Editing Acorn Archimedes (section)

== Software ==

=== Arthur operating system ===

Reminiscent of the BBC Micro upon its release, the earliest Archimedes models were delivered with provisional versions of the Arthur operating system,<ref name="acornuser198801_arthur">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser066-Jan88/page/n14/mode/1up | title=More releases swell software catalogue | magazine=Acorn User | date=January 1988 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=13 }}</ref> for which upgrades were apparently issued free of charge, thus avoiding the controversy around early ROM upgrades for the BBC Micro.<ref name="pcw198211_beeb">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorld1982-11/page/n85/mode/1up | title=Beeb backlog banished? | magazine=Personal Computer World | last1=Kewney | first1=Guy | date=November 1982 | access-date=24 April 2021 | pages=84 }}</ref> In early 1988, Arthur 1.2 was delivered in an attempt to fix the deficiencies and problems in the earlier versions of the software.<ref name="acornuser198804_arcwriter">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser069-Apr88/page/n10/mode/1up | title=ArcWriter plagued with bugs | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1988 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref> However, even after Arthur 1.2 had been released, a reported 100 documented bugs regarded as "mostly quite obscure" persisted, with Acorn indicating that a "new, enhanced version" of the operating system was under development.<ref name="acornuser198806_arthur">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser071-Jun88/page/n11/mode/1up | title=Arc operating system problems persist | magazine=Acorn User | date=June 1988 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=10 }}</ref>

=== Early applications ===

Following on from the release of Arthur 1.2, Acorn itself offered a "basic word processor", ArcWriter, intended for "personal correspondence, notices and short articles" and to demonstrate the window, menu and pointer features of the system, employing built-in printer fonts for rapid printed output.<ref name="acorn_nl1">{{ cite news | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/NL/Acorn_NewsIss1.pdf | title=Available now...ArcWriter | work=The Newsletter | publisher=Acorn Computers Limited | date=January 1988 | issue=1 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=3 }}</ref> The software was issued free of charge for registered users, although Acorn indicated that it would not produce a "definitive" word processor for the platform, in contrast to the BBC Micro where the View word processor had been central to Acorn's office software range. However, Acorn did also announce a port of the [[1st Word]] package, First Word Plus, for the platform.<ref name="acornuser198804_wordprocessors">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser069-Apr88/page/n24/mode/1up | title=Wordprocessors on the way for the Arc | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1988 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=23 }}</ref> ArcWriter was poorly received, with window repainting issues demonstrated as a particular problem, and with users complaining of "serious bugs".<ref name="acornuser198804_arcwriter" /> Although taking advantage of the Arthur desktop environment and using [[Font rasterization|anti-aliased fonts]], complaints were made about "blurred and smudged" characters and slow display updates when changing fonts or styles on low-memory machines like the A305. An early competitor, Graphic Writer, was received more favourably but provided its own full-screen user interface. Neither were regarded as competitive with established products on other platforms.<ref name="acornuser198805_smith">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser070-May88/page/n139/mode/2up | title=Alright or All Wrong | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1988 | access-date=25 April 2021 | last1=Smith | first1=Bruce | pages=138–139 }}</ref>

Several software companies immediately promised software for the Archimedes, most notably Computer Concepts, Clares and Minerva,<ref name="acornuser198708_risc_micro">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser061-Aug87/page/n8/mode/1up | title=RISC micro to star at show | magazine=Acorn User | date=August 1987 | access-date=26 April 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref> with Advanced Memory Systems, BBC Soft and Logotron being other familiar software publishers. [[Autodesk]], Grafox and GST were newcomers to the Acorn market.<ref name="acornuser198708_risc_revealed">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser061-Aug87/page/n12/mode/1up | title=RISC revealed | magazine=Acorn User | date=August 1987 | access-date=26 April 2021 | pages=11}}</ref> However, in early 1988, many software developers were reportedly holding off on releasing software for the Archimedes until the release of a stable operating system, with Acorn offering to lend Arthur 1.2 to developers.<ref name="acornuser198801_arthur" /> Claims had been made of confusion amongst potential purchasers of the machine caused by the lack of available software, with Acorn having pursued a strategy of launching the machine first so that independent software developers might have hardware to work with.<ref name="acornuser198804_investment" /> In order to make the Archimedes more attractive to certain sectors, Acorn announced a £250,000 investment in educational software and indicated a commitment to business software development. Alongside First Word Plus, the Logistix [[spreadsheet]]-based business planning package<ref name="acorn_app127">{{ cite book | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/Brochures/Acorn_APP127_Logistix.pdf | title=Logistix | publisher=Acorn Computers Limited | date=October 1987 | access-date=25 April 2021 | issue=1 }}</ref> was also commissioned by Acorn from Grafox Limited as a port to the platform.<ref name="acornuser198804_investment">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser069-Apr88/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Acorn invests in Arc software | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1988 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref> Autodesk released [[AutoSketch]] for the Archimedes in 1988,<ref name="acornuser198811_autosketch">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser076-Nov88/page/n131/mode/2up | title=Drawing the Line | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1988 | access-date=17 May 2021 | last1=Harding | first1=Alan | last2=Hayward | first2=Mike | pages=130–131, 133 }}</ref> having launched the product in March the same year. Priced at £79 plus VAT, it offered the precision drawing functionality familiar from AutoCad but with "none of the frills" that made the latter product professionally suitable for various markets at pricing that could exceed £2500. On the Archimedes, AutoSketch was reported to run at about five times the speed of a "standard PC-compatible machine".<ref name="acorn_app145">{{ cite news | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/Brochures/Acorn_APP145_EducationNewsIss2Jul88.pdf | title=AutoSketch — a precision drawing package for craft, design and technology | work=Acorn Education News | date=July 1988 | access-date=6 June 2021 | issue=2 | pages=1 }}</ref>

Although Acorn had restricted itself to supporting the use of its View word processor under BBC emulation on the Archimedes,<ref name="acornuser198803_editorial">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser1988Magazine/AcornUser8803/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Editorial | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1988 | access-date=14 August 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=7 }}</ref> View Professional—the final iteration of the View suite on Acorn's 8-bit computers—had been advertised as a future product in June 1987 for November availability.<ref name="acorn_app119a">{{ cite book | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/Brochures/Acorn_APP119a_SoftwareAppsCatalogueJun87.pdf | title=Archimedes Software Applications Catalogue | publisher=Acorn Computers Limited | date=June 1987 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=3 }}</ref> View Professional, like the View series, had been developed for Acorn by Mark Colton, and a company—Colton Software—delivered the successor to this product as PipeDream for the [[Cambridge Computer Z88]].<ref name="acornuser198710_pipedream">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser063-Oct87/page/n12/mode/1up | title=Professional View is a Pipe Dream | magazine=Acorn User | date=October 1987 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=11 }}</ref> In mid-1988, Colton Software announced PipeDream for the Archimedes, priced at £114, following on from the announcement of a version for MS-DOS,<ref name="acornuser198806_pipedream">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser071-Jun88/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Archimedes has own Pipedream | magazine=Acorn User | date=June 1988 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref> establishing a long history of product development for the platform, leading to PipeDream 4 in 1992,<ref name="acornuser199203_pipedream">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser116-Mar92/page/n107/mode/2up | title=Summing Up | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1992 | access-date=25 April 2021 | last1=Burley | first1=Ian | pages=106–107 }}</ref> followed by PipeDream's eventual successor, Fireworkz, in 1994.<ref name="acornuser199403_fireworkz">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser140-Mar94/page/n58/mode/1up | title=The sum of the partz | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1994 | access-date=25 April 2021 | last1=Burley | first1=Ian | pages=59 }}</ref>

Much early software had consisted of titles converted from the BBC Micro, taking advantage of a degree of compatibility between the different series of machines,<ref name="acornuser198801_arthur" /> with Computer Concepts even going as far as to produce a ROM/RAM hardware expansion for use with the company's existing BBC Micro series products,<ref name="acornuser198802_cc">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser067-Feb88/page/n12/mode/1up | title=Arc ROM add-on | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1988 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=11 }}</ref> and Acorn also offering such an expansion alongside a BBC-compatible interfacing expansion.<ref name="acornuser198805_podules">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser070-May88/page/n8/mode/1up | title=News in Brief | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1988 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref> Another element of Acorn's early marketing strategy for the Archimedes was to emphasise the PC Emulator product which was a software-based emulator for IBM PC-compatible systems based on the 8088 processor running "legal MS-DOS programs". Alongside this, plans were also made for the launch of a podule (peripheral module) hardware expansion providing its own 80186 processor, a disk controller and connector for a disk drive.<ref name="acornuser198710_pc">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser063-Oct87/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Multi-tasking for Archimedes | magazine=Acorn User | date=October 1987 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref>

The PC Emulator in its initial form shipped with [[MS-DOS#MS-DOS 3.x|MS-DOS 3.21]] and required a system with 4&nbsp;MB of RAM to be able to provide the "full" [[conventional memory|640&nbsp;KB]] of RAM for DOS programs, with early versions of Arthur only providing 384&nbsp;KB to DOS on 1&nbsp;MB systems, but with Arthur 1.2 aiming to provide the more usable 512&nbsp;KB to DOS on such systems. The emulator was described as having "very few compatibility problems" and was reported by diagnostic utilities as providing an [[Intel 80186#80188 series|80188]]-based system, but the performance of the emulated system was regarded as slow. Acorn reportedly acknowledged this by indicating the imminent availability of "an 80186 co-processor".<ref name="pcw_pcemulator">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/archimedes-pc-emulator-pcw-january-1998/page/n1/mode/2up | title=Archimedes PC Emulator | magazine=Personal Computer World | date=January 1988 | access-date=4 December 2021 | last1=Jones | first1=Simon }}</ref> The podule expansion (or "co-processor") was subsequently postponed in early 1988 (and ultimately cancelled), with Acorn indicating that its price of £300 would have been uncompetitive against complete PC systems costing as little as £500, and that the hardware capabilities to be offered, such as the provision of [[Color Graphics Adapter|CGA]] graphics, would be likely to become outdated as the industry moved to support [[Enhanced Graphics Adapter|EGA]] and VGA graphical standards.<ref name="acornuser198802_pc">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser067-Feb88/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Arc PC podule put on hold | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1988 | access-date=25 April 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref>

