ReadMe for "What Time Is It?"
For Apple //e ProDOS 8
(C) Copyright 2008 Bill Buckels
All Rights Reserved.

Introduction - Apple IIe Version

"What Time Is It?" was (and is) an Apple II program written by Canadian
Software Developer Bill Buckels and was once distributed in the early 1990's
by a publisher called Class Software in Winnipeg, Canada in both an English
and a French Version. Class Software is now gone.

"What Time Is It?" was intended for use as "CourseWare" in Canadian
Classrooms for teaching Elementary School children how to "tell time" using
various analog and digital clock representations.

The French Version of "What Time Is It?" was (and is) called 
"Quelle heure est-il?".

Both English and French Versions for the Apple IIe are included as Apple II
emulator diskimages.

History - Apple IIe

"What Time Is It?" was originally developed for use on the IBM-PC by French
Canadian "CourseWare" developers Denis Coulombe and Robert Boivin on behalf
of Centre de recherche appliquée pour l'ordinateur (CRAPO) in 1989 and
marketed to schools across Canada as part of a six program set called
"Collection Les Petites espadrilles".

Note: Espadrilles are casual flat sandals originating from the Pyrenees. In
Quebec French, however, espadrilles is the usual term for running shoes.

The Apple II version was written by Canadian Software Developer Bill Buckels
on the IBM-PC in the C programing language using the Manx Aztec C 6502 Cross-
Compiler for Apple IIe ProDOS 8. It was completed in mid-1991.

Bill did not have the source code for the IBM-PC version of the program and
it wouldn't have helped much anyway. The IBM-PC was a much more capable and
sophisticated platform than the Apple II, so producing "What Time Is It?" for
the Apple II required a complete rewrite "from the ground-up".

The Manx C compiler provided a rudimentary Graphics Library, but came nowhere
close to what Bill needed to complete "What Time Is It?" and the 3 other
programs in the "Collection Les Petites espadrilles" that he had undertaken
to write. So he set to work to create the graphics and the sound routines
that the Apple versions needed to behave as closely as possible to their 
IBM-PC counterparts.

The IBM-PC graphics of the day that CRAPO used (4 Colour CGA Mode) were
vastly different from Apple II graphics (which were a coarser resolution),
and each and every screen and graphics image needed to be redrawn, and
reformatted for the Apple II. Using the Graphics from the IBM-PC version as a
starting point, Bill developed his own Apple II graphics file formats and
programmed his own set of conversion tools which he ran on the IBM-PC to
produce the Apple II graphics after creating and editing these in IBM-PC
format to suit the Apple II display. He did this in conjunction with writing
his Manx C graphics library, since both tasks were complimentary. When the
graphics images and graphics and sound library routines were completed he
moved forward to writing the program.

Not only did the Apple IIe have less capable graphics than the IBM-PC; it
also ran more slowly with only 128K of memory, some of it unusable, and with
slower disk access and a smaller floppy disk size. To overcome all of this
Bill broke his Manx C Apple programs into small modules called "overlays"
which ran in very little memory, and he used the upper ram bank of the Apple
II to store his graphics libraries and other data to avoid loading from disk
where possible. Since the Manx C compiler translates its programs into
machine language which runs as quickly as can be on the Apple II, no
optimization or additional "tweaks" were required.

The finished result ran more slowly than its IBM-PC counterpart, but for all
practical purposes, "What Time Is It?" for the Apple II has all the same
functionality.

Recent History - Apple IIe

In mid-2007 Bill Buckels resurrected the Apple IIe versions of his programs
from "Collection Les Petites espadrilles". and released them as Apple II
Emulator DiskImages, rebranding them "The Little Running Steps Collection".

Although Bill is the sole author and also the architect, the designer, and the
programmer of the Apple IIe English and French versions of "What Time Is It?"
and the other 3 programs in "The Little Running Steps Collection", he
still includes the two Quebeckers' names who wrote the IBM-PC versions on his
title screens, listed in blue below his own.

Beginning with the release of the source code for "What Time Is It?", Bill
has productized his Apple II programs as "Apple Oldies" and replaced the
Splash Screen of his former now-defunct publisher of "The Little Running
Steps Collection", Class Software, with his own Apple Oldies Splash Screen.

