Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
The Basix Fanzine issue 02
--------[ T H E ]-------------------------------------------------------
BBBB A SSS I X X
B B A A S S I X X The BASIC Internet Fanzine
B B A A S I XXXX ==========================
BBBB A A SSS I X X
B B AAAAA S I X X Written by and updated by Peter Cooper
B B A A S S I X X of PECO Software
BBBB A A SSS IX X
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISSUE NUMBER 2 OF THE NEW INTERNET BASIC FANZINE - DECEMBER 1995
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enquiries\support: peter@trenham.demon.co.uk
Articles: bmag@trenham.demon.co.uk
OUT EARLY THIS MONTH!!!!!
INTRODUCTION:
Hi all!! I've had a great response to the first fanzine and loads
of new code snippets and also tutorials and articles galore! You've might
have noticed that the name of the fanzine has changed. It's now called
The Basix, although I still really call it the Basic Internet Fanzine.
I hope you enjoy this months offering. Please e-mail with a comment about
the fanzine. I need hints and tips on what you (the reader) want in the
fanzine.
Thanks.
-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-
LAST MINUTE CHANGES:
Sorry but our section on writing an interpreter and the article on line
algorithms have had to go this month due to the size of the fanzine. I
don't want to produce a massive fanzine because there might be someone who'll
have a moan about the fanzine and I don't want that do I? ;-)
-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-NOTE-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- CONTENTS PAGE ---------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry about the changes in the structure this month but this is all to make
the fanzine better for you. These changes were suggested by various people.
SECTION ONE) - [SPECIALIZED ARTICLES]
|
[part a] - ADVANCED\INTERMEDIATE PROGRAMMERS
| |
| +---- i) Reading the CMOS (by John Woodgate)
| |
| +---- ii) Shareware Basic Libraries
| |
| +----iii) WAV\VOC\RAW File Player version 2.0
|
[part b] - NOVICE\BEGINNER PROGRAMMERS
|
+---- i) Basic Tutorials (1/5)
SECTION TWO) - [ALL LEVELS ARTICLES]
|
+----- i) Useful BASIC\programming sources on the internet
|
+----- ii) C vs. Basic (by Tim Gerchmez)
SECTION THREE) - [YOUR SHOUT!]
|
+----- i) Questions and Answers
|
+----- ii) The ongoing Discussion: PowerBasic or QBasic
|
+-----iii) Your programs
|
+----- iv) Survey Results
SECTION FOUR) - [DETAILS ABOUT THE FANZINE]
|
+----- i) How do you contribute?
|
+----- ii) How do you contact the author?
|
+-----iii) Credits
|
+----- iv) Last words + next month
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- SECTION ONE -----------------------------------------------------------------
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Specialized articles:
This section is split into two parts. Part A is for the more advanced or
intermediate programmer in basic and Part B is more for the beginners of
BASIC. This sort of layout was something people wanted.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION ONE PART A PART I - (Reading the CMOS - by John Woodgate) -----------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article would have been impossible (a figure of speech) if it wasn't for
John Woodgates help in writing the following snippets of code.
NOTE: this article really requires that you have Microsoft QuickBasic 4.5 or
PDS 7 (.1)
The first piece of code is to detect the amount of video memory inside your
PC. It would be a really useful program if the PC's bios actually reported
memory over 256k. This was a function for the early days when 256k of video
memory was a super large amount. Still, this program shows what sort of
things can be done and how to do them.
DECLARE FUNCTION VidMem% ()
DEFINT A-Z
FUNCTION VidMem%
' Returns the amount of Video Memory
' PC's BIOS only reports up to 256K, though.
'------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEF SEG = 0
vm = PEEK(&H487)
vm = Byte AND 96
vm = vm \ 32
vm = (vm + 1) * 64
DEF SEG
VidMem% = vm
END FUNCTION
Next is a program which actually goes into all the details of different
things in your computer. It's a good program. Run it!
