Tire Independent Migazlne for the Entire Zenith Computer Gommnnity end Users of Zenith-Compattble Computers Educational Software for Your Zenith or Heathkit Computer Color Graphics Hardware and Software for Your H8 or H/Z89 Microsoft Windows Opens the Door to MS-DOS/PC-DOS/ Z-DOS Compatibility Features One of the major reasons for an individual to purchase a microcomputer is to learn. But your computer can teach you about a lot more than just computers. You can buy software to help you learn a foreign language or how to type; to help your kids learn math or geography. Some programs are games and meant to be entertaining as well as educational; some are strictly business. Some are for teachers; most are for learners. All of the ones here run on Heath/Zenith computers. Windows Opens the Door to Compatibility Frederick Zimmerman 9 The latest addition to the Microsoft Disk Operating System lets you look at more than one program at a time. And now MS-DOS will be able to handle high- resolution graphics on any MS-DOS computer run¬ ning Windows. That little detail means a lot to program¬ mers writing graphics programs. They won’t have to write hardware-specific code. With Windows, when they want a program to run on any MS-DOS machine (such as the Z100), they can write it to run on all MS- DOS machines. Color Graphics for Your ’8 or ’89 Ralph W. Boyd 15 Forming a Local HUG Herbert A. Friedman 25 A local Heath Users’ Group is one of your best sources of advice, expertise, and “computer socializing.’’ For those of you who don’t have one nearby, here’s the story of how a successful HUG was formed in southern California. If you already have one up and running, you might want to look in on how another group handles things. Turn Your Computer into an Electronic Typewriter Thomas G. Bohon 30 Do you really need a $300 word-processing program to write a nasty letter to your Congressperson? Or even a $100 package? Or do the kids need one to write a thank-you note for Aunt Harriet’s birthday gift? Hardly. For 40 lines of Benton Harbor BASIC you can type your letter, proof it, and address the envelope. (Both disk and cassette versions, too.) 15 If you want color and really good graphics on your ’8 or ’89, you have to add a graphics board. Then you have to get software that can exploit that board’s potential. Here’s a survey of the add-on boards for the H8 and H/Z89. And here’s a look at some games that require them—and software that will help you write programs, yourself. Issue #10 May-June 1984 Put an Electronic Disk into Your H8 Thomas R. Sear 33 The H8 is one of the most durable micros around—and Trionyx Electronics is an important factor in that dur¬ ability. One of their recent add-on boards is the X/2- H8. It lets you CACHE programs for instant recall. It can also give you a super-fast “electronic disk” holding up to 192K of files. Doctor Your Daisywheel Device Driver Charles E. Cohn 37 The Diablo is one of the most popular letter-quality printers. And a lot of others emulate it. In using his Diablo, our author found some annoying traits in the HD OS device driver for it—like starting work by spitting out a whole sheet of paper even when the paper was already at top-of-form. If you have similar problems, you’ll want to take a look at his improvements to HDOS’s Diablo driver—even if you have a different kind of printer. Educational Software Roundup Frederick Zimmerman 43 Classy Bar Graphs Robert W. Rasch 55 Graphics Algorithm Optimized for 8080 or Z80 David Troendle 63 Really spiffy computer graphics are frequently slow. They needn’t be, though. The concepts on which a program is based can be logically simple—and enhance speed at the same time. You can find out why and how from one of the folks who first brought sophisticated graphics capability to Heath/Zenith computers. Departments The Editorial Eye 3 Letters 5 Index to Advertisers 74 Supplier Notes 77 Classified Ads 78 Luminaries 78 Standard Operating Procedure Take Advantage of Z-DOS Batch Files Peter Norton 79 Scuttlebutt 85 Cover Photos: States Quiz/Demo by Charles Floto Microsoft Windows courtesy of Microsoft Corporation Color graphics by Ralph Boyd A good bar graph sums up information. In doing so, it can point out relation¬ ships that might otherwise be over¬ looked. That can take a lot of work, though—unless you have a program to do it for you. This one’s in Microsoft BASIC. Batch files can provide a script to direct the operations of your H/Z110, 120, T50, or 160. a $100.00 prize for the first person to solve the mystery and send in their answer by certified mail. $49.95 WIZARD OF ZEN™ A children’s anthology with some of the traditional games such as HANGMAN, TIC-TAC-TOE, as well as GRUMPUS - a series of fantasy tales - and the adventure game of Wizard of Zen(ith) . $39.95 MISSILE ALERT™ Would you like to play a game? A game about the fall of Central America and the Carribeans to the Russians. A game about nuclear missiles and the invasion of the U.S. where you are the armchair general commanding the American forces. An all too real simulation to challenge the most seasoned strategist . $49.95 SLEUTH™ Inspired by the works of Agatha Christe, this graphic and text mystery game will challenge the most cunning sleuth. You have been invited to dinner at the Bell Mansion along with 11 other guests. Before the night is through, someone or even all the guests, will be murdered. It is up to you to discover the means, the motive and finally the killer. This game has over 20 different outcomes, each quite different with levels of increasing difficulty. We will be offering a prize (details in issue #1 of Robot World) for the Sleuth to solve Mystery #20 . $49.95 SEA OPDYSEY™ A truly exciting adventure of epic proportions. You will need a HZ-100 Computer with ZDOS, color card, and a color monitor (or IBM-PC Computer with MS/DOS and color card) to play this game. It includes dazzling graphic displays and animation. We have used the full 128K of the computer memory and most of the 300K disk space to create an adventure we believe will be state-of-the-art for years to come. As captain of Athena, you embark upon a ques it to see the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. More details about this ALSO NOW SHIPPING: r Quest®.Sphinx®.Time Trek ncluded a price list for your ordering convenience. ire always open — 24 hours/day, 7 days/week 95046 world of fantasy and science ripfon. Now owners of the IBM-PC or HZ-100 _can experience the unique state-of-the-art game software from CYBOSOFT™. >rs of Fantasyland 2041 A.D., Dungeon Quest®, and Sphinx® come five more exciting *1™ An exciting 300K animated adventure game. Explore the treacherous halls of a classic haunte J rely a text game or static graphics, but full high-resolution with color and real time action. This game us il of the computer’s 16 bit chip and occupies more than 300K on the disk. Now available! We « , as well $39.95 ns to the manding 1&49.95 of epic proportions. You will need a HZ-100 Computer with ZDOS, color card, with MS/DOS and color card) to play this game. It includes dazzling graphic full 128K of the computer memory and most of the 300K disk space to create . *_ I i 1 details about this . $49.95 into a lovable playmate who teaches basic counting, the alphabet and (First of the Robot Educational Series.) . $39.95 ch includes Wake Up, Robot, Minder, Sentry, The Comedian and Here s’“, Cyborg II® (Robatutor™) and Cyborg III® (Robabutler™). $99.95 IOSOFT™ * 14210 Les me ★ San artin Charles Floto Editor Publisher Sharon E. Conaway Assistant Publisher Advertising Manager Elizabeth P. Saxon Production Manager Marketing Assistant John Walker Technical Editor Jennie D. Allen Assistant Editor Production Assistant Frederick Zimmerman Staff Writer Martha W. Swain Production Assistant Advertising Assistant John Gill Circulation Assistant Subscription Service • 202/544-0900 Advertising Inquiries • 202/544-2868 Authors’ Inquiries • 202/544-2867 Charles Floto * 202/544-0484 Sextant (ISSN 0731-2180) is pub¬ lished bimonthly by Sextant Publish¬ ing Co., 716 E Street SE, Washing¬ ton, DC 20003. Second-class postage paid at Washington, DC and at additional mailing offices. POST¬ MASTER: Send address changes to Sextant, 716 E Street SE, Washing¬ ton, DC 20003. Copyright© 1984 by Sextant Pub¬ lishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be re¬ printed or otherwise reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the USA by The Sheridan Press, Hanover, PA 17331. Subscription rates: 6 issues (1 year) in U.S.—$14.97; in Canada and Mexico—$17.25; overseas—$21.00. Payment accepted by check in U.S. dollars payable on a U.S. bank, by U.S. and international postal money order^ and by Visa and MasterCard. Please allow six to eight weeks for delivery. “Heath” and “Heathkit” are trade¬ marks of the Heath Company. “CP/M” is a trademark of Digital Research. The Editorial Eye I’ve been covering the growth of the Heath computer family since 1977. The next few months may be the most difficult in the past seven years. On February 22, Zenith Data Systems announced two new prod¬ ucts compatible with the IBM Per¬ sonal Computer. The desktop Z150 and transportable Z160 are initially no more compatible with Zenith’s earlier products than IBM’s PC has been. The differences were de¬ scribed last issue in Graham Wide- man’s discussion: “Why Won’t All That IBM-PC Software Run on My Z100?” A computer vendor’s new product introductions often present a shock to its existing customers. Two years ago, there were Z89 users who felt that machine should have been en¬ hanced further. They resented the decision to devote the resources of Zenith Data Systems to development of the Z110 and Z120. Most Z89 owners, however, were prepared to recognize that the new products represented a real advancement, with their larger memory capac¬ ity, faster processor speed, and superior graphics support. Moreover, there was significant compatibility between the new and existing products. One of the new computer’s dual microprocessors could run much existing Heath/Zenith software. The ’110 and ’120 emulated the functions of the H/Z19 terminal so familiar to users of the H8 and H/Z89 computers. They included as standard equipment a controller for both 8" floppy disk drives and 5.25" soft-sector floppies—two data storage options available to ’8 and ’89 users. This time, however, ZDS’s new products are admitted to offer less ver¬ satility than its existing computers. For the present, they also have few elements of compatibility. But two coming products promise to improve this situation. One—so far only a rumor—would give the Z150 and Z160 the same high-resolution graphics as the 110 and 120. The major element of compatibility between the new and existing computers will arrive when they all can run Microsoft’s Windows extension to its disk operating sys¬ tem. As Fred Zimmerman explains in this issue, “Windows Opens the Door to Compatibility” between scores of computer models and a body of software that promises to be one of the largest available. More immediately, 110 and 120 users have available a number of soft¬ ware products aimed at the general MS-DOS marketplace. Several of these are sold with an ‘installation’ program capable of customizing them for the keyboard and high-resolution graphics of the 110 and 120. Zenith Data Systems has promised continued support for the 110 and 120. Many users of these systems will be more comfortable when these promises are reflected in available software products. Z-DOS version 2 and Microsoft Windows should be especially high priorities for early release. Sextant May-June 1984 3 You can be a performance leader in business or at home with the H-10QQ, Great News for Heath & Zenith Owners! A Z80/8086 Upgrade for the H89/Z89 The H-1000 is a plug in replacement for your present CPU board, giving you twice the speed, twice the I/O capacity and four times the memory. Yet it's totally compatible with all your present H89/Z89 hardware and software. Best of all, we've added the 8086, a true 16-bit CPU for the high performance software of the 80's. You get com¬ patibility with such machines as Zenith Z-100 and IBM PC at a fraction of the cost of a new system. Regardless of the operating system, you get virtually all the benefits of an additional disk drive, even if you only have one. Our "ghost disk" system loads your disk into the memory. This becomes the extra disk drive and leaves your real drive free for another disk. RAM is many thou¬ sands of times faster than the best disk drive, so you get practically instantaneous access to information. That's important for programs re¬ quiring frequent access to large data bases, or if you simply don't like waiting while your computer talks to your disk drive. TMSI has taken the best features of your 8-bit computer and combined them with the best of the 16's to give you a package that's state-of the-art... and the ONLY package that lets you build on all your current investment...instead of starting over! The H-1000 comes safely packaged, fully as¬ sembled and tested. It can be installed in under an hour using the manual provided. No soldering or special tools are required. A full 90 day war¬ ranty covers each unit with an optional service contract available. Compare this performance leader to other systems. We think TMSI gives you your best choice. COMPATIBILITY CHART 8/16 BIT SYSTEM 16 BIT SYSTEM 8 BIT SYSTEMS 8/16 BIT SYSTEM Z100 IBM PC H89/Z89 DG SUPER 89 H-1000 Runs Z80 and 8080 code no no yes yes yes HDOS 2.0 compatible no no : yes yes yes CP/M compatible yes no yes yes yes Runs all H89/Z89 software no no yes yes yes Supports all H89/Z89 hardware no no yes yes yes 8-bit clock 5MHz none 2MHz 4MHz 2/4MHz 16-bit clock 5MHz 4.7MHz none none 8MHz Maximum memory 756k 756k 64k 256k 1048k Runs MS-DOS and CP/M-86 yes yes no no yes color graphics yes yes no no no price/performa nee ouch ouch good better best Complete systems as well as the H-1000 board are available. For more information and dealer listings, call or write NOW. Dealer inquiries invited. TMSI Technical Micro Systems, Inc. P.O. Box 7227, Dept. A 366 Cloverdale Ann Arbor, Ml 48107 (313) 994-0784 copyright 1983 by TMSI H-1000 and TMSI are trademarks of Technical Micro Systems, Inc. H89, Z89, Z100 Heath and HDOS are trademarks of Heath/Zenith Corp., Benton Harbor, Michigan. MSDOS is a trademark of Microsoft, Bellevue, Washington. CP/M and CP/M-86 are trademarks of Digital Research, Inc., Pacific Grove, California. Super 89 is a trademark of D.G. Electronic Developments Co., of Denison, Texas. IBM PC is a trademark of international Business Machines Corp., of Armonk, New York. Circle #173 on Reader Service Card Letters 99G Not the Only Way to Get Around In the [Winter 1984] issue of Sextant, page 43, you had some nice things to tell about the MPI 99G. But also some negative about the H25. I think you could get the H25 to work faster than the 99G if you let dBASE II sort down the addresses to a file on a disk—floppy or hard. And that doesn’t take much time. Then if you let a spooler take care of the rest you can even use the computer “all” the time. And the problem with the small form length is taken care of by UD.DVD or UD.COM, which makes it possible to de¬ cide the number of lines to print or to skip. So I don’t think your way is the only way to get around ... Bengt Thorson, M.D. Fritsla, Sweden Notes from Germany I wish that I would have known about the survey of military users of H/Z computers that was conducted (Sextant #8, Winter 1984), but somewhere along the line I missed out on hearing about it. Oh, well, maybe next time. Actually I’ve been meaning to write this letter since the first article came out concern¬ ing moving a computer through military movers. About a year ago I was trans¬ ferred from Ft. Lewis, Washington, to Germany and was somewhat apprehen¬ sive about shipping my H89. I finally decided that storing it for three years would be much worse than shipping it and having it destroyed, so I boxed it up. Before I boxed it up, though, I reread David Esche’s article (issue #2) to see if I’d missed anything. The only thing that I did that he didn’t mention was that I put the whole computer into a large, heavy-duty plastic bag so that if anything was knocked loose, it wouldn’t get mixed in with the packing. Anyway, it worked like a champ except for two of the foam mounts for the monitor getting broken, but some super glue fixed that. Other¬ wise, everything worked out fine when I turned on the power. As a point of information for others here in Germany, the Heath/Zenith store in Dreieich (just south of Frank¬ furt) no longer sells or services Heath products. They do still sell (and service, I guess) Zenith products. The only place in West Germany that now services Heath products is: CP/D Jansen & Nossler oHG Vulkanstrasse 13 4000 Dusseldorf Telephone 0211-784278 Whether or not they sell Heath products I do not know. I was provided the ad¬ dress and phone number by the people at the Dreieich store when I went out there to get a voltmeter repaired. As far as active HUGs over here, I haven’t been able to locate one. I con¬ tacted the people at the Dreieich store in reference to the German group and was told that they (the store) didn’t have time to sponsor the group and that it was largely inactive. I contacted the only other person I had a name or address for in regards to the American HUG and was told that, again, the group was largely inactive and was asked if he could call me back later in the day. I never received a call so I gathered that the group really was inactive! If anyone is interested in trying to form a group of some sort over here please get in touch with me at either my mailing address below or at my unit, B Company, 503d Aviation Battalion, or by calling me at home 0611-56-53-03 here in Frank¬ furt. CW3 Tom Putnam USACAE, Box 49 APO New York, 09710 A Lower-Budget Alternative Wayne Rash, Jr. points out in his ar¬ ticle “Adding 16K Memory to the ’89— A Low-Budget Alternative” in Sextant, Winter 1984, a nice way to get the extra memory up and running. There is no cause for criticism of that story but the editorial comment on the Index page places an undeserved accolade on the work. Specifically, you should not have used the superlative in “the most inexpensive way to take your RAM from 48K to 64K” line. Steve Howard in Microcomputing, August-’82, and a letter to the editor in November, details a simpler and less expensive memory expansion procedure. The only costs involved in his scheme are for eight 4116 chips and a few inches of wire. That’s 23 fewer com¬ ponents than Wayne uses! So to Steve go the kudos for the “most”; and to you, chidings for exuber¬ ance. P.E. Gustafson Belmont, MA Messenger III Even Better It was indeed interesting to read Gordon Nichols’ article on the SCM TP-I daisywheel printer in issue #8 of Sextant. I wonder whether readers are aware of the new “electronic typewriters” that have recently come on the market, no¬ tably the Memory Messenger III by SCM? I came across this machine, and many others, on a recent pass through a local catalog show room. A close look at the Messenger III shows that the daisy- wheel printer mechanism appears to be similar (if not the same) as the one in the TP-l! It comes with a plug in the rear for a computer interface. How in¬ teresting! The computer interface has both serial and parallel interface input plugs; the serial is RS-232C and the parallel is “Centronics.” The ad sheet states that it can be hooked up as a daisywheel printer with most any present-day com¬ puters using popular word-processor software. My, my, how very interesting! And the price is about half that of the TP-I, and you get a typewriter (it has a full keyboard) to boot! When I discov¬ ered it was on sale, I just couldn’t resist. I bought one, with the computer inter¬ face! Call it “weak-kneed” impulse buy¬ ing! A little hardware “fooling around”— and the Memory Correct III Messenger electronic daisywheel typewriter was up and running. Plugged it into the same port as my venerable old Epson MX-80 and away she went! Types beautifully with no major problems other than the text editor (CP/M ed) will not key the SC M’s special function codes. This letter was typed on the HI9, disk-filed, and PRINTed on the SCM. (I still use my venerable old 64K H8 here!) I can vouch that the SCM Electronic Typewriter will work fine with the H89 (or Z100 for that matter) and recom¬ mend it for personal home use at much lower cost than the TP-I! Don’t misun¬ derstand—the TP-I (and TP-II) is a fine printer also, but its price and end-use suggest that it is better suited for busi¬ ness or office. In case anyone wonders, the SCM Electronic Typewriter uses the same typewheels as the TP-I! Just think of the beautiful job you can do on your resume with one of these! Paul B. Boivin, Jr. Lincoln, RI SoftShop Driver I enjoyed reading Gordon Nichols’ article on the Smith-Corona TP-I daisy- wheel printer [Sextant #8, Winter 1984]. As the owner of a TP-I for the past year or so, I agree that it is an excellent printer for home use. I also agree with the com¬ ments in the letter from Dave Mann that the Smith-Corona people have been top drawer as far as servicing their machines. My dealings have been with the local service center (Baltimore, Maryland) which did a minor repair on my TP-I, while it was under warranty, and also sold and installed the tractor feed. Sextant May-June 1984 5 By the way, I strongly recommend buying the tractor feed as it is really necessary if you plan on using the printer with fan-fold paper. The primary reason for my letter is to tell you of my experiences with the “Universal Device Driver” mentioned by Gordon in his article. When I initially tried to use the driver on my H89 with HDOS, it double-spaced each line of text. This was due to the differences in the way the driver and the TP-I handle carriage returns. As noted by Gordon, the TP-I does a line feed and carriage return on the carriage return signal (just like your electric typewriter). However, the driver views the carriage return and line feed as separate signals and thus sends one of each at the end of each line of text. My requests for help to the driver distributor (SoftShop) were referred to the writer of the program (Charlie Layman, 35 Kendall Road, Sudbury, MA 01776), and we were able to work out this problem and the chain of others that seemed to crop up with each suc¬ cessive fix of the earlier problems. In short, Charlie now has a driver which is ideally suited for use with the TP-I and which takes advantage of some of the printer’s special features (such as setting the left hand margin). Currently I am in the process of mod¬ ifying the driver to print character H19/H89/H89A Improve your keyboard—add easy to use Automatic Key Repeat Circuit Complete kit.$30 Assembled & tested.$38 CDR Systems disk controller for H89. Our price. Call EMULATE.COM —You can now read/ write to Osborne, Xerox, Morrow and other disk formats! Requires CDR Con¬ troller.$29 Call for Heath H37 version. Media xfer service— CP/M 8" standard to any HEATH 5*4" format.$5/disk You supply a formatted destination disk. We can also transfer to/from Osborne, Xerox, Morrow and many others! The Software Toolworks® We sell it at 20% discount! Include $ 1/order for handling. Send for info on other kits and software WE PAY POSTAGE! CA residents add 6% tax Specify disk format on software ANALYTICAL PRODUCTS 40793 Gibbel Road Hemet, CA 92343 714/929-6919 Circle #197 on Reader Service Card combinations for certain characters that the printer currently can not print (such as using “*” for the up arrow). In the past I have had to do this with each program I wrote. Would I buy a TP-I again? You can bet I would! While Smith-Corona has introduced the TP-II, which is alleged to do away with some of the limitations of the TP-I (like an increase in the number of printable characters, acces¬ sible dip switches, and a buffer), the deep discounts currently on the TP-I make it an even better buy. Richard J. Kiessel Germantown, MD [SoftShop, 35 Shadow Oak Drive, Sud¬ bury, MA 01776, 617/443-9693.] A Computer Dealer’s Perspective Gordon W. Nichols takes a few pot¬ shots at computer stores in his recent article on TP-I printers [Sextant #8, Winter 1984]. In his search for a dealer, he contends “... if they don’t sell it, they don’t want to talk about it!” We are a Zenith Data Systems dealer in his locale. Had he called us about the TP-I (and he may have), we would have talked about it! There are several things Mr. Nichols needs to understand about com¬ puter stores. First, no computer store owner can keep up completely with every product on the market, nor can he keep up with all the developments in each of his own product lines. Usually each dealer has several special customers who are able to provide that information, alert the dealer on new products with potential, and on problems with existing products. We certainly do have those customers, and they are rewarded with discounts and special deals. Even when a new product shows promise, it’s not always possible to pur¬ chase even an evaluation unit (let alone to begin stocking merchandise). The time to properly evaluate a single new product line for a store probably elimi¬ nates many products from the shelf. Of course, I’m speaking about a reputable independent dealer, not the computer supermarkets. Third, the local computer store has much higher overhead (stocking levels, telephone, store rental, salaries and wages to stay open during business hours, advertising, etc.) than the average fellow selling out of his living room. Since the customer is in close proximity, full service (including full software and hardware configuration) must be in¬ cluded with the sale, or the customer is unhappy. Customers expect no service from the mail order operation. Appar¬ ently Mr. Nichols feels the same, since no solutions to his problems were either sought or obtained from The Bottom Line, his supplier. Indeed, we did have a chance to check out the TP-I at a computer show here in Dallas last year. It was built like a typewriter, not a computer peripheral. It was slow, unidirectional, poorly doc¬ umented, and the print quality was in¬ ferior (uneven lines, imperfect charac¬ ters). The service network didn’t exist (they expected typewriter service cen¬ ters to handle the job). We didn’t even like the rattles the printer emitted dur¬ ing operation. Though we were aching to offer our customers a letter-quality printer for less than $1,000, we couldn’t in good conscience offer the TP-I. Let us hypothesize. Suppose we did handle the TP-I, and that we spent the appropriate time to discover the proper way to set the switches, build the cable, and configure various software packages to fully utilize it. Suppose Mr. Nichols was able to find our small (yet expen¬ sive) Yellow Pages ad, and that he took the time to travel from Fort Worth to our store to check it out. I believe that after getting a chance to see the printer in action, noting the cable requirements, and in general taking up the salesper¬ sons’ time, Mr. Nichols would have re¬ jected the reasonable $895 retail price. He would have gone back home without a printer and picked up the phone and ordered one from New Hampshire. Our most incredible case was the customer who came to look at a dot¬ matrix printer ($399, on sale at $299). He let us demonstrate it on Zenith equipment (like his own), spending nearly an hour with him, then left with¬ out one. A week later his “buddy” called asking for help on getting the same brand printer going on his pal’s machine. When asked where the machine came from, he said another store sold it for $10 less than we did. You can imagine where I suggested he get his configur¬ ation information. This is not to reduce Mr. Nichols to Wondering how many issues are left on your subscription? 5516 2JUN 398 0.00 --> 13 The rightmost number in the top row of your address label indicates the last issue on your subscription. The last issue number shown above is 13, indicating that the subscription ends with the November-December 1984 issue of Sextant. As the expiration of your subscription draws near, we will be sending you re¬ minders to renew. 6 Sextant May-June 1984 the “bad guy.” It’s human nature to save money. If you can get the information you need without making a retail pur¬ chase, why pay retail? The mail order house didn’t know Heathkit even ex¬ isted, I’ll bet. They had no investment in research and development to make the TP-I work on one. If the truth were known, they probably operate the same as most of the other mail order people: no stock, no office, no sales people, just take an order, have it drop shipped (the customer doesn’t mind waiting one to three weeks), and make 5% or 8% on the deal. If the device fails, give the irate customer the name of a local service center. No mess, no expense, no further word from the customer. It’s interesting that Mr. Nichols was unhappy that he had to purchase his ribbons by mail from a local store be¬ cause his schedule didn’t allow him to buy during business hours. He didn’t mind the wait for his printer! Any good retailer would have offered the ribbons to him as he bought the printer. Why didn’t New Hampshire supply them, or at least send him the name of a local supplier? Would a local retailer have been able to get away with that kind of service? Had Mr. Nichols checked with us, he probably would have left with either a Diablo 620 or a Silver-Reed printer. Sure, we carry both, along with more expensive lines. In the last year we’ve evaluated several other models, and these are the only two in this price range that work without headaches. We have local service on both. Most office supply stores around here stock ribbons and printwheels, although we stock them ourselves for customer convenience. We have researched the cable require¬ ments for all four of the computer lines we carry. We have determined the most advantageous configurations for the most common software packages (like WordStar, PeachText, Benchmark). When we deliver one of these printers, it has already been hooked up to one of our machines, and operation has been verified. The customer is given a little instruction on use and care of the printer. While Mr. Nichols has deduced that a computer store is down on a particular brand because it’s not one the store carries, I believe he’s got cause and ef¬ fect reversed. The store doesn’t carry the line because they’ve found it in¬ ferior. Most any computer store can obtain any peripheral from a supplier if the customer wants to special-order it. Make no mistake; the retailer is going to carry the lines he feels the majority of the public will demand, else he’s out of business. But he has to choose his product line with an eye to after-sale support requirements. With a local cus¬ tomer, problems cannot be ignored like The Bottom Line and Smith-Corona apparently ignored Mr. Nichols’ inquir¬ ies. The customer has the ability to add to his dealer’s client base, or subtract from it, just by word of mouth. Few mail order houses have that weight on their shoulders. Why don’t we see articles describing the trials and tribulations of the Diablo, Silver-Reed, Star, Toshiba, or Prowriter lines? It’s because they work, are prop¬ erly documented, and have local service centers nationwide. If the TP-I was such a great buy, why was the article necessary at all? Nearly every paragraph describes problems Mr. Nichols had getting the TP-I to work. Wouldn’t a faster, quality printer that worked from the moment he plugged it in have been worth a few hundred dollars more? Then he could have written a glowing report about its capabilities and ease of use. It seems to me that 73 column inches (plus headlines and pictures!) were spent (not to mention the time readers spent read¬ ing it!) merely to describe how Mr. Nichols tried to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Ken Patrick, Owner Tex-Matics Micro Systems Plano, TX Correction The ad for CIMS, Inc. in Sextant #9 listed two different phone numbers for the company. The correct number is 504/254-0545. DISKS0RT Sort any Disk File Fast and easy-to-use stand-alone SORT utility. 30+ page manual with many examples. Specify: ZD0S CP/M HD0S. $49.95 E.A.SY Executive Appointment Secretary Time management made EASY. Throw away your appointment book and keep your schedules the EASY way. Specify ZD0S CP/M FIDOS IBM KAYPR0. $49.95 ZOOS TOOLS Three Programs for your H/Z-100 UNDERLINE text on your screen SORT yourZDOS directory Display serial port status. $24.95 DUALP0RT Connect a 2nd Terminal to your Heath/Zenith computer. Specify ZD0S CP/M FIDOS. $39.95 ZBERT Fast Action Video Arcade Game and Graphics Editor. Requires ZBASIC and full video RAM. $29.95 S-BASIC Write Structured BASIC Programs You’ll wonder how you ever wrote programs without S-BASIC. Specify ZD0S CP/M HD0S. $49.95 COLOR GAMES Enjoy “Othello’,’ “Battleship’,’ “Blackjack’,’ “Isolation’,’ and “Yahtzee” in color. Requires ZD0S/ZBASIC and full video RAM. $24.95 ZDUMP Edit your ZD0S disks in Flex or ASCII using cursor control keys. $29.95 CALL FOR CURRENT PRICING ON NEW’ Z-150 COMPUTERS. SUNFLOWER SOFTWARE, INC. (913)631-1333 13915 Midland Drive, Dept. S4, Shawnee, KS 66216 SUNFLOWER SOFTWARE, INC. 13915 Midland Drive, Dept. S4 Shawnee, KS 66216 (913)631-1333 □ Please, send me a free catalog □ H8 □ H/Z89 □ H/Z100 NAME_ ADDRESS. CITY_ .STATE APT ZIP □ VISA □ M/C ITEM ACCT #_ EXP DATE. FORMAT PRICE Kansas 4V2% tax. Shipping/Handling Amount Enclosed 2.00 Circle #171 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 7 Checklist for Z-100 Computer Users: & _ ^ r \ data systems 122 Yankee Drive St. Charles, MO 63301 (314)946-1968 Windows Opens the Door to Compatibility Microsoft’s extension to its operating system provides incentives to software designers to leave hardware-specific code out of their programs. Frederick Zimmerman On November 10, 1983, Microsoft announced Windows, an extension of the Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS). (The Zenith Disk Operating System, Z-DOS, is based on MS-DOS.) Windows will allow MS-DOS users to display several “well behaved” pro¬ grams on the screen at once, in separate portions of the screen called “windows. “Well behaved” programs include, first, those programs which are written spe¬ cifically to run under Windows, and, second, those existing MS-DOS pro¬ grams which handle all their input/ output through MS-DOS. Since Win¬ dows is so new, there are few programs in the first category, but it is probable that many such programs will be de¬ veloped in the future. That’s because programs written to run under Windows will run without modification on any MS-DOS computer using Windows, and at least 23 comp¬ anies which manufacture MS-DOS com¬ patible computers have agreed to sup¬ port Windows. These manufacturers in¬ clude Honeywell Texas Instruments, Digital Equipment Corporation, Com¬ paq, Hewlett-Packard, Wang, and Zenith, which is supporting Windows for the Z100 and for Zenith s newest computer, the Z150. (IBM hasn’t made any public announcements regarding Windows, but Microsoft will adapt Win¬ dows to run on the IBM Personal Com¬ puter.) So there will be a very large market for Windows software, which means that many programmers will write programs for Windows. The up¬ shot is that Z100 and Z150 users can now be confident that they will be able to run a high proportion of the software developed in the next few years for MS- DOS compatible computers. What Windows requires on the Z100 and Z150 Windows will require 192K RAM, two floppy disk drives, a bit-mapped graphics display, version 2.0 of MS- DOS, and a pointing device called a ‘mouse’. Note that the standard model Z100 comes with 128K RAM, so Z100 users will have to buy at least 64 K of additional RAM. (An upgrade kit is o o a o U MICRSOF 1*1? i«s«H hm '#ti* frtii tail Wm fswste* fcte mtk mmm is mmm mi &M m fkstl mi simA M m mitml mi flmlih sslj* t*st is j* kimm? tit mmm $ rmasi it m sits* i«4 i* m temMk mtmm. Microsoft Windows enables you to display several programs simultaneously. available from Zenith for $165— although that s not the least expensive way to buy nine memory chips.) Also note that at this writing, in early Feb- ruary. Zenith had not yet released Z- DOS 2.0, its version of MS-DOS 2.0. However, Zenith announced in early December that Windows will be avail¬ able for the Z100, so Z-DOS 2.0 should be forthcoming. A mouse is a pointing device, about the size of a pack of cards, which has a tracking ball on its bottom, and one, two, or three buttons on its top. You roll it around on the desktop next to you, and the cursor moves around the screen in response. The advantage is that you can move the cursor to a new location on the screen with just one simple hand move¬ ment rather than the numerous key¬ strokes which might be required using the arrow keys on a standard computer keyboard. Zenith has announced that it will offer Microsoft’s $195 mouse, which will plug into any standard RS-232 port. Many of the trendiest new products in microcomputing use a mouse. (For example: the software which comes with Apple’s Lisa and Macintosh com¬ puters; and VisiCorp’s VisiON, a soft¬ ware package which performs functions similar to Microsoft Windows.) This is because a mouse makes it easier for new computer users to operate a computer. Moving the cursor by a hand movement is quicker and more natural than key¬ stroke after keystroke on the arrow keys. Moreover, it’s easy to use a mouse to select options from a menu, a brief list of possible actions. You roll the mouse around so that the cursor is pointing at the option you want then simply press a button on the mouse. The intuitive ap¬ peal is strong: it is a basic human instinct to point at things we want. A window manager Since Windows is an unreleased pro¬ duct it would be premature to go too deeply into the precise details of the program’s operation. Such details may change before the program is actually released. (Which, according to Micro¬ soft will be in the “late second quarter of 1984.) However, it is safe to describe Windows operations in a general way. One of Windows major functions is as a “window manager.” In this capacity, Windows allows you to manage the presentation of information on the computer’s display screen. You can use Windows to display several applications programs simultaneously in different parts of the screen. You can use a program in one window while referring to the information in one or more other windows. Note, though, that the programs do not run concurrently, so only one win¬ dow can be active at any moment. The information in any other window is frozen until you “open it. You give instructions to the program by using a mouse either to point the cursor at an option from a menu, or to point at an “icon , a small drawing representing an action the computer can perform. Judging by the pictures I ve seen of Windows (for example, in the December 1983 Byte and January 1984 PC World ), the menu is similar in style and format to the menu used in Microsoft’s popular Multiplan spread¬ sheet. The Multiplan menu is relatively easy to understand and use, and it seems probable that the same is true of Windows. Similarly, it seems likely that it will be easy to identify and point to the correct icons. There are several icons in each window: for example, the “title icon shows the name of the program current¬ ly active in the window, and the “grow” icon is used to change the size of the window. All you need to do is point to the appropriate icon and press a button. Sextant May-June 1984 9 and the window will change accord¬ ingly. But what do you do with Windows? Let’s look at an example. A work session using Windows First a caveat: the following hypo¬ thetical Windows work session is based upon “sneak preview information pub¬ lished in Byte, December 1983; PC World , January 1984; and InfoWorld , November 21, 1983. Microsoft demon¬ strated Windows at the time of the product announcement in November. You might start by using Windows to create two windows on your screen; call them A and B. You can create more than two windows if you choose; this is just an example. The program will automatically di¬ vide the screen into equal-sized win¬ dows. Two windows—one for a spread¬ sheet say, and another for a word processor—will fill up half the screen each. Three windows will fill up a third of the screen each, and so forth. But it is easy to change the size of a window using the “grow icon in the bottom of the window to either expand or shrink it. The other windows will automatically resize themselves to fit on the screen. (Note that in VisiCorp s VisiON and Apple’s Lisa, the other windows would not resize themselves. Growing win¬ dows would overlap windows which were in their way, and shrinking win¬ dows would leave blank areas on the screen. Microsoft says that its research indicated that users prefer to have “neat’ screens.) Let’s assume that you use a spread¬ sheet program in Window A. You work for a while, using the mouse to move the cursor from one spreadsheet cell to another. When you re finished with one phase of your calculations, you decide that you want to write a memo based on those calculations. So, by performing a simple sequence of motions with your mouse, you leave window A and go to window B. In window B, you run your word processor and start typing your memo. As you write, you can refer to that portion of the spreadsheet matrix which is still visible in Window A. If you had other windows open, you could look at the information on display there. If you want to look at a part of the spreadsheet matrix in window A which isn’t currently visible, you can easily change the information which is pre¬ sented in a window. All you need to do is It is a basic human instinct to point at things we want. leave window B and move the cursor to the vertical and horizontal “scroll bars’ of window A. If you move the cursor to the vertical scroll bar and then move up or down, you will scroll up or down through whatever information the win¬ dow is presenting (e.g., a text file or a spreadsheet matrix); similarly with hori¬ zontal scroll, to the left and right. How helpful is a window manager? Window management will save you time, because you won’t have to shut down one program to work on another. Admittedly, for most computer users, that s a convenience, not a necessity. Most users could probably get by with just one window at a time. However, multiple windows are a nifty gimmick, and Windows will be priced “as an operating system component, i.e. inex¬ pensively. And there are some users for whom it might be very useful to have multiple windows on the screen— accountants, for example, might want to refer to a spreadsheet as they write a report. Will my current software run un¬ der Windows? Any existing program which was writ¬ ten for MS-DOS 2.0, and which handles input/output strictly through MS-DOS, should run properly under Windows. Unfortunately, the bottom line for Z100 owners is that very few such programs are available at this writing. The fact that a program will run under Z- DOS, Zenith s version of MS-DOS, is not enough to assure you that it strictly follows MS-DOS requirements. It is more likely that the program was writ¬ ten mostly for MS-DOS, then custom¬ ized differently for each MS-DOS com¬ patible computer. Such programs will run as the only window, taking up the whole screen. You can tell that a program handles input/output strictly through MS-DOS if the software manufacturer makes just one version of the program for all MS- DOS computers, and you can take that program out of the box and run it under Z-DOS without modification. In prac¬ tice, only a few MS-DOS programs meet these criteria. (For example, some programming-language compilers.) If you attempt to run a “misbehaved” application program under Windows, the program will take control of the en¬ tire screen. In other words, the misbe¬ haved program will run normally, but Windows will stop working. Windows will operate correctly only with “well behaved” software. If few of your current programs will run under Windows, why buy it? Be¬ cause in the future, a great deal of software probably will run under Win¬ dows, thanks to what is called a “graph¬ ical device interface. The graphical device interface The Microsoft Windows graphical device interface (GDI) provides a “logical”—as opposed to “physical”— graphics device through which pro¬ grammers may control the video display on any MS-DOS compatible computer which has a bit-mapped graphics dis¬ play. Note that the logical device is defined as a collection of functions; it exists only as software. A bit-mapped graphics display con¬ trols each pixel (dot) on the screen individually, through random-access memory (RAM) dedicated solely to the video display. The need for the GDI arises because many MS-DOS compat¬ ible computers have unique schemes for controlling their bit-mapped video screens, or “graphical devices. For example, the IBM PC has a different SAVE YOUR PROGRAMS AND FILES with the disk backup program (TAPEI0). It will backup disk files to a cassette tape or restore them from the cassette to disk. Also, it will convert TED-3 files to a CPM disk text file. Requires CPM 30/85 and the cassette board for the H8 or H/Z89. The cost is only $25. REALTIME DEBUGGING UTILITY (SNAP) is an assembly language MACRO which will print an information note, the 808 O registers/flags and up to three areas of memory whenever encountered in an assembly program. It will run with DDT/SID or just when the program is executing (by itself). Requires CPM 80/85, M80 and L80. Costs only $9.95. ***Supplied free with a purchase of STRUCTURE** (See previous issue of SEXTANT) KANDUEAZY COMPUTER SOFTWARE SERVICES 6218 BLOSSOM LANE ALEXANDRIA, VA 22310 (703) 922-9450 FREE CATALOGUE Programs are available in HS or SS (48 tpi) format 10 Sextant May-June 1984 Circle #141 on Reader Service Card Heath/Zenith Users— Get the Information You Need: Read the only independent magazine with a specific focus on your system— the Independent Magazine for the ~ ~~ Entire Zenith Computer Community. Whether you use an H/Z100, H/Z89, Z90, H88, or H8 —you’ll find articles in every issue which apply to your system. Explore CP/M, HDOS, and Z-DOS capabilities through Sextant s articles. Applications, programs, compatible hard¬ ware and software, and the latest developments in the Heath/Zenith community are among the topics included in Sextant on a regular basis. Carefully edited to bring you a broad coverage of the Heath/Zenith community, Sextant features include: • A broad range of “how-to” articles which will help you implement system enhance¬ ments as you need them. Read about how other users have altered their systems to suit their needs—and how you can do the same. • Reviews of products from Zenith and independent suppliers will help you sort out the questions you have about hardware and software options you might consider. • Short program listings, including utility programs and games, give you practical options which you can imple¬ ment immediately. • For your system needs, you’ll find over 90 advertise¬ ments of compatible prod¬ ucts in each issue of Sextant. Many advertisers find the independent magazine for the entire Zenith computer community the most direct medium to market their Heath/Zenith-specific products—you’ll find inde¬ pendent suppliers with products you won’t find advertised elsewhere. • And, so that you’ll be informed of the latest progress and innovations in your Heath/Zenith community, Sextant provides extensive coverage of community affairs. Read about major events in the Heath/Zenith community, as Heath/Zenith users meet to discuss re¬ cent developments and future projections. Specific com¬ panies and individuals are highlighted as they make significant contributions to the Heath/Zenith community. A Whole World of Information About Your System, Available to You Now. Start your subscription today! Call Toll Free: datatel™ 800/341-1522 im-f 8 ^.- 9 ^. East.