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ManiB
Senior Member

Joined: 12/10/2019
Location: Germany
Posts: 183

Posted: 10:10pm 02 Oct 2026

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matherp said

Quote Your book confirmed what I myself also realized: RESOLUTION 640,315000 is a bad choice.

There are now a large number of modern devices that won't accept 640x480@60Hz but will accept 640x480@75Hz. Despite 640x480@60Hz being "universal" it is now commonly omitted from new displays

Thanks Peter, that's very interesting and an important clarification.

So this is actually more display-dependent than I had assumed. In my own tests, 640x480 at 60Hz worked reliably while 75Hz caused problems, but apparently modern displays can behave exactly the other way around.

I think I should clarify this in the book rather than describing 640x480@60Hz as the generally safer choice.

Thanks – another useful correction for the next revision!

ManiB
Senior Member

Joined: 12/10/2019
Location: Germany
Posts: 183

Posted: 10:26pm 02 Oct 2026

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magi said Good Day ManiB,

Congratulations on a fantastic effort, looks really nice! Reminds me of the days when 1"-2" manuals were included with all good development systems... Turbo **** days.

Of course, keeping up with "matherp's" revisions must be a major effort in itself!!!

At 800 pages, and probably counting, you have reached Biblical/Stephen King proportions, have you considered:

1-Spliting the book into two or more volumes?
2-Making a formatting allowance for three hole punching by the user?

The above would also simplify/allow for the inevitable "matherp" revisions

Thank you for doing this excellent work.

All the Best,

Marc

Hi Marc,

thank you very much!

The comparison with those thick manuals that came with development systems in the Turbo **** days is actually a great compliment – that is very much the kind of feeling I wanted the book to have. 😊

And yes, keeping up with Peter's MMBasic development could probably become a full-time job on its own. 😄

At nearly 800 pages, the book has certainly grown far beyond what I originally expected. For the moment I would still like to keep it as one volume, though. I rather like the idea of having one big MMBasic manual that takes the reader from the first steps all the way to the more advanced topics.

But I really like your three-hole-punch suggestion. It has already given me an idea for the next release: in addition to the normal PDF, I could provide a print-friendly version with mirrored inner margins, leaving enough room for punching and filing the printed pages in a binder.

That would actually fit the project rather well – especially since individual chapters could then be replaced when updated. Almost like those old development-system manuals again. 😊

The KDP paperback would of course remain unchanged.

And judging by the excellent feedback I'm getting here – including a few corrections and additions already – there will certainly be further revisions.

Thanks again for the kind words and especially for that suggestion!

Manfred

ManiB
Senior Member

Joined: 12/10/2019
Location: Germany
Posts: 183

Posted: 10:38pm 02 Oct 2026

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PeteCotton said

Absolutely amazing achievement. Thank you Manfred!

Thank you very much, Pete! 😊

And thanks also for your help and feedback along the way. It's great to see how much this project benefits from the MMBasic community here.

Manfred

maxwelloau

Newbie

Joined: 31/10/2025
Location: Australia
Posts: 4

Posted: 02:00am 04 Oct 2026

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Back in the day the "Tandy TRS80 learn basic programming" horizontal format book was the only way for me to progress with some programming at all. Not having a programmer's brain severely hampered my progress and that book was key to any progress I actually made. (actual computer was a Dick smith VZ-200).

Looking at what you have done it is fantastic in presentation and explanation.
So can I add my voice for an English version please.
Maxwelloau.

ManiB
Senior Member

Joined: 12/10/2019
Location: Germany
Posts: 183

Posted: 11:26am 04 Oct 2026

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Hi Maxwelloau,

thank you very much!

Your story about learning BASIC with the Tandy TRS-80 book actually touches on one of the main reasons why I started this project.

My tutorial was inspired by a book from my own early computer days: Mein erstes BASIC-Programm (My First BASIC Program) by Rodnay Zaks. I always liked the way books from that era tried to teach programming step by step, starting with very simple concepts and gradually building up the reader's knowledge.

That is exactly the feeling I wanted to bring back with this MMBasic tutorial: not just a reference manual explaining commands, but a book that someone can actually work through and learn from – even without already having a "programmer's brain". 😊

And yes, you can definitely add your vote for an English edition!

An English version is already planned. First I want to get the German edition as complete and technically accurate as possible – and all the excellent feedback I'm getting here is helping enormously with that.

Thanks again for your kind words and for sharing your own BASIC memories.

Manfred

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