' CMOS.BAS
' Reads the contents of the CMOS
'
DEFINT A-Z
DECLARE FUNCTION CMOSBattery% ()
DECLARE FUNCTION BitOn% (Which%, IntVal%)
DECLARE FUNCTION DriveType% (Drv%)
DECLARE FUNCTION Hex2Bin$ (Hcs$)
DECLARE FUNCTION TotalMem% ()
CLS
PRINT "CMOS Contents:"
FOR i = 0 TO &H7F
OUT &H70, i
PRINT USING "\ \"; HEX$(INP(&H71));
NEXT i
PRINT " "
PRINT "CMOS Battery State: ";
IF CMOSBattery% THEN PRINT "Good" ELSE PRINT "Battery Dead"
PRINT
k% = DriveType%(1)
PRINT "Drive A: ";
IF k% = 0 THEN PRINT "None"
IF k% = 1 THEN PRINT "5"; CHR$(172); " 360K"
IF k% = 2 THEN PRINT "5"; CHR$(172); " 1.2M"
IF k% = 3 THEN PRINT "3"; CHR$(171); " 720K"
IF k% = 4 THEN PRINT "3"; CHR$(171); " 1.44M"
k% = DriveType%(2)
PRINT "Drive B: ";
IF k% = 0 THEN PRINT "None"
IF k% = 1 THEN PRINT "5"; CHR$(172); " 360K"
IF k% = 2 THEN PRINT "5"; CHR$(172); " 1.2M"
IF k% = 3 THEN PRINT "3"; CHR$(171); " 720K"
IF k% = 4 THEN PRINT "3"; CHR$(171); " 1.44M"
PRINT
OUT &H70, &H19
b% = INP(&H71)
PRINT "Hard Disk 0 Type:";
IF b <> 0 THEN PRINT b% ELSE PRINT " Not Installed"
OUT &H70, &H1A
b% = INP(&H71)
PRINT "Hard Disk 1 Type:";
IF b <> 0 THEN PRINT b% ELSE PRINT " Not Installed"
PRINT
OUT &H70, &H15
b% = INP(&H71)
OUT &H70, &H16
b1% = INP(&H71)
PRINT "Base Memory:"; RTRIM$(STR$(CVI(CHR$(b) + CHR$(b1%)))); "K"
OUT &H70, &H17
b% = INP(&H71)
OUT &H70, &H18
b1% = INP(&H71)
PRINT "Extended Memory:"; RTRIM$(STR$(CVI(CHR$(b) + CHR$(b1%)))); "K"
PRINT "Total System Memory:"; RTRIM$(STR$(TotalMem%)); "K"
FUNCTION BitOn (Which, IntVal)
BitOn = 0
SELECT CASE Which
CASE 1: IF (IntVal AND 128) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 2: IF (IntVal AND 64) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 3: IF (IntVal AND 32) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 4: IF (IntVal AND 16) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 5: IF (IntVal AND 8) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 6: IF (IntVal AND 4) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 7: IF (IntVal AND 2) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 8: IF (IntVal AND 1) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 9: IF (IntVal AND (-32768)) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 10: IF (IntVal AND 16384) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 11: IF (IntVal AND 8192) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 12: IF (IntVal AND 4096) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 13: IF (IntVal AND 2048) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 14: IF (IntVal AND 1024) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 15: IF (IntVal AND 512) THEN BitOn = (-1)
CASE 16: IF (IntVal AND 256) THEN BitOn = (-1)
END SELECT
END FUNCTION
FUNCTION CMOSBattery%
OUT &H70, &HD
b% = INP(&H71)
c = BitOn%(1, b%)
CMOSBattery% = c
END FUNCTION
FUNCTION DriveType% (Drv%)
OUT &H70, &H10
b% = INP(&H71)
IF Drv% = 1 THEN
t$ = LEFT$(Hex2Bin$(LTRIM$(RTRIM$(HEX$(b%)))), 4)
ELSE
