| Classic Manuals | Source | Status | Notes | Release Date |
| AMOS The Creator | Original. | - | Rev1 Released. | - |
| AMOS Compiler | Original. | - | Rev1 Released. | - |
| AMOS 3D | Original. | - | Rev1 Released. | - |
| AMOS 3D QuickCard | Original. | - | Rev1 Released. | - |
| AMOS Pro | Original + asymetix. | - | Rev1 Released. | - |
| AMOS Pro Compiler | Original. | - | Rev1 Released. | - |
| AMOS Pro Application Supplement | Original. | - | Rev1 Released. | - |
| EASY AMOS | Original + Echo. | - | Rev1 Released. | - |
| AMOS CLUB Newsletters | Original. | - | Rev1 of Vol 1 & 2 released | - |
| Amos Pro Resource Kit (Ref. Post) (http://www.ultimateamiga.co.uk/index.php/topic,9479.0.html) | Source | Status | Notes | Release Date - |
| Getting Started Guide | - | - | - | 1st Rev - |
| Easy AMOS Pro | Easy AMOS User's Guide | wip | - | 1st Rev - |
| Introduction to 3D | 3D User's Guide | - | - | 1st Rev - |
| User guide | Pro User's Guide | - | Restructured version | 1st Rev - |
| Programmers Guide | Pro User's Guide | - | - | 1st Rev - |
| Language reference** | AMOS Help | - | - | 1st Rev - |
| AMOS HTML Help** | AMOS Help | wip. | - | - |
| Quick Reference** | AMOS Help | - | - | - |
| Quick Reference Cards** | AMOS Help | - | - | - |
| AMOS Extensions Reference Guide | Various | - | - | - |
| Other Projects | Source | Status | Notes | Release Date |
| Amos Manuals Project Typesetting Guide | MadAngus. | wip. | Explains the styles and methods used for laying out the manuals | - |
| Online Manuals Database (dbODF) | MadAngus | ODF Spec analysis | Web db/php | Test Database - |
| Manuals Wiki Markup system | MadAngus | - | Web db/php | - |
| AMOS Developer Network (ADN) Library | AMOS PD Library, Other | - | Expanded and documented, Web db/php | Database to be in place by - |
| AMOS Magazine article and tutorial collection | - | - | Required for writing My AMOS books (Ref. Post) (http://www.ultimateamiga.co.uk/index.php/topic,9418.msg43929.html#msg43929). | n/a |
| AMOS Developer Newsletter | Various | - | Covering AMOS Pro, jAMOS. In the style of the AMOS Club newsletters | 1st Issue - |
| Developer Technique Guides | MadAngus | - | Fx, Motion, Games styles etc. | - |
| Game Design process | MadAngus | - | Management, Premise, plot, storyboarding, architechture etc. | - |
| AMOS Game Makers Guide | MadAngus | - | To be written to replace the Amiga Game Makers Manual by Stephen Hill, as he could not be found. | - |
I think there is already a PDF of the Easy Amos manual
but to have a look at the CRAFT manual would be great :)
Thunderbirds are Go. Written permission has been given to re-distribute the manuals by François Lionet of clickteam.com (http://clickteam.com) on this site and on my own site, many thanks to the main man.
FOL: Hope you don't mind the link above, François is after all giving legal permission to distribute these. If I've earned a warning for bending the rules, then fair cop.
Requested and Granted for:
AMOS The Creator
AMOS Compiler
AMOS 3D
AMOS Professional
AMOS Professional Compiler
AMOS 3D odt and pdf attached.
Amiga Game Maker's Manual, Stephen Hill - OnHold
Ultimate AMOS, Jason Holburn - OnHold
Bonza effort. (Well, we Aussies have another language to keep alive :) !)
MadAngus - can you point FOL in the direction of that ODF reader for him to install on the server? I have used re-direct pages for the manuals which are currently not available in HTML format.
FOL - i am very disappointed that other potential front-page url's do not work!!
MadAngus - can you point FOL in the direction of that ODF reader for him to install on the server? I have used re-direct pages for the manuals which are currently not available in HTML format.
