Basic Programming For The Printer; Basic Statements - Star Micronics Rainbow NX-1000C User Manual

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Chapter
3
BASIC PROGRAMMING
FOR THE PRINTER
When you use the printer with commercial software, you can simply
follow the instructions in your software manual. When you use the printer
as an output device for your own BASIC programs, you will need to know
some printer commands and programming techniques. This chapter provides
an introduction. Read Appendix B and your Commodore BASIC Reference
Guide for additional information. The topics covered in this chapter are:
• BASIC statements
• Listing a program
• Coding printer commands
• Printer modes and character sets
• Type style and pitch
• Special effects
• Page formatting
• Dot graphics
• Downloading characters
• Colour printing
BASIC STATEMENTS
The Commodore computer communicates with the printer by treating
it as a file. Before printing, you must open the printer with an OPEN
statement and assign it a file number. Then you can print data by using the
PRINT# statement. When you have finished printing you should close the
printer with a CLOSE statement. The syntax of these three statements is
as follows:
OPEN
l/n, dn[,sa]
lfn
The logical file number-the file number you assign to the printer.
You can select any number from 1 to 255. If you assign a logical file
number greater than 127 the printing will be double spaced.
dn The printer's device number: 4 if DIP switch 3 is ON; 5 if DIP switch
3 is OFF. In this chapter we will assume that DIP switch 3 is ON, so
the device number will always be 4.
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