🚀 go-pugleaf

A new alpha test release (version 2.8) of Berkeley Logo is now
available by anonymous FTP.  This version fixes several important
bugs (the one about spaces at the end of a line, for example).
Its major new feature is an extended-memory capability for the PC.

The PC distribution includes two executable programs.  BL.EXE is
similar to the earlier versions except for the bug fixes mentioned
above.  UCBLOGO.EXE requires a 286-or-better processor, but is able
to take advantage of extended memory if you have it.  This means that
Berkeley Logo can finally run the larger programs from my Computer
Science Logo Style books (e.g., the Pascal compiler) on the PC.

(Technical note:  BL.EXE is compiled using Turbo C++; UCBLOGO.EXE is
compiled using Zortech C++.  The files BL.PRJ and BL.DSK in the
distribution are used to control Turbo; the files MAKEFILE and UCBLOGO.DEF
are used to control Zortech.  The files LOGOLIB/*.BGI are needed in order
to be able to run BL; the file ZPM.EXE is needed to run UCBLOGO.)

In this version CASEIGNOREDP is initially TRUE, as I suggested earlier.
Some of the library procedures (e.g., FOR and FOREACH) have been
rewritten to use macros so that you can now STOP or OUTPUT inside them.
I have, by popular demand, NOT removed the machine-specific graphics
commands -- although, now that I have *four* graphics environments to
worry about I'm even less happy about them.

I know of one bug in this release:  Suppose you have a procedure that
might invoke an undefined procedure, but actually doesn't, like this:
	TO FOO
	IF 2=2 [STOP]
	NOT.DEFINED
	END
Then after you invoke FOO a bunch of times, you get an "out of memory"
error -- but only on the Mac, or at least I haven't seen it happen
anywhere else.  This was a problem with the CSLS Pascal compiler, but
I've changed the latter (ucblogo/csls/pascal) so that it doesn't trip
over this problem anymore.  I didn't want to hold up this release too
long while looking for the bug.

I do not intend to do any more development on Berkeley Logo.  The next
release will be called 3.0 and will have nothing but bug fixes.  At that
point I expect to start giving it to people like Compuserve and BMUG for
wide distribution.


FTP to anarres.cs.berkeley.edu and get any of the following files:

pub/ucblogo.tar.Z	Unix sources and documentation
pub/ucblogo.zip		PC version, PKZIP form, including executables
			    BL.EXE and UCBLOGO.EXE
pub/ucblogo.sit.hqx	Mac version, StuffIt/BinHex form, w/ executable Logo
pub/usermanual		Just the documentation file.
pub/csls.tar.Z		Logo programs from _Computer Science Logo Style_

You're on your own for the unpacking software.

Advantages of Berkeley Logo:

	* It's free.

	* It comes with source files (in C).

	* Logo programs are completely compatible among Unix, PC, and Mac.

Disadvantages of Berkeley Logo:

	* It's pretty slow.

	* It doesn't do anything fancy about graphics.  (One turtle.)

If you don't have FTP access, but can read a 3.5-inch disk, send me
$2.50 to cover costs and tell me whether you want the Mac or the PC
version (or send $5.00 for both) and I'll send you a disk.  (Outside
North America, please send US $3.50 for one disk or $6.50 for both.)
The PC disk includes both PC versions.

				Brian Harvey
				2634 Virginia St
				Berkeley, CA  94709