™ t™,) Or send in the coupon below to: Sextant, Dept. S10, 716 E Street S.E., Washington, DC 20003 • 202/544-0900 r Your satisfaction with Sextant is guar¬ anteed. If at any time you’re not satis¬ fied just let us know and your money will he refunded—in full. Send me: □ 12 issues (2 years) for $29.91 ($34.50 to Canada) □ 6 issues (1 year) for $14.97 ($17.25 to Canada; $21.00 overseas via surface mail, $52.50 via air mail) □ Payment enclosed (Checks must be in U.S. dollars payable on a U.S. bank.) □ Bill me □ Charge my: □ Visa □ MasterCard (MC code #_) Card #__Expiration date_ Name_ Address Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery of vour first issue. Sextant, Dept. S10, 716 E Street S.E., Washington DC 20003 Sextant May-June 1984 11 the new sfiave of statistical software Sophisticatedly Simple Statistics for Zenith Z100 & Z150, IBM-PC & XT, IBM-PC work-alikes, PRIMES & VAXes ABC. . . • Is easy to learn and use Interactive and thoroughly docu¬ mented on-line, permitting a learn-by-doing approach. • Keeps pace with each user ABC can create "scripts” or com¬ mand files with a series of ABC commands to be run, re-run, and modified repeatedly. • Supplies its own data entry system The on-line ENTRY program facil¬ itates the creation of data files. • Can work with up to 200 to 1000 variables Number of cases depends only on the constraints of the system. Data may contain weighting vari-ables and missing data values. • Offers a variety of statistical procedures The most frequently needed proce¬ dures are available: CORRELATION REGRESSION UNIVARIATE XTABLES VARIABLE TRANSFORMATION & RECODINGS • Can import data ABC can use data from SPSS, OSIRIS, and ASCII files. The Development of ABC ABC has been developed by the Inter¬ university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), at the Uni¬ versity of Michigan. Prices and Ordering ABC is available for both microcom¬ puters and minicomputers (micro versions require at least 256K memory and dual 320K disks) License fees for microcomputer ver¬ sions are: $ 30 - Demo Version (applies to fee) $600 - Full Version $150 - Full Version. ICPSR members For ordering or additional information: Consortium Software 4250-01, ISR 426 Thompson St. Ann Arbor, Ml 48109 (313) 763-3482 Z100 & Z150 tm of ZDS, PRIME tm of PRIME IBM-PC & XT tm of IBM, VAX tm of DEC Circle #153 on Reader Service Card 12 Sextant May-June 1984 video control scheme from the Z100. Consequently, MS-DOS programmers have had to adapt their programs to each different computer manufacturer’s video display scheme. This is one of the major reasons why programs written for the IBM Personal Computer will not always run on the Z100 or other MS-DOS compatible computers. To succeed in the highly competitive software market, a program must have fast efficient screen display characteristics. So programmers writing for the IBM PC have taken shortcuts around MS-DOS in order to optimize their programs for the PC’s particular video display scheme. Unfortunately, programs so optimized will not work on computers with different (sometimes superior) video display schemes—the Z100, for example. (For further information on the dif¬ ferences between the IBM PC s video control scheme and the ZlOO’s, see Graham Wideman s article in Sextant #9.) That s where the logical graphics de¬ vice comes in. It is an artificial inter¬ mediary between applications programs designed to draw images on the screen and the various “physical’ graphics de¬ vices on which those images are to be drawn. The “PC-optimized programs described in the preceding paragraph can be run on just one physical graphics device, that of the IBM PC. Programs which use the Windows logical device as an intermediary can be run on any bit¬ mapped physical graphics device which runs Windows—including the Z100 and Z150. The logical graphics device is a col¬ lection of the standard functions per¬ formed by “physical’ bit-mapped graphics devices (such as “draw a cir¬ cle, “draw a line, “cross-hatch a space ). For each different physical graphics device, there are software rou¬ tines which translate from a generic Windows graphics function to the spe¬ cific code which performs that generic function on that specific physical device. Those routines are written by each hardware manufacturer in conjunction with Microsoft. Consequently—and this is very important —applications pro¬ grammers don't need to know anything about those software routines, nor about the specific code which performs graphics functions on each physical device. Applications programmers can de¬ velop programs solely in terms of the generic functions for Microsoft s logical graphics device. Windows, with the ad¬ dition of the appropriate brand-specific software routines, will automatically translate from the generic graphics functions to the specific functions for each computer running Windows. This means that programs written for Win¬ dows logical graphics device will run on any computer running Windows. (Kent Sanders, the Microsoft Win¬ dows product manager responsible for liaison with software developers, told me that the technical specifications for the graphics device interface will be available when Windows is released.) Programmers will no longer need to customize their programs for each com¬ puter which has a unique video display scheme. With programmers freed of the burden of adapting their programs for each different video display scheme, programs written for Windows on the IBM PC and other PC-compatibles will become available for the Z100 and Z150 as soon as they are available for any computer running Windows. How much software will he devel¬ oped for Windows? As yet, of course, there are very few applications programs available written specifically to run under Windows. However, Microsoft s word processor, Microsoft Word, and the latest versions of their spreadsheet program. Multi¬ plan, will run under Windows. But as I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the Windows market is large enough that there will probably be many programs developed for Windows. Indeed, I think it is reasonable to expect that virtually all major software companies writing for the IBM PC and for PC-compatible computers will write their programs to run under Windows. Lotus Development Corporation, Soft¬ ware Arts, Ashton-Tate, and Software Publishing have already indicated that they will support Windows. Moreover, smaller software companies have good reason to prefer to develop programs for Windows rather than for other window management products such as Visi- Corp s VisiON. To develop software for VisiON, you must have the equivalent of a VAX minicomputer running the Unix operating system, whereas all you need to develop software for Windows is a computer running MS-DOS. The most important point for Z100 users and other MS-DOS users to re¬ member is that any software which is developed for Windows will run on any computer using Windows. This should make for an increase in the total number of MS-DOS programs which are actually compatible with MS-DOS computers such as the Z100. And that increase will help put an end to one of the most an¬ noying problems in microcomputing today: the proliferation of computers running MS-DOS which cannot run pro¬ grams written for the IBM PC. By sup¬ porting Microsoft Windows, Zenith has assured that Z100 and Z150 users will be able to run most MS-DOS programs developed from now on for the IBM PC and PC-compatibles. Tblstoy had every gift for literature. Except one. He didn’t have The FinalWord. The only word processing system big enough to do battle with a manuscript the size of War and Peace . Just picture Tolstoy at his desk. Writing and editing for seven years. Bom too soon for The FinalWord, the first system in the history of literature that keeps epic writing from becoming an epic struggle. The FinalWord has an arsenal of word proc¬ essing commands so powerful, you’re free at last to concentrate solely on having great ideas. While The FinalWord concentrates on making them look good on paper. You never format. You only think. In fact, one reviewer called The FinalWord “the thinking person’s word processor.” Here’s something else to think about. With The FinalWord, you never have to worry about losing your magnum opus to a system crash or power failure. Because The FinalWord continuously saves it. Only the future will tell whether your masterpiece will be another War and Peace . But one thing is certain. Writing it won’t take you seven years. The FinalWord Finally, word processing becomes thought processing. f! Mark of the Unicom 222 Third Street Cambridge, MA 02142 (617)576-2760 Circle #155 on Reader Service Card **HEATH/ZENITH SPOKEN HERE** Zenith Z-100 series computers ready for immediate shipment. Call Payload for the very best price. MONITORS FOR Z-100 AND OTHER COMPUTERS ZVM-135 High Resolution Color Monitor. 13" diagonal, composite and RGB inputs 640 X 225 pixel resolution. Payload Price.$569.00 ZVM-131 Medium Resolution Color Monitor. 13" diagonal, composite and RGB inputs. Retail $379.00, Payload Price.$349.00 Cable for Color Monitor.$25.00 ZVM-122 High Resolution Amber Monitor 12" diagonal.$165.00 ZVM-123 High Resolution Green Monitor 12" diagonal.$135.00 Z-100 16 BIT SOFTWARE ZDOS required (sold below) OUR LIST PRICE Lotus 123.$495 $445 Peachtext 5000 Starter PKG.$395 $295 Peachtree General Ledger System.$399 $325 Peachtree Accounts Receivable System.$399 $325 Peachtree Accounts Payable System.$399 $325 Peachtree Inventory Control.$499 $415 WordStar Color Word Processor.$399 $325 MailMerge for WordStar.$139 $125 Spellbinder Word Processor.$495 $325 dBase II.$695 $460 Condor Rel. Data Base Management.$650 $494 Condor File Manager.$299 $245 Advanced Multiplan.$250 $228 SuperCalc 16 Bit Electronic Spreadsheet.$195 $182 Z-DOS 1 6 Bit Operating System.$150 $135 Z-BASIC.$150 $135 Z-Chart.$150 $138 UPGRADE ACCESSORIES FOR Z-100 COMPUTERS Color Graphics Upgrade. All memory chips required to update ZF-100-21 computer for color. Installation instructions included. Complete. $112.00 Memory Upgrade. All memory chips required to upgrade from 128 to 192 KB RAM. Installation instructions included. $63.00 BARE DISK DRIVES Tandon TM100-1 5.25", Single Side, Double Density, 48TPI. $194.00 Tandon TM100-2 5.25", Double Side, Double Density, 48TPI. $245.00 Tandon TM100-4 5.25", Double Side, Double Density, 96TPI.$295.00 Tandon TM848-2 8", Thinline, DS, DD, 48 TPI. $445.00 Mitsubishi M4853 5.25", Half Height, DS, DD, 96 TPI.$295.00 Qume Trak 142, 5.25", Half Height, DS, DD, 48 TPI .. . $225.00 Shugart SA 455 5.25", Half Height, DS, DD, 48 TPI... $265.00 POWER SUPPLY AND HOUSINGS For standard and half height disk drives. Rugged steel con¬ struction with heavy duty power supplies. Purchase with drives and we will configure and install in housing for you. Single 5.25" unit for Standard Drive. $68.00 Dual 5.25" unit, specify Standard or Half Height. $92.00 Dual 8" unit with fan, for Thinline drives. $225.00 Face plate for single drive in dual case. $8.00 8" DISK DRIVE SYSTEM Two Tandon 8" TM848-2 Thinline, Double Density, Double Sided Drives in Deluxe Cabinet with Heavy Duty Power Supply and Cooling Fan, 2.4 MEG Storage Total. With Cable Ready for H/Z-100 as is or H/Z89 with Magnolia Double Density Controller. $1135.00 INTERNAL H/Z-89 DUAL DRIVE SETS Two QUME TRAK 142 half height drives with all hardware, connectors, and instructions to easily mount inside H/Z-89 computer. Drives are double sided, double density, 6 MS seek time, 320K each. Soft sector controller (Zenith or Magnolia) required. Payload Price. $455.00 Two MITSUBISHI M4853 96 TPI half height drives with steel mounting shield for inside H/Z-89. Includes all accessories above. Drives are 3 MS seek time, 640K each. By far the best drives on the market today. Payload Price. $630.00 ZENITH H/Z-89 SOFTWARE CLOSE OUT Prices below dealer cost. Quantity limited so order early, second choice or format appreciated. We can supply all Zenith formats ( 5 V 4 " hard or soft sector or 8" disk), please specify. Sorry hard sector CP/M 2.2 sold out. SUPERCALC Electronic Spreadsheet for CP/M. $60.00 MICROSOFT BASIC Interpreter for HDOS. SOLD OUT MICROSOFT BASIC Interpreter for CP/M. $60.00 CP/M Operating System version 2.2. $60.00 COBOL for CP/M 2.2. $170.00 FORTRAN for CP/M 2.2... $95.00 UPGRADE ACCESSORIES FOR H/Z-89 COMPUTERS Magnolia Microsystems Double Density Controller. Soft- sectored disk controller. Supports up to four each 5.25" and 8" disk drives. Complete with cables, installation instructions and CP/M 2.242. Payload Price. $354.00 Magnolia Microsystems 128K RAM Board. Add to your 48K H/Z-89 CPU memory for a total of 1 76K. For a limited time receive CP/M Plus (CP/M 3), a $350.00 value, at no additional charge. Payload Price. $446.00 Z-89-37 Zenith Double Density Disk Drive Controller. Soft- sectored disk controller. Complete with cables, test disks and installation instructions. Supports up to three 5.25" disk drives. Payload Price. $265.00 Your satisfaction is guaranteed; all hardware carries a warranty of 90 days or more. Prices are discounted for payment with order. VISA and MASTERCARD orders please add 3%. Please add $5.00 to each order for handling and shipping. We pay the balance. Call us, we will be happy to answer your ques¬ tions. THANK YOU. Phone: (713) 486-0687 Charles C. Porter Proprietor PAYLOAD COMPUTER SERVICES 15006 Sun Harbor, Houston, Texas 77062 14 Sextant May-June 1984 Circle #147 on Reader Service Card Color Graphics for Your ’8 or ’89 High-resolution graphics requires both a graphics board and a good supply of supporting software. Here is a survey of what is available. Ralph W. Boyd The HA-8-3 color graphics board, designed by New Orleans General Data Services. This board for the H8 set the standard for all later color boards for the H8 and H/Z89. Since 1981, color graphics has been available for the H8 computer. And for more than two years, owners of H/Z89s could only watch in envy as their H8 counterparts began entering the world of color computing. During 1983, how¬ ever, two independent companies started selling color graphics boards to the H89 community. Both of these boards are based on the original hard¬ ware design of the HA-8-3 graphics board for the H8. Recently, I have been fortunate enough to use all three of these color boards. I own both an H8 and an H89, each of which now has color graphics capability. In this article, I will take a look at the hardware and the software needed to convert your computer into a § color system. £ (Needless to say, these color graphics J boards will not change your black and * white H19/H89 screen into color. In addition to one of these boards, you will need a color television or monitor to convert your system to color. But that choice lies outside the scope of this short survey.) Of course, both the H8 and the H/Z89 have a basic graphics capability without any additional hardware. The graphics mode—substituting a graphics character for each of the normal char¬ acters appearing on the screen—is suf¬ ficient for a lot of purposes. The squiggly little aliens or spaceships in an arcade- style game, for instance, are handled quite adequately. Simple bar graphs can similarly be handled for business appli¬ cations. (One popular graphics editor that stays within the limits of the Heath/Zenith character set is Ed-A- Sketch. It s reviewed in Sextant #9, March-April, 1984.) However, for more sophisticated graphics, we will need the increased resolution that only additional hardware can provide. For instance, businesses wanting to display complex statistical data would feel the need for better graphics. Personally, I got interested in this subject because I wanted better graphics for game programs I was writ¬ ing. (I mention two of them towards the end of this article.) As a software vendor for Heath/Zenith computers, I have gained a lot of experience in the color graphics capabilities of the H8 and H89. Whatever your background and needs, you, too, may have longed to have color on your computer. If so, then let me show you just how easy it is to turn your system into a super color graphics computer. The HA-8-3 The HA-8-3 color board for the H8 was designed by New Orleans General Data Services (NOGDS). The board uses the Texas Instruments TMS 9918A color graphics processor. Also on the board are: 16 kilobytes of video random- access memory (VRAM); an AY-3-8910 programmable sound generator; an eight-channel analog/digital (A/D) converter; and a chip socket for the optional AM9511A arithmetic-proces¬ sor chip. The board comes fully assem¬ bled and tested. Packed with the hard¬ ware is a large manual and a demon¬ stration disk. Most of the manual was apparently copied from the technical data supplied by the chip manufacturers. Each section gives detailed descriptions of the in¬ ternal architecture of the chips and how they must be programmed. NOGDS includes a well written section on the installation procedure. Additional sec¬ tions describe the theory of operation and how to use the supplied software to write your own programs to access each of the devices on the board. A thorough understanding of the functions in each chip is absolutely necessary before attempting to write your first program. Two large schemat¬ ics are also included with the product. The only software supplied with the board is source code written in assembly language for the H8’s 8080 central processor unit (CPU). (If you are not familiar with assembly- language programming, do not despair. Later, I will describe some high-level language packages to support the color graphics boards, along with an editor that requires no programming experi¬ ence at all.) The color and sound output of the HA-8-3 is standard NTSC composite video—the standard for all television receivers sold in the United States. Composite video, of course, will drive a video monitor as is. But if you wish to drive your television through the an¬ tenna connector, you will also need a radio-frequency (RF) modulator. If you already own a video tape re¬ corder, you can connect the HA-8-3 to Sextant May-June 1984 15 the external video inputs on the re¬ corder and send the color video signal to your TV via the recorder s RF output. Another choice is either to purchase one of the RF modulators sold for other systems (such as an Apple computer) or to build a modulator kit such as the one sold by Radio Shack. When I first installed the HA-8-3 color board into my H8, I built a Radio Shack RF modulator. I was not satisfied with the picture quality, however. Due to the large amount of radio-frequency interference (RFI) coming from my H8, the picture displayed interference lines beating slowly up the screen. Also, the strong output signal from the modulator caused some horizontal pulling. I de¬ cided that the best solution was to purchase the GDZ-1320 color monitor sold by Heathkit. The picture I now have has brilliant color with sharper detail and no noise pickup from my H8. The sound chip used by NOGDS is the General Instruments AY-3-8910. This is a three-voice programmable sound generator with an additional noise channel. The chip contains two general-purpose input/output (I/O) ports, a mixer section for combining the tone and noise channels, and an enve¬ lope generator to control the volume. The envelope generator can be pro¬ grammed for single shot attack/decay or continuous cycles. Once the chip is programmed, the sound effect will be produced without any further inter¬ vention by your application program. The AY-3-8910 is capable of producing many types of complex sounds. (For more on this chip, see “Build a Sound/ Clock Board for Your ’89’ by Ray Al- brektson, in Sextant #9, March-April 1984.) The demonstration disk comes with the sound effects of an explosion, a wolf whistle, and a race car shifting gears. The board also contains an AD7501 eight-channel analog-to-digital con¬ verter. This chip is normally used for the joystick inputs but could also be used for functions where analog inputs are needed by the computer. For example, you could read the voltage across a thermistor to determine the room temperature. The first programs people wrote for the HA-8-3 used the AD7501 to provide inputs for analog joysticks. They were wired as suggested in the HA-8-3 man¬ ual and this configuration has since become the de facto standard for all H8 programs using analog joysticks. The first program I purchased which used joysticks was Meteoroids by Omnitrend. Since then, several offerings from the Heath Users’ Group (HUG) have ad¬ hered to this standard. I originally built my own HA-8-3 board for use with a Jameco Electronics joystick sold in a local Heathkit Elec¬ tronic Center. You can now order an assembled joystick from Weitzman As¬ sociates of Pembroke Pines, Florida. NOGDS s demonstration disk con¬ tains several programs for testing the color, sound, and joystick sections. Two useful programs will display a set of NTSC color bars on your monitor so you can properly adjust your color and tint controls. The disk also contains some very complete 8080 source-code rou¬ tines which you can use in your own assembly programs. There are routines for setting the chip memory registers, passing data to and from the video RAM, and reading the joystick ports. And there are arithmetic routines for the optional AM9511A math chip. The HA-89-3 NOGDS now sells the HA-89-3 color graphics board for the H89. This board comes fully assembled and tested like its predecessor, the HA-8-3. It, too, uses the TMS-9918A and AY-3-8910, but that is where the similarity ends. The HA-89-3 contains an ADC0809 eight-channel A/D converter, an 8253 programmable counter/timer, and an 8259 programmable interrupt control¬ ler. As options, you can add the Votrax SC-01 Phoneme Speech Synthesizer, the AM9511A arithmetic-processor unit and the AD7542 digital-to-analog converter (DAC). For its price, this board contains a lot of computing power. The only drawback is that this board is not completely port-compatible with the original HA-8-3. In the H8, all the CPU’s address lines are available on each of the ten 50-pin bus connectors. It is, therefore, quite easy to fully decode any of the 256 port addresses from 000 to 377 octal. The H89, however, does not have the ability for complete port addressing on its 25- pin connectors. Heath chose to use an I/O-map-decoder read only memory (ROM). This ROM, U505, addresses the right-hand-side connectors P504, P505, and P506. In most normal configura¬ tions, P506 is used for the hard-sectored disk controller board and P505 for the three-port serial I/O board. NOGDS recommends that the HA-89-3 be in¬ stalled in either P504 or P505. If you are not using the tape cassette board or a soft-sectored disk controller board, then you will probably have P504 available. You will want to use it for the graphics board. Since the HA-8-3 comes jumper con¬ figured as port 320 octal, you will there¬ fore have to remove the middle 8250 UART on your HA-88-3 serial card. If you wish, you may move the board s jumper in order to decode the card for address 330 or 340, but you will have to remove the proper 8250. For these addresses, you will also have to modify ,»»*■* GET ZMAG, THE SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE FROM HUSKER SYSTEMS OF NEBRASKA I You get a completely new issue every six weeks with interesting IT 1 S VALUABLE COMPUTER PROGRAMS 1 With each issue you receive 10 to 15 wide range of interests. IT’S A COMPUTER CONSULTING SERVICE! Each ZMAG subscriber receives 8 FREE consulting calls to us on any microcomputing question. ...AND ZMAG IS A DISCOUNT CLUB! Members get a 10% discount on any Husker Systems software they buy. ZMAG is many things! IT'S A MAGA ZINE! articles, editorials, and features, quality programs covering At our continued low introductory price of $147 for a subscription, your per-program cost is less than $2.0011 It's a buy you.just can't afford to pass up! Order a subscription or a single-issue sample ($30.00) TODAY! Call in your order toll-free at 1-800-835-7427 ext. 277. Visa and MasterCard ARE accepted. When ordering, be sure to specify format (CP/M,hard sector for the H/Z89 or ZDOS, soft sector for the Z100). On subscriptions, specify if you prefer the easy-pay plan. (Pay $75.00 now and we'll bill you the reBt in 60 days!). Current Date_ Payment Method: Cash_ VISA_MasterCard_ _ Expiration Date_ Credit Card Number_ FLASH!I! IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR QUALITY HARDWARE FOR YOUR SYSTEM SUCH AS PRINTERS, DISK DRIVES, S MEMORY, CALL US FIRST. YOU WON’T FIND BETTER PRICES ANYWHERE!I I I I * Nebraska Orders Add 5.5% Tax. Check For New Catalog Check One*: _Single Issue-$30.00 Subscription-Full Pay Subscription-Easy Pay Address_ City_ State_ Tel Zip Send Orders To Husker Systems of Nebraska, 6657 Redick Avenue, Omaha, NE 68152 16 Sextant May-June 1984 Circle #189 on Reader Service Card the NOGDS support software. NOGDS describes this process in section 6.3 of their manual. I don’t recommend using these non¬ standard addresses because you may find that application software you pur¬ chase in the future will not be port compatible. If you are using both a soft- sectored and a hard-sectored controller card, you will have to remove your HA- 88-3 serial card and install the HA-89-3 graphics card each time you need to use it. This, too, is not recommended since it will increase the likelihood that you will misalign the card edge connector pins and damage your H89. (Although I have not tried it you might be able to use a port expander board to get more slots for installing all the boards at once.) The HA-8-3 graphics board for the H8 uses the eight de facto standard port addresses beginning at 270 octal. Since the HA-89-3 cannot address these ports, you may find that some of the software written for the H8 will not run on the H89. Most software vendors either have modified their H8 programs to run on the H89 or supply the source code so that you may reassemble it. Simply changing the port address in some of the software may not be enough to make it compatible. The HA-89-3 has eight devices on the card. Each device can be accessed by first writing a select code to an on-board register at port 320. All further I/O through port 324 will then refer to the selected device. If the source code you are modifying was not written to handle these extra byte trans¬ fers, you will have to make the proper changes in the program. As with the HA-8-3, the output from the HA-89-3 is NTSC composite video. There are separate outputs for the sound and speech chips so that you may Once you’ve heard your computers talk? it will be difficult to keep them quiet. send them to separate amplifiers. You should not try to drive a speaker directly with these outputs. The best choice is to use the mixer output so that both sources will be combined with the video signal and sent to your TV or monitor. Again, if you are using a TV instead of a monitor, you will need to get an RF modulator. All the cabling for making these connections is supplied with the board. You need only install the connector which your exter¬ nal hardware requires on the end of the cable. Complete instructions are given in the manual. The color and sound chips work in the same manner as described for the HA-8-3. The other devices on the card will bring joy to all you hackers out there. The 8259 can be used for intelligent interrupt handlers. The 8253 will give you real-time clock capabilities. The DAC interface could be used for driving an analog XY plotter. What can I say about the Votrax speech synthesizer? Once you’ve heard your computers talk, it will be difficult to keep them quiet. The supplied software is the same as that distributed with the HA-8-3. The manual is complete and contains all the manufacturers’ data sheets on the new chips. Full description of the theory of operation and detailed schematics are also included. Weitzman Associates also sells H8- compatible joysticks for this board. Or, by following the instructions in the NOGDS manual, you can make your own joysticks, if you desire. The Entertainer The Entertainer from Sandia Com¬ puter Products (SCP) is an "H8 port compatible” color graphics board for the H89. It contains the same TMS-9918A color chip and the AY-3-8910 sound generator. Unlike the HA-89-3, this board is fully compatible with software written for the HA-8-3—except for the joystick interface. However, since this board does not contain any A/D con¬ verter, you cannot use an analog-type joystick. It is possible to use the general INCREASE YOUR IN-CABINET STORAGE CAPACITY With The Original Storage Multiplier Units Slip out your old 125K byte drive and slip in one of our Disk Storage Multiplier units. Our DSM units will increase your floppy storage by at least four times by using high speed, low power, double sided drives. Each DSM kit is complete with software, labelled drives (fully checked out), all cabling and hardware, and documentation. Your choice of HDOS or Heath's CP/M software is included - software for the other operating system is only $35 extra. Soft sector only operation requires no software. Our idea has been copied, but no one has copied our quality and customer support. DSM capacities - multiples of the 125K drive: DSM 4000 DSM 6000 DSM 8000 Hard Sector 4X 6X 8X only $590 $660 $720 Soft Sector 8X 12X 16X only $565 $635 $695 We carry the Z-89-37 soft sector controller for $260.00 Group purchase discounts available. Shipping is postpaid in the continental U.S. Others please add 5%; excess will be refunded. VA residents please 4% tax. H&H COMPUTER ENTERPRISES, INC. P.O. Drawer H Blacksburg, VA 24060 (703) 552-0599 Circle #126 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 17 Photo by Ralph W. Boyd The Entertainer color graphics board from Sandia Computer Products. The small board on the left is the interface card for the larger Entertainer board on the right. The graphics board itself is to be mounted in a case external to the H/Z89. purpose 1/O ports in the programmable sound generator (the AY-3-8910) for switch-type joysticks. At the time of this writing, I am not aware of any joysticks which support this option. The Entertainer comes either fully assembled or in kit form, complete with two circuit boards, all cables, five man¬ uals, and a demonstration disk. I purchased one of these systems for my H89 as an assembled board, so I cannot comment too much on the kit version. From the construction manual, I can say that it appears to be well written in a step-by-step method similar to most Heathkit manuals. The pictorials are a bit simple, though, and there are no parts pictorials. The novice kit builder may have some difficulty in parts iden¬ tification, but the average kit builder should have no trouble at all. The best feature about this manual is the Heath- style troubleshooting guide. Of course, a complete schematic is given in the con¬ struction manual; but there is no de¬ scription of the theory of operation. Like the manufacturers of the other boards, SCP has supplied the technical manuals on the TMS-9918A and the AY- 3-8910. Best of all, they have included two other manuals on how to use and program the graphics/sound board. The Color Graphics Primer summa¬ rizes the information given in the tech¬ nical manuals, and the Programming Manual describes how to program the board using BASIC. SCP gives some interesting tips on how to increase exe¬ cution speed by using the various memory registers of both the color chip and the sound-generator chip. For most applications, though, you will find that BASIC is too slow. Installation is very easy. Unlike the HA-89-3, you can connect the 1/O card into any slot on the left side of the H89. So you don’t have to sacrifice any disk controller cards or serial I/O ports. SCP chose to pick up the additional hard¬ ware lines for full address decoding by removing U553 from the H89 CPU card and installing it in a socket on the color- graphics I/O card. A 14-pin ribbon cable with DIP connectors on both ends is then used to connect socket U553 to the I/O card. A second ribbon cable is then connected to this card and routed out through the rear of the H89. The far end of this cable attaches to the external graphics/sound board. You will have to install this board into a chassis case of your own, since SCP does not supply one with the product. Like the other boards, the output is composite video and will require either a video monitor or an RF modulator for your TV. The ribbon cable from the 1/O card to the rear of the H89 is actually in two parts. This cable is terminated in a 26-pin DB-25 female plug which SCP recommends should replace port con¬ nector 320 on the rear panel. I chose to remove the rear panel and cut a hole in it to accept this new plug. The cable from the graphics board then connects into this plug via a DB-25 male connector. High-level programming languages Earlier, I mentioned that you could use BASIC for programming the color boards, but you would find that it is too slow. Of course, you could use assembly language, but that maybe more involved than you want to get. A better alter¬ native is to use one of the language packages described in the following paragraphs. I have found Lucidata Pascal from Polybytes to be the best high-level lan¬ guage which fully supports all the fea¬ tures on these boards. This language comes with a well written manual and in versions for either the Heath Disk Operating System (HDOS) or CP/M. There are special features in this lan¬ guage which will let even the beginner The Entertainer’s interface card goes on one of the H/Z89’s left-side connectors. easily program the color board. For the more advanced user, Lucidata Pascal has routines for direct access to the chip registers. The code is compiled into a pseudo code (p-code). Use of an “intermediate” code like this is intended to increase the softwares portability between ma¬ chines. It’s sort of a “half-way house” between the program you would write yourself and the final compiled version that would actually run on your ma¬ chine. So people writing in Pascal can produce a p-code version that can then be used by a number of machines. Users only need the software to translate the p-code into a form acceptable by their machine. Polybytes also sells such a program which will translate the p-code into 8080/Z80 source code. This source code can then be assembled by Micro¬ soft’s M80 into machine code for addi¬ tional speed. One objection to the use of p-code has frequently been that you must sacri¬ fice some speed in order to gain the portability. Personally, I have not found this to be a problem with Polybytes Lucidata Pascal. I do all my program¬ ming in p-code and have found it to be very fast indeed. In fact, I had to insert delay loops to slow it down for an arcade game I wrote. It ran so fast, players could not move the joystick fast enough to win the game. For those of you who like Tiny Pascal, it, too, can be used. Its lower price may be more to your liking. Fred Pospeschil of Bellevue, Nebraska, sells Graph-Pac- 1, device-driver support routines for Tiny Pascal. Included is an enhanced version of the Tiny Pascal compiler with 123 sectors of documentation on the disk. This package is a full set of graphic support libraries (GSLs). Some of the standard routines in this package are similar to those in Lucidata Pascal. This was done so that conversion between both Pascals could be easily performed. Graph-Pac-1 also supports Digital Research’s Pascal MT+ under HDOS and CP/M. For this language, the GSLs are searchable libraries of relocatable load modules, so they can be combined 18 Sextant May-June 1984 DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES PRICE BREAKTHROUGH Super Sale on New Disk Drives Starting at $v&m\ LOW PRICE Tandon — Siemens — Remex — MPI — Teac — Shugart — Tabor 40 or 80 Tracks — Single or Dual Head — New 314” Drivette™ Our Disk Drives are Capable of Single and Dual Density Operation The NEWEST Technology Capable of Operating on Most Popular Computers Drive a Hard Bargain!!™ For your TRS/80, Color Computer, IBM, Apple, Franklin 5 M.B.-20 M.B. Complete Systems .from $999.95 Diskette Breakthrough — 10 Pack in Library Case - LOW PRICE SAVE!! PLEASE CALL FOR OUR MOST CURRENT PRICE REDUCTIONS. TOLL FREE ORDERING GENERAL AND TECHNICAL 1-800-343-8841 1-617-872-9090 Disk Drives (0123) TRS/80-IBM-Apple - TI Franklin-Max/80-LNW. M Model I/III/IV Upgrade (Disk Drives - Memory). M CA^L Printers — Daisywheel/Dot Matrix. -4 x OLL Percom Double Density Controller (Model I). *4 Color Computer Printer Interfaces. m Disk Drive Operating Systems. -4 Repair Services Now Offered — FAST Turn-a-Round. m KE-W Apple/Franklin Compatible Add-On Drives with Case & Cable.◄ pRlCVS Diskettes in Library Cases. m DISK DRIVE CASES AND POWER SUPPLIES.starting at $59.95 Printer Buffers 8K to 512K.starting at $143.95 Holmes Model I/III Speed-up Mod.starting at $90.00 Cables — Printer/Disk Drive.starting at $23.00 Warranty on Disk Drives — 6 Months to 1 Year SOFTWARE SUPPORT, INC. DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED. TERMS: M.C./Visa/Amex and personal checks accepted at no extra charge. C.O.D., please add $3.00. Shipping: Please call for amount. Not responsible for typographical errors. One Edgell Road, Framingham, MA 01701 (617) 872-9090 Hours: Mon. thru Fri. 9:30 am to 5:30 (E.S.T.) Sat. 10 am to 4:30 pm Service! CANADA MICRO R.G.S. INC. 751, CARRE VICTORIA, SUITE 403 MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, H2Y 2J3 Regular Tel. (514)845-1534 Canadian Toll Free 800-361-5155 Service! All in stock products are shipped within 24 hours of order. Repair/Warranty service is perform¬ ed within 24 hours of receipt unless otherwise noted. We accept C.O.D., foreign and APO orders. School and D&B corporate P.O.s accepted. TRS/80 Registered Trademark Tandy Corp. IBM-PC Registered IBM Corp. Apple Registered Trademark Apple Computer Corp. Franklin Registered Trademark Franklin Corp. Max/80 Registered Trademark Lobo Int. DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES Circle #164 on Reader Service Card DISK DRIVES DISK DRIVES Sextant May-June 1984 19 DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES DISKDRIVES DISK as appropriate for your application. The graphics routines will be combined with the user’s program during the link operation. For an additional price, you can get the source code for the GSLs in macro-80 assembly language. There is, however, one significant difference between Mr. Pospeschifs GSLs and most other language pack¬ ages. The color-graphics chip uses a coordinate system to define the location of pixels (i.e., dots) on the video screen where the upper left-hand corner is referenced as position (0,0). According¬ ly, most of the language packages have built-in functions—such as move(x,y), plot(x,y), etc.—which address the video RAM from the upper left-hand corner of the screen. In Mr. Pospeschifs routines, however, the (0,0) reference position is adjusted to the lower left-hand corner. Although this might be the more logical position for the coordinate- system reference point, it is not the standard. So, if you are converting a program written in some other lan¬ guage, you may have to modify the code to adjust to the new reference. This also affects the operation of any joysticks since the up-down positions will be reversed. You will, therefore, have to have a joystick wired in reverse up- down order to be able to run software written for the standard system. In his documentation, Mr. Pospeschil de¬ scribes both wiring methods for the Jameco JVC-40 joystick. For you FORTRAN fans, FMS Asso¬ ciates sells a library support package for Microsoft’s FORTRAN-80 under CP/M and HDOS. Their package will work on the HA-8-3, HA-89-3, and the Enter¬ tainer. There are individual packages to support HDOS or CP/M for each of the You’ll certainly want HUG^s ColorRaiders. color boards. Each package is a search¬ able library running under Microsoft FORTRAN-80 and LINK-80. So only those routines used by a program will then be LiNKed into the final program. Since all four packages are functionally the same, it is easy to re-LiNK a user’s program onto a different color board and/or operating system. Full support for color, sound, and the joystick ports is provided in the soft¬ ware; and a 100-page printed user’s manual is supplied with each package. The complete source code for each package is sold separately. One special feature of this software package is that it contains routines to play songs written in the HUG compose program. The four subroutines set up an interrupt-driven music playing system. Once this system is turned on, the main program is then free to perform other functions while the music plays in the background. Another FORTRAN graphics pack¬ age is sold by Microtran. Micro-Core is a set of FORTRAN subroutines which can be called by your program. It imple¬ ments the essential features of the pro¬ posed American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for graphics systems. The software uses a device¬ driver program, also sold by Microtran, to interface to the HA-8-3 or HA-89-3 graphics boards. Both documentation and source code are supplied on a disk with the Micro- Core program. The software is currently supplied only in HDOS format. How¬ ever, Rick Lutowski of Microtran has informed me that the system is not functionally dependent upon HDOS. So conversion to CP/M should be a simple matter of disk conversion. Micro-Core software does not sup¬ port the sound, speech, analog-to- digitaf digital-to-analog, or math-chip devices on the color boards. The system was designed to be compatible with the proposed ANSI standard which does not recognize such non-graphic functions. Microtran does have another package which will support the AM9511 math chip. To access the other devices, how¬ ever, you will have to write your own I/O routines. L1HCLEV SYSTEMS Lindley Systeis 21 Hancock St. Bedford, HR 81738 (ill) 275-6821 3-18 PH. Specify soft or hard sector 5.25* disk. THE ULTIMftTE PRINTER DRIVER! Specify CPH or HDOS. Not for Z-l! -Runs the printer with standard cable - set switches and print! -Controls all functions froi keyboard or file: tildeH = CTRL key -Special codes for overstriking and ignoring of linefeeds. -HDOS: SET HELP displays current settings; CTRL-P for screen copy -CPH: CTRL-II online set couands, CTRL-P for screen copy -initialization sequences lay be set as desired. -Assembly settable for these interfaces: Z-89-11, K/Z-88-3,H-8-2, H-8-4, H L H, FBE, H-8-5, and $25 parallel (schematic included) -Specify EPSON HX,FX,RX, 6e*ini 18/15, C.Itoh 8518, NEC-PC8823, HP I 99 or 158, or Hicroline. Source code ind. for all drivers. *$28.88 postpaid. State CPH or HDOS. Write for custoi drivers. DIftHOND ACCOUNTING SYSTEH specify HDOS or K/Z-188 ZDOS ) Coiplete R/R, fi/P, and G/L; auto double-entry; tenu-based fonat, ) Wide variety of reports: aging, overdues, unpaid invoices, balance sheet, PtL report, checks, audit trails, G/L reports,etc > RNY report selectable to screen or printer output. > Bad entries tay be changed or deleted, even in journals. > Inventory and other Peripheral Prograts now available in ZDOS. > Coiplete tanual available for $15; deducted froi purchase price. * $75 ppd. for HDOS; $158 for ZDOS; Hanual $15; state HDGS/ZDOS. K/Z GRAPHICS on EPSON, Geiini, HT168, NEC-8823. C.Itoh 8518, HPT, |1LjLJl r i^ g l M pr T |l[)y\"j K Hicroline u/OKIGRRPH. (ad p nnUd ° n °‘ iioh m) Specify either HDOS 2.8 or CPH 2.2.83 (specify). Not for 2-188. •—HOW— PRINTS Software Toolworks' ED-A-SKETCH FILES!!!! ICharacter desinger included - start with the H/Z-19 set and »ake your own *ath/6reek/Hindu/Rrabic/Zodiac/Blob etc. characters tfill characters accessible fro* keyboard, text file, or progra* •Printer codes sa*e as terminal codes (ESC-F,6,p,q) •All drivers offer choice of 8 x 12 character set or 6 x 12 to allow 18 cpi exact replica of screen. PRINTS ED-R-SKETCHU FILES. *Req. Serial buffer or parallel interface, bit graphics. $25.88 CHECK HASTER - Specify HDOS, CPH, or Z-DOS; Hard or Soft Sector. * Archival file for reference, tax records * Checkbook, statement balances displayed; Search $ Change options * Statement processing; auto, check clearing, uncleared listings * Edit transactions on the screen; insert/delete transactions * Req. Hicrosoft BASIC, 48k RAH. $28.88 postpaid. OTHER HARDWARE SUPPLIES - DISKS, DRIVES, RIBBONS t CARTRIDGES, ETC > Ribbon Cartridges - NEC-8823/CItoh 8518: $6.88; Epson HX/FX/RX-88 carts: $7.35; Epson, HPI, Centronics ribbon ZIP-PAK: $3.58; NEC 8823,Cltoh 8518 ZIP-PAK: $3.58. All prices postpaid. > TWO Teac 55B (48 track, double sided) fit in one drive space, give high capacity. With case, cable, drives - ALL FOR $688 ppd. > HARD OR SOFT SECTOR (specify) DISKETTES - $28.88 ppd for ten. > PRINTERS, other DRIVES, RAH IC's - write for FREE CATALOG. Circle #132 on Reader Service Card 20 Sextant May-June 1984 For the non-programmer Colorworks sells three programs whieh are particularly suited for busi¬ ness applications, sketch (CP/M or HDOS) is a color screen graphics editor. This program will let you change the color of areas of the screen, draw and erase lines, and define and move sprites (animated objects). Objects can be ro¬ tated, translated, scaled, or duplicated anywhere on the screen. When your graphics design is complete, it can be saved on disk. ctype (under HDOS) is similar to sketch in that you can use it to edit text on the color screen. You can also draw lines and circles and color areas on the display. With this program, you can create graphs and bar or pie charts, and label them. slides (under HDOS) is a special program which acts much like a slide projector to let you display the color pictures you created with sketch or ctype. Through a software switch in the command file, you can have color slides projected on the color monitor in a continuous loop. If you intend to use your color board for business or scien¬ tific purposes, then these programs will be well worth their nominal price. A three-dimensional graphics pack¬ age is also sold by Colorworks. threed (under HDOS) is a program like sketch; and it lets you define and locate three- dimensional objects in an x,y,z coordi¬ nate system. Once you have positioned the objects, you change the perspective by telling the program where you are (eye point) and what you are looking at (center of interest). You can even clip the scene against a viewing window. You can then load the saved scene into the VRAM so your own program will be able to move your sprites. threed does take a long time to draw the images so its main use will probably be for developing scenes for back¬ ground patterns in 3-D games. Games , etc. So far, I have operated on the assump¬ tion that Heath/Zenith users will be concerned with color graphics from the perspective of software developers or business users aiming to increase the power of their programs or computers. But most of us take time to relax, too. Games and educational programs can be a lot more enjoyable and effective with more sophisticated graphics. I’ve had the opportunity to look at some (and write a couple) that make use of the color graphics boards described above. Of course, as more users purchase these boards, more software will be written. So what follows should not be regard¬ ed as exhaustive. Right now, there are not too many programs on the market. But although I tried to get hold of any programs that I knew required the use of a graphics board, there are more out there. This selection, then, is only a start. I hope, though, that reading about and using programs like these may spur some of you to get into the field. For whatever reason you want games, though, if you’re a member of HUG, then you’ll certainly want HUG s Color Raiders (for HDOS, part no. 885-1114). This space action game has the best color and sound effects of any game for the color boards. You must maneuver your space craft to fire at an enemy ship on your target screen. You use your keyboard to change your speed and direction. Once the target is lined up in your gunsight, you fire your laser can¬ nons by hitting your spacebar. If you hit the enemy ship it will break up into pieces and drift off into space. As you continue to fly into the three-dimen¬ sional space, you will encounter more enemy ships. The game will continue until your shields are finally destroyed by the returning fire from the enemy ships. Hoyle & Hoyle Software sells Rapid Recall and Brick Break for the HA-8-3, HA-89-3, and Entertainer boards. Both programs run under HDOS and are supplied with complete source code on the disk. Brick Break is the standard home video game of Breakout. You use your keyboard to move a paddle to hit a bouncing ball. The ball will move to the top of the screen and knock out colored bricks from a wall near the top of your screen. As you hit the ball, it may change its angle and speed. You will then have to quickly reposition your paddle to catch the next rebound from the wall. You win by accumulating points. Since this game does not use joysticks, you will find it a bit difficult to move the paddle by using just the keyboard. Even so, I found the game to be a lot of fun and very challenging in the higher skill levels. Not so with Rapid Recall. This is the simple game of Recall where you com¬ pete with the computer to remember a sequence of colors and sounds. The computer will start a color/sound se¬ quence and wait for you to respond with the same sequence by striking the prop¬ er keys on the keypad. I found the graphics to be a bit too simple and uninteresting. This may be a good game for young children, but anyone over the age of five will soon become bored. And as I mentioned above. I’m in this field, too. I sell HDOS & CP/M color programs for the HA-8-3, HA-89-3 and The Entertainer, rlast is a flying saucer game in which you must destroy all the cities on an enemy planet. You use your joystick to position your saucer above each of three cities on each screen. Hit your fire button and your laser beam will incinerate the enemy city in an atomic Businesspersons Now you can save money on bulk and presort mailings with your H-89 • Fast. •Automatic. • BuiJd complete mailings from address files. • Automatic piece assignment to mixed state, state, 3digitzipcode, & 5digitzipcode bundles. MAILGOLD bulk mail processor TM For CP/M with 48K min. Price: $112.50 The Golden Line TM P.O.Box 7188 Silver Spring. MD 20907 The Golden Line Please send me MAILGOLD on: □ hard asoft sectored 5 1/4" floppy. Price: $112.50 Include payment, in U.S. funds. MD residents add 5% sales tax. TM PO. Box 7188 Silver Spring. MD 20907 Name_ Address_ Circle #127 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 21 blast Each city will try to defend itself by firing photon torpedoes or its own maser weapon. You have to move quick¬ ly to dodge the torpedoes and destroy the cities before they can charge up the masers. Hurricane Tracking is a color data base program which lets you track new and old Atlantic hurricanes. This pro¬ gram contains historical data and will display up to two hurricanes on a de¬ tailed map of the northern half of the Western Hemisphere. As the hurri¬ canes move, they will change shape from tropical depressions to storms to rotating hurricanes. This program uses the high-resolution Graphics-II mode of the color chip to produce a map with an accuracy of l A degree in latitude and longitude. Other program functions let you enter data for new hurricanes, change disks and system defaults, make corrections, and print out data for a selected hurricane. Final comments In this article, I have described three color boards for Heath/Zenith comput¬ ers. We have seen that the HA-8-3, the first and only color board for the H8, has become the standard by which all other boards should be measured. Of the two boards for the H89, the Entertainer adheres the most to this standard but lacks the joystick ports. The HA-89-3, on the other hand, is more versatile than the Entertainer but is not port- compatible with software for the other two color boards. For color software, BASIC could be used but would likely be too slow for most applications. A better choice would be to use a color graphics support package for Pascal or FORTRAN. Each of these packages will make it easier for you to develop your own color programs without resorting to 8080 machine code. I hope this article has answered some of the uncertainties of how to convert your computer into a color system. Whether your need is for games, busi¬ ness, or scientific applications, color graphics will open a whole new world to your programming experience. Ordering Information Graphics boards: The HA-89-3 ($299) and HASS ($299) color-graphics boards New Orleans General Data Services 7230 Chadbourne Drive New Orleans, LA 70126 504/241-9495 The Entertainer color-graphics board ($310 kit, $365 assembled) Sandia Computer Products 7105 Merle N.E. Albuquerque, NM 87109 505/243-9493 Joysticks: Joysticks for the HA-8-3 and HA-89-3 CLINICAL LABORATORY DATA PROCESSING SOFTWARE FOR THE H/Z89 Ideal for the small hospital or independent laboratory. Manual entry and data acquisition from lab instruments. PROVEN IN REAL-TIME LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT Programs in BASIC and assembly language allow en¬ try of virtually all laboratory data and generate patient and financial reports, workload records, standard devi¬ ations, numerous customized report formats (RIAs, Urinalyses, Coagulation Tests, Panels, Etc.). Z-DOS, HDOS, and CP/M formats. Cytology and Surgical Pathology programs also available. On-site installation, consultation and customization can be arranged. LABSOFT uosavi CALL OR WRITE FOR DETAILS LABSOFT (805)487-8776 P.O.BOX5026 OXNARD, CA 93031 Circle #124 on Reader Service Card color boards ($11.45) Weitzman Associates 580 N.W. 99th Way Pembroke Pines, FL 33024 305/431-4043 Joystick components Jameco Electronics 1355 Shoreway Road Belmont CA 94002 415/592-8097 Language support: Lucidata Pascal (CP/M or HDOS $55 each or $100 for both); p-Code Trans¬ lator (CP/M or HDOS $25); and Graphics/Sound/Math Support Package (CP/M or HDOS $25) Polybytes 325 19th Street S.E Cedar Rapids, IA 52403 319/366-3077 Graph-Pac-1 color-graphics support for Tiny Pascal (CP/M or HDOS $39); Graph-Pac-11 for Pascal MT+, C/80, MACRO-80, FORTRAN, COBOL, and MB ASIC (CP/M or HDOS $39 for first language, $10 each additional language) Fred Pospesehil 3108 Jackson Street Bellevue, NE 68005 402/291-0795 Color-graphics libraries for CP/M or HDOS FORTRAN-80 ($45) FMS Associates 7422 Colshire Drive #3 McLean, VA 22102 703/734-0503 Micro-Core Device Drivers for FOR¬ TRAN (HDOS $38) and Micro-Core FORT RAN-callable graphics package (HDOS $61) Mierotran 76 Flint we 11 Way San Jose, CA 95138 408/226-4122 Graphics editors: sketch ctype (CP/M or HDOS $35 each); slides (HDOS $30); and tureed (HDOS $50) Colorworks 5337 East Bellevue Avenue Tucson, AZ 85712 602/325-0096 Games , etc.: Color Raiders (for HUG members ), HUG part no. 885-1114 (HDOS $20) Heath Users Group Hilltop Road St. Joseph, MI 49085 616/982-3463 Rapid Recall and Brick Break (HDOS $16.95 each) Hoyle & Hoyle Software 716 South Elam Avenue Greensboro, NC 27403 919/378-1050 BLAST (CP/M or HDOS $19.95) and Hurricane Tracking (CP/M or HDOS $39.95) Ralph W. Bovd 761 N.W. 196th Terrace Miami, FL 33169 305/652-5828 22 Sextant May-June 1984 7f you don’t like wasting money P.O.BOX 920152 NORCROSS.GA PRINTERS Okidata Printers 80 P/S 82A P/S 83A P/S 84 PAR 84SER 92 PAR 92SER 93 PAR 93 SER (call on other models) Tractor for 80/82A/92 List 299 349 749 1395 1495 599 698 999 1098 CFX 220 320 565 990 1075 475 550 715 815 Star Printers DP 8480 275 Brother Printers HR15P 599 Cut Sheet Feeder 260 Keyboard 200 HR25P 995 Cut Sheet Feeder 270 Mannesmann Tally Printers MT 160L 798 MT180L 1099 Spirit 399 475 225 180 750 235 599 815 320 Transtar Printers 130P PAR 130SSER 315-Color Tractor 895 950 599 725 765 519 for 130 P/S 130 Ribbons Okidata Qume 80, 82, 83, 92, 93 3 11/40 1776 1432 84 7 11/55 1895 1550 Mannesmann Tally MT160L 11 SOFTWARE MT180L 15.50 Spirit 80 9 Word Star Transtar Professional 695 379 130 Mylar 5 dBasell 700 435 Fabric 8 Friday! 