(ltcornrnodore Th e Transactor comments and bulletins concerning your COMMODORE PET BULLETIN # 1 Apr.)O,,?8 This is t h e first news bulletin which will be issued up to 12 times a year t o members o f PET user groups throughout t h e world. Enclosed i s a form which enables yo u t o join t h e Canadian PET User Club. Whether you own a PET now o r intend purchasing a PET i n t h e future, o r whether at this stage you a r e n o t intending to purchase a computer, but are interested i n t h e o f personal computers, the following a r e some of the benefits you will g et by joining t h e CPUC: 1 . Information on software available 2 . Information a nd specifications on peripherals f r o ~ Commodore a nd other people. 3. Information on problem shooting PET bugs a nd a variety o f other information. Below i s a free copy o f o u r first bulletin. Now have good Enclosed i s a list o f cassette tapes that a r e now available. We've given brief descriptions i n each case. And indicated t h e prices. These programs a r e only the beginning. From now o n, approximately once a month, Commodore will be issuing a II new release l l bulletin. By t h e year's en d we hope t o have literally thousands o f programs. Within 30 days, there will be available i n on e packet what e consider to be t h e final documentation f o r th e PET. A l l this will be inc. a t no charge, o f course with each PET. This will A revised IIIntroduction t o Your PET. 11 An expanded and improved version of the booklet you've already received.
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This i s the f i r s t news bul le t in which wil l be issued up to 12times a year to members of the PET user groups throughoutthe world.
Enclosed i s a form which enables you to join the CanadianPET User Club. Whether you own a PET now or intendpurchasing a PET in the future, or whether at th i s stageyou are not intending to purchase a computer, but are interestedin the developments of personal computers, the followingare some of the benefi ts you wil l get by joining the CPUC:
1. Information on software available
2. Information and specif ications on peripherals f r o ~ Commodore and other people.
3. Information on problem shooting PET bugs and a varietyof other information.
Below i s a free copy of our f i r s t bul le t in .
Now have good
Enclosed is a l i s t of cassette tapes that are now available.We've given br ie f descriptions in each case. And indicatedthe prices .
These programs are only the beginning. From now on,approximately once a month, Commodore will be issuing a II newrelease l l bul le t in . By the year 's end we hope to have l i te ra l lythousands of programs.
Within 30 days, there will be available in one packet what we
consider to be the f inal documentation for the PET. All th iswil l be inc . a t no charge, of course with each PET.
This wil l include:
A revised IIIntroduction to Your PET. 11 An expanded andimproved version of the booklet you've already received.
"PETALK,II a co:npendium of material concerning your PET,including information on in terfaces , the USR function,BASIC in terpre ter and operating system, cassette f i les ,BASIC bugs, the IEEE 488 in terface and available device.
"Sguiggle ll and "Bigtime," two programs on tape completewith an excel lent t ex t booklet tha t te l l s you how theprograms were created, step by s tep. Really, anexcel lent instance of teaching by example.
The Machine Language Monitor. At l a s t . On the other s iof the IISquiggle/Bigtime ii tape also accompanied by anexcel lent text .
While we have your at tent ion, l e t ' s ta lk about peripherals.
The second casset te recorder, a great help in datastorage, will be available soon a t $120.00.* Pleaseallow four to five weeks.
A special impact pr in te r , printing up to charactersper l ine (remember, your PET can accept up to two 40character l ines per statement) on 8W' wide paper, .continuous ro l l or folded. The tentat ive price is$800.* Expected delivery to begin in May.+ We'llsend you t ighter specs and an i l lus t ra t ion next month.
A floppy disc syste:Gl is in the works. I t should beready for announcement in Nay, with delivery scheduledfor late summer. Also about $800.
*Approximate price in Canadian dol la rs .
+USA delivery - Add 2 months fo r CSA approval in Canada •
To receive future copies of CPUC information bullet ins, pleasEreturn th is form with your cheque fo r $10 annually renei."able,to CEl'1, 3370 Pharmacy Avenue, Agincourt, Ontario, fllW 2K4.
Welcome to the Canadian PET Users Club and in this issue, wehave some hints on graphics animation, detai ls BASIC
interpreter timings and memory usage, and ASCII codes plusmuch more.
Printed in this and a l l subsequent issues, there wil l be al i s t s o ~ t w a r e available through the Users Club. The originall i s t is small and Commodore Systems generated, but we hope toadd many programmes in the near ~ u t u r e . We intend to ~ o r m a"Common Library" which wil l contain programmes submitted byPET users worldwide and we hope you wil l contribute. Thecontents the Library will be printed in each issue. Anyonein terested in the terms and conditions royal t ies paid byCommodore ~ o r programs accepted by Commodore should write to:
TheS o ~ t w a r e
Manager,Commodore Systems Division,901 C a l i ~ o r n i a Avenue,Palo Alto, C a l i ~ o r n i a 94304,U.S.A.
A SHORT NOTE ON MOVING THINGS
D i ~ ~ i c u l t y has been experienced by some our users in movingthe cursor under programme control and questions have been askedabout how graphs and plots such as sine curves can be displayed.
As you probably already know, cursor control characters in quotes
when printed wil l cause the cursor to move accordingly. yourexperiments so ~ a r with th is technique are giving sl ight ly oddresul ts , do make sure .that you are terminating your prin t s tatement with a semi-colon. Failure to do th is will cause themachine to output a carriage return/line ~ e e d a t the end theprint statement, leaving the cursor jus t where you don't want i t .
On the subject plott ing, the basic t r ick used with this typegraphic system is to f i r s t create s t r ings fu l l cursor
movement characters and then access parts them using MID$, etc.dynamically.
For a really good example the use this technique, I suggest
you have a look a t the technique used in our biorhythm programme.
