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        Microsoft(TM) BASIC
        Reference Manual












   Microsoft Corporation

Information in this document is subject to change without 
notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of 
Microsoft Corporation. The software described in this
document  is  furnished  under a license agreement or
non-disclosure agreement. The software may be used or 
copied only in accordance with the terms of the agreement. 
It is against the law to copy Microsoft(TM) BASIC on 
magnetic tape, disk, or any other medium for any purpose 
other than the purchaser's personal use.




           (C) Microsoft Corporation 1979, 1982




Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft Building
10700 Northup Way
C-97200
Bellevue, Washington 98004


CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc.

Microsoft, Microsoft BASIC Interpreter, Microsoft BASIC 
Compiler, Microsoft FORTRAN Compiler, and Microsoft COBOL 
Compiler are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Teletype is a registered trademark of Teletype Corporation.





















Document no. 8101-530-11 
Part no.  00F14RM

                 Contents





Introduction


Chapters 1 General Information about Microsoft BASIC

           1.1  Initialization
           1.2  Modes of Operation 
           1.3  Line Format
           1.4  Character Set 
           1.5  Constants
           1.6  Variables
           1.7  Type Conversion
           1.8  Expressions and Operators
           1.9  Input Editing 
           1.10 Error Messages

         2 Microsoft BASIC Commands and Statements

           2,1  AUTO
           2.2  CALL 
           2.3  CHAIN
           2.4  CLEAR
           2.5  CLOAD 
           2.6  CLOSE 
           2.7  COMMON
           2.8  CONT
           2.9  CSAVE 
           2.10 DATA 
           2.11 DEF FN
           2.12 DEFINT/SNG/DBL/STR
           2.13 DEF USR 
           2.14 DELETE 
           2.15 DIM
           2.16 EDIT 
           2.17 END
           2.18 ERASE
           2.19 ERR and ERL Variables 
           2.20 ERROR 
           2.21 FIELD 
           2.22 FOR...NEXT
           2.23 GET
           2.24 GOSUB...RETURN
           2.25 GOTO

           2.26 IF...THEN[...ELSE] and IF...GOTO 
           2.27 INPUT
           2.28 INPUT# 
           2.29 KILL 
           2.30 LET
           2.31 LINE INPUT
           2.32 LINE INPUT#
           2.33 LIST 
           2.34 LLIST 
           2.35 LOAD 
           2.36 LPRINT and LPRINT USING
           2.37 LSET and RSET
           2.38 MERGE 
           2.39 MID$ 
           2.40 NAME 
           2.41 NEW 
           2.42 NULL 
           2.43 ON ERROR GOTO
           2.44 ON...GOSUB and ON...GOTO
           2.45 OPEN
           2.46 OPTION BASE
           2.47 OUT 
           2.48 POKE 
           2.49 PRINT
           2.50 PRINT USING
           2.51 PRINT# and PRINT# USING
           2.52 PUT 
           2.53 RANDOMIZE 
           2.54 READ 
           2.55 REM 
           2.56 RENUM 
           2.57 RESTORE
           2.58 RESUME 
           2.59 RUN 
           2.60 SAVE 
           2.61 STOP 
           2.62 SWAP
           2.63 TRON/TROFF 
           2.64 WAIT 
           2.65 WHILE...WEND
           2.66 WIDTH 
           2.67 WRITE 
           2.68 WRITE#

         3 Microsoft BASIC Functions

           3.1  ABS
           3.2  ASC
           3.3  ATN
           3.4  CDBL
           3.5  CHR$
           3.6  CINT
           3.7  COS
           3.8  CSNG
           3.9  CVI, CVS, CVD
           3.10 EOF

           3.11 EXP 
           3.12 FIX 
           3.13 FRE 
           3.14 HEX$ 
           3.15 INKEY$
           3.16 INP 
           3.17 INPUT$
           3.18 INSTR 
           3.19 INT 
           3.20 LEFT$ 
           3.21 LEN 
           3.22 LOC 
           3.23 LOG 
           3.24 LPOS 
           3.25 MID$
           3.26 MIK$, MKS$, MKD$
           3.27 OCT$ 
           3.28 PEEK 
           3.29 POS 
           3.30 RIGHT$
           3.31 RND 
           3.32 SGN 
           3.33 SIN 
           3.34 SPACE$
           3.35 SPC 
           3.36 SQR 
           3.37 STR$ 
           3.38 STRING$
           3.39 TAB 
           3.40 TAN 
           3.41 USR 
           3.42 VAL 
           3.43 VARPTR 

Appendices A    Error Codes and Error Messages

           B    Mathematical Functions

           C    ASCII Character Codes

           D    Microsoft BASIC Reserved Words


Index

<<< blank page >>>

                     Introduction



Microsoft(TM) BASIC is the most extensive implementation of 
BASIC available for microprocessors. Microsoft BASIC meets 
the ANSI qualifications for BASIC, as set forth in document 
BSRX3.60-1978. Each release of Microsoft BASIC is 
compatible with previous versions.

How to Use this Manual

This manual is a reference for all implementations of 
Microsoft BASIC and for the Microsoft(TM) BASIC Compilers.

The manual is divided into three chapters plus three
appendices. Chapter 1 covers a variety of topics, largely
pertaining to data representation in Microsoft BASIC.
Chapter 2 describes the syntax and semantics of every 
command and  statement  in  Microsoft  BASIC,  ordered
alphabetically. Chapter 3 describes all Microsoft BASIC
intrinsic functions, also ordered alphabetically. The
appendices contain a list of error messages and codes, a 
list of mathematical functions, and a list of ASCII 
character codes.

Additional information about programming Microsoft BASIC is 
covered in the Microsoft BASIC User's Guide. The User's 
Guide describes the features of Microsoft BASIC that are 
implemented for your machine. It also contains information 
relevant to your operating system and helpful hints about 
such matters as data I/O and assembly language subroutines.

Syntax Notation
Wherever the format for a statement or command is given, the 
following rules apply:

CAPS  Items in capital letters must be input as shown.

< >   Items in lower case letters enclosed in   angle
      brackets (< >) are to be supplied by the user.

[ ]   Items in square brackets ([ ]) are optional.

...   Items followed by an ellipsis (...) may be repeated 
      any number of times (up to the length of the line).

{ }   Braces indicate that the user has a choice between 
      two or more entries. At least one of the entries 
      enclosed in braces must be chosen unless the entries 
      are also enclosed in square brackets.

|     Vertical bars separate the choices within braces. At 
      least one of the entries separated by bars must be 
      chosen unless the entries are also enclosed in square

brackets.

All punctuation except angle brackets and square 
brackets (i.e., commas, parentheses, semicolons, 
hyphens, equal signs) must be included where shown.

Chapter 1 General Information about Microsoft BASIC 
1.1 Initialization

1.2 Modes of Operation

1.3 Line Format
 1.3.1 Line Numbers

1.4 Character Set
 1.4.1 Control Characters
1.5 Constants

 1.5.1 Single and Double Precision Form 
     for Numeric Constants
1.6 Variables

 1.6.1 Variable Names and Declaration Characters 
 1.6.2 Array Variables
 1.6.3 Space Requirements
1.7 Type Conversion
1.8 Expressions and Operators 
 1.8.1 Arithmetic Operators

  1.8.1.1 Integer Division and Modulus Arithmetic 
  1.8.1.2 Overflow and Division by Zero
 1.8.2 Relational Operators 

 1.8.3 Logical Operators 
 1.8.4 Functional Operators 
 1.8.5 String Operators
1.9 Input Editing
1.10 Error Messages

<<< blank page >>>

                       CHAPTER 1

         GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC



1.1 INITIALIZATION 

The procedure for initialization will vary with different 
implementations of Microsoft BASIC. Check the Microsoft 
BASIC User's Guide for your machine to determine how 
Microsoft BASIC is initialized with your operating system.



1.2 MODES OF OPERATION

When Microsoft BASIC is initialized, it displays the prompt
"Ok".   "Ok" indicates Microsoft BASIC is at command level;
that is, it is ready to accept commands. At this point,
Microsoft BASIC may be used in either of two modes: direct 
mode or indirect mode.

In direct mode, Microsoft BASIC statements and commands are 
not preceded by line numbers. They are executed as they are 
entered. Results of arithmetic and logical operations may 
be displayed immediately and stored for later use, but the 
instructions themselves are lost after execution. Direct 
mode is useful for debugging and for using Microsoft BASIC 
as a "calculator" for quick computations that do not require 
a complete program.

Indirect mode is used for entering programs. Program lines 
are preceded by line numbers and are stored in memory. The 
program stored in memory is executed by entering the RUN 
command.



1.3 LINE FORMAT

Microsoft BASIC program lines have the following format 
 (square brackets indicate optional input)

nnnnn BASIC statement[:BASIC statement...] <carriage return>

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC Page l-2


More than one BASIC statement may be placed on a line, but 
each must be separated from the last by a colon.

A Microsoft BASIC program line always begins with a line 
number and ends with a carriage return. A line may contain 
a maximum of 255 characters.

It is possible to extend a logical line over more than one 
physical line by using the <line feed> key. <line feed> 
lets you continue typing a logical line on the next physical 
line without entering a <carriage return>.



1.3.1 Line Numbers 

Every Microsoft BASIC program line begins with a line 
number. Line numbers indicate the order in which the 
program lines are stored in memory. Line numbers are also 
used as references in branching and editing. Line numbers 
must be in the range 0 to 65529.

A period (.) may be used in EDIT, LIST, AUTO, and DELETE 
commands to refer to the current line.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC          Page 1-3


1.4 CHARACTER SET

The Microsoft BASIC character set consists of alphabetic 
characters, numeric characters, and special characters.

The alphabetic characters in Microsoft BASIC are the upper 
case and lower case letters of the alphabet.

The Microsoft BASIC numeric characters are the digits 0 
through 9.

In addition, the following special characters and terminal 
keys are recognized by Microsoft BASIC:

Character   Action

               Blank
        =      Equals sign or assignment symbol 
        +      Plus sign
        -      Minus sign
        *      Asterisk or multiplication symbol 
        /      Slash or division symbol
        ^      Up arrow or exponentiation symbol 
        (      Left parenthesis
        )      Right parenthesis
        %      Percent
        #      Number (or pound) sign
        $      Dollar sign
        !      Exclamation point
        [      Left bracket
        ]      Right bracket
        ,      Comma
        .      Period or decimal point
        '      Single quotation mark (apostrophe) 
        ;      Semicolon
        :      Colon
        &      Ampersand
        ?      Question mark
        <      Less than
        >      Greater than
        \      Backslash or integer division symbol 
        @      At sign
        _      Underscore
  <rubouE>    Deletes last character typed. 
  <escape>    Escapes edit mode subcommands. 
               See Section 2.16.
  <tab>       Moves print position to next tab stop. 
               Tab stops are set every eight columns. 
  <line feed> Moves to next physical line.
  <carriage 
     return>   Terminates input of a line.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC    Page 1-4


1.4.1 Control Characters

Microsoft BASIC supports the following control characters: 

Control Character             Action

  Control-A     Enters edit mode on the line being typed.

  Control-C     Interrupts program execution and returns
                to BASIC command level.

  Control-G     Rings the bell at the terminal.

  Control-H     Backspaces. Deletes the last character
                typed.

  Control-I     Tabs to the next tab stop. Tab stops are
                set every eight columns.

  Control-0     Halts program output while   execution
                continues.  A second Control-0 resumes 
                output.

  Control-R     Lists the line that is currently being
                typed.

  Control-S     Suspends program execution.

  Control-Q     Resumes  program  execution  after  a
                Control-S.

  Control-U     Deletes the line that is currently being
                typed.



1.5 CONSTANTS 

Constants are the values Microsoft BASIC uses  during
execution. There are two types of constants: string and
numeric.

A string constant is a sequence of up to 255 alphanumeric 
characters enclosed in double quotation marks.

Examples:

    "HELLO'
    "$25,000.00"
    "Number of Employees"

Numeric constants are positive or   negative numbers.
Microsoft BASIC numeric constants cannot contain commas. 
There are five types of numeric constants:

 GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC          Page 1-5


 1.. Integer constants   Whole numbers  between  -32768  and
                         32767.   Integer  constants  do not
                         contain decimal points.

 2.  Fixed-point         Positive or negative real numbers, 
     constants           i.e., numbers that contain  decimal 
                         points.
 3.  Floating-point      Positive or negative numbers repre-
     constants           sented in exponential form (similar
                         to scientific notation). A 
                         floating-point constant consists of 
                         an optionally signed integer or
                         fixed-point number (the mantissa) 
                         followed by the letter E and an 
                         optionally signed integer (the 
                         exponent). The allowable range for 
                         floating-point constants is 10-38 
                         to 10+38.

                         Examples:

                         235.988E-7 = .0000235988
                         2359E6 = 2359000000

                         (Double precision    floating-point
                         constants are denoted by the letter 
                         D instead of E. See Section 
                         1.5.1.)
 4. Hex constants        Hexadecimal numbers, denoted by the 
                         prefix &H.

                         Examples:

                              &H76 
                              &H32F

 5. Octal constants      Octal numbers, denoted     by   the 
                         prefix &O or &.

                         Examples:

                              &O347 
                              &1234

Note The 8K version of Microsoft BASIC does not support 
hexadecimal or octal constants.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC Page 1-6


1.5.1 Single And Double Precision Form For Numeric Constants 

Numeric constants may be either single precision or double 
precision numbers. Single precision numeric constants are 
stored with 7 digits of precision, and printed with up to 6 
digits of precision. Double precision numeric constants are 
stored with 16 digits of precision and printed with up to 16 
digits.

A single precision constant is any numeric constant that has 
one of the following characteristics:

    1, Seven or fewer digits.

    2. Exponential form using E.

    3. A trailing exclamation point (!). 


Examples:

     46.8
    -1.09E-06
     3489.0
     22.5!

A double precision constant is any numeric constant that has 
one of these characteristics:

    1. Eight or more digits.

    2. Exponential form using D.

    3. A trailing number sign (#). 

Examples:

     345692811
    -1,09432D-06
     3489.0*
     7654321.1234



1.6 VARIABLES

Variables are names used to represent values used in a BASIC 
program. The value of a variable may be assigned explicitly 
by the programmer, or it may be assigned as the result of 
calculations in the program. Before a variable is assigned 
a value, its value is assumed to be zero.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC   Page 1-7


1.6.1 Variable Names And Declaration Characters

Microsoft BASIC variable names may be any length. Up to 40 
characters are significant. Variable names can contain 
letters, numbers, and the decimal point. However, the first 
character must be a letter. Special type declaration 
characters are also allowed--see below.

A variable name may not be a reserved word, but embedded 
reserved words are allowed. Reserved words include all 
Microsoft BASIC commands, statements, function names, and 
operator names. If a variable begins with FN, it is assumed 
to be a call to a user-defined function.

Variables may represent either a numeric value or a string. 
String variable names are written with a dollar sign ($) as 
the last character. For example: A$ = "SALES REPORT". The 
dollar sign is a variable type declaration character; that 
is, it "declares" that the variable will represent a string.

Numeric variable names may  declare  integer, single
precision, or double precision values. The type declaration 
characters for these variable names are as follows:

     %    Integer variable

     !    Single precision variable 

     #    Double precision variable

The default type for a numeric variable name is single 
precision.

Examples of Microsoft BASIC variable names:

PI#      Declares a double precision value. 
MINIMUM! Declares a single precision value. 
LIMIT%   Declares an integer value.
N$       Declares a string value.
ABC      Represents a single precision value.

There is a second method by which variable types may be 
declared. The Microsoft BASIC statements DEFINT, DEFSTR, 
DEFSNG, and DEFDBL may be included in a program to declare 
the types for certain variable names. These statements are 
described in detail in Section 2.12.



1.6.2 Array Variables

An array is a group or table of values referenced by the 
same variable name. Each element in an array is referenced 
by an array variable that is subscripted with an integer or 
an integer expression. An array variable name has as many

GENERAL rNFORmATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC      Page 1-8


subscripts as there are dimensions in the array.   For
example V(10) would reference a value in a one-dimension 
array, T(1,4) would reference a value in a two-dimension 
array, and so on. The maximum number of dimensions for an 
array is 255. The maximum number of elements per dimension 
is 32,767.



1.6.3 Space Requirements 


The following table lists only the number of bytes occupied 
by the values represented by the variable names. Additional 
requirements may vary according to implementation.

Variables   Type           Bytes

            Integer          2 
            Single Precision 4 
            Double Precision 8

Arrays      Type           Bytes

          Integer          2 per element 
          Single Precision 4 per element 
          Double Precision 8 per element

Strings

3 bytes overhead plus the present contents of the string.



1.7 TYPE CONVERSION

When necessary, Microsoft BASIC will convert a numeric 
constant from one type to another. The following rules and 
examples should be kept in mind.

    1. If a numeric constant of one type is set equal to a 
        numeric variable of a different type, the number 
        will be stored as the type declared in the variable 
        name. (If a string variable is set equal to a 
        numeric value or vice versa, a "Type mismatch" 
        error occurs.)

        Example:

        10 A%=23.42 
        20 PRINT A% 
        RUN
         23

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC                                                                                   Page 1-9


     2. During expression evaluation, all of the operands 
        in an arithmetic or relational operation are 
        converted to the same degree of precision, i.e., 
        that of the most precise operand. Also, the result 
        of an arithmetic a operation is returned to this 
        degree of precision.

        Examples:

        10 D#7=6*/7          The arithmetic was performed
        20 PRINT D#          in double precision and the
        RUN                  result was returned in D#
         .8571428571428571   as a double precision
                             value.

        10 D=6#/7       The arithmetic was performed
        20 PRINT D      in double precision and the
        RUN             result was returned to D (single
         .857143        precision variable), rounded, and 
                        printed as a single precision
                        value.


     3. Logical operators (see Section 1.8.3) convert their 
        operands to integers and return an integer result. 
        Operands must be in the range -32768 to 32767 or an 
        "Overflow" error occurs.


     4. when a floating-point value is converted to an 
        integer, the fractional portion is rounded.

        Example:

        10 C%=55.88 
        20 PRINT C% 
        RUN
         56


     5. If a double precision variable is assigned a single 
        precision value, only the first seven digits 
        (rounded) of the converted number will be valid. 
        This is because only seven digits of accuracy were
        supplied with the single precision value. The
        absolute value of the difference between the
        printed double precision number and the original 
        single precision value will be less than 6.3E-8 
        times the original single precision value.

        Example:

        10 A=2.04
        20 B#=A
        30 PRINT A; B#
        RUN
         2.04          2.039999961853027

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC Page 1-10


1.8 EXPRESSIONS AND OPERATORS 

An expression may be a string or numeric constant, a 
variable, or a combination of constants and variables with 
operators which produces a single value.

Operators perform mathematical or logical operations on 
values. The Microsoft BASIC operators may be divided into 
four categories:

    1. Arithmetic

    2. Relational

    3. Logical

    4. Functional 


Each category is described in the following sections.




1.8.1 Arithmetic Operators

The arithmetic operators, in order of precedence, are: 

Operator Operation             Sample Expression

  ^      Exponentiation            X"Y

  -      Negation                  -X

  *,/    Multiplication, Floating- X*Y
         point Division            X/Y

  +,-    Addition, Subtraction     X+Y

To change the order in which the operations are performed, 
use parentheses. Operations within parentheses are 
performed first. Inside parentheses, the usual order of 
operations is maintained.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC        Page 1-11


Here are some sample algebraic expressions and       their
Microsoft BASIC counterparts.

Algebraic Expression BASIC Expression 
      X+2Y          X+Y*2

      X-            X-Y/Z

            X*Y/Z

            (X+Y)/Z

      (X            (X^2)^Y

      X             X^(Y^Z)

      X(-Y)        X*(-Y) Two consecutive
                   operators must
                   be separated by
                   parentheses.



1.8.1.1 Integer Division And Modulus Arithmetic -

Two additional operators are available in Microsoft BASIC: 
integer division and modulus arithmetic.

Integer division is denoted by the backslash (\).      The
operands are rounded to integers (must be in the range 
-32768 to 32767) before the division is performed, and the 
quotient is truncated to an integer.

