=============================================================================
8. Glossary
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   A
  ~~~
   Analogue - Voltage controlled as opposed to pulse controlled. Analogue
   sound can more easily be used to accurately represent the original sound
   that it recorded than digital can. The disadvantage is that analogue has
   more imperfections in the sound.

   Arpeggio - A method used by synthesizers that did not have enough voices
   to constantly have chords playing (like the SID which only had three
   voices). Instead, it would rapidly play the notes in sequence by taking
   the instrument and sliding it past the three notes rapidly. This effect is
   still used to reproduce that sound.

   Art Of Noise - (Information needed)
 
   B
  ~~~
   BPM - Beats Per Minute

   Buffer - A buffer is used in many players to store extra music data in
   case something slows down the computer. It can still read from the buffer
   and play the music.

   C
  ~~~
   CD-DA - Compact Disc Digital Audio

   CD-Quality - 44.1 kHz, 16-Bit, Stereo sound.

   Centralize - To center a wave on the 0 mark. 

   Channel - What notes are put on in a tracker. In earlier trackers, one
   channel could only have one note at a time (one note would cut the other
   off). By using NNAs, one note on a channel can ring out past another note
   on the same channel.

   Chiptune - A module that is made to sound like an early computer music
   synthesizer, usually sounding like the Commodore 64 (SID), Nintendo, Game
   Gear, Lynx or Game Boy sound chips. However, this has come to mean any
   module that is small in size, usually anywhere from 5 to 20kbytes.

   Clipping - When a sample is amplified up so that the peaks of the waveform
   go past the maximum level allowed and get flattened out.

   Column - A section of a channel. The first column is the notes column
   which keeps track of the note (A-G) and the octave (0-9). Between the note
   and the octave, there is either a dash (-) or a number sign (#). The
   number sign says that the note is sharp. The second column is the
   sample/instrument column. This column says what sample or instrument
   number is used to play the note. The third column is the volume column.
   This is the volume (in the 0-64 range) that the note is played at. In
   recent trackers, this can also be used for limited effects. The fourth
   column is the effects column. This starts with the letter (or in some
   cases, the number) of the effect (for example, 3 is slide-to-note) and
   ends with a number which is exactly how the effect will operate. 34A
   would mean that the sound would slide into this note with a speed of 4A.
   The number depends on the effect.

   - Composer 669
   DOS Tracker, capable of 8 channels, textmode layout, like Multichannel
   Tracker.
   Loads module: MOD 669
   Saves module: 669 (MOD?)

   Crossfading - This technique is used to fade out one sound while another
   fades in (preferably at the same rate). The result is that one sound fades
   into the next smoothly.

   Cubic Player - MOD player for DOS. 

   Cutoff - The point in which a filter starts to gradually cut frequencies
   out of the sound that are above the point in a low pass filter.

   D
  ~~~
   D/L - Download. When you transfer a file from another computer connected
   to yours.

   DeliTracker - Amiga based player

   Digital - A method in which messages are sent between electronic parts
   using pulses of electricity instead of a constant flow which varies in
   voltage (analogue). Digital sound is usually more pure than analog but
   does not reproduce the actual sound as accurately.

   Digital Tracker - (Information needed)

   Digitrakker - Coded by N-Factor
   Loads module: MOD MDL S3M XM DMF PTM MTM ULT 669 FAR DSM
   Saves module: MDL XM
   Loads sample: WAV VOC IFF SPL RAW
   Saves sample: IFF SMP
   Loads instru: PAT IST XI
   Saves instru: IST

   DMF - X-Trakker module. Can be 32 channels

   DSM - Dynamic Studio module

   Duplicity Check - A method of controlling NNAs. If one note encounters
   another that matches the check criteria, it will take a different action
   than usual such as fading it instead of cutting it.