t$ = MID$(Hex2Bin$(LTRIM$(RTRIM$(HEX$(b%)))), 5, 4)
END IF
IF t$ = "0001" THEN DriveType% = 1
IF t$ = "0010" THEN DriveType% = 2
IF t$ = "0011" THEN DriveType% = 3
IF t$ = "0100" THEN DriveType% = 4
END FUNCTION
FUNCTION Hex2Bin$ (Hcs$)
Hcs$ = UCASE$(Hcs$)
lc = LEN(Hcs$)
FOR x = 1 TO lc
SELECT CASE MID$(Hcs$, x, 1)
CASE "0"
Out$ = Out$ + "0000"
CASE "1"
Out$ = Out$ + "0001"
CASE "2"
Out$ = Out$ + "0010"
CASE "3"
Out$ = Out$ + "0011"
CASE "4"
Out$ = Out$ + "0100"
CASE "5"
Out$ = Out$ + "0101"
CASE "6"
Out$ = Out$ + "0110"
CASE "7"
Out$ = Out$ + "0111"
CASE "8"
Out$ = Out$ + "1000"
CASE "9"
Out$ = Out$ + "1001"
CASE "A"
Out$ = Out$ + "1010"
CASE "B"
Out$ = Out$ + "1011"
CASE "C"
Out$ = Out$ + "1100"
CASE "D"
Out$ = Out$ + "1101"
CASE "E"
Out$ = Out$ + "1110"
CASE "F"
Out$ = Out$ + "1111"
END SELECT
NEXT
Hex2Bin$ = Out$
END FUNCTION
FUNCTION TotalMem%
OUT &H70, &H15
b% = INP(&H71)
OUT &H70, &H16
b1% = INP(&H71)
a1% = CVI(CHR$(b) + CHR$(b1%))
OUT &H70, &H17
b% = INP(&H71)
OUT &H70, &H18
b1% = INP(&H71)
a2% = CVI(CHR$(b) + CHR$(b1%))
TotalMem% = a1% + a2%
END FUNCTION
From John Woodgate/QTD (John@nmr.sbay.org)
John has been the biggest external contributor to the fanzine and has been
a great help in providing code and help. Cheers John. Keep up the good work.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION ONE PART A PART II - (Shareware BASIC libraries) --------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The inclusion of this section was made by Tim Gerchmez and is a very good idea
in my opinion and this month we concentrate on PowerBASIC users so here goes:
Tims toolboxes and libraries are available at the following URL:
ftp://ftp.eskimo.com/u/f/future
or, to put it another way, at ftp.eskimo.com in directory /u/f/future.
He will also respond to Email requests and send copies of his shareware
UUencoded or MIME encoded via email to anyone who asks. His email address
is future@eskimo.com .
Here are the ones available:
PBASMLIB.ZIP:
**PBASMLIB For PowerBASIC 3.0**
An all assembly-language toolbox for PowerBASIC 3.0, containing
hundreds of low level routines for MS-DOS, BIOS, mouse driver,
Soundblaster access and others.
Shareware, $39.95 registration.
MNUSYS23.ZIP:
Menusys for PowerBASIC 3.0 Version 2.3 released 11/94-
A complete text-mode GUI toolbox for PowerBASIC 3.0 with support
libraries. Includes pull-down menus, mouse support, online
help system, clock, calendar and calculator programs.
Shareware, $25.00.
POW.ZIP:
- POW! for PowerBASIC 3.0 -
An exciting new Soundblaster library for PowerBASIC 3.0,
written entirely in assembly language. Includes over 40
flexible, powerful commands that utilize all of the
Soundblaster's capabilities.
Shareware, $29.95 + $5 S/H.
DOBI.ZIP:
-------------------------
DOBI Release 1.0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An all assembly language toolbox of low-level DOS
and BIOS routines for PowerBASIC 3. Shareware,
$15.00 registration fee.