Commentators were disappointed with the incoherent user interface provided by the software platform, with "Logistix looking like a PC, First Word slavishly copying GEM" and "101 other 'user interfaces'" amongst the early offerings. The result was the lack of a "personality" for the machine which risked becoming a system that would "never look as easy or as slick as the Mac".<ref name="acornuser198807_editorial">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser072-Jul88/page/n4/mode/1up | title=Editorial | magazine=Acorn User | date=July 1988 | access-date=30 April 2021 | pages=3 }}</ref> Alongside the introduction of visual and behavioural consistency between applications, personal computer user environments had also evolved from running a single application at a time, moved beyond "desk accessories" (or pop-up programs), normalised the practice of switching between applications, and had begun to provide the ability to run different applications at the same time,<ref name="byte198807">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1988-07/page/n276/mode/1up | title=Weighing the Options | magazine=Byte | date=July 1988 | access-date=1 May 2021 | last1=Glass | first1=Brett | pages=251–257 }}</ref> with the Macintosh having already done so with its MultiFinder enhancement.<ref name="byte198711">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1987-11/page/n156/mode/1up | title=MultiFinder for the Macintosh | magazine=Byte | date=November 1987 | access-date=16 April 2021 | last1=Williams | first1=Gregg | pages=123–126, 128–130 }}</ref> Computer Concepts, having begun development of various new applications for the Archimedes, was sufficiently frustrated with Arthur and its lack of "true multi-tasking" that it announced a rival operating system, Impulse, intended to host those applications on the machine.<ref name="acornuser198806_impulse">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser071-Jun88/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Arthur at risk from Concepts' new OS | magazine=Acorn User | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | last2=Atack | first2=Carol | date=June 1988 | access-date=31 October 2020 | pages=7 }}</ref>

=== RISC OS ===

Remedying various criticisms of the early operating environment, Acorn previewed [[RISC OS]] (or, more formally, RISC OS 2) in late 1988 and announced availability for April 1989.<ref name="acornuser198811_riscos">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser076-Nov88/page/n20/mode/1up | title=RISC OS upgrades | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1988 | access-date=17 May 2021 | pages=19 }}</ref> Internally at Acorn, the realisation had dawned that multitasking had become essential in any mainstream computing environment where "the user is likely to use lots of small applications at once, rather than one large application alone", with other graphical environments such as [[Hewlett Packard]]'s [[NewWave]] and [[IBM]]'s [[Presentation Manager]] being considered as the contemporary competition.<ref name="acorn_nl10">{{ cite news | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/NL/Acorn_NewsIss10.pdf | title=Comdex marks the path for the computer industry | work=Acorn Newsletter | date=June 1989 | access-date=26 May 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=David | issue=10 | pages=3 }}</ref>

Reactions to the upgraded operating system were positive and even enthusiastic, describing RISC OS as giving software developers "the stable platform they have been waiting for" and "a viable alternative to the PC or Mac", also crediting Acorn for having improved on the original nine-month effort in developing Arthur in the following twelve months leading up to the unveiling of RISC OS.<ref name="acornuser198902_editorial">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser079-Feb89/page/n4/mode/1up | title=Editorial | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1989 | access-date=1 May 2021 | pages=3 }}</ref> For a modest upgrade cost of £29, users received four ROM chips, three discs including several applications, and documentation.<ref name="acornuser198902_riscos">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser079-Feb89/page/n23/mode/2up | title=RISC OS | magazine=Acorn User | last1=Watkins | first1=David | date=February 1989 | access-date=1 May 2021 | pages=22 }}</ref>

New facilities in RISC OS included co-operative multitasking, a task manager to monitor tasks and memory, versatile file management, "solid" window manipulation ("the whole window moves - not just the outline"), and adaptive rendering of bitmaps and colours, using dithering where necessary, depending on the nature of the selected screen mode.<ref name="acornuser198902_filing">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser079-Feb89/page/n23/mode/2up | title=Filing from the desktop | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1989 | access-date=1 May 2021 | last1=Watkins | first1=David | pages=22 }}</ref> A common printing framework was introduced, with [[Dot matrix printing|dot-matrix]] and [[PostScript]] printer [[device driver|drivers]] supplied, with such drivers available for use by all desktop applications.<ref name="acornuser198902_printing">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser079-Feb89/page/n25/mode/1up | title=Just point to print | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1989 | access-date=1 May 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=24 }}</ref> Amongst the selection of applications and tools included with RISC OS were the Draw [[graphics software|graphics editor]], featuring vector graphics editing and rudimentary manipulation of text (using the anti-aliased fonts familiar from Arthur) and bitmaps, the Edit text editor, the Paint bitmap editor, and the Maestro music editor.<ref name="acornuser198902_tools">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser079-Feb89/page/n23/mode/2up | title=The tools in detail | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1989 | access-date=1 May 2021 | last1=Watkins | first1=David | pages=23 }}</ref>

With RISC OS available, Acorn launched new and updated applications to take advantage of the improved desktop environment. One of these, deferred until after the launch of RISC OS, was Acorn Desktop Publisher, a port of [[Timeworks Publisher]],<ref name="acornuser198811">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser076-Nov88/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Archimedes set for desktop publishing | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1988 | access-date=14 April 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref> which introduced a significant improvement to the anti-aliased font capabilities through a new outline font manager,<ref name="acornuser198910">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser087-Oct89/page/n135/mode/2up | title=Hold the Font Page | magazine=Acorn User | date=October 1989 | access-date=14 April 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=134–135 }}</ref> offering scalable fonts that were anti-aliased on screen but rendered at the appropriate resolution when printed, even on dot-matrix printers.<ref name="raine1991">{{ cite conference | url=https://archive.org/details/1989-proceedings-5th-comp-graphics-workshop/page/25/mode/1up | title=The Acorn Outline Font Manager | last1=Raine | first1=Neil | last2=Seal | first2=David | last3=Stoye | first3=William | last4=Wilson | first4=Roger | conference=Fifth Computer Graphics Workshop | location=Monterey, California | date=November 1989 | publisher=USENIX Association | pages=25–36 }}</ref> First Word Plus was also updated to support the new RISC OS desktop environment, albeit retaining its own printer drivers, being positioned as complementing Acorn Desktop Publisher whose emphasis was on page layout as opposed to textual document creation.<ref name="acornuser199005_firstwordplus">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser094-May90/page/n128/mode/1up | title=First Up | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1990 | access-date=14 April 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=127 }}</ref>

As part of an effort to grow the company's share of the home market, Acorn introduced a bundle called The Learning Curve, initially featuring the A3000, optional monitor and a set of applications (First Word Plus, the PC Emulator, and Genesis).<ref name="acornuser199005_learningcurve" /> This bundle was enhanced later in 1990 to attract buyers to the A420/1, adding Acorn Desktop Publisher and some additional Genesis applications.<ref name="acornuser199010_learningcurve">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser099-Oct90/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Learning Curve Advances | magazine=Acorn User | date=October 1990 | access-date=9 May 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref> Acorn's document processing applications also began to see broader competition around this time, with [[Impression (software)|Impression]] from Computer Concepts and Ovation from Beebug also providing competitive solutions for desktop publishing.<ref name="acornuser199005_impression">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser094-May90/page/n114/mode/1up | title=Easy to Impress | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1990 | access-date=23 December 2020 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=113–115 }}</ref><ref name="acornuser199011_ovation">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser100-Nov90/page/n92/mode/1up | title=In Ovation | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1990 | access-date=16 April 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=91–93 }}</ref> Also in 1990, PipeDream 3 became the first version of the PipeDream integrated suite, descended from Acorn's View Professional but developed and marketed by Colton Software, to be made available for the RISC OS desktop.<ref name="acornuser199004_pipedream">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser093-Apr90/page/n125/mode/2up | title=Dream Time | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1990 | access-date=2 May 2021 | last1=Futcher | first1=Dave | pages=124–125 }}</ref>

The launch of the A5000 in late 1991 brought a new version of RISC OS to the market: RISC OS 3.<ref name="acornuser199111_a5000" /> This delivered a range of enhancements to the operating system including multitasking filer operations (meaning that file copying, moving and deletion no longer took over the computer), support for reading and writing DOS format discs, the provision of various bundled applications (Alarm, Calc, Chars, Configure, Draw, Edit, Help and Paint), commonly used outline fonts, and software modules in ROM (instead of needing to be loaded from accompanying floppy discs into RAM), the removal or raising of limits on windows and tasks, the ability to "iconise" windows and pin them to the desktop background (or pinboard), desktop session saving and restoring, screen blanking support, and other printing and networking improvements. Providing the bundled applications and other resources in ROM saved an estimated 150&nbsp;KB of workspace, thus being beneficial to users of 1&nbsp;MB machines.<ref name="acornuser199111_riscos3">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser112-Nov91/page/n10/mode/1up | title=More Powerful RISC OS 3 at Heart of New A5000 | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1991 | access-date=31 July 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref>

The bundled RISC OS 3 applications were enhanced from their RISC OS 2 versions in various general ways, such as the introduction of keyboard shortcuts, but also with new, specific features. The printing system was also updated to support multiple printers at once, but in this first version of RISC OS 3 background printing was still not supported.<ref name="acornuser199112_a5000" /> The "most obviously improved" application was Draw, acquiring new features including multiple levels of "undo" and "redo" operations, rotated text (benefiting from an updated outline font manager), graduated fills, shape interpolation (or in-betweening) support, and built-in support for converting text into paths. Edit gained improved formatting and searching support plus transparent BASIC program editing facilities.<ref name="acornuser199201_take3">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser114-Jan92/page/n133/mode/2up | title=Take 3 | magazine=Acorn User | date=January 1992 | access-date=31 July 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | last2=James | first2=Paul | pages=130–131 }}</ref> One somewhat visually obvious improvement delivered in RISC OS 3 was the use of "3D window borders"<ref name="acornuser199210_riscos3" /> or, more accurately, dedicated bitmaps for window furniture, allowing different desktop styling effects.<ref name="acornuser199302_beginners">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser127-Feb93/page/n114/mode/1up | title=Absolute Beginners | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1993 | access-date=31 July 2021 | last1=James | first1=Paul | pages=113 }}</ref> The appearance of the desktop would eventually shift towards Acorn's "NewLook" desktop theme, previewed in late 1993.<ref name="acornuser199312_newlook">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser137-Dec93/page/n10/mode/1up | title=NewLook at Acorn World | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1993 | access-date=31 July 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref>

