Oak SCSI filer 1.11 has been replaced by version 1.16 but this ‘new’
version (actually two years old!) is available through Archive as an
upgrade for £12 inc VAT.
5.12
The ICS filer 1.13 can be swapped for version 1.14 as a free EPROM
exchange from ICS. They also have a completely re-written IDE filer
(version 2) which is available from them for £15 +VAT. The customer
returns the old EPROM afterwards.
5.12
The Serial Port filer 1.01 can be replaced with 1.02 as a free upgrade −
in this case, just send the floppy disc back to The Serial Port and they
will replace it.
5.12
• Using borders − From David Wooldridge comes one of those tips that is
obvious to the initiated but might be new to some users. When choosing a
border in the Alter Frame window (view mode), don’t forget you can see
the various borders by pointing at the white border in the window and
pressing menu. A border picker window opens, allowing you to select from
all the available borders. This tip is in the manual but, as we all
know, not everyone reads manuals − own up, please, if this is new to
you! (Me for one! Ed.)
5.12
The Readers Write!
5.12
• Laser Jet printing with RISC-OS3 − Gerald Fitton (of Pipeline fame!)
has experienced a problem when using RISC-OS 3, !Printers, Laser Jet II
and Impression. He has found that documents in the portrait format print
7 mm out of position on the vertical axis and are offset 5mm to the
right. This occurs even when the page borders are set to 0 mm. If he
increases the latter figure, the print out is further out of position.
As Gerald says, ‘What I need is a minus value for my borders. Help!’ Has
anyone else come across this particular problem?
5.12
• Keeping track of Draw and Sprite files − In Archive 5.9 p37 Steve
Hutchinson was asking advice on keeping track of his Draw and sprite
files and was recommended two viewing applications. There is also an
easy hardcopy method namely !PicList which was on the Acorn User October
1991 disc after being upgraded from the May version. The application
makes a set of sprite “pages” containing any Draw or sprite pictures
that are dropped into it. The pictures are displayed in a grid and are
labelled with their name/path above them. The application is easy to use
from the iconbar having options to:
5.12
•    Set up the size of the “page” (defaults to print size if a driver is
loaded),
5.12
•    Set the number of columns and rows required − depending on the
required detail of each picture,
5.12
•    Set the screen mode for the resultant “pages”,
5.12
•    Choose the path/name format to name each picture.
5.12
You can drop directories onto the icon and several pages are generated.
The pages can be stepped through to view and saved to make a hardcopy of
each page. Alan Wilburn, Hartlepool.
5.12
• Auto destruct! − In the Hints and Tips section of the June edition of
Archive, there was a mention of possible problems with the auto-save
facility of Impression under the title “Auto-destruct!”. Version 2.16
(and 2.17) of Impression does not appear to be as dangerous in this
respect. If the auto-save facility is turned on but with the “With
prompt” switch left off, a prompt will still appear on-screen before the
first time the document is auto-saved.
5.12
This also occurs the first time the document is auto-saved after it has
been reloaded. It is mentioned in the Impression 2.15 release notes on
pages 1 and 3.
5.12
Still on the subject of Impression, I have two problems that readers of
Archive may be interested in:
5.12
Spelling checker − If you check and replace a misspelled word by using
<Ctrl-W> to invoke the spelling checker, this appears to work correctly
except that if you have typed nothing after the word, it also has the
effect of <Ctrl-B> and returns you to basestyle. Obviously the solution
is to always type at least a space after the word before using <Ctrl-W>.
5.12
PrintBJ (the extension module to print draft text) − This makes a
reasonable attempt at interpreting styles as far as different fonts and
font sizes are concerned but seems unable to cope with rulers or effects
that control the position of the text on the page. Tabs it gets
completely wrong, right aligned text is centred, centred text is centred
but using a page width about three quarters of the actual width. This is
using the Canon BJ-10e. I have phoned Computer Concepts who suggested I
wrote enclosing example documents both printed and on disc. This I did
several months ago and have not received a reply. Has anyone else
experienced these problems or indeed found a solution? Nick Edgar,
Doncaster.
5.12
I can understand Nick’s problems and only print out in graphics format.
My method of working for proofing documents is always to print at a
lower resolution − and hence achieve a quicker print out. Users of the
Deskjet 500 have the option of using the draft mode on the printer for
this purpose and leaving the resolution set on the driver unchanged.
5.12
DTP Swap area
5.12
Mike Binks has asked to be included on our “swaps” list − but then makes
a confession. He admits to being unable to “draw with either a pencil or
computer to save my life”. If you would like to share some of your
handiwork with Mike, then contact him at 3 Old Hall Drive, Newton
Stewart, Dumfries and Galloway  DG8 6HZ. This is one way to reach a
wider and appreciative audience!
5.12
Scanners Review
5.12
Scanning is one area where both the hardware and software seem to be
continually improving and where the possibilities for the use of scanned
images within DTP keeps increasing. This month I am looking at two
scanners towards the lower end of the price range. Both will give up to
400 dpi and 256 grey levels. From Computer Concepts there is ScanLight
256, which now uses a Mustek Matador scanner and an updated version of
their software (v2.00). The latter is available as a separate upgrade
for existing users of ScanLight 256 but it should be noted that the new
scanning head allows full width scans at all resolutions including 300
and 400 dpi. The other scanner − Scan 256 − is a new offering from
Watford Electronics and is their first hand held scanner to give 256
grey levels.
5.12
Both packages were tested on an upgraded A400 series machine with 4M of
ram, an 80M hard disc, and with an ARM 3 installed. Although the Watford
Scan 256 has some features that only run under RISC-OS 3, I thought the
A400 machine the most useful one to use for the tests because the
majority of owners are still working with RISC-OS 2. On the same
principle, I produced hard copy via Impression to an Ink Jet printer,
rather than a laser. I also used a variety of images from original
photographs with a wide tonal range to poorly reproduced old maps and
historic climbing pictures! All these were usually scanned either at 300
or 200 dpi and at 256 grey levels. To test the monochrome abilities of
each set up, I used text items taken from various sources.
5.12
Scan 256
5.12
The Watford package comprises the scanner itself, a board to fit into
the backplane, a comprehensive instruction manual and software which
also includes a copy of !ChangeFSI. Installation was straightforward and
took a matter of minutes. First impressions were of a well thought out
package; for example, setting either the resolution switch or choosing
between 256 grey levels and monochrome on the scan head automatically
alters the software setting on screen. There is a good preview window
which enables you to see the image immediately as the scan proceeds. The
choice is between one of four resolution settings (100, 200, 300, 400
dpi) and 256 greys levels (at both full and half width, with the latter
offering a resultant saving on memory), monochrome and two halftone
modes.
5.12
Watford’s innovative approach is seen when an image is scanned in and it
appears in the first of four image buffers. The idea is that you can
then manipulate the image in a number of ways and direct it to another
image buffer. For example, you can have the original scan in buffer one
and an altered version in buffer two. You can then put a different
altered version of either the original image (from buffer one) or the
manipulated one (from buffer two) into buffer three and so on. The
advantage of this method is that various images can be compared and the
most appropriate one saved. However, you do need sufficient memory for
this: even on a 4M machine, you soon run out of memory if you scan
sizeable images at 300 or 400 dpi and at 256 grey levels! Nevertheless,
for the majority of scans, it does offer a very quick and reassuring way
of working. Inevitably, the best work is the result of experimentation
and it is helpful to be able to compare different treatments of the same
image.
5.12
The accompanying manual is well laid out − and it needs to be because
there are so many different ways to modify your image. There’s a
sophisticated brightness and contrast menu which allows manipulation by
directly entering appropriate values for both factors or, alternatively,
there’s an option to display the grey level map and alter the display by
dragging the mouse pointer along it. If you opt for the latter, the grey
levels alter to give an indication of the new map, which I felt gave an
intuitive feel to the whole process. Alternatively, you can choose to
call up the gamma correction box and enter a different value in it.
5.12
The image can be further refined by a staggering array of enhancement
and smoothing filters and edge detection. Additionally, when changing an
image from a grey level one to a monochrome one, you can alter the
threshold value at which the change from black to white occurs, which
provides a number of special effects.
5.12
I have always found that getting the best scan is a time-consuming
activity and experimentation is certainly the order of the day here −
what ‘improves’ a line drawing or a poorly printed image may have the
opposite effect with a good, continuous tone photograph. The software
also provides a neat front end link to !ChangeFSI which also provides
further options for manipulation. However, the examples I used did not
significantly benefit from using it, which is probably a compliment to
the Watford software.
5.12
However, !ChangeFSI does provide one useful feature for users of RISC-OS
2 and that is the ability to rotate the image, although to take
advantage of this you need to save the image as a sprite and drop it
directly onto the !ChangeFSI icon. Unfortunately, you can only rotate
the image by + or − 90 degrees, which will severely limit flexibility at
the present time for most users. This, in contrast to the rest of the
program, is cumbersome, although, to be fair, users of RISC-OS 3 are
able to rotate images and shear them anyway − the latter option serving
to correct any skew present in a scan.
5.12
One final note serves to illustrate the imaginative thinking behind Scan
256 and that is the ability to save images not only as traditional
sprites (although not as sprites within drawfiles − see below) but also
in TIFF and AIM format with the possibility of GIF being supported at a
later date.
5.12
ScanLight 256
5.12
Computer Concepts’ ScanLight 256 has both a new scanning head and new
software to accompany it. It offers two important developments. Firstly,
it will now give full width scans at all resolutions and, secondly, the
software has been rewritten and offers many improvements over the
original version. I always feel that Computer Concepts products are
extremely well packaged and this scanner is no exception. It comes with
two booklets − a smaller one specifically dealing with the Mustek head
and a larger one devoted to general usage with an excellent section,
complete with photographs, devoted to the enhancement options. Installa
tion was similarly a matter of a few minutes with detailed instructions
for all Acorn computers.
5.12
Although you need to select resolution and grey levels on both the
scanner head and on the software separately, and notwithstanding a
preview window of more limited value than Scan256, the ScanLight 256
scores highly in other areas.
5.12
This package offers just two windows, namely an original and an altered
view but it is possible to manipulate an image and then transfer it to
the original window and continue with further work on it. It is wise,
therefore, to save both the original scan and the various intermediate
stages. There are pros and cons to this approach and, whilst you cannot
simultaneously compare a number of variants, memory requirements are
kept to a minimum.
5.12
At the heart of the Computer Concepts software is the commendably clear
toolbox window which offers facilities to rotate the image by any chosen
angle and to sample at various levels (particularly useful with images
taken from non-original sources) and also has enhanced grey map editing
facilities. The latter includes quick methods of altering brightness and
contrast and six grey map presets which serve as a short cut. Further
grey map settings are also provided on disc and you can save your own
settings independently of the image, thus building up a selection of
settings that best suit your work. Computer Concepts have also made
direct editing of the grey map a lot easier because it now has a number
of control points on it. You simply select either a line or a curve
option and drag them as appropriate to alter the grey map. You can then
add to these control points, as necessary, to give a wide degree of
creativity. This takes a little getting used to but, once mastered,
gives an intuitive and flexible system.
5.12
New in this version are a wide range of ‘enhance’ options which are
offered in fine, medium and high versions: grey reflect changes pure
white and black to black, and inverts grey tones; sharpen exaggerates
the boundary between grey tones with blur providing the opposite effect.
Also available are transition detection (a solarization type of effect),
darken and lighten transitions, edge detect and lighten/darken edge, a
‘clever’ sharpen, noise remove and shadow.
5.12
There are two points worth noting here. Firstly, whilst there appear to
be fewer options than with the Watford system, these are logically laid
out and therefore easy to master. Secondly, the effects are not
cumulative, so you can try one and if the result is unsatisfactory, you
can immediately apply another.
5.12
In this new version of the ScanLight software, there is also the ability
to cache the image providing sufficient memory is available. The
advantages of this include a very fast screen update when other windows,
etc are dragged over it and faster copying when using the ‘copy to
original’ facility. Finally, the image can be saved either as a sprite
file or as a drawfile. The latter is actually just a sprite file within
a drawfile but it has the advantage that it can contain information
about the image’s size.
5.12
Computer Concepts v Watford
5.12
I am afraid you will be disappointed if you are looking for an obvious
“best buy”, because it is difficult to make a definitive choice between
these packages. I found that virtually all scans benefited from some
image processing and both packages, in their different ways, produced
excellent final results. I tried to get the best results on screen using
identical images with both Scan 256 and ScanLight 256, and then printed
them alongside each other. In the majority of instances, the results
were virtually identical, and on the few occasions that this was not the
case, I went back and successfully “improved” the poorer of the two
images. This would point to a failure on my part rather than the
equipment! Only in a couple of instances was one scanner significantly
better than the other and, as you might guess, once it was the Watford
one, the other time it was the Computer Concepts system.
5.12
To summarise: Watford’s Scan256 offers good preview facilities, the use
of image buffers (very useful if you have 4M − or more!), the ability to
save in a range of formats and a wide range of options to modify the
original image. Counting against it, for me at least, is the need for
more experimentation before the best results are obtained. Computer
Concepts offers a package that is easy to master, has the ability to
rotate images with RISC-OS 2, has clarity within the menu structure
(including some key short cuts) and has the ability to save in drawfile
format.
5.12
In the final analysis, it is the quality of the image that counts −
trying a variety of images on both packages, I obtained outstanding
results from each. What is pleasing is that this quality can be obtained
for a relatively modest outlay and when you consider that both packages
include such a variety of image manipulation software, I would consider
either a bargain. Scan 256 from Watford Electronics is priced at £185 +
VAT and ScanLight 256 from Computer Concepts is £199 + VAT (or £225
through Archive). Incidentally, registered owners of Computer Concepts’
earlier 256 hand-held scanner can obtain the software upgrade by
contacting CC and quoting their serial number. The cost of £10 + VAT
includes the upgrade disc and new manual and is highly recommended.
5.12
In a future column, I will be looking at scanners from Irlam Instruments
− including their colour scanner based Epson GT-6000 − and discussing
various ways of altering images for use within DTP documents.  A
5.12
Aliens, LookSmArt & SmArtoons
5.12
Ian O’Hara
5.12
Ever since I first saw SmArt, I was hooked on the program and thought it
was great. I did have a problem answering one question concerning it
that was put to me. One advisory teacher said “Yes, it looks great, but
how would you use it in the classroom?” All I could answer was that it
was a superb source of clip art. These three discs do help to provide an
answer as they all contain ideas about what they could be used for.
5.12
Aliens contains data to produce ten basic sorts of inter-galatic alien.
However, with the ability to swap head, legs, arms, tentacles, etc, the
ten basic varieties expand enormously. Two files are provided − one
giving full frontals and the other profiles. There is also a file of
backgrounds ranging from a tropical beach to a city and a lunar
landscape.
5.12
LookSmArt has four files. Dolittle produces a vast array of different
animal heads. It would be great for illustrating what you caught on your
last hunting trip up the Zambezi. Sentiment offers faces with a whole
range of different expressions. Talk draws heads with the mouth
pronouncing various sounds. The last file, Unwanted, is designed to
produce ‘wanted’ posters.
5.12
SmArtoons contains eight files of cartoon animals ranging from a bunny
to a vulture. While the basic type of animal can’t be changed, they can
be put into a very large number of poses. There are also files of trees,
cyclists, a skeleton and two sorts of background. The disc also contains
what I think is the most useful file which is called poser. It is
basically a very up-market match-stick man. You can use this to produce
a huge number of human figures which can be saved, imported into a
program like Draw or Vector, and clothed. It makes “drawing” figures
very easy. You can also put the limbs in some very odd positions.
