University of St Andrews COMPUTING LABORATORY ICL PERQ COMPUTER USE� NOTE ON DATATRIEVE PADACC MICROCOMPUTER SOFTWARE MICROINV OXFORD CONCORDANCE PACKAGE GIGI COLOUR GRAPHICS TERMINAL BENSON ELECTROSTATIC PLOT TER ABERDEEN HONEYWELL SYSTEM VAX SERVICEABILITY FIGURES NEWSLETTER October 1982 North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9SX, Scotland. Telephone 76161 (1 ) I ..... ', '-, ICL PERQ COMPUTER MICROCOMPUTER SO�TWARE The Laboratory has been a'warded an ICL PERQ The Microprocessor Group has recently purchased three software system t�at is to ���e available to computer �sers within packages from �!icroPro which run under the CP/M operating system. They "he PERQ is a V'?P' )"i':Hf'Jl single-user system c::msisting of a are related products viz. Wordstar, Datastar and Calcstar. The processo;:: corr,parat' Le �,_,wer (for some applications at least) to a programs have been installed on a superbrain and are available for V,.",.X, 1 megabyte of r:emcry. a 24 megabyte fixed d an 8 inch floppy assessment or use by users. Anyone interested shoulc contact either disk, a Lit pad, � kevL0ar� and a high resolution 1024 by 768 pixe]s) Phi 1 Rob ertson (ext 8112) or Bruce Campbel1 (ext 8114) in the screen. A has 31so been attached local Because of its Computing Laboratory. pO'."er the RQ is c:apiwle 0 performing quite ticated graphiCS, l.ncluding animation. Word�t�r is a screen-oriented text handler which has integrated , , prlnt facll�t�es. The entry of text gives a displa' of the text as it The so f tware ava�laLle for use with the PERQ is Ilmited at preseGt will be output and carries out such tasks as right j ustification and that 'dhi ch is ther is nt't necessar i ly pe rmunent . The current automatically. The program includes powerful editing facilities operatirg s yste:r, is :::2111ed PClOS and there are Pasc'!l and FORTRAN 77 including text formatiing, find-and-replace facilit.es block compilers. It is ho!?e,� �·!entually however to run the PERQ wi th a L�IX ' manipulation, access to disc files and a Help system. Where a suitable o!-,eratii',l sys tern ('.vh"" .ne j 5 a\'diL�D12). At the time of wri ting there printer is attached, the print facilities include underline, boldface, i3 also ",',rr 'l:-··'2:-:tati.:�n. F<)rt'....:�latel�' thi !l ot pre\Te:1t sub- and superscripts and variable character widths and line spacing. useful ,,!':'rk Le '1(m�' ;:;s PQOS is similar to V�lS and there exists good quality "n-line �,,",ior, in the form of '{E'.,P :iles as on -::he '-lAX. Included in the documentation is a training guide which new users Copies of the HiLP _i�es h21vo been made. can use as a self-learning course to introduce themselves to Wordstar. The PEHQ is curren tly sit'.lateo i:, the Computing Laboratory terminal Datastar is a data-entry, retrieval and update system. It comprises rlustpr �reA bps!rte rhp 0r3rhi0 tpr�jnals bpr�h. Tt Is anned that it two elements, the first for design for dat� entries and the second for will share a line SA'/B '"i th another terminal so that le transfer the data manipulation steps. In the former, data fields are defined which to and from the VAX system w il l be ?ossible. The PERQ may be boo;';:ed c� be given certa� n attributes e.g. length, automatic decimal point for use. The Boo:·ar.} Sh eets may be found alongslue che ?:t:RQ i ::se lf. allgnment, automatlc calculation from other entries and checks on valid Users interested in obtaining further informatio� and seeing a entries. The latter handles data entry and verification as well as demonstration should contact the Advisory Service i.n the first instance. scanning and printing facilities. Both elements are screen-oriented and Those interested in us the PERQ for their work may also discuss this have Help information. possibility with the S er vi ce . Calcstar is a CP/M version of the popular Visicalc program. of the newer breed of pow rfu The PERQ is representative e l Essentially the program is for manipulating tabular information. There mainframejsupermini single-user systems that offer performance at �re faci�ities for editing formatting, storing, calculating and printing mini/micro prices, the value of the equipment awarded to the � lnf?rmatlon. Such a fac�l�ty can prove very useful in forecasting where, Laboratory being aro�nd twenty thousand pounds. As with most computing havlng changed one element of the table, you can see the effect in the hardware �,is cost is expected to reduce in the future and thus other related rows and columns. represents interesting possibi lit i es to many researchers and research