32016 SECTION COMPATIBILITY NOTES My 32016 system consists of a 1Mb 32016 external co-processor from 1986 with Pandora V2.00, along with Release 12 of the system software and documentation. This includes Panos 1.4, which has a built-in command ".compatible" to make it compatible with Panos 1.1. All of the bundled languages have been updated since release 10. The I/O processor in my system is a BBC Master 128 (which performs exactly the same functions, apparently, as a BBC B). I use twin 5.25" DFS drives to run Panos and the languages; I can handle 3.5" and ADFS disks, although I am currently unable to use ADFS disks with the 32016, possibly due to the lack of an ADFS/32 ROM. All software and technical suggestions will be tested on the above set-up; if any member finds that software does not behave in the way documented in the disk magazine, please let me know, so that we can ascertain what difficulties exist in compatibility between different hardware and software versions. SOFTWARE ON THIS ISSUE There is one 32016-specific piece of software on this issue disk. This is the excellent disassembler provided by David Crennell. It is under the filename R.assemb (or, under Panos or ADFS, assemb-rif), and converts -aof files into -asm files. This is very useful not only to disassemble other software, such as the Panos system software, but also if programmers wish to convert their compiled high-level code to assembler in order to optimise it. The syntax is "assemb ", where filename is expected to be an -aof file, but inserting the tag -aof is NOT necessary. For example, if a directory contained the file "CWorld-aof", typing "assemb CWorld" would produce a file "CWorld-asm". All of the Small-C sourcecode featured in this issue (under the filename "CSource") can be compiled and run on the 32016 with a few alterations. Firstly the sourcecode for the three different programs ("Fahr", "cmp" and "Hanoi") should be separated into different files, and the CTRL-M line terminators replaced with CTRL-J using global replace. Replace the "vdu" commands with standard C "putchar()" commands. Finally, the "Hanoi" program needs to be run in MODE2, and so it is necessary to add,"putchar(22);" and,"putchar(2);" at the beginning of the program. All three programs are compiled, linked and run as laid down in the example sessions in the Panos User Guide Issue 1. The "Fahr" program, and possibly "cmp" will run quite happily in a window in Panos Edit. However, this is not the case for "Hanoi", since the move to MODE 2 will confuse the editor host code; it should be run directly from a normal Panos command line. In addition, in order to avoid the filtering of vdu codes, it is necessary to run Hanoi using the "-to" option as follows: "Hanoi -to rawvdu:" Finally, note that the "cmp" utility is not compatible with the 32016 filename system, although it will function correctly with files in the $ directory of a DFS disk. Note that almost all of the BBC BASIC software featured in this issue, including some of those with graphics screens and/or music, will run correctly under 32000 BASIC, and some of the machine code utilities will run in the I/O processor while the 32016 is activated (either with a "*" command from 32000 BASIC, or from Panos by using the "star" utility). OTHER SOFTWARE AVAILABLE There is currently one disk of 32016 software in the TBI pool, TBI-07. It contains over 300K of assorted utilities and other useful software donated by David Crennell, including special facilities for fast access of the BBC graphics screen from C and Fortran, corrections to various parts of the distributed Fortran library, library manipulation utitilies, and assorted other items. The disk is available in either ADFS L or DFS 80T DS format, and I recommend that all 32016 users send off for a copy, though I may also feature a few items from the disk in future issues if I'm short of software. QUESTIONS Does anyone else use a 32016 with a Master 128, and are you able to use ADFS with floppy disks; is it necessary to replace the ADFS ROM already in the Master with ADFS/32? Similarly, can anyone with a BBC B tell me whether ordinary ADFS is sufficient, or whether ADFS/32 is definitely necessary? What is the situation with hard disks? Is BASIC 32000 2.00 any good, and can anyone explain why V1.00 doesn't appear to be able to use integer arrays? Is the 32000 Instruction Set Reference Manual still generally available, and if not, where is the best place to obtain one from? Is there a ramdisk package available for the 32016, or any other commercial software at all? SUGGESTIONS The Acorn 65C102 co-processor for the BBC Master (the Master "turbo board") is supplied with a utility called "buffer" which enables 24K of the I/O processor's memory to be allocated as a printer buffer. Since machine-code routines can be run on the host while BASIC 32000 is running, this utility can also be used from BASIC on the 32016, and functions in exactly the same way. I have not yet tested this from Panos or on a BBC B, but it is a very useful utility if members already have a copy or can easily get hold of one. If you have a Master 128 with an internal co-processor as well as an external 32016, you may have noticed that there is an easier way of switching between them than using *CONFIGURE INTUBE and *CONFIGURE EXTUBE. Configure your machine to TUBE and EXTUBE. Then, whenever you switch on the Master without switching on the 32016, the internal co-processor will be selected. COMING SOON I hope to have a steady influx of software from new members over the next few issues. (One member is apparently attempting to develop an implementation of UNIX on the 32016 as a replacement for Panos). Meanwhile, I have been promised an AI program in BASIC which will run on the 32016 and all Archs other than the A3010, with a reduced version for the BBC B. In addition to this I have been told of another language similar to LISP, whose sourcecode is public domain and is written in C, and so may run on the 32016; if so I will feature it in a future issue. If anyone has any answers to the questions above, or any programming hints of their own, please let us know. If anyone would like to write an introduction to programming in Small and/or standard C, or any other 32016 language, this would probably be very useful to both 32016 and BBC owners. If you know anyone else with a 32016, please encourage them to join 8-Bit Software; I will be reviewing the 32016 in an issue fairly soon, and hopefully this will encourage a few BBC B/Master owners to buy one as an upgrade. I doubt the 32016-owning membership of 8-Bit Software will ever go over 20, but hopefully we can create a user group with enough interested members to maintain support for the processor for a few years to come.