To: 999 (all members)
From: D5B (Jon Ripley)
Subject: Initialising variables
If you are writing a program and you
need to initialise a lot of variables
your program could end up looking like
this;
A=0:bricks=0:name$="":lives=0:monster$=
An alternative to this which is much
quicker to type and also saves on
program space is to have the following
in your program;
PROCsetup
.
. <Your program>
.
DEF PROCsetup
LOCAL A,bricks,name$,lives,monster$
ENDPROC
BASIC creates the LOCAL variables,
stores the previous value, which is
always null if the variable doesn't
exist prior to the procedure being
called, and the variables will be
created. This is a much neater
solution to the alternative!
To: 999 (All Members)
From: D4J (Oliver Debus)
Subject: Compact automatic DFS init
10REM Init Programme for COMPACT
20REM Date:08.10.1995
30REM filename: Cr!BOOT
40:
50*SPOOL"!BOOT"
60PRINT"*BASIC"
70PRINT"REM Initializing BBC Master
Compact DFS ..."
80PRINT"A%=&81"
90PRINT"X%=0"
100PRINT"Y%=&FF"
110PRINT"Z%=(USR(&FFF4) AND
&0000FF00)DIV 256"
120PRINT'"IF Z%=&F5 THEN *FORM80 0
|M N"
130PRINT
140PRINT"CHAIN";:PRINT
CHR$34;:PRINT"SETUP";:PRINT CHR$34
150*SPOOL
If one writes software for his BBC
and wants to make sure that it also
works on the Master COMPACT the above
programme might be useful.
When using SWR (Sideways RAM) Version
from the Welcome Disc the computer
asks one to press CTRL-BREAK-D and
then enter *FORM80 0, No. It appears
to be stupid to tell the computer to
format a disc and then just before it
can go ahead say no! I guess the
reason for this is that the software
of the SWR image doesn't initialize
correctly after a CTRL-BREAK or when
first used after loading. When using
the *FORM80 command the computer comes
through the initialization procedure
that should have been executed
automatically. However one (like me)
might get fed up always typing in this
line.
In future you can use my above
programme which detects automatically
if your system is a Master Compact
when booting. If it is one the *FORM80
.. command is being executed and the
gets on with loading the file BASIC
file "SETUP".
I called the above file CrBOOT because
it creates a !BOOT file which does
what I described above.
Yours,
Oliver Debus (ID:D4J)
From: D4J (OCD)
Subject: spaces between lines and
line numbers in BASIC for BASIC 4
users
Having typed in a Basic programme on a
Master one might have put spaces
between some line-numbers and line but
not with others. To get rid of these
extra spaces follow this procedure:
*SPOOL "filename"
NEW
LISTO 1
*EXEC "filename"
BYE!
From: D4J (O.Debus)
Subject: Digitised Pictures
Last weekend, when I was at home I
wanted to get rid of some material I
had collected to be digitized, so I
digitzed it and stored the graphics
onto disc and then threw away the
paper. I have done about 11 640k ADFS
discs. The material is not EDITED and
cut out, which means there's also a lot
of rubbish that goes with it. Due to
the lack of time and the fact that I
don't have Wapping Editor on my Compact
I cannot EDIT the stuff in the near
future. However if somebody wants to do
it (has a Wapping Editor) I'll hand it
to him/her and it can then be published
by 8BS (probably only about 3 to 4
discs will come out).
Please let me know (via Chris at 8BS)
To: 999 (all members)
From: D5B (Jon Ripley)
Subject: Messaging on a Master
Master users may have noticed that the
Break key is close to the up-arrow
key. (I have noticed this several
times and subsequently had to re-enter
messages!)
However, all is not lost for this
annoying habit that fingers have of
pressing the wrong key. (Especially
after you've just entered a lot of
text!)
There is a a small hole to the left of
the Break key and if you insert a
small flat-head screwdriver you can
turn a nice little switch that
switches off the Break key so yoy can
press it as many times as you like but
not lose a message!
This works simply by putting a little
obstruction under the key thus
stopping it from being pressed! To
undo this and resume the Break key's
normal operation just turn the screw
the other way!
