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<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Chipmunk Basic Man Page</TITLE>
<H1>Chipmunk Basic Man Page</H1>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<HR>
<PRE>
BASIC(1) chipmunk-basic v3.5.4 BASIC(1)
Chipmunk BASIC - 'BASIC' language interpreter
SYNOPSIS ( UNIX )
basic [ filename ]
DESCRIPTION
Chipmunk basic is an interpreter for the BASIC language. If
a filename parameter is given, then the named program file
is loaded into memory and run.
Basic commands and statements can be entered and interpreted
in immediate mode or executed as program statements when the
Basic program is run. A built-in line number based editor
allows program input from the console keyboard. See below
for the commands and statements that the interpreter
recognizes.
FLAGS
none
COMMANDS
Standard mumbleSoft-like Basic Commands:
load STRINGEXPR
Load a program into memory from the named file. The
program previously in memory is erased. All files are
closed and all variables are cleared. Lines beginning
with the '#' character will be treated as comments.
All other lines in the file must begin with a line
number. Duplicate line numbers are not allowed.
save STRINGEXPR
Save the current program to the named file.
new
Erase the program in memory. All files are closed and
all variables are cleared.
clear
All variables are cleared. All arrays and string
variables are deallocated.
run { LINENUM }
run { STRINGEXPR { , LINENUM } }
Begin execution of the program at the first line, or at
the specified line. All variables are cleared. If a
STRINGEXPR is given then the BASIC program with that
name file is loaded into memory first. Program lines
are executed in line number order.
cont
CONTinue execution of the program on the next statement
after the statement on which the program stopped
execution due to a STOP command or an error. See BUGS
section.
LINENUM { TEXT }
Enters a program line. If a program line with
line number LINENUM exists, then it is replaced.
If no TEXT is given, the the program line with
line number LINENUM is deleted.
list
List the whole program.
Line numbers above 999999999 will not list.
list 1-3
List lines 1 to 2
list -2
List lines up to 1
list 1
List line 1
list 2-
List lines from 2 on
merge STRINGEXPR
Loads a program into memory. The previous program
remains in memory; variables are not cleared. If a
line exists in both programs, the new merged line
overwrites the old one.
renum STRINGEXPR VAL { , VAL { , VAL { , VAL} } }
Renumber program lines. By default, the new sequence is
10,20,30,... The first argument is a new initial line
number; the second argument is the increment between
line numbers. The third and fourth arguments, if
present, specify a limiting range of old line numbers
to renumber. RENUM can be used to move non-overlapping
blocks of code.
edit LINENUM
Edit a single line. If the exit from the edit is via a
cntrl-c then do not change the line.
i insert till <return>
x delete one char
A append to end of line
del LINENUM [ - LINENUM ]
Delete a line or specified range of lines. If not found
then no lines will be deleted.
exit
bye
quit
Terminates the basic interpreter, ending program
execution and closing all files.
STATEMENTS
{ let } VAR = EXPR
Assign a value to a variable. Variable names can be up
to 31 significant characters, consisting of letters,
digits, underscores, and an ending dollar sign.
Variable names are case insensitive. Variables can
hold real numbers (IEEE double) or strings of up to 254
characters. If the variable name ends with a "$" it
holds strings, otherwise it holds numbers. If a
statement starts with a variable name then an implied
LET is assumed.
print VAL | STRINGVAL { [ , | ; ] VAL ... } { ; }
? VAL | STRINGVAL { [ , | ; ] VAL ... } { ; }
print # FNUM, VAL ...
This command will print its parameters tab delimited.
If a semi-colon is used between parameters then no tab
is inserted between the parameters. The print
output is terminated with a carriage return unless the
parameter list ends with a semi-colon. If a file
descriptor is given then output is redirected to the
given file. If a
tab(VAL);
is found in a print statement, then print output will
skip to the horizontal position specified by VAL.
print { # FNUM, } using STRINGVAL ; VAR { [ , | ; ] VAR ... }
Prints formatted numbers. Legal characters for the
format string STRINGVAL are: + * $ # . E+ and trailing
spaces.