5.12
Most of the ideas presented with these discs are based around stimulat
ing imaginative writing. For instance, the page of ideas that came with
the Wanted file included a poem about the character depicted. Talking
with one member of the English department, I discovered that this was
almost what she had just finished doing with a year 7 class. She would
have liked to have used the heads and put them together with text into a
DTP package.
5.12
Aliens, SmArtoons and Look SmArt each cost £18 through Archive.  A
5.12
Snippet Upgrade
5.12
Jochen Konietzko
5.12
Since my review of Snippet, the screen grabber / sprite editor, in
Archive 5.7, p60, a new version (2.40) has appeared which contains a
number of enhancements. In this article, I will point out the changes
which have occurred.
5.12
The package
5.12
The disk contains the outline font manager and two copyrighted outline
font families (Montclair and Tabloid), similar to Trinity and Homerton.
5.12
The 50 page instruction leaflet has been rewritten quite extensively.
The authors now take it for granted that you are familiar with RISC-OS
and only explain the particulars of Snippet. One very useful addition is
a second table of contents, showing all the relevant menus, with page
numbers beside each item.
5.12
The program itself has grown by 36k, so that the maximum amount of
memory needed (including both relocatable modules) now is 311k.
5.12
The icon bar menu
5.12
A preferences window has been added, which gives you a lot of control
over the way Snippet starts running.
5.12
The screen grabber
5.12
The only change I can find here is the option to grab a screen with a
time delay. This is nicely done − a count-down timer attaches itself to
the pointer and keeps you informed.
5.12
The sprite editor
5.12
Changes to the editor are in three areas.
5.12
1) The program seems much more stable now. I have so far found no
utility or module which creates a problem when active together with
Snippet.
5.12
2) The operation of the editor has been improved in many small ways. The
active window now has a highlighted title bar; its contents can be saved
by pressing <f3> or <ctrl-shift-f3> in normal or compressed format;
sprites can be moved to other sprite files by dragging; some menus have
been rearranged; there is a key combination which is supposed to free
the machine if Snippet should crash fatally − but because the new
version has (so far) never crashed, I don’t know if this feature works!
One thing which has not changed (I simply forgot to mention it in the
first review) is that nearly every feature can be called up in three
ways − from a toolbox, from a menu or with one of 48 keyboard shortcuts.
5.12
3) A number of powerful new features have been added:
5.12
“ Many operations can now be performed on whole groups of sprites inside
the same sprite file.
5.12
“ Sprites can be rotated and sheared − an angle can be set for any font
(these options are available only in RISC OS 3).
5.12
“ A multi-tasking magnifier can be run as a backdrop. It covers the
whole screen (advisable only with an ARM 3, because the ARM 2 slows down
considerably when the magnifier is active).
5.12
“ Several views of the same sprite can be opened simultaneously (up to
26, depending on the number of other windows on your screen). Each view
can show a different magnification − up to 2400% − and a different
selected colour. Additional views apparently don’t occupy any additional
RAM.
5.12
“ In addition to the two colour boxes (16 or 256 colours respectively)
which appear only when you click on <Adjust>, there is now a third one
which stays on the screen once you have opened it. This window contains
both a 16 colour and a 256 colour palette and can show the desktop
colours, user defined colours or the old BBC colours.
5.12
“ The size of a sprite can be changed in several ways from a menu. There
is now no need to zoom a sprite and use the screen grabber.
5.12
“ The option to fill a screen area (called “Replace colour” in Paint)
now includes graduated fills (256 colour modes only). You choose the two
colours at the ends of the graduation (bottom of the picture above) and
sixteen colours are inserted to give as smooth a blend as possible.
5.12
Here are some examples for the end “colours” black and white:
5.12
Price
5.12
Snippet is produced by 4Mation Educational Resources, 14 Castle Park
Road, Barnstaple, Devon  EX32 8PA. It costs £37.50 +VAT (£40 from
Archive). The price for an update from any previous version is £8.50
+VAT (from 4Mation only). If you send an s.a.e. to 4Mation, you will
receive a working demo (with the save option disabled) free of charge.
5.12
Conclusion
5.12
Snippet is now a piece of software that definitely goes beyond the
official description of a “sprite utility”. It is just the thing for
those who, like me, have to produce pixel graphics occasionally, but
don’t really need one of the big, all singing, all dancing art packages.
In my opinion, it is certainly worth the money!
5.12
(Postscript
5.12
In my previous review, I claimed that Snippet had no 256 colour palette.
This is not in fact true. The reason for this error was that I changed
to a 256 colour screen mode but then looked at a 16 colour sprite
without converting it to the new mode first. Sorry about that!)  A
5.12
Multimedia Column
5.12
Ian Lynch
5.12
I received a letter from Mike Cook this month − can you guess what it
was about? Well, I rang Mike and we had a chat about graphics and
Acorn’s future intentions. The first thing to come out of this is that I
had misinterpreted Mike’s comments on ‘chip set’ and made comments about
‘processor family’. The point he was making was that Apple use com
pletely different support chips for the processor in a Ci compared to a
Cx. Mike interprets Acorn’s concentration on the processor as an
indication that they are only interested in ‘cracking the Unix market’.
He believes that ARM2 was good enough and that the first priority should
have been to redesign VIDC and MEMC.
5.12
Strategy
5.12
Personally, I doubt that Acorn will ‘crack’ the Unix market without
better graphics support since many people use Unix workstations for
graphics modelling and top end multimedia. Acorn must know this. There
has recently been a lot of media coverage of the Apple Newton which uses
an ARM 600 processor. Have you seen how Acorn shares have risen
recently? From 6p to 36p in a few weeks. I am sure this was not due to
the imminent release of the A4! Perhaps Acorn’s interest in processor
development was not such a strategically bad move for the company after
all. It could be that Acorn will earn more via their 40% share in ARM
Ltd than they will from manufacturing RISC-OS or Unix computers. Time
will tell, but if it makes the company more viable, it is likely to be
good for Archimedes users.
5.12
Back to colour palettes
5.12
Mike reckons that £6.50 would pay for the on-board hardware to give a
full and unrestricted 8 bit colour as used in the PCAT’s graphics
enhancer and he does know what he is talking about. The real problem is
software support and file compatibility. I remember Mark Goodall at
Computer Concepts remonstrating over the 16 grey level restriction two
years ago and so Acorn have been very slow to put this right.
5.12
Better late than never
5.12
I have heard some strong rumours about agreement on 24-bit file formats
amongst Acorn and developers and a format for 256 grey level sprites is,
I believe, already agreed. (Perhaps someone could provide details
through Archive.) As Rob Davidson points out, RISC-OS3 has better (if
not perfect) colour support and so all we need now is the hardware.
5.12
Improved video
5.12
What has all this to do with multimedia? Well, as I said last month, it
is all to do with improved video. One striking way that the A310
improved on the BBC B was in the way graphics and animation could be
improved. An A5000 is better than an upgraded A310 with ARM3 because it
is much faster in hi-res graphics modes and therefore is more convenient
to use. I expect that the next Acorn machine (A7000 with an ARM 700 and
16 bit VIDC?) will handle 16 bit stereo sound and at least 15 bit
unrestricted colour from a 24 bit palette, perhaps with a supremacy bit
for keying video captions.
5.12
A broadcast quality screen with 2 bytes for each pixel would take up
800k. With the present methods of using system memory for graphics, at
least 4M of RAM would be needed for practical use and a screen would
consist of 400k ARM words.
5.12
Millipede
5.12
Millipede Electronics have produced graphics boards for Acorn machines
for some time, starting in 1985 on a BBC B. Since then they have moved
on to the Archimedes Prisma 3. Millipede’s boards are used by several UK
broadcast companies providing graphics for the Budget and recent General
Election coverage in some regions and also for TV game shows at home and
abroad.
5.12
The ultimate expansion board?
5.12
About to be released is the Apex Imager which is a 32 bit per pixel
video graphics board designed to meet TV standards. This board will
perform real time colour frame grabbing and broadcast specification
genlock and is aimed at television and video production, colour image
analysis top end presentation graphics and... wait for it...  multime
dia.
5.12
Technical spec
5.12
The Apex Imager board will come as a double width podule and provide a
full 32 bits per pixel RGBK capability. This provides a full 8 bits per
pixel for each of Red, Green and Blue, the primary colours which when
combined provide 16.7 million colours. In addition to this, the 4th 8-
bits provide an alpha channel which provides each pixel with any of 256
levels of transparency. This can be used to determine how two pictures
fade into each other, are overlaid or can be combined. For example,
windows could be moved in front of and behind live video with variable
degrees of transparency and cross fade.
5.12
The spatial resolution of the board is 702 × 575 pixels interlaced which
is the TV broadcast standard. There is an option to use a CCIR601 input/
output interface which would enable linkage to other studio equipment
with images transferred digitally in real time.
5.12
Software
5.12
The board uses an on-board ARM 3 coupled to a local frame store of up to
16M. (A 64M option using ARM600 is likely to be available in the near
future.) The operating system, AGILE has some similarity to RISC-OS and
allows downloading of modules in a similar way. Indeed, parts of RISC-OS
have been licensed from Acorn and extended to 32 bits per pixel. This
familiar operating environment should help encourage software develop
ment in areas such as painting, 3-D graphics, titling and animation.
5.12
Custom chips
5.12
In order to move and manipulate images in real time, four custom
designed P3 (Pixel Pipeline Processor) chips are employed on each board.
These chips are presented in a 208 pin pack and contain 150,000
transistors. At 13.5 MHz it can perform the 54 million pipe-lined
arithmetic operations per second required to support multiple hardware
windows with programmable transparency.
5.12
Costs
5.12
The price of a 16M Apex card is expected to be a little under £4,000
which makes it a very expensive add on for a home user or school. It is,
however, ludicrously cheap when compared to the price and complexity of
the studio equipment it is designed to replace and an even lower cost 4M
option will also be available. Compared to multimedia applications on
Sun and upper end Macs, the combined price and performance of an A5000
with an Apex board fitted is likely to be stunning.
5.12
Designer boards
5.12
In order to satisfy the demand for a lower cost board for design and DTP
applications, Millipede have been working on APEX Designer. Unfor
tunately, a chip specific to this board has caused problems and its
redesign has resulted in a considerable delay. Millipede think that by
the time they get the board into production, VIDC2 may have eclipsed it.
The specification for the board is to display 256 colours from a 24 bit
palette at a resolution of 1280 × 1024 non-interlaced. In addition, 32
bits per pixel at a resolution of 640 × 512 and perhaps 600 × 800 (SVGA)
would be possible.
5.12
Compatibility
5.12
As previously mentioned, the problem with all these boards is file
format and, at best, limited RISC-OS compliance. If Millipede are
seriously concerned that the Apex Designer might be hit by the introduc
tion of VIDC2, perhaps this gives some clues to VIDC2 performance − but
perhaps not, since all this is speculation. Until there is widespread
acceptance of bitmap formats in varying resolutions and RISC-OS support
is guaranteed, video expansion boards will remain a niche market for
specialist applications. Multimedia is set to become a consumer product
via CD-I, and consumers of this and DTP are likely to demand more than
16 levels of grey whether they need it or not. As we all know, marketing
is about customer perception rather than need − otherwise half the
micros in the world would never have been purchased!  A
5.12
Colour Printing on a Monochrome Printer
5.12
Stuart Bell
5.12
This review is based on a program called !Coloursep which was originally
available direct from its author. The rights to the product have been
purchased by Ian Copestake Software. This article should therefore be
considered as more of a pre-view introducing the idea of colour
separations. When the improved version is available, we will provide
some extra comments.
5.12
To send a query to the Help! column and receive, by way of reply, a
review copy of the software that, apparently, was just what I was
looking for, was a quite remarkable experience!
5.12
It started with my ordering some black ink refills for my HP DeskJet
Plus printer from a company called System Insight. A day or so after the
refills arrived, so did their catalogue including details of a range of
coloured inks. With the right software, and the use of cyan, magenta,
yellow and black (or ‘key’) inks (hereafter [C,M,Y,K]), by using
multiple passes of the same sheet of paper through the printer with
[C,M,Y,K] ink cartridges loaded in turn, full colour output from
normally monochrome printers is possible.
5.12
Also, for the production of full colour documents, printers usually
require the [C,M,Y,K] separations, on four separate sheets. (This is an
alternative to providing the separations on PostScript files, using
Expression-PS in the Impression Business Supplement.) These separations
are only in black, so no special inks are needed. However, the logic of
the separation process must still be performed.
5.12
The problem, of course, is the ‘right software’. System Insight could
supply a suitable package for PCs and Amigas but that was all. In the
April Archive, it was hinted that colour separation might be a feature
of Impression III but that’s not expected in 1992. Computer Concepts
tell me that their new Artworks package will definitely offer this
facility but that’s not available yet and, in any case, not everyone
will want to buy it just for colour separation. Hence my Help! request
and then a phone call from Brian Cowan offering to pass on, for review,
a copy of some software that seemed to be just what I was looking for.
5.12
!ColourSep
5.12
This software will take a file produced by any application and produce
the required colour separation. It apparently achieves this by inter
cepting calls made by any printer driver to the ColourTrans module and
filtering the information so that only data relevant to the required
colour [C,M,Y,K] is passed and thus printed.
5.12
The manual (8 page, A6 size), is one of the most impressively presented
documents I’ve yet seen for Archimedes software. Why? Because it’s in
colour, of course! Screen shots are exactly as you’ll see them.
5.12
The manual has five main sections. The first is an introduction to the
concept of [C,M,Y,K] colour separation and the second a description of
how to load !ColourSep onto the iconbar, how to activate it when any
application next uses the RISC-OS printer driver and how to obtain a
preview colour separation on the screen. The manual notes that there can
be problems with !Paint files without a colour palette, because it does
not use the ColourTrans module under such conditions. The actual printed
output will, however, be correct.
5.12
The third section explains how to use four passes of the printhead to
get full colour. It notes that the best results are obtained if the
order is [Y,C,M,K] and suggests that, with the correct colour ribbons,
even dot-matrix printers could be used.
5.12
The next section describes the main menu which offers four options:
Info, Quit, Save Choices and Ink setup, and the final section gives more
details of this last option, Ink Setup, which allows the separation to
be configured for the particular shades of ink which your printer uses.
Each nominal C, M or Y can be calibrated using the familiar RGB bars.
5.12
!ColourSep in use
5.12
The application itself comes on an unprotected disc together with
various !Draw files designed to demonstrate !ColourSep. In addition,
there’s an application, !ColorChrt, which produces an RGB colour chart
as a drawfile which can be saved by dragging its icon to a directory.
5.12
Once loaded, !ColourSep requires only 32k of application memory.
Clicking <select> on the !ColourSep opens a ‘Produce Colour Separations’
window from which a separation of the current screen, in any of
[C,M,Y,K], can be obtained. On loading, ‘K’ is selected, thus showing
black text correctly. Selecting the other colours when you have a
coloured drawfile (or another file such as Impression) loaded causes the
separation for that colour to be displayed on the screen. If the file is
then printed whilst that colour is selected, then that separation will
be printed.