295 207 Wordstar 495 269 Diskettes Mailmerge 250 140 Opus (7 yr. warranty) WS/MM 645 335 (Price per box of 10) Multiplan-80 275 189 SSSD hard sector 25 Random House SSSD 5V4” 21 Dictionary 50 SSDD 5Vi” 23 Infocomm Communications DSDD 5Vi” 32 Program 180 DSDD 96tpi 5Vi” 37 Qver 160 Disk Formats now SSSD 8” 24 available. SSDD 8” 31 PERIPHERALS List CFX Modems Rixon 212A 499 459 Hayes 300 279 215 Hayes 1200 699 499 Televideo Terminals 914 699 565 924 899 699 925 995 745 950 1195 968 970 1495 1090 MONITORS CFX-10 & CFX-16 ADD-ON HARD DISK SYSTEM Amdek 300G 12” Green 300A 12” Amber Color II 13” RGB Color IV 13” High Res NEC JB1260 12” Green JB1205 12” Amber 159 170 445 1090 120 164 Hitachi Green 100 SUPPLIES Paper _ 914 X 11 ” 18# Micro Pert 800 Sheets 15 14% X 11” Green Bar 800 Sheets 20 CFX Disk Systems makes choosing a hard drive for your micro a very easy job. Now all you need is virtually any Z80 or 8080 based micro and a copy of Digital Research’s MOVCPM* utility for your machine. You can add 10 or 16 megabytes of quick power to your machine within minutes. Step by step instruc¬ tions are included with the package, along with all software necessary to patch the drive to your CP/M* 2.2 operating sys¬ tem. It’s as easy as A-B-C. Each system is thor¬ oughly tested and certi¬ fied in our assembly shop and we offer a 1 year swap-out service guarantee on drive and all interface circuitry. Additionally, we have technical help available, by phone, should you have any questions dur¬ ing start up. The finest quality components are used in our systems. We have neither cut corners nor compromised quality 0 for price. The disk drive we use is the same drive f used by IBM and other quality micro manufactur¬ ers. If you want more information, call us. We’ll be happy to help you get into the hard disk move¬ ment. *A registered trademark of Digjtal Research CFX-10 and 16 systems are complete packages ready for use with your system. No assembly is required except for connection to your computer. These systems have been in use for over 1 Vfe years with Z80 and 8080 computers. CFX-10 $1995 CFX-16 $2395 |ORDERS ONLY 800/241-4783 | TERMS: MC, Visa, AMEX no charge. Wire Transfer, Certified Check and Personal Checks (allow 1 -2 weeks to clear) are also accepted. COD’s call. GA residents add applicable sales tax. SHIPPING: $3.00 minimum up to 5 lbs. UPS m-w-f io-6 ground rates will be charged over 5 lbs. UPS t-th io-8 red, blue and Federal Express rates are sat 12-6 available. PRICES: Prices are subject to change. GA*. 404/255—381 1 COMING SOON: MAIL ORDER BY MODEM Circle #150 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 23 Ir^rowF Check these outstanding feature □ Fast — 500,000 pixel □ Tekt per second vector com drawing rate GIN n High Resolution — □ High 672 x 500 pixel char graphics „ □ Nati □ Standard 1024 x 1024 may memory plane frorr □ Hardware Pan and □ Hare Zoom frorr □ (Jp to 24 pages of opti< graphics memory, 6 P Dua standard ture p Instantaneous paging C 5 Exp. facilitates animation and/ Also ask us about our Imaqinator 1 Comprehensive Graphics at Practical Prices Circle #112 on Reader Service Card Te&tronix® Registered trade mark of Tektronix, Inc. fndnnirc *nd Imaninatnr^thMradpmarks of Cleveland Codonics Imaginator 2 adds smart graphics to your Heath/ Zenith H/Z-29 terminal. You gain high speed, high resolution graphics with Tektronix® 4010/4014 com¬ patibility standard. features: □ Tektronix® 4010/4014 compatibility with GIN mode, standard □ High speed graphics character generator „□ Native commands may be directly output from any language □ Hardcopy directly from terminal via optional port n Dual processor architec¬ ture for greater efficiency □ Expandable to full color and/or gray scale 2 CLEVELAND u CODONICS, INC. 18001 Englewood • Cleveland, OH 44130 216/243-1198 r Z-29 Can Do This... Forming a Local HUG It doesn’t have to be a “ one-man show. ” When you buy your first Heath/ Zenith computer, you receive informa¬ tion about the national Heath Users Group. Finding out about local HUGs may not be so easy. After I joined the national HUG, and received a couple of issues of REMark , I could see there were a lot of people all over the country who were interested in computing; but I was overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge they dis¬ played in their articles. Much of the material I read was beyond my compre¬ hension. I knew that if I worked hard at it someday I might understand the material; so I saved the REMark issues, and tried as best as I could to learn as much as I could. The people at the local Heathkit Electronic Center were friendly and helpful, but certainly unable to answer questions in depth. I inquired whether there was a local users’ group. “No,” was the reply, “but we might be forming one next year. “How many others,” I thought “like myself, have many unanswered ques¬ tions and a desire to discuss them at length with others with similar inter¬ ests?” Getting started with a brand new computer is an exciting experience, but often a frustrating one, especially when things don t work the way the manual says they should. You can’t keep calling the Heathkit store every time you run into a little problem. And the phone bills would get completely out of hand if you had to rely on Heath’s technical assist¬ ance lines at the the company head¬ quarters in Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, Michigan. So there is a definite need for a local users’ group that can provide a forum for the discussion of common problems and their solutions. That aspect alone is a good reason to have a local users’ group, and there are many more. A definite need existed. But how does one go about forming a users group? Here is how one local group was formed. Perhaps this experience might be help¬ ful to others contemplating starting their own local users’ group. The first steps Sizing up the local area is a good way to start. Whether the area is urban, suburban, or rural will determine the size of the group as well as the location of the meetings. Smaller rural groups could meet in members’ homes, but this would be impractical for the larger Herbert A. Friedman groups. Our group is located in Southern California, a sprawling territory with millions of people enjoying the climate, the mountains, the desert, the ocean, and especially the smog. Our particular area, Pomona, is located about 40 miles You can t keep calling the Heathkit store every time you run into a little problem. to the east of downtown Los Angeles, and is suburban in character. Looking around the region, there is a Heathkit Electronic Center in Pomona, as well as one to the west in downtown Los Ange¬ les, to the northwest in Woodland Hills, and to the south in Anaheim. Each one of these now has a local HUG. The need for a local HUG in Pomona clearly existed and the place for it to meet would be the Pomona Heathkit Electronic Center. I discussed this with the local store manager and he said they were thinking of starting one in a few months. Several months later, he said the same thing! It did not appear that he was really interested. I found out that a year or so before, a small local HUG had begun, only to disintegrate a few months later. “Why?” I inquired. “Well, it was a one-man show,’ and the ‘one-man’ left town and it fell apart. I could not blame him for being a bit soured by this experience. The next step was to speak to the area manager. I called him and he was en¬ thusiastic about the idea He agreed to help get things started. I met with him personally and we selected a target date for the first meeting. At this point, we had a commitment to go ahead. We were officially encour¬ aged by the local management, and implicitly by the powers-that-be in Benton Harbor. There are advantages to using the Heathkit Electronic Center as a meet¬ ing place. Its location is well known to the members. It avoids the need to find another meeting place, which might possibly involve a rental fee or other recurrent expenses. The computers are right there for use by speakers. Facilities for copying disks are available. Our local Heathkit store has supported our group by providing a monthly meeting place, free of charge. It has also assisted with office supplies, postage, and support for the newsletter. As this article continues, I hope you will see the importance of a good rela¬ tionship with the local store. But the relationship should not be a one-way street. It entails responsibilities on the part of the local HUG. (For instance, it was agreed that invited speakers, while in the store, would not directly sell to the members those Heath/Zenith products that the Heathkit Electronic Center had for sale.) The first meetings We had no organization as yet no officers, no members. All we had was a commitment. The area manager ar¬ ranged for a mailing to a list of recent computer purchasers. It was a simple announcement stating that a users’ group would be forming and that prizes would be given at a drawing to be held on the night of the meeting. You had to be present to win. It was pretty unim¬ pressive, as letters go, but it was a start. What would the response be? A simple poster was worked up and placed on the front door of the Heathkit store about two weeks before the first meeting. As the first meeting approached, I wondered what sort of response we would get. It was a warm April evening. The store had about 60 chairs, set up in classroom fashion. On each chair was placed a survey form (generated on an H25 printer). It included a question¬ naire and a membership application. As the meeting time approached, the seats gradually filled up. Soon, all seats were filled and people were standing in the rear. The meeting was opened by the area manager. He talked about some Heath¬ kit products, answered questions, and explained that the store was willing to support a users’ group. He introduced a member of a nearby local HUG, who spoke about the advantages of a local group. Most of those present expressed an interest in joining the group and handed in their applications. To main¬ tain interest, several pieces of software were given away as door prizes. One lucky person won SuperCalc! Those volunteering to hold an office were asked to step forward, and five people did so. These people agreed to meet and plan the next meeting. They were given titles, such as president vice-president secretary, and treasurer. Sextant May-June 1984 25 The individual from the existing HUG agreed to help us get started. About two weeks prior to the next meeting, some of the officers got to¬ gether for their first meeting. We recog¬ nized the importance of planning ahead. We defined the general format of our meetings and we developed a general philosophy. The philosophy: our prime reason for existence was to allow an interchange of ideas, problems, and solu¬ tions among our members; the more experienced and knowledgeable mem¬ bers would help out the newer and less experienced ones. We established a simple policy regarding software: no proprietary software would be distrib¬ uted or copied. The structure of the meetings was simple: a short business meeting would be followed by a guest speaker or special presentation of about 30 to 40 minutes. The rest of the meeting would be for general discussion, or open forum. Here, individual members could present their problems, and perhaps other members could come up with solutions. This for¬ mat has proven extremely successful. It has recently changed slightly, in that following the open forum, the group breaks up into smaller Special Interest Groups for very detailed discussions. Keeping in touch A key to success has been careful attention to detail. Such things as arrang¬ ing in advance for guest speakers, setting up chairs, mailing out meeting notices, or preparing agendas for meetings all involve extra time and effort. But it is just such preparation that seems to en¬ sure positive results. Announcing an upcoming meeting at the proper time is important. It should be done about one to two weeks in advance. We used posters for this, which were run off on an H25. A poster was placed on the door of the Heathkit store, and others were mailed out. Maintaining a current mail¬ ing list is essential. One list originally contained about 200 names of recent purchasers of Heath computer equip¬ ment. The other list was our local HUG membership list. A large part of our membership came from the first list. Finding interesting speakers was a challenge. We were fortunate to have several hardware and software vendors in our area Among our speakers were Walt Bilofsky of The Software Tool¬ works, Marc Brooks of C.D.R. Systems, Bob Koepke and Ken Smith of Kres Engineering, and a representative of Ashton-Tate. As our membership grew, we found that some members could give interesting presentations. We made use of their talents. If members attended relevant computer conferences, they could give reports. Some members with special expertise have given extremely interesting presentations. We have had talks on modems, disk drives, and Troubleshooting the H89. One talk was about the National HUG Confer¬ ence. All have been enthusiastically received. After the first meeting, it was decided that a monthly newsletter would be desirable. A one-page sheet was made up. This was volume one, number one, and was mailed to the 200 people on the mailing list. The group supplied the labor and Heath provided the supplies and post¬ age. We found an individual willing to be the editor. The newsletter has turned out to be a significant factor in the group s success. Its length is six to twelve pages and it carries material written by club members, as well as material obtained via newsletter ex¬ change with other groups. As our group grew, we felt a gathering momentum. We wanted to maintain the initial interest and not let it fade as quickly as it had started. This has be¬ come more difficult as time has passed. Good speakers and good material for the newsletter seem to become scarcer as a group gets older. The officers of the group have the responsibility to try to provide things that the membership want, but at the same time initiate new things that may or may not prove success¬ ful. One has to be flexible, yet maintain continuity. To maintain the high level of initial enthusiasm, it seems necessary to have a meeting of the club officers about ten days prior to the regular monthly meet¬ ing. Here the short- and long-range plans are formulated, the newsletter is presented for publication, and new ideas are encouraged. This exchange seems to “recharge our batteries, ’ at least until the next meeting. We have, therefore, not experienced a “burnout problem. Burnout might more likely hit groups that overwork people or have them working in isolation from others. Dues and by-laws Dues were established at twelve dol¬ lars per year. Operating expenses were small. The main expense was for prepar¬ ation and mailing of the newsletter, which was partially subsidized by the Heathkit store. A conscientious treasurer, who main¬ tained accurate financial records, was essential. A set of by-laws was written, in clear English, which set up the structure of the group. The by-laws included the following statement: “Pomona HUG will comply with the copyright laws of the United States with regard to copy¬ righted software. ’ That policy has not changed. Saving money One of the major attractions for new members is the promise of free software. In the beginning, with a smaller member¬ ship, we established a disk-exchange EPSON Graphics H/89 H/100 1 CALLIGRAPHY PACKAGE 1 Add a new dimension to your printed text- Your EPSON printer with GRAFTRAX can do more for you- SKYCASTLE's program package can combine dot graphics images from disk files and standard text to create custom letter heads, labels, title pages and advertisements- The set of programs includes a screen mode character editor, a program to build and print lines of graphics characters and a starter set of alphabets, pictures and borders. HIOO version requires CP/M-85. H-89 version requires CP/M and 48 or 64K of memory- When ordering, please specify memory size. Price of package, including 60 page manual with tutorial, is $49-95- (Calif, residents add sales tax.) (Also available at some Heathkit Electronic Centers) FONT EBEET #2 is available for $19.95. ($14-95 when purchased with the CALLIGRAPHY package.) F^X CHARACTER DOWNLOADER Owners of FX series printers can load new letter sets into the printer's internal RAM- Use our editor to create your letter sets and transfer them to the FX- Character editor and downloader $29-95- ( Owners of the Calligraphy package can add the downloader for $14-95.) (This ad, including border, printed with the CALLIGRAPHY package and reduced 302 tor publication) SKYCASTLE COMPUTER PRODUCTS P. 0- Box 1412 San Carlos, CA 94070 CP/N la • tradaaarh of Digital Raaaarch, SRAPTRAX to a tradooark af EPSON Aatrlca c&wm Circle #218 on Reader Service Card 26 Sextant May-June 1984 Get in Touch with the Rest of the Heath® and Zenith Computer Community. broke the news of the Z150 last November 3 months before Zenith announced it. (Buss readers get the news faster!) Accept a no-risk trial subscription to Buss: The Independent Newsletter of Heath Co. Computers. Buss can be your link to over 5,000 other users of Zenith Data Systems and Heathkit® computers. Twenty times a year, Buss is sent to you by first class mail. Each issue brings you? • The latest news of interest to Heath/Zenith users. • Reports from Buss readers telling you in their own words what’s worked—or not worked—for them. • Announcements of new products to help you get more out of your Heath or Zenith system. • An independent source of information about your Heath or Zenith system. Now you can try Buss at no charge. Simply send us your name and address to start getting Buss every two to three weeks. We’ll bill you $28 for your first 20 issues ($40 by airmail overseas). If you find Buss isn’t for you, simply return your invoice marked CANCEL—you’ll be under no further obligation. Upon receipt of your payment we’ll send you, as a FREE BONUS to your subscription, The Buss Directory— a 50-page directory of over 250 sources of support for Heath and Zenith computer users—including an index to help you find the products you need. Whether you’re curious about: □ H8 □ printers □ H/Z89 □ terminals □ H/Z100 □ disks and drives □ compatible hardware □ compatible software □ business applications □ home/hobby applications □ games □ graphics □ utilities □ Z-DOS □ HDOS □ CP/M Buss newsletter and The Buss Directory have more information for you. Don’t wait any longer to take advantage of this no-risk offer. Send in your name to Buss and start: • Learning about new products being developed by the independent suppliers. • Benefitting from the advice of other users. • Finding economical ways to improve your system. • Becoming aware of activities in the Heath/Zenith community—and in your local area—which affect you. • Receiving Heath/Zenith information twenty times a year. Call Toll Free: datatel™ 800/341-1522 and ask for the “Buss no-risk trial offer” (M-F 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Eastern Time) or Send the Coupon Below to: Buss, Dept. S10, 716 E Street S.E., Washington, DC 20003 • 202/544-0900 Guarantee: Even after you’ve paid your bill, your satisfaction with Buss is guaranteed. If at any time you are not satisfied, your money will be refunded —in full! □ Yes! Send me the newsletter which will bring me timely news of the Heath and Zenith com¬ munity, and put me in touch with other Heath and Zenith users. Start sending my issues of Buss right away! When I receive my bill, I will send my payment of $28 ($40 overseas) for my first year (20 issues) of Buss —or I’ll write cancel on my invoice, and send - it back with no further obligations. _ Return to: Buss, Dept. S10, 716 E Street S.E., Washington, DC 20003 Your Free Bonus: And, as soon as you receive my subscription pay¬ ment, send me my free copy of The Buss Directory— a $12.50 value! Name__ Address_ Circle #107 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 27 program. The common disk format was the single-sided 40-track hard-sectored disk used with the H8 and H/Z89 com¬ puters. (The H/Z100 series was not yet available.) Each member received four disks—two for use under the Heath Disk Operating System (HDOS) and two for use under CP/M. The disks were exchanged at each monthly meeting. Most of the software was obtained from the CP/M Users Group Library. A small amount of public-domain software was available to us for HDOS, but that was soon exhausted. Fortunately, we’ve only scratched the surface with CP/M software. As the membership grew larg¬ er, the mechanics of disk exchange became unwieldy, and our supply of disks ran out. We needed a better meth¬ od for software distribution. We de¬ cided to use a computerized bulletin- board system. Members without mo¬ dems have continued with disk ex¬ change, but on a smaller scale. Soon a large amount of software was placed on the bulletin-board system. While setting up the bulletin-board system, the cooperation of the Heathkit store was essential. Not only did they arrange for a dedicated phone line, but they let us have some space on their hard disk. Our first effort was a fairly primitive system running under MBASIC. It was for message exchange only. Many of the early messages urged us to upgrade to a better system, so we purchased RCP/M, a bulletin-board system that is in com¬ mon use. This permitted up- and down¬ loading of lots of software, and provided the members with easy access to the software library. We have a password entry, so the system can be used only by local HUG members. Two members help run the system. A group discount program was also introduced. Its success has depended on the items being discounted and the depth of the discount. We initially of¬ fered group discounts on the three modems that Heath sells. Discounts were substantial, but not as deep as those advertised by discount houses in computer magazines. As a result, there was no interest and the program fell through. On the other hand, when the store manager agreed to a group purchase of H/Z100 computers and accessories, there was much interest. It seemed that no one could get a better price, any¬ where, on the kits. Inquiries came from all over. One had to be a local HUG member to participate in the program, so our membership increased. The re¬ sulting gross sales of nearly $54,000 was welcomed by the local store. Conclusion That is how our local HUG evolved. In our case, there seemed to be three essential ingredients. First, there was a need for such a group among many local Heath users. Second, there was a small group of enthusiastic, dedicated volun¬ teers willing to do some work. And finally, there was the substantial support given by the local Heathkit Electronic Center. Without it support¬ ing a newsletter or a bulletin board, for instance, would probably mean a higher dues rate. As I see it it is a more formidable challenge to form a local HUG in an area remote from a Heathkit store. Certainly, support from a store may not be required, or even desired in certain circumstances. But when you want it and they’re willing to give it— if s nice to have it!! So if you re considering forming a local HUG, you need lots of enthusiasm, lots of cooperation, a group of volun¬ teers willing to work hard, and plenty of luck. But if it works out successfully, it s worth all the effort you invested! Additional Information Heath Users’ Group Hilltop Road St. Joseph, MI 49085 616/982-3463 First year of membership: $20 in U.S.; Canada and Mexico, $22; elsewhere, $30. EPSOM Printers CAM Do Graphics! * D IGRAPH will turn your EPSON printer into a graphics plotter for personal or business needs! Make your EPSON plot an unlimited number of artistic sketches, geometric designs, and business graphs, which would not be possible without MXGRAPH. MXGRAPH runs under CP/M or HDOS operating systems ONLY on the H/Z-89 and H/Z-90 computer systems. Requires a serial EPSON printer equipped with bit plot graphics. Specify HDOS or CP/M, hard or soft sectored 5.25" disk. MXGRAPH is $49-97 LETTER QUALITT PRINTING FOR THE EPSOM • HIPRIMT generates almost LETTER-QUALITY printing on an EPSON printer equipped with bit plot graphics! MXPRINT sends your files to the printer to be printed at 10 cpi by 6 lpi. Each character is plotted by a 12x24 dot matrix. MXPRINT includes MX FONT for generating your own character fonts. MXPRINT requires CP/M Version 2.2.03 or later for operation on an H-8, H/Z-89, or H/Z-90; or CP/M-85 for operation on an H/Z-100. Specify hard or soft sectored disk. MXPRINT is $19-97 PRINTING THAT ONLY A DIABLO CAN DO • LETTERIT generates poster quality lettering on any DIABLO printer! Prints proportionally about 3 char per inch by 2 lines per inch (Nx24 matrix). Includes DBFONT for generating your own lettering. LETTERIT requires CP/M Version 2.2.03 or later for operation on an H-8, H/Z-89, or H/Z-90; or CP/M-85 for operation on an H/Z-100. Specify hard or soft sectored 5.25" disk. LETTERIT is $19-97 WORDSTAR ENHANCER • NOVA The WordStar*-" Enhancer! Add full use of ALL your keypad AND special function keys to WordStar. Greatly increases speed and ease of editing text. 25th line prompts you. NOVA requires Heath/Zenith distributed WordStar. NOVA requires CP/M Version 2.2.03 or later for operation on an H-8, H/Z-89, or H/Z-90; or CP/ft-85 for operation on an H/Z-100. Specify hard or soft sectored 5.25" disk. NOVA is $24.97 INTERLACED GRAPHICS PACKAGE • ILG GRAPHICS - Resident Interlaced Graphics Package! ILG is a resident 8088 assembly language interlaced graphics package. In interlaced mode pixel resolution is 640x by 480y. Includes a 256 interlaced character font set. Once loaded, ILG remains resident in system memory for easy interface by any high level language or assembly language program. ILG includes many examples to interface to the various languages as well as an interlaced screen-dump to an EPSON or Diablo printer. ILG interfaces directly with all the HicroSoft coapilers (PASCAL, FORTRAN, COBOL, ZBASIC), assembler (HASH-86) and the Z-BASIC interpreter. 64K video ram chips are required for operation in interlaced mode. ILG runs under Z-DOS on the H/Z-100. ILG GRAPHICS is $39.97 Z-DOS COLOR SCREEN EDITOR • CSE - Color Screen Editor is a multi-function, cursor-based, screen-oriented text and document editor. CSE uses the video memory of the Z-100 as a moving "window" to view the text being edited. CSE is function key oriented for speed and ease of use. Cursor positioning as well as dozens of other standard text editing functions are function key controlled instead of using control characters. CSE has the unique property of being able to make use of the color capabilities of your H/Z-100. However, it is not limited to only color equipped machines. Use CSE once and you'll never return to your basic screen editor again. CSE runs under Z-DOS on the H/Z-100. CSE Color Editor is $49.97 Z-100 ELECTRONIC FILING CABINET • EFC - The Electronic Filing Cabinet is a screen-oriented database storage/retrieva 1 package for Z-DOS. EFC is a low cost data storage and retrieval package for any type of personal data. EFC DOES NOT do any manipulation of data type you record, (ie, SORT, etc...). Data is stored in common "screen sized pages" and recalled by selecting the pages desired. EFC is human engineered and completely menu driven for ease of use. The Electronic Filling Cabinet is $39.97 S* *J€»© JHNODA130NS 2455 Sylvania Avenue Toledo, Ohio 43613 VISA and MASTERCARD Orders Welcoae! PHONE ORDERS CALL: ( *11 9 ) *71-1245 Circle #137 on Reader Service Card 28 Sextant May-June 1984 H-8 and H/Z-89 ACCESSORIES PUT COLOR GRAPHICS ON YOUR HEATH/ZENITH COMPUTER NOW YOU CAN INCORPORATE H/Z-89 I/O CARDS INTO YOUR H-8 SYSTEM 111111 HA-8-89 BUS CONVERTER $ 89.00 HA-89-3 COLOR GRAPHICS BOARD.$299.00 This board will expand your H/Z-89 computer to include color graphics and souna effects with support for both HDOS and CP/M. High level application support under GRAPH-PAC-II (see description below), and all for a price much lower than other boards offering much less! Uses the advanced TMS-9918A Color Video Generator which displays brilliant color graphic output on any video device accepting NTSC signals. Included is a documentation package which contains a distribution disk with sample programs and driver routines, a 275-page manual with detailed information on installing and using the HA-89-3, a schematic, manufacturers' data sheets for the major components of the board, and a list of vendors who have commercial soft¬ ware packages available for this board. The standard board includes: • Eight Analog/Digital Converter Channels • Sound Generation for Special Effects • 16-Bits of Parallel I/O • Three Counter Timer Channels • Priority Interrupt Controller Optional Features Include: • Voice Synthesis using the VOTRAX SC-01 A chip.$130.00 • Am9511A Arithmetic Processor (floating point and trig functions).$175.00 • Two 12-Bit Digital/Analog Converters.$110.00 • Joysticks (each).$ 14.00 Add $15.00 extra if options are not purchased with basic board.) This card allows incorporation of H/Z-89 cards into your H-8 system with the following features: • H/Z-89 card fits into H-8 cabinet • One converter per H/Z-89 card • Standard Heath ROM addressing H-8 MUSIC SYNTHESIZER SYSTEM.$ 89.00 Expand your H-8 computer to include the latest pop hits! This board connects to your stereo system with two shielded cables (included). A true D/A converter provides excellent 27.5-3300 Hz frequency response, up to 9 harmonics. 4-part harmony in stereo. Enter any song, right from sheet music. Full documentation included. Re¬ quires min. 24K memory, H-17 floppy, terminal. Please specify operating system (HDOS or CP/M) and disk format (any standard Heath format). OPTIONAL 8-VOICE MUSIC COMPILER.$ 39.00 Allows your system to produce 8-part harmony in stereo rather than 4-part described above. Requires 4 MHz Processor. May also be ordered separately for ex¬ isting HA-8-2 boards. GRAPH-PAC-II.$ 39.00 A software support package for the HA-89-3 and HA-8-3 Color Graphics Boards described above. Please specify operating system (HDOS or CP/M) and disk format (any standard Heath format). HA-8-3 COLOR GRAPHICS BOARD.$299.00 Create color graphics and sound effects on your H-8 computer. Supports HDOS and CP/M and high level applications with GRAPH-PAC-II (see description below). Uses the advanced TMS-9918A Color Video Generator which displays brilliant color graphic output on any video device accepting NTSC signals. The programmable sound generator makes a wide variety of sounds. Included is a documentation package which contains a distribution disk with sample programs and driver routines, a 250-page manual with detailed information on installing and using the HA-8-3, a schematic, manufacturers' data sheets for the major components of the board, and a list of vendors who have commercial software packages available for this board. The standard board includes: • Eight Analog/Digital Converter Channels • Sound Generation for Special Effects • 16-Bits of Parallel I/O Optional Features: • Am9511A Arithmetic Processor (floating point and trig functions).$175.00 • Joysticks (each).$ 14.00 Please specify operating system (HDOS or CP/M) and disk format (any standard Heath format). JOY-1 JOYSTICKS.(each) $ 14.00 For use with the HA-89-3 and HA-8-3 Color Graphics Boards described above. Please specify for which board you will be using it. • Supports calls from: ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE (requires M-80) BASIC-80 (interpreter or compiler) TINY PASCAL PASCAL/MT + FORTRAN-80 COBOL-80 C/80 Ver. 2.0 (requires M80 and L80) • Primitives and high level support • Generates circles, lines, points, characters and bar graphs • High speed object movement and collision detection • User definable character fonts Package includes your choice of one of the above languages. Additional languages may be ordered for $15.00 each. Please specify language(s), disk format and operating system. PASCAL/MT-F for HDOS.$350.00 Contains six major components: compiler, linker, debugger, disassembler, librarian and distribution package. The recommended environment is 64K of memory (the Pascal/MT-P compiler will use the lower 8K for additional symbol table space), three 100K disks or two extended density disks. • Supports entire ISO standard (DPS/7185) • Includes variant records, sets, record files and procedure passing • Modular compilation with external variables • Overlays and chaining through programs • Interrupt procedures and absolute variables • Inline assembly code • Generates native Z80 or 8080 Code. Available in any Heath format, please specify. New _ Orleans General Data Ordering Information: Products listed are available from NOGDS, 7230 Chadbourne Drive, New Orleans, La. 70126. Check, Money Order, VISA or MasterCard accepted. Phone orders call (504)241-9495. Add $5.00 shipping (VIA UPS unless otherwise specified). H8, H89 and HDOS are registered trademarks of Heath Corporation, Benton Harbor, Michigan. CP/M and PASCAL/MT+ are registered trademarks of Digital Research, Inc. Fortran-80 and COBOL-80 are registered trademarks of Microsoft. Turn Your Computer into an Electronic Typewriter A short program in Benton Harbor BASIC provides ample word-processing power for much personal correspondence. Both disk and cassette versions are provided. At home, one of the most time- consuming functions I perform is that of answering or writing letters. It seems as if I’m always dragging out the fifteen- year-old portable typewriter, typing a line, correcting the mistake(s) I invari¬ ably make, typing the next line, .... You get the picture! Then, as if that procedure isn’t bad enough, I have to try to type the enve¬ lopes, something my old, tired type¬ writer doesn’t like to do. When I began making noises like I wanted a new electronic typewriter, my wife pointed out that I already owned a $3,000+ electronic typewriter—so why washt I using it...?! As originally configured, my Heath H8 system—purchased three years ago—consisted of 24 kilobytes of random-access memory (RAM), dual cassettes, and an H9 terminal. Frankly, it wasn t of too much value for serious computing—certainly not what I was used to at work. Gradually, over the past three years, I ve expanded the system until I now have an H14 printer, 64K of RAM, and dual floppies. As the system has evolved, so too have my uses for it in my home. So, to satisfy my need for a typewriter, and to keep peace in the household, I wrote a letter- and label-writing pro¬ gram for my H8.1 could, I suppose, have gone out and bought word-processing software. But I felt that my needs were sufficiently limited that I should be able to do the job on my own. Besides, I still use my cassette system and enjoyed turning out something that would work with both cassette and disk. The program I wrote is shown in Listing 1. (This is the cassette version. Listing 2 is the version for use with a disk system.) Called Letter/Label Writer, this is a simple program, designed under mem¬ ory capacity restraints and using only standard BASIC functions. Basically, the program turns your sys¬ tem into a correctable, previewing typewriter system—not a fancy word processor, you understand, but certainly good enough for normal household use. An additional feature of this particular program is that you can print a number of pages of letters; then, without run- 30 Sextant May-June 1984 Thomas G. Bohon ning another program, produce the necessary mailing labels for those let¬ ters. I like the program (of course, I am prejudiced) and use it a great deal. A look at the program The first thing to note in the program is that it is almost entirely devoid of the bells and whistles normally found on word processors. The reason for this lack of amenities is quite simple—when the program was originally written, I had only 16K of RAM, with BASIC taking up 12K. Memory constraints prohibited a lot of the “nice to have features. Even without these, however, I think you 11 find this program more than adequate for your needs. Program execution begins with the printing of the program name. All of working storage is CLEARed and an array, A$, defined to hold the text. The program then solicits the text, one line at a time. As it is entered, each line is checked to see if it is either too long or consists solely of the double backslash (\\), which is used as the termination code. If the line consists solely of this flag, the program branches to line 140 where the review process begins. If the line is normal text but is too long, it is searched from back to front to determine where to break it after a complete word. If a break point is found. 00010 PRINT "LETTER/LABEL WRITER":PRINT 00020 CLEAR :DIM A$(55):N=0 00030 PRINT "BEGIN INPUT (\\ TO END)":PRINT 00040 N=N+1:IF N>55 THEN PRINT "PAGE FULL!";CHR$(7):G0T0 140 00050 PRINT N;:LINE INPUT "> ";A9$ 00060 IF LEFT$(A9$,2)=«\\" THEN N=N-1:PRINT "END INPUT":G0T0 140 00070 IF LEN(A9$)<=65 THEN 130 000 80 F=0:G0SUB 361: IF FOO THEN 50 00130 A$(N)=A9$:G0T0 40 00140 PRINT :PRINT "PREVIEW FOLLOWS—NOTE ERROR LINE NUMBERS!";CHR$(7) 00150 FOR 1=1 TO N:PRINT I;"> ";A$(I):NEXT I:PRINT 00160 INPUT "LINE # TO CHANGE (0 TO END)? ";Z9:IF Z9=0 THEN 210 00170 PRINT "CURRENT LINE:«:PRINT A$(Z9):L9=LEN(A$(Z9)) 00180 PRINT "NEW LINE":LINE INPUT "? ";A9$:IF LEN(A9$)<=65 THEN 200 00 1 90 F=0:GOSUB 361: IF FOO THEN 180 00200 A$(Z9)=A9$:GOTO 160 00210 PRINT .-PRINT "READY PRINTER, HIT ANY KEY...:PAUSE :PRINT 00220 PORT OUT 224,4800:FOR 1=1 TO 5:PRINT:NEXT I 00230 FOR 1=1 TO N:PRINT TAB(9);A$(I):NEXT I:PRINT CHR$(12) 00240 PORT OUT 250:LINE INPUT "ANOTHER PAGE/LETTER (Y/N)? ";A1$ 00250 IF LEFT$(A1$,1)="Y" THEN 20 00255 LINE INPUT "LABELS (Y/N)? ";Z1$:IF LEFT$(Z1$,1)<>"Y" THEN 370 00260 PRINT :PRINT "INSERT LABELS, HIT ANY KEY...:PAUSE :PRINT 00270 PORT OUT 224,4800:OUT 224,27:0UT 224,117:0UT 224,16:P0RT OUT 250 00280 LINE INPUT "NAME? ";N$:IF LEN(N$)=0 THEN 370 00290 LINE INPUT "TITLE/COMPANY? ";T$:LINE INPUT "ADDRESS? ";A1$ 00300 LINE INPUT "CITY? ";C$:LINE INPUT "STATE (2)? ";S$ 00310 LINE INPUT "ZIP CODE? ";Z$ 00320 PRINT N$:IF LEN(T$)>0 THEN PRINT T$ 00330 PRINT A1$:PRINT C$;TAB(27);S$ 00340 PRINT TAB(24);Z$:PRINT :IF LEN(T$)=0 THEN PRINT 00350 PORT OUT 250 00360 GOTO 280 00361 FOR I=LEN(A9$) TO 1 STEP -1:A1$=MID$(A9$,I,1) 00362 IF A1$=" " THEN A9$=LEFT$(A9$,I~1):G0T0 365 00363 NEXT I 00364 PRINT "LINE TOO LONG, CAN'T TRUNCATE";CHR$(7):F=1:G0T0 369 00365 PRINT "LINE TOO LONG—TRUNCATED TO:":PRINT A9$ 00369 RETURN 00370 PORT OUT 224,4800:OUT 224,27:0UT 224,117:0UT 224,1 00380 PORT CUT 250.-PRINT "PROGRAM ENDS":STOP Listing 1. Letter/Label Writer, cassette version. This Extended Benton Harbor BASIC program will allow you to type a letter, review it line-by-line for accuracy, and send it to your printer. the line is truncated and you are notified so you will know where to begin typing for the next line. A break point how¬ ever, might not be found. This could happen if the line consisted of one long string, such as “=====.. .==”. In such a case, an error message is output; and the same line is solicited again. After accepting a valid line, the program re¬ turns to line 40 and solicits the next line of text. Once all text has been entered, the program gives an automatic review of the entire letter. This is accomplished in the routine beginning at line 140 and ending at line 150. Each line and its number is displayed and the operator is asked to observe whether any line con¬ tains an error to be corrected. After the review is complete, the program solicits the numbers of any lines to be changed. When a line number is entered, that line of text is displayed and the new (re¬ placement) line is solicited. Note that the entire line must be re-entered, and that this new line is validity-checked as before. A line number of 0 terminates this function. Once all errors have been corrected, the program instructs you to ready the printer. The page of text is then printed, a form feed is output and if more letters or pages are to be prepared, the pro¬ gram branches back to the beginning of the routine. Note that on the output an indenta¬ tion of eight spaces (approximately one inch) is automatic for each line—as is a one-inch margin at the top of each page. These values can be changed when you type the program into your system. (The tab in line 230 determines the indenta¬ tion. Line 220 determines the upper margin.) Upon completion of all letters/pages, the program queries the user to deter¬ mine if labels are to be printed. If you respond with a “Yes,” the program prompts you to set up the printer with the labels and to hit any key. Once the printer is ready, the pro¬ gram solicits and prints one label at a time. Each label consists of five lines: Name, Title/Company/Comment Ad¬ dress, City and State, and ZIP code. A null value (i.e., a carriage return) for the name field will terminate the function and program execution. The program has been extremely use¬ ful to me, and I think you’ll wonder how you got along without it once you ve used it for a while. I use mine a great deal on a daily basis, and I’m pretty sure it’s “bug free. So if you find something that doesn't seem to work just right. I’d appreciate hearing from you. Good luck! 00010 PRINT "LETTER/LABEL WRITER":PRINT 00020 CLEAR :DIM A$(55):N=0 00025 E$=CHR$(27)+CHR$(117):E2$=E$+CHR$(16):E1$=E$+CHR$(1) 00030 PRINT "BEGIN INPUT (\\ TO END)":PRINT 00040 N=N+1:IF N>55 THEN PRINT "PAGE FULL!";CHR$(7):G0T0 140 00050 PRINT N;:LINE INPUT "> ";A9$ 00060 IF LEFT$(A9$,2)="\\" THEN N=N-1:PRINT "END INPUT":G0T0 140 00070 IF LEN(A9$)<=65 THEN 130 00080 F=0:G0SUB 361: IF FOO THEN 50 00130 A$(N)=A9$:G0T0 40 00140 PRINT :PRINT "PREVIEW FOLLOWS—NOTE ERROR LINE NUMBERS!";CHR$(7) 00150 FOR 1=1 TO N:PRINT I;"> ";A$(I):NEXT I:PRINT 00160 INPUT "LINE # TO CHANGE (0 TO END)? ";Z9:IF Z9=0 THEN 210 00170 PRINT "CURRENT LINE:":PRINT A$(Z9):L9=LEN(A$(Z9)) 00180 PRINT "NEW LINE":LINE INPUT "? ";A9$:IF LEN(A9$)<=65 THEN 200 00 1 90 F =0:G0SUB 361: IF FOO THEN 180 00200 A$(Z9)=A9$:GOTO 160 00210 PRINT :PRINT "READY PRINTER, HIT ANY KEY...:PAUSE :PRINT 00220 OPEN "LP:" FOR WRITE AS FILE #1:F0R 1=1 TO 5:PRINT #1,:NEXT I 00230 FOR 1=1 TO N:PRINT #1,TAB(9);A$(I):NEXT I 00235 CLOSE #1 00240 LINE INPUT "ANOTHER PAGE/LETTER (Y/N)? ";A1$ 00250 IF LEFT$(A1$,1)="Y" THEN 20 00255 LINE INPUT "LABELS (Y/N)? ";Z1$:IF LEFT$(Z1$,1)<>"Y" THEN 370 00260 PRINT :PRINT "INSERT LABELS, HIT ANY KEY...:PAUSE :PRINT 00270 OPEN "LP:" FOR WRITE AS FILE #1:PRINT #1,E2$ 00280 LINE INPUT "NAME? ";N$:IF LEN(N$)=0 THEN 370 00290 LINE INPUT "TITLE/COMPANY? ";T$:LINE INPUT "ADDRESS? ";A1$ 00300 LINE INPUT "CITY? ";C$:LINE INPUT "STATE (2)? ";S$ 00310 LINE INPUT "ZIP CODE? ";Z$ 00320 PRINT #1, N$:IF LEN(T$)>0 THEN PRINT #1,T$ 00330 PRINT #1, A1$:PRINT #1,C$;TAB(27);S$ 00340 PRINT #1, TAB(24);Z$:PRINT #1, :IF LEN(T$)=0 THEN PRINT #1, 00360 GOTO 280 00361 FOR I=LEN(A9$) TO 1 STEP -1:A1$=MID$(A9$,I,1) 00362 IF A1$=" " THEN A9$=LEFT$(A9$,I-1):G0T0 365 00363 NEXT I 00364 PRINT "LINE TOO LONG, CAN 1 T TRUNCATE";CHR$(7):F=1:G0T0 369 00365 PRINT "LINE TOO LONG—TRUNCATED TO:":PRINT A9$ 00369 RETURN 00370 PRINT #1,E1$:CL0SE #1 00380 PRINT "PROGRAM ENDS":STOP CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS Software prepared by Professional Engineers for Professional Engineers. For use under ZD0S (MS-DOS) or CP/M85 for Z-100 series com¬ puters. Written in MBASIC, or compiled F0R- TRAN77 (with source code). Reasonably priced from $75 to $500, for complete software pack¬ ages, including documentation, sample prob¬ lems, and printouts. Documentation and list¬ ings only are also available. BRIDGE GIRDER, for prestressed, precast concrete, any section, truck and/or wheel loads. Conforms to AASHT0 Code. Computes moments, stresses, deflections, elastic shortening, and shears. PRESTRESSED BEAM, same as Bridge Girder, except for uniform loads such as roof and floor loads. Conforms to ACI Code. RETAINING WALL, for three surcharge con¬ ditions. Computes trial design, with sta¬ bility and soil pressures. Allows for designer modification. Printout contains area of steel at various cutoff points. SURVEYING PACKAGE, computes traverses with closure error, coordinates, inverses, line to line and curve to line intersections. Horizontal and spiral curves. Oblique triangles. HYDRAULIC PACKAGE, solves for trapezoidal and rectangular channels using Manning's formula. Analyzes historical stream flow records and prepares statictical recurr¬ ence data. STRUCTURAL PACKAGE, computes moments, shears, and deflections for variously loaded members. Designs footings and foundation walls. Computes rigidity of structure from horizontal forces. B OMER H. BRODIE & Associates 2705 N Springview Drive Coeur d’Alene. Idaho 83814 (208) 664-5675 Circle #113 on Reader Service Card When it comes to quality software for microsystems, DYNACOMP delivers: PERSONAL FINANCE SYSTEM: $39.95 The Systems ... Apple Atari Canon Commodore Compustar CP/M Franklin H/Z-100 IBM PC Kaypro Morrow NEC North Star Osborne SuperBrain Timex TRS-80 The Software ... ADVENTURE BUSINESS CARD GAMES EDUCATION ENGINEERING GAMES HOME FINANCE INVESTING LANGUAGES SCIENCE TAX PLANNING UTILITIES Name brand diskettes: $19.95/10 (SS, SD w/hub ring). Includes FREE plastic storage box. Add $2.00 shipping. CALL OR WRITE FOR A FREE CATALOG DYNACOMP, INC. 1427 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, N.Y. 14618 Telephone: (716) 442-8960 Circle #121 on Reader Service Card Listing 2. The disk version of Letter/Label Writer. Lines 10-20, 30-210, 250-260, 280-310, and 360-369 are common to both these listings. Sextant May-June 1984 31 "OtAlrry SoFtware at ReasonaI>Ie Prices" SoFtware For Your H8/H89 HDOS ProcIucts TEXT PROCESSOR 4.1 FULL SCREEN EDITOR $ 59.95 TOUCH TYPIST 2.0 .$ 29.95 VIDEO ARTIST PLUS, HI9 GRAPHICS PROGRAM $ 39.95 H25/Z25 GRAPHICS GENERATOR $ 44.95 TOUR 700 GAME.$ 19.95 UNIVERSAL SPOOLER $ 29.95 RESISTIVE NETWORK DESIGN.$ 24.95 MX 80 DEVICE DRIVER.$ 29.95 MODEM COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE DRIVER $ 34.95 MBASIC COMPUTER AIDED INSTRUCTION $ 59.95 HERO 1 ASM-68 6800 CROSS ASSEMBLER $ 59.95 DENSE PAC DATA COMPRESS AND ENCRYPT.$ 29.95 NEW UD.DVD UNIVERSAL PRINTER DEVICE DRIVER.$ 29.95 MX.DVD MX 80 DEVICE DRIVER $ 29.95 H25.DVDH25 DEVICE DRIVER.$ 29.95 UD.DVD/SPOOLER .$ 39.95 MX.DVD/SPOOLER.$ 39.95 H25.DVD/SPOOLER .$ 39.95 SUPER SYSMOD 2.$ 29.95 TINY PASCAL & DISASSEMBLER $ 29.95 HFORTH 79.$ 34.95 DIAMOND ACCOUNTING SYSTEM.$ 74.95 The ILLUSTRATOR GRAPHICS PROGRAM.$ 89.95 NEW CP/M PRodtCT5 TEXT PROCESSOR 4.1 FULL SCREEN EDITOR.$ 59.95 TOUCH TYPIST 2.0 .$ 29.95 TOUR 700 GAME.$ 19.95 DOMESTIC MGT. SYSTEM .$ 39.95 CHECK PROCESSOR.$ 29.95 TAXTYME 1983 FEDERAL INCOME TAX PROGRAM .$ 59.95 NEW SNAP.$ 29.95 MBASIC COMPUTER-AIDED INSTRUCTION $ 59.95 HERO 1 ASM68 6800 CROSS ASSEMBLER $ 59.95 DENSE PAC DATA COMPRESS AND ENCRYPT.$ 29.95 NEW SUPERMATH 1 COMPUTER-AIDED INSTRUCTION $ 39.95 UD.COM/SPOOLER.$ 39.95 TINY PASCAL & DISASSEMBLER $ 25.00 dBASE II.$465.00 AUTOMOBILE EXPENSE. $ 29.95 NEW APPOINTMENT CALENDAR. $ 29.95 NEW FILE CABINET. $ 29.95 NEW H19/H89 BASIC GRAPHICS PRIMER. $ 49.95 NEW SoFtware For Your Z-100 ZDOS PpodtcTs Z 100 HDOS 2.0 UPGRADE.$ 79.95 SPECIAL SAVE $60 ... . includes FREE Z 100 HDOS Text Processor TEXT PROCESSOR 4.1 FULL SCREEN EDITOR $ 59.95 TOUCH TYPIST 2.0 .$ 29.95 CHECK PROCESSOR.$ 29.95 dBASE II.$465.00 SUPERMATH 1 COMPUTER AIDED INSTRUCTION.$ 49.95 NEW AUTOMOBILE EXPENSE.$ 29.95 NEW DIAMOND ACCOUNTING SYSTEM.$149.95 FRIDAY .$219.00 NEW The ILLUSTRATOR GRAPHICS PROGRAM.$ 89.95 NEW CP/M-85 PRodtcTs TEXT PROCESSOR 4.1 FULL SCREEN EDITOR $ 59.95 TOUCH TYPIST 2.0 .$ 29.95 NewUne's Z-100 HDOS 2.0 PrcmIucts TEXT PROCESSOR 4.1 FULL SCREEN EDITOR $ 59.95 UD.DVD UNIVERSAL DEVICE DRIVER $ 29.95 MX.DVD MX 80 DEVICE DRIVER .$ 29.95 H25.DVD H25 DEVICE DRIVER.$ 29.95 UD.DVD/SPOOLER.$ 39.95 MX.DVD/SPOOLER.$ 39.95 H25.DVD/SPOOLER .$ 39.95 SUPER SYSMOD 2.$ 29.95 SoFtware For Your HERO-1 KEYPAD UTILITY CASSETTE.$ 24.95 HERO 1 ASM68 available for HDOS & CP/M SpEciAls TEXT PROCESSOR 4.1 for ZDOS & CP/M 85.$ 99.95 SPECIAL Z 100 HDOS 2.0 with FREE Z 100 HDOS Text Processor.$ 79.95 SPECIAL NAshuA DiskETTES SSSD, 10 sector Hard.10 for $25.00, 20 for $45.00 SSDD, soft.10 for $25.00, 20 for $45.00 DSDD, soft, 48 TPI.10 for $33.50, 20 for $62.00 DSDD, soft, 96 TPI 10 for $42.00, 20 for $79.00 8", DSDD.10 for $48.00, 20 for $91.00 NEW CALL FOR QUANTITY PRICING. NewUne SoFtware SencI For Latest cataLoque P.O. Box 289 • Tiverton Rl 02878 401-624-3322 ORDER FORM FOREIGN ORDERS— Surface postage included in price. Add $3.00 per package ordered for airmail shipment. Checks drawn on a non-U.S.A. bank must include $10.00 for check processing and funds transfer. CANADA ORDERS— Checks drawn on a non-U.S.A. bank must include $3.00 for check processing and funds transfer. Mail to: Newline Software P.O. Box 289 Tiverton, Rl 02878 OS = Operating System—Enter either HDOS, CP/M, Z-DOS, or CP/M-85. Be sure the product you are ordering is available for the OS you select. Format = 5.25" Hard Sector (HI7 Format). . . use format code “H”. 5.25" Soft Sector (H37 Format) SSDD, 48TPI . . . use format code “S”. 