Questions tagged [applesoft-basic]
For questions related to the Applesoft BASIC interpreter and language.
43 questions
8 votes
1 answer
331 views
How compatible with AppleSoft BASIC was Coleco Adam SmartBASIC?
For several months in the late 1980s, I owned a Coleco Adam. During that time I tried programming a few things on the only language I had access to: SmartBASIC. Having written thousands of lines of ...
- 19.2k
14 votes
6 answers
2k views
Can you remove a variable in the 8-bit Microsoft BASICs?
For the 8-bit Microsoft derived BASIC interpreters (i.e. AppleSoft, Commodore, etc.) you define a variable by simply declaring it to have a value, e.g. A$ = "hello". When you no longer need ...
- 19.2k
21 votes
6 answers
4k views
Does AppleSoft BASIC really parse "LE THEN" as "LET HEN"?
I have a line of code 7010 IF LS > LE THEN GOTO 7060 However, once entered (manually or pasting), and then I do a LIST 7010, I get 7010 IF LS > LET HEN GOTO 7060 I have tried this on Ample (...
- 5,021
11 votes
4 answers
2k views
Merge two (saved) Apple II BASIC programs in memory
The ZX Spectrum had the ability to MERGE two BASIC programs from storage media, so that two separate BASIC listings saved to tape, could be first LOADed and then MERGEd, thereby combining the two ...
- 5,021
5 votes
2 answers
775 views
Advice creating and saving a logo with Apple II HGR graphics (BASIC prog)
I'm working on a small project with a local association to revive and illustrate what can be done with an Apple II. They have both a II c and e models. With the low res GR mode, I use HLIN, VLIN and ...
- 59
3 votes
3 answers
1k views
How can I run a machine language program off the disk drive on an Apple II?
Apple II was the first computer I used and programmed on, but only in BASIC, and back in 1979. I learned machine code on my ZX Spectrum which was tape only. On Apple II how do you load/run a machine ...
- 8,214
15 votes
4 answers
3k views
Looking for an accurate Apple II(e) character set - in particular, what is CHR$(133)?
I have been entering and debugging the Taipan1 code from TAIPAN - A historical adventure for the Apple Computer (PDF) by Art Canfil, Karl Albrecht, and Jim McClenahan, linked to from taipangame.com. ...
- 5,021
7 votes
2 answers
2k views
Help understanding TAIPAN source code for the Apple II
I am trying to run the source code found at https://taipangame.com/BASIC.txt on Epple 2 (with Apple II+ roms) to eventually run on my own Apple II+, but the program keeps crashing. First, I used a ...
- 81
11 votes
4 answers
4k views
How did the Apple IIe convert to upper case?
TL;DR How did the Apple IIe convert commands to upper case? Background I've been using the Virtual ][ emulator in Apple IIe mode (with an Apple IIe Enhanced ROM). After getting the ELIZA code from ...
- 5,021
6 votes
3 answers
753 views
Examples of floating-point numbers that don’t round-trip losslessly through text conversion in Microsoft BASIC
For a long time I thought it was kind of crazy that 8-bit Microsoft BASIC stores numeric constants in ASCII and has to parse them into its 32- or 40-bit floating point format at runtime. Why not parse ...
- 752
7 votes
1 answer
311 views
Did any AppleSoft language enhancements patch CHRGOT?
Some BASIC language enhancements for Commodore 8-bit machines, such as the 1982 DOS Wedge, worked by patching the CHRGOT routine. Even though BASIC is in ROM, every byte that is fetched from a ...
- 41.4k
9 votes
1 answer
444 views
Why did ProDOS trace Applesoft?
When running an Applesoft program under ProDOS, BASIC.System watches for OS commands by looking for PRINT statements that start with Ctrl+D. This is similar, but not equivalent, to the DOS behavior. ...
- 10k
2 votes
1 answer
391 views
Motivation for DOS 3.3 using I/O hooks rather than ampersand-hook
AppleSoft BASIC is designed so that if it encounters an ampersand while processing a program, it will jump to address $03F5, allowing code there to examine what follows and process it suitably. While ...
- 41.4k
15 votes
1 answer
2k views
How are the randomizer values on the Apple II maintained?
Looking at a comment on this question, it reminded me of how there are two memory locations in the Apple II zero page that are used for random number generation: 0x4E and 0x4F (78 and 79, respectively)...
- 19.2k
8 votes
2 answers
2k views
Apple IIe SYNTAX ERROR
I inherited an old Apple IIe computer. I have a dual disk drive and connected to a modern TV screen as the original monitor was fried. On turning on the computer, nothing happens except "Apple ][&...
