Part 31
The BASIC
Subjects covered...
Number handling
Variables
Strings
Functions
Brief summary of keywords
Mathematical operations
Numbers are stored to an accuracy of 9 or 10 digits. The largest
number you can get is about 10^38, and the smallest (positive) number
is about 4 x 10^-39.
Unless a number represents an exact power of 2 there is a possibility
that mathematical inaccuracies may become apparent after repeated
addition, subtraction, etc. This is true of all computers that do not
use BCD arithmetic. Use of integers is suggested if absolute
mathematical accuracy is required.
A number is stored in the +3 in floating point binary with one
exponent byte e (1<=e<=255), and four mantissa bytes m (0.5<=m<1).
This represents the number m x 2^(e-128).
Since 0.5<=m<1, the most significant bit of the mantissa m is always
1. Therefore, in actual fact we can replace it with a bit to show the
sign - 0 for positive numbers, 1 for negative.
Small integers have a special representation in which the first byte
is 00h (0), the second is a sign byte (00h or FFh) and the third or
fourth are the integer itself (in twos complement form) with the least
significant byte first.
Numeric variables have names of arbitrary length, starting with a
letter and continuing with letters and digits. Spaces are ignored and
all letters are converted internally to lower-case letters.
Control variables of FOR...NEXT loops have names a single letter long.
Numeric arrays have names a single letter long, which may be the same
as the name of a simple variable. They may have many dimensions of
arbitrary size. Subscript values start at 1.
Strings are completely flexible in length. The name of a string
consists of a single letter followed by '$'.
String arrays can have many dimensions of arbitrary size. The name is
a single letter followed by '$' but may not be the same as the name of
a simple string variable. All the strings in a given array have the
same fixed length, which is specified as an extra final dimension in
the DIM statement. Subscript values start at 1.
Slicing: substrings of strings may be specified using slicers. A
slicer can be one of the following:
(i) empty
...or...
(ii) a numerical expression
...or...
(iii) optional numerical expression TO optional numerical
expression
...and is used in expressing a substring by either...
(a) string expression (slicer)
...or...
(b) string array variable (subscript, ... subscript,
slicer)
...which is the same as...
string array variable (subscript, ... subscript, slicer)
In (a), suppose the string expression has the value 's$', then if the
slicer is empty, the result is 's$' (considered as a substring of
itself).
If the slicer is a numerical expression with value m, then the result
is the nth character of 's$' (a substring of length 1).
If the slicer has the form (iii), then suppose the first numerical
expression has the value m (the default value is 1), and the second, n
(the default value is the length of 's$'). If 1<=m<=n<=the length of
's$', then the result is the substring of 's$' starting with the mth
character and ending with the nth.
If 0<=n0 |
| | numeric left operand: | a AND b --| |
| | | [ 0 if b=0 |
| | | |
| | | [ a$ if b<>0 |
| | string left operand: | a$ AND b --| |
| | | [ "" if b=0 |
| | | |
| | | AND has priority 3. |
| | | |
| ASN | number | Arcsine in radians. Error 'A' if |
| | | x not in the range -1...+1. |
| | | |
| ATN | number | Arctangent in radians. |
| | | |
| ATTR | two arguments, x and | A number whose binary form codes |
| | y, both numbers | the attributes of line x, column |
| | (enclosed in | y on the screen. Bit 7 (most |
| | brackets) | significant) is 1 for flashing, |
| | | 0 for steady. Bit 6 is 1 for |
| | | bright, 0 for normal. Bits 5...3 |
| | | are the paper colour. Bits 2...0 |
| | | are ink colour. Error 'B' unless |
| | | 0<=x<=23 and 0<=y<=31. |
| | | |
| BIN | binary number | This is not really a function, |
| | | but an alternative notation for |
| | | numbers: BIN followed by a |
| | | sequence of 0s and 1s is the |
| | | number with such a |
| | | representation in binary. |
| | | |
| CHR$ | number | The character whose code is x, |
| | | rounded to the nearest integer. |
| | | |
| CODE | string | The code of the first character |
| | | in x (or 0 if x is the empty |
| | | string) |
| | | |
| COS | number (in radians) | Cosine x. |
| | | |
| EXP | number | e^x. |
