This is yet another new book from Granada, this time concentrating on programs for more serious applications. The book contains listings of fourteen complete programs with comprehensive notes on their use and application, but little about the programs themselves. Clearly the book is aimed at those trying to find useful tasks for their micro rather than those who want to learn programming techniques. This is an excellent aim, although I do not feel entirely convinced by some of the results.

The chapters, and programs, dealing with cashflow, stock control, accounts and information retrieval, are sensible if limited approaches to applications that many may find useful. Many of the other applications, such as tipster, pie charts, quiz, phone call coster (!) etc seem to be of much more dubious value. The problem with many of the applications dealt with here is not that the application itself is silly, but that it can only be looked at in a quite trivial way by short programs listed in a book. That is why people are prepared to spend tens, if not hundreds, of pounds on software for such applications.

If you are particularly interested in one or more of the applications covered by this book, then you will find the relevant sections interesting and useful, particularly if you have the programming skills to develop the printed programs into something really worthwhile. If you are looking for a ready-made solution to a problem then you would be better off putting the money towards a good quality software package.