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The Hypertext Markup Language or HTML has taken the world by storm. Originally designed for use with the Internet in the compilation of World Wide Web pages, it has developed into the perfect medium for computer literature.

Used by the Fast Club and the Falcon Factt File to display their disk magazines it's now being used to distribute books on CD ROM. One of the most important books ever written for the Atari programmer, The Atari Compendium, has been converted into a HTML document and transferred to Compact Disk.

There are many advantages in using this format and I have to say that I'm a big fan of this method of publication.

This version of the Compendium has been updated and errors found in earlier versions of the paperback have been corrected. In fact using the HTM language makes updating and error correction very easy. The other great advantage of HTM presentation is in its search facility. Using your World Wide Web browser you can find specific subjects in the Compendium very quickly.

For those of you who have never heard of the Atari Compendium I'll do a quick mini review. One of Atari's many faults was its failure to publish any material on the technicalities of its product. The Atari Compendium, released a couple of years ago fills that gap admirably. Consisting of hundreds of pages and originally costing £39.95 it covers everything from ac_close to XGen_Alert(). There are things in this book you wouldn't believe. Most subjects connected to programming your Atari are covered. You can look up details on all version of TOS including bugs, the VDI, GDOS, GEMDOS and MINT. There's even a run down on Atari hardware starting with the 260ST (no I didn't know such a thing existed either) through to the Falcon, even the ST Book gets a mention. Subjects the author Scott D Sanders hasn't covered have been included in a Bibliography so that you can find books on the relevant information. These are mainly hardware related subjects such as details on SCSI, ACSI or IDE interfaces.

Viewing the Compendium couldn't be easier, the very latest version of Cab is supplied, along with all the previous versions. These are packed with all the files needed to do your own World Wide Web browsing on the Internet.

Even a book as large as this one will not fill up 600 megabytes of Compact Disk. In fact the book only occupies 19 megabytes. The remaining space is filled with files and programs covering a wide range of subjects.

There's a full catalogue from Toad computers, the makers of this CD, in PDF format. Viewers are provided for PCs, Macs and Ataris. A folder full of commercial software demos includes DA's Layout, Vector and Picture to name but three.

Half of the disk contains files from the famous Umich FTP site. This directory is an Aladdins cave of Atari files. Sounds, graphics, icons, shareware and PD software. There's even a demo of Calamus SL.

A CD whose main theme is programming wouldn't be complete with out some sort of programming related directory. The Atari Compendium contains nearly 180 megabytes of programming tools covering all languages from Basic to Modula 2.

From anyone serious about programming the Atari range of computers to any Atari CD collector this disk comes highly recommended. It can be looked at in one of two ways. The Atari Compendium supplied with lots of free software or lots of Atari software supplied with a free copy of the Atari Compendium.

I would like to see other authors take the plunge and release their work in this format. So if the Atari A to Z authors reading this, hows about it?

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