8" SSSD (H47) Format ... add $5.00 ... use format code “8”. Z100 Software is in DSDD, 48TPI format. . . use format code “Z”. NAME ___ STREET ____ CITY ___STATE_ZIP. Circle #145 on Reader Service Card 32 Sextant May-June 1984 Put an Electronic Disk into Your H8 The X/2-H8 memory controller from Trionyx gives you rapid, silent access to files. Trionyx Electronics has pledged on¬ going support for the H8 computer. And if their new X/2-H8 Memory Bank Se¬ lect Board is any indication, the future looks bright for H8 owners. This new half-board allows you to add up to three new banks of random-access memory (RAM). At up to 64 kilobytes each, plus the 64K upper limit the H8 already has, that gives you an upper limit of 256K RAM. It makes the H8 a machine for the future. I have been working with the X/2-H8 for some time, and I believe it is the most significant improvement ever built for the H8. Even with 64K RAM installed in my H8,1 had pushed the upper limits of the machine s memory many times. Also, I had been annoyed by the constant noise when my programs accessed the disk drives. The new board does three major things. First, it reduces disk-drive opera¬ tion to almost nil. Next, as noted, it allows the H8 to utilize up to 256K of memory. And third, it provides for stor¬ ing multiple programs within RAM for instant recall at any time without repeat¬ edly accessing the disk drive. In applica¬ tions involving repeated use of device drivers, and RENUMBERing completed programs, this latter mode of operation makes the board well worth the cost. In various educational programs that I run, there used to be undesirable delays involved when the disk had to be ac¬ cessed to drive either the printer or the Votrax speech synthesizer. With the X/2-H8 installed, such delays are no longer noticeable. And, obviously, not listening to disk-drive operation lets the student concentrate more on the lesson. (For a similar board for the H/Z89, see Hal Glatzer’s article in Sextant #6, Sum¬ mer 1983, “Taking a Look at Magnolia s Invisible Disk.”) The X/2-H8 gives you two powerful new modes of operation, known as MU: and CACHE:. MU: is basically an internal high-speed electronic “disk.” You treat it just as you would a disk, cache: is basically an internal “holding area.” As you access data or programs they are automatically placed in RAM, to be available for later high-speed recall with¬ out accessing the external disk drives. Thomas R. Sear In the \1U: mode, the H8 is able to utilize up to 256K of memory. Besides its greater speed, the main difference be¬ tween MU: and a disk is that mu is not bootable. In the cache: mode, the H8 uses up to 64 K of main memory, and 64 K, 128K, or 192 K of extra memory for storing all files read from the disk drives. Once read, these files are held in the CACHE: and are 1 estimate that disk operation is reduced more than 90% in my system. automatically recalled when needed without activating the disk drives. Var¬ ious tests that I have run indicate that files are loaded from cache: in less than half the time that is required to obtain them via the disk drives. (In the case of device drivers, it is essentially instantaneous.) Either mode allows for storage of multiple programs (such as lrdvd, VX:DVD, or renumber) at power-up, with no further need to operate the disk drives while running programs for ex¬ tended periods. When program devel¬ opment is completed, you simply trans¬ fer any pertinent data to the external drives for permanent storage using stan¬ dard commands. Both modes of opera¬ tion are “user friendly”: one need not learn any new formats to use them. And, only a few simple hardware modifica¬ tions are required—mainly connecting the X/2-H8 control outputs to the sys¬ tem memory boards. The MU: mode Operating in the MU: mode provides an excellent way to utilize extra 8K and/or 16K memory boards. Unlike the cache: mode, which requires that a given bank of memory contain 64K, MU: will operate with as little as 16K in a bank. However, each bank must contain 64K before another bank will be used in either mode. This does not include the main memory, the CPU bank, which will operate with only 16K installed. How¬ ever, the Heath Disk Operating System (HDOS) uses up 24K of CPU memory; so the size of your files will determine how much CPU memory your system must have. I recommend installing 64K and forgetting about it. In the MU: mode, memory not used as CPU memory is essentially an internal high-speed electronic disk. You iNiTial- ize MU: as you would a floppy disk, and then use it in the same way using the same command format as you would with a floppy disk. There are a number of advantages: it is faster than an ex¬ ternal disk; it can be as large as 192K; it virtually eliminates external disk opera¬ tion during program development; and all files created using it can be trans¬ ferred to external floppy disks for per¬ manent storage using standard disk com¬ mands. Support files, such as lp : dvd, can be transferred to MU: as desired for use during program development, etc. MU: is the best mode to use when developing new files, since it provides up to 256 K of memory, and is the only mode you can use if you don’t have enough memory boards to fill even a single bank with 64K. MU: will operate with only 16K in a given bank, so it is possible to fill one bank to 64K and another bank with only 16K. This con¬ figuration will still function as an elec¬ tronic disk, giving you approximately 55 sectors for each 16K installed. The cache: mode In the CACHE: mode, the extra mem¬ ory banks become an automatic storage area All files read from the external disk, as you work, are placed in the cache:. Any time a file is called for, the H8 checks cache: first. If the file is stored there, it will be read from there rather than the external drive. If it isn’t, the external drive will be accessed and the file will be placed in CACHE: at the same time it is read into the CPU memory area Eventually, cache: will contain all the files you need and the external drive just sits quietly off to the side. I estimate that disk operation is reduced more than 90% in my system. To use cache:, a given bank must contain 64K of memory. Again, this does not include the CPU bank, banko. bank i must be filled first, followed by bank 2 and bank 3 in that order. During boot, at Sextant May-June 1984 33 § §§ §§§ §§§§ §§§§ §§§ §§ § §§ §§§ SEXY-SOFT SMALL SYSTEMS SOF TWARE §§§ §§§§ §§§ §§§§ §§§ §§ § §§ §§§ §§§§ §§§§ §§§ §§ § §§ §§§ §§§§ §§§§ §§§ §§ D. A. Woolfe & Associates 1715 Valley View Belmont, Ca 94002 The SECRETARY - Version 2.0 Full Function EDITOR for HDOS (For H/Z89 or H8(Z80)/H19/H17 on 10-Sector Disk) Reset drives + Catalog + Print Spool + Delete Disk Files Load,Save & Replace Files + Set Line Length + Set Tabs Clear Tabs + Replace Lines + Delete Lines + Block Copy Block Move + Append + Insert + String Search + Edit List (with line numbers) + List (w/o line numbers) Output to Printer (Any or All Lines of text) Write directly from keyboard to printer Combine text files + Include ESCAPE sequences with text Single-Line Command Prompts + No SYNTAX to remember All Commands initiated with a single key-stroke Default arguments displayed with Command cues SYSTEM STATUS displayed on Cammand PRICE $ 34.95 (Calif residents add 6 % tax) ORDER FROM §§§ §§§§ §§§§ §§§§ §§§§ §§§ §§§ §§§§ §§§ §§§§ §§§ §§§ §§ §§§ §§§§ §§§ §§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§ Circle #208 on Reader Service Card find square roots and average using the numeric fields in Query!2 data files. Use constants, other numeric fields or a reference database to create new columns. CALC makes report writing simple by asking questions to set up your print-outs. Report can be stored on disk files, viewed on the CRT or sent to your printer. Send $49.95 Available for all computers and op/systems. 716 S. Elam Avenue Call for VISA, MC Greensboro, N.C. 27403 919 378-1050 Uloyle & Hoyle Circle #205 on Reader Service Card the HDOS prompt, CACHE: is installed by typing cache:. After a short pause, dur¬ ing which the X/2-H8 is sizing the available memory, the amount of cache: installed will be displayed. (This will be either 64K, 128K, or 192 K, nothing else. If a bank doesn’t contain 64K it will be ignored.) Once CACHE: is installed, you operate your system as you always did. cache: will automatically take care of storing all the files that you use so they are ready for future use. There is no command, such as BASIC’s free, to determine how much CACHE: remains after you begin to use it You can handle this problem in either of two ways. If you know how large various files are, you can jot down a running total of how much cache: has been filled. I’ll admit this isn’t too likely. The other way is to “monitor” the first file placed in cache:, cache: sort of “pushes” new files into CACHE: from the “bottom and as it is filled, the first file placed there will be the first file “pushed” out the “top. By calling the first file now and then, you can tell whether cache: is filled. When the file is no longer installed, you will hear the disk being accessed. I haven’t found this to be a problem yet. I have 64K of CPU memory, and 128K of cache; and I have never been able to fill CACHE:. I have tried. I have loaded in various device drivers, several long games (such as Spacewar), and many class handouts all at once; and I have never lost any files or been unable to run a program. X/2-H8 and H8 configurations The most important fact about con¬ figuring for the X/2-H8 is that your H8 must be set up for org-0, the standard CP/M configuration (where the first page of user RAM begins at 100 hex). Most, except some of the older H8s, are set up for org-0, so this is not addressed directly in the Trionyx instructions. My H8 was an exception and would not operate reliably until I discovered and corrected the omission. A call to Trionyx quickly cleared the air; they are a very cooperative group. The X/2-H8 can be obtained either pre-wired or as a kit. If you prefer to build your own, you should read through the assembly instructions several times before beginning. This is because sev¬ eral jumpers must be installed according to a number of conditions: whether you have the original Heath motherboard or the Trionyx model; the types of memory boards in the system (the Heath 64K board is the problem here since it uses a positive control voltage, while all others appear to use a negative control level); and, if you have the Trionyx mother¬ board, whether you choose to use an “A” or a “C” connector as discussed below. (See Sextant #5, Spring 1983, for my review of the Trionyx motherboard, “Improve Your H8’s Reliability: Install a 34 Sextant May-June 1984 Trionyx Motherboard”) (Unless you get all the connections straight before you begin, it can be a little confusing. I hope this article saves you some time in the matter.) Trionyx builds the X/2-H8 for im¬ mediate installation in the H8 with an original motherboard and any memory board except the Heath 64 K model. If you fit this category, all you need to do is configure your memory boards per the instructions provided, install the twisted¬ pair control wires on the memory boards, connect the memory boards to the X/2-H8, and apply power to the system, boot the system using the soft¬ ware disk provided, and you are in business. If you are using any Heath 64 K mem¬ ory boards, all you need do is change one jumper on the X/2-H8 for each 64K board that you have, and proceed as outlined above. If you have a Trionyx motherboard, you have the option of using either an “A” or a“C” connector. The “A” connec¬ tor corresponds to the original Heath motherboard connectors. If at all possible, you should use a “C” connector if a Trionyx motherboard is involved. This allows you to use connec¬ tor Pll, located just behind the CPU board. This connector was apparently added by Trionyx to its motherboard for just such a need as this. Using PI 1 places the X/2-H8 in front of all the memory boards as Trionyx recommends. Doing so avoids having long control wires. Moreover, the exact position of the various boards helps to increase or de¬ crease interference between them. So going along with the recommended lo¬ cations pays off in operating stability. You will then have to move the jump¬ er on pin 45 of the X/2-H8 to pin 43; then install two jumpers on the mother¬ board to connect A-45 to C-43, and A-44 to C-44. This last should be done on a pair of connectors near the front of the H8, and can be done from the rear (by removing the motherboard from the H8) or via the connector pins on the front surface of the motherboard. If small wire is used, boards still fit nicely onto the motherboard. Once this is done, all you have to do is modify the memory boards as mentioned below, and apply power to the system. If you are using Heath 64 K memory boards, the Trionyx instructions tell you to disable pin 9 of U60. You will find that the Heath board doesn’t have a U60. It was to be part of the circuitry for ex¬ tended addressing, which Heath never got around to doing. I am running Heath 64K boards, and I just connected the control wires to pins 8 (black) and 9 (white) of the socket for U60. If you decide to use one of the “A” connectors, you will probably want to use connector P10 on the motherboard. Again, this is not advisable if you have the Trionyx motherboard. But P10 was “reserved” on the original Heath motherboard for future expansion and is seldom used. Using it will seem better than wasting an otherwise useful con¬ nector on the center of the motherboard. However, this will mean long control wires (not recommended) if you leave the memory boards at the front of the H8 as recommended by Heath. If at all possible. Trionyx recommends that the X/2-H8 be in front of the memory boards. If you use an “A” connector, simply proceed as previously outlined for a standard H8 configuration. If you plan to build your own board, pay special attention to steps 5 and 14 in the assembly instructions. Step 5 deals with the installation of the jumpers discussed above, and it requires some digging through the material provided to figure out just which jumper goes where. The information given above should make this clearer. Step 14 deals A note for CP/M users Those who use the X/2-H8 board under the Heath Disk Operating System (HDOS) will frequently pre¬ fer its CACHE mode. As noted in the text, this was the preference of the reviewer; and Trionyx reports that most of their HDOS customers share that view. Under the CP/M operating sys¬ tem, however, the CACHE mode tends to be quite a bit slower than the MU mode. This is because of fundamental differences between the two operat¬ ing systems. Under HDOS, disks can be changed only by the DISMOUNT and MOUNT process. The operating system thereby has continuous access to ac¬ curate file-directory information. Under CP/M, disks can be changed without telling the operating system. So in order to ensure disk-file pro¬ tection, cache has to go to CP/M to re-check the directory. The MU mode, however, keeps track of its own files. It need not go to the oper¬ ating system except for a warm boot. The speed difference has made MU the preferred mode of operation for CP/M users. with the control wire pairs. Trionyx supplies four complete cables with the X/2-H8. They are assembled if you buy your board pre-assembled, and the parts are provided if you elect to build your own. In either case, make certain that you connect the correct end of the cable to the X/2-H8. This is the end which has a white wire installed in the center-pin of the connector. The other end has a wire in pins 1 and 3 of the connector, and is to be used when connecting to the Trionyx memory board. The ends of the Order from this SEXTANT special and get 20% off the retail price on the following fine self-tutorial educationr\ software designed for your Z100 or H/Z09. Video Professor courses let the computer do the teaching, not a text book. Quizzes, examples, and prompted computer interaction help the student learn quickly while retaining a high interest level. Video Professor courses are available under HDOS and CP/M-80 for the H/Z89 and under ZDOS and CP/M-85 for the Z100 and they all retail for the uniform low price of §29.95 each. Our BAS IC PROGRAMMING 1^ ASSEMBLER (8080/8085) PROGRAMMING I,_ and STRUCTURED PROGRAMMING courses have been very popular for CP/M users. Now they are available under ZDOS tool Learn the essentials of Basic or Assembler programming and expand your world of home computing. Use the Structured Programming course to help you write code that is efficient, well-organized, and easy to debug. PROFESSOR ZBASIC PROGRAMMING II covers uses of ZBasic beyond material learned in the BASIC PROGRAMMING I course. Included are such commands as LINE, PAINT, DRAW, and CIRCLE, advanced functions which enable you to use the computer's special screen handling, color, and graphics capabilities. (Not available for the H/Z89). VIDEO PROFESSOR RANDOM FILE PROGRAMMING. Expand your programming versatility and improve the efficiency of your Basic programs. Learn the ins and outs of Random File I/O processing under ZBasic (MBasic). Call us toll-free (800) 835-7427 ext 277 to order or send in the handy order blank provided below. On mail CP/M-85 and ZDOS soft). Current Date _ Payment Method, Cash_ VISA_ MasterCard_ Credit Card Number^_ Expiration Date_ Check For New Catalog QUANTITY ITEM OPER. SYSTEM UNIT PRICE TOTAL Name Address City State Zip ‘Nebraska Orders Must Include 5.5% Sales Tax. TOTAL* Tel Send Orders To Husker Systems of Nebraska, 6657 Redlck Avenue, Omaha, Nebraska 68152 Circle #189 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 35 wire-pair connected to most other mem¬ ory boards will be soldered to specified points, so there isn t much chance of a problem in that area. System checkout When you are ready to install the X/2-H8, I recommend the following procedure. Install the X/2-H8 and the CPU memory boards; leave all other memory boards uninstalled for now. Be certain that the X/2-H8 is installed with the component-side toward the rear of the H8. This is facing in the direction opposite to that of all the other boards. Connect the CPU memory board to the X/2-H8 CN3 (bank o) connector. Be certain that all three pins go into the connector; it is easy to miss one. Then boot the system and run the X2LIGHT and X2WALK tests supplied on the software disk provided by Trionyx. The X2LIGHT test will cause the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the bank-select board to sequence in a binary count from 0 to 15. The X2WALK test will cause the LEDs to “walk” back and forth from side to side. These two checks verify pretty well that the system is operating normally, and that it is selecting the various banks of memory as it should. dismount and remove the disk, turn the power off, and install the remaining memory boards. Re-BOOT the disk, and run the cache: and MU: checks. These two tests verify that the entire system is still operating normally. Problems that might appear at this point include failure for a bank to select or not getting all the cache: that you feel you should. In the first instance, make certain that the connectors are installed on the X/2-H8 pins correctly, and that you are connected to the memory boards at the correct points. The cache: may surprise you unless you remember that cache: will only install a bank that contains 64K. If your memory has even one defective chip, that will be enough for cache: to display no memory avail¬ able. You can check this by going to the MU: mode. Remembering that you should get about 55 sectors for each 16K of memory when you dir MU:/s, it is possible to test a 64K bank to see if it is failing mid-way through. One user s comments I have been very impressed with the X/2-H8 board. If it is a sample of what Trionyx will be providing in the future, I expect to keep my H8 system for a long time. I have used the board in both modes, but find that the cache: mode is my favorite. I usually install all of the files that I expect to use when I first power-up the system; this is mainly because I thoroughly dislike hearing the disk drives accessing. I have found that if I use cache: simply to install files as I might call for them, that the drives tend to take longer to settle down. During the process of getting to know the X/2-H8, I dis¬ covered that if I load all of the files that I think I will be using, and then run the cache test program (catest) provided by Trionyx, the disks are not accessed at all until I call for another file. Then it takes a while to stop accessing the drives, unless I rerun catest. It seems to work, I don’t know why. I haven’t dis¬ cussed it with Trionyx because the sys¬ tem eventually stops accessing the drives as it should, anyway—this little hint just speeds it up somehow. I have found that relying on only 48K of main memory is pushing things. By the time you consider the memory re¬ quirements of HDOS, etc., it seems that 64K is the only way to go. I should mention, though, that my system has been required to handle a large amount of data That may be why I went to 64K for the CPU. Others may find that a lesser amount will suffice. Overall, I rate the X/2-H8 excellent in all aspects of workmanship and elec¬ tronic operation. I believe that this half¬ board is the best addition that can be installed in an H8, and recommend it to all H8 owners who plan to expand their system to the maximum. Ordering Information X/2-H8 Memory Bank Select Board, $225 assembled, $175 kit Trionyx Electronics, Inc. P.O. Box 5131 Santa Ana, CA 92704 714/830-2092 'luces FREE CP/M-Plus MAGNOLIA HI from MICROSYSTEMS With purchase of 128K RAM Board at S505” (\Jo(/0 $495 Prices effective 1/1/84 Digital Research's list price for CP/M-Plus is $350, but it will be included AT NO EXTRA CHARGE with purchase of our 77318 128K RAM board CP/M-Plus^ m support is available for Z89 and Z90 computers with our 128K RAM board and either the Z89-37 (Z90) or our own 77316 Double Density disk controller. Over 700K of files are included, so it will not be distributed on Hard Sectored media. Using banked RAM, disk performance is enhanced through Hashed Directory tables, Directory Buffers, and LRU Data Buffers. New utilities and features include a 'Help' command; optional Password protection and Time and Date Stamping of files; Console Redirection to or from disk files; and many others. Our implementation of CP/M-Plus REQUIRES the use of our 128K RAM board. We have no plans to implement an un-banked memory version, most of the advantages of CP/M-Plus are neither available (nor practical) in an un-banked version. Our BIOS supports both our 77316 and Zenith's Z89-37 Double Density controllers, Heath's H88-1 (Z17) Single Density controller, and our 77314 CORVUS and 77320 SASI-bus interfaces. We are including the SOURCE code for our BIOS, together with Digital Research's MAC, RMAC, LINK, and SID software development tools, you may customize it to your specific application. Orders must specify the Double Density controller and boot drive: the Z89-37 (as used in the Z90) or our 77316 (5-inch or 8-inch). MAGNOLIA MICROSYSTEMS, INC. • 2264 - 15th Ave West (206)285-7266 (800)426-2841 • Seattle, Washington 98119 Earlier purchasers of the 128K RAM board, who are registered owners of Magnolia Microsystems CP/M 2 (S/N 2-175-xxxx) can update to CP/M-Plus for $100 (plus shipping and handling). CP/M is a registered trademark, and CP/M-Plus, MAC, RMAC, and SID are trademarks of Digital Research 36 Sextant May-June 1984 Circle #134 on Reader Service Card Doctor Your Daisywheel Device Driver Improvements designed for the HDOS ATH44 device driver may also be adapted for other applications. Your printer is all set up. The paper is at top-of-form and you start printing. Well, not quite. First of all, the printer zips out that first sheet and only starts printing on the next one. It can be an¬ noying, as well as wasteful. It can be annoying, too, to see your printer stepping out superfluous spaces at the end of a line, going all the way to the margin. Problems such as these can be cor¬ rected, without a lot of difficulty, by modifying the device driver that runs the printer. My printer is a Diablo, and its driver is ATH44, one of the device drivers that comes with version 2.0 of the Heath Disk Operating System (HDOS). ATH44 is adequate for most work. But there is a lot of room for improvement. The improvements to be described here are designed to increase the driver’s usefulness and make it much nicer to work with. And although this article is written for HDOS s ATH44 and the Diablo, I think that some of these improvements could also be useful for other printers and other operating systems. The improvements presented here are as follows: 1. Saving paper by eliminating super¬ fluous form feeds which occur when the paper is already at top-of-form. 2. Saving time (as well as wear and tear on the printer) by suppressing any superfluous spaces at the end of a line. 3. Correction of a bug that now results in the improper handling of certain escape sequences. 4. Getting the most out of the print¬ er’s buffer by adjusting the driver’s buffer count. Superfluous form feeds The first improvement is intended to save the sheet of paper that is wasted whenever a form feed is executed with the paper already at top-of-form. It takes advantage of the Diablo’s ability to do backward line feeds. This change in¬ volves doing a backward half-line feed before each form feed. If the paper is already at top-of-form, the backward feed will move it back from that position, and the subsequent form feed will just move it up to where it was before. This idea, which I believe to be orig- Charles E. Cohn inal, may be used with any printer that can do backward line feeds. For the Diablo, it is accomplished by sending the printer an ESCape-D. If, for any reason, you actually want to feed out an extra sheet, your application program can output one or more new- line characters between two form feeds. (The Diablo, like most modern printers. keeps track of top-of-form by counting line feeds, in accordance with the form length that has been switch-selected and the initial top-of-form that the operator has set.) Superfluous spaces Superfluous spaces at the end of a line may arise, for example, in a BASIC WRII MOV A,B ORA C RZ THE LAST BYTE HAS BEEN WRITTEN CALL CFA JNZ ABORT AN ABORT WAS HIT OH THE CONSOLE LDAX D CPI t i IS NEXT CHAR A SPACE? JE WRI3 IF SO, GO TO STEP SPACE COUNT CPI FF IS IT A FORM FEED? JE WRI5 IF SO, START FORM FEED SEQUENCE CPI NL IS IT END OF LINE? JNE WRI4 XRA A STA D.SPCT IF SO, ZERO SPACE COUNTER JMP WRI2 WRI4 LDA D.SPCT FOR ANY OTHER CHAR, CHECK SPACE COUNT ANA A JE WRI2 IF NO SPACES WAITING, PRINT CHARACTER DCR A STA D.SPCT DECREMENT SPACE COUNT XRA A STA D.LWE CLEAR ESCAPE SEQUENCE FLAGS STA D.NOC STA D.LCS MV I A,’ * AND PRINT A SPACE CALL DBOUT JMP WRI4 BACK FOR MORE SPACES WRI3 LDA D.SPCT STEP SPACE COUNT INR A STA D.SPCT DCX B INX D AND STEP BUFFER JMP WRII BACK FOR ANOTHER CHAR WRI5 LDA D.LCS WAS FF PART OF ESCAPE SEQUENCE? ANA A JNE WRI2 IF SO, PROCESS NORMALLY MV I A, ESC ELSE, SEND A BACKWARD HALF LINE FEED STA D.LWE BEFORE THE FORM FEED CALL DBOUT XRA A STA D.LWE MV I A,'D» CALL DBOUT WRI2 CALL CES LDAX D CALL DBOUT DCX B INX D JMP WRII Listing 1. Placed between wrii and WRI2, this coding will eliminate superfluous form feeds and spaces. Sextant May- June 1984 37 program that prints a tab followed by a string variable that happens to be null. Modified, the driver will suppress them by setting up a one-byte space count in memory and initializing it to zero. When the driver encounters a space code in the input stream, it does not transmit the code to the printer. Instead, it incre¬ ments the space count When it en¬ counters a non-space character, it looks at the space count. If the count is not zero, it sends a space to the printer and decrements the count. It repeats this until the count be¬ comes zero, and then transmits the character. However, if the character is a new-line code, it clears the space count and transmits no spaces. Thus, a series of spaces of any length will be printed, provided that they are followed by a printable character on the same line. This idea would be useful for any serial printer that doesn’t have that function already built in. A bug Certain non-printing characters are handled in a special way by ATH44 as it comes from Heath. Specifically, a line¬ feed character gives rise to a cr-lf sequence; a tab is replaced with an appropriate number of spaces; and a form feed resets the driver’s line count Such treatment is not always appropri¬ ate, as the special character may be part of an escape sequence. (Specifically, ESC-LF commands a backward full line¬ feed.) In such a case, the character should be transmitted directly with no special action. To accomplish this, I beefed up the existing coding that analyzes escape sequences. As a result, the above- mentioned handling of form feeds is bypassed if the form feed is part of an escape sequence. (The coding shown in the subroutine ces, Listing 2, is tailored for the Diablo 1620, where esc-lf is a two-character sequence, while esc followed by some other non-printing character forms a three-character sequence. The third character can be anything, since it specifies a count (a space or line count, say). If your printer’s escape sequences do not follow that pattern, you will have to modify the coding, following CES2 in Listing 2, that recognizes two- and three-character escape sequences.) The buffer Heath programmed the driver for a printer with a 30-character buffer. However, my Diablo 1620 has a 158- character buffer. As a result, the driver wasted most of my Diablo’s buffering ability, sending only 30 characters to the printer before initiating a handshake sequence. In this sequence, the driver sends an ASCII etx (End-Of-Text) character to the printer. When the printer empties its buffer, it returns an ack (Acknowledge) character to the driver. The driver then sends 30 more characters. I expanded this buffer count to 127 characters, the maximum pos¬ sible the way the driver is programmed, as I explain below. The driver was originally program¬ med to sit in a loop waiting for the ack. I reprogrammed it to return to the calling program after sending the etx if there is nothing more to be printed, so the waiting time may be used productively. You can take advantage of that in your assembler-programmed applications if you perform .write calls to the printer m m MULLEN TROUBLESHOOTING & CONTROL Extender Board A born trouble-shooter, this is the latest in our TB line, the in the industry. Features logic probe, formed-lead edge connectors, pulse catcher switch and reset button. $89, assembled and tested. The TB-4a |fi available from Heathkit, catalog and retail stores. $79. (kit) ' For mom Information, Products at (415) 783-2866 or write MCPK 2306 American Ave. #6, Hayward, CA 94545, All prices subject to change without notice. I§Slr^.lCB.io Controller Board sRUirtiOin, this 43 |fianne|j/0 controller mon¬ itors and adjusts everything from solenoids to ultrasound. It features an easy-to-read manual with schematics, component list and program¬ ming examples as well as provocative insights on po¬ tential applications. $219, assembled and tested. ■Jp£p®!i:*OMPUTER PRODUCTS, INC. ; r55iB-iiw:: l|f 2,' : This 1 swashbuckling debug¬ ger features Zero Insertion Force edge connectors for easy board changes and long life. Expect 2,000 or more In¬ sertions rather than the usual 300 to 400 with tension type connectors. $159, assem- These dealers also carry Mullen products: CoropuPro, 3506 Hayward, CA 94343 , ( 415 ) 786 - 0909 ; Priority One Electronics, 91 i 1 Oeeril|, Chatsworth* CA tirade 4901 Bosecrans, Hawthorne* CA 00250 , ( 218 ) 973 - 7707 ; and. ::: .Advanced CN»rtiiierta# lex 17329 , Nine, j CA 92713 , 0004354 - 8230 . 38 Sextant May-June 1984 Circle #211 on Reader Service Card CES LDA D.LWE ANA A JNZ CES 2 LAST CHARACTER WAS ESCAPE LDA D.N0C ANA A JNZ CES1 NEED ONE CHARACTER LDA D.LCS LAST CHARACTER IN 3-CHAR SEQUENCE ANA A JNE CES 4 LDAX D CPI ESC RNZ LET A NORMAL CHARACTER SLIP THROUGH STA D.LWE FLAG LAST CHARACTER AS ESCAPE RET CES1 STA D.LCS XRA A STA D.N0C ZERO NEED ONE CHARACTER FLAG RET CES 4 XRA A STA D.LCS RET CES 2 LDAX D CPI NL ESC-NL IS A 2-CHAR SEQUENCE JE CES3 CPI t i JC CES3 XRA A CES 3 STA D.N0C SET N0C FLAG, TRUE FOR ESC. SEQ. < » » XRA A STA D.LWE ZERO LAST CHARACTER WAS ESCAPE FLAG RET Listing 2. Replacement for the subroutine ces. This corrects the handling of escape sequences. with a character count of 1 every time you have a character ready. Since the printer has a buffer, there is no need for your program to provide one; so you save the memory space taken up by a buffer, as well as the coding needed to maintain it. Also, you make better use of the printer s buffer in overlapping print¬ ing and computation. The improved driver, like the original Heath version, permits but does not necessitate bidirectional printing. Most printers designed for bidirectional printing will store and re-order char¬ acters appropriately. Implementing the improvements If you wish more background on device drivers, a good reference is “The HDOS Device Driver Programmer s Guide” from the Heath Users’ Group (HUG). It originally appeared in REMark, Issue #20, September 1981. And HUG has also published it separate¬ ly as HUG part number 885-1018. To modify and reassemble the driver, you will need the file ath44.asm from Heath’s Device Drivers disk; as well as the acm files tbra, typtx, and U8250 from that disk; and ascii, dddef, devdef, DIRDEF, DVDDEF, DVDIO, ECDEF, ESINT, ESVAL, FILDEF, HOSDEF, HOSEQU, MTR, picdef, and setcal from the Software Tools disk. You will also need, of course, the assembler and your favorite editor. You can get all this on one disk and do the job in a single-drive system if you use stand¬ alone operation, as I have described in other articles. (“Squeeze More Disk Space out of HDOS,” Sextant #6, Summer 1983; and “More on HDOS STAND¬ ALONE,” Sextant #9, March-April 1984.) To implement these improvements, first replace the coding between wrii and the end of the subroutine WRI2 with the coding found in Listing 1. This will handle the elimination of superfluous form feeds and spaces. Replace the coding of the subroutine ces with the coding in Listing 2. This corrects the handling of escape sequences. Replace the first instruction in the routine dbout (cpi cr) with Listing 3a. This will correct the handling of non¬ printing characters in escape sequences. To correct the handling of etx-ack handshakes, delete the subroutine chp. In the subroutine dbout, replace the line DB09 ANI 177Q with the coding in Listing 3b. Next, insert the coding of Listing 3c between the lines STA D.BURC and RET In the routine openw, following the instruction sta d.linx, insert the line: CALL INCHAR This will remove any acknowledge character that may remain in the buffer. It will prevent a buffer overrun when a print operation is started after a pre¬ vious print operation has been aborted. Then, near the end of the program. The Original MP/M-86 for the Z-IOO is now Z-IOO Dual Processor MP/M 8/16 There is only one field-proven MP/M- 86 for the Z-100 which has been shipping since October, 1983. Now the original MP/M-86 for the Z-100 supports up to 9 users running mixed 8 AND 16 bit software at the same time, totally transparent to the users. MP/M and MP/M-86 are trademarks of Digital Research, Inc. Z-100 is a trademark of Zenith Data Systems, Inc. For more information on this highly versatile system, write or phone: Barry A. Watzman 560 Sunset Rd. Benton Harbor, Ml 49022 616/925-3136 Circle #206 on Reader Service Card Sextant May- June 1984 39 following the definition of d.noc, define the variables found in Listing 3d. To improve the utilization of your printer s buffer, equate the label burst to the buffer length of your printer less 4, but no more than 127. (This is the number of characters that the driver counts out before sending an etx char¬ acter to the printer and waiting for the printer to empty its buffer and return an ack character.) The “less 4” is to allow for the driver s being programmed not to transmit an etx character in the middle of an escape sequence. (The printer would not handle the etx prop¬ erly at that point and would hang up.) The limitation of 127 results from the buffer count d.burc being carried as a byte which is initialized to the buffer length and decremented with each character. Eight bits in binary should allow a maximum count of 255. How¬ ever, the highest of the eight bits is used to indicate the sign of the number (zero is positive; 1 is negative). When this count goes negative, the buffer is considered to be full. If the count byte were initialized to a number greater than 127, it would look like a negative number, so the buffer would be terminated after only one character. (The definition of burst may be found near the beginning of the ATH44 pro¬ gram, in the section labelled special CHARACTERS.) Anything else? Before you assemble the modified driver, you might well give some atten¬ tion to the set options that allow you to specify page width and lines per page. Personally, I find it convenient to disable these SET options in the source program by equating their labels, DFLT.WD and dflt.lp respectively, to zero. The width option allows you to speci¬ fy the width of your printing. However, this function will not work if you do underlining or boldfacing. Those types of printing cause the transmission of extra characters that the driver counts in determining the width, although they do not contribute to the actual printout width. If you do that type of printing, then, you would do well to disable the width function by SETting the width option to zero. Furthennore, if your application pro¬ grams take care of paging, you don’t need the lines-per-page function. All it will do is cause broken pages and extra, unneeded form feeds. In that case, you should disable it by SETting the page option to zero. Also, you may well want to cut down on the useless printout you get with the assembly listing by deleting the lon g pseudo-op that occurs near the end of the source. All lon g does is allow printout of a couple of pages of the relocation bits that HDOS uses in ad¬ justing instruction addresses when it loads the driver. You don’t need those unless you are doing something really esoteric like patching the driver s object code. With everything in place, and the driver source modified as described above, you can assemble it. If you gave the modified ATH44 the new file name ATH44A, say, you can use the assembler command line: LP.DVD,LP:=ATH44A After the assembly is complete, copy the object file LP.DVD onto your bootable disks. You are then in business with the im¬ proved driver. DBOUT EQU * PUSH PSW SAVE CHARACTER LDA D.NOC IF AN ESCAPE SEQUENCE IS ON ANA A JNE DB06 BYPASS SPECIAL HANDLING OF CHARACTERS LDA D.LCS ANA A JE DB07 DB06 POP PSW JMP DB05 DB07 POP PSW CPI CR Listing 3a. Listings 3a-3d correct the handling of non-printing characters in escape sequences. Listing 3a replaces the first instruction (cpi cr) in the routine DBOUT. DB09 PUSH PSW SAVE CHARACTER LDA D.HSHK WAS ETX SENT LAST TIME? ANA A JZ DB012 IF NOT, PROCEED TO OUTPUT CHARACTER CHP1 CALL CFA IF SO, WAIT FOR DIABLO TO RETURN ACK JZ CHP2 RETURN IF ABORT CHARACTER WAS HIT XRA A BUT FIRST, CANCEL ETX FLAG STA D.HSHK POP PSW AND GET RIGHT WITH THE STACK RET CHP2 CALL INCHAR JZ CHP1 NO CHARACTER HAS BEEN RECEIVED YET ANI 7FH STRIP PARITY CPI ACK JNZ CHP1 WAIT FOR AN * ACK * CHARACTER XRA A RESET HANDSHAKE FLAG STA D.HSHK MVI A,BURST STA D.BURC RESET BURST COUNTER DB012 POP PSW RETRIEVE CHARACTER TO BE OUTPUT ANI 177Q MAP OUT HIGH ORDER BIT, POSSIBLY * SET FOR QUOTE Listing 3b. Replacement for the line DB09 ani 177Q in the subroutine DBOUT. LDA D.BURC DCR A STA D.BURC UPDATE THE NUMBER OF CHARACTERS OUTPUT RP NOT 1 TIME TO SEND ETX LDA D.NOC ANA A RNZ NEED ONE MORE CHAR. FOR ESC. SEQ. LDA D.LWE ANA A RNZ LAST CHAR. WAS START OF ESC. SEQ. MVI A, ETX STA D.HSHK SET ] HANDSHAKE FLAG CALL OUTCHAR Listing 3c. This is inserted between the lines STA d.burc and RET. D.LCS DB 0 LAST CHAR FLAG FOR 3-CHAR ESC SEQ D.SPCT DB 0 SPACE COUNT D.HSHK DB 0 ETX/ACK FLAG, <>0 IF ETX JUST SENT Listing 3d. Variables to be defined. They are to be inserted following the definition of D.NOC. 40 Sextant May-June 1984 P.O. BOX 386, HADDONFIELD, NJ 08033 (609) 939-0802 PRINTER BONANZA SALE Epson RX-80 100 CPS, Graftrax para.$309.95 Epson RX-80FT 100 CPS, friction feed, Graftrax_$369.95 Epson FX-80 160 CPS, Graftrax.$479.95 Okidata 82 120 CPS, friction & pin feed.$349.95 Okidata 92 160 CPS, dot addressable graphics .. $429.95 Okidata 93 same as 92, 15" carriage.$694.95 Okidata 84 200 CPS, graphics, 15" carriage... $924.95 Star 10X 120 CPS, fric. & trac., graphics_$294.95 Star 15X same as 10X, 15” carriage.$404.95 Star Delta 10 160 CPS, fric. & trac., graphics_$474.95 MPI 99G 100 CPS, fric. & trac., graphics_$444.95 MPI 150B-2 150CPS, 15"carr., hi res. graphics ..$799.95 Transtar 315 50CPS, prints7 colors, graphics ...$499.95 LETTER QUALITY Star Powertype 18 CPS, fric. & traction.$359.95 Brother HR-1 16 CPS, high durability.$409.95 Dynax HR-15 13 CPS, two color ribbon.$444.95 Dynax HR-25 23 CPS, 2 color ribb., 15" carr.$714.95 Transtar 120 14 CPS, fric., Diablo compatible ... $444.95 All printers parallel, call for serial & shipping prices Z-110-32 Low Profile Z-100 with 11.3 MB hard disk, Quantities limited VERBATIM DISKS SS/DD hard or soft sector.$22.95 DS/DD 40 track.$29.95 DS/DD 80 track.$39.95 Postage for disks $3.00, free with order of 3 or more boxes Prices subject to change Send for free catalog. Out of USA $2.00 for postage. Office: 448 Roosevelt Ave., Glendora, NJ 08029 *Phone orders Tues., Thur. 10 AM to 12 PM, Sat. 10 AM to 5 PM EST* *Electronic Bulletin Board available on weekends* *ykmzn data systems Authorized Sales and Service Center VISA and MASTERCARD add 3% Circle #188 on Reader Service Card / c 77fle SoftwSre^olwdrkg presents: The Computer Chef “Series OH, THAT LOOKS NICE. LET’S SCALE IT FOR FIVE. PEOPLE AND PRINT IT OUT. HF/. MOM! HOW LONG DO YOU COOK SPAM FOR? {t The Computer Chef Series includes Computer Chef and Best of Wok Talk, $29.95 each, and What’s for Dinner, $19.95. The programs store, scale and help choose from over 300 available recipes or from those you’ve entered. The Computer Chef Series from your local retailer or The Software Toolworks, 15233 Ventura Blvd., Suite 1118, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 (818) 986-4885. Circle #165 on Reader Service Card EDUCATIONAL-UTILITY HDOS CP/M CP/M-85 ZOOS SUPERMATH 1 - Computer Aided Math instruction Provides educational math instruction for grades 1 to 6. For home or school use. Features simple and long decimal addition, subtraction, addition, multiplication and division, regular multiplica¬ tion and division, and subtraction, multiplication runs under MBASIC. (Specify HDOS or CP/M).$39.95 Also available for ZDOS under ZBASIC. Above features plus carrying and borrowing, lowest common denominator, reduction of fractions to lowest terms, color or monochrome operation. (ZDOS).$49.95 HF0RTH-79/HF0RTH-79 PLUS ■ An expanded FORTH-79 HFORTH-79 is based on figFORTH Ver 1.1 and includes the full FORTH-79 standard. Runs under the operating system file structure and uses named files for both program and data disk I/O. Includes a full screen editor, an 8080 assembler and high level constructs. (Specify CP/M, CP/M-85 or HDOS).$34.95 HFORTH-79 PLUS adds floating point math set including 24 trig functions, log and exponetiation, fixed and floating conversions and degree and radian conversion. Also string operations including string and array variables, string comparisons, concatinations and conversions and string input/output operations. (Specify CP/M, CP/M-85 or HDOS).$45.95 PRINTER DRIVERS FOR HDOS Each HDOS driver listed below contains many user selectable feaures and eight combinations can be stored at one time. This allows you to change printer formats without having to recon¬ figure the driver each time. HDOS drivers are also available with built-in spoolers that allow you to print a file while you are using the computer for something else (for example running BASIC). UD.DVD - A Universal Driver for printers. Operates with virtually any printer through its settable handshaking and format options. Seventeen options settings are available. H25.DVD - A driver for the H/Z-25 printer. Fifteen option settings plus superscripts, subscripts and double width, underlined and overprinted text. MX.DVD - A driver for the Epson MX and RX printers. Fifteen option setting plus double width, emphasized, underlined italic, and overorinted characters (Each version for HDOS.$29.95 (Each version with spooler for HDOS.$39.95 UD.COM - A Universal Printer Driver for CP/M This is a printer driver/spooler that increases the printing capability of CP/M 2.2.xx. UD.COM has capabilities similar to UD.DVD and contains a built-in spooler that queues up to four files with multiple copies and opional titles and page numbering. (Specify CP/M or CP/M-85).... $39.95 SUPER SYSM0D2 - An HDOS Enhancement Program This program modifies HDOS 2.0 to provide an expanded set of new commands and abbreviate many of the old ones. For example, MOUNT SY1: becomes Ml, DISMOUNT SY1: becomes D1. New commands are added to print files, print the disk directory, change the disk label, create batch processing commands, enable the terminal scroll mode, copy files that contain hard read errors and show the free disk space. In addition, the disk directory is alphabetic, file dates remain unchanged when files are copied and a new date switch is added. Also included is a powerful file manager command which presents disk files one at a time and gives you a choice from 12 options to perform on the file. These include changing flags, viewing the first 24 lines, deleting and copying files and others. (HDOS).$29.95 FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH and ITALIAN HANGMAN Programs to help you build a basic working vocabulary in a foreign language. Each contains over 2000 words with their common English translations. Play the traditional game of Hangman or have the words presented in the Flashcard manner. Extensive use is made of the graphic capabilities of the terminal. All foreign words (including accent marks) are done in graphics as is the ‘hanging man’ himself. (Specify language and for HDOS, CP/M or CP/M-85)... $29.95 DISAS - A Powerful Disassembler This is a dissasembler program that generated source code suitable as input to an assembler. It provides a convenient way to find out how programs work and even allows you to modify them. This program expands text and decodes operating system calls. It also inserts LABEL references (in numerical sequence) into the source code so that object files can easily be understood and relocated. (Specify HDOS, CP/M or CP/M-85).$25.00 The above products are available at most HEATHKITstores or directly from SoftShop. Mail orders are sent postpaid by First Class Mail. Overseas orders add $3.00. Payment must be in U S. funds. Telephone orders are accepted. 35 Shadow Oak Drive Sudbury, MA 01776 (617)443-9693 - - Circle #162 on Sextant May-June 1984 41 Now Available for Z-100 7lA Kk tv Frustrated with the multitude of 5"Vi" Disk Formats? Missing sales because you don't have the right format? Wasting time downloading software? Solution: Disk Maker I Solving the 5 1 / 4 " D/s/c Hassle Circle #214 on Reader Service Card 42 Sextant May-June 1984 DISK MAKER II® Complete standalone Disk Maker II base unit includes one 8" DSDD disk drive, one 48 tpi 5V4" DSDD disk drive, 6 MHZ Z80B, 64K CP/M system with Disk Maker software. An additional 8" drive, a 96 tpi DSDD drive and a 10 M hard disk are available as options. Just plug in your terminal and make disks! Base unit: $2995.00 Disk Maker is a product which allows you to format, read and write over 100 popular 5 W disk formats on your existing S-100 computer. ® An S-100 Floppy Disk Controller Board — supports 4 drives, any comoination of 514" or 8"—double-sided, double-density, 48 tpi or 96 tpi. And extendable to the new 3" drives in the near future! • 48 tpi to 514" Disk Drive — double-sided, double-density in a dual drive cabinet and power supply. A second 96 tpi DSDD drive is optional. Drive cables included. • Powe aker Software. DMFORM formats diskettes in any of over 100 formats, DMSET automatically links Disk drives on your system. You can then just copy any programs from your system’s disk drives to Disk Maker’s—using standan' CP/M # utilities or our enhanced Multiple Copy (MC) program. What scan I make? Any of over 100 formats. Osborne, Cromemco, DEC Rainbow and VT180, Epson, Sanyo, 71, Xerox, Eagle, Archives, KayPro, NEC, IBM PC (CP/M 86), SuperBrain, Otrona Attache, Zenith Z-100, Heath (Soft Sector) and TeleVideo to name just a few. And How rr^ >es it cost? Disk Maker I, with S-100 controller board, one 48 tpi DSDD 5W' disk drive, dual drive cabinet and power supply, cables and Disk Maker software is priced at $1,500.00! (plus shipping.) Please notice: There is no per format charge. All formats currently avail¬ able are provided at no extra charge. Future software updates are only $25.00. 