Full text of "Byte Magazine Volume 10 Number 02: Computing and the Sciences"

I 



FEBRUARY 1985 VOL.10, NO. 2 



$3.50 IN UNITED STATES 

$4.25 in CANADA / £2.10 In U.K. 

A MCGRAW-HILL PUBLICATION 

0360-5280 



THE SMALL SYSTEMS JOURNAL 



COMPUTING AND 
THE SCIENCES 

FEATURES : i v 

HP Integral Preview L, 

Macintosh Office Preview 
Circuit Cellar 

EPROM Programmer 
C-to-Pascal 
Servo Simulation 
Image Processing 




REVIEWS: 

Epson Geneva PX-8 

Modula-2 Compilers 

Janus/Ada 

NewWord 

E-Mail 

MT 160 Printer 






^gi j. 



d'i 





Mi 



V 



KM 







Today, there are more Apples in 
schools than any other computer. 

Unfortunately, there are still more 
kids in schools than Apples. 

So innocent youngsters (like your 
own) may have to fend off packs of bully 
nereis to get some time on a computer. 

Which is why it makes good sense 
to buy them an Apple* He Personal 
Computer of their very own. 

The lie is just like the leading com- 
puter in education, the Apple He. Only 
smaller. About the size of a three-ring note- 
book, to be exact. 

Even the price of the He is small — 
under SHOO* 



Of course, since the lie is the legiti- 
mate offspring of the lie, it can access the 
world's largest library of educational soft- 
ware. Everything from Stickybear Shapes™ 



programs in all. More than a few of which 
you might be interested in yourself. 

For example, 3-in-l integrated busi- 
ness software. Home accounting and tax 




Wllh a lie. your kid can do something construct ire after school. Like leant to write stories. 
Or learn to fly. Or eren learn something slightly more advanced. Like multirariable calculus. 



for preschoolers to SAT test preparation 
programs for college hopefuls. 

In fact, the lie can run over 10,000 



programs. Diet and fitness programs. 

Not to mention fun programs for the 
whole family; Like "Genetic Mapping" and 



p®^» chessi 



fg. 



MATH MAZE Dc^UJore 



E^^thf APPLE 1 1 BASIC HANDBOOK ®i , A 




• 




S8W* 







■ 



"Enzyme Kinetics." 

And the Apple He conies complete 
with everything you need to start computing 
in one box. 

Including a free 4-diskette course to 
teach you how— when your kids get tired 
of your questions. 

Ail RF modulator that can turn almost 
any TV into a monitor. 

As well as a long list of built-in 
features that would add about $800 to the 
cost of a smaller-minded computer. 

128K of internal memory— twice 



in its optional canying case, the 
Ik can even run away from home 



the power of the average office computer 
A built-in disk drive that would 

drive up the price 

of a less-senior 

machine. 

And built- 
in electronics 

for adding 

accessories like 

a printer, a 

modem, an 

AppleMouse or 

an extra disk drive when the time comes. 




So while your children's shoe sizes 
and appetites continue to grow at an 
alarming rate, there's 
one thing you know 
can keep up with them. 
Their Apple lie. 

To learn more 
about it, visit any 
authorized Apple dealer. 
Or talk to your own 
computer experts^ 
As soon 
sis they get home from school. 




* The FIC is concerned about price-fixing. So this is only a Suggested Retail Price. You can pay more if you really want to. © I98i Apple Computer Inc. Apple and the/fiple logo are 
mistered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. Stickybear Shapes is a trademark of Optimum Resource. For an authorized A/pie dealer nearest you call (800) 538-y696. In Canada, call 

(800) 268-7796 or (800) 268-7637. 



CONTENTS 







174 



FEATURES 

■■■■■HflMMMi 

Introduction 96 

The HP Integral Personal Computer by Phillip Robinson 98 

Hewlett-Packard's new all-in-one system makes UNIX truly portable. 

Ciarcias Circuit Cellar: Build a Serial EPROM Programmer 

by Steve Garcia 104 

Steve devises an affordable version of an essential tool for hackers. 

The Macintosh Office by ]ohn Markoff and Phillip Robinson 120 

AppleTalk networks the Macintosh and its new laser printer. 

C to Pascal by Ted Carnevale 138 

This program can make the conversion process less tedious. 

Simulate a Servo System by Don Stauffer 147 

Model complex engineering problems on personal computers. 

Introduction to Image Processing by ]effrey L. Star 163 

Manipulate images to make them more informative. 

THEMES 

Introduction 174 

The Birth of a Computer conducted by \ohn G Hash 177 

In this interview. James H. Wilkinson discusses the building 
of a computer designed by Alan Turing. 

A LowCost Data-Acquisition System 

by Kiyohisa Okamura and Kamyab Aghatfabriz 199 

A compromise between cost and quality, this system is adequate for many research projects. 

Fourier Smoothing Without the Fast Fourier Transform 

by Eric E. Aubanel and Keith B. Oldham 207 

The authors present an in-depth look at a technique for removing noise from your data. 

Paranoia: A Floating-Point Benchmark by Richard Karpinski 223 

'lest the quality of your software, not just its speed. 

Modeling Mass-Action Kinetics by Alan Curtis 239 

In the future, microcomputers may have a substantial role in major scientific computations. 

Viewing Molecules with the Macintosh by Earl j. Kirkland 251 

A BASIC program provides 3-D images of complex molecules. 

Laboratory Interfacing by Uncoln E. Ford. M.D 263 

A medical researcher examines the capabilities and limitations 
of an important laboratory device. 

Interfacing for Data Acquisition by Thomas R. Clune 269 

Three interfaces are compared. 

REVIEWS 

Introduction 286 

Reviewer's Notebook by Glenn Hartwig 289 

NewWord by }ohn Wellborn and Hand Reel 291 

A word processor from some of the creators of WordStar. 

BYTE (ISSN 0360-52801 is published monthly by McGraw-Hill Inc. Founder lames H. McGraw (1860-1948). Executive, editorial, circulation, and advertis- 
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in the United States of America. 



2 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



COVER ILLUSTRATION BY ROBERT T1NNEY 



BUTE 



February 




VOLUME 10. NUMBER 2, 1985 



Janus/Ada by Mark J. Welch 295 

A nonstandard subset of Ada for MS-DOS and CP/M-80. 

The Epson Geneva PX-8 by Rich Malloy 302 

It weighs five pounds and features a CMOS Z80 microprocessor. 

Two Modula-2 Compilers for the IBM PC by Kevin Bowyer 311 

Price is but one of the differences between these implementations. 

E-Mail for the Masses by Wayne Rash Jr. 317 

Comparing two electronic-mail services. MCI Mail and EasyLink. 

Mannesmann Tally MT 160 by Mark J. Welch 325 

A dot-matrix unit with a variety of print modes. 

Review Feedback 331 

Readers respond to previous reviews. 

KERNEL 

Introduction 337 

Computing at Chaos Manor: Troubles by jerry Pournelle 339 

jerry's usual look at a variety of products includes a section 
on the proliferation of computer books. 

Chaos Manor Mail conducted by ]erry Pournelle 359 

Jerry's readers write, and he replies. 

BYTE Japan: Disks and Printers by William M. Raike 367 

Our correspondent in lapan describes important new peripherals 
displayed at the 1984 Data Show. 

BYTE West Coast. What Next? 

by John Markoff, Phillip Robinson, and Ezra Shapiro 371 

Our West Coast editors report on Thunderscan, 

the ins and outs of windowing, new workstations, and more. 

BYTE U.K.: Realizing a Dream by Dick Pountain 379 

The Whitechapel Computer Works MG-1 personal workstation is 
almost a dream computer— and it costs less than its competitors. 

Computers and Law: Copying Mass-Marketed Software 

by Robert Greene Sterne and Perry J. Saidman 387 

This column debuts with a look at two Lotus lawsuits settled out of court. 

Circuit Cellar Feedback conducted by Steve Garcia 393 

Steve answers project-related queries from readers. 



EDITORIAL: SERVICE AND SUPPORT 6 

MlCROBYTES 9 

Letters 14 

Fixes and Updates 33 

What's New 39,421 

Ask BYTE 48 

Clubs & Newsletters 59 



Book Reviews 65 

Event Queue 83 

Programming Insight 399 

Books Received 409 

Unclassified Ads 477 

BYTE's Ongoing Monitor Box. 
BOMB Results 478 

Reader Service 479 



Address all editorial correspondence to the Editor. BYTE, POB 372. Hancock. NH 03449. Unacceptable manuscripts will be returned if accompanied 
by sufficient first-class postage. Not responsible for lost manuscripts or photos. Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of BYTE. 

Copyright © 1985 by McGraw-Hill Inc. All rights reserved. Trademark registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Where necessary, 
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London WC1R 4E! England. 
Subscription questions or problems should be addressed to: BYTE Subscriber Service. POB 328, Hancock, NH 03449 




286 




337 



SECTION ART BY EUGENE MIHAESCO 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 



Inquiry 220 



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BYTE 



editor in chief 

Philip Lemmons 
managing editor 

Gene Smarte 

CONSULTING EDITORS 

Steve Ciarcia 

Jerry Pournelle 

senior technical editors 

G. Michael Vose. Themes 

Gregg Williams 

technical editors 

Thomas R. Clune 

Jon R. Edwards 

Richard Grehan 

Glenn Hartwig. Reviews 

Richard Kraiewski 

Ken Sheldon 

Richard S. Shuford 

Jane Morrill Tazelaar 

Eva White 

Stanley Wszola 

Margaret Cook Gurney. Associate 

Alan Easton. Drafting 

WEST COAST EDITORS 

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managing editor. 

electronic publishing and communications 

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user news editors 

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Mark Welch. Microbyles 

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 

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Mark Dahmke. video, operating systems 

Mark Haas, at large 

Rik Jadrnicek, CAD. graphics, spreadsheets 

Mark Klein, communications 

Alan Miller, languages and engineering 

John C. Nash, scientific computing 

Dick Pountain. U.K. 

William M. Raike. \apan 

Perry Saidman. computers and law 

Robert Sterne, computers and law 

Bruce Webster, software 

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Vice President and Secretary; Ralph J. Webb. Treasurer. 



M 



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'E9IWPlEl# III IwlMltJE UNlA 9 191 EM W 

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UNIX System V, the new standard In multi- 
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Cromemco computers can make UNIX System 
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UNIX in mind. First of all we offer UNIXBystem V 
with Berkeley enhancements. Then, our hardware uses 
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More capability and expandability 

We have a high-speed, 68000-based CPU that 
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We provide room for expanding RAM to 16 
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And, of course,, access to the broad range of standard 
UNIX applications programs that is growing dramat- 
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Easy to use. 

We also make our systems e; - o use, 
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Cromemco's System 100 and - m 300 
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Cromemco 



Inquiry 76 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 5 



EDITORIAL 



Service and Support 

When computers are working they 
keep us entertained, or at least oc- 
cupied. That's why happy customers 
seldom praise the retail stores and 
mail-order businesses that sold them 
their computer equipment, and why 
we hear much more criticism of com- 
puter dealers. Often retail salespeople 
are decried for knowing little about 
the computers and software they sell 
and mail-order firms for providing less 
customer support than retail stores. 

But the reality varies from store to 
store and transaction to transaction. 
I have had nothing but good experi- 
ences with mail-order companies, in- 
cluding free replacement of 100 flop- 
py disks when three of ten in the first 
box wouldn't format properly. I've 
bought software, a modem, a printer, 
and various supplies through phone 
orders to mail-order businesses. 

My experiences in retail stores have 
been mixed. I once heard a salesman 
tell a customer that Pickles and TVout 
were programming languages (they 
actually were two people who pro- 
duced a version of CP/M for the Ikndy 
Model II). On another occasion the 
sales staff of a retail store refused to 
go through the bother of taking an 
order for VisiCalc or to hold a copy 
for me from the next shipment. I went 
back several times only to find Visi- 
Calc sold out again and no one will- 
ing to take my order. (Finally I bought 
VisiCalc through mail order and had 
no problems.) On the other hand, the 
retail salespeople at the computer 
store where BYTE made some recent 
purchases not only know what they 
are doing but also give technical sup- 
port when things go wrong. 

Street Addresses 

There is room for improvement in 
both mail-order and retail computer 



sales practices. The great concern 
with mail-order businesses is well 
expressed in a letter we received 
from John C. Gunn, director of con- 
sumer affairs for Priority One Elec- 
tronics of Chatsworth, California: 
"Although we are primarily an in- 
dustrial distributor, a measurable por- 
tion of our revenue comes from our 
mail-order' ads. We frequently hear 
horror stories about some poor soul 
who sent his money to a mail drop or 
post office box somewhere. . .and 
never saw any product or a dime of 
his dough. Incidents such as this hurt 
all of us." 

Priority One took an interesting 
practical step to counteract this prob- 
lem. ,,r Tb assist in protecting unwitting 
consumers from unscrupulous adver- 
tisers," Gunn writes, "we lobbied 
strongly for the passage of a bill in- 
troduced by California Assemblyman 
Jack O'Connell. This law requires all 
advertisements in our state to carry 
the street address of the company 
placing the advertisement." We com- 
mend Priority One for its efforts to 
protect the interests of customers of 
mail-order businesses. 

Remote Diagnostics 

The convergence of computer and 
communications technologies offers 
an unprecedented opportunity for im- 
proving customer support. When a 
personal computer is connected to 
the telephone system through a 
modem, and if the operating system 
and hardware are still capable of tak- 
ing input from the serial port, then 
someone at the other end of the 
telephone line should be able to take 
control of the computer and put it 
through a series of diagnostic tests. 
The availability of such remote 
diagnostics would be a great conve- 
nience for computer users, retail 
stores, mail-order businesses, and 



manufacturers. Remote diagnostics 
would be much less expensive than 
shipping costs and would reduce or 
eliminate the problems sometimes 
caused by the consumer's inability to 
describe a problem in a way meaning- 
ful to technicians. Instead of lugging 
the machine back to the store or 
packing it up for shipment, the con- 
sumer could just connect the com- 
puter to the telephone and watch the 
diagnostics at work. In many in- 
stances, the consumer could learn 
what was wrong and how much it 
might cost to fix before sending out 
the equipment. The service or- 
ganization would know what type of 
repair was coming and be prepared 
to fix it. In some cases the machine 
wouldn't have to be sent out at all; 
there could be a software fix or a 
board swap. 

Some companies already furnish 
diagnostic disks. These disks are valu- 
able, but because of a lack of infor- 
mation needed to interpret the results 
of the tests, they tend to leave the 
customer poorly informed. Remote 
diagnostics would permit the service 
organization to use additional tests to 
identify the problem more precisely 
and then to tell the customer more 
about the extent of the repairs and 
potential costs. 

Since repair bills can range from 
$75 to more than $1000, mystery 
breeds distrust. Consumers often 
express suspicion about repair costs 
of the automobile and other famil- 
iar machines. Similar feelings of 
distrust about repairs of computer 
equipment could become much more 
pervasive. Remote diagnostics could 
reduce mystery and improve con- 
sumer confidence in the computer in- 
dustry. We hope the use of remote 
diagnostics becomes standard in- 
dustry practice. 

—Phil lemmons, Editor in Chief 



BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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8 BYTE • FEBRUARY J985 



Inquiry 277 



MICROBYTES 



Staff-written highlights of late developments in the microcomputer industry. 



CP/M for the Macintosh 

IQ Software, Fort Worth, TX, is selling a version of CP/M-68K for Apple's 128K-byte Macin- 
tosh for $395, including Digital Research's C Compiler and Macro Assembler. CP/M 2.2 
emulation is available for $195 extra but runs only on a 512K-byte Macintosh. A 512K-byte 
Macintosh is also required to access the mouse and pull-down menus. CP/M-68K disks are 
not compatible with other Macintosh disks. 

Superex, Micromax Unveil Macintosh Business Software 

Superex Business Software, Yonkers, NY, announced 2 5 new products for the Macintosh, 
priced from $20 to $800. The least expensive item is also the only hardware product in- 
troduced: MacSpeak is a $19.95 external speaker. All products should be available this 
month. 

Also included are business programs for cost estimating, time billing, inventory, finance, 
business letters, sales, and wholesaling. A complete accounting package with Accounts 
Payable and Receivable and General Ledger modules is $750. A Home Executive program is 
$90. 

Four engineering packages— for civil, mechanical, chemical, or electrical engineers— are 
$100 each. A MacScience series includes Physics or Chemistry formulas for $100 each. 
Statistics and job-hunting programs were also announced. 

Micromax, San Diego, CA, introduced Gallery, a business-accounting software series. The 
Finance module, which includes General Ledger, Accounts Payable and Receivable, and Cash 
Disbursement, is $795; industry-specific vertical applications are also planned. 

Conetic Introduces Desktop Management Software 

Conetic Systems Inc., San Leandro, CA, introduced Higgins, a specialized relational database 
program for the IBM PC XT or PC AT that includes an appointment calendar, telephone/ad- 
dress file, expense report, and message features. Information entered into the program is 
linked to related files; for example, the telephone directory is checked when an appoint- 
ment is made. Information for up to seven people can be tracked on one computer. A local- 
area-network version that exchanges nonprivate schedule information is also available. The 
single-user version of Higgins is $395. 

Lantech Offers UNIX-like Operating System for $129 

Lantech Systems Inc., Dallas, TX, announced uNETix 2.0, a multitasking operating system for 
the IBM PC that it says is compatible with AT&T's UNIX operating system but costs just 
$129. Using optional $100 window-management software, PC users can execute up to 10 ap- 
plications concurrently; one of those could be a PC-DOS application running under 
Lantech's $50 PC Emulator. 

While a hard disk is recommended, Lantech says the operating system can run on a two- 
disk system. A separate version of uNETix is available for use in local-area networks. 

Smalltalk for PCs 



Digitalk, Los Angeles, CA, introduced Methods, a Smalltalk-80 object-oriented development 
system for the IBM PC. The $250 system includes a compiler, debugger, and text editor; it 
uses a text-based windowing system with pop-up menus. Methods requires an IBM PC with 
512K bytes of RAM and two 360K-byte disk drives. 

Software Systems, San Francisco, CA, is also developing a Smalltalk for the Apple II, with 
later versions planned for 8088- and 68000-based systems. 



[continued] 
FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 9 



MICROBYTES 



Software Teledelivery Efforts Falter 

At last year's Winter Consumer Electronics Show, several companies announced or dis- 
cussed plans for electronic delivery of software. Some, including Xante, Romox, and Cumma 
Technology, planned to download to erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) 
cartridges at dealer terminals. Others, including Control Video's GameLine and the Nabu 
Network's cable service, downloaded programs directly to computers or video games. 

Xante, Romox, and Cumma have all ceased operations, mainly because of poor dealer 
response and the general collapse of the cartridge video-game market Nabu's cable-TV- 
based software-downloading service continues to operate in Ottawa, Ontario, despite finan- 
cial troubles. Control Video Corp., Vienna, VA, said poor distribution and the general video- 
game slump led it to cancel its GameLine service for the Atari 2600 VCS. 

Control Video is now testing a new service which allows subscribers to play 20 games 
available each month as often as they wish for a $14.95 monthly fee, which includes rental 
of a 2000-bps modem from BellSouth. MasterLine is now available for Apple II and Com- 
modore 64 owners in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, and Washington, DC. 

Separately, NBC announced that it would cancel the NBC Teletext service in late January. 

NANOBYTES 



Intel introduced the 82588 single-chip local-area-network controller. The 82588 can be used 
in low-cost baseband or broadband networks— including such IEEE 802.3 protocols as IBM's 
PC Network and the developing STARLAN— at speeds up to 2 megabits per second. Initial 
pricing will be $45 each in large quantities. . . . Laserstore, Princeton, NJ, plans to sell a 
2.5-gigabyte write-once optical streaming-tape drive. The drives should be available in large 
quantities in mid-1986 for about $2500. . . . Multi Solutions announced a licensing agree- 
ment with Computer Engineering & Consulting of Tokyo, under which CEC will translate 
Multi Solutions' SI operating system for Japanese computers. Currently, SI runs on several 
68000-based computers and is being translated by MSI for the IBM PC AT. The agreement 
guarantees a minimum of $40 million in royalties, according to Multi Solutions. . . . WATCOM 
Products Inc. has released two products developed at the University of Waterloo in 
Canada. WATFILE is a $295 data-management system for the IBM PC; JANET/2 is network- 
ing software for IBM's PC Cluster system. . . . Alphacom announced a 133-character-per- 
second printer at $249 that it says is compatible with Epson's RX-80. . . . Corvus and NEC 
have agreed to jointly develop a single-chip controller for Corvus's Omninet local-area net- 
work. Currently, an Omninet controller requires three chips developed by Corvus. . . . Ad- 
vanced Micro Devices now offers a 1 0-MHz version of the 80186 processor. . . . Phoenix 
Software, Norwood, MA, has developed an IBM PC XT-compatible ROM BIOS and is 
developing software compatible with IBM's PC AT. Phoenix's earlier IBM PC-compatible 
ROM BIOS code has already been licensed by AT&T, Kaypro, T&ndy/Radio Shack, Wyse 
Technology, and Zaisan. . . . Rumors that Tkndy would begin selling ACT computers in its 
Radio Shack stores are apparently false. Instead, the two companies announced a joint ven- 
ture to operate a chain of computer stores in Europe, called TA ComputerWorld. The stores 
will sell both Tkndy and ACT computer products. . . . AST Research announced RamStak, a 
memory-expansion board for the Apple Lisa computer. The board can add up to 2 
megabytes of memory to the Lisa; with 512K bytes, it's priced at $1395. . . . Mosaic Elec- 
tronics, Oregon City, OR, announced Access-M, an expansion card for the Commodore 64 
adding up to I megabyte of memory. The standard $195 card includes 64K bytes of RAM 
and RAM-disk software; additional memory is plugged into the card. . . . PortaAPL, a $275 
APL interpreter for the Macintosh, was introduced by Portable Software, Cambridge, MA. 
PortaAPL adds a full-screen editor and access to many Macintosh ROM toolbox routines to 
the standard APL language but requires a 512K-byte Macintosh. . . . C Line Inc., Chicago, IL, 
announced a dBASE II-to-cEnglish converter. The $795 program converts standard dBASE II 
source code into cEnglish, which is then translated by the $900 cEnglish program into C, 
which is in turn compiled into machine language by a C compiler. 



10 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



TheTI855is 

the only printer 

with letter quality, 

draft sp>eed, 

graphics, 

plug-in font 

modules... 

all for under 



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Texas Instruments 




Finally, the printer for all PC needs. 



© 1984 TI 




The TI 855 printer. The 
printer for all major PC's. 
See for yourself today. 
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Creating useful products 
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This printout was not generated by the TI 855. 



DPF012BY 
2764-08 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE II 



Slide Cat from kodak introduces: 

THE CAT QUICK 

SLIDE MAKERS 
THAT WILL 



YOU GRIN. 





© EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, 1984 



"Now you can make presentation- 
quality instant slides from CRT 
screens, one at a time. Slides that 
integrate beautifully into the rest 
of your show. It's like having your 
own instant slide department. And 
you don't have to be an audio- 
visual professional to do it. 

"Kodak's new cat- 
quick slide-makers are 
a versatile group of 



KODAK 

INSTAGRAPHIC 
Copy Stand 

Use this well-designed unit to make slides of 
pictures, printed material, and artwork up to 
11" x 17" Or small, three-dimensional objects. 
Right in your office. In ordinary room light. 



state-of-the-art products designed 
to convert computer-generated 
material into slides, fast! 

"With our new imager, you can 
make instant slides (or prints) 
from just about any data that 
appears on your CRT screen... pie 
charts, bar charts, organization 
charts, etc. And you can use just 
about any size terminal — 9-, 12-, 
13-, even 19-inch screens. Direct 

Inquiry 345 



Turn CRT Data 
Into A Slide, Cat-Quick. 





KODAK 

INSTAGRAPHIC 
CRT Slide Imager 

Contains KODAK 
INSTAGRAPHIC 
Camera Back, KODAK 
INSTAGRAPHIC Slide 
Module, and KODAK 
INSTAGRAPHIC CRT 
Cone. Just add the 
appropriate CRT 
adapter to make 
instant presentation- 
quality slides that 
integrate beautifully 
into the rest of your 
show. There's even an 
optional module that lets you make prints. 

conversion from CRT to 
slide can save you time, 
and money! For slides 
from hard copy use our 
sleek copy 

stand. Both methods 
are easy and affordable. 
Your options are many. You 
can buy one product, or the entire 
line. Make a single slide or 
an entire presentation. Prove 
a point, or wow an audience. 
Even use our camera back, module, 
and film to photograph images 
electronically transferred with 
many manufacturers' video image 
recorders! And get results that 
make a grin begin. 



Kodak I Kodak 

Instagraphic" **-*■ II Instagraphic ^ 




KODAK CRT Adapters 

Make an instant slide or print 

from your screen, any screen — 

9-, 12-, I3-, even 19-inch — with your 

choice of adapter to fit between the imager and 

the CRT screen. 



KODAK INSTAGRAPHIC 
Slide Mounter and Mounts 

Last step. Mount your slide quickly and 
easily with this simpletouse device. 
Eases film into the slide mount auto- 
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mount together or touch the image area. 




'To learn more 
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products, call 1 800 44KODAK, 
Ext 233 (1800 445 6325, 
Ext 233), or use the coupon below. 
Or contact your local dealer in 
Kodak audiovisual products, listed 
in the Yellow Pages under 'AV 
equipment and supplies.' " 



New cat-quick slide-makers 
from Kodak. 

THEY'RE GONNA 
MAKE YOU GRIN 



Eastman Kodak Company, Dept 412 L 

Motitn Picture and Audiovisual Markets Division 

Rochester, NY 14650 

□ Please have a representative call me. A8071 

□ Please send me your informative Slide Cat brochure. A8072 




KODAK INSTAGRAPHIC Color Slide Film 

Shoot just one slide or an entire presentation. One- 
ata-time exposure means you waste no film, waste 
no money. If you need instant color prints of CRT 
displays, use KODAK INSTAGRAPHIC Color Print 
Film and substitute the KODAK INSTAGRAPHIC 
Print Module. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 13 



LETTERS 



CP/M Plus for the Model 4 

Editor's note: \n the following sequence of letters, 
reader William F. Crowell addresses Tandy Cor- 
poration Chairman ]ohn Roach, BYTE [having 
received a copy of Crowell's letter) responds to 
Crowell. and David Krebbs of Tandy replies to 
Crowell. 

Dear Mr. Roach. 

I am a longtime computer customer of 
'Iandy Corporation. I presently own two 
Model Is, a Model 4, and a Model 4 P. For 
over 18 months now, since it was first an- 
nounced, I have been waiting to receive 
a working version of Model 4 CP/M Plus. 

First. I had to wait 1 3 months after 'Iandy 
announced the product before it was even 
released. (However, this didn't stop Iandy 
from advertising the product as available 
during this entire period of time, presum- 
ably to sell more Model 4s to customers 
who want to run CP/M Plus.) I immediate- 
ly bought a copy. As you know, however, 
the original release was full of bugs. 

I volunteered to beta-test the new 
preliminary version 1.1. which I did. I im- 
mediately discovered that random access 
failed miserably. Then I observed from the 
source code. RANDOM. ASM, that virtual- 
ly nothing had been done to implement ran- 
dom access on the Model 4 hardware en- 
vironment. 

Iandy calls this an operating system? 
How could the company even release it 
in the first place without random access? 
Also, the BIOS is supposed to emulate a 
DEC VT-52 terminal, but it doesn't. Many 
of the VT-52 control codes don't work. Fur- 
ther, the promised CBASIC has never been 
released, and there is no release date that 
I am aware of. 

How is it that Tandy is able to release 
so much other TRS-DOS software, but it 
takes over 17 months now to merely write 
a correct BIOS for CP/M Plus? This rather 
obviously represents a violation of the 
antitrust laws. 

Why haven't the popular magazines 
reported this irresponsible and reprehen- 
sible conduct by Iandy? Are they afraid 
of losing your advertising? 

You are hereby placed on notice that I 
will attempt to file a class-action suit 
against Iandy Corporation for consumer 



fraud, breach of contract, antitrust, and 
possibly other causes of action unless 
working versions of CP/M Plus and CBASIC 
are available for purchase and the work- 
ing version of CP/M Plus is provided to 
purchasers of the original version within 
30 days of this date. 

I am sorry to take such an unfriendly 
tone in this letter, but apparently threats 
of legal action are the only thing that 
iandy understands. 

William F. Crowell 

A ttorney 

Oakland, CA 

BYTE replies: 

We called Mark Yamagata of Tandy re- 
garding CP/M Plus for the Model 4. Mr. 
Yamagata quickly admitted that there 
were bugs in the product He added that 
the new version was almost ready but 
that one more bug had to be worked out. 
He said the new version would be avail- 
able by the end of October. He also said 
that all registered users would be advised 
of the new version, which will be avail- 
able to them at no charge. We hope the 
new version solves the problems you've 
encountered with CP/M Plus; if not, or if 
Tandy fails to ship the new version, 
please let us know so we can report on it. 

As to magazine policies on publishing 
letters to the editor, we receive far more 
letters than we can publish We try to 
choose those of greatest interest to the 
greatest number of readers. When we 
receive copies of complaints like yours, 
we generally call the company involved 
and try to obtain information about how 
the problem can be solved. If a solution 
appears imminent, we call the author of 
the letter and inform him or her. By the 
time we could publish the letter, the 
reason for the complaint will have dis- 
appeared. 

In this case, the solution appears to 
have been "imminent" for a long time. 
We hope that CP/M Plus is now fully func- 
tional on the Model 4. 

Tandy replies: 

Dear Mr. Crowell, 

1 regret your problems with Model 4 
CP/M Plus, but 1 can do no more than to 



repeat some of the points that 1 men- 
tioned during our previous telephone 
conversations. You are correct in observ- 
ing that Model 4 CP/M Plus got onto the 
market later than we originally intended 
and that the initial release had bugs. This, 
as you know, is not at all unusual with 
software. Virtually all software packages 
do contain bugs when they are first 
released, and these bugs are subse- 
quently removed as later versions of the 
software packages come into the market. 

From your letter 1 infer that you do not 
regard the version of Model 4 CP/M Plus 
that we are now selling as a "working ver- 
sion." 1 must respectfully disagree. It is 
the position of Tandy Corporation that 
our Model 4 CP/M Plus software package 
is quite adequate for the purposes for 
which it is intended, and retail sales to 
date, as well as user feedback, indicate 
that the public agrees with us. 1 am sorry 
if this particular software package is not 
suitable to you in some way or ways, but 
you will understand, I trust, that it is not 
possible for us to design our products so 
that they are perfectly acceptable in 
every respect to every single member of 
the buying public. 

Regarding your comments on the 
VT-52, please note that the first release 
of the Model 4 CP/M Plus manual did 
contain errors on the decimal values 
assigned to the VT-52 emulation codes. 
The correct codes have been sent to you 
by Mr. James Brown, of this office, and 
a Publication Change Notice has been 
submitted for future editions of the 
manual. You will find that the VT-52 con- 
trol codes will work correctly with the in- 
formation that Mr. Brown sent to you. 

[continued] 



LETTERS POLICY: To be considered for pub- 
lication, a letter must be typed double-spaced on 
one side of the paper and must include your name 
and address. Comments and ideas should be ex- 
pressed as clearly and concisely as possible. 
Listings and tables may be printed along with 
a letter if they are short and legible. 

Because BYTE receives hundreds of letters each 
month, not all of them can be published, letters 
will not be returned to authors. Generally. It takes 
four months from the time BYTE receives a let- 
ter until it is published. 



14 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Portable 




Backup! 



f 






Back Up All the Hard Drives in Your Office. 

The MaynStream offers fully portable hard drive backup 
employing the latest software technology. It is compatible with 
IBM, Compaq, and NCR personal computers* and comes with 
an industry-leading 1 -year warranty. 












; rVJaynaid Electronics 

430 E. SEMORAN BLVD., CASSELBERRY, FL 32707 

305/331-6402 
Inquiry 202 







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267359: 




LETTERS 



Enclosed please find a BASIC program 
that utilizes random-access procedures to 
retrieve and store data. At this time, we 
are not able to duplicate any inherent 
flaws with random-access procedures in 
CBAS1C under CP/M Plus. 

Let me advise you as well, by the way, 
that the catalog number for Model 4 
CBAS1C is 26-221 7, and it is now available 
in our stores at a retail price of $99.95. 
In fact, it was released in June of this year. 

1 repeat my previous offer to you: if you 
wish to have a full refund on the Model 
4 CP/M Plus package that you purchased, 
just send me the complete package 
(media and manual) together with a copy 
of your sales receipt 1 shall then see that 
a check is cut and sent to you at once. 
1 make this offer to you in an effort to re- 
tain your goodwill. 

1 do not pretend that our position, as 
1 have stated it above, will be perfectly 
acceptable to you, but 1 trust that at least 
you now understand it clearly. We do ap- 
preciate your past business, and 1 hope 
that we shall be favored with more of it 
in the future. 

David Krebbs 

Radio Shack Computer 

Customer Services 

A Pirate Confesses 

This is an open letter to software vendors 
and dealers. It has been prompted by 
various letters and articles that I have read 
recently concerning why otherwise ethical 
people would "pirate" software. 

I do not advocate the piracy of software. 
It is nothing short of theft. However, I have 
been guilty of pirating a package or two 
for one reason: I refuse to spend my 
money on software that I cannot be sure 
will run on my machine. No vendor that 
I know of will offer you a money-back 
guarantee on its software package. I work 
on mainframe computers for a living, and 
very few vendors of mainframe software 
will not let you have a 30-day trial on one 
of their packages. 

I understand that the volume of dollars 
spent on a mainframe package is con- 
siderably more than what personal com- 
puter users spend for their software pack- 
ages; however, we personal computer 
users do not work with the same size 
budgets as mainframe users. 

Some software vendors do in fact offer 
demonstration disks, but the disks that I've 
seen flash lots of colors and text describ- 
ing the products but do not give you an 
opportunity to use the products and 

[continued) 



16 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 56 



What every Apple owner 
should know about 

WORD 

juggler: 




First of all, Word Juggler is the only word processor that 
gives you a powerful spelling checker and a built-in telecom- 
munications feature. So you can create a document — check 
it for spelling errors — and then send it via electronic mail. All 
with just one program. 

Plus, Word Juggler is the most easy-to-use, professional 
word processor you can buy for your Apple. Virtually every 
function — even complicated "cut-and-paste' 1 tasks — can be 
accomplished with a single keystroke. 

There's nothing to memorize, either. Because Word 
Juggler comes with replacement keycaps — and a special 
keyboard template — which identify principal editing and 
formatting commands. So you can focus your efforts on 
using the program, not learning it. 

Fact is, no other word processor for your Apple He or 
lie gives you this unique combination of power, functionality 
and ease of use. And if all these advantages arent compelling 
enough, check the price. Suggested retail is only $ 1 89. 

So visit your favorite dealer today. Ask for a complete 
demonstration — and for a copy of our brochure, "What 
Every Apple Owner Should Know About Word Juggler." If 
you don't have a favorite dealer, but would like one, just call 
1 (800) 543-7711. We'll fix you up. 



Quark 

Wmmmmmm^m incorporated 



2525 West Evans, Suite 220 
Denver CO 802 19 



Inquiry 264 



Quark and Word Juggler are trademarks of Quark Incorporated. Apple is a 
registered trademark of Apple Computer. Inc. 

Ask about our specially-priced educational version. 

Copyright 1985. Quark Incorporated Photography by Barbara Kasten 



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Rags to Riches Ledger 99 79 

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Proofreader 50 38 

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LETTERS 



determine if they will satisfy your needs. 
I try to study a product as much as I can 
from reviews in the trade publications. I 
then select one or two similar packages 
and attempt to find people who are using 
them. I obtain a copy (or the original) and 
the product's documentation, and I try the 
package out for a month or so. If I like the 
product. I then purchase a "legitimate" 
version of it or else I erase my copy or 
return it to the lender. In this respect I am 
probably more ethical than most in that 
I will buy a legitimate copy of any software 
that I intend to use on my machine for any 
length of time after I have already ob- 
tained a pirated version of it. 

I seek only to protect my investment, 
and I will discontinue this practice when 
I can obtain a full-function demonstration 
disk of a package that I intend to purchase. 
I somehow expect that quite a number of 
software vendors would be opposed to a 
30-day trial arrangement because their 
products wouldn't stand up to head-to- 
head competition. 

Name and address withheld 

No Support from Apple 

I would like to confirm the lack of available 
Apple documentation noted in Dennis 
Doms's letter ('A Call for Better Apple Sup- 
port." September 1984. page 14). 

After purchasing an Apple Uc in May to 
complement my lie while I was traveling, 
I was immediately confronted with a lack 
of technical details needed to connect my 
"non- Apple" peripherals to the lie. What 
are the pin connections on the serial 
ports? What are the memory locations 
that control baud rate, characters per line. 
ACIA status, etc? 

Since I travel extensively I thought I 
could pick up the Apple lie Reference Manual 
in one of the many authorized Apple 
dealers I visit when out of town. After 
visiting over 30 stores in New York. New 
Jersey, southern California, and Oregon. 
I have been unable to find the reference 
manual. 

I hope that letters like Dennis's and mine 
will stir Apple into getting the publications 
into the hands of the thousands of Apple 
users who want to know all there is to 
know about one of the most revolutionary 
products of our times. 

George W. Ziegler, Jr. 
Mahwah, NJ 

I read with interest Dennis Doms's letter 
describing his problems obtaining Apple 
documentation. 

{continued) 



18 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 110 



And you thought there was only 
one "Graphics Card? 





Now you have a choice for bit- 
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$100 less than what you'd expect 
—AST's Preview! brings high resolu- 
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monochrome screen. And there's 
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Preview! provides all the features 
and functions you'd expect, like 
bit-map addressing the maximum 
supported 720 horizontal pixels 
by 348 vertical lines for two pages of 
full-screen high resolution graphics, 
an IBM PC-compatible parallel printer 
port and Hercules™ bit-mapped 
graphics card compatibility. 

It works with all kinds of soft- 
ware too, no other card offers more. 
New generation integrated business 
programs, bit-mapped text process- 
ing and advanced windowing appli- 
cations are specialties. 

Then there's the nonstandard fea- 
tures AST is famous for— consistent 
quality, reliability, comprehen- 
sive documentation, service, support 
and extra value. We include our 



SuperPak™ RAM disk simu- 
lator and printer spooler 
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Prcvietv! and SuperPak trademarks of AST Research, 
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Hercules Computer Technology Lotus 1-2-3 and 
Symphony trademarks of Lotus Development Corp. 
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Inquiry 5 for Dealers. 
Inquiry 6 for End-Users. 





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Inquiry 33 



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LETTERS 



After several years of CP/M experience. 
I purchased an Apple lie in May. I have 
written and phoned Apple in Cupertino, 
the Apple distributor in Charlotte, and two 
Apple dealers. The response I have got- 
ten is difficult to accept. Based on the in- 
formation I have to date, the Apple lie 
Technical Manual, ProDOS Technical Manual, 
ProDOS Users Kit, and Applesoft Technical 
Manual volumes 1 and 2 are unavailable 
and there is no official date for delivery. 

My choice of the He was based on the 
promise of true portability by the end of 
1984. The present availability of carrying 
cases and portable power supplies 
coupled with the continued assurance, by 
Apple, of the flat-screen display in 1984 
will provide the hardware I expected when 
I chose the lie. The total lack of technical 
information for the He and the operating 
system will make software development 
almost impossible. 

Don Overton 
Atlanta. GA 

I found the letter by Dennis Doms con- 
cerning the lack of technical support by 
Apple for its new ProDOS System very 
true. I am one of those newcomers to 
computers. It is indeed a nightmare try- 
ing to make sense out of Apple ProDOS 
from the scant instructions supplied with 
the Apple lie. 

For months I have been trying to buy 
several of Apple's manuals on ProDOS. 
especially BASIC Programming with ProDOS. 
The authorized Apple dealer has no idea 
when his shipment will come in. 

In my opinion any machine, no matter 
how excellent it may be, is no better than 
the instructions that teach the operator 
how to use it. It seems a pity that a com- 
pany that can spit out machines at such 
a terrific rate cannot supply the bare tools 
the operator needs to operate that 
machine. Imagine that same company's 
concern if. when its new production line 
was ready to roll, it found it had few in- 
structions on how to operate it. 

David D. Perry 
Ridgecrest, CA 

Take Back Your Mac 

I am outraged. Apple's original descrip- 
tions of the Macintosh, as quoted in the 
press, made it clear that the Macintosh 
was a 5 1 2 K system that was being released 
in a temporary 128K version due to 
failures on the part of Apple's suppliers. 
Now we are told (in defiance of the ex- 
perience of any user of the machine) that 
the 128K Macintosh is a useful computer 



and will continue to be sold at the original 
price, while a 512 K version will cost $1000 
more. What's more, any purchaser of the 
earlier 128K machine who desires to up- 
grade to 51 2 K must pay the $1000 dif- 
ference in price. This policy is as blatantly 
unscrupulous a case of bait-and-switch as 
was ever practiced. 

As a professional programmer. I was in- 
trigued and excited by the concept of the 
Macintosh and eagerly awaited the release 
of the real, 512K. machine. As a consumer. 
I am disgusted by Apple's business prac- 
tices and have no intention of throwing 
good money after bad. 1 am especially 
frustrated by this decision of Apple's, since 
I am sure that it will strangle the Macin- 
tosh in its cradle, and so my already sub- 
stantial investment in the machine will 
have been for nothing. 

Kirk Rader 
Los Angeles, CA 

I openly plead for a programmer or pro- 
gramming team somewhere to develop 
RAM-disk software to use the 512K RAM 
on the "fat Mac" as a RAM disk as well 
as for memory. 

A logical configuration to emulate the 
128K Mac would be 128K memory with 
a 384K RAM disk. Later, variable options 
of more memory and less RAM would be 
nice, but they are not essential initially. 
Good programs like Microsoft Word can 
use disk I/O to make files larger than 
memory and would not be limited by the 
main-memory constraint, but rather only 
by the RAM-disk memory constraint. 

Such a RAM disk must permit copying 
data to and from it, programs to and from 
it. and opening it. So designed, the system 
and major programs that use disk overlays 
could be loaded into RAM. with conse- 
quent lightning-speed operation. I believe 
such software is essential for the Mac to 
appeal to business. It would also make 
software development itself easier and 
faster. 

I've checked, and apparently Apple's 
own programming philosophy is opposed 
to this concept. If someone does do this, 
I hope he or she sells it for a reasonable 
price ($50 or less) or else releases it ac- 
cessibly into the public domain. Without 
such a development, my company will 
probably never buy a Mac and will prob- 
ably never develop software for it. 

Don Slaughter 

Micro Cost Software 

Seattle, WA 

Perhaps two of the most often used words 
throughout articles dealing with the 



Macintosh are "potential" and "wait." The 
Macintosh was introduced over nine 
months ago, and still there is a lack of 
varied and practical software available for 
the computer. On the day of its introduc- 
tion Apple announced that "hundreds" of 
software companies had already had the 
Macintosh for up to two years. Software 
for the machine would be available in a 
torrential flood in a matter of weeks. Nine 
months later a real word processor (i.e.. 
capable of handling more than eight or 
nine pages) is still not available, nor can 
I find a spelling checker, a true database 
manager, or a high-level language. If soft- 
ware companies have had over two years 
to work on their products and still have 
not fully developed what could be con- 
sidered "standard" software products, just 
how long is the Macintosh software-devel- 
opment cycle? Is Apple truly supporting 
its software developers? 

Added to the problem of third-party 
software is the lack of support software 
from Apple itself. Nine months after the 
computer was introduced, an assembler 
has not even been made available, nor is 
a communication program like MacTerm 
available yet. Neither of these programs 
is particularly tricky to write, and. in fact. 
Apple must have had a 68000 assembler 
in house for quite a while (rehosting an 
assembler from the Lisa to the Macintosh 
takes over nine months?). 

Many trade magazines and journals ap- 
parently wonder about these same prob- 
lems. Often an attempt is made to ra- 
tionalize Apple's tardiness and lack of sup- 
port. The most common story is: "The 
Macintosh is a radically new computer re- 
quiring programmers to adapt to a com- 
pletely different kind of style, and besides. 
128K of memory makes for a tight 
squeeze on programs. When the 512K 
Macintosh is available, all kinds of fancy 
programs will appear and life will be 
wonderful again." 

Well, the 512K Macintosh was recently 
announced. Now I can easily find several 
stores advertising the 128K Macintosh for 
$1600 and the 512K Macintosh for $2400. 
Yet Apple wants the people who have 
already paid $2 500 to fork over another 
$995 for the 51 2 K upgrade. The entire 
computer obviously costs far less than 
$1000 to make, since that is the price the 
university consortium schools pay, and 
you can be certain that Apple is not so 
dedicated to education that it would pass 
up this additional source of profit. 

If 128K is such a burden on software de- 
velopers, why wasn't the computer re- 
leased after the expanded memory was 



22 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



LETTERS 



available? This would have given devel- 
opers more time to work on their software 
as well. If Apple felt it just had to be in 
the market with a machine like the 128K 
Macintosh, why was it priced so high? At 
least Apple could have promised all the 
early purchasers a fair price (or even no 
cost) on the upgrade. 

I truly feel that Apple has treated its 
customers unfairly and with a certain 
amount of contempt. Prior to owning any 
Apple product I had a great deal of trust 
and respect for the company. In fact it was 
that trust and respect that convinced me 
to buy a Macintosh even though I was 
aware of its limitations. I felt certain that 
Apple would take care of its customers. 
However, since buying a Macintosh, that 
trust and respect has gone. Even though 
1 could recommend no alternative, I would 
not advise anybody to buy a Macintosh. 
Instead, I would recommend waiting un- 
til Apple straightens up or until another 
company recognizes the void and fills it. 

R.S. LUEBKEMAN 

Rancho Cucamonga, CA 

Choosing a 
Campus Computer 

We have recently undertaken a project to 
introduce the use of microcomputers in 
the junior/senior Physical Chemistry 
course at the University of Florida. Al- 
though the students are reasonably 
mature and mathematically sophisticated, 
they have shown a surprising reluctance 
to "get their feet wet" via hands-on work 
with the microcomputers available for the 
course (six Sanyo MBC 55 5 units, chosen 
for their low price, reasonably good 
graphics, and ability to use the 8087 math 
coprocessor). 

There are several problems in introduc- 
ing a microcomputer course as described 
above at a large state institution such as 
the University of Florida (35,000 students), 
where no requirement exists that students 
purchase a microcomputer (not to men- 
tion a specific brand of microcomputer). 
Even if money were available to fund pur- 
chase of sufficient machines to handle ap- 
proximately 4000 technical students per 
year, along with space to house them, 
there remains the possible objection that 
the entire enterprise would be at least 
"type-specific." Thus we might select MS- 
DOS, Microsoft BASIC, and WordStar, 
which would slant the situation toward 
IBM PCs and/or compatibles. This might 
lead to a loud chorus of objections from 
Macintosh supporters, for example. 

[continued) 



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Inquiry 29 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 



LETTERS 



While some may disagree, 1 feel that the 
situation is more acceptable if reasonable 
alternate-brand selections do exist such 
as the IBM PC Seequa Chameleon, Eagle, 
Zenith 1 50, Tava. Tandy 2000, etc. How- 
ever, selection of a unique machine such 
as the Macintosh is virtually an endorse- 
ment of a specific brand rather than type, 
to the exclusion of all others. 

1 would be interested in hearing from 



others concerning this dilemma. Please 

write to me at the Chemistry Department, 

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 3261 1. 

Robert J. Hanrahan 

Gainesville, FL 

Icons Are Arcane 

Circa 5000 years ago, writing was invented 
in ancient Mesopotamia. This earliest 




THE INOVION PERSONAL 
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• Built-in Icon/Menu software. 

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• Fonts, Brushes, Microscope, Pat- 
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known script, cuneiform, was derived from 
pictographic symbols that became stylized 
and standardized in form. Eventually it 
became mixed with phonetic elements un- 
til it was almost entirely phonetic. Our 
alphabet is most probably ultimately 
derived from ancient Egyptian— also 
originally a pictographic system. The point 
is this: Over thousands of years a phonetic 
and finally alphabetic system was devel- 
oped. To anyone who has gone through 
the painful process of learning cuneiform 
or Egyptian, the superiority of the 
alphabet is readily apparent. A picto- 
graphic system (Apple's "icons") requires 
that the user learn many, many symbols. 
My contention is that though users may 
find icons more "user friendly," ultimate- 
ly, as systems and software become more 
complex, the icon system will become 
more unwieldy and arcane than present 
systems. 

As a humanist who uses computers ex- 
tensively in my work, I would like to see 
user interfaces developed for micros that 
are faster, more streamlined ("elegant"), 
and smarter ("knowledge-based") to aid 
in the learning process. It doesn't take the 
uninitiated user long to grow impatient 
with the Mac. 

Ann Marchant 
Berkeley, CA 

Bravo, Borland! 

This is the kind of letter I would like to be 
able to write more often. It's about the 
people at Borland International, who 
distribute TUrbo Pascal and. if we are lucky, 
a lot of other programs. 

I've already spoken to Borland's pro- 
grammers about a problem, and with a 
completely satisfactory result. The latest 
event was my ordering of the Commodore 
64 CP/M version of TUrbo Pascal. When it 
arrived, it was an MS-DOS disk, which I 
couldn't use. 1 scribbled a note on the in- 
voice and mailed the whole package back 
the same day, the same way it arrived, at 
a cost of about a dollar in postage. 

Today the United Parcel Service truck 
pulled up and delivered the correct 
replacement package— Second Day Air. It 
cost Borland $4. That is class. 

William T. Powers 
Northbrook, IL 

Sage Defended 

1 wish to respond to Dr. Richard Peskin's 
appraisal of Sage computers ("A Second 
Opinion on the Sage," September 1984, 

[continued] 



24 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 147 




Introducing the Hercules Graphics Card 
for the technical user. 



OK. We confess. The 
Hercules Graphics Card in 
the picture above isn't a 
special version for the tech- 
nical user. 

In fact, it's exactly 
the same as the standard 
Hercules Graphics Card 
running programs like 1-2-3™ 
and Symphony™ in more 
than 100,000 IBM® PCs. 

We just wanted to make 
the point that the Hercules 
Graphics Card is not only 
big with business users— it's 
also the most popular high 
resolution graphics card for 
the technical user. 

Why? We run more 
software than anyone else. 

The Hercules Graphics 
Card is supported by more 
technical software than any 
other hi-res graphics card. 

There a re word proc- 
essors that 
can produce 
publication 
quality documents with 
mathematical formulas. 

There are programs 
that enable your PC to 
emulate a graphics terminal 



r wkv, 





and run mainframe graphics 
software. 

There are toolkits of 
graphics utilities that can be 
linked to popular program- 
ming languages. 

There are CAD pro- 
grams that can provide 
features normally associated 
with $50,000 systems. 

And we supply free 
software with 
each card to do 
hi-res graphics 
with the PC's 
BASIC. No one else does. 

Hardware that set the 
high performance standard. 

When we introduced the 
Hercules Graphics Card in 
August, 1982, it set the 
standard for high resolution 
graphics on the PC. 

But we didn't stop there. 
In the past two years, we've 
continually refined the 
original design. 

Today's Graphics Card 
gives you two graphics 
pages, each with a resolu- 
tion of 720h x 348v, and a 
parallel printer port- 
standard. 




A 2K static RAM buffer 
elegantly eliminates scrolling 
flicker. And our exclusive 
safety switch helps prevent 
damage to your monitor. 

Convinced? Good. Now, 
how about a little color? 

Should you want IBM 
compatible 
color graphics 
for your sys- 
tem, then the 
new Hercules Color Card is 
the smart way to go. 

It gives you a parallel 
printer port and a size small 
enough to fit in one of the 
XT's or Portable's short slots. 

And both Hercules 
cards are compatible with 
the new AT™ and backed by 
our two year warranty. 

Call 800 255-5550 Ext. 
408 for the name of the 
Hercules dealer nearest you 
and we'll rush you a free info 
kit. See why the company 
that made the first graphics 
card for the IBM PC still 
makes the best. 

Hercules. 

We're strong on graphics. 



Address: Hercules, 2550 Ninth St., Berkeley, CA 94710 Ph: 4 1 5 540-6000 lelex: 754063 Trademarks/Owners: Hercules/Hercules Computer lechnology, 1-2-3, 
Symphony/Lotus Development; IBM, AT/International Business Machines 



Inquiry 135 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 25 



LETTERS 



page 18) as lacking "many architectural 
features needed for multiuser, multitask- 
ing applications." This is a gross distortion 
of the facts, since, from the beginning, 
Sage has supplied an excellent multiuser 
BIOS capable of supporting not only 
multiple users but multiple operating sys- 
tems running simultaneously. 1 know of no 
other supermicro that can make this claim. 
Even single-user operating systems such 
as Softech's UCSD p-System appear to be 
multiuser on the Sage as multiple copies 
are run in memory partitions isolated by 
the Sage MU BIOS. The BIOS allows easy 
configuration of each user's time slice and 
priority, flexible mapping of RAM disks 
(yes, more than one!), memory and disk 
partitions, and serial ports and peripheral 
devices. Different operating systems may 
be allowed access to shared disk space. 
At last count, at least 1 1 operating sys- 
tems are supported, including CP/M 68K, 
Volition's Modula-2 system, HyperFORTH, 
and Whitesmiths's UNIX-like multiuser 
Idris. The Idris implementation currently 
available was ported to the Sage by Rakon, 
an Australian company. Rakon's version re- 



portedly runs 2. 5 to 5 times faster on the 
same hardware as Logos Information Sys- 
tems' (Dr. Peskin's firm). In this light, Dr. 
Peskin's opinion about Sage can hardly be 
characterized as "objective technical 
assessment." 

The new products announced in 
September by Sage (now Stride Micro) will 
have a hardware memory-management 
option to support UNIX System V with 
Berkeley enhancements. They also run 
faster (10 MHz standard, 12 MHz optional), 
support hardware floating point, utilize the 
industry standard VME bus, come stan- 
dard with Omninet networking hardware, 
and are even lower in cost. 

Jai Gopal Singh Khalsa 
Millis, MA 



Improving the 
IBM Keyboard 



Where I work we have IBM PCs and X'ls 
in abundance. People are always griping 
about the poorly designed keyboard, i.e., 
the long reach to the Return key and the 
dual-function 10-key pad/cursor controls 



that perform only one of their roles at a 
time. The complaints peaked around 
budget time, when data entry to spread- 
sheets became a paramount hassle. We 
found a partial remedy, however. Instead 
of switching between the 10-key pad and 
the cursor controls by using the Num Lock 
key, we found it easier to divide the labor 
between our two hands by locking in the 
10-key pad for data entry and then, to 
move to another cell, holding the left shift 
key down with our left hands and moving 
the cursor with the 10-key pad that then 
functions as a cursor control. 

Granted, this is not a perfect solution, 
but the roar did quiet. Now we'd like to 
know how to solve the problem of the 
reach to the Return key. 

W. Travis Good 
Summit, N] 

Software Swapping 

In response to "Dear Thieves" (August 
1984, page 18), William Wright has ex- 
pressed the opinion that it is entirely 

[continued) 




PSpica 

The circuit simulator that 
brings mainframe advantages 
to your micro. 

Now the industry-standard Spice, minus Spice's original 
"bugs" has been brought to the IBM-PC. With PSpice , the 
electrical engineer can try out a circuit right at his or her desk 
without having to build it Design and check in 20 minutes 
what normally takes four to eight hours and the wiring of two 
dozen transitors on a breadboard. Take chances. Explore. 
Re-work. Without the worry that someone's waiting for 
the mainframe. 

• AC, DC and Transient Analysis 

• Up to 120 transistors per circuit 

• One-fifth the speed of VAX-11/780 

• Affordably priced at $950 (Quantity price breaks) 




MicroSim's Probe is an interactive, comprehensive graphics post 
processor pro gam option that gives outstanding visual enhancement to 
your PSpice work. 



MicroSim Corporation 

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VAX is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation. 

IBM-PC is a trademark of International Business Machine Corporation. 



26 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 217 for Dealers. Inquiry 218 for End-Users. 



idex 



Apple Owners: Increase your Display up to 455% and 

Get The Big Picture! 




■ 


















I 40-Columns 



| 80-Columns » | UltraTerm 



You know the importance of "Bottom Line" and cash-flow 
management in your daily operations. Original 40-column 
spreadsheets were adequate, 80-column spreadsheets 
were better, but even with 80-columns you still waste 
valuable time scrolling your spreadsheet searching for 
data. The Videx UltraTerm will provide you the tool you 
need to reduce wasteful searching, and free up your time 
to make important business decisions. 

Just look at the actual display photo above. The dark 
green portion of the spreadsheet represents the amount 
of information you get with a standard Apple display. The 
medium green area shows you what you get with ordinary 
80-column displays. Nice. But not enough. With UltraTerm, 
your business "Big Picture" is exploded up to a full 
128-columns by 32-lines (as shown by entire photo above), 
or 455% more data than you've previously had to work 
with. 



UltraTerm i s a trademark o f Videx. Inc. Apple i s a trademark o f Apple Computer, Inc , 
Visicalc is a trademark of VisiCorp, Inc. 

1. Except colors which were added for illustrative purposes only. 

2. Assuming VisiCalc and Apple 40x24 display. Inquiry 324 



In addition to the obvious benefits of using the UltraTerm 
with your spreadsheet, you can gain depth, breadth, and 
power when using the new generation of word processors 
that exploit the UltraTerm's vast array of display 
capabilities. Word processors that currently use 
UltraTerm's expanded display formats include WORD- 
STAR, Word Juggler lie, Letter Perfect, Executive 
Secretary, Apple Writer II (with Videx Preboot), and Write 
Away. 

So, contact your local computer dealer today! If they are 
out of stock you can call Videx directly. Get THE BIG PIC- 
TURE today! 



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Byte, July 1984 

'TURBO PASCAL appears to violate 
the laws of thermodynamics. 

You won't find a comparable price/ 
performance package anywhere. It 
is simply put, the best software deal 
to come along in a long time. If you 
have the slightest interest in 
Pascal. . .buy it." 

Bruce Webster, 
Softalk IBM: March 1984 



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NEW! TURBO TOOLBOX (reg. $49.95). A set of three fundamental 
utilities that work in conjunction with TURBO PASCAL. Includes: 

• TURBO-ISAM FILES USING B + TREES. Commented source code on disk 

• QUIKSORT ON DISK. Commented source code on disk 

• GINST (General Installation Program) 

.Provides those programs written in TURBO PASCAL with a terminal installation module 
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it, and it's ready to go to work for you. It's a great example of how to use TURBO 
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All Three-Gift Pack $ 99.95 + 5.00 SPECIAL! Ibrbo Toolbox $49.95 + 5.00 

All Three & 8087 139.95 + 5.00 SPECIAL! Turbo Tbtor 29.95 + 5.00 

Turbo Pascal 2.0 49.95 + 5.00 Ibrbo 8087 89.95 + 5.00 

Check_ Money Order. VISA MasterCard 



Card #: Exp. date: _ 

My system is: 8 bit 16 bit 

Operating System: CP/M 80 CP/M 86 MS DOS _ 

Computer: . Disk Format: 



Shipped UPS 



PC DOS . 



Please be sure model number & format are correct. 



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TELEPHONE: _ 



California residents add 6% sales tax. Outside U.S.A. add $15.00 (if outside of U.S.A. payment must be by bank draft payable in 
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Inquiry 34 



Inquiry 101 




Eco-C Compiler 

Release 3.0 

We think Rel. 3.0 of the Eco-C Compiler is the 
fastest full C available for the Z80 environment. 
Consider the evidence: 

Benchmarks* 

(Seconds) 



Benchmark 


Eco-C 


Aztec 


Q/C 


Seive 


29 


33 


40 


f\b 


75 


125 


99 


Oeref 


19 


CNC 


31 


Matmuit 


42 


115 


N/A 




* Times courtesy of Dr. David Clark 
CNC - Could Not Compile 
N/A - Does not support floating point 

We've also expanded the library (120 func- 
tions), the user's manual and compile-time 
switches (including multiple non-fatal error 
messages). The price is still $250.00 and 
includes Microsoft's MACRO80. As an option, 
we will supply Eco-C with the SLR Systems 
assembler - linker - librarian for $295.00 (up to 
six times faster than MACRO 80). 

For additional information, 
call or write: . 




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Post Office Box 10430, Marina del Rey, C A 90295 
Phone credit card orders to (213) 306-7412 



LETTERS 



32-bit versions. Choose from our wide 
selection of programming tools including 
native code compilers, cross-compilers, 
math coprocessor support, and B-Tree 
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wrong and dishonest to copy software, 
even for one's own use. He is absolutely 
right. But his statement is incomplete. 

The software industry, in general, has 
shown a total disregard for honesty in its 
marketing. A large portion of the available 
software is sold without proper testing. It 
is tested by us, after we pay a ridiculous 
price for it. Customer support just does 
not exist, and the documentation is often 
a joke. According to the "rules" l must buy 
WordStar for each machine in the office. 
And I do not have backup protection with 
some software. Even after paying their 
price I am held ransom! 

My complaint is not against all software 
publishers. Lotus, for example, has done 
a wonderful job of documentation and 
service. 

Mr. Wright is right. But incomplete. Two 
wrongs don't make a right. But as long as 
the publishers are so blatant in their dis- 
honesty, software swapping will be with us. 
Dave Churcher 
Rye, NH 



Swift Remark 



I really got a big laugh out of Paul Bern- 
stein's letter ("Computers and Lawyers." 
August 1984, page 16) about the "argu- 
ment" between him and his fellow lawyer 
Robert Wilkins over whether lawyers need 
to know "terms such as RAM, bps. . . . 
"and other foreign, often unnecessary 
technical terms.'" That from lawyers, ". . .a 
Society [that] hath a peculiar Cant and 
Jargon of their own, that no other mortal 
can understand, and wherein all of their 
Laws are written, which they take special 
Care to multiply; whereby they have 
wholly confounded the very Essence of 
Truth and Falsehood, of Right and Wrong." 
No comment could better be made on 
the subject than that by Jonathan Swift in 
Gulliver's Travels, Part 4: A Voyage to the 
Country of the Houyhnhnms, Chapter 5. 
William E. White 
Miami, FL 

Modula-2: Overrated? 

After reading all those pro Modula-2 and 
Ada articles in BYTE (August 1984), I at 
first feared I was the only one who har- 
bors mixed feelings concerning these lan- 
guages. I was relieved to find David V. Mof- 
fat's "UCSD Pascal vs. Modula-2: A Dis- 
senting View" (page 428). 

While I don't agree with all of Mr. Mof- 
fat's views (e.g., that the lack of publica- 
tions on Modula-2 will become less 

(continued) 



30 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 173 




from Microcomputer Accessories, Inc. 

TOP DRAWER! 





Absolutely first class. Our Keyboard 
Storage Drawer is tops— it can turn 
your narrow credenza or typewriter 
return into a perfect work station. 
From a reinforced platform on pro- 
tective felt pads, the cantilever 
drawer extends on industrial 
strength ball bearing glides and 
locks into working position. The 
scratch resistant finish matches 
IBM colors. Optionallocking device. 
Also available — an under-desktop 
suspension model — the bottom 
drawer. But still ' 'top drawer!" 



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P.O. Box 3725 

Culver City, Calif ornia 90231 
Telephone 213/641-1800 

Inquiry 355. 
In Europe: Inquiry 356 for Dealers. 

N.V. Microcomputer Accessories Europe S.A; ' 
Rue de Florence 37 
1050 Bruxelles, Belgique 
Telephone 02/538.61.73 

These and other fine products are available at 
Sears Business Systems Centers, Computer- 
land, Businessland, IBM Product Centers and 
other computer&oftware retail locations. 



LETTERS 



distinct in the future), I'd like to point out 
a couple of items that have escaped men- 
tion so far. 

The improved readability of Modula-2 
source, achieved by the no-longer-needed 
BEGIN...END brackets that contain Pascal 
compound statements, is obviated be- 
cause of the END statement that ter- 
minates all control structures apart from 
REPEAT. 1 would have preferred a specific 



end statement for each control statement, 
like ENDDO, ENDWHILE. ENDLOOP. 
ENDIF. etc. 

Pascal's lamented rigid order in which 
declarations have to be made shows its 
main advantage when it comes to soft- 
ware maintenance. 1 wouldn't want to look 
for that doubly defined global variable 
that crept in when an existing program 
was extended, were it possible to declare 




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said variable anywhere near the pro- 
cedure that used it first, let alone in some 
external module. 

I find Modula-2's IF not much of an im- 
provement over that of Pascal as far as 
nested IFs are concerned, the latter of 
which I tend to avoid and use logical ex- 
pressions instead, laking Robert J. Paul's 
recipe example ("An Introduction to 
Modula-2," August 1984, page 195). 
wouldn't you agree that 

IF (oregano IN recipe[1]) 
AND 
(thyme IN recipe[1]) 
THEN 

WRITELN('Use oregano & thyme') 
ELSE 
WRITELN( 'Use only thyme'); 

is easier to understand than what ap- 
peared on page 198? 

Edmund Ramm 
Kaltenkirchen, West Germany 

What a shame that you did not include the 
article "UCSD Pascal vs. Modula-2: A Dis- 
senting View" by David V. Moffat in the 
theme section of your August issue; it 
would have provided some balance in 
what was an informative but rather biased 
section. 

1 write to support Mr. Moffat's thesis that 
Modula-2 has yet to be proved a signifi- 
cant improvement over UCSD Pascal. Hav- 
ing used UCSD Pascal since 1980. I can 
link in assembly-language routines, build 
libraries, and write units with hardly a sec- 
ond thought. For programmers, the in- 
equality of 

Benefits of Modula-2 > Cost of 

software + 
time to re- 
learn + time 
to rewrite old 
routines 

must be clearly shown to be true. 1 have 
yet to be convinced that the benefits 
outweigh the value of Pascal experience. 
Could it be that those software companies 
that have sold thousands of Pascal com- 
pilers in the past few years now fear that 
they are beginning to saturate the market 
and are promoting Modula-2 as a means 
of maintaining company profits? 

One small point: Am 1 the only one who 
finds that dozens of ENDs. some for IFs. 
some for FORs, some for LOOPs, make 
Modula-2 programs less easy to read than 
Pascal programs? 

Stuart A. Bell 

Sidmouth, Devon, England 

{continued on page 416) 



32 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 26 



FIXES AND UPDATES 



BUGS 



C Listing Bug 



Bob Bonomo picked out a bug in the C 
source listing for the quicksort function in 
the October BYTE japan. (See "Bits and 
Pieces" by William M. Raike. page 369.) 
In listing 1 on page 3 74, the third WHILE 
statement should read: 

while (j > i&&strcmp(base|j|. pivot) >=0) 

Our thanks to Mr. Bonomo. 

A Case of Misidentification 

A caption in our product description of 
the landy 1000 incorrectly identifies a 
screen display. (See "The landy 1000" by 
G. Michael Vose, December, page 98.) 

On page 101, the caption identifies the 
screen display on the right as being pro- 
duced by DeskMate. The photo actually 
depicts a screen from IBM's HomeWord, 
a word-processing program that also runs 
on the landy machine. HomeWord is pro- 
duced by IBM's Entry Systems Division in 
Boca Raton, Florida. 

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish? 

A note arrived from Paul Hills of 
Launceston in Cornwall. England, telling 
us that we misstated the annual subscrip- 
tion fee for his club's newsletter. (See 
Clubs & Newsletters, August, page 68.) 

The 6809 User Group Newsletter is available 
for £3 annually. Overseas subscriptions are 
$4.70 in the U.S. and $6 in Canada. 

Weather Report Incorrect 

Charles S. Barnaby. vice president of the 
Berkeley Solar Group, sent us a clarifica- 
tion concerning the computer service that 
his company offers. In Matthew Lesko's 
article "Low-Cost On-Line Databases" 
(October, page 167). it was incorrectly 
stated that the Berkeley Solar Group offers 
"the latest weather." 

The Berkeley Solar Group has a large 
collection of weather data; however, this 
data is based on records at least several 
years old. The data is suitable for use with 
building energy-analysis software. Portions 
of this information are available through 



interactive inquiry but the bulk of it serves 
as input for hour-by-hour building simula- 
tion programs. 

The weather data is available for users 
of the Berkeley Solar Group's building 
energy-analysis software, which includes 
such programs as DOE-2. CALPAS3, and 
FCHART. The data can be used for other 
purposes, but its purchase must be 
negotiated on a case-by-case basis. 

We thank Mr. Barnaby for clarifying this 
inaccuracy on our part. The Berkeley Solar 
Group can be reached at 3140 Martin 
Luther King jr. Way. POB 3289, Berkeley, 
CA 94703. (415) 843-7600. 

Books Have American Distributor 

Jeffrey A. Blackman of the Computer 
Science Press in Rockville, Maryland, sent 
us some information about five books 
mentioned in the November Books 
Received section (page 495). 

The books, A First Course in Formal lan- 
guage Theory, From logic to Computers. LISP Pro- 
gramming, Microcomputers and Their Commercial 
Applications, and UNIX for Users, are all 
published by Blackwell Scientific; however, 
they are distributed in North America by 
the Computer Science Press. 

If you wish to order these books, con- 
tact Computer Science Press Inc., 1 1 laft 
Court. Rockville, MD 20850. (301) 

2 51-9050. 

Windy Day Bug 

Mark R. Parker of Seattle. Washington, saw 
an error in listing 1, the Module Windy- 
Day, in Eric Eldred's review "Volition Sys- 
tems' Modula-2" (June, page 353). 
In the procedure OpenWindow (page 

3 56). the line: 

Open (wind, 0, 1, 39); 

should read: 

Open (wind, 0, 0, 1, 39); 

because a call to open requires five 
parameters. The omitted second zero 
places the message at the upper left-hand 
corner of the screen. 



Also, the comment "Phony" should be 
changed to "little busy bee." 

New Telephone Number 

Microserve in 'fyler, lexas, which was men- 
tioned in the October BYTE, has a new 
telephone number for its network. (See 
'Low-Cost On-Line Databases" by 
Matthew Lesko, page 167.) 

The new telephone number is (214) 
581-3722. 

Photo Credits Due 

We inadvertently neglected to credit Lee 
Wright, a freelance photographer based 
in Medford, Massachusetts, for snapping 
the photos that accompanied Henry 
Brugsch's article in the Guide to the Apple 
Personal Computers, a special supplement to 
the December BYTE. (See "Apple's New 
Modem and Access II." page A 58.) 
We apologize for this oversight. 

Address Change 

Sinclair Research, whose ZX Spectrum-f 
was featured in the December BYTE 
What's New. has relocated. (See page 435.) 
The new address is Sinclair Research. 
Berkeley Square House. London WIX 5LB. 
England; tel: 01-499 2666; lelex: 265212. 



FEEDBACK 



More on POPLOG 



In the October BYTE U.K.. we inadvertently 
listed Aaron Sloman as the distributor for 
POP-1 1 and POPLOG. a pair of tools avail- 
able to researchers in artificial intelligence. 
(See "Pop and Snap" by Dick Pountain, 
page 381.) 

Mr. Solman informs us that POPLOG is 
marketed in the U.S by Systems Designers 
Ltd. International, Suite 201, 5203 Lees- 
burg TUrnpike, Falls Church, VA 22041, 
(703) 820-2700. In the U.K., it's available 
from Systems Designers Ltd., Systems 
House. I Pembroke Broadway, Camberley, 

[continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 33 



Inquiry 342 




IEEE-488 Interfaces and 
Bus Extenders For: 

IBM PC, PCjr 
& COMPATIBLES 

DEC UNIBUS, Q-BUS 
& RAINBOW 100 

MULTIBUS, VMEbus 
STD& S-100 

Full IEEE-488 functionality, with the most com- 
prehensive language and operating system cover- 
age in the industry. It takes experience to make 
IEEE-488 systems work with nearly 4000 devices 
available from more than 500 different manufac- 
turers, and experience is what enables National 
Instruments to take the GPIB to the 
second power and beyond. 









f 



Your personal guarantee of unsurpassed 
customer support and satisfaction. 
CALL 1-800-531 -GPIB for instant access 
to 100 + man-years of GPIB experience. 



f7 NATIONAL 
K INSTRUMENTS 

12109 Technology Blvd. 
Austin, TX 78727 
1-800-531 -5086 512/250-9119 
Telex: 756737 NAT INST AUS 



IBM and PCjr are trademarks ot International Business Machines. MULTI- 
BUS is a trademaik of Intel. DEC. UNIBUS. Q-BUS. and Rainbow 100 are 
trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. 



FIXES & UPDATES 



Surrey. GUI 5 3HX; tel: 0276 62244. 

Mr. Sloman has informed us that "POP- 
LOG is now the main official AI software 
development environment in the U.K. for 
Prolog and POP-I I. The existing 'toy LISP 
component (suitable for teaching) is being 
replaced by COMMON LISP." 

POPLOG, according to Mr. Sloman, 
comes with a large collection of on-line 
help files, teaching files, and libraries of 
utilities and demonstration programs. 
Mixed languages are supported, and a 
multiwindowed screen editor VED can be 
used with all three main languages. It runs 

Speaking of Least Squares 



on VAX computers under VMS and 
Berkeley UNIX. It's also available "on a 
growing number" of M68000-based UNIX 
machines. In North America it's $10,000, 
with a ninety-percent (90%) discount for 
educational institutions. 

"At present." writes Mr. Sloman, 
"POPLOG is too big for most personal 
computers. Our hope is that it will not be 
long before machines with at least 2 
megabytes of RAM and 40 to 100 mega- 
bytes of backup storage will be cheap 
enough to make POPLOG much more 
widely available for educational use." 



Steven A. Ruzinsky saw a number of 
doubtful statements in Marco Caceci and 
William Cacheris's article "Fitting Curves 
to Data" (May. page 340). He cites these 
remarks: 

This is called the least-squares criterion. For 
random errors randomly generated (usual- 
ly a reasonable assumption), this is the best 
criterion of all. 

"This is simply untrue," says Ruzinsky. "In 
order for least squares to be the best 
criterion, the errors must have indepen- 
dent and identical normal (Gaussian) dis- 
tributions. In situations meeting this re- 
quirement, least squares can be a max- 
imum likelihood estimate of the param- 
eters. For situations where the errors are 
not Gaussian, least squares is suboptimal. 
A good counter example to the authors' 
statement is the case where the errors 
have a binary distribution, e.g., a random 
sequence of Is and -Is. In this case, I 

Electronic Yellow Pages in LA 

The vice president of Buy-Phone Inc.. 
David Lappen, sent us information about 
his company's database, which was left 
out of Matthew Lesko's article "Low-Cost 
On-Line Databases." (See October, page 
167.) 

Buy-Phone is an "electronic yellow 
pages" system serving the Los Angeles 
area. It has more than 10.000 listings in 
2 5.000 search categories, ranging from 
current movie listings, restaurant and 
department store offerings, to computer 
outlets. 

Access is free of charge to users. Busi- 
nesses pay $ 1 50 for a year's worth of ad- 
vertising; ads can be changed daily at no 
extra cost. Personal ads, which are also 
free, can be posted for two weeks. 

At 300 bps, call Buy-Phone at (213) 474- 
0270. At 1200 bps, call (213) 470-4679. 



believe one will find a minimax fit (also 
called "Chebyshev" or "I oo") much more 
statistically efficient than least squares." 

Mr. Cacheris notes that the first state- 
ment was intended to be broad and that 
least-squares analyses are often used 
under less than optimal conditions since 
the results can be checked by various 
methods, such as sensitivity analysis. 

"Least-squares method is certainly best 
when the errors have identical distribu- 
tions . . . |which| we mentioned towards 
the end of our article when describing 
sensitivity analysis. We state that several 
synthetic data sets ... are made by add- 
ing identical normal distributions to the error- 
less curve. Thus, the least-squares fits to 
these synthetic data sets are the best fit 
to these data sets and the values of the 
parameters obtained should approach the 
experimental data's values of the param- 
eters if the error in the experimental data 
has identical normal distributions." 

BYTE'S BITS 



Public-Domain Software Library 

The Houston Area League of PC Users 
(HAL-PC), a group of 1000-plus IBM Per- 
sonal Computer fans, maintains a library 
of public-domain and "shareware" (i.e., pay 
if you like it) software. Disks are available 
from the library for $2 per disk. For a 
listing of titles, send a self-addressed, 
stamped envelope to Nelson Ford. HAIr 
PC Librarian, c/o The Public Library, POB 
61565. Houston, TX 77208. 

Software authors wishing to share their 
public-domain or shareware programs are 
encouraged to contact the group presi- 
dent, Duane Hendricks. Other users 
groups interested in trades should contact 
lack McClure at POB 610001, Houston, TX 
77208. ■ 



34 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



THE NCR PC 

IS COMPATIBLE WITH 
PEOPLEJOO. 



Getting along with all kinds of 
people is one of the most endearing 
qualities of the NCR PC4. 

It gets along with bosses, secre- 
taries, accountants, engineers, lawyers, 
everybody. 

Even first-timers take a liking to 
this computer the moment they take it 
out of the box. 

Perhaps its good looks have a lot 
to do with this. But its beauty is more 
than skin deep. 

Its smart, integrated cabinet takes 
up precious little space on your desk. 

There are no complicated wires or 
clumsy boxes to set up. All you have to 
do is plug it in. 

The keyboard is the same familiar 
layout your fingers know and love. Plus 
a couple of nice touches. Like separate 



cursor keys and a separate numeric 
keypad to make it easier to work with 
programs that have long lists and lots 
of numbers. 

The NCR PC even comes with two 
special self-teaching programs that 
will have you computing in a matter of 
minutes. NCR PAL shows you how to 
use the computer itself. NCR TUTOR 
introduces you to word processing, 
spreadsheets and other popular busi- 
ness programs. 

And if you get lost along the way, 
there's a built-in HELP command you 
type in to get you back on track. 

Add all this up and you start to see 
why the NCR PC is so compatible with 
people. 

Of course, its also compatible with 
thousands of programs available at 
computer stores everywhere. 

And it's compatible with industry 
standard hardware. Which means you 



can add on all sorts of helpful accesso- 
ries. Like a printer, a modem for elec- 
tronic mail, a mouse for even easier 
operation and all the memory you 
need— up to 640K. 

If you'd like to meet this terrific 
computer, go to your nearest Author- 
ized NCR Personal Computer Dealer. 

Just ask for the computer every- 
body gets along with. 

For the name of your nearest 
dealer, call toll-free: 1-800-544-3333. 
In Nebraska call: 1-800-343-4300. 

Inquiry 230 



NCR 



A BETTER PERSONAL COMPUTER. 

IT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU'D 

EXPECT FROM NCR. 




^^&rrrw$j 



mmM^mm^imf 



Great Ideas 

look even better 

on a Princeton monitor 



Your Great Ideas deserve the best image you can give them. But, 
just as a music system's performance depends on the speakers, your 
computer system \s limited by the quality of your monitor. 

Monitor performance can be measured. That's something you 
should know about. 

In other words, your Great Ideas should be seen, not blurred. 




W Shakespeare composing Great Ideas on a Princeton Monitor 



36 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 






Things you should know about monitors 



Resolution The quality of 
a color monitor's image is 
directly related to its resolution. 
The greater the number of dots 
available within a given area for 
displaying an image the greater 
the resolution. 



Dot pitch The image on an 
RGB color monitor is made up of 
a series of tiny dots. Dot pitch 
measures the distance between 
those dots. Anything finer than 
.38mm \s considered high 
resolution. 



Price All Princeton monitors 
set the price/performance stand- 
ard in their class. The SR-12 
at $799 compares favorably 
with monitors costing hundreds 
more. The HX-12 is in a class by 
itself at $695. 



The PRINCETON SR-12 

monitor features an extra- 
ordinary 640x480 (non-inter- 
laced) resolution. The result is 
an extremely high quality, flick- 
erless image with text that ap- 
proaches monochrome quality. 
When used in conjunction with 
the PRINCETON Scan-Doubler 
card, the SR-12 runs from a 
standard IBM or equivalent color 
card, maintaining complete com- 
patibility with all IBM software. 



W The PRINCETON HX-12 

RGB color monitor, with a dot 
pitch of .31mm, offers the finest 
resolution in its class. The HX-12 
delivers 16 crisp, sharp colors 
including clean whites without 
color bleed— a not-so-easy 
accomplishment in an RGB 
monitor. 



The PRINCETON MAX-12, 

with easy-on-the-eyes amber 
phosphor, sets the standard for 
monochrome monitors at $249. 
The MAX-12's dynamic focusing 
circuitry ensures sharpness not 
only in the center but also in 
the edges and corners. And it 
runs off the IBM PC mono- 
card— no special card \s 
required. 






All three monitors feature a non-glare screen and an IBM 
compatible cable. A PCjr adapter cable is also available for the HX-12. 
And to see your Great Ideas from the best possible angle, you can put 
your Princeton monitor on the Princeton Undergraduate Tilt and 
Swivel Base for only $39.95. Or, while supplies last, get the 
Undergraduate FREE with the purchase of a MAX-12 monitor. 

Image The ultimate test of any monitor \s how the image looks 
to your own eyes. Compare the Princeton monitors side-by-side with 
the competition at Computerland, Entre or your local independent 
dealer. 

Do it soon. You and your Great Ideas deserve the best. 

Inquiry 255 



For more information call 

toll-free: 

800-221-1490 Ext. 804 

P RINCETON 

GRAPHIC SYSTEMS 

AN INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS COMPANY 



170 Wall Street 
Princeton NJ 08540 
TLX 821402 PGS Prin 

Technologically tuned for excellence 

FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 37 




Ft>R PEOPLE WHO 

THOUGHT THeYP 
NEVER MEET THE 

PERFECT IO 

We've got one to knock your socks off. 
The StarWriter™ Y10 from C. Itoh. 

What sets this letter quality daisy 
wheel apart is its fabulous figure. Priced at 
only $595. 

This little beauty prints 22 letter perfect 
characters per second. And like the rest of 
C. Itoh's fine printers, the StarWriter Y10 
acts without acting up. 

That's because it has been thoroughly 
tested and proven on the job to assure 
reliability. And it comes with a full year's 
warranty, backed by over 400 authorized 
service centers coast to coast. 

The Y10 is an awful lot of printer for very 
little money. But that's not surprising when 
you consider that C. Itoh's been producing 
superior printers for over a decade. What's 
more, it has the strong backing of our 126- 
year-old parent company with over $60 
billion in annual sales. 

And the StarWriter Y10 is compatible 
with most of the popular PCs. It has a 256- 
byte buffer. And there is a full line of 
accessories available such as a cut sheet 
feeder and tractor feed. 

Little wonder C. Itoh printers are No. 1 
worldwide, with over 2.2 million sold annu- 
ally. And with the StarWriter Y10 we're aim- 
ing to keep it that way. 

To meet your own perfect 10, just see 
your local C. Itoh printer dealer. Or for more 
information call 1-800-423-0300. 

Or write C. Itoh Digital Products, Inc. 
19750 South Vermont Avenue, Suite 220, 
Torrance, CA 90502. 



BaLnmLFo 



DIGITAL PRODUCTS 



1984 News Group Chicago. Inc. 




" StarWriter is a Trademark of C. Itoh Digital Products. Inc. 
- 1985 C. Itoh Digital Products, Inc. 



38 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 38 for Dealers. Inquiry 39 for End-users. 



WHAT'S NEW 




Tkndy Unveils $999 Notebook Computer 



Radio Shack's battery- 
powered notebook-size 
Model 200 has a flip-up 
16-line by 40-column LCD 
and a built-in 300-bps auto- 
dial modem. The Model 200 



comes with 24K bytes of 
RAM and 72K bytes of 
ROM, and it includes word- 
processing, spreadsheet, 
telecommunications, and 
address-book programs. 



Memory can be expanded 
with two 24K-byte banks of 
RAM. for a total of 72 K, and 
a 32K-byte ROM chip. 

The system's keyboard has 
60 full-travel sculptured keys, 
12 special- and general- 
purpose function keys, and a 
power switch that is auto- 
matically depressed when 
the LCD/cover is closed. A 
cassete interface and 
parallel and serial ports are 
standard. The Model 200 
weighs 4/2 pounds and 
measures 11% by 8/2 by 2 3 / 6 
inches. 

Although the Model 200 
uses the same processor as 
the Model 100. changes in 
ROM will prevent Model 100 
machine-language programs 
from running on the Model 



200; BASIC programs will 
work on both. Other dif- 
ferences are a modified cur- 
sor key cluster, enhanced 
word-processing features, 
Microsoft's Multiplan spread- 
sheet in ROM. calculator 
function available from any 
program, and optional pulse 
or tone dialing. Normal bat- 
tery life is 10-16 hours 
depending on RAM size, or 
you can install rechargeable 
nickel cadmium (nicad) 
batteries. 

The Model 200 will retail 
for $999; 24K-byte add-on 
modules cost $249.95 each. 
Contact Tandy/Radio Shack, 
One landy Center, Fort 
Worth. TX 76102. or your 
local Radio Shack store. 
Inquiry 600. 



Datavue Portable Includes Disk Drive, 80 by 25 Display 



Quadram's Datavue 2 5 is 
a 14 -pound portable 
computer with a 360K-byte 
5^-inch disk drive and a 
pivoting 80-character by 
2 5-line LCD. It features an 
83-key keyboard that com- 
municates with the com- 
puter through infrared 
signals. The Datavue 2 5 has 
an 80C88 microprocessor, a 
real-time clock, I28K bytes 
of memory, and serial and 
parallel ports. It is powered 
either by an AC adapter/ 
recharger or by built-in bat- 
teries that last up to four 
hours. 

Monochrome graphics are 
available in either 640 by 
200 resolution or 320 by 
200 resolution with four 
levels of gray. An internal 
300-bps modem is an op- 
tion. Memory can be ex- 
panded to 2 56K bytes using 
64K-byte chips or to I 



megabyte using 2 56K-byte 
chips. Quadram also plans 
to release an external IBM 
PC-compatible bus- 
expansion chassis and an 
external second floppy-disk 
drive. 



The Datavue 2 5 should be 
available in March for 
$2195. Contact Quadram, 
43 55 International Blvd., 
Norcross, GA 30093, (404) 
923-6666. 
Inquiry 601. 




Model 1131 Compass 
Has 128-column LCD 

GRiD Systems' Model 
1131 Compass is a port- 
able computer with a 2 5-line 
by 128-column electro- 
luminescent display (ELD). 
GRiD says that the durable 
1 0-pound computer is built 
to stand a shock equal to 
130 Gs. The Model 1 131 
features 2 56K bytes of RAM 
(expandable to 5I2K bytes), 
384K bytes of nonvolatile 
bubble memory, a 300/1200- 
bps auto-dial/auto-answer 
modem, and the MS-DOS 
operating system in ROM. 

The Compass Model 1 1 3 1 
costs $6795; with 51 2 K 
bytes, it's $7995. The price 
of the original Model 1 100 
is now $42 50. Contact GRiD 
Systems Corp., 2 53 5 Garcia 
Ave., Mountain View, CA 
94043, (415) 961-4800. 
Inquiry 602. 

[continued] 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 39 



WHAT'S NEW 



Visage 

Videodisc Software 

Development System 

Visage has introduced a 
series of products for 
developing interactive 
videodisc software. Using an 
IBM PC or compatible per- 
sonal computer, a standard 
videodisc player, and 
Visage's controller card and 
software, developers can 
create interactive programs 
for educational applications 
using images from video- 
discs overlayed with 
computer-generated text and 
graphics. 

Visage's Vlink 1000 in- 
cludes an IBM PC expansion 
card and language-interface 
software, which together 
support NTSC graphics with 
2 56 by 192 overlay capabili- 
ties. The Vlink 1 500 adds 
the ability to switch between 
a 2 56 by 192 overlay and a 
320 by 200 nonoverlay im- 
age, while the V:Link 1550 
allows both 2 56 by 192 and 
320 by 200 graphics to be 
overlayed on videodisc 
images. Prices range from 
$1150 to $2150. 

The VStation 2000 family 
all feature IBM PC-com- 
patible computers with 2 56K 
bytes of RAM. one or two 
floppy disks, the V:Link 1550 
graphics board, and a 
13-inch RGB color monitor. 
Some of the V:Station con- 
figurations also include 
medium- or high-resolution 
touchscreens. 10-megabyte 
hard disks, and 512K bytes 
of memory. Prices range 
from $5995 to $10,850. 

Visage's products support 
the KoalaPad. Bit Pad. and 
Microsoft Mouse as graphics 
input devices. Optional sup- 
port packages allowing the 
Visage software and hard- 
ware to be used with BASIC, 
Pascal. dBASE II. and 8088 
assembly language cost 
$295 each. V:Paint I and II. 
$500 each, use the Micro- 
soft Mouse ($125 extra) to 
create images. Cables are 
available to link the V:Link 




NEC Introduces Four-Color Plotter 



Britewriter is a four-pen 
color plotter that NEC 
says is compatible with 
Hewlett-Packard plotters. The 
Britewriter can plot at a 
speed of 60 millimeters per 
second (mm/s) in low-speed 



mode and 112 mm/s in high- 
speed mode. Characters can 
be drawn at 4.6 cps in one 
color or 2.6 cps in four col- 
ors. The plotter comes with 
black, blue, green, and red 
felt-tip pens; an optional set 



of colors includes violet, 
orange, brown, and pink 
pens. The plotter can be 
used with plain paper or 
transparencies up to 8/2 
inches wide. 

The Britewriter is available 
with parallel or RS-232C 
serial interfaces. It features a 
2 56-byte character and in- 
struction memory and sup- 
ports the ASCII character 
set. Because it uses the 
same commands as Hewlett- 
Packard 7470 and 7550A 
plotters, it works with most 
graphics programs that 
support Hewlett-Packard 
plotters. 

The Britewriter plotter will 
retail for $599. Contact NEC 
Information Systems Inc.. 
1414 Massachusetts Ave., 
Boxborough, MA 01719. 
(617) 264-800. 
Inquiry 604. 



Commodore Announces 128K Computer 



Commodore's B128 runs 
any program written for 
the Commodore 64 and has 
a number of additional 
capabilities. This sytem has 
128K bytes of memory, ex- 
pandable to 512K, and it 
can display 80 columns by 
2 5 lines of text in color on 
an optional monitor. In addi- 
tion to the 8500 processor. 



which is used to run Com- 
modore software, the B128 
includes a 2-MHz Z80 co- 
processor to run most 
CP/M-80 programs. 

The 92-key keyboard has a 
numeric keypad, 4 cursor 
keys, 4 numbered shiftable 
function keys, and 4 special- 
purpose function keys. Like 
the 64, the B128 can display 




16 colors and 8 indepen- 
dently movable sprites and 
can generate sound in three 
voices each with a range of 
eight octaves. The B128 
comes with the same serial, 
expansion, user, and joystick 
ports as the 64; it also in- 
cludes video interfaces for a 
standard television or an 
RGB or NTSC monitor. 

Commodore also intro- 
duced a faster disk drive for 
the Commodore 64 and 
B128. It transfers data to the 
64 at 320 cps, or to the 
B128 at 2000 cps, or. when 
running CP/M, 3200 cps. 

The Commodore B128 will 
sell for less than $400. Con- 
tact Commodore. Computer 
Systems Division, 1200 
Wilson Dr., West Chester, PA 
19380, (215) 431-9100. 
Inquiry 605. 



card to Sony, Pioneer. RCA. 
and Hitachi videodisc 
players. 
Visage supplies its V:EXEC 



and V:Draw software and 
one language interface with 
all V:Link and V:Station 
products. Contact Visage 



Inc.. 12 Michigan Dr.. Natick. 
MA 01760, (617) 655-1503. 
Inquiry 603. 

{continued) 



40 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



NEW PRODUCT NEWS 
FROM TELETEK 



Systemaster II. Responding to 
market demand for speed and in- 
creased versatility, Teletek is proud 
to announce the availability of the 
next generation in 8-bit technology 
— the new Systemaster II! The 
Systemaster II will offer two CPU 
options, either a Z80B running 
at 6 MHz or a Z80H running at 
8 MHz, 1 28K of parity checked 
RAM, two RS232 serial ports with 
on-board drivers (no paddle 
boards required), two parallel 
ports, or optional SCSI or IEEE-488 
port. The WD floppy disk control- 
ler will simultaneously handle 
8" and 5W' drives. A Zilog Z-80 
DMA controller will provide in- 
stant communications over the bus 
between master 
and slave. Add 
to the DMA 
capability a true 
dedicated inter- 
rupt controller 
for both on- 
board and 
bus functions, 
and the re- 
sult is un- 
precedented 
performance. 

Systemaster II will run under 
CP/M 3.0 or TurboDOS 1 .3, and 
fully utilize the bank switching 
features of these operating systems 



SBC 86/87. As the name indi- 
cates, Teletek's new 16-bit slave 
board has an Intel 8086 CPU with 
an 8087 math co-processor op- 
tion. This new board will provide 
either 1 28K or 512K of parity 
checked RAM. Two serial ports 
are provided with individually 
programmable baud rates. One 
Centronics-compatible parallel 
port is provided. When teamed up 
with Systemaster II under TurboDOS 
1 .3, this 5MHz or 8MHz multi- 
user, multi-processing, combina- 
tion cannot be beat in speed or 
feature flexibility! 



NEW! SBC 86/87 

-mm 



Teletek Z-150 MB. Teletek is 
the first to offer a RAM expansion 
board designed specifically for the 
Z-150/Z-160 from Zenith. The 
Teletek Z-150 MB is expandable 
from 64K to 384K. Bring your 
Z-150 up to its full potential by 
adding 320K of parity checked 
RAM (or your IBM PC, Columbia, 
Compaq, Corona, Eagle, or Seequa 
to their full potential). The Teletek 
Z-150 MB optionally provides 
a game port for use when your 
portable goes home or a clock/ 
calendar with battery backup! 

Evaluate the Systemaster II, SBC 
86/87 or Teletek Z-1 50 MB for 
30 days under Teletek's Eval- 
uation Program. A 

money-back guarantee 
is provided if not com- 
pletely satisfied! All 
Teletek products carry 
a 3-year warranty. 

(Specifications subject to 

change without 
notice.) 




RETEK 



4600 Pell Drive 
Sacramento, CA 95838 
(916)920-4600 
Telex #4991834 
Answer back — Teletek 

Inquiry 310 



Yes, ~«* 

I'm interested % 
in information ^ 4 

regarding: 
□ Systemaster II 
□ SBC 86/87 □ Z-150 MB 
□ Evaluation Program 
□ Teletek's S-100 Board Line 



Name_ 
Company. 
Address 



= 



2B 



WHAT'S NEW 




Modular Robot Kit 



Cybot's TUtor is a 
modular robot with a 
five-axis arm designed for 
educational and training 
uses. Because the robot can 
be dismantled and reassem- 
bled many times, it helps 
you understand how 
robotics work. 

The package includes the 
robot arm, complete with 
five motors and a gripper, 
and the Controller module, 
which has one free S-100 
card slot for custom applica- 
tions, a standard RS-232C 
serial port, and an interface 
for an optional "teach pen- 
dant." You can control the 
robot arm by sending ASCII 
commands from a personal 
computer through the 
RS-232C port or by directly 



manipulating the arm with 
the teach pendant. 

Also available is an Op- 
tical Encoder Set. Since the 
set indicates the actual posi- 
tion of one of the motors 
(five are needed to monitor 
all five axis motors), a full 
feedback loop can be used 
to make sure the robot arm 
is precisely where it's sup- 
posed to be. 

The complete Cybot llitor 
robotics kit costs $3395. 
The optional teach pendant 
is $129.95. Each Optical En- 
coder Set is $70. Parts of 
the robot kit can be pur- 
chased separately. Contact 
Cybot Inc., 12 510 128th Ave. 
NE, B-5, Kirkland, WA 
98034, (206) 823-4156. 
Inquiry 606. 



Computer Satellite Service 



Satellite Broadcast Net- 
work has announced a 
satellite service that will 
transmit financial and news 
information to personal 
computer owners. SBN plans 
to have the service opera- 
tional in May. You will need 
a 12 -GHz satellite-receive 
antenna, a low-noise 
amplifier, a solid-state 
receiver, and SBN's 
demodulator; all are 
available from SBN for $695. 
SBN will also charge a fee 
for access to each type of 
information, starting at 
about $2 5 per month. 
SBN will use multiple 
9600-bps channels. Some 
channels will broadcast news 
and weather information, 
others will transmit stock 
and commodity prices. One 
channel might permit down- 
loading of software sample 
programs, while another 
could include special-interest 
database information. A 
user could place a request 
for special database infor- 
mation with modems and 
telephone lines, but the 
response could be broad- 



cast via satellite to avoid 
phone charges. A special 
header code would ensure 
that only one person could 
decode the information. 



Contact Satellite Business 
Network Inc.. 212 West 
Superior St., Chicago, IL 
60610, (312) 266-9844. 
Inquiry 607. 




Sord Adds 80 by 25 
Display to IS- 11 

Sord has released a ver- 
sion of its IS- 1 1 Consul- 
tant computer with an 
80-character by 2 5-line 
liquid-crystal display and a 
built-in 300-bps modem. The 
6 /2-pound IS-11C has 80K 
bytes of RAM (expandable 
to 144K), 72K bytes of ROM, 
a 128K~byte microcassette 
tape drive, 62 full-travel 
sculptured keys plus 8 
special function keys, and a 
CMOS Z80A microprocessor 
running at a speed of 3.4 
MHz. In addition to parallel 
and serial ports, the IS-IIC 
can interface with a bar- 
code reader, a separate 
numeric keypad, and op- 
tional 64K-byte ROM car- 
tridges. Word-processing and 
communications software 
are standard in ROM. 

The IS-IIC should be avail- 
able this month for $1495. 
For more information, con- 
tact Sord Computer of 
America Inc.. 645 Fifth Ave.. 
New York. NY 10022, (212) 
759-0140. 
Inquiry 608. 

[continued) 



42 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




PERSONALITY 
PROBLEM? 

UNIX™ and DOS™ At the Same Time! 





Looking at an IBM PC/AT? Happy with DOS but want 
UNIX? Happy with UNIX but want DOS? Want them 
working together? 