-------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION ONE PART A PART III - (Wave Player 2) -------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Woodgate saw my first pathetic attempt at a WAV\VOC\RAW player in the
first issue and he had a go at improving it by adding a bit of disk buffering.
Very clever programmer. The code will be displayed next month.
I had a smart idea too. I decided to write a program that read the file into
memory and then played it. Good idea?
It plays at the right speed like this on my machine. BTW,sorry about the
programming style. I'll tidy it up (eventually!). ;-)
NOTE: This program can only do WAV files up to 30k.
' This is my second attempt at a WAVE player. It's still awful isn't it!!
' At least it plays at the right speed
'$DYNAMIC
TYPE wave
byte AS STRING * 1
END TYPE
DIM SHARED w AS wave
DIM a%(1 TO 30000)
' START OF RESET SECTION
CLS
OUT &H226, 1: OUT &H226, 0
DO
x% = INP(&H22E)
IF x% AND 128 THEN
x% = INP(&H22A)
IF x% = &HAA THEN
PRINT "reset!"
EXIT DO
END IF
END IF
LOOP
' END OF RESET SECTION
OPEN "c:\windows\tada.wav" FOR BINARY AS #1
bpos% = 1
FOR pos1% = 1 TO 15000 STEP 1
GET #1, bpos%, wx%
bpos% = bpos% + 2
a%(pos1%) = wx%
NEXT pos1%
CLOSE #1
'
DO
' TURN SPEAKER ON
DO
x% = INP(&H22C)
LOOP WHILE x% AND 128
OUT &H22C, &HD1 ' send speaker on code
bpos% = 1
FOR pos1% = 1 TO 15000
OUT &H22C, &H10 ' send
f% = a%(pos1%)
FOR delay% = 1 TO 2
NEXT delay%
OUT &H22C, f% ' send no.
NEXT pos1%
LOOP
CLOSE #1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION ONE PART B PART I - (Basic tutorial 1/5) ----------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is another new regular feature to appear in the fanzine. A set of 5
tutorials is being written at this moment and one by one they'll be in
the fanzine so if you don't know any BASIC then here's your chance to learn!
Hi all!
I havn't got much room in this fanzine to do this so I better start straight
away.
I'm going to assume that all of you budding programmers have QBasic because
it makes a good start. All of the stuff I teach should be compatable with
PowerBasic so I think you should be ok.
PRINTING TO THE SCREEN
======================
In BASIC we use a command called PRINT to display text and variables (more
on them later) to the screen. It's simple to use. To display text you can
use:
PRINT "hello,world"
If you want to display numerals or numeric expressions you can use:
PRINT 2+4+1-5 '(NOTE you would get the number 2)
You can display alphanumeric stuff like so:
PRINT "ABC123Can't you see?"
That should all be easy stuff to grasp. Oh, if you don't know how to use the
QBasic environment then please read the manual because I'm teaching BASIC
and not how to use menus and the like. Sorry! ;-)
VARIABLES
=========
Simply, a variable is a memory store. You can store a number in a variable or
you can store a line of text. Learn from example:
a$ = "hello"
This would put the text 'hello' into a memory cell called a$
Or we could go:
a% = 1000
This would put the number 1000 into the a% box.
a% = 1000 * 2
print a%
This is more complicated. a% equals 1000*2 in this case and so that makes
2000. Then the next line prints the contents of the variable a% to the screen,
which in this case is 2000. See?
I'm sorry about the shortness of this article but I have just been told that
the fanzine is a bit too long already so I've been ordered to stop. I'll
make up for the shortness next fanzine. Sorry.
See yo! DH
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION TWO -----------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
All levels articles:
This is where general BASIC info is presented. People of different levels
(novice,advanced etc) can use this section to their benefit.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION TWO PART I - (Useful BASIC\programming sources on the net) ----------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This section of the fanzine is dedicated to telling you where to get useful
BASIC programs and utilities.
