• Interpreted BASIC?

    From F. W.@3:770/3 to All on Wed Mar 24 10:43:18 2021
    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    Thanx!

    FW

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  • From Anna Christina Nass@2:240/5824.1 to F. W. on Wed Mar 24 12:16:00 2021
    Am 24.03.21 schrieb me # home.com@3:770/3 in RBERRYPI:

    Hallo F.,

    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    I haven't tried it myself, but there is a "bwBASIC" (Bywater BASIC) which
    is a small BASIC interpreter modeled after GW-BASIC.
    And there is FreeBASIC, which is more like QuickBASIC/QBASIC, but it is
    also a compiler.

    Maybe that helps you a little.

    Regards,
    Anna

    --- OpenXP 5.0.49
    * Origin: Imzadi Box Point (2:240/5824.1)
  • From Martin Gregorie@3:770/3 to F. W. on Wed Mar 24 11:01:37 2021
    On Wed, 24 Mar 2021 10:43:18 +0100, F. W. wrote:

    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    It would appear that that are three: bwbasic, sdlbasic and yabasic

    sdlbasic says its for game development using the SDL library. The SDL
    library manages video, audio, input devices, CD-ROM, threads, shared
    object loading, networking and timers.

    bwbasic looks like a more complete ANSI Standard BASIC interpreter than
    yabasic and could be the only one to have a built-in editor.

    All are supported on other operating systems as well as Linux.

    FYI I used the command line:

    sudo apt search "basic interpreter" | less

    to find these Raspbian packages. Use "sudo apt install packagename" to
    install one or more of them. I have no idea which is the best: I haven't written BASIC since around 1985.

    --
    Martin | martin at
    Gregorie | gregorie dot org

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  • From A. Dumas@3:770/3 to Martin Gregorie on Wed Mar 24 12:23:43 2021
    On 24-03-2021 12:01, Martin Gregorie wrote:
    It would appear that that are three: bwbasic, sdlbasic and yabasic
    [...]
    sudo apt search "basic interpreter" | less
    to find these Raspbian packages.

    Won't you only find packages that have the exact description "basic interpreter" that way, or is the search cleverer than that?

    Two Raspberry Pi related options:
    - Gordon's RTB seems to have vanished from the repos but can be
    downloaded here:
    https://projects.drogon.net/rtb/rtb-download-and-install/ I just tried
    it and it still works, and it does GPIO, but unfortunately for OP it
    requires a graphical screen. (And to install libsdl-sound1.2 first, even
    if you don't use sound.)
    - Also graphical, harking back to the inspiration for the Raspberry Pi: https://www.bbcbasic.co.uk/bbcsdl/

    The only interpreter that I saw (in a web search) that does support
    command line/batch mode is apparently bwbasic, which is in the standard
    repo like you found.

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  • From Martin Gregorie@3:770/3 to A. Dumas on Wed Mar 24 11:46:56 2021
    On Wed, 24 Mar 2021 12:23:43 +0100, A. Dumas wrote:

    On 24-03-2021 12:01, Martin Gregorie wrote:
    It would appear that that are three: bwbasic, sdlbasic and yabasic
    [...]
    sudo apt search "basic interpreter" | less to find these Raspbian
    packages.

    Won't you only find packages that have the exact description "basic interpreter" that way, or is the search cleverer than that?

    Its cleverer than that: it matches packages using a regex. Changing the
    regex to "basic.*interpreter" added one other relevant hit:
    'brandy', a BBC BASIC V interpreter

    Be aware that 'apt search' is looking at the package's description, not
    its name, so a fairly generic regex like the one I used is likely to
    include irrelevant packages in its hits list. Since it only displays the
    first sentence in each description, its not always obvious why a
    particular hit got into the list.


    --
    Martin | martin at
    Gregorie | gregorie dot org

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  • From Adrian Caspersz@3:770/3 to A. Dumas on Wed Mar 24 13:09:27 2021
    On 24/03/2021 11:23, A. Dumas wrote:
    - Also graphical, harking back to the inspiration for the Raspberry Pi: https://www.bbcbasic.co.uk/bbcsdl/

    Following is not really the answer to the OP, but I grew up with this
    thing, and think the javascript emulation is cool.

    https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/jsbeeb/index.html

    enter the following at the prompt (on a PC keyboard for * use the @
    character, next to the return/enter key)

    *EXEC !BOOT

    and you will be starting the game, Elite ...


