Mallard BASIC
Encyclopedia
Mallard BASIC is a BASIC interpreter
for CP/M
written by Locomotive Software
and supplied with the Amstrad
PCW
range of small business computers, the ZX Spectrum
+3 version of CP/M Plus, and the Acorn
BBC Micro
Z80 second Processor.
In the 1980s, it was standard industry practice to bundle a BASIC
interpreter with microcomputers, even though the PCW was primarily a wordprocessor
for business use. However, the machine was not a dedicated WP: it also ran the CP/M operating system
. Though there were existing implementations of BASIC for CP/M, such as Digital Research
's CBASIC
and the third-party ZBasic
, they followed the earlier 1970s model of compiler
s, fed source code
prepared in a separate text editor
.
Mallard was more like a traditional micro ROM
BASIC, with an integrated editor which was tailored for the PCW's non-standard 90-column screen.
Although the PCW actually had excellent monochrome graphics support for its time and specification, closely comparable to the Hercules Graphics Card
for the PC
, Mallard BASIC had no graphics support whatsoever. Instead, Locomotive optimised it for business use, with, for instance, full ISAM
random-access file support, making it easier to write database applications.
It was also optimised for speed - it is named after the LNER A4 class 4468 Mallard locomotive
, the fastest steam locomotive in the world, once again displaying the company's fondness for railway-oriented nomenclature. (For instance, see the company name itself.) In fact the Locomotive name came from the phrase "To run like a train" and it was this theme that was used to name Mallard BASIC - no other Locomotive product was named after anything railway-oriented.
The Acorn version was designed simply to run the Compact Software small business accounting products Acorn was including to target its Z80 second processor at small businesses. Mallard's major innovation designed specifically for Acorn was the addition of the Jetsam B*-tree keyed access filing system to give similar (but superior) features to the Miksam product Compact had originally designed around.
Graphics could be implemented by loading the GSX extension to CP/M, but this was cumbersome for BASIC programmers.
The lack of graphics support was rectified by several BASIC toolkits, of which the most popular was LEB: Lightning Extended BASIC. This patched Mallard BASIC, replacing the redundant LET keyword with LEB, which could be followed by a wide variety of parameters to allow sophisticated graphics (for the time) to be drawn on screen, saved to disc, printed, et cetera.
Probably the most widespread Mallard application ever was RPED, the text editor supplied with the PCW. The name was short for Roland Perry's EDitor, the program being put together quickly by Roland Perry, the Amstrad executive running the computer product development, when it was realised that CP/M-80 came with no usable full-screen editor, but users had a requirement to edit configuration files. The same problem was apparent with DOS Plus
and MS-DOS
supplied with IBM-compatible Amstrad computers, but the RPED for those machines was written in 8086 assembler
, and not Mallard BASIC.
The PC version of Mallard Basic is still available from LocoScript Software as an MS-DOS program which will run under Windows as a Disc only version with licence or with the full Introduction & Reference manual.
Interpreter (computing)
In computer science, an interpreter normally means a computer program that executes, i.e. performs, instructions written in a programming language...
for CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
written by Locomotive Software
Locomotive Software
Locomotive Software was a small British software house which did most of its development for Amstrad's home and small business computers of the 1980s....
and supplied with the Amstrad
Amstrad
Amstrad is a British electronics company, now wholly owned by BSkyB. As of 2006, Amstrad's main business is manufacturing Sky Digital interactive boxes....
PCW
Amstrad PCW
The Amstrad PCW series was a range of personal computers produced by British company Amstrad from 1985 to 1998, and also sold under licence in Europe as the "Joyce" by the German electronics company Schneider in the early years of the series' life. When it was launched, the cost of a PCW system was...
range of small business computers, the ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
+3 version of CP/M Plus, and the Acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
Z80 second Processor.
In the 1980s, it was standard industry practice to bundle a BASIC
BASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
interpreter with microcomputers, even though the PCW was primarily a wordprocessor
LocoScript
thumb|right|400px|The opening Disc Management screen in LocoScript 1.40. The "hidden files" are the LocoScript software.The word processing software package LocoScript by Locomotive Software was introduced as one of the programs bundled with the Amstrad PCW, a personal computer launched in 1985...
for business use. However, the machine was not a dedicated WP: it also ran the CP/M operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
. Though there were existing implementations of BASIC for CP/M, such as Digital Research
Digital Research
Digital Research, Inc. was the company created by Dr. Gary Kildall to market and develop his CP/M operating system and related products. It was the first large software company in the microcomputer world...