96 tpi DSDD 514" drive: $385.00 8" DSDD drive, power supply & cabinet: $840.00. TM - CP/M, CP/M 86 - Digital Research. Disk Maker — New Generation Systems NEW GENERATION SYSTEMS, inc. 1800 Michael Faraday Drive — Suite 206 — Reston, VA 22090 (703)471-5598 • (800)368-3359 YOUR BENEFITS • No more time consuming downloading. — Finding two computers, connecting them, getting a modem program running in each com puter, and then waiting becomes a thing of the past. • From yours to theirs — Your customer needs software on his XYZ but you have it on ABC. Disk Maker does the conversion — at disk speed. • One to Many — Disk Maker can provide disks in any of over ONE-HUNDRED formats. And the number of formats is increasing monthly. DISK MAKER® „„ MAKES MP T T 100 DIFFERENT DISKS Educational Software Roundup “ Educational ” software is available for all ages—and for teachers as well as learners. Frederick Zimmerman Many of our readers have expressed an interest in educational applications for Heath/Zenith computers, so Sextant decided to conduct a survey of educa¬ tional software. In October, we began writing to the various companies which The Buss Directory and the Zenith Data Systems H/Z100 Software Directory list as having educational software prod¬ ucts. We also placed a notice in Buss: The Independent Newsletter of Heath Co. Computers. So we think we’ve cov¬ ered most of the educational programs which are available. But if you know of any we’ve missed, we’d like to hear about them. The Heath/Zenith educational soft¬ ware surveyed in this article can help children and students learn: • the fundamental concepts and meth¬ ods of arithmetic; • the vocabulary of a foreign language; • the essentials of United States and world geography; • how to operate a business, using a simple model of the business market¬ place. Educational software can help adults learn: • the vocabulary of a foreign language; • computer programming in BASIC and in assembly language; • how to operate popular applications programs (for example, WordStar, Multi¬ plan, and dBASE II). • the factors involved in the operation of a nuclear power plant. Educational software can help edu¬ cators: • design courses which use computer- assisted instructional techniques; • simplify their administrative tasks; such as keeping track of exam scores, making up report cards, and scheduling courses. In the following survey, we’ll try to summarize the pertinent information about each program. We will use a standard format for each software description. Software description format Program Name Price; supplier Disk formats available On which Heath/Zenith computers will this program run? (“H8&19” indicates that the program requires an H8 com¬ puter with the H/Z19 terminal.) What is the minimum combination of random- access memory (RAM), disk drives, and other hardware devices which are nec¬ essary to run the program? Under which disk operating system does this program run? In order to run the program, do you need any other software—programming languages, de¬ vice drivers, text editors, and so forth? Audience: Running Time. When there is no Run¬ ning Time heading, that means that the length of a program session can be varied as the user desires. Description: What is this program sup¬ posed to do? And for whom? A brief answer. Features: How does this program per¬ form its function? What special capa¬ bilities does it have? Performance: How efficiently, conve¬ niently, and flexibly does this program perform? Ease of Use: How difficult is it to learn the basic operations of this program? How much help does the program pro¬ vide the new user? Is it possible to “crash’’ the program by entering incor¬ rect input? When you do enter incorrect input, does the program explain your mistake? Documentation: How much explanatory text is provided with the software? Are there indexes, glossaries, or other refer¬ ence tools? How easy is it to under¬ stand? How comprehensive is it? Other comments: Anything else we think is important or interesting. Ordering information will be found at the end of this survey. Categories Computer education Geography Language drills Math drills For educators Miscellaneous Computer education ATI Training Power $75 each; American Training International soft-sectored H/Z100 CP/M or Z-DOS Audience: adult Running Time: around one hour Description: ATI Training Power pro¬ grams are intended to help you learn how to operate particular word proces¬ sing, data base management, financial planning, or accounting programs. Features: The ATI Training Power pro¬ grams simulate the operation of the actual program. For example, when you use ATI MenuPower Interactive Training for WordStar, the computer shows the same screen display as you would see if you were running WordStar. Then the ATI program “steps” you through some of the elementary functions. At each stage in the tutorial, the program expects you to give one “correct” WordStar com¬ mand; if that command is given, the ATI program reacts the same way WordStar would. If it’s not, the program ignores the input and tells you to try again. ATI Training Power programs are available for: Lotus 1-2-3, dBASE II, Easy- Filer, WordStar, EasyWriter II, Perfect Writer, Spellbinder, Benchmark, Multi¬ plan, SuperCalc, VisiCalc, Perfect Calc, EasyPlanner, Microplan, BPI General Accounting, Peachtree General Ledger, Peachtree Accounts Receivable, Peach¬ tree Accounts Payable, PC-DOS, MS- DOS, CP/M, and BASIC. Performance: I tried the WordStar train¬ ing program. It did a good job of simulat¬ ing the WordStar screen, and it took me through a “no-frills” editing session in about an hour. One feature which I personally dis¬ liked was that the ATI program only responds to the expected instructions at each step through the editing session. This feature does have the advantage of ensuring that you get into the correct habits. But you lose the opportunity to learn serendipitously through your mis¬ takes. Often, when using a real program, you’ll type ctrlb when you meant to type ctrl-c, and something quite un¬ expected will happen. Then you’ll say “Oh! So that’s how you do that!” Furthennore, when you use one of these training programs it’s easy to get a “tightrope” attitude about your com¬ puter. That is, when you are using a program, you must take this step now (and no other), take this step next (and no other), and so forth. Naturally, when you come to a spot on the tightrope where you don’t know what to do, you freeze. However, these training programs may be the right solution for people who need to train other people to use a Sextant May-June 1984 43 particular program. For some job func¬ tions, all the user needs to know is the no-frills way to type in a letter or update a data base. Ease of Use: The screen presentation is clear and attractively formatted. Documentation: about 20 pages Other comments: I also question the cost-effectiveness of these training pro¬ grams. If you’re willing to spend time reading, the information you want is usually somewhere inside the documen¬ tation which comes with the program. Of course, the documentation can be obscure and difficult to read. But if you want to supplement the documentation, you might do best to buy an Introduction to Whatever book. In crude quantitative terms, you get more words per dollar when you buy a 200-page book for $20 than when you buy a disk for $50 or more. However, for some people the expe¬ rience of practicing on a real computer keyboard may be valuable reinforcement in the techniques of using a computer. And running through a disk training program is generally less time-consum¬ ing than plowing through obscure docu¬ mentation or a 200-page book. Introduction to BASIC Programming $29.95; The Software Toolworks hard-sectored H8&19, H/Z89 HDOS; Extended Benton Harbor BASIC Audience: adult Description: This is a course which introduces you to the concepts of BASIC programming. Features: Each concept is explained with a comprehensive example. Then a programmed question is presented, and you must answer it correctly to continue. After you take each test, the computer reviews it, explaining the questions you answered incorrectly. The final test in¬ cludes questions from the entire course. There are 29 units of on-screen exer¬ cises and five workbook exercises. In workbook exercise #1, you use the commands print, list, and run, as well as scratch and old, the B.H. BASIC equiv¬ alents of Microsoft BASIC s new and LOAD. In workbook exercise #2, you add input, line input, and let to your repertoire. In workbook exercise #3, you add goto and if...then. In workbook exercise #4, you use a FOR... NEXT loop. In workbook exercise #5, you use gosub to call a subroutine. Performance: Frankly, I expected this course to be rather superficial. But when I ran through it for the first time, I was quite impressed. The Software Tool¬ works and Morris Alber, the program’s author, seem to have thought very care¬ fully about how to present information to the student. Ease of Use: The introductory material is cleverly designed to de-fuse some of the problems which the new computer user is likely to encounter. The program shows the user how to answer the com¬ puter’s questions in a way the computer will recognize. For example, to answer a true/false question, the user must type the entire word “true” or “false”, rather than only “t” or “f\ Most programs would simply put a message to that effect on the screen, and leave it at that. But this program presents the informa¬ tion, then immediately requires the user to answer a true/false question in the correct format. The program makes extensive use of such reinforcement techniques. Documentation: 17 pages. A brief glos¬ sary is included. Video Professor $29.95 each; Husker Systems of Ne¬ braska, Inc. hard- or soft-sectored H8&19, H/Z89, H/Z100 CP/M Audience: adult Description: The Video Professor series includes “Assembler I,” “How to Pro¬ gram in CP/M-85: Structured Program¬ ming,” and “BASIC I.” Each program is available separately. Features: The lessons covered in “As¬ sembler I” are: “Memory & Numbering Systems,” “The CPU and its Registers,” “Getting the Feel of Coding,” “Origins, Ends, and Compares,” “Type a Line— See a Line,” “Start a New Program with Sub-routines,’’ “Using the C Flag in our Sub-routines,” “Counting and Multiply¬ ing Made Easy,” “Putting It Altogether in One Bag,” and a course summary. The lessons covered in “How to Pro¬ gram in CP/M-85: Structured Program¬ ming” are: “Introducing Program Logic,” “Flowcharting and Program Control,” “Compound if,” “Nested if,” “Keyboard input,” “Control Breaks,” “Double Control Break and Report Headings,” “Switches and Error Han¬ dling,” “Updating Files,” and “Table Handling.” The lessons covered in “BASIC I are: “The BASIC Interpreter,” “BASIC Command Mode,” “Types of Data Stor¬ age,” “Initial BASIC Instructions,” “In¬ put-Decisions,” “for... next...,” “String Manipulation,” “print using,” “Disk Files,” and “BASIC Program Review.” Performance: The lessons are “meaty”— there are a lot of valuable concepts per screenful of text The program quizzes you after each lesson. If you get too many questions wrong, the program will refuse to store your name in the “lesson completed” file. Ease of Use: The input-handling rou¬ tines are done pretty well for the most part, but I was able to outfox them once. When the program is giving you a mul¬ tiple-choice quiz, it’s expecting a capital “A”, “B”, “C ”, or “D ”, and will refuse to accept anything else. Except , that is, if for some reason you hit SHiFTed-Fi, F2, F3, or F4. Those keys send escape sequences to the program— e.g.,ESClA —but the program ignores the esc and “1” codes and acts as if you’d just typed the “A”. This is certainly a very minor problem, since the chances are very, very low that you would accidentally hit shift fi, but I hope Husker Systems will fix it in the next version of the program. A more serious software design prob¬ lem is that there is no way to exit a quiz other than by ctrl-reset. This may be intentional, to make sure you finish the quiz, but nevertheless I think it violates the general principle that there should always be a safe exit from every level of a program. Documentation: about 10 pages each Other comments: The lessons are writ¬ ten in a picturesque and entertaining style. (The author prefaces an expla¬ nation of a troublesome feature of BASIC by saying, “Now for the throat grabber! ”) However, there are some needless stylistic infelicities, grammat¬ ical errors (“You did pretty good with only missing two questions ”), and mis¬ spellings (“it’s” for “its”). It is counter¬ productive to have such errors in any program, and particularly in one in¬ tended for educational use. Geography States and Capitals $19.95; CJW Software hard- or soft-sectored H8&19, H/Z89, H/Z100 HDOS or CP/M; MBASIC Audience: children Running Time: around one-half hour Description: States and Capitals is an educational game designed to teach state recognition by drawing state maps on an outline of either the eastern or western United States. Features: The game has been designed so that users can add up to four addi¬ tional questions to the game by simple changes to a data file. Performance: The map of the eastern United States is noticeably distorted, particularly around Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. Indiana and Ohio are too fat and too far over to the east in relation to Michigan (my native state)—so much so that when the program asked me to identify Indiana, I thought it was Ohio. Perhaps due to the limited resolution of the H/Z19 graphics set, the program can only display one half of the United States at a time (either eastern or western). I think this is an undesirable limitation, considering that most school textbooks and maps present at least the lower 48 states as a whole. Moreover, users of ZlOOs should be advised that 44 Sextant May-June 1984 there are programs such as States Quiz/Demo which use the ZlOO’s graphics capabilities to draw the whole continental United States. One nice feature: the program lets you choose whether you want to answer questions about state names, state capi¬ tals, state flowers, and/or state birds. But if you insert additional questions, they will be presented automatically. Documentation : 9 pages Other comments: This is a listable MBASIC program. States Quiz/Demo $24.95; Z-Ware (David W. Schade) soft-sectored H/Z100 Z-DOS; Z-BASIC Audience: general Running Time: around one-half hour Description: This program uses Z-BASIC’s color graphics to draw a high-resolution map of the U.S., then quizzes you on state capitals, etc. Features: The program also has a con¬ tinuous “demo” mode, which flashes the correct information about each state on the screen. Performance: This is the nicest-looking map I’ve seen on the Z100. Ease of Use: A minor problem: the program uses the Fi, F2, and F3 keys to choose menu options; so when the user is stuck for something to do, it’s natural to hit the other function keys. But this can have unfortunate consequences, because States Quiz/Demo doesn’t dis¬ able the commands Z-BASIC normally assigns to the function keys F4 through FI2 (save, print, etc.). Documentation: three pages Other comments: This is a non-listable Z- BASIC program. World-Map $19.95; Generic Software hard-sectored H8&19, H/Z89 HDOS or CP/M; MBASIC Audience: “4th-grade level or higher” Running Time: around one-half hour Description: World-Map uses the H/Z19 graphics set to present a repre¬ sentation of the major continents and oceans of the world. Features: The computer presents the names and locations of the continents and oceans, then quizzes the student. Performance: The program opens with some unduly elementary introductory material along the lines of “The earth is round like an orange.... The air is where the birds and planes fly.” Ease of Use: A minor problem: there’s a noticeable lag before the program dis¬ plays the next question on the screen. It’s possible to accidentally hit a key which the computer will interpret as an answer to the question it is about to display. So if you’re correct, the question will just flash on the screen for a split- second, because the computer is satis¬ fied that you have already given it the answer. Documentation: one page Other comments: The distribution disk includes a file of escape sequences called world.map, which the MBASIC program world.bas uses to draw its map on the screen. You can draw the world map with a single command from CP/M: type world.map. This is a nice way to demonstrate your computer s graphic and educational capabilities. Language drills Hangman $29.95; SoftShop hard-sectored H8&19, H/Z89 HDOS or CP/M Audience: general Running Time: around one-half hour Description: These programs help you build a basic working vocabulary in a foreign language. Each contains over 2,000 words with their common English translations. You can play the traditional word game of hangman, or you may have the computer present words in the flash card manner. Features: When playing Hangman, an ongoing count is kept of the total num¬ ber of correct words and the total num¬ ber of words seen. Also, a display of the percentage of correct guesses is con¬ stantly updated so that you can measure your progress. At your option, the En¬ glish translation can be given as a clue. ZWAR! Tired of trying to get your latest Pascal compiler to work? Your spreadsheet won’t compute? Sick of syntax errors in line 4658? It’s time to take a break and indulge your fantasies of global domination with ZWAR. ZWAR is a two player strategy game of world conquest. The screen displays a map of the world and the Soviet and American cities. You must decide what mix of the nine available weapons systems you will build to outwit your enemy. You can destroy his cities with ICBM’s, or attempt to capture them with an invasion, thus gaining their production facilities for your own use. Each weapon has its strength: car¬ riers and destroyers for sea superiority, ABM’s for defense against missiles, jets for quick response, satellites for spying on enemy activity. The possible strategies are nearly endless. So if you’re getting tired of humdrum computing, grab a friend and try ZWAR. It’s your chance to make history. ZWAR, $19.95 + $1.50 shipping. For H8-H19, H/Z89 or H/Z100 systems (color graphics on the Z100), 56k, and HDOS, CP/M, or CP/M-85. Specify hard or soft sector disk. Free catalog available. Box 15124 Savannah, GA 31416 (912) 925-3765 Circle #104 on Reader Service Card IS YOUR CHECKBOOK A BALANCING ACT? CHECK PROCESSOR is an easy to learn, easy to use program for balancing your checkbook, sav¬ ings, and charge card accounts. CHECK PROCESSOR also maintains a record of your accounts, and records up to 31 categories of account transactions for tax deduction or accounting pur¬ poses. CHECK PROCESSOR is designed for easy entry and modification of transaction data, much like a screen oriented text editor. On-screen automatic recalculation provides you with instantaneous balance totals with each deposit/withdrawal or debit/credit. Included with CHECK PROCESSOR is CHECK LIST. CHECK LIST will print various reports including Reconciled Checks, Current Checks, and Individual Check Categories. Allows multiple files for different accounts. ONLY $29.95! CP/M version for H89, H8/H19 ZDOS version for Z-100 NewUne SoFtware P.0. Box 289 • Tiverton Rl 02878 (401) 624-3322 NAME CHECK ONE □ H89, H8/H19, CP/M STREET CITY STATE 7IP □ Z-100, ZDOS Send me CHECK PROCESSOR Droaram(s) at $29.95 each. Check one: □ payment enclosed □ send COD (add $3.00) Send order to: NEWUNE SOFTWARE, P.0. BOX 289, TIVERTON Rl 02878 Foreian orders: add $3.00 Airmail, $10.00 lor non U.S. checks CP/M is a trademark of Digital Research, Inc. ZDOS, Z-100 are trademarks of Zenith Data Systems, Inc. Circle #145 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 45 When playing Flashcard, the com¬ puter displays a word in either the foreign language or in English (at your option). When you hit the return key, the meaning of the word will be given. An ‘Average Time’ of your responses is displayed to let you know how fast you are progressing through the words. Also, a running count of the words flashed is kept Hangman uses the graphics capabil¬ ities of the terminal to do all foreign words, which include accent marks. The program is available in French, Spanish, German, and Italian versions. Performance: The man in the Hang¬ man’s noose is composed of 11 little pieces, so your chances of guessing the word are actually pretty good. Despite the fact that I don’t know German, I was able to guess about a third of the words. Ease of Use: It’s only a minor complaint, but it would be nice if the program displayed more explicit advice on how to quit from the Flashcard mode. Press¬ ing “q” gives you the option of leaving the program, but I had to guess that Documentation: one page Other comments: The German vocabu¬ lary file is 45 K. LANGDRIL $15; Hall Design hard- or soft-sectored; 8" CP/M H/Z89, H/Z100 CP/M or Z-DOS Audience: “motivated” adults Running, Time: variable Description: langdril is an educational program designed for adults who are studying a foreign language, or who are studying English as a second language. It is “ not a cutesy little program for children.” Features: langdril may be used for drilling on vocabulary words. You enter your own word lists, based on whatever textbook you are using. You can add additional words to your list at any time. You may have more than one list, and you may have several lists for each person who is using the disk. Once a list has been started, you are drilled on words selected at random from the list If you miss a word, it is put into a special review list, and you will be drilled on it more frequently. The word will be removed from the review list when you get it right three times in a row. You may choose to see either the English or the foreign-language word first and you may reverse this order at any time. At any time during the drill session, you may pause and see the words on the review list, the number of trials you have had, and the number of right and wrong responses you have made. At the end of a drill session, you may view the statistics for all your sessions. Performance: I constructed a fictitious language to test langdril (“utrop” = “sweater,” “gorbash” = “editor,” and so forth). After using langdril a few times, I found that I was indeed mastering the drill pairs I had set up. Ease of Use: When you type in a word during the langdril drill session, the program requires that your entry be in uppercase. I noticed one peculiarity about the program’s structure. At the beginning of the program, it asks you to enter your initials and the name of the language you will be using. Then the program lets you choose from a menu of six options. When you’re finished with an option from that menu, though, you are re¬ turned to the very beginning of the program. So you have to re-enter your initials and the name of your language. Documentation: 12 pages; there is about a page of tips on methods of language study. Other comments: H/Z100 users can use an altcharsys file to reproduce the German, Danish, French, Italian, Span¬ ish, and Swedish character sets. H/Z100 users could also use Software Wizardry’s altchr program to create their own specialized character sets. I’m going to be beginning a foreign language this summer, and I’ll probably USe LANGDRIL. Math drill Mathflash $15; MMorroware soft-sectored H/Z100 Z-DOS; Z-BASIC Audience: children Running Time: around one-half hour Description: Mathflash was designed to emulate the traditional flash card prac¬ tice used to learn the four basic opera¬ tions of arithmetic: addition, subtrac¬ tion, multiplication, and division. Features: You may choose to do only certain groups or types of questions. For example, you may practice addition, “multiplication by 7”, etc. To please children and increase their attention span, Mathflash beeps several times after a correct answer. Performance: Mathflash poses only single-digit problems, such as 1 x 8 = ?, 4 x 7 = ?, etc. Ease of Use: If you enter anything other than the correct answer, Mathflash beeps at you once. It would be helpful if the program also flashed a message on the screen—something like “Try again.” Documentation: seven pages Other comments: This is anon-listable Z- BASIC program. Math Teacher $20, discounts for quantity purchases; InterActive Software soft-sectored H/Z89 GEMINI PRINTERS - the IPX EPSON MX Compatible - emulates all Epson codes, including bit graphics, underline, super/sub¬ scripts, print modes, etc. - PLUS 12 cpi mode, download characters. With friction & tractor feeds std. Parallel interface. With purchase, choose one of: Z-UTIL, HDOS or CPM Ultimate driver (specify). PRICE: $319.00 Postpaid. MICRQFAZER BUFFERS/CONVERTERS 8K Expandable buffer with COPY and PAUSE features. A real time-saver! Serial to Parallel 8-64K buffer is $224 postpaid;Parallei to Parallel 8-128 k buffer is $154 postpaid. ZUTIl Z-DOS UTI LITY PACKAGE e following ’. $35.00 ppd . Includes ETi RUNPC - Runs m incl. Mi Ashton-T Perfect SCREEN - Full g for Gemi C. Itoh Microlin Set mar NOW! LOGIC- any IBM PC programs croPro's Wordstartm ate's Dbase II tm, series, many others raphic screen dump ni, Epson, NEC-8023 8510, MT-160, and e 92/93 (72 col.) ins & color planes EEKING FAST!!! I WE ALSO CARRY ribbon cartridges, (ribbon refills, memory IC's, (disks and drives, library cases, (etc. WRITE for free catalog. LXNDLEY SYSTEMS 21 Hancock St., Bedford, 01730 Telephone (617) 275-6821 evenings Prices include shiDoing and insurance. Payment by personal check, company check, aoney order, P.0. US funds on US bank. Circle #131 on Reader Service Card 46 Sextant May-June 1984 CP/M Audience : ages seven years to adult Running Time : around one half-hour Description : Math Teacher is designed to reinforce and sharpen arithmetic skills. Features : You may select addition, sub¬ traction, multiplication, or division prob¬ lems at a beginner, intermediate, or expert level. You may also select the number of questions the computer will ask, and you may choose whether the computer gives the user one or three tries to answer each question. Performance : The “expert” multiplica¬ tion questions are at about the right level of difficulty, e.g., 96 x 13 = ? Ease of Use : The only way to exit the program is to type ctrlc or ctrl-reset. And typing ctrl c yields an unnecessar¬ ily dramatic exit message—“STOP at address 044E—before returning you to the operating system A> prompt. Documentation : one page Other comments : When I got an answer right the program told me so in what I considered a slightly effusive manner: “Stupendous, Fred.” And when I got 100% on a set of questions, the com¬ puter insulted me by saying “You must have a computer brain like I do, Fred!” Although the intent to “personalize” the program is worthwhile, educational pro¬ grams shouldn’t perpetuate inaccurate popular stereotypes. Moreover, kids don’t always like cuteness. Math Wiz $19; Studio Computers hard-sectored H8&19, H/Z89 HDOS; MBASIC Audience : elementary and junior high school students Running Time: around one-half hour Description: This is a math tutoring program for elementary and junior high school students. Features: Math Wiz will quiz you on the four basic math functions: addition, sub¬ traction, multiplication, and division. The program will keep track of the number of correct answers given, as well as keeping a percentage score. Math Wiz can pose three types of questions. Type 1: 123 +45 ??? Type 2:2 + ? = 5 Type 3: 2 + 3 = ? You may choose which type of prob¬ lems you’d like to solve; how difficult you would like the problems to be; and how many problems you would like to do. Performance: You have a wide range of control over the level of difficulty: “1” is the lowest, “20 is the highest. Ease of Use: The initial menu doesn’t provide much “coaching.” It would be nice if there were a little more explana¬ tory material. Also, when you enter the answers to problems, you must use a right-to-left format. That is, to enter the number “168”, you’d type “8”, then return, then “6”, then return, then “1”, then return. The advantage of this method is that the computer drill reinforces the procedure the student uses when computing the problem by hand. The disadvantage is that it is confusing and somewhat counter-intuitive when done on a keyboard. Documentation: four pages Other comments: The program is rather fragile in that it expects to be on SYO:, and gets confused if you try to run the program from syl. This is a common failing of programs written for MBASIC, and can be quite annoying to the user who has a multiple-drive system. This is a listable MBASIC program. SuperMathl $39.95 for HDOS and CP/M versions, $49.95 for Z-DOS; SoftShop hard- or soft-sectored H8&19, H/Z89, H/Z100 HDOS, CP/M, or Z-DOS; MBASIC or Z- BASIC Audience: Grades one through six Running Time: around one-half hour Description: SuperMathl is a computer- aided instruction (CAI) program for mathematics. Features: Simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; long deci- r WatchWord ^ The word processor and full screen editor for the Z100 and ZDOS. FRIENDLY-FAST-FLEXIBLE • See subscripts, superscripts, underlining and boldface directly on the screen • Create your own fonts and special characters • Remap any key and configure to your printer • Written in native 8088 assembly language for fast response Other features: centering, formatting, microjustification, arbitrary line length, automatic horizontal scrolling, split screen, macros, and color. For additional details, send a SASE. Demo Disk: $3.00 WatchWord with Manual: $100.00 S & K Technology, IncT 4610 Spotted Oak Woods San Antonio, TX 78249 512-492-3384 ■wATTN: Steve Robbins Circle #230 on Reader Service Card The ILLUSTRATOR The ILLUSTRATOR is a full-featured graphics drawing program for use with the Z-100 pixel graphics (w/wo color) or the H89/H19 IMAGINATOR pixel graphics option. No need for a lightpen. Features Include: • Turtle Graphics • Rubber Banding • Line Drawing • Box Drawing • Circle Drawing • Ellipse Drawing • Diamond Drawing • Screen Print • Dot Cursor Control • Area Fill • Box Fill • Circle Fill • Diamond Fill • Copy Area • Erase Area • Text Mode • Invert Mode • Help Display ONLY $89.95! • 64 Colors • Color Define • Color Pattern • Screen Save • Screen Restore • Area Save • Area Restore • Compacted Files • more. . . HDOS version for H89, H8, requires IMAGINATOR ZDOS version for Z-100, color memory optional Supports many dot graphics printers. Call for info. =SNEwliNE SoFtware P.0. Box 289 • Tiverton Rl 02878 (401) 624-3322 NAME CHECK ONE STREET □ H89, H8/H19, CITY HDOS STATE 7IP □ Z-100, ZDOS Send me "The ILLUSTRATOR" nronram(s) at $89 95 aarh Check one: □ payment enclosed □ send COD (add $4.00) Send order to: NEWLINE SOFTWARE, P.0. BOX 289, TIVERTON Rl 02878 Foreign orders: add $3.00 Airmail, $10.00 for non-U.S. checks HDOS is a trademark of Heath Company ZDOS, Z-100 are trademarks of Zenith Data Systems, Inc. IMAGINATOR is a trademark of Cleveland Codonics, Inc. Circle #145 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 47 mal addition and subtraction; multipli¬ cation and division with long decimals and double-digit divisors and multipli¬ cands; and addition, subtraction, multi¬ plication, and division of fractions. The Z-DOS version can do some other types of problems: carrying and borrowing, lowest common denominator, and re¬ duction of fractions. SuperMathl keeps the score and average for each student. Students may compete for positions in the Super¬ Mathl Hall of Fame. Parents and teachers may use a pass¬ word to: set the threshhold score for entering the Hall of Fame; turn off introductory questions; turn on an automatic test mode; determine which types of problems are to be given during a test; print test scores for any of five different classes; or select random test problems. The Z-BASIC version can use the ZlOO’s color capabilities. Performance: When you get a correct answer, the program says something encouraging like “Super dooper, trooper!” However, if you offer an in¬ correct answer, the program says—in white on red—“Wrongo, wrongo, try again.” I think “wrongo” is a bit too negative, as well as cutesy. One of SuperMathl’s more valuable features is that it takes you step-by-step through the correct procedures for long division, multiplication and division of fractions, etc. And if you are doing the problem wrong, it does a pretty good job of showing you your mistake. Ease of Use: You enter the answers to the problems in a right-to-left format. See my remarks under Ease of Use for Math Wiz, above. Documentation: 10 pages Other comments: SuperMathl is a non- listable Z-BASIC program. It’s unusually large for a BASIC program—55 K. Soft- Shop says “SuperMathl is the first of an upcoming series of Computer Aided Instruction programs from Toenes Edu¬ cational Software (TES). ... SuperMath, SuperSpell, and SuperRead programs are being developed to teach the 3 Rs— Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.” For educators Elementary Competency Record- Keeping System $18; $25 with second disk of sample objectives; AdminAid MicroSoftware hard-sectored H8&19, H/Z89 HDOS or CP/M; MBASIC Audience: teachers Description: This program maintains records telling whether individual stu¬ dents have completed competency objectives. Features: This program works the same way as the Kindergarten Competency Record-Keeping System, below, except that the objectives are not included. The user must use a subprogram to create a file of objectives before using the Record-Keeping System. The user may purchase a second disk which includes a set of essential objectives for grades one through six which were adopted for use in the author’s suburban California school district. Other comments: We were unable to evaluate this program because we didn’t receive a review copy. However, the program appears to be quite similar to AdminAid MicroSoftware’s Kindergar¬ ten Competency Record-Keeping Sys¬ tem. (See below.) GRADING $12; David Linscott hard-sectored H8&19, H/Z89; 56K RAM HDOS or CP/M; MBASIC Audience: teachers Description: grading will accept scores for up to 40 students, 16 scores per student. Features: Several classes may be stored on one disk. Students may be added or deleted at any time. Scores may be corrected at any time. You may assign weights to each exam, and you may change those weights at any time. All names, scores, averages, and weighted averages may be printed to the CRT or printer. The curve for a particular test or a curve of averages may be printed to the CRT or printer. Performance: The printout of the grade distribution curves is a particularly nice feature. Ease of Use: I ran into a few minor difficulties because the program could not store data files on drive D:, the drive from which I preferred to run the pro¬ gram. A message to all Heath/Zenith software designers: please, please, please write your programs so they can run from any drive in a multiple-drive system. Documentation: one page Other comments: The program looks like a good no-frills solution to the problem of automating grading records. But do you need a computer to maintain grad¬ ing records? The program automates two procedures which might be pro¬ hibitively time-consuming by hand. First, if you decide that you want to change the weights you’ve assigned to each exam, the computer can do it automatically. Otherwise, you’d have to recalculate each student’s overall score by hand. Second, if you want to draw grade distribution curves manually, you d have to spend a tedious half-hour with graph paper and pencil, grading will print the curves for you in about the time it takes you to read this sentence. This is a listable MBASIC program. Kindergarten Competency Record- Keeping System $20; AdminAid MicroSoftware hard-sectored H8&19, H/Z89 HDOS or CP/M; MBASIC Audience: teachers Description: This program maintains individual student records on comple¬ tion of 26 listed competencies adopted as the essential objectives in the author’s suburban California school district. Features: You may update the data file, either by student or by objective. You may send to the printer a list of students who have not learned a particular ob¬ jective. You may also print out a “report card” with a list of the skills required of each student. The system is menu driv¬ en and designed for use by more than one teacher. Ease of Use: I was able to crash the program by giving it incorrect input. While testing, I chose the menu option which allowed me to “update” a stu¬ dent’s skills record. Inside that option, the program expects the user to tell it a number from 1 to 27. (There are 26 skills, and 27 is “end update.”) Instead of 27, I typed “-1 ”, which is the exit command one level further down within the “update” option. By the principles of good software design, the program should have simply refused to accept that input, and beeped to alert me of my error. However, it didn t do that; after I typed in “-1”, it gracelessly booted me out of the program by saying “Illegal function call in 1720”, and returned me to MBASIC s “Ok” prompt. Such crash¬ es could be prevented if the program rejected incorrect input. Documentation: four pages Other comments: Despite the software design flaws mentioned in Ease of Use , this program might be useful to a teacher. The fact that this is a listable MBASIC program is a point in its favor; you can go in and modify it to suit your particular requirements. Quizzer $19.95; Interactive Micro Systems hard- or soft-sectored H8&19, H/Z89, H/Z100; 48K RAM HDOS or CP/M Audience: general Description: Quizzer is an educational program designed to administer a series of practice questions to a student. Features: The questions may be true/ false, fill-in-the-blank, or multiple choice. Quizzer is menu driven. Ques¬ tions may be given sequentially or chosen randomly by the computer. Questions that are missed may be flagged to be retried later, or they may be asked again immediately until the correct answer is given. The program recognizes more than one correct or incorrect answer to each question. And you may enter different responses for the computer to give to each different answer. Questions may be selected from the quiz file based on keywords for extra 48 Sextant May-June 1984 THE ORIGINAL SERIAL/PARALLEL INTERFACE BOARD Replace the H88-3 to upgrade your system or use the KC1222 in place of it. Providing the two standard serial ports PLUS three parallel ports on one card, you have the best of both worlds. Use the parallel ports for printer, joysticks, instrumentation/control...KC1222 has all components including cables and hardware. KP1222 has the same items less the serial chips and cables. PRINTER DRIVERS: The C.ltoh, Epson, Okidatas, Gemini and others are supported under HDOS and Heath’s CP/M. KC1222 Complete Kit $128.00 PC1222 Bareboard 48.50 KP1222 Parallel Only Kit 97.00 Printer Drivers HDOS or Heath’s CP/M 20.00 Printer Packages: We support the following printers as packages. We check out and set up the printer for your system. All you need do is plug it in and start using it! No more having to fuss with switch settings, making cables or any other aggravation. Included is HDOS or CP/M software, cable and checked out printer. Prowriter packages include 3K buffer upgrade. Dot Matrix Prowriter Package $440 Prowriter II Package $720 Gemini 10 Package 390 Gemini 15 Package 585 Daisy Wheel Silver Reed EXP 500P Package 550 Silver Reed EXP 500P Package 795 C.ltoh A10-20 Package 595 TTX-1014 Package 550 C.ltoh F10(55) Package 1525 We also carry printer spoolers; contact us for particulars. ZDS HARDWARE • PRINTER PACKAGES • SOFTWARE MATHGEN: The keyboard math interpreter brings mathematics to life! Function roots, max and min, evaluate function integrals and first derivatives, hyperbolics, exponential forms, logs, trig functions, factorials, the list goes on! Define the functions from a file, batch processing style, or from the keyboard. Plot to the screen or your printer. CP/M or HDOS for only $40.00 DATAPLOT: Using the dot addressable graphics of your Prowriter, plot any definable math function in single or double density. Select axis size and scale, plotting quadrant, etc. Generate your data by MATHGEN, MBASIC or any other language. CP/M or HDOS for $25.00 PRN: A printer utility for the Prqwriter, Epsons, and the H14. Print headers, footers, pause at page end, print multiple copies, left margin, printer mode and a host of other functions. CP/M or HDOS for $25.00 JS: Use your parallel ports for REAL TIME joysticks! Use up to four at a time with your favorite MBASIC or machine language keyboard game for HDOS. Program the response speed of the sticks, key sequence for different games, etc. Uses Atari joysticks. Only $25.00 dBASEII $480 Friday $245 Perfect Writer 280 Image 265 Perfect Clac 180 Lotus 1-2-3 400 Cach e/Q 195 SuperSort 165 MITE 125 Benchmark V3.0 400 Jupiter (Power Line Systems) 145 Z-100 Screen Dump 25 This is but a partial list of the software we carry. If you need an item not listed here, call us - we either may already have it or can get it for you. We fully support all of our independent-vendor products. If you have a question, we will never refer you to someone else. As authorized ZDS dealers, we support the Heath/Zenith community with competitive prices and post sales support. Contact us for price and delivery on the Z system and accessories of your dreams. VA residents add 4% tax. All of our products are shipped postpaid in the continental U.S. Otherwise, please add 5% for shipping. Foreign orders in U.S. dollars or drawn on a U.S. bank. Also includes customs house and address. Group purchase discounts are available - contact us for details. H & H Computer Enterprises, Inc. P.O. Drawer H Blacksburg, VA 24060 (703) 552-0599 Circle #123 on Reader Service Card ANNOUNCING THE MODIFIER A disk utility that modifies the CP/M BIOS to be able to read and write to a number of 5.25" CP/M disk types. There is a growing need for the everyday user of computer systems to be able to take data files home from the office to continue to work on them. The computers at home and at work may both run a version of CP/M, but the disk structures may be incompatible. This is especially a problem in the 5.25" world. MODIFY 89 was designed to address this problem. MODIFY 89 makes the CP/M operating system access a specified 5.25" drive as one of the below disk types. Disks placed in that drive that are of the specified type can be used as if they were one of the standard disk types accepted by the H8, H/Z89 or H/Z90 computers. Thus PIP, STAT, DIR and others will work for that disk also. The price for MODIFY 89 is $49.95. following disk types: MODIFY 89 is set for the • Access S.S. D.D. • Cromemco S.S. D.D. • DEC VT180 S.S. D.D. • IBM PC/Zenith 100 (CP/M) S.S. D.D. • IBM PC/Zenith 100 (CP/M) D.S. D.D.* • Kaypro II S.S. D.D. • Morrow Micro Decisions S.S. D.D. • NEC PC-8001 A S.S. D.D. • Osborne S.S. S.D. • Osborne S.S. D.D. • Otrona D.S. D.D.* • Superbrain Jr. S.S. D.D. • Tl Professional S.S. D.D. • TRS-80 Model I (Omnikron CP/M) • TRS-80 Model III (MM CP/M) • Xerox 820 S.S. S.D. • Xerox 820-11 S.S. D.D. • Standard (Tests for H/Z37 and C.D.R. Disk types) = Double sided 5.25" drive required S.S. = single sided, D.S. = double sided, S.D. = single density, D.D. = double density Limitations: MODIFY 89 is not a disk duplicate program. It is currently available for use with an H/Z89 or H/Z90 computer that has an FDC-880H double density 8" and 5.25" controller, using C.D.R.’s BIOS V.2.9 or with an H8 computer using the FDC-H8 by C.D.R. Systems, Inc. MODIFY 100 will soon be released for the Z100 line of computers at a price of $75.00. Contact: C.D.R. Systems, Inc. 7210 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., San Diego CA 92111 Telephone: (619) 560-1272 Or a C.D.R. Systems, Inc. dealer near you. Circle #108 on Reader Service Card LEARN TO PROGRAM H89/H19 GRAPHICS IN MBASIC BASIC GRAPHICS PRIMER is a computer based course that will teach you fundamental MBASIC programming techniques to control the HI9 terminal or H89 computer graphics. Seven lessons will teach you many forms of graphic plots, data plotting, multiple sequential and random access files used for graphics, basic figure animation techniques, and simple computer graphics game design. Each lesson consists of simple illustrative program segments with complete explana tions of the programming techniques involved, questions to reinforce the lesson material, and one or more example programs. Most H19/H89 terminal commands are covered in the lessons, in¬ cluding use of the special function keys. BASIC GRAPHICS PRIMER is a "HOW TO" course with plenty of examples. If you want to learn how to take full advantage of the H19/H89 graphics features in your programs, BASIC GRAPHICS PRIMER is a must. For CP/M only. Re quires a printer. ONLY $49.95! CP/M version for H89, H8, HI9 requires CP/M and MBASIC P.O. Box 289 • Tiverton Rl 02878 (401) 624-3322 NAME Send me BASIC STREET GRAPHICS PRIMER CITY program(s) forCP/M STATE 7IP at $49.95 each. Check one: □ payment enclosed □ send COD (add $3.00) Send order to: NEWLINE SOFTWARE, P.O. BOX 289, TIVERTON Rl 02878 Foreign orders: add $3.00 Airmail, $10.00 for non-U.S. checks CP/M is a trademark of Digital Research, Inc. MBASIC is a trademark of Microsoft, Inc. Circle #145 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 49 practice in a special area. You may enter questions into the quiz files using any text editor or word processor. Quizzer may permit “almost correct’ answers, so that it will accept minor misspellings if the response is similar to the correct answer. For example: the response “Georg Washington’’ may be considered correct as the answer to the question “Who was the first President of the United States?’’ Quizzer may be used with a Votrax Type N Talk device. Performance: There is a well-designed menu, which gives you considerable control over your quizzing options. Ease of Use: I couldn’t find any way to quit the program during a quiz, other than ctrl-c or ctrl-reset. Documentation : 11 pages Other comments: When you get answers correct, the program compliments you by saying “Your doing very well.’ While it is a very common error to confuse “your’’ and “you’re,’ this is counter¬ productive in a program which is de¬ signed to be used for educational purposes. ZDS Teacher and ZDS Student ZDS Teacher $295, ZDS Student $30; Zenith Data Systems hard- or soft-sectored H/Z89, H/Z100 CP/M or Z-DOS; ZDS Teacher and ZDS Student must be used together. JUST FOR KIDS LETTERS AND NUMBERS $19.95 8 moving graphics programs which introduce letters, numbers and the computer. PRESCHOOL CHALLENGE $24.95 9 moving graphics programs that require child input and thinking. MOTHER GOOSE $24.95 11 moving graphics Nursery Rhymes, good reading start. For HDOS or CP/M, MBASIC and 48K memory. Also generate over 1 million ALIEN FACES with ALIFACES.COM ... CP/M and 48K memory required. $24.95 Color versions for CP/M 85 and the Z100 also available (same price). Send check or money order to: INTUITIVE LOGIC 412 Taylor Rochester, MI 48063 (313) 651-3859 Circle #177 on Reader Service Card Audience: teachers Description: ZDS Teacher and its sister program, ZDS Student, make up an educational package which allows in¬ structors to write computer-assisted courses of study for their students. Features: You have control over the sequence in which the program pre¬ sents information to the student. How¬ ever, you can also decide, by using an “index page,’’ to let the student interact with the program and choose a se¬ quence of lessons or units. You can include quiz and test ques¬ tions wherever you deem appropriate, and you can include a variety of possible answers to each question. You can modify a course by using ZDS Teacher’s page-management editor, which allows you to copy a page, insert a blank page, and remove the text from a page, or to move a page by using a combination of those functions. ZDS Teacher provides features that help you to test and correct your course. You can, while you are developing the course, execute it so that you can see it as your students will. If you discover an error as you execute the course, you can enter the “update mode,” correct the error, and resume executing the course. You can also print the entire course, or selected pages of the course, so that you have a permanent record in case some¬ thing should happen to the disk (as well as to your other backup disks). Performance: I didn’t get a chance to run the program. The manual gives you tutorial instructions on how to create a course, but the tutorial looks like a workday’s project Judging by the documentation, the procedure is com¬ plicated but not overwhelming. It looks as if setting up a course with ZDS Teacher would take about as many steps as creating a file management system with a program like Condor FMS. Ease of Use: The program has a basic text-editing facility, which uses a WordStar-style keyboard “diamond for cursor control (ctrld moves the cursor one character to the right etc.). The arrow keys on the Z100, which are often used for cursor control, do not respond under ZDS Teacher. Documentation: 22 chapters in a Zenith Data Systems three-ring binder. Glos¬ sary. Index. Other comments: Copyright held by The Answer in Computers of San Diego, California zss $350 for CP/M-85 version, $500 for Z- DOS version; Zeducomp soft-sectored H/Z100; Winchester hard disk drive or 8" floppy disk drive is recommended for academic institutions with more than 1,500 students. CP/M-85 or Z-DOS Audience: school administrators Running Time: several hours or more Description: zss is a package for schedul¬ ing students at academic institutions such as universities, vocational/techni¬ cal schools, and secondary schools. Its primary function is to assist adminis¬ trators with the difficult task of match¬ ing students’ course requests with a master schedule of course offerings. Features: It is a menu-driven system which includes schedule simulation, conflict analysis, and room-utilization analysis capabilities, as well as schedul¬ ing options for flexible study halls, free periods, and meals. The scheduling algorithm is designed to balance the number of students assigned to each section of a particular course. You create three files which zss uses to produce a variety of reports. The files are: course section schedules and seat availability; student names and course requests; and parameter option files, listing the days and times on which classes may be scheduled. The reports which zss creates may be sent to the console or to the printer. They are: course-request tally, course- pair-request tally, course-section schedules, master-schedule conflicts, room occupancy schedules, student schedules, scheduling statistics, and class rosters. The Z-DOS version of zss can send roster files to Lotus 1-2-3, the popular spreadsheet/data base management program, for further manipulation of grading and attendance information. Performance: I ran through the tutorial which Zeducomp provides with the program. The impression I formed was that zss is capable of saving a school administrator considerable time and effort in course scheduling. However, the administrator should not expect that zss will make it possible to totally auto¬ mate the scheduling process. Conflicts may come up, and those must be re¬ solved manually. Ease of Use: A novice user should prob¬ ably not attempt to use this program, and users with an intermediate level of ex¬ perience will probably have to do a bit of wrestling with the documentation. But anyone who feels confident operating a large, complex program—an accounting package, say—should have no difficulty with zss. Documentation: 26 pages in a three-ring binder Other comments: The documentation is printed in a very small typeface, which I found difficult to read. Miscellaneous ChemlOl $16.95; Westcomp soft-sectored H/Z100; color monitor desirable but not necessary. Z-DOS; Z-BASIC 50 Sextant May-June 1984 Audience: chemistry students and teachers Description: ChemlOl accepts simple molecular formulas up to 18 elements in length (e.g., H20) and computes the molecular weight the percentage which each element constitutes of the molecule, the atomic weight for each element in the formula, and the proper atomic number. Features : ChemlOl will print out the above information. It will also draw a three-dimensional color bar graph of the percent of composition of each element that makes up the formula Performance: The color graphics are most impressive and entertaining. Ease of Use: One minor flaw: ChemlOl only accepts uppercase letters. Also, the format for entering data is slightly tricky. Documentation: one page Other comments: ChemlOl is a non- listable Z-BASIC program. Computer Enhanced Learning $20; Uneeksoft hard-sectored H8&19, H/Z89 HDOS or CP/M Audience: general Description: This program asks the user multiple-choice questions and clocks the responses against a timer. Features: The program is provided with five files of trivia questions on Holly¬ wood, Sports, Current Events, U.S. His¬ tory, and Places. You may also create your own files of questions; instructions are provided. You may select one of four speeds for the quiz: Very Slow, Slow, Medium, and Fast. Performance: When you start the pro¬ gram, it asks you how many disk drives your system has. I was honest, and said “4,’ at which point the program prompt¬ ly hung up. The next time, I lied, and said “2,” and everything worked fine. Perhaps the program is not really asking “how many drives does your system have?” but rather “do you have a one- drive system?” In any event, it should reject input which will make it crash. The documentation warns you of this problem, but it would be better if the problem didn’t exist. Next the program presents you with a menu of all your quiz files. This is a nice feature, since it saves you the trouble of having to remember the exact file name of the particular quiz you want to take. But if you tell the program to quiz you on a non-existent file, it gets confused. It will ask you a few coherent questions if there’s anything remaining in the “ques¬ tion buffer” from a previous quiz, and then the program will start to put gib¬ berish on the screen. The documen¬ tation enables you to understand the problem, but again it would be better if the program simply rejected incorrect input. Ease of Use: Input should be in all capitals, but the program doesn’t tell you that. Documentation: three pages Other comments: I considered some of the Hollywood trivia questions to be genuinely trivial, e.g., who was the third male lead on “Battlestar Galactica”? The program was written by Corne¬ lius A. Linebaugh. Letters and Numbers $19.95; Intuitive Logic hard-sectored H8&19, H/Z89 HDOS and MBASIC 4.82 or higher; or CP/M and MBASIC 5.21 Audience: preschoolers Description: This is a set of nine MBASIC programs which are intended to introduce preschoolers to the funda¬ mental concepts of numbers and letters. Features: The programs are designed to communicate concepts such as the rela¬ tion between a set of three blocks and the number 3; the idea of counting; and the relations between letters and words. Performance: The program uses the H/Z19 graphics set to do some nice three-dimensional drawings. Ease of Use: The input-handling rou¬ tines are good, but the exit command is unconventional. The program tells you at the beginning that you can use SHIFT * to exit. But if you don’t notice the mes¬ sage, or if you forget the exit command, there’s no way you can guess it. It would be nice if programmers stuck to con¬ ventional exit commands such as “bye”, “EXIT”, “QUIT”, and CTRL-C. Documentation: two pages Other comments: This is a listable MBASIC program. Management Simulator $29.95; Dynacomp, Inc. soft-sectored Z-DOS; 8" CP/M H/Z89, H/Z100 CP/M or Z-DOS; MBASIC or Z-BASIC Audience: high school or older Description: This is a simulation game which models the economic market¬ place of the business world. Features: Each player controls a com¬ pany manufacturing three products and competing against other companies, each of which sells three similar pro¬ ducts. The players attempt to outper¬ form their competitors. The player sets (1) selling prices, (2) labor and material costs per unit, (3) production volumes, (4) marketing expenditures, (5) re¬ search and design expenditures, (6) plant purchases or sales, (7) security purchases or sales, and (8) stock divi¬ dends. The most successful firm is the one with the highest stock price. The computer may compete as a “pace¬ setting company.” Performance: The game is a very ab¬ stract “number-crunching” approach to simulating the business world, where results are determined by how many dollars you “input” into research and development, marketing, inventory, etc., and by the way you set parameters such as unit cost, price, and so forth. In the world of Management Simulator, the product is literally an abstraction. This is an approach to understanding successful business management, but it is by no means the only approach. I personally think high school students interested in business careers would do better to spend their time improving their reading, writing, and mathematical skills. However, if a teacher wants to cover a H/Z-100 Color Educational Software MATHFLASH! H/Z-100 Color Educational Software MATHFLASH is an educational program designed for children who are learning the basic mathematical operations of addition, subtrac¬ tion, multiplication, and division. MATHFLASH is designed to use the outstanding color graphics capabilities of the H/Z-100; all screen and graphics colors are user- definable. (A monochrome system may be used for MATHFLASH if desired.) MATHFLASH will present the problems you designate. For instance, you may select only the “+ 7’s,” or only multiplication and division, etc. Thus you can emphasize areas your child may be having difficulty in. Mmorroware, 12503 Gristmill Cove, Austin, TX 78750, 512/250-1303 Other programs available: • Engineering (Fourier filtering, curve-fitting for any function, Eigenvectors, etc.) • Communications software • Plotting package • Request catalog for others Dealers are welcome! r Send me - MATHFLASH program(s) for Z-DOS at $15.00 each, postpaid. Mmorroware 12503 Gristmill Cove Austin, TX 78750 512/250-1303 Name Street City State ZIP Circle one: Check, MC, VISA Card #: expires Circle #184 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 51 H/Z89 PERIPHERALS from SECURED COMPUTER SYSTEMS % PORT SERIAL CARD I/O PORT PARALLEL not your typical vanilla-flavored serial and parallel interface ...” Features: Chip independent design • Reduces computer data buss loading from 3 to 1 • Choice of Centronics or Epson parallel drivers for HDOS or CP/M • Complete documentation and installation instruction 2 Serial Ports Supports: Ring Input External Clock Auto Dialer 3 Port Parallel with 2 Level Interrupt Control PRICE $199.00 Shipping & Handling $10.00 Fully compatible with all models of H/Z 88, 89, 90 using CP/M or HDOS. Fully tested, 90 day war¬ ranty, two serial cables and a parallel cable (internal to com¬ puter) and software driver. 