Get The Connector!™ 

The Connector is a revolutionary product that allows 
DOS applications to run on the IBM PC/AT or XT 
under VENIX/86 (the first licensed AT&T UNIX 
operating system for the IBM PCs) or PC/IX. That 
means you can add one or more terminals to your AT 
which run programs using multi- user VENIX/86 to 
share the disk and printer. Switch between UNIX and 
DOS at the console with a single command. And run 
more than one task simultaneously. Like running a 
spelling check in the background while you print a 
report and run Lotus 1-2-3™ or dBasell™ 

Get yourself an AT and load it with VENIX. Collect 
your DOS and/or UNIX applications. Well supply The 
Connector. The right solution to your software per- 
sonality problems. 

Call for complete details. 

Unisource Software Corp., Department 4109, 
71 Bent Street, Cambridge, MA 02141. 
Telex 92-1401 /COMPUMART CAM. 

617-491-1264 



Also 

available 
on the 
PC/XT and 
compatibles. 



* UNIX is a tr:s- Inc. DOS is a trademark of Microsoft, inc. PC/AT and PC/XT are trail ( Sic i on lit ever is .1 trademark 

of Uniform Software Systems, Inc. VENJX/86 Implementation by VtmurCnm. Inc. 1 -2-3 unit LOTUS arc trademarks of Lotus Development Corp. dBasell is a 
trademark of Ashlon-Tatc. 




Inquiry 318 



Getting UNIX Software 
Down to Business 

FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 43 



WHAT'S NEW 



Digital Filtering Chip for Speech Processing 



Kurzweil Applied In- 
telligence has intro- 
duced the KSC 2408 digital 
filter chip for use in sound- 
processing applications. 



Each of the eight filters in 
the KSC 2408 processes 24 
bits of information (with 48 
bits accumulated at a time). 
Each of the filters processes 




information in a given fre- 
quency range; Kurzweil says 
that dozens of filters— or 
many 2408 chips— would be 
needed to divide up the fre- 
quency spectrum of the 
human voice enough to 
make speech recognition 
possible. 

The 2408 can process 
sound up to a sampling fre- 
quency of 12 5 kHz (12 5,000 
cycles per second) if only 
two filters are activated; if 
all eight filters are activated, 
the maximum sampling rate 
is 32 kHz. Since the chip is 
programmable, it can be 
used for other types of 
digital filtering, including 
high-pass, band-pass, or low- 
pass. 

Kurzweil plans to market a 



10,000-word vocabulary 
speech-recognition system 
and is working on develop- 
ment of a voice-activated 
typewriter. Company 
founder Raymond Kurzweil 
earlier developed the 
Kurzweil Reading Machine, 
which can read text for the 
blind regardless of the 
typeface, and the Kurzweil 
2 50 digital keyboard (music 
synthesizer). 

The Kurzweil 2408 digital 
filter chip costs $81 for a 
3-MHz version or $101 for a 
6-MHz version; quantity dis- 
counts are available. Contact 
Kurzweil Applied Intelligence 
Inc.. 411 Waverley Oaks Rd., 
Waltham, MA 02154, (617) 
893-5151. 
Inquiry 609. 



Twelve Million Instructions per Second 



According to Cromemco. 
its Maximizer copro- 
cessor subsystem executes 
an average of 12 million in- 
structions per second. The 
Maximizer features a 
2900-series ECL (emitter- 
coupled logic) bit-slice pro- 
cessor running at 48 MHz. It 
also has I6K bytes of 50-ns 
RAM, 16 dual-port registers, 
and 4096 48-bit words for 
downloaded microcode in- 
structions. Cromemco says 
the chip's speed is en- 
hanced by the use of a 
60-ns multiplier chip and a 
doubly pipelined instruction 
path. Most instructions ex- 
ecute in 62.5 ns, though 
some may take as long as 
125 ns. 

The Maximizer comes on 
two S-100 (IEEE-696) bus 
boards that plug into 
Cromemco's microcom- 
puters. The system runs 
under the company's Cromix 
operating system, and it will 
soon run under UNIX 
System V as well. 

The Maximizer supports 
FORTRAN. Pascal, and C. 
Also available is MAXASM, 



a microcode assembler used 
to write custom microcode 
for applications where ex- 
ecution speed is critical. 



The Maximizer retails for 
$3495; the MAXASM Micro- 
code Assember costs $2995. 
Contact Cromemco Inc.. 280 



Bernardo Ave. POB 7400, 
Mountain View, CA 94039, 
(415) 964-7400. 
Inquiry 610. 



Data Access Enhances Database Program 



Data Access Corpora- 
tion's DataFlex 2.1 is a 
1 6-bit version of the com- 
pany's multiuser relational 
database programming 
system. It permits over 16 



million records per file, up 
to 250 files, each as large as 
the operating system will 
handle (up to 2 gigabytes, 
32 megabytes in MS-DOS), 
and use of unlimited RAM. 




The package includes a 
relational database com- 
mand language, a custom 
menu system, and an ap- 
plication generator. Versions 
of the program are available 
for such operating systems 
as MS-DOS/PC-DOS 1.1 
through 3.1. CP/M. CP/M-86, 
Concurrent CP/M-86. MP/M, 
MP/M-86, and 'IurboDOS. 
DataFlex also operates 
under a number of network- 
ing systems. 

Pricing depends on the 
computer, operating system, 
and number of users; a 
single-user IBM PC version 
is $995. A separate run-time 
version is available. For 
details, contact Data Access, 
852 5 Southwest 129 Terrace, 
Miami, FL 33156-6565. (305) 
238-0012. 
Inquiry 611. 

[continued on page 42 1 ) 



44 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Need RGB color and 
TTL monochrome A 
support from a / 
single board? 








#*-F**'/S 




INrELUGENr B-450 
Mono/Color Display Card 




Color Graphics Mode: 640 dots x 200 lines TTL Monochrome Mode: 640 dots x 350 lines Interlace Mode: 640 dots x 400 lines 



Iook no further, the INTELLIGENT 
B-450 has it all. Designed to work 
with the IBM PC, PC XT, and PC AT, 
the INTELLIGENT B-450 is also suitable 
for IBM PC look-alikes. In addition to a 
parallel printer port, the B-450 has fourteen 
different screen modes which cover everything 
from medium-resolution monochrome text to 
high-resolution color graphics with interlace. 



Ever/one from the ordinary user to the CAD/CAM 
specialist will find the B-450 is just right. 

Sound good? With a suggested retail price 
of only $294, it's nothing less than great! 

IBM and IBM PC are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. 



INrELUGENr 
DATASYS1EM 



Intelligent Data System, Inc. 

14932 Gwenchris Ct., Paramount, CA 90723 
Toll Free Tel: (800)325-2455 Calif. Tel: (213)633-5504 Telex: 509098 



Inquiry 150 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 45 






STEM 



Components are the essence of your computer. 
Without the right components, you're restricting 
your system's potential for maximum productivity. 

CompuPro components enable you to make the 
most of your computer's capabilities. Choose from 
more than 25 boards to build or expand your system 
. . .to any of our ten fully integrated models. You 
can add more users to your CompuPro system, 
increase its memory, add a hard disk drive— all 
with modular components that mesh perfectly 
with your existing system. 

Since 1973, our design team has been recognized 
for creating the highest performing, most reliable 
products at the lowest possible price. For the 
toughest business, scientific and industrial com- 
puting environments— across the country and 
around the world— make CompuPro IEEE 696/ 
S-100 components the essence of your system. 



Cpu Boards 



Mdrive®/h 



512K or 2 Mb disk memory board. Emulates disk drive operation 
and runs under CP/M®or MP/M™ Can increase operating speeds 
up to 3500%. Expandable up to 4 Mb for even more storage. 

46 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



CPU 68KI M 68000-based board with sockets for memory 
management unit and up to 8Kx16 (16 Kb) of EPROM. 

CPU 86/87I M 8086-based board with sockets for 8087 math 
processor and 80130 firmware chips. Compatible with 8- and 
16-bit memory. 

CPU 8085/88I M The original, much imitated dual processor 
board delivers 8-bit, 16-bit, or 8- and 16-bit computing capability. 

CPU-ZI M Includes all standard Z80B features. Downward compati- 
bility with the vast library of 8080 software. 

CPU 32016I M A true 32-bit processor for the desktop micro- 
computer. Compatible with 8- and 16-bit memory. 

CPU 286I M Based on the high-performance iAPX 80286/10 16-bit 
processor. 100% software compatible with 8086 and 8088 proces- 
sors for unprecedented speed and power. 



Cmos Static 12 Mhz Memory Boards 



RAM 22™ 256Kx8 or 128Kx16-works automatically with 8- or 
16-bit processors. A low-power, high-density RAM board. 

RAM 23I M 128Kx8 or 64Kx16-works automatically with 8- or 
16-bit processors. A low-power, high-density RAM board. 




Dual Fu 



isk Subsystem, 



Two 8" floppy drives provide up to 2.4 Mb of formatted storage. 
With all-metal enclosure, Disk 1A™ controller, rugged power 
supply, cables, and software: Digital Research's CP/M-80™ and 
CP/M-86® 



8" Floppy Hard Disk Subsystem 



One or two 8" floppy disk drives and one 20 Mb, 40 Mb or 80 Mb 
hard disk drive in all-metal enclosure with controller; rugged power 
supply, cables and software. CP/M-80 and CP/M-86. 



Disk Controller Boards 



Disk 1AI M High-performance, high-speed floppy disk controller 
for 8" and 5 1 /4 " drives; reads and writes most popular formats. 

Disk 2™/Selector Channel™ A high-performance 8" Winchester 
disk controller with high operating speed and flawless DMA. 



he Essence Of Computing 




System Support T 



Clock/calendar; math processor option; RS-232C serial port; 
interval timers and interrupt controllers; plus many more useful 
features. 



Systems 



CompuPro's extensive System 816 series of fully integrated single- 
and multi-user microcomputers includes eleven IEEE 696/S-100 
bus models offering 8-, 16- or 32-bit operation, and our 
CompuPro 10 and CompuPro 286 business computers. 

All are CP/M or MP/M based, enabling users to access more than 
3,000 industry standard application programs. 



Desktop Enclosure 2 



With shielded/terminated 21-slot motherboard, power supply, fan, 
dust filter, rugged all-metal construction. 



"Bits, Bytes and Buzzwords" is a primer for those who want to 
get started right in business qomfluting. 25 pages. 

"CompuPro Product User Manuals" Volume 1. 250-plus pages. 

"CompuPro Product User Manuals " Volume 2. 300-plus pages. 

"Interfacing to S-100/IEEE 696 Microcomputers" by Mark Garetz 
and Sol Libes. 321 pages. 

Individual technical manuals also available. 



WRANTY 



All CompuPro products are backed by a one year limited warranty 
with a two year option. We also offer nationwide on-site service by 
Xerox Americare™-free with the purchase of designated systems. 



Disk 3I M A high-performance Winchester disk controller for 5Va " 
hard-disk drives. High speed "burst mode" DMA transfers each 
disk sector in a block. 



Interface Boards 



Interfacer 3™ Eight RS-232C serial ports 

(2 synchronous/asynchronous, 6 asynchronous). 

Interfacer 4I M Three RS-232C serial ports, one parallel port, one 
Centronics parallel port. 



Mpx 1 



Multi-user system front-end processor with 16K on-board RAM. 
Intended for OEM applications only. 



High-Performance Motherboards 



Quiet, fast and reliable. Shielded with active termination. A variety 
of formats (6, 12 or 21 slots) offers maximum flexibility. 

Inquiry 58 




(ompuPro 

3506 Breakwater Court, Hayward, CA 94545 



For further information and the location of the participating 
Full Service CompuPro System Center nearest you, call 
1-800-367-7816. In California call (415) 786-0909 ext. 206. 



©1984 CompuPro 

CP/M and CP/M-86 are registered trademarks and MP/M and CP/M-80 are trademarks of Digital 
Research Inc. SuperCalc is a trademark of Sorcim Corp. dBASE II is a registered trademark of Ashton- 
Tate. Americare is a trademark of Xerox Corp. MDRIVE is a registered trademark and CPU 68K, 
CPU 86/87. CPU 8085/88, CPU-Z. CPU 32016, CPU 286, Disk 1A, Disk 2. Selector Channel, Disk 3, 
RAM 22, RAM 23, Interfacer 3, Interfacer 4. System Support 1, MPX-1 and The Essential Computer 
are trademarks of CompuPro 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 47 






ASK BYTE 



Conducted by Steve Garcia 



Corona Compatibility 

Dear Steve, 

I've had my Corona PC for about a year 
now, and for the first time I've run into an 
incompatibility with the IBM PC The prob- 
lem is that the IBM PC has an extra open 
socket built into it to add a ROM or 
EPROM, and the Corona doesn't. A few 
programs on the market make use of this 
socket, including a genetics program I am 
interested in. Is there a fairly simple way 
to add an extra ROM chip? 

Another problem is that my BIOS is writ- 
ten on a 28-pin 2764, while the chip for 
the genetics program is on a 24-pin 
2732 A. How can I use the 2732 in my Cor- 
ona, and what is the difference between 
a 2732 and 2732A anyway? 

Yet another problem is the Corona's in- 
compatibility with IBM graphics, lb get 
graphics on the IBM, you must buy a 
graphics color card, which uses memory 
locations B800 to BCOO hexadecimal. On 
the Corona, different RAM locations are 
used for graphics. Is there a way to modify 
programs that need the color card (e.g.. 
Flight Simulator) so that they will work on 
the Corona? It may not be that difficult 
because there is a graphics driver by HST, 
which if loaded before Lotus 1-2-3, 
enables 1-2-3 to draw graphs perfectly on 
my screen. 

Richard Berman 
King of Prussia, PA 

You should be able to add a ROM to 
the Corona by installing it on an expan- 
sion board with the proper interfacing 
circuitry. This could be built on a PC pro- 
totyping board, such as those produced 
by Vector Electronic Co., POB 4336, 
12460 Gladstone Ave, Sylmar, CA 91342, 
(818) 365-9661. Since all 20 address lines 
are available in the I/O channel (expan- 
sion slots), you can set up the address- 
ing as required for the ROMs with your 
genetics program. There could be inter- 
ference between the Corona's BIOS ROM 
and the add-on ROM. IBM uses 40K 
bytes out of the 48K bytes of reserved 
ROM space, and I suspect that the 
Corona uses the same space to preserve 
compatibility with IBM. 

The 2 732s are programmed at +25 V 



while the 2 7 32 As require only 21 V. 

A possibility exists that the HST graph- 
ics-driver program you mention may 
allow you to run the new Microsoft Flight 
Simulator on your Corona but not the 
original version. The new version can be 
loaded from DOS with the command FS, 
so a driver can be loaded ahead of the 
program. The original version could be 
loaded only by rebooting, which of 
course wipes out the graphics driver. See 
your dealer for a demonstration before 
you buy because there may be other in- 
compatibilities not fixed by the HST 
driver.— Steve 



Source Book Needed 

Dear Steve, 

As a computer counselor, I help clients 
with hardware and software purchases, 
checking sources and buffering clients 
from high-pressure salespeople. Since I 
am not affiliated with any computer manu- 
facturer or outlet, I do not limit my clients 
to the selections of a particular store. 
However, this lack of affiliation means that 
I do not receive promotional materials, 
which limits my effectiveness. Can you 
recommend any source book that lists 
various computer manufacturers and gives 
at least minimal specifications on their 
products? 

Patricia Selk 
Stafford, VA 

Many sources of information of the 
type you need are available. First, most 
computer magazines, including BYTE, 
publish reviews of microcomputers, pe- 
ripherals, and accessories. These are a 
good source of unbiased information. 

Second, you can get promotional infor- 
mation from manufacturers by writing to 
them on your letterhead, explaining your 
needs. Their addresses are available in 
ads in BYTE and other magazines and are 
frequently published in buyers guides 
and directories available at most com- 
puter stores and many bookstores. 

A third source is companies that spe- 
cialize in publishing survey reports on this 
type of equipment One of these is Data- 
pro Research Corporation, 1805 Under- 



wood Blvd., Delran, NJ 08075, (800) 
257-9406.SX.eve 

Drive-Head Problem 

Dear Steve, 

I bought an Atari 800 and two Atari 810 
disk drives three years ago. Some time 
ago. one of the drives began to have prob- 
lems. Before realizing that it was only a 
burned-out 1C, I measured the head's 
resistance with a digital tester. Since then, 
the drive seems to be able to write but 
does not read. I think I've magnetized the 
head. I tried to demagnetize it with various 
methods (including the use of a commer- 
cial head demagnetizer for cassette 
recorders), but I haven't had any success. 
If you think I must replace the head, could 
you tell me where I could buy it? 

Odino Ciai 
Buenos Aires, Argentina 

Digital testers normally do not supply 
enough current to damage a disk-drive 
read/write head. You did not say whether 
you could write to a disk and read it from 
the other drive. It is possible that the 
alignment of the head was disturbed 
when you were making your tests. Try 
some cross-checks to see if that is the 
case. Also, check the obvious things, such 
as dirt on the head and a worn head-load 
pad. The head-load pad is a little felt pad 
that keeps the disk in contact with the 
head. If it is worn, data may not be prop- 
erly read or written. Check the continui- 
ty of the read head with an ohmmeter 
or your digital tester. If the head coil is 
open, see if there is a mechanical break 
in the wiring. 

If you are convinced that the head is 
defective, a replacement can be obtained 
from Micro Peripherals Inc., 9754 Deer- 
ing Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311, (213) 
709-4202.-SX.eve 



Sharing Files 

Dear Steve, 

We have several Eagle PCs in our 
analytical laboratory, all of which use two 
pieces of software: pfs:File and Lotus 

[continued] 



48 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



COPYRIGHT© 1985 STEVEN A. C1ARC1A. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 




WORD PROCESSORS AT THE LEADING EDGE 



Ah, the great ones . . . 

They organized their ideas, their intui- 
tions, their idioms. They set them down, 
sorted them out, arranged them and 
re-arranged them till they came out right. 

They used small scraps of paper to 
record huge hunks of Truth; primitive 
tools to produce profound prose. But 
when the words finally went forth, they 



made indelible marks on all who read 
them. 

The amazing thing is that these mon- 
umental processors of words, did it 
without the benefit of monumental help. 

Like Leading Edge Word Processing: 
the easiest to use, yet most potent 
piece of software ever created to take 
full advantage of all the power inherent, 
but until now un-tapped, in today's 



most sophisticated personal computer: 
(Like the IBM® PC and the even faster 
and more powerful Leading Edge"" & 
AT&T.) 

The heart and soul of it is a 51/4" 
floppy disk, elegantly logical instruction 
manual and documentation . . . every- 
thing. And what you end up with is 
word processing at the leading edge. 



LEADING EDGE ™ WORD PROCESSING FROM $100 



IBM IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. 
LEADING EDGE IS A TRADEMARK OF LEADING EDGE PRODUCTS. INCORPORATED. 



Inquiry 178 



FEBRUARY 1985 "BYTE 49 




MINORITY 

HI-TECH 

INDUSTRIES 



CALL TOLL FREE 
1-800-428-7979 

Call on Other Items Not Listed 



PRINTERS • PLOTTERS 

Epson Call 

Enter 

Sweet-P 6 Pen Plotter $739 

Inforunner 

Riteman Blue Plus 140CPS IBM $272 

Riteman Plus 120CPS 229 

Riteman 15 160CPS 8K Buffer 490 

Riteman Blue Mac 140CPS 383 

Riteman L.Q 215 

Juki 

5500 Call 

6100 $400 

6300 Call 

Legend Can 

Okidata Can 

Silver Reed 

EXP400 P or S $240 

EXP500 P or S 303 

EXP550 P or S 395 

EXP770 P or S 769 

MODEMS • MONITORS • DRIVES 

Anchor 

Mark XII $235 

Express 1200 Baud (Hayes Exact) 272 

Volksmodem 1200 Baud 1 SO 

Hayes 

Smartmodem 1200 $469 

Smartmodem 1200B (IBM) 405 

Novation 

Smart Cat Plus 2400 Baud $695 

Smart Cat Plus 1200 Baud 299 

Access 1-2-3 w/Crosstalk (IBM) 359 

Apple Cat II 1 95 

Zoom 

Netmaster (lie. II + ) $115 

Amdek Can 

Taxan 

Amber 12" 116 $115 

Amber 12" 122 (IBM) 131 

RGB 12" 425 (IBM) 415 

RGB 12" 440 (IBM-ULTRA-RES) 566 

Persyst Bob Board (for 440) 390 

NEC Call 

Team-Mate 

1110 Internal 3.3MEG Disk (IBM) $698 

COMPUTERS • CARDS 

NEC 

PC-8401A Computer $839 

PC-8201A Computer 299 

PC-8201 A-90 Battery Pack 17 

PC-8206A 32K Ram 173 

PC-8271A AC Adapter 17 

Paradise 

Modular Graphics Card $269 

MGC with A & B Module 526 

SOFTWARE • DISKETTES 

Enable Call 

LotUS 1-2-3 Call 

Micropro 

WS Pro (IBM) $235 

WS 2000 245 

WS 2000+ 295 

Practicorp 

Practiword/Base/Calc III (IBM) $ 1 89 

Above each separate 69 

Maxell 

MD-1 (Oty 100) $172 

MD-2 (Qty 100) 220 

MF-1 3.5" (Qty 100) HP & MAC 303 

Fuji 

MD-1 (Qty 100) $159 

MD-2 (Qty 100) 1 99 

MF1 3.5" (Qty 100) HP & MAC 299 

MD2HD (Qty 100) IBM-AT 546 

SOFTWARE NON-RETURNABLE 

MINORITY HI-TECH INDUSTRIES 

5021 N. 20th Street, #10261 
Phoenix, Arizona 85064 

Other Information: (602) 890-0596 



MosterCord 



• WE BUY • 
SURPLUS GOODS 



Sisj 



ASK BYTE 



Prices reflect3-5% Cash Discount. Shipping on most items 
$3.00. Prices and availability subject to change without 
notice. Send cashier's check or money order ... All 
other checks delay shipping 2 weeks. add #185 



1-2-3. Because each computer is produc- 
ing data that is eventually compiled into 
the same reports, it would be a great time- 
saver to have the systems all sharing a 
common hard disk containing the basic 
software as well as the data files. 

Does this type of data-file sharing re- 
quire an elaborate LAN (local-area net- 
work) setup? It seems that a simple multi- 
ple linking of the PCs to a large hard disk 
would serve our purpose nicely or are we 
greatly oversimplifying the problem? 

We are considering moving up to a true 
relational database-management system 
such as dBASE II (or 111) or Condor but are 
still unsure that the file-sharing system we 
have in mind will work. 

Your advice on just how complicated (or 
simple) such a system could be would be 
greatly appreciated and would surely help 
us out of a real quandary. 

Charles Harper 
Dallas, TX 

Your situation appears to be one that 
does not require an LAN— yet! But you 
would probably be better off if you did 
plan for one, especially if you intend to 
move up to a true relational database 
system. Even your simple file sharing 
could cause some potentially disastrous 
problems without the "safety net" of true 
LAN software. I am referring to problems 
that occur when two individuals access 
the same file simultaneously. Under cer- 
tain conditions, it is quite probable that 
when two people write to the same file 
at nearly the same time, the resulting file 
will be incorrect from either' s point of 
view. Worse yet, a condition called "fatal 
embrace'' can essentially hang up the en- 
tire system until it is manually reset 
Another point to remember is that not 
all software is ready for multiple users, 
although most LANs provide some 
mechanism to make it usable while avoid- 
ing the problems I've mentioned. 

Two suppliers featuring LAN hardware 
and software are Corvus Systems and Or- 
chid Technology. Another possibility is to 
purchase an IBM PC AT and IBM's net- 
working software (when it becomes 
available). 

Corvus can be reached at 800-4- 
CORVUS. Orchid Technology is located 
at 47790 Westinghouse Dr., Fremont, CA 
94539, (415) 490-8 5 8 6. -Steve 

Track Balls Are Better 

Dear Steve. 

I use my Z-I00 almost exclusively for 
word processing and other nonnumerical 



data-manipulation tasks. I find the number 
pad to the right of the keyboard useless 
except for the cursor-control keys, which 
I think are tedious and clumsy. 

What about this: replace the number 
pad with a track ball for cursor control. 
Or even better, an upside-down mouse (I 
never could understand why they had to 
run around on a tabletop— mine is always 
too cluttered) with one or two appropriate 
function buttons. 

Is this possible? Am I the only one who 
would use such a gizmo? Where can I go 
for information on how this might be 
done? 

Michael R. Thomas 
Port Arthur, TX 

Some people who use track balls and 
mice claim that they would never go back 
to using cursor-control keys again. That 
is why several companies are making 
these devices for micros. Your idea to in- 
corporate such a device into a keyboard 
is a good one, but it will have to be done 
by keyboard manufacturers. There is no 
easy or economical way to modify your 
Z-100 keyboard, due to the differing 
natures of keyboards and mice and their 
interaction with a particular program. A 
keyboard sends a unique code to the 
computer for each key as it is pressed. 
A mouse or track ball does not generate 
the same code when it is used, and the 
information it does generate usually 
enters the computer through a different 
port. 

Add-on mice are sold with utility soft- 
ware that translates the signals from the 
mouse into usable information. A word 
processor, for example, has been written 
to accept the control codes generated by 
certain keys (the cursor keys) and always 
expects those codes to come from the 
keyboard. Most current software is not 
written to take advantage of mice or 
track balls and would have to be 
modified to use these devices. Of course, 
Microsoft's Word program was written 
specifically for a mouse. Other programs 
are appearing that also use mice.— Steve 

Power-Line Pollution 

Dear Steve. 

I greatly appreciated your article "Keep 
Power-Line Pollution Out of Your Com- 
puter" (December 1983, page 36). A near- 
by lightning flash once damaged a tran- 
sistor board in my RCA television. 

To protect my IBM PC. I am using the 
Radio Shack filter strip (cat. #26-1451). 

[continued] 



50 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 




IMSI Presents PC Paintbrush" 



With PC Paintbrush, you'll now be 
able to do things that you once only 
dreamed about. 

Because, like your dreams, you'll be 
working with a palette of up to 256 
vibrant colors and shades, depend- 
ing on your color card. 

And, as you'll notice, you'll also have 
drawing tools, drop-down menus, and 
a range of brush widths and shapes. 
Plus your choice of mouse or joystick. 

In addition to freeform drawing, you'll 
be able to draw precise triangles, 
rectangles, boxes, circles and ellipses. 

You'll be able to cut, paste, and move 
things around. Even enhance graphs, 
text, and images from other programs 
like Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Word, 
and SuperCalc 3. 

But don't stop with painting. 
PC Paintbrush also gives you an 
electronic type shop to work with. 
Several fonts, from Olde English to 
Computer. Each in seven styles 
(boldface, italics, underline, etc.) and 
seven sizes. 



All of which makes it great for 
designing everything from fliers and 
report covers to greeting cards and 
birthday banners. (For a wall-sized 
work of art, just print sideways.) 

The possibilities are endless. But the 
best way to see for yourself is to see 
for yourself. Get a demonstration at 
your nearest computer store. 

Then, draw your own conclusions. 




I software publishers Inquiry 352 

INTERNATIONAL MICROCOMPUTER SOFTWARE, INC. 
633 Fifth Avenue • San Rafael, C A 94901 • 415/454-7101 



RUNS ON: IBM PC/ compatibles, 
and Corona PC, 192K 
RAM. IBM PCjr., and 
Mindset, 256K RAM. 
HP 150, 320K RAM. 
All require DOS 2.0 and 
up and 1 drive. 

MICE: Summagraphics, Mouse 

Systems, Microsoft. 

JOYSTICKS: Any IBM compatible. 

GRAPHICS Amdek, Hercules, IBM, 
CARDS: PCjr., Quadram, Scion, 

Tecmar, STB, Paradise. 
MON ITOR: Color or black and white. 

OUTPUT: Printers: IBM /Epson 
graphics, Epson FX-80 
and 100, MX 80 and 100, 
IDS Non-Color, IDS 
Prism Color, NEC 8023, 
C-ltoh8510, Okidata8X 
or 9X series, Radio 
Shack CGP-220, Xerox 
1770, PrintaColor 
TC1040, Quadram 
Quadjet, Transtar Color, 
Diablo C1 50, Tektronix 
4695, HP Thinkjet, Star 
Micronics, Epson JX-80, 
Data Products 8050, 
IBM Color printer. 
Plotters: HP 7475A and 
7470A. 

PC Paintbrush is a registered trademark of ZSOFTCORP. 



FEBRUARY 1 985 • BYTE 51 




ASK BYTE 



Would you please answer the following 
questions? 

Is it necessary to connect my IBM PC 
Color Display Monitor to the 0.5-A moni- 
tor outlet on the filter, as recommended 
for Radio Shack monitors? 

My PC is connected to the 1.2 5- A pro- 
cessor outlet. Is this all right? 

I could not determine from your article 
where the MOVs are to be soldered on this 
unit. Could you tell me where they go? 

Is it advisable to remove disks from 
drives before turning the main power 
switch on? 

I also need your help on a different 
problem. We have often found that our 
telephone bills contain calls we did not 
make. The telephone company doesn't 
charge us for these calls, but this involves 
an examination of each bill and checking 
with Ma Bell to determine whether we 
made suspect calls. 

The computerized telephones being in- 
troduced are becoming more sophisti- 
cated, but none, as yet. keeps a record of 
outgoing calls. Is it possible to modify 
such a unit or to inexpensively build a 
device that would do this? 

I have one Ibuch-Tbne and two rotary- 
dial telephones, and I would like the new 
unit to be attached to one of them that 
would record outgoing calls on all three. 
Sidney Belman 
Teaneck, NJ 

The Radio Shack filter strip was origi- 
nally designed for the TRS-80 Model I 
computer, and the filters for each outlet 
were designed to handle different types 
of noise. The outlets have current limita- 
tions because the filters have current 
limitations. As long as the current ratings 
are not exceeded, any socket can be 
used. 

The IBM PC is rated at 200 W at 120 V 
AC This works out to 1.66 A, which is in 
excess of the 1.2 5 -A rating of the filter. 

It is not necessary to remove disks from 
the drives before turning on the PC. It 
was a problem on the TRS-80 Model I, 
but the PC has an a utoboot feature that 
allows the disk to be inserted prior to it 
being turned on. 

Recording outgoing telephone calls can 
be accomplished by a simple pulse- 
counter circuit connected to a computer. 
The computer would poll the line to see 
if a call were being made and then read 
and store the output of the pulse counter. 
A suitable pulse-counter circuit can be 
found in Telephone Accessories You Can 
Build by Jules H. Gilder (Hayd en, 1976). 

[continued] 



52 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 194 




C COMPILERS FOR 
PC DOS MS DOS CP/M-86 CP/M-80 APPLE II, lie, lie 
COMMODORE 64 RADIO SHACK and MACINTOSH 



gUEASE 



New" 



AZTEC C86 

Optimized "C" compiler for PC DOS, MS DOS & CP/M-86 

PC DOS, UNIX I/O, math, screen, graphics libraries 

8086 assembler, linker & librarian, overlays 

/PRO- library source, debug, ROM, MASM & RMAC, 8087, large model 




NEW C COMPILERS 

AZTEC C68K for MACINTOSH 
VAX cross compilers 

C TOOLS & AIDS 

Z editor (like Vi), C TUTOR compiler, PHACT database, 

C GRAFX, UNI-TOOLS I, QUICK C, BABY BLUE for PC 

to CP/M cross, QUADLINK for PC to APPLE cross 




MEW* 



euease 




AZTEC C II 

Optimized "C" compiler for CP/M, TRSDOS & LDOS 
assembler, linker & librarian, overlays, utilities 

UNIX I/O, math & compact libraries 
/PRO- library source, ROM, M80 & RMAC 



AZTEC C65 

"C" compiler for APPLE DOS 3.3, ProDOS or COMMODORE 64 

VED editor, SHELL, UNIX & math libraries 

/PRO — library source, ROM, overlays 



CROSS COMPILERS 

Compile & link on HOST— test on TARGET machine 
HOSTS: UNIX, PC DOS, CP/M-86, CP/M-80, VENIX, PCIX, APPLE 
TARGETS: PC DOS, CP/M-86, CP/M-80, APPLE, RADIO SHACK, 

COMMODORE 64, otherhosts and targets available 













PRICES 








AZTEC C86 C COMPILER 




AZTEC CMC COMPILER 




AZTEC C CROSS COMPILERS 


TARGETS 


PC DOS MSDOS 


249 


CP/M 


199 


PDP-11 HOST 


2000 


PC DOS 


CP/M-86 


249 


CII/PRO 


349 


PC DOS HOST 


750 


CP/M-86 


BOTH 


399 


/PRO UPGRADE 


150 


CP/M-86 HOST 


750 


CP/M-80 


C86/PRO 


499 


TRS80MODEL3 


149 


CP/M-80 HOST 


750 


APPLE 


/PRO UPGRADE 


250 


TRS 80 MODEL 4 


199 


APPLE HOST 


750 


RADIO SHACK 


Z (VI EDITOR) 

C TUTOR COMPILER 

PHACT DATABASE 

C GRAFX 

SUPERDRAW 

UNI-TOOLS 1 


125 
99 

299 
99 

299 
99 


TRS 80 PRO (3 & 4) 

AZTEC C65 C COMPILER 

APPLE DOS 3.3 
PRODOS 
E EDITOR 


299 

199 

CALL 

99 


VAX HOST 
MACINTOSH 


CALL 
CALL 


COMMODORE 64 
MACINTOSH 


QUICKC 


125 






TRS 80 RADIO SHACKTRS DOS 


s a trademark of TANDY. 



MANX SOFTWARE SYSTEMS 
Box 55 
Shrewsbury, N J 07701 
TELEX: 4995812 




APPLE DOS MACINTOSH is a trademark of APPLE. 



TO ORDER OR FOR INFORMATION: 

CALL: 800-221-0440 (outside NJ) 
201-780-4004 (NJ) 



Australia: Blue Sky Industries - 2A Blakesley St. - Chatswood NSW 2067 — Australia 61-2419-5579 

England: TAMSYS LTD — Pilgrim House - 2-6 William St. — Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1BA - England - Telephone Windsor 56747 

Shipping: per compiler next day USA $20, 2 days USA $6, 2 days worldwide $75, Canada $10, airmail outside USA & Canada $20 

UNIX is a trademark of Bell Labs. CP / M, CP / M-80 and CP / M-86 are trademarks of DRI. PC DOS is a trademark of IBM. MS DOS is a trademark of MICROSOFT. 

N.J. residents add 6% sales tax. 



Inquiry 195 



FEBRUARY 1 985 • BYTE 53 



Achieve laboratory automa- 
tion at low cost— connect a 
DAISI™ (Data Acquisition and In- 
strument Systems Interface) to 
your Apple® // or He Computer. 

DAISI peripheral devices... 

■ Interface with Apple // and 
Apple He Computers and their 
lookalikes 

■ Work with all popular language 
systems 

■ Come with cable, instructional 
diskette and comprehensive 
manual 



DAISI and Apple work together as 
a single system to measure, 
monitor, time, analyze, control and 
record a wide variety of research 
and testing functions. 

DAISI peripherals plug easily into 
any Apple expansion slot, ready 
to be used in chromatography, 
environmental data collection, 
evoked response, gas analysis, 
spectroscopy, signal processing, 
solar heating, mechanical mea- 
surement, structural testing, and 
many more functional applications. 

The AI13 analog-to-digital con- 
verter reads instruments and sen- 
sors and has its own external unit 
for easy cable access. 



DISCOVER NEW 
HORIZONS IN 

AND KEEP YOUR COSTS DOWN TO EARTH 



Here's a rundown on the 

DAISI Peripherals: 

AI13 12-Bit Analog 

Input Interface. $550 

■ 16 input channels 

■ 20 microseconds conversion time 
DI09 Digital Interface 

with Timers $330 

■ timing and interrupt capability 

■ direct connection to BCD digits, 
switches, relays 

AO03 8-Bit Analog 

Output Interface $195-$437 

■ up to 8 independent channels 

■ range and offset adjustable 
AI02 8-Bit Analog 

Input Interface $299 

■ 16 input channels 

■ 70 microseconds conversion time 

Plus the SC14 system for front- 
end signal conditioning and 
amplification, the UI16 isolation 
system for AC or DC power input 
or output, and more . . . 

iS 

(Designed and manufactured in the USA) 



AND NOW . . . AMPRIS™ 

An easy add-on to Applesoft® 

BASIC. 

With AMPRIS you can: 

■ Read and store analog and 

digital inputs 

■ Send out analog and digital 

outputs 

■ Set, read and control the DI09 

counters 

■ Set, read and control the DI09 

shift registers 

■ Make full use of the DI09 inter- 

rupt capability 

Using AMPRIS is as easy as in- 
serting an ampersand (&) com- 
mand where you would normally 
insert an Applesoft command. For 
more information about the com- 
plete line of DAISI peripheral 
devices and the full spectrum of 
their applications, write or phone: 



Interactive Structures, Inc. 
146 Montgomery Avenue 
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 
Telephone: (215) 667-1713 



ASK BYTE 



A simpler circuit not requiring a com- 
puter, would consist of a tape recorder 
to record the pulses. The tape could then 
be played back through the pulse 
counter to see what numbers were 
dialed. The tape recorder could be con- 
trolled by the pulse detector.— Steve 



Computerized Home 



Dear Steve. 

I am planning to build a house and 
would like to provide for computer con- 
trol in my home. Can you offer any sug- 
gestions? 

Paul W. Marsh 
Urbana, IL 

With the almost daily announcement 
of some computerized device, it makes 
sense to provide a means for installation 
in the home. However, it is difficult to 
know what devices will ultimately be 
required. 

I will be presenting a series of three ar- 
ticles, beginning in April, covering the 
construction of the Circuit Cellar home- 
control system.— Steve ■ 

Between Circuit Cellar Feedback, personal ques- 
tions, and Ask BYTE, I receive hundreds of letters 
each month. As you might have noticed, at the end 
of Ask BYTE I have listed my own paid staff. We 
answer many more letters than you see published, 
and it often takes a lot of research. 

\f you would like to share the knowledge you have 
on microcomputer hardware with other BYTE 
readers, joining the Circuit Cellar! Ask BYTE staff 
would give you the opportunity. Were looking for 
additional researchers to answer letters and gather 
Circuit Cellar project material. 

\f you're interested, let us hear from you. Send 
a short letter describing your areas of interest and 
qualifications to Steve Garcia. POB 582, Glaston- 
bury. CT 06033. 



I N ASK BYTE, Steve Garcia answers questions 
on any area of microcomputing. The most rep- 
resentative questions received each month will be 
answered and published. Do you have a nag- 
ging problem? Send your inquiry to 

Ask BYTE 

do Steve Garcia 

POB 582 

Glastonbury. CT 06033 
Due to the high volume of inquiries, personal 
replies cannot be given. All letters and photo- 
graphs become the property of Steve Garcia and 
cannot be returned. Be sure to include "Ask 
BYTE" in the address. 

The Ask BYTE staff includes manager Harv 
Weiner and researchers Bill Curlew, \j\rry 
Bregoli. Dick Sawyer, and ]eannette Dojan. 



54 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry I5l 







> >W:\i 









1 

« : ~ipr- ■» i 1 " 



INPUT/OUTPUT TECHNOLOGY, INC. 

85387 Avenue Stanford, Unit 113, Valencia, CA 91355 • [805] 857-1000 



Uncompromising Additions to your S-1QO/IEEE-696 BUS 




DUAL GPIB-48B INTERFACE 
BOARD 

A Stand-Alone, Independently Controlled 
Dual Channel IEEE-4BB I/O Processor. In- 
terface Activity Modes for Controller-in- 
Charge, Controller Assigned or Terminal 
Bus Slave, and all Interface Functions are 
handled transparent to Host System CPU 
through an on-board CPU and DMA con- 
troller. User Friendly operation. 

AST, P/N 5274B-B00-10B 




RGB COLOR GRAPHICS BOARO 

Programmable resolution up to 512 x 512 
pixels with A local video planes end on-board 
graphics processor. Color mapper allows 1 6 
colors from a palette of 4D9B. Light pen 
input. Plus more ... 
AST, P/N 5B74B-300-101 




12-BIT A-O-A CONVERTER 
BOARO 

B Channel A-D: 12 microsec. Conversion, 
50KHz Sample Rate, Programmable 
Gains, Dffset and Diff. /Single Modes. 
B Channel D-A: 2 microsec. Settling, 
Bipolar V or Unipolar I Output. Program- 
mable Reference levels, Dual-Ported Chan- 
nel Refresh RAM. 16/B-Bit Date 
Transfers via I/O or Memory Mapped 
AST, P/N 5274B-9Q0-101 




BAR COOE PROCESSOR BOARO 

The BarTender is a stand-alone I/O Pro- 
cessor that reads and prints most common 
Bar Codes. Includes bi-directional reading, 
wand interface, clock/calendar with battery. 
Extensive documentation and software. 
A&T.BS74B-500-101 Without Wand 
AST,Be74B-500-B01 With Wand 



PERIPHERAL SUPPORT 
BOARO 

Two Serial SYNC/ASYNC Ports with 
RS-232, TTL or Current Loop Outputs, 
three B-Bit Parallel Ports, three Timers. 
Real Time Clock/Calendar and Response 
Programmable Interrupt Controller. Small 
Proto Area with +5 and +12v. 
AST, P/N 5E74B-150-101 




MULTI-PURPOSE 
PROTOTYPING KIT 

Industrial Quality with Plated-Thru holes for 
Wire-Wrap or Solder projects. Complete 
with +5, ±12v Regulators, Bus Bar, Filter 
Capacitors, and Manual. 

P/N 52748-450 Inquiry I48 



ALSO AVAILABLE: MULTI-FUNCTION I/O BOARD, SMART PROTOTYPING KIT, 12BKx8/64Kx16 STATIC RAM MODULE 



SPECIFICATIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. 



ALOCKEDDOORADEADMAH 

AalOIiuucstoaohethcmtmfa: 




JUNE 




AND NOW FOR SOMETHING 
INCOMPLETELY DIFFERENT! 



Incomplete, yes. 
But it's not just because 
we're always bringing 
out new stories in the 
Infocom interactive fic- 
tion collection. Nor is it 
simply due to the fact 
that with all the writing 
and re-writing, honing 
and perfecting that we 
put into every one of 
our stories, our work is 
seemingly never done. 

The real reason is: an 
Infocom work of fiction 
can never be complete until you 
become a part of it. 

You see, as hard as we work at 
perfecting our stories, we always 










■hPI 


rffT^' 


& ?>*&&« 




■ ■ f ■ £ 


fF '*'* r- 


'\ y ^ *~ \ , 


ip>i-.. 




^^^^HHk- : 



In CUTTHROATS™ the plot 
involves a motley band of 
hardbitten salts who get wind 
of a shipwreck laden with 
sunken treasure near the 
remote island where you live. 
In exchange for your diving 
skills, they off er you a piece 
of the action. Your challenge: 
survive them, the perils of 
the deep, and escape with 
the treasure and your life. 
Good luck! 



THE HITCHHIKER'S 
GUIDE TOTHE GALAXY™ 
by Douglas Adams is the 
most mind-boggling story 
we've ever published. In the 
person of Arthur Dent, you'll 
chortle as your planet is 
demolished. You'll yelp with 
laughter as your life is 
threatened by a galaxy of 
horrors. Your sides will 
positively split as you search 
the universe for. . . well, 
you'll find out. Maybe. 



In SUSPECT" our newest 
mystery thriller, you're a 
reporter who gets the scoop 
on the society event of the 
year— the murder of a 
Maryland Blue Blood at a 
fancy costume ball. Great! 
Except you're the prime 
suspect. And if you can't 
find the real killer, your 
next by-line could be in the 
obituaries. 



you have hundreds, even 
thousands of alternatives 
at every step. In fact, an 
Infocom interactive story 
is roughly the length of 
a short novel in content, 
but because you're 
actively engaged in the 
plot, your adventure 
can last for weeks and 
months. 

In other words, only 
you can complete the 
works of Infocom, Inc. 
Because they're stories 
that grow out of your imagination. 
Find out what it's like to get 



with surprising twists, unique 
characters (many of whom 

possess extraordinarily developed inside a story. Get one from 
personalities), and original, logical, Infocom. Because with Infocom's 
leave out one essential element- often hilarious puzzles. Communi- interactive fiction, there's room 



the main character. And that's 
where you enter in. 

Once you've got Infocom's 
interactive fiction in your 
computer, you experience 
something akin to waking up 
inside a novel. You find yourself 
at the center of an exciting plot 
that continually challenges you 



cation is carried on in the same 
way as it is in a novel— in prose. 
And interaction is easy —you type 
in full English sentences. 

But there is this key differ- 
ence between our tales and 
conventional novels: Infocom's 
interactive fiction is active, not 
passive. The course of events is 
shaped by the actions you choose 
to take. And you enjoy enormous 
freedom in your choice of actions - 



for you on every disk. 

inFocom 

Infocom, Inc., 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 

For your: Apple II, Atari, Commodore 64, CP/M8", DECmate, 
DEC Rainbow, DEC RT-11. IBM PC and PCjr, KAYPRO II, 
MS-DOS 2.0* NEC APC, NEC PC-8000, Osborne, Tandy 2000, 
TI Professional, TI 99/4A.TRS-80 Models I arid III. 
*Use the IBM PC version for your Compaq, and the MS-DOS 2.0 
version for your Wang or Mindset. 

CUTTHROATS and SUSPECT are trademarks of Infocom, Inc. 
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY is a trademark 
of Douglas Adams. 



Inquiry 145 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 57 



Master Piece 
puts the power at 
your fingertips. 




Master Piece is the most versatile 
accessory ever made for IBM Per- 
sonal Computers. Master Piece 
combines the four most popular 
IBM® accessories into one elegant 
accessory offering the most con- 
venience and best value available. 

A SWIVEL BASE 

The Master Piece has a swivel so 
you can adjust the viewing angle of 
your monitor with just the touch of 
a finger. Since the Master Piece 
swivels with your monitor, its 
switches and static control are in 
front of you at all times. 

FIVE SWITCHED OUTLETS 

Stop searching for outlets to plug 
in your peripherals. Master Piece's 
five outlets put your entire system 
at your fingertips. Power up with 
the "Master" switch, then use the 
individual switches to control your 
peripherals. Touch the "Master" 
switch to shut down and you'll 
never accidentally leave your pe- 
ripherals running overnight. 

SURGE SUPPRESSION 
CIRCUITRY 

Power surges, spikes and line noise 
are responsible for 70-90% of all 
PC malfunctions. They can wipe out 
memory in your PC, taking hours of 
hard work with them. They can zap 
your delicate chips, sending your 
PC in for costly repairs. Master 
Piece clips surges and spikes at a 
safe level. You end up with an IBM 
that's more accurate and reliable. 

STATIC PROTECTION 

Even you are a threat to your IBM. 
During the day you build up static 
charges — as much a threat to your 
PC as surges and spikes. Master 
Piece offers an elegant alternative 
to expensive and unsightly static 
mats, just touch its nameplate be- 
fore you begin work and static 
charges are grounded. 

If you bought these accessories 
separately, you could spend more 
than $200. Master Piece's recom- 
mended retail price is under $150. 
Available now from IBM dealers 
everywhere. 



Inquiry 169 

s lis l KENSINGTON" 

^microware 

251 Park Avenue South 

New York. NY 10010 

(212) 475-5200 Telex: 467383 KML NY 



Trademarks: Master Piece/Kensington Microware Ltd 
IBM/International Business Machines 
© 1984 Kensington Microware Ltd. 



£&fii£HU 



CLUBS & NEWSLETTERS 



• VISIT WITH APPLE 
USERS— Ideas, information, 
and the latest computer 
news are available to 
members of the Arkon Info- 
system, a 24-hour 300-bps 
bulletin-board system 
operating in Toronto, 
Canada. Upload, download, 
electronic mail, and public 
messages are a few of its 
features. Also included are 
20 conferences; 10 mega- 
bytes of storage, and on-line 
help. The annual fee for 
using the system is $19.95. 
but inquirers can log on 
under the "Guest" user 
function. Questions about 
the system can be sent 
through the (F)eedback-to- 
sysop function of the Arkon 
Infosystem at (416) 593- 
7460. Other details are 
available from David 
Fingold. Arkon Infosystem. 
409 Queen St. W, Toronto, 
Ontario M5V 2A5. Canada. 
(416) 593-9653. 

• CHAMELEON ADVOCATE 
The National Chameleon 
Users Group (NACHUG) pro- 
duces a newsletter, The 
80/88 National Newsletter, that 
contains hardware and soft- 
ware reviews, updates, and a 
users forum. Member dis- 
counts are provided on pe- 
ripherals and accessories. 
Membership is $12 a year. 
Contact Steven Bender, 
NACHUG. POB 28360. 
Queens Village, NY 11428. 

• SIG. NEWS FOR PUBLIC- 
DOMAIN SOFTWARE 

PC-SIG News, a newsletter 
from the PC Software In- 
terest Group (PC-S1G). is 
devoted to public-domain or 
user-supported software for 
the IBM PC and compatible 
computers. It lists the disks 
in the library, updates recent 



disk arrivals, and encourages 
patches and feedback from 
users. The members have 
compiled a directory with a 
subject index and listings. 
Contact the PC Software In-. 
terest Group, Suite 130. 
15 56 Halford Ave., Santa 
Clara, CA 95051. 

• C-CLUB IN RIVER CITY 

The River City Commodore 
Club is a nonprofit organiza- 
tion that meets twice a 
month to promote interest 
in all Commodore com- 
puters. The group features a 
large club library, help 
groups, and basic and ad- 
vanced tutorials. For details, 
write River City Commodore 
Club. POB 4298. North Little 
Rock, AR 72116. 

• COMPUTER AND SOFT- 
WARE LAW-The Center for 
Computer/Law, a nonprofit 
educational institution, pro- 
vides research and educa- 
tional services in computer 
law. The Center produces 
Computer Ihxw journal an inter- 
national journal on the legal 
issues of computers, tele- 
communications, and the in- 
formation industries. It also 
publishes a quarterly law 
review, Software haw journal 
that contains scholarly ar- 
ticles from computer law ex- 
perts, as well as a bibliog- 
raphy of software law and a 
directory of recent cases. 
Contact the Center for Com- 
puter/Law, POB 3549. Man- 
hattan Beach, CA 90266. 



• MANY SHARED 
BENEFITS-The First 
Attache/2001 User Group 
(FAUG) produces a monthly 
newsletter titled Where It's 
Att. Members meet quarter- 
ly, have access to public- 
domain library disks, and 
receive support by tele- 
phone and networking. The 
club can be reached on 
CompuServe at 70346.63. 
Annual dues are $3 5. Con- 
tact Charles Raisch. FAUG. 
1827 Haight. San Francisco. 
CA 94117-2791. (415) 
221-3415. 

• NO TIME LIMITS SET 
YET— In northern Idaho a 
24-hour bulletin-board 
system called I-PACE fea- 
tures Atari downloads. Pass- 
words are not required, no 
time limits are set. and peo- 
ple add to it frequently. The 
BBS number is (208) 
772-9421. Contact Robert 
Marshall. POB 5123. Coeur 
D'Alene, ID 83814, (208) 
772-5922. 

• CHRISTIAN COM- 
PUTERISTS— Christian pro- 
grams, a member's ex- 
change, a monthly newslet- 
ter, and discounts on com- 
puter supplies are available 
from the Elect Christian 
Computer Club. For details 
and a free issue of the 
newsletter, £ 3 C Electletter. 
write to the Elect Christian 
Computer Club, Department 
LAI, POB 31022, Chicago. IL 
60631-0022. 



CLUBS & NEWSLETTERS is a forum for letting BYTE readers know what 
is happening in the microcomputing community. Emphasis is given to elec- 
tronic bulletin-board services, club-sponsored classes, community-help projects, 
field trips, and other activities outside of routine meetings. 0/ course, we will 
continue to list new clubs, their addresses and contact persons, and other in- 
formation of interest. To list events on schedule, we must receive your infor- 
mation at least four months in advance. Send information to BYTE. Clubs 
& Newsletters. POB 372. Hancock. NH 03449. 



• TRIANGLE dBASE USERS 
GROUP— Members of a 
users group for dBASE II 
and III meet at 7:30 p.m. on 
the second Wednesday of 
each month in the Dreyfus 
Auditorium of the Research 
Triangle Institute in Research 
Iriangle Park, North Caro- 
lina. A bimonthly newsletter 
is available on CompuServe 
(70156.404). and a public- 
domain library of applica- 
tion disks is planned. An- 
nual dues are $10. Send a 
self-addressed, stamped 
envelope for a sample news- 
letter to Rich Slatta, Triangle 
dBASE Users Group, 2618 
Davis St.. Raleigh. NC 
27608. (919) 782-8926. 

• NEWSLETTER WITH 
FOCUS-Users of Lotus 
1-2-3 and Symphony can 
focus on applications with 
learn Mode, a mbnthly 
newsletter from Systems 
Consulting. Among its fea- 
tures are book reviews, solu- 
tions to problems, questions 
and answers, and updates 
on Lotus products. Article 
contributions are welcome. 
learn Mode is $30 for 12 
issues. Request a com- 
plimentary copy of the first 
issue from Systems Con- 
sulting, POB 982, Palo Alto, 
CA 94302, (415) 326-8605. 

• FRIENDLY USERS 

Business computer users in 
the Chicago metropolitan 
area form the Tandy Busi- 
ness Users Group, which 
meets on the third Wednes- 
day of each month. The 
monthly newsletter. T-BUG. 
contains a schedule of com- 
ing events, workshops, and 
forums, profiles, meeting 
notes, news releases, and 
product announcements. An- 
(continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 59 



o 



COMPUTERBANC 



GET SERIOUS, STOP PAYING HIGH PRICES NOW! 

THOUSANDS OF AVAILABLE ITEMS. CALL FOR COMPLETE PRICING. 



SYSTEMS 

IBM PC 

256K Two 360KB Disk Drives. Color 
Graphics/Monochrome Graphics board, 
Parallel Printer Port, Monochrome Display 
(Amber/Green). DOS 2.1. 
LIST PRICE $2950.00 — ONLY $2095.00 
SUPER XT 10 Meg Upgrade . . . $2795.00 
IBM AT 11% OFF 

IBM SOFTWARE 

LOTUS 1-2-3 $295.00 

LOTUS Symphony 449.99 

MICROPRO Wordstar 249.00 

ASCII Expro.ForIBM 125.00 

Wordstar Professional 359.00 

Infostar 249.00 

Mulimate 269.00 

MICROSOFTWord 229.00 

WordW/Mouse 279.00 

Multiplan 139.00 

Project 159.00 

ASHTONTATE Friday 179.00 

dBASEII 280.00 

dBASEIH 349.00 

Framework 359.00 

UFETREE SOFTWARE Volkswriter 119.00 

Volkswriter Deluxe 169.00 

FOX & GELLER Quickcode 139.00 

dUtil 59.00 

dGraph 149.00 

MICRORIM Rbase:4000 295.00 

PES Write 89.00 

File ..89.00 

Report 89.00 

Proof 79.00 

Access 79.00 

ENER6RAFHICS 269.00 

NORTON UTHinES 59.00 

IBM HARDWARE 

AST Six Pack Plus 64K 259.00 

MegaPIus II . : 259.00 

PC Net 1 Starter Kit 830.00 

QUADRAM Quadboard OK 219.00 

Quadcolor I or Microfazer 64K 205.00 

Quadlink 479.00 

MICROSCTENCE 

10MB Wnchester 799.00 

HERCULES Mono Graphics 329.00 

Color Card 199.00 

FIANTRONICS Colorplus 389.00 

STB Rio plus 64K 249.00 

Super Rio 259.00 

Graphix +11 NEW 309.00 

TEAC 55B 124.00 

55F 180.00 

TANDON TM100-2 179.00 

IBM Floppy 1.2 Meg CALL 

TALL GRASS 12MB W/Tape . . . . 2799.00 

RAM 64K upgrade 35.00 

RAM 256K upgrade 26.00 

MOUSE SYSTEMS Optical Mouse ... 189 
ALSO • XCOMP, FERSYST. ORCHID, 
TITAN AND OTHERS 

PRINTERS LETTER QUALITY 

BROTHER HR-15 375.00 

HR-25 629.00 

HR-35 859.00 

JUKI 6100 429.00 

NEC 2030 659.00 

2050 799.00 

3530 1229.00 

3550 1539.00 



PRINTERS DOT MATRIX 

STAR MICRONICS Gemini 10X . . . 259.00 

Gemini 15X 389.00 

EPSONRX-80 F/T 329.00 

FX-80 349.00 

FX-100 649.00 

LQ1500 1299.00 

OR3DATA92A 389.00 

93A 649.00 

B4A 949.00 

PANASONIC 1091 CALL 

TOSHIBA 1350-P 1399.00 

MONITORS 

AMDEK 300 129.00 

300A 145.00 

310A 169.00 

CoIorI+ 269.00 

Color II 459.00 

TAXAN Composite Amber 119.00 

121/122 149.00 

420 (RGB) 439.00 

415 (RGB) 489.00 

PRINCETON GRAPHICS HX-12 . . . 469.00 

SR-12 625.00 

MAX-12 189.00 

ZENITB ZVM-122 Amber 95.00 

ZVM-123 Green 95.00 

NEC 1201 Hi Res Green 125.00 

1205 Hi ResAmber 125.00 

1206 Green 85.00 

JC1215 Composite Color w/audio . .215.00 
JC1216 Color RGB 334.00 

MODEMS 

HAYES 1200 469.00 

1200B 389.00 

300 199.00 

Micromodem //e 219.00 

ANCHOR MarkX 109.00 

MarkXD 249.00 

Volksmodem 59.00 

NOVATION Smart Cat Plus CALL 

Access 1-2-3 419.00 

Apple Cat n 239.00 

J-Cat 99.00 

U.S. ROBOTICS PC Modem 365.00 

Pass word 349.00 

PROMETHEUS Promodem 1200 . . 329.00 

APPLE PRODUCTS 

MICRO SCI AZ drives 179.00 

RANA EUIE 1 219.00 

TEAC drive 189.00 

APPLE Compatible drive 169.00 

WESPER Interface 69.00 

BUFFERED 16K 139.00 

SYSTEM SAVER Fan 69.00 

MICROSOFT Premium //e 279.00 

Softcard CP/M 29.00 

Multiplan 129.00 

MAC Muliplan (Macintosh) 129.00 

Basic (Macintosh) 109.00 

APRICORN Serial Card 69.00 

Z-80 Card 59.00 

ASCII Express Professional 89.00 

MAXELL S/S 19.00 

D/S 27.00 

KOALA Touch Tablet 79.00 

HAYES Mach m JoySick 39.00 

THUNDERCLOCK 119.00 

MOCRTNGBOARD CALL 

APPLEMOUSE H 129.00 

VTDEXUltraterm 179.00 

80 COLUMN/64K Interf ace //e only 99.00 
80 COLUMN Card 11+ only 59.00 

WE SUPPORT THESE FINE SYSTEMS: 
AppU, Compag, IBM, Sanyo and many 
more 



TELEX #550757/ ANSWER BACK— COMFUTERBANK UD 



B 






Orders Only 
800/332-BANC 



OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA 



COMPUTERBANC 



16783 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, GA 92647 

714/841-6160 Inquiry 70 

n factory staled packages We guarantee all items for 30 days Within this period, defect?* merchandise n 



Cash or Cashiers check is required o 



CLUBS & NEWSLETTERS 



nual dues are $3 5 and in- 
clude a one-year subscrip- 
tion to the newletter. For an 
application and further 
details, write Carlos Hidalgo, 
T-BUG. 311 Long view Rd., 
Waukegan, IL 60087, (312) 
623-9661. 

• EXCHANGE ATARI NEWS 
The Atari Computer Club of 
the Palm Beaches produces 
a monthly newsletter, The 
Pokey Press, that features club 
news, pen pals, participating 
businesses, news from 
shows, and software and 
product reviews, and 
welcomes the exchange of 
newsletters with other Atari 
groups. Contact Jim Wood- 
ward, Atari Computer Club 
of the Palm Beaches, Apt. 
B-101, 15993 Southwest 8th 
Ave., Delray Beach. FL 
33444. 

• SPECIALIZED NEWS FOR 
ACADEME— Theories in the 
field of word processing are 
addressed in Research in Word 
Processing Newsletter, a nine- 
month publication from the 
Liberal Arts Department of 
the South Dakota School of 
Mines and Technology. It 
functions as a clearinghouse 
of information relevant to 
computer-based writing in- 
struction at all educational 
levels and contains original 
research, article abstracts, 
bibliographies, and software 
evaluations. Article submis- 
sions are welcome. Contact 
The Editors, Research in Word 
Processing Newsletter, Liberal 
Arts Department, South 
Dakota School of Mines and 
Technology, Rapid City, SD 
57701-3995. 

• FOR NEW VENTURES 

A monthly newsletter, 
CompuNenture, contains soft- 
ware reviews and informa- 
tion on how to make money 
using your microcomputer. 
Subscriptions are $20 a 
year. Contact Microcomputer 
Software & Consultants, POB 
1039, Mount Vernon, NY 
10550. 



• MORE FOR ENCORE 
Encore 100 and 200. two 
software-based portable net- 
work analyzers that are 
designed for data-communi- 
cations monitoring, diag- 
nostics, and emulations, now 
have a users group spon- 
sored by its manufacturer, 
Digitech Industries. A 
newsletter, \Lncore Com- 
municator, serves to solve 
user problems or print user 
programs. Application engi- 
neers answer hardware and 
software questions and 
supply needed information. 
To receive a business-reply 
registration form, contact 
Joseph Luciano, Digitech In- 
dustries Inc., 66 Grove St., 
POB 547, Ridgefield, CT 
06877, (203) 438-3731. 

• COMMODORE IN SILVER 
The Silver State Commodore 
Users Group of Las Vegas, 
Nevada, meets at 7:30 p.m. 
Wednesday nights at the 
local YMCA. The $4 per 
month dues entitle members 
to vote and to copy any of 
35 public-domain programs. 
Though most members use 
Commodores, the group is 
not limited to a particular 
computer. The club offers 
ongoing classes in BASIC, 
program demonstrations, 
and assistance. Contact 
Karen Douglas, Silver State 
Commodore Users Group, 
POB 81075, Las Vegas, NV 
89180. 

• FOR THE FORTUNE 

Users of the multiuser 
Fortune 32:16 can join 
/u/fortune, a group that 
meets in Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts, on the first 
Thursday of each month. 
Meetings include presenta- 
tions of new software, small 
group discussions, and user 
support. A monthly newslet- 
ter is produced. For com- 
plete information, contact 
Josh Lobel or Mark 
Palmerino, /u/fortune. Suite 
28, 20A Prescott St.. Cam- 
bridge, MA 02138. (617) 
876-4763. ■ 



• Copyright 1964 COMPUTERBANC AD Rights Reserved 



When all else 

fails. 



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Dysan is a registered trademark of Dysan Corporation. © 198-1, Dysan Corporation. 



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Inquiry 98 



Flexible Diskette 







Sooner or 
later, you'll have 




to 
this computer 

— Nem. 






PC MAGAZINE' 



»M^ 



\5 



1984 



1 Do V oU get " 



*ss£SZxg*Z-~ 



erf 



teb 



Better sooner. 



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Computers don't ever get 
headaches. 

But the people who use 
computers do. 

Quite clearly, as PC Magazine 
spells out, that's not the only 
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In case you're tempted to dis- 
miss this as trivial, there are two 
things you should be aware of: 

First, more than twenty states 
are already preparing legislation 
to force some improvements. 

Second, if computer users 
suffer, so does business. 

Because computers are only as 
fast and accurate as the people 
who operate them. 

You are not a machine. 

Computers are designed by 
engineers. 

They usually know a lot about 
technology but very little about 
people. 

Which is why so many com- 
puters are technically impressive 
but strangely unnatural to use. 

Ericsson, in 



Computer-induced 
problems (%) 



Eye strain 

Back pain 

Headaches 

Shoulder 

Hand/wrist 

Neck pain 

(Source: "Ergonomic 

Principles in Office 

Automation" Pub. 

1983 by E.I.S. AB, 

Sweden.) 



55% 
43% 
30% 
25% 
18% 
15% 



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together. 

Here are some of the results. 

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Ergonomics gets rid of the cause. 

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You can even have characters 
and graphics on the same screen. 



its very Swedish 
way, has al- 
ways believed 
that excellent er- 
gonomic design 
isn't a privilege. 
It's a right. 
That it isn't 
a noble ges- 
ture but demon- 
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! 




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The keys are full-size and the 
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ERICSSON 



IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines Corp. 



Inquiry 108 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 63 




©Sanyo 555-2's 
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Systems no more. Of course, we srill include more free software like (1 ) Sketch. (2) 1 5 Gomes, 
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rhe best price for the 555-2. os well os the other models. 

Plus if you mention this od when you buy your Sonyo from Scotrsdole you con buy on RS-232 
port or on extro 1 28K of RAM ot the some time for o mere $69. 

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with 256K. keyboard, and video cord for: 



Closeout 
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Were rhisnot enough, each Fox comes with the best free software bundle in the business 


including: 






MS-DOS 2.1 1 


5ketch 


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PD Disk 


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$1717 



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If you didn't think your 

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ond we'll rush you a brochure that will tell you how it con. 

ColorFox $1688 



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\ / 



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FD55B (360K) $139 

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We participate in arbitration for business and customers through the Better 
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SINCE 1980 



DIAB 



TELEMARKETING ONLY: If you plan fo visit please call first far an appointment 
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Visa. Mastercard add 3%. Az. residents odd 6%. Prices subject to change, 
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All items listed ore new with manufacturers warranty, 0-20% restocking fee for 
returned merchandise. Shipping extra-products are F.O.D. paint of shipment. 
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64 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



BOOK REVIEWS 



ALAN TURING: 
THE ENIGMA 
Andrew Hodges 
Simon & Schuster 
New York: 1983 
600 pages, $24.95 

COMPUTER GRAPHICS 

PROGRAMMING 

Gunter Enderle. Klaus 

Kansy, and Giinther Pfaff 

Springer-Verlag 

New York: 1984 

560 pages, $39 

DATA STRUCTURES AND 
PROGRAM DESIGN 
Robert L. Kruse 
Prentice-Hall 

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1984 
486 pages, $29.95 




ALAN TURING: 
THE ENIGMA 
Reviewed by 
G. Michael Vose 

And thus it was that . . . 
thinking in his spare 
time, an English homo- 
sexual atheist mathematician . . . conceived of the com- 
puter." This startling claim is at the heart of the first ma- 
jor biography of Alan Mathison Hiring (1912-1954), a man 
whose legacies include the Hiring machine and the Hiring 
test. Andrew Hodges has uncovered the genius of this 
complicated man and recorded the evolution of his ideas 
within the unique context of the tumultuous times in which 
he lived. Hodges's fascinating study adds new informa- 
tion to the history of computer science, counters its all- 
American bias, and claims a rightful place for the eccen- 
tric Alan Hiring. 

Revising history is a risky endeavor. The task demands 
rigorous scholarship and the courage to successfully 
challenge the assumptions of the past. Hodges's Alan 
Hiring: The Enigma brims with painstaking research and em- 
phatic interpretation. No less an authority than the New 



York Times (December 4, 
1983, section 7, page 80) 
has labeled this volume a 
work of major literary 
importance. 

This praise derives from 
the wealth of ideas ex- 
posed and illuminated in 
the book, from lucid discus- 
sions of complex mathe- 
matics to revelations about 
the secret cryptography 
work accomplished by Hir- 
ing and others during World 
War II. Through this work, 
the fortunes of war con- 
tributed significantly to the 
creation of the British 
computer. 

In Bletchley Park, a 
London suburb, the cryp- 
tography group worked to 
decipher codes generated 
by the German army's 
Enigma machine. While 
Turing's inventiveness was 
instrumental in breaking 
these codes, his life was full 
of naive contradictions, 
similar in nature to the 
Nazis' refusal to believe 
that the codes of their 
cipher machine could ever be broken. 

Hodges is sympathetic to the idea that the Allied vic- 
tory in WWII hinged on the battle in the Atlantic in which 
Hitler's U-boats tried to isolate Britain by cutting off her 
sea supply routes to the West. Here, the breaking of the 
Enigma codes made the difference between victory and 
defeat because deciphering German naval messages 
helped transatlantic convoys avoid the U-boat wolf packs. 
But it is Hodges's contention that 'Hiring came up with the 
major formulations of modern computer science that 
makes this biography so significant. 

Of course, the Universal machine (now known as the 'Hir- 
ing machine) that 'Hiring conceived in 1 93 5 and described 
in a 1936 paper called "On Computable Numbers, with 
an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem" has rightf ul- 

{continued) 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 65 



Inquiry 358 



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IBM is a trademark of I.B.M. Corp. 



BOOK REVIEWS 



ly taken its place as a seminal computer science idea. It 
was central to Turing's lifelong inquiry into the idea that 
machines could be intelligent. However, his later, little- 
publicized ideas about how computing machines might 
work form the bulk of the biographer's most interesting 
revisions to the historical record. 

During his Enigma-deciphering work, Hiring designed 
and helped construct a machine called the Bombe, an 
electromechanical device that calculated the permutations 
of the Enigma's enciphering rotors. It used relays as 
switches and was a specialized, high-speed calculating 
machine. Turing's work on the Bombe enabled others in 
the Bletchley Park group to develop the Colossus, the 
machine that some historians consider the first computer. 
The Colossus began service in December of 1 943, but Hir- 
ing played no part in its design or construction. In con- 
ceiving and building the Bombe, however, and later 
machines like the Delilah (a telephone-voice enciphering 
device), Hiring began fermenting the ideas that he would 
later develop to construct a version of his Universal 
machine. 

The distillation of these ideas appeared in "Proposed 
Electronic Calculator." a late- 1 94 5 report prepared in con- 
junction with his new responsibilities as senior scientific 
officer with the Mathematics Division of the National 
Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Bushy Park, 'feddington. In 
this report, Hiring laid out plans to construct a machine 
later named the ACE (automatic computing engine), a proj- 
ect in response to the American scientific community's 
efforts to build a digital computing machine. The plan 
outlined the construction of a true automatic electronic 
digital computer with internal program storage, a fully devel- 
oped scheme broader in scope than those conceived by 
John von Neumann and others. But to Hiring it was an old 
idea. 

An Innovator 

The stored-program concept was a natural one to Hiring 
because it was essentially the same idea that he 
developed in connection with the "instructions on paper 
tape" idea that was central to his Universal machine. The 
ACE report described how the stored-program concept 
would apply to a computer. The report's discussion of how 
the machine's instruction tables would be created leads 
to Hodges's claim that lUring ". . . invented the art of com- 
puter programming." This art, in Hiring's words, would find 
that "Instruction tables will have to be made up by math- 
ematicians with computing experience and perhaps a cer- 
tain puzzle-solving ability." Hiring later wrote routines, in 
conjunction with J. H. Wilkinson (see the interview on page 
177), to perform floating-point arithmetic that enabled pro- 
grammers to multiply two numbers without knowing what 
was really happening inside the machine, thus presaging 
the development of high-level languages. His notes for the 
ACE report talk about "subsidiary" routines and about 
"burying" and "unburying" an area of memory contain- 
ing information vital to a program returning from a sub- 



66 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 40 



BOOK REVIEWS 



sidiary routine. (This is known today as "pushing" and 
"popping" the stack.) He even envisioned the use of 
remote terminals, claiming that "It would be quite possi- 
ble to arrange to control a distant computer by means 
of a telephone line." 

Although he left the NPL before the ACE machine was 
built because he was unable to deal with the politics of 
bureaucracy, 'Hiring nonetheless walked through the front 
door of British computing. Taking up the post of Deputy 
Director, Royal Society Computing Laboratory at Man- 
chester University, he arrived in time to witness the fru- 
ition of the other English attempt to build a computer. 
Driven by the efforts of M.H.A. Newman (a former pro- 
fessor of 'IUring's and the first reader of "Computable 
Numbers") and Cambridge mathematician M.V. Wilkes, the 
university assembled a team of wartime electronics engi- 
neers and Bletchley Park mathematicians to work on de- 
veloping a computing machine. The major difference be- 
tween the Manchester machine and IUring's ACE was the 
type of memory used. The ACE used acoustic delay lines 
made of thin tubes filled with mercury, capped on each 
end by piezoelectric crystals. A signal traveling between 
crystals through the mercury was "stored" for a microsec- 
ond. The Manchester machine used electrostatic tubes, 
primarily cathode-ray tubes that stored information as a 
charged phosphor, refreshed every millisecond, on the 
tube's screen. 

Less encumbered by bureaucratic entanglements than 
the NPL, the university's computer, later called the Mark 
I, executed its first program on June 21, 1948. 'Hiring 
became a programmer of the Mark I ; for the rest of his 
life, which presumably ended by his own hand a scant six 
years later, he worked on research that interested him but 
led to no significant discoveries. But during this time he 
exchanged ideas with other Manchester faculty members, 
including Michael Polyani, whose disdain for the idea of 
intelligent machines gave rise to the debate that spurred 
'IUring's creation of the test that later carried his name. 
The Hiring test was put forth in an article called "Com- 
puting Machinery and Intelligence" in the October 1950 
issue of Mind. Its now-famous central thesis was that if a 
machine's response to interrogation was indistinguishable 
from a human's, then the machine exhibited intelligent 
behavior. 

Hodges's treatment of the intellectual accomplishments 
of IUring's life is a major contribution. The book is a foun- 
tainhead of stimulating thought— discussing 'IUring's ideas 
on the determinism/free-will dialectic, for example— and 
historical minutiae. Hodges reveals, for example, that Mark 
I program code was written in base 32 arithmetic nota- 
tion, a modification of Baudot teleprinter conventions. Hir- 
ing found it easy to think in this notation and confused 
his colleagues by writing base 32 numbers on the 
blackboard when explaining an idea. A slash (/) was the 
symbol that represented the number in this notation and 
is the likely origin of today's convention of writing 0s with 

[continued) 



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FEBRUARY 1 985 • BYTE 67 







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BOOK REVIEWS 



a slash through them (also a good way to differentiate 
from the letter M 0"). Hiring was also fascinated throughout 
his life by the natural occurrences of flower petals, fir-cone 
florets, and sunflower seeds in a Fibonacci number 
sequence. 

Aside from its contributions to the historical record this 
book is a fascinating human story. Turing's disdain of social 
conventions, his lack of social graces, and his individuali- 
ty brought him both pleasure and pain. Though not a psy- 
chological history, Alan Hiring: The Enigma explores the 
human side of the man who gave life to some remarkable 
ideas. Equally important, the study remains aware of the 
role played by the circumstances of a man's life in the 
development of his thought. Turing's ideas could have 
taken a much different tack were it not for a world war 
and a German cipher machine. 

The major unanswered question about Alan Hiring is 
why he took his life. There was a homosexual scandal, 
resulting in a conviction for violation of sexual decency 
laws, and a subsequent agonizing year of drug treatment 
with female hormones. But his suicide came a full year 
after the end of the treatments and probation for his of- 
fense. Hodges closes his book with a 1 5-page discussion 
of government debates about excluding homosexuals 
from sensitive scientific and research posts for fear of their 
susceptibility to blackmail and coercion. But he never 
satisfactorily answers the question, Why suicide? Turing's 
mother never accepted this verdict, claiming that Alan's 
death was accidental. If Hodges explored the other 
possibilities, he doesn't reveal his findings. 

Though minor, there is one flaw in this book: it is 
plagued with editing and typographical errors, no doubt 
a result of the complexity of the manuscript. Anyone in- 
terested in the idea of intelligent machines should have 
no problem overlooking these errors. The book is never- 
theless a major work in the history of computer science. 
Well indexed and containing 28 pages of bibliographic 
notes, it is a valuable resource for information about the 
people who created the technology and the papers they 
wrote describing their ideas. 

G. Michael Vose is BYTE's senior technical editor for theme articles. 
He can be contacted at POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449. 



COMPUTER GRAPHICS 

PROGRAMMING 

Reviewed by Judith L. Maggiore 



The Graphical Kernel System (GKS) is the international 
standard for computer-graphics software. Computer 
Graphics Programming is an important addition to the stan- 
dard document defining GKS because it explains concepts, 
examples, and figures that could not be included in the 
standard document. Gunter Enderle, Klaus Kansy, and 
Gunther Pfaff are in a good position to write about that 

[continued] 



68 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry I5 2 



WHY INVEST $90 IN MODULA-2? 

BECAUSE YOU'RE COMPETING WITH PEOPLE 

WHO BELIEVE THE BEST PROGRAMMING METHOD 

IS THE ONE THEY ALREADY KNOW. 



Whoever decided to make the 
switch from Roman Numerals to a 
more efficient notation for doing 
arithmetic should be a hero. His 
friends probably reacted as if he'd 
asked them to learn a whole new 
language. We think you'll see the 
parallel with Modula-2, especially 
after you try it. 

Niklaus Wirth, creator of Mod- 
ula-2, asserts that Modula- 2 is an 
abstract tool for the control of com- 
puting machinery: "In my opinion, 
the term programming language 
is ill chosen and misleading. Pro- 
gram notation would be eminently 
more appropriate." 

We're not proposing that you learn 
a "new language." That would be like 
arguing the merits of English versus 
French. But it does make sense to 
avail yourself of the most efficient 
known technology for controlling 
computing machinery -- while your 
competition is left in the dark ages. 

Compared to Modula-2, whatever 
program notation you're now using 
is like doing your arithmetic in 
Roman Numerals. 

In this limited space, we won't try 
to prove that Modula-2 is the best 
available competitive tool for the 
serious computer entrepreneur. 
"Such matters," according to Frank 
Herbert (DUNE), "can only be 
tested in the crucible of survival, not 
in the play of symbols." 

The question is, for $90, can you 
afford not to test our claim? No other 
company in history has made it as 
easy for you to do business. Our 
entire object-program licensing 
agreement is on this page. 

So put some distance between 
yourself and those who believe the 
best programming method is the one 
they already know. 



MODULA-2 COMPILERS FOR IBM PCs, 
MACINTOSH, LISA AND APPLE lis - $90 

Modula-2 compiler and interpreter with 
enhanced, bit-mapped graphics are available 
for Apple's Lisa, Macintosh and II computers; 
IBM's PC, XT and compatibles (MS-DOS 
2.0); and others to be announced. 

ABOUT MACMODULA-2™ 

MacModula-2 is what 128KB Macintosh 
users have been waiting for. Over 400 of the 
ToolBox ROM routines are supported , includ- 
ing pull-down menus,. multiple windows, 
multiple fonts, QuickDraw graphics, the 
ROM-based serial driver, the sound driver, 
mouse support, etc. The M-code interpreter 
reduces memory requirements for 128KB 
Mac systems, yet executes at up to 75% of 
native-mode speeds if extensive use is made 
of the ROM routines. 

Also included with MacModula-2 is a full- 
screen, mouse-driven editor, a Transfer Menu 
facility that reduces the need for returning to 
the desktop between compiles, links and 
edits, and a Resource Maker that allows the 
entrepreneur to ship modifiable menus to 
customers, without shipping the actual Mac- 
Modula-2 source code. 

THE IDEAL MODULA-2 ENGINE 

We'd love to introduce you to the Lilith. It's 
a workstation computer with bit-map graph- 
ics, three-button mouse and a bit-slice proc- 
essor. The Lilith was designed by the original 
Modula-2 team at the Swiss Federal Institute 
of Technology (ETH) as the ideal Modula-2 
engine. Over 200 have been placed into aca- 
demic and research environments. Now 
Modula Corporation makes a commercial ver- 
sion for your more demanding problems. 
Just call 800/UUTH2 to hear about customer 
benchmark reports. 



SOFTWARE LICENSE 

Join us In a commitment to personal integ- 
rity. Our prices are fair. Unlike program license 
agreements you can't help but violate, we've 
tried reTHINKing a few things. Perhaps we 
can start a trend that makes violation of 
another's intellectual property unfashiona- 
ble. Without ali the "whereas" and "herewith" 
language, here's our attempt to transfuse 
integrity into the entrepreneurial bloodstream: 

You agree to treat the information wesendyouas if it were a book, 
with the exception that you are granted the right to make backup 
copies. Simple, Pournelle logic! 

lnthespiritofthe"book"analogy,youarefreetotakeyourbookto 
another house (or computer) with you. This, of course, means 
someone at your own house (or computer) cannot simultaneously 
read it. Similarly, you can loan your book to a friend. But there can be 
no possibility you can read it at the same time. You may sell your 
book, only if the new owner agrees to these same conditions (which 
means a copy of this agreement, signed by the new owner, must be 
sent to us). Finally, just as in a book, it lacks integrity to substitute 
your name for that of the legitimate author. 

As for our warranties: Defective software may be returned within 
thirty days for a replacement. But just like any other self-help book, 
its value to you is what you make of it. No matter how badly it 
damages your life, or that of your customers, we're not obligated to 
do anything whatsoever about it. 

Now, it's time to play "How'd- you-like-to- 
see-something-rea//y -scary?" When you 
send us your check or credit card authoriza- 
tion, enclose this page (or a copy) with an 
original signature. Violate this agreement of 
integrity, and you'll get a doozer of a course in 
integrity at the claws of our attorneys; and 
they'll tell your mother. 



MODULA 

CORPORATION 



reTHINK 



1673 West 820 North, Provo, UT 84601 
801/375-7400 or 800/ULITH2 



In addition to information on the Lilith, please send me the Modula-2 Compiler at $90 for the D IBM PC or XT, or the Apple D lis, □ 

Lisa or the D Macintosh. 

Utah residents include 6% sales tax. 

$10 handling and postage for all orders. 

$ : Total amount enclosed/authorized. 

My signature below, besides being a possible credit card authorization, indicates my agreement to all the above terms. 

□ My check is enclosed. 

□ Please bill my □ VISA / □ MASTERCARD 



Card number 




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Title 


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City 



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Inquiry 224 



Copyright © 1985 by Modula Corporation. IBM'" IBM Corp., Apple'" Apple Computer Inc., MS™ Microsoft., Advertising by The Rick Bennett Agency, 408/258-1 

FEBRUARY K 



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BOOK REVIEWS 



standard because they have been involved in its design 
and review for several years. 

The history of computer graphics has been one of frag- 
mentation and separation. The subject is broad, covering 
areas including computer-aided design (CAD), business 
graphics, mapping, video games, and more. Each area had 
its own preferred hardware for displaying pictures. CAD 
applications used vector-refresh devices, while business 
graphics used storage tubes and pen plotters. The intro- 
duction of raster devices led to even more diversity. Soft- 
ware was tailored to take advantage of the capabilities of 
a particular device. As well as being device-dependent, 
computer-graphics software was also application- and sys- 
tem-dependent. There was little relation between the soft- 
ware used to design circuits and the software used to draw 
histograms. This situation meant that graphics programs 
were useful only for the application, operating system, and 
device for which they were specifically designed. 

As graphics devices became less expensive, more peo- 
ple discovered computer graphics. The advantages of be- 
ing able to display data as pictures are obvious. Once the 
prohibitive cost was removed, computer-graphics users 
proliferated. These new users of computer graphics were 
not interested in designing whole new systems— they were 
interested in using computers to draw pictures. 

At this point, the field was ripe for a standard. The de- 
velopment of this standard began in the mid 1970s, with 
many organizations participating. In the United States, 
standardization was initiated in 1974 by the Association 
for Computing Machinery's Graphics Standards Planning 
Committee, part of the special-interest group on computer 
graphics. This work was taken over by ANSI (American Na- 
tional Standards Institute) committee X3H3, one of the 
major contributors to the review of GKS. The work of all 
the committees in various countries was consolidated 
under the auspices of the international Standards 
Organization (ISO) and eventually led to the development 
of GKS. The authors estimate that there were 50 man-years 
of effort devoted to the development of the graphics 
standard. 

Computer Graphics Programming has something for every- 
one. The novice to computer graphics will find the defini- 
tions of graphical terms and concepts very valuable. Ex- 
perienced graphics users and experts will find the book 
the best help available for understanding GKS. Applica- 
tions programmers who plan to use an implementation 
of GKS will probably use this text daily as a reference. Im- 
plementors of GKS will find the sections on device and 
language interfaces and implementation styles invaluable. 
Students and teachers on either the undergraduate or 
graduate level can use Computer Graphics Programming as a 
text or reference for a course in computer graphics. 

Well Organized 

The authors have organized this book very well. Section 
I contains an overview of the standard's general concepts 

[continued) 



c . • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 130 




The first 3-in-One printer with a good head for 
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The Toshiba P1351 is the ultimate 3-in-One 
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Intelligence that's unlimited. The Toshiba 
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It also gives you the ability to down- 
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all stored on floppy disk. And | 
you get programming access 
to five typefaces at any time. 




Intelligence that's letter-perfect. Our unique 
print head gives you letter-quality results from any 
typeface you choose. And with Qume SPRINT 5™ 
emulation, the Toshiba P1351 can give you those 
results from almost every popular word processing 
program. Of course, it's fully IBM-compatible. And 
there's even an optional forms tractor or sheet 
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Intelligence and speed. You wont have to 
sacrifice speed for letter-quality printing. Because 
the Toshiba P1351 gives you the best of both. 
Sharp, clean letter copy at 100 cps. And even 
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Intelligent and dependable. The Toshiba 
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So make the intelligent move. To the 

Toshiba P1351, the first 3-in-One 

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^ graphics. And everything else. 

J^ For more information, call 

> 1-800-457-7777, Operator 32. 



Lotus and 1-2-3 aie trademarks o1 Lotus Development 
Corporation. SPRINT 5 is a trademark of Qume Corporation. 



In Touch with Tomorrow 

TOSHIBA 

TOSHIBA AMERICA. INC.. Information Systems Division 



Inquiry 314. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 71 



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72 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




Advice. Price. 



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America's PC Specialist. 




IBM is a registered trademark oflnternacional Business Machines Corporation. AT&T, Leading Edge, Mindset, Microsoft, Mouse Systemsand their products, respectively, are trademarks 
^of AT&T Information Systems, Leading Edge Products Inc., Mindset Corporation, Microsoft Corporation and Mouse Systems Corporation. All Prices arc subject to change without notice. 

Ft. Lauderdale, Louisville, Tyson's Corner, Rockville, Pittsburgh. 



Inquiry 211 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 73 



Inquiry 293 



Sp 



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SOFTWARE 

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BOOK REVIEWS 



and vocabulary. The precise and clear definitions of graph- 
ical terms and concepts presented in this section should 
go a long way toward clarifying the vocabulary we need 
to talk about computer graphics. These basic terms and 
concepts form the basis of the more formal description 
of GKS found later in the book. Included in this section 
are chapters on the principles and goals used in the design 
of GKS and the interfaces to GKS. Since GKS is designed 
to be device- and system-independent, it must be inter- 
faced on one side to a specific language and on the other 
to the graphical hardware. Chapter 6 is especially useful 
because here the authors provide concise definitions of 
all the main ideas used in GKS. These definitions are 
followed by chapters that supply additional detail and 
amplification about each concept. 

The second section describes the process of the devel- 
opment of the GKS standard. The authors sketch briefly 
the history of computer graphics and the events that led 
up to the final GKS document. The most interesting part 
of this section is chapter 3. which presents some of the 
issues the developers of GKS had to resolve. Arguments 
pro and con on each issue and the ultimate decision of 
the committee are discussed. 

Section III, the largest part of the book, is a detailed 
description of the functional capabilities of GKS. Enderle, 
Kansy, and Pfaff explain all the functions and data struc- 
tures relevant to GKS. 

The definitions of the functions are presented in two 
parts. First is the language-independent version, taken 
directly from the GKS standard document. Next is the 
FORTRAN definition. Following the function definitions are 
examples of programs or program fragments using GKS. 
The examples are presented in both Pascal and FORTRAN 
and very clearly show typical uses of GKS by applications 
programmers. The book also includes some exercises in- 
tended to help students and teachers. 

Section IV will be most useful to the implementors of 
GKS. those people who will write the subroutine package 
that makes GKS available to applications programmers. 
This section covers methods of implementation, imple- 
mentation styles, interfaces to devices, and interfaces to 
specific languages. A mapping of the abstract data struc- 
tures of GKS to FORTRAN data structures is included. 
Other topics in this section are graphics metafiles, valida- 
tion of GKS implementations, and three-dimensional ex- 
tensions to GKS. 

Evaluation 

This book clarifies an area that is often confusing and 
obscure. Tferms and concepts are excellently presented. 
Anyone seriously involved in the use of GKS will find this 
book invaluable. 

More pictures and illustrations should have been in- 
cluded. A book on computer graphics needs lots of pic- 
tures. The second problem is minor. The use of the English 
language seems awkward at times. 

[continued) 



74 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 335 





What C did for Programming 
Mark Williams has done for C Programming 



"86 I in 
aJ a t 



The C Programming System 
from Mark Williams 



MWC86 gets your C programs run- 
ning faster and uses less memory space 
than any other compiler on the market. 
Then csd, Mark Williams' revolutionary 
C Source Debugger, helps you debug 
faster. That's The C Programming S 
tern from Mark Williams Company 

MWC86 

MWC86 is the most highly optimized 
C compiler available anywhere for the 
DOS and 8086 environment.The bench- 
marks prove it! They show MWC86 is 
unmatched in speed and code density. 

MWC86 supports large and small 
models of compilation, the 8087 math 
coprocessor and DOS 2.0 pathnames. 
The compiler features common code 
elimination, peephole optimization and 
register variables. It includes the most 
complete libraries. Unlike its competi- 
tion, MWC86 supports the full C lan- 
guage including recent extensions such 
as the Berkeley structure rules, voids, 
enumerated data types, UNIX* I/O calls 
and structure assignments. 

Quality is why Intel, DEC and Wang 
chose to distribute MWC86. These in- 
dustry leaders looked and compared 
and found Mark Williams to be best. 

User Friendly 

MWC86 is the easiest to use of all 
compilers. One command runs all 
phases from pre-processor to assembler 
and linker. MWC86 eliminates the need 
to search for error messages in the back 
of a manual. All error messages appear 
on the screen in English. 

A recent review of MWC86 in 
PC World, June, 1984, summed it up: 



*Unix is a Trademark of Bell Laboratories. 



"Of all the compilers reviewed, MWC86 
would be my first choice for product 
development. It compiles quickly, prop 
duces superior error messages, and, 
generates quick, compact object code. 
The library is small and fast and close- 
ly follows the industry standard for 
C libraries." W^ 

csd C Source Debugger 

Mark Williams was not content to 
write the best C compiler on the mar- 
ket. To advance the state of the art in 
software development, Mark Williams 
wrote csd. 

csd C Source Debugger serves as a 
microscope on the program. Any C 
expression can be entered and evalu- 
ated. With csd a programmer can set 
tracepoints on variables and expressions 
with full history capability and can 
single step a program to find bugs. The 
debugger does not affect either code 
size or execution time, csd features 
online help instructions; the ability to 
walk through the stack; the debugging 
of graphics programs without disturb- 



ing the program under test; and evalu- 
ation, source, program and history 
indows. 

csd eases the most difficult part of 
development — debugging. Because 
csd debugs in C, not assembler, a pro- 
grammer no longer has to rely on old- 
fashioned assembler tools, but can 
work as if using a C interpreter — in 
real time. 



The C Programming System 
from Mark Williams now supports 
the following libraries: 

Library Company 



Windows (or C 


Creative Solutions 


Halo 


Media Cybernetics 


PHACT 


PHACT Associates 


The Greenleaf Functions 


Greenleaf Software 


Btrieve 


SoftCraft 



SIEVE 

Time in Seconds 
M Large Mode! 
■ Small Model 
Size in Bytes 
D Large Model 
Small Model 
1.2 




The C Programming System 
from Mark Williams 

The C Programming System from 
Mark Williams delivers not only the 
best C compiler for the 8086 but also 
the only C source level debugger. That's 
why it does for C programming what C 
did for programming. The Mark Wil- 
liams C Programming System gives the 
programmer the MWC86 C compiler 
and the csd C Source Debugger for 
only $495. Order today by calling 
1-800-MWC-1700. Major credit cards 
accepted. 

Technical support for The Mark Wil- 
liams C Programming System is pro- 
vided free of charge by the team that 
developed it. 



Mark Williams Company 

1430 W. Wrightwood Ave. 
Chicago, IL 60614 




Inquiry 197 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 75 



Inquiry 349 for Dealers. Inquiry 350 for End-Users. 



Powerful Single Board Computer 
Includes CP/M Plus™ on Disk 




$599 



New Items: 

• MSDOS Coprocessor 

• 68000 Copioa;ssof 

• 80X24 LCD Driver 

• H;ird/f?AM Disk 

• 3Vi Single Board 



Z80 CPU 

MSC-ICO uses the most popular microprocessor, the 
280. as its mam CPU. MSC-ICO runs at 4 MHZ without 
any wait States Tne wnolesystem is incorporated intoa 
high quality four layer PC board measuring only 145mm 
X 250mm f JO* x t"). The system requires only 12 Amps 
at + SVolisandOIAmpsat + 12 Volts. 

Banked CP/M Plus Included 
CP/M Plus 13 banked) is included on disk with all 
manuals CP/M Plus is upwardly compatible with CP;M 
2 2 and includes the SO debugger, the MAC and RMAC 
macro assemblers and the LINK-BO loader. MSC-ICO's 
custom BIOS provides suppoit lor multiple disk formats 
and I/O device control. System specific software for dtsk 
formatting, disk copying, defining function keys and 
modifying screen attributes is also included. 

I2BK0RAM 
One *4K bank of memory is devoted to CP/M and its 
disk cache blocks, while the other 64K bank is devoted 
to applications programs. This arrangement not only 
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increases the speed of disk I/O. 

Internal Floppy Disk Controller 
MSC-ICO handles Shugart/ANSI standard floppy disk 
drives in a variety of sizes and formats: 

• 8 - SSSD, 243Kb 
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Up to four drives of any density or sue can be con- 
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High Speed CRT Controller 
MSC-ICOcontams an 80 x 24linememorymappedCRr 
controller. Video output is composite or separate to 
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Cursor escape sequences are »n extension of DECS 
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standard terminals. 

CP/M fins'" ill Dq.ui Reie.wcn. inc 



Mountain 8lde Oomputer 

Video, 128Kb, CP/M Plus™, and more 

Two RS232C Ports 

MSC-ICO communicates with printers, modems, plot- 
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grammable for baud rates, stop bits, data format and 
parity. Synchronous communication on Port A is 
jumper selectable. 

Centronics Parallel Port 
A standard Centronics parallel port allows MSC-ICO to 
communicate with printers and other parallel devices 

Parallel Keyboard Port 
MSC-ICO connects to any ASCII parallel keyboard of 
positive or negative polarity with a negative strobe. A 
type-ahead buffer and programmable function keys are 
provided by MSC-ICO's custom BIOS. 

Ifi Bit TTL I/O Port 
This poit allows you to access printers, relnys, LED's. 
DAC's, ADC's, switches, EPROM programmers and 
many other devices, 

Clock Calendar 
The battery backed up clock calendar provides ume and 
date information to CP/M for Me stamping The clock 
can also be accessed from applications programs 

External Bus 
MSC-ICO's 50 pin bus connector provides expansion for 
a hard disk controller. RAM disk, graphics or a 68000 
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these options. 

MSC-ICO Saves Time and Money 
With MSC-ICO's low cost and quality worksmanship, 
why spend time, energy and money to design, debug 
and test your own system Whether you require single 
units or targe volume quantities we can meet your 
needs. Order your evaluation unit today! 




TIME 




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YOURNAME 


TITLE 


BUSINESS PHONE 


COMPANY NAME 


ADDRESS 


CITY 


STATE 


ZIP CODE 


COMPUTER MAKE AND MODEL 


TYPE OF BUSINESS 


NO. OF EMPLOYEES 


Depl. 164921 



BOOK REVIEWS 



It's too early to tell what effect GKS will have on the 
computer-graphics industry. It will be interesting to see 
how GKS stands up in light of recent developments. What- 
ever the future of GKS, it is a very important development 
now, and Computer Graphics Programming is indispensable to 
anyone wishing to understand and use GKS. 

}udith L. Maggiore programmed graphics for three years prior to 
teaching computer science classes and computer-graphics seminars at 
Keene State College (Mathematics DepL Keene, NH 0343 1). 



DATA STRUCTURES 
AND PROGRAM DESIGN 
Reviewed by Edward Brent 



The boundary between writing programs that merely 
get by and designing programs that perform complex 
tasks efficiently is one that many programmers never cross. 
Yet it is a boundary that is fundamental to the develop- 
ment of programming as a discipline. People who program 
by the seat of their pants and hold their programs together 
with the electronic equivalent of spit and baling wire must 
give way to trained programmers who develop finely 
crafted, efficient, and maintainable programming solutions 
to difficult problems. The selection and design of ap- 
propriate data structures and algorithms is a crucial ele- 
ment of professional-quality programming. The central 
role of data structures in professional programming is in- 
sightfully examined by Robert L. Kruse in Data Structures 
and Program Design. 

Audience 

In the preface Kruse indicates this book includes all the 
topics of specific courses recommended and offered by 
ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Curriculum 
78. The prerequisite for the book is a first course in pro- 
gramming, or equivalent experience, and elementary ex- 
perience with Pascal. 

I find the book suitable for a second course in computer 
programming. However, it could also be of value to pro- 
grammers not enrolled in a computer science course but 
interested in upgrading their programming skills. 

But the issues of selecting appropriate data structures 
should not be relegated to a second course on computing. 
Because the selection of data structures is such an im- 
portant aspect of quality programming, it should not be 
left for more advanced books. 

Kruse consistently highlights the distinction between 
abstract structures and their implementations. He begins 
by addressing the programming principles of top-down 
refinement, program design, and review and testing; he 
illustrates these principles with extended examples. 

In chapters 2 and 5, Kruse discusses the more impor- 
tant structures: stacks, queues, and other lists in both con- 
tiguous and linked representations and binary trees. He 

(continued) 



76 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 225 




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MORROW DESIGNS Pivot, M02, MD3. 




