If
the
number
is not 3583,
turn the Computer
off,
using
the pushbutton on the right
rear
corner of the
keyboard. Wait about
10
seconds and
turn
it on again.
Repeat the
test
and
verify that
the
number is
3583.
Just
What Is a
Computer
Program?
A
program
is a sequence of
instructions
that the Computer
stores until we command it to
follow (or
"execute") those instructions.
Programs for the TRS-80. are
written
in a language
called BASIC
—
and that
should
give you an idea
of
how
easy it is to learn!
Let's
write
a
simple one-line program to
let
the
TRS-80
introduce
itself.
First
be sure the
last line on the screen
shows
a>,
which we
call
the
"prompt".
This is the Computer's
way of
saying, "Go
ahead
—
do
something! " Now type the
following
line, exactly as
shown
:
10 PRINT
"HELLO
THERE.
I AM
YOUR
NEW
TRS-80
M I
CROCGMPUTER
!
"
Do not hit
QZQ1D
key yet!
If
you
made a mistake,
don't worry
—
it's
much easier
to correct typing
errors on
the
TRS-80
than it is on a
regular
typewriter. No rubber
erasers
or white paint to fuss with! Just
use the
backspace
key
*.
Each
time you
press this key,
the
rightmost character will be
erased. If
your
error was at the
beginning of the line,
you'll
have to
erase your way back to
that point and
then retype the rest of
the
line.
Now
go back and
examine
VERY CAREFULLY
what
you have typed:
1. Did you enclose
everything
after the word
PRINT in quotation marks?
2. Are there any extra
quotation
marks?
If
everything's okay, you can press
l^ll^
jp
. The
>
prompt
will
reappear. The
Computer
is
telling you,
"Fine
—
what's next?"
If It's Too Late
If
you find an
error
after you've
typed
a line and pressed
la^il^
jj
,
you
cannot use the*
backspace key to
correct it. Instead, retype
the
entire
line correctly. As soon as you
1^113.11
the line, it
will replace the incorrect one. This is
because both
of them share the
same
starting
number
(in
this case,
1(8).
It's
good
practice fa*
perform
this simple test
whenever
you
turn
on
the
TRS-80.
Always
type
N£W
and r^h^il
befor* performing
the
test.
.As
for
what
the
test tests
—
we'll
wait a'few
chapters for
that!
"EXTRA
CAREFUL'
You don't have to use
the
i
shift
j key
to
get
a
capital
letter
—
that's
the
only
kind of letter
'theV;
:
:
TRS-80 uses. However,
some of the
keys do
have two characters
printed
on them. Use
the
,.,';'/.
>}
.
iSHif
t
\
key
to
get the upper
cha?fac
ters
-—,
\
\
j£e
,'the
"
marks
and the exclamation pomt(!>.
See-
the little
"dash"
(—) that
moves across
th*--
screen
as
you
type
in
a
letter? This is the
"cursor".
It
lets
you
know exactly where the next
character
you
type
will be printed oh
the screen.
Pushing the
space
bar
moves the cursor along one space,
with-
i>ttt
printing anything.
:
If you; press
^i?»3:l
a
se cond
time
,
the screen
''Wffl"'»e&i.
;
.l.-'-r;
felifO
.[''-L-'
:
.~:,"yz:$:?,
READY
This is reassuring/hut riotheeessaty
—
as
long
as
the
bottom
item
on
the
screen is
the>pfompt,
you
know
it's
"yoor
turn."
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