Raspberry Pi 400
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Advertisement 40 years of improving on the best. In 1981 the first BBC Microcomputer was released with 16K RAM, 8 colours, and a clock speed of 2MHz. Over the next 40 years a pedigree of fast machines running the world’s best operating system, RISC OS, appeared. We won’t bore you with the rest of the facts. Except to tell you about the latest computer. Which runs RISC OS*, of course. It has 253,952 as much RAM, 2 million more colours, runs 900 times faster, and is 10 times lighter than the BBC Microcomputer. BBC Microcomputer Model A. 8 colours, 16K RAM, 2MHz, 3700g. Raspberry Pi 400. 16M colours, 3968MB RAM, 1.8GHz, 386g. The new Raspberry Pi 400. Still improving on the best. Raspberry Pi 400 machine available from all good internet retailers. RISC OS downloadable separately. *Other operating systems available. “Raspberry Pi” is a trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. E&OE. Drag ’N Drop | www.dragdrop.co.uk | Winter 2021 | Page 2 Contents EDITORIAL Welcome to another edition of Drag ’N Drop. Amongst the gloom of the pandemic, there’s something to look forward to in 2021 and that’s 40 years of the BBC Micro. Incredible to think the little beige machine and its sucessors like the Archimedes and RISC OS introduced many people to computers and programming in a fun way, your editor being just one! Were it not for that I doubt I would have been remotely interested in computers as they’d just be drab, inaccessible things running horrible operating systems. So do please keep on supporting RISC OS developers, large and small. Enjoy the read. CONTENTS Copyright ©2021 Drag ‘N Drop Editorial......................................................3 Produced on RISC OS computers. Beginner’s Page ........................................4 This issue has been blessed with contributions from the following people: Norman Lawrence (Schema2) News and App Updates ............................5 Christopher Dewhurst (everything else) Text Editing with Outline Fonts................7 The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor. Alternative views are always welcome and can be expressed by Raspberry Pi 400 first look .....................11 either writing an article or a short editorial. All articles and advertisements are published in Acorn – a World in Pixels review ...........10 good faith. No materials in this publication are meant to be offensive or misleading. If you Fast Icons.................................................11 come across something you believe is either of the above please contact the editor using the details below. Desktop Solitaire.....................................14 Contact Information Programming in Postscript ....................17 Editor: Christopher Dewhurst Email: [email protected] www.dragdrop.co.uk Toolbox with Basic..................................20 Using WimpWorks2.................................26 Drag ’N Drop | www.dragdrop.co.uk | Winter 2021 | Page 3 Beginners How do I get the BBC Basic the Raspberry icon and under type SAVE "myprog". Application tasks prompt? click and drag the Next slide bar out to the right. How do I open an Applcation Press F12 and type *BASIC and press Return. You can Task window Directory? *BASIC change the screen mode ARM BBC BASIC V Application directories begin with a version 1.54 ! called 'pling'. Hold down the shift with MODE n where n is a Starting with 651516 bytes free key and double click select to open number e.g. MODE 7 or > MODE 0. the directory. Type AUTO for automatic line I get a blank screen when numbering. Press Escape to stop and You can also type programs in a task running games listings type SAVE "myprog" followed by window, press Ctrl and F12. You Check you have the Anymode Return to store myprog on hard disc. can't use the cursor editing facility module installed, download it from To return to the desktop type or change MODE so you might like www.pi-star.co.uk/anymode. It goes *QUIT. GraphTask from armclub.org.uk/ in !Boot.Choices.Boot. Predesk. Programs listed in Drag ’N Drop free/. It allows you to type in and Open the !Boot application are assumed to work on all run Basic programs that use simple directory, in the root directory of the machines with RISC OS 5 e.g. graphics (not sprites) in a window SD Card, that is SDFS::RISCOSPi. Raspberry Pi, unless otherwise on the desktop. $.!Boot. Locate the Loader file and stated. To run Basic programs from with Shift held down double click it to open it. Create a text file in Menu Adjust the desktop, double-clicking How do I with select on the filer icon runs it. Edit with the following line open a Task Select Holding down Shift and double (press Return