In late 1992, RISC OS 3 was itself updated, becoming RISC OS 3.1 (as opposed to the initial RISC OS 3.0 provided with the A5000) and being made available for all existing Archimedes machines, although A300 series and the original A400 series machines needed a hardware modification to be able to accept the larger 2&nbsp;MB ROMs, employing a special [[Expansion card#Daughterboard|daughterboard]].<ref name="chris_simtec_riscos3">{{cite web |url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/32bit_UpgradesH2Z/Simtec_ROS3_ROMCarrier.html |title=Simtec RISC OS 3 ROM Carrier |publisher=Centre for Computing History |date=31 October 2008 | access-date=18 April 2021}}</ref> Various bugs in RISC OS 3.0 were fixed and various other improvements made, making it a worthwhile upgrade for A5000 users. Notably, support for background printing was introduced. VAT-inclusive introductory pricing for the upgrade was £19 for RISC OS 3.0 users and £49 for RISC OS 2.0 users, with the upgrade package including ROMs, support discs and manuals.<ref name="acornuser199211_riscos3">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser124-Nov92/page/n26/mode/1up | title=ROM for Improvement | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1992 | access-date=31 July 2021 | last1=Burley | first1=Ian | pages=23 }}</ref> The non-introductory price of the upgrade was stated as being £89.<ref name="acornuser199210_riscos3">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser123-Oct92/page/n10/mode/1up | title=RISC Upgrades Ready | magazine=Acorn User | date=October 1992 | access-date=31 July 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref>

The limitations of RISC OS became steadily more apparent, particularly with the appearance of the [[Risc PC]] and the demands made on applications taking advantage of its improved hardware capabilities (although merely highlighting issues that were always present), and when contrasted with the gradually evolving [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] and [[Classic Mac OS|Macintosh System]] software, these competitors offering or promising new features and usability improvements over their predecessors. Two fundamental deficiencies perceived with RISC OS were a lack of [[virtual memory]] support, this permitting larger volumes of data to be handled by using hard disc storage as "slow, auxiliary RAM" (attempted by application-level solutions in certain cases<ref name="acornuser199005_32mb">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser094-May90/page/n10/mode/1up | title=32MB Arc Applications | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1990 | access-date=5 August 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref>), and the use of [[cooperative multitasking]] as opposed to [[Preemption (computing)|preemptive multitasking]] to allow multiple applications to run at the same time, with the former relying on applications functioning correctly and considerately, and with the latter putting the system in control of allocating time to applications and thus preventing faulty or inconsiderate applications from hanging or dominating the system. Problems with the storage management and filing systems were also identified. In 1994, the FileCore functionality in RISC OS was still limited to accessing 512&nbsp;MB of any hard drive, with this being barely larger than the largest supplied Risc PC hard drive at the time. Filing system limitations were also increasingly archaic: 77 files per directory and 10-character filenames, in contrast to more generous constraints imposed by the then-"imminent" [[Windows 95]] and then-current [[Macintosh System 7]] release.<ref name="acornuser199412_change">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser149-Dec94/page/n58/mode/1up | title=Time for a change? | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1994 | access-date=31 July 2021 | last1=George | first1=Andy | pages=59–60 }}</ref>

Although an update to the FileCore functionality was delivered in 1995, initially to members of Acorn's enthusiast community, providing support for larger storage [[disk partitioning|partitions]] (raising the limit to 128&nbsp;GB), other improvements, such as those providing support for the use of longer filenames, were still only provided by third parties.<ref name="acornuser199508_update">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser158-Aug95/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Two-page Acorn update | magazine=Acorn User | date=August 1995 | access-date=29 September 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref> With adverse financial results and a restructuring of the company in late 1995, Acorn appeared to be considering a more responsive strategy towards customer demands, potentially offering rebadged PC and Mac products alongside Acorn's existing computers, while cultivating a relationship with IBM whose [[PowerPC]]-based [[Server (computing)|server]] hardware had already been featured in Acorn's SchoolServer product running [[Windows NT]].<ref name="acornuser199511_future">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser161-Nov95/page/n10/mode/1up | title=The future for Acorn | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1995 | access-date=29 September 2021 | pages=11 }}</ref> In the context of such a relationship, the possibility was raised of "bolting a RISC OS 'personality' on top of a low level IBM-developed operating system" to address RISC OS's deficiencies and to support virtual memory and long filenames.<ref name="acornuser199511_riscos">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser161-Nov95/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Writing on the wall for RISC OS? | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1995 | access-date=29 September 2021 | pages=11 }}</ref> At this time, IBM was pursuing its [[Workplace OS]] strategy which emphasised a common operating system foundation supporting different system personalities.

=== PC Emulation ===

In mid-1991, the PC Emulator was eventually updated to work as a multitasking application on the RISC OS desktop, requiring 2&nbsp;MB of RAM to do so, and supporting access to DOS files from the RISC OS desktop filer interface. The emulator itself permitted access to CD-ROM devices and ran [[MS-DOS#MS-DOS 3.x|MS-DOS 3.3]] with a special mouse driver to permit the host machine's mouse to behave like a Microsoft bus mouse. CGA, EGA, [[IBM Monochrome Display Adapter|MDA]] and partial VGA graphics support was implemented, and the emulated system could run Windows 3. The product cost £99, with an upgrade costing £29 for users of previous versions.<ref name="acornuser199108_pcemulator">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser109-Aug91/page/n8/mode/1up | title=VGA PC Software Runs on Desktop | magazine=Acorn User | date=August 1991 | access-date=4 June 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref> Although technically compatible with 1&nbsp;MB systems, and with 2&nbsp;MB of RAM considered necessary for multitasking operation, offering facilities to capture the emulated display as a bitmap or as text, 4&nbsp;MB was recommended to take advantage of such features, along with a high resolution multiscan monitor and VIDC enhancer to be able to display most of the emulated screen without needing to scroll its contents. An ARM3 processor was considered essential for "a workable turn of speed", this giving performance comparable with a 4.77&nbsp;MHz 8086 PC-XT system.<ref name="acornuser199111_pcemulator">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser112-Nov91/page/n156/mode/1up | title=PC of Cake | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1991 | access-date=5 June 2021 | last1=Williams | first1=Simon | pages=155 }}</ref>

Regarded as a "programming wonder", the PC Emulator was nevertheless regarded as being "too slow for intensive PC use". Shortly after the introduction of the updated PC Emulator, a hardware PC compatibility solution was announced by Aleph One, offering a 20&nbsp;MHz 80386SX processor and VGA display capability, effectively delivering Acorn's envisaged PC podule in updated form.<ref name="acornuser199110_aleph1pc" /> A low-cost alternative to Acorn's PC Emulator called FasterPC became available in 1993, priced at around £20 but with DOS not included (to be provided by the user at an estimated additional cost of £50). The software provided PC emulation outside the desktop environment, with considerable performance benefits claimed relative to Acorn's product. Regarded as being "considerably faster than the Acorn emulator when displaying graphics", with a two-times speed improvement observed for various tested programs, the product was considered appropriate for gaming, albeit at lower than VGA resolution. It was also unable to run Windows 3.1: the Aleph One PC expansion cards being the only solutions able to do so at that time.<ref name="acornuser199309_fasterpc">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser134-Sep93/page/n62/mode/1up | title=Reinventing the wheel | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1993 | access-date=18 June 2021 }}</ref>

=== Bitmap image editing ===

Having considerably improved graphical capabilities compared to those provided with Acorn's 8-bit machines, a number of art packages were released for the Archimedes to exploit this particular area of opportunity, albeit rather cautiously at first. One of the first available packages, Clares' Artisan, supported image editing at the high resolution of {{nowrap|640 x 256}} but only in the 16-colour mode 12, despite the availability of the 256-colour mode 15 as standard. Favourably received as being "streets ahead" of art software on the BBC Micro, it was considered as barely the start of any real exploitation of the machine's potential. Typical of software of the era, only months after the launch of the machine, Artisan provided its own graphical interface and, continuing the tradition of BBC Micro software, took over the machine entirely even to the point of editing the machine configuration and restoring it upon exiting.<ref name="acornuser198802_artisan">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser067-Feb88/page/n141/mode/2up | title=Artisan at Work | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1988 | access-date=15 May 2021 | last1=Futcher | first1=Dave | pages=140–141 }}</ref> Clares released a successor, Artisan 2, two years later to provide compatibility with RISC OS, replacing special-purpose printer support with use of the system's printer drivers, but not making the software a desktop application. The program's user interface deficiencies were regarded as less forgivable with the availability of a common desktop interface that would have addressed such problems and made the program "easier to use and a more powerful program as a result".<ref name="acornuser199003_artisan2">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser092-Mar90/page/n120/mode/1up | title=Second Sight | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1990 | access-date=15 May 2021 | last1=Miller | first1=Rob | pages=119 }}</ref>