Examples:
print using "**$###.##"; 1.23 :' ****$1.23
print using "###.##"; 2.12345 :' 2.12
print using "#.##E+##"; 2345.6 :' 2.35E+03
input STRINGVAR | VAR { , VAR }
input "prompt"; { STRINGVAR | VAR { , VAR } }
input { # FNUM , } { STRINGVAR | VAR { , VAR } }
Input from the console or from the file specified by
FNUM. If the input is from the console then a prompt
string can optionally be printed.
*** NOTE ***
All input to string variables is "line input"; a whole
input line will be read into one string variable. The
number of comma seperated numeric values in the input
data must be less than or equal to the number of
numeric variables in the INPUT statement. This INPUT
usage is different from other versions Basic.
get STRINGVAR
Gets one character from the console keyboard. Blocking.
fputbyte VAL, # FNUM
Writes one byte to the file specified by FNUM.
get # FNUM, VAL, TYPED-VAR
Reads one record from a random access file into VAR.
put # FNUM, VAL, TYPED-VAR
Write one record to a random access file from VAR.
cls
Clear the terminals screen. Leaves the cursor in the
upper left corner. For Applesoft BASIC fans, the
"home" command will also do this.
end
Terminates program execution and returns to the command
prompt. Not required.
stop
Stops the execution of the program and returns to
the command prompt. Prints a "Break..." message.
if EXPR then STATEMENT { : STATEMENT } { : else STATEMENT }
if EXPR then LINENUM
if EXPR
The IF statement. If the condition is true then the
STATEMENTS after the THEN are executed and the
statements after the ELSE are skipped. If the
condition is false then the statements after the "else"
are executed instead. If the item after "then" is a
line number then a goto is executed.
If the condition is true and there is no THEN on the
same line, statements are executed until a line
with an ENDIF is found. (block IF() ... ENDIF)
for VAR = EXPR to EXPR { step EXPR }
Beginning of a FOR-NEXT loop. It takes a starting
value, a limit and an optional step argument. If the
step value is negative, the variable counts down. The
body of the loop is not executed if the end condition
is true initially.
Example:
for i=1 to 10 : print i, : next i
rem prints the numbers from 1 through 10
next { VAR }
End of a FOR-NEXT loop. If the termination conditions
are met then execution falls through to the following
statement, otherwise execution returns to the statement
following the FOR statement with the corresponding
index variable. If there no index variable parameter,
the innermost FOR loop is used.
exit for
Exits the current FOR-NEXT loop.
while { EXPR }
Start of a WHILE loop. The loop is repeated until EXPR
is false. If EXPR is false at loop entry, then the loop
is not executed . A WHILE loop must be terminated by a
balancing WEND statement.
wend { EXPR }
Terminating statement of a WHILE loop. If EXPR is true
then exit the loop. Only one WEND is allowed for each
WHILE. A WHILE-WEND loop without a condition will loop
forever.
exit while
Exits the current WHILE-WEND loop.
gosub LINENUM
Transfer command to a line number. Save return address
so that the program can resume execution at the
statement after the "gosub" command. The recursion
depth is limited only by available memory.
return
Returns from the most recently activated subroutine
call (which must have been called by GOSUB).
goto LINENUM
This statement will transfer control to the line number
specified. If the program is not running, then this
command will begin execution at the specified line
without clearing the variables. An "Undefined line"
error will occur if LINENUM doesn't exist in the
program.
on EXPR goto LINENUM { , LINENUM ... }
on EXPR gosub LINENUM { , LINENUM ... }
This command will execute either a goto or a gosub to
the specified line number indexed by the value of EXPR.
