Non Parametric Statistics for the QL - back to the 1980s

Here at QL Heaven a box of old 3.5inch floppy disks has been reopened. The box has been stored for some time. The first disk out of the box was labelled MDV Cartridges copied 8th April 2001. The single disk contained Superbasic software written in the mid to late 1980s. This included some statistical comparison methods for research. Back then there were absolutely no commercial statistics packages for the QL. And now the situation is exactly unchanged.

In the interests of preservation the software package has been again copied to one of the QXL.win files on QPC. Running the programs with SBASIC threw up some interesting faults. Badly constructed IF statements with additional unnecessary END IFs that threw the END DEFine statements out of kilter. Clashes between some of the program's variable names and SBASIC keywords and horror of horrors even some GOTOs. How the programs ran I don't know. Yet they did, presumably because the QDOS Superbasic interpreter was more generous in allowing constructs that SBASIC does not.

QL Heaven plans to review the programs further to discover if the calculations produced are in fact valid after the tweaks required to stop the SBASIC interpreter complaining. If so perhaps they will be published here as listings.

QL World Programs - File Finder

There are many programming gems from the QL World magazine that deserve to be dusted down and brought up to date. Browsing through some old floppy disks to look for a C program to try in the GST C compiler, this was released as a public domain program over 2 years ago, QL Heaven came across this excellent small program from the autumn of 1989. Typed in by hand and used when the QL had only floppy disks and microdrives as devices.  This is Finder_bas and uses pattern matching to find files from amongst the morass of accumulated files on disks and QXL.win files. The picture shows it finding the files with the thg tag on flp1_. A trivial example but on a QXL.win file with megabytes of data a useful tool.

This along with 3D Noughts and crosses deserves to be updated for modern systems. QL Heaven has another gem that will be featured here at some point. This is AI Draughts program, written entirely in SuperBasic and plays a mean game of draughts even though the users interface is dire. That's for another day.

In the QL user list there was an announcement of prototype of an ethernet board for the black box QL - from the picture is appears to use the QL expansion slot, so if it comes to production it might just use the Qplane or backplane. The pictures are here on flickr here



Below is the file finder listing

1000 DEFine FuNction Match (Pattern$,Str$)
1010 LOCal Chr,Text,Wcard,Mask$,loop,Result
1020 LOCal Charpos(10),EndChar(10),First(10)
1030 LOCal MinPos(10),MaxPos(10),x,Y
1040 Mask$=Pattern$:Chr=1 : Text=0
1050 FOR x=1 TO 10
1060  REPeat loop
1070    Wcard=Mask$(Chr) INSTR "\?*"
1080    IF Wcard >1 AND Text : Text=0 : EXIT loop
1090    IF ((Wcard>1)+Text)=0
1100      Text=1 : Charpos(x)=Chr
1110    END IF
1120    SELect ON Wcard
1130     =1 : IF Chr=LEN(Mask$):STOP
1140          IF Chr=1
1150             Mask$=Mask$(2 TO )
1160          ELSE
1170             Mask$=Mask$(1 TO Chr-1)&Mask$(Chr+1 TO)
1180          END IF
1190    =2 : MinPos(x)=MinPos(x)+1
1200    =3 :MaxPos(x)=1
1210    END SELect
1220    Chr=Chr+1
1230    IF Chr>LEN(Mask$):EXIT loop
1240  END REPeat loop
1250  EndChar(x)=Chr-1
1260  IF Chr > LEN(Mask$):EXIT x
1270 END FOR x
1280 :
1290 Y=1 : First(Y)=1 +MinPos(1)
1300 REPeat loop
1310    IF Charpos(Y)=0
1320      IF MaxPos(Y)
1330        Result=LEN(Str$) >=First(Y)-1
1340      ELSE
1350       Result=LEN(Str$)=First(Y)-1
1360      END IF
1370   ELSE
1380    IF First(Y) > LEN(Str$) : RETurn 0
1390    IF MaxPos(Y)
1400      last=LEN(Str$)
1410    ELSE
1420      last=First(Y)+EndChar(Y)-Charpos(Y)
1430    END IF
1440    Result=Mask$(Charpos(Y) TO EndChar(Y)) INSTR Str$(First(Y) TO last)
1450    END IF
1460 :
1470  IF Result=0
1480    REPeat BackTrack
1490       Y=Y-1 : IF Y=0 : RETurn 0
1500       IF MaxPos(Y):EXIT BackTrack
1510    END REPeat BackTrack
1520  ELSE
1530    IF Charpos(Y)=0 : RETurn 1
1540    First(Y)=First(Y)+Result
1550    First(Y+1)=First(Y)+EndChar(Y)-Charpos(Y)+MinPos(Y+1)
1560    Y=Y+1
1570  END IF
1580 END REPeat loop
1590 END DEFine    Match
1600 :
1610 MODE 4 : WINDOW 512,256,0,0
1620 PAPER 2,4 : CLS
1630     S=3 : OPEN#S,con_
1640     m=4 : OPEN#m,con_
1650     P=5 : OPEN#P,ser1
1660     F=6
1670     T=7
1680 Pattern$='*'
1690 Dev$='flp1_'
1700 TempFile$="ram1_TempFile"
1710 Medium$='< None >'
1720 Free =0 : Used=0
1730 Pattern : Device : Medium
1740 Display : Space  : Menu 1
1750  REPeat loop
1760   key=Bar_Menu(max)
1770     SELect ON key
1780      =1 : New_Pattern
1790      =2 : New_Device
1800      =3,4
1810           Examine=key-3
1820           Search_Mode
1830      =5,0 : EXIT loop
1840     END SELect
1850  END REPeat loop
1855 CLOSE
1860 :
1870 DEFine PROCedure Draw_Wndo (ch,ac,dn,Xpos,Ypos,Col,Title$)
1880 WINDOW#ch,ac*8+20,dn*10+24,Xpos,Ypos

