Microdata Reality Assembly Language Programming Manual
(The Legendary Rainbow Manual)

Publisher: Microdata Corporation

Published: 5-1976 (© 1975)

Pub#: 771009-A

Price: $20

Notes: This is the original definitive work, written by Dick and Chandru. Often called "The Rainbow Book" because of the color scheme on the front.

Before that, you got "The Green Book," which contained everything--TCL, PROC, BATCH, Editor, ENGLISH, and Assembly Language--in one handy volume. Later carved up into several manuals like the one for that upstart DATA/BASIC language, in STOP format (except for Assembler, where the tech writers apparently threw up their hands and just renumbered the section headings from the previous edition).

By the way, to whom should I report the typo on page 3.3 of the above PROC/BATCH manual? In Figure B, "B/AD" should be "B/ADD".
- Scott Breeden, March, 2006