MD5, MDII < 


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WordStar, MailMerge, Multiplan.NBASIC). $1 1 49 


APC-1II Specials w/ printer & Software .... J 


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SOFTWARE 








ASHTON-TATE dBase Ill/Framework . 


. . . SCall 


PRENTICE HALL VCN ExecuVision . . 


. . . SCall 


REAL WORLD MBSI Accounting . . . 


. . . SCall 


LOTUS 1-2-3/Symphony 


$319/$Call 


MICROPRO WordStar 2000/Pro pack. 


. . . SCall 


MICRORIM R:Base 4000/Clout. . . . 


8285/SCall 


MICROSOFT Multiolan 


. . . $129 


SAMNA Word III. 




. . $375 


SATELLITE SOFTWARE WordPerfect . 


. . . SCall 


SOFTWARE PUBLISHING PFS Write . 


... $97 


CENTRAL POINT Copy II PC/PLUS . . 


... $29 


FOR APPLE ll/lle 






APPLE Maclntosh/lle SYSTEMS. . . 


. . . SCall 


ALSCP/MCard . .* 


. . . $279 


Smarterm II (80 Column Card) . . . 


. . . $129 


AST RESEARCH INC. Multi I/O Card . 


. . , SCall 


DIGITAL RESEARCH CP/M Gold Card w/64K . $339 


FOURTH DIMENSION 16K RAM Card . . 


... $55 


80 Column Card w/64K (lie Only) . 


. . . $129 


HAYES 




Micromodem He w/SmartCom 1 . . 


. . . $239 


Smartmodem 300/1200 


8199/8479 


INTERACT. STRU. PKASD Universal. . 


. . $125 


MICROSOFT Premium Softcard (He) . 


. . . SCall 


Softcard (Apple/Franklin) 


. . . $229 


MICROTEK Dumpling-GX 


... $69 


NOVATION 




J-Cat (Auto Drig/Answer. 300 Baud) 


$99 


Apple Cat II (300 Baud) 


. . . $209 


212 Apple Cat II (1200 Baud) .... 


. . . $389 


103/212 Smart Cat (1200 Baud). . . 


. . . $389 


ORANGE MICRO Grapples 


. . . $109 


Buffered Grappler+ (16K) 


. . . $169 


Grappler Interface for ImageWriter. 


. . . SCall 


PCPI Applicard 6 MHZ. 


. . . $249 


RANA Elite l/ll/lll 


. . . SCall 


TRANSEND ASID 




. . . $125 


Modemcard w/Source 


. . . $239 



MISCELLANEOUS 



RAM CHIPS 

64KSET SCall 256K SET .... SCall 

DOUBLE-SIDED DISKETTES 

"SKC(10boxmin)...$12" 

3M $30 

Maxell $30 

PRINT BUFFERS 
QUADRAM Microfazer 

Parallel/Parallel 

16K . . $139 64K. 

Serial/Serial, Serial/Parl, Parl/Serial 

BK. . . $145 16K. . . $155 64K , . $209 
INTERACTIVE STRUCT. Shuff leBuffer 32K . . . $269 
PRACTICAL PERIPHERALS Microbuffer 32K. . $209 



Dysan $31 

Verbatim $30 



$185 128K. $239 



^ ATARI 
RANA 1000.. $245 



SURGE PROTECTORS 

EPD/CURTIS All models SCall 

NETWDRX Wire Tree/Wire Tree Plus. . 845/860 

ULTIMA SF-600 839 

EMERGENCY POWER SYSTEMS 

TrippLite BC200-10 (battery incl) $270 

TrippLite BC425-FC (425 Watts) $429 

SOLA ELECTRIC Mini UPS SCall 



CUSTOMER SERVICE 



401-781-0020 



ORDERS ONLY 



800-843-4302 

150 Broadway, Suite 2212, N.Y., NY 10038 

HOURS 9-8 ECT/MON-SAT 

Money Order. Cashier's Ck. Personal Ck (2 Weeks To Clear). 

APO Orders Add 6% (minimum S7). Add 3% For Net Terms. 

All Returned Non-Defective Merchandise Are Subject To 

20% Restocking Charge. 

GenTech Reserves the Right to Change Advertised Prices. 



tXPttESS, 




Inquiry 120 



Inquiry 131 



HARM NY VIDEO & COMPUTERS 






2357CONEYISLANDAVE.,BROOKLYN,NY 11223 






TO ORDER CALL TOLL FREE 








800VIDEO84 OR 718-627-1000 OR 800-441-1144 








IBM PC W/DRIVE 


APPLE 2C 


Jg 


$1299.95 




$869.95 






OKIDATA92 


GEMINI 10X 


^SZ > ^ r 




$349.95 




$226.95 








"PRINTER SPECIALS 


* 




Okidata92 


350 


Radix 15 


567 


Panasonic KXP 1091 


259 


Okidata93 


551 


Radix 10 


481 


Panasonic KXP 1090 


201 


Epson RX80 FT 


291 


Powertype 


280 


Silver Reed EXP 550 


382 


Epson RX80 


229 


Daisywriter 


•774 


Silver Reed EXP 500 


286 


Epson RX100 


387 


BrolherHR15 


339 


Silver Reed EXP 770 


742 


Epson Fx80 


392 


Brother HR25 


572 


Nee 3550 


1299 


Epson FX100 


598 


Brother HR35 


784 


Nee 2050 


847 


Epson LQ1500 


1039 


Keyboard 


122 


OlympiaRO 


312 


Toshiba 1351 


1208 


Riteman Blue + 


279 


Nee 7730 


1843 


Delta 10 


329 


Diablo620API 


684 


Nec7715 


1843 


Delta 15 


456 


Mannesman Spirit 80 


233 


OKI84 


836 


Gemini 10X 


227 


Mannesman 160L 


530 


Panasonic KXP 1093 


567 


Gemini 15X 


339 


Juki6100 


371 


Panasonic KXP 1092 


382 


Toshiba 1340 


678 


Pana3151 


509 


Okl83 


546 


Diablo 630 API 


1431 


Dynax DX15 


350 


OklmatelO 


138 


Quadjet 


721 


MNNSMN 180L 


742 


Silver Reed EXP400 


233 


Anadex 9625B 


1034 


NEC 8850 


1754 


HP Laser Jet 


3021 


Epson QX10 


1712 


Pinwriter P3 


848 


Citizen MSP10 


350^^ 



WOW! 



APPLE 




2E w/Disk Drive 


859 


Macintosh 


1689 


Apple 2C 


869 


Imagewriter 


486 


Addt. Drives from 114 


COMMODORE 


Commodore64 


177 


1541 Disk Drive 


204 


1702 Monitor 


208 


MPS801 Printer 


179 


1526 Printer 


215 


ATARI 




800 XL 


107 


1027 Printer 


219 


1050 Drive 


159 


Indus. Drive 


279 


1025 Printer 


169 


SANYO 




550S.S. 


648 


550D.S. 


659 


555 D.S. 


949 ■ 


555S.S. 


839 


CRT30 


99 | 



IBM 

PCw/Drive 

PC XT 

PC Portable w/Drive 

PCjr. 

Color Card 

Monocrome Card 

IBM Monitor (GRNh 

Tecmar Captain 64K 

AST Six Pack 

Tallgrass20 Meg 

Quad Board 

Paradise 

Keytronics 

Hercules Color 

Hercules Monochrome 

Plantronics 

STBGraphix 

PC w/10 Meg Hard Dr. 

Bemoult Box 

10 Meg Drive 

Teac 1/2 Ht 

Shugarl 1/2 Ht 

1/2 Ht 



1299 
2499 
1499 
459 
144 
159 
199 
249 
229 
2399 
224 



2399 
1999 



800-441-1144 



ZENITH 

Zenith PC 2150 1631 

Zenith PC 15152 2076 

MONITORS 

Amdek 300 Green 114 

Amdek 300 Amber 124 

310Amber 

Color 300 

Color500 

Cotor600 

Color 700 

Color710 

Zenith Green 

Taxan210 

PrlnctonHX12 

Taxan122A 

Taxan 420 



MODEMS 

Hayes 1200 
Hayes 1200B 
Hayes 300 
Micromodem 2E 
Access 123 
Novation J-cat 



229 
324 
384 



139 
369 



435 
382 



FRIENDLY SERVICE AT A FRIENDLY PRICE 

Friendly Computer Center, Inc. 

1381 Coney Island Avenue. Brooklyn. New York 11230 



EPSON 



RX 80 


.225 


NEWRX-80 ft. Plus 

FX 80 


.289 
..369 




.599 


RX 100 


. .'389 


Titan 2 Board for OX-10 . 


...489 






APPLE 



APPlf HE Entry System 

NEW APPLE DU0DISC DRIVE 
w/EXTENDEO 80 COLUMN CARD 
APPLE TILT MONITOR IN STOCK 

MACINTOSH CALL 

NEW APPLE lie 895 

DISK DRIVES-F0R IBM 

Teac'/jht. DS/DD 149 

Rana 2000 IBM 149 



ADD ON BOARDS 

FOR IBM 

AST Six Pack Plus 64K . . . 249.00 
Ouadram Expanded Ouadboard 

W/64K 259.00 

Hercules Graphics Board . 319.00 
Hercules Color Card w/Parallel 

Port 179.00 

Koala Speed Key System . 149.00 
Mouse Systems Mouse w/Mouse 
w/P.C. Paint and Menue . . 159.00 
Hayden Saragon III Chess. 34.90 
Microsoft Flight Simulator 1137.90 
Hayden Saragon III for Mac 39.90 

De Base III 349.00 

Framework 379.00 

SYMPHONY CALL 



MODEMS 



Hayes1200BIBM 


. 379.00 


Hayes 1200 RS232 


. 459.00 


Hayes 300 RS232 


. 195.00 




235.00 


HAYES 300 -for lie 


239.00 


New Hayes 2400 


. . CAII 


Racat-Vadic 1200 EXT-RS- 




232 


349.00 


Raca:-Vadic Internal w/George 


Software 


349.00 


CompuServe Starter Kit . 


. 28.95 


The Source Starter Kit . 


. CALL 


Grappler Bufferd Plus 16K 




w/cable 


149.00 



LETTER QUALITY PRINTERS 

ONE TIME SPECIAL 

LIMITED 0UANTITY 

C.IT0H — Leading Edge25cps 
15" Daisy Wheel ,*w 

$449 ,;>«* 



IBM® HAR0 DISK SYSTEM 
IBM® PC 256K 
10 MEG W/1 OS FLOPPY 
IBM MONO CARDS MONITOR 



$3249 



complete 



MONITORS 

Princeton HX-12 Graphics. 459.00 
New Amdek Color 300.... 259.00 
New Amdek Color 700-Ultra Hires 

RGB 499.00 

Amdek 310A ; 175.00 

Com rex 5650 Hires 12" 

Green 99.00 

Gorilla 12" Green 89.00 

PRINTERS 

Juki-6100 379.00 

Juki-6300 CALL 

Juki-Tractor 6100 99.00 

New Toshiba 1340 789.00 

Toshiba 1351 1295.00 



FOR MAIL ORDERS: Send Money Order. Certified Check, Mastercard. VISA gladly accepted. Add estimated price lor 

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Apple Is a registered trademark o I Apple Computer, Inc. IBM Is a registered trademark o f International Business Machines 



mnni 9rr c%ftnc% i po* information call 

.Mi?!"? 805 I (718)252-9737 

Friendly Computer Center, Inc. < 



BOOK REVIEWS 



covers more advanced applications of trees, including AVL 
(Adelson-Velskii and Landis) trees, contiguous represen- 
tation of binary trees, lexicographic search trees, and ex- 
ternal searching. There is no discussion of graphs. 

Kruse examines algorithms for searching, looking up 
tables, accessing hash tables, and sorting. He presents an 
in-depth study of recursion. The author works out large, 
complex programs in detail, and he develops programs 
to index text and to evaluate mathematical expressions. 

In the appendixes, Kruse discusses techniques from 
combinatorial mathematics for assessing algorithms 
analytically. He also covers methods for manually remov- 
ing recursion and presents standard syntax diagrams and 
tables for Pascal. 

Pascal and Clear Examples 

Kruse illustrates principles using Pascal programs that have 
been tested on several compilers. I endorse this strategy; 
others have used pseudolanguages. For people using 
Pascal, the book is eminently useful and educational. You 
can enter the programs and try your own modifications. 

The book contains many in-depth examples of applica- 
tions of data structures to programming problems. 
Realistic examples include Conway's game of Life, a text- 
indexing program, and a program that evaluates mathe- 
matic expressions. 

I lost count of the number of times I came across 
valuable nuggets of information or explanations that 
clarified concepts I had read about in other books but 
failed to understand. Where other authors simply use 
pointers, Kruse discusses how pointers can be created 
even in languages in which they are not implemented. 

It is apparent that much of Kruse's time preparing this 
text was spent trying it out on students, polishing the 
prose, and clarifying important points. This book stands 
head and shoulders above others in making difficult con- 
cepts understandable. 

Unfortunately, while Kruse covers most of the fundamen- 
tal data structures I expected, he does not include a 
chapter on graphs. Graphs are an important data struc- 
ture different enough from other data structures so as to 
require individual consideration. They have significant 
practical applications for scheduling programs, flow pro- 
grams, and trip planning. 

Data Structures and Program Design excellently covers data 
structures and algorithms for operating on them. Kruse 
is readable, covers topics in great depth, and does so 
without losing the reader. I recommend the book for a 
second course in any formal computer curriculum or as 
a resource and reference book for programmers who seek 
to improve their programming skills on their own. ■ 

Edward Brent, an associate professor of sociology and family and com- 
munity medicine (108 Sociology, University of Missouri. Columbia. 
MO 65211), has recently completed a post-doctorate fellowship in 
which he studied the role of data structures in artificial-intelligence 
programming. 



78 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 115 



et the Picture with 




PC-EYE is a high speed, 
high resolution video 
digitizer board that lets 
you capture anything you 
can see. 



Now you can open up a whole 
new dimension in data base 
applications by merging real-life 
pictures with popular data base 
management systems. Pictures 
of people, products, diagrams, 
maps, company logos — what- 
ever you want to photograph — 
can be integrated with your data 
base. Consider these typical 
applications: 

Security — verify those employees 
who have authorized clearance to 
limited access areas. A data base 
containing employee pictures and 
personnel records can be searched 
and displayed for visual 
verification. 

Signature Verification — increase 
the efficiency of credit checks by 
adding pictures of customer 
signatures to your financial data 
base records. 

Real Estate — add pictures of 
houses to on-line real estate 
listings for faster property identifi- 
cation and improved sales 
presentations. 

Electronic Cataloging — pictures 
of products can be combined with a 
data base system containing pro- 
duct specif ications, pricing, 
availability and much more. 



Customers, distributors and sales 
personnel can quickly search data 
and viewthe resulting product/ 
picture information on one screen. 
Files can be updated easily, 
quickly. 




CHORUS 



It's Easy 
With a simple keystroke, pop-out of 
your data base system and bltathe 
©JHOTOBASE menu. Capture 
images of text, photos, artwork an$ 
3-dimensional objects with an 
ordinary video camera and our 
high resolution PC-EYE™ video 
digitizer. Pop back into your data 
&as& system an® add the picture 
ngme to your data base like you 
would any other piece of 
information. The full functionality of 
the data base; system is preserved, 
brut the resulting display is text and 
picture information on one screen. 

Pictures are displayed in the upper 
right quadrant of the screen at a 
resolution of 320 x 200 with 16 
colors or levels of gray. Text 
information from data base records 
fills the rest of the screen. Pictures 
can also be exploded to full screen. 

Call or write and we will send you 
information on PHOTOBASE, 
PC-EYE, compatible cameras and 
other imaging equipment in the 
Chorus Family of products. 
(603) 424-2900 or 
1-800-OCHORUS. 

TM PHOTOBASE and PC-EYE are trademarks of 
CHORUS Data Systems. 
'dBase li is a trademark of Ashton-Tate; R-Base 
4000 is a trademark of Microhm, Inc.; IBM Filing 
Assistant is a trademark of International Business 
Machines Corporation. 

Inquiry 49 



CHORUS Data Systems, Inc., 6 Continental Blvd., P.O. Box 370, Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054 










SHE'S TEMPORARY 

THE DAMAGE IS PERMANENT. 



One wrong key. 

The slightest slip. 

And your accounts receivable 
are accounts irretrievable. 

It can happen to you-because 
a leading cause of data loss is 
human error. If you employ people 
and computers, youre vulnerable. 

Unless you backup your data. 

Every day. 

No matter what. 



The smartest way to do that 
is with a Tallgrass HardFile" 
Mass Storage System. 




Shownabove, the 20 megabyte HardFile 
with 20 megabyte tape for $2,995. 



TALLGRASS SELLS MORE 
HARD DISK STORAGE WITH 
CARTRIDGE TAPE BACKUP 
THAN ANYONE IN THE WORLD. 

Tallgrass took the industry's 
most reliable medium— magnetic 
tape— and perfected a format 
that's become the standard for 
personal computers. 

We used a removable tape 
cartridge to store data out of 



80 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




harm's way. And made two ver- 
sions. Our 3000 Series HardFiles 
combine tape's accuracy with 
the enormous capacities of hard 
disk, providing 12, 20, 35 or 70 
megabytes storage with a remov- 
able cartridge tape for backup. 
Our 4060 tape storage system, 
for personal computers with 
hard disks built in, supplies 60 
megabytes of backup capacity. 



Result: the world's best selling 
mass storage systems with the 
most reliable data protection. 

The only kind to have when 
facing a permanent problem. 

For a free brochure, your 
nearest dealer, and more 
good reasons to backup, 
call 1-800-228-DISK. And 
solve your problems 
permanently. 




TALLGRASS 
TECHNOLOGIES 

COMMITTED TO MEMORY 

Inquiry 307 



HardFile' - and Tallgrass** are trademarks of 

Tallgrass Technologies Corporation. c 1984 Tallgrass Technologies. 



X PROFESSIONAL'S CHOICE 



Lotus 
1-2-3 

<899 



Software 

Word Processing Editors 

EASYWRITER II 

SYSTEM 
FANCY FONT 
FINAL WORD 
MICROSOFT WORD 
MICROSOFT WORD 

W/MOUSE 
MULTIMATE 
PFS: WRITE 
SAMNA WORD III 
VOLKSWRITER 

DELUXE 
VOLKSWRITER 

SCIENTIFIC 
THE WORD PLUS 

(OASIS) 
WORDPERFECT 
WORDPLUS W/BOSS 
WORDSTAR 
WORDSTAR 2000 
WORDSTAR 2000+ 
WORDSTAR 

PROFESSIONAL 
XYWRITEIK 

Spreadsheets/ 
integrated Packages 

ELECTRIC DESK 

ENABLE 

FRAMEWORK 

LOTUS t-2-3 

MULTIPLAN 

OPEN ACCESS 

SMART SYSTEM 

SPREADSHEET 
AUDITOR 

SUPERCALC3 

SYMPHONY 

TKl SOLVER 



Lotus 
Symphony 

<419 


dBase III 

$339 


Framework 

$339 


MultiMate 

<859 


WordStar 
2000+ 

<319 



$219 
$139 
$189 
$239 

$289 
$259 
$95 
$Call 

$159 

$309 

$105 
$249 
$319 
$199 
$269 
$319 

$259 
$229 



$209 
$459 
$339 
$299 
$135 
$299 
$559 

$ 79 
$199 
$419 
$269 



Desktop 
Environments 

DESK ORGANIZER 
GET ORGANIZED 
SIDEKICK 
SPOTLIGHT 

Communications/ 
Productivity Tools 

CROSSTALK 
PROKEY 
RELAY 
SMARTCOM II 



Samna 
Word III. 

'CALL 



$129 
$159 
$ 45 
$109 



$105 
$ 89 
$ 99 
$109 



Database Systems 

ALPHA DATA BASE 

MANAGER II 
CLOUT V 2.0 
CONDOR III 
DBASE II 
DBASE III 
INFOSTAR+ 
KNOWLEDGEMAN 
PFS: FILE/PFS: 

REPORT 
POWERBASE 
QUICKCODE III 
R BASE 4000 

Languages/Utilities 

CONCURRENT DOS 

C86C COMPILER 

DIGITAL RESEARCH 
C COMPILER 

DR FORTRAN 77 

LATTICE C COMPILER 

MICROSOFT C 
COMPILER 

MS BASIC COMPILER 

MS FORTRAN 

NORTON UTILITIES- 
NEW 

TURBO PASCAL 

Project 
Management 

HARVARD PROJECT 

MANAGER 
HARVARD TOTAL 

PROJECT MANAGER 
MICROSOFT 

PROJECT 
SCITOR PROJECT 

5000 W/GRAPHICS 

Professional 
Development 

MANAGEMENT EDGE 
SALES EDGE 
THINK TANK 

Home/Personal 
Finance 

DOLLARS AND 

SENSE 
FINANCIER II 
HOWARD TAX 

PREPARER 85 
MICROTAX 
MANAGING YOUR 

MONEY 



$179 
$139 
$299 
$269 
$339 
$319 
$269 

$169 
$219 
$169 
$259 



$189 
$299 

$219 
$219 
$Call 

$309 
$249 
$239 

$CaII 
$45 



$219 
$299 
$159 
$289 



$159 
$159 
$119 



$119 
$119 



$195 
$Call 



$129 



Graphics/Statistics 

ABSTAT $279 

AUTOCAD $Cail 
BPS BUSINESS 

GRAPHICS $229 

CHARTMASTER $239 

CHARTSTAR $209 

DR DRAW $199 
ENERGR APHICS W/ 

PLOTTER $279 

EXECUVISION $259 
GRAPHWRITER 

COMBO $389 

MS CHART $159 
OVERHEAD 

EXPRESS $139 

PC DRAW $259 

PC PAINTBRUSH $ 89 

PFS: GRAPH $ 95 

SIGNMASTER $179 

STATPRO $Call 

STATPAK-NWA $329 

STATPAC-WALONICK $299 

Accounting Modules 

BPI $329 

GREAT PLAINS $479 

IUS EASYBUSINESS $309 

MBA $369 

OPEN SYSTEMS $399 

PEACHTREE $299 

REAL WORLD $469 

STATE OF THE ART $389 
STAR ACCOUNTING 

PARTNER $249 
STAR ACCOUNTING 

PARTNER II $599 

Hardware * 

Multifunction Boards 

AST ADVANTAGE $C*II 

AST 6 PAK PLUS (64K) $249 
AST 6 PAK PLUS 

(384K) $449 

AST MEGAPLUS II (64K) $269 

AST MEGAPAK (256K) $349 

QUADBOARD (64K) $269 

QUADBOARD (256K) $399 
QUADBOARD EXP. 

(64K) $269 
QUADBOARD EXP. 

(384K) $469 

QUAD 512 + (64K) $269 

ORCHID BLOSSOM $Call 

PERSYST $CaN 

TECMAR CAPTAIN(64K) $279 

TECMAR WAVE (64K) $209 



Display Boards 

AST MONOGRAPH PLUS $Call 
EVEREX GRAPHICS 

EDGE $419 

HERCULES GRAPHICS 

CARD $329 

HERCULES COLOR 

CARD $179 

PARADISE MODULAR 

GRAPHICS CARD $285 

PARADISE 

MULTIDISPLAY CARD $285 
PERSYST $Call 

PLANTRONICS 

COLORPLUS $419 

PRINCETON SCAN 

DOUBLER $Call 

STB GRAPHICS 

PLUS II $309 

TECMAR GRAPHICS 

MASTER $489 

TECMAR VIDEO VAN 

GOGH $259 

TSENG ULTRA PAK $449 

Displays 

AMDEK 300G/300A $139/149 

AMDEK 310A $179 

AMDEK COLOR II + $459 

PRINCETON HX-12 $469 

PRINCETON MAX-12 $179 

PRINCETON SR-12 $CaH 
QUADRAM 

AMBERCHROME $179 

ZENITH 124 AMBER $145 

ZENITH 135 COLOR $Call 

Modems 

AST REACH 1200 $Call 

HAYES 1200 $459 

HAYES 1200B $399 

HAYES 2400 $Call 
VENTEL1200 

HALF CARD $Csl 

Accessories 

CURTIS SURGE 

PROTECTORS $Cnll 
EPD SURGE 

PROTECTORS $Call 
GILTRONIX A/B SWITCH $Call 
MICROBUFFER INLINE 

(64K) $264 
MICROFAZER INLINE 

(64K) $219 

64K RAM SET $40 

256K RAM SET $Cafl 

8087 MATH $150 



Printers/Plotters 

AMPLOT II 
C. ITOH 
COMWRITER II 
COMWRITER420 
DIABLO 620/630 
EPSON FX-100+ 
EPSON LQ-1500 
EPSON JX-80 
JUKI 6100 
NECP3 
NEC 2050 
NEC 3550 
OKIDATA84P 
OKIDATA 93P 
QUME SPRINT 1155 
TOSHIBA P1351 
SWEET P 6 PEN 
PLOTTER 

Emulation Boards 

ASTPCOX 
AST 3780 
ASTSNA 
ASTBSC 
BLUE LYNX 
CXI 3278/9 
IRMA 
IRMALINE 
IRMAPRINT 
QUAD 3278 

Input Devices 

KEYTRONIC5151 
MICROSOFT 

MOUSE 
PC MOUSE W/ PAINT 

Mass Storage 

ALLOY PC-BACKUP 

20MB 
ALLOY PC-DISC 

20MB 
IOMEGA 10+10 MB 
MAYNARDWS-1 10MB 
SIGMA 

SYSGEN IMAGE 
TALLGRASS HARDFILE 

+ TAPE 
TEAC H&JLfcHEIGHT 

Networks 

AST PC NET $Call 

CORVUS NET $Call 
DIGITAL RESEARCH 

STARLINK $1199 

ORCHID PC NET $Cafl 

•CALL FOR SHIPPING COSTS 



$859 
$Cafl 
$CaU 
$Call 
$Catt 
$Ca» 
$CaU 
$Call 
$419 
$899 
$769 
$1399 
$729 
$619 
$1569 
$1279 

$899 



$949 
$609 
$689 
$ 29 

$Ca!l 
$Call 
$869 
$999 
$Cal 
$949 



$139 
$159 



$1649 

$1769 
$2895 
$CaH 
$Ca* 
$CaH 

$Caii 
$159 



Chart-Master 

*239 



AST6Pak 
Plus 

<849 



Quad Board I Smartmodem I Smartmodem 
Expanded64K| 1200B 1200 

<869 <399 <459 




LOWEST PRICE 
GUARANTEE!! 

We will match current 

nationally advertised 

prices on most products. 

Gall and compare. 



fie 



ei 



Diskette 

Library 

Case 

with your order 




TERMS: 

Checks— allow 14 days to clear. Credit processing— add 3%. COD orders— cash. 
M.O or certified check— add $3.00. Shipping and handling UPS surface— add $3.00 
per item (UPS Blue $6.00 per item). NY State Residents— add applicable sales tax. 
All prices subject to change. 



In New York State call (718) 438-6057 



€ ml '' r: ~'' 



MON.-THURS. 9:00AM-8:00PM 
SUN. & FRI. 9:00AM-4:00PM 




Softline Corporation 
P.O. Box 729, Brooklyn, NY. 11230 
TELEX: 421 047 ATLNUI 



82 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 283 



EVENT QUEUE 



February 1985 

• AI. EXPERT SYSTEM 
BRIEFING-Artificial In- 
telligence and Expert Sys- 
tems: What Business Must 
Know Today to Reap the 
Benefits Tomorrow, Marriott 
Copley Place. Boston. MA. A 
one-day executive briefing. 
The fee is $790. Contact Lee 
Burgess, Professional 
Development Programs. 
Rensselaer Polytechnic In- 
stitute. Troy Building. New 
York. NY 12180-3 590. (518) 
266-6589. February 11 

• SOFTWARE MANAGE- 
MENT CONTROL-Con- 

figuration Management of 
Software Programs. San 
Diego. CA. Intended to show 
those working in software 
management how to control 
development, maintenance, 
and operational costs. The 
cost is $730. Contact Stod 
Cortelyou. Continuing 
Engineering Education. 
George Washington Univer- 
sity. Washington. DC 20052. 
(800) 424-9773; in the 
District of Columbia. (202) 
676-8520. February 11-13 

• NETWORK COMPO- 
NENTS EXPLAINED-Data 

Communications Network 
Components. Atlanta. GA. A 
thorough overview of the 
use. operation, applications, 
and acquisition procedures 
of 25 major communications 
components. The fee is 
$795. Contact Elaine Had- 
den Nicholas. Department of 
Continuing Education. 
Georgia Institute of tech- 
nology. Atlanta. GA 30332- 
0385. (404) 894-2547. 
February 12-14 

• INTERACTIVE 
INSTRUCTION-The Third 
Conference on Interactive In- 
struction Delivery. Sheraton 



lowers Hotel. Orlando. FL 
Contact the Society for Ap- 
plied Learning Technology, 
50 Culpeper St.. Warrenton. 
VA 22186. (703) 347-0055. 
February 13-15 

• COMPUTERS FILL 
EDUCATORS' TALL ORDER 

The Fifth Annual Conference 
of the Texas Computer 
Education Association. Hyatt 
Regency Hotel. Austin. TX. 
The theme is "New Direc- 
tions for Education Using 
Modern Day Technology." 
Contact TCEA Conference. 
POB 2 573. Austin. TX 
78768. February 13-16 

• PC SYMPOSIUM 
The 1984 UNM Personal 
Computer Symposium. Uni- 
versity of New Mexico. Albu- 
querque. Exhibits, seminars, 
and demonstrations of per- 
sonal computer systems for 
business, education, and 
professional offices. Contact 
the Tau Beta Pi Honor Soci- 
ety, c/o Dr. Randy Truman. 
Department of Mechanical 
Engineering, University of 
New Mexico, Albuquerque. 
NM 87131. (505) 277-6296. 
February 15-16 

• COCO CONVOCATION 

RainbowFest. Irvine Marriott. 
Irvine. CA. A show for users 
of the Radio Shack TRS-80 
Color Computer. More than 
50 exhibitors are expected. 
Contact Falsoft Inc.. POB 
385. Prospect. KY 40059. 
(502) 228-4492. 
February 15-17 

• MICROS FOR EDU- 
CATORS— Association of 



Teacher Educators National 
Conference. Riviera Conven- 
tion and Resort Hotel. Las 
Vegas. NV. Exhibits and 
demonstrations of micro- 
computers, microcomputer 
products, and communica- 
tions equipment will be 
featured. Contact Peter C. 
West. Learning Center. Col- 
lege of Education. Gabel 
Hall 8. Northern Illinois 
University. DeKalb. 1L 60115, 
(815) 753-1241. 
February 18-19 

• MANAGE YOUR COM- 
PUTER— Managing Com- 
puter Resources. Winter- 
green Learning Institute. 
Wintergreen. VA. Focuses on 
networking, system design, 
performance evaluation, and 
operational difficulties en- 
countered by managers and 
executives. Rates vary from 
$570 to $769, depending on 
accommodations. Contact 
Dr. M. D Corcoran. Winter- 
green Learning Institute, 
POB 7. Wintergreen. VA 
22958. (800) 325-2200; in 
Virginia. (804) 325-1107. 
February 18-22 

• COMMUNICATIONS FOR 

EXECS-Info/Central. O'Hare 
Exposition Center, Chicago. 
IL. A computer and commu- 
nications show and con- 
ference for executives and 
data-processing managers. 
Topics: mainframes, micro- 
computers, telecommunica- 
tions systems, and micro- 
graphics. Contact the Show 
Manager. Info/Central. 999 
Summer St.. Stamford. CT 
06905. (203) 964-8287. 
February 20-22 



1 F YOU WANT your organization's public activities listed in BYTE's Event 
Queue, we need to know about them at least four months in advance. Send 
information about computer conferences, seminars, workshops, and courses 
to BYTE, Event Queue, POB 372. Hancock. NH 03449. 



• MODULA-2 ENGI- 
NEERING-Software 

Engineering with Modula-2, 
Atlanta. GA. A course 
emphasizing methods for 
building large-scale software 
systems in Modula-2. Pre- 
requisite: knowledge of Ada 
or Pascal. The fee is $495. 
Contact Elaine Hadden 
Nicholas. Department of 
Continuing Education. 
Georgia Institute of Tech- 
nology Atlanta. GA 30332- 
0385. (404) 894-2 547. 
February 20-22 

• BUSINESS GRAPHICS 

Computer Business Graph- 
ics. Bonaventure Intercon- 
tinental Hotel. Fort Lauder- 
dale. FL. Contact Carol 
Every, Frost & Sullivan Inc.. 
106 Fulton St.. New York. 
NY 10038. (212) 233-1080. 
February 20-23 

• MAC IN SPOTLIGHT 

MacWorld Exposition, 
Brooks Hall, San Francisco, 
CA. A hands-on festival of 
Macintosh hardware, soft- 
ware, and peripherals. Con- 
tact World Expositions. 
Mitch Hall Associates. POB 
860, Westwood, MA 02090. 
(617) 329-7466. 
February 21-23 

• COMPUTER FAIRE 

The Fourth Annual IEEE 
Computer Faire. Huntsville. 
AL. Sponsored by the In- 
stitute of Electrical and Elec- 
tronics Engineers. Contact 
Terry Mizell. POB 5188. 
Huntsville. AL 3 5805. (205) 
532-2036. February 22-23 

• COMPUTERS IN MEXICO 

The First International Com- 
puter and Communications 
Exposition and Conference: 
MexCom '85. Mexico City. 

[continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 83 



Inquiry 309 




ERGO® 4000 is the ASCII Terminal featuring 
80-column by 66-line format for full-page dis- 
play capability. Features include: 15 down- 
loadable function keys, four video attributes, 
pass-through printer port, screen saver, 
alternate character generator, settable tabs, 
24-line display, and user-definable custom 
mode. (Compatible with VT100 codes.) Most 
popular word processing packages are 
already modified to run on the ERGO® 4000. 



micRo-TGRm, inc. 

Call toll-free 1-800-325-9056 

512 Rudder Road 
Fenton (St. Louis County), Missouri 63026 



COMPETITIVE EDGE 

P.O. Box 556 • Plymouth, MI 48170 • (313) 451-0665 
THUNDER 186™ SYSTEM $1995. 

Includes 256K RAM, 2-5" Floppys and concurrent DOS® 
expandable to 10 or 40 MB hard disk & up to 4 users. 
TELETEK SYSTEM ASTER II® SYSTEM ..$5895. 

With 2 Hi-speed 128K banked slaves, 10MB hard disk and two 
Qume 102 terminals. 

Includes fastest Z80 slaves available. 

WE INTEGRA TE S YSTEMS 
WITH THE FOLLOWING COMPONENTS 

CompuPro® Lomas Data Products 
Teletek 

Sample Component Prices 

CompuPro 286 with 287 chip CPU $1199. 

Disk 1A . . .$459. RAM 22 . . .$995. I/O 4 . . .$297. 

CPUZ™ . . .$215. 85/88 . . .$327. RAM 23-64™ . . .$309. 
LDP 286 . . .$1116. LDP Hi-speed 5 12K . . .$899. 

Color Magic™ . . .$496. Thunder 186™ . . .$1195. 

Teletek Systemaster II® 8MHZZ80 $899. 

Teletek HDCTC® Hard Disk Controller $525. 

QUME 102 GR . . .$450. C. ITOH 8510 PTR . . .$350. 

DRI FORTRAN . . .$250. COMP. Inovation C . . .$299. 

All prices subject to change and 

stock on hand shipping extra min. $3. 

ALL PRICES CASH PRICES 

Concurrent DOS is registered treademark of Digital Research Inc. RAM 23, CPU 
286/287, CPU Z, RAM 22, are trademarks of CompuPro a Godbout Company. 
Thunder 186, Color Magic trademarks of LDP Inc. Systemaster II & HDCTC are 
registered trademarks of Teletek Enterprises Inc. 



EVENT QUEUE 



Mexico. This show features 
mini- and microcomputers, 
software, office automation 
equipment, and communica- 
tions exhibits. Contact Mex- 
Com, Suite 219, 3421 M St. 
NW, Washington, DC 20007, 
(703) 685-0600. 
February 25-28 

• FARM AUTOMATION 

Agri-Mation, Palmer House 
Hotel, Chicago, IL. This con- 
ference and exposition will 
focus on the role of automa- 
tion in agriculture. Contact 
the Society of Manufacturing 
Engineers, One SME Dr., 
POB 930, Dearborn, MI 
48121, (313) 271-1500. 
February 2 5-28 

• DYNAMIC COMPUTING 

Dynamics on Microcom- 
puters, University of Michi- 
gan, Dearborn. A course 
and workshop for engineers. 
Contact Professor R. E. 
Little, University of 
Michigan, 4901 Evergreen 
Rd., Dearborn, MI 48128, 
(313) 593-5241. 
February 25-March 1 

• HIGH-TECH IN FOCUS 

High-lech '85 Exhibit and 
Seminar, Thunderbird Motel, 
Bloomington, MN. More 
than 100 manufacturers will 
exhibit terminals, periph- 
erals, data-communications 
equipment, and digital test 
instruments. Admission is 
free. Contact John Bastys or 
Barb Mueller, Countryman 
Associates Co., 1821 Univer- 
sity Ave., St. Paul, MN 
55104, (612) 645-9151. 
February 26-27 

• MICRO-AIDED MANAGE- 
MENT— Microcomputer- 
aided Maintenance Manage- 
ment System, Ramada Inn, 
Airport, Milwaukee, WI. This 
course shows how com- 
puters can help improve the 
maintenance functions of 
any organization. The fee is 
$60. Contact Unik Asso- 
ciates, 12 545 West Burleigh, 
Brookfield. WI 53005, (414) 
782-5030. February 27 



March 1985 

• DISCOVER UNIX 

Discover UNIX, various sites 
throughout the U.S. A two- 
day seminar exploring such 
topics as the UNIX file 
system, shell interpreter, text 
editors, programming lan- 
guages, and system tools. 
The fee is $595. Contact 
Data-lech Institute, 57 Lake- 
view Plaza, POB 2429, Clif- 
ton, NJ 07015, (201) 
478-5400. March 

• COMPUTERS FOR SALE 

Computer Supermarket, San 
Mateo County Fairgrounds, 
San Mateo, CA. A gathering 
of retailers, manufacturers, 
distributors, and potential 
consumers of a wide variety 
of computer-related prod- 
ucts. Contact Microshows, 
Suite 203, 1209 Donnelly 
Ave., Burlingame, CA 94010, 
(415) 340-9113. March 2-3 

• FOSE SOFTWARE SHOW 

Federal Office Systems Ex- 
position (FOSE) Software 
'85, Convention Center, 
Washington, DC. Workshops, 
symposia, and exhibits of 
software. Contact Rosalind 
Boesch, National Trade Pro- 
ductions Inc., Suite 400, 
2111 Eisenhower Ave., Alex- 
andria, VA 22314, (800) 
638-8510; in Virginia, (703) 
683-8500. March 4-7 

• MINI/MICRO 

Mini/Micro Southeast-85, 
Georgia World Congress 
Center, Atlanta. A con- 
ference and exposition. Con- 
tact Electronic Conventions 
Management, 8110 Airport 
Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 
90045, (213) 772-2965. 
March 5-7 

• DESIGN SHOW 

The 1985 National Design 
Engineering Show, McCor- 
mick Place, Chicago, IL. 
More than 600 CAD/CAM 
system and electronic com- 
ponent companies will ex- 
hibit. Contact the Show 
Manager, National Design 



84 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 54 



EVENT QUEUE 



Engineering Show, 999 Sum- 
mer St., Stamford, CT 06905, 
(203) 964-0000. March 11-14 

• DATACOMM FROM ALL 
ANGLES— Data Communica- 
tions: Technology, Tech- 
niques, and Applications. 
Tarry town Hilton, Tarry town, 
NY. This seminar covers 
existing and emerging 
technologies, data compres- 
sion techniques and applica- 
tions, multiplexers, protocol 
conversion, data security, 
and local-area networks. The 
fee is $150. Contact Glasgal 
Communications Inc., 207 
Washington St., Northvale, 
NJ 07647. (201) 768-8082. 
March 12 

• ACM COMPUTER 
CONFERENCE-The Thir- 
teenth Annual ACM Com- 
puter Science Conference: 
CSC '85, New Orleans Mar- 
riott, LA. An employment 
register, social events, 
technical programs, award 
presentations, and exhibits 
are highlights of this show. 
Contact Delia T. Bonnette, 
Conference Chair, Com- 
puting and Information Ser- 
vices, University of South- 
western Louisiana, Lafayette, 
LA 70504, (318) 231-6306. 
March 12-14 

• EDUCATIONAL 
CONFERENCE-The 1985 
Microcomputers in Educa- 
tion Conference. Arizona 
State University. Tempe. The 
theme for this conference is 
"Tomorrow's Technology." 
Emphasis will be placed on 
integrating computer tech- 
nology and languages into 
the educational environ- 
ment. Exhibits will be 
featured. Contact Donna 
Craighead, Payne B47, 
Arizona State University, 
College of Education, 
Tempe, AZ 85287, (602) 
965-7363. March 13-15 

• SIMULATION IN 
SUNSHINE-The Eighteenth 
Annual Simulation Sym- 
posium! Tampa, FL. A forum 



for the interchange of ideas, 
techniques, and applications 
among those working in 
simulation. Contact Alex- 
ander Kran, IBM Corp., East 
Fishkill Facility, Hopewell 
Junction, NY 12533. 
March 13-15 

• INTERFACING 
WORKSHOP-Personal Com- 
puter and STD Computer In- 
terfacing for Scientific Instru- 
ment Automation, Virginia 
Tech, Blacksburg. A hands- 
on workshop with partici- 
pants wiring and testing in- 
terfaces. The fee is $450. 
Contact Dr. Linda Leffel, 
C.E.C., Virginia Polytechnic 
Institute and State Univer- 
sity, Blacksburg, VA 24061, 
(703) 961-4848. March 14-16 

• SHOW IN DELAWARE 
The Seventh Annual 
Delaware Computer Faire, 
Delaware State College, 
Dover. Current technology 
for use in the classroom, of- 
fice, and home will be dis- 
played. Workshops, demon- 
strations, and sessions on 
the use of computers in the 
classroom are planned. Con- 
tact Dr. William J. Geppert, 
State Supervisor. Mathe- 
matics. Department of 
Public Instruction. Townsend 
Building. POB 1402, Dover, 
DE 19903, (302) 736-4885. 
March 16 

• CLASSROOM 
COMPUTING TECHNIQUES 

Instructional Strategies for 
Integrating the Microcom- 
puter into the Classroom, 
University of Wisconsin, 
Madison. A special em- 
phasis is placed on strate- 
gies that have already 
proved successful. Hands-on 
sessions will be offered. 
Contact Dr. Judith Roderv 
stein or Dr. Roger Lambert, 
University of Wisconsin, 964 
Educational Sciences Build- 
ing, 1025 West Johnson St., 
Madison, WI 53706, (608) 
263-4367 or 263-2704. 
March 18-19 

{continued) 




100% FLAWLESS 
COPIES . . . 

. . .FAST! 



No need to tie up your valuable computer to duplicate 
diskettes . . . when VICTORY can provide you with a 
duplicator that will do the job flawlessly, and much 
faster. One button operation automatically formats, 
duplicates and verifies up to 8 diskette copies at the 
same time. 

VICTORY can supply you with literally dozens of 
standardized formats to match the protocol of virtually 
any current computer. In addi- 
tion, built-in utilities enable 
you to read or devise any for- 
mat you may require. If that's 
not enough, VICTORY can 
help you with unusual or 
unique formatting, serializing 
or copy-protecting problems. 

VICTORY duplicators are 
designed to be reliable. Each 
of the copy drives has a 
separate controller to increase 
copying throughput and 
ensure maximum uptime. 
VICTORY Duplicators use 
industry proven drives com- 
bined with 100% digital tech- 
nology . . . there are no 
analog circuits to slowly drift 
out of tolerance. 

Let us help free you from 
your disk-duplicating bottle- 
neck at a surprisingly 
attractive price. Write or call: 
VICTORY ENTERPRISES 
TECHNOLOGY, INC, 8910 
Research Blvd., Suite B2, 
Austin, Texas 78758— 
(512)450-0801. 



:. 



t 

- 




Victory Enterprises 
Technology, Inc. 



Inquiry 323 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 85 



Inquiry 22 



The Little Board ... $349* 

The world's simplest and least expensive CP/M computer 

$5* 



CP/M 2.2 

INCLUDED 




»* 



rf* 



"UNDER $200 IN 
OEM QUANTITIES 

Z80A is a registered trademark of Zilog, Inc 
CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research 



• 4 MHz Z80A CPU, 64K RAM, Z80A CTC, 2732 Boot ROM 

• Mini/Micro Floppy controller (1-4 Drives, Single/Double Density, 1-2 sided, 40/80 track) 

• Onfy 5.75 x 7.75 Inches, mounts directly to a 5 1/4" floppy drive 

• 2 RS232C Serial Ports (75-9600 baud & 75-38,400 baud), 1 Centronics Printer Port 

• Power Requirement: +5VDC at .75A; +12VDC at ,0SA/On-board -12V converter 

• CP/M 2.2 BDOS • ZCPR3 CCP • Enhanced AMPRO BIOS 

• AMPRO Utilities Included: 

• read/write to more than 2 dozen other formats (Kaypro, Televideo, IBM CP/M86....) 

• format disks for more than a dozen other computers 



• menu-based system customization 

• BIOS and Utilities Source Code Available 

• SCSI/PLUS Adapter : 

• Mounts directly to Little Board 

• Slave I/O board control • Full ANSC X3T9.2 

• 16 bidirectional I/O lines • $99/Quantity 1 



COMPUTERS. INCORPORATED 



DISTRIBUTORS 

Argentina-Factorial, S.A 1-41-0018 

Australia-ASP Microcomputers 613-500-0628 

Belgium-Centre Electronique Lempereur . . 041-23-45-41 

Canada-Electronic Sales Assoc (604) 986-5447 

Denmaifc-Danbit 03-66-20-20 

England-Quant Systems 01-534-3158 

Finland-Symmetric OY 358-0-585-322 

France-Alain Lequeux 1-525-6960 

Israel-Alpha Terminals 03-491695 

Spain-Xenios Inf ormatica 3-593-0822 

Sweden-AB AKTA 08-54-20-20 

USA: Digital Distributors (CA> 408-423-1556 

Peripheral BusinessSystems(WA) ... 206-823-6661 
Dorado Business Systems (NY/NJ) . . 609-429-2243 



v (-.ljivk-^lj i ci-ia. u\JL^i_ii— it-^LJi— (*-\ i cu uoraao business systems iny/nj; .. ouy*4uy-¥¥4. 

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When Vour 
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Supports Bipolar, PALs, 40 Pin Chips. 

Also Available: S5 Basic (E)PROM 

Programmer, $690. UV Erasers from $67. 



(@DD@E)*COMPUT€R SVST€MS CORPORATION 

4089 South Rogers Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33431 

CALL TO ORD€R(305) 994-3520, Telex 4310073 MGVBTC 
Distributor Inquiries Welcome 



EVENT QUEUE 



• EXPOSING THE MYTH 
OF MICROS— Public Aware- 
ness Seminars, Hyatt Regen- 
cy Los Angeles, CA. A 
seminar that shows nontech- 
nical businesspeople how a 
microcomputer could be 
used to increase productivi- 
ty. Contact International 
Microcomputer Industries 
Association, Suite 17 5, 21 
Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte 
Madera, CA 94925, (415) 
924-1194. March 18-19 

• COMPUTERS AND 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS 

COMTEL '85: International 
Computer and Telecommuni- 
cations Conference, Info- 
mart, Dallas, TX. Contact 
COMTEL '85, Suite 600, 
13740 Midway Rd., Dallas, 
TX 75244, (214) 458-7011. 
March 18-20 

• TECHNOLOGY AND 
EDUCATION-The First An- 
nual Conference on Technol- 
ogies in Education, Univer- 
sity of Arizona, TUcson. This 
conference will focus on the 
effective implementation of 
research in educational 
technology. Contact Steve 
Louie, NACC1S, Suite 12 5, 
2200 East River Rd., TUcson, 
AZ 85718, (602) 323-6144. 
March 18-20 

• ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGY 

UPDATE— The Second An- 
nual Robotic End Effectors: 
Design and Applications 
Seminar, Holiday Inn 
Livonia-West, Livonia, MI. 
More than 2 5 companies 
will exhibit. Contact John 
McEachran, Special Pro- 
grams Department, Society 
of Manufacturing Engineers, 
One SME Dr., POB 930, 
Dearborn, Ml 48121, (313) 
271-1500, ext. 382. 
March 19-20 

• AI FOR ROBOT'S 

Aircon 2: The Second An- 
nual International Con- 
ference on Artificial In- 
telligence for Robots, Stouf- 
fers Concourse in Crystal 
City, Arlington, VA. A con- 



ference designed to pro- 
mote a dialogue between 
experts and users of arti- 
ficial-intelligence systems. 
The theme is 'Toward In- 
telligent Robots: The Droids 
Are Coming." Contact Cindy 
Mega, 1IT Research Institute, 
10 West 3 5th St., Chicago, IL 
60616, (312) 567-4024. 
March 21-22 

• EDUCATION AND 

COMPUTING-Educational 
Computing Today, Westin 
Hotel, Renaissance Center, 
Detroit, Ml. Kindergarten, 
elementary, high school, and 
college educators will share 
educational computing ex- 
periences. Contact Michigan 
Association for Computer 
Users in Learning, 
MACUL/ICCE Conference, 
POB 628, Westland, MI 
48185, (313) 595-2493. 
March 21-22 

• ELEMENTARY 

COMPUTING-University of 
Delaware Second National 
Conference: Computers and 
Young Children, University 
of Delaware, Newark. The 
emphasis is on programs for 
children 4 to 8 years of age. 
Contact Dr. Richard B. 
Fischer, Division of Continu- 
ing Education, University of 
Delaware, Newark, DE 
19716, (302) 451-8838. 
March 21-22 

• WINTER COMDEX 

COMDEX/Winter, Convention 
Center, Anaheim, CA. One 
of the largest shows in the 
microcomputer industry. 
Contact The Interface Group, 
300 First Ave, Needham, 
MA 02194, (800) 325-3330: 
in Massachusetts, (617) 
449-6660. March 21-24 

• DATABASE SYMPOSIUM 
The Fourth Annual ACM 
SIGACT/SIGMOD Symposium 
on Principles of Database 
Systems, Portland, OR. This 
conference covers develop- 
ments in the theoretical and 
practical aspects of database 

{continued) 



86 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 37 



Introducing the Most Powerful 
Business Software Ever! 

TRS-80™ (Model I, II, III, or 16) • APPLE™ • IBM™ • OSBORNE™ • CP/M™ • XEROX™ 




The VersaBusiness" Series 

Each VERSABUSINESS module can be purchased and used independently, 
or can be linked in any combination to form a complete, coordinated business system. 



VeRSAReCEIVABLES™ $99.95 

VersaReCEIVABLES"* is a complete menu-driven accounts receivable, invoicing, and 
monthly statement-generating system. It keeps track of all information related to who 
owes you or your company money, and can provide automatic billing for past due ac- 
counts. VERSARECEIVABLES™ prints all necessary statements, invoices, and summary 
repo-.-ts and can be linked with VERSALEDGER 11™ and VERSAlNVENTORY™. 

VERSAPAYABLES™ $99.95 

VERSA PAYABLES™ is designed to keep track of current and aged payables, keeping you 
in touch with all information regarding how much money your company owes, and to 
whom. VERSA PAYABLES™ maintains a complete record on each vendor, prints checks, 
check registers, vouchers, transaction reports, aged payables reports, vendor reports, 
and more. With VERSAPAYABLES™. you can even let your computer automatically select 
which vouchers are to be paid. 

VERSAPAYROLL™ $99.95 

VERSA PAYROLL™ is a powerful and sophisticated, but easy to use payroll system that 
keeps track of all government-required payroll information. Complete employee records 
are maintained, and all necessary payroll calculations are performed automatically, with 
totals displayed on screen for operator approval. A payroll can be run totally, automati- 
cally, or the operator can intervene to prevent a check from being printed, or to alter 
information on it. If desired, totals may be posted to the VERSALEDGER II™ system. 

VERSAlNVENTORY™ $99.95 

VersaNventory™ is a complete inventory control system that gives you instant access 
to data on any item. VERSA INVENTORY" keeps track of all information related to what 
items are in stock, out of stock, on backorder, etc., stores sales and pricing data, alerts 
you when an item falls below a preset reorder point, and allows you to enter and print 
invoices directly or to link with the VERSA RECEIVABLES™ system. VERSAlNVENTORY™ prints 
all needed inventory listings, reports of items below reorder point, inventory value re- 
ports, period and year-to-date sales reports, price lists, inventory checklists, etc. 

•CQMPUTRQnHICS? 

50 N. PASCAGK ROAD, SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. 10977 



VERSALEDGER H™ $149.95 

VersaI^EDGER II™ is a complete accounting system that grows as your business 
grows. VERSAI.EDGER II™ can be used as a simple personal checkbook register, 
expanded to a small business bookkeeping system or developed into a large 
corporate general ledger system without any additional software. 

• VERSALEDGER II™ gives you almost unlimited storage capacity 

(300 to 10,000 entries per month, depending on the system), 

• stores all check and general ledger information forever, 

• prints tractor-feed checks, 

• handles multiple checkbooks and general ledgers, 

• prints 17 customized accounting reports including check registers, 
balance sheets, income statements, transaction reports, account 
listings, etc. 

Versa LEDGER Ir"" comes with a professionally-written 160 page manual de- 
signed for first-time users. The VERSALEDGER II™ manual will help you become 
quickly familiar with VersaI^EDGER II™, using complete sample data files 
supplied on diskette and more than 50 pages of sample printouts. 



SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! 



Every VERSABUSINESS™ module is guaranteed to outperform all other competitive systems, 
and at a fraction of theircost. If you are not satisfied with any VERSABUSINESS™ module, you 
may retum it within 30 days for a refund. Manuals for any VERSABUSINESS" module maybe 
purchased for $25 each, credited toward a later purchase of that module. 



To Order: 



Write or call Toll-free (800) 43 1-2818 

(N.Y.S. residents call 914-425-1535) 



* add $5 to CANADA or MEXICO 

* add proper postage elsewhere 



* add 53 for shipping in UPS areas 

* add $4 for C.O.D. or non-UPS areas 

Inquiry 127 

DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME 

All prices and specifications subject to change / Delivery subject to availability. 



* TRS-80 is a trademark of the Radio Shack Division of Tandy Ccrp. - * APPLE is a trademark of Apple Corp. • *IBM is a trademark of IBM Corp. 

*CP/M is a trademark of Digital Research - *XEROX is a trademark of Xerox Corp. 



*OSBORNE is a trademark of Osborne Corp. 



T£ m W 




A black border may appear around the Palette slide image, 
which will be imperceptible when projected. 



Nowlast minute presentations 

can be made from 

your personal computer. 

In color. In house. In minutes. 



Introducing Polaroid Palette. 



Whether your presentation is in 30 
minutes or 30 days, the new Polaroid 
Palette Computer Image Recorder will 
make it easier. Priced at under $1800* it 
lets you make Polaroid instant 35mm 
slides or prints from personal 
computer-generated data. Right at your 
desk. So now you can create a presen- 
tation in minutes. Without sending out 
for processing, paying premiums for 
rush service or risking the security of 
your confidential information. 

Works with the graphics 

packages of the IBM PC or XT, 

DEC Rainbow or PRO, Apple He 

or 11+ and AT&T 6300. 

The Polaroid Palette is designed to 
work with many graphics software 
packages. In fact, when using such 
popular programs as Graphwriter, 
Chart-Master, Sign-Master, DR Draw 
and DR Graph, Palette can virtually 
double both the horizontal and vertical 
resolution of your monitor. Plus, a 

Inquiry 254 



"backfill" feature reduces raster lines 
for a smoother, more finished appear- 
ance. The result— presentation quality 
slides. On-the-spot. 

Color 35mm slides, even from a 
black and white CRE 
Think of it as an artist's palette. Be- 
cause Palette "paints" your graphs, 
charts and text. You're choosing from 
up to 72 colors. If you don't want red, 
press a few keys— it's green. And if 
you're not the artistic-type, Polaroid 
has developed a menu of color sets: 
combinations of colors that have been 
specially coordinated to complement 
your presentations. And all of this is 
yours, even if you have a black and 
white monitor. 

Lets you make last minute 

changes or add 

up-to-the-minute information. 

The Polaroid Palette is the fast, con- 
venient, low-cost way to prepare slides 
for your presentation. And perhaps 



even more important, Palette allows 
you to keep confidential information 
confidential. You won't have to send 
your work out to anyone again. 

So why wait until the last minute to 
find out about Polaroid Palette? Call 
this toll-free number or return this 
coupon. Because with Palette you'll 
make your deadlines, in no time. 
I : 1 

For a demonstration, call toll-free, or mail the 
coupon to Polaroid Corp., E.I. Marketing, Dept. . 
604, 575 Technology Sq., Cambridge, MA 02139. 

CALL 1-800-225-1618 

□ Send information. □ Have representative call. 



Company- 
Address — 



Cicv- 



_Zip_ 



Telephone-! 

PC make and model- 



a Polaroid 



L. 



B-2/85 
•Suggested list price. Polaroid* 

FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 89 




\pple It, fle f ///and Apple compatible 

Universal for virtually all standard parallel 

printers. 

Famous for Graphics (LoRes, HIRes, SuperRes) 

(logo Compatible) 

Terrific tor text (even rotates spreadsheets to 

print sidewards) 
One set of commands for all printers. One 
command changes character sizes. Create 
your own printing fonts, alphabets and sym- 
bols . . . bold face, underline, italics, subscript 
and superscript, HIRes Zooming. 




PUS: 



FREE Utility and Demon- 
stration Software Disk. 
CLEAR, comprehensive 
user documentation. 
PKASO/U ... for all the 
reasons you need an 
Interface. 

Contact us for a list of Authorized Dealers near you. 



«s 



Interactive Structures, Inc. 
146 Montgomery Avenue 
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 
Telephone: (215) 667-1713 



EVENT QUEUE 



systems. Contact David 
Maier, Department of Com- 
puter Science. Oregon Grad 
Center, 19600 Northwest 
Walker Rd. Beaverton, OR 
97006. March 25-27 

• OPTICAL STORAGE 
TECHNIQUES-The Third 
Annual Conference on Op- 
tical Storage of Documents 
and Images. Shoreham 
Hotel. Washington. DC. Con- 
tact lechnology Opportunity 
Conference. POB 14817. San 
Francisco. CA 94114-0817. 
(415) 626-1133. March 25-27 

• CAI INVESTIGATED 
The Twenty-Sixth Interna- 
tional Conference of the 
Association for the Develop- 
ment of Computer-based In- 
structional Systems. 
Philadelphia. PA. Presenta- 
tions and panel discussions 
will explore the research 
and use of computers for 
direct instruction. Interest 
groups for educators. Con- 
tact ADCIS International 
Headquarters. Miller Hall 
409. Western Washington 
University. Bellingham. WA 
98225. March 25-28 

• INTEGRATION. COMMU- 
NICATIONS. COMPUTERS 
IEEE INFOCOM '85. 
Washington. DC. Papers will 
address such issues as archi- 
tecture, protocols, gateways, 
and support. Contact lorn 
Stack. IEEE INFOCOM '85. 
POB 639. Silver Spring. MD 
20901. (301) 589-8142. 
March 25-28 

• MACHINE VISION EYED 
The Applied Machine Vision 
Conference and Vision '85 
Exposition. Cobo Hall. 
Detroit. MI. Contact Society 
of Manufacturing Engineers. 
One SME Dr.. POB 930. 
Dearborn. MI 48121. (313) 
271-0777. March 25-28 

• JOINT CONFERENCE IN 
MINNESOTA-Updata '85: 
The Seventh Annual Minne- 
sota Joint Computer Con- 
ference. Radisson South 



Hotel. Bloomington. MN. A 
conference for data-pro- 
cessing professionals. The 
theme is "Meeting Ibmor- 
row's Challenge loday!" 
Contact Mick Williams. Stan- 
dard Iron. 4990 North Coun- 
ty Rd. 18. New Hope. MN 
55428. (612) 533-1110. 
March 28-29 

• WESTERN EDUCATORS 
MEET— Western Educational 
Computing Workshops. Uni- 
versity of California. Santa 
Cruz. A series of workshops 
and demonstrations that 
give educators hands-on ex- 
perience with computer ap- 
plication packages and com- 
puter hardware. Contact Hal 
Roach. Computer Services. 
Mount San Antonio College. 
1100 North Grand Ave. 
Walnut. CA 94542. 

March 28-29 

• WEST COAST FAIRE 

The Tenth Annual West 
Coast Computer Faire. 
Moscone Center. San Fran- 
cisco. CA. This is one of the 
largest computer shows. 
Contact Computer Faire Inc.. 
Suite 201. 181 Wells Ave.. 
Newton Falls. MA 02159. 
(800) 826-2680; in Massa- 
chusetts. (617) 965-8350. 
March 30- April 2 

• COMPUTERFEST 

The 1985 Greater Baltimore 
Hamboree and Computer- 
fest. Maryland State Fair- 
grounds. Timonium. Exhibits, 
flea market, and forums 
highlight this annual event. 
Admission is $4. and the 
gates open at 8 a.m. Con- 
tact Baltimore Amateur 
Radio Club Inc.. POB 95. 
Timonium. MD 21093-0095. 
(301) 561-1282. March 31 

• FOCUS ON SOFTWARE 

Softcon. Georgia World Con- 
gress Center. Atlanta. The 
Spring and Fall Softcons 
have been merged into this 
event. Nearly 3000 software 
vendors are expected to 
participate. Seminars, panel 
discussions, forums, and 



90 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 153 



EVENT QUEUE 



workshops are planned. 
Registration is $35 for 
exhibits-only admission or 
$195 for a four-day con- 
ference and exhibits badge. 
Contact Softcon, Northeast 
Expositions, 822 Boylston 
St., Chestnut Hill, MA 02167, 
(617) 739-2000. 
March 3\ -April 3 

• TELECONFERENCING 

SEMINAR— leleconferencing 
in the Marketplace, Interna- 
tional Congress Centre RAI, 
Amsterdam, The Nether- 
lands. A seminar for users 
and suppliers of telecon- 
ferencing services and 
facilities. For further informa- 
tion, contact International 
Congress and Convention 
Association, POB 5343, 
1007 AH Amsterdam, The 
Netherlands. 
March 31 -April 3 

• MICROPROCESSOR IDEA 
EXCHANGE-The 1985 
Microprocessor Forum, 
Bally's Park Place Casino 
Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ. 
Tutorials, forums, and ex- 
hibits will be held. A robotic 
maze contest will be held. 
On April 1 and 2, the 1985 
IEEE VLSI Test Workshop 
will be held. Contact IEEE 
Computer Society, Suite 300, 
1109 Spring St., Silver 
Spring, MD 20910, (301) 
589-8142. March 31 -April 4 

April 1985 

• GULF COAST SHOW 

The Second Annual Gulf 
Computer & Office Show, 
Rivergate Convention 
Center, New Orleans, LA. 
Seminars, workshops, and 
product displays. Contact 
Gulf Computer & Office 
Show Management, c/o 119 
Avant Garde, Kenner, LA 
70065, (504) 467-9949. 
April 2-4 

• MEET SOME NETWORKS 
Introduction to Network 
Architectures, Atlanta, GA. 
This course provides an 



understanding of the role of 
network architectures and 
explains their many forms. 
The fee is $795. Contact 
Elaine Hadden Nicholas, 
Department of Continuing 
Education, Georgia Institute 
of Technology, Atlanta, GA 
30332-0385, (404) 894-2547. 
April 2-4 

• ENGINEERING WITH 

MODULA-2— Software Engi- 
neering with Modula-2, 
Atlanta, GA. See February 
20-22 for details. April 3-5 

• COMMUNICATIONS 
TECHNOLOGY FOR THE 

NONVERBAL-The Fourth 
Annual Conference on Com- 
munication Technology: 
Technology and Nonspeak- 
ing Children, Joseph Stokes 
Auditorium, Children's 
Hospital of Philadelphia, PA. 
Up-to-the-minute information 
on the use of technology 
with nonverbal children will 
be presented. Concurrent 
sessions will address on- 
going research, computers, 
and treatment strategies. 
The registration fee is $95. 
Contact loan Bruno, 
Children's Seashore House, 
4100 Atlantic Ave., POB 
4111, Atlantic City, NJ 
08404, (609) 345-5191, ext. 
278. April 12-13 

• GRAPHICS 

Computer Graphics '85, 
Dallas, TX. Tutorials and 
technical sessions on archi- 
tectural and engineering 
computer graphics, artificial 
intelligence, business graph- 
ics, and CAD/CAM. Contact 
National Computer Graphics 
Association, Suite 601, 8401 
Arlington Blvd., Fairfax, VA 
22031, (703) 698-9600. 
April 14-18 

• OPTICAL STORAGE 
INVESTIGATED-The 1985 
Materials Research Society: 
Symposium D, Golden Gate- 
way Holiday Inn, San Fran- 
cisco, CA. A mass-storage 
technologies symposium in- 

[continued) 



High performance to cost ratio,.. 

Programming Chips? 



Projects develop profitably with development hardware /software from GTEK. 




MODEL 7956 

(with RS232 option) .... $1099. 
MODEL 7956 (stand alone) $ 979. 

GTEK's outstanding Gang Pro- 
grammer with intelligent 
algorithm can copy 8 EPROMS at 
a time! This unit is used in a pro- 
duction environment when pro- 
gramming a large number of chips 
is required. It will program all 
popular chips on the market 
through the 27512 EPROMS. It 
also supports the Intel 2764A & 
27128A chips. It will also program 
single chip processors. 

EPROM 

PROGRAMMERS 

— Tliese features are standard from GTEK— 
Compatible with all RS232 saial Interfax ports • Auto select baud rate • With or without hand- 
shaking • Bidirectional XanOCoff • CISTJTR supports • Read pmcompatibte ROMS • No per- 
sonality modules • Intel, Motoola, MCS86 Hex formats • Split fadhty for 16 bit data paths • 
Read, program, formatted list commands • Interrupt drivm — program and vwify real time while 
sending data • Program single byte, block, or whole EPROM • Intelligent diagnostics discern bad 
and/or erasable EPROM • Verify erasure and compare commands • Busy light • CcKnplete with 
Textool aoo insertion force socket and integral 120 VAC power (240 VAO50Hz available) • 




MODEL 7228 - $599 
This model has all the features 
of Model 7128, plus Intelligent 
Programming Algorithims. It 
supports the newest devices 
available through 512Kbits; pro- 
grams 6x as fast as standard 
algorithims. Programs the 2764 in 
one minute! Supports Intel 2764A 
& 27128A chips. Supports 
Tektronics, Intel, Motorola and 
other formats. 



&PAL 




MODEL 7324 - $1199 
This unit has a built-in compiler. 
The Model 7324 programs all 
MM I. National and TI 20 and 24 
pin PALs. Has non-volatile 
memory. It operates stand alone 
or via RS232. 

MODEL 7316 Pal Programmer $ 599 

Programs Series 20 PALs. Built-in PALASM compiler. 

DEVICES SUPPORTED 



* 

MODEL 7128 - $429 
This model has the highest 
performance- to-price-ratio of any 
unit. This is GTEK's most popular 
unit! It supports the newest 
devices available through 
256Kbits. 



by GTEK's EPROM Programmers 



NMOS 



NMOS 



2758 2764A 2508 68764 

2716 27128 2516 8755 

2732 27128A 2532 5133 

2732A 27256 2564 5143 

2764 27512 68766 



CMOS 

27C16 

27C16H 

27C32H 

27C64 

27C256 



EEPROM 



MPU'S 



5213 I2816A 8748 8741H 

5213H I2817A 8748H 8744 
52B13 8749H 8751 

X2816 8741 68705 

48016 8742H 



UTILITY PACKAGES 

GTEK's PGX Utility Packages will allow you to specify a range of addresses to 
send to the programmer, verify erasure and/or set the EPROM type. The PGX Utili- 
ty Package includes GHEX, a utility used to generate an Intel HEX file. 

PALX Utility Package — for use with GTEK's Pal Programmers — allows 
transfer of PALASM® source file or ASCII HEX object code file. 

Both utility packages are available for CPM ,® MSDOS,® PCDOS • ISIS® and 
TRSDOS® operating systems. Call for pricing. 

AVOCET CROSS ASSEMBLERS 

These assemblers are available to handle the 8748, 8751 , Z8. 6502, 68X and other 
microprocessors. They are available for CPM and MSDOS computers. When order- 
ing, please specify processor and computer types. 

ACCESSORIES 



Model 7128-L1, L2, L2A 

(OEM Quantity) $259. 

Model 7128-24 $329. 

Cross Assemblers $200. 

PGX Utilities Call for pricing 

PALX Call for pricing 

Gtek 



XASM (for MSDOS) $250. 

U/V Eraser DE- $ 80. 

RS232 Cables $ 30. 

8751 Adapter $174. 

8755 Adapter $135. 

48 Family Adapter $ 98. 

68705 Programmer $299. 



Development Hardware/Software 
P.O. Box 289, Waveland, MS 39576 
601/467-8048 

, INC. 



GTEK, PALASM, CPM, MSDOS, PCDOS, ISIS, and TRSDOS 
are all registered trademarks. 



Inquiry 126 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 91 



Inquiry 228 



When You Want The Best, Call. 



National Business Software and Supplies 



Macintosh 



NIULTIMATE 
PFS FILE 
PFS REPORT 
PFS WRITE 
SYMPHONY 
LOTUS 1-2*3 
TURBO GIFT PACK 
WORDSTAR 
SIDEKICK 



$285 FLIGHT SIMULATOR $ 35 

89 WIULTIPLAN 125 

79 DESK ORGANIZER CALL 

89 BANKSTREET WRITER CALL 

CALL MacFORTH 98 

CALL PRO KEY 59 

72 PRO KEY 3.0 82 

229 NORTON UTILITIES 55 

35 R BASE 4000 268 



TEAC#55-B DRIVES FOR IBM PC 
& COMPATIBLES DS/DD S139 

Ribbons and Printwheels 

EPSON-OKIDATA-NEC-DIABLO, ETC. 

call for prices 

(602)967-5681 I visa I Mon-Fri 
500 W. Broadway, Ste, 116 n A 8AM-5PM 

_„ MasterCard 

Tempe, AZ 85282 I I 



No cash refunds- all sales final. 20% restocking fee. Add S5 for credit card 
purchases. AZ residents add 6%. Prices subject to change, product subject to 
availability. Allow two weeks for personal/company checks to clear. All items are 
i with manufacturer s warranty. Software not warranted for suitability of pur- 
pose. Shipping and handling add $5 per order. Minimum order $50. 



EVENT QUEUE 




vestigating optical data 
storage. Contact D. H. 
Davies, Symposium Co-Chair, 
3M, 420 North Bernardo 
Ave., Mountain View, CA 
94043. April 15— 18 

• INDUSTRIAL SOFTWARE 

EXPO— The Second 
CIMCOM: Industrial Soft- 
ware Conference & Exposi- 
tion, Disneyland Hotel, 
Anaheim, CA. Contact Com- 
puter and Automated Sys- 
tems Association of the 
Society of Manufacturing 
Engineers, One SME Dr., 
POB 930, Dearborn, Ml 
48121, (313) 271-1500. 
April 16-18 

• TRAINING AND 
TECHNOLOGY-The Third 
Annual Technology in Train- 
ing and Education (TITE) 
Conference, Antler's Hotel, 
Colorado Springs, CO. A 
conference designed to 
facilitate the interchange of 
ideas and to explore ways 
that computers and tech- 
nology can be applied to 
education and training. 
Contact Lt. Colonel McCann, 
1985 TITE Conference, 
USAFA/DFSR, USAF 
Academy, Colorado Springs, 
CO 80840-5751, (303) 
472-4195. April 16-19 

• NETWORK CONTROL 

AND MANAGEMENT-Net- 
work Management/Technical 
Control, Marriott Copley 
Place, Boston, MA. Diag- 
nostic and test instruments 
will be among the products 
displayed. Contact Louise 
Myerow, CW/Conference 
Management Group, 375 
Cochituate Rd., POB 880, 
Framingham, MA 01701, 
(800) 22 5-4698; in Massa- 
chusetts, (617) 879-0700. 
April 18-19 

• PATIENT CARE AND 
COMPUTERS-The Second 
Annual Physicians and Com- 
puters: Applications in Pa- 
tient Care, Las Vegas Hilton, 
NV. This conference ad- 
dresses the concerns of 



doctors, nurses, dietitians, 
pharmacists, administrators, 
and medical record adminis- 
trators. Contact Beverly J. 
Johnson, University of 
Southern California School 
of Medicine, Postgraduate 
Division, 202 5 Zonal Ave. 
KAM 318, Los Angeles, CA 
90033, (213) 224-7051. 
April 19-21 

• COMPUTER FESTIVAL 

The Tenth Annual Trenton 
Computer Festival, Trenton 
State College, Trenton, NJ. 
Highlights talks, tutorials, 
user-group activities, ex- 
hibits, computer-graphics 
theater, games, and a 
50-acre outdoor electronics 
flea market. Contact Ms. 
Marilyn Hughes, Trenton 
State College, Hillwood 
Lakes CN 5 50, Trenton. Nl 
0862 5, (609) 771-2487. 
April 20-21 

• AIDS FOR EDUCATORS 

AEDS/ECOO '85: The 
Twenty-Third Annual Con- 
vention of the Association 
for Educational Data Sys- 
tems (AEDS), Hilton Har- 
bour Castle, Toronto, 
Ontario. The theme is 
"Computing Knows No 
Borders." Contact AEDS/ 
ECOO '85, c/o OlSE, 2 52 
Bloor St. W, Toronto, 
Ontario M5S 1V6, Canada. 
In the U.S., AEDS/ECOO 
'85, 1201 16th St. NW, 
Washington, DC 20036. 
April 21-27 

• SPEECH IN FOCUS 

Speech Tech '85, Vista In- 
ternational Hotel, World 
Trade Center, New York 
City. Speakers and ex- 
hibitors will focus on voice 
synthesis and recognition. 
Registration is $195. Contact 
Media Dimensions Inc., POB 
1121 Gracie Station, New 
York, NY 10028, (212) 
77 2-7068 or 680-6451. 
April 2 2-24 

• PUBLIC NETWORK 
OPERATIONS-X.25 and 

[continued) 



92 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 200 



pOWBtRu 



NEVADA 



TM 



FORTRAN 

DISKETTE & MANUAL 

1 $29.95 




WARE 



Nevada FORTRAN is based upon 
the ANSI-66 standards 
(FORTRAN IV) with some 
1977 level features. Advanced features include: IF . . . THEN . . . ELSE 
statement; COPY (Include); CHAINing with COMMON; and TRACE 
debugging. Package includes a diskette, 214-page manual and 5 
sample programs. Included also is an 8080 assembler. Requires 48K 
RAM. ■■'"-■ 



NEVADA 

BASIC 



TM 



DISKETTE & MANUAL 



1 $29.95 



With the built-in, full-screen 
text editor, you can easily 

develop, programs for 1/10 the cost .__ .^- ._ ..- =—■«■* 

of a comparable BASIC interpreter. What's more, Nevada BASIC has 
full Matrix operations, Single* and Multi-Line functions, and BCD 
math (no round-off errors). You get a diskette and a 220-page manual. 
Requires 48K RAM, 



V*. 



NEVADA 

Pi-OT 

DISKETTE & MANUAL 



\ $29.95 



Nevada PILOT, written by Prof. 
John Starkweather, the language's 
creator, meets and exceeds all 
PILOT-73 standards. See the review in January 1983 MICROCOMPU- 
TING. This package includes a diskette, 131-page manual, and 10 
useful sampie programs. 

WHY WAIT? ORDER YOURS TODAY! 

Satisfaction guaranteed— or your money back. If for any reason 
you're not completely satisfied, just return the package— in good 
condition— with the sealed diskette unopened, within 15 days and 
we'll refund your money. 

Checks must be in U.S. Dollars 

and drawn on a U.S. Bank. 

California deliveries add 6% or 

6.5% sales tax. 

SHIPPING AND HANDLING FEES: Add $4.00 for the first package or 
manual and $2.00 each additional. OVERSEAS: Add $15.00 for the 
first package or manual and $5.00 each additional. COD's: Add 

$4.00. 

WE WELCOME C.O.D.'s 



^^|^Since1977 
ELUS COMPUTING^ 



gg 



(415)753-0186 

ELLIS COMPUTING, INC. 
391 7 Noriega Street 
San Francisco, CA 94122 



NEVADA 

COBOL 

DISKETTE & MANUAL 



A 



I $29.95 



Nevada COBOL, based upon the 

ANSI-74 standards, has all the 

popular features. Powerful level 2 

features include: compound conditionals and full CALL CANCEL 

This software package includes a diskette, 165-page manual, plenty 

of examples and 16 complete COBOL source code programs. 



NEVADA 

PASCAL 

DISKETTE & MANUAL 

I $29.95 



Advanced features include: 

14-Digit precision; BCD math (no 

round-off errors); Floating point 

+ 63 -64; TRACE debugging; Arrays up to 8 dimensions; 64K strings; 

External procedures; and Dynamic Module loading. You get a 

diskette and a 184-page manual. Requires 60K RAM and one disk 

drive with at least 90K storage, - 

NEVADA 

EDIT 

DISKETTE & MANUAL 



I $29.95 



Nevada EDIT, a full-screen, 
video-display text editor, is 
designed specifically for computer 
program text preparation. Nevada EDIT is completely user-change- 
able, can be configured to almost any terminal and takes up only 
12K of disk space. This package includes a diskette and 59-page 
manual. 
ALSO AVAILABLE: 

• EXTRA MANUALS $14.95 

• COBOL Application Packages, Book 1 $ 9.95 

• BIG PRINT-Diskette $19.95 

The CP/M Operating System, an 8080, 8085, or Z-80 (8-Bit) micropro- 
cessor, and 32K RAM are required, unless otherwise stated above. 



WHEN YOU ORDER, PLEASE SPECIFY 
FOLLOWING DISKETTE FORMATS: 

D 8" SSSD (Standard CP/M IBM 3740) 
5V4" Diskettes for: 
D Access/Actrix 

□ Apple CP/M 

□ DEC VT 180 

□ DEC Rainbow 
D Epson QX-10 

D Heath Hard Sector (Z-89) 

□ Heath Soft Sector 

(Z-90.Z-100) 
D IBM-PC (Requires Z-80, 
Baby Blue II Card) 



ONE OF THE 

D Kaypro Double Density (NCR) 

D Micropolis Mod II 

D NEC PC 8001 

D North Star Double Density 

D North Star Single Density 

□ Osborne Single Density 
D Sanyo 1000, 1050 

D Superbrain DD DOS3.X 
(512 byte sec) 

□ . Televideo 

D TRS-80 Model 1 (Base O Mapper) 
D Xerox 820 Single Density 



CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft 
Corp, TRS-80 is a registered trademark of Tandy Corp. Apple II is a trademark- of Apple Computer, Inc. 
Osborne is a registered trademark of Osborne Computer Corp, Xerox 820 is a trademark of Xerox Corp. 
Kaypro is a trademark of Non-linear Sys. Heath/Zenith is a trademark of Heath Corp. IBM is a registered 
trademark of Internationa! Business Machines, Corp. Nevada BASIC, Nevada COBOL, NevadaFOR- 
TRAN. Nevada PILOT, Nevada EDIT, Nevada PASCAL, and Ellis Computing are trademarks of Eflis Com- 
puting, Inc. © 1984 Ellis Computing, Inc. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 93 



Inquiry 85 for Dealers. Inquiry 86 for End-Users. 



BEFORE YOU BUY 
CABLE ASSEMBLIES, 






Heavy guage 

underhood 

shield 

P.D.T. 

underhood 



Gold plated pins 



22AWG 
twisted conductors 





2mm PVC cover 



CHECK UNDER THE HOOD! 

DATA SPEC™ cable assemblies are the very best. Each 
cable Is fully shielded to exceed FCC EMI/RFI emission 
requirements. The unique P.D.T. technique, introduced by 
DATA SPEC™ and employed beneath the hood shield, 
insures maximum integrity under the most adverse 
conditions. DATA SPEC™ has interface cables for all your 
requirements: Printers, Modems, Monitors, Disk Drives, 
and much more. And all DATA SPEC™ cable assemblies 
carry a lifetime warranty. Insist on DATA SPEC™ cables in 
the bright orange package. Available at better computer 
dealers everywhere. For more information, call or write: 

MjaorjaeoocL. 

A Division of Alliance Research Corporation 

20120 Plummer Street • Chatsworth, CA 91311 • (818) 993-1202 

Copyright © 1984 by Alliance Research Corporation Patent PND. 



dBASEn 

with 65,000 memory variables, 
arrays, 8087 support, high-speed 

math functions, windows, 
animation, full syntax checking! 

Impossible? 

Not anymore! 

. . . with GRYPHON 

Microproducts' dBASE II 

"add-ins". For PC/MS-DOS. 

Write or call for details. 




mictopVoducts 



P.O. BOX 65^13 SILVER SPRING, MD. 20306 
C301 ) 346-2585 



EVENT QUEUE 



Packet Switching Networks, 
Atlanta, GA. This course 
covers the internal opera- 
tions of a packet-switching 
network and its implementa- 
tion. The fee is $795. Con- 
tact Elaine Hadden 
Nicholas, Department of 
Continuing Education, 
Georgia Institute of Tech- 
nology, Atlanta, GA 30332- 
0385, (404) 894-2547. 
April 23-25 

• TRADE SHOW, 
CONFERENCE-Electro/8 5 

and Mini/Micro North- 
east-85, New York City. 
Topics: artificial intelligence, 
communications and net- 
works, consumer electronics, 
high-density data storage, 
and personal computing. 
Contact Electronic Conven- 
tions Management 81 10 
Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, 
CA 90045, (213) 772-2965. 
April 23-25 

• COMPUTER APPLI- 
CATIONS EXPLORED 

Perscomp '85, Sofia, 
Bulgaria. An international 
conference on the applica- 
tions of personal computers 
and the problems en- 
countered in using them. 
Contact Dr. Marcel Israel, 
Bulgarian Academy of 
Sciences, Institute of In- 
dustrial Cybernetics and 
Robotics, 1113 Sofia, Acad. 
G. Bonchev St., Bl. 12, 
Bulgaria; tel: 72-46-98; 
Telex; 22836 ITKR BG. 
April 23-26 

• MICROS IN EMPIRE 

STATE— The Fourth Annual 
New York Computer Show 
and Software Exposition, 
Nassau County Coliseum, 
Uniondale, NY. Contact Ann 
Katcef, CompuShows, POB 
3315, Annapolis, MD 21403. 
(800) 368-2066; in Annap- 
olis. (301) 263-8044; in 
Baltimore. (301) 269-7694; 
in the District of Columbia, 
(202) 261-1047. April 25-28 

• VIRGINIA COMPUTING 

The Fourth Annual Virginia 



Computer Show and Soft- 
ware Exposition. Pavilion, 
Virginia Beach. VA. Contact 
Ann Katcef. CompuShows. 
POB 3315. Annapolis. MD 
21403. (800) 368-2066; in 
Annapolis. (301) 263-8044; 
in Baltimore. (301) 269- 
7694; in the District of 
Columbia. (202) 261-1047. 
April 2 5-28 

• EQUIPMENT SALE 

Produx 2000: Wholesale 
Expo '85. Civic Center. 
Philadelphia, PA. Contact 
Vertical Marketing Corp., 
POB 5 57, Bala Cynwyd, PA 
19004, (800) 523-3882; in 
Pennsylvania, (215) 
457-2303. April 26-28 

• C FOR ENGINEERS 

C Programming for Engi- 
neers, University of 
Michigan, Dearborn. A short 
course and workshop. Con- 
tact Professor R. E. Little, 
University of Michigan, 4901 
Evergreen Rd., Dearborn, Ml 
48128, (313) 593-5241. 
April 29-May 3 

• COMMERCIAL AI. 
HIGH-TECH CONFERENCE 

AI '85: Artificial Intelligence 
and Advanced Computer 
Technology Conference/Ex- 
hibition, Convention Center, 
Long Beach, CA. Technical 
sessions, panel discussions, 
and product displays are 
planned. Contact Tower Con- 
ference Management Co., 
331 West Wesley St., 
Wheaton, IL 60187, (312) 
668-8100. April 30-May 2 

• MEETING ON LINE 

National Online Meeting, 
Sheraton Centre Hotel, New 
York City. Formal paper pre- 
sentations, product review 
sessions, exhibits, and 
special workshops and 
seminars transmitted via 
satellite. Contact Thomas 
Hogan, National Online 
Meeting, Learned Informa- 
tion Inc., 143 Old Marlton 
Pike, Medford, NJ 08055, 
(609) 654-6266. 
April 30-May 2B 



94 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



INSTANT LAN 



WITH STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS' NEW ARCNET-PC, ARCNET-S100 OR 
ARCNET-LINK, YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN LOCAL AREA NETWORK. 

The world's first single-chip local area network controller established 
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ucts, too. 

Our ARCNET-PC board interconnects up to 255 IBIvf-type personal com- 
puters, permitting them to share 
disk files and printer resources 




ARCNET-LINK 



ARCNET-I 



at an extremely efficient 
2.5 Megabit data rate. 

The ARCNET-S100 board links up to 255 S100 computer systems, providing 
the S100 computer user with a high performance local area network. 

The ARCNET-LINK is a self-contained unit that provides a simplified inter- 
face between equipment with a programmable asynchronous RS-232 port 
and an ARCNET* local area network. 

All three products incorporate SMC's industry-standard MOSA/LSI local area 
network chip set to give you a totally integrated and cost-effective LAN solution. 
Software available from Standard Microsystems and others provides increased 
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STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS 
CORPORATION^^^™ 



IBM* is a trademark of the International Business Machines Corporation. 
ARCNET* is a trademark of the Datapoint Corporation. 



ST 



Inquiry 297 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 95 



■ 








I_ 



L 



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L. 









' -■ -r. fv\*, La. 



BYTE 



Features 



The HP Integral Personal Computer THIS MONTH BYTE presents a variety of features including two product 

by Phillip Robinson 98 previews. 

Oarcia's Circuit Cellar: Developed under the name 'Pisces," Hewlett-Packard's Integral Personal 

Build a Serial EPROM Programmer Computer includes UNIX System III in a transportable package. This product 

by Steve Garcia 104 pre view by Phillip Robinson, technical editor on our West Coast staff, takes 

The Macintosh Office an introductory look at the Integral, its major subassemblies, and its capabilities 

by )ohn Marfoff and Phillip Robinson .... 120 anc j limitations. The Integral uses a built-in electroluminescent flat screen and 
C to Pascal ink-jet printer, but the big news is its incorporation of UNIX in ROM. 

by Ted Camevale 138 y^ e Macintosh continues to provoke lots of love/hate feelings. To bolster 

Simulate a Servo System its attractiveness to business environments, Apple introduced Apptelklk, a 

by Don stauffer 147 ] cal-area network, and the first two in a series of peripherals designed to 

Introduction to Image Processing be networked. Apptetelk, previewed this month by John Markoff and Phillip 

by Jeffrey L. Star 163 Robinson, is a departure from what we often consider fundamental to a local- 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ area network concept. With only a printer and file server currently available, 

Appld^lk is an interesting approach. 

It you are ready to commit your code to EPROM but don't have access to 
an EPROM programmer, or if you would like to learn more about the pro- 
cess, read Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar. This month, Steve shows us how to build 
an EPROM programmer inexpensively. This unit attaches to your computer's 
serial port and uses your computer's intelligence. It is also fully documented 
and is easily expandable to work with future EPROM designs. 

Translating programs among various languages (or even between two 
languages) is a wonderful concept but generally difficult to implement. In "C 
to Pascal." 'fed Carnevale describes some of the conventional approaches and 
problems he discovered while trying to move a graphics subroutine library 
in C to a Pascal environment. He also provides us with a program that makes 
the process less tedious. 

The theme of the March 1984 BYTE was simulation, an intriguing topic once 
relegated only to rooms full of computers. While microcomputers really can't 
compete with the fast, large-scale simulations that run on the CRAY-1 and other 
supercomputers, Don Stauffer uses a microcomputer to "Simulate a Servo 
System," using an electronic weighing scale as an example of servo-system 
simulation. 

Jeffrey L. Star also capitalizes on the power of the microcomputer in his 
article "Introduction to Image Processing." While commercial broadcast televi- 
sion limits gray-scale reproduction to about 12 levels and human vision covers 
a restricted spectrum, image-processing systems usually can deal with at least 
32 gray levels and over 16 million unique colors. And, interestingly, there are 
a couple of image-processing programs available for microcomputers. 

— Gene Smarte, Managing Editor 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 97 




PRODUi 
REVIEW 






THE HP INTEGRAL 
PERSONAL COMPUTER 



BY PHILLIP ROBINSON 



The Hewlett-Packard In- 
tegral Personal Computer 
is a complete transport- 
able computer system 
designed around UNIX (System III). 
(See photo 1.) With the UNIX kernel 
in ROM (read-only memory), an elec- 
troluminescent (EL) flat screen, 
a 3 /2-inch floppy-disk drive, a built-in ink-jet printer, and 
Hewlett-Packard's Personal Applications Manager (RAM), 
the Integral is a marvel of advanced personal computing 
technology. 

History 

A big team worked on the Integral, which, during devel- 
opment, was known by the name "Pisces." Some of the 
team's members I met were Jon Brewster (user interface), 
Ray Fajardo (software), Tim Williams (section manager), 
Doug Collins (hardware manager), and Andy Rood (oper- 
ating system). 

While the hardware development of the Integral began 
in the fall of 1982, the software development had begun 
a year earlier. In fact, several projects were merged to 
come up with the Integral. The original design called for 
desktop functions in a transportable box: 80 characters 
by 2 5 lines on the display a full-size printer (not ther- 
mal), and a real keyboard. When the project began, many 
of the elements that would meet those requirements 
didn't exist, lb assure that those devices would be ready 
in time, Hewlett-Packard (HP) had to get intimately in- 
volved in the particular technologies. For example, HP 
decided early on to use an EL screen and an ink-jet 
printer. At the time, EL technology was in its infancy and 
HP had to become a major factor in the EL marketplace. 



A new alMn-one 
system makes 

UNIX 
truly portable 



Brass Tacks 

The Integral's logic board is a generic 
68000 8-MHz system supplemented 
by a few special fillips: a memory 
mapper for UNIX and a proprietary 
graphics chip. The 684 51 MMU (mem- 
ory-management unit) chip wasn't 



Editor's note: The following is a BYTE 
product preview, it is not a review. We 
provide an advance look at this new 
product because we feel it is signifi- 
cant. A complete review will follow in 
a subsequent issue 



used for memory mapping because 
it slows the memory cycle quite a 
bit— it would reside between the pro- 
cessor and RAM (random-access 
read/write memory). Instead, only the 
top address bits are mapped, and 
while that mapping is going on, the 
lower-half addressing of the RAM also 
is proceeding. This leaves the RAM's speed unaffected 
while still giving reasonable page sizes. 

The RAM comes as a standard 512K bytes (with 32K 
more for the display) made up of 25 6K by I bit DRAMs 
(dynamic RAMs) with no parity chips. You can purchase 
2 56K and 5 1 2 K RAM boards separately and insert them 
into the Integral's two internal slots. By using extender 
boxes (which plug into one of the slots, sit underneath 
the Integral, and provide five slots) you can have up to 
5.5 megabytes of RAM. When the 1-megabyte RAM cards 
become available (soon after introduction) you'll be able 
to use the full logical RAM space of 7.5 megabytes. The 
Integral also has 2 56K bytes of ROM, which holds the 
operating system. I'll discuss the Integral's ROM a little 
more in the UNIX section that follows. 

The custom graphics processing unit (GPU) chip was 
designed and made by HP in Corvallis, Oregon. Accord- 
ing to Jon Brewster, a lot of effort went into the chip, 
which handles window scrolling, window moves, line 
drawing, and soft character fonts. The GPU is a big chip: 
it has a 16-bit ALU (arithmetic logic unit), a 16-bit data 
path, and a barrel shifter. 

The engineering and a nearly silent fan enable the 

Integral to work in some severe environments— up to 

40 degrees centigrade and 80 percent humidity. (The 

humidity limit is 95 percent without the disks, which 

are the most susceptible to moisture 

1 problems.) According to HP. some of 

the humidity testing involved just tak- 
ing the machine outside— remember, 

(continued) 
Phillip Robinson is a senior technical editor 
at BYTE. He may be contact at 1000 Elwell 
Court. Palo Alto. CA 94303. 



98 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



PHOTOGRAPHED BY PAUL AVIS 




FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 99 



Photo 2: 
HP's Personal Applications Manager (RAM) and Calculator. 



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No Featherweight 

HP says that the Integral is the only 

complete product around (i.e., with 

both a full screen and a printer) that 

you can really carry and that will fit 

under airline seats or in overhead 

racks. Regardless, this machine definitely remains in the 

transportable category. It is smaller than other transport- 

ables— such as the Kaypro— but still weighs 27 pounds. 

Reliability 

I asked what sort of reliability the Integral will have when 
it is actually carted around. "You'd be amazed." replied 
an HP spokesperson, who recited numerous tests with 
glee. For instance, in one test they dropped the system 
from a meter up: it sustained some cosmetic damage 
but still ran (although that isn't guaranteed). When some- 
thing did break during testing. HP made the necessary 
changes to the components or case. Further testing in- 
cluded vibrating the system, checking for condensation, 
and giving prototypes to marketing people. 

Another ramification of this reliability obsession is that 
HP won't soon introduce a hard-disk version of the In- 
tegral. Though HP engineers admittedly had considered 
the possibility, it seems they don't trust the ruggedness 
of the hard disks they've seen. Beyond that, the design 
team believes that RAM disks and ROM-based operat- 
ing systems give hard-disk performance without the 
problems. 

Service 

Service for the Integral will be available through dealers 
or HP, with the standard 90-day warranty offered in the 
US. Because of different legal requirements, the warranty 
period will be one year in Europe. You will also be able 
to purchase extended service agreements. 

I/O Capabilities 

The Integral has only a single port on 
the back, an HPIB (Hewlett-Packard In- 



\n one test 

HP dropped the 

Integral from a meter 

up. \t still ran. 



terface Bus) socket. If you need more 
I/O (input/output) capabilities you 
have to put I/O boards in the slots (for 
example, an RS-232C card, which 
should be immediately available). 

Another form of I/O is provided by 
the keyboard and mouse sockets. 
These sockets are called Human Inter- 
face Loop (HIL) ports and can handle other devices, such 
as graphics tablets. Hewlett-Packard has standardized the 
protocol for these ports throughout many of its wide 
range of products. 

Display 

The Integral's electroluminescent, flat-screen display is 
a centerpiece. Although the display isn't manufactured 
at HP. the HP engineers worked closely with the vendor 
to assure readability and reliability. In fact, each time I 
talked to an HP engineer I was assured that the "slight 
shadowing" on the prototype screen had been corrected. 
Unfortunately, I never saw the shadow. Maybe eyes 
trained on LCDs (liquid-crystal displays) aren't yet ready 
to analyze an EL flat-screen critically. The screen is also 
fast— with no phosphors to fade, it could be faster than 
a CRT (cathode-ray tube). The only color choice is amber. 

With 512 by 255 pixels in an area 8 inches wide and 
4 inches tall, the Integral screen is twice the size of the 
Grid Compass screen— the only other well-known exam- 
ple of an EL on a microcomputer. Because the screen 
is so thin, the Integral could probably be the shallowest 
system you have ever put on a desk. While transportables 
of the Osborne and Kaypro variety have to be unbut- 
toned and then tilted over, taking up much of the depth 
of a desk, the Integral retains its standing position, with 
only the keyboard folding down to occupy writing space. 

An EL display is clearer than a CRT because there's 
no focus problem. As project manager Tim Williams 
noted dryly "If a dot lights up. a dot lights up." 

The Integral has a variety of fonts and a font editor 
that lets you create your own. An antireflective coating 
and a circular polarizer for glare 
reduction combine to improve your 



100 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Photo 3: 
PAM, with HP's MernoMaker. 



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view of the already crisp images. 



TAe Iwte^ra/ PC's 

electroluminescent 

flat-screen display is 

its centerpiece. 



Keyboard 

The Integral's low-profile keyboard 
(photo 4) is a compact adaptation of 
a new HP standard keyboard that will 
be used with portables, desktops, and 
terminals. The keyboard has com- 
pletely soft mapping because it will be used in a number 
of countries: the Corvallis division of HP gets half of its 
business from outside the United States, so German, 
French. Spanish, and British versions of the Integral also 
were set for introduction in January. Another effect of 
European sales is that the arrangement of the keyboard 
(and of other system elements such as the display and 
fonts) had to meet European ergonomic standards. 

The keyboard consists of a full-size QWERTY layout 
with sculpted keys surrounded by special function keys. 
My first impression is that the keyboard is not especial- 
ly quiet but is fast and easy to type with. The numeric 
keypad on the right side is closer to the alphabetic keys 
than on many other HP keyboards: the engineers had 
to squeeze it inward because of the requirements of por- 
tability. The cursor keys are below the numeric keypad. 

Several of the numeric keys also have special functions, 
which are printed on the keys, such as Insert Line and 
Delete Character. The Integral also has: a Select key, used 
to shift the active window on the screen: Extend keys, 
which, in conjunction with the alphabetic keys, produce 
special characters: a Reset/Break key and a Stop key, 
placed in the extreme top left to prevent frustrating ac- 
cidents; and eight programmable function keys, part of 
the standard HP user interface. The bottom lines of the 
Integral's screen display the changing definitions of the 
function keys. 

Mass Storage 

The mass-storage capacity of the Integral consists of one 
HP-standard, 3 /2-inch floppy-disk drive with hard-shell 
disks that hold 71 OK bytes each. One of my first reac- 
tions to the machine was, "Why is 
there only one floppy-disk drive?" 



"One disk is cheaper than two," says 
HP's Andy Rood. "So the question is: 
'Why two?'" 

