Programming Your Timex/Sinclair 1000 in BASIC, by Mario Eisenbacher (Prentice-Hall, $9.95)
THE BOUNDLESS enthusiasm that Mario Eisenbacher manages to instill in his book is all too rare in the computer book industry. The typographical errors and minor inconsistencies are there but this supplementary programming manual is well laid out and somewhat more carefully planned than many of the slap-dash efforts we’ve seen appearing on the bookshelves in the last year or so.
Although the choice of sample programs is at times a bit unimaginative (yes folks, another version of Hangman), the author is once again saved by his technique. When you first come across a program, it is written in such a way as to include many of the typical programming errors to which the novice generally falls prey. When these faults become obvious, the reader is gently steered in the right direction with a revised version of the program at hand. The new program is itself not usually perfect, but through several levels of correction, Eisenbacher gradually brings it all together. Another decisive point in this book’s favor is the use throughout the text of boxes, offset from the body of type, containing hints, notes, rules, reminders and simple point of interest or importance which break up the book and make it a little easier to read.
As a learning tool, the T/S1000,ZX81 has always struck me as a good bet, even for children. The small size and low cost of the unit are important, as are its relative indestructibility and the straightforwardness of the BASIC language resident in the machine. In Programming Your Timex/Sinclair 1000 in BASIC, we find a book that goes hand in hand with the concept. The many exercises in the book are clever and well-aimed; a table of answers is provided at the back, a change from many of the textbooks currently available.
If you are unfamiliar with programming and feel a bit queasy about plunging in unassisted, I recommend Eisenbacher’s book as a supplement to help you over some of the rough spots in the T/S manual. If you are seeking a text to assist in teaching children to use the T/S,ZX, this book is definitely worth considering.