If EXPR is larger than the number of LINENUMs, then
control passes to the next statement.
on error goto LINENUM
If the error form is used, only one linenumber is
allowed. LINENUM is the line to which control is
transferred if an error occurs. A GOTO or CONT
statement can be used to resume execution. An error
inside a named SUB subroutine cannot be resumed from
or CONTinued.
sub NAME ( VAR { , VAR ... } }
Subroutine entry. May be called by a CALL statement or
by NAME. A SUB subroutine must be exited by a RETURN or
END SUB statement. There should be only one RETURN or
END SUB statement per SUB definition. The variables in
the VAR list become local variables. String and numeric
arguments are passed by value; array arguments must be
pre-dimensioned and are passed by reference.
Example:
110 x = foo (7, j) : rem Pass 7 and j by value.
...
2000 sub foo (x,y,z) : rem z is a local variable
2010 print x : rem prints 7
...
2080 foo = y+1 : rem return value
2090 end sub
Subroutine definitions may not be nested.
select case EXPR
Multi-way branch. Executes the statements after
the CASE statement which matches the SELECT CASE
expression, then skips to the END SELECT statement.
If there is no match, and a CASE ELSE statement is
present, then execution defaults to the statements
following the CASE ELSE.
Example:
200 select case x
210 case 2
...
230 case 3, 4
...
270 case else
...
290 end select
dim VAR( d { , d { , d } } ) { , VAR( d { , d { , d } } ) }
Dimension an array or list of arrays (string or numeric).
A maximum of 4 dimensions can be used. The maximum
dimension size is limited by available memory. Legal
array subscripts are from 0 up and including the
dimension specified; d+1 elements are allocated. All
arrays must be dimensioned before use.
Example:
10 dim a(10)
20 for i=0 to 10
30 a(i) = i^2
40 next i
50 print a(5) : rem should print 25
data ITEM { , ITEM }
DATA statements contain the data used in the READ
statements. Items must be separated by commas. The
items may be either numeric or string expressions,
corresponding to the type of variable being read.
Reading the wrong kind of object produces a "Type
mismatch" error. Strings must be encapsulated with
quote marks.
read VAR { , VAR }
Read data from the DATA statements contained in the
program. List items can be either string or numeric
variables. Reading past the end the last DATA statement
generates an error.
restore { LINENUM }
The RESTORE statement causes the next READ to use the
first DATA statement in the program. If a LINENUM is
given then the DATA statement on or after that
particular line is used next.
rem or "`"
A remark or comment statement. Ignored by the program
during execution, however a REM statement can be the
target of a GOTO or GOSUB.
open STRINGEXPR for { input|output|append } as # FNUM
Open a file. The { input|output|append } parameter
specifies whether the file is to be read, written or
appended. If STRINGEXPR is "stdin" for input or
"stdout" for output then the console will be used
instead of a file. A "file not found" error will
occur if a non-existant file is specified in an OPEN
for input statement. FNUM must be an integer value
between 0 and 8.
open STRINGEXPR for random as # FNUM len = VAL
Opens a random access file. Only GET and PUT statement
are allowed to read and write random access files.
open ... else goto LINENUM
See OPEN command.
LINENUM is the line to which control is transferred if
an error in opening a file occurs. The variable ERL is
set to the line number on which the file open error
occured.
close # FNUM
Close a file. Releases the file descriptor and flushes
out all stored data.
def fnNAME ( VAR { , VAR } ) = EXPR
Define a user definable function. Obsolete.
