Specifications

Concepts - 1

Getting Started

To program in CAMBASIC you will need a terminal to interface with your CPU card. This may be a CRT terminal or a

PC configured as a terminal. If you use the PC, you will need additional software for your PC to communicate.

SmartLINKturns your PC into a program development workstation. See your hardware manual for setup instructions.

You should review the CAMBASIC commands in Chapter 4 of this manual. Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of

commands available. Most programs use only a limited number of commands. You will find that most commands in

CAMBASIC are familiar to you if you have ever programmed in any basic before.

On power–up a message is printed like that below. If a nonsense message appears, your terminal is not set at 19,200 baud,

one start bit, 8 data bits, one stop bit and no parity. The amount of free memory is product dependent.

CAMBASIC (tm) Version 1.00

> _

The underline ( _ ) shown to the right of the “>” prompt represents the cursor position. Your cursor may be a block or

other character depending upon your system.

This mode is useful for debugging and for using CAMBASIC as a calculator for quick computations. Virtually all

statements and commands may be used in this mode. Memory may be read and modified. Data may be sent to or read

from ports.

The Program Mode is used for entering programs. Program lines are always preceded by line numbers. Execution begins

after RUN is entered. The program may be run as many times as desired. You can enter a program in either upper or

lower case.

Line Format

Every program begins with a line number. Line numbers may range from 1 to 65529.

Programs are stored and run in RAM, in line number order, regardless of the entry sequence. Programs are compiled into

an intermediate code to speed execution. The average compiled program will use about 10% more memory than the

keystrokes you typed or disk memory used. This number can vary 20% either way, depending upon the type of program

you are writing.

A compiler limits a program line to 159 characters. More than one statement may reside on a line as long as the statements

are separated by colons (:). Putting more than one statement on a line will cause somewhat faster program execution and

use less memory.

Line Renumbering

CAMBASIC can renumber your program. Typing in RENUM will automatically renumber your program in line steps of

10 beginning with line 10. You can optionally specify the starting line number and step value. Refer to the RENUM

command.