Rainbow 100 Recommended Software Practices

This document outlines recommended software practices for developing application software for the Digital Equipment Corporation Rainbow 100 personal computer. The guidelines aim to ensure user convenience, consistency, and compatibility, reflecting customer expectations set by DEC's own applications.

Key recommendations include:

• User Interface: All products should feature a standardized introductory screen (Rainbow name, product name, producer, copyright), use menu-driven operation where appropriate (with clear selections and cursor-key navigation), and fully utilize the Rainbow keyboard's special editing keys (like HELP, DO, Select, Find, Insert, Remove). Programs must ignore unsupported function keys and avoid using Ctrl-S or Ctrl-Q as command inputs.
• Output and Data Handling: Software should provide options for configuring printer settings (pitch, font, speed) using DEC universal escape sequences, display reports in 132-column mode, and output reports to disk as standard CP/M files compatible with the Select word processor. Products generating data for spreadsheets should support creating Microsoft SYLK compatible ASCII input files, and ideally, also read SYLK format.
• Technical Standards: The DEC international character set should be used. Products must support both 80 and 132-column display modes, allowing user selection or automatic adjustment, and control Memory Mapped Video through "interface layer" firmware calls for future compatibility.
• System Behavior: Programs that modify printer, terminal, or communication settings must reset them to their nominal values upon normal exit. Software should ideally run on a basic 48K TPA Rainbow 100 configuration, or account for 64K or 192K memory expansions if more resources are needed.
• Future Compatibility: Developers are encouraged to design their software to be compatible with Digital's planned implementations of Concurrent CP/M and GSX graphics to broaden market reach.