Programmable Jukebox – version 2

Allan Gardner

These notes describe the new version of my Programmable Jukebox - the original version was published by A&B Computing magazine in November 1988. The program has been rewritten and improved for use by AMPLINEX members.

The main improvements over the original version are:

a) The menu layout has been much improved and tidied up, presenting a less 'cluttered' screen

b) The highlight cursor now has full wrap-around in all four directions, making getting to the file you want much easier and quicker

c) Ten pages of on-line help are available at the press of a key

d) The program can now present a menu from both sides of a double-sided disc

e) There's the option of generating a 'playing sequence' of files from all four surfaces of a double-sided dual-drive disc system

f) If desired the entire sequence can be set to auto-repeat indefinitely

g) This Jukebox can sort the filenames into 'ASCII-betical' order, helping you to find that elusive file.

These improvements have resulted in a complete re-coding of the program.

All the features of the original program, including automatic updating of the menu, programming of sequences of up to 63 files and self-generation of 'CHAIN' words, have been retained.

However some of the keys and commands have been changed from the original, as has the coding of the sequence buffer.

The keys and commands now used are:

CURSOR highlight filename

KEYS (no change)

<COPY> enter file into sequence

(no change)

<RET> play file or start sequence

(no change)

<DEL> wipe sequence/re-catalogue

(previously <r>)

<d> swap drive on dual-drive system

(new command)

<r> enable/disable autoRepeat

(<r>-previously restart)

<s> sort filenames in ASCII sequence

(new command)

<ESC> stop program or enter command mode

(no change)

CHAIN generate CHAIN words on disc

(previously chaingen)

save saves 'Jukebox' to disc

(no change)

"double" [ON]

to use double-sided discs

(new word)

"double" [OFF]

to use single-sided discs

(as above)

<f9> "Jukebox" LOAD RUN

(no change)

<f4> "Jukebox" LOAD run

(no change: but note that a

'bug' in the original version

existed where a 'sequence' of

one file meant that function

key four was programmed to

contain "Jukebox" LOAD run

(instead of CLEAR). This is

now corrected).

The writing of the sequence buffer has been altered to include the autoRepeat feature and to add disc drive-numbers to the filenames.

This does mean that a sequence buffer written with Jukebox version 1 is unreadable by version 2 but this will not cause any problems, as the buffer is cleared by both versions before the programming of sequences is begun.

Note that the program is supplied to suit single-sided drives to avoid generating an error when trying to read the 'second' side of a single-sided system.

The word 'double' should be edited to suit your disc-drive(s).

P.S. if anyone can come up with a quicker sort routine - I'd be very interested.