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akbasic/docs/04-control-flow.md
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Write the usage guide as thirteen chapters in docs/
Organised the way the C128 Programmer's Reference Guide is: the language
first, then each hardware area, then the reference sections. One markdown
file per chapter.

The verb and function references are generated from the interpreter's own
dispatch table, with an assertion that every row is described, so they cannot
drift out of step with what the program accepts. 98 verbs and 30 functions.

Every example was run before it was written down, which caught three claims
that were wrong: a whole FOR loop on one line prints nothing rather than
looping once, MID and INSTR count from zero where a C128 counts from one, and
a multi-line DEF returns a value the caller has to assign away.

Chapter 13 is the list a BASIC 7.0 programmer needs -- roughly sixty
documented differences, including the two known FOR defects and the fact that
drawing does not survive a frame.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-31 21:50:50 -04:00

177 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown

# 4. Control flow
## IF ... THEN ... ELSE
```
10 A# = 5
20 IF A# = 5 THEN PRINT "FIVE" ELSE PRINT "NOT FIVE"
```
The condition is a whole expression, so `AND`, `OR` and `NOT` all work in one:
```
10 IF A# > 0 AND A# < 10 THEN PRINT "IN RANGE"
```
**Everything after `THEN` on the line belongs to the condition**, which matters as soon
as you put several statements on a line:
| Line | Condition | What runs |
|---|---|---|
| `IF C THEN A : B` | true | `A`, `B` |
| `IF C THEN A : B` | false | nothing |
| `IF C THEN A ELSE B : D` | true | `A` |
| `IF C THEN A ELSE B : D` | false | `B`, `D` |
The remainder always belongs to whichever arm was written *last*.
### Blocks
`BEGIN` and `BEND` make an `IF` span lines:
```
10 IF A# = 5 THEN BEGIN
20 PRINT "IN THE BLOCK"
30 PRINT "STILL IN IT"
40 BEND
50 PRINT "AFTER"
```
When the condition is false every line up to the `BEND` is skipped.
## FOR ... NEXT
```
10 FOR I# = 1 TO 5
20 PRINT I#
30 NEXT I#
```
`STEP` sets the stride, and a negative one counts down:
```
10 FOR I# = 10 TO 0 STEP -2
20 PRINT I#
30 NEXT I#
```
The counter is an ordinary variable and the body may assign to it. Two things to know:
- **The counter does not survive the loop.** It lives in the loop's own scope, so
reading it afterwards gives zero. On a C128 it keeps its final value.
- **A step that overshoots runs the body one extra time.** `FOR I = 1 TO 9 STEP 3` runs
with 1, 4, 7 *and 10*. Both are recorded as known defects; see Chapter 13.
`EXIT` leaves the loop early:
```
10 FOR I# = 1 TO 100
20 IF I# = 5 THEN EXIT
30 NEXT I#
```
## DO ... LOOP
The condition can go on either end, or neither:
```
10 I# = 0
20 DO WHILE I# < 3
30 PRINT I#
40 I# = I# + 1
50 LOOP
```
```
10 I# = 0
20 DO
30 PRINT I#
40 I# = I# + 1
50 LOOP UNTIL I# = 3
```
A condition on the `DO` is tested before the body, so the body may run zero times. A
condition on the `LOOP` is tested after, so it runs at least once. `DO` with no
condition at all loops forever until an `EXIT` or a `GOTO` leaves it.
`EXIT` works here too.
## GOTO and GOSUB
```
10 GOSUB 100
20 PRINT "BACK"
30 END
100 PRINT "IN THE SUBROUTINE"
110 RETURN
```
`RETURN` goes back to the line after the `GOSUB`.
## Labels
A label is a name with no type suffix. It marks a line, and anything that takes a line
number takes a label instead:
```
10 GOTO SETUP
20 PRINT "SKIPPED"
100 LABEL SETUP
110 PRINT "ARRIVED"
```
**Labels are filed before the program runs**, so a forward `GOTO` works. This is worth
using for its own sake: a program written with labels is immune to `RENUMBER`, because
there is no number to rewrite.
## ON
`ON` picks the *n*th target from a list, counting from one:
```
10 ON CHOICE# GOTO 100, 200, 300
20 PRINT "CHOICE WAS OUT OF RANGE"
```
Out of range is not an error — it falls through to the next statement, which is what
lets you write the check as the line after. `ON ... GOSUB` works the same way and
returns.
## Trapping errors
`TRAP` sends an error to a handler instead of stopping the program:
```
10 TRAP HANDLER
20 DIM Q#(2)
30 PRINT Q#(9)
40 PRINT "CARRIED ON"
50 END
100 LABEL HANDLER
110 PRINT "CAUGHT " + ERR(ER#) + " ON LINE " + EL#
120 RESUME NEXT
```
Two variables are set when the trap fires: **`ER#`** is the error code and **`EL#`** is
the line it happened on. `ERR(ER#)` gives the message text. On a C128 these are called
`ER` and `EL` with no suffix; this dialect has no bare variable names.
`RESUME` comes in three forms:
| Form | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| `RESUME` | back to the line that failed, and tries again |
| `RESUME NEXT` | on to the line after the one that failed |
| `RESUME (line)` | to a line you name |
Bare `RESUME` only terminates if the handler fixed whatever was wrong — that is what
it is for.
`TRAP` with no argument turns trapping off. An error *inside* a handler is reported
normally rather than re-entering it, so a broken handler cannot loop forever.
## STOP, END and CONT
`STOP` stops the program and returns to the prompt; `CONT` resumes from there. `END`
stops it without arming `CONT`. `QUIT` ends the interpreter itself.