Simons' BASIC is an
extension to
BASIC 2.0 for the
Commodore 64 home computer. Written by
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
programmer David Simons in 1983, who was 16 years old at the time, it was distributed by
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
as a
cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname), a ...
.
It is widely, but incorrectly, called "Simon's BASIC", because of confusion between the first name "Simon" and the
surname "Simons".
Features
Simons' BASIC added an array of features to Commodore BASIC 2.0:
* 114 additional
keywords
* commands to ease the coding of
sprites
* commands to ease the coding of high-resolution and multicolor
graphics
* commands to ease the coding of
sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' b ...
* commands to aid in
structured programming
* keywords to assist in writing and editing BASIC programs, similar to those in the
VIC-20
The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the ...
Programmer's Aid cartridge
Programs written in Simons' BASIC could employ
hexadecimal numbers in assignments and calculations by including a prefix, or
binary
Binary may refer to:
Science and technology Mathematics
* Binary number, a representation of numbers using only two digits (0 and 1)
* Binary function, a function that takes two arguments
* Binary operation, a mathematical operation that ta ...
numbers by utilizing a prefix.
Because a portion of the cartridge data is
mapped into memory at addresses , which overlaps part of the standard C64 BASIC
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
, the amount of available memory for BASIC programs was 8
KB less than that of a standard C64 configuration.
An extension was written by Simons and released by Commodore on
floppy disk and tape as Simons' Basic Extension. This software is also known as Simons' Basic 2. It could not be released on cartridge because the original Simons' Basic cartridge had to be present in order to use the extension. Simons' Basic Extension adds another 91 commands including the much-coveted RENUMber command which renumbers the destinations of and statements.
[Simons' Basic 2 User Manual (published by Commodore)]
The 114 keywords
Sprite (MOB) handling keywords
*
MOB SET – enables a sprite and defines its attributes
*
MMOB – positions a sprite on the screen
*
RLOCMOB – causes a sprite to smoothly move from one location to another
*
CMOB – sets up the two global colors for multicolor sprites
*
MOB OFF – disables a sprite
*
DETECT – initializes sprite collision detection
*
CHECK – checks for a sprite collision
High resolution graphics handling keywords
*
HIRES – initializes a high-resolution graphics mode
*
MULTI – initializes a multicolor graphics mode
*
NRM – returns to the text display
*
LOW COL – changes the plotting colors
*
HI COL – returns to the original plotting colors
*
PLOT – draws a pixel
*
LINE – draws a line
*
CIRCLE – draws a circle
*
ARC – draws an arc
*
ANGL – draws the radius of a circle
*
PAINT – performs a flood fill
*
REC – draws a hollow rectangle
*
BLOCK – draws a solid rectangle
*
DRAW – draws a user-defined set of lines
*
ROT – sets scaling factors for
DRAW
*
CHAR – plots a text character on a high-resolution screen
*
TEXT – plots a text string on a high-resolution screen
*
TEST – determines whether a pixel is plotted or empty
Other graphics handling keywords
*
COLOUR – sets the background and border colors. (The spelling "COLOUR" is correct for the British and was incorporated that way in the SIMONS' BASIC cartridge.)
*
CSET – selects a character set
*
MEM – copies character ROM to RAM
*
BCKGNDS – configures extended background color mode
*
FLASH – sets up a screen color to flash
*
OFF – cancels a previous
FLASH directive
*
BFLASH – causes the screen border to flash
*
FCHR – fills an area of the text screen with a given character code
*
FCOL – changes character colors for a selected area of the screen
*
FILL – a combination of
FCHR and
FCOL
*
MOVE – copies a section of the screen
*
INV – displays a screen area in reverse
*
LEFT – scrolls the screen left
*
RIGHT – scrolls the screen right
*
UP – scrolls the screen up
*
DOWN – scrolls the screen down
*
GRAPHICS – reserved variable that always equals $D000 (the
VIC-II
The VIC-II (Video Interface Chip II), specifically known as the MOS Technology 6567/8562/8564 (NTSC versions), 6569/8565/8566 ( PAL), is the microchip tasked with generating Y/C video signals (combined to composite video in the RF modulator) and ...
