| ROVAC ZMAGAZINE | | Issue #161 | | June 13, 1989 | |Copyright 1989, RII| |This week in ZMagazine| Quick DIR Mat*Rat CompuServe New 8-bit Uploads Innovative Concepts Release GEnie New 8-bit Uploads Z*Net Newswire 8-bit Edition Harold Brewer |QUICK DIR| |by Mat*Rat| Ratware Softworks (c) 1989 |System Requirements: Atari 8-bit | |computer, 32K memory, 1 disk drive| How many times have you been in the middle of writing a BASIC program and needed a directory listing? One, maybe two million? You could put the file away, go to DOS, list a directory, go back to BASIC, reload the file, try to remember why you left BASIC in the first place, and eventually pick up where you left off--even more confused than before. Another solution is to type the following in immediate mode (i.e. type this is one long line of BASIC code, without a line number, and it will execute immediately): Figure 1: CLR:DIM B$(20):O. #1,6,0,-D2:*.*-:FOR I=1 TO 64:I. #1,B$:? B$:I=I+64*(B$(2,2)>-/- AND B$(2,2)<-:-):N. I:END Now, any time you wish to see a disk directory without leaving BASIC, or affecting the program you have in memory, simply type this line and press RETURN, right? That would be tedious. Well, maybe we could make it a BASIC line of code in our program. Then any time we need a disk directory, simply list it to the screen, edit out the line number, and smack RETURN. Right? Well, it isn't quite so simple. A single logical line of BASIC code, when entered, cannot be longer than 3 screen lines. Notice that OPEN was abbreviated as O., INPUT as I., and NEXT as N., in figure 1 above. Atari BASIC's support of abbreviated commands is rare among programming languages--a very nice feature. If you were to enter this line of code with a line number in front of it, then LIST the line to display, you would see that it comes out to be MORE THAN 3 screen lines! The line, WHEN INPUT FROM THE KEYBOARD, must be 3 screen lines or less. Once the abbreviations are expanded, it doesn't matter. With the line number 10000, the above line is expanded by BASIC as follows: Figure 2: 10000 CLR :DIM B$(20):OPEN #1,6,0,-D1: *.*-:FOR I=1 TO 64:INPUT #1,B$:? B$:I= I+64*(B$(2,2)>-/- AND B$(2,2)<-:-):NEX T I:END If we move the cursor up to the 1 in 10000 and press CONTROL-DELETE, it will gobble up the 1, and move everything up one position up to and including the -X- in the NEXT statement. However, since the rest of the program statement, -T I:END- is beyond the third logical line, it doesn't get moved up. So, this isn't such a simple fix either. However, there IS a better way! Take a look at the program listing below, QUICKDIR.BAS. This program creates that cryptic looking segment of code shown in figure 1, but on a DISK file. Any time you want a disk directory, simply ENTER that file into BASIC. Atari BASIC will treat it as if you had typed it from the keyboard, and, viola, you have a directory listing on the screen. It won't interfere with the BASIC program in memory. It does clear (CLR) any DIMensioned strings, and potentially will add two new variables to your program, I and B$. These can be cleaned up by LISTing your program to disk, using NEW, and then ENTERing it again. This is advisable occasionally to clean out other variables that may have sneaked into the VTOC (variable table of contents) due to typographical errors, while programming. If you didn't follow that last part, don't worry--Quick DIR will have no adverse affects on any of your BASIC programs. When run, the program prompts you for a drive number that you would like to make a directory command file for. Type a number 1 through 8, and press RETURN. Next, a prompt requests that you get a disk in drive one ready and press RETURN. If you selected drive 2, then file D1:DIR2 will be created. The contents of the file will be identical to that displayed in figure 1. Any time you want to see a directory listing for drive D2:, simply type: E.