Clares also produced a 256-colour package called ProArtisan, also with its own special user interface (despite the impending arrival of RISC OS), costing considerably more than its predecessor (£170, compared to £40 for Artisan), offering a wider range of tools than Artisan including sprays, washes and path editing (using Bézier curves) to define areas of the canvas. Although regarded as powerful, the pricing was considered rather high from the perspective of those more familiar with the 8-bit software market, and the user interface was regarded as "only just bearable".<ref name="acornuser198905_proartisan">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser082-May89/page/n133/mode/2up | title=Picture Perfect? | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1989 | access-date=15 May 2021 | last1=Sollé | first1=Sean | last2=Lewis | first2=Kathy | pages=132–133 }}</ref> Competitors to ProArtisan during 1989 included Art Nouveau from Computer Assisted Learning<ref name="acornuser198908_artnouveau">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser085-Aug89/page/n133/mode/2up | title=Different Strokes | magazine=Acorn User | date=August 1989 | access-date=15 May 2021 | last1=Miller | first1=Rob | pages=132–133 }}</ref> and Atelier from Minerva.<ref name="acornuser198909_atelier">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser086-Sep89/page/n117/mode/2up | title=Studio Mix | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1989 | access-date=15 May 2021 | last1=Miller | first1=Rob | pages=116–117 }}</ref> Both of these programs, like ProArtisan, ran in full-screen mode outside the desktop, used the 256-colour mode 15, and offered their own interfaces. Atelier, however, was able to multi-task, providing the ability to switch back to the desktop and find applications still running and accessible. Unlike other contemporary art programs, it also took advantage of the system's own anti-aliased fonts. One unusual feature was the ability to wrap areas of the canvas around solid objects.<ref name="acornuser198909_atelier" /> Both programs also offered similar path editing facilities to ProArtisan, with it being noted that Art Nouveau's limitations in this regard might be remedied by using the support already present in RISC OS and provided by the Draw application functionality, as ProArtisan 2 eventually demonstrated.<ref name="acornuser198908_artnouveau" />

In 1989, RISC OS was provided with the Paint application on one of the accompanying application discs. It featured a multi-document, desktop-based interface with a range of elementary painting and drawing tools, also allowing images to be created in arbitrary sizes for any of the display modes, even permitting editing of images in display modes with different numbers of colours, albeit with limitations in the representation of image colours when the desktop mode had fewer colours available. Along with its companion applications, Paint supported the system's anti-aliased fonts and printer driver framework, and by embracing the system's user interface conventions, images could be exported directly to applications such as Draw by dragging an image's file icon from the save dialogue directly to the target application.<ref name="acornuser199104_paint">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser105-Apr91/page/n68/mode/1up | title=House Proud | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1991 | access-date=17 May 2021 | last1=James | first1=Paul | pages=67–69 }}</ref>

Despite a trend of gradual adoption of desktop functionality, in 1990, Arcol from ExpLAN offered a single-tasking, full-screen, 256-colour editing experience using the lower resolution {{nowrap|320 x 256}} mode 13, supporting only bitmap fonts. Aimed at educational users, its strengths apparently included real-time transformation of canvas areas, rapid zooming, and the absence of limitations on tools when zooming: arguably demonstrating more a limitation of contemporary packages with their own peculiar interfaces.<ref name="acornuser199006_arcol">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser095-Jun90/page/n121/mode/2up | title=Top Drawer | magazine=Acorn User | date=June 1990 | access-date=15 May 2021 | last1=Miller | first1=Rob | pages=120–121 }}</ref> ExpLAN subsequently released Arcol Desktop, although the "desktop" label only indicated that the program would multi-task with desktop applications and offer some desktop functionality, particularly for the loading and saving of images: the program still employed a special full-screen user interface, albeit allowing other 256-colour modes to be used, with the {{nowrap|320 x 256}} mode of the original being the default. With expectations having evolved with regard to user interfaces and desktop compatibility, this updated product was judged less favourably, with the partitioning of functionality between the desktop and painting interface being "awkward" and the behavioural differences "confusing", leaving the product looking "rather dated" when compared to its modern contemporaries.<ref name="acornuser199206_arcoldesktop">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser119-Jun92/page/n108/mode/1up | title=Modern Art | magazine=Acorn User | date=June 1992 | access-date=15 May 2021 | last1=Miller | first1=Rob | pages=107–109 }}</ref>

In early 1991, in the context of remarks that, at that point in time, the Paint application bundled with RISC OS was "the only true Risc OS art program" operating in the desktop and not restricting users to specific display modes, Longman Logotron released Revelation, an application running in the desktop environment, providing interoperability with other applications through support for the platform's standard Sprite and Drawfile formats, with vector graphics import being provided by a companion tool, and utilising the system's printing framework. Apart from observations of limited functionality in some areas, one significant limitation reminiscent of earlier products was the inability to change display mode without affecting the picture being edited.<ref name="acornuser199104_revelation">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser105-Apr91/page/n104/mode/1up | title=Artistic Revelation | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1991 | access-date=16 May 2021 | last1=Miller | first1=Rob | pages=103–105 }}</ref> This limitation was not convincingly removed in the second version, sold as Revelation 2 around a year later, with colours being redefined when selecting a 16-colour display mode while editing a 256-colour image, preserving the inability to edit 256-colour images in 16-colour modes.<ref name="acornuser199202_revelation2">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser115-Feb92/page/n136/mode/1up | title=The Second Coming | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1992 | access-date=16 May 2021 | last1=James | first1=Paul | pages=135 }}</ref> A further version update was delivered as the Revelation ImagePro product, being considered "the best art package that I have used on the Archimedes" by Acorn User's graphics columnist in late 1992.<ref name="acornuser199211_imagepro">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser124-Nov92/page/n18/mode/1up | title=Revelation ImagePro | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1992 | access-date=16 May 2021 | pages=15 }}</ref>

In response to the evolving competitive situation and market expectations, Clares released ProArtisan 2, a successor to its earlier product, in late 1993 as "a completely new program" with some familiar features from the company's earlier products but offering display mode independence, [[Color depth#True color (24-bit)|24-bit colour]] support (including support for ColourCard and G8/G16 graphics cards), multi-document editing, and desktop compliance. The path editing tools familiar from its predecessor were supported using functionality from Acorn's Draw application, and the image enhancement capabilities had also "undergone a major revamp". At a reduced price of £135, and with use of the RISC OS desktop contributing to overall ease of use, the package was considered by one reviewer as "the best art package around at the moment for the Archimedes".<ref name="acornuser199311_proartisan2">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser136-Nov93/page/n103/mode/2up | title=State of the art | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1993 | access-date=15 May 2021 | pages=100–102 }}</ref>

Late in the Archimedes era, this being prior to the release of the [[Risc PC]], a consensus amongst some reviewers formed in recommending Revelation ImagePro and ProArtisan 2 as the most capable bitmap-based art packages on the platform,<ref name="acornuser199306_picture">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser131-Jun93/page/n24/mode/1up | title=Get in the Picture | magazine=Acorn User | date=June 1993 | access-date=12 July 2021 | last1=Miller | first1=Rob | pages=23–26 }}</ref> with Arcol Desktop and First Paint also being reviewer favourites.<ref name="acornuser199404_packages">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser140-Mar94/page/n31/mode/2up | title=Pretty packages | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1994 | access-date=12 July 2021 | last1=Kreindler | first1=Jack | last2=Worrall | first2=Pete | last3=Wheatley | first3=Paul | pages=32–35 }}</ref> With the release of the [[Risc PC]] and [[Acorn A7000|A7000]], offering improved hardware capabilities and built-in support for 24-bit colour, the art package market changed significantly. New packages supplanted older ones as recommendations, some from new entrants within the broader Acorn market (Spacetech's Photodesk, Pineapple Software's Studio24), others coming from established vendors (Clares' ProArt24 and Longman Logotron's The Big Picture), and still others from beyond the Acorn market (Digital Arts' Picture). However, the platform and hardware requirements of such packages were generally beyond Archimedes era machines, demanding 8&nbsp;MB of RAM or 24-bit colour display modes (using 2&nbsp;MB of dedicated video RAM) in some cases.<ref name="acornuser199603_roundup">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser166-Mar96/page/n34/mode/1up | title=Bitmap package Roundup | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1996 | access-date=12 July 2021 | last1=Kreindler | first1=Jack | pages=35–38 }}</ref> A notable exception was Studio24 which, having been significantly updated in its second version, was reportedly "completely compatible" with the earlier machines.<ref name="acornuser199510_studio24">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser160-Oct95/page/n16/mode/1up | title=Next generation bitmap package arrives | magazine=Acorn User | date=October 1995 | access-date=20 August 2021 | last1=Kreindler | first1=Jack | pages=17 }}</ref>

=== Vector image editing ===

RISC OS was supplied with the Draw application,<ref name="acornuser198902_tools" /> offering a range of tools for creating diagrams and pictures using vector graphics primitives, also permitting the incorporation of bitmap images and text into documents, and managing the different elements of documents as a hierarchy of objects. A significant capability provided by the application (and exploited by art packages<ref name="acornuser199311_proartisan2" />) was that of Bézier curve editing, allowing shapes with smooth curves to be created, rendered and printed.<ref name="acornuser199103_draw">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser104-Mar91/page/n69/mode/2up | title=Drawing the Line | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1991 | access-date=29 May 2021 | pages=68–71 }}</ref>

The file format used by Draw was documented and extensible, and a range of tools emerged to manipulate Draw files for such purposes as distorting or transforming images or objects within images. Amongst them was the Draw+ (or DrawPlus<ref name="marten_acorn_oss">{{ cite web | url=http://www.keelhaul.me.uk/acorn/oss/ | title=Open Source RiscOS Software | website=Jonathan Marten's Home Page | date=13 December 2008 | access-date=29 May 2021 }}</ref>) application which defined other object types and also added other editing features, such as support for multiple levels or layers in documents.<ref name="acornuser199212_draw">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser125-Dec92/page/n121/mode/2up | title=Round the Bend | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1992 | access-date=29 May 2021 | last1=Attenborough | first1=Michael | pages=120–121 }}</ref> DrawPlus became available in 1991 and was released "at nominal cost" via public domain and shareware channels.<ref name="amos1992_advanced">{{ cite book | url=http://www.riscos.com/support/users/grapharm/chap05.htm | chapter=Advanced Vector Graphics Packages | title=Graphics on the ARM | last1=Amos | first1=Roger | date=November 1992 | access-date=29 May 2021 }}</ref> The author of DrawPlus, Jonathan Marten, subsequently developed an application called Vector,<ref name="amos1992_advanced" /> released by an educational software publisher, 4Mation, in early 1992.<ref name="acornuser199202_vector">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser115-Feb92/page/n18/mode/1up | title=Vector Release | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1992 | access-date=29 May 2021 | last1=Miller | first1=Rob | pages=17 }}</ref><ref group=note>A more recent development by the same author is the [http://www.keelhaul.me.uk/acorn/drawview/ DrawView] application based on the portable [[Qt (software)|Qt]] graphical user interface toolkit.</ref> Described as "effectively an enhanced Draw", the program improved on Draw's text handling by allowing editing of imported text, continued DrawPlus's support for layers and object libraries, provided efficient handling of replicated or repeated objects, and introduced masks that acted as "windows" onto other objects. Priced at £100, even for site-wide usage, the software was considered "ideal... for technical drawing, to graphic design and even limited desktop publishing".<ref name="acornuser199208_vector">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser121-Aug92/page/n105/mode/2up | title=Vectored Thrust | magazine=Acorn User | date=August 1992 | access-date=12 June 2021 | last1=Miller | first1=Rob | pages=104–105, 107 }}</ref> A version of Draw was also developed for Microsoft Windows by Oak Solutions.<ref name="acornuser199301_oak">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser126-Jan93/page/n12/mode/1up | title=New Ground for Oak | magazine=Acorn User | date=January 1993 | access-date=29 September 2021 | pages=11 }}</ref>

