[editor : Carl T. Helmers Jr., Christopher P Morgan] [publisher : Virginia Londoner, Gordon R Williamson] [art : Holly Carmen LaBossiere, Deborah Porter] #Magazine

[author : Virginia Londoner] #Magazine

As most readers will have observed, the September Fifth anniversary issue marked the beginning of a new phase for BYTE. The jump from a 300-page to a 400-page issue means a 33% increase in the material presented to our readers each month.

Because advertisements tend to be more visible than editorial content (especially in a technical journal), some readers may suspect that the larger issues mean merely more ads. But, in fact, the larger issues have approximately one third more editorial content. The new size does create design and manufacturing problems, however. The solution to these problems includes a redesign of the editorial pages of BYTE to make the editorial content easier to find and use. We expect the new format to be implemented early in 1981.

We are confident that the increased editorial content and new format will make BYTE even more of a bargain as well as a more useful tool for our readers. And that, after all, is what it's all about.

#Abstract

The cover for this issue of BYTE is a still from a 90-minute computer-animated cartoon called The Works. The photo was provided by Dick Lundin and Lance Williams and is constructed from quadric surfaces and polygons, using texture-mapping and normal-perturbation techniques. The background was painted by Paul Xanter - programming credit also goes to Tom Duff and Duane Palyka. A trailer of The Works was shown at SIGGRAPH '80 (page 172), although the film itself may not be finished for another two years.

A number of the articles for this month's theme were solicited with the help of Jay Nickson and Ken Lodding; their editorial begins on page 6. Both are employed by DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation): Jay is the manager of the human interface program for simplifying man/machine communications, Ken is a senior software engineer whose long-term interests intermix art and computer graphics.

#Edito #Book

Man is a visual animal. He surrounds himself with graphic images. Images are employed to convey information, to explain concepts, and to communicate feelings. The ability to draw is instinctive. It materializes in infants soon after the start of verbal development, perhaps to complement the slowly developing verbal skills. Although the ability to draw tends not to become as fully developed as verbal skills, images continue to provide much of the adult human communications ability. Pictures are a primary information-carrying channel: the histogram accompanying a financial article, the plot of a mathematical function, and the illustrations in BYTE are but a few examples. The importance of graphics for conveying information arises from the nature of man's visual system. The eye provides an extremely high-bandwidth information channel for transferring the data to be processed by the brain's optic center. The importance of this channel can be seen from the redundancy built into the system and from the distribution of optic nerve fibers in the brain. It is believed that no less than six different brain sites are directly serviced by connecting optic nerve fibers. (See reference 4.) The fundamental importance of visual information is reflected in the old adage, "seeing is believing," and in the observation that understand is one of the synonyms of the word see. Text fails to use our native abilities to comprehend information fully because it presents data in a linear, sequential fashion. Contrast this with graphical images, which can be processed in a single viewing-a phenomenon called preattentive perception. [...]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Combine automatic sonar ranging and infrared-light detection in a computer-controlled scanner.

[author : Steve Ciarcia] #Electronic #Listing #BASIC #Robotics

Extract : «  [...] Two primary components compose the ranging unit. They are the electrostatic transducer (see photo 3) and the ultrasonic transceiver board (see photo 4). Together these components are capable of detecting the presence and distance of objects within a range of approximately 0.9 feet (0.3 meters) to 35 feet (10.6 meters) with a resolution of ± 1.2 inches ( ± 30 mm, or 0.29% of range). In operation, a pulse is transmitted toward a target, and the resulting echo is detected. [...]  »

Micrograph is an intelligent, low-cost, color-graphics terminal that interfaces to any microcomputer and standard, unmodified color television receiver.

[author : E Grady Booch] #Language #Listing #Display #Graphics #Programming #Book

Extract : «  Simply stated, computer graphics is the technique of visual communication from computer to man. (See reference 14.) Interactive computer graphics is an important subset of this broad field and relates to computergenerated displays that can interact with a user in real or near-real time. Interactive graphics started with attempts to use the CRT (cathode-ray tube) as a computer output device. (See reference 12). The Whirlwind I in 1950 and Sketchpad in 1963 are examples of early attempts at interactive computer-graphics systems. Since that time, two distinct classes of CRT-based devices have been developed for use in interactive graphics: calligraphic (or vector) devices and raster-scan (as in a television receiver) devices. The area of vector graphics "has for several years been sufficiently mature to justify efforts at standardization within it." [...]  »

The first of this two-part article gives a series of useful subroutines for generating color images on a Compucolor II.

