Acorn Electron User Guide

Chapter 1

What is a computer?

 
Chapter 2

Getting Started | Checklist of items | Connecting the Electron to your television set | Connecting the Electron to the Mains | Tuning the TV to the Electron | Push-Button Tuning | Single tuning knob | Connecting the Electron to a monitor | Monochrome Monitor | Colour (RGB) Monitor | Now Try Something

 
Chapter 3

Using A Cassette Recorder | Connecting a Cassette Recorder | Cassette Interface
Motor Control

 
Chapter 4

The Introductory Cassette | Volume Control And Loading | KEYBOARD | SKETCH | PIANO | DODGEMS | BIORHYTHMS | CLOCK | GOMOKU | MESSAGE | PATTERNS | MARSLANDER | BUGZAP | ISLAND | PLANETS | Loading Each Program

 
Chapter 5

How to Use the Keyboard | Choosing the keyboard characters | SHIFT and CAPS LK | SHIFT | FUNC | The Arrow Keys and the COPY Key | What The Arrow and COPY Functions Do | Summary

 
Chapter 6

Introducing Commands & Programs | What Is Hexadecimal?

 
Chapter 7

Editing programs | Listing the Program | Editing Programs | Arrow and COPY Keys | Deleting Lines | Inserting New Lines | Renumbering | Numbering Each Program Line | Putting Notes Into Programs | Starting/Retrieving Programs | Listing Long Programs

 
Chapter 8

Trying Out Some Programs | PERSIAN | POLYGON | DRAW

 
Chapter 9

Recording Programs On Cassette | Saving (Recording) a Program On Cassette | Checking a Recording | Loading a Program from Cassette | Cataloguing the Tape | What The Numbers Mean | Escape

 
Chapter 10

The FUNC Key and BASIC Keywords

 
Chapter 11

Variables & Expressions | What is a variable? | Real variables | Operators and Expressions | Rules for Variable Names | Integer Variables | A% to Z% | Real Versus Integer Variables | DIV and MOD | The TIME Integer Variable | String Variables | Commands Operating on Strings | LEN | Linking Strings | LEFT$, RIGHT$, MID$ | VAL, EVAL, STR$ | STRING$ | Comparison Table of Variables

 
Chapter 12

Operator Precedence

 
Chapter 13

Arrays | Two Dimensional Arrays | Memory Consumption

 
Chapter 14

READ ... DATA ... RESTORE

 
Chapter 15

PRINT Formatting And Input | PRINT Formatting | INPUT

 
Chapter 16

Conditionals & Loops | FOR...NEXT | REPEAT...UNTIL | IF...THEN...ELSE

 
Chapter 17

Procedures | Using Parameters In Procedures

 
Chapter 18

GOTO And GOSUB | GOSUB...RETURN | ON...GOTO, ON...GOSUB

 
Chapter 19

Functions

 
Chapter 20

Graphics | Modes | COLOUR Command & Text Windows | Addresses On Text Screen | Mode 6 Text Screen | Text Windows | Defining Characters | Graphics | Graphics Co-ordinate System | GCOL | PLOT | Triangle Plotting | Sideways Fill | Right Fill | VDU Command | Graphics Windows | Graphics Origin | Plotting Characters | Palette

 
Chapter 21

VDU Codes | Detailed Description | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | VDU Code Table | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32-126 | 127 | 128-223 | 224-255

 
Chapter 22

Making Sounds | The SOUND Command | The Q Parameter | The A Parameter | The P Parameter | Octave Number | The D Parameter | Using SOUND In A Program | ENVELOPE | The ENVELOPE Command | First Parameter n | Second Parameter s | Third Parameter Pi1 | Fourth Parameter Pi2 | Fifth Parameter Pi3 | Sixth Parameter Pr1 | Seventh Parameter Pr2 | Eighth Parameter Pr3 | Parameters 9 to 14 | Constructing An ENVELOPE | Additional SOUND Features | Example SOUND And ENVELOPE Programs

 
Chapter 23

Address Pointers, Indirection Operators
The Electron's Memory | Memory Map | Indirection Operators