1890 PAPER#ch,2,0 : INK#ch,7 :CLS#ch

1900 BORDER#ch,1,0:BORDER#ch,4

1910 CSIZE#ch,2,0 :PRINT#ch,Title$

1920 WINDOW#ch,ac*8+8,dn*10+4,Xpos+6,Ypos+16

1930 PAPER#ch,Col: CLS#ch : BORDER#ch,2

1940 CSIZE#ch,1,0:INK#ch,7*(Col<4)

1950 END DEFine draw_window

1960 :

1970 DEFine PROCedure Display

1980 Draw_Wndo 1,40,17,140,56,0,"MEDIUM    FILE"

1990 DIM media$(56,10),File$(56,48)

2000 END DEFine Display

2010 :

2020 DEFine PROCedure Pattern

2030 Draw_Wndo S,26,1,252,16,4,"PATTERN"

2040 PRINT#S,Pattern$

2050 END DEFine Pattern

2060 :

2070 DEFine PROCedure Device

2080  Draw_Wndo S,10,1,30,16,4,"DEVICE"

2090 PRINT #S,Dev$

2100 END DEFine Device

2110 :

2120 DEFine PROCedure Medium

2130  Draw_Wndo S,10,1,140,16,4,"MEDIUM"

2140   PRINT#S,Medium$

2150 END DEFine Medium

2160 :

2170 DEFine PROCedure Space

2180 Draw_Wndo S,10,2,30,56,4,"STATUS"

2190 PRINT#S, TO 4-LEN(Free);Free;"K Free"

2200 PRINT#S, TO 4-LEN(Used);Used;"K Used"

2210 END DEFine Space

2220 :

2230 DEFine PROCedure Menu(Type)

2240 LOCal n,Title$,Col

2250   WINDOW#m,120,146,20,108

2260   PAPER#m,2,4,0 : CLS#m

2270   IF Type=0 :RETurn

2280   IF Type>4  THEN

2285     Draw_Wndo S,10,3,30,108,7,"MESSAGE"

2290      Z=INT((Type*10)-40)

2310      IF Z =1 : PRINT#S,"Is ";Dev$;\"ready for"\"searching?"

2313      IF Z =2 : PRINT#S,"Print the"\"list?"

2314      IF Z =3 : PRINT#S,"Delete"    \File$(x);"?"

2316      IF Z =4 : PRINT#S,"Print"     \File$(x)

2318      IF Z =5 : PRINT#S,"Continue" \ "listing?"

2325    END IF

2328   Selection=INT(Type)

2330    SELect ON Selection

2340       =1 : RESTORE 2420

2350       =2 : RESTORE 2430

2360       =3 : RESTORE 2440

2370       =4 : RESTORE 2450

2380    END SELect

2390   READ max,Col,Title$

2400   Draw_Wndo m,10,max,30,176,Col,Title$

2410 FOR n=1 TO max : READ a$ : PRINT#m,a$

2420 DATA 5,4,"MAIN","Pattern","Device","List Only","Examine","Quit"

2430 DATA 4,4,"DEVICES","flp1_","flp2_","mdv1_","mdv2_"

2440 DATA 5,4,"FILE","Continue","View","Delete","Print","Quit"

2450 DATA 2,7,"Confirm","No","Yes"

2460 END DEFine Menu

2470 :