Thanks to his good works, there are...
Exceptional work bruceuncle.
The document (Help File + Index + Contents) you refer to as, "more a quick-ref of the whole AMOS Pro language" can be used as just that, it's Ideal.
| - | I've always regarded a 'manual' as being the basic (bugger - another pun!) learning tool and 'bible'. Yer sits down with it and slog through it, patiently absorbing the info and doing the examples. |
| - | The 'tutorial' is a learning tool that takes it a step further and explores 'areas of interest' with copious full working examples. |
| - | The 'quick reference' is a memory-jogger for people who have mostly waded through the first two. It should be as concise as possible and just show a brief description, syntax definition, parameter and return value definitions, and (especially in the case of AMOS Basic) bit-field definitions. The odd paragraph of info is acceptable to explain syntax conventions and anything unusual about the language. |
Although there are example snippets already in the document, I'd like to see a 3 or 4 line snippet followed by the expected output. I often find that minimal snippets in other references are not always clear in their meaning or expected output. However these would be added at a later date once the Quick Reference itself was completed, a second edition maybe.
| Syntax Conventions | - | manual style, but brief |
| Language Syntax | - | quick-ref style only |
| Editor Keys | - | quick-ref style only |
| Tables | - | quick-ref style only |
The Help File manual is not intended to replace the original AMOS Pro Manual, but to possibly supplement it and definitely act as an organised source of material for the AMOS Pro Resource Kit docs.
4.) The quick reference books I have are usually a smaller page size (A5-ish) than normal books (B5-ish), with my c++ quick-ref being nearly 500 pages long. A5 is the book size I would be targeting for the quick ref.
The quick-ref guides for the AMAL and Menu sub-languages you mentioned, are you going to do them in the same format as the interface language guide. Although the info can be added and expanded in the resource kit manuals, I also like the idea of these references as quick cards, very handy for developers.
The unfortunate side effect of this is manually created links. For AMOS The Creator, 840 bookmarks and 840 Hyperlinks had to be created manually. 1680 manually created tags takes a looooong time, well about a week.
Did you really mean A4 Landscape for the 'cards'?
I can see it saving a lot of time down the track both for myself and anyone who needs organised doc text.
The Appendices is where I'm stuffing anything pulled in from other sources. So far, this includes (and not in any particular order yet):
- The example programs listings in full
- The 'Latest News' bits and pieces
Could you elaborate on why you are adding these elements to the Quick Reference, as we agreed they do not belong in this reference.
The Appendices is where I'm stuffing anything pulled in from other sources. So far, this includes (and not in any particular order yet):
...
Some of these will migrate into the main manual
...
I'll decide what to do with the rest later.
excluded - The example programs listings in fullAgreed, makes sense.
included - Ask Editor and Call Editor commands
dunno- AMOS Equates stuff
excluded- The 'Latest News' bits and pieces
133 styles defined at last count. All told I reckon there will be about 200-250 custom styles.That sounds like a mega number of styles you're playing with there! I'm only using couple of dozen... But then, my techo reference is a pretty boring document in some ways ;).
While MadAngus has been struggling with his can of worms, I've been absorbing the full lexicon of RTF markups. Buried deep in the five-and-a-half-thousand pages was the stuff I needed ::)...lol, no small amount of reading then, must be paddling the same boat as I am (except I haven't got a paddle). ;D
The only downside to this method is that Word will no longer understand contents and indexes as fields that it can update...What is it with OpenOffice Writer and Microsoft Word Developers, it seems like the importance of outlining and indexing has taken a permanent backseat, 10+ years and little progress in these areas. :(
The only hassle is deriving unique bookmarks...I'm facing a similar problem with the auto-index code, some of the index entries text do not correspond to a matching word on a page. In these cases it is more a reference to a paragraph and it's not always clear which paragraph is being referenced. Have a solution at hand, so not a problem I need to worry about.
