
       ICTARI USER GROUP             ISSUE 43              February 1997

         ___   ______     ___       _________   _________   ___
         \__\  \   __\    \  \__    \______  \  \   _____\  \__\
           ___  \  \       \  __\     _____\  \  \  \         ___
           \  \  \  \       \  \      \  ____  \  \  \        \  \
            \  \  \  \_____  \  \____  \  \__\  \  \  \        \  \
             \  \  \       \  \      \  \        \  \  \        \  \
              \__\  \_______\  \______\  \________\  \__\        \__\

                     *   m   a   g   a   z   i   n   e   *

     =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                       I C T A R I   U S E R   G R O U P
                 8 Denmark Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5PA.
                 http://www.elis.demon.co.uk/ictari/ictari.htm
     =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                              INDEX FOR ISSUE 43
                              ==================

        ASSEMBLER      Beizer Curve Routine
                       Neochrome Loader

        C              Desktop demonstration
                       Sierpinski gasket fractal generator
                       USENET C tutorial

        MISC           3D maze demo 2
                       ICTARI HTML files

     ---------------------------------------------------------------------

                                   EDITORIAL
                                   =========

         Hello,  my  name  is Giles Greenway, and I've elected to take over
    the job  of  running  ICTARI  from Peter Hibbs. Soon after I joined the
    group  I realized  that I hadn't made much in the way of a contribution
    to  it. I had five  megabytes  of Demon's WEB-server to play with, so I
    decided  to  put it to  good  use  by starting the ICTARI home-page. It
    is  now  possible  to  join  and   contribute to the group and download
    issues  via  the  WEB.  A  copy of the HTML  files  is included on this
    month's  disk.  Any  suggestions  are  welcome. The  pages  have been a
    success  in  that  they  have  allowed  ICTARI to reach a far  greater
    number   of  people  than  a  purely  disk-based 'zine could. -I've had
    responses from Asia, the middle east and eastern Europe. Unfortunately,
    the   page   has   only  provided  two contributions to the group ! The
    prolific  Marten   Lindstrom's  comments in the last issue were sent by
    e-mail,  and  one visitor  to  the WEB site wondered why I had included
    an  option for FORTRAN on  the form for new members. -He didn't realize
    that  FORTRAN  compilers  are  available  on  the ST. Well, we all know
    different  now  !  I'm  afraid  that my article is representative of my
    style of writing....

         The   next   question  is  why  so little input is coming from the
    on-line  community,   and   whether   it   matters  or not. Peter Hibbs
    suggested  that  as sending  in  disks  costs  more  money  people will
    feel  it's  more  in their interests  to  support  the  group. It takes
    very little effort to download ICTARI  from  the WEB site, and far more
    to  actually  unzip  and  read  it,  let alone  make  contributions  !
    Rewarding   though programming is, it takes a great  deal of effort and
    people  will  grab  anything that's free, regardless of  whether or not
    it's  truly useful to them. Does this matter ? As I said to  Peter,  if
    I  think  the  pages  are actually doing damage to ICTARI, I'll remove
    them   without   a  second  thought. On the other hand, if people won't
    respond   to   a   WEB   site,  they certainly won't make the effort to
    send in articles  on disk. Personally, I think it's best to give people
    the benefit of  the  doubt  and let the pages give ICTARI A potentially
    wider  audience.  Lastly,   perhaps the on-line community thinks it can
    get  the help ICTARI is meant  to  provide elsewhere. I'm not sure that
    this is true. USENET is not the  best place to distribute source-codes,
    although  these  could  be kept on other  WEB  pages  or FTP sites. The
    comp.sys.atari.programmer  group  rarely  seems  to  deal  with bugs in
    subscriber's  programs,  most  questions  seem  to deal  with  specific
    questions  about  the  Atari's operating system. The sort of  in-depth
    tutorials  that lend themselves to a magazine format are also rare.

         Meanwhile,  I'm  starting  to  run  out  of contributions from all
    sources,  'net-based  or  otherwise.  With  access  to the Internet and
    CD-rom  it  would  be  all   too   easy   for  me to turn ICTARI into a
    third-rate  P.D.  service. I've waffled for far too much of this issue.
    Next month it's your turn.