Clockwise turns off
Anti-clovkwise turns on
To: 999 (all members)
From: D5B (Jon Ripley)
Subject: NEC Pinwriter 6+
I have recently aquired the above
printer and I was wondering of any
members have a copy of the manual thay
I could buy/borrow.
If I can borrow a copy then I will
refund all postage costs involved.
You can contact me at;
37 Ceylon Place
Eastbourne
East Sussex
BN21 3J3
Tel: 01323 721091
To: 999 (all members)
From: D3H (David Colton)
Subject: Printer Leads/Switch
I have two printers, and would like to
obtain a switch to enable me to
connect both to my BBC Master 128.
Could anyone please advise? I am also
seeking a program which will enable
drawings/plans to be printed. Again I
would appreciate any assistance on
this matter. I may be contacted
(evenings) at 01623 558164.
To: 999 (all members)
From: D3L (STEVE MASON)
Subject: CARNIVAL
HAS ANYONE A COPY ON 40/80 TRK 5.25"
DISC OF THE ABOVE.MY COPY HAS BECOME
CORRUPTED MUCH TO MY YOUNGEST'S
DISMAY.THANK YOU
TEL:0121 550 7268
To: 999 (all members)
From: L1M (Janny Looyenga)
Subject: BEEBUG Volume 2.
Thanx to K6X (Cluke) who was so kind
to send me some photo-copies of the
missing and damaged files taken from
his Beebug magazines, I managed to
repair the Issues. I have sent these
files to Chris too, because I got mine
from the 8BS library. I sent him
already the missing HHog file.
About the Composer program:
Starting with the question:"Would you
like to load a tune? (Y/N)?" is
rather confusing when you get an error
by pressing Y(es) (Channel), while
expecting to hear a Demo tune...
TUNE is not included; unless you have
made a Tune yourself, always press
N)o!
Also missing from Issue 6 (forgotten
to tell you) the DEMO Swarmer! Where
is it?
To : 999(All)
From : D5E (K.Burrows)
Subject: Wordwise+
I am not sure if the v.2 OS, or the
1770 DFS of my BBC B+ is the cause of
one or two anomolies. One of these is
the erasing of a space between two
words as I scroll up in a Wordwise Plus
document after amending a line and word
wrap takes place. If the cursor was at
the left hand side for example, say
after inserting a line after breaking
text into a paragraph, then after word
wrap takes place, the cursor will
likely be between the first and second
words and the space between them will
have vanished. This has happened
fairly consistently since plugging my
version 1.48 ROM into the Model B+ and
moreso, I feel fairly certain, while
editing and spooling the ASCII !Mesg
files. It seems to put something other
than spaces in higher up also, because
in preview mode it looks like extra
carriage returns have been entered, so
I have to edit out what look like
spaces in edit mode and put a proper
space in again. I rarely used the spool
facility on the Model B with a version
1.48 ROM. The only anomoly with that,
which I suspect is because the ROM has
a corrupt location in it, is that if I
try to use the double line-space
control code, it promptly deletes the
file in a very hard reset which seems
to make the tape relay click; something
is audible anyway. I am not really
concerned about the last anomoly, which
I only included out of interest as well
as to point out I am using a
comparatively new (to me) version of
Wordwise Plus; though I have had it
years, but used the earlier one which
came with a later Model B for
simplicity. However, I am curious to
know if the first problem with the
ASCII files, particularly when spooled
and re-loaded to edit further, has been
encountered by any other 8BS members.
Maybe the group already knows about
this among other problems because I
have read in the past that Wordwise
Plus is by no means perfect, and
another company brought out an enhanced
version of it to try to improve it.
Is there a known way to bring the
shadow RAM into use on the B+ while
using Wordwise Plus?
The ability to edit longer documents as
well as run longer programs was one of
the main reasons for moving onto the
Model B+, yet I cannot find a way of
doing so and still see it in the proper
preview mode. *SHADOW only enables the
shadow RAM at the next mode change, but
it does not seem possible to type MODE
135 or anything against a colon or
operating system asterisk on menu page
to do the trick; *FX114 being no
different to *SHADOW. Has anyone got a
solution?
