Sept-Oct 1978

CP6of;lv6 vol 4, no 5
$2.00

COlRpuf;lo
the #1 magazine of computer applications and software

.Equlpment Profiles:
~~TRS-80 Level II Basic
". Exidy Sorcerer
;~ Bally Arcade Basic
~ TI Speak & Spell
',e Merlin Video Display
i« Computalker
t- Polymorphic 8813
(

Accounts Receivable
rystems
l ~
!iI_

.Real
,
t~'.
World Games
_
•
lA Real-Time Clock

... -----
~'You Can Build

!PET Cassettes

~---------
>.

'i
!~ew Software for you:
\.
'.
Star Wars Game
}.,. Hex Game
1
?:-.l." t.
~.J

,,'

"~It)ecial Education Features

All About PASCAL

Sneak Preview - Nine New Personal Computers ~ ,

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 Mode1Z-2D System Two
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Up to ~12K of RAM/ROM Up to 512K of RAM/ROM Up to 512K of RAM/ROM
Up to 184K of disk Up to 184K of disk

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tion. conversion, for interfacing daisy-
What's more, you get a computer wheel or dot-matrix printers, even
from the manufacturer that compu- a card for programming PROMs.
ter dealers rate #1 in product re- • The industry's most professional
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Your range of choice includes COBOL, FORTRAN IV, 16K Disk-
our advanced System Three with Extended BASIC, Z-80 Macro
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there's the Z2. Each of these com-
• Rugged, professional all- metal
puters further offers up to Y2 mega- • 30-amp power supply - more construction for rack (or bench
byte of RAM (or ROM). than adequate for your most or floor cabinet) mounting. Cab-
We say these are the industry's demanding application. inets available.
most professional microcomputers
because they have outstanding fea- • 21 card slots to allow for un-
tures like these: paralleled system expansion us- FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW
ing industry-standard S-100 Cromemco computers will meet
• Z-80A microprocessor - oper-
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most others. important this is. It has the in- nical leadership, professionalism
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*Rated in The 1977 Computer Store memco has professionally imple- See them today at your dealer.
Survey by Image Resources, Westlake mented it in a fully-shielded There's no substitute for getting
Village, CA. design. the best.

[3 cromemeo
incorporated
Specialists in computers
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and peripherals
VIEW, CA 94040

CARD
• (415) 964-7400
 Is your TRASH FLOW higher
than your CASH FLOW?
SOFTWARE LIBRARY
Five diskettes are included to give you
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DISK 1 is a master diskette with BASIC,
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DISK 3 contains a Small BusinessAccount-
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DISKS 4 & 5 are blank so you may add
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Contact Our Distributors for

Regional Salesand Service
Alexander & Co., Inc. Huron Electronics
5518 Florin Road 415 N. Silver
Sacramento, CA 95823 Bad Axe, Mich. 48413
(916) 422-9070 (517) 269·9267
The Computer Store
3801 Kirby Dr., Suite 432
Houston, Texas 77098
(713) 522·7845

Southeast Represenf!ative:
Scientific Sales Co.
175 W. Wieuca, Suite 210
Atlanta, GA 30342 COMPUTER DATA SYSTEMS
(404) 252-6808
5460 Fairmont Drive -Wilmington, Delaware 19808 -302-738-0933
DealerApplications Available.
CIRCLE 116 ON READER SERVICE CARD
 evaluations & profiles
i" ttlis leees ••• 33
44
Exidy Sorcerer
Newest entry in 8-100 land.
Poly Morphic 8813
Critchfield

North
articles A system for the professional.
48 Radio Shack TRS-80 Gray
SIMULATION AND GAMING Level II Basic from Run to End.

69 Computer Simulations and Problem- 52 Merlin Video Interface Baker

Solving The wizard uncovered.
in Probabilily Camp 56 Bally Arcade Zinn
78 Real. World Games : Chadbourne Plug-in Basic for a home video game.
Future managers try marketing via com- 60 Speak & Spen and Spelling B Zinn
puter. Electronic learning aids from TI.
104 Building a Linear Model :::. Travers 62 Computalker Speech Synthesizer North
121 Evaluating StoCk Options Hagelberg WAHZN, TUWZ, THRIYZ and more.
How to lose it slower. 68 Peninsula PET Cassettes North

30 Origin of the Times Sign Rogers

72 Books on Games and Simulation
Techniques.
41 NCC, 1978 Borchers
82 Simulation and Gaming References
66 The Future is Here Today Hastings
118 SMALl80 - A new language
100 Intelligent Videodiscs Bork
108 Freedom and the Computer
Do we still have any?
Welton things to do-games
112 Distributed Processing- 64 Puzzles & Problems
Dynamite Meehan 74 Jury Selection:
144 The Systems Approach Lees A Simulation Greenberg
How to dindle a framistan. 88 Plotting With Gumowski.. Lansdown

EDUCA:J:IONFEATUfiES . 106 Short Programs

I···· . Single vS.double subscripts, doubling.
84 Personal Computers at 124 The Population Problem Ahl
The University of Michigan .Zinn
90
134 Star Wars Game Ronayne
Computers and Early Learning Banet
96 140 Hex Game Murphy
A Drop-In Center .Zinn
102 146 40 Programming Ideas Cletheroe
Buying a Personal
Computer? ,. Zinn & North
Some things to consider. business computing
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SYSTEMS
ROM section I
125 Scientific Research
149 PASCAL: BEGINning to END Merritt 128 Altair Software
157 PROM Puzzle Alber 130 Arkansas Systems

158 Real Time Control Fe/senstein 133 Computer Data Systems

166
168
Xanadu Hypertext
Transposition Ciphers
Network Ne/son
Chesson
fiction & foolishness
171 AI: Theorem Proving Karshmer 114 You Can't Think in Two Places
at Once Crowe

departments 116 Computer Myths Explained (#5) .. Wolverton

145 Marsport-
8 Notices 18 Catalogue Concluding Transmission Sonntag
10 Input/Output 34 Random Ramblings THE COVER
Creative Computing magazine is published bi-monthly by Creative Computing, P.O. The cover is an original computer graphic by Kerry Jones
Box 789-M. Morristown. NJ 07960. (Editorial office: 5t Dumont Place, Morristown. NJ of Eufaula, Alabama.
07960. Phone: (201) 540-0445.)
Foreign Subscriptions:
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orders or change of address (P.O. Form 3575) to Creative Computing, P.O. Box 789-M. £63 (airmail). Orders and payment to Hazel Gordon, Plot 23, Andrew Close, Stoke
Morristown. NJ 07960. ClII1800-631-8112 toll-free (in New Jersey call 201-540-0445) to GOlding, Nuneaton CV13 6EL, England.
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Second class postage paid at Morristown, New Jersey and at additional mailing offices.
Other Countries: 12 issues $23, 24 issues $44, 36 issues $64 (surface postage, U.S.
Copyright~ 1978 by Creative Computing. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited. dollars); 12 issues $39, 24 issues $76, 36 issues $112 (airmail postage, U.S. dollars).
Printed in USA. Orders to Creative Computing, P.O. Box 789-M, Morristown, NJ 07960, U.S.A
 Publisher David H. Ahl Advertising Sales
SeeSol®
Editor

Managing Editor
John Craig

Burchenal Green
Western States,
Jules E. Thompson
Texas

Hearst Building, Suite IIII

at all these
Associate Editor Steve North
5 Third Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 362-8547 fine
Contributing Editors Frederick Chesson
Margot Critchfield
Thomas W. Dwyer
Southern
Bert Chariton
California

Mary Jo Burger
computer
Bill Etra
Louise Etra
Lee Felsenstein
Stephen B. Gray
2560 Via Tejon
Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274
(213) 378-8361 centers
AL: Birmingham: ICP Computerland,
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Theodor Nelson Cohasset, MA 02025 Shop, (916) 961-2983. Costa Mesa: Orange
Eben Ostby (617) 383-6136 County Computer Center, (714) 646-0221.
Trish Todd Hayward: Computerland of Hayward, (415)
Stanley Viet Elsewhere 538-8080. Modesto: Computer Magic,
Philip Ellenberg (209) 527-5156. Mountain View: Digital Deli,
Karl Zinn (201) 540-0445
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Shop, (303) 444-6550. Denver: Byte Shop,
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Atlanta Computer Mart, (404) 455-0647.
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Store of Davenport, (319) 386-3330. MD:
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Retail Marketing C. J. Whitaker Computer Depot, (612) 927-5601. MO:
Michelle Fisher Florissant: Computer Country, (314)
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Customer Service Ethel Fisher Nashua, (603) 889-5238. NJ: Cherry
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Book Service Barbara Shupe (919) 781-0003. OH: Akron: Basic
Robert Fisher Computer Shop, (216) 867-0808. Columbus:
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MICROFORM Store, (503) 223-3496. Salem: Computer
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For Complete Information RI: Warwick: Computer Power, Inc.,
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[ Ann Arbor,
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Material in Creative Computing may be reprinted without Circuit Ltd., (519) 672-93.70. Vancouver, B.C.:
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Copyright © 1978 by Creative Computing, UNITED ~INGDOM: Huntingdon, England:
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Please send us two copies of any publication that carries Circuitos Electronicos, 355-591. SWEDEN:
reprinted material. Send to attention: David Ahl. Stockholm: Wernor Elektronik, (0)8-717-6288.

ProcessorTechnology
4 CREATIVE COMPIJTING
Sol:The small computer that won't
fence you in.
A lot of semantic nonsense is spectrum. They stand up to the has a full set of extensions designed
being tossed around by some of the capabilities of mini systems for the "stand alone" computer
makers of so-called "personal" costing four times as much. environment.
computers. To hear them tell it, an No wonder we call it the Our PILOT is an excellent text
investment of a few hundred serious solution to the small oriented language for teachers.
dollars will give you a computer computer question. Sold and serviced only by the
to run your small business, do Sol is the small computer best dealers.
financial planning, analyze data in system to do the general ledger and Sol Systems are sold and serviced
the engineering or scientific the payroll. Solve engineering by an outstanding group of
lab - and when day is done play and scientific problems. Use it for conveniently located computer
games by the hour. word processing. Program it stores throughout the U.S.
Well, the game part is true. for computer aided instruction. and Canada.
The rest of the claims should be Use it anywhere you want For more information contact
taken with a grain of salt. Only . versatile computer power! your nearest dealer in the
a few personal computers have the
Build computer power adjacent list. Or write Department
capacity to grow and handle
with our software. B, Processor Technology,
meaningful work in a very real
At Processor Technology we've 7100 Johnson Industrial Drive,
sense. And they don't come
tailored a group of high-level Pleasanton, CA 94566. Phone
for peanuts.
languages, an assembler and other (415) 829-2600.
Remember, there's no packages to suit the wide In sum, all small computers
free lunch. capabilities of our hardware. are not created equal
So before you buy any personal Our exclusive Extended BASIC and Sol users know it to their
computer, consider Sol~ It is a fine example. This BASIC everlasting satisfaction.
costs more at the start but less in features complete matrix functions.
the end. It can grow with your It comes on cassette or in a
ability to use it. Sol is not cheap. disk version which has random as
But it's not a delusion either. well as sequential files.
Sol small computers are at the Processor Technology FORTRAN
very top of the microcomputer is similar to FORTRAN IV and ProcessorTechnology
CIRCLE 125 ON READER SERVICE CARD
DYNABYTE COMPUTERS
ARE ALL BUSINESS
INSIDE AND OUt
When we designed our new small TRAN and COBOL programming lan- operator safety.
business computers, we meant busi- guages. Our applications packages in- Since we didn't cut comers in de-
ness. clude general ledger, accounts receiv- sign, the price/performance ratios of
As basic as that seems, it is unique. able, word processing and many other our systems make good business sense.
Just about every other microcomputer CP/M compatible programs.
being sold as a small business system Reliability is a big consideration in
THE INSIDE FACTS
The DBS/2 Computer System in-
today was originally designed as a kit buying a business computer, so we built
cludes two 5-inch disk drives either
for hobbyists. it in. Our edge connectors meet military
single or double sided for up to 1.2
Every design decision was made specifications, the toughest electronics
megabytes of mass storage; a 4MHz
with quality and reliability in mind. The manufacturing standard. Our regulated
Z-SO processing module with one
result is dependable performance and a power supply is designed to meet U.L.
parallel and two serial ports, an
solid appearance for business, profes- standards, which means the entire sys-
EPROM programmer and up to 4k
sional and scientific applications. tem runs cool and dependable. And our
ROM; 32k of RAM, a 12-s10t fully-
cast aluminum enclosures are rugged as
FIRST SMALL SYSTEM WITH well as attractive.
populated backplane; our exclusive
BIG SYSTEM STORAGE Dual Density Disk Controller, and
Many applications handle large AND THE BIGGEST CP/M.
quantities of information, so the DBS/2 THINGOFALL The DBS/l Computer includes a
uses two quad density 5-inch disk Customer .support. Our support 4MHz Z-SO processor with one parallel
drives with our exclusive Dual Density starts at the factory with testing and and two serial 110 ports, an EPROM
Disk Controller for up to 1.2 megabytes bum-in programs that assure the entire programmer and up to 4k of ROM; 32k
of formatted storage. That's more integrated system is reliable prior to RAM, and a 12cslot fully-populated
capacity than two single density S-inch shipment. Our completely modular de- backplane.
drives. sign allows continuing support in the The DBS/4 Disk System, designed
If you need more storage, our field. We maintain a bonded inventory to be the mass storage companion to the
DBS/4 has two S-inch drives with up to of all sub-system modules which means DBS/l, includes two S-inch floppy disk
2 megabytes capacity, more than any we can deliver replacement sub- drives in either single or double sided
other dual floppy disk system on the assemblies overnight nearly anywhere configuration for up to 2 megabytes of
market. in the continental U.S. mass storage, our Dual Density Disk
Dynabyte built in little things, too. Controller, and CP/M.
OUR SOFTWARE IS Like a fully-populated 12-s10t All three units will be available in
BIG ON BUSINESS backplane, switched AC outlets for ac- rack mount models.
Dynabyte helps you get down to
cessories, an option for European For a descriptive brochure and
business immediately. The DBS/2 is the
power, quiet whisper fans with long-life price list, call or write Dynabyte, 1005
first microcomputer to offer enough
metal construction, lighted indicator Elwell Court, Palo Alto, CA 94303.
storage capacity on 5-inch drives to
switches for Power On and Halt, a Phone (415) 965-1010.
fully utilize CP/M, * the most widely
shielded enclosure to protect disk drives Or better yet, see your local dealer.
accepted disk operating system. We
also supply and support BASIC, FOR-
* CP/M is a trademark of Digital Research.
from electro-mechanical interference,
and a fully enclosed power supply for DIIIIIIBII,IE

YOU CAN DEPEND ON IT.

CIRCLE 188 ON READER SERVICE CARD
 Call For Software
Creative Computing is seeking

•••National Student Computer Literacy

•• recreational,
computing
educational and personal
software to be marketed by
Creative Computing Software.
Specifically, we are seeking software for
the following computers:
A two-year study of Computer Literacy is • Apple II
Programming being conducted by the Minnesota • Radio Shack TRS-80
Educational Computing Consortium • Commodore PET
Championship (MECC) under a grant from the education We are seeking games and other
The Second Annual National ACM/UPE division of the National Science Founda- programs which take advantage of the
Student Programming Championship was tion. It is intenced'that the study results will graphics and other capabilities of the
held Wednesday, Feb. 22, 1978 in connec- provide valuable information regarding the system. Programs may be written in BASIC
tion with the Computer Science Conference ways elementary and secondary teachers or machine language.
at the Plaza Hotel in Detroit, Michigan. This are using computers, or teaching about We expect to put between five and fifteen
championship contest consisted of 24 computers, in their classrooms. The effects games or educational programs on each
teams of four student programmers com- of these various ways upon student tape cassette and sell the cassette for a retail
peting to program the solution of four knowledge of, attitudes toward, and ability price of $7.95.Authors will be paid a royalty
problems in the minimal time and using the to use computers are of particular interest. between 10% and 15% of the retail price. (A
fewest number of computer runs. The As a result of the study, computer literacy number of other companies have been
national championship team is instructional materials and measurement offering higher royalty percentages - up to
Massachusetts Institute of Technology instruments will be developed. 50% - and plan to charge more for tapes.
whose team members are Abe Lederman, To aid in the development of computer Why then, work with Creative Computing?
Larry Demar, Curt Sanford and Dan De- literacy materials and tests, it would be Simply because we expect that by offering
Ramo. The second place went to New York helpful if persons who are doing work in the the customer much more value per dollar
University, with Michigan State as the third computer literacy area would send sample than the competition, we will sell
place winner and Purdue University taking course/unit descriptions, objectives, significantly more tapes and, therefore,
fourth place. curriculum materials and measurement both we and the author will make out better
.The teams were given four problems to instruments to the Computer Literacy overalL)
solve using ANSI. FORTRAN. These Project, MECC, 2520 Broadway Drive, St. We do not want programs that will require
problems included integer addition of up to Paul, MN 55113 (1-612-376-1145). For any hand-holding or support to the user (no
forty digits, the simulation of a virtual brick further information contact Dan Klassen or payroll or general-ledger programs please),
wall to determine the number of bricks of Tom' Hansen at the above address. but we would like things like mailing lists,
various types that would be needed in its cataloging, text editing, statistical
construction, the determination of a securi- calculations, etc. On programs of this sort
ty code algorithm with check digits, and the and on very large games, we would expect
simulation of a knight's tour on a APL 79 Conference to market perhaps only one or two programs
chessboard. The winners were determined A conference devoted to all aspects of the per tape, possibly at a higher price than
by penalty points for the number of runs and programming language APL will be held in $7.95.
the elapsed time taken forthe completion of Rochester, N.Y., May 30-June 1, 1979. Programs should obviously be as bug-
each problem. APL79 is seeking papers in the traditional free as possible, should be self-
The Third National Student Programming areas, such as APL applications, language documenting and have user aids imbedded
Championship will take place in Dayton, features, implementations, and system in them. We are aiming at a mass market of
Ohio in connection with the 1979Computer issues. In addition, papers that put various users where "if anything can go wrong, it
Science Conference. The 1979 Program- aspects of APL in a broader perspective are wilL"
ming Championship will be coordinated by welcome. Examples would be papers that Please submit your tape cassette along
John Metzner, Computer Science Depart- deal with the interfaces between APL and with any running instructions and 3 first-
ment, The University of Missouri at Rolla, other hardware or software systems, or with class (15<1:)stamps for return of the cassette
Rolla, Missouri 65401. Regional qualifying the relations to LISP and other computer to:
contests are again planned for the Fall '78 in languages. Creative Computing Software
which all interested students are en- Authors should submit abstracts and P.O. Box 789-M
couraged to participate. These contests will papers to the Chairman of the Program Morristown, NJ 07960
be coordinated through the regional Committee, Paul Penfield, Jr., Room 38- Please allow 12 to 16weeks forevaluation
representatives who should be contacted 401, Massachusetts Institute of and response.
concerning respective plans for each Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139. If you don't have a PET, TRS-80, or Apple
region. Abstracts are due by September 1, 1978, II, Creative Computing is still interested in
and full papers by November 15, 1978. your BASIC software, for possible publica-
Publication Frequency Authors may also submit abstracts using
major APL time-sharing services. Each
tion in Creative Computing Magazine,
You may have noticed on some recent BASIC Games Volume 2, or conversion by
service that is participating in this submis- our in-house programming staff for one of
Creative Computing subscription notices sion procedure has a workspace named 1
the price of $15 for 12 issues. This reflects the above-mentioned machines. (We are
APL79 in the public library with details. also looking into publication of a "super
the fact that early in 1979, Creative Com-
puting will move to a monthly frequency. ~$$$$$ games book" of very large BASIC programs,
Current subscribers will receive the such as a very sophisticated Star Trek,
appropriate number of total issues for the
Our Face is Red Dept. Kingdom, etc. Please get in touch with us if
balance of their subscriptions. For example, you have something! It does not have to run
a 3-year subscription at the old $21 rate will The poems, Them ADP in the Jul/Aug on a micro.) Remember, we're looking for
receive 18 total issues (bi-monthly through 1978 issue were written by William J. original games and applications. Please
1978 and monthly thereafter). Wilson, not Mr. Wilton as noted in the send a complete listing, a sample run ortwo,
The new subscription rates are as follows: article. program description, papertape, and an
SASE, to Creative Computing, PO Box 789-
Foreign Foreign
TSC's address was not included in the M, Morristown, NJ 07960.
USA Surface Air
t-Year $ 15 $ 23 $ 39 article on Technical Systems Consultants' ~
2-Year $ 28 $ 44 $ 52 word-processing software (Jul/Aug 1978, p
3-Year $ 40 $ 56 $ 64 123). TSC is at P.O. Box 2574, West The creative mind is seldom bored.
Lifetime $300 $400 $600 Lafayette, IN 47906.(317) 423-4565. -Gordon A. MacLeod

8 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 •
•• •• •lil
Comment on Idols
Dear Editor:
Robert Mueller's article, Idols of Computer Art, (May / June
1978) is a timely catalog of the dead ends that were bound to
surface, what with graphic developments as rapid as they are in
the computer field. There is hardly a professional or academic
meeting of computer societies that does not have a computer art
competition or exhibit. At these showcases one looks in vain for
relief from those cliches Mueller has described and illustrated.
Everything has been done (and done to death) already; in less
than ten years.
However, a neglected point should be mentioned to lend
further credence to Mueller's thesis that: "Whatever the
technical route, we are on the verge of realizing an entirely new
artistic mode."
For example, I am using a computer graphic system which
can plot anyone of the illustrations that Mueller selected for his
article; in less time than a second. Probably in less than a minute
any of those drawings can be executed not once but sixty or a
hundred times; each one with some small change of one or many
parameters that define the image. In only a short time I can
produce tens of thousands of drawings on motion picture film-
each one with its minute stepping variation. Plainly, in fact, the
computer is a superb kinetic art tool. for film or video.
Spatiotemporal figuration is its domain; aural or visual. Much
action can be generated in real-time today.
If Mueller is bored to death with lissajous figures (as well he
might be) let him play anyone chord, say in C#Minor, and note
to himself what a bore a sustained chord (without past or future)
Does Anyone know? can be. Then let him hear what any of a dozen Baroque
Dear Editor: composers were able to do with that same chord as one step of a
This summer I finished 6th grade, and in math I was in a sequence of melodic or harmonic motion. Composers of that era
special computer group. Then my father and I made a computer. were just beginning to explore a vast new world of musical
He showed me mainly how to use it, also he showed me the resources and refined instrumentation. It is such an era-once
PDP-IO and how to use that. But I have some questions to ask again-to compare with the Baroque flowering of music - that
you about making games. Like, if I rewrote someone elses we are on the verge of realizing. Or so I believe. "Idols of
program, could I call it mine? Or does a program have to be computer art" notwithstanding.
written totally by one person? And if I converted from one kind Art in America, where the article originally appeared, carried
of basic to another would it be my program? Thanks very much. still another comment on the article from Harold Cohen in their
Jul ' Aug 1972 issue. .
Mark Vriesenga
106 Wellington Rd. John Whitney
DeWitt, NY 13214 17298 Avenida de la Herradura
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Mark- We don't know the answers ourselves. The legal status
of computer software is ambiguous. However, our opinion is
that the original inventor and programmer of a game deserves
credit for his work. If you rewrite the program, then it's your
program, but still not your idea. Obviously converting a
program from one BASIC to another does not constitute much Publish or Perish
of a change so it would be rather farfetched to call the program Dear Editor:
your own.
You and your readers might be interested to note a peculiar
phenomenon in the "publish or 'perish" world of university
professorial authorship. It seems that an author who publishes
An Odd Event with Creative Computing is guaranteed something like a 100-to-
. I edge in his/her subject's acceptance, popularity, coverage, etc.
Dear Editor: My article "A Comparison of Sorts" (Nov-Dec 1976, pp. 76-
In regard to the illustration which appeared on page 143 of the 80), has prompted correspondence from five countries in
July-August 1978 issue of your fine magazine, you may assure Europe, Israel, and Australia, not to mention over a dozen US
your readers that 264 is indeed an even number. readers. It has been cited in other journals, and most important,
264= 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 its message, use the Sheil-Metzner sort" has been enthusias-
Of course, the number actually printed is 264-1, the largest tically heeded by many readers.
integer which can be represented on a 64 bit machine using one A note on Hart's sort coding (Jan-Feb 1978, pp. 96-101) with
word. I suppose the habit of subtracting I from powers of 2 is reference to Pat Fitzgerald's letter (Did you get that address?
one of the effects of working with computers every day, not New Zealand, no less!) p.f O, Jul-Aug 1978: Hart's sort is a
unlike going out for a byte to eat or standing on a corner waiting modified binary tree sort in the same family as the Quicksort,
for an S-IOO bus to arrive. Heapsort, Shell-Metzner, and Tournament varieties. But it
Stephen Goodney suffers two overwhelming disadvantages over these: (I) It is
Mathematics Department slower, and (2) it uses more memory array space (2N + log ; N vs
Marymount College N + log2 N for Quick, Heap, and Tournament, or just N for
Tarrytown, NY 10591 Shell-Metzner). Dennis Church, who compared the Bubble sort

10 CREATIVE COMPUTING
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MA CURRENT LOOP ALL COMBINED WITH ONE OF THE INDUSTRY'S FASTEST BASICS AND A FULL ASSEMBLER, EDITOR,
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CIRCLE 101 ON READER SERVICE CARD
 Accumulator
Dear Editor:
While cleaning up my room in preparation to leave for school
and the Hart-Butterfly sort (Jul-Aug 1978, p. 12) might do well next fall.I came up with some impressive figures. In the two and
to try the Shell-Metzner. two-thirds year that I have been personally involved III
A variant of Hart's coding could 'produce the very well known programming, the following items have come into my posses-
Binary Sequence Search Tree, or BSST, structure. What makes sion:
this last one so great is that at the cost of a little more memory Flowcharting templates (17)
(3N vs 2N + log2 N), sorting speed is much greater, and the =
Magnetic tape (I 2000 ft.)
structure can be adapted to files very easily, including insertion Calculator (TI SR-5IA)
and deletion of data. Interested readers may see D. E. Knuth, Magnetic card envelopes (7)
The Art of Computer Programming, Vol. I, pp. 305-406 for the Cardiac computer (I)
general algorithms, or Grillo and Robertson, Microcomputer Teletype-paper metal "end caps" (50)
Systems (WC Brown, Publishers, to be in print late 1978) for TI PC-IOO listing (I)
both the algorithms and working BASIC code. Total: 5lb
Finally, please let Thaddeus L. Kowalski (Jul-Aug 1978, p. Paper tape 4lb
10), President of the Polish American Congress, know that the Empty Teletype paper tubes (42) 41b
Poles have the last word on all sorting debates. Wlodzimierz Coding forms 151b
Dobosiewicz of Warsaw University published an article in Advertising 19lb
Information Processing Letters 7, No. I (Jan 1978, pp. 1-6) in Math & puzzle books (12) 20lb
which he describes his Distributive Partitioning Sort. This is the Computer-related magazines 40lb
first significant breakthrough in sorting algorithms since the Teletype paper 40lb
Quicksort and Heapsort were described 15 years ago. You could Manuals (43) 56lb
say (be sure to' duck) that he stands so tall among his Computer-related books & texts (53) 60lb
countrymen that he is known as the lO-foot Pole. 80-colume punched cards (approx. 19,000) 95 lb
John P. Grillo 132-column printer paper (4 boxes) 310lb
Computing Sciences Total: 668lb
College of Business,
Western Illinois Uriiversity
= 1/3 ton
Macomb, IL 61455
Having no outside references, I cannot say whether this
amount of material is above or below the norm. My final
My Friend, Big Foot thought, though, is: I have acted as an accumulator long enough
What does Big Foot wear? On your calculator, multiply ... it's time now for the big dump.
4.001 by 306. Subtract 209. Multiply by 3. Turn over for Ellery Chan
answer. 1512 Frederic St.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Lou Elkins
St. Louis, Missouri

Kudos and Poem

Dear Editor:
TARBELL I am a student at Stephen A. Halscy.l.H.S. 157 in Forest
Hills. N.Y. Last year. as the first prize winner in thc school's

CASSETTE BASIC annual Computer Programming Contest. I was awarded a one-

year subscription to "Creative Computing." (My program was a
computerized basketball game.)

only $36.00 Your magazine has been a valuable aid to me when I write
programs (especially BASIC). and is a humorous counterpart to
Computer class.
Includes most features of ALTAI R* Extended I am enclosing a poem that I have written for the Computer
Page of our Class Yearbook.
BASIC.
PLUS these added features: Mark Movsesian
69-09 IOXth St.
• Assignment of I/O
Forest Hills. NY 11J75
• Alphanumeric line labels
• Unlimited length of strings The Programmer's Prayer
• Unlimited length of variable names
• Number system 10 digits BCD integer or floating point (With apologies to Alfred Noyes for this parody on his
• Procedures with independent variables "Journey by Night")

Tarbell. BASIC occupies 18K of RAM. Source Thou who never makes ERRORS. for Thou art the screen.
available on cassette, CP/M**disk and printout, Thou whose unending language knows every machine.
Thou whose endless programs are I.OAD-ed with power.
reasonably priced. Comes with manual. Look down on us gently who program this hour.
* ALTAIR is a Trademark/Tradename of MITS, Inc.
Thou whose cards are neatly punched - and all verified.
Thou alone who can tell why the printout hath lied.
Thou whose mern'ry knows not of the word DEBUGGING
950 DOVLEN PLACE, SUITE B To Thee. Lord. we beseech. "Keep the plug in!"
CARSON, CA 90746
(213) 538-4251. (213) 538-2254 Thou whose automatic "SA YE" must never be tested.
Thou whose well-written LOOPS have alwavs been NESTED.
Though due to our ER RORS. our rivals may glower,
Look down on us gently who program this hour.

CIRCLE 107 ON READER SERVICE CARD 12 CREATIVE COMPUTING

Radio Shack's personal computer ~ystem?
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... or the step-up TRS-SO"Sweet 16"

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includes 16K RAM
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Get details and order now at Radio Shack stores and dealers in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Belgium, Holland, France, Japan.
Write Radio Shack. Division of Tandy Corporation, Dept. C-041 , 1400 One Tandy Center, Fort Worth, Texas 76102. Ask for Catalog TRS-80.

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 Another Reply to "IBM Hater"
Dear Editor:
Reading "IBM Hater's" letter in Jan-Feb brought back
memories of "an amazing computer system" that I was
International Society for the acquainted with. Even before reaching the identification of the
machine in the article, I knew that it was referring to the IBM
Preservation of Wumpii 1130 computer system.
At the time it was first placed on the market the 1130 was truly
To: Editor, Datamazing Magazine, an amazing system for the price. Ask any newspaper which used
The Wrong Side of The River, York, APL. an 1130 for their first automated typesetting system. For many
of them it was also their first system for business applications.
Dear Dastardly Sir: "Mr. IBM Hater" is comparing computer technology of ten
I wish to bring to your attention the advertisement that you . years ago, with today's, Which is like comparing a Model A
carried in your April 1, 1978 issue of Datamazing promising Ford with today's automobiles. He probably never saw a
"High-pay Careers in Wumpus Control." computer without all the modern-day bells and whistles. I don't
Though the advertisement indicates that Wumpus Control is think I would qualify as an "IBM lover", as I no longer have
a glamorous job, actually it is' a brutal menial task, where access to anything produced by "Big Blue" except an occasional
THOUSANDS of poor, defenseless baby Wumpii are killed use of a Selectric typewriter, but I think that the constant sniping
each evening by brutal Hackers wielding Crooked Arrows!! The at IBM by people gets to be a little ridiculous. They must have
sole purpose of this murderous activity is the pleasure and had something good and done something right to be the world-
enjoyment 'of the bit-pushing addict taking a byte of KILLER wide leader in the computer industry.
LUST FRENZY!! By the way, if anyone is in a position to want to junk an 1130,
After the carnage is complete, the remains of the slaughter is and would like a tax-writeoff at the same time, I'm treasurer of a
converted into recycled random core bits, and the Nasty non-profit homeowner's association in Arizona, and would love
Wumpus Hunters revert, like Werewolves, to ordinary harmless to have one of the old pieces of iron donated to do our various
Programmers. bookkeeping functions.
I beg of you, plead with you, and humbly request that you No Jim Redpath, Treasurer
Longer Advertise for the promoters of this cruel and lowly Hillcrest Bay Homeowners Assn.
business. In fact, if you would like some of our free literature Lot 84 - Hillcrest Ray
describing the delicate ecologies of imaginary dodecahedrons, Parker. AZ 85344
and the critical role of the lovable Wumpus in maintaining the
population balance of Super Bats, we will be happy to send you
some with a souviner Bottomless Pit.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. May I
Bio-Space- Time Music Synthesizer
suggest to -you our Guide and Motto:
"If you enjoy it, it must be wrong." Dear Creative Computing, Peace and Harmony.
Since the time of Pythagoras and probably before, the world
Boy Y rogerg, President
has been waiting for a "tune in with Nature-biomusic"
synthesizer. My bio-space-time music synthesizer (the NS:
sanskrit nadam shanti for vibrational peace; i.e., harmony)
Cray-l Chips simulates environmental energies and natural resonances with a
plausible relation to good health and the mystical.
Dear Editor: The NS helps the human mind "tune in" the cosmos-extract-
Your Datamazing parody in the Mar-Apr 1978 issue was ing energy and information by sympathetic resonance. Some
priceless, not to mention the rest of the issue. Unfortunately natural harmonies are constant (e.g., the Schumann resonance
unless your readers are familiar to some degree with the big- related to the earth's electric field, telepathy, etc.): and others are
business world they might not be able to appreciate it all. affected by the earth's relative motion through space-time. Thus
I personally would be interested in some Cray-I chips. At the an astronomical clock is interfaced to computer-controlled
low price of $.05 I could use them for the CPU-bound task of electronic oscillators. By entering earth and space coordinates,
determining whether it's dark enough outside to require turning local time and base frequency, the system computes and
on a light. continuously tunes the oscillators to the correct doppler-shifted
I spoke to our system-support expert re the 370-10-8008 frequency. Also interfaced are frequency counters, keyboard
conversion kit, explaining the power of the 8008. He wasn't functions, manual tuning, tonal shapers-amplifier-speakers,
interested because it can't handle the instructions on the yellow and optional EEG, magnetometer, radio telescope, etc., for
card, and so we'll have to suffer with our 370. He was interested psychotronic and SETI research (Search for Extraterrestrial
in the 370 to S-100 bus adapter so we could add on more Intelligence). The NS can simulate harmonic, geometric
memory at reasonable prices though, when it becomes available. patterns of a DNA molecule or any biornolecule, organ
Keep up the great work. resonance, or environmental fluctuations, space music, biofeed-
Ross Cooling back music, gravitational music, N M R, or atomic music, etc.
299 Forman Ave. Apt. 14 I've prepared several charts and explanations for tuning the NS.
Toronto, Ontario Biomusic research is still young, but I believe my adaptable
Canada M4S 2S6 NS system should enhance Harmony and allow users to explore
the beyond. The.results of such research will likely include music
Ed. Note: We are taking nominations now for the victim of conducive to relaxation, alertness, mental and physical effi-
our nextApril fools parody issues. Suggestions received so far ciency.
include Vogue, The National Enquirer, Ms. and Humpty Next month I hope to publish a pamphlet on the topic, with
Dumpty. -DHA many charts, etc. Due to my embarrassing financial condition, I
have not yet made a working prototype and am seeking help in
that regard. Perhaps you could print ashort blurb on computers
and biornusic allowing me to advertise my pamphlet which I
Wish to sell for a five-dollar donation; as well as seeking
intelligent feedback from your readers.
"The mind has a great wide door, through
David Bihary
which gossip and rumors can rush in with PO Box 1013
ease; but a new idea can hardly get in without Fairport, OH 44077
!
a set of burglar tools."
Anon. Ed. Note: Intelligent feedback may be transmitted directly via
telepathy or indirectly via U.S. Mail. -DHA

14 CREATIVE COMf'UTING
 Back in the fifties, if someone had that gives you your own high volume, all calendars, puzzles, dart games-whatever
suggested you invest in a hamburger stand cash business. No franchise fees or the latest trend might be. CAS I supplies the
called McDonald's or a chicken store run royalty payments, all the money is yours. wholesale sources tor everythinq you need
by Colonel Sanders, you probably would Computer Amusement Systems, lnc., to be in on the profits.
have laughed. Most of us did. The few who (CASI) of 11 West 20th Street in New York And there's more. Like special options
didn't, and invested in KFC or Big Mac are City, has taken today's hot trends- TV, that allow personalized messages to be
millionaires today. They enjoy "finger computers, and instant pictures and printed right on the computer portrait. Or
lickin' good" profits and "have it all done" combined them to produce a computer programs that will print out personal bio-
for them.
portrait system that is high in quality, low in rhythm charts in seconds. All big
The whole trick to investing in your own price. portable and requires absolutely moneymakers.
business is to keep your eyes open for no photo or technical experience.
So open your eyesto the most
something like a KFC or McDonald's. A Easy to operate and easy to move, the dynamic, profit making opportunity of the
business that (1) requires a small invest- portable CASI system can be set up year. Perfect for part time, full time,
ment that can be recouped quickly, (2) has anywhere: malls; flea markets; shopping family operation or absentee
an enormous profit margin, and (3) has centers; conventions; rock concerts, management, CASI is your ticket to
great growing consumer acceptance. anywhere with high pedestrian traffic and success. Start putting money in your
There is such a business. just a little floor space. This instant traffic pocket today with CASI computer portrait
stopper will make a computer portrait in systems. Don't send money just write for
The business is computer portaits, and just fifty-five seconds! The picture is first details. We'll send them right away.
it's one of the hottest, most profitable new seen on a TV screen, then dramatically
ideas around. International Entrepeneur's printed before your eyes. Before you make an Important
Magazine stated that there are locations decision in this exciting new business,
that are currently grossing from $2,000 to And there's more. You can transfer the know who you're buying from. We
$4,000 a week. Imagine, grossing up to portraits instantly to many high mark-Up, suggest you ask your banker about us.
$4,000 a week from a small investment. big profit items-tote bags, Tvshirts,

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CIRCLE 143 ON READER SERVICE CARD

 The follOWing is an example of a simple crarec ter rnenIpul e tton procedure:

• n-- ----------------------------------------------
~~t... iil~~t/()~t~~t... lil {}
{}
{}
%dt,Q,!%ca,
I%os,
WHAT IS YOUR AA'IE?- l%dt,N, %is! l%pt,N, ,
{} l%os,MAY I CALL YOU %fe,N/?- l%md,N/%os,
SAM76 ()
()
WELL HELID I%ii. %ic/, y, !%fe ,Nil,!
1%0// 1=
%N, II I

()
Dear Editor:
In the recently published article on SAM76 (May-June 1978,
p 30), having read the original, I cannot but help to notice a few This procedure asks for your fUll nane , and Hen asks whetmr or not it may
small errors in the printing. call you by your first name. If you enter "Y" it will print "WELL HELIJ) "
follo •••d by your first name; if anything els> is tyPed it will print "WELL
On page 31, the "Beginners section on procedures" is HELID and your full name, Hen it will fetch its>lf again.
supposed to be in the right-hand column, and the top few
paragraphs through the nota bene should be in the left column. {)-----------------------------------------------
Also the last two pages were omitted [Ed. note: they were {} %0/=
omitted from the printout we received]. {} 'IIHAT IS YOUR AA'IE?- BOO EVANS
() MAY I CALL YOU BOO? N
A 200-page manual on SAM76 sells for $12; a paper tape or {} WELL HELID BOB EVANS
TDL cassette of the object code will be sold for $6 in several {} WHAT IS YOUR AA'IE?- G~T KUHN
versions; information on 110 vectors and other useful things {} MAY I CALL YOU QI.~T? Y
{} WELL HELID CNAT
sells for $2, from SAM76, R.R.I Box 257, Pennington, NJ {} WHAT IS YOUR AA'IE?- PETER EICHENBERGE..q
08534, (609) 466-1130. () MAY I CALL YOU PETER? Y
{} WELL HELID PETER
Karl Nicholas {} WHAT IS YOUR /WoIE?-

To all those readers wonder-

o
. ing about the abrupt ending to
At first this procedure changes tre "activator" to be tre "new line" code
the SAM76 description, the and asks for your full neme- toon it Will define "N" as a string input from
missing last section is reproduc- tte keyboard and parti tion tre: spaces out of "N".
ed to the right.
Next it will display "'MAY I CALL YOU"' and' the characters in "'N"' ll? to the
first partition; if Here is no partition (00 spaces in "N" originally) it
will be the full value of "N" which will get displayed-

Then too text divider is re se t back to' 'tbe beginning of "N" (it -e s sat at
Origin of Word "Debugging"? tre first
string fmeticn
parti tion by too fetch element func tfon) . Next trere is an output
With an identity function nested Within it. The .5A'176
processor Will now ccmpare th:! single character input from tre keyboard as a
Dear Editor: result of evalwting too "de" function With "y"; if it is a. "t ", tten too
Enclosed is an article describing the possible origin of the ve l ue of tte identity expression will be too first name, if not tren too
phrase "debugging." I thought it proper to pass along this value will be the full value of "N" with the parti tions filled back again
wi th spaces.
article, seeing that much of your magazine deals with solving
them. Hope you can make some use of it. The value of the identity will then be displayed preceded by "'WELL HELID"'.
Lastly the procedure fetches "'0" again thus looping.
Ron Jennings
COM SAT Room 4035 The following is an example of a translation procedure: it Will read in a
940 L'Enfant Pla7a first name and display a full name. The first and full names are kept in
separate texts With too items of too lists sepc re ted by cannas.
Washington. DC 20024
Ed. note: The following is excerpted from the Jan. 10, 1978, n------ ---------- ------ -------------------
issue of the Fredericksburg, Virginia, Free Lance-Star, in an () %dt,L, %ca, I%os
article by Elissa Vanaver titled, "40's wonder machine gave base {} TYPE FIRST /WoIE FOLIJJlolED BY A SPACE
() l%dt,N, %is! l%pt,NINll I%ii. IN/, ,! %os,
new life," about the Harvard Mark If Relay Calculator at the {} HELID INlNlll %NIN21111,!%os,
Naval Surface Weapons Center in Dahlgren, Virginia .. () NII'IE ror KNOWNII I%LI I 1=
()
For all its wonder. the Mark II's birth was not without snags.
One night in 1946. Burke and the other technicians found
The tw:::> lists of names, "NI" for first names. and "N2" for last names are
something gumming up the works of the adolescent computer. defined as follows:
It turned out to be a wayward moth. which was extracted and
memorialized in the phrase. "debugging t he computer." a term {)-------------------------------------------------
() %dt,Nl. (,BOO,CNAT,PETER,.)JHN,
since applied to working out problems in any computer {) ,[lWE, LEN, .)JRIlI\N, BARRY) I
program. {} %dt,N2, (,EVANS,KUHN,EICHENBERGER,U;vrNE,
O ,THERIAULT, BffiACK, YOUNG.I(LEIN }/=
Niemann and Burke had the computer "bug" then. and they o
still have it. Burke has the moth pasted in a logbook in the
Warfare Analysis Department. where he is computer operations This procedure. with its e ssocIa ted t\oO lists Will first chmge tte
branch head. activator to a sp:1ce, reqJest th::!:entry of a first name, and define "N" as
too string received from too keyboard.

Then too text "N" Will be partitioned using tte list "Nl", and if tter e is a
Palindromes match, tten text "N" Will becane a partition
of tte name in list
of value eq.,lal to too posi taon
"NI". A test is made to S?e if "N" contains only a
partition (the identity test will be "nul.L'' if found) and if so the message
Dear Editor: "HELID" follo...d by the first name reccnstr tutec by fetching "N"' with list
I have been intrigued by an article that had appeared in your "Nl" to refill too partition. and a second fetch of "N" using list "N2" to
replace tte parti tion With tte corresponding appropria t.e last neme-
"Best of Creative Computing, Volume I" book. The article had
to do with palindromes and whether the number 1675 would If ttere is no match to th:! first name 'then He message "NA.\1E NJT ~OWN" is
ever become a palindrome after successive reversals and displayed before tre procedure loops back by fetching "L" again.

additions. \'le Will leave rre example trot illustrates tte use of this procedure to too
Just for the record, I recently ran a BASIC palindrome beq.inner to tryout.
program for 8 hours, 20 minutes producing a number containing A procedure of this sort. can be used for many types of translations; an
nearly 15,000 digits, still not palindromic. The program was run. elaboration might be to have too lists grow instead of del Ivcr ina a cold
on a Burrough's B6700 computer. "NA.'1E ~ ~IOtriN" rre ssaqe r instead an inquiry as to too required nane might
be made, and tben both tte new first name , and too matching last name are
I am a student of Iowa Lakes Community College in added to each of ere tw:::> lists.
Estherville, Iowa, enrolled in their 2-year Data Processing
program.
The editor wishes to acknowledge the derivation of this II II
Steve Williams descr Ipt ion from an early writing by Peter Ei cbenberqer . II No-ta II
102 North 17th Street Place II Ilene II
IL 11
Estherville, IA 51334

Ed. Note: And if it had become palindromic, what then?-

DHA-

16 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 The New MSI System 12
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processor ...complete with 32K of program loading, bock-up. software
memory ...the MSI FD-8QUAD floppy disk upcfates and exchanges. The new SDOS
system, and the new MSI HD-8/R 10 operating system is employed to
megabyte fixed/ integrate the two disk systems together.
removable hard Complete with CRT,
disk system in one high speed printer,
compact desk unit. and convenient
Ideal for business desk unit, the MSI
applications, the System 12 Is one
MSI System 12 of the most
gives you a powerful micro-
computer systems
available today.

