BBC BASIC
BBC BASIC is a 1983 textbook by R. B. Coats, Principal Lecturer in Computer Studies at Leicester Polytechnic, published by Edward Arnold of London and reprinted in 1983 and 1984. ISBN 0 7131 3497 6.[1] The Library of Congress record gives the extent as vi, 250 pages.[2]
It is not Acorn or BBC documentation. The title page states that the publisher "hereby warrant that this book is in no way connected with either the BBC or the manufacturers of the computer, Acorn."[1] According to the preface, it teaches BASIC on the BBC computer to readers aged about 12 and upwards, with examples drawn mostly from schools; it is divided into 31 units in three parts, each unit with text, practical exercises and questions, and each part ending with an example program.[3]
The hosted PDF is a re-typeset of the book; its metadata dates it to May 2017.
Contents
[edit | edit source]Page numbers are from the book's contents list.[4]
- Part I, units 1-13, pp. 1-99: introduction, variables, programs, input and output, saving programs, editing, REPEAT and FOR loops, random numbers, IF, arrays, Example Program I (p. 81), developing a program
- Part II, units 14-27, pp. 100-196: nested loops, strings, input, sorting and searching, conditions, output, numbers, standard functions, timing, graphics and colour (p. 155), sound (p. 167), subroutines, procedures, Example Program II (p. 187)
- Part III, units 28-31, pp. 197-228: data files, testing and debugging, Example Program III (p. 206), odds and ends
- Appendices: A, answers (p. 229); B, summary of BASIC (p. 236); C, project (p. 243); index (p. 247)
What this book does not contain
[edit | edit source]It is a programming textbook with no hardware information: no circuit diagram, board layout, connector pinouts, component values or fault-finding. For the machine itself, see BBC Microcomputer Service Manual October 1985, and for connector pinouts the BBC User Guide or BBC B+ User Guide.
Pages that cite this document
[edit | edit source]
Download: BBC_BASIC.pdf (1.5 MB)
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 R. B. Coats, BBC BASIC (Edward Arnold, 1983), title page and copyright page (PDF pp. 3-4). Hosted as File:BBC_BASIC.pdf.
- ↑ Open Library, BBC BASIC, record OL2580248M, from Library of Congress catalogue data (LCCN 85127714). Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- ↑ Coats, BBC BASIC, Preface, pp. iii-iv (PDF pp. 5-6).
- ↑ Coats, BBC BASIC, Contents, pp. v-vi (PDF pp. 7-8).