    The site https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk may interest some with memories of
    long ago, the beginning of my interest in home computing.

    --
    Adrian C

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  • From ray@3:770/3 to F. W. on Wed Mar 24 09:52:41 2021
    On 3/24/21 3:43 AM, F. W. wrote:
    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    Thanx!

    FW


    https://www.thefreecountry.com/compilers/basic.shtml
    will show you. There is also opencomal which is a basic like language
    with more structure.

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  • From druck@3:770/3 to F. W. on Wed Mar 24 20:45:58 2021
    On 24/03/2021 09:43, F. W. wrote:
    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    If you are looking for an interactive interpreter as an alternative to a
    bash shell, and I would recommend iPython rather than a BASIC variant.
    Python is far more powerful language with a vast range of library
    modules, and iPython allows you to use all of that interactively.

    ---druck

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  • From F. W.@3:770/3 to All on Thu Mar 25 07:35:08 2021
    Am 24.03.2021 um 16:52 schrieb ray:
    On 3/24/21 3:43 AM, F. W. wrote:
    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    Thanx!

    FW


    https://www.thefreecountry.com/compilers/basic.shtml
    will show you. There is also opencomal which is a basic like language
    with more structure.

    Thank you! Vintage-Basic is excellent!

    FW

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  • From Adrian Caspersz@3:770/3 to druck on Thu Mar 25 10:47:29 2021
    On 24/03/2021 20:45, druck wrote:
    On 24/03/2021 09:43, F. W. wrote:
    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    If you are looking for an interactive interpreter as an alternative to a
    bash shell, and I would recommend iPython rather than a BASIC variant.
    Python is far more powerful language with a vast range of library
    modules, and iPython allows you to use all of that interactively.


    I'd suggest PowerShell ...

    --
    Adrian C

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  • From A. Dumas@3:770/3 to Adrian Caspersz on Thu Mar 25 12:34:50 2021
    On 25-03-2021 11:47, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    On 24/03/2021 20:45, druck wrote:
    On 24/03/2021 09:43, F. W. wrote:
    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    If you are looking for an interactive interpreter as an alternative to
    a bash shell, and I would recommend iPython rather than a BASIC
    variant. Python is far more powerful language with a vast range of
    library modules, and iPython allows you to use all of that interactively.

    I'd suggest PowerShell ...

    On the Raspberry Pi?! Because we're in comp.sys.raspberry-pi here.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Adrian Caspersz@3:770/3 to A. Dumas on Thu Mar 25 12:42:24 2021
    On 25/03/2021 11:34, A. Dumas wrote:
    On 25-03-2021 11:47, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    On 24/03/2021 20:45, druck wrote:
    On 24/03/2021 09:43, F. W. wrote:
    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    If you are looking for an interactive interpreter as an alternative
    to a bash shell, and I would recommend iPython rather than a BASIC
    variant. Python is far more powerful language with a vast range of
    library modules, and iPython allows you to use all of that
    interactively.

    I'd suggest PowerShell ...

    On the Raspberry Pi?! Because we're in comp.sys.raspberry-pi here.

    Yup.

    --
    Adrian C

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  • From Dennis Lee Bieber@3:770/3 to All on Thu Mar 25 12:07:55 2021
    On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:34:50 +0100, "A. Dumas" <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> declaimed the following:

    On 25-03-2021 11:47, Adrian Caspersz wrote:


    On the Raspberry Pi?! Because we're in comp.sys.raspberry-pi here.

    MicroSloth made it somewhat open-source and have ports for four architectures/OS... Using the port of .NET runtime...

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell?view=powershell-7.1
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell-core-on-linux?view=powershell-7.1#raspbian


    --
    Wulfraed Dennis Lee Bieber AF6VN
    wlfraed@ix.netcom.com http://wlfraed.microdiversity.freeddns.org/

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  • From Folderol@3:770/3 to Adrian Caspersz on Thu Mar 25 16:05:27 2021
    On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:42:24 +0000
    Adrian Caspersz <email@here.invalid> wrote:

    On 25/03/2021 11:34, A. Dumas wrote:
    On 25-03-2021 11:47, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    On 24/03/2021 20:45, druck wrote:
    On 24/03/2021 09:43, F. W. wrote:
    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    If you are looking for an interactive interpreter as an alternative
    to a bash shell, and I would recommend iPython rather than a BASIC
    variant. Python is far more powerful language with a vast range of
    library modules, and iPython allows you to use all of that
    interactively.