                                   Have Fun,

                                     Giles

     ---------------------------------------------------------------------

                                CORRESPONDENCE
                                ==============

    From: Giles Greenway
    To: Everyone
    re: PINSKI

         I   suppose   I'd   better  demonstrate  that  I have some form of
    mandate  to  edit ICTARI ! My C program PINSKI (it generates Sierpinski
    fractals) should at  least  give some indication that I can call myself
    an  Atari  programmer.  It   should  work on all STs, perhaps it can be
    taken as an example of how to /  how  not  to  write a GEM program. The
    bit  that  generates  the  run-length  encoded   .IMG  files  may be of
    interest.  I've  written programs that generate much prettier fractals,
    but  at  the  moment  they're  all  rather  nasty .TTP and "alertware"
    efforts.  I'm  currently  working  on  a  GEM interface for an existing
    program,  but  progress  is  slow.  Please  let  me  know  if I've made
    any howlers while writing PINSKI...

     ---------------------------------------------------------------------

    From: Jason J Railton
    To:   Everyone
    Re:   ICTARI

         I'm   glad  to  hear that ICTARI is to continue.  I hope all those
    people  who  access Giles' Web Page can start contributing something to
    the group. Best wishes to the new editor then!

         I  sent  in  some  stuff a few months ago, that never made it onto
    the last two disks.  They included some Christmas decorations, snowfall
    effects  and  some  notes  on  3-D  mathematics.  Did they get lost, or
    didn't Peter have space ?


     ---------------------------------------------------------------------

    From: Jason J Railton
    To:   Everyone
    Re:   My 3-D Maze

         I've   sent   in   the  latest version of my 3-D maze.  It now has
    working doors and some unusual effects.  But first, the controls.

         After   receiving   comments   on  the  first  version,  I added a
    'Walk'  control,  to  the left mouse button.  Now you can still use the
    mouse  to  turn left/right  and  walk  forwards/backwards,  but you can
    also  press the left mouse  button to walk forwards.  You can also move
    a  bit  faster  by pressing the button and moving the mouse forwards at
    the same time.

         Clicking   the  left mouse button operates doors, and will operate
    other  things   that   I   haven't   added  yet  (I  want to add bitmap
    graphics for a control  panel).   You  must  stand  in  front of a door
    to  open it, but it doesn't  matter  which  direction  you  are  facing
    when  you  click.   So,  if  you're  surrounded by doors, only one will
    actually  operate,  and  it's  always  the same one no matter which one
    you're actually facing.

         Press   the   right   mouse   button   to   sidestep   left/right
    instead  of turning.  I  intend  to have a few baddies in the maze, but
    it  will  be  more exploring than shooting, so I'll have your character
    raise  his  gun  when  you  press   and  hold the right button to enter
    sidestep mode.  Then, left clicks will fire the weapon.  (Got this idea
    from playing Resident Evil).

         At  the  moment,  pressing  both buttons will exit the demo - it's
    the  only  control  option  left, since I don't have a working keyboard
    routine  yet  -so  be  careful  not  to  press both at the same time by
    accident.

         As   to the maze, you start in a room with four blue blocks placed
    in  a square,  with  yellow  doors between them.  See if you can find a
    room  with alternate blue and yellow wall panels, alcoves at either end
    and  a block in the  middle  with  a different colour on each side.  If
    you  walk  around it, you'll  see that the sides aren't the colours you
    thought they were. To get that far, you'll have to have solved a couple
    of unusual puzzles.

         There's  also  a large secret yellow room with three pink doors at
    one  end.   Two of the doors are just linked by a passageway, the third
    leads  to  another  room with a secret exit.  See if you can figure out
    how  to open the secret exit.  To get to that room, you'll have already
    had a big clue.

         You'll   come  across  hidden doors, doors that can only be opened
    from  one side, floor switches that operate doors, and rooms that don't
    behave as you  would  expect.   There's  even a room where you can walk
    through...  oh you'll  find  it  anyway.  Just keep your eyes open, and
    remember  all  those superstitions  that  hint  at extra space or weird
    dimensions?   Things  like  not   walking   under  ladders,  or  on the
    opposite side of an obstruction to a friend,  or  running  seven  times
    round   churches  or fairy mounds to see something  happen...  You  get
    the idea.  There's some weird stuff in that maze.