FTP SITES:
FTP.ESKIMO.COM - at this ftp site you can get Tim Gerchmez's
toolboxes.
SimTel Echos - you can get tonnes of Basic stuff here,
look at
ftp.coast.net (america)
/simtel/msdos/basic (qbasic is accepted)
src.doc.ic.ac.uk (england)
/pub/packages/simtel-msdos/basic (or)
/pub/packages/simtel-msdos/qbasic
ABC home page - http://users.aol.com/mhscards/abc.html
PCGPE (Pc Games Programmers Encyclopedia) -
this is a VERY VERY good set of text files about
programming (not just games), learn about sound
+ grafix + mouse etc. VGood. 700k though.
x2ftp.oulu.fi
(look for a games programmer directory called gpe)
I need more of this. This is basically all I have. Sorry for any confusion.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION TWO PART II - (C vs Basic) ------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Tim Gerchmez
Note: Released to the Public Domain 16 November, 1995, for
publication in the Basic Fanzine.
As a BASIC programmer of 11 years (I started on the Commodore 64 in the mid
1980's) and as a beginning C programmer (currently taking classes in school
and just about to start an advanced C course), I would like to offer
some opinions on the two languages. It seems that many BASIC programmers who
learn C become snobs soon afterwards, claiming C is the only language worth
using, and cutting down BASIC mercilessly. In fact, I have met very few C
programmers who don't feel that C (or C++) is the best and only computer
language worth using, for just about every purpose. So far, I have escaped
this trap, and such opinions seem ridiculous to me. Every computer language
has a place, and Basic has a rich tradition and history in the programming
world. What's more, BASIC has come a long way since those early days of the
1970s and 1980s. It has, in most cases, become a compiled language with
programming constructs that equal or exceed those of C in power and usability.
Basic remains easier to program in than C, easier to debug, easier to read
and easier to learn, while oftentimes equalling or exceeding C in the power
of its programming constructs and the speed and size of compiled code.
My C instructor insists that each language should be used for what it was
originally intended for. Thus, he claims that C should be used for applications
programming, while BASIC is good for beginners. His argument, however, does
not take into consideration the growth and development of computer languages.
It has a further flaw in that the original purpose for C was use in designing
and implementing operating systems (C was designed as a language to write a
portable UNIX with), and thus is not always well-suited for writing high-level
applications with. BASIC may have originally been created for beginners, but
it has grown into a programming language suitable for professional programmers.
I would not recommend BASIC to someone who wanted to write an operating system
(although theoretically it could be done with the more powerful versions of the
compiled BASICs), but for just about any other purpose it is an ideal language
to use, in my opinion. The C language itself definitely has its own tradition
and history, and it also has a strong place in the programming world, but it
certainly is not the be-all and end-all of computer languages. As BASIC
continues to improve in power, more people will begin to realize this fact.
I recently took a job with an engineering and manufacturing company doing DOS
BASIC programming. This company has compared the utility of the BASIC and C
languages. They found that BASIC (PowerBASIC specifically) executes faster
than C (I'm not sure which C compiler they used for their tests, however), and
is easier and quicker to use in developing applications (this is a given).
Thus, they do most of their in-house development in BASIC and assembly
language.
I think that if more companies looked into the possibilities of BASIC, it would
gain rapidly in popularity. There are, however, certain forces that conspire
to keep C (and C++) the premier language for professional programmers. One of
them, somewhat ironically, is C's difficulty in reading and debugging. This
tends to provide job security for C programmers, since oftentimes others have
great difficulty maintaining their code for them. In order for a company to
upgrade its C programs, they have to retain the original programmer who wrote
them.
The downsides of the BASIC language include wordiness (not a problem for all
people, but some prefer a more concise language), a certain difficulty in
linking in modules written in other languages (this situation is improving),
and a general lack of programmer control as compared to other languages (this
has also improved tremendously). The downsides of the C language include
sometimes excessive terseness, difficulty in reading and debugging, and
difficulty in writing. A good C program takes a long time to write and debug,
and can be difficult to understand by anyone other than the original programmer.