groups working in St Andrews. MICROINV USER NOTE ON DATATRIEVE A new command on the VAX, MICROINV, allows you to examine an inventory of micro-equipment in University departments. We should like User Note number 8 is an introduction to the use of DATATRIEVE - to thank those who responded to our request for information from which an enquiry language and report writing system that provides direct easy the list was compiled. If there are omissions or mistakes in the list ' access to data contained in files on the VAX. The User Note is please inform Philip Robertson (ext 8112) in the Computing Laboratory. available from the Laboratory free of charge. OXFORD CONCORDANCE PACKAGE PADACC The Oxford Concordance Package (OCP) is now available on SAVB. PADACC provides a display at your terminal of your PAD usage for OCP is used for making indexes, word counts, concordances and a given month. vocabulary statistics from texts. Facilities include: treatment of accents �nd diacritics, choice of context width, sorting dccording to To run PADACC, enter alphabetlcal order defined by the user. PADACC Because a text of any significant size requires OCP to use very large amounts of processor time and disc space (for work files), special and reply .� tbe prom�t for the required month. arrangements need to be made for any use of OCP in St Andrews. If you are interested in using OCP, please co�tact Peter Adamson (ex 8129). (4) GIG! COLOUR GRAPHICS TERMINAL Digital Equipment Corporation have given the ComFuting Laberatory There are a number of sample pictures on SAVB that you may view a GIGI colour graphics termin�:, a DEC�riter IV graph i cs printe· and to see the quality and range of pictures that IT,ay be produced on the a number of items of so�tware that may be used with the equipment. GIGI. They may be displayed on the monitor using the GGSPS program in the fOllowing way. The GIGI system has recently been installed in the Computing Cluster i\reJ. 0)) ) line to the SAVE VAX. It consists of $ SET DEFAULT r GIGI] $ RUN GGSPS o GIGI keyboard and integral processor TRAY SAMPLE o BARCO c0lour monitor SHOW-SLIDES o DECwriter IV craphics printer QUIT $ The GIGI (General I�aging Generator and Interpreter) is a terminal for use as a terr:1inal subsystem connected to a hest computer. designed The pictures will be displayed after the SHO\�- �Llm::s comman,). The GIGI provides l08al (in-terminal) processing using a microprocessor. The mi SUIJP,.HtS two interpreters: a ReGIS graphics If you intend to use the GIGI it is recommende:l that you dork . and the GI':I ''':\SIC �ang'Jage inter,neter. ReGIS is a graphlcs through the computer-aided instruction courses to begin wi th. Type and GIGI BASIC is an extended BASIC language designed to make RUN GGeAI to use the first of these. Note that when using a cOlnpu�el·-· use the GIGI's eJraphic capabilities. Thus pro'Jrams can be held on aided instruction course the PF3 key will allow you to return to tLe the \lAX, c0pied into the GIGI and run. About 8K bytes of storage is main menu and subsequently exit from the package at any time. provided for GIGI progra�s and data. The GIGI system at St Andrews is still being developed. At the The GTCT can disrlay pi�turE's C'r; the monitor Ilsing U? to 8 colours moment there is a shortaae of documentation a,'ail.:'lblc ans no provision (plus black) and has a resolution of 768 pixels (picture elements) in the for taking colour hardcopy. It is hoped that these problems will be horizontal and 240 pixels in the vertical. overcome in the fullness of time. In the meantime interested users are ',;e1come to contact Halcolm Bain (ex 8203) in the Computing The DECwriter IV is an output only device used for taking black and Laboratory for further information. white copies of the data displayed on the colour monitor. PreSSing SHIFT/PFl will make the copy. The picture shown was produced in this way. The items of software supplied include: o GGCAI - a computer-aided instruction course on the terminal, the terminal SETUP options and facilities offered. o RGCAI - Cl puter-aided instruction course on the ReGIS (Remot2 Graphic Instruction Set) . GGSPS - a 51 ide ector system. Files of pictures can be saved on 'lAX and slide proJectcr system (GGSPS) will allow these pictures to be displayed in a chosen order, with or without captions, with specified time delays, etc. o GGCSE - a character set editor. It is possible to deslgn your own character set for use wi,th the GIGI. Up to three character sets can be held in the terminal at any one time. Sats can be loaded into the terminal from the VAX.