   Dynamic Studio - (Information needed)

   E
  ~~~
   EaglePlayer - Module player for the Amiga. Supports a huge range of
   formats and variations.

   Envelope - How a sound is controlled. Some envelopes are graphical and have
   various nodes, or joints, that have lines drawn between them to show how
   that aspect of the sound will behave. Some other envelopes are ADSR types.
   This stands for Attack (how quickly the sound approaches), Decay (how
   quickly the sound fades out), Sustain (how long the note is held before it
   falls) and Release (how quickly the sound is released when it stops).

   Equalizer, EQ - Alters the sound so that some frequencies may be boosted
   and others may be muffled, like more complex bass and treble settings.

   F
  ~~~
   FAR - Farandole Composer module. Can be 16 channels with a max of 64
   8-Bit/16-Bit Samples

   Farandole Composer 1.00 - programmed by Daniel Potter of Digital Infinity.
   Supports GUS only. Edits 16 tracks, 64 instruments, an own command set
   (does not claim to be PT-compliant), 8 and 16 Bit sample support, sample
   size up to 1 Meg, imports MOD, 669, GUS PAT and ST3/Digiplayer samples.
   Features separate volume column and track panning. Uses SVGA to display
   all tracks on screen simultaneously in 132x50 mode. Has a built-in sample
   editor.
   Loads module: MOD 669 ULT FAR
   Saves module: FAR
   Loads sample: MOD 669 PAT ST3
   Saves sample:
   Loads instru:
   Saves instru:

   FastTracker - programmed by Mr H of Triton. Supports SB, SB Pro,
   Soundplayer, DAC, Internal Speaker. Edits 4, 6 or 8 tracks, 31
   instruments, 8-Bit samples of 64KB maximum size, ProTracker command set,
   track panning supported by external players, 100 patterns. Relatively
   simple, easy to use tracker, which is good for starters, but it suffers
   from its output formats' deficiencies. Partly mouse driven. Freeware.
   Loads module: MOD
   Saves module: 
   Loads sample: MOD
   Saves sample:
   Loads instru:
   Saves instru:

   Fasttracker II - The first PC tracker to introduce 32 channels and volume/
   panning envelopes. It also has a VERY useful feature of being able to save
   the current pattern or track. It also has it's own built in WAV writer,
   which is useful for producing audio CDs or for mixing samples for 4
   channel MODs. Coded by Vogue and Mr.H. Current version is 2.08
   Loads module: MOD XM ST3 NST STM
   Saves module: MOD XM
   Loads sample: RAW WAV SND SMP PAT IFF
   Saves sample: SMP IFF WAV
   Loads instru: XI
   Saves instru: XI

   Filter - Anything that throws out some and keeps some parts of a sound
   like a sieve.

   Flange - An effect that is created when the same sound is played over
   itself but one of the copies is offset very slightly. After the initial
   offset (which is not required but is nice so the note isn't twice as loud
   at the beginning), an extremely slight pitch bend will produce a "whoosh"
   sound. This effect used to be done with reel to reel tape recorders by
   slowing down one reel and then releasing it to let it catch up.

   FLTx - StarTrekker module.

   Frequency - The number of cycles a wave makes in a second. Also used to
   mean the pitch in samples per second.

   G
  ~~~
   Gain - How much the amplitude is increased by an amplifier. 

   Gated - If a sound is gated, then it alternates between a high and low
   volume very quickly.

   Global - A setting that effects everything. 

   Grave Composer - (Information needed)

   Graoumftracker - Atari Falcon 030 tracker. 32 channels and many editing
   functions. FFFF possible values for each effect. Internal 24-bit mixing,
   16-bit 50KHz stereo output. Interpolation can be set on individual tracks.
   Sample writer, flanger, automatic chords, delays.
   Loads module: GT2 GTK MOD MMD0 669 MTM ULT XM(buggy) DTM
              (Recognises modules packed with Atomik 3.5 or Pack Ice 2.1/2.4)
   Saves module: GT2 GTK MOD S3M
   Loads sample: 
   Saves sample:
   Loads instru: 
   Saves instru: 

   GT2 - New Graoumftracker module.

   GTK - Old Graoumftracker module.

   GUS - Gravis Ultrasound. A hardware mixing sound card favoured by many in
   the demo scene. Unfortunately, very difficult to get hold of anymore.

   H
  ~~~
   Hard Pan - When a sound is Hard Panned Left, it will only come out of the
   left speaker in a stereo system and vice versa for Hard Pan Right. Hard
   Panning can be very painful on headphones.

   Hardware mixing - When a MOD is mixed by a sound card. Allows even slow
   computers to play back high quality sound, due to the minimal CPU load.
   The sound chip in the Amiga does this.
   
   Head Tracker - (Information needed)

   Hex - A system of numbers that many trackers use so that higher numbers
   may be fit into less digits. This system counts from 0 to 9 like the
   normal system, but then counts from A to F before looping over to 10.

