The Essential Guide to Timex/Sinclair Home Computers: The Only Book You'll Ever Need to Become an Expert at the Timex/Sinclair 1000 and 2000

by Ian Adamson and Ben Anrep

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671470698
• ISBN13: 9780671470692
• Release Date: January 1983
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 525 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Covers the ZX81 in GREAT Detail But Passes Lightly on Sinclair Spectrum

My Timex/Sinclair library has expanded yet again with this book: "The Essential Guide to Timex/Sinclair Home Computers: The Only Book You'll Ever Need to Become an Expert at the Timex 1000 and 2000" by Peter Morse, Ian Adamson, Den Anrep and Brian Hancock. This book was published in England with the title "The Century Computer Programming Course." Although the U.S. version of this book implies that it covers the T/S 2068, it actually covers the Sinclair Spectrum. Even that is only covered in a thirty-seven page "special section." This book is 526 pages, which seems quite lengthy for a Home Computer book of this era (published in 1983). The table of contents is six-pages long. Here is a summary of the table of contents: Introduction Part One: First Steps Section A: The ZX81 Microcomputer System Section B: Getting to Know the ZX81 Section C: Basic BASIC Section D: Saving, Loading and Listing Programs Section E: Improving the Program Section F: A Game Interlude Part Two: Essentials of BASIC Programming Section G: Programming Methods I Section H: Control Section I: Printing Section J: Arithmetic and Functions Section K: Strings Section L: Loops Section M: Plotting Section N: Subroutines Part Three: Advanced BASIC Programming Section O: Programming Methods II Section P: The Character Set and Codes Section Q: Graphics Section R: Logical Operations Section S: Lists and Arrays Section T: Sorting, Searching and Storing Arrays Section U: The Computer Memory Part Four: Application Programs and Games Section V: Application Programs Part Five: Covering the Whole Spectrum Section W: The Spectrum Appendices I: Sinclair BASIC Summary II: Error Codes III: ZX81 Character Codes by Keyboard Assignment IV: Use of Cassette Tapes V: System Variables VI: Program Library The programs in this book require a T/S 1000 with a 16K RAM Pack. Many or most of these programs should work fine on T/S 2068, given that the T/S 1000 version of BASIC is a subset of the 2068's version of BASIC. While the "special section" does cover the new Spectrum BASIC commands, it doesn't give them the attention that the other commands get in the rest of the book. The additional commands only found in the T/S 2068 version of BASIC are not covered at all. If you're interest lies with any of the Timex /Sepectrum computers, this book DOES cover them all. If you're completely new to programming this book starts out SLOW, which is good, but even the "advanced" topics are acutally not really advanced (i.e. ML isn't introduced-- unless you can PEEK and POKE). This book has plenty of flowcharts, which is something you just don't see anymore in programming books. Though many people don't use them any more (and some programmers haven't even SEEN them!) flowcharts can be very helpful understanding program flow. In summary, unless you have a specific need for a book that covers the T/S 2068, then this book will probably work well for you. Adam