Completely off-topic - we had a foot (30cm) of rain just over a week ago, so I've also had to machete the jungle - some weeds were taller than me when the rain stopped!Will we just call you Indie then, Indiana 'bruceuncle' Jones and the 30 foot weeds. ;D
That sounds like a mega number of styles you're playing with there!...ODF styling is similar to CSS, even the smallest change in formatting results in an style being auto-created by OOo. By having a predefined set of styles to work from I am not generating a host of additionally auto-created styles, and in turn reducing the overall number created.
QuoteThe only hassle is deriving unique bookmarks...
I'm facing a similar problem with the auto-index code, some of the index entries text do not correspond to a matching word on a page. In these cases it is more a reference to a paragraph and it's not always clear which paragraph is being referenced. Have a solution at hand, so not a problem I need to worry about.
Have you ever seen the seriously baaad 'B' grade movie? So baaad it isn't even funny.QuoteCompletely off-topic - we had a foot (30cm) of rain just over a week ago, so I've also had to machete the jungle - some weeds were taller than me when the rain stopped!
Will we just call you Indie then, Indiana 'bruceuncle' Jones and the 30 foot weeds.
Be careful there could be Triffids in them there weeds.
Triffids - Wikipedia
an option to specify the "tool tip" text for a hyperlinkYeah, that works ok. I would assume that most markup languages would support this sort of option for a hyperlink (same as HTML does)?
If the function has multiple page references such as "ThisFunction........18, 38" then, at least the subsequent number(s), i.e. '38', would obviously need a hyperlink.
OpenOffice rtf:Great. That solves one problem with cross-platform portability. The RTF as output by my writer should be version 1.5. However, as I have to paginate in Word 2010 for the final result, the RTF after that will be version 1.9. In theory ( ;D) anything an RTF reader doesn't understand should not be a problem as it should just be skipped. But, I'll send you a sample after Word has had its claws into the pudding. Word adds a whole heap (mountain?) of RTF in its save format, including Orifice Themes in hex format - file size blows out enormously!. So please check it out in OpenOffice to see if it still behaves itself.
Opens the rtf document without complaints.
All bookmarks, tables and hyperlinks recognised.
All hyperlinks function correctly.
I do loose the leaders in the contents and Index, but this is not something to worry about. A couple of edits to the styles and their fixed, a trivial matter.
[Edit 23/03/2012] As a result there should be no need to provide an ODT version of this, I should be fine working from the rtf version.
A couple of trivial points:
Could the alphabetical index letters A,B,C... etc. be left aligned and in Bold, no underline.
Also for your release, when you are done, I'm fine with the title as is. However, for release with the Resource Kit I would prefer to title it as the "Programmer's Quick Reference".
In practice though, does it really matter? I would have thought a release in PDF would suit most requirements. And the data in the database is the grist for the mill for use in other applications. What do you think?For general release, PDF will be all that is required. For myself the final rtf would be needed. The database tables would also be handy to have (if you are releasing them) I could use those more or less as is for the MySQL/PHP online version. That is just the tables, not the code. ;)
Reality check! Editing the rest of the info will take some considerable time. So I don't expect the final product to be ready for a matter of months, not weeks.Valid point, applies to all parts of this project, it's ready when it's ready.
The database tables would also be handy to have (if you are releasing them) I could use those more or less as is for the MySQL/PHP online version. That is just the tables, not the code.
