Re: 86 Basic to ASM
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Re: 86 Basic to ASM
BASIC is not just one language. The term refers to any language that has its
general look, syntax, and commands.
Hal and other compilers do not compile TI-BASIC; they compile their own
versions of BASIC. The reason TI-BASIC, and some other versions of BASIC that
share this property, cannot be compiled (and run without an interpreter) is
because code can be generated during runtime. If, at an Input command, the
user entered at the prompt an expression such as 4+5*6, the interpreter would
have to be present to evaluate that to 34. The user might not just use
mathematical symbols but other BASIC functions. Code can be generated not just
through an Input command, but inside the program code itself. It is true that
some commands could be pre-compiled, but an interpreter would always have to
be present because code can be generated.
The versions of BASIC that can be compiled and run without an interpreter
cannot generate code during runtime. If you use their Input command, for
example, you won't be allowed to enter expressions that contain BASIC
functions, but in TI-BASIC, you can.
________________
Jeff Tyrrill
http://tyrrill-ticalc.home.ml.org/
http://ti-files.home.ml.org/
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Lake
Sent: Monday, July 07, 1997 3:35 AM
To: Jeff Tyrrill
Subject: Re: 86 Basic to ASM
Jeff Tyrrill wrote in article ...
>It is impossible to convert TI-86 BASIC code into assembly, just because
of
>the very nature of the BASIC language (it is an interpreted language).
>However, there are at least two programs available (or under development)
that
>do this for the TI-85 using their own BASIC, and I wouldn't be surprised
if
>the authors add the ability to compile for the TI-86 because it would
work
>almost exactly the same as the TI-85.
It's not impossible at all! BASIC is a language. It can be implemented as
an interpreter or as a compiler. In fact, for the first ten years of its
life (1965-1975) BASIC was ONLY available as a compiler. Yes, there are at
least TWO TI-Basic compilers under development. I'm betting that HAL-86
makes it out first. HAL-85 will be available in about two weeks and the
beta I'm using seems bug-free already. It doesn't compile the entire
TI-Basic language but that's just a limitation in HAL, not because of any
inherent inablilty of the TI-Basic language to be assembled..
Tom Lake
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