   High Pass - A filter used to cut out low frequencies and allow high
   frequencies to 'pass' through.

   I
  ~~~
   Inertia Player - MOD Player for DOS. (Information needed)

   Instrument - An instrument is the data used to affect the playback of a
   sample without the need for an effect. In the original trackers, the
   instrument information was the sample volume, finetune, and loop, and it
   was held within a module. The sample could only be saved as a sample and
   it would lose volume and finetune information (I think samples with loop
   information would retain this when saved, am I right?).
   Now, with the more advanced trackers, an instrument consists of one or
   more samples with things like volume envelopes, panning and vibrato all
   included. These instruments can be saved and they retain all of their
   original information. 

   Interpolation - A technique used to make sound smoother and take out the
   high pitched ringing sound that occurs when a sample is played below the
   sampling rate by drawing straight lines through the points instead of
   "stepping" through the sample. Some interpolation draws curves instead,
   giving clearer sound.

   IMHO - All Internet users should know this one, which originates from the
   dawn of modems. IMHO stands for In My Honest/Humble Opinion.

   Impulse Tracker - Currently the most powerful PC tracker available. Coded
   by Jeremy Lim a.k.a Pulse. Current verson is 2.14p3. Impulse Tracker is no
   longer being updated, due to the piracy that Pulse recieved when he
   brought out the stereo WAV writer for $30. Trackers didn't like having to
   pay for something :), so he decided to stop updating IT. Rumours are
   currently circulating that the source code to IT has been sold to Future
   Crew, which may or may not be true...
   Loads module: MOD MTM XM IT S3M 669
   Saves module: S3M IT
   Loads sample: MOD PTM 669 FAR MTM S3M XM IT ITS 
   Saves sample: ITS
   Loads instru: XI ITI
   Saves instru: ITI

   IT - Impulse Tracker module

   ITI - Impulse Tracker instrument. (Actually these can have any extension
   or none at all, but the manual refers to them this way, I think it might
   be something to do with the header.... hang on a moment... nope! The
   header uses IMPI)

   ITS - Impulse Tracker Sample. See ITI, except the header uses IMPS :-)

   IFF - Interchange File Format. A very flexible format generally used on
   the Amiga. Sound is stored as a subset of IFF called 8SVX.

   J
  ~~~
   K
  ~~~
   L
  ~~~
   LFO, Low Frequency Oscillator - An oscillator that puts out a frequency so
   low that it is inaudible. This is usually used like an envelope. A neat
   experiment if you have your computer hooked up to speakers is to take a
   sine bass, keep playing it lower and lower until you can't hear it, then
   turn up the volume and the bass (with a boost perhaps) on your stereo,
   take the cover off your speaker and watch it move. Be careful not to blow
   out your speaker!

   Linear Slides - A method of calculating pitch slides used in recent module
   formats that is more constant from one sample/speed/pitch to the next.

   Loopback Point - A point in the pattern that the player will go back to
   when a loopback command for that point is executed.

   Lossless Compression - A compression technique that makes the filesize
   smaller without sacrificing sound quality.

   Lossy Compression - A compression technique that sacrifices sound quality
   to make the file smaller.

   Low Pass - A filter that cuts out high frequencies and allows low
   frequencies to 'pass' through.

