News From Nascom

This month we are using this space for the promised article on the Advanced Video Controller card (AVC) and a software/hardware modification which allows you to use a keyboard buffering technique, and generate a clock at the same tine.

Those who have been waiting for their NAS-DOS version of Extended BASIC (XBASIC) should have received their copy now – apologies for the delay. We hope at some time in the future to do a version of the ‘Introduction to programming the Nascom computer in (ROM) BASIC’ for XBASIC, but in the meantime the existing reference manual provides all the information you need to allow you to use it.

Other documentation planned is an improved NAS-DOS manual summary cards for various products and the final version of the SPEX manual.

Next month we plan to discuss applications of the AVC, and in particluar to introduce the first release of NAS-CAD – Computer aided design package. In addition we will discuss file access methods, with examples drawn from both ROM BASIC and XBASIC. The latter language is available under CP/M (with full graphics support), so there will be something for the CP/M user as wall as the NAS-SYS/NAS-DOS user. We will also describe a method of adding soft (ie user programmable) function/control keys at a cost of £0.00, and more sophisticated means of printer control from NAS-SYS.

Mike Hessey
Technical Manager

1. Existing Products

1.1 NAS-DOS/NAS-SYS utilities

It has only just been brought to my attention that the manual for these utilities states that the entry point jump table is located at nA00 etc – the table is of course at the beginning of the utilities, ie n800 etc. Thanks to Movement Computers for pointing this out. In fact a more compact version of the utilities is now under test where the table is at nA00!!

1.2 ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’
– the Advanced Video Controller

Computers have developed substantially in the three decades of their existence. Not only has their speed increased and their size diminished, but major strides have been made in making them