5.12
If decent full-colour images are to be produced, there are three
requirements of the system. The first is the software. !ColourSep seems
to do all that is required. I am encouraged by the fact that Michael
Simpson, who wrote the software, made a number of useful improvements to
the package in the light of my comments and he promises some sort of
free upgrade plan for those who purchase !ColourSep.
5.12
Coloured inks
5.12
The second requirement is that suitable inks are available. Thanks are
due to System Insight who kindly supplied three empty cartridges and
their full-colour printing kit of [C,M,Y,K] inks so that I could review
the software properly. On any system, matching on-screen colours to
those printed is either very hit-and-miss or incredibly complicated and
expensive.
5.12
I doubt if those using this system will expect to be able to fine-tune
it so that a particular shade of, for example, Prussian Blue, will be
printed, rather than any one of the several hundred alternative blues
which high-powered colour DTP systems provide. We are interested,
primarily, in close approximations to fairly distinct colours, printed
boldly and cleanly. The Ink Setup option in !ColourSep allows an
empirical (i.e. ‘suck-it-and-see’) approach to colour matching.
5.12
This aim is achieved. The !ColorChrt application produces an RGB colour
chart with remarkably subtle colours, and other images depend only on
the skill of the artist producing the original image.
5.12
It has to be said that, at £25 each, refilled ink cartridges for [C,M,Y]
are not cheap, although a [C,M,Y,K] pack of inks, with cleaner to allow
the re-use of old black cartridges, at £34.95, is far less costly. Both
Mr Simpson and I have had some problems with cleaning old cartridges. He
comments, ‘In my experience when refilling black ink cartridges with
coloured inks, it is necessary to clean them more than just the once
suggested in the instructions accompanying the refills. I have found
that, after refilling the cartridges, the solvent in the new ink
dissolves any residual black ink left in the cartridge and the new ink
can become seriously discoloured. For this reason, I purchased a 500cc
bottle of Isopropyl alcohol (£2) from my local chemist and used this to
clean the cartridges several times before refilling them. Of course this
is only necessary the first time a cartridge is refilled or if refilling
was unsuccessful due to inadequate cleaning.’
5.12
Although System Insight had provided me with clean cartridges to test
the system, I tried cleaning an old one. The instructions indicate that
the process can be a little messy, with such phrases as, ‘Continue until
ink drips from the cartridge’. Significantly, disposable gloves are
provided. Cleaning fluid is injected into the cartridge from a squeez
able bottle and then expelled by injecting air using the now empty
bottle. During this process, I accidentally released the pressure
between cartridge and bottle, and was rewarded by a spray of cleaning
fluid and ink in the face and over my shirt. My fault, I know, but
beware!
5.12
I had a similar lack of success with injecting the new ink. The
principle is that you use a narrow brass tube to put the new coloured
ink into the cartridge. In an Archive article a while ago, someone
reported problems with trying to refill cartridges with syringes which
had needles too short to reach the sponge inside. I found the same
problem with the tube, in that, once the small volume above the sponge
is full, the ink over-flows. I transferred the inks using my (long-
needled) syringe and all was well. Or rather, it would have been if I’d
used the supplied thin plastic gloves on both hands from the start. The
manual with the inks says that ‘Ink may stain fingers and surfaces’.
That is true but it is an understatement. Ink will undoubtedly stain
fingers! As I write, my [C,M,Y] fingers are quite distinctive, to say
nothing of my apparently blood-splattered mouse!
5.12
You must also be careful that the ‘parking area’ for the cartridge in
the printer is not contaminated by black ink, otherwise the cartridges
with coloured ink will print with a grey tint. Further, bringing out the
colour cartridges from their sealed plastic bags to print a page
requires that you first check that each prints evenly, with no print
holes blocked, before use. Finding one missing line with the ‘K’
cartridge after the [Y,C,M] cartridges have done their job is very
annoying.
5.12
Registration
5.12
The third requirement is that the printer provides accurate registra
tion. In other words, that on each pass of the page it is in the same
place so that the colours are printed in the correct physical relation
ship to each other. (You may remember the early days of colour in
newspapers, when registration often left a lot to be desired, with awful
colour being the consequence!) Spot colour – the use of single colours
to brighten up a document – as on the front cover of Archive, also
requires good registration if areas of colour are to be correctly
aligned with the (usually black) text.
5.12
To test my DeskJet Plus, I produced a complex Impression document with
words in each of C, M, Y and K in turn and printed all four separations
on the same piece of paper but always using black ink. Frankly, I was
quite amazed by the result. The apparently basic paper handling system
on the DeskJet produces surprisingly good registration. Quantification
of the greatest error is difficult; it’s no more than the depth of the
narrowest part of the horizontal bar of a ‘T’ in Trinity font at 12.5pt
font size!
5.12
The !ColourSep manual was printed with a Canon BJ-10e printer and also
shows excellent registration.
5.12
Conclusions
5.12
Manual colour separations on a monochrome printer will always be too
time-consuming for commercial use. Further, the absolute quality will
never be up to producing masters for glossy full colour magazines. For
that type of work, producing PostScript separations for type-setters is
the best method. For small scale work for those without something like
the HP DeskJet 500C colour printer, then !ColourSep offers a cost-
effective solution.
5.12
Between them, !ColourSep and System Insight’s range of coloured inks
offer a technique to produce full-colour output on a standard ink-jet
printer and I have been very happy with the help offered by both
software author and ink supplier. It could even be argued that results
with this system will be better than those obtainable with a DeskJet
500C printer, due to the use of ‘K’ ink to give ‘depth’ to an image and
the greater range of shades available in comparison with existing 500C
printer drivers. The !ColourSep software is device-independent and
should work with any printer driver. The inks are not cheap – but
they’re still a factor of a hundred cheaper than the lowest cost colour
laser printer.
5.12
So, the software is fine and the inks themselves are good. Before I
actually tried cleaning and refilling cartridges, I thought this whole
idea was brilliant. Now, I’m not too sure. I really would have liked to
end on a more positive note but I’m not at all happy about the cartridge
cleaning and filling process. Asking an employee to do it could
conceivably breach the Health and Safety at Work Act. Also, it’s
certainly not my belief that computing in the 1990s should require one
to dress up as if ready for the next thermo-nuclear attack.
5.12
System Insight are at Unit 2, Hertfordshire Business Centre, Alexander
Road, London Colney, Herts  AL2 1JG. (0727−827200)  A
5.12
In line with our policy of allowing suppliers to ‘have their say’, we
have agreed to Ian Copestake’s request that we should print his
comments...
5.12
The above review was based on a very early version of ColourSep given to
Archive in the Spring. We felt readers would be much better informed if
Archive could wait another month for a proper release copy of ColourSep
as published by ICS, but the Editor disagreed. So here is an attempt to
bring you up-to-date.
5.12
The article describes the ColourSep manual in some detail. Please ignore
all this since it refers to a preliminary item which no longer exists.
The same applies to the description of the disc contents. ICS’ normal
upgrade policy will apply to the product (i.e. return your old disc with
four first class stamps).
5.12
We will be happy to supply coloured inks, empty cartridges and other
accessories ourselves but prices have not yet been finalised. The
ColourSep software is £25 + VAT, or £60 for a site licence.
5.12
The ink set-up process in ColourSep is a matter of calibration, not
‘suck-it-and-see’. Please do not suck the ink.
5.12
The concluding comments about ‘absolute quality’ relate to the printing
technology used, not to ColourSep. Current RISC-OS printer drivers can
only produce 256 shades in total. By separating the colours, ColourSep
allows 256 shades per ink colour. The results are far better than those
produced by any other means at present, even if you already have a
colour printer. ColourSep is just as valuable for DeskJet 500C users.
5.12
A key benefit for 500C users is not mentioned at all in the article.
This printer normally produces black by mixing three ink colours. The
result can be a soggy brown. ColourSep supports two-pass printing for
machines like this: one pass for colour and one for black (after
changing to black ink). This brings a big improvement in quality and a
saving in ink costs.
5.12
We expect to be able to supply pre-cleaned empty DeskJet cartridges.
However, cleaning and refilling are tasks which should be well within
the capabilities of most Acorn users. Ink kits are generally manufac
tured in the U.S. where health and safety requirements tend to be rather
strict. The ink will not, as far as we know, blow up in your face, and
the whole process is certainly no worse than changing the average laser
toner. (In any event the plastic gloves supplied are not what we will be
wearing ‘for the next thermo-nuclear attack’.)  A
5.12
Image Discs for Primary Schools
5.12
Alan Wilburn
5.12
Image Discs from Primary Education Services are produced to support a
number of curriculum areas in the Primary School. There are twenty-one
discs containing drawfiles and sprites within drawfiles. Each disc comes
in an A4 transparent folder (for easy storage in a ring binder)
containing a spare disc label to make a legal backup and an information
sheet with a sample of files printed on it. Each disc is £5 +VAT and
£1.50 p&p.
5.12
Uses
5.12
As a teacher, I look for drawfiles that I can use in a number of ways.
Detailed drawings are suitable for enlarging and printing via Poster for
display work and/or teaching diagrams. Drawings of reasonable standards
can be used to illustrate pupil worksheets that I produce and by the
children to add to their written work in Phases 2.
5.12
History
5.12
The Greek disc contains a temple, various columns, chariots, ships and
different soldiers. Romans covers maps of the empire, various toga
styles, soldiers, roads, gladiators and everyday utensils. Vikings has
maps of Britain showing Viking towns, everyday items, a farmstead, a
range of people’s clothing and boats. Most aspects of each era are
touched on, the only noticeable exception being the lack of pictures of
homes.
5.12
Space
5.12
This disc covers the shuttle, rockets, capsules and a spacesuit. There
are sets of files on each vehicle so they can be used for making
sequences of lift-off, docking, re-entry, moon landing, etc.
5.12
Leicestershire
5.12
The two discs are a set of resources for a study of the city and county.
There are a variety of maps covering bordering counties, towns and
rivers of the county. Famous historical people have files as does the
fox. There are some very good files on the coats of arms of both city
and county. Sprite files of the clock tower and statues in Leicester are
included for local study.
5.12
Animals
5.12
Birds of Prey is excellent with a lot of attention to detail in the six
large files with an outstanding picture of a golden eagle (too detailed
to be reproduced in space available). Wild Cats contains twenty files
covering all the big cats both in mono and colour. Farm Animals and Pets
each contain a good cross sectional representation of all the common
varieties. The two disc set on Pond Life covers amphibians, birds, fish,
fleas, insects, plants and a detailed 479k drawing of a common toad.
5.12
Religion
5.12
The six discs in this section are titled Chinese New Year, Diwali, Sikh
Images, Images of Islam and two Christmas discs − one religious and the
other with a secular theme. Each disc sets out to give a set of images
to be used in multi-cultural RI and, in my opinion, manages very well.
The discs deal with the basic ‘feel’ of a different culture, covering
such things as the five religious items of the Sikhs and Islamic designs
and patterns. I do not have a great expertise in the area of different
religions but a contact address is given for backup material and, upon
sending for the catalogue, I found reasonably priced resource material
to cover most religions. The discs in this section contained a lot of
sprites in Draw format which meant they could not be enlarged in a
satisfactory manner but were still suitable for worksheets and within
children’s work.
5.12
Human Body
5.12
The Circulation disc with files on veins, arteries, heart, lungs and
kidneys I found a bit sparse but more files are promised on the
digestive system with a free upgrade available. Skeleton contains
excellent files on the complete skeleton and detailed files on parts of
the body. The Human Body disc covers the ‘soft parts’ of the body
including brain, lungs, heart, bowels and intestines.
5.12
Testing
5.12
I viewed each file in Draw using zoom to look in detail at different
parts and also printed sample files. Three printers were used, an
Integrex colour, Computer Concepts HiRes4 laser and Epson FX100 (136
column) dot matrix. I used Phases 2, whenever possible, to print from as
this is the most common package used in schools. All printouts were very
good with some manipulation of coloured files being required, using
Chameleon, to get the best results in shading for the mono printers. The
more detailed files such as the eagle were very impressive when printed
A2 size on the Epson.
5.12
Marketing
5.12
There has been a recent change in marketing the files − you can now buy
a customised disc for an inclusive price of £15. For £2, which is
deductible from your order, you can get a catalogue containing hardcopy
of the 300+ drawfiles each stating the size they occupy on disc and you
then list the ones you require that will fit on an 800k disc.
5.12
Conclusions
5.12
There was a wide range of quality over the complete set of discs but all
were of an acceptable standard with some outstanding detailed drawings.
Most discs contained drawfiles with just a few sprites and there was a
choice of coloured or mono pictures. In the RI set, the large number of
sprites detracted from their over-all usefulness but they were of
reasonable quality on printout. The range of files on a subject was
reasonably comprehensive and satisfactory. The free upgrade service
means that you can take advantage
5.12
of additions to a disc. The catalogue
5.12
system means you can see the files
5.12
before you buy and order exactly
5.12
what you require. I would
5.12
recommend the
5.12
standard and
5.12
range of
5.12
pictures
5.12
on the
5.12
discs.  A
5.12
Econet Column
5.12
Neil Berry
5.12
Welcome once again to the wonderful world of Econet, where I have been
battling for the last two weeks with a system that just does not want to
work and trying to fit TCP/IP (review coming soon), which is a bit
idiosyncratic for my liking. I must say that Econet is not my favourite
topic at the moment.
5.12
Thank you to all of the people that wrote in about last month’s free
software. I will hopefully deal with the points raised next month, when
you have had chance to try out Alan Williams’ next set of programs which
is contained on this month’s program disc.
5.12
!awSpooler
5.12
This is basically a spooling printer server for RISC-OS. It is intended
to spool to a local hard disc. There is precious little point in
spooling back to the net. (The life of an Archimedes on Econet is bad
enough already without moving your printer data backwards and forwards
three times!) Currently, the software will only work if the printer port
is the parallel port. Inside the application are two banner files
“Banner” and “EndText” which are empty by default. You may like to use
them if you intended to use this printer server to serve a dot matrix
printer to text-printing clients. However, if you intend to use it to
serve a printer to graphic or PostScript generating clients, leave them
empty. One use I have heard suggested is that a large PostScript header
could be put in “Banner” for 6502 clients. Before using the package, you
must edit the !Run file to give the printer that you are using a name.
Currently, it will not prevent other applications attempting to print
while it is despooling a job, and the spooler will not begin to print a
job until it is completely spooled (but what do you expect for nothing).
5.12
!Machines
5.12
This is the Econet version of the machine listing program. It polls all
the machines on your net and then all the bridges and clients on the
other side of the bridges, building up a filer like display of the
different station types. Each station that exists is asked if it is a
fileserver or a printer server. The full info display or interactive
help will show you the version number of the fileserver and the status
of the printer server (Acorn status numbers only in this version), along
with the printer’s name. !Machines is under serious revision at the
current time, to bring it in line with a more filer-like behaviour. A
new version will hopefully see the light of day soon.
5.12
Other minor programs that have been included on this month’s program
disc are:
5.12
!NetChat
5.12
This is a small RISC-OS window which is divided into two. If two Econet
clients agree to talk to each other then the text can flow between the
two programs. It has a rather nasty count down feature while it is
waiting for the other party to reply to an invitation to ‘chat’. This is
a consequence of the fact that the code started life on a Model B about
2½ years ago, and was hastily bashed into shape for the desktop. Alan
says that he is rather embarrassed by the whole thing and that, “the
program could be done a whole lot better, but since I do not have the
time, you’re stuck with it!”