   M
  ~~~
   M.K. - ProTracker/Noisetracker module. M.K. are the initials of the
   programmers - Mahoney and Kaktus.

   Mac-Mik-Mod - (Information needed)
   
   Mac-Mod-Pro - (Information needed)
  
   MED - Music Editor or OctaMED module, can be 64 channel with full panning.

   Meditor EPSILON TR3 - (Information needed)
 
   MegaTracker - (Information needed)

   Midas Player - (Information needed)

   MikMod - (Information needed)

   MMD0 - OctaMED module

   MMD1 - OctaMED module

   MMD2 - OctaMED v5+ Module

   MMD3 - OctaMED Soundstudio Module

   MOD - Possibly the most diverse module format around. Just because a file
   has .MOD on the end doesn't automatically mean that it is a four channel
   15/31 instruments module, oh no. There are many different forms of MOD
   around, Fasttracker MODs for example can have more than 4 channels.
   
   Mod4Win - A MOD player for Windows 3.1 upwards. Very popular due to it's
   compatibility and features.

   ModEdit (current version reported to be v3.01) - programmed by Norman Lin.
   Supports SB, DAC and the internal speaker using Mark J. Cox's playing
   routine (it runs even on 286 PC's). Edits only M.K. format. Mouse-driven
   menu interface. This editor's main quality is its sort-of-musical
   notation. Whereas almost all other trackers display the tracks vertically
   and notes are only discernible by their key character, ModEdit displays
   the current pattern horizontally and the notes on a vertical spread. This
   editor is old but could suit some people to get started on. It has a very
   good documentation, which can unfortunately be a bit misleading at times,
   however.
 
   ModPlug - Module programs by Olivier Lapicque. ModPlugin is a plugin for
   browsers so you can listen to MODs embedded in a web page. ModPlug Player
   is the most feature packed MOD player for Windows 95/NT. ModPlug Tracker
   is a Windows 95/NT tracker.

   Modulation - Changing an aspect of one sound using the data of another one

   MTM - MultiTracker Module

   Multichannel Mode - A mode where when a note is entered in a channel that
   has multichannel mode on, it will enter it and then skip to the next
   channel with the mode on.

   MultiTracker Module Editor 1.01b - programmed by Daniel Goldstein aka
   Starscream of Renaissance. Supports GUS, SB and SB Pro. Edits up to 32
   tracks, 31 instruments, features the PT command set (which is not
   completely compatible), 8 Bit samples (MTM format can store 16 bits).
   Features track panning. Imports raw samples and GUS patches (only
   registered).
   Loads module: MOD MTM FAR 669
   Saves module: MTM
   Loads sample: RAW PAT
   Saves sample: 
   Loads instru: 
   Saves instru: 

   N
  ~~~
   NNA, New Note Actions - These allow more than one note to be played in a
   channel at the same time.

   Noise Tracker - The first Soundtracker clone to be released after the
   original, written by Mahoney and Kaktus.

   Normalize - To amplify the wave as far as it will go without clipping. 

   NST - A MOD file produced by Noise Tracker. Can have 4 channels and 15
   8-Bit instruments.

   O
  ~~~
   OctaMED - 8 channel tracker for the Amiga with very good MIDI support.
   Coded by Teijo Kinnunen
   Loads module: MOD MED MMD0 MMD1 MMD2
   Saves module: MOD MED MMD0 MMD1 MMD2
   Loads sample: IFF RAW
   Saves sample: IFF RAW
   Loads instru: 
   Saves instru: 


   OKT - Oktalyzer Module. Can be up to 8 channels with 255 7(?)/8-Bit
   instruments.
   
   Oktalyzer - (Information needed)

   Oscillator - A device that produces a sound by vibration. 

   Oscilloscope - A device that shows visually what waveforms look like.

   Order - The order that patterns of a module are played in. 

   P
  ~~~
   Panbrello - Pans the sound around like vibrato. 

   Panning - Panning refers to the volume at which a sound is played out of
   two separate speakers. If the sound coming out of one speaker is louder
   than the other then the sound will seem to be closer to that speaker.

   Pan Swing - A setting that makes the sound pan around from note to note. 

   Pattern - Every MOD is split up into a number of patterns. A standard
   ProTracker MOD can only have 64 rows per pattern.

   Paula - The sound chip that started it all off. Allows 4 mono or two
   stereo channels to be played back in 8-Bit at a maximum of 30kHz.

   Physical Channels - The number of channels used in a module without
   accounting for extra channels used for fades by NNAs.

   Pitch-Pan Seperation - This will change the panning position depending on
   the pitch. The Pitch-Pan center is the note where the instrument will be
   played in the middle. To either side, the notes will be panned by an
   amount depending on the pitch-pan seperation value.

   PlayerPro - Mac tracker. Current version is 4.5.9
   Loads module: MOD S3M MIDI
   Saves module: MADF
   Loads sample: 
   Saves sample: 
   Loads instru: 
   Saves instru: 

   Polytracker - (Information needed)

   Portamento - Pitch bending/sliding.

   Primary Tempo - In a MOD, the primary tempo is the one that can be set
   in BPM, usually between 31 and 255.

