Contents Section 01 Welcome to AMOS Professional Chapter 01.01 Welcome 01.1.01 How to exploit this User Guide 01.1.02 A few words of welcome 01.1.05 A potted history of AMOS Section 02 Installing Chapter 02.01 Installing AMOS Professional 02.1.01 AMOS Professional Installation Procedure 02.1.03 Hard Disc Users Section 03 Getting Started Chapter 03.01 Getting Started 03.1.01 Absolute Beginners 03.1.02 The Edit Screen 03.1.03 Typing in the Edit Window 03.1.03 Your first programs 03.1.04 Direct Mode 03.1.05 Loading a program Section 04 the Editor Chapter 04.01 the Editor 04.1.01 The AMOS Professional Editor 04.1.02 The Edit Screen 04.1.02 The Edit Icons 04.1.04 The Editor Window 04.1.04 The Information Line 04.1.05 The Scroll Bar 04.1.05 Direct Mode 04.1.08 The File Selector 04.1.10 Saving and loading a program 04.1.11 Auto-save and Autoresume The AMOS Professional editor menus 04.1.12 AMOS 04.1.13 Project 04.1.15 Editor 04.1.17 Macros 04.1.21 Block 04.1.22 Search 04.1.23 Config 04.1.27 User 04.1.28 Help Chapter 04.02 Help 04.2.01 Calling for Help 04.2.01 The Help Window 04.2.02 Summoning help directly Contents 04.2.03 Additional help Section 05 the Basics of AMOS Professional Chapter 5.01 the Bare Bones 05.1.01 Strings 05.1.01 variables 05.1.02 Naming variables 05.1.03 Types of variables 05.1 03 Storing variables 05.1.04 Arrays 05.1.05 Constants 05.1.05 Functions 05.1.06 Parameters 05.1.07 Procedures 05.1.07 Controlling a program skeleton 05.1.09 Separating commands in a line 05.1.10 Marking the bones of a program Chapter 5.02 String functions 05.2.01 Reading characters in a string 05.2.02 Finding characters in a string 05.2.03 Converting strings 05.2.04 Manipulating strings 05.2.05 Getting infomation about strings 05.2.05 Array operations Chapter 5.03 Maths 05.3.01 Arithmetical calculations 05.3.01 Calculation priorities 05.3.02 Fast calculations 05.3.03 Relative values 05.3.04 Values and signs 05.3.04 Floating point numbers 05.3.05 Single and double precision 05.3.06 Standard mathematical functions 05.3.07 Trigonometry 05.3.10 Random numbers Chapter 5.04 Control Structures 05.4.03 Decision making 05.4.04 Structured tests 05.4.06 Using loops 05.4.08 Conditional loops 05.4.09 Controlled loops 05.4.10 Forced jumps 05.4.12 Handling data ii Contents Chapter 5.05 Procedures 05.5.01 Creating a procedure 05.5.01 Keeping track of procedures 05.5.02 Opening and closing procedures 05.5.03 Jumping in and out of a procedure 05.5.04 Local and global variables 05.5.07 Returning values from a procedure 05.5.08 Local data statements Chapter 5.06 Text 05.6.01 Printing on the screen 05.6.02 Setting text options 05.6.03 Changing text options 05.6.03 Setting text styles 05.6.04 Changing the text mode 05.6.05 Positioning the text cursor 05.6.09 Tracking the text cursor 05.6.10 Changing the text cursor 05.6.11 Advanced text commands 05.6.12 Advanced printing 05.6.14 Sending text to a printer Chapter 5.07 Windows 05.7.01 Creating windows 05.7.03 Manipulating windows 05.7.05 Creating slider bars 05.7.06 Displaying a text window Chapter 5.08 The Joystick and Mouse 05.8.01 Joysticks 05.8.02 The mouse pointer 05.8.04 Reading the status of the mouse 05.8.06 Limiting the mouse pointer 05.8.06 Finding the mouse pointer 05.8.07 Displaying menus with the mouse pointer Chapter 5.09 Memory banks 05.9.01 Memory bank numbers, names and types 05.9.02 Reserving a bank 05.9.03 Saving memory banks 05.9.04 Loading memory banks 05.9.05 Saving and loading memory blocks 05.9.06 Deleting memory banks 05.9.07 Swapping banks 05.9.08 Listing banks on the screen 05.9.08 Memory bank functions 05.9.09 Grabbing accessory program memory banks iii Contents 05.9.10 Automatic bank grabbing 05.9.11 Creating your own