🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <8911110458.AA06278@jupiter.nmt.edu> ehsnsr@JUPITER.NMT.EDU (Eric Hobbs) writes:
>     I am looking into trying to learn a new computer language, 
>but I really don't know which one to try out. The only things that 
>I must have is a language that is in the Public Domain or it is 
>Shareware (I'm a poor college student!), the language must support 
>graphics and sound without too much hassle, and it _MUST_ be able 
>to run on a 520STfm with 512K and a 360K SS/DD disk drive. Well 
>that narrows it down, doesn't it. I don't really want to learn 
>68000 assembly language and I only know BASIC and a little bit of 
>Logo. (Pretty Limited, Huh?).
>     You guys and gals are my last hope! Save me from expensive 
>languages and ST BASIC!!!!!ARRRRGH!

If you just want a better BASIC, I'd suggest GFA BASIC.  I've never used it,
but most people seem to like it well enough (certainly can't get much worse
than ST BASIC, eh?).  I _believe_ the interpreter is (or was?) public domain?
At least, I'd swear I saw a copy of the GFA BASIC interpreter on a STart
magazine disk last year...

Your system memory & disk size is probably going to encourage you to use an
interpreter (of whatever language), since they tend to be smaller than a
compiler for the equivalent language.  I can vouch that the OSS Personal
Pascal compiler (_VERSION 1_ !) is _barely_ usable on a stock 520ST with
one 360K drive.  I emphasize _barely_!  Useful as a learning tool, at any
rate -- you'll be able to keep SMALL programs all on the (copy of the)
compiler disk, in fact, and avoid disk-swaps (though a RAM disk makes
things less painful -- putting the compiler's temp files on the RAM disk
speeds things up a bit, too).  The documentation is even pretty good.

As for availability, sorry.  I don't know if Optimized Systems Software
is still around, and you don't want PPascal 2.0 on that configuration
(v2.0 grew a bit) anyway, so I'd suggest finding someone who is selling
their copy of v1 (pay no more than $20-$30; it retailed for $79, and
commonly sold for under $50) or find a mail-order "firesale".  (Sorry,
I'd like to keep my copy of v1.0 -- I don't use it anymore, but I'm a
pack-rat. ;-)

(Alas, I think you'll soon find yourself straight-jacketed by Pascal's
strict type-checking on the ST.  Although OSS wrapped a decent interface
around a substantial chunk of the GEM/TOS functions, they weren't all
there in PPascal.  And IMO, it was a real pain to go outside of the OSS-
supplied interface when you needed to, largely because of type-checking.
They extended the ISO standard in other ways; why they didn't add some
sort of type-cast (beyond variant records, which I LOATHED using) is
beyond me.)

All of the other ST compilers I've had occasion to use require either more
memory than 512K, or another drive, or a hard-drive, or all three to be
useable & relatively pain-free.  Really, you may want to shop around for
another SS drive at the very least.  Or, better yet, upgrade to 1M of
memory and use a big RAM disk.

--
>>"Aaiiyeeee!  Death from above!"<< | Steve Rehrauer, rehrauer@apollo.hp.com
   "Flee, lest we be trod upon!"    | The Apollo Computer Division of H.P.