Sinclair QL Beginner's Manual page 79

PAPER
PAPER followed by one, two or three numbers specifies the background. For example:
PAPER 2
PAPER 2,4
PAPER 2,4,1
The colour will not be visible until something else is done, for example, the screen is cleared by typing
CLS.
INK
INK followed by one, two or three numbers specifies the colour for printing characters, lines or other
graphics. The colour and stipple effects are the same as for PAPER. For example:
INK 2
INK 2,4
INK 2,4,1
The ink will be changed for all subsequent output.
CLS
CLS means clear the window to the current paper colour - like a teacher cleaning a blackboard,
except that it is electronic and multi-coloured.
FLASHING
You can make the ink colour flash in mode 8 only. To turn flash on you might type:
FLASH 1
and to turn it off:
FLASH 0
Allowing flashing characters to overlap can produce alarming results.
FILES
You will have used Microdrives for storing programs and you will have used the commands LOAD
and SAVE. Cartridges can be used for storing data as well as programs. The word file usually means
a sequence of data records, a record being some set of related information such as name, address
and telephone number.
Two of the most widely used types of file are serial and direct access files. Items in a serial file are
usually read in sequence starting with the first. If you want the fiftieth record you have to read the first
forty-nine in order to find it. On the other hand the fiftieth record in a direct access file can be found
quickly because the system does not need to work through the earlier records to get it. Pop music on
a cassette is like a serial file but eight pieces on a long playing record form a direct access file. You
can move the pick up arm directly onto any of the eight tracks.
The simplest possible type of file is just a sequence of numbers. To illustrate the idea we will place
the numbers 1 to 100 in a file called numbers. However the complete file name is made up of two
parts:
device name
appended information
{red}
{red/green chequerboard}
{red/green horizontal stripes}
{red ink}
{red/green chequerboard ink 3}
{red/green horizontal striped ink}