         So, what do you think of it so far ?


     ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    To *.*
    From L.Maule-Cole

         I   joined   ICTARI  when  I  retired because I wanted to learn to
    write  programs   in   C  as  a retirement project.  I bought a copy of
    MEGAMAX  from  a  colleague   and   with   my   sparse   knowledge  of
    programming,  obtained  from  writing   rather  long  and  complicated
    macros  for  WordPerfect  3.1.,  I set about  teaching  myself.   I had
    purchased  a  copy of GARDENER DATABASE from GOODMANS  which,  when  I
    tried   to   use it, turned out to be a lemon.  It included  the source
    code  written  in BASIC, which I didn't understand, so I couldn't  make
    any   corrections   to  try  and  make  it  work properly.  I therefore
    hit  upon  the  idea  that  this  might make a very good subject for my
    project  -  rewrite  and  improve  the  GARDENER  DATABASE in C.  I got
    permission from  the  original  author  to  do  so and after much trial
    and  error,  the MEGAMAX  Manual  isn't  exactly  the  most accurate or
    lucid  information,  I  managed  to  produce a program which ran, on my
    machine  anyway.   I  now  needed to  a)  find out whether it worked on
    other  machines  and  b)  what other more experienced programmers could
    offer in the way of advise.  I therefore sent a  demo version to ICTARI
    with  a request that some kind person might try it out  and  raise some
    comments.   To  date  I have heard nothing so may I ask:- Is ICTARI the
    wrong  forum  for  this  sort  of request? If so would somebody be kind
    enough to suggest someone from whom I could get some help.

        If   the   answer  is  to  get  connected  to the Internet, please
    would  someone  advise  me  as  to  the  best equipment and software to
    purchase  bearing  in   mind   that   I   don't   want  to run up large
    telephone  bills  as  I am on a pension.   Also,  I  want to upgrade my
    printer  so  which  is  the  best  to buy for  someone  who  won't  be
    printing  that often (ink drying problems) and prints out long lists of
    code (auto paper feed or tractor) and would like a colour option.

         My  next questions concern the future.  I have reluctantly come to
    the  conclusion   that   sometime  in  the future I am going to have to
    purchase a more  up  to  date system.  My experience of what I call IBM
    type  computers  and  Microsoft  software which I had the misfortune to
    have  to use while at work,  is  that it was slow, despite being a 486,
    and  the  software was very unreliable.   It was always crashing and on
    one occasion , it wrote part of a  datafile  over the top of one of the
    boot  files  so that next time when I switched on it wouldn't boot up!
    Now that shouldn't happen but it did.

         My  environment  is  this.   I use my computer for wordprocessing,
    for  managing my finances/bank statements, for sequencing music with my
    keyboard  and   synthesiser,   for   titling   my   videos using an art
    package(DEGAS)  and titling  software,  for the occasional DTP work and
    to  write  and  run my own programs.   So you can see that the ATARI is
    perfectly satisfactory for all that I do.

         I  am  aware  that  the  next generation of computer technology is
    about  to  be   launched   and   whereas  I  may  not need it let alone
    afford  it  it  will  probably  mean  that  the  second-hand  price  of
    100MHz Pentiums will fall dramatically.   What  I  don't  know  is will
    a  straight  Pentium do all the ATARI  can  do  without  extra hardware
    or  should I be thinking in terms of hanging on to the ATARI as well as
    buying  a  PC?.   Unfortunately the size of a  desktop PC does not lend
    itself  to  easily being housed by the side of my keyboard,  which  is
    in  fact  an electronic piano, located in the sitting room.   Regarding
    video  titling,  is  it  possible  to record the output of a PC using a
    video  recorder?   I shall have to use GEMULATOR in order to run a lot
    of   my  software, would it be better to buy an Apple Mac?  It looks as
    though   soon   it   will   be   possible  to  access  the Internet via
    interactive  television   sets  operating  from  cable.   Why do I need
    another PC ?  What is the meaning of life ?


     ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    To: L. Maule Cole
    From: Giles Greenway

    Hello Loius,

         Not   being   a   gardener,   I'm   not  sure what I'd want from a
    gardening  database   !  I couldn't seem to find any documentation with
    your  program,  so  I'm   not   entirely  sure how its meant to behave.
    -Documenting  a program is just  as  important  as  the coding, and may
    well  take  just  as much effort. When I ran your program from within a
    couple  of  folders  it  complained  about  a  missing data-file. If it
    relies  on  DEGAS  .PI? files then it may look odd on  high resolution
    modes  on  TT's and Falcons. If you think the program is an improvement
    on  the original then I'm sure it is, and the original author seemed to
    think his work was fit to distribute.

         With    regards   to  the  Internet,  the  best  forum  for  Atari
    programmers  is the comp.sys.atari.programmer USENET newsgroup. Posting
    your entire program to  the group and asking for comments will not make
    you  popular ! You would probably  have to ask for beta-testers to come
    forward and then communicate via  private  e-mail. In terms of hardware
    I  recommend  at  least TOS 1.4 and the  RSVE  serial port modification
    from  Systems Solutions. These will give you  fast  download  times and
    reduce  bottle-necks caused by slow hard-disk access.  In  addition  to
    this  you  will  need  plenty of hard-disk space and memory.  Lest  we
    forget,   you   will   need  a  'phone line and a modem ! Any external
    modem   will  do,  but it's best to buy from Atari-friendly firms. Only
    two  speeds (or bauds) should be considered, 14.4 and 28.8. They should
    cost  around  50  and 100 pounds respectively. The faster your set-up
    the lower the 'phone bill.

         The   software   side  of  things is where it gets complicated. An
    early  Internet   package   available   for   the  ST  was  KA9Q NOS, a
    text-based   system   that   provides   basic   mail  and  USENET  news
    facilities. The program was not very  easy  to use, but a graphical GEM
    shell  called  Oasis has been written that  runs  over  the  top of it.
    The  current  version  is  1.35,  and  is  still widely  used.  Oasis2
    abandons   NOS,   and   uses  a second GEM-based program called  ICE to
    handle   the  on-line  side  of  things.  Many  Atari  users  have  had
    significant problems in getting Oasis2 to work, and I am no exception !
    The  latest   version,   2.10,  has proved much more stable for me, but
    plenty  of  other  users  still  have  problems.  So  far,  none of the
    programs  I  have  mentioned   allow  access  to  the World-Wide Web. A
    desk-accessory called STiK has  been  written that provides the on-line
    component to a series of other programs.  The  most  important of these
    is  CAB  (now  at  version 1.5), a WWW browser.  CAB requires a special
    overlay,  available  separately,  to  interface with  STiK.  Other STiK
    clients  include  the  USENET  news  and  e-mail  programs  Newsie  and
    AntMail,  and  also  FTP and IRC programs. (File Transfer Protocol and
    Internet   Relay  Chat)  Things  are  further  complicated by MiNT. The
    Toronto   Atari   Federation  MiNT  distribution allows the Chimera WEB
    browser to  run  under  X-Windows  using  the  MiNT-Net loadable device
    driver.   The  rowser   is   probably   inferior   to   CAB,   and  the
    distribution  takes  up  an ntire  hard-disk  partition  with  a  MINIX
    filesystem. (I still think the .A.F.  package is the easiest way to set
    up  MiNT,  though.)  A  few  people  on he Atari USENET newsgroups have
    commented  that  MiNT-Net  is  very  stable,  and  ery  under-used.  A
    program   called  Glue-STiK  has been written to allow iNT-Net  to work
    with  regular  STiK applications. It is worth noting that a EB  browser
    called  Spider  is  being  developed  for  Oasis  and  that a ommercial
    browser   called OXO has just been released by a French software house.
    With   this exception, all the rest of the software I have mentioned is
    P.D. or shareware.

         The  final  requirement  is  an  account  with an Internet service
    provider.  I   use  Demon,  who  charge  ten  pounds a month. They have
    had  reliability  problems,  but  I'm too lazy to change ! Well, I hope
    I've helped...


     --------------------------------------------------------------------