Normally manufacturers include two 
disk drives to provide enough total 
storage, separate storage devices 
for programs and data, and backup 
capability. 

According to HP, the Integral's single floppy-disk drive, 
RAM, and ROM meet these needs: the very high den- 
sity of the floppy-disk drive provides enough total 
storage; the separation of programs and data is ac- 
complished partly by the ROM and partly by the RAM 
disk; and because the operating system is in ROM in- 
stead of on a disk and the RAM of the Integral auto- 
matically includes a RAM-disk function, you can put pro- 
grams on the RAM disk and data files on the floppy. As 
an added benefit, RAM-disk programs run faster than 
those on a floppy disk. Finally, the development team 
felt that the high-density floppy and the RAM disk made 
up a perfectly capable pair of devices for backing up 
files. For those reasons, and to save on space and power, 
the team decided to leave out a second disk drive. 

The use of ROM for the operating system was a big 
challenge: UNIX likes to have a disk drive at its disposal. 
The HP team had to "tune" their UNIX so that it didn't 
do that. The ROM solution provides that the root file 
is on the RAM disk, so when UNIX comes up, the only 
file system it presumes to exist is the RAM disk. 

You can have more mass storage (externally) if you 
want it. Through the Integral's I/O interface you can use 
any of HP's many storage peripherals. All of the software 
drivers— such as for a hard disk— are already built in. 

ThinkJet Printer 

One of the features that makes the Integral unusually 
"integrated" is the built-in ink-jet printer (see "The 
Hewlett-Packard ThinkJet Printer" by Mark Haas in the 
January BYTE, page 337). The ThinkJet is also a product 
of the Corvallis division of Hewlett-Packard and the 
Integral team was intimately asso- 

[continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 101 



Photo 4: 

The Integral Personal Computer's keyboard. 




ciated with its development. 

As an ink-jet printer, the Thinkjet is 
quiet and fast. The characters it pro- 
duces are near letter quality. The 
Thinkjet can print in a number of dif- 
ferent fonts and can also handle 
black-and-white graphics. The In- 
tegral's keyboard has a Print key that 
immediately cues a dump of the screen's contents to the 
Thinkjet. 

One small drawback of the printer's placement is that 
there is no good place to put the paper— that is, if you 
put the pile of blank paper just behind the computer, 
the system takes up a lot more room. 

The Thinklet is generally simple to load and use but 
doesn't have a platen knob. Therefore, you have to be 
careful not to overrun when using the line-feed and form- 
feed buttons. 

Mouse 

The Integral's optional mouse is HP's standard two- 
button, mechanical contraption that uses a steel ball 
beneath a circular palm grip. The plug-in position (on 
the left side of the unit) is slightly awkward for a right- 
handed user because the cable must run behind the 
keyboard. The mouse's left button is called the "click- 
ing" button (for selection) and the right is called the 
"right" button (for mode changing). 

Software 

The Integral runs HP-UX 2.1, which HP calls a "vanilla" 
UNIX environment, and the Personal Applications Man- 
ager (photos 2 and 3), HP's operating-environment shell 
(see "The HP 1 50" by Phil Lemmons and Barbara Robert- 
son in the October 1983 BYTE, page 36, and "The HP 
1 10" in the June 1984 BYTE, page 1 11). The Integral's win- 
dows emulate terminals that report back at 9600 bits per 
second, have 80 characters by 24 lines, and use normal 
escape sequences. As Tim Williams puts it, "We think 
the UNIX wave is just beginning. And as the UNIX wave 
rolls along we want to roll with it and 
help it to grow." Ray Fajardo noted 



Although the Integral 

is compatible with 

UNIX System III, it 

emulates other versions 



that a lot of development time was 
devoted to making the Integral run 
most UNIX software without modi- 
fication. The primary goal was System 
111 compatibility: a secondary goal was 
flexibility. The system can dynamical- 
ly configure drivers and make oper- 
ating-system patches on the fly so the 
environment is standard yet can be specialized by in- 
dependent software vendors. According to HP. HP-UX's 
flexibility enables it to emulate Venix, System V, and 
other UNIX derivatives. Over 50 utilities, commands, and 
standard applications are included with the system. 

How hard was it to put UNIX in ROM? "We first did 
it the same way we do a disk operating system," says 
Andy Rood. "We just took what would have been our 
200K boot image, put it in ROM, and put a little power- 
on preamble that copied it to RAM just as a bootstrap 
up for disk." They then embellished the first version by 
making the code execute directly from the ROM and 
made some flexibility modifications by linking ROM 
through RAM jump tables. Any bugs that turn up in the 
ROM now can be masked by intercepting and isolating 
ROM routines. The kernel is in the ROM and is treated 
as another disk device. At the time the machine is 
started, the ROM disk— which has both the PAM shell and 
the traditional UNIX init process— is configured. The ROM 
looks like shared memory for user libraries and pro- 
grams. There also is a demon in the background to do 
the disk handling. The HP-UX system is supported by 
real-time extensions (BCD |binary coded decimal|, HPIL 
IHewlett-Packard Interface Loop|, HPIB, RS-232C and in- 
strumentation I/O) and device-independent libraries, as 
well as HP Technical BASIC. 

User Interface 

The Integral's user interface (windows, graphics, function 
keys, and optional mouse) were Jon Brewster's respon- 
sibility. He explained that the original reason for windows 
was to provide users with more than one interface to 
the product. HP had discovered that 
even novice users use multitasking 



102 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



Photo 5: 

The Integral PC with keyboard in place. 




and keep multiple programs on the 
display. The windowing system, then, 
had to allow novices to do multitask- 
ing without worrying about fore- 
ground, background, priorities, and 
scheduling. Because the mouse was 
to be (and is) optional the windows 
had to work well with and without it. 
Also, unlike the Macintosh, the Integral allows you to 
move windows while they are being updated: windows 
are moved by animating a sprite (which resembles a cor- 
ner of the window) and positioning it— rather than mov- 
ing the entire window. Thus, you can hide windows (they 
appear as title lines in the lower left of the display), 
stretch them (by choosing a new bottom right corner with 
a sprite), move them (by choosing a new top left corner 
with a sprite), and shuffle them (the top window being 
the only one with which you can interface directly, 
although the others can still be active). 

Applications 

According to HP, a variety of software packages will be 
available within 60 days of the Integral's introduction. 
These include Microsoft's Multiplan, Officeware's Script 
and Plan, Ashton-T&te's dBASE III, HP's MemoMaker, Data 
and Calculator, HP-UX software development tools, and 
others. 

More software is being developed both at HP's per- 
sonal software division and by independent vendors who 
have already been alerted to the Integral's introduction. 
Also, because of the compatibility of HP 'technical BASIC, 
many programs for other HP systems, such as Series 200 
and 500 products, will immediately run on the Integral. 

Documentation 

Although the documentation I viewed was only in the 
draft stage, HP has given plenty of attention to the litera- 
ture explaining its system. The documentation is clear 
and thorough. Beginners will spend the most time with 
the Personal TUtor disk and booklet, a tutorial that takes 
an estimated eight hours to fully ab- 
sorb. Lessons include use of the 



The Integral's user 

interface lets you 

move, hide, stretch, 

and shuffle windows, 



mouse, windows, and the organiza- 
tion, viewing, printing, and creating of 
files. The Integral's documentation 
also includes a cartoon booklet that 
explains how to set up and start up 
the system, and a reference guide. HP 
claims that the documentation, user 
interface, and PAM will have novices 
working on the system within 30 minutes. 



Price and Conclusions 

The Integral Personal Computer is priced at $4990 (with 
HP-UX, PAM, and HP Windows). Although the price is 
high for a single-disk-drive system, the perceived price/ 
value ratio depends on what class of computer you com- 
pare the Integral to. HP would like it to be compared 
to the higher-performance (and higher-priced) UNIX 
machines, rather than MS-DOS transportables such as 
the Compaq. 

The big question is, who will buy the Integral? Perhaps 
business and technical professionals whose require- 
ments push the limitations of today's 16-bit MS-DOS 
machines. Certainly computer science students and engi- 
neers will see many advantages to a complete UNIX 
system they can take home. And with the benefits of 
multitasking, HP may pull in more people: imagine hav- 
ing several data-communications cards, each hooked to 
a different electronic information service, and all com- 
municating while you work on a spreadsheet and a word 
processor. 

The HP Integral Personal Computer's advantages in- 
clude: state-of-the-art technology; the "everything you 
need in one box" design: engineering that looks ab- 
solutely solid, and a multitasking environment— all from 
a company with a great engineering track record. On the 
minus side: the list of software available for the Integral 
PC is short, and the price may be too high. But for those 
who need advanced computing power and who want to 
cast their votes against the IBM PC and its various com- 
patibles, the HP Integral Personal Computer may be the 
best argument yet for biting the bullet 
and switching to UNIX. ■ 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 103 




104 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



PHOTOGRAPHED BY PAUL AVIS. 



CIARCIA'S CIRCUIT CELLAR 

BUILD A 
SERIAL EPROM 
PROGRAMMER 

by Steve Ciarcia 



An inexpensive way to put 
your programs on a chip 




Over the years, many ar- 
ticles have been pub- 
lished on programming 
EPROMs (erasable pro- 
grammable read-only 
memories). The number 
of articles alone indicates 
the value of an EPROM programmer and 
the interest expressed in the subject. True- 
blooded computer experimenters consider 
an EPROM programmer as essential a tool 
as a soldering iron and a DVM (digital 
voltmeter). 

Most EPROM programmers designed for 
personal computers are implemented as 
bus-dependent I/O (input/output) peripheral 
cards that use computer-specific, machine- 
language driver programs. By eliminating 
the need for an enclosure and using the 
system power supply, a relatively cost- 
effective unit can be produced. Unfor- 
tunately, if I designed such a unit, it prob- 
ably wouldn't be for the computer you own. 
For computer users who don't have ex- 
pansion buses or who want their EPROM 
programmer to be transportable between 
systems, the only alternative is a stand- 
alone EPROM programmer attached to a 
serial port (much like a modem). Making it 
a separate peripheral device, however, 
necessarily increases its cost. In fact, exter- 
nal serial-port EPROM programmers are fre- 
quently two or three times the cost of 



board-level units. 

A certain portion of the cost is due to its 
separate power supply and enclosure, but 
most of the expense is attributed to the 
features that manufacturers generally incor- 
porate in the devices. The majority of stand- 
alone serial-connected programmers are, in 
fact, designed as intelligent EPROM pro- 
grammers that have the basic processing 
power and memory of whole computers. I 
have taken this approach on previous 
designs. Such devices perform well and re- 
quire little assistance from the host system 
beyond the data to be programmed. 

This time I'm approaching the problem 
differently. I've decided to keep it simple 
and design the most universally applicable 
and cost-effective programmer that I can. 

The latest Circuit Cellar EPROM program- 
mer is a serial-port programmer that has the 
speed of a turtle, the intelligence of the 
mightiest computer (that is, it has absolutely 
no smarts of its own), and is as functional 
as a doorstop between uses. On the posi- 
tive side, it's fully documented, universally 
applicable, and easily expandable to ac- 

[continued] 

Steve Garcia (pronounced "see-ARE-see-ah") is an elec- 
tronics engineer and computer consultant with experience 
in process control, digital design, nuclear instrumenta- 
tion, and product development. He is the author of 
several books about electronics. You can write to him 
at POB 582, Glastonbury, CT 06033. 



COPYRIGHT © 1985 STEVEN A. CIARCIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 105 



commodate future EPROM types. 

The serial-port programmer can be 
operated from almost any system with 
a serial port. The driver software is 
written completely in BASIC with no 
machine-language routines. The 
serial-port programmer offers all the 
hardware features to program 2716, 
2732, 2732A, 2764, and 27128 
EPROMS through a serial port, in- 
cluding: RS-232C compatibility, no 
handshaking necessary, internal 
power supplies, jumper-selectable 
EPROM types, and jumper-selectable 
data rates. 

The BASIC-language driver program 
included offers features such as: 

• menu-driven operation using single 
keystrokes 

• a help routine that can be called at 
any time 

• single-byte or burst-write modes 

• read or copy EPROM 

• optional programming from a disk 
file 

• verify after write 

• verify EPROM erasure 

• screen-dump routines by page or 
byte 

• single-stepping mode 

• software-controlled read/write 
mode select 

• BASIC driver that can be user- 
modified 

Reviewing EPROM Basics 

A personal computer, even in- its 
minimum configuration, always con- 
tains some user-programmable mem- 



ory or RAM (random-access read/ 
write memory), usually in the form of 
semiconductor-memory integrated 
circuits. This memory can contain 
both programs and data and can be 
read or modified as needed. 

Any of several kinds of electronic 
components can function as bit- 
storage elements in this kind of mem- 
ory. TTL (transistor-transistor logic) 
type-7474 flip-flops, bistable relays, or 
tiny f errite toroids (memory cores) are 
suitable, but they all cost too much, 
are hard to use, and have other dis- 
advantages. 

In personal computer and other 
microprocessor-based applications, 
the most cost-effective memory is 
made from MOS (metal-oxide semi- 
conductor) ICs (integrated circuits). 
Unfortunately, data stored in these 
semiconductor RAMs is volatile. 
When the power is turned off, the 
data is lost. Many ways of dealing with 
this problem have been devised, with 
essential programs and data usually 
stored in some nonvolatile medium. 

In most computer systems, some 
data or programs are stored in non- 
volatile ROM (read-only memory). A 
semiconductor ROM can be random- 
ly accessed for reading in the same 
manner as the volatile memory, but 
the data in the ROM is permanent. In 
a mask-programmed ROM, the data 
that can be read is determined dur- 
ing the manufacturing process. When- 
ever power is supplied to the ROM, 
this permanent data (or program) is 
available. In small computer systems, 















a? |T 


kj 


El v cc 


v PP |T 


\-> 


m v cc 


A 5 U 




23] A 8 


Am [I 




m ^^ 


A 5 \T 




ttj A 9 


A 7 (T 




26] NC 


A4 (T 

A 3 E 


2716 


S| Vpp 
fo] OE 


A 6 [l 

A 5 GE 


2764 


3 A 8 
24] A 9 


A 2 [f 




m a 10 


A* [T 




HI An 


ftj (T 




Tb] ce/pgm 


A 3 [I 




22] OE 


A U 




77] o 7 


A 2 (T 




I3 A io 


o H 




w| o 6 


A] U 




20] CE 


°i n 




lo 5 


A Qo 




in o 7 


o 2 [n 




h]o 4 


o [n 




7s] o 6 


GND (TF 




1 ° 3 


Oj g 




13 05 


■ 


2 jg 




IE°4 




GND [77 




W|o 3 








Figure I: Pinouts of the 2716 and 2764 EPROMs. 



ROM is chiefly used to contain 
operating systems and/or BASIC 
interpreters— programs that don't 
need to be changed. 

Another type of ROM is the PROM 
(programmable read-only memory). A 
PROM component is delivered con- 
taining no data. The user decides 
what data it should contain and per- 
manently programs it with a special 
programming device. Once initially 
programmed, PROMs exhibit the 
characteristics of mask-programmed 
ROMs. You might label such PROMs 
as write-once memories. 

The EPROM, which is ultraviolet- 
light-erasable, is a compromise be- 
tween the write-once kind of PROM 
and the volatile memory. You can 
think of the EPROM as a read-mostly 
memory, used in read-only mode 
most of the time but occasionally 
erased and reprogrammed as neces- 
sary. The EPROM is erased by expos- 
ing the silicon chip to ultraviolet light 
at a wavelength of 2 53 7 angstroms. 
Conveniently, most EPROM chips are 
packaged in an enclosure with a trans- 
parent quartz window. 

How an EPROM Works 

EPROMs store data bits in cells 
formed from stored-charge FAMOS 
(floating-gate avalanche-injection 
metal-oxide semiconductor) tran- 
sistors. Such transistors are similar to 
positive-channel silicon-gate field- 
effect transistors, but they have two 
gates. The lower or floating gate is com- 
pletely surrounded by an insulator 
layer of silicon dioxide; the upper con- 
trol or select gate is connected to ex- 
ternal circuitry. 

The amount of electric charge 
stored on the floating gate determines 
whether the bit cell contains a I or a 
0. Charged cells are read as 0s; un- 
charged cells are read as Is. When the 
EPROM chip comes from the factory, 
all bit locations are cleared of charge 
and are read as logic Is; each byte 
contains hexadecimal FF. 

When a given bit cell is to be 
burned from a I to a 0, a current is 
passed through the transistor's chan- 
nel from the source to the gate. (The 
electrons, of course, move the op- 
posite way.) At the same time, a 
relatively high voltage potential is 
placed on the transistor's upper select 
gate, creating a strong electric field 
within the layers of semiconductor 

(continued) 



106 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




Figure 2: The serial-port EPROM programmer. 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 107 



material. (This is the function of the 
+ 21- or + 25-volt |V| V pp charging 
potential applied to the EPROM.) In 
the presence of this strong electric 
field, some of the electrons passing 
through the source-drain channel gain 
enough energy to tunnel through the 
insulating layer that normally isolates 
the floating gate. As the tunneling 
electrons accumulate on the floating 
gate, the gate takes on a negative 
charge, which makes the cell contain 
aO. 

When data is to be erased from the 
chip, it is exposed to ultraviolet light, 
which contains photons of relatively 
high energy. The incident photons ex- 



cite the electrons on the floating gate 
to sufficiently high energy states that 
they can tunnel back through the in- 
sulating layer, removing the charge 
from the gate and returning the cell 
to the 1 state. 

The 2700 family of EPROMs con- 
tains bit-storage cells configured as in- 
dividually addressable bytes. This 
organization is often called "2K by 8" 
for a 2716 or "8K by 8" for a 2764. 
Figure 1 shows the 2716 and 2764. 
The completely static operation of 
these devices requires no clock 
signals. The primary operating modes 
include read, standby, and program 
(program-inhibit and program-verify 



T&ble I : Power supply and grounc 


pin numbers for figures 2 and 3. 






IC Number 


Type 


Ground 


5V 


12 V 


-12 V 




IC1 


AY3-1015 


pin 3 


pin 1 








IC2 


74LS175 


pin 8 


pin 16 










IC3.4.5 


74LS374 


pin 10 


pin 20 










IC6 


74LS00 


pin 7 


pin 14 










IC7 


74LS14 


pin 7 


pin 14 










IC8 


NE555 


pin 1 


pin 8 










IC9 


74LS02 


pin 7 


pin 14 










IC10 


MC1488 


pin 7 




pin 14 


pin 1 






IC11 


MC1489 


pin 7 


pin 14 










IC12 


74LS04 


pin 7 


pin 14 










IC13 


CD74HC4040 


pin 8 


pin 16 





















4.9152MHz 



1.8K 
-Wr- 



RS-232C CONNECTOR 
IC11 
MC1489 



r 



1.8K 
— vs/v 

IC12 
74LS04 



d> 



£> 



ICl-20 



IC10 

MC1488 






IC13 
CD74HC4040 



IC1-25 



tin in 



o X) o o o o o 



11 



IC8-3 

(OPTIONAL) 



J s. CLOCK 

1 * IC1-17. 40 



DATA -RATE GENERATOR 



Figure 3 : Serial interface and data-rate generator. 



modes are important primarily in 
high-volume applications). 

Control inputs are used to select the 
chip and configure it for one of these 
operating modes. In the program 
mode, particular bit cells are induced 
to contain values. Both Is and 0s are 
present in the data word presented 
on the data lines, but only the 
presence of a causes action to take 
place, Tb program the 2716 EPROM, 
the V pp input is made + 2 5 V and the 
OE input is at a high TTL level. Then, 
the TTLrlevel data to be programmed 
for a specific address is set up on the 
271 6's data lines, and the address is 
set up on address lines A0 through 
A 10. After a setup time of at least 2 
microseconds (/*s). a high TTLrlevel 
programming pulse 50 milliseconds 
(ms) long is applied to the CE/PGM in- 
put. Addresses to be programmed 
may be specified in any order. 

The 50-ms programming pulse must 
be applied once for each location to 
be programmed (under no circum- 
stances should a^constant high level 
be applied to the CE/PGM input in the 
program mode). Repeated 50-ms 
pulses to the same location are ac- 
ceptable, but any pulse width greater 
than 55 ms might destroy the chip. 
The minimum pulse width is 45 ms. 

Circuit Description 

Figures 2, 3, and 4 show the sche- 
matic drawings for the serial-port 
EPROM programmer, the RS-232C in- 
terface, and the four-voltage power 
supply. T&ble 1 shows the power- 
supply connections for the sche- 
matics. The main element in figure 2 
is the AY-3-101 5 UART (universal asyn- 
chronous receiver/transmitter). The 
UART converts serial information sent 
from the computer into parallel infor- 
mation used in the programmer. This 
parallel data appears on pins 5 
through 1 2 of the UART receiver bus. 
The UART can also pass information 
back to the computer by converting 
any parallel information present on 
pins 2 6 through 3 3 of the transmitter 
bus into serial information. The serial 
information is received from the com- 
puter on pin 20 and transmitted to the 
computer on pin 2 5. 

A logic high level on pin 21 resets 
and initializes the UART This level is 
generated as a power-on reset (PWR) 
every time the power to the program- 
mer is turned on or the manual reset 
button pressed. This PWR also clears 



108 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



the receiver character counter, IC2. 

UART pins 35 through 39 set the 
format of the serial transmission be- 
tween the computer and the program- 
mer. (I chose to hard-wire these op- 
tions rather than provide option 
switches that are rarely used.) As 
shown, the UART is configured for an 
8-bit character length with I stop bit 
and parity checking inhibited. If your 
computer requires 2 stop bits, con- 
nect pin 36 to + 5 V instead of ground. 
The programmer will operate at any 
desired data rate up to and including 
9600 bits per second (bps). A soft- 
ware delay loop keeps the program- 
mer from being swamped. 

The programmer requires 4 bytes to 
be sent from the computer for each 
location read from or written to in the 
EPROM. This 4-byte protocol elimi- 
nates the need for incremental 
counters and sophisticated decision 
logic in the programmer, [t does, 
however, reduce the speed of read 
and erasure-verification operations. 

The first 3 bytes received are 
latched a byte at a time into latches 
1C3, 1C4, and IC5. The latching pulses 
are generated by IC2, which is con- 
figured as a 4-bit byte counter. Each 
time a byte is received by the UART, 
an RDA (received data available) pulse 
is generated at pin 19 of the UART. 
This pulse is used to clock IC2 and is 
gated back to the RDAV (reset data 
available) line, pin 18, to clear the 
receiver section of the UART. As the 
counter clocks, the leading edges of 
its output latch the data from the 
UART into 1C3, IC4, or IC5. The 
counter is reset by the PWR line or 
when the fourth byte is received. 

The first byte received by the pro- 
grammer contains the most significant 
3 to 6 bits of the EPROM address 
(depending upon the EPROM type) 
and I bit to select either the read or 
write mode of operation. A logic I in 
bit 7 sets the write mode; a logic 
sets the read mode. 

The second byte contains the lower 
8 bits of the EPROM address. 

The third byte contains the data to 
be programmed into the addressed 
location when it is in the write mode 
or a dummy character when in -the 
read mode. 

The fourth byte contains dummy 
data in both the read and write 
modes. When the counter increments 
with the reception of the fourth byte, 
it causes IC2 to reset. The time be- 



tween setting this output bit and 
clearing the counter is about 100 
nanoseconds (ns). This short pulse 
concluding the setup of the address 
and data is used to trigger the actual 
programming pulse to the EPROM. 

The programming pulse to the 
EPROM is generated by IC8. which is 
configured as a 50-ms one-shot (trig- 
gered by the reception of the fourth 
byte). The programming pulse is fed 
to the EPROM at several different 
locations, depending on which 
EPROM is being programmed and 
how the EPROM selection jumper 
block (see figure 5) is configured. 

The one-shot is functional only 
when the mode select line (R/W, 
read/not write) IC3 pin 2 is a logic 0, 
setting the write mode. The mode 
select line is also used to select the 
programming voltage ranges of the 
various EPROMs. When configured 
for a 2732 or a 2716 EPROM, a low 
on the mode select line sets the V pp 
supply to a 25-V level. For all other 
EPROM types, the V pp supply is set to 
a 21-V level. 

Depending on the configuration of 
the jumper block, the mode select 
line sets the proper TTL levels at the 
CE and OE pins to place the various 
EPROMs in the read or write mode. 
A logic high on the mode select line 
causes the V pp supply to drop to V 
for the 2732 and 2 73 2 A EPROMs and 
to 5 V for the other types. 

The mode select line also functions 
as the output enable line of data latch 



IC5. When the programmer is in the 
write mode, data from the UART is 
latched and directed to the EPROM 
data bus for programming. When the 
programmer is in the read mode, IC5's 
output is disabled, and the EPROM 
data-bus contents are transmitted 
back to the computer. 

LEDs (light-emitting diodes) I. 2, 
and 3 indicate when power is on and 
when read and write pulses occur. 
They are not necessary to the opera- 
tion of the programmer and are mere- 
ly included as visual aids. 

Figure 3 shows the serial-interface 
connections and the data-rate 
generator. ICIOand 1C1I are standard 
RS-232C transmitter and receiver 
chips that conform to the E1A (Elec- 
tronic Industries Association) stan- 
dard for RS-232C transmission. (If 
your computer needs a handshaking 
signal, the 50-ms write pulse can be 
connected to the clear-to-send line. It 
is not used with the software pre- 
sented in this article.) The serial-com- 
munication rate between the pro- 
grammer and the computer is jumper- 
selectable. A 4.9152-MHz oscillator 
is divided down through a 
CD74HC4040 (it must include the HC 
designation to accommodate the high 
frequency) to produce the appropri- 
ate clock rate for the UART. 

Figure 4 shows the power supply 
used with the programmer. The power 
transformer 1 chose was 22 V CT 
(center tap), but any transformer from 

{continued) 




Figure 4: Power supply. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 109 



22 to 25.6V CT is adequate. The 
secondary output of the transformer 
is full-wave rectified, filtered, and then 
regulated to + 12 V, + 5 V, and - 12 V. 
Only the + 5-V supply needs an actual 
1C regulator; less stringent zener 
regulation is adequate for the 12-V 



supplies to the RS-232C drivers. 

The 3 5-V output consists of com- 
ponents C4, C5, D3, and D4 con- 
nected as a cascade voltage doubler 
with half-wave rectification. This con- 
figuration produces an input of ap- 
proximately 32 to 34 V to the LM3 1 7/ 



Jl ! 


2716 












2764 








r 


i 


24 


%' 




24 








J2 i 
J3 < 


■ 


i 


i 

22 




I 
3< 


i 




i 


> 

>22 




J4 • 


* 


t 
»20 




4 \ 








>21 




J5 ' 




















J6 < 


> 


i 


18 

i 




i 


i 




i 


i 
'18 

■ 
'16 




J7 ' 
J8 i 
J9 i 


■ 


i 




9 ' 


i 




i 








'15 

i 

'13 












Jll i 
J12< 


i i 




i 
12 < 


i 




1 1 
"13 




















i i 


2732 A 












2732 












'24 


1 


i i 


'24 


2< 

! 




1 


' 23 




2 






< 

i 


23 

i 




6 | 

< 

8' 


i 


! 


i 




6 
8 






i 


> 




i < 


i 
'17 




i i 


i 
'17 




9 ! 

i 


i 


f 


'16 

i 


. 


9 


i 






'16 

i 




< 
12 


i 


i 


>13 




12 


i 


i 


'13 




1' 

i 
3' 
4' 


27128 




\ 






















< 


i 




























( 


' 












7< 

9 < 




( 


i 












i i 


> 














i 


> 












11< 
12* 


















i • 


13 



























Figure 5 : Configuration jumpers. 



338 regulator. The minimum accept- 
able voltage at the input is 28.5 V (for 
a 2 5-V output). If you use a higher- 
output transformer than 2 2 V CT, be 
careful that the input to the V pp 
regulator doesn't exceed 35 V. Jf it 
does, additional preregulation may be 
necessary to use this circuit. 

Figure 6 shows the programmable 
V pp supply. The 27 32 A EPROM re- 
quires the programming voltage to be 
pulsed between and 2 1 V, while a 
2716 requires a pulse between 5 and 
2 5 V. The supply is controlled by the 
jumper connections and the mode 
select line. With jumper #1 across R6, 
the supply is configured for a max- 
imum V pp level of 21V When it is 
removed, the supply has a maximum 
voltage of 2 5 V. 

The minimum V pp level is set by two 
jumper-selectable programming cir- 
cuits, which are also connected to the 
regulator's output set point-adjust 
line. When jumper #2 is installed, a 
two-transistor circuit is enabled, which 
applies - 1.2 V to the adjust line. The 
result is a 0-V output from the 
regulator. When jumper #3 is in- 
stalled, the reference-adjust line is set 
to allow a + 5-V regulator output. 

Interacting with Hardware 

The operation of the serial program- 
mer should become clear by follow- 
ing an example of a write operation 
followed by a read operation. This is 
the sequence that would necessarily 
occur during a standard write-and- 
verify cycle. 

First, the EPROM programmer is 
cleared and set to the read mode by 
the power-on reset pulse (which can 
be generated by pressing a button or 
by turning the programmer on) so 
that it is ready to receive the first 
character. If we plan a write cycle, the 
first character must contain a logic 1 
in bit 8 to activate the write mode. The 
upper 3 to 6 bits of the EPROM ad- 
dress (the page address that depends 
on the size of the EPROM) must also 
appear in the first 3 to 6 bits (bit 
through bit 5) of this first character. 
Each character of data to be pro- 
grammed into the EPROM is sent to 
the programmer as a 4-byte transmis- 
sion with the programming address 
specified each time. 

Tkble 2 indicates the allowable bit 
patterns for this first character re- 
ceived by the programmer. 

For our example, assume that the 



110 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



data byte C3 (hexadecimal) is to be 
written into the first byte of page 4 in 
the EPROM. In this case, the first 
character received by the program- 
mer should be 1x000100. The receipt 
of this character pulses IC2 and 
latches the page address and mode 
select bit into the page/mode latch, 
1C3. The mode select bit selects the 
EPROM for a write cycle, turns on the 



V pp supply to the EPROM, releases 
the reset line on the timer, activates 
the output enable line of the data 
latch, and shuts off the transmission 
gate of the UART. 

The second character sent contains 
the lower 8 address bits for the 
EPROM. lb program the first location 
in page 4, the rest of the address must 
then be 00000000. This character sets 



Tkble 2: Allowable bit patterns. 




Page 


Write Mode 


Read Mode 







1x000000 


0x000000 




1 


1x000001 


0x000001 






2 


1x000010 


0x000010 






3 


1 X00001 1 


0x00001 1 






4 


1x000100 


0x000100 






5 


1x000101 


0x000101 






6 


1x000110 


0x000110 






7 


1x000111 


0x000111 

• 






64 


1x111111 


0x1 1 1 1 1 1 













the second stage of the counter and 
latches the lower address location 
into the lower address latch, IC4. 

The third character, 11000011 (C3 
hexadecimal), contains data to be pro- 
grammed into the EPROM. When this 
character is received, the counter 
latches the data into the data latch, 
IC5. 

The fourth character sent is a 
dummy character that may contain 
any value. This fourth and last char- 
acter simply clocks 1C2 and triggers 
the 50-ms programming pulse. When 
the one-shot times out, the program- 
mer is still in the write mode. It has 
to be set to the read mode by ini- 
tiating a read cycle. 

The four characters sent in our pres- 
ent example of a write sequence are 
1 xOOOIOO, which sets the write mode 
and upper address; 00000000, which 
sets the lower address; 110000II, 
which sets the data byte (C3 hexadec- 
imal); and xxxxxxxx, dummy data. 

The read sequence is similar to the 
write sequence. The first character 

{continued) 



32-35 VOLTS ' 



LM317/LM338 

IN OUT 

ADJ 



c 



IK 



4.7K 

-wv— 



Ql 
2N2222 



470il 
<\ WS* n 



IN4732 



-12V 



m 




Q3 
2N2905 



"^7 



R7 
510A 



-Ov P 



R4 
150& 



R5 
2.4K 



R5 + R6 SETS 25V 
R5 SETS 21V 



m 



^ 



R6 | ,, (INSTALLED FOR 

470& J A DEVICES) 

/ 
*U 



:470& 



470& 




Q2 
2N2222 



25V 



2716 



(2732) JJ2 JJ3 (2716.2764.27128) 



5V 

25V 
0V 



2732 



R/W | >»- 



I 



22 



2732A 



v C c 





READ 
WRITE 



21V 



2764 
27128 



Figure 6: Close-up of the programmable V pp supply. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 111 



sent again contains the upper bits of 
the address, but bit 8 is now set to 
logic to put the mode select line 
high (read mode). A logic I on the 
read/write line deactivates the pro- 
gramming one-shot and tristates the 
data latch, 1C5. 

Again, the first character is latched 
into the page/mode latch, and the sec- 
ond character is latched into the lower 
address latch. With 1C5 tristated. the 
EPROM's data output is placed on the 
UART transmitter bus. The third char- 
acter is a dummy character that is 
used to clock IC2. This signal causes 
the UART to transmit the data on the 
transmitter bus to the computer. The 



fourth character is then sent to the 
programmer to reset the counter. 

The four characters that must be 
sent in the verify sequence of our ex- 
ample are 0x000100, which sets the 
read mode and upper page address; 
00000000, which sets the lower 
address; xxxxxxxx, which gets the 
data byte from the EPROM (C3 hexa- 
decimal); and xxxxxxxx, which resets 
the programmer. 

Programmer Software 

The driver program shown in listing 
I could have been written in any lan- 
guage that supports input and output 
ports. [This program is available for down- 



loading from BYTEnet Listings at (603) 
924-9820. You can also receive it by send- 
ing an IBM PC-formatted disk and return 
postage to Steve Garcia] BASIC was 
chosen because it has wide appeal in 
the personal computer field and 
because most systems with serial I/O 
ports support BASIC. The software 
(flow-diagramed in figure 7) was writ- 
ten specifically for the IBM PC but can 
be easily modified to conform to most 
other systems that also support 
Microsoft BASIC. The program was 
written with a short MAIN program 
module that calls a number of subrou- 
tine modules. This modular approach 
makes modifying, debugging, or ex- 






READ EPROM 

INTO 

ARRAY 




(BEGIN "\ 
EPROM J 



INITIALIZE 
VARIABLES 



SELECT DATA 
RATE 



SELECT 

EPROM 

SIZE 



SELECT 

EPROM 

ERASED OR 

EPROM 

PARTIALLY 

PROGRAMMED 



NO 








GET INPUT 
BYTE 






EPROM 
ERASED 



YES 



SET ARRAY 
TO ALL 
FF (HEX) 



DIM ARRAY 

AND 

OPEN "C0M1" 

PORT 




YES 



VERIFY 
EPROM 
ERASED 



YES 



DISPLAY 

PREVIOUS 

BYTE 



DISPLAY 

NEXT 

BYTE 



YES 



BURN EPROM 
AND EXIT 



f END J 



INITIALIZE 
BASE ADDRESS 
OF EPROM 



DISPLAY 
PRESENT 
ADDRESS AND 
BYTE IN 
ARRAY 








SET NEW 

OFFSET 

LOCATION 



YES 



WRITE TO 
ARRAY AND 
RETURN 




Figure 7: A flowchart of the driver program. 



112 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



panding the software a much easier 
task. Examining the driver software 
should provide enough understand- 
ing so that any additions or changes 
desired can be easily implemented. 

The program modules that access 
the serial port are labeled READ A 
BYTE and WRITE A BYTE in listing I. 
These sections contain the only soft- 
ware modules that are hardware-de- 
pendent and that need to be con- 
figured to your particular system. 

The WRITE module performs the 
actual program burn of the data into 
the EPROM. The first statement sends 
the page address to the serial port 
with the value of bit 8 set to I . This 



is accomplished by combining the 
page address with the value 128 
(10000000 binary). The page address 
is calculated elsewhere in the pro- 
gram before entering this module. 
The next statement sends the lower 
address contained in the variable 
BYTE to the serial port. This value is 
also calculated by the program prior 
to entering the WRITE module. 

The statement "PRINT #3.DATUM" 
sends the data to be written into the 
EPROM to the serial port. The last 
statement in the WRITE module is a 
timing loop that causes the program 
to pause while the 50-ms timer in the 
serial-port programmer times out. 







B? 



YES 



BURN EPROM 

AND 

RETURN 



NO 









DP 



YES 



DISPLAY ONE 
PAGE OF 
EPROM 



YES 



INITIALIZE 
BASE ADDRESS 
OF EPROM 



YES 



LOAD ARRAY 
FROM DISK 



NO 



YES 



SAVE ARRAY 
TO DISK 






YES 



NO 



DISPLAY 

HELP 

MENU 



YES 




The READ module requests a data 
byte from the programmer and 
receives the byte from the serial port. 
It accomplishes this by sending a 
page address and byte address to the 
serial port as in the WRITE module. 
In this case, bit 8 of the page address 
is set to to inform the programmer 
that a read cycle is being performed. 
The next two lines send a dummy 
data value and a strobe to the serial 
port to complete the read sequence. 
The values of DUMMY and STROBE 
are set in the INITIALIZATION 
module. The data sent by the serial- 
port programmer is received in the 
variable RDATA. 

Once these modules have been 
configured to your system, it is a sim- 
ple matter to write and read data from 
the programmer. Simply define the 
PAGE and BYTE address variables 
along with the DATUM value and send 
them to your serial port by calling the 
appropriate module. The rest of the 
program in listing I shows methods 
for doing this. 

The approach used in the program 
is to place any data to be pro- 
grammed into the EPROM in an array 
so that it can be reviewed and edited 
prior to burning it permanently into 
the EPROM. The array name is appro- 
priately called ARRAYf ). The high- 
order byte of every element in AR- 
RAYf) stores a flag bit indicating that 
the lower-order byte of the element 
is data to be programmed. This 
method allows the program to write 
to only those locations in the EPROM 
where a valid data value has been 
entered in ARRAYf). 

Each time a data value is put into 
ARRAYf). the value is combined with 
2 56 to set the flag. When it is time to 
send all the data to the EPROM. the 
flag is checked in each element, and 
only those elements with the flag bit 
set are sent to the EPROM. This pro- 
cess is repeated until all the flagged 
elements have been programmed. 
The initial values for ARRAYf) are 
taken directly from the EPROM by 
reading each location and storing the 
values in ARRAYf). 

Several methods of entering data 
into ARRAYf) are used in the program. 
One method is to enter each data 
value directly from the keyboard; an- 
other method is to fill ARRAYf) by 
reading an already-programmed 
EPROM. Finally, a disk file previously 

(continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 •BYTE 113 



Listing I : EPROM programmer routines. 



1010 REM SERIAL EPROM PROGRAMMER 

1020 REM written in 

1030 REM MICROSOFT BASIC for the IBM PC 

1 060 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

1070 REM INITIALIZATION ROUTINE 

1090 KEY OFF 

1100 LINE25$ = "BAUD RATE =\ \EPROM=\ \BASEPAGE=\ \" 

1110 BR$ = "0000":EP$ = BR$:BP$ = BR$ 

1120 DEFINT A-Z:ON ERROR GOTO 4600 

1 1 30 STROBE = 255:DUMM Y = 255PAGE = 0:BYTE = 0:DATUM = 255 

1140 K$ = "VPNEOWHDIBSL":FORMAT$ = "PAGE=\\ BYTE=\\ DATA=\\" 

1150 MIMAGE = 0:MCRADDR = &H3FC:DELAY=100 

1160 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

1170 REM MAIN BODY OF PROGRAM - KEYBOARD SEQUENCE 

1190 GOSUB2250 

1200 PRINT" = = = = = = = = = = SERIAL EPROM PROGRAMMER ======== 

1210 PRINT" BAUD-RATE SELECTION" 

1230 PRINT'The SERIAL PORT programmer can operate at several different baud" 

1240 PRINT"rates. Select the baud rate for your system from the list below:" 

1260 PRINT" (1)300 baud" 

1270 PRINT" (2) 600 baud" 

1280 PRINT" (3)1200 baud" 

1290 PRINT" (4) 2400 baud" 

1300 PRINT" (5) 4800 baud" 

1310 PRINT" (6) 9600 baud" 

1330 PRINT"Enter the number of your selection — > ";:BAUD$ = INPUT$(1) 

1340 PRINT BAUD$:BAUD = VAL(BAUD$):IF BAUD>0 AND BAUD<7 THEN 1360 

1350 PRINT"<<<<< BAUD-RATE SELECTION ERROR >>>>>": GOTO 1330 

1360 BR$ = STR$(300*2'(BAUD-1)) 

1370 GOSUB2250 

1380 PRINT" = = = = = = = = = = SERIAL EPROM PROGRAMMER = = = = = = = = ; 

1390 PRINT" EPROM-TYPE SELECTION" 

1410 PRINT'The SERIAL EPROM programmer has the ability to program several" 

1420 PRINT"different EPROMS. Select the type of EPROM from the list below:" 

1440 PRINT" (1) 2716" 

1450 PRINT" (2) 2732/2732A" 

1460 PRINT" (3)2764" 

1470 PRINT" (4)27128" 

1490 PRINT"Enter the number of your selection — > ";:ESIZE$ = INPUT$(1) 

1500 PRINT ESIZE$:ESIZE = VAL(ESIZE$):IF ESIZE>0 AND ESIZE<5 THEN 1520 

1510 PRINT "<<<<< EPROM-TYPE ERROR >>>>>":GOTO 1490 

1 520 DSIZE = 1 024 * 2 " ESIZE:PAGES = DSIZE/256 

1530 EP1$ = STR$(16*2~(ESIZE-1)) 

1540 EP$ = "27" + RIGHT$(EP1$,LEN(EP1$)-1) 

1550 DIM ARRAY(DSIZE) 

1560 GOSUB 2250:GOSUB 4790:GOSUB 2250 

1570 PRINT "= = = = = = = = = = SERIAL EPROM PROGRAMMER ======== 

1580 PRINT " CONDITION OF EPROM" 

1600 PRINT"lf the EPROM you are programming is fully erased then select" 

1610 PRINT'"EPROM ERASED' from the selection list below. This will save" 

1620 PRINT"the time required to read the EPROM into memory. If the EPROM" 

1630 PRINT"has been partially programmed then select 'PARTIALLY PROGRAMMED"' 

1640 PRINT"and the EPROM will be read into memory prior to programming." 

1660 PRINT" (1) EPROM ERASED" 

1670 PRINT" (2) EPROM PARTIALLY PROGRAMMED" 

1690 PRINT"Enter the number of your selection — > ";:ERA$ = INPUT$(1) 

1700 PRINT ERA$:PRINT:ERA = VAL(ERA$):IF ERA = 2 THEN 1740 

1710 IF ERAo 1 THEN PRINT" <<<<< SELECTION ERROR >>>>>":GOTO 1C 

1720 PRINT"<<<<< INITIALIZING MEMORY - PLEASE WAIT >>>>>" 

1730 FOR l = 0TODSIZE-1:ARRAY(l) = 255:NEXTI 

1740 ON BAUD GOTO 1750,1760,1770,1780,1790,1800 

1750 OPEN "COM1:300 ( n ( 8 l 1,rs l cs,ds" AS #3:GOTO 1810 

1760 OPEN "COM1:600,n l 8 l 1 l rs l cs l ds" AS#3:GOTO 1810 

1770 OPEN "COMI^OO.n.S.l.rs.cs.ds" AS #3:GOTO 1810 

1780 OPEN "COM1: :2400,n,8 l 1,rs,cs,ds" AS #3:GOTO 1810 

1790 OPEN "COM1:4800 l n,8 l 1 l rs l cs l ds" AS#3:GOTO 1810 

1800 OPEN "COM1:9600 I n l 8,1 l rs I cs l ds" AS#3 

1810 GOSUB 2250 

1 820 PRINT "= = = = = = = = = = SERIAL EPROM PROGRAMMER = = = = = = = = : 

1830 PRINT " BASE-PAGE INITIALIZATION" 

1850 PRINT'The SERIAL EPROM programmer is driven by a keystroke-oriented" 

1860 PRINT"program. The keys are defined in a HELP menu. This help menu" 

1870 PRINT"can be displayed at any time by typing the letter (H) after" 

1880 PRINT"the program has been initialized." 

1890 PRINTPRINT 

1900 PRINT'To initialize the program you must enter the base page" 

1910 PRINT"address of the EPROM. This address is generally a HEXADECIMAL value" 

1920 PRINT"corresponding to the beginning page of an even 2K-byte boundary." 



114 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



1930 PRINTFor example 00,08,60,88, etc." 

1950 GOSUB 3770:REM SET BASE ADDRESS 

1960 IFHFLAG = 1 THEN HFLAG = 0:GOTO 1950 

1970 IF ERA = 1 THEN 2000 

1980 PRINT'A MEMORY IMAGE OF YOUR EPROM IS BEING MADE" 

1990 GOSUB 3890:REM MAKE MEMORY IMAGE 

2000 GOSUB 2880:REM DISPLAY HELP MENU 

2010 PRINTPRINT 

2020 PRINT"YOUR PRESENT LOCATION IS:" 

2030 GOSUB 2320:REM READ AND DISPLAY DATA 

2040 PRINT"COMMAND — >"; 

2050 IKEY$ = INPUT$(1) 

2060 IF IKEY$> = "a" AND 1KEY$< = "z" THEN IKEY$ = CHR$(ASC(IKEY$) AND 95) 

2070 K = INSTR(K$,IKEY$):IF K = THEN PRINT "WHAT ?";:GOTO 2050 

2080 HFLAG=0 

2090 ON K GOSUB 3430,2380,2440,2160,2500,2660,2880,3550,3760,3980,4240,4400 

2100 REM VPNEOWHDIBSL 

2110 IF HFLAG = 1 THEN GOSUB 2880 

2120 IF HFLAG = 1 OR IKEY$ = "H" THEN 2010 ELSE 2030 

2130 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2140 REM BURN EPROM AND END OPTION 

2160 GOSUB 3980 

2170 IF IKEY$o"N" THEN RETURN 

2180 CLOSE:END 

2190 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2200 REM MAIN BODY ENDS HERE - SUBROUTINE MODULES FOLLOW 

2220 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2230 REM DISPLAY STATUS LINE 

2250 CLS:LOCATE 25,1 PRINT USING LINE25$;BR$,EP$,BP$; 

2260 PRINT "COMMANDS: ";K$ 

2270 LOCATE 3, 1,1:RETURN 

2280 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2300 REM DISPLAY LOCATION AND DATA 

2320 RDATA = ARRAY(PAGE* 256+ BYTE) AND 255:REM GET DATUM FROM ARRAY 

2330 PRINT USING FORMAT$;HEX$(BIAS + PAGE),HEX$(BYTE),HEX$(RDATA) 

2340 RETURN 

2350 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2360 REM DECREMENT ADDRESS 

2380 IF PAGE = AND BYTE = THEN RETURN ELSE BYTE = BYTE -1 

2390 IFBYTE=-1 THEN PAGE = PAGE - 1:BYTE = 255 

2400 RETURN 

2410 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2420 REM INCREMENT ADDRESS 

2440 IF PAGE = PAGES -1 AND BYTE = 255 THEN RETURN ELSE BYTE = BYTE +1 

2450 IF BYTE = 256 THEN PAGE = PAG E+ 1:BYTE = 

2460 RETURN 

2480 REM OFFSET TO NEW STARTING ADDRESS 

2500 ADD$=" ":PRINT:PRINT"ENTER NEW LOCATION IN HEXADECIMAL (hhhh) -> "; 

2510 L$ = INPUT$(1):PRINTL$; 

2520 IFL$>= "a" AND L$< = "z" THEN L$ = CHR$(ASC(L$) AND 95) 

2530 IF L$ = "H" THEN HFLAG = 1:RETURN 

2540 IF L$ = "Q" THEN PRINT:RETURN 

2550 ADDS = ADDS + L$:IF LEN(ADD$) = 4 THEN PRINT ELSE 2510 

2560 PAGES = LEFT$(ADD$,2):BYTE$ = RIGHT$(ADD$,2) 

2570 CONS = PAGE$:GOSUB 311 0:IFSUM=-1 THEN 2500 

2580 PAGE = SUM -BIAS 

2590 IF PAGE > PAGES -1 OR PAGE <0 THEN PRINT"<<<<< OUT OF RANGE > >> > >":GOTO 2500 

2600 CON$ = BYTE$:GOSUB 3110:IF SUM= -1 THEN 2500 

2610 BYTE = SUM 

2620 RETURN 

2630 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2640 REM WRITE TO ARRAY - BYTE BY BYTE 

2660 XFLAG=0:DATUM$ = " M :PRINT"<<< WRITE MODE >>> ENTER DATA IN HEXADECIMAL (hh) -> "; 

2670 D$=INPUT$(1):PRINT D$; 

2680 IF D$> = "a" AND D$< ="z" THEN D$ = CHR$(ASC(D$) AND 95) 

2690 IF D$ = "H" THEN HFLAG = 1:RETURN 

2700 IF D$="Q" THEN PRINT:RETURN 

2710 IF D$="X" THENXFLAG=1:DATUM$=" ":GOTO 2670 

2720 DATUM$ = DATUM$ + D$:IF LEN(DATUM$)< >2 THEN 2670 

2730 PRINT:CON$ = DATUM$:GOSUB 3110:DATUM=SUM 

2740 IF SUM= -1 THEN 2660 

2750 IF (ARRAY(PAGE* 256 + BYTE) AND 255)< >255 AND XFLAG = THEN 2830 

2760 DATUM = DATUM OR 256:REM TAG LOCATION AS WRITTEN TO 

2770 ARRAY(PAGE*256 + BYTE) = DATUM:REM WRITE DATUM TO ARRAY 

2780 GOSUB 2320.REM DISPLAY WRITE TO ARRAY 

2790 IF BYTE = 255 AND PAGE = PAGES -1 THEN RETURN 

2800 GOSUB 2440:REM INCREMENT ADDRESS 

2810 GOSUB 2320:REM DISPLAY NEXT LOCATION 

2820 GOTO 2660 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY I985 -BYTE 115 



2830 PRINT:PRINT"<<<<<< ILLEGAL WRITE TO PREVIOUSLY PROGRAMMED LOCATION >>>>>> 

2840 RETURN 

2850 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2860 REM HELP ROUTINE 

2880 GOSUB 2250:REM CLEAR SCREEN 

2890 PRINT'To initialize the program you should enter the beginning page" 

2900 PRINT"address of the EPROM to be programmed. This value is used when" 

2910 PRINT"printing to the screen and as a bias value in the write modes." 

2920 PRINT'The following single-letter commands are used to control the" 

2930 PRINT'modes of the EPROM programmer:":PRINT 

2940 PRINT" (I) INITIALIZE BASE-PAGE ADDRESS - base address is ";BIAS$;"00" 

2950 PRINT" (V) VERIFY ERASURE" 

2960 PRINT" (N) DISPLAY NEXT BYTE" 

2970 PRINT" (P) DISPLAY PREVIOUS BYTE" 

2980 PRINT" (O) OFFSET TO NEW PAGE AND BYTE" 

2990 PRINT" (L) LOAD ARRAY FROM DISK" 

3000 PRINT" (S) SAVE ARRAY ON DISK" 

3010 PRINT" (W) ENTER BYTE WRITE MODE (use Q or H to exit, X to edit)" 

3020 PRINT" (D) HEXADECIMAL DUMP TO SCREEN" 

3030 PRINT" (B) ENTER 'BURN EPROM' MODE" 

3040 PRINT" (H) ENTER HELP MODE (from any input statement)" 

3050 PRINT" (E) EXIT PROGRAM" 

3060 RETURN 

3070 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3080 REM ***** CONVERT HEXADECIMAL TO DECIMAL ***** 

3090 REM ENTER WITH HEXADECIMAL STRING IN CONS, EXIT WITH DECIMAL VALUE IN SUM 

3110 SUM = 

3120 FOR 1 = 1 TO LEN(CONS) 

3130 X = ASC(MID$(CON$,(LEN(CON$)+1 -l),1)) 

3140 IF X<48 OR X>70 THEN SUM= -1:l = LEN(CON$):GOTO 3190 

3150 IFX>57 AND X<65 THEN SUM= - 1:1 = LEN(CON$):GOTO 3190 

3160 IF X<64 THEN X = X-48 ELSE X = X-55 

3170 SUM = SUM + (X*16~(I-1)) 

3180 IF SUM>255 OR SUM<0 THEN SUM- -1 

3190 IF SUM=-1 THEN PRINT"<<<<< INPUT ERROR >>>>>" 

3200 NEXT LRETURN 

3210 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3220 REM WRITE A BYTE 

3240 WPAGE = PAGE OR 1 28:REM SET WRITE PAGE (W/R = 1 ) 

3250 PRINT #3,CHR$(WPAGE);:REM SEND WRITE PAGE 

3260 PRINT #3,CHR$(BYTE);:REM SET WRITE BYTE 

3270 PRINT #3,CHR$(DATUM);:REM DATA TO WRITE 

3280 PRINT #3,CHR$(STROBE);:REM WRITE STROBE 

3290 FOR DEL = 1 TO DELAY:NEXT DELREM WRITE DELAY 

3300 RETURN 

3310 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3320 REM READ A BYTE 

3340 PRINT #3,CHR$(PAGE);:REM SET READ PAGE (W/R = 0) 

3350 PRINT #3,CHR$(BYTE);:REM SET READ BYTE 

3360 PRINT #3,CHR$(DUMMY);:REM DUMMY DATA SENT 

3370 PRINT #3,CHR$(STROBE);:REM READ STROBE 

3380 RDATA = ASC(INPUT$(1,#3)):REM INPUT DATA 

3390 RETURN 

3400 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3410 REM VERIFY ERASURE 

3430 PRINT:PRINT"VERIFYING THAT EPROM IS ERASED":PRINT 

3440 BYTE = 0:PAGE=0 

3450 FOR PAGE = TO PAGES- 1:V$= " OK" 

3460 FOR BYTE = TO 255 

3470 IF (ARRAY(PAGE*256 + BYTE) AND 255) = 255 THEN 3490 

3480 V$ = "<<<<<< NOTERASED >>>>>>" 

3490 NEXT BYTE:PRINT"PAGE";PAGE;V$ 

3500 NEXT PAGE 

3510 BYTE = 0:PAGE = 0:RETURN 

3520 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3530 REM DUMP TO SCREEN 

3550 GOSUB 2250 

3560 FOR LN = 1 TO 16 

3570 DPAGES = RIGHT$("0" + HEXADECIMAL$(BIAS + PAGE),2) 

3580 DBYTE$ = RIGHT$("0" + HEXADECIMAL$(BYTE),2) 

3590 PRINT USING"\\";DPAGE$;DBYTE$;": "; 

3600 FOR D = 1 TO 16 

3610 DDATA$ = RIGHT$("0" + HEXADECIMAL$((ARRAY(PAGE*256 + BYTE) AND 255)),2) 

3620 PRINT USING'\\";DDATA$; 

3630 IF PAGE = PAGES -1 AND BYTE = 255 THEN D = 16:LN = 16 

3640 GOSUB 2440:IF BYTE MOD 16 = THEN PRINT:D = 16 

3650 NEXT D 

3660 NEXT LN:PRINT:PRINT 

3670 IF PAGE = PAGES-1 AND BYTE = 255 THEN PRINT"<<<<<< END OF EPROM >>>>>":RETURN 

3680 PRINT"ENTER (C) TO CONTINUE OR (Q) TO EXIT DUMP -> ";:IKEY$ = INPUT$(1) 

3690 IF IKEY$> = "a" AND IKEY$< ="z" THEN IKEY$ = CHR$(ASC(IKEY$) AND 95) 



116 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



3700 PRINT IKEY$:PRINT:IF IKEY$ = "C" THEN 3560 

3710 IF IKEY$ = "H" THEN HFLAG = 1:RETURN 

3720 IF 1KEY$ = "Q" THEN RETURN ELSE 3680 

3730 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3740 REM SET BIAS ADDRESS 

3760 GOSUB 2250 

3770 BIAS$=" ":PRINT:PRINT"ENTER BASE-PAGE ADDRESS IN HEXADECIMAL (hh) -> "; 

3780 B$=INPUT$(1):PRINT B$; 

3790 IF B$> ="a" AND B$< ="z" THEN B$ = CHR$(ASC(B$) AND 95) 

3800 IF B$ = "H" THEN HFLAG = 1:RETURN 

3810 IF B$ = "Q" THEN PRINT:RETURN 

3820 BIAS$ = BIAS$ + B$:IF LEN(BIAS$)<>2 THEN 3780 

3830 PRINT 

3840 CON$ = BIAS$:GOSUB3110:BIAS = SUM:PRINT:PRINT:IFSUM=-1 THEN 3770 

3850 PAGE = 0:BYTE = 0:BP$=BIAS$ + "00":GOSUB 2250:RETURN 

3860 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3870 REM READ EPROM TO ARRAY 

3890 PAGE = 0:BYTE = 0:GOSUB 2250 

3900 GOSUB 3340 

3910 ARRAY(PAGE*256 + BYTE) = RDATA:IF BYTE = 0THEN PRINT"READING PAGE";PAGE 

3920 BYTE = BYTE + 1:IF BYTE = 256 THEN PAGE = PAG E+ 1:BYTE = 

3930 IF PAGE< = PAGES - 1 THEN 3900 

3940 PRINT:PAGE = 0.BYTE = O:RETURN 

3950 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3960 REM WRITE ARRAY TO EPROM 

3980 GOSUB 2250 

3990 PRINT"<<<<<< BURN ALL PROGRAMMED BYTES?? >>>>>>" 

4010 PRINT'TYPE (Y) TO PROGRAM EPROM" 

4020 PRINT"(Q) TO RETURN TO PROGRAM" 

4030 PRINT"(H) TO DISPLAY HELP MENU" 

4040 PRINT"(N) TO RETURN TO PROGRAM FROM 'BURN' MODE" 

4050 PRINT'TO ABORT PROGRAM IN 'EXIT' MODE." 

4060 PRINT:PRINT"ENTER SELECTION -> ";:IKEY$ = INPUT$(1) 

4070 PRINT IKEY$ 

4080 IF IKEY$> = "a" AND IKEY$< ="z" THEN IKEY$ = CHR$(ASC(IKEY$) AND 95) 

4090 IF IKEY$="N" THEN RETURN 

4100 IF IKEY$ = "H" THEN HFLAG = 1:RETURN 

4110 IF IKEY$ = "Q" THEN PRINT:RETURN 

4120 IF IKEY$o"Y" THEN 3990 

4130 FOR ADD = TO DSIZE 

4140 DATUM = ARRAY(ADD):IF DATUM <256 THEN 4190 

4150 DATUM = DATUM AND 255:BYTE = ADD MOD 256:PAGE = (ADD - BYTE)/256 

4160 PRINT "BURNING ";:GOSUB 2320 

4170 GOSUB 3240:GOSUB 3340 

4180 IF RDATA< >DATUM THEN PRINT "<<<<<< DATA NOTVERIFIED >>>>>>" 

4190 NEXT ADD 

4200 PRINT:BYTE = 0:PAGE = 0:RETURN 

4210 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

4220 REM SAVE ARRAY IN DISK FILE 

4240 GOSUB 2250:PRINT"THE DISK FILE CREATED HERE WILL CONTAIN ALL THE DATA" 

4250 PRINT'PRESENTLY CONTAINED IN YOUR EPROM MEMORY IMAGE AND" 

4260 PRINT'WILL BE ASSIGNED THE FILE EXTENSION 'PRM'." 

4270 PRINT'THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF EXISTING DISK FILES WITH" 

4280 PRINT'THE FILE EXTENSION ' PRM'.":PRINT:PRINT 

4290 FILES "*.PRM":PRINT:PRINT 

4300 INPUT"ENTER THE FILENAME OF YOUR NEW DISK FILE -> ".FILENAMES 

4310 IF FILENAME$ = "H" OR FILENAME$ = "h" THEN HFLAG = 1:RETURN 

4320 IFFILENAME$="Q" OR FILENAME$ = "q" THEN RETURN 

4330 OPEN "0",#1,FILENAME$+".PRM" 

4340 FOR l=0TO DSIZE- 1 PRINT #1,(ARRAY(I) AND 255); 

4350 IF I MOD 256 = THEN PRINT "SAVING PAGE";l/256 

4360 NEXT l:CLOSE #1:RETURN 

4370 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

4380 REM LOAD ARRAY FROM DISK 

4400 GOSUB 2250:PRINT:PRINT"THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF FILENAMES WITH THE FILE" 

4410 PRINT"EXTENSION \PRM"':PRINT:PRINT 

4420 FILES "\PRM":PR!NT:PRINT 

4430 INPUT"ENTER A FILENAME FROM THE LIST ABOVE ->", FILENAMES 

4440 IF FILENAMES = "H" OR FILENAME$ = "h" THEN HFLAG = 1:RETURN 

4450 IF FILENAME$="Q" OR FILENAME$= "q" THEN RETURN 

4460 OPEN "l",#1,FILENAME$+".PRM" 

4470 FOR l = 0TO DSIZE- 1:INPUT #1, DATUM 

4480 IF I MOD 256 = THEN PRINT "LOADING PAGE";l/256 

4490 IF DATUM = 255 OR DATUM = (ARRAY(I) AND 255) THEN 4560 

4500 IF ARRAY(I)< >255 THEN 4520 

451 ARRAY(I) = DATUM OR 256:GOTO 4560 

4520 PRINT"<<<<<< ILLEGAL INPUT DATA FROM FILE >>>>>>" 

4530 PRINT" <<<<< < ATTEMPT TO WRITE OVER PROGRAMMED LOCATION >>>>>>" 

4540 PRINT"<<<<<< PROGRAM HAS BEEN ABORTED >>>>>>" 



(continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 117 



4550 
4560 
4570 
4580 
4600 
4610 
4620 
4630 
4640 
4650 
4660 
4670 
4680 
4690 
4700 
4710 
4720 
4730 
4750 
4760 
4770 
4780 
4790 
4800 
4810 
4820 
4830 
4840 
4850 
4860 
4870 
4880 
4890 
4900 
4910 
4920 
4930 
4940 
4950 
4960 
4970 
4980 
4990 



CLOSE#1:END 
NEXT l:CLOSE#1:RETURN 
REM = = = = = = = = = = 



REM DISK-ERROR ROUTINE 

IF ERR = 53 AND ERL=4290 THEN PRINT"NO PRM FILES":RESUME 4300 

IF ERR = 53 AND ERL = 4420 THEN PRINT"NO PRM FILES":GOTO 4670 

IF ERR = 53 AND ERL=4460 THEN PRINT"UNKNOWN FILE":GOTO 4670 

IF ERR = 61 THEN PRINT "DISK FULL":GOTO 4670 

IF ERR = 57 THEN PRINT"RESET EPROM PROGRAMMER":GOTO 4670 

IF ERR = 67 THEN PRINT"UNKNOWN FILENAME, DON'T TYPE '.PRM'":GOTO 4670 

CLOSE#1:PRINT "UNKNOWN ERROR #";ERR;"IN LINE #";ERL 

PRINT"PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE -> ";:IKEY$ = INPUT$(1):PRINT 

IF ERR = 57THEN RESUME 

HFLAG = 1 

RESUME 2110 

ON ERROR GOTO 

REM ==================================== 



REM CONFIGURATION ROUTINE 

DATA 255,255,196,255,196,255,196,255,255,196,255,196 

DATA 026,196,255,255,255,196,255,196,196,255,255,196 

DATA 1 96,255,1 96,1 96,255,255, 1 96,255,1 96,255,255,255 

DATA 196,255,196,196,255,255,196,255,196,255,196,255 

IF ESIZE = 1 THEN RESTORE 4750 

IF ESIZE = 2 THEN RESTORE 4760 

IF ESIZE = 3 THEN RESTORE 4770 

IF ESIZE = 4 THEN RESTORE 4780 

LOCATE 1,22:PRINT "JUMPER CONFIGURATION" 

LOCATE 3,30:PRINT CHR$(201);CHR$(205);CHR$(205);CHR$(187) 

FOR l = 4TO 15 

LOCATE l,30:PRINT CHR$(199);" ";CHR$(182);"J";l-3 
NEXT I 

LOCATE 16,30:PRINT CHR$(200);CHR$(205);CHR$(205);CHR$(188) 
FOR l = 4TO 15 

READ JUMPER 

LOCATE 1,31 PRINT CHR$(JUMPER);CHR$(JUMPER) 
NEXT I 

LOCATE 4,38 

IF ESIZE = 2 THEN PRINT" NOTE: INSTALL J1 FOR 2732A EPROMs" 
LOCATE 18,20:PRINT "If jumpers are not properly configured" 
LOCATE 19,20:PRINT "shut off programmer and set jumpers," 
LOCATE 20,20:PRINT "then turn programmer back on." 
LOCATE 22,20:PRINT "Press any key to continue — > "; 
A$ = INPUT$(1):RETURN 



created with a SAVE command in the 
program can also be used to enter the 
data. 

A help routine is provided in the 
program to assist the user during the 
operation of the programmer. It con- 
sists of a menu that contains all the 
choices available in the driver pro- 
gram. The routine can be entered 
from any location in the program by 
typing the letter H. A screen-dump 
routine and an EPROM erasure-veri- 
fication routine are also provided. 

In Conclusion 

The serial-port EPROM programmer 
isn't designed for volume program- 
ming. It's intended to be a cost- 



effective, transportable programmer 
that doesn't become outmoded with 
each new computer and system bus. 
You'll also find, cleverly embedded in 
every programming cycle, enough 
time for you to take a well-deserved 
coffee break. 



Circuit Cellar Feedback 

This month's feedback begins 
page 393. 



on 



Next Month 

I've always been intrigued by home 
control and electronic messaging. In 
March, I'll tackle the subject in 
earnest, beginning with a Touch-Ibne 
Interactive Message System. ■ 



Special thanks to Larry Bregoli for his software 
expertise. 

Editor's Note: Steve often refers to previous 
Circuit Cellar articles. Most of these past ar- 
ticles are available in reprint books from 
BYTE Books. McGraw-Hill Book Company. 
POB 400. Hightstown, NJ 08250. 

Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar, Volume I covers articles 
that appeared in BYTE from September 1977 
through November 1978. Volume 11 covers 
December 1978 through June 1980. Volume 
111 covers July 1980 through December 1981. 
Volume IV covers January 1982 through June- 
1983. 



To receive a complete list of Ciarcia's Cir- 
cuit Cellar project kits, circle 100 on the 
reader-service inquiry card at the back of 
the magazine. 



118 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



A 



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Inquiry 123 




120 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 




PREVIEW 



THE 

MACINTOSH 

OFFICE 



by John Markoff and Phillip Robinson 



Editor's note: The following is a BYTE prod- 
uct preview. \t is not a review. We provide this 
advance look at this new product because we 
feel it is significant. 

ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY of the 
introduction of the Macintosh. Apple 
Computer has introduced AppleTalk, 
which is a new local-area network 
(LAN), and a series of intelligent net- 
worked peripherals, including a laser 
printer and file server. The company 
hopes these products will make the 
"Macintosh office" a popular choice 
for work groups in large and small 
corporations. 

AppleTalk and the laser printer are 
scheduled to be shipped in March. 

The network was developed to 
serve as a small-work-group intercon- 
nect system, as a tributary to larger 
high-speed local-area and long-haul 
networks, and. in its most basic form, 
as a peripheral bus between an Apple 
computer and dedicated peripheral 
devices. 

The new Apple LAN concept is a 
radical departure from common in- 
dustry thinking about LAN design (for 

(continued) 
}ohn Markoff and Phillip Robinson (1000 
Elwell CL Palo Alto. CA 94393) are BYTE 
senior technical editors. 



ILLUSTRATED BY JOAN HALL 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 121 



THE MAC OFFICE 



AppleTalk networks 
the Macintosh and 
a new laser printer. 



more information on Apple's plans for 
the future see the text box "Steve 
Drops By" on page 124). Instead of 
providing a high-bandwidth channel 
to link personal computers to each 
other and to larger remote computers. 
Apple designed its LAN to be a low- 
speed, low-cost network for small 
work groups. 

The AppleTalk architecture relies on 
the distribution of "intelligence" in 
network peripherals and on the clever 
use of the network's limited speed. 
Apple is betting that the principal bar- 
rier to networking office microcom- 
puters has until now been cost. By 
focusing on an LAN that is optimized 
to share resources among small 
groups, the company hopes to 
achieve a better match to the organi- 
zation of the typical office. 

Since the introduction of the Macin- 
tosh. Apple has changed the name of 
its LAN from AppleBus to AppleTalk. 
When Apple first described the LAN. 
the company emphasized the net- 
work's role in providing the Macintosh 
with "virtual" serial slots for periph- 
erals as an alternative to the open 
hardware architecture of the Apple II. 
As it is released. AppleTalk goes 
beyond this. However, you may still be 
able to daisy-chain peripherals by 
adding a smart network controller. 
But for now, Apple has decided to 
leave this option to third parties. One 
manufacturer. Tfecmar Inc. has already 
demonstrated the ability of its 68000- 
based hard-disk system to control 
both an ImageWriter and an Apple 
modem. 

Apple is moving toward putting 
microprocessors in all or most of its 
peripherals. This design philosophy, 
plus the standardization on the Zilog 
SCC (serial-communications con- 
troller) chip that is now used in the 
Lisa, Macintosh, and Apple He com- 
puters, will make the task of network- 



ing peripherals simpler. 

At the time of AppleTalk's introduc- 
tion, Apple is only demonstrating the 
LAN with a prototype 20-megabyte in- 
telligent file-server hard-disk system, 
which you will need for network ap- 
plications such as electronic mail and 
print spooling. However, we were told 
that -the hard disk will be announced 
in August 1985 and it will cost $3 500. 
An electronic-mail communications 
package for AppleTalk is also 
scheduled to be announced at the 
same time. 

The company is also discussing a 
variety of future network products 
such as a bridge to link individual 
AppleTalk networks, an interface to 
the recently announced IBM PC LAN, 
communication servers, network data- 
bases, and as many as 50 third-party 
hardware and software development 
projects based on AppleTalk. Details 
of these products aren't yet available; 
therefore, it is difficult to assess 
AppleTalk at present. But after several 
false starts at developing a LAN. 
Apple is moving toward making it 
possible to link its products in office 
and other workplace settings. 

AppleTalk 

The heart of AppleTalk is the Macin- 
tosh serial-communications chip, a 
two-channel Zilog 8530 SCC that pro- 
vides synchronous and asynchronous 
data communications at up to 230.4K 
bits per second (bps) using a self- 
clocking data format. (The 8530 will 
provide data communications at 
speeds as high as 1 megabit per sec- 
ond, using an external clock. Corvus 
Systems Inc. has also used this higher- 
speed scheme in its Macintosh imple- 
mentation of the Omninet LAN.) 

At the physical level. AppleTalk con- 
sists of a shielded twisted-pair trunk 
cable with modules that are passive- 
ly connected to computer and periph- 
eral nodes via a short drop cable. An 
individual AppleTalk network can 
have up to 32 nodes and has a packet- 
switching protocol and a data rate of 
230.4K bps using FM modulation (a 
bit-encoding technique that provides 
self-clocking) over a maximum 
distance of 300 meters. 



Externally, AppleTalk is simple, con- 
sisting of the connection modules, 
each of which has two miniature DIN 
three-pin connectors, and a DB-9 port 
that connects to the printer port on 
the Macintosh via a 2 -meter cable. In- 
side each connection module are 
resistors, a capacitor, and a small 
transformer, designed so that the link 
is transformer-isolated and not 
susceptible to any kind of radio- 
frequency interference (RFI) or static 
discharge. 

Apple calls the connector modules 
self-terminating, which keeps you 
from worrying about line termination 
and. in combination with the trans- 
former, lets you add nodes to the net- 
work and remove them without dis- 
rupting network functions. A 100-ohm 
terminating resistor is included in 
each connector box. and there are 
two switch connections that are 
opened when the miniature DIN con- 
nectors are inserted. If both connec- 
tors are used, the switches are open, 
but if one of the connectors is not 
used, the terminating resistor is con- 
nected across the line. 

AppleTalk uses a dynamic-address- 
ing scheme that ensures that each 
node on the network has a unique 
8-bit address (there is also a 
mechanism for internet communica- 
tions across bridges and through 
gateways). The AppleTalk destination 
address is used to "filter" frames at 
the data-link layer. Frames are not ac- 
cepted unless their destination ad- 
dress matches the address of the 
receiving node. The SCC chip 
facilitates this process by performing 
the address-recognition function in 
hardware. 

AppleTalk doesn't require that a 
particular node's address be per- 
manently recorded or set with 
jumpers. The advantage of this is that 
you can move computers and periph- 
erals between networks and install 
them by simply attaching them to the 
network. For example, Apple claims 
you can bring your Macintosh to the 
network, plug it in, insert a disk, and 
turn it on. No special network con- 
figuration is necessary. Setting of the 
node address takes place when the 



122 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



THE MAC OFFICE 



computer first looks at some non- 
volatile memory to find a previous ad- 
dress it has saved, or when it com- 
putes a new address based on the 



generation of a pseudorandom num- 
ber. The computer then tests the ad- 
dress to see if it already exists on the 
network by sending a special packet 



to the address. If the address is 
already in use, the node there will 
answer and a new guess must be gen- 

[continued) 



We met Burrell Smith and Bud 
TVibble and the rest of the 
Macintosh office design crew in the 
Macintosh headquarters, one of the 
many Apple buildings in Cupertino, 
California. After moving beyond the 
lobby, we heard someone play a pret- 
ty piece of music on a grand piano in 
the center of a large open area that 
also had sofas and a Ping-Pong table. 
On the left was the Matisse room; we 
used the Picasso room on the right. 
During the introduction, someone 
mentioned that Steve would drop by 
later. When Steve Jobs did drop by, he 
had some interesting things to say 
about Apple's plans and strategy 

"We hope to be able to offer people 
two things based on the Macintosh 
technology. The first, using the graphics 
and the power of that box, is radical 
ease of use. That was the first benefit 
of the Macintosh and that's the one 
we've really been trumpeting this last 
year. 

"We are just now beginning to dem- 
onstrate the second great benefit of 
that graphic user interface— capabilities 
that you can't do on any other com- 
puter. You can't do the kind of project 
management you can do on Mac, you 
can't do stuff you can do with Mac- 
Draw, you can't print out entire forms 
or create forms on other computers. It 
will take something like the LaserWriter 
to really drive that home. As we roll out 
the next pieces that complement the 
workstation, I think it's going to 
become very clear to people why the 
graphic user interface is so important. 

"Ultimately we think that these prod- 
ucts are going to be used to help peo- 
ple communicate with each other. Not 
analysis, not computationally intensive 
things for their own sake, but things to 
help people communicate much as the 
telephone did. And in terms of com- 
munication, look at middle-manager 
productivity in particular. Yes, we col- 
lect information, we analyze it, but then 
we draw conclusions from it and we 
need to communicate those conclu- 
sions to people around us. 



Steve Drops By 

"We communicate in two ways.. One, 
with paper, and the paperless office, 
which generates more paper than the 
traditional office; we've all found that 
out because we give people tools that 
generate the paper. So we've got to im- 
prove the quality of visual communica- 
tion, improve the ability to communi- 
cate via paper. That includes overhead 
transparencies, which I think are going 
to be a big use for the printer. We can 
do that through the software tools on 
the Mac and through the ability to print 
them. 

"The next way that we can radically 
improve communication is to elec- 
tronically link up people. We can start 
to do things like mail, electronic 
scheduling, and a variety of things that 
will improve how we communicate with 
each other. The result of improving 
those two ways of communication, I 
think, is going to be startling, when 
coupled with the fact that you can 
learn how to use the system in a half 
hour. 

"I also think we're holding true to our 
vision of trying to remove the service 
and support requirements from the 
equation of success so that we don't 
have to send out a person at a thou- 
sand dollars per half day to help you 
install your computer system. 

"AppleTalk plugs together and you 
don't have a chance to forget to hook 
up the terminator plugs because there 
aren't any, and you don't have to set 
the thumb-wheel switches because 
there aren't any, and you don't have to 
run the network master-configuration 
program because there isn't any. You 
just plug it together like a telephone 
or stereo and it works. And its very, 
very difficult to do wrong. Those little 
things are what keep you from having 
to go out and hold people's hands, run 
them through half-day training courses, 
and things like that. 

"We think that networking is going to 
start from the bottom up in small work 
groups. If you've got four people on 
the network, which is a typical number 
to start with, it will cost $150 per per- 



son for the head end. So you've got to 
have about $1000 to hook up a com- 
puter to the net. It may be worth it 
someday when there's a lot of great 
software. But, right now not many are 
going to pay a thousand bucks to hook 
up a $2000 computer to a network. 

"And that's what AppleTalk is all 
about. Nobody's hooking up to nets 
because there isn't enough software 
that makes it worthwhile. There isn't 
enough software that runs in nets 
because if you write software to run in 
a net, there's nobody to sell it to 
because there aren't any nets. So it's 
a circular problem. No nets, no soft- 
ware; no software, no nets. We want to 
break through that logjam with Apple- 
Talk costing 50 bucks a computer. 

"We just wish the whole world would 
standardize on a net. We'd all be happy 
Just give us the jacks in the walls every- 
where; we'd have no problem calling 
it the IBM net or the AT&T net, but it's 
not coming together. Ultimately we 
feel that (the standard| network in the 
office is going to be the digital phone 
switch and not something that Apple 
or IBM comes up with. It turns out that 
the rates at which the digital-phone- 
switch standards are emerging (the 
CCITT jComite Consultatif International 
Telephonique et Telegraphique] stan- 
dards) are very close to AppleTalk 
rates. They're about anywhere from 64 
kilobits per second up to maybe 192 
kilobits per second. 

"So the rates we have chosen will 
probably map well to the ultimate rates 
of what will be the office network. And 
that's how the voice-data integration 
will take place, through a digital CBX, 
not through our network or IBM's net- 
work. The decision that we made was 
fundamental: put intelligence in the pe- 
ripherals. The really interesting thing 
that's happening isn't the products 
themselves, it's the software standards 
that are being set. As an example, Post- 
Script is more important, in a way than 
the printer |the LaserWriter!. "Though 
we think that particular printer is what's 
going to make PostScript a standard." 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 123 





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Stoneware, DB Master $ 1 95 

Tetoa, File Vision $ 195 

T/Makar, Clickart $ 50 

Vldes, Vegas $ 60 



OUR 
$ 99 
$ 

$ 159 
$ 12 
$ 19 
$395 
$275 
$ 59 
$399 
$ 94 
$ 169 
$ 26 
$ 29 
$ 145 



39 
30 
65 
95 
50 
29 
33 
$ 159 
CALL 
$ 21 
$ 60 
$ 35 
$ 85 
$ 125 
$ 35 
$ 125 
$ 94 
$ 129 
$ 32 
$ 95 
$ 379 
$ 24 
$ 32 
$ 350 
$ 19 
$ 33 
$ 79 
$ 125 
$ 125 
$ 125 
$ 32 
$ 34 





LIST 


OUR 


•ALS/Silicon Valley, Word Handler 


$ 80 


$ 39 


* Ust Handler 


$ 80 


$ 39 


* Handler Pak, (Word, Ust Spell) 


$130 


$ 85 


•Applied Soft Tech, VersaForm 


$389 


$ 249 


Arktronks, Jane w /Mouse (11+ or He) 


$295 


$ 195 


Jane w/o Mouse (He) 


$179 


$ 119 


Artsci, Magic Window II 


$150 


$ 99 


Magic Words 


$ 70 


$ 48 


•AshtonTate, dBase II (Req CP/M 80) 


$495 


$ 269 


BPI, Job Cost 


$595 


$ 375 


AR,AP,PRorlNV,each 


$395 


$ 249 


•Broderbund, Print Shop 


$ 50 


$ 34 


• Bank Street Speller 


$ 70 


$ 45 


• Bank Street Wrriter (specify 11 +, e, c) 


$ /U 


$ 45 


• Bank St. Combo (Writer & Speller) 
Continental, Gl.AR.AP or PR, each 


$140 


$ 85 


$250 


$ 165 


* Home Accountant 


$ 75 


$ 49 


CDEX.for Vtsicaic, Multiplan, Apple lle.each $ 60 


$ 40 


Dow Jones, Market Analyzer 


$350 


$ 219 


Market Manager 


$300 


$ 189 


Market Microscope IN STOCK $ 349 


$ 219 


Hayden, Pie Writer (Vers 2.2] 


$150 


$ 89 


•Howard Soft, Tax Prepare, 1984 


$250 


$ 185 


Human Edge, Sales Edge or Management $250 


$ 165 


Knowsre, Knoware 


$ 95 


$ 64 


Living videotex! ThinkTank 


$150 


$ 99 


Meca, Managing Your Money 


$200 


$ 125 


Micro Pro, (all require Z80CP/M Card) 






* WordStar'" 


$350 


$ 189 


• WordStar w/Starcard 


$495 


$ 265 


• WordStar Professional. 4 Pak 


$495 


$ 265 


• MalMerge, SpeilStar. or Starlndex, ea. 


$ 99 


$ 54 


• InfoStarandSfeCard 


$595 


$ 295 


MwosDft. Mutt-Han (Apple DOS or CP/M; 


$195 


$ 129 


*Ot bome/CoroX. (Disk and Book) (Stat, Bus. & Math) 


Some Common Basic Prograrrts(75ea.) 


$100 


$ 49 


Practical Basic Programs(40ea.) 


$100 


$ 49 


Peacntree, Requires CP/M & MBasic, 64K 




Series 40GL&AR&AP, all 3 


$395 


$ 239 


•Quark, Word Juggler & Lexicheck (lie) 


$189 


$ 129 


Sensible, Sen. Speller or Bookends, ea. 


$125 


$ 79 


Sierra/On- Line, The Dictionary 


$100 


$ 69 


Gen. Manager II 


$230 


$ 155 


ScreenWtrier 11, 2Pakw/Dfrt. 


$130 


$ 89 


Homeword 


$ 50 


$ 45 


Software Arte, TK'Solver (for He or He) 


$299 


$ 199 


Software Publishing, (specify + or e) 






PFSf ile, PFSSraph, PFS:Repoit.each 


$125 


$ 79 


PFS: Write (He) 


$125 


$ 79 


PFS: Proof 


$ /U 


$ 48 


Stoneware, DB Master Version 4.0 


$350 


$ 225 


DB Utility Pak lor II 


$129 


$ 82 


VftiCorp. Full Une In Stock 




CALL 



BaagK GPIE r Alpha Hot each 


$ 35 


$ 27 


Full Beagle line in stock 




CALL 


Borland, Turbo Pascal 


$ 55 


$ 35 


Central Point Copy II Hus (bit copier) 


$ 40 


$ 25 


Einstein/ Aiison, Compiler 


$129 


$ 95 


Epson, Graphics Dump 


$ lb 


$ 9 


Funk Software, Sideways 


$ 60 


$ 40 


Hayes, Terminal Prog, for Smartmodem 


$100 


$ 65 


•Iftsoft. GraFORTH II by Paul Lutus 


$ 90 


$ 65 


Microsoft, Full Une in Stock 




CALL 


Omega, Locksmith 


$100 


$ 75 


Penguin, Complete Graphics System II 


$ 80 


$ 54 


Phoenix. Zoom Grafix 


$ 40 


% 34 


Quality, Bag of Tricks 


$ 40 


$ 29 


United SW1, ASCII Express-Tne Pro 


$130 


$ 87 


UtiBco, Essential Data Duplicator III 


$ 80 


$ 49 


HOME & EDUCATIONAL 


Barrons, Study Program for SAT 


$ 90 


$ 60 


Beagle Bros., Full line in Stock 




CALL 


Bluechip, Millionaire 


$ 60 


$ 32 


Broderbund, Print Shop 


$ 50 


34 


CBS, Large Inventory in stock 




CALL 


•Continental, Home Accountant 


$ 75 


$ 49 


Davidson, Full line in stock 




CALL 


Dow Jones, Home Budget 


$ 95 


$ 69 


Edu-Ware, large Inventory m Stock, CALL 


40% off 


Electronic Arts, Full line in stock 




CALL 


Harcourt, Computer Prep for SAT 


$ 80 


$ 49 


Koaia, Full line in stock, CALL 


35%off list 


Learning Co.Large Irtvwtry in StocKCAU 


35%offlist 


Microsoft, Typing Tutor II 


$ 25 


$ 17 


Mviugranv Dollars & Jsrtse or SAM, ea. 


$100 


$ 59 


Scarborough/Lightning. Mastertype 
Simon & Schuster. Typing Tutor III 


$ 40 


$ 27 


$ 50 


$ 33 


Sub Logic, Right Simulator II 


$ 50 


$ 25 
$ 65 


Terrapin, Logo 


$ 99 


GAMES 


Atari, Large Invent oiy in stock 




CALL 


BrcdarbunttFulsier stock 




CALL 


Data**. Aztec or Zawon, each 


$ 40 


$ 27 


QacDorsc Arts. Sky Fox or Ptabal 


$ 40 


$ 29 


Hayden, Sargon III (Cness) 


$ 50 


$ 34 


kwxxvn, Zork LZort ILZort III, ea 


$ 40 


$ 27 


•Insoft. 3 Games,Zarg/Spider Raid/Grapple $ 82 


$ 25 


Muse, Castle or Beyond Castle Wolf enstein $ 35 


$ 22 


Origin, Uttima III 


$ 60 


$ 40 


Penguin, Transylvania 


$ 35 


$ 2A 


Profmajonai, Trivia fever 


$ 40 


$ 25 


Sierra/Online, Ultima II 


$ 60 


$ 40 


Sir-Tech, Wizardry 


$ 50 


$ 35 


Spinnaker, Full line in stock, CALL 


35%of1 list 


Sub Logic, Flight Simulator II 


$ 50 


$ 35 



DISKETTES 

• CONROY-IAPO)NTE™ DISKETTES 

We guarantee these top quality products with the Conroy- 

LaPointename. 5 YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY. 

10 ea, SS/SD 35 Track (Apple, etc) $ 14 

lOOea, SS/SD. 35 Track (Apr* etc) $ 120 

lOOOea, SS/SD, 35 Track (Apple, etc.) $999 

lOea, DS/D0, 48Track (IBM, H/P) $ 17 

lOOea, DS/TJ0, 48Track (IBM, H/P) $ 140 

1000ea,DS/DO,48Track(IBM, H/P) $1190 

CONROY-LAPOINTF" 
IBM PREFORMATTED DISKETTES 

10ea.DS/W),48Tr3C*OBMF^Pre-fnrrnafiEd)NEW $ 25 
lTOea,rjS/TJO,48TrackOBM-rePre-fonTufiEd)N€W $ 210 
lOOOea, DS/DD, 48 Track (IBM-PC Pr*fonnatte$ NEW $1695 



MODEMS 



UST 
$550 
$ 55 
$750 
$ 75 



CDC, lOOea SS/DD. 40T (Apple. IBM) 

10eaSS/Da40T(Apox>IBM) 

lOOea DS/DD. 40T (IBM, H/P) 

lOea DS/DD, 40T (IBM, H/P) 

DYSAMOea SS/DD (Apple, etc.) $ 40 

lOea 0S/DD 48T(1BM,H/P,etc) $ 69 

MAXELL. lOea, SS/DD,3W"(MAC) $ 60 

10ea,DS/QD, HiDensity(IBM-AT) $ 90 

lOeach.MDl, SS/DD $ 55 

10each,MD2.DS/DD $ 75 

MEMOREX. lOea, SS/SD, W (MAC) $ 65 

VERBATIM, lOeach, MD5150L SS/DD $ 49 

10each.M034.DS/DO $ 84 

lOeach, 3W". SS/DD (MAC) $ 65 

GENERIK "DISKETTES 
AS LOW AS $1 

W/Jackete, 

no labels, top quality. 
90 day warranty 

100 ea, SS/SD, 35Track (Apple, Atan) 
250ea., SS/SD, 35 Track (Apple, Atari) 

1000 ea., SS/S0, 35 Track (Apple, Atari) 
lOOea., DS/DD, 48Track (IBM, H/P) 
250ea„ DS/DD, 48 Track (IBM, H/P) 

1000 ea. DS/DD, 48 Track (IBM. H/P) 



OUR 
$ 195 
$ 21 
$ 295 
32 



NO HASSLE 
MONEY BACK 

GUARANTEE 
ON GENERIKS 



$415 
$1038 
$4150 
$626 
$1565 
$6260 



$ 85 

$ 229 
$ 750 
$ 119 
$ 319 
$ 995 



LIST OUR 

ANCHOR, Signalman Mark XII $399 $ 269 

HAYES. IBM-PC Smartmodem 1200B $ 599 $ 409 

IBM-PC Smartcom II Software $149 $ 99 

Micromodem lie w /Smartcom $ 329 $ 239 

McromodemlOO(S-lOObus) $399 $275 

Stack Chronograph (RS 232) $249 $ 189 

Stack Smartmodem 300(RS-232) $ 289 $ 225 

Smaitmodem 1200 (RS-232) $699 $ 489 

IBM-PC to Modem Cable $ 39 $ 19 

KENSINGTON, Modem 1200 $ 595 $ 385 

NOVATION. 103/212 Smart Cat $595 J 415 

SmartCat Plus w/software (MAC) $499 $ 379 

ACCESS 1-2-3 ( 12008+Crosstalk XVI) $ 595 $ 369 

Apple Cat II 300 BAUD $389 $ 249 

212 Apple Cat. 1200 BAUD $725 $559 

Cat $ 189 $ 139 

J-Cat $ 149 $ 104 

212AutoCat $695 $ 579 

PROMETHEUS, ProModern 1200 (MAC) $ 495 $ 350 

ProModem 120OB (IBM) $ 399 $ 269 

QUADRAM.Quadmodem, Internal IBM $595 $425 

Quadmodem, Stand alone $ 695 $ 495 

MONITORS 

•AMDEK. Color Series 

Color 300 Comp/Audb $349 $259 

Color 500 Comp/VCR/RGB/Audk) $525 $395 

Color 600 Hi Res, RGB /Audio $ 649 $ 495 

Color 700 Uttra Hi Res, RG8 $749 $595 

12" Green. K300G $179 $ 119 

12" Amber. K300A $ 199 $ 149 

12 Amber, ft 310A for IBM-PC $ 230 $ 159 

13", Color IV, RGB, 720Hx400V,(lBM) $ 795 $ 685 

PRINCETON. RGB Hi Res, HX-12 $ 795 $ 499 

RGB Hi Res, SR- 12 $ 799 $ 599 

ScanDoubierforSR-12 $249 $ 179 

Amber, MAX- 12 (tor Mono Board) $249 $ 199 

QUADRAM. Quadchrome 12"RGBCoior $695 $495 

Quadscreen 17"968x512w/cable $1995 $1595 

Quadchrome II, 14" RGB Color $ 650 $ 450 

Amberchrome, 12" Amber $250 $165 

•ZENITH. 12" Amber, ZVM122 $159 $ 95 

12" Green. ZVM123 $200 $ 89 

12" Amber, ZVM124 $200 $ 139 

12"Cokx. ZVM135 $599 $ 469 



PRINTERS 

DOT MATRIX: 



PRINTER INTERFACES 
& BUFFERS ust our 



UST 

EPSON. JX80-Cokx Printer, 160cps 

LQ15fJQ200&67cps $1395 

RX80~100cps $ 269 

RX80-F J\ $ 369 

RX100— 100cps,136coi,pinar. $ 499 

FX80-160CPS $ 699 

FX100— 160cps $ 895 

•MANNESMANN Sort -80 col, 80cps $ 399 

TALLY. 160-80 cd,l60cps $798 

180-132COL, I60cps $1098 

OKIDATA.82A-80COJ. 120 c para. $349 

83A-132cd., 120c para. $ 749 

84-136001, 200cps, para. $1395 

92— 8OC0I., 160 cps, para. $499 

93-136 col., 160 cps, para. $799 

2410P— Pacemark,35Qcps,para $2995 

QUADRAM, Quadjet, Inkjet Cokx Printer $895 

•STAR MKX, Gemini 10"X, 120cps, 18" $ 499 

GemirM 15"X, 120cps, 15" $ 549 

TOSHIBA. 

1340-144 cps(LQ) & 54cps(DQ) NEW $ 995 

1351— lOOcps $1895 

TTX, TTXpress. portab(e/t)andhe)d l 40cps $ 229 



LETTER QUALITY: 

•JUKI. 6300--40cps, para 5 gj 

•JUKI, 6100— 18cps, para. 3 pitch $ 599 

•TTX 1014-13cps,para.&Ser.pin«/rict3p. $ 499 

1114-€ameas 1014w/T/F, 2crJ.*rop- $ 599 



OUR 

InStock 
InStock 
InStock 
InStock 
InStock 
InStock 
$ 299 
$ 568 
$ 778 
$ 319 
$ 599 
$1095 
$ 399 
$ 649 
$1995 
$795 
$ 269 
$ 419 

$ 795 
$1375 
$ 129 



$ 795 
$ 449 
$ 365 
$ 439 



ARBO, IBM-PC to Para Printer Cable $ 

EPSON. Parallel Interface for LQ1500 $ 

Serial Interface Board $ 

MKXAppleill/f&bUeforEr2on&r>miri $ 

OWOATA,r\jg'nRav,Trar*rs;0ksjapKea. $ 

ORANGE MKRO,GrarjrJBrr\s for Apple $ 

Buffered &appterFV;16K $ 

PRACTICAL, Mbroojff Inline 64K,para $ 

Microbuff In Line 64K,ser. $ 

SUADRAM, Ail expandable (w/copy to 512K) 

icrofaaer, w/Copy. PP, 8K, f*MP8w/PS $ 

Microfazer, w/Copy, PP, 64K. #MP64w/PS $ 

Microfazer, w/€opy, PP, 128K, w/?S $ 

Microfazer, Snap-on, 8K. PP, Epson w/PS $ 

Microfazer, Snap-on, 64K, PP, Epson w/PS $ 

STAR MICRO, Serial Interf a & Cable $ 



$ 30 
$ 79 
$ 105 
$ 59 
$ 42 
$ 99 
$ 159 
$ 259 
$ 259 
(Snarx>n to 64K) 
179 $ 139 
$229 
$ 345 
$ 129 
$ 229 
$ 79 



60 
100 
130 
95 
50 
149 
239 
349 
349 



299 
375 
169 
299 



PLOTTERS: 

AMDEK, Amplot II, 6 pen, 10 x 14 Bod $1089 $ 899 

PRINTER SUPPLIES: 

Tractor Feed Paper, Ribbons, Daisy Wheels. CALL 



CABLES 

ARBO, IBMPCto Modem Cable $ 31 $ 

IBM-PC to Para Printer Cable $ 60 $ 

ASTAR.RF Modulator for T.V.(Apple) $ 35 $ 

CURTIS, Monitor Extension Cable (IBM) $ 50 $ 

3'-9' Keyboard Extens. Cable (IBM) $ 40 $ 

RCA, Monitor Cable $ 15 $ 

ST AR MICRO. Serial Interla & Cable $ 92 $ 

ACCESSORIES 

Curbs, Diamond, 6out)ets, switched $ 50 $ 29 

Emerald, 6 outlets, 6' cord $ 60 $ 35 

Ruby, 6ouHets, 6'cord,ftter $ 90 $ 52 

Sapphire, 3 outlets, w /Titter $ 80 $ 46 

EPD, Lemon $ 60 $ 29 

Ume $ 90 $ 45 

Orange $140 $ 66 

Peach $ 98 $ 39 

INNOVATIVE, firxvffe 10 pcWfe holder) $ 7 $ 4 

Rip n-Frte 50 (diskette holder) $ 22 $ 15 

Ksms^tDri.MzfBrpiK£nBM) $140 $ 95 

rcSaver™UneCwdw/Tler(lBM) $ 50 $ 35 

Remote Control (IBM) $180 $115 

System Saver Fan (Apple) $ 90 $ 69 

NETWOfOL Wn*rtMoufetw/»r& wg> $ 70 $ 35 

PERFECTDATA.HEadOOTTgtgt $ 16 $ 12 



I CREDIT CARD 
I APPLICATION FORM 

IPtease send me a Corroy- 
LaPdinte aedrt card <* 
I application form. I under- m 
I stand mere b no 3%charge 
I on ConroyUPointe credit 

I card purchases. Mmimum 
initial purchase B $400 



CITY STATE ZIP 

. — ^£°30 SVV Q*rd*n Pttc^Pprtlwti. OR 9722^ j 



ORDERING INFORMATION & TERMS: 



MAIL TO: 12060 SW Garden ftaoa, Portland, OR 97223 Include your telephone number 

double check your figures for Shipping Insurance and Handling (SIH). All items usuaMy in stock. 
NO COD. Cashiers checks, money orders, Fortune 1000 checks and pvemmert checks— we immediately honor. Personal and other company checks —allow 20 days to dear. 
Prices reflect 3% cash dtscourrt, so ADD 3% to above prices for VISA, MasterCard or American Express. Add SiH CHARGES: US. Mainland, 3% ($5 minimum) for standard UPS 
ground; UPS Blue, 6% ($10 minimum); for U.S Postal, APO or FPO, 12% ($15 minimum). Hawaii— UPS Blua For Alaska or Canada— UPS in some areas only, alt others Postal— caH 
or write, or specify Postal. Foreign orders except Canada, 18% ($25 minimum). Monitors by Postal or to foreign countries, 30% ($50 minimum). Orders received with insufficient SIH 
charges will be refunded. All prices, avaNabirty and specifications subject to errors or change without notice, so call to verify. All goods are new, include warranty and are guaranteed 
to work. Due to our low prices and our assurance that you will get new, unused products— ALL SALES ARE FINAL Call before returning goods for repair or replacement 
ORD€RD€SKrK)URS-«Mlo€PMr^T,Mono>ytr«ouBh 
EconoRAir, Fadnfc", and Caw*" 1 an tr ad a wU of CcmX fciponbdn. PC HetiaCanTMid SotWtn tradwria of Bagium Computer. 