chip's base address)
*
SCRSV – saves a text screen to tape or disk
*
SCRLD – loads a text screen from tape or disk
Sound handling keywords
*
MUSIC – plays a series of notes based on the contents of a string variable
*
PLAY – determines whether the program continues to run during
MUSIC
*
VOL – specifies the master sound volume
*
WAVE – specifies a voice type
*
ENVELOPE – sets
ADSR parameters for a
SID voice
*
SOUND – reserved variable that always equals $D400 (the SID chip's base address)
Keyboard input handling keywords
*
FETCH – takes user input with restrictions defined by the command
*
INKEY – checks for a function key press
*
ON KEY – checks for a given keypress, then performs a branch if present
*
DISABLE – disables the previous
ON KEY directive
*
RESUME – reenables the previous
ON KEY directive
Input peripheral handling keywords
*
JOY – reads a
joystick
*
POT – reads a
paddle
A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end (i.e. the ''blade''), used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered w ...
*
PENX – reads the
light pen
A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with a computer's cathode-ray tube (CRT) display.
It allows the user to point to displayed objects or draw on the screen in a similar way to a tou ...
's
horizontal position
*
PENY – reads the light pen's vertical position
Sprite/custom character definition keywords
*
@ – describes one line in a sprite or custom character graphic
*
DESIGN – uses neighbouring
@ lines to define a sprite or custom character
Error trapping keywords
*
ON ERROR – sets up a routine to trap error conditions
*
OUT – ends an error handling routine
*
NO ERROR – cancels
ON ERROR and restores normal BASIC error handling
Disk handling keywords
*
DIR – displays the disk directory without destroying the BASIC program in memory (Drive #8 only)
*
DISK – sends a string to the disk drive's command channel (Drive #8 only)
Printer handling keywords
*
HRDCPY – sends the text screen to the
printer
Printer may refer to:
Technology
* Printer (publishing), a person or a company
* Printer (computing), a hardware device
* Optical printer for motion picture films
People
* Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist
* James ...
*
COPY – sends the high-resolution screen to the printer
String manipulation keywords
*
INSERT – inserts one string into the middle of another (Note: There is no dollar sign after
INSERT, unlike other string operators such as
STR$,
LEFT$,
RIGHT$, etc.)
*
INST – similar to
INSERT, but overwrites rather than inserting. (Note: As with
INSERT, there is no dollar sign after
INST.)
*
PLACE – searches for one string in the middle of another
*
DUP – duplicates a character string a given number of times. (Note: As with
INSERT, there is no dollar sign after
DUP.)
Text formatting keywords
*
PRINT AT – prints a string at a given screen location
*
CENTRE – centers a character string on the screen. (Remember, CENTRE is correct for the British.)
*
USE – formats numeric data in strings based on a template, just like
PRINT USING on other advanced versions of BASIC on other computers, e.g. the
Commodore 128, for example.
*
LIN – returns the vertical position of the cursor
Maths keywords
Note: These operations are restricted to values that fit into a 16-bit unsigned integer, instead of the full floating-point range used by the built-in BASIC arithmetic operations and functions.
*
MOD – performs a division operation and returns the remainder
*
DIV – performs a division operation and returns the integer quotient
*
FRAC – isolates the fractional portion of a number
*
EXOR – performs an exclusive-OR logical operation
Programmer's aid keywords
*
AUTO – automatically generates line numbers as a BASIC program is entered
*
RENUMBER – renumbers a BASIC program (but does not fix
GOTO/
GOSUB
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...
statements.)
*
OLD – undeletes a program accidentally removed by the
NEW command
*
KEY – assigns a string as a
macro to a
function key
A function key is a key on a computer or terminal keyboard that can be programmed so as to cause an operating system command interpreter or application program to perform certain actions, a form of soft key. On some keyboards/computers, function ...
