TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Alphabet Soup
Volume Number:1
Issue Number:1
Column Tag:BASIC SCHOOL

“Alphabet Soup”

By Dave Kelly

“Alphabet Soup”

Welcome to Basic School! This article is dedicated to those of us that enjoy programming in Basic. Programmers of structured languages have put Basic down for several years because it is not considered a structured programming language and many implementations of Basic lack enhancements which give it power to perform advanced functions. Also it has been said many times that it is much harder to follow the program flow in Basic than in other languages like Pascal. Those who complain about the limitations of Basic are sometimes quite justified in their complaints. After all, basic “BASIC” isn’t very powerful and not very flexible at all. Any enhancement at all is an improvement. This has been the caseup until now. Now, the enhancements that we find in Macintosh Basic are approaching the power of the more acceptable high level languages such as Pascal. Exploring Macintosh Basic computing power is what this column is all about.

In the last few months we have seen the evolution of the programming tools needed to program the Mac on the Mac. In the coming issues, we will explore the enhancements included in the new MacBasic and in Microsoft Basic Version 2.0. At the writing of this article Microsoft tells me that they intend to release Microsoft Basic Version 2.0 by the end of October or sometime in November. I’m told that it includes many enhancements which in my opinion should have been included from the very first introduction of Microsoft Basic to the Macintosh world. These enhancements include programmable windows, menus, scrolling, sound and sound effects, compatability with MacWrite, complete mouse control, editing, debugging, access to most if not all of the Mac internal ROM routines, and elimination of the need for line numbers. This is what I call programming made easy. From what I’ve seen so far, there will be quite a competition between MacBasic and Microsoft Basic 2.0 in the coming months.

The Mac Basic listing shows an example of the ease in documenting a program as it is written. I originally wrote the program in Microsoft Basic version 1.0 as an educational tool for my 2 year old to learn his alphabet. The program prints the alphabet and then prompts the user to find each letter one at a time.Then the user points to the letter with the mouse and presses the mouse button. By using variable names that show what is happening and by the use of line labels the program requires little documentation. When I write programs, I rarely have the time to finish up with documentation especially when my 2 year-old can’t wait to start the game. The use of these labels will be familiar to anyone who has used Basic on the Hewlett Packard 9826-36 series computers. The label name is used in each of the gosub statements in place of the line numbers. This makes the use of line numbers unnecessary. The coresponding label name also appears at the beginning of the subroutine followed by a colon. By indenting the text of the program within each subroutine, it is clear where the subroutine starts and ends and the label gives a clue as to what each subroutine does.

Next month we will explore Basic programming on the Mac in more detail.

10 ‘*********************************
20 ‘         Alphabet Soup
30 ‘         By David Kelly
40 ‘         MS Basic Version 1.0
70 ‘*********************************
1000 DIM TOP%(26),BOT%(26),RGT%(26),LFT%(26)
1010 FOR LETTER%=1 TO 26
1020       READ LFT%(LETTER%), TOP%(LETTER%), RGT%(LETTER%), BOT%(LETTER%)
1030 NEXT LETTER%
1040 GOSUB 1090:   ‘ Print_alphabet
1050 FOR LETTER%=ASC(“A”) TO ASC(“Z”)
1060       GOSUB 1200: ‘Ask_for_letter
1070 NEXT LETTER%
1080 CALL TEXTMODE(0):CALL TEXTFACE(0):CALL TEXTFONT(1):CALL TEXTSIZE(12):END

1090 ‘ Print_alphabet to screen
1100 CLS :  ‘Clearwindow
1110 CALL TEXTFONT(2): ‘ Set to New York Font
1120 CALL TEXTSIZE(24): ‘ Set Font size to 24
1130 CALL TEXTMODE(2): ‘Sets screen to XOR
1140 CALL TEXTFACE(0): ‘Sets face to plain style
1150 FOR LETTER% = 1 TO 26
1160  CALL MOVETO(LFT%(LETTER%),BOT%(LETTER%)):PRINT CHR$(ASC(“A”)-1+LETTER%)
1170 NEXT LETTER%
1180 CALL TEXTSIZE(12):  ‘Set font size to 12
1190 RETURN