Example:
     10\4=2
     25.68\6.99=3
Integer division follows multiplication and floating-point 
division in order of Precedence.

Modulus arithmetic is denoted by the operator MOD. Modulus
arithmetic yields the integer value that is the remainder of 
an integer division.

Example:

     10.4 MOD 4=2 (10/4=2 with a remainder 2) 
     25.68 MOD 6.99=5 (26/7=3 with a remainder 5)

Modulus arithmetic follows integer division in order of 
precedence.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC       Page 1-12


1.8.1.2 Overflow And Division By Zero -

If, during the evaluation of an expression, division by zero 
is encountered, the "Division by zero" error message is 
displayed, machine infinity with the sign of the numerator 
is supplied as the result of the division, and execution 
continues. If the evaluation of an exponentiation operator 
results in zero being raised to a negative power, the 
"Division by zero" error message is displayed, positive 
machine infinity is supplied as the result of the 
exponentiation, and execution continues.

If overflow occurs, the "Overflow" error     message  is
displayed, machine infinity with the algebraically correct 
sign is supplied as the result, and execution continues.



1.8.2 Relational Operators 

Relational operators are used to compare two values. The
result of the comparison is either "true" (-1) or "false" 
(0). This result may then be used to make a decision 
regarding program flow. (See "IF" statements, Section 
2.26.)

The relational operators are

Operator  Relation Tested          Example 

   =      Equality                 X=Y

  <>      Inequality               X<>Y

  <       Less than                X<Y

  >       Greater than             X>Y

  <=      Less than or equal to    X<=Y

  >=      Greater than or equal to X>=Y

(The equal sign is also used to assign a value to a 
variable. See "LET," Section 2.30.)

When arithmetic and relational operators are combined in one 
expression, the arithmetic is always performed first. For 
example, the expression
    X+Y<(T-1)/Z

is true if the value of X plus Y is less than the value of 
T-1 divided by Z.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC Page 1-13


More examples:

    IF SIN(X)<0 GOTO 1000
    IF I MOD J<>0 THEN K=K+1



1.8.3 Logical Operators 
Logical operators perform tests on multiple relations, bit 
manipulation, or Boolean operations. The logical operator 
returns a bitwise result which is either "true" (not zero) 
or "false" (zero). In an expression, logical operations are 
performed after arithmetic and relational operations. The 
outcome of a logical operation is determined as shown in 
Table 1. The operators are listed in order of precedence.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC        Page 1-14


Table 1. Microsoft BASIC Relational Operators Truth Table

        NOT
               X       NOT X
               1         0
               0         1

        AND
               X       Y       X AND Y
               1       1          1
               1       0          0
               0       1          0
               0       0          0

        OR
               X       Y       X OR Y
               1       1          1
               1       0          1
               0       1          1
               0       0          0

        XOR
               X       Y       X XOR Y
               1       1          0
               1       0          1
               0       1          1
               0       0          0

        EQV
               X       Y       X EQV Y
               1       1          1
               1       0          0
               o       1          0
               o       0          1

        IMP
               X       I       X IMP Y
               1       1          1
               1       0          0
               o       1          1
               o       0          1

Just as the relational operators can be used to make 
decisions regarding program flow, logical operators can 
connect two or more relations and return a true or false 
value to be used in a decision (see "IF" statements, Section 
2.26).
Example:

     IF D<200 AND F<4 THEN 80 
     IF I>10 OR K<0 THEN 50 
     IF NOT P THEN 100

Logical operators work by converting their operands to

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC      Page 1-15


16-bit, signed, two's complement integers in the range
-32768 to 32767. (If the operands are not in this range, an 
error results.) If both operands are supplied as 0 or -1, 
logical operators return 0 or -1. The given operation is 
performed on these integers in bitwise fashion, i.e., each 
bit of the result is determined by the corresnonding bits in 
the two operands.

Thus, it is possible to use logical operators to test bytes 
for a particular bit pattern. For instance, the AND 
operator may be used to "mask" all but one of the bits of a 
status byte at a machine I/O port. The OR operator may be 
used to "merge" two bytes to create a particular binary 
value. The following examples will help demonstrate how the 
logical operators work.

63 AND 16=16   63=binary 111111 and 16=binary
       10000, so 63 AND 16=16.

15 AND 14=14   15=binary 1111 and 14=binary 1110,
       so 15 AND 14=14 (binary 1110).

-1 AND 8=8     -1=binary 1111111111111111 and 
       8=binary 1000, so -1 AND 8=8.

4 OR 2=6       4=binary 100 and 2=binary 10,
       so 4 OR 2=6 (binary 110).

10 OR 10=10    10=binary 1010, so 1010 OR 1010=
       1010 (decimal 10).

-1 OR -2=-1    -1=binary 1111111111111111 and 
       -2=binary 1111111111111110,
       so -1 OR -2=-1. The bit
       complement of sixteen zeros is
       sixteen ones, which is the
       two's complement representation of -1.

NOT X=-(X+1) The two's complement of any integer
       is the bit complement plus one.



1.8.4 Functional Onerators 

A function is used in an expression to call a predetermined 
operation that is to be performed on an operand. Microsoft 
BASIC has "intrinsic" functions that reside in the system, 
such as SQR (square root) or SIN (sine). All Microsoft 
BASIC intrinsic functions are described in Chapter 3.

Microsoft BASIC also allows "user-defined" functions that 
are written by the programmer. See "DEF FN," Section 2.11.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC           Page 1-16


1.8.5 String Operations

Strings may be concatenated by using +. 

Example:

      10 A$="FILE" : 8$="NAME"
      20 PRINT A$+B$
      30 PRINT "NEW "+A$+B$ 
      RUN
      FILENAME
      NEW FILENAME

Strings may be compared using the same relational operators 
that are used with numbers:

     =    <>    <     >   <=    >=

String comparisons are made by taking one character at a 
time from each string and comparing the ASCII codes. If all 
the ASCII codes are the same, the strings are equal. If the 
ASCII codes differ, the lower code number precedes the 
higher. If during string comparison the end of one string 
is reached, the shorter string is said to be smaller. 
Leading and trailing blanks are significant.

Examples:

      "AA"<"AB" 
      "FILENAME"="FILENAME"
      "X&">"X#" 
      "CL ">"CL" 
      "kg" >"KG" 
      "SMYTH"<"SMYTHE"
      B$<"9/12/78"      where B$="8/12/78"

Thus, string comparisons can be used to test string values 
or to alphabetize strings. All string constants used in 
comparison expressions must be enclosed in quotation marks.



1.9 INPUT EDITING 

If an incorrect character is entered as a line is being 
typed, it can be deleted with the <RUBOUT> key or with 
Control-H. Rubout surrounds the deleted character(s) with 
backslashes. Control-H has the effect of backspacing over a 
character and erasing it. Once a character(s) has been 
deleted, simply continue typing the line as desired.

To delete a line that is in the process of being typed, type 
Control-U. A carriage return is executed automatically 
after the line is deleted.

GENERAL ENFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC        Page 1-17


To correct program lines for a program that is currently in 
memory, simply retype the line using the same line number. 
Microsoft BASIC will automatically replace the old line with 
the new line.
More sophisticated editing capabilities are provided. See
"EDIT," Section 2.16.

To delete the entire program currently residing in memory, 
enter the NEW command. (See Section 2.41.) NEW is usually 
used to clear memory prior to entering a new program.



1.10 ERROR MESSAGES

If an error causes program execution to terminate, an error 
message is printed. For a complete list of Microsoft BASIC 
error codes and error messages, see Appendix A.

<<< blank page >>>

Chapter 2 Microsoft BASIC Commands and Statements

Introduction
2.1  AUTO
2.2  CALL
2.3  CHAIN
2.4  CLEAR
2.5  CLOAD
2.6  CLOSE
2.7  COMMON
2.8  CONT
2.9  CSAVE
2.10 DATA 
2.11 DEF FN
2.12 DEFINT/SNG/DBL/STR
2.13 DEF USR
2.14 DELETE 
2.15 DIM 
2.16 EDIT 
2.17 END 
2.18 ERASE
2.19 ERR and ERL Variables
2.20 ERROR 
2.21 FIELD 
2.22 FOR...NEXT
2.23 GET
2.24 GOSUB...RETURN
2.25 GOTO
2.26 IF-THEN[...ELSE] and IF...GOTO
2.27 INPUT 
2.28 INPUT# 
2.29 KILL 
2.30 LET
2.31 LINE INPUT
2.32 LINE INPUT#
2.33 LIST 
2.34 LLIST 
2.35 LOAD 
2.36 LPRINT and LPRINT USING
2.37 LSET and RSET
2.38 MERGE 
2.39 MID$ 
2.40 NAME 
2.41 NEW 
2.42 NULL
2.43 ON ERROR GOTO
2.44 ON...GOSUB and ON...GOTO
2.45 OPEN
2.46 OPTION BASE
2.47 OUT 
2.48 POKE 
2.49 PRINT
2.50 PRINT USING
2.51 PRINT# and PRINT# USING
2.52 PUT

    GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MICROSOFT BASIC


    2.53 RANDOMIZE
    2.54 READ 
    2.55 REM 
    2.56 RENUM 
    2.57 RESTORE
    2.58 RESUME 
    2.59 RUN 
    2.60 SAVE 
    2.61 STOP 
    2.62 SWAP
    2.63 TRON/TROFF
    2.64 WAIT
    2.65 WHILE...WEND
    2.66 WIDTH 
    2.67 WRITE 
    2.68 WRITE#

              CHAPTER 2 

      MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS


Microsoft BASIC commands and statements are described in 
this chapter. Each description is formatted as follows:

Format  Shows the correct format for the instruction. 
        See the "Introduction" to this manual for syntax 
        notation.

Purpose Tells what the instruction is used for.

Remarks Describes in detail how the instruction 
        is used.

Example Shows sample programs or program segments
        that demonstrate the use of the instruction.

Note    Describes special cases or provides additional
        pertinent information.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS        Page 2-2


2.1 AUTO 


Format     AUTO [dine number>[,<increment>]]

Purpose    To generate a line number automatically after
           every carriage return.

Remarks    AUTO begins numbering at <line number> and
           increments each subsequent line number by 
           <increment>. The default for both values is 10. 
           If <line number> is followed by a comma but 
           <increment> is not specified, the last increment 
           specified in an AUTO command is assumed.

           If AUTO generates a line number that is already 
           being used, an asterisk is printed after the 
           number to warn the user that any input will 
           replace the existing line. However, typing a 
           carriage return immediately after the asterisk 
           will save the line and generate the next line 
           number.
           AUTO is terminated by typing Control-C. The
           line in which Control-C is typed is not saved. 
           After Control-C is typed, Microsoft BASIC 
           returns to command level.

Example    AUTO 100,50    Generates line numbers 100,
                          150, 200 ..

           AUTO           Generates line numbers 10,
                          20, 30, 40 ...

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS        Page 2-3


2.2 CALL


Format     CALL <variable name>[(<argument list>)]

Purpose    To call an assembly language subroutine.

Remarks:   The CALL statement is one way to transfer
           program flow to an external subroutine. (See
           also the USR function, Section 3.41)

           <variable name> contains an address that is the 
           starting point in memory of the subroutine. 
           <variable name> may not be an array variable 
           name. <argument list> contains the arguments 
           that are passed to the external subroutine. 
           <argument list> may contain only variables.

           The CALL statement generates the same calling 
           sequence used by Microsoft(TM) FORTRAN, 
           Microsoft(TM) COBOL, and Microsoft(TM) BASIC 
           Compilers.

Example    110 MYROUT=&HD000
           120 CALL MYROUT(I,J,K)
            .
            .
            .

Note       In a Microsoft BASIC Compiler program, line 110
           is not required because the address of MYROUT 
           will be assigned by the linking loader at load 
           time.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-4


2.3 CHAIN


Format   CHAIN [MERGE ]<filename>[,[<line number exp>]
          [,ALL][,DELETE <range>]]

Purpose  To call a program and pass variables to it from
         the current program.

Remarks  <filename> is the name of the program that is
         called.

         The COMMON statement may be used to pass 
         variables (see Section 2.7).

Example 1
         10 REM THIS PROGRAM DEMONSTRATES CHAINING USING 
         COMMON TO PASS VARIABLES.
         20 REM SAVE THIS MODULE ON DISK AS "PROG1" 
         USING THE A OPTION.
         30 DIM A$(2),B$(2) 
         40 COMMON A$(),B$()
         50 A$(1)="VARIABLES IN COMMON MUST BE ASSIGNED"
         60 A$(2)="VALUES BEFORE CHAINING."
         70 B$(1)="": B$(2) =""
         80 CHAIN "PROG2"
         90 PRINT: PRINT B$(1): PRINT: PRINT B$(2): 
         PRINT
         100 END

         <line number exp> is a line number or an 
         expression that evaluates to a line number in 
         the called program. It is the starting point 
         for execution of the called program. If it is 
         omitted, execution begins at the first line.

Example 2
         10 REM THE STATEMENT "DIM A$(2),B$(2)"
         MAY ONLY BE EXECUTED ONCE.
         20 REM HENCE, IT DOES NOT APPEAR IN THIS 
         MODULE.
         30 REM SAVE THIS MODULE ON THE DISK AS "PROG2" 
         USING THE A OPTION,
         40 COMMON A$(),B$()
         50 PRINT: PRINT A$(1);A$(2)
         60 B$(1)="NOTE HOW THE OPTION OF SPECIFYING 
         A STARTING LINE NUMBER"
         70 B$(2)="WHEN CHAINING AVOIDS THE DIMENSION 
         STATEMENT IN 'PROG1'."
         80 CHAIN "PROG1",90
         90 END

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-S


         <line number exp> is not affected by a RENUM 
         command.

         With the ALL option, every variable in the 
         current program is passed to the called program. 
         If the ALL option is omitted, the current 
         program must contain a COMMON statement to list 
         the variables that are passed. See Section 2.7.

         The MERGE option allows a subroutine to be 
         brought into the BASIC program as an overlay. 
         That is, a MERGE operation is performed with the 
         current program and the called program. The 
         called program must be an ASCII file if it is to 
         be MERGEd.

         After an overlay is brought in, it is usually 
         desirable to delete it so that a new overlay may 
         be brought in. To do this, use the DELETE 
         option.

Example 3
         10 REM THIS PROGRAM DEMONSTRATES CHAINING USING 
         THE MERGE AND ALL OPTIONS.
         20 REM SAVE THIS MODULE ON THE DISK AS 
         "MAINPRG".
         30 A$="MAINPRG"
         40 CHAIN MERGE "OVRLAY1",1010,ALL
         50 END


         1000 REM SAVE THIS MODULE ON THE DISK AS 
         "OVRLAY1" USING THE A OPTION.
         1010 PRINT A$; " HAS CHAINED TO OVRLAY1."
         1020 A$="OVRLAY1" 
         1030 B$="OVRLAY2" 
         1040 CHAIN MERGE "OVRLAY2",1010,ALL,
         DELETE 1000-1050 
         1050 END


         1000 REM SAVE THIS MODULE ON THE DISK AS 
         "ORLAY2" USING THE A OPTION.
         1010 PRINT A$; " HAS CHAINED TO ";B$;"." 
         1020 END


         The line numbers in <range> are affected by the 
         RENUM command.

Note     The CHAIN statement with MERGE option leaves the 
         files open and preserves the current OPTION BASE 
         setting.

         If the MERGE option is omitted, CHAIN does not 
         preserve variable types or  user-defined

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS          Page 2-6


           functions for use by the chained program. That
           is, any DEFINT, DEFSNG, DEFDBL, DEFSTR, or DEFFN 
           statements containing shared variables must be 
           restated in the chained program.

           The Microsoft BASIC Compiler does not support 
           the ALL, MERGE, DELETE, and <line number exp> 
           options to CHAIN. Thus, the statement format is 
           CHAIN <filename>. If you wish to maintain 
           compatibility with Microsoft BASIC Compiler, it 
           is recommended that COMMON be used to pass 
           variables and that overlays not be used. The 
           CHAIN statement leaves the files open during 
           CHAINing.

           When using the MERGE     option,  user-defined
           functions should be placed before any CHAIN 
           MERGE statements in the program. Otherwise, the 
           user-defined functions will be undefined after 
           the merge is complete.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS       Page 2-7


2.4 CLEAR 


Format     CLEAR [,[<expression1>][,<expression2>]]

Purpose    To set all numeric variables to zero, all string
           variables to null, and to close all open files; 
           and, optionally, to set the end of memory and 
           the amount of stack space.

Remarks    <expressionl> is a memory location which, if 
           specified, sets the highest location available 
           for use by Microsoft BASIC.

           <expression2> sets aside stack  space   for
           Microsoft BASIC. The default is 512 bytes or 
           one-eighth of the available memory, whichever is 
           smaller.

Note       Microsoft BASIC allocates  string   space
           dynamically. An "Out of string space" error 
           occurs only if there is no free memory left for 
           Microsoft BASIC to use.

           Microsoft BASIC Compiler supports the CLEAR 
           statement with the restriction that 
           <expression1> and <expression2> must be integer 
           expressions. If a value of 0 is given for 
           either expression, the appropriate default is 
           used. The default stack size is 512 bytes, and 
           the default top of memory is the current top of 
           memory. The CLEAR statement performs the 
           following actions:

              Closes all files.
              Clears all COMMON and user variables. 
              Resets the stack and string space. 
              Releases all disk buffers.


Examples   CLEAR

           CLEAR ,32768 

           CLEAR ,2000 

           CLEAR ,32768,2000

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS    Page 2-8


2.5 CLOAD


Formats   CLOAD <filename>

          CLOAD? <filename> 

          CLOAD* <array name>

Purpose   To load a program or an array from cassette tape
          into memory.

Remarks   CLOAD executes a NEW command before it loads the
          program from cassette tape. <filename> is the 
          string expression or the first character of the 
          string expression that was specified when the 
          program was CSAVEd.

          CLOAD? verifies tapes by comparing the program 
          currently in memory with the file on tape that 
          has the same filename. If they are the same, 
          Microsoft BASIC prints "Ok". If not, Microsoft 
          BASIC prints "NO GOOD".

          CLOAD* loads a numeric array that has been saved 
          on tape. The data on tape is loaded into the 
          array called <array name> specified when the 
          array was CSAVE*ed.

          CLOAD and CLOAD? are always entered at command 
          level as direct mode commands. CLOAD* may be 
          entered at command level or used as a program 
          statement. Make sure the array has been
          DIMensioned before it is loaded. Microsoft 
          BASIC always returns to command level after a 
          CLOAD, CLOAD?, or CLOAD* is executed. Before a 
          CLOAD is executed, make sure the cassette 
          recorder is properly connected and in the play 
          mode, and the tape is positioned correctly.

          See also "CSAVE," Section 2.9.

Note      CLOAD and CSAVE are not included in  all
          implementations of Microsoft BASIC.

Example   CLOAD "MAX2"

          Loads file "MAX2" into memory.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS                                                   Page 2-9



2.6 CLOSE



Format               CLOSE [[#]<file number>[,[#]<file number...>]]


Purpose              To conclude I/O to a disk file.


Remarks              <file number> is the number under which the file
                     was OPENed.     A CLOSE with no arguments closes 
                     all open files.


                     The association between a particular file and 
                     file number terminates upon execution of a CLOSE 
                     statement. The file may then be reOPENed using 
                     the same or a different file number; likewise, 
                     that file number may now be reused to OPEN any 
                     file.


                     A CLOSE for a sequential output file writes the
                     final buffer of output.


                     The END statement and the NEW command always 
                     CLOSE all disk files automatically. (STOP does 
                     not close disk files.)


Example              See "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/O," in the Microsoft 
                     BASIC User's Guide.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS     Page 2-10


2.7 COMMON


Format    COMMON <list of variables>

Purpose   To pass variables to a CHAINed program.

