ATARI® SOUND

AND GRAPHICS

HERB MOORE
JUDY LOWER
BOB ALBRECHT

Dymax Corporation
Menlo Park, California

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

New York· Chichester' Brisbane' Toronto' Singapore

Publisher: Judy V. Wilson
Editor: Dianne Littwin
Composition and Make-up: CobblDun lop, Inc.

Cover graphic: " Hexrotate" by Michael Dubno and Comp uter Center New
York, photographed on the ATARI 800 Computer at Digibyte, New York
City.

Copyright © 1982, by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada.
Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that permitted
by Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyri g\t Act without the
permission of the copyr ight owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or
further information shou ld be addressed to the Permissions Department,
John Wiley & Sons , Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Moore, Herb , 1944-
Atari sound and graph ics.
(A Wiley se lf-teaching gu id e)
Includ es index.
1. Atari 400 (Computer)- Programming. 2. Atari
800 (Computer)- Programming. 3. Computer sound
processing. 4 . Computer graphics . I. Lower,
Judy. II . Albrec ht , Bob , 1930- III. Tit le.
IV. Series.
QA76.8.A8M66 001.64' 1 81-23111
ISB N 0-471-09593-1 AACR2

Printed in the Unite d States of America

82 83 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
 Contents

To the Reader iv

How to Use This Book v

In trod uction vi

Chapter 1 Getting Started-The Sound Statement 1

Chapter 2 Picture Yourself Doing Graphics 13

Chapter 3 A Graphics Program 27

Chapter 4 Sound and Graphics Together 40

Chapter 5 Some Special Effects With Sound 57

Chapter 6 Subroutines for Graphics and Sound 87

Chapter 7 The Finer Points of Graphics 108

Chapter 8 Chance Music and Graphics 137

Chapter 9 String Variables 160

Chapter 10 Watch the Music Play 193

Appendix A 219

Appendix B 224

Appendix C 225

Appendix D 230

Appendix E 233

Index 234

iii
 To the Reader

Assuming no prior knowledge of computers, this book serves as your "road

map" into the world of AT ARI* Computer sound and color graphics. While
exploring, you will learn to speak the most commonly used computer
language in existence today: BASIC. It is a simple language to learn and
most computers (large or small) can be programmed using BASIC.
AT ARI Sound and Graphics emphasizes recreation and artistic express-
ion. As you use this book you will not only learn a number of "useful"
things about computers, but will also experience the pleasures of creating
beautiful colors, shapes, and sounds with your AT ARI Computer.
With this book you can easily learn to create exciting sound effects, some
of which you may have already beard in various arcade games. And since
the graphics capabilities of the ATARI 400 and AT ARI 800 Computers are
not only powerful but easily accessible, you will also find yourself creating
colorful figures very quickly.
Later in the book you will get a taste of music theory and will create your
own melodies and be able to see them play on the screen.
AT ARI Sound and Graphics is meant to be used, along with the ATARI
400 or AT ARI 800 Computer so you can try each new concept as it is
presented. After all, seeing and hearing each new sound or color produced
by the computer is the part that's most fun. The fundamental grammar and
logic of ATARI® BASIC is presented in a step-by-step fashion, with an
emphasis on interaction and exploration with your computer. As you learn
new concepts and techniques you will often be encouraged to apply them
to your own artistic creations.
So whether you are a teacher wishing to prepare audio-visual aids for
your classroom, an artist or musician seeking to explore the world of
computer sound and graphics, or someone who just wants to play with the
computer, this book and an ATARI 400 or ATARI 800 Computer will
provide you with hours of pleasure and a great amount of useful know-
ledge.
Now take a look at "How to Use This Book," and then go on to learn about
AT ARI Computer sound and graphics!

* ATARI® is a registered trademark of Alari , In c .

iv
 How to Use This Book

With this book's self-instructional format, you'll be actively involved in

learning BASIC for the AT ARI Computer. The material in each chapter is
presented in short sections , each of which teaches you something new
about ATARI® BASIC and gives you a question or asks you to write a
program. Correct answers are given following the dashed line. For the most
effective learning we urge you to us e a thick paper to keep the answers out
of sight until you have written your answer.
You will learn best if you actually write out the answers and try the
programs out on the computer. The questions are carefully designed to call
your attention to important points in the examples and explanations, and
to help you learn to apply what is being exp lained or demonstrated.
The Self-Test at the end of each chapter can be used as a review of the
material covered in the chapter. You may test yourself immediately after
reading the chapter. Or you may wish to read a chapter, take a break, and
save the Self-Test as a review before you begin the next chapter. To go
further in applying what you have learned, do the Challenges following the
Self-Test. Answers are not given for the Challenges.
This is a self-contained book for learning AT ARI Computer sound and
graphics, but what you learn will be theoretical until you actually sit down
at a computer terminal and apply your knowledge of the computer lan-
guage and programming techniques. So we strongly recommend that you
and this book get together with an ATARI computer.

._ ._- - - - - - _ . _ - - -
v
 Introduction

The language you will be learning in this book is AT ARI® BASIC, a very
simple form of an English-based language for computers. BASIC is under-
stood by many computers. ATARI BASIC also has some special vocabulary
for creating sound and color graphics.
As you use this book, keep in mind a few things about your interaction
with your AT ARI 400 or 800 Computer.
First, remember you are learning ways to tell your computer what you
want it to do. You'll learn to speak a language the computer understands.
Computer programmers of all skill levels think in terms of computer lan-
guages.
Second, although this book focuses mainly on sound and graphics, you
will also learn many skills that will be valuable to you as you find other
ways to use your AT ARI 400 or 800 Computer.
You will learn many introductory programming techniques. Many of the
sounds you will learn to create can be found in today's arcade games, and
the graphics can be equally innovative-creations that are fun and exciting
as you devise your own ways to use them. If you wish to learn more
conventional music, we suggest you also consider the Music Composer®
and the Video Easel ®, programs for the AT ARI Computer.
When you are learning to speak another language-such as Spanish or
French-the more you practice and learn, the more you understand. The
same is true with AT ARI BASIC. As you begin to understand the machine
more fully, you will find it easier to get the machine to do what you want it
to do.
Remember also, if the machine doesn't understand you, it's not because
of any lack of intelligence on your part. The computer has a very specific
language, and if you start to speak another dialect or become too subtle, it
can easily become confused .
Be patient with your computer. And most of all, remember it's not the
computer telling you what to do, but you telling the computer what to do!

vi
 CHAPTER ONE

Getting Started-
The Sound Statement

Hi.
I'm Please Note.
You ' ll hear from me
throughout the book.

When you turn on the ATARI * Computer,** you 'll know that it is ready
when the screen looks like this:

--

.---
RE ADY _ - - -

*Indi cat es trad e mark of Atari . Inc .

• *This book do es not try to le ll you h ow to h ook up th e ma c hin e . That is ex plaine d ve ry w e ll in
th e ATAH1 400 or 800 Op erators Iv /anu cd you rece ive d w ith yo ur ma chin e . It 's easy to do . so we
w ill ass um e your computer is " up a nd runnin g."

1
2 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

You tell the computer what you want it to do by ty ping instructions ,

call ed commands .
The littl e square just below th e wo rd READY is ca ll ed the cursor. As you
type instru ctions, the cursor moves acros s th e screen, so yo u 'll know where
the next letter will appear as you type it.
Before you b eg in , look a t this diagra m of th e ATARI Compute r' s
keyboard . Arrows point to two important keys (RETURN and SYSTEM
RESET) you wi ll learn to use in ju st a mom ent.

••••••••••••••• §
IIIImllaaDDmama • • • ,t
ElIIDa.amaaaBillIl. ~
_aDa.a •••••••

Now that yo u 've looked over th e key board , yo u 're ready to give th e
machine a command. Type

SOUND 91,121,191,8

Be sure to type it exac tly as yo u see it here. Th e computer is very particular

about punctuation , so be sure to usc a co mma be tween numbers. It is also a
very literal ma c hine a nd is not able to guess what you mean; you must tell it
exactly. Don 't us e substitutions such as the le tter " 0' for zero (0) or the letter
"I " for the number 1 , as you might on a co nv e ntional typewriter.
As you can see on yo ur screen , the zero es in the SOUND statement
contain a slash m ark (0), whereas th e "0" in th e SOUND does not. So
remember that on th e scree n:

o is a zero
o is the le tter "0"
What if, whil e typin g your SOUND statement, you press a wrong number
or spell "SUUND " or "SOUD," and rea li ze yo u 've mad e a mistake? It's easy
to fix .
Just press th e DELETE BACK S key n ear th e upper right side of the
 GETTING STARTED-THE SOUND STATEMENT 3

keyboard. This moves the cursor back (to the left) as many spaces as you
want and erases the error . Then type the correct letters or numbers .
Okay , do you have a SOUND command that looks like this?

SOUND 0,121,10,8

If you do, press the RETURN key and the machine will produce a single
tone that is approximate ly the note middle C.
Can you hear it? Be sure the volume on your TV is turned up to a
comfortable listening level.
The tone will stay on. To stop the tone type:

END

and press RETURN.

You can also stop it by pressing the SYSTEM RESET KEY (the yellow key
at th e upper right corner of the keyboard). When you do this, the sound
stops and you see this again on the screen :

READY

But what happens if you make a typing error in your SOUND statement
and don't notice it? Suppose you put a period instead of a comma between
10 and 8, so it looks like this:

SOUND 0, 121, 10.~~

4 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

If you do this and press the RETURN key, instead of a tone you'll get an
ERROR message that looks something like this:

ERROR - SOUND 0,121,10.8

An ERROR Message is the machine's way of telling you it doesn't uhder-

stand. Don't let an ERROR message upset you. The most advanced compu-
ter people get ERROR messages all the time. It only means that you have to
find a different way to tell the machine "vhat you want it to do.
Enough of ERRORS for the moment and back to the SOUND statement.

PARAMETERS

Each number separated by a comma in the SOUND statement can be

changed to give the statement a different meaning. A number that affects
the meaning of a statement is called a parameter. The SOUND statement in
AT ARI BASIC consists of four parameters.

Voice Parameter
The first parameter in the SOUND statement you've been using is the voice
parameter. Your AT ARI Computer has four voices, just like a barbershop
quartet. AT ARI BASIC counts voices a little differently from people
though. It numbers its four voices 0,1,2,3.

SOUND 0 , 121 , 10 , 10

~----
Voice 1 can play the same note like this:

SOUND 1,121,10 , 10

~---
Now you type a SOUND statement for voices 2 and 3 to play the same note.
You'll get a chance to combine the voices with different notes soon, but
for the moment let's stick with the first voice. That's voice 0 (zero) in the
AT ARI BASIC's SOUND statement.
 GETT ING STARTED-THE SOUND STATEMENT 5

Note Parameter
The second parameter in your SOUND statement is the note parameter. To
get a feel for the note parameter, try this exercise:
First type:

SOUND 0,243, 10 ,8

and press the RETURN key.

You should h ear a nice lo\ov note played by the computer.
Now type:

SOUND 0,60, 10,8

and press the RETURN key.

Type END and press RETURN if you want to stop the sound.
By now you may have begun to realize that any time you give the
computer a command, you must press the RETURN key to have the
machine execute that command. So we'll stop telling you each time,
although we will remind you occasionally.

Low numbers play high notes!

High numbers play low notes!

Using ATARI BASIC , you can play 256 different notes numbered from Ii)
to 255. When it comes to notes , not only does the computer start counting at
zero, but it also counts backwards from the way we humans count. That is,
it gives the highest notes the lowest numbers and the lowest notes the
highest numbers. So 243 for the note parameter is a low note , while 26 is a
high one.
Let's write a SOUND statement so the note parameter is a variable called
N. That 's simply a way of saying you can make N equal to different
numbers, in this case numbers between Ii) and 255 inclusive.
Now it looks like this:

SOUND 0, N, 10, 10

(The letter "N" here represents a number. You may substitute a number
from Ii) to 255 for N in this SOUND statement.)
Try different numbers for the variable N to get a feeling for some of the
notes that your AT ARI Computer can generate. Remember to use the
RETURN key after each new command!
6 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Tone Parameter
The third parameter in the SOUND statement is th e ton e parameter. "Tone "
here is different from the tone control on yo ur radio. To get the idea of some
possible "tones" you can produce , try thi s.
First go back to the original SOUND statem ent:

SOUND 0, 121 , 10 , 10

This makes a ni ce "pure" musical tone.

But you can make a sound something like a motorcycle cruising dow n
the highway by simply chan gin g the va lu e of the tone parameter to 4
instead of 10 . If you do that , the SOUND statement will look like this :

SOUND 0, 121,4 , 10

You can make a variable out of the tone parameter in th e same way you
did with the note parameter. The statement would th en take the following
form:

SOUND 0,121, T, 10
r---
There are eight possible "tones" ava ilable in AT ARI BASIC, indicated by
even numbers from 0 to 14. There 's no particular reason for them being
even numbers other th an that 's the way the machin e was designed .
If you use an odd numb er like:

SOUND 0, 121 ,5, 10

it won't make a sound.

Note: 0 to 255
Ton e: 0 ,2,4 ,6 ,8, 10 ,12 ,14

Try different numbers for the variable "T" in the SOUND statement to see
which ones you like. The va lu es 10 and 14 should give you a very pure
sounding tone. The other values give a vari ety of buzzing and scratching
sounds. You 'll ex plore these later when yo u get into creating sound effects.
 GETTING STARTED-THE SOUND STATEMENT 7

Loudness Parameter
The final parameter in the SOUND statement is the loudness parameter. It
has sixteen possible values , numbered from 0 to 15. The lowest value ,
which is 0, makes no sound. Later , you will see how this can be used as a
way to turn off a note .

SOUND 0, 121, 10,L - -

The highest value of the loudness parameter is 15, the loudest tone. (Of
course, all this depends on where yo u have the volume on your TV.)
First, try a valu e of 2 for "L" in this statement:

SOUND0,121,10,2

Then, try 15 for "L":

SOUND 0, 121,10 , 15

Now try a few more values of your own cho ice to get a feeling for the
loudness parameter.
You have now explored all four parameters of the SOUND statement.
Here 's a brief summary of what you 've learned so far. This section may be
helpful as a quick reference as you continue to explore on your own.
Defining each parameter as a variab le, yo u can write the SOUND state-
ment like this:

SOUND V, N, T, L *

V is for Voice ..... . . .. Numbered 0 through 3.

(Four voices-Zero is th e first voice)
N is for Note ....... . . Numbered 0 through 255.
(0 is the highest pitch , 255 is the lowest)
T is for Tone . ..... . . . Even numbers 0 through 14.
(Odd numbers won 't work-10 and 14 are "pure" tones)
L is for loudness .... . . Numbered 0 through 15.
(0 is the quietest, 15 is the loudest)

*You can use any nam e you wish for th ese var ia bl es. For examp le . in th e ATARI 4(/}(/}/8(/}(/}
BAS IC Refe rence'Manual , Pilc h is used for th e parameter we've ca lled Note, Distortion is used
for what we've called Tone, and Vo lum e is used for th e fourth parameter where we've used the
name Loudness. Use whatever variable n ames yo u li ke.
8 ATARI SOuND AND GRAPHICS

COMBINING VOICES

Suppose yo u want to h ear two vo ices togeth er. To do this, type one SOUND
statement for voice 0, and then , without pressing SYSTEM RESET (but do
press RETURN), typ e anoth er statement for voice 1. For exampl e, you
might have:

SOUND 0, 121, 10, 10

SOUND 1 , 60, 10 , 10

60 ~j~~J~~~'~~ c one octave hi gher

12 1 __ Middle C

Be sure the second statement is for voice 1 and not voice again. This °
tells the machin e to play middle C with th e first voi ce and the note C an
octave higher with th e second voice. You ca n play up to four different
voices at once in this way. You might have something like this :

SOUND 0,121,10 , 10-( middle C)

SOUND 1 ,96,10, 10-( the note E)
SOUND 2 , 81 , 10 , 10-( the note G)
SOUND 3,60,10,10-( C one octave above middle C)

60 -...........

8 1 --.....
96
iJ2
~
/
____ ~
_:.-/'
C one octave higher

12 1 - MiddleC

Remember, you can play any of 256 n otes for th e note variable. The
following chart gives th e number values for different notes in our western
musical scale. You might want to make up some chords of your own before
going on to the n ext section.
 C# I ID# F# G# A# C# D# F# G# A# C# 0# F# G# ~
A"

A II 8 C D E F C
Ifcr&L4/1/1 j![,[JJ, G JAT\,
Gl
/l /I / /l / / / I IMiddl / II f II ! r \ \ \ \ \ \ \\\\ \\\ m
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# 8 C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A'if 8 C C# D D# E F# G G# A ~
I I I I I I
I I I I
Z
Gl
(f)

I I I I I I I
~
: :: i ; I ~ j j"" I : I I iii ; i I I' I JJ
,-+-: ' , , , ' : , , , , , " " 50 " 45 42 40 37 35 33 31 29 -!
,,,,,,,r m
I ~
I '): f f f f f t~ i 1 ! ! ! iii i i ! i
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
f* ? r II!
243 230 217204193 182173 162 153144 136 128 121 11 4 108 102 96 91 85 83 76 72 68 64 60
tC
Middle
Ii
s
m
s::
m
z
-!

co
10 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

EDITING

To change a parameter in the SOUND statement , yo u 've learned to type the

line over. For example, if you have:

SO UND 0,121,10 , 10

You can change the note by typing:

SOUND 0,243, 10 , 10

But if you wa nt to change just on e par t of a statement, for example th e

note parameter, your AT ARI Computer has a special "ed iting" feature to
make it easy.
First, look on the left side of the keyboard and find the control key that
lo oks like this:

Got it?
Okay, now on th e other side of the keyboard are four keys with littl e
arrows on them. They look like this:

Now enter a SOUND statemen t like:

SOUND 0,1 2 1 ,10, 10

I
Once you've done that , hold down the co ntrol key, I CTRL with one
hand and while still holding it down , press the key with the arrow pointing
 GETTING STARTED-THE SOUND STATEMENT 11

up [lJ. When you do this, the cursor will move towards the top of the
screen.
Try to move it up until it covers the S in the SOUND statement. If the
cursor goes past the S, don't worry about it. There's another key with the
arrow pointing down [[] .
Sure enough! you just have to hold the CTRL key and press the key with
the arrow pointing down to make the cursor go the other way.
You've probably guessed by now that the other two keys G and EJ
make the cursor move back and forth across the screen. Be sure to hold the
CTRL key down when you do it , though! Now, try to move the cursor
around with these keys until it is over the 2 in the note parameter of the
SOUND statement:

SOUND 0 , ~1, 10 , 10

Once you've got that, type a 9 and press RETURN. Now you get:

SOUND 0,191,10, 10
If you do this while the SOUND statement is playing, the note will
change. You can practice this editing feature and also explore the sounds
made by different values for the parameters of the SOUND statement, as
demonstrated below.
This kind of editing takes a while to get the hang of, so don't be too
discouraged if everything didn 't work for you the first time you tried it.
If you do have problems , it might help to just practice moving the cursor
around first and then use it to change the parameters in a SOUND state-
ment.

Exploring SOUND Parameters

Once you've gotten the idea of editing by moving the cursor around, try this
experiment.
First enter:

SOUND 0 , 121,10 , 10
SOUND 1,96, 10, 10
SOUND 2,81,10,10
SOUND 3,60, 10 , 10

Now while the chord is playing, move the cursor up and change any
parameter in any SOUND statement y{)U want. As soon as you change a
number and press RETURN , a new sound will occur.
12 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

For examp le, put th e cursor over th e 9 in the note parameter for voice 1
and change it to 2. Or change th e ton e parame ter to 6 in voi ce 3 , and so on .
Have fun exploring!
In this chapter you 've learn ed to make so me different so unds with your
Atari computer. In th e next chapter yo u w ill lea rn some graphics com-
m ands that wi ll a ll ow yo u to draw fi gures and put co lors on th e screen.

Self-Test

Complete the follo wing Self-Tes t to see what yo u alread y ca n do with your
computer.
1. Using th e note chart in Figure 1 on page g , see if yo u can pl ay the
note C# above midd le C in th e follo wing SOUND s tatement:

I
SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10

2. Now play th e hi gh est A that yo u can play.

3. Now playa very qu iet note with the lo udn ess param eter.
4. Now playa loud note .
5. The notes of a G major chord are G-B- D. See if yo u can enter three
SOUND statements to p lay th e notes of this c hord.

