The Amazing Adventures of Featuring C64 COMAL 0.14 Getting Started page 2 How To Do It page 4 Just Beginners page 6 What Is COMAL? page 8 Dare To Compare BASIC page 11 BITES THE Comparison Chart page 11 DUST Questions/Answers page 12 Letters page 14 COMAL Books page 15 Top 10 Books page 15 4 Sample Programs page 16 Backup Disks page 20 COMAL is the winner! See page 11. Copy Files page 22 INSIDE: 4 ready to type programs: Double Sided Disks Graphics Designer page 23 Electronic Phonebook The Walker How To Order Ready, Aim, Draw page 24 Artwork by: D. Evans and Wayne Schmidt Captain COMAL is registered trademark of COMAL Users Group USA Ltd. How to Get Started There is more than one way to start with would like to run, press the STOP key to COMAL. Here are some suggestions: stop the catalog. On a blank line type: chain"name" Get the Programmers Paradise Package and optional Tutorial Disk and get two extra Of course, you will replace the name disks free: Best of COMAL and Auto Run with the name of the program you want to Demo. The package includes the reference see. Spell it right. Don't use the shift book COMAL From A To Z and four back key with letters. issues of COMAL TODAY. The complete COMAL 0.14 system is on each disk, so Use the STOP key to stop any program you you may start with any of them. We even try. Then you can do the same thing include a Fast Loader at no extra again with another program. charge. This package is an unbelievable bargain: only $24.95 plus $2 shipping If you are interested in what a COMAL (subject to change - two disks may be program looks like, STOP one of the supplied on one double sided diskette). programs, and issue the command: list Once you have all this, the question * becomes: "What do I do next?" First, COMAL displays the program for you. The read this whole information flyer. Next, CTRL key slows the listing down. Press backup the disks and store the originals the SPACE BAR to pause the listing. in a safe place. A backup program is Press SPACE again to resume. included on the Programmers Paradise Disk (see page 20 for instructions). Once you have seen some COMAL programs Then, start up the Auto Run Demo Disk: in action, you should be ready for the 20 lesson tutorial. Place the Tutorial Turn computer system on. ; Disk into the drive and start it up: Insert Auto Run Demo Disk. Type: load "boot*",8 FROM BASIC: run load "boot*",8 run You will see 26 COMAL programs, one after another, all automatically. No FROM COMAL: need to even touch the keyboard. When chain "menu" you are ready to stop, press the STOP key to stop a running program. It will Do the lessons in order beginning with automatically return you to the main lesson one. After each lesson is over, menu. Then press the STOP key again. You it will return you back to the menu. then will be in COMAL programming mode. Once you have seen COMAL programs, and To see more COMAL programs, place the have learned a little about COMAL from Best Of COMAL or Programmers Paradise the tutorial systemt find a comfortable Disk in the drive and type: chair and flip through the sample issues cat of COMAL TODAY. At 80 pages each, they are like small books. Skip the technical If you see a program listed that you and advanced articles and concentrate on More ► page 2, COMAL Users Group USA Ltd, 6041 Monona Dr, Madison, WI 53716, phone 608-222-4432 FILENAME CONVENTIONS How To Get Started - continued the beginning information. You can read To help you distinguish between the many them again later for more advanced types of disk files possible, we use the information. Finally, page through the following filename conventions (COMAL book COMAL From A To Z. It is a mini 0.14 usually uses a suffix. COMAL 2.0 reference to the COMAL keywords. usually uses a prefix): Now, explore on your own. Try changing Suffixed Prefixed Meaning _ some of the programs. It is easier at NAME NAME COMAL program file first to start with a working program NAME.L LST.NAME ASCII program list and just make changes! g] NAME.PROC PROC.NAME PROC listed to disk NAME.FUNC FUNC.NAME FUNC listed to disk DDDDDDDDDDDDDDnDDDDDDDDDnDDnDDDn NAME. DAT DAT. NAME Data file NAME.TXT TXT.NAME Text file NAME.DOC DOC.NAME Documentation file HOW TO TYPE IN EXT.NAME External PROC/FUNC COMAL PROGRAMS SHAP.NAME Sprite shape file FONT.NAME COMAL font file FONT.MC.NAME Multicolor font file Line numbers are irrelevant to a running SET.NAME Basic type font file COMAL program. COMAL only provides line PKG.NAME Package file