*
DISPLAY – displays all function key macros
*
MERGE – merges a BASIC program from tape or disk into the program currently in memory
*
PAGE – displays a BASIC program listing in page format
*
OPTION – highlights ''Simons' BASIC'' keywords when using the
LIST command
*
DELAY – varies the rate at which the
LIST command scrolls the screen
*
FIND – searches the program for a string
*
TRACE – displays the line numbers as a program is running
*
RETRACE – displays results of a trace
*
DUMP – displays all variable values except for arrays
*
COLD – resets the C64
Security-related keywords
*
DISAPA – marks a BASIC program line for hiding
*
SECURE – hides all lines marked with
DISAPA so that they cannot be viewed with
LIST
Structured programming keywords
*
ELSE – allows an alternative branch for
IF/
THEN conditionals
*
REPEAT – start of a
REPEAT/
UNTIL loop structure
*
UNTIL – defines the loop condition for a
REPEAT/
UNTIL loop structure, and marks its end
*
RCOMP – reinstates the most recently used
IF/
THEN/
ELSE conditional
*
LOOP – defines the start of a loop that will run until an
EXIT IF conditional is true
*
EXIT IF – the conditional is true, so it exits the current
LOOP/
END LOOP structure
*
END LOOP – defines the end of a loop that will run until an
EXIT IF conditional is true
*
PROC – defines the start of a named subroutine
*
END PROC – defines the end of a named subroutine
*
CALL – jump to a named subroutine defined with
PROC/
END PROC, and stay there
*
EXEC – call a named subroutine defined with
PROC/
END PROC, then return
*
LOCAL – redefines variables for use in structures
*
GLOBAL – reverses the effects of a previous
LOCAL command
Miscellaneous keywords
*
CGOTO – equivalent to
GOTO, but accepts calculated expressions
*
RESET – moves the
DATA pointer to a given line number
*
PAUSE – pauses program execution for a specified number of seconds
Other
*
$ and
% are also considered keywords, for a total of 114.
Trivia
The band
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
titled their 1999 debut album ''Simon Basic'' in tribute. The album includes the song "C-64".
Reception
''
Creative Computing'' stated that Simons' BASIC "almost makes the 64 into a new computer. (Probably the one it should have been in the first place.)" It praised the "very fine manual" as a contrast to Commodore's usually poor documentation, and predicted that it would become "the standard language for programming the machine … Commodore had better be planning to manufacture lots of copies because they will go fast".
''
Ahoy!
''Ahoy!'' was a computer magazine published between January 1984 and January 1989 in the US, focusing on all Commodore color computers, but especially the Commodore 64 and Amiga.
History
The first issue of ''Ahoy!'' was published in January 198 ...
'' wrote "If you do any programming in BASIC and should happen to see this product on a dealer's shelf, do not ask any questions—do not hesitate—just buy it!" The magazine praised Simons' BASIC's power and "excellent manual", and stated that "its price makes it one of the biggest bargains available for the Commodore 64".
''
RUN''s review was less favorable, stating that its "many powerful and useful commands … were, unfortunately, implemented very poorly for a commercial package. There is very little command parameter checking, and many things have been overlooked or ignored."
The original SIMONS' BASIC cartridge (without the extension) has no provisions for reading the error channel on the
Commodore 1541
The Commodore 1541 (also known as the CBM 1541 and VIC-1541) is a floppy disk drive which was made by Commodore International for the Commodore 64 (C64), Commodore's most popular home computer. The best-known floppy disk drive for the C64, th ...
and
Commodore 1571
The Commodore 1571 is Commodore's high-end 5¼" floppy disk drive, announced in the summer of 1985. With its double-sided drive mechanism, it has the ability to use double-sided, double-density (DS/DD) floppy disks, storing a total of 360&nbs ...
disk drives, nor can it perform a DIRectory listing of files or issue a DISK command on any disk drive other than Drive #8 when more than one disk drive is connected to the Commodore 64. And while most "standard" BASIC 2.0 keywords can be abbreviated by typing the first or first and second letters and then holding down the SHIFT key while typing the second (or third) letter after that, all SIMONS' BASIC keywords must be completely spelled out in full exactly as shown in the accompanying user's manual. This includes the commands COLOUR (which selects the background color and exterior border color), and CENTRE (which prints text message that are "centered" on the screen), both of which are spelled correctly for the British and are incorporated that way into SIMONS' BASIC.
References
External links
Simons' Basic User Guideon Internet Archive by David Simons, Commodore Computers, 1983. Downloadable as PDF.
by David Simons, Commodore Editor, 1983.
Lemon64 Forum topicwith some informal information from David Simons himself.
{{BASIC
1983 software
Commodore 64 software
BASIC extensions
CBM software