2480 DEFine FuNction Bar_Menu(max)

2490 LOCal n,key,loop

2500 n=0

2510 REPeat loop

2520   OVER#m,-1: BLOCK#m,80,10,0,n*10,7

2530 key=KEYROW(1) : key=CODE(INKEY$(-1))

2540 BLOCK#m,80,10,0,n*10,7 : OVER#m,0

2550  SELect ON key

2560   = 208 :n=(n-1) MOD max

2570   = 216 :n=(n-1) MOD max

2580   =10,32: RETurn n+1

2590   =27   : RETurn 0

2600  END SELect

2610 END REPeat loop

2620 END DEFine Bar_Menu

2630 :

2770 DEFine PROCedure New_Pattern

2780 LOCal loop,max,Temp$

2790 Draw_Wndo S,26,1,252,16,0,"NEW PATTERN"

2800 Menu 0 :INPUT#S,Temp$: Menu 4

2810 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2 : Pattern$=Temp$

2820 Pattern : PRINT#S; Pattern$: Menu 1

2830 END DEFine New_Pattern

2840 :

2850 DEFine PROCedure  New_Device

2860 LOCal key,a$

2870  Menu 2

2880 key= Bar_Menu(max)

2890  SELect ON key

2900   =1: Dev$="flp1_"

2910   =2: Dev$="flp2_"

2920   =3: Dev$="mdv1_"

2930   =4: Dev$="mdv2_"

2940  END SELect

2950 Device : Menu 1

2960 END DEFine New_Device

2970 :

2980 DEFine PROCedure Search_Mode

2990 LOCal Loop1,Loop2,Loop3,x,Y

3000 Y=1

3010  REPeat Loop1

3020   IF Fetch_Dir = 0 : EXIT Loop1

3030    REPeat Loop2

3040      Menu 0

3050      FOR x=Y TO DIMN(File$)

3060       REPeat Loop3

3070        IF EOF(#T) : EXIT x

3080         INPUT#T,a$ : BEEP 200,100

3090          IF Match(Pattern$,a$):EXIT Loop3

3100         END REPeat Loop3

3110         File$(x)=a$ : media$(x)=Medium$

3120         PRINT Medium$; TO 12;a$

3130         IF Examine

3140           IF File_Check:CLOSE#T:EXIT Loop1

3150         END IF

3160       NEXT x

3170         PRINT\"End of Page"\

3180       END FOR x

3190       IF Print_page OR x=DIMN(File$)

3200         Y=1 : Display

3210       ELSE

3220         Y=x

3230       END IF

3240       IF EOF(#T) : CLOSE#T:EXIT Loop2

3250    END REPeat Loop2

3260  END REPeat Loop1

3270 Display : Menu 1

3280 END DEFine Search_Mode

3290 :

3300 DEFine FuNction Fetch_Dir

3310 LOCal loop,a$

3320 Menu 4.1 : IF Bar_Menu (2) <2 : RETurn 0

3330 DELETE TempFile$

3340 OPEN_NEW#T,TempFile$

3350 DIR#T,Dev$

3360 CLOSE#T : OPEN_IN#T,TempFile$

3370 INPUT#T,Medium$,a$

3380 Free=INT(a$/2)

3390 Used=a$("/" INSTR a$+1 TO " " INSTR a$ -1)

3400 Used=INT(Used/2)-Free

3410 Medium : Space : RETurn 1

3420 END DEFine Fetch_Dir

3430 :

