This section is a focus for news about the workings of
AMPLINEX, corrections to items in previous issues, and other small items of
information which might otherwise be missed amongst the details of each issue.
AMPLINEX control program (A.MPLINEX)
We had a problem with the AMPLINEX control program in the
previous issue due to the size of the program. It was substantially bigger than
in earlier issues due to the inclusion of the 'Feedback' utility. This increase
in size, however, meant that BBC Model B owners using the Studio 4000 software were
unable to run the program. Fortunately, most realised the cause of the problem
and switched to their Studio 5000 system discs to run AMPLINEX.
In order to ensure that the control program can be used in
the smaller memory space allowed by the Studio 4000 software a change has been
made to the program to check the memory available before allocating space for the
'Feedback' note. If there is insufficient memory, the program will delete the
word which displays the title screen, thus freeing enough space to continue.
Since the title screen will normally only be seen once
during an AMPLINEX session, this change should be transparent to most users.
Copyright and AMPLINEX
We are pleased to report that we have reached an agreement
with the MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) to allow us to publish material
of which the contributor is not the copyright owner. The agreement should be in
effect by the next issue of AMPLINEX and this will allow us to include some
'copyright' music contributions. The agreement is effective for one year and is
at a cost of about £35. We felt that this was a reasonable price to pay and
will be confirming this to MCPS as soon as this issue is published.
Corrections
Wordwise Plus owners were frustrated in their search for a
utility promised in the 'Hints and Tips' section of AMPLINEX 003. The file
containing the utility (H.WWconv) was omitted from the disc after a last-minute
change of contents.
Our apologies to those who were searching in vain and
especially to its author, David Westbrook. It is included in this issue under
the same filename.
Feedback
The 'Feedback' section was well used after its inclusion in
the previous issue, and it will remain a standard part of AMPLINEX from now on.
A note from Chris de Whalley asks why the filename in
'Feedback' is restricted to seven characters (which does not allow space for a
drive or directory prefix). The reason for this is to avoid filename errors (e.g.
eight character filenames with DFS) which cause an AMPLE error and return (when
TAB is pressed) to the main AMPLINEX menu.
Ideally, we would use an error trapping routine to allow
display of such errors and return to the appropriate point in the original program
but haven't yet devised the means to do this. Is there an AMPLE programming
member able to help?
In the meantime, the drive and directory can still be
defined via *commands from the AMPLINEX main menu.
Music from Music 4000 users
Music 5000/4000 compatibility is proving a problem with
music contributions to AMPLINEX. Music programs developed using the Music 4000
software can contain module words which are not available in the Studio 5000
environment. Programs containing such words cannot be run on a Studio 5000
system. We will try to adapt such programs to run on a Studio 5000 system where
possible, but we would ask members to try running any music developed on a
Studio 5000-4 system on a Studio 5000 system before sending it to AMPLINEX.
Finally, please continue to send us your ideas for improving
the workings of AMPLINEX - almost all the changes to date have been prompted by
members' suggestions. Also, please let us know if you spot an error or omission
- you may be the only one who has noticed.
Published in AMPLINEX 004, March 1988
