This page (revision-36) was last changed on 03-Feb-2023 15:21 by Roland B. Wassenberg 

This page was created on 23-Dec-2010 08:24 by Carsten Strotmann

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Page revision history

Version Date Modified Size Author Changes ... Change note
36 03-Feb-2023 15:21 8 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous
35 29-Jul-2020 21:57 8 KB Peter Dell to previous | to last TURBO-BASIC XL ==> Turbo-BASIC XL
34 18-Apr-2020 19:55 8 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous | to last
33 18-Apr-2020 19:40 8 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous | to last TURBO-BASIC XX ==> TURBO-BASIC XL
32 18-Apr-2020 19:39 8 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous | to last TURBO-BASIC XL ==> TURBO-BASIC XX
31 31-Mar-2020 23:13 8 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous | to last
30 22-Mar-2020 23:05 8 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous | to last
29 21-Mar-2020 07:01 8 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous | to last
28 18-Mar-2020 04:55 8 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous | to last
27 18-Mar-2020 03:28 8 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous | to last
26 18-Mar-2020 03:22 7 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous | to last
25 18-Mar-2020 03:10 7 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous | to last
24 05-Mar-2020 22:01 6 KB Roland B. Wassenberg to previous | to last
23 15-May-2018 12:36 6 KB Maury Markowitz to previous | to last
22 07-May-2018 19:36 6 KB Maury Markowitz to previous | to last
21 07-May-2018 19:34 6 KB Maury Markowitz to previous | to last

Page References

Incoming links Outgoing links
Basic XL
Basic XL

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Difference between version and

At line 5 changed one line
The original [Atari BASIC] was written at Shepardson Microsystems (SMI) shortly before the 8-bit machines were released. A short time later, Shepardson dissolved, and the Atari programmers re-formed as Optimized Systems Software, taking the source code to the Atari products with them. In 1981 they released [OSS Basic A+], based on the original Atari BASIC code but containing a number of bug fixes and a few expansions. This made it too large for the 8k ROM cartridges of the era, and A+ shipped only in disk form.
The original [Atari BASIC] was written at Shepardson Microsystems (SMI) shortly before the 8-bit machines were released. A short time later, Shepardson dissolved, and the Atari programmers re-formed as Optimized Systems Software (OSS), taking the source code to the Atari products with them. In 1981, they released [OSS Basic A+], based on the original Atari BASIC code but containing a number of bug fixes and a few expansions. This made it too large for the 8k ROM cartridges of the era, and A+ shipped only in disk form.
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Basic XL was a further, but much larger, expansion on the Basic A+ model. As it was also based on the original source code, Basic XL remains a strict superset of Atari BASIC, and will run any Atari BASIC program without modification. In contrast to A+, however, XL added many new commands to work with player/missile graphics, simplified handling of joysticks and light pens, autogenerated line numbers and handled renumbering, and other extensions.
Basic XL was a further, but much larger, expansion on the Basic A+ model. As it was also based on the original source code, Basic XL remains a strict superset of Atari BASIC, and will run any Atari BASIC program without modification. In contrast to A+, however, XL added many new commands to work with player/missile graphics, simplified handling of joysticks and light pens, autogenerated line numbers and renumbering, and other extensions.
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Another notable feature of Basic XL was the AUTORUN system. This was a small runtime library that could be added to Basic XL programs to make them stand-alone. This allowed these programs to be run on computers that did not have Basic XL, which made it far more practical than A+. On top of this, Basic XL was shipped in the form of a 16kB "supercartridge" that used bank switching so it only took up 8kB of memory, making its footprint the same as Atari BASIC, as opposed to A+'s much larger size.
Another notable feature of Basic XL was the AUTORUN system. This was a small runtime library that could be added to a disk with Basic XL programs, allowing them to run on machines that did not have the Basic XL system. This made it far more practical than A+. On top of this, Basic XL was shipped in the form of a 16k "supercartridge" that used bank switching so it only took up 8k of memory, making its footprint the same as Atari BASIC, as opposed to A+'s much larger size.
This page (revision-36) was last changed on 03-Feb-2023 15:21 by Roland B. Wassenberg  Top