Atari 800 Basic Reference Manual

AlphanuDieric:
Array:
AT ASCII:
BASIC:
Binary:
Bit:
Branch:
Bug:
Byte:
Central Processing
Unit (CPU):
Code:
Con1mand:
APPENDIX G
GLOSSARY
The alphabetic letters A-Z, the numbers 0-9, and some symbols. (No
punctuation marks or graphics symbols).
A list
of numerical values stored in a series of memory locations
preceded by a DIM statement. May be referred to by use of an array
variable, and its individual elements are referred to by subscripted
variable names.
Stands for Atari American Standard Code for Information Inter-
change.
High level
programming language. Acronym for Beginner's All-
purpose Symbolic Intruction Code. BASIC is always written using ali
capital letters. Developed
by Mssrs. Kemeny and Kurtz at Dartmouth
College in 1963.
A
number system using the base two. Thus the only possible digits
are 0 and 1, which may be used in a computer to represent true and
false, on and off, etc.
Short
for Binary Digit. A bit can be thought of as representing true or
false, whether a circuit is on or off, or any other type of two-
possibility concept. A bit is the smallest unit of data with which a
computer can work.
Atari BASIC executes a program in order of line numbers. This ex-
ecution
sequence can be altered by the programmer, and the pro-
gram can be told to skip over a certain number of lines or return to a
line
earlier in the program. This contrived change in execution se-
quence is called "branching".
A mistake or error usually in the program or "software" .
Usually
eight bits (enough to represent the decimal number 255 or
11111111 in binary notation). A byte of data can be used to represent
an A TASCH character or a number in the range ofO to 255.
In microcomputers such as the Atari systems, these are also called
microprocessors or MPU. At one time, the CPU was that portion of
any computer that controlled the memory and peripherals. Now the
CPU or MPU is usually found on a single integrated circuit or "chip"
(in Atari's case a 6502 microprocessor chip).
Instructions written in a language understood by a computer.
An instruction to the computer that is executed immediately. A good
example is the BASIC command RUN. (See Statement.)
Appendix G-1

Atari 800 Specifications

General

Brand	Atari
Model	800
Category	Desktop
Language	English