's CBASIC
CBASIC
CBASIC is a compiled version of the BASIC programming language written for the CP/M operating system by Gordon Eubanks in 1976–77. It is an enhanced version of BASIC-E, his master's thesis project.-History:...
and the third-party ZBasic
ZBasic
ZBasic was a compiler first released by Simutek in 1980. The combined efforts of Andrew Gariepy, Scott Terry, David Overton, Greg Branche, and Halbert Laing lead to versions for MS-DOS, Apple II, Macintosh, CP/M and TRS-80 computers. ZBasic was a very fast, efficient and quite advanced BASIC...
, they followed the earlier 1970s model of compiler
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
s, fed source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
prepared in a separate text editor
Text editor
A text editor is a type of program used for editing plain text files.Text editors are often provided with operating systems or software development packages, and can be used to change configuration files and programming language source code....
.
Mallard was more like a traditional micro ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
BASIC, with an integrated editor which was tailored for the PCW's non-standard 90-column screen.
Although the PCW actually had excellent monochrome graphics support for its time and specification, closely comparable to the Hercules Graphics Card
Hercules Graphics Card
The Hercules Graphics Card was a computer graphics controller made by Hercules Computer Technology, Inc. which, through its popularity, became a widely supported display standard. It was common on IBM PC compatibles connected to a monochrome monitor . It supported one high resolution text mode and...
for the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, Mallard BASIC had no graphics support whatsoever. Instead, Locomotive optimised it for business use, with, for instance, full ISAM
ISAM
ISAM stands for Indexed Sequential Access Method, a method for indexing data for fast retrieval. ISAM was originally developed by IBM for mainframe computers...
random-access file support, making it easier to write database applications.
It was also optimised for speed - it is named after the LNER A4 class 4468 Mallard locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
, the fastest steam locomotive in the world, once again displaying the company's fondness for railway-oriented nomenclature. (For instance, see the company name itself.) In fact the Locomotive name came from the phrase "To run like a train" and it was this theme that was used to name Mallard BASIC - no other Locomotive product was named after anything railway-oriented.
The Acorn version was designed simply to run the Compact Software small business accounting products Acorn was including to target its Z80 second processor at small businesses. Mallard's major innovation designed specifically for Acorn was the addition of the Jetsam B*-tree keyed access filing system to give similar (but superior) features to the Miksam product Compact had originally designed around.
Graphics could be implemented by loading the GSX extension to CP/M, but this was cumbersome for BASIC programmers.
The lack of graphics support was rectified by several BASIC toolkits, of which the most popular was LEB: Lightning Extended BASIC. This patched Mallard BASIC, replacing the redundant LET keyword with LEB, which could be followed by a wide variety of parameters to allow sophisticated graphics (for the time) to be drawn on screen, saved to disc, printed, et cetera.
Probably the most widespread Mallard application ever was RPED, the text editor supplied with the PCW. The name was short for Roland Perry's EDitor, the program being put together quickly by Roland Perry, the Amstrad executive running the computer product development, when it was realised that CP/M-80 came with no usable full-screen editor, but users had a requirement to edit configuration files. The same problem was apparent with DOS Plus
DOS Plus
DOS Plus is an operating system written by Digital Research, first released in 1985. It can be seen as an intermediate step between CP/M-86 and DR-DOS....
and MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
supplied with IBM-compatible Amstrad computers, but the RPED for those machines was written in 8086 assembler
X86 assembly language
x86 assembly language is a family of backward-compatible assembly languages, which provide some level of compatibility all the way back to the Intel 8008. x86 assembly languages are used to produce object code for the x86 class of processors, which includes Intel's Core series and AMD's Phenom and...
, and not Mallard BASIC.
The PC version of Mallard Basic is still available from LocoScript Software as an MS-DOS program which will run under Windows as a Disc only version with licence or with the full Introduction & Reference manual.
External links
- Mallard BASIC — Mallard BASIC manual from the Spectrum +3 CP/M Plus package
- LocoScript Software — Sales and support of Mallard BASIC for the PC and ZX Spectrum+3