Arizona Kansas Oklahoma Computer Worl<shap

Gorney & Associates 174 Ifield I'.d.
Personal Computer Place
Electronics Division ~~SOT~h~~~~~ !llvd. London, England SW109AG
1840 W. Southern
Meso. Arizona 85202 425 N. Ilroadway Oklcnorno City, Oklohomo 7:3116
Pirrsborq, Kansas 66762 Germany and Austria
California Pennsylvania CO.l. Systeme Munchen
CMPTR-,C
704 Taylor The Electronics Aace EDV Vertriebsgesellschoft mbH
A-Vidd Electronics
Iopeko. Kansas 66604 7250 McKnight I'.d. Arabellastralle 5
221 0 Oellflower !llvd.
Pimburgh, Pennsylvania 152:37 8000 Munchen 81
Long Oeoch. Colifarnia 90815
Loulslcnc Germany
Computerlond of Son M!:Jteo Gallion Data Systems
42 W. 42nd Ave. Freemon Elecrronics 908 Knepper Drive Belgium
Son Moteo, Colifornio 94403 1100 r.idge Ave. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055
West /IAonroe. Louisiana 71291 Computer Resources
Texas Chausee De Charleroi, 80
Florida Gallion Data Systems 1060 !lrussels, Oelgium
Microcomputer Systems :310:3 Molvern The Computer Shop
144 S. Dole Mob\}' Highway !lossier City, Louisiana 71111 6812 Son Pedro Switz"rland
Tampa, Florida 33609 Son Antonio, Texas 78216
Maryland Agenee De Distribution er Vente
Woshington Case Postole 801
Illinois Computer Worl.c,shop 1211 Geneve 1
American Microprocessors 1776 E. Jefferson Digitel.c, Switzerland
r.oclwille, M!:Jrylond 20852 5950 Sixth Avenue South
~~u;f';).;~~o~~~PPIY Corporation
Suite 101 Australia
Half Day, Illinois 60069 Missouri Seattle, Washington 98108
Soorron lnsrrurnenrs
Computerlond of Mington Heights Gallion Data Systems !lyre Shope
Midwest 5cien1jfic International
50 E. Rand r.aad 201 N. 11th St.
Arlington Heights, Illinois ()Iue Springs, Missouri 64015
Chcusee De Chcrleret. 60
1060 Bruss"ls, Belgium
~~~~~;o:~r~~'li~oO~~~e
4C Corporation H & K Systems Telex 26025
15 E. 31st St. The Neth"rldhds
PO. !lox 530
Mundelein, Illinois 60060 Kansas City, Missouri 64108 Canado MRL Ectronics
Postbus 88-Delft, Foulkesloan 100
Ullipute Computer Mort, Inc. First Canadian Computer Store
Montana The Netherlands
4446 Oakton Sr. 44 Egliriton Avenue West
Skokie. Iliinoi'i,0076 Campaer Computers Toronto, Onrorro M4R 1A 1
11:3 Hamilton Canada South Africa
~gla;o~ S3~n ord Burre. Montano 59701 Radiol<om
England Cnr. George St. & Hendrik Verwoerd Dr.
603 E. Chicago St.
N"w York Randburg, Transvaal
Elgin, Illinois Srrumech Engineering
Computer Mort of New York Elecrronics Division South Africa
Wysocki Electric 118 Modisan Avenue Portland House
656:3 11th St. Venezuela
New York. New Yorl< 10006 Coppice Side, Ilrownhills
r.ockford, Illinois 61109
Walsall Staffordshire Trambaca (Sistema Pel< 2000)
England Centro Peru, PISO 2-Ofic. 2:3
Iowa
Caracas. Venezuela
Electronic Data
1200 Locust
Des Moines, Iowa 50:301
~S~1~
220 W. Cedar Olathe, Kansas 66061 (913) 764-J273
lWX 9107496403 (MSI OLAn TELEX42525 (MSI A OLAn

CIRCLE 181 ON READER SERVICE CARD

~D~PLEAT
~D~PlJTER RESOURCES
AND
TOOLS~

~ATALDblJE
We welcome entries from readers for the newsletter and information exchange, and
"Compleat Computer Catalogue" on any benchmark comparisons of competing
item related, even distantly, to computers. small computer systems. Membership fees
Please include the name of the item, a brief
evaluative description, price, and complete
VENDOR will be $25 per year for individual current
or prospective users of small computers,
source data. If it is an item you obtained
over one year ago, please check with the
LITERATURE and will include a number of periodicals
and reports.
source to make sure it is still available at the Association of Small Computer Users,
quoted price. COMPUTER-FACTS 75 Manhattan Drive, Boulder, CO 80303.
Send contributions to "The Compleat CIRCLE 203 ON READER SERVICE CARD
Computer Catalogue," Creative Com- BROCHURE
puting, P.O. Box 789-M, Morristown, NJ
07960.
Are 16-bits really better than 8-bits? SOL USERS' SOCIETY
Heath Company, manufacturer of the H8
and H 11 Computer Kits (and numerous The Sol Users Society is an organization
other electronic kits), announces the for owners of Processor Technology Sol
MAGAZINES, availability of a free computer-facts
brochure entitled "Why You Should
Computers and of other computers con-
figured like the Sol. Specifically, owners of
JOURNALS Consider a Sixteen Bit Microcomputer."
The new 8-page brochure has inforrriation
any 8080 or Z-80 microcomputer that has
SOLOS, CUTER, or a functionally
that shouild be useful for those personal equivalent operating system and a
THE SOFTWARE EXCHANGE computerists who are undecided over the Soli CUTS cassette interface, may join.
choice of an 8-bit or a 16-bit computer. The The goals of SOLUS are: (I) to facilitate
The Software Exchange is a new advantages of the 16-bit computer are communication among SOLUS members,
publication devoted to the exchange of discussed at length as are the limitations of (2) to provide a mechanism for exchange of
ready-to-use software for business and the the 8-bit computer. Also covered are Sol-compatible software, (3) to give feed-
home. The Software Exchange provides important topics like computing power, back from SOLUS members to Processor
classified advertising for computer software, service, support, reputation, Technology, and (4) to encourage the
software. You will be able to match your quality and reliability. Included also in the development and testing of Sol-compatible
application and computer to those listed. brochure is an introduction to the H II hardware and software produced by
Each program will have a description of its Computer, Heath's 16-bit machine that independent sources.
operation, hardware requirements, and utilizes the Digital Equipment Corpora- SOLUS provides the following services
where the provided materials can be tion LSI-II CPU. The HII is available at this time: (I) SOLUS NEWS, a
obtained. If you have a special program both in kit form and as a completely wired newsletter printed approximately bi-
you need, you can place a "Wanted" ad in and tested unit that is fully compatible with monthly, keeps members informed on
The Software Exchange. In addition to most DEC accessories and peripherals. hardware, software, new products, bugs,
advertising, each issue has editorials and Heath Company, Dept. 350-650, Benton local chapter meetings, and other items of
reviews about micro and minicomputer Harbor, Michigan 49022. interest; (2) the SOLUS Software Library
software. The Software Exchange is a bi- collects and distributes programs in public
CIRCLE 202 ON READER SERVICE CARD
monthly publication available at computer domain and proprietary categories for
stores for $1.50 per issue, and by subscrip- nominal charges; (3) the SOLUS Music
tion for $8 per year (six issues). Library collects and distributes musical
The Software Exchange, Box 55056, ORGAN IZATIONS scores for the Processor
Technology/Software Technology Music
Valencia, CA 91355.
CIRCLE 201 ON READER SERVICE CARD
System; (4) SOLUS Local Chapters
SMALL COMPUTER USERS' provide meetings where SOLUS members
GROUP FORMED can exchange software and ideas; (5)
SOLUS headquarters, being close to the
Reacting to "a bewildering array of new Processor Technology offices, keeps a
computing alternatives," a users' group has communication link with a Processor
been formed to provide a source of Technology Corporate officer; (6)
"unbiased, user-oriented information" on qualified SOLUS volunteers test products
mini and micro computers for business for Sol compatibility and report their
applications. The new Association of experiences in SOLUS NEWS. $10 a year.
Small Computer Users (ASCU) plans to Sol Users' Society, Box 23471, San Jose,
provide members with selected CA 95153.
publications at reduced cost, a bi-monthly CIRCLE 204 ON READER SERVICE CARD

18 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 COMPUTERS matrix printer, and a full keyboard. Three
eight-bit parallel 110 ports are available
for general purpose use and a program-
mable audio-tone generator and speaker
are within the enclosure. The system design
incorporates a full graphics system (256 x
224 pixels). The system is enclosed within a
rosewood desk, the top of which raises
automatically when a hidden trigger is
depressed. The keyboard is contained
within the. center drawer. Optional
accessories include the full.. operating
system and development software' on
PROM or mag tape, BASIC on PROM or
mag tape, a PROM burner card, additional
110 ports, a second independent video
display card (allows program listings on
VECTOR 2 COMPUTER one monitor and simultaneous color
SMARTS" COMPUTER graphics on the other), color monitor, and
Vector Graphic's VECTOR 2 desk-top
computer is designed around the 158- RS232 interface. $3385.
The Smarts II microcomputer starts with
Jerry Hansen, Noval, Inc., 8404 Aero
instruction Z-80 MPU, and features a 32K of RAM (read I write) memory and can
Dr., San Diego, CA 92123. (714) 277-8700.
rugged low-profile cabinet with built-in expand economically to a maximum of
keyboard. Completely assembled and 630K of RAM. The mini-floppy disk drive CIRCLE 208 ON READER SERVICE CARD
tested, the standard system includes: 10- can be increased to three drives or replaced
slot motherboard (S- 100 compatible); Z-80 with two standard-size floppy-disk drives.
CPU board, 12K 2708 PROMI RAM Up to four more can be added to the one
board, 32K bytes of RAM memory RS-232 interface port. Other accessories
(expandable to 64K); Vector Graphic such as a CRT terminal, printer and many .
Flashwriter video board; a 72-key other such peripheral devices may be
keyboard containing standard typewriter added. The Smarts II provides a full 16
keys, a numeric keypad, and several user- lines of 64 characters per line on a standard
definable keys. Priced at under $2,000. ASCII keyboard. Color displays (7 by 9
Yvonne Beck, Vector Graphic Inc., 790 characters) can be created on your color
Hampshire Rd., Westlake Village, CA TV screen accompanied by action sounds
91361. (805) 497-6853. from the TV speakers. A Smarts II system
CIRCLE 205 ON READER SERVICE CARD includes Smarts II games, income tax,
bookkeeping, inventory, educational
programs and more.
Fire Bird Sales Co., Box 116-03 Oak St.,
Woodland, IL 60974. (815) 473-4213.
CIRCLE 207 ON READER SERVICE CARD

TANDY 10 BUSINESS
COMPUTER SYSTEM
Tandy Computers has introduced the
Tandy 10, a complete business computer
system priced under $10,000 and said to
have been engineered for ease of operation
so existing clerical personnel can learn to
operate it with minimum effort. The Tandy
10 System consists of a workstation with
diskette drives integrated into a compact
metal desk, and separate matrix printer
that prints 60 characters/ second. Faster
IMSAI VDP-40 COMPUTER printers are available as options. The
workstation includes a video display,
Imsai's VDP-40 is a fully integrated professional standard typewriter
system featuring an 8085 microprocessor, keyboard, 10-key calculator pad for
32K or 64K RAM memory, twin 5Y4-inch numeric entry and 15 special-function keys
floppies, 9-inch intelligent CRT, heavy- for data editing. With optional peripherals,
duty power supply programmable it can be used as an intelligent terminal to
keyboard, motherboard, and serial and COMPUTER IN A DESK access larger data systems.
parallel 110 ports in a flip-top cabinet. Each diskette can hold up to 256,000
Supporting software includes a disk Noval recently announced an updated characters, providing a total of more than
operating system text editor, Extended and version of its 760 series computer system. V2-million characters on-line. Internal
Commercial BASIC, relocatable The user can edit, assemble and debug memory capacity is 50,960 characters.
assembler, linkage editor and ANSI Level applications programs without the need to Screen formatting language allows user
2 FORTRAN IV. Up to two miniature externally save or reload source or object prompting for data input. The Tandy 10
floppy drives and four floppy drives can be code. The 760 incorporates a Z-80 comes with extended BASIC. Fortran IV
supported. Since the VDP-40 can support microprocessor, 32K of RAM user and Assembly Level program languages
two optional disk controllers, total disk memory plus an additional I K scratch pad are also available as options for the system.
expansion capacity approaches 5 and 1K video refresh memory. The unit The Tandy 10 Business Computer System
megabytes. Priced under $4,500. features a fully programmable character with workstation, diskette drives and
Imsai Manufacturing Corp., 14860 generator (2K) and 3K of system utility matrix printer is priced at $9,950.
Wicks Blvd., San Leandro, CA 94577, routines on PROM. Also included are a 12- Tandy Computers, Department R22,
(4 I 5) 895-9363. inch TV monitor, digital-cassette tape P.O. Box 2932, Fort Worth, Texas 76101.
CIRCLE 1206 ON READER SERVICE CARD recorder (software controlled), 32-column Toll-free telephone (800) 433-1679.
I
SEPT/OCT 1978 19
 TERMINALS

CRT TERMINAL FOR

SORCERER COMPUTER 132-COLUMN DATA
Exidy, the third largest producer of The ECD S MAR T ASCII is said to be
video arcade games, has entered the the first CRT-based intelligent terminal '
OSI COMPUTER WITH consumer electronics market with its new that can display full line-printer format: up
WINCHESTER DISK user-programmable personal computer, to 132 characters per line. It can display up
the self-contained Sorcerer, which needs to 40 lines on its 15" CRT with up to 4096
Ohio Scientific announces the C3-B, said only to be plugged into a video display and characters. The standard font is the full
to be the world's first fully packaged
Winchester disk based microcomputer
a cassette tape recorder to be a fully- upper- and lower-case ASCII character set,
but by using the supplied font-editor
functioning computer system. Exidy in-
system. The C3-B is a package microcom- troduces a new concept in user- program the user can design his own
puter system in a 42 equipment rack. The programmable personal computers with special characters. The keyboard is
system includes, in its minimal configura- the Sorcerer's exclusive plug-in Rom Pac relegendable so the user can easily modify
tion, 48K of static RAM, OSI's triple cartridges. The unique Rom Pacs contain it to match a new character set. Foreign
processor CPU board which has 6502A, high-level programming languages, language fonts can be implemented. The
6800 and Z-80 microprocessors, dual operating systems or special proprietary interface for the SMART ASCII does not
floppy-disk drives for program and data software. Each Sorcerer comes with a Rom require any special protocol from the host.
mobility and a 74 million byte Winchester Pac cartridge containing Standard BASIC. It communicates via a RS-232 line and
technology fixed disk. The Winchester disk Additional Rom Pacs available or now in looks like a simple printer( keyboard
communicates with the CPU via a development include a user-programmable combination to the host. This allows for
dedicated high-speed memory channel EPROM Rom Pac, an assembler editor, a either direct hookup, or remote use via
which services a dual port memory. The disc operating system and a word process- dial-up lines with keyboard-selectable
C3-B features a 16-slot case in which only 7 ing package. Applications programs can be baud rates from 110 to 9600. The S MART
slots are used in the basic machine, loaded from one or two tape recorders ASCII comes with a sophisticated text-
allowing expansion including memory up through the Sorcerer's dual cassette inter- editing program that allows complete off-
to 768K, three additional Winchester disks face at data rates of either 300 or 1200 line editing and supports transmitting data
for 300 megabytes on line storage and 16 baud. The Sorcerer can be used as a smart at a character, line, or block at a time to the
communications ports. Because of the terminal for communications and time host. The SMART ASCII will also execute
disks intelligent controller, the CPU is sharing applications. Its RS232 serial user-written BASIC programs. The system
completely available for communication interface accepts a modem to transmit data consists of a control unit with 37K of
such that it can always service terminal through phone lines at 300 or 1200 baud. memory, a 78-key keyboard, a 15" CRT
interrupts, important for high throughput The Sorcerer's molded case contains and two mini-cassette drives at $7900.
operation in multi-terminal con- ASCII keyboard with 79 keys providing Richard Eckhardt, ECD Corp., 196
figurations. The C3-B system comes full upper and lower case alphanumeric Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139. (617)
complete with OS-65U disk operating characters and graphic symbols. A 16-key 661-4400.
system with extended BASIC. This numeric pad speeds information entry CIRCLE 212 ON READER SERVICE CARD
operating system features virtual data files and inquiry.
and directly supports high performance file The Sorcerer offers a total of 256 graphic
structures such as multi-key ISAM. $11,- expressions. In addition to its 128 ASCII
090. set, it has 64 characters designated on the
Ohio Scientific, 1333 S. Chillicothe Rd., keyboard and a second set of 64 characters
Aurora, OH 44202. (216) 562-3101. available for user definition. Alternatively,
CIRCLE 210 ON READER SERVICE CARD the two sets of 64 may be identified by the
user through program control for full
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ custom applications. Extremely fine
graphic resolution of 122,880 points on the
WOULD YOU LIKE video screen is produced in a 512 x 240
TO MAKE MONEY format for detailed illustration. The
WITH YOUR Sorcerer displays a total of 1920 characters
on the screen at one time in 30 lines by 64
COMPUTER? characters in an 8x8 format. The Sorcerer
LET ME SHOW YOU uses the Z-80 MPU and the S-IOO bus. The
A POSSIBLE WAY. 12K of ROM memory includes a power-on
monitor program and Standard BASIC. OE 1000 TERMINAL
FOR DETAILS
The 8K of RAM for user pro~2'- ace is
SEND 50¢ (REFUNDABLE) TO: expandable internally to 32K $895 ith a The OE 1000 terminal is designed to
REAL WORLD SIMULATIONS Standard BASIC Rom Pac ca . e. interface to any microcomputer that has a
P.O. BOX 4107 Exidy Inc., 2599 Garcia Ave., Mountain 300-baud serial data output port. It
TORRANCE, CA. 90510 View, CA 94043. operates in the full duplex mode with either
CIRCLE 211 ON READER SERVICE CARD 20 mA current loop or an RS232 voltage
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
20 CREATIVE COMPUTING
swing. The OE 1000 outputs composite
video for use with a modified TV or video
monitor. The screen format is 16 lines by 64
characters. It has an upper and lower case
mode or TTY mode keyboard and will
display 96 ASCII characters and 32 special
characters. The OE 1000 has full cursor
control, automatic scroll, erase to end of
line, erase to end of screen, and clear
screen. $275 kit, $350 assembled.
Otto Electronics, P.O. Box 3066,
Princeton, NJ. 08540. (609) 448-9165.
CIRCLE 213 ON READER SERVICE CARD

PET PERIPHERALS
Commodore has two new peripherals for
the PET personal computer. The first is the
external cassette drive for expanded file
keeping. It connects to the special 10 Port
and is available now at under $100 directly
from Commodore or from PET authorized
dealers. The cassette drive is capable of
read/ write up to 170 kilobytes. It is
accessed directly from the PET through the
basic command.
The second peripheral, the printer,
features up to 80 characters per line on a
8Y:! inch wide roll or fanfolded paper. It
prints at 120 cps. All Commodore upper
and lower case and graphic characters can
be reprod uced on the printer on a 7 x 8 dot
matrix. In addition, the PET can be
programmed to develop a special, unique
graphic character, such as a company logo,
which can then be reproduced any number
of times.
Commodore Business Machines, Inc.,
901 California Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304.
(415) 326-4000.
CIRCLE 214 ON READER SERVICE CARD

APPLE DISK True random or sequential dataaccess can

be enjoyed without regard to the physical
Apple Computer, Inc. has announced location of data on the disk. Moreover the
Disk II, the newest intelligent peripheral DOS provides compatibility with existing
for its Apple II personal computer. The languages through the use of standard
new device is "the easiest to use, lowest BASIC commands.
priced, and the fastest minifloppy disk The Disk II subsystem consists of an
drive yet offered by any personal computer intelligent interface card and either one or
manufacturer." Disk II provides rapid two mini-floppy drives. The computer will
access to programs and data which makes handle up to seven controller cards and
home applications like address files, social fourteen drives for instant access to more
appointment calendars, and recipe files than 1.6 milion bytes of data. The com-
faster and more useful. Disk II's advanced bination of a bootstrap loader in ROM
Disk Operating System (DOS) software, (read only memory) and an operating
provides dynamic disk space allocation, so system in RAM provides powerful disk-
a system user need not be concerned with handling capability. $495, including con-
the size or physical location of a file on the troller card and Disk II drive.
disk. The DOS performs this housekeeping Apple Computer Inc., 10260 Bandley
, ....function; the. user simply. indicates the Dr., Cupertino, CA 95014. (408) 996-1010.
mime of the file being stored orretrieved. CIRCLE 215 ON READER SERVICE CARD . , .
POLYMORPHIC MASS BI-DIRECTIONAL PRINTER
STORAGE
The MarComm SP-IOO is a 5x7 dot- PRINTER INTERFACES
PolyMorphic Systems has greatly in- matrix bi-directional impact printer. Print
creased the storage capabilities of its rate is 120 cps, throughput is 75 Two new printer interfaces for the Sol
System 88 microcomputers through the lines I minute. Line capacity is 80 characters Computer have been announced by
introduction of a new option, the 881 MS, at 10 characters per inch. The SP-100 uses Processor Technology Corporation. Both
which consists of two drives for 8-inch standard 8Y2-inch roll paper and standard increase the hard-copy capability of the Sol
magnetic storage disks in a walnut cabinet ribbon cartridge. Baud rate and parity are Computer. Sol Hytype I mounts inside any
with brushed aluminum front panel that selectable. Paper advance is motor drive, Diablo Series 1200 Printer, connecting it
matches other products in PolyMorphic's with both pressure roller and pin feed. Line directly to the back of the Sol. Similarly,
System 88 line. The 881 MS makes possible feed is 150 milliseconds; 400 lines/ minute the Sol Hytype II Printer Interface works
mass storage through the use of disks that slew rate. The SP-IOO is designed for with the Diablo Series 1300 Printer. The
are not only larger than mini-floppy disks high mechanical reliability, utilizing the installation package includes the assem-
but will store twice as much information smallest number of moving parts of any bled, printed-circuit board, software, all
per square inch and store it on both sides. comparable printer sold today. The printer cables and mounting hardware. No modifi-
One disk can hold 1.2 Mb, more than 500 also features the latest electronic cation to the Sol is necessary. No holes
pages of text. A System 88 microcomputer technology, including micro-processor need be drilled in the printer. The printer
with one 'or two 881 MS units will handle all control and opto-isolators for BOL, EOL can be restored to its original condition if
the files and processing needs of most small and character position sensing, with required. Hytype driver software is includ-
businesses and professional offices. Pre- RS232C input. The SP-100 line printer ed on CUTS cassette along with a source
sent owners of any System 88 microcom- combines speed, quality, durability and listing. The user may modify the driver
puter can add the 881 MS mass storage unit economy. $ I ,250. software to suit a particular application.
with no changes in their equipment's MarComm Inc., 124 10 St., Ramona, Suggested retail price for both the Hytype I
operating system. Ready-to-use packages CA 92065. (714) 789-3833. and Hytype II is $150.
for doing such tasks as accounts receivable CIRCLE 218 ON READER SERVICE CARD Processor Technology Corp., 7100
are available. Johnson Industrial Drive, Pleasanton, CA
PolyMorphic Systems, Inc., 460 Ward 94566. (415) 829-2600.
Drive, Santa Barbara, CA. 93111.
MISC. CIRCLE 220 ON READER S~RVICE CARD

HARDWARE

16K RAM STATIC MEMORY

NEW BIT PAD Electronic Control Technology's 16K
RAM memory board is a fully static 16K S-
Summagraphics announces a new ver- 100 bus memory board which utilizes a 4K
sion of its popular low-cost Bit Pad, the fully static memory IC (TMS-4044) like the
digitizer for small computer systems. The Z-80 CPU BOARD FROM 21 L02 except that it has four times the
new Bit Pad configuration is Intel Mul- VECTOR GRAPHIC capacity per IC package and less power per
tibus compatible. The Bit Pad can now be bit. Being fully static eliminates the
plugged into the Multibus along with A Z-80 CPU board, offered assembled incompatability with DMA devices or
Single Board Computers (SBC), memory or in kit form, is now available from Vector other devices which sometimes occurs with
and 110 boards, peripherals and con- Graphic, Inc. The new board offers fully dynamic or clocked static memory. All
trollers. blocked design with on-board wait-state signals to MOS devices are buffered by
All electronics are located on one SBC select, is jumper-selectable for operation at low-power TTL to prevent damage by
card. Operational control and status 2 mhz or 4 mhz, and will operate standard static electricity and to minimize capacitive
indication is provided from a small, hand- 8080 software without modification. All Z- loading on the bus. Low-profile IC sockets
held console. The system also includes an 80 lines are fully buffered. Available from are provided for all ICs. 2MHz operation is
II" x I I" Bit Pad tablet and a date-input Vector Graphic computer store dealers for standard and 4MHz is optional at a slightly
stylus. $625. $175 kit, $215 assembled. higher price. $350 kit.
Summagraphics Corp., 35 Brentwood Vector Graphic Inc., 790 Hampshire Electronic Control Technology, 763
Avenue, Fairfield, CT 06430, (203) 384- Road, Westlake Village, CA 91361. Ramsey Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205.
1344. (805) 497-6853. (20 I) 686-8080.
CIRCLE 217 ON READER SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 219 ON READER SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 221 ON READER SERVICE CARD

22 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 ro)..'
shown in the picture was taken by a Micro
Works DS-68 and printed on the Malibu
Design Group's Model 160 printer.
Operation is simple; the computer sends
the Digisector two 8 bit addresses (X and Y
coordinates), and the Digisector returns
the digitized brightness of the image at the
specified location. For set-up and monitor-
ing purposes the Digisector also produces
an output, comprised ofthe camera's video

~ .
CASSETTE INTERFACE
. signal plus a superimposed intensified
cursor, showing exactly where the Digisec-
tor is looking. Applications i.nclude preci-
sion security systems, moving-target in-
dicators, computer portraiture,
fast-to-slow-scan conversion for ham radio
The TC-3 cassette interface board DIGITAL VIDEO SYSTEM operators, and salvation for a DROID in
announced by JPC Products Company dire need of a wall socket. With clever
provides high-performance program The Micro Works has introduced a new software, the Digisector can read paper
storage for SWTPC computer systems. device that allows a 6800 computer system tape, punched cards, strip charts, bar
The interface board plugs into one I/O slot to see! The Digisector (DS-68) functions in codes, and musical scores. Software for
of the SWTPC motherboard, eliniinating conjunction with an inexpensive television computer portraiture and slow-scan televi-
the inconvenience of a separate cabinet. camera to present the computer with a sion is included. $169.95.
Connection is made to a standard cassette high-resolution digitized picture of the The Micro Works, Box 1110, Del Mar,
recorder through two audio cables. The scene in view of the camera lens. The CA 92014. (714)756-2687.
interface operates at 4800 baud and loads a Digisector requires one I/O slot in the CIRCLE 224 ON READER SERVICE CARD
4K file in 8 seconds. Data is recorded in a SWTPC 6800 computer (or equivalent)
modified FM format similar to disk and accepts either interlaced (NTSC) or
systems. non-interlaced (industrial) sync pulses Bashlin Telephone
Applications include use as the primary from the video source. It features 256-by- Disinfector
One ot tbe greatest SAnitary in-
mass-storage device for SWTPC com- 256 picture-element resolution, with up to 'gentloDs of tbe ese. EDdorsed
puters that are presently using much slower 64 levels of grey scale. Data-conversion by forty Heal th Boards through-
out the United States.
papertape or "Kansas City" cassette times vary with resolution requirements Dust, Moisture and Germ Proof
Price 50 cents. P02ttpald.
recording, and as high-speed back-up but can be as low as three microseconds per Tatem Manufacturing Company
storage on disk based systems. The TC-3 picture element. The computer portrait AGENTS WANTED. Buffalo, N. Y., 11.S. A.
a~o provides a~lly bu~red 8-bli output ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
port capable of directly sinking 40 ma at 30
volts. The port has full handshake and
interrupt capability for use as a parallel Write and run language programs at home, display video
data port, or as discrete output lines to
control the cassette recorder. $49.95 kit. graphics on your TV set and design microprocessor circuits-the
JPC Products Company, P.O. Box very first night-even if you've never used a computer before!
5615, Albuquerque, NM 87185.
featuringRCA ELF II COSMAC
CIRCLE 222 ON READER SERVICE CARD
microproce~~: COMPUTER $9995
Stop reading about computers and get your hands on one! With a $99.95 ELF
II and our Short Course by Tom Pittman, you master computers in no time at
all! ELF II demonstrates all 91 commands an RCA 1802 can execute and the
Short Course quickly teaches you to use each of the 1802's capabilities. ELF II
also displays graphics on any TV set. including an exciting new target/missile
gun game! Add-ons are among the most advanced available anywhere. You get
massive computing potential. No wonder IEEE chapters, universities and major
corporations all use ELF II to train engineers and students! Kit is easily assembled
in a single evening and you may still have time to run your first programs before going
--------l2!~_SEND
n
TODAY! -.-,
NOW AVAILABLE FOR ELF 1/- 0 Deluxe metal cabinet for ASCII Netronics R&D Ltd., Dept. CC9
o Tom Pittman's ShorlCourse On Mi· Keyboard, $19.95 plus $2.50 p&h. 333 Litchfield Road. Phone
croprocessor & Computer Programm- 0 ELF II Tiny BASIC on cassette New Milford, CT06776 (203) 354.9375
ing teaches you just about everything tape. Commands include SAVE,
S-100 ADAPTER FOR PET there is to know about ELF II or any
RCA 1802 computer. Written in non-
LOAD, "'i',';', ( ),26 variables A·Z,
LET. I F/TH EN, IN PUT, PRI NT.
Yesl I want to run programs at home and
haveenclosed: 0 S99.95 plus $3 postage
technical language, it's a learning GOTO, GO SUB. RETURN, END, & handling for RCA COSMACELF II kit.
HUH Electronics has announced the S- breakthroughforengineersandlaymen REM, CLEAR, LIST, RUN, PLOT, 0 $4.95 for power supply (required),
100 MPA, an S-IOO bus adapter for the alike. $5.00 postpaid!
o Deluxe metal cabinet with plexiglas
PEEK. POKE. Comes fully docu-
mented and includes alphanumeric
0 $5 for RCA1802 User's Manual,0 $5
for Short Course on Microprocessor &
Commodore PET computer. This S-100 dust cover for ELF II, $29.95 plus generator required to display al- Computer Programming.
sized card plugs into the user's mainframe $2.50 p&h. phanumericcharactersdirectlyon your 0 I wanl mine wired and Iesled with
and a cable connects to the PET, allowing o ELF II connects to the video input TV screen without additional hard- power supply, RCA1802 User's Manual
of your TV set. If you prefer to use ware. Also plays tick-tack-toe plus a and Short Course Included lor iust 5149.95
the use of the wide range of peripheral and your antenna terminals, order RF drawing game that uses ELF II's hex plus' $3 p&h!
Modulator, $8.95 postpaid. hey board as a joystick. 4k memory reo 0 I am also enclosing payment (including
memory cards available for the S-100 Bus. o GIANT BOARD'" kit with cassette quired. $14.95 postpaid. postage & handling) for the items checked
The S-100 MPA (Memory and Peripherals I/O, RS 232·crITY 1/0. 8·bit PliO, 0 Tom Pittman's Short Course on Tiny at the left.
Adapter) is said to be unique in that it decoders for 14 separate 1/0 instruc- BASIC for ELF II, $5 postpaid. Total Enclosed (Conn. res. add tax)
emulates the true S-100
DMA, true PSYNC
lUS
including full
eneration, I/O
tions and a system
$39.95 plus $2 p&h. .
monitor/editor,

o Kluge (Prototype) Board accepts up

0 Expansion Power Supply (required $
when adding 4k RAM). $34.95 plus $2 you are enclosing MoneyOrderor Cashier's
p&h. Checkto expediteshipment.
0 Check here if

to 36 lC's. $17.00 plus $1 p&h. 0 ELF-BUG'" Deluxe System Monitor USE YOUR 0 VISA 0 Master Charge
address mirroring, read wait states and o 4k Static RAM kit. AddreSS$able to on cassette tape. Allows displaying the (Interbank #~ ~ ~ ~)
much more. An important feature of this any 4k page to 64k. $89.95 plus 3 p&h. contents of all registers on your TV at Account#
versatile board is that it can also act as a o Gold plated 86-pin connectors (one any point in your program -. Also djs-
required for each plug-in board). $5.70 plays 24 bytes of memory With full ad- Signature Exp.Date__
stand-alone 6502 CPU board for the S-100 postpaid. dresses, blinking cursor and auto scroll- PHONEORDERSACCEPTED
(203) 354·9375
Bus. It is the "only 6502-based processor o Professional ASCII Keyboard kit mg. 1 A must for t~e sertous program- Print
with 128 ASCII upper/lower case set, mer '.$14.95 postpaid. Name
board to be truly S-100 Bus compatible. A 96 printable characters. onboard regu- C~mmg Soon: A-D. D-A Converter, Address
simple option kit is all that is required." lator, parity, logic selection and choice Light Pen, Controller Board, Color .

Kit, $199.95; assembled, $279.95.

HUH Electronics, 1429 Maple St., San
of 4 handshaking

11&h
~
most
1
signals to mate with
any computer. $64.95 plus $2 more!
Graphics & MUSIC System ... and

Call or write for wired prices!

City
State
---
DEALER
Zip
INQUIRIES INVITED.
_
J
Mateo, CA 94402. (415) 573-7359.
CIRCLE 223 ON READER SERVICE CARD

SEPT/OCT 1978 23 CIRCLE 160 ON READER SERVICE CARD

 switch), papertape reader control, Mikbug BASIC FOR FAIRCHILD F8
ROM Operating System (other operating
systems also available), power on reset, on- Micro Business Systems has a full
board dynamic memory refresh, slow BASIC interpreter for use with Fairchild's
memory interfacing (up to 5 usee access F8 microprocessor. Called MBS-BASIC,
time), and tri-state data, address, and the new product features 9-digit precision
control lines all on one card. $179.00 kit, and floating point arithmetic. Including all
$269.00 assembled. standard arithmetic operations and
Datatronics, 208 E. Olive, Lamar, CO relations, MBS-BASIC is competitive in
81052. (303) 336-7956. speed and efficiency with the 8080 and Z-80
CIRCLE 226 ON READER SERVICE CARD BASIC interpreters, and has 9-digit
floating-point precision. MBS-BASIC
version 1.0 has a license fee of $179.95, is
PERSCI DOUBLE-DENSITY distributed on ASR33-compatible paper
DISKETTE CONTROLLER tape and is provided.with documentation.
Micro Business Systems, Box8255,JFK
PerSci's new Z-80-based double-density Station, Boston, MA 02114. (617) 682-
diskette drive controller is said to be among 1854.
the first designed for full IBM diskette 2D, CIRCLE 229 ON READER SERVICE CARD
IBM 3740 and S-100 bus compatibility.
This stand-alone intelligent controller, the
PerSci 1170, can manage either single- or
double-density recording on as many as 32
diskette sides for a total system formatted PET WORD PROCESSOR
data capacity of 16 megabytes. The 1170 is,
in effect, a compact computer for use in Connecticut Microcomputer has a word
diskette subsystem management and processor program for the Commodore
microcomputer applications. It uses PET. This program permits composing
microprocessor intelligence to com- GLITCH GRABBER and printing letters, flyers, advertisements,
municate by file name and assume manuscripts, articles, etc., using the Com-
Extensys Corp. has announced a board
housekeeping functions usually performed modore PET and an RS-232 printer. Script
interconnection device that significantly
by the CPU, thus minimizing the software directives include line length, left margin,
reduces noise, glitches and jitter on the S-
burden. File management functions in- centering, and skip. Edit commands allow
100 microcomputer bus. Called the Exten-
clude initialization; allocation and sys "Glitch Grabber," the printed circuit the user to insert lines, delete lines, move
deallocation of diskette space; error detec- edge-connective device maintains clean lines, change strings, save onto cassette,
tion and retry; creating, deleting, renam- signals on the notoriously noisy S-IOO bus, load from cassette, move up, move down,
ing, copying of files; and even diagnostic safeguarding the low tolerance voltage print and type. The Word Processor Pro-
testi'ng. Designed to operate PerSci's differential of bus signals that are asserted gram addresses an RS-232 printer through
recently introduced 299 drive, "the in- "high." The oscilloscope signals show the a CmC printer adapter. $29.50.
dustry's first double density dual headed before (top) and after reduction in. noise Connecticut Microcomputer, 150
diskette drive," the 1170 will support up to made possible by the Glitch Grabber. The Pocono Road, Brookfield, CT 06804.
eight of the 299 four-headed units at one Extensys device provides glitch-free signals CIRCLE 230 ON READER SERVICE CARD
time. (no spikes interference, cross-talk) by
PerSci, Inc., 12210 Nebraska Ave., West bringing some well-documented analog
Los Angeles, CA 90025. (213)820-3764. techniques from transmission-line analysis
CIRCLE 225 ON READER SERVICE CARD to the digital world of S-IOO computers.
$79.50. STAR WARS SIMULATION
Ed Hartnett at Extensys, 380 Bernardo
Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040. (415) The Star Wars demonstration program
969-6100. used by Objective Design as a display of the
graphics capabilities of the Programmable
CIRCLE 227 ON READER SERVICE CARD
Character Generator is now available for
distribution. The game, an adaptation of
the end of the movie battle against the
Death Star, is a true, real-time simulation .

• J.!"I!!!!~ftJr.~
15 to 21 (JlIDton Street.
Under player control, ships move in three
dimensions to create a realistic simulation
of actual space flight. Objects increase in
size as the ships approach and diminish as
they pass. Weapons, deflector screens, and
a directional control joystick are im-
SOFTWARE plemented in each ship. True to the original
storyline, ships of the Rebel forces must
6800 CPU CARD FOR S-100 pass through Imperial defenses and Tie-
fighters to enter a channel on the Death
BUS EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE Star. If they can avoid a crash into the
DA T A TRONICS, a division of Great A variety of educational programs on channel wall and avoid the gunsights of
Plains Communications & Electronics, cassette, for the Radio Shack TRS-80 pursuing ships, they have a chance to
Inc., has announced a new 6800-CPU Level I and Level II, Commodore PET, destroy the Death Star. The game requires
Microprocessor card for the S-100 Bus, and Apple II, is available from Program the high-density graphics display provided
"bringing all the advantages of the 6800's Design, Inc. Step-by-Step is a three- only by the Programmable Character Gen-
sophisticated bus-oriented' architecture cassette course that teaches how to erator. Written in 14K of 8080 assembly
and its comprehensive, PDP-II like program a microcomputer in BASIC, for language, the program code is being
instruction set to the S-100 user. The $29.95. Preschool IQ Builder, at $9.50, is offered on Tarbell and CUTS tape. Game
extensive software support for the 6800 is one of a series of"IQ Builder" tapes for tots rules and instructions for assembling the
available at last to the S-100 Bus user." (another series is for high school, college required ship-control boxes are included in
This microprocessor card provides fully and adult ages) that develop skills. the price of $7.50.
turn-key operation and maximum system Program Design, Inc., II Idar Ct., Objective Design, Inc., P.O. Box 20325,
compatibility as well as an RS-232/20ma Greenwich, CT 06830. Tallahassee, FL 32304. (904) 224-5545.
interface (baud rate selectable with a DIP CIRCLE 228 ON READER SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 216 ON READER SERVICE CARD

24 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 * - -
,V)I,!.lr}1

Look ToThe North Star HORIZON Computer.

HORIZONTM- a complete, high-performance microprocessor EXPAND YOUR HORIZON
system with integrated floppy disk memory. HORIZON is Also available-Hardware floating point board (FPB); addi-
attractive, professionally engineered, and ideal for business, tional 16K memory boards with parity option. Add a second
educational and personal applications. disk drive and you have HORIZON-2. Economical serial and
To begin programming in extended BASIC, merely add a CRT parallel I/O ports may be installed on the motherboard. Many
or hard-copy terminal. HORIZON-1 includes a Z80A processor, widely available S-100 bus peripheral boards can be added to
16K RAM, minifloppy ™ disk and 12-slot S-100 motherboard HORIZON.
with serial terminal interface - all standard equipment.
QUALITY AT THE RIGHT PRICE
WHAT ABOUT PERFORMANCE? HORIZON processor board, RAM, FPB and MICRO DISK SYS-
The Z80A processor operates at 4MHZ - double the power of TEM can be bought separately for either Z80 or 8080 S-100 bus
the 8080. And our 16K RAM board lets the Z80A execute at systems.
full speed. HORIZON can load or save a 10K byte disk program HORIZON-1 $1599 kit; $1899 assembled.
in less than 2 seconds. Each diskette can store 90K bytes. HORIZON-2 $1999 kit; $2349 assembled.
AND SOFTWARE, TOO
16K RAM-$399 kit; $459 assembled; Parity option $39 kit; $59
HORIZON includes the North Star Disk Operating System and assembled. FPB $259 kit; $359 assembled. Z80 board $199 kit;
full extended BASIC on diskette ready at power-on. Our BASIC, $259 assembled. Prices subject to change. HORIZON offered
now in widespread use, has everything desired in a BASIC, in- in choice of wood or blue metal cover at no extra charge.
cluding sequential and random disk files, formatted output, a
powerful line editor, strings, machine language CALL and more. Write for free color catalogue or visit your local computer store.

NORTH STAR
2547 Ninth Street.
* COMPUTERS
Berkeley, California 94710 • [415] 549-0858.

CIRCLE 185 ON READER SERVICE CARD

 etc. and is supplied with a complete so,!rce 8080 TEXT-PROCESSING
CASSETTE MAGAZINE FOR listing. The text editor, for creatl!1g,
PET COMPUTERS editing, and saving line-numbered text hies SYSTEM
stored in RAM, supports such fun?tlO.ns as The Technical Systems Consultants
CURSOR is a monthly cassette entering new text, deleting text, fll~dln~ a
magazine of programs written just for the 8080 text processing system allows the use
designated string in text, resequencmg hne of over 50 commands for special text-
Commodore PET computer. Each Issue numbers, listing a specified block of text,
contains a featured game, as well as a formatting applications. the commands
loading text from paper tap~ or audio included will support multiple spacing,
variety of other professionally wntten and cassette, returning to the monitor, dump-
tested programs for the 8K PET. CUR- left-margin control, indenting, the ability
ing the text file to paper tape or audio to save continguous text, paging, left-h~nd
SOR also provides practical prograI.llS for cassette, clearing the text area, and
business, for statistical data analysis and justification, right-hand-only justification,
transferring control to the assembler. The left and right justification, centenng, no-fill
for use in the home. There are educational editor features line-number onentatJ.on for
programs children will enjoy, and some modes, page numberi~g, the p~mtlng of
ease of use. Users can extend the editor to
computer lore. for dedicated "hackers." left, right, or centered titles, and hne length
fit their needs since any command pr~c~ded control. Also included are capabilities for
This magazine ISdistributed each month by with an "X" is passed to a user-specifiable
First Class mail on a C-30 cassette, at $24 macro definition to define and build special
routine. Text files are completely
for 12 issues. formatting commands, number registers
relocatable in memory, and multiple text which can be used like vanables In a
CURSOR, Box 550, Goleta, CA 93017. files may be in memory simultaneously.
CIRCLE 231 ON READER SERVICE CARD program, conditionalcommand execution,
The length of text files is !imited only by setable macro execution POints (to execute
available memory. The resident assembler
a macro at a predefined line number), the
is a single-pass assembler which accepts the
ability to prompt a terminal for text during
entire 650X instruction set, using the
the formatting process, and a feature which
standard MOS Technology notation. allows sending informative strings to the
Source code may be paper tape or me~ory terminal. The system also outputs numbers
resident, and object code is always wntt.en in either Arabic, capital Roman numerals,
to memory. The complete system occupies or small Roman numerals. Tab columns
6K of memory (from EOOOto F7FF) and may be defined as well as the tab character
object code is available on KIM cassette or and tab-fill character. Environment
paper tape (KIM/TIM format) for $70. switching is permitted for easy.paraI?eter
ARESCO 450 Forest Ave./Q-203, changing and a loop command IS available
Norristown,'PA 19401. .
for repeated formatting jobs such as form
CIRCLE 233 ON READER SERVICE CARD letters. An external editor is required as no
editing functions are included. The TSC
Text Processor resides in just over 8K
beginning at 1000 hex plus filespace. $32.00
buys the full manual including ,~n "I~-
troduction to Text Processing, user S
guide, and fully commented assembled
source listing. An Intel ASCII-~ormat
TRS-80 MICROCHESS paper tape is available for an additional
$9.00.
Micro-Ware Limited's MICROCHESS Technical Systems Consultants, Inc.,
1.5 for the Radio Shack TR~-80 Box 2574, West Lafayette, IN 47906.
microcomputer is a 4K Z-80 machine- CIRCLE 235 ON READER SERVICE CARD
language program utilizing every available
byte of user RA,M i~ the TRS-80. Standard
algebraic notation IS used to descnbe the APL/Z80
moves to the computer. Every move IS
verified for legality to prevent user error. A APL/ Z80 is an APL system for the Z80
simple command allows .temporary microprocessor. Version I has nearly all of
numbering of the squares to assist In move the functions, operators, and features of
entry. The chess board is displayed using APL on a large system. Functions not
the graphics mode available on the TRS- implemented in Version I are transpos.e,
80. The moving pieces even flash before monadic format, matrix inverse, matnx
they move to simulate the gradual n~rrow- divide and inner product. These are easily
ing of attention on the moving piece as implemented with user-defined functions,
UNIVERSAL DATABASE AND however. APL/ Z80 consists of two
found in human chess play. The program
has three separate levels of play. $19.95. EDITOR FOR APPLE II modules known as the supervisor and the
Micro-Ware Ltd., 27 Firstbrooke Rd., interpreter which is romable. The super-
This Universal Database is said to be visor handles all interfaces with the Z80
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. M4E 2L2. unique in that the fields used are "predeter- computing environment. The Version I
(416) 424-1413. mined neither in number or length of each supervisor is designed for the Digital
CIRCLE 232 ON READER SERVICE CARD field although there is a maximum of how Group Z80 system and features a cursor-
many and how long each may be. It's driven editor which is active at all times
universal because you define the number o,~ when input may be received from the
fields, their lengths, and title of each field: keyboard. In addition the last line input
The APPL-E-DITOR is used mainly in may be recalled for editing and re-entry to
650X ASSEMBLER/TEXT developing letters, documentation.' and the APL systems. An APL character-set
other forms that will be changed ~gam. and ROM using the Motorola MCM6770
EDITOR again. The functions per~ll1t a<;tdmg.lines, character generator will be available as an
The comprehensive r es id e n t changing text, deleting! mserung, listing, option.
assembler / text editor announced by modifying a line at a time, renumbenng, Vanguard Systems Corp., 6812 San
ARESCO is a complete system for ent.er- etc. I Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78216. (512) 828-
ing, storing, editing, and assembling Both programs are written for an App e 0553.
programs for 650X-based ,Proc.esslng II with 20K + memory; the database CIRCLE 236 ON READER SERVICE CARD
systems. Although designed pnmanly for cassette is $60, the editor cassette $50.
use with the KIM system, the Darrell's Appleware House, 17638 157th
editor / assembler can be used on any 650X Ave., S.E. Renton, WA 98055. WANTED ~I1DE~':,~~N~~
system such as TIM, Apple, OS I, Baby!, CIRCLE 234 ON READER SERVICE CARD III{;JIj [6 LANTERNS
HARBACH & CO., 809 Filbert St.. Phila ••Pa.

26 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 COSMAC VIP, the completely Soon RCA will offer
assembled, ready-to-operate RCA options for color graphics
Video Interface Processor, opens up a nd 256 tone sound generation.
whole new world of computer excitement. New optional auxiliary keyboard
challenges in graphics, games and control an exciting world of two-player
functions. Yet it's just $249.00. games.
Easy to buy. And easy to program, thanks to Take the first step now.
its unique, easy-to-use interpretive language. Check your local computer store or elec-
You get a complete how-to book including tronics distributor for the VIP. Or contact RCA
programs for 20 games: fun, challenging, and VIP Marketing, New Holland Avenue, Lancaster,
ready to load and record on your cassette. PA 17604. Phone (717) 291-5848.
Simple but powerful. 'Suggested retail price. Does not include video monitor or cassette recorder.

Built around an RCA COSMAC micropro-

cessor, the VIP is a complete computer system
that can grow with you. It has 2K of RAM, ex-
pandable on-board to 4K. Plus a ROM monitor,

ROil
audio tone output to a built-in speaker, power
supply, and 8-bit input and output ports for The fun way
control of relays, sensors, or other peripherals. into computers.
CIRCLE 104 ON READER SERVICE CARD
 APPLE USERS GET ACCESS CANON SCIENTIFIC AND
MISCELLANEOUS TO STOCK-MARKET QUOTES STATISTICAL CALCULATOR
MPU VIDEO GAME Apple Computer has a new service which The Canon F-62 is an advanced hand-
will provide owners of its computers with held scientific and statistical calculator. It
Magnavox has introduced its first stock portfolio information and other has 10 digits, I-memory, 8 digit mantissa
microprocessor home video game unit, The financial services. Using a telephone link and 2-digit exponent. Versatile scientific
Odyssey- Computer Video Game System up, users of Apple II Computers will be functions contain: hyperbolics and their
(Model 7600). The new game features a 49- able to dial the Dow Jones Stock Quote inverse, polar and rectangular conversion
position alphanumeric keyboard which Reporter Service for fifteen-minute- and more. Advanced statistical functions
will enable the user to engage in beginning delayed stock and bond quotations. This contain: factorial, permutation, combina-
computer programming as well as playa information along with software provided tion and probability, areas under normal
wide variety of electronic sports, combat, by Apple will enable the user to determine distribution curve, and more. Long battery
and logic games on their television screen. current portfolio value, short and long life provides about 1,200 hours continuous
Nine pre-programmed cartridges will be term gains, and rate of return, among other use. List price, $59.95.
available initially for the Odyssey- with one things. At a later date, Apple II users will Canon USA Inc., 10 Nevada Dr., Lake
cartridge included with the game unit at be able to call up current news on Success, NY 11040.
time of sale. Seven of the optional companies in their user's portfolio. The CIRCLE 241 ON READER SERVICE CARD
cartridges will have a suggested retail price cost of the stock quote service will include a
of $19.95. The eighth cartridge, Computer one-time fee of $25 plus a usage charge of
Introduction, will carry a suggested list $3 for the first three minutes plus 50<1:a
price of $24.95. The Odyssey- is $179.95. minute thereafter for each usage session.
Magnavox, 1790 Magnavox Way, Fort Apple Computer Inc., 10260 Bandley
Wayne, IN 46804. Dr., Cupertino, CA 95014. (408) 996-1010.
CIRCLE 237 ON READER SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 239 ON READER SERVICE CARD

CALCULATORS
COMPUl'ER
CONCEPlS
FOA
SMALL
BUSINESs
TI SLiMLINE LCD SCIENTIFIC
CALCULATOR
The Slimline TI-25, which combines
state-of-the-art features and attractive
slimline styling, is announced by Texas
Instruments. The new electronic scientific
calculator, designed for professionals and
COMPUTER COURSE FOR students, provides versatile, built-in
FIRST-TIME USERS capabilities for handling algebraic,
trigonometric and statistical problems.
A self-instructional course providing The TI-25, with an easy-to-read Liquid
information needed by first-time users of Crystal Display (LCD), will automatically
computers has been announced by INFO 3, handle a broad range of mathematical
publishers of audio-cassette EDP courses. problems, including such slide-rule func-
Computer Concepts for Small Business tions as roots, powers, common and
covers basic computer concepts, including natural logarithms, reciprocals, and
types of data and how they are processed, trigonometry-in degrees, radians and
how systems are developed, the operation grads. Functions such as pi and factorial
of implemented systems and how to select a provide rapid calculations for use in
computer. A chart showing Goals, Objec- complex problem-solving, while a scien-
tives and Tasks for this course, called a tific notation key enables a user to work
GOT Chart, is available free. It shows in with small or large numbers with ease.
detail the learning sequence and the Powerful built-in statistical capability
measurable skills derived from the course. quickly computes mean, variance, and
The course is designed to aid business standard deviation-giving immediate
people to prepare for their first computer, access to numbers needed to analyze data
by presenting the prerequisites of sound and draw conclusions.
business computer applications, showing "MATH CARD" CALCULATOR Another built-in feature in the TI-25 is
how systems are developed and operated, the algebraic hierarchy with three levels of
and covering critical management The FX-48 scientific "Math Card" is one parentheses. This allows users to. enter
decisions like security and personnel of three in the "card" series from Casio. It problems as they're usually written, left to
staffing. Also, specific steps are described has 32 essential scientific functions in right. It eliminates the need for re-
for evaluating and acquiring computer addition to the basic math functions. The arranging formulas or equations and
equipment and software. The course essential scientific functions include scratch-paper calculations. $30 suggested
contains over two hours of instructional trigonometrics, parenthesis, logarithms, list.
audio-cassette tapes, plus a workbook of factorials, square root, powers, power Texas Instruments Inc., Consumer
over 200 pages. The regular price is $145, extraction and so much more. The eight- Relations/TI-25, P.O. Box 53, Lubbock,
but an introductory price of $95 will be in digit "Math Card" is only Ys" thick, weighs TX 79408.
effect through September 15, 1978. 1.6 ounces and operates for I ,000 hours on CIRCLE 242 ON READER SERVICE CARD
INFO 3, 21241 Ventura Blvd, Suite 193, two batteries. Suggested retail price is
Woodland Hills, CA 91364. Toll-free $39.95.
number is (800) 423-5205; in California Casio, Inc., 15 Gardner Rd., Fairfield,
OPIUM
andLiQUOrHabltCUredin
(213) 999-5753. NJ 07006. 10 to 20 days. No pay till
cured. Dr ..j.L.Stepl)ens,
CIRCLE 238 ON READER SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 240 ON READER SERVICE CARD Dept. M, LebanoDJ Ohio.

28 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 The Computer for the Professional
The 8813 was built with you, the professional, in mind. You don't need to learn complicated computer lan-
It quickly and easily processes cost estimates, payrolls, guages. The 8813 understands commands in English. If
accounts, inventory, patient/ client records and much you want to write your own programs, the 8813 includes a
more. You can write reports, briefs, and proposals on simple computer language, BASIC, that you can master in
the 8813's typewriter keyboard, see them on the video a few days. The 8813 slashes the professional's overhead.
screen, and instantly correct, revise, or print them. It's a powerful time and money-saving ally. Prices for
Using the 8813, one person can process what would complete systems including printer start at less than $8,000.
normally require many secretaries, several bookkeepers, See the 8813 at your local dealer or contact PolyMorphic
and a great deal of time. And data storage takes a small Systems, 460 Ward Drive, Santa Barbara, California, 93111,
fraction of the space used by previous methods. (805) 967-0468, for the name of the dealer nearest you.

PolyMorphic
Systems
 Micro Business Software THE ORIGIN
• Complete interactive, double entry account- OF
ing system
.51 programs with 120 pages of documen- THE TIMES SIGN?
tation
• Written in Northstar BASIC (other variations John F. Rogers
available)
• General ledger, accounts receivable, The earliest use of the word algebra in English occurs in
accounts payable, inventory and payroll PATHWAY OF KNOWLEDGE (1551) by Robert Recorde
(1510?-1558), of England's Oxford University. But of
• Only 24K of memory
particular interest are the devices Recorde proposed for
• Single diskette can hold 400 customer the painless use of Arabic numerals, then coming into
listings, 50 vendors, 400 line items of vogue.
inventory, 25 employees, 60 general ledger For example, one need learn multiplication facts only as
accounts. far as 5 times 9 if one chooses to multiply by Hecordes
method. Using 8 times 7 as a guide:
• Only $200.00
To order GBIS business software, send check,
8 I 2 (10 - 8 = 2)

money order or purchase order (Calif. residents

add 6% sales tax -prepaid
at no charge) to:
orders shipped
7
X [ 3 (10 - 7 3)

.~omputer Products Of America

,,}:13 Division of The Computer Mart (7 - 2 = 5) 5 6 (2 times 3 6)
633 West Katella Avenue
Orange, CA 92667 or
(714) 633-1222 (8 - 3 = 5)
Dealer and OEM prices upon request
Therefore, 8 times 7 = 56.
Could Records's little diagram be the origin of X as a
CIRCLE 112 ON READER SERVICE CARD symbol for multiplication?

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6. Hi-Resolution Life 10
7. Appleodian - Irish Jig Composing algorithm 10
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CIRCLE 188 ON READER SERVICE CARD 30 CREATIVE COMPUTING
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* Computer products include 8-bit and 16-bit computers, CRT 1~~ I.
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interfaces,. software programs, a self-instruction microprocessor
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 CS-100S. Graphics Games-2. Six favorite
Why should you select PET (8K) Software games. LEM, lunar lander with a graphic
Creative Computing CS-1001. Logic Games-1. Six favorites from
display and optional auto-pilot. Nuclear
Reaction, a game of skill for two players.
Software? BASIC Computer Games with super Artillery, in which two players shoot it out
graphics. Awari, the African logic game with over computer-generated terrain. Bounce
1. Highest quality programs-outstand- 12 pits and 36 beans. Bagels, which traces the path of a ball bouncing around
ing applications for education, recrea- challenges you to guess a secret 3-digit the screen. Checkers, with graphic display,
tion, business, and household manage- number. Martin Gardner's Chomp in which from our BASIC Games book. Dodgem, try
ment. you chomp on a cookie with a poison to outmaneuver another player or the
2. Best value-up to ten different pro- corner. Flip-Flop-change a row of X's to computer to get your pieces across the
grams per tape. O's. Hexapawn played with three chess board fi rst. $7.95.
3. Reliability-programs thoroughly test- pawns. Hi-Q, a solitaire peg-removal game.
ed and de-bugged. $7.95. CS-1006. Conversational Games-1. Talk to
4. Redundant recording- two copies of ELIZA, the computerized psychoanalysis
every program on each tape. CS-1002. Number Games-1. Six number program. Compose poetry with Haiku.
5. Professional quality tape-high density logic games including Guess in which you Challenge your vocabulary and word-
oxide, 100% calendered, flat frequency guess a secret number. 23-Matches-try not guessing skills with Hangman. Hurkle, try to
response, low noise, high output. to take the last match. Letter in which you find the hurkle on the 10 by 10 grid in five
6. Anti-jam cassette-teflon lubricated guess a secret letter. Number, a random moves. In Hexletter, you compete to capture
six-rib gasket, hard welded windows, jackpot game. Trap in which you trap a more letters on a hexagon than your oppo-
double locking self lubricating hub, mystery number between two trap numbers. nent. $7.95.
double flanged rollers on stainless steel Stars gives you stars as clues to the secret
pins, heavy metal shield. number. $7.95.
7. Hard plastic box-best protection, easy CP/M Software
to file. CS-1201. Education Simulations-1. Five CS-9001. Games-1. An 8" floppy.disc
8. Widely available-carried by most retail super simulations including the popular containing most of the first fifty games from
- computer stores. Animal in which the computer learns Basic Computer Games in Microsoft Basic.
- -c- 9. Made in U.S.A. animals from you. Fur Trader lets you trade All the games from Acey Ducey to Hi-Q
10. Inexpensive-best value per dollar of furs in old Canada. Hammurabi in which including such favorites as Animal,
any software. you manage the city-state of Sumeria. Or try Bullfight, Craps, and Hangman. (To run this,
making your fortune in the Stock Market. A you need CP/M and Microsoft Basic.)
A Word About logic game, Word, has you guess secret $17.95.
words. $7.95. CS-9002. Games-2. The second half of
Tape Quality Basic Computer Games including Life,
CS-1003. Logic Games-2. Six challenging LEM, Mugwump, Stars, 23 Matches, Word,
All video tape, most computer tape, and
puzzles including Rotate, in which yo~ and forty more! 8" floppy disc. $17.95.
some good cassette tape is calendered. order a matrix of random letters. Strike-g,
Calendering is what gives tape the smooth, try to remove all nine digits without striking
glossy appearance on the oxide side.
(Compare a Maxell UD tape to a poly pack
out. The classic number game, NIM. In Radio Shack
Even-Wins try to take an even number of
tape and you'll see the difference.)
chips. Hi-Lo, a number guessing game with TRS-80 Software
As you know, if your tape heads are dirty, a jackpot. Batnum, the super "battle of Write for latest releases.
you lose frequency response. A rough tape numbers!" $7.95.
surface causes virtually the same effect as
dirty heads. It prevents intimate tape head
Apple II Software
CS-1004. Graphics Games-1. Five amazing
contact with the main body of the tape. Write for latest releases.
realtime graphics games designed especial-
When tape is coated, it has millions of Iy for your PET. In Chase, one player
microscopic peaks and valleys. Calender- pursues the other through a maze of SOL-20 Software
ing eliminates the peaks and valleys, causing obstacles and "zap doors." Escape- Write for latest releases.
a very smooth surface. In addition, since attempt to escape from a prison patrolled by
there are no rough peaks, there is less oxide robot guards. Dart provides arithmetic drill
ruboff and less head wear. and indicates how close your response is to
Calendering is just one of the many high the correct answer on a dart board. In
To Order ...
quality features you'll find in Creative Snoopy you compute distances on a
Computing Software cassettes. We could Creative Computing Software should be
number-line while trying to shoot down the stocked by your local retail computer store.
have purchased cassettes for half the price Red Baron. In Sweep you must try to hit nine
that would have worked, but we wanted to If your favorite outlet doesn't yet offer it,
targets in order by controlling the path of a have him call C.J. at 800-631-8112. (In NJ,
be sure that our cassettes would last for cannonball. $7.95.
years and would give you an error-free 201-540-0445).
program load every time. Or you can order directly from Creative
Rather than rush our software to market, Computing. Send your check for tapes plus
$1.00 shipping and handling per order to
we've paid attention
cassette mechanism
dant recording,
to tape quality, the
(it won't jam), redun-
and packaging (hard plastic
GP6Btiv6 Creative Computing
789-M, Morristown,
Software, P.O. Box
NJ 07960. NJ residents
add 5% sales tax. Visa or Master Charge are
box) as well as the programs themselves.
With Creative Computing Software, you can
be sure you're getting the absolute best that
GOlRputinfj acceptable also. For faster service, call in
your bank card order toll free to 800-631-
8112. (In NJ, 201-540-0445).
money can buy.
SOftWBP6
 A new low-cost computer with the
promise of future magic
'J

Exidy Sorcerer

Margot Critchfield

To say that the personal-computer store any kind of "permanent" software high-resolution s-ector graphicS (256
field is a changing one is a record that might be desirable now or in the by 256 addressable points with colors
understatement. The variety in new future. The Exidy trademark for the individually selectable for each point).
components can be bewildering. cartridge is ROM-PAC. The main use of The standard output display is
However, the novice buyer can keep this facility will be to provide systems capable of providing both
pretty well abreast of things by concen- software (such as a BASIC interpreter, alphanumeric and graphic informa-
trating on complete systems. In par- a Z-80 assembler, APL, DOS, and a tion. The alphanumeric display comes
ticular, it's worth keeping an eye on word processor). The obvious advan- out the back as composite video ready
three things: the features of systems tage to this approach is that users don't to go to a black-and-white TV monitor,
that continue to prove themselves as have to argue about which language or or into a high-resolution unit Exidy
solid citizens of the micro world; the facility is best-they just plug in the sells (for about $250). Up to 30 lines of
reasons why some old friends have software of their choice. They can also 64 characters each can be displayed on
bitten the dust; and the promise offered create their own, since an EPROM- the screen, including the full ASCII
by new faces on the scene. Of special PAC will also be available. upper- and lower-case set, 64 special
interest are new systems with a design The CPU uses the Z-80 chip. The graphics characters, and (get this) an
philosophy that makes one take notice standard unit comes with an 8K additional 64 special characters that
because there is a capabil ity for growth Microsoft BASIC in a ROM-PAC, and users can define with software (music
in several directions. an additional User 8K of RAM memory buffs take note). In graphics mode, this
One entry in this last category that which can be extended to 32K within same display allows black-and-white
attracted much attention at the 1978 the basic unit. The standard interfaces graphics with a resolution of 512
NCC Personal Computing Exhibit at included are an RS232 serial 1/0 port, a (horizontal) by 240 (vertical). The
Anaheim was the Sorcerer computer. parallel 8-bit latched and buffered I/O standard unit also provides for two
It's a relatively low-cost (about $895) port With handshaking, a dual cassette user-supplied tape-cassette units (with
computer being built by Exidy, a interface, and an edge connector that motor control). Disk drives can be
company that has been active in the permits adding an expansion box. The added through the expansion box, and
"arcade game" field prior to this. The power of the expansion box is that it Exidy will be selling a companion disk
thing that distinguishes Exidy's entry uses the S-100 bus, so all the goodies unit that uses Shugart drives.
into the personal-computing market is now available for this standard can These are impressive specs, and they
that they elected not to introduce a theoretically be added to the Sorcerer. show an above-average amount of
home game center that could ultimate- This means that voice syntheslzers, planning, particularly with regard to
ly be converted into a programmable A/D and D/A converters, graphics, both hardware and software growth. A
computer. Instead, they have designed additional I/O, and additional memory report on how these specs stack up in
a full-fledged microcomputer system can be part of a full-fledged system. In practice will be in the works as soon as
that can be expanded in a number of particular, Exidy is developing a set of the first evaluation units become
directions (including-for those who two S-100 boards that will provide available. _
wish-games utilizing good resolution
graphics, both black-and-white and
color).
The initial Sorcerer contlpuratioriis a
unit that measures 19 x 13 x 4 inches,
and weighs 13 pourrds. As shown in the
photograph, it looks like an expanded
keyboard enclosure (somewhat larger
than the Radio Shack TRS-80).
Protruding from the right side is a
removable cartridge that has the
appearance of an eight-track tape
cartridge, but which is actually a
removable "chunk" of memory. It can
hold up to 16K of ROM, and it's used to

Margot Critchfield, University

of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260.

SEPT/OCT 1978 33
 Random Ramblings
Random Ramblings
Random Ramblings
Random Ramblings. David H. Ahl

These last few months have been Bill Etra is a West Coast-based panded his knowledge of information
nothing short of incredible in the computer design consultant. He is transmission and his scope now ranges
consumer electronics industry and at coinventor of the Rutt/Etra Video from the Voice Telephone Network
Creative Computing as well. I'd like to Synthesizer - the first portable through the Inter-University AR-
share some of my observations with voltage-control analog video syn- PANET, to the International Telex
you, first about Creative, then the thesizer, as well as the Video-lab. His Network.
industry, then a couple of other things. main interest is videographics, and Ed HerShberger is a NewYork-based
For information on any of the products many of his works have appeared as film-maker and friend of technology,
mentioned, reader service card cover illustrations on various ecological balance, high-fidelity, and
numbers are on page 41. periodicals and books including Com- good soldering technique. He can be
puters in Society and Broadcast found working on movies, breadboard-
Staff Changes Management and Engineering. His ing Circuits, or perusing Canal Street
Those of you who read our masthead current research centers on "The for servos, transformers, and sockets
and others areas of fine print may have Computer as a Compositional Tool for for his various projects. Currently, he is
noticed some changes, in particular, Video." working on a portable, zero-voltage
that we have a new editor, John Craig. A.I. Karshmer is currently com- switching clock to turn battery-belts on
John has been in the computer in- pleting his Ph.D. in computer science in various motel rooms.
dustry for many years with Varian Data at the University of Ma§sachusetts.His Margot Critchfield has been
Machines and Federal Electric and has main interest is the use of artificial associated with Project SOLO and
a rich background in both large and intelligence concepts in solving Soloworks at the University of
small systems, software and hardware, problems involved in the transmission Pittsburgh as editor, illustrator, and
but most of all he has the unique ability of computer graphics. Currently, he is researcher. She has collaborated with
to communicate his knowledge developing a method for sending hiqh- Tom Dwyer on his recent book Basic
through the written word in a clear, density information, such as animated and the Personal Computer and
concise, and interesting manner. John graphics, over existing low-bandwidth numerous other articles and booklets.
was co-editor of the Micro-B telecommunications networks. She is currently finishing up her Ph.D
Newsletter back when people were Theodor Nelson is the author of the in Education at Pittsburgh.
building computers from 8008 chips classic Computer Lib/Dream There are a number of changes and
(only two years ago, but it's like ancient Machines, a Whole-Earth-style additions in other positions aswell who
history). More recently, John was the catalogue of computer machinations. I'll introduce to you next issue.
editor ot Kilobaud. His latest book is the newly released As many of you know, Creative
This issue was put together by the The Home Computer Revolution. Ted Computing was a "hobby" for me
existing team, but you'll start to see specializes in highly interactive whilst working full-time as Manager of
John's hand next issue. Speaking of systems for graphics and text. His past Marketing Communications for AT&T.
the existing team, you'll continue to see experience includes a stint at Dr. Lilly's Well, no more. I am now at Creative
reviews, TRS-80 stuff and more by- Dolphin Laboratory and work as a Computing full time.
lined articles by Steve Gray in his new consultant for Bell Lab's ABM system.
role of associate editor. Steve also will Eben Ostby has been involved with
be doing some free-lance work for computing ever since he crashed the
other publications both inside and PDP-8 at Pomfret School. At present,
outside of the computer field. he is doing graduate work in computer
Other new names in the associate science at Brown University and trying
editor column include the following: to convince people that APL isn't really
Lee Felsenstein was born in all that bad.
Philadelphia and grew upwanting to be Frederick W. Chesson is a graduate
an inventor. Outside of that, he bears of the University of Connecticut. After
no resemblance to W.C. Fields what- work in electronic engineering, he
soever. Instrumental in establishing gravitated into technical writing. At
the first experimental public-access present, he furnishes instruction
information-exchange system in 1972, r manuals and related items to various
he is presently engaged in further firms plus construction articles to
development in that area of com- several electronics hobby magazines.
munications. In his spare time he has A member of the American Cryp-
designed the Pennywhistle 103 togram Association since 1958, he is
modem, the VDM-1 video display currently researching a book on Civil
module, the SOL terminal/computer, War codes and ciphers.
and the VID-80 video display card. Lee . Robert .Osband took apart his first
was also instrumental in forming the telephone at age twelve, and hasn't
original Homebrew Computer Club stopped playing with them since. As a
and currently serves as its "toast- Communications Center Specialist for Pethouse Pet Barbara Corser sends
greetings to Creative readers from the
master." the U.S. Army in Germany, he ex-
Consumer Electronics Show.

34 CREATIVE COMPUTING
"Not Just a Magazine"
Many of you know Creative Com-
puting mainly as a magazine. However,
only about one-third of our corporate
revenues are derived from the
magazine. Other divisions include:
Creative Computing Press. Our book
publishing arm, Creative Computing
Press, started by publishing material
reprinted from Creative Computing
magazine. We now publish a wide
variety of original books related to
computer applications in education,
small business and the home. We
publish approximately six new titles a
year along with a line of board games,
posters, pri nts and T-shi rts. These
books and other items are sold by mail
order, and through retail computer
stores and selected college and trade
book stores.
Creative Computing Book Service. Our
mail order book service handles a wide
selection of publications of both major
and small presses. In addition to
computer applications, titles cover
computer literacy, problem solving,'
games and puzzles. Many of these
books are not readily available in retail Overview of the Consumer Electronics Show, June 11-14,1978, Chicago, IL.
stores.
Creative Computing Software. Our program language is PeCos, a runs Tiny BASIC but most of the pre-
newest division, Creative Computing derivative of JOSS (a list processing programmed cassettes are in machine
Software, is involved with developing language developed by Rand Corp). code. Because of the relatively small
and marketing software for home, It's made by APF Electronics who are built-in memory, programs use con-
small business and educational com- leaders in printing calculators so the ti nuous overlays; i.e., keepthe cassette
puter users. aim is probably more small business running, but this introduces some neat
Creative Computing Consulting. Prin- than home or educational use. possibilities with the separate audio
cipal clients are educational in- CyberVision 2001. Console contains track - storytelling, spelling and
stitutions and computer manufacturers MPU,4K RAM, singlecassette deck and language drill and audio prompts in
interested in the education market. On built-in speaker. Two alphanumeric programs. This is the unit sold through
these assignments we draw not only on touch sensitive keypads are included. the Montgomery Ward catalog. (See
our own staff but many collaborating The unit attaches to a color TV set. It interview with John R. Powers 111.)
educators and researchers as well. Ohio Scientific was showing their
complete line at both the CES and
NCC. Interest seemed most keen on
Conlsumer Electronics tHe$598Challenger liP with 6502MPU,
built-in keyboard 8K BASIC in ROM,
Show 4K RAM and video output (to a monitor)
Those of you who read my May of 32 lines x 64 characters. Cassette
'editorial will recall I predicted that recorder is external.
more new computers would be an- VideoBrain showed their Expander 1
nounced at the Consumer Electronics
(for two external cassette recorders)
Show (CES) than at the National
and Expander 2 which is an acoustic-
Computer Conference (NCC). The coupled telephone modem to make
score: CES 7, NCC 1. Not a bad VideoBrain into a timesharing terminal.
prediction! I also said we'd cover the Six new cartridges in financial
CES and I did - personally. NCC too,
management, entertainment, and other
for that matter. Here are some of the CyberVision 2001 uses stereo cassette tape areas were also introduced.
highlights from the CES (most of these with one track for programs and one for
Apple showed their "Disk II," a so-
items are or will be covered in greater audio.
called intelligent peripheral for the
depth elsewhere on these pages).
Apple II. It was being demonstrated
Personal Computers most impressively with stock price data
from the New York Stock Exchange.
PeCos I personal computer. Console The disk offers random and s~quential
contains a full 60-key keyboard, MPU access, 116 kilobytes per dis~ette in a
(6502), 24K ROM and 16K RAM, two 35-track soft-sectored format. Each
cassette decks and 1/0 provision for track contai ns 13 sectors of ~56 bytes
two more (nice for sort merging) and each. Price is $495.00 Apple also
an RS232-C output (for printer or reduced memory and system prices
external terminal). A 9" B&W monitor, substantially.
40 characters per line, 16 lines is CyberVision 2001 control has full alphabet Apple, by the by, is putting a tremen-
included with the basic system. The and numerals on touch sensitive pad. dous amount of money in their
SEPT/OCT 1978 35
 it, a full 50-key keyboard and appeared
Ramblings Con't. ... to have reasonably good graphics on
the screen with text output of 161ines of
manuals and documentation at both probably 40 characters each, although
the user level as well as the dealer level. there are no printed specs. The unit
Their new basic programming manual, supposedly was a 6500 family MPU but
which they were giving out as a not a 6502. Curious. Looks like an
promotional piece, is 130 pages and is Apple to me. It's unlikely that it's being
extremely well done. it's two-color manufactured at this time and the unit
throughout and four-color on many of that was shown at the show was simply
the pages. This is a parallel, in a sense, a prototype to gauge dealer reaction to
to what Digital Equipment Corp. used the product.
to do when they gave out their Small . Still another personal computer
Computer Handbook forthe POP 5 and system is called the InterAct Personal
the POP 8. The idea being, let the Computer manufactured by InterAct
consumer know how easy it was to use "Home Wizard" computer from Hong Kong Electronics, Inc. It has a 48-key stan-
the unit and then they will go on and carries a $420 wholesale price tag, F.O.B. dard typewriter keyboard layout,
buy it. Connecticut. Retail should be around $695. however, the keys are more like
Teal Industries showed the Swift calculator touch-sensitive keys. Also
Personal Computer. The Swift out- Under the "Home Wizard" electronic built in is an audio cassette recorder.
wardly resembles the PET; that is, it has product line was an entry simply called More details were unavailable at press
a keyboard and CRT and the computer Home Computer by EAP Electro- time.
built into one unit.On the other hand, its Atomic Products, Ltd., Flat B First Commodore showed the new printer
actual electronic characteristics are Floor, Kan Bun Industrial Building, 13- for the PET, which prints 80 characters
identical to those of the Radio Shack 19 Kwai Wing Road, Kwai Chung, N.T. per line on roll paper 8W' wide and
TRS-80 computer. It uses a Z-80 chip Hong Kong. The Home Wizard Home reproduces all the PET graphics sym-
as the central micro processor, has a Computer has a tape cassette built into bois. Very nice. They also showed an
standard keyboard, 12-inch black and
white screen, and single data cassette
built in. The screen displays 161ines of
64 characters each. The basic unit has
4K bytes of read only memory (ROM)
and 4K bytes of RAM. It's imported by
Interact computer won
Teal Industries, lnc., Victoria Business
Park, 251 East Victoria St., Carson, a design award at
California, 90746. The word is from the the CES.
Teal folks that they are looking to
produce a private-label version of this
computer for all comers. The price of
the Swift in lots of 300 or more, FOB
Japan is $257.00. That should mean a
selling price, after mark-up, transpor-
tation and import duty, of around
$650.00.

Personal Computing: The Size of the Market

According to the Consumer Elec- been shipped. Current deliveries are
tronics 1978 Annual Review produced running 3,000 - 4,000 per month and
by the Electronics Industries Associa- are expected to be 10,000 per month by
tion, "the home computer market is years end. Estimates of TRS-80
currently dominated by enthusiastic shipments to date vary between 8,000
hobbyists, and it's expected to con- and 20,000 which indicates that Apple
tinue to be this year. Sales will be (who are extremely secret about their
limited by production, industry sales) has sold about 25,000 units. Mike
members believe, and will total about Scott, president of Apple, told me that
250,000 units in 1978." their sales in the fiscal year ended
The statistical and marketing forecast September 1978 would be between $10
prepared by Merchandising in May and $20 million. Translating this to
1978 predicted a somewhat smaller units indicates a unit volume between
Home computer by Teal Industries looks 180,000 units in 1978. 13,500 and 27,000. Sales of everyone
like a PET but runs TRS-80 software.
What has already been delivered (by else put together over the past three
mid-year 1978) in the three years since years is probably in the neighborhood
Another "look-alike" unit is the first Altair was shipped by MITS? of 75,000 to 100,000, hence in the first
manufactured by Toshiba which is Apple's public position is that they three years of personal computing,
essentially an electronic imitation of have shipped more than number two approximately 150,000 units have been
the Apple computer, although out- and three together, who are PET and delivered.
wardly it looks more like the Processor Radio Shack, although not necessarily So, 1978 will see deliveries of 1.2 to 1.7
Technology SOL or Ohio Scientific in that order. There is general agree- times the total sales of the first three
Challenger. Apparently the Toshiba ment from both inside and outside years. Anyone want to guess what
unit will not be commercially available Commodore that 15,000 PETS have sales will be by 1980? By 1985?
in this country until December or later.

36 CREATIVE COMPUTING
Ramblings Con't. ...
external cassette drive capable of Technology: sistors on a chip. Now comes VLSI with
storing 170 kilobytes. Price $100. VLSI Around the Corner the promise of more than 5,000 tran-
Intelligent Systems Corp. again had sistors on a chip. The first VLSI chips
everyone drooling over the spectacular Those ingenious engineers who will go to the big computer companies
color graphics on their Compucolor gave us integrated circuits, then but it won't be long (2 years?) before
line but delivery is still the big question followed that bit of rnaqic with they'll 'be available in consumer
as it has been since first showing the large-scale integrated circuits, are products.
products in March at the West Coast about to pull another rabbit out of their The one possible drawback is that
Computer Faire. hats. The latest wizardry is something these circuits apparently can't be made
Bally, of course, showed the called very large-scale integration with good old standby silicon, but must
professional Arcade which is reviewed (VLSI), and application of VLSls to use gallium arsenide. This isn't a
elsewhere in this issue. consumer electronics could make even strange, new material; the industry has
A high-end new entry is the Smarts II the most sophisticated products now been using it for high-speed and high-
from Fire Bird Sales Company, P.O. coming along look like Tinker Toys. frequency semiconductors for' years.
Box 116, Woodland, Illinois, 60974. It Among the possibilities? How about Now they're going to u§e it for VLSI.
has 32K of RAM built into it with an a pocket calculator-device with an But unlike silicon, gallium arsenide
expansion capability to 630K of RAM. It alpha keyboard and a full foreign- can't be made to support higher
also has a mini floppy disc drive built language dictionary in its memory. Or operating temperatures. This means
into it which can be increased to 3 home computers with vastly expanded that no power output circuits 'can be
drives as the need dictates. It provides capabilities over those currently on the made as part of a VLSI chip, and in fact
output on a CRT display which is not market. Or even a small voice- if there's much heat involved-such as
included with the basic unit, 161ines of recognition device which links directly in the power output of an audio
64 characters each. It also has provi- to a computer. amplifier or of a CB transmitter-the
sion for controlling color. The CPU in Just what is VLSI? The original output transistors not only have to be
the Smarts II is a Z-80, actually a integrated circuits (ICS) put 15 to 20 separate, discrete devices, they must
Mostek 3880, but nobody's ever going transistors on a chip; large scale have good heat isolation from VLSI
to know. The price on the Smarts II is integration (LSI) jammed 500 tran- circuits.
$1,695.

"The Home Computer: a technical question, they can't call the able to have a higher margin and the
factory. We just can't have enough sales support that you can get from a
A Tool NotA Toy" phones. So they have to be able to go one-on-one sales relationship that is
back to their retail store where they necessary to sell at $1,000 computer.
An Interview with Mike Scott,
bought it to get the service. Ahl: You're not interested in, let's say, a
President, Apple Computer
Another thing - I think both PET, Macy's or a Bloomingdales.
Inc., Cupertino, CA. Radio Shack and ourselves are follow- Scott: We're going to do test markets
Ahl: I've heard it said that over the next ing a premise that once a guy buys the over the next six months to understand
two years the distribution channels will initial computer, over the next year or what kind of point-of-purchase sales
be the name of the game. Anyone can two he'll come back and spend at least aids you need to be able to sell in those
build the hardware - the Japanese, an equal amount buying accessories stores. We started last September with
Koreans, Hong Kong people and so on. and peripherals. So there is an after- Team Electronics, which is an example
But sales support and software support market automatically built in. And of a hi-fi chain, to start understanding
is a more difficult game. How are you again, you need a local store rather how to sell through those stores.
looking at this at Apple? than mail order where the customer
can go select his add ons. I think another change is going take
Scott: We have two-step distribution, place. Right now 80% or more of the
meaning a regional distributor that Ahl: Are you looking at stores like the people that are buying home com-
supports a regional area of stores, say discounters and the mass-market puters already know something about
like 60 stores. He's able at least once a merchandisers? programming and do programming
month to visit all the local stores, able Scott: We do not do any business themselves. Two or three years from
to communicate to them the latest new through catalog or discount mass- now that percentage is going to
product available, how to sell it, and merchandising chains. We want to be reverse; 80% are going to want pre-
service it. canned programs. That's because
Ahl: And service takes place at the they're lazy. They want to turn on and
regional level? have it come back and say, like the H&R
Scott: Yes. But the service is also Block guy does, "Answer these ques-
explaining to the guy how to sell the tions and I'll tell you what your
product. Everybody's got a pitch on taxes are." So it's not really user-
why a computer is good. But when a programmed in that sense. The factory
customer comes in the door, how do has a software base on it. But it still is
you effectively minimize your sales adaptable at the home level and once
time? You want to be able to close that you get into it, you could modify the
sale without having the salesman programs a little bit.
spend eight hours and then maybe lose Another important thing is to get
the sale. So, we're spending a lot of enough people thinking that it's not
effort on the advertising to get the just a toy. This is where the games
people into the regional stores or in the started them thinking. And Apple helps
local stores to get that local support. encourage it a little bit. You start with it
Let's say a year or two out when there's because it's a toy. But we've got to start
100,000 or 200,000 users and they have . Mike Scott of Apple Computer getting people thinking of it as a tool.

SEPT/OCT 1978 37
 almost shut down business in July and "The Home Computer Market:
Ramblings Con't. .. August So the intent was to load them
up before that We'll catch up with the
U.S. dealers in July and August. Then It's Not Here Now"
we can start adding new ones. Ad-
mittedly, we haven't kept all of our U.S. An Interview with Arnold
dealers as happy as we would have Greenberg, President, Coleco,
liked but we've done what we can. Hartford, Conn.
Ahl: What do you think of the Exidy Greenberg: The home computer
Sorcerer? market in part has been a creature of
Peddle: I think it's a legitimate attempt the trade press which got a whiff of
to keep the S100 bus alive. That seems advanced technology and by building
to be the only major difference it up and building it up led the world to
between it and two or three others. believe that the market is here now. It's
Actually, I think that they're a little late not here now. It will be here soon. Right
for the hobbyist market. But if you look now the only market out there is a
at their backers, I understand where hobbyist's market. The marketing
they're coming from and to them it challenges haven't been solved. The
makes sense. I've talked to several technology is well ahead of the market.
dealers and they're going to carry it And until we can makecompatible both
because of the Z80, and they're trying the marketing with the technology,
to get the Z80 freaks. So maybe that's it. we're not going to havesomething at a
Chuck Peddle, designer of the Commodore Ahl: In the mass market, who's going to popular price that's going to do
PET. something for the consumer. $500 or
differentiate between the Z80 and
6502? It seems to me that software is more home computers are not the
Horne Computers: the crucial element now. answer to anybody's mass market.
.Th~"'Nameof the Game Peddle: No. I don't think so. I feel that Ahl: So you think Fairchild and Atari
may be taking or getting into things a
the next round of competition is the
is Peripherals area of peripherals. I think we and little bit ahead of time?
An Interview with Chuck Ped- Apple, particularly, and Ohio Scien- Greenberg: They're not into it. Atari
dIe, designer of the Com- tific, are out there fighting peripherals has said that they are not interested in a
modore PET in this Show (CES). None of us are home-computer market at that price
introducing new computers, we're point. They're not into it nor is really
Ahl: There is a rumor that all of PET's introducing new peripherals. That's Fairchild.
being made are going overseas. where the battle is. Maybe software Ahl: In other words, those are just
Peddle: During the first half of June too. But I think the software is going to games.
1978,we shipped exclusively overseas be generally available to everybody. So Greenberg: That's right. And what we
but that was planned because of the I think what you do in peripherals is the
want is something more than a game.
holidays in Europe. Europe tends to major factor.
It's got to do more than entertain. It's
got to educate as well and be func-
tionally sign ificant to the owner. But we
Reliability and Mass Production don't want a sophisticated hobbyist
item or a small-business computer.
A word to the wise: don't expect that mechanism? (As of this writing, our That's a wholly different market.
new $700 computer to be as reliable as PET has made numerous trips to the Ahl: So APF is probably out on a bit of a
a $700 Sony or Technics hi-fi receiver. Norristown, Pa. regional service center limb now with their little entry here.
Assembly lines for computers are new. and mayor may not be cured.) A Greenberg: Well, it's a very lovely item.
DEC and DG come as close as anyone conversation with one of the largest I think their market is a small-business
to having mass assembly lines for their PET distributors revealsthat 30%come market. And I think they're looking at
minis; in both cases their computers through with the tape head misaligned. that very directly. They're in the small-
spend more time in,checkout, burn-in No problem if you're only reading and business equipment field, they do a
and quality control than the rest of the writing your own tapes, but what very good job in calculators. But that's
line together. Some of the new happens when you buy a commercial not a mass-market item.
manufacturers haven't faced up to this tape?
yet. Furthermore, engineering changes I do not mean to single out PET; I Ahl: Right. Where de you see yourself
are being made daily which further have no information to indicate that going in the video-game market?
complicate any kind of mass produc- they are necessarily any better or Greenberg: We see ourselves expan-
tion. worse than anyone else. ding; we think we'll continue to be the
Case in point. Commodore has used In general, the most frequent number company with primary
four different cassette mechanisms in problems I've heard about over all emphasis on the low end. Absolutely,
the PET in the first nine months of manufacturers fall in two major areas: that's where the mass market is. The
production. Each of them' required (1) cassette recorder, mostly head low end. Remember, we are mass
changes in the mother board. Consider misalignment and (2) over-heating marketeers. We entered this industry
the problems then if you have a errors that occur after the computer not from an electronics distribution
problem with the cassette recorder in has been on for some period of time. base but from the traditional toy and
your PET, as we did. The local service Does all this mean that you shouldn't game industry. We're interested in
center puts in a new mechanism but buy a computer yet? Not at all- just be selling hundreds of thousands of units
finds it incompatible with the mother sure about the guarantee and service of an item. We're not interested in a
board. What then? Modify the mother arrangements. Hopefully you won't limited distribution or 20 to 25,000unit
board? Try to find an older need either but ... runs of anything. It's a very big
difference.

38 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 Fairchild Channel F System II uses a
Ramblings Con't .... 16-button keypad as well as their
unique (strange?) hand-held joystick
controls. They boast 24 cartridges in
their library yielding a total of over
1,000game variations. I was particular-
(!i- ••••.••
__

~----~----.-
~-~ •••..••.••••
I
ly impressed with the checkers and
blackjack cartridges.
Atari showed their Video Computer
----- 1

---'='-:---1 System along with its many cartridges

and controllers (See July/August 1978
Creative Computing for a complete
review). "Programmable Tele Sports III" from Hong
Magnavox programmable video computer
APF introduced their Kong will retail for $69 or so.
game had full alphabetic and numeric keys Microprocessor 1000 with combined
on a touch-sensitive keyboard along with 12-button keypad and 8-direction system repeat it endlessly with each
two joystick controls. joystick controllers. No cartridges image slightly displaced from the
were available at presstime. previous one. Nice built-in blackjack
too. Controllers were numeric
Programmable Video Games keypads.
The industry has labeled video Radofin Electronics of Hong Kong
games with a removable cartridge introduced a programmable game,
"programmable" although all the user Telesports III, with two joysticks
can do is change the cartridge. I guess designed to retail at $69. Seven car-
to some people this means program- tridges are promised in the initial
mable. offering most of which are variations of
Unit sales of all video games in 1977 the popular coin-op or Atan games.
were about 4 to 4.5 million with 6 to 9 However, at $69....
million forecast for 1978. Industry Olympos Electronic Co. of Korea
estimates indicate that 35% to 40% of entered the race with Gamatic 8600,
these will be programmables and another low-priced programmable.
quasi-programmables. If what was Two joystick controllers come with the
being shown at the CES was any unit; four cartridges are promised.
indication, it could be even higher than Two other entries in the price race
"Victory-3" video computer system from are the Model 501 and 2003 program-
this.
Conic (Hong Kong) had numeric keypads
Magnavox's Odyssey II marks the mables from Video Technology, Ltd. of
and user control of color and sound.
phasing out of all dedicated games by Hong Kong. More of the same. At the
Magnavox and concentration on the manufacturer level, FOB Hong Kong,
programmable. Odyssey II has a 48- Accurate Electronics Industry Ltd. of price of the 501 is $28,so itshould retail
key keyboard of the touch sensitive Hong Kong introduced a rather unique here for $69 or so.
variety along with two paddle controls. programmable game under the Conic Also at the low end is the Video Sport
Eight cartridges are currently label. Five games (and several TCR-900 PC imported by Internet of
available. Inclusion of a keyboard in variations) are built in including a neat Beverly Hills. Two joysticks, nine
the basic unit indicates Magnavox is sketch pad game which gives the user cartridges promised, retail price of $69,
looking ahead toward a true program- control of video color as well as cartridge retail $20.
mable product, probably along the line musical notes! After you get done with Obviously, many of the last five
of the Bally Arcade. your drawing/tune, you can have the games will be marketed under private

Programmable video game from Hong Kong will retail for $69. Atari booth was continuously crowded with video-game junkies.

SEPT/OCT 1978 39
Ramblings Cont' .... COMP-IV - see Creative Computing 'Reverberation' determines the
November/December 1977). 'Iiveness' of the acoustic space,
or store labels. We'll try to include as Parker Brothers showed the musical creating multiple reflections and echo
much up-to-date information as possi- Merlin and P.E.G.S.; Milton-Bradley decay times. This is one of the most
ble in our Electronic and Video Games had Simon saying, and there were impressive applications of solid state
Roundup next issue. several other entries originally rolled logic to a non-computer product that
out at the February New York Toy Fair. I've seen. The sound from this system
After the Razor, then the Blade TI had a new spelling calculator has to be heard to be believed! It's not
Needless to say, once the program- 'Spelling-B' and a talking version with cheap; suggested list is $595. Some of
mable game is sold, the key to con- 234difficult-to-spell words in its the exotic hi-fi manufacturers such as
tinuing business is the cartridge. As I vocabulary called Speak & Spell! Soundcraftsmen have a similar
pointed out in the review of the Atari National Semi also had a spelling (but product, but none have the range of
not speaking)calculator. control of the Advent.
system last issue, you could wind up
spending two or three times as much Watch for our "Electronic and Video Energy Technology, Inc., 204 Con-
on cartridges as the basic unit. Also, Games Roundup" in the way Ave., Las Cruces, NM 88001
the cartridges are seldom discounted. November/December issue for more announced two energy control
Microtronix of Philadelphia even has a on all these games. systems, the COBY-1, a self-contained
mail-order club for Atari and Fairchild system for remote control of various
cartridges with over 5000 members Other Nifty Stuff appliances and household devices and
enrolled. Dealers like cartridges too I won't begin to go into the audio, a second system designed for use with
since it helps smooth out the highly an Apple computer.
video, CB and other consumer elec-
seasonal game business (90% of sales Sharp Electronics showed a
tronics, except to mention a couple of
in the 4th quarter) throughout the year. prototype super-thin-screen television
exceptional items.
Advent Corp. introduced an audio set, in which the regular picture tube
Smart Electronic Games component called the SoundSpace
was replaced by an electro-
Logix Enterprises introduced a nifty control. It derives two rear channels luminescence panel only two inches
real programmable computer called from a stereo system by digitally thick. The prototype shown had a B&W
T.E.A.M. M.A.T.E. with a processing the signals and adding 6" (diagonal) screen. A spokesman
microprocessor, 20-key keyboard, 16- multiple time delays that are mixed and said the set would not be available in
LED display, and audio speaker. Price recirculated to expand the acoustic the immediate future.
$42.50. space of your listening room to the size
Two electronic backgammon sets of a concert hall or a cathedral. It uses a
were on display: Gammonmaster II 32,000 bit RAM and crystal-clock
from Tryom, Inc. and Computer CMOS logic circuits. It has two con-
Backgammon from Texas Micro trols, size and reverberation. 'Size'
Games. Also two electronic chess controls delay time from 0 to 100
games: Boris from Chafitz, Inc. and milliseconds, 50 being about 'right' to
Chess Challenger '10' from Fidelity simulate a good size concert hall.
Electronics. Watch for a feature com-
parison of all these units in the
November /December issue. National Computer Conference
Mattei showed three new handheld
Held in Anaheim June 5-8, NCC was software. GRT Corporation an-
games, Basketball, Space Alert (similar
the biggest ever with over 56,000 nounced a line to be marketed under
to last year's Missile Attack which has
attendance. Except for the overwhelm- the brand name G/2 for all major
been withdrawn) and Mind Boggier (a
ing size, there were few surprises. personal computers (TRS-80, PET,
bagels/mastermind type game)
Exidy, Inc., one of the large coin-op SOL, Apple, SWTPC). The dummy
originally developed as Memoquiz by
game manufacturers announced a packages were beautiful 4-color boxes
M.E.M. of Belgium. (Actually what
we're really talking about is a hand- beautiful personal computer, the with space for cassette and instruction
Sorcerer. It has a full keyboard arid booklet inside. Projected price $14.95.
held version of Milton-Bradley's
numeric keypad (79 keys total) along Kilobaud had more modest 2-color
with the MPU (Z-80), 12K of ROM dummy boxes for their cassettes and
(containing the monitor and BASIC), tiny cassette-size (2% x 4") instruction
and 8K of RAM. It is S-100 compatible booklets which suffered (at least on the
which opens up all kinds of expansion samples I examined) from sloppy
possibilities. The Sorcerer uses plug-in trimming which cut off part of the
ROM PAC cartridges which can con- printing. Price $7.95.
tain applications programs, other Peninsula School was showing three
languages, editors and the like. tapes for the PET (reviewed
Another nice feature of the Sorcerer is elsewhere). Computer Complements
its very comprehensive graphics and Corp. announced a line of educational
512 x 240 pixel resolution. Text is cassettes but had only a partially-
displayed in 30 lines of 64 characters completed prototype to demonstrate.
each. At the suggested price of $895 it PET, Processor Technology, Radio
appears that Sorcerer has a lot to offer. Shack, and Compucolor were all
(Watch these pages for a complete showing personal applications
review). software for their own machines.
A number of computer manufac- Naturally many firms were showing
turers as well as independent firms, small business software althouqh it is
including Creative Computing, an- most generally available as a system
Quasar robot. Girl at left is the voice; fellow nounced a line of software, or, more rather than separately. _
in checkered jacket controls the motion via precisely the intention to market
radio controller in a small airline bag.

40 CREATIVE COMPUTING
Ramblings Con't. ... Anaheim Hosts the Circus ... er ... NCC, 1978
For more information on any of the
following products mentioned above, By Mary Borchers ment, Computer Graphics and Design
please circle the appropriate number Automation, and an innovative "Recent
on the reader service card. Almost 60,000 people converged on Progress in Japan." In addition there
Anaheim between June 5 and 8 to was special focus on the world's
Product and Company Number attend the largest (if not the most energy problem.
glamorous) computer conference ever.
PeCos I Personal Computer, APF 243
The 1978 National Computer Con-
CyberVision 2001, Broadrein
Instruments Corp.
244 ference (NCC) featured a Personal Registration lines for
Computer Festival (PCF) as part of the
Challenger II P, Ohio Scientific 245 overall conference. Together the well-
the conference and ex-
VideoBrain and Expanders 246
Apple II and Disk II, Apple 247
publicized NCC and PCF managed to hibit areas sometimes
attract attendees ranging from the
Computer curious newcomer in the computer stretched for a quarter
Smarts II, Fire Bird Sales Co.
Home Wizard, Electro Atomic
248
249
field to the seasoned
enthusiast.
electronics mile.
Products The NCC, centered at the modern
PET Printer, Commodore 250 and spacious Anaheim Convention But the NCC exhibit floor was truly a
Compucolor, Intelligent Systems 190 Center, was as much an extravaganza wonder to all who attended. 353
Corp. as it was a computer conference. This exhibitors occupied 1041 booths in
Professional Arcade, Bally 191 is not to say that the conference four large exhibit halls at the center,
Manufacturing sessions were not good. On the con- and each exhibitor was anxious to
Odyssey II, Magarivox 192 trary, approximately 75 sessions attract his share of attention. During
Channel F System II, Fairchild 193 offered something for everyone and the entire four days the exhibit areas
Gammonmaster II, Tryom, Inc. 194 featured the most knowledgeable were crowded and there were very few
Computer Backgammon, Texas 195 speakers. The conference proceed ings exhibitors complaining about lack of
Micro Games were divided into the areas of traffic by their booth.
Boris, Chafitz, Inc. 196 applications, methodology, systems; Reg istration lines for the conference
Chess Challenger, Fidelity 197 and people and society. Session topics and exhibit areas sometimes stretched
Electronics included Computer Architecture, Data for a quarter mile. Once inside there
SoundSpace Control, Advent 198 Base Management Systems, Computer was entertainment at all levels. The
Corp. Careers and Education, New Hardware huge rooms took on a carnival-like
COBY-1, Energy Technology 199 Technology, Software Development atmosphere, with balloons and but-
Sorcerer, Exidy, Inc. 200 Methodology, Performance Measure- tons, games and contests, puppet

: ol'® wire 'wrapping center ol'®

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CONTAINS:
Battery Tool BW-630
Hobby Wrap Tool WSU-30 M
PC Edge Connector CON-1
DIP/IC Extractor Tool EX-1
DIP/IC Insertion Too11NS-1416
PC Card Guides & Brackets TRS-2
Mini-Shear with Safety Clip SP-1S2
14,16,24 and 40 DIP Sockets
Terminals WWT-1
Tri-Color Wire Dispenser WD-30-TRI
Hobby Board H-PCB-1

ADD $1.00 FOR SHIPPING

(N. t, CITY AND STATE RESIDENTS ADD TAX)
 show to inquire about the modems she programming language, operating
NCC con't ... was publicizing. system, or special proprietary program.
Once past the glamour and glitter, Exidy now has ROM Pacs available for
shows, pretty young ladies, and the there was a multitude of new color standard BASIC, EPROM, an assembler
aroma of hot dogs and lots of cold beer. graphics terminals and 36-inch wide editor, a disc operating system and a
Unfortunately these gimmicks often plotters. But the IBM 30 series com- word processing system.
proved a distraction from the supposed puter was cause for much discussion Although many of the small computer
showstoppers - the millions of dollars since Intel, National Semiconductor, systems are being readied for the small
worth of equipment and services EMM and Memorex all announced their business, there does not appear to be an
featured at the show. memory systems for the IBM 30, and abundance of software to meet the
One could listen to the birds and Intel predicted they will soon have add- needs. Computertex and DeMarco-
enjoy the garden-like surroundings at on memory for that IBM series also. Shatz Computer have business applica-
Lear Siegler while inspecting their new
tion software available. Alpha
CRT terminals and 180 cps matrix and
Microsystems had some business
bidirectional printers. ACDC Elec-
programs running for demonstration
tronics had a Jack-in-the-Box look- Although many of the purposes, but they don't intend to sell
alike mechanical head to draw atten-
tion to their power supply products. small computer systems those programs. Osborne & Associates,
Inc., offer BASIC business software in
NCR had a gambling game at which are being readied for the book form, and announced conversions
you could win a pocket calculator or of their payroll and cost accounting
antique cash register if you played your small business, there programs to many systems which are
cards right. Perkin-Elmer Data
Systems' most popular display was a
does not appear to be an being marketed by other companies.
However, Osborne & Associates will not
white 1959 Rolls Royce convertible. abundance of software to install a system or do any maintenance
Many attendees who weren't tired of
lines after registration waited to have meet the needs. on programs purchased from them.
Radio Shack had a version of payroll
their photos taken while sitting at the
running on its TRS-80, but the payroll
wheel of this Rolls, and then go to
program was very simple, not even
Perkin-Elmer's second booth in an The Personal Computing Festival was providing employee totals.
adjacent hall to have their photo located at the Disneyland Hotel, about a Several companies including GRT
mounted on a plastic mug. quarter mile from the Anaheim Conven- Corp., kilobaud and, of course, Creative
One of the biggest show-stoppers of tion Center and spiritually 1000 miles Computing announced plans for
the entire NCC was the Racal-Milgo from the rest of NCC. The PCF had its marketing applications software for
exhibit. Sherry Moreau never failed to own conference sessions and exhibit personal computers. So far it's mostly
attract a crowd when she performed area. promises.
her ten-minute monologue. Her light Thirteen conference sessions
humor was welcomed by all, even highlighted the three days of personal
though very few remained after her computing festivities. Topics of dis-
cussions ranged from the home and
hobby market to "personal" computers
in government, education, medicine,
and business. There was also a well-
attended session on the Legal Aspects of
Personal Computing, drawing attention
TM

Soft\vare to the question of patents, copyrights,

and trade secret protection for software.
114 cornpanles were represented on

Collection
Business Programs For
the exhibit floor. These exhibits lacked
much oftheglamourand high costofthe
NCC booths, and a less formal attire and
manner was assumed by those manning

AM-100 the booths. The crowd did not seem to

mind the more casual atmosphere,
because what personal computing lack-
ed in size and glamour it made up with
The truce table: Mike Scott, president
Apple and Chuck Peddle, designer of the
Commodore PET.
of

'" innovation. A total of 467 companies exhibited

Poly-8813 Th is year the PCF sponsored a contest
for the most ingenious homebrew pro-
products
Computing
at the NCC and Personal
Festival. Still, a few promi-
Send $3.95 for __ • ject. Entered in the competiton was a nent companies were rnlsslnq from the
three-voice synthesizer, an 8080 exhibitor's roster, among them
fully illustrated catalog
homebrew computer, a cheap S-100 Burroughs Corporation, Hewlett-
instructions. flow charts. computer, and computer graphic film Packard, Apple and Zentec.
print outs - A/R.A/P. G/L. making, to name a few of the 22 entries. Proceedings from both the NCC and
Payroll. Inventory. etc. The winner was Stephen L. Casner of Personal Computing Festival con-
(programs are $25-$250) Los Angeles, California, for his solid ferences are available. The Personal
state Monopoly game. Stephen won a
BYTE SHOP
the affordable computer store
Compucolor Computer for his efforts.
Computing Digest sells for $12.00, 425
pages, softbound. The AFIPS Con-
There is a new personal computer ference Proceedings, Volume 47, sells
4 west mission which was introduced at PCF, the Exidy for $60.00, 1300 pages, hardbound, and
santa barbara, ca Sorcerer. The Sorcerer is Z80-based and contains over 200 papers. To order, or
93101 comes with 16K of ROM memory. This for more information, contact AFIPS
machine features unique ROM Pacs, Press, 210 Summitt Avenue, Montvale,
(805) 966-2638 which you insert to acquire a high-level New Jersey 07645,(201) 391-9810. •

42 CREATIVE COMPUTING

