GB Basic V2.

10 Documentation
GB Basic is a floating-point BASIC interpreter for GameBoy that
allows you to write & execute programs up to 7.4K bytes in size.
If it is used in a cart with RAM then a program can be SAVEd and
LOADed at a later time.
Currently string variables are not supported, but may be in the
future.
Long variable names are not supported. Variable names may be
a letter or a letter and a number.
Each line requires a line number.
&H may be used for entering hex values. (Ex: POKE &HFF00,&HFF)
The following commands are supported:
ABS(x)

Return the absolute value of x.

AUTO

Enable Auto load & run program on reset.

(Note: Use AUTO command last since SAVE
disables auto mode.)

CLEAR

Clear all variables.

CLS

Clear the screen

COLOR x

Set drawing color to x. 0=Black, 1=Dark Gray,

2=Light Gray, 3=White, & 4=XOR. (Defaults
to XOR on program execution.)

COS(x)

Return the cosine of x given in radians.

DIM

Only single dimension arrays are currently

supported. If not explicitly defined by a
DIM statement, it is assumed to be a size
of 10 upon first reference.

DATA x,...

Data in program.

DELAY x

Delay from 10ms to 655 seconds.

(Delay length = x * 10ms)

END

End program.

FOR/NEXT

Program loop.

FREE

Display remaining amount of free memory.

GOSUB

Execute a subroutine.

GOTO

Goto specific line.

IF/THEN

Conditional execution.

INPUT

Input data from user.

INT(x)

Returns the integer of x.

KEYPAD(x)

If x=0, the following bits are returned

if that button is pressed.
128 - Start
8 - Down
64 - Select 4 - Up
32 - B
2 - Left
16 - A
1 - Right
If x>0, then x is ANDed with the bits
above. If the result = zero, 0 is returned.
If result <> zero, a 1 is returned.

LET

Assign a value to a variable. (Optional)

LINE x1,y1,x2,y2 -

Draw a line on the screen using COLOR.

(0<=x<=127,0<=y<=119)

LINK x

Link 0 - Don't use game link port.

Link 1 - Configure port for external terminal.
Link 2 - Configure port for external keyboard.

Gameboy must be reset or power must be cycled

for changes to take effect. The last setting is
saved in battery backed RAM. (External terminal
won't currently work when SERVOs are enabled
because of interrupt conflicts.)
LIST [x][-][x]

List lines of the program. Starting and/or

ending line numbers are optional.

LOAD

Load program from battery-backed RAM.

LOCATE y,x

Position cursor with coordinates y,x.

MEMTOP x

Set Last address of RAM for GB Basic to use.

On power up or reset this defaults to $dfff.
Lowering this value reserves memory for
USR for example. NOTE: All variables are
CLEARed when this instruction is executed.

NEW

Erase all program lines in memory.

PEEK(x)

Return value of a memory location x.

POINT x,y

Draw a point on the screen using COLOR.

(0<=x<=127,0<=y<=119)

POKE x,y

Write value y to a memory location x.

PRINT

Print to screen.

READ

Read data contained in DATA statements.

REG x,y

Sets value of cpu BC register (x) and cpu

DE register (y) for entry into USR routine.

REM

Remark. Also ' is supported.

RENUM

Renumber program.

RESTORE

Set DATA pointer to a specific line number. If

no line number present, beginning of program.

RETURN

Return from subroutine.

RND(x)

Returns a random number between 0 and 1.

x is ignored.

RUN

Execute program.

SAVE

Save program to battery-backed RAM.

SCREEN x

If x=0, set text mode. If x=1, set graphics mode.

SERVO x,y

Controls the position of up to 8 memory-mapped

servos. SERVO 0,a defines the memory address of
the servos output port and enables the servo
interrupt routine. SERVO x,y outputs a high
pulse to servo x for 693+(y*7.6) microseconds
giving a pulse range of .7 to 2.3 ms. A value of
y = 0 disables the output pulse of that servo.
This pulse is sent out every 20 ms. Servos may be
set before issuing SERVO 0,a to enable them. On
reset, servos default to off (y=0) and disabled.
NOTE: When enabled, servos slow down system about
15% due to servo interrupt servicing. Use SERVO 0,0
to disable all servos once they have been enabled.
(1<=x<=8,0<=y<=210)

SGN(x)

Returns 1 if x > or = 0. Else returns value -1.

SIN(x)

Return the sine of x given in radians.

