---
title: "Decision Maker 2"
id: 56987
type: "computer_media"
slug: "decision-maker-2"
url: "http://localhost/computer_media/decision-maker-2/"
markdown_url: "http://localhost/computer_media/decision-maker-2.md"
published_at: "2024-10-02T01:17:53+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-30T21:20:28+00:00"
author: "David Anderson"
featured_image:
  url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/12_DecMkr2.png"
excerpt: "This tongue-in-cheek management consultant simulator picks one of ten corporate non-answers at random — press any key to get your next decision."
category:
  - name: "Archived Media"
    slug: "archived-media"
    taxonomy: "category"
    url: "http://localhost/category/archived-media/"
post_tag:
  - name: "Downloadable"
    slug: "downloadable"
    taxonomy: "post_tag"
    url: "http://localhost/tag/downloadable/"
  - name: "TS 1000"
    slug: "ts1000"
    taxonomy: "post_tag"
    url: "http://localhost/tag/ts1000/"
model:
  - name: "Timex/Sinclair 1000"
    slug: "ts-1000"
    taxonomy: "model"
    url: "http://localhost/model/ts-1000/"
genre:
  - name: "Business"
    slug: "business"
    taxonomy: "genre"
    url: "http://localhost/type/business/"
media_contents:
  - id: 56732
    title: "Timex Sinclair Public Domain Library Tape 1001"
    type: "computer_media"
    url: "http://localhost/computer_media/timex-sinclair-public-domain-library-tape-1001/"
media_type: "Program"
mediadate: "198x"
images:
  - url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/12_DecMkr2.png"
media_type_tags: "Business"
---

# Decision Maker 2

Decision Maker 2 is a novelty program that randomly selects and displays one of ten managerial responses, such as “FIRE SOMEONE,” “PASS THE BUCK,” or “SEE YOUR ANALYST.” It initialises a two-dimensional string array of 10 strings, each up to 16 characters wide, then uses RND seeded by RANDOMIZE to pick a response. The program loops at line 200–210 to guarantee a result between 1 and 10, discarding any zero result from INT(10*RND). A keypress detected via a polling loop at line 400 clears the screen and restarts the decision cycle from line 10, which re-seeds the random number generator each time.

***

## Program Analysis

### Program Structure

The program is divided into clearly separated functional blocks by line-number ranges:

1. **Lines 5–20:** Header REM, array declaration, and initial randomisation.
2. **Lines 100–175:** Population of the `D$` string array with the ten possible responses.
3. **Lines 200–210:** Random index generation with rejection sampling.
4. **Lines 300–420:** Display, keypress wait, screen clear, and loop back.
5. **Lines 450–600:** Housekeeping — `CLEAR`, `SAVE`, and `RUN` (likely a post-save auto-run block).

### Array and String Handling

`DIM D$(10,16)` at line 10 allocates a fixed-length string array of 10 rows, each 16 characters wide. The longest entry, `"SEE YOUR ANALYST"` (16 characters), exactly fills one row, confirming the dimension was chosen to fit the data. Shorter strings are automatically right-padded with spaces by the BASIC runtime, which is harmless here since only `PRINT D$(R)` is used and trailing spaces do not affect the displayed output visually.

### Randomisation Strategy

`RAND` (line 20) re-seeds the random number generator on every pass through the main loop (the program returns to line 10 after each keypress). This means each decision cycle gets a fresh seed, reducing the chance of repetitive sequences in interactive use.

Lines 200–210 implement a simple rejection-sampling loop: `INT(10*RND)` produces values in the range 0–9, and any result less than 1 (i.e., exactly 0) is discarded by looping back to line 200. This shifts the effective range to 1–9, however — **this is a bug**: `INT(10*RND)` yields integers 0 through 9 inclusive, and values 1–9 pass the guard at line 210, meaning the index 10 is never reached. The response `"RECONSIDER"` stored in `D$(10)` can therefore never be displayed.

### Key BASIC Idioms

- **Keypress polling:**`IF INKEY$="" THEN GOTO 400` at line 400 is a standard busy-wait loop for detecting any keypress without halting execution.
- **Re-randomisation on loop:** Jumping back to line 10 rather than line 200 means `RAND` is called again each cycle, providing varied seeds.
- **CLS before loop:** Line 410 clears the screen immediately after a keypress is detected, giving clean presentation for the next result.

### Notable Techniques and Anomalies

| Line(s) | Observation |
| --- | --- |
| `200–210` | Bug: rejection of R<1 excludes only 0, so R is effectively 1–9; `D$(10)` (“RECONSIDER”) is unreachable. The guard should be `IF R<1 OR R>10`, or the formula changed to `INT(10*RND)+1`. |
| `450` | `CLEAR` after `GOTO 10` is unreachable during normal execution; it only runs if the `SAVE`/`RUN` block below it is reached, suggesting these lines are a development/save-time artifact. |
| `500` | `SAVE "1001%2"` uses an inverse-video character (`%2`) in the filename, which acts as an auto-run flag on ZX81/TS1000 systems. |
| `600` | `RUN` following `SAVE` restarts the program immediately after saving, a common pattern for save-and-continue workflows. |

### Response Table

| Index | Response | Reachable? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | YES | Yes |
| 2 | FIRE SOMEONE | Yes |
| 3 | PASS THE BUCK | Yes |
| 4 | MAYBE | Yes |
| 5 | REORGANIZE | Yes |
| 6 | NO | Yes |
| 7 | SEE YOUR ANALYST | Yes |
| 8 | SIT ON IT | Yes |
| 9 | FORGET IT | Yes |
| 10 | RECONSIDER | **No** (bug) |

## Source Code

```
   5 REM *DECISION MAKER 2*
  10 DIM D$(10,16)
  20 RAND 
 100 LET D$(1)="YES"
 110 LET D$(2)="FIRE SOMEONE"
 120 LET D$(3)="PASS THE BUCK"
 130 LET D$(4)="MAYBE"
 140 LET D$(5)="REORGANIZE"
 150 LET D$(6)="NO"
 160 LET D$(7)="SEE YOUR ANALYST"
 170 LET D$(8)="SIT ON IT"
 173 LET D$(9)="FORGET IT"
 175 LET D$(10)="RECONSIDER"
 200 LET R=INT (10*RND)
 210 IF R<1 THEN GOTO 200
 300 PRINT D$(R)
 400 IF INKEY$="" THEN GOTO 400
 410 CLS 
 420 GOTO 10
 450 CLEAR 
 500 SAVE "1001%2"
 600 RUN
```