Answers

1. SOUND 0,114 ,10 ,10

2. SOUND 0,35, 10 ,10
3. Somethin g like:

SOUND 0,12 1 , 10 , 2 _ . - - -

4. Something like:

SOUND 0 , 12 1 , 10,15

5. You can use an y of the va lu es for the notes G-B- D in the note chart.
Yo u need to use three different vo ices .
Example:
G SOUND 0,81 , 10, 10
D SOUND 1 , 108 , 10 , 10

B SO UND 2,64, 10, 10

 CHAPTER TWO

Picture Yourself
Doing Graphics

To create graphics with your ATARI Computer, use a graphics mode .

Several graphics modes allow yo u to do various things. A good one to start
with is graphics mode 3.

GRAPHICS MODE 3

The command you need to enter graphics mode 3 is:

GRA PHIC S 3

or
GR. 3 - . - - - - -

If you use the short version, be sure to include the period. When you type
this graphics command and press the RETURN key, the screen changes to
look like this:

Blank
screen

I ~EADY

13
14 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

The area at the bottom of the screen with the word READY and th e cursor
is called the text window. It displays written information (text).
Use the rest of the screen for creating graphics. To do this, you tell the
machine to use a color-even if your TV is bla ck and white .
Type:

COLOR 1

and press RETURN .

Be sure NOT to press the SYSTEM RESET key after eac h co mmand or
you'll have to start over. When yo u ENTER this co mm and (by typing it and
pressing RETURN) , you'll see w hat you've typed displa ye d in th e text
window, along with READY and th e cursor. The machine is waiting for
another command.

Plotting a Point
Let's plot a point. The PLOT cOll1lfa nd looks like this:

PLOT 10 .5

Try entering PLOT 10,5 an d see what happe ns . You should end up with a
screen that looks like this:

Hi . I'm
PLOT 10,5.

I PLOT 10,5
RE A DY

•
This dot should be orange. Adjust the co lor on yo ur TV until the dot is
orange.
Do yo u see a little sq uare on th e screen?
 PICTURE YOURSELF DOING GRAPHI CS 15

By now you may be saying to yourself, "That's great, but what does .. .

PLOT 10,5

reall y mean?"
Well ...
When you ENTER a graphics mod e, th e computer div ides the screen into
a number of columns and rows , something like this:

CO L UMNS

o 1 2 3 ••• 39

o
1
2
3
(/)
so
a:

20

[P[WU TI w~ ~
/
Column " Row

The first number in the PLOT statement te lls the computer in which
column to plot the point. The second n umber te lls it in w h ich row to p lot
the point. You 've told the ma chin e to plot a point in colu mn 10 , row 5.
Graphics mode 3 has 40 co lumns (numbered 0 through 39) and 20 rows
(nu mbered 0 through 19).
In graphics mode 3 (GRAPHICS 3 or GR. 3):

Columns (0-39)
Rows (0- 19)
16 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Okay, now plot these points:

PLOT 0,0
PLOT 39,0
PLOT 39, 19
PLOT 0,19

39,0

• •

0,19 ULOT 0,19

READY
• 1 39,19

Now type:

COLOR 2

and then:

PLOT 1,0

You should get a li ght green dot in the upp er left corner now :

- •

READY
• 1
 PICTURE YOURSELF DOING GRAPHICS 17

See if you can plot another po int using:

COLOR 3

It will be dark blue.

Now typ e:

COLOR 0
and press RETURN .
Then typ e:

PLOT 39 , 0

The dot in the upper right corner disapp ea rs:

ULOT 39 , 0
READY
• J

COLOR'" plots a point in the sa me color as th e background screen, so you

can use it to erase a point you 've alread y plotted.
18 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Colors

The following chart shows the d ifferent co lors for plot points en th e screen
in graphics mode 3 u sing values of 0 through 3 for the COLOR command:

COLOR 0- Background Screen

COLOR I - Orange
COLOR 2-Light Green
COLOR 3-D ark Blue

In Chapter 7 you 'Ul earn to put several more co lors on the screen as you
learn to use the SETCOLOR command.
Try plotting a few m ore points on yo ur own to get the id ea. Then press the
SYSTEM RESET key to clear the screen.

Drawing a Line
Another GRAPHICS command! Use ORA WTO to draw lines. Before you
us e this command, you must plot a po int.
Do the followin g very carefull y.
First typ e:

GRAPHICS 3 and press RETURN

Now type:

COLOR 1 and press RETURN

Then , plot a point by typing:

PLOT 10,5 (You got it! Press RETURN)

Now you get to draw a line. Let's say you want to draw the line over to
column 30 , row 5. Yo u u se a

ORA WTO statement

to draw a line from a point yo u've just plotted to another point on the
screen.
To do thi s, ju st type:
Last time.
From now on,
DRAWTO 30 .5 we won't rem ind
you to press
R ETU RN to enter
a command .
 PICTURE YOURSELF DOING GRAPHICS 19

Be sure to type DRA WTO as one word or the computer won't understand.
(Try DRAW TO and dravv an ERROR message).
When you type this command and press RETURN, you' ll get a screen
display that looks like this:

Orange

I DRAWTO
READY
35. 5

•
The computer draws a li ne from column 10 , row 5 to column 30 , row 5.

Staircase
Horizontal and vertical lines wi ll be straight , but lines drawn at an angle
will have a staircase effect in graph ics mode 3. To see this staircase effect,
push the SYSTEM RESET key to start over again.
Now ENTER:

GR.3

and then:

CO LOR 2

then:

PLOT !C,!C
and finally:

DRAWTO 39 , 19
20 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

If you entered everything co rrectl y, yo u should get this on the screen :

... ...........................

IDRAWTO
READY
39,19

The text window will show the las t comm and you 've typed , the word
READY, and the cursor.

Drawing a Figure
Let's draw a n ew figur e on the screen. First clear the screen by pressing
SYSTEM RESET.
Now type:

GRAPHICS 3

then:

COLOR 1

and:

PLOT 10,8

Now add the follo w ing DRA WTO com ma nds:

DRAWTO 20,8
DRAWTO 10 , 18
DRAWTO 15 ,3
DRAW TO 20,18
DRAWTO 10 ,8

By the time yo u fini sh , yo u should have a figure that looks like thi s:
 PICTURE YOURSELF DOING GRAPH ICS 21

IDR A WTO 10.8

RE A DY
•
Changing the Line Colors
You can draw different colored lines in the sam e way you plotted different
colored points. If yo u still have th e figure on th e screen, typ e:

COLOR 2

and press RETURN.

Then typ e:

DRAWTO 20,8

The ho ri zo ntal line 'w ill turn :

I DRAWT
RE A D Y
O 20. 8

•
22 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Can you color th e n ext lin e dark blue ? Hint: COLOR 3 is clark blue.
Try experimenting a bit on your own to get a feeling for PLOT statements
and DRA WTO statements.

GRAPHICS MODE 4

Okay, let's have a look at another graphics mode . Graphics mod e 4 fills the
screen with 80 columns and 40 rows numbered as follows:

Columns (0- 79)

Rows (0-39)

o 1 2 3 ••• 79

o
1
2
3

39

To fill the same amount of screen s pace with twi ce as many columns and
rows , the computer must plot sma ller points.
To see this, ENTER:

GR.4

then:

COLOR 1

and then:

PLOT 10, 8

Now, you should see a mu ch small er dot on the screen than you saw
using graphics mod e 3.
 PICTURE YOURSELF DOING GRAPHICS 23

ENTER the same DRA WTO commands you used for the figure in
graphics mode 3. You should end up with the same fi gure, but it will be
smaller and will be lo ca ted in the upper left on the screen.

I DRAWTO 10,8
READY
•

GRAPHICS MODE 6

Now let's try graphics mod e 6, vv hi ch has even more co lumns and rows,
and plots even sma ller dots.
First press the SYSTEM RESET, and then ENTER:

GR.6

and then:

COLOR 1

Now ENTER:

PLOT 50,30

Pretty small dots this time!!

Now witho ut pressing SYSTEM RESET, let 's ad d some more commands.
First ENTER:

DRAWTO 80, 15
24 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

then:

DRAWTO 110 ,30

and finally:

DRAWTO 50,30

Be sure to press RETURN after each new statement you type. What did
you get? Did you get a triangle? If you did, that's grea t! If you didn't, try it
again and see what happens.
Before you clear the screen , try adding:

DRAWTO 80,45
DRAWTO 110 ,30
DRAWTO 80,55
DRAWTO 80,5
DRAWTO 50,30

Did you get a figure like this ?

I DRAWTO 50, 30
READY
•
The following chart shows the numb er of co lumns and rows in several
different graphics mod es available in AT ARI BASIC.

Mocle Number of Graphi c Positioll s Tex t

Number Column s Row s W ind ow

3 40 20 4 I nes
4,5 80 40 4 Illes
6,7 158 80 4 Illes
 PICTURE YOURS ELF DOING GRAPHICS 25

Although some graphics mod es have the same numb er of co lumns and
rows , th e colors th ey are able to make are different. These differenc es
dep end upon some other commands which yo u hav e not yet learned.
In Chapter 7 you w ill learn about the SETCOLOR command which
enab les you to create a variety of co lors for the figure, the background
screen , and the text w indow.

Self-Test

1. What does the PLOT statement tell the co mputer to do?

2. Plot a point in co lumn 12 , row Hi of graphics mod e 4 .
3. Novv draw a li n e from that poi nt to co lumn 1 2, row 30.
4. Which graphi cs mod e provides the largest number of positions for
plotting points?
5. What COLOR co mmand w ill erase a dot by co loring it the same as the
background screen?
6. What statement wou ld yo u enter to co mpl ete a square after en tering
the fo llowing s ta tements :

GRAP HIC S 7
COLOR 2
PLOT 35 , W
DRAW TO 55 , 10'
DRAWTO 55,30'
DRAWTO 35, W

Answers

1. It tells the computer to pl ot a point in a s pec ific column and row .

2. ENTER the following co mm ands and press RETURN after each lin e:

GR.4
COLOR 1
PLOT 12, 10'

3. Add this comma nd:

DRAWTO 12 ,3 0'

4. Graphics mod es 6 and 7.

5. COLOR 0'
6. DRAWTO 35,5
26 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Challenges

1. Draw two separate triangles on the screen in grap hics mode 6.

2. Draw the last figure in this chapter but make each line a different
color.
3. Draw "Please Note" on the screen.
 CHAPTER THREE

A Graphics Program

DIRECT COMMANDS vs PROGRAMS

The instructions you've been giving the computer are called direct com-
mands. This simply means the machine exec utes the command right away
or "directly." The computer do esn't remember direct commands, so if you
want it to do the same thing again, you have to type the instruction again.
Frequently, you will want to give the machine an instruction it can
remember and use later. A set of this kind of instructions is called a
program.
To make sure your computer doesn 't already have some information in
its memory , there are a few things to do whenever starting a new program.

First, press the SYSTEM RESET key .

Now type the word NEW and press RETURN.

You 're ready to start your program . To write a program, use the same
commands you've learned so far. But now, you give each command a line
number as you type it.
For example, you would write a graphics program to plot a point like this :
First type:

l~ GR. 3
\'------
and press RETURN . What happ ens?
"Nothing happen ed," you say.
Actually, something has happ ened . The machine has remembered the
instruction.
Now type:

2~ COLOR 1

27
28 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPH ICS

Next type:

30 PLOT 10 . 5
And finally:

40 END

Always press th e RETURN key after yo u type each lin e of a program. In

this way the command indicated in that line is entered into the computer's
memory.
Remember, if you make a mistake in typ ing, you can use your editing
keys to correct it.

LISTING A PROGRAM

If you've type d each command correctly and pressed RETURN after eac h
command, there should be a program in the computer's memory. Let's
make sure it's all there:
First press SYSTEM RESET.
Then type:

LIST

and press RETURN .

You should get this on th e screen:

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 10 .5
40 END
Make sure your listing is th e sa me as this.

RUNNING A PROGRAM

So how do you make it work?

Just type:

RUN

and press RETURN.

 A GRAPH ICS PROGRAM 29

When you RUN the program, the comp uter plots the point for you .

Remember what happened wh en you were using direct commands?

Every time you pressed the SYSTEM RESET key, you had to type the
instructions to plot a point or make a sound from the beginning again. But
the computer remembers a program, so you can RUN it again. To see this
happen, first press SYSTEM RESET.
Now type:

RUN

And press RETURN.

Your program RUNs again!
So ... once a program is in the computer's memory, it can be RUN over and
over until you erase it by typing NEW and pressing RETURN.
Turning the machine off will also erase a program from its memory.

ADDING TO A PROGRAM

You might have wondered , "Does the computer only understand line
numbers in multiples of 10 (that is 10,20,30 .... )?"
The answer is no. However, it 's a good idea to leave some space between
commands in case you want to add more instructions later.
Suppose, for example, you want to plot another point before the end of
the program . First, you'll want to have a look at your program again.
30 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

To do this , press SYSTEM RESET and then type :

LIST

Now when you press RETURN, your program is shown on the screen
again.

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 10 ,5
40 END

Okay, now try adding:

35 PLOT 14 ,4 --_ __

and press RETURN.

If you LIST the program again (by typing LIST and pressing RETURN),
you'll see that the computer, being the orderly machine that it is, has put
line 35 in sequence between 30 and 40.

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 10 ,5
35 PLOT 14,4
40 END

When you RUN this program (by typing RUN and pressing RETURN),
you get two dots.

• •

I ~EADY
 A GRAPHICS PROGRAM 31

You might decide you want the computer to draw a verticle line before
plotting 14, 4. Easy enough , just add another line, something like:

32 DRAWTO 10 , 10

When you type the RUN command and press RETURN to execute this
program, it will look like this:

•
I
I ~EADY

Care to RUN it again? Give it a try!

Now press SYSTEM RESET to clear the screen and use the LIST com-
mand to have a look at your program. Your listing should read like this:

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 10,5
32 DRAWTO 10, 10
35 PLOT 14,4
40 END

When you RUN a program, the computer will execute each line of the
program in sequence. By leaving some space in the original line numbers,
you can add instructions to this sequence as you go along.

CHANGE COLORS

Let's make the dot light green. Just add:

34 COLOR 2
32 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

LIST the program again. It should be:

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 10,5
32 DRAWTO 10, 10 _____
34 COLOR 2 - - - - - -
35 PLOT 14,4
40 END
Try adding another color (0-3 ) and a few DRAWTO statements of your
own between lines 35 and 40 .

REM STATEMENTS

As programs begin to get longer and more involved , you'll need ways to
keep track of what you are doing. A us eful tool for marking different parts of
a program is the REM statement. The REM statement does not affect how
the program runs. To see this , ENTER the following short program and then
RUN it. ,
10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 5,5
110 DRAWTO 30 , 5

You should get an orange line on the screen like this:

I ~EADY
 A GRAPHICS PROGRAM 33

Now LIST the program. It should be:

10 GRAPHICS 3
2(.1 COLOR 1
3(.1 PLOT 5,5
11(.1 DRAWTO 3(.1,5

Now add this REM statement:

10(.1 REM ** ORANGE LINE

Now RUN the program again. It should work exactly as it did before .
We're going to add more lines to draw a figure , so let's put another REM
statement in the program to m ark the starting point of the drawing.

25 REM ** STARTING POINT

The listing now looks like this:

10 GRAPHICS 3 REM statements

make the program
2(.1 COLOR 1 more understandable
25 REM ** STARTING POINT to people. The
computer ign ores
3(.1 PLOT 5,5 R EM statements.
10(.1 REM ** ORANGE LINE
11(.1 DRAWTO 3(.1,5

But it still runs the same. Try it and see.

BUILDING BLOCKS

It is very helpful to build programs in "blocks " with REM statements to

explain different parts of the program . That's why we skipped to line 100
for :

1 (.1(.1 REM ** ORANGE LINE

110 DRAWTO 3(.1,5

Let 's add another block with a blue line . ENTER these lines:

2(.1(.1 REM ** BLUE LINE

21(.1 COLOR 3
22(.1 DRAWTO 5,15
34 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Make sure this is what you have for a complete listing:

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
25 REM ** STARTING POINT
30 PLOT 5,5
100 REM ** ORANGE LINE
110 DRAWTO 30,5
200 REM ** BLUE LINE
210 COLOR 3
220 DRAWTO 5, 15

Then RUN the program and this should appear on the screen:

Now, ad d th e following blocks to the program:

300 REM ** GR EEN LINE

310 COLOR 2
320 DRAWTO 30,15
400 REM ** BLUE LINE
410 COLOR 3
420 DRAWTO 5,5
500 REM ** THAT 1 S ALL FOLKS
510 END
 A GRAPHICS PROGRAM 35

The program should now look like thi s when you RUN it :

'......
•• ••.
,. .,
READY
•
36 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Here's the complete listing:

10' GRAPHICS 3
20' COLOR 1
25 REM ** STARTING POINT
30' PLOT 5,5

10'0' REM ** ORANGE LINE

110' DRAWTO 30',5

20'0' REM ** BLUE LINE

210' COLOR 3
220' DRAWTO 5,15

30'0' REM ** GREEN LINE

310' COLOR 2
320' DRAWTO 30',15

40'0' REM ** BLUE LINE

410' COLOR 3
420' DRAWTO 5,5

50'0' REM ** THAT'S ALL FOLKS

510' END

Try to add some different colored lines of your own.

DRAW A CUBE

We're going to give you a program listing to draw a cube on the screen.
ENTER each block of the program and occasionally RUN it before you enter
the next block. For example, RUN it after line 240 and then after line 350,
and so on. Save the listing for the exercises that follow .
 A GRAPHICS PROGRAM 37

Here's the listing:

1 REM * * * COLOR CUBE

10' GRAPHICS 5
20 COLOR 1

100 REM ** STARTING POINT

110 PLOT 20, 15

200 REM ** TOP OF CUBE

210 DRAWTO 30,10
220 DRAWTO 40, 15
230 DRAWTO 30 , 20
240 DRAWTO 20, 15

300 REM ** THE SIDES

310 COLOR 2
320 DRAWTO 20,25
330 DRAWTO 30,30
340 DRAWTO 40,25
350 DRAWTO 40, 15

400 REM ** FRONT LINE

410' PLOT 30 , 20
420 DRAWTO 30,30

500 END

Here's what happens . First you get:

<>
I~EADY
38 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

And then you get:

READY
•

And finally:

I~EAD Y
 A GRAPHICS PROGRAM 3~1
- - - - --- -----_._- - - - - - - - - -

In Chapter 7 you will learn to use a much greater variety of colors for both
the figures you draw and the background screen. This is done with the
SETCOLOR command , but you need to learn a few more programming
tools to easily understand this command.
In the next chapter you will learn to combine sound and graphics.

Self-Test

1. What do you call a set of instructions (with line numbers) that tells the
computer what you want it to do?
2. How would you store this command in the computer's memory?

GRAPHICS 3

3. Why do you use line numbers like 10, 20, 30 instead of 1, 2, 3?

4. Will the "Color Cube" program run differently if you take out line
200?
5. Why won't the "Color Cube" program run using graphics mode 3?

Answers

1. A program
2. Give it a line number and press RETURN. For example:

20 GRAPHICS 3

3. To leave space to add more lines later

4. No. REM statements don 't change the way a program runs .
5. Because graphics mode 3 has columns 0 through 39 and rows 0
through 19, and the dimensions of the cube go beyond that.

Challenges

1. Run the "Color Cube" program in graphics mode 7.

2. Plot some more points.
3. Add some DRAWTO statements.
4. See if you can write a program that will draw the figure at the end of
Chapter 2.
 CHAPTER FOUR

Sound And Graphics

Together

So far you have learned to make some sounds and also to create some
graphics with your AT ARI Computer. In this chapter you will learn to make
sound and graphics together. You will also learn an easy way to make the
computer playa melody with READ and DATA statements.
Let's start with a graphics program using some of the things you learned
in the last chapter:

1 REM *** SOUND AND COLOR

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 10,10
when you ENTER this correctly and RUN it, the machine plots a point in
column 10, row 10.