3440 DEFine FuNction Print_page

3450 Menu 4.2

3460 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2

3470   PRINT#P;\\DATE$

3480   PRINT#P; \"Files Matching ";

3490   PRINT#P;  Pattern$ \\

3500   FOR x=1 TO DIMN(File$)

3510     IF File$(x) ="":EXIT x

3520     PRINT#P, TO 8;media$(x);

3530     PRINT#P, TO 24;File$(x)

3540   END FOR x

3550   PRINT#P,CHR$(12)

3560   RETurn 1

3570 END IF

3580 RETurn 0

3590 END DEFine Print_page

3600 :

3610 DEFine FuNction File_Check

3620 LOCal loop,key

3630 Menu 3

3640   REPeat loop

3650    key=Bar_Menu(max)

3660    SELect ON key

3670     =1 : RETurn 0

3680     =2 : Show_File

3690     =3 : IF Delete_File : RETurn 0

3700     =4 : print_file

3710     =5,0 : RETurn 1

3720    END SELect

3730  Menu 3

3740 END REPeat loop

3750 END DEFine File_Check

3760 :

3770 DEFine PROCedure print_file

3780  LOCal Per_Page,Per_Input,Per_Line

3790  LOCal PageNum,R$,Lyne

3800 PageNum=1 : OPEN#F,Dev$&File$(x)

3810  REPeat Per_Page

3820     IF NOT New_Page THEN EXIT Per_Page

3830     REPeat Per_Input

3840      IF EOF(#F):EXIT Per_Input

3850       INPUT#F,R$

3860        REPeat Per_Line

3870         IF Lyne >50

3880          PRINT#P,CHR$(12)

3890          IF NOT New_Page THEN EXIT Per_Page

3900         END IF

3910         PRINT#P;"     ";R$(1 TO 70)

3920         Lyne=Lyne+1

3930         IF LEN(R$)>70

3940          R$=R$(71 TO)

3950           ELSE

3960          EXIT Per_Line

3970         END IF

3980       END REPeat Per_Line

3990    END REPeat Per_Input

4000  END REPeat Per_Page

4010 CLOSE#F

4020 END DEFine print_file

4030 :

4040 DEFine FuNction New_Page

4050 Menu 4.4

4060 IF Bar_Menu(2) = 2

4070    PRINT#P,File$(x)!!!"Page ";PageNum\\\

4080    Lyne=1 : PageNum=PageNum+1

4090    RETurn 1

4100 END IF

4110 RETurn 0

4120 END DEFine New_Page

4130 :

4140 DEFine PROCedure Show_File

4160 CLS : VIEW Dev$&File$(x)

4180   IF INKEY$ = CHR$(27)

4190    Menu 4.5 : IF Bar_Menu(2)=1 : RETurn

4200   END IF

4240 PRINT FILL$("^",40)

4250 END DEFine Show_File

4260 :

4270 DEFine FuNction Delete_File

4280 Menu 4.3

4290 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2

4300   DELETE Dev$&File$(x)

4310   PRINT "File Deleted":RETurn 1

4320 END IF

4330 RETurn 0

4340 END DEFine Delete_File

4350 :

1880 WINDOW#ch,ac*8+20,dn*10+24,Xpos,Ypos

1890 PAPER#ch,2,0 : INK#ch,7 :CLS#ch

1900 BORDER#ch,1,0:BORDER#ch,4

1910 CSIZE#ch,2,0 :PRINT#ch,Title$

1920 WINDOW#ch,ac*8+8,dn*10+4,Xpos+6,Ypos+16

1930 PAPER#ch,Col: CLS#ch : BORDER#ch,2

1940 CSIZE#ch,1,0:INK#ch,7*(Col<4)

1950 END DEFine draw_window

1960 :

1970 DEFine PROCedure Display

1980 Draw_Wndo 1,40,17,140,56,0,"MEDIUM    FILE"

1990 DIM media$(56,10),File$(56,48)

2000 END DEFine Display

2010 :

2020 DEFine PROCedure Pattern

2030 Draw_Wndo S,26,1,252,16,4,"PATTERN"

2040 PRINT#S,Pattern$

2050 END DEFine Pattern

2060 :

2070 DEFine PROCedure Device

2080  Draw_Wndo S,10,1,30,16,4,"DEVICE"

2090 PRINT #S,Dev$

2100 END DEFine Device

2110 :

2120 DEFine PROCedure Medium

2130  Draw_Wndo S,10,1,140,16,4,"MEDIUM"

2140   PRINT#S,Medium$

2150 END DEFine Medium

2160 :