Remarks   The COMMON statement is used in conjunction with
          the CHAIN statement. COMMON statements may 
          appear anywhere in a program, though it is 
          recommended that they appear at the beginning. 
          The same variable cannot appear in more than one 
          COMMON statement. Array variables are specified 
          by appending '()" to the variable name. If all 
          variables are to be passed, use CHAIN with the 
          ALL option and omit the COMMON statement.

Example   100 COMMON A,B,C,D(),G$
          110 CHAIN "PROG3",10




Note      Microsoft BASIC Compiler supports a modified 
          version of the COMMON statement. The COMMON 
          statement must appear in a program before any 
          executable statements. The current 
          nonexecutable statements are:

              COMMON
              DEFDBL, DEFINT, DEFSNG, DEFSTR
              DIM
              OPTION BASE
              REM 
              $INCLUDE

          Array variables used in a COMMON statement must 
          be declared in a preceding DIM statement.

          The standard form of the COMMON statement is 
          referred to as blank COMMON. Microsoft FORTRAN
          Compiler-style named COMMON areas are  also
          supported;   however, the variables are not
          preserved across CHAINs. The syntax for named 
          COMMON is:

              COMMON /<name>/ <list of variables>

          where <name> consists of 1 to 6 alphanumeric 
          characters starting with a letter. This is 
          useful for communicating with Microsoft FORTRAN 
          Compiler and assembly language routines without 
          having to explicitly pass parameters in the CALL 
          statement.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS               Page 2-11


             The blank COMMON size and order of variables 
             must be the same in the CHAINing and CHAINed 
             programs. With Microsoft BASIC Compiler, the 
             best way to insure this is to place all blank 
             COMMON declarations in a single include file and 
             use the $INCLUDE statement in each program.

             For example:

                 MENU .BAS
                          10 $INCLUDE COMDEF
                           .
                           .
                           . 1000 CHAIN "PROG1"


                 PROG1.BAS
                          10 $INCLUDE COMDEF
                           .
                           .
                           . 2000 CHAIN "MENU"


                 COMDEF.BAS
                          100 DIM A(100),B$(200) 
                          110 COMMON I,J,K,A()
                          120 COMMON A$,B$(),X,Y,Z

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-12


2.8 CONT


Format   CONT

Purpose  To continue program execution after a Control-C
         has been typed or a STOP or END statement has 
         been executed.
Remarks  Execution resumes at the point where the break 
         occurred. If the break occurred after a prompt 
         from an INPUT statement, execution continues 
         with the reprinting of the prompt ("?" or prompt 
         string).

         CONT is usually used in conjunction with STOP 
         for debugging. When execution is stopped, 
         intermediate values may be examined and changed 
         using direct mode statements. Execution may be 
         resumed with CONT or a direct mode GOTO, which 
         resumes execution at a specified line number. 
         CONT may be used to continue execution after an 
         error has occurred.
         CONT is invalid if the program has been edited 
         during the break.

Example  See "STOP," Section 2.61.

MICROSOFT BASIC CONIMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-13


2.9 CSAVE 


Formats   CSAVE <string expression>

          CSAVE* <array variable name>

Purpose   To save the program or an array currently in
          memory on cassette tape.

Remarks   Each program or array saved on   tape  is
          identified by a filename. When the command 
          CSAVE <string expression> is executed, Microsoft 
          BASIC saves the program currently in memory on 
          tape and uses the first character in <string 
          expression> as the filename. <string 
          expression> may be more than one character, but 
          only the first character is used for the 
          filename.

          When the command CSAVE* <array variable name> is 
          executed, Microsoft BASIC saves the specified 
          array on tape. The array must be a numeric 
          array. The elements of a multidimensional array 
          are saved with the leftmost subscript changing 
          fastest. For example, when the 2-dimensional 
          array specified by DIM A(2,2) is saved (see 
          "DIM," Section 2.15), the array elements are 
          saved in the following order:

             0,0 
             1,0 
             2,0 
             0,1 
             1,1 
             2,1 
             0,2 
             1,2 
             2,2


          CSAVE may be used as a program statement or as a 
          direct mode command.

          Before a CSAVE or CSAVE* is executed, make sure 
          the cassette recorder is properly connected and 
          in the record mode.

          See also "CLOAD," Section 2.5.

Note      CSAVE and CLOAD are not included  in  all
          implementations of Microsoft BASIC.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-14

Example  CSAVE "TIMER"
         Saves the program currently in memory 
         on cassette under filename "TIMER".

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS    Page 2-15


2.10 DATA 


Format    DATA <list of constants>

Purpose   To store the numeric and string constants that
          are accessed by the program's READ statement(s). 
          (See "READ," Section 2.54.)

Remarks   DATA statements are nonexecutable and may be
          placed anywhere in the program. A DATA 
          statement may contain as many constants as will 
          fit on a line (separated by commas). Any number 
          of DATA statements may be used in a program. 
          READ statements access DATA statements in order 
          (by line number). The data contained therein 
          may be thought of as one continuous list of 
          items, regardless of how many items are on a 
          line or where the lines are placed in the 
          program.

          <list of  constants> may  contain numeric
          constants in any format; i.e., fixed-point,
          floating-point, or integer. (No numeric 
          expressions are allowed in the list.) String 
          constants in DATA statements must be surrounded 
          by double quotation marks only if they contain 
          commas, colons, or significant leading or 
          trailing spaces. Otherwise, quotation marks are 
          not needed.

          The variable type (numeric or string) given in 
          the READ statement must agree with the 
          corresponding constant in the DATA statement.

          DATA statements may be reread from the beginning 
          by use of the RESTORE statement (Section 2.57).

Example   See "READ," Section 2.54.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS     Page 2-16


2.11 DEF FN


Format    DEF FN<name>[<parameter list>)]=<function definition>

Purpose   To define and name a function that is written by
          the user.

Remarks   <name> must be a legal variable name. This
          name, preceded by FN, becomes the name of the 
          function.

          <parameter list> consists of those variable 
          names in the function definition that are to be 
          replaced when the function is called. The items 
          in the list are separated by commas.

          <function definition> is an expression that 
          performs the operation of the function. It is 
          limited to one line. Variable names that appear 
          in this expression serve only to define the 
          function; they do not affect program variables 
          that have the same name. A variable name used 
          in a function definition may or may not appear 
          in the parameter list. If it does, the value of 
          the parameter is supplied when the function is 
          called. Otherwise, the current value of the 
          variable is used.

          The variables in the parameter list represent, 
          on a one-to-one basis, the argument variables or 
          values that will be given in the function call.

          This statement may define either numeric or 
          string functions. If a type is specified in the 
          function name, the value of the expression is 
          forced to that type before it is returned to the 
          calling statement. If a type is specified in 
          the function name and the argument type does not 
          match, a 'Tyne mismatch' error occurs.

          A DEF FN statement must be executed before the 
          function it defines may be called. If a 
          function is called before it has been defined, 
          an "Undefined user function" error occurs. DEF 
          FN is illegal in the direct mode.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS      Page 2-17


Example     .
            .
           410 DEF FNAB(X,Y)=X^3/Y^2
           420 T=FNAB(I,J)
            . 
            .
           Line 410 defines the function  FNAB.   The
           function is called in line 420.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-18


2.12 DEFINT/SNG/DBL/STR 


Format   DEF<type> <range(s) of letters>

         where <type> is INT, SNG, DBL, or STR

Purpose  To declare variable types as integer, single
         precision, double precision, or string.

Remarks: Any variable names beginning with the letter(s)
         specified in <range of letters> will be 
         considered the type of variable specified in the 
         <type> portion of the statement. However, a 
         type declaration character always takes
         precedence over a DEFtype statement. (See 
         "Variable Names and Declaration Characters," 
         Section 1.6.1.)
         If   no  type declaration statements  are
         encountered, Microsoft BASIC assumes all 
         variables without declaration characters are 
         single precision variables.

Examples 10 DEFDBL L-P All variables beginning with
                      the letters L, M, N, O, and P 
                      will be double precision 
                      variables.

         10 DEFSTR A  All variables beginning with
                      the letter A will be string 
                      variables.

         10 DEFINT I-N,W-Z
                      All variable beginning with 
                      the letters I, J, K, L, M,
                      N, W, X, Y, Z will be integer 
                      variables.

MICROSOFT BASIC COKMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-19


2.13 DEF USR


Format   DEF USR[<digit>]=<integer expression>

Purpose  To specify the starting address of an assembly
         language subroutine.
Remarks  <digit> may be any digit from 0 to 9. The digit
         corresponds to the number of the USR routine 
         whose address is being specified. If <digit> is 
         omitted, DEF USR0 is assumed. The value of 
         <integer expression> is the starting address of 
         the USR routine. See "Assembly Language 
         Subroutines," in the Microsoft BASIC User's 
         Guide.

         Any number of DEF USR statements may appear in a 
         program to redefine subroutine starting 
         addresses, thus allowing access to as many 
         subroutines as necessary.

Example


         200 DEF USR0=24000
         210 X=USR0(Y^2/2.89)

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-20


2.14 DELETE


Format   DELETE [<line number>][-<line number>]

Purpose  To delete program lines.

Remarks  Microsoft BASIC always returns to command level
         after a DELETE is executed. If <line number> 
         does not exist, an "Illegal function call" error 
         occurs.

Examples DELETE 40     Deletes line 40.

         DELETE 40-100 Deletes lines 40 through
                       100, inclusive.

         DELETE -40    Deletes all lines up to
                       and including line 40.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-21


2.15 DIM


Format    DIM <list of subscripted variables>

Purpose   To specify the maximum values for array variable
          subscripts and allocate storage accordingly.

Remarks   If an array variable name is used without a DIM
          statement, the maximum value of the array's 
          subscript(s) is assumed to be 10. If a 
          subscript is used that is greater than the 
          maximum specified, a "Subscript out of range" 
          error occurs. The minimum value for a subscript 
          is always 0, unless otherwise specified with the 
          OPTION BASE statement (see Section 2.46).

          The DIM statement sets all the elements of the 
          specified arrays to an initial value of zero.

          Theoretically, the maximum number of dimensions 
          allowed in a DIM statement is 255. In reality, 
          however, that number would be impossible, since 
          the name and punctuation are also counted as 
          spaces on the line, and the line itself has a 
          limit of 255 characters. The number of 
          dimensions is further limited by the amount of 
          available memory.

Example   10 DIM A(20)
          20 FOR I=0 TO 20
          30 READ A(I) 
          40 NEXT I
           .
           .
           .

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-22


2.16 EDIT


Format   EDIT <line number>

Purpose  To enter edit mode at the specified line.

Remarks  In edit mode, it is possible to edit portions of
         a line without retyping the entire line. Upon 
         entering edit mode, BASIC types the line number 
         of the line to be edited, then it types a space 
         and waits for an edit mode subcommand.

Edit Mode Subcommands 

Edit mode subcommands are used to move the cursor or to 
insert, delete, replace, or search for text within a line. 
The subcommands are not echoed. However, most of the edit 
mode subcommands may be preceded by an integer which causes 
the command to be executed that number of times. When an 
integer is not specified, it is assumed to be 1.

Edit mode subcommands may be categorized according to the 
following functions:
    1. Moving the cursor.

    2. Inserting text.

    3. Deleting text.

    4. Finding text.

    5. Replacing text.

    6. Ending and restarting edit mode.

    7. Entering edit mode from a syntax error.


Note     In the descriptions that follow, <ch> represents 
         any character, <text> represents a string of 
         characters of arbitrary length, [i] represents 
         an optional integer (the default is 1), and $ 
         represents the Escape (or Altmode) key.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS          Page 2-23


1. Moving the Cursor 

    Space bar

           Use the space bar to move the cursor to the 
           right. [i]Space bar moves the cursor i spaces 
           to the right. Characters are printed as you 
           space over them.

    Rubout In edit mode, fi]Rubout moves the cursor i 
           spaces to the left (backspaces) . Characters are 
           printed as you backspace over them.

2. Inserting Text

    I      I<text>$ inserts <text> at the current cursor
           position.   The inserted characters are printed
           on the terminal. To terminate insertion, press 
           Escape. If a <carriage return> is typed during 
           an Insert command, the effect is the same as 
           pressing Escape and then <carriage return>. 
           During an Insert command, the Rubout, Delete, or 
           Underscore key on the terminal may be used to 
           delete characters to the left of the cursor. 
           Rubout will print out the characters as you 
           backspace over them. Delete and underscore will 
           print an Underscore for each character that you 
           backspace over. If an attempt is made to insert 
           a character that will make the line longer than 
           255 characters, a bell (Control-G) sounds and 
           the character is not printed.

    X      The X subcommand extends the line. X moves the
           cursor to the end of the line, enters insert 
           mode, and allows insertion of text as if an 
           Insert command had been given. When you are 
           finished extending the line, press Escape or 
           carriage return.

3. Deleting Text

    D      [i]D deletes i characters to the right of the
           cursor.    The deleted characters are echoed
           between backslashes, and the cursor is 
           positioned to the right of the last character 
           deleted. If there are fewer than i characters 
           to the right of the cursor, iD deletes the 
           remainder of the line.

    H      H deletes all characters to the right of the 
           cursor and then automatically enters insert 
           mode. H is useful for extending a line or 
           replacing statements at the end of a line.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS     Page 2-24


4. Finding Text

   S      The subcommand [i]S<ch> searches for the ith
          occurrence of <ch> and positions the cursor 
          before it. The character at the current cursor 
          position is not included in the search. If <ch> 
          is not found, the cursor stops at the end of the 
          line. All characters passed over during the 
          search are printed.

   K      The subcommand [i]K<ch> is similar to [i]S<ch>,
          except all the characters passed over in the 
          search are deleted. The cursor is positioned 
          before <ch>, and the deleted characters are 
          enclosed in backslashes.

5. Replacing Text

   C      The subcommand C<ch> changes the next character
          to <ch>. If you wish to change the next i 
          characters, use the subcommand iC, followed by 
          as many characters as are specified by i. After 
          the ith new character is typed, change mode is 
          exited and you will return to edit mode.

6. Ending and Restarting Edit Mode

   <cr>   Typing a <carriage return> prints the remainder
          of the line, saves the changes you made, and 
          exits edit mode.

   E      The E subcommand has the same   effect  as
          <carriage return>, except the remainder of the 
          line is not printed.

   Q      The Q subcommand returns to Microsoft BASIC 
          command level, without saving any of the changes 
          that were made to the line in edit mode.

   L      The L subcommand lists the remainder of the line
          (saving any changes made so far) and repositions 
          the cursor at the beginning of the line, still 
          in edit mode. L is usually used to list the 
          line when you first enter edit mode.

   A      The A subcommand lets you begin editing a line
          over again.  It restores the original line and 
          repositions the cursor at the beginning.

   Control-A

          To enter edit mode on the line you are currently 
          typing,  type  Control-A.  Microsoft BASIC
          responds with   a  <carriage return>,   an 
          exclamation point (!), and a space. The cursor

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS     Page 2-25


           will be positioned at the first character in the 
           line. Proceed by typing an edit mode 
           subcommand.

           Remember, if you have just entered a line and 
           wish to go back and edit it, the command "EDIT." 
           will enter edit mode at the current line. (The 
           line number symbol "." always refers to the 
           current line.)

           If an  unrecognizable command or   illegal
           character is input to Microsoft BASIC while in 
           edit mode, BASIC sends a Control-G (bell) to the 
           terminal, and the command or character is 
           ignored.

7. Entering Edit Mode from a Syntax Error

           When a syntax error is encountered during
           execution of a program, Microsoft BASIC 
           automatically enters edit mode at the line that 
           caused the error. For example:

               10 K=2(4)
               RUN
               ?Syntax error in 10 
               10

           When you finish editing the line and press 
           <carriage return> (or the E subcommand), 
           Microsoft BASIC reinserts the line. This causes 
           all variable values to be lost. To preserve the 
           variable values for examination, first exit edit 
           mode with the Q subcommand. Microsoft BASIC 
           will return to command level, and all variable 
           values will be preserved.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-26


2.17 END


Format   END

Purpose  To terminate program execution, close all files,
         and return to command level.

Remarks  END statements may be placed anywhere in the
         program to terminate execution. Unlike the STOP 
         statement, END does not cause a "Break in line 
         nnnnn" message to be printed. An END statement 
         at the end of a program is optional. Microsoft 
         BASIC always returns to command level after an 
         END is executed.

Example  520 IF K>1000 THEN END ELSE GOTO 20

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-27


2.18 ERASE 


Format    ERASE <list of array variables>

Purpose   To eliminate arrays from a program.

Remarks   Arrays may be redimensioned after they are
          ERASEd, or the previously allocated array space 
          in memory may be used for other purposes. If an 
          attempt is made to redimension an array without 
          first ERASEing it, a "Redimensioned array" error 
          occurs.

          Microsoft BASIC Compiler does not support ERASE.

Example
           .
           .
           .
          450 ERASE A,B
          460 DIM B(99)
           .
           .
           .

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-28


2.19 ERR AND ERL VARIABLES


         When an error handling routine is entered, the 
         variable ERR contains the error code for the 
         error and the variable ERL contains the line 
         number of the line in which the error was 
         detected. The ERR and ERL variables are usually 
         used in IF...THEN statements to direct program 
         flow in the error handling routine.

         If the statement that caused the error was a 
         direct mode statement, ERL will contain 65535. 
         To test whether an error occurred in a direct 
         statement,  use   IF   65535=ERL THEN
         Otherwise, use

             IF ERR=error code THEN ...

             IF ERL=line number THEN ...

         If the line number is not on the right side of 
         the relational operator, it cannot be renumbered 
         with RENUM. Because ERL and ERR are reserved 
         variables, neither may appear to the left of the 
         equal sign in a LET (assignment) statement. 
         Microsoft BASIC error codes are listed in 
         Appendix A.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS    Page 2-29


2.20 ERROR


Format    ERROR <integer expression>

Purpose   To simulate the occurrence of a BASIC error, or
          to allow error codes to be defined by the user.

Remarks   The value of <integer expression> must be
          greater than 0 and less than 255. If the value 
          of <integer expression> equals an error code 
          already in use by BASIC (see Appendix A), the 
          ERROR statement will simulate the occurrence of 
          that error and the corresoonding error message 
          will be printed. (See Example 1.)

          To define your own error code, use a value that 
          is greater than any used by Microsoft BASIC 
          error codes. (It is preferable to use the 
          highest available values, so compatibility may 
          be maintained when more error codes are added to 
          Microsoft BASIC.) This user-defined error code 
          may then be conveniently handled in an error 
          handling routine. (See Example 2.)

          If an ERROR statement specifies a code for which 
          no error message has been defined, Microsoft 
          BASIC responds with the "Unprintable error" 
          error message. Execution of an ERROR statement 
          for which there is no error handling routine 
          causes an error message to be printed and 
          execution to halt.

Example 1 LIST
          10 S=10 
          20 T=5 
          30 ERROR S+T
          40 END 
          Ok
          RUN
          String too long in line 30

          Or, in direct mode:

          Ok
          ERROR 15         (You type this line.)
          String too long  (BASIC types this line.)
          Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS  Page 2-30


Example 2  .
           .
           .
          110 ON ERROR GOTO 400
          120 INPUT "WHAT IS YOUR BET";B
          130 IF B>5000 THEN ERROR 210
           .
           .
           .
          400 IF ERR=210 THEN PRINT "HOUSE LIMIT IS $5000" 
          410 IF ERL=130 THEN RESUME 120
           .
           .
           .

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-31


2.21 FIELD 


Format    FIELD [#]<file number>,<field width> AS <string variable>.

Purpose   To allocate space for variables in a random file
          buffer.

Remarks   Before a GET statement or PUT statement can be
          executed, a FIELD statement must be executed to 
          format the random file buffer.

          <file number> is the number under which the file 
          was OPENed. <field width> is the number of 
          characters to be allocated to <string variable>. 
          For example,

          FIELD 1,20 AS N$,10 AS ID$,40 AS ADD$

          allocates the first 20 positions (bytes) in the 
          random file buffer to the string variable N$, 
          the next 10 positions to ID$, and the next 40 
          positions to ADD$. FIELD does NOT place any
          data in the random file buffer. (See 
          "LSET/RSET," Section 2.37, and "GET," Section 
          2.23.)

