The Atari BASIC Source Book

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about the Making of a Computer Language

  • When you type in BASIC programs and run them, what is really going on inside the computer?
  • How does the computer know how to handle a FOR-NEXT loop and where it should go when it meets a RETURN?
  • Where do ERROR messages come from?
  • How does the computer decide which mathematical opera- tion to perform first?
  • Why do some processes take so long, when others are almost instantaneous?
  • What sometimes causes the computer to lock up when you delete lines from your program?
  • How does the computer know what to do when it sees words and symbols like GOTO, INT, CHR$, *, + , and > ?
  • How can your machine language programs take advantage of some of the sophisticated routines in Atari BASIC?

The creators of Atari BASIC have now revealed their own work. Even if you aren't a machine language programmer, you'll find this book a fascinating exploration of a computer language. Now you can understand exactly why your programs work as they do. And if you are a machine language user, the source listing will let you see exactly where to enter Atari BASIC to use the powerful routines built into the language.