The Quick Programming Language
QUICK is still availble for US$5 (or US$7 as part of a pack of all DGS software products). Please see the main page for details:
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QUICK is a new programming language for the Atari XL/XE. It is an
extremely powerful language, which allows direct use of the Atari's unique
features. QUICK is a very structured language, and looks a little like C,
PASCAL, and BASIC. QUICK has built-in functions to: play digitized sounds,
move player/missile graphics, handle Blitter, utilize an ST mouse, and
more!
QUICK's absolutely unique features also includes the handling of
interrupts. You can create both DLIs and VBIs, but you write them as
normal procedures in QUICK statements, NOT machine code! No more machine
code blues! If you want to use machine code, then that's no problem. You
can write machine code directly into your QUICK program.
QUICK is easily expandable by the use of libraries. These are like .H
files if you are familiar with C. They contain special extra functions.
Four of these are included for: handling graphics, advanced string
handling, handling floating point numbers, and a numerical library for
things like cos and sine.
QUICK has a built-in text editor which is very easy to use. RAMDISKs are
also supported, so you can compile from RAM for amazing speed. QUICK
programs are turned into machine code .OBJ files for running from DOS.
QUICK is not required to run these programs!
QUICK is supplied on a SS/SD disk with the compiler/editor, 4 libraries,
and lots of demo programs to look at. You also get a comprehensive manual in PDF format.
QUICK is easily the most powerful language for the Atari
8-bit today! Not convinced? A demo disk of QUICK is
available from us as PD153. This can also be downloaded from this site.
THE QUICK SUPPORT DISK 1 is the first of a series of "support disks" for
QUICK. This first support disk is packed with tutorials, demo programs,
source code, and extra libraries. Here's what's on this disk:
The game of LIFE - a tutorial and full source code in QUICK to implement
this well-known game. Display List Interrupts - two tutorials and source
code. Character Library - a new library file with tutorial for sending
single bytes to an output stream. Header files in QUICK - a set of special
files to quickly implement a set of variables to handle OS, keyboard, I/O,
graphics, audio, and interrupt addresses. Reset resident programs in QUICK
- A tutorial and demo program. Player/Missile graphics in QUICK - A
tutorial and example source code. Big arrays in QUICK - A tutorial on how
to implement arrays of over 256 bytes in QUICK, and how to get 2-D arrays.
Example source code is also supplied. Sorting in QUICK - A tutorial and
source code to sort strings. A special library for Touch Tablet users - A
tutorial and the .LIB files are included. Touch Tablet example drawing
program using the new .LIB file described above. Tutorial and source code
supplied. A tutorial on variable handing-over in QUICK.
The QUICK support disk 2 is the second support disk for QUICK users, and
contains more tutorials, example code, and new libraries. This one contains:
a Player/Missile graphics library making PMGs and PMG animation easy, a
tutorial on using logical operators in QUICK, a printer dump for 24-pin
printers, a printer dump for HP DeskJet/LaserJet printers, routines and
tutorials on Mandelbrot Sets, a new library for using text on mode 8
screens, and a QUICK analyser program which analyses QUICK programs. All
this comes on a DS/SD disk.
The tutorial files can be viewed and printed (on Epson and Atari printers)
directly from the menu on the disk. A joystick is required to select items
from the disk menu.
Here's a screen grab of Quick running in XL-It!:
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