Example:
10 def fnplus(x,y) = x+y
20 print fnplus(3,5) : rem prints 8
mat ARRAY-VAR = EXPR
Fills a 1 or 2 dimensional array with a constant
value given by EXPR.
mat ARRAY-VAR = ARRAY-VAR
Copys a 2 dimensional array. The dimensions
must match.
mat ARRAY-VAR = transpose ARRAY-VAR
Transposes a 2 dimensional array. The dimensions of
the first array must correspond to the transpose of
the dimensions of the second array.
mat ARRAY-VAR = ARRAY-VAR { + | * } { EXPR | ARRAY-VAR }
Adds or multiplies a 2 dimensional array by either
an expression or another array. The dimensions must
be appropriate for matrix addition or matrix
multiplication.
mat origin { 0 | 1 }
Sets the matrix index origin to either 0 or 1 for all
MAT statements, including fill. Defaults to 0.
type CLASSNAME
Creates a structure definition type. Each field
requires a separate line. Legal types are string,
integer, longint and double. The definition must
conclude with an END TYPE statement. Use the
DIM AS NEW statement to create records containing
the structure specified by a TYPE statement.
Example:
300 type person
310 name as string * 32 : rem = 31 chars length
320 age as integer : rem 2 byte integers
330 weight as double : rem 8 byte doubles
340 end type
400 dim friend1 as new person
410 friend1.name = "Mark" : friend1.age = 13
420 print friend1.name, friend1.age
class CLASSNAME { extends SUPERCLASSNAME }
Creates a class definition. Class definitions can then
be used to create objects with member functions (also
called methods.) Classes inherit members from
superclasses (single inheritance.)
Example:
CLASS bar
y AS integer
z AS PRIVATE double ' private data
s AS PUBLIC string ' public keyword optional
SUB blah(v) ' public member function
this.y = v + 7
END SUB
END CLASS
DIM b AS NEW bar ' create object b
CALL b.blah(1) ' send message "blah(1)" to b
CLASS and TYPE definitions are global, and cannot be
nested inside other class definitions or subroutines.
dim VAR { ( INT ) } as new CLASSNAME
Create a record (TYPED-VAR) or object using a
previously defined structure definition type created
by TYPE...END TYPE or CLASS..END CLASS. Optionally
creates an array of records or objects.
erase VAR
Un-dimensions a dimensioned array. Frees memory.
{ let } mid$( STRINGVAR, EXPR1, EXPR2 ) = STRINGEXPR
Replace the sub-string in STRINGVAR, starting at
character position EXPR1, with character length EXPR2,
with the (EXPR2 in length) string STRINGEXPR.
{ let } field$( STRINGVAR, VAL { ,STRINGVAL } ) = STRINGEXPR
Replace the N-th field of STRINGVAR with STRINGEXPR.
poke ADDR_EXPR, DATA_EXPR
Poke a byte into a memory location. Unreasonable
addresses can cause bus or segmentation errors.
push VAR { , VAR ... }
Pushes one or more expressions or variables onto an
internal stack. Expressions can be returned using the
POP function; variables can be returned by using the
POP statement.
pop VAL
POP statement (see also POP function). Pops VAL
variables off the internal stack, restoring the value
of those variables to their pushed values.
exec(STRINGEXPR)
Executes STRINGEXPR as a statement or command.
e.g. exec("print " + "x") will print the value of x.
NUMERIC FUNCTIONS
sgn(VAL)
Returns the sign of the parameter value. Returns 1 if
the value is greater than zero , zero if equal to zero.
-1 if negative.
abs(x)
Returns the absolute value of x.
int(x)
Returns the integer value of x. Truncates toward zero.
The absolute value of x must be less than 2^31-1.
floor(x)
Returns the integer value of x.
Truncates toward negative infinity.
sqr(x)
Returns the square root of x.
log(x)
Returns the natural logarithm of x.
log10(x)
Returns the logarithm base 10 of x.
exp(x)
Returns e^x. e=2.7182818...
sin(x)
cos(x)
atn(x)
Trigonometric functions: sin, cosine and arctangent.
pi
Returns pi, 3.141592653589793...
rnd ( EXPR )
Returns an integer pseudo-random number between 0 and
int(EXPR)-1 inclusive. If EXPR is 1, then returns a
rational number between 0 (inclusive) and 1. If EXPR
is negative then EXPR seeds the random number generator.
randomize EXPR
Seeds the random number generator with the integer
EXPR. The pseudo-random number generator should return
the same sequence when seeded with the same start
value. The actual sequence may be system dependant.
len( STRINGEXPR )
Returns the length of the string STRINGEXPR.
len( TYPED-VAR )
Returns the length, in bytes, of a typed record
(one created by DIM AS).
val( STRINGEXPR | EXPR )
Value of the expression contained in a STRINGEXPR or
EXPR. STRINGEXPR may be a string literal, variable,
function, or expression.
