R. T. RUSSELL

BBC BASIC (Z80) Manual

Resident Star Commands

(CP/M edition only, other versions may have similar commands, consult the relevant documentation)

*BYE

Return to CP/M.

*CPM

Return to CP/M (same as *BYE).

*DIR

List the directory. The syntax is similar to the CP/M DIR command except that the extension defaults to .BBC if it is omitted.

*DIR [afsp]
*DIR List all .BBC files in the directory.

*DIR B:*.* List all files on drive B.

*.*.* List all the files in the current directory.

*DRIVE

Select the drive to be used as the default drive for subsequent file operations. The colon is a mandatory part of the drive name.

*DRIVE d:

*DRIVE A:

*ERA

Delete the specified file. The syntax is similar to the CP/M-80 ERA command except that the extension defaults to .BBC if it is omitted.

*ERA ufsp

*ERA GAME1.DTA

This command will delete only one file at a time; wild cards are not permitted in the file specifier.

OSCLI may also be used to delete files.

OSCLI "ERA "+<str>

OSCLI "ERA "+name$
OSCLI "ERA GAME1.DTA"

*LOAD

Load the specified file into memory at hexadecimal address 'aaaa'. The load address MUST always be specified.

*LOAD ufsp aaaa

*LOAD A:WOMBAT 8F00

OSCLI may also be used to load a file. However, you must take care to provide the load address as a hexadecimal number in string format.

OSCLI "LOAD "+<str>+" "+STR$~<num>

OSCLI "LOAD "+file_name$+" "+STR$~(start_address)

*OPT

Select the destination 'output stream' for console output. The default is OPT 0.

*OPT 0 Console output. The output is sent to the screen.

*OPT 1 Auxiliary Output. The output is sent to the auxiliary output.

*OPT 2 Printer Output. The output is sent to the list device.

All characters sent to the console are vectored with *OPT.

10 *OPT 2
20 PRINT "THIS WILL APPEAR ON THE PRINTER"
30 *OPT 0
40 PRINT "THIS WILL APPEAR ON THE SCREEN"

*REN

Rename a file. The syntax is similar to the CP/M REN command except that the extension defaults to .BBC if it is omitted. OSCLI can also be used to rename a file.

*RENAME ufspnew=ufspold
*REN ufspnew=ufspold
OSCLI "REN "+<str>+"="+<str>

*REN NEWFILE=OLDFILE

OSCLI "REN "file_name$+".BAK="+filename$+".BBC"

*RESET

Reset the Filing System.

*SAVE

Save an area of memory to a file. If the extension is omitted, .BBC is assumed.

You MUST specify the start address (aaaa) and either the length of the area of memory (llll) or its end address+1 (bbbb). There is no 'load address' or 'execute address'.

*SAVE ufsp aaaa +llll
*SAVE ufsp aaaa bbbb

*SAVE "WOMBAT" 8F00 +80
*SAVE "WOMBAT" 8F00 8F80

OSCLI can also be used to save a file.

OSCLI "SAVE "+<str>+" "+STR$~(<num>)+" "+STR$(<num>)

OSCLI "SAVE "+ufn$+" "+STR$~(add)+"+"+STR$~(len)

*TYPE

Type the specified file on the screen. This command is similar in action to the CP/M-80 TYPE command except that the extension .BBC is assumed if it is omitted.

*TYPE ufsp

*TYPE ADDRESS.LST

CONTENTS

CONTINUE

`*DIR`	`List all .BBC files in the directory.`
`DIR B:.*`	`List all files on drive B.`
`..*`	`List all the files in the current directory.`

`*OPT 0`	Console output. The output is sent to the screen.
`*OPT 1`	Auxiliary Output. The output is sent to the auxiliary output.
`*OPT 2`	Printer Output. The output is sent to the list device.