16K RAM EXPANSION CARD Expands your H/Z89 RAM Memory capacity to a FULL 64K! Fully compatible with: H/Z 89 • H/Z 88 Magnolia Microsystems CP/M and disk drive I/O interface cards NOW INCLUDING SUPPORT MOUNTING BRACKET Featuring: Complete installation instruction • 90 day Warranty Field reliability record now entering its 21st month Now Only $65.00 HDOS Is a registered trademark of Heath Company CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research Shipping & Handling $5.00 PRICES ARE LESS SHIPPING AND TAX IF RESIDENT OF CALIFORNIA MAIL ORDER: 12011 ACLARE, CERRITOS, CA 90701 (213) 924-6741 TECHNICAL INFO/HELP: 8575 KNOTT AVE., SUITE D, BUENA PARK, CA 90620 (714) 952-3930 Terms and specifications subject to change without notice. data systems SERVICE CENTER Circle #157 on Reader Service Card H/Z-100 COLOR GRAPHICS SOFTWARE Want to explore Z-BASIC color graphics the easy way? Try these packages from MICROSERVICES. All you need is a color configured computer with 128K memory, a color monitor, and Z-BASIC. ZANIMATE will help you rapidly draw and paint each frame in an animation sequence. Select frame sizes, vary location and time between each frame. Draw the back¬ ground too, with the graphics editor. $64.95 ZPALETTE, the original H/Z-100 palette program, contains a graphics editor for point-plotting images which can be painted in 92 hues! File your images for access by other Z-BASIC programs, and transfer imagery from one file to another. NEW PRICE.$59.75 ZPATTERN helps you determine the quality of your color monitor and if it needs maintenance. NEW PRICE .$24.95 Include 3% handling/postage ($2.50 minimum) — Cali¬ fornia add 6M>% tax. Send check or money order to: BE MICROSERVICES P.O. BOX 7093 MENLO PARK, CA 94026 3 K PHONE: (415) 851-3414 Circle #209 on Reader Service Card CONTROLLER Now be able to run standard 8” Shugart compatible drives and 5.25” drives (including the H37 type) in double and single density, automatically with one controller. Your hard sectored 5.25” disks can be reformatted and used as soft sectored double density disks. The FDC-880H operates with or without the Heath hard sectored controller. PRICED AT $395 Includes controller board CP/M boot prom, I/O decoder prom, hardware/soft¬ ware manuals BIOS source listing. HDOS driver now available for $50.00. 5-20 day delivery-pay by check, C.O.D., Visa, or M/C. Contact C.D.R. Systems Inc. 7210 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. San Diego, CA 92111 Tel. (619) 560-1272 Circle #109 on Reader Service Card 52 Sextant May-June 1984 “number-crunching' approach to busi¬ ness economics, this program might be worth looking into. Ease of Use: All text is presented in unsightly upper case. Documentation: 10 pages Other comments: This is a listable Z- BASIC program. Management Simulator isn’t quite fun enough to be a game, and it’s time- consuming, so I’d recommend it only to teachers interested in using it in class. Preschool Challenge $24.95; Intuitive Logic hard-sectored H8&19, H/Z89 HDOS and MBASIC 4.82 or higher; or CP/M and MBASIC 5.21 Audience: preschoolers Description: This is a set of eleven MBASIC programs which are intended to introduce preschoolers to the funda¬ mental concepts of numbers and letters. Documentation: two pages; one page of tips on how your child should use the program, as above. Other comments: These are listable MBASIC programs. We were unable to evaluate these programs because our HI7 disk drives didn’t like the distribution disk we re¬ ceived. But they appear to be quite similar to “Letters and Numbers.” Edward A. Byrnes of Intuitive Logic says he’s working on a third disk of “Learning Games” for preschoolers. Reactor-100 $39.95; Software Wizardry soft-sectored H/Z100; version 1.2 or above boot ROM. (You can find out what version your ROM is by typing “V” at the H/Z100 s finger prompt.) Z-DOS Audience: adult Running Time: around one-half hour Description: This is a simulation of the operation of a very simple commercial nuclear power plant. Features: The simulation is designed to be as realistic as possible. The program gives you information about the status of the reactor, while you control the pumps, turbines, generators, and so forth. Your objective is to produce enough kilowatt-hours to meet the de¬ mand, for as long as possible before systems fail. The systems do fail much more frequently than is the case in real life, because it is necessary to make the simulation entertaining as well as realistic. The program uses the H/ZlOO’s color graphics to draw a high-resolution schematic of the reactor plant. You may use Software Wizardry’s lightpen to select from the command options the program presents you. There are on-line help files. Performance: The program is similar in many ways to flight-simulator games such as those described in Sextant #8’s ‘ Games Roundup.” The simulated re¬ actor operates faster than a “real time” reactor would, and the user must do a lot of mental calculations very quickly in order to succeed. It’s not easy to master this program, but when you do, you will feel a genuine sense of accomplishment. When the reactor overheats, it melts down in vivid color on the screen of your H/Z100. Unfortunately, creating a meltdown is so entertaining that at least two Sextant staffers started to control the reactor with the objective of reach¬ ing meltdown as quickly as possible. Ease of Use: The program makes full use of the H/Z100 s special function keys. Documentation: 30 pages. The manual provides several pages of explanation about the design of nuclear power plants, as well as a full reference guide to the functions of each component of the reactor system. Other comments: The program was writ¬ ten by David B. Wadsworth in compiled Z-BASIC. Simulators such as this one (and those reviewed in the “Games Roundup” in Sextant #8) fall into a grey area between games and educational software. They use simple quantitative models to give you a feel for the operation of some complex technological device such as an aircraft or a nuclear reactor—but the programs are also fun. Ordering Information Admin Aid M icroSoftware David Linscott 886 Bransford Court 913 Armour Road Fairfield, CA 94533 Oconomowoe, WI 53066 707/425-2275 American Training International MMorroware 12503 Gristmill Cove Suite 201 Austin, TX 78750 3770 Highland Avenue 512/250-1303 Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 213/546-4725 SoftShop CJW Software 35 Shadow Oak Drive Sudbury, MA 01776 P.O. Box 20874 617/443-9693 San Jose, CA 95160 408/997-7837 The Software Toolworks Dynacornp, Inc. Suite 1118 15233 Ventura Boulevard 1427 Monroe Avenue Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 Rochester, NY 14618 818/986-4885 716/442-8960 (general office) 800/828-6772 (orders) Software Wizardry Generic Software 122 Yankee Drive St. Charles, MO 63301 P.O. Box 790 314/946-1968 Marquette, MI 49855 906/249-9801 Studio Computers Hall Design 999 South Adams Birmingham, MI 48011 250 Maple Avenue 313/645-5365 Wilmette, IL 60091 Husker Systems of Nebraska, Inc. Uneeksoft Box 911 4517 North 61st Street Airway Heights, WA 99001 Omaha, NE 68104 402/451-4988 Westcomp Interactive Micro Systems Suite 300, Diamond Bar Village 23441 Golden Springs P.O. Box 21007 Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Columbus, OH 43221 614/846-0902 Z-Ware InterActive Software (David W. Schade) 113 Dakota 448 Joan Court Jacksonville, AR 72076 West Hempstead, NY 11552 501/988-5273 Intuitive Logic Zeducomp 412 Taylor P.O. Box 68 Rochester, MI 48063 Stirling, NJ 07980 313/651-3859 201/755-2262 Sextant May-June 1984 53 FORTRAN DEVELOPMENT TOOLS Tool Kit - Z80: A subroutine library which provides 45 routines for: — String Manipulation — Specialized Console and Communications Functions — Interfaces to CP/M Functions — Date Manipulation Display Manager • Z80: A CRT forms management package providing for device and applications independence. Build for¬ matted screens utilizing video attributes and block graphics for your user inter¬ faces. Supports the following features: — Full Screen Forms Editor — User Own Code Hooks — Field Reference by Name — Automatic Data Validation — Display Only Fields — Full Screen or Single Field Retrieval ELECTRONIC MESSAGE CENTER REMOTE COMPUTER ACCESS PACKAGE Use CRT-280 to create your own Electronic Message Center. Specifically: — Access the H/Z-89 from Remote Terminals — Leave Messages for others from Remote Terminals — Send Telexes or Mail from Remote Terminals In addition, use your H/Z-89 as a remote ASCII Ter¬ minal to other computer systems plus provide for data file transfer. _ CLIP HERE AND MAIL _ Systems Design Network, Inc. P.O. Box 31232 Cleveland, Ohio 44131 PRODUCT QUANTITY PRICE TOTAL Tool Kit-Z80 _ $22.00 _ Disp. Man. Z-80 _ $39.95 - CRT-Z80 _ $45.00 _ TOTAL (Enclose Check or Money Order) _ Name: ___ Address:___ City/State __Zip:_ Check here for more information: □ Circle #161 on Reader Service Card 54 Sextant May-June 1984 CPA II GREATLY EXPANDED RELEASE OF OUR POPULAR PERSONAL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM * Any number of Checking Accounts, Vendor and Cash Accounts. Automatic reporting of accounts due. Automatic posting to Vendor accounts. * Issue checks with up to 5 separate categories and/or tax flags per check. Print your checks with automatic addressing and memo line. Automatic checkbook reconciliation. * Track Income & Expenses for up to 35 categories each, Expenses vs. Budget, tax deductions, etc. * Screen or line-printer Bar-Graphs of monthly Actual vs. Budget for the year. Generate Income Statement, spreadsheets, a wide range of other reports. Can be used with any printer. * New, detailed 100 page manual, all system disks, custom check materials and registration for system updates. * For systems with 64K RAM; 2 or more disk drives; specify disk format. Send for detailed brochure. MBASIC under CP/M or ZDOS - $85.00 Postpaid _ REICHERT DIGITAL SYSTEMS _ 29 BLAZIER RD. WARREN, N.J. 07060 (201) 469 3854 Circle #151 on Reader Service Card HIGH QUALITY SUPPLIES Hardware FingerPrint (MX, RX) $54.95 FingerPrint (FX) Microspooler (serial to serial) $64.95 16K $239 32K $269 64K $319 The Lemon-surge protect $54.95 Volksmodem-direct connect $74.50 Disks 5 V 4 " Hard Sector (10) $27.50 Soft Sector (10) $29.75 DS/DD 96 TPI (10) $44.50 Disk carousel (holds 70) $21.00 Ribbons H-14 (black-blue-purple) 3/$12.00 MX, FX, RX 80 (black) 2/$11.00 MX, FX 100 (black) 2/$17.00 IDS 460/560 (black) 2/$17.00 Programming Aids Flowcharting Sheets Graphic Plotter Sheets Video Layout Sheets Printer Plotter Overlay Printer Layout Sheets COBOL Programming Sheets Paper Porter $4.50 ea. Please add $2.75 for shipping. NY residents please add sales tax. Send for FREE catalogue The PC&J Graphics Co., Inc. PO Box 108, Deer Park, NY 11729 516/667-8076 Circle #146 on Reader Service Card Classy Bar Graphs A Microsoft BASIC program can produce a bar graph from your data, then tailor it to different specifications. The most annoying feature of looking at big gobs of data is the first job: making the histogram—the bar graph. Using the programs presented here, though, you can construct histograms, and modify them as necessary to present your data clearly. Frequently, we tend to take the hum¬ ble bar graph for granted. We glance at a graph in some company’s annual report and see that the receipts or profits are up or down this year. The histogram is merely a convenient shorthand, a “pic¬ ture that we look at because we may not feel like reading the report. We feel that if we were really interested, we would downplay the bar graph and read the report word for word. In some cases, however, a histogram is the most effective place to gather and present your data—particularly when you don’t know what to expect. Unless you always look at a histogram before any other analysis, you may miss signif¬ icant features in your facts. The shape of a histogram maybe lopsided—revealing that the data are skewed in a particular direction. Or it may even tell you that your data consist of more than one population. Glancing at the histogram in Figure 1 (we will get into details later), we can see that there appear to be two different groups. If, however, we had figured out the average of such a bimodal distri¬ bution, we would have arrived at an essentially meaningless number—no member of the group would have a value near its arithmetic mean. So constructing the histogram should be the first step you take in analyzing statistical data A bar graph may some¬ times look superficial, but it can be a very effective tool if you are willing to use it. But if you have ever had to construct a bar graph you know that the job can be tedious. It is particularly so with large amounts of data And there are few of us who, having once constructed a histo¬ gram, will recast it to display our data in a slightly different fonn. Most of the time, though, such a change can provide a more concise presentation of the same facts. Ideally, we should be able to recast our histograms in any of three ways. First, we should be able to change the class interval : instead of the width of Robert W. Rasch each bar representing one year, for instance, we should be able to change to a quarterly basis. Second, we should be able to change the class limits : instead of a year’s being from 1 January to 31 December, for instance, we should be able to change the limits so that they are Irom 1 July to 30 June. And finally, we should be able to change the vertical scaling , the height of the bars that represent the amount or number of instances of whatever we are studying: instead of an inch on the vertical axis representing $100,000 in receipts, for instance, we should be able to change the histogram so that one inch repre¬ sents $50,000 or $1,000,000. This last consideration, scaling, will be primarily for convenience, so that our histogram is not unreasonably tall—nor so short that small but significant dif¬ ferences cannot be displayed. Changing the limits and intervals, however, may actually show us relationships that might otherwise not be noticed. For instance, breaking the class interval down to a week might show that all the receipts come in a pattern we had not noticed before. Working with a histogram by chang¬ ing the class interval and class limits, however, can be quite a nuisance. Well, such tedious jobs are presumably what we have computers for. The programs presented here are all that you need to construct histograms with style and ease. Listing 1 is a data-entry routine and Listing 2 is vgraph. bas, the program to compute and draw the histogram. They are both in Microsoft BASIC (MBASIC) under the CP/M operating system. Using vgraph, the histograms can be recast in any fashion and then printed out, or copied to a disk file, for inclusion in a report. (For greater speed, you may wish to use a compiled version, VGRAPH.COM.) vgraph will automatically scale the histogram’s height to fit on the screen of an H/Z89. It will also present the data with the smallest class interval pos¬ sible—giving you the option to enlarge the interval if you wish. The limits are changed by choosing the beginning value to be referenced on the graph. The program will choose the lowest value in your data file, giving you the option to change it. vgraph has provided me with an easy way to digest large amounts of data with an ease that justifies the purchase of my computer. Every time I need to look at data, I glory in owning an H89. Using VGRAPH vgraph reads files of single-valued serial data: a series of numbers, no variables or complex expressions. It is probably most convenient to enter the data from a BASIC program. Listing 1 will do the job without any bells and whistles. Any entry errors can be cor¬ rected with a text editor. Just keep to the format that BASIC uses: one number after another, each on its own line. There is no need to worry about putting it in any order—VGRAPH will sort it. VGRAPH.BAS, in Listing 2, is geared entirely to use the graphic capabilities of the ’89. To use it you run vgraph from BASIC. It will ask you for the name of the data file and then prompt you from various menus. In its present form, this program is slow with large amounts of data. How¬ ever, if you have the BASIC compiler— Listing 1. A simple BASIC input program to produce a file of serial data, one in which each data value entered is on its own line. 10 INPUT"ENTER A FILENAME FOR DATA ";F$ 20 ON ERROR GOTO 50* this protects you from erasing data 30 OPEN "i",1,F$ 40 PRINT "THAT FILE ALREADY EXISTS!":END 50 OPEN "o",1,F$ 60 PRINT"Entering a RETURN with NO DATA ends this program" 70 INPUT"Enter a Data Value ";X$ 80 IF LEN(X$)=0 THEN CL0SE#1:END 90 X=VAL(X$) 100 PRINT#1,X 110 GOTO 70 Sextant May-June 1984 55 bascom —you will have all of the speed that you need The program must first be saved with the “A” (ASCII) option in BASIC. It can be compiled from that form; and you will still have a “human- readable’’ file to work with if you decide to make any changes later on. I believe you will find that the increase in speed will more than justify the cost of bascom. How VGRAPH works The operation of the program is sim¬ ple. It is set up in modules that are called from a central routine in line 250. The data are read from the disk file into the array D(i), which is dimensioned to hold 1,000 items (line 70). The data manipulations are done in arrays be¬ cause the program runs faster that way. A subroutine can call the numbers in an array sequentially and perform the same functions on each number in your data set. You can increase the number of items up to the limits of your memory. And you can substitute a variable for the constant, 1,000. (But you cannot use a variable there in the compiled version.) If you regularly work with more than 1,000 items, then change this value to conform to your needs. The other two arrays in line 70 are bin and class. These make up the units of the histogram, class holds the values that separate each class; bin holds the current number of data items within each class. The program opens the data file, counts the items, then loads them all into the D array (lines 130 through 190). It displays the data (lines 200-210) and then sorts it (subroutine at line 2200). This is followed by a display of the sorted data (lines 2300-2310). In line 230, vgraph determines the size of the classes such that the screen of the ’89 will be filled horizontally. It starts the process of setting up provi¬ sional class limits and determining the height of the bars so that they fill the screen in a suitable fashion. The initial intervals are established to put all of the data into the histogram with the most narrowly-defined class limits possible. You may want to increase the class intervals from these values when the program offers this opportunity. The tally routine at line 500 is where time is consumed. You will appreciate bascom when you watch the change in the flash rate of the “working” message at this point in the program. This sub¬ routine (line 500) reviews all of the data in the D array and tallies those values which fit into the appropriate bin array as determined by the values in class. This takes a little time, but doing it by hand takes more—and isn’t nearly as much fun as sipping a cup of coffee while the ’89 does it all. The remainder of the program con¬ sists of reading the arrays to the screen and changing their contents according to the options provided on the menus. (Remember that displaying a complete¬ ly new histogram based on the current data is one of the options.) When the program halts on this option list, it is waiting for you to make a choice. If the histogram is printed to a file, its form will not be that of the screen display. Scaling the height of the histo¬ gram for paper is a little different from fitting it on the screen. The file and printer histograms are literal: each “X” represents a value. This may mean a great long sheet of paper if you have 1,000 instances, all in one class! (It is possible to have the H/Z25 printer print the screen just as it appears, but that would take another program. In this regard, you might want to look at Siebert Ickler’s “Screen Dump!” article in Sextant #9, March-April 1984.) I should note that vgraph is not without a certain fragility. If it were to be aimed at the untrained user, it could be beefed up in places. For instance, the BASIC data-entry program in Listing 1 gives an error message to prevent you from giving your output file the name of Listing 2. VGRAPH.BAS computes and draws histograms for printer, disk file, or screen display. It is written for Microsoft BASIC running under CP/M, tested under MBASIC version 5.21. As presented here, lines 580, 900, 930, 1090, 2010, and 2500 have been broken for convenience in printing. MBASIC prefers to see one logical line occupying only one physical line. If you wish to break a line, MBASIC lets you use the terminal’s line feed key, instead of a carriage return, to move to the next physical line. (This will not work on the 8K version of MBASIC, however.) The Escape z command at the end of the program can leave an operator with a blank terminal. An MBASIC list command will recover the screen prompt. 10 1 PROGRAM NAME 'VGRAPH.BAS* 20 * Author: Robert W. Rasch (c) 1982 version 1.3 30 * Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine 40 » Box 19,780A Johnson City, TN 37614 (615) 928-6425 x235 50 * 60 » 70 DIM BIN(41),CLASS(41),D(1000) 80 PRINT"VGRAPH.BAS VERSION 1.3" 90 PRINT**CAUTI0N — DIMENSIONED FOR 1,000 DATA ITEMS ONLY" 100 DEF FNC$(R,C)=CHR$(27)+"Y"+CHR$(31+R)+CHR$(3HC)'cursor 110 TOTAL = 0 120 INPUT"Enter the Filename that has Data ",F$ 130 OPEN "i",1,F$ 140 IF EOF(1) THEN 180 150 INPUT#1,X 160 S=S+1 170 GOTO 140'counting the house 180 CLOSE#1:OPEN "i",1,F$ 190 FOR 1=1 TO S:INPUT#1,D(I):NEXT:CLOSE#1 200 PRINT TAB(28)"THE DATA" 210 FOR 1=1 TO S:PRINT D(I),:NEXT 220 GOSUB 2200'*== NOW SORT THE DATA==* 230 RANGE=(D(S)-(D(1)))/39 240 FIRST=D(1) 250 REM*==== MAIN PROGRAM BEGINS HERE =======* 260 GOSUB 400» SET UP THE CLASS LIMITS * 270 GOSUB 500* GO TALLY THEM * 280 GOSUB 2000' PRINT TABLE OF CLASS LIMITS * 290 GOSUB 700' PRINT THE DISPLAY * 300 GOSUB 1000' SET NEW PARAMETERS * 310 GOTO 260' REPEAT MAIN PR0GRAM=========* 400 REM*=== SET THE CLASSES UP 410 FOR 1=0 TO 40'CLEAN UP THE ARRAYS 420 BIN(I)=0 430 CLASS(I)=0 440 NEXT I 450 FOR 1=0 TO 40 460 BIN(I)=FIRST + RANGE*(I-1) 470 NEXT I 480 RETURN 500 REM*==== TALLY IT AND DISPLAY IT ====* 510 PRINT FNC$(1,1)'HOME CURSOR 520 PRINT CHR$(27);"E"'ERASE THE SCREEN 530 PRINT CHR$(27)J"x5"'MAKE THE CURSOR DISAPPEAR 540 '*=== NOW TALLY THE CLASSES INTO THE LIMITS =====* 550 FOR I$=1 TO S'GO THROUGH THE DATA FROM SMALLEST TO LARGEST 560 PRINT FNC$(12,40)"WORKING" 570 FOR J$=1 TO 40 -► 56 Sextant May-June 1984 580 IF D(I*)<=BIN(J*) AND D(I*)>BIN(JJ-1) THEN CLASS(J?)=CLASS(J$)+1'NOT TOO BIG TALLY IT 590 NEXT 600 PRINT CHR$(27)"E" 610 NEXT 1$’GET ANOTHER DATA BIT TO FIT 620 LARGEST=0 630 FOR J=0 TO 40 640 IF CL ASS (J) >L ARGEST THEN LARGEST =CLASS(J) 650 NEXT J 660 BIN1=BIN( 1) :BIN40=BIN( 40) 670 RETURN 700 REM«===== PRINT OUT DISPLAY =====« 710 PRINT CHR$(27)"E" 715 WIDTH 255 720 PRINT CHR$( 27); "F" ’GRAPHICS ON 730 FOR C=20 TO 59 740 L=C-19:K=21-INT(20*CLASS(L)/LARGEST) 750 IF K=22 THEN 770 760 PRINT FNC$(K,1);CLASS(L) 770 FOR R=21 TO K STEP -1 780 PRINT FNC$(R,C); "i"; 790 NEXT 800 NEXT 810 LET C=19 820 PRINT CHR$(27);"F"'GRAPHICS ON 830 FOR R=1 TO 22 840 PRINT FNC$(R,C);"t"; 850 NEXT R 860 R=22 870 FOR C=19 TO 59 880 PRINT FNC$(R,C);"u"; 890 NEXT C 900 PRINT FNC$ (23»20)" 123 4567 890123 4567 89 0123 4567 890123 4567 890 "; 910 PRINT CHR$(27);"G";'GRAPHICS OFF 915 PRINT" (Press any key for menu.)" 920 PRINT CHR$(27);"x1";’ENABLE 25TH LINE 930 PRINT FNC$(25,1):PRINT"dass interval "; RANGE;"First Class ";BIN(1); 940 PRINT FNC$(1,1) 945 WIDTH 80 950 X$=INPUT$(1)'STOP FOR INPUT OF ANY KEY 960 PRINT CHR$(27);"y1" 'DISABLE 25TH LINE 970 RETURN 1000 REM*=== RESET THE RANGE CLASS SIZES, START ====« 1010 REM*===== TABLE OF PARAMETER OPTIONS ======» 1020 PRINT CHR$(27);"y5"'TURN ON THE CURSOR 1030 PRINT CHR$(27);"y1"'DISABLE THE 25TH LINE 1040 PRINT CHR$(27);"H"'H0ME CURSOR 1050 PRINT CHR$(27);"E"'ERASE SCREEN 1060 PRINT TAB(24);D(1);"<==== DATA ===>";D(S) 1070 PRINT TAB(24);BIN1;"<=== GRAPH ===>";BIN40 1080 PRINT TAB(20);"•========= OPTION LIST =========•" 1090 PRINT "1- Change Value of the First Class to be Displayed ==>";FIRST 1100 PRINT "2- Change the Class Interval ====> ";RANGE 1110 PRINT "3- Display Another Histogram" 1120 PRINT "4- Exit this Program" 1130 PRINT "5- Print Histogram on the Configured Printer" 1140 PRINT "6- Print Histogram to a File " 1150 PRINT:PRINT 1160 PRINT "Depress Number of the Option of Your Choice" 1170 X$=INPUT$(1) 1180 X=VAL(X$) 1190 IF X<1 OR X>6 THEN 1000 1200 ON X GOTO 1210,1230,1250,1260,2350,2480 1210 INPUT "Enter New Value of First Class Displayed ";FIRST 1220 GOTO 1000 1230 INPUT "Enter the New Class Interval Value ";RANGE 1240 X$=INPUT$( 1) 1250 RETURN 1260 PRINT CHR$(27);"z" -*■ Z-1 00 CP/M-86 Yes, you can have CP/M-86 on your Z-100 for 60% less than Zenith’s $250 price. For additional information, please contact: Barry A. Watzman 560 Sunset Rd. Benton Harbor, Ml 49022 616/925-3136 Z-100 is a registered trademark of Zenith Data Systems, Inc. CP/M-86 is a trademark of Digital Research, Inc. Circle #206 on Reader Service Card HOME BUDGET MANAGER now available! Pay To: EyteSize Concepts, Inc. 18101 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44112 Jfhto Your bank Your town • Reconciles to bank statement • Prints reports • Allows account names • Searches—check no./payee • Prints checkbook register • Graphs routines • Allows corrections • Requires 64K RAM One disk drive CP/M H/Z89/90 Send only $49.95 plus $2.75 ship¬ ping and handling (Ohio residents add 6.5%) to: ByteSize Concepts, Inc. 18101 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, OH 44122 Circle #136 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 57 an already existing file and writing over it When you file the histogram, vgraph will keep you from writing over the data file on which you have based it (line 2500). There is no such protection when you file the frequency table, however. Nor is there any protection for files other than the data file. You might want to expand that protection. And you might want to put in reminders that MBASIC will expect to see file specifi¬ cations in uppercase characters. Also, I assumed that only valid data would be input to the program. If you play around with vgraph, you will find that a data file with only one entry, for instance, will give the program some¬ thing of a problem. (However, you may like to get the graphics character equiva¬ lent of the error message “Divide by zero—Overflow in line 560”!) These are areas, then, that you might want to look at for future improvements. They will, of course, add to vgraph’s length. If you feel an error is likely to occur, you might want to add protection. But if you wish, you could even shorten the program a bit. An example You need some data to “prove” your program. It can be found in Table 1. This data is the milligrams of glycine per milligram of creatinine in the urine of 37 chimpanzees. (This is taken from S.M. Gartler, I.L. Firschein, and T. Dobzhansky, “Chromatographic Investi¬ gation of Urinary Amino-Acids in the Great Apes,” American Journal of Phys¬ ical Anthropology, 14:41-57, 1956.) True, that is probably not an everyday sort of example for most of you. But it was something I had easily available. Moreover, it is the sort of case that shows the value of a computer-driven histo¬ gram. We are not out simply to show a picture of figures we already know all about. This is a simple example of an experimental situation where we are trying to see relationships that would be difficult to discover otherwise. The class interval in Figure 1 is .015 milligram of glycine per milligram of creatinine, starting at .008 at the left. Each X in the bar graph s height repre¬ sents one chimpanzee. Looking at Figure 1, what if we aver¬ aged the numbers on which it is based? It should be evident that an average would not represent the facts at all, because the histogram is not symmet¬ rical. It is rather like average income not meaning much because the distribution of income has a few people with astro¬ nomical incomes and many with much lower incomes. The high values distort the meaning of the mean income. The arithmetic mean of this data is .224. If we look at the histogram pro¬ duced by these numbers, in Figure 1, we can see that the mean falls in the middle of a large area with no values. There is an element of bimodality 58 Sextant May-June 1984 1270 END 2000 REM «=== PRINT THE CLASS LIMIT FREQUENCY TABLE = ==* 2010 PRINT"Depress 'P» to print the FREQUENCY TABLE; 'L* to FILE it;" 2015 PRINT" any other key to display only. n 2020 A$=INPUT$(1) 2030 SWITCH?=PEEK(3) 20*10 IF A$="L" THEN G0SUB 3000 2050 IF A$="P" THEN POKE 3,SWITCH?+2 2060 PRINT "CLASS LIMIT - frequency <" 2070 FOR 1=0 TO 40 2080 PRINT BIN(I); 2090 PRINT TAB(10) "===>"; 2100 PRINT USING CLASS(I) 2110 TOTAL=T0TAL + CLASS(I) 2120 NEXT I 2130 POKE 3,SWITCH? 2140 PRINT "Total Number of Items is ";TOTAL 2150 PRINT "Depress any key to continue" 2160 X$=INPUT$(1) 2170 PRINT CHR$(27);"E" 2180 TOTAL=0 2190 RETURN 2200 PRINT"FILE LOADED INTO ARRAY AND ORDERING HAS BEGUN" 2210 PRINT"THERE ARE ";S;" ITEMS IN THE FILE" 2220 PRINT"WHEN COUNTDOWN REACHES ZERO - THE SORT HAS FINISHED" 2230 •BEGINNING OF SHELL-METZNER SORTING ROUTINE 2240 LT=S:CT=LT:BT=LT 2250 CT=INT(CT/2):PRINT CT:IF CT=0 THEN 2300 ELSE DT= 1:ET=BT-CT 2260 FT=DT 2270 GT=FT+CT:IF D(FT)<=D(GT) THEN 2290 2280 SWAP D(FT),D(GT):FT=FT-CT:IF FT<1 THEN 2290 ELSE 2270 2290 DT=DT+1:IF DT>ET THEN 2250 ELSE 2260 2300 PRINT"S0RT IS FINISHED" 2310 FOR 1=1 TO SiPRINT D(I),:NEXT 2320 PRINT"Depress any key to continue " 2330 A$=INPUT$(1) 2340 RETURN 2350 SWITCH?=PEEK(3)’TURNS ON CONFIGURED PRINTER 2360 POKE 3 > SWITCH?+2•TURN THE PRINTER ON 2370 FOR L=LARGEST TO 1 STEP-1 2380 FOR C=1 TO 40 2390 IF L>CLASS(C) THEN PRINT" "; 2400 IF L<=CLASS(C) THEN PRINT"X"; 2410 NEXT C 2420 PRINT 2430 NEXT L 2440 POKE 3,SWITCH?•TURN THE PRINTER OFF 2450 PRINT"Depress any key to continue" 2460 A$=INPUT$(1) 2470 GOTO 1000 2480 PRINT"enter a filename please "* printing to a file 2490 INPUT F2$ 2500 IF F2$=F$ THEN PRINT"THAT’S YOUR DATA FILE, DUMMYI" :G0T0 2480 2510 OPEN "0",1,F2$ 2520 FOR L=LARGEST TO 1 STEP-1 2530 FOR C=1 TO 40 2540 IF L>CLASS(C) THEN PRINT#1," "; 2550 IF L<=CLASS(C) THEN PRINT#1,"X"; 2560 NEXT C 2570 PRINT#1,"" 2580 NEXT L 2590 CLOSE#1 2600 GOTO 1000 3000 REM PRINT THE CLASS LIMIT - FREQUENCY TABLE TO A FILE 3010 INPUT"Enter a DATA FILENAME ",F$ 3020 OPEN "o",1,F$ U> o U) o FOR 1=0 TO 40 3040 PRINT#1, BIN(I),CLASS(I) 3050 NEXT I 3060 CLOSE #1 3070 RETURN How to Use: Zenith/Heath Computers, byHaiGiatzer Introducing—the guide to your computer system! Written specifically for users, Zenith/Heath Computers is both an introduction to computing concepts for the novice and a reference tool for the expert. It also serves as a buying guide for new hardware and software. Clear presentations _—. of technical information are supplemented with photographs and ^——-- \ illustrations. This is not a complicated users manual! ___ \ Published in December 1982 ___ \ S-A Design Books^^^^^-—-\ TABLE OF .4 .. . . vS CHA PT ^h 8 COMPUTER . .... -8 THE HEATH « 8 tH TS _ ■ .TO .•« iw *“■:!!; couHtcuc"* i: . .>' iSfSK ■ ■ i ^Sr^A^ pUTiR ^ ORKS; - THEKEVS Wiu e MC eS. C o!i® o rr cw -'-' ;; SwUOM******-' .... SwS"»-'. MUSS S10S‘<* SOFTWARE - ysTt ws •••••■•" **&&&&* f «* s - - S SUPERC^ LC •••••' .. TEXT PROCESSOR SPHLGUARO SPtUSTAR • ■ yyORO PLUS ; manual! __ Contents ^OSTUffGB?^ 00 "'’. Splits 1 ''"• • _—' foT $7 _ iirni’ro n /"»t rnmnloto S Achw« ^ w s «n*«s •••■////:/. OM^s 20 DBMS S tO k-SKOW .Sifn»s!sv» «® S- s THE DOUBIE-DEHS^ coH trOU . s7 ws L^wsks. ..:.• 8 1 the HA R D^s FROM OTHER S° URCtS .... . 88 BSSgSS^ !l wSS^'iSSwS*^*- ■ :.v.v:' ... :.w .39 AUHWERSAEJOU 3 . . gg • S9 HAHDSHM0HGpi . .".TOO v.v.'.'. • CH ,«Jo E “« r ° f 1R0U ’ lt - ” 4 « TOO WET. tT5 TT6 TT7 .TT7 .TT7 .TT9 .. T T 9 ..T20 T20 T2T T23 T25 .126 T26 SsagBSSSS*?:::. , ,» too«ei.. ^SS^Tr. jsssSrrr^' sSr 05 .. . ,WOH » OOKS ___ n , _—— Order your copy -- of Zenith/Heath Computers today \ corpora* 0 "*___ for $19.95—including shipping and handling. If - you’re not completely satisfied with the book, just return it to us within 30 days for a full refund. Please indicate whether you would like us hip the book by U.P.S. or Parcel Post, Special Handling. We can accs ible on a U.S. bank, please), money orders, Visa or MasterCard. To or /e and mail it with your payment of $19.95 for each copy to: tant Publishing Company, Dept. S10. 716 E Street S.E.. Washinaton D Circle #191 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 59 .008 .018 .056 .055 .135 .052 .077 .026 .44 .3 .025 .036 .043 .1 .12 .11 .1 .35 .1 .3 .011 .06 .07 .05 .08 .11 .11 .12 .133 .1 .1 .155 .37 .019 .1 .1 .116 Table 1. The data represented in Figures 1, 2, and 3. The numbers here stand for the milligrams of glycine per milligram of creatinine in the urine of 37 chimpanzees. here. There may be more than one population of chimpanzees involved, distinguished perhaps by sex or by genetic difference. In this example, VGRAPH made the class interval equal to .0010769. With that interval, if you print the histogram to a file it should look like Figure 2. Comparing Figures 1 and 2, you can see that the somewhat wider interval in Figure 1 makes for a histogram that is easier to read, but still preserves the basic features of the data. Finally, if you wished to, you could change the histogram to an interval smaller than the one vgraph computed. vgraph would truncate the data in order to display the histogram. (See Figure 3.) This would be useful if you wished a more detailed picture of one segment of the histogram. Changing the beginning class displayed would allow you to select the segment you wanted. This would not be useful with the example given here, but could come in handy in displaying considerably larger amounts of data. These figures, of course, are not what the data look like on the screen of the 89! There, it has bells and whistles! The figures are what major computer cen¬ ters supply you with for histograms. The ’89 does much better. X X X X X X X XXXXX XX XXXXX XXX X XXXXXX XXXX XXX X Figure 1. The printer or disk-file version of a bar graph produced by vgraph. This one is based on the same data that produced Figures 2 and 3. Each X represents one chimpanzee. (See Table 1.) In this case, we made the class interval somewhat larger than in Figure 2. Doing so produced a somewhat denser and more simplified histogram. X X X XX X XX XX XX XX X XXXX X XXXXXXXX XXXX X XXXX Figure 2. For this histogram, vgraph calculated the smallest possible class interval that still allowed screen display of all the data in Table 1. (Changing the class interval produced Figures 1 and 3.) then, we have the left half of Figures 1 and 2 “stretched out” to fill the width available. Such a process could be useful if you had a large amount of data and wished to examine it more closely, segment by segment. You can receive and transmit disk files in either Help screens make COMM-PMC is out two most popular communications products, ZED-COMM and REMCON, packaged together in our specia hlTTT^er linen "D" ring binder. At $79.95, you save $14.95 off of the combined retail price of these items! ZED-COMM has been one of the top selling Modem Control products for the Z100 under ZDOS. Now in it's fifth release, ZED-COMM includes features such as the ability to change any port setting, to control baud rates, parity, mapping, line delays, hand-shaking signals, etc. ASCII or HEX. Use function keys to send disk files, commands, or log-on codes automatically ZED-COMM easy to operate. ZED-COMM is written for ZDOS and retails for $49.95. REMCON, the Remote Console Utility, allows you to access your bomputer from remote locations using an intelligent modem and any kind of ASCII terminal at the calling end. It has many protection features built into it including password protection, line time out control, variable baud rates, and auto-execute functions. Now available under ZDOS as well as CP/M, REMCON's retail price is $44.95. RANDOM-FILE-KIT is what every MBasic or ZBasic programmer should have to speed setting up and using random file Included are generation, print, sort, and update programs. All are menu driven. Written for CP/M- and ZDOS, REMCON retails for $37.95. structures. 80, CP/M-85, Call i orders, s toll-free (800) 835-7427 ext 277 to order or send in the handy order blank provided below. On mail don * t forget to specify the version you^wantMCP/M^BO^jTard^^sector^^CP/M^B^an^ZDO^s^f^^ecto^^^^ Current Date Credit Card Number Payment Method: Cash Expiration Date_ VISA MasterCard Check For New Catalog QUANTITY ITEM OPER. SYSTEM UNIT PRICE TOTAL Name Address City State Zip •Nebraska Orders Must Include 5.5% Sales Tax. TOTAL* Tel Send Orders To Husker Systems of Nebraska, 6657 Redlck Avenue, Omaha, Nebraska 68152 60 Sextant May-June 1984 Circle #189 on Reader Service Card ot Controlled Data Recording Systems Inc. ANNOUNCING THE FDC-H8 DOUBLE DENSITY 8” AND 5.25” CONTROLLER FOR THE H8 COMPUTER Has all of the capabilities of our popular FDC-880H controller, with the added features of; • Direct memory access (DMA) data transfer. • Hard sectored controller (HI 7) incorporated on the board . Runs with the standard 8080 CPU card and with Z80 CPU upgrades. • Accesses both hard sectored disk formats and soft sectored disk formats through the same drives attatched to the FDC-H8 without hardware additions. Price $495.00 NEW PRODUCTS FOR THE FDC-880H DM-1 DUAL BOARD MODIFICATION KIT $29.95 Allows for both the FDC-880H and the H88-4 controller cards to interface with the same 5.25” drives. Drives will run as both hard sectored format and soft sectored format depending upon the logical drive letter. CDR BIOS by Livingston Logic Labs $60.00 Enhanced version of Heath/Zenith CP/M 2.203 BIOS with ZCPR. Supports all Heath/Zenith disk formats through the FDC-880H and the HI 7 controllers CDR DVD by Livingston Logic Labs. HDOS driver for running double density HDOS through the FDC-880H Shugart Slimline 5.25” 40 track double sided drives Shugart Slimline 8” double sided drives Contact: 5-20 day delivery-pay by check C.O.D, Visa, or M/C C.D.R. Systems Inc. 7210 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego CA92111 Telephone: (619) 560-1272 $40.00 $275.00 $525.00 Ot Circle #110 on Reader Service Card H89/Z90’s CAN NOW DEAL WITH A FULL DECK! THE ORIGINAL ALL-IN-ONE ACCESSORY BUS EXPANDER. MH89+3 doubles expansion capacity. Allows for 6 right-hand type cards instead of the usual 3. Room at last to run those neat accessory boards you’ve seen advertised! Piggyback motherboard installs internally with a screwdriver in just minutes - with no modifica¬ tions! 3 slots exactly duplicate the originals. The 3 added slots occupy unused addresses and eliminate previous conflicts. 100% compatible with all accessory boards! No overheating problems! Simple design draws little power. Leaves plenty of overhead for the minimal load of most accessories. Full technical information provided. The best news about this “No-hassle” design is the price — ONLY $1 50. About 1/3 the price of other solutions! Price includes assembled and tested MH89+3 expander, complete instructions and one (1) year warranty. CA residents add 6% tax. USA include $5 shipping. Foreign add $10. Telephone and COD orders accepted. mako data products 1441 -BN. RED GUM, ANAHEIM, CA92806 PHONE (714) 632-8583 Circle #154 on Reader Service Card PlllllilC IMMIAIN IMICECTOKY EXPANDED— Now contains over 4,500 entries. HOW MUCH OF THIS FREE SOFTWARE COULD YOU USE? ASTRONOMY, AVIATION, BUSINESS, EDUCATION, ENGINEERING, GAMES, GRAPHICS, HAM RADIO, MUSIC, PROGRAMMING, TEXT EDITING, VOICE SYNTHESIS, UTILITIES AND MUCH MORE, SUPPLIERS' NAMES AND ADDRESSES INCLUDED, MONEY' SACK CU/„ n J\NTEC, sorry.no credit card or PHONE ORDERS, ALL ARE HEATH 5* CP/M FORMATS; □ ON 3 HARD I-1 ON 2 SOFT I-ION 1 DOUBLE iw dsd Uir 11 L_ra DD ADD $2,00 FOR DOMESTIC, $4.00 FOREIGN S&H Cl BOB HE ADWARE J22 2865 AKRON STREET 1 EAST POINT, GA. 30344 CP/M Reg. TM Digital Research Corp. City, State Zip Circle #192 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 61 Double the Speed of your H/Z89-90 Cut computing time by as much as 50% Fast Operation With the Dual Speed Module, software that used to be slow and inefficient now zips right along. Run programs like SuperCalc (in "auto mode") and Spellstar without long waits. Easy Simply replace your existing microprocessor 1C with the Dual Speed Module and stop wasting time. Installation requires no trace cutting or soldering. Fully Supported Software supportforCP/M, HDOS, and CP/M +. Workswith Magnolia Microsystems*,CDR,and many other disk systems. Dual Speed Module DSM-240 $99.97" ' + $3.50 shipping and handling (includes CP/M or HDOS; add $10.00 for both). ‘Requires Software Patch PMM-100 $49.95 and Monitor ROM KMR-100 $59.95 * ‘All prices subjectto change without notice. CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research Circle #194 on Reader Service Card INTERACTION DYNAMICS SYSTEMS™ FLIGHT SIMULATOR: Fly a 747/Cessna/glider anywhere. Many features and settable conditions. Requires 64K. $29/$3 manual only (1,2,3) SofTouch ™: A key remapping utility for the Z-100 that redefines any keyboard keys to your specifications for any application pro¬ gram, assigning labels for the remapped keys on the 25th line. Fast— does not require a slow co-resident program. Price includes Z/STAR. $39/$3 manual only (3,4) SLEDGE ™: The mean general ledger that does it the way a computer does it best. Includes format-controlled charts of ac¬ counts, customized statements, budget comparisons, help screens, and much, much more. $100/$15 demo and manual ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ) GRAPH-IT: Plot up to 50 functions on any line printer. Create data files with SuperCalc, dBASE II, BASIC, WordStar, and other programs. Many options, thorough manual. $29/$3 manual only (1,2,3) Z/STAR: Defines and labels all special function and keypad keys for Z-100 users of WordStar (any version). Installation requires only copying files to WordStar disk, results in a logical extension of WordStar commands. $24/$2 manual only (3,4) Z/BASE: like Z-STAR, but for dBASE II. $24/$2 manual only (3,4) EP/STAR: configures WordStar for Epson. $19/$2 manual only (1,2) 89/STAR: like Z-STAR, but for the H-89 and WordStar thru V.3.0. $29/$2 manual only (1,2) *Add $2 per order for postage and handling *Disk formats available indicated in parentheses (1) HS-89-80 for H89 & CP/M-80 (3) SS-100-85 for Z100 & CP/M-85 (2) SS-89-80 for H89 & CP/M-80 (4) DS-100-ZD for Z100 & Z-DOS KAPAAU, HAWAN 96755-0419 Circle #135 on Reader Service Card HOME FINANCE SYSTEM VERSION 2 —An extensive Home Finance System that keeps track of checking, asset accounts (cash, savings, IRAs, CDs), and regular bill payments. Let your printer write your checks for you on any business-sized check (design your own check format). —Checks have user defined codes and a separate flag for tax deductible items. —Many reports, including listing all checks, or checks by codes or tax flag. —System consists of 100 page users manual with 5 program disks (5-14") and a sample data disk. Hardware: H8/H19 or H-Z89/90 with 64K RAM and two disk drives. Printer strongly recommended (any Heath®- Zenithror other printer). ® Software: HDOS 2.0 and Microsoft MBASIC 4.82 for HDOS. —Complete system: $89t (specify hard-soft sector 5-!4", or 8"). Manual alone $211- Master Card/Visa accepted, please include your phone number. Jay H. Gold, M.D. Jay Gold Software Box 2024, Des Moines, IA 50310 (515) 279-9821 |p r/ces / nc / uc / e shipping. Circle #120 on Reader Service Card FETCH This very handy program will recover your ZBASIC program if you hit Control-Reset SYSTEM. If it was in a protected format, FETCH will recover an unprotected copy of it! Recovers ZBASIC Version 1.0 programs. $29.95 Requires: ZD0S (except \]ei. 2) HELLOWARI TlilO games for the price of one AND now faster than ever! If you like a challenge as well as fine graphics, then get this. Though both games could be played without the color option installed, we highly rec¬ ommend you have the color option. $16.95 Requires: ZD0S (These are both .EXE programs!) 