===================================================================== EDUCATIONBASIC PASCAL ===================================================================== LAST MONTH WE LOOKED at CP/M+ and DR LOGO for the PCW. This time we will briefly look at BASIC and PASCAL. We all had Mallard BASIC bundled with the PCW and it can be found on side two of the master discs. PASCAL is also 'free', and can be found in the P.D.Library. PASCAL Favoured by academics, PASCAL has gained considerably in popularity over the last ten years and is an ideal language for learning programming. Nicklaus Wirth developed this computer language in 1968, a descendant of ALGOL, he named it after the French mathematician, Blaise Pascal. JRT Pascal is compatible with CP/M, (version three is available in the P.D.Library), and was formerly a commercial product in the U.S. Much of the sloppiness sometimes encountered in other non structured languages won't be found in Pascal because the programmer must develop his program in modules. Even Variables must be declared at the beginning of the program; Pascal is rich in variable types, there are eight of them! Pascal programs must be compiled. Firstly you need to create the program with an editor. This is called a Pascal source file. Next this file is compiled before being able to actually run the pascal program. JRT Pascal is a one step compiler, you don't need to use assemblers and linker programs. Once you have successfully compiled your code (ie. there are no errors or debugging to be done) it can be RUN like any other program except now it will run very much quicker than other high level languages because your program is in 8080 machine code. JRT PASCAL comes with a HUGE manual on disc - almost 200 pages - just waiting for you to print out and put into your own ring binder. On the whole it is an excellent manual which covers the JRT system well. If you are new to PASCAL another text suitable for a novice would be helpful although there is a good introduction and a section for 'beginners' in the JRT manual. JRT systems recommend 'Pascal User Manual and Report' by Jensen and Wirth, published by Springer-Verlag. I haven't been able to get hold of a copy of that text yet, I am still trying. With commercial Pascal programs for the PCW costing #40 - #50 it would obviously be wise to check out the P.D. version before parting with your money. This implementation has many features and once you become competent with Pascal you will find that transferring to another system is fairly painless because most Pascals tend to adhere to the original specifications. BASIC Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, or BASIC, was originally designed as a simple computer language to be used as an introduction to programming and aid teaching. Once this BASIC had been mastered it was relatively easy to transfer to FORTRAN, one of the first computer languages. Nowadays BASIC is no longer a simple beginners code, but it is still very much an all-purpose computer language found in many applications and universally popular. Mallard BASIC, as supplied with the PCW, was developed by Locomotive systems and apart from the lack of graphics commands, offers a powerful high level interpreted language that can be mastered quickly. Indeed, after just a few sessions with BASIC you should be able to write simple programs yourself. An essential purchase for would be BASIC programmers is the 'Amstrad Book 2' BASIC manual, costing #5 from Amsoft, Brentwood House, 169 Kings Road, Brentwood, Essex. CM14 4EF This book is in two parts: The first is a 90 page introduction into Mallard BASIC, a must for anyone unfamiliar with Basic; The second part (about 300 pages) gives a detailed description of BASIC's Commands and Built in Functions. A more user friendly approach would be Ian Sinclair's book 'Program your PCW' published by Glentop publishers costing about #7 or more than likely available from your local library. Both books come with examples and a program (or two) for you to type in and RUN. Most of the PCW magazines have BASIC program listings ready for you to type in, so there is plenty here to enable you to get started. Once proficient in programming in BASIC you can design your own programs to perform exactly what you want and save yourself the expense of purchasing off-the-peg packages which are usually of a more general nature to satisfy 'the masses.' Don't dismiss BASIC as a childs or learners language, you will be surprised just how much software there is on the market that is written in BASIC. Anyone out there proficient in BASIC? Care to write a tutorial for PCW-FILE to help others new to the language get started? If you can help, contact Chris, he's waiting to hear from you. NEWS TROJAN PRODUCTS have just updated their CAD-MASTER lightpen program to include a total of nine fonts. The available fonts are called: Algerian, 2001, Cut-in, Gothic, Revue, US, Tech, Italic, AMS. An interesting bonus for those with Electric Studio's 'Newsdesk International' Desktop Publishing program, CAD-Master files saved to disk can be loaded into Newsdesk International. The screen colours are reversed, but still a welcome compatibility. THOMPSON COMPUTERS of 8 Hyholmes, Bretton, Peterborough PE3 8LG have just released two Tutorials for PROTEXT on disk. They are called 'ADVANCE USE OF PROTEXT' and 'MAIL MERGE TUTORIAL' and as you would expect are ready to load into PROTEXT to be printed out. 'Advance use of Protext' covers two file handling, one of Protext's more useful facilities, in some depth. With this feature you do not see both files on screen at once but you can 'swap' between the two and transfer blocks of text as easily. There is an extensive section on using Protext to create columns of text, on the screen and at the printer. The use of Rulers and getting the best from the PCW printer are also covered. There is also a comprehensive section on using the 'phrase keys'. With this tutorial there are plenty of examples in the text and in separate files on disk. The course is divided into four sections, each is loaded individually. Occupies 65K on a CF2 Disk in 17 files. If you have Protext and find the manual hard going then this tutorial will be helpful in as much as it sheds fresh light on some of Protexts advanced features, and develops the mentioned areas to the full. Next time I'll have a look at the 'Mail Merge' tutorial.