          The total number of bytes allocated in a FIELD 
          statement must not exceed the record length that 
          was specified when the file was OPENed. 
          Otherwise, a "Field overflow" error occurs. 
          (The default record length is 128 bytes.)

          Any number of FIELD statements may be executed 
          for the same file. All FIELD statements that 
          have been executed will remain in effect at the 
          same time.

Note      Do not use a FIELDed variable name in an INPUT 
          or LET statement. Once a variable name is 
          FIELDed, it points to the correct place in the 
          random file buffer. If a subsequent INPUT or
          LET statement with that variable name is 
          executed, the variable's pointer is moved to 
          string space.

Example 1 FIELD 1,20 AS N$,10 AS ID$,40 AS ADD$

          Allocates the first 20 positions (bytes) in the 
          random file buffer to the string variable N$, 
          the next 10 positions to ID$, and the next 40
          positions to ADD$. FIELD does NOT place any
          data in the random file buffer. (See also
          "GET," Section 2.23, and "LSET/RSET," Section 
          2.37.)

MICROSOFT BASICCOMMANDS AND STATEMENTS         Page 2-32


Example 2  10 OPEN "R,"#1,"A:PHONELST",35
           15 FIELD #1,2 AS RECNBR$,33 AS DUMMY$
           20 FIELD #1,25 AS NAMES,10 AS PHONENBR$
           25 GET #1
           30 TOTAL=CVI(RECNBR)$
           35 FOR 1=2 TO TOTAL
           40 GET #1, I
           45 PRINT NAMES, PHONENBR$
           50 NEXT I

           Illustrates a multiple defined FIELD statement. 
           In statement 15, the 35 byte field is defined 
           for the first record to keep track of the number 
           of records in the file. In the next loop of 
           statements (35-50), statement 20 defines the 
           field for individual names and phone numbers.

Example 3  10 FOR LOOP%=0 TO 7
           20 FIELD #1,(LOOP%*16) AS OFFSETS,16 AS 
           A$(LOOP%)
           30 NEXT LOOP%

           Shows the construction of a FIELD statement 
           using an array of elements of equal size. The 
           result is equivalent to the single declaration:

           FIELD #1,16 AS A$(0),16 AS A$(1),...,16 AS 
           A$(6),16 AS A$(7)

Example 4  10 DIM SIZE% (NUMB%): REM ARRAY OF FIELD SIZES 
           20 FOR LOOP%=0 TO NUMB%:READ SIZE%
            (LOOP%): NEXT LOOP%
           30 DATA 9,10,12,21,41
            .
            .
            .
           120 DIM A$(NUMB%): REM ARRAY OF FIELDED 
           VARIABLES
           130 OFFSET%=0
           140 FOR LOOP%=0 TO NUMB%
           150 FIELD #1,OFFSET% AS OFFSET$,SIZE%(LOOP%) 
           AS A$(LOOP%)
           160 OFFSET%=OFFSET%+SIZE%(LOOP%)
           170 NEXT LOOP%

           Creates a field in the same manner as Example 3. 
           However, the element size varies with each 
           element. The equivalent declaration is

           FIELD 41,SIZE%(0) AS A$(0),SIZE%(1) AS A$(1),... 
           SIZE%(NUMB%) AS A$(NUMB%)

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS      Page 2-33


2.22 FOR...NEXT


Format    FOR <variable>=x TO y [STEP z]



           NEXT [<variable>][,<variable>...]

           where x, y, and z are numeric expressions.

Purpose    To allow a series of instructions   to  be
           performed in a loop a given number of times.

Remarks    <variable> is used as a counter. The first
           numeric expression (x) is the initial value of 
           the counter. The second numeric expression (y) 
           is the final value of the counter. The program 
           lines following the FOR statement are executed 
           until the NEXT statement is encountered. Then 
           the counter is adjusted by the amount specified 
           by STEP. A check is performed to see if the 
           value of the counter is now greater than the 
           final value (y) . If it is not greater, 
           Microsoft BASIC branches back to the statement 
           after the FOR statement and the process is 
           repeated. If it is greater, execution continues 
           with the statement following the NEXT statement. 
           This is a FOR...NEXT loop.

           If STEP is not specified, the increment is 
           assumed to be one. If STEP is negative, the 
           final value of the counter is set to be less 
           than the initial value. The counter is 
           decreased each time through the loop. The loop 
           is executed until the counter is less than the 
           final value.

           The counter must be an integer or    single
           precision numeric constant. If a double 
           precision numeric constant is used, a "Type 
           mismatch" error will result.

           The body of the loop is skipped if the initial 
           value of the loop times the sign of the STEP 
           exceeds the final value times the sign of the 
           STEP.

           Nested Loons 

           FOR...NEXT loops may be nested; that is, a
           FOR...NEXT loop may be placed within the context 
           of another FOR...NEXT loop. When loops are 
           nested, each loop must have a unique variable 
           name as its counter. The NEXT statement for the

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-34


         inside loop must appear before that for the 
         outside loop. If nested loops have the same end 
         point, a single NEXT statement may be used for 
         all of them.

         The variable(s) in the NEXT statement may be 
         omitted, in which case the NEXT statement will 
         match the most recent FOR statement. If a NEXT 
         statement is encountered before its 
         corresponding FOR statement, a "NEXT without 
         FOR" error message is issued and execution is 
         terminated.

Example 1
         10 K=10
         20 FOR I=1 TO K STEP 2
         30 PRINT I;
         40 K=K+10
         50 PRINT K
         60 NEXT 
         RUN
          1 20 
          3 30 
          5 40 
          7 50
          9 60 
         Ok

Example 2
         10 J=0
         20 FOR I=1 TO J 
         30 PRINT I
         40 NEXT I

         In this example, the loop does not execute 
         because the initial value of the loop exceeds 
         the final value.


Example 3
         10 I=5
         20 FOR I=1 TO I+5
         30 PRINT I;
         40 NEXT
         RUN
          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 
         Ok

         In this example, the loop executes ten times. 
         The final value for the loop variable is always 
         set before the initial value is set.

Note     Previous versions of Microsoft BASIC set the
         initial value of the loop variable before 
         setting the final value; i.e., the above loop 
         would have executed six times.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-35


2.23 GET


Format    GET [#]<file number>[,<record number>]

Purpose   To read a record from a random disk file into a
          random buffer.

Remarks   <file number> is the number under which the file
          was OPENed. If <record number> is omitted, the 
          next record (after the last GET) is read into 
          the buffer. The largest possible record number 
          is 32767.

Example   See "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/O," in the Microsoft
          BASIC User's Guide.

Note      After a GET statement has been executed, INPUT#
          and LINE  ENPUT# may be executed to read 
          characters from the random file buffer.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS     Page 2-36


2.24 GOSUB...RETURN 


Format    GOSUB <line number>
            .
            .
            .
          RETURN

Purpose   To branch to and return from a subroutine.

Remarks   <line number> is the first   line  of   the
          subroutine.

          A subroutine may be called any number of times 
          in a program. A subroutine also may be called 
          from within another subroutine. Such nesting of 
          subroutines is limited only by available memory.

          The RETURN statement(s) in a subroutine cause 
          Microsoft BASIC to branch back to the statement 
          following the most recent GOSUB statement. A 
          subroutine may contain more than one RETURN 
          statement, should logic dictate a return at 
          different points in the subroutine. Subroutines 
          may appear anywhere in the program, but it is
          recommended  that the subroutine be readily
          distinguishable from the main program.  To
          prevent inadvertent entry into the subroutine, 
          precede it with a STOP, END, or GOTO statement 
          that directs program control around the 
          subroutine.

Example   10 GOSUB 40
          20 PRINT "BACK FROM SUBROUTINE" 
          30 END
          40 PRINT "SUBROUTINE";
          50 PRINT " IN";
          60 PRINT " PROGRESS"
          70 RETURN
          RUN
          SUBROUTINE IN PROGRESS
          BACK FROM SUBROUTINE
          Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS     Page 2-37


2.25 GOTO


Format    GOTO <line number>

Purpose   To branch unconditionally out of the normal
          program sequence to a specified line number.

Remarks   If <line number> is an executable statement,
          that statement and those following are executed. 
          If it is a nonexecutable statement, execution 
          proceeds at the first executable statement 
          encountered after <line number>.

Example   LIST
          10 READ R
          20 PRINT "R =";R, 
          30 A=3.14*R^2
          40 PRINT"AREA =";A
          50 GOTO 10
          60 DATA 5,7,12
          Ok
          RUN
          R = 5        AREA =78.5
          R = 7        AREA =153.86
          R = 12       AREA =452.16
          ?Out ofdata in 10
          Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-38


2.26 IF...THEN [...ELSE] AND IF...GOTO

Format   IF <expression> THEN {<statement(s)>|<line number>}

          [ELSE {<statement(s)>|<line number>}] 

Format    IF <expression> GOTO <line number>

          [ELSE {statement(s)>|<Iine number>}]

Purpose   To make a decision regarding program flow based 
          on the result returned by an expression.

Remarks   If the result of <expression> is not zero, the 
          THEN or GOTO clause is executed. THEN may be 
          followed by either a line number for branching 
          or one or more statements to be executed. GOTO 
          is always followed by a line number. If the 
          result of <expression> is zero, the THEN or GOTO 
          clause is ignored and the ELSE clause, if 
          present, is executed. Execution continues with 
          the next executable statement. A comma is 
          allowed before THEN.

          Nesting of IF Statements

          IF...THEN...ELSE statements may be  nested.
          Nesting is limited only by the length of the 
          line. For example,
          IF X>Y THEN PRINT "GREATER" ELSE IF Y>X
              THEN PRINT "LESS THAN" ELSE PRINT "EQUAL"
          is a legal statement. If the statement does not 
          contain the same number of ELSE and THEN 
          clauses, each ELSE is matched with the closest 
          unmatched THEN. For example

          IF A=B THEN IF B=C THEN PRINT "A=C" 
              ELSE PRINT "A<>C"

          will not print "A<>C" when A<>B.

          If an IF...THEN statement is followed by a line 
          number in direct mode, an "Undefined line" error 
          results, unless a statement with the specified 
          line number had previously been entered in 
          indirect mode.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-39


Note      When using IF to test equality for a value that 
          is the result of a floating-point computation, 
          remember that the internal representation of the 
          value may not be exact. Therefore, the test 
          should be against the range over which the 
          accuracy of the value may vary. For example, to 
          test a computed variable A against the value 
          1.0, use:
              IF ABS (A-1.0)<1.0E-6 THEN ...

          This test returns true if the value of A is 1.0 
          with a relative error of less than 1.0E-6.

Example 1 200 IF I THEN GET#1,I

          This statement GETS record number I if I is not 
          zero.

Example 2 100 IF(I<20)*(I>10) THEN DB=1979-1:GOTO 300
          110 PRINT "OUT OF RANGE"
           .
           .
           .

          In this example, a test determines if I is 
          greater than 10 and less than 20. If I is in 
          this range, DB is calculated and execution 
          branches to line 300. If I is not in this 
          range, execution continues with line 110.

Example 3 210 IF IOFLAG THEN PRINT A$ ELSE LPRINT A$

          This statement causes printed output to go 
          either to the terminal or the line printer, 
          depending on the value of the variable IOFLAG. 
          If IOFLAG is zero, output goes to the line 
          printer; otherwise, output goes to the 
          terminal.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-40


2.27 INPUT


Format    INPUT[;] [<"prompt string">;]<list of variables>

Purpose   To allow input from the terminal during program 
          execution.

Remarks   When an INPUT statement is encountered, program 
          execution pauses and a question mark is printed 
          to indicate the program is waiting for data. If 
          <"prompt string"> is included, the string is 
          printed before the question mark. The required 
          data is then entered at the terminal.

          A comma may be used instead of a semicolon after 
          the prompt string to suppress the question mark. 
          For example, the statement INPUT "ENTER 
          BIRTHDATE",B$ will print the prompt with no 
          question mark.

          If INPUT is immediately followed by a semicolon, 
          then the carriage return typed by the user to 
          input data does not echo a carriage return/line 
          feed sequence.

          The data that is entered is assigned to the 
          variable(s) given in <variable list>. The 
          number of data items supplied must be the same 
          as the number of variables in the list. Data 
          items are separated by commas.
          The variable names in the list may be numeric or 
          string variable names (including subscripted 
          variables). The type of each data item that is 
          input must agree with the type specified by the 
          variable name. (Strings input to an INPUT 
          statement need not be surrounded by quotation 
          marks.)

          Responding to INPUT with too many or too few 
          items or with the wrong type of value (numeric 
          instead of string, etc.) causes the messsage 
          "?Redo from start" to be printed. No assignment 
          of input values is made until an acceptable 
          response is given.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-41


Examples 10 INPUT X
         20 PRINT X "SQUARED IS" X^2
         30 END
         RUN
         ? 5     (The 5 was typed in by the user
                 in response to the question mark.) 
          5 SQUARED IS 25
         Ok


         LIST
         10 PI=3.14
         20 INPUT "WHAT IS THE RADIUS";R
         30 A=PI*R^a2
         40 PRINT "THE AREA OF THE CIRCLE IS" ;A
         50 PRINT
         60 GOTO 20 
         Ok
         RUN
         WHAT IS THE RADIUS? 7.4 (User types 7.4) 
         THE AREA OF THE CIRCLE IS 171.946

         WHAT IS THE RADIUS? 
         etc.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS    Page 2-42


2.28 INPUT# 


Format    INPUT#<fi1e number>,<variable list>

Purpose   To read data items from a sequential disk file
          and assign them to program variables.

Remarks   <file number> is the number used when the file
          was OPENed for input. <variable list> contains 
          the variable names that will be assigned to the 
          items in the file. (The variable type must 
          match the type specified by the variable name.) 
          With INPUT#, no question mark is printed, as 
          with INPUT.

          The data items in the file should appear just as 
          they would if data were being typed in response 
          to an INPUT statement. With numeric values, 
          leading spaces, carriage returns, and line feeds 
          are ignored. The first character encountered 
          that is not a space, carriage return, or line 
          feed is assumed to be the start of a number. 
          The number terminates on a space, carriage 
          return, line feed, or comma.

          If Microsoft BASIC is scanning the sequential 
          data file for a string item, leading spaces,
          carriage returns, and line feeds are also
          ignored. The first character encountered that
          is not a space, carriage return, or line feed is 
          assumed to be the start of a string item. If 
          this first character is a quotation mark ("), 
          the string item will consist of all characters 
          read between the first quotation mark and the 
          second. Thus, a quoted string may not contain a 
          quotation mark as a character. If the first 
          character of the string is not a quotation mark, 
          the string is an unquoted string, and will 
          terminate on a comma, carriage return, or line 
          feed (or after 255 characters have been read). 
          If end-of-file is reached when a numeric or 
          string item is being INPUT, the item is 
          terminated.

Example   See "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/0," in the Microsoft 
          BASIC User's Guide.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-43

2.29 KILL

Format   KILL <filename>

Purpose  To delete a file from disk.

Remarks  If a KILL statement is given for a file that is
         currently OPEN, a "File already open" error 
         occurs.

         KILL is used for all types of disk files; 
         program files, random data files, and sequential 
         data files.

Example  200 KILL "DATAl.DAT"

         See also "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/O," in the 
         Microsoft BASIC User's Guide.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS        Page 2-44


2.30 LET


Format     [LET ]<variable>=<expression>

Purpose    To assign the value of an expression to a 
           variable.

Remarks    Notice the word LET is optional;   i.e., the
           equal  sign is sufficient for assigning an
           expression to a variable name.

Example    110 LET D=12
           120 LET E=12^2 
           130 LET F=12^4 
           140 LET SUM=D+E+F
            .
            .
            .

           or

           110 D=12
           120 E=12^2 
           130 F=12^4 
           140 SUM=D+E+F
            .
            .
            .

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-45


2.31 LINE INPUT


Format   LINE INPUT[;] [<"prompt string">;]<string variable>

Purpose   To input an entire line (up to 254 characters)
          to  a string variable, without the use of 
          delimiters.

Remarks   <"prompt string"> is a string literal that is
          printed at the terminal before input is 
          accepted. A question mark is not printed unless 
          it is part of <"prompt string">. All input from 
          the end of <"prompt string"> to the carriage 
          return is assigned to <string variable>. 
          However, if a line feed/carriage return sequence 
          (this order only) is encountered, both 
          characters are echoed; but the carriage return 
          is ignored, the line feed is put into <string 
          variable>, and data input continues.

          If LINE INPUT is immediately followed by a 
          semicolon, then the carriage return typed by the 
          user to end the input line does not echo a 
          carriage return/line feed sequence at the 
          terminal.

          A LINE INPUT statement may be aborted by typing 
          Control-C. Microsoft BASIC will return to
          command level and type "Ok". Typing CONT 
          resumes execution at the LINE INPUT.

Example   See "LINE INPUT#," Section 2.32.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS        Page 2-46


2.32 LINE INPUT# 


Format     LINE INPUT#<file number>,<string variable>

Purpose    To read an entire line (up to 254 characters),
           without delimiters, from a sequential disk data 
           file to a string variable.

Remarks    <file number> is the number under which the file
           was OPENed.   <string variable> is the variable
           name to which the line will be assigned. LINE
           INPUT# reads all characters in the sequential 
           file up to a carriage return. It then skips 
           over the carriage return/line feed sequence. 
           The next LINE INPUT# reads all characters up to 
           the next carriage return. (If a line 
           feed/carriage return sequence is encountered, it 
           is preserved.)

           LINE INPUT# is especially useful if each line of 
           a data file has been broken into fields, or if a 
           Microsoft BASIC program saved in ASCII format is 
           being read as data by another program. (See 
           "SAVE," Section 2.60.)

Example    10 OPEN "0",1,"LIST"
           20 LINE INPUT "CUSTOMER INFORMATION? ";C$
           30 PRINT #1, C$
           40 CLOSE 1
           50 OPEN "I",1,"LIST" 
           60 LINE INPUT #1, C$
           70 PRINT C$
           80 CLOSE 1
           RUN
           CUSTOMER INFORMATION? LINDA JONES 234,4   MEMPHIS
           LINDA JONES   234,4   MEMPHIS
           Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS  Page 2-47


2.33 LIST


Format 1 LIST[ <line number>]

Format 2 LIST [<line number>] [-[<line number>]]

Purpose  To list all or part of the program currently in
         memory at the terminal.

Remarks  Microsoft BASIC always returns to command level
         after a LIST is executed.

         Format 1

         If <line number> is omitted, the program is 
         listed beginning at the lowest line number. 
         (Listing is terminated either when the end of 
         the program is reached or by typing Control-C.) 
         If <line number> is included, only the specified 
         line will be listed.

         Format 2

         This format allows the following options:

         1. If only the   first <line  number> is 
             specified, that line and all higher-numbered 
             lines are listed.

         2. If only the second <line number> (i.e., 
             [-[<line number>]]) is specified, all lines 
             from the beginning of the program through 
             that line are listed.

         3. If both <line number(s)> are specified, the 
             entire range is listed.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS  Page 2-48


Examples Format 1

         LIST            Lists the program currently 
                         in memory.

         LIST 500        Lists line 500.


         Format 2

         LIST 150-       Lists all lines from 150
                         to the end.

         LIST -1000      Lists all lines from the
                         lowest number through 1000.

         LIST 150-1000   Lists lines 150 through 
                         1000, inclusive.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-49

2.34 LLIST 


Format    LLIST [<line number>[-[<line number>]]]

Purpose   To list all or part of the program currently in
          memory at the line printer.

Remarks   LLIST assumes a 132-character-wide printer.

          Microsoft BASIC always returns to command level 
          after an LLIST is executed. The options for 
          LLIST are the same as for LIST, Format 2.

Note      LLIST and LPRINT are not included in all
          implementations of Microsoft BASIC.

Example   See the examples for "LIST," Format 2.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS     Page 2-50


2.35 LOAD


Format    LOAD <filename>[,R]

Purpose   To load a file from disk into memory.