A significant introduction to the Archimedes' software portfolio came with the release of ArtWorks by Computer Concepts in late 1992.<ref name="acornuser199212_artworks">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser125-Dec92/page/n16/mode/1up | title=ArtWorks Arrives at Last | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1992 | access-date=30 May 2021 | pages=15 }}</ref> Described in one preview as "perhaps the easiest to use, but most advanced graphic illustration package, on any personal computer today", ArtWorks provided an object-based editing paradigm reminiscent of Draw, refining the user interface, and augmenting the basic functionality with additional tools. A notable improvement over Draw was the introduction of graduated fills, permitting smooth gradients of colour within shapes, employing dithering to simulate a larger colour palette. The image rendering engine was also a distinguishing feature, offering different levels of rendering detail, with the highest level introducing anti-aliasing for individual lines. Aimed at professional use, and complementing its sibling product, the [[Impression (software)|Impression]] desktop publishing application, 24-bit colour depths and different colour models were supported. A key selling point of the package was its rendering speed, with it being reported that redraw speeds were up to five times faster in ArtWorks on an ARM3-based machine than those experienced with [[CorelDRAW]] running on a 486-based IBM PC-compatible system.<ref name="acornuser199204_artworks">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser117-Apr92/page/n96/mode/1up | title=Work of Art | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1992 | access-date=30 May 2021 | last1=Miller | first1=Rob | pages=95–98 }}</ref> ArtWorks would have broader significance as predecessor to the Xara Studio application and subsequent Windows-based products.<ref name="archimedian11">{{ cite magazine | url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/CC/CC_ArchimedeanIss11.pdf | title=Charles Moir explains why we're not abandoning the Acorn marketplace | magazine=The Archimedean | issue=11 | date=1995 | access-date=2 April 2021 | pages=1 }}</ref>

=== Document processing and productivity ===

Although document processing and productivity or office software applications were addressed by a few packages released in the Arthur era of the Archimedes, bringing titles such as First Word Plus,<ref name="acornuser198804_wordprocessors" /> Logistix,<ref name="acornuser198804_investment" /> and PipeDream,<ref name="acornuser198710_pipedream" /> it was not until the availability of RISC OS that the Archimedes would see the more compelling software developed for the platform being delivered, with Acorn even delaying its own Desktop Publisher to take advantage of this substantial upgrade to the operating system.<ref name="acornuser198811" />

Alongside Acorn Desktop Publisher, Computer Concepts' "document processor" [[Impression (software)|Impression]] and Beebug's Ovation<ref name="acornuser199011_ovation" /> provided a small selection of solutions in the realm of desktop publishing. Acorn pursued the publishing industry with software and hardware system bundles, with Impression typically featuring prominently,<ref name="acornuser199203_publishing">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser116-Mar92/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Acorn DTP Package Takes on the Mac | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1992 | access-date=6 August 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref> even in the era of the Archimedes' successor, the Risc PC.<ref name="acornuser199406_publishing">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser143-Jun94/page/n22/mode/1up | title=Acorn Publishing Impact | magazine=Acorn User | date=June 1994 | access-date=6 August 2021 | pages=23 }}</ref> Ovation was eventually succeeded by Ovation Pro in 1996, offering stronger competition to Impression Publisher—itself the professional package in the range that had developed from Impression—and to industry-favoured applications such as [[QuarkXPress]].<ref name="acornuser199609_ovationpro">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser172-Sep96/page/n31/mode/2up | title=DTP excellence | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1996 | access-date=16 April 2021 | last1=Kreindler | first1=Jack | last2=Hill | first2=Martin | last3=Capper | first3=Alan | pages=32–35 }}</ref>

Amongst a variety of word processor applications, one enduring product family for the platform was developed by Icon Technology who had already released a word processor, MacAuthor, for the Apple Macintosh. This existing product was ported to RISC OS and released as EasiWriter in 1991, fully supporting the outline fonts and printing architecture of the host system.<ref name="acornuser199106_easiwriter">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser108-Jul91/page/n105/mode/2up | title=Winning Words | magazine=Acorn User | date=June 1991 | access-date=6 August 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=104–105 }}</ref> Icon followed up to EasiWriter with an enhanced version ("EasiWriter's big brother") in 1992, [[TechWriter]], featuring mathematical formula editing.<ref name="acornuser199207_techwriter">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser120-Jul92/page/n10/mode/1up | title=TechWriter Hits Right Formula | magazine=Acorn User | date=July 1992 | access-date=6 August 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref> Both products were upgraded to provide mail-merge capabilities—a noted deficiency of the first release of EasiWriter—and both provided convenient table editing, with TechWriter also offering automatic footnote handling, being promoted as "a complete package for producing academic and technical documents".<ref name="acornuser199210_techwriter">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser123-Oct92/page/n80/mode/1up | title=The Write Stuff | magazine=Acorn User | date=October 1992 | access-date=6 August 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=77–78 }}</ref> Upgraded "Professional" editions of EasiWriter and TechWriter were released in 1995, with the latter adding the notable feature of being able to save documents in [[TeX]] format.<ref name="acornuser199507_icon">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser157-Jul95/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Icon Technology gets professional | magazine=Acorn User | date=July 1995 | access-date=23 August 2021 | pages=11 }}</ref>

Given the platform's presence in education, various educational word processing and publishing applications were available. Longman Logotron supplied a "cost-effective introduction to DTP" in the form of FirstPage, retailing at £49 plus VAT with "unlimited" educational site licences costing up to £190. Targeting machines with only 1&nbsp;MB of RAM, various traditional word processing features such as a spelling checker and integrated help were omitted, but as a frame-based document processor it was considered "excellent value for money" when compared to the pricing and capabilities of some of its competitors, even appealing to the home market.<ref name="acornuser199411_firstpage">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser148-Nov94/page/n76/mode/1up | title=Hold the first page | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1994 | access-date=23 August 2021 | last1=Preston | first1=Geoff | pages=77–78 }}</ref> Similarly, Softease's "object-based" document processor, Textease, also had potential appeal beyond the educational market, freeing the user from having to design page layouts using frames, instead permitting them to click and type at the desired position or to drag and drop graphical objects directly into the page, providing a user interface paradigm reminiscent of the Draw application provided with RISC OS. Document layout capabilities were nevertheless available, supporting multiple column layouts, as were the traditional features such as spellchecking and integrated help absent from FirstPage. Pricing was even more competitive at around £30, or £40 with spellchecking support.<ref name="acornuser199509_textease">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser159-Sep95/page/n44/mode/1up | title=Textease | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1995 | access-date=23 August 2021 | last1=Preston | first1=Geoff | pages=45 }}</ref>

Aside from the hybrid word processor and spreadsheet application, PipeDream, being released in versions 3<ref name="acornuser199004_pipedream" /> and 4<ref name="acornuser199203_pipedream" /> for the RISC OS desktop environment, Colton Software released a standalone word processor, Wordz, in 1993, with plans for companion applications and a degree of integration between them.<ref name="acornuser199305_wordz">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser130-May93/page/n52/mode/1up | title=Wordz Made Easy | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1993 | access-date=7 August 2021 | last1=Burley | first1=Ian | pages=49 }}</ref> The first of these companion applications was Resultz,<ref name="acornuser199307_resultz">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser132-Jul93/page/n50/mode/1up | title=Getting Resultz | magazine=Acorn User | date=July 1993 | access-date=7 August 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=49 }}</ref> and the two applications were combined to make Fireworkz, itself incorporating the editing capabilities of both applications within a single interface, offering the ability to combine textual and spreadsheet data on the same page within documents.<ref name="acornuser199403_fireworkz" /> Colton subsequently expanded the family in 1995 with the Recordz database product, combining it with the existing Fireworkz functionality to make the Fireworkz Pro product,<ref name="acornuser199503_fireworkz_pro">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser153-Mar95/page/n24/mode/1up | title=Fireworkz Professional Now Available | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1995 | access-date=8 August 2021 | last1=Singleton | first1=Alex | pages=25 }}</ref> this bringing it into direct competition with Acorn's Advance and Minerva's Desktop Office suites, but ostensibly offering a much deeper level of integration than those competitors.<ref name="acornuser199504_recordz">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser154-Apr95/page/n55/mode/2up | title=Making records | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1995 | access-date=8 August 2021 | last1=Vogler | first1=Clem | pages=56–57 }}</ref> PipeDream itself was later updated to version 4.5, conforming more closely to the RISC OS look and feel, being initially offered as an upgrade for users of version 4.0.<ref name="acornuser199702_spreadsheets" />

