Series; An Introduction To The World Of Computers - Sharp MZ-700 Owner's Manual

1. 3
An Introduction to the World of Computers
1.3.1 What is BASIC?
People use language to communicate with each other, and specially designed languages are also used for
communication with computers. BASIC is one such language.
Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
Just as human beings use languages such as English, French, German, and Japanese for communication,
there are also many different languages which are used for communication with computers. Among these
are BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL, and PASCAL. Of these, BASIC is the computer language whose struc-
ture is closest to that of the languages used by humans, and therefore is the easiest for humans to under-
stand.
1.3.2 Loading BASIC into the MZ-700
The BASIC language must be loaded into the MZ-700 before it can be used to do any work. A cassette
tape containing this language has been included in the case containing the MZ-700. Now let's teach the
language to the computer; procedures for doing this are described below. (The explanation assumes that
you are using an MZ-731; however, the procedures are basically the same for all computers of the MZ-
700 series.)
(I) Connect the display as described on page I 06.
(2)
Turn on the power switch located on the back of the computer.
(3)
The followil}g characters are displayed on the screen and a square, blinking pattern appears. This
pattern is referred to as the cursor.
**
MONITOR 1Z-0 13A
**
*:::::
t
'---- Cursor
( 4)
Set the cassette tape
cont~ining
the BASIC h;mguage in the computer's data recorder.
* I *2
(5)
Type in the word
[][Q]!AJ[Q]
and press the
I CRI
key. After doing this, the message ..!. PLAY appears
on the screen.
(6)
Press the data recorder's
I
PLAY
I
button; the cassette tape starts moving and loading of the BASIC
language begins.
(7)
After loading has been completed, the message READY is displayed and the cursor starts to
blink again.
Notes:
*
1
[][Q]!AJ[Q] . . .
This is the instruction for loading programs or data from cassette tape.
* 2
I
CRI. . .. . . . This is referred to as the carriage return key, and is mainly used to indicate comple-
tion of en try of an instruction.
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