CIRCLE 135 ON READER SERVICE CARD

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MICROPROCESSORS 6502
Microprocessor
F8 16.95 5 @ $11.00 ea.
Z80 20.00
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2650 24.95
AM2901 22.95
6502 10.95 COMPUTER MAINFRAME
6800 17.95 SHUGART 801R MODE L 801 R Shugart Disc
6802 24.95 Includes: $295.00
8008-1 12.00 8" FLOPPY DISC DRIVE. with Cabinet Power Supply +8v at 18amps
8035 22.00 .±16v at 2 amps
8080A 9.95 Includes Cabinet, Disc Drive, Power
8085 27.00 Mother Board . 12 slots with
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8748 60.00 Has AC line filter.
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Cabinet size 10"H x 10"W x 16"D Cabinet size TH x 19"W x 22" D
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8212 3.00
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8228 7.95
8238 7.50
8251 8.75
8253 20.95 MEMORY PLUS
8255 11.00 KIM - 1
8257 19.95 for KIM-i
8259 19.95 Assembled STATIC RAM BOARDS
BK RAM 121L021
8275 75.00 and tested BK EPROM ASSEMaLED & TESTED
8279 20.00
$245_00 _",~~,,,,,,,~ED & TESTED. SK
6800 SUPPORT $245.00 Ram 8 (250ns) $169.95
6810P 4.95 Ram 8B (450ns) $139.95
68BI0P 6.00 250ns KIT Mem-1 $169.95
6820P 7.50
6821P 7.50 THE APPLE II COMPUTER 450ns KIT Mern-j $125.00
6828 P
6834P
11.25
16.95 One of the best "Total Package" BARE BOARD $25.00 JADE
6850P 9.75 home and business computers on 16K Uses 2114 (10 pwr .]
6852 P 11.75 with PROVISIONS for ONBOARD
the market. "Basic" in ROM, Ram 16 (250ns) $375.00
68GOP 10.00 2708 and POWER ON JUMP
6862P 14.50 Color Graphics, Floating Point Ram 16B (450ns) $325.00
6871 P 28.00 Basic Package, etc. M.EM-2 Kit (250ns) $285.00 (2M HZ) $135.00ea.
6875P 8.75 32K Assembled & Tested by
6880 2.00 16K version only $1,095.00 Assembled & Tested $170.00ea.
SEALS ELECTRONICS
CHARACTER GEN. (4MHZ) $149.95ea.
JG-32 (250ns) $795.00
2513 ·U/L 6.75 416D 16K X 1 Assembled & Tested $184.95ea.
JG·32B (450ns) $725.00
2513 (5v) U/C 9.75
2513(5v) L/C 10.95 Dynamic Ram Chip can be 250ns KIT $575.00 Bare Board $35.00ea.
6571 10.95 used for expanding Apple II 6S00 Adapter - adapts Mem-1
6571A 10.95 SK board to Motorola MEK
6574 13.25 Memory or the TRS-80 (200ns) JADE VIDEO INTERFACE KIT
6S00D2 evaluation kit.
DYNAMIC RAMS 8 for $20.00ea. KIT $99.95
416 D (200ns) 20.00 16 for $18.00ea. 16K STATIC BOARD Assembled & Tested $139.95
4116 (200ns) 20.00 5-100 Bus compatible
2104/4096 4.00 with memory management can be used
2107B-4 3.95 Call for quote on larger quantities with Alpha Micro or Cromenco 320r 64 Characters per line -16 lines
TMS4 027 4.00 Graphics (128 x 48 matrix)
Systems. ASSEMBLED & TESTED Parallel & com positive video
TMS4050 4.00 On board low-power memory
TMS4060 4.50 full ASCII
RAM 65(250ns) $390.00 PowerfUl software included for cursor,
4096 4.00
MM5270 4.50 PROFESSIONAL KEYBOARDS RAM 65B (450ns) $350.00 home. EOL, Scroll Graphics/Character
* Full 128 Character ASCII Upper case, lower case and Greek.
PROMS * Tri-Mode, "i0S Encoding Black-on-white & White-on-b!ack.
1702A 5.00 * Mos/DT~~ TL Compatable Output E-PROM BOARDS
2516 (5v) 50.00 : r:v~taeXd p~lll~eV~~robe MODEL
27.08 9.00 JADE PARALLEL/SERIAL
2716 (TI) 30.00 * Shift and Alpha Lock 756 MR-8 (8K uses 2708) KIT $99.50
2716 (INTEL) 50.00 * Selectable parity (56 keys) with 1 K RAM. INTERFACE KIT
2758 26.60 * Positive or Negative Logic. .MR-16T (16K uses 2716) KIT $99.50
PRICING INFORMATION with 1 K RAM KIT $124.95
STATIC RAMS Model 756 (assembled) $59.95 EPM-1 (uses up to 4K of 1702) $59.95 Assembled & Tested $154.95
1-63 64 up Model 756K (kit) $49.95 RAM/N/ROM (16K uses * 5-100
21 LO~ (45 Model 702 enclosure $29;95 any E-PROM) KIT $117.00 * 2 Serial interfaces with RS232 inter-
(450ns) 1.50 1.18 Model 710 numeric pad $9.95 JG-8/16 (uses 2708 or interfaces or I Kansas City cassette
21 L02 Model 756MF Frame $S.95 2716) KIT $59.95 interface.
(250 ns) 1. 75 1.50 •••• ~ •••••••••••••••• ~ ••• BAREBOARD * Serial interfaces are crystal controlled
410 D 10.00 $30.00 * Selectable baud rates.
8.50 MOTHER BOARDS - S100 STYLE * Cassette works up to 1200 baud.
2101-1 2.95 2.50 EXPANDABLEE~ROM -
2102 1.25 .90 9 slot" Little Mother" $35.00 * I oa I port.
S.D. Computer Products
2111-1 3.25 2.65 Assembled and Tested $75.00
2112-1 2.75 2.35 16K or 32K EPROM $49.95 without
2114
(300ns) 10,00 8.25
13 slot with front panel slot
Bare board $35.00
EPROM TU-. JADE SOSOA KIT
Allows you to use either 2708's for Convert T. V set
2114 Kit $70.00 16K of Eprom or 2716's for 32K of to Video Monitor $100.00 KIT
(450ns) 9.00 7.69 Assembled 8. Tested $110.00
2125 L 11.00 8.30 EPROM. BAHE BOARD $30.00
22 slot Assembled & Tested $149.95 . KIT ... $S.95
TMS4044
(250ns)
TMS4044
(450ns)
4200 A
TMS4045
8.95
8.20
10.00
8.00
7.40
8.60 DB-25P
CONNECTORS
$2.25 DB-25S $3.25
..:J"'.AL • .:E:
If 5 0 ns)
MS4 04 5
8.95 8.00 COVER $1.50
Computer Products
(450ns) 8.20 7.40 44 Pin - PC & EYE $1.95
44 Pin - WW $2.50 4901 W. Rosecrans-M ®
FLOPPY DISC CHIPS
1771B-Ol
86 Pin - (6800) PC $5.00 Hawthorne, Calif. 90250
Cards
39.95
KEYBOARD
AY-5-2376
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12.75
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86 Pin· (COSMAC ELF) PC
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$5.00
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Freight
NEW CATALOG
Charge $2.00 less than
NOW AVAILABLE
lOvlbs. rlt. ~
~:I
Welcome

" THE PIGGY IS COMING"

CIRCLE 108 ON READER SERVICE CARD
A Creative Computing Equipment Profile ... _

PolyMorphic 8813
_____________ Steve North _

One could easily divide present-day turned-off computer. wondering. how system would sign on with BASIC
microcomputers into three genera- involved it would be to simply short out rather than EXEC. freeing inexperienc-
tions. The first-generation micros have the onloff switch. In silent mockery. the ed users from having to figure out how
front panels and LED readouts. and key bears the inscription. "Do Not to get from EXEC to BASIC. (Of course.
often require the user to toggle in Duplicate." The other control on the that isn't very hard either. To run a file.
bootstrap programs to get runninq 8813 is a LOAD button. Just press you just have to type its name. So to get
The second generation of micro- LOAD and the system restarts itself. by to BASIC from EXEC, just type
systems have permanent Read-On Iy loading and running a program con- BASIC.) Furthermore. if INITIAL is a
Memory monitor programs, which per- tained on the diskette in drive #1. BASIC program, the system is smart
mit the user to enter and display The 8813 also includes a video dis- enough to know that it must load
memory, load and save programs on play board, which can be connected to BASIC first, and then your BASIC
.cassette or papertape, etc. The third a standard video monitor to provide program. This is a very handy feature.
generation, just coming to the fore. free very high quality output. and a custom which we haven't seen on any other
the user from having to know anything keyboard which is attached to the system.
about the low-level functions of the computer with a ribbon cable. The Poly Disk files stored under EXEC may
computer. They have either BASIC video board displays 16 lines of 64 have names of up to 32 characters and
stored in ROM, or built-in floppy disks. characters, including the usual two-letter extensions that identify the
The BASIC-in-ROM feature lets the alphanumerics as well as Greek letters. file type. For instance, GAME.BS is a
user start running BASIC as soon as math symbols, and graphics BASIC program, LETTER.TX is a text
the computer is turned on. whereas. characters. file, MACHINE.GO is a machine-
systems with built-in floppy disks are Another nice feature of the 8813 language program, INVENTORYDT is
somewhat more costly but offer much hardware is that the floppy disk drives a data file for BASIC. and so on. If you
more flexibility, in that the user can shut off automatically if they're not don't tell the computer which disk drive
have almost instant access to any accessed within about 15 seconds. to look on fora file. drive#1 is assumed.
number of programs including those This prevents excessive wear of the Thus PROGRAM.BS is assumed to be
he has written himself. and in addition. diskettes in applications where the on drive #1. If you want to refer to
data files. (So much for a terse. one- computer is left on all day. but on the somethi ng stored on drive #2 or #3; you
paragraph analysis of several year's other hand it doesn't degrade per- put the number of the drive in
worth of hardware developrnentl) formance when the disk is being before the file name, as in 2
The PolyMorphic 8813 is an ex- accessed frequently (because it does PROGRAM.BS. It is normally .not
cellent example of this third genera- take a little time for the disk to come up necessary to use the extensions you r-
tion of microcomputers with built-in to speed before it can be read or self, unless you have several files with
floppy disks. The 8813 is based on the written). the same primary name but different
8080 microprocessor and the S-100 Disk Operating System
bus. In other computers, we might When the system is booted up (by
question the decision to use the 8080 pressing LOAD or by turning the power
over the Z-80, the current pop on) it can begin running a disk
processor, but most users of the 8813 operating system, or some other
won't really care, which will also be true
program that you specify. The DOS
of all the other third-generation
(called EXEC) permits you to list the
systems. (For the same reason. one
contents of a disk directory, delete
could easily argue that the 16-bit
files, pack a diskette, run programs
processors will not make the antici-
stored on a diskette, etc. The packing
pated Big Splash.) The PolyMorphic
operation is necessary, because when
8813 incorporates up to three mini-
prog rams are "deleted" from a diskette.
floppy disk drives, each able to store
in reality they are only marked in the
and retrieve up to 90K bytes of informa-
catalo.g as being deleted. To recover
tion.
the space used up by deleted files, one
Front-Panel Controls must pack the diskette, which results in
There are only two controls on the juggling the positions of the files on a
8813 front panel. One is a key-operated diskette to eliminate the deleted files.
on/off switch with a LED on/off in- EXEC signs on by printing a title. and
dicator. The switch may be desirable in then waits foryour input. However. you
turnkey applications. but it isn't es- may not always want to use EXEC
pecially desirable when the 8813 is when the computer is turned on or
used as a personal computer system. In restarted. If any file on the diskette in
my own case, I managed to lose the key drive #1 is named INITIAL that file. The minimum PolyMorphic 8813 system consists
while transporting the system from of one floppy disk (three are shown here) in the
rather than EXEC, will be loaded and
main cabinet, a typewriter keyboard, and a video
work to home, and until I found the key run instead. So if the BASIC language monitor, plus 16K of RAM memory.
was left looking at a permanently program was renamed INITIAL. the

44 CREATIVE COMPUTING
extensions. Normally, the computer Disk BASIC
takes care of the naming of extensions. PolyMorphic's Disk BASIC seems
The system software is oriented
toward doing I/O with the 8813's own
like a good BASIC. It has most of the
features people expect in an Extended MERLIN
keyboard and video display. In other BASIC: a full set of functions (SIN,
words, you can't hook up another ter- COS, TAN, ATAN, ASIN, INT, SGN,
minal and use that instead. But there's RND ... ), character strings, arrays,
no need to, since the video display pro- multiple statements, etc. It also has
vides a very readable and flexible some nice features you may not have
means of displaying output. For hard seen before: DUMP to print out the
copy, the 8813 has a printer port for any values of all the variables used in a
RS-232 device, and a printer driver and program, data file handling, a MAT
configuration routine that permits you statement (which works as an implied
to set up all the parameters for your FOR loop on a matrix), and PLOT for
printer in software, instead of by use with the Poly video display. PLOT
changing switch settings or jumper is really a lot of fun. The video screen
wires in th-e hardware. Unfortunately. represents the first quadrant. and using
the 8813 software is not designed to let PLOT you plot X and Y values. The plot
you say, "Print out everything that's extends from 0 to 127 along the x-axis
displayed on the screen." Instead you and from 0 to 47 along the y-axis. With
have to use separate commands to suitable offsets and scaling factors,
specify that something will be sent to you can plot whatever you want. With
the printer. Granted, the video display only a couple hour's experimentation. I
has many special characters that most was able to plot parabolas, sinewaves.
printers do not. and in some applica- and even functions in polar coor-
tions it may be desirable to use the dinates. Of course, it doesn't have the
screen for one thing and the printer for resolution of a real plotter, but it's
something different. but it would be with in the fi nancial reach of many more
nice to give the user the option to do personal and educational computer
either. While on the subject of I/O. we'd users.
like to point out another nice feature of We only have two complaints about
the 8813's buffered-ahead input. This PolyMorphic's Disk BASIC. First of all.
means that while the system is busy it is necessary to use an EXIT statement
with some operation, you can type to leave a FOR loop prematurely. If
commands for it to execute when it's EXIT is not used, BASIC assumes that
ready. A light-bulb inside the LOAD all FOR loops are active unless they
button indicates when the system is have been terminated normally. When
accepting the buffered-ahead input. EXIT is used, BASIC forgets all active
FOR loops. In other words, there is no
easy way to leave an inner FOR loop
Text Editor prematurely, and to keep using an
Included in the 8813 system soft- outer FOR loop. A lot depends on the
ware is a very nifty screen-oriented text internal structure of BASI C, but off-
editor. The editor operates upon a disk hand it would seem to me that it's much
file but the editing is actually done on a better to have BASIC itself determine
buffer in memory. The screen is used when a loop is active or not. One can
as a window on any 16 lines in the text simply decide that (1) all normally ter-
buffer. Text may be added, inserted, minated loops are inactive, and (2) all
deleted, moved as a block, searched for active loops begun after a loop that has
High Resolution Graphics
some string of characters, and so on, been terminated or re-started are
by using a cursor that may be position- inactive. EXIT is non-standard (you Intelligent Terminal
ed anywhere in the text buffer. This won't find it in any BASIC books) and it Software Development System
editor isn't the ultimate, but I would seems like a kluge. The other problem
ROM Graphic Software
certainly prefer a screen-oriented is that BASIC can't detect the end of a
editor to a text editor that must work data file, but this can be remedied by ROM Monitor Board
around the constraints of a normal merely using a dummy data-item to Word processing Text Editor
terminal and which must use line detect an end of file. [26 Commands in ROM]
numbers or some kind of non-visual Another good feature is the WALK
text pointer. The text editor may be command, which lets you single-step a
used to create or modify BASIC a BASIC program to see what's MERLIN
is all this and more!
program files. To use the editor, just happening. This is like a TRACE, but
type EDIT FILENAME when in EXEC. with a little more flexibility. Overall.
Sure beats typewriting if you can justify Poly's Disk BASIC is good. Write or call today for a
the cost. catalog and a dealer list
In case you are interested in Error Messages
machine-language programming, the One of the things that impressed me
For the 5-100 bus
8813 EXEC software has a simulated most about the 8813 was ihe
front-panel mode, in which the screen completeness of system error
displays the registers, memory, etc. messages. Generally, a complete
This helps you debug your assembly- description, not a numeric code, is ..••• MlnlTerm Associates, me,
language programs. The 8813 system displayed. For instance, BASIC will IT~ Oundtl Park,Andovlr, MA 01110 (e17) 470·0525

software includes a disk assembler. point to 3 location in a statement and

SEPT/OCT 1978 45 CIRCLE 128 ON READER SERVICE CARD

 say "Bad Subscript" or EXEC will say "I
can't do that to a system file!". instead
U ASKED 4 IT of telling the user BS ERROR or
ERROR 0232. And. after all, why should
APPLE II SOFTWARE: Intelligent Games Series #1 offers many hours
people have to learn codes and
of challenging competition against any APPLE II. Available in
abbreviations for errors? The 8813
bargain packages;
1) BATTLESHIP/3D TIC TAC TOE
software uses disk overlays so that the
2) HANGMAN/CONCENTRATION functions of the system are not directly
3) CASINO ROYALE (INCLUDES I-ARM BANDIT CRAP GAME, limited by the amount of memory in the
BLACKJACK, AND ROULETTE computer. Since floppies are not as fast
All three packages feature APPLE II low and high resolution graphics as hard disks, the overlays must be
and convenient interaction in APPLE II BASIC, instructions included. planned carefully, so that response
Each program package costs $12.00, to be paid in advance.
time is not degraded to a serious
Individual program listings can be obtained for $3.00 per program.
extent. But with the overlays. it is
Send for free, full descriptions of all available software.
possible to keep BASIC's error
U ASKED 4 IT
STUART FRAGER
messages out on disk, and only call
P.O. Box 13331 them in when needed.
Baltimore, Md. 21203 The 8813 manual is well-written and
contains enough explanation for a
CIRCLE 169 ON READER SERVICE CARD beginner in using the computer. For
example. the manual explains what a
floppy disk is, and tells the user that he
doesn't want to remove it from its
sheath. OK, if you've used diskettes
before, that may seem a little stupid,
but it isn't immediately apparent to a
first-time user that you don't want to
CORSON COMPUTER take the disk out of its little envelope.
CORPORATIONJINC. Likewise, the manual includes an intro-
duction to BASIC, and a regular full-
3834 MAIN STREET, BUFFALO, NY 14226
scale manual.
AC (716) 832-0662 One of the diskettes that came with
our 8813, borrowed for review. had
CORSON ~OMPUTER CORPORATION
some interesting application
PROUDLY ANNOUNCES programs, for business analysis. plan-
THE CORSON MEDICAL RECORDS SYSTEM ning of a personal budget. etc. These
(CMRS) ©7B. Designed through consultation with a programs aren't available from
leading medical and dental school for both single PolyMorphic-they feel that the com-
practitioners and larger practices and clinics utilizing
puter stores can do a better job of
. office procedural guidelines established by the AMA
and ADA. Either microcomputer or minicomputer
helping customers with applications
based. programs-but they did demonstrate
to me that the 8813 is quite suitable for
System includes full patient records and files
running these kind of applications
with data verification. Full financial data -
The 8813 can be used with as Iittle as
generates billings, activity analysis, ac-
counts receivable, aged AIR, expense and 16K of memory, but of course more
revenues, reporting period comparisons GHI, may be required, depending upon your
Medicaid, BSIBC, Insurance form genera- application.
tion. Who should buy the 8813? I don't
Patient Appointment Scheduler. think it's a machine for hobbyists. For
Designed to run with a minimum of 48K core. amateur computing, a Z-80 system
Handles from single doctor practice to multi- with full-sized IBM 3740 compatible
doctors-office practices.
disk drives and an interface to a
And many, many more features.
standard RS-232 terminal would be
more useful. On the other hand. the
Single practitioner system - 8813 might be an ideal choice for the
$18,000 includes 48K Cromemco with professional who has some serious use
Dual 8" Disk Drives, T.I. 810 Printer,
Beehive 150 CRT, CMRS. Training, In-
in mind for his computer and doesn't
stallation and Documentation. really want to hack around with com-
Corson Computer Corporation is a complete puters themselves, or for education.
systems house for business, professions. govern- The 8813 has so many well-planned
ment. education and research. Ask about our word details that we can't remember them
processing system and services. Authorized dis- all. Although the 8813 is priced at the
tributor for: Cromemco. T.I .• Beehive. Teletype. high end of the microcomputer market.
Commodore and others. We serve everything we it offers an integrated and people-
sell. licensing agreements available. please use
oriented package of hardware and
letterhead for details.
**See CMRS at Booths 4422 & 4424 at the
software, found in few other systems
Personal & Business Small Computing
Show In New York City, Sept. 15-17**
•

CIRCLE 132 ON READER SERVICE CARD

46 CREATIVE COMPUTING
What's Your Small Business Computi'ng IQ?
3, An 8" floppy disc will store a mailing list 8, The lowest cost ($600) microcomputer
approximately how large? systems are best suited for which
A. 30n names C 3000 names applicatiorus)?
B, 1000 names D, 10,000 names A, Environmental control
4, Computer conferencing is most useful: B, Maintaining customer files
C, Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI)
A. In a single building
D, Accounts receivable processing,
3, Between offices in one state
C, Between offices in several states g, Most business applications can be done
5, What kind of investment analysis is using audio-cassette tapes for record
suitable for a microcomputer? storage,
A, Analysis of puts and calls A, True B, False
B, Arbitrage of options 10, Which of the following is nota commonly
C, PIE and yield trends available microcomputer lanquaqe?
D, All of the above A, BAS~ C, FORTRAN
1, Five microcomputer-based inventory 6, A microcomputer-based fire /smoke /in- B, Assembly language D, COBOL
management systems were available as trusion detection system can be easily
of Feb. 1978, Each costs less than cost justified,
___ complete, A. True B, False
A, $1000 C, $10,000
7, Six magazines deal with small business
B, $4000 D, $30,000 computing, Which is most comprehen-
2, Which of the following is the most sive?
effective word-processing system? A, Mini/Micro Systems
A, Vydec B, Interface Age
B, Electric Pencil C, Small Business Computing
C, IBM Mag card Selectric D, Creative Computing
D, All of the above depending upon E, Small Systems World
application F, Kilobaud

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o Vol, 1 Bound 0 10 0 12 0 15
M8U 8f1ISUalX8 s,6UJlndwo;) aMlea);) o Vol. 2 Bound 0 10 0 12 0 15
SUOIIB:JqddBjO aouejeq 8:JIU B 411M6uOIB 'SJ8410 841 jO PJI41-8UO SISO:J w8ls!\S
senb.uuosi 6U!WWBJ60Jd 'SM8U ionpord II:Ju8d :JUI:Ja13 p8SBq-J8Indwo:JoJ:J1 W o Payment Enclosed
M8U 'suollBnlBfl8 W8IS!\S IUBM no!\ 841 IB41 MOU>t IOU !\BW no!\ Ins '0 '6 [1 Visa/Bank Americard [I Master Charge
jl Ins 'pUIW UMO Jno!\ dn 8WW 01 8f1B4 Card No, _
'6ul)ndwo;) ail/lea);) jO 8nSSI
Il.no!\ pUB pasaiq 8J,8M !\lsnO!flqo '0 'L Expiration date _
8L. Jdlf/ JBV\I841 UI p8qU:JS8p!\lafllsu8IX8
'6ul)ndwo;) aMlea);) 8J8M SWpIS!\S 8f1lj IIIf 00017$ inoqe SI o Please bill me ($1,00 billing fee will be added:
8L, 6nlf/lnr' a41 U! p8qIJ:JS8P !\18f1ISU8Ixa foreign and book orders must be prepaid)
ISO:J841'IOJluO:JAJOIUallul op 01 aJBMljOS
aJB SW8IS!\S 8sa41. 'IInS8J B SB peuusn] pUB :JSIP!\ddoli 'J81UIJd 41!M Inq 'sss] JO Name _
ISO:J aq /eu: PUB S>tSBI J8410 !\UBW 0001$ SISO:)J8Indwo:)OJ::JIW ::JISBqIf 's 'I
op OSIB UB::JOJ::JIWalII 'JallaMOH 'walS,\s Address _

City State __ Zip _

For fast service call our toll free number and charge your bank card, Send to: Creative Computing,
PO, Box 789-M, Morristown, N,J, 07960

...-------------~
800-631-8112
(In NJ Call 201-540-0445)
 A Creative Computing Software Profile ... --------

Radio Shack TRS-BD

Level II Basic
Stephen B. Gray _

Perhaps you have a Radio Shack cassettes: for example, make a Keyboard Roll-Over
TRS-80 with Level-I BASIC and you're SGN/COS/TAN cassette, a SGN/SQR As the Level-II manual puts it, "With
wondering whether to move up to cassette, an EXPONENTIAL/LOG EX- the Level-I TRS-80 (and many other
Level-II. Or you're thinking of getting a POENTIAL/SGN cassette - whatever computers) you have to release one
TRS-80, but aren't sure which model to combinations are useful to you." So if key before the computer will allow
get. And although the difference in you need most or all of those sub- entry of another key. Level-II lets you
price between the two levels is only routines, but don't want to move up to hit the second key before you have re-
$99, maybe the money isn't all that easy Level-II, and if you'll be writing leased the first key. This is great for you
to come by. So let's take a look at what programs of substantial length (such touch-typists." There's a limit, how-
you get with Level-II BASIC. You may as any complex game, or almost any ever, and if you're such a sloppy typist
decide you've got to have it, or maybe business program), you may have to that you hold down three or four keys at
you'll find you can get along with Level- convert your 4K computer to 16K, a time, some keys will then generate
I and some subroutines. which will cost you $290. And even if several characters when you press just
Even if you don't have a TRS-80, you you save on RAM by going to LEVEL-II, that key.
might be interested to know that the which has dozens of subroutines
Level-II BASIC is written by Microsoft, stored in the 12K ROM, you'll still need Faster Transfer Rate
and practically the same 12K Extended 16K of RAM if you'll be doi ng any When you load Level-I programs
BASIC as provided for the'MITS Altair extensive programming. If you need from the cassette recorder, or record
8800b, and which Imsai may also be more than 16K of RAM, you'll have to programs on it, the transfer rate is 250
offering for their machines by the time get the $299 Expansion Interface, baud, meaning 250 bits per second.
you read this. So if you have, orwill get, which can accommodate one or two The Level-II transfer rate is twice that,
an 8K Altair or Imsai, you might want to 16K RAM units, to give you a total of or 500 baud. This doesn't doesn't mean
know what you can move up to with 32K or 48K RAM. If that sounds like a the cassette recorder runs twice as fast
12K Extended BASIC. Incidentally, lot of RAM, note that the TRS-80 for Level-II, but that the Level-II bit-
Exidy's new Sorcerer computer, Business System, as configured by packing is twice as dense as on Level-I
described elsewhere in this issue, uses Radio Shack, includes 32K of RAM. tapes. That is, twice as much informa-
Microsoft 8K BASIC. Not all the .addltional features pro- tion is stored on an inch of Level-II tape
One command found in Altair 8800b vided by Level-II are as obviously as on a Level-I tape.
Extended BASIC, but not in TRS~80 important as print formatting or string Because of this faster transfer rate,
Level-II BASIC, is RENUM, which manipulation. Two examples are key- Level-II 500-baud tapes must be read
automatically renumbers all your pro- board roll-over and faster cassette- with the cassette recorder's volume
gram lines. The reason is that the Altair data transfer rate, which make for control set at 5 or 6; Level-I 250-baud
Extended BASIC takes up 14.6K in faster programming and computer tapes are read with a volume-control
RAM, and some things had to be left operation. setting of 8 or 9.
out of the 12K TRS-80 version. How-
ever, RENUM is such useful command
that Radio Shack has decided to offer
RENUM on tape shortly. Incidentally,
Radio Shack is currently considering
FORTRAN seriously. COBOL is, they
say, "too expensive in memory." But
DOS is "great."

BASIC in ROM
If and when you decide to move up to
Level-II, you take your Level-I key-
board unit and $99 to the nearest Radio
Shack. The store sends it off to a
Service Center where the 4K Level-I
ROM is removed, and the 12K-Level-II
ROM is inserted (three 4K ROMS,
actually). With BASIC in ROM, you
have the maximum amount of RAM
memory at your disposal. For instance,
if you stay with Level-I, and write all
eleven of the math subroutines pro-
vided in the Level-I manual into your
RAM memory, you'll have less than 700
bytes of RAM left for your main
program. Which is why the manual
advises that you "try saving different
combinations of subroutines on

48 CREATIVE COMPUTING
Editing Features specific print format is required." Using values, by the DEFSTR statement or by
Many owners of a Level-II TRS-80 nine "field specifiers," you can specify adding a type declaration character, $,
may never use its editing featu res. If the digit positions, cause automatic to the name. And each string can
programs you use are mostly "canned" rounding-off, create a "floating" dollar contain up to 255 characters.
programs (bought from Radio Shack or sign that will position itself in the first Moreover, you can compare strings in
elsewhere), or if you write programs position preceding a number, join Level-II, to alphabetize them, for exam-
with short lines, or if you're such a good together (concatenate) multiple ple. You can take strings apart and
programmer that you seldom if ever strings or string variables or (for string them together (concatenate
need to correct or change a line, you example) print only the first letter of a them)." Level-II offers around 900
may never need to do any editing. group of strings, align columns, etc. variable names.
Also, if you seldom need to edit, you Strings can be compared by using
might not want to bother with the the same relation symbols for com-
Level-II editing capabilities, simply be- Strings paring numbers, such as equal-to,
cause they're so extensive that if you "Without string-handling greater-than, etc. Actually, the ASCII
don't use them much, you may have to capabilities, a computer is just a codes for the characters are compared,
refer to the manual every timeyou want superpowered calculator," the Level-II so A! will precede A#, for example.
to edit. manuai says. Many applications are ASC and CHR$ are handy for a
But if you edit frequently, you'll find difficult or impossible without string- variety of uses, including coding and
that because program lines can be manipulation functions, which are re- decoding to make secret messages.
chan€led so easily, "you'll probably be quired in many of the games in our ASC gives you the ASCII numerical
able to do much more experimenting Basic Computer Games book, for code for a string character, and CHR$
with multi-statement lines, complex example. We get frequent telephone does the reverse.
expressions, etc.," as the manual puts calls from people who insist, for INKEY$ lets you input keyboard
it. instance, that the BANNER program on values while the computer is executing,
No point going into editing in depth page 10 (of the Microcomputer Edi- without using the ENTER key, very
here, but here are some of the things tiori) has bugs in it, because it won't run important in many video games. IN-
you can do. You can list any line on their computer. Then we find that KEY$ strobes the keyboard and returns
individually, insert material anywhere their computer can't handle this line a one-character string, which will be a
in a line, delete the rest of a line beyond 80 P$=MID$(A$,T,1) null string if no key is pressed during
the cursor and insert material in its or the lines that involve LEFT$ or LEN. the strobe.
place, delete any desired number of "Level-I BASIC offers two string Several functions permit manipulat-
characters to the right of the cursor, variables [A$ and B$]," to quote again ing characters or groups of characters
change a specified number of char- from the Level-II manual, "which can in strings. LEFT$, along with the name
acters, search (for example) for the be input and output to make your of a string and a number, will select as
third occurrence of letter L and move programs look "friendly" (as in HELLO, many of the characters from the left
the cursor to that position, and tell the BOB!). In Level-ll ... any valid variable end of that string as the number calls
computer to delete (for instance) all name can be used to contain string for. If A$ is TIMOTHY, then
characters up to the third occurrence
of letter L, and move the cursor to that
position.
Other editing features permit you to
end editi ng and save all changes made,
or to end editing and cancel all
changes made in the editing session, or
to cancel editing changes already
made and restart.

16-Digit Accuracy
Eight digits are enough for many ap- TURN YOUR COMPUTER
plications, but if you need more for INTO A TEACHING MACHINE
scientific, accounting or statistical use, The staff at Program Design did not leam
you can specify that a variable be about educational technology from a book-
single or double precision. Ordinarily, we wrote the book: We have been innovators in
asking the computer to calculate the such teaching materials as programmed instruc-
value of 1/3, will give you a 6-place tion and multimedia presentations. We also belong
decimal. But if you ask itto PRINT 1/3#, to that minority in education who actually test ma-
you'll get a 16-place decimal. An terials to see that people can learn from them.
exclamation mark will keep a variable Now Program Design brings this experience to the personal
at single precision, as in A! or Z1! If computer field. PDI is developing a line of educational and
you're working with whole numbers, game programs for the whole family-from preschool child to
declaring them as integers (with a adults.
percent sign as in A%) will take up half
the space in memory, and execute Program Design educational software uses the computer's full teaching
potential in exciting and effective ways. Programs are simple to use and
twice as fast.
memory efficient, and most important. . they teach I

Formatted Print TAPES NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE TRS-80, PET, APPLE II
PRINT USING, as the manual says,
"allows you to specify a format for SAMPLE OUR SOFTWARE FOR $2.00. Send us $2.00, your name, address, and'
type of computer, and we'll send you a tape for your computer with actual samples of
printing string and numeric values. It
our programs.
can be used in many applications such
as printing report headings, account- Or circle our number on the reply card for a printed catalog.
ing reports, checks ... or wherever a Department 300 PROGRAM DESIGN, INC. 11 IDAR COURT GREENWICH, CONN 06830
CIRCLE 111 ON READER SERVICE CARD
SEPT/OCT 1978 49
 LEFT$(A$,3) will select TIM, and if this (the computer understands, but can't
UNUSUAL SOFTWARE FOR TRS-80 is assigned to B$, tHen PRINT B$ will comply), and SORRY (memory is full).
$10.00 each, on cassette*
print out TIM, MID$_ will select char- Level-II BASIC has 23 two-letter
acters from the middle of a string, and error codes, that are much more
UTILITARIAN PROGRAMS
RIGHT$ from theriqhf end, LEN gives specific including NF (NEXT without
CS-7 LEND OUT-A program jam packed with
automatic and semi-automatic features! For you tHe character length of the speci- FOR), LS (string too long), and MO
keeping track of items you lend to other people. fied string, STRING$ provides a string (missing operand),
Automatically assigns to a loaned item an
identification number and files this number on
composed of as many characters as
tape along with such information as: what the item you specify, sb that STRING$ (30, "*") Arrays
is, who borrowed it, and the date it was borrowed.
cah be used to print a row of 30 Arrays are permitted in Level-II
Program updates file when item is returned
without affecting the rest of the file. Plus even asterisks, very handy in creating BASIC, and with many dimensions as
mote features! graphs, tables, etc. available memory will permit. String
CS-8 ITINERARY-Prepares a personal itinerary.
Stores memos with their appropriate times in
arrays are permitted,
chronological order. Will recall itinerary as a Simplifi~d Debugging ,
'whole or in parts. Even after an itinerary is filed, a
Type in TRON at the end of a Level-II Fewer Abbreviations
new memo can be inserted into it between any two
previously filed memos. More! program, RUN the program, and the One advantage of Level-I is that 27 of
SCIENTIFIC CURIOSITIES screen will show you the exact se~ the statements and commands can be
CS-1 BIOFORECA!)T~More advanced than quence of program lines followed in abbreviated, such as P. for PRINT and
biorhythm.
functions.
Uses more exact non-sinusoidal
Gives not only the three cycles, but also
executing the program, To turn off the N, for NEXT, None of these are allowed
their interactions. More! With special interpreta- Trace function, enter TROFF, in U~vel:-II. A conversion tape is pro-
tion chart. . TRON and tROFF may be used vided with every Level-II TRS-80, and
CS-2 ORBIT -4 programs figure data on orbits around
the earth and surt,
inside programs to show wrien a cer- with every Level-It upgrade, The tape's
CS-3 INTERSTELLAR-Predicts facts concerning tain line is executed, For example. main function is to convert P. to print,
possible voyages to more than 30 different stars at 50 TRON N, to NEXT, etc.
relativistic speeds.
'Add $1.00 postage & handling. All programs
60 X=X*3,14159
Levet-t: 70 TROFF Faster Graphics

cornpulrex 0 will point but every time line 60 is

executed, Each time these three lines
To fill the graphics portion of a video-
monitor screen in Level-I BASIC, using
••• PO Box 536 Inman SC 29349- are executed, 60 70 will be dis- an .array of rectangular "graphic
played, Withciut TRON, you wouldn't blocks" 128 across and 48 down, and
CIRCLE 183 ON READER SERVICE CARD
know whether the program was actual- by using SET and FOR-NEXT state-
ly executing line 60. ments, takes about 49 seconds. But
TRS-80 OWNERS Level-II has POKE, which loads a value
Statistical Programs On Tape
Only $8.95 (Listing - 5.95)!
More Arithmetic Functions into a specified memory location, and
Most comprehensive and easiest to use of the Level-I BASIC offers four built-in Level-II also has 63 special graphics
statistical programs available at any price. functions: MEM (tells you how many characters, These 63 are all the possi-
Full explanations and tables included.
• IViEAN VARIANCE, STANDARD DEVIATION unused bytes are left in RAM memory), ble combinations of six "graphic
• T-TEST (gives t, F, Ns, DFs, means, variances!) INT (ihteger), ABS (absolute value) blocks" in a 2·by-3 matrix,
• CORRELATION (gives r, Ns, means and
variances!)
ahd RND (random number), Level-II Although "graphic blocks" can be
• ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (2 group design) BASIC offers these four, and a dozen printed as many as 128 across and 48
."MORE".
Runs in 4K - Specify Level I or IL Provide Visa or
more, The trig functions are SIN, COS, down, letters and numbers can only be
Master Charge # and expiration date or make tAN and ATN, More math functions printed in 16 lines of 64 characters
check or money order payable to: are provided by EXP, LOG, SGN and
M, M & S Software
each, for a total of 1024 PRINT
M. Stolzberg son. USing RANDOM at the beginning locations, Each of the i024 locations
16 Marilyn Lane of a program ensures that you get a dif- takes up a space two graphics blocks
Westbury, N.Y. 11590
NY State residents add 7% sales tax.
ferent sequence of random numbers across and three down. By using POKE
each time you run a TRS-BO program and the last of the 63 graphics codes,
CIRCLE 156 ON READER SERVICE CARD
irwolvihg RND, CDBL provides a which is 191, for "all 6 bits on," the
double-precision value of the expres- screen can be "painted white" much
TRS-80 COMPUTING sion following CDBL in parentheses, faster, theoretically six times faster
non-protlt newsletter even if the operands are single-pre- than using SET, When I tried it, tHe
$10 (U.S.)/12 issues payable cision or integers; CSNG does the screen was filled in less than 7 seconds,
opposite by providing a single-pre- quite a bit less than the 49 seconds
Computer Information Exch., lnc,
cision value of the expression, This taken by SET statements,
Box 158
may be automatic CSNG for disk only!? This can be speeded up even more
San Luis Rey, CA 92068
Many other functions may be created by using integer variables: using SEt,
using the 16 Level-II functions, anti the screen is filled in 35 seconds; with
CIRCLE 138 ON READER SERVICE CARD
Appendix F provides a pageful, suchas POKE, only five seconds!
inverse sine and hyperbolic secant. The partner of POKE is PEEK, which
tells you what's stored in a specific byte
Cassette Verification address in RAM memory, POKE and
By entering CLOAD? and a file PEEK can be used "to set up very
name, you can have the computer compact, byte-oriented storage
Match battle strategy with compare a program stored on cassette systems," and require a goad
the computer! The classic with one presently in the computer, knowledge of memory maps and tables
BOAT GAME in 4K BASIC This way you can be sure the program of codes,
was written correctly on the tape
for TRS-80 Level I, adapta-
during a CSAVE. Machine-Language
ble to other systems.
$4.75 listing only. Specific Error Messages Subroutines
Level-I BASIC has three error The USR statement permits calling a
THE PROGRAM MANAGER messages, WHAT? (the computer machine-language subroutine, which
PO Box 45 doesn't understand the line), HOW? is handy for quick table lookup, for
Inglefield, IN 47618
50 CREATIVE COMPUTING
CIRCLE 105 ON READER SERVICE CARD
much faster graphics than possible
with POKE, etc. Commodore Radi9 Shack . .
Double-Width
Characters
Mentioned twice in the Level-II
I=IET TRB·BD
You can find out what our customers already know-Personal
manual, but never commented on, is Software consistently offers great software products. Check out the
the fact that if you hit the shift key and programs below-they each represent many man-months of expert
effort. We're 'II be with the results.
the right arrow, the screen display will
convert to a 32-character-per-line
format, and hitting the clear key will
return the! display to the regular r;>4-
character-per line format. In other
words, SHIFT provides characters
twice as wide (but not twice as high) as
the regular ones, These can be seen
from much further away, and are handy
for scoreboard displays, and for any
classroom work .
. Note. that anything on the screen at
the time of conversion will have only
every' other letter enlarged, so that
RADIO SHACK LEVEL-II BASIC
becomes (twice as wide) AI HC EE- ICROCHESS 1.5 by Peter Jennings for 4K Level I and II TR
IBSC, which can be quite mysterious if In Z-BO machine language, easily loaded from cassette using the
you don't know what's going on. CLOAD command (TBUG is not needed}. Uses standard algebraic
chess notation to describe moves. Checks every move for legality.
Search for File A Handles castling and en passant captures. You can play white or
Level-It BASIC lets you specify a black, set up and play from special board situations, or even watch
the compuier play against itself!With 3 levels of play ..... $19.95
desired file in your CLOAD command.
So if you write CLOAD "A", the
computer will ignore all programs on
the cassette until it comes to the one
labelled "A". As the computer searches
for file "A", the names of the files
encountered along the way will appear
in the upper right of the display, along
with a blinkinq".

Lev~I-1i Manual
The 121-page Level-II BASI C Refer-
ence Manual is meant to be read after
you've already had "considerable
experience with programming in
BASIC," as the foreward says, con- BRIDGE CHALLENGER by George Dulsman for BK PETs and 16K,
tinuing, "Our Level-I User's manual Level II TRS-BOs: You and the dummy play four person Contract
was written for the total beginner .... Bridge against the computer. The program will deal hands at random
We freely admit this Manual has not or according to your criterion for high card points. You can review
been written from the same perspec- tricks, swap sides or replay hands when the cards are known. No
tive." longer do you need four people to play! $14.95
6502 ASSEMBLER IN BASIC by Dan Fylstra for BK PETs: Accepts all
As a reterence manual, the Level-II
standard 6502 instruction mriemonics, pseudo-ops and addressing
bbok doesn't go into the detail that the modes. Evaluates binary, octal, hex, decimal, and character
233-page I..evel-I User's Manual does. constants, symbols and expressions. Assembles object programs
(The Level-I manual does such a good anywhere in memory. Includes one and two pass versions of the
job of teachinq the elements of BASIC assembler, text editor and disassembler, with a 30 page manual and
that Hadio Shack offers it separately, at PET machine language programming hints $24.95
$5.95.) The Level-II manual presents ORDERS: Check, money order or VISA/Master Charge accepted;
nine subroutines for array/matrix programs and cassettes guaranteed. If you have questions, please
call us at 617-783-0694. If you know what you want and have your
manipulation, for example, with little or
VISA/Master Charge card ready, just pick up the telephone and
no explanation of what each does. One
of the eight appendixes lists the 31 . VISA' I DIAL TOLL FREE •
function codes, .but doesn't tell how to ~---, . 1-800-325-6400 .
~
-- I
use them in a program; you'll have to 24 hrs In Missouri diaI1-BOO-342-6600 7 days
figure this out for yourself. Or you can mail your order to the address below. OUR CA TALOG
The last appendix is User Programs: describes many other great software products, including an
a space-ship lander game; Customer ASTROLOG Y program, a FOOTBALL game, a GRAPHICS utility
package and many others. For your free copy, send a letter giving
Informatioh, for building a name/ad-
your PET or TRS-80 serial number, memory size, and your most
dress/phone number file; triangle wanted software product.
Computation with Graphics; a target-
practice game; and Ready-Aim-Fire, a Personal Software™
new version of the Level-I bollncing-
dot garhe. _ =.o. Box 136- C9, Cambridge, MA 02138
CIRCLE 127 ON READER SERVICE CARD

SEPT/oct 1978 51
 A Creative Computing Equipment Profile ...

Merlin Video Interface-------,

-------------- by Jim Baker

Introduction add two ROMS.

Currently there are many video But that's just the basic unit! You can
interfaces available for S100 Bus then add any of the following options:
computer systems. Indeed, this lower case character generation; a
number seems to grow monthly. cassette interface (MCAS - Merlin
Furthermore, no two of these inter- CASsette) which uses the serial I/O
faces are the same. They vary widely in port on the basic unit and buffers the
both cost and capability. This article parallel input port; Super Dense, in-
describes one such video interface, the creasing the graphic resolution from
Merlin by MiniTerm. The article does 160 by 100 points to 320 by 200; and
not attempt to compare Merlin to other two software monitor ROMs, the MBI
video interfaces and tends to have a (Merlin Basic Intelligence), and the
positive bias; as I like my Merlin. MEI (Merlin Extended Intelligence).
My background is programming, not The ROMs provide software to Figure 1
electronics. However, my electronics simulate a front panel, output data to
knowledge is growing as I build and fix the screen, read keyboard input, per- The Hardware
more and more kits. Much of my ex- form cassette I/O, and more. The two Merlin circuit boards are
perience with video interfaces come As you can see, you might be better solder masked, but not silkscreened.
from working with computer term- off calling this the Merlin I/O sub- However, with the comprehensive
inals, whei=e the video interface is system. But, by now, you're probably assembly instructions, I found no great
integrated. At work, I have access to a thinking, "That's nice but what did it all need for silkscreening. The boards
Tektronix 4014 graphic terminal which cost?". Well, in kit form, the basic unit mount piggyback fashion (seefigure 1)
has a fantastic resolution of 4096 by costs $269, with each option costing and connect with two 14 line ribbon
3120 points, about the best on the $39.While you could just buy the basic cables. Even though only one of the
market. However, the 4014's price of unit, I feel two of the options are worth boards actually connects to the S100
around $12,000is too expensivefor me. having: MCAS and the MBI ROM. bus, two positions are taken up.
This led me to search for an inexpen- I became interested in not only The parts, for the kit versions, come
sive video interface with graphic where Merlin is today, but where in several bags. Each bag contai nsa list
resolution of 100 by 100 points or MiniTerm plans to take it. In talking to of the contents, with a number that
better. In addition, since I planned to MiniTerm and reviewing the current indicates the board to which the parts
get a system without a front panel, I sales brochures, I expect the following belong. The super dense option comes
also wanted a monitor board. As you options and expansions: color on a separate circuit board which
will see, Merlin satisfied those needs graphics; greater character and attaches to the main unit USingtwo wire
and more for me. graphic display densities; game con- wrap sockets. Super dense mode (see
trollers, consisting of four switches figure 2) replaces sparse mode. Super
Merlin Overview which plug into the cassette interface dense mode has a resolution of 320 by
When I first heard the name Merlin, I (notice the continued use of what's 200 points. You add lower case
asked myself "What is it?". If the already there, tending to protect the character generation by placing a
question were "Who?", the picture on initial investment); and, joysticks. I lower case ROM on top of the existing
their manual of a wizard, presumably somehow feel that they're keeping upper case ROM. The cassette option,
from King Arthur's court, would have themselves busy at MiniTerm. including keyboard buffers, is on a
solved the problem. But, the question But "who?", or "what?" is MiniTerm.
was "What?", and I had sbme research As it turns out, MiniTerm was started by
to do. As I acquired information one two hobbyists who were unhappy with
thing became very clear, Merlin is more the state of the art in video interfaces
than just a video interface. and decided to change it. In October of
The basic Merlin unit consists of two 1976, they went into the Merlin
high quality printed circuit boards with business full time. The original Merlin
the following capabilities: a video unit was announced in September of
interface, with upper case character 1976and deliveries began in January of
generation, 40 characters on .20lines, 1977. As with most firms, they got
as well as 160 by 100 point graphic caught with unexpected startup
resolution; a parallel input port for delays. However, MiniTerm thought far
keyboard interfacing; a serial I/O port beyond those first units and soon the
for the cassette option and last, but add-on options, utilizing features on
very important to me, the provision to the basic unit, began to appear.
Figure 2
Jim Baker, Apt. 2K, 405 Lindsley Drive, Morris-
MiniTerm now sells complete systems,
town, NJ 07960. although everyone seems to do that.

52 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 Merlin uses DMA to get display data with a given HEX value, copy one area
Merlin Con't. .. from memory. This means that the CPU of memory to another, or input
separate circuit board, which can tell Merlin to start displaying data character data.
MiniTerm recommend you mount in from anywhere in memory. However, The screen control commands allow
your keyboard case. The two software DMA does have the disadvantage of you to move the cursor, or modify the
ROMs plug directly into the basic unit. making the CPU wait while Merlin gets display parameters (e.g. set modes,
The MBI ROM comes with a 256 byte the data. As a result, Merlin slows the etc.). Merlin's cursor defines the lo-
scratch pad RAM. Both ROMs use this CPU down from a low of 8 percent in cation where data wi" next appear on
RAM for stacks, display parameters, free mode, to a high of 53 percent in the screen, including data you input.
etc. If you wish to get the MEI ROM, super dense graphic mode. Turning Commands are available to move the
you must have the MBI ROM. If you the display off also turns DMA off. With cursor up, down, left, right, to one of
don't want to use MiniTerms monitor, DMA off, the CPU runs at full speed. two user defined locations, or even to
you can put in your own using 2716's, This is very useful when you have a another screen by "paging" back-
2708's, or 2704's. Merlin, along with the large number of calculations to per- wards or forwards. You can also
optional ROMs, occupies an 8K form without needing the display until request Merlin to insert, replace, or
memory range starting at hexadecimal the results are ready. Furthermore, delete characters, or delete lines.
COOO. being able to turn DMA off is a must These commands provide the software
when a Tarbell disk controller is used. needed to create an extremely power-
Hardware Operation
Finalty, DMA overhead from Merlin is a ful editor!
Merlin displays data on the screen in
constant percentage. So, in my case, You control the display by defining
one of four modes: two character and
even in super dense mode, the CPU where, in memory, it will start and end,
two graphics. The two character
runs at 1.82MHz (47 percent of 4MHz). and what display mode Merlin will use
modes are fixed and free form. In fixed
This is faster than some systems run for that area. You can define up to two
mode, Merlin displays a total of 800
with no DMA! areas at once and request "flipping"
characters, 40 characters on 20 lines.
In free mode, the number of characters You access both the keyboard and back and forth between them. This
displayed varies. Here, Merlin displays cassette using memory mapped 110, "flipping" is very useful when you want
data on a given line until a carriage thus any memory reference instruction to work with graphics in one area of
return is found. The carriage return can access them. The cassette inter- memory and character data in another.
causes Merlin to blank the rest of that face is software driven, meaning that Ftnally. it is worth noting that you can
line and start displaying data on the the CPU must provide data to the call a" of the commands from any
next line. Thus, free mode allows interface at the proper speed. Although program you write, and most of the
"lines" longer than 40 characters to be this means that your CPU cannot commands wi" accept parameters
stored in memory. Also, free mode perform any other functions while from your program (see BASIC exam-
generally uses less memory than fixed reading or writing a cassette, it also ple below). In addition, utility routines
mode, as you do not have to pad lines means that you can read or write are available for many useful tasks
with blanks. The two graphic modes cassette tapes in any format. Further- such as reading HEX or character data
are sparse and dense. These modes more, the software sets the speed at from the keyboard, writing the con-
define the graphic resolution which which tapes are read or written! tents of the accumulator or HL
Merlin will use, 80 by 100 points for MiniTerm provides a listing of the registers to the screen in HEX, or
sparse mode or 160 by 100 points for software to read and write Tarbell" displaying a message on the screen.
dense mode. Mixed mode is a com- formatted tapes, oryou can get the MEI As if that weren't enough, there's also
bination of the character and graphic ROM which contains it. the MEI ROM software. The MEI
modes already discussed. In Mixed commands and subroutines build upon
mode, Merlin displays characters in the The Software the MBI base. The screen control
top part of the screen and graphics in About the only thing I would debate commands are extended to allow
the bottom (see figure 3) the display about the MBI ROM software is the use operation in the graphics modes (e.g.
changes to graphic mode when an HEX of the word "basic." The MBI is the draw a line, move graphics cursor,
"00" is found. This means that the size central software workhorse of the etc.). The editor commands are ex-
of the two areas is under software Merlin unit. This software makes inter- tended to provide string locate and/or
control. There is also a game mode, but facing BASICs and other monitors a change, block delete, word delete,
I haven't gotten to it yet. There are so snap. After powering up my computer block copy, and word skip. Finally they
many modes! In addition, there are I hit reset, the CPU board jumps to th~ added the tape read and write com-
more combinations possible when the monitor, and away I go! mands, block verify, Hex locate, and
other display parameters are used, but Before I discuss the good features, Z80 register display and modify.
that could be an article in itself.The there is one bad thing I found in the
manual devotes over ten pages to the MBI monitor: a" commands must be in The following is a BASIC program
topic of display parameters. upper case. Furthermore, any data you which draws perspective "boxes" (see
give to the command must also be in figure 4). It is meant to serve as an
upper case. This means you must
either use only an upper case keyboard
or place a software routine in front of
the keyboard software to correct the
problem.
I group the monitor commands into
three categories: "front panel" com-
mands, utility commands, and screen
control commands. The front panel
commands allow you to display and/or
modify memory or the CPU registers,
or execute a user program with
breakpoints. The utility commands
Figure 3
allow you to .fi" any area of memory Figure 4

SEPT/OCT 1978 53
example of how you can use Merlin's Documentation instructions were a lifesaver. When I
graphics capabilities from BASIC, and Merlin's documentation is truly took my Merlin manual home, I had
not as a functional program. You would great! If I've seen better I can't never built a kit! As it turned out, I used
have to add some assembler routines remember where. There are currently parts of the Merlin manual for assembly
for the program to be complete. over 210 pages. Even at that, MiniTerm of other kits. There is a general section
is working on more! The kit assembly on kit building with things like how to
put sockets into a printed circuit board
1000 REM INIT ASM SUB S1 - ADD 11,11, X2,12 TO TABLE for soldering. They gave four ways and
1010 Sl=24001 said to try them and choose.
1020 SO=S1 Remember, some kit manufacturers
1030 GOSUB 2420 feel that one page is sufficient! Each
1040 DATA &El,&2A,&60,&DO,&D1,&73,&23,&72
1050 DATA &23,&01,&73,&23,&72,&23,&22,&60 page of the assembly instructions has a
1060 DATA &DO,&C9.300 picture of the board used in the steps
1070 REM/ S2CALL PATTERN on that page, with the areas circled
1075 S2",SO where you insert parts. Possibly one of
108,) GOSUB2!1Z0 the highest praises I can give these
1090 DATA frEl,&El ,&C3,&C2,&BD,&300 sxsrc EXAMPLE instructions is to say that I have since
1100 REM! . S3 EDIQ
1105 S3=SO built a Healthkit scope and found the
1110 G.oSUB 242.0 documentation to be of that caliber.
1120 DATA &E1,&C3,&B3,&C3,300
1130 REM/ EDIQ VARIABLES My Experiences
1135 SO=&D034
1140 GOSUS 2420 . My experiences with Merlin have
1150 DATA &81,&3E,&81,&3E,&81,&3E,&CO,&5D,&1',300 been very good. After assembly, the
1500 Z= 1 basic unit ran the first time, even with
1510 Z=RHD(-1) 4050 XO=218+RND(Z)ll00 an error I found later with MiniTerm's
2.000 REM 4060 YO=11B.RND(Z)180
2010 REM! INIT GRAPHIC VARIABLES help. I did have a problem with free
4070 X1=320-XO'
2020 POKE &D07B,&3E 4080 11=10 mode, but it turned out to be a
2030 POKE &D07A,&81 4090 X=Xl.L sensitivity to dynamic memory.
2100 GOTO 3000 4100 I=Y1-H MiniTerm had a fix for this, but I never
22.00 REM! SUBROUTINES 4105 REM! 3-2-1-4-3 used it as the dynamic memory was in a
2210 REM! DRAW PATN SUB 4110 CALL Sl,Yl,X
2220 POKE &0079,1 :REK! SET TO OR system I borrowed for testing the
4120 CALL 51,1,1
2230 POKE &D06A,0 4130 CALL si, I ,x 1 Merlin. When I started running on my
2240 POKE'&D06B,0 4140 CALL 31,1',X1 4MHz system another problem arose.
2250 POKE &D06C,0 4150 CALL 51 tn,x., The display would switch to a section
2260 PCJKE &D06D,O :REM/X=Y=O 4160 X3=319-X of memory which I had not requested,
2270 CALL.S2,PO 4170 ZO=SQR(X3IX3+10·10) and then come back. This was my one
2280 RETURN 4180 A5=X31D1Z0
2300 REM 4190 Il5=A5110/X3 assembly error. Merlin now runs solid
2310 REM! CLEAR SUB 4192 X5=X+A5 as a rock at 4MHz. I am still amazed that
2320 POKE &0079,2 :REM! CLEAR (CPL, AND) 4194 15=11-135 it ran at all with the error present and
2330 GOTO 2230 4195 REMI -5-6-7-1 feel this shows a good design.
2400 REM 4200 CALL 31,15,X5
2410 REM! POKE SUB 4210 B6=A5IY/X3 Although the 3 day delivery of the
2420 READ A 4220 16::1-B6 basic board was great, the delivery on
2430 IF A>255 THEN RETURN 4230 CALL 31,16,X5 the MEI ROM and MCAS units was
2440 POKE SO,A 4240 A7=B6IIOIY another story. However, MimiTerm is
2450 SO=SO+1 4245 X7=11+A7 well aware of the problem and
2460 GOTO 2420 4250 CALL 31,16,X7
2500 REM 4260 19=1+&8000 (allegedly) has taken steps to over-
2510 REM! LOAD POINTER 4270 CALL Sl,19,Xl come it.
2520 Pl=INT{PO!256) 4275 REH! 7-B-5 DASHED The technical assistance was very
2530 POKE &D061,P1 4280 17=Y6.&7700 tREMI DASHED good. For the few problems I had, I got
I
2540 Pl=PO-256 p1 4290 CALL S1,17,X7
2550 POKE &D060,P1 answers to the questions I asked, as
4300 Y8=15+&7700
2560 RETURN. 4310 CALL 51,18,17 well as a few I hadn't. The people at
2900 REM 4320 Y9=15+&8000 MiniTerm reflect an attitude of pride in
2910 REM! DELAY 4~30CALL. SJ1Y9 ,15 Merlin, and assume that they also have
2920~RETORN '4340 REM/' 4"/:S DASHED a problem, not just the customer.
3000 REM 4345 19=11.&7700
3002 REMI MAIN LOOP 4350 CALL 31,19,Xl
3004 CALL S3 :REMI ED1Q (FLIP SCREEN) 4360 18=15+&8000 My Conclusion
3020 ·1=1 4370 CALL Sl,Y8,X7 Merlin is not the Video interface for
3030 PO=&3DB9 43c) REMI 2-6 -0 LAST ,DOTTED everyone. If all you want is a plain TV
3035 GOSUS 2520 4390 CALL S1,I,X Typewriter, you can buy cheaper
3040 GOSUB 4020 tREM! CALC PATTERN 4400 19=16+&7FOO
3050 GOSUB 2220 :REM! DRAW PATTERN interfaces. On the other hand, there are
4410 CALL Sl,I9,X5
3060 PO=PO+II90 4420 19::&8000 those who want "more!" For those
3065 GOSUB 2520 4430 19=319 people, expert and novice alike, Merlin
3070 GOSUB 4020 :REM! CALC NEXT PATTERN 4440 CALL Sl,I9,X9 should do the job. As you have seen,
3080 GOSUB 2920 :REM! DELAY 4450 19=16+&7FOO my Merlin provides me with a great I/O
3090 PO=PO-II90 4460 CALL Sl,19,X7
3100 GOSUB 2320 :REM! CLEAR subsystem, and MiniTerm have a track
4470 19=&8000
3110 1=11-1 4480 CALL 51,19,19 record of providing new add-on op-
3120 PO=PO-II90 4490 19=15+&7FOO tions, showing that they have not
3130 GOTO 3050 4500 CALL S1,Y9,15 forgotten that customers have an
4000 REM 4510 Y9=&FFOO investment in their product.
4010 REMI CALULATE PATTERN SUB 4520 CALL 31,Y9,19
4020 H=20+RND(Z)180 All I can say in closing is that I
4530 RETURN
4030 L=20+RND(Z)180 9999 END anxiously await more Merlin upgrades.
4040 D=10+RND(Z)150 After all, King Arthur's wizard must
perform in color! •
54 CREATIVE COMPUTING
••••••••••••••••••••••• CCI •••••••••••••••••••••••

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SEPT/OCT 1978 55
------- Plug-in Basic for a home video game.

Bally Professional Arcade

-------- Karl L. Zinn _
You can now plug a resident Basic no prefix. Words are printed in gold on confirmation provides unobtrusive
into a home video game. The package, the overlay, and when the WDRD prefix support.
including RDM cartridge and a good, key is pressed the screen background The instruction book begins with
printed introduction to Basic, sells for turns gold as confirmation. The screen very simple programs and does not
about $50. For $50 more you can get a color changes back after any key with a assume any computer experience. I
tape cassette interface for saving word on it is pressed, and that full word have not had occasion yet to use Bally
programs. The initial purchase (e.g., PRINT) appears at the next posi- Basic with complete novices for
(processor, built-in arcade games, tion in the program listing. Alphabetics anything more than a demonstration. I
keypad and four joysticks) is about are in green, red, and blue with expect we will find, as with other
$300. I don't get excited about arcade corresponding colors on the overlay beginner packages, that having an
games, especially at $300 purchase and screen background. experienced user at hand is very
price for home use. However, I am very In addition to color aids the location helpful to answer questions and
pleased to see a convenient $50 option of characters is reasonable, left and provide encouragement. The booklet
for a family having a video game to now right parens, brackets, slashes, arrows, includes pictures of program steps,
move into programming the and the like are on the left and right results and diagnostics as they appear
microprocessor themselves. Music, respectively of each cluster of three on the screen. This confirmation of
color, and 1800 bytes of program characters on a key. The effect is one of what things should look like is very
storage make the programming quite soon changing the user's "hunt and helpful for beginners. Also the reader is
interesting. peck" to simple "peck." The non-typist led through the operation of a variety of
In this review I won't try to analyze will go just as fast as a typist and programs step by step. This detail
the Bally Arcade as a games product, perhaps with less frustration; a small, helps clear up confusions which could
or compare it with Atari or Fairchild or function-oriented keyboard is not be anticipated.
RCA. I will provide some commentary somewhat of an "equilizer." Bally Basic has no confusing
on Bally Basic as a significant exten- I didn't achieve true touch typing. For diagnostic messages; indeed it has
sion of the Bally machine and an one thing the key pressure required is a almost no diagnostics at all. When it
interesting enhancement of Palo Alto distraction just as on some calculators can't parse (recognize) what is entered
Tiny Basic. Also I will include a the feel of the keys is not suitable to it responds "WHAT?" And when it
comment on advertising and availabili- working blind. Nevertheless, after a few recognizes but can't execute a state-
ty of such products in general. hours of use I was moving immediately ment the response is "HDW?" When it
I appreciated the help of John without distraction to all common runs out of memory it says "SORRY!"
Johnson of NCE/Compumart in Ann commands, characters and letters of
Arbor, not only for the loan of the only Extensions for use of
the alphabet. The audio and color
Bally Basic cartridge in the area but for games capabilities
advice and assistance in exploring Foreground and background color
the language. are controlled by placing a number in
reserved variables FC and BC respec-
tively. One common way of controlling
The arcade as a basis
these is through the knobs on the
for educational use
joysticks, as in doodling or graphic art.
Bally Basic'", written by Jay Fenton,
is a version of Palo Alto Tiny Basic Music is fun and easy to do. The
sound in the speaker is controlled by
expanded for control of graphics,
color, sound, and joystick input. An placing characters in a reserved
instruction booklet by Dick Ainsworth variable (mu) as for color. These sound
provides an easy introduction in about codes can be assigned literally or
36 small-format pages. computed. Advice on semi-random
music generation is included. The
The 24-key numeric pad is converted
tempo is controlled by the reserved
by an overlay which designates control
variable NT (note time). A program
keys, alphabetics and Basic
listed in the introductory booklet sets
statements. Four prefix keys across the
up the Bally as a "player piano." The
bottom are used to make the 20 other
"player roll" is entered from the
keys suffice: one for "words" to in-
keyboard and saved for repeated plays.
dicate RUN, LIST, FOR, GDTD, and so
LINE and BDX commands provide,
on; and three for indicating which
important extensions for graphics. The
character on each key is desired (A, B,
C or &, @, *). Color codes help with addressable resolution is 159dotswide
this arrangement. Numbers, operators, by 87 dots high. The graphics pointer
space and some control characters begins in the center (0,0) and will on
«so. PAUSE, HALT, ERASE) are execution of LINE 24,15,1 draw a line
boldly presented in white; they require from the origin to the point (24,15) in
BALLY BASIC © 197B BALLY MFG.
Cartesian coordinates, leaving a black
line (1) connecting the points. (Other

CREATIVE COMPUTING
kinds of connections are white, reverse do. Indeed, a library of the programs in (already programming in Basic) who
and none.) Random and semi-random the manual is sufficient for now to put some interesting games into the
line drawings are fun; line graphs are impress neighbors with one's control Bally. Both of them still prefer the
easy. Similarly one can put boxes on of the machine. The programs and Commodore PET for programming,
the screen with additional parameters annotations have been written in a way but thoroughly enjoyed access to
specifying the width and height of each to encourage doing more. The capacity sound and color and joystick control.
box. The user soonis puttlnq' semi- of the language and machine go way
random visuals on the screen with beyond what is demonstrated by Implications for marketing and
"music" coming over the audio. programs in the manual, i.e., longer education
Those who have used the Bally for programs and more complex control. I I hope (as I suppose Bally does) that
arcade games know the joy stick (hand tried the machine with two preteens many purchasers of the arcade games
control) has a knob for "analogye"
input (actually it is read as integers
from 1-128 at about 7 o'clock around to
+127 at 5 o'clock) and a trigger for "Guess the Number" in Bally Basic
marking events.' Bally Basic makes
these inputs available to the 5 CLEAR Clears the screen.
programmer so user programs can
include doodling, controlling the posi- . 10 BC :::RNO(256) Sets a random background color; 16 inten-
sities of 8 basic colors are available num-
tion of a space ship, and firing rockets.
bered 0 to 256.
A single string array is addressed by
@(n) where n can have values from 1 to 20 FC = BC + 12 Sets the foreground color to the next basic
874 (by my test). One can store a 30 A = RNO(10) color and opposite intensity from the back-
character or a (signed) number in each ground color.
location of the string and retrieve them
as connected strings through iteration 35 NT = 1 Speeds up the operation of the computer.
involving the subscripted "@" variable. 40 INPUT "YOUR CHOICE" B
Since these characters are stored in a
separate memory, essentially all of the 45 NT::: 3 Slows down a bit. (NT =3 is "normal")
1800 bytes of user storage can be used 50 IF A = B GOTO 80
by program statements (key words 60 IF A B PRINT "MORE"
each take one byte; tlne numbers and 70lF A B PRINT "LESS "
linkage require three bytes). Revision 75 GOTO 35
of programs is accomplished by add- 80 PRINT B "IS RIGHT"
ing, deleting or replacing entire lines. 85 NT = 10 Slows down a lot so the music (line 90) can be
Bally Basic does have limitations, of heard.
course; it is helpful not to expect too
much. I have already mentioned lack of 90 PRINT "045680068000" Plays "Charge" through the speaker. All com-
storage, speed of animation, and 95 NT::: 3 puter operations produce sounds (which can
access to machine functions. Also it be turned on or off). The two O'sfollowing the
first 8 produce a 'hold' for three beats. Three
needs an editor, although that is not a
8's would produce three distinct notes
problem with short lines. Nevertheless whereas a 0 slurs the preceding note.
Bally has provided a significant step,
for only $50, beyond arcade games. 100 PRINT (46 spaces) Uses up some time so you can see what you
The manual provides an easy begin- 110 GOTO 5 did.
ning and suggests interesting things to

SEPT/OCT 1978 57
 will want to go beyond them. But is it other simple routines. Their disap-
reasonable to expect purchasers of the pointment at not being able to match
$100 tiny Basic to want the add-on full the complexity and pace of the
keyboard and the much more capable professionally prepared games will be
(8k) Basic to be offered by Bally (for compensated by a sense of control
about $500?). The problem is, one through their own programming. Bally
14Thing~ needs more access to the machine to Basic does provide access to color,
do the kinds of programs included on motion and line drawing, joystick
You CanDo the games cartridges: speed of anima- input, and musical tones. Users should
With Your tion, control of color, and so on. For be advised that the programs will not
some the experience with Bally Basic execute as fast as those in machine
Personal could backfire. That is, beginning with language, and of course they can not
Computer the more capable machine would have be as complex or detailed due to
been a better route to learning Basic storage limitations. Incidentally, the
and the ehjoyment of programming. demonstration program is rather im-
build a robot Nevertheless, the $50 entry is a lot pressive, fillihg available storage to
write poetry easier to take than $500 for full within one byte and showing off the
control lights and alarms keyboard and more memory, and many full range of features.
more will at least try their hands and
balance a checkbook minds at programming. If a majority Advertising and product availability
automatically dial a develops a sense of being able to Perhaps many of you have seen the
telephone master the machine, some important same JS&A ad I read in the Scientific
score musicals educational purposes have been serv- American (September 1977) and many
sort mailing lists ed. airline magazines for the Bally Home
Bally Basic, as now delivered is Library Computer. It offered a
draw graphics interesting enough for schools work- professional computer for under $300
handle payrolls ing with video production and even with the fun of arcade games too.
plan shopping lists small TV stations or community cable Actually it described a games com-
calculate tax returns systems. Even those who already have puter which with some additions would
a character generator (typically become a professional machine.
managc inventory Riding along on the advantages of
costing $2000) will find greatly ex-
plan menus panded capability for making up titles large volume production for home
accounting with the $400 Bally Arcade with Basic games, the same basic unit was to be
and tape interface. This home enter- adapted and extended for professional
And 4 guides to tainment equipment offers more for uses. And JS&A claimed to have "a
less in generating video displays. It is small console unit manufactured ex-
helpyou% practical to use in real time, as in clusively for JS&A."
walking some text across the bottom of A colleague ordered the machine at
the screen, or in production of a video once and kept me informed during a
tape, as in progressive assembly of long succession of conversations with
graphics incorporati ng a title or credits JS&A. Delivery slipped from the four
for a program. weeks stated in the ad to Thanksgiving,
The quality of the picture suffers then Christmas, then' early in the year.
from going to radio frequency in the Finally in mid-March, about three
Bally (for connecting to common weeks after I obtained a plain Bally
television sets via antenna leads) and Arcade machine at a local store, my
back to video signal in the monitor or friend received delivery from JS&A.
interface box. Bally should provide a Then began a series of conversations
video connector for use with video tape with JS&A about how the Home Library
machines and monitors. The improved Computer differed from the one I
picture quality will be appreciated by obtained through the Ballydistribution
home users as well now that new TV hetwork. One proposed advantage was
sets accommodate direct video input. in the design, another in quality con-
The video game manufacturers (see trol, another in price or schedule of
Exidy's Sorcerer as well as l3ally deliveries. On each occasion the effort
arcade) have led the way with to confirm the difference came up
pluggable software, an extremely im- empty. that is, the item sold in the
portant concept for educational use of arcade box appears identical but for
Available at your local personal computers. This is not sur- label and advertising to the one sold

~fi·
prising. since they are accustomed to through the mail by JS&A, except for
computer store! producing pluggable games. Probably minor changes attributable to different
by the publication date for this product production runs. And the performance
0n review, TI will have announced its entry of our two early machines, one from
Per5 jll
cO!DPutmg in this area. Keep in mind the long JS&A and one from Bally, was poor.
books! experience of TI in Solid
Software" for the TI 58 and 59 and the
State Both of
overheating,
us had problems with
poor signal strength for

[]J impressive 256 kilo byte

memory (actually two chips) for the
Speak & Spell".
plug-in the RF input to TV antenna leads, and
erratic connections
devices (joysticks).
for the peripheral
A later unit from
Hayden Hook ColUltany. Inc. I am hopeful that Bally Basic will lead Bally does not show any of these
50 Essex Street purchasers of arcade games to tryout problems. And JS&A was very prompt
Rochelle Park, :-":,107662 programming and find some enjoy- in crediting my friend's account when
ment in creating their own games or he returned his equipment.

58 CREATIVE COMPUTING
CIRCLE 113 ON READER SERVICE CARD
 I won't try to place blame for mis-
leading advertising. Whether Bally did
not deliver to JS&A as soon as promis-
ed or JS&A promised more things and
sooner than Bally had committed to do
is not important. Something does need
to be said about such delays and
problems that are characteristic of
hobbyist and personal computers.
Equipment promised by many
different companies has not been
made available on anything near the
stated schedule. Some may never
become available. And yet various
companies have taken money in ad-
vance payment for products that have
not yet been demonstrated to work, or
for which development has not yet
been completed.
Good finances and a sound design
are more important to product success
than advance payments by over anx-
ious purchasers. I hope the buying
habits of hobbyists and others in-
terested in beinq in on early deliveries
will adjust to reward sound practices
and will help the burgeoning industry
for personal computing to mature, •
Q
a:
~
w
An interview with Dave Mar- o
tin, Bally Manufacturing sa:
w
en
a:
w
Q
Ahl: I notice your little keypad has
only 24 keys and a: selector at the sa:
bottom that lets each key equal up to Z
five different things. How easy is that to o
N
learn? '"
0-

W
Martin: It's easy to learn. And if you ..J
don't know a typewriter keyboard, it's o
a:
actually easier to learn than a o
typewriter keyboard. You can do it
faster. Also the fact that some of the
keys allow you to print a whole word
without having to type it out letter by
letter.
Ahl: Okay, that's certainly handy.
Martin: Right, and it only uses one
piece of information in memory, one bit
rather than five bits, for example, in the
word print. It uses one bit instead of
five.
Ahl: Extremely handy as far as
conservation of memory space. JS and
A, a mad order vendor, have pictured it
with a standard keyboard. Is that one of
your products?
Martin: It will be one of our products
some time in the first quarter of next
year. We don't have an exact date yet as
to when it's going to be available. We
hope to be selling it at the January
CES, or have it available and func-
tioninq.
Dave kindly explained the many
other attributes of the Bally, however
these are discussed in greater depth in
Karl Zinn's review.

SEPT/OCT 1978
Two new electronic learning aids A talking learning aid
from Texas Instruments The box has the appearance of a
colorful, hand-held toy radio or
typewriter. It weighs about one pound
and measures about 6 x 10 inches.

Speak & Spell Forty keys are arranged in four rows of

ten with command keys across the top
and the characters arranged in

Spelling B alphabetical order.

Spelling words are selected at ran-
dom from one of four lists of about fifty
each and dictated through a small
Karl L. Zinn speaker in the top of the case. As the
child presses the keys, the machine
Education in the home through pressions at random but within con- speaks each letter and displays it on
computer assistance has just been straints of reasonable problems for the screen. The ERASE key will take
moved ahead a year ortwo by the intro- kids. the last letter off the screen. When the
duction of a new electronic learning aid I first saw the TI Little Professor?' in child presses ENTER the machine
by Texas Instruments. The Speak & the fall of 1976. At that time I was compares the character string dis-
SpeW includes memory (256 kilobits),
M
impressed by the amount of expensive played against one stored in the chip
logic (speech synthesizer), and new CAI math exercise which was replaced along with the bit string which provided
modes of interaction not expected for by the $25 machine, but I predicted the vocalization. If the two match, the
at least another year. double the capability within a year in a machine confirms "That is correct" and
Perhaps my enthusiasm will temper new product. Also, I expected a price goes on to the next word. If they don't
with more exposure to the machine, reduction of about 50% for the Little match the machine prompts for a
and with results from trials in the Professor. second try. After two errors the correct
schools. So far I have tried the machine In the fall of 1977 I saw that TI outdid answer is spoken and spelled.
only under rather unfavorable con- my predictions. Most will agree that the The SAY IT key, also labeled by a
ditions (noise and bustle of the Con- Dataman'" more than doubled the "speaking" cartoon face, provides
sumer Electronics Show), and I talked capabil ity of its predecessor, and it was dictation with a pause for the child to
at length with two of the people who offered at the same price ($25). In- pronounce each word, after which the
had a great deal to do with packaging cidentally, the price of Little Professor machine repeats the word. When the
the device and developing supporting has dropped to $14 list. I was par- ten words chosen at random within that
materials. difficulty level have been spoken, the
So this product review will talk machine proceeds with the regular
mostly about significant trends in spelling mode, presenting the ten
capabilities of hand-held learning aids, words in a different order. Each word is
and implications for educational com- spoken once, then again as part of the
puting generally. For a later issue I will confirmation after the child has spelled
get some users to report on initial use it correctly (or missed).
in schools and homes. A REPEAT key causes the current
Establishing a Growth Trend word to be spoken again, and REPLAY
Some years ago someone, wonder- key restarts the exercise at the begin-
ing what to do with calculators that ning of the current list of ten words.
were discarded due to faulty displays, ticularly interested to see group learn- (Each key carries both a word above or
wired in red and green lights in place of ing activities encouraged with below it and a single symbol on the key
the LED's to confirm if a user keyed in a Dataman. For the fall of 1978 I as a reminder for kids who can't read
correct expression and its value. This predicted another doubling of capabili- or remember the function.) Four other
new application of calculators gained ty and the introduction of alphabetics keys control three kinds of games.
the attention of math educators and for word drills. Also I expected audio MYSTERY WORD is a version of
CAI developers when the device Was the year after that, a larger display with "Hangman" in which one guesses
redesigned to generate the ex- point graphics, and pluggable software letters in an unknown word one at a
(as on the TI 58 and 59). time. With the CLUE key one can "buy"
Now in June of 1978 Texas In- a letter which is part of. the word and
struments has announced products see where it appears. SECRET CODE
including all I predicted for this year is based on a one-to-one translation of
and next and part of the year after. I the alphabet into another ordering of
should like to make such predictions the characters; on pressing the CODE
on when we will see Allan Kay's key the machine will code any string
Dynabook! that shows in the display. Pressing
I haven't seen the full package for LETTER simply calls a random letter
Speak & Spell (the books weren't generator for a variety of games set up
available yet) and I haven't tried it with by the activities booklet.
children (no one under 18 is permitted The attractiveness of this new
in the Consumer Electronics Show). machine is partly due to the novelty of
Knowing something of what the TI synthesized speech with random
Learning Center can do in product selection from a large file of words.
development and testing, I am confi- However, the designers did a good job
dent that the new spelling aid will be fitting spelling drills and word games to
enjoyed by kids and will be judged the technology of synthesized speech
effective by educators. that TI had been developing for some

60 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 time. Many other things might have large collection of vocabulary chips. I divided into three levels of difficulty
been done with a synthesizer that wonder how easy it is to change the suggested for kindergarten through
would not have been as attractive and logic of the learning exercises and fourth grade. Deliveries are scheduled
engaging as a learning aid. games. For some applications the to start in September with a suggested
The unusually good quality of audio, machine should first display the list price of $30.
compared with other systems available character string as a prompt for speak- A marketing strategy is emerging
now, results from the use of a model of ing. which separates the learning aids from
the human vocal system contained in In industrial settings use of the calculators and also from toys. TI plans
the synthesizer chip. machine could help establish common to support merchandisers in es-
Instead of generating phonemes language conventions for new tablishing a Learning Center concept
from phonetic spellings of the words, a employees in a situation of rapid for the display area providing a collec-
bit pattern is stored in memory for the turnover. The list of potential tion of electronic aids for spelling,
entire word or phrase. These patterns applications goes on and on. reading and time telling as well as
are taken from human speech; hence, computation. You will probably see
As an option on terminals
TI can redo the memory chips for the How many people would be in- extensive television advertising at
UK with a British actor reading the terested in a 200-word audio output times chosen to influence back-to-
words. Indeed the same machine can school and holiday gift purchases. But
device as an inexpensive option on
be used for second language learning terminals? It should not add much to this is more than just an advertising
or medical technology with a change campaign. The TI Learning Center in
the price. This year TI is providing a
only in the ROM's which hold the voice great deal for $50 in a home product. Dallas is working hard on educational
patterns. Consider what 256 kilobits of ROM design, getting advice from persons
The present product was desiqned .expert in language arts and math skills,
costs. Yet in two years we wi II probably
for the home market. Parents will be and testing extensively with learners,
have four times as much for the same
intrigued by it; kids will enjoy it. parents and educators of varying
price. Incidentally, TI will probably sell
Educators might want a volume control background and geographic location.
the plug-in ROM, presently on two
and/or headset to accommodate use chips carrying about 200 words, for
in the classroom or study hall. Impact on personal computer market
about $10. The figure will be deter- I predict dramatic impact of hand-
Minor problems mined by the. market. Even if the price held electronic products (from $10 to
If the child presses a key before the doesn't cover initial production costs, $50) on the personal computer and
processor is ready for the first soon it can be profitable. video games market. Presently I find
character, that is, before it has finished I see prospects for Speak & Spell asa the presentation of math drills on the
speaking the word, it does not record. peripheral on other machines. Even Bally Arcade less interesting than
Of course, it does not show on the with the present version one could similar ones on Dataman. Math Bingo
display either. The audio confirmation come in through the keyboard inter- on the Bally and Maxit on the Com-
of each character displayed helps out face or perhaps the memory module modore PET are much more
further. The child only needs to be connector. motivating.
reminded that the machine won't be I would like to see the machine used Consider how soon the hand-held
listening while it is talking. as an output device on calculators and devices will get sufficient display size
I am a little bothered by the Clipping other equipment for the blind since it and point graphics to compete with
of some sounds. However, I was provides a significant improvement in what is done with a TV raster on a
listening under very poor conditions. quality for a much lower cost. personal computer. Think about how
Actually some distortions might be (Telesensory's talking calculator is the two kinds of products and their
intentional to help distinguish easily $400.) Also I expect the technology to various markets may be coming
confused sounds. Generally the quality soon find use in speaking aids for those together. We should be seeking out the
is very good. Incidentally, a few words without sufficient control of their vocal crucial contributions of general-
were left out of the experts' 200 "most mechanisms to be understood by purpose personal computers in con-
troublesome" list because of potential inexperienced listeners. trast to the less expensive and easier-
confusions. to-use, special-purpose learning aids.
At times one would like to have a A speechless companion
clock, especially for games with the Spelling B was not ready in time to
T
" Trends
machine. I recall the advances in show any more than a prototype case The significance of the introduction
motivation and group play from usesof with a picture book at CES. I did see of these two new products by TI is the
Little Professor to Dataman becauseof that it complements the talking trend line. Consider how long it took to
a visible clock and time reports. machine in games and exercises. It is go from early photography to moviesto
small enough (about 4x6 inches) to slip talkies to home films. Or the elapsed
Some other uses in a large pocket, being similar in time from phonographs to wire
One might change the colors of the format to Little Professor and recorders to pocket tape machines.
packaging and labels next to the keys Dataman. A friend or parent can type in Electronic calculators have moved into
for other ages of learners. I expect up to five words for the child to spell as hand-held learning aids in just a few
Speak & Spell could be helpful drilling the machine presents them one at a years, and the technology that makes it
students in medical sciences and time in random arrangement. The cheaper and more capable every year
technology on terminology. The ROM missing letter key will set the machine is expected to continue to improve at
could be set up for the machine to to presenting words from its list of 264, about the same fantastic slope for at
/ speak one phrase and check the user's each time with some characters miss- least twenty years.
response (up to eight characters) with ing, to be completed by the child. The producers of personal com-
another word or code. The memory Hangman is there too, called "Mystery puters need to take notice of the role of
structure pairs a bit string for the audio Word." hand-held products in areaspreviously
(any word, short phrase or other sound The basic mode of use is in spelling the domain of general-purpose and
that can be handled by the synthesizer) the words for pictures which are given more expensive machines. And the
with any character string for the in the accompanying book. The educators (including parents) should
anticipated answer. machine prompts with the number, seriously consider adopting both kinds
Second language learning seems a randomly chosen, for an object to be of learning aids before the end of this
natural application, especially with a spelled. Spelling B has its word list year. _

SEPT/OCT 1978 61
------A CreativeComputingEquipmentProfile... -------

Computalker CT-1
Speech Synthesizer
Steve North
"Don't touch that switch!" shouts that it's much easier for both the bus 8080 microcomputer." These
your computer, as you reach to turn it manufacturer and the user to improve messages are highly understandable
off. Very unlikely, yes, but possible-if the performance of existing units by and demonstrate the quality of which
your computer is equipped with a modification of the software. the Computalker is capable. However,
Computalker. The Computalker CT-1 The Computalker may be driven with for most applications, it is desirable to
is an S-100 bus board capable of either of two software packages be able to create your own unique
generating high-quality synthesized provided by ComputalkerConsultants. messages, with a minimum of effort.
speech, through an external audio CTMON, a speech-synthesis monitor Otherwise, when limited to a small
amplifier. program, comes with every Com- dictionary of messages, and capability
The Computalker hardware allows a putalker.lt must be used in acomputer of synthesized speech isn't much more
high degree of control over the sounds with, a keyboard, papertape useful than just a set of prerecorded
it makes. It's programmed through a readerlpunch, audio cassette, and a messages on audio tape. (An excep-
set of 1/0 ports addressed at EO-EF VDM-1 or similar memory-mapped tion: when you want your computer to
hex (some of these ports are reserved video display. [Ed. note: By the time read your BASIC programs or hex
for future expansion). The 1/0 ports read this, CTMON will probably be dumps out loud while you consult a
control the fundamental parameters replaced by CTEDIT, which does not printed listing, it is quite helpful to have
that compose human speech: need a memory-mapped video, and will a few words spoken well.)
ampJitude of voicing, voicing frequen- work with Teletype, TVT, serial display,
cy, the three. formant frequencies, and etc.) CTMON allows creation and Synthesis by the Rules
some other amplitude and frequency modification of a table of speech data, The other software package, CSR1
parameters. There is also provision for divided into "frames." Each frame (available at $35) fills this need. CSR1
control of the speech pitch by an contains the set of data that must be is a speech-synthesis-by-rule
external square-wave clock, thus programmed into the Computalker's program, consisting of six modules
suggesting the possibility of a different 1/0 ports for each time and a top-level monitor program that
"Compu-singer"! The square-wave interval (10 msec). By programming a handles interaction with the user
source could be a computer music whole series of these frames, you can through any ASCII terminal. CSR1 lets
board within the same system, though make the Computalker speak a single you enter a message to be spoken in a
the software and timing complexities word. (There are roughly 70 frames in special phonetic language, called
get a little mind-boggling. the word hello.) ARPABET. The phonetic language
To create intelligent speech, the 1/0 allows expression of most sounds with
ports of the Computalker must be Conversion to Frames one or two upper-case letters. The
programmed with the correct values in The conversion of speech into message entered by the user is
sequence to form the speech at fairly numerical data frames is a slow, processed by several rules (which may
close intervals - about every 10 painstaking process, requiring access modify the input string to sound more
milliseconds, depending on the to a spectrum analyzer (so you can correct) and eventually produces a
desired rate of speech. And because examine the makeup of natural speech data table like that used in
there is so much information to be speech) and a good knowledge of CTMON. The phonetic language con-
processed to obtain natural-sounding exactly how speech works. Unfor- tains 29 consonants, 19 vowels, punc-
speech, the overhead software is tunately, most personal-computer tuation marks ("?", "," and ".") and
somewhat complicated. This is just one users lack these. The manual suggests some other special symbols. It seems
of the tradeoffs involved in a device that it may be possible to use a micro- easy enough to get reasonable quality
with a great deal of built-in flexibility. computer with a filter, AID converter synthesized speech just by using the
But by fine-tuning the speech data, it is and floating-point hardware to assist in famous Chinese Menu Algorithm (one
possible to get very intelligible and the conversion process, but this from column A, two from column B,
almost human-sounding speech. Con- technique has not been much ex- etc.) but with some practice and an
trast this with the Ai Cybernetic Model plored. Computalker can also do a idea of what sounds normally go
1000 speech-synthesis unit (reviewed rough conversion of your audio tape together, even better quality is possi-
in the May-June 1978 issue of Creative) for around $25 per second of speech, ble. According tothe CSR1 manual, the
wh ich relies on a rather trivial software and then you must do some work on consonants are fairly easy to pick out,
routine for its operation, actually of no your own to polish the speech. If you but some care must be taken with the
more complexity than that of a routine want to avoid this slow andlor expen- vowel sounds. The speech generated
used to drive a Teletype. The end result sive conversion process, you can try under CSR1 is not as understandable
is that speech generated by the Ai out some of the demo tapes that as that made by manually preparing the
Cybernetic unit suffers from a rather Computalker provides for use with speech data with a spectrum analyzer
choppy, mechanical effect, but it is a CTMON, which contain the speech and CTMON, and you won't mistake it
snap to interface the 1000 to almost any synthesis data for speaking the for natural speech, but it is acceptable.
software (such as BASIC). Of course numbers 0-10, letters A-z, and the The punctuation marks are helpful,
another advantage to the Com- message: "Hello, I'm Computalker, a since the machine can't really know
putalker's dependence on software is speech synthesizer for your standard- what kind of inflection to add, and this

62 CREATIVE COMPUTING
gives you some degree of control
(along with the option of assigning a Interaction with CSR1: Three examples
stress value to vowel sounds by post-
fixing a numeral from 1 to 5). The ENTER TEXT:
Computalker under CSR1 still sounds
better than the Ai Cybernetic Unit, at KRIYEY4TIHV KAAMPYUW2TIHNX.
least to these ears, and while it does
require a lot more software to make it The phrase "Creative Computing" looks a little strange unless you know that
go, it's certainly worth it to achieve the vowels are expressed as two-letter combinations (such as IV for an ee sound),
better-sounding output. and the letter X is always part of a two-letter combination. The period is used for
inflection.
The top-level CSR1 monitor program
permits only entry of a new line of ENTER TEXT:
phonetic speech, line delete (control-
X), play the previous message (control-
P), and a hex dump of the previously
WAH2N.TUW2.THRIY2.FOH2R.FAY2V.SIH2KS.SEH2VEN.EHIY2T.
........ ........, NAY21'lN .TEH2Emr~
generated speech data (control-B). In
the event that you want to have
The numbers 1-10 in the phonetic language. The numerals (such as 2 in the
synthesized speech under the control
word WAH2N) control the stress.
of some other program (meaning that
you want to do more than type in
phonetic messages and hear them
ENTER TEXT:
spoken back at you). then it is possible
to call CSR1 as a subroutine from your AY WIH2SH AY WAAZ AX KEH2LAOGZ KOH3RN FLEHYKHH.
own main program, in lieu of the CSR1
monitor program. All you need to give ENTER TEXT:
CSR1 is a pointer to the string of
characters in memory that contain the AY 70 59 55 96 9B 00 00 80 00
message ~11 _phonetic language. (In BA 58 55 96 9B 00 00 80 00
BASIC you would have to POKE the
message into some place in memory
EO 56 55 95 9B 00 00 80 00
and then call CSR1 as an assembly- EO 55 56 94 9B 00 00 80 00
language subroutine). Keep in mind EO 53 58 93 9B 00 00 80 00 •••
that both CTMON and CSRl.eat up
The sentence "I wish I was a Kellogg's Cornflake," or at least a rough
significant amounts of memory: CSR1
...approximation..there.of,followf3dbya portion o!thE:lspeec:h-<1at~ table generated
runs from 1000 to 5FFF hex (a 24K
from this input. This is what you get when y,ou type cohtrol-B. .. ."
system) and CTMON uses 100-800 hex
and anything upwards for buffer space
(the LETTERS data uses 10K bytes). one system. CSR1 leaves 8K of new to tryout in your computer, then
Source code and I/O patches are memory below it, which isn't enough the Computalker is a good choice. It's
provided for all the software. The for an 8K BASIC and a program, so it's the best performing and most flexible
software itself is available on paper- just wasted space. If CSR1 a was lower, speech synthesizer board we've tried
tape, cassette, or diskette. (We didn't then a relocatable BASIC (such as so far, and has the potential for even
try the diskette version, but hopefully TDL-uh, I mean, Xitan BASIC) could better performance with improved
the assembly-language source of the be loaded above it and could call CSR1 software.
software is included to encourage from a BASIC program. CSR1 is
tinkering, since few people have the available in a high-memory version, Availability
time to manually key hundreds of lines though, so you can keep CSR1 way up The Computalker CT-1 synthesizer
of source code). The quality of the out of the way and have BASIC down in board, plus CTMOM (or CTEDIT)
documentation is high. low memory. Obviously, if you havethe parameter editor program, is $395, at
source it can be assembled wherever your local computer store, or from
Tight Fit you want. Computalker Consultants, 1730 21st
The only objection I have is that it's a If you're shopping around for a St., Suite AE, Santa Monica, CA 90404.
bit difficult to fit CSR1 and BASIC in speech synthesizer, or just something
•
IT'S ABOUT TIME!
Finally. a COMPLETE disk utility package for the
NORTH STAR MICRO DISK SYSTEM. A MUST for
both BUSINESS and hobby systems. PKGUT1 on
diskette includes the following four NORTH STAR
SOFTWARE SEARCH
BASIC programs PACKIT - Packs & Unpacks disk Sell your software. Integratorof microprocessor-
files so you can get more storage per disk! CHANGIT
_ Prints. Dumps and/or Changes data in disk files up
based small business systems is seeking business-
to a global level. SORTIT - A generalized sortin~ oriented applications software packages. We will pay
utility. COM PIT - File comparison utility, Will
compare disk files sequentially or by key and display
an initial license fee and an ongoing royalty for
differences, established packages in the general areas of manufac-
Diskette with full user's documentation S80.00 turing controls and support in addition to all business
North Star BASIC games: ROAD RACE,
EVENWINS. BIORHYTHM. 3D TICTAC, and the and professional applications. For consideration,
addicting SUPERWUMP! PKGN1 please send details to:
(5 games on diskette) $15.00
VOM·GAMES (requires SOLOS or CUTER): Real Software Search
time ROBOTS and ASTEROID! PKGV1 (2 games on Pacesetting Computers, Inc.
1200 baud CUTS tape) .. .. .. ... $20.00
Micro P.O. Box 922. Madison Square
Post Office Box 590
.. Station, New York, NY 10010 San Pedro, CA 90733
L oqistics N.Y, res. add applicable sales tax

CIRCLE 129 ON READER SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 139 ON READER SERVICE CARD

63
 its
ytes
ooks.
argalns

An hour ago, the time was four

times as many minutes past 1 :30
as there now are minutes until
four o'clock. What time is it?
Technico-IMSAI
Vector - Cromemco The Mathematics Student

Limrose - SWTPC
National Multiplex
Solid State Music
We stock various books and
magazines of interest to
the engineer and computer
hobbyist. We also have
Thinkers' Corner © Layman E. Allen
available a large selection
of components and used
electronic test equipment. MATHEMATICS PUZZLES
How many of the problems (a) through (f) below can
MARKETLINE SYSTEMS, Inc. be solved by forming an expression equal to the
2337 Philmont Ave. GOAL? (Suppose that each symbol below is
Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006 imprinted on a disc.)
215/947-6670 • 800/523-5355
The expression must use:
(1) only single digits combined with operators,
(2) all of the discs in the REQUIRED column,
(3) as many of the discs in PERMITTED as you

CP/MTM wish, and

(4) at most one of the discs in RESOURCES may
be used.
LOW-COST The '*' indicates "to the power of". Thus
MICROCOMPUTER 3*2 ~ 32 = 9.
SOFTWARE Special The 'Y' indicates "the nth root of". Thus
3V8 = 2.
CP/MTM OPERATING SYSTEM: Rules Parentheses can be inserted anywhere to
• Includes Editor, Assembler, Debugger and Utilities. indicate grouping, but never to indicate
• For 8080, Z80, or Intel MOS. multiplication.
• For IBM-compatible floppy discs.
• $100-Diskette and Documentation. PROB. GOAL REQUIRED PERMITTED RESOURCES

• $25-Documentation (Set of 6 manuals) only.

[a] 15 38+ 14= +-x2468
MACTM MACRO ASSEMBLER: [b] 7 2x 58- +t- V 1 399
• Compatible with new Intel macro standard. [e] 5 3.;. 29x +x.;.V458
• Complete guide to macro applications. [d] 12 1- 678 -.;.*2588
• $90-Diskette and Manual. tel 3+.;.6 46x.;. +-x0123
SIDTM SYMBOLIC DEBUGGER: [f] 14 5+ 36' +-V2589
• Symbolic memory reference.
• Built-in assembler/disassembler.
• $75-Diskette and Manual.
'vO~gv IV'J 'JOqJ'I;I UU'I;I 'PBOt! PJB~:JBd
TEXTM TEXT FORMATTER: 3-006~ 'a:Jua511Ialul uBwnH jO luawa:JuB4u3 a41 JOj uouapuno j
• Powerful text formatting capabilities. a4.l WOJj isanbai uodn alqBI!BAB S! sawB5 IBUOlpnJlSUI Ja410 PUB
• Text prepared using CP/M Editor. SI41 inoqe UOllBWJOjU! aaJ.::! 's:JllBwa41BV'J aAllBaJ:) jO aWB8 a4.l
:SNOI.l'l;ln03 5U!ABld a~!1145!w nOA 'ajzznd jO PU!~ SI41 Aofua nOA II
• $75 Diskette and Manual.
9 + (1: * 8) [j] (9';' v) + (8';' ~) [a] (L-,) - 9 [p]
B + v + (; [e]

[[(J [)~[]~TI1LAEEEI1ACH
G + (8';' 6) [x] 8 - (G x g) [q]

:(SJa410 aJB aJa41 AIlUanbaJj) SJaMSUB palsa55ns awos

P.O. Box 579. Pacific Grove, California 93950

~ (408) 649-3896 ~ 64
CREATIVE COMPUTING
CIRCLE 167 ON READER SERVICE CARD
 TERMINALS FROM TRANSNET
PURCHASE
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C.IRCLE 134 ON READER SERVICE CARD

 The Future is Here Today
Susan Hastings

organizations is applying advanced

forecasting methodologies to their
long-range planning efforts. They are
using techniques such as Delphi poll-
ing to discover how informed experts
view the distant future. Cross-impact
analyses also are made to trace the
effects of one innovation upon another
and scenarios are built to produce vivid
pictures of the future in the way George
Orwell did in his book 1984. Finally,
Human beings have always been curate quantitative projection never computer-driven systems analyses
curious about the future. They've predicts the truly important: the mean- models which process mountains of
peered into crystal balls, examined ing of facts and figures in a different facts are used to try to forecast things
human palms and animal entrails, tomorrow." to come.
shuffled cards, and prayed for divine Of the 500 largest industrial cor- The new "futurists" require enor-
guidance - all in an effort to prepare porations listed by Fortune magazine mous amounts of good information
themselves for changes to come. in 1955 only about 57% were left in the and the ability to minimize perceptual
But change has never been so 1975 list. Many of the lost companies biases when collecting and analyzing
constant and overwhelming as it is disappeared because they could not it. The information they utilize is of two
today. That's true not just for in- adapt to the new tomorrow that types: quantifiable "hard" data which is
dividuals, but for human organizations suddenly faced them. usually economic and scientific in
as well. Recent events like the first The trauma that surprised and ru ined nature, and non-quantifiable "soft"
resiqnatlon of a U.S. President, in- many organizations was often a result data which tends to be more societal
creasing unemployment paired with of too much dependence on the past. because it deals with changing human
inflation, and the political emergence Continued breaks from the past face values, aspirations and demands. Yet,
of resource-rich developing countries industry today and those breaks might despite the quality and quantity of
have made managers and be almost anything: the refusal of information available to help forecast
organizations realize that they must developing countries to accept U.S. the future, the problem of human
develop better methods for adapting to dollars for their oil and other resources; perception in selecting and analyzing it
the trauma of organizational future severe climatic changes endangering is a major one. Futurists must be able to
shock. If they can't adapt, they will fall America's agricultural heartland; step outside of their own - and their
by the wayside. organization-directed nuclear organization's - traditions, values,
Most organizations plan for the terrorism; or even the sudden and taboos in order to recognize and
future with budget estimates or sales emergence of an irresistible worldwide analyze early-warning signals of what
projections, but the changes being outcry for disarmament and peace. lies ahead. And even if the futurist
experienced today are so fundamental Events such as these might seem succeeds admirably, the report might
that they cannot be predicted by the absurd until they happen, and many be filed away and forgotten by
traditional methods of merely examin- organizations opt to disregard the management because it bumped into
ing the past. To quote management possibilities. However, a small but the organization's sacred cow.
expert Peter Drucker, "The most ac- growing number of farsighted Change can never be managed

66 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 A growing number of colleges and
unlversities now offer courses in
futures studies, but anyone interested
in improving his own ability to forecast
the future can do so on a more informal
basis. Alvin Toffler's now classic book,
Future Shock, is probably the best
introduction to the study of futurism. It
is "about what happens to people when
they are overwhelmed by change ...
about the ways in which we adapt - or
fail to adapt - to the future." The daily
newspaper is also-an excellent futures
textbook for studying the changes in
our lives. Simply by watching and
talking to other people one can gain
insight into the events and attitudes
that are fashioning the world of
tomorrow.
Trying to forecast the future by
thinking about second and third order
consequences of future developments
and alternative futures can be done
alone or with others on an individual,
community, or organizational level.
Futures analyses can help to define
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effectively unless an organization

perceives the need to change. Rigid
Apple II is at The Computer Store
organizations which repress change
hasten their own demise. Today
however, attempts at scientifically
analyzing the future are being pursued
by cities, states, trade associations,
medical societies, universities, labor
unions, foundations, churches, and
citizen activist groups as well as the
larger and more powerful corporations
and government which pioneered
future studies.
The study of organizational futurism
is also growing vertically as more and
more subdivisions within organiza- The Apple" II, today's most popular personal computer, is at The
tions are being charged with foresight Computer Store. Along with the latest in Apple peripherals. Like
responsibilities. A timely illustration of the new Disk" II floppy disk drive. Or, printer and communica-
this is the enactment of new Federal tions interfaces. And, the latest in software including the new
legislation requiring that every com- Apple/Dow Jones Stock Quote Reporter. The compact Apple II
mittee in the U.S. House of Repre- gives you 48K RAM memory with full color graphics and high
sentatives (except Budget and Appro- resolution graphics. It's the most powerful computer in its price
priations) "undertake future research range.
and forecasting on matters within the
At The Computer Store, we have more than ever before in
jurisdiction of that committee."
While futures studies are still in microcomputers, memories, terminals and peripherals. All backed
their infancy, all citizens, but especial- by a technical staff and a full service department. Stop in today,
ly those in management positions, you'll find more than ever before at The Computer Store.
should be encouraged to participate in
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future is fascinating to do; it can help 820 Broadway, Santa Monica, California 90401 (213) 451-0713
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Phone and mail orders invited. BankAmericard/Visa and Master Charge accepted.

SEPT/OCT 1978 67 CIRCLE 124 ON READER SERVICE CARD

 A Creative Computing Software Profile ...

PET Cassettes from

Peninsula School
Steve North
It seems that almost everyone and of PET PILOT without any PILOT fight off baddies. One of the interesting
his computer are hawking Blackjack program is included. Overall, these things about Adventure (unlike Star
and Lunar Lander for the PET on programs are nice dialogs for in- Trek, where you have so many com-
cassettes these days. So it was quite a troducing kids (or anyone) to a com- mands and this much energy, etc.) is
relief to find some really different, puter, but the almost-$20 price tag is that you never know exactly what
interesting PET software on cassette, too high, unless you're really dying to options you have or what actions will
available from the Peninsula School of use PILOT. have what effect, until you try it. In
Menlo Park, CA. (One immediately QUEST, you search through a small
suspects some kind of tie-in with Tape #2 cavern for a pirate's treasure, avoiding
People's Computer Cornpany.) The Tape #2, which sells for $14.95, a giant. This is really a lot smaller than
Peninsula School offers three includes four programs. We never got ADVENTURE, but"$tiII a lot of fun.
cassettes with ready-to-run programs. LEMON to load, but a look at the (Speaking of Adventu-re, I saw a version
As one would suppose, all the pro- documentation booklet reveals that it's in which your cavern is Hill Center at
grams are more-or-Iess educationally a simulation of a lemonade stand, Rutgers. For treasure you can take out
oriented, but they're a lot of fun even if designed to give the user experience in an IBM 370/168 or a card reader, but
you're not trying to learn anything. All handling money and making decisions. you have to fight off a nasty operator or
thetapes come with a 5%-by-8% booklet In LEMON, you can make a fortune an insane applications consultant.)
describing the use of the programs and during a heat wave, or spend money on DRAW, on the other side of the
a complete program listing. signs for advertiSing, or have your cassette, lets you doodle on your PET
mother withdraw her free paper cups. screen, leaving trails of various
Tape #1 RENUMBER is ashort program used to characters, blanking them out, and so
The first tape sells for $19.95, which renumber BASIC programs, because on. This is an interesting program, but I
seems a little steep, but it contains six PET BASIC does not have this func- prefer a box of crayons - they work in
programs. From a programming stand- tion built-in. However RENUMBER color, too. This tape is only $9.95.