at the end): clicking loads it into a text editor disable_mode_changes window? Save it inside Loader as CMDLINE/ like !Edit. Menu click TXT and restart your machine. over the Scroll wheel mouse Raspberry icon on the right side of What does ‘currently selected Sounds are strange the iconbar and select click on Task directory’ mean? Some listings need the free RDSP window. Or press Ctrl+F12. Articles may tell you to set the CSD module installed. Download it from (currently selected directory). Click www.amcog-games.co.uk/rdsp.htm You may need to reserve more menu over filer window and choose where you’ll find instructions on memory for the task. Adjust-click on Set directory ^W. It’s where the how to install it. computer stores the file when you Drag ’N Drop | www.dragdrop.co.uk | Winter 2021 | Page 4 News and applications New Raspberry Tails from the Wimp The latest addition to the Pi TailWimp Lite is a family is the Pi 400, released utility for arranging by the Pi Foundation at the desktop windows end of 2020. It’s an all-in-one keyboard shortcuts Arm A72-based compact (Ctrl+Shift and arrow computer with integrated keys). The program is keyboard which can run very much in RISC OS. We take a first look development stages at at it on page 11. the moment and you can try it out by visiting GraphTask github.com/skymandr/ GraphTask is a TailWimpLite/releases/download/ free application inside a GraphTask v0.1.0/TailWmpLt.zip which allows window. many single- Maryland Escapee tasking programs Rainbow snakes live in swamps in (including ones Tutorial Central the Atlanic region of the USA and using VDU One of the one seems to have escaped to star in graphics) to be criticisms of RISC this 'snake' type game. You guide run in a window OS is the lack of on the desktop. It documentation has been (except in your recompiled to fix favourite issues with the Raspberry Pi 4. magazine, of course). A central Version 4.04 can be freely repository of tutorials for new users downloaded from armclub.org.uk/ and advanced users (DDE free/. GraphTask comes with 35 developers, C programming and the programs written in BBC Basic like) has been pulled together at demonstrating what can be done www.riscository.com/tutorials/. Drag ’N Drop | www.dragdrop.co.uk | Winter 2021 | Page 5 News your creature around the screen enough for A4 paper. www.kevsoft.co.uk. eating strawberries (it doesn't like Small-time developers are the raspberries, evidently) avoiding backbone of the RISC OS economy, your ever-growing tail and the edges and whilst Kevin's applications are of the playing area . free so you should consider making Simple but highly addictive with a small donation at www.ko-fi.com/ great graphics and sound effects, kevsoft (ko-fi, the price of a coffee, Rainbow Snake is free from geddit?) www.proggies.uk/riscosstuff/riscos/ zip/rainbowsnake_riscos.zip. Lua Help The RISC OS port of Lua, the high- level programming language available for a wide computer platforms now comes with a StrongHelp manual. Download it from www.wra1th.plus.com/lua/ risclua.html. Pimp your Draws Draw is the free vector-based Counting application which has come bundled CLOC is a command-line program with every RISC OS version and They work for you which counts blank lines and this freeware add-on has received an MPdata+ is an application comment lines in code in a variety update. DrawPrint 1.53 from to keep tabs on your of computer languages. Download it www.sinenomine.co.uk/software/ Member of the UK Parliament. Type from riscosm/downloads.php allows you in your postcode and it retrieves www.coleman.orpheusweb.co.uk/ to print Draw files over several information from Westminster on downloads/cloc_v100.zip. sheets of paper, it even puts cut how your local MP is doing with marks in the margin. Useful if (like attendance, debates and so forth. most of us) your printer is only big Version 2.01 is available from Drag ’N Drop | www.dragdrop.co.uk | Winter 2021 | Page 6 This program TEXT, the address in memory are now made by its handle. demonstrates how where the text is stored. Chocolate bar number one was an to edit text in an The program uses eight SYStem easy one wasn’t it ! outline font on calls concerning outline fonts. They RISC OS. In all take the form SYS 2. SYS "Font_SetPalette",,, essence it’s a very “Font_SomethingOrOther”. Some 1,C,B,F simple word of these calls are very tricky to get Sets up the colours in which the text processor. your head round. Award yourself a is to be painted. C is the number of Two pangrams large chocolate bar for each call you shades used for the anti-aliasing – sentences that use manage to get the hang of ! starting at B (background) and all letters of the finishing at F (foreground).