New Public Domain/Freeware QL Software

In the past few months I have recieved some disks containing public domain and Freeware software for the QL. The disks came from Howard Clase of Canada, and Franz Herrmann of Germany.

For the record, Freeware software is software that is copyright by the author, but everyone is free to copy and distribute the software. Code from Freeware programs can not be used in any commercial program. With Public Domain software, the author gives up all rights to the program. The Freeware concept is heavily encouraged and used the the FreeSoftware Foundation.

Here is a list of the stuff from Franz:

• Intergroup Freeware Exchange Database – We have recieved this once before, but the executable program that provided easy access to the database would not execute. Now everything is running fine. The IFE is functionally like the Quanta Library, but encompasses a number of QL User Groups, most of them in Europe.
• QED Text Editor – This editor, written by Jan Bredenbeek, looks like it is based on the Metacomco text editor ED. From looking at the help file for QED, I could see that the command set is almost the same as ED.
• ZOO, HAR, LHX – These three programs are archiving programs, much like the well known PKZIP suite of programs. Where as PKZIP is used mostly for MS-DOS (but being ported to other platforms) ZOO, HAR, and LHX are used widely on a variety of systems. All three allow you to pack a number of files into a single compressed file. File compression is great for uploading a number of files to a BBS as one file, and for putting more data on disks to be sent via the mail. All three programs come with source code. This is convenient for those that want to study the file compression algorithm or tinker with the program. The group also has a copy of QLUNZIP, a program that will unzip files that have been archived using PKZIP.
• FLEX and YACC – FLEX and YACC are two utilties that are used in creating compilers and interpreters. FLEX is a Freeware version of the Unix utility LEX. FLEX is used to create the code for a lexical analyser. YACC ( short for Yet Another Compiler Compiler) is used to create the code for a parser. These two tools have been used for years in the Unix environment. Learning either one of these programs on the QL also means that your experience is portable to other systems.
• PROFF – PROFF is a portable version of the Unix text formatter ROFF. ROFF is the basis of the other Unix text formatters, TROFF and NROFF.
• MKTYPES – This is a suite of programs used to create function declarations in C programs. This is then used in compiling all modules of your program, allowing type checking across modules. For the die-hard C programmer.
• OCCC – This is a file that contains the winners of the Obfuscated C Contest from 1985 on to about 1991(?). When unarchived, it’s a large number of files. Obfuscated means to make unclear or hard to understand. Althought some may say that C is already obfuscated, there is a contest that takes it to the limit. One category is “the hardest / most obscure way to do a simple item.”
• FTIDY – File Tidy. A program to copy files and tidy up your file system.
• DIR_EDIT – Directory Edit. “Allows you to edit the directory of a device.” Not too sure what this means.
• GRAPH – Graph Plot Library for inclusion into your own programs. Loads and is used like Toolkit II or other SuperBasic extensions.
• FOUNTS – Fonts for the QL for use in your programs. A number of different fonts are included as examples.
• GLAZIER – A screen/window design package for programmers. Allows the user to draw windows on the screen and Glazier will produce the SuperBasic code for those windows.
• PROCS – A number of misc. SuperBasic procedures for use in your own programs.
• MISC – A number of short SuperBasic programs. This is the disk for those of you that are into SuperBasic programming. The utilities included can expand the capabilities of your programs and skills

As you can see from the files from Franz, C is being used a lot to port programs to the QL, plus Unix is one of the primary sources for programs. This comes from three facts:

1. C programs are very portable when written properly.
2. Unix, because of its different dialects, has stressed portability.
3. Unix has a wealth of Freeware software (with source code ) ready for porting to a new computer. Most MS-DOS programs do not come with source code. If they do, they are too MS-DOSed to be portable.

From Howard Clase comes a number of programs that he has had published in QL World and has made publicly avaiable. Where Franz has focused on C, Howard’s programs focus on SuperBasic. These descriptions are short because I have not had the time to evaluate each package. The descriptions are based on quick readings of the _doc files. Here is a list of the packages:

• FTIDY – File Tidy. A program to copy files and tidy up your file system.
• DIR_EDIT – Directory Edit. “Allows you to edit the directory of a device.” Not too sure what this means.
• GRAPH – Graph Plot Library for inclusion into your own programs. Loads and is used like Toolkit II or other SuperBasic extensions.
• FOUNTS – Fonts for the QL for use in your programs. A number of different fonts are included as examples.
• GLAZIER – A screen/window design package for programmers. Allows the user to draw windows on the screen and Glazier will produce the SuperBasic code for those windows.
• PROCS – A number of misc. SuperBasic procedures for use in your own programs.
• MISC – A number of short SuperBasic programs. This is the disk for those of you that are into SuperBasic programming. The utilities included can expand the capabilities of your programs and skills.

Both of the two disks are available from the QHJ.