To: 999 (all members)
From: K3H (ALBERT SCHOFIELD)
Subject: TAPE TO DISC ON THE BBC B
Several members have been enquiring
about the operation of Vine Micro's
REPLAY tape to disc system so here
goes with a rundown on it.
REPLAY first appeared in 1985 and had
to be tailor made for each make of
DFS. It was activated by entering
*REPLAY and some software used this
command to block the use of REPLAY. So
in 1988 Vine Micros brought out a MARK
2 version of REPLAY which would work
with any 1770 DFS double density only.
This version did not use the *REPLAY
command but was activated just by
pressing a push button switch which
was usually mounted on the back of the
computer. In 1989 Vine Micros ran foul
of the new copyright laws and were
banned from producing any more.
If you have a REPLAY system fitted it
is probably one of the original
types. If you enter *REPLAY and get
BAD COMMAND then you have the MARK 2
version.
I will deal with the original version
first. Insert a blank formatted disc
into drive 0 and type *REPLAY or *REP.
and the main menu will be displayed.
Press the function key f5 to
initialise the disc. Then press key f1
to create a new file. A filename can
now be entered which can be up to
twenty characters long. The name will
appear flashing white to indicate that
it is ready to be saved to. Now press
BREAK and load in your game as normal.
When it is fully loaded press the
REPLAY switch just once. The two
keyboard control LEDs will start
flashing. Press key f0 and the game
will be saved to disc.
To reload the game in future type
*REPLAY or do a SHIFT/BREAK. The menu
will be displayed and the appropriate
key may be pressed to load the game.
The game can originate from either
tape or disc.
With the mark 2 version the discs
have to be specially formatted. Place
a disc in drive 0 and press the REPLAY
button. The two keyboard LEDs will
flash alternately. Press key f4. The
message "Shall I format this disc ?"
will appear. Press Y and answer the
questions regarding the disc drive.
The disc will be formatted and the
menu will appear. Press SPACE and the
utilities menu will be displayed.
Press C to create a file which can be
up to 31 characters long. Press break
and load in your game. When it is
fully loaded press the replay button
and then press f0 and the game will be
saved to disc. To reload the game
press the REPLAY button and then key
f0 and the menu will appear. With the
mark 2 version it is not essential to
create a file first. The game can be
loaded in first and then the REPLAY
button pressed followed by the f0 key
and the game will be saved with the
filename "UNSET". This can be renamed
afterwards if desired. Here is a list
of the buttons that can be used:-
f0-SAVE TO DRIVE 0.
f1-SAVE TO DRIVE 1.
f4-ACCESS DRIVE 0.
f5-ACCESS DRIVE 1.
SPACE-RETURN BACK TO PROGRAM.
More next month.
To: 999 (all members)
From: K7T (Douglas Ambrose)
Subject: Corrupted Discs
I recently lost a Basic program on a
corrupted disc. With the aid of the
Advanced Disc Toolkit I was able to
find the address, and SAVE the
relevant part of the disc. I then
EDITed the new file so that the start
and finish appeared to be correct for
a tokenised program. However, it would
not LOAD but gave the message "Bad
program". In the end I had to load it
into EDIT, and detokenise by hand. I
could then "Return to language" -
Basic, and it would run. My question
is therefore, How could I have done it
more easily? Is there any way of
achieving the opposite of *EXEC so
that a corrupted program can be
automatically detokenised to give a
text file that can be easily edited?
EDITOR.......... You may recall a
program that I wrote, called "BasRead"
in 8BS-23. This is the program that I
use in these sort of circumstances, it
reads the file from disc and
detokenises it. If you have set the
output to "SPOOL", it saves it back to
disc in ASCII format that can then be
edited more easily to remove bad parts
before *EXECing back as a BASIC
program.
To: 999 (all members)
From: 3WU (Fred Price)
Subject: Disc Copying
If you have a program that you want
to copy and the program copies over.
But when it is run, it will only call
up the first heading and will not call
up any more of the program.
The program in question is the game
called CLOGGER. Is there something that
blocks you from copying it and is it
possible to get round this problem?
CLOGGER is a 40/80 program that I
got when I only had a S/S 40 drive and
this is the first time that I have
needed to copy it for someone but alas
it is not to be, So can anyone help me
with this one.
PRESS SPACE