This collection of 12 programs was originally written for "The Computer Programme", and demonstrates many of the useful facilities of the BBC Micro.

The programs are very useful for those who have a grasp of pro gramming and want some ideas on how to use their knowledge effectively. All can be listed and are clearly written with plenty of REM statements, which means one can modify programs and easily monitor the effects.

Owl is a simple graphics offering which draws the BBC Owl and makes him blink. It employs useful graphics techniques, and is a good starting point for exploring further ideas.

Ball a simulation of a bouncing ball, closely models the true flight path by displaying the ball and its path on the screen. A good program for basic animation and for representing real events in an accurate way.

Sales is a very simple way to draw graphs.

Bubble shows how a bubble sort works. It is useful in applications of programs to basic data manipulation. Cube produces a rotating 3D cube by using basic animation effects, with some efficient programming to allow relatively fast movement.

Languages provides a colourful arrangement of the names of computer languages. The characters are created using the VDU23 command to define each original character into two halves, which are then displayed.

Flowers is the graph of an elliptical function, but it draws some very attrac tive pictures anyway. Also sounds are used.

Anagrams takes a word entered and rearranges the letters in every possible sequence, most of which are nonsense. Weaving is a strange program, apparently designed to illustrate ideas about binary. Anyway, it draws pictures of the different ways of weav ing threads through up to eight warps. Sideways turns the BBC screen on its side. Very baffling, and another useful illustration of altering the standard character set and rearranging it.

Coins is a graphic version of an old problem - to find the one counterfeit coin out of 10 by the smallest number of weighings. Procedures are used for the various aspects of the program.

Plotter produces very effective 3D graphs. The results are attractive even if you don't understand the maths behind them.

Altogether this is an interesting collection of programs which would be useful to anyone interested in getting the most out of their BBC Micro but who perhaps needs some help in doing it.

The graphics are particularly appealling, and are bound to encourage those who want to develop this particular aspect either for entertainment or for making learning more fun.

Jane Jackson