    I'd suggest PowerShell ...

    On the Raspberry Pi?! Because we're in comp.sys.raspberry-pi here.

    Yup.


    ... or you could run RiscOS and you'd have BBC BASIC built in - an *extremely* powerful (and quick) version.

    Mind you this all depends on what other connectivity you need.

    --
    W J G

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  • From A. Dumas@3:770/3 to Gordon Henderson on Thu Mar 25 17:42:50 2021
    On 25-03-2021 17:22, Gordon Henderson wrote:
    A. Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
    - Gordon's RTB seems to have vanished from the repos but can be
    downloaded here:
    https://projects.drogon.net/rtb/rtb-download-and-install/ I just tried
    it and it still works, and it does GPIO, but unfortunately for OP it
    requires a graphical screen. (And to install libsdl-sound1.2 first, even
    if you don't use sound.)

    It should work on the console without any GUI running.

    Try running it with the -D flag:

    rtb -D

    then looking at the list of modes it prints, then you can pick the mode/resolution with

    rtb -m X

    where X is the mode number listed from the -D command. Mode 0 is usually
    the highest resolution one which is the default if you don't use the
    -m flag.

    Right! Thanks. I looked at the documentation and did try the -D flag but
    I was another step removed, over ssh, and it just would not start. I
    have not tried forwarding the X-server, that seemed a little over the
    top for OP who intended it as a bash tool.

    RTB (and wiringPi) are sort of on holiday right now - I've had some health issues in the past year or 2 and am now in the middle of moving house,
    so once the dust has settled I'll be doing more with them.

    All the best!

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  • From A. Dumas@3:770/3 to Dennis Lee Bieber on Thu Mar 25 17:46:06 2021
    On 25-03-2021 17:07, Dennis Lee Bieber wrote:
    On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:34:50 +0100, "A. Dumas" <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> declaimed the following:

    On 25-03-2021 11:47, Adrian Caspersz wrote:


    On the Raspberry Pi?! Because we're in comp.sys.raspberry-pi here.

    MicroSloth made it somewhat open-source and have ports for four architectures/OS... Using the port of .NET runtime...

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell?view=powershell-7.1
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell-core-on-linux?view=powershell-7.1#raspbian

    I know... but........ that seems great if you do things with PowerShell
    on Windows, not so much as a deliberate/independent choice on the Pi.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Gordon Henderson@3:770/3 to A. Dumas on Thu Mar 25 16:22:05 2021
    In article <605b213f$0$27927$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl>,
    A. Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
    On 24-03-2021 12:01, Martin Gregorie wrote:
    It would appear that that are three: bwbasic, sdlbasic and yabasic
    [...]
    sudo apt search "basic interpreter" | less
    to find these Raspbian packages.

    Won't you only find packages that have the exact description "basic >interpreter" that way, or is the search cleverer than that?

    Two Raspberry Pi related options:
    - Gordon's RTB seems to have vanished from the repos but can be
    downloaded here:
    https://projects.drogon.net/rtb/rtb-download-and-install/ I just tried
    it and it still works, and it does GPIO, but unfortunately for OP it
    requires a graphical screen. (And to install libsdl-sound1.2 first, even
    if you don't use sound.)

    It should work on the console without any GUI running.

    Try running it with the -D flag:

    rtb -D

    then looking at the list of modes it prints, then you can pick the mode/resolution with

    rtb -m X

    where X is the mode number listed from the -D command. Mode 0 is usually
    the highest resolution one which is the default if you don't use the
    -m flag.

    RTB (and wiringPi) are sort of on holiday right now - I've had some health issues in the past year or 2 and am now in the middle of moving house,
    so once the dust has settled I'll be doing more with them.

    Gordon

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From TimS@3:770/3 to All on Thu Mar 25 16:58:26 2021
    On 25 Mar 2021 at 16:46:06 GMT, "A. Dumas" <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid>
    wrote:

    On 25-03-2021 17:07, Dennis Lee Bieber wrote:
    On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:34:50 +0100, "A. Dumas" <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> >> declaimed the following:

    On 25-03-2021 11:47, Adrian Caspersz wrote:


    On the Raspberry Pi?! Because we're in comp.sys.raspberry-pi here.

