The ZX80 Pocket Book) by Trevor Toms; Phipps Associates, 3 Downs Avenue, Epsom, Surrey. KT18 5HQ, England. 109 pages, spiral bound. 4.95.
The ZX80 Pocket Book differs from other books about the ZX80 because it is aimed at the experienced programmer.
The book begins with a review of the Sinclair Basic, which unlike the sections in other ZX80 books, merely highlights this material from the original manual, instead of repeating it at length.
The section on programming is particularly valuable because it offers simple tips on how to become a better programmer, as well as suggestions on how to better use many ZX80 features. This section is not a how-to programming manual, but is a well presented chapter on improving programming technique.
The chapter, “Program Storage and Retrieval,” offers useful instructions on how to safely save programs on cassette. The tips presented are both those of the author and Sinclair.
Section 5, “Data File Storage and Retrieval,” discusses how to preserve both data and programs without using the DATA statment present in other Basics. The authors suggest saving important files in triplicate to ensure that the information will not be accidentally erased.
The ZX80 Pocket Book also contains thirteen programs, including a Machine Code Conversion and a Share Valuation program which keeps track of shares of stock and the price at which they were purchased. This latter program requires 3K of RAM.
The final full section of the book presents all the ZX80 Basic commands and explains how they are used. Examples are offered, so one may easily see what these commands are intended to do.
The ZX80 Pocket Book ends with five appendices for the instruction set, the ZX80 Character set, graphics, error codes, and a command summary.
Phipps Associates has succeeded in giving the ZX80 community a useful, attractive volume at a moderate price.