
  
  
     QL TODAY COVER DISK FOR VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6   
  
  
    


    (German readers: place the cursor on the next line and press ENTER to
    load the German supplement introduction) >>$$FLP1_D_TXT$$<<

    Welcome to our first QL Today cover disk, where we present listings
    from past and current issues, a complete index (as a text file) to
    volume 1 of QL Today, and some interesting and useful free programs
    from the huge range of PD and Freeware software available for the QL.
    Some of these were reviewed in QL Today. Unfortunately, we are not able
    to supply a copy of the SubCopy program reviewed in QL Today issue 6
    because it is not, as we originally thought, a PD program, but is from
    Quanta's software library, available only to members.

    Because this cover disk contains a number of useful free PD and
    Freeware programs, we thought it would be useful to include some PD
    software library catalogue files for you as a source of reference, to
    enable you to see what is available. We had to edit down the catalogue
    contents drastically, so there is little more than a list of contents
    as they stand, but they may whet your appetite enough for to approach
    the libraries for full catalogues.

    >>$$FLP1_QUBBEPD_TXT$$<<    Qubbesoft P/D's software catalogue

    >>$$FLP1_SJCAT_TXT$$<<      Steve Johnson's software catalogue

    
    The file you are now reading is called INTRO_TXT on the disk and can
    be printed out as a quick reference guide to the software supplied.
    Some of the references to text files include links to allow you to
    load them into this viewer without having to type in the filenames.
    These names appear highlighted like this (this is just an example):
    >>$$FLP1_INTRO_TXT$$<<

    To load these text files, just move the flashing cursor onto the line
    containing the highlighted filename and press ENTER. After reading that
    file, you can return to this one by pressing CTRL ESC or SHIFT ESC.

    
    VIEWER INSTRUCTIONS

    Brief instructions can be obtained by pressing F1. This brings up a
    short help screen with a bare minimum of instructions. Alternatively,
    the full viewer instructions are held in this file :
    >>$$FLP1_VIEWER_TXT$$<<
    Please note that this viewer is supplied configured for 'simplified
    commands' and 'IBM character set'. This is more fully explained in the
    instructions.

    
    VOLUME 1 INDEX

    The file >>$$FLP1_INDEXES_TXT$$<< contains a comprehensive index to the
    contents of issues 1 to 6 of volume 1 of QL Today. It is a plain text
    file, so you can import it into just about any word processor or editor
    you want. Or you can use the FIND command in this viewer program to
    search for references to given subjects.


    LISTINGS FROM THE MAGAZINE

    Basic, Assembler etc listings previously published in the magazine.
    They have been included because we learned from the reader survey that
    many readers dislike typing in long listings, so here are those long
    listings ready for you to load or use as you wish (as long as it is
    legal, decent and honest!!!).

    Those which have names including _bas or basic_ are obviously basic
    programs, which you can load into basic with the LOAD command while in
    basic.

    basic_RENAME_bas       Graham Lutz program for changing the medium
                           name of a floppy disk (the name given to a disk
                           while formatting). The program was published in
                           issue 2

    basic_USE_PFB2PFF_bas  A program to help you use the PFB2PFF software
                           from PROGS. See the review in issue 2

    basic_PCvQL_bas        PC Versus QL game listing from issue 2

    basic_DRAUGHTS_bas     Draughts program listing from issue 2

    BLACKHLE_asm  and      A new 'nul' style device driver from Norman
    BLACKHLE_bin           Dunbar's listing in issue 2. To install the
                           device driver, simply LRESPR BLACKHLE_bin
                           from BASIC. A useful listing for those learning
                           assembler and those who wish to learn a little
                           about writing QL device drivers.

    FILER_bas              The demo program mentioned in the QMENU article

    RECURSION_  programs   BASIC programs from my recursion articles. There
                           are six programs in all. Load them with LOAD
                           into BASIC.
    RECURSION_fact_bas     Factorials program
    RECURSION_ExtDir_bas   Extended DIR listing
    RECURSION_QSort_bas    Quicksort sorting routine
    RECURSION_Fill1_bas    Flood filling routine
    RECURSION_Fill2_bas    The other flood fill routine from this article
    RECURSION_Hanoi_bas    Towers of Hanoi program.

    SORTS_                 A series of listings from my sorting routines
                           article starting in this issue of QL Today.
                           All are BASIC programs.
    SORTS_test_bas           Test and timing harness program for the sorts.
    SORTS_exchange_sort_bas  Exchange sort routine listing.
    SORTS_bubble_sort1_bas   A bubble sort routine
    SORTS_bubble_sort2_bas   Another bubble sort routine
    SORTS_bubble_sort3_bas   Another bubble sort routine
    SORTS_insertion_sort_bas An insertion sort routine
    SORTS_shell_sort_bas     A Shell Sort routine
    SORTS_Quicksort1_bas     First example of a Quicksort routine
    SORTS_Quicksort2_bas     Second example of a Quicksort routine
    SORTS_PigeonSort_bas     Example listing of a Pigeon Sort routine, the
                             fastest sorting algorithm presented in these
                             articles.
    SORTS_ADD_LINEAR_bas     Linear sort on entry routine for data entry.
    SORTS_ADD_BINARY_bas     Sort as you type in entries into a list.

    SnippetsCorner1_bas    Listings from Mark Knight's Snippets Corner
    SnippetsCorner2_bas    series of articles. Just LOAD these into
    SnippetsCorner3_bas    BASIC.