Remarks   <filename> is the name that was used when the
          file was SAVEd. (Your operating system may 
          append a default filename extension if one was 
          not supplied in the SAVE command. Refer to 
          "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/O," in the Microsoft 
          BASIC User's Guide, for information about
          possible filename extensions your operating 
          system.)

          The R option automatically runs the program 
          after it has been loaded.

          LOAD closes all open files and deletes all 
          variables and program lines currently residing 
          in memory before it loads   the   designated
          program. However, if the R option is used with 
          LOAD, the program is RUN after it is LOADed, and 
          all open data files are kept open. Thus, LOAD 
          with the R option may be used to chain several 
          programs (or segments of the same program). 
          Information may be passed between the programs 
          using their disk data files.

Example   LOAD "STRTRK",R

          LOAD "B:MYPROG"

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS  Page 2-51

2.36 LPRINT AND LPRINT USING

Format   LPRINT [<list of expressions>]

         LPRINT USING <string exp>;<list of expressions> 

Purpose  To print data at the line printer.

Remarks  Same as PRINT and PRINT USING, except output
         goes to the line printer. See Section 2.49 and 
         Section 2.50.

         LPRINT assumes a 132-character-wide printer.

Note     LPRINT and LLIST are not included in all
         implementations of Microsoft BASIC.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-52


2.37 LSET AND RSET 


Format   LSET <string variable>=<string expression>
         RSET <string variable>=<string expression>

Purpose  To move data from memory to a random file buffer
          (in preparation for a PUT statement).

Remarks  If <string expression> requires fewer bytes than
         were FIELDed to <string variable>, LSET 
         left-justifies the string in the field, and RSET 
         right-justifies the string. (Spaces are used to 
         pad the extra positions.) If the string is too 
         long for the field, characters are dropped from 
         the right. Numeric values must be converted to 
         strings before they are LSET or RSET. See 
         "MKI$, MKS$, MKDS," Section 3.26.

Examples 150 LSET A$=MKS$(AMT)
         160 LSET D$=DESC($)

         See also "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/0," 
         in the Microsoft BASIC User's Guide.

Note     LSET or RSET may also be used with a nonfielded 
         string variable to left-justify or right-justify 
         a string in a given field. For example, the 
         program lines

             110 A$=SPACE$(20) 
             120 RSET A$=N$

         right-justify the string N$ in a 20-character 
         field. This can be very handy for formatting 
         printed output.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS    Page 2-53


2.38 MERGE 


Format    MERGE <filename>

Purpose   To merge a specified disk file into the program
          currently in memory.

Remarks   <filename> is the name used when the file was
          SAVEd.  (Your operating system may append a
          default filename extension if one was not
          supplied in   the  SAVE command. Refer to 
          "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/O," in the Microsoft 
          BASIC  User's Guide, for information about
          possible filename extensions under your 
          operating system.) The file must have been SAVEd 
          in ASCII format. (If not, a "Bad file mode" 
          error occurs.)

          If any lines in the disk file have the same line 
          numbers as lines in the program in memory, the 
          lines from the file on disk will replace the 
          corresponding lines in memory. (MERGEing may be 
          thought of as "inserting" the program lines on 
          disk into the program in memory.)

          Microsoft BASIC always returns to command level 
          after executing a MERGE command.

Example   MERGE "NUMBRS"

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-54


2.39 MID$ 


Format    MID$(<string exp1>,n[,m])=<string exp2>

          where n and m are integer expressions and 
          <string exp1> and <string exp2> are string 
          expressions.

Purpose   To replace a portion of one string with another
          string.

Remarks   The characters in <string exp1>, beginning at
          position n, are replaced by the characters in 
          <string exp2>. The optional "m" refers to the 
          number of characters from <string exp2> that 
          will be used in the replacement. If "m" is 
          omitted, all of <string exp2> is used. However, 
          regardless of whether "m" is omitted or 
          included, the replacement of characters never 
          goes beyond the original length of <string 
          exp1>.

Example   10 A$="KANSAS CITY, MO"
          20 MID$(A$,14)="KS"
          30 PRINT A$
          RUN
          KANSAS CITY, KS

          MID$ is also a function that returns a substring
          of a given string. See Section 3.25.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS  Page 2-55


2.40 NAME


Format    NAME <old filename> AS <new filename>

Purpose   To change the name of a disk file.

Remarks   <old filename> must exist and <new filename> 
          must not exist; otherwise, an error will 
          result. After a NAME command, the file exists 
          on the same disk, in the same area of disk 
          space, with the new name.

Example   Ok
          NAME "ACCTS" AS "LEDGER"
          Ok

          In this example, the file that was
          formerly named ACCTS will now be named LEDGER.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-56


2.41 NEW


Format   NEW

Purpose  To delete the program currently in memory and 
         clear all variables.

Remarks  NEW is entered at command level to clear memory 
         before entering a new program. Microsoft BASIC 
         always returns to command level after a NEW is 
         executed.

Example  NEW

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS        Page 2-57


2.42 NULL 


Format     NULL <integer expression>

Purpose    To set the number of nulls to be printed at the
           end of each line.

Remarks    For 10   character-per-second  tape  punches,
           <integer expression> should be >=3. When tapes 
           are not being punched, <integer expression> 
           should  be   0   or  I   for Teletype(R) and
           Teletype-compatible terminal screens. <integer 
           expression> should be 2 or 3 for 30 CPS hard 
           copy printers. The default value is 0.

Example    Ok
           NULL 2
           Ok
           100 INPUT X
           200 IF X<50 GOTO 800
            .
            .
            .

           Two null characters will be printed after each 
           line.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS     Page 2-58


2.43 ON ERROR GOTO 


Format    ON ERROR GOTO <line number>

Purpose   To enable error handling and specify the first
          line of the error handling routine.

Remarks   Once error handling has been enabled, all errors
          detected, including direct mode errors (e.g.,
          syntax errors), will cause a jump to  the
          specified error handling routine. If <line
          number> does not exist, an "Undefined line" 
          error results.

          To disable error handling, execute an ON ERROR 
          GOTO 0. Subsequent errors will print an error 
          message and halt execution. An ON ERROR GOTO 0 
          statement that appears in an error handling 
          routine causes Microsoft BASIC to stop and print 
          the error message for the error that caused the 
          trap. It is recommended that all error handling 
          routines execute an ON ERROR GOTO 0 if an error 
          is encountered for which there is no recovery 
          action.

Note      If an error occurs during execution of an error 
          handling routine, that error message is printed 
          and execution terminates. Error trapping does 
          not occur within the error handling routine.

Example   10 ON ERROR GOTO 1000

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-59


2.44 ON...GOSUB AND ON...GOTO


Format    ON <expression> GOTO <list of line numbers>

          ON <expression> GOSUB <list of line numbers>

Purpose   To branch to one of several specified line
          numbers, depending on the value returned when an 
          expression is evaluated.

Remarks   The value of <expression> determines which line
          number in the list will be used for branching. 
          For example, if the value is three, the third 
          line number in the list will be the destination 
          of the branch. (If the value is a noninteger, 
          the fractional portion is rounded.)

          In the ON...GOSUB statement, each line number in 
          the list must be the first line number of a 
          subroutine.

          If the value of <expression> is zero or greater 
          than the number of items in the list (but less 
          than or equal to 255), Microsoft BASIC continues 
          with the next executable statement. If the 
          value of <expression> is negative or greater 
          than 255, an "Illegal function call" error 
          occurs.

Example   100 ON L-1 GOTO 150,300,320,390

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-60


2.45 OPEN


Format   OPEN <mode>,[#]<file number>,<filename>[,<reclen>]

Purpose   To allow I/O to a disk file.

Remarks   A disk file must be OPENed before any disk I/O
          operation can be performed on that file. OPEN 
          allocates a buffer for I/O to the file and 
          determines the mode of access that will be used 
          with the buffer.

          <mode> is a strinc expression whose first
          character is one of the following:

           0      Specifies sequential output mode.

           I      Specifies sequential input mode.

           R      Specifies random input/output mode.

          <file number> is an integer expression whose 
          value is between 1 and 15. The number is then 
          associated with the file for as long as it is 
          OPEN and is used to refer other disk I/O 
          statements to the file.

          <filename> is a string expression containing a 
          name that conforms to your operating system's 
          rules for disk filenames.

          <reclen> is an integer expression which, if 
          included, sets the record length for random 
          files. The default record length is 128 bytes.

Note      A file can be OPENed for sequential input or 
          random access on more than one file number at a 
          time. A file may be OPENed for output, however, 
          on only one file number at a time.

Example   10 OPEN "I",2,"INVEN"

          See also "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/O," in the 
          Microsoft BASIC User's Guide.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-61

2.46 OPTION BASE 

Format   OPTION BASE n
         where n is 1 or 0

Purpose  To declare the minimum value  for array
         subscripts.

Remarks  The default base is 0. If the statement
             OPTION BASE 1
         is executed, the lowest value an array subscript 
         may have is 1.

Example  OPTION BASE 1

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS        Page 2-62


2.47 OUT


Format     OUT I,J

           where I and J. are integer expressions in the
           range 0 to 255.

Purpose    To send a byte to a machine output port.

Remarks    The integer expression I is the port number.
           The integer expression J is the data to be 
           transmitted.

Example    100 OUT 32,100

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-63


2.48 POKE 


Format    POKE I,J

          where I and J are integer expressions.

Purpose   To write a byte into a memory location.

Remarks   I and J are integer expressions. The expression
          I represents the address of the memory location 
          and J is the data byte. I must be in the range 
          -32768 to 65535. (For interpretation of 
          negative values of I, see "VARPTR," Section 
          3.43.)

          The complementary function to POKE is PEEK. The 
          argument to PEEK is an address from which a byte 
          is to be read. See Section 3.28.

          POKE and PEEK are useful for storing data 
          efficiently, loading assembly language 
          subroutines, and passing arguments and results 
          to and from assembly language subroutines.

Example   10 POKE &H5A00,&HFF

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-64


2.49 PRINT 


Format   PRINT [<list of expressions>]

Purpose  To output data at the terminal.

Remarks  If <list of expressions> is omitted, a blank
         line is printed. If <list of expressions> is 
         included, the values of the expressions are 
         printed at the terminal. The expressions in the 
         list may be numeric and/or string expressions. 
         (Strings must be enclosed in quotation marks.)

         Print Positions

         The position of each printed item is determined 
         by the punctuation used to separate the items in 
         the list. Microsoft BASIC divides the line into 
         print zones of 14 spaces each. In the list of 
         expressions, a comma causes the next value to be 
         printed at the beginning of the next zone. A 
         semicolon causes the next value to be printed 
         immediately after the last value. Typing one or 
         more spaces between expressions has the same 
         effect as typing a semicolon.

         If a comma or a semicolon terminates the list of 
         expressions, the next PRINT statement begins 
         printing on the same line, spacing accordingly. 
         If the list of expressions terminates without a 
         comma or a semicolon, a carriage return is 
         printed at the end of the line. If the printed 
         line is longer than the terminal width, 
         Microsoft BASIC goes to the next physical line 
         and continues printing.

         Printed numbers are always followed by a space. 
         Positive numbers are preceded by a space. 
         Negative numbers are preceded by a minus sign. 
         Single precision numbers that can be represented 
         with 6 or fewer digits in the unscaled format no 
         less accurately than they can be represented in 
         the scaled format, are output using the unscaled 
         format. For example, 1E-7 is output as .0000001 
         and 1E-8(-7) is output as 1E-08. Double 
         precision numbers that can be represented with 
         16 or fewer digits in the unscaled format no 
         less accurately than they can be represented in 
         the scaled format, are output using the unscaled 
         format. For example, 1D-15 is output as 
         .0000000000000001 and 1D-16 is output as ID-16.

         A question mark may be used in place of the word 
         PRINT in a PRINT statement.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS    Page 2-65


Example 1 10 X=5
          20 PRINT X+5,X-5,X*(-5),X^5
          30 END 
          RUN
           10          0         -25          3125
          Ok

          In this example, the commas in the  PRINT
          statement cause each value to be printed at the 
          beginning of the next print zone.


Example 2 LIST
          10 INPUT X
          20 PRINT X "SQUARED IS" X^2 "AND";
          30 PRINT X "CUBED IS" X^3
          40 PRINT
          50 GOTO 10
          Ok
          RUN
          ? 9
           9 SQUARED IS 81 AND 9 CUBED IS 729

          ? 21
           21 SQUARED IS 441 AND 21 CUBED IS 9261



          In this example, the semicolon at the end of 
          line 20 causes both PRINT statements to be 
          printed on the same line. Line 40 causes a 
          blank line to be printed before the next prompt.


Example 3 10 FOR X=1 TO 5
          20 J=J+5 
          30 K=K+10 
          40 ?J;K; 
          50 NEXT X 
          Ok
          RUN
           5 10 10 20 15 30 20 40 25 50
          Ok

          In this example, the semicolons in the PRINT 
          statement cause  each value to be printed
          immediately after the preceding value. (Don't 
          forget, a number is always followed by a space, 
          and positive numbers are preceded by a space.) 
          In line 40, a question mark is used instead of 
          the word PRINT.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS      Page 2-66


2.50 PRINT USING 


Format    PRINT USING <string exp>;<list of expressions>

Purpose   To print strings or numbers using a specified
          format.

Remarks   <list of expressions> is comprised of the string
and       expressions or numeric expressions that are to
Examples be printed, separated by semicolons. <string 
          exp> is a string literal (or variable) composed 
          of special formatting characters. These 
          formatting characters (see below) determine the 
          field and the format of the printed strings or 
          numbers.

          String Fields 

          When PRINT USING is used to print strings, one 
          of three formatting characters may be used to 
          format the string field:

   "!"

          Specifies that only the first character in the 
          given string is to be printed.

"\n spaces\"

          Specifies that 2+n characters from the string 
          are to be printed. If the backslashes are typed 
          with no spaces, two characters will be printed; 
          with one space, three characters will be 
          printed, and so on. If the string is longer 
          than the field, the extra characters are
          ignored. If the field is longer than the 
          string, the string will be left-justified. in the 
          field and padded with spaces on the right.

          Example:

          10 A$="LOOK":B$="OUT"
          30 PRINT USING "!";A$;B$
          40 PRINT USING "\ \";A$;B$
          50 PRINT USING "\  \";A$;B$;"!!"
          RUN
          LO
          LOOKOUT
          LOOK OUT !!

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS            Page 2-67

    "&"     Specifies a variable length string field.  When
            the field is specified with "&", the string is 
            output without modification.

            Example:

            10 A$="LOOK":B$="OUT" 
            20 PRINT USING "!";A$; 
            30 PRINT USING "&";8$ 
            RUN
            LOUT


            Numeric Fields 

            When PRINT USING is used to print numbers, the 
            following special characters may be used to 
            format the numeric field:

     #      A number sign is used to represent each digit 
            position. Digit positions are always filled. 
            If the number to be printed has fewer digits 
            than positions specified, the number will be 
            right-justified (preceded by spaces) in the 
            field.

     .      A decimal point may be inserted at any position 
            in the field. If the format string specifies 
            that a digit is to precede the decimal point, 
            the digit will always be printed (as 0, if 
            necessary). Numbers are rounded as necessary.

            PRINT USING "##.##";.78 
             0.78

            PRINT USING "###.##";987.654 
            987.65

            PRINT USING "##.##   ;l0.2,5.3,66.789,.234
            10.20    5.30   66.79    0.23

            In the last example, three spaces were inserted 
            at the end of the format string to separate the 
            printed values on the line.

     +      A plus sign at the beginning or end of the 
            format string will cause the sign of the number 
            (plus or minus) to be printed before or after 
            the number.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMmANDS AND STATEMENTS                       Page 2-68


        -      A minus sign at the end of the format field will
               cause negative numbers to be printed with a 
               trailing minus sign.

               PRINT USING "+##.##        ";-68.95,2.4,55.6,-.9
               -68.95      +2.40     +55.60      -0.90

               PRINT USING "##.##-        ";-66.95,22.449,-7.01
               68.95-     22.45       7.01-

      **       A double asterisk at the beginning of the format
               string causes leading spaces in the numeric 
               field to be filled with asterisks. The ** also 
               specifies positions for two more digits.

               PRINT USING "**#.#       ";12.39,-0.9,765.1
               *12.4     *-0.9    765.1

      $$       A double dollar sign causes a dollar sign to be
               printed to the immediate left of the formatted 
               number. The $$ specifies two more digit 
               positions, one of which is the dollar sign. The 
               exponential format cannot be used with $$. 
               Negative numbers cannot be used unless the minus 
               sign trails to the right.

               PRINT USING "$$###.##";456.76 
                $456.78

    **$        The **$ at the beginning of a format string 
               combines the effects of the above two symbols. 
               Leading spaces will be asterisk-filled and a 
               dollar sign will be printed before the number. 
               **$ specifies three more digit positions, one of 
               which is the dollar sign.

               PRINT USING "**$##.##";2.34 
               ***$2.34

      ,        A comma that is to the left of the decimal point 
               in a formatting string causes a comma to be 
               printed to the left of every third digit to the 
               left of the decimal point. A comma that is at 
               the end of the format string is printed as part 
               of the string. A comma specifies another digit 
               position. The comma has no effect if used with 
               the exponential ( ) format.

               PRINT USING "####,.##";1234.5 
               1,234.50

               PRINT USING "####.##,";1234.5 
               1234.50,

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS       Page 2-69


 ^^^^      Four carets (or up-arrows) may be placed after 
           the   digit  position  characters to specify 
           exponential format. The four carets allow space
           for E+xx to be printed.    Any decimal point
           position may be specified.   The significant
           digits are left-justified, and the exponent is 
           adjusted. Unless a leading + or trailing + or - 
           is specified, one digit position will be used to 
           the left of the decimal point to print a space 
           or a minus sign.

           PRINT USING "##.##^^^^" ;234.56 
            2.35E+02

           PRINT USING ".####^^^^-";888888
           .8889E+06

           PRINT USING "+.##^^^^";123 
           +.12E+03

    _      An underscore in the format string causes the 
           next character to be output as a literal 
           character.

           PRINT USING "_!##.## !";12.34 
           !12.34!

           The literal character   itself  may  be   an
           underscore by placing "__" in the format string.

    %      If the number to be Printed is larger than the 
           specified numeric field, a percent sign is 
           printed in front of the number. If rounding 
           causes the number to exceed the field, a percent 
           sign will be printed in front of the rounded 
           number.

           PRINT USING "##.##";111.22 
           %111.22

           PRINT USING ".##";.999 
           %l.00

           If the number of digits specified exceeds 24, an 
           "Illegal function call" error will result.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS         Page 2-70


2.51 PRINT# AND PRINT# USING


Format      PRINT#<file number>,[USING <string exp>;]<list
           of expressions>

Purpose    To write data to a sequential disk file.

Remarks    <file number> is the number used when the file
           was OPENed for output. <string exp> consists of 
           formatting characters as described in Section 
           2.50, "PRINT USING." The expressions in <list of 
           expressions> are the numeric and/or string 
           expressions that will be written to the file.

           PRINT# does not compress data on the disk. An
           image of the data is written to the disk, just 
           as it would be displayed on the terminal screen 
           with a PRINT statement. For this reason, care 
           should be taken to delimit the data on the disk, 
           so that it will be input correctly from the 
           disk.

           In the list of expressions, numeric expressions 
           should be delimited by semicolons. For example:

           PRINT#1,A;B;C;X;Y:Z

           (If commas are used as delimiters, the extra 
           blanks that are inserted between print fields 
           will also be written to the disk.)

           String expressions   must  be   separated  by
           semicolons in the list. To format the string 
           expressions correctly on the disk, use explicit 
           delimiters in the list of expressions.

           For example, let A$="CAMERA" and B$="93604-l". 
           The statement

           PRINT#1,A$;13$

           would write CAMERA93604-1 to the disk. Because
           there are no delimiters, this could not be input 
           as two separate strings. To correct the 
           problem, insert explicit delimiters into the 
           PRINT# statement as follows:

           PRINT#1,A$;",";BS

           The image written to disk is
           CAMERA,93604-1
           which can be read back     into   two   string

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS     Page 2-71


          variables.