System Requirements

"What Time Is It?" requires an Apple IIe with 128K of memory and a floppy
disk. It runs under the PRODOS 8 Operating System.

It can also be run from a disk image file in an Apple II emulator. It has been
tested in Windows XP using Apple II Oasis and AppleWin, and probably works in
others.

Starting "What Time Is It?"

"What Time Is It?" comes with PRODOS 8 on the distribution disk so no PRODOS
Startup Disk is required. Put the "What Time Is It?" disk in the floppy drive
and boot the computer. After the program loads, follow the instructions.

If you are running "What Time Is It?" in an emulator, follow the same basic
steps.

If you are using the AppleWin emulator from Windows XP Explorer and have File
Associations set to use AppleWin to load disk images, just click on the disk
image.

If you are using Apple II Oasis select the disk image from the Apple II Disk
Manager and send to emulator by right clicking on the disk image.

Other emulators should be basically the same if they work with PRODOS 8 disk
images.

If you are using an Apple that boots from a hard disk and will run PRODOS 8
programs, just run TIME.SYSTEM on the "What Time Is It?" disk.

Note: If you need to restart "What Time Is It?", it will start more quickly
since the graphics are already loaded into the upper ram bank.

Keys and Navigation

The Arrow Keys are used to navigate the menus and to select choices during
activities (Game Play).

The [RETURN] Key or the Space Bar can be interchangeably used to enter
selections.

The Escape Key is used to return to the Main Menu and to Exit the program.

The Sound Toggle Key - [CTRL] S toggles the sound on or off at the Main Menu
or during any of the activities.

The 3 Key - Pressing the number 3 at the Main Menu will use 3 digital clocks
for the first 10 screens of multiple choice answers during activities (Game
Play). This is "level 1". After the first 10 screens, 5 digital clocks will be
used. This is "level 2".

The 5 Key - Pressing the number 5 at the Main Menu will use 5 digital clocks
for 10 screens of multiple choice answers during activities (Game Play). This
effectively skips "level 1" and goes directly to "level 2".

Note: Each time the Main Menu is displayed the default of 3 digital clocks is
reset. There should be no need to press the 3 key unless the 5 key has been
pressed and needs to be reset back to 3 digital clocks before starting a new
activity (Game).

The AlphaNumeric Keyboard keys are used where required to enter information
during activities (Game Play) in all programs in the "Collection Les Petites
espadrilles" including "What Time Is It?".

A mouse is not supported.

Splash and Title Screens

When "What Time Is It?" starts, or when the Escape Key is pressed at the Main
Menu the Apple Oldies Splash screen is displayed. Press [RETURN].

When the Title Screen displays press [RETURN] for the Main Menu or press the
Escape Key to exit the program.

Main Menu Screen

"What Time Is It?" has 3 Learning Activities (Games) which can be selected
from the Main Menu by moving the Snail Cursor with the Arrow Keys to the
desired activity then started by pressing the [RETURN] Key.

Each Learning activity is a Game based on a different type of analog clock
formatted as a series of 20 screens presenting the time on the analog clock as
a question and 3 or 5 multiple choice answers in digital clock format.

For the first 10 screens 3 digital clocks are displayed. This is "level 1".
For the following 10 screens 5 digital clocks are displayed. This is "level
2".

The student selects the answer for each screen, and when 10 screens are
complete, the student is presented with a musical reward. After the reward for
completing 20 screens, the student is returned to the Main Menu.

Activities followed by musical rewards is the basic format of all the programs
in the "Little Running Steps Collection".

The fourth Main Menu choice exits the Main Menu and returns to the Title
Screens. It is the equivalent of pressing the Escape Key.

Sound can be toggled on or off at the Main Menu or during any of the
activities by pressing [CTRL] S.

Activity 1: 12 Hour Analog Clock - Hours Only 

Background

The 12-hour clock is a convention of time keeping in which the day runs from
midnight to noon, then from noon to midnight, and is divided into 2 periods
of 12 hours, numbered from 0 to 12.

The 12-hour clock is only dominant in a handful of countries, particularly the
United States and Canada (except Quebec). The 24-hour clock is the most
commonly used time notation in the world today.

