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This article is being presented through the *StarBoard* Journal of
the FlagShip/StarShip, SIGS (Special Interest Groups) on the
Delphi and GEnie telecommunications networks.  Permission is
hereby granted to non-profit organizations only to reprint this
article or pass it along electronically as long as proper credit
is given to both the author and the *StarBoard* Journal.
*********************************************************************

                     Learn BASIC by Debugging

                         by Tim Sickbert

                        (MIDNIT on DELPHI)


     Learning BASIC can be intimidating. It doesn't matter how
long you have had your computer, or how well you can process words,
numbers, or names. Nor does it matter how many programs you have
keyed in from magazine listings and "Learning BASIC" books. You
may still not feel comfortable with BASIC.

     I got my computer about a year ago, primarily as a word
processor, but also to learn a bit about programming. After six
months, I had typed in about twenty or so programs from the
manuals and from magazines, and I still felt that I didn't know a
fool thing about how to write a program. Oh, I had written a few
cute little things to make the screen change color and to print
things out, but nothing that DID anything.

     The biggest problem I had was thinking of something to write
a program for. All these cute little things did not add up to
much, and I could see no reason to carry them further. It was
really rather discouraging.

     Then, one day in a newsletter I found a short little listing
for printing out mail labels. It was really pretty easy,
and I never would have thought of doing the same thing myself.
But I was bored, so I read the article that came with the
listing, and typed it in. It turned out that I had learned
something over the months. I had a good idea about how a program
should be written, and I had a strong feeling about how the BASIC
commands should be used. Everything I had learned added up to tell
me that the program I was looking at needed a good little bit of
work. INSPIRATION!!!

     I didn't need to come up with my own ideas for a program (I
am not that creative) - I could take somebody else's idea, find
its flaws (there is no such thing as a perfect piece of code),
make it work better, and add my own bells and whistles.

     Every time I had come up with an idea of my own, I had
figured, "Naw, that wouldn't be a REAL program...it would just be
a few lines to make it look like I was programming."  Working on
somebody else's program somehow made it more legitimate for me.

     The point of all this is that you can learn programming by
taking somebody else's BASIC program, finding its flaws, and
adding to the program to make it do more, and do it better. You
probably won't want a program out of a magazine as they can get
rather long and tedious. Probably the best thing to work on is a
short routine that a moderate-level programmer would sit down and
type in as a quickie, just to serve his immediate need. Many
programmers will sit down and need to get something done pretty
quick. Rather than write a fully developed program, they get down
and dirty - they patch and kludge.

     If a programmer had a need for it, so does somebody else. The
original version won't do because it was probably written pretty
carelessly, and probably doesn't do much in the first place. But
if you take that idea, clean it up, and expand it, you may be able
to make a decent little utility out of it.

     I had a check bounce last fall, and was rather anxious to
find out where I had made a mistake in balancing my checkbook. The
batteries in my calculator were dead. I didn't have the patience
to learn how to use a spreadsheet right then, and I REALLY didn't
want to do it on paper. I typed in a quickie little program that
looked a lot like this:

          10 b$=""
          20 a$=""
          30 get a$:ifa$=""then80
          40 if val(a$)>0 and val(a$)<9 then
             b$=b$+a$:printa$;:goto77
          50 if a$="0" then b$=b$+a$:goto77
          60 if a$="+" then b=val(b$):tt=tt+b:print,tt:goto75
          70 if a$="-" then b=val(b$):tt=tt-b:print,tt:goto75
          80 if a$="*" then b=val(b$):tt=tt*b:print,tt:goto75
          90 if a$="/" then b=val(b$):tt=tt/b:print,tt:goto75


     Pretty cheesy, eh? Well, it took me almost half an hour to
write that and get it working the first time. I found the mistake
in my checkbook, so I was happy. But it was not the kind of thing
I would show off to my friends; it is rather lacking in features
and elegance. I knew right away that it was a handy little thing,
though, and that I would want to use it again sometime, the next
time the batteries in my calculator died. So why not make it work
a bit better? Add a few more features? Maybe make some kind of
article out of it?

     Anyway, that little program is what I started out with. Look
at it, type it in, run it. Not so hot, but it is a start. What
problems does it have?

     To begin with, there is no cursor, no error checking, and no
way to tell what is going on. But there IS an idea. I had started
something. So, the first thing, of course, is to figure out what
all would be nice in a progrm like this.

     Instructions are always nice - put in some REM statements to
remind myself what I am doing; print messages to the screen so
users, including me, know what the program was doing; and
generally make the program prettier. In fact, when I expanded this
program, the first thing I did was write the instructions and a
blank program. In the instructions (VERY much edited since the
original writing) I PRINTed everything I wanted the program to do.
Then I entered a whole bunch of empty lines - line numbers with
just a colon - with a REM statement at every even hundred line
number (100, 200, ..., etc.) that told what routine I would put
there. That gave me something of a structure, some idea of where I
was going, and all I had to do was write the little routines. It
helped me, anyway.