    DEVNAME_ASM            Device name useage extension by Jochen Merz,
    DEVNAME_REXT           from this issue of QL Today
    
    BTFRAME_ASM            Button Frame extension from Jochen Merz
    BTFRAME_rext           as published in the 'Use The Button Frame from
                           BASIC' article in issue 1

    
    ZIPPED PROGRAM FILES

    In order to pack as much material as we wanted to onto this disk, we
    had to use a compression utility called ZIP to reduce the size of the
    PD programs and their associated text files. You have to use the
    program called UNZIP supplied on this disk to unpack the programs onto
    a separate drive. To do this, you should go to SuperBASIC (or SBASIC if
    using SMSQ) and enter and run this little program, with the cover disk
    in drive 1, and a blank, formatted disk in drive 2 (if you only have a
    single floppy drive, use a ramdisk in place of drive 2 in the
    instructions below, then copy all the files from ramdisk onto another
    blank, formatted floppy disk. Please note: this short listing requires
    Toolkit 2.

    100 DATA_USE FLP2_ : REMark unzip files to FLP2_
    110 EX FLP1_UNZIP;'FLP1_name_zip'

    where FLP1_name_zip should be replaced by the filename of the file you
    wish to decompress, e.g. to unzip the QEyes program, you'd change line
    110 like this:

    110 EX FLP1_UNZIP;'FLP1_QEyesToday_zip'

    Most of the programs require Toolkit 2 and expanded memory. Some also
    require that the pointer environment be present (built into SMSQ/E, and
    the files called PTR_GEN, WMAN and HOT_REXT on other systems). A few
    programs also require the Menu Extension (QMenu - a file called
    MENU_REXT from Jochen Merz Software, supplied with some commercial
    programs).
    

    QEYES  (QEYESTODAY_zip)

    The program I review in this issue, which provides an amusing pair of
    eyes which follow the on-screen pointer as it moves. A common and
    harmless little source of amusement commonly found on other computers,
    Jonathan Hudson and Phil Borman wrote this for the QL earlier this
    year. Requires Pointer Environment. Zipped into the file called
    QEYESTODAY_zip.


    OX3
    
    OX3_exec is a program by Ron Humphries where he sets out to solve the
    task he created in issue 4 of writing a program to play this variant of
    noughts and crosses. Simply EXEC this program - it is supplied UNZIPPED
    as it is related to an article. BASIC_OX3_bas is the original BASIC
    program listing, published in issue 4.


    QFORMAT  (QFORMAT_ZIP)

    Norman Dunbar's utility for reformatting used QL disks, as reviewed in
    issue 4. Zipped into the file called QFORMAT_zip. Requires direct
    sector access facility (present on almost all QL floppy disk systems).


    PROCMAN  (PROCMAN_zip)

    BASIC programmers may find this a useful little programming aid. Gives
    you a menu list of procedures and functions in a BASIC program, and you
    can copy selected routines from that program. Useful for manipulating a
    library of commonly used procs and fns held as a single basic program.
    Requires pointer environment and QMenu.


    HTML  (HTML_zip)

    The HTML Machine mentioned in Roy Wood's article about HTML (Hyper Text
    Markup Language), the language of the World Wide Web, in issue 5.
    Requires pointer environment and QMenu.


    ZIP 3  (ZIP3_zip)

    This is release version 3 of ZIP and UNZIP for the QL. Included in this
    zip file are the programs ZIP (which does the file compression), UNZIP
    (which does the decompression) and a text file of instructions for the
    two programs. ZIP is so useful and so widely used that I thought I just
    had to place this on the cover disk.


    QPC PALETTES THING  (QPCthing_zip)

    Thierry Godefroy's QPC extensions thing contains three basic extensions
    for setting and resetting the QPC colour palette on a "per job" basis.
    It can also be used from assembler. The text file QPCthing_TXT contains
    notes and instructions for this Freeware package intended for use only
    by QPC users.


    CONVERT QL SCREENS TO TIFF OR GIF FILES  (GIFTIFF_zip)

    Jonathan Hudson's conversion programs, allowing QL screens and PIC
    files to be converted to GIF or TIFF files ready for transfer to a PC.
    These programs run on a QL, and you will need a means of transferring
    the converted files from a QL disk to a PC disk, for example the
    Discover, IBMdisk, or even the DOS disk read/write capability of the
    SMSQ operating system. There are two text files in the zip file which
    you should read. We use these programs to prepare graphics for QL Today
    magazine, that's how good we think they are. Mind you, written by
    Jonathan Hudson, you'd expect them to be good!


    FILE INFO 2  (FI2_zip)

    Enables QPAC2 users to associate given programs with given file types,
    such that it is possible to indicate, say, a Quill _doc file, and File
    Info 2 will ensure that Quill is automatically loaded and the file is
    loaded into Quill after it has loaded. You can setup the file type
    associations by the three letter file extensions normally given to
    files, e.g. DOC files are usually for Quill, TXT files are usually
    plain text files, and PIC files are QL graphics files. Open the file
    menu in QPAC2, choose a data file, execute the data file and File Info
    2 ensures that the associated program is loaded for you. A great time
    saver, and something you eventually get to wonder how you ever managed
    without it. If you've ever used this facility on other computers,
    you'll now appreciate having it available for the QL too.

    