point, the most interesting thing about does not really RENUMBER programs In general, the Peninsula School
these programs is that they're written, (with references to other line numbers) software cassettes are fun to use and
not in BASIC, but in PILOT, a language but just the line numbers themselves. educational (although certainly not at
designed for CAI dialog applications. In other words, 13 GOSUB 132 may be the level of, say, the Huntington Project
But, because the PET itself only knows changed to 50 GOSUB 132, but 132will programs). They are indeed much
BASIC, each program also includes a never be changed. Doing a real better than the schlock that many
PILOT interpreter wr.itten in PET renumber is somewhat trickier. individuals are selling. Contact Com-
BASIC. Thus, to run a PILOT program, The flip side of the tape has puter Project, Peninsula School,
you have PILOT being interpreted by a Kaleidoscope and WSFN on it. Peninsula Way, Menlo Park Ca.
BASIC program, itself interpreted by a
BASIC interpreter. This is not very
Kaleidoscope is a program that does
nothing but make pretty pictures on a
•
efficient on memory or time so you get TV screen, much like the TV Dazzler
the feeling that someone went over- version if you've ever seen it, but not as
board for PILOT. One interesting nifty because the PET version is slower
feature of the PILOT is that it outputs (it's in BASIC) and it's only in black and Oc
word by word, rather than character by white. WSFN, which stands for 00
character, which is somewhat easier to nothing, is a rather sophisticated
read. piece of software, actually a language
The first program on the tape, used to control a turtle on the PET
Hammurabi, is rather close to the screen. This is definitely not first-
BASIC version of the game that has grader stuff, since it involves concepts
been around for a while. Unfortunately, such as moving the turtle on the screen
we couldn't load this program into our and leaving a trail, an accumulator,
PET. Our PET cassette has been branching, and macro-instructions.
aligned at a Commodore Repair Center The manual gives sample macros used
(a story in itself) so we tend to suspect for drawing curves such as "Sierpinski
THEIR PET, which is standard curves" on the screen with WSFN. It
procedure when you can't load would certainly take a long time to
someone else's programs. The other explore the potential of WSFN. Also,
programs on the cassette (they work- the price of this tape is a bit easier to
ed!) are simpler dialogs: GOLD take.
(modified version of Goldilocks and Tape #3
the Three Bears), SKY (A conversation This tape has only two programs.
with the PET about things in the sky), QUEST is a scaled-down version of
NAMES (a dialog about names), and Adventure, one of the ultimate com-
HANDS (which encourages you to puter games in which you explore a
write a poem about your ... ). A copy cavern in search of treasure while you

68 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 COMPUTER SIMULATIONS
AND PROBLEM·SOL VING
IN PROBABILITY
Probability is a subject that is used in a wide variety of
disciplines. Examples of applications can be found in the
study of marketing, population planning, system reliabili-
ty, and even mathematics, itself. The purpose of this paper
is to present problems (and solutions) from these areas to
show how a computer simulation can be used as a John S. Camp
problem-solving strategy in probability.
In probability, problem-solving often involves the use of
known theory [P(AI B)= P(ANB) .;.P(B)j and/or the study of
actual experiments that are designed to suggest or give
answers to questions of interest. For this discussion, is it
the experimental aspect of probability that will be Although the problems could be presented "as is," if
emphasized, for experiments are at the heart ofprobability they are to be used in the classroom they should probably
and are what simulations are all about. be introduced with a little flair. In the population example,
you might ask, "Why is this an important question to some
PROBABILITY AS A MOTIVATOR people? Is there anything wrong with all boys?" Students
Probability is an almost guaranteed motivator. People are usually quite willing to argue the pros and cons of this
enjoy predicting the outcome of elections, estimating the issue especially when there are boys and girls in the class.
chance that a particular team will win a world series, or The bubblegum problem is especially interesting to
applying the subject to games of chance. As other those students who collect cards. Ask if there are any
examples, consider the following: collectors in your class and ask them "How hard is it to
acquire the last card of a set?" You might ask the students
Population Planning for a show of hands for how many think it would take more
Suppose that you have decided that you want exactly than 10,000 packs of gum, how many think less than 200,
four children in your family. What are the chances that the and how many think between 200 and 10,000.
four children will be boys? In introducing the exercise on system reliability, you
might say that the component is an integral part of say a
Marketing VOYAGER spacecraft and it is important to increase its
Assume that you are responsible for marketing reliability.
packages of bubblegum and to increase sales you enclose For each problem, a good strategy is to ask students to
a picture of a famous football player in each package. If guess at the answer before attempting to solve it. If there
there are 25 pictures, what is the expected number of are a wide range of guesses, this will cause students to
packages of bubblegum an individual would have to want to find a solution to determine whose guesses are
purchase to acquire a complete set? correct. For these examples, most students will be
surprised at the answers.
System Reliability
The figure below is an electrical system that was built by EXPERIMENTS AND SIMULATIONS
using five components arranged in parallel and two small Probability tells us something about the "long run." For
systems, A and B, arranged in a series, If each component a fair die, we know that on a Single toss of the die,
has a 60% chance of lasting 1000 hours, what is the chance P(3 showing) = 1/6
that the entire system lasts 1000 hours? and so in the "long run" (i.e. many tosses of the die), I
expect to see 3 appear about 1/6th of the time. This "long
run" aspect of probability can be used to approximate
probabilities simply by collecting data on many trials of an
experiment.
Actual experiments, however, may be costly as well as
time consuming. For example, one could locate 4-child
families and determine the ratio of the number that were all
boys to the total. In the case of the electrical system, one
could build many, turn them on for 1000 hours and
determine the rate of success.
A
An alternative to an actual experiment is a simulation
B (representation) of the experiment. When a simulation can
Paper delivered at NAUCAL 77, Dearborn, Michigan, Nov. 3-5,1977. The be conducted by studying arrangements of random
author is a professor at Wayne State University, College of Education, numbers, then the computer becomes a powerful
Detroit, Michigan. problem-solving tool.

SEPT/OCT 1978 69
PROBABILITY con't ...
SOME SIMULATIONS
The heart of the simulation process is generating
numbers at random. The following two methods are rather
standard; BASIC is the language that is used.

Method 1: Using a String Population Planning Simulation

Depending on the students and their backgrounds, 4-
10 DIM A$(10)
child families can be simulated in a number of ways. One
20 A$= "0123456789" The digit string
method is to generate 4-digit numbers, as in Method 1 of
30 FOR N = 1 TO 100 Generate 100 numbers
this section, and for each number, let an even digit
40 FOR F = 1 TO 4 Each number has 4 digits
represent a boy, an odd digit a girl. Students can count the
50 Z = INT(10*RND(8)) + 1 -An integer between
results. In the run of 100 numbers that follows, there are
1 and 10 inclusive exactly 6 all even digit numbers and so
60 PRINT A$ (Z,Z); Print the Zth digit ..L = .06
70 NEXT F 100
80 PRINT" "., is an approximation of the probability of having an all boy
90 NEXT N 4-child family (the exact probability is .0625). Although
100 END our approximation is fairly good, in practice one would
simulate many more trials to increase the chances that the
Note how A$ contains the possible digits of the 4-digit approximation is close to the true probability.
numbers that are generated and printed in lines 30-90. The LIST
output is 100 4-digit numbers like: RNDDIG
1257 9843 0016 10 DIM A$[10]
where each digit of each number has been generated at 20 A$="0123456789" (SAMPLE RUN AT
random. Another method that will generate individually 30 FOR A=1 TO 100 BOTTOM OF PAGE)
produced digits is: 40 FOR F=1 TO 4
50 Z=INT(10*RND(8))+1
10 FOR N=1 TO 100 100 numbers 60 PRINT A$[Z,Z];
20 X =0 X is the number; 70 NEXT F
initialize to 0 80 PRINT" ";
30 FOR F = 1 TO 4 4 digits in X 90 NEXT A
40 X = 10*X + INT(10*RND(8)) Successive passes 100 END
50 NEXT F through F loop "fills" X
60 PRINT X; If it is not important to display the intermediate results
70 PRINT""; then run a program like the one which follows to simulate
80 NEXT N 1000 families (Here 0 = girl, 1 = boy) and determine if a
90 END family contains all boys (product of digits will be 1). The
Method 2: Generating a number between a and b only information that is printed is the approximated
probability.
In some systems, 0 ~ RND(8) < 1 and so
o~ (b-a) * RND(8) b-a <
a~ (b-a) * RND(8) + a b < ,10 C =0 Start counter
To generate 100 4-digit numbers, run 20 FOR I = 1 TO 1000 1000 trials
10 FOR I = 1 TO 100 30 FOR J = 1 TO 4 4 per family
20 Z = INT (1000*RND(8) + 2000) 40 F(J) = INT (2*RND(8)) . Generate 0 or 1
30 PRINT Z; 50 NEXT J
40 NEXT I 60 IF F(1)*F(2)*F(3)*F(4)=;O THEN 80 If product 0, then at
50 END . least 1 girl. Don't count.
Note that 1000.(Z <3000. The output is 1004- digit 70 C = C+1 Count number of all
$.
numbers like boy families
1257 2639 2411 80 NEXT I
where each number has been generated at random 90 PRINT "P(4BOYS)ISAPPROXIMATELY";C/1000
(rather than each digit of each number). 100 END

RUN
RNDDIG
0819 7981 0598 3150 5916 3600Y 3729 9761 6806 v 9971 6710 7968
7883 1559 6670 6883 3864 0731 5821 6334 0080'1' 7868 8275 7807
9579 3696 0531 5335 7636 4959 5006 4957 0773 0945 2748 8443
7189 3392 3545 3404 2667 2427 1546 0818 3242 5763 8450 7857
1347 1806 9215 3326 4755 1135 4575 8989 0309 6394 3465 9619
9726 1687 5042 0673 4341 7069 4729 2959 6568 4547 6118 3077
6021 3417 9999 1263 5372 9399 8319 8487 9455 2019 5125 8993
2866V 3752 5297 6324 5962 2534 1671 3751 4805 460,5 7660 6488 v
6642 v 9119 2770 5394

70 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 CONCLUSIONS
PROBABILITY con't. The three examples presented in this paper illustrate
how computer simulations can be used to "problem-
solve" in probability.
Bubblegum Simulation Teachers need hot delay the study of probability just
This particular problem is a good one for computer because their students lack theory. The foundation of
simulation, for few people know how to calculate the probability is experiments and young children can be
answer directly. Do you? introduced to questions about chance events and can
Here's how we win proceed. Simulate the purchases conduct expertrnents to suggest answers. Upper elemen-
made by 100 people (Line 50) in the following way: tary school children can study coins, dice, cards, and
(1) Initialize a 25-element matrix A to zero to represent the other objects by actually experimenting with them. As the
2;; pictures. 0 = picture not purchased; 1 = picture children get older and the experiments become more
purchased. complex, simulations become a welcomed relief. In-
(2) Start buying (Line 10). For each purchase, randomly troduce simulations gently and with much practice so that
generate ah integer Z (Line 80) from 1 to 25 inclusive. the concept is understood. One approach is to devise
Set A(Z,1) = 1 to show that the picture of star Z has simulations using tables of random numbers and then lead
been purchased. Check to see if set has been to the computer when appropriate. Good luck. •
completed (Line 120).
(3) Compute average number of purchases required to
complete set.
Here's the program: ,
10 OIM A(25, 1),C(1 ,25),P(1,1),B(100, 1),0(1,100)
20 MAT B = ZER
30 MAT C = CON
40 MAr 0 = CON
50 FOR I='1 TO 100 100 trials
60 MAT A == ZER
10 FOR J = 1 TO 500 Allow for at most 500 purchases
80 Z = INT (25*RND(8)+1 Generate integers 1 to 25
90 A(Z,1)=1 Star Z purchased
100 MAT P = C*A Product is the sum of the elements of A
110 B(I,1) = B(I,1) + 1
120 IF P(1,1) = 25 THEN 140 If sum is 25 you have entire collection
130 NEXT J
140 NEXT I
150 MAT P = D*S
160 PRINT"EXPECTED NUMBER OF PURCHASES IS ABOUT'; P(1,1)/100
170 END
System, Reliability , Send for FREE catalog .•
The following program, when run, simulates an experi-
ment to approximate the probability that the system 1~~'I'I~um Dept. C
described earlier works for 1000 trials. The program uses Ward·WhiddenHouselThe Hill
these facts: Portsmouth,NH 03801 USA
(1) A system made up of components arranged in series,
will work if and only if all components work. , CIRCLE 153 ON READER SERVICE CARD
(2) A system made up of components arranged in parallel
will work when at least one component works.

5 S=O P.E.T.TM PRODUCTS

10 FOR I = 1 TO 500 Try 500 systems SOFTWAREIACCESSORIESIHARD,WARE
20 FOR I = 1 TO 5 5 components Momory E,,-plllns;on!!·3',743 Bytes Freel·NEECO now has internal memory
Expansion Boards Available for your PET! 16K. 24K and 32K Memory
Configurations. Call or write NEECO and ask lor our 'Free' Software and
30 C(J) = INT(10*RND(8))+1 Integer between 1 and 10 inclusive Hardware Directory. Power up \0 32K Bytes! Gall NEECO for more info

40 IF C(J» 6 THEN 70 If C(J)=7,8,9, or 10, then C(J) fails Software-NEECe has too many programs \0 list them all here! .C::~II or
write and ask lor our "Free" Directory! ••Software Authors!·NEECO
50 C(J) = 1 Replace C(J) by 1 to meah it works offers 25% Royalties on Pet programs with nationwide crsurbuttont-Cau
NEECe for additional information on our 25% Royalty Program.
60 GO TO 80
70 C(J) = o
. PET & Perlpherels-NEECO otters fast loff the shelf?) delivery schedules
Replace C(J) by 0 to mean it fails lor the Pel Compute, and Pe,ipherel 2020 P,inte,. NEECO also offers
excellent personal & Warranty servtcet!t Interested in a Pet? Call and
80 NEXT J request our P.E.T. Info Pak. Feel free to call and ask Questions.

90 IF C(1)=1- or C(2)=1 or C(3)=1 THEN 110 Does subsystem A work? The Music Ball- Music Composer and sound effects generator allows you
to compose and hear music on your Pel! -Program & Hardware allows
100GOTO 140 you to display notes. hear the notes. save pages 'of mUSiCon tape for tatar
playback or modification! The Music: BOil actually displays the notes as a
110 IF C(4)=1 or C(5)=1 THEN 130 Does subsystem B work? song or tune is played!·Allows you to add sound effects to your own Pel
Programs.·Endless Possibililies!-AII Cassette Software, plug·in Hardware.
120GOTO 140 and Music 8011. instructions lor only $49.95! Music BOll Fits right inside
your Pel·No assembly reQuiredl Music Ball even plays random tunes!
130S=S+1 If both work, count as a success NEECO Dust COfer· Protect your ell Cover your Pel's delicate circuitry
14D NEXT I , and keyboard from oust that can, over time, cause intermittent chip
failures I Heavy, clear ctasuc Dust Cover shows of1 your Pel while
150 PRINT "RELIABILITY ABOUT" S/500 protecting il Irom dust sours, and rnose inevitable 'Unwanted Sticky
fingers'! Manufactured to rest as long as your Pen-only $17.95
160 END VISA OR Me Phone orders AcceRled··(4% Surcharge on Hardware)

The reader should note that there are other ways to

accomplish the test above. For example, lines 90-130
COUldbe replaced with
90 IF (C(1) + C(2) + C(3)) * (C(4) + C(5)) = 0 THEN 110
CIRCLE 182 ON READER SERVICE CARD
100 S ':' S+1
110 NEXT I

SEPT/OCT 1976 71
 Books on Games and Reproduced with permission from the Computing Newsletter, Craqrnor
Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80907. For a complete copy of the annual
"Books Useful in Teaching Business Applications of the Computer" issue,

Simulation Techniques send $4 to the Newsletter. (Note: C.D.C. = Control Data Corp.; M-H =
McGraw-Hili; P-H = Prentice-Hall; W-A = Wright-Allen Press.)

Type Style

Author ntl. Publilh.r Dat. Pa•••

Business Garnes
Barton A Primer on Simulation and Gaming P-H 1970 239 x X
Belch Contemporary Garnes Vol. I Directory Gale 1973 560 X G
Belch Contemporary Games Vol. II Bibliography Gale 1974 408 X G
Coppard,Goodman, ed Urban Gaming/Simulation '77 Michigan 1977 376 X G
Duke Gaming: The Future's Language Sage 1974 223 X X
Frazer Business Decision Simulation:A T/S Approach Reston 1975 160 X G
Frazer Introduction to Business Simulation Reston 1977 131 X X
Gibbs Handbook of Garnes and Simulatlon Exercises Sage 1974 226 X X
Greenbalt, Duke Gaming Simulation: Rationale,Design&Applic. Halsted 1975 435 X G
Henshaw, Jackson The Executive Game Irwin 1972 161 X G
Inbar, Stoll Simulation and Gaming in Social Science FreePress 1972 313 X R
Jensen, The Business Management Laboratory B. P. 1. 1973 87 X G
J2nsen, Cherrington Manual for the Business Management Lab B. P. 1. 1977 200 X G
Maidment, Bronstein Simulation Garnes: Design, Implementation Merrill 1973 99 X X
.•
c
o
McFarlan, et al
Scott, Strickland
The Management Game
Tempomatic IV: A Management Simulation
Macmillan 1970
Houghton 1974
153
77
X
X
G
G
Smith, et al Integrated Simulation South-W 1914 56 X G
~~
Q. Smith Simulating Gaming C.D.C. 1973 128 X P
Do Zuckerman, Horn The Guide to Simulation Games Info.Res. 1970 334 X X
«
~
.,
'5Do Simulation Techn.
E Aneld, Graham introduction to Urban Dynamics W-A 1976 340 X X
o
u Birtwhistle, et al SIMULA Begin Auerbach 1973 391 X X
Bobillier, .et aI Simulation With GPSS and GPSS V P-H 1976 495 X X
Chen, Kaczka Operations & Sys. Anal.: A Simulation Appr. A-Bacon 1974 452 X X
Colella, et a I Systems Simulation: Methods & Applications D.C.Heath 1974 290 X X
Forrester Collected Papers of Jay W. Forrester W-A 1975 284 X X
Franta The Process View of Simulation Elsevier 1977 244 X X
Gordon The Applic: of GPSS V to Discrete System Sim. P-H 1975 389 X X
Greenberg GPSS Primer Hiley 1972 324 X X
House, ed. Business Simulation for Decision Making Petrocell 1977 364 X R
Lewis Distribution Sampling for Computer Simulation Lexington 1975 150 X X
Mass Readings in Urban Dynamics: Vol. 1 W-A 1974 303 X R
Moore, Clayton GERT'Modeling and Simulation Petrocell 1976 230 X X
Padulo, Arbib System Theory--Cont., Discrete Systems Saunders 1974 779 X X
Poole, et al Using Simulation to Solve Problems M-H 1977 333 X X
Pritsker, Young Simulation With GASP-PL/l Wiley 1975 335 X X
Scalzo, Hughes Elementary Computer-Assisted Statistics Petrocell 1976 345 X X
ScFiriDer~ Simulation Using GPSS Wiley 1974 533 X X
Shannon Systems Simulation: The Art and Science P-H 1975 387 x X
Speckhar.t, Green A Guide to Using CSMP P-H 1976 325 X X
Zeigler Theory of Modeling and Simulation Wiley 1976 435 X X

I SUPPOSE'

©CREATIVE COMPUTING

72 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 APPLE II SERIAL 1/0
INTERFACE * Part no. 106
Part no. 2 • Stand alone TVT
Baud rate is continuously adjustable • 32 char/line, 16
from 0 to 30,000. Plugsinio any periph- lines, modifications
for 64 char/line in- Part no. 300
eral connector. Low current drain. RS-
cluded • Parallel ••8K Altair bus memory ••
232 input and output. On board switch
selectable 5 to 8 data bits, 1 or 2 stop ASCII (TTL) input. Uses 2102 Static memory chips" Mem-
bits, and parity or no parity either odd or Video output • 1K ory protect ••Gold contacts" Wait states ••On
even • Jumper selectable address • on board memory. board regulator ••S-100 bus compatible" Vector
SOFTWARE. Input and Output routine Output for compu- input option ••TRI state buffered" Board only
from monitor or BASIC to teletype or other serial printer. ter controlled cur-
ser • Auto scroll • $22.50; with parts $160.00
• Program for using an Apple II for a video or an intelli-
gent terminal. Also can output in correspondence code Non-destructive curser • Curser inputs: up, down, left,
to interface with some selectrics. Board only - $15.00; right, home, EOL, EOS • Scroll up, down. Requires +5
volts at 1.5 amps, and -12 volts at 30 mA • All 7400,TTL
with parts - $42.00; assembled and tested - $62.00.
chips. Char. gen. 2513 • Upper case only. Board only
$39.00; with parts $145.00
RF MODULATOR *
MODEM * Part no. 107

Part no. 109 TIDMA * ••Converts video to AM modu-

lated RF, Channels 2 or 3. So
••Type 103 ••Full or half powerful almost no tuning is re-
duplex" Works up to 300 quired. On board regulated
baud ••Originate or Ans- power supply makes this ex-
wer ••No coils, only low tremely stable. Rated very
cost components ••TTL highly in Doctor Dobbs' Journal. Recommended
input and output-serial •• by Apple .••Power required is 12 volts AC CT., or
Connect 8 ohm speaker +5 volts DC ••Board $7.60; with parts $13.50
and crystal mic. directly to board" Uses XR FSK
demodulator" Requires +5 volts ••Board $7.60;
with parts $27.50
RS 232/TTY*
DC POWER SUPPLY * . .
Part no. 112
••Tape lntertace Direct Memory Access" Record INTERFACE
and play programs without bootstrap loader (no
Part no. 6085 prom) has FSK encoder/decoder for direct con-
••Board supplies a regulated +5 volts nections to low cost recorder at 1200 baud rate, Part no. 600
at 3 amps., +12, -12, and -5 volts at and direct connections for inputs and outputs to a •• Converts RS-232 to 20mA
1 amp." Power required is8 volts AC digital recorder at any baud rate .••S-100 bus com- current loop, and 20niA current
at 3 amps., and 24 volts AC CT. at 1.5 patible ••Board only $35.00; with parts $110.00 loop to RS-232 • Two separate
amps. •• Board only $12.50; with circuits ••Requires +12 and -12
parts excluding transformers $42.50 volts ••Board only $4.50, with
parts $7.00

UART & BAUD RATE

Part no. 111 GENERATOR * RS 232/TTL*
••Play and record Kansas
Part no. 101
City Standard tapes ••
Converts a lowcost tape
• Converts serial to parallel
and parallel to serial. Low
INTERFACE
recorder to a digital re- cost on board baud rate
corder ••Works up to 1200 generator. Baud rates:110, Part no. 232
baud" Digital in and out 150, 300, 600, 1200, and ••Converts TTL to RS-232,
are TTL-serial ••Output of 2400 • Low power drain +5 and converts RS-232 to
board connects to mic. in volts and -12 volts required TTL ••Two separate circuits
• TTL compatible. All characters contain a start bit,5 to ••Requires -12 and +12 volts
of recorder ••Earphone of
8 data bits, 1 or 2 stop bits, and either odd or even parity.
recorder connects to input on board ••No coils •• ••All connections go to a 10 pin gold plated edge
• All connections go to a 44 pin gold plated edge connec-
Requires +5 volts, low power drain" Board $7.60; tor. Board only $12'.00;with parts $35.00 with connector connector ••Board only $4.50; with parts $7.00
with parts $27.50 add $3.00 with connector add $2.00

ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS Dept. x, P.O. Box 21638, San Jose, Ca. USA 95151.

~.
To Order: Mention part number and description. For parts kits add "A" to part number. In USA, Shippingpaid for orders accompanied by check, money order,or
Master Charge, BankAmericard, or VISA number,expiration date and signature. Shipping charges added to C.O.D.orders.California residentsadd 6.5%
for tax. Outside USA add 10%for air mail postage, no C.O.D.'s.Checks and money orders must be payable in US dollars. Parts kits include sockets for all
ICs, components. and circuit board. Documentation is included with all products. All items are in stock, and will be shipped the day order is received via
first class mail. Prices are in US dollars. No open accounts. To eliminate tariff in Canada boxes are marked "Computer Parts:' Dealer inquiries invited.
24 Hour Order Line: (408) 226-4064 >\' Circuits designed by John Bell
 Jury Selection:
A Simulation
Gary Greenberg

Most people get their picture of the criminal justice Additionally, when probing into the biases and prej-
system from television, which is like studying public udices of a juror, the defense attorney rarely accepts the
schools by watching "Welcome Back Kotter." juror's word. The skill in jury selection usually revolves
No criminal trial gets resolved during a commercial around the attempt to place the juror ina social category
break. And I have yet to meet a lawyer who claims to have and play the percentages. Little nuances in the way the
seen a witness break down on the stand and admit he was juror answers also playa role.
caught lying, no matter how obvious the untruth. Rarely is For the most part, the defense attorney and the
a surprise witness brought in at the last minute to explode prosecutor make broad assumptions and look for the
the whole case. exceptions. The prosecutor will usually challenge all
In fact, the average criminal trial is a slow, plodding nonwhite minorities, young people, and people in social-
adventure. Most cases fall into a routine pattern consisting service work or involved in arty or radical causes. The
of one or two essential witnesses. In the robbery case, the defense attorney will usually challenge white ethnics,
issue is the victim's memory of the perpetrator's older people and government employees. Of course there
appearance. In the burglary or drug case, the issue is are exceptions. If you have a police defendant, the defense
usually the credibility of the police officer's testimony. and prosecution might reverse polarity in their choices.
Very few other kinds of cases go to trial. Similarly, for example, if you have a black victim and a
white defendant. Crass as it sounds, this is the way jury
selection is frequently conducted.
However, there is a big kicker. Each side is only allowed
a certain number of challenges without having to state a
The prosecutor will usually challenge a
reason. In NE)wYork, on robbery or burglary in the first
all nonwhite minorities, young peo- degree, you get 15 such challenges. This greatly hand-
dicaps the defense in that there are substantially more
ple, and people in social-service work
or involved in arty or radical causes. SEX JOB RACE AGE
Male (50-0) Professional (10-5) Wasp (25-7) 20 (10-5)
Female (50-2)Civil Service (15-8) Irish (15-10) 30 (20-8)
Blue Collar (30-7) Italian (10-12) 40 (20-10)
In New York City, where most of my observations take White Collar (15-6) Jewish (5-11) 50 (25-12)
place, at least 90% of the defendants are black or hispanic. Unemployed (10-3) Nordic (10-13) 60 (25-15)
Over 70% of the jurors are white. A small percentage of the Retired (20-10) Black (20-3)
more than 500,000 arrests ever reach a trial stage. Almost Slavic (10-15)
everything is disposed of through plea bargaining. . Hispanic (5-5)
But there are cases that do go to trial. And in such Fig. 1. This figure shows the percentage and point
situations the selection of the jury is a key procedure. distributions for each category. The first number in the
Though ju rors are always told that a defendant is innocent parenthesis is the percentage of the category allotted to
until proven guilty, the defense attorney acts on the that member of the category. The second number
assumption that the juror believes the defendant is guilty indicates how many points are allotted for that member of
until proven innocent. the category; that is, Irish constitute 15% of the racial
category and add 10 points to the jury member's total.
Gary Greenberg, 35-Q3 80th St., Jackson Heights, NY 11372

74 CREATIVE COMPUTING
unsatisfactory jurors in the pool from the defense point of Thus: A$ (1,N(I,3)) gives the Ith juror's sex.
view than from the prosecution point of view. That is, there A$(2,N(I,5)) gives the Ith juror's job.
are a lot more older white ethnics than there 'are young A$(3,N(I,4)) gives the 1th juror's race.
blacks. The defense attorney approaches jl:lry selection, . N(I,2) gives the Ith juror's age.
never expecting a sympathetic jury, but merely trying to The M array from (1,2)(1,5) correspond element for ele-
minimize the bias against the client. And once he has used ment with the N array with each element of M containing
up his challenges the attorney is stuck with whoever is the bias points for each corresponding element of N.
subsequently selected, unless the judge can be convinced M(I,1) contains the sum of M(I,2)-M(I,5).
that the jury is inherently biased against the defense, a Lines 430-470: selects jurors for consideration. Line
difficult task to be sure. 440 checks the value of N(I,1). N(I,1) is the selection status
Figure 1 is an outline of the model for the jury selection. for each juror seat. IF N(I,1 )=0 then the seat is vacant and
There are four major categories: age, sex, race and job. has to be filled, in which case the program branches to
Each element in each category is assigned a probable subroutine 2030 to select the juror's characteristics forthe
percentage and a probable anti-defendant bias factor. The potential new juror.
program presents a bias in favor of conviction. The Lines 515-615: This is the portion of the program that
challenge is to minimize that bias. makes sure the proper challenges are made, and records
You will be given ten challenges. After each round of the challenges.
displaying the potential jurors' characteristics, you will be Line 690: Tests to see if jury is complete.
asked to make any challenges. If you do not challenge a Line 700: Checks to see if any challenges left.
juror during the round in which he is placed in the jury box, Line 710: Sends you back for additional round of
you will not be able to reconsider later. On each round you challenges if the jury is incomplete and you have
will only be shown those new jurors that are up for challenges left.
consideration. Once you are out of challenges you will be Lines 770-790: Selects the remaining jurors when jury is
stuck with whatever jurors the computer picks to complete incomplete and challenges are exhausted.
the twelve-person jury. Afterthejury is completed, you will Lines 1070-1140: Prints out the first ballot.
be shown the completed jury and the characteristics for Lines 1050: Generates the verdict testing number. To
your study. Then you will be shown the first ballot vote and increase the chances of acquittal, reduce the multiplier of
the final verdict. RND(1). To increase the chance of a conviction, raise the
multiplier.
Lines 1150-1230: Determine final verdict.
Statistics at best give a guideline for Lines 2030-2410: This is the subroutine that selects the
characteristics of each juror. Each element in each
guessing, but guarantee nothing category is independently determined, with one excep-
tion. If the juror is determined to be retired (line 2270) then
about any specific individual. the age is set at 60 (line 2280).
Line 90: To increase the number of challenges, increase
K.
At this time, when many people are sensitive to group
slanders or slurs, I think a few cautionary notes are in Dialect Notes
order. The allotment of bias points should in no way be This program is written in PET basic and is esthetically
used to believe I have a positive or negative view of any designed for a 40-character-width screen. The language
particular group in this study. And yes, of course, in no should be compatible with at least Altai rand OSI basic and
way can one determine what any specific member of a should be easily convertible to other Basics.
group would do, given a statistical sample about that In PET Basic a ? can be used instead of the instruction
group. Statistics at best give a guideline for guessing, but PRINT. In line 3000, I used the statement ?"CLR". This
guarantee nothing about any specific individual. The clears the screen and is done on the PETby holding the
assignment of zero bias points to males does not mean SHIFT and CLR at the same time. On the PET, this will be
that men are not antidefendant and that women are. It displayed as a heart on a reverse field. It is not necessary
means that, I had to have some point which was ground for the program to use that instruction if it is not available
zero because, the program is based on a cumulative scale. to you. If omitted make sure to eliminate all references to
In the model, sex is the least significant factor involved GOSUB 3000.
in the jury-selection criteria. However it is believed by PET Basic does not requi re the RAN DaM IZE statement.
many attorneys that females on average are likely to IF your version does, make sure to include it.
exhibit a slight more bias than a male towards a criminal Finally, the program takes up about 4200 bytes with
defendant. Therefore zero points were assigned to the instructions and about 3200 bytes without the instruc-
male and two points to the female. These are the two tions. •
lowest assigned bias points in the mode\.

How The Program Works

I have set upthree arrays. The A$(3,8) array contains the
string names for race, job, and sex. The N(12,6) array 5 REM Jury
contains the numeric description of the elements in each 10 REII
15 REII
JURY Program
category for each juror. The M(12,6) array contains the
bias points for each element for each juror. The M and N
20 REI! COPYYRIGHT 1978 BY Listing
25 REII GARY GREENBERG
arrays can be redimensioned to (12,5) since the extra
30 REM
column was just left over from my experimenting with 35 REM PROGRAMMED IN PET
additional characteristics. 40 REH BASIC
With (I) standing for the Ith juror, N(I,2) is equal to 45 REI!
either 20,30,40,50 or 60 and gives the age of the Ith juror. 50 REM A SIMULATION OF THE
N(I,3) equals 1 or 2 and gives the sex of the Ith juror. N(I,4) 55 REM EXPERIENCE OF PICKING
is an integer from 1 to 8 and represents the race of the Ith 60 REM A JURY
juror. And similarly N(I,5) represents the job classification. 65 REM

SEPT/OCT 1978 75
Jury Listing cont'd ....
730 FOR 1=1 TO 6:PRINT:NEXT I:GOSUB 3200
740 PRINT TAB(6);"YOU ARE OUT OF CHALLENGES."
80 DIM N(12,6),H(12,6),A$(3,8) 750 PRINT" YOU GET THE NEXT"j12-T;"JURORS IN. THE BOX."
90 K=tO:S=D:E=O:T=O 760 PRltH TAB(13);"HERE THEY AR£.":GOSUB 3200:GOSUB 3100
100 AS(1,1)="MALE":A$(1,2):"FEHALE" 770 FOR 1=1 TO 12: IF N(l,l) <> 0 GOTO 790
110 ASI2,t)."PROFESSIQNAL":A$(2,2)="CIVIL SERVICE" 780 GOSUI) 2030:605U8 3300
120 .$(2,31="SLUE COLLAR":A$(2,4)z"YHITE COLLAR" 790 NEXT I
130 A$(2,5)="UNEMPLOYED":A$(2,6)=·RETIRED~ 800 GOSua 3200:G05UB 3400
140 ASI3,11="UASP":A$(3,2Iz"IRISH" 900 GOSUB 3000:GOSUB 3200
150 A$13,3)="ITALIAN":A$(3,4)="JEUISH" 910 PRINT TAB(61;"THE JURY IS NOU COMPLETE."
160 A$13,5)="NORDIC":A$(3,6):"BLACK" 920 PRINT TAB(6);"HERE IS THE FINhL SEATING.-
170 A$13,71."SLAVIC":A$(3,81="HISPANIC" 930 60SUB 3200:G05U8 3100
180 fOR 1=1 TO 12:FOR J=1 TO 6 940 FOR 1=1 TO 12:GOSUB 3300:NEXT I
190 Hll,JI=O:M(I,JI=O 950 eOSUB 3200:G05UB 3400
200 NEXT J:HEXT I 1050 RI=5+56*RND(t)
210 GOSiJB 3000:605U8 3200 1055 GOSUIL 3000 :GOSUB 3200
220 PRINt TABI 181;"jURY" 1060 PRINT:PRINT TAB(14);"FlR5T BhLLOT-
230 PRINT TAB(19);"BY" 1 065 G05UB 3200
240 PRINT TAB(12);"GARY GREENBERG" 1070 FOR 1=1 TO 12
250 GOSUS 3200 1080 H(I,I):M(I,2)+H(I,3)+HII,4)+H(I,5)
260 PRINT:PRINT:PRINT:PRINT TAB(21; 1090 H=M(I,11
270 INPUT" DO You WANT INSTRUCTIONS (Y OR N)";O$ 1100 PRINT TAB(91;"JUROR M";:IF 1(10 THEN PRINT TAB(t7);
290 IF LEFT$IQ$,11 <> "Y" GOTO 420 1105 PRINT I
290 BOBUB 3000:PRINT TAB(13);"INSTRUCTIONS" 1110 IF M<RI GOTO 1130
300 PRINT TAB(13);"------------" 1120 PRINT"SUILTY!";GOTO 1140
310 PRINT "YOU UILL BE SHOUN A PANEL OF POTENTIAL" 1130 PRINT "NOT GUILTY!"
315 PRINT "JURORS ALONG UITH SOME BACKGROUND DATA.":PRINT 1140 M=O:NEXT I:GOSUB 3200
320 PRINT "THE DATA REFLECTS FACTS THAT MANY" 1150 V=O:FOR 1=1 TO 12:V=V+M(I,t):NEXT I
325 PRINT "ATTORNEYS THINK WILL AFFECT A JUROR'S" 1190 Vl=V/12:IF VI<RI GOTO 1230
310 PRINT "FINAL VERDICT. AFTER EXAMINING THE PANEL" 1210 PRINT:PRINT:PRItH "FINAL VERDICT: GUILTY!":GOTO 2600
335 PRINT "YOU WILL BE ASKED HOU MANY CHALLENGES" 1220 IF Z2=0 THEN 1240
340 PRINT "YOU UISH TO USE. YOU YILL HAVE A TOTAL"
350 PRINT "OF 10. YOU UILL BE ASKEll (.IHICHJURORS" 1230 PRINT "FINAL VERDICT: NOT GUILTY''':GOTO 2600
2030 R=100*RNDII)
355 PRINT "YOU ARE SOING TO CHALLEN6E.":PRINT 2040 N(I,2)=20:"II,2)=5
3~O PRINT "ANY JUROR NOT CHALLENGED UILL" 2050 IF R)10 THEN NII,2)~30:HII,2)=8
365 PRINT "BE SEATED AND HAY NOT BE CHALLENGED" 2()60 IFR>30. THEN NO,2)=40:M<I,2)=10
370PfHNT "LATER. If YOU EXHAUST YOUR CHALLENGES" 2070 IF R)50 THEN NII,2)=50:HII,2)=12
375 PRINT "THE COMPUTER UILL SELECT THE REMAINING" 2080 IF R)75 THEN NII,2)=60:H(I,2)=15
385 PRINT "JURORS. UHEN THE JURY IS COMPLEtED, YOU· 2140IHl,3)=I:R=RNDI1)
390 PRINT "UILL GET A LISTING OF THE JURY MEHBERS,· 2150 If R>.5 THEN N(I,3)=2:M(I,3)=2
395 PRINT "THEIR DATA, THEIR FIRST VOTE, THE FINAL" 2220 NII,4)=I:HII,4)=5:R=RHD(I)*100
400 PRINT ·COLLECTIVE VERDICT.":PRINT 2230 IF R)10 THEN N(I,4)=2:M(I,4)=a
405 PRINT "THE DATA IS BASED ON A CRIMINAL TRIAL." 2240 IF R)25 THEN NII,4)=3:M(I,41=7
410 GOSUB 3400 2250 IF R)55 THEN NII,4)=4:MII,4)=6
420 GOSUB 3000:PRINT:GOSUB 3100 2260 IF R)70 THEN Nll,4)=5:M(I,4)=3
430 FOR 1=1 TO 12 2270 IF R>80 THEN NII,4)=6:I1II,4)=10
440 IF N(l,l) <> 0 GOTO 470 2280 IF R>80 THEN NII,2)=60:M(I,2)=15
450 aOSUB 2030 2320 IlII,5)=1:MII,S)=7:R=RND(1 )*100
460 60SU~ 3300 2340 IF R>25 THEN N(I,5)=2:I1II,5)=10
470 NEXT I 2350 IF R)40 THEN N(I,5)=3:"(1,51=12
510 GOSUB 3200 2360 IF R)50 THEN N(I,SI=4:Mll,5)=11
515 PRINT ·YOU HAVE·;K;" CHALLENGES LEFT." 2370 If R>55 THEN N(1,5)=5:M(I,51=13
520 INPUT "HOU MANY CHALLENGES";C:C=IHT(C) 2380 IF R)65 THEN 1'1(1,5):6:1111,5)=3
525 IF C>12-T GOTO 510 2390 IF R>85 THEN N(I,5)=7:M(I,5)=15
530 IF C>K GOTO 510 2400 IF R>95 THEN NII,S)=8:H(I,5)=5
540 IF C<1 60TO 590 2410 RETURN
542 K=K-C 2600 INPUT "DO YOU UANT TO TRY ANOTHER CASE";ZS
545 FOR J=1 TO C 2610 If LEFT$(Z$,I)="Y" GOIO 90
550 PRINT "CHALLENGE M";J;:IHPUT Y 2630 PRINT:PRINT "THERE BEING NO fURTHER BUSINESS BEFOREu
552 IF Y<I GOTO 550 2640 PRINT "THE COURT, UE STAND IN RECESS."
554 IF Y>12 GO TO 550 2650 GOTO 9999
555 IF 1'11',1) <> 0 GOTO 550 3000 PRINT "ClR":RETURN
560 NCY,II=2:NEXT J 3100 PRINT TABI141;"JURY PANEL"
590 FOR 1=1 TO 12:IF N(l,!) <> 2 THEN N(I,I)=I 3110 PRINT TAB(14);"----------"
595 NEXT I 3120 PRINT" g SEX AGE RACE' JOB"
600 FOR 1=1 TO 12:IF N(I,II=2 THEN N(I,l)=O 3130 G05UB 3200
605 tlEXT I 3140 RETURN
610 FOR 1=1 TO 12:IF N<I,1 )=0 THEN E=E+1 3200 FOR J=1 TO 39:PRINT "-";:NEXT J:PRINT
615 NEXT I 3210 RETURN
620 T=12-E 3300 IF 1(10 THEN PRINT TAB(II;
625 PRINT "YOU HAVE SEATED";T;" JURORS" 3305 PRINT I;TAB(4);"l";A$(I,NII,3);
630 GOSUI) 3400 3310 PRINT TAS(12);NH,2);TABI17);AS(3,N<I,5);
690 If T=12 GOTO 900 3320 PRINT TAB(26);A$12,N(I,4»):RETURN
700 IF K=O GOTO 720 3400 PRINT TA8(10);
710 E=0:60TO 420 3410 INPUT "HIT 'RETURN' TO CONTINUE";O$:RETURN
720 GaSUs 3000 9999 END

CREATIVE COMPUTING
 Sample Run JURY PAIIEL
----------
RUN II SEX AGE RACE JOB
CLR ---------------------------------------
1 :FEMALE 60 BLACK RETIRED
JURY 6 :FEHALE 60 IRISH CIVIL SERVICE YOU ARE OUT OF CHALLENGES.
BY 7 :FEHALE 50 JEWISH BLUE COLLAR YOU GET THE NEXT 1 JURORS IN THE BOX.
GARY GREENBERG 11 :HALE 60 IRISH RETIRED HERE THEY ARE'.
12 :IiALE 60 HORDIC BLUE COLLAR
JURY PANEL
YOU HAVE 5 CHALLENGES LEfT.
HOU MANY CHALLENGES? 2 II SEX AGE RACE JOB
DO YOU UANT INSTRUCTIONS (Y OR H', Y CHALLENGE M 1 1 6
CLR CHALLENGE " 2 ? 7 7 :IIALE 60 UASP RETIRED
INSTRUCTIONS YOU HAVE SEATED 10 JURORS
------------ HIT 'RETURN' TO CONTINUE? HIT 'RETURN' TO CONTINUE?
YOU UILL BE SHOUN A PANEL OF POTENTIAL CLR CLR
JURORS ALOIIG UITH SOME BACKGROUND DATA. ---------------------------------------
THE JURY IS IIOU COMPLETE.
THE DATA REFLECTS fACTS THAT MANY HERE IS THE FINAL SEATING.
ATTORNEYS THINK UILL AFFECT A JUROR'S
FINAL VERDICT. AFTER EXAMINING THE PANEL JURY PANEL
YOU UILL BE ASKED HOU MANY CHALLENGES
YOU UISH TO USE. YOU UILL HAVE A TOTAL II SEX AGE RACE JOB
OF 10. YOU UILL BE ASKED UHICH JURORS
YOU ARE GOING TO CHALLENGE. 1 :FEMALE 60 BLACK RETIRED
2 :I1ALE 50 BLACK PROfESSIONAL
ANY JUROR NOT CHALLENGED UILL 3 :MALE 60 BUICK UNEMPLOYED
BE SEATED AND MAY NOT BE CHALLENGED 4 :HALE 60 BLACK CIVIL SERVICE
LATER. If YOU EXHAUST YOUR CHALLENGES
5 :IiALE 50 NORDIC BLUE COLLAR
THE COMPUTER UILl SELECT THE REMAINING 6 :HALE 30 ITALIAN UNEMPLOYED
JURORS. UHEN THE JURY IS COMPLETED, YOU 7 :MALE 60 UASP RETIRED
WILL GET A LISTING OF THE JURY MEHBERS,
8 :MALE 30 BLACK BLUE COLLAR
THEIR DATA, THEIR FIRST VOTE, THE FINAL
9 :FEHALE 30 NORDIC, UNEMPLOYED
COLLECTIVE VERDICT.
10 :MALE 40 BLACK UNEMPLOYED
THE DATA IS BASED ON A CRIMINAL TRIAL. 11 :ItALE 60 IRISH RETIRED
HIT 'RETURN' TO CONTINUE? 12 :HALE 60 NORDIC BLUE COLLAR
CLR
HIT 'RETURN' TO CONTINUE?
CLR

JURY PANEL
FIRST BALLOT
II SEX AGE RACE JOB
JURY PANEL JUROR II
1 :MALE 30 NORDIC UHITE COLLAR NOT GUILTY!
2 :HALE 50 BLACK PROFESSIONAL II SEX AGE RACE JOB JUROR Ii 2
3 :HALE 60 BLACK UNEMPLOYED NOT GUILTY!
4 :MALE 60 BLACK CIVIL SERVICE 6 :FEHALE 50 IRISH UHITE COLLAR JUROR" 3
5 :HALE 50 NORDIC BLUE COLLAR 7 :MALE 60 BLACK CIVIL SERVICE NOT GUILTY!
6 :HALE 60 SLAVIC BLUE COLLAR JUROR II 4
7 :FEMALE 60 SLAVIC BLUE COLLAR YOU HAVE 3 CHALLENGES LEFT. NOT GUILTY!
8 :MALE 30 BLACK BLUE COLLAR HOU MANY CHALLENGES? 2 JUROR II 5
9 :FEMALE 30 NORDIC UNEMPLOYED CHALLENGE III? 6 NOT GUILTY!
10 :HALE 40 BLACK UNEMPLOYED CHALLENGE II 2 ? 7 JUROR II 6
11 :MALE 60 UASP UNEHPLOYED YOU HAVE SEATED 10 JURORS NOT GUILTY!
12 :FEMALE 60 JEUISH RETIRED HIT 'RETURN' TO CONTINUE? JUROR II 7
CLR NOT GUILTY!
YOU HAVE 10 CHALLENGES LEFT. JUROR II 8
HOU MANY CHALLENGES? 5 JURY PANEL NOT GUILTY!
CHALLENGE " 1 1 1 JUROR II 9
CHALLENGE M 2 ? 6 II SEX AGE RACE JOB NOT GUILTY!
CHALLENGE U 3 ? 7 JUROR M 10
CHALLENGE" 4 ? 11 6 :HALE 30 ITALIAN UNEItPLOYED NOT GUILTY!
CHALLENGE ft 5 ? 12 7 :MALE 60 SLAVIC RETIRED JUROR II 11
YOU HAVE SEATED 7 JURORS NOT GUILTY!
HIT 'RETURN' TO CONTINUE? YOU HAVE 1 CHALLENGES LEFT. JUROR II 12
CLR HOU MANY CHALLENGES? 1 NOT GUILTY!
CHALLENGE Ill? 7
YOU HAVE SEATED 11 JURORS FINAL VERDICT: NOT GUILTY!
HIT 'RETURN' TO CONTINUE? DO YOU UANT TO TRY ANOTHER CASE? N
ClR
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS BEFORE
THE COURT, UE STAND IN RECESS.
OK
SEPT/OCT 1978 77
 Charles Staelin at Amherst introduces students to tough
management decisions via a simulation game.

Real World Games

by Robert D. Chadbourne
Sales forecasting, model building, School of Industrial Administration at
production scheduling, profit analysis Carnegie Mellon University in
and cash flow. The corporate level Pittsburgh.
decision making usually made by the Staelin, an affable bearded young
man with a title on the door and some man of 32 had heard it all before like
I am by natu re a pack rat; I gray at the temples. So who in the name every other prof. "Why do I have to
seldom throw anything out except of sanity would ever turn over that kind learn this?" "Why aren't you getting us
under great duress, or until it has of authority to a bunch of nineteen and ready for the Heal World?" And the new
twenty year olds? modern version of complaint reaching
gathered dust for at least 10 years.
Well, it was just a year or so ago Charles P. Staelin, Associate faculty ears these days: "How is this
that I finally tossed out my files and Professor of Economics at Amherst relevant?"
notes from graduate school. And College for one. Staelin's thirty Junior There's not much more of that talk
Economics majors have been cast into being heard at Amherst. Staelin, a
then this article arrived last week.
leadership roles in phantom multi- Riverside, Connecticut native who
What's the connection? Read on.
million dollar corporations in a game joined the Amherst faculty three years
This article is about one of the
known as a management simulation ago after completing all his Economics
most incredibly complete and
exercise developed by the Graduate schooling through the doctorate level
sophisticated simulations of the
consumer packaged-goods in-
dustry, consisting of a number of
competitive business firms com- ·World-Wide Widgets
plete to the last detail. This type of
simulation is commonly called a Management Simu~ation
W' ..
managemerit game; this particular FiF"
;·.;1\;·

one is the grandaddy of many D E CIS ION SHE E T

subsequent offspring games. It
was originally conceived and
written at the Graduate School of INDUSTRY FIRM QUARTER
Industrial Administration at
Carnegie-Mellon University in the Product 1
late '50s and early '60s. It was
written for the Bendix G-15 (and Se lling Promotion Development Production
G-20) computer in a language Price Expenditure Expenditure (units)
called GATE. Some wise person
decided in 1961 that GATE wasn't
a very transportable language and $ s s ,
it really should be in FORTRAN.
Further it was decided that some
graduate student who (1) was on a
work fellowship and thus owed his
life to the school and (2) who was Product 2
bilingual in those two languages, "

should do the translation. And

Selling Promotion 1 Development Production
, Price ·Expenditure Expend itu re (units)
guess who got the job ....
And guess which hundreds of
flowcharts and thousands of pages $ $ $
of sample runs and side-by-side ;
listings I just threw away. To most
readers today, GATE would look if
like an obscure Welsh dialect and
even Fortran II looks pitifully
archaic. But it's all gone now, General Decisions
although the "game"itself lives on!
-DHA Size of Plant Dollar Dollar Dividends Number of
Workforce Capac Lty Balance in Balance of Shares OuL-
(units) Marketable Loan standing
Securities Outstanding

$ $ $
Sample Student Decision Sheet

78 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 The young decision makers decide the young hotshot that the results of R&D
size of the work force, the plant come late, but last longer than the TV
capacity and the amount of each s~t. ,
product to be produced. They grapple . Staelin's students get a whiff of
with decisions on overtime and over- everything but the cigar smoke when it
utilization of plant capacity in terms of comes to unions. They are bound by a
gains vs expense. They must, set contract specifying $4 an hour with
product price, designate an advertising time and a half of overtime. The work
budget, plow some money into R&D force cannot fluctuate more than ten
and handle the banking to include percent per quarter. The contract
loans, stock, dividends, and dollar requires 500 hours per quarter for each
balance of marketable securities, worker. The union limits overtime to
As in the real world, some of the a maximum of 100additional hours per
student companies squeaked by while quarter per man,
others flourished. The students get to To assimilate all theinput necessary
see the results of their decisions as the to keep the game flowing, Staelin says
computer tells them if they were wise to any computer with a 32,000 byte
hold back on product development to memory can handle, it, and tie
get a more immediate "bang for the recommends the exercise for present
buck" through an ad campaign. The day executives for training purposes.
computer sometimes has to advise a The IBM 1130 system at Amherst

Staelin with students. "Can your STATE~ENT CF I~CO~E AND CASH FLOWS
QUARTER 4 FIRM 1
decisions stand up in the face of a
stockholders meeting?"
SALES REVEI'IVE $ 4231411.
at the University of Michigan,respond- . S s- COST OF GOODS
I.·E SCLD 1913682.
ed to student gripes by spicing up the GROSS PROFIT ON SALES s 2317135.
texts,
Staelin coordinates the game, but the
big boss is the computer. Feeding in LfSS- PROMOTION EXPENSES s 617000.
CEVELOP~ENT EXPENSES '541000.
student appraisals of situations from DfPRECIATICN CHARGES 125000.
the traditional classroom work, the .O~INJ~TRATIVE ceSTS 317314.
students get to see regression analysis, ;J~C~LLi~EOU~-EXPENSES- 151560. ,lT1l874 •...
linear programming and pro-forma
CPFRATING pROFIT $ 545860.
analysis as more than terms in the
glossary of Economics 101. .
Students are broken down into five PLUS- INTEREST lKCC~E 37150.
teams of six students each. Each team LFS~- INTEREST EXPENSE o. 37750.
is given 3-million dollars in working
PRE-TAX PROFIT $ 583610.
capital, members are made corporate
managers of a corporation manufac-
turing two unidentified products within LESS- FEDERAL INCOME TAXES 280132.
a simulated market. The aim, just as in
real life, is to make a profit. . 'JET lKeO~E $ 303417.
Staelin gets to 'indulge himself in all
his interests at the Amherst campus. LESS- CIVIDENDS DECLARED 75000.
He gardens, plays squash, hikes and PLUS- STOCK ISSUE (REPURCHASES) '0.
sails, skates and skis cross-country A~DITION TO OWNERS EQUITY $ 228477.
when he's not watching Amherst
College sports. But if he had to choose
one activity it would probably be PLUS- CPERATING AOJUST~ENTS $ 302587.
playing with computers. Calling the SECURITY SALES O.
LOAN BCRRCwlNGS O.
Amherst College Computer Center LESS- PLANT INVEST~ENT $ ~25000.
"my crossword puzzle," Staelin can SECURITY PURCHASES O.
usually be found rewriting and im- LOAN REPAY~ENTS O. 177586.
proving a program. As coordinator of
NET CASH INFLCW $ 406(:)64~
the Carnegie Mellon game he gets to
amuse himself by controlling unseen
events, like slapping an overconfident eT~ER I~FORMATION
student mogul with an Arab oil em- ENDING
bargo to mess up his rosy corporate SALES LOST CRDERS PROQUCTION INVENTORY
VCLUfJE (UNITS) VOLUME (UNITS)
graphs.
For the students, no details of PRCr. 1 ,70420. 162913. 344404. 344404.
corporate management are spared. PRCO 2 145895. 50494. 127791. 121797.

BORROWlNG RATE NEXT CTR. 8.25 QUARTERS WITH LOANS O.

Sample Program Output
WORK FORCE = 500.' STOCK PRICE 33 3/8 SHARES OUT 500000.

SEPT/OCT 1978 79
 proved fully capable of keeping score
of the Economics student decisions.
The exercise ran for three weeks. It
COGITATE - GSIA(CMUI
placed the students in their positions
QUARTER 4 on the ground rules of theirfirm having
been in business one year, the span of
ECONC~IC STATISTICS time covered by the program simulated
three years. "I was quite impressed,"
GNP GNP YIELD PRIME reported Staelin when it was over. "The
(ACTUAL) (ADJUSTED) RATE RATE novelty didn't wear off, the students
worked extremely hard, their decision
764.1 727.7 7.55 7.74
making markedly improved," he added.
GNP FCRECAST (ADJUSTED) RATE FORECAST While no academic credit was granted
5 6 7 8 YIELD PRIME at Amherst, the exercise is presented
as a formal course to the grad students
693·<·
7 68403 "661;;4 655~2 7;81 7;74 ..
at Carnegie-Mellon.
How did the exercise reveal the
exuberance of youth in comparison to
the typical moves of seasoned ex-
ecutives? "I found little difference,"
QUARTERLY CCMPARISON DATA
reported Staelin. "Some went after the
- --- - - - DEVELOP
ESlIMATEO VALUES fast buck, others formed stable long
FIR~ PRCD PRICE PRCMDTlON SALES VOL MKT SHARE range plans!' The students also had the
temptations of knowing they were
bringing their role in the firm to an end,
1 6.50 313000. 261000. 369000. 15.8
2 6.50 369000. 245000. 356000. 15.2 stepping aside as if they were resigning
3 6.00 295000. 2.42000. 483.000. 20.7 or retiring. "The way they treated that
4 6.50 321000. 278000. 516000. 22.1 career milestone was also interesting,"
5 6.50 380000. 243000. 609000. 26~ 1 noted Staelin. "For some it was impor-
tant to put the firm in good shape on
1 2 12.50 2°9000. 302000. 129000. 16.7 paper reaping high profits. But for
2 2 12.50 309000. z tscoc , 115000. 14.8 others there was the feeling of respon-
3 2 13.od 210000. 330000. 160000. 20.7 sibility to end their reign with the
4 2 12.50 163000. 373000. 205000. 26.5
5 2 12.50 131000. 139!lOO L 163000. 21.1
company in strong long range health.
.. ,; ....... .... Staelin found his students surprised
at how intense competitive industry
could be. In retrospect, he wished he
had exercised his role of coordinator a
bit more. Although recessions and
QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORTS recoveries were built into the exercise,
Staelin was free to introduce any other
QUARTER 4
monkey wrench that came to mind.
"Another time I'd call a surprise
stockholders meeting," he concluded.
"I'd want to see if my managers could
FIR,.. CASH SECURITIES INVENTORY PLANT TOT ASSETS survive questions from the tloor. Many
of them sold off shares for short term
1 3776686. 2000000. 1736095. 5000009. 12512782. gain. They should have been exposed
2 3793004. 2000000. 1138984. 50000CO. 12531988. to stockholders who wouldn't stand for
3 143!>037. 2000000. 2199003. 5000000. 10634040. it" Staelin clearly relished playing the
4 3237543. 2060000. 2252757. 5000000. 124903Cl. role of the irate stockholder himself.
5 2667776. 2000000. 2659007. 5000000. 12326783.
When will Amherst Economics ma-
jors get to make these decisions for
real? "We're talking Vice President and
Division Manager level executives, well
IR" LCANS TAX CREe IT NET ECU !TY
into their forties," guessed Staelin who
quickly added young fast growing
1 O. O. 12512782. companies might be staffed with ex-
2 O. O. 1253198E. ecutive talent much younqer.
3 O. C. 10634040.
4 O. O. 17490301. How many of these original thirty
5 O. O. 12326783. students who played the game will be
making their decisions for New
England firms? "It's hard to tell, most of
my people are planning on grad
FIRM NET PROFIT DIVIDENDS SHARES OUT STOCK PRICE school, but many come from New
England, some will doubtless settle
here," says Staelin.
1 303477. 75000. 500000. 33 3/8 Wherever they settle, when the day of
2 173566. 75000. 500000. 29 7/8
3 487541. 75000. 500000. 27 5/8 corporate decision making arrives,
4 827293. 75000. 500000. 43 they can look back and recall they've
5 907489. 75000. 50000Q. 40 112 done it all before, back on the campus
at Amherst •

80 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 BUSINESS SOFTWARE FOR MICROCOMPUTERS
IS HERE-AT LAST
BASIC Business Program Conversions
Osborne & Associates is publishing its business systems in book form. These Alpha-Microsyslem:
systems represent five years of development and. testing by O&A programmers, Scott Brim. President
COMPUTER SYSTEMS FOR BUSINESS.INC.
and the books include another year's worth of extensive and detailed documenta- .3300 Sirius Avenue. Las Vegas. NV 89102
tion. Digital Group system:
John Musgrove
What systems are we selling? MUSGROVE ENGINEERING
9547 Kindletree Drive, Houston. TX 71040
1. PAYROLL WITH COST ACCOUNTING - available now, on display at Mils 4.1 BASIC:
William K. Haines
your-lecal-camputer store. " . ANACOM GENERAL CORPORATION
2. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE AND ACCOtJNtsRECEIVABLE':':::'thislong~;; ...·•1J~O..East
.. C;A 92631
ASh ...A.x~Que,..F~~I.Ic.~~~~,
Microsoft disk BASIC:
awaited book is finally published. DunKindred
3. GENERAL LEDGER - will follow Accounts Payable and Accounts GNAT COMPUTERS
7895Convoy Court. San Diego. CA92111 .
Receivable, scheduled for completion this fall. Wang BASIC. Virginia lax S)·'toOl:
Richard M. Armour
Each book sells for $15, and includes source listings in Wang BASIC, program ATLANTIC COMPUTING AND CONSULTING
and system documentation, and user's manual. Each is a complete package by it- 1104Sparrow Road. Chesapeake.VA 23325
Vector Graphic. Polymorphic, Southwest,
self, or all three may be implemented together to form a complete system with Cromemco and NovaJ systems:
interdependent files. E. Allen Whedon. President
COMPUTALL CORPORATION
2740-K South Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana, CA 92704
And if Wang BASIC won't work, or you don't know programming, or you'd
CP/M CBASIC. and Wang BASIC on cassette,
rather not key in thousands of words of source code", take a look at the list of hard disk, or CP 1M compalible diskettes:
consultants who have adopted O&A programs, converted them to run on many Mary Borchers
OSBORNE & ASSOCIAtES. INC
popular systems, and are waiting to hear from you. P.O:Box 2036. Berkeley. CA 94702
Dee (PDP-II):
'Wang listings available from Osborne & Associates on cassette or hard disk. Gregory DeRosa
MICRO-BASE ASSOCIATES
3713Windward Way 11204. Columbus. OH 43204
GOOD NEWS FOR CONSULTANTS, COMPUTER STORES AND SYSTEMS MICROFILE:
HOUSES Clarence Malloy
COMP.UTER ELECTRONIC MODES. INC
W98.S .. Milwaukee Avenue.Su,.itc)06 ..
Osborne & Associates is converting its business systems from Wang BASIC - as it was originally Wheeling. IL 60090 . . ...
published - to CP/M CBASIC, which runs on many floppy disk-based microcomputer systems. Texas Instruments TMS9900
The disks for each book sell for $250. Once you buy the floppy disk you can copy it, resell it, change MOS Technology 6502:
David Michael Myers
it or use it. We place no restriction on the magnetic surface; we copyright only the printed word in TULIP ASSOCIATES
our books. P.O. Box T. Hughesville. MD 20637
Alpha BASIC:
We will only sell the CP/M magnetic surface to consultants, computer stores and systems houses. Charles Portwood
Osborne & Associates prefers to write and sell books, not customize the programs or answer the PAN PACIFIC COMPUTER COMPANY
end user's questions. CBASIC PAYROLL should be available in August~ contact us for exact 2270 Aharnele Place.Honolulu. HI 96821
availability and more policy information. IBM 5,110:
Matk Sherman
If you are an end user, write or call us. We will put you in touch with your closest dealer. DATA WORKS
35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 35
Chicago. IL 60601

.............•.•.........................••.•........•....••..........................•..•...........................•
These prices effective July 1, 1978. PRICE QTY AMT ~ OSBORNE & ASSOCIATES, INC. (415) 548-2805
P.O. Box 2036 DEPT. L5 TWX 910-366-7277
6001 Volume 0 - The Beginner's Book $ 7.95
Berkeley, California 94702
2001 Volume 1- Basic Concepts $ 8,50
NAME
3001A Volume II - Some Real Products $15.00
ADDRESS
4001 8080 Programming for Logic Design $ 8.50
CITY
5001 6800 Programming for Logic Design $ 8.50
STATE ZIP PHONE
7001 Z80 Programming for Logic Design $ 8.50
SHIPPING CHARGES: Shipping for large orders to be arranged.
31003 8080A/8085 Assembly Language Programming $ 8.50

32003 6800 Assembly Language Programming $ 8.50

o All foreign orders, $3.00 per book, for air shipment
o 4th class $0.35 per book (allow 3-4 weeks within USA not applicable to
21002 Some Common BASIC Programs $ 8.50 discounted orders)
o $0.75 per book, UPS (allow 10 days) in the U.S.
22002 Payroll With Cost Accounting $15.00
o $1.50 per book, special rush shipment bvair in the U.S.
23002 Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable $15.00 Please send information on:

• 6V 2%, SF Bay Area residents only

o Becoming an O&A dealer
TOTAL
o School discounts
•6 %, California residents outside SF Bay Area Sales Tax
(Calif. residents only)
o List of foreign distributors
•Payment by check or money order
must be enclosed for orders of Shipping Charges <This book is scheduled to be published during 1978
Please notify me when it is available:
10 books or .Iess.
TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED o 24002 General Ledger
F9

CIRCLE 117 ON READER SERVICE CARD

 Simulation and Gaming Simulation
Research,
and Games:
This quarterly
An International
journal emphasizes
Journal
research
of Theory,
studies
Design
and articles
and

References 011

tions.
gaming theory.
275 South Beverly Drive,
The yearly subscription
Beverly Hills,
rate is $18.00.
California
Sage Publica-
90212.

DIRECTORIES OF SIMULATIONS AND GAMES Sirnulation/Gaming. This is a bi-monthly publication dealing with nearly
Directories contain descriptions and complete bibliographic informa tion every aspect of simulati ons and games .• It features reviews, research, CUf-

for purchase. The three cited here are the most comprehsneive, rent issues, and a great variety of reports and articles. Subscription tate
is $G. 00 per year. It is a must for anyone interested in gaming. Simula-
Belch, Jean, Contemporary Games. Detroit: Gale Research Company, t.ion/Gaming, P, O. Box 3039, University Station, Moscow, Idaho 83843.
1973. Descriptions of 900 gaming devices in a variety of subject areas
at all levels of education. This 560 page directory sells for $35. Strategy and Tactics. This bi-monthly magazine deals exclusively with
conflict simulations and features military history articles, game design
Horn. Robert E., The Guide to Simulation Games (third edition). Cran- articles. and a conflict simulation in each issue. Cost is $14.00 per year.
ford, New Jersey: Didactic Systems, 1976. Available from Simulations Publications, 44 E. 23rd Street, New York,
New York 10010.
This directory is published in three versions:
academic games only, 500 pages, $24
COMPANIES AND CATALOGS
business games only, 100 pages, $12
combined academic and business games, 600 pages. $27 Nearl y every company in the publishing field offers some simulations or
games in their respective catalogs. A complete listing is beyond the in-
It includes user comments and other information for selecting. using, tent of this book. However, the several companies cited below are among
and evaluating simulation and gaming materials. the best and deal almost exclusively with gami'l\ materials.

Stadsklev, Ron. Handbook of Simulation Gaming in Social Education Damon/Educational Division. This company distributes a number of ele-
(Part II: Directory). University, Alabama: The University of Ala- mentary and secondary simulations and games in the areas of mathematics,
bama, Institute of Higher Education Research and Services, 1975. science, and ecology. You may obtain a free catalog of their materials
hy writing to Damon/Educational Division, 80 Wilson Way, Westwood,
This 350 page directory describes 700 simulations and games In the Massachusetts 020nO.
area of social sciences and studies. In this area it is the most com-
plete directory available. I~ sells for $12. l.duca tional Manpowcr , Inc. (EM I). This is a company that distributes
simulations. games, and multi+media materials from a variety of publish-
ers. You may write and obtain a free elementary school level catalog or
ORGANIZATIONS their catalog of junior high to COllege level materials. This is an excel-
Therc are several 0rganizati0lls that, ill ndditlon to puhlishing gaming lent source for seeing what gaming materials are available. EMI, Box
rnatcr ials, offer services to game users, Three of these arc listed bcl ow, 4272-F, Madison, Wisconsin 53711.

North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NAS,\G \), forrncr l y Fearon Publishers. This company produces and distributes a great variety
called the National Gaming Council. This orgnntzntton's membership is of books containing games for primary, intermediate, and junior high stu-
composed of interested individuals representing all areas and disc ip liues dents. Some of their more popular titles include Games Students Like to
in which gaming is used, both cducat iona! gaming and nou-cduc.rtton.it Play, 30 Math Games for Elementary, and Science Games. You may ob-
gaming. Membership fees are $5.00 per year. NASAG,\ c/o COlvlFX, tain a free catalog of their publicattons by writing to Lear Siegler, Inc; ,
University of Southern California, University Park. Los Angeles. Cali- Fearon Publishers, 6 Davis Drive, Belmont, California 94002.
fornia 90007.
Games Central. This company produces and distributes gaming materials
Simulation and Gaming Association (SAGA). Membership is composed as Well as offering consulting services about gaming. You may obtain a
primarily of teachers at all levels. but is OPL'II to anyone interested in ed- free catalog of their materials by writing Games Central. 55 Wheeler
ucational gaming. SAGA publishes a quarterly journal and produces SeV- Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.
eral simulations and instructional games. It also fl'atures a sharing and
consulting service for teachers, Membership is $5.00 per year. xi ruul a- INTERACT. This company limits its activities to producing and distr i-
tion and Gaming Association, 4833 Grccntrcc !load, Lebanon, Ohio ,10036. butingsimulations that are generally of the extended-play type. You may
obtain a free catalog of their materials by writing INTERACT, P.O. Box
Simulation Sharing Service (S5S). Membership is composed primarily of 262, Lakeside, California 92040.
those interested in the use of gaming techniques in Christian education,
The organization publishes a newsletter as well as serving as a consultant Metagaming Concepts. This company produces and distributes a number
for those interested in religious gaming. Mcmbership is $5.00 per year. of science fiction and fantasy simulations. These are discounted for those
Simulation Sharing Service, 221 Wilcy Street, Morgantown, West Virginia who subscribe to their publication entitled Space Gamer. You may obtain
2G505. a free catalog of their simulations by writing Metagaming Concepts. Box
15346, Austin. Texas 78761.
Zcphyros Educational Exchange. This organizati(>n is composed of tc.rchcrs
and parents who write and print activity books and gaines. Me-mberships , Simile n. This company produces and distributes sirnulatlons and games
arc $10.00 per year. For this fce members receive two Z-Doxcseach con- as wel1 as offering workshops and consulting services. You may obtain a
taining books, magaztnes, and games; a real bargain. Thcir catalog and free copy catalog of their materials by writing Simile Il, 218 12th Street.
membership information may be obtained by writing to Zephyros [dtrea- P, O. Box 910, Del Mar, California 92014.
tiona I Exchange. 1201 Stanyan Street. San Francisco. California n'11l7.
Social Studies School Service. This company distributes simulations.
games, multi-media and print material from a variety of producers of so-
PERIODICALS
cial science materials. You may write for a free elementary catalog or
Of the available journals, these cited here arc among the most useful, their catalog of junior high to COllege level materials. This is an excel-
lent source for seeing what gaming materials are available. Write to So-
cial Studies School Service, Dept. 87, 10,000 Culver Boulevard, P.O,
SAGA Journal. This periodical is the quarterly publication of the Simula- Box 802, Culver City, California 90230.
tion and Gaming Association cited in the previous section. Yearly mem-
bcrship rate is $5.00 per year and this journal is part of the membership
Reprinted from Design Your Own Game, 2nd Edition by McLean and Raymond. The
fee. For information wr itc to SAGA, 4833 Greentrec Road, Lebanon, Ohio Simulation and. Gaming Assn., 4833 Greentree Rd., Lebanon, OH 45036.
~5036.

82 CREATIVE COMPUTING
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 Personal Computers at the
University of Michigan
and An Assessment
of Potential Impact
Karl L. Zinn

At the University of Michigan's assumed to be computer users; the puters in laboratories and teaching
Center for Research on Learning and computing center 10 is the same as the situations. In one sense the microcom-
Teaching (CRL T) we are examining the student 10 and is valid from enroll- puter is only a cheaper version of the
impact of microcomputers and per- ment to graduation. At the University of minicomputer, approximating all or
sonal computing on college learning California at Irvine computing exer- most of its capabilities. But the
and teaching activities. We define cises are part of many courses, and it is microcomputers also appear in ter-
personal computing broadly to include quite common for students not minals called "intelligent" because of
all systems that personalize or in- enrolled in a course also to use its the local computer logic and memory.
dividualize in any useful way: portable computing exercises just as they This permits processing activities
hardware, task-oriented software, borrow library books purchased by the previously done entirely on the
user-defined interface, and so on. library for other courses. At the Univer- timesharing system to be done locally,
However, we are particularly interested sity of Michigan students have been in part.
in the impact of inexpensive, single- given experience with software design- Word processing is a good instance
user computer systems backed up by ed especially for handling personal- of computing which is burdensome on
computer-to-computer com- note files, problem-solving proced- the timesharing system, so is moving to
munications. ures, and class communications. an intelligent terminal. Early word-
In the first part of this informal report processing systems could not match
we describe uses of single-user, per- the central computer system in power,
sonalized systems at the University of In one sense the micro- particularly for preparation of
Michigan. Simulations and instruc- computer is only a proposals, reports and other lengthy
tional games have been transferred documents. However, today's
from the central timesharing system to cheaper version of the microcomputer-based systems can do
make them more accessible to' trJinicomputer. as well in most areas and much better
students, including opportunities to in some. Current equipment offers very
modify programs and create new ones. much more than the central system in
A non-credit course providing literacy The commercial push to sell per- ease of formatting and in quality of and
in personal and home computing has sonal computers for home use (in- control over output. Some word-
been designed. Word processing has cluding education) is already evident. processing installations are using the
been made available to selected Ads are common on television and in timesharing system for text manipula-
students, and the impact on writing and popular magazines. They are directed tion that might better be done on a
communications activities has been at families as well as small businesses, stand alone or satellite system. On the
examined. Althouqh information appealing to personal interests as well other hand, an inexpensive, remote
management aids have not yet been as professional. Some approach per- terminal which can do visual-mode
transferred to the single-user sonal computing via games and enter- editing (that is, is intelligent) wi II open
microcomputer, problem-solving aids tainment, others via programmable up timesharing capabilities to many
have been provided in desk-top calculators, and some as small- more users.
machines for laboratory and special business systems. All these kinds of Students report a number of benefits
project activities. personal computers will very likely be of computer-assisted text preparation.
Then we discuss the implications of purchased for a large number of The following comment is typical. "I
the new technologies for improving homes. Such computers could be very have been an extensive user of the
access to higher education. Inexpen- helpful in educational and professional word processor for everything from a
sive but capable computers will playa activities; at the University of Michigan thesis and legal briefs to poetry. It is an
key role in extending and personal- we attempt to anticipate the machines invaluable tool. It provides a visually
izing access to higher education, yet to be desiqned which will serve well attractive (and impressive) - finished
especially for non-traditional learners. these multiple purposes. copy. It encourages me to polish my
Personal computing is not new, but it work (it takes the pain out of going
does need reinterpretation and reas- Microcomputers in Teaching at U-M back to get it just right). Also I am more
sessment. For some years at Dart- Microprocessors and microcom- likely to work further on a project after
mouth College all students have been puter systems .are popping up all over the teacher has critiqued it. This tool
the cam pus in educational makes written work more fun! At a time
Karl L. Zinn, Center for Research on Learning and
Teaching, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
applications. We find this a natural of declining communications skills,
48104. evolution from the use of minicom- this may be the major advantage."

84 CREATIVE COMPUTING
Microcomputers in the Lab Simulation
Microcomputers are used by many Simulations have even wider spread
labs as part of the instrumentation for of application. The benefits are well
research purposes. Students working known: cost saving, time saving, risk
with such equipment in the sciences reducing, etc. In addition to
and engineering gain important simulations in each of the science
educational experience. In addition, laboratories listed above, CRLT is
the students enjoy increasing use of working with people in political
microcomputers in regular labs where science, sociology, education and
they wouldn't be neededfor instrumen- history. The machine is available
tation. Micros are also being used in whenever its owner decides to use it
Biophysics and Biochemistry. CRLT since no telephone connection is
(the Center for Research on Learning necessary to obtain the computing
and Teaching) is involved in planning power. The graphics are immediate
activities for courses in Natural and easily projected. These anc other
Resources, Biology, and Psychology. characteristics contribute to
Virtually all of the sciences will be qualitative differences in the use of
affected. personal computers in simulation.
For example, a program was Instructional Games
prepared by William Powers to Instructional games form a category
demonstrate the use of microcom- separate from that of simulation. Well
puters in a hospital. It models the designed instructional games have a
effects of an anticoagulant drug used favorable history at the University of
with surgery (warfarin dosage Michigan, particularly in business,
Figure 3
strategies and the prothrombin com- sociology and education. Games
plex activity). The model fits easily in presents stimuli and records data for become more interesting and potential-
an 8K PET 2001 and reads patient simple perception and reaction time ly more valuable when they have a
data from cassette tape. Each experiments. They are encouraged to computer component. The computer
(hypothetical) patient has a file con- revise the program to vary the ex- handles complexity, control, conceal-
taining full name and a listing of periments beyond the limits of the ment, randomness, and records.
parameters associated with the kin- preprogrammed logic and parameters. Games on microcomputers today are
etics of warfarin in his or her system. The cost of the microcomputer is mostly of the arcade variety. However,
These parameters, individual to each equivalent to that for other lab equip- faculty members are working on en-
patient, are determined by another ment. Electricity and maintenance are joyable drills for improving language
program which writes the data tape. about the same as that for an office skills or fun games which stimulate use
Presently the program is used to typewriter. Economy in use is very of encyclopedias and other reference
simulate hospital data and dosage important for lengthy studies and works. In the meantime, adult learners
experience, as well as to explore experimentation by undergraduates. are having a good time with games
models. Figure 1 shows a dosage The software of a general-purpose written for the Commodore PET for
strategy which does not bring the micro provides good control of the kids.
prothrombin complex activity down screen display and timing. Figure 3 In one interesting game program-
fast enough, and Figure 2 overdoes it. shows the appearance of one of the med by Brad Compton, the student
Prospects for use of many such aids in reaction time displays (programmed is given the task of moving his vehicle
hospitals and clinics are very good. by Diane Sallade) with feedback to the through a succession of hostile
Another example comes from the subject in the experiment. regions. The motion is in part random,
psychology lab. Students are given a and in part under the control of the
The introductory chemistry lab now
program on a TRS-80 or PET2001that
includes computer assistance through
a dozen PETs and more will arrive
before this article is printed. Our
chemistry faculty have for a long time
been interested in applications of the
PLATO Computer-based Education
System and others which provide
useful graphics with lab simulations.
However, until the cost was low
enough to serve over a thousand
students they were not interested.
Micros make that possible. Half a
dozen programs have been prepared
by William Butler and Henry Griffin
which make good use of graphics,
simple animations, and interaction
with the student users. A snapshot of
the titration experiment is shown in
Figure 4. Conversation between
program and student takes place in a
"window" with the animation con-
tinuing elsewhere on the screen.
Graphics on the PET are limited. but
sufficient to this purpose. Control of
when and where information appears
Figure 1 Figure 2 on the screen is used well. Figure 4

SEPT/OCT 1978 85
 is different in qualitative and quan-
Michigan con't .... over the pace and style of learning.
Furthermore, the computer terminal, titative ways.
student. In one version of the game, the telephone line, processing and storage Computing equipment will be
vehicle is an inert molecule which are better used for other kinds of available in much larger numbers.
might be consumed by a reactive agent computer-based learning activity. Higher education will enjoy the use of
in any hostile region. The player needs However, inexpensive and personal 1,000 times more personal computers
to infer the behavior of the membranes computers may change this. If students than we now have timesharing ter-
between the regions (when. the owning personal $300 computers can minals. Many of these personal devices
molecule will be permitted to pass) and buy a cassette providing something will have a communicating option so
the agent (when the reactive molecule equivalent to the old "College Outline that they can talk with other personal
will move toward the inert one). In this Series," then the University and its computers directly and with timeshar-
game, one student plays against the faculty need to consider the use of ing computers.
computer. To obtain discussion of the microcomputers for tutorials, at least Computing equipment will be much
method, a second student is invited to for remediation. One faculty member is more responsive. The design of per-
tutor the first in how best to play the already providing some math study sonal computers makes possible more
game. Each student has a chance to aids through microcomputers. rapid data rates, and this facilitates
change the rules stored in the com- Many other ways of using computers graphics and sound and other modes
puter program, and test the ability of would have to be listed if this were to be of communication between computer
his or her friend to infer the new rules. a complete list. At least one more must program and the user.
be mentioned, probably the most Pers.onal control of computing
important of all. Training in computer equipment will be a factor in increased
Games become more in- use has been advanced in a significant use in education. Systems will be
way by the ihtroduction of microcom- personal ized for convenience, and also
teresting and poten- puters. CRL T is not at the moment gain certain intangible characteristics
tially more valuable concerned about Computer Science or associated with being owned and
Computer Engineering, but about entirely under one's own control.
when they have a com- education for applications in other Computing will be common in every-
puter component. The areas: graphics in engineering, linear day life. Not only will people know
programming in business, information about computers and their uses;
computer handles com- systems in law, patient records in access to timesharing systems and
plexity, control, con- medicine, class records in education, single-user machines will be common
etc. These are only some of the places for personal use. Home entertainment
cealment, randomness, where faculty members are working on and budget planning are certain to be
and records. demonstration exercises or writing among the applications; education and
materials for computer education information retrieval applications are
regarding micros in the professions or likely also if personal computers can be
An electric game of tag (also by disciplines. In addition, CRL T has coupled with the large but inexpensive
Brad Compton and adapted by CRLT designed a non-credit course in com- storage capabilities of videodiscs or
for science education) gives two players puter use and programming built their equivalent.
control of spaceships moving about around an inexpensive, personal com-
within a rather dense array of barriers. 2. Anticipating future capabilities and
puter available through the local com- discontinuities is important. What will
However, some points in the walls puter stores.
actually are "doors" providing instant be the impact of new technologies on
access to other points in the array. In Implications for Planning and education?
the complex version the players need Research We are conducting an assessment of
to infer the rules of instantaneous CRL T is helping various units in the the impact of microcomputers and
transport via these "spacewarps" to University plan for new uses of com- telecommunications on education.
move quickly and predictably about puting in teaching and learning. We Interviews, scenario generation and
the space. Sometimes the warp factor describe four points of current plan- interpretive modelling shed some light
changes a characteristic of the ning at the University of Michigan, and on what makes a good application of
spaceship (direction, power, or research implications for new technologies.
reliability) as well as the location. The microprocessors and personal com- A list of some of the questions of
complexity of the game can be varied puting. social implications for planners to
from simple, robot-like exploration to 1. We cannot extrapolate from consider is given below.
highly competitive games requiring (typical) computing in higher educa- Impact on the learner. What will be
quick learning of the hidden pattern of tion. A revolution is going on that will the impact of microcomputers and
spacewarps and conversions. Again, put computing into everyone's home. video information systems as tools for
the students are invited to change the Computing in higher education has student learning? What new intellec-
rules as a further test of understanding been based on expensive equipment of tual skills will students need to have in
and to challenge friends to play. All the rather limited scope. We are not willing order to use the new technologies?
games, although fanciful, are to be to make simple extrapolations from Which skills will become much more
used by Carl Berger in science educa- experiences with equipment and important because of use of the new
tion to introduce and then probe basic procedures which led us to consider technologies? How will attitudes
concepts of theory, models and ex- computer efficiency more important change regarding the technology
perimentation. than learner convenience. Most employed, the topics studied,
Tutorial Use - A New Possibility research on CAI used systems that knowledge in general, sources of
Tutorial use of computers, par- have been made obsolete by a revolu- information, interaction with peers,
ticularly in the programmed instruction tion in microelectronics. Restrictive etc.?
mode, has not been encouraged by terminals and slow data rates provided Impact on the teacher. What will be
CRL T for the University of Michigan. only a small window on the capabilities the impact of satellite and optical-fibre
For most of the University students this of computer aids to learning. New communications on access to current
approach does not give enough control research will be done in a context that information and resource people?

86 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 timesharing system. Simulations
How will improved ac- become more available to students, How can institutions sur-
and easier for them to modify. Earlier
cess to good informa- we listed examples from political vive these changes, and
tion affect the role of science, sociology, history and educa- which institutions
tion. Instructional games are being
educational institutions adapted. for micros in the areas of should not survive?
in society? business and natural resources.
Remediation and other tutorial ac-
tivities become practical for large But what skills need to be improved,
What changes in the role of the numbers of students. Some work is in and what new skills will be required?
professor will be appropriate to the progress in math and language skills. The advantage which the professor
new technologies? How will these Applications essential to the discipline holds over the student in terms of
changes for the professor be different or profession are becoming more knowledge and skills as a result of
in various disciplines or kinds of popular: graphics in aerospace many more years of study and direct
institutions? What will be the impact of engineering, linear programming in contact with others expert in the
improved access to excellent lectures business, information systems in law, discipline will be reduced. Students
on standards for educational materials, patient records in medicine, class will access more information directly
including live lectures as well as records in education, and so on. than has been possible with book
packaged materials? How will im- Dramatically lower costs lead to formats for typical learners. Computer
proved access to good information rethinking what is useful to do with aids will assist where study skills are
affect the role of educational in- computers. CRLT is providing access lacking, and even sharpen those skills
stitutions in society? to readily used word processing and promote new ones. How will the
Impact on the scholar. What dif- through micros, and examining the roles of professor and student be
ficulties will arise as telecom- impact on students, assiqnments, altered?
munications replace or extend face-to- grading, job seeking, and other aspects Impact of computing and telecom-
face communications? How will of student and professional life. In- munications on continuing and adult
telecommunications change the creased student research has been education will be considerable. Initially
professional meetings of scholars and facilitated, and not just in computer the professional person with a needfor
teachers? What will be the impact on science and computer engineering. more information (and recertification)
environments for scholarly work and Lab instrumentation and complex will find considerable assistance in
professional training? How will the computation aids have been im- computer-based media systems
speed of information exchange and the plemented for chemistry, biology, (videodisc is particularly attractive).
pace of electronic publication affect biochemistry and biophysics Eventually this will extend to all of adult
the quality of scholarly work? (medicine). Information handling and education. What will be the impact of
Impact on the learning community. analysis is common in chemical colleges and universities of various
Will community centers assume more engineering, economics and psy- kinds? How can institutions survive
of the delivery of education, not only chology. these changes, and which institutions
through community colleges per se but Many of these applications are self- should not survive?
in regional centers. of universities? justifying; professors and others mak- These and other changes are being
How will telecommunications (and ing decisions about how to use explored in our study of the impact of
energy costs) change educational resources need only see the positive microcomputers and telecom-
travel and campus life? In what ways changes in curriculum brought about munications. We welcome your par-
can electronic storage and transmis- through computer assistance. In some ticipation. _
sion replace or extend vocal com- disciplines, equipment will be acquired
munication? as any other equipment is purchased
The major directions of new for laboratories, or recommended for
technology in education are shaped by student purchase as are calculators
economic, social and political factors. (previously, slide rules) and dic-
However, the benefits of such changes tionaries. However, some of the
can be enhanced through careful changes will be so dramatic as to
attention to desirable faculty roles, require more careful attention:
improved student preparation and deliberation by curriculum panels,
more humane applications of tech- reviews by technical experts, and
nology. Furthermore, if planners can assessment by teams of social scien-
successfully anticipate negative side tists. We expect adoption by students
effects of technology, they will help to continue regardless.
reduce the undesirable impact, for 4. The implications of personal com- Ii
example, on values, on social ex- puting for higher education will be '
periences, and throughout a lifetime of dramatic, even to the extent of hasten-
learning. ing the demise of some institutions!
3. As computing becomes more A shift in the responslbillty for
available and personalized, it becomes learning will come about, in part as a
increasingly useful to the student as a result of improved access to informa-
scholar. USing the computer as a tion and information processing.
scholarly tool, the student moves more Authors and course designers will set
easily into a community of scholars general guidelines, confident that
and learners.
students find considerable assistance
Initial uses of microcomputers at the in computer processing of text or
University are simply extensions of models, as well as through improved
what has been successful with the learning skills apart from computers. ©CREATIVE COMPUTING

SEPT/OCT 1978 87
 A = 1 c= -9.9

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Dumowski
John Lansdown
lOB INIT
110 PAGE
120 F=e.8
GUMOWSKI is written in BASIC for a 130 READ Wl,W2,W3~W4
Tektronix 4051 which may be of 140 DATA -65,65,-50,50
interest to readers who have systems 150 WINDOW W1tF,W2*F,W3tF,W4tF
able to plot random points. The 160 1=1
algorithm is based on work by J. 170 X=1
Gumowski and C. Mira who, in fact, 180 ','=1
discovered the art potential by acci- 190 PRINT "INPUT A AND C :";
dent during their work on control 200 INPUT A,C .
theory, and the interesting principles 2112 PAGE
should be more widely known. This is 2 10 P R UH "A = "; A;" C= "; C
described in their paper, "Point Se- 22f1 S=X
quences Generated by Two-dimen- 230 X=AtV+CtX+2tXtXt<I-C)/(1+XtX)
sional Recurrences," Information Pro- 240 ','=-S+CtX+2tXtXt<1-C)/(1+X*X)
cessing 74, pages 851-855, North 2513 r101}EX ~V
Holland Publishing Company. 260 RNOI)E 0,0.1
As you see from the examples, slight 279 RDRAW -e.l,-e.2
changes in the parameters make very 280 RDRAW 0.2,O
great changes to the output. 290 RDRAW -0.1,0.2
The program should be fairly self-
evident with the following notes:
3ea 1=1+1
310 IF 1)1500 THEH 330
Line 320 GO TO 220
100 initializes the system 330 HQ,I'IE
110 clears the screen 340 EHD
120-150 set the screen window with 0,0
in the center
160-180 set initial values of the
variables
190-210 call for and echo the input of
H = 0.8 C= -9.9 .'
1
parameters
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John Lansdown ~-. ;r .:'"
Computer Arts Society
50-51 Russell Square :.~ ':;"-."
London WC1 B 4JX
England

88 CREATIVE COMPUTING
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predict the form of output but varying A
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seems to change the basic shape of the
plot whilst varying C seems to alter
•
...
details. A should be kept less than or
equal to 1. F is used to scale the output.
The more poi nts plotted the better-
try experimenting. -
89
 Tiny, cheap computers and related electronic
devices, all talking to each other, will have more uses in
education than paper-and-ink, blackboard and chalk.

Computers
and
Early
Learning

by Bernard Banet
photos by Gary Easter

Spoken words, a touch on a display student. In practice, person/machine

A Prediction screen or digitizer pad, the beam of a dialogue usually falls far short of this
The technology of microelectronics light pen, a musical keyboard, a ideal. GAl approaches to computer use
will profoundly affect elementary and handwritten or typed symbol, the utilize a behavioristic paradigm of
even preschool education in the movement of a joystick, will all provide teaching/learning modeled on the
decades ahead. We know that computer input. An interactive elec- "shaping" process, in which the
computers-on-chips will incorporate, tronic system can respond with letters teacher (or experimenter) "reinforces"
integrate and transcend earlier and numbers, of course, but also by the student for making successive
technologies. But how can they be playing back an audiovisual recording, approximations to the teacher's final
used by young children? Isn't it synthesizing speech, producing music, objectives. A careful task analysis of
necessary to know a computer or even generating three-dimensional the final desired performance is used to
language and to use a typewriter-like animated color graphics. design the sequence of instructional
computer terminal in order to talk with It is not necessary to know a "frames." To a student, though, the
a computer? The answer, probably programming language in order for a carefully developed sequence can be
anticipated by the reader, is that as child to interact with a computer, any tedious or frustrating. There is no
costs of computer systems tumble and more than it is necessary to be able to magic that assures success in a step-
capabilities advance, the barriers that write a script in order to watch a by-step format any more than there is
impede computer use are rapidly being television show. The powerful and in the textbook format. GAl of the pro-
eliminated. The typical instructional convenient computer languages of the grammed variety remains a Teacher
computing configuration in schools future, however, will be more accessi- Initiates-Student Responds model.
will evolve toward microcomputer- ble to elementary school youngsters Let us not, however, make the mis-
based stand-alone systems. These will than BASIC and should become an take of equating computer utilization in
support a great variety of input and important part of the curriculum. education with any single mode of
output modalities, replacing exclusive learning, including the GAl format.
reliance on the familiar printing ter- Replacing Paper, Quite possibly, the initial experiments
minal and GRT. For home applications, with computer-assisted instruction will
too, microprocessor-based video
Not People be to all computer applications in edu-
game units and "personal" computers When one mentions computers-in- cation what· programmed textbooks
are being developed with emphasis on education to most educators, a con- and workbooks are to the total universe
user accessibility and multiple I/O cept of programmed instruction, of applications of paper in education!
modes. delivered step-by-step through the The computer will be such a ubiquitous
computer, comes to mind. This is tool that preparing students to master
Bernard Banet. Director of Planning and Develop- indeed the classic "computer assisted its many applications will probably
ment, High/Scope Educational Research Founda-
instruction" (GAl) style, intended to become a major goal of education, just
tion. 600 North River Street. Ypsilanti. Michigan
48197 capture the active interchange of a as students now must master the many
© 1978 High/Scope Foundation patient and skilled human tutor with a uses of paper-based information

90 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 freeing him or her from adults' limited Drill and practice systems. One
Learning Con't. ..... ability to prescribe optimal educa- major reason for the widespread
tional experiences. Computer games resistance to "open" educational
systems: learning to read, write, type, can simultaneously incorporate fan- environments that invite student in-
and locate information in a library. tasy elements, systematic feedback, itiative and do not prescribe specific
Tiny, cheap computers and related and competition as well as foster team- learning experiences for most of the
electronic devices, all talking to each work, cooperation, and cross-age day is that they often appear to leave
other, will have more uses in educa- helping. mastery of basic skills to chance.
tion than paper-and-ink, blackboard The power of interactive systems to Teachers in such classrooms are often
and chalk. Every current use of paper in attract users, including young overwhelmed with logistical problems
education will be enhanced by elec- children, to invite them to "play," and to as they try to interact with diverse
tronic systems. Look to the micro- give them feedback, approximates the groups of learners on an individualized
computers in use in homes and schools sort of learning process that occurs basis. Electronic systems offer an ideal
in the years ahead to combine the fea- when a child learns to talk, walk, play method of giving students interesting
tures pioneered by systems such as an instrument, ride a bicycle, perfect and challenging opportunities to con-
PLATO, TICCIT, MIT's "turtles," and athletic skills. O.K. Moore impres- solidate skills and concepts they have
the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center's sively demonstrated the power of inter- acquired through concrete and active
"dynabook," but in sizes and prices like active systems to teach reading and learning, and to drill rote information
the PET's and TRS-80's of today. RAM writing skills to very young children once the conceptual bases are under-
and mass storage will no longer be over a decade ago, but the systems on stood. Examples are practicing reading
major constraints for the typical ap- which the "talking typewriter" were skills and mathematical algorithms,
plication, and the delays due to time- based were too expensive for learning vocabulary in a foreign
sharing will be a thing of the past. What widespread use. New technology language, memorizing the multiplica-
will this mean for a child's first years of changes the cost factor, and makes the tion table. The rote information and the
learning? systems more fun to use. number of "overlearned" skills that we
Of course interactive systems can expect children to master in elemen-
get boring, like any new toy. Variety tary school is quite finite. Surely these
Computers as Learning Aids and increasing challenge must be built basic skills and concepts will be easily
into interactive computer-based ac- mastered in the future through elec-
for Young Children
tivities, or they may become tedious. tronic systems, perhaps even mostly at
Interactive games. From the view- Apparently such electronic games as home, leaving schools to provide much
point of this author the mode of pinball and Star Trek are sufficiently more stimulating "concrete" ex-
computer utilization that holds the challenging to become addictive to periences.
most obvious promise for young thousands of people, from high-school The elementary-grades math and
children is the presentation of learning students to computer scientists. Surely reading exercises distributed by the
in gamelike situations with immediate elements of these successfully de- Computer Curriculum Corporation
feedback. In our preliminary investiga- signed programs can be incorporated provide an example of a first genera-
tions of the applications of computer into electronic games for school and tion of computer-managed drill and
systems at the High/Scope Ele- home use. practice materials. Future materials for
mentary School and High/Scope Pre- elementary students will probably be
school in Ypsilanti, Michigan, it is the more gamelike, more like the ingenious
fascination with the pinball-like math games developed by the Urbana
response that stands out as one Computer games can PLATO group, and they may be
watches young children in front of a simultaneously incor- delivered on microcomputers or hand-
computer terminal, whether the child is held calculator drill/practice devices
interacting with PLATO, or with a mini- porate fantasy elements, such as the Texas Instruments
computer-based timesharing system, systematic feedback, Dataman'" or Speak & SpeWM.
or with a Commodore PET, orwith the In a game we have developed on the
University of Michigan's Amdahl main- and competition as well PET, for example, children learn to
frame and audio response unit speech as foster teamwork, identify letters of the alphabet and to
synthesizer. match them with the appropriate keys
In our work with preschool and ele- cooperation, and cross- on the keyboard by "shooting" letters
mentary children we are discovering age helping. as they bounce around the screen by
that computer games can powerfully "firing" the key corresponding to the
motivate the learning of basic skills and target letter. Proper timing, estimation
sophisticated concepts. If one builds of ricochet angles, etc. enter into the
into games an opportunity to increase The computer can present the activity, making it an interesting
skill systematically (such as by doing "board" on which human opponents challenge to the entire age range from
something faster each time) or to play, or the computer can become the kindergarten to adults. "DART,"
advance to a more complex or difficult opponent. Several people at different another clever game (developed by
task, it may not be necessary to locations can play each other through Brad Compton, a high school student
"manage" the student's progress by a central computer. Games of chance, from Ann Arbor) involves practicing
maintaining elaborate student records games of skill, instructional games, the arithmetic computation skills, from
in the computer. Each student's file can classic board games, mathematical the "2+2" level on up through rapid esti-
be in his or her own head, with teachers recreations are already available on mation of products and dividends.
and parents looking at printouts of the school computer systems (and on Feedback is given as distance from the
actual games the student has been micros; see David Ahl's Basic Com- bullseye of a target, with points scored
playing to get an idea of the child's level puter Games), although many have not for accuracy, and an increasingly
of achievement. Rather than prescribe yet been adapted for young children. tough time limit is imposed for each
the child's learning experience, the This should be an interesting challenge "throw." The game can be played as a
computer can present an inviting menu for educators, programmers, and hob- two person or one person activity.
from which the child can choose, byists. The mass storage and file-handling

SEPT/OCT 1978 91
 capabilities of the systems to which A tool for creative activity. Some of possible. Electronic Lego blocks, i.e.
children haveaccess will improve. This the most impressive work with com- computer-screen representations of
.will make it possible to generate puters and young children has been three-dimensional objects and
games and practice activities based on done from the perspective of making environments built up from basic
data from individual students or from the computer into a tool for creative geometric shapes, are being used by
large data bases provided by diction- activity rather than a presenter of ques- engineers and artists. Young children
aries, thesauruses, etc. For example, tions and answers. Alan Kay and Adele will have access to such systems, too,
we have used a list of 20,000words to Goldberg at the Xerox Palo Alto and new creative energies will be
provide entries for Hangman-type Research Center have perhaps taken unleashed.
word games.· We can also generate this approach the furthest, as describ- Learning the basic concepts of
alphabetical lists of an individual stu- ed in Kay's September 1977 article in computer programming is in itself an
dent's own .slqht vocabulary, as it Scientific American. The Xerox group exercise in creative problem-solving, in
grows, and use these files to provide has shown that junior-high-school both analysis and synthesis. Seymour
data for word games. The same files children can compose music, create Papert's LOGO language, developed at
can be used to check student text animated cartoons, and write stories, MIT, is designed to introduce pro-
entries for spelling; student text files given a powerful programming gramming and the larger world of
can be scanned to identify new language such as their SMALLTALK mathematics to children. Commands
vocabulary which may be added to the language, and a computer oriented to in LOGO, which can be com-
student's individual list, after checking color animations, music, and text. municated via a button box, move a
for spelling against the master dic- "turtle" across the floor. Specific
tionary list. instructions may be combined into
Tutorial systems. More ambitious macros which can be named and called
and complex than games, whole The ability to edit a later on. The turtle leaves a physical
tutorial "courses" are of course possi- computer composed trace as it moves. Simulations of the
ble on interactive computer systems. turtle's movementscan also be done on
To avoid the "brick wall" phenomenon product makes the com- computer screens, evenon the PET in a
of trapping the student in asequence of puter an ideal medium kind of "tiny LOGO." Sophisticated
steps, features can be built in that give programming concepts, and important
the student the option of proceeding in for playfully creating, mathematical ideas, are thus explored
certain directions rather than leaving revising, and reshaping by figuring out how to get the turtle to
the "flow" entirely to the determina- trace certain kinds of paths.
tion of the course author and the anything, as one would Although not designed for young
computer. Students in curricula play with playdough. children, BASIC, the universal
already developed for systems such as language of the "dinky" computer
PLATO and TICCIT can choose to world, has been introduced to
explore reference materials, to request youngsters in the elementary grades in
more information about the organiza- Already preschool children are a number of settings; Bob Albrecht and
tion of a particular discipline or domain "doodling" electronically in color on others have had wide experience
(a "map"), request a review, a quiz, their home TV sets with videogame joy- teaching BASIC to this age group in
examples, easier or more difficult sticks. Music synthesizers have California, in schools and "community
material, and so forth. Tutorial become inexpensive additions to home computing centers." The popularity of
programs incorporated into the home computer systems, musical devices hobby and home microcomputers is
or in open classrooms could permit useful for active exploration by young obviously increasing the number of
children to master skills (such as children Of the principles of music elementary school students who can
reading music or speaking a foreign theory and notation. The ability to edit modify programs or learn to write their
language) when they choose to do so a computer-composed product makes own in BASIC. Despite objections from
rather than as part of a group progress- the computer an ideal medium for play- some quarters to BASIC's lack of
i ng toward the samegoals. A challenge fully creating, revising, and reshaping power, structure, and elegance, this
to curriculum developers in early anything, as one would play with trend will continue until "better"
education is to relate tutorials to the playdough. The work of Kay and languages are available on inexpensive
concrete experiences of the child. Goldberg suggests the scope of what is systems.

92 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 simulated journeys across the Oregon lectures and recitations, correcting
Learning Con't. .... Trails (a program developed by Dan tests, grading, checking workbooks
Rawitsch of the Minnesota Educa- and homework assignments. Teachers
Computers will be used in elemen- tional Computing Consortium-see will welcome computers as indispen-
tary classrooms to create personal and Creative Computing, May/Jun 1978). sable tools of their trade, just as
collective information retrieval They are getting a sense of some farmers have come to regard tractors.
systems, as in the "computer conferen- simple economic principles by Students, stimulated by the power of
cing" now done by adults. In this way operating a computer-simulated interactive electronic systems, will
computers will help children learn to be lemonade stand (also a MECC master basic skills easily and joyfully.
involved in collective problem-solving. program), and are even able to ex- Interactive electronic systems will
High/Scope is planning to evaluatea perience vicariously the process of invite students to explore many
system in which students will share making a soft landing on the moon domains of human knowledge and
thoughts and experiences they have while conserving a limited amount of endeavor. Because of their interactive
had during their pursuit of a plan or an fuel! nature, electronic systems based on
idea. A computer-based activity file, Not surprisingly, most of the microelectronic components will ad-
fed by teachers and students, will simulations developed for school com- vance the cause of progressive educa-
present a rich array of suggestions for puters are desiqned, at this point, for tion in the Dewey and Piagettraditions,
things to do and questions to in- use by students of high-school age or rather than remain the tools of those,
vestigate in the various interest centers older (e.g., Ludwig Braun's Huntington often of behavioristic orientation, who
of the room. Students will be able to simulations of physical and ecological believe that the ideal learning 'environ-
share their activity fi leswith students in and social systems). Given computer ment has goals explicitly stated by the
other classes and even in other cities systems that can represent processes instructor and not by the student. The
through a computer-conferencing graphically and in "real time" rather individualization of learning goals,
system. Teachers will also be able to than with successive printouts, it isjust content, and methods made possible
share ideas in particular areas with a matter of time before young children by computers will make the flexibility
other teachers using similar curricular can experience systematically the inherent in "open" alternative learning
approaches. Text editor software will operations of universes not directly settings more attractive to teachers,
make it easy to revise or update a file accessible in the nonelectronic school parents, and students than at present.
entry, and will encourage active environment. The widespread availability of "basic
rewriting of rough drafts of student Student assessment. Assessment of skills" programs and other educational
compositions. student progress and goals can be software for home computer systems
As inexpensive computer systems accomplished in open educational will redefine the public's expectations
become more capable, they will not environments by interactive computer of school learning.
only store activity files for classrooms systems. Student writing, for example,
or catalogs, and indexes of available can be entered into the computer files
print and media information for and analyzed for a variety of dimen- Will electronic de-
libraries; they will eventually store sions. Computers will be used to vices replace teachers,
millions of books and periodicals, films construct self-assessment quizzes for
and television programs, for instant elementary-school students, just as and will classrooms be
retrieval. Computers will be super- item pools are sampled by computers replaced by cubicles in
libraries, jukeboxes for accessing the at the university level now. The advan-
archives of civilization-unlimited tage of constructing quizzes and tests which students interact
resources for learning and decision- from large item pools is that it prevents
making. the evaluation procedure from
only with machines?
Representing complex processes. dangerously narrowing the curriculum
Computers, even for elementary to only those items that will be on the Optimists see computers-on-chips
students, will provide a means for exam. making it possible through mass
representing complex processes in Since computers can keep track of education for most students to achieve
order to help students discover student responses and modes of com- broad competence actively and in a
relationships and isolate variables. puter utilization, they can be enor- developmentally appropriate manner.
Modes of representing processes in- mously useful as research and evalua- Inquiry, problem-solving skills, and
clude building and revising tion tools. Learning activities that have representation will be integrated with
mathematical models, writing com- computer-based elements may be concrete experiences via the com-
puter programs, planning a sequence easier to improve systematically than puter. Diverse student interests,
of steps involved in any classroom activities in which both processes and abilities, and goals will be supported.
project, simulatirig physical and social outcomes are less well documented. The computer will become an
systems, analyzing data quantitatively. equalizer, in the sense that it will give
Social studies simulations, for exam- Three Views of the previously disadvantaged youngsters
ple, will introduce geographic and access to a wide range of skills and
historical information, plus allowing
Near Future
information, plus the motivational
students to encounter economic and Will these various uses of computer elements (i.e., computers give im-
political processes in game-like for- systems change the learning and mediate feedback, are nonthreatening,
mat. The logic of buying, selling, teaching process as we know it? What fun, challenging but not frustrating) to
producing, investing, insuring, lend- are the' implications for families, for use these resources. Lifelong learning
ing, borrowing, advertising, taxing, schools, for teachers, for students? will become a reality for millions
voting, bargaining, mediating,judging, Here are three contrasting views: through the combination of print and
planning transportation systems and A goiden age of learning. Home and video media with an interactive compo-
land use, or making personal career school learning, according to this view nent which can be accessedat home as
decisions could be explored in this of the future, will be revolutionized by easily as anywhere else in acommunity
way. the many uses of computer systems. or the country.
Students at the High/Scope Elemen- Teachers will become liberated from Learning that stresses student in-
tary School are fascinated by uncreative tasks such as repetitious itiative and breadth of experience will

SEPT/OCT 1978 93
blossom, because the logistical the dominant formats, rather than the Schools as institutions have been
problems confronting teachers with more open-ended applications of in- remarkably impervious to
large classes will be solved through teractive electronic systems? Will technological change. Transportation
increased use of interactive electronic learners be trapped in step-by-step and communications technologies
systems. One version of the golden- strands, blocks, and levels, unable to have certainly affected schools, but
age scenario sees schools as in- pursue their own paths to their own indirectly, rather than by changing the
stitutions so substantially altered in objectives? nature of classroom learning. Even
their function by new technologies that Instead of becoming an equalizer of some individuals deeply involved in
they are ultimately transformed into class differences, electronic systems, instructional computing believe that
learning centers operating more like say the pessimists, will widen class and the computer's function in schools is to
libraries or museums than classrooms. caste barriers by giving children of teach children' to use existing com-
All students will have access to tools affluent families access to learning puter languages and to perform
and learning aids of all kinds, much as resources that others cannot afford. calculations in science and math
they do in the open-classroom en- Will children who have access to courses. In their view, computers are
vironments of today. computers from the time they can sit up too expensive and "technical" for
An age of dehumanization. Perhaps become a computer priesthood, leav- young children to employ, except
a unified information/education/com- ing the computer illiterates doomed to perhaps for drill-and-practice exer-
munications network is merely the final low-prestige roles in society? cises. This view accounts for the
step toward a nightmare world of priority given to secondary schools
thought control. At the very least, rather than elementary schools
