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This is a list of updates to the site.

Latest versions of my work can be found in the Download section, including minor upgrades.


06 Jun 2013 Release of Basalt 1.65 beta. This version implements Structures as well as a number of other lesser features and improvements.The StrongHelp manual is available separately.
24 Nov 2012 Release of my MCPIO module. This is a small, specialised module to control MCP23017 Expansion chips on the Rapsberry Pi IIC bus. It also allows control of the 8 GPIO pins on a Ciseco SliceOfPI/O.

Release of Basalt 1.60 beta. This version implements the MCPIO keyword, which uses my MCPIO module to provide a simple BASIC interface to the expansion ports. There is also a number of small bug-fixes. The StrongHelp manual is available separately. The online HTML manual and download HTML manual are not available at the moment pending a complete re-write of the Basalt section.

Release of MCPIOTest, which shows how the module and Basalt can be used.

12 Jul 2012 Release of Basalt 1.50 beta. This version implements long strings using normal string variables. The StrongHelp manual is available separately. The online HTML manual and download HTML manual have not yet been updated.
27 May 2012 Release of Basalt 1.42 beta. This is a relatively stable version, with all the enhancements in the unstable alpha version released earlier, and more. The StrongHelp manual is available separately and there is an HTML version online, which can also be downloaded.
03 Feb 2012 An experimental module, BasicHelp, to provide help on BASIC keywords from a *command.
21 Jan 2012 Update to BasaltApp and supporting files.
15 Jan 2012 Updates to HongKong, correcting some sprites, and MouseInfo, adding Toollbox information.

Advice on programming with Basalt and the Toolbox, with a prototype application to download.

21 Dec 2011 Update to Structs BASIC library with bit arrays.
20 Dec 2001 Structs BASIC library.
07 Dec 2011 Update to Longs BASIC library with operations made explicit.
04 Dec 2011 Update to Strings BASIC library with machine code INSTR.
02 Dec 2011 Longs BASIC library and update to Strings BASIC library
23 Nov 2011 DrawIt and Strings BASIC libraries
22 Nov 2011 Major change to the internals of this website.

New software, including Call module, Hongkong game and Basalt examples.

Vastly extended and completely rewritten version of Basalt, but only at the alpha stage.

Updated StrongHelp BASIC manual


16 Apr 2007 There is an updated version of the StrongHelp RegEx manual, stimulated by Martin Avison, and his excellent RegExText application.

There is an minor update to the StrongHelp BASIC manual

20 Nov 2006 I have included some suggestions on formatting and extra detail on the stack etc in an updated version of the StrongHelp BASIC manual

There is a 32-bit compatible version of the RFSApps module.

03 Nov 2004 Prompted by a discussion of PRINT formatting with @ I have put up a newer version of the StrongHelp BASIC manual which has an accumulation of small changes.

There may still be some 32-bit issues with Basil

29 Apr 2004 There has been a long break without much programming, but I was recently asked about 32-bit versions of RFSFiles and Basil. These are now available, and I have taken the opportunity to make some significant changes to Basil.
30 Aug 2003 I introduced a bug in the heap code of Basalt while tring to make it more efficient, which will principally affect DIM. Version 0.98b beta should correct this.
20 Aug 2003 Version 0.98ß of Basalt has a major change, implementing many keywords for use with the Toolbox as well as providing tokenisation for Attribute and Method names. There are some other new general keywords too.

There is a resonable amount of documentation for the Basalt implementation, but there is only a little towards use of the Toolbox and ResEd. There are couple of example applications.

09 Jul 2003 Version 0.96ß of Basalt has had another internal change requiring a thorough check of the code. There are some new and updated keywords.
07 Jul 2003 The cure was not enough for Iyonix machines. The Basalt manual has been changed to instruct Iyonix users to *RMFaster BASIC. This will be a permanent requirement.
06 Jul 2003 There was a bug in the code introduced with version 0.95 that interfered with it working on machines that were not quite like mine. I think I have curred it with 0.95a
05 Jul 2003 Version 0.95ß of Basalt now has major internal changes to giving a significant increase in speed. The RegEx keywords have been further refined. Tracing now emulates that of RISC OS 5 BASIC.
30 Jun 2003 Minor changes to Basalt.
29 Jun 2003 I have put up version 0.94ß of Basalt, which has fixed two major bugs that prevented Basalt working with RO 3.10. As well as a couple of small bug fixes there are new, and simpler, versions of the RegEx keywords. I would be interested to know what anyone thinks of these.
25 Jun 2003 I have put up version 0.93ß of Basalt, which includes the LIBRARY function that is needed for 'proper' programs.
18 Jun 2003 I have put up version 0.90ß of Basalt, and I really do want feedback.
05 Jun 2003 There is a small update to the SpellMod manual.

I have been very busy with Basalt, and development and documentation have got out of hand with a rush of new ideas. I hope to have a publishable, not experimental, version in week or so.