     I suggest that, if interested, you try to do the same kind of
thing right now, before continuing with this article. Take the
program above, or another little one that you have sitting around,
figure out what it needs to make it useful, write the
instructions, and set up the lines that you can fill in with
routines. This can get you started programming. The rest of this
article will be about the above program in its present state, as
found in the listing at the end of this article. The program is
still not fully developed, but is an example of a somewhat later
stage.

     You should have the listing for the Simple Adding Machine
before you as you look at this. It looks kind of convoluted. It
doesn't really need to be, but there is a reason for it.

     As I was writing the program, it looked a whole lot
different. Lines 1260 to the end of the program were at the very
beginning; lines 1130 through 1240 followed right after that.
Having the REMs and the setup part of the program at the beginning
is how you usually see it. Well, the last thing I did was move
these to the end because they take up space (and therefore time) if
they are at the beginning of the program. This program spends most
of its time GETting characters and going through loops and GOing
TO. This can take a lot of time, especially on the C128 in SLOW
mode. So I tried to put all the really busy parts of the program
at the beginning.

     Outside of that, the REMarks pretty much document the
structure of the rest of the program. The program flows pretty
simply from the input routine, through the evaluation and printing
of the character got, to the adding of the entries and totals to
an array.

     The individual routines deserve some bit of attention as
well. The first routine is a simple flashing cursor routine that
does little more than show the user where an entry will go and
wait for a key to be pressed. The actual routine is the four lines
from 200 through 230, inclusive. The counter, 'ct', determines how
fast the cursor blinks. The variable 'fl' determines whether the
pseudo cursor (the space character, alternately normal and
reversed), will be the background or the character color, to give
it its flash.

     The next routine starts the evaluation of a character once it
has been entered. Rather than use string literals, I decided to
use the ASC() value of the CHR$(). I did that for two reasons. The
first was to trap all the numeric characters which have an ASCII
value ranging from 48 to 57. The test in the original program used
the VAL() function, which was ok; but I had to use another line to
test for the zero character becuase any non-numeric character
returns a zero from the VAL() function. Note that in using the
ASC() function, it is necessary on most Commodore machines to add
a CHR$(0) to the string for it to work.

     A lot of lines in this and the next routine trap special
characters such as line 20 (which allows you to use the minus sign
for negative numbers), line 310 (which provides for the <DELETE>
key), and other special characters.

     The next routine takes the characters that filtered through
the above routine, traps the comma and the decimal point, and
evaluates the function. Lines 480 and 500 are leftovers - the
characters should have been trapped earlier.

     The storage feature is one of those not fully developed. Such
a feature could come in handy when you are balancing a checkbook,
and keep finding a mistake. What it needs is a print feature that
would provide a hardcopy so you could compare it more easily to
the actual entries in your checkbook. I leave that to you.

     Only two other routines deserve attention. The SEQ file print
routine in lines 640-760 that provides for single and dual disk
drives with any legal device number. The setup routine checks to
see if the computer is a C64 or a C128. These are the two most
Commodore computers right now, but lines 1150-1200 can be deleted
or REMed out for other machines. The program is generic Commodore
BASIC 2.0 and should run unaltered on any Commodore 65xx system,
with the exception of those 6 lines.

     The program itself is no great shakes, but the idea of taking
a simple program and debugging and expanding it can get you
started in BASIC programming. Look for the little routines in
newsletters, magazines, etc., and see what you can do with them.
Stay away from the big, convoluted programs until you have had
some practice, but then see what you can do with those as well.

[Copyright 1986, Timothy B. Sickbert. Permission granted to
non-profit groups to reprint all or part of the article, or to
pass it on via electronically coded files, provided credit is
given the author. Please address questions, comments, or what have
you, to Tim Sickbert, P.O. Box 1747, Champaign, IL 61820, or on
Delphi to MIDNIT, on Quantum Link to The Paper.]
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                       SIMPLE ADDING MACHINE
                         (program listing)

