''BASIC Programming'' is an Atari Video Computer System (later called the
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...
) cartridge that teaches simple computer programming using a dialect of
BASIC. Written by
Warren Robinett
Joseph Warren Robinett Jr. (born December 25, 1951) In the A. Miller interview, Robinett says he was 26 in November 1977. is a designer of interactive computer graphics software, notable as the developer of the Atari 2600's ''Adventure'' — ...
and released by
Atari, Inc.
Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry.
Based primarily around the Sunny ...
in 1979, this
BASIC interpreter
A BASIC interpreter is an interpreter that enables users to enter and run programs in the BASIC language and was, for the first part of the microcomputer era, the default application that computers would launch. Users were expected to use the BAS ...
is one of a few non-game cartridges for the console. The Atari VCS's
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
size of 128 bytes restricts the possibilities for writing programs.
Details
The ''BASIC Programming'' display is divided into six regions:
* Program is where instructions are typed. It has a maximum of eleven lines of code.
*
Stack shows temporary results of what the program does.
*
Variables stores the values of any variables that the program is using.
* Output displays any output values that the program creates.
* Status shows the amount of available memory remaining.
* Graphics contains two colored squares that can be manipulated by the program.
Input is given through two Atari keypad controllers, which came with special overlays to show how to type the different commands and letters. Programs are restricted to 64 characters in size and normally 9 lines of code, limiting the programs that can be written (users can disable all windows except Program and keep selecting "New Line" until 11 lines of code are present).
Language features
VCS BASIC supports the following keywords:
* Statements:
Print
* Structure:
Goto,
If-Then-Else
* Graphics:
Clear
* Functions:
Hit,
Key
* Math:
+ - × ÷ Mod
* Relational operators:
< > =
Unlike most BASIC implementations of the time:
* VCS BASIC uses ← instead of = for assignment; e.g.,
A←A+1.
* Statements can be strung together on a line without a delimiter; e.g.,
Note←APrintA.
* An
If statement can be used as a function, returning a value:
Mod292
*
If statements can take an
Else clause.
Special variable names:
*
Note sounds a musical note, assigned numbers from 0 to 7
** Numbers assigned to
Note are implicitly assigned modulus 8, thus 8 becomes 0, 9 becomes 1, etc.
*
Hor1,
Hor2 - the horizontal coordinate of one of two squares
*
Ver1,
Ver2 - the vertical coordinate of one of two squares
The language supports 26 unsigned integer variables A to Z. VCS BASIC supports integers from 0 to 99. Math operations wrap, so 99+1 becomes 0, 99+2 becomes 1, etc.
Sample code
The following example of a ''
Pong
''Pong'' is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released in 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Al ...
'' game is provided.
See also
*
List of Atari 2600 games
This is a list of games for the Atari Video Computer System, a console renamed to the Atari 2600 in November 1982. Sears licensed the console and many games from Atari, Inc., selling them under different names. A few cartridges were Sears exclu ...
*
Spectravideo CompuMate
*
Family BASIC
is a consumer product for programming on the Nintendo Family Computer, the Japanese equivalent to the Nintendo Entertainment System. ''Family BASIC'' was launched on June 21, 1984 to consumers in Japan by Nintendo, in cooperation with Hudson Sof ...
References
External links
''BASIC Programming''at Atari Mania
*
{{BASIC
1979 software
Atari 2600
BASIC interpreters
BASIC programming language family
Discontinued BASICs
Video game development software