   ProTracker - Coded by Mahoney and Kaktus (Information needed)

   PTM - Polytracker module

   Pulse Wave - Kind of like a square wave, except not so even in the time
   periods. __|~|___|~|___

   Q
  ~~~
   Quantize, quantization - Refers to the accuracy of the timing of notes
   when they are recorded in real time. In a MIDI sequencer notes can be
   quantized to a very accurate level, in a tracker, the faster the overall
   speed the more accurate real-time input will be.

   R
  ~~~
   Real Tracker - A DOS based tracker which can use two effects columns (not
   just an effect column and a volume column). Graphical Windows like
   interface which can go up to 1280x1024. Current version is 2.23
   Loads module: MOD RTM NST S3M XM
   Saves module: RTM XM MOD
   Loads sample: RTS RAW WAV IFF
   Saves sample: RTS RAW
   Loads instru: RTI XI S3I
   Saves instru: XI RTI
   
   Ripped, ripper, ripping - A ripped sample is one taken from a module,
   game, demo, or application, generally done without the authors permission.
   A ripper is a program that rips samples (and/or other data) out of module,
   game, demo, or application.
   Ripping refers to the process by which data is ripped, either by hand or
   by using a ripper. The ethics of ripping have been discussed over the
   years, and it is generally agreed that if you rip something out of someone
   elses work, you should also allow others to rip things from your work.
   You should also credit the person you ripped the data from by mentioning
   their name in your file.
   Usually ripping is only done on non-commercial files like modules and
   demos, due to the legalities involved if the data you rip is copyrighted.

   Row - A single line of a pattern

   RTI - Real Tracker instrument

   RTM - Real Tracker module

   RTS - Real Tracker sample

   S
  ~~~
   Sample - A digital image of an analogue sound. Samples can be looped and
   played back at different pitches. A sample can also be one amplitude
   measurement in a digital recording.

   Sampling Rate - The interval that amplitude measurements (samples) of a
   source are taken at in a digital recording. A digital recording will not
   accurately measure frequencies above half of the sampling rate. The higher the rate, the more real the sound sounds.
                                       
   Saw Wave - A waveform that zig-zags, rising slowly and then dropping
   quickly. /|/|/|/|

   SB - SoundBlaster. Most PC trackers can use one of these. A standard
   SoundBlaster can only play back 8-Bit mono sound, at a maximum frequency
   of 22050 Hz. There are a range of versions, from 1.0 to 2.0.

   SB Pro - SoundBlaster Pro. The next step up from the original. Allows
   8-Bit sound at a maximum frequency of 44100 Hz in mono, and 22050 Hz
   stereo.

   SB16 - SoundBlaster 16. The next step after the SB Pro. Allows 16-Bit
   mono or stereo sound at a maximum frequency of 44100 Hz.

   SB32 - SoundBlaster 32. The first SoundBlaster card to have onboard
   memory.

   Secondary Tempo - This is pretty complex. The Secondary Tempo controls the
   number of ticks per row. The less ticks, the faster the BPM. But not in
   all trackers. If you use OctaMED and you set the Tempo to SPD not BPM, it
   seems to work the other way around! The more ticks the faster the BPM -
   why is this?

   Scream Tracker 3 - A hybrid tracker that can use both samples and FM
   synthesised sounds (it can only use a SB for FM). Scream Tracker 3 was the
   first tracker to use both FM and digital sounds together. Current version
   is 3.21.
   Loads module: MOD STM S3M OKT
   Saves module: S3M MOD
   Loads sample: 
   Saves sample: 
   Loads instru: S3I
   Saves instru: 

   Sine Wave - A waveform that curves smoothly and evenly in an S-shape. 

   Sinusoidal - Having to do with sine waves. 

   Software mixing - When all the mixing of the MOD is done via software
   before being passed to the sound card for playing.

   Song - (No I'm not mad :v). A song in tracker terms refers to a module
   that doesn't contain any samples. Songs originated back when hard drives
   were small, and they allowed a composer to track and save modules which
   would automatically load the samples when needed. The earliest trackers
   worked only with songs, and you had to collect the various sample disks
   in order to play them back correctly.

   Sound Tracker - The first tracker. Only had 5 effect commands and came
   with two disks of samples! Strange as it may seem, this was a commercial
   program marketed by Electronic Arts. It was coded by Karsten Obarski and
   released in 1987.

   Sound Tracker Pro 2 - The second version of Sound Tracker, released in
   1996. Has a similar interface, but can only save MODs in its new format,
   which is completely incompatible with the old one. 

   SoundStudio - Basically a "professional" version of OctaMED, which allows
   upto 64 channels, panning, an effect command for playing a sample
   backwards, plus a WAV writer. Coded by Teijo Kinnunen. Originally released
   for the Amiga, currently being ported to the PC. One cool feature that
   SoundStudio allows over practically all other trackers is it's ability to
   use stereo samples.

   Square Wave - A waveform that jumps sharply but evenly from one extreme
   value to the next. |_|~|_|~| (you get the picture!).
   
   StarTrekker - Amiga based tracker. Supports 8 channels

   STM - Scream Tracker module

   Stone Tracker - (Information needed)

   S3I - Scream Tracker 3 instrument

   S3M - Scream Tracker 3 module

   Symphonie - (Information needed)

   T
  ~~~
   Tempo - The speed at which a tune is played, measured in BPM.