For example, VAL("1 + sqr(4)") yields 3.
asc( STRINGEXPR )
Returns the ascii code for the first character of
STRINGEXPR. A null string returns zero.
instr(a$, b$ { , VAL } )
Returns the position of the substring b$ in the
string a$ or returns a zero if b$ is not a substring.
VAL is an optional starting position in a$
ubound( VAR [, EXPR ] )
If VAR is a dimensioned array, returns the maximum
legal subscript of the first dimension of that array,
else returns 0. Use EXPR to return other dimensions.
isarray( VAR )
If VAR is a dimensioned array, returns the number
of dimensions, otherwise returns 0.
fgetbyte( FILENUM )
Reads one byte from the open file specified by FILENUM
and returns an unsigned numeric value [0..255].
eof(FILENUM)
Returns true if the the last INPUT statement, INPUT$
or FGETBYTE function call which referenced the text
file specified by FILENUM tried to read past the end
of file. (Note that reading the last line of a file
will not read past the eof mark. A subsequent read is
needed to set the EOF flag to true. Reading past the
end-of-file will not report an error.)
pop
POP function (see also POP statement). Pops one variable
value off the stack and returns that value (string or
numeric).
(POP can be used as either a statement (with a
parameter) or a function (no parameter). Note that the
POP function, unlike the POP statement, does not
restore the value of the variable pushed, but only
returns the pushed value. This use of the POP
statement is different from the Applesoft usage.)
peek( ADDR { , SIZE_VAL } )
Returns the value of the byte in memory at address ADDR.
If SIZE_VAL is 2 or 4, returns the value of the 16-bit
or 32-bit word respectively (if correctly aligned).
If SIZE_VAL is 8, returns the value of the numeric
variable located at ADDR. (peek(varptr(x),8) == x)
varptr( VAR | STRINGVAR )
Returns the memory address of a variable.
erl
Returns the line number of the last error. Zero if the
error was in immediate mode. The variable errorstatus$
gives the error type.
timer
Returns a numeric value of elapsed of seconds from the
computers internal clock.
STRING FUNCTIONS
x$ + y$
String concatenation.
String concatenation (and the MID$, LEN and INSTR
functions) can handle strings of up to 32766 characters
in length (if the memory available to the program
permits).
chr$(VAL)
Returns the ascii character corresponding to the value
of VAL.
str$( VAL { , EXPR } )
Returns a string representation corresponding to VAL.
If EXPR is present then the string is padded to that
length.
format$( VAL , STREXPR )
Returns the string representation of VAL formatted
according to the format string STREXPR. The format
string STREXPR uses the same formatting syntax as the
PRINT USING statement.
inkey$
Return one character from the keyboard if input is
available. Returns a zero length string { "" } if no
keyboard input is available. Non-blocking. Can be
used for keyboard polling.
input$( EXPR { , FILENUM } )
Returns EXPR characters from file FILENUM. If f is not
present then get input from the console keyboard.
mid$( a$, i { , j } )
Returns a substring of a$ starting at the i'th
positions and j characters in length. If the second
parameter is not specified then the substring is
taken from the start position to the end of a$.
right$(a$, EXPR )
Returns the right EXPR characters of a$.
left$(a$, EXPR )
Returns the left EXPR characters of a$.
field$( STRINGVAL, VAL { , STRINGVAL } )
Returns the N-th field of the first string. If the
optional string is present then use the first character
of that string as the field separator. The default
separator is a space. Similar to UNIX 'awk' fields.
e.g. field$("1 22 333 4", 3) returns "333"
If VAL is -1 then returns a string with a length
equal to the number of seperators in the first string.
hex$( VAL { , EXPR } )
bin$( VAL { , EXPR } )
Returns the hexadecimal or binary string representation
corresponding to VAL. If EXPR is present then the
string is padded with zeros to make it that length.
lcase$( STRINGVAL )
Returns STRINGVAL in all lower case characters.
errorstatus$
Returns the error message for the last error.