2170 DEFine PROCedure Space

2180 Draw_Wndo S,10,2,30,56,4,"STATUS"

2190 PRINT#S, TO 4-LEN(Free);Free;"K Free"

2200 PRINT#S, TO 4-LEN(Used);Used;"K Used"

2210 END DEFine Space

2220 :

2230 DEFine PROCedure Menu(Type)

2240 LOCal n,Title$,Col

2250   WINDOW#m,120,146,20,108

2260   PAPER#m,2,4,0 : CLS#m

2270   IF Type=0 :RETurn

2280   IF Type>4  THEN

2285     Draw_Wndo S,10,3,30,108,7,"MESSAGE"

2290      Z=INT((Type*10)-40)

2310      IF Z =1 : PRINT#S,"Is ";Dev$;\"ready for"\"searching?"

2313      IF Z =2 : PRINT#S,"Print the"\"list?"

2314      IF Z =3 : PRINT#S,"Delete"    \File$(x);"?"

2316      IF Z =4 : PRINT#S,"Print"     \File$(x)

2318      IF Z =5 : PRINT#S,"Continue" \ "listing?"

2325    END IF

2328   Selection=INT(Type)

2330    SELect ON Selection

2340       =1 : RESTORE 2420

2350       =2 : RESTORE 2430

2360       =3 : RESTORE 2440

2370       =4 : RESTORE 2450

2380    END SELect

2390   READ max,Col,Title$

2400   Draw_Wndo m,10,max,30,176,Col,Title$

2410 FOR n=1 TO max : READ a$ : PRINT#m,a$

2420 DATA 5,4,"MAIN","Pattern","Device","List Only","Examine","Quit"

2430 DATA 4,4,"DEVICES","flp1_","flp2_","mdv1_","mdv2_"

2440 DATA 5,4,"FILE","Continue","View","Delete","Print","Quit"

2450 DATA 2,7,"Confirm","No","Yes"

2460 END DEFine Menu

2470 :

2480 DEFine FuNction Bar_Menu(max)

2490 LOCal n,key,loop

2500 n=0

2510 REPeat loop

2520   OVER#m,-1: BLOCK#m,80,10,0,n*10,7

2530 key=KEYROW(1) : key=CODE(INKEY$(-1))

2540 BLOCK#m,80,10,0,n*10,7 : OVER#m,0

2550  SELect ON key

2560   = 208 :n=(n-1) MOD max

2570   = 216 :n=(n-1) MOD max

2580   =10,32: RETurn n+1

2590   =27   : RETurn 0

2600  END SELect

2610 END REPeat loop

2620 END DEFine Bar_Menu

2630 :

2770 DEFine PROCedure New_Pattern

2780 LOCal loop,max,Temp$

2790 Draw_Wndo S,26,1,252,16,0,"NEW PATTERN"

2800 Menu 0 :INPUT#S,Temp$: Menu 4

2810 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2 : Pattern$=Temp$

2820 Pattern : PRINT#S; Pattern$: Menu 1

2830 END DEFine New_Pattern

2840 :

2850 DEFine PROCedure  New_Device

2860 LOCal key,a$

2870  Menu 2

2880 key= Bar_Menu(max)

2890  SELect ON key

2900   =1: Dev$="flp1_"

2910   =2: Dev$="flp2_"

2920   =3: Dev$="mdv1_"

2930   =4: Dev$="mdv2_"

2940  END SELect

2950 Device : Menu 1

2960 END DEFine New_Device

2970 :

2980 DEFine PROCedure Search_Mode

2990 LOCal Loop1,Loop2,Loop3,x,Y

3000 Y=1

3010  REPeat Loop1

3020   IF Fetch_Dir = 0 : EXIT Loop1

3030    REPeat Loop2

3040      Menu 0

3050      FOR x=Y TO DIMN(File$)

3060       REPeat Loop3

3070        IF EOF(#T) : EXIT x

3080         INPUT#T,a$ : BEEP 200,100

3090          IF Match(Pattern$,a$):EXIT Loop3

3100         END REPeat Loop3

3110         File$(x)=a$ : media$(x)=Medium$

3120         PRINT Medium$; TO 12;a$

3130         IF Examine

3140           IF File_Check:CLOSE#T:EXIT Loop1

3150         END IF

3160       NEXT x

3170         PRINT\"End of Page"\

3180       END FOR x

3190       IF Print_page OR x=DIMN(File$)

3200         Y=1 : Display

3210       ELSE

3220         Y=x

3230       END IF

3240       IF EOF(#T) : CLOSE#T:EXIT Loop2

3250    END REPeat Loop2

3260  END REPeat Loop1

3270 Display : Menu 1

3280 END DEFine Search_Mode

3290 :

