Spectrum Magic: Your First Programming Book

Personal Computer News

John Lettice

GIVE YOUR TYPING FINGERS A BREAK AND LET THEM TURN A FEW PAGES. 'Creating Adventure Programs On The ZX Spectrum' by Peter Shaw and James Mortleman, published by Interface at £4.95 (paperback, 124 pages). 'Spectrum Magic' by Steve Belts, published by W Foulsham & Co at £5.50 (paperback, 95 pages). 'Step by Step Programming - ZX Spectrum' volumes 1 and 2 by Ian Graham, published by Dorling Kindersley at £5.95 each (paperback, 64 pages each). 'An Expert Guide to the Spectrum' by Mike James, published by Granada at £6.95 (paperback, 190 pages). 'ZX Spectrum Astronomy' by Maurice Gavin, published by Sunshine Publications at £6.95 (paperback, 229 pages). Hardly a week goes by without 'another great book from Interface Publications' (© Interface Publications) whacking onto the doormat in the entrance hall of PCN towers. 'Creating Adventure Programs on the ZX Spectrum', by Peter Shaw and James Mortleman, is one of the latest from this stable, and follows Interface's traditional format by having plenty of listings for you to hack in. There are seven complete adventures including 'Elsie the Aadvark (sic, throughout) goes Lunar Surveying.' There are a number of howlers along these lines, including 'Minataurs, Hydra and the Scylla make excellent monsters.' PCN's culture correspondent reveals that Scylla was actually a rock, and while this may be a handy way of dealing with those failed user-defined graphics, the authors here seem to have unintentionally underlined the need for good research when you're writing an adventure. The section on how to write an adventure takes up slightly less than the first half of the book, but there's enough information to show you the techniques to use in programming an adventure. The problem is that the techniques aren't really all that different to those you'd use in other programs. Work out how you store your locations in arrays and how to give the game a vocabulary, then you just zip through PLOT and DRAW and that's that. The only other things you'd need to know would be a little on organising long Basic programs, how to write a script, and how to produce fast complex graphic displays. None of these are covered in any detail. Still, seven adventures for £4.95 can't be bad. 'Spectrum Magic - your first programming book' is a different kettle of fish. Aimed at children from nine upwards, it sports a jolly cover that looks a bit like Gerald Scarfe's impression of Ronald Reagan leading the invasion of Grenada. It starts with the usual 'setting it up' chapter, plus a short homily on the subject of 'butter spoils the works' which indeed it does. The author takes a gently, gently, approach throughout - too gently I'd have thought, as by the time a beginner's reached the end of the book they'll have learned only very basic programming techniques. This makes chapter 31 'Speeding ahead', look a bit bizarre. It presents a sketchily explained piece of machine code, plus its Basic equivalent, to illustrate the difference in speed. Readers that reach chapter 30 thinking they've learned a bit about programming are liable to change their minds when they hit 31. 'Step by Step Programming for the ZX Spectrum', by Ian Graham, comes in two volumes, and is again educational. Both volumes are beautifully presented, and use a screen-shot technique to produce the program listings. The ground covered in Book one is similar to that dealt with by 'Spectrum Magic', but it's a little wordier and the explanations are clearer. Book two follows the same format, but this turns into a disadvantage because program length is limited to one screenful. Also the information included seems a lot less systematic than in the first volume. Mike James' 'An Expert Guide to the Spectrum' turns out to be an interesting book, although its usefulness is limited by an inadequate index. Mr James concentrates on what is going on inside the machine when a program is running, so when you've finished reading it you'll probably have a better understanding of what the Spectrum does, and why it does it. Spectrum Basic is covered, along with the tape system, Microdrives, communications and advanced programming applications, and the book includes enough in the way of machine code routines to whet the beginner's appetite. And finally, what can a non-astronomer say about a book about astronomy? 'ZX Spectrum Astronomy', by Maurice Gavin, isn't aimed at astronomers, but rather at Spectrum owners 'who wish to expand their computing interests into other fields'. It includes routines to allow you to simulate the movement of the stars and to produce star maps, but I think you'd have to have some prior interest in the field for the book to grab and hold your attention.

Sinclair User

John Gilbert

PUBLISHERS FIGHT IT OUT FOR BEST NAMES The market for technical information is growing. John Gilbert assesses the new names which are adding computer titles to their lists. The microcomputer book market has turned into a battlefield. Companies already established in the market are fighting to acquire the best names and a number of companies are trying desperately to enter this area of publishing. At the London Book Fair it was apparent by the number of new technical titles on display that publishers which have, until now, been in the arts field have begun to find their way into the technical side of the business. Penguin is one such company. Until recently it had been best-known for its wide range of general interest books, especially in the field of the arts. Now Penguin has decided to put a series of computer books on to the market. They will have a standard format and provide an introduction to the Sinclair machines, as well as to other microcomputers. Although some publishing companies which entered the race when the ZX-81 was launched have now disappeared, many names are still in the running. One of them is Bernard Babani Publishing. Michael Babani, managing director of the company, thinks that the collapse of some companies was the result of lack of technical experience. He says: "These companies have jumped on to the bandwagon. The people who work for them are editors who have no technical expertise. They may have some good outlets but if a book is not good in the first place, it will not sell." Babani also thinks that many of the books which are being produced are too costly. "What we want to see is a situation where books are being sold for £1.95 or £1.50 and not at some of the prices being quoted now," he says. Babani's company is already established in the electronics field and that should give it a firm base when it launches its next computer book, Easy Add-on Projects for the Spectrum, ZX-81 and Ace. All those machines use the Z- 80 processor, so the add-ons should be compatible between them. A company which is no stranger to the technical book world but which has just discovered the Sinclair machines is W Foulsham. Most people remember the name of the company because of the Old Moore's Almanack which it produces annually. Now it is publishing a series of machine-specific books. Foulsham is one of the first publishers to launch a book on computer programming specially for children. It is called Spectrum Magic and is levelled at the very young. The company is also producing a book for ZX-81 users called Family Fun on the ZX-81 - Top 20 Programs. It is aimed at all the family and not just one enthusiast at home. It contains programs which will interest children and adults alike and is trying to popularise family use of the machine, something which has been neglected by other publishers. A series of books on computers with the general name of Up and Running Today is also being launched by Foulsham. The series has been designed specially so that all the books will allow the user to switch on a machine and do something with it immediately. The books will again be machine-specific and cover most of the popular machines on the market. Shiva Publishing is a company which has made its name in the microcomputer market. It has produced several books on the ZX-8l and Spectrum, including Peek, Poke, Byte and RAM by Ian Stewart and Robin Jones, and has started to produce software. Stephen Bishop, Shiva editor, says: "The software came into existence because of our computer books. Two of our authors improved on programs which they had put into their books and we started to sell them. Obviously the programs had to be better than those in the book, or no-one would bother to buy the tape. On the other hand, nobody would type-in programs from the books if they were available on cassette, so we have had to make them different." The company has a series of educational titles which it plans to launch this month but Bishop sees its policy of producing introductory books to new machines as something with which it will stay. He says: "Obviously this part of the market will reach saturation point at some time but we will continue to produce books for new machines as they reach the market. We have a good relationship with most manufacturers, so usually we can produce books more quickly than some of the other larger publishing houses. That gives us an advantage over most other publishers in this field." Shiva policy seems to be working well, as the company has just moved offices and doubled the number of people it employs. That is a general reflection of the publishing scene at the moment in 3 sellers' market. The growth of the market will continue unless publishers start to panic and publish anything they acquire. If that becomes the case, the computer book business could take a turn for the worse so far as publishers are concerned and become a buyers' market.