These programs are shareware unless otherwise stated. They are all zip archived.
Most of these programs are written for RiscOS though a very few also come in a Windows XP version.
Details of registration come for free with the programs. Basically if you like a program so much that you think you will use it often, send me £10. On the other hand, if you like them all, £20 will register you for the lot.
Registered users will receive any help they might need and often features are included that they have requested.
All of these programs are written in BASIC 5. Some might contain short sections of ARM
assembly code. None of them are compacted or compressed. They are well laid out and use
long variable names so that those interested can analyse them easily to learn new ways -
or to show me the errors of mine.
Useful Applications
!FSI_Batch
You can, for example, set the option to half size, output JPEG at 65%. Now drop 700 photo
CD images on the window and come back half an hour later to view the results. If your filer only
allows 77 files per directory the program will automatically create sub-directories to store the
overflow. The program will handle anything that ChangeFSI can process.
FSI_Batch will only work on all RiscOS 3.+ machines. It supports interactive help
and is Spark archived
This neat routine is a front-end to ChangeFSI and allows you to drop up to 700 image files into its window. It will then convert all these images according to the options selected,
while you can go away and have a cup of tea or a well deserved nap.
!Remane
A text icon displays a running example but there is a pre-view facility that
shows the final filenames before you change them for good - unless you use the
undo button which will return all files to their original names.
To give an example:
Say you have a directory full of files called 01,02,03 and so on to 50. You
now decide to call them all by today's date with a double ~~ separator,
for numbers starting from 120 and an extension /jpg. A few clicks of the
mouse and you end up with 2003-01-20~~120/jpg, 2003-01-20~~120/jpg,
2003-01-20~~121/jpg to 2003-01-20~~170/jpg.
If your files are called 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 and so on and are hence not
in alphabetical order, this can be fixed with the '1 to 01' button which will
add up to three leading 0s.
If you simply want numbered files with an extension and nothing extra, this is
just as easy. I find the program invaluable in sorting photographs.
!Remane is the successor to !NumberFix which I will not develop any further.
Anyone registered for !NumberFix is automatically registered for !Remane.
The latest version also allows you to give your files a new date stamp.
Remane works best on machines that can handle long file names, like RISCOS 4, but
it should also work on other machines as long as you keep the names short.
I have also tested it on RisOS 3.7 with LongFiles by Jason Tribbeck and it seems
to work well.
The program is shareware and I would quite like to hear of any problems, as it is
still under development.
This is a batch renaming program. Once you drop a selection of files onto the window you can rename them in many imaginative ways. There is a choice of file names. Either today's date or the date
stamp - very useful for photographs - or any other name you care to invent. You can add an extension of any kind or length always assuming that you use RISCOS 4 or 5 or anything that can handle long
file names. You can also at the time you took made the file - which is very useful for spotting duplicates.
Download !Remane Version 1.54 (28K)
!NoButton
The precise functions implemented depend entirely on the printer. Some printers have
bells and very loud whistles, others don't even have a horn.
The following printers are supported so far:
As I don't have access to all these printers and have to program them 'blind', I welcome
any bug reports.
On modern printers it can be a pain in the neck to clean the nozzles and produce test
prints. Indeed, some printers can't even be manipulated without some form of maintenance
program. !NoButton provides a simple frontend for some of the functions built into
some printers. You can for instance:
!OpenAll
This program will open all directories - and their sub-directories dropped onto its window. It can be used
to hunt for files or quickly examine the contents of many directories. The filer windows are all lined up on the top left
so that one can step through the windows without having to move the pointer just by clicking the select button.
Additionally one can also hunt for particular filetypes so that only those directories open that contain one or more of
the selected files. This is a quick way of hunting for images on a CD for instance.
A Help button is provided.
Should run on all modern Acorns, RiscOS 3.1 or higher. The program is share ware.
Archived using SparkFS.
This program replaces my !SearchCD application which was badly named. My thanks go to the late Clifford Down who did
some considerable work on the program.
Download !OpenAll Version 1 (50K)
!StripCase
If you copy a lot of files from a CD meant for PCs and hate the upper case filenames and/or the file extensions, this program is for you. It will convert - PROGRAM.PRG - to - Program - . All you do is drag the offending files into a window and they all get changed at high speed.
Should run on all modern Acorns.
Archived using SparkFS.
A Help button is provided.
Download !StripCase Version 0.33 (14K)
!Umlauts
This is a simple little program for those who need to use German, Austrian or Swiss
umlauts in their work or, alternatively, have a strange and wonderful liking for these
dotty characters. !Umlauts will insert said letters into whatever program has the current
input focus. Two clever buttons let you choose between the letters or the equivalent HTML
identities. While I was at it, I also included the Euro (RISCOS4) and a few other symbols I use
regularly.
Umlauts is freeware.
!PlayAnton
An audio CD player with some extra features. When learning a score it is sometimes
useful to repeat a selected passage again and again. This is one of the features that
make PlayAnton different.
Others will be added in time.
PlayAnton was written for a StrongArm RiscPC - though it should work on most Acorn
machines. The program supports interactive help. PlayAnton is share ware.
Archived using SparkFS.
Astronomical programs
!Eclipse
This little animation shows the shadow of the moon moving across the South Atlantic and Africa during a solar eclipse in June 2001. The photographs are from EUMESAT's Meteosat space craft.
There are only 16 grey shades and as the pictures are taken in half hour intervals, the moon
moves rather fast, but the effect is still quite instructional.
The program is free ware.
!Lunation
That wonderful site Astronomy Picture of the Day had an animated gif showing the change of the moon during one month the other day - what is known as one lunation.
