The HaMa series of computer assisted learning software is aimed at the secondary school or further education college which has introduced Information Technology courses into the syllabus. Further packages on Resource Management and Statistics will get the treatment next month. Here we look at two complimentary pieces of software, Key-File and Key-Calc.

Both sets of programs are disc based and come robustly packed with fairly extensive manuals. The programs are mainly written in BASIC and are therefore accessible to anyone who cares to look at how they work from a coding point of view. The main emphasis however is on teaching the principles behind computer database and spreadsheet applications, without going to the cost of a full ROM version of same.

The programs are menu driven initially but also employ the function and cursor keys for entering and editing records and cells (of the spreadsheet).

These programs are not as user friendly as the real thing but do demonstrate all the major facilities of a standard database/spreadsheet. The documentation is very good, full of examples and a sort of "Teach Yourself" style. The discs also contain a number of demonstration files so that you can get straight into using the interesting facilities.

Key-Calc uses a menu to access portions from disc, for a printer dump for instance, or to get at OS commands. Most of your time with Key-Calc however will involve using the function keys. With Key-File the menu does all the work.

The large amount of keyboard input required by the two programs means that they are not easy to use. Error trapping is adequate although you will have to be careful when being prompted for data disc and program disc. Key-File can be used in conjunction with three tutorials in the manual to get the hang of designing record formats and utilising the sorting and printing facilities. Key-File also has a statistics facility, enabling average, standard deviation and error calculations to be done on specified fields.

Key-Calc is even more of a demonstration program. Although limited in size, some of the features, such as a "freeze cell" facility and the calculator option are very useful for showing the spreadsheet in action. By freezing a cell you can keep an eye on its contents while you are free to scroll through the rest of the spreadsheet. With the calculator on, all the work being done by the spreadsheet is done as it moves from cell to cell.

Key-File and Key-Calc are good value introductions to the two standard business applications and should prove useful material for any information technology or computer science class, especially when you consider the price of the equivalent ROM software. You also get a demo of Graph Easy, another HaMa package, a catalogue of HaMa software and a Snake game packed onto your disc surface!

The manuals are a bit on the "home made" side but perfectly sound and interesting enough to hold the attention in what is, after all, a less than glamorous computer application.

This less interesting side comes out a little in using the software. All the facilities are there, it just takes a few too many key presses to get at them. Don't be put off by the "educational" aspect. If you wish to use these packages for serious office management as well, they could prove a bargain combination.