124 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 







LOW PRICES TO PROFESSIONALS WHO KNOW WHAT THEY WANT AND KNOW HOW TO USE 171 

FOR YOUR IIM-PC or XT 



WE BUY 
EXCESS 

© 1984 by Conroy-LaPointe. Inc. "^JNVEKTORlESj 

All Rights Reserved 



COMPUTER 
SYSTEMS 

— Call for Details — 



256K ISm- PC 

360K 

Disk Drives 

by CDC 

90 Day 

Limited Warranty 

By Us 




Portable, 

256K, 2 360K Disk Drives 



CALL 



® SANYO^ 

256K, 2 320K Disk Drive.; CALL 



Tel^/ideo K . 

256K. 2 360K Disk Drives, 8088 Chip 



Jfr#m * 



Z150, 

256K, 2 320K Disk Drives, 

MS DOS 2.1, 8088 Chip, 2 S/P 



CALL 



CALL 



DRIVES m 



ACCESSORIES 



for the IBM-PC or XT 



LIST 
PRICE 



OUR 
PRICE 




AmdskV, » height internal, 320/360K $ 658 $ 498! 
Am disk III, 3" Dual Floppies, 5O0K $ 299 $ 249 



CONTROL 

DATA 

DISK DRIVES 

320K/360K 

DS/DD 



SSS $169 FULL HEIGHT 
$149 HALF HEIGHT 

30 Day Limited Warranty by Factory Authorized Distributor 
CDC, feHi Dual Drive Installation Kit $ 30 $ 16 

MAYNARD. Floppy ConL (w/Para.Port) $ 300 $ 239 
Interface w/Para Port. $300 $ 185 
Interlace w/Ser. Port $ 310 $ 195 

PERFECT DATA, Head Cleaning Kit $ 16 $ 12 

QUADtWI 

Quaddisk Internal Hard Disks w/Controller IN STOCK 



HARD DISKS 

Convert your PC to 10 meg and to be XT compatible with 
one of the following INTERNAL HARD DISK SYSTEMS. Kits 
are quality engineered to work with DOS 2.0/2.1. Com- 
pletely XT compatible. All you need is your DOS manual. 
Easy to install. Includes 10 Megabyte Hard Disk, Controller 
Card and Instructions. 

KKmiamari 
Late 

♦Megaflighf 1 00. 1 mbyte Hard Disk Kit $ 799 

MAYNARD 

10 meg Hard Disk Kit WSlSandstar 

Controller will accept 3 Sandstar modules $1395 $1150 



+ MEANS A BEST BUY 



LIST 
ADVANTAGE MuHJf.Bd for AT 
SixPakRus,64K,S/P/CC+S/W $ 395 
SKPakRus^.S/P/CC+SW $ 695 
SxPakP*JS,384K^/CC+S/W $895 
Game Port for SxPak $ 50 

1/0 Pus II, S/P/CC $ 215 

l/0Pluslt, S/P/CCA3 $265 

I/O Pus II, 2S/P/CC/G $ 315 

Morw&3c*f^'P/TC(fortitus} $ 495 
PCNet, Starter Kit, PC002 $1490 
PCIH Circuit Board.PC001 $695 
ComboPus Products 
MegaPus Products 
Al ibtio UNHMonitorttt&swiveibase $ 50 
LUKIIO 3to 9 Keyboard Exten Cable $ 40 
Vertical CPU "System Stand" $ 25 
Monochrome Ext Cable Pair $ 50 
HAUPPAGE 8087 Chip $ 175 

(HUW) 8087 Software Pak $ 180 

8087 Macro Pak $245 

Uf-cvoi II re Cotor Card w /pan $245 
HfcKLULbb Graphics Card, Mono $499 
KAMERMAN. External Power Supply 
KENSINGTON, Masterpiece 

PC Saver " Line Cord w /Fitter 
KwTmnir KB5150. Std keyboard 
™ iramC KB5151,Std keyboard 
KB5151 jr, keyboard 



■ ^ Koala Pad '"w /PC Design 



Programmer's Guide 
II A VM A BR Multifunction (6) Card, MFC 
Hft? nKKU Memory Card no RAM 
»Hy Memory Card 256K 

?LW_. HardDisk l/F Module (HDM) $ 499 

$ 30 



$395 
$140 
$ 50 
$209 
$255 
$255 
$150 
$ 15 
$ 69 
$199 
$495 



TAR 
SERIES HardDisk Cable 

Para Port Module (PPM) $ 59 

Serial Port Module (SPM) $ 95 

Dock Cal. Module (CCM) $ 55 

Game Adapter Module (GPM| $ 49 

Memory Module "0"K(MM0) $122 

Memory Module 256K (MM256) $ 422 

XT10 meg Hard Disk&l/FWSl $1395 



OUR 

CALL 

245 

395 

465 

39 

150 

185 

215 

375 

795 

365 

CALL 

CALL 

39 

30 

19 

35 

159 

235 

138 

195 

169 

329 

295 

95 

39 

159 

199 

199 

89 

14 

79 

169 

395 

399 

27 

49 

79 

48 

43 

99 

357 

1150 



MICRON. 4164 Chips, 200 ns 



UST 
$ 12 



PC jr Booster with Mouse $ 495 
System Card, 64K $ 395 



OUR 
$ 4 

$ 450 
$ 139 
$ 329 
$ 275 



MOUSE SYSTEMS PC Mouse w/PC Pamt $ 295 $ 189 



PARADISE, Modular Graphics Card $ 395 

PLANTRONICS 

Color Board & Cobrnv»gic,,16 cotor.w/Para $ 559 
Color Board & Draftsman, 16 color, w/Para $ 559 



QUADRAM 



* Quadboard, no RAM expand to 384K $ 295 

* Quadboard 64K, expand to 384KS/P/CC $ 395 

* Quadboard 256K. expand to 384K.S/P/CC $ 675 

* Quadboard, 384K. S/P/CC/G $ 795 
Quadboard II, no RAM. expand to 256K $ 295 
Quadboard IL 64K,expand to 256K2SCC $ 395 
Quadboard II, 256K. 2S/CC $595 
Quad 512 + 64K plus serial port $325 
Quad 512 + 256K plus serial port $ 550 
Quad 512 + 512K plus serial port 
Quadcolor I, board, 16 colors 

* Upgrade Quadcolor I to II kit 
Quadvue, board, Mono/S/P/CC 

* Quadchrome, 12" RGB Color Monitor 
Quadchrome II, 14" RGB Color Monitor $ 650 
Amberchrome, 12" Amber Monitor $ 250 
Quad 3278 $1195 
Quadnet VI $2295 
Quadnet IX $1995 

* QuacHink $ 680 

TG PRODUCTS. Joystick $ 45 

Titan Accelerator PC (8086+ 128K) $ 995 



$895 
$295 
$275 

$795 



$ 285 



$ 395 
$ 395 



$225 
$ 245 
$475 
$ 525 
$ 215 
$ 265 
$ 395 
$ 265 
$ 420 
$ 625 
$ 195 
$ 199 
CALL 
$ 495 
$ 450 
$ 165 
$1090 
$1545 
$1745 
$ 449 



$ 29 
$ 750 



Memory 
* Chip Kit 



9Each, 4164, 200 ns 
90 Day Warranty by us 




©1983 
Conroy-LaRwrrte, Inc. 



• ComX 
EconoRAM™384K BOARD 



$350 



Wrth Fastrak n> RAM Otsk Emulator and Spooler Software 
Fully Compatible, 1 Year Limited Warranty by ComX 

Works on DOS 1.1, 2.0or 2.1 
Prices and availability subject to change. CaH. 



SOFTWARE for IBM-PC or XT 



BUSINESS 8t 



UST OUR 

APPUEOSOFT..Versaform $389 $249 

ARKTRONICS, Jane $295 $ 189 

♦ASHTON TATE, Framework $ 695 $ 349 

* dBase III $695 $ 369 

* dBase II, free, PC-DOS & 128K) $495 $289 

* dBase II to III upgrade $200 $ 119 
Everyman's OB Primer (Book) $ 15 $ 12 
Friday! $295 $ 159 

ATI. Training Programs— Large Inventory $ 75 $ 50 

BM. Job Cost Accounting $795 $495 

Gen'l Acctg, AR, AP or PR, each $ 595 $ 375 

Personal Accounting $195 $ 125 

♦BROOERBUND, Bank Street Writer $ 80 $ 50 

COEX Training Programs -Large Inventory $ 70 $ 45 

•CONTINENTAL, Lltrafite $ 195 $ 125 

TaxAdvarrtage $ 70 $ 45 

Home Accountant Pus $ 150 $ 90 

FCM (Filing, Cataloging Mating] $125 $ 79 

Property Management $ 495 $ 329 

DILiTHWMPRESSPCtoMAC&Back $ 100 $ 65 

DO W JONES, Investment Evafuator $ 139 $ 99 

Market Manager $300 $ 189 

Market Analyzer $350 $ 219 

Market Mkroscrjpe $ 350 $ 219 

FOX*GEUER,dU«tMS-DOSorCP/M89 $ 99 $ 65 

Quickcode or dGraph, each $295 $ 165 

HARVARD, Total Project Manager NEW $495 $ 315 

Harvard Project Manager $ 395 $ 250 

HA YDEN, Pie Writer $ 200 $ 125 

Re SpeRer or Sargon III, each $ 50 $ 30 

HOWAROSOfT, Tax Preparer $ 250 $ 200 

Real Estate Analyzer $250 $ 170 

HUMANEDG£toTmjnb^EdpNEW$195 $119 

Mind Prober NEW $ 50 $ 32 

MartagenentSate or Nepteation Edgeea. $250 $ 159 

IUS. EasyWnter I System $ 350 $ 250 

EasySpeltef It $ 85 $ 125 

GLARAP.OEorlNV.each $595 $375 

Business System : GL+AR+AP $1495 $ 995 

*INSOfT.GraF0RTH(aiHmated 3D graphics) $125 $ 65 

♦KENSINGTON.Easy Link Mail Manager $ 95 $ 65 

KNOW ARE, Knoware (reg. graphics) $ 95 $ 64 

UFETREE, VWkswriter Deluxe $395 $ 159 

Voikswriter $ 195 $ 105 

LIVING VIDEOTEXT, Think Tank $ 195 $ 105 

LOTUS. 1-2 3 $495 $309 

Symphony $ 695 $ 465 

MDBS. Knowfedgeman $ 500 $ 300 

MECA, Managing Your Money $195 $125 

MICROPRO. WordStar* $ 350 $ 189 

WordStar 2000 $ 495 $ 295 

WordStar 2000 Pus $595 $ 325 

WordStar Professional Pus $ 695 $ 395 

WordStar Professional, 4 Pak $ 495 $ 265 



BUSINESS & TRAINING 



UTILITY & SYSTEM 



♦MICROPRO. ConectStar 


$145 


$ 77 

$ 315 


infoStar Pus (+ Star burst) 


$595 


MailMerge. SpelStar or Star Index, ea. 


$ 99 


$ 54 


Preoption Pak (MM/SS/SI) 


$195 


$ 105 


*MfCROMM, RBase Series 4000 


$495 


$ 269 


Extended Report Writer 


$150 


$ 95 


RBase Clout 


$195 


$ 125 


MICROSOFT, Spell NEW $ 50 


$ 32 
$ 125 


Multiplan 


$195 


Chart or Project, each 


$250 


$ 159 


Word 


$375 


$235 


Word with Mouse 


$475 


$ 289 
$ 105 


MONOGRAM, Dollars & Janse w/f orecast $180 


MULTIMATE Mulbmate 


$495 


$ 295 


OPEN SYS. GLARAP.PRINVor POeacI 


$695 


$ 429 


•OS30RNE/C0MX. (Book & Busin, Stat & Math 




Programs on OS/DO Disks) 




Some Common Basic Programs (70 ea.) $ 100 


$ 69 


Practical Basic Programs 
PEACHTREE. Peach Pak 


$100 


$ 69 


$395 


$ 239 


Peach Text 5000 


$395 


$ 239 


PERFECT/THORN. Perfect Writer 


$349 


$ 179 


Perfect Wr iter & Speller Combo 


$399 


$ 199 
$ 25 


PROFESSIONAL Trivia Fever 


$ 40 


QUADRAM. Tax Strategy 


$395 


$295 


Investment Strategy 


$395 


$ 295 


C^Usr«l-2-3al-2-3frjrBusi«s(BDOks) $ 15 


$ 12 


ROSESOFT, Prokey 


$130 


$ 87 


SOFTWARE ARTS. 






TK SorverfMS DOS or PC DOS, spec) 
SOFTWARE DIM. Accounting Pus 


$399 


$ 269 


$495 


$ 295 


SOFTWARE INTL. Open Access 


$695 


$ 395 


SOFTWARE PUBUSHINaPFSReoort $125 


$ 79 


PFSffle,PFSWrite,PFSCraph,PFSf , lan 


$140 


$ 89 
$ 59 


PfSfroof 


$ 95 


SORCJM, SuperCak: III 


$395 


$245 


SSt/SATELUTE WordPerfect 


$495 


$ 235 


Personal WordPerfect 


$195 


$ 99 


STONEWARE. Advanced D.B. Master 


$595 


$ 395 


SUMMA Traders Forecast 


$250 


$ 159 


Trader's Data Manager 


$200 


$ 129 
$219 


Trader's Accountant 


$350 


Complete System 


$700 


§445 

$ 159 


VJStCORP, VtsiCalc 4 


$250 



DIGITAL RES., CBASIC 86™ (CP/M86) $200 
C8A^Comp^(CP/W-86orPCDOSe3) $600 

$750 
$200 
$100 
$ 60 
$149 



PL/1 (PC DOS) 

PL/1 (CP/M-86) 

Speed Prog. Pkg. (CP/M-86) 

DRL0GO-86(CP/M86) 
FUNK SOFTWARE. Sideways 
HAYES. Smartcom II (Data Com.) 
wfNSGfT, GraFORTH (animated 3D graph) $ 125 
LIFEBOAT, Lattice C, NEW $ 500 

MICROSTUF. Crosstalk XVI (Data Com.) $ 195 
MICROSOFT. muMath/muSimp 

Business BASIC Compiler 

Pascal Compiler 

C Compiler 

BASIC Compiler 

FORTRAN Compiler 

COBOL Compiler 
MOUSE SYSTEMS. PC Paint 
NORTON, Utilities 2.0. 14 programs $ 
OPEN SYS. BASIC Interpreter NEW $ 195 
ROSESOFT. Prokey $130 



& EDUCATIONAL 



•ARMONK. Ex ecutrve Suite $ 40 

BLUE CHIP, Millionaire or Tycoon.each $ 60 
BPI SYSTEMS. Persanaf Accounting $ 99 
CBS. Large Inventory in Stock 
COMPREHEN..rcTutDr(l.lor2.aea.)$ 60 
CONTINENTAL Home Accountant Plus $ 150 
DAVIDSON. The Stteed Reader II $ 75 

Word Attack! or Mattibiasterl each $ 50 
DOW JONES, Home Budget $139 

HARCOURT. Computer SAT $ 80 

MICROSOFT, Right Simulator II $ 50 

MONOGRAM, Dollars 4 *nse $ 165 

PBL CORP., Personal Investor $ 145 

SCARBOROUGH. MasterType $ 50 

SIMON fc SCHUSTER, TypingTulorlll $ 50 




UTILITY & SYSTEM 



$ 03 

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$ 55 
$ 40 



JilueKlCK 

Sidekick (Copiabie) 
Turbo Pascal or Toolbox, ea. 
♦CENTRAL POINT, Copy II PC 
♦COMX, Fastrak™, RAM/Disk emulator 
and printer spooler program. Works on any 
PC/DOS version or RAMCard.Menu Driven $ 100 
DIGITAL RES.. CP/M-86™ (PC/XT) $ 80 
Concurrent CP/M- 86™ w /windows $835 



GAMES 



ATARI, Centipede, PacMan or Oonkey,each $ 35 
♦BROCCRSUNO, Large Inventory m Stock 
ELECTRONIC ARTS, Full Une in Stock 

EPYX, Auto Sim or Tempfe of Apshai $ 40 

$ 35 HA YDEN, Sargon 111 (Chess) $ 50 

$ 55 INFOCOM, Deadline or Suspended, ea. $ 50 

$ 35 Zork I or Zor k If or Zork III, each $ 40 

$ 30 *iNSOFT, Mystrix r Wordtrix or Quotrix,ea $ 35 

MICROSOFT, Flight Simulator li $ 50 

ORIGIN, Ultima II $ 60 

$ 59 PROFESSIONAL Trivia Fever $ 40 
$ 39 SPINNAKER, Urge Inventory in Stock 

$ 225 SUB LOGIC, Night Mtsskw Pinball $ 40 



CASH-n-CARRY COMPUTER STORES. INC. 

Over-the-counter sales only. Open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 to 6.00. 
SAN FRANCISCO - NEW STORE1 550 Washington Street 
(it Montgomery, opposite the Pyramid]. Interstate 80, to Highway 
480, take Washington Street Exit. CALL (415) 982-6212. 
PORTLAND, OREGON — At Park 217, Tigard at intersection of 
Highways 217 and 99W. CALL (503) 620-5595. 
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - 3540 128th Ave. SE, Bellevue, WA 
98006. In Loehmann's Plaza near Factoria Square, South East of 
Highway 405 & 90 and at South East 36th and Richards CALL 641-4736. 



NO 
SALES TAX 



OUR REFERENCES: 

We have been in computers and electronics since 
1958, a computer dealer since 1978 and in compu- 
ter mail order since 1980 Banks: 1st Interstate 
Bank, (503) 643467a We belong to the Chamber of 
Commerce (503) 228-9411 and Direct Marketing 
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Mon-Fri-6AM to 6PM PST 
S*«d*-10AM to 4PM PST 

(6AM here is 9AM in New York} 



Inquiry 7 2 for IBM Peripherals. Inquiry 7 3 for Apple. Inquiry 7 4 for all others. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 125 



THE MAC OFFICE 



erated by the hew arrival. 

AppleTalk divides node addresses 
into two classes: server node and user 
node. The system reserves 2 55 pos- 
sible addresses; hexadecimal address 
FF is a special "broadcast" address 
used to reserve the line for transmis- 
sion as part of the network's scheme. 

AppleTalk is based on an open sys- 
tem architecture (see figure 1). Apple 
has published detailed information on 
the suite of network protocols that 
comprise AppleTalk and has held a 
number of seminars to aid third-party 
vendors that are developing software 



and hardware applications for the 
network. 

The AppleTalk protocols implement 
a packet-switching scheme that pro- 
vides functional correspondence with 
the International Standards Organiza- 
tion (ISO) Open Systems Interconnec- 
tion (OS1) model. Protocols equivalent 
to the ISO OSI layers I through 5 
(physical data link, network, trans- 
port, and session) are at the core of 
AppleTalk. 

The access scheme to the network 
is based on a CSMA/CA (carrier sense 
multiple access with collision 



AppleTalk Protocol Architecture 

Layered, Open System 



Printer 
Access 
Protocol 



Name 

Binding 

Protocol 



Routing 
Table 

Maintenance 
Protocol 



AppleTalk 

Filing 

Protocol 




Reliable data transport 



AppleTalk 

Transaction 

Protocol 



■ Socket-to-Socket Delivery on an internet 





Datagran 
Delivery 
Protocol 
























AppleTalk 
Link 
Access 
Protocol 

+ 
Physical 
Layer ' 





• Node-to-Node Delivery on a single AppleTalk 



Figure I : A diagram of AppleTalk 's protocol architecture, printed by the 
LaserWriter. 



avoidance) model. Although both 
AppleTalk and Ethernet are based on 
a bus topology, they differ in the way 
they handle the problem of data col- 
lisions on the network. 

Ethernet provides hardware capa- 
bility for detecting collisions. Apple- 
Talk, on the other hand, implements 
collision avoidance in software at the 
data-link level. The AppleTalk Link- 
Access Protocol (ATLAP) software 
handles the address-assignment 
mechanism, the frame format, and the 
frame transmission and reception 
process. 

In the AppleTalk collision-avoidance 
scheme all transmitters wait until the 
line is idle. This time interval is deter- 
mined by the generation of a pseudo- 
random number whose range is ad- 
justed based on perceived bus traffic. 

As part of this scheme each trans- 
mitter can send special broadcast 
frames (addressed to all nodes in the 
network) that reserve the line by in- 
forming other nodes that it is prepar- 
ing to send a packet. The transmitters 
use directed frames (or packets) to 
send data to a single address on the 
network. 

While a transmitting node is send- 
ing to a receiving node, a dialogue 
takes place. If a collision occurs dur- 
ing the dialogue, the sending node 
backs off and tries again, adjusting the 
randomly generated time interval. 
This adjustment follows a linear back- 
off algorithm that changes dynamical- 
ly in response to recent network-traffic 
history. If the node detects collisions 
among recently sent packets, this sug- 
gests higher loading and greater con- 
tention for the bus. Thus, the random 
wait that is generated is calculated 
over a larger range, effectively spread- 
ing out the different contenders for 
the line. 

Apple reports that it has extensive- 
ly tested AppleTalk's CSMA/CA pro- 
tocol and is satisfied with its ability to 
remain stable under heavy network 
loads. 

In addition to ATLAP. AppleTalk 
consists of a variety of other protocols 
that generally correspond to other 
levels of the ISO OSI model. 

[continued) 



126 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 




TIEDUP 
WITH DAIA RECORDING? 

Here comes SEED to set you free. 



Are you frequently tied up with typing large 
amounts of data from printouts into your personal 
computer, or frustrated at not being able to use it 
while it is being used as an expensive data collection 
device? If so, then let a SEED set you and your PC 
free. 

These highly portable and cost effective data 
recording units allow you to continuously record 
data wherever and whenever you want via an RS- 
232C serial interface onto a diskette for analysis or 
editing later on your PC. 

SEED 1 is intended for use with an Apple II 
compatible disk drive (single or dual drive - 120 
Kbyte memory per disk) and after recording, the dis- 
kette can be loaded into your Apple II, lie or III per- 
sonal computer. 

SEED 2 is intended for use with an IBM PC and 
has the additional advantages of a built-in disk drive 
unit, a 350 Kbyte memory, single or double sided, 
double density disks, and dip switch selectable baud 
rate, parity and data bits. 

An optional analogue/digital conversion unit 
is available for each model. 



Both SEEDs can be used for a really wide range of 
data recording applications: 

in the office where data can be recorded from 
mainframe, other computers or serial communica- 
tion networks 

in the laboratory where results can be recor- 
ded from samples being measured continuously, in- 
cluding overnight runs 

on the factory floor where performance data 
can be recorded from instruments undergoing qual- 
ity control testing prior to shipment 

So now there's no need to get tied up with data 
recording. All you need is SEED. 






manachioy 

Iso-Heikkilantie 14, SF-20200 Turku, Finland, 
Tel. (9)21-307 000, Telex 62665 maroy sf 



USA, CMK Associates, inc., (408) 374 1805; CANADA, Fisher Scientific, (613) 226 8874; W. GERMANY, LKB InstrumentGmbH, (89) 85830, isolab, (05609) 2736; FRANCE, LKB Instruments 
S.A., (6) 928 6507; AUSTRIA, LKB Instrument Ges.m.b.H, (0222) 92 1607; ENGLAND, LKB Instruments Ltd., (01) 657 8822; SWEDEN, SEED Trading, (08) 768 5595. 

Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. IBM PC is a registered trademark of International Business Machines, Corp. 



Inquiry 196 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 127 



THE MAC OFFICE 



While ATLAP handles node-to-node 
delivery of packets on a single Apple- 
Talk network, a Datagram Delivery 
Protocol (DDP) extends this mecha- 
nism to socket-to-socket delivery. 
Sockets are logical entities in the in- 
dividual nodes of a network. An in- 
dividual socket is identified by a 
1-byte address. Therefore, there can 
be as many as 2 56 different socket ad- 
dresses on a single node. The DDP is 
designed to provide addressing and 
packet delivery between several 
AppleTalk networks connected by a 
bridge. A bridge might consist of a 
single node connected to two Apple- 
Talk networks or it might consist of 
two nodes, each connected to a sep- 
arate AppleTalk network, connected 
by a communications channel. 

Additional protocols include a 
routing table maintenance protocol 
(RTMP) that permits any AppleTalk 
node to "discover" network routing in- 
formation, such as the number of the 



LAN to which it is directly attached; 
a name-binding protocol (NBP) that 
permits users to access network ad- 
dresses by names rather than num- 
bers; and the AppleTalk transaction 
protocol (ATP), designed to ensure 
loss-free delivery of packets from a 
source socket to a destination socket. 

On the Macintosh, these protocols 
are implemented as 5.5K bytes of 
code written in assembly language. 
Because the SCC chip handles ad- 
dress recognition, the network pro- 
tocols take no system overhead unless 
a particular node is directly addressed 
over the network. 

Initially, AppleTalk will link groups 
of Macintosh computers to the Laser- 
Writer laser printer, an impressive 
68000-based electronic printing 
system that will provide hard-copy 
output of any text or graphical image 
that can be displayed on the Macin- 
tosh screen. The special significance 
of the LaserWriter is that it is in- 



Adobe Systems and 
the PostScript Language 



Adobe Systems Inc.. of Palo Alto. 
California, was started by a 
number of researchers who left Xerox's 
PARC (Palo Alto Research Center). In 
particular. John Warnock, president of 
Adobe, was a principal scientist at 
PARC for raster-graphic display tech- 
niques. Charles Geschke, the executive 
vice-president, was a manager of the 
Imaging Sciences Laboratory at PARC 

Adobe is trying to make PostScript— 
their text and graphics language— a 
business standard. Unlike most print- 
file description languages. PostScript is 
not a static, data-structured written 
description: it is a programming lan- 
guage. When the Macintosh commu- 
nicates with the LaserWriter, it actual- 
ly sends a program across AppleTalk. 

According to Geschke, "When the 
program arrives at the 68000 in the 
printer and begins executing, it has one 
very interesting side effect, namely, it 
drives the video on that laser and pro- 
duces output. But it is really a program 
description that is generated on the 
Macintosh and is executed on the 
printer." By using PostScript, the 



amount of information sent across 
AppleTalk can be trimmed, in some 
cases, to just 10 percent more than the 
raw ASCII (American Standard Code 
for Information Interchange) data. 

PostScript is completely encoded in 
the printable character subset of 7-bit 
ASCII code and so is completely invisi- 
ble across any kind of communications 
line, not just AppleTalk. PostScript can 
handle any material: text, line-art, 
photographies, and even color (for 
printers that can use it). While photo- 
graphic images are sent as bit maps, 
graphics are sent as commands and 
the fonts are sent as mathematical 
outlines (based on Bezier cubics) that 
can be stroked, filled, scaled, oriented, 
or used as clipping boundaries. And 
it is flexible, as Geschke pointed out. 
"If you're really into graphic art you can 
adjust the shape of the half-tone dot, 
the shape of the tonal production 
curve, the orientation of the screen, 
and its frequency." 

Adobe isn't only working with Apple. 
You'll be seeing PostScript in other 
systems from other companies. 



tegrated with PostScript, a page- 
image-description language devel- 
oped by Adobe Systems, a start-up 
company founded by a group of elec- 
tronic-printing experts who recently 
left Xerox Corporation (see the text 
box "Adobe Systems and the Post- 
Script Language" below). PostScript is 
essential to the viability of AppleTalk 
because it permits extensive com- 
pression of the information the Laser- 
Writer needs to print bit-map images. 

Laser Technology 

Laser printers are fast, quiet, and 
capable of high-resolution printing. 
Until recently, they have also been 
very expensive, ranging from $50,000 
to $400,000. 

A laser printer has a raster-scanning 
laser that projects the print image 
onto an electrostatically charged 
photosensitive drum. A set of rotating 
mirrors manipulates the beam— the 
laser itself doesn't move. Wherever 
the laser beam touches the drum, the 
static charge is nullified. Tbner (par- 
ticles of colored plastic) is then at- 
tracted to those points. The printer 
rolls paper against the drum and the 
toner sticks to the paper. Finally, a hot 
f user permanently affixes the toner by 
melting it onto the page. 

The price of laser printers has 
dropped dramatically because of de- 
velopments such as Canon's LBP-CX 
marking engine. That engine, which is 
also used in Canon's personal copiers, 
combines several fundamental printer 
components into a single, inexpen- 
sive, disposable cartridge. Because 
those same components— including 
the toner and drum— frequently 
needed repair and replacement on 
laser printers, the Canon engine great- 
ly improves reliability. 

The LaserWriter's disposable car- 
tridges (made by Canon) cost $99 
each and will print approximately 
3000 pages. That puts the price in the 
range of 3 cents per page. The Laser- 
Writer prints on ordinary copy paper 
but can also use bond paper, Euro- 
pean and legal-size paper, transparen- 
cies, envelopes, labels, or even busi- 
ness cards. Several different toner 

[continued) 



128 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




WHEN YOU BUILD A HOUSE ... YOU DON'T NEED TO MAKE THE WINDOWS YOUKSEI.K NOW . . . THE SAME IS TKUE WHEN YOU'RE WHITING CODE. 



Windows With A View 
Toward The Future 

The Window 
Machine™ occupies 
only 12K! Written in 
tight, fast Assembler, 
it performs like a 
racing engine... with 
more power than 
you'll probably ever 
need. Yet, it's an 
engine designed to fit 
in the vehicle of 
your choice... from a 
"stripped-down" 
128K IBM PC to a 
fully loaded AT. The 
programs you write 
today will run on 
the broadest range of 
machines possible... 
now, and in the 
future. 

Windows Bigger 
Than Your Screen? 

Here's where the 
VSI part of our name 
fits in. VSI means 
Virtual Screen Inter- 
face. Behind each 
window, there's a 
much bigger picture. 
VSI defines virtual 
screens rather than just windows. The 
window itself shows whatever portion of 
its virtual screen you wish to exhibit at 
any given point in your program. Each 
screen can be up to 128 x 255 (columns x 
rows, or rows x columns). And there are 
more than 100 screen primitives at your 
command. 

Multilingual Windows 

You can order The Window Machine 
with the languageinterface of your choice: 
C, Pascal, Compiled Basic, Fortran, Cobol, 
or PL1. We've even recently completed 



These are 
coders' 
windows... 
designed to be 
built into the 
programs you 
are writing. 
They can 
overlap, move 
anywhere on 
the screen, 
grow, shrink, 
vanish or blink. 
They can be 
bordered in 
anything from 
a simple line to 
flashing 
asterisks... or 
even no border 
at all. And 
you can have 
up to 255 of 
them at a time! 
Color or 
monochrome 
...of course/ 



Why did Simon & 
Schuster, 3COM, 
Tymshare, and 
Revlon choose 
VSI-TheWindow 
Machine? 



figured if you wanted ribbons and bows 
you could always add them yourself.) 

And by offering you the product our- 
selves, we were able to cut out all the 
middlemen and save you a tremendous 
amount of money. 

\MWMThe Window 
w ^MMachine™ 



(and how come 
you can buy it for 
such a low price?) 



an interface for Turbo Pascal*, so that 
now true, full-featured windowing can be 
utilized with this fine compiler. (Turbo's 
own built-in "windowing" procedure is 
extremely limited). 

Windows That Won't Break You 

We decided to save you a lot of money. 
So, we left behind fancy binders, mono- 
grammed slip cases and plastic pre- 
sentation boxes. Instead, you'll rind an 
extremely powerful tool and a 200 page 
manual written with an eye toward 
simplicity, clarity and completeness. (We 

*Turbo Pascal is a Trademark of Borland International 



$59.95 



Available for the IBM PC. XT, AT, IBM Compatibles, 
and the Wang, T.I., HP 150, and Tandy 2000. 

The Window Machine Includes: 

■ Zoom Windows 
i Multiple Virtual 
Screens (up to 255) 
Choice of Borders 
(including flashing bordersj 
i Support for all Color and 
Monochrome Video Attributes 
[no graphics card required) 
m Built-in Diagnostics 
• And much, much more 

ORDER YOUR COPY OF 

VSI— THE WINDOW MACHINE TODAY 

For Visa, MasterCard and 

American Express orders call toll free: 

1-800-227-3800 ext. 986 



The Window Machine™ S59.95 Shipping and handling included 
LANGUAGE INTERFACE: 

D Lattice C QRealia Cobol DMicrosoft Basic Compiler D Microsoft Fortran 
DPLl DMicrosoft Pascal DTurbo Pascal (full featured true windowing] 
COMPUTER ^_^_ 



Name _ 



Address . 
City 



.State Zip Code. 



D Check DMoney Order DVISA DMasterCard D American Express 



. Exp. Date _ 



AMBER SYSTEMS, INC. 1171 S. Saratoga-Sunny vale Road, San )ose CA 95129 



Card * . 

'California residents: lax included. Orders outside the USA; please add $5 

for shippinpnd handling. 

AMBER SYSTEMS 

1171 S. Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road 

San |ose, CA 95129 



FOR DEALER INQUIRIES: CALL OUR 800 NUMBER 




Inquiry 18 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 129 



THE MAC OFFICE 



colors are available. 

The Canon engine is used in the 
LaserWriter and many other new laser 
printers, from Hewlett-Packard's 
$3495 LaserJet to the $10,000 QMS 
800. These laser printers can turn out 
eight pages a minute and yet make 
only about as much noise as a copier. 
All of these machines can print at the 
same 300-dots-per-inch resolution. 
While far better than standard dot- 
matrix printers, they aren't up to the 
1200 dots per inch or better that 
phototypesetters produce (see figures 
I and 2 for samples of the Laser- 
Writer's output). Still unless you're a 
graphics expert, it is hard to 
distinguish this resolution from 
typeset text. The difference between 
the various Canon-based laser 
printers is in the controllers; each 
manufacturer uses its own controlling 
computer. 

Because the laser scans synchro- 
nously across the page, image dots 
must be fed to the laser at exactly the 
right time. That requires data storage 
in the printer itself. Shipping data to 
the printer memory as a simple bit 
map would take too much time for 
most users. An RS-232C port running 



at 1 9,200 bps (bits per second) would 
take nearly 7 minutes to send the 
7,920,000 bits for a single page; even 
the speedier AppleTalk network 
would take half a minute, lb ease that 
bottleneck, most manufacturers put 
some form of intelligence, such as en- 
coded graphics instructions and pre- 
loaded fonts, into the printer con- 
troller. Then the computer need only 
send a condensed form of the print 
image to the printer controller. 

The least intelligent controllers have 
limited printing capabilities. The 
Hewlett-Packard LaserJet, for instance, 
can only print 6 square inches of 
graphics per page and has a limited 
set of character fonts. On the other 
hand, the expensive QMS printer uses 
a standard 'fektronix terminal emula- 
tion (a set of graphics protocols). For 
example, instead of sending a bit map 
of a circle to that printer, a computer 
only needs to send the 'fektronix in- 
struction to print a circle of a certain 
size, shape, and position. 

LaserWriter Hardware 

The Apple LaserWriter printer can 
generate a variety of fonts and high- 
quality graphics with the help of a 




Figure 2 : Sample output from the LaserWriter. 



powerful built-in computer and the 
PostScript language. 

The LaserWriter's internal com- 
puter-controller board was designed 
by Burrell Smith, a key figure in the 
Macintosh design group, and is built 
around an 1 1 .2-MHz 68000 processor, 
1.5 megabytes of RAM (random- 
access read/write memory), and 0.5 
megabyte of ROM (read-only mem- 
ory). The ROM contains the PostScript 
code. 

The laser-printer project's design 
goals were formed when Adobe Sys- 
tems suggested that a laser printer 
could offer graphics without giving up 
letter-quality text. Part of this involved 
making the printer controller as intel- 
ligent and as fast as possible, so that 
encoded information could be sent 
over the AppleTalk LAN to spare the 
network a huge overhead burden. 

Of the leaser Writer's 1.5 megabytes 
of RAM, half a megabyte is used for 
temporary scratch-pad buffers and 
font caching and a full megabyte is 
devoted to the screen. The Laser- 
Writer has other small memory com- 
ponents, such as a static RAM cache 
of 4K bytes that allows the 68000 to 
process faster by executing inner 
loops without any wait states. In ad- 
dition, Apple built into the hardware 
one of the most common input trans- 
fer modes. Burrell Smith said, "We do 
a classical OR between contents of 
memory and the data you wish to 
enter to the frame buffer— in a single 
bus cycle." 

Apple is a high-volume producer. To 
that end, it has kept the component 
count on the board low— there are 
only 34 chips plus memory and 
resistor packs. In comparison, one 
competing laser-printer controller 
board has close to 150 chips. The 
LaserWriter board has been designed, 
as was the Macintosh, for automatic 
insertion and test. The chip tech- 
nology used is generally the same as 
for the Macintosh: 2 5-nanosecond 
PAL (programmable-array logic) chips, 
2 56K-byte dynamic RAM chips, and 
2 56K-byte ROM chips. Smith noted, 
"What we're trying to do is take rela- 
tively expensive technologies and 

[continued) 



130 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



A shell 

loaded with 
software is 
impressive, 



one simple 

program 

loaded with 





capaDiimes 
isbetter. 

- ■■' r* A 



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To get a lot out of a printer, you need a lot of 
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True, your customers want to change type sizes, 
create their own characters, and even print sideways: 
But you don't need to stock a lot of different 
printer utilities. One simple program will blow all 
the others right off your shelf. 

Pnrifvvorks. it's loaded. 



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Inquiry 284 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 131 



THE MAC OFFICE 



make them ourselves." 

Once the print image has been 
completely set in the RAM, the printer 
needs to ship it out to the laser ap- 
paratus as quickly as possible. That 
task is aided by the 68000, which 
helps drive the video electronics. The 
central processor stores the data in 
two FIFO (first-in/first-out) memories. 



That scheme allows a minimum 
amount of bus contention between 
the microprocessor and memory. 
Everything on the board is a slave to 
the 68000. That flexible architecture 
is expoited, for example, by the 
margins of the page to be printed. 
When the margins move inward, the 
frame buffer used for generating the 




Each subject is a 3-tape series. The Basics will take you from the beginning and lead you through 
dB ASE II commands. You will soon be creating your own databases, editing files, deleting records, etc. 
Application Programming will teach you program layouts, loops, structures and so much more. You 
will be writing your own programs within hours. 



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* MultiPlan and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft, 
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bit map is actually reduced in size- 
allowing more RAM to cache the 
fonts. 

The Macintosh has nonvolatile pa- 
rameter memory that allows it to 
remember certain modifiable control 
settings between uses. Apple decided 
to further explore that scheme in the 
LaserWriter by putting in a 0.5K-byte 
EEPROM (electrically erasable pro- 
grammable ROM), which is expand- 
able to 2K bytes. As Smith points out, 
that is "equivalent to 16,000 DIP (dual- 
inline package) switches." 

The AppleTalk port isn't the only 
way to drive the LaserWriter. There is 
also a DB2 5 connector with complete- 
ly programmable RS-232C protocols. 
Adobe indicated that they and others 
would provide packages that will use 
translators or emulators to drive Tex, 
Ttoff. Scribe, and other mainframe- 
style composition systems. 

What sort of performance does the 
built-in computer offer for the Laser- 
Writer? According to Smith, when it 
is combined with perfect hardware, 
the printer is capable of turning out 
a page in 6 seconds. With the Apple 
controller, "We're expecting a 10-sec- 
ond average time per page," he says. 

Anything that can be put on the 
Macintosh screen can be printed by 
the LaserWriter. When you use the 
Printer Chooser desk accessory to 
select the LaserWriter printer instead 
of the ImageWriter, the Macintosh 
calls a new printer driver. On the 
Macintosh, all screen graphics are 
based on QuickDraw routines called 
from ROM. Bud TYibble, the Macin- 
tosh software manager, says, "The 
LaserWriter's strategy is different than 
the ImageWriter's. Even though all the 
Macintosh's QuickDraw routines are 
in ROM, every entry point to Quick- 
Draw has a handle on it that allows 
us to trap out that call and go some- 
place else. That's what happens dur- 
ing printing to the LaserWriter driver. 
We trap out all the QuickDraw calls, 
and when that call comes along, the 
system translates it to the equivalent 
PostScript call, which ships it over 
AppleTalk to the laser printer and 
prints out." For now, the printer works 

[continued] 



132 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 329 




siajAr— 




SPSS SECURITIES, INC. 
TRADING ONLINE 

1 Place orders 

2 Uieu or cancel open orders 

3 (lieu conf imations and messages 

4 Send m$ws to Spear 

Enter itm m«ber or <H>elp* 1 




[111111! Hill 

111! . 
/ / 

^l^l^f^l^l WlWt^t^l.^t^\^^wt.^. 



Trade over 
the counter 



Introducing the most complete 24-hour 
investment service on the market. 

Spear Securities has teamed up with 
The Source SM to bring you the most com- 
prehensive personal investment service 
ever introduced. 

Now you can use any personal com- 
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quickly and inexpensively. Without soft- 
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Immediate accessto market intelligence. 

If you're going to compete with pro- 
fessional investors, you need more than 
instant trading. That's why we give you 
the ability to analyze and compare thou- 
sands of companies. And we provide 
immediate access to critical business 
news and price changes as they occur. 



r 



We even take care of your portfolio up- 
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account is protected up to $10 million* 

Get started for $35 -a-trade. 

Between now and February 28, 1985, 
most market orders placed with Spear 
Securities (up to 1,000 shares) will cost 
only $35 each. After that, you'll enjoy our 
regular discount rates, which will save 
you up t o 70%on stock transactions com- 
pared to full -cost broker commissions. 

The coupon on the right will get you 
all the details. Fast. Our toll-free number 
is even faster. Just dial (800) 821-1902. 
In California, call (800) 321-6116. 

*Combination of SIPC protection and private insurance. 
See brochure for details. ^&»w^ Member i 

M l NASD L 



Available exclusively via The Source k 



SPEAR SECURITIES 

The Electronic Investment Center 

626 Wilshire Boulevard 
Los Angeles, CA 9001 7 

□ Send me information on how 
to trade over the counter. 

□ I have a personal computer. 

□ I am currently a member of 
The Source. 

Name 

Address 



City _ 

State . 

B-2 



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.Zip . 



J 



Spear Securities, a member of the NASD and SIPC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Investment Resources & Technology, Inc. The Source is a service mark of 
Source Telecomputins Corporation, a subsidiary of The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. The Source services are offered in participation with Control Data Corporation. 



Inquiry 294 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 133 




PREVENT THE DISASTER 

OF HEAD CRASH AND 

DROPOUT. 



The war against dust and dirt 
never ends. So before you boot- 
up your equipment, and 
everytime you replace a 
cassette, disk or drive 
filter, be sure to use Dust-Off II; 
itcounteractsdust, grit and lint. 
Otherwise you're flirting with 
costly dropouts, head crashes 
and downtime. 

Dust-Off II is most effective 
when used with Stat-Off II. Stat- 
Off II neutralizes dust-holding 
static electricity while Dust-Off II 
blasts loose dust away. There's 
also the Dual Extender and Mini- 
Vac for vacuuming dust out of 
hard-to-reach places. 

Photographic professionals 
have used Dust-Off brand 
products consistently on 
their delicate lenses and 
expensive cameras for 
over ten years. They 
know it's the safe, dry, 
efficient way to contami 
nant-f ree cleaning. 




Cleaning not provided by liquid 

cleaners. 

Dust-Off II's remarkable 

pinpoint accuracy zeros in on the 

precise area being dusted. And 
you have total control — every- 
thing from a gentle breeze for 




System II 




Stat-Off II neutralizes dust-holding 
static electricity from media and 
machines. 

delicate computer mechanisms 
to a heavy blast for grimy dirt. 
Don't let contamination dis- 
rupt your computer operation. 
Stock up on Dust-Off II — the ad- 
vanced dry cleaning system, 
at your local computer or 
office supply dealer. 

Or send $1.00 (for 
postage and handling) 
for a 3 oz. trial size and 
literature today. 



Dust-Offll 

The safe dry cleaning system 



THE MAC OFFICE 



on a first-come, first-serve basis. Later, 
the file server will function as a 
spooler. (Apple is investigating print 
spooling on the Macintosh itself.) 

According to nibble, "A page of 
QuickDraw calls are translated into 
approximately 4K bytes of PostScript 
language, which are then shipped 
over AppleTalk at ] A megabit per 
second— 4K bytes per page is really 
no great load compared to the 8 
million bits required to represent a full 
bit-map page." 

Because of this strategy, MacDraw 
and MacPaint documents produce dif- 
ferent outputs. All of the elements in 
MacDraw exist as graphical objects: 
a rectangle is stored as a rectangle, a 
circle is stored as a mathematical cir- 
cle, etc. In MacPaint, all the data 
storage takes place on the bit map. 
Those 80-dots-per-inch bit maps must 
be resolved for the higher-resolution 
LaserWriter. So Bill Atkinson devel- 
oped a scaling and smoothing pro- 
gram that sits in the laser printer itself. 

In fact, there is a fairly close corre- 
spondence between QuickDraw and 
PostScript objects. The Macintosh 
downloads into the laser printer a 
preamble of PostScript code that 
helps it quickly interpret QuickDraw 
objects. For example, to paint a 
RoundRec (a QuickDraw command), 
you would have a RoundRec sub- 
routine residing in the LaserWriter. 
Half the translation takes place in the 
Mac, half in the LaserWriter. Text is 
sent as ASCII (American Standard 
Code for Information Interchange) 
data along with font, orientation, fill, 
scaling, and position information. 

Apple has built Times Roman, 
Courier, Helvetica, and many existing 
Macintosh fonts into the LaserWriter, 
which handles these fonts intelligent- 
ly. For example, once a character is 
built it is cached and remembered as 
long as possible. Additionally, the 
LaserWriter driver in the Macintosh 
permits direct generation of Post- 
Script commands. Both Adobe and 
Apple expect independent devel- 
opers to make use of this facility. 
Apple reports that there are already 
more than 20 active, independent 
LaserWriter software projects. ■ 



Falcon Safety Products, Inc., 106b Bristol Road, Mountainside, NJ 07092 
134 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry III 




SIGN-MASTER™ 

Number 1 in word charts 

for presentations and reports 



Create powerful head- 
lines using SIGN- 
MASTER's color, size, 
and font options. Here we 
chose Bold Roman font. 

Highlight a single charac- 
ter, word or an entire line 
at the touch of a button. 
Here we focus attention 
on one number with color 
and underline. 

Indicate source, date, au- 
thor, etc. with SIGN- 
MASTER's footnote op- 
tion. Bold Standard font 
was used in this example. 



■T HE BOTTOM LINE 

PROJECTED EARNINGS 
(Millions of $) 





'78 


'79 


'80 


'81 


'82 A 


Sales 


86.4 


121.0 


144.0 


163.8 


182.0 


Net Income 


5.9 


8.8 


11.4 


13.4 


15.7 


ROS(%) 


6.9 


7.3 


7.9 


8.2 


8.6 


Mkt. Share 


48% 


61% 


65% 


71% 


76% 



Capital expenditure required: $5 Million 
1 Net present value = $24.25 Million 
(opportunity cost of capital = 24%) 



(Souroct Annual Report) 



^Develop professional ta- 
bles quickly and easily. 
Once data and text is en- 
tered, SIGN-MASTER de- 
termines the spacing and 
layout. 



Produce SIGN-MASTER 
word charts on paper, 
overheads or slides. 



With SIGN-MASTER, the possibilities are unlimited: 



CASUAL USER MARKET 




~ 






- 




\ r. 


l - 



















Proposals 



Summary Financial Data 






Summaries 



FINANCIAL SUMMARY 



Exhibits 



Schedules 



Tables 



NEW PRODUCT PROPOSAL 

for fh* f/ifroducffon of fho 



4 Backyard Cha/n Sotr for tfta 
Crow/n& Co sua/ L/sar Mark a f 



Title Rages 





plotters, you can produce full color originals on 
paper and overheads. The program also works 
with most popular printers to create the high- 
est quality printer graphics possible. 
Make Super Slides Quickly 
and Economically 

Presentation-quality 35mm 
slides can be created in-house 
and inexpensively using the^ 
Polaroid Palette in conjunction 
with SIGN-MASTER. $W. 

For reports and presentations that get no- 
ticed, get SIGN-MASTER — Number 1 in word 
charts. 

The retail price is $245.00. Call or write today 
for a complete information kit and a demon- 
stration at your nearest dealer. Decision 
Resources, Inc., 25 Sylvan Road South, 
Westport, CT 06880 (203) 222-1974 

Inquiry 88 

The developers of CHART-MASTER 

DecisionResources 

Software Designed for Decision Makers 

SIGN-MASTER is a trademark 01 Dedslon Resources, Inc. SIGN-MASTER is available through the following International distributors: Grafisk Databehandllng (Goteborg) Scandinavia; Tetecomputer Micro-Shop 
(Essen) Germany. Austria; Software Enterprises (Rotterdam) Benelux; Edlaofl (ftuls) France; Sumlock Bondain (London) U,K.; CsJcomp S. A. (Milan) Italy and Corrputerland and Entre Worldwide. 



SIGN-MASTER is 
the first program de- 
signed to allow every- 
one from top manage- 
ment on down to produce 
"colorful, attention-gaining 
"word charts" and tables for presentations 
and reports. 

Created on an IBM PC with a compatible plot- 
ter or printer, SIGN-MASTER word charts are 
superior in quality to typing and less expensive 
than typesetting or printing. 

Professional Word Charts Made Easy 

In just minutes, this unique menu-driven pro- 
gram lets you create impressive, easy-to-read 
documents using words, numbers, lines and 
SIGN-MASTER's simple-to-master Table Mode. 
Number 1 in Quality Text 

SIGN-MASTER offers the greatest variety of 
text options. In addition to 6 fonts, 16 sizes and 
8 colors, you can justify text, underline, italicize, 
set margins, spacing, and more. 

An Important Presentation Tool 

With SIGN-MASTER and any one of over 40 



Picture a computer under $1000 
that can run Lotus 1-2-3. 




\>'i 



/ 




System. 



Cattxv 



&& 



Y> 




YOT 



tYieYW^^ 



^4 







And for all of its power, it costs less 
than $1,000,* without monitor. 



To run a powerful program, you need 
a powerful computer. But "powerful" 
doesn't always 
have to mean L ^r-*" ^ ut ' a l rea dy have Lotus™ 1 -2 -3 '" on diskette. 

expensive. M H^^J"£? ■. m ^ that's the case, you may not want to buy the cartridge version. All 

Casein 
point: PCjr, 
from IBM. 

With its 
128KB memory, 



you need is a PCjr Installation Kit (available free where you bought 1-2-31 
and the new 128KB PCjr Memory Expansion Attachment. 

This doubles PCjr's memory. And, by no coincidence, it also doubles the 
number of programs you'll be able to run. 
So you can use Lotus 1-2-3 on diskette, and over a thousand additional 
programs that utilize expanded memory. 



PCjr can run the world's best-selling 
business program— Lotus 1-2 -3— in its 
new cartridge form. Giving you the power 
to integrate spreadsheets and data 
bases, and visualize numbers in charts 
and graphs. 

PCjr's cartridge format offers some 
real advantages, too. 

A cartridge not only loads much faster 
than a program on diskette— it uses 
almost no user memory So you get 
more "room to work." 

It can also free the diskette drive to 
be used for information storage alona 

And perhaps best of all, a cartridge 
program can't be erased. Which means 
your investment is safe. 

Of course, PCjr runs diskette 
programs as well. Over a thousand of the 
best programs written for the IBM PC 
For business, home management, 
communications, education and 
entertainment 



Picture yourself with PCjr. You can try 
one out at an authorized IBM PCjr dealer 
or IBM Product Center. 

For the name of the store nearest you, 
call 1-800-IBM-PCJR. In Alaska and 
Hawaii, call 1-800-447-0890. TWM 1 ® 



IBM PCjr 

Growing by leaps and bounds. 



Inquiry 143 




\ 



Before or after you buy a PCjr, it's easy to get answers 

to your questions. Just call 1-800-222-PCJR. 

*IBM Product Center price, monitor not included. 

Lotus and 1-2-3 are trademarks of Lotus Development Corp. 

Little Tramp character licensed by Bubbles Inc., s.a. 




A program to take 

the tedium out of converting 

C programs to Pascal 



138 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



ILLUSTRATED BY WILLIAM LOW 



BY TfeD CARNEVALE 



^yA o matter how much you 
Mim prefer a particular pro- 
Wj M^ gramming language, there 
W W* are times when it is neces- 
sary to use a different one. 1 found 
myself in this situation recently after 
I had written a graphics subroutine 
library in C for the Pixeltronics high- 
resolution graphics display board that 
uses the NEC 7220 GDC (graphics dis- 
play controller) chip. Since the display 
was attractive, I decided to incor- 
porate the routines into our lab's high- 
speed data-acquisition system. 

The data-acquisition program, 
which controlled A/D (analog-to- 
digital) conversion and signal averag- 
ing, was compiled with Digital Re- 
search's Pascal/MT+ compiler. I chose 
this implementation of Pascal 
because it supports floating-point 
operations using the AMD (Advanced 
Micro Devices) 9511 A, a high-per- 
formance arithmetic coprocessor that 
allows faster on-line data averaging 
and scaling, lb run the A/D converter 
at top speed, special drivers were 
written in assembly language. The 
package's weak link was its subroutine 
to display data on a nonstorage 
oscilloscope, using the D/A (digital-to- 
analog) section of the converter 
board. The time required to sweep 
multiple traces across the oscil- 
loscope screen limited the maximum 
rate of data acquisition. 

It didn't seem practical to rewrite all 
of the data conversion software in C 
just to use the graphics display. Fur- 
thermore, we would have to write new 
drivers to use the AMD 951 1 A for 
floating-point calculations in C. Worse 
yet, the floating-point format and 



dynamic range of the AMD 9 5 1 1 A are 
radically different from their counter- 
parts in our version of C (Software 
Toolworks C80 with optional floats 
and longs). 

For a while 1 considered linking the 
rel (relocatable) files produced by C80 
(which contain the graphics routines) 
to the erl (extended relocatable) files 
generated by Pascal/MT+ (which con- 
tain the data-conversion routines). 
This proved to be especially cumber- 
some for two reasons. 

First, both of these languages use 
the stack to pass parameters to sub- 
routines. Pascal/MT+ assumes that 
the subroutine will pop the param- 
eters from the stack, which has the 
side effect of restoring the stack 
pointer to its position before the sub- 
routine call. However, C80 expects the 
calling program to restore the stack 
pointer. Therefore, repeated calls 
from a Pascal program to C subrou- 
tines would make the stack grow 
larger and larger, potentially over- 
writing vital regions of memory. Cir- 
cumventing this problem requires the 
crude but effective dodge of inserting 
a special "unstack" routine after each 
C routine call, so that the stack 
pointer would be properly restored. 

The second problem is more diffi- 
cult to deal with and relates to the fact 
that Pascal lacks local static variables. 
LIN KMT, the linker for Pascal/ MT+, 
issues error messages when it en- 
counters certain conditions in the 
data segment. Some of my graphics 
procedures used local static variables, 
and these modules could not be pro- 
cessed by LINKMT 

In theory this can be overcome by 



using LIBMTto convert the Pascal erl 
files to rel files and then linking them 
to the C80 rel files with Microsoft's 
L80. But somehow I could never get 
this technique to work right. Even if 
L80 could have produced a function- 
ing mongrel, it would have been need- 
lessly bulky, since the graphics drivers 
would have their own arithmetic and 
logic routines extracted from the C 
library with much needless duplica- 
tion of similar functions provided by 
the Pascal library. Still, if it had worked 
1 would have used it. 

Having failed to weld C routines to 
Pascal I had to rewrite the graphics 
drivers in Pascal. At first this seemed 
less awful than it really was. There are 
enough similarities between these 
two descendants of ALGOL that 
major revisions are not necessary for 
most simple routines. Many of the re- 
quired changes can be done with any 
editor using global search/replace 
commands. For example, C's block 
delimiters { and } are direct counter- 
parts of Pascal's begin and end. 

This method is fine if you only have 
to translate a few short programs, but 
it has some major problems other- 
wise. Suppose you accidentally re- 
place the C comment delimiters /* 
and */ with { and } before replacing 
the block delimiters with begin and 
end? And how about the different 
uses of = in C and Pascal? If you re- 
place each = with :=, then C's 

{continued) 
Ted Camevale is an assistant professor of 
neurology at the State University of New York 
at Stony Brook. He can be reached in care 
of the neurology DepL SUNY. Stony Brook, 
NY 11794. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 139 



C TO PASCAL 



Listing I : The C-to~Pascal program, written for the Software Toolworks C80 compiler. 

I* C to Pascal — filter to replace C punctuation and certain key words with 
their Pascal equivalents. 



C form 



{ 
} 
<tab> 


&& 

II 
comment start 
comment end 

! = 

printf ' 

scant 

while 



Pascal form 

BEGIN 

END; 

<2 blank spaces > 

< nothing > 

AND 

OR 



< > 

writeln 
read In 
WHILE 



Usage: ctp <infile >outfile 
7 

#define EOF - 1 
#define EOS \0' 



main () 
{ 



char c,*letter,word[100]; 
int wordlnth; 

letter = word; 
wordlnth = 0; 
while ((c=getchar()) != EOF) { 

if (isalpha(c)) letter[wordlnth + + 
else { 

if (wordlnth >0) { 

letter[wordlnth] = 
wtest(word); 
wordlnth = 0; 

} 
ctest(c); 

} 



•\0'; 



/* word ready to check */ 

/* pass or replace it */ 
/* reset index */ 

/* process following char */ 



} /* note: the last word in the file will be missed if it is immediately followed 

by EOF with no intervening nonalphanumeric character. This is not a problem for 
Pascal or C program sources. However, a general-purpose word filter would have 
to check for a nonzero wordlength after EOF is reached. */ 



wtest(word) 
char *word; 



char *swapword; 

swapword = word; 

switch (word[0]) { /* test first letter, then rest of word */ 

case 'p': if (strcmp(word,"printf\0")= =0) swapword = "writeln\0"; 

break; 
case 's': if (strcmp(word,"scanf\0")= =0) swapword = "readln\0"; 

break 
case 'w': if (strcmp(word,"while\0")= =0) swapword="WHILE\0"; 

break; 
default: break; /* pass unchanged */ 

[continued) 



The C functions printf 
and scanf could be 
replaced by writeln 



and readln. 



equality test == becomes : = :=, 
<= turns into <:=, and > = 
becomes >:=. 

You could step manually through 
the file, verifying all replacements one 
at a time, and this might not take too 
long if you have excellent eye-hand 
coordination. If you're really good, 
you might catch most of the errors 
before your compiler does. However, 
1 wouldn't even attempt it. 1 was faced 
with the task of editing 27 separate 
files, totaling about 30 pages of 
drivers and test programs to convert 
from C to Pascal. After manually 
translating three of these to Pascal, 1 
decided to write a "filter" that would 
do as much of the dirty work as 
possible. 

The first step in developing this C 
program, called CTP.C (see listing 1), 
was identifying what substitutions 
could by made easily, reasonably, and 
safely by an unsupervised, i.e., non- 
interactive, program. The C functions 
printf and scanf could be replaced by 
writeln and readln. Where necessary, 
the In suffixes can be deleted manual- 
ly at the same time the argument lists 
are revised. 

The only other word substitution 
that 1 made was to capitalize WHILE. 
It is a trivial matter to change the pro- 
gram to perform case substitutions on 
other words (e.g.. for or if). You will 
also want to replace switch with case 
and delete any case that appears in 
the C source. In addition to the block 
and comment delimiters, the non- 
alphanumeric characters that I de- 
cided to replace included tab (re- 
placed with two spaces, my own for- 
mat preference for Pascal), double 
quote, empty pairs of parentheses, 
logical "and" (&&), logical "or" (!!), and 
the various uses of = . 

[continued) 



140 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 




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Inquiry 207 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 141 



C TO PASCAL 



} 


} 

swap(swapword); 


I 

ctest(c) 






char c; 






\ 


switch (c) { 




case "" 


putchar(\ '); 
break; 




case '{' 


swap("BEGIN\0 M ); 
break; 




case '}' 


swap("END;\0"); 
break; 




case \t' 


swap(" \0"); 
break; 




case '&' 


• swapif('&\ '&'," AND \0"); 
break; 




case '|': 


swapifCl', T,"OR 0"); 
break; 




case '(': 


swapif('C. ')'."\0"); /* () simply deleted 7 
break; 




case 7': 


swapif(7\ l *\"{\0"); 
break; 




case '*' 


swapif('*\ 7 , I "}\0"); 
break; 




case '!': 


swapif(T, ' = ',"<>\0"); /* != -><>*/ 
break; 




case '< 


'• 




case ' > 


': putchar(c); /* <x and >x are passed unchanged */ 
c = getchar(); 
putchar(c); 
break; 




case ' = 


': identassign(); /*==-> = ,= ->:=*/ 
break; 




default: 


purchar(c); 


i 


} 


break; 


I 

swap(s) 






char *s; 
{ 

} 

swapif(fi 






while (*; 


s! = EOS) putchar(*s + + ); 


rst.second 


.replacement) 


char first,second,* 


replacement; 


\ 


char c; 






if ((c = getchar()) = = second) swap(replacement); 




else { 


putchar(first); 




} 


putchar(c); 


} 
identassign() 




\ 


char c; 






if ((c= getchar())! =' = '){ /* assignment */ 






putchar(':'); 




\ 


putcharC = '); 


} 


f 
putchar( 


c)' 



The next question was how to per- 
form the substitutions. I decided the 
program should read through the file 
one character at a time, building 
words and testing them one at a time, 
while checking nonalphanumeric 
characters for any necessary replace- 
ments. For my purposes, I defined a 
word as a string of alphanumeric char- 
acters bounded by nonalphanumeric 
characters (including underline and 
numerals). This convention places 
restrictions on the labels that can be 
used in a program. For instance, 
printfl would change into writelnl, 

and new scanf would become 

new readln. If you use reasonable 

prudence in choosing names, you will 
avoid such undesired side effects. 

An array of type char is used for 
temporary storage of each word. This 
array is arbitrarily much longer than 
any variable, function, or constant 
label that I am ever likely to use. 
Words are built one character at a 
time, starting with the first alpha- 
numeric character encountered. The 
appearance of a nonalphanumeric 
character signals the end of each 
word. An index variable keeps track 
of the length of the word, and a 
pointer indicates the location for the 
next character. 

When a nonalphanumeric character 
is found, the length of the word is ex- 
amined. If the word length is nonzero, 
the program branches to a string com- 
parison and conditional replacement 
routine. This routine handles each 
word in a similar fashion. It seemed 
easiest to use C80's strcmp (string 
compare) function to identify replace- 
able words. This function is not dif- 
ficult to simulate if it is lacking from 
any particular C implementation. 

Nonalphanumeric characters are 
treated in a somewhat different man- 
ner. Some, like tab or ", are simply re- 
placed directly. Others, like / or &, are 
replaced only if followed by a second 
character such as * or another &, re- 
spectively. The various = constructs 
are all handled differently. 

For the sake of convenience, 1 used 
a UNIX-like command-line specifica- 
tion for input and output filenames. 

{continued) 



142 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



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Inquiry 287 



MultiLink Advanced M & 
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of The Software Link, Inc. 



C TO PASCAL 



Listing 2: Sample output of the CTRC program, a partial processing of the 
programs own source file. 

#define EOF - 1 
#define EOS \0' 

main 
BEGIN 

char c,*letter,word[100]; 

int wordlnth; 

letter: = word; 
wordlnth: = 0; 

WHILE ((c: = getchar) < > EOF) BEGIN 
if (isalpha(c)) letter[wordlnth + +]: = c; 
else BEGIN 
if (wordlnth >0) BEGIN { word ready to check } 
letter[wordlnth]: = \0'\ 
wtest(word); { pass or replace it } 
wordlnth: = 0; { reset index } 
END; 

ctest(c); { process following char } 
END; 
END; 
END; 



The typical command line reads 
CTP <INFILE.XXX >OUTFILEYYY 

Listing 1 is my current version of 
CTRC Listing 2 is part of the file 
CTRPAS produced by using CTP to 
process itself. 

This filter program was designed to 
perform simple substitutions. It 
passes #define, #ifdef, and #include 
statements unchanged. It does not 
label functions or procedures, 
generate type definitions, reorganize 
variable declarations, or perform 
other radical alterations. Nor does it 
eliminate the need for program re- 
structuring to compensate for major 
differences between C and Pascal (the 
lack of local static variables in Pascal 
being one of the more annoying prob- 
lems). However, it does remove most 
of the error-prone aspects of building 
a Pascal program on the framework 
of a C program. ■ 



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144 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 15 



Think BEFORE YOUR NEXT PC! 

Your PC to Time Sharing System 
KT-7/PC 




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' 'ADDITIONAL EXPENSIVE PC'S 5 ' 

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Inquiry 171 



Revelation. Because the object is to win. 



© 1984 Cosmos Inc. 



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Inquiry 75 



COSMOS 



Seattle, WA 98188, (206) 824-9942 



by Don Stauffer 



SIMULATE A 

SERVO 

SYSTEM 



Letting the computer 
handle the math eases the designer's job 



A servo mechanism is essentially a small motor that controls a larger motor. 
A servo-control system consists of the logical instructions needed to guide 
the servo mechanism. Control systems were brought out of the laboratory 
and into practical use about the time guided missiles were developed for 
World War II. The original vacuum-tube type was big, heavy, and expen- 
sive, but integrated-circuit (IC) technology has reduced the size of control- 
system technology as well as others. Now. almost the entire servo-control 
electronics package fits into a single IC, as in present model-airplane radio- 
controlled servos. Consequently, the cost of these systems has been re- 
duced so that they are now found in automobile cruise-control systems, 
stereo turntables and tape decks, kitchen appliances, and home-workshop 
tools. 

A reduction in the size and cost of servo-control systems, however, has 
not reduced their complexity. The design of servo-control systems remains 
one of the most intricate of the electrical engineering sciences. However, 
the computer's simulation ability has simplified the designer's job. Simula- 
tion is now a common part of the servo-control system engineer's tool kit, 
and similar simulation, though not as complex, can be effected with home 
computers. 

As an example, let's design an electronic weighing scale. Figure I is an 
illustration of how such a scale would be arranged. A balance beam forms 
the main part of the scale, along with the weight pan on the left. On the 
right side, instead of the normal balance weights, we attach a solenoid. 
The solenoid is designed so that the pull on the solenoid armature is directly 
proportional to the current in the coil. A sensor, such as a low- [continued) 

Don Stauffer is a senior research scientist at Honeywell Systems and Research who 
went from building model airplanes from balsa wood to modeling advanced avionics systems 
on computers. He can be reached at 674H57tA lane NW. Anoka, MN 55303. 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 147 



SERVO SYSTEM 



friction potentiometer, forms an error 
detector that gives a voltage propor- 
tional to the angle by which the scale 
is out of balance. The servo-control 
system uses this error signal to 
change the current through the sole- 
noid to eliminate the imbalance. The 
current in the solenoid coil is now pro- 
portional to the weight in the pan, and 
a current meter is calibrated to read 
in weight units. 

Figure 2 is the type of diagram a 
designer would draw for this kind of 
feedback servo-control system. The 
circle at the left represents a summing 
junction. The output to the right of the 
junction is the sum of the inputs to the 
other two (or three) quadrants. As 
shown here, the junction indicates the 
difference between the commanded 
or desired quantity, Q c . and the actual 
quantity, Q. The servo-control com- 
puter operates on this difference and 
outputs a voltage to the actuator. The 
actuator is a physical device usually 
a force transducer that drives the 



quantity to be controlled either up or 
down so that the actual value equals 
the desired value. At this point the 
system is balanced, and the error 
signal (or feedback) will remain at 
zero unless some perturbing force 
displaces the system or a new input 
value is commanded. 

A servo-control designer is con- 
cerned with several aspects of the sys- 
tem's behavior. First and foremost is 
stability. That is, does the system in- 
deed act to reduce the error, and not, 
as servo-control systems have a habit 
of doing, actually cause the error to 
increase wildly? How soon will the 
system reach a new equilibrium? If it 
takes too long to settle down, the sys- 
tem may not be usable in practice. Is 
the amount of error that remains after 
the system reaches a new equilibrium 
sufficiently small? Ideally, you'll have 
no error but in practice you'll prob- 
ably have some and will have to 
decide if it is tolerable. 

Without simulation you have to use 







. 


L°J 
















• 


• 


• 






A 




+v 








JL 




SERVO 
CONTROLLER 






*sr 


* — » 




[SOLENOID 






V c 


1- 








w 


_v 


\JA 










ERROR 










(IMBALANC 
DETECT 


,E) 
OR 


-V 







Figure I : The servo system holds the balance beam level. 



INPUT 
COMMAND 




*(P\ 
















CONTROL 
COMPUTER 




ACTUATOR 


r Q ~ 


wc 


«Sfr/ 












FEE 


DBACK 















complicated differential equations to 
try to predict a mechanism's behavior. 
Computer-based simulation does the 
math for you. In addition, simulation 
lets you design more complex servos, 
whose behavior could not be pre- 
dicted easily by normal differential 
equation methods. Figure 3 charts a 
typical simulation. After setting the 
initial conditions, the program enters 
the iterative loop (input, model, out- 
put, update). It scans user or process 
input to see if conditions are to be 
changed. If the simulation is sup- 
posed to be continuous, such as the 
physical simulation we will be work- 
ing with, input is best done with a 
keyboard-monitoring routine to keep 
the program running between inputs. 
The heart of the simulation is the next 
step— the math model. In this block, 
the computer performs its mathe- 
matical operations on the equation 
that describes the system being 
simulated. Almost any system or 

[continued) 



Figure 2: A servo system operates by measuring the difference between the 
commanded and actual values of some quantity and uses a function of that difference 
to drive an error-reducing actuator. 











f START J 












INITIALIZATION 






pi 


r 












PROCESS 
INPUTS 














MATH 
MODEL 














DISPLAY 

OUTPUT 














UPDATE 
TIME 




NO 




HED J> 
YES 










C END j 





Figure 3: A typical simulation-program 
flowchart. 



148 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




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Inquiry 170 




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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 149 



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SERVO SYSTEM 



situation that can be mathematically 
described in a cause-and-effect rela- 
tionship can be simulated by a com- 
puter. Next, the program displays or 
prints an output. Then the time vari- 



able is incremented and, if the pro- 
gram is not terminated by some con- 
dition that exceeds its limits, the pro- 
gram repeats. 

{continued) 



Listing I: Tfe program is written in TRS-80 Level II BASIC but can be adapted 
to any of the BASIC dialects. 

10 REM SCALE SERVO CONTROLLER 

20 REM by Don Stauffer 

30 CLEAR 200 

40 REM EDIT ASSIGNMENT STATEMENTS TO ALTER CONTROL CONSTANTS 



50 PR = 
60 TH = 
70TM=0 
80 W = 
90 JS = 5 
100 D = 5 
110 K=10 
120 K1 = -0.4 
130 K2 = 
140 K3 = 
150 DT = 0.2 
160 T = 
170ST = 



REM 
REM 
REM 
REM 
REM 
REM 
REM 



PRINT CONTROL VARIABLE 

SCALE BALANCE BEAM ANGLE 
BEAM ANGLE DURING LAST ITERATION 
INITIAL WEIGHT IN PAN 
BEAM MOMENT OF INERTIA 
DISTANCE FROM PIVOT TO WEIGHT OR SOLENOID 
SCALE FACTOR, SOLENOID CURRENT TO FORCE 
: REM PROPORTIONAL SERVO CONSTANT 

REM RATE SERVO CONSTANT 

REM LAG SERVO CONSTANT 

REM TIME INCREMENT 

REM INITIAL TIME 
REM STOP PARAMETER 
180 REM BEGIN SIMULATION LOOP 
190 IF PR > 1.5 GOSUB 5000 
200 REM CHECK FOR INPUT 
210 GOSUB 1000 

220 REM COMPUTE CONTROL FORCE 
230 GOSUB 2000 
240 REM COMPUTE MOTION 
250 GOSUB 3000 

260 REM DISPLAY AND PRINT OUTPUT 
270 GOSUB 4000 
280 REM UPDATE TIME 
290 T = T+DT 
300 IF ST< 0.5 THEN 200 
310 STOP 

1000 'CHECK FOR INPUT 
1010 IF PEEK(1 4400) =128 THEN GOTO 1010 
1020 IF PEEK(14340) = 8 THEN ST=1 
1030 IF PEEK(1 4340)<> 128 THEN RETURN 
1040 PRINT@65," "; 
1050 INPUT"CHANGE WEIGHT";W 
1060 IF W<0 THEN W = 
1070 RETURN 

2000 REM COMPUTE CONTROL CURRENT 
2010 ER = TH 

2020 IF ER<-10THEN ER=-10 ELSE IF ER>10.0 ER=10.0 
2030 I = K2*(TH - TM)/DT + K1 * ER + K3*(ER + EM) 
2040EM = ER 
2050 RETURN 
3000TM = TH 
3010 J=JS + W*D[2 
3020 F = K*I 
3030 LC = F*D 
3040 LW = W*D 
3050 AA = (LC-LW)/J 
3060 WD = WD + AA*DT 
3070 TH=TH + WD*DT 



[continued) 



150 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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AFTER 
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■SMARtERM ana PDIP are trademarks of Person. Inc ' IBM is a registered trademark o< 
Iniei national Business Machines Corp ' DEC. VT and ReGIS are trademarks ol D.g.tal 
Equipment Corp ■ DASHER is a registered trademark ol Data General Corp 



Inquiry 249 



perso/r 

FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 151 



Inquiry 113 




QUICKCODE III ™ 

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• Data input error checking 

• Computed fields & totals 

• Link up to 8 databases! 

Why write programs yourself? 
Let QUICKCODE III do it! 




SERVO SYSTEM 



3080 IF TH<-10THENTH= -10 ELSE FTH>10THEN TH = 10 

3090 RETURN 

4000 CLS 

4010 PRINT"ACTUAL WEIGHT= ";W 

4020 PRINT@384 1 "TIME", "ANGLE", "CURRENT'V'WEIGHT" 

4030 PRINT@448 I T,TH,I,F 

4040 IF PR<0.5 THEN RETURN 

4045 IF PR> 1.5 GOTO 4080 

4050 LPRINT T,W 

4060 LPRINT AA.WD.TH.F 

4070 RETURN 

4080 NF = T:NI = INT(NF): RX = NF-NI 

4090 IF (RX<DT) THEN LPRINT CHR$(51); ELSE LPRINT CHR$(54); 

4100 PP = 10*F:IFPP<2THEN PP = 2 

4110 IF PP> 134 THEN PP=134 

4120 IF PP = 134 THEN CH = 74 ELSECH = 47 

4130 NS=PP-2:IF NS<0 THEN NS = 

4135 FOR NZ = 1 TO NS:LPRINT CHR$(88);:NEXT 

4140 LPRINT SP$;CHR$(CH) 

4150 RETURN 

5000 LPRINT CHR$(27)CHR$(81):LPRINT CHR$(27)CHR$(84);"12" 

5010 LPRINT CHR$(27)CHR$(35) 

5020 FOR N = 1 TO 135 

5030 NF = N/10:NI = INT(NF):RX = NF-NI 

5040 IF (RX<1E-2) THEN LRPINT CHR$(49); ELSE LPRINT CHR$(53); 

5050 NEXT N 

5055 LPRINT CHR$(10) 

5060 RETURN 



The program shown in listing 1 
follows this flowchart closely. The pro- 
gram is written in TRS-80 Level II 
BASIC, but I have attempted to use as 
few nonstandard instructions as possi- 
ble. You can adapt this program to 
any of the BASIC dialects (see the text 
box "Program Changes" on page 153, 
for more information). Lines 50-170 
set the physical constants' values and 
give initial values to variables. The 
stop variable ST (in line 170) is used 
to terminate the program upon com- 
mand. The program must be edited 
to change the values of any of the 
constants except weight, which can be 
changed by the operator. PR is a vari- 
able printout control. PR = results 
in no hard copy, PR = 1 gives you a 
tabular list of the variables shown on 
the screen, and PR = 2 gives a graphic 
trace of the indicated weight. Line 
5000, referenced if PR > 1.5, is used 
to set up the scale of the printer and 
to print an axis. 

Line 200 is where the main loop 
begins. Line 1 000 looks for a user in- 
put. If you press the W key, the pro- 
gram stops and expects a new value 
for the weight on the pan. The S key 



and the space bar also have functions, 
which I'll describe later. The sub- 
routine starting on line 2000 is the 
math model of the control computer 
block in figure 2. We will be able to 
understand this block better after we 
begin to play with the servo simula- 
tion. The subroutine that begins at 
line 3000 is also part of the math 
model and represents the physics of 
our scale. It represents Newton's sec- 
ond law of motion as applied to 
rotating systems. (The text box 
"Physics Math Model" on page 153 
has more details about the mathe- 
matical model of our scale.) The force 
applied to the solenoid equals the 
current after it is multiplied by a scale 
factor (line 3020). Tbrque is equal to 
the product of a force (F) multiplied 
by a distance (D), so the torque in the 
beam is equal to the product of F 
multiplied by D (line 3030). Assume 
that the distance from the pivot to the 
weight is the same as that from the 
pivot to the solenoid, so line 3040 cal- 
culates the torque due to the weight. 
Therefore, line 3050 determines the 
angular acceleration by finding the 
net difference between the torque 



152 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



SERVO SYSTEM 



due to the weight and the torque due 
to the solenoid current, and then that 
net difference is divided by the mo- 
ment of inertia. Lines 3050 and 3060 
integrate the acceleration to angular 
velocity and angle. 

The subroutine starting at line 4000 
displays the output on the screen. The 
program displays elapsed time, the 
deflection angle, the solenoid current, 
and the indicated weight. For refer- 
ence, the actual weight is also dis- 
played in the upper left corner. If a 
hard copy is desired (PR equal to or 
greater than 1 ), the print routine con- 
tinues. Lines 4050-4070 output the 
table, and the graphic output is begun 
by the command at line 4080. The 
table output routine slows down ex- 
ecution considerably, so don't use it 
unless you find an interesting case. If 
you don't want a hard copy, the sub- 
routine returns to the main program. 
If you haven't set the stop variable, the 
program loops back to line 200 and 
continues. 

The subroutine starting at line 5000 
scales the characters per inch in both 
directions and draws an axis. In opera- 
tion, the graph is drawn vertically 
down the paper. (The values given are 
those needed with a C. Itoh ProWriter.) 
Other printers will require different 
values in lines 5000 and 5010. Line 
5000 puts the ProWriter in condensed 
(17 characters per inch) mode and 
sets the vertical feed to 12 lines per 
inch. You can set these values to any 
you like. Line 5010 puts the printer 
into the graphics mode. Be fore- 
warned: The program does not take 
the printer out of the graphics mode. 
You have to do it manually. 

You usually start the program with 
no weight on the pan (W = 0). Press- 
ing the W key for about one second 
stops the problem and the computer 
will prompt you for the value of 
weight you want to add. The scale will 
work well with any weight less than 10 
units. Other keys include the S key, 
which will stop the program (you can 
also hit the Break key) and the space 
bar, which freezes the operation for 
as long as you hold it down. You have 
to edit the program to alter the servo- 
control constants, the physical param- 



eters of the scale, or the printout com- 
mand. I recommend that you avoid 
printing anything until you have a 
setup you really want to document. 
The printer slows down the simula- 
tion; especially when you call for 
graphics. In fact, while the computer 
is executing the subroutine that does 
the scaling (line 5000), expect a 



lengthy pause. After several seconds 
the normal screen and simulation will 
appear. 

Servo Theory 

After typing in the program with the 
values given in listing I, go ahead and 
run it to see that it works. Don't worry 

{continued) 



Program Changes 



The BASIC I used in this program 
is Radio Shack Level II BASIC, but 
you can easily convert the program to 
other computers. I minimized com- 
mands unique to the Level II inter- 
preter. The CLEAR command in line 
30 clears for string space and is 
needed only for the graphic print op- 
tion. The keyboard-scanning routine in 
lines 1010 to 1030 checks the keyboard 
for depressed keys. Using a normal IN- 
PUT statement would stop the pro- 
gram once every iteration, while we 
want the program to continue. The 
PEEKs look at the memory area of the 
memory-mapped TRS-80 keyboard. 
The Apple should use the same tech- 
nique, although the memory locations 
will be different. Line 1010 looks for the 
space bar and freezes the program for 
as long as that key is depressed. Line 
1020 looks for the S key. Line 1030 
looks for the W key. For the Com- 



modore 64 use the GET command. 

The other main thing to watch for is 
the manner in which an output is sent 
to a line printer. If no printer is used. 
PR in line 50 will always be set to zero, 
and no changes are required. If a 
printer is used with another computer, 
however, modifications must be made. 
The TRS-80 merely uses the command 
LPRINT followed by the desired out- 
puts, as in line 4050. For Apples, 
change all LPRINTs to PRINTs, 
precede each one with a PR#1. and 
follow it with a PR#0. For the Com- 
modore 64, you must use the OPEN 
command before each output to the 
printer, followed by an OPEN 1,3 to 
return the output to the screen. 

The other area of the program you 
may need to modify contains the 
graphics commands to printers other 
than the ProWriter. These parameters 
are discussed in the main text. 



Physics Math Model 



The code in lines 3000-3090 is a 
mathematical model of the 
physics of our scale. The scale operates 
according to Newton's second law of 
motion, but it is expressed in a form 
for angular motion, which may make 
it seem a little unfamiliar. Newton's sec- 
ond law is ordinarily expressed as: 
F=MA. For rotary or angular motion, 
however, it is expressed as: AA=L/J, 
where AA is the angular acceleration 
(degrees per second squared), L is the 
net torque (difference between the 
torques in opposite direction), and J is 
the moment of inertia. Moment of in- 
ertia is the resistance to a change in 
rotation and is the rotary equivalent of 
mass. The moment of inertia is a func- 



tion of the beam's structure and of the 
weight added to the pan (line 3010), 
Ibrque equals force times distance. For 
our scale, we assume that the distance 
between the weight and the pivot is the 
same as the distance between the pivot 
and the point where the solenoid ap- 
plies its force. Thus, line 3030 repre- 
sents the torque generated by the sole- 
noid, while 3040 represents the torque 
from the applied weight. Line 3050 cal- 
culates the angular acceleration. Line 
3060 integrates the acceleration to find 
the angular velocity; 3070 integrates 
once more to find the angle. Line 3080 
represents mechanical stops that pre- 
vent the beam from rotating more than 
10 degrees in either direction. 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 153 






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SERVO SYSTEM 



about making sense out of the Simula- simple form of servo controller. This 

tion yet. Before we do any experi- is known among servo designers as 

ments, let's look at some elementary a proportional control system. The 

servo theory. Figure 4 shows the most controller merely takes the error 





Oc- 
















K1(Q C -Q) 




ACTUATOR 


f ^ CONTROLLED 










q " VARIABLE 





















Figure 4\ \n a proportional control system, the error between the actual and the 
commanded value is multiplied by a gain constant to drive the actuator. 




6 8 10 12 

TIME (IN SECONDS) 




Figure 5: Continuous oscillation is a common feature of a proportional control system 
with no damping. 























— &)— 


K1(Q C -Q> 












i 




ACTUATOR 










A+A 




^^^ 






Q 




* K2Q 














Q 

























Figure 6: A proportional-plus-rate system uses the output variables rate of change as 
part of the control calculation. 



signal (Q c -Q) and multiplies it by a 
constant, known as the "gain con- 
stant." In our example, we want the 
angle of the scale to be zero. Thus, the 
commanded value of Q (Q e ) will 
always be zero, and our error is always 
equal to -Q, where Q is the scale's 
actual angle. The output signal to the 
actuator and, as mentioned previous- 
ly, the restoring force on the scale are 
proportional to the error. 

Now consider for a moment how 
you want your scale to act. Obvious- 
ly the weight readout should be close 
to the actual weight in the pan. There 
are other desirable features, too. 
Beam balances seem to take forever 
to settle down and show whether they 
are indeed in balance. Electronic 
scales can also exhibit such oscilla- 
tions, so we would like ours to settle 
down quickly Additionally, if the scale 
comes to rest with the beam not level, 
there may be an inaccuracy. With 
these three criteria, let's run the pro- 
gram with the initial values from listing 
1 and see how the scale performs. 

As we start out, the scale is in 
balance and everything stays at rest 
with the scale at zero angle. Now 
press the W key until you see the 
prompt for weight. Type in a value, 
such as 5.0. This adds 5 ounces to the 
scale. The scale is now out of balance, 
and the beam swings to a negative 
angle. The control system senses this 
angular error and increases the 
solenoid current. This attracts the 
beam and slows it down. Now the 
current-generated force exceeds the 
weight, and the beam's angle moves 
back toward zero. When this happens, 
the solenoid shuts off the current and 
the cycle repeats. We have built a 
good oscillator. Our simulation will 
continue to oscillate like this forever. 
Figure 5 is a plot of a cycle of this con- 
dition. Stop the program now, as it is 
neither exciting nor instructive 
beyond this point. Pivot friction in an 
actual scale would eventually reduce 
these oscillations. However, it would 
take a long time and its effect would 
be small in a well-built scale. Conse- 
quently, I left friction out of my simula- 
tion model. Playing with the value of 
K\ will affect the period of the oscilla- 



156 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



SERVO SYSTEM 



tion but won't eliminate it. 

The way the servo designer elimi- 
nates eternal oscillation is to add 
"rate damping" to the system. Figure 
6 shows a proportional-plus-rate sys- 
tem. The symbol O with a dot over it 
(pronounced "Q dot") represents O's 
rate of change over time. Again, O is 
our controlled variable, the angle of 
the scale. In calculus, this is the time 
derivative. We add rate damping to 
our system by setting K2 to some non- 



zero value. Try a value of -4 in line 
130 and run the program again. 
Figure 7 shows a typical result. Now 
we have reduced most of the oscilla- 
tion, although a small amount of ex- 
cess motion remains. The excess mo- 
tion eventually stops, but the speed 
at which it stops is sluggish. The scale 
could almost be considered practical 
now. However, in addition to the slug- 
gish response and the excess motion, 

[continued) 



10 












8 






■ 






X 

o 
uj 6 

5 

a 

UJ 

F- 










■ 




.../''.•.'., 






I 4 














/ 




Xr« > *• -*. v *%- ■■ 






2 


J 




fe^ > "" 








weight/ 

ADDED 1 




, 1 t 1 1 1 1 -J 




I l _l 




2 


4 


6 8 10 12 
TIME (IN SECONDS) 


14 


16 



Figure 7: The addition of rate-of -change feedback creates a damped oscillation. 



— ®— 



K1(Q C -Q) 



K2Q 



\+X J *■ 



K3/Q 



ACTUATOR 



/O 



Figure 8: The addition of a quantity proportional to the integral of the controlled 
quantity reduces error when the system reaches equilibrium. 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 157 



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SERVO SYSTEM 




- 














I 




- 






- 






- 


WEIGHT 




^ADDED 
i i i i ii 


i i i i i i i 



6 8 

TIME (IN SECONDS) 



10 



12 



Figure 9: The integral partially offsets the effect of rate damping so you get quicker 
response and some overshoot, which is quickly damped out. You can't see the reduction 
of the weight beam's angular error in this plot of indicated weight versus time, but 
including the integral Q increases the scale's accuracy. 



we have another problem. As the sys- 
tem approaches equilibrium, we still 
have an angle error of about 1 degree. 
This is not drastic, but we can do 
much better. 

Specifically, we will add yet another 
block to the system (shown in figure 
8) and create a proportional-plus-rate- 
plus-integral, or proportional-plus- 
rate-plus-lag, system. Although this is 
beginning to look like a formidable 
circuit, don't be dismayed. This is as 
complicated as it gets. We can create 
a proportional-plus-rate-plus-lag servo 
by changing Ki to a nonzero value. 
Try a -3 for K3 in line 140 and run 
the system again. We've speeded up 
the response and increased the ex- 
cess motion. But as the system damps 
out, we see that a greatly reduced 
angle is obtained. Since an increase 
in K2 reduced the excess motion 
before, let's try increasing it again, this 
time to -8. Now that's more like it. 
Although there is still some excess 
motion, it quickly stops (see figure 9). 



The reading reaches equilibrium in a 
few seconds, and the angular error is 
less than one-tenth of a degree. You 
can improve your results even more 
by further refining K2 and K3. We 
have now designed a practical servo- 
controlled scale that is stable and 
becomes quiescent with reasonable 
speed. Play around with the system. 
As with any computer simulation, you 
can't hurt anything. If you want to see 
things really go awry, try putting in a 
value for any of the three servo con- 
stants with the opposite sign. 

This simplified simulation illustrates 
much of the behavior of the typical 
servo system. You can easily modify 
the program to represent a speed- 
control servo (e.g., an automobile's 
cruise control). The professional engi- 
neer must still dabble in the realms 
of complex variables, nonlinear dif- 
ferential equations, and other forms 
of higher math, but simulations 
similar to this one are revolutionizing 
the design of servo systems. ■ 



158 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 159 



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Inquiry 103 



INTRODUCTION TO 

IMAGE 

PROCESSING 



IMAGE PROCESSING, or I/P as it is often 
abbreviated is a branch of computer 
graphics based on image data— the 
pieces that make up a picture. In 
essence, image processing is a special 
form of two-dimensional (and sometimes 
three-dimensional) signal processing. 
Scenes are developed from a camera-like 
sensor, either a conventional film-based 
system or a scanner, and manipulated so 
that they provide more information. I'd 



Image 

manipulation 

reveals hidden 

information 



ike to show 
just how common I/P is and describe some of its fun- 
damentals. 

Image processing is a powerful suite of techniques 
for uncovering information. Some of the techniques 
are comparable to photographic darkroom processes, 
but much more is involved. The principal idea behind 
image processing is to make an image more infor- 
mative, or, in communications jargon, to extract more 
signal from the noise. 

Commercial television has trouble displaying more 
than a dozen different gray levels. The human eye can 
perceive more levels of gray but not many. If you need 
to be able to distinguish between shades of gray that 
are finer than you can see, you enter the realm where 
image processing can help. A black-and-white image- 
processing system can usually distinguish at least 32 
gray shades. 

Typically, computer systems treat images as arrays, 
or series of elements. The number of elements in an 
array determines the resolution of the image, and the 
number of bits available to any element of the array 
(or word size) determines the number of "colors" or 
gray-scale values each element can have. The smallest 
element of a picture corresponds to a single element 
of the data array. This element is called a pixel, an ab- 
breviation for picture element. Popular choices for the 
number of pixels in an image are either based on 
powers of 2 (2 56 by 256, 512 by 512, or 1024 by 1024) 
or on hardware standards like the gy 

52 5-line commercial television system. , y Q 

The number of bits in a given pixel JEFFREY L. bTAR 
determines the number of unique gray b-^— mm 



values or colors available. Eight-bit pixels 
provide 2 56 different gray values in black 
and white or 2 56 unique colors. Most 
larger systems have 24-bit pixels— 8 bits 
each for red, green, and blue— which 
translates into over 16 million unique 
colors. That many colors is more than 
one can display on a monitor, and cer- 
„_„ tainly more than you can distinguish 
visually. 
At least three standard systems are used to describe 
color. (See reference 2 for more background on color 
theory.) The additive system works by considering the 
amount of red, green, and blue light you would have 
to add together to create a specific color. Color televi- 
sion works precisely this way. If you take a close look 
at a color television or video monitor screen, you'll 
see triplets of colored dots. Each triplet contains a 
dot of each of the additive primary colors, red, green, 
and blue. This triplet represents the single pixel, the 
smallest element in the picture whose color you can 
specify. Similarly, I/P systems are almost always based 
on the red-green-blue additive system. 

In contrast, when you're mixing paint, you mix the 
subtractive primary colors. The subtractive primary 
colors are cyan, magenta, and yellow. 

Finally, human visual perception is often parame- 
terized by hue, saturation, and intensity (or value). Hue 
is the simplest to understand; it is the "color" or domi- 
nant wavelength you see, for example, red versus 
green. Saturation, sometimes called purity, is easy to 
think of in terms of mixing white into a pure color. 
Red and pink are the same hue, but they differ in 
saturation— red is more saturated than pink. Intensity 
(or value) is the relativetive brightness of a color. 
When the relative brightness of a color. When you 
view a red wall with the sun shining brightly on it and 
then when the light is dim, the difference in "reds" 
appears only in intensity. {continued) 

Dr. Jeffrey L. Star is a development engineer at 
the Remote Sensing Research Unit, Department 
of Geography, University of California, Santa 
Barbara. CA 93106. 



FEBRUARY 1985 "BYTE 163 




Since all three of these systems are alter- 
native ways of describing colon you might ex- 
pect that you could freely convert (or "trans- 
form") between them, and you'd be right (see 
references 2 and 3). From here on, however, 
I'll be discussing the red-green-blue additive 
system. 



Photo la: 

Color composite 

image of southern 

California 
by NASA landsat 
Thermatic Mapper. 



Imaging in Action 

My particular area of interest is image processing for 
satellite remote sensing. Several U.S. federal agencies, in 
particular NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Ad- 
ministration) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmo- 
spheric Administration), fly satellites with imaging sensors. 

NASA's Landsat 5 is the most interesting such satellite 
now in operation. Landsat has two imaging systems: the 
Multispectral Scanner (MSS) and the Thematic Mapper 
(TM). Both are multiband imaging systems. Because of 
their fields of view and the satellite's orbital parameters, 
they cover the globe between latitudes 80 north and 80 
south about every 18 days. Ground resolution for MSS is 
approximately 80 meters (that is, each pixel represents 
an area on the ground that is 80 meters on a side). For 
TM, ground resolution is approximately 30 meters. (Data 
from these sensors is available to the public from NASA. 
Ask for The landsat Tutorial Workbook: Basics of Satellite Remote 
Sensing: see reference 6.) 

Photo 1 comes from the NASA Landsat TM, showing 
a portion of southern California at the edge of the Salton 
Sea. The different colors correspond to rock type, and the 
San Andreas and associated faults run generally parallel 
to the shore. The image in photo la is a multiband color 
composite, produced as if several cameras with different 
filters were providing distinct information on the same 
scene. The image in photo lb is pseudocolor processed 
(see explanation below). Photos 2a and 2b are from the 
Landsat MSS. 

I/P Systems and Software 

Systems for image processing range over almost all of the 
computer field— from Apples and IBM Personal Com- 
puters (PCs), through small minicomputers, to mainframe 
installations. While small PDP-I Is have been the standard 
in the past, the Motorola 68000 microprocessor and DEC 
VAX systems seem to be the emerging standards. The fol- 



lowing are a few of the commercially avail- 
able systems. 

ApplePIPS, for the Apple II with Apple 
DOS 3 . 3, and MicroPIPS, for the IBM PC with 
PC-DOS 2.0, are available from The Telesys 
Group Inc., Columbia, Maryland, at a cost of 
^^^^_ $495 each. These packages come with dem- 
onstration Landsat satellite data and are an 
excellent way to learn the rudiments of image 
processing. Classification (see definition below) and other 
higher mathematical functions are included in an ad- 
vanced version of the software. 

RIPS (Remote Image Processing System, Spectral Data 
Corp., Hauppauge, New York) is a Z80, S-100 bus 8-inch 
CP/M system with a 2 5 6- by 2 40- by 1 2-bit image memory. 
The base price is under $20,000 for the complete system. 
Software packages cover a broad range of applications. 
RIPS will process satellite data that the EROS Data Center 
(Sioux Falls, South Dakota) now supplies on 8-inch floppy 
disks. Upgrades include video input and a 9-track tape 
drive. 

The IIS Model 75 (International Imaging Systems, 
Milpitas, California) and COMTAL/3M Vision One (COM- 
TAL/3M, Altadena, California) are dedicated image- 
processing systems that include display memory, a video 
processor, a parallel interface to a computer, a track ball 
and function pad, digital-to-analog (D/A) converters, and 
a comprehensive software library. A typical small system 
as a peripheral to another computer might cost $50,000, 
and upgrades include a Motorola 68000 or DEC PDP-11 
embedded microcomputer, with Winchester and 9-track 
magnetic-tape storage. These systems are typically used 
at universities and research agencies. 

The only specialized hardware you must have for im- 
age processing is a display driver and a monitor, although 
when performance or image quality is important a great 
deal of specialized equipment is available. Among the 
components of display drivers are frame buffers, D/A con- 
verters, and lookup tables. 

A frame buffer is the key to any image-processing system. 
This bank of memory stores the image data. Most 
medium-size systems use several banks of 512 by 512 
elements; in I/P jargon, the rows of the frame-buffer matrix 
are the lines of the image, and the columns are the samples 
along each line. A typical choice for a color I/P system 



164 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




is to have four memory banks or channels- 
one each for red, green, and blue, and a 
fourth for intermediate calculations and 
superposition of graphics and annotation. 

Frame buffers and their associated control 
circuitry can get complicated. Some systems 
give you an option to segment memory on ^^^^^^ 
the fly. For example, a given system can have 
128K bytes of image memory, and you could 
configure it as either 512 by 512 by 4 bits (16 colors), or 
1024 by 1024 by I bit (black versus white), or 2 56 by 256 
by 16 bits (64 kilocolors). Often, a system implements 
zoom and pan, which let you expand a smaller area in 
the image space to cover the entire display You can ac- 
complish zoom most easily by pixel replication; for any 
original pixel, the system displays a 2-pixel by 2-pixel 
square on the screen. This procedure provides a twofold 
magnification of any linear feature, and, of course, a four- 
fold reduction in the area displayed. 

A digital-to-analog converter transforms the contents of the 
image memory into a form compatible with your moni- 
tor. The number of different intensity levels that a D/A con- 
verter can output is related to the number of bits it is de- 
signed to handle; the more bits, the more distinct colors 
or gray levels it can produce. Few systems use D/A con- 
verters with more than 8 bits of resolution. As mentioned 
earlier, for a full-color system this arrangement translates 
into 8 bits on each of three channels (red, green, and blue), 
a total of 24 bits of color information per pixel, or over 
16 million unique colors. The outputs of the D/A converters 
are generally formatted to either a standard RS-I70 com- 
posite video or, in higher-resolution systems, sent to the 
display via separate R, G, and B (red, green, and blue) 
cables. 