5.12
!Notified
5.12
This is a small utility that displays notify messages in a window
(rather than an error box). It is intended that this be run on machines
where the !awServer is running because it stops the notify command
hanging the desktop and hence the server.
5.12
!NetTime
5.12
Sets the local RTC from the server’s time.
5.12
!NetPrint
5.12
NetPrint is a RISC iX program presented in both binary and source
format. It is used to print from Unix to an Econet printer server. Read
the source for more details. It works with some printer servers but not
all.
5.12
Alan is also currently doing some work with the Broadcast Loader, which
may appear in future editions of this column.
5.12
Product news
5.12
S.J. Research have been busy this year with a number of different
developments within their Nexus system. You can now attach up to twelve
Archimedes machines to one existing Nexus disc sharer. Nexus now also
has a new permanent cabling system, with Nexus routers now available,
reducing cabling and installation costs. MDFS software has just been
upgraded to version 1.06 which will now support the new tape-streamer
and Acorn’s Broadcast Loader, as well as providing various utilities for
Archimedes machines. A new design of Econet bridge is also being
developed in association with Acorn and will hopefully be available
sometime in the new year. It will be based on the original Acorn design
but will feature faster clock speeds, an enhanced user interface,
increased security and a built-in clock.
5.12
Lingenuity are pushing forward with their Cable News software, a multi-
media communication and presentation package. Cable News allows the user
to create a series of “slides” which can then be displayed in any
sequence on your Archimedes. The package is aimed at both schools and
business, offering a fast and effective information dispersal system.
5.12
That’s about it for this month. As before, I can be contacted at: 21
Pargeter Street, Stourbridge, West Midlands  DY8 1AU (no phone calls
please). If you have any comments about this column or would like to
offer some ideas or tell the world about some new simple method of doing
a tedious networking job, then write in and tell me. I can’t promise to
answer all letters individually but I will try to give any subjects
raised an airing on these pages.  A
5.12
Language Column
5.12
David Wild
5.12
I was disappointed to see the note in the July issue of Archive saying
that Acorn had discontinued ISO-Pascal. I can’t really see how they will
make significant savings, except for the production costs of the manuals
− disk reproduction is a fairly cheap operation. Although the Pascal
environment is now rather old-fashioned compared with that supplied with
C, there are no restrictions on what you can do with the system and
there don’t appear to be any significant bugs. I hope that it may be
possible to persuade them to reconsider their decision.
5.12
Perhaps the worst part of the “package” is the manual, which is rather
austere; I did start work on a book about using Acorn Pascal and I think
that I must try again as I have had a number of approaches from people
who have had great difficulty getting started. Many of the problems
disappear once users accumulate experience but it may well be that some
of the extensions, in particular the use of separately compiled modules,
are not used to best advantage. The advent of the DDE package has
changed some aspects. For serious programming it may be better, for
instance, to use objasm to write modules rather than use the limited
built-in assembler.
5.12
One of the advantages claimed for C as against Pascal is the availabil
ity of function libraries covering many of the things that programmers
need to do. I am making a start on rectifying this by creating several
libraries which can be called by Pascal programs. The first of these,
covering string handling, should be on next month’s disc. I had hoped to
have it ready for this month but back trouble stopped me sitting at the
computer long enough to finish the work.
5.12
Recently, I have been using Turbo Pascal for work and one of the
features of that language is string handling. I was interested to see
that one of the how-to-do-it books pointed out that the string functions
were slower than normal array methods. Another problem is that, as with
Basic, it is possible to write programs that will fail at run-time
because the user has created a string which is too long for the variable
in which it is to be put. My string procedures and functions eliminate
this problem while still giving all the functionality of the string
package.
5.12
When I have finished with the string library, I propose to go on to date
and time routines and then some mathematical and statistical libraries
which will include most of the procedures and functions from “Numerical
Recipes” by Press, Flannery, Teukolsky and Vetterling.
5.12
DDE hint
5.12
In developing the string procedure library, I needed to be able to
update a library with several modules at once. There is no “freshen”
option but I found that I could drag all the modules to be replaced into
the detail box, set the radio button to “delete”, click on “run”, then
reset the radio button to “add” and then “run” again and so achieve the
same effect.  A
5.12
Acorn DDE Pascal
5.12
Graham Carter
5.12
In the Language Column in February’s Archive, (5.5 p51), David Wild
reproduced a letter from me in which I made a plea for information on
mixed-language programming from Pascal and on how to access RISC_OSLib
and the shared C library. I also asked why Acorn had not produced a
version of the RISC iX Pascal compiler for RISC-OS. At last Acorn has
answered all my questions by releasing the DDE NorCroft Pascal compiler.
5.12
The DDE Pascal package
5.12
The compiler has been released as PD software (Shareware 48) and, as
such, has a disclaimer stating that it is not an official Acorn product,
so no technical support is available from Acorn or its dealers (see
below).
5.12
The documentation consists of a 40k ReadMe file which covers installation
in the DDE environment and describes some of the features of the
implementation. A sample application is provided, !Balls64, which is a
straight translation from a program provided with Acorn’s C compiler. It
is a useful demonstration of how to make calls to RISC_OSLib. It is
important to note that DDE Pascal is not a standalone package − it is
intended for use with DDE C.
5.12
The compiler uses the same backend as the Acorn C compiler, so produces
similar quality code. It supports full inter-working with C; the
procedure calling standard used is APCS-R, as in the later releases of
C. The internal representation of Pascal data structures has been chosen
to facilitate mixed language programming. For example, all Pascal
strings are 0-terminated, to enable them to be used as arguments to C
functions. It should be easy to inter-work with the Desktop Assembler
but I haven’t been able to try this.
5.12
A DDE frontend is provided and the compiler works with DDT, with some
minor restrictions:
5.12
1.  C syntax must be used in expressions, as this is all DDT
understands.
5.12
2.  DDT cannot access global variables in a Pascal program. This is not
a problem in practice − the solution is to make the entire Pascal
program into one large procedure, effectively making all global
variables local.
5.12
Language extensions
5.12
The compiler is believed to be compliant with the ISO level 1 standard
(it has been run through an old version of the validation suite) and the
following extensions are documented:
5.12
• support for separate compilation via #include and extern declaration,
5.12
• Berkley (Unix pc) extensions,
5.12
• extensions to allow inter-working with C and other languages; for
example, the ability to declare variadic functions to Pascal so it can
call C functions such as printf,
5.12
• low level access functions and type casts.
5.12
I don’t have any documentation on the Berkley extensions; the only non-
standard thing I’ve tried so far is an otherwise clause in a case
statement which worked in the same way as in Acorn’s Pascal release 1
and 2. If I can obtain any further information I will use it to produce
a DTP user guide for the package.
5.12
Other extensions include functions to access command-line arguments,
system date, time and CPU time, bitwise AND and OR, shifts and SWI and
SWIX calls where the SWI routine may be specified as an integer or a
string.
5.12
This version of Pascal can also be used to produce relocatable modules.
5.12
Using the compiler
5.12
Installation entails copying files into the DDE directory and adding a
few lines to a file to enable Make to take the correct action when it
encounters a Pascal file.
5.12
Programs are compiled in the standard DDE fashion by dragging the source
code file icon onto the writable source part of the compiler’s DDE
frontend. When Throwback is enabled, a standard Throwback window is
produced if there are any compile-time errors, enabling SrcEdit to be
invoked to correct the source. There is very little else to say here,
because everything works in the same way as the C compiler.
5.12
To try out mixed-language programming I wrote the following simple C
function:
5.12
void swap (int *x, int *y)
5.12
{temp ;
5.12
  temp = *x;
5.12
  *x = *y;
5.12
  *y = temp;
5.12
}
5.12
and a Pascal program to call it:
5.12
program test (output);
5.12
var
5.12
  number1, number2: integer;
5.12
procedure swap (var x: integer;
5.12
                var y: integer);
5.12
external;
5.12
begin
5.12
  number1 := 1;
5.12
  number2 := 15;
5.12
  writeln (number1, number2);
5.12
  swap (number1, number2);
5.12
  writeln (number1, number2)
5.12
end.
5.12
I then used Make to construct an executable. Everything worked and the
program gave the expected result! When the main program and function are
compiled and linked with the debug option enabled, DDT correctly
displays the appropriate sections of source code.
5.12
Mixed language programming facilities are useful in practice because
some parts of an application may be easier to code in one language than
another. It also grants access to libraries of code developed for a
different language; for example, being able to call RISC_OSLib from
Pascal is a great time saver.
5.12
The object code (AOF file) produced by Pascal must be linked with one of
the libraries supplied with Desktop C, either ANSILib for standalone
code or Stubs, which is the interface to the shared C library. To give
an idea of how much space can be saved by using the shared C library,
the release 2 Pascal compiler produced a 35k executable from a 13k
source; the DDE Pascal executable using the shared C library was only
14k! The ‘squeezed’ image was only 8k.
5.12
Development time is also speeded up considerably when using this
package. Header files are provided to give full and easy access to
RISC_OSLib, and the DDE utilities such as Make can be used to simplify
application production.
5.12
Conclusion
5.12
This really is an excellent package and what’s more it’s free! It is
also a big incentive to buy Acorn’s Desktop C package. The documentation
is sufficient for competent Pascal programmers and the example appli
cation is a good starting point for producing new WIMP applications with
Pascal. Acorn is to be commended for releasing this software into the
public domain.
5.12
Acorn has requested that readers’ attention is drawn to the following
disclaimer:
5.12
“The DDE NorCroft Pascal compiler is provided as is. All information of
a technical nature and particulars of the software and its use are given
by Acorn Computers in good faith. However, Acorn Computers Limited
cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage arising from the use
of this software. This software is not an official Acorn product. No
support of any form can be given by Acorn or any of its dealers
regarding this software.”  A
5.12
HCCS Vision Digitiser
5.12
Stuart Bell
5.12
There is one thing that sets apart the HCCS Vision Digitiser from all
others available for the Archimedes, and that is its price: £49 plus
VAT. The external version for the A3000 is £10 more. It makes little
sense, therefore, to review this product as if it cost £150 or £200. The
question is, what do you get for such a low cost?
5.12
The package consists of a half-width board, a single sheet of instruc
tions and a disc with a Read_Me file and the !Vision application. The
board has a single phono ‘video-in’ socket, expecting 1V p-p composite
video signals. This means the signal produced by most camcorders or VCRs
(with either phono or SCART sockets). Alternatively, closed-circuit or
surveillance cameras could be employed. With a modem and data compres
sion, the cheap video-phone could be very interesting!
5.12
Here is my first small complaint: there is no half-width blanking plate
to go alongside the board on the back-panel. Personally, I would have
found this more useful than the single phono-phono cable which was
supplied. Is this a fair criticism of a £50 board? I think so because,
without it, one end of the board’s back-plate cannot be secured.
5.12
Installation is simple − the instructions describe three versions: both
internal and external boards for the A3000 and an internal version for
the A300/400/540/5000 machines, this latter one being reviewed here.
5.12
Documentation
5.12
The Read_Me file is provided only on the disc. We are told that this is,
“for two reasons − firstly ease of access by the user when actually
using the software and secondly to save paper.” They add that, “!Edit
files such as this can be entered into your favourite word processor.”
Since the file contains many ‘hard’ carriage returns, importing is not
as easy as it suggests!
5.12
The instructions are adequate and recognise current limitations of the
package such as the lack of colour (an upgrade will cost £30 and should
be ready in June) and the omission of provision for users’ own programs
to drive the board – to be rectified soon at minimal cost.
5.12
I’m not convinced about the ‘save paper’ argument and the Read_Me file
seems to be a hurriedly prepared document, complete with the odd
grammatical howler like the possessive “it’s”. A double-sided sheet of
A4 would have sufficed. I can’t see much excuse for its omission.
5.12
In use
5.12
The default mode of the !Vision application (which requires 480k) is
‘continuous’ image grabbing, in which a new frame is displayed about
once every second (ARM3) or two seconds (ARM2). With moving images, the
effect is much like a series of still photographs taken at these
intervals. Images are, of course, in 256 shade monochrome. The instruc
tions note that 256 colour modes (15 and 21) must be used but I was a
little disappointed that !Vision would not work with mode 67, Computer
Concepts’ wider 256 shade mode. I don’t know if any 256 colour modes for
multi-sync monitors would work. Of course, you can resort to your
favourite mode once you’ve grabbed the images.
5.12
The display under ‘continuous’ is what HCCS term ‘low quality’. When
‘process’ is selected, the image is grabbed, converted to ‘high-quality’
and can then be saved to disc as a sprite. The conversion takes about 22
seconds with an ARM2 but only six with an ARM3. A problem is that there
is a slight delay between selecting ‘process’ and the frame being
grabbed for conversion. You need to anticipate the required image by
about three seconds. With a video tape, this is no problem. Grabbing a
live image from the video-out of a TV or VCR could be more
problematical!
5.12
Image characteristics
5.12
The Adjust option allows the contrast and brightness of the image to be
modified, with relative values indicated by a bar-line display for each.
A minor problem for those with monochrome monitors (quite sensible to
use with a mono digitiser, you would think) is that the brightness bar-
line is almost unreadable because the grey shades of the bar and its
border are so similar.
5.12
The saved sprites are 640 x 256 pixels. About the top 10% of the
original image is missing and a very small amount from each side. (Most
TVs lose some of this in any case.) The saved images can then be
imported into !Paint, Impression II or any other painting or DTP
package. The actual image quality is super, as I hope the accompanying
image will show.
5.12
Digitisers or scanners?
5.12
Most people use scanners to get graphic images into their machine. The
resolution is greater – up to 400 dpi, though not all offer 256 shades.
Undoubtedly, the reading-in of logos and printed textual material will
be best done with a scanner. On the other hand, in favour of a digitiser
is the ability to capture 3-D objects (albeit with a camera) and other
video sources, the lack of moving parts and, in the case of Vision, the
cost.
5.12
Conclusions
5.12
I hope that my negative comments won’t be given too much weight. A half-
width blanking plate, a second sheet of instructions and a little work
on the software to weed out a few insignificant wrinkles would make the
Vision digitiser even better.
5.12
No professional user who needs to digitise video images every day will
want to use Vision because of the loss of image at the edges, the
problems of timing an image-grab and, at the moment, the lack of colour.
I guess that these are all the result of careful price-performance
decisions that have resulted in a £50 board.
5.12
However, for the casual user, the Vision board is great value and great
fun, especially if you have a suitable camera. If not, it might be worth
investigating the cheap CCTV camera market. It’s the best £50 that I’ve
spent on my Archimedes in ages. Now, all I need is a really good
printer.
5.12
Vision Digitiser is £49 +VAT for A300/400/5000 version and for A3000
internal. An A3000 external version is available for £62 +VAT.  A
5.12
Lucy Helen Bell, aged 10 months.
5.12
Image grabbed by Vision digitiser from Sony Camcorder ‘video out’
socket.
5.12
The HCCS Vision Digitiser Board.
5.12
Image grabbed from Sony Camcorder by HCCS Vision Digitiser Board!
5.12
Font Workshop − Part 1
5.12
Roger Spooner
5.12
There can hardly be any Archimedes users who have not seen the power and
versatility of the font system we all have. While PCs and Macs rave
about outline fonts, we’ve had them since 1989 (released with Acorn
DTP), including the ability to display text in your chosen typeface at
any size not only on the screen but also on paper. There are also
specialised techniques for improved quality at low sizes; something
which is still unheard of in the popular computing world.