numbers for your benefit in editing the BAT. NAME Batch file " .] program. Thus most magazines do not use SNG.NAME Song file line numbers when listing a COMAL HRG.NAME Color COMAL picture program. It is up to YOU to provide the NAME.HRG Black/White bitmap line numbers. But of course, COMAL can CRG.NAME Compacted color pix do it for you quite easily. Just follow NAME.CRG Compacted B/W bitmap these steps to type in a COMAL program: NAME.SRC Assembler Source NAME.OBJ Assembler Object NAME.PPC Paperclip file © 1) Enter command: NEW 2) Enter command: AUTO 3) Type in the program 4) When done: Version 0.14: Hit <RETURN> key twice Programmers Paradise Features Version 2.0 : Hit <STOP> key When you get the Programmers Paradise Remember - use unshifted letters Package, you get more than the best thoughout entering the program. If programming language. You also get letters are capitalized in the listing demonstration programs to show you what it does not mean to use SHIFT with those COMAL can do. One of these programs is letters. They are capitalized merely to CRG14.VIEWER. This program lets you view be easy to read. The only place to use compact pictures stored on disk (CRG is SHIFTED letters is inside quotes. Also, the filename suffix for compact picture you don't have to type leading spaces in files). Of course we also include some a line. They are listed only to show compact picture files for you to start structures. You DO have to type a space with, including our own CALVIN THE COMAL between COMAL words in the program.g TURTLE (he is smiling on the last page). COMAL Users Group USA Ltd, 6041 Monona Dr, Madison, WI 53716, phone 608-222-4432, page 3 How To Do It In COMAL ** How to start C64 COMAL 0.14 ** How to look at a program Put COMAL disk into drive then type: If the program is not in the computer load "boot*",8 yet, first LOAD the program: run load "name" ** How to return to BASIC from COMAL To see the program in the computer type: list Type the command: basic The CTRL key slows down the display. To pause it, press the SPACE BAR. Press ** How to see what is on a disk SPACE again to resume. See page 38 of COMAL From A To Z for more information. Put the disk into the drive. Type: cat ** How to write a new program The CTRL key slows the display scroll. Issue the commands: new ** How to retrieve a program from disk auto Put the disk into the drive. Find the Now, type in the program. Hit RETURN key program name exact spelling (see CAT twice in a row to stop the AUTO mode. above). Type the command (replace name See page 3 for more information. with the name of the program you want) : load "name" ** How to erase lines in a program ** How to run a program that is already Find the line number of the line to be in the computer erased (line 100 in this example), then issue a DEL command: Issue the command: del 100 run You may delete a block of lines all at ** How to run a program from disk once. Find the first and last line numbers in the block of lines (lines 500 Put the disk into the drive. Find the thru 750 for this example), then issue a exact program name (see CAT above). Type DEL command: the command (replace name with the name del 500-750 of the program you want to run): chain "name" See page 20 of COMAL From A To Z for more info. ** How to stop a running program ** How to add lines to the end of a Press the STOP key. If that doesn't program work, press the RESTORE key and STOP key simultaneously (resets COMAL). The program must be in the computer. Find the last line number currently used More ► page 4, COMAL Users Group USA Ltd, 6041 Monona Dr, Madison, WI 53716, phone 608-222-4432 !■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ How To Do It In COMAL - continued (630 for this example). Then issue the computer. Issue the commands: command: select "lp:" auto 640 list Specify a starting line that is 10 more ** How to set printer auto linefeeds than the last line in the program. linefeed* turns linefeeds on ** How to add lines in the middle of a linefeed- turns linefeeds off program ** How to access the device and The program must be in the computer. secondary address Locate the place you wish to add a line. For example, between the following: Send all output to printer device 4, secondary address 7 (lower case mode): 0040 PRINT "WELCOME TO MY PROGRAM" open file 255,"lp:",unit 4,7,write 0050 PRINT "HOPE YOU ENJOY IT" select "lp:" Type in the line to add, using a line Send output to device 5 printer: number between the two lines.