 j	G                                                                 avid Seaman 
Distributor: NIAD 
Price : $19.95 US 
 
It's likely to be about a hundred years before I fully understand this program, but that's hasn't stopped meAUFG Product Review: 
 
by R.H. Mitchell 
 
Product : Groovy Graphics 
Author : David Seaman 
Distributor: NIAD 
Price : $19.95 US 
 
It's likely to be about a hundred years before I fully understand this program, but that's hasn't stopped me from trying it and having a good deal of fun in the process. 
 
Groovy Graphics is a mind-stretching self-booter written entirely in machine language. Its purpose is to use mathematical techniques to create graphics patterns. If you've ever been fascinated by sine wave patterns drawn by an oscilloscope, Groovy Graphics will also fascinate you. You can do sine waves, on ADAM.  You can do sine waves upon sine waves and that's only the beginning of what this fine program has to offer. Let's check it out. 
 
In fact when you boot the program, you'll find at your disposal a choice of three mathematical techniques for producing patterns on ADAM. You can select CELLS, IFS or LISSAJOUS. Each of these methods is selectable with a simple press of the arrow key, followed by a press of Smartkey VI. 
 
Now. Here's where I'll preface the entire following section with an honest upfront statement. I do not pretend to understand the math that this program is based upon, except in a very general sense. I've done some plotting of sine waves back when the earth was flat, but the new techniques dealing with fractals and cellular automantons must lie a little deeper than my own math experiences...which ended some time ago. Matrices were amongst the last things on a math course which I failed in 1962. When I saw John Conway's Game of Life available from our local BBS, I figured it must be something like Monopoly. Got the picture? 
 
Not to despair.  David Seaman has provided two sources of information in his program. There's a comprehensive series of document files on the distribution disk which explain in layman's terms the mathematical basis of each of the three techniques. And if you're stuck whilst involved in one of the program segments, there's an online help feature available by pressing Smartkey I. These explanations are eminently readable, and permitted me to understand what goes on in the program...to some extent. 
 
CELLS: 
John Conway's Game of Life, the ADAM adaptation. This is essentially a display of a 88 by 127 array of cells each of which may have several states. The cell may change its state in accordance with a set of rules which can also be changed.  Cells die and get reborn depending on the states of their adjacent cells. The pattern, presumably is based on the cell configuration at a given moment. Any questions? 
 
IFS 
 
Stands for Iterated Function System, a method for making fractals. I've seen some of these, and I know you make some breathtakingly beautiful pictures on a computer using fractals. Mr. Seaman refers us to the January 1988 issue of Byte magazine for an explanation of fractals. I know we have at least one AUFG member who has written a program for ADAM involving their use. In groovy graphics, there is already a default picture in memory when you load IFS. It's a leaf pattern. It's fairly simple compared to some of the other stuff I've seen, but it's impressive enough to give you some idea of what the computer is capable of given the right programming. Following Mr. Seaman's explanation of how to use matrices of numbers to produce such a pattern is also reasonably straightforward. Understanding the process fully will take a little more research. 
 
LISSAJOUS 
 
This segment of Groovy Graphics was the easiest to understand. Amazing what you can do with simple sine waves. You don't even have to know what they are to use the program. A little experimentation substituting values into the fields given will result in some interesting graphics patterns. Under this segment, the screen sets up with a graphics area on the right hand side, and a series of number fields on the left. You move around the number fields by pressing the arrow keys, and enter your desired values. Press Smartkey VI and your pattern is drawn. 
 
And there's more. Once you've got a pattern the way you like it using CELLS, IFS or LISSAJOUS, you can save it as an RLE (Run Length Encoded) file for use in another program or to print out. For printouts you must have a dot-matrix printer capable of Epson compatible graphic printing. Since I do not (yet) I was unable to try this portion of the program. In fact I found that pressing the print key with my normal ADAM printer connected crashed the program or hung it up. It was probably trying to find the dot-matrix that wasn't there. 
 
This program is impressive. Mr. Seaman has shown us an expert knowledge of the ADAM computer in setting it up. It's user friendly and menu driven. With full knowledge of the math involved, there would seem to be no end to the variety of graphics patterns possible. Even for those without the math, a little experimentation can prove highly rewarding. As the author points out, you may even find yourself becoming interested in the underlying mathematics. 

I have only one minor criticism of Groovy Graphics. Once you've chosen one of the three program segments, you'll have to reboot the program in order to change to one of the others. It would have been far more convenient in my estimation to provide a method of switching back and forth without rebooting. 
 
Other than that, I would highly recommend Groovy Graphics as one of the most innovative and imaginative programs presently available for the ADAM. Try it, you'll like it! 
 the dot-matrix that wasn't there. 
 
This program is impressive. Mr. Seaman has sh
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