A lookup table is an important part of an image-processing 
system and, like other lookup tables in the computer field, 
it is a table of stored data for reference purposes. The 
lookup table performs mapping between each unique in- 
put data value and some predefined output value. Appli- 
cations include color or density mapping and calculations 
that must be performed rapidly You could also use a 
lookup table to assign any particular value in image mem- 
ory to any arbitrarily displayed color; this method of color 
determination is pseudocolor processing (more later). You 
could also use a lookup table to change the contrast range 



Photo lb: 

Pseudocolor 

processing highlights 

specific features 

of the image. 



of a displayed image by setting up the table 
with a nonlinear transformation between in- 
put and output gray values; this adjustment 
of range can make the output intensities 
more distinct from one another or compen- 
sate for a nonlinear film emulsion or an elec- 
^^^^_ tronic sensor response. In the same way, you 
could use the lookup tables, for example, to 
take square roots of the image values. This 
capability is particularly valuable if you are using the data 
in the image in a mathematical model or a statistical 
classification. You can then "recycle" the output of the 
lookup table back into a memory plane, which allows you 
to save enhanced images and manipulate them further. 
Video processors are essentially array processors designed 
to work with the contents of frame buffers. They are 
dedicated computation units for performing certain rou- 
tine operations on images, such as computing the ratio 
of two colors in an image. They permit relatively small 
computers and I/P systems to work in "real time," which 
is comparable to the time it takes to refresh an image on 
the screen (typically 1/30 second for a standard interlaced 
display, such as on a color television or microcomputer). 
A frame grabber digitizes the output of a video camera 
and places the resulting image into memory. Video inputs 
are usually limited in terms of geometric accuracy and the 
number of available gray levels. 

A video film writer is designed to produce color slides and 
prints with better resolution than a standard color CRT 
(cathode-ray tube). Again, on a color monitor a red, green, 
and blue dot make up a single pixel. The monitor's ability 
to display color depends on the limits of your eye's re- 
solving power to merge the three color dots. Simply tak- 
ing a photograph of a monitor works moderately well, but 
the quality is limited by the nature of the phosphor array 
(not much better than 1 -millimeter resolution at best) and 
the curved screen. 

Inside a video film writer are a black-and-white, high- 
resolution flat-screen monitor and three color filters. A 
single piece of film (color slide film or instant print film) 
is exposed to the monitor three times— first through the 
red filter, then the green, and finally the blue filter. This 
way, instead of the red, green, and blue dots being at a 
different place (as on a CRT), they are superimposed for 
each and every pixel. The business computer [continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 165 



IMAGE PROCESSING 



graphics and computer-aided design/computer-aided 
manufacturing (CAD/CAM) uses for video film writers are 
numerous, with video film writers now available for under 
$4000. Some of the manufacturers include Celtic, Polaroid, 
Dunn, and Matrix. 

If you want to turn an image into an array of numbers 
and you need more resolution and accuracy (or "spatial 
detail") than you can get from a video camera, you prob- 
ably need an electromechanical scanner. The original 
image— transparency, film negative, or paper print— is 
mounted on a cylindrical carrier (similar to an old Edison 
cylinder phonograph). As the cylinder rotates, a photo- 
detector scans along its axis and picks up image data. 
These scanners are generally large and expensive 
machines, but they have spatial resolution (in terms of 
pixel size) in the tens of micrometers. 

The reverse process— turning digital data into a photo- 
graph—is performed by a device called a film writer. In this 



case, the cylinder holds a piece of film, which is exposed 
to a modulated light source (sometimes based on a laser 
in some commercial instruments). Such a device is capable 
of much higher resolution output than any monitor or 
video film writer; one manufacturer's specifications report 
a 2 5-micrometer raster over a 2 50-millimeter film negative. 
Negative and positive images and transparencies can be 
produced this way with high accuracy and geometric 
fidelity 

Image-Processing Operations 

The principal operations involved in image processing are 
relatively simple. (Problems arise when you have large data 
sets. For example, the latest images from space derived 
from the Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite are from a 
piece of the earth's surface about 180 kilometers on a side 
and contain 300 megabytes of data.) A number of the key 

[continued) 




Photo 2a: Raw landsat satellite data. 



Photo 2b: landsat data contrast-enhanced. 




Photo 2 c: Upper portion is original data, lower portion 
has been rectified to a base map. 



Photo 2d: Pseudocolor-enhanced image. 



166 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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*' v Reprinted with permission, BYTE Magazine, August '83. 




IMAGE PROCESSING 



image-manipulation functions are explained below. 

Radiometric operations manipulate the intensity of the pixels 
in an image. For example, a given image may be washed 
out; all the pixel values are in a small range, and they are 
all very light. One type of radiometric operation, called 
contrast stretching, takes the darkest values in the image and 
forces their value to black, forces the lightest values to 
pure white, and linearly varies all the intermediate values. 
An example of contrast stretching is shown in photo 2, 
a series of images based on a test case in Sweden. Photo 
2a shows the raw Landsat satellite data. In 2 b, the image 
has been contrast-stretched so that the dark areas, repre- 
senting water, show up better. 




Photo 3: A \0-nanosecond x-ray pulse generated during the 
heating of a magnetically confined argon plasma. Red indicates 
the most intense x-ray emission and blue the least. {Courtesy of 
COMTAL/3M and Sandia National laboratories.) 




Photo 4: A neck x-ray image is shown on left. On the right is 
the same image enhanced by a spatial filtering operation. 
(Courtesy of International Imaging Systems.) 



Another radiometric operation is density slicing, where you 
display only those pixel values whose intensity is in some 
specified range. This operation is often used to highlight 
or classify objects in the image that have a characteristic 
brightness or color. Photo 3 illustrates a I O-nanosecond 
x-ray pulse during the heating of a magnetically confined 
argon plasma. In this image, red indicates the most intense 
x-ray emission and blue the least intense emission. The 
radial lines indicate the direction of the plasma motion 
prior to x-ray emission. 

Sometimes color coding aids in the interpretation of the 
density-sliced image; for example, objects whose bright- 
ness is in a specified range are displayed in red. This pro- 
cess, known as pseudocolor processing, is shown in photos lb, 
2d, and 3. 

Spatial operations are another family of manipulations that 
fall into several categories. One such category is registra- 
tion procedures, which are used to take an image and force 
it to "overlay" another. For example, any map projection 
is a distortion of the earth's surface, and to superimpose 
an aerial photograph onto a map you need to "stretch" 
the photograph. (Imagine painting the photograph on a 
rubber sheet and then stretching the sheet until objects 
on the image overlay the same objects on the map.) Photo 
2c shows the effect of a registration procedure. The up- 
per portion is original data, and the lower portion has 
been rectified to a base map. Notice that features are both 
rotated and changed in shape; this is a typical application. 

Another category of spatial operations is filtering, a term 
used in a signal-processing context. For those who are 
mathematically minded, think of a Fourier analysis, in this 
case, a two-dimensional Fourier transform. By isolating the 
high-frequency components in a scene (those that recur 
repeatedly), you can find edges, as shown in photo 4, a 
neck x-ray. The first view is the original x-ray, while the 
second has been enhanced by spatial filtering. The im- 
provement in the ability to see structure is dramatic. Other 
smoothing operations remove high-frequency noise from 
an image in the same way that a filter on your stereo can 
reduce the sound of scratches and pops on an old record. 

Spatial texture, the variation in pixel brightness in a small 
specified region, can be important in understanding an 
image. Texture is often calculated as the standard devia- 
tion of the nearest neighbors around a pixel, and this 
deviation can be displayed as an image itself. 

Feature extraction and classification, also spatial operations, 
are powerful tools for image analysis. For example, if cer- 
tain features in an image are a unique color or gray level, 
a simple statistical exercise is to "teach" the system to find 
the features. Unfortunately, feature extraction is almost 
never this easy. Pattern recognition is a complicated 
science itself and enters the realms of multivariate 
statistics, geometry, artificial intelligence, and radiative 
transfer theory. The end result of feature extraction is 
similar to photo 2d, where water is represented by the 
color purple and the regions that are peppered with yellow 

[continued] 



168 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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IMAGE PROCESSING 



correspond to known ground cover. 

In the realm of multiple-image operations, another family of 
I/P manipulations, image processing can be considered 
three-dimensional; x and y are the rows and columns of 
the image, and z (the third dimension) is a spectral or time 
component. For example, you can have high-altitude color 
infrared images of agricultural crops taken at different 
times through the growing season. An image of a hydrau- 
lic system from both visible and infrared scanners can help 
detect overheating in the system by interpreting the in- 
frared band as heat. In each case the data has a third 
dimension. 

Data compression can be an important feature in an image- 
analysis system. At a theoretical level, the most efficient 
representation of a scene is to describe the location and 
orientation of the highest-level object description. ("High- 
level" is used here in the same way that BASIC is described 
as a high-level programming language as compared to 
assembly language. A high-level object description is 'This 
is a house," as compared to 'This is a square white ob- 
ject 2 5 feet by 2 5 feet in size.") This form of representa- 
tion requires that you be able to distinguish all the ob- 
jects in the scene, which is possible in only limited cir- 
cumstances. On a more practical level it is often possible 
to describe the image, using statistical techniques like prin- 
cipal-components analysis, or reduce the size of the data 
set with other techniques, such as run-length and dif- 
ference encoding. Data compression becomes most im- 
portant when image data must be transmitted or where 
large amounts of image data must be stored. 

Down-to-Earth Applications 

Image processing is now being used in a number of 
disciplines. Medical people use image processing to con- 
struct pseudocolor images from CAT (computer-aided 




As hardware prices drop while 
capabilities improve, image processing 
be used more. 



Photo 5: PET scan images in a medical study of blood flow. 
(Courtesy of COMTAL/3M and the Positron Diagnostic 
Research Center. University of Texas Health Science Center.) 



tomography) or PET (positron emission tomography) scan- 
ners. Photo 5 shows a series of images generated during 
a study of blood flow in a rabbit's heart. 

Art, advertising, and publishing people use pseudocolor 
and other techniques in the pursuit of more effective 
graphics. In the era of computer text editing, the idea of 
"cut and paste" is common; here, however, this approach 
includes full-color images and graphics. While straight 
graphics systems, in general, have difficulty with halftone 
illustrations and precise color balancing, an image- 
processing system can handle text, line art, and images 
in full color. 

Structural engineers use I/P to examine weld x-rays for 
imperfections. Photographers can use I/P for a multitude 
of image enhancements that are either difficult or impos- 
sible in a conventional darkroom. 

In each of these settings, people are interested in im- 
proving an image's ability to convey certain kinds of in- 
formation. As hardware prices continue to drop while 
capabilities improve, image processing will become even 
more widely used. Courses in image processing are 
already available at many universities around the coun- 
try, and in a remarkable range of subject areas; at the 
University of California, Santa Barbara, for example, I/P 
is taught in the geography department at levels ranging 
from beginning to advanced. ■ 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

I'd like to thank David Eckhardt and Earl Hajic, University of California, 
Santa Barbara, for their help preparing this article, as well as Robert Crippen 
(University of California. Santa Barbara). SATSCAN (San Francisco. Califor- 
nia), COMTAL/3M (Altadena, California), and International Imaging Sys- 
tems (Milpitas, California) for providing data and images. 

REFERENCES 

1. Andrews, H. C, and B. R. Hunt. Digital Image Restoration. 
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1977. 

2. Baldwin, Lee. "Color Considerations." BYTE, September 1984, 
page 227. 

3. Buchanan, M. "Digital Image Processing: Can Intensity, Hue, 
and Saturation Replace Red, Green, and Blue?" Electro-Optical 
Systems Design. March 1980. 

4. Moik, Johannes G. Digital Processing of Remotely Sensed Images. 
NASA SP-431. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, 1980. 

5. The Manual of Remote Sensing (2nd Ed.). Falls Church, VA. American 
Society of Photogrammetry, 1983. 

6. Sabins, Floyd F. Remote Sensing: Principles and Interpretation. New 
York: WH. Freeman and Co.. 1978. 

7. Short, Nicholas M. The landsat Tidorial Workbook. Basics of Satellite 
Remote Sensing. NASA Reference Publication 1078. Washington, 
DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1982. 



170 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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machine level. 

It gives you single and double 

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172 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 







HE EXCITEMENT IS BACK 

With the Electronic Mailbag of Your Dreams 

ELECTRONIC MAIL THAT TAKES CARE OF ITSELF ... IN THE BACKGROUND 

(While you're running WordStar, Lotus, dBase, a compiler or whatever) 

wanted electronic mail that could take care of itself while we were busy on the computer doing something else. 

We always felt that there was something strange about having to play postman every time a piece of electronic mail was due. 
It was always a case 1 of loading up a communications package and either waiting for the mail or going out to fetch it. 

Now, we've got itl And you can have it, too. With HOMEBASE, Electronic mail can arrive while you're working in another piece of 
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want. Or you can ignore it, and your mail will automatically file itself ... to be read at your leisure. 

When you're sending Electronic Mail, Its just as easy. Once you've written and addressed your letter, the rest is done for you, 
automatically, while you're back working in another piece of software. 






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Sciences 



The Birth of a Computer 

conducted by }ohn G Hash 177 

A LowGost Data-Acquisition System 

by Kiyohisa Okamura and 

Kamyab Aghai : Tabriz 199 

Fourier Smoothing Without the 
Fast Fourier Transform 

by Eric E. Aubanel and Keith B. Oldham . 207 

paranoia: a floating-point 

Benchmark 

by Richard Karpinski 223 

Modeling Mass-Action Kinetics 

by Alan Curtis 239 

Viewing Molecules 
with the Macintosh 

by Earl }. Kirkland 251 

Laboratory Interfacing 

by Lincoln E Ford. M.D. 263 

Interfacing for Data Acquisition 

by Thomas R. Clune 269 



WHEN I WAS ASKED to find articles under the umbrella of scientific com- 
puting, I realized that BYTE readers would probably best be served by ar- 
ticles focusing on the main aspects of microcomputer applications in science: 
development of tools of the trade, data acquisition, data analysis and reduc- 
tion, and modeling of scientifically interesting systems or phenomena. This 
month's theme articles delve into those areas. 

In "The Birth of a Computer" Dr. James H. Wilkinson. F. R. S., tells a fascinating 
story of the building of one of the earliest digital computers based on the 
designs of Alan Hiring. Despite the 30-odd years since this work took place, 
the account is surprisingly fresh and relevant to today's use of computers in 
science. 

The arithmetic underlying calculations is often ignored by users, regardless 
of their scientific background, yet it is important to know that the basis for 
these fundamental computer "tools" is sound. Richard Karpinski discusses 
one approach to learning about the arithmetic implemented on computers, 
the program Paranoia. This work, like so many others in the realm of scien- 
tific computation, owes much to the careful and detailed analyses performed 
and persistently reported by Professor William Kahan of Berkeley. 

Data acquisition can be a difficult task involving expensive equipment. Some 
of the issues in the analog-to-digital conversion aspect of data acquisition are 
described by Dr. Lincoln Ford. For those with tight budgets. Kiyohisa Okamura 
and Kamyab Aghai-Tkbriz present the hardware and software design of a Com- 
modore 64-based system, lb round out data acquisition, BYTE Technical Editor 
Tbm Clune reviews the main avenues for interfacing experiments to computers. 

Once the data is in the machine, it must be processed before it can be regard- 
ed as useful information. One technique for removing noise from data is 
Fourier smoothing, discussed by Eric Aubanel and Keith Oldham. 

Having gained some understanding of a system, a scientist can attempt to 
model it— to generate or simulate the outcomes of experiments and "pictures" 
of what is going on. Earl J. Kirkland literally pictures molecules with an Apple 
Macintosh. Alan Curtis introduces the subject of modeling dynamic systems 
such as large-scale chemical or nuclear processes. 

We have tried to strike a reasonable balance between depth and breadth 
in our coverage of scientific computing. In a field as large and sophisticated 
as this, the editorial choices made are never entirely satisfying. Nonetheless, 
we think that these articles present some fascinating glimpses into a com- 
plex domain. 

—)ohn C. Nash, Contributing Editor, Scientific Computing 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 175 



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SCIENCE 



THE BIRTH OF A 
COMPUTER 



CONDUCTED BY JOHN C. NASH 



An interview with James H. Wilkinson on the building 
of a computer designed by Alan luring 



The story of the construction of the first computers is both fascinating and instructive. Under- 
standing the insights and decisions of computing's innovators may explain how the technology 
evolved to its present state and may illuminate the directions it might take in the future. 

Among computing's innovators were Alan Hiring (see page 65 for a review of a Taring 
biography) and the men he assembled to help him build a computer based on his Universal 
machine. Turing's team included \ames H. Wilkinson, a mathematician who had studied at 
Cambridge and worked for the British government as a ballistics engineer doing numerical 
analysis of explosives problems during World War II. 

This interview was conducted for BYTE by Dr. )ohn C. Hash and took place on July 13, 
1984, at the Ninth Householder Gatlinburg Conference held at the University of Waterloo, 
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. 



BYTE: Dr. Wilkinson, how did you become 
involved with Alan Turing and his computer? 
JHW: Shortly after the war, I dis- 
covered that a Mathematics Division 
was being set up at the National 
Physical Laboratory (NPL). I got in 
touch with E. T. Goodwin, who had 
been a colleague of mine at Cam- 
bridge in the Maths Lab. He was one 
of the first to join this new division. 
He invited me to have a chat with him 
at NPL in Bushy Park, 'Ikddington. and 
there I met 'IUring, who I knew already 
by reputation as something of an ec- 
centric. 'Hiring and 1 had a long discus- 
sion, and 1 was very impressed with 
him. Presumably he must have been 
reasonably satisfied with me since he 
said if 1 came to NPL he would like me 
to work with him. I think that this offer 



and my friendship with Goodwin were 
the decisive factors. So in May '46, six 
and a half years after I joined the 
government service, 1 moved to NPL 
(as I thought then, temporarily) in- 
stead of going back to Cambridge 
University. 

'IUring had worked alone on the 
logical design of an electronic com- 
puter. When I arrived, he had pre- 
sented his plans to what you might 
call a "review committee" at NPL. This 
consisted of a small group of Fellows 
from the Royal Society. The commit- 
tee decided that 'IUring's ideas were 
basically sound, and they gave him a 
mandate to go ahead and recruit the 
appropriate staff. 

Up to that time everything associ- 
ated with the project had been done 



by 'Hiring himself. He was a man with 
an original and inventive mind. His 
design had practically nothing in com- 
mon with the group of computers 
which arose out of discussions at the 
Moore School of Electrical Engineer- 
ing at the University of Pennsylvania. 
John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert 
had already successfully completed 
the construction of the first electronic 
computer, the EN1AC (this was not a 
stored-program computer), and their 
influence was at its peak. When 1 went 
to NPL in May '46, TUring was work- 
ing on what he called version 5 of [his| 
computer, though 1 never saw any 
documents relating to versions I to 
4. 'Hiring was not a great documented 
and no doubt the earlier versions 
were buried in the rubble on his desk. 
Perhaps I should attempt to give 
some idea of the flavor of version 5, 
a typical 'Iliringesque creation. It was 

[continued) 

Dr. )ohn C. Nash (Nash Information Services, 
1975 Bel Air Dr., Ottawa, Ontario. K2C 
OX I. Canada) is an associate professor with 
the Faculty of Administration at the Univer- 
sity of Ottawa, Canada. He is the author of 
two books on scientific computing and 
numerous journal articles. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 177 



INTERVIEW 



a serial machine using mercury delay 
lines for storage, with a pulse repeti- 
tion rate of what I still call a megacy- 
cle, being rather old-fashioned in such 
matters. 

BYTE: Define a megacycle. 
JHW: The basic pulse frequency was 
provided by a master clock which had 
a I -megacycle pulse rate. It worked in 
binary, of course. That decision was 
taken early on and was regarded as 
irrevocable. The word length was 32 
binary digits, which is rather better 
than 9 decimals. 

BYTE: They were fixed point? 
JHW: Yes. They were fixed point, but 
one of the earliest things that I did (at 
Turing's request) was to program a set 
of subroutines for doing floating-point 
arithmetic. These were later to be- 
come rather important in the history 
of NPL. Right from the start, Hiring 
was impressed with the importance of 
speed. It is possibly not widely known 
that at that time most people weren't. 
For instance, Maurice Wilkes at Cam- 
bridge (who quite early became one 
of our principal competitors) took the 
view then that electronic computers 
were so fast that it was much more im- 
portant to get one built than to make 
special efforts to increase its speed, 
and his views were generally shared. 
Hiring took the opposite view, and 
most of the special features of his 
machine were designed to make it as 
fast as possible. There was merit in 
both views, but it was certainly true 
that the machines we were designing 
then were not nearly so fast as they 
appeared to be. However, Turing's 
obsession with speed certainly made 
for a very untidy machine. A great 
weakness of mercury delay lines is ac- 
cess time. In order to make them rea- 
sonably economic, it is necessary to 
store a number of words in each delay 
line. Clearly, if one stores consecutive 
instructions in consecutive positions 
in a delay line, one could perform 
only one instruction per major cycle, 
and indeed the early machines (other 
than ACE) that were based on mer- 
cury delays suffered from this weak- 
ness. (Editor's note: ACE— for " automatic 
computing engine"— was the name given to 




Photo 1: English mathematician ]ames H. 
Wilkinson, one of the builders and program- 
mers of the early ACE computer. 

Turing's machine by Mathematics Division 
head ). R. Womersley.\ 

BYTE: "Major cycle" meaning. . . ? 
JHW: "Major cycle" meaning the time 
of circulation of the main storage 
units, each of which held 32 words of 
32 binary digits and hence had a cir- 
culation time of 1024 microseconds, 
i.e., approximately a millisecond. A 
conventional design would have 
meant that the maximum speed of 
operation was one instruction per 
millisecond. 

BYTE: Because, unlike a dynamic RAM. 
where you can get at any cell with one or two 
clock cycles, this had to use a thousand clock 
cycles. 

JHW: The other two early machines to 
work— EDSAC at Cambridge (which 
Wilkes built) and SEAC at the National 
Bureau of Standards (which Samuel 
Alexander built)— did, in fact, store 
consecutive instructions in consecu- 
tive positions, so that by the time one 
instruction had been executed the 
next one had been "missed," and one 
had to wait a full cycle for it to 
emerge. To avoid this, TUring stored 
consecutive instructions in such 
relative positions that the next instruc- 
tion emerged just when the previous 
one was completed. Since different in- 
structions took different times for 
their execution, consecutive instruc- 
tions were irregularly spaced in the 



store. As you can well imagine, this 
made for what one would call "dif- 
ficult" coding. I'm not sure that "dif- 
ficult" is the right word. 1 would say 
such coding was tiresome or tedious. 
Also it made the design of automatic 
programming languages more labori- 
ous, while at the same time it made 
them more desirable. However, this 
feature of the machine turned out to 
be rather important; it meant we 
could do up to 16 instructions per ma- 
jor cycle, i.e., about 64 microseconds 
per instruction. 

This practice later became known as 
"optimum coding" or "latency cod- 
ing," but TUring never used that term. 
It was characteristic of him to see his 
machine as the basic one, all the 
others being out of step. 

BYTE: What was the ACE's total memory? 
JHW: Well, TUring envisioned a 
memory of 200 long delay lines, 
which would have given 6400 words. 

BYTE: About 24K bytes? 
JHW: Yes, and although that may 
sound rather small now, it was really 
very ambitious for that time. I am sure 
TUring would never have contem- 
plated or supported the building of 
a smaller machine. 

Shortly after I joined NPL, TUring 
moved on to version 6 and then rapid- 
ly to 7 and 8. Those were four-address 
code machines. | Editor's note: A four- 
address machine had up to four address 
operands after an instruction, one of which 
would be to give the memory location of the 
next instruction] 

The earlier machine, version 5, is 
hard to describe in these terms. But 
its successors performed instructions 
of the type A+ B to C and selected the 
position D of the next instruction, 
which was necessary because they 
were not in consecutive positions. 

BYTE: A complete instruction would occupy 
one word? 

JHW: Yes, but it was a more powerful 
instruction than that on a conven- 
tional one-address code machine. An- 
other striking difference in Turing's 
design was that he had a number of 
one-word delay lines and the arith- 

(continued) 



178 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 179 



Inquiry 222 



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180 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



INTERVIEW 



metic and logical operations were dis- 
tributed among them. On a conven- 
tional one-address code machine the 
use of one accumulator leads to a 
tremendous bottleneck. One is always 
taking one number out of the ac- 
cumulator to put in another. By hav- 
ing a number of one-word stores 
(delay lines), this is avoided. You see, 
this was all related to Turing's objec- 
tive of making his computer faster. 

BYTE: When a word had an instruction, it 
would also have an address in it? 
JHW: Oh, yes. 

BYTE: So it wasn't like a modern microcom- 
puter with instruction, operand, operand? 
JHW: No. 

If Hiring had stayed at NPL he would 
have gone for the full-scale computer 
with 200 delay lines, and quite frank- 
ly we had neither the facilities nor the 
experience to embark on such an am- 
bitious project. It should be appre- 
ciated that the full-size computer was 
far larger than the one Wilkes was 
planning and eventually built as 
EDSAC. 

Although I have used the term "op- 
timum coding," most programs fell a 
good deal short of the optimum 
speed attainable. To achieve this 
would have been far too tedious. 
However, when it came to very impor- 
tant subroutines such as floating-point 
arithmetic, optimum speed was 
almost achieved. As I mentioned 
before, I produced the first set of 
floating-point routines, but when in 
1947 Donald Davies, Mike Woodger, 
Gerald Alway, Billy Curtis, and John 
Norton joined the team, they all 
played a part in polishing them up. 

BYTE: This was all on paper? 
JHW: Naturally; we had no working 
computer. Because of the optimum 
coding, floating-point arithmetic (and 
other important routines such as dou- 
ble-length arithmetic) was much faster 
on Turing's machines than it was on 
its competitors. The speed of floating- 
point arithmetic turned out to be very 
important for me. When we finally 
built our computer, we dusted down 
our early routines and polished them 
up further. By the standards of the 



time they were very fast indeed, and 
this enabled me to get really exten- 
sive working experience with floating- 
point computation before it was prac- 
tical elsewhere. I am sure this is why 
floating-point error analysis first made 
headway at NPL. 

Hiring continued with the logical 
design of machines, but after a while 
he began to get very dissatisfied. The 
policy had been adopted that the ac- 
tual construction of the computer 
should be undertaken by some other 
government department such as the 
Ministry of Supply, where personnel 
experienced in pulse techniques as a 
result of working on radar were avail- 
able. 

I never liked that decision, but the 
director of NPL, Sir Charles Darwin 
(great-grandson of the great Charles 
Darwin), was not a very easy man to 
argue with. Remember, I was quite a 
junior member of the NPL staff at that 
time. But as I saw it, there were only 
two possibilities. Either the external 
group would be successful, in which 
case, if they had any imagination at 
all, they would take control of the 
computer themselves. Alternatively, 
they might fail. It seemed to me that 
we were in a no-win situation, and I 
couldn't understand why Hiring ac- 
cepted the proposal. This attempt to 
get the machine built outside con- 
tinued very unsuccessfully, and Hiring 
got more and more morose about it. 

Finally, very belatedly, in 1947, Dar- 
win agreed to set up a very small elec- 
tronics group (not a division) at NPL. 
It was recruited mainly from people 
from other divisions of NPL, and in- 
evitably most of the recruits were far 
from being experts in electronics, so 
they were going to have to learn on 
the job. A disaster struck almost im- 
mediately. The person who was put 
in charge of the team— a Dr. Thomas- 
is often criticized, but in my view 
rather unjustifiably. Thomas was much 
more interested in industrial elec- 
tronics than in building a computer. 
I do not feel that this was unreason- 
able; it was not easy to have the imag- 
ination to foresee that computers 
were to become one of the most im- 

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INTERVIEW 



portant developments of the century. 
However, from our point of view 
Thomas's preferences were unfor- 
tunate. But worse was to come. 
Thomas and Hiring had absolutely 
nothing in common and were scarce- 
ly capable of being civil to each other. 
So there we have the situation where 
the leaders of the two groups were 
completely incompatible. 

This, naturally, made Hiring even 
more unhappy, and he began to talk 
seriously of leaving. Finally, he left in 
1 948 and joined the group led by 
Freddy Williams and Tbm Kilburn at 
Manchester. They were making rapid 
strides in the construction of a com- 
puter based on what became known 
as the "Williams-Kilburn store." Tur- 
ing's decision was, in my opinion, an 
unfortunate one. He should have 
returned to Cambridge where he still 
held a fellowship at Kings. 

I was left in charge of a team which 
consisted of six people including 
myself. We had virtually no contact 
with the electronics group, and at that 
stage Goodwin, who was in charge of 
the Desk Computing Section, had a 
long discussion with me. He said, 
"You know this enterprise looks now 
as though it's going to founder. Before 
you can be held responsible for its 
failure, would you not prefer to 
become a member of the Desk Com- 
puting Section?" 

Well, I just couldn't accept that. By 
this time I was hooked on computers, 
so I said I would sweat it out and see 
what could be done. 

Then a miracle occurred. Thomas 
left and went into industry where he 
had always belonged. The person 
who succeeded him, F. M. Colebrook, 
was an old radio engineer with very 
little knowledge of pulse techniques 
but a great fund of common sense. 
When he'd been in the post about two 
weeks, he came over to see me and 
he said, "You and I appear to be 
holding a very unhealthy baby." He 
went on to invite the four senior 
members of our group (Alway Davies, 
Woodger, and myself) to join him in 
the Electronics Section on a semiper- 
manent basis and attempt to achieve 
something together. This would be 



182 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



INTERVIEW 



about May or June of 1948. Cole- 
brook was a remarkable tactician, and 
soon we were all working rather well 
together. There were one or two 
uneasy weeks, but soon the animosi- 
ty died down. E. Newman was in tech- 
nical charge of the electronics group; 
he had worked on the H2S airborne 
radar system during the war and 
already knew quite a lot about pulse 
techniques. He and I got on remark- 
ably well and that was a great help. 
In those days supplies were a prob- 
lem, but fortunately one member of 
the electronics group, W. Wilson, a 
giant of a man, knew everybody in the 
supply world and was able to solve 
this problem satisfactorily. After we 
had spent a month or two building 
bits and pieces and generally finding 
our feet, Colebrook said, "Why don't 
we get together now and try to build 
a pilot machine, the success of which 
will demonstrate to the authorities 
that we are competent and therefore 
ensure the continuation of the enter- 
prise." Then, in the light of success— 
we didn't hint at failure— we would go 
on and build the full-scale ACE. 

Now it so happened that we had 
done a little experimental work in 
1947 in the the Mathematics Division 
when Harry Huskey had spent a sab- 
batical year with us. At that time we 
had designed just such a miniature 
machine based on Turing's version 5. 
This enterprise had been stopped by 
Darwin when the Electronics Section 
was formed. 

lb a large extent we resurrected this 
machine, incorporating, of course, a 
substantial number of improvements. 
It was to be called the Pilot ACE and, 
effectively, it would be the smallest 
machine based on the logic of version 
5, which would demonstrate the prac- 
ticality of it. 

BYTE: How large a machine was the Pilot 
ACE? 

JHW: I suppose I was largely respon- 
sible for deciding on the size and 
scope of the machine, but any of the 
other three could by that time equal- 
ly well have done so. In order to have 
some specific objective, I decided that 

[continued) 






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Inquiry 116 



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INTERVIEW 



it should be capable of solving fully 
automatically a set of 8 to 10 linear 
equations by Gauss elimination. This 
it would do in a matter of a second 
or two, very impressive for that time. 

BYTE: So you needed to store at least 1 50 
numbers and the word width was 32 bits? 
JHW: In fact we decided to have 10 
long delay lines, that is, 320 words. We 
started to design the chassis in late 
'48, some chassis being designed by 
the "mathematicians" and some by 
the "engineers." In the event, the 
mathematicians probably designed 
slightly more than half the chassis. I 
must emphasize that 1 am now talk- 
ing about the detailed electronic 
design, not just the logical design. We 
put our newly won knowledge of elec- 
tronics to immediate use. 

We started to send our blueprints to 
the NPL workshop towards the end of 
that year. As each chassis arrived 
from the workshop, we put it into the 
main frame. 

BYTE: Literally a main frame? 
JHW: Yes, there really was a frame. We 
decided to use a plug-in assembly 
and planned to have spares of key 
chassis. 

By the standards of the time it was 
an incredibly small machine physical- 
ly, and yet it was in many regards 
more powerful than either EDSAC or 
SEAC. Direct comparisons are not 
really possible but Pilot ACE was sub- 
stantially faster on most problems, 
and it could solve some problems the 
other two couldn't. 

BYTE: And the clock cycle was still 1 mega- 
cycle? 

JHW: Yes, still I megacycle, a slightly 
tough decision. Wilkes had decided 
on 500 kilocycles. Certainly some of 
the problems we had would have 
been a lot easier at 500 kilocycles. 

BYTE: It is interesting that the Apple II is 
a \ -megacycle or Vmegahertz machine, by 
comparison. \ Editor's note: This refers to the 
instruction rather than clock rate] 
JHW: Yes, that's right. 

The completed chassis would have 
started to arrive, I imagine, well 



through '49; I'm afraid progress was 
not documented. It so happened that 
the first chassis to arrive had been 
designed by Alway and myself, two of 
the mathematicians of the team, and 
naturally we put them into the main 
frame and got them working. 

Then when the next chassis arrived— 
which Alway and I had not designed— 
we assisted in its installation because 
we already knew about the earlier 
chassis. Thus, without any conscious 
decision being made, Alway and I 
became the debuggers. 

BYTE: Weren't the chassis somewhat different 
from each group? Or were these different 
components? 

JHW: Of course, the various chassis 
had entirely different functions. Thus 
several were associated with the line 
counter, several with the logical con- 
trol, and then there was one chassis 
for each delay line. (The latter were, 
of course, all identical.) 

BYTE: The line counter is ... ? 
JHW: This was the section which 
counted the basic 32 pulses in a word 
time. 

BYTE: All this is now on one chip? 
JHW: Yes, of course, and much more. 
Our units were vast by today's stan- 
dards in spite of being small by the 
standards of the contemporary 
design. Pilot ACE was also unique 
among the early computers in being 
extremely mobile. The main frame 
was on wheels and when the com- 
puter was finished, we wheeled it 
back to Mathematics Division without 
affecting its performance. 

BYTE: Was it power-hungry? 
JHW: It consumed somewhat less than 
10 kilowatts, which was quite low. But 
we didn't have any forced cooling, 
and perhaps the construction was a 
little too compact for that. When we 
were assembling it we were, of 
course, standing in front of it all day. 
It was like working in front of a IO-kilo- 
watt fire, a rather trying experience. 

BYTE: Did you have much component 
trouble? 

JHW: Not really. Our main problem 

{continued) 

FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 185 



Inquiry 226 




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INTERVIEW 



was with germanium diodes, which 
fortunately we didn't use on the same 
scale as SEAC. We used them for 
some gating requirements. Because 
our machine was so compact and 
didn't have forced cooling, the diodes 
were working at a temperature which 
was much higher than specified by 
the manufacturer. 

BYTE: So they would fail? 
JHW: Yes, there were some good 
diodes and some bad diodes. The 
bad diodes would fail after perhaps 
a week in the computer. A good 
diode, on the other hand, would go 
on almost indefinitely, so bad diodes 
were eventually weeded out. 

Then came a key stage in the assem- 
bly of the computer. This was the day 
the first delay-line chassis was inte- 
grated. This was designed by 
Newman, and, as usual, he joined 
Alway and myself while it was in- 
stalled, but from then on he stayed 
with us. The three of us worked well 
together and debugged the whole of 
the rest of the machine. 

BYTE: When did the first program run? 
JHW: On May the tenth, 1 950. It is in- 
teresting that, unlike Wilkes, who had 
built everything he intended to have 
and then made it work, we added 
chassis by chassis as they were com- 
pleted, and as soon as it was possi- 
ble to do something (which was as 
soon as we had the control unit work- 
ing, the adder and the subtracter, the 
logical operations and one long delay 
line), we tried it. 

BYTE: How would you feed the data in? 
JHW: Oh, at that point we fed the in- 
structions in (in binary) from a set of 
32 keys. When it worked on May the 
tenth, it could perform only the sim- 
plest of programs. In fact, our first pro- 
gram achieved the following: it took 
the binary number set up on the 32 
keys, and every major cycle it added 
that number into the accumulator un- 
til it overflowed. Now, in addition to 
the 32 input keys we had a set of 32 
output lights. When an overflow took 
place, the program put on the next 
light. So successive lights would come 
on at a speed which was directly 



Inquiry 366 



186 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



INTERVIEW 



related to the size of the number on 
the switches. Now this program, ad- 
mittedly rather small, had to be fed 
in one instruction at a time, in binary, 
from the 32 keys. At the time the 
design of the delay lines needed im- 
proving; the amplifiers were some- 
what unstable. So we kept feeding in 
the program, and it kept being forgot- 
ten before we could complete the in- 
put. So 1 said to Alway, "Let's try it 
four or five more times, and if it 
doesn't work, we'll call it a day and go 
home." 

Well, we put it in about four times, 
and suddenly all the lights came on. 
This could have happened in any 
case, and it didn't guarantee the pro- 
gram was working. However, we made 
the input number smaller and the 
lights came on more slowly. 

BYTE: So the amplifiers had settled down? 
JHW: Yes. Then we doubled the 
number, and the lights came up twice 
as fast. We made the number three 
times as large and they cameup three 
times as fast. On a binary machine 
that was quite convincing, so we said, 
"It must be working," and went home 
rejoicing. That program later became 
rather famous on the machine. It was 
known affectionately as "Successive 
Digits" or "Suck Digs." 

Sometime before this, 'feddy Bullard 
(later Sir Edward) had succeeded Dar- 
win, and when he visited the Elec- 
tronics Section (in late April 1950) he 
asked me how it was going. 1 replied 
that we should have something going 
in a week or two. Bullard was a very 
forthright chap, and he said with 
some scorn, "Come on, you can't pull 
the wool over my eyes. I've heard it's 
going very badly." (He had heard this, 
quite justifiably, via Harry Huskey.) I 
said, "You may well have heard this, 
and indeed it was true, but it's com- 
ing along nicely now, and in a week 
or two I confidently expect it to be 
working." 

Naturally, when it did work, I tried 
to get in touch with him as I had 
promised to do. I tried to phone him. 
He wasn't there. Now the machine 
wasn't really very good at that stage 

[continued) 




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Inquiry 134 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 187 



Inquiry 104 



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INTERVIEW 



and might stop working at any time. 
The director could not be traced, and 
I was pacing up and down, saying, 
"The bloody director is never here 
when you want him," when he 
stepped into the room via the win- 
dow. His opening words were, "Here's 
the bloody director. 1 hear it's work- 
ing." 

1 showed him this program, and he 
played with it and agreed that it was 
working. Then he turned to me with 
a grin and said, "It may be working, 
but the program's somewhat less than 
epoch-making," with which we had to 
agree, but it was very heartening for 
us. 

We continued to add the chassis 
one by one, and by the end of June 
most of it was assembled. We didn't 
at that time have a multiplier, nor had 
we planned to have one, on Pilot ACE. 

BYTE: You would use successive addition? 
JHW: Yes; it was to be done by a sub- 
routine, optimum coded so that it was 
not too slow. In fact, the optimum- 
coded version was about as fast as 
the automatic multiplier on EDSAC. 
So as soon as it began to do signifi- 
cant things, Bullard began to press us 
to have an Open [House| Day and to 
demonstrate it to the world. Well, I 
was a bit anxious about that because 
it wasn't really reliable enough. The 
amplifiers on the delay lines were still 
inclined to be unstable. However, 
Bullard was a very impetuous man, 
and he finally landed us with these 
"demonstration days." 

BYTE: When was that? 
JHW: It would have been November 
of 1950. By that time we could do a 
variety of significant things, but it was 
still not a very reliable machine. 

One of the troubles we had at that 
time was with the power supply— not 
our power supplies but that of the 
Central Electricity Generating Board. 
For instance, in the evening when 
everyone arrived home and switched 
on electric fires, the voltage would 
drop suddenly, and that gave us 
problems. 

BYTE: Historically there was a coal shortage 

[continued) 



188 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 189 



INTERVIEW 



at that time? 

JHW: Yes. Such things added to our 
difficulties. We knew, too, that when 
SEAC had had its first demonstra- 
tion—a little before us— it had been a 
fiasco, even though SEAC had, in 
general, been working reasonably 
well. During the whole of the time 
allotted to the press demonstration, 



it never once worked. You will find the 
early years abound with such bad- 
luck stories. 

I must confess to having been pes- 
simistic. We decided to have two 
popular programs for the daily press. 
For the first, they would give us a six- 
figure decimal number and the com- 
puter would tell them if it were a 




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prime, and if not, output a factor. 

For the second program, they would 
give us any date from the year up 
to the year 9999 and it would output 
what day of the week it was. It 
covered both the Julian and Gregorian 
calendars and dealt with all leap 
years. In all. quite an amusing little 
program. Mike Woodger produced 
that program. 

BYTE: And where did he discover the tech- 
nique? 

JHW: He worked it out for himself. 
Such programs are good fun, of 
course, but they leave one merciless- 
ly exposed to the vulgar gaze. Some- 
one puts in the current date, which is 
Wednesday, say, and the machine 
promptly says Thursday! So they're 
very much more dangerous. If you tell 
the press it's solving a partial differen- 
tial equation, you can swear blind it's 
solving a partial differential equation 
and they would be hard put to prove 
it is not. Finally, we were to have one 
serious program; this traced skew rays 
through a set of lenses. 

Well, we decided on this last pro- 
gram and announced it, only to find 
that we couldn't get the program to 
work. TWo days before the press show 
it had still never worked, and we didn't 
know whether the program had a bug 
or whether it was due to computer 
malfunction. Then, just two days 
before the show, Alway and I acciden- 
tally found it was a minor machine 
fault which was not invoked at all in 
our other programs. 

We got all three programs working- 
then, just in time. The arrangement 
was that Bullard would entertain the 
popular press and I would give the 
demonstrations. The whole thing was 
to cover three days; one day with the 
popular press, one with the technical 
press, and a third day for VIPs includ- 
ing our competitors. Wilkes had his 
machine running in Cambridge and 
was justifiably proud of it. Williams 
and Kilburn from Manchester were 
also coming. 

BYTE: They had a machine too, didn't they? 
JHW: They had a little hookup at that 

[continued) 



190 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 32 



- 

IbuVe probably 













outgrownyour 
personal computer* 



Introducing the TeWideo Personal MinL 
^bur simplest PC growth path. 




You'll know you ve outgrown your 
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The fact is, your next step to growth 
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Runs PC, mini and 
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With the TeleVideo Personal Mini, 
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IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines. 



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The TeleVideo Personal Mini. The first PC compatible multiuser system. 



Computers 



^Tele^ldeo Systems, Inc. 
FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 191 



A B Computers 

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192 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 7 



INTERVIEW 



time, but it could scarcely be called 
a computer. They hadn't built the 
Mark I by that time. Their little hook- 
up was the first anywhere ever to run 
a stored program. It worked in 1947 
and found the highest common fac- 
tor of two numbers. This was, of 
course, a great deal smaller even than 
the Pilot ACE. However, it was an im- 
pressive "first" and I well remember 
being very heartened when I saw it 
working. 

My point then, is that Open Day was 
doomed to be a failure. The plan for 
the first day was that Bullard was to 
entertain the press upstairs, while 
downstairs we made sure the com- 
puter was working. We were to receive 
a signal when Bullard was almost 
through. We did, and immediately the 
machine stopped working. We found 
out, almost at once, that it was a 
chassis associated with one of the 
delay lines. We plugged in a spare, but 



unfortunately we knew that the 
amplifier, as it warmed up, would 
become unstable; the amplifier would 
then need to be retuned and in 10 
minutes all would be fine from then 
on. 

So we were expecting to run into 
trouble almost as soon as the dem- 
onstration started. Well, the press ar- 
rived. They threw numbers at us and 
the computer factorized them like a 
charm. It was indefatigable! 

We moved on to the "dates" pro- 
gram. It worked as it had never 
worked before: the day of Trafalgar, 
Waterloo, King George V's birthday. 

We moved on to the ray tracing. It 
traced rays like a fiend; nothing could 
stop it. It continued in this vein from 
10 till I o'clock. Then the press went 
away to lunch. We immediately looked 
at the output from the delay line, that 
is, the shape of the pulse coming out. 
It was the best output we'd ever seen! 



The computer 



factorized numbers 



like a charm. 



Further press representatives came in 
the afternoon; still a faultless per- 
formance. 

The next day we had the technical 
press, and it was the same story. 
Never before had it worked for any- 
thing approaching this time period 
without a fault. The third day the VIPs 
came. Surely it would let us down 
now? Not a bit of it. Wilkes was there. 
I have always found him a very fair 
man, but naturally he was not pre- 
pared to give anything away. He didn't 
get a chance; it was perfect. It had 
already been decided that there 
would be a fourth day when it would 

(continued) 



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Inquiry 182 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 193 



INTERVIEW 




Photo 2: A hand-cranked desk calculator, like the one used by Wilkinson to perform 
numerical analysis during World War II. This machine was manufactured by Brunsviga. 



be put on show for the staff of NPL. 
This was a Saturday. The computer 
had a small fault before our audience 
arrived, but we soon put this right 
and once again it performed flawless- 
ly The chances of such a performance 
must have been a million to one 
against. 

On Monday we came in feeling 
rather jubilant. The computer was 
down, and it took us about a week to 
get it working again! 

BYTE: Today a lot of people are coming into 
computing with no background in calculation. 
Many of the machines they're using don't have 
the properties that ACE did. with double- 
precision accumulation of inner products. Peo- 
ple haw wry little knowledge of this. How 
can these ideas be got across to them? 
JHW: It's a really difficult question, 
and I wouldn't claim to know the com- 
plete answer to it. Our experience 
with the Pilot ACE was really rather 
special. In order to get the most out 
of a machine with such a small store, 
user cooperation was essential on a 
scale which in many ways is not 
achieved even now. This gave one an 
intimacy with the machine; we were 
forced to look at the numbers and 
thereby achieved a deep understand- 
ing of what was going on. One can. 
of course, do this with modern com- 
puters; indeed the potential for doing 
it is actually greater, but one has to 



realize what it is one should be do- 
ing and why. For iterative methods we 
used acceleration techniques which 
were actually under the direct control 
of the operator. (For instance, when 
we were using the power method for 
the determination of the dominant 
eigenvector of a matrix, we could 
follow the progress of the vector on 
a cathode-ray tube screen. We had a 
cathode-ray display which showed the 
contents of any long delay line. We 
would look at the screen (which 
showed 32 components of the current 
vector), and we would see how fast it 
was converging. We would put a piece 
of paper over it, and we could say, for 
example, "It's gaining a binary digit 
every three iterations, so the ratio of 
the dominant to the subdominant 
eigenvalue must be about 2 to the 
power !/3." We could then set up a shift 
of origin on the input keys that would 
give much faster convergence.) This 
work was commonly done by assis- 
tants who were in no sense qualified 
mathematicians, but they became 
very expert indeed. It is surprising 
how well they understood the battery 
of acceleration techniques available 
and how efficiently they used them. 
When later we went over to more 
automatic techniques, they com- 
plained we were "taking the guts out 
of their work." They really loved these 
early programs. The familiarity and in- 



timacy gained with the computing 
process was fully comparable with 
that which one gets on a hand desk 
machine, where perforce you see 
every number. But on ACE that 
familiarity was gained quickly and 
painlessly. This experience was in- 
valuable. Is there any way you can get 
it now? Of course there is, but one 
needs to know what is worth having 
and to have the incentive to output it. 

BYTE: I would say my own experience is that 
we are transferring large-machined faceless" 
programs down to the personal computers, 
where in fact one can go back to the ACE 
ideas. 

JHW: Yes. I agree. The potential is 
there, and it's much greater, really, 
than it was on ACE. But in my experi- 
ence, many people who do comput- 
ing are reluctant to look at numbers. 
At Stanford the general level of our 
students has been pretty high, but I 
would say their main weakness is in 
their inability to look at outputs and 
extract the meaningful information in 
them. In fact, somewhat to my sur- 
prise, they are generally less efficient 
at this than the assistants 1 used to 
have at NPL in the ACE days, in spite 
of having far superior mathematical 
qualifications. Most of those assis- 
tants had experience with desk com- 
puters and had learned to "look at 
numbers." The Pilot ACE forced them 
to continue with this habit. 

I certainly do not want to suggest 
that the way to acquire this habit is 
to serve an apprenticeship on hand 
desk computers, but we have yet to 
learn how to instill the relevant knowl- 
edge. ■ 

FURTHER READING 
This interview examines James H. Wilkin- 
son's role in building the computer de- 
signed by Tbring. For additional informa- 
tion on this subject see Wilkinson's "llir- 
ing's Work at the National Physical Labora- 
tory," in A History of Computing in the Twen- 
tieth Century, N. Metropolis. ]. Howlett. and 
G. C. Rota. eds. (New York: Academic 
Press, 1980) and his articles on this topic 
in The Radio and Electronic Engineer (July 1975). 
plus a transcript of an oral history in 
Pioneers of Computing. C. Evans, ed. (London: 
Science Museum. 197 5). 



194 BYTE ' FEBRUARY 1985 



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Rockvilie Heathkit Electronic Center 

Rockvllle. Revacto Electronics 

Suitland. Suburban Wholesalers 

; Towson t B»jnewtllB Eleclronln 

MASSACHUSETTS 

Peabody . .1 .. Healhkil Electronic Center 

Pittslield. . Pittslield Radio Equipment 

Springfield. Sydlee Electronic Supply 

MICHIGAN 

■Adrian. \, .',' r . ..... . . ... E&B. Bectronics 

Adrian. ..'. Wedemeyer Electronics 

Ann Arbor. Wsstemrftr Elect Supply 

i Battle Creek.' . Warren Radio 

Bay City. i. Kinds Distributing 

Dearborn. . Westside Radio & TV. 

i Detroit. ....-....' Electronic Parts Co. 

Detroit. . S4S 'Electronics 

East Detroit Electronic Parts Co. 

East Detroit Heathkit Electronic Center 

Hint. -.7 ..":.' . , ...'■.. , Slund Electronic* 

Grand Rapids, Micro World Inc. 

Grand Rapids Radio Parts Inc. 

Grand Rapids.' T&W Electronics 

Grand Rapids, Warren Radio 

Houghton. .• .'. — Techtronics 

Jackson Fulton Radio Supply 

Lansing. , ,. Fulton Radio Supply. 

Lansing.'.''. ....... Wedemeyer Elect Supply 

Livonia . . Newest Electronics 

Madison Heights Warren Radio 

Melvin Dale. Advance Bectronic Services 

Midfand, Computronix 

Muskegon. .' :....'... :-a ..H&fl Electronics 

Ni(es;C.. : Jv:";'. .Niles Radio Supply 

Saginaw Ryder Distributing 

Saginaw. Shanrj Electronics 

Saint Clair Shores Bell Electronics Co. 

. Taylor. ". ,.,.,, Tel Van Electronic Supply 

Traverse City Traverse City Elect Supply 

Wesilarsd.;. '., The Electronic Connection 

MINNESOTA 

Bemidji Bemidji Electronics 

Duluih...... Northwest Radio of Duluth 

Hopkins Healhki! < ■ ■ ■ • >\ 

Minneapolis, . Acme Electronics 

Saint PauL Heathkit Bectronic Cenler 

Winona Hiawatha Electronics 

MISSISSIPPI 

Biloxi. ...;.', :', X Electronic Parts 

Blloxi. Hooper Bectronic Supply 

Brookhaven. . .' Giliis Audio 4 Bectronics 

Jackson EHinglonj:lectronic Supply 

Pascagoula. . Hooped Bectronic Supply 



MISSOURI 

Heathkit Electronic Center 

Cap§ Girardeau Show Me Electronics 

Columbia. , Show Me Electronics 

Kansas City Electronic Supply Co. Inc. 

Kansas City. "'..... Wallers Radio 

**' -• -.^ Me Electronics 

Sedaiia. ; . , . Show Me Electronics 

Springfield Show Me Electronics 

iablG MONTANA 

Wings Conley Radio Supply 

q%$man Electronic Service & Dist 

Great Falls Electric City Radio 

NEBRASKA 

Grand Island GlBectronics 

Lincoln .- . Scott Electronic Supply 

Omaha. Scott Bectronics 

NEVADA 

Las Vegas Century 23 

Sparks %.., Computer House 

NEW JERSEY 

Edison. William ElectronicSupfjiy 

Fairlawn. Heathkit Electronic Center 

Mantua :. . . . Bectronic World 

Ocean Heathkit Bectronic Center 

Trenton Uraco/Lalayetls RarJio 

Vmetarid ,...:,... Laraco/Vinetand 

NEW MEXICO 

Alamagordo ...:... Basin Electronics 

Hobbs. Trice Electronics 

NEW YORK 

Amherst Heathkit Bectronic Center 

Bethpage, ........... .;.Bectronlc No. 24 inc. 

Buffalo. .-.Radio Equipment Corp. 

Commack ■-.'■. Spartan Electronics 

Homeil Homeii Electronics 

Jamestoyyn, Warren Radio 

Jericho! . ........ Heathkit Bectronic Center 

Johnson City ?::■, Unicorn Electronics 

Kingston Greylock Electronics 

MkJdlatort Greylock Electronics 

Newburgh Action Audio Inc. 

New York Talt Electronics 

H, White Plains. . . . . Heathkit Bectronic Center 

Poughkeepsie L. Greylock Electronics 

Rensselaer .Electronic Stockroom 

Rochester Heathkit Bectronic Center 

Troy Trojan Bectronic Sypply 

Utica. Central Electronics 

NORTH CAROLINA 

Greensboro Heathkit Bectronic Center 

Winston-Salem Trayer Inc. 

NORTH DAKOTA 

Fargo. Radio & TV Equipment 

Fargo ..,....-.,,.. s/S Electronics 

; MaincJan. ■..-.. .John Iverson Company 

OHIO 

Akron. Warren Radio 

Canton. , '. Electronic Center Inc. 

Cincinnati Heathkit Electronic Center 

Cleveland ■ , . Heathkit Electronic; Center 

Dover .'. .... T.V. Specialties 

Lima Warren Radio 

Mogadore Olson Electronics 

Parma Superior Electronics 

Reync-ldsburg ■ . . Universal Amateur Radio 

Toledo. Haalhkit Bectronic Center 

Toledo. ....,., , Warren Radio 

lifl Amateur Electronic Supply 

Youngslown Ross Radkt Co. 

OKLAHOMA 

Enid Trice Electronics 

Lawton .7. Trice Electronics 

McAllister Trice Electronics 

Oklshomi City Trice EtecMct 

Ponca City Trice Electronics 

Tulsa Trice Electronics 

OREGON 

Albany. ..\\ . . . Oregon Ham Sales 

Beaverrxn Norvac Electronics 

Corvallis Zero Gee Electronics 

Eugene Norvac Electronics 

_ Portland .,.,. Portland Radio Supply 

Salem : ". Computer Specialties 



PENNSYLVANIA 

Braddock Left Electronics 

Buller Computer Center 

Chambersburg Sunrise Electronic Oist 

Drexel Hill. Kass Electronic Dist 

Erie Warren Radio 

Frazer. Heathkit Electronic Center 

Uncaster Harco Bectronics 

McKeesport Barno Radio 

Norristown Computer Corner 

Philadelphia Heathkit Electronic Center 

Philadelphia Spectrum Electronics 

Phoenrxville Stevens Radio Shack 

Pittsburgh South Hills Electronics 

York. Computer Center of York 

RHODE ISLAND 

Cranston Jabbour Electronics 

Pawtucket Jabbour Electronics 

Providence Hope Electronics 

TENNESSEE 

Bristol Shields Electronics 

Chattanooga. Metro Computer Center 

Chattanooga. Shields Electronics 

Knoxville Shield's Electronic Supply 

Memphis BluftCity Electronics 

Memphis MemphisAmateur Electronics 

Memphis. Warren Radio 

Murfreesboro Standard Auto Parts 

Nashville Eddie Warners Inc. 

Nashville Electra Dist Co. 

Oak Ridge National Electronics 

Smyrna Delker Electronics 

Tullahoma. H&H Electronics 

TEXAS 

Brownsville George's Electronic Mart 

Dallas. . . . : Heathkit Electronic Center 

Fort Worth Heathkit Electronic Center 

Harligen George's Electronic Mat 

Lubbock Trice Electronics 

McAllen George's Electronic Mart 

McKinney Collin Business Equipment 

Richardson. Martin Wholesale Bectronics 

Richardson Trice Electronics 

Waco L&M Wholesale 

UTAH 

Midvale Heathkit Electronic Center 

Ogden Carter Supply Co. 

Provo Alpine Electronic Supply 

Salt Lake City Kimball Electronics 

Salt Lake City Mountain Coin Distributing 

VERMONT 

Burlington Greylock Electronics 

Essex Junction I.E.S. Lafayette Radio 

VIRGINIA 

Alexandria. Heathkit Electronic Center 

Annandale Arcade Electronics 

Arlington Arlington Bectronic 

Wnoluileri 

Blacksburg Scotty's Radio & TV 

Charlottesville Graves Electronics 

Hamplon Cain Electronics 

Harrisonburg Electrical Wholesalers 

Lynchburg Electronic Service Co. 

Norfolk Avec Electronics 

Norfolk Cai'n Electronics 

Norfolk Priest Bectronics 

Richmond. Avec Electronics 

Roanoke Avec Electronics 

Vienna. Electronic Equipment Bank 

Virginia Beach Cain Electronics 

Virginia Beach Heathkit Electronic Center 

Woodbridge E.G.E. 

WASHINGTON 

Bellevue A.B.C. Communications 

Bellingham Cascade Electronics 

Kennewick Satellite T.V. 

Moses Lake Ron's Electronics 

Olympra. The Bectronic Shop 

Pullman H&O Bectronics 

Richland Radio Shack 

Seattle A.B.C. Communications 

Seat le Amateur Radio Supply 

Seattle Electronic Supply Co. 

Seat le Heathkit Electronic Center 

Spokane Bits. Bytes & Nibbles 

Spokane Don's Stereo Center 

Tacoma. C&G Bectronics 

WEST VIRGINIA 

Elkins CustomComputingCo. 

Fairmont T.P.S. Electronics 

Morgantown Electro Oist Co. 

Wheeling Industronics 

WISCONSIN 
Kenosha. Chester Electronic Supply 

FOREIGN 

Gum: Agana. Marianas Electronics 

Gtotermli Electronica Pan Americana 

Pinimi Sonitel SA 

Ptflima Tropelco SA 

Puerto Rico Hato Rey Microcomputer Store 



For Distributor Information, write or phone J1M-PAK, 1355 Shoreway Road, Belmont, CA 94002 [415] 595-5936 



AUTHORIZED Dl 



DISTRIBUTORS • 



196 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 165 



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Part No. Description 

MLZ80 

ML6502 

ML7400 

ML8080A 

ML8086 



Z80 CPU 
6502 (65XX) 
5400/7400 TTL Pinouts 
8080A/8085A 
8086/8088 



DATA 
BOOKS 



Part No. 



Description 




30001 Nat. CMOS (CD4000/74C) 

30003 National Linear 

30005 National TTL Logic 

30009 Intersil Data 

30013 Zilog Microprocessor 

300 1 4 National Intuitive IC CMOS 
Evolution 

3001 5 National Intuitive Op Amps 

300 1 6 National Voltage Regulator 

30017 National MOS Memory 

30018 National CMOS 
(74HC, RAMs, PROMs) 

30019 National Interface, Bipolar 
(LSI & Memory), Prog. Logic 

21 0830 Intel Memory Components 

230843 Intel Microsystem 

Components 



FIBEROPTICS 

The EDU-LINK Learning Kit 

The EDU-LINK fiber optic 
system is a low-cost, TTL 
compatible data trans- 
mission system designed 
specifically as an educa- 
tional tool for students and 
engineersworking in many 
different industries. 

Includes: 

• Transmitter PCB 

• Receiver PCB 

• One meter of plastic optic fiber 

• All necessary electrical hardware 

• Complete step-by-step instructions 

• Theory of operation 

• Tutorial information 

Part No. ELK-1 




OWI Educational 
Electronic Robot Kits 




Part No. 



Description 



PEPPY 



MV915 Piper-Mouse (Sound Sensor) 

MV91 6 Peppy (Sound/Touch Sensor) 

MV918 Memocon Crawler 

(Programmable Memory) 

MV931 Mr. Bootsman (Wired Control) 

MV935 Circular (Remote Control) 

MV939 Medusa (Sound Sensor) 



Additions to 
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS 




74LS00 Series 



Part No. 



Description 



74LS273 
74LS640 
74LS641 
74LS645 



Part No. 



8-Bit D Type Register 
Octal Bus Transceiver (Inv.) 
Octal Bus Transceiver (True) 
Octal Bus Transceiver (True) 

Linear 

Description 



LM387N Low Noise Dual Pre-Amp 
NE558N Quad Timer 
LM3905N Precision Timer 

Microprocessor 

Part No. Description 

2732 A 32KEPROM(21V) 

41 64N-200 64K Dynamic RAM (200ns) 

61 1 6LP-4 1 6K Static CMOS RAM 

(200ns) Low Power 
6264P-1 5 64K Static CMOS RAM 

(150ns) 
6502B MPU with Clock (3MHz) 

6845 CRT Controller (CRTC) 

8085A CPU 8-Bit N Channel 

8086 CPU 1 6-Bit (8MHz) 

8088 CPU 1 6-Bit (8-Bit Data Bus) 

8251 A Programmable Comm. I/O 

(USART) 
8253-5 Programmable Interval Timer 

271 28 1 28K EPROM 250ns (21 V) 

MM58167 Microproc. Real Time Clock 



Part No. 



OPTO-ISOLATOR 



Description 



4N33 



Single Channel 
Photo-Darlington 



FANS 

AND 

ACCESSORIES 

Part No. Description 




MU2A1 Muffin Style Fan (4.68 inch square) 

PWS21 07 Sprite Style Fan (3.1 25 inch square) 

MFG481 Muffin-style steel wire finger guard 

SFG648 Sprite-style steel wire finger guard 




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Model 100 



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SURGE 
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Eliminates voltage spikes and 
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switch • Brown-out notification 
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SOLDER 

IC'S 
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and more... 



CONNECTORS 

SOLDER-TYPE CONTACTS 

Part No. Description 



57-30360 36 Contact Plug (Centronics) 

57-60360 36 Contact Socket (Centronics) 

57-30500 50 Contact Plug 

57-60500 50 Contact Socket 



GENDER 
CHANGERS 




CSS* 



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Description 



JRSMM Gender Changer (Connects 2 DB25P) RS232 

JRSFF Gender Changer (Connects 2 DB25S) RS232 

JCENMM Gender Changer (Connects 2 Male Centronics cables) 

JCENFF Gender Changer (Connects 2 Female Centronics cables) 



The Famous Silicon Chip 



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Memory Key Chain (Gold) 



Inquiry I65 



FEBRUARY 1 985 • BYTE 197 















The United Way volunteer gives a gift that's hard 
to measure. 

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198 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



SCIENCE 



A LOW-COST 
DATA-ACQUISITION 

SYSTEM 

BY KlYOHISA OKAMURA AND KAMYAB AGHAI-TABRIZ 

A compromise between cost and quality, 
this system is adequate for many research projects 



COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE data- 
acquisition systems are quite expen- 
sive. A decent system may cost as 
much as or more than the entire an- 
nual equipment budget of an engi- 
neering department at a small educa- 
tional institution like ours. Our solu- 
tion to this problem was to design 
and build our own system. A reason- 
able compromise between price and 
quality, our system includes a Com- 
modore 64 computer, a video display 
a disk drive, and some miscellaneous 
hardware for about $800. It has only 
8-bit data acquisition, but you can 
design a 12-bit system by using one 
and one-half I/O (input/output) ports 
(i.e.. 12 bits) as the data-input pins. 
Furthermore, during breaks between 
experiments, our system can provide 
you with entertainment. Have you 
ever heard of a data-acquisition 
system you can play Pac-Man on? 

Hardware 

The circuit diagram to interface the 
real world to the Commodore 64 is 
shown in figure I, and the corre- 
sponding hardware is shown in photo 
1 . For analog-to-digital (A/D) conver- 



sion, we use an 8-bit ADC0804. To 
multiplex the multichannel analog 
input signals, we use the multiplexer 
(MUX) chip 4051. The outputs are 
connected to data lines PB0-PB7 of 
Complex Interface Adapter 2 (CIA2) 
through the Commodore 64's User 
Port CN2. The input channel selection 
is done by the three bits PBO, PBI, 
and PB2 of CIA1. which are connected 
respectively to C(MSB), B, and A(LSB) 
of the 4051. For example, channel 
is selected by CBA-000, channel I by 
CBA-00I, and so on. This multiplexing 
arrangement can accept up to eight 
analog signals. However, our plotting 
software is limited to three channels. 
The graphic resolution decreases as 
the number of channels displayed on 

Kiyohisa Okamura, an associate professor of 
mechanical engineering and director of the 
Applied High : Tech laboratory at North 
Dakota State University (Fargo. ND 58105), 
holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University. He is 
also a technical consultant for US.-]apanese 
biomedical engineering and computer busi- 
nesses. Kamyab hghai^abriz is a graduate 
student of mechanical engineering at North 
Dakota State University. 



the screen increases. Handshaking 
between the ADC and CN2 can be 
don e through a pa ir of connections: 
WR(ADC) to PC 2 (Com modore 64) 
and INT(ADC) to FLAGfCommodore 
64). The latter is optional, and we 
don't use it in our software. 

The analog signal to be connected 
to each input terminal of the MUX 
CD4051 in figure I should be properly 
conditioned, which involves amplify- 
ing and biasing the signal so that the 
voltage level is between and + 5 V. 
because + 5 V is used as a voltage 
reference in the ADC. The signal 
should be made to come as close as 
possible to the full range of the ADC, 
without exceeding the full-range limit, 
for maximum resolution. Therefore, 
you may need an amplifier between 
each transducer and the MUX. In our 
case, since the output of each trans- 
ducer was relatively large, we used an 
analog computer for signal condition- 
ing. For a very small signal you can 
use a differential amplifier. According 
to figure I , one of the two lead wires 
for the input signal is for return and 
should be grounded. 

[continued) 
FEBRUARY 1985 • B Y T E 199 



LOW-COST DATA ACQUISITION 



The ADC converts analog input volt- 
age to 8-bit binary data with V cor- 
responding to 00000000 and + 5 V to 
11111111. The computer shows only 
the decimal equivalent on the screen, 
that is, to 2 55 for to 5 V, respec- 
tively. Any value between thes4 two 
extremes is proportionally converted. 
For example, a converted data I (dec- 
imal unity) corresponds to an analog 
input to 0.02 V(I x 5/2 5 5). Similarly, 
a data value of 37 corresponds to 
0.73 V (3 7 x 5/2 55), and so on. If you 
want to store or display the value of 
input directly expressed in voltage, all 
you have to do is divide the acquired 
data by 51 (25 5/5). 

Using this method of conversion to- 
gether with a manufacturer's calibra- 
tion data sheet for a transducer, we 
can determine the correlation be- 
tween the original physical quantity 
and the acquired data in the com- 
puter. Another method we often use 
is direct calibration. 

The accuracy of the A/D conversion 
depends partly upon the accuracy 
and stability of the voltage supplied 
to REF/2 (pin 9). We used the refer- 



ence voltage from the Commodore 
64's 5-V power supply. Our measure- 
ment shows that this voltage is actual- 
ly 4.98 V with a ripple component of 
less than 0.5 percent. It is quite stable 
and accurate enough for under- 
graduate experiments conducted in 
our laboratories. If you want greater 
accuracy, use a more reliable voltage 
reference for pin 9. 

The serial data is output to pin M 
of CN2, which is connected to the 
coaxial cable as shown in figure 2. 
The other end of the cable is con- 
nected to the serial port of a receiv- 
ing computer either directly or 
through a line driver/receiver, depend- 
ing on the compatibility of the two 
computers' serial ports. For example, 
the Commodore 64 and TRS-80 we 
are using in our laboratories are not 
RS-232C-compatible. In the Commo- 
dore 64, binary state I corresponds 
to + 5 V and binary to V at pin M. 
On the other hand, at the RS-232C 
terminal of the TRS-80, binary state I 
corresponds to V and binary to 
+ 12 V. Therefore, these two com- 
puters are incompatible in both 



voltage levels and polarity. This in- 
compatibility can be resolved by line 
driver MCI 488 as shown. If the receiv- 
ing computer uses + 12 V and - 12 V 
with inverted polarity, you should con- 
nect point P to the receiving RS-232C 
With noninverted polarity, use point 
Q instead. 

We use a 500-foot coaxial cable to 
connect a Commodore 64 in one 
laboratory to a TRS-80 in another 
laboratory. We haven't noticed any 
voltage drop or noise at the receiv- 
ing end. 

Software 

I Editor's note: The program for data acquisi- 
tion is available for downloading via BYTEnet 
Listings. The telephone number is (603) 
924-9820.| The main portion of the 
program uses several assembly-lan- 
guage subroutines that are loaded in 
machine-language form via BASIC 
DATA statements. When you load the 
program, the menu in photo 2 ap- 
pears. The menu and software are 
self-explanatory, so we'll only discuss 
the software briefly. When download- 
ing the program, eliminate all state- 



<Z> 

<I> 
<I> 
<J> 
<G> 
<z> 



CONTROL 
PORT 1 
CN9 



8 CHANNEL 
INPUT 



+ 5V 



CD4051B 



ft? 



>10K 



; ioopF 



+5V 



V |N+ WR 

INTR 

CLKR DB0 

DB1 

CLKIN 

D82 

CS ADC0804 

RD DB3 

V, N - DB4 

AGND DB5 

DGND DB6 

DB7 
REF/2 



IK 

-wv- 



1K 



+ 5V 



+ 5V 

J 



+ 5V 

1 



1 



0.1/iF 



v 



X 



I SW1 



tf 



SER OUT 



+ 5V 

■1 

/p0.1/iF 



PC 2 



rh 



FLAG2 
PB0 



USER 
PORT 
CN2 



Figure I : A schematic for the A/D converter for the Commodore 64 data-acquisition system. 



200 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



LOW-COST DATA ACQUISITION 



ments headed with REM except for 
line 10, since they are strictly for com- 
ment and if typed in, they occupy too 
much space in RAM (random-access 
read/write memory). 

When the main program is ex- 
ecuted, all subroutines written in 
assembly language are poked into the 
appropriate locations as sequential 
data. Therefore, you should store the 
data (listings 2, 3, 4, and 5) as sequen- 
tial files. Assign names (listing2, 
listing3, and so on) to these files. 
When the main program is executed, 
these programs will be poked into the 
locations shown in the first column of 
each listing. 

A data-transmission subroutine is 
part of the main program. The trans- 
mission format is 2400 bps (bits per 
second), 7 data bits, 1 stop bit, and 
no parity check. This part of the pro- 
gram is also self-explanatory, but you 
have to remember to throw switch 
SW1 to the + 5 V position when you 
use it. The screen displays the data as 
it is being transmitted from the Com- 
modore 64. At the end of transmis- 
sion, the screen displays an instruc- 
tion: switch to ADC and press any key. 
You then throw SW1 back to the 
previous position so that the CIA is 
connected to the ADC 

The standard sampling rates of A/D 
conversion programmed in the main 
program are 1000, 500, and 100 
samples per second; you can select 
the rate as part of the data-acquisition 
subroutine. In addition, you can set 
any sampling rate by yourself by ad- 
justing parameters qq and ww in line 
1 1 10. This setting corresponds to the 
default value when the instruction for 
selecting the sampling rate is dis- 
played on the screen. The maximum 
rate available is 4360 samples per 
second at ww = qq = 1 . If you have 
three channels, this implies the sam- 
pling rate of 1453 samples/second for 
each channel. To lower the sampling 
rate, just increase qq and/or ww. 
These parameters are used in time- 
delay loops in the assembly program 
with parameter ww in the inner loop 
and parameter qq in the outer loop. 
Delay parameter ww has a greater ef- 
fect on lowering the sampling rate 



than parameter qq does. quency of the crystal oscillator is quite 

To calibrate the exact sampling rate, accurately known, the sampling rate 

we used a square wave from a crystal can therefore be determined, 
oscillator as an input. Since the fre- [continued] 



+12V 



+ 12V 



<*r^ 



SHIELD! 





-12V 



500 ft. 



C-64 




1 
1 
1 


i 
i 

i 


USER PORT CN2 


i 

1 

r 


i 
i 










M 

1 












/fc 















-12V 



+12V TRS-80H 
4 PORT A 



■JF 



T 



Figure 2: TTL (transistor-transistor logic) to RS-232C-level conversion. 




Photo I : The A/D converter. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 201 




.TM , 



The Silver Fox Trots 
through Lotus like 1,2,3 



The Silver Fox has always run hundreds 
of programs originally written for the IBM- 
PC. Now with its new compatible video 
board and G W Basic it runs the most popular 
and powerful software in microcomputing, 
including Lotus 1,2,3, dBASE II, Multiplan, 
the PFS series, and even Flight Simulator. 
Yet you still get an incomparable combination 
of hardware and software at a price that 
invites comparison. 



MORE HARDWARE 



Each Silver Foxcomes with an8088CPU, 
256K of RAM, monochrome and color video, 
and a printer port all on a single board. Plus 
you get more than twice the storage of a 
standard PC, 1.6 Megabytes on dual 5 1/4" 
f loppys, and the Fox will read and write to all 
popular PC formats. 

Standard equipment also includes a better 
keyboard, and a 12" high-resolution, green 
monochrome monitor, with a full 25x80 
column display. AndalthoughtheSilver Fox 
doesn't have "compatible" expansion slots 
you can add serial ports, modems, plotters, 
printers, joysticks, and 8087 co-processor, 
and/or a hard disk. 

Because the Silver Fox is born on a totally 
automated line in Japan it is simply more 
reliable than PC's that are assembled by 
hand. So we back each Silver Fox with a one 
year limited warranty, four times the industry 
standard. 



FREE SILVERWARE 



Were this not enough, each Fox comes 

with the best free software bundle in the 
business including: 
MS-DOS 2.11 Sketch Spell 

Color BASIC 15 Games Mailit 

GW BASIC WordStar FILEBASE 

HAGEN-DOS CalcStar PC ftle III 

Qwikdisc Easy Writer PD Disk 

Datemate 

If you didn't think your 

$1397 

could buy you this much computer, 
give us a call at 

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and we'll rush you a brochure that will 
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C'nlnrFnx $16HH 



The Silver Fox is sold exclusively by Scott ad ale Systems 
Ltd., 617 N. Scottsdale RoadffB. Smttsdale, AZ 8.5257. 
Trademarks: Silver Fox. HAGEN-DOS. Qwikdisc. hatemate. 
and Mailit; Scottadale Systems Ltd. WordStarand CalcStar. 
Micropro International. MS-DOS. Multiplan. Microsoft 
Corporation. F1I.KBASE. KWDP Software. Inc. dUASE II. 
AshtonTate. IBM-PC, International Business Mochinvs 
Corporation. Ordering: Telemarketing only. Silver Fox 
price in for cash. F.O.B. Scottsdale. prices subject toehantfe. 
prnduetsubject to limited supply. We arcept purchase orders 
from Fortune 1000 companies and major universities with 
Kood credit - adil U'l. Visa, Mastercard add ;l%, AZ residents 
add (K. Returned merchandise subject to a 2(>"" restocking 
fee. Personal or company check* take up to, 'J wt>eks to clear. 
No COIVs or APO's. 



LOW-COST DATA ACQUISITION 




Photo 2: The software menu for the data-acquisition system. 



The colors of screen background 
and data dots are determined by line 
1470 in listing I . You can change these 
colors by replacing the number 22 
with another number. The number 
should be calculated as: 16 x (code 
number of dot color) + (code number 
of background color). In our example 
we used the white dots and a blue 
background. Hence, the number to 
be poked in is: 16x1+6-22. You 
can find the color codes in the 
Commodore 64 reference manual. 
You can also manipulate the color of 
the border in graphic display by 
changing the second number in line 
1520. 

When one channel of data is plotted 
on the screen, each data point is 
represented by one of 200 pixels in 
the vertical direction. The resolution 
represented by the error resulting 
from bit mapping is 0.5 percent. With 
three channels, the software divides 
the vertical axis into three sections: 
66 (top), 67 (middle), and 67 (bottom) 
pixels. Hence, the resolution of each 
channel is 1 . 5 percent. As the number 
of channels increases, the resolution 
decreases. 

The program stores data sequential- 
ly in RAM. In case of multiple chan- 



nels (e.g., displacement x for channel 
0, velocity v for channel 1, and ac- 
celeration a for channel 2) the data is 
stored in the following order: x(l), v(l), 

a(\),x(2),v(2),a(2),x(3) where x(l) 

and x(2) are the first and the second 
bytes of data for x, and so on. They 
are stored sequentially in RAM with 
the starting address of 32769. The 
number of data points for each chan- 
nel is 320 by default but can be 
changed. Since there are 320 pixels 
in the horizontal direction of the 
screen, 320 data points per channel 
is the maximum number of data 
points that can be displayed at one 
time. 

Conclusion 

We've found this system perfect for 
student use and adequate for some 
types of research. Though the system 
has many limitations, it is inexpensive 
and, above all, it's better than no sys- 
tem at all. ■ 



We would like to express our apprecia- 
tion for the help Mr. William Welscher, a 
graduate student of agricultural engineer- 
ing at North Dakota State University, gave 
us during the preparation of the manu- 
script of this article. 



202 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Finally, 
a New DBMS Technology 

INFORMA is what NETWORKING is all about: 
INTERACTIVE REAL-TIME DATASHARING 



The experts say . . . 

Corvus Systems, Inc. 

"INFORMA is one of the finest multi-user Database 
Management Systems available for the OMNINET" Locc 
Area Network." 
Sid Arora, Third Party Marketing Manager 



TeleVideo Systems, Inc. 

"INFORMA is one of the finest, true multi-user 
Database Management Systems we have seen run on 
the TeleVideo Personal Mini.™ 
Mark Calkins, Product Marketing Manager 



Novell 

"Many of our Netware end users have found INFORMA 
be a very powerful and versatile Database Management 
System. " 

Rob Walton, Manager of Independent Software 

Development 



3COM Corporation 

"The INFORMA DBMS is one of the best examples of 
the benefits users achieve with multi-user network 
software. " 
Robert Buchanan, Jr., Software Product Manager 



FAST 



• POWERFUL • EASY TO USE 

• 10 Level Security 

•50 Keys (indexes) per record 




k. 



INFORMS 



8000 fields per record 

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255 screens per record 

Unlimited math and relational 
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•Intuitive "Query by Example" 

•Full Formatting Reporter 



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Telex 350754 (800) 874-4185 



Incredible Introductory Offer 

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$199 $599 

regularly $795 regularly $1495 

Available on over 20 operating systems including IBM's new PC NETWORK 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 203 




NETWORK 



BUY HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE AT WHOLESALE +8%, 
AND GET 14-28 DAY SOFTWARE RENTALS* . . . 

In just the last few months, The NETWORK has Listed below are just a few of the over 20,000 products available 
saved its members more than $24,000,000 and at our EVERYDAY LOW PRICES! All software below is priced in 
processed over 60,000 orders. IBM-PC format. 



The nation's largest corporations depend on 
PC NETWORK! 

On our corporate roster are some of the nation's largest 
financial industrial and professional concerns including some 
of the most important names in the computer industry: 

AT&T 

Barclays Bank 
Bell & Howell 



Citibank 

Columbia University 
Data General 

Exxon 

Farm Bureau Insurance 
Frontier Airlines 
General Mills 
General Electric 



Gillette 

Hewlett Packard 

Hughes Aircraft 

IBM 

ITT 

Kodak 

Multimate 

Standard Oil of Ohio 

Yale University 

Veteran's Administration 



plus thousands of satisfied consulting firms, small businesses, 
user groups, municipalities, government agencies and value- 
wise individuals ACROSS THE NATION! Their buyers know 
that purchasing or renting from PC NETWORK saves them 
time, money and trouble. They also count on us for product 
evaluation, professional consultation and the broadest spec- 
trum of products and brands around. 



I 



CALL TOLL FREE 
1 -800-621 -S-A-V-E 

In Illinois call (312) 280-0002 
Your Membership Validation Number: B325 

You can validate your membership number and, if vol 
wish, place your first money-saving order over the 
phone by using your VISA, MASTERCARD or 
AMERICAN EXPRESS. Our knowledgeable service 
consultants are on duty Mon.-Fri. 7:30AM to 9 PM, SAT ^^i~ 
9 AM to 7 P M CST. ^8Sr 

PERSONAL COMPUTER NETWORK /v%* 
|1 320 West Ohio x OO 

,p Chicago, Illinois 60610 V 

Call now . . . Jointhe PC NETWORK and start saving today! 



PC NETWORK • MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 

YES! Please enroll me as a member in the PC NETWORK'" and rush my 
catalog featuring thousands of computer products, all at just 8% above 
DEALER WHOLESALE PRICES. I will also periodically receive "THE PRINT- 
OUT", a special up-date on merchandise at prices BELOW even those in my 
wholesale catalog, and all the other exclusive, money-saving seivices 
available to Members. 325 I I 

I am under no obligation to buy anything. My complete satisfaction is 
guaranteed. Please check (•/**) all boxes that apply: 

Basic Membership Special V.I. P. Membership* 

□ One-year membership for$8 □ One-year membership for $15 

□ Two-year membership for $25 
(SAVE$5) 

□ BOTH Business and Game 
Software Rental Libraries for $30 



D Two-year membership for 

$15 (SAVE S1) 
D Business Software Rental 

Library for $25 addl. per 

year— with 14 day rentals 
□ Games Software Rental 

Library for $ 1 add'l per year 



add'l per year— with 28 day rentals 
*VIP members receive advance notice 
on limited quantity merchandise specials 



□ Bill my credit card □ VISA D MasterCard □ American Express 

Account 
Number: 
Exp 



11 



mo. year 

□ Check or money order enclosed for $ _ 

Name 

Address 

City 



_ State . 



-Apt. No.. 
Zip. 



Telephone ( ) 

My computer(s) is: D IBM PC □ IBM-XT D IBM-AT □ Apple II 
D Macintosh D Other 

Signature 

(Signature required to validate membership) 
Copyright © 1984, PC NETWORK, INC. 

204 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



GAMES & EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE 

(Pleaaeadd 51 shipping and h andllng for each title ordered from below.) 
Wholesale 



Bluab us h Chess (Your Toughest Opponent) $ 34.00* 

Bluechlp MilliOnaire/Oil Baron or Tycoon 34.00' 

Broderbund Lode Runner 19,75* 

CBS Goren-Bridge Made Easy 48.00* 

CBS Mastering the SAT 81.00' 

Epyx Temple of Apshai 21 .97* 

Inf ocom tork 1 or Witness 21 .50" 

Infocom Deadline, or Suspended 27.00' 

Mc roso ft Fhg ht Simulator 27.00* 

MouseSyatems PC Paint-Turn your 59.95* 

PC Into A Color Macintosh! 

Orion JBird(OBart Look Alike) 22.00* 

Scarborough Mastertype 27.00* 



Screenplay Asylum (works with monocardtoo) 

Sierra On-Cine Frogger 

Sierra On-Llne Crossfire 

Sublogi c Night Mission Pinball 

Spinnaker Alphabet Zoo 

Spinnaker Delta Drawing 

Splnneker FaceMaker 

Spinnaker Hey Diddle Diddle 

Splnneker KinderComp 

Splnneker Rhymes & Riddles 

Spinnaker Story Machine 

Spinnaker Most Amazing Thing 

Virtual Comblnatlca Micro Cookbook 



BUSINESS SOFTWARE 

(Pieaee add $2.50 shipping and handling tor each title order from below.) 
Lotus Development Symphony 



ATI How to use Multimate f> 42.00* 

ATI How to use Microsoft: Word 42.00* 

ATI How to use Lotus 1 -2-3 42.00* 

► Ashton-Tate DBase/// 337.50* 

► Ashton-Tate Framework 327.50* 
Ash ton-Tale Fud ay! 158.00* 
Borland Side Kick (Protected) 33.95* 
Central Point Copy II PC 23.00* 

► Conceptual Inatrumenta Desk Organizer 157.00* 
Digital Research CP/M-86 33.00* 
Digital Research DP, Logo 57.00' 
Digital Research PUI Compiler 399.00* 
Digital Research ConcurrenlCPiM— Windows 90.00* 
Funk Software Sideways 36.00* 
Harvard Harvard Project Manager 21 5.00* 
Howards oft Tax Preparer 1985 165.00* 

► Hayes Smartcom //— New VT100 Emulator 68.00* 
Human Edge The Management Edge 145.00* 
Human Edge The Sales Edge 145.00* 
Human Edge Mind Prober 28,45* 
Lattice C Compiler 270.00* 

► Lotus Development Lotus- 1-2-3 ; 269.00' 



MICroRIm RBase 4000 
Microsoft CCompiler 
Microsoft Word with Mouse—Latest Version 
Microsoft Multipian 
Monogram Dollars & Sense 
► Multimate Multimate (Latest Version) 
Oaala The Word Plus 

Open Systema P/O Sales AIRINVGiL A'P TeamMgr. 
Real World GlLA'PAIRPlRor OE/INV 
Rosesoft Prokey Version 3 
Ryan McFarland RM COBOL (Dev. System) 
Samna Samna III Word Processor 
Satellte Software WordPerfect 
Sottcraft Fancy Fonts 
SoftstyleSfl-fX 
Software Publishing PFS; File 
Software Publishing PFS: Report 
Software PubllBhlng PFS. Write 
Software Publishing PFS: Graph 
TCSTotai Ledger 
Verbatim Desk Drive Analyzer 



21.00* 
18.00* 
24.00* 
17.00* 
29.00' 
20.00* 
17.00* 
17.00* 
17.00* 
20.00* 
23.00* 
21.00* 



CALL 
$230.00' 
275.00* 
255.00* 
105.00* 
CALL 
240.00' 
90.00* 
370.00*64 
387.50* 
74.00* 
570.00* 
325.00' 
225.00* 
125.00* 
35.00* 
72.00* 
64.00' 
72.00* 
72.00* 
440.00* 
25.00* 



f lease add shipping a nd 
SYSTEMS 

lntosh Base Syshvn 



Apple 

Apple Apple lie 

Columbia Desktop & Portable Systems 

Compaq All Models 

Eagle Desktop PC and Spirit Portables 

FDC'Cotoi CDPat PorV Monitor ;64K 
► IBM PC Base Sys tern 2 DSD0<'FDC!256K 
- IBM PC Professional Hard Disk(XT) 

1 1 DSDD'F DCi 10MB Hard Disk i2S6K) 
IBM PCI AT All Conligs 
• Sayno MBC 550 "Lowest Cost Compatible" 



$1,580.00' 
860,00' 
CALL 
CALL 
CALL 
CALL 
1,620.60' 



CALL 
620.00* 

,200.00* 



HARDWARE 

handling chargea found In Italics next to price.) 

MULTIFUNCTION CARDS 

{'34 12) ► Apparat256K MemoryBoardwith 64K $ 81.00* 
ft 8. 58) ► ApparatCombo // wiser/ par I game I 
clock/stw 
Apparat ,47" Ram Expansion card 

ASTMegaPlus 1 1 with 64 K 
\35 00) AST I/O Plus II 

AST Advantage for AT 
(34.16) '-.-> ORCHID BLOSSOM W/64K 
{43 20\ Mi>ltitu.nciiQn with networking at an 

unbelievable puce Up to384K-Ser,Par 
CIcch'SoftwaraiNet Slot 
(13.39) Quadram Improved Ouadboard w/OK 
(25 92) Tecmar Captain Multifunction Card OIK 



115.00* 



229.00* 
105.00* 
CALL 

205.00* 



(1. 75) 
(2.48) 



(2.50) 
(2.50) 



(2.50) 
(2 50) 



Texas Instruments Professional CALL 

DISK DRIVES & CONTROLLERS 

► Coglto \0MB INTERNAL 7,2 HejQht 

Autoboot Drive: New lower price 

► MMI3" 10MB Low Power Winchester 

Mounts Like Hal! Height Drive 
Maxtor 140MB Externa! Auto Booting 

Drive with Controller lor PC 
Maxtor 140MB Externa! Auto Booting 



S 525.00' (10.48) 



S 625.00* (<3 S0< 
665.00* (14.36) 

4,9.00.00* (1 06. 00) 

4,600.00* (106.00) 



930.00* (20.30) 



145.00' 

225.00* 
200.00" 



Drive for AT 
Maynard Floppy Disk Controller 
Maynard WS- 1 10MB Internal Hard Disk 

with Sandstar Multi Function Card 
Maynard WS-2 same as WS-1 but with 

Sandstar Floppy Controller (uses ) slot) 
Maynard Floppy Controller/Serial Port 

► Panasonic Hall Heignt DSDD Drive Pair 

► PCNetwor *a,ts 

Our Volume Lets us Import Tliese Name 
Brand Diivbs Directly from tint Source. 
They are the quietest, most reliable 
drives we've seen yet 

► Tandon TM tOQ-2 Full HeiQht DSDD Drive 
Tallgrass 20MB External Hard Disk 

withT ape Backup 
Teac FD 55-6 Half Height DSDD Drive Pair 245,00* 

MEMORY CHIPS 

All chips quaranteed lor life. 

► 64K Memory Upc S 26.91' 

► 64K Dynamic Ram Chips t'Ejch) 2.99' 

- 256K Dynamic Ram Chips tE,ich> 22.00* 

- 128K AT Mother Board Chips (Each) 16.00* 

MODEMS 
Anchor Mark XII LOWEST PRICE 1200BPS $ 230.00* 
HAYES COMPATIBLE EXTERNAL MODEM! 

180.00' 



(2.50) 

(540) 



1,185.00* (31.54) 
1,260.00' (27 22) 
1,650.00* (3564) 



140.00* (3 09) 
2,150.00* (46.44) 

(5.29) 



(1.00) 
(100) 

: 
(1 00) 



366.90* 



Hayes Smartmodem 300 

Hayes Smart i ■ OB with new 

SmartcomllVTlOOEmutBtoi 
Rlxon R212 A Stand Alone 1200PBS 
U.S. Robotics Password (Compact 

1200BPS External) 

MONITORS 

Amdek Video 300G Composite Green 
Amdak Video 300 A Composite Amber 
Amdak Video3WAIBM type Amber 
Amdek Color 300 (NEW) Composite 
Amdek Color 500 (NEW!) 

Composite l RGBIVCR 
Amdek Color 600 (NEW!) High Res RGB 
Amdek Color 7 00 (NEW!) Ultra High Res 
Amdek Color 710 (NEW!) 700 wINon 

GlarelLong Phosphor 
Princeton HX-12 RGB Monitor 
Princeton MAXA2 IGB Mono 
Princeton SR- 12 Ultra Hiph Res RGB 
*■ Quadram OuadchromeiJNEW' 

640x200RGB v/l 14" Screen! 

Black Phosohor Mask/IBM Cuse 
Taxan 420 Super High Res RGB Monitor 
Taxan 440 Highest Res RGB (720x400) 

Currently Available Works With Persyst Bob Card 
Zenith ZVM-123 Green High Res 76.00" 

Consumer Reports Rated Best Buy!) 



* (3.60) 
■ 



PRINTERS 

Amdek 5025 (NEWI)25CPS LQ 

w/2K Butter 

C.ltohFI 0/40 Starwnler 40 CPS LQ 875.00* (78.90,1 

C.ltohP/-owr/'er85J0AP 285.00* (6.76,1 

ComrexCR420420CPSDP/LQ Printer 1,533.00* (33.12) 

From the Epson Organization 

► Epson RX-80 220.00* (4.75) 

► Epson FX-B0 370.00* (7.99; 

► Epson FX-100 + 525.00* (11.34) 
Epson LO1500 CALL 
Epson IBM-to-EPSON Parallel Cable 21.00* (1.00) 
KEC203020CPSLO Parallel 625.00* (13.50) 

► NEC 2C- letter Duality Printer ■ 625.00* 1 13 50) 
NEC 3530 33CPS LQ Parallel 

"*• NEC 3550 33CPS LererOua/iiv Printer 
NEC 885055CPS LO New Model 
IBM Version 

► Okldata ML84P 200CPS 132 Col 620.00* 
► . Okldata ML92P 160CPS 80 Col Printer . 350.00* 

► Okldata ML93P ICO CPS Wide Plat en 550,00' 

► Ok\dala24WP Pacemaker 350CPS 1,640.00* 
Okldata IBM-to-Okidata Parallel Cable 20.75* 
Qume Sprint 1 1 140 40CPS Letter Quality 1 , 1 55.00 
Qu me Sprint 1 7/90 90CPS Letter Quality CALL 

Wew.' Fastest Daisywheel Out! 
Qume IBM Cable and Interface (required) 72.00' 

► Star Mlcronics, :■ ■ 225.00* 

► Star Mlcronics Gemini 15X T0X Features 

w'132Col 

► Star Mlcronics PoweiType 18 CPS 

LQ Diablo Code Compatible 
Texas Instruments 855 DPILO wITractor 
1 osWOaP -1340 80 Col Version of P -1351 
ToshlbaP-7357 160/100 CPSDrafVLQ 

LO Printer 

VIDEO CARDS 



325.00* 

300.00* 

716.00' 
696.00' 
1 ,200.00' 



Cf3 40J 
(7 56) 

(1188) 

(35 42) 
(1.00) 

(24.00) 



m 

(720) 

(6 48) 

(15.50) 
(15.03) 
(25 92) 



335.00* 
290.00' 


(8 50,1 
(6 50,1 


$ 110.00* 
120.00* 
130.00* 
215.00* 
320.00* 


(3 00) 
(3 00) 
(3.00) 
(4.64) 
(6.91) 


395.00* 
455.00* 
485.00* 


(8.53) 
(983) 
(10.48) 


CALL 
CALL 
CALL 
370.00* 


(8 21) 


380.00* 
525.00* 


(8.21) 
(11-34) 



255.00 1 
365.00* 



(3.20) 

(2 50) 
(2.50) 



► Paradise Wew Modular Multidisplay Card 
Persyst Bob Card Ultra High Res Color 

CardvMh Mono Quality Text in Color 
STB Graphix Plus II NEW! 295.00* (2 50) 

(simultaneous Mono Graphics & Color) 

ACCESSORIES AND SUPPLIES 

► Brand Name DSDD Diskettes S 16.00' 

Guaranteed for Lite" Not Generic 
Cu rtlss PC Pedestal II 36.00' 

► Keytronic KBS 15 1 Di'lute IBM Keyboard 170.00* 
PC Network Replacement 130 Watt IBM-PC 165.00* 

Power Supply— Gives your PC (Old or New) the same 
capacity as an XT. Good for add in tape drives (without need 
for a piggyback unit) and large capacity disk drives 

SMA PC Documate: Keyboard Templates tor 9.99* (i 00} 
Lotus/DBASE.'Muttimate and others (Each) 

WP Printer Paper 2600 Sheets 17.00* (70 00; 

Microline Perls (mvisiblewhen torn) 



(1 00) 
(2.50) 



(3.56) 



'PC NETWORK Members pay just 8% above the wholesale 
price, plus shipping. All prices relied a 3% cash discount. 
Minimum shipping S2 50 per order. 



fRENT BEFORE YOU BUY— Members are eligible to join The NETWORK'S Business and Game Software 
Rental Libraries and evaluate products for a full 14 (Regular) or 28 (VIP) days to see if it meets your 
needs. And The NETWORK'S rental charges are far less than other software rental services— JUST 20% 
OF THE MEMBER WHOLESALE PRICE. 



Hardware prices hiahlited bv 



reflect recent major price reductions 



COMPLETE IBM™ PC SYSTEMS 

IBM PC STARTER SYSTEM 

IBM PC W/64K (256K capacity) $1 ,620.50* w.oo) 

Floppy Drive Controller 

1 Double Sided Double Density 320/360 Disk Drive 
Hercules Color Card w I Parallel Port 
Zenith ZVM-123 Display Monitor 

The NETWORK has the perfect starter system for you! The co, . 

double sided drive, color card and printer part allows you to run most any 

program and grow without need for replacing any component you buy now. 

IBM PC BASE SYSTEM 

IBM PC W/256K $1,575.73* ( 34.w) 

Floppy Drive Controller 

2 Double Sided Double Density 3201360K Disk Drives 

The Base System is your lowest cost starting point for configuring the exact 
system of your choice. Combine it with any of the monitors, video cards, 
multifunction cards and accessories listed in this ad, and prove the Network 
can't be beat as your system source. 




NETWORK 



IBM PC PROFESSIONAL 
HARD DISK SYSTEM (XT) 
IBMPCW/256K 



$2,000.73* 



J2U13WK Disk 



w/Half Height Disk Subsystem. 
Half Height 10MB Drive Allows Room 
for Addition of Tape Backup in PC! 
1 l h times faster than XT 



^M 



lis system increases pr 
ie 10Mb hard disk eltmi 
aerations and dramatic; 



linates cumbersome floppy disk chanaes. sialolith 

:ally speeds program execution tii 

/ou with better than XT performance at a price lower 



than you'd exc 



Day tor a standard 



*PC Network Members pay just 8% above this wholesale price plus shipping. 
These prices have been prepared in December, 1984 and may have been 
changed with new product announcements. Call for latest prices. 



LATEST ISSUE FEATURES! 

►64K MEMORY EXPANSION KITS $ 26.91* 

Set of 9 chips Guaranteed for Life. 

►LOTUS 1-2-3 269.00* 

New Best Price! 

►COGITO 10MB INTERNAL 
HARD DISK 625.00* 

Low Power Automatic Boot 

►PANASONIC/SHUGART per pair 225.00 

V2 Height DSDD Disk Drives with Mounting Kit 

►STAR MICRONICS GEMINI 10X ... 225.00 

120 CPS Epson IBM Graphics Compatible w Tractor 



TANDON TM100-2 DRIVES 


. 140.00* 


ORCHID BLOSSOM/64 K installed 


. 205.00* 


New Price! Full Six-Pack Features 




with networking capability! 