pessimists suggest, computers will do Schools as institu- applications in many districts.
for thinking what the automobile did Individuals working in the computer
for walking and television did for tions have been remark- industry often point out that cor-
reading. Perhaps schools will undergo ably impervious to porations and individuals with the
great strife over the issue of "capital talent and resources to produce
intensive" vs. "labor intensive" techni- technological change. software for educational applications
ques and will come to repeat the sad will find other markets more profitable
history of American passenger than schools. Commercial television's
railroads, in which fights over job Business as usual. In addition to the lack of educationally oriented
security and technological innovation optimists and pessimists, one comes programming is cited as evidence that
distracted attention from the fact that across many educators who simply do the home market, also, is interested in
the enti re system was dyi ng becauseof not believe that interactive microelec- entertainment rather than learning.
its inability to compete with alter- tronic systems will change teaching Given instantaneous access to any
natives. and learning significantly one way or page in any book in the Library of
Will electronic devices replace another. They point out that computer Congress, or access to any college
teachers, and will classrooms be technology and telecommunications course in the country, will the average
replaced by cubicles in which students have been around for years. Radio, citizen prefer to watch Celebrity Bionic
interact only with machines? Are we Television, and computers themselves Football on television? Will computers
sure that technology will support have been a fact of life for North married to videodisc simply permit
humanistic values when so often it Americans for quite a while, but so far seven-year-olds to retrieve instantly
seems to undermine them? Will com- they have brought about neither a works from the "Brady Bunch" corpus?
puters be used in place of experience golden age nor a 1984/Brave New In the 1960's several large cor-
with real people, places, and materials? World-style dystopia. Just because a porations lost gobs of money trying to
television, and computers themselves new technolugy could be used to market educational technology
and "seatwork" in schools have change the way people learn doesn't products; they may be reluctant to re-
probably already replaced many real, mean that it will be directly employed enter this market. Are the costs of
direct experiences. Will computers by the educational establishment in computer-based systems now so much
exacerbate this trend? Will drill-and- imaginative ways. Television is the less that the wave of first attempts can
practice and programmed CAI become prime case in point. now bear fruit, or are there problems

94 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 Iy work toward utilization of that Felsenstein, L. Computer country: An electronic
Learning Con't. .... potential in education. jungle gym for kids. ROM, December 1977, pp.
30-33.
The golden age of learning will not Kay, A. Microelectronics and the personal com-
more fundamental than economic automatically come about. We need puter. Scientific American, September 1977, 237
ones? Certainly the home or personal good R &. D work among groups (3), 230-234.
microcomputer of today will not in- seeking to marry computer systems Kay, A., & Goldberg, A. Personal dynamic media.
stantly usher in the millennium. For and student-initiated learning. We
Computer, 1977, 10 (3), 31-41.
one thing, the microcomputer industry Koetke, W. Supertoys: A new approach to learning
need to evaluate the utilization of mathematics. The Mathematics Teacher,
has major hardware and software computer systems in learning settings December 1973.
compatibility problems. It is possible other than school classrooms, settings Luehrmann, AW. Should the computer teach the
that no one will buy the hardware student, or vice-versa? In D. Ahl (Ed.), The Best
such as homes and community of Creative· Computing (Vol. 2). Morristown,
because of lack of applications
computer-learning centers. And we New Jersey: Creative Computing Press, 1977.
software, and conversely no
need to establish information networks Moore, O.K. The preschool child learns to read
applications software will be produced and write in the autotelic responsive environ-
to keep one another informed about
because the market is too fragmented ment. In Y. Brackbill & G.G. Thompson (Eds.),
the computer applications being Behavior in Infancy and Early Childhood. New
among owners of different machines
developed all over the world. York: The Free Press, 1967.
speaking different computer Nelson, T. Computer Lib/Dream Machines. South
languages and accepting different BIBLIOGRAPHY Bend, Indiana, The Distributors: Author, 1974.
kinds ..ot input/output devices and Nelson, T. The Home Computer Revolution. South
storage media. Ahl, D. Basic Computer Games:'Microcomputer Bend, Indiana, The Distributors: Author, 1977.
Edition. Morristown, New Jersey: Creative Noyce, R.N. Microelectronics, Scientific
Computing Press, 1978. American, September, '1977,237 (3), 63-69.
Shaping the Ahl, D. What's wrong with the little red school Obertino, P., et al. Elementary Reading on PLA TO
Future house? in D. Ahl (Ed.), The Best of Creative IV. University of Illinois, Urbana: Computer-
based Education Research Laboratory, 1977.
Computing, (Vol. 1). Morristown, New Jersey:
Given both optimistic and Creative Computing Press, 1976. Papert, Seymour. Teaching Childten Thinking.
Braun, L. Microcomputers: Magic for educators. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Artificial Intelligence
pessimistic predictions about the im- Laboratory, LOGO Memo No.2, AI Memo No.
Personal Computing, January 1978, pp. 30-40.
pact of microelectronic technologies, Brumbaugh, K. Minnesota, computers, and 247,1971.
as well as the prediction of negligible elementary education. Proceedings of the Sixth Seidel, R.J., & Hunter, B.C. Academic Computing
effects, how can those of us concerned Annual Conference of the National Association Directory. Alexandria, Virginia: Human
of Users of Computer Applications to Learning, Resources Research Organization, 1977.
with the education of young children Solomon, C. Lending a child to computer culture.
1977.
come to terms with the potential of Dugdale, S., & Kibbey, D. Elementary Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Artificial Intelligence
microelectronic systems? The Mathematics with PLA TO (2nd ed.). University Laboratory, LOGO Memo No. 20, AI Memo 343,
assumption that makes most sense to of Illinois, Urbana: Computer-based Education 1975.
Research Laboratory, 1977. Zinn, K. Computer aided instruction. In Belzer,
us at the High/Scope Foundation is Holzmann and Kent (Eds.), Encyclopedia of
Dwyer, T. The art of education: Blueprint for a
that the potential of these systems is as renaissance. In D. Ahl (Ed.), The Best of Computer Science and Technology, (Vol. 1):
great as those promising a golden age Creative Computing (Vol. 2), Morristown, New Marcel Dekker, 1976.
say it is, BUT we must very purposeful- Jersey: Creative Computing Press, 1977.
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 A Drop-In Computer Center
For High-School Students
Karl Zinn

Ed: That was probably the biggest

Ed Herstein, interviewed here by surprise I got when I began to teach the
Karl Zinn, teaches math arid course. I've had seventh and eighth
computer studies at Community graders who within a year not only had
High School in Ann··Arbor, become excellent Basic programmers
Michigan. but had also learned Fortran and
The interview was sparked by assembly language. Programs written
Ed's paper at the November 1977 by former students have been added to
NAUCAL conference, "Microcom- the utility libraries on systems in our
puters Put More 'Byte' Into area. My youngest student took the
Teaching." One of the predictions course when he was in third grade. He
in Ed's presentation: "The time is was certainly an exceptional kid, but
not far off when highly I've become convinced that if the that computers are huge, intricate, very
sophisticated software will make it interest level is high enough, age and expensive pieces of machinery un-
possible for personal microcom- educational experience aren't major derstood only by an elite few. The kids
puters to be sensitive to man y of an factors in teaching programming fun- in my courses don't have these fears. If
individual's educational needs and damentals. some of them also benefit directly from
to provide the resources necessary Karl: I notice that a number of your their programming skills, that's
to meet them." students have gotten jobs as frosting on the cake.
programmers. Karl: Did you have some help starting
Karl: I enjoyed your speech at the Ed: The University of Michigan and a these after school activities?
NAUCAL Conference last Fall. I was few area computer businesses have Ed: Yes. The program began in
particularly intrigued with your provided part-time and summer November 1975 when Nan Hodges,
description of a drop-in computer employment for several former then vice president of the Ann Arbor
center for elementary and junior high- students. Generally both parties Association for Gifted Children, came
school students. Creative Computing benefit. The students gain income and to my school seeking help in es-
readers will be interested in the experience; the companies get very tablishing intellectually challenqlnq
specifics of that program. sharp programmers for much less than activities for early adolescents. We
Ed: Basically, we have two types of they would have to pay comparably came up with the idea of the alter
activities. We have a series of eight- talented professionals. school computer program.
week computer courses that meet one It's very satisfying to feel that these kids Karl: Who paid the costs of the
afternoon a week from 4:00 to 5:30 P.M. are acquiring marketable skills, but I program?
Then we have a drop-in time from 5:30 don't expect that every student will Ed: The first class had a $15 tuition
to 9:30 P.M. when kids can sign up to become a professional programmer. I charge that was used to pay my salary.
use the computer hardware on their see teaching a computer language The hardware the same equipment I
own. primarily as a means to reaching a used for my regular high-school
broader goal: computer literacy. classes. The association paid my
school for paper and other supplies.
We originally anticipated just one
Too many adults believe eight-week class so we expected that
the expenses would be fairly small.
that computers are huge, Karl: And now you're in your third year
intricate, very expensive of the program with kids of all kinds.
What happened?
pieces of machinery Ed: We found that we had a tiger by the
understood only by an tail. As people learned about the
course we started getting calls re-
elite few. questing enrollment in a second ses-
Karl: Your primary objective is to teach sion. When the first course neared
students to program? completion most of the kids wanted to
Karl: Define that more specifically for
Ed: In a narrow sense, yes. Most of the us.
class time is spent teaching the kids Ed: I feel it is vitally important that kids
Basic. This gives the classes a goal, - who are going to be surrounded by
and the students are highly motivated computers in the very near future -
by looking forward to doing their own have an opportunity to interact with
programming. them in a friendly, supportive environ-
Karl: Do kids as young as 12 and 13 ment. I hope my course will teach kids
become competent programmers? enough so that they can feel comfor-
Karl Zinn, Center for Research on Learning and
table around computers, so they can
Teaching, University of Michigan, 109 E. Madison, feel that computers are tools that they
Ann Arbor, MI 48109. can control. Too many adults believe

96 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 but if it can't process a command that's
Drop-In Center CO-n't... misspelled, a kid immediately realizes
do more. By the beginning of the there are serious limitations on the
second year we had convinced the nature of its intelligence. Most games
public-school administration that we are educational to play, and they
were fulfilling an important function generate a great deal of motivation to
'and they began to cover all the ex- program, In fact most of the program-
penses, ' , ming problems we discuss in the
Karl: Has the administration also afterschool course are related to
purchased all the hardware for the games,
drop-in center? Karl: With the introduction of the $600
Ed: They've purchased some of it. Our personal computers I expect interest in
two CRTs and two hardcopy terminals and we've never had a problem with computers to accelerate rap.idly. How
were purchased for the high school, kids abusing the hardware. Sometimes would you recommend a person ap-
but we've earned most of the parents will complain when their home proach starting a program like yours?
microcomputer equipment ourselves. phone is tied up with an acoustic Ed: The most important attributes are
coupler for hours at a time, but I'd like enthusiasm and a willingness to ex-
to think that it doesn't hurtto promote a plore and experiment in terms of both
little computer literacy among the hardware and classroom technique,
parents anyway. Second, I think the role of the teacher
Karl: What timesharing systems are in an introductory computer course is
available to your students? basically that of a taclutator, one who
Ed: The only system for which we have provides resources, ideas, answers to
a formal arrangement is the HP-2000F questions, and encouragement.
at the Washtenaw Intermediate School There's very little need for the more
District. Since this system is limited to traditional tasks of lecturing, testing,
Basic, we've worked out temporary assigning, and grading. Finally, the
access to a number of much more teacher must be comfortable with the
powerful computers in the area. We've idea that he or she will often know
Karl: Tell us how you earned equip- had good success giving kids ex- much less about a given aspect of
ment. perience with many different computing than his or her students do.
Ed: Much of it has been donated by languages and systems, It's neither necessary nor desirable to
parents or companies who wanted to Karl: How would you compare limit students' areas of exploration and
support and improve our program, timesharing with microcomputers for knowlecjge to those of the teacher.
We've also earned some memory teaching a class such as yours?
boards and other components by Ed: I'm very enthused about micros.
assembling microcomputer kits for With a classroom microcomputer I can
area firms, This has really worked out actually show students what a com-
well for us since it gives the kids a lot of puter looks like, I can point out the CPU
direct experience with hardware that and memory, even teach binary, octal,
would not otherwise be available. and hex arithmetic using the front
Finally, we've raised money to panel. The kids have a chance to learn
purchase equipment through a variety something about hardware and elec-
of means including selling dinners tronics. Since microcomputers are
during drop-ln. selling computer going to be far more prevalent than big
generated posters and biorhythm computers, especially for home use,
charts at school fairs, and renting out they're more relevant to study. They're Karl: I think it's safe to say that many of
terminals. also more versatile, We've got your views - game-playing, renting
joysticks, a music board, and a couple out terminals, avoiding traditional
of exciting video display boards plug- teaching techniques - would not be
Since microcomputers ged into our micros,
accepted in most public schools. How
are going to be far more Karl: But aren't many of these
can one demonstrate success?
peripherals primarily game-playing Ed: The success of my courses and
prevalent than big com- devices?
drop-in center has been recognized by
puters, especially for Ed: That's one of the best things about
some rather traditional people. Some
them. Computer games are great quantitative measures include the
home use, they're more educational tools. They teach kids a lot number of useful program's my
relevant to study. about computers. For example, a students have developed, the many
sophisticated Star Trek game can students who have tound.ernployrnent
make a computer appear very smart,
in the computer field, and the con-
Karl: Students take terminals home? tinuing growth of enrollments ,in the
Ed: Yes, I think it's very important that afterschool classes. But the measure
people who are learning about com- that means the most to me is the
puters spend enough time on terminals intensity of interest, concentration,
so that they can get comfortable, try and often delight on the faces of the
out new things, explore the system, students in the program, Visitors see
and have sufficient opportunity to that at the drop-in center. Ninety
overcome the occasional failures they percent of the problems of education
will experience. Computer hardware is would be solved if we could do as well
too scarce a resource to lock up throughout the curriculum; and some-
whenever schools are closed. We try to day soon, using computers, I hope we
buy reasonably portable equipment, will. •

SEPT/OCT 1978 97
10 New Books From The
Creative ,Computing
Bookservice
BASIC and the Sixty Challenging
Personal Computer Problems with BASIC
Dwyer a~d Critchfield. This
book will get you involved
Solution
with personal computing, Donald Spencer. This book
writing' programs 'and ex- is a vehicle for computer pro-
panding the use of your com- grammers to measure their
puter py shpwing the great skills against some interest-
diversity of applications pos- ing problems that lend them-
sible on any microcom- selves to computer solution.
puter. One of the most com- It includes games, puzzles,
prehensive presentations of mathematical recreations
BASIC ever. As a text or ad- and science and business Games With The
dition to your personal li- problems - some hard, The Little Book of
brary, this book will tell you some easy. The book will Pocket Calculator BASIC Style: How To
all you ever wanted to know compliment any computer- Sivasailam Thiagarajan and
oriented course in second-
Write a Program You
about BASIC. 350 pp. Harold Stolovitch. A big step
$12.95 [9F]. ary school or college. BASIC beyond tricks and puzzles Can Read
program solutions in- with the hand calculator, the John M. Nevison. Learn how
P,IIyComputer Likes cluded. 80 pp. $6.95 [9W]. two dozen games of chance to write better, easy-to-
Me and strategy in this clever follow programs with NeVi-
new book involve two or son's rules of style and turn
This entertaining se!f- Modern Digital more players in conflict and out legible, correct pro-
teaching workbook intro- Communications competition. A single inex- grams. Two hours of BASIC
duces the BASIC language pensive four-banger is all
E.J. Ross. This volume programming is all that is ne-
to young or old. Problems
thoroughly explains how you need to play. Large cessary to profit by this
and examples are drawn format. 55 pp. $2.00 [8H].
mass communications sys- book. Concepts of problem-
from population problems
tems used by banks, busi- solving and structured pro-
and demographic data. A
nice, easy start into BASIC.
nesses, airlines, news serv- Qeginner's Guide To gramming are included. 160
ices, hotels and others pp. $5.95 [9V].
Larqe format. 60 pp.
operate. A must for anyone
Mlcroprocessors
$2.00 [8K]. Charles M. Gilmore. No
interested in computerized The Home Computer
communications, including background [n electronics is
Revolution
Computers, computer hobbyists and necessary to understand this
amateur radio operators. 304 book. It was written tor those Ted Nelson. Here is one of
C()mputers, with no prior knowledge the most controversial books
pp. $6.95 [7V].
C::omputers whatsoever of microproc- on home computers. Nelson
In Fiction And In Problems For essors or personal comput- takes a look at how the
ing. Gilmore takes you from "dinky" computers got here,
Verse Computer Solution what a microprocessor is: where they are, where they're
D. Van Tassel, Editor. This Steve Rogowski. The Stu- how it works and what it's going and what will become
collection of stories, com- dent Edition is designed to used for to how they're pro- of the big boys like IBM. This
mentaries and 'poems pro- encourage research and pre- grammed to perform de- thought-provoking and
ject the reader into a world liminary investigation on the sired functions in micro- highly opinionated book
where lifestyles are dom- part of the student. The prob- wave ovens, TV games, picks up where Computer
inated by the computer to an lems are ordered by subject calculators, etc. 175 pp. Lib/Dream Machine left off.
extent far greater than they and can be expanded or $5.95 [7U]. 224 pp. $2.00 [9U] ..
are by the telephone today. shortened. Mathematical
By revealing reactions and problems that have never
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To Order ...
reader insight into what is a to challenqe and sharpen the Use the bound-in order card or send your check for books
potential reality. Cleverly- student's awareness. 98 pp. plus $1.00 shipping and handling per order ($2.00 foreign)
written, this book should en- $3.95 [9Z]. Also available is to Creative Computing, P.O. Box 789-M, Morristown, NJ
tertain anyone who is aware the Teacher's Edition which 07960. NJ residents add 5% sales tax. Visa or
of the computer's impact on contains solutions, pro- MasterCharge are acceptable also. For faster service, call
society. Includes work by grams and analysis of the in your bank card order toll free to:
such distinguished writers as problems. 271 pp. $9.95 [9Y].
Gordon .R. Dickson, Art Both books are highly 800-631-8112
Buchwald, Michael Shaara recommended for any high (in NJ call 201-540-0445)
and Bob and Ray. 192 pp. school or college computer-
$6.95 [9X]. oriented course. GP6ativ6 GO~putind
98
 Did you miss any issues of
GP6ativ6 GOmputinfi
in 1977??
Well, don't fret. For a limited time (as Vol. 3, No.4 - Jul/Aug 1977 Vol. 4, No.2 - Mar/Apr 1978
long as the supply lasts), you can order Guide to selecting a microcomputer. Parody of Datamation, Business Com-
all six 1977 issues for only $8.00 plus Write your own CAI, Part 2. Computers puting: 5 inventory control systems,
$1.00 shipping - $9.00 total! Any three in medicine and health care. Dwyer: "8- ABCs of microcomputers, structured
issues are $5.00 postpaid! And any Hour Course in Basic- Part 1," "Thinking software for micros, four computer
single issue is only $2.00 postpaid. Strategies- Part 3." Sherlock Holmes and music systems, reviews of 2 Basic
1978 issues are also available for $2.50 Charles Babbag.e. Four new games. interpreters and micro-APL, CAI-Part
each postpaid, regardless of quantity. 4, puzzles and games.
Vol. 3, No.5 - Sept/Oct 1977
Radio Shack computer profile, visit to Vol. 4, No.3 - May/Jun 1978
Vol. 3, No.1 - Jan/Feb 1977 Art and animation section: 8 articles,
Polymorphic, music synthesis for an
Profiles of the IMSA18080, SWTPC6800, color graphics, SAM76, binary search,
8080. Three views to computer conferen-
TTY 43. All about EFTS. Computational a real budget in Basic, business com-
cing. In-depth comparison of five BASIC
unsolvability. Four new games. interpreters. Fiction, computer and puting: 4 payroll systems, Oregon
Gruenberger: "Learning by Doing." calculator games. Trail, Black Box, reviews of
Catastrophic theory. A microcomputer VideoBrdin, MSI floppy, OSI
software course. Vol. 3. NO.6 - Nov/Dee 1977 Challenger, Ai speech synthesizer.
Programming techniques- Part 1. CAI.
Vol. 3, No,. 2 - Mar/Apr 1977 Vol. 4, No.4 - Jul/Aug 1978
Topics in Logic. Three 8080 8K BASIC
Special music features: music instruc-
evaluations. Smart electronic game Reviews of Commodore PET, Apple II,
tion, computer music performed by reviews. How computers can write final Atari computer, Video games, inter-
dance, "Bottom-Up Bizet," transporta-
exams. Mastermind II and Otherllo facing to the real world: 5 articles,
tion and composition of music by
computer games. Profile of the Alpha 1 business computing: 4 word process-
computer, how to use a CPU with a
and Alpha 2 for the TDL Xitan. ing systems, ROM section: 7 articles,
simple peripheral to play music. Piele &
backgammon game, bar code.
Wood: "Thinking Strategies- Part 1."
Vol. 4, No.1 - Jan/Feb 1978
Vol. 3, No.3 - May/June 1977 File structures, 16-bit computers.
Ahl: "Computer Power to the People," LOGO language, Murphy's laws, For faster service, use your Visa or
Nelson: "A Dream for Irving Snerd," review of Radio Shack TRS-80 and Master Charge and call our toll-free
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 opinions of their colleagues; became
Conference on Intelligent Videodiscs "guardedly optimistic" about the
market prospects of intelligent
Watsonville, CA. - The first days of capabilities, has a large number of videodiscs, but they were uniformly
December were beautiful and balmy potential applications; it could aug- enthusiastic about the capabilities that
among the sand dunes of Monterey ment present day computer-assisted emerge when video and digital
Bay, but there were 48 menand women learning systems that do not offer full technologies are combined.
there who barely had time to notice; multimedia capabilities. It could rapid- For more information, write: Alfred
they were attending an invitation-only ly retrieve information from large Bork, Physics Department, University
conference, sponsored by the National stable databases. of California, Irvine, California 92717,
Science Foundation, to assess the The conference began with three (714) 833-6911.
educational prospects for a device that background papers given by the
may do for electronic signals what codirectors: "Trends in Personal Com-
Gutenberg's press did for text. puting" by Arthur Luehrmann of IBM Videodisc?
. The device under discussion com- Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley; This item from the June 1978 issue of
bines the talents of the computer and "Requirements for Educational Com- Consumer Electronics:
the videodisc. The videodisc is an puting" by Alfred Bork of University of Is IBM getting set to enter the
extension of long-playing audio disc California, Irvine; and "Videodiscs consumer video disc market? Or is all
technology into the domain of televi- Beyond Entertainment" by Edward W. the apparent developmental disc work
sion and digital computers. A number Schneider of Brigham Young Universi- going on at the giant computer
of videodisc systems have been ty. Subsequent general discussion of manufacturer just one of numerous
demonstrated, but the ones of greatest costs, time-frames and potential projects it undertakes to cover all
interest to this group use a low-power markets led to the formation of small conceivable bases. "We don't disclose
laser to read information from a plastic study groups, to develop plausible any information on products that are
disc, spinning at 1,800revolutions per strategies for the development of both still in development," a spokesman
minute. Such an optically-read disc the technologies and the markets. said. That response seems to indicate
can be made to "freeze" on any frame, The study groups did not see something is going on, though in the
and it can show motion sequences in educational applications as dependent past IBM has responded similarly to
slow motion, either forward or on the mass marketing of home questions on other products (home
backward. videodisc players. Instead, the groups VTR and personal computer systems,
Only a fourth of the conferees were saw a gradually evolving market, to name two), and it may simply
videodisc specialists; the remainder pioneered by government-funded indicate that IBM is working on just
were experts in computer hardware, development and demonstration pro- about everything electronic. The latest
computer programming, graphics dis- jects. These projects would enhance IBM disc rumors erupted early last
plays and instructional technology. this new system's penetration of month, and many in the industry are
The other disciplines were there traditionally high-cost areasof training convinced the firm has stepped up
because of the very attractive and education, such as military, in- developmental work over the past six
educational prospects for a marriage of dustrial, and medical applications, as months., "They seem to be working on
videodisc and computer technologies. well as courses in technical schools just about every conceivable consumer
Any of the 54,000 video frames on a and universities. electronic product," one observer
half-hour disc can be quickly access- Other strategies were proposed; for noted, "so it may mean nothing." But
ed. Computer programs can also be example, piggy-backing on related he added: "I am getting a lot of
stored on the videodisc and transferred special applications such as informa- telephone calls all of a sudden asking
into the computer's memory. The tion retrieval in laboratories or devel- me what's going on. I wish I knew."
computer can quickly change from one oping new organizational mechan- [The possibilities of the video disc as a
segment to another, reducing the need isms to share the development costs digital storage medium have been
for very large amounts of expensive and to promote the effective use of discussed at length in Creative Com-
memory. such materials. puting (March/ApriI1976) so IBM may
An intelligent videodisc of this type, After three days of probing, most well be looking at this aspect of the
combining computer and videodisc conferees, bolstered by the converging medium. I wish I knew too. - DHA]

Philips/MeA Videodisc Player. The master videodisc is cut by laser.

100 CREATIVE COMPUTING

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CIRCLE 140 ON READER SERVICE CARD
 Considerations in Buying A
Personal Computer
What, Which, When, A Note to Educators
How Much? With the prices of microcomputer necessary to develop new course
by Karl L. Zinn systems coming down so rapidly, and materials, programs, etc.
Many people ask me for advice on with the availability of integrated, high- 2. The microcomputer should have an
whether to buy a personal computer quality system software, it is now integrated package of system software
now or wait for the price to go down. possible for many educators to con- which can be used by novices, not just
Some are asking which one to buy. A sider the use of micros to supplement computer freaks. In other words, it
few recognize that the inexpensive or to replace the use of a larger should be very easy to bring up BASIC
machines available today won't do timesharing system. Nevertheless (possibly by typing "BAsIC," or just
everything one might be led to believe many educators who would like to turning the power on). If the system has
from the advertising. But then, these begin using microcomputers find several different peripherals (such as a
portable, low-cost, convenient, and themselves in a quandary, not having CRT, printer, etc.) it should be possible
personal computers will do a lot of the technical expertise to select a to direct output to a particular device
things for which we presently turn to complete microcomputer system. The without going into the assembly
very expensive machines. This outline following list, compiled by Karl Zinn, language I/O routines. One should also
is a first attempt to assemble a checklist should at least help these educators be aware that programming special-
of considerations. Of course, the get an idea of what to look for. My own purpose I/O devices such as music
entries need elaboration, and they tend experience in talking to educators who boards, speech synthesis and recogni-
to interact. want to use microcomputers in high tionunits, and some graphics inter-
(I would appreciate questions, com- school indicates that three other things faces often requires linking BASIC to
ments and suggestions which will help are of special importance: assembly language subroutines.
elaborate this checklist for use by 1. Compatibility between BASIC used 3. Quality of the construction of the
teachers. Call (313) 763-4410 or write on the microcomputer and the time- microcomputer is very important.
me at CRLT, Univ. of Michigan, 109 sharing system. Obviously if the Fewer components are better. - Steve
East Madison Street, Ann Arbor, MI BASICs are similar, it won't be North
48104.)
1) For what purposes? Priorities? Distribution of uses?
entertainment (Who are the users?)
ages
interests
education (What kind of learning?) 3) Which kind or type or style?
general literacy about computers kits
. computer programming components
computer applications peripherals
incidental aid in study of other subjects portability
other? expandabi Iity
scientific and creative work (How serious?) other
modeling a process 4) When, and for what period of use?
simulation watch for predicted and dramatic changes in:
literary price
graphics capability
music other?
other? begin now to gain experience
personal or professional or small business trade up later
information handling (records, correspondence) early experience worthwhile
finances (checking, budgeting, ... ) other considerations
other
other uses? 5) How much?
2) With what capabilities? Options? Peripherals? total outlay
processor speed initial
storage size and access later additions
programming languages amortization
application packages actual life
keyboards period of preferred use
printer quality and speed on service contract
printer quality and speed carry in service as needed
graphics display by individual
graphics input maintenance
audio input tax deduction
speech output professional
music output educational
communication gift
other small machines other
large machines (systems) other considerations?

102 CREATIVE COMPUTING

Is personal
computing
worth it?
We want you~answers at the NCC '79
Personal Computing Festival.
New York City, June 4-7

Has personal computing been worthwhile for most comprehensive computer show on earth.
you? Every aspect of this fast-growing field is Here's how you can participate:
being questioned ...from the effort to generalize a
• Present a paper
subroutine to the cost of the latest hardware. What
• Give a talk
are your views?
• Organize a panel
Some key questions about personal computing
• Deliver a tutorial
need answers. How is personal computing en-
• Demonstrate your application and equipment
riching our lives and those of our families and
The deadline for receipt of letters of intent to
associates? What is its potential? What are we
participate is February 1, 1979. Accepted
getting for our investments in this field? Is it worth
the time, effort, cost.i.even the criticisrn? papers will be published in the 1979 NCC
Personal Computing Proceedings. Honors and
JOIN THE PERSONAL COMPUTING FESTIVAL
prizes will be awarded tor the best papers and
You can answer these and other questions by
application demonstrations.
participating in the Personal Computing Festival
of the 1979 National Computer Conference, the For more details, fill in and return this coupon.

r- --- NCC '79

Personal Computing Festival
----,
I c/o American Federation of Information
Processing Societies, Inc.
210 Summit Avenue, Montvale, New Jersey 07645
201/391-9810
I
I Send me more details on:
o Participating in a Personal Computing Festival session.
o Demonstrating my personal computing application.
o Keeping me up-to-date on the Personal Computing Festival.
I
I o Exhibiting my company's products and services at the Personal
Name
Computing Festival.
--------
I
I Company _
I
LC;t:...
Street

~--_-State'--.-.--.-.---z;p
_
 , ! '

A Computer Activity for Building

a Linear Model of Data

by Kenneth J. Travers

Let us suppose that in mathematics class we wish to build a model of TA~lE I: PREDICTED VALUES (v') AND ERROR OF PREDICTION (Y - y') FOR liNES HAVING

the relationship between two sets of data, for' example, between the VARIOUS SLOPES AND PASSING THROUGH (X. Y) = (52.33, 154,67).
Mean RMS
height and weight of the members of the school football learn. Hypothet- SLOPE X Y Y• Y- Y. (Y - Y ')' Error Error
ical data will do for purposes of illustration, but students will undoubt-
edly prefer to gather their own, "real live" data. 50 140 152.3 - 12.3 152.1
1.0 45 152 147.3 4,6 21.7 8. \7 8,81
Suppose further that we want a linear model of the data. This paper
62 172 164,3 7.6 58,7
will describe such an activity in mathematical model building. While the
techniques of fitting a line to a set of data (techniques known formally as 50 140 151.2 - 11.2 124.7
I.S 45 152 143,6 8.3 69.4 7.44 8.21
"regression analysis") are commonplace in college level courses, what is
62 172 169.2 H 8.0
described here is easily accessible, with the help of a computer to take
care.of the messy computation involved, to freshman algebra classes in SO 140 150.0 -10.0 100.0
2.0 45 152 140.0 12.0 144.0 8.00 9.09
high school. One natural place for considering this topic is when the class
62 172 174.0 -2.0 4,0
is siudying the slope-intercept form of an equation for a straight line.
Nott: Only three pairs of data art used in order 10 simplify the method.
A linear model for a set of data
A linear model may be expressed algebraically as: To illustrate the idea of "best fit" we will use the simplified set of data
" Y = mX + b in Table I. We assume that the line we are looking for goes through
In terms of our original problem, the model is interpreted, "Given a stu- (X",') which we see from Table! is the point (52.33, 154.67). Now sup-
dent with height X. what is his weight Y?" pose we have a line with slope m = 1.0. By equation (11), we can find b,
We have-already encountered a fundamental problem. The real World the Y intercept.
does not conform to this mathematical rule! But. we are not dismayed to
fjnd that w~ cannot exactly predict a person's weight, gi~en his height.
b = l' - m" = 154.67 - (1) (52.33) = 102.34
and the equation of this particular line is Yo' = I X + 102.34 (Ill)
We will be satisfied with a "good" prediction. (A very important part of where the subscript of Y' indicates this is our first prediction line at-
this entire activity is the consideration of what "good" means. More tempted.
about that later.) A more usual (and realistic) way to express a linear Using (111), for each of the three X values given in Table 3,a Y , value
model is therefore: can be calculated. Also, the "error of prediction," the difference be-
Y' = mX'+ b (I) tween each predicted Y' and the corresponding actual value of Y can be
where Y r indicates an estimated value of Y. The coefficient m is the slope found as shown in Table I. .
of the lineand b is the Y -value when the line crosses the Y-axis.
What is meant by "best model"?
Searching for the "best" model
A criterion for the "best" model now emerges. The best model is the
Let us assume that the data for which we are trying to build a model one which minimizes the error of prediction of the Y values.
are graphed in Fig~re I. But as Figure I suggests, there are many linear Table I is of help in locating the best model for our trial data. Notice.
models which could be chos~n. However, recalling that a straight line is for example, that for a line with a slope of 1.0, the mean error of predic ..
determined by one point on the line, and the slope at that point, if we lo- tion (ignoring signs) is 1- 12.31 + 14.61 + 17.61 = 24.5 = 8.2. (Also no-
cate one point on the desired line, we can vary the slope as we search for , '3 3
the "best" line. tice, that within rounding error, the sum of the errors, taking account of
FIGURE I: WHI<;H LINE IS THE 8~ST MODEL FOR THE DATA7 signs, is zero.)

..."
Another way of viewing the goodness of fit of a linear model to the
lb.
180 ~ .'
. data is to take the square root of the mean of the squared errors. That is,
for slope = LO
Y: Wdlht
170 Error = ...; (- 12.3)' -+- (4.6)' + (7.6)' = 8.81
~~MOdol2
160 3
iso • ~ Hod.l 3 This quantity is very important in more advanced statistical work, and
140 has the name "root mean square error" or more simply, "RMS error".
Table 2 summarizes both the mean error and the root mean square er-
ror for values of the slope of the linear model in the interval from 1.0 to
60 64 68 72 16 80 84 In.
2.0. Notice that as the slope of the line increases from 1.0 to 2.0, 'the er-
X: Hdsht
ror measures first decrease, then increase again, indicating that the slope
of the "best" linear model for the data is somewhere between 1.0 and
Now let us see if we can locate one point on the line. If we knew noth- 2.0.
ing aboutthe relationship between the height and weight, what would be
a reasonable ~ay to ~~timat: how they relate? We do this informally T AOLE 2: SUMMAR" OF ERRORS OF PREDKTlON FOR LINES OF VARIOUS SLOPES (SI~IPlIFIEO
D..•..
rAOFTABl.f I)
when we describe the school football team with the remark. "They're Slope Mean Error RMS Error
about five-foot-ten and weigh IQp'ppunds." What we are saying is that
1.0
for a mean (average) heightthere corresponds a mean weight. Algebra- 8,22 8.81
1.2 7.91 8.39
ically, we are sayingthat ' 1.4 7,60 8,21
Y = mX +'0 . (II) 1.6 7.29 8,27
1.8 7.02 R.S7
Kenneth J. Travers, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801. 2,0 ~,OO 9,09

104 CREATIVE COMPUTING

 Although we have a choice as to whether we use mean error or RMS
ApPENDIX
error as our criterion of goodness of' fit, advanced statistics points clearly BASIC PROGRAMTO FIND BEST MODEL
to the desirability of using RMS error and the result is-called a "least
squares best fit" model. 10 DIM X(50),Y(50)
20 LET ,1-S2-S5-,6-S1-0
Table 2 magnifies the interval from 1.0 to 2.0 arid points to values be'
30 ~EAD N
tween 1.2 and 1.6 as containing the desired slope. A further magnifica- 00 DATA 11
tion as given in Table 3 produces a slope of 1.45 having a corresponding SO FeR I-I re N
60 'EAD X(I),Y(I)
RMS error of 10 LET SI-SI+X(I)
80 LET ,2-,2+Y(I)
90 LET SS-S5+X(I)'X(I)
TABLE J: "TRAPPING" THE SLOPEOF THE BEST MODEL (SIMPLIFIED DATA OF TABLE t)
100 LET S6-,6+Y(I)'Y(I)
Slope RMS Error
110 LET S7·S7+X(I).Y(1)
120 NEXT I' .
1.20 8.39 130 O'lINT ",(e') IIA\IE "INl"PAHS er DATA"
1.25 8.32 140 p-q INT "MEAN VA1..I}£ F'eq x •.• , 5 tIN
1.30 8.21 ISO PQINT '~f1EAN VAWE r0~ y;' "152/1'1
1.35 8.23 160 LtT £-~5/~-~I.Sli(N.N) .
1.40 8.21 110 P!lINT "STA"DA~D DEVIATIIN eF x Is"'s~i<.,f) .
1.45 8.20 180 P'\INT "STANDARD DEVIATleN eF Y IS"IS~~(S6/N-S2"S2/(N.N))
190 LET C.S7/N-SI~S2/(N.N)
1.50 8.21
1.55 8.23
200 PRINT "cevAqi'~c~ re~ x AND Y IS"le
1.60
210 "p'qINT ••••••••• SEA'\CH F'8'=t Se:ST M80EL •••••••• *~·
8.27 220P'lINT "IIKAT stePE De Y8') IIANT r e T'lY ";
230'INPUT M
200LET B-S2tN-MaSI/N
8.20. Actually. by a formula from more advanced statistics, the slope of 250P'!INT "THIS LINE lIAS E~TN Y' _" lMI"X >" lB
the "least squares best fit" line is found to be 1.44979 for the data of 260LET 53-0
210LET 5.-0
Table I (See footnote on following page for formula). All of the calcula- 280 I"Y"" ,"Y-Y''','' (y-y) t 2'"
P~lNT' ~·X",••..,..
tions needed for this "trap and magnify" procedure are provided by the 290Fe'! I-I Te N
300LET V'-M*X(l)+B
BASIC computer program in the appendix. 310 LET Ol-Y(I)-YI :
320 PRiNT X(J),Y(J),YIIDI~OI.OI
TA.BLE~: SU'1MARY STATISTICS AND ERRORS OF PREDICTION FOR LINES OF V"RIOUS SLOPES
330 LET S3-S3+ABSiDI) .
FOR 17 PAIRS OF DATA 340 LET S4-54+01.01
(X, Y) = (68.76,165.65) 350 NEXT I
Slope RMS Error 360 P'lINT "MEAN E'!~e~- "153/1'1
37D I"IINT "'!MS E'1'l0Q- "IS~11<5./N)
1.0 10.54 380 PRINT
390 G~Te 220
2.0 7.65
400 DATA 611140 .•~4 .•1411641144~66 .•158.61 .•IS6
3.0 5.76 410 DATA 671174168~1601681164~681116 .•691112
3.40 5.5436 4~O DATA 701170111Ii~517211701721114,1JI176
3.42 ·5.5430 430 DATA 74,180,75.192
3.44 5.5434 440 END
3:5 5,55
4.0 5.94
SAMpLE OUTPUT

We now repeat the procedure for the 17 pairs of data plotted in Figure yeti HAVE 17 PAIRS .,. O"TA
I. Table 4 gives the summary statistics and the RMS error associated with "£AN VA-LIJt: ,.,"- x· ~8.7647

..
"tAN VALUE "Iq y- 165. ~47
slopes from m = 1.0 to m = 4.0. The least squares best fit line has a $T'lNDARD DEVJAT,IN IF X IS 3·7026,
slope close to 3.42'. Using equation II and the values for X and Y. We ob-
STANDA,\O
CeV"ltJANCE
DEVtAT
, ,:C\~:~S;
I.N e; y is 13·8307
IS 46.917
ttIiJDEL·····.··.
tain the "best" linear model as • •••• •• SEARel1
VIIAT SLep£ De T, TqV
YIU VANT 11
Y' = 3.42 X - 69.54. THIS LINE HA1 E~TN Y'- I X + 96·882_
X Y v: V_yo (Y~~()'2
Finally, we apply the model. Suppose a male high school senior is 65 61 '.0 157.882 -17·882. 319,779
inches tall. What is his predicted weight? 64 160.882 -19.8824 j95.301!J
Y' 3.42 X - 69.54
64
66
'"
I ••
158
160.882
162·882
-16·882. 285~01'
-0· 8B235 23 ·837.
67 156 163.882 -7.88235 62·131 ,
(3.42) (65) - 69.54 67 170 163.882 10.1 i76 102.361
152.8 pounds 61 160 16"882 -0.86235 a3.837~
68 16' 164.882 -0.~82353 0·718547
68 170 16 •• 882 5.111'6, 26>1 903
I. The formula' used \0 compute the \[aliMic\ tee ••••
riance, mind.lrd deviation. and \0 r~rlhlmay be found in \Ianda,d
69 172 165.882 6.,1165 3":4256
SI.li~lit·~ lexts such av Edward\ or Freund. INolc: Our rormul.~Icr vlti.nce and coyarian<:t art biased blimllon., 70 170 166.882 3'11765 9.71912
Tht slope of thC' lu'>t "qU.,C~ lint of MU (il for Y prf'dklW from X mal' be' compuTed rrom the formula 71 115 161.082- 7·11765 50.6509
covariance IX. Y) 46.916 72 170
Slope" liiij.iaara3(vii!i'Pn CT."'OW - J.422 166·862 1>1 1765 1·2491_
72 ITo 168.B82 , .11165 26>1 903
or X)' • 13 176 i 69.882 6" 1765 31·4256
for the data or Table 4. Hence. the ~ea.rch procedure, which lave a slope: of 3.41, ",as ,~martably eccutete. 70 180 170·18a 911j165 8J ·131 ~
75 192 171·882 20" 176 40".12
REFERENCES "EAN E1It~.". 8.609.
,,"ti
t""'''· 10.5434
EOWARDS, ALLEN l. Statistical Methods. Second Edilion. Holt. Rinehart and Winston,
New York, 1967.
FREUND. JOHN E. Mathematical Statistics. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs. New Jersey, Reprinted with permission from School Science. and Mathematics, December 1977. Copyright
1971. 1977 by the School Science and Mathematics Association, Inc.

SEPT/OCT 1978 105

-. ..-- -

•••••
Can we achieve the same result With this technique, for instance, I
Subscripts without the use of double subscripts? have beeh able to translate Gregory
Happily, the answer is yes. Add the Yob's "HUNT THE WUMPUS" into
If you have a version of BASIC which following line: Radio Shack's Level I BASIC, which
does not allow double subscripts, have 35 N = 7*(1-1)+J . allows only single subscripts.
you looked Wistfully at all the in- and change lines 40 and 50 to: Well, what are you waiting for? Get
teresting games and programs that 40 A(N)=1 + J/10 out those back issues of Creative
contain lines like: 50 PRINT A(N); Computing that had all the games you
100 A(I,J) = I +J/10 ... ? The secret is at line 35. In general, to thought you couldn't program.
Well, the situation really is far from imitate the variable A(I,J), use A(C*{I- Now you can.
hopeless. As a simple example, sup- 1)+J) where C is the number of James Garon
pose you wanted to create and print a Math Oept.
columns in your array.
Calif. State University
table of numbers. You want the table to It's that simple. Fullerton, CA 92634
have five rows and seven columns, and
each entry in the table is to be a decimal
number with the row numberon the left
of the decimal point and the column Common Birthdays
number on the right. Hereisohewayto
do it with double subscripts: 10 PRINT ''NlI'IBEJi OF PROBABILITV THAT AT LEAST"
20 FOR I = 1 TO 5 20 PliiNT "PEOPLE TWOHAVE SAME BIRTHDAY"
o
FOR J = 1 TO 7 30 PRINT •• --------~ -------------------------"
o
a
A(I.J)·= I + J/10 40 Q-364"365
60 FOR N-2 TO 40
50 PRINT A(I,J); 70 ?a 100_ (1-")
o
NEXT j 60 PRINT" ";NJTAB(20)JINT(P*IOO+.5)'100JTAB(28)J"S"
70 PRINT 90 Q-Q-(365-N"365
80 NEXT I 100 NEXt N
110 END
90 END ~t=BER OF PROBABILITV THAT AT LEAST
PEOPLE rvo HAVE SAME BI RTHDAY
20 FOR 1=1 TO 5
In agroupoften randomly 2 .27 S
aoFOR J=l
TO·7
selected people, there is 3 .82 S
o ACI,J)=I+J/l0
G 50 PRINT ACI,J);
o NEXT J
70 PRINT
about a 12% chance that
two of them share a com-
mon birthday.
41
5
6
'7
1.641
2.71
41.05
5~62
S
S
S
~
~ 80 NEXT I e 7.413· S
With 23 people, the 9 9.416. 'S
90 END 10 11.69 I
probability is slightly 1i 14011 S
run greater than 50%. 12 16.7 S
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 13 19.44 I
14 22.31 I
2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 With 40 people, the
1~ 25.29 S
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 probability is about 89%. 16 28.36 i
4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 17 31.5 S
5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 18 34.69 S
19 37.91 S
Consider the set of all 20 41.014 S
21 44.37 I
10 DIll A<3:5) Presidehts of the United 22 47.57 S
20 FOR 1=1 TO :5 States. Two of them, 23 50.73 S
o FORJ=1 TO 7 James Polk and Warren 241 53.83 S
5 N = 7*CI-1>+J---- G. Harding were born on 25 56.87 S

U o ACM) = I + J/l0
o PRINT ACN);
60 NEXT J
70 PRINT
November 2.
It is interesting to note
that John Adams,James
Monroe, and Thomas
26
27
28
29
30
59.152
62.69
65.45
6801
70.63 S
$
S
S
I

80 NEXT I 31 73.05 I
Jefferson all died on July 32 75.33
90 END I
4 .. Millard Fillmore and 33 77.5 S
run William Taft both died on 341 79.53 S
March 8. 35 81.414 I
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.6
1.5 1.7 36 83.22 S
2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.6
2.5 2.7 37 84.87 I
3.1 3.2 3.3 J~4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Sanderson M. Smith 38 156.41 S
Cate School 39
4•• 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 67.82 S
Carpinteria, CA 40 89.12 S
5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7

106 CREATIVE COMPUTING

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~
Freedom
and
the
Computer
Jon R. Welton
[PUb. note: The author presents a
picture of a regimented society that
many believe could be brought about
by computers and other currently
available machinery. Although he
states that "Americans' compulsive
desire for freedom will continue to
frustrate any plan to substitute efficien-
cy for liberty," nevertheless many of
the people who make our laws, form
our opinions and publish our news-
papers, also believe in many or all of
the facets of such regimentation. As
"insiders," we ought to be aware that
such views are much more widely held
than oui own.]
Is it now possible to control the lives Eckert, Jr., and John W. Mauchly built computers to operate ten times faster
of a group of people through the useof the world's first electronic digital than they do now. Thesefibers also will
computers and related technology that computer, ENIAC (Electronic make it possible to transmit the entire
is currently available or will be Numerical Integrator and Computer) thirty volume Encyclopedia Britannica
available in the foreseeable future? which weighed thirty tons and ran on in a tenth of a second.
Certainly. Today there are scientific 19,000 vacuum tubes. Today a com- For Good or Evil?
marvels that were undreamed of a puter on a chip about .16 inches by .12 Man can use this technology to help
generation ago. These present day inches can just about match ENIAC's cure the ills of the world. But man's
miracles can be used for the good of us computational power. ENIAC could recorded history is an endless parade
all or for the power and aggrandize- perform three hundred multiplications of cruelty, barbarism and selfishness
ment of a privileged few. per second. Today's computers are with an occasional good deed thrown
learning to talk, read commands direct- in to relieve the monotony. Of course,
Technological Advances ly from the human briMrr. play good man has advanced over the centuries.
Science and technology have ex- chess - although nof'!'6'TandMaster No longer is it state policy to break men
ploded in the last seventy-five years, level - compose music and control on the rack, boil them in oil or feed
taking man from the back of a horse to complex business, scientific and them to the lions. It wasn't long ago,
the surface of the moon. This is governmental processes. Furthermore, however, that people were burned in
especially dramatic in the fields of computers owned by insurance com- ovens as a matter of state policy. For
communications and computer panies, credit businesses, government whatever reasons, real or imagined,
technology. Human speech was first agencies and marketing firms contain there apparently will always be those
radioed across the Atlantic in 1915 all sorts of information on practically who know the "truth," whatever that is,
from the U.S. navy station at Arlington, every man, woman and child in the and in pursuit of this "truth" will stop at
Virginia to U.S. radio-telephone United States. The computer has nothing to bend others to their will.
engineers atop the Eiffel Tower in invaded the fields of science,
Paris, France. Today one hundred and technology, business and government
to the point that it is meaningless to Is it now possible to con-
seven countries, territories and
possessions on six continents are describe an activity as computerized. trol the lives of a group of
using communication satellite ser- In 1972 there was one computer for
vices, enabling more than one billion every 2400 people in the U.S. and the people through the use
people - one of every four persons on computer population explosion has of computers and re-
earth - to seean international event on not yet abated.
television as it happens. And they can Scientific developments and dis- lated technology that is
view these events on their own per- coveries continue to increase the currently available or will
sonal pocket size television sets which capabilities of computers and com-
are currently available on the market. munications equipment. Out of the be available in the fore-
About thirty years ago, J. Presper new field of fiber optics, for example, seeable future?
comes the development of special
Jon R. Welton, 3521 Winifred, Ft. Worth, TX 76133. glass fibers that will be used to enable Certainly.
108 CREATIVE COMPUTING
The Corporate Model watched by the computer. Reser- needs of the state. Then it could
What kind of control could be usedto vations for tennis, handball, racquet present the student with sets of alter-
manipulate the destinies of the ball, squash, golf, etc. could be com- natives compatible with his or her own
masses? Given the tools at hand, it puterized. Demands for courts, alleys, requirements and the requirements of
seems that a society and its people diamonds, greens and fields might also the state. When the student finishes
might be managed much like a giant be computer monitored and construc- school, the job awaits.
corporation with budgets and perfor- tion programs could be scheduled to Performance on the job may be
mance standards and with attendant meet those demands. watched and recorded by the com-
rewards and punishments. Sports would not be the only form of puter. The worker's home, pay, vaca-
Personnel files could be maintained recreation. Present research and tion and life style in general could be
on everyone from birth to death. Such development in holography makes 3D influenced by job performance as
files might contain records of personal movies a reality, and work with liquid recorded. In case a job is lost because
health, military service, criminal activi- crystals sensitive to electricity make of obsolescence, automation or even
ty, education, financial transactions, wall-size TV a coming reality. incompetence, the computer may
licenses, psychological tests, Vacations at parks and seashores may assist in retraining and, if necessary, in
membership in organizations, and be computer scheduled. Facilities relocating the displaced worker.
physical identification characteristics would not be overcrowded or overused From the job, to the home, in the
such as scars, abnormalities, finger because access to them could be school, on the playing field, into the
prints and voice patterns. managed. Vacations might be grave and practically everywhere else,
Virtually all human activity could be scheduled much like airlines presently the individual could be guided,
touched by the computer. Food could schedule passenger travel. monitored, scheduled, programmed,
be ordered through a computer ter- trained and helped by and through the
minal in the home. Reading material Little Personal Privacy computer. Also, people could be
such as newspapers, magazines, and Travel in general would not be overly collectively controlled.
books could be fed from the library restricted as long as the computer Performance of the whole economy
through the computer to the home knows where an individual is located. If may be computer guided. Economic
terminal where copies would be made the computer has received no input activity could be determined and
merely by pressing a button on the TV within a week regarding at least one directed by a state budget. The
set and reproducing those pages of activity such as work, mandatory preparation of this budget would be
interest. If one wished to travel outside sports, vacation, etc. a search could be based upon timely information which
of his city, he could be required to conducted. All family members, work would be vast in volume and detail.
'register his location with the computer. associates and exercise companions Presently, large corporations such as
Of course his eating, reading and travel could be contacted. Also, the missing International Telephone and
habits would then be a matter of record person's voice pattern may be fed into Telegraph Corporation (ITT) budget
in the computer. the communications system and if that and direct the activities of vast inter-
Houses and apartments could be pattern appears, its source could be national organizations that are larger
assigned by the state based upon one's pinpointed. and more complex than many small
position in the society, family size and Where it may be virtually impossible nations. For example, ITT's revenuesin
length of time one has waited for a to hide one's identity and location from 1975 were $14 billion. Ireland's Gross
home. But a home is more than a roof the computer, it may be difficultto lieto National Product was $7.8 billion that
held up by walls; it is a mate and often it as well. The same device that is used same year.
children. The state could help in to monitor vital signs could also serve
finding a mate through a computerized as a lie detector. In that task it may be Americans Distrust Computer Control
dating service. Even though there aided by a voice-stress analyzer that Will a computer controlled society
might be little state influence regarding could determine when a lie is spoken. emerge in the U.S.? Recent events in
mate selection other than com- From School to the Job the last decade or so point to a
puterized introduction, there quite Speaking to the computer may be reluctance on the part of conservatives
possibly would be state control of commonplace. There are computers and liberals alike to trust computerized
reproduction. Genetic and health now able to handle limited discourse. government.
profiles of individuals and theirfamilies Particularly in education and training, The first attempt to use a com-
might be used to determine if couples the computer could interact verbally puterized system for more efficient
should be authorized to produce with the students in programmed government was in 1965, when the
children. Perhaps selective steriliza- learning. Of course an individual's Social Science Research Council
tion would be performed prior to speed and ability to learn becomes a recommended that the Federal Bureau
puberty, precluding the need to seek permanent record. Lectures, reading of the Budget create a national center
such' authorization. assiqnrnents and even experiments for socioeconomic data. After all,
Improved Health Care might be carried on by and with the important new Federal responsibilities
Computerized health history has its computer. Children sitting in front of for urban renewal, health, anti-poverty,
good side in that doctors could have TV screens could travel with their eyes education and civil rights made
instantaneous access to a patient's and ears anywhere in the world. They amalgamation of statistical data essen-
records. Furthermore, personal health may learn such new skills as three- tial. These data could be drawn from
transmitters may be carried by those dimensional drawing through the use the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor
who require them and vital data could of computer graphics. Statistics, Social Security Administra-
then be monitored by the computer. Sometime before completing tion and the Internal Revenue Service.
Menus can be printed by the computer 'schooling, the computer could help the From 1966to 1968two congressional
for diabetics and others who must have student choose a career. The student subcommittees studied the proposal
special diets. Nutrition needs can be would talk to the computer, feeding in and concluded that there was always
matched to locally available foods to important details about his or her the possibility that those managing the
present choices for the patient. goals, needs and values.The computer center or those obtaining access to it
Since good health is enhanced by would then weigh the information it could connect it with an intelligence
exercise, the state might require exer- receivesfrom the student with personal system and obtain a comprehensive
cise programs that would be closely information already on file and with the print-out of all information stored
SEPT/9CT 1978 109
 about a target individual. Moreover, I of legal safeguards, The Freedom of
they believed that such a system could Information Act, as amended in 1974,
have enormous detrimental effects on and the Privacy Act of 1974 permit
the citizens' privacy and could lead to a individuals to write for copies of
concentration of power in the hands of personal records collected by federal
Federal officials who might use the agencies, to correct any inaccuracies
data for intelligence purposes. in those records and, within limits, to
Meanwhile, publications such as the control disclosure of them to other
liberal Washington Post and the con- agencies. The Tax Reform Act of 1976
i servative U.S. News and World Report prohibits the Internal Revenue Service
were warning their readers of the "Big from disclosing personal files to the
Brother" possibilities of the center, The White House and the rest of govern-
data center was debated at national ment unless the requests are in writing
meetings of groups from the American and signed by the President, his
Bar Association to the Joint Computer delegate or the top official of the
Conference, The center was short- requesting agency. Additionally, IRS
circuited before it was even plugged in. must give notice to an individual prior
Government Amasses Information to getting personal records held by that
The Federal government today does person's bank, accountant, lawyer,
have, however, files containing varied stockbroker, credit union, credit card
information about many U,S, citizens, issuer or savings and loan company.
For example: the Internal Revenue The taxpayer can direct that his
Service and the Social Security Ad- records not be disclosed except by
an affordable computer ministration carry income and employ- court order.
This is a complete, self-contained com- ment data; the Veterans Administration Freedom Before Efficiency
puter. Just plug into a monitor and a has military service data; the Bureau of Along with increased computer
cassettetape recorder and you havea Alcohol,. Tobacco and Firearms has sophistication and data handling
fully functioning computer system. data on gun collections; the Clerk of capacity and with rapid growth of
Now you can handle: Congress or the Federal Elections communication networks, there is a
Commission records political con- growing paranoia about government
• Personaldata management tributions over $100; the Coast Guard abuse of individual freedom.
• Businessapplications maintains boat registrations; the Americans' compulsive desire for
• Learning math, languagesand Defense Intelligence Agency has data freedom will continue to frustrate any
programming. on executives in companies with plan to substitute efficiency for liberty.
• Engineering
• Games
•
Where it may be virtual-
60rcerer inGlude$: ly impossible to hide
• Z-80 processor one's identity and loca-
• Hign resolution graphics tion from the computer,
• S-100 bus connector
• 8K RAM and 4K ROM
it may be difficult to lie to
• Extended BASIC in ROM it as well.
• Dual.cassetteI/O
• Serial and parallel I/O ports
• Video I/O port military contracts; the Federal Aviation
Agency has data on applicants for and
TANK
11-\
I JUST ONE OF
• THE 16 GAMES
proqrarn6now a..allable: holders of private-plane licenses; the. YOU CAN Plt>-.YWITH O~ NEW
INCREDiBlE HAND HELD ELEC-
• Personalfinance and investment Federal Communications Commission TRONIC GAME. SPECIAL
planning has files on ham operators and boat- INTRODUCTORY $895
• Computer aided instruction radio license holders; the Federal ~~~~ ~ARAN-r-EED

• "Personal Physician" with diets Trade Commission has files on many INTEAFAB. 27963
L
CABOT AD.
77
and biorythm chart top executives; the Health, Education
and Welfare Department has financial
• Las Vegas-stylegames CIRCLE 114 ON READER SERVICE CARD
records of parents whose children are
• Businessmanagementaids
seeking student loans; the Justice
• Advanced engineering & statistics
Department has data on families of
j uveniles faci ng d rug or sim ilar charges
expand to: in court; the Securities and Exchange
• Many S-100 bus components Commission has information on cor-
• 32K RAM porate insiders; the Small Business
• ROM PAC* cartridges for word Administration maintains loan
processingand development soft- applications; the State Department
ware. keeps data regarding passports and
the Treasury Department records TIS
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than $10,000. packages for the COMMODORE PET 2001.
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110 CREATIVE COMPUTING
CIRCLE 118 ON READER SERVICE CARD
 -
," .

That's the word that sums up the dynamic small computer show in New
York that was established last year at the Coliseum. The lecture areas were
filled by interested people, the exhibits were great, the attendance was the
highest of any small computer show in the country.
The big point is that everyone who came went away happy. Accou ntants,
hobbyists, lawyers, doctors, brokers, retailers, business people, program-
mers, research scientists and just plain homeowners.
The second big point is that we're doing it again. This time, bigger and
better. Topserhinars, top exhibits. , '__
Small computers from $500 up, •
software and kits. NAME I (please print)
I
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. Get your ticket~

In advance by mall. Il e, me tickets in advanceSf~:epersonal & BusT~~ss Small
computer Show, Sept. 15-17, 1978, in trie New York Coliseum,
I
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(Check One) One Day ($5)_ Two Days ($9)_ Three bays ($13)_
I
IJ PERSONAL & BUSINESS
SMALL COMPUTER SHOW
78 East 56th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022
•...
•
Send check or money order (U,S dollars) payable to

----..I
Personal & Business Small Computer Show to 78 E, 56th St.,
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•
 James C. Meehan, Jr.
The system-design form widely
referred to as "distributed processing"
is fast becoming state-of-rhe-a
design in many data-processing
circles. For purposes of discussion
here, we can define the concept as • • • Not Necessarily!!
tollows:
"Distributed processing is the user functions must be designed and successfully with t,he machine sub-
removing of some functions from tested as part of the total system. The system. It is part of the personnel
the traditional large-scale 'host' system (or more accurately the com- subsystem developers charge to define
processor, and distributing those puter subsystem) must not be com- and provide for any training necessary
functions into a network of mini- pleted and presented to the user as a for successful systemimplementation.
and micro-processors. These fait accompli. In parallel to the machine Again, computer experts may not be
functions include data-base subsystem development, a personnel qualified in designing and developing
management, data manipulation subsystem must be developed. This this training, even though they may
and communications control." personnel subsystem must be have very detailed knowledge of the
Distributed processing is one of the developed in the same manner as the workings of the computer subsystem.
results of successful manufacture of computer subsystem; defined, design- Test and Evaluate
multi-function, rrunr- and micro- ed, implemented, tested and con- A third concept of development of
processors. It allows many verted. The personnel subsystem that adequate personnel subsystems in
applications to become economically is no more than final documentation of distributed networks is that they must
and operationally feasible where they the machine subsystem is a sign of a be tested and evaluated as much as the
previously would have expired on the successful failure. Many times the machine subsystem. This means
drawing board. No longer are "mega- developers of machine subsystems are following much the same steps as for a
buck" investments necessary to sup- the same persons charged with machine subsystem; developing a test
port on-line, user-oriented systems. development of the personnel sub- plan, defining test criteria, providing
Reduced communication-line costs, systems. While this is not inherently test data, conducting and evaluating
speedy response, improved reliability bad, nor are the skills mutually ex- the test, etc. However, the problems
arid recovery, are all very real benefits clusive, it is indeed rare to find a person encountered in adequately testing a
of distributed processing. The end who can switch between two such personnel subsystem are different and
result of all this is to allow us to bring demanding tasks and do both well.
more complex than a machine sub-
the power of data processing back Personnel subsystem development has system. It is costly, for starters; not only
under the control of the end-user. lagged behind computer subsystem
do you have to find and schedule
Because of this very reason, if suf- development as a discipline, and still
ficient attention is not paid to the role of needs to be recognized as being at
that user, we are apt to construct least equally important. The personnel subsys-
sophisticated, reliable, instant- Tomorrow's Job
response failures! Another concept of per-
tem that is no more than
The End-User in Mind sonnel/machine interface design that final documentation of
It is fairly evident that an on-line is often overlooked is that the person
the machine subsystem
system has to be designed and im- doing the user job today is not
plemented with the end-user in mind in automatically qualified to do the job is a sign of a successful
order to be successful. The user's role tomorrow with an on-line system.
as a provider and recipient of data is Ability to read and write English (or any
failure.
well accepted; less widely accepted is language) and the ability to discern the
the concept that the user is also a difference between symbols is not people in a large enough sample, but
processor. As a processor, the user is sufficient. Persons dealing with a new you are usually faced with maintaining
an integral node in the system and all machine subsystem may need varying an acceptable level of output in their
levels of skills and knowledge before normal assignments. Testing on an off-
James C. Meehan, Jr., 245 State St., Room 701, they are really qualified to interface shift or on weekends, a technique used
Boston, MA 02109.

112 CREATIVE COMPUTING

in machine testing, can't be used here Unique Pitfalls? Because distributed processing
for obvious reasons. Another problem Are all these pitfalls unique to enables bringing computer resources
is establishing a base level of systems designed for distributed back into the hands of the system user
knowledge to train from; some in- processing? Are these not present in all in an interactive mode, it also puts
correct conclusions drawn here could systems, especially on-line systems? increased pressure on the total system
result in over- or undertrained people. They are not unique to distributed developer to ensure that the user can in
Other problems arise in evaluation, processing, they are present in all fact use the system. In companies with
subjective criteria, preconditioning of system development efforts. The point small to medium size (10 to 50 persons
test subjects, and a great many more of this article is that they have become permanent systems development staff)
complications not found in machine much more crucial because via dis- data systems organizations, it may be
testing. Personnel subsystem testing is tributed processing, we are able to more difficult to maintain qualified
time-consuming, costly and difficult to implement user-oriented systems on a personnel subsystem developers. For
evaluate, which may be why it is so significantly broader base than ever these companies, it may be less costly
often neglected. However, it is the only before, at greatly reduced hardware in the long run to contract out for
way to have some assurance the and software development cost. Some personnel subsystem services and
system will work as designed from a specific reasons why this personnel maintain a minimal staff for changes
"total system" point of view. subsystem attention is more critical and on-going training. Companies with
are: larger data systems development staff
• The terminal operator is likely to should have resident personnel sub-
Distributed processing is be located some distance from system system expertise to develop and sup-
support staff. port the manual part of the systems.
a viable and powerful de- • The terminal operator is more apt Distributed processing is indeed a
sign alternative, and a to be a non-computer oriented person, viable and powerful design alternative,
as opposed to a keypunch operator or a and a major vehicle to taking advan-
major vehicle to taking payroll clerk. tage of the recent leaps in mini- and
advantage of the recent • The terminal operators main-line micro-processor development.
responsibility may be far greater than However, it is most important that we
leaps in mini- and micro- simply terminal functions. recognize the danger in installing user-
processo r develop- • The operator may have to interface oriented systems via distributed
with customers simultaneously with processing if we do not focus sufficient
ment. the machine subsystem. attention on the role of that user. -

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CIRCLE 123 ON READER SERVICE CARD

 Binky Jones started the exodus. He
just got up and walked out real cool.
Binky was always a cool guy. He didn't
know what was going on but he knew he
wasn't having any part of it.
Mr. Nielsen watched them file out. Not
a single emotion crossed his face. It was
as if he were watching a bug crawl across
the floor not because he had any interest
in the bug but because it just happened
to be handy for his eyes to focus on.
I stayed in my seat, fidgeting under
the stare of those blank eyes. I stayed
because those crazy vibes he'd sent out
for a second had been screaming for
help. Like the school psycho-man had
told me, I had empathy. Something was
eating Mr. Nielsen's soul.
"That's the third class, today, that's
walked out on me." Mr. Nielsen said,
"Why did you stay, Byran7 Better yet,
why did the rest go7"
I got up and walked up close to
Nielsen. It wasn't 'easy, Like the feeling
you get when you are going swimming
for the first time in the year and your
toes touch the cold water. Your body
says stop, don't go in. Your mind says
everything will be all right once you get
into the water. Getting close to a person
without vibes was like that. It was like
being close to a dead person. But under-
takers get used to that, I suppose. Any,
how, the longer I stayed around Nielsen,
the less bothered I was.
"Mr. Nielsen, You've always been
straight with me and you helped me get
that job last summer, so I couldn't walk
Sam Crowe away from you. I don't turn my back on
people unless they turn theirs on me." I
said.
"That doesn't tell me why I'm sud-
Everybody puts out vibrations, man. I Mr. Nielsen was our business teacher denly so bad a teacher that the students
mean everybody. Most people radiate and up until today he'd had vibes like walk out of my classes, Bryan."
confused vibes, full of rejection and fear. everybody else. Now he stood like a Up real close to him, I could almost
Catonic people radiate vibes that are ice piece of stone in front of the class and feel his vibes. It was like they were there
cold. A few, very few, people radiate his mouth moved and words came out but buried under ice. Somewhere deep
good happy vibes that make people want but nobody was catching what he was inside him, his soul was still kicking. It
to be around them. Some actors can putting down. It was like a T.V. set talk- was fighting whatever was eating it. His
throw those good vibes out even when ing with no pictures. You hear the words soul did not want to die.
they are on film. They call it 'presence' but you keep looking for the picture and "Mr. Nielsen, my mother always told
but it's the same thing. losing track of the words. me that my grandfather back in Louis-
The thing I'm getting at, what I'm Donna Dee Folsom stood up and ana, was a Mojo man. She said the big-
trying to really put down is the absolute grabbed her books. I could see her hands gest white men in the parrish took off
inevitable truth, everybody has vibes. trembling. She told Mr. Nielsen that she their hats to my grandfather. The school
Everybody, no exceptions. was sick and had to go see the nurse. He psychiatrist here, told me I had empathy.
Yet, here was a man, seemingly nodded and Donna went through the My mother says it's the Mojo in me. I
human, who had no vibes. Standing there door like a scared cat and every girl in never told anybody this before because
and talking to me and the rest of the class the class got up and followed her. they would just laugh. I know what's
and no vibes were coming across. It Mr. Nielsen sagged back and sat on wrong with you, Mr. Nielsen. Something
made goose pimples on me. Everybody the front of his desk and ran his hand or somebody is eating your soul. They're
in class was uneasy even if they didn't across his forehead. He looked at me and making a zombie out of you. All the
know why. Me, I was a senior, but I was the boys that were left and his eyes lost stories are wrong. The old witchmen
old for my years. I'd come to this school their blankness for an instant and cold didn't make zombies out of dead people,
from poverty so deep that I could read sweat broke out on his face and he was they made them out of living people."
vibes. When you're a little kid and you sending vibes out like a person with a Mr. Nielsen passed a shaking hand
go places a little kid isn't supposed to go nervous breakdown. Then his eyes shut across his grey tinted forehead. "That
and are up when you aren't supposed to down again. Everybody shuffled around sounds like a lot of trash, Bryan." He
be up, you learn to read people's vibes or in their seats waiting for somebody to clumsily thumped his chest and an ex-
you don't survive. make a break. pression of agony crossed his face. "But

114 CREATIVE COMPUTING

something in here tells me you are right." "I didn't do any of those things yester- "Well, the supervisor program is on-
He turned his agonized face to me day, Bryan. I don't understand why I'm line, that is, it is running all the time. It
again, "Can you help me?" letting you do this either, such questions. handles all of the other work. It loads in
His vibes screamed at me with the Yesterday I stayed here, right here and programs and handles interruptions to
words, Help me, help me. in the computer room until late at night." the job stream. It assigns input-output
It was almost time for the bell to "Where were you at midnight, Mr. functions and a great many other things.
change classes. Nielsen? It isn't called the witching hour I didn't like the way it handled things so
"I'll try to help you, Mr. Nielsen. I for nothing." I patched it to do it my way."
don't know much but I'll try. Is there "I was here until one o'clock in the "So now it thinks like you do?"
someplace we can go? It's almost time morning." "More or less."
for the bell and we've got to do a lot of "When was the last time that you had I got up and went into the computer
rapping because right now I have no your hair cut, Mr. Nielsen?" room. Mr. Nielsen just sat behind his
idea what to do or tell you." "I haven't had it cut in months. I've desk and followed me with his blank
"Let's go to my office in the data been getting it styled. You know I try to eyes. I stopped by the man who was
center. Only the computer operator will maintain a rapport with my students." running the machine. '
be there now and he'll be out by the con- "What do you do with the parings "Is this the brains of the thing?" I
sole." when you cut your toenails or your asked and pointed at the unit with the
We walked through the empty halls to fingernails?" typewriter thing attached and with all
his office. I wondered where all my "Flush them down the garbage dis- the little blinking lights.
classmates had gone without hall passes. posal." He said, "Yes, 'that's the CPU, the
The monitors must have busted some of "Man, we're not getting anywhere." I central processing unit."
them. I felt like I was walking along by a said unhappily. I sat and stared out the "What does that red pull knob do?" I
robot and when we sat down in his office window at the computer. The little lights asked, pointing to a knob marked emer-
it seemed like he was remoter than be- on the console flashed at me. The thing gency.
fore. He didn't seem to have much time almost seemed like it was sending out "That shuts everything down at once
left. vibes at me. I began talking mostly for and scrambles the machines brains."
He sat looking through the glass into my own benefit, trying to think out loud. The guy laughed, "Take about two days
the computer room for a long moment. "There has to be a pattern. A ju-ju to get it running again."
We heard the bells ringing. Mrs. Thorpe doll with your hair and your nails, or a I reached out and yanked the knob.
was going to be angry with me for miss- photograph of you. A good one that has The guy running things just sat in
ing biology but it couldn't be helped. I some of your vibes. There has to be stunned silence, watching the lights go
shuffled my shoes on the floor until something that is a pattern of you." out.
Neilsen looked at me, his face was very I stared in silence at the computer for Mr. Nielsen came out of his office
strained. a while. It blinked and blinked. shouting mad. He was putting out a ton
"This seems sillier and sillier, but I "They ever shut that thing off?" I of good old human vibes. I figured that
know there's something basically wrong asked. once I got him calmed down, I'd have
with me. Somehow I know that a doctor "No, we use it sixteen hours a day and two days to convince him that the ma-
couldn't help me. So do your Mojo thing, a service bureau uses it from midnight chine was eating his soul. It was going to
Bryan." He said, without hope. to eight and on weekends. That's how the be rough but I would do it somehow.
"Sir, you were okay yesterday, so school was able to afford such a modern "Why in the world did you do that,
whatever or whoever got to you did it last system, by sharing the cost." He Bryan!" Mr. Nielsen yelled.
night or yesterday after school. Did you answered. "Welcome back, Mr. Nielsen." I said
make a Mojo man or a witch mad last "What were you working on last quietly.
night or yesterday after school? Did you night?" He stopped shouting and gave me a
insult a gypsy or call on the devil?" I "On a software interruptions pro- strange look. Then he pointed at the
asked, "Did you disappoint someone in cedure for the supervisor of the operat- machine. "That did it?"
love or laugh at someone's far out be- ing system." "Yes sir." I said, "International Bus-
liefs?" "What is' that in, everyday English?" inessMojo." •

•••• •
[JO •••
• •••
••••
• • ••
D 0
"1 REACtf9 01AT AN~ YANke> 1HE kNOa"

SEPT/OCT 1978 115

COMPUTER MVTHS EXPLAINED

M\TH
"COMPUTJS'R ~RRORS'I
"iO ~ I~ °2:0MPU1"~Rt,
C,()MPLJ-rERS AR~ f4.WAV~ MAKING 81G fiNANCIAl.- ~RRORS
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PROGRAMM~RS AND OP~A-rOR~ i"R'V'fO J(~~p "fHfJ ~f?RORS our,
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L1K~ IN -rHE< OL-D DAYS!
 Hit the deck in shorts and
a tee shirt. Or your bikini if
you want.
You're on a leisurely cruise
to remote islands. With names
like Martinique, Grenada,
Guadeloupe. Those are the
ones you've heard of.
A big, beautiful sailing vessel
glides from one breathtaking
Caribbean jewel to another.
And you're aboard, having
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\ intimate group of lively, fun-
loving people. Singles and .
couples, too. There's good food,
___ "grog;' and a few pleasant
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fancy hotel, and you'll be
happy about that.
Spend six days exploring
paradise and getting to know
congenial people. There's no
other vacation like it.
Your share from $265. A new cruise is forming now.
Write Cap'n Mike for your free adventure
booklet in full color.

I
I
I
I
e Windiammer Cruises.

I
IIe ~-'~"'--------------------
=,~ ~~=." L~. _

""""'

CIRCLE 141 ON REAbER SERVICE CARD

 SMAL/80
ENTER.
SMAL/80 is a new structured Below is an example of a bubble-sort DISPLAY ID.
assembly language with macro program, coded in SMAL/80. PROCEED.
capabilities for the 8080 processor PRESS BUTTON.
(and also the 8085 and Z-80). SMALl80 A SMAL/83 BUBBLE SORT

could be called a "high-level RIDE ELEVATOR.

assembler" and uses an indented, SIZE
o • 1;
EQU 255; SIT AT DESK.
symbolic notation and structured con- LOOP;
o = 0;
READ.
structs such as DO-END, IF-THEN- URITE.
HL"* N;
ELSE, and LOOP-REPEAT. These may B M(HL) ;
be combined or nested to any depth. HL
z

• ARRAY; DISPLAY KNOULEDGE.

The compiler and macro processor
LOOP;
IF --B ZERO 1* NO MORE PAIRS LEFT *1 IF NOON,
both reside in 7K of memory. The BREAK;
A = M (HL) ;
EAT LUNCH,
intention in writing this language was ++HL; RETURN TO DESK.
to provide a means to write complex IF A : M(HL) NEG THEN

assembly-language programs with the

DO 1* DO AN INTERCHANGE *1;
C-M(HL);
IF END OF DAY,
ease of using a high-level structured M(HL) = A;
--RL;
LEAVE OFFICE,
language (similar to ALGOL or PL/M). M(HL) • C; EAT,
SMALl80 and its predecessor, SMAL, ++HL;
o • 1;
PLAY,
were developed by Dr. Charles Popper
REPEAT;
END; REST.
at Bell Labs. The language is expected
to be released in the first half of 1978
REPEAT WHILE [A • B; A • A OR AJ NOT ZERO; GOI0 ~~YJL~~Y.
after testing. The expected price for the N: BYTE SIZE;
CP/M version, on diskette, is $75; ARRAY: RESERVE SIZE; Art S'AanSOl1
cassette versions will be offered later. 29 Sapp-hil'e st.
END PROGRAM;
Enfield, CT 06082

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CIRCLE 185 ON READER SERVICE CARD 118 CREATIVE COMPUTING

 IMMEDIATE DELIVERY

Advanced 8K Model
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No computer know-how needed! Uses extended "BASIC". Self·
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CIRCLE 151 ON READER SERVICE CARD

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•

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CIRCLE 149 ON READER SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 120 ON READER SERVICE CARD
119
• Over 250 Exhibit Spaces • Internationally Recognized Speakers

• Held in the VAST Dallas Convention Center • Special Programs for Dealers Only

Dallas-Sept. 29-30-0ct.1,1978

EXHIBITORS SPEAKERS
(AS OF JUNE 10)
SEE TOMORROVV CAROL OGDIN (SOFTWARE TECH-

ADVANCED
ALPHA MICRO
COMPUTER
SYSTEMS.
PLlEO DATA COMMUNICATIONS.
PRODUCTS.
APPLE. AP-
AXIOM
TO DIA~ I •
NIQUES).

[KILOBAUD
DR.

[BYTE MAGAZINE)
FACE AGE). ZACH
ADAM
BORNE & ASSOCIATES).
MAGAZINE).
OSBORNE
WAYNE GREEN.
CHRIS MORGAN
BOB JONES
BOVINETTE
(OS-

lINTER-
[INTER-
CORP .. BYTE SHOP OF DALLAS. CAPITAL FACE AGE). STEVE MURTHA [D/A
EQUIPMENT BROKERS. CENTRONICS. ASSOCIATES). ELLIOT MAC LENNAN'
COMPUCOLOR CORP .. COMPUTER HEAD- (MAC LENNAN & LILLIE). ASTRONAUT
WARE: COMPUTER ROOMERS. [NASA). HAROLD MAUCH [PERCOM
COMPUTER SHOP. DALLAS COMPUTER DATA). ELIZABETH JACKSON [SOFT-
CENTER. OATA GENERAL CORP .. DE- WARE TECHNIQI,)ES). BOB ELDRIDGE
CISION DATA COMPUTER CORP .. DIGITAL (DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP.). RODNEY

Internat-lonaI
EQUIPMENT CORP .. DIGITAL RESEARCH ZAKS (SYBEX). OR.EMERSON BROOKS,
CORP .. DILITHIUM PRESS. DIVERSIFIED [E SYSTEMS). R. NEIL FERGUSON
TECHNOLOGY. 0 P SERVICES: ELEC- [MOORE BUSINESS FORMSI. GEORGE
TRONIC DATA SYSTEMS [EDS). FINAN- NELSON [MOTOROLA). BEN PEEK (BEN
CIAL COMPUTER CORP.. FOUNDATION PEEK. INC.). STEVE EDELMAN lITHACA
FOR QUALITY EDUCATION. GENERAL AUDIOJ. BILL GODBOUT (GODBOUT
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TRONICS. HOBBY WORLD ELECTRONICS. .. .... .... .... ... [VANGUARD SYSTEMS CDRP.J. MITCH

M'I-(3 r;oc' '0m put e r

IMSAI. ITHACA AUDIO. JADE COMPUTER GOOZE' (MOTOROLA SEMICONDUCTOR
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CORP .. MIDWEST SCIENTIFIC INST .. MITS. COMPUTING). S. PAL ASIJA (ASIJA L.AW
MOSTEK. MOTOROLA SEMICONDUCTOR: OFFICE). DR. THOMAS J. BLACK [SDLAR-
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ATES. PAGE DIGITAL ELECTRONICS.
TEC MICRO SYSTEMS.
CORP .. PRIME SUPPLY.
SOLVER
QUALITY
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SYSTEMS.
COMPONENTS.
PER COM DATA

Q M DATA
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INC .. PROBLEM
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.)(_
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POSI
[THINKER

[FORMERLY
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TOYS). HOWARD
[PARASITIC ENGINEERING).
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DATAPOINT).
(TRINITY
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DR. RICHARD
REITZEL
DR. AARON
UNIVERSITY).
(HOME COMPUTER
TER. INC.). HOWARD J. HILTON.
H.
D.C.
CEN-

ELECTRONICS. INC. SMOKE SIGNAL

BROADCASTING. SOUTHWEST FEDER- MAGAZINES
ATION OF COMPUTER CLUBS. SOUTH-
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Keynote Address By Dr. Portia Isaacson

Special Dealer Program Featured Seminar Speakers

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 Evaluating Stock Options
or
How to Lose it a Little Slower
Allen C. Hagelberg

It seems to me that when investing in the stock-option As the data is input, the printout takes the following form:
market, we continually need to know and do the following
things: NAME OF THE STOCK=08RUNSWICK
1. Know our current stock-option positions. PRICE OF THE STOCK=?12.?5
STRIKE POINT=015
2. Find and evaluate the best stock-option transactions. TODRYS DATE-MO,DAY~YEAR=?1~20,75
3. Determine the "return on investment," "cash flow," JAN,APRIL,JULY,OCT PREMIUM=?O,C.437S,e.75,e
MONTH OF THE CALL= 4.00
and "total impact for each transaction." EFFECTIVE WRITING RATIO= 1.00
Knowledge of the stock-option positions and determining IljITIAL Ilf· ...
E:Ht·1EliT=1254.41 TOTAL Ilj'lo'E:::H1EIH=
1284.12
the total impact for each transaction follow standard S.VAL RET ROI ROI/Y
17.85 215.88 16.81 60.34
accounting practices, but finding a good stock-option 16.58 215.88 16.81 60.34
transaction is a problem. Many stock-option strategies are 15.30 215.88 16.81 60.34
14.03 118.38 9.22 33.09
available, but selling options against stock that we buy is 12.75 -9.12 -0.71 -2.55
the least risky and the consistently most profitable 11.48 136.62 - HL 64 -:38. 1'3
10.20 -264.12 -20.57 -73.83
venture'. Evaluating this investment strategy is the subject 8.93 '-391.62 -30.50 -109.46
of this computer program. 7.65 -519.12 -40.43 -145.10
6.38 -646.62 -50.36 -180.74
In this strategy, 100 shares of stock are bought and used 5.10 -774.12 -60.28 -216.38
as collateral for each call option sold. This call option is
sold at a premium, giving the buyer of the option the right
to purchase the stock at a set price (known as the strike Line by line we have:
point) for a given length of time (the life of the options). A
detailed definition of option trading is given in references Input Line 2. Name of stock = Brunswick
1 and 2. The parameters of this strategy are: Line 3. Price =$12.75
1. Price of the stock Line 4. Strike point = 15
2. Strike point Line 5. Date = 1, 20, 76
3. life of the option Line 6. Jan premium 0 (Jan 76, expiration date
4. Value of the premium. has passed)
In this computer program, we will input this data and April premium .4375 (0.4375 = 7/16)
vary the projected value of the stock from 40% to 160% of July premium .75 (0.75 = 3/4)
its current value. This program will then calculate the Oct premium 0 (Oct 76, Brunswick
projected return on investment for the life of the option. By option, not open)
analyses of these data with other stock-option com-
Output Line 7. Jan is zero, thus disregard. April has a
binations, we can find the best transactions.
premium and is designated as the 4th
For example-from the Los Angeles Times' listing of the
month; so month of call = 4.
Chicago Board Option Exchange (CBOE) transactions of
January 20, 1976, we can evaluate the Brunswick options Line 8. Writing ratio is set to 1 (forget this term
of April 15 at 7/16 and July 15 at 3/4. The previous day for now; more about this later.)
Li ne 9. Initial investment = $1254.41
closing stock price was 12-3/4. At the start of the program,
the following questions are asked: Total investment = $1284.12

The remainder of the tabulation shows how the Return,

Return on Investment (ROI), and ROI annualizedvaryasa
NAME OF THE STOCK= function of stock price from $5.10 to $17.85 per share.
PRICE OF THE STOCK= Thus, if the stock remains at $12.75 for the life of the
s ''1''F' I i< r::: F' U :r I··j T:::: option, we would lose $9.12. However, if the stock moves
TODAYS DATE-MO,DAY,YEAR= to more than $15, we make $215.88 or 16.8% ROI or 60%
JAN,RPRIL,JULY,OCT PREMIUM= per. year, annualized. Likewise, we can evaluate the
downside or loss potential.
Let:s say we d-J;not likethattransaction. Suppose we sell
2 options for e{ery 100 shares of stock to see if we can
Allen C. Hagelberg, 23711 Prospect Valley Dr., Diamond Bar, CA 91765. improve our prifit.

SEPT/OCT 1978 121

 In the following printout, the writing ratio in line 2 is 2.
10 DH1 G$[2IJ]
This is accomplished through the "For L = 1 to 2," in line 2~) DHl E[ 1(1]
280 of the program. We then have the following: 30 FI::<ED 2
40 Pc:=P4=P5=0
MONTH OF THE CALL= 4.00 50 81=A=DI=D2-D3=D4=D5=L=0
EFFECTIVE WRITING RRTIO= 2.00 60 N=M=Y=CI=ll=12=R8=R9=ZI=Z2=S2=0
INITIAL INVESTMENT= 1212.15 TOTAL INVESTMENT= 1240.86 70 111=tJ2=100
S.VAL RET POI ROI/'"( 80 PRINT "NAME OF THE STOCK=";
17.85 -1240.86 -100.00 -358. '3:::
90 IfWUT G$
16.58 -124~3.86 -100. (10 -358 ;'33 100 PRINT "PRICE OF THE STOCK=";
1.5.:30 -1240.:::6 -100.I~C1 -35:,:.93 110 HWUT PI
14.<:13 161.64 13.0::: 46.76 120 PRINT "STRIKE POINT=";
12.;'5 34.14 '3. ::::3
1:::0HWUT SI
2.75
11.41:: -n.36 -?52 -27.0El 140 PRINT "TODAYS DATE-MO,DAY,YEAR=";
1<3.213 -220.86 -i7 ..80 -63,8'3
150 IfWUT t'1, t'J
I 'l

8. '33 -348.36 -2:3.07 -1013.77 160 PRINT "JAN,APRIL,JULY,OCT PREMIUM=";

7.65 -475. :::6 -38.35 -137.65 1713 HWUT E[ I lo E[ 4 lo E[ 7 J,E[ 10 J
6. :38 -ses. :36 -48.62 ••...••
f--180 FOR K=1 TO 10 :3TEP 3
-174.53
5. 1~Z1 -7~:O. :::6 -58.90 -211.41 1913 IF E[KJ=0 THEN 570
2[n) II1 =K-f:30. 4225
2113 P2=E[ K J
Tabulation shows that if the stock remains at $12.75, then 220 IF Y=77 THEN 250
23(t D4=0
we make $34.14 for the life of the option. If it goes to 240 GOTO 260
$14.03, we make $161.64 or 14%, which is more than the 250 Ii4=:365

r
260 D5=Dl+D4-«M-l)+30.4225)-N
9.2% we had with a writing ratio = 1. But if the stock moves 270 pc:=p1*tJ1
above the strike point of $15.00, we may lose. How much zse FOR L= 1 TO 2
~'~11 fJ2=fJ2*L
we lose depends on where and how we cover the call, but 31:10P4=P2*fJ2
that's another point in time and another transaction. This 310 Cl=(P3*0.017)+(P4*0.034)
32,,)11 =F'3--P4+C1
program is limited up to the strike point, and the $1240 loss 330 12=11*0.085*D5/3£5
is meaningless. c:40 13=11+12
Again, let's say we would like to keep looking for a better 350 PRINT "MONTH OF THE CALL=";K
360 PRINT "EFFECTIVE WRITING RRTIO=";L
opportunity. Because of the way we have inputted the 370 PRINT "INITIRL INVESTMENT=";ll;
data, this program continues by evaluating the July option 380 PRINT "TOTAL INVESTMENT="I3;
400 PRINT" S.VAL RET POI
at 0.75. This is accomplished through "For K = 1 to 10step ~41 [1 FOR A=-4 TO 6 POI.· Y"
3" of line 180 of the program. We then have: 42[1 P5::::P3*(1--(A·~0.1»)
430 IF (P5/NI»(SI+0.25l THEN 480
~40 f::::::=P5-I 3
MONTH OF THE CALL= 7.00 4513 ZI=0
EFFECTIVE WRITING RATIO= 1.00 460 C;OTO 500
INITIAL INVESTMENT= 1151.78 TOTAL It1'.,,'E:nt'1EtH=
~20:'::.53 470 13=I3+P5*(1-L)
S.VAL RET ROI F.:OI./Y 480 R8=SI*NI-13-SI*(L-ll*100
17.85
16.58 296.47
24.63
24.63
46.60
46.60
;~g ~~:~~~~~~~~;i)-(P2*1.068)*100)/(P2*1.068)
15. ::::~::1 296.47 24.63 46.60 510 :32=P5i11l
14.03 19E:.97 16.5:3 :31. 27 520 Ml=R9/(D5/365l
12.75 71.47 5.94 11.2:3 530 FORMAT 6Fll.2
II. 48 -56.03 -4.66 -8. :,:1 54[1 t~RITE (15,530)32, R8, R9otl1
10.20 -1::::3.53 -15.25 -28.85 550 NEXT A
-::::11.03 -25.:::4 -48. 8'~ 1- .. 56£1 fJEXT L
7.65 -438.5:::: -36.44 -61::. '32 _570 t'JEXT K
6. :::::3 -566.0:::: -47.03 -:38. '3-6 580 IF D5>180 THEN 600
5. 1~~1 -693.53 -57.62 -1r.::19.~30 590 GO TO 610
600 PRINT "LONG TERM"
610 Et'm
Analyzing this stock-option transaction, we have a 5.9%
ROI for a six-month period. Also, we have a maximum
return of $296.47 at 24.6% ROI and some downside
protection if the stock price falls. This kind of analysis can (S1 +0.25) as the point where the option is exercised.
continue with myriad possible combinations. However, this could be as low as 0.0625 above the strike
point. Finally, if we work down the listing to line 580 and
MONTH OF THE CALL- 7.00
EFFECTIVE WRITING RATIO= 2.00 05 >180, then we can possibly use this transaction in
INITIAL INVESTMENT= 1006.88 TOTAL Itl'v'E:,:H1EIH= "long-term" tax benefits, depending on how and when we
S.'.!AL RET POI ROI/\'
17.85 -1052.12 -1013.00 -189.16 close out the transaction (ref. 6).
16.5:,: -1052.12 -1'30.00 -189.16 Of course, several other program expansions can be
15.30 -[[152.12 -IW3.0e1 -189.16
14.0:3 3:3. :31::1 63.00 added and other possible costs and benefits analyses are
12.75 2 ~~~?•:;::
:::: • 1 E: 40.07 possible, but this run gives us a good indication of which
11.48 9:). :38 (17 17.15
10.20 -:::2.12 -:3.05 -5.77
stock-option combinations are better than others.
8. '33 -159.62 -15.17 -28.70
7.65 -287.12 -27.29 -51.62 References
6.38 -414.62 -39.41 -74.54
5.10 -542.12 -51.53 -97.47 1. Gary L. Gastineau, "The Stock Option Manual,"
LONG TEF:t1 McGraw-Hili Book Company, pp. 39-91, 1975.
2. The Option Clearing Corporation, Prospectus, January
The program is written in BASIC on an HP 9830 and has 6, 1975. •
a file size of 557 words. As with most programs, certain
simplifying assumptions lead to limitations and a margin
N~
of error. In the program listing, line 200 assumes 30.4225
days per month. The April option will expire on the 17th,
but the program used 4x30.4225 less the number of days
we were into the year 1976, thus a 13-day error. Line 310
uses 1.7% as stock commission and 3.4% option commis-
sion, whereas commissions are not the same throughout
the industry. Also, we have not accounted for the closing
transaction costs.
Line 330 uses 8.5% interest on the margin account, but
interest rates will change from time to time. Line 430 uses

122
 Announcing ...
Small Business
Computers
Magazine

The magazine for

users and potential users
of small business computer
products and services
#"~
• p.J\s<OC

~-----------------------------------------
Small Business Computers Magazine (SBC) is the monthly magazine for businessmen who are in
the process of purchasing or installing their first computers. It is the bridge between the world of
business and the world of small computers.
Small Business Computers Magazine is a practical how-to publication ... written in non-technical
language ... and stressing business applications for small computer systems. Each monthly issue
includes:
FEATURE SURVEY REPORTS on particular areas of current interest, such as Software Packages
for Small Business Applications, Small Manufacturing Systems, Inventory Control Systems, Micro-
computer Business Applications, and so on.
APPLICATION STORIES: Real-life examples of computer applications in the small business en-
vironment - articles which stress computer capabilities and benefits, and what to watch for when
purchasing and installing a computer.
COMPUTER PROFILES: Spotlight reviews of new computer systems for the small businessman.
IDEAS AND INNOVATIONS: Helpful items which enable more effective utilization of small busi-
ness systems.
INFORMATIVE ADVERTISING: The leading mini and microcomputer companies are regular
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nessman.

Receive the next 12 issues of Small Business Computers Magazine

at 50% off the cover price by entering your charter subscription today.
Send your check along with the coupon to:
SMALL BUSINESS COMPUTERS
Magazine
33 Watchung Plaza • Montclair, NJ 07042

r-----------------------~
I
I
SMALL BUSINESS COMPUTERS Magazine
33 Watchung Plaza. Montclair, NJ 07042
I
I
• 0 YES. Enter my charter subscription at the Y2-pricecost of $9 for I
12 monthly issues.
o Check enclosed. 0 Bill me.
Name ------------ --1
Organization I
Address •
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-------------------------
CIRCLE 163 ON READER SERVICE CARD
 Can Computers Solve the Population Problem?

David H. Ahl
Population growth has an immense
effect on the use of various resources
on the earth and in individual coun-
tries. It also leads to interesting
questions like, "If the population
growth of the United States and Mexico
continue at their present rates, when
will the population of Mexico exceed
that of the United States?"
In any event, it's probably worthwhile
to update the old population problems
and simulations every once in a while Population
with new figures. Below are some Estimates Growth Birth Rate Death Rate 1950
representative 1977 figures. If you (Millions) Rate (Per 1000 (Per 1000 Population
would like a complete 1977 vs. 1950 Major Area Mid 1977 (%) Population) Population) (Millions)
population chart showing every coun- World 4307.4 2.1 34 13 2542.8
try of the world, write to The En- Africa 451.2 2.8 46 20 218.9
vironmental Fund, 1302 Eighteenth St., Asia 2505.7 2.4 38 14 1408.5
NW, Washington, DC 20036. They're a North America 249.0' 1.5 14 9 166.1
non-profit agency, so you might in- Latin America 341.8 2.8 37 9 164.4
clude $1 or $2 to help defray the cost- Europe 478.8 0.6 15 11 392.4
the chart is well worth it. (We've found USSR 259.4 1.0 18 9 180.1
the population estimates of The En- Oceania 21.8 1.8 22 9 12.4
vironmental Fund to be better
Selected Countries
documented and, therefore, probably
more accurate, than those of both the Libya 2.6 4.1 45 15 .95
United Nations' and the U.S. Census Nigeria 89.3 2.9 49 23 34.3
Iraq 11.8 3.4 48 15 5.2
Bureau.)
Kuwait 1.1 6.1 47 5 .1
POPULATION DOUBLING TIME Japan 113.5 1.1 17 6 83.8
Population Number of Years China, People's Rep. 987.3 2.4 36 12 556.3
Growth Rate % to double Population United States 225.6' 1.5 14 9 152.3
0.5 139 Mexico 62.6 3.5 44 7 26.5
1.0 69 Brazil 116.1 2.9 37 9 53.3
1.5 46 Sweden 8.3 0.4 12 11 7.0
2.0 35 Germany, Fed. Rep. 62.2 0.1 10 12 50.0
2.5 28 German, Oem. Rep. 16.8 -0.2 11 14 18.4
3.0 23 ·U.S. population figures include an estimate of 1.7 million from illegal immigration. derived from U.S.
3.5 20 Immigration and Naturalization Service reports. Corresponding adjustments have not been made to
4.0 17 other figures, most notably Mexico.

==========================
HEX-OCTAL CONVERSION CHARTS 2 6 2 Solution to Cryptic Message from page 168.
* 4 colours
* Base 2, 8, 10, 16 on each sheet
10110010

B 2
178 I received a very severe message today from Colonel
* shows the relationship of hex and Stager. I think it unjust. Please see my reply to him. Thanking
octal notations to binary
* great learning aids 2 7 2 you and the Colonel for past confidence and kindness. I beg
* indispensible for anyone working in leave to tender my resignation.
assembler or machine code
10111010
BA- 186 - McCaine
* 3-ring binder fold-out BREMEN is simply a keyword that indicated that the
OR wall chart (please specify)
SET OF 2 CHARTS message was written from left to right in six columns. The
3 0 2 seventh row was filled out with four null words and a blank
(one indexed in hex, the other in octal)
Single set $5.95 I set
12 or more $4.50 I set
11000010

C 2
194 space. Encipherment was accomplished by going up and
down the columns in a prearranged sequence and adding
SEND CHEQUE OR MONEY ORDER TO
ZETA SYSTEMS CANADA LTD.
additional null words.
2547 HEATHER STREET 3 1 2 Evidently, Operator McCaine was prevailed upon to
VANCOUVER, B.C. V5Z 3J2
Quantity & school discounts available
Dealer inquiries invited
11001010

C A
202 reconsider his resignation. He ended his career in 1865on the
staff of General Sheridan. He was credited with sending an
intercepted .eonfederate message, which caused General
CIRCLE 150 ON READER SERVICE CARD Robert E. Lee's last food train to be captured, leading shortly
to the Appomatox surrender.

==========================
124 CREATIVE COMPUTING
 rJ"Sh'IBSS
O()ffiLl,,,'i,,€

Scientific Research Inst.

Scientific Research Inst. has three
accounts receivable programs. the
first is in Volume III of their BASIC
Software Library, "Advanced Busi-
ness" ($39.95) by R. W. Brown, as part
of a Billing and AIR program that can
be input from audio cassette. There are
no external fi les, because all the data is
contained in DATA statements.
The second accounts receivable
program is in the front of Volume
VI, "A Complete Business System"
($49.95, same author), as a module of a
large system, which is a disk interactive
version of (although not identical in all
parts to) the Volume III program. The Limitations about 31 K bytes for execution. Includ-
user can make up a business system As this program does not use ed after the source-code listing is an
from both Volumes III and VI, using files it should execute in any BASIC- executed run using the data presently
disk interactive programs where speaking computer. that has sufficient contained in the program.
desired. on-line storage. The program is set up
The third program is described with sample data that must be removed Second AIR Program
extensively in the back of Volume VI; before entering your data. It is set for a This is a disk interactive version of
and as the forward puts it, "the entire maximum of 100 customers .. This the Billing and Accounts Receivable
source code forthis complete business number is set in the DIM statements on program that appears in Volume III of
system program is not included due to lines 1100 and 1120. The source code this set. This version generates the
its proprietary matter.': This propri- requires 12K bytes of memory for same reports as the program in Volume
etary package is available from Sci- program storage. The amount of III except it also allows the data base to
entific Research Inst., 220 Knollwood, memory required for execution is a be updated interactively. .
Key Biscayne, FL 33149. function of the number of customers The source code for this program is
you have. This is set in the DIM 8K bytes long and the program will
First AIR Program statements. With it set for 100 execute in 12K of available memory.
The first accounts receivable customers, the program will require While most of the BASIC statements
program, which takes up a little over
eight pages and about 400 lines of
BASIC statements, is described this ~'lHICH PEPOF.:T Ilr)ULD '('01.1 LIKE TO pun: ?3
way in Volume III:
Description
This is a Billing and Accounts c U S TOM E R S

Receivable program. It does not use

any external data files. All of the data is ACC#
self-contained within the program. It
37116 574.51 711. ;;:~, 1:2.,'1,(/7'5 ~'l[:::;T!'1H1:,;,1LE':::CO.
generates the following five kinds of 456:::6 :;:. ';'4 ei , 76 :~:/l7/76 F:Et-1HK;TOrl CAr'l
reports: Mailing labels, Customer bills, 7819i:: 95.:::1 ;::1:::.'5 ;:::/1/76 TlrGIll"Atl co.
AIR,Sales and a last purchase report. 9::::21t':. 16.14 1 1:;:. :,:5 :::/6./?,~, t;UPEPIOF.: ELEe.
Users
This program would be used by
individuals or companies engaged in TOTAL PA·,.,NENT::::;: U)59.87
TOTAL ACCOUNTS/REe. = $ 6'3~).4
selling merchandise or services.
Instructions
THE FOLLOIHNG I'::: A LI::::T OF" REPORTS THAT THIS PPOGF~AM
All of the customer and billing data ~HLL GENEF.:ATE. TO CHOOSE ONE T'tPE IT'S ~lU~1BEF.:HHEN ASKED.
must be updated in data statements
before the program is run. Initially the 1 - PPlm ~lAILHlG LABELS
2 - PF.:HH UP BILL:::
data must be input to the program, :;: - eUSTO~lEF.: A/P PEPORT
then, after the first execution, the 4 - SALES F:EPOPT
program with the data included is 5 - LAST PUF:CHASE F:EPOPT
Eo - STOP PF.:OGF:AM
saved on paper or magnetic tape. After
this the data onlYlneeds to be updated
as it changes. L.!.ist the program for
detailed informa~ion about data entry In the first SRI Billing and Accounts Receivable program, the user has selected
and updating. item 3 from the menu, the Customer AIR Report.

SEPT/OCT 1978 125

I
 THIS SUBSECTION ALlows YOU TO SORT YOUR AIR RECORDS IN A VARIETY OF
SEQUENCES AND THEN PRiNT A ~EP6RT.

THE SEQUENCES ARE:

1. CUSTOMEH
-. t
~ -
CUSTOMER NAME
J ..
[;ITY
4 -
STATE
5 ...
ZIP CUDE
6 - *
OF TRANSACTIONS
7 - EXIT WITHOUT SORTINA.
WHICH SEQUtNCE? 2 .
CUSTCIMEf< STf(EET ZIP t
CUSTOMER
Nil. NAME ADDF(ESS CITY STATE CODE H(ANSACTIONS

io CASH SALE ACCOUNT 0 0 0 0 9

DIGITF<AN 3421 LAWRENCE ST. PASADENA CA. 91105 3
78l92AC
~oL176H OMEGA P·.O. BOX 4045 STANFORD N.J. 91268 0
45686 F(EMINGTON CAN CO. 2314 SHERWOOD AVE. LAKESIDE TX. 45217 2
?3216DA SliF-ERIOI,ELECTRIC [<OX 30 READER PA. 16804 4
J7:t16DH WEST HAM SALES CO. 327 N. CHERRY ST. MELROSE IL. 37215 4

In the second SRI Billing and Accounts Receivable program, the user has
selected item 2, which sorts the AIR records in the customer-name sequence.

THIS C;UBC;f"CTION ALLOWS YOU TO SORT are fairly straightforward, the disk 1/0
YOUR AlR RECORDS IN A VARIET'Lll£.
SEQUENCES AND THEN PRINT A REPORT. calls may not be compatible with your
system. In tHis event you will be
~~~~~~~~~--------------.------------------.--------.------
THE SEQUENCES ARE: required to modify these five programs
1 ,- CliSTOMER t
to meet the requirements of the BASIC
2 - CUSTOMER NAME
3 - CITY that you are using.
4 - STATE
~ ~5~-~~7~ILP~C~O~D~E~~~~~ . . _ Third AIR Program
6 - t OF TRANSACTIONS
, - EXIT WITHOUT SORTING.
Much of the explanatory text accom-
WHICH SEQUENCE?-2- panying the programs in the latter two-
thirds of Volume VI, called "A Com-
~~------C~--~~--~--~~~·~~~:~~-~-------------------------
THIS IS THE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SECTION. plete Business System, ACBS tev:80,"
~.Ill..J::!.t1t:rn..!.~LL TRANSACTIONS I~':LOLVJl'ill2.!!!".~",S ..!.' __ • . _
was reprinted in the SRI Inventory
Control article in the March-April issue
IT OEilJ'llLEIGHT MODES OF ciPEflATIClN:
of Creative Computing (pages 116-
1 - AIR LEDGEF~
1- ._.~_=....IT.HiLl:!.0_:LLINQ.l-ABLE~ ._. . . 120).
3 - PAST DUE ACCOUNTS LIST Accounts Receivable
______________ ~4--=-~P.RIN-Lkt.Ls..tOMERLBII;,.I",.$-.----------- __ .._.. ._
The AIR (Accounts Receivable)
5 - SALES REPORT
6 - SORT ACCOUNTS
section allows the printing of all
1-------------=,-- UPDATE CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS accounts that are older than 30 days. If
_______ . ~--=--£.!.N I SN~~' __~.!}TH AIR ._§r::~~rJ:~ . ._ account aging is desired it will have to
WHICH WOULD YOU LIKE TO Do·r...z.. be done through a dummy account set
------------------------------------._.-------------------_.---- up in the AlP (Accounts Payable) file.
For example: an AlP account #30,
FOR EACH ACCOUNT CHANGE, ENTER A NUMBEfI DEFINING THE CHANGE.
o - END aging 30 days can be set up, likewise
1 - OLD CUSTOMEfI UPDATE one for 45, 60 aridlor 90 days may also
--_.----------.-------
2 - ADD NEW CUSTOMER be set up. Enter the amount of aging
__ ~ijL~~~E"?_~2 __ ------------------------.-------------------.--------_ desired as a purchase or bill but Don't
enter any payment. To zero an account
ENTER NEW CU. t, NAME, ST., CITY, ST •• iIP, t OF TRANSACTIONS.
enter a negative purchase equal to the
amount still owing,
Inventory
--1-~0-R·-;=E7A-;;:C;-;H--;-A;;cCC;:cO""UccN~T:;:--,C"'H7A:-;N=GE·=--
,--;E'-"'N"'"'T'"E'""R'-·
-;A:-7N""U;-CM;-;OB~E~'""R'-'
-~D'""E"'F=ININGTHE' CITANGE-. ---.---- The saleable or merchandise inven-
o - END tory contains quantity on harid and unit
1 - OLD CUSTOMER UPDATE cost The unit cost of each item may be
2 - ADD NEW CUSTOMER changed each time its quantity is
I.HI CH ONE? 0
increased or the inventory is updated.
IF YOU HAVE EX-CE-S-S-I-VE--T-R-'A-N-S-A-C-T·-r-O-N-s--F·OFr ANY OF Y()UR------------- Each time an inventory item is purchas-
CUSTOMERS YOU WOULD LIKE TO REMOVE. TYPE A 'I' OTHERWISE ed the inventory must be updated. In
TYPE A '0 ' 'f...2- addition to updating the inventory
section the accounts payable section
THIS IS THE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLt SEC"C";'T=-=r'"'O-N-.-----·----·----------·---
will also have to be updated. If the
__ .±.I-'.T---",W"",-I!=L!=.L_fC!.M",·
N",I""'L",,E,,--
...JA:'1L""L~T!2R~·'A:!!N'-'So!1:l~~C'_.!;TC_'r~Oo!1:N~S~I2:N~V~ll'J,L~V:c!Ic.'.'N~G~S~A"=LEE"'SC!..
. _
transaction involves cash being paid
_ .._JL_Q££,E;H?~.LG.Hlk1.0DES OF OPERATION: out at the same time the inventory item
1 - AIR LEDGEF~ is purchased then update or create:
2 - PflINT MAILING LABLES AlP account #010. The updating con-
3 - PAST tiUE ACCOUNTS LIST sists of entering the amount of the
4 - PRINT CUSTOMERS BILLS,-- -·-'-__
-------- .. -----.---.-- --5-,~.-·-SA·[ES--REF-;ORT----·---- 0 •• '.
purchase and also entering this same
6 - SORT ACCOUNTS amount as a payment This allows the
7 - UPDATE CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS #010 account to zero itself and also
_______._._.__.. 8 - FINISNEri WITH A/R SE'CTlON subtracts the payment from the Cash
WHICH WClULDY-OlJ-J.':-IkE--ro-Dc"Jf..L ---.- ---------.-
on Hand account, contained in the
Miscellaneous file.
The second program displays various menus that allow the user to choose
sequence, mode of operation, type of change, etc. CREATIVE COMPUTING
 All entries in Inventory, AlP and AiR not the inventory section. Therefore for
will have to be entered twice, as the each transaction it will be necessary to
program is based on a double entry first update the AIR section and then
system and these three sections are update the inventory section by sub-
interactive. Every time a bill comes in it tracting the quantities for each item
can be added to its respective account, sold. To add cash sales to Cash on
unless it is one of the twelve itemized
FILE STRUCTURES hand, enter a transaction to the AIR
expense items. These items are up- File #3-A/R #010 account as a receivable and then
dated in the expense section when the N# (number of customers), Customer enter it again as a payment with both
bill is paid. All other bills are added to #, Customer Name, Street address, amounts being equal. This .altows the
the AlP section when they are received. City, State, Zip, Total $ sales yr. to date, cash sales account to zero itself while
If it is necessary to add to your Cash on Total sales since last P & L, # of at the same time updating cash on
Hand as a separate item then update outstanding transactions; !Item #, hand and generating a cash sales log
the AlP account #010 and enter a Quantity purchased, Unit Selling price, for, future records. If this log becomes
negative amount equal to the amount month (1-12) of purchase, day of too long it may be reduced by an
of cash to be added as a purchase and purchase, Payments made in $'s, appropriate entry at the end of the AIR
then ..enter this same negative amount Descrlptlon t updating section. Whenever a
as a payment, this zeros the #010 customer. makes a payment on his
account and adds the amount to Cash account it is automatically added to
on Hand. cash on hand as soon as it is entered as
The AIR (Accounts Receivable) a payment. •
section will update cash on hand but

