SECTION
PROGRAMMNG IN BASIC WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU:
*How to Use the Character String to Capture BASIC
Commands
Gome Examples of Short Programs Utilizing Fea-
tures of the printer
If you’re like most personal computer owners, you’ll probably use
your printer primarily for printing your spreadsheet and word pro-
cessing applications. But if you are interested in some of the more
esoteric uses of your printer-such as high resolution graphics or
printing while you’re writing a software program-you may want to
experiment by putting it through its paces with BASIC.
n A WORD ABOUT MBASIC
The most common form of BASIC available today is Microsoft
BASIC, or MBASIC. We’ve endeavored to provide you with a few
programs that will run on most computers, and for this reason the
programs listed here use the most elementary form of BASIC: MBASIC
for 8-bit microcomputers. You will also be able to run these programs
on 16-bit systems, such as the IBM PC and compatibles.
The character string (CHR$): If you’re familiar with BASIC, you’ll
know that the character string command, CHR$, is used to “capture”
escape and control codes such as those which control the printer.
BASIC doesn’t understand an escape code or control code all by
itself; but you can enter escape or control codes within the character
string format. To do this, enter the decimal form of the code between
the parentheses in CHR$( ). Here are a few examples of the printer’s
features that can be programmed in BASIC:
Expanded type: The expanded type feature enlarges each of the
pitch sizes to twice their normal widths. Try this program to see how
it works: