Controlling Sg10/15 With Basic; Some Basics About Basic - Star Micronics SG-10 User Manual

CHAPTER 4
CONTROLLING
SG- 1 O/ 15 WITH BASIC
Throughout the rest of this book we will be teaching you how
to use SG-lo/15 's features using the BASIC programming lan-
guage in our examples. It is easy to communicate with SG-IO/l5
from BASIC and, though it has its detractors, BASIC is the
nearest thing to a universal language among users of personal
computers. But remember that it's not the only way to com-
municate with SG-10/15, as we have already seen.
Subjects covered in this chapter include:
l
Listing BASIC programs on the printer
l
Printing from BASIC
l
CHR$ function
l
Problem codes
l
Command syntax used in this manual
l
Selecting the right software mode
All of the examples in this manual are written in Microsoft
BASIC (specifically, Microsoft BASIC for the IBM Personal
Computer). With minor modifications, the examples can be
adapted to run in any version of BASIC. In this chapter, we'll
tell you what modifications need to be made and how to do it.
In this chapter we assume that you have some familiarity with
BASIC.
SOME BASICS ABOUT BASIC
Probably the simplest thing to do with your printer in BASIC
is to list a program on the printer. But in this world ofproliferating
microcomputers even this presents a problem. It seems that every
computer uses a different system of communicating with the
printer. We are going to tell you about some of the more common