OPERATORS
The following math operators are available:
^ exponentiation
* multiplication
/ division
mod remainder
+ addition
- subtraction
logical operators: (any non-zero value is true)
not logical not
bitwise operators:
and bitwise and
or bitwise or
xor bitwise exclusive-or
comparison operators:
<= less than or equal
<> not equal to
>= greater than or equal
= equal
> greater than
< less than
x$=y$, x$<y$, x$>y$, x$<=y$, x$>=y$, x$<>y$
String comparisons; result is 1 if true, 0 if false.
Operator precedence (highest to lowest):
( )
-{unary_minus} functions
^
* / mod
+ -
= < > <= >= <>
not
and
or xor
UNIX functions:
sys( STRINGVAL )
UNIX system call. The string parameter is given to
the shell as a command. Returns exit status.
getenv$( STRINGVAL )
Returns value for environment name STRINGVAL.
argv$
Returns the UNIX shell command line arguments.
Macintosh commands:
*** NOTE ***
Many MacOS specific functions and commands are only
documented in the Chipmunk Basic quick reference file.
gotoxy VAL, VAL
Set the horizontal and vertical location of the
text output cursor. (0,0) is the upper left corner.
moveto VAL, VAL
Sets the (x,y) location of the graphics pen.
lineto VAL, VAL
Draws a line from the current pen location to location
(x,y) in the graphics window.
window x, y, char_cols, char_lines
Change the text console window position and size.
morse STRINGVAL { , VAL, VAL, VAL, VAL }
Plays morse code through the speaker.
The parameters are: dot-speed-wpm, volume{0..100},
word-speed-wpm, frequency{in Hz or cps}
sound VAL, VAL, VAL
The parameters are:
frequency{in Hz}, seconds_duration, volume{0..100}
say STRINGVAL
Speaks STRINGVAL if the Speech Manager Extension is
resident. Try "say a$,200,46,1" for faster speech.
open "SFGetFile" for input as #FNUM
open "SFPutFile" for output as #FNUM
Puts up a standard file dialog for the file name.
files { STRINGVAL }
Displays a listing of files in the named or current
directory.
Macintosh functions:
fre
Returns the amount of memory left for program use.
date$
Returns a string corresponding to the current date.
time$
Returns a string corresponding to the current time.
pos(VAL)
Returns the horizontal position of the text cursor.
If VAL is negative returns the vertical position.
errorstatus$
Also returns the full path name of the program and
files opened by SFGetFile and SFPutFile. (Only under System 7
and also only if the name fits in a string variable)
Macintosh menu items:
Open or <cmd>O will put up a dialog to allow selection
of a program file to load. Basic Program
file names must end with a ".bas" suffix.
Copy will allow copying picts from the graphics
window.
<cmd>. Command-period will stop program execution.
Print Print graphics window if it's the frontmost
window. Only the graphics window can be printed.
RESERVED WORDS AND SYMBOLS
+ - * / ^ mod and or xor not > < >= <= <> = ()
sqr log exp sin cos tan atn pi
abs sgn int rnd peek val asc len
mid$ right$ left$ str$ chr$ lcase$ ucase$
goto if then else endif gosub return
for to step next while wend select case
rem let dim erase data read restore field$
input print open for output append as close# load save
random lof loc get put
inkey$ input$ eof files fgetbyte# fseek# fputbyte
run stop end exit quit cont renum new clear
date$ time$ timer sound morse say doevents
home cls gotoxy htab vtab pos
graphics sprite pset moveto lineto window scrn mouse
varptr peek poke fre push pop isarray
sub call usr def fn
type class extends string integer single double
asin acos sinh cosh tanh log10 floor true false ubound
eqv imp static option degrees radians redim
msgbox do loop until break
method private public local menu dialog memstat()
draw play bload bsave min max mat
each resume function
key is each set width swap
CONVENTIONS
EXPR an expression that evaluates to a numeric value.