1200 ‘ Ask_for_letter
1210 CALL MOVETO (125,175):PRINT “Find the letter: “;
1220 CALL TEXTSIZE(24): ‘Set Font size to 24
1230 CALL TEXTMODE(0)
1240 PRINT “ “;CHR$(LETTER%)
1250 CALL TEXTSIZE(12)
1260 CALL PENMODE(10)

1270 IF MOUSE(0)=0 THEN 1270: ‘button wait
1280 X2=MOUSE(1): Y2=MOUSE(2)
1290 CALL MOVETO(238,168):CALL LINETO(X2,Y2)
1300 IF MOUSE(0)<0 THEN 1300
1310 IF (X2<LFT%(LETTER%-64) OR X2>RGT%(LETTER%-64) OR Y2< TOP%(LETTER%-64) 
OR Y2 >BOT%(LETTER%-64)) THEN FLAG%=1 ELSE FLAG%=0

1320 CALL PENMODE(14):PATTERN%(0)=0:CALL PENPAT(VARPTR(PATTERN%(0)))
1330 CALL MOVETO(238,168): CALL LINETO(X2,Y2):CALL PENNORMAL
1340 CALL TEXTMODE(0):IF FLAG% =1 THEN 1210
1350 BEEP:BEEP
1360 RETURN

1370 DATA 36,20,52,74           :’A data
1380 DATA 72,20,84,74           :’B data
1390 DATA 103,20,115,74       :’C data
1400 DATA 133,20,147,74       :’D data
1410 DATA 165,20,176,74       :’E data
1420 DATA 195,20,207,74       :’F data
1430 DATA 225,20,239,74      :’G data
1440 DATA 257,20,272,74       :’H data
1450 DATA 290,20,315,74       :’I data
1460 DATA 330,20,350,74       :’J data
1470 DATA 369,20,383,74       :’K data
1480 DATA 401,20,414,74       :’L data
1490 DATA 434,20,454,74       :’M data
1500 DATA 35,75,51,120         :’N data
1510 DATA 69,75,83,120         :’O data
1520 DATA 101,75,115,120     :’P data
1530 DATA 133,75,147,120     :’Q data
1540 DATA 165,75,179,120     :’R data
1550 DATA 197,75,208,120     :’S data
1560 DATA 227,75,240,120     :’T data
1570 DATA 259,75,275,120     :’U data
1580 DATA 294,75,310,120     :’V data
1590 DATA 329,75,352,120     :’W data
1600 DATA 371,75,385,120     :’X data
1610 DATA 402,75,417,120     :’Y data
1620 DATA 434,75,445,120     :’Z data