[author : Alan W Grogono] #Listing #BASIC #Graphics

Extract : «  Color slides of graphs, bar charts, and other visual aids are a valuable addition to various public presentations. When made using conventional methods, the slides are expensive to produce and difficult to modify. But when the slide is produced by photographing a computer-generated color image (as described in my article, "Making Color Slides with an Intecolor Microcomputer," January 1980 BYTE, page 20), the slide can be produced inexpensively and the image can be modified easily. Points, lines, bars, and curves can be drawn to represent numeric data.

Unfortunately, writing the program that creates the screen image can be tedious and time-consuming. Many aspects of the program design, such as the selection of suitable scales and the conversion from user-units to screen-units, can be done by the computer. The subroutines given here in listing 1 have been written to provide a common set of routines that can be used to generate different kinds of graphs on a Compucolor II computer with a minimum of effort. [...]  »

With this popular computer, use a two-color scheme to generate three-dimensional figure

[author : Dan Sokol and John Shepard] #Listing #BASIC #Graphics

Extract : «  Many articles have been written regarding three-dimensional graphics on home computers. Some involve highly complex hardware such as spinning mirrors, while others rely upon computation-intensive software to project three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional plane.

Taking an innovative step backwards and rediscovering an old technique, I have been able to create three-dimensional pictures using my Apple II computer. I have generated a number of visually stimulating displays in this manner and would like to share with you the methods used, with the hope that you too will discover new ways to use your computer.

The method is simple. Just take a piece of cardboard, and with a pair of scissors, cut out a pair of eyeglass frames. Next, put a red filter over the left eye opening in the frame and a green filter over the right opening (I did say it was an old idea !). When viewing the screen with the glasses on, anything colored red will not be visible to your right eye, and anything green will not be visible to your left eye (you may have to adjust the tint on your television to optimize this). Anything white will be visible to both eyes. [...]  »

Interpolate between points of a graphed function and three-dimensional figures.

[author : D K Cohen and Devon Crowe] #Listing #BASIC #Graphics

Extract : «  If you've ever tried creating graph displays with the Radio Shack TRS-80, then you know that the task can be time-consuming. If you haven't tried, you can look forward to the fact that axes must be generated and labelled, and data must be plotted using the awkward screen coordinates of Level II BASIC. After all this has been done, the resulting graph usually is not continuous, but has annoying holes in it. But don't despair, because with our simple package that may be implemented as a subroutine plotting X, Y coordinate relations or geometric figures is easy. In order to use this plotting package effectively, we suggest that you work through each example given. After implementing this package, TRS-80 users should be able to plot any analytic function or set of x and corresponding y values efficiently. This package will allow you to draw axes in the correct quadrant(s) and label them with chosen titles. Tic marks displayed at user-determined intervals, and maximum and minimum values displayed at the correct positions on the graph are also easy to accomplish. [...]  »

This monitor program takes advantage of some powerful software and architectural aspects of the 8088 processor.

[author : Thomas Woodward Cantrell] #Microprocessor #Interface #Algorithm #Listing #Assembly

Extract : «  MON88 is a small system monitor for the single-board 8088-based processor described in parts 1 and 2 of this article (September and October 1980 BYTE, pages 43 and 62 respectively).

The current configuration of MON88 implements sixteen commands (expandable to twenty-six) and uses less than 1.5 K bytes of memory. This includes a "large" (approximately 256-byte) video driver required for my hardware environment and lengthy messages (about 128 bytes' worth) that make MON88 easy to use. No attempt was made to optimize the amount of memory used.

Stripping out the video-driver routine (that is, using a hardware terminal, rather than software, to create the same effect) and the messages, along with some optimization, can probably reduce code size to 1 K bytes. My plan is to expand the monitor until it fills the 2 K bytes of EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory) in the 8755A-2 integrated circuit on the processor board. (See table 1 for a quick-reference guide to the MON88 instruction set.) [...]  »

Take a look at the future of graphics hardware and applications.

[author : Bruce Eric Brown and Stephen Levine] #Anticipation #Graphics

Extract : «  Predicting the future can place one in a very precarious position. Although technology is moving forward at such a pace that it is almost impossible to look a long way down the road, we do have a good idea of what the near-future trends will be. So here I will discuss where the trends in computer-generated graphics are headed.

Computer graphics is the fastestgrowing segment of the computer industry. Although many existing computers already have graphics capabilities, the future is even brighter. Since personal computer users will make up the largest percentage of the computer graphics market, the standard color television receiver will be the most common display device. Research is continually going on in video-generation techniques, and we can expect the quality of video images to improve dramatically.

Also on the horizon is the use of networks. Best of all, the price of graphics systems should continue to fall, and as they do, the number of applications will increase drastically. [...]  »

Zgrass, a hybrid of language and hardware, can be used to solve graphic-display problems.