utilities Section 06 Screen Control Chapter 6.01 Setting up Screens 06.1.01 The AMOS Professional screens 06.1.01 Defining a screen 06.1.03 Controlling screens 06.1.04 Moving a screen 06.1.06 Manipulating screens 06.1.07 Clearing, hiding and showing screens 06.1.08 Screen priority 06.1.09 Defining screen colours 06.1.10 Screen functions 06.1.11 IFF screens 06.1.12 Extra Half Bright mode 06.1.12 Hold And Modify mode 06.1.13 Interlaced screens Chapter 6.02 Using Screens 06.2.01 Copying screens 06.2.02 Scrolling the screen 06.2.03 Enlarging and reducing the screen 06.2.03 Physical and logical screens 06.2.04 Screen synchronisation 06.2.05 Screen compaction Chapter 6.03 Screen Effects 06.3.02 Flashing colours 06.3.04 Rainbow effects 06.3.06 The copper list Chapter 6.04 Graphics 06.4.01 Graphic coordinates 06.4.01 Setting the graphics cursor 06.4.02 Drawing lines 06.4.03 Drawing outline shapes 06.4.04 Selecting colours 06.4.06 Setting several colours 06.4.07 Filled shapes 06.4.08 Alternative fill style 06.4.10 Overwrite styles 06.4.11 Advanced techniques Chapter 6.05 Menus 06.5.01 Using AMOS Professional menus 06.5.02 Reading a simple menu iv Contents 06.5.03 Creating advanced menus 06.5.05 The Menu control commands 06.5.07 Alternative menu styles 06.5.09 Moving menu displays 06.5.11 Moving a menu within a program 06.5.11 Keyboard shortcuts 06.5.13 Embedded menu commands 06.5.17 Automatic re-drawing of menus Section 07 Object Control Chapter 7.01 Hardware sprites 07.1.01 Normal hardware Sprites 07.1.01 AMOS Professional computed Sprites 07.1.03 Hardware Sprites versus computed Sprites 07.1.04 The Sprite command 07.1.06 The Sprite Palette 07.1.08 Sprite Commands 07.1.09 Conversion Functions 07.1.10 The Hot Spot 07.1.11 The Sprite Doctor Chapter 7.02 Blitter Objects 07.2.01 Displaying a Bob 07.2.03 General Bob Commands 07.2.04 Unmasking Bobs 07.2.05 Bob Priority 07.2.06 Bobs and screens 07.2.09 Bob Bank Commands 07.2.10 Flipping Bob Images 07.2.12 The Bob Doctor Chapter 7.03 Updating Objects 07.3.01 Moving multiple objects 07.3.02 Displaying objects over a changing background 07.3.02 The update process 07.3.03 The updating commands 07.3.06 The Autoback command 07.3.07 Bob drawing modes Chapter 7.04 Detecting Collisions 07.4.01 Collision detection options 07.4.01 Types of collisions 07.4.02 Masks 07.4.03 The collision functions 07.4.06 Collisions with rectangular blocks v Contents Chapter 7.05 IFF Animation 07.5.01 Optimising IFF animation 07.5.02 An overview of IFF animation 07.5.02 Creating an IFF animation 07.5.03 Playing an IFF animation 07.5.03 Direct IFF animation 07.5.07 IFF Masking 07.5.07 Freezing the display Chapter 7.06 AMAL 07.6.01 The AMOS Animation Language (AMAL) 07.6.01 How AMAL is used 07.6.02 The AMAL guided tour 07.6.02 Moving an Object 07.6.03 Animating an Object 07.6.03 Moving within AMAL programs 07.6.04 AMAL registers 07.6.05 Logical decisions 07.6.07 Generating movement patterns 07.6.07 Playing a complex movement path 07.6.08 AMAL function list 07.6.11 Calling an AMAL program from AMOS Professional 07.6.12 Controlling update timings 07.6.12 Assigning Objects to Channels 07.6.13 Animating more than 16 Objects 07.6.13 Manipulating screens 07.6.15 The Autotest system 07.6.17 AMAL program control from AMOS Professional 07.6.20 AMAL errors 07.6.20 AMAL error messages 07.6.21 Compatibility with STOS animation commands 07.6.25 the AMAL editor Chapter 7.07 Icons and blocks 07.7.01 Background screen graphics 07.7.03 Screen blocks 07.7.04 Compacted blocks Section 08 Audio Chapter 8.01 Music 08.1.01 Ready-made sound effects 08.1.02 Musical pitch 08.1.02 Channels and voices 08.1.04 Playing notes 08.1.04 Making waves 08.1.08 Making audio envelopes 08.1.09 