It seems to me that with the advancements BASIC has made, the downsides of
C now exceed those of BASIC. C has changed and grown very little since its
inception, whereas BASIC has improved tremendously. Although BASIC is a
"higher-level" language than C, it has become almost as easy to link to routines
written in other languages (like assembly language) as C has (this depends, of
course, on the compiler). Thus, many of the advantages of C over BASIC have
disappeared. If something ever happens to loosen C's stranglehold on the
shrinkwrap software development market, I think we will see BASIC emerge as a
language used to write products released commercially to the public. For now,
however, C and C++ continue to dominate this area of programming.
The most powerful BASIC on the market today (this is arguable, however) is
probably PowerBASIC. This language has grown to include many of the elements
of C (version 3.2 even includes pointers), and it retains the ease of use of
the BASIC language. PowerBASIC offers more data types than ANSI C does, and
it also offers such amenities as inline assembly language. As it is my
language of choice for DOS programming, I can't help but include a short plug
for it here.
As far as Windows programming goes, there are several choices available. Visual
Basic, perhaps the most popular implementation of BASIC of all time, remains a
strong choice. In the Windows environment, BASIC remains a strong contender
as a powerful language that allows fast application development. VB is used
widely by many companies for in-house development, and there are even a few
commercial applications that have been written in VB. What's more, Visual Basic
for Applications has been developed and added in to some of the most popular
applications software written by Microsoft, thus providing the power and
programmability of BASIC to business applications. Although many like to put
down Microsoft, the company has done much for the advancement of the BASIC
language (Bill Gates, the president of Microsoft Corp, designed the original
MS BASIC). Visual Basic has posed a real threat to the domination of C and C++
as windows programming tools. Although the programming paradigm of VB is
somewhat different than in other BASICs (it uses an event-driven and partially
object-oriented approach to programming), it retains all of the language
constructs of MS's other versions.
To summarize, I feel that both BASIC and C are worthwhile languages to learn
and use. However, the insufferable attitude of many C programmers can be a
real irritation. In contrast, most BASIC programmers I have talked to are
helpful, courteous, and respectful of the place of all computer languages.
Some BASIC programmers (beginners,particularly) seem somewhat in awe of C and
C++ programmers. I think it's time for this to change. BASIC has grown up,
and has acquired an important place in the programming world as a language
useful for hobbyists and professional programmers alike.
* The author, Tim Gerchmez, has published several shareware
toolboxes for PowerBASIC and QuickBASIC 4.5. He can be
contacted on the Internet at future@eskimo.com. *
== From the editors desk ==
I entirely agree with Tims comments. That article is a very well written
one which puts the point across that C is not the only language for writing
serious stuff. PowerBASIC has inline assembler and this means that you could
write basically anything in it. PDS 7 (.1) still stands up too.
A great article. If anyone has any comments on this then please email either
Tim or the fanzine. Thanks again, Tim.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION THREE ---------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Your Shout:
Anything that is sent for use for the zine that doesn't fit into the other
chapters is here. It's where your questions and programs go unless they fit
into an article or if you actually write an article or tutor.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION THREE PART I - (Questions and Answers) ------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail your BASIC problems and get an answer (hopefully) :
Q - Why can't you make this fanzine into a mailing list?
A - I've contacted my internet provider and they have no facility for
mailing lists unless I run it direct from my machine and send the
stuff myself. I'm sorry but I cannot afford the phone bills to do
this. I have had another idea as a soloution.
A newsgroup will be created called alt.games.programmer.basic soon.
This newsgroup was debated with many basic programmers and it is to be
created soon and so if you want other fanzines they'll be there soon.
I'm sorry if you can't get the newsgroup. Just stick with comp.lang.basic
.misc
Q - I want to program a menu in my prog. How can I do this or get a library?
