MANY PROGRAMMERS would say that there is not much you could do to make Sinclair Software better, apart from making it faster, but Extended Basic for any Spectrum has proved them wrong. The extensions are more like toolkit routines and most of them are for use outside Basic programs.

There are 10 commands available in the package and they include auto line numbering, renumbering, memory left and the variables being used in a program. The program will also allow errors in Basic listings to be tracked using a TRACE command.

A real-time clock is also included in the package and it can be switched on to and off the screen at any time. It can also be used in other Basic programs and will continue to operate while the computer is doing other things.

The commands are entered as keywords, just as are those of Sinclair Basic, with the push of only two keys. That makes usage easy and provides a compatibility of use with the rest of the Basic on the Spectrum.

The package iS called Extended Basic but the commands which are included form what could more correctly be described as a toolkit rather than an extension to a language.

The utilities, however, are useful in writing long programs and can increase the efficiency of the machine.

Extended Basic can be obtained from CP Software, 17 Orchard, Prestwood, Great Missenden, Bucks F1P16 0NN.

Memory: 16K Price: £9.95