Product specifications

Business and educational programs should have some form of validation to ensure
that input is reasonable, eg range checks data type checks, format checks and any
other reasonable precaution against entering invalid data by mistake.
Programs should on the whole be simple to use, where this is not possible they should
include help pages. All programs should have instructions included in them.
Where joysticks or keys are to be used then we would prefer the use of the joystick
marked right/cursor control keys (the two are mapped onto each other). However, we
accept that it is sometimes more convenient to use the joystick marked left and its
associated keys.
In general programs should be small enough to run on the 32k MTX 500 machine.
Presentation
8.4
Presentation is of paramount importance. It is often all a prospective purchaser has to
go on, so please take some time and care over this very important aspect of
programming.
Both games and business software should make good use of sound and colour where
possible, though this should be done with care and taste. Where textual output is
concerned it should be correctly spelt, properly punctuated, and well laid out. Numeric
output should be tabulated where appropriate and column headings etc used. Where
the option to print out is available facilities should be offered to re-direct output down
the RS232 (see IOPR and IOPL system variables – Current BASIC manual).
Assembler Code Programs
8.5
Assembly code programs MUST contain all their labels, and all internal program
references must be by label. This is so we can relocate the program to run on both the
MTX 500 and 512. Please also note the following:
Labels must not be more than 6 characters in length
Program data lines should be kept to a reasonable length, ie less than 80 characters
per line where possible.
Pure assembler code programs should not rely on the machine being in any particular
state when it takes control, eg being in graphics mode etc. Our preference is for this
type of program.
The hash character should not be used anywhere in the program except to denote hex
numbers.