01 • Westcomp • ALL PRICES INCLUDE SHIPPING (USA ONLY). A CA RESIDENTS ADD YOUR PROPER SALES TAX! PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW OFFICE ADDRESS: ® 517 N. Mountain Ave. Suite 229 • Upland, CA 91786 (714)-982-1738) a (Ask for our new catalog) Circle #235 on Reader Service Card 62 Sextant May-June 1984 Graphics Algorithm Optimized for 8080 or Z80 You can speed up your graphics display with an algorithm which works within the limitations imposed by the central processor unit. Graphic representation of data has become one of the most popular meth¬ ods of presenting microcomputer pro¬ gram output Too often, however, im¬ pressive graphic displays are generated at very unimpressive speeds. To some extent, this lack of speed may be inevitable. Some displays repre¬ sent the accumulation of vast amounts of data. Others represent complex rela¬ tionships that require equally complex calculations be performed by the com¬ puter. In either case, we should not be surprised by the lack of speed. To some extent, however, the lack of speed may not arise out of inherent limitations imposed by the material to be displayed in graphic form. Many times, speed is lost because of how the pro¬ grammer designed the graphics soft¬ ware. Programmers must select a method of accomplishing their goals, an algorithm, which avoids two chief pit- falls: first, employing processes at which the hardware is relatively slow; and second, containing inefficiencies in the performance of the algorithm itself. First the algorithm should avoid processes at which the hardware is relatively slow, relying instead on proc¬ esses at which it is relatively fast. In the case of the H8 and H/Z89 microcom¬ puters from Heath/Zenith, the primary hardware limitation is right there in the central processor unit. In the H8, this is Intel’s 2-megahertz 8080 chip; in the H/Z89, a 2 MHz Z80; both are 8-bit devices. The 8080 and Z80 chips, on their own, can perform only simple integer arithmetic: add, subtract in¬ crement (+1), decrement (-1), and multiply by 2 and its powers (4, 8, 16, etc.). It can divide by powers of 2, but will drop any remainder. The Z80 and 8080 chips can not however, multiply (except by powers of 2), divide, or evaluate trigonometric functions. Moreover, they are limited to simple integer arithmetic. They cannot handle real numbers. Therefore, square roots, fractions, and irrational numbers like pi must all be handled in software; only whole numbers can be manipulated by these processors themselves. Any algorithm, then, that involves the use of David Troendle real numbers, trigonometry, etc., is going to suffer a consequent loss of speed. And second, aside from these proces¬ sor considerations, the algorithm itself must be efficient. It should not, for in¬ stance, generate redundant dots on a line. Nor should it leave any gaps. And it should utilize any efficiencies or short¬ cuts offered by the data itself. The purpose of this article is to aid those who design—or wish to design— graphics software. The specific area of concern is the design of those routines The routines presented here never waste time generating a redundant dot, never skip a dot on the curve, and use only integer addition and subtraction. which actually produce the dots on the screen which describe a straight line or a circle. I will not specifically address ellipses, sine waves, or other forms of curves. However, the concepts dis¬ cussed here will also have application in designing the routines for many other curves. The routines presented here never waste time generating a redundant dot, never skip a dot on the curve, and use only integer addition and subtraction. (No trig, multiplication, division, table look-ups, nor any real arithmetic is used.) So they are fast. The only algebra required to under¬ stand the algorithm discussed here is at the college-freshman level. The line- and circle-drawing routines presented here are given in Pascal to make it easier to follow the methodology, algorithm, and structure. Thus some familiarity with Pascal will be helpful in following the routines. Since a well coded assembly- language routine is usually at least three times faster than that same routine coded in a high-level language, the target language for these routines should be assembler language. They were originally written in assembler language for the H8 (2 MHz 8080) using the HA-8-3 color graphics board to display the dots on the screen. (The HA- 8-3 uses the Texas Instruments TMS- 9918A as the video controller.) The line-drawing routine required only 8-bit arithmetic and produced dots at a rate of approximately 4,500 dots per second. The circle-drawing routine re¬ quired 16-bit arithmetic and conse¬ quently ran somewhat slowly by comparison. As with most hobbyist-grade systems, the graphics boards used with the H8 and the H/Z89 are capable of displaying at least 192 lines with 256 dots on each line. Since such displays are so common, the routines presented below will as¬ sume this configuration. Which routines are important? There are three levels of problems involved in designing a graphics package. The first level, the “high level” of design problems, is concerned with as¬ similating the information presented by the user into the graphics package. This is the level at which the user communi¬ cates with the graphics system. At the high level, the solutions to design problems are varied. They de¬ pend heavily on the nature of the data to be represented graphically. In some cases, all the data can be expressed in a mathematical formula or formulas, whether the formulas are simple or complex. In this case, the user only enters the specific values of the formula’s parameters. Other data—financial data, for instance—is basically an accumulation of discrete events. And in still other cases, the user wishes to alternate be¬ tween these two kinds of data. One approach to graphic represen¬ tation at the high level is to use sub¬ routine calls (such as the standard Sextant May-June 1984 63 CalComp routines). Another form of subroutine calling is to provide the user with graphics commands in a program¬ ming language (such as Z-BASIC for the Z100). Or one can use user-input control- command punched cards and data. An example of this is the SAS/GRAPH package (statistical analysis system/ graphics). This has the ability to accept a mass of data, as from a financial table, and figure out how to display it. These various methods are all widely used. Which method is “the best” de¬ pends on individual preference and the nature of the data to be displayed. In this article, we are going to be concerned with representing data that can be expressed in a formula The second set of design problems deals with determining which dots on the graphic display have to be turned on due to a user request at the first level. It is these intermediate-level design prob- NEED THE SOURCE? Zephyr Software Tools always include the source code, complete, clear docu¬ mentation, and a 1 year warranty—all at user’s group prices. HDOS-CP/M H8 and H89 Catalog Free ZEPHYR SOFTWARE 317 N. Humphreys Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (602)774-7809 PRINTER SALE Manufacturer Model Price Anadex DP-9500A $999 NEC PC-8023A $360 NEC 2030 $760 NEC 3530 $1505 Star Micronics Gemini-lOX $255 Star Micronics Gemini-15 $432 Star Micronics STX-80 $150 Diablo 620-R101 $875 Silver-Reed EX-550P $635 Okidata Microline 92P $425 Transtar 130P $656 Transtar 120P $439 Qume 1140+ $1280 Toshiba P-1350 $1550 Shipping is additional. The new Zenith computers are available to order. Write or call for prices. Chain Drive 9809 Marlboro Pike Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 301/599-8220 Circle #156 on Reader Service Card 64 Sextant May-June 1984 lems that this article addresses. The third level of design problems is usually considered the device-driver level. This level concerns itself with actually turning on a dot which the intermediate level routines have deter¬ mined must be on. These lowest-level routines are device dependent. How high and intermediate levels fit together First we need an understanding of where the intermediate-level routines fit into the overall structure of a graphics package. Since lines and circles de¬ scribe relationships between pairs of real numbers, the highest-level routines in a graphics package should interface to the application code using real numbers. For example, a high-level routine to draw a line from (Xi,Yi) to (X 2 ,Y 2 ) might have the following Pascal invocation (call): LINE (XLYLX2.Y2); The high-level routine to draw a circle of radius R centered at (X,Y) might have the following Pascal invocation: CIRCLE (X,Y,R); The high-level routine would accept those real-valued Cartesian coordinates passed as parameters. It would then translate them to the closest corre¬ sponding discrete dot coordinates of the picture elements (the pixel addresses). The high-level routine would then call an intermediate-level routine. Starting from the initial dot coordinates pro¬ vided by the high-level routines, the intermediate-level routine would be responsible for computing the rest of the dot coordinates, those that best match the desired curve (including straight lines). For each dot coordinate computed, the intermediate-level routine would call a low-level routine. The low-level routine turns on (or turns off, or possibly toggles) the dot at the computed coordinate. The high- and low-level routines pre¬ sent very few design or implementation problems. However, the intermediate- level routine can get quite compli¬ cated—especially if speed is a design goal. In order to better understand the design of the intermediate-level rou¬ tines, a sample set of high-level routines will be presented. This will illustrate the interface to the intermediate-level routines. The role of the high-level routine Our high-level routines must be able to take the beginning Cartesian coor¬ dinates and translate them to dot coor¬ dinates. To aid the high-level routines in doing this, the functions below will be used. These functions assume that variables XMIN (the minimum X value), XMAX (the maximum X value), YMIN (the minimum Y value), and YMAX (the maximum Y value) are all globally de¬ fined real variables. These variables are assumed to have been given values at the beginning of the higher-level rou¬ tines, i.e., initialized with valid values. Note that these functions assume a 192 x 256 screen, as mentioned above. (A more fully implemented graphics pack¬ age would normally also include range checking.) function XORD (X:real) integer; begin XORD:=round(((X-XMIN)*255.0)/(XMAX-XMIN)) end; function YORD (Y:real):integer; begin YORD:=round(((Y-YMIN)*191.0)/(YMAX-YMIN)) end; For those readers who wish to verify these routines, note that: 1) XORD(XMIN) = 0, the leftmost dot on a row of dots. 2) XORD(XMAX) = 255, the rightmost dot on a row of dots. 3) YORD(YMIN) = 0, the bottommost dot in a column of dots. 4) YORD(YMAX) = 191, the topmost dot in a column of dots. While the above is by no means a proof, it does at least show that the translations produce reasonable results at the boundaries. Putting them together These translation routines induce the following design considerations on the intermediate-level routines: the bottom- left dot on the display is called (0,0); and the top-right dot is called (255,191). (If this orientation is not correct, the low-level routine can compensate with a final translation.) This orientation implies that the aspect ratio of the display is 256:192. Therefore the ra¬ tio of (XMAX-XMIN) :(YMAX-YMIN) must also be 256:192. If the ratio of (XMAX-XMIN): (YMAX-YMIN) does not equal the display’s aspect ratio, then circles will appear as ovals, and lines will not appear to have the correct slope. Now that the translation routines are defined, the high-level routines for a line and circle become quite simple. In the following high-level routine, the intermediate-level line-drawing routine called by it is named line2. line2 s purpose is to compute the coordinates of all the dots which best approximate a straight line between (IX1,IY1) and (IX2,IY2). procedure LINE (Xl,Yl,X2,Y2:real); var IX1,1X2,IY1,IY2 integer; begin 1X1 := XORD(Xl); 1X2 := XORD(X2); IY1 := YORD(Yl); IY2 := YORD(Y2); LINE2(IX1,IY1,IX2,IY2) end; In the following high-level routine, the intermediate-level circle-drawing routine called by it is named CIRCLE2. AUTOMATE THE ANNUAL JUGGLING ACT! - THE STUDENT SCHEDULER - FOR HEATH/ZENITH PERSONAL COMPUTERS ZSS is an integrated class section assignment package for sched¬ uling students at secondary schools, vo/tech schools, and colleges. It is a menu-driven system which includes schedule simulation, room utilization analysis, and conflict analysis capabilities, as well as flexible free/meal/study hall period scheduling options. In addition, ZSS provides interfaces to populardata base managers and to Lotus 1-2-3, for handling student records, attendance, and grading functions. ZSS is designed to meet the needs of most academic institutions. The master schedule can accomodate 5000 students, 300 courses, and 600 course sections. Contact your dealer or call (201) 755-2262 for detailed information! P.O. BOX 68 . STIRLING, N.J. 07980 1-2-3 is a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. Circle #236 on Reader Service Card IBM-PC/ZENITH Z-100 users. Expand your computer universe with— micro/VERSAL ™ A utility program to READ/WRITE over 20 different 5'A (CPM, CPM/86, MS-DOS & USER DEFINABLE) disk formats. Now you can easily transfer text, data, or pro¬ grams between many different micro computers by simply loading micro/VERSAL™ and the disk you want to READ/WRITE from or to. micro/VERSAL™ also in¬ cludes comprehensive utilities to DUMP any 5'A disk by track, RDSECT to read disk sectors and FAPP, a program to append files together to produce a large file. For disk formats not directly supported, micro/ VERSAL™ provides customization routines that allow users to write their own directory routines. micro/VERSAL ™ $79.99 plus $4.00 shipping & handling Also COED™ full screen editor. $34.97 Includes: Stack arithmatic, MACRO commands, multiple files, definable function keys and much more. CREDIT CARD ORDERS: Master Charge / VISA MAIL ORDERS: Checks or money orders. N.J. resident add 6% sales tax. ADVANCED SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES 417 Broad Street Bloomfield, N.J. 07003 (201) 783-7298 Circle #210 on Reader Service Card IN TELL I BURNER 'N EPROM-EEPROM-MICROCOMPUTER PROGRAMMER UNIVERSAL PROGRAMMING CAPABILITIES AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE • Ultra Fast Programming - 2716’s in 16 Seconds • Programs & Verifies 8K thru 256K Single Voltage EPROMs • Erases, Programs & Verifies 2815 & 2816 EEPROMs • Programs & Verifes 8748 and 8751 Series MICROCOMPUTERS* • Programming Characteristics Selected by Convenient Personality Jumper Plug (Dip Header) • Program, Verify, Status, & Diagnostic Display with Tricolor LED • Serial Interface — 3, 4, or 5 wire — 1200 to 19200 Baud • Supports XON/XOFF and READY/BUSY Protocols NO SPECIAL SOFTWARE REQUIRED. Transfer disk files (Intel Hex Format) to EPROM with your system’s line printer or modem software. Transfer EPROM contents to disk file in Intel Hex Format with your system’s modem software. Or use the supplied software ** to transfer any binary or ASCII file to/from EPROM. PROGRAMS: 2758 2716 27128 27C16 2815 8748* 2516 2732 27128A 2816 8749* 2532 2732A 27256 8751* 2564 2764 68764 8741* 8742* •Requires low cost personality adapter avail. 6/84 SOFTWARE AVAILABLE FOR :** CP/M systems on 8” SSSD - many 5'A formats TRS-80 Model III TRSDOS 1.3 Heath H8/H89 HDOS & CP/M ZENITH Z90 & Z100 CP/M KAYPRO IntelliBurner Programmer with Software $ 269.00 RS-232 Interconnect Cable 9.00 Low Cost “DumBurncr” serial programmers harness the power of your personal computer with the supplied software for full programming capabilities: BOSS nUSTOM ELECTRONICS 1307 Darlene Way -Suite A12 Boulder City, Nevada 89005 PHONE (702) 293-7426 DumBumer II Programmer for 28 Pin and 24 Pin EPROMs and EEPROMs(with Software) $ 189.00 DumBumer II Bare PC Board, Plans & Software 39.00 16K/32K DumBumer for 24 Pin EPROMs (with Software) 139.00 16K/32K DumBumer PC Board, Plans, & Software 25.00 l Roni^iramLn*e P ^urP C ‘ Foreign Orders add required postage. Specify Environment and Media Requirements. H8, H89, Z100 are TM Heath/Zenith; CP/M is TM Digital Research. TRS-80 Model III is TM Tandy CorpJ Circle #152 on Reader Service Card Sextant Man-June 1984 65 CIRCLE2 s purpose is to compute the coordinates of all the dots which best approximate a circle centered at (IX,IY) and having radius IB. procedure CIRCLE (X,Y,R:real); var IR,IX,IY:integer; begin IX := XORD(X); IY := YORD(Y); R := XORD(R); {R is in X-axis units} CIRCLE2(IX,IY,IR) end; Goals of intermediate-level rou¬ tines Now that the high-level routines have been defined, the design of the inter¬ mediate-level routines can begin. Sim¬ ply stated, the design goals of the intermediate-level routines are speed and accuracy. Therefore, there are a number of factors which should weigh heavily in the design decisions. As mentioned above, some of these factors arise out of constraints imposed by the chip: 1) Don’t multiply unless absolutely necessary. If multiplication is necessary, constrain it preferably to multiplica¬ tion by powers of two, or at least to occurring outside of loops. 2) Don’t divide (unless by powers of two). 3) Don’t perform trigonometric opera¬ tions. 4) Use integer or rational arithmetic in¬ stead of real arithmetic. Other factors will be dictated simply by the desire for speed and accuracy, irrespective of the hardware: 1) Choose an algorithm which does not waste time generating redundant dot coordinates. 2) Avoid choosing an algorithm which may skip dot coordinates on the curve. Choosing an algorithm which can skip dot coordinates—especially if it skips with a regular pattern—produces a poor-quality curve. 3) Make use of any curve symmetries to speed up dot generation. Reflection about a symmetric axis is usually faster than other computational methods. For instance, the intermediate-level circle¬ drawing routine computes only the dots between 0 and 45 degrees and gener¬ ates seven reflections for each dot to complete the remaining segments of the circle. Sometimes a simple axis trans¬ lation will aid in making use of symmetry. 4) Attempt to develop your algorithm within the discrete dot coordinate sys¬ tem. Using the real Cartesian coordinate system entails real arithmetic followed by a conversion to the discrete dot coordinate system. This will be slow. AX and AY; what changes are oc¬ curring While the algorithms for circle and line drawing are very different, they share a significant amount of develop¬ mental methodology. In fact, the same developmental techniques can be used for many curves. Before discussing the algorithms for intermediate-level circle- and line-drawing routines, let us begin to explore the methodology used. One of the design considerations is to prevent redundant dots. Therefore, whenever the algorithm generates the next dot on the screen, there must be some change on either the X-axis (horizontal axis) or the Y-axis (vertical axis)—or possibly both—from the posi¬ tion held by the preceding dot. The relationship between the abso¬ lute value of the change on the X-axis (|AX|) and the absolute value of the change on the Y-axis (|AY|) is crucial to the methodology presented here. Basically, every time we move from one dot to the next, at least one of the or¬ dinates must change. Logically, the only alternatives are that the change in one must be equal to or greater than the change in the other. This relationship can be concisely stated as follows: 1 ) | AX| >= | AY|, or 2) |AY|>|AX| This relationship is going to tell us which ordinate must always be incremented. To develop this idea, we can think of the curve as a point in motion. X and Y are the continually changing values which describe that moving point. The relationships above mean that either the X value changes as fast as or faster than the Y value, or the Y value changes faster than the X value. For most commonly encountered curves, one of the two above relationships will hold true over a segment of dots on the curve—rather than just at an isolated point. For instance, on a straight line, one and only one of the relations will hold for every point on the line because the slope of the line (AY/AX) is constant. (See Figure 1.) If the line is shallower than a 45-degree diagonal, then the X values are changing faster than the Y values. If X is increased by an amount, Y will change by less than that amount. (See Figure la.) On the true diagonal line, the X and Y values are changing at the same rate. If X changes by an amount, Y will change by less than that amount. (See Figure lb.) And for lines steeper than the diagonal, the Y values change faster than the X values. (See Figure lc.) While one of the above relations will hold for all points on a straight line, one of the two relations will hold only for a part of most curves. As an example, consider the points from 0 to 45 degrees on a circle. (See Figure 2.) On this arc, the Y values change faster than the X values (i.e., the magnitude of the slope is greater than 1). But on the arc from 45 to 90 degrees, the X values change faster than the Y values. To better understand this, consider the circle as a sequence of very small line segments. The line segments close lc. AY> AX Figure 1. The three possible relationships in the change in the value of the X ordinate (|AX|) and the change in the value of the Y ordinate (|AY|). (In these figures, we can treat short segments of a circle as if they were straight lines.) Figure la is for angles less than 45 degrees; Figure lb is for a 45 degree angle. These two cases together constitute relation 1, |AX|>-|AY|. (See text.) Lines greater than 45 degrees are described by relation 2 (|AY|>|AX|). 66 Sextant May-June 1984 to 0 degrees are very steep. For these line segments, the change in Y is much greater than the change in X. Continu¬ ing around the circle toward 45 degrees, the line segments become less and less steep. For these line segments, the change in Y is only slightly greater than the change in X. The line segments close to 45 degrees are essentially diag¬ onal lines. Hence the change in Y is very close to the change in X. As the line segments pass 45 degrees, the X values start to change faster than the Y values. From 45 to 90 degrees the line segments become more and more shallow, indi¬ cating that the changes in X values are becoming greater and greater than the changes in Y values. At this point, it should be clear that one of the two relations will hold for any segment of a curve. But how can these relations help in the generation of dots on a curve? The answer, as shown below, is that the relations can be used to generate points on a curve which are not re¬ dundant and further are guaranteed not to skip any dots. This satisfies two very important design considerations. Let us now explore some of the implications of these two relations. No redundant dots , none skipped Assume for the moment that relation 1 (|AX|>=|AY|) holds for a segment of a curve on which we wish to generate the next dot which is non-redundant and which also does not skip any point. When relation 1 holds, the algorithm dictates that we will always change X by one. (The Y value may or may not change by one, as we will see later.) In the dot-coordinate system, the minimal change in X is either one dot to the left (subtract 1) or one dot to the right (add 1 ). Obviously, no holes will be left on the X axis by moving one position left or right. Further, since we always change X, the new point cannot be redundant. When the next point is generated by changing X, the Y value may also change. This could cause a hole on the Y axis if Y were to change too fast (by more than one). But since relation 1 holds, it guar¬ antees that the change in Y will not exceed the change in X. Since X is always changed by one when relation 1 holds, this guarantees that the change in Y will not exceed one (which is the change in X). Therefore, no hole will be left on the Y axis. Now let us consider what happens when relation 2 holds for a segment of a curve. When relation 2 holds, we will always change Y by one. (We may or may not change the X value by one, as we will see later.) The same constraints apply as before (i.e., no redundant points and no skipped points). In the dot-coordinate system, the minimal change in Y is either one dot up (add 1) or one dot down (subtract 1). Obviously, no holes will be left on the Y axis by moving one position up or down. Further, since Y always changes, the new point cannot be re¬ dundant. When the next point is gener¬ ated, the X value may also change. This could cause a hole on the X axis if X were to change too fast (by more than one). But since relation 2 holds, it guarantees that the change in X will not exceed the change in Y, which is always one. There¬ fore this guarantees that the change in X will not exceed one and no holes will be left on the X axis. Thus we have achieved our goal of avoiding redundant dots while at the same time ensuring that no dots will be skipped. So far, based on the relation¬ ship of the change in X to the change in Y, the design guarantees that we will always change either the X or Y ordinate by one; we may or may not change the other ordinate. (This relationship is critical to the algorithm presented here. Sometimes, though, there may be some confusion in referring to “the ordinate we will always change,’ and “the ordinate we may or may not change.’ A simpler way to think of them may be as the “faster’’ ordinate and the “slower ordinate. These speed terms are not always correct, however, since the ordinates will sometimes be increasing or decreasing at the same speed—as happens at 45 degrees. I will use these speed terms for convenience, though, as well as their lengthier coun¬ terparts.) There are now two problems which must be addressed. One is how to make the decision of whether or not to change the “ordinate which we may or may not change,” the “slower” ordinate. The other problem is to detect if the new dot generated has changed the relationship of the change in X with the change in Y. Tracking deviation So, we have a faster ordinate (X or Y, depending on which relation holds) that we are always going to change in gener¬ ating a new dot. We may or may not change the other, the slower, ordinate. Let us now examine how to make the decision as to whether or not to change the slower ordinate. It is at this point that most algorithms lose their speed by attempting to evalu¬ ate the function which describes the curve. Such algorithms lose speed since the curve is usually represented by mathematics outside the instruction set native to the central processor chip. Even if they do not evaluate the func¬ tion, they at least evaluate some approxi¬ mation of that function. (The approxima¬ tions usually involve some fonn of table look-up—which can also be a time- consuming activity.) There is an alternative to evaluating the function. It is mathematically equiv¬ alent to doing so; but as it turns out, it will be a lot faster. This alternative is to keep track of the deviation of the dot coordinate from the ideal function. Once this decision is made, then we have simplified the problem of whether Sextant May-June 1984 67 Y Figure 2. Another illustration of the relationship between AX and AY before and after 45 degrees. or not we will change the slower ordinate: If changing the slower ordinate by one yields a deviation closer to zero than not changing it, then change the ordinate. Let us now consider an example of this process. Suppose we have just plotted a dot on the arc of a circle from 0 up to 45 degrees, and wish to compute the next dot on that arc. Since |AY| > |AX| for all points on that arc, the algorithm states that Y will always be changed by one and X may or may not change. On the arc under consideration, when Y changes, it changes in the positive direction (up). Therefore the next dot will have its Y ordinate increased by 1. How does increasing Y by one affect the deviation from the ideal arc? The answer to this question will require some simple algebra. The values (X,Y) which satisfy the following equation will lie on a circle of radius R centered at the origin: X 2 + Y 2 = R 2 In the dot-coordinate system, very few integer values will exactly satisfy the above equation. The following function will measure the deviation of a given (X,Y) from the ideal function: f(X,Y) = X 2 4- Y 2 - R 2 Note: when f(X,Y)=0 (or no deviation) X 2 + Y 2 = R 2 . And the change in deviation caused by incrementing Y will be given by: f(X,Y+l) - f(X,Y) In other terms, the above formula is Figure 3. Points which will be reflected on a circle. In this example, we can compute a point (X,Y), knowing it will be reflected by seven others. We are therefore spared the necessity of computing those other points. QBD HELP FOR DECISION MAKERS BUSINESSMEN • HOMEMAKERS • STUDENTS QBD IS A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM THAT USES MANY OF THE QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES TAUGHT IN BUSINESS SCHOOLS. ONLY $49 Requires MBasic PICK’EM PREDICTS NFL GAMES COMPLETE WITH POINT SPREADS. 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Let us now reduce the above formula: f(X,Y+l) - f(X,Y) = X 2 + (Y+l) 2 - R 2 -[X 2 + Y 2 - R 2 ] = X 2 + Y 2 + 2Y + 1 - R 2 - X 2 - Y 2 + R 2 = 2Y + 1 Simply stated, the formula above means that if Y is increased by 1 then the deviation from the ideal curve is in¬ creased by 2 Y+l. So, while the formula for a circle is rather complicated, the change caused by incrementing Y by 1 is quite simple. Since the algorithm requires Y to be incremented, the deviation is increased by 2Y+1. Changing the “ slower ” ordinate Now to decide whether or not to change X after having incremented Y. All changes in X are negative on the arc between 0 and 45 degrees. There¬ fore, if X changes, it will decrease by 1. How does decreasing X by 1 affect the deviation from the ideal curve? The change in deviation caused by decreas¬ ing X bv 1 is given by the formula: f(X-l,Y) - f(X,Y) = (X-l) 2 + Y 2 -R 2 - [X 2 + Y 2 - R 2 ] = X 2 - 2X + 1 + Y 2 -R 2 - X 2 - Y 2 + R 2 = -2X + 1 Therefore if X is decreased by 1, then the deviation is changed by-2X+l. The decision to decrease X by 1 can be made as follows: if adding-2X+1 to the deviation yields a deviation closer to 0 than not adding-2X+l, then decrease X by 1. The reasons for choosing to keep track of the deviations rather than attempting to evaluate the function should be clearer now. When only one variable of a function is changed by at most 1, even very complicated functions yield much simpler expressions for the change in deviation. Since the deviation is minimized (i.e., kept close to 0), only single-precision integer arithmetic is required to track the deviations. Obtaining the deviation formula It is time to discuss how to obtain the deviation formula. The most important characteristic of the deviation formula is that changing an equation variable by one produces only integer changes in deviation. To start this process, we need to obtain a curve-defining equation which can be written with only integer coefficients and constants and which has functions which yield only integer results. For instance, using the following equation to define a circle would yield a disastrous deviation equation: R = v / (X 2 + Y 2 ). The results of the square root are not necessarily rational, much less integers. However, squaring both sides re¬ moves the offending square root. Once the curve-defining equation has only integer coefficients and con¬ stants, and the only functions invoked yield integer results, re-arrange the equation so that one side of the equation is 0. The re-arranged equation is the deviation formula. It should have the property that integer changes in the equation variable produce only integer changes in deviation. Since the algorithm calls for tracking deviations, we do not need the actual deviation. We can work with the for¬ mula for the change in deviation. This deviation formula is nothing more than the difference of the deviation function evaluated first with one of its variables changed, and then with no variables changed. Note that different changes in deviation formulas will be obtained de¬ pending on which deviation-function variables are changed and how (incre¬ mented or decremented). A straightforward example of this process is the development of the devi¬ ation formulas for circles, above. A more complicated example of this process will be given when the line-drawing routine is presented later. Given that the change in deviation formulas can be obtained, deviations can be tracked—provided that we know the initial deviation of the first dot produced. For lines and circles, this is always 0. This routine can also evaluate the deviation function for a function whose initial deviation cannot be easily deter¬ mined. Of course, this may be slow. But fortunately this is an initialization char¬ acteristic; and once the initial deviation is known, the deviations can be tracked from there. Detecting changes in the relation¬ ship of |AX|tf>ftft|AY| As we saw earlier, the relationship of I AX | with | AY determines which ordi¬ nate is always incremented. In drawing a straight line, the relationship remains fixed. And in the circle-drawing algo- Sextant May-June 1984 69 procedure CIRCLE2 (IX,IY,IR:integer); var X,Y,DEV:integer; procedure REFLECT; begin {REFLECT} PLOT (IX+X,IY+Y); PLOT (IX-X,IY+Y); PLOT (IX+X,IY-Y); PLOT (IX-X,IY-Y); if X <> Y then {do not generate redundant reflections} begin PLOT (IX+Y,IY+X); PLOT (IX-Y,IY+X); PLOT (IX+Y,IY-X); PLOT (IX-Y,IY-X) end end {REFLECT}; begin {CIRCLE2} X := IR; Y : = 0; DEV := 0; {initial deviation is 0) PLOT (IX+IR,IY); PLOT (IX,IY+IR); PLOT (IX-IR,IY); PLOT (IX,IY-IR); while Y < X {on arc from 0 to 45 degrees} do begin DEV := DEV + Y + Y + 1; {change deviation due to Y} Y := Y + 1; {Y is always incremented} if DEV > X then {decrementing X will reduce deviation} begin DEV := DEV - X - X + 1; {reduce deviation} X := X - 1 end; REFLECT end {while} end {CIRCLE2}; Listing 1. An intermediate-level circle-drawing routine. It is presented in Pascal to emphasize the algorithm. To improve the performance, it should be coded in assembly language. rithms presented below, we will be deal¬ ing with portions of the arc in which it remains fixed. So in the line- and circle¬ drawing algorithms presented below, detection of a change in this relationship will not be required. For other curves, this may not be the case. So, as each dot is generated, the algorithm must be able to detect changes in this important relationship. The methodology employed here has built-in features for detecting such changes. We need not compare the change in X with the change in Y. Instead, the change in deviation caused by changing X can be compared with the change in deviation causedby chang¬ ing Y. Suffice it to say, this should be true for most reasonable deviation functions. It will work, for instance, with the poly¬ nomial approximation of a sine wave. (But what about more complex situa¬ tions? In such cases, the mathematics required can become considerably more sophisticated. For those who are interested in pursuing the matter fur¬ ther, some knowledge of real analysis is needed to determine if changes in devi¬ ation can be used in lieu of changes in either X or Y. This will work if a “mea¬ sure” can be obtained on the deviation formula) The circle-drawing algorithm At this point, the intermediate-level circle-drawing routine can be present¬ ed. Let us now recall how the high-level routine calls the intermediate-level routine CIRCLE2 (IX,IY,IR); where (IX,IY) is the dot coordinate of the center of the circle, and IR is the radius of the circle. All three parameters are integers. In order to make use of the sym¬ metries of a circle, a circle of radius IR centered at (0,0) will be generated and then translated to a center of (IX,IY) by adding IX to the X ordinate and IY to the Y ordinate of each dot generated. Consider now the symmetry of a circle centered at (0,0), as shown in Figure 3. If (X,Y) is a dot on the circle, then so are the following reflected points: (-X,Y), (X,-Y), (-X-Y), (Y,X), (-Y,X), (Y-X), and (-Y-X). Except for when Y=X or either X or Y is 0, the above reflections are not redundant. When Y=X, the last four reflections are redundant. After examining the symmetries of a circle, it should be clear that only the dots from 0 to 45 degrees need to be generated. The rest of the dots on the circle are reflections of these dots. Dots from 0 up to 45 degrees imply | AY| > | AX| (relation 2). Also, from 0 up to 45 degrees, Y is increasing and X is decreasing. Therefore for each dot generated, Y always increases by 1, and X may or may not decrease by 1 (de¬ pending on whether changing X re¬ duces the deviation). For each dot gen- 70 Sextant May-June 1984 Relation 2 (|AY|>|AX|) 50 > V > Figure 4. The eight cases of Listing 3’s algorithm for handling straight lines. As an example, consider any straight line running at an angle of from zero up to 45 degrees (case 1,). All dots along such a line would have positive values for their X and Y ordinates (X2 > XI, and Y2 > Yl). For such lines, moreover, relation 1 would be true: as each succeeding dot was drawn, the change in the value of the X ordinate (AX) would always be greater than the change in the value of the Y ordinate (AY). Eight cases are therefore produced by the possible combinations of the three parameters: X is positive or negative; Y is positive or negative; and the relation which holds is either relation 1 or relation 2. (Zero values of X and Y are joined together with positive values.) Listing 2. An intermediate-level line-drawing routine. While technically correct, it contains several inefficiencies. It contains several tests and evaluations of the absolute-value function for each dot. These are eliminated in Listing 3. procedure LINE2 (1X1,IY1,1X2,IY2:integer); var DX, DY, DEV, X, Y: integer; begin DX := 1X2 - 1X1; DY := IY2 - IY1; DEV := 0; X := 1X1; Y := IY1; PT OT ( Y Y ) • while (X <> 1X2) or (Y <> IY2) do begin if abs(DX) >= abs(DY) then {X always changes} begin if DX > 0 then {increment X} begin X := X + 1; DEV := DEV + DY + DY end else {decrement X} begin X := X - 1; DEV := DEV - DY - DY end; if abs(dev) > abs(DX) then {changing Y will reduce deviation} if DY > 0 then {increment Y} begin Y := Y + 1; DEV := DEV + DX + DX end else {decrement Y} if DY < 0 begin Y := Y - 1; DEV := DEV - DX - DX end end else {Y always changes} begin if DY > 0 then {increment Y} begin Y := Y + 1; DEV := DEV + DX + DX end else {decrement Y} begin Y := Y - 1; DEV := DEV - DX - DX end; if abs(DEV) > abs(DY) then {changing X will reduce deviation} if DX > 0 then {increment X} begin X := X + 1; DEV := DEV - DY - DY end else if DX < 0 then {decrement X} begin X := X - 1; DEV := DEV + DY + DY end end; PLOT (X,Y) end end {LINE2}; erated, its reflections are generated. Each reflection is then translated from the origin by adding IX to the X ordinate and IY to the Y ordinate. Each translated dot is then plotted. The initial dot generated is at (IR,0). This dot has deviation 0. The deviations will be tracked from there. An intermediate-level circle-drawing routine is shown in Listing 1. It is presented in Pascal to emphasize the algorithm. (To improve the perform¬ ance, it should be coded in assembly language.) The procedure PLOT in Listing 1 is the low-level routine which turns on, turns off, or toggles a dot on the screen. If the PLOT routine is toggling dots on an axis, then redundant points cannot be generated. The Line-Drawing Algorithm As we will now see, I have used the same methodology to develop the algo¬ rithm for the line-drawing routine. This routine is not as simple as the circle¬ drawing routine due to the lack of symmetry. Instead of eight reflections, straight lines will be described by eight cases: one case to cover lines at angles from zero up to 45 degrees, another for 45 up to 90 degrees, and so on, covering the full 360 degrees possible. (See Fig¬ ure 4.) Since the slope of a straight line is constant, the relationship of|AX| with !AY| will be fixed for any given line. Before proceeding, let us now recall the procedure header for the intermed¬ iate line-drawing routine. PROCEDURE LINE2 (IX1,IY1,IX2,IY2:INTEGER); The purpose of this routine is to compute the dots which best approxi¬ mate a straight line from (IX1,IY1) to (1X2,IY2). Clearly the dot (IX1JY1) will lie on that line and therefore will have deviation 0. The algorithm will start at (IX1JY1) and work its way to (IX2,IY2) one dot at a time. The algorithm will generate the dots which minimize the deviation from the equation for the ideal line. We will now obtain a deviation func¬ tion using the methodology developed earlier. The first step in this process is to Several persons aided in the de¬ velopment of the methodology pre¬ sented here. Thanks and apprecia¬ tion are due to the following: Steve Parker of the Heath Com¬ pany for taking the time to discuss the methodology. Steve was especial¬ ly helpful with the circle-drawing algorithm. He pointed out there were eight reflections which could be used instead of the obvious four. Jim Abbott of the University of New Orleans Mathematics Depart¬ ment for reading the article and Acknowledgements offering several valuable comments on the presentation of the method¬ ology. Thanks to Jim, I was able to keep the math as simple as possible. Boy Jenevein of New Orleans General Data Services for reading the article and helping with the re¬ writes. The figures and much of the wording are due to Boy. His assist¬ ance in smoothing out some very awkward sentences was invaluable. Fred Pospeschil of Micro-DOC for posing the problem, testing the algorithm, and reviewing the me¬ thodology. Because Fred would not accept the results of my first attempt at the line-drawing routine, the algo¬ rithm presented here was devel¬ oped. The circle-drawing routine was written in Fred s cellar. While writing and testing the circle- drawing routine with Fred, I first realized that the line- and circle¬ drawing routines shared a common methodology. Jean Troendle, my wife, for metic¬ ulously proofing this article and putting up with me. Sextant May-June 1984 71 obtain a suitable equation for the line. As in the circle-drawing equation, we will be looking for an equation which has only integer coefficients and constants. The slope-intercept form is the usual method of representing the equation for a straight line. We will begin from there. The slope-intercept equation for a straight line has the form: Y= (AY/AX) * X + B where: AY = IY2 - IY1 AX = 1X2 - 1X1 B = IY1 * AX - 1X1 * AY Note that AX, AY, and B are all in¬ tegers. This equation is not in quite the form required because the coefficient of X, AY/AX, is not necessarily an in¬ teger. This problem is easily fixed by multiplying both sides of the equation by a multiple of AX. We will multiply by 2*AX. While AX would have met the criteria for integer constants and coefficients, using 2*AX will make the test for a reduction in deviation easier. The equation now has the form: 2*AX*Y = 2*AY*X + 2*AX*B The final step in obtaining the devia¬ tion function is to re-arrange the above equation so that one side is 0. This is: 2*AY*X - 2*AX*Y + 2*AX*B = 0 Therefore, the deviation function is: f(X,Y) = 2*AY*X - 2*AX*Y + 2*AX*B The next step in the methodology is to find the deviation formulas. Unlike the circle-drawing routine, the direction of the change in X and Y depends on the slope of the line. This leads to four possible ways changes in X or Y could affect the deviation: Change X by +1 change in deviation = f(X+l,Y) — f(X,Y) = 2*AY Change X by — 1 change in deviation = f(X— 1,Y) — f(X,Y) = —2*AY Change Y by +1 change in deviation = f(X,Y+1) — f(X,Y) = 2*AX Change Y by — 1 change in deviation = f(X,Y— 1) — f(X,Y) = —2*AX Two line-drawing routines will be presented. The first (found in Listing 2) will closely follow the methodology dis¬ cussed earlier. While technically cor¬ rect, this will have several inefficiencies. It contains several tests and evaluations of the absolute-value function for each dot. The second presentation of the line-drawing algorithm (Listing 3) uses eight cases to eliminate the absolute- value function and all tests (except the deviation-reduction test). The line-drawing routine shown in Listing 3. A second presentation of the line-drawing algorithm. This, however, is more efficient in that it eliminates evaluating the absolute value and eliminates most of the testing. This is done by breaking the algorithm itself into eight cases (procedures casei through case 8). These eight cases are also shown in Figure 4. procedure LINE2 (1X1,III,1X2,IY2:integer); var DEV, DX, DY, X, Y : integer; procedure CASEI {1X2 >= 1X1, IY2 >= IY1, DX >= DY}; begin for X := (1X1+1) to 1X2 do begin DEV := DEV + DY + DY; if DEV > DX then begin Y := Y + 1; DEV := DEV - DX - DX end; PLOT (X,Y); end end; procedure CASE2 {1X2 >= 1X1, IY2 >= IY1, DY > DX}; begin for Y := (IY1 + 1) to IY2 do begin DEV := DEV + DX + DX; if DEV > DY then begin X := X + 1; DEV := DEV - DY - DY end; PLOT (X,Y); end Computer-Aided Design & Computer-Aided Modeling FOR ENGINEERING PERSONNEL Electronic Circuit Analysis Programs - allow you to analyze your circuits before you build them. 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Parma, Ohio 44130 Please send check or money order (US). 72 Sextant May-]une 1984 Circle #167 on Reader Service Card end; procedure CASE3 {1X2 >= 1X1, IY2 < IY1, DX >= DY}; begin for X := (1X1+1) to 1X2 do begin DEV := DEV + DY + DY; if DEV > DX then begin Y := Y - 1; DEV := DEV - DX - DX end; PLOT (X,Y); end end; procedure CASE4 {1X2 >= 1X1, IY2 < IY1, DY > DX}; begin for Y := (IY1-1) downto IY2 do begin DEV := DEV + DX + DX; if DEV > DY then begin X := X + 1; DEV :r DEV - DY - DY end; PLOT (X,Y); end end; procedure CASE5 {1X2 < 1X1, IY2 >= IY1, DX >= DY}; begin for X := (1X1-1) downto 1X2 do begin DEV := DEV + DY + DY; if DEV > DX then begin Y := Y + 1; DEV := DEV - DX - DX end; PLOT (X,Y); end end; procedure CASE6 {1X2 < 1X1, IY2 >= IY1, DY > DX}; begin for Y := (IY1 + 1) to IY2 do begin DEV := DEV + DX + DX; if DEV > DY then begin X := X - 1; DEV := DEV - DY - DY end; PLOT (X,Y); end end; procedure CASE7 {1X2 < 1X1, IY2 < IY1, DX >= DY}; begin for X := (1X1-1) downto 1X2 do begin DEV := DEV + DY + DY; if DEV > DX then Improved Graphics for H19 & H89 (also H19A & H89A) G-Prom is a new character generator that: • Improves screen graphics resolution 216 times. • Improves formation of 23 ASCII characters. • Is a plug-in replacement for the original C.G. ROM. Only $19.95 with shipping, documentation, instructions, and demo program listing. NORCOM 9630 Hayes Overland Park, KS 66212 Circle #200 on Reader Service Card Hard S. sv*" Soft S. FOR CP/M 80 85 & 8 ? 100 iS arm C e/|j Pid % *"y *»\> «* © cube s * Circle #118 on Reader Service Card Authors: Have you considered writing an article for Sextant ? We’re looking for human-interest stories, in-depth technical features, program descriptions, product reviews, and tutorials which relate specifically to Heath/Zenith systems. We pay more than many other micro¬ computing magazines. Send your article, idea, rough draft, or outline to: John Walker, Technical Editor, Sextant, 716 E Street S.E., Washington, DC 20003. Sextant May-June 1984 73 Index to Advertisers Reader Service# Page # ACCESS 100 64K H89 upgrade; printer; supplies. 81 Advanced Software Technologies 210 Z100 file transfer program. 65 American Computer 188 Discount hardware and supplies. 41 Analytical Products 197 Utilities and enhancements for 6 H19 and H89. Apogee Software 104 Game. 45 Arkay Engravers 105 Customized keytops. 81 Omer H. Brodie & Associates 113 Engineering software. 31 Buss 107 Heath/Zenith news 20x/year. 27 ByteSize Concepts 136 Home budget software. 57 C.D.R. Systems 108 CP/M BIOS modifier for the H89. 49 109 H/Z89 disk controller. 52 110 H8 disk controller. 61 CFX Disk Systems 150 Discount hardware, software, 23 supplies. Chain Drive 156 Printers. 64 Classical Software 167 Circuit analysis. 72 Cleveland Codonics 112 Graphics boards. 24 Consortium Software 153 Statistical software for Z100 and 12 Z150. Cybosoft 160 H/Z100 games; HERO software. 2 Disco-Tech 212 CP/M terminal translation program. 76 MOVING? Don't lose your next issue of Sextant in the shuffle. Send your Change of Address to: Sextant Attn: Circulation Department 716 E Street, S.E. Washington , DC 20003 74 Sextant May-June 1984 Reader Service# Page # Dynacomp, Inc. 121 H/Z100 software. 31 FBE Research Co. 116 H/Z89 parallel interfaces. 59 Floppy Disk Services 117 Half-height drives. back cover Friendliware 118 CP/M games. 73 The Golden Line 127 Bulk mail processor for H89. 21 H & H Computer Enterprises 126 Disk storage multiplier units for 17 H/Z89/90. 123 Serial/parallel interface; printer 49 drivers; printers; software. Headware 192 Public domain software directory. 61 Hilgraeve 203 Communications software. 76 Hoyle & Hoyle Software 205 Data base software. 34 Husker Systems of Nebraska 189 Software subscription service. 16 189 Educational software. 35 189 Communications software; 60 random file kit. Interaction Dynamics Systems 135 Key remapping, general ledger, 62 graphing, flight simulation software. Intuitive Logic 177 Educational software. 50 Jay Gold Software 120 Home finance system. 62 KEA Systems 175 Z-DOS smart terminal emulator. 82 Kandueazy Computer Service 141 Disk backup program; debugging 10 utility. Kern International 215 Z-BASIC graphics programs. 81 Kres Engineering 194 Dual speed module. 62 195 Expansion for H/Z89. 68 LabSoft 124 Clinical laboratory data 22 processing software. Lindley Systems 132 Software including printer driver, 20 accounting system, graphics. 131 Gemini printers; Z-DOS utility 46 package. Magnolia Microsystems 134 CP/M-plus, 128K RAM board. 36 Mako Data Products 154 H/Z89-90 all-in-one accessory 61 bus expander. Mark of the Unicorn 155 Word processing software. 13 Micro Innovations 137 Graphics, word processing, filing 28 software. Microservices 209 H/Z100 color graphics. 52 Micro World Publishing 183 Typesetting from disk or modem. 85 Mmorroware 184 H/Z100 educational software. 51 Mullen Computer Products 211 Z100 extender and controller 38 boards. New Generation Systems 214 5W' disk formatter. 42 Reader Service# Page # Newline Software 145 Software. 32 145 Check processing software. 45 145 Graphics software. 47 145 CP/M BASIC graphics primer. 49 New Orleans General Data Services * H8 and H/Z89 accessories. 29 Night Owl Computer Works 198 Home finance program. 76 NORCOM 200 H19 and H89 character generator. 73 Omni Data Systems 201 Z100 series computers. 76 The PC & J Graphics Co. 146 Printers, supplies, programming 54 aid. Payload Computer Services 147 Hardware, software, supplies. 14 Reichert Digital Systems 151 Personal accounting system. 54 Ross Custom Electronics 152 Programmer for EPROM, 65 EEPROM, 8748, 8751. S & K Technology 230 Z-DOS text processor. 47 Secured Computer Systems 157 16K memory expansion card; serial 52 and parallel I/O for H/Z89. Sextant * Subscriptions. 11 103 Back issues. 81 Sextant Publishing Co. 191 Book on Heath/Zenith computers. 59 Skycastle Computer Products 218 Calligraphy programs. 26 SoftShop 162 Utilities, languages, educational 41 software. The Software Subscription 163 Visual editor, text processor, 59 cross reference program. Software Support 164 Disk drives. 19 The Software Toolworks 165 Recipe software. 41 Software Wizardry 166 Z100 systems. 8 Stuart Software 169 Decision support software, NFL 68 game predictor. Studio Computers 170 Communications software. 84 Sunflower Software 171 Z150s, games, utilities, time 7 management software. Systems Design Network 161 FORTRAN system development 54 software; remote terminal software. Technical Micro Systems, Inc. 173 Z80/8086 upgrade for H/Z89. 4 Barry Watzman 206 Dual processor MP/M-86 for the 39 Z100. 206 CP/M-86 for the Z100. 57 Westcomp 235 Z-DOS recovery software; games. 62 D. A. Woolfe & Associates 208 HDOS editor. 34 Zeducomp 236 Student scheduling software. 65 180 Structured programming tool. 83 Zephyr Software * H8 and H89 programmers’ tools. 