   Tremolo - Like vibrato, but for volume.

   Triangle Wave - A waveform that zig-zags, like a sine wave but with only
   straight lines. /\/\/\/\

   U
  ~~~
   U/L - Upload. When you transfer a file to another computer connected to
   yours.

   ULT - UltraTracker module

   UltraTracker - programmed by MAS of Prophecy. Supports GUS. Edits up to 32
   tracks, 8 and 16 Bit instruments, variable C2Spd with finetune,
   bidirectional looping, instrument panning, 255 patterns, subset of the PT
   commands, two effect slots per note. Built-in sample editor. Mouse driven.
   Loads module: MOD MTM S3M FAR 669 ULT
   Saves module: ULT
   Loads sample: IFF PAT WAV FSM SND RAW
   Saves sample: 
   Loads instru:
   Saves instru: 

   UNIS Composer - (Information needed)

   UT - United Trackers.
   
   V
  ~~~
   Vangelis Tracker - (Information needed)

   Velvet Studio - DOS based tracker with a lot of features. It can load
   AMS,MOD,S3M,STM,XM,MTM,ULT and save AMS,MOD,S3M,XM modules. It can load
   AIS,XI,PAT and save AIS instruments. It can load ASE,SMP,S3I,IFF,WAV and
   save ASE,SMP,WAV samples. It can load APS,ACS,XT and save APS,ACS pattern
   data. Graphical interface. Current version is 2.01
   Loads module: AMS MOD STM MTM XM S3M ULT
   Saves module: AMS MOD S3M XM
   Loads sample: ASE IFF SMP WAV PAT
   Saves sample: ASE SMP WAV
   Loads instru: S3I AIS XI
   Saves instru: AIS

   Vibrato - The modulation of the pitch of a sample with a certain depth and
   speed controlled by a certain waveform (LFO) that increases from 0 at a
   certain rate.

   Virtual Channels - Channels that are created but not shown on the editor
   to play more than one note simultaneously on the same physical channel.

   Volume Ramping - A technique used by some players to take out clicks by
   sliding the volume of a note down very quickly (at a high rate too so it
   doesn't cause further clicking) instead of just cutting them.

   W
  ~~~
   WOW - Grave Composer module

   WSS - Windows Sound System. A sound card introduced by Microsoft. Allows
   64kHz 16-Bit Stereo audio. A lot of cheaper sound cards will allow SB Pro
   and WSS compatibility. Unfortunately, the only DOS tracker that uses WSS
   is IT. So anyone with one of these cards who uses FT2 because they can't
   get used to IT, is stuck with 22.05 kHz Stereo, 44.1 kHz Mono sound. (Me
   included, I must get an SB16)

   X
  ~~~
   X-Trakker - (Information needed)

   xCHN - Fasttracker 1 Module

   XI - Fasttracker II instrument

   XM - eXtended Module - Fasttracker II module

   XP - eXtended Pattern - Fasttracker II pattern

   XT - eXtended Track - Fasttracker II track

   Y
  ~~~
   Z
  ~~~
   0
  ~~~
   1
  ~~~
   2
  ~~~
   3
  ~~~
   4
  ~~~
   5
  ~~~
   6
  ~~~
   669 - Module format used by Composer 669, Unis Composer (which used it
   first?)

   7
  ~~~
   8
  ~~~
   9
  ~~~
=============================================================================