3300 DEFine FuNction Fetch_Dir

3310 LOCal loop,a$

3320 Menu 4.1 : IF Bar_Menu (2) <2 : RETurn 0

3330 DELETE TempFile$

3340 OPEN_NEW#T,TempFile$

3350 DIR#T,Dev$

3360 CLOSE#T : OPEN_IN#T,TempFile$

3370 INPUT#T,Medium$,a$

3380 Free=INT(a$/2)

3390 Used=a$("/" INSTR a$+1 TO " " INSTR a$ -1)

3400 Used=INT(Used/2)-Free

3410 Medium : Space : RETurn 1

3420 END DEFine Fetch_Dir

3430 :

3440 DEFine FuNction Print_page

3450 Menu 4.2

3460 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2

3470   PRINT#P;\\DATE$

3480   PRINT#P; \"Files Matching ";

3490   PRINT#P;  Pattern$ \\

3500   FOR x=1 TO DIMN(File$)

3510     IF File$(x) ="":EXIT x

3520     PRINT#P, TO 8;media$(x);

3530     PRINT#P, TO 24;File$(x)

3540   END FOR x

3550   PRINT#P,CHR$(12)

3560   RETurn 1

3570 END IF

3580 RETurn 0

3590 END DEFine Print_page

3600 :

3610 DEFine FuNction File_Check

3620 LOCal loop,key

3630 Menu 3

3640   REPeat loop

3650    key=Bar_Menu(max)

3660    SELect ON key

3670     =1 : RETurn 0

3680     =2 : Show_File

3690     =3 : IF Delete_File : RETurn 0

3700     =4 : print_file

3710     =5,0 : RETurn 1

3720    END SELect

3730  Menu 3

3740 END REPeat loop

3750 END DEFine File_Check

3760 :

3770 DEFine PROCedure print_file

3780  LOCal Per_Page,Per_Input,Per_Line

3790  LOCal PageNum,R$,Lyne

3800 PageNum=1 : OPEN#F,Dev$&File$(x)

3810  REPeat Per_Page

3820     IF NOT New_Page THEN EXIT Per_Page

3830     REPeat Per_Input

3840      IF EOF(#F):EXIT Per_Input

3850       INPUT#F,R$

3860        REPeat Per_Line

3870         IF Lyne >50

3880          PRINT#P,CHR$(12)

3890          IF NOT New_Page THEN EXIT Per_Page

3900         END IF

3910         PRINT#P;"     ";R$(1 TO 70)

3920         Lyne=Lyne+1

3930         IF LEN(R$)>70

3940          R$=R$(71 TO)

3950           ELSE

3960          EXIT Per_Line

3970         END IF

3980       END REPeat Per_Line

3990    END REPeat Per_Input

4000  END REPeat Per_Page

4010 CLOSE#F

4020 END DEFine print_file

4030 :

4040 DEFine FuNction New_Page

4050 Menu 4.4

4060 IF Bar_Menu(2) = 2

4070    PRINT#P,File$(x)!!!"Page ";PageNum\\\

4080    Lyne=1 : PageNum=PageNum+1

4090    RETurn 1

4100 END IF

4110 RETurn 0

4120 END DEFine New_Page

4130 :

4140 DEFine PROCedure Show_File

4160 CLS : VIEW Dev$&File$(x)

4180   IF INKEY$ = CHR$(27)

4190    Menu 4.5 : IF Bar_Menu(2)=1 : RETurn

4200   END IF

4240 PRINT FILL$("^",40)

4250 END DEFine Show_File

4260 :

4270 DEFine FuNction Delete_File

4280 Menu 4.3

4290 IF Bar_Menu(2)=2

4300   DELETE Dev$&File$(x)

4310   PRINT "File Deleted":RETurn 1

4320 END IF

4330 RETurn 0

4340 END DEFine Delete_File

4350 :

Portable QL Manuals and Documents

Due to the 3D noughts and crosses (3DOXO) project QL Heaven has to brush up on Turbo and TPR. The 3DOXO basic listing compiles fine with Turbo. The turbo directives are added to the code, all that remains to do, is the cosmetic work on the program, such as a PE window, and the addition of a few icons and other visual enhancements. This is where TPR comes in. This is George Gwilts's extension for Turbo. To my surprise the system is over 10 years old. The last manual QL Heaven had printed out dated to 2002. TPR is a powerful and complex system so the manuals need to be updated and reread. How to make them as portable as possible considering these are large documents. The answer was to convert them to .pdf files and load them on to QL Heavens ipod touch.

