Vidicode Argus Basic Programmers Reference Manual

							 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
ARGUS BASIC 
Programmer’s Reference Manual 
 
VIDICODE Datacommunicatie BV 
Zoetermeer 1990 - 1997 
   
						

							 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
ARGUS BASIC Programmer’s Reference Manual 
copyright 1990 -1997 VIDICODE Datacommunicatie BV 
Zoetermeer 
 
All rights reserved. 
Designed, edited and typeset in The Netherlands. 
No part of this publication may be used or reproduced, stored in a  
database or retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means,  
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without  
the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the cases  
of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. 
Making copies of any part of this book for any purpose other than  
your own personal use is a violation of copyright laws. 
  
						

							 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Further copies of this manual and information on the Argus range of products and services may 
be obtained from the publishers. 
 
Please address all inquiries to: 
 
 
EUROPE: 
 
 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
 Blauwroodlaan 140 
  2718 SK  Zoetermeer 
 Netherlands 
 
  Voice: (+31) 79 3617181 
  Fax: (+31) 79 3618092 
 Email: [email protected] 
 Website: WWW.VIDICODE.NL 
 
 
USA: 
 
  Vidicode Datacommunication Inc. 
  1616 Shipyard Blvd. Suite 259 
  Wilmington, NC 28412 
 
  Voice: (+1) 910-452-5600 
  Fax: (+1) 910-254-3525 
 Email: [email protected] 
 Website: WWW.VIDICODE.COM 
  
						

							ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
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Table of Contents 
 
 
PROGRAMMING THE MODEM  7 
1.1 Program structure  7 
Program lines & commands  7 
Variables & constants  7 
Variable names  8 
Integers & integer arrays  8 
Strings & string arrays  8 
Labels 9 
Calculations & expressions  10 
Hexadecimal numbers  10 
Logical operations  10 
Events 11 
1.2 Writing programs  12 
Direct programming  12 
Indirect programming  13 
1.3 Running programs  14 
Running files from the filing system  15 
1.4 Program and variable storage  15 
1.5 I/O ports  16 
Port syntax  17 
1.6 The Argus filing system  18 
Text files  19 
Binary files  20 
BASIC programs  20 
1.7 Program backup  20 
Backing up Program memory  21 
Backing up the RAM-, FLASH- or Hard-disk  21 
ARGUS BASIC - COMMAND REFERENCE  22 
Syntax 22 
ABS   absolute value  24 
ACTIVE   set modem active  25 
ADC   read analogue to digital conversion  27 
AND   logical AND  28 
ANSWER   answer a call  29 
ASC   ASCII value  30 
AT   AT scan  31 
AT (#[port]) (SLASH) ON/OFF  32 
AT INPUT (#[port])  32 
AT REPEAT  32 
AT [string]  32 
AUTO   automatic line numbering  34  
						

							ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
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BAUD   set baud rate  35 
BOOT ON/OFF   enable/disable BOOT file  37 
BRK   transmit a break  38 
BUFFER   reserve buffer space  39 
BUTTON   read the S/A button position  42 
CALL   jump to machine code subroutine  43 
CHR$   character string  44 
CLEAR   clear variables/memory  45 
1. CLEAR  45 
2. CLEAR ALL  45 
3. CLEAR (#[port])  45 
4. CLEAR INPUT (#[port])  45 
5. CLEAR OUTPUT (#[port])  45 
6. CLEAR BUFFER  45 
7. CLEAR PRINTER  45 
8. CLEAR! or CLEAR FILE  45 
9. CLEAR ROM  45 
CLOCK$   read internal clock  47 
CONNECT   connect to remote modem  48 
COPY   copy files  49 
CTS   Clear To Send  50 
DATA   define constant data  51 
DATE$   read system date  52 
DAY   read/set day of week  53 
DCD   Data Carrier Detect  54 
DDAY   read/set day in month  55 
DELETE or DEL   delete program lines/files  56 
DIAL   dial number  58 
DIM   reserve space for arrays  59 
DIR   list file directory  60 
DIR ROM   list ROM directory  62 
DIV   integer divide  63 
DSR   Data Set Ready  64 
DTMF ON/OFF   dial tone multiple frequency  65 
[var] = DTMF   read DTMF receiver  66 
DTR   Data Terminal Ready  67 
DUTCH   select language and screen mode  68 
ECHO   enable/disable character echo  69 
END   end of program  70 
ENGLISH   select language and screen mode  71 
EOR   logical Exclusive OR  72 
ERL   error line system variable  73 
ERN   error number system variable  74 
ESCAPE   set Escape character  75 
FALSE   Boolean system variable  76 
FAX MODEM ON/OFF   enable/disable fax selector  77 
FAX ON/OFF   turn FAX on or off  78 
FAX RECEIVE   receive fax file  79 
FAX SEND ...TO...   send fax file  80 
FOR ... (TO) ... (NEXT) ... (STEP)   loop structure  85 
FREQ   read frequency measurement  87 
GET   get byte (with wait)  88 
GET$   get character (with wait)  89 
GOSUB ... RETURN   jump to subroutine  90 
GOTO   unconditional jump  92 
HANDSHAKE   select/enable handshaking  93 
RTS/CTS selected:  93 
XON/XOFF selected:  93  
						

							ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
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Handshaking via LINKed ports  93 
HANGUP   disconnect a call  95 
HOOK   hook control  96 
HOUR   read/set hour of day  97 
IF ... THEN ... ELSE   condition test  98 
ILINE   read input line  99 
INPUT   read string/number  100 
IPORT   default input port  102 
KEY   get byte (without wait)  103 
KEY$   get character (without wait)  104 
LCASE   convert ASCII to lowercase  105 
LCASE$   convert string to lowercase  106 
LED   control LEDs  107 
LEFT$   extract left part of a string  108 
LEN   get length of string  109 
LENGTH   set or read serial port word length  110 
LINEFEED   enable/disable Line Feeds  111 
LINK   connect logical data streams  112 
LIST   list BASIC program  115 
LIST AUTO   list program for editing  116 
LOAD   load BASIC program or data  117 
LOAD ROM   load BASIC programs from socket 2  118 
LTRIM$   remove leading spaces  119 
MATCH   find matching files/data  120 
MATCH ROM   find matching files in socket 2  122 
MID$   extract middle portion of string  123 
MIN   set/read minute value  124 
MNP (4/5) ON/OFF   turn error correction on/off  125 
MOD   integer remainder operator  126 
MODEM   select standard modem mode  127 
MONTH   set/read month of year  128 
NETWORK   Argus LAN network command  125 
NEW   new program  132 
OLD   restore program  133 
OLINE   set/read digital output line  134 
ON AT   AT scan event handler  136 
ON BRK   BRK event handler  137 
ON BUTTON   USER button event handler  138 
ON CONNECT   connection detect event handler  139 
ON DTD   DTR loss event handler  140 
ON DTR   DTR event handler  141 
ON ERROR   error handler  142 
ON ESCAPE   Escape event handler  143 
ON ... GOSUB/GOTO   jump on value  144 
ON HANGUP   loss of connection event handler  145 
ON OFF   disable all events  146 
ON RESET   reset event handler  147 
(a) A !BOOT program is found on the disk  147 
(b) No program running at moment of reset  147 
(c) Program running at moment of reset  148 
ON RESET RUN [filename]  148 
ON RESET RUN  148 
ON RESET ...  148 
ON RING   RING event handler  150 
ON SEQUENCE   Esc. sequence event handler  151 
ON SLASH   AT scan event handler  152 
ON TIMEOUT   timeout event handler  153 
OPORT   default output port  155  
						

							ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
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ORI   output ring indicator  157 
OUTPUT   send data to port  158 
PARITY   read or set parity  159 
PBOT   program bottom  160 
PEEK   read byte from memory  162 
PEEK$   read string from memory  163 
PLAY [filename]   playback a recorded file  164 
PLAY ON/OFF   turn play on/off  166 
PLAY VOLUME [num]   playback attenuation  167 
POKE   put byte into memory  168 
POKE$   put string into memory  169 
PORT   last event port system variable  170 
PRINT   send data to port  171 
PRINT positioning & formatting  171 
PRINTER   enable/disable printer port  173 
PRINTER and PRINTER ON  173 
PRINTER OFF  173 
PRINTER LINEFEED ON/OFF  173 
PRINTER INPUT/OUTPUT  173 
PROTOCOL   set file transfer protocol  174 
PTOP   program top system variable  178 
PULSE   set/do pulse dialing  179 
PUT   write byte value to port  180 
PUT$   write character to port  181 
READ   read data items  182 
RECEIVE   receive file or data  183 
RECEIVE #[port], [address]   receive data  184 
RECEIVE [filename], [type]    receive file  185 
RECEIVE ALL   receive disk backup  189 
RECEIVE TIMEOUT = [int]   set Sreg66 timeout  190 
RECORD [filename]   record a voice file  191 
RECORD ON/OFF   turn record mode on/off  193 
RECORD TIMEOUT [num]   set record timeout  194 
REM   remark  195 
RENAME   rename files  196 
RENUM   renumber program  197 
REPEAT ... UNTIL   loop structure  198 
REPORT   report result or error  199 
REPORT ERN  199 
REPORT or REPORT RESULT  199 
RESET   generate hardware reset  200 
RESET ALL SREG   reset all S-registers to factory settings  201 
RESET MODEM 2   reset modem-chip only  202 
RESTORE   restore pointer  to data command/buffer/RAM-disk  203 
RESULT   last status of modem action  204 
RETURN   return from procedure/ set return character  206 
1. Return from procedure  206 
2. Set value of RETURN character.  206 
RIGHT$   extract right portion of string  207 
RING   ring counter  208 
ROM   access RAM/ROM-disk in socket 2  209 
RPT$   repeat string  211 
RTRIM$   remove trailing spaces  212 
RTS   ready to send  213 
RUN   run a program  214 
RUN ROM   run a program from ROM/RAM-disk in socket 2  215 
SAVE   save program or data to memory/disk  216 
SAVE ROM   save files in RAM-disk in socket 2  217  
						

							ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
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SCAN  set answering speed/scan  218 
SEC   read/set seconds value  219 
SEND   send file or data  220 
SEND #[port], [address], [address]   send data  221 
SEND [filename], [type], [option]   send file  222 
SEND ALL   make a backup of  disk  227 
SEQUENCE   select escape sequence character  228 
SGN   get sign of number  229 
SOUND (MODEM)  make a sound on speaker or phoneline  230 
SPC$   repeat spaces  231 
SPEAKER ON/OFF   speaker control  232 
SPEED   set line modem-speed   233 
SPEED BUFFER ON/OFF   speed buffer on/off  234 
SREG   set/read S-registers  235 
STOP   stop program execution  236 
TIME$   read or set time  237 
TRACE   trace program-lines execution  238 
TRIM$   remove spaces  239 
UCASE   convert ASCII to uppercase  240 
UCASE$   convert string to uppercase  241 
VAL   convert string to number  242 
VAL$   convert number to string  243 
VOICE   set modem to voice-mode  244 
VOLUME   set speaker volume  246 
WAIT ... (SEC/MIN)   wait some time  247 
WHILE ... DO ... WEND   loop structure  248 
XOFF   define XOFF character  249 
XON   define XON character  250 
YEAR   read/set year value  251 
BASIC Error Messages  252 
BASIC Keywords and associated short forms  256 
Keyboard & LCD codes  266  
						

							ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
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							ARGUS Programmable Modem 
BASIC Programmers Reference Manual 
© 1990 - 1997 Vidicode Datacommunicatie BV 
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Programming the modem 
1.1 Program structure 
Argus BASIC is part of the Argus Programmable Modem, the Argus Call Recorder and of the Telecommunications Centre 
Lite (T.C.Lite).  A keyboard and LCD display are optional for the Argus Programmable Modem and always available on the 
Argus Call recorder and the T.C.Lite.  A filing system is optional for the Argus Programmable Modem and can be a RAM-
disk, a FLASH-disk, a Hard-disk or an Argus LAN (Local Area Network). The T.C.Lite only supports the FLASH-disk. 
 
Argus BASIC is much like any other version of BASIC in terms of both syntax and structure, but there are also many 
significant differences.  This chapter provides an overall description of the modem programming environment and goes on to 
describe each of the Argus BASIC commands in detail. 
Program lines & commands 
A BASIC program consists of a series of lines which must start with a line number and may contain up to 255 characters.  A 
line that is entered without a line number will not be treated as part of a program but will be executed immediately.  For 
example, the following command : 
PRINT Of Mice and Men - by John Steinbeck
will display the quoted message on your screen as soon as you press [Return].  Alternatively, when you type the line: 
10 PRINT Of Mice and Men - by John Steinbeck
it will be treated as line 10 of the current program and stored in the modems memory until the program is executed.  
Program lines may be entered in any order but the modem will always list and execute them sequentially from lower line 
numbers to higher ones (unless control of flow is changed by a branch command such as GOTO). 
 
A single program line may contain more than one command with individual commands being separated by a colon.  The 
following line contains three commands: 
10 X=9 : PRINT The square of ;X; is ; : PRINT X^2
The first command defines a variable called X and gives it the value 9.  The second command outputs a message, including 
the value of X, to the currently selected output port, and finally, another PRINT command outputs the value of X^2.  The 
overall effect of the line is to output the following: 
The square of 9 is 81
As many commands may be placed on a single line as will fit in the maximum line length of 255 characters. 
 
BASIC keywords such as PRINT may be entered in upper or lower case but the modem will convert them all to capitals.  
Also, it is not necessary to leave spaces between commands, as the modem will insert them automatically. 
 
During program entry it is advisable to leave (numerical) gaps in the line numbering, so that additional lines may be inserted 
later.  The convention is to number lines 10, 20, 30 etc., although there is a command for re-numbering programs (RENUM). 
Variables & constants 
Data stored or used in a BASIC program may exist as a constant or as a variable.  The following examples are constants: 
25