-D:DIR2 and press RETURN, while in BASIC. You may run Quick DIR to create files DIR1 through DIR8 if you wish, which will provide complete access to a directory listing of any floppy disk, hard disk, or RAMdisk you might use. Quick Dir Program Listing 0 REM SAVE-D:QUICKDIR.BAS- 10 GRAPHICS 0:DIM FL$(20),DRV$(20),A$(20) 20 ? -Quick Directory by Mat*Rat- 30 ? -What drive number shall I- 40 ? -create a DIR command file- 50 ? -for -;:TRAP 20:INPUT DR 60 IF DR<1 OR DR>8 THEN ? -1-8 ONLY-:GOTO 20 70 FL$=-D1:*.*-:FL$(2,2)=STR$(DR) 80 DRV$=-D1:DIR1-:DRV$(7,7)=STR$(DR) 90 ? -Get disk in drive 1 ready- 100 ? -for new file -;DRV$:? -Press RETURN -;:INPUT A$ 110 TRAP 120:OPEN #1,8,0,DRV$:GOTO 130 120 ? -Cannot open -;DRV$:? -Error -;PEEK(195):END 130 ? #1;-CLR:DIM B$(20):O. #1,6,0,-; 140 ? #1;CHR$(34);FL$;CHR$(34); 150 ? #1;-:FOR I=1 TO 64:I. #1,B$:? B$:-; 160 ? #1;-I=I+64*(B$(2,2)>-;CHR$(34); 170 ? #1;-/-;CHR$(34);- AND B$(2,2)-; 180 ? #1;-<-;CHR$(34);-:-;CHR$(34);-):N. I:END- 190 CLOSE #1 200 ? :? -Now try this:E.-;CHR$(34);DRV$ 210 ? -to get a complete directory- 220 ? -listing without affecting- 230 ? -the program in memory!- 240 END |COMPUSERVE NEW 8-BIT UPLOADS| Courtesy of CompuServe's Atari8 Library Uploader address Filename/type Date Size Downloads [72377,2045] BOBTRM.ARC/binary 12-Jun-89 58880 Accesses: 25 BobTerm version 1.10! Now supports most ALL modems, including SX, 1030, XM301, and MPP, as well as the 850/PR/MIO RS232 interfaces. [73217,2321] BBKCP.ARC/binary 12-Jun-89 3200 Accesses: 4 BBKCP.ARC is a modification to Atari DOS 2.5 which gives you an MS-DOS style Command Processor for most functions. [76004,1764] FLASH.TXT 12-Jun-89 1610 Accesses: 8 NEWS FLASH! This text file describes the upcoming - World of Atari Show, to be held in Michigan, June 24 & 25, at the Dearborn Hyatt Regency! [76703,4061] WHATIS.ARC/binary 08-Jun-89 7808 Accesses: 22 WHATIS 2.2 recognizes 7 file compression techniques (AlfCrunch, ARC, DiskCom, etc.) and many other file types for various computers - 28 types in all! [71777,2140] Z160.ARC/binary 07-Jun-89 16128 Accesses: 34 ZMagazine #160 for 6 June 1989. [71777,430] BINDTA.ARC/binary 05-Jun-89 2304 Accesses: 14 BINDTA.ARC (BINDTA.BAS) will convert any binary file to data statements. [71777,2140] Z159.ARC/binary 05-Jun-89 11392 Accesses: 26 ZMagazine #159 for the week of 30 May, 1989. [72750,373] PLANE1.DCM/binary 05-Jun-89 73088 Accesses: 11 This is SIDE 1 of the Paper Planes disk. [72750,373] PLANE2.DCM/binary 05-Jun-89 46720 Accesses: 9 This is SIDE 2 of the Paper Planes disk. [76004,1764] XSALE.ASC 05-Jun-89 2304 Accesses: 14 Now until June 30 1989, with every purchase of our Xormer Cable, we will include the ST Xformer software, FREE! [71777,2140] ZBRK5.TXT 03-Jun-89 2874 Accesses: 79 Exclusive report from CES a new product released from Atari Corp. [72750,2237] VBIC.LST/binary 03-Jun-89 15232 Accesses: 9 Assembly listing of VBIC.COM, in