Personal Computer News


Disc Drives For Microcomputers

Author: Ian Scales
Publisher: Sinclair Browne
Machine: Spectrum 48K/128K

 
Published in Personal Computer News #047

Given the number of cheap (low-priced) disk drives becoming available for formerly tape-based home computers - the Dragon, Spectrum, Oric for instance - the timing of this book is very good.

It tells you all about disk drives - their history, their physical technology and the bits of software that can be used to make them valuable additions to your system.

Central to this subject is the thorny question of file handling - firmly on the side of ISAM (Index Sequential Access Method), and chapters include "How to build an ISAM" and an "ISAM Case Study".

I like this book. It treads the difficult middle ground between condescension and omission of crucial steps.

Ian Scales