Easy programming for the Oric-1- a Review

	INTRO. Another book for you to look at. This is one I only managed to buy recently when I bid for it on Ebay, the internet auction site. Certainly one of the best places to buy things, though it is so tempting to buy things you don’t really need ! Take care and check the sellers credentials before bidding . THE BOOK. It’s blue ! Last time we looked at Shriva’s green machine code book. This has a similar design being also a book from “Shiva’s friendly micro series”. A book for the beginner it describes how to use the BASIC of the Oric-1. Being released in 1983 it has no Atmos detail. WHAT’S IN IT This is a well presented book with clear photos and screen-shots throughout with some of those friendly cartoons to help you on your way. Actually they don’t help at all really, they just distract you and sometimes you wonder why they are there at all. I guess it is because this book is aimed at younger readers and as such it is quite good, taking the reader through things a step at a time.
What’s in it ? Well there is an introduction which states how this isn’t a book for the expert and that is very, very true. There are then 31 chapters ! That sounds an awful lot - indeed it is. That isn't because this is a large book but because it is a book that takes things a step at a time and goes through each step explaining what is happening. There are lots of example programs and at the back of the book is a program index and then a commands and symbols index to help you find the bits you want. It is often said that the Atmos manual is a better book than the Oric-1 version. It may have more information that an expert to delve into but a beginner doesn’t need that . Indeed, this book has no chapters about machine code and only two appendices, one featuring the alternate character set and the other showing the control codes. Pretty basic stuff ! And that is the point; this book is for the person new to the computer experience. It’s no good showing them a pile of hex code !t
The pictures do help, as do the screen-shots. The sections on graphics takes it’s time explaining the different functions and the little cartoon is there to let you know you are not the only one having difficulty getting to grips with serial attributes. (Curse it, curse it, curse it. ‘Don’t you mean CURSET?’ - I know what I mean !)’ Being an Oric-1 book written for the beginner it probably isn’t much use nowadays with most people owning an Atmos for years and advancing beyond the beginner stage - but memory lapses occur when you get a little older so maybe it’s worth picking up a copy of this book when you see it. 7/10