text format. [70505,455] MAYADA.BAS/binary 02-Jun-89 15232 Accesses: 5 This program performs computations dealing with the calendar system of the ancient Maya. [72377,2045] MEMCHK.OBJ/binary 02-Jun-89 3584 Accesses: 46 This is Craig Hamlin's MEMCHECK program. Tests ALL memory, including OS RAM, and any XE memory banking sequences. [76004,1764] ICNEW.TXT 02-Jun-89 2304 Accesses: 46 FLASH! Two new products from I.C.! [76702,375] DL10DS.ARC/binary 31-May-89 23552 Accesses: 27 This ARChive contains an alphabetical listing of all files in Library 10 as of May 29, 1989. [76702,375] DL14DS.ARC/binary 31-May-89 14592 Accesses: 17 This ARChive contains an alphabetical listing of all files in Library 14 as of May 29, 1989. [76702,375] DL17DS.ARC/binary 31-May-89 7936 Accesses: 10 This ARChive contains an alphabetical list of all the files in Library 17 as of May 29, 1989. [76702,375] DL2DES.ARC/binary 31-May-89 13184 Accesses: 22 This ARChive contains an alphabetical listing of all files in Library 2 as of May 29, 1989. [76702,375] DL3DES.ARC/binary 31-May-89 34304 Accesses: 23 This ARChive contains an alphabetical listing of all files in Library 3 as of May 29, 1989. [76702,375] DL4DES.ARC/binary 31-May-89 31104 Accesses: 12 This ARChive contains an alphabetical listing of all files in Library 4 as of May 29, 1989. [76702,375] DL5DES.ARC/binary 31-May-89 17536 Accesses: 18 This ARChive contains an alphabetical listing of all files in Library 5 as of May 29,1989. [76702,375] DL6DES.ARC/binary 31-May-89 18432 Accesses: 12 This ARChive contains an alphabetical listing of all files in Library 6 as of May 29, 1989. [76702,375] DL7DES.ARC/binary 31-May-89 8192 Accesses: 11 This ARChive contains an alphabetical listing of all files in Library 7 as of May 29, 1989. [76702,375] DL9DES.ARC/binary 31-May-89 8320 Accesses: 15 This ARChive contains an alphabetical listing of all files in Library 9 as of May 29,1989. [70505,455] MEMMAT.BAS/binary 29-May-89 10368 Accesses: 20 Memory Match is my old APX (Atari Program Exchange) game. [71511,415] MPPC.COM/binary 29-May-89 2518 Accesses: 8 A revised handler for Mpp modems. [71511,415] SXL.COM/binary 29-May-89 1664 Accesses: 22 A revised handler for the SX212 modem. [71511,415] XMC.COM/binary 29-May-89 2746 Accesses: 29 A revised handler for the XM301/1030 modems. [72460,646] LPGRID.ARC/binary 29-May-89 4447 Accesses: 6 LPGRID will print out grids to help you solve logic puzzles. [72750,373] CROSTI.ARC/binary 29-May-89 22016 Accesses: 12 A computerized version of Double-Crostics that eliminates all that erasing! [72750,373] SHUTTL.OBJ/binary 29-May-89 28800 Accesses: 48 Binary game challenges you to orbit a star, while protecting the mother ship from asteroids. [74746,3316] SUPRLO.BAS/binary 29-May-89 2816 Accesses: 3 THIS IS A SIMULATION OF THE CANADIAN LOTTO 5/40 GAME. [74730,1141] DETOKB.COM/binary 28-May-89 8192 Accesses: 34 Detokenizes Atari Basic, Basic XE, and Basic XL saved programs. [72437,1275] TALIS.ARC/binary 25-May-89 37083 Accesses: 105 Talisman of the Ancients, a D&D-type role-playing game for the Atari 8-bit, a large and complex commercial-quality game, 100% assembler. [72750,1014] ATARIC.ARC/binary 24-May-89 20182 Accesses: 19 THIS IS NOT AN ATARI FILE These are Matt Ratcliff's routines for null modem transfers between the Atari 8 - bit and your IBM. [71777,2140] Z158.ARC/binary 23-May-89 16384 Accesses: 30 ZMagazine #158 for 23 May, 1989. [73437,1613] JACKPO.BAS/binary 23-May-89 9345 Accesses: 13 JACKPOT by David Grossman #73437,1613 JACKPOT is an arcade-type game requiring quick thinking and a little luck. [73437,1613] JACKPO.DOC/binary 23-May-89 4104 Accesses: 12 This program contains the instructions on how to play JACKPOT (JACKPO.BAS). [76703,4363] POLICY.TXT 23-May-89 1207 Accesses: 54 This file is a copy of the Library announcement which outlines our new Forum policy concerning new file submissions and this NEW UPLOADS Library. |INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS PRESS RELEASE| Innovative Concepts (I.C.) 31172 Shawn Drive Warren, MI 48093 USA Phone: (313) 293-0730 CompuServe: 76004,1764 New Products! We at I.C. are proud to announce the availability of 2 NEW products. They both are available NOW. If you have any questions reguarding these, or any of our other fine products, please contact us. Ramdrive + XL to XE Finally, a low cost memory upgrade for the Atari 800XL computer! This upgrade brings the total RAM to 128K, AND gives you 100 percent compatibility with the 130XE, including the Extended Antic Modes! This allows you to run programs like: AtariWriter+, Basic XE, Typesetter, Synfile+, and many others. Or you can use the extra 64K of memory to set-up a RAMdisk (a FAST simulated disk drive) which is EXCELLENT for disk maintenance. Coming soon: A 128K upgrade for the 600XL (yes!). Installation is required by an experienced kit builder (requires some soldering). Price: $59.95 (+ S&H - see below) Happy Doubler Now, Happy 1050 Drive owners (and clones) can program their drive to be fully compatible with ICD's U.S. Doubler! This includes formatting disks in the U.S. Sector Skew--making reads and writes MUCH faster! Also, the software allows you to re-program the drive numbers to be D1: thru D8: without having to use the drive's dip-switches. This allows you to to have up to 8 drives online! Best of all, since the Happy Doubler is completely disk based--no installation is required! And, unlike hardware mods, you only have to buy the software ONCE, no matter how many Happy 1050s you have! Price: $19.95 (+ S&H - see below) U.S.: Be sure to include $3.50 Shipping and Handling with your order. COD is available (U.S. only) at $3.00 extra. APO/FPO: Include $3.50 with order. Canada/Mexico: Include $7.00 with order. ALL other countries: Include $10.00 with order. For more information on our MANY other fine products, you can download our catalog from our Data Library (15) on CompuServe. Just BROwse for the keyword -CATALOG-. |GENIE NEW 8-BIT UPLOADS| Courtesy of GEnie's 8-bit Atari Library No. File Name YYMMDD Bytes Access Lib 4407 ATARIDOS.ARC 890608 3780 51 22 Desc: Updated 4.21 ATARIDOS.SYS for SDX 1406 Z160.ARC 890608 17640 65 13 Desc: ZMagazine #160 for 6 June 1989 4405 PRCONN.TXT 890607 1260 10 11 Desc: P:R: CONNECTION FOR SALE! 4404 ZMAG159.ARC 890605 12600 75 13 Desc: ZMagazine #159 for May 30, 1989 4403 BOWL3SRC.ARC 890604 86940 16 9 Desc: BOWLING ASSISTANT VERS. 3 PROGRAMS 4402 BOWL3DOC.ARC 890604 15120 12 9 Desc: BOWLING ASSISTANT VERS. 3.01 DOCS 4401 ZBREAK5.TXT 890603 3780 63 13 Desc: Zbreak from CES 4400 DOS2ORGANIZER.ARC 890603 32760 4 2 Desc: FILE ORGANIZR NOW 4 NON DOS 3 USERS 4399 SUFFERINGFLESH.BAS 890603 2520 53 4 Desc: A graphics demo, and gag 4396 MACHOMAN.GR9 890601 8820 12 6 Desc: A GRAPHIC 9 PICTURE OF RANDY MACHO M 4395 CRAZY5.TXT 