Game Play

This activity teaches hours in the 12-hour clock time format. For each screen,
a random time is displayed on the 12-hour analog clock.

To the right of the analog clock is a multiple choice menu of different times
in digital clock format, with only one that matches the time that is displayed
on the analog clock.

For each screen, when the Snail Cursor is to moved to the digital clock that
matches the analog clock, and the [RETURN] Key is pressed, a section of the
Drain Pipe on the left of the screen will fill with water. For every 10
screens the water will empty from the drain pipe, and give the Snail a "bath".

Activity 2: 24 Hour Analog Clock - Hours Only 

Background

The 24-hour clock is a convention of time keeping in which the day runs from
midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, numbered from 0 to 23. This
system is the most commonly used time notation in the world today. The 12-hour
clock is only dominant in a handful of countries, particularly the United
States and Canada (except Quebec).

24-hour notation is in the US and Canada also referred to as military time or
astronomical time, and in Australia as army time. In some parts of the world,
it is called railway time. It is also the international standard notation of
time (ISO 8601).

Game Play

This activity teaches hours only in the 24-hour clock time format. For each
screen, a random time is displayed on the 24-hour analog clock. The analog
clock is in the form of a "cuckoo clock". To the right of the analog clock is
a multiple choice menu of different times in digital clock format, with only
one that matches the time that is displayed on the analog clock.

For each screen, when the Snail Cursor is to moved to the digital clock that
matches the analog clock, and the [RETURN] Key is pressed, a section of the
Hour Glass on the left of the screen will fill with sand.

After the first 10 screens ("level 1") the hourglass will be half-filled with
sand and the cuckoo will come out of the clock and "sing".

After the next 10 screens ("level 2") the hourglass will be completely filled
with sand and the cuckoo will come out of the clock and "sing", then the
student will be returned to the Main Menu.

Activity 3: 12 Hour Analog Clock - Hours and Minutes  

Background

The other two activities in "What Time Is It?" present time in an "Hours Only"
format. Adding a second objective of minutes introduces an additional base of
60 to the base 12 and base 24 arithmetic that the student must perform in
order to tell time in hours.

The approach that "What Time Is It?" uses is to break the minutes into 5
minute intervals which allows the student to count by 5's and 10's to gain a
relative framework for the base 60 arithmetic that minutes and seconds
require.

Game Play

This activity teaches hours and minutes in 5 minute intervals. For each
screen, a random time is displayed on the analog clock.

To the right of the analog clock is a multiple choice menu of different times
in digital clock format, with only one that matches the time that is displayed
on the analog clock.

For each screen, when the Snail Cursor is to moved to the digital clock that
matches the analog clock, and the [RETURN] Key is pressed, a light bulb on
the left of the screen will be "turned-off". There are 10 light bulbs.

After the first 10 screens ("level 1") all the light bulbs will be turned-off
and the Snail will take a "bite" out of the apple on the lower left of the
screen, and an angry worm will appear from the apple, music will play, and all
the light bulbs will re-appear.

After the next 10 screens ("level 2") all the light bulbs will be turned-off
again and the Snail will take another  "bite" out of the apple on the lower
left of the screen, then the student will be returned to the Main Menu.

Commodore 64 Version

In early 2008 as part of his efforts to produce a Windows XP based C
programming language environment for the Commodore 64 (C64), complete with
sample programs, the developer of the Apple II version of "What Time Is It?",
Bill Buckels, decided that he would create an English-only version for the
C64 as a demonstration program in the C programming language using an
obsolete C64 compiler program called "Aztec C".

The Aztec64 compiler environment is available for download at:

http://www.clipshop.ca/Aztec/#commodore

The C64 Version runs at the same speed as the Apple IIe version in
less memory, with equal or better graphics, and better sound.
It runs nicely in the WinVICE C64 Emulator in Windows XP (it has never been
tried on a real C64), and is as complete in every way as the other versions,
accounting for differences between the C64, the Apple IIe, and the IBM-PC.

It is available for download as a d64 emulator diskimage at:

http://www.clipshop.ca/c64/ 

Bill Buckels
bbuckels@mts.net
March 2008

(C) Copyright Bill Buckels 2008
All Rights Reserved.

End of Document
