The following points were raised concerning the definition of SMOG.
No tests will be made to prevent a user repeatedly selecting the same colour. However, a count will be kept of the number of colour changes per frame, and the maximum number will be output to the user and to word 44 of the job information bucket of the spool if the output is off-line.
Since 8" hardcopy will not be available there will now be only two types of hardcopy on the FR80. FRHARD, camera number 7, will produce one frame of output on 12" paper. FRHARM (M for many up), camera number 8, will produce 4 6" pictures, to be known as sub-frames n each frame of output. The number of sub-frames per frame may be selected by the user with 4 being the default. Selection is made by calling the routine MANYUP (X,Y) before the call to initialise the camera.
The routine HFONT (X) allows one of the 2 currently available FR80 character fonts to be selected. The default is 0.0. The routine FCHTLE (N, 'STRING') puts the characters in 'string' at the top of each frame of microfiche. Both of these routinnes, if used, must be called before the camera is initialised.
There is likely to be a need for characters larger than hardware hardware characters to be generated from SMOG. This could be done by defining a software character font within SMOG. It would significantly increase the number of routines provided.
It may be possible to modify the standard FR80 tape format so that if a SIZE of zero is specified, the next word gives the desired character size. The FR80 Displayer program would need to be altered so that the large characters could be produced by drawing lines. The standard hardware font could be used as the character definition. Thus, if a small character is requested, it is produced by the character generator while larger characters will have the same form but be produced by vectors.
To some extent, this facility is already available within the FR80 Displayer program as it is possible to simulate Graphics Art characters by vector drawing. It may he possible to modify the program so that it thinks the standard font is a Graphics Art font and, therefore, needs to be drawn with vectors.
The viability of this suggestion is not yet known. No decision will be made for at least 2 weeks on the necessity for a software font in SMOG.
The routines HGRATX (X1, Y1, X2, Y2, N) and HGRATY (X1, Y1, X2, Y2, N) draw, respectively, X and Y graticules using the vector family order. The number N is equal to the number of intervals between the lines, ie N+1 lines are drawn; or N-1 lines are drawn between the pair of lines at either end.
It was decided to specify the number of intervals rather than the number of lines because this is the way most people think about it. It also makes it easier to specify major and minor graticules. If darker lines are desired on every other line the number of intervals is divided by 2. However, if N had been specified as the number of lines to be drawn, to darken every other line would need (N-1)/2+1 lines. Obviously the former is much simpler and more straightforward.
The common block for the FR80 text codes will contain an array called TEXTAB. Each of the 64 entries (on the 1906A) will contain the 9 bit code for an FR80 character. These codes can be changed by the user to allow access to all of the FR80 character set.
The argument to the routines HPLOT and HTYPE, which each print a single character, will be integer.
The routine HPAGE advances the film and sets the current typing position to the beginning of the first line. It is equivalent to:
CALL ADVFLM CALL (XMIN,YMIN-Y)
where Y is the distance between two lines defined by LNSP.
The end of message (EOM) character will always be placed to the left half of an 18 bit word. If necessary, the NULL character will be used be to fill up the right half of the previous word. This word containing the EOM will not be output to the buffer immediately at the end of a text call but will be stored away. If the next item to be placed in the buffer is not a text string, the word containing the EOM will be output to the buffer followed by the item and the word containing the EOM will be set to zero. If the next item to be output is another text string this will be output straight to the buffer and the word containing the EOM will remain set. Another start text string command (204) will not be sent.
In order to ease the implementation of SMOG on the 360/ 195, 'call by name' will be selected by means of the LOCATION command in the program description. The // around subroutine arguments will be removed.
Comic mode can be selected at any. time during a program although it is only sensible to change mode immediately after an advance frame order.