I ~EADY

40
 SOUND AND GRAPHICS TOGETHER 41
- - - - - - -- - -- _._ - - - - -_ .. .. _- . .... ---..- . ..-

To add a SOUND statement , press SYSTEM RESET , th en LIST the prog-

ram . Novv add:

200 REM ** VOICE 0 PLAYS MIDDLE C

210 SOUND 0 , 121 , 10,10

When you RUN the program , you don 't hear the voice! What happened?
Well, the machine executed lin e 210 so fas t yo u didn't h ear the note
played. It then finish ed the program and printed READY in the text win -
dow. To stay in the program , the machine must be given a command like
thi s :

300 REM ** VOICE STAYS ON

310 GO TO 210 310 GOTO 210

The listing of th e pro gram now looks like this:

1 REM H* SOUND AND GRAPHI CS

10 GRAPHICS 3
\
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 10 , 15

200 REM ** VOICE 0 PLAY S MIDDLE C

210 SOUND 0,121,10,10

Opliona l_ 300 REM ** VOICE STAYS ON

310 GO TO 210

Now wh en yo u RUN th e program. it puts a dot on th e sc ree n and you hear

a continuous single ton e, th e not e middl e C. [You don 't hav e to include th e
REM statements. Th e progra m vv ill RUN th e sa m e w ithout them.)
When th e m achine gets to lin e 310. th e GOTO stat em ent tells it to go back
to lin e 210 and play the note aga in. It keeps doing this [thus forming a
" loop") until you press th e SYSTEM RESET key to stop the RUN .
The ma chin e executes th e loop in lin es 210 and 310 so fast that you hear
it as a singl e ton e, even thou gh it 's ac tuall y playing th e note over and over.

- - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - _._- - - - ---- - --- _. _--

42 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

FOR-NEXT LOOPS

Instead of h aving voice 0 stay on , suppose you want to have it play for a
while and then turn it off.
Since the computer does things so fas t, it is sometimes necessary to tell it
to pause before going on.
You do this by telling it to coun t to itself for a vvhi/e. Th e machine counts
by using a:

FOR-NEXT lo op

You want the computer to pause after it plays the note , so put the
FOR-NEXT loop after line 210.
It will look like this:

300 REM ** PAUSE-NOTE ON

310 FOR P= 1 TO 500
320 NEXT P

When yo u ENTER these lines (by typing each one an d pressing RE-
TURN), th ey will replace th e previous lines 300 and 310. The FOR-NEXT
loop in lines 310 and 320 is now telling the computer to count to 500.
Your complete program listing now looks like this:

1 REM * * * SO UND AND COLOR

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 10, 10

200 REM ** VOICE 0 PLAYS MIDDLE C

210 SOUND 0,121,10,10

300 REM ** PAUSE-NOTE ON

310 FOR P= 1 TO 500
320 NEXT P

The spaces make it easier for yo u to read the program. They won't show
up that way in your listing.
 SOUND AND GR,A.PHICS TOGETHER 43

Now RUN the program. Th e dot s hould appea r on th e screen. The note
plays for a while and th en turn s off. When the note stops pl ay ing, the word
READY appears again in the tex t w indow.

Th e note stays on for as lon g as it takes the machin e to count to 500 in

lines 310 and 320. Not long, is it?
Let's try changing th e amount of tim e it paus es to ma ke th e note stay on a
littl e longer.
First , change line 310 to:

3110 FOR P= 1 TO 1101010

'-----
To do this just type the n ew line 310 and press RETURN .
Now when you RUN the program, it shou ld put the dot on the screen and
then play the note for a longer time.
Try changing line 310 to play some very fast notes and then some much
longer ones . Then change it back to:

3110 FOR P= 1 TO 51010

44 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

The complete listing is back to:

1 REM * * * SOUND AND COLOR

10' GRAPHICS 3
20' COLOR 1
30' PLOT 10', 10'

20'0' REM ** VOICE 0' PLAYS MIDDLE C

210' SOUND 0',121,10',10'

30'0' REM ** PAUSE-NOTE ON

310' FOR P=l TO 50'0'
320' NEXT P

Erase the Dot

Let's add a few new ILnes to the program to erase the dot:

40'0' REM ** ERASE DOT

410' COLOR 0'
420' PLOT 10' , 10'

The value of 0 in the COLOR command in line 410 tells the computer to
plot a point the same co lor as the background screen. If we tell it to plot a
dot with COLOR 0 in a place where another dot already exists, it will erase
the dot that's there,
When yo u RUN thi s program, it puts the dot on the screen while it is
playing the note, then erases the dot as the note stops playing.
RUN it again to make sure you rea lly saw and heard what you thought
you saw and heard!
 SOUND AND GRAPHICS TOGETHER 45

Here's what ought to be happenin g:

Wh il e the no t e
is playi ng: •

When t he note
stops:

READY

The word READ Y and the cursor appear in the text window when the
program ends .
46 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Now the comple te listin g should look like this:

1 REM * * -1(. SOUND AND COLOR

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 10 , 10

200 REM ** VOICE 0 PLAYS MIDDLE C

210 SOUND 0 , 121, 10 , 10

300 REM ** PAUSE-NOTE ON

310 FOR P = l TO 500
320 NEXT P

400 REM ** ERASE DOT

410 COLOR 0
420 PLOT 10 , 10

INPUT STATEMENTS

What if you want to change the note this program plays without typing line
210 over again? You can do this by using an INPUT statement.
Here 's how it works.
First change line 210 to:

210 SOUND 0, N , 10 , 10
\

Now add an INPUT statement like this:

100 REM ** CHOO SE YOUR NOTE

120 INPUT N

The INPUT statement must come befo re th e SOUND statement where the
N occurs here. We purpose ly skipped line 110 here beca use we 're going to
add a line there soon. You'll see!
 SOUND AND GRAP HICS TOGETHER 47

Here's the listing now:

1 REM *** SOUND AND COLOR

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PL OT 10, 10

100 REM ** CHOOSE YOUR NO T E

120 INPUT N
200 REM * * VO I CE 0 PLAYS MIDDLE C
210 SOUND 0, N , 10,10
300 REM ** PAUSE- NOTE ON
310 FOR P=l TO 500
320 NEXT P

400 REM ** ERASE DOT

410 CO L OR 0
420 PLOT 10, 10
Now when you RUN the program, here 's what happens. You get this with
no sound:

The machine is waiting for you to ENTER a note value.

Try typing 60 and press RETURN.
It plays the note!
You have to type RUN and press RETURN to start again.
48 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Let's make some improvements.

First add a SOUND statement to turn off voice (i) after it plays:

5~~ REM ** VOICE ~ OFF

51~ SOUND ~,~,~,~,

Now add:

8~~ GOTO 12~

Now RUN it.

This time, when you ENTER a note value it plays the note and then prints
another question mark.
To hear anoth er note, just type another note value and press RETURN.
You don't have to RUN the program aga in .
Here's the listing:

1 REM *** SOUND AND COLOR

l~ GRAPHICS 3
2~ COLOR 1
3~ PLOT l~, l~

l~~ REM ** CHOOSE YOUR NOTE

12~ INPUT N

2~~ ** VOICE ~ PLAYS MIDDLE C

21~SOUND~, N,10,10

3~~ REM ** PAUSE-NOTE ON

31~ FOR P=l TO 5~~
32~ NEXT P

4~~ REM ** ERASE DOT

41~ COLOR ~
42~ PLOT l~, 10

5~~ REM ** VOICE ~ OFF

51~ SOUND ~,~,~,~
8~~ GOTO 12~
 SOUND AND GRAPH ICS TOGETHER 49

Input Duration
You can u se an INPUT statement for the length of th e pause in line 310 like
this:
Change line 310 to:

310 FOR P = l TO Z

Then add :

150 REM ** DURATION

170 INPUT Z

What happens when yo u RU N it now?

First you get:

Then when you ENTER another no te value, you get anoth er question
mark.
Type a number for duration and press RETURN. Now it plays the note !
50 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

The complete listing now looks like this:

1 REM * ** SOUND AND COLOR

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 10 , 10

100 REM ** CHOOSE YOUR NOTE

120 INPUT N

150 REM ** DURATION

170 INPUT Z

200 REM ** VOICE 0 PLAYS MIDDLE C

210 SOUND 0 , N, 10 , 10

300 REM ** PAUSE-NOTE ON

310 FOR P=l TO Z
320 NEXT P

400 REM * * ERASE DOT

410 COLOR 0
420 PLOT 10 , 10

500 REM ** VOICE 0 OFF

510 SOUND 0 , 0 , 0 , 0
800 GOTO 120

PRINT STATEMENTS

The computer can print instructions in th e tex t window to make things

clearer. To do this , use a PRINT statement.
For example, add:

110 PRINT "CHOOSE YOUR NOTE"

and:

160 PRINT "HOW LON G DOES IT PLAY"

170 INPUT Z

Finally , chan ge line 800 to:

800 GOTO 110

 SOUND AND GRAPHICS TOGETHER 51

Now when you RUN it yo u get:

I ~~TE VALUE

And then:

NOTE VALUE
121
HOW LONG DOES IT PLAY
?

Then it plays your note and asks for another one, and so on .
52 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Here 's the complete listing now.

1 REM ** * SOUND AND COLOR

10 GRAPHICS 3
20 COLOR 1
30 PLOT 10, 10

100 REM ** CHOOSE YOUR NOTE

120 INPUT N
150 REM ** DURATION
160 PRINT "HOW LONG DOES IT PLAY"
170 INPUT Z

200 REM ** VOICE °

PLAY S MIDDLE C
210 SOUND 0,N , 10, 10

300 REM * * PAUSE-NOTE ON

310 FOR P = 1 TO Z
320 NEXT P
,
400 REM
410 COLOR
**

420 PLOT 10, 10

°
ERASE DOT

500 REM * * VOICE 0 OFF

510 SOUND 0 , O, O, O
800 GOTO 120

Before you start the exe rcises, Y OLl mi ght like to know about another
convenient point of gramm ar in AT ARI BASIC.

Multiple-Line Statements
AT ARI BASIC allows you to combine two or more commands on one line of
a program. To do this , you must separate the commands with a colon (:).
For example, a COLOR command and a graphics mode 3 command might
be combined as follows:

110 GRAPHIC S 3 : COLOR 2

instead of:

110 GRAPHIC S 3
120 COLOR 2
 SOUND AND GRAPHICS TOGETHER 53

Some programmers us e multiple-line statements to put a REM statement

on the same line as the command it describes.

120 INPUT N: REM ** CHOOSE YOUR NOTE

You actually won 't see too m any uses of multipl e- line statements in this
book because we want to list the programs in a way th a t is easy for you to
read . We wanted you to know about this co ncept though, so yo u can use it if
you wish .

READ AND DATA STATEMENTS

To play an entire melo dy, yo u can enter a SOUND statement for each note,
but there are easier ways to do it.
One way is to use READ and DATA statements together. This allows you
to ENTER several note values as DATA an d have the compu ter READ them
into the SOUND statement.
Type NEW and press RETURN to clear the last program from the compu-
ter 's memory. Now ENTER this program which plays ten notes:

1 REM ** YOUR OWN SON G

100 REM ** READS THE NOTE

110 READ N

200 REM ** PLAYS NOTE

210 SOUND 0 , N, 10 , 10
This line /
300 REM PAUSE
READS 310 FOR P = l TO 100
This Da ta
320 NEXT P

400 REM ** NEXT NOTE

410 GO TO 110

500 REM ** THE NOTE VALUES

510 DATA 121,81,96,60,64
520 DATA 35,45,64,108,121
54 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

RUN it and you'll hear your AT ARI Computer playa melody .

When it gets finished , you'll get an ERROR message:

ERROR- 6 AT LINE 110

This doesn't mean there is anything wrong; it just means the computer
can't find any more DATA to READ .
Here's how this program works. In lines 510 and 520 you've entered note
values from the chart on page 9 as DATA.
When the program RUNs, the READ statement in line 110 tells the
computer to READ the first note value from the DATA statement. That
value is 121. It plays that note in line 210.
When it gets to line 410, the machine goes back to line 110, and this time
it READs the second value for N (which is 81) in the DATA statement and
then plays it. It does this until it has read all the DATA.
We've used just ten notes here , but you can use as many as you want. You
can put more than five numbers per line in a DATA statement, but it's
easier to see what you're doing if you put only a few numbers on each line .
How about some dots with this one? Just add lines:

250 REM ** PLOT SOME POINTS

260 GR . 5
270 COLOR 2
280 PLOT N/2, 25

Graphics mode 5 has 80 columns and 80 rows. Since none of the values
for N in the DATA statement are more than 160, we can di vide N by 2 and
use that value for the column in a PLOT statement (line 280), if we use
graphics mode 5. All of the dots will be plotted in row 10
In this program, the machine enters the graphics mode each time it goes
through the loop . When it does this, it erases what it had plotted on the
screen before. That's why each dot disappears before the next one appears.
 SOUND AND GRAPHICS TOGETHER 55

Now the complete listing is:

1 REM ** "Y OUR OWN SONG

10'0' REM * * READ S THE NOTE

110' READ N

20'0' REM ** PLAYS THE NOTE

2 10' SO UND 0', N, 10' , 10'
250' REM ** PLOT SOME POINTS
260' GRAPHICS 5
270' COLOR 2
280' PLOT N/2, 10'

30'0' REM ** PAUSE

3 10' FOR P= 1 TO 10'0'
320' NEXT P

40'0' REM ** NEXT NOTE

410' GOTO 11 0'

50'0' REM ** THE NOTE VA LUES

510' DATA 1 2 1 ,8 1 ,96,60',64
520' DATA 35,45,64, 10'8, 121

Well, by now yo u 're ready to play so me tunes of your own, so go to it!

Keep the program for the Self-Test that fo ll ows .

Self-Test

1. Wha t do yo u need in li ne 310 to make th e note stay on?

210' SOUND 0',121,10' , 10'

30'0' REM ** SOUND STAY S ON
310'--- - - - - - - -- - - -

2. How do yo u make the computer count to itself in AT ARI BASIC?

3. Wi ll this be a fast or a slow note?

110' SOUND 0',121,10' , 10'

2 10' FOR P=l TO 10'
220' NEXT P

4. What value for COLOR do yo u use in lin e 410 to erase the dot?
56 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

5. What statement is used to enter information while a program is

running?
6. Why won 't this program work to INPUT notes?

100 REM ** CHOOSE YOUR NOTE

110 INPUT N

7. Can you INPUT more than one variable in a program?

8. If you wanted to enter several tone values in the computer's memory
and then llse them one by one in a SOUND statement, what two
statements would work together to do this?

Answers

1. 3110 GOTO 210 or 3110 GOTO 3110

2. With a FOR-NEXT loop
3. Fast
4. COLOR 0
5. An INPUT statement
6. The SOUND statement in line 210 ne eds to be:

200 SOUND 0, N, 10, 10

7. Yes, but you need an INPUT statement for each variable. For example:

110 INPUT N
120 INPUT T
210 SOUND 0,N,T,0

8. READ and DATA

Challenges

1. Write a program that lets you INPUT tone as a variable in the SOUND
statement.
2. Write a program using READ and DATA to plot some points.
 CHAPTER FIVE

Some Special Effects

with Sound

In the las t c h apter w e u se d a FOR-NEXT loop to te ll the co mpute r to count

to its e lf for a mome nt wh e n we wa nted it to pause.
The FOR-NEXT loop ca n a lso be used in other vva ys. In this c hapter we' ll
beg in to exp lore some wa ys to u se th e FOR-NEXT loop to have lh e c ompu-
ter ENTER values for differe nt notes in the SOUND s latem ent.

ENTER NOTES WITH A FOR-NEXT LOOP

Suppos e y ou want to ENTER ove ry va lu e for n ot e 0 to 255 in a SOUND

statement. Instead of doing a lo l o f ly ping, yo u can get th e machin e to
ENTER ea ch value for yo u by usin g a FOR- NEXT loop li ke thi s :

~
1 REM H·* OESCENOHJG PITCH

10'0' REM ** BEGINS LO OP

------ 110' FOR N=0 TO 255
/
Optiona l ~ 120' SO~NO 0', N, 10',10'

~ 20'0' REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VA LUE

210' NEXT N

ENTER and RUN this pr ogram to h ea r w h a t is so un ds lik e . Yo u should

hear a rapidly des ce ndin g pilc h.
As the loop begin s. N is ass igned a va lu e of 0 in li ne 110. This value is
th e n use d in th e SOUI\'D sta te m e nt in li ne 120. The n ext lime throug h the
cycle, N is given a va l u e of '1 , a nd the n ext time N is gi ve n a va lu e of 2, a nd so
on until a ll 256 not es h ave been p layed .
You ma y recall from C hap te r 1 lh a t th e lovver the numb er va lu e for the
note var iabl e, the high e r th e n ote. Tha t is, a not e va lu e of 0 is very high,
while 256 is very low . Th a t' s why th e 110te descends in pitch.
We will llse REM statements as we introduce n ew li nes to programs from

57
58 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

here on, but yo u don' t need to incl ud e them in order for the programs to
RUN properly.
Want to hear it repeat? Ju st add:

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GO TO 110

Your listing will now look like this:

1 REM *** DESCENDING PITCH

100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP

110 FOR N=0 TO 255
120 SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GOTO 110

Now when you RUN the program you hear it play the cycle just as it did
before, but when it gets to line 310 it will go back to line 110 and start the
cycle again. This continues until you press the SYSTEM RESET key to get
out of the program. Giv e it a try to hear it for yourself.

USE THE BREAK KEY AND THEN CONTINUE

There's another way to get out of a program and then back into it that will
produce an interesting result with this particular program .
First RUN the program and leave it going.
Now press th e BREAK key at the upp er right corner of the keyboard .
What happens ?
You'll get a message like this on the screen:

STOPPED AT LINE 120

Meanwhile, the sound stays on, but th e pitch stops falling and remains
constant at some single note (it might be high ; it might be low).
Now type CO NT and press RETURN.
What happens this tim e?
It goes back to a falling ton e, picking up the cycle from wherever it was
when you pressed the BREAK key . Leave the cycle going for a while again.
Now press the BREAK key again .
You'll most probably ge t 8. different note when it stops this time. This is
because when you press the BREAK key, although the machine stops
 SOME SPEC IAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 59

running the program, it leaves th e voice on with whatever note value has
just been entered in the SOUND statement. So wherever you are in the
FOR-NEXT loop when you press BREAK, that's the note you'll get.
A little more experimentation w ith this idea wi ll give you a good sense of
how the FOR-NEXT loop is working in this program.
RUN the program.
Press BREAK.
Type CONT and press RETURN.
Press BREAK.
Type CONT and press RETURN.
And so on ....

PAUSE WITHIN THE CYCLE

If you want to slow down the rate at which the cycle occ urs and thus stretch
the sound out, you can us e the FOR-NEXT loop to pause the way you
learned in the last chapter. For example, add the following lines to the
program:

150 REM ** PAUSE

160 FOR P= 1 TO 100
170 NEXT P

The complete listing should now be:

1 REM *** DESC ENDING PITCH

100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP

110 FOR N=0 TO 255
120 SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10

150 REM ** PAUSE

S lows do wn rate at { 160 FOR P = 1 TO 100
w hich th e pitch _
fa ll s 170 NEXT P

200 REM ** ASS IGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GO TO 110

RUN the program this way to h ear what it sounds like.

The pause loop here is an example of a nes ted FOR-NEXT loop; that is ,
one FOR-NEXT lo op that occurs within another. The nested loop must be
completely within the other loop. For examp le, the pause loop here must be
placed after line 110 , but befo re line 210.
._-_ .._._---- - - - - -
60 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPH ICS

This will not work:

1 REM *** DESC ENDING PITCH

Improper nes tin g 100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP

of loops "'" ~--- 110 FOR N=0 TO 25 5
\ "'" 120 SOUND 0 , N, 10 , 10

150 REM ** PAU SE

.------- 160 FOR P= 1 TO 100
L - - i - - - 16 5 NEXT N
'---- ....
' - - - - - 170 NEXT P

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

310 GOTO 110

Make sure you h ave thi s listing before goi ng on to the next section :

1 REM *** DESCENDING PITCH

g- 100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP
B ~--- 110 FOR N=0 TO 255
a;
"0 120 SOUND 0, N, 10, 10
Properl y nest ed C
loops-one w ithin
th e other _ _ g- 150 REM ** PAUSE
-;r- 160 FOR P= l TO 100
~ L-- 170 NEXT P
co
0.

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

2 10 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

3 10 GO TO 110
 SOME SPECIAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 61

Vary the Length of the Pause

If you change the length of the pause in line 160, it will create some
different effects . To explore this , you ca n use an INPUT statement that you
also learned in Chapter 4. Here 's an exa mpl e of how that might be done:

1 REM *** DESCENDING PITCH

40 PRINT "LENGTH OF PAUSE"
50 INPUT X

100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP

These lines all ow 110 FOR N=0 TO 255
you to choose / 120 SO UND 0 , N , 10, 10
length of pause ~
150 REM ** PAUSE
160 FO R P= 1 TO X
170 NEXT P

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** START S AGAIN

310 GO TO 110

Once yo u 've made th e ch anges described here, experiment a bit with

different lengt hs for the pause before go ing on to the n ext section . But keep
the program for the next sectio n .