SINIT x,y

Serial Initialize: This command has 3 functions:

1) Set MBC serial output baud rate. (x)
2) Set MBC digital output pins. (y)
3) Set the polarity of MBC serial out. (bit 0 of y)
(SERIAL IS OUTPUT ON AN MBC PORT PIN. NOT ON THE
GB LINK PORT CONNECTOR.)
Baud Rate values for x:
0 = 1200 (Only available in SPEED 0 mode.)
1 = 2400
2 = 4800
3 = 9600
4 = 14400
5 = 19200
6 = 38400
7 = 57600 (Only available on GBC in SPEED 1 mode.)
Digital Outputs bits:
MBC1: 0=Pin6, 1=Pin7
MBC5: 0=Pin29, 1=Pin28, 2=Pin27, 3=Pin26
For serial output:
If bit 0 of y = 0, serial idle level is low.
If bit 0 of y = 1, serial idle level is high.

SOUT x

Serial output value x on MBC output port pin.

For MBC1, serial output on pin 6 of MBC1.
For MBC5, serial output on pin 29 of MBC5.
(SERIAL IS OUTPUT ON AN MBC PORT PIN. NOT ON THE
GB LINK PORT CONNECTOR.)

SOUND x,y

Generate a sound of frequency x for y * 10 milliseconds. If y=65535, sound will stay on infinitely.
If y=0, sound is turned off.

SPEED x

x=0, Set single speed mode. (Default on powerup.)

x=1, Set double speed mode.
(Only has an effect on GB Colo(u)r.

SQR(x)

Returns the square root of x.

STEP

Used with FOR for specifying increment.

STOP

Same as end but displays line number last executed.

TAB(x)

Used with PRINT command for moving cursor to

column x.

TAN(x)

Returns the tangent of x given in radians.

USR(x)

Call user assembly language program at address x.

Return value reflects cpu HL registers contents.

Revision History
---------------V1.0 - Original release
V1.01 - Rearranged on-screen keyboard.
Reassigned key controls.
Fixed exponent display problem.
V1.02 - Completed RENUM routine.
Added restore [line#] ability.
Added hex entry of numbers using prefix &h.
V1.03 - Fixed 'cursor disappear' when arrow buttons pressed.
Greatly speeded up CLS command.
Added SCREEN, POINT, & LINE routines.
Break now works for lines that GOTO themselves.
Rearranged on-screen keyboard again for faster entry.
V1.04 - Select & Start are BOTH now required to break.
This was done to allow individual buttons to be pressed
and read with the new KEYPAD command.
Added COLOR command.
V1.05 - Added AUTO command.
Credit screen disappears after 10 seconds.
V1.06 - Fixed bugs in LIST options. Up & down buttons now
speed up or slow down LIST command. Pressing break
now halts LIST command.
Added SOUND command.
V1.07 - Added SERVO command.
Changed DELAY increments from 1ms to 10ms
in order to implement SERVO command.
Select Button is now a caps lock.
Credit screen now disappears after 4 seconds.
Carat symbol added to onscreen menu.
FOR,GOTO,INPUT,LIST,NEXT,PRINT,RUN & THEN
now can be entered by first letter followed by period.
V1.08 - Shift & Caps Lock now supported on external keyboard.
CLS now redraws onscreen menu properly in text mode.
Basic commands can now be entered in lower or upper case.
DELAY added to 'first letter' list above.

V1.10 - Fixed bug that would randomly display line numbers

incorrectly.
Game link port now supports external terminal I/O.
Added LINK command to configure game link port.
V1.08 didn't work on VGB. Haven't figured out why yet.
V1.20 - MAJOR BUG FIXES.
Added better handshaking to link port for reliable
file download using GB Terminal.
Fixed bug in floating point conversion that would
randomly mess up many functions due to interrupts.
Writing to screen is now much more reliable with no
more random trash displayed on screen.
SERVO 0,0 now disables all servo output pulses.
Added MEMTOP, REGBC, REGDE, & USR commands.
V1.21 Individual servos pulses may now be turned off by
issuing SERVO x,0. On many servos this lowers battery
drain when they're not in use.
V1.22 Swapped command/button positions on intro screen.
Suggestted by David Nathan.
Fixed bug where SOUND < 256 duration would
play continuously. Reported by John Montalbano.
Fixed error messages for DIM that were not
correct. Reported by Oliver Wittchow.
Entry of "2g.1" caused software lockup.
Reported by Marc Rawer.
V2.00 Initial support for GB Colo(u)r.
Commands SLOW & FAST added to allow changing
between single & double speed modes on the GBC.
V2.10 Replaced FAST & SLOW with SPEED 0 & SPEED 1 to
conserve reserved keyword space.
Replaced REGBC x & REGDE y with REG x,y to
conserve reserved keyword space.
Added SINIT & SOUT for RS232 serial & digital output
on Nintendo MBC spare digital output pins.