[author : Dr Thomas DeFanti] #Language #Graphics

Extract : «  [...] Zgrass is a language/system designed to provide easy access to computer graphics and, in general, to computing. It has sophisticated realtime structures and control capability, and it's friendly, extensible, and fun. The language is more efficient than BASIC, more user-oriented than FORTRAN or Pascal, and it has the kind of language-control structures that will help you create your mind's fantastic visualizations on your video screen with more ease than ever before.  »

Part 1 covers the principles of television and computer-generated graphics.

[author : Allen Watson III] #Graphics #HowItWorks

Extract : «  This is an interesting time for choosing a personal computer, especially if you are looking for one with a graphics display. As you can see from the summary of specifications in table 1, the available graphics capabilities of the personal computers are all different, and no one model has a clear advantage over all the others. To make your choice even more difficult, some models exhibit undocumented quirks that are not apparent from the specifications. Your choice of a video-graphics system will depend on what you want to do with graphics and on the performance of the different computers. While I can't help with the first aspect of your decision, I may be able to help you understand system performance by explaining the operating principles of video displays and describing the various combinations of features available on popular personal computers. [...]  »

Meet the most frequently used human/computer interface - the video terminal.

[author : Ron Dalpiaz] #Display #HowItWorks #Electronic

Extract : «  There are few more satisfying pursuits than constructing, operating, and maintaining a personal computer system. The brave souls who develop their systems from discrete kits, preferring to assemble the "ideal" combination of peripherals, can feel justifiably proud of their accomplishments.

Inevitably, system failures will occur and can usually be remedied by personal knowledge and help from numerous books and articles on computer-circuit theory. But one frequently neglected area is the operational theory of the most used human-to-computer interface: the monochrome video monitor.

The video monitor is a basic part of most personal computer systems. The theory described here applies to converted television receivers and professional monitors. The two differ mostly in the video amplifier's frequency response and the cathode-ray-tube phosphor color : a professional monitor has a greater frequency response and a green phosphor. Additionally, the professional monitor has no tuner, intermediate frequency amplifier, video detector, sound or AGC (automatic gain control) sections, which are necessary in the broadcast receiver. The latter must have these sections rendered inoperable or selectively switched out when used as a monitor. Our discussion will assume a professional monitor with direct video entry. [...]  »

Theory and practice of digital-image capture and storage are explained in detail.

[author : Thomas Williams] #Electronic #OpticalInput #HowItWorks

Extract : «  The availability of inexpensive computer memory has brought high-resolution gray-scale and color graphics within the reach of the home computer experimenter. Over the last decade the ability to capture video signals in digital form, manipulate the stored data, and display it has moved from military and research engineers to undergraduates and interested hobbyists. [...]  »

In the conclusion of this series, we discover how searching for information stored in tree structures can be made more efficient.

[author : Peter Frey] #Listing #BASIC #ArtificialIntelligence #Book

Extract : «  Zero-Sum Games

In many problem-solving situations, the wisdom of a particular decision often depends upon the range of options that someone else may have. Many real-world decision-making environments can be modeled in terms of a two-person game. When each player is aware of his own and his opponent's options at each choice point, the game is described as one of perfect information. If the rules of the game require that each player's gain must come at the expense of the other, then the game is strictly competitive, or zero-sum. Familiar games that meet these criteria are chess, checkers, three-dimensional tic-tac-toe, go, gomoku, and Othello.

The first two articles in this series considered decisionmaking situations in which a single individual was responsible for a series of choices. By constructing programs that searched among a large number of choice combinations, we were successful in developing mechanical solutions for these problems. When two people are making choices and each is trying to better his own position at the other's expense, the standard look-ahead search that we described earlier is no longer adequate. [...]  »

Notes on implementation and options are presented in this final part.

[author : David C Brown] #Algorithm #Listing #Assembly #Programming #Book

Extract : «  Last month, I discussed the definition and use of the macro instruction and detailed a set of requirements for a macro processor. Part 1 also gave an overview in the form of text and flowcharts of how this macro processor would operate. Figures 1 thru 11 provide a more detailed flowchart of these processes and roughly correspond to the overview flowcharts in figure 1 of Part 1 of this article (October 1980 BYTE, page 162). Frequent reference should be made back to these overview flowcharts when reading the detailed flowcharts of figures 1 thru 11. A glossary of terms appears on page 371.

This completes the explanation of the macro definition and expansion. In the rest of the article I will discuss the interface of the macro processor to an assembler, as well as possible enhancements. [...]  »

#Book

Extract : «  Applied Mathematical Physics With Programmable Pocket Calculators by Robert M Eisberg, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York NY, 1976, 176 pages, softcover, $9.95 [...]

The Little LISPer by Daniel P Friedman, Science Research Associates Inc, Palo Alto CA, 1974, 58 pages, softcover, $3.95 [...]