STRINGEXPR a string expression.
VAR a numeric variable.
STRINGVAR a string variable. Name must end with a "$".
INTEGERVAR a 16-bit variable. Name must end with a "%".
All program lines must begin with a line number.
Using spaces (indentation) between the line number and
program statements is legal. Line numbers can be
between 1 and 2147483647. Programs lines must be no
longer than 254 characters in length.
Subroutine names starting with "fn" are reserved for the
(obsolete) def fn functions.
Hexadecimal numbers can be entered by preceding them with
a "0x" as in 0x02ae, or by "&h" as in &h0172.
Multiple statements may be given on one line, separated by
colons:
10 INPUT X : PRINT X : STOP
DIAGNOSTICS
Some errors can be caught by the user program using the
"on error goto" command. If no error trapping routine has been
supplied then program execution is terminated and a message is
printed with the corresponding line number.
Graphics (MacOS) may require that the preferred memory
requirements be increased using the Finder "Get Info" dialog
box.
CHANGES
v3.5.3 - allow integer (i%) variables as for/next loop indices
v3.4.7 - lower precedence of NOT operator
- disabled ON GOTO range checking
v3.4.6 - added MAT matrix statements
v3.4.0 - OPEN ELSE added
v3.3.4 - changed integer conversion to rounding
- changed sub return values to: sub_name = x
- added reserved words for: true false
v3.3.3 - added acos, tanh, log10
v3.2.8 - added class definitions
Many others ...
BUGS
Many. Perhaps competitive with Central American rain forests.
FOR/NEXT loops with integer indices require a variable in the
NEXT statement. Integer arrays can only have a dimension of
one and will only work in assignment (LET) statements. All
arithmetic on integer variables is done using floating point
arithmetic. DIM AS DOUBLE and DIM AS INTEGER statements are
ignored.
Many string functions (except +, MID$, LEN and INSTR) silently
truncate their results to 254 characters (e.g. without
warning). All string function may silently truncate strings
longer than 32766 characters. Any operation on strings longer
than 254 characters will cause the program to run slower.
Comments starting with ' sometimes can't be used after
statements that can end with a string parameter. ( : '
should always work.)
Any variables used as a CLASS, or TYPE, globally overide all
local variables of the same names. Local TYPE'd variables
must be declared globally as TYPE'd variables. Named SUBroutines
are slower than GOSUBs. The combined length of a SUBroutine name
and any local variables declared STATIC must be less than 29
characters.
Can't CONTinue from an error inside a named SUB subroutine.
The PRINT USING format string doesn't recognize comma's,
underscores and many other common format characters.
Macintosh screen editing will only recognise the last line
modified before a RETURN or ENTER key. The EDIT command and
Mac screen editing are incompatible.
There are many undocumented graphics and sprite commands
and keywords in the Macintosh port. See the accompanying
README and Chipmunk Basic quick-reference file.
DISCLAIMER
There is no warranty that this document is accurate.
AUTHORS
David Gillespie wrote basic.p 1.0 and the p2c lib.
Ron Nicholson (rhn@nicholson.com) added file i/o, graphics
and did the Unix, Macintosh and PowerMac port. (1990-1997Nov)
Portions of this document are Copyright (C) 1989 Dave Gillespie.
Copyright (C)1994,1998 Ronald H. Nicholson, Jr. (rhn@nicholson.com),
All rights reserved.
"Applesoft" is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., etc.
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