| | | |
| FN | | FN followed by a letter calls up |
| | | a user-defined function (see |
| | | DEF). The arguments must be |
| | | enclosed in brackets - (even if |
| | | there are no arguments, the |
| | | brackets must still be present). |
| | | |
| IN | number | The result of inputting at |
| | | processor level from port x |
| | | (0<=x<=FFFFh). Loads the BC |
| | | register pair with x and does |
| | | the assembly language |
| | | instruction in a,(c). |
| | | |
| INKEY$ | none | Reads the keyboard. The result |
| | | is the character representing |
| | | the key pressed (if there is |
| | | exactly one), else the empty |
| | | string. |
| | | |
| INT | number | Integer part (always rounds |
| | | down). |
| | | |
| LEN | string | Length. |
| | | |
| LN | number | Natural logarithm (to base e). |
| | | Error 'A' if x<=0. |
| | | |
| NOT | number | 0 if x<>0, 1 if x=0. NOT has |
| | | priority 4. |
| | | |
| OR | binary operation, | [ 1 if b<>0 |
| | both operands | a OR b --| |
| | numbers. | [ a if b=0 |
| | | |
| | | OR has priority 2. |
| | | |
| PEEK | number | The value of the byte in memory |
| | | whose address is x (rounded to |
| | | the nearest integer). Error 'B' |
| | | if x is not in the range |
| | | 0...65535. |
| | | |
| PI | none | pi (3.1415927...). |
| | | |
| POINT | two arguments, x and | 1 if the pixel at (x,y) is ink |
| | y, both numbers | colour. 0 if it is paper colour. |
| | (enclosed in | |
| | brackets) | Error 'B' unless 0<=x<=255 and |
| | | 0<=y<=175. |
| | | |
| RND | none | The next pseudo-random number in |
| | | a sequence generated by taking |
| | | the powers of 75 modulo 65537, |
| | | subtracting 1 and dividing by |
| | | 65536. Yields a number in the |
| | | range 0<=x<1. |
| | | |
| SCREEN$ | two arguments, x and | The character that appears |
| | y both numbers | (either normally or inverted) on |
| | (enclosed in | the screen at line x, column y. |
| | brackets) | Returns the empty string if the |
| | | character is not recognised. |
| | | |
| | | Error 'B' unless 0<=x<=23 and |
| | | 0<=y<=31. |
| | | |
| SGN | number | Sign of number. Returns -1 for |
| | | negative, 0 for zero, or +1 for |
| | | positive. |
| | | |
| SIN | number (in radians) | Sine x. |
| | | |
| SQR | number | Square root. |
| | | Error 'A' if x<0. |
| | | |
| STR$ | number | The string of characters that |
| | | would be displayed if x were |
| | | printed. |
| | | |
| TAN | number (in radians) | Tangent. |
| | | |
| USR | number | Calls the machine code |
| | | subroutine whose starting |
| | | address is x. On entry to the |
| | | routine at address x the memory |
| | | is configured so that |
| | | 0000h...3FFFh (0...16383) is |
| | | occupied by ROM 3 (48 BASIC), |
| | | 4000h...7FFFh (16384...32767) is |
| | | occupied by RAM page 5, |
| | | 8000h...BFFFh (32768...49151) is |
| | | occupied by RAM page 2, and |
| | | C000h...FFFFh (49152...65535) is |
| | | occupied by RAM page 0. If +3DOS |
| | | routines are to be called, RAM |
| | | page 7 should be switched in at |
| | | C000h...FFFFh (49152...65535), |
| | | and ROM 2 (+3DOS) should be |
| | | switched in at 0000h...3FFFh |
| | | (0...16383). See part 26 of this |
| | | chapter for further details. |
| | | |
| | | On return, the result is the |
| | | contents of the BC register |
| | | pair. |
| | | |
| USR | string | The address of the bit pattern |
| | | for the user-defined graphic |
| | | corresponding to x. Error 'A' if |
| | | x is not a single letter between |
| | | 'a' and 'u', or a user-defined |
| | | graphic. |
| | | |
| VAL | string | Evaluates x (without its |
| | | bounding quotes as a numerical |
| | | expression. |
| | | Error 'C' if x contains a syntax |
| | | error, or gives a string value. |
| | | Other errors possible, depending |
| | | on the expression. |
| | | |
| VAL$ | string | Evaluates x (without its |
| | | bounding quotes) as a string |
| | | expression. |
| | | Error 'C' if x contains a syntax |
| | | error of gives a numerical |
| | | value. Other errors possible (as |
| | | for VAL). |
| | | |
| - | number | Negation. |
| | | |
`-------------------------------------------------------------------------'
The following are binary operations:
+ Addition (on numbers), or concatenation (on strings)
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
^ Exponentiation (error 'B' if the left operand is negative)
= Equal to ---.