    MicroSloth made it somewhat open-source and have ports for four
    architectures/OS... Using the port of .NET runtime...

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell?view=powershell-7.1
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell-core-on-linux?view=powershell-7.1#raspbian

    I know... but........ that seems great if you do things with PowerShell
    on Windows, not so much as a deliberate/independent choice on the Pi.

    Why would you fart about with that rather than using one of the standard
    shells such as zsh? Not that I'd ever dream of writing a script with a shell scripting language.

    --
    Tim

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  • From Joe@3:770/3 to Adrian Caspersz on Thu Mar 25 20:31:31 2021
    On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:42:24 +0000
    Adrian Caspersz <email@here.invalid> wrote:

    On 25/03/2021 11:34, A. Dumas wrote:
    On 25-03-2021 11:47, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    On 24/03/2021 20:45, druck wrote:
    On 24/03/2021 09:43, F. W. wrote:
    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    If you are looking for an interactive interpreter as an
    alternative to a bash shell, and I would recommend iPython rather
    than a BASIC variant. Python is far more powerful language with a
    vast range of library modules, and iPython allows you to use all
    of that interactively.

    I'd suggest PowerShell ...

    On the Raspberry Pi?! Because we're in comp.sys.raspberry-pi here.

    Yup.


    Why?

    The more sophisticated Windows users think PowerShell is wonderful
    because it give them access to a lot of stuff the GUI doesn't touch,
    including a lot of things that *should* be in management GUIs e.g.
    finding mailbox sizes in the last version of Exchange that I had
    dealings with. That shouldn't be a command-line-only job, given what
    else the GUI does cover.

    But it's *Windows* stuff. *nix has always had a shell (indeed many) to
    reach the command-line APIs of various daemons and applications. This
    chap wants to get back to BASICs. Why, we don't know. I occasionally
    dabble with VBA in Access, and even more occasionally in Excel, but I
    have no other use for any form of BASIC.

    --
    Joe

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Gordon Henderson@3:770/3 to A. Dumas on Thu Mar 25 21:15:39 2021
    In article <605cbd8a$0$27913$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl>,
    A. Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
    On 25-03-2021 17:22, Gordon Henderson wrote:
    A. Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
    - Gordon's RTB seems to have vanished from the repos but can be
    downloaded here:
    https://projects.drogon.net/rtb/rtb-download-and-install/ I just tried
    it and it still works, and it does GPIO, but unfortunately for OP it
    requires a graphical screen. (And to install libsdl-sound1.2 first, even >>> if you don't use sound.)

    It should work on the console without any GUI running.

    Try running it with the -D flag:

    rtb -D

    then looking at the list of modes it prints, then you can pick the mode/resolution with

    rtb -m X

    where X is the mode number listed from the -D command. Mode 0 is usually
    the highest resolution one which is the default if you don't use the
    -m flag.

    Right! Thanks. I looked at the documentation and did try the -D flag but
    I was another step removed, over ssh, and it just would not start. I
    have not tried forwarding the X-server, that seemed a little over the
    top for OP who intended it as a bash tool.

    If you use ssh -X then it should also work, but it'll be slow. Running it over VNC
    also works.

    Gordon

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Mayayana@3:770/3 to Joe on Thu Mar 25 18:31:52 2021
    "Joe" <joe@jretrading.com> wrote

    | The more sophisticated Windows users think PowerShell is wonderful
    | because it give them access to a lot of stuff the GUI doesn't touch,
    | including a lot of things that *should* be in management GUIs e.g.
    | finding mailbox sizes in the last version of Exchange that I had
    | dealings with. That shouldn't be a command-line-only job, given what
    | else the GUI does cover.
    |
    | But it's *Windows* stuff. *nix has always had a shell (indeed many) to
    | reach the command-line APIs of various daemons and applications.

