Metacomco is a name much in the
news recently for its work on Commodore's Amiga but this conceals
a much longer history within the personal computer market. One of
their earliest major software projects was working with Digital
Research (of CP/M fame) on what became Personal BASIC which will
be the STs BASIC. Since that time, Metacomco has developed TRlPOS,
a multitasking OS (the core of the Amiga OS) as well as a formidable
array of languages and development tools - ISO Pascal, LISP, BCPL,
editors, linkers and much more.
QL users will already be familiar
with Metacomco's Editor/Assembler package as well as an excellent
ISO PASCAL so it should come as no surprise that they are producing
a full range of languages and development tools for the Atari 520ST.
The first, and most essential release
is a Screen Editor which allows easy development of source code
with its range of immediate and extended commands. One slight disappointment
is the installation on GEM which is of the 'TOS takes parameters'
application type rather than a full integration into the GEM environment
although this proves to be no handicap in operation. The default
text buffer is 16,500 words (approx. 60K) which should be sufficient
for most applications but may be increased if required. The immediate
mode allows quick and easy movement around the screen whilst entering
text and editing with the extended mode gives access to a useful
range of facilities covering block control movement, search and
exchange, altering text and repeating commands.
The next release should be a full
feature 68000 Assembler (currently in Beta test) which will incorporate
the Editor (as should the other language packages). When I spoke
to Metacomco about the Editor, I was assured that initial purchasers
of this package would be able to obtain some adjustment in price
or similar if purchasing a similar package incorporating the Editor.
Future releases include a full
ISO standard Pascal which will produce native code, Lattice C (a
very powerful 16-bit K&R implementation with extensive libraries),
BCPL (also a very full and powerful version) and LISP (Cambridge,
an implementation previously available only on mainframes and mini's).
By themselves, this range of software would make the ST a very powerful
software development system but combined with a price tag of under
£100 per language package, Metacomco make the Atari ST into the
most powerful system for under £1000. To illustrate this point a
little further, Lattice C averages around £400 for any other 16-bit
machine and I believe a Mini or Mainframe Cambridge LISP would cost
well into four figures. You will be able to buy both plus a 520
ST and still have change from £1000!
There is a note of caution though.
Don't expect to see large numbers of entertainment packages suddenly
appearing. The first releases are unlikely to make use of more than
a fraction of the machine's capabilities as it takes time (lots
of it) to develop software using the best part of half a megabyte
of memory in an efficient manner. It' s all too easy with sloppy
coding. Atari have provided a very powerful machine and Metacomco
are producing a powerful set of tools for using it but it's up to
software houses and individuals to get the best from the machine.
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