> Greater than | Both operands must be of
< Less than | the same type. The result
<= Less than or equal to |-- is a number: 1 if the
>= Greater than or equal to | comparison holds; 0 if it
<> Not equal to ---' does not
Functions and operations have the following priorities:
,----------------------------------------------------------.
| OPERATION | PRIORITY |
|-----------------------------------------------+----------|
| Subscripting and slicing | 12 |
| All functions except NOT and unary minus | 11 |
| ^ (exponentiation) | 10 |
| - Unary minus (used to negate) | 9 |
| *, / (multiplication, division) | 8 |
| +, - (addition, subtraction) | 6 |
| =, >, <, <=, >=, <> (relational operators) | 5 |
| NOT | 4 |
| AND | 3 |
| OR | 1 |
`----------------------------------------------------------'
Statements
The following notation is applicable in the remainder of this section:
l represents a single letter.
v represents a variable.
x,y,z represent numerical expressions.
m,n represent numerical expressions that are rounded to
the nearest integer.
e represents an expression.
f represents a string valued expression.
d represents a string that evaluates to a valid drive,
i.e. 'A:', 'B:', 'M:' or 'T:'.
u represents an unambiguous DOS filename.
a represents a DOS filename that may be ambiguous, i.e.
one that may contain the wildcards '*' or '?'.
s represents a sequence of statements separated by
colons.
c represents a sequence of colour items, each terminated
by commas or semicolons. A colour item has the form of
a PAPER, INK, FLASH, BRIGHT, INVERSE, or OVER
statement.
Note that optional expressions are enclosed in [square brackets].
Arbitrary expressions are allowed everywhere (except for the line
number at the beginning of a statement).
All statements except INPUT, DEF FN and DATA can be used either as
commands or in programs (although they may be more sensible in one
than the other). A command or program line can have several
statements, separated by colons. There is no restriction on
whereabouts in a line any particular statement can occur; however, see
IF and REM.
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| | |
| BEEP x,y | Sounds a note through the TV's speaker for x |
| | seconds at the pitch y semitones above middle |
| | C (or below middle C if y is negative). |
| | |
| BORDER m | Sets the border colour around the screen, and |
| | also the paper colour for the lower part of |
| | the screen. Error 'K' unless 0<=m<=7 (i.e. |
| | unless m is not in the range 0...7). |
| | |
| BRIGHT m | Sets brightness of characters subsequently |
| | printed; 0 for normal, 1 for bright, 8 for |
| | transparent. Error 'K' unless m is 0, 1 or 8. |
| | |
| CAT [#n,] [d] [a] | The CAT command produces an alphanumerically |
| | sorted catalog of files on a disk. If used in |
| | the form 'CAT #n,...' the output is directed |
| | to stream n. If an unambiguous filename (or an |
| | ambiguous file specification) is included, |
| | then only those files that 'match' will be |
| | displayed. When CAT is followed by a drive |
| | letter only, then all files on that drive will |
| | be displayed. If the drive letter specified is |
| | 'T:', then a catalog of tape filenames will be |
| | displayed (together with information that will |
| | be useful for tape-to-disk file transfer). |
| | |
| CAT [#n,] [d] [a] | Operates as per the CAT command, but produces |
| EXP | an expanded catalog that includes system |
| | files, and displays those files whose write |
| | protection, system status and archive |
| | attributes have been set. (See 'MOVE u TO f'.) |
| | |
| CIRCLE x,y,z | Draws an arc of a circle, centre (x,y) radius |
| | z. |
| | |
| CLEAR | Deletes all variables, freeing the space they |
| | previously occupied. |
| | Executes a RESTORE and CLS, resets the PLOT |
| | position to the bottom left-hand corner and |
| | clears the GO SUB stack. |
| | |
| CLEAR n | Like CLEAR, but if possible, changes the |
| | system variable RAMTOP to n and puts the new |
| | GO SUB stack there. |
| | (Note that this command may be used to ensure |
| | the machine stack is below BFE0h (49120) when |
| | entering a routine that calls +3DOS from |
| | BASIC.) |
| | |
| CLOSE #n | Marks stream n as being unattached to any |
| | channel. It may then be used in a subsequent |
| | 'OPEN #n,f' statement. |
| | |
| CLS | (Clear screen). Clears the display file. |
| | |
| CONTINUE | Continues executing a program from the point |
| | at which it stopped with a report (other than |
| | '0'). If the report was '9' or 'L', then |
| | execution continues with the following |
| | statement (taking any jumps into account); |
