BASIC Comparison Sheet

If you read this document offline you'll find the online version of this file here.

Download of the complete comparison sheet:  [OpenOffice Table] [PDF]

The links point to the online versions of the files, a local copy is part of the CASette I/O Utilities package.

Introduction

The document tries to compare the different BASIC dialects offered by various pocket computers made by Casio, Sharp, HP, TI and other vendors. It is work in progress. Any comments and additions are welcome.

I'm the author of the CASsette I/O Utilities which enable the access to files created by various Casio and other BASIC pocket computers and transferred via the sound card or a floppy drive to your desktop system. The package includes programs which understand and decipher the tokenized form of a stored BASIC program or create it from a BASIC source text stored on your PC or Mac. I realized that there are many differences between the implementations, ranging from a few minor annoyances to huge gaps in functionality. Here I want to share my findings in table form.

The document will always be incomplete in several ways: I only have access to a limited number of different machines, and I do not plan to cover every aspect of each implementation. I concentrate on areas where the systems are reasonably comparable. This excludes language extensions for special purposes or special software packages. The tables do not try to replace the manuals but will probably aid in finding the correct pages in them.

The Tables

On the various pages of the comparison sheet you will find the pocket computers in my possession or from which I do have a manual, compared in different areas. There are many more variants of these machines with different memory configurations or some additional features. If you have information or a manual, just send a copy!

Blue entries are manual (non programmable) commands, or mark an example.
Grey entries are either not available or obsolete.
Green arguments are optional and have defaults.
Workarounds replace functions which are not implemented.

1. Page ProgVarsMem compares program editing, variables and memory organization
2. Page Functions compares the built in functions and operators (strings, math, etc.)
3. Page Commands compares program flow, subroutines, error handling
4. Page Special commands collects non obvious information from diverse areas.

Contact: Marcus von Cube <marcus@mvcsys.de>
Page last updated: Sep 29, 2013