Vidicode Argus Basic Programmers Reference Manual

ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
18
  
 
AT ESCAPE LENGTH PARITY SBITS
BAUD GET LINEFEED PRINT SEND
CLEAR GET$ LINK PUT XOFF
CTS HANDSHAKE LIST PUT$ XON
DCD INPUT MATCH RECEIVE
DSR KEY ORI RTS
DTR KEY$ OUTPUT
For obvious reasons commands used to input data may only specify a single port. 
 
When repeated access is required to one or more ports you may define default values for input and output using the IPORT 
and OPORT system...

ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
19
  
On a Hard-disk, the files are stored in ‘directories’ which are created and removed automatically by the operating system; the 
first character of a filename is the directory entry. Only the characters 0-9, @, and A-Z are possible as the first character in a 
filename! 
 
The following commands can be used to manipulate files: 
CLEAR PLAY/RECORD
COPY RECEIVE
DELETE RENAME
DIR RESTORE
FAX RUN...

ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
20
  
The second method can be disabled if necessary by using the ESCAPE OFF command. 
 
When a transfer is complete, the DIR command may be used to verify that a new file has been created.  DIR will also show 
the type of the file, how many 256-byte blocks it occupies and how many free blocks (or clusters on hard disk) remain. 
 
A text file can be read by sending it to the port to which you are...

ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
21
  
period of time will cause the battery to run down and memory to be corrupted.  For this reason you should make copies of 
programs from the modem into your computer or to diskette, to use as permanent backups. 
Backing up Program memory 
Currently active programs, i.e. those in Program memory, are stored in a compact, encoded (tokenized) form, and cannot 
therefore be read without the aid of...

ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
22
  
Argus BASIC - Command Reference 
Argus BASIC is a custom communications variant of the popular BASIC language found on many micro-computers.  It is a 
relatively fast implementation which owes much of its speed to the use of a 68HC11 microprocessor running at 3.68 MHz, 
and integer-only operation.  However, multiple high-speed communication streams can still present problems, and some care 
may...

ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
23
  
[option]  : a single character option code 
[type]  : a single character type code 
x|y  : either x or y 
( [...] )  : the enclosed item is optional 
( , ... )  : optional repetition of the previous item 
Other items that appear in the syntax of a command, e.g. #, are shown as is. 
  

ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
24
  
ABS    absolute value 
ABS is used to obtain the absolute value of an integer; i.e. its magnitude. 
ABS(-10)
will return the value 10. 
 
It is commonly used to find the difference between two numbers: 
diff=ABS(X-Y)
Examples: 
A=ABS(B)
PRINT ABS(Temp-38)
Syntax: 
[num-var] = ABS [num]
See also: 
SGN
  

ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
25
  
ACTIVE    set modem active 
This command will simulate any modem connection, after the two modems are connected.  It can therefore best be used 
after the ON CONNECT event.  When entering the command, it will set the link between the terminal port and the line port 
(3).  The terminal port must first be set with the system variables IPORT and OPORT.  A multiplexed or half duplex 
connection is...

ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
26
  
See also: 
ON CONNECT 

ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
27
  
ADC    analogue to digital conversion 
The modem is capable of performing an analogue measurement of the signal voltage level on the line. A value between 0 
and 255 is returned. 
 
If the modem is on-hook the measurement is always zero. 
 
If you take the modem off-hook and your exchange applies a dial tone, or if a carrier is received, you will be able to see the 
signal voltage on the line....