Acorn's own interest in developing applications led it to initiate work on the Schema spreadsheet application, only to disengage from application development and to transfer the product to Clares who, with assistance from the originally commissioned developers, brought the product to market.<ref name="acornuser199104_schema">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser105-Apr91/page/n114/mode/2up | title=Full Scheme Ahead | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1991 | access-date=8 August 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=112–113 }}</ref> Despite its origins as one component in an application suite that was never delivered as envisaged, a cut-down version of Schema 2 was later incorporated into Acorn's Advance application suite alongside variants of Computer Concepts' Impression Junior and Iota Software's DataPower.<ref name="acornuser199303_advance">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser128-Mar93/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Acorn is Back to the Software | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1993 | access-date=8 August 2021 | pages=7 }}</ref> Schema 2 itself was enhanced with a "powerful macro language" and released in 1994.<ref name="acornuser199409_schema2">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser146-Sep94/page/n51/mode/2up | title=The Scheme of things | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1994 | access-date=8 August 2021 | last1=Matthewman | first1=David | pages=52–53 }}</ref>

In the spreadsheet category, Longman Logotron's Eureka, released in 1992, provided robust competition to Schema and PipeDream, seeking to emulate Microsoft Excel in terms of functionality and user interface conventions.<ref name="acornuser199209_eureka">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser122-Sep92/page/n21/mode/2up | title=Enter Eureka | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1992 | access-date=8 August 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=20–21, 23 }}</ref> The interoperability benefits of the updated product, Eureka 2, were later given as a reason for Acorn to adopt the software internally, acquiring a 300-user site licence and thus allowing its employees to convert "substantial spreadsheet data which needed converting from Lotus 1-2-3".<ref name="acornuser199312_eureka2">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser137-Dec93/page/n11/mode/1up | title=Acorn says Eureka | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1993 | access-date=8 August 2021 | pages=10 }}</ref> Updated again as Eureka 3, with new features remedying "what was badly missing in the earlier version", but with the manual regarded as inadequate and with online help still absent from the application, the application was nevertheless regarded as the most powerful of the platform's principal spreadsheet offerings, attempting to be "the ''Excel'' of the Acorn world".<ref name="acornuser199702_spreadsheets">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser178-Feb97/page/n31/mode/1up | title=Spreadsheets shootout | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1997 | access-date=10 October 2021 | last1=Tomkinson | first1=Mike | pages=32–34 }}</ref>

A number of [[Database#Database management system|database applications]] were made available for the Archimedes, with Minerva Software following up from its early applications on the system, DeltaBase and System Delta Plus,<ref name="acornuser198708_risc_micro"/> with the RISC OS desktop-compliant Multistore in early 1990: a relational database with a graphical "record card" interface and report generation functionality.<ref name="acornuser199003_multistore">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser092-Mar90/page/n121/mode/2up | title=Let's Get Relational | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1990 | access-date=8 August 2021 | last1=Phillips | first1=Martin | pages=120–121 }}</ref> A broadly similar approach, albeit without any claimed "relational" capabilities, was offered by Digital Services' Squirrel database manager software, emphasising customisation of the presentation of data and reporting, but also introducing a flowchart-based method of querying, this feature causing one reviewer to regard the product as "the most innovative database manager on the Archimedes" with its usability being comparable to [[FileMaker]] on the Apple Macintosh.<ref name="acornuser199105_squirrel">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser106-May91/page/n127/mode/2up | title=Top of the Tree | magazine=Acorn User | date=May 1991 | access-date=8 August 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=126–127 }}</ref>

Aimed at the education market, with a focus more on "computerised data handling" than data management, Longman Logotron's PinPoint framed the structuring and retention of data around a questionnaire format, with a form editor offering "DTP-style facilities", and with data entry performed interactively via the on-screen questionnaire. Some analysis and graphing capabilities were also provided.<ref name="acornuser199112_pinpoint">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser113-Dec91/page/n150/mode/1up | title=To the Point | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1991 | access-date=8 August 2021 | last1=Futcher | first1=Dave | pages=149–150 }}</ref> A version of PinPoint would eventually be made available for Windows, ostensibly aimed at market research as opposed to education, as its producer attempted to broaden its audience and availability for different platforms.<ref name="pcw199404_pinpoint">{{ cite magazine | title=PinPoint for Windows | magazine=Personal Computer World | date=April 1994 | last1=Begg | first1=Paul | pages=288, 290 }}</ref>{{rp|page=288|quote=This unusual new database from Longman Logotron is perfect for market research data but still flexible enough to prove useful in many other areas.}} Also emphasising a desktop publishing style of presentation was Iota Software's DataPower, employing these facilities to customise record entry to "make data collection as much like form-filling as possible" and in the reporting functionality of the software.<ref name="acornuser199302_datapower">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser127-Feb93/page/n116/mode/1up | title=Fast and Friendly | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1993 | access-date=8 August 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=115–117 }}</ref>

In 1993, Longman Logotron introduced S-Base, a programmable database offering the possibility of customised database application development. Described as "a more disciplined, less graphical approach to database design", the software enforced a degree of discipline around data type and table definition, but it also retained various graphical techniques to design forms for interaction with the database. Building on such foundations, programs could be written in a language called S to handle user interaction, graphical user interface events, and to interact with data in the database. Being compared to the contemporary DOS-based [[Paradox (database)|Paradox]] software, it was regarded as having more of an emphasis on "database applications" than actual databases, also being considered as similar to the contemporary RISC OS application, Archway, as a kind of "application generator" tool.<ref name="acornuser199303_sbase">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser128-Mar93/page/n28/mode/1up | title=Journey into S-Base | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1993 | access-date=8 August 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=27–29 }}</ref>

DataPower, S-Base and Squirrel were all subsequently upgraded, S-Base 2 being enhanced with features to simplify the setting up of applications and consequently being regarded as "without doubt the most powerful database management system available for the Archimedes" due to its programmable nature, Squirrel 2 gaining relational capabilities and being recommended for its "amazing flexibility" and for its searching and sorting functionality, with DataPower being recommended more for "the majority of users" for its usability and "attractive graphs and reports".<ref name="acornuser199404_databases">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser141-Apr94/page/n45/mode/2up | title=Heavyweight Databases | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1994 | access-date=8 August 2021 | last1=Harrison | first1=James | pages=46–48 }}</ref>

Despite spreadsheet and database applications offering graphing capabilities, dedicated applications were also available to produce a wider range of graphs and charts. Amongst these were Chartwell from Risc Developments and the Graphbox and Graphbox Professional packages from Minerva Software.<ref name="acornuser199203_charted">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser138-Jan94/page/n89/mode/2up | title=Charted Course | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1992 | access-date=9 August 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=78–79 }}</ref> Arriving somewhat later than these packages, being released by Clares in January 1994, Plot also sought to cater for mathematical and educational users by offering support for function plotting, this having been largely ignored by the existing packages which tended "to be based on producing bar and pie charts from tables of figures".<ref name="acornuser199401_plot">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser138-Jan94/page/n89/mode/2up | title=The Plot Thickens | magazine=Acorn User | date=January 1994 | access-date=9 August 2021 | last1=Watts | first1=Robin | pages=90–91 }}</ref>

=== Full-motion video ===

With the introduction of CD-ROM and the broader adoption of multimedia, Acorn announced a [[full-motion video]] system called Acorn Replay in early 1992, supporting simultaneous audio and video at up to 25 frames per second in the RISC OS desktop or in "a low resolution full screen mode". Unlike certain other full-motion video technologies, Replay offered the ability to read compressed video data from mass storage in real time and to maintain a constant frame rate, all on standard computing hardware without the need for dedicated video decoding hardware. The [[data compression|compression]] techniques employed by Replay reportedly offered "compression factors of between 25 and 40" on the source video data, with the software decompression requiring a computer with 2&nbsp;MB of RAM or more.<ref name="acornuser199203_replay">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser116-Mar92/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Full Motion Video System for the Arc | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1992 | access-date=29 October 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref>

Given a slower access medium such as CD-ROM or floppy disk, video could be played back at up to 12.5 frames per second, with up to 25 frames per second from a hard disk. One 800&nbsp;KB floppy disk could reportedly hold 12 seconds of video. In the introductory phase of the technology, support for Replay files was quickly introduced into hypermedia applications such as Genesis and Magpie, with software developers being the primary audience for the creation of content, largely due to the expense of the equipment required to capture and store large volumes of video data. Software developers would engage the services of a suitably equipped company to convert source material to digital form, with the Replay software then used to process the video frame by frame, employing image compression techniques and "a form of [[Delta encoding|Delta compression]]", ultimately producing a movie file.<ref name="acornuser199204_replay">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser117-Apr92/page/n104/mode/1up | title=Action Replay | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1992 | access-date=29 October 2021 | last1=James | first1=Paul | pages=103 }}</ref>

Acorn's introduction of Replay prompted comparisons with Apple's [[QuickTime]] system which was already broadly available to users of Macintosh systems. Replay's advantages included the efficiency of the solution on existing hardware, with even an entry-level A3000 upgraded to 2&nbsp;MB of RAM being able to handle 2&nbsp;MB of data per second to achieve the advertised 12.5 frames per second playback. In contrast, a Macintosh system with 2&nbsp;MB of RAM was reportedly unable to sustain smooth video playback, although audio playback was unaffected by the dropped video frames, whereas a 4&nbsp;MB system could achieve 15 frames per second from a CD-ROM drive, although such a system was more expensive than Acorn's ARM3-based systems that could more readily achieve higher frame rates. QuickTime was also reported as only able to play video smoothly at 1/16th of the size of the screen, also favouring 32,000 colour display modes that were available on Macintosh systems with 68020 or faster processors. One disadvantage of Replay on the Acorn systems was the limitation of playback to 256 colours imposed by the built-in video system.<ref name="acornuser199207_replay">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser120-Jul92/page/n108/mode/1up | title=Action Replay | magazine=Acorn User | date=July 1992 | access-date=29 October 2021 | last1=Drage | first1=Chris | pages=107–109 }}</ref>

Educational software and resources providers saw the potential of Replay to deliver interactive video at a more affordable price than existing [[Laservision]] content, although it was noted that, at that time, Laservision still provided "the best quality, full-screen, moving image to date". Opportunities were perceived for making compilations of video clips available on CD-ROM for multimedia authoring purposes, although educational developers felt that the true value of the technology would be realised by making video like other forms of information, permitting its use in different contexts and works and thus offering children "control over the media". Educators also looked forward to more accessible authoring possibilities, with children being able to record, edit and incorporate their own video into their projects. However, the expense associated with handling video data, with the storage of one minute of video estimated at 60&nbsp;MB, combined with the expense of commercial video digitisation, estimated at £100 per minute of video, meant that such possibilities would remain inaccessible for most users at that time. Indications that this situation would change were present in the QuickTime market, with it already supporting the creation of short movies in conjunction with video digitiser cards and editing tools such as [[Adobe Premiere]].<ref name="acornuser199207_replay" />