AMDEK MONITORS 




V300G Composite Green 


.110.00* 


V300A Composite Amber 


.120.00* 


V310A IBM Amber 


.130.00* 


HERCULES COLOR CARD 




w/Printer Port 


.148.00* 


HAYES 1200B with new Smartcom ll/ 




VT100 Emulator 


.366.90* 


NEC SPINWRITER 2050 


. 625.00* 


20 CPS-Letter Quality Printer 




BRAND NAME DISKETTES 


.. 16.00* 


DS/DDBoxoflO Guaranteed for Life Not Generic 




'NETWORK members pay just 8% above these wholesale prices plus shipping 



CALL TOLL FREE 1 -800-62 1-S-A-V-E ( m °4Sf ,ps ) 

In Illinois call (31 2) 280-0002 validation code B325 



...WITH THESE 15 
UNIQUE BENEFITS 

1COST + 8% PRICING — The NETWORK purchases mil- 
lions of dollars in merchandise each month. You benefit in 
receiving the lowest price available and all at just 8% above 
publisheddealerwholesale price. 

2 OUR 500 PAGE WHOLESALE CATALOG — Members re- 
ceive our 500 page wholesale catalog containing over 20,000 
hardware and software products for the IBM PC, APPLE and over 
50 other popular computer systems. THE NETWORK'S CATA- 
LOG IS THE LARGEST SINGLE COMPILATION OF PERSONAL 
COMPUTER PRODUCTS AVAILABLE TODAY. NOW UPDATED 
QUARTERLY! 

3 IN-STOCK INSURED FAST HOME DELIVERY — The 
NETWORK maintains a giant multi-million dollar inventory 
of most popular products, allowing us to ship many orders from 
stock. Non-stock items are typically maintained in local ware- 
houses just days away from The NETWORK and YOU. We pay all 
insurance expenses on your shipment. EMERGENCY OVER- 
NIGHT SERVICE IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST. 

41 DAY RETURN POLICY — If you are not satisfied, for 
any reason with any hardware component purchased from 
The NETWORK within 10 days of receipt, we will refund your 
entire purchase (less shipping) with no questions asked. 

5 MEMBERSHIP SATISFACTION GUARANTEE— If for 
any reason you are not satisfied with your membership within 
30 days, we will refund your dues IN FULL. 

6 EXPERIENCED CONSULTANTS— The NETWORK hires 
consultants, not order takers, to aid you in product selection. 
Our consulting staff possesses in excess of 1 50 man years of per- 
sonal computer product experience. We back our consultants 
with our money back guarantee: IF ANY PRODUCT RECOM- 
MENDED BY OUR CONSULTING STAFF FAILS TO PERFORM 
AS PROMISED— WE WILL TAKE IT BACK AT OUR EXPENSE 
FOR A 100% REFUND. 

7 FREE TECHNICAL SUPPORT— The NETWORK supports 
every product it sells. Our qualified TECH-SUPPORT staff will 
help you assemble your system, interpret vendor documentation 
and get your software and hardware to work. WE WILL GIVE YOU 
ALL THE HELP YOU NEED, WHEN YOU NEED IT— FREE! 

t Q OPTIONAL BUSINESS RENTAL LIBRARY— All mem- 
O bers can join our BUSINESS RENTAL LIBRARY featuring 
over 1000 available titles for just $25 PER YEAR above the base 
membership fee. This entitles you to rent business software AT 
JUST 20% of the DISCOUNT PRICE FOR A 14 DAY PERIOD. If 
you decide to keep the software, the entire rental fee is de- 
ducted from the purchase price. VIP MEMBERS GET A FULL 
28 PAYS for just $30 above the V.I. P. base fee. This also in- 
cludes the game library privileges for a $5 combination 
savings. 

tQ OPTIONAL GAME SOFTWARE RENTAL LIBRARY— 

5/ The Game Rental library is available to members for just $1 
PER YEAR and permits evaluation (or just enjoyment) of any 
game or educational software product as above. 

In SPECIAL SAVINGS BULLETINS— THE PRINTOUT 
U — Issued Quarterly at no charge to Network members only! 
The Printout contains all the New Product listings and price 
changes you need to keep your Catalog up to date. Also, we buy 
excess dealer inventories, and store bankruptcy closeouts, which 
we turn around and make available to our members at fantastic 
savings via THE PRINTOUT. 

1-1 DISCOUNT BOOK LIBRARY— Working with numerous 
I publishers and distributors, The NETWORK has assembled 
a library of over 1 000 computer related books and manuals at sav- 
ings of up to 75% from the normal store price. 

1 Q MEMBERSHIP REFERRAL BONUS— Our most valu- 
£ able source of new members is you! To date almost 40% of 
our members have been referred by word of mouth from other sat- 
isfied members. For those of you who refer new members, The 
NETWORK will credit a cash bonus to your account applicable to 
any future purchase. 

IO CORPORATE ACCOUNT PROGRAM— Almost 50% of 
O The NETWORK'S members are corporate buyers and users 
(see opposite page left). The NETWORK can establish open 
account status and assign designated account managers to ex- 
pedite orders, and coordinate multiple location shipments. 

1A QUANTITY DISCOUNTS— For large corporations, clubs, 
H" and repeat or quantity buyers The NETWORK can extend 
additional single order discounts, when available to us from our 
manufacturers and distributors. 

1C PRICE PROTECTION— The PC Industry is crazy!! Prices 
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206 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 80 for Dealers. Inquiry 81 for End-Users. 



SCIENCE 



FOURIER 
SMOOTHING 

WITHOUT THE 
FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM 



by Eric E. Aubanel and Keith B. Oldham 



Ah in-depth look at using the Fourier transform 
to remove noise from your data 



IN THE SCIENTIFIC AND BUSINESS communities, gather- 
ing and analyzing data are very important activities. Data 
is often collected as a set of values of some variable (e.g., 
sales in business or current in electrochemistry) against 
some independent variable, most often time, at evenly 
spaced intervals. The data is then analyzed for the 
presence of significant trends. Sometimes these trends are 
difficult to discern because of the presence of noise or 
other short-duration perturbations in the data. You can 
attenuate the noise either by performing replicate ex- 
periments and signal averaging or by smoothing the data. 
The second approach is probably the less satisfactory of 
the two; it is commonly adopted, however, because the 
alternatives are more costly or time-consuming. 

The three most common methods for smoothing data 
are moving-average, least-squares, and Fourier transfor- 
mation. In the moving-average method, each data point 
is replaced by the average of itself and n neighboring 
points on either side of it. The advantage of this method 
is that it is very easy to program. The disadvantages in- 
clude: the first and last n points are not smoothed to the 
same degree as the rest of the data set because they don't 
have n neighbors on each side of them; you must sample 
at a rate much faster than the fastest transient that you 
wish to study; and the method flattens the signal more 
than other smoothing methods. 

The least-squares method identifies the line of the order 
you specify that minimizes the sum of the squares of 
distances between the data points and the calculated line. 
The advantages of this method are that it will permit you 



to easily generate statistical information on the goodness 
of fit, and it does not require that the data be collected 
at regular intervals. The disadvantages of the method are 
that it assumes that you know the basic form of the equa- 
tion that the data satisfies, and the method is dispropor- 
tionately biased by one or two very bad data points 
because it will twist the line of fit to spread the error over 
the entire data set. 

Fourier transformation and inversion is probably the best 
method, since it lends itself naturally to identifying and 
eliminating noise. The reason for this is that noise is usual- 
ly present at high frequencies, whereas the signal proper 
is usually at low frequencies. Fourier transformation pro- 
duces the frequency spectrum. By eliminating the high- 
frequency portion of the spectrum and performing an in- 
verse Fourier transform, you can obtain the original data 
without much of the noise— the "smoothed" data. The 
primary disadvantage of this method is that the data 
points must be collected at regular time intervals. 

There are several reasons why Fourier smoothing is not 
practiced as often as other methods. Descriptions of 
Fourier transformation are often couched in unfamiliar 
jargon, though a few authors have succeeded in explain- 
ing Fourier transformation theory in simpler terms (see 

[continued) 
Eric E Aubanel a fourth-year student at Trent University, is interested 
in applications of mathematics to chemistry. Keith B. Oldham, a pro- 
fessor of chemistry at Trent University, has taught and researched in 
England, California, Australia, and Canada. Both authors can be 
reached at Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • B Y T E 207 



FOURIER SMOOTHING 



references). A second reason is the common misconcep- 
tion that Fourier transformation and inversion are massive 
number-crunching operations that require large computers 
and cannot be implemented on the small personal com- 
puters that people are increasingly using for data collec- 
tion and processing. Further, the success of the "fast 
Fourier transform" has spawned the belief that it is the 
only practical algorithm for transformation and inversion. 
Before discussing the principles and operation of our 
BASIC subroutine for Fourier smoothing, let's look at the 
discrete Fourier transform, the removal of high frequen- 
cies, and the features of the fast Fourier transform. Our 
program does not execute fast Fourier transformation, 
though it does incorporate some of the same features. 
It is not especially fast when executed in a high-level pro- 
gramming language on a microcomputer, but it can achieve 
excellent smoothing in an acceptable length of time. 

Discrete Fourier Transformation 

A good explanation of the continuous and discrete trans- 
formations can be found in the article by Stanley and 
Peterson in the December 1978 issue of BYTE (reference 
I). We will outline only some of the important features 
of the discrete Fourier transform. 
Performing a discrete Fourier transform on a sequence 

of real valued data x QI x ] x N _ { produces two sets of 

real valued transforms: 



(I) 

] N-l 

Re, = — E xi cos 

* N ho > 

(2) 

'k = 



_ 1 N-l 

— L x\ sin 

N /.o ] 



ffl 



k = 0,1 A/- 1 



k = 0.1 A/- I 



To regenerate the real valued data from the transforms, 
the following operation is performed: 



J 


f fk 






1 


1 ■ 


■ 
■ 


■ 
















E 



Figure 1 : When the digital filter function is incorporated into 
the FT algorithm, it eliminates all frequencies corresponding to 
k > E from the discrete Fourier transform spectrum. Frequencies 
corresponding to k < E are gradually attenuated. 



(3) 



Xj = 



N-l 

E 

ft-0 



/ 27rfe/\ 

R k cos y N J 



N 



j = 0,1 A/- I 



The operation above is called Fourier inversion. 

The information content of the original data is trans- 
ferred, on Fourier transformation, into about the first half 
of the Rfc Ifc numbers, i.e., those having < k < ^ 
(if N is odd; < k < f if N is even). The second half 
merely duplicates the first in magnitude: R N _ k = R k , I N _ k 
= -I k (see Stanley and Peterson for a good illustration 
of this). 

Removing High Frequencies 

The procedure for removing high frequencies can be rep- 
resented as a multiplication, 

(4) 

R k -* fk R k- l k - fk'k 

by a function f k (the so-called digital filter function). The 
simplest filter function is a rectangle, which would cut off 
the transforms for k > E. Such a sudden cutoff can lead 
to a false accentuation of frequencies corresponding to 
transform points in the vicinity of E. lb avoid this you can 
use a quadratic filter function, which results in a gradual 
attenuation (see figure 1). The filter function we have in- 
corporated into our algorithm is 



(5) 



1 - 




(i) 



k = I, 2, 3,. ..£- 
k = E, £+1. ... 



The smaller the value chosen for the integer E, the more 
denuded of high frequencies the subsequent invert will 
be: the closer E is to ^ (or to ^ if N is even), the less 
affected the regenerated signal will be. 

Because there is no purpose in calculating those values 
of R k and I k that duplicate others or that will be replaced 
by zeros, the equations for Fourier transformation and in- 
version can be abbreviated to the following equations: 



(6) 



*o = 



(7) 



1 N-\ 

IT £ */ 



N N 



/-i 



( 2vjk ' 



K = 1,2 £-1 



[continued] 



208 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985* 



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FOURIER SMOOTHING 



(8) 



-1 "-' . (2vjk\ 
\u = — £ Xj sin I — ■- 1 



k = 1.2 £-1 



(9) 



(10) 



R + 2 



£-1 

E 
it- 1 



= *0 + 2 



£-1 

E 

*-i 



//e*/e 



/ftfycos (2*SE\ -/fe/ftsin /Ml 



/27rfe/\ _/ fe/feSi n /2rfg\ 



j = 1. 2, 



,N- 



where x ; . is the high-frequency-stripped analog of x r Note 
that R Q is now expressed separately from Rfc as well as 
x from x., and that / = because sin = 0. The factor 
of two in equations 9 and 10 is present as a result of 
restricting E to be less than # and by taking advantage of 
the symmetries (R N _ k = R k , I N _ k = -I k ) already noted. 

Though we used the word "abbreviated" to describe 
equations 6 through 10, their implementation still requires 
a lot of computation. Approximately 20/VE multiplications 
or divisions and 4/VE cosine or sine evaluations are 
needed to implement these equations straightforwardly. 
For example, if N=200 and £=20, about 16,000 
trigonometric functions are needed, along with 80,000 
multiplications. Some microcomputers take as long as 0.2 
second to calculate a single trigonometric function and 
would spend almost an hour on this aspect of a Fourier 
program alone. 

Fast Fourier Transforms 

lb meet the problem of the large number of multiplica- 
tions and other operations required to implement Fourier 
transformation and inversion straightforwardly, the fast 
Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm was invented. Books 
have been written on this topic, but here we can do no 
more than cite some of the features of the FFT, 

The FFT has several advantages. (I) By using the prop- 
erties of the sine and cosine functions, the number of 
needed sines and cosines is drastically reduced. (2) Simi- 
larly, the number of multiplications is drastically reduced, 
these, in effect, being replaced by additions. (3) The same 
routine, virtually unchanged, can be used for Fourier trans- 
formation and inversion. (4) No storage space is needed 
beyond that required for the initial data; the transforms 
simply "overwrite" the original numbers. (5) The total pro- 
cessing time is massively reduced, especially when N is 
large. 

The disadvantages of the FFT algorithm, for our present 



purposes, are as follows. (1) lb function efficiently, N is 
required to be a power of 2. (2) Even though far fewer 
are needed, the evaluation of sines and cosines may still 
be a bottleneck and therefore a memory-consuming "sine 
lookup table" must be incorporated into time-efficient FFT 
algorithms. (3) The algorithm is inherently "square," being 
designed to generate 2/V outputs from 2N inputs; thus it 
cannot exploit the potential savings in the "rectangular" 
task of producing only £ outputs from N inputs. (4) 
Because of the need to perform "bit inversions," program- 
ming in anything except machine language is not efficient. 

lb deal with situations in which the number of input data 
cannot be conveniently made a power of 2, the technique 
of "zero-filling" is often used. This inflates the number of 
points to be processed from N to the next higher power 
of 2— for example, from 200 to 2 56— with a consequen- 
tial increase in storage and time requirements but without 
any benefit to our present task. On the contrary, because 
it may introduce a sharp discontinuity (see examples), 
zero-filling hinders smoothing. 

For data-smoothing purposes, the disadvantages of the 
FFT often outweigh its advantages. This was the conclu- 
sion we reached after we had implemented a smoothing 
procedure that relied on a standard FFT routine. We there- 
fore designed the algorithm that is the subject of this ar- 
ticle. This new algorithm is not an FFT. It shares with the 
FFT the first two advantages cited above but does not 
share any of the disadvantages. 

Principles of the Algorithm 

Notice that equations 7, 8, and 10 are all of the form 

(11) 

r $ n (2irml\ _. . (2ml\ 



J m 



when G, m. U m , V m , M, and ! are appropriately interpreted. 
To evaluate expression 1 1 our algorithm uses the follow- 
ing principle: The sum is split into odd-m and even-m terms, 



(12) 



MorM-l / 27T(m+l) ( ZTTl\ 

G = Jt, 3 "mCOs(-V-— ) 



+ V m sin 



' 27r(m+lH 2jd\ 
N - N J 

/ 27r(m+l)l 2t1 \ 
[ N - N ) 



M or/Vf-l 

+ E 

m-2,4 



n ( 2iml \ 

Um cos (—) 



+ V m sin 



( 2wml \ 
\ N ) 



and the arguments of the trigonometric terms are 
modified in the odd-m moiety. Next, addition formulas are 
used to expand the modified functions and the m is then 
replaced by 2m- 1 in the first summation and by 2m in 
the second. After collection of terms, this leads to 

[continued) 



210 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



MICRO CAP and MICRO LOGIC 
put your engineers on line... 
not in line m@> 



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TfcfOVS 



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p= 



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" KJ 



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£ 



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Inquiry 295 



FOURIER SMOOTHING 



Listing I : The Microsoft BASIC version of the Fourier- 
smoothing algorithm. 

2 '*******************************************< 
4 '* FOURIER SMOOTHING WITHOUT THE FAST FOURIER 

TRANSFORM PROGRAM 
6 '* By Eric E. Aubanel and Keith B. Oldham 

8 '******************************************** 

10 CLS 

12 INPUT "ENTER NUMBER OF DATA POINTS";N 

14 REM LEAVING R AND I ARRAYS UNDIMENSIONED 
LIMITS VALID VALUES OF E TO < = 1 

16 N2 = INT((N + 1)/2+1):DIM X(N),X1(N),U(N2),V(N2) 

18 FOR l = 0TO N-1 

20 INPUT "ENTER DATAPOINT VALUE";X(I) 

22 LPRINT "X(";l;") = ";X(I) 

24 NEXT I 

26 GOSUB 60 

28 LPRINT "WHEN E = ";E;" THE SMOOTHED DATA 
VALUES ARE:" 

30 FORI = 0TON-1 

32 LPRINT "X(";l;") = ";X1(I) 

34 NEXT I 

36 INPUT "IF YOU WANT TO TRY A DIFFERENT E, 
ENTER 1 ELSE ENTER 0";MORE 

38 IF MORE = 1 THEN GOSUB 60 ELSE IF MORE< >0 
THEN 36 ELSE 42 

40 GOTO 28 

42 END 

44 REM FOURIER ALGORITHM SUBROUTINE BEGINS 
AT LINE 60. LINE NUMBERS ARE THE SAME AS 
FOR THE HP VERSION OF THE SUBROUTINE 

60 PI =3. 141593 

70 PRINT "NUMBER OF TRANSFORM POINTS 
TO BE KEPT"; 

80 INPUT E 

90 IF E>INT((N + 1)/2) THEN PRINT "E TOO LARGE" 

:GOTO 70 
100 IF E< >INT(E) OR E< = 1 THEN GOTO 70 
110 IF E<=QTHEN 870 
120 REM 

130 IF QoOTHEN 330 
240 'CALCULATE R(0) 
250 G = 

260 FOR J = 0TO N-1 
280 G = G + X(J) 

290 NEXT J 
300 R(0) = G/N 
310 Q = 1 
320 REM 
330 PRINT "WORKING ON R(K) TRANSFORM 

CALCULATIONS" 
340 J2=INT((N-1)/2) 
350 P1 = INT(LOG(2*J2 - 1)/LOG(2)) 
360 FOR K = QTO E-1 
370 J1=J2 

380 S = PI*K*2/N 

390 C = COS(S):S = SIN(S) 

400 FOR J = 1 TO J1 

410 L = 2*J-1 

420 U(J) = X(L)*C + X(L+1) 

430 V(J) = X(L)*S 

440 NEXT J 



450 


S = 2*S*C:C = 2*C*C-1 


460 


FOR P = 1 TOP1 


470 


U(J1 + 1) = 0:V(J1+1) = 


480 


J1=|NT((J1 +1)/2) 


490 


FOR J = 1 TO J1 


500 


L = 2*J-1 


510 


U = U(L)*C-V(L)*S + U(L+1) 


520 


V(J)=U(L)*S + V(L)*C + V(L + 1) 


530 


U(J) = U 


540 


NEXT J 


550 


S = 2*S*C:C = 2*C*C-1 


560 


NEXTP 


570 


R(K) = (X(0) + (U(1)*C + V(1)*S))/N 


580 


NEXTK 


590 


REM 


600 


PRINT "WORKING ON l(K) TRANSFORM 




CALCULATIONS" 


610 


FOR K = Q TO E - 1 


620 


J1=J2 


630 


S = 2*PI*K/N 


640 


C = COS(S):S = SIN(S) 


650 


FOR J = 1 TO J1 


660 


L = 2*J-1 


670 


U(J)=-(X(L)*S) 


680 


V(J) = X(L)*C + X(L + 1) 


690 


NEXT J 


700 


S = 2*S*C:C = 2*C*C-1 


710 


FOR P=1 TO P1 


720 


U(J1 + 1) = 0:V(J1 + 1) = 


730 


J1 =INT((J1+1)/2) 


740 


FOR J = 1 TO J1 


750 


L = 2*J-1 


1 760 


U = U(L)*C-V(L)*S + U(L+1) 


770 


V(J) = U(L)*S + V(L)*C + V(L+1) 


780 


U(J) = U 


790 


NEXT J 


800 


S = 2*S*C:C = 2*C*C-1 


810 


NEXTP 


820 


l(K)=-((U(1)*C + V(1)*S)/N) 


830 


NEXTK 


840 


REM 


850 


IF E>QTHEN Q = E 


860 


REM 


870 


PRINT "WORKING ON INVERSE TRANSFORM" 


880 


REM 


890 


'CALCULATE X1(0) 


900 


F1 =0:F2 = 


910 


FOR K = 1 TO E-1 


920 


T = R(K) 


930 


F1=F1+T 


940 


F2 = F2+K*K*T 


950 


NEXTK 


960 


X1(0)»R(0) + 2*(F1-F2*(1/E/E)) 


980 


REM 


990 


P1 = INT(LOG(2 * E - 3)/LOG(2)) 


1000 


FOR J = 1 TO N - 1 


1010 


T2 = E*E 


1020 


FOR K = 1 TO E-1 


1030 


F=1-K*K/T2 


1040 


U(K) = R(K)*F:V(K)=-(I(K)*F) 


1050 


NEXTK 


1060 


K1=E-1 


1070 


S = 2*PI*J/N 




[continued) 



212 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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Inquiry I 36 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 213 



FOURIER SMOOTHING 



1080 


C = COS(S):S = SIN(S) 


1090 


FOR P = 1 TO P1 


1100 




U(K1+1) = 0:V(K1+1) = 


1110 




K1=INT((K1+1)/2) 


1120 




FOR K = 1 TO K1 


1130 




L = 2*K-1 


1140 




U = U(L)*C-V(L)*S + U(L + 1) 


1150 




V(K) = U(L)*S + V(L)*C + V(L+1) 


1160 




U(K) = U 


1170 




NEXTK 


1180 




S = 2*S*C:C = 2*C*C-1 


1190 


NEXTP 


1200 


X1(J) 


= R(0) + 2*(U(1)*C + V(1)*S) 


1220 


NEXT J 




1230 


RETURN 





Listing 2: The straight-line procedure for eliminating the 
"end effect" can be MERGED with listing 1 without 
modification. Note that this listing is not a stand-alone 
program. 



140 'STRAIGHT LINE CALCULATION 
150 S1=0:S2 = 
160 D = INT(N/10) 
170 FOR J = 0TO D-1 
180 S1=S1+X(J) 

190 S2 = S2 + X(N-J-1) 

200 NEXT J 
210 X1 =S1/D:X2 = S2/D 
220 M = (X2-X1)/(N-D) 
230 B = (X1+X2)/2-M*N/2 
270 X(J) = X(J)-M*J-B 

970 X1(0)=X1(0) + B 
1210 X1(J) = X1(J) + M*J + B 



(13) 



(14) 



G = Jf, W2m-\c-V 2 



m- 



■ls+U2m]cos(iSi) 



[ u 2m-\ s + v 2 



m- 



[C + V m \ Mil 



(47rm[\ 
N ) 



where c and s are abbreviations for cos (lirllN) and sin 
(lirllN). respectively. If Af is odd, equation 13 calls for the 
values of U M+] and V M+] , which were not present in 
equation 1 1 ; these terms are to be interpreted as zero. 
A comparison of equations 1 1 and 1 3 shows that, at the 
expense of having to evaluate two new coefficients, we 
have condensed the number of summed terms by a fac- 
tor of (almost or exactly, according to the parity of M) 
2. A careful analysis shows that if such a condensa- 
tion procedure is repeated P times, where P = 
Int{log 2 (2M-l)}, then a single (m=l) term 



G = newest U coefficient 
+ [ newest V coefficient 



1 ( 2 p+1 7rl \ 
j COS i^^J 



remains, from which G is easily calculable. 

By adopting this P-fold condensation procedure, we have 
reduced the number of sines and cosines that each need 
to be evaluated from M to P+ 1 . or from 1 98 to 9, for ex- 
ample. In fact, you can get away with evaluating only one 
sine and one cosine, since the arguments involved (2tIIN, 

AvllN, SirllN 2 p+1 7r!//V) form a sequence in which 

each is double the previous argument, allowing the 
duplication formulas sin20 = 2sm0cos0 and cos20 = 
2cos 2 - 1 to be used with advantage. It must be em- 
phasized that our algorithm is for Fourier smoothing alone. 

Operation of the Algorithm 

{Editor's note: The listings reprinted here are Microsoft versions of 
the authors HP programs. The HP listings are available on the 
FROMBYTE file area of BYTEnet Listings, (603) 924-9820, under 
the names FT.BAS and FTEXT.BAS.| 

The data to be smoothed is entered into array X[f). I = 
to N- 1, where N is the number of points. The number 
of iterations of the condensation procedure, Q is initial- 
ized to zero. Lines 140 through 230, 270, 970. and 1210 
have been omitted from the subroutine listing. These lines 
can be filled with a straight-line modification of the data, 
which we will discuss in the next section. 

The degree of smoothing, E, must be an integer greater 
than 1 and less than Nil (half the total number of points). 
The first transform calculated is R , followed by the evalua- 
tion of R fc and \ k for k = Q to E- 1 (see below). Then the 
first inverse transformed point lc is calculated, using 
the quadratic filter function and R k . Finally, the rest of the 
inverse transforms x^-, for / = 1 to N- 1, are calculated 
using R k , l k and the quadratic filter function. These inverse 
transforms consist of the smoothed data and are stored 
in array X\{J), I = to N-\. 

After one pass through the subroutine, you may want 
to select a different degree of smoothing. To do so, you 
execute the subroutine again. Since many of the trans- 
forms will have been calculated previously (the number 
currently existing is Q), this second execution of the sub- 
routine will require fewer transform calculations (or none 
if greater smoothing— i.e., a smaller E— is chosen). 

Examples 

Let's take a look at three types of applications of our al- 
gorithm: on scientific data, meteorological data, and an- 
nual agricultural statistics. 

Our first example concerns electrochemical data ac- 
quired in this laboratory during studies of very low con- 

{continued) 



214 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 215 



FOURIER SMOOTHING 



centrations of heavy metal in water. Because the signal 
is so small it is contaminated with noise (see figure 2). 
Fourier smoothing the data eliminates the noise, leaving 
the signal proper. This illustrates the virtue of Fourier 
smoothing experimental data acquired electronically, since 
it can eliminate the high-frequency noise originating from 
the instrumentation. The peak height, which is propor- 
tional to the metal concentration, can be quantified easi- 
ly from the smoothed curve. 

Choosing the right degree of smoothing, by varying E, 
is a matter of trial and error. The effects of undersmooth- 
ing and oversmoothing are illustrated in figure 2. We ob- 
tained the best smoothing when 3 < E < 9. 

Consider a graph of daily maximum temperature 
readings for the period of January 1982 to June 1983, 
shown in figure 3. There is a clear seasonal variation, but 
there is also a great deal of scatter. This scatter is caused 



by short-term variations in the temperature due to chang- 
ing weather conditions. To better examine the underlying 
seasonal variations, it would help to eliminate the short- 
duration fluctuations of temperature. A direct application 
of Fourier smoothing, however, produces the red line 
shown in figure 3, which is obviously not satisfactory. The 
smoothed curve does not match the data at the ends. The 
cause of this "end effect" is that some high frequencies 
not due to noise were eliminated in the smoothing pro- 
cess. The "genuine" high frequencies come from the 
discontinuity between the beginning and the end of the 
data. The discrete Fourier transform treats the data as 
periodic; that is, it assumes that the last points are fol- 
lowed by replicas of the initial points (see figure 4a). Thus 
the transform "perceives" a sudden jump between the end 
of one period and the beginning of the next. Sudden 

[continued) 




Figure 2: An example of Fourier smoothing scientific data. The 
data represents a derivative neopolarogram at a static-mercury- 
drop electrode. The black line, showing proper smoothing, was ob- 
tained by N = 72. E = 8. 1m the red line, showing under- 
smoothing, E = 20. \n the oversmoothed blue line E = 4. 



Figure 3 : Daily maximum temperatures at the Peterborough. 
Ontario, weather station from January 1982 through }une 
1983. The red line (N = 546, E = 9) provides an example of 
false smoothing due to an "end effect." To correct for this effect, 
subtract a straight line (black) joining the ends of the un- 
smoothed data. The resulting "normalized" smoothing is shown 
by the blue line (E = 7). 



i 

(a) 

* # 

* M * 




■ • * * 




* * 
# * 


• . . ' 



Figure 4: An explanation of the "end effect',' which results 
from the discrete Fourier transform treating the data as periodic 
(a). The sudden jumps between one period and the next produce 
"genuine" high frequencies (not associated with noise) in the 
transform spectrum. To eliminate the "end effect',' subtract a 



straight line joining the ends from the data. The result of this 
operation is shown in (b). Notice that now the data begins and 
ends at the same ordinate value, which means that there are no 
sudden discontinuities from the transform's point of view. 



216 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 








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FOURIER SMOOTHING 



jumps correspond to high frequencies, which in turn result 
in more high frequencies in the transform spectrum. 

The solution to the problem of retaining genuine high 
frequencies from transformed data is to subtract a straight 
line joining the beginning and the end of the unsmoothed 
data Initially we thought of subtracting a line joining the 
first and last points. However, since the unsmoothed data 
contains a lot of scatter, the straight line joining the end 
points would not necessarily match the beginning and end 
of the trend. We dealt with this problem by taking the first 
and last 10 percent of points, averaging each set, and join- 
ing the two resulting points. The procedure consists of sub- 
tracting the line from the unsmoothed data, smoothing 
the modified data, then adding the line on to the 
smoothed data. As mentioned before, the effect of sub- 
tracting the line is to eliminate end discontinuities (figure 
4b). To include this procedure in the smoothing 
subroutine, you should merge the program steps shown 
in listing 2 with listing I. 

The result of treating the data in figure 3 with a straight 
line is shown as a blue line, which produces a much bet- 
ter fit. Note that a greater degree of smoothing is used 
here than in the "unnormalized" (red) line. Since we have 
now eliminated most "genuine" high frequencies, we can 
filter out more high frequencies. 

Historical statistics can be found on such varied sub- 
jects as wheat production and the number of hospital 
beds. In many cases there is an upward trend, due to the 
increasing population and increasing costs, lb examine 
a trend over a long period of time, you may want to 
smooth the data. 

Our third case concerns wheat production in Canada 
from 1906 to 1974 (see figure 5). Here there is a great 
deal of noise, which makes it difficult to draw a definitive 
trend "by eye." The Fourier-smoothed curve shows an up- 
ward trend, as expected, but not in a straight line. This 
is important, because a straight-line fit might be an over- 
simplification for a particular analysis. 

There are other, more subtle sources of high frequen- 
cies that will not be discussed but should be mentioned. 



700000 


















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o o 
o o 
o o 




















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' •■#' 




o 


















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| 100000 



















19 




. 


i 






, 






00 


1910 


1920 


1930 


19d0 


1950 


1960 1970 












YEAR 









Figure 5: Unsmoothed (dots) and smoothed (line) statistical data 
on wheat production in Canada from 1906 through 1974. The 
large amount of scatter makes it difficult to draw a straight curve 
through the data. Fourier smoothing accomplishes this quite well 
given an appropriate choice of the degree of smoothing. 
Smoothing parameters: N = 69, E = 3. 

Sudden discontinuities other than the end type may oc- 
cur in the data, and these may be treated by subtracting 
several straight lines where appropriate. You can also han- 
dle this problem by smoothing the continuous segments 
separately instead of treating the data as a whole. Another 
source of high frequencies is a sudden change in slope, 
which is more difficult to correct. Here it is necessary to 
subtract an appropriate curve that matches the portion 
of the data that changes slope abruptly. ■ 

REFERENCES 

1. Stanley, W. D., and S. J. Peterson. "Fast Fourier Transforms on 
Your Home Computer." BYTE, December 1978, page 14. 

2. Zimmermann, M. "A Beginner's Guide to Spectral Analysis," 
parts 1 and 2. BYTE, February 1981, page 68, and March 1981, 
page 166. 

3. Lord, R. H. "Fast Fourierforthe 6800." BYTE, February 1979, 
page 108. 



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SN7ni09N 

SN7411EN 

SN74121N 

SN74122N 

SN74123N 

SN7412SN 

SN74126N 

SN74128N 

SN74132N 

SN74136N 

SN74141N 

SN74142N 

SN74143.V 

SN74144N 

SN74145N 

SN74147N 

SN74148N 

SN74150N 

SN74151N 

SN74152N 

SN74153N 

SN74154N 

SN74155N 

SN74156N 

SN74157N 



Pan No, Pins Price 

SN74159N 24 195 

SN74160M 16 50 

SN74161N 16 59 

SN74162N 16 ,59 

SN74163N 16 59 

SN74I64N 14 .69 

SN74165N 16 69 

SN74166N 16 69 

SN741G7N 16 Z% 

SN74170N 16 159 

SN74172N 24 4.95 

SN7.H73N 16 85 

SN74174N 16 59 

SN74175N 16 .59 

SN74176N 14 79 

SN74177N 14 79 

SN74179N 16 1 49 

SN74180N 14 69 

SN74181N 24 1.95 

SN74182N 16 1.05 

SN74184N 16 2.29 

SN74185U 16 229 

SN74190N 16 69 

SN74191N 16 69 

SN74192N 16 69 

SN74193N 16 .69 

SN74194N 16 69 

SN74195N 16 .49 

SN74195N 14 .75 

SN74197N 14 .75 

SN74198N 24 1.19 

SN74139N 24 1.19 

SN74221N 16 119 

SN74251N 16 79 

SN74273N 2D 1 95 

SN74276N 20 249 

SN74279N 16 .79 

SN742B3N 16 139 

SN742MN 16 295 

SN74285N 16 2.95 

SN74365N 16 55 

SN74366N 16 .55 

SN74367N 16 .55 

SN74368N 16 .55 

SN74390N 16 149 

SN74393N 14 1.49 



74LS132 
74LS133 
74LS136 
74LS138 
74LS139 
74LS145 
74LS147 
74LS148 
74LS151 
74LS153 
74LS154 
74LS155 
74LS156 
74LS157 
74LS158 
74LS160 
74LS161 
74LS162 
74LS163 
74LS164 
74LS165 
74LS168 
74LS169 
74LS170 
74 LSI 73 
74LS174 
74LS175 
74LS181 
74LS190 
74LS191 
74LS192 
74LS193 
74LS194 
74LS195 
741S1S6 
7.ILS197 
74LS221 
74LS240 
74LS241 



74LS244 • 

74LS245 

74LS251 

7.1LS253 

74LS257 

74LS258 

74LS260 

74LS2G6 

74LS273 

74LS279 

74LS280 

74LS299 

74LS322 

74LS323 

74LS347 

74LS353 

74LS364 

74LS365 

74LS366 

74LS367 

74LS368 

74LS373 

74LS374 

74LS375 

74LS386 

74LS393 

74LS3<19 

74LS490 

74LS533 

74LS534 

74LS540 

74LS541 

74LS640 

74LS641 

74LS644 

74LS645 

7.1LS670 

74LS688 

81LS95 

81LS96 

8tLS97 

81LS98 



H^Qg^j|^a 



74S114 

74S124 

74S13? 

74S133 

74S135 

74S136 

74S138 

74S139 

74S140 

74S1SI 

74S153 

74S157 

74S158 

74SI 

7.1S169 

74S174 

74S175 

74S188* 

74S194 

74S195 

74S196 

74S240 



74S241 

74S242 
74S243 
74S244 
74S25I 
74S253 
74S257 
74S258 
74S260 
74S273 
74S280 
74S287- 
74S288" 
74S299 
74S373 
74S374 
74S387- 
74S471- 
74S472" 
74S473- 
74S570' 
74S57V 
74S572' 
74Sr.73* 



CA3061N 
CA3082PJ 
CA3083H 
CA3086N 
CA3089N 
CA30S6N 



CA313QE 
CA3M0E 

CA~li',.jH 

(j'u St;:;- 

CA3161E 

■ l , 
CA318QE 
CA340IN 



CD4041 
CD4042 
CD40-13 
CD4044 
C04046 
CD4047 
CD4048 
CD4049 
CD4050 
CD4051 
CD4052 
CD4053 
CD4056 
CD4059 
CD4060 
CD4066 
CD4068 
CD4069 
CD4070 
CD4071 
C04072 
CD4073 
CD4077 
CD4078 
CD4081 
CD4093 
CD4094 
CD4098 
CD4099 



CO4506 

CI }■'.;.!)/ 
CD450B 

CD-r-.H) 
C0451I 
CD4512 
CIS4514 
CD4515 
CD4516 
CD4518 
CD4519 
CD4520 
CD4526 
CD4528 
C04529 
CD453I 
CD4538 
CD454 1 
CD4543 
CD4562 
CD4566 
CD4583 
CD4584 
CD4723 
CD4724 
MC14410 
MC14411 
MC14412 
MC14433 
MC14572 



74FOO 14 i:.,!/':: :■.:■'■■ ! :/ 

74F02 U Oirad 2-1npul NOR Gate 75 

74F04 U Hex Inverter 89 

74F0U 14 Ouad 2-lnjwl AND Gate 75 

74F10 14 Tiiplc 3-lnpnl NAND Gale 75 

74F32 14 Ouad2-lnputOFI Gale .79 

74F74 14 Dual D Flip-Flop 85 

74FB6 14 Ouad Exclusive ORGate. 1.15 

74F109 IB Dual JK Positive Edge Flip-Flop ... 95 

74F13B IB Expandable 3/8 Oecodct. . . 169 

74F15/ 16 Quad 2 Input Multiple If, 9 

74F158 IB Quad Hnpu IV.) . 1.6 l J 

74F193 IB I H I ■ i 529 

74F240 20 In -Si.n.- (lf:.i L.i'i- Unw. (.Inverting) 375 

74F244 20 Tir-Staic Ocial Line Driver 149 

74F257 IE T, Vi'i U ' n i i ?,' r, ^a 179 

74F373 20 In :-,:.!•■. Qt hi LW.h 4 69 



74ALSM) 14 Quad 2-tipul NANDGale 59 

74ALSD2 14 Quad 2-lnput NOR Gale 59 

74ALKM 14 Hcxlnvciter 59 

74ALSOB 14 Quail 2-lnput AND Gale , . .59 

74ALS1Q 14 Triple 3-lnput HAND Gate 59 

74ALS3Q 14 8-lnpul HAND Gate 59 

74ALS32 14 Duad 2-lnput ORGate 65 

74ALS74 14 Dual D Flip-Flop 79 

74ALS103 16 Dual JK Pos. Edge Flip-Flop 79 

74ALSt3a 16 ExD.inil.iblc 3/8Dccodcr 1.25 

74ALS24D 20 Til-State Octal Line Driver (Inverting) .... 2.25 

74ALS244 20 li-Slate Dclal Line Driver 2 25 

74ALS245 20 Dctal Bus Transceiver (Noa-lnv) 2 59 

74ALS3/3 20 Tn-Slale Octal Lalch 2.59 



MICROPROCESSOR COMPONENTS 



— MICROPROCESSOR CHIPS - 

Pins Functun 



D765AC 

1'.Sf;!.ii- 



Z80 

Z80CTC 

Z80-DART 

Z8D-DMA 

Z80 P10 

Z80S10/0 

Z80-S1071 

Z80-SI0/2 

Z80S10/9 

ZBDA 

Z8QACTC 

Z80A-DART 

Z8DADMA 

Z80A-PIO 

Z8QAS10/0 

Z80A-S10/1 

Z80A-S10/2 

Z80ASI0/9 

Z80B 

Z80D-CTC 

Z80B-DART 

Z80B-P10 

Z8001B 

Z800?fi 



6502 
6502A 
6502B 
6520 
6522 
6551 



8031 

8035 

8039 

8O40N-6 

8060 

B073N 



8156 
8205 
8212 
8224 
8228 
8237-5 



S251A 

8253 

8255 

B255A-5 

8259 

8272 

8274 

8279 



8303 
830-1 
8310 



INS1771-1 
FD1791 
F01793 
FD1795 

F0I797 



40 Floppy Disk Controller 

28 Ad* Multiplexer & Relrish Cnunlur 

40 Syntlironous Daia inlt'ilatc (SIRCI. 

Z80.Z80A.Z80B. Z8DO0 SERIES — 

40 CPU (MK3880N) I780C) 2.5MH; 

28 Counter Timer Circuit 

40 Dual Asynchronous Rec.iTrans 

40 Direct MemoryAcccssCircmt . . . 

40 Parallel l/Q Interlace Controller. . . 

40 Scnall'O (TxCB and RxCB Bonded) . 

40 Serial I/O (LacksDTRB) 

40 Serial I/O (Lacks SYNCH). 

40 Serial I/O 

40 CPU (MK3880N-4) (780C-1) 4MHj: 

28 Counter Timer Circuit 

40 Diiai AsynchronousRec /Trans 

40 Dtiect Memoiy Access Circuit 

40 Paiallel I'D Interlace Conlroller 

40 Scti.il I/O (IxCB ami FlxCB Bonded) . 

40 Serial I/O (Lacks DIRIi) 

40 Serial I/O (Lacks SYNCI!) 

40 Serial I/O 

40 CPU (MK38B0N-6I 6MHj 

ZB Counler limer Circuit 

40 Dual Asynchronous Rec /Trans 

40 Parallel l/Olnlerfacc Contmller. . . 

48 CWSeGmented (10MM;) 

40 CPUNon-Segiiienlc-illlOMlli) . 

- 6500/8B00/6B000 SERIES 

40 MPUwilh Clock 11MHz) 

40 MPUwiltiClock (2MHz) 

40 MPU wilh Clock I3MH/) 

40 Peri[)heral Inter. Adaplc/ 

40 Penplieral Inlet Adapler 

28 Async Comm Inteitace Aifapter 

40 MPU 

40 MPUwilh Clock anilRAM 

40 CPU - 8-Bil (On-Ctiip Oscillator) . . 

40 CPU - il-Ril (External Clockrng). . 

40 CPU - 8-Bil (Ext Clocking) 2MHi . 

24 128x8 Sialic RAM (2MHi| 

40 Peripheral Inter. Ariapl (MC6820) 

40 Peripheral IntsirtaccAdantcr (2MHz|. 

40 CR1" Contioller (CRTC) 

40 CUT Conlroller (CHIC) ?M\\i 

24 Asynchronous Comm. Adapler . 

24 0-600bps Digital MODEM 

64 MPIJ16-Bit(8MH2) 

40 General Purpose Int. Adapler 

8000/80000 SERIES 

40 Contnl Oriented CPU w/RAM S I/O. . 



40 MPU - 



1-Bit. 



40 CllJ-Sgl Chip8-Bil (128bls RAMI. 

40 CPU I258 bytes RAMI 

40 CPU - 8-Bit NMDS 

40 CPU w'Basic Microlnlerpreler 



CPU 



DS002GCN 

MC3470P 

■:•:■: l; .".Of-. 
>'■; . •• .:■ i 
MM5B 1 74AN 
V.'. r.i.-A.'l 

'.".i-vwirsr 



40 Cl'l 

40 CPU - 8- Bit N-Channel (5MHz) ... . 

40 CPU 16-tiil 8MHi 

40 Arithmetic Processor 

40 CPU 8/16-Bit 

40 HMDSRAM 1/0 Hnt-Tiinci. 

40 HAM with l/DP»rtand Timci 

16 Hi Speed I ou I o 1 8 (liiiaryDecoder. 

24 8-Bit liipuVOutput (74S412) . . 

16 Clock Gciicralr/Dnver 

28 System Cont./BusDnver (74S428). . . 

40 High Peri. Proij. DMA Com (5MH;I 

28 System Controller (74S438) 

24 l/D Expanderloi48 Scncs 

40 Async Comm. Elcmeril 

28 Prog Comm l/D (USART1 ...... 

28 Piot] Comm Interlace (USART). 

24 Prog Interval Timer 

40 Pioij. Penpheral I/O (PPI) 

40 Proij, ftripheral l/D (PPI1 5MHi 

28 Prog InterruptConlrol 

40 SgleJOblc Density Floppy Disk Cont , . 

40 Multi-Protocol Serial Cont, (72011 

40 Prog toytioard/Drsplay Inieiiacc 

Z0 Dctil Latch ■ 

18 Clock Gcneralor/Onvei 

Zfl Dctal Bus Traascciver 

20 Oclal Bus Transceivei (Inverted) 

Z0 Bus Controller 

20 8-BilTn-StatcBi-DirectioiialTrans .. 

20 8-Bit Bi-Oirecliona! Receiver ....... 

20 OctalLatcncd Peripheral Driver 

40 8-Bil Uniu Peripheral Inlertace. .... 

40 HMDS EPROM MPU 

40 MPU 8 Bit (EPROM Version ot B049I. 

40 16KEI»HDMwilhl/D 

68 Hi[|h Integration 16-liitMCU 

68 High Integra 16-Bil MPU (8-Bil Dala Bus) 

DISK CONTROLLERS 

40 SinglcDensily 

40 Single/Dual Density (Invj 

40 Single/Double DcnsityfTmcl 

40 Dual Density/Srde Select (Inv) 

40 Dual Density/Side Select (Tiue) 

SPECIAL FUNCTION - 



alMOSCIockDrivtr |5MHi). . 

. ComniumcalianChiP . ... 

B Flnnpy Disk Read Amp 5yslem 

K TV Camera Sync Geiwrator 
Asynchionous Transniitter/ltecetve 
Microprocessor Real TimcClock 
Micio Compatible Time Clock. . . 
Prof Oscrllator/TJivider (60H^) . . 

8 Prog Oscillalor/Drvkler (lOOiti) 



Low Profile [Tin) Sockets 

ftiUti. 19 10-99 IMup 



17 



8pmLP 
14pinLP 
tOpinLP 

1 8 pi n L P 26 

20pinLP 30 

22pmLP .31 

24pmLP .33 

28 pin LP .40 

40pinLP .49 



.46 



SoldaiUil (Gold) Standard 

PirtHn. |-9 10 99 100 up 



SpinSG .39 .35 .29 

14 pin SG .49 .45 .39 

16 pinSG 55 .49 45 

18 p.nSG .65 59 .51 

20pmSG .75 .65 59 

22pinSG .79 .69 .65 

24pinSG .79 .69 65 

28 pinSG 95 85 75 

3B pinSG 1.25 1.15 99 

40 pm SG 1.39 1.25 1.15 



Puce 



1103 
4027 

-111',!, ? 

aiii-.'M 
.Hint;.! 
41MH-IM 
. i if. ii 
V i ! 

m ,■ 

: ■ i 

VM '■?,■: 
M.'.i :■,'■',:■ 1 
1 :.".-. I'.U 



2111 
2112 
2114N 

2148HN 

TMS4045 

TMS40L47-45 

5101 

MM5257 

HM6tl(iLP-3 

HM6264P-12 

HM6264P-15 

IIM6264LP-15 

27LSOO 

74B9 

74C921 

74C930 

7JSI89 

74S289 

82S10 

82S25 



10?4xl (300ns) 99 

4096x1 (ZSOrtsI 1.49 

1fi.3o-1x1 (15()ns) . 1.39-8/10.95 
10.384x1 (200nsl 1.15 — B/8.95 

lb'W-1.1 (250nsl 89 -8/6 95 

65,536x1 (150ns) 519 - 8/4095 

65.536x1 1200ns) . . 4.95 - 8/38.95 

)!);'■! xl CJOtinsl 35-8/1.95 

2(M8«1 |J65(t!) 35 - 8/1.95 

k i,.,, ,ii. • 

4096x1 (200ns) 2107 395 

Hi 92x1 1200ns} 59 

:'i'.2.l-l.l«lil50ns| 34.95 

i,:M-Mxl ( 200ns) 31.95 

131.072x1 (200ns) 24.95 

— STATIC RAMS 

255x4 (450ns) 8101 1 95 

1024x1 (350ns) 89 

1024x1 (250ns) LP 19 1L0?) . 1.49 

256x4 (450ns)81l1 2.49 

256x4 (450ns) MOS 2.49 

1024x4 (450ns) . ... 1.29-8/9.95 

1024x4 (450ns) LP .... 1.95 - B'13.95 

1024x4 (200ns) I 39 - B/10.95 

1024x4 (200ns) LP 1.69-8/13.49 

4096x1 (70nsl 4.49 

1024x4 (70ns) 4.95 

1024x4 (450ns) 3.95 

1024x4 (450ns) 1.95 

206x4 (450ns) CMOS 3.95 

■ |450ns) 4().14. 



Z4 2048x8 (l?(n,-,iO.'!iS 



795 



1702A 
2708 
TMS2516 

1MS2716 

2716 

27C16 

2716 1 

2/ti.!.J -3 

2732 

2732A-20 

;»/.;:'A> ; 
?7C:i? 
,'/i ■-. 'i 
2/ii-i-; v n 
27(,i : ,; . 

2764-45 

?7(;(i.t 
'.I 

?,VM :•■:■. 
.": .i . 
74S188 
/■l.'i.'ii,' 
/ !.>;.■<;:( 
/'.,'• 

/•is-;;;' 
/;s.:/:i 

74Si/4 

/-!:,-:/■> 

M;;.;/<: 
/■JSa/;-! 

7-l!, ; /1 

74S':.'.' 

-/■K;i\ 
:i/S.'3 

■;:-:, i,:;. 

82SI23 

:<.-■;•. i '(; 
k;->;;i."» 

HiSl.ii) 
■!>-;ifi-; 

82S191 

DM87S181N 

DM87S184N 

DM87S185N 

DM87S191N 



(I2()nsil PCMOS 

2U4HXH (150ns) CMOS 4.5ft 

2l)4HxH (l-,)h )l •"'-. li.:y 

,'iiivn en ■; '.r., 

:-'l).l!i,ll (200ns) LI 1 CMOS 549 

8192x8 (120nsl CMOS 37.95 

8192x8 |I20«s|LPCMOS. . 3995 

8192x8 (150ns) CMOS 34 95 

8192x8 (15011 i I i :.',;••: 

ib 2:.f.xi ifiii-i.ii.p :•'<:. 

15 Ilix4 (50ns) 3 101 2.25 

18 ?!,!.» 4 (25llnsi CMOS 595 

IB in M i 

1G 16x4 (35ns)93405 2.95 

16 16x4 (35ns) 3101 2.95 

16 lu;»-'..l i>::n.,i(IC (93415) 3.95 

16 16x4 (M)nslOC (/4S289) . , .2.25 

PROMS/EPROHS 

24 2'.6xB |l|.s| 3.95 

U 1(174x8 (4MJ-15) .. 395 

24 'nil,.,- i4L,"i,i./ir -155 

24 ,;>,i ; .hxrt i-i5'.:ni .i nmqv? s-;y 

::: - " ,, |4' i 10.95 

i ' viillant: .... 7.95 

Z< 2048x8 (450ns). 
24 2048x8 CMOS. . 
Z4 2048x6 (350ns) 
24 204(1x8 (550ns) ... J./5 

24 4' i'ri,/) i4!uj:i:,i 4.95 

Z4 4090x8 (200ns) 21V 1149 

1 I ieB (250ns) 21V 7,19 

24 409(i*8 1450ns) 21V 649 

24 -l';'!!-y;i CMOS 19.95 

?4 4!,si'.xS 1300ns) 21V (CMOS) 2295 

28 -• l ';,'«; i/i;.,:in-,l71V. , . 14 95 

ZB 8192x8 (250ns|21V 7.19 

ZB 8192x8 (450ns) 21V 649 

28 8192x8 CMOS 21V. 2295 

i ■! Vi (450ns)21V. . . 24 95 

Z8 10384-t- '/' ' 'i i '. l C..i.-n2iV 2195 
23 ' , , i I, K", ,!., , , 

16 32x8 <r "ii i i~ 

PROMTS |(m()1-1i l ,'J 

PROM IS. 16.13 1-1) 1.79 

1 1 > , ' '! ':><:. 

i'ii'.JM IS Kvitjg-ll 4.95 

PliOM IS IR349-H 4 95 

PiiOMOC r6348) 4.95 

FROM IS lDMt!7S296NI 4.95 
i-fiiWiM: 16340). ' ' 



14 95 



256x4 

ZS6x4 
256xfl 
51?xB 

'.i:sh 



256x4 

,-,.4 
512x4 



DC10 

ADC0801 

ADC0803 

ADC0804 

ADC0808 



DAC0830 
DAC0831 
DAC1000 
DAC1008 
DAC1020 
DAC1022 

OAC1230 
DAC1231 
AT-5-10I3A 



6 95 

9.95 

512x4 PROM OC. (6305) 2.95 

512x4 PROM TS (6306) 2.95 

1024x4 PROMOC (G352). . . . 4 95 
1024x4 PROMTS 1K2SI37) . . , 4.95 

32x8 PROMOC. (27S 18) 2.95 

512xB PROM IS. (27S15) 9.95 

37x8 PROM IS. (27S19) 295 

PROMOC. (27S20) 2.95 

PliOM IS (J7521) . 2.95 

PROM OC (27512) 3.95 

2043x4 PROM IS (TBP24S81). . 9.95 

i 2048x8 (80ns) 14.95 

I 1024x8 PROM TS. (B2S181) 9.95 

t 2048x4 PROM i' i 

I 204Bx4 PROMTS (82S185) .. . 9.95 

I 2048x8 PROMTS. (82S 191) . . 14.95 

- BATA ACQUISITION 

f.!.-!-,l(*LlC.[>C<;i'iri>fK'r -5VtO"9V 2 95 

'0 S Hit A.O I ill 

!0 8- EIH A/D Converter I ' 1/2LSB) 4.95 

!0 fl-flilA/UConwitcr (1LSB) 3.49 

!8 8-Rit A/D Conv.w/8- Channel Analog 9.95 

!B K-fH A-'D CwivcilL'i (B-Cfi Mulli.|. . . 4.49 

10 8-fiil A'DConv w/16-Channel Analog 14 95 

ID 8-fiil A/D Convener (16-Ch. Multi.) . 9.49 

IB 8-Bil D/A Converter (0.78*0 Lin )...., 1.95 

ID 8-liil D/A Converter (MC1408-7) 1.49 

16 8-Iiil D/A Convertei (MCI 408-8). . . 2.25 

!0 filii!l);)il.'Afeiv (!;', -.Lin i ','.•;; 

!0 8-Bil Up D.'A Conv ( 10% Lin.l. . . 4.49 

!4 U) ■>■[[} A Cimv Micro. Comp (005-;) 7.95 

!0 10-BitD/AConv Micro. Comp. (0 70-. :| 6 95 

16 10-Bil D/A Conv (0 05--:+i Lin.) 7.95 

16 tO-Bil D/A Conv (0.20*6 lid) 5.95 

18 12-Bil D/A Conv (0 20% Lin.) 6.95 

to 12-Bil Up D/A Conv (.05% Lin.) 14.95 

!0 12-Bil Up D/A Conv ( 10% Lin.) 13.95 

10 30K BiurJ OART (TRISOZI 3.95 



Win trtop f-m 
Sockets ^•' 
|Gold| Level #3 

PirtHa. 1-9 10 99 100 up 



8 pm WW .55 .49 

10p.nW\V .69 65 

14pinWW .75 69 

16pinWW .79 72 

IBpmVAV .95 85 

20 pin WW 1.19 109 

22prnWW1.29 t.19 

24pmWW1.35 1.19 

28pmWW1.69 1.55 

36 pin WW 1.89 1.79 

40pinWiM2.29 195 



1.79 



Header Plugs (Gold] 

irtNn. 1-9 1099 100 -up 



14 | 


mil' 


65 


59 


55 


Id 1 


nHP 


.,9 


as 


59 


24 [ 


n HP 


t 15 


99 


89 



Header Covers 

14 pin HC .15 .13 
16 pin HC 19 .17 

24pinHC .29 .25 



22 



$10.00 Minimum Order - U.S. Funds Only 
California Residents Add 6'/j% Sales Tax 
Shipping - Add 5% plus $1.50 Insurance 
SendS.A.S.E. for Monthly sales Flyer! 



Spec Sheets - 30c each 
Send $1.00 Postage for your 
FREE 1985 JAMECO CATALOG 
Prices Subject to Change 




VISA 9 



1355 SHOREWAY ROAD, BELMONT, CA 94002 
2/85 PHONE ORDERS WELCOME — (415) 592-8097 Telex: 176043 



DT1050 — Applications: Teaching aids, 
appliances, clocks, automotive, telecommunica- 
tions, language translations, etc. 

The DT1D5D is a standard DIGITALKER kit encoded with 137 separate 
and useful words, 2 tones, and 5 different silence durations. The 
words and tones have been assigned discrete addresses, making it 
possible to output single words or words concatenated into phrases 
or even sentences. The "voice" output of the DT1050 is a highly in- 
telligible male voice. Female and children's voices can be synthesiz- 
ed. The vocabulary is chosen so that it is applicable to many pro- 
ducts and markets. 

The DT1050 consists of a Speech Processor Chip, MM54104 (40-pin) 
and two(2) Speech ROMs MM52164SSR1 and MM52164SSR2(24-prn) 
along with a Master Word list and a recommended schematic 
diagram on the application sheet. 

DT1050 Digitalker™ $34.95 ea. 

MM54104 Processor Chip $14.95 ea. 

DT1 057 - Expands the 0T1 050 vocabulary from 137 to over 260 
words. Includes 2 ROMs and specs. 

Part No. DT1057 .$24.95 ea. 



■llf&ffliEilgglllH 



7045IPI 28 CMOS Precision Timer ... 14 95 

7045EV/KH 28 Stopwatch Chip. XTL (Evaluation Kitl 1995 

7I06CPL 40 3<? Digil A/D (LCD Drive) 10.43 

FE0202D 40 4 Digit ICO Display lor 7105 & 7116 14 95 

FE0203D 3W Digit LCD Display tor 7 1 06 S 7 1 1 6 1495 

7106EWK.1 40 IC, Circuit Board, Display (Evaluation Kill .... 4695 

7107CPI. 40 3'5 Digit A/0 ILED Drivel. . 1095 

7107EV/Kit 40 IC. Circuit Board. Display (Evalualion Kil) 46.95 

7116CPL 40 3<?0ig<tA/DLCDDis.HLD 10.95 

72011US Low Battery Will Indiotor 2 25 

7205IPG 24 CMDSLED Stopw.ilch/limer 14 95 

7205EWKit 24 Stopwatch C/iip.XTL (Evalualion Kill 1695 

7206CJPE 16 Tone Generator 4.95 

7206CEV/XH IB Tone Geneialor Chip. XTL (Evaluation Kit). ... 7 95 

7207AIP0 14 Dscillalor Controller. . 5 95 

7207AEV/Kit 14 Freq Counter Chip. XTL (Evaluation Kil) 8.49 

72I51PG 24 4 Func. CMDSSbpwatch CKT 1695 

72t5EV/Kit 24 4 Func. Stopwatch Chip. XTL (Evaluation Kil). 1949 

7216AUI 28 8 Digit Univ. Counter CA .. . 3149 

7216D1PI 28 8 Digit Fieq. Counter C.C .2149 

7217IJI 28 4 Digit LED Up/Down Counter CA 1095 

72I7A1PI 28 4 Drgrt LED Up/Down Countei C C 9 95 

7224IP1. 40 LCD % D.gil Up Counter DRI 10 95 

7226AEV/Kj| 40 5 FunclionCounlcr Chip. XTL (Evaluation Kil) . . 9995 



1 30009 19B3 INTERSIL Data Book i 



74HC High Speed CMOS 



74HC00 14 

74HC02 14 

74HC03 14 

74HC04 14 

74HCU04 14 

74HC08 14 

74HC10 14 

74HC11 14 

74HC14 14 

74HC20 14 

74HC27 14 

74MC30 14 

74HC32 14 

74HC42 16 

74HC51 14 

74HC58 14 

74HC73 14 

74HC74 14 

74HC75 16 

7.1HC76 16 

74HC85 16 

74HC86 14 

74HC107 14 

74HC109 16 

74HC112 16 

74HC123 16 

74HC125 14 

74HC132 14 

74HC137 16 

74HC138 16 



74HC139 
74HC147 
74HC151 
74HC153 
74HC154 
74HC157 
74HC158 
74HC160 
74HC161 
74HC162 
74HCI63 
74HC164 
74HC165 
74HC166 
74HC173 
74UC174 
74HC175 
74HC190 
74HCI91 
74MC192 
74HCI93 
74HC194 
74HC195 
74HC221 
74HC237 
74HC240 
74HC241 
74HC242 
74HC243 
74HC244 



74HC245 

74HC251 16 

74HC253 16 

74HC257 16 

74HC259 16 

74HC266 14 

74HC273 20 

74HC280 14 

74HC299 20 

74HC366 16 

74HC367 16 

74HC373 20 

74HC374 20 

74HC390 16 

74HC393 ?4 

74HC533 20 

74HC534 2d 

74HC595 16 

74HC688 20 

74HC4024 14 

74HC4040 t6 

74HC4060 16 

74HC4075 14 

74HC4078 14 

74HC4511 16 

74HC4514 24 

74HC453B 16 

74HC4543 16 



74COO 
74C02 
74C04 
74C08 
74CI0 
74C14 
74C20 
74C30 
74C32 
74C42 
74C48 
74C73 
74C74 
74C85 
74C86 
74C89 
74C90 
74C93 
74C95 



14 



74C107 
74C15I 
74C154 
74C157 
74CI60 
74CI61 
74C162 
74C163 
74C164 
74C165 
74C173 
74C174 
74C175 
74CI92 
74C193 
74CI95 
74C22I 



IZLAim 



74C240 
74C244 
74C373 
74C374 
74C90I 
74C902 
74C903 
74C906 
74C907 
74C9II 
74C9I2 
74C915 
74C917 
74C922 
74C923 
74C925 
74C926 
80C95 
80C97 



TL07ICP 8 

TL072CP 8 

TL074CN 14 

TL081CP 8 

1L082CP 8 

TL084CN 14 

LM109K 

LM301CN 8 

LM302H 

LM304H 

LM305H 

LM307C/J 8 

LM308CN 8 

LM309K 

LM310CN i 

LM311CN 8 

LM312H 

LM317T 

LM317K 

LM318CN 8 

LM319N 14 

LM320K5 

LM320K12 

LM320K-15 

LM320K-24 

LM320T-5 

LM320T-12 

LM320T-15 

LM320T-24 

LM322/J 14 

LM323K 

LM324N 14 

LM329DZ 

LM331N 8 

LM334? 

LM335Z 

LM336Z 

LM337MP 

LM337T 

LM338K 

LM339N 14 

LM340K-5 

LM340K-12 

LM340K15 

LM340K-24 

LM340T-5 

LM340T-12 

LM340T-15 

LM340T-24 

LF347N 14 

LM348N 14 

LM350K 

LF351N 8 

LF353N 8 



LF355N 


B 


LF356N 


8 


LM358N 


a 


LM359N 


14 


LM370N 


14 


LM373N 


14 


LM377N 


14 


LM380CN 


8 


LM380N 


14 


LM381N 


14 


LM382N 


14 


LM3B4N 


14 


LM386N-3 


8 


LM387N 


a 


LM389N 


ia 


LM391N-80 16 


LM392H 


8 


LM393N 


8 


LF398N 


8 


LM399H 




LF412CN 


a 


TL494CN 


16 


TL496CP 


B 


NE531V 


e 


HE544N 


14 


NE550A 


14 


NE555V 


8 


XR-L555 


8 


LM556N 


14 


NE558N 


16 


NE564N 


16 


LM565N 


14 


LM566C^; 


8 


LM567V 


8 


NE570N 


16 


NE571N 


16 


NE592/J 


14 


LM703CN 


8 


LM710N 


14 


LM7I1N 


14 


LM723N 


14 


LM733N 


14 


LM739N 


14 


LM741CN 


8 



LM747N 14 

LM748N 8 
OA760HC 

LM1456V 8 

LM145BCN 8 

LM1488N 14 

LM1489N 14 

LM1496N 14 
LM1605CK 

LM1800N 16 

LM1871N 18 

LM1872N 18 
LM1877N-9 14 

LM1883N 18 

LM1896N 14 
LM2002T 

ULN2003A 16 

XR2206 16 

XR22Q7 14 

XR2208 16 

XR2211 14 : 
LM2877P 

LM2878P ; 

LM2901N 14 

LM2902N 14 

LM2907N 14 : 

LM2917N 8 

LM3900N 14 

LM3905CN 8 1 

LM3909N 8 

LM3914N 18 \ 

LM3915N 18 ! 

LM3916N 18 ! 

RC4136N 14 l 

HC4151H8 8 I 
RC4195TK ! 

LM4250CN 8 

LM4500A 16 I 

NE5532 8 1 

NE5534 8 
79W05AH 

ICI.8038 14 

LMI3080N 8 

LM13600N IB 

76477 28 
K0RE HW81E 



30003 1982 Nat. Linear Data Book ti952pgs) $11.95 



220 BYTE ■ FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 16 1 



Commodore Accessories ProModem 1200 and Options Apple® Accessories 



RS232 ADAPTER FOR 
VIC-20 AND COMMODORE 64 




The JE232CM allows connection of standard serial RS232 
printers, modems, etc. to your VIC-20 and C-64. A 4-pole 
switch allows the inversion of the 4 control lines. Com- 
plete installation and operation instructions included. 
• Plugs into User Port • Provides Standard RS232 signal 
levels • Uses 6 signals (Transmit, Receive, Clear to Send, 
Request to Send, Data Terminal Ready, Data Set Ready). 

JE232CM $39.95 



VOICE SYNTHESIZER 
FOR APPLE AND COMMODORE 

Gre a - « 




JE520AP 



JE52QCM 

• Over 250 word vocabulary-affixes allow the formation of more 
than 500 words • BuilUn amplifier, speaker, volume control, and 
audio jack • Recreates a clear, natural male voice • Plug-in user 
ready with documentation and sample software • Case size: 
7'/<"L x 3V«"W x 1-3/8"H 

APPLICATIONS: • Security Warning • Telecommunication 

• Teaching • Handicap Aid 

• Instrumentation • Games 



JE52QCM ForCommodore 64 & VIC-20 $114.95 

JE52QAP ForApplelt. II+. and//e $149.95 



Computer Memory Expansion Kit 



IBM PC, PC XT and Compatibles 

Most ol the popular Memory Boards (e.g. OuadrarrT Expansion Boards) 
allowyou lo add an addilional 64K. 1 28K. 192K or 2S8K. The IBM64K Kil will 
populale these boards in 64K byle incremenls. The Kil is simple lo install- 
just insert the 9 - 64K RAM chips in the provided sockets and set the 2 groups 
or switches. Complete conversion documentation included. 

IBM64K (Nine 200ns 64K RAMs) $43.95 

IBM PC AT 

Each kit comes complete with nine 1 28K dynamic RAMs and documentation 
tor conversion. 

IBM128K (Nine 200ns 1 28K RAMs) $1 99.95 

APPLE He 

Extended 80-Column/64K RAM Card. Expands memory by 64K to give 128K 
when used with programs like VisiCalc". Fully assembled and tested. 

JE864 $99.95 

TRS-80 MODEL I, III 

Each Kitcomescamplete with eight MM5290IUPD41 6/4 1 16) 16K Dynamic 
RAMs and documentation lor conversion. Model 1: 16K equipped with Ex- 
pansion Interlace can be expanded to 48K with 2 Kits. Model (II: Can be 
expanded from 16K to 48K using 2 Kits. Each Kil will expand computer by 
16K increments. 

TRS-16K3 200ns (Model III) $8.95 

TRS-16K4 250ns (Model 1) $6.95 

TRS-80 MODEL IV & 4P 

Easy tomstallKitcomescompIele wilh 8ea.4164N-20 (200ns) 64K Dynamic 
RAMsand conversion documentation. Conveits TRS-80 Model IV computers 
from 16K to 64K. Also expands Model 4Pfrom 64K to 128K. 

TRS-64K-2 $38.95 

(Converts the Model IV from 16K to 64K or will expand the Model 4Pf rom 
64Kto 128K) 

TRS-64K2PAL (Model IV only) $59.95 

(8 ■ 4164s with PAL Chip to expand from 64K to 128K) 

TRS-80 COLOR AND COLOR II 

Easy to install Kil comes complete with 8 each 4164N-20 (200ns) 64K 
Dynamic RAMs and documentation lor conversion. Converts TRS-80 Color 
Computers wilh D, E. ET F and NC circuit boards lo 32K. Also converts 
TRS-80 Color Computer II to 64K. Rex DOS or OS-9 required to utilize 
lull 64K RAM on all computers. 

TRS-64K-2 $38.95 

£1 ^d^steies Protect Yourself... 

1**. DATASHIELD® 

fjl^A Surge Protector 

I ^A^ft^^ • Eliminates voltage spikes and EMI-RH noise 

1^^^^ before i! can damage your equipment or cause 

\ J data loss • 6 month warranty • Power dissipa- 

1 00 ■-* tion (1 00 microseconds): 1 .000.000 watts • 6 

1 ~*T J^~ sockets ■ 6 foot power cord • Normal line volt- 

\ *^ age indicator light ■ Brown out/black out reset 

Model 100. . Tff. $69.95 

Protect DATASHIELD 

Yourself... Back-Up 

r — Power Source 

k Provide sup to 30 minutes of continuous 120 

■Sfe j- I '■' i VAC 60Hz power to your computer system 

\ a fj (load dependent) when you have a black out 

\. or voltage sag • Six month warranty • Weight 

X (PC200): 24 lbs.-(XT300): 37.5 lbs. 

PC200 (Output rating: 200 watts) $299.95 

^XT300 (Output rating: 300 watts) $399.95 



p£ Intelligent 300/1 200 Baud 
Prometheus Telephone Modem with 
Real Time Clock/Calendar 

The ProModem™ is a Bell 212 A (300/1200 baud) intelli- 
gent stand-alone modem • Full featured expandable 
modem • Standard features include Auto Answer and 
Auto Dial. Help Commands. Programmable Intelligent 
Dialing. Touch Tone™ and Pulse Dialing & More • Hayes 
command set compatible plus an additional extended 
command set ■ Shown w /"alphanumeric display option. 

Part No. Description Price 

PM1200 RS-232 Stand Alone Unit $349.95 

PM1200A Apple II. II+ and lie Internal Unit $369.95 

PM1200B IBM PC and Compatible Internal Unit $269.95 

PM1200BS IBM PC & Comp. Int. Unit w/ProCom Software $319.95 

MAC PAC Macintosh Package $399.95 

(Includes PM1200. Cable. & ProCom Software) 

OPTIONS FOR ProModem 1200 

PM-COM (ProCom Communication Software) $79.95 

Please specify Operating System. 

PM-OP (Options Processor) $79.95 

PMO-1 6K (Options Processor Memory - 1 6K) $1 0.95 

PMO-32K (Options Processor Memory - 32K) $20.95 

PMO-64K (Options Processor Memory - 64K) $39.95 

PM-ALP (Alphanumeric Display) $79.95 

PM-Special (Includes Options Processor, 64K Memory 

and Alphanumeric Display) 5189.95 



5W APPLE™ 

Direct Plug-In 

Compatible Disk Drive 

and Controller Card 

The ADD- 51 4 Disk Drive uses 
Shugart SA390 mechanics-143K 
formatted storage • 35 tracks 
• Compatible with Apple Control- 
ler & ACC-1 Controller • The drive 
comes complete with connector and cable - just plug 
into your disk controller card • Size: 6"L x 3WW x 
8-9/16"D ■ Weight: 4% lbs. 

ADD-514 (Disk Drive) $169.95 

ACC-1 (Controller Card) $ 49.95 

More Apple Compatible Add-Ons... 

APF-1 (Cooling Fan with surge protection). . . . $39.95 

KHP4007 (Switching Power Supply) $59.95 

JE614 (Numeric/Aux. Keypad for He). $59.95 

KB-A68 (Keyboard w/Keypad for II & |]+) $79.95 

MON-12G (12" Green Monitor for ll.ll+.J/e.llc). . . . $99.95 

JE864 (80 Col. +64K RAM for lie) $99.95 

ADD- 12 (5<V Half-Height Disk Drive) $179.95 



DISK DRIVES 



KEYBOARDS 




■asms 



13Vb"Lx4V'Wx VH 



New! 




16-9/16"Lx6WVx1VH 




NEW! 



Mitsumi 54-Key Unencoded 
All-Purpose Keyboard 

■ SPST keyswitches • 20 pin ribbon cable connec- 
tion - Low profile keys • Features: cursor controls, 
control, caps (lock), function, enter and shift keys 
• Color (keycaps): grey • Wt.: 1 lb. • Pinout included 

KB54 $14.95 



76-Key Serial ASCII Keyboard 

• Simple serial interface • SPST mechanical switch- 
ing • Operates in upper and lower case • Five user 
function keys: F1-F5 ■ Six finger edge card connec- 
tion • Color (keys): tan • Weight: 2 lbs. • Data incl. 

KB76 $29.95 



Apple Keyboard and Case 
for Apple II and 11+ 

•Keyboard: Direct connection with 16-pin ribbon 

connector -26 special functions -Size: 14'^"L x 

5VWx1'A"H 

• Case: Accommodates KB-A68 • Pop-up tid for 

easy access ■ Size: 15MTW x 18*0 x 4Y*"H 

Price 



KB-EA1 Apple Keyboard and Case (pictured above) $134.95 

KB-A68 68-Key Apple Keyboard only $ 79.95 

EAEC-1 Expanded Apple Enclosure Case only $ 59.95 



POWER SUPPLIES 



TRANSACTION TECHNOLOGY, INC. 
5VDC @ 1 AMP Regulated Power Supply 

• Output: +5VDC @ 1 . amp (also +30VDC regulated) • Input: 1 1 5VAC. 6 H z 

• Two-tone (black/beigo) self-enclosed case • 6 foot, 3-conductor black 
power cord • Size: 6'?" L x 7" W x 2V H ■ Weight: 3 lbs. 

PS51194 $14.95 



Document ation " Vv ^ 1 ■ 5i^^ ° e $t 
Included V.^^^ ^W 

MPI51S (MPI 5 1 /4" SS full-ht.) $ 89.95 

RFD480 (Remex 5 1 /4" DS full-ht.) $129.95 

TM100-2 (Tandon 5V4" DS full-ht.) $159.95 

FD55B ' (Teac 5V4 " DS half-ht.) $149.95 

SA455 (Shugart 5 1 /4" DS half-ht.). ... $1 59.95 

FDD100-8 (Siemens 8" SS full-ht.) $139.95 

PCK-5 (5V 4 " Power Cable Kit) $2.95 

PCK-8 (8" Power Cable Kit) $3.95 

UV-EPROM Eraser 

| 8 Chips - 21 MinuteT 






i% ^St L} 



Power/Mate Corp. REGULATED POWER SUPPLY 

• Input: 105-125/210-250VACat 47-63 Hz • Line regulation: ±0.05% • Three 
mounting surfaces • Overvoltage protection • UL recognized • CSA certified 
Part No. Output Size Weight Price 



EMA5/6B 
EMA5/6C 



5V@3A/6V@2.5A 4VL x 4"W x 2 VH 2 lbs. 
5V@6A/6V@5A 5 VL x 4VW x 2VH 4 lbs. 



$29.95 
$39.95 



KEPCO/TDK 4-OUTPUT SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY 

• Ideal for disk drive needs of CRT terminals, microcomputers and 
videogames • Input: 1 15/230VAC, 50/60Hz- Output: +5V@ 5 Amp, + 12V@ 
1.8 Amp, +12 V @ 2 Amp. -12V @ 0.5 Amp • UL recognized • CSA certified 

• Size: 7VL x 6-3/1 6"W x 1 %"H • Weight: 2 lbs. CCQ QC po c K or 

MRM 174KF 2 for $99.95 



Switching Power Supply for APPLE II, II+ & //e™ 

• Can drive four floppy disk drives and up to eight expansion cards 

• Short circuit and overload protection • Fits inside Apple computer 

• Fully regulated +5V @ 5A, +12V @ 1.5A, -5V @ .5A. -12 V @ .5 A 

• Direct plug-in power cord included • Size: 9%"L x 3WW x 2V4"H 
■ Weight: 2 lbs. 

KHP4007 (SPS-109) $59.95 



4-CHANNEL SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY 

* Microprocessor, mini-computer, terminal, medical equipment and process 
control applications -Input: 90-130VAC. 47-440Hz -Output: +5VDC @ 5A, 
-5VDC@1 A;+12VDC@1A.-12VDC@1A- Line regulations: ±0.2% • Ripple: 
30mV p-p • Load regulation: ±1% • Overcurrent protection • Adj: 5V main 
output ':10% • Size: 6%'Lx 1VW x 4-1 5/16"H • Weight: 1fe lbs. 

FCS-604A. $69.95 



$10.00 Minimum Order — U.S. Funds Only 
California Residents Add 6V?% Sales Tax 
Shipping — Add 5% plus $1.50 Insurance 
Send S.A.S.E. tor Monthly Sales Flyer! 



Spec Sheets — 30c each 
Send $1.00 Postage for your 
FREE 1985 JAMECO CATALOG 
Prices Subject to Change 




E32 



Ml!i > 



ameco 



ELECTRONICS 



1355 SHOREWAY ROAD, BELMONT, CA 94002 
Z/85 PHONE ORDERS WELCOME — (415) 592-8097 Telex: 176043 




1 Chip - 15 Minutes 

Erases all EPROMs. Erases up to 8 chips within 21 minutesd chip 
in 15 minutes). Maintains constant exposure distance of one inch. 
Special conductive foam liner eliminatesstatic build-up. Built-in 
safety lock to prevent UV exposure. Compact - only 9.00"L x 
3.70"W x 2.60"H. Complete with holding tray for 8 chips. 

DE-4 UV-EPROM Eraser. $74.95 

UVS-11EL Replacement Bulb $16.95 

3r>. - J 



JE664 EPROM PROGRAMMER 
8K to 64K EPROMS - 24 & 28 Pin Packages 

Completely Self-Contained - Requires No Additional Systems lor Operation 

• Programs and validates EPROMs ■ Checks for properly erased EPROMs 

• Emulates PROMs or EPROMs • RS232C Computer Interlace (or editing and 
program loading • Loads data into RAM by keyboard ■ Changes data in RAM 
by keyboard • Loads RAM from an EPROM < Compares EPROMs for content 
differences - Copies EPROMs • Power Input: 1 1 5VAC. 60Hz. less than 10W 
power consumplion ■ Enclosure: Color-coordinated, light tan panels wilh 
molded end pieces in mocha brown - Size: 15VL x8*TD * 3VH • Weight: 
5fc lbs. 



The JE664 EPROM Programmer emulates and programsva/ious 8-Bil WordEPROMslrom 8Kto 
64K-0il memoiycapactty. Data can be entered inlo Ihe JEB64's internal 8K x B-Bil RAM in three 
ways: ( I ) from a ROM or EPROM; (2) Irom an external computer viatheoptional JE665 RS232C 
OUS: 13) from iis panel keyboard. The JE664's RAMs may be accessed for emulalion purposes 
from Ihe panels lest socket to an external microprocessoi. In programming and emulalion, Ihe 
JE664 allows for examination, change and validation of program lonient The JE664's RAMs 
can be prog rammed QuicWy loali "l"s (or any value), allowing unused addresses m the EPROM 
to be programmed later without necessity of W erasing. The JE664 displays 0ATA and 
ADDRESS in ionvemenl hexadecimal (alphanumeric) formal A "DISPLAY EPROM DATA" 
button changes Ihe 0ATA readout Irom RAM word lo EPRGM word and is displayed in boll) 
hexadecimal andbinarycode.Thelrontpanel featuresa convenientoperalingguide.Tlie JE664 
Programmer includes one JM16 A Jumper Module(as listedbetow). 

JE664-A EPROM Proorammer , 

Assembled S Tested (Includes JM16A Module) 

JE66& - RS232C INTERFACE OPTION - The RS232C interlace Optra 

computer access to Ihe JEG64's RAM. This allows Ihe computer to manipulate, store and 
transler EPROM data toand from Ihe JE664, A sample program listing is supplied in MBASlC for 
CP/M computers. Documentation is provided lo adapt the software to other compule/s wilh an 
RS232port. 9600 Baud.8-bil word, odd pantywith 2 stop Oils 

EPROM Programmer w/JE665 Option 
JE664-ARS $1195.00 

Assembled & Tested (Includes JM16A Module) 



$995.00 



EPROM JUMPER MODULES - The JE6G4s JUMPER MODULE (Personality Module) is a 
plug-in Module lhal presets Ihe JE664 for Ihe proper programming pulses totheEPRDMand 
conligures Ihe EPROM socketconnections torthal particular EPROM. 


JBHIHW 


mm 


«rtW 


EPWK UMlff/OTUa 


rm 


ABBA 


im 


2SV 


AU;1. KKycta, K?.;_ h: L : II 


. 114 95 


JMT6A 


27t6.TMS2S1&(TI) 


25V 


Intel MolmKa. Nat. NEC. Tl, 
AMD. H.lachi. htosfc* . 


. 11495 


JM16B 


TMS27I6I3VSI 


5V.+SV,M2^ 


Vtasu. 11 


11495 


JM32A 


TMS2532 


2SV 


MotwoU Tl. Mxtn. OKI 


S14.9S 


JM3S 


2732 


25V 


AMD. FupUu. NEC MUttl. In* 


S1495 


.M32C 


2732A 


21V 


FuHsu. hid . . . 


SH.S5 


MM 


MCM6S764. 
MCM66L764 


21V 


MOUVOU 


11495 


JM648 


2764 


2 IV 


Irwl f.'MChila, OKI . 


. , , S14.M 



..114.95 k 



Inquiry 161 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 221 



GREAT OFFERS 



Marketing & Consultants 



MONITORS 



MODEMS 



GREAT PRICES 



TAXAN 

210 Color RGB 

100 Green ... 

105 Amber 

400 Color RGB 

410 Color RGB 

420 Color IBM 

121 Green IBM . ■ 

122-AmberlBM 

ZENITH 

ZVM 1 22A Amber 

ZVM 1 236 Green 

ZVM 124 Amber -IBM 

ZVM 131 Color 

ZVM 133 RGB 

ZVM 135 Composite 
ZVM 136 Hi Res Color 

GORILLA 



AMDEK 

300 Green 

300 Amber 

310 Amber- IBM 

Color 300-Audio 

Color 500-Compostte . . 

Color 600 

Color 700 

Golnr 710... 

NEC 

JB 1260 Green 

JB 1201 Green 

JB 1205 Amber 

JC 1215 Color 

JC 1216 RGB 

JC 460 Color 

SAKATA 

SC-1 00 Color .-....,... 

STSI Tinstand 

SG 1000 Green ... 
SA 1000 Amber 



NOVATION 



Apple Cat II .... 
2 1 2 Apple Cat . 
Apple Cat 212 . 

lUpg/adei 
Smart Cat Plus 



Hayes 

Smartmodem 300 $199.00 

MICRO BITS Smartmodem 1200 ... $469 00 

Smartmodem 1200b. .. $399.00 

3 1000C $*09 00 Micromodem He $249.00 

Micromodem 1 00 $289.00 

Chronograph ". . .$1 79.00 

ANCHOR Westridge C-64 ...Call 

smodem $55 99 Total 

k v " ■ • * ' ; • , S95 99 telecommunications 

jtn ans rt»ati 

k VII S259 00 ^'54 Call 

?oo bandi Mitey Mo C-64 . . . Call 



Volksmodem . . . 
Mark VII 

tautn a'ns dtati 
Mart- VII 

ii200 band) 



DISK DRIVES 



SD1 DRIVE 
SD2 DRIVE . 



INDUS 
GT Atari .... 269 

GT Commodore CALL 

GT Apple w/controller 219 

GT Apple 169 






SAVE ON THESE IN STOCK PRINTERS 



MANNESMANN 


JX80 




$1089.00 


NEC 


TALLY 




LQ1500P(ir 


eludes ki 


t)$1 149.00 


NEC8025 


SPIRIT 80 


$255.00 


CITOH 




NEC8027 


MTL-160L 


$549.00 


PROWRITER8510A. 


. . $289.00 




MTL-180L 


$739.00 


8510BC2 . 




. $399.00 


STAR 


JUKI 




8510BP1 . 
851 OSP... 




. $349.00 
. $399.00 


MICRONI 


JUKI 6100 


$389.00 


851 OSR .. 




. $409.00 


GEMINI 10X 


TRACTOR KIT 


$119.00 


8510SCP . 




. $419.00 


GEMINI 15X 


EPSON 




8510SCR . 




. $499.00 


DELTA 10 


RX 80 


$229.00 


1550P .... 




. $489.00 


DELTA 15 


RX80FT 


$269.00 


1 550BCD . 




. $539.00 


RADIX 10 


RX 100 


$369.00 


A10-20P .. 




. $469.00 


RADIX 15 


FX 80 


$369.00 


F1040PUor 


RDU .. 


. $899.00 


POWERTYPE 


FX100 


$555.00 


F1055PU oi 


RDU... 


$1099.00 


SWEET P 100 







OK1DATA 




PANASONIC 


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222 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry I9I 



SCIENCE 



PARANOIA: A 

FLOATING-POINT 

BENCHMARK 



by Richard Karpinski 



Test the quality of your software, not just its speed 



FLOATING-POINT ARITHMETIC was 
created to make programming easier 
and programs faster. It is complicated 
so that your programs can be simple, 
but rough edges and pitfalls are com- 
mon in floating-point systems. 

The Paranoia benchmark was de- 
signed to find and notify you of those 
places where actual results are not 
good enough. It reports pitfalls 
discovered in a systematic checkout 
of the arithmetic used by the com- 
puter running it. Why Paranoia? 
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 
(Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster 
Inc., 1983) provides the following as 
its second definition of paranoia: "a 
tendency on the part of an individual 
or group toward excessive or irra- 
tional suspiciousness and distrustful- 
ness of others— an apt description of 
this program, which looks for prob- 
lems at every turn. This article looks 
into the workings of floating-point 
arithmetic to see why you need such 
quality tests and how they work. 

Life Without Floating Point 

Remember those heavy mechanical 
calculators with 10 long rows of keys? 



If you wanted to use measurements 
in fractions rather than whole 
numbers, you could set the decimal 
point somewhere in the middle of the 
field. Numbers could grow or shrink 
on either side of it, but the point itself 
was really fixed. This is enough for 
many hand calculations where you 
need only 5 or 10 steps to get the final 
result. Fixed-point calculations like 
this are simple and match the pencil- 
and-paper methods we learned in 
grade school. They are easy to under- 
stand and use, and they work quite 
well almost all the time. 

Almost is not enough, however. Even 
events that happen quite rarely re- 
quire careful attention when you are 
designing a computer system. 
Because computers are so much 

Richard Karpinski (IEEE p854 Mailings. 
U-76 UCSF, San Francisco, CA 94143) is 
the manager of UNIX services at the com- 
puter center at the University of California 
at San Francisco. With interests in software 
engineering, Modula-2, and other aspects of 
computer science, Dick has enjoyed being "the 
consultant of last resort" for many in the past 
two decades. 



faster than we are, a system that works 
correctly on 99.999 percent of its data 
can still fail once every second. With 
paper and pencil, if a few numbers 
don't fit within the limits you have 
chosen, you can write smaller or use 
another sheet of paper. Mechanical 
calculators and computers are not so 
flexible. 

If you set up a calculator for 
numbers of the form nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn, 
for example, an intermediate result of 
I million is hopelessly damaged. 
There is no place to put the digit in 
the millions place. This problem is 
called overflow. There are calculators 
with 20 or 30 digits or even more, but 
you can't really solve the problem this 
way. Long calculations continually re- 
quire you to copy an intermediate 
result from the calculator's dials back 
onto the keys in order to shift it to the 
left or the right to accommodate the 
overflow. The copying process is 
error-prone and tedious for those 
who do it. (Originally, these people 
were called "computers.") 

Very small numbers in this format 
also suffer. Numbers smaller than 1 

[continued) 
FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 223 



PARANOIA 



one-millionth are lost entirely. They 
underflow to zero. Even numbers as 
large as 1 one-thousandth lose most 
of their significant digits. Only 3 of the 
12 digits of precision initially provided 
remain. 

When overflow and underflow prob- 
lems arise in hand calculations, and 
even in many computer applications 



that have tight constraints on hard- 
ware and timing, you can solve them 
by rescaling the numbers— multiplying 
or dividing them by 10, 100, or 1000- 
to bring the number back into view. 
Naturally you must keep track of each 
scaling operation you perform so that 
you can readjust the final answer 
properly. 



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With the Multi- 
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CompuServe's 
DemoPak, a free two- 
hour demonstration of 
their service, and up to 
seven more free hours 
if you subscribe. You 
also get a $50 credit 
towards NewsNet's 
business newsletter 
service. 

Features & Price? 

Of course, the 
MultiModem gives you 
automatic dial, answer, 
and disconnect. Gives 
you the Hayes- 
compatibility you need 
to support popular 
communications soft- 
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Crosstalk, Data Cap- 
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Inquiry 227 



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You must also check to see if this 
problem arises at every possible 
place, although such checking makes 
every program longer and more com- 
plicated. This high cost of being ex- 
tra careful must be weighed against 
the fact that the unchecked version 
works most of the time. In fact you 
may have tested the unchecked version 
with thousands of cases and consider 
it completely debugged. 

In principle if you know enough 
about the numbers that arise, you can 
build the rescaling shifts into your 
procedure so that they don't take any 
extra effort during the calculation 
itself. This can save up to two-thirds 
of the time that floating-point calcula- 
tions take. John von Neumann, often 
called the father of computing, held 
the view that such a priori analysis 
was the proper approach. He saw no 
need for floating point. However, 
most programmers now agree that 
the analysis required is far too costly 
and error-prone to ignore floating- 
point hardware. 

Scientific Notation 

As researchers and scientists have 
probed the further reaches of our 
world, they have developed scientific 
notation to express very large and 
very small numbers with equal preci- 
sion. For example, 

602,300,000,000,000 

becomes 6.023 x 10 14 while 

0.000,000,000,000.006,62 4 

becomes 6.624 x 10" 15 . The preci- 
sion or uncertainty figures for these 
numbers look very different until you 
express them in scientific notation: 
5.0 x 10 10 for the first versus 
5.0 x 10" 18 for the second. 

When you consider imprecise 
numbers, it is easy to become con- 
fused between absolute uncertainty 
and relative uncertainty— relative to 
the size of the value involved. The 
relative uncertainty here is referred to 
as "half a unit-in-the-last-place" or T2 
ulp." Since we want computers to 
cope quickly and precisely with a 
wide range of numbers, we adapt the 

{continued) 



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PARANOIA 



scientific notation to the task. You 
don't need to store the l, x I0" part 
because it doesn't change between 
various numbers, so you represent 
each number with a fractional signifi- 
cand and a whole-number exponent. 

The rescaling hasn't gone away. The 
"exponent" is the variable in which 
rescaling operations note their ad- 
justments. As you might expect, ex- 
ponents are represented and used in 
different ways— each with its own par- 
ticular problems— and each number is 
rescaled automatically after each 
operation to eliminate any leading 
zeros and to preserve the maximum 
number of significant digits. 

We use decimal notation (radix 10) 
for numbers, but computers usually 
use binary notation (radix 2) to match 
their memory and logic-circuit com- 
ponents. In binary you can, for exam- 
ple, use a significand between Vi and 
I, that is, between l-over-the-radix 
and I . Some computers use hexadec- 
imal (radix 16) instead; their signifi- 
cands can lie between y i6 and I . Radix 
2 packs the most range and precision 
into any given word (the number of 
bits devoted to representing a 
number). Radix 10 is also very useful 
because there are no errors introduced 
in moving ordinary decimal numbers 
into the computer. There are errors, 
but there are no new errors. 

If your computer uses six decimal 
digits of precision, you have a pretty 
good idea of what happens to num- 
bers like ] A. However many digits you 
type, the most precise estimate you 
can ever get is 0.333,333. This con- 
tains a small error— only ] A ulp— but 
this error is inherently present for 
such fractions in any floating-point 
notation. 

There are systems for maintaining 
rational numbers that avoid the prob- 
lem of precision as long as possible, 
at a high cost in size and speed. They 
keep two whole numbers to represent 
a fraction— 1 and 3 here— and save the 
division for later. Thus, if ] A is later 
multiplied by 3, the threes cancel and 
the answer is exactly I . Unfortunate- 
ly, in long calculations both of these 
numbers grow unreasonably large all 
too rapidly. Unless your need for high 



precision is very great, this method is 
uneconomical. 

If you multiply 0.333,333 times 3, 
0.999,999 is as close to I as you can 
get, given the round-off error of 1 ulp. 
Sometimes you can accept answers 
within several ulps of the best possi- 
ble answer. In this case you must ac- 
cept the 0.999,999 result if you're go- 
ing to use floating point; but, even 
here, 0.999,998 is clearly unaccept- 
able because we can do better. 

Round or Chop? 

Some computers offer you the choice 
of rounding off or chopping (trun- 
cating) the result of each calculation. 
Rounding off preserves an extra Vi ulp 
of precision in each step. If the 
numbers are all positive, rounding off 
avoids the systematic underestimating 
error that truncation introduces. 

This is an important matter. For ex- 
ample, the Wall Street journal reported 
on November 8, 1983 (page 37), that 
the Vancouver Stock Exchange main- 
tains a stock index rather like the Dow 
Jones average. It began with a 
nominal value of 1,000.000 and was 
recalculated after each recorded 
transaction. At each stage, the value 
was calculated to five decimal places, 
but the last two were truncated. 

The exchange found that after 22 
months of operation, with about 2800 
transactions per working day, the 
index had fallen to the 520 range 
while stock prices were reaching new 
highs. Investigation showed that all 
those lost fractions of thousandths of 
a point had mounted up to a major 
inaccuracy. 

The solution the exchange planned 
was to round off instead of chop. If 
this was done in the usual way— 01 to 
49 round down, 50 to 99 round up- 
then a consistent error still remains. 
The error is only one percent as large 
as it was and tends to inflate rather 
than deflate the index, so the ex- 
change might even consider it an ad- 
vantage. This new error is that while 
49 of the values round down and one 
stays the same, 50 of them round up. 

The point is that even tiny errors, 
when they all go the same way, can 

[continued) 



226 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 227 



PARANOIA 



do serious damage to numerical 
results. The Paranoia benchmark 
checks your arithmetic to see whether 
rounding is done correctly if at all. 

Guard Digits 

Round-off errors are unavoidable. 
These errors are not mistakes in the 
process but the inevitable result of re- 
stricting the width of floating-point 



numbers. A carefully built arithmetic 
system can round meticulously when- 
ever approximation is required. How- 
ever, in order to round correctly, extra 
(guard) digits are needed temporari- 
ly in the course of ordinary calcu- 
lations. 

Guard digits reduce error. In a four- 
digit system you may need five or 
more digits to maintain accuracy un- 



IEEE Arithmetic and 
Paranoia Availability 



The IEEE has specified a particularly 
careful floating-point arithmetic 
intended to avoid the worst problems 
of the older arithmetics used on com- 
puters. One committee (p754) de- 
signed a very specific binary floating- 
point arithmetic with three sizes of 
numbers. A second working group 
(p854) relaxed some of those specifica- 
tions to permit different sizes of 
numbers and different radixes to be 
used. These IEEE arithmetics are so 
good that Paranoia finds no fault with 
them at all. 

An example of IEEE arithmetic is the 
way it avoids the problem of more 
numbers rounding up than down (50 
versus 49): it rounds numbers ending 
in 50 up only half the time, i.e., when 
the previous digit is odd. The rest of 
the time, the numbers round down. For 
this reason, the normal IEEE rounding 
mode is called round-to-even. 

The drafts of the IEEE specifications 
are highly technical and quite compact. 
The dozen or so pages require careful 
reading and often some deliberate 
studying to fully comprehend. Still that 
task is rewarding to those who seek to 
achieve numerical results of the highest 
quality with their programs. 

If you would like a copy of the IEEE 
p754 (binary) or p854 (binary and 
decimal) drafts, you may write to the 
author (IEEE p854 Mailings, U-76 
UCSF; San Francisco, CA 94143). The 
full Paranoia test program will also be 
available, on floppy disk, for a distribu- 
tion charge of $15. The author also has 
order forms' for the disk. The floppy 
formats of the Paranoia disk will in- 
clude at least the PC-DOS 9-sector 
5^ -inch double-sided format. A page 



or two of documentation will help you 
run the program. 

The second, corrected release of 
Paranoia in MS-BASIC should be avail- 
able by this issue's cover date. Versions 
in FORTRAN and Pascal are also ex- 
pected to be ready. Although the 
author of the Paranoia program, Pro- 
fessor William Kahan, is a key member 
of the IEEE Computer Society commit- 
tees, the IEEE does not guarantee the 
program in any way. 

If you request these test programs, 
you will be asked to assist Professor 
Kahan and Mr. Karpinski by reporting 
back the results you get when you use 
them. Please send us your resultb for 
any system that is either commercial- 
ly available or interesting in its own 
right. You may copy the test program 
freely, maintaining its copyright notice, 
and pass it on to your friends. We 
would appreciate their results as well. 

When you run Paranoia, you will get 
several pages of messages about the 
details of the arithmetic. So far results 
have been collected on more than six 
different BASIC systems, but some of 
these results are already obsolete. 
Perhaps you can help us to bring them 
up-to-date. We are especially interested 
in hearing about any errors you may 
discover in the tests themselves. We 
would also like to hear of any problems 
you have running or interpreting the 
tests, although we do not promise any- 
thing but our thanks in return. 