| | otherwise repeats the statement where the |
| | report occurred. If the last report was in a |
| | command line, then CONTINUE will attempt to |
| | continue the command line, and will either go |
| | into a loop (if the error was in '0:1'), |
| | generate report '0' (if it was in '0:2'), or |
| | report 'N' (if it was in '0:3' or greater). |
| | |
| COPY | Sends (dumps) a copy of the top 22 lines of |
| | the screen display to the printer (if |
| | connected) in quad density Epson bit map |
| | format; otherwise does nothing. |
| | Report 'D' if BREAK pressed. Note that if the |
| | dump is prematurely stopped, the printer may |
| | be left in graphics mode and the line feed set |
| | to an odd value. |
| | |
| COPY EXP [INVERSE] | Sends a copy of all 24 lines of display to the |
| | printer (if connected) in quad density Epson |
| | bit map format; otherwise does nothing. Each |
| | coloured dot on the screen is printed with a |
| | different pixel pattern thus providing |
| | different grey levels for each colour. The |
| | BRIGHT attribute is also taken into account. |
| | The optional INVERSE modifier allows the dump |
| | to be 'reversed' (like a negative) in order to |
| | save ribbon wear when printing-out |
| | predominantly black dumps. |
| | Report 'D' if BREAK pressed. Note that if the |
| | dump is prematurely stopped, the printer may |
| | be left in graphics mode and the line feed set |
| | to an odd value. |
| | |
| COPY u1 TO u2 | Copies the first named file to the second |
| COPY a TO d | named file. The names must be different. Drive |
| COPY d TO d | letters and user numbers may be specified |
| | within the filename. |
| | If the source (u1) is an ambiguous file |
| | specification, then the destination (u2) must |
| | only be a drive letter. (In this case, the |
| | destination files will have the same name as |
| | the source.) |
| | If both source and destination names are just |
| | drive letters, a complete disk-to-disk |
| | transfer will be made (note that any files |
| | previously on the destination disk will be |
| | deleted). If the destination disk is not +3 |
| | format, then the disk-to-disk transfer will |
| | not work. |
| | |
| | When copying files, if the destination |
| | filename already exists, then the report 'File |
| | already exists' will be displayed. If the |
| | report 'Missing address mark' is displayed, |
| | then it is likely that the destination disk |
| | has not been formatted. |
| | |
| COPY u TO SCREEN$ | Displays the contents of a disk file on the |
| | screen. Control characters (tabs, line feeds, |
| | etc.) are replaced by spaces. This command can |
| | only sensibly be used to inspect ASCII files |
| | (though BASIC programs will be displayed, |
| | albeit without the correct formatting). |
| | |
| COPY u TO LPRINT | The contents of the named disk file are sent |
| | to the printer. No character translations are |
| | made. If the command 'FORMAT LPRINT "r"' has |
| | been issued (to divert printer output to the |
| | serial (RS232 socket), then this form of the |
| | COPY command may be used as a method of |
| | exporting programs to an external machine. |
| | |
| COPY u to SPECTRUM | This allows a +3DOS file header to be added to |
| FORMAT | a binary file created on a different type of |
| | machine. A new file with the name: u.HED is |
| | created. |
| | |
| DATA e1,e2,e3,... | Part of the DATA list. Must be in a program; |
| | otherwise has no effect. |
| | |
| DEF FN l(l1,...lk)=e| User-defined function definition. Must be in a |
| | program, otherwise has no effect. Each of l |
| | and l1,...lk is either a single letter or a |
| | single letter followed by '$' for string |
| | argument or result. |
| | Takes the form 'DEF FN l()=e' if no arguments. |
| | |
| DIM l(n1,...nk) | Deletes any array with the name l, and sets up |
| | an array l of numbers with k dimensions |
| | n1,...nk. |
| | Initialises all the values to 0. |
| | |
| DIM l$(n1,...nk) | Deletes any array or string with the name l$, |
| | and sets up an array l$ of characters with k |
| | dimensions n1,...nk. Initialises all the |
| | values to "". This can be considered as an |
| | array of strings of fixed length nk, with k-1 |
| | dimensions (n1,...n(k-1)). An array is |
| | undefined until it is dimensioned by DIM. |
| | Error '4' if there is no room to fit the array |
| | in. |
| | |
| DRAW x,y | DRAW x,y,0 |
| | |
| DRAW x,y,z | Draws a line from the current plot position, |
| | moving x horizontally and y vertically |
| | relative to it, while turning through angle z. |
| | Error 'B' if line runs off the screen. |