DELETE LINES FROM THE PROGRAM

Often yo u will wish to remove or delete lin es from a program. The way to
do this with ATARI BASIC is to simpl y type th e lin e number of the line you
wish to delete and then press RETURN.
Suppose, for exampl e, yo u 'wa nted to remove the REM statement from
the following program:

100 REM ** MAKES A NOTE

110 SOUND 0,121,10 ,10

You can remove line 100 by simpl y typ ing:

And pressing RETURN .

If you still h ave th e pro gram w ith which we've been working, let 's
practice this te chniqu e a littl e.
62 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPH ICS

First, LIST your program to see if this is what you have :

1 REM *** DESCENDING PITCH

40 PRINT "LENGTH OF PAUSE"
50 INPUT X

100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP

110 FOR N=0 TO 255
120 SOUND 0 , N , 10 , 10

150 REM ** PAUSE

160 FOR P=l TO X
170 NEXT P

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GOTO 110

If you have something slightly different it 's okay because we're going to
delete several lines anyway. Let's delete some lines as follows:

* Type 40 (and press RETURN).

* Type 50 (and press RETURN).

* Type 150 (and press RETURN) .

* Type 160 (and press RETURN).

* Type 170 (and press RETURN).

You've just removed the PRINT statement , the INPUT statement, and th e
pause loop. The program shou ld now look li ke this:

1 REM *** DESCENDING PITCH

100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP

110 FOR N=0 TO 255
120 SOUND 0, N , 10 , 10

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GOTO 110
 SOME SPECIAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 63

If you hav e something different, make wh atever changes are necessary to

come up with this listing. You can delete lines as described and also use the
editing features you learned in Chapter 1 to move the cursor with the CTRL
key and the arrow keys on the upper right corner of the keyboard.
If it seems easier to just type NEW and ENTER the program from scratch,
that 's fine too . But make sure yo u have the same listing as above because
we'll use it in the next section.

PLAY A PORTION OF THE NOTE SPECTRUM

You can create a number of different sounds by playing only a portion of

the note spectrum . For example, to play only note values 0 through 10
inclusive, change line 110 of your program to:

110 FOR N=0 TO 10

This is the high end of th e spectrum, and also a short cycle, so it produces
a rapidly repeating, high-pitched sound, sort of like a bird chirping. The
complete listing should now look like this:

1 REM *** DESCENDING PITCH

100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP

Plays a portion of - - - -.. 110 FOR N=0 TO 10
the note spectrum
120 SOUND 0, N, 10, 10

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

3 10 GOTO 110

ENTER and RUN the program so you 'll hear it for yourself.
Before you look at the next program, see if you can think of a way to use
an INPUT statement to vary th e length of the sequence.
64 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Here's what we came up with.

1 REM * ** DESCENDING PITCH

40 PRINT "LENGTH OF PAUSE"

50 INPUT Z
Vary length of nole
sequ ence
----~ 100 REM * * BEGINS LOOP
110 FOR N== 0 TO Z
120 SOUND 0 , N , 10, 10

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GOTO 110

Playa Portion
from the Middle of the Spectrum
You don't ha ve to start counting with 0 in a FOR-NEXT loop , so it 's possibl e
to play a sequ enc e of notes from somewhere within the spectrum of notes.
For example, to playa sequ en ce with note values from lQi0 to 150, change
line 110 to:

110 FOR N== 100 TO 150

and then RUN the program .

To furth er explore thi s conce pt, you can INP UT a variabl e at either end of
the sequen ce something like this:

1 REM *** DESCENDING PITCH

~
20 PRINT II BE GINNING OF LOOp l1
30 INPUT A
50 INPUT Z
Vary both end s of ~
not e seque nce ~
~ 100 REM ** BEGIN S LOOP
110 FOR N== A TO Z
120 SOUND 0 , N , 10 , 10

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM * * START S AGAIN

310 GOTO 110
 SOME SPECIAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 65

We encourage you to ENTER these programs (don 't forget your editing
tools) and then give these concepts a thorough exp loration before going on.
This will give yo u many ideas to use in later programs.

COUNTING BY STEPS

Just as you might run up stairs skipping two or three steps at a time, the
computer can count in multiples of 2,5,10 , or whatever. To do this, use the
STEP function with the FOR-NEXT loop , as in line 110 of the program
below.
Rather than acting as a separate command, the STEP function becomes a
part of the FOR statement.

1 REM *** DESCENDING PITCH

100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP ____ STEP function to

110 FOR N=0 TO 255 STEP 10 ---- count by lOs
120 SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10
200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE
210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GOTO 110

ENTER and RUN this program to hear what it sounds like. Values of 0,10,
20, and so on are now being entered for note in the SOUND statement in
lin e 120. Consequently , onl y twenty-five notes are played each time
through the sequence. This makes th e loop shorter and, as you can hear,
makes a sound that your ears can hear better than our words can describe.
If you want to count by 5's, just change line 110 to:

110 FOR N=0 TO 255 STEP 5

Now make the STEP function a variable and use an INPUT statement to
explore counting at different intervals.
66 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Here 's how we did it:

1 REM *** DES CENDING PITCH

These lines are _ _ 40 PRINT "ENTER A VALUE FOR STEP"
added - - - - 50 INPUT S
STEP as a va riable
100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP ~
110 FOR N= 0 TO 255 STEP S
120 SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GOTO 110

Counting Backwards
You can also have the computer count backwards. For example, here's a
program to playa sequence starting with the lowest note (N = 255) and
going to the highest (N = 0):

1 REM *** ASCENDING PITCH

100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP

Counts backwards- 110 FOR N=255 TO 0 STEP -1
120 SOUND 0, N , 10 , 10

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GOTO 110

ENTER and RUN this program to hear the note spectrum played in
reverse. Save yourself some typing by editing out lines 40 and 50 of the
previous program and th en changing line 110.
You can also play different portions of th e spectrum in reverse just as you
did going from high pitch to low pitch. For example:
 SOME SPECIAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 67

1 REM *** ASCENDING PITCH

200 REM ** ASSI GNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

3 10 GO TO 110

You ca n also count backward s by intervals. For example :

1 REM *** ASCENDING PITCH

100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP

Co unt bac kwa rd s -----~1l0 FOR N=2 55 TO 0 STEP - 2 5
by STEPS 12 0 SOUND 0 , N , 10 , 10

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GOTO 110

ENTER and RUN this progra m to hear w hat it sounds like.

The parameters in the FOR statement in line 110 can be mad e variables
and explored with an INPUT statement just as you did when counting
forward s. For example, make the STEP function a variabl e counting back-
wards like this :

1 REM *** ASCENDING PITCH

40 PRINT "ENTER A VALUE FOR STEP"
_____ 50 INPUT S
Va ry STEP count- ~
in g bac kwa rd s _______ 100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP
110 FOR N=2 55 TO 0 STEP -S
1 20 SOUND 0 , N, 10 , 10

2 00 REM ** ASS IGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

2 10 NEXT N

300 REM ** START S AGAIN

310 GOTO 110
68 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

ENTER and RUN this program to experiment with how counting back-
wards at different intervals affects the sound.
Now see if you can change the program to use an INPUT statement to play
part of the note sp ectrum backwards. We'll give one example; you try a few
others.

1 REM *** ASCENDING PITCH

40
PRINT "END OF' LOOP"
45 PRINT "MUST BE LESS THAN 100"
/50 INPUT Z
INPUT portion of /
note spectrum 100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP
backwards ~
110 FOR N= 100 TO Z STEP -1
120 SOUND 0, N, 10, 10

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GOTO 110

Pause While Counting Backwards

Again, you can slow down the seq uen ce of notes played backwards by
adding a FOR-NEXT loop to pause like this:

1 REM *** ASCENDING PITCH

100 REM ** BEGINS LOOP

110 FOR N= 100 TO Z STEP -1
120 SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10

150 REM ** PAUSE

Add these lin es to _ _ 160 FOR P= 1 TO 100
pause -- 170 NEXT P

200 REM ** ASSIGNS NEXT NOTE VALUE

210 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GOTO 110
Remember, this is a nested loop, so be sure it is entirely within the loop
for note sequence. Now add an INPUT statemen t to the program and vary
the length of the pause in the program.
 SOME SPECIAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 69
- - -'- - " -

Back-to-Back Loops
You can get some interesting effects by having a loop with falling pitch
followed by a loop with rismg pitch, like this:

1 REM ** BIRD SOUND

100 REM ** FALLING PITCH

110 FOR N=0 TO 100
120 SOUND 0, N, 10,10
190 NEXT N

200 REM ** RISING PITCH

210 FOR N=100 TO 0 STEP-1
220 SOUND 0, N , 10,10
290 NEXT N

300 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

310 GOTO 110

When you ENTER and RUN this program, you'll get another kind of bird
sound than w h en you used a loop go ing in only one direction.
For an experiment , try making the first loop playa longer cycle of notes,
like this:

100 REM ** FALLING PITCH

110 FOR N= 0 TO 50

while the second loop plays a short cycle:

100 REM ** RISING PITCH

110 FOR N= 10 TO 0 STEP -1

ENTER these lines and RUN the program to hear the latest sound. Of
course, you can do it the other "vay around . That is, make the first loop short
and the second loop long .
There's room to add a FOR-NEXT to pause between lines 12(,) and 19(,) or
between 22(,) and 29(,), so be sure to experiment with the effects created by
doing that.
70 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

A BRIEF REVIEW

So far in this chapter you've learned to use a FOR-NEXT loop to:

• Play all or part of the note spectrum.

• Count backwards through the note range.

• Count by steps both backwards and forwards.

• Create a rising and falling pitch by using back-to-back loops .

You have also learned to us e a nested loop to pause after each note.
We suggest that you thoroughly exp lore th ese possibilities before going
on . You'll undoubtedl y discover many things we haven't thought to men-
tion.
Try to write programs using INPUT statements to explore some different
parameters. For examp le, try to INPUT different values for tone (even
numbers 0 to 14). Remember, tone is the third parameter in the SOUND
statement.
As you do this , you'll probably get some ERROR messages. Don 't be
discouraged. Every programmer, no matter how skilled, experiences this.
Sometimes you find out what th e rules of a particular language (in this case
AT ARI BASIC) are by just trying things to see if they work.
As a matter of fact , we didn 't just sit down and type in the programs you
see in this book. We got several ERROR messages before we got them the
way we wanted them.
There's an ancient Chinese proverb that goes something like:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
RIGHTEOUS PERSISTENCE BRINGS GOOD FORTUNE
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

PITCH GOES BOTH WAYS

Another way to have the computer count is shown in lines 110 and 120 of
the following program:

100 REM ** SUBTRACTION METHOD

110 FOR N = 0 TO 255

210 SOUND 0 , 255-N , 10,10

310 NEXT N

410 GO TO 110
 SOME SPECIAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 71

ENTER an d RUN this program and you 'll hear th e pitch of the sound
rising just as it wou ld if lines 110 and 210 were :

110 FOR N=25 5 TO 0 STEP -1

210 SO UND 0, N, 10,10

In the vers ion we 've used above , where th e computer subtracts the value
of N fro m 255 in the SOUND statemen t eac h tim e through the loop , h ere 's
what happ ens .
First, line 110 gives N a value of 0. Then, in th e SOUND statement in line
210 th e note va lue becomes :

255 - 0 = 255

Next tim e through the cycle, N gets a va lu e of 1. So the note value in the
SOUND statement becomes:

255 - 1 = 254

And so on through the entire loop.

This method of counti ng through th e loop backwards gives you the
opportunity to have the pitch of two vo ices go ing in opposite directions
with in one FOR-NEXT loop . Yo u us e two SOUND statemen ts to do this , as
follows:

100 REM ** PITCH GOES BOTH WAYS

110 FOR N= 0 TO 255

210 SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10
260 SOUND 1 , 2 55-N , 10 , 10

310 NEXT N

410 GO TO 110

ENTER and RUN this program to h ear the sound it creates . Line 210 is
playing note values beginning at 0 and increasing to 255, thus causing a
rising pitch . Line 260 is playing notes go ing in th e opposite direction; that
is from 255 to 0 , thu s creating a falling pitch . Figure 5-1 pictures what's
happening.
You can us e this techniqu e to have a rising and falling pitch converge
upon some note in the middl e of th e spectrum . That is, they stop rising or
falling when they get to the same n ote and continu e to play that note.
72 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPH ICS

Figure 5-1 Two Vo ices Go in g in O pposite D irec ti ons

The two vo ices pass each other
in the middle

:r~~~:I~ere ~--------- _m _____ ~m-~ ~~;~~:"

Vo ice 1 Vo ice 1
ends here ------- ----- --- -- ----- - beg ins here

o 1 2 3 ••• 253 254 255

Note va lu es

ENTER and RUN thi s program to hear a risin g and fallin g pitch co nverge
upon a single note:

1(0(0 REM ** CO NVERGING TO SINGLE NOTE

11 (0 F OR N=(O TO 125

21(0 SOUND (0, N , 1(0,1(0

26(0 SOUND 1 , 25(O-N , 1(0 , 1(0

31(0 NEXT N

41(0 GO TO 41 (0

Figure 5-2 pictures this ph enomenon.

Figure 5- 2 Two Voi ces Co nverge il nd Playa Sin gle Sustain ed Note

f----- - - - - - ---~
T he two voices
meet here

o 1 2 3 ••• 125 248 249 250

Note va lu es
 SOME SPECIAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 73

You can us e this technique playing part of the spectrum as well. You
might have something like this:

100 REM ** PITCH GOES BOTH WAYS

110 FOR N=40 TO 50

210 SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10
Plays note va lu es _ _ _._. 260 SOUND 1, 100-N , 10', 10'
from 60 to 50

310 NEXT N

410 GOTO 410

ENTER and RUN this program and then try some variations on lines 110
and 260 for yourself.

PAUSE BETWEEN THE VOICES

A short loop to pause between the two vo ices w ill give you yet anoth er
sound, but it will be most effective if yo u turn off each voice (as you learned
in Chapter 4) while the other voice is playing. The following program gives
an example of how this might be done:

100 REM ** SUBTRACTION METHOD

110 FOR N=0 TO 250

200 REM ** HIGH NOTES

210' SOUND 0, 250-N, 10 , 10
220 FOR P= 1 TO 5
230 NEXT P
240 SOUND 0,0,0,0

Causes note for / 250 REM * * LOW NOTES

each voice to be ~ 260 SOUND 0 250-N 10 10
played separa tely " ,
270 FOR P= 1 TO 5
280 NEXT P
290 SOUND 1, 0,0, 0

310 NEXT N

410 GO TO 410

As you may have guessed, there is plenty of room to explore here, by

changing the length of one or both of the pause loops in this program. Once
again, the INPUT statement can help you exp lore these possibilities. Also
74 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

try using different 'va lues for the tone parameter in th e SOUND statement
with this program. Remember , tone is eve n numb ers from!il to 14 inclusive .
We'll look at some ways to use three and four vo ices to create sound
effe cts later, bu t don 't be afraid to try programs using three or fo ur voices on
yo ur own now. You'll proba bly find plen ty of thin gs we h aven' t thought of.

ATTACK AND DECAY

Have you ever wondered what makes a piano playin g the note middl e C
sound different from a violin play in g th e same note?
Actually many fac tors contribute to th e ch aracteristic sound of a particu-
lar instrument. As a matter of fact, a very exc iting science called psycho-
acoustics studies th ese factors in detail. We won't be abl e to go very deepl y
into the nature of so und in thi s book, but we will loo k at a few ways to
"sh ape" notes with AT ARI BASIC.
Two very imp ortant factors co ntributing to the shape of a note are its
attack and its decay.

Attack
The attack of a note refers to how fas t it reach es its maximum volume. A
note with a fast a ttac k (typ ica l of the piano) w ill reac h its maximum volum e
very qui ckly. A note w ith a s low attack (typ ica l of the violin) will take
longer to reach its maximum vo lum e. This is pi ctured in Figure 5-3.
You can affect the attack of a note with AT ARI BASIC by using a
FOR-NEXT loop ,,,,ith th e loudn ess parameter of th e SOUND statement. To
explore this, first ENTER and RU N the following program:

120 SOUND 0,121,10,10

310 FOR P=0 TO 500
320 NEXT P

It briefly plays th e note middl e C as you would ex pect. Now RUN the

Figure 5-3 Slow Attack-Fast Decay

Slow Attack·Fast Decay

Time
 SOME SPECIAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 75

program a few more tim es , paying very close attention to how the sound
starts. If you type RUN and th en wait a few seconds before you press
RETURN , it will help you with this exp eriment.
Once you've done that, add the following lines to the program:

100 REM ** ATTACK L OOP

110 FOR L=0 TO 15
190 NEXT L

Also change line 120 to:

120 SOUND 0,121 , 10,L

Your program listing should now look like this :

100 REM ** ATTACK LOOP

110 FOR L = 0 TO 15
Changes attack of ~ 120 SOUND 0,121,10, L
note ~ 190 NEXT L
299 REM
310 FOR P=0 TO 500
320 NEXT P

When you ENTER and RU N this program , you' ll hear that the note
doesn't have such an abrupt beginning as it did before. This is because the
attack is much slower.
You can slow the attack of the note in this program even further by
adding a very short pause loop as follows:

150 REM ** PAUSE

160 FOR P= 1 TO 10
170 NEXT P

The program listing now looks like this:

100 REM ** ATTACK LOOP

110 FOR L = 0 TO 15
120 SOUND 0,121, 10 , L

150 REM ** PAUSE

SI ower a tt ac k
--==::::: 160 FOR P = l TO 10
170 NEXT P

190 NEXT L
299 REM
310 FOR P=0 TO 100
320 NEXT P
76 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Changes in the length of the pause in lines 160 and 170 will produce
variations in the attack of the note. It is worth exp loring. See if you can
make some changes in the program to do this with an INPUT statement:
then have a look at our program below.
Program to INPUT changes in attack of note:

20' PRINT "THE HIGHER THE NUMBER"

30' PRINT "THE SLOWER THE ATTACK"
40' PRINT "WHAT VALUE FOR ATTACK"

150' REM ** PAUSE

160' FOR P=l TO A
170' NEXT P
190' NEXT L

20'0' REM ** PLAYS NOTE A WHILE

210' FOR P= 1 TO 10'0'
220' NEXT P

Decay
The speed with which the loudness of a note falls off after reaching its
maximum loudness is call ed the decay of the note.
To affect the decay of a note , use the FOR-NEXT loop to count the
loudness parameter in reverse. For example:

30'0' REM ** DECAY LOOP

310' FOR L = 15 TO 0' STEP-1
320' SOUND 0',121 , 10 , L

390' NEXT L

ENTER and RUN this short program. It plays the note pretty fast, but
there is a slight decay on the note. Run it a few more times , and then add
this nested loop to pause within the decay loop .