5.12
Lines and curves
5.12
A font is defined by a file (well, two files) stored in your !Fonts
directory. Each font file contains a description of every possible
letter when printed in that font. The computer then draws the shape on
screen (or paper) according to the definition in that file.
5.12
The shape of a letter is defined by a set of lines going round its
perimeter − the edge of the black area. If there is another enclosed
shape within the main one, the inside of that will not be black. Thus,
in the letter ‘a’ in the diagram, the outer shape covers the overhanging
loop at the top, the tail and the outside of the main loop. The inner
shape describes only the hole in the middle of the main loop.
5.12
The outline of a letter, including control points of all the curves.
5.12
The lines are made up of three primitive possibilities. These are linked
together to form the letter. Each part contains one or more pairs of
coordinates and controls how the computer draws the next stage,
considering where it is at the moment.
5.12
The first kind, move, makes the computer ignore where it is currently
and move to a new position. It does not draw any sort of line to get
there. This is used to go from the body of an ‘i’ to the dot, and to
start each letter.
5.12
The second primitive, draw, makes the computer draw a straight line from
the current position to the newly supplied coordinates. This is used,
for example, on the inside edge of the vertical of the ‘a’ shown.
5.12
The third kind, curve, is the exciting one. It includes three pairs of
coordinates and tells the computer to move towards a new point, from the
existing one, under the influence of two other control points. The line
moves towards these control points but never meets them. Curves are used
in all curved surfaces of all letters, oddly enough!
5.12
A simple curve.
5.12
These Bezier curves are something worth appreciating. Although many
people are quite capable of using them in DrawFiles, font construction
requires more careful use. In the diagrams below, you may notice that
only one of them is suitable for use in part of a letter (top left). The
others bend in a fashion which looks unpleasant in whole letters (with
the exception of ‘S’ which deserves all it gets).
5.12
Various curves and their control points
5.12
The rule for good curves boils down to this: If you imagine where the
lines of the two control points meet, is this place beyond both control
points?
5.12
In the top right, the crossover point is easily visible, less than half
way towards each control point from their respective end points, and is
not at all a nice curve. The loop produces two filled areas in a way
which is very difficult to control.
5.12
The bottom right example has its crossover point half way up the left
control point’s line and has a slight change of direction near the right
hand end of the curve.
5.12
The bottom left one crosses behind one of the control points, on the
wrong side of the end point, and is a sort of curve which is rarely used
in fonts − that effect is best done with two curves.
5.12
The top left is a typical clean curve, ready for active service.
5.12
Although this rule may seem unnecessary, following it does make
character design much better.
5.12
Another vital rule for joining several curves together is to ensure that
the control points on each side of the mutual end point go in precisely
opposite directions and are of roughly the same length.
5.12
However big you make the letter, it will still be smooth and, if it is
well designed, you will never be able to see where the lines join.
5.12
Hinting
5.12
The special techniques, referred to above, allow the Archimedes alone to
make the letters look better on screen and at small sizes.
5.12
The first of these, Skeleton lines, ensure that thin parts of a letter
never completely disappear. The second, Scaffold lines, ensure that
symmetrical parts of letters are always the same size.
5.12
These are problems which occur more with small type sizes but are
significant for all users, especially on screen.
5.12
Missed pixels without a skeleton line
5.12
Skeleton lines are always plotted in black even if the distance between
the two edges of the outline is less than one pixel. This means that
thin parts will never completely disappear. In the picture without
skeleton lines (of the top part of an ‘O’) the squares are pixels − they
are filled if the centre of the pixel is within the outline.  This shows
why no pixels are filled around the thin section of the outline. Of
course a slight move up would include more pixels, but you can’t choose
that at this stage. A skeleton line, as in the next diagram, ensures
that some pixels will be plotted − always forming a continuous line at
least one pixel thick.
5.12
Pixels plotted by the skeleton line where
5.12
the outline is too thin.
5.12
Scaffold lines are more difficult but still use the concept of filling a
pixel if its centre is inside the outline.  If you want to print an H,
the two verticals should be of the same width. Not forgetting that the
computer decides whether to plot a pixel based on whether the centre of
the pixel is within the outline, you can see that a pixel could change
from being filled to not filled by an incredibly small movement which
happens to make the outline edge move across the centre of that pixel.
At small sizes, this variation in width is unacceptable.
5.12
Uneven widths without Scaffold lines
5.12
Single scaffold lines ensure the maximum possible width of a section by
moving it slightly to include as many pixel centres as possible.
5.12
Paired scaffold lines are used to maintain the same bar width in each
part by moving parts of the letter less than one pixel sideways.
5.12
Positions adjusted for maximum width
5.12
using scaffold lines.
5.12
Another type of scaffold line is used to help the computer with curves.
It has a tendency to have rows of pixels in a straight line at the
horizontal or vertical parts of a curve, giving it a flattened look. Up,
Down, Left and Right scaffold lines make the length of the part which is
flat against the vertical or horizontal as short as possible thus making
it more look ‘Curved’.
5.12
A long vertical row of pixels,
5.12
shortened by a ‘left’ scaffold line.
5.12
The diagram shows how the left side of an ‘o’ has a column of pixels
which is quite ungainly. If the left scaffold line is linked to the
points, the computer is forced to rearrange the filled pixels, resulting
in a shorter ‘flat’ against the edge.
5.12
In later articles in this series, I shall be looking at: using fonts in
your own programs, designing fonts with FontEd and organising your font
directory.
5.12
(Roger Spooner is the manager of Design Concept. He produces fonts
himself and sells them cheaply in the Archimedes marketplace.)
5.12
This and the following three articles were first published in “Online”
magazine − £1.35 per issue or £15 per year from Micro Guide, 58 The
Square, Newtongrange  EH22 4QE.  A
5.12
Junior Pinpoint
5.12
Hilary Ferns
5.12
Longman Logotron have developed Junior Pinpoint from the full version of
Pinpoint. Their aim was to simplify the program while retaining many of
its powerful features. It is claimed to meet all the data handling needs
in the primary classroom in the UK.
5.12
I suppose we all have certain expectations of what a database should
offer and when Junior Pinpoint came my way for review, I put it to the
test with various questions in my mind. I have been well satisfied with
what I found.
5.12
Is the program ‘User Friendly’?
5.12
All the usual RISC-OS features apply. Menus are kept fairly short and
simple, many things being set up through fairly standard bright-looking
control panels which pop up in response to simple toolbox selections. A
few helpful keyboard shortcuts can be used. The icon bar menu provides a
configuration option where various functions can be disabled according
to the ability of the users. All the intricacies of constructing the
database are hidden. Fields are generally referred to as ‘questions’.
5.12
Is the database easy to set up?
5.12
This is certainly where the program scores highly. You are provided with
a window with a ‘sticky’ toolbox down the lefthand side. The toolbox can
be moved around the screen or closed as required. To start with, you
design a questionnaire, which is your actual database on screen. You
then go to your stack of sheets, and data entry is a simple matter of
typing in the answers in the appropriate places. You are warned of any
unsaved data before leaving a sheet. The questionnaire can also be
printed out and used to collect data.
5.12
The form designer allows questions (i.e. the fields) to be placed
anywhere on the page. You can have text, number, date, yes/no and
multiple choice answers. Opting for the latter type reduces the problems
with spelling errors. The DTP facilities enable coloured boxes, lines,
borders, pictures (sprites & drawfiles), text, headings, etc to be
placed anywhere on the page to give a professional appearance. The form
can be A4 or screen size. Most upper junior children would be able to
tackle the form design but, for younger children, the teacher would
obviously set up the form beforehand.
5.12
Limit on the length of a text field?
5.12
A text entry can extend to 10 lines, each of 50 characters. I can see
this as an obvious advantage in school, where one might want to gather
together the children’s news items, etc. However, the multiple lines
provided for such an answer were rather clumsy when printed out and too
close together for children’s handwriting. I overcame this problem
fairly simply by overlaying the lines with a white-filled box. (The
lines still applied for entering the text on the screen)
5.12
Sorting, searching and calculations?
5.12
To call up one particular sheet in the stack, a search can be made for a
text string, a number or date in any of the fields by clicking on a
toolbox icon. More complex searches and analysis are done by entering
the ‘spreadsheet’. It is not a spreadsheet in the true sense of the word
but is simply a chart displaying the field data in columns, with a small
toolbox at the top of the sheet. The format is pleasingly versatile.
Columns can easily be swapped around, removed or reinstated as required
and the table printed out across the page or any of the columns used for
a graph. Calculations which can be applied at this point to the
numerical data are max, min, total and average.
5.12
Sorting (ascending and descending) on individual fields is excellent
with the option to return to the original order.
5.12
Search criteria are ‘includes’, ‘equal to’, ‘greater than’, ‘less than’
and ‘lies between’. You can easily return to your full set of data.
However, you must remember to either print or save (as a text file) any
valuable search data because, when you close the window, the search is
lost without warning − this could be a bit of a time-waster when doing
fairly complex searches with children. (It would have been nice to see
the method adopted by ‘DataSweet’, where each set of search data is
installed as a separate application on the icon bar and so can be opened
and closed as required.) Also, I could see no way of getting back to the
‘stack of sheets’ view other than by closing the spreadsheet and
reloading the file from the directory viewer. Just a little clumsy for
those occasions when it might be necessary.
5.12
Graphs and reporting?
5.12
A text file can be printed from the ‘spreadsheet’ view, displaying any
user-defined selection of fields and in any order. To produce a more
sophisticated report, you enter the charts section from the toolbox.
5.12
Graphs can optionally be 3D or coloured and displayed with or without a
grid. There is a choice of bar charts, pie charts, scatter graphs and
line graphs. You can plot a field against frequency or percentage or
against another field. For numerical fields, you can choose the
interval.
5.12
In producing the final report, the program is excellent. More than one
graph can be on screen and several dragged to one A4 page. Professional
results can be obtained because the DTP facilities are available on the
graph windows allowing you to edit the labels and resize the graph, as
well as to add text, boxes, lines, etc and import pictures and borders
as sprite or drawfiles. The completed document is saved as a drawfile.
5.12
Limit to the number of sheets?
5.12
Yes. Junior Pinpoint allows only 500 in any one file. However, you can
have more than one file open at a time.
5.12
Is it possible to merge files?
5.12
You are provided with a program called ‘PinImport’. This opens up a
window to which you can drag successive files to merge.
5.12
Can you export data to other databases?
5.12
A menu option is provided to save your data as a CSV (Comma Separated
Values) file, which will load into any database which recognises this
format (e.g. DataSweet). Likewise, CSV files can be imported.
5.12
Is the documentation clear?
5.12
The A4 illustrated booklet comes with a glossy cover and is aimed at
children. It is a step-by-step guide to information handling in general
and, in places, provides the children with things to think about away
from the computer. All the pages are photocopiable, some being intended
for use as individual work sheets. This is excellent but I would have
valued, in addition to this, a shorter guide providing adults with a
quicker ‘journey’ through the program.
5.12
Both the program and the book provide good ideas and examples to get you
going with practical information handling.
5.12
Conclusion
5.12
This is a good program at a very realistic price. I agree with Longman
Logotron’s claim that it meets the data handling needs in the primary
classroom.  A
5.12
Desktop Thesaurus
5.12
Kevin Beales & Rob Wears
5.12
Rob sent in a review of Desktop Thesaurus which was not too favourable
so we asked Kevin Beales to have a look at it too. Let’s hear Kevin’s
comments first...
5.12
I like to use the computer as a creative tool when writing. Instead of
creating my letter, study notes or magazine article on paper first and
then copying it onto the screen, I often sit in front of a blank monitor
and ‘compose’. If I am working on paper and am stuck for ‘the right
word’, I can turn to my trusty Roget’s Thesaurus. However, if I am
composing on the screen, I resent leaving the computer desk and finding
the book when the machine should be able to do it all for me.
5.12
This is where Desktop Thesaurus comes in. It is a fully RISC-OS
compliant program which sits on the iconbar and can be accessed while
running applications like Edit, First Word Plus, Draw, Ovation and
Impression. It will work on 1M with Edit but really needs 2M. The
Wimpslot Max on a 4M machine is 256 and 128 on 2M. It comes complete
with Clib3.75 and !Sysmerge, compressed to 450k on a single disc. It
also comes with a clear, concise A5 manual. The application is not copy-
protected and is easily installed on a hard disc.
5.12
Desktop Thesaurus works simply enough. If I am typing a sermon and want
another word for ‘Pilgrim’, I click on the icon and a small window
appears. I then type the word in the writable icon and press <return>
and see, displayed in the window, some of the 134,160 synonyms − ‘Noun:
Crusader, Traveller’. If I want to go deeper, I can highlight and click
<select> over ‘Traveller’ and will see displayed ‘Noun: Commuter,
drifter, emigrant, explorer, gypsy, hiker, migrant, nomad, passenger,
pilgrim, rambler, representative, tourist, tramp, tripper, voyager,
wanderer, wayfarer.’ Quite a selection!
5.12
If I wish to, I can delve even deeper, by selecting ‘wayfarer’ and
getting even more words and so on. Hopefully, one of them will be the
word I want. Two selectable boxes in the window will take me back either
to the previous list or to my original root word, ‘Pilgrim’. Two arrow
boxes allow me to scan up or down the alphabet through the other 13,777
key words, such as ‘pilgrimage’, ‘pill’, ‘pillage’ and ‘pillar’ in one
direction and ‘pilfering’, ‘pilfer’, ‘pile-up’ and ‘pile’ in the other.
In addition, a facility exists to edit words and to add my own if I have
discovered some obscure one somewhere and don’t want to lose it.
5.12
The next stage is even simpler. Having found my word, I click <adjust>
over it and it appears at the caret location on the screen. Ovation
users will soon be able to update to a version which will ‘hot key’ to
the thesaurus which, in time, will actually be built into Ovation
itself. I understand from John Wallace, Software Manager at Risc
Developments, that discussions are planned with Computer Concepts to see
if similar ‘hot links’ can be arranged with Impression.
5.12
Conclusion
5.12
The acid test of any utility-type program is not the reaction, ‘Oh,
that’s a good idea!’ but ‘Do I use it?’ The answer to this is ‘Yes,
but... ’. Yes, I do use it when, as I described earlier, I am creating
text at the keyboard. If, for some reason, I am writing on paper at my
desk then the book is to hand. So, if you use your computer just as a
means of copying out what has already been written, you will have less
use for this program. However, if your ideas more usually come from your
brain straight through your fingers to the machine, then I would
strongly recommend this simple, but very useful, program.  A
5.12
Rob Wears made many of the same points as Kevin but he also looked at
Desktop Thesaurus from a wider perspective and made some other comments
which are worth adding...
5.12
Serious PC users would be surprised at the need for a product such as
this. Most of their word processors (such as WordPerfect 5.1) are
supplied with a thesaurus as an integral part of the package, and some
even have grammar checkers too. It is so difficult to multitask anything
on a PC that the software packages seem to try to do everything.
However, this has tended to produce packages that are vastly too
complicated for most users and which do some things very badly. When
programming for the Archimedes, RISC-OS has made it so easy to multitask
that the whole philosophy is different. Applications tend to be more
specific and the user can add other applications to provide as many
functions as are needed, providing there is sufficient memory available.
For example, DTP packages are excellent document processors but make
little or no effort to produce graphics of their own − it is so easy to
get a dedicated graphics package to do the job properly. However,
packages such as Impression and Ovation are often used as word proces
sors in their own right and so it would be useful if they had features
such as a thesaurus and a grammar checker.
