Warsaw BASIC

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WarsawBASIC
Start screen & commands
Developer	Krzysztof Gajewski, Bogusław Radziszewski
Company	Commodore
Publisher	Fundacja Edukacji Technologicznej
Release	1985-1992
Licence	Full version
Platform	VIC-20, C64, C128
Genre	BASIC Expansion
Operation
Media
Language(s)	Instruction
Information	Different versions, actual: V3.2 VIC-20 version also released

Warsaw BASIC (Warsaw is officially the name of the Capital City of Poland) is a BASIC extension for education and science created by the two mathematicians Krzysztof Gajewski and Bogusław Radziszewski from PAN (Polish Academy of Sciences). The initial version was developed for the VIC-20, while the later versions were available for the C64 and C128.

The main goal of the extension, which was to use it in education and science, made it unique in several ways. The most important difference from other BASIC extensions was implementation of some more advanced structural programming features, in particular procedures that can be loaded automatically from a disk (as overlays), making it possible to run a program larger than computer's memory (a similar technique is used in many games, but require the use of assembly). Also, it was distributed with a diskette with procedures for numerical calculations, including operations on matrices, complex numbers and operations like differentiation, integration, solving equations (including differential) or calculating regression.

It also provided access to some special features of the C-64, like high resolution graphics, but it did not add any commands for using sound.

Since it was not meant for creating simple, popular applications (like games), it was moderately popular in Poland (mostly among more advanced users). Elsewhere, it did not gain much attention, mainly due to late introduction - it became more widely available in early 1990s (after the fall of communism), when 8-bit computers were already in decline in Western countries. However, it was distributed until 1994 in Poland and, according to one of the authors (in an interview on YouTube), all of the produced cartriges were sold.

Starting

The starting screen and the new "Warsaw BASIC" commands or tokens.

After the loading of Warsaw BASIC from cassette or disk, start the BASIC extension with RUN.

Or plug-in the Warsaw BASIC cartridge in a power off C64 and turn it on.

Now the starting screen appears:

32005 BASIC BYTES FREE

An overview of the round about 45 new BASIC commands you can get with: HELP.

BASIC Extension

Warsaw BASIC exists in different versions. The newest is version 3.2.

The following BASIC commands are new or was optimized:

Enhanced BASIC commands

• CMD, GOTO, GOSUB, LIST, NEW, PRINT, REM, RUN, INPUT, CLOSE, OPEN, SYS, RESTORE
• PRINT@x,variable - Prints a variable on position x (0-999)
• PRINT USING - Formats variables

Progamming help

• AUTO [start_line][,step] - Auto line with starline and step
• RENUM [start_line][,step] - Renumber a BASIC program with new startline and step
• DEL [line]|[[line_start]-[line_end]] - Delete one line or line aera
• FIND <impression> - Find a word or impression in the BASIC line or program
• ON ERROR...GOTO
• RESUME [line]
• TRACE
• TRACEOFF
• DISPOSE [NEXT|RETURN|CLR]

Mathemathics functions

• EVAL(numbers)
• EXAM()
• FRAC(decimalnumber) - Show the frac of a decimal number
• HEEK(memorynumber) - Similair PEEK
• MAX(x,y,...) Shows the MAX value of a number aera
• MIN(x,y,...) Shows the MIN value of a number aera
• ODD(x) Returns back a -1 if the number is odd or a 0 if the number isn't odd.
• ROUND(decimalnumber) Round a decimal number down (<=4) and up (>=5)

New loops

IF...THEN...ELSE, WBIF, WBELSE, WBEND, WHILE...DO, REPEAT...UNTIL

Graphic commands

• COLOUR x - Change the multicolor, x=0-255
• CURSOR x - Change the text color, x=0-16
• DOT x,y - Draw a pixel on position x,y
• DOTOFF
• DRAW [*|no],x,y - Draw a line
• GROUND x - Change background color, x=0-255
• HICOLOUR x,y,z - Sets the colour in HIRES mode (0-16)
• HIRES - Switch to HIRES screen
• HIRESOFF - Switch to normal screen
• LINE x0,y0,x1,y1,z
• LETTER - Activate small letters
• LETTEROFF - Activate big letters
• SDOT x,y,z
• SDRAW
• SLINE

Printer and floppy commands

CMD PRINT, DOS

It is a feature like DOS Wedge 5.1 inside.

Procedure

• PROCEDURE"/name"(variables) - Definite a procedure
• PROCEND - End of procedure
• CALL(variables)"/name",driveno - Call (load) another procedure saving on floppy drive
• NEWPROC - Starts a new procedure.
• MERGEPROC"/name",driveno - Merge one or more procedures in the memory
• ₤variablename - Procedure variables, only this variables can be interreact with other procedures
• NEW₤ - Starts a new definations of procedure variables

Memory commands

• MOVE
• SWAP
• HIMEM page,value - Change the BASIC memory to memory page (0-255)
• MEM - Shows free memory (overview)
• HILOAD - Loads code in the high memory
• HISAVE - Save code from the high memory on floppy disk
• HIPRINT - Print the high memory

Other Commands

• AXIS, CHAIN, COMMON, CREATE, DEF USR, DEF EXTERN, EXEC
• BEEP x,y,seconds - Make an individually beep sound (0-255). Lower numbers are given muffled tones and higher numbers are given high tones
• REVERS
• SEC x - Waits x=1-255 seconds
• SLEEP

Warsaw BASIC commands

• HELP - Show all new commands or tokens
• HELPOFF - Show all BASIC V2 commands or tokens
• KILL

Links

• Warsaw BASIC at pl.wikipedia.org

Download

• Warsaw BASIC in CSDb
• Warsaw BASIC v3.0 in PlanetEmu (PRG)
• Warsaw BASIC in PlanetEmu (t64)