Classic Computer Magazine Archive COMPUTE! ISSUE 124 / DECEMBER 1990 / PAGE G-21

No Joy

I am writing out of sheer frustration regarding your MLX program. I have tried to enter this program with and without The Automatic Proofreader, and in both instances line 130 gives no joy. Please help!

It is also noted that The Automatic Proofreader program printed in my December 1989 Gazette is different from the ones printed after. I have tried to load both, and only the December one works. The big question is, is it me or my overgrown calculator?

ALAN CULPH
MOOROOLBARK, VIC.
AUSTRALIA

Alan, we checked line 130 of MLX with several versions of The Automatic Proofreader, and we got the correct checksum with all of them. The handwritten sample you provided was missing an equal sign after the L$, but we have no way of knowing whether it was absent from your typed-in version or not.

Line 130 don contain several points for possible confusion. Where it says S$= " ", there is one space between the quotation marks. It is typed by pressing the quote key, the space bar, and then the quote key again. Where it says T$="{13 RIGHT}", press the quote key and then tap the right Crsr key 13 times before pressing the quote key again. If you press the space bar 13 times, the final result may be the same but your checksum will be different. Be sure to read and familiarize yourself with the instructions on how to type in Gazette programs.

The Automatic Proofreader has undergone several revisions over the years, and it was changed slightly in January 1990 when we dropped reference to the Plus/4 and 16 computers. It works the same as the earlier version, but you must be careful to enter it correctly since the Proofreader can't check itself.