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE LEDGER

1-----------.-------------.-. ---- ------ ...
~---
_JlAME._ .._.. . .Il.Cc.L_t- C.UL1LsTAn:. __ ... _._ .. __. ~; SAL_ES,. Video Terminals
Yf<. TO DATE $649.50 $15 packing
Dalapolnl3000, 3360 CRT:.
ITEM. QUANT. DATE DEse. SId. ASCII. RS·232. many lealure.
1---------------------------------_ ....
_--_..
_
....
- Fully Assembled. Guaranteed
REFURBISHED
RICHMOND, VA. TELECOM. Bo~ 4117 (703) 883·4019
WAL TON SUPF'L Y AA23716
Alexandria, Virginia 22303
$EI.72 $0.00
-_ _--_ .. _-----------_
.. _---------_
.. ... _-_ .... _--_ ... _----_._--- CIRCLE 145 ON READER SERVICE CARD

WESTHAM SALES CO. 371l6DH MELROSE, IL. $1,712.70

._ __ __ ._------
.. . •.. _-_._---------_._._-_ _
..• ... __ .. -- .. -._---_ .. __ .. - .. _ ... -

_~INGTON CAN co. 45686 LAKES IDE. TX'-'•_

. .. . a,5_L.__
$,""2""8

-.... ---.----

-_ .... _ _ _
rQ2~
2-~45~1
3 I 17
~ ·---·-----'"'-6~/~1-':-2--·-=F'LASTIC

_------------------_._--_._--_
wr'-EkQ.L __
ROD
n. __ •• __ •• _ •.. _"'~ifl.,~i2
$4.36
$0.00
- _. - ·---$~30. O()-

.... _-_._--- .... _. - .-----_.

Baltimore
&
... ... .....•

OMEG,~ N.J.
__ ._ _-_._._ 51376H STANFORD,
__ $1.118.76
.._ ..•

.. .
•....

_._-----_
... _.- -------_._---_
•.. ---_._-------_
....

..
_-------_
_-_ ... --_ .... _
..

.._--_._-
._-_._- ....

.-... Washington
~G~~--------L78~IU9~2llAC~--~r'llAS~A~ENA, CA. _ .. ..
_~$~~h~~
f-- -- Z£3_~J>_._..L L!_~§. Q.BlLZL .. _ . __ .g~i,Z)_ ..... _.__..1..HI.'),
Q.9_
745336 6 3 I 12 FUSE £<K. $151.80 s o , ()O ~ . For Friendly
_ 234.561 5 _... _ 5_1.23..._ ..._. '£'LA.8:.T.lL:_l'Ott $2.:l.!J.O .. 1i15.Q.OO

f-..----------
SUPER.IOR ELECTRIC
.------------.----------~
9.3214.!)I\. _. __ .._.J<E0DP<,. 1'(.,•... ~15.1.BO
~ ,H~::
PIlE'_ ..... _._ . $94.08

.~,
812.263.. ... .B_ .... 2..1 ..3 ..._. ..._0l•. $0.00
A915332 7 3 I 18 FILE H8.48 $0.00
_.. 23A561._. 9.__... _ ..... _.3... L 2'< __ ---.f:! ..A.S.LI..C_ROl!. ... ... __ . ~.39 .,.24 $150.00
"$0 ~-OO.
..
A221679 1
0 O.
6 I
6 I
1~
28
SAW
PAYMENT
$10.34
$0.,00 ';10.00
~
136928 2 6 i "j-i----------WR"ENC"H--- $28.52 ';0.00

r---..--------------------,-,---
CASH S"LE

o
.0
ACCOUNT 10

6
6
/ 22
1 .. 25
0,

o
o
0
..-.-------.-._._

$i,135.00
$1>118.00
..
so ,

$1,135.00
$1.118.00
.....
O{)
_...
ETC...
o 6 I 28 o ~51,002.()O . $1,002.00
o 6 I 30 o $.667.31 $667.31 13A Allegheny Ave., Towson, Md.
(301) 296-0520

TOTAL AIR (LESS SALES TAX). 1>11228.0A 9330 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, Md.
(301) 588..3748
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
An Accounts Receivable Ledger, previously updated with the use of the menus
shown in the previous figure.
CIRCLE 154 ON READER SERVICE CARD

SEPT/OCT 1978 127

 ~"Sii1BSS
c()rn~l!ti
i1€

THE HARRIS SUPPLY co.

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
PERIODIC ACTIVITY FEGISTER

Altair , 04/30/77 PAGE 1

Software ACTIVITY
ENTRY
TYPE
OF
DATE
OF
INVOICE/ DATA 1
ACCOUNT CREDIT iSALE,PAY,CR
DATA 2
(FREIGHT
DATA 3
(TAX OR
__
~~:~
__~~:~!::
~~::~::: NO. NO. ~~_~~_~~~~~)_~~_~:~~:~_ ~~~::~~~::~

Distribution 06/10/77 PURCHASE 06/08/77

06/10/77 PURCHASE 06/10/77
06/10/77 PAYMENT b6/10/77
BANK
BOB
AUTO
2020
1010
$ 12.00
$ 197.60
$ 60.00
$
$
0.00
5.40
$ 0.00
$ 7.60
INV 40111

Co. TOTAL SALES FOR PERIOD $209.60

TOTAL FREIGHT FOR PERIOD $ 5.40
TOTAL TAX FOR PERIOD $ 7.60
TOTAL PAYMENTS FOR PERIOD $ 60.00
TOTAL CREDITS FOR PERIOD $ 0.00
TOTAL ADJUSTMENT~ FOR PERIOD $ 0.00
TOTAL DISCOUNTS TAKEN FOR PERIOD $ 0.00

NET CHANGE IN ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE $149.60

THE HARRIS SUPPLY CO.

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
AG !tIC REPORT
06/10/77
PAGE

ACCT NO CUSTOMER NAME **********

UV.:W DATE CliRRENT JO-6U 60-90 OVER 90

The Accounts Receivable Package AUTO THOMPSOU"S AUTO **********

2000 03/03/77 101.00
contains two main types of data files, 2011 04/20/77 166.50
the Customer Accounts Master Files
0.00 166.50 0.00 101.00 267.50
and the Transaction Activity Files:
• The Customer Account Files are
broken into three sub-files. The pri- BANK 3 KD NATIonAL HANK **********
2002 03/05/77 15.00
mary Customer File contains: account 2009 04/06/77 21.00
number (5 Alphanumeric Characters); 2020 06/08/77 12.00
customer name, address and phone 12.00 0.00 21.00 15.00 48.00
number; credit limits and terms; tax
and discount rates; dates and amounts
BOB BOB"S BAR-B-QUE **********
of last credit and debit; year-to-date IDOl 01/01/77 5.00
totals; and current and high balance. 1002 03/09/77 8.00
1003 03/10/77 12. 00
The second Customer Account subfile lb04 03/11/77 10.00
maintains a record of all open invoices 1005 04/09/77 12.00
for a company. The last Customer 1006 04/10/77 17.00
1007 04/11/77 20.00
Account subfile contains a two-month 1008 05/10/77 100.00
"moving window" of all activity within 1009 05/11/77 152.00
that account. 1010 06/10/77 203.00
2003 04/0217 7 110.01
• The Transaction Activity files are ------------
355.00
----------- ----------- ----------- ------------
121).00 139.01 35.00 649.01
also separated into three separate files:
A Periodic Activity file, which contains
the most recent transactions within the DAISY DAISY REALTY ClJllPAHY **********
2007 03/29/77 27.50
system, an Invoice Activity file which 2013 04/30/77 100.00
contains invoices for the month, and 2017 OS/20/77 90.00
finally a Payment Activity file.
90.00 100.00 27.50 0.00 217.50
Complete Customer' File Main-
tenance is available for those portions
DrOWN llO'INTUIJN BUSINESS SUPPLY**********
of the file which may be modified. This 2018 OS/29/77 22.83 22.83
includes add, change, delete, query

128 CREATIVE COMPUTING

".
and list capabilities. Optional Control
Reports may be generated in order to
THE HARRIS SUPPLY CO.
33 NORTHSIDE AVE. provide hardcopy.
CHAMBLEE, GA 30340
.'
Entry of invoices and payments is
provided in a Speed Entry form to
SOLD TO, SHIP TO,
SAMf AS MSOlD 10" VN~tsS <ND,c.•no. maximize operator effectiveness. Entry
THOMPSON'S AUTO of Credit Memos and Adjustments is
354 LAWRENCEVILLE RD.
MARIETTA, GA 30324
provided for. However, invoices may be
entered in a "non-speed" mode and
then printed.
The following reports are created by
the system:
• Periodic Activity Report
CUSTOMER P. 0 CUSTOMER 10. TERMS SHIP VIA r.rc. SALESMAN NO. INVOJCEOATE INVOICE NO.
• Aged Accounts Receivable
.,B~136 .!"AUTO
PART NUM8ER
I
QUANTITY
NET 30 I U.P.S.
DESCRIPTION
I
UNIT ,PRICE"'"
04/20/77
OISG., AMOUNT.
2011
NfT,A,MOUNT • Invoice Register
I'"
• Payment, Credit and Adjustment
P-21LP 10 LINE PRINTER PAPER 15.00 150.00
Register
• List Current Customer Accounts
!, • Invoices and Statements
For a typical dual-disk system the
Customer Accounts file may contain
I 0,
up to 400 or more companies, each
I
1 averaging 9 open invoices, and 13
I current transactions. This would allow
for several hundred transactions to be
handled.
The Receivables Package prepares a
l'ES1A"
I 4. 501
SALES lAX 2-

I
SALES TAX 3

1
fREIGHT
12.00 I
INVOICE DISC.

I
SPEC. CHARGe:CREDH
I
INVOICE
TOTAL
~
166.60 direct monthly report to the General
\
Ledger, provided that the user has
more than one floppy disk unit for data
~n~r. •

..
T~E ~ARRIS SUPPLY CO.
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
QUERY CUSTOReR ACCOUNT STATUS
06/10/77

ACCOUNT NU~tDER AUTO TY PE 0 ~ ACCOUNT REGULAR

NMIF. TIIOllPSUt!'S AUTO CREDIT TEIUlS NET
.AU I)RESS 354 LAHRENCEVILL~ RD. CREDIT LHIIT $2.000.00
MARIETTA GA 30324 YTO PAYNENTS $0.00
PIlOt:E NUl,IBER .404-231-3434 DATK UF LAST C~EOIT //0
YTIl SALES $267.50 ANOUNT LAST CREDIT $0.00
HIGH BALANCE $267.50 DAlE OF LAST DEBIT 06/10/77
CU RRENT BALANCf:: $267.50 AMOUNT LAST DEBIT $166.50

OPEll IIlVOICf:S REceNT TRANSACTIONS

NO. _____
DATE
·w __
AttOUNT TBRHS DATE Type ur TRANS. AIlOUrlT

2000 03/03/77
-------------
$101.00
--------- NET 06/10/77 PURCHASE $101.00
2011 04/20/77 $166.50 NET 30 06/10/77 PURCHASE $166.50

ACCOUNT NUHRER BANK TYPE or ACCOU11T OTHEH

:lAHE 3 an NATIIlNAL !lANK CRElliT n:R11S NET
ADDRESS 9 PUNCE DC LEON AVE. CRE!lIT LIHIT $3,000.00
DECATUR,GA 30123 YTO PAYHENTS $0.00
PHUNE NUHRER 404-161-2222 !lATE OF LAST C~t;1lI T //0
YTD SALES $48.00 AtlOUllT LAST CR£IlIT $0.00
l1IGIl IlALAllC," $48.00 DATE OF LAST IlEIIIT 06/10/77
CURRENT BALANCE: $48.00 AHUUNT LAST DEBIT $12.00

OPEN INVOICES RECENT TRANSACTIONS

NO. DATE MlOUNT TER'IS !lATE TYPE OF TRANS. A~OUNT

-------- ------------- ---------
2002 03/05/77 $15.00 IIET 06/10/77 pURCHASE $15.00
2009 04/06/7 7 $ 21.00 NET 06/10/77 PURCHASE s21. 00
2020 06/08/77 $12.00 NET 06/10/77 PURCHASE $12.00

SEPT/OCT 1978 129

 THE HARRIS SUPPLY CO.
ACCOUNTS RoCElVABLE
CURRENT CUSTONER ACCOU~TS L[STING
06/10/77
PAG E.

ACCOUNT CU STOI\~R CU STOllf.R CURRENT PHONE

:<0. ADDRESS BALArlCF. NO.