| | |
| ERASE a | If a single file is specified, then that file |
| ERASE d | will be erased from either the default drive |
| | or the drive identified in the filename. If an |
| | ambiguous file name is specified, a message |
| | asking for confirmation will appear. If 'Y' is |
| | pressed, then all files that match the |
| | specification will be erased. If ERASE is |
| | followed by a drive letter only, then all |
| | files on that drive will be erased without |
| | confirmation being sought. |
| | |
| FLASH | Defines whether characters will be flashing or |
| | steady; n=0 or steady, n=1 for flash, n=8 for |
| | no change. |
| | |
| FOR l=x TO y | FOR l=x TO y STEP 1 |
| | |
| FOR l=x TO y STEP z | Deletes any simple variable l and sets up a |
| | control variable with value x, limit y, step |
| | z, and looping address referring to the |
| | statement after the FOR statement. Checks if |
| | the initial value is greater (if z>=0) or less |
| | (if z<0) than the limit, and if so then skips |
| | to statement 'NEXT l', giving error '1' if |
| | there is none. See NEXT. |
| | Error '4' if there is no room for the control |
| | variable. |
| | |
| FORMAT d | Prepares the disk in the specified drive ('A:' |
| | or 'B:') to be used. If the disk has already |
| | been formatted on a +3, a message allowing the |
| | operation to be abandoned will produced. Disks |
| | formatted on other machines (except the |
| | AMSTRAD PCW range (CF-2) format) will not be |
| | recognised. |
| | |
| FORMAT LINE n | Sets the baud rate of the RS232 interface to |
| | n. Valid baud rates are in the range |
| | 75...19200. |
| | |
| FORMAT LPRINT | Allows printer output to be redirected and |
| f1[;f2] | token expansion to be switched on or off. If |
| | string f1 is "C", then subsequent printer |
| | output will be via the Centronics interface |
| | (the PRINTER socket). If string f1 is "R", |
| | then printer output will be directed to the |
| | RS232 socket. String f1 can also be "E" (for |
| | expanded), in which case characters below |
| | 'CHR$ 32' are not sent to the printer, and |
| | those above 'CHR$ 127' are converted to the |
| | letters of the appropriate BASIC token. When |
| | string f1 is "U" (for unexpanded), all |
| | characters that follow are sent to the printer |
| | without translation. This allows ESC (escape) |
| | sequences to be sent. If f1 is either "C" or |
| | "R", a second string, f2, may be specified, |
| | this can be either "E" or "U" (described |
| | above). |
| | |
| GO SUB n | Pushes the line number of the GO SUB statement |
| | onto a stack, then operates as per GO TO n. |
| | Error '4' may occur if there are not enough |
| | RETURNs. |
| | |
| GO TO n | Jumps to line n (or, if there is none, the |
| | first line after that). |
| | |
| IF x THEN s | If x is true (non-zero), then s is executed. |
| | Note that s comprises all the statements until |
| | the end of the line. The form IF x THEN line |
| | number is not allowed. |
| | |
| INK n | Sets the ink (foreground) colour of characters |
| | subsequently printed; n is in the range 0...7 |
| | for a colour, 8 for transparent, 9 for |
| | contrast. |
| | Error 'K' unless 0<=n<=9. |
| | |
| INPUT [#n,]... | The '...' is a sequence of INPUT items, |
| | separated (as in a PRINT statement) by |
| | commas, semicolons or apostrophes. An INPUT |
| | item can be any of the following: |
| | |
| | (i) Any PRINT item not beginning with a |
| | letter. |
| | (ii) A variable name. |
| | (iii) LINE, then a string type variable name. |
| | |
| | The PRINT items and separators in (i) are |
| | treated exactly as in PRINT, except that |
| | everything is printed in the lower part of the |
| | screen. For (ii) the computer stops and waits |
| | for input of an expression from the keyboard - |
| | the value of this is assigned to the variable. |
| | The input is echoed in the usual way and |
| | syntax errors give the flashing [?]. For |
| | string type expressions, the input buffer is |
| | initialised to contain two string quotes |
| | (which can be erased if necessary). If the |
| | first character in the input is STOP (SYMB |
| | SHIFT and A), then the program stops with |
| | error 'H'. (iii) is like (ii) except that the |
| | input is treated as a string literal without |
| | quotes, and the STOP mechanism won't work; to |
| | stop it you must press cursor down instead. |
| | |
| INVERSE n | Controls inversion of characters subsequently |
| | printed. If n=0, then characters are printed |
| | in normal video, i.e. as ink colour on paper |
| | colour. If n=1, then characters are printed in |
