RetroTechCollection

IBM PC BASIC Reference (May 1984)

The BASIC Reference for the IBM Personal Computer is IBM's language reference for IBM PC BASIC, Third Edition (May 1984), part number 6361134 (printed on the cover). The scan has 497 pages. The preface describes it as a reference for the three versions of the interpreter, Cassette, Disk and Advanced BASIC, and for the releases of BASIC from 1.0 onward, and names the BASIC Handbook as its companion volume. IBM describes it as an encyclopaedia-type manual and states that it is not a textbook for learning to program (p. iii).

Contents

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  • Preface and related publications (pp. iii and iv)
  • Summary of changes (pp. v to viii): the changes in BASIC 2.0 and 2.1, including tree-structured directories (CHDIR, MKDIR, RMDIR), the VIEW and WINDOW graphics statements, line clipping in the graphics statements, and double-precision maths with /D; and the changes in BASIC 3.0, including IOCTL and IOCTL$, ENVIRON and ENVIRON$, ERDEV and ERDEV$, and SHELL
  • The syntax and semantics of every command, statement and function, in alphabetical order from ABS to WRITE # (contents pp. xi to xv)
  • Appendix A, Error Messages (A-3)
  • Appendix B, Assembly Language Subroutines: where to load them, POKEing or BLOADing them, a sample subroutine, loading as a resident extension of DOS, the CALL statement and the memory map
  • Appendix C, Communications: opening a communications file, I/O, a sample program, and the control signals
  • Appendix D, ASCII Character Codes, with the extended codes

What this book does not contain

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  • The scan is image-only, with no text layer, so it cannot be searched.
  • It is a programming reference. It has no hardware information: no voltages, pinouts, part numbers or schematics.
  • General information on using BASIC, including getting started, is in the companion BASIC Handbook, which is not hosted here.
  • It does not cover the PCjr; IBM's preface tells PCjr owners to use the PCjr BASIC book, described at IBM PCjr BASIC Reference (June 1983).

Pages that cite this document

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Download: IBM PC BASIC Reference May84.pdf

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