AUTO THOMPSON'S AUTO 354 LAWRENCEVILLE RD. $267.50 404-2:)1-3434

!IARrETTA. GA 30324

BANK 3 CD RATIONAL BANK 9 PUNe!; DE LEON AVE. $48.00 40'':161-2222

U£CAIUR,GA 30123

BOB BOl'S BAR-I-QUE 98 WINDY HILL ROAD $649.01 404-876-8876

Stlyrt;A. I;A 30300

DA l·SY IJAI SY R·£ALTY COHp·ANY 3+25 S·UFIJRO··tHGHHAY s 217.50····404~·4H~·2363·····

.
ATLANTA, GA 30340

DIOWN DOWNTOWN BUSINESS SUPPLY 7386 HOUSTON SI $22.83 404-321-1234

ATLANTA, GA 30302

EI.I'C F.LECTRONICS HAREHOUSE 132 CONSTITUTION ST. $888.28 404-457-8725

SYMRNA. GA 30331

HOTEL ALEX GRAlIAH HILTON HOTEl. 4566 PEACHTREE STREET $290.49 404-455-1122
ATLANTA, GA 30302
SUNER PETE SUIIER. CONTRACTOR 1312 PCYTON PLACE $122.07 401,-446-7890
ATLANTA, GA 30333

TACO TACO BELL 1616 HEJ.IORIAL DRIVE $101.41 40.4-231-2345

DECATUR. GA 30300

THERE ARE 9 CURRENT ACCOUNTS, =~I

=.CI.::II ••.•.•••

IHTH TOTAL CURRf.NT ACCOUNTS ReCEIVABLE $2,607.09

rJUSi9BSS
orrnnrrrc_7 acre/"DDI c.
comLlutig€ I1LLLlLlIII I1LLL \lHULL·

Arkansas Systems
Dr. James K. Hendren
B. Eugene Jones
The Accounts Receivable System is throughout the system. The major files 61-90 days, 91-120days, over 120days,
the fourth in a series of micro software are the Master Account File and the in addition to the current-month
systems being developed by Arkansas Transaction History File. The master balance. The main function of the
Systems, Inc. General Ledger with account fi Ie has each customer's name, system is to maintain these balances in
Financial Reporting and Payroll are address, person to contact, telephone an orderly manner. The transaction
currently being used by many com- number, balance for each period, etc. history file contains a record of all
panies and several OEMs. Accounts Aged balances are kept for 31-60 days, payments, charges, and adjustments
Payable, and Accounts Receivable are
under development. Order Entry, In- RECEIVABLES BY SALESMAN
COMPANY NAI'IE
ventory Control, and Time and Material CURRENT DATE
LAST AGE DATE
12/12177
11112177
PAGE 1

Billing are planned. SALESMAN NAME NUMBER CURRENT 30-60 60-90 90-120 120+ TOTALS DEPT.
As with the Payroll and General *"'.****** •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"'••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••••••••••
Ledger, Arkansas Systems, Inc. has ALFRED A. 100 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 180.00 0'0

tried to make Accounts Receivable as ALFRED B. 200 20.00 20.00 OSO

flexible as possible for floppy disks;

they have also tried to make the system DEPT. O:iO TOTALS 50.00 40.00 :50.00 60.00 200.00

as fool-proof as possible, via on-line

editing of input data, automatic backup SAI'IUEL A. 67. 25. 0 30.00 ..0.00 95.00 060

of files, coordinated-organized system SOPHIA B. 695 30. 0 5.00 30.00 65.00 060

flow, and excellent documentation.

Software Overview DE:PT. 060 TOTALS 55. 0 35.00 30.00 -40.00 160.00

The AIR system has two major and

three minor files that contain all in- COMPANY TOTALS 105.00 75.00 50.00 90.00 40.00 360.00

formation which is used and reported

130 CREATIVE COMPUTING

 TRANSACTION lOG
made in this invoicing period. This file COHPANY NANE
FRO" 11/01/77 TO 12/01/77
prints the detailed information appear-
ing in the statement for the current .,.
ACCOUNT

1000
II TRANS.

379
II DATE

11/03177
TYPE

10
,
TRANS. DESC.

ADJUST 120 DAY

DEBIT

10.00
CREDIT
,
period. 397 11107/77 21 MDSE. RETURNED '517 15.00
504 11110177 51 PAYI1ENT INVOICE 78-43 2:5.00
Minor files within the system are the 507 11/11177 1:5 INVOICE 9392 110.00
control file, cursor control file, and the 508 11122177 63 DISPUTED ",n. IN 90 DAY 10.00

salesman file. 1100 382 1117177 51 PAYMENT INV. 7934 127.00

The control file contains information

about the company-the company R6 for 60 day old return day balance to the 61-day balance, etc.
name and address, telephone number, R9 for 90 day old return This function must be performed only
number of lines per page on the printer, RO for Older than 120 days once a month, otherwise it will cause
how many periods within the cyclic EE to End Tranactions for this invalid results.
billing, what the current process date customer The various reports -iisted in the
is, etc. This file generally contains data After entering the transaction code, a , menu of functions are as indicated with
to which every program needs access. comment can be entered which will samples of some of these included in
Use of a control file greatly simplifies print on this customer's statement, this article.
operation if accounts receivable is followed by the amount of the transac- Features
being run for more than one company tion. At this time a reference number is
(customers often run several com- generated by the system which will The following is a list of features that
panies). If the company name changes, also be printed on the statement. This are being incorporated into this ac-
then instead of changing every reference number is valuable in that it counts receivable.
program, one short program can be run provides an audit trail. • Multi-company or multi-department
and the company name will be chang- • Up to 500 accounts
ed in every program. Add Account and Change Account
The salesman file keeps receivables The add account and change ac- ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE FUNCTIONS MENU

by salesman. The cursor control file count functions are very similar;
allows the software to be run on therefore, they will be discussed FILE MAINTENANCE REPORTS

hardware with different types of CRT together. CHARGES, PAYMENTS, AND RETURNS 20 PRINT STATEMENTS
SET PROCESS DATE 21 RECEIVABLES BY SALESMAN
terminals. A cursor control modifica- After selecting the function, you will COMPANY DATA CHANGE 22 TRANSACTION HISTORY REPORT
ADD ACCOUNT 23 MAILING LABELS
tion program is included so that the be prompted to enter the account CHANGE ACCOUNT 24 MASTER ACCOUNTS REPORT-
25 ON-LINE ACCOUNT STATUS INQUIRY
user is not tied to one CRT. number. The account number will then DElETE ACCOUNT
SORT TRANSACTIONS 26 END ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

There are various functions that can be verified either as on file (change RECOVER FROM BACKUP
AGE ACCOUNTS (PERIOD START)
be selected by the user from a menu. account) or not on file (add account). If
Several of these functions are describ- you are in change-account, the current
FUNCTION NUMBER l' 1
ed below. account will be displayed and you will
be allowed to change any non-dollar
Charges, Payments, and Returns Entry
fields. In the add-account function you • Up to a disk full of items per period
This function allows transactions for will be asked to give values for all non- (4000 for double density floppy)
any account to be entered, edited, dollar amounts; the dollar amountswill • Balance forward with details for this
posted, and logged to the history file. be initialized to zero. invoice period
Easy English prompts guide the user
through each account requiring Sort Transactions • Aged Receivables Balance Report
modification. Initially the program This function is automatically called (options for only those accounts with
prompts "Enter Account Number or when you choose to write statements, balances older than 30, 60, 90, or 120
End to Stop." Afterentering an account but it can be of valueif you wish to print days)
number (verified valid upon entry), the the transactions in the Transaction • Credit-limit warnings
system displays a mini-menu con- History Report in account order. If this • Receivables by salesman report
taining several types of entries, such function is not performed, the report • Disputed amount handling and
as: will be in the same order as the reporting
CH for Charge transactions were entered.
• Interest or penalty on past-due
PY for Payment
Age Accounts statements (optional usage)
RC for Current Period Item
Returned This function moves the current • Detailed input editing for cor-
R3 for 30 day old return balance to the 31-day balance, the 31- rectness
8 On-line aged account analysis
AGED RECEIVABLE REPORT • On-line posting of accounts
COt1PANY MAHE
• Cyclic billing capability for state-
CURRENT DATE PAGE 1
LAST AGING DATE 12112177 ments
OVER

..................................................................................................................................
ACCOUNTtI CREDIT ACCOUNTNAME CURRENT 30-60 60-90 90-120 120+ TOTAL DEPT• • Automatic backup of files with
recovery from backup function
JOE BLOY. INC. -400.00 35.95 1-4'.50 0.00 10.95 :594.40 050
• Detailed transaction history for audit
10 ALL GOOD CO. 35.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 35.00 osc
and recovery from backup purposes
10. GOOD OLE GIRLS I INC. 100.00 0.00 0.00 50.00 0.00 150.00 oso
DISPUTED AMOUHTS 0.00 o, 00 0.00 50.00 0.00 50.00 • Returns and Allowances can be
1000 SAMUEL T. CO. 50.00 35.00 75.35 0.00 0.00 160.3:5 0 so
applied to any aged period
• Automatic discount calculations
llEPT. 050 TOTALS 58S.00 70.95 222.85 10.tr.5
0.00 889.75 based on individual customers
3000 ACE CARDS 375.00 450.00 379.00 0.00 0.00 1204.00 060
• Up to four dunning messages for
-4000 SA. :50.00 25.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 7:).00 .60
statements
DEPT. 060 TOTALS 425.00 475.00 379.00 0.00 0.00 1279.00
• Up to four custom thanks or adver-
COHPAHY TOTALS 1010.00 :5-45.95 601.85 0.00 10.95 2168.75 tising lines for statements
• Never print dunning statement for
individual customer option
SEPT/OCT 1978 131
 • Never-print statement for individual
customer option
TM
• Year-to-date totals (billed by ac-
count)
• Transaction log report between
specified dates
• Mailing-label generation
• Master-accounts report
• Reports sorted by department or
company
Specifications
Machine Requirements
Any 8080 or Z80 processor with 32K
bytes of memory, two floppy disks or a
hard disk running under CP/M, a CRT
and a printer. A program is provided to
modify the entire system to handle
CRTs with cursor controls different
from a Hazeltine 1500.
Language
The systems are written in Fortran
with an Indexed Sequential Access
Method. Therefore they run very fast
and efficiently. The system is provided
SOFTAPE~ in 8080 object code.
Documentation
Now, a software program which will run Complete users manuals are
on any Apple Computer and give it the power available for the completed systems.
The manuals explain step-by-step use
of speech for only $15.95. Use "Talker
of the systems from start-up to year-
Tables" you create to make your own end processing. Sample reports and
basic programs. You create these tables most CRT displays are also provided in
using your tape recorder and microphone. the manuals.
Your computer will digitize your voice and License
store it in memory or tape. The software is available under a
The program comes complete with non-disclosure and non-proliferation
license. OEM and dealer licenses are
instructions and a demonstration program.
also available.
We're looking for original software for Maintenance
the APPLE II, TRS-80, Pet, Sorcerer and Any programming errors will be fixed
Northstar for inclusion in the exchange. at no charge for a one-year period.
We'll also market those programs you'd like Enhancements and modifications will
to see soJd through stores across the country be performed for any user through a
per-job fee, although few users are
and abtoed. We're paying royalties to
expected to need this service.
authors on sales or we'll purchase your
Software Subscription Service
programs outright.
A subscription service under which
SOFTWARE EXCHANGE software updates are supplied is
As a member of the exchange you select available at $100 per year.
many quality programs for only the cost Installation and Training
of cassette, postage and duplication. This Arkansas Systems, Inc. will supply
cost is currently $2.00 per tape with 1 to installation and training support at
9 programs per tape! Ten tapes are available your location or at theirs for $200 per
day plus expenses (at your location).
today! Join now and receive member order The software and manuals are design-
forms, Trial membership $20.00. ed however, to allow easy installation
by the user.
Ask your nearest apple dealer for a demon- Availability
stration or contact us. The Accounts Receivable Package is
$495 including the software on a floppy
with documentation. Users manuals
are $15 each with credit toward
purchase of the software. An informa-
10756 Vanowen tion .packet is available free from
North Hollywood, California 91605 Arkansas Systems, Inc., 8901 Kanis
(213) 985-5763 Road, Suite 206, Little Rock, Ark.,
72205, (501) 227-8471. Dealer inquiries
are also invited. -

CIRCLE 131 ON READER SERVICE CARD 132 CREATIVE COMPUTING

 rJl!si"ess Q'-'-/11117'-1: OCI-eIIIOO' L:
C()rnLll!ti"~ I u: L LILli I I -.7 11LLL \117L1LL

Computer Data Systems

The Computer Data Systems ac- If you wish to update an account, you
counts receivable package was design- type in a 2 and another menu appears.
ed to effectively utilize the capabilities This menu asks if you wish to change
of our computer. The package is a low- an Invoice amount, enter a payment, or
volume unit with combinations of quit. If you type in 0 for Quit you return
sequential and random accesses to the to the Receivables menu. Otherwise,
files. Information gathered by the you are asked to type in the customer
package represents the minimum es- Acct. #. Then the customer's Acct.
sential inputs for any day-to-day statement is displayed. You are asked
business transaction. To keep the to enter the Invoice# (which is checked
package as general and simple as for validity). If you want to change the
possible, the user is prompted to Invoice amount, you are asked to enter
respond to menus to obtain the proper the new corrected total and then return
input function and statements to enter to the update menu. If you wanted to
the specific data required to complete a enter a payment, you enter the amount,
transaction. We do not make any the check # and date of payment. Next,
claims that the Business Pak will solve another payment (Y or N)? appears on
the screen and if yes, you repeat the Computer Data Systems Versatile 4 Dual
all business problems or that it will
Drive System
provide reams of perfect information above or you return to the update
for making decisions, because we don't menu.
offer the package for sale. We do
believe the package provides good, Hardware
concise information that can be Computer Data Systems computer
analyzed for running a more com- consists of a Versatile 4 series com-
petitive business. puter or equivalent with 32K RAM, 9"
To begin using the Business Pak, CRT with a 24x80 video card, one
you load the MOOS & Basic Pak. Then,
insert the Business Pak. To insure you
Micropolis floppy disk unit and con-
troller (315K) with Micropolis BASIC. A
to-}:ATCH.A.PULSE II
have clean files you type-in PLOADG line printer is optional. t •. rtiii?!?/rLOGIC PROBE
"Initial". This process takes ap- Each computer we sell comes com- .~1.o Nsec SPEED AT
proximately 5 minutes. You are now plete with documentation for the unit
ready to begin. and the software. The software comes ~4 to 15U LEUELS
~
in source code on a single diskette. The :........ Compatible with OTL. TTL.
Receivables Mode Business Pak diskette contains all 15 ~ CMOS. MOS. and Mlcroproces·
'", "'" sors using a 4 tb 15V power
The Business Pak is menu driven. In programs and 6 data file areas. The supply. Thresholds automatically
the Receivables section, you can enter data files can handle 200 names and programmed. Automatic resetting
memory. No adjustment required.
an order, update an account, or print a addresses, 100 payables items, 100 Visual indication of logic levels. using
Receivables statement. To enter an receivable items, 100 inventory items, LEOs to show high. low. bad level or
order, you answer the menu with a 1. 100 cash account items and writing 45 open circuit logic and pulses. Highly
sophisticated. shirt pocket portable
Then you are prompted to enter the checks. Our manual includes sections Dealer Iprotective tip cap and removable
date, customer's Account #, Invoice # on MOOS, BASIC and how to use the InQU","S coil cQrdl. Eliminat@sneedforheavy
Business Pak. This is done to facilitate welcome test equipment A definite savings
(an alphanumeric field that is checked in time and money for engineer
for dupl ication) and finally the total small changes in the source code if an and technician.
Invoice Amount due. You are then application does not fit the purchaser's ONLY •10 Nsec pulse response
asked if you have another Invoice. If 'needs. • Open circuit detection
you do, type in Y and repeat the above For further information contact • Replaceable tip & cord
steps, otherwise, you return to the Computer Data Systems, 5460 Fair- • High input impedance
Receivables menu. mont Drive, Wilmington, DE 19808 • • Pulse stretching

EXAMPLE

Account Statement \
Dan Peck Includes a- standard coiled cord, coiled cord
with micro hooks, adapter for using CATCH-
5460 Fairmont Drive A-PULSE on logic families whose power
Wilmington, DE 19808 Account # 101 supply is 15V to 25V, Shipping add $2.00per
probe.

Invoice # Invoice Date Invoice Total

CDS 1001 6/22/78 $ 89.00 ~ELECTRONICS
CDS 1002 6/22/78 $ 267.05 Box 19299, San Diego CA 92119
CDS 1003 6/27/78 $ 999.95 (714) 447-1770
CDS 1004 6/27/78 $ 4,465.89
Total Due = $ 5,821.89
CIRCLE 126 ON READER SERVICE CARD

SEPT/OCT 1978 133

 STARWARS is a BASIC-language computer game of
war with a twist: the player may actively participate by
playing the game against the computer, or, alternately, the
player may function as an uninvolved observer as the "on-
board computers" battle against one another; that is, the
computer will play against itself. (It's not a good idea to
play the game in this manner on a printing terminal- the
"computers" playa very conservative game which takes a
very long time and gobbles up a great deal of paper!
The game is played in the scenario of the film
STARWARS: the players are the characters of the film, the
time and place is "long ago in a galaxy far away." The
human player assumes the role of Han Solo, mercenary
captain of the Millennium Falcon. The computer assumes
the role of Darth Vadar, Chief Bad Guy. The Millennium
Falcon must reach a goal- Yavin-4 - before the evil force
personified by Darth Vadar can destroy it and its
occupants. The fate of the entire galaxy hinges on the
successful completion of this mission.
There are three obstacles in the path of successful
completion of the mission: distance; time; Darth Vadar.
First, Yavin-4 is one light-year (9.45426 12 Kilometers)
distant. Second, the Millennium Falcon can travel only at
90% light velocity in "normal" space, and, at this velocity, it
takes 1.1 years to travel one light year. The Millennium
Falcon has only sufficient life-support for one year of
travel (365 moves). The third problem is Vadar: he is a
hunter-killer, bent on destroying the Millennium Falcon at
almost any cost, to save the rather overbearing Galactic
Empire from destruction by the Good Guys (the crew of
the Millennium Falcon and their buddies). However, Vadar
is not suicidal - he will go on R&R if he has to so that he
may continue to fight.
Thomas N. Ronayne, 16615 Rosemont Rd., Detroit, MI 48219.

134 CREATIVE COMPUTING

 To overcome the time and distance factor, the Millen-
nium Falcon (and Oarth Vadar!) can enter "Hyperspace"
Line Comments
and travel at greater-than-light velocities. However, this
gobbles up wads of power, can only be done for one hour 10 OAT$ is date, CLK$ is time of day
at a time, and only once every two days. Navigation at 50 The back slant (/) allows multiple statements
excess light velocity also tends to be somewhat sloppy, on one line
sometimes at right angles to the intended flight path.
90 SST(A 1$,1,1) is sub-string extraction: A$ is the
Additionally, navigation errors can put the Millennium
string, the first 1 indicates where the extracting
Falcon in a black hole, star, or other unpleasant cir-
starts, the second 1 is the length to be extracted
cumstances (of course, it would be unfair if the same does
not hold true for Vadar; it's just that his chances of having 100 Line Feed, within quotes, is a string, and spaces
such a calamity befall him are much slimmer than thoseof the carriage (instead of multiple PRINT
the Millennium Falcon). Also, because the computer on statements)
board Vadar's ship isn't as smart as the one on the 710,810 09 counts the days in transit. Change to
Millennium Falcon, his weapons tend to have better aim 09=09+5 to speed up game (you are allowed 365
and greater success when fired. days)
As regards light velocity, it is stated in kilometers per 2030 Again, Line Feeds within quotes
second (KPS), and is given as C; C = 299792.5 KPS. The
Millennium Falcon is able to travel at .9C, or 269813.25
KPS in normal space and at much higher rates in
hyperspace (see the program instructions). *RUN
Sample Run
The game can last for a very long time if played in a
conservative manner. By taking frequent rests (to build up
power), both ships can last to the end of the game. The STARWARS 01/06/7.8 .8.739

penalty for running out of power is the same as running WHAT IS YOUR NAIIE?HAN SOLO
out of life support: death.
DO YOU WISH TO ALLOW THE ON-BOARD COMPUTERS DO BATTLE
Note should be made that the most powerful weapon, AGAINST ONE ANOTHER, MAN SOLO?N
the laser, has its effectiveness affected by range - the
closer together the two ships are, the more effective the GREETINGS. HAN SOLO, THIS IS DARTH VADAR. I AM ABOUT TO WIPE
laser; however, the laser can't be used except at distances THE FLOOR WITH YOU, BUT, FOR THE SAKE .OF SPORT, I WILL GIVE YOU
A SPORTING CHANCE TO DEFEND YOURSELF AND - PERHAPS, THOUGH I SIN-
greater than 100,000K (the backsplash would harm the CERLY DOUBT IT - GET ME INSTEAD.
firing ship).
Program Language Notes DO YOU THINK THAT INSTRUCTIONS WILL HELP YOU, HAN SOLOlY
The language used in the program is standard BASIC,
with the following minor exceptions: The back slant (/) HISTORY TAPE - DATA LIBRARY: GALDATE 8066 8.749 HOURS.
allows more than one statement per line; the SST function
extracts the first letter from a string (allowing a YES or NO YOU ARE CAPTIAN OF THE MILLENNIUM FALCON. YOU AND YOUR CO-PILOT
answer to be Y or N) and, because it cannot be utilized THE WOOKIE CHEWBACCA, ARE MERCENARIES PLYING YOUR TRADE THROUGHOUT
THE GALAXY.
directly in the BASIC that the program was written in, the AFTER TAKING ON FOUR PASSENGERS, LUKE SKYWALKER, BEN (OBI-WAN)
assiqnrnent is to an additional variable. The program was KENOBI, AND TWO 'DROIDS, SEE-THREEPIO AND ARTOO-DEroo, AND ESCAP-
ING THE IMPERIAL FORCES AT ItJS EISLEY, IN THE TATooINE SYSTEM, YOU
written for a word-oriented machine, operating in eight HAVE RESCUED TUE PRINCESS LElA ORGANA OF ALDERHAAN FROM THE
significant digits - if you go to double precision, you may CLUTCHES OF THE EVIL GRAND MOFF TARKIN, AND THE DARK LORD OF
THE SITH. DARTii VADAR,
find the distances more exact. Line-feeds are used inside YOUR MI SSION IS TO REACH THE REBEL FORCES BASE LOCATED ON
of quotes - BASIC should allow this in any version YAVIN-4. LORD VADAR IS BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR GOAL. HIS SHIP
HAS EXACTLY THE SAllE ARIIMAMENT AS YOURS, AND THE SAllE AMOUNT
because line-feeds are, after all, string characters. If your OF POWER AVAILABLE. YOU MUST DEFEAT HIM IN ORDER TO REACH SAFETY,
BASIC will not allow "PRINT USING", just remove the AND DELIVER YOUR PRECIOUS CARGO:
THE PRINCESS LEIA. AND THE DETAILED PLANS OF THE DEATH STAR STORED
image statement lines, delete the word USING, and format IN THE ME!()RY CIRCUITS OF THE 'DROID, ARTO-DETOO.
with commas and/or semicolons.
DO YOU WISH FURTHER INFORMATION. MAN SOLOlY
Mostly, have fun.

SEPT/OCT 1978 135 .

 ENEHY:
TilE ENEHY HAS TilE SAHE CAPABILITIES TIIAT YOU IIAVE.

EACH TIHE A SHIP IS lllT, THE ENERGY DRAIN FROH THE SCREENS
IS EQUAL TO TH£ AHUUNT UF ENERGY EXPENDED BY THE STRIKING
\IEAPON THIES 10 (EXCEPT LASERS, WHICH ARE EQUAL TU AN
EXPENDITURE THAT VARIES IIITH DISTANCE TO TARGET).

NOTE: YOU ARE CONTINUALLY BEING DRA\IN TUWARD YUUR UPPONENT, \IATCH
YOUR RANGE CLOSL Y, HAN SOLO!

THIS IS COUPUTER CONTROL.

WE ARE LEAVING PLANETARY URBIT, HAN SOLO

VADAR APPROACHING AT 181334 KILOMETERS.
DISTANCE TO YAVIN-4 IS 9.45426e 12 KILOHETERS.

nAY THE FURCE BE WITH YUU, HAN SOLO.

YOU ARE BOUND FOR YAVIN-4, wHICH IS ONE LIGHT-YEAR DISTANT

(A LIGHT-YEAR IS EQUAL TO 9.454~12 KILOIIETERS). YOU ARE
ABLE TO TRAVEL AT .9C (C - LIGHT VELOCITY - 299792.5 US)
WITH POWER CONSUMED EXACTLY OFFSETTII«; POWER GENERATED. HOWEVER, WHAT ARE YOUR INSTRUCTIONS, HAN SULO?3
TRAVELING AT .9C WILL PUT YOU AT YAVIN-4 IN 1.1 YEARS HAM SOLO,
AND YOU HAVE ONLY SUFFICIENT LIFE-SUPPORT CAPABILITES FOR ONE LASER FIRED . MAYBE. HISSED •• PHUUEY.
YEAR OF TRAVEL (CHEWBACCA EATS A LOT).

TO OVERCOME THIS TIME FACTOR, YOU !lAY ENTER HYPERSPACE AIID TRAVEL
AT A MAXlHUM VELOCITY OF 518,041,440 US FOR A PERIOD OF ONE HOUR
AT A TIME. THkoRETICALLY. BY SO DOlI«;. YOU WOULD REACH YOUR GOAL ENEHY SHIP INTELLIGENCE REPORT:
IN 5.1 HOURS BY TRAVELING CONTINUOUSLY IN HYPERSPACE. HOWEVER, THE RANGE: 181334 POWER: 100000
ENGINES HUST REST AFTER EACH HYPERSPACE JUMP, AIID AllY ATTEMPT
ENEMY SHIP APPROACHING HAN SOLO

TU ENTER HYPERSPACE TWICE IN A ROW RESULTS IN BLOWING UP THE

ENGINES, LEAVING YUU STUCK IN HYPERSPACE FOREVER.
STATUS OF HlLLENNIUM FALCOll:
A HYPERSPACE JUMP ,USES A GREAT DEAL OF ENERGY VARYING BY A Po\lER
RANGE: 161822 PO~ER, 99000
OF THE HYPERFACTOR [HF) SELECTED. JUMPS ARE SPECIFIED FROM HF-I,
l.OC TO HF-12. 17Z8C. OISTANCE TO YAVIN-4 9.43094e 12 KILOI1ETERS
DAYS IN TRANSIT: 2 HYPER-JUl1PS:
THESE ARE AS FOLLOWS:

H-F VELOCITY 299792.5 KPS

\lHAT ARE YOUR INSTRUCTIONS, HAN SOLO?3
H-F VELOCITY 2398340 KPS
H-F VELOCITY 8094398 KPS
LASER FIRED I THINK .1 THINK •• UAYBE • 1-1lSSED .• PHUOEY.
H-F VELOCITY i ,9186 7e 07 KPS
H-F VELOCITY 3.74741e 07 KPS
H-F VELOCITY 6.47552e 07 KPS
H-F VELOCITY i. 0282ge 08 KPS
H-F 8 VELOCITY !.53494e 08 KPS
ENEHY SHIP INTELLIGENCE REPORI:
H-F 9 VELOCITY 2.1854ge 08 KPS
RANGE: 161822 PUWER: 99900
H-F 10 VELOCITY 2.997930 08 KPS
H-F II VELOCITY 3.99024e 08 KPS
ENEHY FIRES LASER •• SCREENS AT FULL POIIER •••• UOOFF •• THEY GOT US!
H-

F 12 VELOCITY 5.18041e 08 KPS STATUS UF HlLLENllIUfl FALCOll:

RANCE: 158585 PUllER: 96854
DISTANCE TU YAVIN-4 9.40763e 12 KILOHETERS
HYPERDRIVE CONSUMES ENERGY AT A MINIMUM OF 10,000 UNITS AND A OAYS IN TRANSIT: 3 HYPER-JUI1PS: 0
MAXIMUM OF 21,074 UNITS, AS FOLLOWS:

HF - I POWER CONSUMED - 10000 UNITS \/HAT ARE YUUR INSTRUCTIONS, HAN SULU? 3
HF - 2 POWER CONSUMED - 12311 UNITS
!IF - 3 POWER CONSUMED - 13904 UNITS LASER FIRED • ~lAY8E .CUT 'Ell ••• COUD SHUO~ING, HAN SOLO!
HF - 4 POWER CONSUMED - 15157 UNITS
HF - 5 POWER CUNSUMED - 16207 ENE\'\Y FIRES LASER ••• UH-UH ••• HISSED •• WHEW!
4NITS
HF - 6 PDIIER CONSUMED - 17118 UNITS
HF - 7 POWER CONSUMED - 17928 UNITS
HF - 8 PU\.1ER CONSUMED - 18661 UNUS STATUS or HILLENNIU:t FALCutj:
HF - 9 POWER CONSUMED - 19332 qNITS RAllGE: 155413 PUllER: 95854
HF - 10 POWER CONSUMED - 19953 UNITS
HF - II POWER CONSUMED - 20531 UNITS
HF - 12 POWER CONSUMED - 21074 UNITS llHAT ARE YUUR IllSTRUCTIONS, HAl' SOLO?]
PLEASE I~WICATE HYPER-FACTOR? 10
HYPERSPACE NAVIGATION TENDS TO BE SOMEWHAT ERRATIC, RESULTING CUrIPUTlNG COURSE AT Hf: 10
IN NAVIGATION ERRORS; THE HIGHER THE HF, THE GREATER THE EN£flY FOLLOIIED US THRUUGH
POTENTIAL ERROR.

DO YOU IIISH ARMUAMENT INFORUATION HAN SOLO?Y

HERE ARE YOUR VITAL DATUM:

YOU ARE EQUIPPED WITH 100,000 UNITS OF ENERGY.

WHEN YOU RUN OUT, HAN SOLO DARTH VADAR WILL DESTROY YOU.

ARWlAMENT:

TYPE OESCRIPTION RANGE (KILOliETERS) FUEL DRAIN

I HEAVY GUNS o - 11000 10 UNITS
WARHEADS 10,000-100,000 100 UNITS
LASER 100,000-200,000 1,000 UNITS

OPTIONS
APPROACH 100 UNITS
RETREAT 100 UI/ITS
\IE WILL CONTINUE TO TRAVEL TUlIARD YAVIN-4 AT .9C
AND GAIN ENERGY, ALTHOUGH liE ARE VULNERABLE ro ATtACK.
ENTER HYPERSPACE.

136 CREATIVE COMPUTING

ENE~IY IJARIIEAll IS LAUNCHED •••• lIlT •• OUR pOIIE" OOliN.

STATUS OF aILLENNIUli FALCOti

RANGE 28406 POlIER: 74902

~mAT ARE YOUR l~STRUCTIONS. HAN 50L077

PLEASE I.~DICATE lIypER-FAGTUR?IU
CUIII'UTING COURSt; AT IIF: 10

ENEMY SHIP APPROACHING HAN SOLU

STATUS OF ~IILLENNIUH FALCOU:

RANGE: 161822 PUllER, 99000
DISTANCE TO YAVIN-4 9.43094e 12 KIL0/1ETE"S
DAYS IN TRANSIT; 2 H'fPER-JUflPS: 0

ImAT ARE YOUR INSTRUCTiONS, IIAN SOL013

ENEMY WARHEAD IS LAUNCHED •••• HIT •• OUR POWER DOWN.
LASER FIRED I THINK .1 TlJINK •• HAYBE • mSSED •• PHOOEY.

STATUS OF MILLENNIUM FALGON:

RANGE: 39630 POIIER 96700

ENEHY SHIP INTELLIGENCE REpORT: \,E HAVE LAUNCHED A WARHEAD HE IS TRYING TO AVOIU • .GOT HIli!
RANGE: 161822 POIIE": 999UU
ENEMY WARHEAD IS LAUNCHED • • • .HIT • .OUR POWER OOWN.
ENElIY FIRES LASER .• SCREI:;NS AT FULL POI"!Etl. •••• UOOFF .• THEY GOT US!

STATUS OF MILLENNIUM FALGON

STATUS or HILLENIHUH FALCON: RANGE, 38837 POWER: 95600
RANGE: 158585 POIIER: 96854
DISTANCE TO YAVIN-4 9.40763e 12 KILOHEI£RS WE HAVE LAUNGHED A WARHEAD HE IS TRYING TO AVOID .GOT HIM!
DAYS IN TRANSIT: 3 HYPER-JUHPS: 0

ENEMY WARHEAD IS LAUNGHED •••• MISSED •• HA!

IHlAT ARE YOUR INSTRUCTIONS, IIAN SULu?3

LASER FIREll • HAYSE .GOT ' EN .. .GWD SHOUTl~G. UAN SuLU!

STATUS OF MILLENNIUM FALGON,
ENEHY FIRES LASER ••• UIl-OU ., .HISSED . ,WHEW! RANGE, 38060 POWER: 95500
DISTANGE TO YAVIN-4 8.89646. 12 KILOMETERS
DAYS IN TRANSlT 4 HYPER-JUMPS:
STATUS UF HILLENNlUa fALCON:
RAllGE: 155413 POUER: 95854 liE HAVE LAUNCHED A liAR HEAD ENEMY MANEUVERING GOT HIM!

WIIAT ARE YOUR INSTRUCTIONS, IIAN SOLO? 7 ENEMY WARHEAD IS LAUNCHED • • • •HlT • .OUR POWER DOliN.
PLEASE INUICAT£ HYPER-FACTOR? 10
CUMPUTING COURSE AT HF: 10
ENEMY FOLLOWED US THROUGH
STATUS OF MILLENNIUM FALGON:
RANGE: 37298 POIIER: 94400
ENEMY WARHEAD IS LAUNCHED, , .• HIT .. OUR POWER I)mlN,
\,E HAVE LAUNCHED A WARHEAD HE IS TRYING TO AVOID .GOT HIM!

STATUS OF MlLLENNlUlt FALCOtl

RANGE 2B406 POUER: 74902 ENEHY WARHEAD IS LAUNCHED •••• MISSED •• IIA!

WIIAT ARE YOUR I NSTRUCTlONS. HAN SOLO? 7 STATUS OF MILLENNIUM FALGON:

PLEASE INDICATE HYPER-FACTOR? 10 RANGE: 36552 POliER: 94300
COHPUTING COURse AT IlF: 10 DISTANCE TO YAVIN-4 8.7625ge 12 KILOlIETERS
DAYS IN TRANSIT: 5 HYPER-JUMPS:
YUU ilAVE JUST ENTEREU HYPERSPACE !\-110: .. ENGINES BLU\lN ••
WE'RE STUCK H£RE FUREVER!
ENTERING HYPERSPAGE
IIAli SOLO IlIAT liAS A PRETTY OU~[B THING FOR YOU TO 00 YOUR
COMPUTING COURSE AT HF:
fIlSSIUti WAS TO OELIVE" YOUR PASSENGERS AND TilE VITAL INFOR:·lATlOti
ENEliY FOLLOWED US THROUGH
TO YAVIN-4 NOT GET EVERYBUDY KILLED.

WIIAT A NERD.
ENEMY FIRES LASER ••• SCREENS AT FULL POWER •••• OOOFF •• THEY GOT US!
PLAY ACAIN?Y

DO YOU IIlSH TO ALLOII. THE ON-BOARD COMPUTERS OU BATTLE STATUS OF HILLENNIUM FALCON:
AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. HAN SOLon RANGE: 122240 POliER: 74924
DISTANCE TO YAVIN-4 8.50716. 12 KILOMETERS
OAYS IN TRANSIT: 6 HYPER-JUMPS: 3
\,E ARE LEAVING PLANETARY ORBIT. IIAN SOLO.
VAilAR APPROAGHING AT 42108 KILOMETERS. LASER Fl"EU I TIIINK .1 TIIINK •• IlAYSE MISSEo •• PIIOOEY.
DISTANCE TO YAVIN-4 IS 9.45426e 12 KILOMETERS.
ENEMY SHIP INTELLIGENCE REPORT:
RANGE: 122240 POWER 741H2
MAY THE FORGE BE W1TH YOU. HAN SOLO.
ENEMY FlRES LASER •SGREENS AT FULL POWER • • • .OOOFF • • THEY GOT US!

STATUS OF tllLLENNIUM FALGON:

liE HAVE LAUNCHED A WARHEAD ENEMY MANEUVERING GOT HIH! RANGE: 119795 PUWER. 71591
DISTANCE TO YAVIN-4 8.46253e 12 KlLOHETERS
OAYS IN TRANSIT: 7 HYPER-JmIPS: 3
ENEMY WARHEAD IS LAUNCHED • • • •HIT • .OUR POWER OOWN.
LASER FIRED 1 THINK •• 1 THINK •• MAYBE. HISSED •• PHOOEY.

STATUS OF MILLENNIUH FALGON:

RANGE: 41265 POWER, 98900

\,E HAVE LAUNGHED A WARHEAD HE IS TRYING TO AVOID •• GOT HIM! ENEMY SHIP INTELLIGENCE REPORT
RANGE: 119795 POWER: 73182

ENEMY WARHEAD IS LAUNCHED •••• HIT •• OUR POWER DOWN. ENEMY FIRES LASER .SCREENS AT FULL PUllER •••• OOOFF •• THEY GOT US!

STATUS OF MILLENNIUM FALGON: STATUS OF HlLLENtHUt1 FALGOII:

RANGE: 40439 POIIER: 97800 RANGE: 117399 POWE": 68185

WE HAVE LAUNGHED A WARHEAD EN EMY MANEUVERING GOT HIM! LASER FIRED 1 THINK •• 1 THINK ••• flAYBE • 11ISSEU •• PHOOEY.

SEPT/OCT 1978 137

 ARMMAI1ENT:"
440 PRINT "TYPE" ;TAB( 10); "DESCRIPTION" ;TAB(30) ; "RANGE (KILottETERS)"; TAB( 50); "FUEL URAlti
450 PRINT II 1"; TAB(lO) ; "HEAVY GUNS" ;TAB( 30) ; "0 - 11000"; TAB(50); 1110 UNITS"
460 PRINT It 2";TAB(10);"WARHEADS" TAB(30);"10,000-100,OOO";TAB(SO);"100 UNITS"
4 70 PRINT" 3" ;TAB( 10) ; "LASER"; TAB(JO) ;" 100, 000-200, 000"; TAB(50) ;" I, 000 UNITS"
480 PRINT\PRINT\PRINT TAB(2S) ; "OPTIONS"
490 PRINT" 4"jTAB(10);"APPROACH";TAB(50);"100 UNITS"
500 PRIN! It 5";TAB(10);"RETREAT";TAB(50);"100 UtaTS"
5 10 PRINT" 6"; TAB(lO); "WE WILL CONTINUE TU TRAVl::L TU\/ARD YAVIN-4 AT .9C"
520 PRINT TAB(lO); "AND GAIN ENERGY, ALTHUUGH \-11:: ARE VULNERABLE TU ATTACK."
530 PRINT" 7";TAB(10);"ENTER HYPERSPACE."
540 PRINT TAB(25);"

ENEttY: "
550 PRINT "THE ENEHY HAS TH£ SA.."lE CAPABILITIES THAT YUU HAVE."
560 PRINT"

ENEMY SHIP INTELLIGENCE REPURT: EACH TIME A SHIP IS HIT, TUE ENERGY URAIN FROB THE SCREENS"
RANGE: 117399 ' PUWER: 72182 570 PRINT "IS EQUAL TO TdE Al1UUNT UF ENERGY EXPENDCO BY THE STRIKING"
5~0 PRWT "\-IEAPON THIES 10 (EXCEPT LASERS, I.,tHICH ARE EQUAL TU A:"l"
ENEHY FIRES LASER ••• UH-ull ••• MISSED •• WIIEW! 590' PRINT "EXPElILHTURE TIIAT VARIES IHTH lJISTANC[ ro TMtGET)."
600 PRINT "

STATUS UF l1ILLENNlUtt FALGON: tWTE. YOU ARE conTINUALLY BEING ORA\.oJ~ TU~JARU YOUR OPP()UENT I:;\TCII"
RANGE: 115051 POWER: 67185 610 PRINT "YOUR RANGE CLUSLY "A$"! It

'DISTAIICE TU YAVIN-4 8.3956Oe 12' KILOtIETERS 620 PRINT "

DAYS IN TRANSIT: 8 HYPER-JUMPS 3 ,THIS IS l:OtlPUT£R CULHROL."

630 81 ". 9:454256£12
ENTERING HYPERSPAGE 640 P =
10UOOO\P(1) " 1UOOOO\A = INT(RNO(-l) * 200000)
650 PRINT "
CUMPUTING GOURSE AT HF:
ENEMY FULLOWED US THRUUGH
IJI:: ARE LEAVING PLA1IETARY URinT, It A$ ", "
660 PRINT "V,AilAR APPRUACIIlNt; AT";A "KILUilET£I{S."
670 l'Run "UISTMC£ TO YAVIN-4 IS";Bl;"KILUtiETEKS."
ENEMY WARHEAU IS LAUNCHEJJ • • • •HIT • .UUR POWER DUWN. 6MO PRINT "

,L\Y rHE FURCE 3E WITH YUU, "AS,"."

STATUS OF MILLENNIUM FALGUN: 6':;1U PRINT\PiU:rI\PRINT
RANGE: 17280 PUWER: 46853' 7UO IF A.l$ <> "y" THE:~ ~UU
710 U':;I - JY + t\0 "" INT(I;WU(-l) * 2 + 1)
\1£ HAVE LAUNCIIED A WARLlEAU liE IS TRYING TO AVUW •• HISSED .• ORAT! 720 C - IiH(RNU(-I) ic 3.1415':;1 * (RHD(-I) * 3.1415~»
730 IF A > 200050 TaL~~ 1410\lf C - 0 TlIEN 7LO\1F A > 50'JOO TIIEN 7S0
740 IF C ., 4 TtlE;·~ 720
75U If <.: :::: 4 THCN 7lO\If C - 5 TilE.N 720\lf c <> 6 TIIE;~ 770
760 IF P > 5UOO TIlE;l 720
Program Listing 770 If C < 7 THEN 7~U\IF C - 7 TdE,'l 7~O\lf C > 7 T!I£N t u:
7;0" = 0\81 • 01 - (2.231186E10)\GUT,' BBU
790 IF N > 0 THE!-l" 720\GOTU d~U
suu PRINT "
10 PRINT "STARWARS" ;IAB(l5) ; OATS;TAB(25) ;eLKS
20 REf'! HIlAT ARE YUUR INSTH.UCTlUi"lS, ";A$;\I~PUT c
30 R£H BY T. N. RutjAY'I~E. 16615 RuSEHLltlT ROAD O£TKUl"f,;-11 48219 ~lO U9 •• 09 + 1
40 REt! 020 U - I~T(R:m(-l) 2 + 1) *
50 OI'! P(I)\~ " 1 B30 IF A > 200050 TIIEN 840\GUTu 850
60 PRINT M40 IF C < 6 l'ilE.N 1090
IJJ!Ar IS 'iLJUI.{ NA!1f:"; \ INPUT A$ aso If C<7 THEN ti6U\1F C - 7 rtlEt~ MBU
70 PRL'H " 360 Il = 0
DO YOU 'rJISU TO ALLU\J TilE Ol~-BUARD Cat1PUTERS UO BATTLE" 870 ill" 81 - (2.331186EIO)
80 PRINT "AGAINST UN£. ANOTHER, "jA$; \INPUT Ai s ~~o IF t: - 1 TH.E.'l 1100\If C = T'iEN 11dU\IF C "" 3 TdEN 1250
90 AZS = SST(A1S,l,1)\ IF A2$ -"Y" THEN 6JO ~90 IF C - 4 THCN 1310\lf C = THEN 1350\If C - 6 TllEN 1410
loa PRINT" ~OO if A2$ <> "Y" THEU ':;150
910 II •• INT(rtIW(-l) * 10 + 1)
GR£ETINGS "'A$"" TillS IS DARIU VAUAR. 1 Art A30UT TO WIPEIt 920 IF P - (10000 • H-. 3) < 500 THEIl 720
110 PRINT "IHE FLOOR·\..frrH YUU, aUT, FOR rut SAKE OF SPORT, I WILL CIVE yOU" 930 IF \I - 0 Tl-IEN 910
120 PRINT "A SPURTING CHANCE TO DEFEND YuURSELF ANO - PERHAPS. THOUGH 1 Sli~-1I 940 PRINT"
130 PRINT "CI::RL'i ))OUBT IT - GET t·IE INSTEAD." E1HERING HYPERSPACE"\GOTO 970
140 PRINT II
950 IF C>7 THt::N 1080\PRINT "PLEASE INUICATE I!YPER-FACTUR";\INPUT !I
960 IF Ll < 13 THEN 970\GUTO 950
UU YOU THINK THAT INSTRUCTlutlS WILL HI::LP YOU. "jA$j\INPUT 13$
970' p = P - (10000 (W'.3»\N - N + l\PRINt "<':UHPUTING* COURSE AT HF:";H
150 IF as - tiN" THEN 3~0\IF H$ "" "NOtl THI:o:N 3~O 9~O H9 •• H9 + 1
160 PRINT" 990 IF P < 100 TOlEN 1890\IF B1 -«H-3 * 299792.5) * 60-2) < 1£6 THEN 1780

HISTORY TAPE - DATA Llt'RARY: GALDATE";INT(RNU(-l) * 100 + ::WOO);

1000 IF .>1 THEN 1870\A = A + «H-3 2997'12.5) * 60-2)\IF U " 1 THEN 2140 *
1010 02· INT(RIlD(-l) * 3.1415926 + l)\IF u2" 1 TIlEN 2140\IF U2 " 4 THEN 2120
170 PRINT eLKS;" HOURS." 1020 ill " B1-«H-3 • 299792.5) * (INT(3.14159-3 • RLlD(-l) + 19)-2»)
180 PRINT\PRINT 1030 PRINT "SORRY, NAVIGAT!UN ERRUR PUT US urr LINE. "\IF 02 ::0: 3 TIIEN 1060
190 PRINT" YOU ARE CAPTIAN OF THE HILLENtHUH FALCON. YOU AND YOUR CO-PILOT,"
1040 IF P(I) - (H-.3 * 10000) < 10000 THEIl 14BO
200 PRINT "THE Wl)OKIE CH1::\~llACCA, ARE HERCENARIES, PLYING YOUR TRADE TH.RUUGHOUT" 1050 PRINT"HE FULLOl/EU! "\P( l)-P (1) -( 100UO* (H-.) ) \A-I~T(RNU( -1) *200000) \GU"fU 1420
210 PRINT "THE GALAX'f."
1060 PRINT "NU SIGN UF "NEliY, CRUISING AT .9C."\B1j= 81 - (2.J311B£10)
220 PRINT" AFTER TAKING ON FuUR PASSENGERS, LUKE SKY\~ALKER, BEN (UBI-I'/AN)" 1070 IF B1 < 1E5 THEN 196U\GUTU 1720
230 PRINT "K£NOBI, AND TWO 'DRUIJS. SEE-TH~EEP[O AND ARTOU-DETOO ANU ESCAP-" 1080 IF A2S <> "y" THEN 1090\GUTO 700
240 PRINT "ING THE UlPERIAL FORCES AT HUS EISLEY, IN TtiE 'fATUuINE SYST£~t YUU"
250
260
PRINT
PRINT
"HAVE
"CLUTCHES
RESl:UEU
OF THE
THE PRINCESS
EVIL GRAND
LEIA
110FF
ORGANA
TARKIN.
OF ALDERtlAAN
AND THE UARK
FROB
LURD
TUE"
UF"
1090
1100
1110
PRINT
IF A > 11005
P - l'
A$;".

- lO\PRINT
LET'S
THEN 1080
"
NUT CRACK UNUER PRESSURE, CHECK
I YUUR RAtlGE!."\GOru 700

270 PRINT "THE SITl!. DARTH VAJ.)AR." GUNS !lAVE BEEN FlRW . • It;
.HIO
290
300
PRINT"
PRINT
PRINT "HAS
YOUR
"YAVIN-4.
EXACTLY
HISSION
LORD
THE
IS
VADAR
ro

SAME
REACH
IS BETWEEN
ARl1HAMENT
THE REBEL
YOU ANI)
AS YOURS,
FoRCES BASE
YUUR GOAL.
ANU THE
LOCATElJ

SMtE
HIS
ON"
SHIP"
N'VUtH"
1120
1130
1140
IF
PRINT"
o

IF U • 1 THEN 1160
"" 1 THEN
AWAITING
1130\PRINT"
UA..:tAGE; ASSESSMENT.
ENEHY HANEUV£RING
.";
TU
I AVUW"\GUTO 114U

310 PRINT "OF POWER AVAILABLE. YOU HUST DEFEAT HIH IN ORDER TO REACH SAFETY)" 1150 PRINT " HISSIill - DRAT! "\Goru 1420
320 PRINT "AND UELIV£R YOUR PRECluUS CARGO:" 1160 PRINT" HIT - - HIS PuUEH. IS UU\IN. It

330 PRINT "THE PRINCESS LEIA. ANU THE DETAILED PLANS OF THE DEATH STAR STORill" 1170 P(l) " 1'(1) - 100 \ GuTU 142U
340 PRINT "IN THE HEHORY CIRCUITS OF TilE 'DROID, ARTO-DETOO." 1180 IF A > 100000 THEN 1080\IF A < 10000 THEN lOBO
350 PRINT" 1190 P " P - 100\PRINT "
DO YOU WISH FURTHER INFORi·tATlUN "jA$.\INPUT B$ l-iE. IIAVE LAUNCIlfl} A lJARllt::AD It ;\01 "" INT(RNU(-l) * 2) + 1
360 IF B$ - "N" THEN 380\ IF ss - "NO" THEN 3tJO 1200 IF o I - 1 THEN 1210\PRINT "ENEMY HANEUVERING "I;\GUTU 1220
370 GOSUS 2210 1210 PRINT" IlE IS TRYING TO AVOIlJ •• ";
380 PRINT

I
II
1220 IF u - 1 THEN 1230\PRINT "HISSED •• URA!l"\GOrU 1420
DO YOU IHSH ARHHAi-lliNT INFOR1>lAIION "jA$j\INPUT B$ 1230 PRINT "GOT II11-I!"
390 IF 8$ - "N" THEN 620\IF 8$ - "NO" THEN 620 1240 P( 1) " P(I) - 1000\GUTU 1420
400 PRINT TAB(30);" 1250 IF A < 100000 THEN 10BO\P • P - 1000\PRINT "
LASER FlRELJ "
1160 01 ,. INT(RNll(-l) * 2 .•. 1)
HERE ARE YOUR VITAL UATUtI:"
410 PRINT\PRINT TA8(5);"YOU ARk: t:QUIPPED IHTH 100,000 UNITS OF ENERGL" 1270 IF 01 ,.. 1 THEN 1280\PRINT " I fHINK •• 1 IIUNK •• "

420 PRINT" 1280 PRINT" • HAYBE .";\IF U - 1 THEN 1290\PRINT " ttlSSEU •• PIiUOEY."\GUTU 1420
WilEN YUU RUN OUT, "jA$.". OARTH VADAR WILL [)ESTRUY YUU."
129[} PRINT "GOT • EH • • • .GOUD SHUOTING, "jA$,"!"
1300 P(l) - P(I) - «(200000 - A)/lE5)*3000)\GUTU 1450
1310 PRINT It
430 PRINT TAB (30) ."

138 CREATIVE COMPUTING

 APPROACHING. ";AS
IJ20 u • INT(RNO(-I) • 40000 + 10000)\A • A - B\P • P - 100\IF A < I THEN 1340
1330 GOTO 1420
1340 PRINT TAB(30) ;">COLLISION<"\PRINT "
B0TH SHIPS DESTROYED • .lI\GOTO 1 YOa
1350 PRINT "
RETREATlNG ":A$
1360 B • RNO(-l) * 40000 + 10000\A • A + B\P • P - 100\ IF A > 200050 TIlEN 13BO
1370 coro 1420
1380 PRINT AS;" YOUR RANGE IS" A;fI, BUT wE CANNOT RUN RANGE IS NOW 200,000"
1390 A • 2UOOOO
1400 IF o t • I THEN IB20\GUTO 1420
1410 PRINT"
RESTING. ";A$\P '"' P + 1000
1420 PRINT\PRINT\1F 0 - 1 THEN 1450
1430 PRINT TAil (10) ,"

EUEI1'i SHIP I~TELLIGENCE REPORT:"

1440 PRINT tlRANGE: "; INT(A) ;TAB(30) ; "POUEtL"; I~T( P( 1»
1450 IF A > 200050 THEN 1480
1460 IF P(I) c 100 tHEN 195U\IF P(I) < 5UUO THEN 1800\lF A > 175000 TIlEN 1~20
1470 IF A < 5000 THEN 1850\GOTO 1520
1480 IF P(I) - (10000 * 11-.3) < 2000 THEN 1800
1490 p(l) • P(I) - (10000 • H-.3)\01 • INT(RNO(-I) • 3.14159 + I)
1500 PRINT II

VADAR !lAS ENTEREU lIY PERSPACE • .!I; \ IF oi - 4 THEN 2110

1510 A = I.'lT(RHll(-I) * 400UO + lOOOO)\PRINT IS ON II US!"
1520 IF "I c 1.5£6 TIIEN 1960
1530 R • INT(KNO(-I) * 3.14159 + 1)\0 = I"T(Rlm(-I) * 2 + l)
1540 IF K 1 THEN 1660\lF
:z R - 2 TilW 162U\lF K = 4 TtIEN 1810
155u IF A c 100000 TIIEN 153U\P(I) • P(I) - 1000
1560 PRINT "
ENEI\'i FltH::S LASER ••. "; 1940 GOTO 2040
157001 = INT(RNU(-I) * 2 + 1)\IF 01 = 1 T!lEN 1580\PRINT "uu-on \GOrU 1590 1950 PRINT "ENEMY SHIP'S POIIER COllE •• NU LIFE FURl-iS PRESENT."\GOTO 1980
151:10 PLU.'l'T "SCKEENS AT FULL PUllER •• "; 1960 PiUNT "ILA, HA! VADAR GoT 'IVO CLOSE TO OUR HIt.lDEN BASE. GRUUNU"
1590 IF 01 = 1 TliEN 1bOO\PRINT 11 •• :aSSEU •• I,./IIEI/! "\GOTO 1720 1970 PRINT "BASED HEAVY LAS£RS HAVE DESTROYEO illS SIIIP."
1600 IF 01 = 2 THeN 16LO\PRINT" .000Ff .. ": 191:10 PR[NT "HISSION SUCESSFUL"\GOTO 2100
1610 PR[NT" TilEY GOT USl"\P-P-«(200000-A)/IE5)*JUUU)\GOTU 1720 1990 PRINT "lIE HAVE BEEN IN TRANSIT FOR :-tORE THAN om::': YEAR"
1620 IF A :> 100UOO T:-IEN 15JO\IF t\ < 1000U T~H:;~ 153U 2000 PRINT TAB(50)j"DARTH VADAR IS THE VICTOR •• "\PRINT"LIFE SUPPORT FUNCTIONS";
16)U P(l) _ P(l) - 100\PRINT It[NE:W ~JAiUlJ::AlJ IS LAur~CIIl.:U •• It;
2010 PRltlT "GUNE";
1640'IF U = 1 Td!:.;ll 165U\PRI:-IT " •• itlSSt::u •• 1IA!"\GUrO 172U 2020 PRINT '.LIFE SUPPORT FAU[NG •• "
165U p = p - 10UO\PRINT " •• HIT •• UUR POll Lit DU\I:~ "\GOTv 1720 2030 PRINT" C
1660 IF A :> 1100;) T:U':;i 1530\1'(1) :II 1'(1) - 10\PRCJT "E;~E;I'i HAS FUtEll A SHELL R
167U PIUNT "I Ad ArTErlPTING IU AI/Ui) •• ":
161:\U IF U •• 1 T:I!:N 171')\PLUN-;" 11 :IlSSUl!"
16YO IF o ; = 1 THI;:l 172U\PRltlT "TiiAT'LL SHOll YUU 'IlLAr CLEAN LIVUG [)uES " U
1700 PKINT "FUR ,(UU, II ;1\$ "\GOTU 1720 I
171iJ l'LU~T "UUU;T IIIr!!! POllEtt :..IUlm!"\p = P - IJU E
1720 PLnNT TArl( 10) " I
N
G

2040 PRINT
2050 PRINT
2060 PRINT
2070 pRINT
20130 PRINT "PLAY AGAIN"
2090 INPUT B$\N - O\IF S$ = "Y" THEN 70\IF us s "YES" THEN 70
2100 STOP
2110 PRINT "III: IS BI::ING SUCKEU INTU A BLACK 1i0LE! "\GOTO. 19HO
2120 PRINT "OOPS •• WE ARE BE1.'iG SUCKED INTO A BLACK HULE .SORRY"
2130 PRINT "ABOUT TIIAT."\GUTO 2030
214002 -
[NT(R1W(-I) • 3 14159 + I)\BI : HI -«H-3 * 299791.5) * (60-2»
2150 IF B1 < lE6 THEN 2120
2160 [F P(I) - (lL3 *
1000U) < 10000 THEtI 1480
2170 PRINT "ENEHY FOLLO\I£U US THROUGH"
2180 P(I) = P(I) - (IUOOO' (lr.3»\A - [NT(RNO(-I) * 200000)\lF 02 - 4 THEN 2200
2190 GUTO 1420
2200 P = P + 1000\P(I) - P(I) + 1000\GOTO 1720
2210 PRINT"
YOU ARE BOUNU FOR YAVIN-4, WHICH IS ONE LIGIIT-YEAR DISTANT"
2220 PRINT "(A LIGHT-YEAR IS EQUAL TO 9.454 ....12 KILOMETERS). YOU ARE"
2230 PRINT "ABLE TO TRAVEL AT .sc (C - LIGHT VELOCITY:: 2997Y2.5 I(1'S)"
2240 PRINT "WITH POWER cmlSUHEU EXACTLY OFFSETTING POI/ER GENERATED IIUI/EVER,"
2250 PRINT "TRAVEL DIG AT .9C IHLL PUT YUU AT YAVIN-4 IN 1.1 YEARS ";A$;","
2260 PRINT "AND YUU HAVE OULY SUFFICIENT LIFI:::-SUPPORT CAPABILITES FOR ONE"
2270 PRINT "YEAR OF TRAVEL (CHE~JllACCA EATS A LOT);"
2280 PR[NT
2290 PRINT "TO OVERCOME THIS TDIE FACTOR, YOU :'IAY ENTI:';R HYPERSPACE ANa TRAVEL"
2300 PRINT "AT A HAXIMUM VELOCITY UF 518,041,440 KPS FUR A PERIOD OF aUE HUUR'~
1730 A = "T(A •. 9U) 2310 PRINT "AT A r tnz , THEORETICALLY, BY SO UUING, YOU IWULD REACH YOUR GUl\L"
1740 PRINT "RAtH.jJ:::"jIin(A);TAI5(3'J);"PU\JEK " L'lT(P)\IF P < 1 THEI; 2UOO 2320 PR[NT "[N 5.1 HOURS BY l'RAVI:';L!;iG CONTWUOUSLY IN HYPERSPACE. HUI/EVER THE"
1750 IF U "" 1 T!Il'::~ 1770\PiUNT "OISTALH;E Tv YA .•.•
Hl-4";Bl,"KILmIETERS" 2330 PRINT "ENGINES MUST REST AFTER EACH HYPERSPACE JUHP I AND ANY ATTEHPT" >

1760 Q=Q+l\PRIt~T "DAYS IN TKANSIf:";DI::I;" IIYPE.K-JUHPS";H'J 2340 PRINT "TO ENTER HYPERSPACE TIHCE Iii A ROIl RESULTS IN llLOIJING UP rue ::
1770 IF U9 :>= 365 T~!EN 1990\ IF ~\l :> 1E6 T!lEi~ 17YO 2350 PRINT "ENGINES, LEAVING 'tOU STUCK IN HYPERSPACE FUREV[R "
17tiO IF 0"" 1 THEN 1960\PRlllT "\1£ ARE GuUt; TV CULLIDE WITt! YAVI;'l-4!"\GOTO 1900 2360 PIUNT "A HYPERSPACE JUJIP USES A GREAT DEAL UF Ei~t:RGY, VARY[;-.IG BY A POI.JEH."

179U GU1\) 700 2370 PRINT "UF TilE HYPERFACTOR [IIF) SELECTE\) JUHPS ARE SPECIFlEU FROII nr-r.:'
180U P(I) - P(I) + IUOU\PRlNT •• 2380 PRINT "1.0C TO L1F-12, 172MC."
ENI!:t1Y SLUP RESTll~G. "\CU~U 17lU 2390 PRINT "THESE AItE AS FULLOUS:"
uno IF A < 1500UO THE~i 1530\lF A > 2U0050 THEN 1450 2400 PRINT
U:~20 B = RNil(-l) * 40000 + lL1000\A - A - B\PRlNT II 2410 FUR I = 1 TO 12
EH£HY SHIP APPR0ACHING II ;A$ 2420 PRINT TAB(lO) ;"II-F";I TAB(20) "VI::LOCITY" 2')97Y2 s*r3;TAg(45) ;"KPS"
243U HEXT I\PRINT
1830 P(I) = P(I) - 100
2440 PRINT\PRINI "IIYPERURIVL: CUllSU;·[ES ENERGY AT A iU.-H:\U1\ OF 10,000 UNITS AN\} A"
1840 GuTO 1720
1~50 B := RHO(-l) * 40000 + 10UUU\A s A + B\PRUT " 2450 PRINT "aAXIi-IU:t Of 21 074 UJHTS, AS FOLLOi/S:"
ENEH'i SlIlP RETREATlNG 'I ;A$ 2460 PRINT\FOR [ = I TO 12\PRINT USING 247U.I,([-.3 • 10000)
1060 P(I) = P(I) - IOO\GUTU 172U 2470. !IF - 1111 PIj\J£t{ CU:lSU!1ED - If II II 11 II unITS
1~70 PRINT "YOU HAV!:: JUST £NTEREJ) HYPERSPACE TIIlCE .E;iGH~£S BLO\lN 24:30 tJEXT I\PRIUT

IHHO PRINT "~£'Rf. STUCK HERE FOREVER! "\GUTU l'jOO 2490 PRINT "IIYPErtSPACE NAVIGI\TIJN Tl.:~lUS TO BE Sl)!lIJ.JIIAt ERRATIC, ReSULTING"
1~9U PRINT "YUU JUST HYPEHEO AIJAY ALL Uf UUR PUWJ:;K 25UO PRltn' "IN NAVICATII)IL !:iutuns; TlIE LlICHIo:It 'rue !IF 'rue CREATER TI(E"
190U PRl:H A$;" THAT WAS A PRETTY UUHB 'THl~G FoR YOU TO 00. YOUR" 25l1J PRINT "POTENTIAL ERRi..lR. II

lYI0 PRINT "HISSION iJAS TU DELIV.ER '(OUR PASSENGERS AND TilE VITAL INFURHAIlON" 2520 RETORN
1920 PRINT "TU YAVIN-4 NuT GET EVERYBUDY K[LLEO." 2530 ENIl

1930 PRINT"
WliAT A NERD."
Illustrations copyright 1977 by Star Wars Corp. Reprinted with permission.

SEPT/OCT 1978 139

Another new game from Creative Computing ....

1070-1130 Check cells two cells away with two ways to

join them on a later move
1140-1240 As above for a different angle
1320-1350 RESTORE the record of connected groups
before this move
1360-1400 Check for maximum value on moves con-
sidered thus far
1410-1480 Execute computer move and check for win
1510-1780 Check to see if move P is adjacent to any cells
occupied by human marker. If so, add this
cell to that group and any other groups
connected in this way. Hl is the number of
groups, P(I) the number of cells in group I,
h(I,J) the cells of group I for J=1 to P(I)
1790-1940 Subroutine to detect a win
1950-2210 Same as subroutine 1510 except for the
machine rather than human player.
M1 =number of groups, C(I)=number of cells
Two players take turns placing X's and O's within
in group I, M(I)=celis in group I for J=1 to C(I)
hexagonal cells, only one symbol per cell. Two cells are
connected if they share an edge. The winner is the first 2230-2410 Find which cells are adjacent to the cells in
player to occupy a connected group of cells, one of which row I column J, store these in A(I)
is on a side of the board and another is on the opposite side 2420-2630 In each direction find the longest connected
of the board. In this version of the game, it does not matter group, and which cells are at each end.
which pair of opposite sides is connected. In some
versions of this game, each player is assigned ahead of
time the pair of opposite sides that must be connected to
win. By removing line360, the human player will always go
first so you can use the program to print boards on which
SarnpleRun
two human players can then play HEX without the
computer.
TIlE GflfiE OF HE~.
Line Comments I ~~TRi.lCT !lJI!S,? YES
100-360 Initiallzatlon: instructions; parameters in O~B BORR» OF HEXflllO!IS YOU fiRE X m
lines 140 and 150 determine the computer's THE COMPUTER IS O. THE O].J£.(:T OF THE
strategy Gm IS TO t!C(:iJP1'i\ COlflfWEIt ~mJ~(l
365-650 Print the board of hexagons Of m:Bi.lUfIS fROiI ANi' mSlDE 10 THE
Computer checks legality of human move,
Of'PQSm Sir!£, MOVES fiRE, INPUT J~'
655-790
updates connected groups
mCIFYINi.l iiLETTER FOLlOWEB EY. R
NtlllUR Innl NOiHHIG J~ lETi4EEN! E.G.!
820,830 Random opening move for computer fl40R
840-900 Save a copy of board and matrices con-
taining the connected groups for the com-
puter and for the human player MHfH ,SEE f.(ifjR~ 3 - W 6
930-1400 Compute a value S for each empty cell. 1 to fj
NxN ~~! '-
C_I \ / ,
980 Checks cells adjacent to the cell under
Il_i \, I \'.•..
/- \
consideration
E_' \~I ,_, ,_/\_
990 Points for adjacent opponent cells F_l \ /" '. i \ i '. ,.. \
1000 Points for adjacent machine cell / ,_"_, '-' '-' ,_! \,
1010 Points for adjacent blank cell 1 \_1 \_l '_l \_1 \_l \_l
2 \ .; \/ \ I \ ..! \ !
1030 Points if this move would join human groups
previously separated
f\_/- .:: \_l <>
4\ ! \ i \ I
1040 Points if this move would join machine
groups previously separated
5\_/-'_1-
6 \_/
1050 Points if this move would give human a win
1060 Points if this move would give machine a win

James L. Murphy, Dept. of Mathematics, California State College, 5500

State College Parkway, San Bernardino, CA 92407.

140 CREATIVE COMPUTING

 YOU~ MOUE - LETTER DI6lT7 C3 YOUR "DUE - LETTER DIGIT? £4 YOUR KDUE - LETTER DIGIT? BZ
/ GOI'IPUTER "DUES ] 5 COMPUTER "OUES C 4 COMPUTER MOVES F 4
R A fi
B r, B_1 \_
C_i \_1 X\_
It .:' \ / \ /' \ D_I \ I I. , I. 11_/ <:: X'_I ,_
E , , /\ , \ f \ E_I I. I \ , I. ! I. E_i '_I '_i '~i v.,
i '_I ,_/ X\_/ \ .I \. F_, '_I \_i X'_/ 0'_1 ,_ F _i '_f ,_/ X\_i0\ 0\_1 0': ...
I\.' '_I ,_, ,_, \ ! \ r '_I '_i <:: 0'_1 \, ! I. , I. I I. I /
iX'
I. i I.
1-'
! I.

1 '_l ,_/ <:: <.: \_/ v.:! 1 \_1 '_I <:: -:: <:: \_/ 1 '-i-I. i-I.

r\_I-\~/X,_,1\_!-\~,-
[-I. 1

2 \_l \ .' \ l 0'_/ \. / 2\ il.l X, i 0' I I. !

j \ i \ " , l \ I f\_/-'_I-'~/-'_! 3 '_I 0,_/ '_I '_I
4 \, / \ , \ i 4 '_i ,_, I I. 4 <: '_i ,_,
5 \. / \, / 5 <:: <:: 5 '_I \_l
£. \ { 6 '_i 6\ I
YDU~ MOUE - LETTER DfafT? HZ YOUR "DUE - LETTER DIGIT? D4 YOUR HOUE - LETTER DiGIT? F4
CoKPum!l[II;d E 4 comm MOUES R5 OCGUP1E]
fi YOUR HOUE - LETTER DfGIT? F~
B_1 I. YOU WIN!!!
C_I '_I X,_ R
D_I \ / I. " I.
E_i I. I \ , I. 1 \

f \, I \. I \. I \ i \. ! \
F.:'
I ,_/
<::
'_I
'_I'_iX'_'0\ 0'_/ 0'_
/ '_I I.
i -:: \_i <:: \_/ <:: \_l 1 \_1 <:: <:: X'_I <:: '_I
2" / \_l \ ,.. 0\_/ \ / 2 '_i <:: ~>_, 0\_1 <::
3 \ ... \ / ,i \ l
3 <.:' '_i '_I \ /
4 '_I ,_, ,_/
5 <:: <::
f. \ /

108 ]IM "(20,41),H(2D,40)~C(2~),P(2D) 46 (! P=ii*(I-l)tl

110 DIM "1(20,40),H1(20,40),Cl(20)~P1(20) 471~PRINT'~'l~$(P);
121 DI" E'(121),A(6),U(14) 4B~ IF 1=1 THEN 51.
Program Listing
m PRINT H$I
140 DRTA 2,3~1~50090,200000~200~iOOO 51g NEXT T:PRINT E.
158 DRTA 300,100,500,200,~OOf400,50 5i!! m:T K
161 RHNlo~:I'THE GAME UF HEX.' 521 FOR K=1 TO H
171 INPUT'INSTRUCTIONS';R. 531 Ki=3:IF K}9 THEN K1=4
181 IF R$='NO' THEN 29. 541 PRINT TRB(3~K-Kl);K;
19. IF R$='YES' THE~ 210 551 FOR 1=1 TO Ntl-K
2•• PRINT'YES OR NO DO YOU WRNT '1:60TO 171 561 PRINT H$;
21. C'ON R BORRD OF HEXAGONS YOU ARE X RND' 51~ I=Nti-T:J=TtK
22. I'THE CD~PUTER IS O. THE OBJECT OF THE' 5S1 P=~*(I-l) t J
231 I'GAME IS TO OCCUpy R CONNECTED STRING' 591 IF 1= N+i-K THEN 611
241 "OF HEXRGONS FRD~ ANY ONE SIDE TO THE' 6ce PRINT a;B$(p); i

251 C'OPPOSITE SIDE. MOUES RRE INPUT IY' 61 (t NEXT T

26. &'SPECIFYING R LETTER FOLLOWED BY H' 62ij PRINT
271 "NUMBER WITH NOTHING IN BETWEEN, E.6.,' 63(1 HEn K
281 &'84 OR C2.':I:& 641 IF W)O THEN 2651
2" MAT C=ZER:MAT P=ZER 651 IF Z=N*N THEN 2641
:J60 W,~I,Hi=O
311 BliP)=' , FOR P=1 TO 121
655 REM ***** TAKE IN USER'S MOUE CHECK II 8NB EXECUTE IT ***
661 INPUT 'YDUR~OUE - LETTER 116[1'18$·
:32(1 H$='\ i' 671 Af=CUTtS(A$,-1)
m L$='RBCItEFGHIJKLKN' 681 J=URL(RIGHT(R$,2)
34~ INPUT'WHAT·SJZE BORRD 3 - ii'lN .691 R$=LEFl(A1,i)
351 N=INT(U):IF N(3 OR N)11 THEN 340 711 I=INSIR(1,L',R$)
361 IF IN8(1)(.5 THEN 818 711 IF 1(1 OR J<1 OR I)N OR J)N THEN 660
365 REM **'**.*'**PRI~T IORRD"*'*"""**"""'*""'.' 72(1 P=N*(l-l) t,l
73~ IF B$(P)()' , TMEN PRINT 'OCCUPIED':&OTO 660
381 PRINT TRBCKt2);'A 746 BfiP)='X'
391 1$=' ,":E$=', • 75(1 Z9=0
40i FOR K=i 10 N 766 GOSUE 1510
4H X=3*( N-K) no GOSUB 1790
428 I=Kti!IF K=N THEN ES=~\I:PRINT TRE(X+3);!jg;:GOTO 440 780 Z=Zt1
431 PRINT TRB(X)IMID(LI,K+i,i);IS; 791 IF W } 0 THEN PRINT 'Y 0 U W I NI!!':GOTO 310
441 FOR I-K TO i STEP -1
795 REM ***** COHPUTER CRLCULRTES ITS "DUE *****************
45~ J=K+i-1:I=I-i 301 P2=N*N-Z:IF P2=O THEN 370
46(1 f'=U*( I -1)+,J 310 IF Z}O THEN 846
471 PRI«T' 'IIS(P); 326 1=INT«N-2)*RND(1)+2):J=INT«N-2)*RND!1)t2)
481 IF 1=1 THEN 501 830 P=N*(I-l)+J:GOTO 1420
m P.RI.NT Hl;. .S40 "~!..
H.~=O:FOR...J.~l TO .H1:IF P(J)~H8 THE~.H8=P(J)
 85& NEXT I:FOR 1=1 TO K1:!F C(I)}M8 THEN "8=C(I)
860 NEXT I:H9=H1:"9="1 1590 FOR A2=i TO 83
870 C1(I)=C(I) FOR 1=1 TO "1 1660 IF H(H2sR2)(>C THEN 1730
880"P1(I)=P(I) FOR 1=1 TO H1 1611 If D)I THEN 1641
890 "1(I,J)="~I,J} FOR 1=1 TO K1 FOR J=1 TO "8 1621 '=1:P(H2)=R3+1:H(H2,R3+1)=P
900 H1(I,J}=H(I,J} FOR 1=1 TO H1 FOR J=1 TO H8 1631 H3=H2:H2=H1:R2=83:00TO 1738
910 29=0:005U) 2429:Bl=01:B2=02:B3=03:B4=04:)5=D4 1641 IF H2=H3 THEU 82=83:H2=H1:60fO 1738
920 29=1:005UB 2420 1651 1=1+1:P1=P(H3)
930 S9=1:U=0:FOR P=l TO N*N 166. HCH3,Pl+R4)=H(H2,A41 FOR A4=1 TO 83
940 IF B'(P)(}' , THEN 1400 1671 P(H3)=P1+83:IF H2=Hl THEN 1710
m 5=0 1631 H(H2,A4)=HCH1!R4) FOR A4=1 TO PIH!)
969 1=INT(P-l)/N)+1:J=P-N$(I-l} 1691 PCH2)=P(H1)
m GOSUB 2220 1711 IF H3=H1 THEN H3=H2
980 FOR K=l TO R:T$=B'(R(K}) 1718 P(H1)=0:Hl=Hl-1
,>~,9tItH=.' ~'...T.m J::S+u(11:G,OrQ .W~, :tW, R2=A3:,H2=.H:L", .., ,,
1000 IF T$='O' THEN S=S+U(2):GOTO 1020 1730 NEXT HZ
1010 S=S+U(3) 1741 H2=H2+1:IF H2(=N1 THEN 1581
1020 NEXT K 1751 HEXT Ai
1030 GOSUB 1550:IF D}l THEN S=S+D*U(6) 176. IF D)O THEN 1781
1040 GOSUB 1980: IF D>i THEN S=S+D*vm =__
I!!::.....ooll!!llo...-=--......:::::::~ 1771 H1=H1+1:P(H1)=I:H(H1,1)=P
1050 29=0:005U) 1790:IF WIO THEN 8=S+V(4) 1m RETURN
1060 29=1:008UB 1790:IF WIO THEN S=S+U(5) 1785 REM ***** CHECK FOR WIN 29=0 FOR HUKAN OR 1 FOR CDKPUTER '*.
1070 FOR D=-1 TO 1 STEP 2 1791 W5=N+l:W6=N*N-1/
1080 K=I+D:IF K(l OR KIN THEN 1130 18~O Tl=H1:IF 29=1 THEN T1="1
1990 L=J-D:IF L(l OR LIN THEN 1130 1811 FOR A=1 TO Tl
1180 P2=N.(K-l)+L:T'=B'(P2):IF T$=' 'THEN 1130 1821 W1!W2,W3!W4=1
1110 Vl=8:IF T$='X' THEN Ul=9 1830 T2=P(A):IF 29=1 THEN T2=CIH)
1128 IF B$(P2+D)=' , RND )$(P2-D*N)=' , THEN S=S+U(Ul) 1841 FOR i=1 TO T2
1130 NEXT D 1851 T=H(A,B):IF 29=1 THEN T=M(R,E)
1140 FOR D=-2 TO 2:1F D=O THEN 1240 . 1860 IF TCU5 THEN Wl=i
1150 K=I+D:IF K(l OR KIN THEN 1240 1871 IF T)N6 THEN W2=1
1160 Dl=SGN(D):IF D=Dl THEN Dl=2*Dl 1886 T=T-H*INT«T-1)/N)
1170 l=J+Dl:IF l(l OR L)N THEN 1240 189. If T=1 THEN W3=1
1180 P2=N*(K-l)+L:T$=B$(P2):IF r$=' , THEN 1240 1900 IF T=N THEN W4=1
119.0 Vi=10: IUt='X' THEN, U1=11 i9HNE>:I. B: W=W1 tW2+W3*W4
1200 IF ABS(D}=l THEN 1230 1920 IF N=Q THEN 1941
1210 IF B$(P+DHN)=' , AND BHP+DHN+D1}=' , THEN S=S+U(Ul) :1.930 il=Ti
1220 GOTO 1240 1940 NEXT R:RETURN
1230 IF BHPtD)=' , AND U(ptN*D+D)=' , THEN S=5+V(H) 1945 REM ,••• * UPDATE CONNECTED GROUPS FOR COMPUTER *********
1240 NEXT D 1950 If "1)1 THEN 1'18
125~ G5=I:06=J:IF B5=1 THEN 65=J:G6=I 1'6' Ml=1:"(1!1)=P:C(1)=P:C(1)=1:RElURN
1266 IF AFS(E2-G6)(=i1-G5 THEN S=S+U(12)'(B3-Fl)"2 1911 (lOSU~ 222(1
1276 IF ABS(B4-G6)C=65-B3 THEN S=StU(IZ)'CB3-Bl)"2 1980 D=I:FOR Al=1 TO il
'1211 65=I:G6=J:IF )4=1 THEN 65=J:G6=1 199(1 C=A(A1)
1291 IF RBS(G2-G6)(=Gl-G5 THEN S=S+U(131*C63-Gl)"2 2m 1'12=1
13~. IF ABS(G4-G6)(=G5-G3 THEN S=S+U(13)'(63-61)"Z 2(11(183=(:("2)
1311 Hi=H9:K1=M9 2020 FOR il2=1 TO A3
1321 C(I)=C1(1) FOR 1= 1 TO "1 2030 IF M("2,HZ)() C THE~ 2160
133~ P(I)=Pl(l) FOR 1= 1 TO HI 2041 IF D)I THEN 2071
134[1 K(!!J)=WId) FuR 1= 1 TO Mi FOR .J=1 TO 113 2050 1=I:C(H2)=il3+1:~(M2!R3+1)=P
1351 H(I!J)=H1(I!JJ FOR 1= 1 TO Hi FOR J=1 TO H8 2160 M3=H2:~2="1:R2=A3:GD TO 216D
1361 IF S)U THEN 59=1:6010 139. 2'1~ IF M2="3 THEN A2=A3:K2=Ml:60rO 2161
1371 IF S(V THEN 1400 2080 1=I+l:Pl=(:1"3)
1331 59=S9tl:IF INI(II)1/59 THEN 1481 20'0 ~(H3,P1+R4)="(~2!R41 FOR 84=1 TO A3
1390 V=S:P5=P eHio W13)=P1+1i3
i4ao nE;<T P 2110 IF H2=Ml THE~ 2150
1410 P=PS 2121 "(K2,R4)="(K1,A4) FOR 84=1 TO C(~1)
1428 H(P)='O' 2136 UM2l=WI1)
2141 If H3="1 THEN "3="2
14.0 1=INT«P-l)/N)+I:J=P-N'CI-l) 2150 (:(1'11)=0:"1="1-1
1450 PRINI1CO"PUTER MOUES a;MfD(L$,I,l);J 2160 I/EXT A2
1.460 GOSU~ 1950 217~ "2=~2tl:IF "2<="1 THEN 2111
1.47ft Z9=i 2180 Hm III .
143(1 GOSUF 179(1 2190 IFD)O THEN 2210
Z210 "1=Kit1:C(M1J=1:KIM1,1)=P
15(1{! SO TO :370 2210 RETURN
1515 REM .,.,. UPDRTE CONNECTED GROUPS FOR PERSON •••••••••• 2220 RE" FINI ADJACENT CEllS
1510 P=N*<I-l) + J 2230 R=0:"81 Ii = ZER
1520 IF H1}O THEN 1540
1538 H1=1:H(1~i)=P:P(1)=1:RETURH 2251 IF 11(1 THEN 229.
154u uOSUE 2220 2260 J1=J-l:IF J1(1 THEN 2280
1550 D=I:FOR Ai=! TO A 227 UOOSUB 24.0
156[1 C =iHil1) 228& J1=J:GOSUB 240.
,1m H2=1 2290 l1=I:Jl=,l-1
23 ••IF 11(1 THEN 2328
2311 GOSU) 2400 Mow, a book
232& 11=J+1:IF J1)N THEN 2340
233. GOSUI 2408 for the practicing
234. 11=1+1:J1=J
235. IF 11}1I THEN 2390 professional ...
236. GOSU) 2488 '
237. J1=J+1:If J1}N THEN 2390
238. GOSUI 248&
m. RETURN
24.0 R=R+1:P1=N.(11-1)+J1
2410 R(R)=P1:RETURN
2415 RE" $$$$* fIND LONGEST CONNECTED GROUP. RND IN WHICH DIRECTION .**
242. J3=8:H2=H1:IF Z9=1 THEN H2="1
2438 FOR 1=1 TOH2:61,63=N+1:62,G4=0
2441 C1=P(I): IF Z9=1 THEN C1=Cm
245. fOR J=1 TO C1
2460P=H(I,J>:IF 29=f THEN P=IHI,J)
2470 11 = INT«P-1)/N)+1:J1=P-H'(11-1}
248. IF 11(G1 THEN G1=I1:G5=P
2498 IF I1}G2 THEN G2=I1:G6=P
2588 IF J1(63 THEN G3=J1:G7=P
2518 IF J1}G4 THEN G4=J1:G8=P
2521 NEXT J
2531 '=G2-61:11=64-63
2541 J2=O:IF D(D1 THEN )=D1:65=67:66=68:)2=1
255. IF D(D3 THEN 2570
2568 D3=D:84=)2:)5=65:)6=G6
2571 NEXT J
2581 61=INT«D5-1}/N)+1:G2=D5-Nt(G1-1) "This is the best handbook of data
259. 63=INT«D6-1}/N)+1:G4=D6-H'(G3-1) communications system technology
that this reviewer has yet
2600 If D4=0 1HEN RETURN
encountered." - Arvid G. Larson in
2618 1=61:61=62:62=1
ACM Comp'uting Reviews
2620 1=63:G3=G4:G4=T
263. RETURN February 1978
2648 PRINT'T lEG R" E.' Digital Press announces the
2650 EHD publication of TECHNICAL
ASPECTS OF DATA COMMUNI-
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CIRCLE 159 ON READER SERVICE CARD

 the Systems Approach:
How to evaluate, design, and implement a software application

by John ~. Lees
< Haveyou everthought up an applica- your own personal project you're not III. If the project is large, break it up
tion, you know, "Gee, I wish I had a going to be worried about things like into parts which can be coded and
program to dindle my framistan," and how many programmers you can tested separatelv. .
started to Write it, maybe get a little effectively use during each phase of IV. Be realistic in evaluating storage,
code running, but bog down the project, and whether you need a time, interface requirements.
somewhereand nevercarry through? If project librarian, but there are a Remember you have a small system
sd, it's quite possible that you were number of techniques that have been and may have to make sacrifices in
suffering from a lack of systems developed that will be of benefit to you. your design to get it implemented.
approach. Perhaps the single most I. Iterative procedure of refinement IV. Plan files, storage, subroutines,
important step in completing a and repetition. The final result is, etc.
software project, and the one most hopefully, a project which will work. V. Once you get a design, STICK
( often neglected by the big and little II. Hardest thing to do is to get a WITH IT! Do not give in to the tempta-
programmer alike, the systems ap- good overall picture of what you want tion to change things in midstream.
proach consists of thinking things before you have it. That is the single most prevalent
through in advance. A. Think it through; try to imagine reason for projects never being com-
Sure, that sounds Simple and ob- using your completed application. pleted:
vious ("I thought things through,l want Try to make a list of everything you VI. Figure out how to test it before
a program to dindle my framistan"). want to be able to do and how you using it. •
However, it isn't simple and obvious. want to do it.
Large "real world" programming proj- B. If others are going to use the •A recent Rand Corp. study (read thorough and
ects spend a Significant portion of application, get their input. Good costly) indicates that the ratio of the actual time
to complete a well-planned project compared to
their time and budgets in coming up idea to talk it over with someoneelse, the estimated time is 3 to 1.
with a system design. Of course for anyway.