The major change is that alternative and new keywords are entered just as if they were native BASIC. Except for *BasaltInit the use of Basalt is quite transparent. There are changes to some keywords and several new ones, particularly for manipulating times.

15 Apr 2003 After seeing a mention of !Gutenberg by David Llewellin-Jones I thought that StrongED could be used to do the same job of preparing Project Gutenberg etexts for display, but with some advantages. So I have written a mode called Gutenberg.
13 Mar 2003 Further discussion of the bugs appearing in SpellMod has prompted me to include little more information about the patches and a file to use with the !Patch application to apply them.

Although I have not yet published it, there is a version of that uses new, tokenised keywords. These have been particularly useful for implementing regular expressions using the RegEx module and COMPILE, MATCH, SEARCH and REPLACE keywords. Watch this space!

09 Jan 2003 After some discussion on the newsgroups I have changed the syntax of some keywords in Basalt to make them unique with repsect to native BASIC. Most notably DIM to DIM HIMEM for dynamic blocks and arrays. SWAP$ now does trimming of spaces and contraction of multiple spaces.
07 Jan 2003 Among a few small changes, I have added a DIM LOCAL to Basalt. This allows the use of a local block of memory, as in RO5 BASIC.
28 Dec 2002 There is major update to Basalt which uses much smarter methods to decode keywords and errors. This has very little change to the keywords themselves, but they should all be a little faster.
15 Dec 2002 There is an updated SpellMod manual with some information about the vaious versions, bugs and patches. The latest BASIC manual has a handful of corrections and additional information. There are some changes to Basalt .
18 Oct 2002 I realise that I have been posting about the current version of Basalt without putting it here - many apologies for anyone baffled by my comments. I have not been working on it for a couple of months and this version is incomplete, but represents a pretty stsble API.
17 Aug 2002 Stimulated by a suggestion in the StrongED maillist I have transferred the GNU Regular Expression library manual into a StrongHelp manual, RegexLib. This preceded a manual for Neil Bird's RegEx module which is based on it.

Stand by for an extensive upgrade to Basalt with a final (?) version of the API.

30 Apr 2002 I accepted that frames were a 'bad thing' quite a while ago, so this is a major change to return to the simplest design.

There are additions and corrections to the BASIC manual.

19 Mar 2002 Update to Basalt and manual. USR actions now return strings when required, removing the need for $USR. This also allows improvements to several actions.
22 Feb 2002 Removed references to Mice in For Sale

Put up a current version of Basalt and manual. Rewitten the pages to give more information about Basalt

10 Jan 2002 Replaced Basil with version 1.33 which fixes a major bug.
16 Dec 2001 Added a new version of Basil which supports multiple independent library lists. There is also a change in the recommended API to *commands and support for library resource applications. This is still a beta version.
29 Sep 2001 Added HTML versions of the StrongED Search and Modes pamphlets
20 Sep 2001 I found that the speed of many Basalt *commands was very slow, owing to the large overheads. The latest version employs CALL and USR in a special way, and is very fast and actually more flexible than the previous one.
03 Sep 2001 I have written a module called Basalt, BASIC alternative keywords, that provides new BASIC keywords in the form of *commands. There is an early beta version and a StrongHelp manual. I really want feedback on this.

There are new versions of the Basil and RFSFile StrongHelp manuals with a tighter and standardised layout. Basil has a small bug fix that I only noticed when I came to write Basalt.

There is a latest version of the experimental BASIC manual, BasicX, with many updates and corrections, and a lot of information useful for assembly writers. Without feedback I am not really putting much effort into getting this manual into a finished state.

There is a small manual for the StringUtils module that was published in Acorn User in 1994. There is also a manual for Darren Salt's ExtBASICasm module. He gave initial approval for this, but has not got back with a final check, so it may not be entirely accurate. Feedback is welcome.

24 Nov 2000 Added a manual for Impression Spell module. Minor updates and corrections.
17 Aug 2000 Added a pamphlet explaining StrongEd's Mode files.
04 Aug 2000 Added a pamphlet explaining StrongEd's Search and Replace. Yet another redesign!
18 Jul 2000 So, no updates for a year! In that time there were, however, some minor changes to the download files. This update has a revised design (still playing) and a version of the BASIC manual which is still in development, but has quite a bit more information, some corrections and a completely different internal structure. I have also put some pictures in the Spectrum section, but without commentary. I still have no feedback on the manual.
18 Jul 1999 Major update to BASIC manual. A complete internal restructure and inclusion of the material from BasNotes. Version number now perhaps worthy of 3.00, but still untidy with gaps and much to do.
02 Jun 1999 Update to BASIC manual. More detail on characters, both as operators and otherwise.
10 May 1999 Update to BASIC manual with some tidying and more information on operators.
Included old versions for download.
22 Apr 1999 Completely new design, using frames and tables. I have not tried to make it "exciting" but I have attempted to uphold "good principles". Comments and corrections are welcome.