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Acquainting yourself with SpecBAS (view source)
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A quick guide to getting started in SpecBAS | A quick guide to getting started in SpecBAS | ||
Anyone familiar with BASIC may want to skip down to the 'editor controls' section | |||
==The BASICs for new users== | ==The BASICs for new users== | ||
| Line 9: | Line 11: | ||
==Hello World== | ==Hello World== | ||
Commands can be stored into memory by pre-fixing them with a line number, they are arranged by line number to form a program. The program currently stored in memory will be displayed at the top of the window. More than one command can be stored on one line, or executed from the command line, by separating them with a | Commands can be stored into memory by pre-fixing them with a line number, they are arranged by line number to form a program. The program currently stored in memory will be displayed at the top of the window. More than one command can be stored on one line, or executed from the command line, by separating them with a ''':''' colon. For example, enter the following program: | ||
10 PRINT "Hello World" | 10 PRINT "Hello World" | ||
20 PRINT "Goodbye": PRINT "World" | 20 PRINT "Goodbye": PRINT "World" | ||
This should now be stored in memory, and displayed at the top of the window. To execute a program, enter the command | This should now be stored in memory, and displayed at the top of the window. To execute a program, enter the command '''RUN''' . To save a program to disk, enter '''SAVE "filename"''' . To retrieve a saved program, enter '''LOAD "filename"''' . The command '''NEW''' will erase a program from memory. Individual lines can be erased by entering their line number alone ( to erase line 20, simply enter '''20''' ). Entering '''QUIT''' will exit SpecBAS. | ||
==Editor key controls== | |||
The editor window can be controlled, intuitively, via mouse control, and/or via the following key commands: | |||
ctrl + cursor up = select previous line | |||
ctrl + cursor down = select next line | |||
tab = edit selected line | |||
escape = terminate, or 'break into' program | |||
return = toggle editor window on/off | |||
shift + cursor up = recall previous command | |||
shift + cursor down = revert the above | |||
BASIC programs can also be loaded into specbas as ZXASCII text files from your editor of choice, detailed in [[File handling in SpecBAS]] | |||
==What can I do with it?== | |||
SpecBAS is broadly compatible with most forms of BASIC. Demo files are available for you to nose through. Writing games, utilities and fun-code in SpecBAS is remarkably simple. The speed of the interpreter, and vast amount of commands available allow impressive results to be achieved quickly. You could relive a couple of ZX81 type-ins, or just as easily throw together a fractal based animation, a slick arcade game, or useful utilities and tools. | |||