    I thought they ported it to Linux. At any rate, that's why
    they produced it in the first place. It's superfluous, poorly
    designed crap that's not dependably on all systems and has
    become a venue for attacks. The only reason they
    came out with it was to provide something for Linux
    sever admins that would look familiar. As far as I'm concerned,
    Linux can have it. Windows script with COM is far more
    extensive and adaptable.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Adrian Caspersz@3:770/3 to Joe on Fri Mar 26 10:01:45 2021
    On 25/03/2021 20:31, Joe wrote:
    On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:42:24 +0000
    Adrian Caspersz <email@here.invalid> wrote:

    On 25/03/2021 11:34, A. Dumas wrote:
    On 25-03-2021 11:47, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    On 24/03/2021 20:45, druck wrote:
    On 24/03/2021 09:43, F. W. wrote:
    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    If you are looking for an interactive interpreter as an
    alternative to a bash shell, and I would recommend iPython rather
    than a BASIC variant. Python is far more powerful language with a
    vast range of library modules, and iPython allows you to use all
    of that interactively.

    I'd suggest PowerShell ...

    On the Raspberry Pi?! Because we're in comp.sys.raspberry-pi here.

    Yup.


    Why?

    The more sophisticated Windows users think PowerShell is wonderful
    because it give them access to a lot of stuff the GUI doesn't touch,

    For me PowerShell doesn't absolutely need any such sophistication
    (/bloat) like on Windows, but I find it useful as a language on the
    command line.

    Some people like PHP on the command line, but that's them ..

    For scripting use, PowerShell's language features (variables,
    conditionals, pipelines, iterations, parameters, heredocs, etc....) have
    been stolen from Bash and considerably improved upon.

    I float between Bash and PowerShell, though only done a couple of
    PowerShell projects on Linux (network card throughput testing was one),
    I much prefer the syntax and tools available (VSCODE)

    My other pain point lately is the Puppet language and Icinga. ugh...

    Replace all! by PowerShell


    Has anyone seen my straight jacket?

    --
    Adrian C

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Adrian Caspersz@3:770/3 to Joe on Fri Mar 26 10:27:13 2021
    On 25/03/2021 20:31, Joe wrote:
    This
    chap wants to get back to BASICs. Why, we don't know.

    I think it's an cool admirable thing. I started there.

    There are a few non-linux (or linux very hidden) single board computer
    projects out there, that power up from cold straight into a BASIC
    interpreter command line, just like the old home microcomputers.

    The 8-bit guy showed this one on YouTube, and there are others.

    Color Maximite 2 - ARM CPU that runs BASIC!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA7REQxohV4


    The Raspberry Pi 400, to me is just screaming to be booted up with a BBC
    BASIC prompt without a GUI. Just switch it on, and start coding like
    it's 1984... er, 1981.

    I occasionally
    dabble with VBA in Access, and even more occasionally in Excel, but I
    have no other use for any form of BASIC.


    I used to be an Access developer for many many years, an occupation that
    nearly sent me to the nut house ...

    I still do a lot of windows things for work, with MS Office but I don't
    use VBA or any of the development tools inside Excel or Access.

    Instead, I drive the relevant Office COM libraries from PowerShell, to
    create spreadsheets with pivot tables from scratch. It is an order of
    magnitude faster and avoids living with the underlying often corrupted
    file formats of xls and mdb.

    It's not a popular programming technique though, and there are folks
    that use Access VBA to be quick and dirty. I hate that.

    --
    Adrian C

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  • From David Higton@3:770/3 to Adrian Caspersz on Fri Mar 26 11:59:03 2021
    In message <ic5r82F1mdfU1@mid.individual.net>
    Adrian Caspersz <email@here.invalid> wrote:

    The Raspberry Pi 400, to me is just screaming to be booted up with a BBC BASIC prompt without a GUI. Just switch it on, and start coding like
    it's 1984... er, 1981.

    Then you should run RISC OS on it. The only differences are that the
    version of BBC BASIC on it has been improved substantially since the
    1980s, and of course it's /much/ faster. And more memory. And...
    and...

    David

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  • From TimS@3:770/3 to Adrian Caspersz on Fri Mar 26 12:04:28 2021
    On 26 Mar 2021 at 10:27:13 GMT, Adrian Caspersz <email@here.invalid> wrote:

    The Raspberry Pi 400, to me is just screaming to be booted up with a BBC BASIC prompt without a GUI. Just switch it on, and start coding like
    it's 1984... er, 1981.

    Fuck to that. There, I think that gem of wit and extreme profundity settles
    the matter.

