MiniBASIC

BASIC interpreter for Mini Micro

This is a little project to create an interpreter for the BASIC programming language for Mini Micro. The interpreter itself is written in MiniScript.

NOTE: This project requires Mini Micro v1.2 (released July 2023).

Current Status

MiniBASIC is nearly complete. The full standard BASIC language has been implemented, plus a few nice additions like PLOT, LINE, RECT, ELLIPSE, POLY, and SOUND. For interactive editing, it supports the standard functions plus niceties like EDIT, LISTREM, and RENUMBER.

Features still planned:

• better error trapping, e.g., using ; between statements rather than :, or use of == instead of =

See the Documentation for general notes as well as a complete reference of all available functions and commands.

Sample Programs

Included in the programs/CC subdirectory are about a hundred classic (old) BASIC demos and games from Creative Computing magazine (via BASIC Computer Games). These should all work now; please open an issue if you find any of them broken.

I'm also starting a second collection of programs written specifically for MiniBASIC, or adapted from other sources. The programs/demo subdirectory contains the first of these. It includes some AppleSoft programs that have been updated to standard MiniBASIC. (Including the classic Apple game Lemonade Stand!)

Try It Yourself!

You can run MiniBASIC on the web at itch.io. You will also find download links there which include the latest preview build of Mini Micro, as well as the MiniBASIC code and sample programs.

If you want to do it all yourself, based on this GitHub repo, then you will need at least a preview release of Mini Micro 1.2 (because it uses some of the latest features of the MiniScript language). So:

1. download Mini Micro 1.2 or later from MiniScript.org or itch.io.
2. unpack the downloaded app, and run (you might need to right-click an "open" the first time, as the app is not yet code-signed)
3. download or clone this repo
4. in Mini Micro, click on the top disk slot below the screen, and choose "Mount Folder..."
5. select the folder containing this README.md and basic.ms
6. type reboot at the Mini Micro prompt (or quit and relaunch)

That should do it! Now whenever Mini Micro starts up, it should go straight into MiniBASIC, which you can recognize by the > prompt.

If something goes wrong, MiniBASIC may crash, and drop you out into the MiniScript (recognizable by the ] prompt). In that case, just type basic to restart MiniBASIC (or, reboot if all else fails).

References

Detailed references on various old BASIC dialects can be hard to find. But here are some:

• Applesoft BASIC
• Applesoft BASIC, in more detail
• Microsoft BASIC-80
• Commodore-BASIC V2.0
• Classic Usborne BASIC Programming Books

For discussion, consider:

• BASIC4ALL forum
• MiniScript forums