A - The toolbox author, Tim Gerchmez, has produced a MenuSys library for
QB 4.5 which allows you to produce menus in the language.
I havn't checked it out yet but it should be as good as Tims other
libraries which are of a high standard. Check out his libraries in
SECTION I PART A PART II of this fanzine.
Alternatively you could write something yourself. It's a simple program
to write (unless you're a beginner) if you've been programming for a
year or two. Hopefully I'll have a program, next issue.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION THREE PART II - (PowerBasic or QBasic) ------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
POWERBASIC or QBASIC?
The battle rages on. And here are the current scores:
64% - Microsoft Basics
36% - Power Basic
Please send in your views on this.
I'm still taking votes on bmag@trenham.demon.co.uk but this will be the
last time I do this discussion so email me with what topics you would like
to see discussed and voted on.
Please make the subject 'VOTE' because my server got confused on one of the
votes.
I have had a comment on this:
I vote for PowerBasic if you want fast, clean code.
But, I vote for QBasic if you're a beginner and the IDE is far better.
Thanks for that.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION THREE PART III - (Your Programs) ------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following was sent in by John Rodgers for inclusion to the fanzine.
He can be contacted at rodgers@gate.net . It reads the date and time
from the TIME$ and DATE$ functions and sorts them out into nice neat tidy
strings. Being British, I would like to change the date bit to display it
as Day/Month/Year but I don't like changing peoples programs that they've
sent in so here goes:
CLS 'subroutine to add the date and time to the view screen
t$ = TIME$
Hr = VAL(t$)
IF Hr < 12 THEN Ampm$ = " AM" ELSE Ampm$ = " PM"
IF Hr > 12 THEN Hr = Hr - 12
IF Hr = 0 THEN Hr = 12
prgTime$ = STR$(Hr) + RIGHT$(t$, 6) + Ampm$
IF Ampm$ = " AM" THEN ' convert prgTime$ to 5 characters
prTime$ = LEFT$(prgTime$, 5) + " AM" 'for AM
END IF
IF Ampm$ = " AM" AND VAL(LEFT$(prgTime$, 3)) >= 10 THEN ' convert prgTime$ to 6 characters
prTime$ = LEFT$(prgTime$, 6) + " AM" 'for PM after 10
END IF
IF Ampm$ = " PM" THEN ' convert prgTime$ to 5 characters
prTime$ = LEFT$(prgTime$, 5) + " PM" 'for PM
END IF
IF Ampm$ = " PM" AND VAL(LEFT$(prgTime$, 3)) >= 10 THEN ' convert prgTime$ to 6 characters
prTime$ = LEFT$(prgTime$, 6) + " PM" 'for PM after 10
END IF
'convert DATE to 8 characters
prDate$ = LEFT$(DATE$, 6) + RIGHT$(DATE$, 2)
IF VAL(LEFT$(prDate$, 2)) < 10 THEN
mo% = VAL(LEFT$(prDate$, 2))
mo$ = "0" + LTRIM$(STR$(mo%))
prDate$ = LTRIM$(mo$) + RIGHT$(prDate$, 6)
END IF
l = l + 1 'locate and print new values
VIEW PRINT
COLOR 15
LOCATE 2, 2': PRINT TIME$
PRINT LTRIM$(prTime$); " "
LOCATE 2, 72: PRINT prDate$
COLOR 0, 7
SYSTEM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION THREE PART IV - (Survey Results) ------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About two weeks ago, I started to survey readers of the fanzine on the
comp.lang.basic.misc newsgroup and I was very pleased with the response I
received. Thank you, all that participated.
