CARING FOR YOUR COMPUTER

Reviewer Alex Heywood takes a selection of books from ZX and computer library shelves and assesses their value for owners of Sinclair Computers

Published by Sybex, this 226-page book by J. P. Lamoitier, whose field of expertise is the use of FORTRAN and BASIC in business environments, is designed for those who know BASIC, but would either like to improve their programming or get additional ideas for programs - or both.

Starting with the inarguable statement 'the best way to learn a computer language is through actual practice', Mr. Lamoitier takes the reader through a series of completely explained exercises: statement and analysis of the problem, flowcharts, programs and actual runs. This format will help you improve your programming.

The programs are carefully and exactly coded. There is no "it runs so we'll print it" thinking which appears evident in some other books. Examining the listings and reading the text will teach you quite a bit about how to improve your programs, even if you do not bother to adapt all of them for the ZX81 or Spectrum. Programs in the fields of mathematics, business, operations research and games, presented in varying levels of difficulty, have been chosen for their 'educational' value as much as for their relevance to everyday applications.

Many of us who quite enjoy programming, and have developed a fair degree of facility at doing so, need ideas to spark off new programs. This book is a great source of such ideas. Programs and other items in the book include: The purpose of a flowchart and how to verify one; a 'flip-flop' technique for branching; Armstrong numbers; conversion from base ten to another base; determination of a circle passing through three given points; plotting a curve; calculation of a definite integral; numerical evaluation of polynomials; sales forecasting; "Matchstick Game'; Craps; topological sort; linear regression; and the Eight Queens Problem.

Overall this is a carefully written book which, if studied and the programs converted to run on your computer, must enhance your programming ability.

Fifty BASIC Exercises, J. P. Lamoitier, Sybex, 0-89588-056-3.