          If the strings themselves  contain  commas,
          semicolons, significant leading blanks, carriage 
          returns, or line feeds, write them to disk 
          surrounded by explicit quotation marks, 
          CHR$(34).

          For example, let A$="CAMERA, AUTOMATIC" and 
          B$="  93604-1". The statement

          PRINT#1,A$;B$

          would write the following image to disk:

          CAMERA, AUTOMATIC 93604-1

          And the statement

          INPUT#1,A$,B$

          would   input   "CAMERA"   to    A$    and
          "AUTOMATIC 93604-1" to B$. To separate these 
          strings properly on the disk, write double 
          quotation marks to the disk image using 
          CHR$(34). The statement

          PRINT#1,CHR$(34);A$;CHR$(34);CHR$(34);B$;CHR$(34) 

          writes the following image to disk:

          "CAMERA, AUTOMATIC"" 93604-1"

          And the statement

          INPUT#1,A$,B$

          would input "CAMERA, AUTOMATIC" to A$   and
          "   93604-1" to B$.

          The PRINT; statement may also be used with the 
          USING option to control the format of the disk 
          file. For example:

          PRINT#1,USING"$$###.##,";J;K;L

          For more examples using PRINT#, see "Microsoft 
          BASIC Disk I/O," in the Microsoft BASIC User's 
          Guide.

          See also "WRITE#," Section 2.68.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-72


2.52 PUT


Format    PUT [#]<file number>[,<record number>]

Purpose   To write a record from a random buffer to a
          random disk file.

Remarks   <file number> is the number under which the file
          was OPENed. If <record number> is omitted, the 
          record will assume the next available record 
          number (after the last PUT). The largest 
          possible record number is 32,767. The smallest 
          record number is 1.

Example   See "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/0," in the Microsoft 
          BASIC User's Guide.

Note      PRINT#, PRINT# USING, and WRITE# may be used to
          put characters in the random file buffer before 
          executing a PUT statement.

          In the case of WRITE#, Microsoft BASIC pads the 
          buffer with spaces up to the carriage return. 
          Any attempt to read or write past the end of the 
          buffer causes a "Field overflow" error.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS       Page 2-73


2.53 RANDOMIZE 


Format     RANDOMIZE [ <expression>]

Purpose    To reseed the random number generator.

Remarks    If <expression> is omitted, Microsoft BASIC
           suspends program execution and asks for a value 
           by printing

               Random Number Seed (-32768 to 32767)? 

           before executing RANDOMIZE.

           If the random number generator is not reseeded, 
           the RND function returns the same sequence of 
           random numbers each time the program is RUN. To 
           change the sequence of random numbers every time 
           the program is RUN, place a RANDOMIZE statement 
           at the beginning of the program and change the 
           argument with each RUN.

Example    10 RANDOMIZE
           20 FOR I=1 TO 5
           30 PRINT RND;
           40 NEXT I
           RUN
           Random Number Seed (-32768 to 32767)? 3 
                (user types 3)
            .88598 .484668 .586328 .119426 .709225
           Ok
           RUN
           Random Number Seed (-32768 to 32767)? 4 
                (user types 4 for new sequence)
            .803506 .162462 .929364 .292443 .322921 
           Ok
           RUN
           Random Number Seed (-32768 to 32767)? 3 
                (same sequence as first RUN)
            .88598 .484668 .586328 .119426 .709225 
           Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS       Page 2-74


2.54 READ


Format     READ <list of variables>

Purpose    To read values from a DATA statement and assign
           them to variables. (See "DATA," Section 2.10.)

Remarks    A READ statement must always be    used   in
           conjunction with a DATA statement. READ 
           statements assign variables to DATA statement 
           values on a one-to-one basis. READ statement 
           variables may be numeric or string, and the 
           values read must agree with the variable types 
           specified. If they do not agree, a "Syntax 
           error" will result.

           A single READ statement may access one or more 
           DATA statements (they will be accessed in 
           order) , or several READ statements may access 
           the same DATA statement. If the number of 
           variables in <list of variables> exceeds the 
           number of elements in the DATA statement(s), an 
           "Out of data" error message is printed. If the 
           number of variables specified is fewer than the 
           number of elements in the DATA statement(s), 
           subsequent READ statements will begin reading 
           data at the first unread element. If there are 
           no subsequent READ statements, the extra data is 
           ignored.

           To reread DATA statements from the start, use 
           the RESTORE statement (see "RESTORE," Section 
           2.57)

Example 1
            .
            .
            .
           80 FOR 1=1 TO 10
           90 READ A(I)
           100 NEXT
           110 DATA 3.08,5.19,3.12,3.98,4.24 
           120 DATA 5.08,5.55,4.00,3.16,3.37
            .
            .
            .

           This program segment READs the values from the 
           DATA statements into the array A. After 
           execution, the value of A(1) will be 3.08, and 
           so on.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS  Page 2-75


Example 2 LIST
          10 PRINT "CITY", "STATE", " ZIP" 
          20 READ C$,S$,Z
          30 DATA "DENVER,", COLORADO, 80211 
          40 PRINT C$,S$,Z
          Ok
          RUN
          CITY      STATE      ZIP
          DENVER,   COLORADO   80211
          Ok

          This program READS string and numeric data from 
          the DATA statement in line 30.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-76


2.55 REM


Format   REM <remark>

Purpose  To allow explanatory remarks to be inserted in a 
         program.

Remarks  REM statements are not executed but are output 
         exactly as entered when the program is listed.

         REM statements may be branched into from a GOTO 
         or GOSUB statement. Execution will continue 
         with the first executable statement after the 
         REM statement.

         Remarks may be added to the end of a line by 
         preceding the remark with a single quotation 
         mark instead of :REM.

ImportantDo not use this in a data statement, because it 
         would be considered legal data.

Example
          .
          .
          .
         120 REM CALCULATE AVERAGE VELOCITY 
         130 FOR 1=1 TO 20
         140 SUM=SUM + V(I)
          .
          .
          .

         or
          .
          .
          .
         120 FOR I=1 TO 20 'CALCULATE AVERAGE VELOCITY
         130 SUM=SUM+V(I) 
         140 NEXT I
          .
          .
          .

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS  Page 2-77


2.56 RENUM 


Format   RENUM [[<new number>][,[<old number>][,<increment>]]]

Purpose   To renumber program lines.

Remarks   <new number> is the first line number to be used
          in the new sequence. The default is 10. <old 
          number> is the line in the current program where 
          renumbering is to begin. The default is the 
          first line of the program. <increment> is the 
          increment to be used in the new sequence. The 
          default is 10.

          RENUM also changes all line number references 
          following GOTO, GOSUB, THEN, ON...GOTO, 
          ON...GOSUB, and ERL statements to reflect the 
          new line numbers. If a nonexistent line number 
          appears after one of these statements, the error 
          message "Undefined line number in xxxxx" is 
          printed. The incorrect line number reference is 
          not changed by RENUM, but line number yyyyy may 
          be changed.

No te     RENUM cannot be used to change the order of 
          program lines (for example, RENUM 15,30 when the 
          program has three lines numbered 10, 20 and 30) 
          or to create line numbers greater than 65529. 
          An "Illegal function call" error will result.

Examples  RENUM          Renumbers the entire program.
                         The first new line number 
                         will be 10. Lines will be 
                         numbered in increments of 10.

          RENUM 300,50   Renumbers the entire pro- 
                         gram. The first new line 
                         number will be 300. Lines 
                         will be numbered in
                         increments of 50.

          RENUM 1000,900,20 Renumbers the lines from 
                         900 up so they start with 
                         line number 1000 and are 
                         numbered in increments of 20.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-78


2.57 RESTORE


Format    RESTORE [ <line number>]

Purpose   To allow DATA statements to be reread from a
          specified line.

Remarks   After a RESTORE statement is executed, the next
          READ statement accesses the first item in the 
          first DATA statement in the program. If <line 
          number> is specified, the next READ statement 
          accesses the first item in the specified DATA 
          statement.

Example   10 READ A,B,C
          20 RESTORE
          30 READ D,E,F
          40 DATA 57, 68, 79
           .
           .
           .

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-79


2.58 RESUME 


Formats  RESUME

         RESUME 0

         RESUME NEXT

         RESUME <line number>

Purpose  To continue program execution after an error
         recovery procedure has been performed.

Remarks  Any one of the four formats shown above may be
         used, depending upon where execution is to 
         resume:


         RESUME           Execution resumes at the
           or             statement which caused the
         RESUME 0         error.

         RESUME NEXT      Execution resumes at the
                          statement immediately fol- 
                          lowing the one which
                          caused the error.

         RESUME <line number> Execution resumes at
                          <line number>.

         A RESUME statement that is not in an error 
         handling routine causes a "RESUME without error" 
         message to be printed.

Example  10 ON ERROR GOTO 900
          .
          .
          .
         900 IF (ERR=230)AND(ERL=90) THEN PRINT "TRY 
         AGAIN" :RESUME 80
          .
          .
          .

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS    Page 2-80


2.59 RUN


Format 1 RUN [ <line number>]

Purpose   To execute the program currently in memory.

Remarks   If <line number> is specified, execution begins 
          on that line. Otherwise, execution begins at 
          the lowest line number. Microsoft BASIC always 
          returns to command level after a RUN is 
          executed.

Example   RUN


Format 2 RUN <filename>[,R]

Purpose   To load a file from disk into memory and run it.

Remarks   <filename> is the name used when the file was
          SAVEd.  (Your operating system may append a
          default filename extension if one was not
          supplied in   the SAVE command.  Refer to 
          "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/0," in the Microsoft 
          BASIC  User's Guide  for information about
          possible filename extensions under   your 
          operating system.)

          RUN closes all open files and deletes the 
          current contents of memory before loading the 
          designated program. However, with the "R" 
          option, all data files remain OPEN.

Example   RUN "NEWFIL",R

          See also "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/O," in the 
          Microsoft BASIC User's Guide.

Note      Microsoft BASIC Compiler supports the RUN and 
          RUN <line number> forms of the RUN statement. 
          Microsoft BASIC Compiler does not support the 
          "R" option with RUN. If you want this feature, 
          the CHAIN statement should be used.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS    Page 2-81


2.60 SAVE


Format    SAVE <filename>[{,A|,P}]

Purpose   To save a program file on disk.

Remarks   <filename> is a quoted string that conforms to
          your  operating system's  requirements for 
          filenames. (Your operating system may append a 
          default  filename extension if one was not
          supplied in the SAVE command. Refer to 
          "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/O,' in the Microsoft 
          BASIC User's Guide for information about
          possible filename extensions under your 
          operating system.) If <filename> already exists, 
          the file will be written over.

          Use the A option to save the file in ASCII
          format.  Otherwise, Microsoft BASIC saves the
          file in a comoressed binary format.  ASCII
          format takes more space on the disk, but some 
          disk access requires that files be in ASCII 
          format.  For   instance, the MERGE command
          requires an ASCII format file, and some 
          operating system commands such as LIST may 
          require an ASCII format file.

          Use the P option to protect the file by saving 
          it in an encoded binary format. When a 
          protected file is later RUN (or LOADed), any 
          attempt to list or edit it will fail.

Examples  SAVE "COM2",A
          SAVE "PROG",P

          See also "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/O," 
          in the Microsoft BASIC User's Guide.

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-82


2.61 STOP


Format   STOP

Purpose  To terminate program execution and return to
         command level.

Remarks  STOP statements may be used anywhere in a
         program to terminate execution. When a STOP is 
         encountered, the following message is printed:

             Break in line nnnnn

         Unlike the END statement, the STOP statement 
         does not close files.

         Microsoft BASIC always returns to command level 
         after a STOP is executed. Execution is resumed 
         by issuing a CONT command (see Section 2.8).

Example  10 INPUT A,B,C
         20 K=A^2*5.3:L=B^3/.26
         30 STOP
         40 M=C*K+100:PRINT M
         RUN
         ? 1,2,3 
         BREAK IN 30
         Ok
         PRINT L
          30.7692 
         Ok
         CONT
          115.9
         Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS    Page 2-83


2.62 SWAP


Format    SWAP <variable>,<variable>

Purpose   To exchange the values of two variables.

Remarks   Any type variable may be SWAPped (integer,
          single precision, double precision, string) , but 
          the two variables must be of the same type or a 
          "Type mismatch" error results.

Example   LIST
          10 A$=" ONE " : B$=" ALL " : C$1="FOR"
          20 PRINT A$ C$ B$ 
          30 SWAP A$, B$
          40 PRINT A$ C$ B$ 
          RUN
          Ok
           ONE FOR ALL
           ALL FOR ONE
          Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS                Page 2-84


2.63 TRON/TROFF 


Format       TRON

             TROFF

Purpose      To trace the execution of program statements.

Remarks      As an aid in debugging, the TRON statement
             (executed in either direct or indirect mode) 
             enables a trace flag that prints each line 
             number of the orogram as it is executed. The 
             numbers appear enclosed in square brackets. The 
             trace flag is disabled with the TROFF statement 
             (or when a NEW command is executed).

Example      TRON
             Ok 
             LIST
             10 K=10
             20 FOR J=1 TO 2
             30 L=K + 10
             40 PRINT J;K;L
             50 K=K+10
             60 NEXT
             70 END
             Ok 
             RUN
             [10] [20] [30] [40] 1  10   20
             [50] [60] [30] [40] 2  20   30
             [50] [60] [70]
             Ok
             TROFF
             Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS    Page 2-85


2.64 WAIT


Format    WAIT <port number>,I[,J]

          where I and J are integer expressions.

Purpose   To suspend program execution while monitoring
          the status of a machine input port.

Remarks   The WAIT statement causes execution to be
          suspended until a specified machine input port 
          develops a specified bit pattern. The data read 
          at the port is exclusive OR'ed with the integer 
          expression J, and then AND'ed with I. If the 
          result is zero, Microsoft BASIC l000s back and 
          reads the data at the port again. If the result 
          is nonzero, execution continues with the next 
          statement. If J is omitted, it is assumed to be 
          zero

Important It is possible to enter an infinite loop with
          the WAIT statement, in which case it will be 
          necessary to manually restart the machine. To 
          avoid this, WAIT must have the specified value 
          at <port number> during some paint in the 
          program execution.

Example   100 WAIT 32,2

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-86


2.65 WHILE...WEND


Format   WHILE <expression>


         [<loop statements>] 


         WEND

Purpose  To execute a series of statements in a loop as
         long as a given condition is true.

Remarks  If <expression> is not zero (i.e., true), <loop
         statements> are executed until the WEND 
         statement is encountered. Microsoft BASIC then 
         returns to the WHILE statement and checks 
         <expression>. If it is still true, the process 
         is repeated. If it is not true, execution 
         resumes with the statement following the WEND 
         statement.

         WHILE/WEND loops may be nested to any level. 
         Each WEND will match the most recent WHILE. An 
         unmatched WHILE statement causes a "WHILE 
         without WEND" error, and an unmatched WEND 
         statement causes a "WEND without WHILE" error.

Example  90 'BUBBLE SORT ARRAY A$
         100 FLIPS=1 'FORCE ONE PASS THRU LOOP 
         110 WHILE FLIPS
         115      FLIPS=0
         120      FOR I=1 TO J-1
         130            IF A$(I)>A$(I+1.1) THEN
                               SWAP A$(I),A$(I+1):FLIPS=1
         140      NEXT I
         150 WEND

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS   Page 2-87


2.66 WIDTH 


Format    WIDTH [LPRINT ]<integer expression>

Purpose   To set the printed line width in number of
          characters for the terminal or line printer.

Remarks   If the LPRINT option is omitted, the line width
          is set at the terminal. If LPRINT is included, 
          the line width is set at the line printer.

          <integer expression> must have a value in the 
          range 15 to 255. The default width is 72 
          characters.

          If <integer expression> is 255, the line width 
          is "infinite"; that is, Microsoft BASIC never
          inserts a carriage return. However, the 
          position of the cursor or the print head, as 
          given by the POS or LPOS function, returns to 
          zero after position 255.

Example   10 PRINT "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ"
          RUN 
          ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
          Ok
          WIDTH 18
          Ok
          RUN 
          ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQR
          STUVWXYZ
          Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS  Page 2-88


2.67 WRITE


Format    WRITE [<list of expressions>]

Purpose   To output data at the terminal.

Remarks   If <list of exressions> is omitted, a blank 
          line is output. If <list of expressions> is 
          included, the values of the expressions are 
          output at the terminal. The expressions in the 
          list may be numeric and/or string expressions. 
          They must be separated by commas.

          When the printed items are output, each item is 
          separated frua the last by a comma. Printed 
          strings are delimited by auotation marks. After 
          the last item in the list is printed, Microsoft 
          BASIC inserts a carriage return/line feed.

          WRITE outputs numeric values using the same 
          format as the PRINT statement. (See Section 
          2.49.)

Example   10 A=80:B=90:C$="THAT'S ALL"
          20 WRITE A,B,C$
          RUN
           80, 90,"THAT'S ALL"
          Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC COMMANDS AND STATEMENTS Page 2-89


2.68 WRITE#


Format    WRITE#<file number>,<list of expressions>

Purpose   To write data to a sequential file.

Remarks   <file number> is the number under which the file
          was OPENed in "0" mode (see "OPEN," Section 
          2.45). The expressions in the list are string 
          or numeric expressions. They must be separated 
          by commas.

          The difference between WRITE# and PRINT# is that 
          wRITE# inserts commas between the items as they 
          are written to disk and delimits strings with 
          quotation marks. Therefore, it is not necessary 
          for the user to put explicit delimiters in the 
          list. A carriage return/line feed sequence is 
          inserted after the last item in the list is 
          written to disk.

Example   Let A$="CAMERA" and B$="93604-1"

          The statement: 

          WRITE#1,A$,B$

          writes the following image to disk: 

          "CAMERA","93604-1"

          A subsequent INPUT# statement, such as 

          INPUT#1,A$,B$

          would input "CAMERA" to A$ and "93604-1" to B$.

<blank page>

Chapter 3 Microsoft BASIC Functions

Introduction
3.1 ABS
3.2 ASC
3.3 ATN
3.4 CDBL
3.5 CHR$
3.6 CINT
3.7 COS
3.8 CSNG
3.9 CVI, CVS, CVD
3.10 EOF 
3.11 EXP 
3.12 FIX 
3.13 FRE 
3.14 HEX$ 
3.15 INKEY$
3.16 INP 
3.17 INPUT$
3.18 INSTR 
3.19 INT 
3.20 LEFT$ 
3.21 LEN 
3.22 LOC 
3.23 LOG 
3.24 LPOS 
3.25 MIDS
3.26 MIK$, MKS$, MIMS
3.27 OCT$ 
3.28 PEEK 
3.29 POS 
3.30 RIGHT$
3.31 RND 
3.32 SGN 
3.33 SIN 
3.34 SPACE$
3.35 SPC 
3.36 SQR 
3.37 STR$ 
3.38 STRING$
3.39 TAB 
3.40 TAN 
3.41 USR 
3.42 VAL 
3.43 VARPTR

<blank page>

                 CHAPTER 3 

            MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS



Microsoft BASIC intrinsic functions are described in this 
chapter. The functions may be called from any program 
without further definition.

Arguments to functions are always enclosed in parentheses. 
In the formats given for the functions in this chapter, the 
arguments have been abbreviated as follows:

  X and Y   Represent any numeric expressions.

  I and J   Represent integer expressions.
  X$ and Y$ Represent strina expressions.

If a floating-point value is supplied where an integer is 
required, Microsoft BASIC will round the fractional portion 
and use the resulting integer.

Note With Microsoft BASIC Interpreter, only integer and 
single precision results are returned by functions. Double 
precision functions are supported only by the Microsoft 
BASIC Compiler.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS         Page 3-2


3.1 ABS

Format  ABS(X)

Action  Returns the -absolute value of the expression X.