I recieved excellent marks and the averages of everything added toghether
was 7.5 out of 10. That's covering everything. So I think I must be doing
something right. But, I am thinking of shortening the fanzine though because
I have not recieved many code segments. Remember, I'll take a look at anything
you think is good! Right, ;-)
The Wrox Press article was given a low grade overall and I'm saddened by
that although it wasn't the most interesting thing around. The company are
getting something more juicy for next issue. ;-)
Remember to buy their book 'The Revolutionary Guide to QBasic' when it comes
out. It's a great book spanning novice to advanced users.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- SECTION FOUR ----------------------------------------------------------------
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Details about the fanzine:
This section of the fanzine is the last. It covers topics such as how to get
in touch with the author,who contributed to the fanzine and my last words.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION FOUR PART I - (How do you contribute?) ------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So how do you contribute?
All you have to do is e-mail all of your source code\articles and ideas to:
bmag@trenham.demon.co.uk - with contributions and articles
peter@trenham.demon.co.uk - with enquiries, etc..
Anything you send really has to be under 100 lines long of course unless it's
super excellent. I will allow long things in the fanzine but could you make
an arrangement with me first? ;-) It'd be much appreciated.
Thanks.
BTW, I'm especially looking for VB stuff or reviews of programming languages.
Also, PowerBASIC stuff because the powerbasic readers have been moaning there
is nothing especially for them. Thanks. :-)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION FOUR PART II - (How do you contact the author?) ---------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to ask me a question about BASIC or the fanzine then please e-mail
to the support address and I'll be only too pleased to answer although please
understand that you may not get an instant reply because my local mailserver
may break down (not rare) or I may be busy with other things. I'll respond ASAP
If you have something to share with everyone then post onto the alt.lang.basic
or comp.lang.basic.misc newsgroups (I read the latter most). Make the subject
good as I don't read a lot of the articles straight away because of the titles
although I do read most of them eventually.
I'm also trying to create a new BASIC newsgroup. It may be called:
alt.games.programming.basic
I need comments on this especially.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION FOUR PART III - (Credits) -------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A very big thanks to (in no particular order) :
Tim Gerchmez,
for writing a superb article on C vs Basic
(future@eskimo.com)
The people at Wrox Press,
for contributing a regular article to the
fanzine and letting me beta-test their book
John Woodgate,
who contributes as well as ever
(john@smr.bay.org)
James Erickson,
who writes some great stuff and gives me ideas all the time
(madamee@teleport.com)
Everyone who completed the survey
I'm going to try and implement some of the
changes for next fanzine
Other people who wrote to me and who contributed code, gave me ideas or
helped in any way:
Matt Doss
John Rodgers
Douggie Green
Nick Blomstrand
John Warner
Remember that this fanzine needs you, to contribute.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SECTION FOUR PART IV - (Last Words+Next month) ------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEXT MONTH:
SPECIALIZED ARTICLES:
[Advanced\Intermediate]
Interrupts and how they can work for you
John Woodgates Disk buffering WAV player
[Novice]
Basic Tutorial 2/5
ALL LEVELS ARTICLES:
Programming the mouse
YOUR SHOUT:
PowerBasic vs QBasic (the final decision)
Your programs, tricks and hopefully stories.
DETAILS ABOUT THE FANZINE:
How to contact us.
Rundown on the Jan 1996 fanzine.
I'd be lying if I knew when exactly it was going to come out. It's either
24th December or 1st January. Sorry for the vagueness.
Last words:
This is the end of the second fanzine and just as much work has gone
into it as the first one. I think people take to this fanzine because it is
personally written and not just a bundle of BASIC progs or just writing.
Any ideas about the fanzine can be posted to me at the following address:
peter@trenham.demon.co.uk
Any material for the Basic Fanzine:
bmag@trenham.demon.co.uk
Thank you for reading and I'm already writing the third fanzine. There will
definitely be a section on interrupts (it's been demanded by people who did
the survey). I need your program but especially tricks or funny basic stories.
Keep sending them all.
Do you want this fanzine to go out fortnightly, everyone? And do you want
it longer? Please, I need answers.
Cheers, ;-)