Conversion of text files to .pdf was easily achieved using the freeware primoPDF printer driver. This driver allows Word to print out .pdf files. To get them on to the itouch also proved easy once a free app pdf reader app was down loaded an installed from the itunes store. This app allows pdfs to be copied on to the itouch during sync. Also when the itouch is connected to the Internet it can download pdf files attached to emails. Now for the hard work - learning TPR again.

Vanilla 3D Noughts and Crosses

Another bug found. The code in the previous posting listing the full program has been updated and is now probably bug free. The last bug identified allowed the program to win with some non linear solutions to the game.

Retrospective - Digital Precision's The QL Collection

Here at QL Heaven Digital Precision's bombastic adverts are fondly remembered. Despite the hype and hard sell of their adverts, Digital Precision as a software house had many of the essential and also premium priced QL programs in their catalogue.

When the commercial prospects of the QL market started waining DP dumped virtually their entire catalogue as a bargain bundle. £2100 worth of software for £149 screamed the advert. At the time QL Heaven had never been able to afford to buy much software for the QL and so leapt at the opportunity of this bargain bundle. How many others did so is an unanswered question. The software came with minimal instructions and zipped on 10 DD floppy disks with a bespoke boot program to allow users to choose which package to unzip. Most software came with full user instruction manuals as well. How much of the software was worth anything? Actually quite a lot of it was useful and has stood the test of time. Some of it has continued to be developed including the Turbo Compiler, and Perfection the word processor. Some are now public domain such as SuperForth and some such as Digital C remained a viable programming system capable of making use of the much updated operating system smsqe and the GD2 drivers despite having been written long before these were developed.

One problem QL Heaven encountered on attempting to use the original package was that DP had zipped the source and destination device names as part of the file name of the files to be unzipped which meant that if the system had only one floppy disk drive then unzipping failed. QL Heaven remembers writing a small SuperBasic program to go through the zip files to poke "ram2_" in place of "flp2_" to allow unzipping to the ramdisk as the Amiga 1200 QL emulator was the only QL system available to QL heaven with a disk drive at that time and it only had a single disk drive.

Vanilla 3D Noughts and Crosses Bug!! Drat

Just found in line 540.

It reads          :                          IF my2_count>1 THEN RETURN 1
It should read :                          IF my2_count>1 THEN RETURN i

This improves the behaviour of the program somewhat. Playing it, there still seems to be an as yet undiscovered bug in the code that decides what constitutes a winning line. Back to reading the code again. Ah, the joys of typing in a listing again. One problem is that QL Heaven is typing in from a faded 25 year old magazine that reproduced dot matrix printouts and QL Heaven's eyes are fading. It was not easy to get all those squiggly lines correctly deciphered even 25 years ago. 

LCD Screen for Qx0

QL Heaven has acquired a Technika LCD 24 inchTV that had a faulty screen cover that had slipped down on the front of the TV by 0.5 to 1cm. Some sort of glue used seemed to have softened. Otherwise the set was fully functional. The TV is a wide screen and defaults to a 16:9 display. It has like many TVs these days a RGB PC port. Since the TV was heading to the dump and QL Heaven was desperate to get the massive 17 inch CRT monitor off the desk the Q60 was tried with the TV. Here is what it looked like.

The Techika model number is LCD 24-620

The image is reasonably acceptable in QL Heaven's view. The full 1024x512 display is not visible with lines lost at the right of the screen and at the bottom. The visible area of the display appears to be 960x480 which is not bad indeed. If it is possible to set the maximum screen size recognised by smsqe to this size then using a TV like this could provide an acceptable display. Has anyone else tried an LCD TV with a Qx0 or Aurora system?


Here are some other pictures also showing 3D Psion Chess running on a Q60 and displayed on a 24 inch LCD screen. Is that good or not.