5.12
Desktop Thesaurus is basically a good package but I do have some
criticisms.
5.12
First of all, 13,777 words might sound an awful lot but it is surpris
ingly easy to think of words which DT doesn’t recognise (e.g.
‘computer’). If this happens, it uses the word that is closest to your
word alphabetically. This may work in some cases but instead of
‘computer’ it offers you synonyms for ‘comrade’ which follows it
alphabetically rather than ‘compute’ which precedes it. This means you
have to think of some synonyms for yourself and keep trying them until
you find a word that DT recognises.
5.12
I realise that this will be the same for all packages which use a
dictionary of keywords but at times it is easier to use the WordPerfect
thesaurus facility via the PC emulator, or even (gosh!) my paperback
edition of Roget’s Thesaurus. Both of these will have a guess at
‘computer’. To make matters worse, when you are offered a choice of
synonyms, my experience is that the choice is not as extensive as that
offered by the WordPerfect or Roget’s thesauri.
5.12
It is possible to extend the choice of synonyms by selecting one of the
initial list and examining the synonyms offered for that. However, this
facility is also present in the WordPerfect thesaurus, and again DT
consistently comes second when comparing the variety of synonyms
provided by the packages. It is possible to edit the data in DT to
include your own words but it does seem to defeat the object of the
exercise − if you already know half a dozen synonyms for your word, you
won’t need to use DT to look them up!
5.12
At present, DT does not make any attempt to find antonyms. This is a
significant omission and will hopefully be rectified in future versions
of the software.
5.12
If DT loses out on its word searching capabilities, you would expect it
to win hands down when it comes to ease of use with other applications
such as Impression or Ovation. Unfortunately, copying a keyword to DT’s
input icon involves selecting and marking the word, using the ‘Save
selection’ or ‘Save marked text’ facility and dragging the file icon to
DT’s input icon. Thus, for all but really long words, it is easier
simply to type it directly.
5.12
Conclusions
5.12
I really wanted to like this product. It would be useful to have the
facility when using Impression. I could even forgive its word finding
limitations if it were more easily accessible (like the spelling
checker). It certainly uses less memory than PC thesauri via the
emulator and it is cheaper. However, in its present form, it is simply
not as convenient to use as my paperback thesaurus, which is even
cheaper! I for one will reluctantly wait for future versions of the
popular DTP packages which might have integral thesauri.  A
5.12
Shareware Disc 45
5.12
John Oversby
5.12
!ArchiType
5.12
!Architype is a typing tutor by David Holden. It takes over the whole
machine but returns to the desktop on completion through a menu. Eleven
lessons are provided to teach touch typing from use of the home keys
onwards and there are exercises to provide practice in typing real text.
My wife has now been using the package for a week and she has made
impressive progress which tells its own story about the value of
!Architype. The exercises are written in !Edit format as resource files
and can be customised according to the needs of the user. This is a
first effort by David Holden and it will, I am sure, be improved as he
receives feedback.
5.12
!Label
5.12
!Label by Raffaele Ferrigno is an address book and label printer. I
found it difficult to use, despite the manual on the disc and it does
not print out on RISC-OS3!
5.12
Clipart
5.12
The biological file contains some detailed pictures of the nervous
system, the skin and other major parts of the human body. These are
generally well drawn with fine, clear detail but some labels are
missing. The chemistry equipment was the least satisfactorily drawn. Why
is the liquid level in the beaker a squiggly line? “Distil” has lines
from the condenser which do not fit flask! Other items include the blast
furnace, pond creatures and transport.
5.12
Middleton font
5.12
The Middleton font is an easy-to-read font for children, satisfactory at
large sizes but a little indistinct at small sizes. It resembles a
child’s handwriting in format with slightly imperfectly formed letters.
5.12
!AcornMsMo
5.12
!AcornMsMo provides modes 20 and 21 for the Acorn multisync (AKF18)
monitor − satisfactorily as far as I could see.
5.12
!DOOK
5.12
For those with RISC-OS3, you may have noted that !Draw produces an
invisible object at the bottom left hand corner to store some of the
attributes of some objects. That is why grouped objects appear larger
than they should. !DOOK removes these objects so that the !Drawfile can
be readily imported into RISC-OS2 !Draw and !Poster without problems. I
had always wondered why the new !Draw produced oddly behaved files!
4Mation have produced a useful application here.
5.12
!GrabMenu
5.12
I produce booklets of instructions for applications such as !Drawplus
and !Tween and I often need to capture the menus for my DTP program.
!GrabMenu does this well. Even more helpful, it will grab submenus too,
with the background as a mask. These are saved as a sprite, which will
need renaming if other menus are to be grabbed because the same name is
used each time a sprite is grabbed. Naming the file on the fly would be
useful here.
5.12
!PickAPic
5.12
!PickApic is a sprite and draw file previewer producing thumbnail
sketches of sprite and drawfiles. The sketch dimensions can be specified
from the program. Its use is obvious when searching files for DTP
pictures and the sketches are clear enough even at small magnifications.
There are programs to preview !Drawfiles but not one for sprites and
!Draw pictures at the same time. Unfortunately, it sometimes crashes for
no apparent reason on my A5000, but with a small number of files gives
good pictures.
5.12
Summary
5.12
This shareware disc represents very good value despite some inadequacies
in the files provided.  A
5.12
Dreadnoughts
5.12
Alan Highet
5.12
Dreadnoughts is a simulation program, from the same stable as Waterloo −
Turcan Research Systems. It allows you to become an Admiral of the Fleet
playing either against the computer or against another player. It comes
in a sturdy cardboard box containing a single disc, a 94 page booklet
and a set of wipe clean maps.
5.12
Many years ago, I played (if that’s the right word) a naval wargame on a
board with small counters for ships and a dice to evaluate the damage
caused by shelling the enemy. This was before the boom in home computers
but even then, I could see the possibilities for letting a machine take
over all the calculations and leave the strategy to the humans and I
even had a half-hearted attempt at trying to write a program myself but
found it more difficult than I thought. With this in mind, I couldn’t
wait to try out Dreadnoughts as it seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
5.12
There are seven scenarios on the disc, two hypothetical but the rest
based on actual events in the First World War. The booklet gives you a
good background to the events surrounding each scenario and suggests
further reading material which may be relevant. There is a good
reference section detailing all the technical information relating to
the ships’ armaments, size, fire-power and range. There is also a
section detailing the various commands and how to use them.
5.12
Getting started
5.12
The graphics screen initially shows you the view from just above your
ship looking out over the bow. You can choose to look in any direction
and from the bridge of any of your own fleet. You can also use a
telescope to identify any ship you may see on the screen. The bottom of
the screen is used to enter the various commands which allow you to send
signals instructing other ships under your command as well as your own
vessel. It displays signals sent by other vessels such as sightings,
damage reports and position. You may also elect to have information
displayed telling you what the computer is doing and this is displayed
below the command window. You can control the helm directly by using the
cursor keys and this is sometimes easier than using the command line.
The graphics are not arcade quality but are still quite good and, during
an exchange of shells, you see the water spouts as the shells fall round
your vessel or, worse still, watch as they explode on deck. There is
also the sound of the shells being fired, flying overhead and exploding
− all in glorious stereo!
5.12
Overall
5.12
I have to say that I was disappointed by the program but this is
probably because it was not what I expected. I would have been much
happier to actually control my own destiny rather than trying to
influence a battle that is almost a foregone conclusion. When playing
another human, the situation was slightly better although the computer
still decided to engage other ships in gun battles without my say-so.
The problem seemed to be that there was no way of giving direct orders
apart from a few exceptions.
5.12
The parser was good, although somewhat limited, but was let down by
having to type all the words every time I wanted to give a command, as
there was no repeat command. This meant that trying to give the same
order to a whole fleet was very time consuming.
5.12
Although the wipe off maps were of very good quality, I would have
preferred to view a map on screen showing the plot of all known surface
vessels. This would have made the task of interception much easier.
5.12
Although this program is a very good technical simulation of historic
naval battles, I feel that what people are looking for (I certainly was)
is the chance to try to better the decisions made by the original
commanders and hopefully reverse the outcome of the battle.  A
5.12
Mah-Jong − The Game
5.12
Geoffrey Dunbar
5.12
Mah Jong originated in China and is like Rummy and Poker − and yet
totally different! It is best played by four people which makes this
computer version a welcome attraction for the solo player. There seem to
be as many sets of rules as players and, for this review, I accepted
those set by the program. Some useful rules were published by EP in
conjunction with the British Mah-Jong Association (ISBN 0 7158 0557 6).
5.12
The game
5.12
Players are named after the four winds, East, South, West and North with
each player taking it in turn to be the ‘Wind of the Round’ (‘East’
first), retaining this title until he loses.
5.12
There are 144 brightly coloured tiles which are shuffled and built into
a square wall. Part of the game’s attraction is its exotic imagery; the
sound of tiles being shuffled is known as ‘the twittering of the
sparrows’ and the wall is to ‘keep the devils out’ which did not work
for whoever wrote the program instructions!
5.12
After the deal, players in rotation (anti-clockwise) take a tile from
the wall, attempting to make sets and then throw away. If a discard
enables another player to complete a Pung (three of a kind) or a Kong
(four of a kind) he may claim this, when the players in between lose
their turns. Completed sets can be exposed on the table or concealed in
the hand, with the latter scoring twice the former. The object is to
collect a ‘full house’ of Pungs/Kongs plus a matched pair, the winner at
the game end being the player with the most money.
5.12
Suits of tiles
5.12
The suits are − characters, circles, and bamboos. There are green, red
and white dragons (four of each), and the four winds (four of each). The
green dragons appeared black in play and the South winds, (which should
be black) were green, which was confusing. There should be both season
and flower tiles but the program simplified the rules and called them
all ‘flowers’ − which worked well enough. After the deal, the human
player is asked to discard his flowers but the message remains whilst
the computer continues, which seems messy. Many pictures have been
simplified to make them more readable which worked well. The program
does not show which are the green ‘bamboos’, for use in special hands,
and so the player has to remember which these are.
5.12
Instructions
5.12
The booklet is comprehensive and clear, despite lack of page numbers and
index. However, the program contains an option to print extra copies of
the booklet in a much better format! The order of explanation makes it
difficult for the non-player (some terms, e.g. ‘Pung’ and ‘Kong’ are
used several pages before they are defined) but the on-screen instruc
tions remedy this. I was disappointed to find grammatical and spelling
errors (e.g. ‘recieved’ for ‘received’, ‘requiements’ for
‘requirements’, ‘too’ instead of ‘to’, ‘conceled’ for ‘concealed’ etc)
and, at one point, it was suggested that a pair could be called a Pung
or Kong!
5.12
The Chinese game has few special hands, whilst the Western game has
many. The BMJA recognises twenty, and all but one are included, plus
twenty others. The program uses all extensively. I would prefer to see
details of these hands separated from the other instructions.
5.12
Set up, loading and saving
5.12
On selecting ‘!EMAHJONG’ (‘E’ for European?) from the desktop, the
program loaded from scratch or with a previously saved game without
problem. The mode is set and so you cannot benefit from having a multi-
sync monitor. However, there were some problems with saving. A file name
eight letters long will save automatically as the last character is
typed − so it had better be right! After save or load, the filename
appears in the ‘save’ box. Confirm this by pressing <return> and the
program locks up terminally. If the disc is full, the program crashes,
returning you to the desktop. Inserting a new disc produces an error
message on the game board instead of the message line, which remains
when play resumes! Attempts to use a full file path produces a ‘bad
filename’ response. Before play, answering various questions gives full
control but the lack of a cursor in some boxes was off-putting.
5.12
The deal
5.12
The computer, using Chinese dice, simplifies the deal whilst keeping the
feel of the original, but deals from the wrong end of the wall! In most
rules, seven pairs of tiles are separated from the opposite end of the
wall, as the ‘Kong Box’ or ‘Dead Wall’, one pair from these becoming
‘Loose Tiles’ for issue during play. When both have been used, they are
replaced from the Kong Box which is the only way these tiles can come
into play. The computer did not form a Kong Box and replaced loose tiles
from the wrong end of the wall but seemed correctly to prevent the last
tiles being taken. The human player’s hand is displayed face up at the
top of the screen, with the others face down beneath. Each player’s wind
is shown against his name and a bar shows the computer’s progress whilst
‘thinking’ − a different colour is used for each player.
5.12
Sorting the hand and discarding
5.12
Tiles are numbered by position across the screen and selection or
sorting is made by mouse (slow) or by entering the position number of
the selected tiles (much quicker). The screen shows the comprehensive
set of commands available. I liked the computer’s declaration ‘Fred has
played an 8 of character’! On one occasion, I had an exposed Pung and
drew the fourth tile from the wall. The hand being built excluded Kongs
but I was not allowed to discard the tile. In the end, I threw away
several partial sets and changed my hand for one which allowed Kongs!
5.12
Play
5.12
Unless a discard will complete a set, the turn starts with a tile dealt
automatically from the wall. If two players want the same discard, the
higher call, in the order Mah Jong, Kong, Pung, should take precedence
although, if two players make the same call, the tile goes to the next
in rotation. In this game, the next player in rotation wins on every
occasion. A strict game is played which forbids ‘dirty’ hands, i.e.
those with Pungs and Kongs of different suits.
5.12
It is normal to identify the tile being discarded which is simulated by
flashing the value on the message line at the top of the screen. The
computer checks all hands (including the human’s) for useful discards −
but only for the hand selected! A discard from another player may form
an unplanned set which could cause a change in the hand being built. If
that set is not permitted in the present hand, you cannot take the
discard, which is frustrating. When you are ‘fishing’ (i.e. need only
one tile to win) you are offered every discard and it might be better if
this option were available throughout although this would slow the game
down considerably and Mah-Jong should be fast!
5.12
Forming sets
5.12
Some Pungs, and all Kongs, should be declared when formed. Although the
program left exposed sets in the player’s hand, this enabled them to be
visible (as they need to be) and it is hard to see how this could be
improved.
5.12
Winning, scoring and settling up
5.12
The first player to achieve a ‘full house’ goes ‘Mah Jong’ and wins the
round. The hands should then be scored, which is complicated! Different
sets score specific amounts (double if ‘concealed’) and the score may be
doubled for various tiles or for special hands. The program caters well
for all of these with few differences from my rule books.
5.12
All pay the winner according to his score and whoever is wind of the
round (first round: East wind) pays and receives double. The losers
should settle up between themselves on score differences which is part
of the fun and it was disappointing that this did not happen, despite
the graphic illustration of money being passed to the winner. Surpris
ingly if a player was fishing, he was paid by the player going Mah­Jong
− which really jarred! To avoid instant bankruptcy, a limit is set for
any hand and here, as for tournaments, the limit is 1,000 points.
5.12
Other features
5.12
Game Status − A series of screens show discarded tiles (easy game only),
those played, the financial status of the players and game timings. On
the roll of honour, which shows highest scores and type of hand, the
position numbers below ten were not padded to line up the display and
one message read “todays score’s” instead of “today’s scores”. After so
much effort to simulate the real game, it seems a pity there has been so
little attention to small points throughout.
5.12
Hands − Comprehensive help on ‘special hands’ is available, including
composition and scores, plus help with the type of hand being developed.
Your tiles are sorted according to the hand selected, and various hands
can be scanned for composition/score, or an individual hand can be
checked by typing its initial letter. Finally tiles can be ‘tagged’ to
find a suitable hand to build.
