For the past four years I have owned an Atari computer. When I first
got my Atari, I didn't know anything about computers and it wasn't
until much later that I began to suspect, from reading ANTIC, ANALOG
and COMPUTE! magazines, that I had something really special. Then
came the people at the computer store who specialised in Atari (yes,
there really was such a thing!) and the gang at the monthly Atari
computer club meetings. Now I could walk into any computer store and
be cocky in the knowledge that my computer was as good as anything
they had to offer.
Now I own an ST. I am not the slightest bit sorry for having had to
junk my 8-bit system but it would have been nice to have the best of
both worlds. When I got my ST, one of the first things I did was to
sit down and thumb through the BASIC manual. I was delighted to find
dozens of things that I did not understand. Now I don't mean that
the manual is poorly written (it is) and I don't mean that there are
not enough examples (there aren't). What I do mean is that there are
loads of new commands, graphics, string manipulation, file
manipulation, built-in debugging tools - you name it! I was
ecstatic! So I booted up the disk, anxious to get started solving
those mysteries one by one when what do you suppose I saw? Well, at
first I wasn't too sure what I was looking at. All these little
windows started popping up all over the screen. Some of them popped
up only to be covered up by other little windows. I kind of felt
sorry for the covered up ones. I mean, what did they even pop up for
in the first place?
Was I discouraged? Heck no! I plunged into ST BASIC with all the
fervour with which I had tackled ATARI BASIC four years earlier.
This lasted for approximately five minutes. It took me that long to
realise that ST BASIC is a mess! Since then, my opinion has been
verified by numerous authors in the Atari magazines. Jim Luczak,
writing in ANALOG magazine, says that, along with several other
minor bugs, he discovered that when attempting to save a program
larger than about 10K, using SAVE AS/REPLACE, ST BASIC will erase
any previous copy with the same filename and then promptly lock up.
If you do not have another copy of the program, either with a
different filename or on another disk, you are just out of luck!
O.K., so ST BASIC is awful. At least the screen editor is awful. Now
what?
As I see it, we have a choice. We can sit around idle and wait for a
better BASIC (or a better version of the original), we can use the
time to learn another language like C or Assembly or we can make the
best of a bad situation and start using ST BASIC.
If you choose the latter option, as I have, I have some good news
for you. Type in the following listing and save it to disk under the
name SETUP.BAS
10 poke systab+2,1
20 clearw 0:fullw 0
Unless you are writing a program that will be run
in low resolution, boot up BASIC in medium resolution. This will
allow you to see more of your listing in the EDIT window. After
booting BASIC, run SETUP. This will clear the EDIT window and open
it to a full screen. It also causes the editor not to show the line
being edited in that nearly unreadable infernal grey font. Instead,
the line is not affected at all. Try poking SYSTAB+2 with any number
between 0 and 32. You'll be surprised at the results you get.
Also, when programming, always use the EDIT window. There are a few
things that cannot be done from the EDIT window but, for the most
part the EDIT window may be used in much the same way as the full
screen in ATARI BASIC. Try to forget that you are in a stupid window
at all and just program away!
Atari has announced that a revised version of ST BASIC is in the
works. There is no word yet on when to expect it or exactly what the
improvements will be, but the word is that windows will still be
implemented in much the same way as they are now. Until things
improve, hang in there and DO IT IN BASIC! Until then I leave you
with this little program which will produce mailing labels on any
printer. I hope you find it useful.
This article first appeared in POKEY PRESS, the newsletter of the
Atari Computer Club of the Palm Beaches, 15545 S.W. 151th Street,
Indiantown, FL 33456, U.S.A.
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