Letters to the Editor

PERCENT SENSE

Here is a method for generating the percent symbol from John Dodd of Mahwah, New Jersey:

1. Enter Graphics mode and type SHIFT 2.

2. Leave Graphics mode and type a slash (SHIFT, V key)

3. Enter Graphics mode and type SHIFT 4.

4. Leave Graphics mode and resume normal operation.

Assign a literal variable to the sequence described above; for example:

10  LET A$ = "=/="
20  PRINT "INPUT INTEREST RATE
    IN ";A$
30  INPUT INTRATE
40  PRINT "INTEREST RATE IS ";
    INTRATE;A$
50> STOP

RUN

Computer-generated prompt:

INPUT INTEREST RATE IN =/=

Example of computer-generated response:

INTEREST RATE IS 12.5 =/=

CLEANING UP

John McKissick, Madison Heights, Michigan, is a firm believer of the value of periodically cleaning the connectors on the TIMEX Personal Computer. He used Q-Tips dipped in alcohol to maintain his system in tip-top shape.

Taking this one-step further, is Joseph Nehm from Farmington, New York. Joe tells us that mid-program crashes have been completely eliminated by an application of two squirts of TV tuner cleaner (such as Radio Shack #64-2315; $1.59) (every two weeks) to the contacts on his TIMEX RAM Expansion Module.

Editor’s Note: Never, never attempt to clean the contacts with the power on. Always unplug the computer before starting.

AN ENTERTAINING SORT

An intriguing routine (a routine is a subportion of the program which provides instructions to the computer, but will not run alone without the remainder of the program), submitted by Thomas E. Tillis of Superior, Wisconsin, prints dots to provide entertainment while his program sorts. Here’s how he does it:

Just before the sort routine FOR/NEXT loop, PRINT “SORTING”. Just after the FOR statement, PRINT “.”. Then program the remainder of the sort routine in the usual manner, as briefly outlined below (this is an example of a routine; it will not run by itself on your computer):

 10  REM "STUFF TO SORT"
 20  DIM(S)
 30  INPUT DATA (N1, N2, N3, etc.)
100  REM "OK, READY TO SORT"
110  PRINT "SORTING"
120  FOR I = 1 TO N
130  PRINT ".";
140  REM "PUT IN REST OF SORT
     ROUTINE"
200  NEXT I
210  PRINT "DONE"

The results that follow are: The word “SORTING” is displayed. Each time the loop executes, a dot (period) is displayed after the word “sorting” … The number of dots equals the number of items sorted. The speed of the dots, demonstrates the speed of the loop (minus printing time to print the dots). When the dots stop, the sort is complete, and the completion message is displayed.