5.12
Robbing the Kong − If a player with an exposed Pung then picks up (from
the wall) the tile to form a Kong, another player may claim this to go
Mah-Jong and is said to have ‘Robbed the Kong’. The tile could be used
only in a run − but Chows are not recognised! − so this leaves just one
special hand where this could happen. However, it is good to see the
rule being implemented.
5.12
Help − Extensive help is available including tips on how to play,
selective views of the instructions and an option to print these which
worked with my Juki and (after turning on the auto-linefeed) Epson
printers. However, printing cannot be aborted. There is even a table for
doubling scores as required by certain hands but it is unlikely this
will be used as the computer calculates all scores.
5.12
Goulash − These rules apply if no player went Mah-Jong in the slow game
or if this option was selected. Four all-white ‘wild’ tiles are added
although these should replace the four ‘two of bamboos’. Each player
changes three tiles blind with each other player and a kitty is formed
which is awarded, in addition to his score, to the player going Mah-
Jong.
5.12
How does it play?
5.12
I did not test strength of play but the program seemed good without
being daunting. I went Mah-Jong several times but more often I was
beaten by a computer player. Play is fast and the game has an authentic
‘feel’.
5.12
Conclusion
5.12
Despite its short-comings, the game plays well. I liked the authentic
way that the wall was broken in a different place on the throw of the
dice, and the way that the tiles were dealt (correctly) four at a time.
The simplified symbols look good on screen. I didn’t like being unable
to claim some discards and I was disappointed with the lack of inter-
player scoring at the end. The spelling mistakes should be corrected,
and I would like the winner’s hand to stay on the screen until this has
been analysed. The ‘saving’ problems are not serious as you can work
round them.
5.12
In a nutshell, I liked the game, warts and all, and will buy my own
copy. If you want a change from arcade games buy this one!
5.12
‘Mah-Jong − The Game’ from Cambridge International Software costs £21
from Archive. It comprises a wallet with a single disc and a comprehen
sive 36 page instruction leaflet.  A
5.12
C.I.S. were grateful for Geoffrey’s comments. All of his criticisms will
be dealt with as soon as possible and an up-dated version will be
available free of charge in due course. Ed.
5.12
ClearView Hypertext Program
5.12
Peter Jennings
5.12
ClearView, a new hypertext program from DEC_dATA, has just been launched
with the first of a series of low-priced information files intended for
home and educational use. The program comes in a choice of three
different versions, at three different prices. The cheapest is the
quaintly named Evaluation version, a file reader without print or save
facilities, which has been put into the public domain and so is
virtually free. The Standard version can print and save ClearView files
but cannot create documents and costs a modest £10 including postage and
packing but plus VAT. Top of the range is the Advanced version which
allows you to compile your own files using text, sprites, Draw files and
Ace film animations (but not sound) and this costs £50 +VAT. Site
licences are an additional three times the single-user price.
5.12
The first two ClearView files to be issued are Columbus’ First Voyage at
£6.95 and Scientists and Inventors costing £8.95 (both plus VAT). They
each come on a single, unprotected disc accompanied by a second disc
which contains an Evaluation version of the software, full instructions
and a catalogue of DEC_dATA files and other products. The data discs are
very easy to use and written documentation is confined to one side of a
single A5 sheet, with pictures of the subject on the other side. The
simple instructions are illustrated by the six icons used for consulting
the index, moving around the text, inserting a “bookmark” and searching.
5.12
The story of Columbus
5.12
Columbus’ First Voyage is aimed at primary and middle school children
and fits in with the National Curriculum’s Explorers and Exploration. It
tells the story of Columbus, leading up to and including his first
voyage across the Atlantic. The subject is fully indexed and cross-
referenced and is liberally illustrated with pictures, maps and
diagrams. It can be read straight through, as in a book, or the reader
can digress at will, to follow up any of more than fifty topics which
come up in the course of the story and are marked by underlining. For
example, when the Sargasso Sea is mentioned you can, if you wish, leave
the main narrative for a time to find out more about the sea, look at a
map showing its location and an illustration of one of its infamous
seaweeds. There is even a mention of the Bermuda Triangle to put the sea
in its modern context. So, what is basically a history lesson mixes in
some teaching on geography and natural history as well.
5.12
Children will find this is a fascinating way of learning by stimulating
and satisfying their natural curiosity.
5.12
Science and discovery
5.12
Scientists and Inventors is rather different. This is not a story but
the equivalent of a reference book giving brief biographical details and
some pictures of more than three hundred scientists, inventors,
engineers and other men and women who have made important discoveries,
from Archimedes to Stephen Hawking.
5.12
This can be very useful to identify someone’s claim to fame but the
information is brief and, as with all reference works, it cannot contain
everyone you might wish to know about. I looked in vain for Clive
Sinclair but perhaps no-one else in the Acorn-using world has heard of
him.
5.12
Other discs in preparation, or planned for the Autumn, are The Merchant
of Venice and Romeo and Juliet which will contain the full texts, cross-
referenced, with synopses and notes; Human Biology, the four Gospels of
the New Testament, French and German.
5.12
As noted earlier, the data discs come with a free reader but if they are
to be used for more than casual browsing, it obviously makes sense to
buy the Standard version of ClearView which, for the one-off payment of
£11.75 allows you to save and print from all the data discs. Any
“bookmarks” inserted by the user can be saved with the text.
5.12
Write your own files
5.12
Although the data discs so far released are designed primarily for
educational use, the Advanced version of ClearView (version 1.02) puts
you into a different word game with the ability to make your own files
on any subjects, with full cross-referencing and indexing. It is not a
purchase to be made without thought, if only because of the extra cost.
The Advanced version is one of those powerful programs that need some
study before you can get to grips with them.
5.12
The idea is simple. You collect together any illustrations you want,
which can be sprites, Draw files or Ace film animations, then write a
text file with commands in {brackets } inserted at the places where you
want the pictures to appear. The commands can position the illustrations
to left, right or centre of the page or at an exact point within the
text. The document is divided up into topics and these are cross-
referenced and indexed. You can use any fonts (not supplied) in any
styles and sizes and these are listed and numbered in the file then
called by number as required in the text. Finally, the text file is
dragged to the ClearView icon and the whole package is compiled and
appears on screen, in a matter of seconds, as a professional-looking
hypertext file.
5.12
There are only ten commands, with various parameters, but they take a
bit of studying to understand them and would need some effort to learn.
Their use is explained in two ClearView files with the original text
files supplied for reference. There is also a helpful four-page leaflet.
The first two pages are similar in content to the A5 sheet supplied with
the data discs. The third page lists the commands and then shows
examples of them in a text file and their effect when the compiled file
appears on screen. The final page lists the ClearView error messages,
explains their meaning and tells you how to make the necessary
corrections.
5.12
I managed to compile a simple, illustrated file of my own in about half
an hour with frequent references to one of the sample files and it
worked after one small omission had been rectified. The missing command
was indicated by a ClearView error message and a quick look at the
printed notes told me what to do.
5.12
Any program that involves typing in precise commands in curly brackets
cannot be described as user-friendly, particularly for young children or
beginners. The Advanced version of ClearView is more suitable for
experienced computer users who may find it an interesting reminder of
enjoyable days at the keyboard before the WIMP environment came in. It
is worth the effort if you have a serious use for the program.
5.12
The ClearView data discs with either the free reader or the Standard
software can be used by anybody who can click a mouse button. Both discs
are good value at some of the lowest prices for any commercial Archi
medes software. They are cheap enough to be bought by anyone with even
the slightest interest in the subjects.  A
5.12
Presenter GTi
5.12
Basil Davis
5.12
Presenter GTi is the latest incarnation of Lingenuity’s graphical
presentation package. This is a major upgrade with changes in data input
methods, a five-fold increase in graph types and a corresponding
increase in the options available for producing the final product. The
basic Presenter philosophy of two work windows, one for data and the
other for the actual graph drawing, has been retained. The graph data
can be saved as a CSV data file and the graph itself as a !Draw file but
there is now the option of saving a parameter file which contains
details of graph type and options as well as the data. This is similar
to the SID (Software-Independent Data) type format but is actually a
special file type (C4E) with its own icon.
5.12
The package
5.12
The package contains the usual E-Format disc and a well-produced User
Manual containing a concise introduction to basic RISC-OS techniques, a
comprehensive Tutorial with diagrams and a 40 page illustrated Reference
section. The new version is fully RISC-OS compliant and there seem to be
no problems in using it on the A5000. The disc contains the main
application !GTi, a directory !Graphs with 45 example graphs and a
utility !Pres–>GTi, for converting Presenter II data files. The usual
!System and !SysMerge are also included. The master disc is not
protected but, when the program is loaded for the first time, you have
to enter a user name in an installation window. The application occupies
416k of memory, compared with 288k for Presenter II, and this figure
will rise when data is loaded (1M machine owners please note). The
version tested was 1.12 dated 5th February 1992.
5.12
The application operates through two main windows, Worksheet and Graph,
which are A5 size. Each window has its own main menu with slide-off sub-
menus. The Worksheet has been changed from that used in Presenter II and
is now of the spreadsheet type − but you cannot do calculations − and no
limit is given to the number of rows and/or columns. One of the supplied
example files has 257 rows of data. Columns can be labelled alphabeti
cally (A−Z, Aa−Az, etc.) or numerically. The default Worksheet window
has 10 rows and 6 columns with a column width of 7 digits plus decimal
point but this can be altered. Data can be entered by dragging a CSV
file to the GTi icon or onto an open Worksheet window (provided that
there is sufficient space in the default window) or by typing directly
into individual cells.
5.12
It will now cope correctly with zero data values and will accept null or
missing values which are not plotted and can, if so desired, be
identified in the worksheet with a *. Text files created in !Edit with
the data separated by commas or tabs are accepted as CSV files, so there
is no need to use the MakeCSV utility supplied with Presenter II. The
Options menu of the icon allows you to swap rows and columns and to turn
on or off the auto update which allows you to see the changes in the
Graph window (if open in an overscan or wide 16-colour mode). With
direct entry, it is necessary to type labels between double quotes e.g.
“1992” or GTi will read them as values. The way the cursor moves when
you press <return> (the manual refers to this key as <enter>) can be set
as either down or right.
5.12
Entering and editing data
5.12
Editing is pretty much as before and, by selecting the Edit sub-menu, it
is possible to delete, insert, cut, copy and paste any row or column.
There is also an Enter Data window for placing data in a specific cell
with a Label button which, when selected, causes the cell entry to be
read as a label without the need for double quotes. Although you can
have up to four Worksheet windows open at any one time, you cannot
transfer data between windows. At this point you can save the data as
either a CSV or a GTi parameter file.
5.12
The Hotlink option allows dynamic data exchange with spreadsheets such
as PipeDream 3 or 4 but this requires at least 2M of RAM memory.
Provision is made for manual- or auto-update with or without the auto-
save of a !Draw file.
5.12
Plotting graphs
5.12
Graph type range/selection is one of the major changes. Presenter II had
four basic types − Bar, Line, Pie and Scatter. With Bar you had two
options, Stacked or otherwise. With Line you could have data points or
not. Pie allowed you to explode segment and choice of starting point.
GTi has the same four types with an additional one − Area − but the
variants now add up to a total of 31 formats. Bar has eight divided into
two groups of four depending on whether the bars are horizontal or
vertical. These are − Side-by-Side, Overlapping, Stacked and Percentage
Stacked. Line also has eight again in two groups of four − with and
without data points.
5.12
Axes (X/Y) can be linear/linear, linear/log, log/linear or log/log. Area
is a cross between a line chart and a bar chart where the area under the
line represents the data. With more than one data set, the areas are
stacked. Options include linear/linear, linear/log or percentage.
Scatter has four options which are the same as those for Line with data
points. Pie has eight, comprising two groups of four with or without
percentage value labels. The number of exploded segments can be none,
one or all. Pies can be single or multiple. With the latter, a pie is
plotted for each data set with an option where the size of the pie is
proportional to the total sum of that data set.
5.12
The Graph sub-menu brings up a window containing icons representing the
various options with the current (or default) option highlighted. Choice
is made by clicking on the appropriate icon and an OK button and the
graph is rapidly drawn in a separate window. Another innovation is the
use of key shortcuts in that <ctrl> plus the initial letter of the graph
type will bring up the menu for that type − e.g. <ctrl-P> for the Pie-
graph menu. Other key shortcuts are <f3> for Save, <f4> for the Enter
Data window and <ctrl> + (<f1> − <f8>) for the various options available
in the Edit sub-menu.
5.12
(From now on, in the text, the word Chart will be taken to mean a
collection of graphs having the same format and appearing in the same
window.)
5.12
The Graph window has its own main menu which is concerned with ‘fine-
tuning’ the chart. There are two main options windows − General Options
and Data Options. The first deals with margins, spacing (i.e. width) and
overlap (bar charts only), grids, legends, pie chart options and Special
Effects. This latter offers Shadow, 3D and the option of putting values
on bar, line or pie charts. (3D is not available for pie charts). When
the 3D option is used with line charts, the result is a striking new
format Ribbon Charts. The width of the ribbon cannot be varied. With bar
charts, there is the option of starting X-axis labels halfway along the
space occupied by that label giving a neater effect. A box can be drawn
around bar and line charts. Data legends can be horizontal or (stacked)
vertical but can now be dragged to any position with the mouse cursor.
The positions of all other text and numbers are fixed and can only be
altered in !Draw.
5.12
Data Options is mainly concerned with line and scatter charts but, with
the other types, you can select individual data sets, decide whether or
not to plot a particular set and/or change its identifying colour. With
pie charts, you cannot change the colour of any particular segment which
is allocated in sequence from the colour palette − starting with dark
blue (8) and proceeding anti-clockwise to sky blue (15), repeating if
necessary. For the points on line and scatter charts, there is a choice
of eleven different symbols whose size and colour can be varied. There
is also the option of joining the points with a line of chosen colour
and/or thickness. The thickness window is calibrated in point sizes (n/
72“) up to a value of 99 !! A choice of five patterns is available for
the line including solid, dotted and dashed similar to those in !Draw. A
Best-Fit line can be drawn for scatter chart data sets and line charts
(those with values on each axis) or for the grouped data sets. Statisti
cal data about this line can be displayed and the associated y= a + bx
equation added to the line on the chart. If the gradient is negative you
get y= a + −bx not a − bx.
5.12
For titles, legends and axis labels you can now use any font from those
in your !Fonts directory with control of height and/or width, the
default being 12 pt. Trinity Medium. A Try window, containing a lower
case alphabet is provided to show the font at the selected size. Font
choice is global and you cannot have one font for axis labels and
another for data legends. The selected size applies to axis titles and
labels, data legends and chart sub-titles. Chart titles are 4 points
larger (roughly 20%), e.g. 22 pt compared with 18 pt. With Presenter II
only Corpus Medium was available.
5.12
Axis Menu allows choice of thickness (up to 9 pt) and colour (from a
vertical palette). These apply to both axes but, for the other options,
each axis is treated separately. There is Manual or Auto scaling, Linear
or Log. Labels in log format can only be placed at intervals of powers
of ten. With manual scaling, it is necessary to give the data limits.
Label format can be Fixed Point (with chosen number of decimal places)
or Exponential. With the latter, the full mantissa plus exponent is
displayed for every label so it is advisable to keep these to a minimum.