    --
    Tim

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Folderol@3:770/3 to TimS on Fri Mar 26 12:34:27 2021
    On 26 Mar 2021 12:04:28 GMT
    TimS <timstreater@greenbee.net> wrote:

    Fuck to that. There, I think that gem of wit and extreme profundity settles >the matter.


    The O/P presumably had a reason for wanting BASIC, so if it does what they want, where is the problem?

    --
    W J G

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  • From Ahem A Rivet's Shot@3:770/3 to Adrian Caspersz on Fri Mar 26 13:43:03 2021
    On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 10:27:13 +0000
    Adrian Caspersz <email@here.invalid> wrote:

    The Raspberry Pi 400, to me is just screaming to be booted up with a BBC BASIC prompt without a GUI. Just switch it on, and start coding like
    it's 1984... er, 1981.

    If you had a BBC Micro in 1981 I'm impressed, there were a handful
    of model As shipped in December but even at Torch we didn't get model B
    boards until well into 1982.

    --
    Steve O'Hara-Smith | Directable Mirror Arrays C:\>WIN | A better way to focus the sun
    The computer obeys and wins. | licences available see
    You lose and Bill collects. | http://www.sohara.org/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Adrian Caspersz@3:770/3 to Ahem A Rivet's Shot on Fri Mar 26 14:34:38 2021
    On 26/03/2021 13:43, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
    On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 10:27:13 +0000
    Adrian Caspersz <email@here.invalid> wrote:

    The Raspberry Pi 400, to me is just screaming to be booted up with a BBC
    BASIC prompt without a GUI. Just switch it on, and start coding like
    it's 1984... er, 1981.

    If you had a BBC Micro in 1981 I'm impressed, there were a handful
    of model As shipped in December but even at Torch we didn't get model B boards until well into 1982.

    Ah true. My one came to me in 1983. I threw a small fortune at it.

    I could now connect a Raspberry Pi to it as a tube co-processor, but
    apart from playing retro games, I don't think I'd do much else with it nowadays.

    Should do it up and sell it (and get my money back....)

    --
    Adrian C

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Joe Beanfish@3:770/3 to TimS on Fri Mar 26 14:53:15 2021
    On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 16:58:26 +0000, TimS wrote:

    On 25 Mar 2021 at 16:46:06 GMT, "A. Dumas" <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:

    On 25-03-2021 17:07, Dennis Lee Bieber wrote:
    On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:34:50 +0100, "A. Dumas" <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid>
    declaimed the following:

    On 25-03-2021 11:47, Adrian Caspersz wrote:


    On the Raspberry Pi?! Because we're in comp.sys.raspberry-pi here.

    MicroSloth made it somewhat open-source and have ports for four
    architectures/OS... Using the port of .NET runtime...

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell?view=powershell-7.1
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell-core-on-linux?view=powershell-7.1#raspbian

    I know... but........ that seems great if you do things with PowerShell
    on Windows, not so much as a deliberate/independent choice on the Pi.

    Why would you fart about with that rather than using one of the standard shells such as zsh? Not that I'd ever dream of writing a script with a shell scripting language.

    *Looks at his own thousand line bourne shell scripts...

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Martin Gregorie@3:770/3 to Adrian Caspersz on Fri Mar 26 15:08:13 2021
    On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 10:01:45 +0000, Adrian Caspersz wrote:

    Has anyone seen my straight jacket?

    Yes, though something I've see recently (a 20,000 line script written
    using the Bourne Shell) has left me reeling and gagging and wishing I'd
    never see it.

    That said, bash is fine for the relatively short scripts I write with it,
    but the way that it tends to stop on finding the first error makes it unsuitable for anything longer than a few tens of lines, in my opinion,
    anyway, because the stop-on-error approach makes debugging a large script
    very slow unless you writeand test incrementally, which is still slow
    going.

    The two best scripting languages I've used are the mainframe scripting
    language implemented for VME/B the ICL 2900 operating system, and IBM's
    OS/400 scripting language, which both have very similar abilities, in particular:

    - very consistent syntax and utility naming conventions: on both OSen you
    can reliably guess the name of a utility you've not previously used
    though OS/400 muddies this because all names are max 9 characters and it doesn't use name extensions such as .txt or .html

    - VME/B used two names for everything: a long name and and an
    abbreviation and the abbreviation formats were equally consistent, so
    the deletefile(myfile) command deleted 'myfile' and so did xf(myfile).
    You tended to use long names when writing SCL procedures (i.e. shell
    scripts) and short names when typing commands into a terminal.