350' REM ** PAUSE

360' FOR P= 1 TO 10
370' NEXT P
 SOM E SPECIAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 77
- - -- _ ._ - - - - --- - -- - ---- - --

Now yo ur comp lete list ing s hould look like th is :

300 REM ** DECAY LOOP

310 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP -1
320 SOUND 0 , 121, 10 , L

350 REM ** PAUSE

360 FOR P = 1 TO 10
370 NEXT P

390 NEXT L

This begins to give th e note a shape closer to th at of a harps ic hord. Notice

that in thi s case we are not using a loop to slav,' down the attack of the note,
so it has a fast a ttack and a s lav,' decay. This is p ictured in Figure 5-4.
It may seem like yo u are do ing a lot of programming jus t to make such
m inor changes in th e sound of a single note , bu t you' ll soon learn how to
use these loops w i th a REAO-OA T A program s imi lar to the one yo u us ed in
Chapter 4 . Whi le you sti ll ha ve th e decay loop th ough, see if yo u ca n
change th e pause loop and us e an INPUT statement to affect the decay.
Then have a look at how we did it below .
Program to INPUT d ecay as a var iable:

20 PRINT liTHE HI GHER THE NUMBER"

30 PRINT "THE SLOWER THE DECAY"
40 PRINT " WHAT VALUE FOR DECAY"

50 INPUT A
300 REM ** DECAY LO OP
310 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP -1
320 SOUND 0 , 121 , 10 , L
350 REM ** PAUSE
360 FOR P= 1 TO A
370 NEXT P

390 NEXT L

Now delete all th e li nes of th is program up to lin e 300 by typing eac h line
number and then pressing RETURN. Change line 360 to:

360 FOR P= 1 TO 10
78 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Figure 5-4 Fast Attack-Slow Decay

Fast Attack -Slow Decay
Maximum
loudness

Time

Keep lines 300 through 390 for the next section though. Here's what you
should have:

300 REM ** DECAY LOOP

310 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP -1
320 SOUND 0,121,10, L

350 REM * * PAUSE

360 FOR P=l TO A
370 NEXT P

390 NEXT L

Attack and Decay

on the Same Note
Just as you used back-to-back FOR-NEXT loops to create a rising and falling
pitch in the same program, you can affect the attack and decay of the same
note by simply putting attack and decay loops back-to-back in one program.
If you still have lines 300 through 390 from the previous program, just add
the following lines:
 SOME SPEC IAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 79

100 REM ** ATTACK LOOP

110 FOR L=0 TO 15
120 SOUND 0,121, 10 , L

150 REM ** PAUSE

160 FOR P= 1 TO 10
170 NEXT P

190 NEXT L

200 REM ** PLAYS NOTE A WHILE

210 FOR P= l TO 100
220 NEXT P

If not, simply type NEW, press RETURN , and ENTER the following
program:

100 REM ** ATTACK LOOP

110 FOR L=0 TO 15
120 SOUND 0, 121 , 10 , L

150 REM ** PAUSE

160 FOR P= 1 TO 10
170 NEXT P

190 NEXT L

200 REM ** PLAYS NOTE A WHILE

210 FOR P= 1 TO 100
220 NEXT P

300 REM ** DECAY LOOP

310 FOR L= 15 TO 0 STEP -1
320 SOUND 0,121,10 , L
350 REM ** PAUSE
360 FOR P= 1 TO 10
370 NEXT P

390 NEXT L

If you want to h ear the note repeat , just add th e following:

410 GO TO 110

Experiment with changes in lin es 160 and 360 to affect the attack and
decay of the note befor e going on to the next section.
80 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

LOUDNESS GOING BOTH WAYS

Another way to shape th e note is to use two voices and h ave th e loudn ess
going in both direction s within th e same loop. ENTER and RUN the follow-
ing program to h ea r h ow this affec ts th e s hap e of th e note:

200 REM ** CHANGES SHAPE OF' NOTE

2 10 F'OR P= 1 TO 10
22 0 NEXT P

250 NEXT L

Try some var iations in th e len gth of th e pause in lin e 150 on your own.
Many of th e c hanges we've been mak in g in th e a ttack and d ecay of th e
note are very subtle. They are worth exp loring both to increase yo ur
knowledge of AT ARI BASIC and to better und erstand th e n ature of sound.

YOUR OWN SONG

In th e remaind er of thi s ch apter, "\Ie' !! build a pro gram in w hi ch yo u can

combine a number of the techniques you 've learned for manipul atin g
sound with ATARI BASIC. We will structure the program so that you can
add and subtract blocks or routines of yOUI' own.
To begin, let's work w ith a program similar to th e one at th e en d of th e last
cha pter whi ch uses READ and DATA statements to play a melody.

1 REM ** YOUR OWN SONG

100 REM ** READS THE NOTE

120 READ N
220 SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10

310 FOR P= 1 TO 100

320 NEXT P

500 REM ** PLAYS NEXT NOTE

910 GO TO 120

1110 DATA 121 , 81 , 96 , 60 , 64

1120 DATA 35 , 45 ,64 ,108,121
 SOME SPECIAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 81

ENTER and RUN this program. It 's a little different in structure from the
version in Chapter 4 (there are no graphics and so me of the line numbers
are slightly different), but it is still YOUR OWN SONG.

Restore Data
and Repeat the Melody
Now that yo u 've become familiar w ith FOR-NEXT loops, h ere's a way to
RESTORE DATA and READ the melody repeatedly instead of just once.
You'll also finally be ab le to stop getting the same ERROR message you get
every tim e you RU N the program above. Add these lines:

110 FOR CYCLE=l TO 10

510 NEXT CYCLE

520 RESTORE
910 GO TO 110

Line 510 replaces the GOTO statement that was there. Line 910 sends us
to lin e 110 instead. Here's the comp lete listing:

1 REM ** YO UR OWN SO NG

100 REM ** READS THE NOTE

110 FOR CYCLE=l TO 10
120 READ N
Counts te n note 220 SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10
va lu es in DATA
statements
310 FOR P= 1 TO 100
320 NEXT P

500 REM ** PLAYS NEXT NOTE

510 NEXT CYCLE
Lets yo u us e the _ _ _ _ 520 RESTORE
same DATA over
again
910 GO TO 110

1110 DATA 121,81,96,60,64

1120 DATA 35,45,64, 108 , 121

RUN the program like this, and you' ll hear the melody repeat.
We want to count ten notes in the DATA tabl e in lines 1110 and 1120.
This is done with the FOR-NEXT CYCLE loop in lines 110 through 510.
Each time throu gh the cycle, another note value is re ad from the DATA
tabl e and played in the SOUND sta tement in line 220. Lines 310 and 320
keep the note on briefly and then the next note is read, and so on until the
82 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

cycle has been completed ten times. In this way, it reads the ten note values
in the DATA table.
If you have the cycle play only five times:

110 FOR CYCLE = 1 TO 5

it will play the first five notes over and over. The cycle must be repeated
once for each piece of DATA (in this case note values).
If you made line 110:

110 FOR CYCLE = 1 TO 15

it will play the first ten notes , and you'll get an out-of-data error (ERROR-6
AT LINE 120).
The READ statement (line 120), the SOUND statement (line 220), and the
pause loop (lines 310 and 320) shou ld all be within the FOR-NEXT CYCLE
loop (lines 110 through 510).

Change Decay of Notes

Within READ-DATA Melody
Now let's change the decay of the notes as they are played . First make the
pause much shorter. Change line 310 to:

310 FOR P=l TO 5

Now add:

200 REM ** DECAY

210 SOUND 0, N, 10 , L
390 NEXT L

You can change the decay by changing line 310 if you wish, or you can
completely replace th e decay loop (lines 200 through 390) with an attack
loop , by making line 210 :

210 FOR L=15 TO 0 STEP-1

Other possibilities might be:

• Attack and decay on the same note.

• Loudness going both ways .

Try to replace the decay lo op we've used with one or more of these. Be
sure that any loop you use to change the shape of the notes occurs within
 SOME SPECIAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 83

the FOR-NEXT CYCLE and begins after the READ statement , and that all
loops are properly n ested.
You could also include a lo op for ascending or descending pitch within
the FOR-NEXT CYCLE loop , but the nesting gets a little tricky. Try it if you
wish.
We've chosen to hav e a descending pitch loop outside the FOR-NEXT
CYCLE loop an d after the RESTORE statement in line 520, like this:

600 REM ** DESCENDING PITCH

610 FOR N=0 TO 255
620 SOUND 0. N . 10. 10
630 NEXT N

910 GO TO 110

After adding lines 600 through 610 above, RUN the program and you
should hear the melody played . You then hear th e descending pitch cycle
yo u learned at the beginning of the chapter.
84 ATARI SOUND AN D GRAPHICS

Finally add:

700 REM ** BIRDS

710 FOR CYCLE= 1 TO 12
720 FOR N=0 TO 10
7 30 SOUND 0, N , 10, 10
740 NEXT N
750 NEXT CYCLE

to get this listing :

1 REM ** YOUR OWN SONG

100 REM ** READS THE NOTE

r---- 110 FOR CYCLE = 1 TO 10
120 READ N

200 REM ** DECAY LOOP

210 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP-1
220 SOUND 0 , N , 10 , L

[ 310 FOR P=l TO 5

320 NEXT P

390 NEXT L
500 REM ** PLAYS NEXT NOTE
'----- 510 NEXT CYC LE
520 RESTORE

600 REM ** DESCENDING PITCH

6 10 FOR N= 0 TO 255
620 SOUND 0 , N , 10, 10
630 NEXT N

700 REM ** BIRDS

~
710 FOR CYCLE = l TO 12
720 FOR N= 0 TO 10
[ 730 SOUND 0, N , 10, 10
740 NEXT N
750 NEXT CYC L E

910 GOTO 11 0

1110 DATA 121,81,96,60,64

11 20 DATA 35,45,64, 108,1 21
 SOME SPEC IAL EFFECTS WITH SOUND 85

This is a n ested loop that plays a high, descending pitch (lines 720
through 740). This is repeated twelve times by the FOR-NEXT CYCLE loop
in lines 710 through 750. When you RUN the program after adding these
lines , you'll hear an examp le of how sound effects can follow one after th e
other.
Now add a sound effect of your ovvn beginning at line 800. Spend some
time practicing the art of moving different routines aro und by deleting
some of th e routines we 've used and replacing them with yo ur own
routines.
In the n ex t chapter you w ill learn to make these into subroutines to be
called upon at different places in a program.

Self-Test

1. To play note values from 50 throu gh 100 , what should you make line
110 below?

110_______________
120 SOUND 0, N, 10, 10
130 NEXT N

2. To coun t by 5's, what must yo u do to line 110?

110 FOR N=0 TO 100

3. How would you co unt by 5's backwards in the same program '?
4. What 's wrong with the following program?

110 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP -1

120 SOUND 0, 121, 10,L
125 FOR P= 1 TO 500
130 NEXT L
150 NEXT P

5. What's the easiest way to delete a line from a program?

6. The way in which a note begins is ca ll ed its _ _ _ _ _ __
7. What does this loop affect?

110 FOR L=15 TO 0 STEP-1

120 SOUND 0,121, 10,L
130 NEXT L

8. What command a llo ws you to reuse the same DATA in a program?

86 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPH ICS

Answers

1. Line 110 becomes:

110 FOR N=50 TO 100

2. Line 110 is changed to:

110 FOR N= 100 TO 0 STEP .- 1

3. Make line 110 :

FOR N= 100 TO 0 STEP -5

4. The pause loop is not properl y nested w ithin the loudness loop.
5. Type th e line number for the line yo u wish to dele te and then press
RETURN.
6. Attack
7. The decay of the note
8. RESTORE

Challenges

1. Write a program with a very slow attack that allows you to INPUT
tone as a variab le.
2. Write a program using four voices where two voices stay the same .
 CHAPTER SIX

Subroutines for Graphics

and Sound

In this chapter you will learn abou t graphi c modes without text windows .
You will also learn to use FOR-NEXT loops to create various graphics
effects and how to make subroutines.

GRAPHIC MODES WITHOUT TEXT WINDOW

The graphics modes we have used so far (3-7) have had a text window at
the bottom of the screen.

87
88 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

If you wish to us e a graphics mode with exactl y th e sa m e size plot points

but without a tex t window , ad d sixteen to w h atever you are using:

with text window: GRAPHICS 3

without tex t window: GRAPHICS 19
or 3 + 16
with tex t window: GRAPHICS 7 }~
without text window: GRAPHICS 23
or 7 + 16
}_
... -

ENTER and RUN the following short program to plot a point in graphi cs
mode 19 , which h as no text w indo w:

100 REM ** NO TEXT WINDOW

110 GRAPHICS 19
120 COLOR 1

200 REM * * PLOTS DO T

210 PLOT 5,5

500 REM ** WAITS HERE

510 GO TO 510

RUN this program to see what happen s. Th e screen s hould look like thi s :

The computer plots the same point that it wo ul d if yo u h ad used graph ics
mode 3, but th ere's no text window.
You may reca ll that the maximum numb er of rows available in graphics
mode 3 was tw e nty (numbe red til throu gh 19). Using grap hics mode 19
 SUBROUTINES FOR GRAPH ICS AND SOUND 89

instead gives you four more rows in which to plot points. The number of
columns is the same. Graphics mod e 19 has:

40 columns (0-39 )
24 rows (0-2 3)

Novv let's use thes e limits to plot points in each co rner of th e screen with
graphics mode 19. To do thi s, first change line 210 to :

Upper left co rn er - 21!O PLOT !O,!O

Remember this can be done by simpl y typing the n ew line and pressing
RETURN.
Then add these lines:

Upper right corner - 22!O PLOT 39 , !O

Lower right co rn er - 23!O PLOT 39, 23

Lo wer left co rn er - 24!O PLOT !O, 23

Your complete listing should no w look like thi s:

l!O!O REM ** NO TEXT WINDOW

ll!O GRAPHIC S 19
12!O COLOR 1

2!O!O REM ** PLOTS DOT

21!O PLOT 5,5

~\-.{ 22!O PLOT 39, !O

23!O PLOT 39, 23
24!O PLOT !O, 23

5!O!O REM ** WAITS HERE

51!O GO TO 51!O

You 'll see more of th ese graphics mod es without text windows in this
chapter. Try some other gra phi cs mod es without text windows on your
own.
90 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

PLOT POINTS WITH NESTED FOR-NEXT LOOPS

Let's make use of th e concept of nested FOR-NEXT loops , which you

learned in Chapter 5, to plot points in several columns and rows. Just
replace lines 210 through 240 of your program with these lines:

210 FOR X = 0 TO 39 STEP 5

210 FOR Y=0 TO 23 STEP 5
230 PLOT X , Y
240 NEXT Y
250 NEXT X

Your complete listing should now be:

1 REM ** COLOR DOT S

50 GRAPHICS 19

100 REM ** CHANGES COLORS

120 COLOR 1

200 REM ** PLOTS DOTS

210 FOR X= 0 TO 39 STEP 5
220 FOR Y=0 TO 23 STEP 5
230 PLOT X , Y
240 NEXT Y
250 NEXT X

500 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

510 GOTO 120
 SUBRO UTINES FOR GRAPHICS AND SOUND 91

Now RUN the program and the screen shou ld look like this:

• • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •

Changing the value of th e STEP function in li nes 210 and 220 wi ll change
the pattern of dots that appear on th e screen. Can you think of a way to make
these changes using an INPUT statement?
See what happens if you remove the STEP func tion from one of the lines
and then from both lines.

CHANGE COLOR OF DOTS

Let's nest these loops w ithin yet another loop to change the color of the
dots . First, add these lines:

100 REM ** CHANGE COLORS

110 FOR C= l TO 3

400 REM ** PICKS ANOTHER COLOR

410 NEXT C

and change line 120 to:

120 COLOR C

Finally, line 510 needs to be made:

510 GOTO 110

92 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

By now we assume you know that REM statements are always optional
when adding new lines to a program.
The program listing should look like this:

1 REM ** COLOR DOTS

50 GRAPHICS 19

100 REM ** CHANGES COLORS

110 FOR C=l TO 3
120 COLOR C

200 REM ** PLOTS DOTS

210 FOR X=0 TO 39 STEP 5
220 FOR Y=0 TO 24 STEP 5
230 PLOT X, Y
240 NEXT Y
250 NEXT X

400 REM ** PICKS ANOTHER COLOR

410 NEXT C

500 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

510 GO TO 110

ENTER and RUN this program and you 'll see the colors continually go
from orange to yellow , to green, and then to orange again, and so on. This
occurs as rapid waves going across the screen .
We didn't use COLOR 0 in line 110 of the program because we didn't
want to erase the dots . Try having line 110 count from 0 through 3 to see
what happens.

A SUBROUTINE TO PLOT THE DOTS

In this chapter and in Chapter 5 , you 've been learning a lot about construct-
ing routines to manipulate sound and graphics. Often you will want a
particular routine to be repeated at various times during the RUN of a
program . A convenient way to accomplish this is to make that routine a
subroutine .
Although it isn't absolutely necessary, it's generally a good idea to put
subroutines after the main body of the program. The following program
makes a subroutine out of a section of the "Color Dots" program above that
plots the dots:
 SUBROUT INES FOR GRAPHICS AND SOUND 93

1 REM ** CO LOR DOTS

50 GRAPHI CS 19

100 REM ** CHANGES CO LORS

110 FOR C= l TO 3
120 COLOR C

200 REM ** USES SUBROUTINE

210 GOSUB 2010

400 REM ** PICKS ANOTHER COLOR

410 NEXT C

500 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

510 GOTO 110

2000 REM ** PLOTS DOTS - SUBROUTINE

'----I 2010 FOR X = 2 TO 37 STEP 5
2020 FOR Y=0 TO 23 STEP 5
2030 PLOT X, Y
2080 NEXT Y
2090 NEXT X

2100 REM ** PICKS UP AFTER GOSUB

2110 RET URN

AN EASY WAY TO CHANGE LINE NUMBERS

If you don 't want to do a lot of extra typ in g, you ca n change the number of a
program lin e by typing the new line number ove r th e old line number and
pressing RETURN. For examp le, to make lin e 2000 out of this line:

200 PLOT DOTS

use the CTRL key an d the arrovv keys as desc rib ed in Cha pter 1 to move the
cursor until it covers the 2 , li ke this:

Cursor - - _ ~00 PLOT POINTS

Now type 2000 and press RETURN.

94 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPH ICS

You will now have both of these lines in your listing :

200 REM * * PLOT DOTS

2000 REM ** PLOT DOTS

Delete line 200 by typ ing 200 and pressing RETURN. If you still have the
"Color Dots" program without a subroutine, change lines 210 through 240
to 2010 through 2040 in this way.
If you get hung up trying to do this , you can always retype the new lines
(2010 through 2040) and delete the old ones (210 through 240).
In whatever way it's easiest for you, make sure you have the listing we've
shown above, and then RUN the program. It does just what it did before ;
that is , it plots the dots and then sends waves of color through them. The
way the present program does this is a little different though.
In this version, instead of having the loop that plots the dots nested
within the loops to change colors (lines 110 through 410), we've placed it at
the end of the program beginning at line 2010, or as a subroutine .
When the program runs, a value is picked in line 110 and entered in the
COLOR statement in line 120. As the name would imply, the GOSUB
statement at line 210 takes us out of the main body of the program and
sends us to line 2010. The computer then executes line 2010 and all the
lines that follow, until it reaches the RETURN statement in line 2110. As
the name of that statement would imply, it tells the computer to return to
the main body of the program. It always returns to the program line
immediately after the GOSUB statement. In this case it returns to line 400,
which th e computer ignores since it is a REM statement. So it actua ll y picks
up at line 410, which completes the COLOR Loop in lines 110 through 410.
Each time the computer gets to the GOSUB statement in line 210, it
executes the entire subroutine to plot dots as though it were still nested
within the FOR-NEXT loop for co lor.
Now let's look at some ways to exec ute routines within the main body of
the program and then occasionall y use the subroutine again. For example,
suppose you want to overlay another figure on the screen while the dots are
still there (and then have the dots blink off and on each time they change
colors).
First add these lines to draw a figure :
 SUBROUTINE S FOR GRAPHICS AND SOUND 95

3~~ REM ** MORE LINES

31~ DRAWTO 2, ~
32~ DRAWTO 37, ~
33~ DRAWTO 37, 2~
34~ DRAWTO 2, 2~
35~ DRAWTO 2, ~

If yo u 've been experimenting with add ing COLOR 0 in line 110, make
sure 110 is:

11~ FOR C=1 TO 3

The complete listing should now be:

1 REM ** FIGURE OVERLAYS DOTS

5~ GRAPH I CS 19

1~~ REM ** CHANGES CO LORS

11~ FOR C= 1 TO 3
12~ CO LOR C

2~~ REM ** USES SUBROU TINE

2 1 ~ GOSUB 2~1~
Plots dots first

3~~ REM ** MORE LINES

31~ DRAWTO 2, ~
32~ DRAWTO 37 , ~
33~ DRAWTO 37 , 2~
34~ DRAWTO 2, 2~
35~ DRAWTO 2, ~

4~~ REM ** PICKS ANOTHER CO LOR

41~ NEXT C

Then draws figure 5~~ REM ** STARTS AGAIN

51~ GO TO 11~

2~~~ REM ** PLOT S DOT S - SUBROUTINE

2~1~ FOR X=2 TO 37 STEP 5
2~2~ FOR Y=~ TO 23 STEP 5
2(03(0 PLOT X , Y
2(08(0 NEXT Y
2~9~ NEXT X

2W~ REM ** PI CKS UP AFTER GOSUB

211(0 RETURN
96 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

ENTER and RUN the program and you'll get this on the screen, with the
colors changing as they did before.

Notice that the color of the dots changes just an instant before the figure.
After each new color is selected in line 120, the GOSUB statement in line
210 plots the dots in that color before the figure is drawn in the new color at
line 310 .
Also notice that we've begun the routine to draw the figures with DRAW-
TO statements at line 310. If you look carefully at lines 2010 and 2020 in the
subroutine , you 'll see that the last point it plots is at column 37, row 20 , at
the bottom right corner of the screen. The RETURN statement then brings
us back to line 310, which draws a line from the dot in the bottom right
corner of the screen to the dot in the upper left corner of the screen. That's
the diagonal in the figure. The next four DRAWTO statements (lines 310
through 350) draw the border by drawing clockwise from one corner dot to
the next.