Only integers are allowed for the mantissa so that a value of 2.5 × 10−5
will be displayed as 3 × 10−5. With manual scaling each axis can be
ticked at a chosen interval with the ticks defining grid lines (if
drawn). In the auto mode, the spacing interval is a fixed unit,
dependent on the data range but you can choose how many of these units
there are between labels and/or ticks. For charts having negative value
limits, the intersection point of the axes can be defined. There is also
a !Draw type Zoom provided for close inspection of any part of the
chart.
5.12
The Save option in the Graph menu offers the choice of saving as a !Draw
file or a GTi (parameter) file. Before working on the !Draw file in
!Draw, you should Select All and Group as the various objects have not
been grouped. However, a nice point is that the whole chart is nicely
positioned just clear of the left-hand bottom corner of the print limits
needing no adjustment before printing. (Y-axis titles may possibly be
clipped.)
5.12
Other reviewers of GTi have commented on the lack of a Style option,
where a series of charts can be drawn using the same format, as with
Chartwell and GraphBox Professional. This presents no problem with GTi
and can be achieved in several ways. Make up a chart to the desired
specification and save it as a GTi file. Double-clicking on the file
icon will display the graph drawn to all the selected options and this
window can be moved to the back to display the worksheet window. You can
alter the cell data values and then re-save as a re-titled !Draw file.
Another option is to alter the data values in the GTi file using !Edit.
5.12
Summing Up
5.12
This latest upgrade of Presenter GTi has considerably increased the
scope and friendliness of the application. It will not draw the polar
graphs of Chartwell, the fir-trees of GraphBox Professional or even the
penguins of PipeDream 4 but you can enter data directly and literally
see the graph grow before your eyes. As such, with its user-friendliness
and uncomplicated menus, it should be a very useful piece of educational
software. The only two rivals are the cheaper Chartwell which has
neither direct input nor display of the finished graph, with only
positive integers accepted and no direct editing, and GraphBox Profes
sional which also lacks the spreadsheet input of Presenter GTi, has
somewhat complicated sub-menus and costs £60 more.
5.12
Possible improvements? Well, it would be nice to be able to choose
different font sizes for titles, legends and labels instead of having to
alter them in !Draw. It should not be difficult to adapt the GTi file
set-up to work as a graph style utility.
5.12
Presenter GTi is available from Lingenuity at £69.95 +VAT (£76 inclusive
from Archive). For owners of Presenter II, an upgrade is available (from
Lingenuity only) by sending the master disc plus £37.01 (which includes
VAT and postage). There is a special Educational Price of £62.95 (+VAT
if applicable).  A
5.12
Example of a Ribbon Chart
5.12
(The Company names are purely fictitious)
5.12
Graph-IT
5.12
Rick Thorne
5.12
Graph-IT, from Sherston Software, comes on a single floppy disc. It has
a quick reference guide which shows keyboard shortcuts and a display
panel, and a user guide with very simple to understand and follow
instructions.
5.12
The user guide
5.12
The accompanying pamphlet assumes that the user is relatively new to
computers. It explains the use of the mouse, the directory viewer and
how to install the program onto hard disc. It also gives information
about the fonts available.
5.12
Graph-IT encompasses work required in the Mathematics National Curricu
lum Attainment Target 5 (Handling Data) and would help younger users
(aged 8-11) become familiar with using a data handling system before
they moved on to more complicated programs such as Junior Pinpoint and
KeyPlus.
5.12
Loading the program is straight forward and the directory viewer is
opened. The Graph-IT program, !Fonts, !Scrap and a choice of ten sample
programs are available. These programs are wide-ranging and most are
suitable for use by primary school children.
5.12
When Graph-IT is first installed, the bars on the icon symbol are grey
but they change colour once a graph has been loaded. The size of the
graph can be changed to suit the user and when using bar charts, the
origin can be moved up or down the y axis to allow for negative numbers.
5.12
The toolbox
5.12
Always present on the left of the screen is a toolbox which allows four
graph types to be used: Bar Chart, Pie Chart, Line Graph and Scatter
Graph. There are two editing modes: Edit View and Edit Data which are
both well explained in the user guide. Having a copy of the quick
reference card alongside the computer is extremely helpful because it
shows the keyboard shortcuts. Displays can be seen in both 2D and 3D and
graphs can be moved and resized quite easily by using handles.
5.12
Saving
5.12
Saving a Graph-IT file is simple by using <F3> or via the menu. They can
also be saved as !Draw files for use in other applications by pressing
<F4> or via the Save sub-menu.
5.12
Editing
5.12
Two modes of operation are available. Edit view is the default mode
which allows seven types of change to be made, such as altering the size
of the chart and changing the current layer. Labels text can be edited
and repositioned but needs to be entered individually. This is accom
plished by pressing <Ctrl-T>. Other selections can be made using
keyboard shortcuts, For example, <Ctrl-S> changes text size, <Ctrl-E>
edits selected labels, and so on. The keyboard shortcuts really are
extremely useful and make the program so much easier to handle.
5.12
Edit Data mode has five types of change, such as altering the display
from pie to bar chart. Entering data is done via the Edit Data mode.
Sets of data can be entered into three different layers via the toolbox
and into any of the four types of graph available.
5.12
Every time a graph type is set up, the appearance can be changed by
using the Style sub menu. There are three font styles; Junior, Montclair
and Tabloid. The size of the numbers is calculated automatically and
depends on the size of the graph.
5.12
Printing
5.12
Printing is straightforward. Once a printer driver has been installed on
the iconbar, pressing <Print> key brings up a Print dialogue box and the
user can make as many copies of the graph as required.
5.12
Graphics
5.12
The graphics are colourfully displayed on screen and would really
enhance classroom displays, especially if a colour printer were
available.
5.12
Conclusion
5.12
Because Graph-IT is so easy to use, I would be more than happy for
children to use the program on several machines simultaneously so I am
seriously considering purchasing a site licence. The user guide is
probably the easiest to follow and understand that I have come across so
far.
5.12
I imagine that the authors have produced it for an educational market
and I am sure that many schools will soon have Graph-IT in their
software libraries. I thoroughly recommend the program as a simple-to-
use learning tool that will assist teachers to fulfil at least one area
of the Mathematics National Curriculum.  A
5.12
!Titler and !Sequencer
5.12
Ned Abell
5.12
These two new discs of software from Clares Micro Supplies provide
comprehensive facilities to allow you to make title presentations on
your Archimedes and, if you have a genlock, allow you to key the
computer graphics over video to record them on tape. I use graphics for
clients as I make promotional videos and !Titler came as a bit of a
surprise as I didn’t know it was on the horizon − I was waiting for
Cable News! Up to now, I’ve been using “Presenter Story” and found the
major limitation with that package is that it doesn’t use conventional
drawfiles. !Titler does, so is it going to steal the “headlines”?
5.12
Acorn computers can’t compete in the general video market unless they
have good software and !Titler seems a leap forward in that direction.
5.12
Presentation packages like this could be used for a variety of appli
cations such as information carousels in buildings and schools, point-
of-sale information and in video production or with a video projector
and A4 for portable conferencing, sales and presentations and also
printed out as overhead transparencies. Clares are also using !Titler to
help create demonstration discs for their software range.
5.12
!Titler is serious about what it does and does it well by providing a
desktop selection system for a full screen editing system aimed at the
amateur video maker who wants to add professional-looking titles to his
pictures. Thus it is RISC-OS compliant software and you can quickly
toggle between selection in the desktop and the work area which is whole
screen. Why not fully compatible? Well, this way you see what you design
at the exact position.
5.12
The package comes with two discs, !Titler for creating the individual
screens saved as script files and !Sequencer which takes those screens
and provides a variety of effects for the transition between the screens
as well as adding other interesting facilities. There is also a double
manual of 63 pages for !Titler and 70 pages for !Sequencer. Both
packages are written by Rob Davidson in New Zealand and the versions
tested were 1.08+. I had to refer to the manual a lot as there are many
key shortcuts and, whilst it is well written, it could benefit from a
different style of layout to create more division between topics, making
the information appear less complex.
5.12
You need a reasonable font cache and programs are provided to switch
between font settings for DTP and Titles. The program must “see”
Homerton to produce the Registration page. If you are working off floppy
with limited fonts, this is unrealistic.
5.12
!Titler brings up a simple but powerful graphical window showing fonts,
discs, layout, effects, colours and tools as well as an area to get into
the work window. You can get menus of all the options over each graphic.
Also, a directory is loaded onto the icon bar to allow quick access to
your screen storage file area − a very nice touch. The function keys
provide alternative easy access to the main font effects and there is a
keystrip.
5.12
What you get out of a package like this is only limited by your
imagination so it’s a little difficult to tell you if it will do exactly
what you want. My guess, however, is − mostly − yes!
5.12
Styles
5.12
The starting point for a commercial video product is to aim to blend the
video artwork in with the clients house style of artwork. !Titler comes
with a font manager, Trinity, Homerton and Bullet (a cut-down Dingbats)
fonts and two utilities to allow you to keep your configured Font
settings but allowing bigger settings for big titles. You need to know
that one point = 1/72th of an inch to gauge sizes on screen.
5.12
Titles
5.12
I decided to create a title page and this was simplicity itself. I had a
digitised sprite of the magazine front cover which I exported into Paint
and cleaned up, also creating a second “A” sprite from this image. I
dragged the Archive cover (mode 15) sprite into the !Titler window. This
can be done in two ways, firstly as a sprite foreground object and
secondly to create a background by using <ctrl-B>. Then text was added
over the top. The second “A” sprite was converted via Trace into a
drawfile, cleaned in Draw+, and also put into the window to complete the
title screen. (If you are going to create any presentations, buy !Trace
from D. Pilling which will allow smooth scaling and save disc space.)
5.12
If you do create a drawfile out of several bits then do remember to
group them otherwise !Titler will allow you to separate the image into
its bits! You can scale, move and size all the images within the package
either by the conventional use of <adjust> or by selecting from the
desktop window. The package also accepts input from, and saves to, other
Clares products like Render Bender 2, Pro-artisan, Illusionist and to
“Clear” image format if the PCAT graphics enhancer podule is fitted. It
can also accept other Titler scripts and Atelier files. Priority rights
can be set, so if you have Paint loaded, as well as Titler, a double
click on a sprite file will load it directly into Titler.
5.12
Flags and straps
5.12
A “flag” is in a corner of the screen, either permanently on and
animated, like the breakfast news clocks, or cut up to tell you where
you are.
5.12
A “strap” runs across the screen telling you more detailed information,
usually about the person talking.
5.12
These can also be simply created using Draw to create a rectangle. It is
then possible to use !Titler to edit this one image into different
shapes for the two required effects. In many video applications, these
are placed over moving images and a semi-translucent or “shadow” box
with solid lettering is used. However, colours in Titler have to be
solid, although you can make colours transparent if you are using the
genlock.
5.12
On the screen, the first thirteen colours are fixed allowing the user to
change the palette of the last three but none of these are “shadow”
colours. In general, the colour “picking” could be improved, for
example, the colours are named, not represented. With a variable palette
facility, why are not all the colours variable and then you could see
which you select − I do, however, understand the need to keep default
colours for those with colour blindness problems. I like to work with a
couple of colours but with about three tones of each one.
5.12
When text is entered onto the screen, it can be moved and sized,
justified, underlined and drop shadows selected, if required, in
different colours. Kerning is available if you want it. Another feature
is slowprint which allows letters to appear one after the other on the
screen − that’s a very good feature.
5.12
!Titler allows many different non-overscan modes and provides a few
modules for you, for example 51 − a 256colour 1248 × 288 pixel mode
which gives a large screen area and is very good for video work and
compatible with XAT’s Video Utilities package.
5.12
Other features
5.12
The individual composition of a page with text creates a script file.
For example if you created:
5.12
The Memory Man
5.12
on the first screen, you could save it as “Mem1” then recall it and add:
5.12
Proudly Presents
5.12
a 16Megabyte production
5.12
saving that as “Mem2” and so on creating a whole series of screens to
complete the titles. In the example of building straps and flags, you do
it this way with a basic screen onto which you recall and add different
text or images. It is also possible to save a screen as a format file
which doesn’t save the text but you can use it as a building block for
several screens.
5.12
The beauty of this package is the way it uses conventional file types
for display. I create drawfiles, spritefiles and text in different fonts
on the computer and use each element to produce graphics over video,
logos on labels and also the video library box outer wrapper, swapping
between !Impression, !Titler, !Trace, !Draw+ and !Paint as and when
required − I can even fax examples of titles to clients!
5.12
!Sequencer
5.12
The second disc in the package takes the titler script screens you have
created and puts them into a display order. You set these up in a
window, creating a sequence order with in and out effects to each window
if they need them and, having finished, you save the whole as a file.
However, there is more to this package as it also accepts screens made
from RISC-OS sprites, Ace films and from packages such as ProArtisan,
Render Bender, Atelier and Clear (PCAT graphics enhancer) pictures. You
can also link your sequences with sound played from relocatable modules,
Armadeus, Sound Tracker and Tracker. Having mastered all that, you can
also use the !Sequencer programming language to change your display, to
create repeats or change scrolling speeds, and add your own external
programs into the display sequence.
5.12
There’s a lot of scope here and a lot of thought has gone into making it
comprehensive. I scored this package very highly. What it won’t do yet
is allow you to create roller captions either vertically or horizontally
− yet these are one of the most useful video effects.
5.12
!Sequencer will create run-only copies of your masterpieces for
distribution. Thus, for example, you could create a display carousel for
a store and distribute it to various computers without networking. I’ve
included a demo for the monthly disk. (Save any work before trying to
run it!)
5.12
Conclusions
5.12
These two packages are a goodly step forward for the Archimedes in that
they provide a sensible route for the amateur video maker. I’m sure
there will be further enhancements to the suite. Paul received a letter
from Roy Follett commenting on the demo version of the packages and he
expressed some of my reservations as well as suggesting that similar
results at a cheaper price could be obtained with Atelier (“with less
ease”) and !Slideshow. My problem with !Slideshow was that it only ran
in Mode15 creating a border around my pictures.
5.12
I consider Clares have done a good job for the price. Yes, it could be
cheaper, but authors continue to develop programs for money as well as
interest. Only demand will tell if it is overpriced.
5.12
If you have an interest in good presentation, these are excellent
packages on which to build. Clares make the point that they do have
plans for support packages and enhancements to this software but
remember, if you are using video tape, you will need to buy a genlock.
5.12
If you have a camcorder and like the idea of making more professional
videos or need an eye − catching display, you won’t go far wrong with
these excellent Kiwi fruits.  A
5.12
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666−840433) (0666−840048)
5.12
Silicon Vision Ltd    Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex  HA1 2AG. (081−861−2173)
(081−427−5169)
5.12
SJ Research    J1 The Paddocks, 347 Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge  CB1
4DH. (0223−416715)
5.12
Spacetech (p13)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset  DT5 2EA.
(0305−822753)
5.12
Turcan Research Systems    83 Green
croft Gardens, West Hampstead, London NW6 3LJ. (071−625−8455)
5.12
Watford Electronics    250 Lower
High Street, Watford  WD1 2AN. (0923−37774) (0923−33642)
5.12
Wyddfa Software    3 Preswylfa, Llanberis, Gwynedd  LL55 4LF.
(0286−870101) (0286−871722)
5.12
Minerva
5.12
From 5.9 page 6
5.12
ICS
5.12
From 5.11 page 20
5.12