    - OS/400 was just carefilr with its horrid short names, but at least if
    you knew that if crtcblpgm was the COBOL compiler, crtrpgpgm was the
    RPG3 compiler, crtplipgm compoiled PL/1 and crtftnpgm compiled Fortran.

    - both compiled their script equivalents (procedures) very fast and had
    good error reporting while compiling them.

    - both used typed parameters allowed each parameter to be given a type,
    name, default value and a short description.

    - both had the equivalent of -? or --help but it worked by flashing up
    a full-screen display of the procedure name and parameters, showing
    type, name default value and description so you just entered your
    parameters and hit the 'do it' key.

    - both had a well-thought-out equivalent to the Unix/Linux 'apropos'
    tool for finding commands by name.

    Something like that would be a huge improvement for Linux, especially if
    it was somehow possible to agree a more rational set of command names,
    but I cant see the latter happening before the heat death of the universe.


    --
    Martin | martin at
    Gregorie | gregorie dot org

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From druck@3:770/3 to Adrian Caspersz on Fri Mar 26 15:33:10 2021
    On 26/03/2021 10:27, Adrian Caspersz wrote:
    The Raspberry Pi 400, to me is just screaming to be booted up with a BBC BASIC prompt without a GUI. Just switch it on, and start coding like
    it's 1984... er, 1981.

    Put RISC OS on it, and do a *ROMModules and note the number next to
    BASIC then do a *Configure Language <number> Next time you boot you'll
    be at the BASIC Prompt just like a BBC Micro.

    To restore booting to the desktop, use the number for the Desktop module.

    ---druck

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Vincent Coen@2:250/1 to Ahem A Rivet's Shot on Fri Mar 26 17:27:32 2021
    Hello Ahem!

    Friday March 26 2021 13:43, you wrote to Adrian Caspersz:

    On Fri, 26 Mar 2021 10:27:13 +0000
    Adrian Caspersz <email@here.invalid> wrote:

    The Raspberry Pi 400, to me is just screaming to be booted up with a
    BBC BASIC prompt without a GUI. Just switch it on, and start coding
    like it's 1984... er, 1981.

    If you had a BBC Micro in 1981 I'm impressed, there were a handful
    of model As shipped in December but even at Torch we didn't get model
    B boards until well into 1982.

    I had a Touch system that was used to migrate MS, DR and others to their drive formats and more importantly to test said products on it.

    We did this for a very large number of PC manufacturers even before IBM got in on the act.

    Around the same time we developed a multi drive formatting machine which was a bit of a large beast that supported CPM, MPM, DOS (PC and others), GEM & *nix for drives of 8", 5.25 and 3.5" and the odd odd one such as a 2.5".

    When we got orders for specific software we would copy from a master to the specific format using programs written in C and Basic.

    As we were the European distributor for many software vendors covering the Operating Systems and applications the hardware manufacturers came to us for their requirements for delivery any where outside the US.

    The Company was M.P.I (Microcomputer Products International) and we shut down mid to late 1985 due to others doing similar but with silly and heavy discounting even to end users. Needless to say that within 3 months of us closing most of the others did the same so may be we closed a bit too early :(

    At least it allowed to get some flying in over the next few years by going from
    a PPL to IMC, Night, IR, Instructor, Twin, Jet and Commercial licenses and ratings.

    Must have done over 2,000 hours over a period of those 48 months covering
    trips all over Europe and Middle East as well as some trips bringing over a
    few twins mostly direct from the US to the UK and where ever possible using
    the jet streams for max speed (ground) so on some A/C it was well under 12 hours with the odd one or two under 9. Not bad for piston based a/c.
    Not can't counting the turbines.