ERASE THE DOTS WHILE THE FIGURE STAYS

Now we can take advantage of the subroutine to erase the dots "vhile th e
figure stays on the screen. Just add the following lines:

360 REM ** ERASE DOTS

370 COLOR 0
380' GOSUB 2010
 SUBROUTINES FOR GRAPHICS AND SOUND 97

The listing now should be:

1 REM ** COLOR DOTS

50 GRAPHICS 19

100 REM ** CHANGES COLORS

110 FOR C=l TO 3
120 CO L OR C

200 REM ** USES SUBROUTINE

210 GOSUB 20 10

300 REM ** MORE LINES

310 DRAWTO 2,0
320 DRAWTO 37,0
330 DRAWTO 37,20
340 DRAWTO 2,20
350 DRAWTO 2,0
360 REM ** ERASE DOTS
370 COLOR 0
380 GOSUB 2010

400 REM ** PICKS ANOTHER COLOR

Uses subroutine
410 NEXT C
again
500 REM ** STARTS AGAIN
510 GOTO 110

2000 REM ** PLOTS DOTS - SUBROUT INE

2010 FOR X = 2 TO 37 STEP 5
2020 FOR Y=0 TO 23 STEP 5
2030 PLOT X, Y
2080 NEXT Y
2090 NEXT X

2100 REM ** PICK S UP AFTER GOSUB

,--_, 2110 RETURN

Now after drawing the figure. the co lor changes to 0 in lin e 370 and the
GOSUB statement sends us down to plot all the dots in COLOR 0. As you
may recall from Chapter 2, this will erase the dots beca us e it plots them in
the same co lor as the background screen .

._ - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - _._._---
98 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

CHANGE THE FIGURE

We're going to give you one more idea that demonstrates just how much
one line can sometimes change a program , and then we'll offer some
suggestions on how you might explore the concepts before going on.
Take a careful look at the subroutine to plot the dots . If you put a
DRAWTO statement after the PLOT statement in line 2030, but before
either of the NEXT statements in lines 2080 and 2090, the machine will
draw a line to whatever point you indicated after it plots each of the dots.
That adds quite a few lines to the drawing. To get a sense of this, add this
line to the program:

2050 DRAW TO 19,10

This tells the computer to draw a line from each point it plots to a point
more or less in the center of the screen.
Since the way this new figure comes on and off the screen is a major part
of the effect created by adding this line, we won't try to picture it for you.
RUN the program and you'll see what we mean .
If you have an ATARI 410© Program Recorder or an ATARI 810© Disk
Drive system, we suggest you save this program before experimenting since
we will continue to build upon it in the second half of the chapter. The
manual that accompanies each of these systems explains their use. We will
not attempt to do so here.

IDEAS FOR EXPLORATION

Try making line 2050:

2050 DRAWTO A, B

and then add a few INPUT statements to change the location of the point
to which the lines are drawn. Move line 2050 to line 2085 between the
NEXT Y and NEXT X statements and exp lore that using INPUT statements.

NESTED SUBROUTINES

Just as you are able to nest FOR-NEXT loops within other loops , you can
also nest subroutines. One subroutine is not actually placed within the
other as with FOR-NEXT loops, but you can use a GOSUB statement to
temporarily leave a subroutine. Take a look at the subroutine for the
graphics program we've been working with in this chapter.
 SUBROUTINES FOR GRAPHICS AND SOUND 99

2(0(0(0 REM ** PLOTS DOTS - SUBRO UTINE

2(01(0 FOR X=2 TO 37 STEP 5
2(02(0 FOR Y=(O TO 23 STEP 5
2(03(0 PLOT X, Y
2(08(0 NEXT Y
2(09(0 NEXT X

21(0(0 REM ** PICKS UP APTER GOSUB

211(0 RETURN

Now , suppose you'd like to have some sounds to accompany th e graphics

that occur in this subroutine. Let 's write a subroutine to accomp lish this .
First, put a GOSUB statement at line 2060 like this:

And then add these lines:

3(0(0(0 REM ** SUBROUTINE TO PLAY NOTES

3(010 FOR L = 15 TO (0 STEP -5
3(02(0 SOUND (0 , X+Y, 1(0 , L
3(03(0 NEXT L
3(04(0 RETURN

The listing of the two subrou tines should now be:

2(0(0(0 REM ** PLOTS DOTS - SUBROUTINE

2(0 1(0 POR X=2 TO 37 STEP 5
2(02(0 FOR Y=(O TO 2(0 STEP 5
2(03(0 PLOT X, Y
2(05(0 DRAWTO 19 , 1(0
2(06(0 GOSUB 3(010
2(07(0 NEXT Y
2(08(0 NEXT X

21(0(0 REM ** PICKS UP APTER GOSUB

2 11(0 RETURN

3(0(0(0 REM ** SUBROUTINE TO PLAY NOTES

3(01(0 FOR L = 15 to (0 STEP -5
3(02(0 SOUND (0, X+Y, 1(0, L
3(03(0 NEXT L
3(04(0 RETURN

The main body of the program remains the same. RUN the program and
you'll hear it playa rapid sequence of notes as it is drawing th e figure . It
100 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

plays the note sequence again as it erases the figure, then again as it redraws
the figure, and so on until you stop the run.
Each time through the FOR-NEXT loop in lines 2010 through 2110, after
plotting a point and drawing a line , we come to the GOSUB statement at
line 2060. This sends us to line 3010 where a note is played with decay
loop . The note value used is the sum of the values of X and Y chosen in the
original subroutine.
Before looking at how we've done it below, see if you can add a sub-
routine to playa rising pitch with note values from 50 to 0 similar to what
you learned in Chapter 5. Have this occur after the figure is drawn and the
notes played. HINT: The GOSUB statement to send you to the new sub-
routine should occur after the FOR-NEXT loops for X and Y in the original
subroutine.
We added the following lines to do it:

and:

3050 REM ** RISING PITCH

3060 FOR N= 50 TO 0 STEP -1
3070 SOUND 0 , N, 10 , 10
3080 NEXT N
3090 RETURN

Make sure you have the rising pitch subroutine added properly, and RUN
the program. First you'll hear the note sequence played as the figure is
drawn, then a whistle before it starts to erase. Once it's erased, you hear the
whistle again before it draws the next figure , and so on until you stop the
run.
Here's the complete listing of the program:

1 REM *** SOUND PATTERNS

50 GRAPHICS 19

100 REM ** CHANGES COLORS

110 FOR C= l TO 3
120 COLOR C

200 REM ** USES SUBROUTINE

210 GOSUB 2010
 SUBROUTINES FOR GRAPH ICS AND SOUND 101

300 REM ** MORE LINES

310 DRAWTO 2,0
320 DRAWTO 37,0
330 DRAWTO 37,20
340 DRAWTO 2,20
350 DRAWTO 2,0
360 REM ** ERASE DOTS
370 COLOR 0
380 GOSUB 2010

400 REM ** PICKS ANOTHER COLOR

410 NEXT C;

500 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

510 GOTO 110

2000 REM ** PLOTS DOTS - SUBROUTINE

I
2010 FOR X=2 TO 37 STEP 5
I 2020 FOR Y = 0 TO 20 STEP 5
I
6 I
I
2030 PLOT X, Y
I 2050 DRAWTO 19,10
2 I
.----- 2060 GOSUB 3010
3
I 2070 NEXT Y
I
I 2080 NEXT X
4 ~
2090 GOSUB 3060

2100 REM ** PICKS UP AFTER GOSUB

2110 RETURN
3000 REM ** SUBROUTINE TO PLAY NOTES
~ 3010 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP-5
I
I 3020 SOUND 0, X+Y, 10 , L

5
I
I
.
3030
3040
NEXT L
RETURN

3050 REM ** RISING PITCH

3060 FOR N=50 TO 0 STEP -1
3070 SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10
3080 NEXT N
3090 RETURN

The numb ers 1 through 6 indicate the ord er in which program parts are
executed.
102 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

You can also place a GOSUB statement in the main program to make use
of this second subroutine. For example , add these lines and hear what
happens when you RUN it:

450' REM *** WHISTLES 3 TIMES

460' FOR CYCLE = 1 TO 3
470' GOSUB 30'60'
480' NEXT CYCLE

Now after it has drawn and erased the figure in each color while making
sounds (after it has completed the loop in lines 110 through 410), it
whistles three times before it starts again.
But what happens if you try to go from the main program to the sub-
routine to play notes in lines 3010 through 3040, by adding a line some-
thing like:

490' GOSUB 30'10'

Try it and see what happens.

If you listen carefully, you'll notice that after it goes through the cycle of
different colored figures and whistles three times, it plays a single note
before it starts again with the sequence of drawings and sound. Since the
values for X and Y in the SOUND statement in line 3020 are taken from the
subroutine in lines 2010 through 2080 , and we've bypassed that subroutine
by coming from the main program, the computer used the last values
computed for the sum of X and Y (that is, 37 + 20) for a note value.
In this case it didn't add much to the program, but it didn't "crash" the
program either (that is , stop and give you an ERROR message). Be careful
using nested subroutines in th is way because often they will create errors or
"bugs" in the program .

FOR-NEXT GRAPHICS MODE

In the beginning of this chapter, we discussed how to change graphics

modes 3- 7 to equivalent modes without text windows. You can use a
FOR-NEXT loop to change graphics modes in such a way that a figure will
change size on the screen. Let 's add a few final lines to the program we 've
been using in this chapter to do this:

30' REM *** CHANGE GRAPHICS MODE

40' FOR G=23 TO 19 STEP -2
50' GRAPHI CS G

490' NEXT G
 SUBROUT INES FOR GRAPH ICS AN D SOUND 103

and change line 510 to:

510 GOTO 40

Add these lines and RUN th e program. You 'll see the same cycle of co lors
and sounds as before , but th e fi gure w ill occur in th ree different sizes
starting in the upper right corn er of the screen .
The STEP -2 in line 40 ca us es the co mputer to enter graphics mode 23
(equivalent to GR. 7), then Mode 21 (equiva lent to GR. 5), and fina lly
graphics mode 19 (equivalent to GR . 3) . We 've skipped the even numbered
modes 20 through 22 which are equiv alent to mod es 4 and 6 with text
windows. This is becau se, as we m entioned in Chapter 3, these are two-
color modes and we are using four co lors (0 through 3) in this program .
You can use modes 20 and 22 if you wish , but these modes use only
va lues of 0 and 1. Whenever a va lue of 2 is entered by the FOR-NEXT loop
for COLOR in li nes 110 through 410, the compuer wi ll treat it as though it
were a 0 and erase the figure . This is ca ll ed a defau lt. Actua ll y, when it sees
a va lue of 3 for COLOR in th ese mod es, it d efau lts to 1 and draws the figure
in COLOR 1.
In th e four-co lor mod es (3, 5, and 7) or (19 , 21, and 23) any number above
3 wi ll d efault to a value of 0,1 , 2. or 3. For examp le:

120 COLOR 5

wou ld defau lt to:

120 CO LOR 1

And:

120 CO LOR 1 1

would defau lt to:

120 CO LOR 3

The FOR-NEXT loop for gra ph ics must comp lete ly encompass th e loop
for COLOR. Or to say it the other way around, the FOR-NEXT loop for
COLOR must be nested within th e FOR-NEXT loop for graphics.
104 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPH ICS

Here's the complete listin g for th e program:

1 REM *** PATTERN SIZE CHANGES

30 REM ** CHANGE GRAPHICS MODE

40 FOR G=23 TO 19 STEP -2
50 GRAPHICS G

100 REM ** CHANGES COLORS

110 FOR C= 1 TO 3
120 COLOR C

200 REM ** USES SUBROUTINE

210 GOSUB 2010
Graphics mod e -------
loop
300 REM ** MORE LINES
310 DRAWTO 2,0
320 DRAWTO 37 , 0
330 DRAWTO 37,20
340 DRAWTO 2,20
350 DRAWTO 2,0
360 REM * * ERASE DOTS
Color loop 370 COLOR 0
3~0 GOSUB 2010

400 REM ** PICKS ANOTHER COLOR

410 NEXT C

450 REM ** WHISTLES 3 TIMES

460 FOR CYCLE = 1 TO 3
Whistle loop 470 GOSUB 3060
480 NEXT CYCLE
490 NEXT G

500 REM ** STARTS AGAIN

510 GO TO 40

2000 REM ** PLOTS DOTS - SUBROUTINE

2010 FOR X = 2 TO 37 STEP 5
2020 FOR Y = 0 TO 20 STEP 5
2030 PLOT X , Y
2050 DRAWTO 19 ,10
2060 GOSUB 3010
2070 NEXT Y
2080 NEXT X
2090 GOSUB 3060
 SUBROUTINES FOR GRAPH ICS AND SOUND 105

2100 REM ** PICKS UP AFTER GOSUB

2110 RETURN
3000 REM ** SUBROUTINE TO PLAY NOTES
3010 FOR L= 15 TO 0 STEP -5
3020 SOUND 0, X+Y, 10, L
3030 NEXT L
3040 RETURN

3050 REM ** RISING PITCH

3060' FOR N=50 TO 0 STEP -1
3070 SOUND 0, N, 10 , 10
3080 NEXT N
3090 RETURN

Once again, if you have an AT AR I 410 Program Recorder or an AT ARI

810 Disk Drive system, we suggest you save this program for later reference.
Experiment "vith "ca lling" th e subroutines from a few more places in the
program. Moving line 510 down to lin e HH0 , or som ething similar, will
give you room to add several more lines to the main program. Some
possible additions are drawing and erasing another figure, introducing
more sounds , and ca llin g several new subroutines that yo u add to the end
of the program.
As you make these explorations, you'll probably see our old friend the
ERROR message now and then. Don 't give up; it's rather like trying to make
it across the stream and testing to see "vhich rocks are sli ppery or too loos e
to provide footing. Fortunately , it 's a sha llow stream so there's no chance of
drowning, and sometimes getting your feet wet is how you learn the way.
Here's a chart of the co l umns and rows and the co lors ava il ab le in graphics
modes 3 through 7 and 19 through 21:

GrJphics Mode Co lullln s Rows Co lors

1 Text w indow (v?-1 9 ) (0-19) 4

19 No text w ind ow (0-3 9) (0-23 ) 4

4 Text wi ndow (0-79) (0- 39 ) 2

20 No tex t winelow (0-79) (0-47 ) 2

5 Text w ind ow (0-79) (0-3 9 ) 4

21 No text w ind ow (Q}- 79) (0-47) 4

6 Text w ind ow (V?- 159) ((1)- 79 ) 2

22 No text w indow (0- 159) (0-95) 2

7 Text w in dow (0- 159) (0-79) 4

23 No text window (V?- 15'l) ((i)-95) 4
106 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

In Chapter 7 yo u ' ll learn about grap hi cs modes 8 and 24, the SETCOLOR
command , and how to do " hi gh-resoluti on" graphi cs-graphics with mu ch
small er plot points that let you draw fin e li nes .

Se lf-Test

1. To chan ge from a graphics mod e with text window to one with the
same size p lot poin ts and no tex t "vind ow, w hat numb er do you add?
2. What statem ent is used to leave the main program and execute a
subroutine?
3. What's n eeded befo re th ese lines can fun ction as a subroutin e?

1(0110 SOUND 10, 121, 110, 110

110210 SOUND 1 , 122, 110, 10
110310 SOUND 2, 610, 110 ,8
110410 SOUND 3, 61 , 110 ,8
10510 FOR P =l TO 101010
110610 NEXT P

4. Where do es the RETURN statement at th e end of a subroutine send

you in th e program?
5. What's an easy way to ch ange lin e numb ers with AT ARI BASIC?
6. Can you leave on e subroutin e and exec ute another subroutine?
7. In a n ested subroutine, wh ere does the RETURN statement send you?
8. Ho w many ti mes w ill the subroutin e be us ed in th ese lines?

4 6 10 FOR CY CLE = 1 TO 3
4710 GO SUB 310610
4810 NEXT CYCLE

Answers

1. 16
2. A COSUB statemen t
3. A RETURN statement to bring yo u bac k to th e main program
4. To the program line im me diate ly foll owing th e COSUB statem ent
that activated the subroutin e
5. Typ e the n ew line numb er over th e ol d on e
6. Yes . This is called a n ested subroutine.
7. Back to co m p lete the subroutin e from \,v hi ch yo u ca me
8. Three tim es
 SUBROUTINES FOR GRAPHICS AND SOUND 107

Challenges

1. In this chapter, we drew a figure on the screen and then erased it. See
if you can construct a program that draws two separate figures and
leaves one on the screen and erases the other, and th en switches by
redrawing the figure it has just erased and eras ing the one it has just
drawn.
2. Try adding some routines for so und to accompa ny each of the figures .
 CHAPTER SEVEN

The Finer Points

of Graphics

You've learned to us e both two- and four-color graphics with and without
text windows . In this chapter you will learn to use the SETCOLOR com-
mand, which gives you greater variety of options for color grahics with your
ATARI Computer. You w ill also learn to use a high-resolution graphics
mode (8 or 24). Finally , you will learn to use IF-THEN statements to have
the computer select variabl es or execute routines.

SETCOLOR COMMAND

The SETCOLOR command has three parameters . Let's us e it in a short

program and then discuss its functions. ENTER and RUN the following
program:

108
 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPHICS 1 ml
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _. _ . _ - - - -- - - - -- _._- - -

1 REM *** SETCOLOR

100 REM ** THE BEGINNING

110 GRAPHICS 19
120 CO LOR 1

200 REM ** CHANGES COLORS

- 220 SETCOLOR 2,8,6
230 GOSUB 3010

500 REM ** WAITS

510 GO TO 510

3000 REM ** DRAW HEXAGRAM

3010 PLOT 10 ,10
3020 DRAWTO 15,5
3030 DRAWTO 25 , 5
3040 DRAWTO 30 , 10
3050 DRAWTO 25 , 15
3060 DRAWTO 15,15
3070 DRAWTO 10,10
4090 RETURN

This program is structure d so that it w ill be easy to add more lines and
routines later.
When yo u RUN this program. you should get an orange h exagram on the
screen :

<--->
110 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

The three parameters of the SETCOLOR co mmand are:

Color Register (0 through 4)

Hue (0 through 15)
Luminance (Even numbers from 0 to 14)

In line 210 of the preceding program these are:

210 SETCO LOR 2,8,10

Each variable in the SETCOLOR command depends upon other commands

us ed in the program, like the graphics mode used or the value used in the
COLOR command. Since these va riabl es ca n be combined in so many ways,
we won't try to explain what each combination does. We will demonstrate
some ways to make variab les of th e different parameters using INPUT
statements and FOR-NEXT loops so that you can exp lore them yourself.
Appendix D shows th e relationship between different COLOR commands
and the SETCOLOR command for eac h of the graphics modes.

INPUT Color Register

Let's make use of PRINT statements to print instructions on the screen
before the graphics begin. Then we'll add an INPUT statement so that we
can enter different va lues for co lor regi ster. Add these lines:

oREM *** SETCOLOR PARAMETERS

1 REM *** INPUT CO LOR REGISTER

10 PRINT "ENTER 0 - 4"

20 PRINT "FOR CO LOR REGISTER"
25 PRINT
30 INPUT CR

The extra PRINT statement at line 25 wi ll print a blank line so that the text
is easier to read when it's printed. It 's not essential to the function of the
program, so you don 't have to use extra print statements if you don't wish.
Now change line 220 to:

220 S ET COLOR CR , 8,6

To save yourself having to RUN the program each time you want to INPUT a
new value for color register, replace line 510 with:

510 FOR P = l TO 1000

520 NEXT P
530 GO TO 10
 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPHICS 111

This will ca use the hexagram to stay on the screen bri efl y after you INPUT a
valu e for color register and then go back an d wait for yo u to INPUT another
variable .
Make sure you hav e thi s li stin g and then RUN th e program:

(0 REM *** S ETCOLOR PARAMETERS

1 REM *** INPUT COLOR REGI S TER

1(0 PRINT "ENTER (0 - 4"

2(0 PRINT "FOR COLOR REGISTER"
25 PRINT
3(0 INPUT CR

1(0(0 REM ** THE BEGINNING

11(0 GRAPHICS 19
12(0 COLOR 1
Changes co lor /
register ~ 2(0(0 REM ** CHANGES COLORS
22(0 S ETCOLOR CR. 8.6
23(0 GOSUB 3(0 1(0

5(0(0 REM ** WAITS

51(0 FOR P = l TO 10(0(0
52(0 NEXT P
53(0 GOTO 1(0

3(0(0(0 REM ** DRAW HEXAGRAM

3(01(0 PLOT 1(0.10
3(02(0 DRAWTO 15 .5
3(03(0 DRAW TO 25. 5
3(04(0 DRAW TO 3(0. 1(0
3(05(0 DRAWTO 25. 15
3(06(0 DRAWTO 15 . 15
3(07(0 DRAWTO 1(0. 1(0
4(09(0 RETURN

Different values for th e co lor register wi ll allow you to change the hue of
either the figure , the ba ckgro und screen , or the text window. Color register
doesn't change thes e by itself, but determines which (figure, background,
or text window) will change hu e w hen yo u vary th e hue parameter. For
example, when you enter a va lu e of 0 for co lor register , the hexagram will
be blue. In COLOR 1 , a va lu e of 0 for color register allows the hue of the
figure to be changed. It is actu all y the value 8 for hue , which changes the
color.
To see this , enter a va lu e of 4 for color register. Now the figure becomes
orange and the background screen beco mes blue. Orange is th e "default"
112 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPH ICS

co lor for the figure . Va lu es of 1, 2 , 3 , or 4 will result in an orange fi gure

regardless of th e value en tered for hu e.
Now try changing th e graph ics mod e to graph ics mode 3 in line 110 , and
you will get a li ght blue text window if yo u enter a value of 2 for color
register. If you try to en ter a va lue greater than 4 for co lor register, yo u 'll
"crash " the program; that is, you' ll get an ERROR m essage and have to s tart
the program over. Be careful , too, w hen running this program to wait for the
prompt (qu estion m ark) to come on the screen each tim e before you en ter
another value. If you try to enter another number while the machin e is
pausing at lines 510 and 520, the pro gram will crash.
We wi ll look at th e two rema ining parameters in th e SETCOLOR com-
mand (hu e and luminance), using a co nstant va lu e of 1 in the COLOR
command in lin e 120. Be sure to try some of the exper im ents we suggest
using different values for the COLOR com mand.