Support for video authoring on the desktop emerged in 1993 with the Replay DIY product from Irlam Instruments: a single-width podule suitable for A540 and A5000 computers with 2&nbsp;MB of RAM or more, these being the only models available at the time with the necessary performance. The podule accepted analogue video input from video cameras, recorders and laserdisc players, allowing the video to be previewed in a window on the desktop. While recording, no preview would be shown, and the hardware would digitise the audio and video input, transfer the data to the computer's memory, and this would then be sent straight to a hard disk. At its introduction, the video quality was limited to "normal Arm2 Replay, that is 256-colour, 160x128 pixels at 12.5 frames per second", although an upgrade to capture 25 frames per second was anticipated. Uncompressed video occupied around 21&nbsp;MB per minute, but processing of such video using the provided Acorn Replay compression software would bring the size of the resulting video down to around 4 or 5&nbsp;MB per minute. Compression was, however, relatively slow, since the compression scheme was asymmetric, meaning that decompression was fast enough to facilitate playback in real time, but compression could take "a few minutes for every few seconds of video". Nevertheless, the possibilities of video capture were predicted to "generate and maintain immense interest in the classroom, or even at home", and the digitiser's low cost (at £250 plus VAT) together with low-cost editing software such as Uniqueway's Empire (at £50 plus VAT) was regarded as surprising, possibly in light of the high cost of services previously needed to achieve similar results.<ref name="acornuser199304_replay">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser129-Apr93/page/n23/mode/1up | title=Four of a Kind | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1993 | access-date=29 October 2021 | last1=Bell | first1=Graham | pages=22–23 }}</ref>

Further developments in the video authoring domain were brought to the platform by [[Square Enix Europe#Eidos Interactive|Eidos]], who had developed an "offline non-linear editing system" around the Archimedes in 1989, involving the digitisation of source video and its storage on hard disks or magneto-optical media for use with editing software. Such software would be used to produce an "edit schedule list" based on editing operations performed on the digitised, "offline" video, and these editing details would subsequently be applied in an "online" editing session involving the source video, this typically residing on "linear" media such as tape. To support the more convenient offline editing environment, a highly efficient symmetric compression scheme known as ESCaPE (Eidos Software Compression and Playback Engine) had been devised, offering movie sizes of around 1.5&nbsp;MB per minute. To remedy the time-consuming process of using Acorn's Replay compression software with the Replay DIY product, this being a consequence of the "Moving Lines" compression scheme emphasised by Replay at that time, Eidos introduced its own compression software for Replay DIY based on ESCaPE and given the same name. Together with the Eidoscope software, based on Eidos' professional Optima software, it was claimed that "no other computer platform has anything to match in terms of convenience and sheer usability" and that these developments would "encourage a lot more Archimedes users to have a go at making movies".<ref name="acornusr199308_eidos">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser133-Aug93/page/n30/mode/1up | title=The cutting edge | magazine=Acorn User | date=August 1993 | access-date=29 October 2021 | last1=Burley | first1=Ian | pages=29–31 }}</ref> In 1995, Computer Concepts offered a bundle featuring Eidoscope and the company's Eagle M2 "multimedia card" which featured audio and video capture, improved audio playback, and MIDI ports. Aimed at non-professional applications, Eidoscope was limited to editing movies up to a resolution of {{nowrap|160 x 128}} and did not support [[Timecode|time codes]].<ref name="archimedean1995_i11">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/Archimedean_Issue_11_1995_Computer_Concepts_GB/page/n11/mode/2up | title=Pearls on film? | magazine=The Archimedean | publisher=Computer Concepts | date=1995 | issue=11 | pages=11–12 }}</ref>

=== Development tools ===
With the introduction of the Archimedes, Acorn continued the practice established for its earlier machines of offering languages in addition to BASIC, albeit priced somewhat higher than the earlier implementations, these including [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]],<ref name="acornuser198910_pascal">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser087-Oct89/page/n83/mode/2up | title=Lab Report | magazine=Acorn User | date=October 1989 | access-date=3 July 2022 | last1=Sykes | first1=Neil | pages=82–83 }}</ref> [[C (programming language)|C]],<ref name="acornuser198911_c">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser088-Nov89/page/n83/mode/2up | title=Seeing Double | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1989 | access-date=3 July 2022 | last1=Sykes | first1=Neil | pages=82–83 }}</ref> [[Prolog]],<ref name="acornuser199002_prolog">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser091-Feb90/page/n79/mode/2up | title=Using Your Intelligence | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1990 | access-date=3 July 2022 | last1=Sykes | first1=Neil | pages=78–79 }}</ref> [[Fortran]] and [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]].<ref name="Acorn Retail Price List"/> Other vendors produced implementations of Forth, such as Silicon Vision's RiscForth,<ref name="acornuser198912_forth">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser089-Dec89/page/n83/mode/2up | title=Henceforth | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1989 | access-date=3 July 2022 | last1=Sykes | first1=Neil | pages=82–83 }}</ref> and Logo, such as Logotron Logo.<ref name="acornuser199001_logo">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser090-Jan90/page/n87/mode/2up | title=Racing Ahead with Logo | magazine=Acorn User | date=January 1990 | access-date=3 July 2022 | last1=Sykes | first1=Neil | pages=86–87 }}</ref> Other Acornsoft languages such as [[BCPL]]<ref name="acornuser198911_c"/> and [[COMAL]] were not ported to the new platform and had to be run under emulation.<ref name="acornuser198909_comal">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser086-Sep89/page/n67/mode/2up | title=Speak Easy | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1989 | access-date=3 July 2022 | last1=Sykes | first1=Neil | pages=66–67 }}</ref> A Smalltalk-80 implementation was also made available by Smalltalk Express costing £620, offering the familiar window-based environment, but requiring a 4&nbsp;MB machine and a hard drive.<ref name="acornuser198904_smalltalk">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser081-Apr89/page/n129/mode/2up | title=Gift of the Gab | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1989 | access-date=4 July 2022 | last1=Van Someren | first1=Alex | pages=128–129 }}</ref>

====BASIC====
Acorn had always emphasised its implementation of [[BBC BASIC]] in its earlier machines, and the Archimedes was delivered with an enhanced version, BASIC V, that provided additional control-flow structures such as [[while loop]]s, [[Switch statement|case statements]], and multi-line [[Conditional (computer programming)#If–then(–else)|if statements]]. Graphics primitives and operations were also accessible via special-case keywords such as <code>ELLIPSE</code>, <code>CIRCLE</code>, <code>RECTANGLE</code> and <code>FILL</code>, and the specification of colours was extended to access the broader colour palette supported by the hardware. Various commands were also added for [[Sprite (computer graphics)|sprite]] plotting and manipulation and to enable, confine, disable and read the position and state of the mouse pointer.<ref name="pcw198708"/> [[Assembly language]] support was included, as it had been in the BASIC provided by Acorn's 8-bit models, with the language updated to describe instructions for the ARM processor instead of the 6502 (or other processor families) familiar from the earlier machines.<ref name="acornuser198709_archimedes"/> Access to operating system functionality was provided from BASIC, with some of the demonstration programs provided with the Arthur operating system employing the font and window manager operating system modules,<ref name="pcw198708"/><ref group=note>Pountain mistakenly identified the three-dimensional "Lander" game as being written in BASIC, which was not the case.</ref> including the rudimentary desktop environment.<ref name="acornuser198803_windows">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser068-Mar88/page/n96/mode/1up | title=Arc Windows without Pain | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1988 | access-date=4 July 2022 | last1=Adie | first1=Chris | pages=95,97–99,101 }}</ref>

The arrival of RISC OS brought the possibility of developing desktop, or [[WIMP (computing)|WIMP]], applications in BASIC and other languages. Being available as standard, BASIC was a natural choice for many developers of desktop applications, although "the complexity of the Wimp" and the need to defer to operating system functionality described in the ''RISC OS Programmer's Reference Manual'', this consisting of "a staggering 52 Wimp calls", required some mitigation by tutorials seeking to guide programmers through the mechanisms and techniques involved.<ref name="riscuser198909_wimp">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/Risc_User_Volume_2_Issue_9_1989-09_BEEBUG_GB/page/n22/mode/1up | title=Mastering the WIMP | magazine=RISC User | date=September 1989 | access-date=3 July 2022 | last1=Calcraft | first1=Lee | pages=23–25, 27 }}</ref> To ease the development of such applications, various products offering toolkits or libraries were announced, one of the earliest being Archway,<ref name="acornuser198902_archway">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser079-Feb89/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Windows without pain | magazine=Acorn User | date=February 1989 | access-date=3 July 2022 | pages=9 }}</ref> this providing tools to define different aspects of an application, including window layout design and menu editing, along with BASIC library routines.<ref name="archive198907_archway">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/Archive_1989-07_OCR/page/n33/mode/1up | title=Archway - WIMP Tools | magazine=Archive | date=July 1989 | access-date=3 July 2022 | last1=Forster | first1=Richard | pages=31–32 }}</ref> More ambitious attempts were later made to extend BASIC to access desktop functionality. For instance, HelixBasic added extra keywords to BASIC V whilst also making it possible for traditional BASIC programs, including graphical programs, to run in the window-based environment transparently and concurrently.<ref name="acornuser199204_helix">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser117-Apr92/page/n116/mode/1up | title=Back to Basics | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1992 | access-date=3 July 2022 | last1=Acton | first1=Dave | pages=115 }}</ref>