| | inverse video, i.e. paper colour on ink |
| | colour. |
| | Error 'K' unless n=0 or 1. |
| | Note that in 48 BASIC, pressing the INV VIDEO |
| | key is equivalent to 'INVERSE 1'; pressing the |
| | TRUE VIDEO key is equivalent to 'INVERSE 0'. |
| | |
| LET v=e | Assigns the value of e to the variable v. LET |
| | cannot be omitted. A simple variable is |
| | undefined until it is assigned to in either a |
| | LET, READ or INPUT statement. If v is a |
| | subscripted string variable, or a sliced |
| | string variable (substring), then the |
| | assignment is Procrustean (fixed length), i.e. |
| | the string value of e is either truncated or |
| | filled out with spaces on the right, to make |
| | it the same length as specified in v. |
| | |
| LIST [#m] | LIST [#m,] 0 |
| | |
| LIST [#m,] n | Lists the program to the upper part of the |
| | screen, starting at the first line whose |
| | number is at least n, and makes n the current |
| | line. If #m is included, the output is sent to |
| | the channel currently assigned to stream m. |
| | |
| LLIST | LLIST 0 |
| | |
| | Like LIST, but using the printer. By default, |
| | output will be to the Centronics (PRINTER) |
| | socket; however, printer output can be |
| | directed to the RS232 socket using the command |
| | 'FORMAT LPRINT "R"'. |
| | In order that BASIC listings appear correctly, |
| | token codes are expanded to the relevant |
| | letters of each token, (codes below 32 are not |
| | printed). The command 'FORMAT LPRINT "E"' can |
| | be used to restore this state if it has been |
| | changed (by 'FORMAT LPRINT "U"'). |
| | |
| LOAD d | Makes the named drive the current default |
| | input device for all subsequent disk |
| | operations (COPY, ERASE, MOVE etc.). If the |
| | drive letter specified is 'T:', then all |
| | subsequent LOADs will default to tape. |
| | |
| LOAD f | Loads the program and variables from disk (or |
| | tape). The string f that specifies the file to |
| | be loaded may optionally include a drive |
| | letter and user number when operating from |
| | disk. If a drive letter is not specified, then |
| | the default drive is used. |
| | If the string f contains just an asterisk, |
| | i.e. 'LOAD "*"', an attempt is made to boot |
| | the disk in drive A:. This may be used to load |
| | alternative operating systems or some games |
| | disks. |
| | |
| LOAD f DATA l() | Loads a numeric array l() from file f. |
| | |
| LOAD f DATA l$() | Loads character array l$() from file f. |
| | |
| LOAD f CODE m,n | Loads (at most) n bytes, starting at address |
| | m. |
| | |
| LOAD f CODE m | Loads bytes starting at address m. If a file |
| | from another machine has been converted to |
| | Spectrum format (using the command 'COPY u TO |
| | SPECTRUM FORMAT'), then this is the form of |
| | LOAD command to use (as the header will not |
| | contain a load address). |
| | |
| LOAD f CODE | Loads bytes back to the address from where |
| | they were saved. |
| | |
| LOAD f SCREEN$ | LOAD f CODE 16384,6912 |
| | |
| LPRINT | Like PRINT, but using the printer. Use the |
| | 'FORMAT LPRINT' command to direct output to |
| | the Centronics (PRINTER) or RS232 socket and |
| | to set expansion of tokens on or off. By |
| | default, output will be sent to the PRINTER |
| | socket with tokens expanded and codes below 32 |
| | not printed. If ESC (escape) sequences are to |
| | be printed (for print formatting), issue the |
| | command 'FORMAT LPRINT "U"' before using |
| | LPRINT. If printer output has been set to |
| | RS232 (using the command 'FORMAT LPRINT "R"'), |
| | then LPRINT can be used to send strings of |
| | characters to a remote computer/terminal. |
| | |
| MERGE f | Like LOAD f, but does not delete old program |
| | lines or variables, except to make way for new |
| | ones with the same line number or name. Like |
| | LOAD, the filename may include a drive letter |
| | and user number. If a drive letter is not |
| | specified, the default drive will be used. |
| | |
| MOVE f1 TO f2 | This will rename file f1 to f2. Both files f1 |
| | and f2 must be on the same drive. |
| | |
| MOVE u TO f | The string f may be "+P", "+S", "+A", "-P", |
| | "-S" or "-A". This allows the attributes of |
| | the file specified by u to be set (+) or unset |
| | (-). The attribute letters in the string f |
| | control write protection ('P'), system status |
| | ('S'), or archive status ('A'). The CAT...EXP |
| | command can be used to display current |
| | settings. Protected files cannot be erased, |
| | saved over, or have any operation that would |
| | change them in any way performed upon them. |
| | System files are hidden from the normal |
