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You can use PRECOMPUTER PRESTIGE
TM
as a calculator in arithmetic statements like
the one above by not using a line number.
Just type:
PRINT 12-4+7 and press Enter
The answer will appear on the display.
Another short cut is that you could use the "?" symbol to stand for the word "PRINT".
When you are using BASIC as a calculator in "command mode", think of the question mark
as meaning "What is 12-4+7?" and when you are using the question mark as a "PRINT"
command in a program, the computer will replace the "?" with the word "PRINT" for you.
2. LET’S DO SOME ARITHMETIC
In the previous section you did a sum of three numbers. The numbers like 1, 3, 27, 14.3,
etc., are called CONSTANTS. The program added and subtracted the constants 12, 4 and
7. The order that you do addition is unimportant: 6+10 is the same as 10+6. In subtraction,
the order is important: 10-6 is not the same as 6-10. So the order that you write numbers
and do arithmetic operations is important. In BASIC, operations are from left to right.
The * symbol is used to represent multiplication. Like addition, the order of the numbers
is unimportant. Here’s an example. There are 2.204 pounds to a kilogram. How many
pounds does a 6 kilogram parakeet weigh?
Try this:
10 PRINT 6*2.204
The symbol / is used for division. Here, like in subtraction, the order of the numbers is
important since 15/3 is 5 and 3/15 is .2. How many kilograms does a 6 pounds parakeet
weigh?
Try this:
10 PRINT 6/2.204
You can raise a number to a power also. To do this you need the ^ sign. The expression
5^3 means 5*5*5 or 125; similarly, 3^5 means 3*3*3*3*3 or 243. There are fractional
powers; for example 2^.5 is the square root of 2 or 1.414.... Here’s an example: I bet
you 1 doubloon and throw the dice 10 times; each time you double your money. How
much have you won?
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