My program is the Acorn equivalent of this but it allows you slightly more control than an animated gif. !Lunation supports interactive help and will only run on a RiscPC.
Lunation is freeware
Download !Lunation Program Version 1.9 (176K)
!Planets
This is one of my favourites! If you have ever wanted to mess about with a solar system,
find out what the dog star really looks like or revenge yourself upon the universe for
your own personal reasons, this is your chance.
The program demonstrates a three body planetary system. The mass of the first
two bodies can be adjusted. All the parameters for the third body can then be varied.
The animation can display the resultant system in various modes - traces, solid bodies,
3D, black background or inside a star field. The effects can be quite stunning, but you
have to be willing to experiment and usually waste a few planets. Extensive help is given
via the Help button. The program also supports interactive assistance.
The algorithms using Kepler's laws are from a program written by someone else years ago. I
found them on an old disc for the BBC micro and have adapted them for RISC-OS 3.5 plus. I
think maybe the original program appeared in one of the early computer magazines.
This program will only work on an Acorn RiscPC. It will not work if you have a Viewfinder card
fitted. !Planets is shareware.
Interfacing
!Quaker
This program is part of my earthquake detection project which you can find on the
interfacing section of this site. It will record the
output from an A/D converter. You can set a trigger level for each five minute
recording and all traces can be automatically saved to the hard drive.
The program comes with four recorded files so that you can see what it looks like, even though you have not built my project.
!MainsCon
This program is part of my radio operated Mains controller project, which you can find on the
interfacing section of this site. It allows you to control four mains sockets with your computer.
!MainsCon is a simple demonstration program and does nothing very fancy.
!StepCon
This program is part of my stepper motor driver project on the interfacing page elsewhere on this site. It will drive a stepper motor via the user port or the printer port, as long as you have built the interfacing circuit. It will turn the motor in both
directions at different speeds. It can give full or half step angle drive and you can also turn the rotor a preset number of times.
The program supports interactive help.
!LED_Board
This program does as much to an eight bit binary number as I can comfortably think of. It can be
used on its own or in conjunction with an LED board, the design of which you can find on my interfacing page elsewhere on this site. This is shareware.
!MotorCon
A small demonstration program to control the state and the direction of two DC motors.
This will tie in with the relevant article on my
interfacing page. This version also has a single tasking mode which allows you
to control two motors via the keyboard. This is useful when you need your monitor
for a different computer.
!TapeCon
This program allows you to control a cassette deck from the computer - always provided that you
have a suitable deck and that you have built an interface. You can find the design on my
interfacing page elsewhere on this site.
Atomic Clock decoders
!AtomZeit
This program decodes and displays the output from a radio clock receiving the Frankfurt DCF77
atomic clock signal. For the program to be of any use you have to have a suitable clock and
build the interface described elsewhere on this site.
!OvalTime
Some time ago I wrote an article for Archive magazine showing how to construct a Rugby MSF clock for Acorn machines. This is the program that goes with that brilliant piece of writing.
And here is a link to the article
Download !OvalTime Version 1.9 24K
Education
!WimpFetch
!WimpFetch was written to aid the understanding and teaching of the famous
Fetch- Execute cycle used by every CISC computer. I use it for the A-Level in Computing and the BTEC National Diploma in Computing. It uses a processor model that is so basic, it will just about work.
!WimpFetch can also be used to learn or to teach the basic principles of
assembly code. The computer model provided is the 65-JL, a product of pure
fantasy and some heavy borrowing from the noble 80%2.
!WimpFetch can single-step in slow or fast mode via a program written in
Edit. The behaviour of all relevant registers, control lines and data
lines is displayed in real time. A separate panel displays the pseudo code for every step.
It supports interactive help and has a built in manual.
The program was written for any Acorn machine RiscOS 3.1 onwards. It is archived using SparkFS.
Download !WimpFetch Version 2.8 (188K)
!Analyser2
The successor to !Analyser, which did not run in the WIMP. It is designed to decode, display and disassemble the information produced by the Black Star 3332 Logic Analyser. It is also useful without the analyser itself, by using the supplied 80%2 files. In this mode it is an excellent tool to teach the practical aspects of the fetch execute cycle. Analyser2 supports interactive help and has an on-line manual
Written for the RiscPC and the A 5000. It is now mode independent.
Archived using SparkFS
Download !Analyser2 Version 4.3 (52K)
Bits and Pieces
!MakeLines
The purpose of this program is explained in Archive magazine October 2001. Basically it simplifies an old technique for producing outlines of various graphics. Here is the article.
Download !MakeLines Version 1.3 72K
Zerilink programs
I read in Archive magazine that there is renewed interest in this excellent system. I had considered writing a program for it, but found that the easiest was to write scripts for both the Acorn and my PC. Once installed (instructions supplied) you have two icons in an Acorn window called ZeriT and ZeriR and two batch files which you can place on the PC desktop. To transmit a file, which is placed in a directory called Transport, you simply click on ZeriR on the receiving machine and ZeriT on the transmitting machine and the program moves across. I have used the system for quite some time with great success. This is freeware.
!Target
This is a game I wrote more than 16 years ago and it used to be very popular with my
students. When I showed it to the current generation they became just as addicted, so
I decided to let other people try it.
The game involves firing a large gun - cleverly sited on a mountain - at ships of
different sizes. A nasty balloon gets in the way and suitable insults are dished
out to bad shots.
The Risc OS version looks a bit better than the BBC version and uses sound samples.
However, I've kept a deliberate 'BBC look'. It should work with any 32 bit Acorn computer
in working order.
Download !Target for RiscOS (120K)
Download !Target for Windows XP (420K)
