Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!agate!ucbvax!UTCVM.BITNET!MQUINN From: MQUINN@UTCVM.BITNET Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: GS Sound (was:Re: Stellar 7 re-release) Message-ID: <9012191901.AA18992@apple.com> Date: 19 Dec 90 18:31:05 GMT References: Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 51 This is in reply to the message about the pros and cons of Applesoft and why it should or shouldn't take advantage of the GS's sound and graphics... Even though I program in assembly, pascal, and a tiny bit in C, Applesoft is still very useful to me. I can make a quick hack for a routine I'm contemplati ng to see how the logic works and get it straight before I crash the machine or spend to much time compiling, rebooting, etc. Applesoft BASIC would be emanantly more useful if it would access the abilities of the GS. Tool calls would GREATLY help me. I've had the ---===>>>HARDEST<<<===--- time of my life trying to figure out these stupid tools. When I got my GS, I thought that for sure it would have a new enhanced BASIC that took advantage of the GS's power. Then, I nievely bought TML BASIC thinking it was an enhanced BASIC that did, basically (pardon the pun:) what I expected Applesoft to do When I got my GS. The adds in the magazines and the print on the box all led me to that ocnclusion. So, I chucked out my $112 bucks for this and when I got it home, much to my surprise, it was nothing like I expected. I've owned this package for more than 2 years and haven't written my first line of code in it. After I finally figured out what "TOOLS" WERE (which took close to 2 years) I had to figure out HOW to use them with my vague under- standing of what they were. That took several more months and 3 or 4 books. It was harder than getting from a completely computer illiterate in '82 to a machine language programmer in the same year. Also, to even get into the package, I had to boot ProDOS 16, then TML BASIC. Then, when it finally came up, it had an incredibally slow user interface that was hard on my eyes to read (black text on a white background). Not to mention, that I had only one 3.5" drive and 768k of RAM. I started reading through the book on the 'specifics' of TML BASIC as opposed to Applesoft BASIC. I didn't understand a single word it was talking about. I now know what tools are and how to use them, and I stay away from them as much as possible too. Although, I can't write applications with Applesoft BASIC (not uable ones anyway), it's still a great prototyping tool and would be MUCH better if it accessed different banks of RAM, used the SHR graphics and took advantage of the sound capabilities. Another reason I think that it should be enhanced is for schools. There are millions of students in this country that are learning to program on Apple IIGS's and if the BASIC took advantage of the GS, many of the 'future' programmers would probably stick with the GS and all of them would have better programming skills and better understandability of the computer, not to mention, a great prototyping environment when they get into more sophisti- cated languages and they'd probably grasp the concept of a tool early on too. I sure wish I had. I didn't have anyone to ask what a tool was either, until fairly recently. I was the only person I knew that had a GS (or knew what a computer was, for that matter). ---------------------------------------- Michael J. Quinn University of Tennessee at Chattanooga BITNET-- mquinn@utcvm pro-line-- mquinn@pro-gsplus.cts.com