Example PRINT ABS(7*(-5))
        35
        Ok



3.2 ASC


Format  ASC (X$)

Action  Returns a numerical value that is the ASCII code
        for the first character of the string X$. (See 
        Appendix C for ASCII codes.) If X$ is null, an 
        "Illegal function call" error is returned.
Example 10 X$="TEST"
        20 PRINT ASC(X$) 
        RUN
        84
        Ok
        See the CHR$ function, Section 3.5, for details 
        on ASCII-to--string conversion.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                        Page 3-3


3.3 ATN


Format     ATN(X)

Action     Returns the arctangent of X in radians. Result
           is in the range -pi/2 to pi/2. The express ion X 
           may be any numeric type, but the evaluation of 
           ATN is always performed in single precision.

Example    10 INPUT X
           20 PRINT ATN(X)
           RUN
           ? 3
            1.24905
           Ok



3.4 CDBL 


Format     CDBL(X)

Action     Converts X to a double precision number.

Example    10 A=454.67
           20 PRINT A;CDBL(A)
           RUN
            454.67 454.6700134277344 
           Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                     Page 3-4


3.5 CHRS


Format     CHRS(I)

Action     Returns a string whose one character is ASCII 
           character I. (ASCII codes are listed in 
           Appendix C.) CHR$ is commonly used to send a 
           special character to the terminal. For 
           instance, the BET character (CHR$(7)) could be 
           sent as a preface to an error message, or a form 
           feed (CHR$(12)) could be sent to clear a 
           terminal screen and return the cursor to the 
           home position.

Example    PRINT CHR$(66)
           B 
           Ok

           See the ASC function, Section 3.2, for details 
           on ASCII-to-numeric conversion.




3.6 CINT


Format     CINT(X)

Action     Converts X to an integer by rounding    the
           fractional portion. If X is not in the range 
           -32768 to 32767, an "Overflow" error occurs.

Example    PRINT CINT(45.67)
            46
           Ok

           See the CDBL and CSNG functions for details on 
           converting numbers to the double precision and 
           single precision data type, respectively. See 
           also the FIX and INT functions, both of which 
           return integers.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                 Page 3-5


3.7 COS


Format   COS(X)

Action   Returns the cosine of X in radians.  The
         calculation of COS(X) is performed in single 
         precision.

Example  10 X2*COS(.4)
         20 PRINT X
         RUN
          1.84212
         Ok



3.8 CSNG


Format   CSNG(X)

Action   Converts X to a single precision number.

Example  10 A4 = 975.34214
         20 PRINT /4; CSNG(A#) 
         RUN
          975.3421 975.342 
         Ok

         See the CINT and CDBIJ functions for converting 
         numbers to the integer and double precision data 
         types, respectively.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                   Page 3-6


3.9 CVI, CVS, CVD


Format    CVI (<2-byte string>) 
          CVS(<4-byte string>) 
          CVD(<8-byte string>)

Action    Convert string values to   numeric values.
          Numeric values that are read in from a random 
          disk file must be converted frcm strings back 
          into numbers. CVI converts a 2-byte string to 
          an integer. CVS converts a 4-byte string to a 
          single precision number. CVD converts an 8-byte 
          string to a double precision number.

Example


          70 FIELD #1,4 AS N$, 12 AS B$, 
          80 GET #1
          90 Y=CVS(N$)




          See also "MKI$, MKSS, MKD$," Section 3.26 and 
          "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/O," in the Microsoft 
          BASIC User's Guide.



3.10 EOF


Format    EOF(<file number>)

Action    Returns -1 (true) if the end of a sequential
          file has been reached. Use EOF to test for 
          end-of-file while INPUTting, to avoid "Input 
          past end" errors.

Example   10 OPEN "I",1,"DATA"
          20 C=0
          30 IF EOF(1) THEN 100 
          40 INPUT 41,M(C)
          50 C=C+1:GOTO 30

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                 Page 3-7


3.11 EXP


Format    EXP(X)

Action    Returns e (base of natural logarithms) to the
          power of X.  X must be <=87.3365. If EXP
          overflows, the "Overflow" error message is 
          displayed, machine infinity with the appropriate 
          sign is supplied as the result, and execution 
          continues.

Example   10 X=5
          20 PRINT EXP(X-1) 
          RUN
          54.5982
          Ok



3.12 FIX


Format    FIX(X)

Action    Returns the truncated integer part of X. FIX(X)
          is equivalent to SGN(X)*INT(ABS(X)). The major 
          difference between FIX and INT is that FIX does 
          not return the next lower number for negative X.

Examples  PRINT FIX(58.75)
          58
          Ok

          PRINT FIX(-58.75) 
          -58
          Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                   Page 3-8


3.13 FRE


Format    FRE(0)
          FRE("")

Action    Arguments to FRE are dummy arguments. FRE
          returns the number of bytes in memory not being 
          used by Microsoft BASIC.

          FRE("") forces a garbage collection before
          returning the number of free bytes. Be 
          patient: garbage collection may take 1 to 1-1/2 
          minutes.
          Microsoft BASIC will not  initiate garbage
          collection until all free memory has been used 
          up. Therefore, using FRE("") periodically will 
          result in shorter delays for each garbage 
          collection.

Example   PRINT FRE(0)
           14542
          Ok



3.14 HEX$


Format    HEX$(X)

Action    Returns  a  string  which represents  the
          hexadecimal value of the decimal argument. X is 
          rounded to an integer before HEX$ (X) is 
          evaluated.

Example   10 INPUT X
          20 A$=HEX$(X)
          30 PRINT X "DECIMAL IS " A$ " HEXADECIMAL" 
          RUN
          ? 32
           32 DECIMAL IS 20 HEXADECIMAL
          Ok

          See the OCT$ function, Section 3.27, for details 
          on octal conversion.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                    Page 3-9


3.15 INKEY$ 


Format    INKEY$

Action    Returns either a one-character string containing 
          a character read from the terminal or a null
          string if no character is pending at   the
          terminal.  No characters will be echoed. All
          characters are passed through to the program 
          except  for Control-C, which terminates the
          program.  (With  Microsoft BASIC  Compiler,
          Control-C is  also  passed through to the 
          program.)

Example   1000 'TIMED INPUT SUBROUTINE
          1010 RESPONSE$=""
          1020 FOR I%=1 TO TIMELIMIT%
          1030 A$=INKEY$ : IF LEN(AS)=0 THEN 1060
          1040 IF ASC(A$)=13 THEN TIMEOUT%=0 : RETURN
          1050 RESPONSE$=RESPONSE$+A$ 
          1060 NEXT I%
          1070 TIMEOUT%=1 : RETURN



3.16 INP


Format    INP(I)

Action    Returns the byte read from port I. I must be in
          the range 0 to 255. INP is the complementary 
          function to the OUT statement, Section 2.47.

Example   100 A=INP(255)

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS               Page 3-10


3.17 INPUT$ 


Format    INPUT$(X[,[#]Y])

Action    Returns a string of X characters, read from the 
          terminal or from file number Y. If the terminal 
          is used for input, no characters will be echoed. 
          All control characters are passed through except 
          Control-C, which is used to interrupt the 
          execution of the INPUT$ function.

Example 1 5 'LIST THE CONTENTS OF A SEQUENTIAL FILE IN
          HEXADECIMAL
          10 OPEN"I",1,"DATA"
          20 IF EOF(1) THEN 50
          30 PRINT HEX$(ASC(INPUT$(1,#1)));
          40 GOTO 20
          50 PRINT
          60 END

Example 2


          100 PRINT "TYPE P TO PROCEED OR S TO STOP" 
          110 X$=INPUT$(1)
          120 IF X$="P" THEN 500
          130 IF X$="S" THEN 700 ELSE 100

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS       Page 3-11


3.18 INSTR 


Format  TNSTR([I,]X$,Y$)

Action  Searches for the first occurrence of string Y$ 
        in X$, and returns the position at which the 
        match is found. Optional offset I sets the 
        position for starting the search. I must be in 
        the range 1 to 255. If I is greater than the 
        number of characters in X$ (LEN(X$)), or if X$ 
        is null or Y$ cannot be found, INSTR returns 0. 
        If Y$ is null, INSTR returns I or 1. X$ and Y$ 
        may be string variables, string expressions, or 
        string literals.

Example 10 X$="ABCDEB"
        20 Y$="B"
        30 PRINT INSTR(X$,Y$);INSTR(4,X$,Y$) 
        RUN
        2 6
        Ok

Note    If I=0 is specified, the "Illegal function call"
        error message will be returned.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                  Page 3-12


3.19 INT


Format    INT(x)

Action    Returns the largest integer <=X.

Examples  PRINT INT(99.89)
           99
          Ok

          PRINT INT{-12.11) 
          -13
          Ok
          See the CINT and FIX functions, Sections 3.6 and 
          3.12, respectively, which also return integer 
          values.


3.20 LEFT$


Format    LEFT$(X$,I)

Action    Returns a string comprising the leftmost I 
          characters of X$. I must be in the range 0 to
          255.  If I is greater than the number of
          characters in X$ (LEN(X$)), the entire string
          (X$) will be returned. If I=0, the null string 
          (length zero) is returned.

Example   10 A$="BASIC"
          20 B$=LEFT$(A$,5) 
          30 PRINT B$
          BASIC
          Ok

          Also see the MID$ and RIGHT$ functions, Sections 
          3.25 and 3.30, respectively.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                  Page 3-13


3.21 LEN


Format    LEN(X$)

Action    Returns the number of  characters in  X.
          Nonprinting characters and blanks are counted.

Example   10 X$="PORTLAND, OREGON"
          20 PRINT LEN (X$)
           16
          Ok



3.22 LOC


Format    LOC(<file number>)

          where <file number> is the number under which 
          the file was OPENed.


Action    With random disk files, LOC returns the record 
          number just read or written from a GET or PUT 
          statement. If the file was opened but no disk 
          I/O has been performed yet, LOC returns a 0. 
          With sequential files, LOC returns the number of 
          sectors (128-byte blocks) read from or written 
          to the file since it was OPENed.

Example   200 IF LOC(1)>50 THEN STOP

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS      Page 3-14


3.23 LOG


Format  LOG(X)

Action  Returns the natural logarithm of X. X must be
        greater than zero.

Example PRINT LOG(45/7)
        1.86075
        Ok



3.24 LPOS 


Format  LPOS(X)

Action  Returns the current position of the line printer 
        print head within the line printer's buffer. 
        Does not necessarily give the physical position 
        of the print head. X is a dummy argument.

Example 100 IF LPOS(X)>60 THEN LPRINT CHR$(13)

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS              Page 3-15


3.25 MID$


Format   MID$(XS,I[,J])

Action   Returns a string of length J characters from X$, 
         beginning with the Ith character. I and J must 
         be in the range 1 to 255. If J is omitted or if 
         there are fewer than J characters to the right 
         of the Ith character, all rightmost characters 
         beginning with the Ith character are returned. 
         If I is greater than the number of characters in 
         X$ (LEN(X$)), MID$ returns a null string.

Example  LIST
         10 AS="GOOD "
         20 B$="MORNING EVENING AFTERNOON"
         30 PRINT AS;MID$(B$,9,7)
         Ok 
         RUN
         GOOD EVENING
         Ok

         Also see the LEFT$ and RIGHT$ functions,
         Sections 3.20 and 3.30, respectively.

         If 1=0 is specified, the "Illegal function call" 
         error message will be returned.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                     Page 3-16


3.26 MKI$, MKS$, MKD$


Format     MKI$(<integer expression>)
           MKS$(<single precision expression>) 
           MKD$(<double precision expression>)

Action     Convert numeric values to string values. Any
           numeric value that is placed in a randcm file 
           buffer with an LSET or RSET statement must be 
           converted to a string. MKI$ converts an integer
           to a 2-byte string.  MKS$ converts a single
           precision number to a 4-byte string.    MKD$
           converts a double precision number to an 8-byte 
           string.

Example    90 AMT=(K+T)
           100 FIELD #1,8 AS D$,20 AS N$ 
           110 LSET D$=MKS$(AMT)
           120 LSET N$=A$
           130 PUT #1


           See also "CVI, CVS, CVD," Section 3.9 and 
           "Microsoft BASIC Disk I/O," in the Microsoft 
           BASIC User's Guide.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS       Page 3-17


3.27 OCT$

Format  OCT$(X)

Action  Returns a string which represents the octal 
        value of the decimal argument. X is rounded to 
        an integer before OCT$(X) is evaluated.

Example PRINT OCT$(24) 
        30
        Ok
        See the HEX$ function, Section 3.14, for details 
        on hexadecimal conversion.


3.28 PEEK 

Format  PEEK(I)

Action  Returns the byte read from the indicated memory
        location (I).

Remarks The returned value is an integer in the range 0
        to 255. I must be in the range -32768 to 65535. 
        (For the interpretation of a negative value of 
        I, see "VARPTR," Section 3.43.)

        PEEK is the complementary function of the POKE 
        statement.

Example A=PEEK(&H5A00)

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                  Page 3-18


3.29 POS


Format    POS(I)

Action    Returns the current cursor position. The
          leftmost position is 1. X is a dummy argument.

Example   IF P0S(X)>60 THEN PRINT CHR$(13)

          Also see the LPOS function, Section 3.24.



3.30 RIGHT$


Format    RIGHT$(X$,I)

Action    Returns the rightmost I characters of string X$. 
          If I is equal to the number of characters in X$ 
          (LEN(X$)), returns X$. If I=0, the null string 
          (length zero) is returned.

Example   10 A$="DISK BASIC"
          20 PRINT RIGHT$(A$,5) 
          RUN
          BASIC
          Ok
          Also see the LEFT$ and MID$ functions, Sections 
          3.20 and 3.23, respectively.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                      Page 3-19


3.31 RND


Format     RND[(X)]

Action     Returns a random number between 0 and 1.  The
           same sequence of random numbers is generated 
           each time the program is RUN unless the random 
           number generator is reseeded (see "RANDOMIZE," 
           Section 2.53). However, X<0 always restarts the 
           same sequence for any given X.

           X>0 or X omitted generates the next random 
           number in the sequence. X=0 repeats the last 
           number generated.

Example    10 FOR 1=1 TO 5
           20 PRINT INT(RND*100); 
           30 NEXT
           RUN
            24 30 31 51 5
           Ok

Note       The values produced by the RND function
           may vary with different implementations of 
           Microsoft BASIC.




3.32 SGN


Format     SGN(X)

Action     If X>0, SGN(X) returns 1.
           If X=0, SGN(X) returns 0. 
           If X<0, SGN(X) returns -1.

Example    ON SGN(X)+2 GOTO 100,200,300

           branches to 100 if X is negative, 200 if X is 0, 
           and 300 if X is positive.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                     Page 3-20


3.33 SIN


Format     SIN(X)

Action     Returns the sine of X in radians. SIN(X)  is
           calculated      in      single    precision. 
           COS(X)=SIN(X+3.14159/2).

Example    PRINT SIN(1.5)
            .997495
           Ok

           See also the COS(X) function, Section 3.7.




3.34 SPACE$ 


Format     SPACE$(X)

Action     Returns a string of spaces of length X. The
           expression X is rounded to an integer and must 
           be in the range 0 to 255.

Example    10 FOR 1=1 TO 5
           20 X$=SPACE$(1)
           30 PRINT XS;I
           40 NEXT I
           RUN
             1
              2
               3
                4
                 5
           Ok

           Also see the SPC function, Section 3.35.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS       Page 3-21


3.35 SPC


Format  SPC(I)

Action  Prints I blanks on the terminal. SPC may only
        be used with PRINT and LPRINT statements. I 
        must be in the range 0 to 255. A';' is assumed 
        to follow the SPC (I) command.

Example PRINT "OVER" SPC(15) "THERE"
        OVER        THERE 
        Ok

        Also see the SPACE$ function, Section 3.34.



3.36 SQR


Format  SQR(X)

Action  Returns the square root of X. X must be >=0.

Example 10 FOR X=10 TO 25 STEP 5
        20 PRINT X, SQR(X)
        30 NEXT
        RUN
         10       3.16228
         15       3.87298
         20       4.47214
         25       5
        Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS         Page 3-22


3.37 STR$


Format  STR$(X)

Action  Returns a string representation of the value of 
        X.

Example 5 REM ARITHMETIC FOR KIDS
        10 INPUT "TYPE A NUMBER";N
        20 ON LEN(STR$(N)) GOSUB 30,100,200,300,400,500

        Also see the VAL function, Section 3.42.



3.38 STRING$


Formats STRING$(I,J)
        STRING$(I,X$)

Action  Returns a string of length I whose characters
        all have ASCII code J or the first character of 
        X$.

Example 10 X$=STRING$(10,45)
        20 PRINT XS "MONTHLY REPORT" X$ 
        RUN    MONTHLY REPORT
        Ok

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                       Page 3-23


3.39 TAB


Format      TAB(I)

Action      Spaces to position I on the terminal. If the
            current print position is already beyond space 
            I, TAB goes to that position on the next line. 
            Space 1 is the leftmost position, and the 
            rightmost position is the width minus one. 
            must he in the range 1 to 255. TAB may only be 
            used in PRINT and LPRINT statements.

Example     10 PRINT "NAME" TAB (25) "AMOUNT" ; PRINT
            20 READ A$ ,Bu
            30 PRINT A TAB(25) BS
            40 DATA "G. T. JONES", "$25.00" 
            RUN
            NAME                  AMOUNT

            G. T. JONES           $25.00
            Ok



3.40 TAN


Format      TAN(X)

Action      Returns the tangent of X in radians. TAIL (X! is 
            calculated  in  single   precision.   If TAN
            overflows, the "Overflow" error message is 
            displayed, machine infinity with the appropriate 
            sign is supplied as the result, and execution 
            continues.

Example     10 Y=Q*TAN(X)/2

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                       Page 3-24


3,41 USR


Format     USR[<digit>](X)

Action     Calls the user's assembly language subroutine 
           with the argument X. <digit> is in the range 0 
           to 9 and corresponds to the digit supplied with 
           the DEF USR statement for that routine. If 
           <digit> is omitted, USRO is assumed. See
           "Assembly   Language   Subroutines,"  in  the 
           Microsoft BASIC User's Guide.

Example    40 B=T*SIN(Y)
           50 C=USR(B/2) 
           60 D=USR(B/3)






3.42 VAL


Format     VAL(X$)

Action     Returns the numerical value of string X$. The
           VAL function also strips leading blanks, tabs, 
           and linefeeds from the argument string. For 
           example,

           VAL(" -3") 

           returns -3.

Example    10 READ NAME$,CITY$,STATE$,ZIP$
           20 IF VAL(ZIP$)<90000 OR VAL(Z1P$)>96699
                TEEN PRINT NAME$ TAB(25) "CUT OF STATE" 
           30 IF VAL(ZIP$)>=90601 AND VAL(ZIP$)<=90815
                THEN PRINT NAMES TAB(25) "LONG BEACH"




           See the STR$ function, Section 3.37, for details 
           on numeric-to-string conversion.

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS                    Page 3-25


3.43 VARPTR


Format 1  VARPTR(<variable name>)

Format 2  VARPTR(#<file number>)

Action     Format 1

           Returns the address of the first byte of data 
           identified with <variable name>. A value must 
           be assigned to <variable  name'  prior  to
           execution of VARPTR.  Otherwise an "Illegal 
           function call" error results. Any type variable 
           name may be used (numeric, string, array). For 
           string variables, the address of the first byte 
           of the string descriptor is returned (see "BASIC 
           Assembly Language Subroutines," in the Microsoft 
           BASIC User's Guide for discussion of
           descriptor). The address returned will be an 
           integer in the range 32767 to -32768. If a 
           negative address is returned, add it to 65536 to 
           obtain the actual address.

           VARPTR is usually used to obtain the address of 
           a variable or array so it may be passed to an 
           assembly language subroutine. A function call 
           of the form VARPTR(A(0)) is usually specified 
           when passing an array, so that the
           lowest-addressed element of   the array is 
           returned.

Note       All simple variables should be assigned before 
           calling VARPTR for an array, because the 
           addresses of the arrays change whenever a new 
           simple variable is assigned.

           Format 2

           For seauential files, returns the  starting
           address of the disk I/O buffer assigned to <file 
           number>. For random files, returns the address 
           of the FIELD buffer assigned to <file number>.