Mathematical Elements for Computer Graphics by David Rogers and J Alan Adams, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York NY, 1976, Softcover, 239 pages, $12.95 [...]  »

#Book

Bit-Slice Microprocessor Design, Jim Brick and John Mick; McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York NY 1980; 7 3/4 by 9 1/2 inches (20 by 24.5 cm), 398 pages, hardcover, ISBN 0-07-041781-4, $18.50.

Computer Peripherals for Minicomputers, Microprocessors, and Personal Computers, C Louis Hohenstein; McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York NY 1980; 6 by 9 inches (15.5 by 23 cm), 312 pages, hardcover, ISBN 0-07-029451-8, $19.50.

Early British Computers, Simon Lavington; Digital Press, Bedford MA 1980; 5 3/4 by 8 1/4 inches (15 by 21 cm), 130 pages, softcover, ISBN 0-932376-08-8, $8.

A Guide to Structured COBOL with Efficiency Techniques and Special Algorithms, Pacifico A Lim; Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York NY 1980; 6 by 9 inches (15.5 by 23 cm); 272 pages, hardcover, ISBN 0-442-24585-8, $18.95.

Master Handbook of Electronic Tables & Formulas, third edition, Martin Clifford; Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit PA 1980; 6 by 8 1/4 inches (15.5 by 21 cm), 313 pages, softcover, ISBN 0-8306-1225-4, $8.95.

More Chess and Computers: The Microcomputer Revolution, The Challenging Match, David Levy, Monroe Newborn; Computer Science Press, Potomac MD 1980; 5 1/4 by 8 3/8 inches (13.5 by 20.5 cm), 117 pages; softcover, ISBN 0-914894-07-2, $12.95.

Practical Area Navigation, Paul Garrison; Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit PA 1980; 6 by 8 1/4 inches (15.5 by 23 cm), 224 pages; softcover, ISBN 0-8306-2286-1, $5.95.

Practical BASIC Programs, Lon Poole; Osborne/ McGraw-Hill, Berkeley CA 1980; 8 3/8 by 10 7/8 inches (20.5 by 26.6 cm), 171 pages, softcover, ISBN 0-931988-38-1, $15.

Project Whirlwind: The History of a Pioneer Computer, Kent C Redmond and Thomas M Smith; Digital Press, Bedford MA 1980; 7 5/8 by 9 1/2 inches (18.6 by 24.5 cm), 280 pages, hardcover, ISBN 0-932376-09-6, $21.

Some Common BASIC Programs, third edition, Mary Borchers and Lon Poole; Osborne/McGrawHill, Berkeley CA 1980; 8 3/8 by 10 3/4 inches (20.5 by 27.5 cm), 195 pages; softcover, ISBN 0-931988-06-3.

Structured BASIC and Beyond, Wayne Amsbury; Computer Science Press, Potomac MD 1980; 6 by 9 inches (15.5 by 23 cm), 310 pages, softcover, ISBN 0-914894-16-1, $10.95.

[author : Mark Dahmke] #Review #ComputerDesktop

Extract : «  Altos Computer Systems of San Jose, California, manufactures a series of powerful Z80-based computers aimed mainly at the smallbusiness and scientific-laboratory markets. The company offers a wide variety of models - from one 8-inch, single-density, Shugart floppy-disk drive with 32 K bytes of main memory to four double-density, 8-inch floppy-disk drives, and a harddisk subsystem with as much as 58 megabytes of on-line storage. [...]  »

[author : Robert E Ramsdell] #Review #Software #Office #Finance #Business #Simulation #Mathematics

Extract : «  [...] VisiCalc is an extremely well-designed software package that can be used by anyone with or without a programming background. There is no programming language involved in the use of VisiCalc.

• The instant interaction between the user and the screen facilitates the understanding of the manipulation of the variables in the matrix.

• The ability to interchange data with other programs helps make VisiCalc an integral part of any business systems package.

• VisiCalc is the first program available on a microcomputer that has been responsible for sales of entire systems.  »

[author : Mark Dahmke] #Review #GraphicCard

Extract : «  The MicroAngelo high-resolution raster graphics display stands well above other S-100 graphics displays in its price and performance range. Since the MicroAngelo is actually a single-board microcomputer, a great number of functions that previously had to be performed by the host computer are now done in firmware on the graphics board. Rather than using the memoryaddress space of the host as a graphics display buffer (32 K bytes in this case), the host communicates with the MicroAngelo through two parallel ports with simple yet powerful commands. The MicroAngelo decodes these commands and automatically performs the desired functions independently of the host processor. With this parallel-processing capability, system response time is greatly enhanced. [...]  »