890531 6300 20 12 Desc: CRAZY-EIGHTS #5: The Cat Interface 4394 MNPAMS.ARC 890530 11340 15 5 Desc: Collection of Mamas and Papas AMS 4393 WTRSHADE.AMS 890529 7560 22 5 Desc: -Whiter Shade Of Pale- on AMS II 4392 MONDAY.AMS 890529 6300 15 5 Desc: -Monday Monday- on AMS II 4391 ISAWHER.AMS 890529 7560 15 5 Desc: -I Saw Her Again- on AMS II 4390 TWELVE30.AMS 890529 8820 8 5 Desc: Top 20 hit for The Mamas & The Papas 4389 YOURNAME.AMS 890529 5040 12 5 Desc: -I Call Your Name- on AMS II 4388 WEDDING.AMS 890529 7560 26 5 Desc: -There Is Love- by P. Stookey on AMS 4387 WEDGE_12.ARC 890529 10080 51 22 Desc: v1.2 wedge,3.2 sparta only see desc. 4386 AEXCHANG.TXT 890528 1260 61 12 Desc: Press Release The A Exchange N/L 4385 MIO256KTO1MEG.ARC 890527 7560 27 11 Desc: QUARTER MEG MIO TO 1 MEG 4384 RAMXE.ARC 890527 5040 49 2 Desc: XE-XL BANK SWITCHING UTILITY 4383 BBC.ARC 890524 31500 13 14 Desc: C package for Express! Pro 4382 Z158.ARC 890524 17640 105 13 Desc: ZMagazine #158 for 23 May, 1989 4380 TURBO816ORDER.TXT 890523 3780 73 12 Desc: Order Form For 1.1/1.2 Turbo-816 4379 NEWBB.HLP 890522 6300 52 1 Desc: New Commands in the Bulletin Board! 4378 JMSTWO.ARC 890521 26460 28 12 Desc: COLLECTION TWO OF 8-BIT ARTICLES 4377 JMSONE.ARC 890521 25200 27 12 Desc: COLLECTION ONE OF 8-BIT ARTICLES 4376 ATEBITEBITTERS.APP 890521 2520 20 12 Desc: File form of AteE Bitters Application 4375 ATTEBITERS.TXT 890521 2520 25 12 Desc: Membership Application under the A 4374 EXP8501TO3.ARC 890521 3780 11 24 Desc: Convert phone lists on 850 Express! 4373 MESSAGECALC.ARC 890521 3780 3 24 Desc: New msg base tool for BBS Express! 4372 ATARINEWS.ARC 890521 5040 11 12 Desc: Article on lack of support -reupload 4371 GOLFSCORE.ARC 890521 25200 15 11 Desc: Do golf handicaps on your Atari! 4370 VIRTRTC.ARC 890521 8820 3 20 Desc: RTC of 04/28/88 4369 TURBOFM.ARC 890521 15120 12 15 Desc: Print out GEnie Directories 4368 FASTEXT.ARC 890521 10080 8 15 Desc: Printer Driver for FASTEXT 80 prntr 4367 DONKEY.ARC 890521 5040 3 7 Desc: A RamBrandt picture of a Donkey! 4366 FMTOSYN.ARC 890521 5040 8 9 Desc: File Manager 800 --> SynFile 4365 COPY.ARC 890521 1260 16 2 Desc: Copy from disk->printer in BASIC 4364 WEREWOLF.ARC 890521 11340 24 10 Desc: Text Adventure! 4363 STREKMOD.ARC 890521 1260 3 10 Desc: Adds char. set to ST game. reupload 4362 FALLOUT.ARC 890521 3780 22 10 Desc: Catch the Diamonds! 4361 BLUEBERRIES.ARC 890521 6300 21 10 Desc: Two player Maze Game! 4360 ZMAGARCF.ARC 890521 57960 7 13 Desc: A collection of older Zmag issues. 4359 ZMAGARCE.ARC 890521 36540 6 13 Desc: A collection of older Zmag issues. 4358 ZMAGARCD.ARC 890521 51660 4 13 Desc: A collection of older Zmag issues 4357 TRIALBYFIRE.OBJ 890520 8820 53 23 Desc: Arcade game from Feb '89 Analog 4356 DOS4.ARC 890518 66780 45 2 Desc: Atari DOS 4.0!! 4355 TABLE74.TXT 890517 2520 39 23 Desc: ANALOG, July '89 Preview 4354 ZMAG157.ARC 890517 17640 125 13 Desc: ZMagazine #157 for 16 May, 1989 4353 ILBMRD13.ARC 890514 11340 44 4 Desc: Version 1.3 of ILBM file loader 4352 AMATEUR.PIC 890514 8820 12 6 Desc: AMATEUR RADIO CARTOON 4351 ARCITYREV.TXT 890514 22680 11 10 Desc: Jan/Feb'89 Review/Guide for AR:City 4350 ARCITYREV.ARC 890514 11340 21 10 Desc: Jan/Feb Rev/Guide for AR Players'89 4343 T816SURVEY.ASC 890513 10080 56 12 Desc: Results of Turbo-816 Survey 4340 BOBTERM.ARC 890512 45360 276 8 Desc: * BobTerm 1.02 - Great new Term! * 4339 WHATIS.ARC 890511 8820 67 2 Desc: WHATIS identifies 27 file types 4338 CRAZY4.TXT 890511 5040 34 12 Desc: Crazy-Eights #4: Nursey! Nursey! 