| | catalog display and are only shown by the |
| | CAT...EXP command. Archive status is provided |
| | for compatibility with CP/M based machines, |
| | and has no other relevance to the +3. |
| | |
| NEW | Starts the BASIC system afresh, deleting any |
| | program and variables, and using the memory up |
| | to and including the byte whose address is in |
| | the system variable RAMTOP. The system |
| | variables UDG, P RAMT, RASP and PIP are |
| | preserved. Returns control to the opening |
| | menu, but does not erase files held on drive |
| | M: (the RAMdisk). |
| | |
| NEXT l | (i) Finds the control variable l. |
| | (ii) Adds its step to its value. |
| | (iii) If the step >=0 and the value > the |
| | limit; or if the step <0 and the value < the |
| | limit, then jumps to the looping statement. |
| | |
| | Error '2' if there is no variable l. |
| | Error '1' if variable l does not match control |
| | variable in FOR statement. |
| | |
| OPEN #n,f | Allows stream number to be attached to the |
| | channel identified by string f. Stream numbers |
| | may be in the range 0...15, however the system |
| | itself makes use of 0...3 (so their use is not |
| | advised). Possible strings are "S" (for the |
| | screen channel), "K" (for the keyboard |
| | channel) and "P" (for the printer channel). |
| | The printer channel may be further re-directed |
| | to the Centronics (PRINTER) or RS232 sockets |
| | using the FORMAT...LPRINT command. Trying to |
| | input from a stream that is set to a channel |
| | that only supports output, or vice versa, will |
| | cause an 'Invalid I/O device' report. |
| | |
| OUT m,n | Outputs byte n at port m at processor level. |
| | (Loads the BC register pair with m, the A |
| | register with n, and executes the assembly |
| | language instruction out (c),a.) |
| | Error 'B' unless 0<=m<=65535 and -255<=n<=255. |
| | |
| OVER n | Controls overprinting for characters |
| | subsequently printed. If n=0, characters |
| | obliterate previous characters at that |
| | position. If n=1, then new characters are |
| | mixed in with old characters to give ink |
| | colour wherever either (but not both) has ink |
| | colour, and paper colour where they were both |
| | paper or both ink. |
| | Error 'K' unless n is 0 or 1. |
| | |
| PAPER n | Like INK, but controlling the paper |
| | (background) colour. |
| | |
| PAUSE n | Stops computing and displays the display file |
| | for n frames (there are 50 frames per second), |
| | or until a key is pressed. If n=0 then the |
| | pause is not timed, but lasts until a key is |
| | pressed. |
| | Error 'B' unless 0<=n<=255. |
| | |
| PLAY f1[,f2,...f8] | Interpret up to eight strings and play them |
| | simultaneously. The first three strings play |
| | via the TV speaker and (optionally) via the |
| | MIDI socket; and subsequent strings can be |
| | output only via MIDI. |
| | |
| PLOT c;m,n | Prints an ink dot (subject to OVER and |
| | INVERSE) at the pixel (m,n), moving the PLOT |
| | position thereto. Unless the colour items c |
| | specify otherwise, the ink colour at the |
| | character position containing the pixel is |
| | changed to the current permanent ink colour, |
| | and the others (paper colour, flashing and |
| | brightness) are left unchanged. |
| | Error 'B' unless 0<=m<=255 and 0<=n<=175. |
| | |
| POKE m,n | Writes the value n to the byte in store with |
| | address m. |
| | Error 'B' unless 0<=m<=65535 and -255<=n<=255. |
| | |
| PRINT [#n,]... | The '...' is a sequence of PRINT items, |
| | separated by commas, semicolons or |
| | apostrophes, and they are written to the |
| | display file for output to the screen. When |
| | used in the form 'PRINT #n,...' output is |
| | directed to stream n rather than the screen |
| | (unless that stream has been opened to the |
| | screen channel "S"). A semicolon between two |
| | items has no effect - it is used purely to |
| | delimit the items. A comma shifts printing |
| | forward to the next print zone, while an |
| | apostrophe generates a carriage return/line |
| | feed (which is generated by default if a PRINT |
| | statement is not terminated by a semicolon, |
| | comma or apostrophe). |
| | A PRINT item can be: |
| | |
| | (i) Empty, i.e. nothing. |
| | (ii) A numerical expression. First a minus |
| | sign is printed if the value is |
| | negative. Now let x be the modulus of |
| | value - If x<=10^-5 or x>=10^13, then |
| | it is printed using scientific |
| | notation. The mantissa part has up to |
| | eight digits (with no trailing |
| | zeroes), and the decimal point (absent |
| | if only one digit) is after the first. |