100 goto920
110 rem "Notes and Credits at End of Program
120 :
130 rem "Start adding machine program here
140 :
150 rem "Simple flashing cursor input
160 :
170 tt=0
180 fl=1:b$=""
190 a$=""
200 get a$:if a$<>""then270
210 ct=ct+1: if ct<>10 then goto200
220 ct=0: fl=-fl:if fl=-1 then print " ";:goto200
230 print " ";:goto200
240 :
250 :rem "A key has been hit. Evaluate
260 :
270 a=asc(a$+chr$(0))
280 if a>47 and a<58 then b$=b$+a$:printa$;:goto190
290 if (len(b$))=0 and a$="-" then b$=a$:printa$;:goto190
300 if a>41 and a<48 then 410
310 if len(b$)>0 and a=20 then print
    a$;:b$=left$(b$,(len(b$)-1)):goto190
320 rem above line deletes
330 if a = 94 then b=val(b$):tt=ttE}Ab:print"E}A";tab(8)tt:goto550
340 if a = 13 then a$="+":a=43:goto430
350 if a = 195 then tt=0: print"Clear"tab(8)tt:goto550: rem "
    Shift C = clear
360 if a = 209 then 600: rem "Shifted Q
370 goto190
380 :
390 :  rem "Evaluate chr$( codes range 42-47
400 :
410 if a = 44 then 180 : rem comma
420 if a=46 then b$=b$+a$:printa$;:goto190: rem "DECIMAL POINT
430 print a$;: b=val(b$):print tab(8);:
440 on 48-a goto 510,500,490,480,470,460
450 rem "Multiply, Add, Comma, Subtract, Decimal, Divide
460 tt=tt*b:printtt:goto550
470 tt=tt+b:printtt:goto550
480 print "This line should never execute!!! COMMA":stop
490 tt=tt-b:printtt:goto550
500 print"This line should never execute!! DECIMAL POINT":stop
510 tt=tt/b:printtt:goto550
520 :
530 : rem "If storing, add to array
540 :
550 if aa=0 then goto 180
560 a1$(tc)=b$+a$:a2(tc)=tt:tc=tc+1:goto180
570 :
580 rem" Quit and close
590 :
600 input "Quit. Are you sure? y";rs$
610 if rs$<>"y"then 550
620 if aa=0 then end
630 input"Do you want to save the arrayed data in a sequential
    disk file? n";rs$
640 if rs$<>"y" then end
650 input"Sequential file name ";fi$
660 input"Disk device number   8";de$:de=val(de$):if de<1 or de>30
    then 660
670 input"Drive number   0";dr$:dr=val(dr$):ifdr<0ordr>1 then 670
680 print"Any key to continue with disk file print":
690 getrs$:ifrs$=""then690
700 close15:open15,de,15:gosub 840
710 open2,de,2,""+dr$+":"+fi$+",s,w":gosub840
720 for i=0 to tc:print#2,a1$(i),a2(i):next
730 gosub 840
740 print#2:close2
750 input#15,e1,e1$,et,es:print e1,e1$,et,es
760 close1
770 input"quit <q>, clear <c>, or continue <u>  c";rs$
780 if rs$="u" then goto 180
790 if rs$="c" then tt=0:tc=0:print"Clear"tab(8)tt:goto170
800 end
810 :
820 :  rem "Disk access error checking routine
830 :
840 input#15,e1,e1$,et,es
850 if e1<20 then return
860 printe1,e1$,et,es:close2:close15
870 print"Disk output aborted": goto 770
880 :
890 :
900 rem "Instructions, notes, etc
910 :
920 printchr$(147)chr$(14)
930 print" This program functions as a small
940 print" adding machine. It will properly
950 print" handle all mathematical operators, and
960 print" it provides an option for storing your
970 print" entries and running totals in an array
980 print" which may be saved as a sequential
990 print" file for later reference.
1000 print"   The program is still a little bit
1010 print" thin. Other features you can add
1020 print" might fill the array from a sequential
1030 print" or print a hardcopy of entries and
1040 print" totals to a printer.
1050 print"  This program will ignore keys other
1060 print" than the number keys, the numerical
1070 print" function keys, the <SHIFTED> 'c' (to
1080 print" clear the running total), and the
1090 print" <SHIFTED> 'q' (to quit).
1100 print"   Any Key to Continue
1110 geta$:ifa$=""then1110
1120 :
1130 rem "Setup
1140 :
1150 sy=0:if peek(65280) then sy=1:rem"sy=0 - C128; sy=1 - c64
1160 if sy=1thenpoke808,234:rem" disable <RUN/STOP>
1170 if sy=0 then input"  Do you want to use C128 FAST mode
     y";rs$
1180 if rs$="y" then fast
1190 if sy=0 then key 1,"*":key3,"/":key5,"E}A"
1200 if sy=0 then print "F1=*, F3=/, F5=E}A"
1210 print"   Do you want to store your"
1220 input"  entries and totals in arrays   n";rs$
1230 if rs$="y" then aa=1:input" How many elements for
     storage";a1%:dim a1$(a1%),a2(a1%):tc=1
1240 goto170
1250 :
1260 rem ***************************
1270 :
1280 rem "   Simple adding machine
1290 :
1300 rem "       Tim Sickbert
1310 rem "        June 1986
1320 :
1330 rem ***************************
1340 :
1350 rem" This program is written to accompany
1360 rem" an article on learning BASIC by
1370 rem" taking a simple BASIC program,
1380 rem" debugging it, trimming it down, and
1390 rem" adding features to it. You are
1400 rem" invited to do the same with this one.
1410 :
1420 rem"   If you have any questions, comments,
1430 rem"  or criticisms - or if you find any
1440 rem"  glaring examples of bad programming -
1450 rem"  please let me know.
1460 rem"    Send E-mail to:
1470 rem"     on Delphi - MIDNIT
1480 rem"     on QLink  - The Paper