Seattle, Washington — July 24, 2020 — Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange (A.P.P.L.E.) is proud to announce the availability of a new manual for “ProCMD: The Commander” written by Glen Bredon in 1987.
From the author who gave us Big Mac comes ProCMD: The Commander – a set of ProDOS utilities and 25 new ProDOS commands that greatly increase the power and flexibility of ProDOS in your Apple II. And you can create your own modules! Additional commands are included for Double Hi-Res Plotting, Animation, Color Fills, Hi-Res Proportional Fonts, and Mouse/Cursor movement.
Availability
“ProCMD: The Commander” is available through the A.P.P.L.E. bookstore with production and fulfillment by Lulu.com. A disk image is available on the Apps page.
Features
- Table of Contents PDF
- Adds 25 Applesoft & ProDOS Commands Including:
- EDIT: A full-featured, Applesoft BASIC program editor.
- AUTO: Automatic line numbering for Applesoft programs.
- LYST: Formatted listing of the program in memory.
- MACRO: Invokes keyboard macros used with EDIT.
- MERGE: Adds one Applesoft program to another.
- POINTERS: Lists the values of seven important Applesoft pointers.
- RENUMBER: Renumbers your Applesoft programs.
- SORT: Sorts single or multi-dimensioned arrays.
- VARLST / VARTRC: Lists all active variables, traces the current value.
- COPY: Copies file PATHNAME1 to file PATHNAME2.
- DUMP: Displays Hex/ASCII memory or ProDOS file.
- FIND: Search files of any type for a character or Hex string.
Author
Glen E. Bredon was a mathematics professor and computer programmer. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1958 and starting teaching at the University of California, Berkeley in 1960. Starting in 1969, he taught at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and eventually retired in 1993. Glen bought his first Apple II computer in 1979 and began exploring its internal operations because, “I wanted to know more than my students.” He programmed and released several best-selling programs for the Apple II computer including: DOS Master, Block Warden, ProCMD, and ProSel, as well as the Big Mac and Merlin macro assemblers.
The development of Big Mac started when Glen found the public domain assembler TED/ASM and was dissatisfied in how it worked. He disassembled it, found ways to improve the editor, and added the ability to create macros and shortcuts for coding. He offered his program to A.P.P.L.E. and the user group sold it as Big Mac because of its macro capabilities. Val Golding of A.P.P.L.E. later connected Glen with Roger Wagner of Southwestern Data Systems, and that company later sold the assembler as Merlin.
A native Californian and concerned environmentalist, Glen spent his summers away from mathematics and computing, preferring the solitude of the Sierra Nevada mountains where he helped establish wilderness reserves. Photography was also one of his passions that he pursued for over 50 years. Glen passed away May 8, 2000 and left many noteworthy and positive marks on the world with his endeavors.
Producers
Brian Wiser — A producer of books, films, games, and events, as well as an Apple consultant, historian and archivist. Designer, editor, and co-producer of dozens of books including: Nibble Viewpoints: Business Insights From The Computing Revolution, Cyber Jack: The Adventures of Robert Clardy and Synergistic Software, Synergistic Software: The Early Games, Graphically Speaking: Enhanced Edition, What’s Where in the Apple: Enhanced Edition, and The WOZPAK Special Edition: Steve Wozniak’s Apple-1 & Apple II Computers. Producer/Director of the documentary film “Done The Impossible: The Fans’ Tale of Firefly & Serenity“, his Browncoat Cruise convention with Firefly cast, and an extra in the movie “Serenity.” Co-producer of Beagle Bros and Applied Engineering websites, the retro iOS game Structris, and co-producer/writer for CallAPPLE.org and Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine. Brian is also the author of The Etch-a-Sketch and Other Fun Programs.
Bill Martens — Apple historian and enthusiast, programmer, President of Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange (A.P.P.L.E.) and co-producer of Call-A.P.P.L.E. magazine, and books like: Cyber Jack, Synergistic Software: The Early Games, Nibble Viewpoints, The WOZPAK Special Edition, and What’s Where in the Apple: Enhanced Edition. Bill also co-produced and co-programmed the retro iOS game Structris. Bill is the author of ApPilot/W1, Beyond Quest, The Anatomy of an EAMON, and multiple EAMon adventure games. He is a systems engineer specializing in office infrastructures and has been programming since 1976. And he is the production editor for the A.P.P.L.E. website CallAPPLE.org, writes science fiction novels in his spare time, and is a retired semi-pro football player.
Publisher
Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange (A.P.P.L.E.) has been a global Apple user group since 1978, with membership peaking near 50,000 in 1985. Offering many services, A.P.P.L.E. is also a book publisher and game developer, and has produced dozens of new book titles since 2013 and over 100 Apple software titles.
A.P.P.L.E. published the The WOZPAK Special Edition – a detailed book containing Steve Wozniak’s restored handwritten notes and printouts about his Apple II computer, as well as forewords from Steve Wozniak and other Apple legends. They also publish books such as: Graphically Speaking: Enhanced Edition by Mark Pelczarski, Tome of Copy Protection, Cyber Jack: The Adventures of Robert Clardy and Synergistic Software, Synergistic Software: The Early Games, Nibble Viewpoints: Business Insights From the Computing Revolution by Mike Harvey, What’s Where in The Apple: Enhanced Edition, The Colossal Computer Cartoon Book: Enhanced Edition by David H. Ahl, A.P.P.L.E. 1978 and 1979 magazine Compendiums, and the retro iOS game Structris.
Press information is available at: www.callapple.org/press
Books are listed at: www.callapple.org/books
