SuperToolkit

SuperToolkit is perhaps better known as Toolkit II - it has become the standard toolkit expected by the majority of Sinclair QL programs released since 1987.

Originally released on microdrive cartridge, under the name QL Toolkit by Sinclair Research Ltd, SuperToolkit became a much enhanced version of this toolkit addition to the QL's SuperBASIC.

SuperToolkit adds a wide range of commands to SuperBASIC, including a full screen SuperBASIC editor (ED), commands to handle wildcards in filenames and user defined characters; and standard directory support, for example:

PROG_USE flp1_
DIR
WCOPY flp1_,flp2_
PAUSE
LRUN boot

will return the directory of files on flp1_, copy all files from flp1_ to flp2_ and then run the program flp1_boot. These were simply standard kind of defaults, to let the user omit the drives name. Most software of that time does ignore them. They are definitely no hard directories! Later versions of Toolkit II include the command "MAKE_DIR" to create them, depending of the hardware and the driver.

Commands also allow you to control jobs (set priority, remove jobs, suspend jobs), chain programs together to act as filters, dump screens to a printer, set a QL up as a file server (or printer server) and a lot more.

There are also improvements to the QL networks and error handling (JS and MG ROMs only).

SuperToolkit was released on disk or microdrive cartridge as the Configurable Toolkit, or on ROM cartridge as SuperToolkit.

Subsets of SuperToolkit were also built into disk interfaces, or supplied as an update to the disk interface ROM chips as QFLP. However, the products produced by Miracle Systems included the full Toolkit II built in.

The ROM version (and that built into Miracle Systems hardware products was required if you wanted to use the improvements to the network devices provided by SuperToolkit / Toolkit II, as only the ROM version could ensure the consistent timing required.

Title: SuperToolkit
Language: 68000 Machine Code
Author: Tony Tebby
Publisher: Care Electronics
Year of Publication: 1985
Platforms Suitable for: All Sinclair QLs and Compatibles
Commercial Status: Freeware
Price as at November 1985: £29.90
Reviews: QL User Jan/Feb 1986
Sources Available from: Unknown
Latest Version available from: Sinclair QL Homepage