Radio Shack TRS-80 User Manual page 9

Chapter
1
Computer
Etiquette
From
the
moment
you
turn
it
on, the
TRS-80
follows
a
well-defined
set
of
rules for
coping
with you, the "master," This
makes
it
an
especially easy
computer
to
use.
To
a large
extent,
all
you have
to
do
is
say the right thing (via the
keyboard)
at the right time.
Of
course, there
are
lots
of "right things" to
say;
putting
them
together
for a
purpose
is
called
programming.
In this
chapter we're going to start a conversation
with
the
TRS-80 by
teaching
it
a
few
simple social graces.
At the
same
time,
you'll
be
learning the
fundamentals
of
computer
etiquette. You'll
even
write,
wonder
of
wonders, your
first
TRS-80 computer program!
Getting
READY
1.
Connect
the
keyboard -computer, Video Display and
Power
Supply
as
explained
in
the
previous
section.
Plug Video Display and
Power
Supply
into 120-volt
AC
outlets.
2. Press
POWER
button
on Video
Display
and
the
back
of the
Keyboard. Give the video
tube a
few
seconds
to
warm
up.
3.
READY
__
__
>—
should appear
in
the
upper
left
corner of the
screen. Press
the
QQQ|Q key
several
times
to
produce
a
column
of
READY
messages.
The Computer
is
trying to
tell
you
something: "I'm ready
—
it's
your
turn to
do something!
"
To make
sure
you
sta
rt
off wit
h
a clean slate
—
erasing
all
traces
of prior
programs
or
tests
—
type
NEW
and
press |3fllia;|
,
The Computer
will
respond
by
erasing
the screen
and
print-
ing
READY
>
—
at
the top of the
screen.
Now
type
in
p
.
M
.
and I3i?na;l
.
This
is
a test
to see that the Computer powered up proper-
ly.
The
display should read:
P.M.
3583
This
set
of
rules
is
permanently
stored
in
the
Computer
in
two
programs, called the monitor
and
the
interpreter.
is
a monitor
command.
It tells the
Com-
puter to take
a
look
at
whatever you've typed on
the
screen. In step
3,
you
didn't type
anything,
so the
Computer
just
comes back
with another
READY
.
Hit
E
key, (Tj
key,
[M] key and
Q
key.
Don't
use
shift
key
—
letters
are always
capital for
TRS-80.
If
you
have
8K
of
memory,
the
number should
be 7679. With 16K
of memory,
it
should be
15871.