    Vincent

    --- Mageia Linux v7.1 X64/Mbse v1.0.7.21/GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20180707
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1)
  • From TimS@3:770/3 to Joe Beanfish on Fri Mar 26 17:34:26 2021
    On 26 Mar 2021 at 14:53:15 GMT, Joe Beanfish <joebeanfish@nospam.duh> wrote:

    On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 16:58:26 +0000, TimS wrote:

    On 25 Mar 2021 at 16:46:06 GMT, "A. Dumas" <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid>
    wrote:

    On 25-03-2021 17:07, Dennis Lee Bieber wrote:
    On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:34:50 +0100, "A. Dumas" <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid>
    declaimed the following:

    On 25-03-2021 11:47, Adrian Caspersz wrote:


    On the Raspberry Pi?! Because we're in comp.sys.raspberry-pi here.

    MicroSloth made it somewhat open-source and have ports for four
    architectures/OS... Using the port of .NET runtime...

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell?view=powershell-7.1
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell-core-on-linux?view=powershell-7.1#raspbian

    I know... but........ that seems great if you do things with PowerShell >>> on Windows, not so much as a deliberate/independent choice on the Pi.

    Why would you fart about with that rather than using one of the standard
    shells such as zsh? Not that I'd ever dream of writing a script with a shell
    scripting language.

    *Looks at his own thousand line bourne shell scripts...

    Perl or TECO would be clearer.

    --
    There's no obfuscated Perl contest because it's pointless.

    - Jeff Polk

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From druck@3:770/3 to TimS on Mon Mar 29 09:12:40 2021
    On 26/03/2021 17:34, TimS wrote:
    On 26 Mar 2021 at 14:53:15 GMT, Joe Beanfish <joebeanfish@nospam.duh> wrote:
    *Looks at his own thousand line bourne shell scripts...

    Perl or TECO would be clearer.

    Only when starting from such a low base.

    These days there is Python.

    ---druck

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Stewart Russell@3:770/3 to F. W. on Tue Apr 20 18:13:45 2021
    On Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 5:43:19 a.m. UTC-4, F. W. wrote:
    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?

    Given the paucity of useful answers, here are the ones I use:

    * Michael Haardt's Bas — http://www.moria.de/~michael/bas/ : command-line interpreter for a pretty complete implementation of ANSI Full BASIC (the one with matrix commands, but this one doesn't allow decimal floating point like the standard expects).
    There's a slightly updated version available if you substitute 2.6 for 2.5 in the download link.

    * Matrix Brandy BASIC VI — http://brandy.matrixnetwork.co.uk/ : a very much improved BBC BASIC VI interpreter, which is able to compete with the RISC OS one for speed. The main brandy executable is graphical, but you can build the tbrandy and sbrandy
    command-line interpreters that work well from the shell.

    * Richard Russell's BBC BASIC for SDL has command-line interpreters — https://www.bbcbasic.co.uk/bbcsdl/index.html : Richard has maintained many versions of BBC BASIC, from BBC BASIC for the Z80 Second Processor to BBC BASIC for Windows. He was also on
    the language steering committee.

    * cbmbasic - Commodore BASIC V2 as a scripting language — https://github.com/mist64/cbmbasic : this is Commodore 64 basic transpiled into C, so you're effectively running 6502 instructions very quickly on your machine. Objectively, it's a fairly
    terrible BASIC interpreter, but you can call scripts with the #! line, if you must.

    There are some other niche BASIC interpreters/compilers:

    * freebasic: a compiler that is vaguely inspired by QuickBASIC/Visual BASIC

    * PC-BASIC: a very faithful clone of GW-BASIC written in Python

    * x11-basic: an interpreter/compiler very much influenced by GFA-BASIC on the Atari ST and Amiga. The developer's been working on this for about 20 years pretty much for their own amusement

    * Decimal BASIC: this one can be a little hard to compile, and it doesn't help that most of the docs are in Japanese, but this is a complete (graphical-only) implementation of ANSI Full BASIC with decimal mathematics. Experience the joy of numbers
    rounding properly!

    Of course, you could always run QBasic in DOSbox for all your GORILLAS.BAS needs.

    Stewart

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  • From F. W.@3:770/3 to All on Wed Apr 28 10:42:24 2021
    Am 21.04.2021 um 03:13 schrieb Stewart Russell:

    Is there a very simple interpreter for BASIC for BASH?
    Given the paucity of useful answers, here are the ones I use:

    Thank you all.

    I decided to use PC-Basic which runs good enough on my Pi 400.

    FW

    PS: Meanwhile I also fell in love with GEANY for C ;-)

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