 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Six fantastic ways to spend National Vid...
As if anyone needed an excuse to play games today, I am about to give you one: it is National Video Games Day. A day for us to play games, like we no doubt do every day. Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, feast your eyes on this... | Read more »
Old School RuneScape players turn out in...
The sheer leap in technological advancements in our lifetime has been mind-blowing. We went from Commodore 64s to VR glasses in what feels like a heartbeat, but more importantly, the internet. It can be a dark mess, but it also brought hundreds of... | Read more »
Today's Best Mobile Game Discounts...
Every day, we pick out a curated list of the best mobile discounts on the App Store and post them here. This list won't be comprehensive, but it every game on it is recommended. Feel free to check out the coverage we did on them in the links below... | Read more »
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company's...
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that Nintendo has been locked in an epic battle with Pocketpair, creator of the obvious Pokémon rip-off Palworld. Nintendo often resorts to legal retaliation at the drop of a hat, but it seems this... | Read more »
Apple exclusive mobile games don’t make...
If you are a gamer on phones, no doubt you have been as distressed as I am on one huge sticking point: exclusivity. For years, Xbox and PlayStation have done battle, and before this was the Sega Genesis and the Nintendo NES. On console, it makes... | Read more »
Regionally exclusive events make no sens...
Last week, over on our sister site AppSpy, I babbled excitedly about the Pokémon GO Safari Days event. You can get nine Eevees with an explorer hat per day. Or, can you? Specifically, you, reader. Do you have the time or funds to possibly fly for... | Read more »
As Jon Bellamy defends his choice to can...
Back in March, Jagex announced the appointment of a new CEO, Jon Bellamy. Mr Bellamy then decided to almost immediately paint a huge target on his back by cancelling the Runescapes Pride event. This led to widespread condemnation about his perceived... | Read more »
Marvel Contest of Champions adds two mor...
When I saw the latest two Marvel Contest of Champions characters, I scoffed. Mr Knight and Silver Samurai, thought I, they are running out of good choices. Then I realised no, I was being far too cynical. This is one of the things that games do best... | Read more »
Grass is green, and water is wet: Pokémo...
It must be a day that ends in Y, because Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has kicked off its Zoroark Drop Event. Here you can get a promo version of another card, and look forward to the next Wonder Pick Event and the next Mass Outbreak that will be... | Read more »
Enter the Gungeon review
It took me a minute to get around to reviewing this game for a couple of very good reasons. The first is that Enter the Gungeon's style of roguelike bullet-hell action is teetering on the edge of being straight-up malicious, which made getting... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Take $150 off every Apple 11-inch M3 iPad Air
Amazon is offering a $150 discount on 11-inch M3 WiFi iPad Airs right now. Shipping is free: – 11″ 128GB M3 WiFi iPad Air: $449, $150 off – 11″ 256GB M3 WiFi iPad Air: $549, $150 off – 11″ 512GB M3... Read more
Apple iPad minis back on sale for $100 off MS...
Amazon is offering $100 discounts (up to 20% off) on Apple’s newest 2024 WiFi iPad minis, each with free shipping. These are the lowest prices available for new minis among the Apple retailers we... Read more
Apple’s 16-inch M4 Max MacBook Pros are on sa...
Amazon has 16-inch M4 Max MacBook Pros (Silver and Black colors) on sale for up to $410 off Apple’s MSRP right now. Shipping is free. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather than a third-party... Read more
Red Pocket Mobile is offering a $150 rebate o...
Red Pocket Mobile has new Apple iPhone 17’s on sale for $150 off MSRP when you switch and open up a new line of service. Red Pocket Mobile is a nationwide MVNO using all the major wireless carrier... Read more
Switch to Verizon, and get any iPhone 16 for...
With yesterday’s introduction of the new iPhone 17 models, Verizon responded by running “on us” promos across much of the iPhone 16 lineup: iPhone 16 and 16 Plus show as $0/mo for 36 months with bill... Read more
Here is a summary of the new features in Appl...
Apple’s September 2025 event introduced major updates across its most popular product lines, focusing on health, performance, and design breakthroughs. The AirPods Pro 3 now feature best-in-class... Read more
Apple’s Smartphone Lineup Could Use A Touch o...
COMMENTARY – Whatever happened to the old adage, “less is more”? Apple’s smartphone lineup. — which is due for its annual refresh either this month or next (possibly at an Apple Event on September 9... Read more
Take $50 off every 11th-generation A16 WiFi i...
Amazon has Apple’s 11th-generation A16 WiFi iPads in stock on sale for $50 off MSRP right now. Shipping is free: – 11″ 11th-generation 128GB WiFi iPads: $299 $50 off MSRP – 11″ 11th-generation 256GB... Read more
Sunday Sale: 14-inch M4 MacBook Pros for up t...
Don’t pay full price! Amazon has Apple’s 14-inch M4 MacBook Pros (Silver and Black colors) on sale for up to $220 off MSRP right now. Shipping is free. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather... Read more
Mac mini with M4 Pro CPU back on sale for $12...
B&H Photo has Apple’s Mac mini with the M4 Pro CPU back on sale for $1259, $140 off MSRP. B&H offers free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses: – Mac mini M4 Pro CPU (24GB/512GB): $1259, $... Read more

Jobs Board

All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.