SOFTWARE
TRS-80, North Star C/P M TM
HUNDREDS SOLD, EACH SYSTEM COMPLETE ON DISKETTE
READY TO RUN. WORD PROCESSING, NORTH STAR TUTO-
RIAL I, NORTH STAR TUTORIAL II (TEACHES NORTH STAR
BASIC), ACCOUNTS PAYABLE, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE,
PAYROLL, GENERAL LEDGER, MEDICAL-PROFESSIONAL!
BILLING, SALES WITH SALES ANALYSIS AND GROSS PRO-
FIT, INVENTORY, HISTOGRAM GENERATOR, COMPUTER
CHESS, MAILING LABELS. $35.00 each.

SOFTWARE LOCATER (LOCATE, INDEX-FREE SOFTWARE),

CHECKBOOK BALANCING, BOWLING-GOLF HANDICAPPER,
COIN COLLECTION INVENTORY, IMPORTANT DOCUMENT
LOCATER, BUDGET PLANNER, GAME DISK. $25.00 each.

10 TESTER, COMPUTER MEMORY DIAGNOSTIC PERSONAL

FINANCE, BUSINESS FINANCE, BIORHYTHM GENERATOR,
DIET PLANNER, CRYTOGRAPHIC ENCODER, MATH TUTOR,
A SORT UTILITY. . $15.00 each.

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED, SINGLE DRIVE, 8K FREE MEMORY,

PRINTER OPTIONAL.

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GRAPHICS. TREND LINE ANALYSIS, BUSINESS APPLICATIONS. $15.00.

BLANK DISKETTES $3.80 (UNDER TEN ORDERED. ADD $2.00 FOR

SHIPPING; OVER TEN SHIPPED POSTPAID).

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 40 Programming Ideas
by J. Cletheroe. Sandhurst School, England

Many of these ideas are not original, but they are 20. Convert from Arabic to Roman Numerals and
gathered together here for convenience. They are presented vice-versa.
in random order. [Condensed from a longer list which 21. Matrix inversion.
appeared in Computer Education.] 22. Produce abstract (random) 'art'.
23. Game playing by heuristic (learning) methods.
1. Evaluate 'pi'.
24. Print squares and other shapes out of asterisks.
2. Provide an information retrieval system (for example
25. Print large letters out of asterisks (for posters etc.},
information about characters in a book).
26. Simulate the action of the random number generator.
3. Provide an 'array arithmetic' package. Numbers are
27. Print powers of 2 until the numbers have more than
held with each digit in a separate cell of an array, and 100 digits.
these numbers can be added, subtracted, etc. 28. Work out the best straight line through a set of points
on a graph.
29. Output numbers in words (e.g. 512 gives FIVE
HUNDRED AND TWELVE).
30. Text Analysis (frequency of letters, etc.).
31. Play the game of guessing a letter (is it a vowel?, has it
any straight lines?, etc.).
32. Produce a plot of prime numbers (* for a prime, space
for a non-prime). The user should select the number of
elements per line of the plot. Are there any patterns?
33. Produce a table of n and the number of primes below n
(call this rn}. Does m tend towards a function of n as n
becomes large?
34. Simulate the growth of a colony of Amoebae (doubling
in number every unit time, but allow for deaths due to
the food supply running out and pollution building
up). Can you achieve a stable state?
35. Produce a list of Primes using the 'Sieve of
Eratosthenes' - strike out multiples of 2, find the next
non-zero entry (which is the next prime), strike out
multiples of this number, and so on.
36. Statistical work to test the randomness of the random
number generator. For example, produce a table of the
frequencies of ascending and descending runs of length
n.

4. Round numbers (to so many decimal places or

significant figures).
5. Compute the intersection and union of two numerical
sets.
6. Test a number for being prime; print a list of prime
numbers.
7. Find the HCF and/or LCM of two numbers.
8. Convert numbers from any base to base ten/base ten to 37. Print numbers with leading zeroes, to give
any base/any base to any base. 1
9. Find the first few Perfect Numbers. 15
10. Print the Fibonacci Sequence. 3
11. Print the Fibonacci Sequence in a Modular Arithmetic 2357
- you get a set of 'rings'. rather than
12. Work out square roots without using the square root 1
function. 15
13. Simulate the action of the Absolute Value function. 3
14. Divide without using the / facility. 2357
15. Print multiplication and division tables; repeat in a (which is what normally happens).
modular arithmetic. 38. Scan a set of numbers and print the highest and the
16. Sort a two element/three element/n element set of lowest.
numbers into order. 39. Read in three numbers which are the lengths of the
17. Print Pascal's Triangle. three sides of a triangle. Print (as appropriate)
18. Print Random Sentences, for example in the format "ACUTE", "RIGHT ANGLED", "OBTUSE" or "NO
(article) '(noun) (verb) (article) (noun). TRIANGLE FORMED".
19. Solve problems like CROSS + ROADS = DANGER. 40. Store lists of variable length.
•
146 CREATIVE COMPUTING
Back Issues of
July 1977
Sol: The Inside Story; Report from DREADCO; Home Computers: Here Today, Everywhere
Tomorrow; A Chip Is Born; The Care and Feeding of Your Home Computer

August 1977
The Kit and I, Part I, by someone who's never soldered before; Tooling Up, tips for the do-it-yourself
hardware beginner; Binary Clocks; APLomania, for home or small business? The
September 1977 computer
PLATO makes Learning Mickey Mouse; How Computers Work; Xeroxes and Other Hard Copy •
Off Your CRT; The Kit and I, Part II; Charged Couples, howCCDs work and how they're made;
Personally Yours From IBM, is the 5100 a home computer?
magazine
October 1977 for the curious
Putting Two & Two Together, binary arithmetic Explained for the beginner; Microprocessor Aid for
the Deaf-Blind; The kilobyte Card: Memory for Pennies; Building a Basic Music Board

November 1977 100 Pages Per Issue!

Project Prometheus: Going Solar With Your Micro; The Kit and I, Part III;What is a Microcomputer
System, Solomon and Veit tell how to put together a personal computer system; The Wordslinger:
2200 Characters Per Second
December 1977 Regular Columns by:
Computer Country: An Electronic Jungle Gym for kids; the gkit and I, Part IV: Testing, Testing, - Lee FeIsenstein
Copycat Computer, a file-copy program for your personal program exchange; A Beginner's Guide
To Peripherals; Artificial Intelligence? - Theodor Nelson
Joseph Weizenbaum
January 1978 Bill Etra
Synthetic Skin for Your Robot and How To Make It; The Code That Can't Be Cracked; TLC: The Frederick Chesson
Visual Programming Language, the easy symbolless way to chart programs; First Timer's Guide to Eben Ostby
Circuit Board Etching A. I. Karshmer
Andrew Singer
February 1978
The Mailing List Program; Up and Running at the Elections, micros give quicker results;
Flowgrams-A New Programming Tool; Assemblers, the closest thing to a universal microcom-
puter language? Get your back copies
March-April 1978 while they last!!
Introduction to real time concepts; Felsenstein: An Absolute-Time Clock; Dreyfus: Things (We are not planning a Best of ROM
Computers Still Can't Do; Introduction to Interpreters; Othello Game; Weizenbaum: Incomprehen- book.)
sible Programs; The Quasar Robot Revealed; Chesson: Cryptanalysis; Review of the PET.

----------------------------
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 PASCAL by Jim Merritt

ne of the biggest problems you face in dealing with

O computers is that it's rather hard to communicate

with a machine. Computers must be told exactly
what they are to do and how to do it before they can be put
to work at useful tasks such as balancing your checkbook,
regulating heat and light in your home, preparing finan-
cial reports for your office, and so forth. Unfortunately,
computers do not speak English and probably won't be

From
able to do so for many years, if ever. It is possible, though,
to submit a carefully designed and well-planned set of in-
structions to your computer which then allows it to trounce
you at chess, help you with homework; play your latest

BEGINning musical composition, water your grass, or whatever else

you have in mind.
The set of instructions which tells a computer what to do
is called a program. The instructions themselves must be

to
written using the vocabulary and the rules of grammar of a
special computer-programming language which your
computer can understand. As long as you converse with
your computer in this language, it will be able to make

END sense of what you want to do and can go about obeying

your wishes. If you fail to form your instructions correctly,
according to the rules of the language, the computer will
throw up its hands and either halt entirely, not knowing
how to proceed, or continue in a way you hadn't planned,
sometimes with disastrous results. (For instance, consider
that a small imperfection, or bug, in the program which
controls our missile-defense systems could conceivably, by
accident, trigger World War III. Bugs are serious business,
and the moral of the story is speak gently and carefully to
your machine!)
The reason it's so hard to talk to a machine is that the
computer languages, which machines understand so well,
bear little resemblance to any natural language that

SEPT/OCT 1978 149 Illustrated by Cindy Hain

 humans speak (such as English, French, or German). At
this moment in the history of computers, each machine can
understand only its own specific machine code. Instructions
in machine code are merely numbers. Several numbers
may be strung together to form a machine-code program.
As an example, the following short program is written in
machine code for the 8080, which is commonly found in
inexpensive home systems.

62 65 211 2 118

Assuming that a teletype or videoterminal is hooked up

to "port 2" (which is the second of the 8080's 256 "windows
to the outside world"), the above program will send a
capital A to the printer or screen and then halt. Because
you are probably more familiar with decimal (base 10)
style numbers, I presented the program in this way, hoping
it might be easier to read. However, machine-code instruc-
tions for the 8080 are usually written in hexadecimal nota-
tion. "Hex" is a number system based on 16 separate digits:
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For instance,
decimal-10 is represented as hex-A, decimal-If as hex-10,
and decimal-256 (or 162) as hex-100. The hex version of
the capital A program is:

3E 41 D3 02 76

But even this cryptic form is not good enough for the
machine itself! Computers work with numbers in binary
(base 2) form, using only Is and Os.The way this program
would look inside the machine (if you could read electric
impulses) is still more confusing:

00111110 01000001 11010011 00000010 01110110

None of this is particularly inspiring or helpful to the

poor person, like you or me, who just wants to get an A on
the screen. Certainly, the businessman trying to get out a
sales report or a student who needs to edit a term paper will
not put up with such nonsense. Even professional pro-
grammers find machine code awkward and boring to use.
The fact is humans can't easily deal with "meaningless"
numbers. So, to get around this, a special program was
written which could translate catchy little names for the
instructions into their numeric equivalents. Each num-
bered instruction would, for the' programmer's conven-
ience, be replaced by an abbreviated word reminiscent
of the function of the particular' instruction, called a
mnemonic. This way, the programmer could write:

MVI A, 'A' (move an 'A "into the waiting area)

OUT 02 (send what's in the waiting area OUT to
port 2, the TV screen)
HLT (halt)

This translator program (called an assembler) would

then convert the mnemonics back into number form,
which is the only form the computer itself can use and
understand. The use of assemblers makes it possible for
programmers to use a "language," that is, an assembly
language, in which the instruction's are (somewhat)

150 CREATIVE COMPUTING

meaningful, but still provide the computer with its instruc- assembler, because their tasks are more involved than
tions in proper numeric form. simply changing mnemonics to numbers. HLL-to-machine-
code translators are known as compilers. The compiler
achine code and assembly language have never accepts your HLL program and then writes that same pro-

M been very popular among programmers. They

are especially hard to teach and learn, partially
because humans tend to think in terms of the problem at
gram in the machine code your computer understands.
By writing the same translator program in several ma-
chine languages, the same HLL can be used with different
hand, while machine and assembly languages allow expres- computers, even if their respective machine languages are
sion of a problem or its method of solution only on a very totally dissimilar. Thus, a HLL can act as a standard lan-
rudimentary basis, closely tied to the computer's own guage among people who possess the appropriate
limited design and, in any case, far removed from the ter- translators.
minology of the problem. In the case of our capital A pro- Several HLLs -are available for the person owning a
gram, what the programmer really wants to do, perhaps, is small computer. These include FORTRAN, BASIC, and,
tell the computer the most recent, PASCAL. FORTRAN and BASIC are
WRITE('A') just two computer languages which were developed years
ago and, at the time, represented great strides ahead in
and forget about unrelated things like "waiting areas," helping people talk to their computers. In both, an
"output ports," and so on. attempt was made to use instructions similar to English
The word WRITE means something to a person. You words, so that computer programs could be more easily
might just as easily instruct your secretary or student to written, understood, and corrected. However, as the first
"write a capital A." true HLL, FOR-
Such a command Computers must be told exactly what to do TRAN, while far
neatly expresses what easier to use than
you want to do.
and how to do it before they can be put to machine or assem-
Most people in pro- work at useful tasks. bler code, has
alwaysbeen a rather
gramming feel that
computers should be made to understand such instructions. difficult language with which to write programs. The inven-
More importantly, every different computer has its own tors of FORTRAN did a fine job for their day, but could not
unique machine code (and hence a unique assembly code, possibly have had enough experience in designing HLLs for
too), so a person who wants to instruct computers at the easy use by people.
machine level must, in effect, learn a new language for A few years later, computer scientists at Dartmouth
each separate computer he or she encounters. The pro- College, taking the knowledge gained from experiences of
gram written for the 8080 computer will not work in the people working with FORTRAN, created what they felt
6800 machine. In order to transfer a machine-code pro- was an easily learned, easily used language adequate for
gram from one computer to another, the programmer beginners and suitable as a vehicle to teach elementary
must painstakingly rewrite the entire thing in the other's programming concepts: BASIC (Beginner's All-purpose
machine code or assembly language. Many people feel that Symbolic Instruction Code). At the time BASIC was first
this is a waste of valuable programmer time and effort and formulated, there were no small computers such as are
have, -throughout the years, demanded a "standard lan- found in businesses and homes today, so the language
guage" which many, if not all, computers would under- nestled in the large multi-user computers of colleges and
stand. For good technical reasons, it is not feasible to universities, gaining a reputation as a pleasant, though
enforce a standard machine code. The search for a stan- limited, "teaching language."
dard language must proceed in another direction. Once today's microcomputers began proliferating, a vast
In the ever-continuing push to help machines better need arose for a HLL which could be quickly learned and
understand instructions which a person feels comfortable applied in the creation of games and other home and busi-
in giving and to find a standard programming language, ness programs. BASIC seemed to satisfy the requirements
high-level languages (HLLs) were born. Machine and and soon became the de facto standard HLL for the new
assembly code are called low-level languages, because the small-computer industry. Unfortunately, as an admittedly
programmer must limited beginner's
formulate and at- A well-planned set of instructions allows tool and sixteen
tack the problem years old to boot,
on the computer's your computer to trounce you at chess or BASIC was not well
terms. High -level water your grass. suited for the com-
languages, on the plex, involved tasks
other hand, allow you to express the problem or task in ways the microcomputer users began to demand of it. For vari-
closer to those you might use to instruct another person. ous reasons, it is hard to write a large program in BASIC
But no computer can understand high-level instructions without some confusion. To circumvent this difficulty,
by itself. Remember, computers really understand only microcomputer manufacturers developed improvements
machine code. However, we can write programs which and extensions of BASIC which helped computerists get
translate the HLL instructions into machine code for us, their jobs done. But these improvements only added to the
just as the assembler translated assembly language. These confusion, as disagreements between manufacturers over
high-level translator programs have a different name than -what were the best and most useful extensions led to several

SEPT/OCT 1978 151

 different and largely incompatible versions of BASIC, most
of which survive into the present day. At this point, BASIC
is not the convenient standard it might have been - there is
too much difficulty encountered in moving a program
written for one version of the language to a machine which
uses another version; the same type of problem encountered
when using machine code! Also, as enthusiasts added extra
features to the several versions of the language, they con-
veniently forgot that, as a beginner's language, BASIC was
intended for small, instructive programs given out as pro-
gramming assignments or examples in computer classes. It
was not intended as a tool for the development of large-
scale honie and business programs and has more than once
vexed programmers who dared to use it for such purposes.
The built-in limitations of the language and the relative
inexperience of its designers, when compared with that of
the language specialist of today, have marked BASIC in
the same way as FORTRAN: a nice, serviceable, but out-
moded antique in today's world of computers and pro-
gramming languages.

we have recognized the inappropriateness of BASIC,

A FORTRAN, and other early languages to today's

computing needs, the search has started again for a
new standard HLL: one which is easy to learn, easy to
apply to both small and large programs., and one which
allows the programmer to work very much in the
abstract-that is, to write computer instructions which
closely resemble human instructions and which are tailored
to the specific problem at hand, rather than to a certain
computer's needs, construction, and limited capabilities.
In the sea .of languages available today, one has emerged
which seems to satisfy all these needs and more, providing
an elegant, easy way for you to talk sense to your computer.
That language is PASCAL.
As a relatively new language, PASCAL benefits from
decades of experience in designing, testing, and improving
computer languages. It's creator, Professor Niklaus Wirth
of Zurich, drew from previous languages successful and
useful features and instructions to emulate, as well as de-
sign failures to avoid. At all times during the development
of PASCAL, the intention was to produce a tool for pro-
grammers which would help, not hinder, the writing of
clear, concise, correct computer programs and would
especially facilitate the task of writing large, complex pro-
grams, since large projects are understandably harder and
cause more problems for the programmer than small ones.
PASCAL is similar to the currently popular BASIC in
that it, too, 'was developed as a teaching language-as a
means through which to impart the principles of good pro-
gramming to computer-science students-and has since
been employed by many colleges and universities around
the world for exactly that purpose. PASCAL is easily
learned-many of these institutions are successfully
teaching PASCAL in introductory programming courses to
students who often have never dealt with computers
before. Previously, BASIC and FORTRAN were the
staples of introductory courses, and, while this practice
persists, the academic popularity of PASCAL is very much
on the rise. Such a situation promises to increase the
PASCAL "literacy" rate to the point where it rivals those of

152 CREATIVE COMPUTING

BASIC, FORTRAN, and COBOL (a language commonly decide to start small, by "computerizing" a door so that it
used in business programming). may be unlocked only after the appropriate password is
The PASCAL Users' Group, headquartered (for the punched into a small calculator keypad that you will install
Western Hemisphere) at the University of Minnesota in just outside the door. You have the necessary mechanical
Minneapolis, now and electronic equip-
boasts over 1600 A bug in the program which controls our ment - it isphysically
members in thirty- possible for your
two countries (in- missile-defense systems could trigger computer to control
cluding Indonesia and World War III. the lock. However,
Malaysia), accord- you must first write
ing to PUG head Andy Mickel. The membership includes a program which tells the computer how to accomplish this
academics, professional programmers, and small-computer task. In PASCAL, the required program might possibly
enthusiasts, among others. PASCAL NEWS, published look like this:
quarterly by PUG, is their prime means of communication,
in which a lucid description of the state of PASCAL de- begin
velopment and use worldwide is presented, as well as an lockthe door ;
on-going forum where PUG members discuss, debate, and repeat
propose orderly improvements and extension of the lan- if somebodywantsin ,
guage to better fit the needs of the computing community. then begin
There is considerable work being done to make PASCAL askforkey;
available to as many computer users as possible, and much !i keyisgood
applications software (programs written to perform then begin
specific tasks such as playing chess or computing mortgage -- unlockthedoor;
amortization) is being written in PASCAL against the time waitforpersontoenter;
when the language achieves the status of a standard HLL. lockthedoor; -
We are rapidly approaching this point, as industry as well end
as education is beginning to embrace the language. In the else write ('bad key-try again') ;
September 1977 issue of PASCAL NEWS, it was reported end;
that Texas Instruments and Harris Data Communications until autolockisturnedoff;
are two large concerns who now use PASCAL either exten- end.
sively or exclusively when writing company programs. Ac-
cording to Robert Ranson of ADP Technology in St. Louis,
the U. S. Department of Defense is considering PASCAL, Using BASIC, the closest counterpart to the PASCAL
or a language so similar to it that translation between the instructions is as follows:
two is trivial, as the new standard language for armed-forces
programming (replacing FORTRAN and COBOL-no
small achievement!). Finally, while PASCAL has -been 10 GOSUB 6000
available to large-computer users for several years, recent 20 IF FNI <>1 THEN 100
developments at the University of California at San Diego 30 GOSUB 7000
and elsewhere have, at long last, brought the language to 40 IF FNK< > 1 THEN 90
the small computerist as well-specifically, to those who 50 GOSUB 6500
work with the 8080 or Z-80 machines. 60 GOSUB 8000
70 GOSUB 6000
80 GOTO 100
90 PRINT "BAD KEY - TRY AGAIN"
100 IF FNL< > 1 THEN 20

A
this seems to point to an imminent future when
PASCAL will be a popular, standard medium used 110 END
by both professional programmers and home com-
puterists to talk to their machines. Because the language Clearly, the PASCAL program is closer to plain English
may finally be used with microcomputers, I feel the time is than BASIC, yet, even though PASCAL instructions may
ripe to begin a thorough, tutorial discussion of it. If you be easier to understand, you can see right away that pro-
bear with me, you, gramming in PAS-
too, can learn to CAL is not the same
program computers The fact is humans can't easily deal with as using ordinary
easily in PASCAL. language. For in-
While we will write
meaningless numbers. stance, what hap-
several smaller pro- pened to the spaces
grams during the discussion, we will spend most of our in "lockthe door" and the other instructions? Why couldn't we
time using PASCAL to attack a "real-world" problem. have written "lock the door"? What purpose do the paren-
You, as a home-computer enthusiast, have heard about theses serve after we say "write"? Why do we use so many
the many ways a computer may be used to automate various begins, ends, and semicolons? Let's take a moment to
mechanical processes around the house such as heating, answer these questions and so learn a few of the rules of
lighting, smoke and intruder detection, and so on. You PASCAL programming.

SEPT/OCT 1978 153

 Figure 1
PASCAL Statements

A single instruction by itself

Example: write ('This is a single instruction')

A single instruction between the words begin and end

Example: begin write ('This is statement type 2') end

A series of instructions between begin and end, and each, except the last, followed by a semicolon

Example: begin write ('Even though there are three writes here ') ;
begin write ('this is still just ') end;
write('one statement-a COMPOUND statement.')
end

W
hen you program in a high-level language, the denting helps, so use It. From now on, I will follow this
instructions you give to the computer are indi- practice for every example, so you can more easily identify
vidually called statements. (For myself, I like to nested statements.
use the term instruction, but since the official PASCAL Now, knowing what a compound statement is, you can
User Manual prefers statement, I'll try to use it more often. see why the program is "littered" with begins and ends, and
As far as I'm concerned, the two are synonymous, so don't also why we use semicolons so profusely-the "semis"
be confused!) An instruction or statement tells the compu- separate instructions within compound statements, and
ter to do something: water the lawn, do the tax form, begin and end must surround every compound statement!
compute the square root of 2, lock a door, and so forth. In The compound statement is useful because it is treated
PASCAL, there are three major forms of statements. (See as a single unit by the computer. When your machine sees
figure 1.) a begin .. end pair, it knows to do everything inside first,
In the compound statement shown in figure 1, notice before doing anything on the outside. This is the same rea-
that we also put a begin .. end type statement within the son we use parentheses in arithmetic and algebra! Just as
first begin . . end there are times when
pair. This is accept- you want the result
able in PASCAL. In the world of personal computing, it is of an entire expres-
Indeed, the inner
begin. . end could
important that your program be readable. sion to be taken as
a whole in math,
have surrounded you will often find
another compound statement, instead of just the single it necessary for your computer to perform certain jobs first,
"write" we put there. When you put a statement within a before going on to others. The pair begin .. end is to
statement, you are said to be nesting statements. In figure 1, PASCAL statements as the parentheses are to math
the inner statement is nested within the total compound expressions.
statement.
Q: Why not use parentheses instead?
Notice that even our door-lock program is nothing more
A: As words, begin and end are just easier to read
than a large compound statement! In fact, since all PASCAL
and follow-that's all.
programs must be surrounded by begin 'and end, all are
large compound statements. -- --

I
t would be nice if a computer language included suf-
ficient vocabulary so that there would be commands
Exercise: Seeif you can find all the instances of nesting for all the practical things we'd like our computers to
within the door-lock program. handle. "Turn on (and off) the lights" would be one such
command. "Cook breakfast" would be another. In our
One last note on nesting may help before we move on. In case, we want the computer to "lock the door," "ask for
PASCAL, it is generally considered good practice to indent key," and so on.
a few spaces each time you nest statements. (Use the door- Unfortunately, with so many different things to do-an
lock program as an example.) Indenting is used to improve inJinz'ie number of possibilities when you think about it-
program readability-to help someone else understand how could one computer language ever include built-in
what you've written. In the real world of personal compu- commands for them all? And another thing, would every-
ting, with so many people writing and swapping programs, one be satisfied with the command names if they were
it is important that your program be understandable. In- available? For example, we've said "lock the door," but

154 CREATIVE COMPUTING

somebody else might prefer to say "bolt it" or "secure the the computer will know to refer back to our earlier defini-
door." Each person is most comfortable using his or her tion of the command and carry out the task.
own personal vocabulary when giving directions or solving When we say "lockthedoor then, we are not telling our
a problem. How could one vocabulary in a programming machine to do something which it naturally "knows" how
language suit or please everyone? to do. Instead, we are referring by name to the set of basic
Language designers (especially those who designed PASCAL instructions we wrote before, which tells exactly
PASCAL) feel that the solution to the problems of "univer- how to do it in language the compiler can "understand."
sal capability" and "universal vocabulary" is to endow a In PASCAL, names are called identifiers. An identifier
language with a powerful, but limited, set of rudimentary is easy to make up, being simply defined as a sequence of
instructions from characters such that
which you may cre- the first is a letter,
ate and name your PASCAL provides an elegant, easy way for and any following
own custom pro- characters are either
grams, procedures,
you to talk sense to ~our computer. letters or digits.
and functions to do (The capital and
any computable task. Once built from the basic instructions, lower-case letters and the digits 0-9 are collectively known
these commands become "part" of the language and may as the alphanumeric characters.) This definition of identi-
even be used to define other custom commands! (This fiers rules out using spaces or other punctuation within
business of creating new custom commands from com- names.
bining old ones gives you considerable power-we will As it stands now, a space signals the end of an identifier.
discuss this in more detail in a future article.) If spaces were allowed in names, they would effectively be
We do the same thing when we teach people. If you have ignored by the compiler. For instance, suppose you had
a door lock which is rather difficult to use, you might show two procedures, named "abc" and "def." If the compiler
a child exactly how to operate it, then say, "That's the pro- ignored spaces, how could it distinguish between "abc def'
cedure for locking the door." From that time on, assuming and "abcdef'? In the first case, you would have made an
the child is a fast learner (and obedient), you would expect error, since "abc" and "def" are, being two custom com-
that the request to "lock the door, please" would be followed mands, separate instructions (statements), and they can-
unhesitatingly and unerringly, according to your earlier not be placed together without a semicolon between them.
instructions. In the second case, "abcdef" is one custom instruction and,
A computer is indeed a fast learner and never forgets therefore, a single statement. Which case does the com-
what it has "learned" (unless explicitly told to do so, or an piler choose? In order to make the right choice (and so
accident destroys its memory). However, as with a child, "second-guess" you), it would have to have considerable
you must painstakingly and very patiently give the compu- intelligence of its own. This could possibly introduce enough
ter its initial instructions, which will then be followed, additional complexity and size in the compiler that it
without fault or delay, forever after, as long as you com- would be too massive to operate in small systems and would
mand the machine using the name you have given to the be fit only for the multi-million-dollar "dinosaur" ma-
procedure. chines. In order to get a compiler for a very powerful lan-
guage which, nevertheless, can fit within a small computer's
limited facilities, we, as intelligent human beings, must

W
hile the command to "write" is built-in to the agree to put up with having to write "askforkey," instead of
PASCAL language, our intruction to "lockthe- "ask for key." This way, the spaces we do use in our pro-
door" is not. In order for the compiler to under- grams act to definitely separate indentifiers from one
stand what we want when we use the command, we must another and also separate indentifiers from keywords.
first write a procedure which tells the computer how to lock Keywords have meanings and uses vital to' the PASCAL
the door. We name the procedure "lockthedoor," and language itself and so cannot be redefined and used by the
from then on in our program, whenever we use that word, programmer as identifiers. To emphasize their special sig-

Figure 2
Roughing It with PASCAL

AREA NAME AREA CONTENTS EXAMPLES

DID Area Program Heading program anyname(input,output);

(Other objects declared here)

Program Area the program

end.

SEPT/OCT 1976 155

nificance, keywords are customarily underlined in PASCAL you. "Write" is said to be predeclared. It exists as a pro-
programs. (By looking at our door-lock program, then, cedure exactly as if you had declared it yourself. In order
you can see that the words begin, end, repeat, if, else, and to use "write" in a program, you simply insert its name at
several others are keywords.) If you try to use else as an any point in the program where you want to see results.
identifier, for example, the compiler would tell you that However, the lone instruction "write" will not tell the com-
you have made an error in your program and refuse to puter to send anything to your terminal. What's to send?
translate it to machine code. Just as a compiler could not You must follow the "write" with a list of the messages or
tell the difference between "abc def' and "abcdef," if it data you wish to see. This list should be in parentheses, and
ignored spaces, it alsowould be confused by such indentifiers each individual item must be separated from the next by a
as "fifo" and "lifo" (which might show up in a business comma. For instance, the instruction
program), because they contain the keyword if and could
also be interpreted as "f if 0" and "1if 0," respectively. The write (,Item 1', 'Item 2', 'Item 3')
PASCAL rule that a space ends a word resolves that
ambiguity. will send the three separate messages to the terminal, one
after another. We can also send numbers to your screen or
printer using "write":
Samples of legal PASCAL identifiers:
corn (even though it contains the keyword Q!') write (1.27, 23,100.987)
CoRn (which is a different identifier than "corn")
a123bc In fact, there are a variety of quantities which may be
thisidentifierisverylongbutstillok printed on your terminal through the "write" procedure.
We'll look into the detailed function of "write" in another
Samples of illegal identifiers: article.
12abc (identifiers may not begin with digits)
ab: cd (the colon isn't allowed-only alpha- ven though "write" and a number of other objects

record
numerics)
(record is a keyword)
not ok (spaces aren't allowed-also, since not is a
E are given to us "free," we must still invent the proce-
dures which are not otherwise available, such as
"lockthedoor," and "waitforpersontoenter." In a PASCAL
keyword, the compiler would assume that program, objects you define are declared (written) in the
"ok" is the identifier in this case) area immediately above the first begin in the program it-
self. I call this the DID area (for "declarations and defini-
When the PASCAL compiler sees an identifier like tions," naturally). The program, of course, comprises the
"lockthedoor," "askforkey," or even "write" in a program, program area.
it looks to see if the name has been assigned to any previ- The first line in a PASCAL program (and so the first
ously defined object (such as a procedure or function) in thing in the DID area) declares the name of the program
your program. If so, the object is substituted, and if not, itself and is called the program heading. Here is ours for
the compiler says you've made a mistake, since the word is the door-lock program:
"undefined" or "undeclared." Except in very rare circum-
stances which we won't be discussing, all procedures must program lockit(input, output) ;
be written, or declared) before they are used in your pro-
gram. In general, anything you invent and name in order The program heading consists of the keyword program
to help you with your program must be declared prior to followed by an identifier which then becomes the program
use. As we'll see in future articles, PASCAL allows you to name. In the parenthetical list (which is optional in some
"invent" a lot of tools and will treat such fabrications exactly systems), we have informed PASCAL that we want our
as if they were part of the language itselfl program to be capable of both input and output. (In those
One of the tools which you don't have to invent for your- systems which require the parenthetical list, you must ex-
self is the "write:' procedure. ("Write," as the name of a plicitly state whether you want input only, output only, or
procedure, is hence both.) The program
an identifier, not a When we say "lockthedoor," we are not heading is termi -
keyword.) Its pur- nated by a semicolon.
pose is to allow you to telling our machine to do something which (In the program
send messagesor data it naturally "knows" how to do. area, as we have seen,
to your terminal. the "semi" is used
It is used a lot, obviously because people want to see the to separate statements. Similarly, it is used in the DID area
results of their computations. Most programs aren't of to separate definitions and declarations.)
much use unless they can send understandable results to Now that we have named our program and have begun
their users (in ot~er words, unless they can output infor- to use both the DID and the program areas, we can rough
mation). It stands to reason that most everyone would out a diagram of the basic elements of a PASCAL pro-
need such a procedure in every program. If you had to gram (see figure 2). As we learn more, taking a closer look
create the "write" procedure anew for each new program, at keywords and custom commands used, we can flesh out
you would probably tire of PASCAL in a very short time. a diagram like this until it becomes a reasonable guide to
Anticipating this, the designers of the language wrote it for the correct formation of a PASCAL program. T

156 CREATIVE COMPUTING

 [Pt%@OO[J)OD~~D®
by Daniel Alber
ACROSS

1. Machine-oriented languages
(abbr.)
5. Popular computer device
8. Law enforcers (abbr.)
11. Delay time
15. My friend in Lyon
16. Automatic data acquisitions
(abbr.)
17. Aristotle's nickname
18. -.----.ANDING
19. Mend socks
20. Semiconductor impurities
22. A Great Lake
23. Destroy data
25. Letter of the alphabet
26. Snow vehicles
27. Puts in data
30. Unit of storage
32. Terminal control system (abbr.)
35. Commercials
36. A Gabor
37. Voice answer back (abbr.)
40. Landed
41. Open circuit
44. Morning moisture
45. Epoch
46. Xmas tune
48. Prongs
50. Search for data
51. Crude metal
52. Type of semiconductor
junction
53. ~ep
54. Ali __
56. Withdraws computer power
57. A computer language
60. _. _ de France
61. Ms. Farrow
62. Cattle
65. __ Grande
66. Poetic contraction
67. Island (abbr.)
68. Austral ian bird
69. Put a storage device in a The solution to this PROMpuzzle will appear in next month's ROM.
prescri bed state
70. Biblical boats
71. __ finger action
74. __ mode 7. __ tape 52. Some systems
77. Lend an __ 8. Dailey and Cupid 53. __ out
78. Output-input signal ratios 9. Skill 54. Binary digit, for short
82. Mother __ 10. Family member 55. Muhammed __
83. Action of an automatically 11. Live 56. __ drive system
controlled system 12. Ireland 58. Fib
87. Ontario or George 13. Dry 59. Fate
88. __ microprogrammer 14. Letter of the alphabet (pl.) 61. Muck and __
processors 21. Beast of burden 63. Poetic contraction
89. Logical operator 24. __ input pin 64. Electromagnetic interf rence
90. Educator's group (abbr.) 26. Cole __ (abbr.)
91. Space 28. Transmit data register (abbr.) 70. Avoid
92. Fellow 29. Compass reading 71. Took a chair
93. __ and no 30. Surrendered 72. Give a paper readout
94. Lid 31. Nights before 73. Festive occasions
95. Back talk 32. Kindness, for short 74. Metallic core
33. Government agency (abbr.) 75. Misplace
34. Waveform enlargements 76. Arabian gulf
DOWN 37. One-dimension arrays 77. Some instruments
38. Constellation 79. Scarlett's manse
1. Created 39. Forbid 80. Squeezes out
2. The tent maker 42. Particle 81. Oceans
3. Italian coins 43. Some relays 83. Fodder
4. Punched-hole paper reading 47. __ pro nobis 84. One (Fr.)
5. Papa . 49. Bird's abode 85. New (prefix)
6. Marriage vow (2 wds.) 50. Dear __ 86. __ digits

100 May 1978 ROM

 RealTime~
The Popcorn Perplex ~
triControl
by Lee Felsenstein

R obert Benchley, the late great humorist, was also the possessor of a
fabulously messy desk. One day he set about to clean it up, together
with his secretary. He came to one paper and absently handed it to
the secretary, muttering, "Bring this to my attention."
The secretary responded, "Now, sir?"
That being the precomputer era, the anecdote makes the point that the
secretary knew more about being an executive than did Benchley. If we
were to replace the secretary with a computer, the script would be the
same, but the point of the anecdote would be that to a computer, the time
is always "right now." Unless, of course, the computer is given a clock and
instructions on how to use it.
A previous article (ROM March-April 1978) discussed an absolute-time
clock and showed how to build one for a microcomputer. Making use of a
digital clock circuit, it could show the time of day to the nearest second.
For lots of processors, however, computers don't care what the time of day
is, but they must be able to keep track of much shorter time intervals ac-
curately. These processes require a clock more like a stopwatch, or one that
sounds a bell every so often. Timers like these used in computers are called
real-time clocks. (We shall not go into the reality or unreality of time here.)
A good example of a real-time application would be the making of pop-
corn. As we all know, popcorn is done when the sound of its pops slows
dowrt to about one per second. If you wait until there are no more pops,
the popped corn will probably be burned. Now if, say, you want to make
some popcorn while you are in the middle of a chess game or some other
occupation requiring your undivided attention, it would be nice to have
your computer take control of the decision as to when the corn is done.

158 Illustrated by Cindy Hain

 ---
_
- .... __ ._.
 Let us say that you had rigged a The computer can issue a com- .total of less than ten pops (which can,
microphone to listen to the popping mand to reset the timers to zero of course, occur in random short
corn and attached some electronics to and start them counting. bursts), then the average of one pop
convert the sound of each pop into a per second has been achieved, and it's
momentary closure of a pair of switch The computer can check to see if time to turn down the heat and notify
contacts. By connecting this contact the time interval has been com- the master.
closure to one pin of the parallel input pleted arid can resetthe flag signal No problem is'that simple, of course.
connector of your computer, you would without interrupting the count. The computer has to decide that the
be able to notify the computer of each corn has been popping for a while
and every pop. So far, so good. With this gimcrack added on, the before it starts looking for the one-per-
Now comes the problem. How do great popcorn perplex becomes trivial. second rate. Otherwise it would ring
you notify the computer of the time The computer sets the timer for 1/10 the gong befo~e the corn pad started
interval occurring between the pops? second, then checks whenever it can to up (dumb machine!) . But the real-rime
Forget about asking your computer to see if the timer has gone off. When it clock makes this decision just as easy
use its judgment; it hasn't got any. has, the computer resets the flag and for the computer as the silent second.
If, say, more than ten pops are re-
corded in one second, then the com-
Witb this gimcrack added on) the great puter can reasonably conclude that the
popcorn perplex becomes tritnal. corn has really started popping.
You will probably want to know how
the real-time clock circuit knows how
Obviously you have to provide some- increments a number tucked away in a much time has passed. The time base
thing like an electronic stopwatch, register. It then resumes checking the upon which it is built is an oscillator
along with complete instructions for its clock, along with checking the input stabilized by a crystal which forces the
use. The circuit we describe here is a from the microphone. oscillator to run at 18.0000 megahertz
repetitive-interval timer over which the . If the number in the register gets to (million cyclesper second) . The crystal
computer can exercise various forms ten without a pop detected, then one is ground and tested during manufac-
of control: silent second has gone by. The com-
puter should then reset the number in Note: The 18-megahertzcrystal may
The computer can select one of
five time scales, ranging from the register to zero and record the fact be obtained from James Electronics,
of the silent second somewhere in its 1021 Howard Avenue, San Carlos,
1/100,000 second (or 10 micro-
memory. If ten seconds go by with a CA 94070 (415-592-8097).
seconds) down to 1/10 second.

The designer in his lair designing

160 CREATIVE COMPUTING

ture so as to fall within .005 percent of because it was the first multiple of 60 When the event occurs, the 7474
the specified frequency. This kind of hertz cheaply (about $5) and readily latch circuit notifies the computer by
quartz crystal is widely used in electron- available. A divide-by-three counter sending a signal on the flag bit (one of
ics for this purpose, and it is what gives immediately reduces the frequency to the bits of the parallel input port, here
shown as bit 7). As soon as the com-
puter takes cognizance of this fact, it
Successful product design requires that can reset the flag bit by setting the re-
faults be converted into ''features.'' set bit (bit 3 on the parallel output
port) . The whole thing can be stopped
or started by the start bit, another out-
the advertising boys the right to say 6 megahertz. This frequency is then put bit (bit 4) which resets the divider
"quartz" when talking about an elec- fed to .a chain of five 7490 counters, chain when the computer says so.
tronic wristwatch. each of which divides by ten. Thus they It was originally intended that the
Electronic counter integrated circuits produce 600 -kilohertz, 60 -kilohertz, real-time clock be usable to provide a
are used to divide the oscillator fre- 6 -kilohertz, 600 -hertz, and 60 -hertz 60-hertz time-base signal to the
quency down to usable rates. These frequencies. (Sixty hertz was chosen absolute-time clock in case the power
counter circuits are fairly simple de- as the output so that it could be line was not dependable. Halfway
vices which in effect play a game of fed to run an absolute-time clock at through the project, it became obvious
hopscotch to the beat of the signal fed some time in the future.) A selector that the use of the start bit would inter-
to them. They hop through a certain circuit (74151) chooses one of these rupt the 60-hertz count, and that this
number of squares and then hop back frequencies (on command from the dual usage would be Impossible.
to the beginning in one big jump. If computer) and passes it on to a divide- Successful product design requires
you consider this "hop back" the out- by-six counter. This step, then, can that faults be converted into "features,"
put of the circuit, then the counters produce a 1OO-kilohertz, 1O-kilohertz, and the present case was no exception.
divide the input beat by a fixed number 1-kilohertz, 100-hertz, or 10-hertz sig- Basing the divider chain on multiples
.to produce the output. The outputs can nals. Another way of looking at these of 60 hertz meant that 60 hertz such as
in turn be fed as inputs to another numbers is to say that the circuit could be obtained from the AC power
counter, creating a "chain" of dividers produces an "event" every ten micro- line could be used to replace the 6-
which can rapidly knock a high input seconds, hundred microseconds, milli- megahertz signal from the divide-by-
frequency down to a low one-with second, ten milliseconds, or hundred three counter. Using this signal slows
lots of convenient in-between steps. milliseconds, as selected by the the clock down by a factor of 100,000,
We used the l8-megahertz crystal computer. permitting delays of as long as 2.777

The designer z"nhis lair redesigning

SEPT/OCT 1978 161

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SCHE!VIAT «; R.EAL~TtME.. CLOCK

162 CREATIVE COMPUTING

PiNS 4, EI.J9~ 13
CuT 5HOlt-T ot'J
7490 $0 Cl<e:"t 5

PlCTORJAL DIAGRAM - REAl-Tl ME CLO CK:.

SEPT/OCT 1978 163

 THE MYSTERIOUS COUNTER DECRYPTED
Imagine a black box, with an input back to 0, but the high-to-low transi- we string four toggles together, the
and output (electrical connections). tion thus generated at the input of count will proceed to sixteen before it
The output can be high or low, but not the second device causes the second resets. It's no great trick to add some
in between. When the input is raised to one to set to 1. The two toggles there- circuitry to reset the toggles to 0000
a high voltage level, the output stays fore sit at 10. Note that this is the bi- when the count reaches ten. Then
where it is, but when the input is nary number for 2. One more input the circuit has a cycle, or modulus, of
dropped from high to low, the output high-to-low transition sets the first ten, and presents a binary code
changes to its other level. Present a toggle to 1, and the circuit presents equivalent to the decimal number of
continuous stream of changes on the 11, or binary 3. The next input tran- input transitions. Line up several of
input, and the output changes con- sition (high-to-low, as always) causes these counters, and each one can re-
tinuously, but at half the rate of the the input toggle to switch to O. This present a decimal digit in a large
input. Since all changes on the output switch causes the second toggle to decimal number. This is much easier
require a change in a single direction switch, and the result is 00. (If the for people to understand than binary.
on the input, it should be clear that input of a third toggle were connected It's called BCD, or Binary Coded
this circuit "throws away" the low-to- to the output of the second toggle, it Decimal.
high input transitions. would switch at this time.) The type of counter we have been
Such a circuit is known as a toggle describing, with toggles connected
circuit, and it is the basis for all elec- one to the other, is known as a ripple
tronic counters. Connect two such High-to-Low Second First counter. Since each toggle kicks the
circuits, the output of the first one Transition Circuit Circuit next one down, there is a slight delay
feeding the input of the second, and Zero (initial) 0 0 between one bit's changes and the
assume that they are both set to low First 0 1 next bit's change. If enough counters
(or zero) . On the first input high-to- Second 1 0 are lined up (there are a total of
low transition, the first circuit sets to Third 1 1 twenty toggles in the real-time clock
high, but the second one doesn't Fourth 0 0 divider chain) , the last bit may not get
change. Using Is and Os, we can say to change until after the first bit has
the two devices are not at 01 (the already changed again. This places
right-hand number represents the By connecting a series of toggles, a limits on the usefulness of ripple
first device). On the next input high- binary counter which keeps count of counters, although they are widely
to-low transition, the first device sets input transitions can be created. If used because of their low cost. .•.

164 CREATIVE COMPUTING

hours (10,000 seconds) and thus pin ~ inward. Cut short pins 4, 8, 9, level means less than 0.8 volt, a high
broadening its possible applications. and 13 on the 7490 sockets, pin 5 on level means between 2.4 and 5.0 volts).
the 7474 socket, and pin 6 on the 74151 When that happens, the count selected
al-time clock can be built using socket. Bend outwards the tips of pin 2 by the number present on bits 0, 1,

K the by -now -familiar "scored

laminate" ROM technique (see
"Project Prometheus: Going Solar with
on the 7474 socket, pin 5 on one 74161
socket, pin 3 on the other 74161 socket,
and pin 7 on the 74151 socket.
and 2 will be fed to the divide-by-six
circuit. The numbers inside the rect-
angle symbolizing the 74151 on the
Your Micro" and "The Absolute-Time
Clock," in the November 1977 and the
March -April 1978 issues, respectively) , Forget about asking your computer to use
in which a base of copper-coated fiber-
glass is divided into sections by shallow
its judgment) it hasn't got any.
grooves made with a hacksaw. In this
case a very narrow area (less than 0.300 Solder the 680-ohm resistors, the schematic diagram represent the code
inch in width) is left under the 7490 0.001 -microfarad and 10 -picofarad on bits 0, 1, and 2 which will connect
sockets as a signal line carrying the re- disk capacitors, andthe crystal to the the various frequencies to the divide-
set signal. Pins soldered to this line add 7404 socket before installing that socket by-six. (The code numbered 2, for ex-
to the stability of the sockets. on the board. Make sure that no short ample, connects the 6-kilohertz signal
Wirewrap sockets (fourteen-pin circuits exist between the leads of these for an output frequency of 1 kilohertz,
sockets for 7490, 7404, and 7474, and components after the board is finished. or a period of one millisecond.) Note
sixteen-pin sockets for 74151 and On the 7490 sockets, prewire pins 1 to that codes 5, 6, and 7 will send no fre-
74161) are used, with most of the pins 12 and pins 3, 6, and 7 to pin 10 before quency to the divide-by-six, so the cir-
bent outwards about 0.1 inch down installing them. This will greatly sim- cuit will not respond if those codes are
presented.
If the reset bit (bit 3) is low, the flag
Counter circuits play hopscotch to the will be set when the selected time has
beat of the signal fed them. elapsed. The flag bit (bit 7) will then
go to a high level, and the circuit will
go on counting. When the computer
from the body of the socket. Pins to be plify construction. Use any solid wire, takes notice of the flag bit, it should set
soldered to the base copper are bent 24 gauge or smaller, to make the inter- the reset bit to a high level and then
only at the tips. These are pins 7 and connections. Don't forget to connect immediately drop it again, thus re-
14 of the 7404 and 7474 sockets, pins 8 the two 5-volt base areas together. setting the flag bit. When doing the
and 16 of the 71515 and 74161 sockets, programming, be careful to maintain
and pins 5 and 10 of the 7490 sockets. n operation, the circuit will do the same values on the other bits while
Bend the tips of these pins outward.
On the 7490 sockets, bend the tips of I nothing until the start bit (bit 4)
is at a low level (in this case a low
the reset bit is changed. Otherwise,
time might suddenly stand still! T

The Absolute- Time Clock Addition For Producing a 60-Hertz Input

For Your Real-Time Clock

+5V
rz VCLT A<'
powt"R
iRANSrORMt~ [0 K

S CHEMAltc - 60 H"C- 1 NPVr

The schematic shown here takes advantage of an unused section of the 74LS04 in the absolute-time clock (ROM
March-April 1978) by replacing the 74LS04 with a 74LS14. Note: Do not replace the 7404 on the.real-time clock
with a 74LS14. The oscillator will not work.

SEPT/OCT 1978 165

 [M]o~~OCWiJ®C?V
Each of us has a dream.
What should computer technoLogy
[P®~O~O®lli)
do for mankind?
This is my dream.
You may note that it seems to be
by
coming closer.
What follows may be thought of
Theodor
as a first offical
public announcement. Nelson PROSPECTIVE EXTERNALS
The following specifications are presented for general comment prior to being frozen for implementation.

The Xanadu Hypertext Network has been designed as a universal publication system to make written material of
all kinds instantly available electronically.
The principal purposes of this enterprise are to provide a universal system for electronic publication and to assure
the rapid availability of writings in general and of our literary and historical heritage. We further intend to assure stan-
dardization, ana most especially to set a level of performance from which no one may accidentally or purposely retreat.
Readers, authors, researchers, browsers, and publishers will all find certain of their needs met. The network is
intended as well to be a powerful environment for private and unguided study of any subject. It is also intended as a
general archival repository, and can function directly as a teleconferencing and electronic mail system.
CONVENTION 1. TYPES OF DOCUMENTS
A document consists -of any text and/or links that someone wishes to store.
'Thus the Gettysburg Address is a document, 'Jabberwocky" is a document, and a set of links between them is a
separate document. '
A document may also consist of changes to another document. Thus the modified Gettysburg Address published in
MAD by Doodles Weaver may be thought of as two documents: the original, and the changes ..
The integrity of each document is maintained by these separations; derivative documents are permanently defined
in terms of the originals and the changes. Evolutionary continuity is unambiguous and storage space is saved.
CONVENTION 2. OWNERSHIP, CONTROL, ROYALTY
Ancient and public-domain documents have no owner. Otherwise, each document has an owner who controls it
and receives royalties for its use.
The owner determines whether a document is to be private or not.
The owner does not determine whether a reader may create links to it or modified versions of it.
The owner receives a,royalty based upon use: especially, a royalty rate based upon the length of time his document
is on a reader's screen. If it is on a screen for one hour; he receives a full hour's royalty. If it is on the screen for half an
hour, or on half the screen for one hour, he receives half the hour's royalty. (Note that "on the screen" may for practical
purposes be interpreted as in the final buffer area. )
If a modified document is read, the original owner and the modifier split the royalty in proportion to the size of the
changes, as determined automatically.
A uniform royalty for all authors and documents is desirable, since this means there is no pretext for the system's
keeping track of who reads what.
A one-time royalty is to be paid if a paper copy is made.
CONVENTION 3. LEVELS OF PUBLICATION
A document may be private or published. A private document may be read and linked-to only by the owner and his
associates. A published document is available to anyone, and may be read and linked-to by anyone.
The name and author of a published document are listed in various directories, which are themselves published
documents.
A published document may not be withdrawn from publication. Its owner may publish a modified version, with a
request not to use the previous version, but the previous version remains published.
A document at an intermediate level, the open document, is generally available but not listed in directories.
CONVENTION 4. TYPES OF LINKAGE
Links are made by individuals as pathways for the reader's exploration; thus they are parts or modifications of the
actual text. Links may be created within or between documents.
Any type of linkage is possible in principle. We are presently concentrating on three of basically literary origin:
11 The jump-link. As symbolized by the asterisk, this generalizes the footnote.
11 The quote-window. This allows one document to quote another, with the reader at once free to
peruse the document of origin.

© 1978 Theodor H. Nelson

166 CREATIVE COMPUTING

 OF THE XANADU HYPERTEXT NETWORK·
~ Collateration. This sets parts of two documents in correspondence to one another, permitting rec-
ognition and close study of the corresponding parts.
Collateration between successor versions of a document is automatic.
CONVENTION 5. FUNDING AND ACCESS
An hourly base rate is charged to all users.
This includes the cost of fetching all materials, the cost of all editing operations, and the hourly royalty to be
divided among authors.
It also includes the placing in archival storage of all that a normal user can type in one hour.
This archival storage is comparatively slow to retrieve, involving minutes rather than seconds.
Storage at a more accessible level, or at more than one main station, involves additional storage charges. Thus a
"publisher" is someone who pays for the rapid accessibility of materials and benefits from their use along with the author.
SYSTEM INTERNALS
The external specifications discussed are made possible only by certain technical developments which are for the
present proprietary and secret. A number of radical discoveries in the field of computer indexing and retrieval render it
possible to offer these services within seconds on configurations of present-day equipment, even as the number of docu-
ments and service requests expands to astronomical figures.
OTHER MATTERS
The network will not monitor who reads what or who writes what. Movement of text in the network will be under
the dispersed control of user requests, with no central list of what is currently being read.
The network is to be a distributed system of storage and local services, with high-speed lines connecting the storage
centers. Each main station is to have a number of functions:
~ Local service to local user terminals, honoring local requests or passing them on to other main
stations.
~ Local storage of materials owned by local users and materials having high usage at this locality.
~ Pass-through of requests and materials from other main stations to local users or other mam
stations.
~ Assigned storage: duties of archival and repository storage as assigned within the system.
The Xanadu Information System consists of the Xanadu Hypertext Network used in conjunction with an official
Xanadu Information Terminal. This and other trademarks will be available under nominal license fees to vendors offering
compatible equipment, as precisely defined under specifications to be released at a later time and subject to phased
change.
Studies are underway as to the best feasible organization for both system security and general economic incentive.
Dispersed private-sector financing is foreseen, with probable use of the franchising mechanism. While the profit motive is
necessarily involved-the profit motives of many firms and individuals must be enlisted-the ultimate goal is plain,
idealistic, and simple.
OTHER ISSUES
A number of thorny issues, and their relation to these designs, remain to be discussed. These include system-level
encryptions, libel, copyright infringement, "national security," hardening of the archives against war or disaster, and the
general issue-cluster relating to privacy, withdrawability, and the financing of archival keepage.

Ted Nelson
PROJECT XANADU
Your comments are invited.
Box 128,
Swarthmore, PA 19081
Note,' "Xanadu Information System, "
We regret. that there is little opportunity to answer correspondence. "Xanadu Hypertext Network, "
If there is sufficient interest, a convention may be held later this year "Xanadu Information Terminal, "
to discuss these matters. If you would come, please so indicate. "Lightning Literature, "
-------------------------------------~=alIIE.-~it.=-- and the "Eternal-Flaming-X Symbol"
are trade and service marks
for products and services
offered by Theodor H. Nelson.
SEPT/OCT 1978 167
 Route 1: Straight take-off by descending
~[?v[P)tSDCS ~®DUUC0OD~®[? Cryptogram:
columns.
TNROI EETCA LMNEU LROPD
TRANSPOSITION IDBVR CTSEE IIBWR D.

CIPHERS Route 2:
Cryptogram:
Straight take-off by ascending columns.
EIORN TMLAC TEOLR UENVB
DIDPE ESTeR DR WBI I .:

Route 3: Alternating columns.

Cryptogram: TNROI EMLAC TENEU RLOVB
by DIDPE ESTCR IIB WR D.

Frederick W. Route 4:
Cryptogram:
Diagonals, from upper left corner.
IRIPC BNDTW EEISR TTUDE
Chesson DNCRB ERAL V OLOIM E.

Transposition ciphers are historically as old as substitu- Other geometric take-off routes will suggest themselves,
tion ciphers, if not as well known to those interested in including such multiple operations as taking the text out a
cryptography. Although the first recorded use of trans- spital route into a second square or rectangle, and taking
position ciphers is clouded by the mists of antiquity, it ap- the text out via vertical or horizontal strips.
pears to be substantiated through repetition in the history If the rows and columns of the block are keyed, a new
of classical Greece. element of security is afforded. If the preceding message
Tradition tells of the Spartan general, Lysander, who were keyed by a mixed sequence of 4-1-5-3-6-2 for the col-
had achieved a victory over rival Athens in the protracted umns and 3-1-4-6-2-5 for the rows, first the message would
Peloponnesian War. Isolated in distant Sestos, Lysander be taken out by one of the keys into another box of the ,
grew increasingly concerned with the lack of communica- same size and transcribed with the second key.
tions from home, knowing all too well the intriguing of
those who, jealous of his conquests, would stop at nothing 4 1 5 362
to discredit him in the eyes of the ruling class. 3TENPRI
Finally a.slave arrived, the only one of four who had set 1NTEDCI
out through unfriendly territory. His openly carried mes- 4RCUITB
sage tablet merely commanded Lysander to observe a reli- 60ARDSW
gious ritual to appease the gods. The General considered 2ILLBER
this message, then requested the messanger's ornate cloth 5EMOVED
belt, and retired to his private quarters. There, he detached
the club-like baton or scytale, which was his badge of office, First transposition:
from his own belt and wound the slave's belt helix-wise
3EIPTNR
about it. A jumble of letters on the belt, apparently an
1TIDNEC
incantation from a local priest to guard the traveler, sud-
4CBIRUT
denly resolved themselves into coherent lines of writing.
6AWDORS
After reading an ominous warning of treachery at home,
Lysander set sail on the fastest galley at his disposal. (If he 2LRBILE
had penned a reply before his departure, he would have 5MDVEOE
first wound a blank strip of cloth about his own scytale, Second transposition:
making sure that the intended recipient would have a
TIDNE CLRBI LEEIP TNRCB IRUTM D VEOE
baton of the same diameter!)
AWDOR S.
Much more familiar to us are anagram-like arrange-
ments of letters or even complete words, written into boxes For more information on these and other letter -transposi tion
or rectangles according to a predetermined key. The mes- ciphers, I would recommend the books listed in Further
sage TEN PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS WILL BE RE- Reading.
MO VED; which contains thirty-six letters, can be written Cryptanalysis of transposition cipher systems depends
into a six-by-six square ( a four-by-four rectangle is also first on identification. A frequency count will disclose
feasible) and then takert out by a variety of routes, as whether such letters like E, T, A, 0, I, and N are present
shown below. in normally expected quantities. The appearance of Xs or
Zs among a standard frequency distribution may indicate
1 2 345 6 their use as word separators, a fact which may actually as-
1TENPRI sist in breaking the cryptogram.
2NTEDCI Multiple anagramming, when two or more messages are
3RCUITB suspected of having been enciphered by the same system,
40ARDSW is very useful and lends itself to computer techniques,
5ILLBER where identical portions of each message are displayed
6EMOVED or printed out.

168 CREATIVE COMPUTING

 Even for the single message, the technique is similar. String manipulation and formatting is very convenient
The display program causes sequentially separated letters for the computer-assisted cryptanalyst to have, allowing
to be compared for "goodness of fit." For instance, the first almost instantaneous display of a message in a variety of
and twelfth letters are paired up ~ith the second and thir- formats, either sequentially or simultaneously. Programs
teenth, followed by . may also be devel-
the third and four- .-=--~-~---;;----:----;----;;-----;.----;;----:;>,=".-;;~ oped to check the
teenth, and so on. distribution of vow-
An interactive pro- els and consonants
gram may allow in each row of a trial
keyboard manipula- decipherment. A
tion to shift various
lines of text against L- y
d '
SUi Vl -e Ie S
h
.I
( !tv;r MeS%f-
) good mix can indi-
cate that the first
each other until di- , transposition of a
grams of high probability begin to show up in relevant two-part system has been determined and the solution is
numbers. This is illustrated below in vertical alignments, at hand.
but may also be done horizontally on the computer display Letter trios (trigrams) and complete words can also be
or printer. subjected to transposition. Word transposition has been
traced as far back as the 1600s- the Duke of Argyle used
this system in his abortive uprising against James II in 1685.
With the arrival of the magnetic telegraph, the word trans-
1 2 3 position system was used mostly by journalists and others
who could not carry around bulky code books.
-H TH T- Anson Stager, superintendent of Western Union's West-
TR ER EH ern Division in Cleveland, Ohio, developed a version of
ES IS IR transposition ciphers for Governor Dennison at the out-
ID ND NS break of the Civil War. Stager's version came to the atten-
NN AN AD tion of General George B. McClellan, who was then rising
AD ED EN rapidly in the Union Army after a series of minor, but im-
EP UP UD pressive, victories. Following the debacle at Bull Run near
UF OF OP Manassas, Virginia on 21 July 1861, McClellan was ap-
OE RE RF pointed head of the Federal forces. He brought in Stager
RY BY BE and his fellow telegraph engineer, Thomas T. Eckert, to
B- -Y develop a military-telegraph system. To encipher confi-
dential messages, Stager and Eckert developed successfully
more complex editions of the original transposition cipher.
While acceptable digram pairs can be found in all three Routes of twelve columns and over twenty lines eventually
alignments, only column 2 has an overall grouping of high- appeared, together with increasingly comprehensive lists of
frequency digrams, starting with TH, the most common code words covering such useful topics as time, dates,
letter-pair of all. I rivers, forts, generals, cities, and a whole lexicon of mili-
tary terminology.
Even though telegraph lines were tapped and offices
Further Reading raided, the Confederates apparently never cracked any of
the dozen or so code editions then in use. Intercepted tele-
Pratt, Fletcher. Secret and Urgent, Indianapolis, grams were even reportedly published in Southern news-
1939. Prior to Kahn's Code Breakers, this was one of papers with appeals for civilian assistance at cryptanalysis.
the major popular works on cryptology and still con- These stories, even if true, actually might have been clever
tains much useful information, including several "covers," in the event that the Richmond authorities solved
transposition systems. the active U. S. Military Telegraph cipher.
Transposition ciphers continued in military service well
Plum, William R. The Military Telegraph in the Civil into the twentieth century. In World War II, the q<;rmans
War. Chicago, 1882. (Reprinted recently by Arno employed a double-transposition system, termed UBCHI
Press of New York.) A two-volume work detailing by the French, who broke the system and others like it.
Civil War telegraphy, including much on crypto- (The cryptographic conflicts of World War I are well de-
graphy and a complete reproduction of the U.S. M.T. scribed by David Kahn in his book The Code Breakers.)
"Code Number Nine," used from 1862-1868. By World War II, cryptography had become quite
mechanized, with the new technology favoring substitution
Kahn, David. The Code Breakers, New York: Mac- systems. Transposition, however, was still serviceable for
millianCo., 1967. This isprobably the most definitive resistance groups, where pencil-and-paper techniques were
modern work on cryptology, covering both historical a must in the shadowy world of the underground. French
and technical aspects. See (in hardcover edition) secret agent Jacque Bergier's book Secret Weapons-Secret
chapters 9, 10, and 11 for cryptogram uses during Agents illustrates some of these techniques and includes
World War I. the message that helped form the answer "No!" to Hitler's
vengeful question: "Is Paris burning?"

SEPT/OCT 1978 169

 Post-World War II cryptography relied on substitution Key: 09-28-55-41-10-25-40-02-07 -18-35-47 -16-34-52-
systems, since the mechanical and electro-mechanical ci- 23-04-46-05-29 ....
pher machines of that era were oriented towards "linear
processing" rather than the "batch-processing" concept The message letters are then taken out according to this
associated with transposition. Modern computer techniques key and sent in the usual five-letter groups:
have followed this tradition, although they are, ironically,
suited to batch processing as well. Today, pseudorandom SNXRM MT AAI ERNWU CAITC ....
techniques used for transposition ciphers can generate keys
appropriate to any message length - the longer the message, At the reception point, a count of the message letters or
the greater the security. (In contrast to the substitution some message indicator causes the receiving terminal pro-
ciphers, where brevity conceals the encoding technique.) cessor to look up or reconstruct the key and reassemble the
For example, the following message is counted and a key message.
stream appropriate to its length is generated accordingly: This technique would make an interesting and possibly
useful project for the home computerist to program. It
DATA TRANSMISSION WILL RECOMMENCE would also help keep the ancient art of transposition ci-
AT TWENTY THREE THIRTY HOURS X phers alive and healthy. .•.

This month's cryptogram:

For a challenge, we present

an original V. S.
Military Telegraph
enciphered telegram,
sent from
Warrenton, Virginia
on 22 July 1862
by an operator
named R. R. McCaine
from Seymour, Indiana.
The text
of the telegram
involves a "personnel
problem" in
the V.S.M.T.
To accomplish ~
what Confederate

z::~
cryptanal ysts
were apparently
unable to do,
write the message J?!r
=-> ~
in strips
reading both up
and down
and slide the strips
against each other
until coherent
word pairs
begin to emerge.

Hint: /}--{£~ Yn/ ~

There are more

than five lines ~C~~4G~~
and five columns
in the transposition,
with null words
used at the end ~& A
of each column.
The last word c!Y /J-f .~
of the message
is RESIGNATION.
BREMEN is the key.
~
Solution on page 124.

170 CREATIVE COMPUTING

 nature of our rules of inference which led researchers to
&O®C1D®tsO®UUts believe that logical reasoning could be mechanized-
specified in an algorithm for use in computers. Such research
THEOREM PROVING falls into that branch of AI referred to as "mechanical
theorem proving."
by Mechanical theorem proving is an area of AI which re-
quires a certain amount of mathematical sophistication for
Bryant complete understanding; however, my goal in this article
is to present some of the key ideas without putting severe
W. York mathematical demands upon the reader. For this reason, I
have limited my discussion to "propositional logic" and
Edited by what "theorem proving" means within that logic.
There are several different types of logic, or forms of re-
A.1. presenting facts and their reasonings. The simplest type of
logic is "propositional logic" (sometimes referred to as
Karshmer propositional calculus) . The basic element of propositional
logic is the "proposition" which is merely a declarative
sentence. Propositions have the property that they may be
After several columns dealing with the high-level aspects either true or false, but not both. An example of a true
of computer vision and robotics,' we now turn to one of the proposition is the statement "Snow is white."
most fundamental issues in all of Artificial Intelligence-
theorem proving, All AI systems that attempt to understand
the natural world rely on some form of mechanical theorem
provers, For example, the vision. system discussed in the Table 1
January 1978 column was designed to include a mechanical Logic Connectives
theorem prover to aid in understanding the natural world
through its data base, ""'G not G
This month's column, by Bryant W, York of the University G /\ H GandH
of Massachusetts, lays the basic groundwork for under- G V H GorH
standing symbolic logic and mechanical theorem prooing. G--+H GimpliesH
The author presents the subject in more formal terms than G~H (G implies H) and (H implies G)
we have used in the past because this is the most straight-
forward method of presenting the material. The article
presents a basic introduction of logic and a treatment of Propositions may be combined with other propositions
propositional calculus, The subject of first-order predicate through the use oflogical connectives to form wffs. (A wff is
calculus will be presented in. a future column, an abbreviation for "well-formed formula.") At this point,
you may think of a wff as merely a compound statement such
All men are mortals,
as "Snow is white and grass is green. " In this particular state-
Socrates is a man,
Therefore, Socrates is a mortal. ment, the wff consists of two separate propositions joined by
the binary logical connective and. And is called a binary con-
Almost everyone has seen a syllogism like the one above nective because it joins two propositions. Another way in
at some time in his life. It is merely a means of inferring a which to form a wff is to negate a proposition - given the
new fact from facts proposition "Snow
which are given, Theorem provers could easily be done on a is white," its nega-
and it plays an im- tion is the wff "Snow
portant role in the hobbyist computer and usedfor such things is not white." Nega-
early development as playing the Wff 'n' Proof games. tion iscalled a unary
of our "logical rea- connective, because
soning." The syllogism is an example of a "totally syntactic" it acts on a single proposition. In propositional logic
means of deducing a new fact from certain known facts. By there are sixteen binary connectives and only one unary
totally syntactic I mean that only the "form" of the given facts connective.
is important in order to make the deduction, not the Propositional logic very precisely defines how wffs are
meaning or interpretation of the facts. For example, after formed and evaluated in terms of truth and falsehood. These
seeing a few syllogisms most people arrive at the following rules can be specified more compactly if we introduce some
general rule of inference: shorthand terms for representing propositions and connec-
tives. Since propositions are atomic elements in proposi-
All X are Y tionallogic (we are not concerned here with their internal
Z is an X structure) , they may be represented by single symbols such
Therefore, Z is a Y as F, G, H, and so on. Since we are concerned only with
their truth or falsity, we may associate a T or F with each
This rule is totally syntactic in the sense that it is independ- proposition. The standard symbols for the basic logical
ent of the meanings ~f X, Y, and Z. And it is this syntactic connectives are shown in table 1.

SEPT/OCT 1978 171

•••••••••••••••••••• In propositional logic, a wff is recursively defined by a

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Microcomputer
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(1) A proposition is a wff.

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I•Designed for the office or for the home, the IMSAI Video Data Processor, the I First, an interpretation of a wff is an assignment of truth
VDP-40, places a microcomputer well within the budget of the average I values (true or false) to the propositions of the wff. For ex-
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• VDP-40 can communicate to additional VDP-40s or other 8080/8s-based Q, T to R, and T to S in the wff (P /\ Q)~ (R 1\ (,..,S)) is a
computers, and can act as a terminal in a data communications network. •
• The VDP-40 is a fully integrated system, featuring an 8085 microprocessor, I particular interpretation of this wff. (Notice that, since
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there are four propositions (P, Q, R, S), there are 2.4 = 16
I and serial and parallel I/O ports in a handsome cabinet. interpretations of this wff.) Figure 1 is a truth table
The IMSAI VDP-40 comes fully assembled and tested. Built-in serial and I showing the truth value of this wff, containing each of the
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peripheral devices including line printers, modems and auxiliary terminals.
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•••• intermediate evaluations - - - --

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•
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evaluated first - - - --

1 Phone (315) 637-6208 Today! •

•••••••••••••••••••• 172 CREATIVE COMPUTING
CIRCLE 103 ON READER SERVICE CARD
sixteen possible interpretations. This truth table shows that Given the wffs (basic facts)
we can evaluate a wff with all its possible interpretations by F 1 : if the gun is fired, then the person dies
evaluating in the proper order each of the subexpressions. (P-" Q)
Expressions within the deepest level of parentheses are F2 : the person does not die
evaiuated first, and so.on. Wff evaluators are very easy to (-vQ)
write in recursive programming languages and are only
slightly more difficult in languages without recursion. Deduce the wff G:
True and false may be represented by 1 and 0; "comple- the gun is not fired
ment" (not), "and," and "exclusive or" generally exist as (I'V P)
primitive operations in most digital computers. The four
basic binary connectives may. thus be written as functions The proof procedure consists of forming the new wft
of "and," "c?mplement," and "exclusive or," or you may
wish to store the truth table for each connective. At any if the gun is fired, then the person dies, and
rate, there are simple algorithms for evaluating a wH, the person does not die, and
given an assignment of truth values to the proposition in the gun is fired
the wff.
Secondly, a wffis valid if and onlyifit is true under all inter- represented by F11\ F2/\ /\.IG) or (( (P ---;. Q)l\NQ) /\ P)
pretations. A wff is inconsistent (or unable to be satisfied) if and then showing that this wff is inconsistent-false under
and only if it is false under all interpretations. For instance, all possible assignments of truth values to the propositions
wff, G, is a logical consequence of wffs F1' F 2' Fn if and P, Q. Figure 2 shows the truth table for this wff; note that
onlyiffor any interpretation in which F11\ F21\ A Fn is ,,-,,("'P) is equivalent to P.
true, then G is also true.
These definitions allow us to state one of the most impor-
tant theorems of symbolic logic-the deduction theorem: Figure 2
Truth Table for
Given wffs F1 , F2, ... Fn and a wff G, then G Wff
P Q P~ Q ""Q (P+Q)A,-vQ «(P-+ Q)A ,-vQ) 1\ P)
is a logical consequence of F 1, F2, ... Fn if
and only if the wff ((F1/\F21\ ... tWn) ~ G)
is yalid. . T T T F F F
T F F T F F
An alternative formulation of this theorem, which better F T T F F F
describes the proof procedure actually implemented in F F T T T F
most mechanical theorem -proving systems, is:
Now, let's summarize what is required for a simple pro-
Given wffs F1, F2, ... Fn and a wff G, then G positional logic theorem prover. First, you need a data
is a logical consequence of F1 ' F2, ... Fn if structure in which to represent proposition symbols, a-data
and only if the wff ((F11\ F21\ .. .I\Fn )1\ r-/ G) structure for storing wffs, and a means of evaluating the
is inconsistent. basic logical connectives (either through function calls or
table lookup). Next, you need a means of generating all
This latter theorem underlies the technique of proof by the possible interpretations for a wff, and you need a wff
"refutation" -showing that the negation of the wff under evaluator to evaluate the wff under each interpretation.
question is inconsistent with the known facts. Note that the The proof procedure consists of conjoining the negation of
logical connective and is associative. This means that the the wff under question with the conjunction of wffs (basic
wff (F 1" F21\ Fs) is equivalent to the wff ((F1/\ F2)1\ F 3) facts) in the data base, evaluating the resulting wff, and
which in turn is equivalent to (F1/\ (F2/\ Fg )}. testing the truth table for inconsistency. Such a theorem
Let's see how this theorem might be used in a simple prover could easily be implemented on a hobbyist compu-
propositional theorem prover. Consider the following ter and used. for such things as playing the Wff 'n' Proof
example: games.
If the reader wishes to do larger problems involving
Given the propositions more sophisticated logical reasoning, he will need not only
P : the gun is fired a larger computer but also a more powerful logic. For ex-
Q: the person dies ample, the syllogism at the beginning of this article cannot
be represented in propositional logic; it requires a logic
with more powerful atomic symbols. This type of logic is
Further Reading called the "First-Order Logic" or the "First-Order Predi-
Chang, Chin-Liang, and Lee; Richard Char-Tung. cate Calculus." There are many mechanical theorem
Symbolic Logic and Mechanical Theorem Proving. proving systems based on the first-order logic; however, a
New York: Academic Press, 1973: discussion of such systems will be dealt with in a future
column.
Allen, Layman E. Wff 'N Proof: The Game of Modern Hopefully, this article has removed some of the mystique
Logic. New Haven: Autotelic Instructional Materials surrounding mechanical theorem proving and has. intro-
Publishers, 1962. duced the reader to some of the important basic ideas of
symbolic logic in a relatively painless way. T

SEPT/OCT 1978 173

cP6ativ6 computind
Computer Rage
This fun and educational new board game
is based on a large-scale multiprocessing
computer system. The object is to move
your three programs from input to output.
Moves are determined by the roll of three
binary dice representing bits in a computer.
Hazards include priority interrupts, pro-
gram bugs, decision symbols, power fail-
ures and restricted input and output
channels. Notes are included for adapting
game for school instruction. A perfect in-
troductory tool to binary math and the
seemingly-complex computer. [6Z]

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• •••c
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 Index to Advertisers
Reader
Service No. Advertiser Page No.
157 . AJA Software 144
170 Apparat, Inc. 30
126 AVR Electronics 133
175 Byte Shop 3 of San Jose 83
135 Byte Shop of Santa Barbara 42
143 CASI 15
152 Component Sales 59
134 Computalker Consultants 65
174 Computer Components 55
116 Computer Data Systems 2
103 Computer Enterprises 172
151 Computer Factory 119
138 Computer Information Exchange 50
149 Computer Lab of New Jersey 119
112 Computer Mart of California 30
(Computer Products of America)
136 Computer Mart of New York 95
112 Computer Products of America 95
(Computer Mart of Ca.)
159 Computer Stop 143
124 Computer Store of Santa Monica 67
154 Computers Etc. 127
179 Computers Plus, Inc. 83
183 Computrex Computer Services Ltd. 50
106 Continental Specialties Corp. 9
132 Corson Computer Corp., Inc. 46
144 Creative Computing 32,98,99,148 174,176
115 Cromemco 1
162 Digital Press 143
COMING NEXT ISSUE 167 Digital Research 64
• Backgammon Warfare. Read what 168 DynaByte 6,7
happens when you pit one electronic 172 E & L Instruments CIII
120 Electronic Control Technology 119
backgammon set against another. The
Electronic Systems 73
sparks start flying!
153 Entelek 71
• An Experiment in Strategic Thinking. Can 171 Futurist 107
a computer programmed in LOGO teach 140 Galileo 101
a human to play Nim? Or vice versa? 113 Hayden Book Company, Inc. 58
• Electronic and Video Games. Our annual 102 Heath Company 31
roundup of the newest entries and how 114 Interfab Corp. 110
they stack up against the old standbys. In International Microcomputer Exposition 120
time for your holiday shopping. 108 Jade Computer Products 43
137 Marketline Systems Inc. 64
• Editors Choice Sound System. Are you
129 Micro Logistics 63
playing a new music synthesizer through 185 Microtronix 118
an old hi-fi system? Here are some tips for 181 Midwest Scientific Instruments 17
upgrading your system to reproduce 128 MiniTerm Associates Inc. 45
those weird digital waveforms. 156 M,M & S Software 50
• Mailing List Systems. Business, school, or 160 Netronics 23
individual- almost everyone can use one 182 New England Electronics 7
of these mailing list systems. New York Personal Computing Show 111
165 North Star Computer 25
• Software Profiles. Significant amounts of
118 OK Machine & Tool Co. 41
applications are beginning to hit the 173 Ohio Scientific CIV
market. Some is very good, some so-so, 117 Osborne Associates Inc. 81
and some we found "not acceptable." 139 Pacesetting Computers Inc. 63
180 Personal Computer Corp. 83
Personal Computing Show NCC '79 103
127 Personal Software 51
125 Processor Technology 4,5
111 Program Desiqn, Inc. 49
IC)CREATIVE COMPUTING
Polymorphic Systems 29
Radio Shack 13
166 Rainbow Computing Inc. 30
104 RCA Cosmac VIP 27
Real World Simulations 20
163 Small BUSiness Computers 123
131 ~ft~e 1~
122 Southwest Technical Products Corp. CII
119 Sunshine Computer Co. 110
123 Sybexln~ 113
107 Tarbell Electronics 12
109 Technico, Inc. 11
145 Telecom 127
133 The Computer Corner 83
176 The Computer Hardware Store, Inc. 83
177 The Electronics Place 83
105 The Program Manager 50
147 Total Information Services, Inc. 110
121 Trace Electronics 21
155 Trans Net Corporation 65
169 U Asked 4 It Software 46
110 Vector Electronic Co., Inc. 67
178 Virginia Home Computer Center 83
"We don't have your system designed yet, 141 Windjammer Cruises Inc. 117
but I brought along what we have." 150 Zeta Systems Ltd. 124

176
 Go
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