One of the problems for the Vic owner with some computing experience and looking for a good guide to extend that knowledge is that while there are many books for the beginner, there are few that go beyond the basics.

Unfortunately Owen Bishop has produced a volume that repeats a great deal of information previously published. While there are titbits of advanced programming technique, he has aimed his book largely at the beginner to computing, or the new Vic owner.

It covers all the usual aspects of learning Basic, starting off with background information on computing, using the language gradually working up to the intricacies of PEEK and POKE.

There are illustrative programs along the way and these are accompanied by explanations.

The other chapters follow a similar format of introducing new commands with short programs and explanations, finishing with a summary of what has been learned.

Sound and graphics are covered in depth. If you're interested in the latter, user-defined graphics are explained better here than in the user's manual and programmer's reference guides for the Vic, while the sound section includes an excellent program that will allow you to experiment with different sound effects without having to enter line after line of POKEs.

In addition, there are useful advanced sections on sorting, including sample string and variable sorts, and a commendable chapter on better programming techniques. The latter covers documenting programs, and programming for helpful input and output.

To round off the book there are a dozen helpful tables, although most of the material is already available in the user's manual.