A benchmark of this complexity may 
take years to reach its full value to the 
computing community. When enough 
arithmetics have been tested to make 
the results interesting, the authors will 
try to publish them. 



til the result is rescaled. For example, 
1.144 x 10 1 minus 8.336 x 10° really 
needs five digits. Without the extra 
digit this simple subtraction suffers an 
error of 4 to 6 ulps, a serious defect 
that makes numeric programming 
even more difficult and error-prone. 
To illustrate: with the guard digit, 1 1.44 
minus 8.336 yields 03.104, which 
results in an answer after rescaling of 
3.104 x 10°; without the guard digit, 
11.44 minus 8.33 (if truncated) yields 
03.11 for a result of 3.110 x 10° and 
11.44 minus 8.34 (if rounded off) 
yields 03.10 for a result of 3.100 x 10° 

The need for guard digits becomes 
quite clear. What about your com- 
puter? Often the specific details of the 
arithmetic used on a given computer 
are known only to its designers. Yet 
they are important to programmers 
and other users who want to get 
good, precise, accurate answers. 

Professor William Kahan at the Uni- 
versity of California at Berkeley wrote 
Paranoia for just this reason. Paranoia 
checks many of the arithmetic details 
of your computer. For each aspect 
that is not handled in the best way, 
Paranoia reports what sort of difficulty 
will ensue from its use. 

The full Paranoia program is some 
700 lines of BASIC. Listings 1 and 2 
show an extract sufficient to test for 
the use of a guard digit in addition 
and subtraction. If some part of the 
routine seems confusing, you may 
find it helpful to try a pencil-and- 
paper example with a four-digit sys- 
tem like the one above. These pro- 
grams were simplified from the Pascal 
translation of Paranoia by B. A. 
Wichmann of the National Physical 
Laboratory in England. The full pro- 
gram guards itself against many (rare) 
problems that might possibly arise. 
Full Paranoia also rechecks critical cal- 
culations by a second method, just to 
be sure. 

Test Your Calculator 

You can use essentially the same 
guard-digit procedure to test your 
pocket calculator. Without checking 
for radix, etc., the results of two sim- 
ple expressions will signal the 

{continued) 



228 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 229 




IBM-PC or PC compatible 
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10 Evergreen Avenue 

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(617) 273-1818 



ademarttof Lotus D 



PARANOIA 



Listing I : A Microsoft BASIC program to test for the presence of a guard digit 
in subtraction. Note: fpwidth is the smallest number formed by multiplying one 
by the powers of the radix. \t is calculated by successive multiplications, until the 
product when added to l.O no longer gives an exact result. (Width is a 
Microsoft BASIC reserved word and cannot be used as the variable name.) 



10 ' 
20 ' 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 ' 

80 * 

90 ' 
100 ' 
110 ' 
120 ' 
130 ' 
140 ' 
150 ' 
160 ' 
170 ' 
180 ' 
190 ' 
200 ' 
210 ' 
220 ' 
230 ' 
240 ' 
250 ' 
260 ' 
270 ' 
280 ' 
290 
300 ' 
310 
320 
330 
340 
350 
360 ' 
370 
380 ' 
390 ' 
400 ' 
410 ' 
420 ' 
430 ' 
440 ' 
450 ' 
460 
470 ' 
480 
490 
500 
510 ' 
520 
530 ' 
540 
550 ' 
560 ' 



Guard — Test if add/subtract has a guard digit 



One 
Half 
Zero 
MinusOne 

variables: 

Radix 
Precision 



fpwidth 
Wide 

UlpOne 
UlpRadix 

OneMinus 
RadixMinus 

s, t, u 
x, y, z 



1.0 ' Floating-point constants 
= 0.5 
= 0.0 
= -1.0 



Calculated floating-point radix 
Significant digits in base Radix 

Precision 
Radix (or Radix * Precision) 

First estimate of fpwidth 

Unit in last place of just less than one 
Radix * UlpOne 

One - UlpOne calculated with care 
Radix - UlpRadix 



Working variables 



Find a Wide so big that adding one does not change it by one 
Wide = One 



Wide = Wide + Wide 
x = Wide + One 



Wide 
One 



Double it until it grows so large that 
Adding one does not change it or 
(with rounding) changes it by 2 
So the difference is zero or 2 
And this becomes + / - one 



IF ( MinusOne + ABS( z ) ) 



Zero THEN 310 



Find the radix (or number base) as the minimum increase in Wide 
Remember that Wide is just large enough that the units place 
is not represented, so a one in the last represented place 
(the tens place, for decimal) is exactly the radix itself. 
Try it by hand. 



One 



Radix = Wide + y ' No change on first addition 

y = y + y ' So double y 

Radix = Radix - Wide ' Until some change happens 



IF Radix = Zero THEN 480 
PRINT "Radix = "; Radix 



The change is the radix 



230 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



PARANOIA 



570 ' 

580 ' 

590 

600 

610 ' 

620 

630 

640 

650 ' 

660 

670 ' 

680 

690 ' 

700 

710 ' 

720 

730 * 

740 

750 ' 

760 

770 

780 ' 

790 

800 

810 ' 

820 

830 

840 

850 ' 

860 

870 

880 

890 ' 

900 

910 

920 

930 

940 

950 

960 

970 ' 

980 



Is imprecise 



Find the precision in Radix digits 

Precision = Zero 
fpwidth = One 

Precision = Precision + One ' Count the digits 

fpwidth = fpwidth * Radix ' And increase fpwidth 

y = fpwidth + One ' Until adding one 

IF ( y - fpwidth) = One THEN 620 ' 

PRINT "Precision = "; Precision 

PRINT "fpwidth = "; fpwidth 

UlpOne = One / fpwidth 

PRINT "Closest relative separation found is UlpOne = "; UlpOne 

OneMinus = ( Half - UlpOne ) + Half 
UlpRadix = Radix * UlpOne 

RadixMinus = Radix - One 

RadixMinus = ( RadixMinus - UlpRadix ) + One 



x = One 
y = One 
z = One 



UlpOne 

OneMinus 

x 



s = Radix - UlpRadix 
t = Radix - RadixMinus 
u = Radix - s 

IF y = UlpOne THEN 920 

GOTO 960 

IF t = UlpRadix AND u = UlpRadix THEN 940 

GOTO 960 

PRINT "Add/subtract has a guard digit as it should." 
GOTO 980 

PRINT "Add/subtract lacks guard digit, cancellation obscured." 

END ' Guard 



Listing 2: 

subtraction. 


Pascal program to test for the presence of a guard digit in 




program Guard; 


{ Test if add/subtract has a guard digit 


} 


const 
One 
Half 
Zero 
MinusOne 


= 1.0; 
= 0.5; 
= 0.0; 
= -1.0; 


{ Floating-point constants 


} 


var 
Radix 
Precision 


: real; 
: real; 


{ Calculated floating-point radix 
{ Significant digits in base Radix 


} 
} 


Width 
Wide 


: real; 
: real; 


{ Precision 

{ Radix (or Radix - Precision) 

{ First estimate of Width 


} 
} 
} 

(continued) 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 231 



Inquiry 371 



* ort \ 0>N" erS 



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fnsel 



1EJ 



PARANOIA 



UlpOne : real; { Unit in 
UlpRadix : real; { Radix : 


ast place of just less than one 
< UlpOne 


} 
} 




OneMinus : real; { One - 
RadixMinus : real; { Radix - 


- UlpOne calculated with care 

- UlpRadix 


} 
} 




s, t, u : real; { Working variables 
x, y, z : real; 


} 




begin {Guard} 








{ Find a Wide so big that adding one does not change it by one. 




} 


Wide : = One; 
repeat 








Wide : = Wide + Wide; 
x : = Wide + One; 

y : = x - Wide; 
z := y - One 


Double it until it grows so large that 
Adding one does not change it or 
(with rounding) changes it by 2 
So the difference is zero or 2 
And this becomes + / - < 


Dne 


} 

} 
} 
} 
} 


until ( MinusOne + abs( z ) ) 


> = Zero; 






{ Find the radix (or number base) as the minimum increase in Wide 
{ Remember that Wide is just large enough that the units place 
{ is not represented, so a one in the last represented place 
{ (the tens place, for decimal) is exactly the radix itself. 
{ Try it by hand. 




} 
} 
} 
} 
} 


y : = One; 
repeat 








Radix := Wide + y; { 

y := y + y; { 

Radix : = Radix - Wide { 


No change on first addition 
So double y 

Until some change happens 




} 
} 
} 


until Radix < > Zero; { 


The change is the radix! 




} 


writeln( 'Radix = ', Radix ); 








{ Find the precision in Radix digits 






} 


Precision : = Zero; 
Width := One; 
repeat 








Precision := Precision + One; 
Width : = Width * Radix; 
y := Width + One 


{ Count the digits 

{ And increase Width 

{ Until adding one 




} 
} 
} 


until ( y - Width ) < > One; 


{ Is imprecise 




} 


writeln( 'Precision = ', Precision ); 








writeln( 'Width = ', Width ); 








UlpOne := One / Width; 








writeln( 'Closest relative separation found is UlpOne = ', UlpOne ); 






OneMinus := ( Half - UlpOne ) 
UlpRadix : = Radix * UlpOne; 


+ Half; 








[continued) 



232 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1 985 



MEW HMD DISK PROLOK: 
THE FLOPPY 10 EHD ML FLOPPIES. 




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Its genius is its simplicity and familiarity. 
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SOFTWARE PROTECTION, RIGHT OH THE DISK. 



VHA - 8406 
Inquiry 321 



Copyright © 1984 Vault Corporation. Prolok is a trademark of Vault Corporation 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 233 



Circuit-Board-Design 
Without the Tedium 



smARTWORK™ lets the design 

engineer create and revise 

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D IBM PC or XT with 192K RAM, 2 disk 
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WINTEK CORPORATION, 1801 South St., Lafayette, IN 47904-2993, Phone: (317) 742-8428, Telex: 70-9079 (WINTEK CORP UD) 



234 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 331 



PARANOIA 



RadixMinus 
RadixMinus 



Radix 
( RadixMinus 



-One; 
UlpRadix ) + One; 



x : = One - UlpOne; 
y := One - OneMinus; 
z : = One - x; 

s := Radix - UlpRadix; 
t : = Radix - RadixMinus; 
u := Radix - s; 

if (y = UlpOne) and (z 

(t = UlpRadix) and (u 
then 

writeln( 'Add/subtract has a guard digit as it should.' ) 
else 

writeln( 'Add/subtract lacks guard digit, cancellation obscured.' ) 

end {Guard}. 



UlpOne) and 
UlpRadix) 



presence or absence of a guard digit. 
If their results are equal, the guard 
digit is present. Otherwise, it is prob- 
ably not. Those expressions are 

1 - ( 9 / 27 * 3 ) 



and 

1/2 - ( 9 / 27 * 3 ) + 1/2 

For four-function calculators without 
parentheses or memory, you can use 



- 9 / 27 * 3 + 1 
and 

- 9 / 27 * 3 + .5 + .5 

A smaller test in Pascal could be: 

if (- 9 /27 * 3 + 1 ) = 

(- 9 I 27 * 3 + .5 + .5) 
then writeln( Add/subtract has a 

guard digit.' ) 
else writeln( Add/subtract lacks 

guard digit.' ) 

Conclusion 

Paranoia is an unusual benchmark: it 
tests the quality of your software, not 
just its speed. Most common com- 
puter arithmetics have a half-dozen or 
more flaws that Paranoia finds, report- 
ing what kinds of calculations are 
harmed by them. Its use can be highly 
rewarding to those who seek to 
achieve very accurate, precise, numer- 
ical results from their programs. ■ 



' powm CMWOL Z 



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Inquiry 269 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 235 



When it comes to printers, 
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The Xerox line 
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1- 



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XEROX® and Diablo* are trademarks of Xerox Corporation. 

IBM® is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation/; 

Inquiry 365 



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238 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 221 



SCIENCE 



MODELING 

MASS-ACTION 

KINETICS 



by Alan Curtis 



In the future, microcomputers may have a substantial role 
in major scientific computations 



AT THE UNITED KINGDOM Atomic 
Energy Research Establishment, Har- 
well, we have assembled scientific and 
technological applications of our FAC- 
SIMILE reaction-kinetics program. All 
can be run on one mainframe or an- 
other, but for the purposes of this ar- 
ticle I have selected a few of those 
that now run on an IBM PC with 512K 
bytes of RAM (random-access read/ 
write memory). 

Like other simulation modelers such 
as DYNAMO, FACSIMILE facilitates 
the calculation of a set of differential 
equations that describe the con- 
tinuous evolution of a system from a 
known initial configuration and then 
flexibly formats the output. 

Simulation models solve problems 
repeatedly and carry out thorough 
statistical analyses to find the best fit 
among parameters. For such work, 
whether the microcomputer is prac- 
tical depends on your point of view. 
A fairly large program that takes, say, 
three minutes on an IBM mainframe 
might well run all night on the PC, pro- 
vided you use an 8087 math copro- 
cessor; without it, running time would 
probably be about 10 times longer 



(this is a guess— we haven't checked 
it out). 

Let's take a look at several examples 
of how simulation models can be 
used. 

Uranium from Seawater? 

Seawater contains uranium, an ex- 
tremely valuable fuel at an extreme- 
ly low concentration. Suppose we 
want to extract the uranium. The 
question is whether an economically 
• viable extraction process exists. We 
might try pumping the seawater 
through an ion-exchange column, a 
tube tightly packed with minute 
spheres of a resin that preferentially 
absorbs uranium ions from solution 
and replaces them with ions of an- 
other metal. When sufficient water 
has been pumped through, the col- 

Alan Curtis leads the Applied Mathematics 
Group in the Computer Science and Systems 
Division at the U.K. Atomic Energy Research 
Establishment, Harwell He is a graduate of 
Cambridge and a former lecturer at the 
University of Sheffield. He can be reached 
at AERE, Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire 
OX 1 1 OR A, England. 



umn is removed and cut up, and or- 
dinary chemical means remove the 
uranium (now at high concentration in 
the resin) for further processing. Ob- 
viously the value of the recovered 
uranium must offset the costs of 
manufacturing the resin and the 
tubes, of the pumping power, and of 
the postprocessing to recover the 
uranium from the resin. 

A feasibility study of the problem 
called for a simulation model because 
the rate coefficients for the absorp- 
tion of uranium by the resin were not 
known. Experiments removed sup- 
posedly identical ion-exchange col- 
umns at different times, pumped dif- 
ferent rates of seawater, and analyzed 
uranium contents at various points 
along the columns. Parameter-fitting 
options might have determined the 
best fit for these experimental results. 

As it turned out, variations in prop- 
erties, mainly the density of packing 
of the resin from one column to 
another, and even along the length of 
a single column, invalidated the 
model, which assumed a single 
uniform column. A more complicated 

(continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 239 



MODELING 



model might have involved some of 
the variability, but the experiments 
had shown that the whole process 
was not likely to be economical 
anyway. 

Such negative results are not fail- 
ures in scientific investigations. On the 
contrary, we understand far better the 
requirements for the simulation if we 
decide to pursue it again. 

A modified model now used for 
demonstration purposes, contains 
parameter values chosen to exhibit 
significant saturation. (There are other 
ways of solving the problem of model- 
ing an ideal ion-exchange column if 
you know that saturation is negligible.) 

To model the behavior of the col- 
umn, we divided its length into 20 
equal-size sections. One array of 20 
variables represents the concentra- 
tion of uranium in the seawater in 
each section, a second array 



represents the concentration in the 
resin, and a third array checks for 
saturation by monitoring available ab- 
sorption sites in the resin. The simula- 
tion models the flow of seawater by 
passing material from one element of 
the array to the next at a rate reflect- 
ing the time it takes for the water to 
move the length of a section. 

The first element receives material 
with the concentration in the incom- 
ing water; the last element sends 
material to a "waste" variable. The 
simulation of the exchange process 
between solution and resin uses 
modeling features for chemical reac- 
tions; a second-order reaction be- 
tween corresponding elements of the 
first and third arrays represents ab- 
sorption, and a first-order reaction 
represents the reverse process. The 
program runs on the IBM PC in about 
550 seconds (compared with 2.5 sec- 



: 

PLOTTING PAPAMETERS fOR GRAPH STREAM 2 

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE :DIST (PLOTTED VERTICALLY) 

DEPENDENT VAPIABLES (PLOTTED HORIZONTALLY): 

X SCALE 1.0000D-0S X 

V SCALE 1.0000D-04 Y 

S SCALE 1.0000D-04 S 

0.5 1 

1.000D+00 I Y I I I I S X! 

3.000D+00 I Y I ! I I S X I 

5.00 0D + 00 I Y-l I I I-S X t 

7.000D+00 t Y I J t I S X I 

9.000D + 00 I Y I 'I' I IS I 

1.10 0D+01 I Y I I I I XS J 

1.3000+01 I Y i I I IX S I 

1.500D + 01 I Y - - I I I XI--S- : I 

1.700D+01 I Y | i 1 X \ S I 

1.900D+01 I Y 1 I I X I S I 

2.100D+01 I Y 1 I I X \ S I 

2.300D+01 I Y I I I X I S I 

2.500D + 01 I Y I I I---X I---S I 

2.700D+01 I Y I I IX I S I 

2.900D+01 I Y I I IX I S I 

3.100D+01 I Y I I IX iSt 

3.300D+01 I Y I I X IS I 

3.S0 0D + 01 I Y I I XI I S I 

3.70 0D+01 I Y I I XI i S [ 

3.900D+01 I Y I I XI I S I 



Figure 1 : A snapshot graph from the ion-exchange-column problem. 



ondsonthelBM 308 IK), so that even 
a parameter-fitting run, which ex- 
ecutes several dozen simulation runs, 
could be done overnight on the micro. 
It is fair to say that this investigation 
could have been done on the PC from 
the beginning. 

The model provides three types of 
output: "snapshot" graphs, which 
show how the concentrations vary 
along the column at any time; "time- 
course" graphs, which illustrate how 
integrated quantities, such as the total 
uranium trapped in the resin, vary 
with time; and tables of numbers that 
give more accurate time histories of 
these integrated quantities. Figure I 
is a snapshot graph from this prob- 
lem. By plotting the independent vari- 
able (distance along the column) 
along the y-axis and the dependent 
variables along the x-axis, a printer 
can plot graphs of any length. Points 
X represent the concentration of 
uranium in solution, multiplied by 
100,000,000; points Y represent con- 
centration in the resin, multiplied by 
10,000; points S represent available 
sites, multiplied by 10,000. 

Starting up a 
Chemical Reactor 

In a 1981 thesis for Imperial College, 
London, I. T Cameron proposed this 
chemical-engineering problem. It is 
much simpler than the others de- 
scribed here, but in practice it had 
proved difficult to solve. 

Initially a chemical reactor contains 
neutral gas. A pump starts to supply 
liquid feedstock through an inlet 
valve, compressing the gas and re- 
ducing the flow from the pump 
because of back pressure. A chemical 
reaction takes place in the vessel, and 
product mixed with unused feed- 
stock, driven by the gas pressure and 
the liquid head, flows out through an 
outlet valve. In time the system 
reaches a steady state, but the main 
focus of the simulation is the start-up 
transient. Results of interest include 
the peak gas pressure and tempera- 
ture (for vessel design) and the loss 
of unused feedstock and substandard 
product. The model includes the ef- 

[continued) 



240 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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-International Business 



Inquiry 223 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 241 



MODELING 



PLOTTING 

INDEPEND 

DEPENDEN 

CA 

CB 

CP1 

Fl 

F2 

.000D+ 
5.000D- 
1.00CD- 
1.S00D 
2 .000D- 
2.S0CD 
3. OOOD- 
3. 50.0 D- 
■i.OCOD- 
4.S00D- 
5.000D- 
5.500D- 
6.000D- 
6.S0CD- 
7.C00D- 
7.S00D- 
S.OOOD 
5. 5000 
o.OOOD 
o.SOOD 
1. COCD 
l.OSOD 
1.100D- 
1. 15CD 
1. 200D 
1.2S0D- 
1 .3C0D- 
1.350D- 
1. «iOOD 
1. hSOD 
1 .SOOD 
l.SSOD 
1.600D 
1.650D- 
1.700D- 
1 .7S0D- 
1.600D- 
1 .65CD- 
1.SCCD- 
1.0SOD 
2 . OOOD- 
2. 05CD- 
2.100D- 
.150D- 
.200D- 
.250D- 
300D" 
.3S0D- 
. 400D- 
.4S0D- 
.SOOD 
.550D- 
.600D- 
.65CD- 
.700D- 
.7S0D- 

.eooD- 
.esoo- 

.900D- 
.9S0D- 
3.000D- 
3.CS0D- 
3.100D 
3.150D- 
3.200D- 
3.2S0D- 
3.3C0D- 
3.35CD- 
3 . <iOOD - 
3.4S0D- 
3.500D- 
3.5S0D" 
3.600D- 
3.6S0D- 
3.7C0D- 
3.75 0D- 
3.£00D 
3.£S0D 
3.900D- 
3.«50D- 
4.000D- 



PAPAMET 

ENT VAPI 
VAPIAB 
SCA 
SCA 
SCA 
SCA 
SCA 


00 

03 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

02 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

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01 

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01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

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01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 

01 



EPS FOP GPAPH STREAM 1 

ABLE :TIME (PLOTTED VERTICALLY) 

LES (PLOTTED HORIZONTALLY): 

LE 2.4000D+00 A 

LE 1.5000D-02 B 

LE 2.4000D+00 P 

LE 1.2000D+02 1 

IE 1.2000D+02 2 

0.5 



I I t 1-1 A 

2 1 Bl I I 1 A 

P 2 t I I B I 1 Al 

P 2 I I I I 1 B A I 

P 2 I I I I 1 A IB 

--P-2 I I I *»*■**« 1 £&%•« A I B 

P 2 I I '9 11 A I B 

P2 I I I I 1 A I B 

2 ! 1 I B tlA I B 

2 1 I 111 I B 

2P- I I I Al I 3- 

2 P I I I Al IB 

2 P 1 I All I B 

2 I P I I All I B 

2 IP I 1 All IB 

2 1-P I I A II I B 

2 1 P I I A I 1 IB 

2 I P I I A II IB 

2 P I I A II IB 

2 P t I A II IB 

2 P---I I -A II B 

2 PI I A II Bl 

12 PI I A 1 B I 

I 2 P I A 1 B I 

12 PI A 1 B I 

12 P-l Al 1 B I 

12 PI Al 13 1 

12 PI A I IB I 

12 P A I IB I 

12 P A I IB I 

I --2 IP A--I 1-B I 

12 IP A I IB I 

12 I P A I 1 I 

12 I P A I 1 I 

12 I P A I Bl I 

- I 2 I--PA I B-l t 

1 2 I PA I Bll t 

12 IP I Bll I 

12 I AP I Bll I 

I 2 I AP I B II I 

I 2 I--A-P I B--1I I 

I 2 I A P I Bll I 

I 2 I A P I Bll I 

I 2 I A P I B II I 

I 2 I A P I B 1 I I 

I 2 I A P I--B II I 

I 2 I A P I B II I 

I 2 A P I B II I 

I 2 A P I B II I 

I 2 A P IB II I 

I 2--A P--IB 1-1 I 

I 2 Al P IB II I 

I 2 A I P B II I 

I 2 Al P B II I 

I 2A I PB I It I 

I 2-1 PI 1-1 I 

I 2 1 PI II I 

I 2 1 BP I II I 

I 2 1 BP I II I 

I A2 I BPI II I 

I A- 2 I B--P 1--I I 

1 A 21 B P II I 

I A 2 I B P II I 

I A 21 B P II I 

I A 21 B P II I 

I A 2 B P 1--I I 

I A 2 B IP 1 I I 

I A 2 B I P II I 

I A 2 B I P II I 

I A 2 B I P II 1 

I A 2 B IP 1--I I 

I A 12 B IP 1 I I 

I A I 2 B IP II I 

I A I 2 B I P 1 I I 

I A I 2 B I P 1 I I 

I A 12 B I P 1 I I 
I A I 2B I P 1 I I 
I A 1 2B I P 1 I I 
I A I 2B J P 1 I I 
I A I-2B I-F 1 I 1 



feet of pressure on inlet and outlet 
flow rates as well as the progress of 
the reaction, the depth of the liquid, 
and the thermodynamics of the gas. 
Output consists of time-course 
graphs and tables of numbers. The 
graphical output (see figure 2) illus- 
trates an interesting phenomenon 
that occurs fairly often. There is a long 
transient before the approach of the 
steady state, but the initial transient 
is very fast, lb study the initial part ef- 
fectively, it is necessary to plot many 
points at small time intervals. Graphs, 
therefore, have the independent 
variable (time in this case) plotted 
downward and the dependent vari- 
ables plotted from left to right; thus 
(with continuous paper) there is no 
limit to the length of the plotted 
graph. However, if the PC screen dis- 
plays the graph as it is produced, only 
about 2 5 lines are shown at a time, 
so a printer is essential. 

Death of a Star 

When a typical "main sequence" star 
has been burning and radiating 
energy away for a few billion years, it 
has transmuted all of its original 
lighter elements into carbon and oxy- 
gen and must enter a carbon-burning 
phase. During this time, the internal 
pressure needed to support the star's 
weight against its own gravitational at- 
traction has required high density and 
temperature, which in turn make the 
star opaque to radiation. 

According to Planck's law, the star 
radiates at a rate determined by its 
surface area and temperature. There- 
fore, when the star's lighter elements 
are exhausted and its energy from 
nuclear reactions becomes inade- 
quate to support its weight, it starts 
to contract under gravity; this in- 
creases its internal temperature until 
it reaches about I billion degrees 

[continued) 

Figure 2: A time-course graph from 
Cameron's reactor problem. A = 
concentration of feedstock: B = 
concentration of an intermediate [on larger 
scale): P = concentration of product: I = 
inlet flow rate: 2 = outlet flow rate. 



242 BYTE' FEBRUARY 1985 




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Inquiry 187 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 243 



MODELING 



Generation of smog 
in urban areas is a 
complex phenomenon 
that involves numerous 
reactions among over 
100 trace gases 
in the atmosphere. 

Kelvin. This temperature is sufficient 
to cause carbon nuclei to begin fus- 
ing together to form heavier elements. 
This carbon-burning process supplies 
the necessary energy to make further 
gravitational contraction unnecessary. 
If the star is an ordinary one— not 



too big— the temperature generates 
enough pressure to keep the star 
stable until the carbon is exhausted. 
The temperature and density do not 
rise further, and the carbon-burning 
phase takes place relatively slowly in 
conditions of hydrostatic equilibrium. 
In a more massive star, however, the 
pressure is inadequate, contraction 
continues, the temperature and den- 
sity continue to rise, and carbon burn- 
ing proceeds explosively fast; the star 
becomes a supernova. In either case, 
the phase is extremely short in rela- 
tion to the earlier leisurely history of 
the star; typical durations may be a 
week or two for an ordinary (less 
massive) star or about a second for 
a supernova. 

Simulations have been successful 
for both the hydrostatic and the ex- 
plosive carbon-burning phases. In 
both cases, the set of nuclear reac- 
tions is the same, but the rate coeffi- 



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cients depend on temperature and 
density, variables that vary with time 
in a way determined by the stellar 
dynamics. To model the hydrostatic 
version, temperature and density are 
kept constant and rate coefficients are 
computed only once, at the start of 
the run. For the supernova version, 
temperature and density are defined 
as functions of time, and the rate coef- 
ficients are frequently recalculated 
during the run. 

The coding of the nuclear reactions, 
although they are numerous, is rela- 
tively easy because their structure is 
exactly that of chemical reactions. 
Protons, neutrons, neutrinos, alpha 
particles, and 36 heavier nuclides are 
simulated. 

A run of the hydrostatic version takes 
about 8200 seconds (2.3 hours) on the 
PC compared with about 2 5 seconds 
on the IBM 308 IK. This is a larger 
speed ratio than average— about 
3 30:1— but we may be able to improve 
the performance. The supernova ver- 
sion takes about 67 seconds on the 
3081, so we expect it to take about 
22,000 seconds (say, 6 hours) on the 
PC. Output consists of time-course 
graphs of the mass fractions of the 
various nuclides, plotted on loga- 
rithmic scales for time and for the 
mass fractions, and of tables giving 
numerical values for the mass fractions 
as functions of time. The graphs show 
clearly the stages at which the various 
nuclides are produced or used up; in 
many cases, this occurs in straight lines 
on the log-log plot, indicating mass 
fractions proportional to a (positive or 
negative) power of the time. 

Photochemical Smog 
Generation 

The generation of photochemical 
smog in urban areas is an extremely 
complex phenomenon that involves 
numerous reactions among well over 
100 trace gases in the atmosphere. 
Important elementary steps in the 
process involve the breaking of 
chemical bonds when a molecule ab- 
sorbs solar radiation; these steps 
switch off rapidly as sunset ap- 
proaches and switch on equally fast 

[continued) 



244 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 174 




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Inquiry 292 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 245 



MODELING 



at dawn. Rate coefficients also de- 
pend on smaller day/night variations 
such as temperature and water vapor 
content. Thus the behavior of the 
chemistry during the night is quite dif- 
ferent from that during the day, and 
the switching processes are technical- 
ly difficult for many differential- 
equation solvers to handle. 



The model of this process is by far 
the largest and most complicated of 
those described here. The model in- 
volves a total of 300 reactions among 
135 chemical species; the data oc- 
cupies about 620 lines of code. The 
model also requires larger working 
arrays than the others, but it can 
be fitted into 470K bytes of RAM. 



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Simulating 50 hours of real time (thus 
seeing how much greater the pollu- 
tion is on the second day than the 
first) takes about 1 10 seconds on the 
IBM 3081 K; we are not yet able to run 
it on the PC. but we might expect a 
speed ratio similar to that for the 
astrophysical problem. It is thus at the 
limit of practicability on the PC (at pre- 
sent) so far as. running time is con- 
cerned, but it is interesting that the 
model would still run faster than real 
time. Simulation of the second 24 
hours takes about one-third of the 
total time and we would expect sub- 
sequent days to run at approximately 
this speed. 

Output consists mainly of time- 
course graphs, which illustrate clearly 
the buildup, with afternoon peaks and 
nighttime troughs, in the concentra- 
tions of the important pollutants. 

Conclusion 

I have presented only a few of the 
many scientific and engineering appli- 
cations that are practicable on a micro' 
like the IBM PC with 512K bytes of 
RAM and an 8087 math coprocessor. 
1 hope, nevertheless, that I have con- 
veyed a feel for what I am sure has 
a very big future— the use of micro- 
computers for major scientific compu- 
tation. ■ 

For Further Information 

For information on some specific 

microcomputer simulation modelers, 

contact: 

Atomic Energy Research 

Establishment 
Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 
ORA, England (FACSIMILE) 

Pugh-Roberts Associates Inc. 
5 Lee St., Cambridge, MA 02139 
(Micro-DYNAMO) 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
I would like to thank the United Kingdom 
Atomic Energy Research Establishment, 
Harwell, for permission to publish the 
material about FACSIMILE contained in 
this article; and I would also like to thank 
my colleagues Philip Sweetenham and 
Kevin McPherson for providing me with 
information about the test runs they 
executed. 



246 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 300 



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FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 247 





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248 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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Inquiry 192 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 249 



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SCIENCE 



VIEWING 

MOLECULES WITH 

THE MACINTOSH 



by Earl J. Kirkland 



A BASIC program provides 3-D images 
of complex molecules 



RESEARCHERS HAVE GAINED valu- 
able insights into how molecules work 
by examining the basic physical struc- 
tures of the molecules, which in part 
determine their functions. Scientists 
have learned, for example, that the 
physics of electronic conduction in a 
silicon crystal is influenced by the 
basic symmetries of the crystal. 

The relative physical sizes and 
shapes of two molecules may also in- 
fluence the rate at which they interact 
chemically (since, for two chemicals— 
i.e., atoms or molecules— to interact, 
they must first come into contact with 
each other). This is the case with a 
particular class of biochemical sub- 
stances called enzymes, which are re- 
sponsible for controlling the rate of 
biochemical activity without them- 
selves being changed (i.e., they are 
biological catalysts). The size and 
shape of the enzyme molecule in- 
fluences which other biochemical 
substances (molecules) may bind to 
it and hence be influenced by it. 

We can gain some understanding of 
the basic functions of molecules by 
examining the size and shape of a 
given molecule, using either a real 



physical model or a computer-graph- 
ics representation of the molecule. 
References 1 , 2, and 3 give some ex- 
amples of graphic representations of 
molecular structure and their useful- 
ness in understanding molecular 
function. 

Molecules are far too small to be 
seen with optical microscopes, and 
electron microscopes are just becom- 
ing capable of directly imaging a few 
specialized types of molecules. Most 
of the molecular structures that we 
know today have been determined by 
X-ray diffraction studies of large 
crystals. A crystal can be thought of 
as a very large, single molecule com- 
posed of a small structure of a few 
atoms repeated many times. This 
repetitive nature allows researchers to 
analyze many identical molecules at 
one time and obtain a reasonable 
"signal-to-noise" ratio in the results. 

Earl J. Kirkland (Cornell University. Ithaca, 
NY 14853) holds a doctorate in applied 
physics and is a research associate at Cornell's 
School of Applied and Engineering Physics. 
His work involves computer image processing 
of electron micrographs. 



X-ray diffraction patterns cannot be 
directly interpreted but require a com- 
puter to digest the diffraction pattern. 
The computer outputs a sequence of 
numerical data describing the three- 
dimensional (3-D) positions of the 
atoms inside the molecule. This 
numerical data is rather difficult to 
understand without further reduction. 
Simple structures with only a few 
atoms may be intuitively visualized 
from the raw numerical data, but the 
more interesting or important struc- 
tures often contain hundreds of 
atoms, each with its own numerical 
coordinate (x.y.z). Intuition is inade- 
quate for complicated structures such 
as these. 

Before the advent of computer 
graphics, researchers had to go 
through the elaborate process of 
building 3-D models of each molecule 
for futher study. Because this molec- 
ular-structure data is often generated 
by a computer, it is a practical alter- 
native to also let the computer draw 
a 3-D perspective view of the mole- 
cule using computer graphics. 

Computer graphics is a powerful 

(continued) 



+— Inquiry 3 1 5 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 251 



VIEWING MOLECULES 



tool for visualizing the structure of 
large molecules in three dimensions. 
Sophisticated (and expensive) com- 
puter hardware and software systems 
for displaying molecules and crystals 
in 3-D perspective are discussed in 
references 4 and 5. 

The Apple Macintosh has enough 
resolution and speed to draw 3-D 
perspective views of relatively large 
molecules and to rotate them in space 
(not in real time but fast enough to be 
interactive). Although not as good as 
the more sophisticated systems 
(several of which are discussed in 
references 4 and 5), the Macintosh is 
certainly less expensive and can pro- 
vide quite usable and educational 
results. MODEL3D, a program written 
in Microsoft Macintosh BASIC 1 .0 and 
designed to run on the 128K-byte 
Mac, is capable of displaying up to 
600 atoms in three dimensions, with 
hidden-surface removal and azimuth- 
al and polar rotations (these terms are 
defined below). 

Molecules 

For the purposes of this discussion, 
think of a molecule as a group of 
atoms that are bound together in a 



well-defined structure. Each molecule 
has a given number of one or more 
different types of atoms and each 
atom has a specific 3-D coordinate 
associated with it. A molecule may be 
as simple as two atoms or as com- 
plicated as the DNA molecule with its 
thousands of atoms. The atom-to- 
atom spacing varies from one 
molecule to the next and is deter- 
mined by the chemistry and physics 
of the bonds. Typical atomic spacings 
are on the order of a few angstroms 
(1 angstrom =10" 8 centimeters). 

Each atom in the molecule or crystal 
has a further substructure consisting 
of a small nucleus of positive charge 
(protons and neutrons) surrounded by 
a larger, negatively charged electron 
cloud. The outer electrons in this 
cloud form the actual bond to the 
neighboring atoms. The radius of the 
atom (i.e., the electron-cloud radius) 
varies from one type of atom to the 
next. (Typically, atomic radii are on 
the order of 1 angstrom.) This atomic 
structure may be modeled graphical- 
ly as a slightly fuzzy sphere whose 
radius is the radius of the electron 
cloud. The specific 3-D coordinate of 
the atom is associated with the center 






x.z PLANE (CRT VIEWING SCREEN) 






VIEWING POSITION 



(x.y.z); 









-VIEWING DISTANCE D — 




y<0 



Figure I : A perspective view of a three-dimensional object as projected onto a 
two-dimensional CRT screen. The point (x.y.z). represents the center of a 3-D sphere, 
and (x.z). represents the projected screen coordinates. 



or nucleus of the atom. Therefore, to 
describe a whole molecule all you 
need is a list containing the 3-D coor- 
dinate and size of each atom in the 
molecule. This will be represented as 
the coordinates (x,y,z)i and atomic 

sizes (or radii) s it for i= 1,2,3 n, 

where n is the total number of atoms 
in the molecule. 

Rotation 

Once you have the list of atomic coor- 
dinates inside the computer, you can 
rotate the atomic structure to any 
angle prior to viewing it. In three 
dimensions there are two possible in- 
dependent rotations about a given 
center (or any other given point). They 
will be referred to as an azimuthal 
rotation (about the z-axis) and a polar 
rotation (about the x-axis). To 
azimuthally rotate the molecule about 
its center point (x,y.z) through an 
angle 0, you must transform each 
atomic coordinate (x,y,z)i as: 

Xt = (Xi-x )cos(<t>) + (yi-y )sm((t>) 

yl = -(Xi-x )s\n(<t>) + (yi-y )cos(<t>) 

and to rotate through a polar angle 
0, you must transform each atomic 
coordinate as: 

yi = y/costf) + (z,-z o )sin(0) 

z/ = -^/sin(0) + (z,--Zo)cos(0) 

The computer uses the new result- 
ing rotated coordinates (x'.y",z')i to 
calculate the 3-D perspective view of 
the molecule. For convenience you 
may define the center of rotation 
(x,y,z)o to be halfway between the 
minimum and maximum extent of the 
molecule (along each axis). 

3-D Perspective 

To display a molecule in 3-D on a 
computer screen, the light coming 
from the two-dimensional CRT 
(cathode-ray tube) screen must be 
made to appear as if it comes from 
a three-dimensional object (i.e., the 
molecule). One way to do this is il- 
lustrated in figure 1 (see also refer- 
ences 4 and 6). The human observer 
is in the "viewing position" at a 
distance D from the CRT screen, 
which is illustrated as a two-dimen- 



252 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



VIEWING MOLECULES 



sional x,z plane, seen from the side. 
Projected on this "screen" is a 3-D 
molecule, of which one atom has the 
coordinates (x,y,z)i. 

We then trace several light rays from 
the viewing position through the 
three-dimensional-object points. The 
points where these rays intersect the 
CRT plane is where the object should 
be placed when drawn on the CRT 
screen. By comparing similar right 
triangles formed with the viewing 
position, the i^-axis, and either the 
(x,y,z)i or (x.z) is points, we can calculate 
the screen coordinates as: 

x,-, = Dx,/(D-^) 

and 

Zi^DZiKD-yt) 

In practice, the leading multiplica- 
tive factor of D will be dropped 
because the screen coordinates will 
be rescaled later to fill the screen. The 
apparent size of each atom should 
also be scaled as above so that the 
atoms appear smaller as they get fur- 
ther away. 

In realistic 3-D perspective, some 
atoms will be in back of other atoms 
and hence should not be visible. This 
is the so-called "hidden-surface prob- 
lem." An easy, if crude, solution is to 
simply sort the atoms by depth and 
draw from the back forward, always 
overwriting each successive layer of 
atoms. When each successive atom is 
drawn it exactly overwrites the por- 
tion of the object that it would nor- 
mally obscure. This is the approach 
1 have used here. 

The Program 

I have implemented the theory out- 
lined above in MODEL3D (listing 1), 
a program written in Microsoft BASIC 
for the Macintosh. {Editor's note: The 
source code for MODEL3D is available for 
downloading via BYTEnet Listings. The 
number is (603) 924-9820.) The pro- 
gram first asks for the name of the 
data file containing the atomic coor- 
dinates of the molecule you wish to 
draw. You can obtain this information 
from college-level chemistry or 
physics textbooks, or from the 

(continued) 



Listing 1: The Source listing o/ MODEL3D, a Microsoft BASIC 1.0 program 
to draw 3-D perspective views of molecules. 



*** MODEL3D.BAS *** 
Draw a 3D perspective view of a molecule with rotation 
For private, noncommercial use only. 
©E. Kirkland 4-JUL-84, added printer distortion 9-SEP-84 

NOTE: Remember to shrink command window to lower left 
hand corner so that the lower right side of screen is visible 



10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 DEFINT l-N:DEFSNG 0-Z:DEFSNG A-G 

100 DIM E(4),IP(12),X(600) I Y(600),Z(600) ) S(600) 

110 ' 

120 ' Define shading bit patterns for sphere 

130 IP(0) = &H4411:IP(1) = IP(0):IP(2) = IP(0):IP(3)=IP(0) 

140 IP(4) = &H55AA:IP(5) = IP(4):IP(6) = IP(4):IP(7) = IP(4) 

150 IP(8) = &HFFFF:IP(9) = IP(8):IP(10) = IP(8):IP(11)=IP(8) 

160 ' 

1 70 ' Ask what to do 

180 CLS:INPUT "Data file name : ".FILES 

190 INPUT "Azim., polar angles : ", PHI.THETA 

200 INPUT "Viewing distance : ",VIEWD:INPUT "Size mag. : ",SMAG 

210 INPUT "Type 1 for printer: M ,IPRINT 

220 ' Printer distortion correction factor 

230 IF IPRINT=1 THEN DISTORT= 1.094 ELSE DISTORT=1! 

240 TIM# = TIMER 

250 PHI = PHI*3.14159/180!:THETA = THETA*3. 14159/180! 

260 CP = COS(PH l):SP = SIN(PHI):CT = COS(THETA):ST = SIN(THETA) 

270 ' 

280 ' Read atomic coordinates from data file and scale 

290 OPEN FILES FOR INPUT AS #1 

300 XMIN = 1E + 25:XMAX= -XMIN:YMIN = XMIN:YMAX = XMAX 

310 ZMIN = XMIN:ZMAX = XMAX:N = 

320 WHILE NOT EOF(1) 

330 N = N + 1 

340 INPUT#1 ) X(N) ) Y(N),Z(N),S(N) 

350 IF X(N)>XMAX THEN XMAX = X(N) 

360 IF X(N)<XMIN THEN XMIN = X(N) 

370 IF Y(N)>YMAX THEN YMAX = Y(N) 

380 IF Y(N)<YMIN THEN YMIN = Y(N) 

390 IF Z(N)>ZMAX THEN ZMAX = Z(N) 

400 IF Z(N)<ZMIN THEN ZMIN = Z(N) 

410 WEND 

420 PRINT N "atomic coord." 

430 XMIN = .5*(XMAX + XMIN):YMIN = .5*(YMIN + YMAX) 

440 ZMIN = .5*(ZMIN + ZMAX):PRINT "Rotating..." 

450 ' 

460 ' Rotate molecule around its center 

470 FOR I = 1 TO N 

480 XA = X(I)-XMIN:YA = Y(I)-YMIN 

490 X(I) = CP*XA + SP*YA:Y(I)= -SP*XA + CP*YA 

500 YA = Y(I):ZA = Z(I)-ZMIN - 

510 Y(I) = CT*YA + ST*ZA:Z(I)= -ST*YA + CT*ZA 

520 NEXT l:PRINT "Sorting..." 

530 ' 

540 ' Sort by depth (shell sort) 

550 IGAP = INT(CSNG(N)/2!) 

560 WHILE IGAP> = 1 

570 FOR l = IGAP + 1 TO N 

580 FOR J = I-IGAP TO 1 STEP - IGAP 

590 JG = J + IGAP 



[continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 253 



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600 IF Y(J)< =Y(JG) THEN GOTO 640 

610 SWAP X(J),X(JG):SWAP Y(J),Y(JG) 

620 SWAP Z(J),Z(JG):SWAP S(J).S(JG) 

630 NEXT J 

640 NEXT I 

650 IGAP = INT(CSNG(IGAP)/2!) 

660 WEND 

670 ' 

680 ' For perspective projection and scale coordinates 

690 SCALE = - 1 E + 25:SMAX = SCALE 

700 FOR I = 1 TO N 

710 YA = 1 !/(VIEWD - Y(I)):X(I) = X(l)* YA:Z(I) = Z(I)*YA:S(I) = S(l)* YA 

720 IF SCALE<ABS(X(I)) THEN SCALE = ABS(X(I)) 

730 IF SCALE<ABS(Z(I)) THEN SCALE = ABS(Z(I)) 

740 IF SMAX<S(I) THEN SMAX = S(I) 

750 NEXT IrSCALE = 1 1 0!/(SCALE + .5*SMAX*SMAG) 

760 SCALEX = SCALE*DISTORT 

770 ' 

780 ' Plot shaded circles (emulating spheres) 

790 FOR I = 1 TO N 

800 IX = FIX(X(I)*SCALEX + 350!): IY = FIX(Z(I)*SCALE + 1 30!) 

810 IR = FIX(S(I)*SCALE*SMAG):IRX = IR*DISTORT 

820 GOSUB 880 

830 NEXT I 

840 PRINT TIMER - TIM# " sec" 

850 CLOSE#1:END 

860 ' 

870 ' Sphere plotting subroutine using Quickdraw FILLOVAL 

880 IE(0) = IY-IR:IE(1) = IX-IRX:IE(2) = IY + IR:IE(3)=IX+IRX 

890 CALL FILLOVAL(VARPTR(IE(0)),VARPTR(IP(0))) 

900 IR2 = .8*IR:IRX2=.8*IRX 

910 IE(0) = IY-IR2:IE(1)=IX-IRX2:IE(2) = IY + IR2:IE(3) = IX + IRX2 

920 CALL FILLOVAL(VARPTR(IE(0)),VARPTR(IP(4))) 

930 IR2 = .65*IR:IRX2 = .65*IRX 

940 IE(0) = IY - IR2:IE(1) = IX - IRX2:IE(2) = IY + IR2:IE(3) = IX + IRX2 

950 CALL FILLOVAL(VARPTR(IE(0)),VARPTR(IP(8))) 

960 RETURN 



crystallographic technical literature. 
Wyckoff's six-volume series (see 
reference 12) offers an encyclopedic 
tabulation of many molecular struc- 
tures. [You can also make up your own coor- 
dinates, following the format below,, to experi- 
ment with the program] 

Prepare the data file using MacWrite. 
As shown in the example in figure 2. 
each line of the file represents one 
atom in the molecule and has four 
numbers. The first three numbers of 
each line are the (x,y,z)i coordinates 
of the ith atom and the fourth number 
is the size or atomic radius of this 
atom. These numbers may be in any 
convenient set of units as long as all 
the numbers are in the same units. 
Note that MacWrite sometimes leaves 
several blank lines at the end of the 
file that must be deleted. You must 



also save the file as "text-only" in- 
stead of the default "entire-docu- 
ment." 

Alternatively if the molecule is a 
crystal you can generate a data file 
containing the atomic coordinates for 
it by programming the rules for the 
repetitive structure of the crystal in a 
separate BASIC program, as I did for 
the crystal silicon (see below). 

After asking you for the name of the 
data file, the program asks for the 
rotation angles (in degrees), the view- 
ing distance (D in figure I; in the same 
units as the atomic coordinates and 
sizes), the atomic-radius size mag- 
nifier (this can be used to expand or 
contract the apparent size of each dis- 
played atom; to get the normal size 
from the input file, type I), and finally, 

[continued) 



254 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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VIEWING MOLECULES 



0,0,0, .15 

• Jj i J } U j i 1 J 

.5,0, .5, .15 

U j i J) • Jj • 1 J 

• J) • J ) 1 y • 1 J 

• J j 1 f • O f i 1 J 

1 J • J ) • J) I 1 J 

.25, .25, .25, .15 
.25, .75, .75, .15 
.75, .25, .75, .15 
.75, .75, .25, .15 
0,0,1, .15 
0,1,0, .15 
0,1,1, .15 
1,0,0, .15 
1,0,1, .15 
1,1,0, .15 
1,1,1, .15 



Figure 2 : A sample data file showing the three-dimensional coordinates for one unit 
cell of silicon. This was generated by the program in listing 2. 



Listing 2: A Microsoft BASIC program to generate the three-dimensional 
coordinates for a silicon lattice. 



10 ' -***SIGEN.BAS *** 

20 ' Generate a Silicon lattice of Nx, Ny, Nz unit cells 

30 'E. Kirkland 15-SEP-84 

40 DEFINT l-N:DEFSNG A-G.O-Z 

50 INPUT "Generate Nx.Ny.Nz Silicon unit cells : ".NX.NY.NZ 

60 INPUT "Output file name : ".FILES 

70 OPEN FILES FOR OUTPUT AS #1 :SIZE = .15 

80 FORIX = 0TONX 

90 FORIY = 0TONY 
100 FOR IZ = 0TO NZ 
110 WRITE#1 1 IX,IY 1 IZ,SIZE 

120 IF (IX = NX) OR (IY=NY)OR(IZ = NZ)GOTO230 
130 WRITEnjX+.SJY + .SJZ.SIZE 
140 WRlTEn.lX+.SJYJZ + .S.SIZE 
150 WRITEnjXJY+.SJZ + .S.SIZE 
1 60 WRITE#1 ,IX + .5JY + .5JZ + 1 .SIZE 
170 WRITE^.IX+.SJY + UZ + .S.SIZE 
1 80 WRITE#1 .IX + 1 . IY + .5.IZ + .5.SIZE 
1 90 WRITE#1 .IX + .25.IY + .25.IZ + .25.SIZE 
2Q0 WRITE#1 ,IX + .25JY + .75JZ + .75.SIZE 
210 WRITE#1 ,IX+ .75JY + .25.IZ + .75.SIZE 
220 WRITE#1 .IX + .75.IY + .75.IZ + .25.SIZE 
230 NEXT IZ 
240 NEXT IY 
250 NEXT IX 
260 CLOSE#1:END 



A circle appears 
elliptical printed 
with the Imagewriter. 



whether the drawing is to be printed. 
The Apple Imagewriter printer has a 
slightly different aspect ratio than the 
screen, so that a circle on the CRT 
screen appears slightly elliptical when 
printed. The program can apply a 
predistortion to the drawing (multi- 
plying the x coordinate by 1.094) so 
that it will appear normal when you 
print it. 

The program then reads from the 
data file until it encounters an "end- 
of-file" (EOF) condition (the total 
number of input lines determines the 
total number of atoms in the mole- 
cule). An "Input Past End" error in- 
dicates that the data file contains 
extra characters. 

After reading in the atomic coor- 
dinates and size data, the program 
rotates them about the center point 
and sorts them by depth using the 
Shell sort method (see references 7, 
8, and 9). The program then projects 
these new coordinates into the view- 
ing screen coordinates with a 3-D 
perspective and scales them. If at this 
point the program signals, "Out of 
Memory," type CLEAR, 20000 and 
run the program again. 

The final portion of the program 
draws a sphere at each of the pro- 
jected atomic coordinates, from the 
back forward, to fulfill the hidden- 
surface requirements. The "sphere" is 
drawn using three QuickDraw FILL- 
OVAL calls with different shading pat- 
terns (see Appendix E of the 
Microsoft BASIC 1 .0 manual). The first 
call draws a light-gray circle filling the 
whole atomic radius, the second 
draws a dark-gray circle with a slight- 
ly smaller radius, and the third draws 
a black circle with a still smaller 
radius. The net effect is a shaded cir- 
cle that looks like a sphere. For a print- 
out of the drawing, use the print- 
screen (Shift-Command-4) command. 

[continued) 



256 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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VIEWING MOLECULES 



Note that if two atoms are located 
at exactly the same depth (distance 
from the viewer), this program will ar- 
bitrarily draw one atom in front of the 
other. (Obviously this will make a dif- 

r 6 File Edit Control 



ference only if the atoms are close 
enough to each other so that their 
radii overlap.) This problem will prob- 
ably not be significant in most cases 
and may be easily overcome by 



M0QEL3D.BflS 



■Data file name : SILICON2.DAT 
JAzim, polar angles : 0,0 
■Viewing distance : 7 
Is&emag. ; 1 
J Type 1 for printer: 1 

107 atomic coord. 
iRotating... 
I Sorting... 

39 sec 



= Command = 



P 




Figure 3: A 3-D perspective view of 2- by 2- by 2~unit cells of a silicon lattice. 
The data file was generated by the program in listing 2. 




Figure 4: Another 3-D perspective view of the 2- by 2- by 2-unit cell structure 
in figure 3. 



258 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



VIEWING MOLECULES 



rotating the molecule so that one 
atom is slightly in front of (or behind) 
the other. A proper solution to this 
problem is beyond the scope of this 
exercise. 

Examples 

As I mentioned above, a crystal may 
be thought of as a single large 
molecule whose structure is a simple 
pattern repeated many times. Silicon 
forms a crystal structure with a basic 
repeat distance of 5.43 angstroms. It 
is composed of two interpenetrating 
face-centered cubic (fee) lattices (see 
references 10 and 1 1), with one fee lat- 
tice offset from the other by 
[ { A}A}A) x 5.43 angstroms. There are 
roughly 6.2 5 x IO 18 unit cells per 
cubic millimeter of silicon. Large 
crystals of silicon in this form (with 
suitable treatment) are commonly 
used to make the vast majority of in- 
tegrated circuits in use today. For ex- 
ample, the Motorola 68000 processor 
used in the Macintosh is made out of 
a single crystal of silicon. Listing 2 
shows SIGEN, a short Microsoft 
BASIC 1 .0 program that generates a 
data file of the positions of the atoms 
in crystalline silicon. The data file in 
figure 2 was produced by SIGEN and 

r # File Edit Control 



contains the coordinates for one 1- by 
1- by 1-unit cell of silicon. Figures 3 
and 4 show computer-graphic repre- 
sentations of the crystal with two 
slightly different orientations: the face 
of the cube (figure 3) and an edge of 
the cube (figure 4). Note the slight 
slope (like a roof of a house) visible 
in figure 4. The vertical edge in the 
center is nearer to the observer than 
the two outer edges on the left and 
right and hence appears larger (taller) 
than the outer edges in 3-D perspec- 
tive. Note the characteristic symmetry 
of silicon that the graphic represen- 
tation reveals. 

Figure 5 is a computer-graphic rep- 
resentation of the aspirin molecule, 
whose structure is given in reference 
12. The chemical formula for aspirin 
is (HOOC)C 6 H 4 -OC(0)CH 3 . I have ar- 
bitrarily depicted the hydrogen atoms 
with a small radius to distinguish them 
from the other atoms in the molecule. 
The aspirin molecule has a large hex- 
agonal carbon structure (benzene) on 
the bottom and clusters of carbon, 
hydrogen, and oxygen on the top. 

Conclusions 

Computer graphics offers a conve- 
nient way to visualize three-dimen- 



M0BEL3D.BRS 



iData file nam* : ASPIRIN DAT 



Azinv, polar angles : 
Viewing distance : 2 
Size mag. : 9 
Type 1 for printer: 1 

2 1 atomic coord. 
Rotating... 
Sorting... 

11 sec 



160,45 





:"; v :: : ., ."-'■ 



Figure 5: 3-D perspective view of the aspirin molecule. 






sional structures of molecules as an 
aid to understanding the behavior of 
the molecules. The Apple Macintosh 
computer is capable of displaying a 
graphic representation of fairly com- 
plex molecules. Although there are 
large computer systems that can pro- 
duce better graphic representations, 
they are beyond the price range of 
most individuals. The Macintosh gives 
a spectacular performance in relation 
to its cost. Even though MODEL3D is 
written in interpreted BASIC, most of 
the actual graphics is done by the 
Macintosh ROM via the QuickDraw 
subroutine. Hence, the program runs 
relatively fast. These built-in graphics 
routines make the Macintosh very 
useful for this application. ■ 

REFERENCES 

1. Bechgaard, K., and D. Jerome. "Organic 
Superconductors." Scientific American. July 
1982, pp. 52-61. 

2. Ptashne, M., A. D. Johnson, and C O. 
Pabo. "A Genetic Switch in a Bacterial 
Virus." Scientific American, November 1982, 
pp. 128-141. 

3. Dickersoa R.E. 'The DNA Helix and 
How it is Read." Scientific American, 
December 1983, pp. 94-111. 

4. Foley, J. D., and A. Van Dam. Fundamen 
tals of Interactive Computer Graphics. Reading, 
MA: Addison-Wesley, 1982, plate 15. 

5. Greenberg, D., A. Marcus, A. H 
Schmidt, and V. Gorter. The Computer Image: 
Applications of Computer Graphics. Reading 
MA: Addison-Wesley, 1982, pp. 58-59. 

6. Newman, W. M., and R. F. Sproull. Prin- 
ciples of Interactive Computer Graphics. 2nd ed. 
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979, pp 
339-342. 

7. Shell, D L. "A High Speed Sorting Pro- 
cedure." CACM 2, 7 (July 1959) pp. 30-32 

8. Rich, R. P. Internal Sorting Methods Illustrated 
with PL/1 Programs. Englewood Cliffs, NI 
Prentice-Hall, 1972. 

9. Kernighan, B W., and P. J. Plauger. Soft- 
ware Tools. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 
1976, p. 106. 

10. Ashcroft, N. W, and N. D Mermin. Solid 
State Physics. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & 
Winston, 1976, p. 106. 

1 1 . Kittel, C. Introduction to Solid State Physics. 
4th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1971, 
pp. 30, 31. 

12. Wyckoff, R. W G. Crystal Structures: Vol. 
6, Part 1 , The Structure of Benzene Derivatives. 
2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 
1951, pp. 234-235. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 259 



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Inquiry 368 



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MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SOURCE, INC. 

3543 N.E. Broadway, Portland, Oregon 97232 



SCIENCE 



LABORATORY 
INTERFACING 



by Lincoln E. Ford, M.D. 



A medical researcher examines the capabilities and limitations 
of an important laboratory device 



ALMOST ALL LABORATORY com- 
puter applications can be described 
as one of the following functions: (I) 
control of experiments, including tim- 
ing and synchronizing external events 
and setting external voltages; (2) data 
acquisition, usually through the digital 
conversion of analog electrical sig- 
nals; (3) data storage; and (4) data 
analysis. While data storage and 
analysis make computers most ap- 
pealing in the laboratory, these func- 
tions are common to most computer 
applications. The functions that make 
laboratory applications different from 
other computer uses are the first two, 
control of experiments and data ac- 
quisition. The following discussion is 
directed at these two areas. The two 
functions together require five distinct 
hardware components: analog-to- 
digital (A/D) converters, digital-to- 
analog (D/A) converters, digital input- 
output (I/O) ports, counters, and an ac- 
curate frequency generator. This 
discussion is developed from my ex- 
perience with a hardware device that 
provides all five functions. 

A/D Conversion 

In a typical application, analog signals 
from some electronic device are 



sampled and converted to digital data 
at regular intervals. Usually sampling 
continues for some well-defined 
period. The sampling may progress at 
different speeds at different times. For 
example, it is frequently desirable to 
record high-speed events that occur 
within the setting of lower-speed 
events. To record both types of events 
with an analog recorder (an oscillo- 
scope or chart recorder), it is usually 
necessary to make two recordings, 
one at a high speed and one at a low 
speed. Using a computer, it is relative- 
ly simple to record a single input at 
different speeds. 

Analog-to-digital conversion is 
perhaps the most critical of labora- 
tory applications because errors at 
this step will greatly distort the data. 
It is also frequently the function that 
most taxes the speed of the com- 
puter. Speed at this stage is some- 
times limited by the A/D converters, 

Lincoln E. Ford, M.D., is an associate pro- 
fessor of medicine and cardiology at the 
University of Chicago (Cardiology Section. 
Department of Medicine. University of 
Chicago. 950 East 59th St., Chicago. IL 
60637). His hobbies include gardening and 
skiing. 



but more often it is limited by soft- 
ware. Ultimately the software is 
limited by the design of the computer, 
but more frequently it is limited by 
having to perform some other task 
concomitantly. One such task is the 
generation of control pulses during 
A/D sampling. 

In many instances the initiation of 
an A/D recording must be synchro- 
nized with the experiment. Instead of 
having an external device initiate the 
A/D conversion sequence, it is tempt- 
ing to have the computer control the 
experiment at the same time that it 
is collecting data. An additional ad- 
vantage of this combined approach is 
that the data collection is very ac- 
curately synchronized to the experi- 
mental procedure. The difficulty with 
this approach is that it requires the 
computer to perform two tasks at 
once. This can call for some relative- 
ly sophisticated programming, par- 
ticularly when high speeds are neces- 
sary. 

Interface Boards 

There are several commercially avail- 
able devices that will perform at least 
four of the five functions required for 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 263 



LABORATORY INTERFACING 



the laboratory applications described 
above. Several of my colleagues and 
I bought the LabMaster board made 
by Tecmar because it provides all five 
functions and because it was the first 
one available. It also costs less than 
more recent devices. It consists of a 
motherboard that fits into the IBM PC 
and a daughterboard that houses the 
A/D converters outside the computer. 
This arrangement isolates the incom- 
ing analog signals from electrical in- 
terference inside the computer. 

The Data IVanslation Company 
makes a similar board that has the 
capability of direct memory access 
not available on the LabMaster but 
does not have the Tecmar board's 
progammable counters. We preferred 
the Tecmar board in part because we 
wanted to put out logic pulses to con- 
trol the experimental apparatus while 
collecting data with the A/D converter. 
The five programmable counters 
simplify this task because they 
operate independently of the central 
processing unit of the host computer. 
The counters can be programmed to 
begin counting the same frequency 
pulses that trigger the A/D conver- 
sions. When they have completed 
their count they toggle their external 
outputs without intervention from the 
computer. Thus, the logic pulses are 
synchronized exactly to data acquisi- 
tion without interfering with the high- 
speed operation of the central 
processor. 

When very high speeds are not re- 
quired, the digital I/O port can be 
used for applications control. Al- 
though most commonly used as a 
single interface to other digital equip- 
ment, the individual channels in the 
port can be used separately to con- 
trol different pieces of apparatus. In 
addition, these channels can be con- 
figured to accept logic pulses from 
the apparatus, thereby allowing a 
bidirectional interaction. 

A final way of controlling experi- 
ments is to use the D/A converters to 
set voltage levels for external devices. 

Possible Improvements 

In spite of our general satisfaction 
with the Tecmar board, we found 



several areas that need improvement, 
both in the LabMaster and in the 
other devices that are available. As ex- 
plained in John Mertus's letter to 
BYTE ("Data Collection with an IBM 
PC" October 1984, page 14), the 
absence of direct memory access on 
the Tecmar board severely limits this 
board in multitasking operations. 

The cable connections could be 
greatly improved. Tecmar sells a set 
of cables for external connections to 
the board, but they are simply that- 
bare cables. Users must make their 
own interfaces. We have made an in- 
terface box with BNC connectors for 
each connection, and while we were 
at it, we put in some buffer chips to 
protect the digital I/O ports. Several 
other manufacturers supply slightly 
less primitive connections for their 
devices, but at best these consist of 
screw terminals for bare wires. I do 
not know of many laboratory scien- 
tists who relish the thought of bring- 
ing their signals out on bare wires. 
Any manufacturer who supplied a 
device with an interface having stan- 
dard connectors such as BNCs and 
well-protected inputs would find a 
ready market. 

There is one improvement related 
to signal processing that I would 
especially like to see. This is the ad- 
dition of filters to the analog inputs 
of the A/D converters. It is well known 
that no information can be derived 
about the frequency components of 
a digitized signal that are greater than 
half the sampling frequency. Noise 
and oscillations in the signal that are 
faster than the sampling frequency at 
best decrease the signal-to-noise 
ratio. In many cases, faster signals in- 
troduce "aliasing," spurious low- 
frequency oscillations that result from 
sampling a high-frequency oscillation 
at systematically different parts of its 
period. Although filters generally in- 
troduce lags in electronic signals, the 
lags introduced by antialiasing filters 
are likely to cause far less signal 
distortion than will high-frequency 
oscillations. The antialiasing device 
should consist of a low-pass filter with 
a sharp cutoff frequency near the 
sampling frequency. The main argu- 



ment against such a filter is that the 
sampling frequency varies widely, 
sometimes within the same record, so 
that the cutoff frequency must be 
made to vary in the same way. The 
solution to this problem is to use an 
integrator that averages the signal be- 
tween sample intervals. A. F. Huxley 
and G. L, Reed recently described a 
clever circuit that performs this 
averaging (see 'An Automatic 
Smoothing Circuit for Input to Digitiz- 
ing Equipment." journal of Physiology, 
volume 292, 1979, page 1 IP). It is trig- 
gered by the same clock pulse that 
triggers the A/D conversions, so that 
its cutoff frequency always varies with 
the sampling frequency. 

A major way in which A/D con- 
verters could be improved is by the 
use of separate converters for each in- 
put channel and the use of on-board 
data buffers. Most computer-con- 
trolled multichannel devices have a 
single A/D converter with a multi- 
plexer that Switches different channels 
into it. Only one channel is converted 
at a time, so that the samples in each 
channel are displaced in time relative 
to those in other channels. This time 
displacement can cause a systematic 
error when the data from one chan- 
nel is plotted as a function of that in 
another. The samples from different 
channels can be brought into coin- 
cidence either by using separate A/D 
converters for each channel or by 
holding the signals from all channels 
in sample-and-hold circuits that are 
triggered when the first channel 
begins its conversion. The advantage 
of separate converters and on-board 
data buffers is that they increase the 
speed of operation while effecting the 
synchronization. 

Computer Considerations 

Your choice of interface board has an 
effect on the size of the central pro- 
cessor and data bus needed. Most 
data is collected from I0-, 12-, or 
16-bit A/D converters, so one A/D 
conversion will require a 2-byte word. 
In a machine with a 16-bit bus (a true 
16-bit computer) entire words can be 
moved at once. In a smaller computer 

[continued) 



264 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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NEC Home Electronics (U.S.A.), Inc., Personal Computer Division, 1401 Estes Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007, NEC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. 



Inquiry 343 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 265 



DeSmet 
C 

8086/8088 

Development $111 Q 

Package IU%J 



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■ First and Second in AUG '83 BYTE 
benchmarks 



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Set multiple breakpoints by function 

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having an 8-bit bus, words must be 
moved in two sequential steps. This 
need to make two-step transfers great- 
ly slows most of the computer's oper- 
ation. Since most time-critical opera- 
tions involve data transfers along the 
bus, this slowing occurs at a very 
vulnerable stage. Although a true 
1 6-bit computer transfers data twice 
as fast as an 8-bit machine, it does not 
follow that a 3 2 -bit computer would 
be still faster in handling integer data. 
Since integer data occurs in 2-byte 
words, increasing the bus size to 32 
bits would not produce any increase 
in speed unless some way could be 
devised to move two words at once. 
The 16-bit machines available today 
are therefore as large as many opera- 
tions require. 

A question related to size is 
whether it is better to have several 
small single-purpose computers or 
one large, multipurpose machine. My 
own preference is for the former. A 
major consideration is cost. In addi- 
tion, the failure of a single computer 
in a group does not incapacitate the 
entire laboratory in the way that the 
failure of a single large computer 
does. Another advantage of a group 
of computers is that each can be 
dedicated to a single task. Even with 
the best multitasking arrangements, 
there will always be some time-critical 
operation that requires the uninter- 
rupted use of the computer, forcing 
other users to wait. With multiple 
computers such interactive interrup- 
tions do not occur. 

The main disadvantage of small 
computers is that they are slow. This 
disadvantage is usually more than off- 
set by the ability to dedicate the 
machine to a specific task for an ex- 
tended period. 

The IBM PC Compromise 

In spite of the negative considerations 
about the 8-bit bus, my colleagues 
and 1 bought several IBM PCs for use 
in the laboratory. We selected this 
computer rather than a true 16-bit 
machine because of its popularity. 
Many peripherals and programs are 
available for it, and we felt that it 
would not go out of production near- 



ly as quickly as some of the other, less 
popular models. 

We have found the PC to be as good 
as or better than expected in almost 
all areas except for one peculiarity: 
the absence of a limited interrupt or 
a software-controllable wait state. 
Once an A/D conversion is made, a 
flag consisting of one bit in a status 
register is set. The computer must 
then detect the flag and take the 
digital data from the converter. The 
PC can detect the flag in only two 
ways: polling the status register or 
generating a full interrupt. A full inter- 
rupt, together with its return, requires 
83 clock cycles. This many cycles 
would take more than 20 microsec- 
onds (fus) just to detect the flag. Poll- 
ing takes substantially less time. Using 
a polling routine, we have written se- 
quential A/D sampling programs that 
operate at a rate of 22 fxs per conver- 
sion. Over half that time is spent poll- 
ing the status register. If a more rapid 
way of detecting the flag could be 
devised, this routine could operate at 
more than twice the speed. If the cen- 
tral processor could be put in a wait 
state immediately before each A/D 
conversion and be released by the 
'A/D done" flag, detection of the con- 
version would be virtually instan- 
taneous. An otherwise-similar com- 
puter that had such a capability would 
be able to accept A/D conversions 
about every 10 f.is. 

Software 

Software is the most crucial part of 
any laboratory system. Clever pro- 
gramming can introduce great flex- 
ibility and compensate for many defi- 
ciencies in hardware. Poor program- 
ming can hobble even the best sys- 
tem. The time required to develop 
good programs should not be under- 
estimated. Many of us have bought a 
piece of equipment that was physical- 
ly capable of performing some 
desired task only to find that weeks 
of programming were required to 
make it work. For those of us who 
have had this experience, there is no 
stronger selling point for equipment 
than the concomitant availability of 
adequate programs to run it. ■ 



266 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



********•**••** 

LOMAS DATA PRODUCTS PRESENTS: 






IBM-PC COMPATIBLE COLOR GRAPHICS FOR THE S100 BUS 



COLOR MAGIC brings to the SI 00 bus a new level of 
compatibility with the IBM-PC. In combination with our 
other boards, COLOR MAGIC allows execution of IBM 
PC-DOS programs without modification. COLOR 
MAGIC maps to the same port addresses and memory 
space as the IBM-PC color graphic board. 
COLOR MAGIC has the following features: 

■ 32 K bytes of onboard video memory 
(The IBM-PC has only 16 K bytes) 

■ DISPLAY MODES: 

- 80 by 25 alpha-numeric 

- 40 by 25 alpha-numeric 

- 160 by 100 16 color graphic 

- 320 by 200 4 color 

- 640 by 200 4 color - 32k version 
(not supported by IBM) 

■ RGB and composite video outputs 

■ Light pen input 

■ IBM-PC compatible KEYBOARD INTERFACE 
onboard 

COLOR MAGIC is supported under MS-DOS 2. 1 1 now 
and will be supported under Concurrent DOS by 
MAR 1. With COLOR MAGIC in combination with our 



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other high performance boards, you' can now config- 
ure an SI 00 bus system with up to 5 times the perfor- 
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an IBM-PC/AT. If your application requires IBM com- 
patibility and high performance LOMAS DATA PROD- 
UCTS IS THE ONLY LOGICAL CHOICE. 
PRICE . . . .16K VERSION - $595.00, 32K - $695.00 



ANNOUNCING MEGARAM: as 
THE HIGH PERFORMANCE DYNAMIC RAM FOR THE S100 BUS 

PHHH _ „ v ^ m (i Application programs being written for today's 16 bit computers are requiring 

! ! ! :*:'■! I, •;;-!;•;• -I! ••! ;i ;: ;j ; I -J \ more and more memory, while the performance requirements of the memory 
,' ■ ■ : ; ' ; ' ['■ y } \- }} ; \ . ! \}\ \\ }': . '■] } \'\ : \ \ '■ J are increasing as the 16 bit processors require faster and faster access limes. 

Mf;g ARAM has been designed to address this problem and provide FAST, 
LIABLE, HIGH DENSITY memory for the S100 BUS. MEGARAM requires 
wait states with any of our 8086 (up to 10MHZ) or 80186 CPU boards and 
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•few2 'SMiiM '■ : ::i ; ^-:v; r;:-.: ■;: & I 256 Kbyte $595.00 512 Kbytes $1095.00 

iffllffltimfl^^ 1 Mbyte $1995.00 - (Feb 1) - 2 Mbytes $3795.00 



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■ HAZITALL SYSTEM SUPPORT BOARD 

2 serial, 2 parallel ports, battery protected clock calendar, 
Hard disk controller host interface PRICE $325.00 

■ RAM67 HIGH PERFORMANCE STATIC RAM 

. High speed (1 00ns) low power CMOS static RAM. 128K bytes, 
extended addressing PRICE $995.00 

■ LDP72 FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLER 

Single/double density, single /double sided disks, both 8" 
and 5 1/4" inch drives simultaneously PRICE $275.00 

■ LIGHTNING 286—80286 CPU BOARD 

Offers 4 times the performance of a 5MHZ 8086 CPU while 
maintaining software compatibility PRICE $1395.00 

■ OCTAPORT 8 PORT SERIAL BOARD 

8 serial ports to 19200 baud operation real time clock 
interrupt. Ideal for multi-user systems such as MP/M-86 * . . 
PRICE $395.00 



*CP/M-86 t MP/M-86 and CONCURRENT CP/M-86 are trademarks of 
Digital Research. 

**MS'DOS is a trademark of Microsoft. 
***Lightning One is a trademark ofhomas Data Products, Inc. 
****FC-DO$isatm' 



Dealer inquiries invited 



LOMAS DATA 
PRODUCTS, inc. 



66 Hopkinton Road, Westboro, MA 01581 
Tel: (617) 366-6434 □ Telex.: 4996272 



Inquiry 188 



For orders outside the U.S., contact our exclusive dealers: 

DAustralicx - LAMRON PTY. LTD., (02) 85-6228 

□England — FULCRUM 0621828763 

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Prices and specifications are subject to change. 



HIGH TECHNOLOGY AT AFFORDABLE PRICES 



Dot Matrix Printers 

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LANGUAGES 

MacASM (Assembler) $ 69.88 

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WORD PROCESSING 

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OTHER 

Copy II Mac $ 29.88 

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Kensington Modem 11 9.88 

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268 BYTE • FEBRUARY I985 



Inquiry 36 



SCIENCE 



INTERFACING FOR 

DATA 
ACQUISITION 



BY THOMAS R. CLUNE 



A comparison of three interfaces 



THE USE OF MICROCOMPUTERS for 
data acquisition in the sciences is sur- 
prisingly limited. It is widely recog- 
nized that the need for such applica- 
tions exists. But I discovered in my ex- 
perience at Brandeis University that 
most researchers have either had bad 
experiences with data acquisition on 
minicomputers or simply don't feel 
that they have the time to learn what 
they would need to know to retool 
their labs. Nonetheless, the advan- 
tages of computerizing are so sub- 
stantial that microcomputer-based 
data acquisition is slowly moving into 
the lab. In this article, I'll share some 
of my experience with different ap- 
proaches to computerizing data ac- 
quisition. Since I find the IEEE-488 to 
be the most versatile option for 
laboratory data acquisition, I will 
devote a fair amount of time to ex- 
plaining that interface. My hope is that 
my experience may ease the prob- 
lems that you might encounter in 
computerizing your setup. 

The Problem 

There are three basic reasons why 
microcomputers are so important in 



the context of data acquisition. First, 
for a minicomputer or mainframe to 
be affordable, its use must be shared 
by more than one person, but in data 
acquisition it is crucial to have the 
computer's attention when the data 
is ready. Microcomputers make single- 
user systems affordable. Second, 
mainframe computers are generally 
not located in the laboratory. Thus, in 
any but very low speed data-acquisi- 
tion contexts, there is a communica- 
tions bottleneck created by the data 
transmission. Third, there is no com- 
mon standard for interfacing with 
laboratory instruments on main- 
frames, so each laboratory setup pre- 
sents substantial and individual prob- 
lems of design and implementation 
that exacerbate the financial and 
logistical difficulties. 

At least one other concern is fuel- 
ing the drive toward computerization 

Thomas R. Clune is a BYTE technical editor. 
Before coming to BYTE, he was the physical- 
chemistry lab coordinator at Brandeis Univer- 
sity, where he taught data acquisition by 
microcomputer. He can be contacted at POB 
372, Hancock. NH 03449. 



in the lab: The cost of turnkey instru- 
ments has become so high that most 
institutions are unable to afford the 
state-of-the-art equipment needed to 
conduct research. This is particularly 
irritating because most instruments in 
the sciences have essentially the same 
components. You end up paying over 
and over again for a built-in chart 
recorder, a waveform digitizer, a 
monochrometer, a photomultiplier, 
etc. And when the new generation of 
an instrument comes out with a 
broader dynamic range or some other 
improvement in one component, the 
entire turnkey instrument must be re- 
placed. We simply can't afford to pay 
for research done that way any more. 
With the availability of microcom- 
puters, we don't have to. We can tie 
chart recorders, waveform digitizers, 
and whatever else we need together 
into a dedicated instrument and re- 
cycle the components as the field or 
our research evolves. 

A/D Converters 

The least expensive way to automate 
a lab is with an analog-to-digital (A/D) 

[continued) 

FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 269 



INTERFACING 



The speed of a 



transient tracked 
by D/D equipment 
is not limited by the 
computer's throughput. 



converter. There are, however, a 
number of limitations to this ap- 
proach. First, an A/D converter 
samples only one voltage source at 
a time, lypically, an experiment re- 
quires correlating one reading to 
others for the same instant of time 
(e.g., pressure versus temperature at 
time t). If the time requirements are 
sufficiently lax, that is, if readings 
taken 10 or 20 microseconds apart 
can be treated as simultaneous, an 
A/D converter may be acceptable. But 
often this time lag is sufficient to make 
the data hopelessly imprecise. The 
second problem with A/D converters 
is that they are slow. The maximum 
sampling rate on most "high-speed" 
A/D converter boards is 100 kilohertz 
(kHz). Practically speaking, this means 
that you can't track a transient of 
greater than approximately 20 kHz. 
Much of scientific data acquisition 
now requires at least the ability to 
track a transient of a few megahertz. 
A third problem with A/D converters 
is that, because the boards are made 
to be inexpensive, their linearity is not 
very good. A 12-bit board may have 
an effective resolution of only 7 or 8 
bits. Finally, A/D converters are very 
susceptible to noise in a lab. Com- 
monly, the cabling will be either 
twisted-pair or ribbon cable— very 
good antennae. In a well-designed 
board, the cabling is simple coax, 
which may still not give the level of 
noise immunity required in a labora- 
tory environment. 

Nonetheless, an A/D converter is a 
good buy if it will do your task. My 
feeling is that the best use of an A/D 
converter is to connect it to the chart 
output of a stand-alone instrument. 



Instead of junking a high-quality 
analog instrument in the interests of 
modernizing, use the capabilities 
available in your lab now. One big ad- 
vantage of this kind of setup is that 
you can use a very slow A/D con- 
verter. This is desirable for two 
reasons: first, a slow A/D converter 
will be better made than a compar- 
ably priced high-speed board, and 
second, since you will only need a 
30-Hz-or-so A/D converter, most noise 
in the lab will be too fast for the A/D 
converter to respond to it. Further, 
your low-pass filter will be able to cut 
out line voltages, which are an in- 
evitable source of noise in any lab. 

D/D AND RS 232C 

If an A/D converter won't meet your 
needs, you need stand-alone instru- 
ments that can transfer digital infor- 
mation to the computer via a digital- 
to-digital (D/D) interface. The first ad- 
vantage of D/D over A/D is that data 
may be analyzed at high speed and 
the digital "snapshot" of the analysis 
stored in a buffer of a few kilobytes 
on the stand-alone instrument. The 
buffer data can then be downloaded 
to the computer at whatever speed 
the interface will support. That is, A/D 
conversion necessarily requires real- 
time analysis, whereas the speed of 
a transient that can be tracked by D/D 
equipment is not limited by the micro- 
computer's throughput. Of course, 
speed of data transfer is still impor- 
tant because it determines how quick- 
ly the instrument can repeat an 
analysis. 

D/D interfaces come in two flavors: 
serial, which transfers information a 
bit at a time; and parallel, which trans- 
fers data a word (commonly one byte) 
at a time. The most common serial 
port is an RS-232C interface. 

There is a lot to dislike about the 
RS-232C. First, it is not standard. 
There are two ends to an RS-232C in- 
terface: the DrE (data-terminal equip- 
ment) end and the DCE (data-commu- 
nications equipment) end. Often the 
two instruments you want to hook 
together will both be configured as 
DrEs, so you will probably have to 
create a cable that matches your par- 



ticular setup once you find out what 
it is. Second, the only handshaking 
provided is on the level of whole 
messages. The interface does not 
verify that data has been received 
before proceeding. It is very easy to 
lose data on this interface. Third, 
RS-232C is a notoriously noisy inter- 
face—perhaps no worse than an A/D 
converter, but that isn't saying much. 
Fourth, RS-232C is slow. Since it sends 
only one bit at a time, it has a built-in 
speed disadvantage over parallel in- 
terfaces. And interference is an in- 
creasing problem with increasing 
transmission rates (as is true of any 
system). Finally, RS-232C is able to 
connect only two devices together. 
Thus, coordination and control of 
multiple data sources requires more 
than one RS-232C port on the com- 
puter and makes for devilishly difficult 
software integration. 

The strong points of RS-232C are 
twofold. First, it is capable of transmit- 
ting information over long distances 
by telephone. Second, it is the only 
interface available on some older in- 
struments. If you have to use it, you 
learn to live with it. But you'll never 
learn to love it. 

IEEE-488 

The IEEE-488 is a byte-serial, bit- 
parallel interface that overcomes the 
problems of the interfaces outlined 
above. First, the interface is incredibly 
resistant to interference. For example, 
at the Brandeis University chemistry 
department, we used the interface in 
a pulsed-nitrogen-laser experiment 
and found that the data transmission 
was unaffected by noise in any en- 
vironment where the computer itself 
was able to function. Figure 1 shows 
the physical layout of the cable that 
provides such excellent noise 
immunity. 

The second virtue of IEEE-488 is 
that the interface has a bus structure. 
That is, you can interface up to 15 
devices at a time using the same 
board. This structure simplifies pro- 
cess control and allows true simulta- 
neous data acquisition, as we shall 
see presently. 

[continued] 



270 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 271 



INTERFACING 



Third, the interface is fast for a 
micro. Data can be transferred at up 
to 1 million bytes per second (using 
special tristate drivers on the lines) 
and without any special care will sup- 
port transmission rates of about 2 50K 
to 300K bytes per second using DMA 
(direct memory access). 

Fourth, the interface is standard and 
widely available. All IEEE-488 instru- 
ments are plug-compatible, and the 
interface is available on every major 
kind of laboratory device. Over 2000 
devices are currently available with an 
IEEE-488 interface. Given that the 
standard was not set in its current 
form until 1 978 and that there is a lag 
between specification and implemen- 
tation, the rapid adoption of the stan- 
dard gives an indication of how sore- 
ly needed it was. 

The primary limitation of the stan- 
dard is that the total cable length on 
an installation cannot exceed 20 
meters without special (and expen- 
sive) repeaters. In practice, you will 
seldom need to exceed that length. 
And given that long cabling slows 
transmission rates and is more 
susceptible to noise, you generally do 



better to keep the cabling short 
anyway. 

The Standard Explanation 

The IEEE r 488 standard is relatively in- 
volved because it accommodates a 
wide variety of uses. In the rest of this 
article, I'll examine the standard and 
then take a close look at a setup using 
the interface. 

IEEE-488 began life as the General- 
Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) of the 
Hewlett-Packard Corporation. In 1975, 
the IEEE adopted the GPIB as its stan- 
dard. Some minor modifications were 
made to the standard in 1978, but 
IEEE-488 still goes by the name GPIB 
on HP products. 

Devices on the interface may per- 
form three kinds of functions. They 
may be talkers; that is, they may 
transmit data to other devices on the 
interface. Of course, there can be only 
one active talker at any given time. 
Alternatively, a device may be a 
listener— it may receive data or in- 
structions from another device on the 
interface. There may be more than 
one active listener on the interface at 
any given time. And a device may act 



as a controller, a coordinator of which 
device may talk when and which 
devices may listen. Finally, a device 
may do nothing but stand by. A 
device may, at different times, assume 
any of the above functions. 

The interface supports two modes 
of operation: command and data. As 
the name suggests, the command 
mode is for process control. For ex- 
ample, if one of the devices on the in- 
terface is a digital multimeter (DMM), 
the controller may program the DMM 
for reading DC voltages in the 3 -volt 
full-scale deflection range. In the data 
mode, data is transferred from talker 
to listener(s) over the interface. 

The interface has 24 lines, 8 of 
which are ground lines. The other 16 
are divided into three groups: 8 bi- 
directional data lines, 3 data-byte con- 
trol lines (handshake lines), and 5 
general interface-management lines. 

The three-line handshake protocol 
functions as follows: When informa- 
tion is going to be transferred over the 
bus, the listeners must be ready to 
receive the data. If they are not, they 
signal NRFD (not ready for data) by 

[continued) 




CABLE INSULATION 

WOVEN GROUND OUTER SLEEVE 

DAV 

TWISTED-PAIR /?7 

NRFD 

TWISTED-PAIR ftl 

NDAC 

TWISTED-PAIR rft 

WOVEN GROUND INNER SLEEVE 



DATA LINES 

■ 






SRQ 

TWISTED-PAIR f77 
ATN 

TWISTED-PAIR fh 
IFC 
TWISTED-PAIR /T? 



Figure I: Cutaway view of an IEEE-488 cable. Notice the large number of grounds for shielding. 



272 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 13 for Dealers. 
Inquiry 14 for End-Users.- 




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To 32 



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INTERFACING 



pulling the NRFD line low (low is 
defined as true by the IEEE-488 stan- 
dard). The NRFD line has an open- 
collector design, so if any one listener 
is not ready, the line is kept low When 
all the listeners are ready, the NRFD 
line goes high. If the talker is ready 
to transmit data, it sets the DAV (data 
valid) line low, The transition of the 
DAV line triggers the resetting of the 
NRFD line and the listeners pick up 
the latched byte of data. When each 
listener receives the data, it releases 
the NDAC (not data accepted) line, 
which is also open-collector. When all 
listeners have received the data, the 
NDAC line goes high, causing a reset 
of the DAV line, which in turn triggers 
the resetting of the NDAC line. This se- 
quence, outlined in figure 2. is 
repeated for each byte in a transmis- 
sion. It may not be immediately ap- 
parent why three lines are useful in 
this sequence. At first glance it ap- 
pears that the DAV and NDAC line 
would accomplish everything neces- 
sary for the transmission of data. 
However, the NDAC line is released as 
soon as the IEEE-488 board of the 
listener has received the data. The in- 
formation must still be downloaded 
from the IEEE-488 data register to. for 
example, the computer's main mem- 
ory to be stored more permanently. 
By releasing the talker as soon as the 
data has been transferred, the talker 
becomes free to prepare the next 
byte for transmission at the same time 
that the listeners are "digesting" the 
last byte, so the rate of information 
transfer may be maximized. The 
NRFD line is thus necessary to pre- 



vent the possibility of a listener's data 
register being prematurely overwrit- 
ten. 

Since each byte of data transferred 
is a self-contained event on the inter- 
face, there must be some way of sig- 
naling the end of a data-transfer se- 
quence. This may be done in two 
ways. The one I will mention here is 
to use one of the bus-management 
lines, the EOI (end or identify) line. 
When a talker sets this line, it signals 
that the data-transfer sequence is 
complete. 

The "identify" in EOI applies to the 
controller's use of the line. If the in- 
terface is to be used for process con- 
trol, there must be a way for the con- 
troller to monitor the "fitness for 
duty" of the various devices. One way 
it may do so is by conducting a 
parallel poll of the devices. If the con- 
troller asserts ATN (attention) and 
EOI, each device responds by using 
one data line to say whether or not 
it has any problems. If one does, the 
computer (the controller) can query 
that device further to determine the 
precise nature of the difficulty. The 
limitation of a parallel poll is that the 
controller must initiate the inquiry. 
IEEE-488 also provides for a serial 
poll, in which a device in trouble may 
alert the controller that all is not well 
by asserting SRQ (service request). 
The computer then can ask each 
device in turn what its status is to 
determine the source and nature of 
the problem. 

ATN serves another, more general 
purpose as well. Any time the con- 
troller asserts ATN, it can change the 




Figure 2: The logic flow of the IEEE-488 handshake squence. Lnw is true. 



function of a device from, say, talker 
to listener. When ATN is asserted, the 
board goes into the command mode. 
All subsequent information is control 
data. In general, control information 
will apply to only some of the avail- 
able devices. How is the information 
restricted to only the appropriate 
devices' attention? Each instrument 
on the interface can be assigned a 
unique 5-bit address, generally by DIP 
(dual-inline package) switches on the 
backplane of the instrument. Valid ad- 
dresses are numbers up to and includ- 
ing 30. When the computer wants to 
address its control data to a specific 
set of devices, it asserts ATN and out- 
puts a list of the appropriate address 
numbers (notice that the same string 
of outputs would be treated as data 
were the board not in the command 
mode). T&ble I shows the protocols 
of the computer addressing for dif- 
ferent functions. If a device is being 
told to listen to control information, 
an addressed command follows its 
address-to-listen call Addressed con- 
trol information defined by the 
IEEE-488 standard includes GTL (go 
to local), which releases a device from 
remote control; SDC (selected-device 
clear), which resets a device to its 
default setting; PPC (parallel-poll con- 
figure), which is used to assign a data 
line to a device for answering a 
parallel poll; GET (group-enable trig- 
ger), which initiates simultaneous data 
acquisition by each addressed device; 
and TCT (take control), which passes 
control of the bus management from 
the present controller to the specified 
device. 

T\vo other kinds of multiline com- 
mands are shown in table I . First is 
a secondary address. This is informa- 
tion after the primary address that 
configures a device for a particular 
kind of operation. This is oneway that 
a DMM may be set for DC volts, for 
example. The primary address 
specifies the DMM device number, 
and the secondary address specifies 
the DC voltmeter function in the 
DMM. The significance of secondary 
addresses is not part of the standard. 
Each manufacturer decides whether 

[continued) 



27 4 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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INTERFACING 



to use secondary addresses and. if so. 
what they will mean. The last kind of 
multiline command is a universal 
command. Reasonably enough, uni- 
versal commands apply to all devices 
on the bus and are therefore not 
preceded by an address list. The 
universal commands defined by the 
standard include LLO (local lockout), 
which disables instrument front-panel 
control; DCL (device clear), which 
resets all devices to their factory- 
selected default states (this is the 
universal version of SDC); PPU 
(parallel-poll unconfigure), which 
deactivates parallel polling; SPE 
(serial-poll enable), which initiates a 
serial poll; and SPD (serial-poll 
disable), which terminates a serial 
poll. 

The logical difference between the 
uniline commands and the multiline 
commands is that uniline commands 
are unconditioned. That is, they 
operate immediately instead of re- 
quiring that the bus be in command 
mode. The last two uniline bus-man- 
agement lines illustrate the need for 
such immediacy. REN (remote enable) 
places a device under computer con- 
trol. When a device is first going to be 
addressed by the computer, this pro- 
vides the "warm boot" needed to get 
its attention. IFC (interface clear) is the 
"panic button."When the controller 
asserts IFC. the active talker must im- 
mediately relinquish control of the 
data lines to the computer. As you can 



see, the standard is rather involved. 
But it is not complete. 

HPIB 

The IEEE-488 standard ensures elec- 
trical compatibility among instru- 
ments, but it does not insure that two 
instruments will understand each 
other. The analogy has been drawn 
between IEEE-488 and the telephone 
system: You can call Rome on your 
telephone, but you may not under- 
stand what the person who answers 
the phone is saying. Similarly the 
IEEE-488 standard does not specify 
the code that is to be used by instru- 
ments in transmitting data. Some in- 
struments speak binary, some speak 
ASCII, etc. The Hewlett-Packard Cor- 
poration has developed a software 
standard for IEEE-488 data that is not 
universally employed. However, it is the 
most common format for data trans- 
fers on the bus. The protocol is called 
the Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus 
(HPIB). GPIB and HPIB are often used 
interchangeably, but strictly speaking 
GPIB is the IEEE-488 standard and 
HPIB is the conformance to HP's soft- 
ware protocol. HPIB specifies the 
following: 

1. All information is transferred in 
ASCII code. 

2. Information is transmitted "left to 
right"; that is, "C A T" is transmitted 
"67 65 84." not "84 65 67." 

{continued) 



T&ble I: IEEE-488 interface management command bit protocols. These apply 
only when the controller asserts ATN. headdress bit, C=command bit, 
S=secondary address bit, N=not used. 


Data Lines Bit 


Significance 


7 6 5 4 3 2 10 




NOOOCCCC 
N001 CCCC 
N01 AAAAA 
N 1 OAAAAA 
N 1 1 SS SSS 


addressed command 
universal command 
address to listen 
address to talk 
secondary address 



276 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




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Inquiry 107 FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 277 



INTERFACING 



The significance of 
a device's program data 
is determined by the 
manufacturer, not 
IEEE-488. 



3. All sequences of data transmission 
end with ASCII 13 (a carriage return) 
and, optionally, ASCII 10 (a linefeed) 
instead of using the EOl line. 

The advantage of the standard is that 
data can be fed directly to a printer 
to produce properly formatted output 
in continuous-data-collection applica- 



tions. Of course, the biggest advan- 
tage of the standard is simply that it 
is a standard. 

Using the Interface 

So much for the standard. Now let's 
take a look at how to use it. Manufac- 
turers of IEEE-488 interface boards 
provide interface drivers for you, so 
using the interface is easier than 
learning about the standard in the first 
place. Usually the interface driver is 
a set of assembly-language routines 
that you can call. In high-speed applic- 
tions you will want an assembly-lan- 
guage driver. But in the program I pro- 
vide here (listing I), I use an inter- 
preted BASIC driver. The program is 
taken from a course in interfacing 1 
taught at Brandeis University. It is 
used to calculate the lattice energy of 
solid argon from temperature and 



Listing I: A sample data-acquisition routine using the IEEE-488 interface. 



10 



20 



30 



REM IEEE-488 PROGRAM FOR HEAT OF SUBLIMATION OF SOLID 
ARGON. PROGRAM SHOULD BE MERGED WITH TECMAR 
IEEE-488 SOFTWARE VER. 3. 
REM PROGRAM BY THOMAS CLUNE, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY 

CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT 
REM DMM #19 READS THE THERMOCOUPLE, DMM #17 READS THE 
PRESSURE TRANSDUCER. 

INITIALIZE IEEE-488 BUFFER LOCATION, DIMENSION ARRAYS 
40 BD.ADDR°/o = &H310:DIM PRES(250):DIM TEMP(250) 
50 REM SPECIFY COMPUTER DEVICE NUMBER, INITIALIZE DATA 

POINTER 
60 MY.ADDR°/o=1:DPT=1 

70 REM WAIT UNTIL READY TO BEGIN RUN. PRESSURE READINGS 

MUST BE POSITIVE AND THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM MUST BE 
REACHED BEFORE THE RUN BEGINS. 
80 CLS:PRINT "PRESS ANY KEY WHEN YOU ARE READY TO BEGIN YOUR 

RUN" 
90A$ = INKEY$:IFA$="" THEN 90 

100 REM INITIALIZE BOARD WITH COMPUTER AS CONTROLLER 

110 PARAM$ = "INITC/":G0SUB 10000 

120 REM SET BOTH DMM'S FOR REMOTE CONTROL BY COMPUTER 

130 PARAM$="ADTR/":GOSUB 10000 
140 REM SET INTERRUPT REGISTERS OF DMM'S FOR SYNTAX ERROR 

AND FRONT PANEL SRQ. 
150 DATA.STRING$="KM24D2PRESSURE" 
160 PARAM$="WR.STR/17/14///":G0SUB 10000 
170 DATA.STRING$ = "KM24D2TEMPERATURE" 
180 PARAM$="WR.STR/19/17///":G0SUB 10000 
190 REM ENTER DATA.STRINGS AND WRITE PROGRAMMING 

INFORMATION TO DMM #17. ADD <CR> FOR EOS. 
200 CLS:INPUT "ENTER COMMAND STRING FOR PRES. DMM 

(#17)";DATA.STRING$ 
2 1 DATA.STRINGS = DATA.STRINGS + CHR$(1 3) 
220 REM OUTPUT DATA.STRINGS TO DMM 

230 PARAM$ = "WR.STR/17//13/E0S/":G0SUB 10000 

[continued) 



pressure data pairs. This is a low- 
speed application, with readings be- 
ing taken every 30 seconds. Thus, an 
interpreted BASIC interface driver will 
provide adequate speed. A further 
benefit to me is that students can 
study the driver routines to under- 
stand how the interface works. Tfecmar 
also makes an assembly version of its 
interface driver. 

The equipment used in this experi- 
ment includes an IBM PC with I28K 
bytes of memory, a Ifecmar IEEE-488 
interface for the PC two HP 3478A 
DMMs with IEEE-488 installed, a 
copper-constantan thermocouple 
wire, and a Barytron 220 pressure 
transducer. The program listing in- 
cludes only the data-acquisition part 
of the program, and Tkcmar's inter- 
face driver routine is not reprinted 
here. Before the experiment can be 
run, the DMMs must be set to their 
respective addresses (17 and 19) by 
DIP switches on the DMM backplanes. 

The program is largely self-ex- 
planatory. I will limit my remarks on 
it to points that the listing may not 
make sufficiently clear. Notice the 
statement BD.ADDR°/o=&H310 in 
line 40. This initializes the beginning 
memory location of the 1 6-byte buf- 
fer used for communication between 
the IEEE-488 interface and the com- 
puter. MYADDR%= 1 in line 60 
declares that the computer's device 
address number will be I . Both these 
variable names are specified by the 
driver software. Line 1 10 shows the 
way that the Tfecmar driver routine is 
invoked. The routine begins at line 
1 0000 and is merged with your appli- 
cation program. PARAMS is the 
variable name for any parameter to 
be passed to the driver routine. In this 
case, the operation performed is ini- 
tializing the IEEE board for controller 
operation. In line 130, ADTR is the 
mnemonic for asserting REN, to let 
the DMMs know that they are con- 
nected to and will be controlled by 
the computer. Line 1 50 contains the 
information to be output to the DMM 
that will monitor the pressure trans- 
ducer. The significance of this data is 
determined by the DMM manufac- 

[continued) 



278 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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