Example    100 X=USR(VARPTR(Y))

<blank page>

MICROSOFT BASIC FUNCTIONS


         Appendices

         A  Error Codes and Error Messages
         B  Mathematical Functions
         C  ASCII Character Codes
         D  Microsoft BASIC Reserved Words

<blank page>

                   APPENDIX A

            Error Codes and Error Messages



Code Number                 Message 

NF       1  NEXT without FOR

            A variable in a NEXT statement does not 
            correspond to any previously executed, 
            unmatched FOR statement variable.

SN      2   Syntax error

            A line is encountered that contains some 
            incorrect sequence of characters (such as 
            unmatched parenthesis, misspelled command or 
            statement, incorrect punctuation, etc.). 
            Microsoft BASIC automatically enters edit 
            mode at the line that caused the error.

RG      3   Return without GOSUB

            A RETURN statement is encountered for which 
            there is no previous, unmatched GOSUB 
            statement.

OD      4   Out of data

            A READ statement is executed when there are 
            no DATA statements with unread data remaining 
            in the program.

FC      5   Illege function call

            A parameter that is out of range is passed to 
            a math or string function. An FC error may 
            also occur as the result of:

            1. A  negative or  unreasonably large
               subscript.

                                        Page A-2


           2. A negative or zero argument with LOG,

           3. A negative argument to SQR,

           4. A negative mantissa with a noninteger 
              exponent.

           5. A call to a USR function for which the 
              starting address has not yet been given.

           6. An improper argument to MID$, LEFT$, 
              RIGHT$, INP, OUT, WAIT, PEEK, POKE, TAB, 
              SPC, STRING$, SPACES, INSTR,  or 
              ON...COTO.

OV     6   Overflow

           The result of a calculation is too large to 
           be represented in Microsoft BASIC number 
           format. If underflow occurs, the result is 
           zero and execution continues without an 
           error.

OM     7   Out of memory

           A program is too large, or has too many FOR 
           loops or GOSUBs, too many variables, or 
           expressions that are too complicated.

UL     8   Undefined line

           A nonexistent line is referenced in a GOTO, 
           GOSUB, IF...THEN...ELSE, or DELETE statement.

BS     9   Subscript out of range

           An array element is referenced either with a 
           subscript that is outside the dimensions of 
           the array or with the wrong number of 
           subscripts.

DD    10   Redimensioned array

           Two DIM statements are given for the same 
           array; or, a DIM statement is given for an 
           array after the default dimension of 10 has 
           been established for that array.

/0    11   Division by zero

           A division by zero is encountered in an 
           expression; or, the ooeration of involution 
           results in zero being raised to a negative 
           power. Machine infinity with the sign of the 
           numerator is supplied as the result of the

                    Page A-3


      division, or positive machine infinity is 
      supplied as the result of the involution, and 
      execution continues.

ID 12 Illegal direct

      A statement that is illegal in direct mode is
      entered as a direct mode command.

TM 13 Type mismatch

      A string variable name is assigned a numeric 
      value or vice versa; a function that exoects 
      a numeric argument is given a string argument 
      or vice versa.

OS 14 Out of string space

      String variables have caused BASIC to exceed 
      the amount of free memory remaining. 
      Microsoft BASIC will allocate string space 
      dynamically, until it runs out of memory.

LS 15 String too long

      An attempt is made to create a string more 
      than 255 characters long.

ST i6 String formula too complex

      A string expression is too long or too 
      complex. The expression should be broken 
      into smaller expressions.

CN 17 Can't continue

      An attempt is made to continue a program 
      that

      1. Has halted due to an error.

      2. Has been modified during a break in 
       execution.

      3. Does not exist. 

OF 18 Undefined user function

      A USR function is called before the function 
      definition (DEF statement) is given.

   19 No RESUME

      An error handling routine is entered but 
      contains no RESUME statement.

                                      Page A-4


20   RESUME without error

     A RESUME statement is encountered before an 
     error handling routine is entered.

21   Unprintable error

     An error message is not available for the 
     error condition which exists.

22   Missing operand

     An expression contains an operator with no 
     operand following it.

23   Line buffer overflow

     An attempt has been made to input a line that 
     has too many characters.

26   FOR without NEXT

     A FOR statement was encountered without a 
     matching NEXT.

29   WHILE without WEND

     A WHILE statement does not have a matching 
     WEND.

30   WEND without WHILE

     A WEND statement was encountered without a 
     matching WHILE.


     Disk Errors 

50   Field overflow

     A FIELD statement is attempting to allocate 
     more bytes than were specified for the record 
     length of a random file.

51   Internal error

     An internal malfunction has occurred in
     Microsoft BASIC. Report to Microsoft the
     conditions under which the message appeared.

52   Bad file number

     A statement or command references a file with 
     a file number that is not OPEN or is out of 
     the range of file numbers specified  at

                                    Page A-5


     initialization.

53   File not found

     A LOAD, KILL, or OPEN statement references a 
     file that does not exist on the current disk.

54   Bad file mode

     An attempt is made to use PUT, GET, or LOF 
     with a sequential file, to LOAD a random 
     file, or to execute an OPEN statement with a 
     file mode other than I, 0, or R.

55   File already open

     A sequential output mode OPEN statement is 
     issued for a file that is alreac::, open; or a 
     FILL statement is given for a file that is 
     onen.

57   Disk I/O error

     An I/O error occurred on  a  disk I/O
     operation. It is a fatal error; i.e., the 
     operating system cannot recover from the 
     error.

                                      Page A-6


58   File already exists

     The filename specified in a NAME statement is 
     identical to a filename already in use on the 
     disk.

61   Disk full

     All disk storage space is in use.

62   Input past end

     An INPUT statement is executed after all the 
     data in the file has been INPUT, or for a 
     null (empty) file. To avoid this error, use 
     the EOF function to detect the end-of-file.

63   Bad record number

     In a PUT or GET statement, the record number 
     is either greater than the maximum allowed 
     (32,767) or equal to zero.

64   Bad file name

     An illegal form is used for the filename with 
     a LOAD, SAVE, KILL, or OPEN statement (e.g., 
     a filename with too many characters).

66   Direct statement in file

     A direct statement is encountered while
     LOADing an ASCII-format file. The LOAD is 
     terminated.

67   Too many files

     An attempt is made to create a new file 
     (using SAVE or OPEN) when all 255 directory 
     entries are full.

                   APPENDIX B

               Mathematical Functions



Derived Functions 

Functions that are not intrinsic to Microsoft BASIC may be 
calculated as follows.

Function   Microsoft BASIC Equivalent

SECANT              SEC(X)=1/COS(X) 
COSECANT            CSC (X) =1/SIN (X) 
COTANGENT           COT(X)=1/TAN(X)
INVERSE SINE        ARCSIN(X)=ATN(X/SQR(-X*X+1)) 
INVERSE COSINE      ARCCOS(X)=-ATN(X/SQR(-X*X+1))+1.5708 
INVERSE SECANT      ARCSEC(X)=ATN(X/SQR(X`X-1))
                     4-SGN(SGN(X)-1)*1.5708 
INVERSE COSECANT    ARCCSC(X)=ATN(X/SOR(X *X-1))
                      1-(SGN(X)-1)*1.5708 
INVERSE COTANGENT   ARCCOT(X)=ATN(X)+1.5706 
HYPERBOLIC SINE     SINH(X)=(EXP.00-EXP(-X))/2 
HYPERBOLIC COSINE   COSH(X)=.(EXP(X)+EXP(-X))/2
HYPERBOLIC TANGENT
                    TANH(X)=(EXP(X)-EXP(-X))/
                      (EXP(X)+EXP(-X)) 
HYPERBOLIC SECANT   SECH(X),=2/(EXP(X)+EXP(-X)) 
HYPERBOLIC COSECANT CSCH(X)2/(EXP(X)-EXP(-X))
HYPERBOLIC COTANGENT
                    COTH(X)=(EXP(X)+EXP(-X))/ 
                      (EXPOO-EXP(-X))
INVERSE HYPERBOLIC 
SINE                ARCSINH(X)=LOG(X+SOR(X*X+1)) 
rNVERSE HYPERBOLIC 
COSINE              ARCCOSH(X)=LOG(X+SOR(X*X-1)) 
INVERSE HYPERBOLIC 
TANGENT             ARCTANH(X)=LOG((1+X)/(1-X))/2 
INVERSE HYPERBOLIC 
SECANT              ARCSECH(X)=LOGHSIOR(-X*K+1)+1)/X) 
INVERSE HYPERBOLIC 
COSECANT            ARCCSCH(X).-LOGHSGN(X)*SOR(X*X+1)+1)/X) 
INVERSE HYPERBOLIC 
COTANGENT           ARCCOTH(X)=LOGNX+1)/(X-1))/2

<blank page>

                          APPENDIX C 

                     ASCII Character  Codes


Dec      Hex      CHR     Dec      Hex      CHR     Dec      Hex
    CHR

000      00H      NUL     043      2BH              086      56H
    V
001 err' 01H      SOH     044      2CF:     r       087      57H
002      02H      STX     045      2DH      -       088      58H
    X
003      03H      ETX     046      2EH      .       089      59H
    I
004 Z    04H      EOT     047      2FH      /       090      5AH
005      05H      ENO     048      30H      0       091      5BH
006 I    06H      ACK     049      31H      1       092      5CH

007      07H      BEL     050      32H      2       093      5DH
    1
003      08H      BS      051      331.-1   3       094      5EH

009      09H      HT      052      34H      4       095      5FH

010-I    OAH      LF      053      3511     5       096      60H
011      OBE      VT      054      36H      6       097      61H
    a
012      OCH      FF      055      37H      7       098      62E
    b
013      ODE      CR      056      38E      8       099      63E
    c
01,',    OEH      SO      057      3911     9       100      64H
    d
OIL'n    OFH      SI      053      3A}              101      65H
016      10H      DLE     059      3311             102     66H

017      11H      DC1     060      3CH      <      103      67H
  a
013      12H      DC2     061      3DH      =       104      68H
    h

019           13H           DC3           062           3EH           >             105           69H
020   i       14H           DC4           063           3FH           ?             106           6AH
021   j       15H           NAK           064           40H                         107           6BH
022   k       16H           SYN           065           41H           A ,,,         108           6CH
023   1       17H           ETB           066           42H           B             109           6DH
024   m       18H           CAN           067           43H           C             110           6EH
025   n       19H           EM            068           44H           D             111           6FH
026   o       lAH           SUB           069           45H           E             112           70H
 027  P       1BH           ESCAPE        070           46H           F             113           71H
 028  q       1CH           FS             071          47H           G             114           72H
 029  r        1DH          GS             072          48H           H             115           73H
 030  s        lEH          RS             073          49H            I            116           74H
 031           1FH          US             074          4AH           J             117           75H
 032  u        20H           SPACE         075           4BH          K             118           76H
 033  v        21H           !             076           4CH           L             119           77H
 034  w        22H           n             077           4DH           M             120           78H
 035  x        23H           0           078           4EH           N             121           79H
 036 v         24H           $             079           4FH           0             122           7AH
 03.8 z        26H           &           0.81          51H           Q             124           7CH
 039  i        27H           i             082           52H           R             125           7DH
 040   1       28H           (             083           53H           S             126           7EH
 041           29H           )             084           54H           T             127           7FH
 042   DEL     2AH           *             085           55H           U

 Dec=decimal, Hex=hexadecimal (H), CHR=character,
 LF=Line Feed, FF=Form Feed, CR=Carriage Return, DEL=Rubout

                       APPENDIX D

               MICROSOFT BASIC RESERVED WORDS



The following is a list ofreserved words used in Microsoft
BASIC.


ABS            ERASE         LOF           RIGHTS
AND            ERL           LOG           RID
ASC            ERR           LPOS          RSET
ATN            ERROR         LPRINT        RUN
AUTO           END           LSET          SAVE
CALL           EP            MERGE         SBN
CDBL           FIELD         MID$          SIN
CHAIN          FILES         $MI<D$        SPACE
CHR$           FIX           MKI$          SPC
CINT           FOR           MYS$          SQR
CLEAR          FRE           MOD           STOP
CLOSE          GET           NAME          STR$
COMMON         COSUB         NEW           STRING$
CONT           HEX$          NOT           SWAP
COS            IF            OCT$          SYSTEM
CSNG           IMP           ON            TAB
CVD            INP           OPENON        TAN
CVI            INPUT         OPTION        THEN
CVS            INKEY$        OR            TO
DATA           INPUTt-       PEEK          TROFF
DEFDBL         INPUTS        POKE          TRON
DEFINT         INSTR         POS
DEFSNG         ENT           PPRINT        USR
DEFSTR         KILL          PRINTli USING VAL
DEF FN         LEFT$         PUT           VARPTR
DEF USR        LEN           RANDOMIZE     WAIT
DELETE         LET           READ          WEND
DIM            LINE          REM           WHILE
EDIT           LIST          RENUM         WRITE
ELSE           LLIST         RESET         WRITE#
END            LOAD          RESTORE       XOR
EOF            LOC           RESUME

<blank page>

                         INDEX





ABS  ..                    . 3-2
Addition                     1-10
ALL  .   .                 . 2-4,2-10
Arctangent                   3-3
Array variables            . 1-7,2-10, 2-21
Arrays                       1-7,2-8, 2-13, 2-27
ASC                          3-2
ASCII codes                  3-2,3-4
ASCII format                 2-5,2-53, 2-81
Assembly language subroutines2-3,2-19, 2-63,3-24 to 3-25
ATN                          3-3
AUTO                         1-2,2-2
Boolean operators            1-13
CALL                         2-3
Carriage return              1-3,2-40, 2-45 to 2-46,
                             2-87to 2-89
Cassette tape                2-8,2-13
CDBL                         3-3
CHAIN                      . 2-4,2-10
Character set              1-3
CMS                          3-4
CINT                         3-4
CLEAR                        2-7
CLOAD                        2-8
CLOAD*                       2-8
CLOAD?                       2-8
CLOSE                        2-9
Command level                1-1
COMMON                       2-4,2-10
Concatenation                1-16
Constants                    1-4
CONT                         2-12,2-45
Control characters           1-4
Control-A                    2-24
COS                          3-5
C SAVE                       2-13
CSAVE*                       2-13
CSNG                         3-5
CVD  .     .                 3-6
CI                           3-6
CVS                          3-6
DA TP                        2-15,2-78
DEF FN                       2-16
DEF USR                      2-19,3-24
DEFDBL                       1-7,2-18
DEFINT                       1-7,2-18
DEFSNG                       1-7,2-18

DEFSTR                               1-7,  2-18
DELETE                               1-2,  2-4,  2-20
DIM                                  2-21
Direct mode                          1-1,  2-38,   2-58
Division                             1-10
Double precision    .                1-6,  2-18,   2-64,  3-3
EDIT  . .                          . 1-2,  2-22
Edit mode                            1-4,  2-22
END                                  2-9,  2-12,   2-26,  2-36
EOF                                . 3-6
ERASE                                2-27
ERL                                  2-28
ERR                                  2-28
ERROR                                2-29
Error codes                          1-17,   2-28  to 2-29,  A-1
Error handling                       2-28,   2-58
Error messages                       1-17,   A-1
Error  trapping                      2-29,   2-79
Escape                               1-3,  2-22
EXP   .  . .                         3-7
Exponentiation                       1-10,   1-12
Expressions                          1-10
FIELD                                2-31
FIX                                  3-7
FOR...NEXT                           2-33
FRE                                  3-8
Functions                            1-15,   2-16,  3-1,  3-1
GET                                  2-31,   2-35
GOSUB                                2-36
GOTO                                 2-36  to 2-37
HEX$                                 3-8
Hexadecimal                           1-5, 3-8
IF...GOTO                             2-38
IF...THEN                             2-28,  2-38
Ir...THEN...ELSe                      2-38
IN                                    3-12
Indirect mode                         1-1
INKEY$                                3-9
INP                                   3-9
INPUT                              .  2-12,  2-31,  2-40
INPUT#   .                         .  2-42
INPUTS   .                         .  3-10
INSTR    .                         .  3-11
INT   ..                           .  3-7
Integer                               3-4,  3-7,  3-12
Integer division                      1-11
ISIS-II                            .  2-80
KILL                                  2-43

LEFT$                                         3-12 
LEN     .                 .......             3-13 
LET                                           2-31, 2-44
Line feed                                     1-2,   2-40,    2-45   to   2-46,
                                              2-88   to 2-89
LINE INPUT                                    2-43
LINE INPUT?                                   2-46
Line numbers                                  1-1   to 1-2,     2-2,   2-77
Line printer                                  2-49,    2-51,    2-87,   3-14
Lines                                         1-1
LIST    .                                     1-2,   2-47
LLIST                                         2-49
LOAD                                          9-50,    2-81
LOC                                           3-13
LOG                                           3-14
Logical operators                             1-13
Loops                                         2-33,    2-86
LIDOS                                         2-87,    3-14
LPRINT                                        2-51,    2-87
LPRINT USING .                                2-51
LSET                                          2-52
MERGE                                         2-4,   2-53
MID$                                          2-54,    3-15
MED'S   .......                               3-16
MKIS                                          3-16
MXS$                                          3-16
MOD OPERATOR                                  1-11
Modulus arithmetic                            1-11
Multiplication            .                .  1-10
NAME    .......                4              2-55
Negation                                      1-10
NEW                                           2-9,   2-56
NULL                                          2-57
Numeric constants                             1-4
Numeric variables                             1-7
OCT$                                          3-17
Octal                                         1-5,   3-17
ON ERROR GOTO                                 2-58
ON...GOSUB                                    2-59
ON...GOTO                                     2-59
ODEN                                          2-9,   2-31,    2-6C
OPerators        .                         .  1-10,    1-12   to 1-13,     1-15    to
OPTION BASE                                   2-61
OUT                                           2-62
Overflow                                      1-12,    3-7,   3-23
Overlay                                       2-4
Paper tape 
PEEK                                          2-63,    3-17
POKE      a         4,                     .  2-63,    3-17
POS                                           2-87,    3-18
PRINT                                         2-64
PRINT USING                                   2-66
PRINT?                                        2-70
PRINT     USING                               2-70

Protected files                 . 2-81
PUT                             2-31, 2-72
Random files                    2-31, 2-35, 2-43,.2-52,
                                  2-60, 2-72, 3-13, 3-16 
Random numbers .                . 2-73, 3-19
RANDOMIZE ..                      2-73, 3-19
READ                            2-74, 2-78 
REM                             2-76
RUM                             2-5, 2-28, 2-77
Relational operators . ? 1-12
Reserved words                  D-1
RESTORE                         2-78
RESUME                          2-79
RETURN 2-36
RIGHT$                          3-18
RIND                            2-73, 3-19
RSET                            2-52
Rubout                          1-3, 1-16, 2-23
RUN                             2-80 to 2-81
SAVE                            2-50, 2-80 to 2-81
Sequential files                2-42 to 2-43, 2-46, 2-60,
                                  2-70, 2-89, 3-6, 3-13
SGN                             3-19
SIN                             3-20
Single Precision                1-6, 2-18, 2-64, 3-5
Space requirements for variables 1-8
SPACES                          3-20
SPC                             3-21
SQR 3-21
STOP                            2-12, 2-26, 2-36, 2-82
STR$                            3-22
String constants                1-4
String functions                3-6, 3-11 to 3-13, 3-15,
                                  3-18, 3-22, 3-24
String operators                1-16
String space                    2-7, 3-8
String variables                1-7, 2-18, 2-45 to 2-46
STRING$     .                     3-22
Subroutines                     2-3, 2-36, 2-59
Subscripts .                 ? ? 1-8, 2-21, 2-51
Subtraction                     1-10
SWAP ..                  .        2-83
TAB                             3-23
Tab   1-3 to 1-4
TAN                             3-23
TROFF                           2-84
TRON                            2-84
USR                             . 2-19, 3-24
VAL                               3-24
Variables                         1-6

VARPTR                         3-25
WAIT .                         . 2-85
WEND                           2-8 6
WHILE                          2-85
WIDTH                          2-87
WIDTH LPRINT                   2-87
WRITE                          2-88
WRITE4                         2-89