INPUT Hue
The second parameter in the SETCOLOR command is hu e. It can have
values for 0 through 15. To INPUT hu e as a variab le in the program w e've
been using, making th e following additi ons and changes .
Add:

35 PRINT
40 PRINT "ENTER 0-15"
50 PRINT "FOR HUE"
60 INPUT H

and change lin e 220 to :

220 SETCOLOR CR, H , 6

 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPH ICS 113

The complete listing is:

oREM *** SETCOLOR PARAMETERS

1 REM *** INPUT COLOR REGISTER
2 REM *** INPUT HUE

10 PRINT "ENTER 0 - 4"

20 PRINT "FOR COLOR REGISTER"
25 PRINT
30 INPUT CR
35 PRINT
40 PRINT "ENTER 0 - 15"
50 PRINT "FOR HUE"
,--_ _ ~ 60 INPUT H

100 REM ** THE BEGINNING

110 GRAPHICS 19
120 COLOR 1

200 REM ** CHANGES COLORS

\ 220 SETCOLOR CR, H, 6
230 GOSUB 3010

500 REM ** WAITS

510 FOR P=l TO 1000
520 NEXT P
530 GO TO 10

3000 REM ** DRAW HEXAGRAM

3010 PLOT 10 , 10
3020 DRAWTO 15,5
3030 DRAWTO 25,5
3040 DRAWTO 30,10
3050 DRAWTO 25,15
3060 DRAWTO 15 , 15
3070 DRAWTO 10, 10
4090 RETURN
114 ATAR I SOUND AND GRAPHICS

When you RUN thi s program , va lu es of 1, 2 , or 3 for co lor register w ill

default to an orange figure w ith no co lor background, regardl ess of the
value used for hu e. A va lue of 0 for co lor register w ill allow yo u to change
th e hue of the figure with th e second varia ble you INPUT. The background
screen remains gray.
If you us e a value of 4 in the color register parameter, changing th e hu e
parameter wi ll affect th e co lor of the background screen , while the figure
stays orange.
Now change lin e 110 to:

ll~ GRAPHICS 3

and th en experiment w ith changes in hu e in each of the five co lor registers

(0-4 ).
Whi ch value for hu e allows yo u to change:

• The hu e of the fi gure?

• The hu e of the backgrou nd screen ?
• The hu e of th e text w indow?

Which values fo r co lor register w ill default to an orange figure with no

changes in hue?
To better und ersta nd these relationships , look up graphics mod e 3 in
Appendix D, an d go down column 1 to COLOR 1.

INPUT Color Luminance

Th e third variable in the SETCOLOR command is the co lor luminan ce; this
affects the amount of brightness in either the figure or the background,
depending on the co lor register used . To exp lore the relationship between
all three parameters of the SETCOLOR com mand , add these lines to the
program:

65 PRINT
7~ PRINT "ENTER EVEN NUMBER (0-14)"
8~ PRINT "FOR LUMINANCE"
9~ INPUT LU

and change line 220 to:

22~ SETCOLOR CR, H , LU

 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPHICS 115

Here's the complete listing:

oREM *** SETCOLOR PARAMETERS

1 REM *** INPUT ALL

10 PRINT "ENTER 0-4"

20 PRINT "FOR COLOR REGISTER"
30 INPUT CR

L
35PRINT
40 PRINT "ENTER 0-15"
50 PRINT "FOR HUE"
/ _____ 60 INPUT H
:....------- 65 PRINT
a ll three 70 PRINT "ENTER EVEN NUMBER (0-14)"
parameters of
SETCOLOR. ______ 80 PRINT "FOR LUMINANCE"
------ 90 INPUT LU

100 REM ** THE BEGINNING

110 GRAPHICS 19
120 COLOR 1

200 REM ** CHANGES COLORS

220 SETCOLOR CR, H, LU
230 GOSUB 3010

500 REM ** WAITS

510 FOR P= l TO 1000
520 NEXT P
530 GO TO 10

3000 REM ** DRAW HEXAGRAM

3010 PLOT 10 , 10
3020 DRAWTO 15,5
3030 DRAWTO 25,5
3040 DRAWTO 30, 10
3050 DRAWTO 25, 15
3060 DRAWTO 15 , 15
3070 DRAWTO 10, 10
4090 RETURN
116 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

RUN the program and try many combinations of the variables. Remember,
values of 1, 2, or 3 for color register (the first variable you INPUT) will
default to an orange figure and won't be affected by hue or color luminance .
So INPUT 0 or 4 for color register. Also be sure to explore the results of
changing the value for COLOR in line 120.
Be careful not to crash the program by trying to enter a variable while th e
figure is on the screen or by trying to enter an incorrect value for one of the
parameters. These co nc epts will take some time to fully grasp. Careful
study of Appendix D should be helpful.

FOR-NEXT HUE

The parameters of the SETCOLOR command can also be changed with a

FOR-NEXT loop similar to the way in which you changed the parameters of
the SOUND statement in Chapter 5. For example , let's use a FOR-NEXT
loop to change th e values for hue in the figure we 've been using. We can
rebuild the previous program by doing some deleting and changing.
First, delete all lines up to line 110.
Also delete lines 500 through 530.
Now add lines:

210 FOR H=0 TO 15

and:

230 NEXT H

Also add:

500 ** STARTS LOOP AGAIN

510 GOTO 210

And finally change line 220 to:

220 SETCOLOR 0, H, 6
 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPHICS 117

It may be just as easy for yo u to type NEW and start over. However you
accomplish it , make sure you have this listing:

100 REM ** THE BEGINNING

110 GRAPHICS 19
120 COLOR 1

200 REM ** CHANGES HUES

210 FOR H=0 TO 15
____
_ 220 SETCOLOR CR, H, 6
{ 230 GOSUB 3010
290 NEXT H

500 REM ** STARTS LOOP AGAIN

510 GO TO 150

3000 REM ** DRAW HEXAGRAM

3010 PLOT 10 , 10
3020 DRAWTO 15,5
3030 DRAWTO 25,5
3040 DRAWTO 30,10
3050 DRAWTO 25, 15
3060 DRAWTO 15,15
3070 DRAWTO 10,10
4090 RETURN

Now RUN· th e program an d yo u should see the figure appear on the screen,
continually changing colors .
Each time through the loop in lines 210 through 290 the machine EN-
TERs a value for hu e in line 220 and then uses the subroutine to draw the
figure. When all sixteen valu es for hue have been us ed, line 510 sends us
back to start the loop again .
Hue changes happen pretty fast this way, so if you want to see each hue a
little more distinctly, you can ad d a pause each time the figure is drawn
with these lines.
Add these lin es and RUN th e program to pause at each hue.

3080 FOR P=l TO 100

3090 NEXT P

We've put th e pause inside th e subroutine. It would have the same effect if
you put it inside the FOR-NEXT loop for hue , for example, at lines 240 and
250. Either way will result in a pause after each hue has been entered. If you
put the pause outside of the loop, for exam pl e, at line 410, the machine will
RUN through all sixteen hues without pausing and pause on ly at the last
value for hu e, that is 15. So if yo u "vant to see each hue distinctly, you must
put the pause within the lo op.
118 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Here's a complete listing of the program with the pause in the subroutine:

100 REM ** THE BEGINNING

110 GRAPHICS 19
120 CO LOR 1

200 REM ** CHANGES HUES

2 10 FOR H= 0 TO 15
220 SETCOLOR CR, H , 6
230 GOSUB 3010
290 NEXT H

500 REM ** STARTS LOOP AGAIN

510 GO TO 150

3000 REM ** DRAW HEXAGRAM

3010 PLOT 10 , 10
3020 DRAWTO 15,5
3030 DRAWTO 25,5
3040 DRAWTO 30 , 10
3050 DRAWTO 25, 15
3060 DRAWTO 15, 15
3070 DRAWTO 10, 10
Pauses each tim e _ _ _a { 3080 FOR P= 1 TO 100
th e fi gure is drawn 3090 NEXT P
4090 RETURN

Change Hue of Figure and Background

You can also use a FOR-NEXT loop to change the color reg ister, but since
values of 1 through 3 for color register wi ll default to orange, you'll ge t the
most dramatic effect by using a STEP fun ction to count just 0 and 4 in the
co lor register loop.
Add thes e lines to change color register with a FOR-NEXT loop :

150 FOR CR=0 TO 4 STEP 4

and:

350 NEXT CR

This will nest the FOR-NEXT loop for hu e wi thin the color register loop.
Finally, change line 220 to:

SETCOLOR CR, H , 6
 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPHICS 119

The complete listing is:

oREM **** DOUBLE LOOPS

100 REM ** CHANGES COLOR REGISTER
110 GRAPHICS 19
120 COLOR 1
150 FOR CR=0 TO 4 STEP 4

200 REM ** CHANGES HUES

210 FOR H=0 TO 15
220 SETCOLOR CR, H, 6
230 GOSUB 3010
290 NEXT H
350 NEXT CR

500 REM ** STARTS LOOP AGAIN

510 GOTO 150

3000 REM ** DRAW HEXAGRAM

3010 PLOT 10 , 10
3020 DRAWTO 15,5
3030 DRAW TO 25,5
3040 DRAWTO 30, 10
3050 DRAWTO 25, 15
3060 DRAWTO 15 ,15
3070 DRAWTO 10 ,10
3080 FOR P= 1 TO 100
3090 NEXT P
4090 RETURN

RUN this program to see the figures and the background change hue.
In the next section we're go in g to build on the "Changing Hues" program
that appeared earli er. You can either retype the program or make the
following changes and deletions.

Delete lines 140 and 150.

Delete line 350.
Delete lines 3!il80 and 3090.
Change line 220 to:

220 SETCO L OR 0, H, 6
120 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPH ICS

Make any other changes you need to come up with this listing:

100 REM *** CHANGING HUES

110 GRAPHICS 19
120 COLOR 1

200 REM ** CHANGES COLORS

210 FOR H=0 TO 15
220 SETCOLOR 0, H, 6
230 GOSUB 3010
290 NEXT H

500 REM ** STARTS LOOP AGAIN

510 GOTO 210

3000 REM ** DRAW HEXAGRAM

3010 PLOT 10,10
3020 DRAWTO 15,5
3030 DRAW TO 25,5
3040 DRAWTO 30, 10
3050 DRAW TO 25,15
3060 DRAWTO 15 , 15
3070 DRAWTO 10 , 10
4090 RETURN

MOVING THE FIGURE

Suppose you were creating a game in vvhich yo u wanted to use a figure like
the one in the program \,v e've bee n using as a star ship that co uld be moved
around on the screen. Obviously yo u don't want to type in a whole routine
every time the figure is to move. You can save yourself the trouble by
entering variables for the intial plot point in line 301(/J and then having the
DRAWTO statements in lines 302 0 change in relationship to th ese vari-
ab les.
For example, change line 3010 to:

3010 PLOT X, Y

Now assume for a moment that X and Yare still 10 and 10. Looking at line
3020 yo u can see that the values for column and row in the DRA WTO
statement can be changed to X + 5 [10 + 5) for column and Y - 5 [Hi - 5) for
row . So line 3020 becomes :

3020 DRAWTO X+5, Y-5

 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPHICS 121

In the same way, lines 3030 through 3070 can be changed to:

3030 DRAWTO X+5, Y-5

3040 DRAWTO X +20, Y
3050 DRAWTO X+15, Y +5
3060 DRAWTO X+5, Y+5
3070 DRAWTO X, Y
3080 GOSUB 5010
4090 RETURN

To provide room to move the figure around, let's change line 110 to:

110 GRAPHICS 23

The program isn't quite ready to RU N yet. We need to have a way to

ENTER values for X and Y. Add the following lines to allow you to INPUT
these va lues :

10 PRINT "ENTER - 139 FOR ROW"

20 INPUT X
30 PRINT
50 PRINT" ENTER 5 - 90 FOR ROW"
60 INPUT Y
122 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

The complete listing should now be:

oREM *** MOVING STAR SHIP

10 PRINT "ENTER - 139 FOR ROW"
20 INPUT X

~?
30 PRINT
50 PRINT "ENTER 5 - 90 FOR ROW"
60 INPUT Y
A ll ows you to
place the figu re 100 REM ** SETUP FOR GRA PHIC S
at different
locations on 110 GRAPHICS 23
the screen.
120 COLOR 1

200 REM ** CHANGES HUES

2 10 FOR H=0 TO 15
220 SET COLOR 0, H, 12
260 GOSUB 3010
290 NEXT H

500 REM ** STARTS LOOP AGAIN

510 GO TO 10

3000 REM ** DRAW STAR SHIP

3010 PLOT X, Y
3020 DRAWTO X+5, Y-5
3030 DRAWTO X+15, Y-5
3040 DRAWTO X+20, Y
3050 DRAWTO X+ 15 , Y +5
3060 DRAWTO X+5, Y+5
3070 DRAWTO X , Y
4090 RETURN

Notice that, although graphics mode 23 has co lumns from 0 through 159,
we've indicated in the PRINT statement in line 10 that you should not
exceed a value of 139 for column. This is because in line 3040 of the
subroutine to draw the figure, we will have a value of 139 + 20 = 159 if we
INPUT 139 for column. Likewise, th e minimum value for row must be 5 to
allow for the Y - 5 in lines 3020 and 3030 . And since lines 3050 and 3060
add 5 to the value of Y, we make the maximum limit for row 90 instead of
95.
Now RUN the program and place the figure at different places on the
screen by INPUTing values for X and Y.
 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPHICS 123

SOUND WITH FIGURE

Let's add a subroutine that introduces some sound each time the figure
appears. We'll set it up so that the lower the figure appears on the screen,
the lower the sound. Since the higher row numbers correspond to lower
screen positions and higher note values correspond to lower notes, we can
accomplish this by making the note value a function of Y. While we're at it,
let's have the value for hue (H) also affect the note value . This is done in line
5020 of the following subroutine:

5~~~ REM ** SOUND OF STAR SH IP

5~1~ FOR CYCLE=l TO 5
5~2~ SOUND ~. Y/2+ H . 12, 1~
5~3~ NEXT CYCLE
5~5~ RETURN

We've used a value of 12 for the tone parameter here to get a different
effect.
Now add a GOSUB statement at line 3080 to call this routine. Finally, add
these lines to briefly sustain the last note played and then turn off the sound
before the figure disappears .

3~8~ GOSUB 5~1~

35~ FOR P=l TO 1~~
36~ NEXT P
37~ REM ** TURN OFF VOICE ~
38~ SOUND ~, ~ , ~ . ~
124 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

The complete listing shoul d now be:

~ REM *** MOVING STAR SHI P

W PRINT "ENTER ~ - 139 FOR COLUMN"

2~ INPUT X
3~ PRINT
5~ PRINT "ENTER 5 - 9~ FOR ROW"
6~ INPUT Y
7~ PRINT

1~~ REM ** SETUP FOR GRAPHICS

ll~ GRAPHI CS 23
12~ COLOR 1

2~~ REM ** CHANGES HUES

2 1~FOR H = ~ TO 15
22~ SETCOLOR ~ , H , 12
26~ GOSUB 3~ 1~
29~ NEXT H

35~ FOR P= 1 TO 1~ ~

36~ NEXT P
37~ REM ** TURN OFF VOICE ~
38~ SO UND ~ , ~ , ~ , ~

5~~ REM ** ST ART S LOOP AGAIN

5W GO TO 1~

3~~~ REM ** DRAW STAR SHIP

3~1~ PLOT X, Y
3~2~ DRAWTO X+5 , Y- 5
3~3~ DRAW TO X+ 15 , Y-5
3~4~ DRAW TO X+2~, Y
3~5~ DRAWTO X + 15, Y + 5
3~6~ DRAWTO X+5, Y+5
3~7~ DRAWT O X, Y
3~8~ GOSUB 5~ 1~
4~9~ RETURN

5~~~ REM ** SOUND OF STAR SHIP

5~W N=Y+H
5~2~ FOR CYC LE = 1 TO 5
5~ 3~ SOUND ~ , N, 12, 1 ~
5~4~ NEXT CYCLE
5~5~ RETURN
 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAP HICS 125

RUN the program to hear how the sound works with th e different posi-
tions of the figure .
Each tim e through the hu e lo op in lines 210 through 290, the GOSUB
statement at line 260 calls the subroutine to draw the figure. Line 5080 of
that routine calls the sound routin e (nested subroutines). Note gets a value
of Y that you have en tered, plus the va lu e for H that the hue loop has
reached. For example, if you've entered a value of 40 for Y, then N will be
40 + 0 = 40 the first tim e through the loop and 40 + 1 = 41 the next time ,
and so on up to 40 + 15 = 55 .
After each of the hu es has bee n reg istered and eac h of the notes played,
we return to lines 350 through 380, which very bri efly sustain the note and
then turn off the sound. And fin all y lin e 510 starts us over again.

IDEAS FOR EXPLORATION

In the next section we will continue to build upon this program , so we

suggest that you save it if yo u hav e an ATARI 410 Program Record or 810
Disk Drive.
Before going on , try some variations of yo ur own on the program. Here are
a few suggestions:

1. Write your o,"' n so und routine for th e Star Ship.

2. Try graphics mod e 7 instead of 23.
3. Try some different values for COLOR in lin e 120 and for the
color regi ster (the first parameter) of the SETCOLOR com-
mand in line 130.

For a challenge:
Use FOR-NEXT loops in stead of INPUT statements to move th e figure
around. HINT: For bes t results, these loops should begin before lin e 210
and end after line 380 . Don 't forg et to remove the INPUT statements if you
try this experiment.
126 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Make sure you have this listing before go ing on to the next section:

oREM *** MOVING STAR SHIP

10 PRINT "ENTER 0 - 139 FOR COLUMN"
20 INPUT X
30 PRINT
50 PRINT "ENTER 5 - 90 FOR ROW"
60 INPUT Y
70 PRINT

100 REM ** SETUP FOR GRAPHICS

110 GRAPHICS 23
120 COLOR 1

200 REM ** CHANGES HUES

210 FOR H=0 TO 15
220 SETCOLOR 0, H, 12
260 GOSUB 3010
290 NEXT H

350 FOR P= 1, TO 100

360 NEXT P
370 REM ** TURN OFF VOICE 0
380 SOUND 0, 0,0, 0

500 REM ** STARTS LOOP AGAIN

510 GO TO 10

3000 REM ** DRAW STAR SHIP

3010 PLOT X, Y
3020 DRAWTO X+5, Y-5
3030 DRAWTO X + 15 , Y-5
3040 DRAWTO X + 20, Y
3050 DRAWTO X + 15 , Y + 5
3060 DRAW TO X+5, Y+5
3070 DRAW TO X, Y
3080 GOSUB 5010
4090 RETURN

5000 REM ** SO UND OF STAR SHIP

5010 N=Y+H
5020 FOR CYCLE= 1 TO 5
5030 SOUND 0, N, 12, 10
5040 NE XT CYCLE
5050 RETURN
 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPH ICS 127
- - - - - .._--- - -

IF -THEN DECISIONS

While you were experimenting "vith this program, you may have occa-
sionally slipped and entered a va lu e that was too sma ll or too large for X or
Y , thus getting an ERROR message and having to start aga in.
A programming tool that can be used to catch these mistakes without
crashing the program is the IF-THEN statement. Essentia ll y, what this
statement says is:

IF certa in conditions are met , THEN do suc h and such.

or:
IF certain cond itions are not met , ignore the THEN par t of the statement and
go on to the next line .