Here are a couple of handy methods of obtaining are sine and arc
cosine (remember, the resu l t wi l l be in radians) .
ASNX = ATN (X/SQR(l-xt2)
ACSX = ATN (SQR(l-Xt2)/X)
For those of you who are used to working in degrees, here are some
handy user defined functions:
DEFFNS(V) = S I N ( V / ( l 8 0 / ~ » DEFFNC(V) = C O S ( V / ( l 8 0 / ~ » DEFFNT{V) = T A N ( V / ( l 8 0 / ~ » These are three user defined functions which when cal led with
arguments and degrees wil l give the appropriate resu l t s . In these
examples V can be any variable but i f a l l three are defined in
the same programme, you must use three different dummy variables .
EXAMPLE: PRINT FNS ( 30)
Result of th i s wi l l be .5 . Notice tha t the argument for FNS, or
FN anything for tha t matter, can be e i the r a variable or numeric
constant . Also, af te r a programme containing these defini t ions
has been run, these functions may be cal led using FN in the direct
mode, tha t i s , from the keyboard di rec t ly without being in a
0.7 to (0.7 + nv*O.l)nv = no. of variablesin program
TIMING PROGRAM
-A,A$,A =,A$ =
AA,AA$,M
=AA$
=A%
At=999.999El6E-16"ABCDE"
M ( I , J • • • • )
0.2 more than aboveO. 3 more than A0.6 more than A =1 per digi t0.7 + (4.2 per d i g i ~ ) 0.2 + (0.4* exponent)0.2 + (3.0* exponent)(0.6 to 0.7) + (0.02per char)(1 to 1. 5) *(no. of subscripts)
Osero is Commodore's version of Othello, a game of
strategy played on a 8 x 8 board, much like a chess or
checkers board. The object is to surround your enemyand convert the enemy pieces to your side. It's a gamewhere the last moves can be quite decisive; you may be
winning tremendously (or losing) but the positions canbe reversed at the very last moment. You play againstthe PET brain.
Reverse is another game to tax your intelligence andlogic. The numbers 1 through 9 are on the screen inrandom sequence. The idea is to put these numbers into
orderin
as few moves as possible. Your logical thinkingwill get quite a work-out.
Both games are for adults and older children. 8K of
RAM is required. Order Part No. 321001 $10.95
DIET PLANNER AND BIORHYTHM
Diet Planner (by Les Palanik) first determines the idealweight for your height, your age, your sex and your
body frame. It then asks for your leve-l of physicalactivity. Then it calculates precisely the number of calories you need each day to maintain whatever weightyou indicate. Should you wish to lose weight, yourPET will display the caloric intake required and thephYSical activity, on a day by day basis, to help you
reach the desired objective. It works.
Biorhythm will indicate your intellectual, emotionaland physical cycles according to a well regarded series
of computations based on behavior. Enter your name.your birth date and then indicate which 39 day periodyou're interested in. On an accurately drawn chart . thedisplay will show the highs and lows for each of thethree cycles: intellectual. emotional and physical. Youshould know, on a given day, that all three cycles may
very well be at peak. Perhaps that would be a good dayto undertake new ventures . . . Fascinating.
Both require 8K of RAM.
Order Part No. 321002 $15.95
TARGET PONG AND OFF THE WALL
Target Pong: Insert paddles in the path of a fast moving
ball to deflect the ball into a target. The secret is touse the fewest number of paddles and the least time tohit the target just once. It's really much more difficultthan it sounds. It requires dexter ity and guaranteesyou fun.
orr The Wall is exactly the opposite. Here the secret is
to use as many paddles as you can without hitting thetargets. And just to make the game more difficult,there are many targets in this game.
Both are quite suitable for children of almost all agesand for adults, too. There are various levels of diffi-culty: the size of the target can vary in Target Pong;the number of targets can be increased in Ofr The
Wall. Both games can keep score for two players. Re·
quires 8K of RAM. Order Part No. 321003$10.95
A TREASURE TROVE OF GAMES ;JiiLunar Lander-one of the all time popular favorites. Youmust make the Lunar Excursion Module land softly onthe moon. By regulating the falling speed. the counter·
thrust or the rockets and the amount of fuel required,you should be able to accomplish this objective. I f you
Iaail. the marvelous graphics will show the Lunar Landersmashing to the surface of the moon. Difficult at first,but fun to master.
Rotate is a puzzle on a 4 by 4 grid. The secret is to ar
range the letters in sequence in as few moves as.possible.Very tough at first. But it can be done.
Wumpus is a delightful voyage in the imagination. full
of fun and quite educational, too. You're required to bea detective on a treasure hunt. The dues are all givenand you must find the Wumpus, on the basis of these
"lues. and get him before he gets you.
Tic Tac Toe. See if you can beat your PET at this old
reliable game. ..These games and puzzles will particularly fascinate the eounger people in your family . . . although we thinkadults will like to play along. Requires 8K of RAM.
Order Part No. 321004 $10.95
BASIC BASIC (By Ralph James andRon Lodewyt.:k)
A real tutorial program. introducing you to the BASIClanguage. Thoroughly interactive: your PET will teachyou how to operate your PET! You proceed at your
own pace. You should actually be able to learn PET'sBASIC in several hours and then begin your own pro·gramming. Basic BASIC is written by two very experi·enced college professors. The topics covered include linenumbers. variables. strings, arrays. and the use of thevarious commands such as LIST. RUN, and SAVE.Also basic keywords will be explained and used such as
PRINT, READ/DATA, INPUT, IF/THEN. GOTO,and FOR/NEXT. Fifteen chapters, six sample pro·grams . . . and homework assignments. :::
ses just 4K of RAM memory.Order Part No. 321005 $15. 95