Playing music vi Contents Chapter 8.02 Samples 08.2.01 Playing a sound sample 08.2.03 Changing a sample bank 08.2.03 Playing a sample from memory 08.2.04 Double buffered sampling Chapter 8.03 Playing Music Modules 08.3.01 Playing AMOS Professional music 08.3.02 Playing Tracker modules 08.3.03 Playing Med modules Section 09 AMOS Interface Chapter 9.01 AMOS Interface 09.1.01 Introducing the Interface 09.1.01 The need for the AMOS Professional Interface 09.1.02 Introducing the AMOS Professional Interface 09.1.03 Variables and numbers 09.1.03 Setting a variable 09.1.04 Expressions 09.1.06 Resources 09.1.06 Calling an AMOS Professional Interface program 09.1.07 Creating a simple requester 09.1.07 Saving the background graphics 09.1.08 Waiting for an event 09.1.09 Interface buttons 09.1.11 Drawing a button 09.1.12 Changing a button 09.1.14 Keyboard short-cuts Chapter 9.02 Interface language 09.2.01 The graphics functions 09.2.02 The graphics commands 09.2.02 Boxes and bars 09.2.04 Lines and Outlines 09.2.04 Displaying text 09.2.06 Labels and Tests 09.2.07 Interface conditional tests 09.2.08 User-defined functions 09.2.10 Machine code extensions Chapter 9.03 Advanced Control Panels 09.3.01 Dialogue channels 09.3.03 Testing an active zone 09.3.04 Accessing a variable array 09.3.05 Advanced Control Panels 09.3.05 Editing zones 09.3.07 Sliders and Selectors vii Contents 09.3.09 Reading arrays 09.3.10 Displaying items on the screen 09.3.12 Creating a selector 09.3.14 Controlling a selector from the main program 09.3.15 HyperText 09.3.16 Creating some HyperText Chapter 9.04 Interface Resources 09.4.03 The Resource commands Section 10 Input/Output Chapter 10.01 Using the Keyboard 10.1.01 Checking for a key-press 10.1.04 Keyboard inputs 10.1.05 Keyboard Macros 10.1.06 Improving your typing skills Chapter 10.02 Disc Access 10.2.01 Disc drive names 10.2.01 Volume names 10.2.01 Files and directories 10.2.06 Checking for the existence of a file 10.2.07 Selecting a file 10.2.08 Naming files 10.2.08 Running programs from a disc 10.2.10 Disc space 10.2.10 Disc files 10.2.11 Sequential files 10.2.14 Random access files 10.2.16 Included files 10.2.17 IBM and ST users Chapter 10.03 Accessing a Printer 10.3.01 The printer device 10.3.02 Embedded commands 10.3.03 Screen dumps 10.3.05 Other printer commands 10.3.06 Other ports and devices Chapter 10.04 Accessing a Serial Port 10.4.01 Opening the serial port 10.4.02 Setting the serial parameters 10.4.03 Sending and receiving Serial information 10.4.04 Other serial commands Chapter 10.05 The Parallel Port viii Contents Chapter 10.06 AREXX 10.6.01 Using AREXX 10.6.02 AREXX-Compatible instructions Section 11 Amiga Dos Chapter 11.01 Fonts 11.1.01 Text Fonts 11.1.01 Graphic Text Fonts 11.1.01 ROM Fonts 11.1.03 Wiping fonts from memory 11.1.04 Assigning fonts 11.1.04 Converting font coordinates 11.1.05 The AMOS Professional Text Font Editor Chapter 11.02 Speech 11.2.01 Synthetic Speech 11.2.03 The narrator Mouth Chapter 11.03 Floating Point Numbers 11.3.01 Floating point libraries Chapter 11.04 Multi-tasking 11.4.02 Communication between programs Chapter 11.05 Libraries and Devices 11.5.01 Accessing the system libraries 11.5.03 Equates and Offsets 11.5.05 Adding equates to the equates file 11.5.06 The Requester extension 11.5.06 Control of devices Section 12 Debugging Chapter 12.01 the Monitor 12.1.01 Calling the Monitor 12.1.01 Using the monitor 12.1.03 The graphic output window 12.1.03 The Program Listing Window 12.1.03 The Information Window 12.1.03 Changing the window displays 12.1.04 The control keypad 12.1.05 Evaluating expressions Chapter 12.02 Error handling 12.2.01 Trapping errors Chapter 12.03 AMOS Errors 12.3.01 Editing error messages ix