64 *Contact advertiser directly begin y := Y - 1; DEV := DEV - DX - DX end; PLOT (X,Y); end end; procedure CASE8 {1X2 < 1X1, IY2 < IY1, DY > DX}; begin for Y := (IY1-1) downto IY2 do begin DEV := DEV + DX + DX; if DEV > DY then begin X := X - 1; DEV 2= DEV - DY - DY end; PLOT (X,Y); end end; begin {LINE2} PLOT (1X1,IY1}; DEV 2 = 0; DX 2= ABS(IX2 - 1X1); DY 2= ABS(IY2 - IY1); if 1X2 >= IY1 then if IY2 >= IY 1 then if DX >= DY then CASE1 else CASE2 else if DX >= DY then CASE3 else CASE 4 else if IY2 >= IY 1 then if DX >= DY then CASE5 else CASE6 else if DX >= DY then CASE7 else CASE8 end {LINE2}; Listing 3 is equivalent to the one pre¬ sented in Listing 2. However, the ver¬ sion in Listing 3 breaks the algorithm itself into eight cases to eliminate evalu¬ ating the absolute value and most of the testing. Final Observations To obtain the deviation formulas for higher-order polynomials, trial-and- error inductive techniques may have to be applied For instance, consider the curve-defining equation: Y = X 3 This yields the following deviation function: f(X,Y) = X 3 - Y With the above deviation function, the change in deviation caused by incre¬ menting X is given by: f(X+l,Y) - f(X,Y) = (X + l) 3 -Y - [X 3 -Y] = X 3 + 3*X 2 + 3*X + 1 - Y - X 3 + Y = 3*X" + 3*X + 1 The X 2 term looks as if it could cause a multiplication each time the deviation equation is evaluated. Instead of com¬ puting 3*X 2 each time, keep track of 3*X 2 by adding in the difference be¬ tween 3*(X+1) 2 and 3*X 2 to3*X 2 . This difference is 6*X + 3. The initial 3*X 2 will have to be computed. From there it can be tracked. This process should seem familiar. It is the same technique used to obtain the formula for change in deviation. For higher-order polynomials, this process may have to be repeated several times. The purpose of this process is to elim¬ inate multiplication for each dot. For functions which cannot be repre¬ sented as a finite polynomial, this meth¬ odology can still be employed. To use it first obtain a polynomial approximation of the function and then use this method on the polynomial. Note that the poly¬ nomial approximation will not have to be very accurate. As long as the discrete dots have more error than the approx¬ imation, the approximation is good enough. This will tend to limit the order of the approximation polynomial. The method presented here provides a straightforward approach to develop¬ ing an algorithm for many curves. The method requires only integer arithmetic and a simple test for each dot generated. When coded in assembly language, it will produce dots at an impressive rate. Please refer to the key to the right when completing the article evalua¬ tion form on the attached Reader Service Card above. By letting us know how interesting and/or helpful you found each feature in this issue of Sextant , you will help us choose the best articles for you in the future. 1. Frederick Zimmerman, Windows Opens the Door to Compatibility, p. 9. 2. Ralph W. Boyd, Color Graphics for Your ’8 or ’89, p. 15. 3. Herbert R. Friedman, Forming a Local HUG, p. 25. 4. Thomas G. Bohon, Turn Your Computer into an Electronic Typewriter, p. 30. 5. Thomas R. Sear, Put an Electronic Disk into Your H8, p. 33. 6. Charles E. Cohn, Doctor Your Daisywheel Device Driver, p. 37. 7. Frederick Zimmerman, Educational Software Roundup, p. 43. 8. Robert W. Rasch, Classy Bar Graphs, p. 55. 9. David Troendle, Graphics Algorithm Optimized for 8080 or Z80, p. 63. 10. Peter Norton, Take Advantage of Z-DOS Batch Files, p. 79. Sextant May-June 1984 75 aCCES. ITM MBSSI is easy communications • PREFERRED by PROS: A major dealer of H/Z systems, Doug Von Koenig of Toledo, OH, says, “Bar none , ACCESS is the best communications program for any H/Z computer.’’ • MOST COMPLETE, EASIEST TO USE: 5. Set all your configuration and hard- 1. Use any smart or dumb modem to ware details from within ACCESS—no tap any remote system (CompuServe, patching. Source, bulletin boards, etc.), or g Reconfigure instantly by recalling 2. Connect directly to any adjacent any one ot several previous setups, system using ACCESS'S versatile hard- 7 Fi|e transfers to/from a system ware and software handshaking. equipped with ACCESS can be controll- 3. Transfer text directly or transfer ed remotely. any type of file using error-correcting g p r j n j da j a as ^ j S received even protocol (XMODEM-compatible, with a S | 0W printer and fast modem, checksum or CRC). 9. Works smoothly and reliably, 110 4. Use AutopilotTM feature for unat- t0 9 g 00 baud tended communication sequences com¬ plete with conditional tests, branching, 10. Available in all bV*" formats auto-dial, auto-logon, etc. (Please specify) with concise, indexed manual. Get ACCESS and tap in! □ For 8-bit CP/ M on H/Z-89.$39.95 □ For 8-bit CP/ M on H/Z-100.$49.95 □ For 16-bit CP/ M or ZDOS.$49.95 Ask your local H/Z dealer or order direct (add $3 handling) Hilgraeve Inc. P.O. Box941, Monroe. Ml 48161 Dealer inquiries invited (313) 243-0576 Circle #203 on Reader Service Card DESKTOP COMPUTERS MICE Includes MSDOS Lotus 12 3 ZF 110 22 Z 100 Low Profile, 8088/8085 CPU, 128K RAM $2,799 2 5 1/4" Floppy Disks 320K each, 8 Color Graphics ZW 110 32 Z 100 Low Profile, 11.3MB Winchester Disk $4,258 5 1/4 ’ Floppy Disk, Rest same as ZF 110-22 NEW Z-150 & Z-160 Zenith's newest line of computer systems ■# allow you to run most IBM Personal * Computer software with no alterations! 150 128K RAM detachable keyboard 2 RS232 Serial Ports 1 Centronics Parallel Port 1-320K Drive$2,389 2 320K Drives $2,570 1 320K Drive 10 Megabyte Winchester $3,997 160 is PORTABLE MODEL»CALL!! OMNI DATA SYSTEMS 35 PARK ST ATTLEBORO. MA 02703 (617)222-0425 Circle #201 on Reader Service Card TRANSACTION! ™ A tax program, a checkbook program, and a budget program all in one easy-to-run, menu- driven program. The complete personal home fi¬ nance program for all your financial transactions. • Comes completely set up with over 80 accounts for detailed entry to 1040, 1040A, 1040B, schedule C and more • Balances your checkbook as you make entries • Up to 200 user-definable accounts • Allows up to 50 separate cash/checking accounts • Over 15 print-outs including yearly totals that interface directly to your 1040, 1040A, 1040B, schedule C and others, Month-to-date, Quarter-to-date, Year- to-date reports, and Transaction register • Allows budgeting for each account. Will also flag over¬ budget accounts • Can post one check to multiple accounts • Available in both single drive or dual drive. System requires hard-sectored H89, H88, H8 • CP/M operating system • 64K • any printer with condensed print (for 132 column reports). • Set includes run disk, data disk (completely set-up), practice data disk, easy to follow manual and sample print-outs. ONLY $70.00 (shipping included—allow 4 weeks for delivery) Send check or money order to: Night Owl Computer Works P.O. Box 30445 Phoenix, Arizona 85046 602/581-1206 CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research. TRANSACTION! is a registered trademark of Night Owl Computer Works. Circle #198 on Reader Service Card 76 Sextant Maij-June 1984 taUSmax It’s almost magic! CP/M R Terminal Translation & Multiple Keyboard Redefinition Program ★ Run any CP/M 2.2 software on any other CP/M 2.2 microcomputer with proper disk format. ★ Used with a communications package will convert your microcomputer into any other interactive micro, mini or mainframe terminal. ★ Redefines any key(s) to reproduce any phrase or command sequence. ★ Reprograms “on the fly” while you’re running another program. ★ Creates, saves, edits and retrieves up to 255 keyboard overlays. ★ Much, much more. disco-, <tf5h DISCO-TECH® P.O. Box 1659 Santa Rosa, CA 95402 Tel. 707/523-1600 Dealer inquiries invited. Circle #212 on Reader Service Card Supplier Notes Guardian 25 Backs Up Z100 Winchester Systems on Cartridge Tape A cartridge tape backup system for Z100 Winchester hard disk systems has been developed by Systems Innovations, Inc. Utilizing a DC600 data cartridge, Guardian 25 can provide both selective file and total disk backup, and includes fully integrated utility software. The menu-driven program prompts the user to select which files to back up or re¬ store based on several criteria, includ¬ ing time and date stamp file compari¬ sons and file names with wild cards. Time to back up or restore an entire 11- megabyte disk in the Total File mode is put at about eight minutes. Optional archival management soft¬ ware (AMS25) allows the unit to func- Run Your Own Personal Checks Through Your Printer PaperCaper II allows your own per¬ sonal checks to be used with personal finance software. It eliminates the cost of purchasing continuous-form checks, and lets the user keep the same check numbering sequence for both hand¬ written and computer-prepared checks. The device will carry up to seven personal-size checks or two business- size letterheads through a 9%" wide tractor-driven or roller-type printer. The die-cut form is printed on a synthetic paper that is resistant to tearing. The cost of PaperCaper II is $20. Pay¬ ment can be made by check, VISA, or MasterCard. Orders should be sent to Services Squared, Box 2665, Las Cruces, NM 88004-2665, 505/522-4925. tion as an invisible extension to the Winchester hard disk, giving the user virtually a 35-megabyte storage device. For some applications, the system may be used as a stand-alone 25-megabyte storage unit as a low-cost alternative to a Winchester hard disk system. The Guardian 25 is fully self-contained and does not use any expansion slots in the host system. Interface is by connec¬ tion to the existing floppy disk con¬ troller. The retail price is $1,295. Dealer and distributor discounts are available. Ship¬ ments are scheduled to begin during the third quarter of 1984. For more in¬ formation, contact N. R. Prevett at Sys¬ tems Innovations, Inc., P.O. Box 2066, 505 Westford Street, Lowell, MA 01851, 617/459-4449. Terminal Translation and Keyboard Redefinition Program Talisman is a program which produces terminal compatibility. It lets any CP/M 80 software run on any CP/M micro¬ computer, regardless of what terminal the software was originally configured for, provided that it has the proper disk format. Talisman may be used with the H/Z89, Z90, H/Z19, and H/Z100, and supports all disk formats. When used with a communications package, Talis¬ man can transform any microcomputer terminal into the correct terminal for any micro, mini, or mainframe computer. Talisman also lets the user reprogram the keyboard into any configuration, in¬ cluding complete phrase repeats of up to 249 characters with just one or two key strokes. Talisman requires a minimum of 48K, CP/M 2.2+ operating system, and a disk drive with at least 90K storage. The pro¬ gram itself occupies IK to 4K of mem¬ ory. Talisman is available for CP/M 80 and multi-processor MP/M 80, and costs $125. To order, contact Disco-Tech, 600 B Street, P.O. Box 1659, Santa Rosa, CA 95402, 707/523-1600. Talisman comes preprogrammed with control-code overlays for over seventy terminals. The program monitors all character I/O travelling through the CP/M BIOS in either direction, as the diagram shows. Talisman intercepts and analyzes any special characters or codes. Key redefinition works the same way, but uses user-programmed translations. Sextant May-June 1984 77 Classified Ads Software At last—CHURCH FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE at affordable prices— requires dRASE II. Manual $30, soft¬ ware $500. Rurr Computer Consultants, 6402 Thoreau’s Way, San Antonio, TX 78239, 512/650-4342. ENGINEERING SOFTWARE—free brochure. PLOTPRO—scientific graph printing program prints linear/log/semi¬ log plots on any printer. Multiple plots forced or autoscale, grid lines, labeling, $49.95. ACNAP—fast machine code analyzes active/passive electronic cir¬ cuits. MonteCarlo, Worst Case, and Sensitivity analysis, $49.95. SPP—Signal Processing Program analyzes linear/ nonlinear systems and circuits, LaPlace transfer functions, 512 point FFT, tran¬ sient analysis, more, $59.95. All pro¬ grams share data files. Add $3.00 each S&H. RV Engineering, P.O. Rox 3429, Riverside, CA 92519, 714/781-0252. H/Z89 SOFTWARE, 5V 4 -HS, 50% off! CP/M $75, MS-RASIC $88, SuperCalc $145. Quantities limited. Also Z100 Condor File Manager $185 (one only). All unopened. Check or COD. Jatek Design, 23966 Craftsman, Calabasas, CA 91302, 213/346-1800. Z100 BOOKS & SOFTWARE: Graphics, data plotting, statistics, engineering, 3D structural analysis books & software for the Z100. Books contain program listings in BASIC with full documentation. Disks contain same programs in Z-BASIC. Perfect for software developers, educa¬ tors, consultants, computer hobbyists. Prices $20-$96. Send for free catalog. Kern International, 433 Washington Street, Duxbury, MA 02331, 617/934- 0445. Hardware Jerry Pindus will pay up to $150 for H8s. Contact: 212/380-1004, 78-40 164th Street, Flushing, NY 11366. He Coming up in Sextant: • a review of the Z150, Zenith’s new IBM-compatible com¬ puter • a survey of low-priced letter- quality printers • instructions for building a portable stand for your entire computer system • a roundup of Z-DOS commu¬ nications software • an introductory series on Tiny Pascal • a look at MBASIC roundoff er¬ ror, with a program to keep track of it also wants to contact the company or individual who bought the entire stock of H8s from Heath. ZENITH Z90 68K with Z89-37 board, software, and MX-80, $2,500. David Bond, 34462 North Converse, Ingleside, IL 60041, 312/546-7235. 5 MEG HARD DISK SUBSYSTEM for H89/90, $1,500 complete. Kits from $800. Digital Search, 103 South Main Street, Greer, SC 29651, 803/877-9444. The rate for Sextant classified ads is 75<: per word, with a minimum of 15 words. Send to: Sextant, Classified Ads, 716 E Street S.E., Washington, DC 20003 (202/544-2868). Please include your name and address for our records. Deadline for the July-August issue is May 11; the deadline for the September-October issue is July 13. Luminaries Thomas G. Bohon is a Captain in the Air Force, working in data processing. His experience includes systems and programming work on major main¬ frames. He also has an M.B.A. in Quanti¬ tative Methods from the University of Missouri. He’s interested in the mathe¬ matical and statistical uses of micros— as well as getting them to do nice simple stuff like occasional correspondence. Ralph W. Boyd is employed as a physi¬ cist in Miami, Florida, by the New York Institute of Technology. He works on the design of optical and acoustical systems, as well as developing com¬ puter programs. For his own business, he likes programming advanced com¬ puter games. If they’re graphically challenging as well as interesting to the user, so much the better. Charles E. Cohn is a physicist at the Argonne National Laboratory near Chi¬ cago. This is not the first time he’s writ¬ ten for Sextant on sprucing up the use of Heath Company software. He took on HDOS stand-alone operation in #6, Summer 1983, and #9, March-April 1984. Herbert A. Friedman is an M.D. from California. He doesn’t restrict himself to the organizational aspect of Heath/ Zenith computing. His Pomona HUG News article on the directory structure of the Heath Disk Operating System was carried in Sextant #5’s special sec¬ tion on local HUGs. Peter Norton has a vested interest in understanding what’s going on in the Microsoft Disk Operating System. Be¬ sides writing a book about MS-DOS, he also writes programs for it. Well, the Norton Disk Utilities were written for MS-DOS as it looks when called PC- DOS. But as noted in Graham Wide- man’s article in Sextant #9, they’ll also run under Z-DOS if they have some help from emulator software. Robert W. Rasch chairs the Physiology Department at the Quillen-Dishner Col¬ lege of Medicine of Eastern Tennessee State University. So now you know why it was natural for him to find an example that talked about chimpanzees. Thomas R. Sear has more than 30 years experience as both a technician and a technical writer. He put on both hats to write about the Trionyx motherboard in Sextant #5, Spring 1983. Since he’s now added the new X/2-H8 board, we’re entitled to assume that he’s getting his H8 ready to rack up just as much ex¬ perience as he already has. David Troendle is associate director of the computer center at Louisiana State University’s Medical Center. But he’s better known to Heath/Zenith users as cofounder of New Orleans General Data Services. They’re the folks who, among other things, brought out the first color graphics board for Heath/Zenith com¬ puters—so you’d have the hardware that could draw those circles and lines. 78 Sextant May-June 1984 Standard Operating Procedure Take Advantage of Z-DOS Batch Files Why tell your computer what you want it to do when it can find out for itself? Peter Norton Sextant readers who are using, the Zenith Disk Operating System (Z-DOS) may be interested in Peter Norton’s new book MS-DOS and PC-DOS: User’s Guide. This guide is written for the user of any computer which like the H/Z100, runs the Microsoft Disk Operating Sys¬ tem, either version 1 or version 2. (Since there are a number of machines running MS-DOS , the book simply refers to "DOS. ”) The following material on using batch files is excerpted from Chapter 11. Batch processing files are one of the most useful and powerful features of DOS, and we’ll take a look at them in this chapter. First we’ll cover the simple idea of what a batch file is, and then get into some of the fancier tricks of using batch files. Finally, we 11 finish the chap¬ ter with some suggestions and examples to help you get the most out of batch files. Introducing batch processing The basic idea of batch processing is simple and ingenious: if you need the computer to perform a standard task, why should you have to key in the details of the task? Instead, let the computer be told what it is supposed to do by reading its commands from a file. With a batch file, DOS doesn’t perform our com¬ mands extemporaneously—it reads from a script. There are some interesting details on what a batch file can do, but first let s see the elemental part. Batch processing is always done with a “batch processing file,’ which must have the filename extension of “.bat”. The file must be an ASCII text file (which we described in Chapter 9) and you can create it with any ordinary text editor, such as the edlin editor that comes with DOS. You can also use a word processing program to create batch files, though you should be sure to check if your word processor needs any special instructions to create an ordinary ASCII text file. Inside the batch processing file are ordinary DOS commands, just as you This excerpt is from the recently published hook, MS-DOS and PC-DOS: User's Guide (Robert J. Brady Co., Bowie, MD, 1983). It is available at ComputerLands, B. Dalton Booksellers, Walden- books. Crown Books, and other bookstores and computer retailers. If you are unable to find this book, or any other Robert J. Brady Co. book of your choice, call toll-free 800/638-0220 for information. might enter them on the keyboard. There can be one or many commands in the file with each command on a sepa¬ rate line. You put a batch file to work by entering its filename without the bat extension (although you could key that in if you wanted). This works exactly the same way that you use a program—you type in the name of the program, or the name of the batch file, and DOS goes looking for it. Whenever DOS s com¬ mand processor encounters a command that isn’t internal, it searches the appro¬ priate disk for a file to carry out the command. The file could be a program file (with an extension name of com or exe), but if it turns out instead to be a b at batch processing file, then DOS starts executing the commands held in that file. Let’s take a look at a very simple batch file to get an idea of how it works. Let’s suppose we've created a file with a name of d.bat. Notice that it has the proper extension of .bat. Since the filename itself is D, then D is all that you would need to type in to invoke this batch processing command. Now the contents of this batch processing file might be something very simple, such as a single line that reads: DIR which, you probably remember, is the name of the directory command that lists the contents of a disk. With this batch processing file set up, what would happen if we keyed in D and pressed enter ? DOS would search for this batch file, and then start executing it DOS would find just the one com¬ mand, dir, so it would just give us a directory listing. This example is about as silly and as short as you could imagine. You might be thinking that it is a completely artificial example with no practical value. Sur¬ prisingly, no. There is a use for batch processing commands like this. What this command does, in effect is let you use d as an abbreviation for dir; that may not seem like a big deal, yet it cuts the keystrokes you have to type in half, from four to two (counting the enter key). This is one of the main purposes of batch files—to simplify the typing you have to do to get your computer to do some work for you. One of the best uses of batch files is simply to provide convenient abbreviations of commands. One of the rather clever things that DOS does is to keep track of where it is working in a batch file. When the file has more than one command, DOS knows how to carry on. When each command is finished, DOS searches for the file, reads past as many command lines as it has processed, and then starts the next command. Saving time and trouble Why would you want to have batch processing files? We’ve already seen one reason—to create an abbreviation for a command name. There are two Sextant May-June 1984 79 COPY DATA.NEW DATA.OLD make a safe copy of our old data PROCESS DATA.NEW use a program that creates new data DIR DATA.NEW check the directory for info on new data PAUSE If all is well, delete old data, otherwise, press BREAK DEL DATA.OLD discard old data Listing 1. One of the uses of pause is safety. other good reasons, even before we get into the advanced stuff. The reason for using batch files that you have probably anticipated is the most important one: grouping several commands into one functional unit. Very often you need to do several things to carry out one task. For example, to write the very words you are reading, I used a batch file which has four steps: the first runs my text editor program, so that I can type in these words; the second checks what I have written for spelling errors; the third runs my editor again so that I can correct the spelling errors; and finally, the fourth makes a backup copy of what 1 have written onto another disk. 1 could, if I wished, do each of these four steps separately, however I chose to run them. But putting them all into one batch processing file has done two very useful things for me. First, it has saved me the trouble of invoking each step by itself. Second, and more impor¬ tant it has established a standard oper¬ ating discipline: each time I write, I will check my spelling and I will make a backup copy. Laziness won t keep me from doing those two important tasks. So the most important reason for using batch files is to gather together, under one name, all the separate steps needed to perform a unified task. The reason for doing that is as much for uniformity and completeness as it is for convenience and ease. Finally, there is one more key reason for using batch files, besides abbrevi¬ ation of commands and combinations of commands. That reason is safety. If you don’t know it already, there are some maddeningly dangerous commands available to us in DOS. These are the commands that can wipe out our data in the blink of an eye. There are three such dangerous commands: del/erase, which discards data; copy, which can overwrite good data with bad; and format, which can wipe out the entire contents of a disk, beyond all hope of recovery. Batch files can reduce the danger of using these commands. Let us suppose that we routinely need to erase a file called data.old, while preserving the file data.new. If you have to type in the command: ERASE DATA.OLD there is just a little chance that one day, absent-mindedly, you will type in new rather than old. Wouldn’t that put you in a pickle? But if you had a batch file with that erase command in it, you won’t have to worry about that kind of mistake. In fact you might have a batch file which safely and reliably ERASEd all sorts of files without a worry—because if you got the batch file built right, then the commands would go right each time. Never a slip. You might even name that batch file something evocative and easy to remember, like kill-old. Remember that if kill-old is to be a batch com¬ mand, then the file that defines what it does must be named kill old.bat. rem and pause There are some commands built into DOS that are there just to make batch file processing better. Two of these are the REMark and pause commands. REMark, of course, is intended to let you put comments into a batch file—the rem comments can say, ‘this is what I’m doing. ’ The pause command is just an¬ other form of the rem command, but it suspends the operation of the batch file until a key is struck. The pause command is good for two purposes—one is to keep some useful information from rolling off the screen. With a pause command, you have a chance to look at what is on the screen for as long as you want before the computer carries on its work. The other use is for safety. If a batch file is about to do something that might endanger some of your data, then a pause to check that everything is in order is a very good idea This can be particularly valuable before a command that might erase or copy over your data If you use the pause command in this way and decide that you don’t want things to carry on, how do you stop them? The break command, also called control c, will stop the operation of the batch file so that it will not carry on to whatever it was going to do. On some computers there is a special key for the break command, while on others it is just entered by holding down the control key and pressing the c: key. Either way, control-c or break is what you use to stop a batch file from carrying on—and the pause command gives you the op¬ portunity to do it at the right moments. [Listing 1] is a dummy example of how pause might be used for safety. This example is, as we said, a little artificial, but the ideas are ones that you will probably want to use. Notice that dir is used to take a quick look at the new data—it will show us both the size and the time stamp on the new data file, which ought to be enough to tell us if the process program was successful in cre¬ ating the new data. If everything looks good, we proceed from the pause state¬ ment to clean things up by deleting the copy of the old data. If things aren’t all well, then we break at the pause so that the old data isn’t deleted, and we can try to fix whatever went wrong. What we’ve seen so far makes batch files look very useful. But what you can do with them is even richer and more useful than you have seen so far, as we ll see in the next section. Slightly more advanced batch processing You’ll remember that I mentioned that I used a batch file to help me write this chapter. The name of the file might be write.bat, and, simplifying things a bit, the contents of that batch file might be like this: EDIT CHAPTER. 11 SPELL CHAPTER. 11 EDIT CHAPTER.il SAVE CHAPTER 11 But there is something drastically wrong with this batch file: it only works for Chapter 11.1 would need to change it to work on any other chapter, which would be pretty stupid. The solution? Para¬ meters. When I invoke the batch file, instead of just entering the batch command WRITE I would give a parameter, indicating what chapter I wanted to work on: WRITE 11 Meanwhile, inside the batch file write.bat, everywhere the chapter number was needed, the batch file would have a special symbol, “%i”, which would tell DOS to substitute the parameter that I had entered. Our batch file would look something like this: EDIT CHAPTER.%1 SPELL CHAPTER.%1 EDIT CHAPTER.%1 SAVE CHAPTER.%1 There can be more than one parameter, so a digit is used after the percent sign (%), to indicate which parameter is used. %i is used for the first parameter after the command name, %2 for the second, and so on, for up to nine para¬ meters. (If you need anywhere near that many, you’re probably making things much too complicated.) Parameter number zero, %(), is used to get the name of the batch command but there isn’t much point in that There are some more things to know about batch files in general. Inside a batch file are commands—which could be program names or other batch file commands. If the command is a pro¬ gram, then when that program is done we can carry on with the batch file. But if the command is the name of a batch file, then control never comes back to the original batch file. In technical terms, this means that batch files are chained but not nested. If batch file A invokes 80 Sextant May-June 1984 Affordable Computer Components, Equipment, Supplies and Services Want To Save Money? ATS-64 Upgrade your H-89 to 64K memory by adding this Inexpensive kit. Price Includes all parts needed to add extra 16K of ram to computer. Requires basic soldering skill to complete. -ONLY 49.95 GEMINI 10X 120 CPS dot matrix printer with super features. Accepts tractor feed, rolI and single sheet paper. Has block as well as dot addressable graphics. SALE PRICE S289.00 DISK MINDER Attractive smoked plexiglass 5-1/4 diskette storage case. Holds 75 disks with dividers. ONLY $23.50 Free shipping within continental USA. Prices are are limited time specials. To order send check or Money order to: P.O. Box 1053 Norristown, PA 19404 (215) 272-4807 FREE .. Price list and additional information. Call or write... * Diskettes * * Tandon drives ★ Paper ★ Printers * Software * Terminals * Terms... Check, Money Order or COD. AFFORDABLE is our first name, AFFORDABILITY is our game. Circle #100 on Reader Service Card Graphics for the Z- This is a spectacular collection of graphics programs for the Z-100. It in¬ cludes 67 programs listed beside theory and equations in a 280 page self¬ teaching book. Originally written for the IBMpc, these programs were con¬ verted to run on the Z-100. The program disk contains the 67 programs in ZBASIC. These programs will show you how to write your own 2D and 3D graphics software and they will give you many useful, ready-to-run graphics routines to incorporate in your own Z-100 software. Programs are menu driven and modular. They show how to use elementary graphics commands and do 2D and 3D translation, rotation, scaling, clipp¬ ing, windowing, hidden line removal, shading, perspective, hi-speed anima¬ tion, with applications to computer-aided design, science, business, engineering and games. Adopted as a text in many leading universities. We know you will be pleased. Please send: □ Book & Z-DOS disk- $52 Name_ Address_ City/State/Zip_ □ check enclosed □ visa /mastercard card no._ .expiration date. call (617)934-0445 for faster delivery KERN PUBLICATIONS . P.O. Box 1029SX . Duxbury, MA 02331 Circle #215 on Reader Service Card CUSTOMIZE YOUR KEYBOARD We maintain a large stock of blank keytops that can be custom engraved for: ★ Video Display Terminals if if Point of Sale Terminals if if & Computers if Replacement keytop kits for Word Processing Software packages configured for popular terminals. OEM PROTOTYPES AND PRODUCTION RUNS — Call or Write — ARKAY ENGRAVERS, INC. 2073 Newbridge Road Bellmore, New York 11710 (516)781 -9859 (516)781 -9343 Circle #105 on Reader Service Card Sextant Back Issues are Still Available! Order your Sextant back issues today! Don’t miss out on information about your Heath/Zenith system. Send me: _Premiere Issue—including “A Parallel Interface for the ’89”, and “Disk Programming Without HDOS”. _Issue #2—including “Crucial Secrets of HDOS”, and a Z100 preview. _Issue #3—including “The World’s Fastest Sort?” _Issue #4—including “Interrupt Programming Under HDOS”. _Issue #5—including “CP/M: The First 13 System Calls”. _Issue #6—including “Pascal Elucidated” and assembly language “Inside A Spooler”. _Issue #7—including a roundup of over 80 software products for the Z100. _Issue #8—including a roundup of nearly 50 games for Heath/ Zenith computers. _Issue #9—including “Why Won’t All That IBM-PC Software Run on My Z100?” @ $3.50/issue* = $_ □ Payment enclosed. (Checks must be in U.S. dollars payable on a U.S. bank.) □ Charge my: □ Visa □ MasterCard (MC code #_) Card #_Expires_ Issues will be sent by first class mail upon receipt of payment. Name_ Address_ Clip this coupon and send it today to: Sextant, Dept. S10, 716 E Street S.E., Washington DC 20003 *Please include $3 additional for each issue to be mailed overseas. Circle #103 on Reader Service Card Sextant May-June 1984 81 batch file B, when B is done things stop; they don’t carry on where A left off. One of the batch commands that could be in a batch file is the file’s own name. A batch file can invoke itself, starting an endless repetition of the same work done over and over again. This can be very useful when you have to repeat some operation. The break command, commonly called ctrl-c, can be used to break out of this endless repetition. Putting a pause command just before the repetition starts can be a good idea. It is also possible for a program to control its own destiny by writing out the contents of a batch file that will be executed when the program is done. This is a very clever mechanism that makes it possible to use the full, rich logical capabilities of a programming language to decide what commands are to be carried out next. This is done like this: we create a batch file, let’s call it A, which runs our program; following the program, our A batch file tells DOS to carry out a batch file named B. But the program that is run by the A batch file itself creates the file b rat —so the pro¬ gram decides what is to be done when it finishes. The program in the A batch file creates whatever exact instructions are to be performed in the B batch file. If you go in for this sort of trick, test your work carefully and beware of cer¬ tain traps. For example, it is much safer for a program to create the next batch SMART Terminal Emulator Z100 ZDOS VT52 0200 VTI00 Disk File Transfers: XMODEM Parallel/Serial Printer Support Full Softkey (MACRO) Support Written in 8088 Assembler Code Specifically for the Z100 KEA SYSTEMS LTD• Department ZS-5 #311-811 Beach Avenue Vancouver, B.C. CANADA V6Z 2B5 (604) 687-2744 9-5 PST Mon-Fri Circle #175 on Reader Service Card 82 Sextant May-June 1984 file that will be executed than try to change the batch file that is currently being performed. Batch file tricks Let’s start this discussion of the uses of batch files with some philosophy— the philosophy of the black box. Rough¬ ly speaking, there are two ways of using a personal computer: expert and dumb- dumb. Experts know what they are doing (or think they do), and they usually enjoy being involved in the mechanics of how work gets done. Us dumb-dumbs don t really know what s going on, and probably don’t care—we want the results and don t care to get involved in the mechanics of how it’s done. For dumb-dumbs, computer op¬ erations need to work like what is called a black box; we don’t need to see how the box gets its work done, as long as we are confident it is doing the work cor¬ rectly. While it is very nice to have an expert s technical knowledge, for most users of computers the more the com¬ puter is a trustworthy black box, the better. One of the features of DOS which can help make it work like a friendly black box is batch file commands. My reason for explaining this so elaborately is to instill in you the idea that batch files are more than just a convenient efficient and safe way to direct the computer’s operations. Batch files are also a key way of building black boxes to help make the use of your computer less technical. When you understand this idea, it can guide you into making the best possible use of batch files. The key thing in making batch files work like black boxes is to write them in a style which makes them work as smoothly and as unob¬ trusively as possible. Two of the most useful things you can put into batch files are remarks and pauses, using the rem and pause com¬ mands. It is surprisingly easy to lose track of exactly what you are doing. That sounds really dumb, but it’s true— especially if you are doing the same thing over and over again. If you are, say, working your way through a list of files, then you might lose your place in the list. That problem can be solved by using the rem command to show you the para¬ meters that your batch file is working with. Example? All my batch files that run my text editor end with this rem: rem Was editing the file named %1 And, of course, the parameter %\ shows me the file name. The same thing can be done with the pause command, but pause has some extra advantages. If you are running something lengthy and automatic through a batch file, pause can be used to suspend the operation so that you see the current screen display, and also decide whether or not to proceed with the rest of the batch file. If you don’t want things to proceed, the break key will shut down the batch file command. Pausing for approval to continue is a very important part of any batch file that does anything potentially dangerous. For example, you might have a series of programs which deliberately leave their work files on disk so that you can recover the data if anything goes wrong. In a batch file like this, you could have the last step of the batch file erase the files and then you could put a pause just before the erase, giving you a chance to check that everything was all right be¬ fore the files were destroyed. On the subject of the erase com¬ mand, if you use erase/del in a batch file it’s a good idea to put a dir command right before it so that you see a list of the files that are about to be erased. This is a nice safety feature since it keeps you in the know. There are some commands in DOS which are very useful to use that are a nuisance to type in. With batch files, you can use them liberally with no effort at all since the batch file does all the work for you. One of the most important is the check disk command, chkdsk. chkdsk is useful to put in your batch commands for two reasons. First it lets you know how much working space is left on your disk—and it is useful to see that often, so that you get early warning about run¬ ning out of space, chkdsk also inspects the disk for some logical damage (mean¬ ing scrambled data but not physical damage) on the diskette, and it’s a good thing to do that frequently, even though the scrambling isn’t a common occurrence. It is also quite handy to add the DIR command to most of your batch files. You can put in a specific command (in¬ dicating what files you want to know about) to see things like the file size and the files’ date and timestamp. Examples: dir %l, DIR *.BAS. You can also use the show-me-everything form of the DIR command just to see what’s on the disk you are using. If you usually have a lot of files, the ... “/w” switch, which is an option of the DIR command, will list them across the screen so that they take up fewer lines. Example: DIR*.* DIR*.*/W DIR Since the real magic of using batch processing files comes from tailoring them to your own needs, our suggestions and examples can only scratch the sur¬ face of the possibilities, and can only hint at some of the things that you can accomplish on your own through the creative use of batch files. There is almost nothing in the use of DOS that will reward your efforts like the rewards of speed, convenience, and safety that you can gain by making full use of batch files. EVERY PROGRAMMER/SYSTEMS ANALYST NEEDS . . . . . . THE STRUCTURED PROGRAMMING TOOL FOR THE 80s! Design your programs right on the screen, using modern structured programming techniques based on the Jackson Program Design Method(JSP)! DEZIGN is trulytheprogrammer/analyst’sfriend-more than just another flowcharting tool! DEZIGN - an integrated tool for designing programs, generating source code in the language of your choice, and documenting your programs for future reference! Even non-programmers will enjoy using DEZIGN to build family trees and organization charts! Available, as follows, from Zeducomp and Heath/Zenith dealers: Column A Column B □ DEZIGN Z-89 CP/M (Hard sector) $ 70.00 $140.00 □ DEZIGN Z-90 CP/M (Soft sector) $ 70.00 $140.00 □ DEZIGN Z-100 CP/M-85 $ 70.00 $140.00 □ DEZIGN-86 Z-100 CP/M-86 $100.00 $200.00 □ DEZIGN-16 Z-100 Z-DOS $100.00 $200.00 Column A Prices include one Source Code Generator of your choice; column B prices include all Source Code Generators shown above. JSP is described in “Principles of Program Design”, by Michael Jackson, Academic Press. CP/M is a trademark of Digital Research, Inc. dBASE II is a trademark of Ashton-Tate, Inc. Z-DOS is a trademark of Zenith Data Systems. Circle #180 on Reader Service Card Professional communications Pro Driver is a new professional communications package for Z100 computers using the ZDOS operating system. It allows you to ‘talk’ to remote computers using any modem or directly to another computer through a 'null modem cable’, and allows transmitting and receiving of both ASCII and binary files. Pro Driver lets you perform operating system commands such as renaming files, deleting files, directory listings or resetting disks. The clear, uncluttered menu-driven displays make using Pro Driver a pleasure. Here are just some of Pro Driver’s features: • Menu-driven request and control options • Direct support for Hayes Smartmodems • Report Generator for detailed tracking of calls • XMODEM, CompuServe B and X/ON X/OFF protocols • 32 User-Definable Automatic Logon Sequences • Printer Trace function for hardcopy of all data • User-Definable Control Sequences within Pro Driver • Selectable Baud rates from 45 up to 19,200 • Configurable entry and exit foreground/background colors, cursor modes and keyclick options • Help files for quick assistance on Pro Driver functions • Detailed documentation of all functions Pro Driver is a professionally designed package from top to bot¬ tom. Simple to operate even for the novice, yet with many features an experienced computer user would demand. For example, the ‘Reporter’ feature not only logs all calls made and the length of time per call, but gives you the option of outputting your report to a printer, a disk file or the video console. And, you can have that report sorted by telephone number or dates! Imagine being able to quickly check at the end of a week, month or even year just how long you spent connected to any specific time-sharing or bulletin board service. A great way to verify the connect-time bills they send to you! Pro Driver comes with over 180 pages of documentation and pictorial screen displays, but don’t let that scare you. Pro Driver is easy to operate! All major sections are organized with tab dividers for quick locating. And a complete index is also included. The price? Just $49 for the entire package with all of the above features and more. Pro Driver may be purchased at our retail store location, by mail (please add $2 for shipping) or check your local Heathkit Electronic Center for availability. Pro Driver — the “professional” communication interface for your Z100 computer. • • • made simple! inc . 999South -Odezmi Pi tmIncjham , Ail 48011 Phone (313)-645-5365 TjENiTH "data systems Call or write for our complete catalog, or additional information on Pro Driver. 84 Sextant May-June 1984 Circle #170 on Reader Service Card Scuttlebutt According to one well informed member of the Capital Heath Users’ Group, there will be a special program¬ mers’ package for Z-DOS 2.0 for the Z100. Among the extras it will include is a “very slick new editor” called BSE. Want more speed out of your Z100? Zenith is also working on a new motherboard which will enable the Z100 to run at 8 MHz. Need more room on your screen for those big spreadsheets? Zenith is working on a 132-column terminal. Zenith has not been doing very well in selling ZlOOs to the scientific instrumentation market, according to Jack McKay of the Naval Research Laboratory. He explained the situation in a series of messages on CompuServe’s HUG bulletin board. Various inde¬ pendent manufacturers sell analog-to- digital and digital-to-analog (A/D/A) plug-in boards which should work with the Z 100’s SI00 bus, but there’s no software support available. Mean¬ while, there is very strong peripheral and software support available for the IBM PC, which is apparently estab¬ lishing itself as a de facto standard in the scientific instrumentation market. Consequently, McKay says, “the Z100 is making absolutely zero penetration” at the Naval Research Laboratory. The Z100 is available to the Navy and the Air Force with greater capa¬ bilities and at a better price than the IBM PC. But if there’s no software support for A/D/A interfacing, the Z100 won’t get the recognition it deserves in the Navy/Air Force “vertical market” for scientific instrumentation. Programmers, take heed. The first Western Regional HUGCON will be held on Saturday and Sunday, November 10 & 11, at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Cali¬ fornia. The grand prize at Saturday’s dinner will be a Z100 with Winchester hard disk drive. Two days’ registration, plus dinner Saturday, will cost $25. (Western Regional HUG, Attn: Herb Friedman, 1555 North Orange Grove Avenue, Pomona, CA 91767.) The Third International Heath Users’ Group Conference will be held at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois, on the weekend of July 27-29. Pheasant Run is about 45 minutes away from Chicago’s O’Hare airport. There will be a wide variety of recreational opportunities for you and your family, including golf, tennis, shopping, and a dinner theatre. Further information is available from HUG. (Hilltop Road, St. Joseph, MI 49085, 616/982-3463.) By the way ... is it too much to hope that Heath/Zenith will make another announcement about HDOS 3.0 before HUGCON 3? Well, Zenith has introduced its new IBM PC-compatible computers, the Z150 and Z160. It looks as if these clones will offer a very high degree of compatibility with software written for the PC. A number of readers have called to ask how compatible the Z150 will be with the Z110 and Z120. The answer is that since the Z150 is a near-perfect “clone” of the IBM PC, the Z150 is compatible with the Z110 and Z120 to the precise degree that the Z110 and Z120 are compatible with the IBM PC—i.e., not very. You should be able to read from and write to Z150 disks in your Z110 or Z120, and vice versa. Z 150/IBM PC software still won’t run on your Z100. Nor will Z100 software run on your Z150. One of Zenith’s best customers for the Z100 summed up his reaction to the Z150: “A wonderful implemen¬ tation of a rotten machine.’’ While watching “The A-Team” one Tuesday evening, a member of Sextant ’s editorial staff (who declines to be identified) saw a Zenith advertisement which mentions the new “Z100 PC” (a.k.a. the Z150). A pre-Z150 version of the same ad was seen on another prime-time classic, “Manimal.” Con¬ sidering that Zenith prides itself on being a “high-tech” company, its advertising seems to go for some pretty low-brow demographics. Although the strategy does seem to be reaching some of us here at Sextant .... Zenith says that the Z160, their new IBM-compatible portable computer, should be available late this spring or early this summer. The disk drives are mounted in a unique “pop-up” housing. The display is a 9" amber screen. The keyboard includes a larger RETURN key and a more conveniently placed left-hand SHIFT key than on the IBM PC. Alas, the unit weighs in at a dainty 33 pounds. Staff Writer Frederick Zimmerman comments that he has already extended his right arm two inches as a result of lugging around his virtually prehistoric 26-pound Osborne I. (To be fair, the Compaq, another boxcar-style transportable PC-compatible, weighs in at 28 pounds.) Prices: $2,799 for the Z160 with one disk drive; $3,199 for the Z160 with two disk drives. MS-DOS versions 1.25 and 2.0 are included with the machine. (Version 1.25 is necessary in order to run some software written for the IBM PC.) S-A Design Books of Brea, California, which published Hal Glatzer’s How to Use: Zenith/Heath Computers in 1982, has just published The FlipFast Guide To: Zenith/Heath CP/M-80/85 , by William M. Adney. It’s a handy size, about 5" X 8", which makes it a lot more convenient to keep next to your computer than the two gigantic three-ring binders in which Zenith provides the standard documentation for CP/M-85. Expected this summer: a FlipFast guide to Z-DOS, also by Adney. Heath/Zenith Users! Programmers! Authors! Coded text files can be typeset directly from your diskettes, including all H8 and H/Z89-90 disk formats and now — all H/Z100 Or send your files via Modem (300/1200) or Compu¬ Serve™. Typesetting control codes are easy to use. Most typesetting requirements can be handled with just seven commands: FT - Font Style LS - Line Spacing SZ - Type Size LL - Line Length = - Center Line > - Flush Right [ - End paragraph (left justify) Embed these simple codes in your text and, suddenly, typesetting can be very affordable. And, since you create the diskette files that control the typesetter, you’re assured of error- free, "no-typos” typesetting. We can also provide professional keyboarding and editing. Check us for all your needs— • software .doc • letter-heads • business cards • menus • special forms • brochures • instructions • newsletters Send $5.00 for a copy of our Typesetting Codes Reference Manual. Write or call (evenings best) for free introductory information. With typesetting you can inexpensively go— Micro World Publishing 1102 Winona Street Northfield, MN 55057 (507) 645-5496 (507) 645-4611 Visa or MasterCard Accepted Circle #183 on Reader Service Card Large Small v “ / Bold Condensed...and lots more! Sextant May-June 1984 85 A /e’ve got a great idea for your H-88, 89 or 90. It’s a dual internal half height f \i drive system. Two of our half height 5 !4" drives can replace your built-in disk V drive, doubling your information storage capacity. Floppy Disk Services provides you with everything you need. That’s two double¬ sided, double or single density, half height drives in either 48 or 96 tpi format, ail hardware, cables and power connector adaptors. And most important, you get easy, step-by-step instructions, in the Heath/Zenith tradition of good, clear documentation. We’ve thoroughly tested the TWOET/ Heath set-up. Remember that a double sided 48 tpi will work perfectly as a single sided drive right out of the box! Hard or soft sectored—so you can even use this system with your H-17 controller. And of course we have the software drivers (additional cost) to run 48 dr 96 tpi double sided, single density drives on the H-17. Wondering what to do with your internal drive if you buy this system? Here’s the solution. If you purchase a dual half height system for your Heath computer from Floppy Disk Services, just include an extra $50.00 plus shipping and receive a single 5!4 case with power supply and data cable ready to receive your SIEMENS internal drive! The case with data cable is normally a $70.00 item. And the cable that comes with your TWOET system includes the external chassis disk I/O connector. Due to production deadlines, prices in this ad are 2 months old, so we encourage you to call us for current prices and new product info. Prices and specs subject to change without notice. Dealer inquiries invited. PAYMENT POLICY — We accept MasterCard, VISA, personal checks and Money Orders. We reserve the right to wait 10 working days for personal checks to clear your bank before we ship. All shipping standard UPS rates plus shipping & hand¬ ling. NJ residents must add 6% tax. FLOPPY IDISK ^SERVICES H-88/89/90 are registered trademarks of Heath Corp. 39 Everett Drive Bldg. D, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 , Circle #117 on Reader Service Card Model TWOET 455 Model TWOET 465 2 Shugart SA-455 half height 2 Shugart SA-465 half height 48 tpi double sided 96 tpi double sided All hardware All hardware Metal, shielded mounting plates Metal, shielded mounting plates Data cable with chassis connector Data cable with chassis connector Power ‘Y’ connector Power ‘Y’ connector Complete documentation Complete documentation Price . .$565.00 complete Price.. $655.00 complete