| | The exponent part is 'E', followed by |
| | '+' or '-', followed by one or two |
| | digits. Otherwise x is printed in |
| | ordinary decimal notation with up to |
| | eight significant digits, and no |
| | trailing zeroes after the decimal |
| | point. A decimal point right at the |
| | beginning is always followed by a |
| | zero, so for instance '.03' and '0.3' |
| | are printed as such. Zero is printed |
| | as a single digit '0'. |
| | (iii) A string expression. The tokens in the |
| | string are expanded, possibly with a |
| | space before or after. Control |
| | characters have their control effect. |
| | Unrecognised characters print as '?'. |
| | (iv) AT m,n. Outputs an AT control |
| | character followed by a byte for m |
| | (the line number) and a byte for n |
| | (the column number). |
| | (v) TAB n. Outputs a tab control character |
| | followed by two bytes for n (least |
| | significant byte first) - the tab |
| | stop. |
| | (vi) A colour item, which takes the form of |
| | a PAPER, INK, FLASH, BRIGHT, INVERSE |
| | or OVER statement. |
| | |
| RANDOMIZE | RANDOMIZE 0 |
| | |
| RANDOMIZE n | Sets the system variable (called SEED) used to |
| | generate the next value of RND. If n<>0, then |
| | SEED is given the value n. If n=0 then SEED is |
| | given the value of another system variable |
| | (called FRAMES) that counts the frames so far |
| | displayed on the screen, and so should be |
| | fairly random. |
| | Error 'B' unless 0<=n<=65535. |
| | |
| READ v1,v2,...vk | Assigns to the variable using successive |
| | expressions in the DATA list. |
| | Error 'C' if an expression is the wrong type. |
| | Error 'E' if there are variables left to be |
| | read when the DATA list is exhausted. |
| | |
| REM... | No effect. The '...' can be any sequence of |
| | characters terminated by ENTER. No statements |
| | in the line will be acted upon after the REM, |
| | and colons will not be treated as separators. |
| | |
| RESTORE | RESTORE 0 |
| | |
| RESTORE n | Restores the DATA pointer to the first DATA |
| | statement in line n. If line n doesn't exist |
| | (or is not a DATA statement), then the first |
| | DATA statement after line n is restored, and |
| | the next READ statement will start reading |
| | from there. |
| | |
| RETURN | Takes a reference to a statement off the GO |
| | SUB stack, and jumps to the line after it. |
| | Error '7' when there is no statement reference |
| | on the stack - (this probably means that there |
| | is some mistake in your program - ensure that |
| | all GO SUBs are balanced by RETURNs). |
| | |
| RUN | RUN 0 |
| | |
| RUN n | CLEAR, and then GO TO n. |
| | |
| SAVE d | Makes the named drive the current default |
| | output device for all subsequent disk |
| | operations (COPY, ERASE, MOVE, etc.). If the |
| | drive letter specified is 'T:', then all |
| | subsequent SAVEs will default to tape. |
| | |
| SAVE f | Saves the program and variables to disk (or |
| | tape), giving it the name f. The filename may |
| | optionally include a drive letter and user |
| | number when operating with disks. If a drive |
| | letter is not specified, then the default |
| | drive is used. |
| | Error 'F' if f is empty, or is greater than |
| | ten characters in length (on tape). |
| | |
| SAVE f LINE m | Saves the program and variables so that if |
| | they are loaded, there is an automatic jump to |
| | line m. |
| | |
| SAVE f DATA l() | Saves the numeric array l() to the file f. |
| | |
| SAVE f DATA l$() | Saves the character array l$() to the file f. |
| | |
| SAVE f CODE m,n | Saves n bytes starting at address m. |
| | |
| SAVE f SCREEN$ | SAVE f CODE 16384,6912. Saves the current |
| | screen display. |
| | |
| SPECTRUM | Switches from +3 BASIC into 48 BASIC, |
| | maintaining any program in RAM. There is no |
| | switch back to +3 BASIC. Note that ROM/RAM |
| | switching is not disabled when entering 48 |
| | BASIC using this command; (this is not the |
| | case when the option '48 BASIC' is selected |
| | from the opening menu). |
| | |
| STOP | Stops the program with report '9'. The |
| | CONTINUE command will resume the program from |
| | the following statement. |
| | |
| VERIFY f | Like LOAD (from tape), but the tape |
| | information is not loaded into RAM - instead, |
| | it is just compared against what is already in |
| | RAM. |
| | If the filename specifies a disk file (or if |
| | the current default drive is A: or B:), then |
| | no action is taken. |
| | Error 'R' if the comparison shows different |
| | bytes. |
| | |
`-----------------------------------------------------------------------'