The Sinclair QL Forum

tcat wrote:As for WMAN v2.xx, am I right to think that it enables new applications written under >> SMSQ - GD2 << to be backward compatible with plain AH-JM-JS ROM QL's, mapping GD2 colour pallettes to standard sets of QL 4/8 colours, correct?

This is where it gets a little difficult as it is not a 100% clear cut answer, as it depends to some extent on terminology and EXACTLY what we are talking about.

With the best will in the world, if a program uses hundreds or thousands of colours on a screen, you are never going to be able to represent that on a 512x256 pixel 4 colour QL screen.

What WMAN2.xx does is to allow programs which are written for Window Manager 2 (as opposed the GD2/colour drivers per se) to run on a QL. There will always be limits on what can be achieved and some programs may still not run if they use facilities which are impossible for a QL. By and large, and it is not 100% sure, programs which use colour palettes and other regular Window Manager 2 functions MAY run on a QL with WMAN 2.xx. Some won't, even experienced users won't know with 100% certainty until a given program is tried.

Where I have had some difficulty is programs which use specific high colour facilities but without using standard WMAN2 functions, and programs which write to and directly manipulate the screen (PEEK, POKE screen etc).

I'm sorry my reply is a bit vague and unspecific, what you are asking is probably quite correct in theory
and for fairly straightforward programs, but there will always be cases I suspect where even Marcel and Wolfgang won't be able to get a few such programs running!

As you get more experienced with pointer environment, you'll start to develop an instinct for what type of program has a good chance of working, and for what stands less of a chance.

Dilwyn