All the commands, tables, examples, etc, are now in the database including the missing ones. Without doing a trawl through the machine code in the AMOS executables and libraries , I'm pretty sure I've got them all. But may do that trawl anyway to make sure. Saving it up until I need a break from the manual editing! ::)
No need to. That is exactly why I created the AMOS Extension Examiner, which has been available on Aminet since 18th March 2011:Thanks for that Lonewolf10 - I'll give it a go next week. The ones I'm specifically after are any that may be undocumented in the AMOS Pro 'core' executables. That's how I tracked down the 'missing' stuff in the Interface sub-language - never could resist a bit of disassembly and 'pattern matching' on 68000 executables. Only to find they were already mentioned in the original help files, just missing from the original manual. Oh well, it was fun anyway. ;)
| Statement | Read Text$ |
| Description | Statement that displays some text from either a file, or a memory bank using an attractive, on-screen text reader. It has two formats: |
| 1:Syntax | Read Text$ Filename$ |
| 1:Parameters | Filename$ is the full path for the file to be displayed. |
| 2:Syntax | Read Text$ Title$,StartAddress,Length |
| 2:Parameters | Title$ is diplayed as the screen title. |
| StartAddress is the memory address of the first line of your text. | |
| Length the length of the text in characters. | |
| Remarks | First format loads a file into memory, and displays it on the screen in ASCII format, using Filename$ for the title. |
| Second format displays a memory block on screen in ASCII format, using Title$ for the title. | |
| You can move through the displayed text using scroll bars, the arrow icons or via the following key combinations: | |
| Key Press Effect | |
| [Up Arrow]/[Down Arrow] Move up/down by one line | |
| [Shift]+[Up Arrow]/[Down Arrow] Scroll up/down by one page | |
| [Ctrl]+[Up Arrow]/[Down Arrow] Jump directly to top/bottom of text | |
| [Esc] or [Return] Exit | |
| Example | Read Text$ Fsel$("**") |
| See Program | AMOSPro_Examples:Examples/H-8/Help_82.AMOS : Read Text$ |
Just a note, I'm moving house tomorrow.
BOx x 0, y 0, fimage 1, w SizeX, h SizeY;
What we need is automation tools for pagination and styles that could export to f.e. RTF or XML, EPUB looks interesting...I'm assuming your referring to "Scan to PDF convert to (Choose you format)" automation tools, that would be extremely handy for the entire Amiga community.
At the moment Im busy with Amiga Format Magazines I've collected and some other multi year VB projects.If it's not too much trouble, while your working through those mags and you happen across AMOS articles or tutorials, could you make a list of them. Issue# Page# sort of thing. No more than that as I believe there is lists out there and I could hit the 'Amiga Magazine Rack', it would help to verify if any articles or tutorials are missing of the list I'm going to make up.
Hi Joseph,
Thanks for contacting me, glad to see there's still AMOS activity out there :)
Feel free to use the TOME manuals and software as well as the AMOS club newsletters.
Aaron
I'm assuming your referring to "Scan to PDF convert to (Choose you format)" automation tools, that would be extremely handy for the entire Amiga community.
QuoteOooooo a documentation targeted project, I'm just gong to have to add that to my Looooooong term project list. ::)
Scanning is no problem, I would like a formattable document format,easy to parse like .GUIDE ,but with TAGS/LINKS and header/footer,page margin, styles info.
So I can read the guide to fully formatted RTF/PDF without worrying about formatting.
RTF is worth considering too.QuoteIf it's not too much trouble, while your working through those mags and you happen across AMOS articles or tutorials, could you make a list of them. Issue# Page# sort of thing.
Consider it done.
Great you have some permissions, I may have ultimate Amos .. somewhere..
As the AMOS Pro Reference Manual is such a loooong task, I'll see if MadAngus is agreeable to releasing some sections as "drafts samples" so's you can see what's coming.Well hell yeah, gimme gimme, I want some.
select your posts from here that should be moved to the 'AMOSPro Evolution' thread.
Forgot to mention in the last post that one of the Vol2 newsletters has an article Called the Kennard Effect: Real time lens and shadowing effect. If you remember the Predator character and how it appeared invisible with only the background distorted slightly around it's shape, then this article 1 and half pages that shows you how. Included isa Ten Lineran example, it's actually 51 lines of code including 8 comment lines.
Thought that might tease and interest you. ;)
The bookmarked version of asymetrix's AMOS Pro manual you created, did you do any other edits to it or just add bookmarks.There are some notes I added in the Interface chapters. They're easy to identify and remove as they've got a yellow background.
New release
AMOS Club Newsletters Volume 2, PDF
A must have for AMOS fans as these issues contain some very interesting code listings.
I have only had time to have a quick look at Vol2 issue 1, but that some great work there :)Cheers :)