4336 XL512K.ALF 890511 10080 56 11 Desc: A 512K RAMdisk for 800XL computers 4334 ZMAG156.ARC 890509 17640 107 13 Desc: ZMagazine #156 for 9 May, 1989 4333 APACMORE.ARC 890507 17640 43 4 Desc: Four more APAC mode pictures 4332 WAYITIS.AMP 890506 7560 23 4 Desc: -The Way It Is- in AMP format. 4330 TRACKSTACK2.ARC 890504 15120 28 2 Desc: Load ML programs easily. 4329 LINKBBS143H.ARC 890503 80640 44 14 Desc: Version 1.43H of the AtariLink BBS 4328 ZMAG155.ARC 890502 20160 125 13 Desc: ZMagazine #155 for 2 May, 1989 4327 FFINDER.ARC 890502 66780 10 14 Desc: Keyword file search for Express Pro! 4326 REPAIRAD.TXT 890502 2520 31 11 Desc: 8-bit repair ad! new perm. phone #! 4325 LINKDOC.ARC 890502 39060 47 14 Desc: SysOp's Manual for LINK143H.ARC 4323 FEBAIM.ARC 890501 39060 35 12 Desc: Archive of the Feb. issue of AIM |Z*NET NEWSWIRE 8-BIT EDITION| |by Harold Brewer| The following was captured from the Repair Shop BBS (801-967-8738) and is an adjunct to a message posted on GEnie's 8-bit bulletin board: - | OLD ITEM NEW FACE! | | | | K-P Hard Disk Interface | | | | Price $110.00 | | | | K-Products | | 4267 W. Midway Dr. | | Salt Lake City, Utah 84120 | | 801-966-1697 | | | | Mastercard/Visa Accepted | -May 25, 1989 I bought the rights from Supra Corp. to their 8-bit hard disk drive interface and will be producing them under the name of K-P Hard Disk Interface. I have opened a Base here for information relating to them. It is on base 20 and the file sig for it is 13. -I have the boards being made now--they should have been finsihed today but due to minor problems the company couldn't get them done until Monday... -There will be two places the interface will be available from: here and the Stormbringer BBS in Bangor, Washington. Other than these, the interface will not be available through any catalog or distributer. I haven't been able to contact Supra to confirm this message, but have included it here in the hopes that some ZMagazine readers can help out. Roy Goldman, author of Daisy Dot series, says he continues to work on DDIII. However, Roy asks for the loan of a Prowriter and Atari XMM801 printer. These are, apparently, slightly different from the Epson-compatible standard, and Roy needs their loan to make sure Daisy Dot III will consistantly work with these printers. The exceptional piece of shareware terminal programming called BobTerm has had another version released. BobTerm v1.10 fixes a problem or two, and incorporates several more features. One of these is BobTerm's ability, like DeTerm, to load external modules which BobTerm uses in its function. As of this writing, two modules are included: one for the XEP-80, and one for a command line processor when using SpartaDOS 3.2d or X. I am extatic about the latter. Those who know me know how I carry on about Amodem. With this latest BobTerm version, my Amodem may have been overwhelmed. Thanks, Mr. Puff, for all your efforts. | Rovac Industries, Incorporated | | P.O. Box 74, Middlesex, NJ 08846 | | (201) 968-8148 | |Copyright 1989 All Rights Reserved| CompuServe: 71777,2140 GEnie: ZMAGAZINE Source: BDG793 ZMagazine Headquarters BBSes: Centurian BBS--(314)621-5046 (618)451-0165 Chaos BBS--(517)371-1106 Shadow Haven--(916)962-2566 Stairway to Heaven--(216)784-0574 The Pub--(716)826-5733