- 23 -
tape as a RAM image of the program, BASIC does not have to encode the program
as it is received. Pretty impressive speed for an old computer and software!
Saving a BASIC Program to Cassette Tape
Programs can be added to an existing tape file, or written to a new file as
follows:
1) Use the "File->Log..." menu option in the cassette TeraTerm window to
specify a file to write as the cassette tape. Check the "Binary" check-
box. Check the "Append" check box if you want to add to an existing
cassette tape. Click "Save" to start the file save process.
2) Type CSAVE "x" in BASIC where x is a one character "file name" that is
different than any other file name on the tape.
3) After the CSAVE operation completes and BASIC displays "OK," click on
the TeraTerm:Log icon on the Windows taskbar to display the TeraTerm
Log dialog box. Choose "Close" to finish the file save operation.
Loading a BASIC Program through the Console
The majority of BASIC programs you’ll find are not in 8K compatible cassette
format, but instead, are provided as a simple ASCII listing of the program.
The same technique used to load programs through the console serial port in
4K BASIC can be used to load these programs into 8K BASIC. For more informa-
tion on why the following steps work, see “Loading a BASIC Program from Paper
Tape” in the 4K BASIC demonstration.
Choose the “Setup->Serial Port” menu option in the console TeraTerm window
and enter “300” in the “msec/line” field. This provides a 0.3 second delay
after each line to give BASIC time to process the line of code. (You may have
to increase the delay to 500 msec/line to load larger programs since the line
encoding process gets slower as the program size increases.)
Program files compatible with 8K BASIC are present in the “4K BASIC,” “8K BA-
SIC” and the “Games (Creative Comp)” folders inside the ““BASIC\BASIC pro-
grams” folder. Note, most of the programs in the Games folder will work in 8K
BASIC, but not all of them. The 72 character line length limit in 8K BASIC is
typically the culprit. Follow these steps to try the programs:
1) Type “NEW” followed by RETURN to clear program memory.
2) Use the “File->Send File” menu option in TeraTerm to browse to and
transmit the BASIC program you want to load.
3) The program will display on the screen as BASIC reads it in. The file
transmit dialog box will close before the PC actually finishes trans-
mitting the program. This is normal.
4) Once the program is loaded, type “RUN” followed by RETURN to execute
the program.
5) Repeat steps 1-5 to try another program.
When you are finished, use the TeraTerm “Setup->Serial Port” menu to restore
8N1 and to set the transmit delay back to zero. This helps avoid problems and
confusion with the next exercise you may try!
More Information
Be sure to look at the 1977 BASIC manual (Altair Manuals\BASIC Manual 77.pdf)
for more information about 8K BASIC.
Содержание 8800 Clone
Страница 1: ......