 
Chapter 24

User-Programmable Keys | For The More Advanced

 
Chapter 25

BASIC Keywords | ABS | ACS | ADVAL | AND | ASC | ASN | ATN | AUTO | BGET# BPUT# | CALL | CHAIN | CHR$ | CLEAR | CLG | CLOSE# | CLS | COLOUR | COS | COUNT DATA | DEF | DEG | DELETE | DIM | DIV | DRAW | ELSE | END | ENDPROC | ENVELOPE | EOF# EOR | EQUB | EQUD | EQUS | EQUW | ERL | ERR | EVAL | EXP | EXT# | FALSE | FN | FOR GCOL | GET | GET$ | GOSUB | GOTO | HIMEM | IF | INKEY | INKEY$ | INPUT | INPUT# | INSTR INT | LEFT$ | LEN | LET | LIST | LISTO | LN | LOAD | LOCAL | LOG | LOMEM | MID$ | MOD MODE | MOVE | NEW | NEXT | NOT | OLD | ON | OPENIN | OPENOUT | OPENUP | OPT | OR OSCLI | PAGE | PI | PLOT | POINT | POS | PRINT | PRINT# | PROC | PTR# | RAD | READ | REM RENUMBER | REPEAT | REPORT | RESTORE | RETURN | RIGHT$ | RND | RUN | SAVE | SGN SIN | SOUND | SPC | SQR | STEP | STOP | STR$ | STRING$ | TAB | TAN | THEN | TO | TOP TRACE | TRUE | UNTIL | USR | VAL | VDU | VPOS | WIDTH

 
Chapter 26

Cassette File Handling | OPENOUT | OPENIN | EOF# | OPT

 
Chapter 27

Error Handling | REPORT | ERL | Other Useful Error-Trapping

 
Chapter 28

Merging BASIC Programs

 
Chapter 29

Assembly Language | Registers In The 6502 | Accumulator | Program Counter
Stack Pointer | Flags Register | Addressing Modes | Addressing Mode Examples | Entering Assembly Mnemonics | Assembly | Execution by USR | Quadruple Precision Addition
Multiplication | Division | Error Trapping in Assembler | Operating System Calls from Assembler Use of Operating System Calls | OSWRCH | OSASCI | OSNEWL | OSRDCH
OSCLI | OSFIND | OSBPUT | OSBGET | OSFILE | OSBYTE | OSWORD | Events Assembly Language Mnemonics | ADC | AND | ASL | BCC | BCS | BEQ | BIT | BMI | BNE
BPL | BRK | BVC | BVS | CLC | CLD | CLI | CLV | CMP | CPX | CPY | DEC | DEX | EOR
INC | INX | INY | JMP | JSR | LDA | LDX | LDY | LSR | NOP | ORA | PHA | PHP | PLA | PLP
ROL | ROR | RTI | RTS | SBC | SEC | SED | SEI | STA | STX | STY | TAX | TSX | TXA | TXS | TYA

 
Appendix A

VDU Codes

 
Appendix B

Error Messages | Accuracy lost | Arguments | Array | Bad Call | Bad Command
Bad DIM | Bad Hex | Bad Key | Bad MODE | Bad Program | Block? | Byte | Can't Match FOR
Channel | Data? | Dim Space | Division by zero | $range | Eof | Escape | Exp Range
Failed at ... (Line number) | File? | FOR variable | Header? | Index | LINE space | Log Range
Missing , | Missing " | Missing ) | Missing # | Mistake | -ve Root | No GOSUB | No FN | No FOR
No PROC | No REPEAT | No Room | No such FN/PROC | No such line | No such variable | No TO
Not LOCAL | ON range | ON syntax | Out of DATA | Out of range | Silly | String too long
Subscript | Syntax | Syntax error | Too big | Too many FORs | Too many GOSUBs
Too many REPEATs | Type mismatch

 
Appendix C

Operating System Calls | *CAT | *SAVE | *RUN | *LOAD
*OPT | *SPOOL | *EXEC | *MOTOR | *KEY | *FX | *HELP

 
Appendix D

*FX Calls | *FX 0 | *FX 4 | *FX9 & *FX10 | *FX11 | *FX12 | *FX13 | *FX14 | *FX15 | *FX18 | *FX19 | *FX20 | *FX21 | *FX124 | *FX125 | *FX126 | *FX138 | *FX225 | *FX226 | *FX227

 
Appendix E

Fast and Efficient programs

 
Appendix F

ASCII Displayed Character Set & Control Codes