rjs@okstate.UUCP (11/04/84)
This is a review for any and all people who are interested in buying a
TRS-80 Alcor Pascal package from Radio Shack.
I purchased my Pascal package for my TRS-80 Model 4P early this year.
When it arrived, I tore into writing Pascal counterparts for some
of my favorite BASIC programs and was not disappointed....much.
The package came with the Blaise II editor. Some of its features are as
follows
1. The ENTIRE control key set is redefinable to anything you want.
This means that if you are more familiar to Scripsit or
Allwrite or Electric Pencil, you can make this editor
outwardly appear to be *VERY* close to any of them or like anything
you want.
2. Even though the editor is something like 39k in size, you have a
virtual memory system. This allows you to write a text
or program file that is as large as needed.
3. Several files are associated with the editor. SETEDIT/CMD (which
makes the editor configuration files), several help files
(HELP/HLP, CMD/HLP, KEY/HLP), and the SETUP/EDT file for the
current configuration. Any of these except SETUP/EDT can be
deleted without consequence if more disk space is needed.
4. If you wish to use it for other things (such as word processing)
this editor is quite good. As it is delivered, it looks something
like Scripsit
The Pascal system is also quite good. Included are the following packages
along with a description.
1. PASCAL/CMD This is the actual compiler package. It is quite
easy to use, and has some flexibility. Your compiler output
can be directed to the screen, printer, another file, or to
a dummy device.
2. PASCALB/CMD This is an overlay compiler. It is used for large
programs.
3. LINKLOAD/CMD This program is what is used to convert P-CODE
to Z-80 machine language. It can also collect several external
procedures and link them to the larger program.
4. RUNP/CMD This is the runtime monitor for P-CODE.
5. OPTIMIZE/CMD This is a P-CODE optimizer for speeding up and
making P-CODE work more efficiently.
6. CODEGEN/CMD and CODEINIT/CMD. This package set proved to be the
most misleading package presented by Alcor. Throughout the
documentation this program is advertised as being capable of
making Z-80 machine code out of a P-CODE input file. This is
*NOT* what it does however. After calling and eventually sending
Radio Shack in Fort Worth a copy of my disks, they admitted that
CODEGEN is incapable of doing what it is advertised to do.
What it DOES do is to take a P-CODE file and and add to it all the
additional P-CODE necessary to make the P-CODE output file
and executable file AFTER IT IS PUT THROUGH LINKLOAD/CMD.
Along with these packages, the system comes with three library modules.
1. TRSLIB/PCL and TRSLIB/OBJ. These files allow you to implement
such things as SVC's, Peek, Poke, and several other machine
dependent things.
2. STRINGS/PCL and STRINGS/OBJ. These files allow you to implement
many of BASIC's string handling functions (such as mid$, left$,
etc.).
3. RANDOM/PCL and RANDOM/OBJ. These files allow you to implement
`random' disk access.
The usual disclaimer goes here.....
Roland Stolfa (Stalfonovich)