Although the performance of the supplied BASIC interpreter had been regarded as competitive,<ref name="pcw198708"/> various BASIC [[compilers]] were produced for the system, such as Dabs Press' Archimedes Basic Compiler (ABC) and Silicon Vision's RiscBASIC.<ref name="acornuser198911_basic">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser088-Nov89/page/n127/mode/2up | title=BASIC on Speed | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1989 | access-date=3 July 2022 | last1=Acton | first1=Dave | pages=126–127 }}</ref> Both products focused on improving the performance of the input programs, but Silicon Vision subsequently introduced a separate product, WimpGEN, as an accessory for desktop application developers.<ref name="acornuser199406_wimpgen">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser143-Jun94/page/n13/mode/1up | title=WimpGEN Release | magazine=Acorn User | date=June 1994 | access-date=3 July 2022 | pages=14 }}</ref> This product provided window and menu editors that would generate BASIC source code implementing the functionality required to support operation in the desktop environment. Specific application functionality would then be added, and the resulting program could also be compiled using RiscBASIC before being run.<ref name="acornuser199503_wimpgen">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser153-Mar95/page/n68/mode/1up | title=WimpGEN | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1995 | access-date=3 July 2022 | last1=Matthewman | first1=David | pages=69 }}</ref>

BBC BASIC on the Archimedes was considered as a vehicle for cross-platform game development by [[David Braben]] and other developers before the Archimedes was released, Braben being the author of the three-dimensional Lander game supplied with the machine. Since the BBC Micro had been used as a development host for the Commodore 64 version of Elite and reportedly by Commodore to assist Amiga development "in the early days", a similar role was anticipated for the Archimedes in game development, this role also having the potential to expose games developers for established platforms (such as the Amiga, Atari ST, and the [[Sega]] and [[Nintendo]] consoles) to the Acorn machine. The ability to [[Assembly language#Cross assembler|cross-assemble]] code in the BASIC assembler for processors other than the ARM was devised, and support from key individuals at Acorn was secured, but the company's management were reluctant to incorporate support for other systems in its product, thus curtailing the effort.<ref name="acornuser199903_elite">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser205-Mar99/page/n52/mode/1up | title=Being elite | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1999 | access-date=11 August 2022 | last1=Bailey | first1=Alasdair | pages=53 }}</ref>

====C====
Despite the use of BASIC and ARM assembly language by some software houses, notably at Computer Concepts whose developers regarded the ARM processor as having been "designed to be programmed in Assembler" and where Impression and ArtWorks were implemented in ARM assembly language using the BASIC assembler,<ref name="acornuser199409_I_wrote_that">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser146-Sep94/page/n47/mode/1up | title=I wrote that... | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1994 | access-date=8 August 2022 | last1=Regan | first1=Jill | pages=49–50 }}</ref> the use of higher-level languages such as C became increasingly desirable for productivity and portability reasons. That Acorn had been in a position to offer its own C compiler was reportedly the consequence of "a stroke of luck": this product having been originally developed by [[Arthur Norman (computer scientist)|Arthur Norman]] and [[Alan Mycroft]] for a mainframe at Cambridge University and subsequently offered to Acorn.<ref name="acornuser199412_I_wrote_that">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser149-Dec94/page/n85/mode/2up | title=I wrote that... | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1994 | access-date=8 August 2022 | last1=Matthewman | first1=David | pages=86–87 }}</ref>

Acorn's original C compiler and assembler products were superseded by its Desktop C and Desktop Assembler products in mid-1991.<ref name="acornuser199108_desktop">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser109-Aug91/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Program Development Now Easier in RISC OS | magazine=Acorn User | date=August 1991 | access-date=9 August 2022 | pages=9 }}</ref> These products comprised Acorn's Desktop Development Environment, aiming to reduce the time and effort involved in developing applications and modules along with supporting such activities in the desktop environment itself. Both products provided an enhanced version of Edit known as SrcEdit for source code editing that supported "throwback": navigation to locations in source code produced by other tools such as the C compiler. The Desktop Debugging Tool (DDT) was described as "a rather impressive line by line [[debugger]]" supporting breakpoints and watchpoints and allowing conventional application code (as opposed to modules) to be stepped through by "actually stopping the desktop", with control over this activity exercised through desktop-like windows operating separately from the actual desktop. Alongside compiler, assembler and [[Linker (computing)|linker]] tools, a build utility known as Make and supporting [[Makefiles]] was provided along with an improved version of the FormEd tool used for application window design. Desktop C cost £229 plus VAT, and Desktop Assembler cost £149 plus VAT.<ref name="acornuser199109_desktop">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser110-Sep91/page/n108/mode/1up | title=Congenial Coding | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1991 | access-date=9 August 2022 | last1=Euler | first1=Jim | pages=107 }}</ref>

====C++====
Acorn's [[C++]] strategy was the subject of a degree of criticism. Initially, the company announced the availability of [[AT&T]]'s [[CFront]] to its registered developer community, this translating C++ code for further compilation by Acorn's Desktop C product.<ref name="acornuser199312_cfront">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser137-Dec93/page/n10/mode/1up | title=Object oriented C | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1993 | access-date=8 August 2022 | pages=9 }}</ref> Acorn followed up by offering a new product, replacing Desktop C, that integrated CFront 3.0 to support C and C++ compilation, albeit without support for exceptions.<ref name="acornuser199503_compiler">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser153-Mar95/page/n86/mode/1up | title=Acorn C++ compiler launched | magazine=Acorn User | date=March 1995 | access-date=8 August 2022 | last1=Matthewman | first1=David | pages=87 }}</ref> Feedback from developers had been negative, however, citing poor-quality code and slow compilation times, with developers apparently wanting "a true native C++ compiler with good RISC OS environment support".<ref name="acornuser199504_compiler">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser154-Apr95/page/n12/mode/1up | title=Acorn criticised for C++ solution | magazine=Acorn User | date=April 1995 | access-date=8 August 2022 | pages=13 }}</ref> Despite the adoption of C++ [[Library (computing)#Class libraries|class libraries]] on other platforms, Acorn chose to provide user interface component functionality using a collection of modules, known as the Toolbox, accessible at the system call level instead.<ref name="acornuser199508_desktop">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser158-Aug95/page/n44/mode/1up | title=Acorn C/C++ | magazine=Acorn User | date=August 1995 | access-date=8 August 2022 | last1=Mumford | first1=Steve | pages=45–46 }}</ref>
Apart from a port of the [[GNU]] C++ compiler, itself requiring at least 4&nbsp;MB of RAM to run,<ref name="acornuser199508_desktop"/> the only significant competition to Acorn's C and C++ products were the Easy C and Easy C++ products from Beebug, with the former being announced in late 1993 as a Risc Developments product costing £49 plus VAT.<ref name="acornuser199311_easy_c">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser136-Nov93/page/n13/mode/1up | title=Easy Life | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1993 | access-date=8 August 2022 | pages=10 }}</ref> Priced significantly less than Acorn's compiler, Easy C provided a narrower range of tools, lacking the debugger of Acorn's product in particular, and had also not been validated as conforming to the [[ANSI]] language standard, unlike Acorn's compiler. Nevertheless, it did provide the essential compiler, assembler, linker and build tools, aiming to be "an easy to use C development system aimed at the lower end of the market".<ref name="acornuser199401_easy_c">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser138-Jan94/page/n54/mode/1up | title=Take it easy with C | magazine=Acorn User | date=January 1994 | access-date=8 August 2022 | last1=Craig-Wood | first1=Nick | pages=55–56 }}</ref> In late 1994, Beebug followed up by announcing Easy C++ in advance of the availability of Acorn's own C++ product. Easy C++ compiled C++ source code directly to ARM object code and supported both templates and exceptions. It was priced at £99 plus VAT or £49 plus VAT as an upgrade from Easy C.<ref name="acornuser199412_beebug">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser149-Dec94/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Beebug launches C++ compiler | magazine=Acorn User | date=December 1994 | access-date=8 August 2022 | pages=9 }}</ref> The product was seemingly positively received, with the developers having "achieved the target they set themselves" by delivering a native C++ compiler, although the lack of updated documentation and the need for further development to improve the product were also identified.<ref name="acornuser199511_beebug">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser161-Nov95/page/n84/mode/1up | title=Easy C++ | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1995 | access-date=9 August 2022 | last1=Craig-Wood | first1=Nick | pages=85 }}</ref>

Ultimately, the stated lack of a suitable C++ compiler and accompanying class libraries for the platform led prominent development houses to focus on products for other platforms and to abandon plans to release new software for RISC OS. In 1994, [[Mark Colton]] of Colton Software criticised Acorn for not complementing its C compiler with "C toolbox" libraries to assist with application development, and regarded Acorn as being "at a standstill" relative to broader development tool trends such as the introduction of [[Visual Basic]] and the increasing adoption of C++ together with class libraries for application development.<ref name="acornuser199412_I_wrote_that"/> Charles Moir of Computer Concepts justified the development of Xara Studio, a graphics application described as effectively "ArtWorks for the PC",<ref name="acornuser199410_camelot">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser147-Oct94/page/n16/mode/1up | title=CC wizardry on the PC | magazine=Acorn User | date=October 1994 | access-date=9 August 2022 | pages=17 }}</ref> indicating that only the larger market for Windows software could make the necessary investment in such a sophisticated application worthwhile. Since Windows development could leverage C++ and platform-specific class libraries, Computer Concepts had expected Acorn to deliver comparable tools and resources to make the development of such software possible on the Acorn platform "to no avail".<ref name="archimedean1995_moir">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/Archimedean_Issue_11_1995_Computer_Concepts_GB/page/n1/mode/1up | title=Comment | magazine=The Archimedean | date=1995 | issue=11 | last1=Moir | first1=Charles | pages=1 }}</ref> Ben Finn of Sibelius Software indicated that Sibelius 7 had been a "completely new piece of software" written in C++, in contrast to earlier versions written in assembly language, primarily due to the difficulties of implementing requested features in such a low-level language. The portability of C++ software also permitted Sibelius to be made available for the PC and Mac platforms. However, with Acorn unable to provide a suitably updated C++ development suite, the company was unable to deliver its new product on RISC OS.<ref name="acornuser199904_finn">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser206-Apr99/page/n72/mode/1up | title='Sibelius finished' Part II | magazine=Acorn User | last1=Finn | first1=Ben | pages=73 }}</ref>