For examp le, suppose in the program we've been using to move the figure
on th e screen , we want th e machine to reprint the instr uctions in line 10 if a
value greater than 139 is entered. We can do this w ith a line like this:
~ Symbo l for "is
40 IF X > 139 THEN 10 greater than "

Add this lin e and RUN the program. Then try enter ing a value greater
than 139 a few times to get the idea. Instead of giving you an ERROR
message this time , the m ac hine just prints:

ENTER 0 - 139 FOR COLUMN

over again. This w ill happen as many times as you e nter incorrect values.
When the conditions of the IF part of the s tatement are not met-that is ,
when X is not great er than 139-the THEN part of the statement is ignored
and the next line of th e program is exec uted. Have a look at th e lin e aga in
with arrows indicating the different directions the program might take.
Th e condition If X is greater than
• , /~------ 139 . it goes this

If X is not greater
4(;( IF X
'P
> 139 - - - " ' '- - THEN 4(;('P way
than 139. it goes ~ J
this way r
50· . - -. - - . - . .

Now let's add a few more lines to account for incorrect values for Y being
entered:
~
70 IF Y < 5 THEN 5(0 Less than
80 If Y > 90 THEN 50

Line 70 says, IF Y is less than 5, THEN execute lin e 50 again.

Lin e 80 says, IF Y is greater than 90, THEN execute lin e 50 again .
Here's a comp lete listin g of the program including IF-THEN statements
to reprint the instructions if an in correct value for X or Y is entered :
128 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

oREM *** MOV ING STAR SHIP

10 PRINT "ENTER 0 - 139 FOR COLUMN"
20 INPUT X
30 PRINT
, -_ _--" ___ 40 IF X> 139 THEN 10
It you ENTER
the right number,
------ 5ri
'P
PRINT "ENTER 5 - grill
'P
it goes on. 60 INPUT Y
If you ENTER
a wrong number, - - _ .. 70 IF Y< 5 THEN 50
it prints the
question again. ---...
8ri
'P
IF Y > 9 ri
'P
THEN 5ri
'P

100 REM ** SETUP FOR GRAPHICS

110 GRAPHICS 23
120 CO LOR 1

200 REM ** CHANGES HUES

210 FOR H=0 TO 15
220 SETCO LOR 0, H , 12
260 GOSUB 3010
290 NEXT H

350 FOR P= 1 TO 100

360 NEXT P

370 REM ** TURN OFF VOICE 0

380 SOUND 0, 0,0, 0

500 REM ** STARTS LOOP AGAIN

510 GOTO 10

3000 REM ** DRAW ST AR SHIP

3010 PLOT X, Y
3020 DRAWTO X+5, Y-5
3030 DRAWTO X+15 , Y-5
3040 DRAWTO X+20, Y
3050 DRAWTO X+15, Y+5
3060 DRAWTO X+5, Y+5
3070 DRAWTO X, Y
3080 GOSUB 5010
4090 RETURN

5000 REM * * SOUND OF STAR SHI P

5010 FOR CYCLE= 1 TO 5
5020 SOUND 0, Y+H, 12 , 10
5030 NEXT CYCLE
5050 RETURN
 THE FINER PO INTS OF GRAPHICS 129

Rather than reprint the instru ctions , we can default to 139 any time a
value greater than 139 is entere d for X by makin g lin e 40:

40 IF' X > 139 THEN X = 139

With these conditions , any tim e yo u ENTER a va lu e greater than 139 for
X, it wi ll plot th e starting point for the figure in co lumn 139 . In the same
way, lines 80 and 90 can be changed to:

70 IF' Y < 5 THEN Y=5

80 IF' Y > 90 THEN Y=90

Add these lines , RUN th e program , and try some va lu es greater than 139
for co lumn and less than 5 or greater than 90 for row. This time, when you
ENTER an incorrect val ue for co l umn or row the machine will still draw the
figure.
See if you can us e thi s m ethod to limit the area in which the figure is
drawn to a specific area of the screen , for example, th e left side or th e
bottom half.
IF-THEN statements ca n be used to make a number of different kinds of
comparisons. We 've looked at compari sons based on whether one variable
is greater than the other and com parisons based on w h ether one variable is
less than th e other. Th e following chart s hows some other comparisons that
can be mad e:

Sym bol JvIeaning

< less than
> greater than
equal to
<> not equal to
>= greater than or equal to
<= less than or equal to

We' ll see more ways to us e IF-THEN decisions in th e nex t few c hapters.

HIGH-RESOLUTION GRAPHICS MODE

The ATARI Computer has a high-reso lution graphics mode that enabl es
yo u to plot much smaller points and th erefore draw mu ch finer lin es. This
is graphics mode 8 , with th e text window. or 24, without the text window.
Although it is possible to draw without it, you need the SETCOLOR
co mmand to introduce color in mode 8 or 24. That's why we've waited
until you 've learned abo ut the SETCOLOR command before discussing the
high-resolution mode .
130 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

The number of columns and rows available in graphics modes 8 and 24

are:

Columns Rows
Graphics 8 (0 - 319) (0 - 159)
Graphics 24 (0 - 319) (0 - 191)

The "Moving Star Ship" program yo u've been working with so far will
serve as a good starting place to explore high-resolution graphics in AT ARI
BASIC. Start by changing line 110 to :

110' GRAPHICS 24

The significant variable in the SETCOLOR co mmand for this mode will
be the color register. Values of 2 and 4 affect the color. Make the color
register 4 in the SETCOLOR command in line 220:

220' SETCOLOR 4, H , 12

The PRINT statements and IF-THEN statements in the begi nning of the
program also need to be changed to allow for the larger number of columns
and rows available in this graphics mod e. Make lines 10 through 80:

10' PRINT "ENTER 0' - 299 FOR COLUMN"

20' INPUT X
30' PRINT
40' IF xl > 299 THEN 10'

50' PRINT "ENTER 5 - 186 FOR ROW"

60' INPUT Y
70' IF Y< 5 THEN 50'
80' IF Y> 186 THEN 50'

The complete program listing should now be:

 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPHICS 131

oREM *** MOVING STAR SHIP

1 REM *** HIGH RESOLUTION GRAPHICS

10 PRINT "ENTER 0 - 299 FOR COLUMN"

20 INPUT X
30 PRINT
40 IF X> 299 THEN 10

50 PRINT "ENTER 5 - 186 FOR ROW"

60 INPUT Y
70 IF Y< 5 THEN 50
80 IF Y> 186 THEN 50

100 REM ** SETUP FOR GRAPHICS

110 GRAPHICS 24
120 COLOR 1

200 REM ** CHANGES HUES

2 10 FOR H= 0 TO 15
220 SETCO LOR 4, H, 12
260 GOSUB 3010
290 NEXT H

350 FOR P= 1 TO 100

360 NEXT P

370 REM ** TURN OFF VOICE 0

380 SOUND 0 , 0 , 0, 0

500 REM ** STARTS L OOP AGAIN

510 GO TO 10

3000 REM ** DRAW STAR SHIP

3~n0 PLOT X, Y
3020 DRAWTO X+5, Y- 5
3030 DRAWTO X+15, Y-5
3040 DRAW TO X+20, Y
3050 DRAWTO X+15, Y+5
3060 DRAWTO X+5, Y+5
3070 DRAWTO x , Y
3080 GOSUB 5010
4090 RETURN

5000 REM ** SOUND OF STAR SHIP

5010 FOR CYCLE=l TO 5
5020 SOUND 0 , Y+H , 12 , 10
5030 NEXT CYCLE
5050 RETURN
132 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

RUN it and see w ha t ha pp ens wh e n yo u ENTER values for X and Y.

Instea d of th e hue of th e figure or th e backgro und screen changin g, the
bord er of the screen changes as th e hu e loop is exec u ted. In graphi cs mo de
24, the co lor of th e bord er of th e screen is c han ge d when co lor regist er is 4
in th e SETCOLOR comma nd.
A lso, the fi gure is now sm a ll er and d rawn with mu c h small er lin es .
What happ ens w h en yo u cha nge th e co lor register to 2 in th e SETCOLOR
comma nd in lin e 220?
Here 's a trick yo u m ay have already discovered in your ex ploration s of
the other grap hi cs modes wi th text w ind ows that has an int eres ting effec t in
grap hi cs m ode 8.
Although the chart above states that yo u h ave fewer rows in which to plot
an d draw when using th e text w ind ow , the m achine wi ll actua lly still draw
in the rows at the bottom of th e screen , but yo u won't see it because it is
covere d by the text window . Or to say it a littl e more logica ll y , you \,vo n 't
ge t an ERROR message if yo u plot and dravv in the text w indO\"" area; it just
won 't show up on th e screen. To see "v hat we m ean , RUN the "Moving Star
Ship" program in graphi cs mod e 8 a nd ENTER values of 250 for co lumn
and 160 for row . You 'll get thi s on the screen:

/ \
ENTE R 0 - 299 FOR COLUMN
?
 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPHICS 133

In graphics mode 8, the tex t vvindow isn' t defin ed by a different co lor as it

is in graphics modes 3 through 7, but it 's s till th ere for text to be printed. It
also provides an easy way to have th e fi gure cut off at the bottom as it does
above . Now INPUT 250 for co lumn and 157 for row. This time you get :

ENTER 0- 299 FOR CO LU MN

( '>
]

Finall y, INPUT 250 for column and 154 for row and the entire figure
shows up aga in:

ENTER 0 - 299 FOR COL UMN

<~)

Play around with a few more values for row n ea r 154. You might find this
useful in making a figure appear to "ri se up out of" th e text window area.
Can you think of a way to do this usin g a FOR-NEXT loop to enter values
for X and Y? HINT: Th e FOR statement for th e Y shou ld start at about 170
and use the STEP- 1 fun ction. Th e loops for both X and Y sho uld begin after
line 120 and before line 130. and they should end som ew here after line 380.
134 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

In this chapter you h ave built the skeleton of one program and then made
several variations in that program to exp lore different parameters of the
SETCOLOR command and to learn a new graphics mode.
You've gained quite a bit of experience in the art of programming by
practicing the process of deleting lines , add ing others, and moving routines
from one place to another. As w ith anything new, this process may be
difficult at first, but as you continue to do it, you 'll get better at it.

Self-Test

1. Which parameter is affected by the number 8 in the following com-

mand ?

SET COLOR 2,8, 10

2. What value for CR (color register) will enable you to change the color
of the background screen below?

110 GRAPHICS 19
120 COLOR 1
130 SET COLOR CR, 8,6,

3. What does the third parameter of the SETCOLOR command affect?

4. What's wrong with this command?

220 SET COLOR 4,6 , 5

5. The following program draws a square. How might you change it to let
the user move the square to different places using INPUT statements?

110 GRAPHICS 7
120 COLOR 1
130 SET COLOR 1,6, 10
210 PLOT 10,10
220 DRAWTO 20, 10
230 DRAWTO 20 , 20
240 DRAWTO 10,20
250 DRAWTO 10 , 10

6. What do you think will happen if the machine sees a value greater
than 139 in the following line?

40 IF X > 139 THEN PRINT "NUMBER TOO BIG"

 THE FINER POINTS OF GRAPHICS 135

7. What symbol do yo u think sho uld go after the letter X in line 100
below?

100 IF X 2001 THEN 300

300 PRINT "THE YEAR YOU HAVE CHOSEN I S IN THE FUTURE"

8. What is th e highest reso lution mode in ATARI BASIC?

Answers

1. Hue
2. 4
3. The color luminance, which is the brightness of the color
4. Color luminance should have even numb ered values from 0 through
14 . The SETCOLOR command shown here has an odd number for
color luminance.
5. Something like this:

110 GRAPHICS 7
120 COLOR 1
130 SETCOLOR 1,6, 10
150 INPUT X
160 INPUT Y
210 PLOT X, Y
220 DRAWTO X + 10 , Y
230 DRAWTO X+10 , Y+10
240 DRAWTO X , Y + 10
250 DRAWTO X , Y
260 GOTO 150

In this program , the INPUT statements occur after line 130 , which will
leave the squares on the scree n. Otherwise it would draw it so fast that you
probably wouldn't see it , and then put the question mark bac k on the
screen.
6. It will print:

NUMBER TOO BIG

on th e screen.
7. The greater than symbol (»
8. With text window, 8
Without text window , 24
136 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Challenges

1. In th e "Moving Star Ship " program from thi s chapter, move th e

INPUT statements to somewhere aft er line 120 and before line 210 so
that the figur es can stay on the screen. Where does the GOTO state-
ment at line 510 need to send yo u now?
2. If YO Ll succeed wi th the first chall enge , try making the square routin e
from Question 5 a subroutine and add some more INPUT statements
so yo u can move the sta r ship and the square around on the screen.
 CHAPTER EIGHT

Chance Music
and Graphics

In the preceding chapters , you've used a number of techniques to specify

the value of variables in SOUND and GRAPHICS sta tements.
You may have used a constant va l ue for a particular parameter or entered
different values with INPUT statements or FOR-NEXT loops. In each case,
however, you have determin ed a specific val ue or set of values for a given
parameter.
In this chapter you will learn to have the computer generate random
numbers that can be us ed in yo ur sound and graph ics programs , thus
introducing an element of surprise essential to any creative work.

RANDOM NUMBERS

If you've ever been to a raffl e where they put 100 tickets numbered from 1 to
100 in a box and someone reac hes in the box to pull out the ticket with the
vvinning number, then you've vvitnesseel the se lection of a random number
between 1 anel 100.
To generate a random numb er in AT ARI BASIC , us e th e RND function.
To see how it works, ENTER and RUN the following program:

oREM *** PRINT RANDOM NUMBERS

10 PRINT RND ( 1 )
20 FOR P=l T0 200
30 NEXT P
40 GO TO 10

137
138 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Pretty soon the screen looks something like this:

0.2732238796
0.1437530517
0.8118743896
0.3042620539
0. _ _ __
0. _ _ __
0. _ _ __
0. _ _ __

The numbers you get on the screen won't be the same as the ones here,
because th ey are random (i. e., they are different every time) .
Notice that each number has a zero followed by a decimal point and lots
of other numbers. This is because it is choosing and printing random
numbers between zero and one.
Now change line 10 to:
ATARI BASIC's
/ multiplication sign
10' PRINT 10'*RND ( 1 )

This time you'll get something like:

8.569757631
4.36538696
7.41912841
3.74877929
0. _ __
9. _ __
2. _ __
3
7. _ __
 CHANCE MUSIC AND GRAPHICS 139

RANDOM INTEGERS

For most exp eriments yo u 'll want to do, yo u won't n eed numb ers with all
that information after the decimal point. You 'll only n eed "w hole num-
bers," or integers like 8, 42, or 256,
To ha ve th e computer select random integers cha nge line 10 to:

10 PRINT INT ( 10*RND ( 1 ) )

Now when yo u run it , yo u 'll get something like:

8
7
3
4
4
9
5
3
6
9
1
4
8
5
2

No ti ce th e high es t numb er yo u eve r get is 9, That is becaus e

10 *RND(l) tells the computer to pick one of 10 random integers from
o to 9,
If you want to pick from 1 to 10 , change line 10 to :

10 PRINT INT ( 10*RND ( 1 ) + 1 )

You can also say:

10 PRINT INT ( 100* ( 1 ) + 1 )

for a random integer between 1 and 100, Or:

10 PRINT INT ( 100*RND ( 1 ) + 101 )

This will generate a random integer betw een 100 and 200,
140 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Suppose you want to generate random integers that are only intervals of
10. Here's how you ca n do it: Outs ide of
~ parenthesis
10 PRINT INT ( 10*RND ( 1) + 1) * 10

The multiplication by 10 must occur outside the parenthesis here .

As you can see, the RND function can be us ed in varioLis ways to generate
different sets of random numbers or random integers . We suggest you
explore this concept a bit more using the PRINT statement to ge t a thorough
understanding of the things you can do with this function.
For example :

Generate random integers between 1 and 500.

Generate random integers betvveen 50 and 60 .
Generate random integers in multiples of 25 between 0 and 250 .

RANDOM NOTES

You can use random integers jLlst as yo u wou ld other variables. For exam-
ple, you might say: '

oREM *** RANDOM NOTES

210' SOUND 0, INT (256*RND (1) ) , 10,10
220 FOR P= 1 TO 50
230 NEXT P
240 GO TO 210

ENTER and RUN this program to hear a note random ly selected and
played, then another note , and so on.
The same thing can be accomp lished like this:

o REM *** RANDOM NOTES

40 REM *** EACH VOICE WILL GET A NOTE
50 FOR V = 0 TO 3

100 REM ** PICKS VALUE FOR N

110 N= INT (256*RND (1) )

200 REM ** PLAYS THE NOTE

210 SOUND 0, N , 10, 10
220 FOR P= 1 TO 50
230 NEXT P

300 REM ** PICKS ANOTHER NOTE

310 GOTO 110
 CHANCE MUS IC AND GRAPH ICS 141

The advantage of this version is that now the value N can be used in other
ways. For example, here 's a program that continually enters different
random note values in each of the four voices:

oREM *** RANDOM NOTES

40 REM *** EACH VOICE WILL GET A NOTE
50 FOR V=0 TO 3

100 REM ** PICKS VALUE FOR N

110 N=INT (256*RND ( 1) )

200 REM ** PLAYS THE NOTE

210 SOUND V,N, 10, 10
220 FOR P= 1 TO 50
230 NEXT P

240 REM ** ANOTHER VOICE ANOTHER NOTE

250 NEXT V
550 GOTO 50

ENTER and RUN the program to hear what it sounds like before we
describe it.
The first time through the FOR-NEXT loop for voice in lines 50 through
250, voice 0 is given a random value for note . This voice continues to play
that note until the remaining three voices have each been given a random
note value of their own and then played. The second time through the loop,
voice 1 is given a random note value , vvhich it plays.
When all four voices have been played, line 550 starts it over again and
voice 0 gets a new note. Each voice continues to play its note while the
other three voices are being assigned note values. Thus any given voice gets
a new note only every fourth time through the cycle. This is what creates
the kind of ongoing but ever-changing, chord-like sound you hear.

THE RND FUNCTION IN GRAPHICS

Now let's add some random graphics to the program . First add these lines:

10 GRAPHICS 23
20 COLOR 1

and:

130 SETCO L OR 4,8 , 10

142 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

We're putting the SETCOLOR command within the voice loop (lines 50
through 250) so you will be able to do an experiment with it a little later. For
the moment add these lines:

150 REM *** LINE DESIGN

160 X=INT (160*RND (1) )
170 Y=INT (96*RND ( 1) )
180 PLOT X, Y
190 DRAWTO 75,40

The complete program listing should now be:

oREM *** RANDOM NOTES

10 GRAPHICS 23
20 COLOR 1

40 REM *** EACH VOICE WILL GET A NOTE

50 FOR V=0 TO 3

100 REM ** PICKS VALUE FOR N

110 N=INT (256*RND (1) )

130 SETCOLOR 4 , 8 , 10

150 REM *** LINE DESIGN

160 X=INT( 160*RND( 1) )
170 Y=INT (96*RND ( 1) )
180 PLOT X , Y
190 DRAWTO 75, 40

200 REM * * PLAYS THE NOTE

210 SOUND V, N, 10 , 10
220 FOR P= 1 TO 50
230 NEXT P

240 REM ** ANOTHER VOICE ANOTER NOTE

250 NEXT V
550 GOTO 50

Rather than us trying to describe what happens , RUN the program to see
for yourself.
Lines 160 through 180 plot a point in a random column and row. Line
190 then draws a line from that point to a fixed point n ear the center of the
screen. If you let it RUN for a while, the pattern fills out quite a bit.
 CHANCE MUSIC AND GRAPHICS 143

Some Ideas for Experimentation

Make the value for hue in the SETCOLOR command in line 130 H instead
of 8 and then at line 120 generate a random va lu e for H. Remember hue has
sixteen possible values.
In line 220 change the number 50 to some variab le like DUR for "dura-
tion" of the note and then add a RND function at line 215 to vary the length
of note played.
Change the loudness parameter in the sound statement in line 210 to L
and add a decay loop in lines 205 an d 235. But in order to keep all four
voices going, decay only from 15 to 3.
After you've tried these changes on your own , have a look at how we've
done it:
oREM *** RANDOM NOTES
10 GRAPHICS 23
20 COLOR 1

40 REM *** EACH VOICE WILL GET A NOTE

50 FOR V=0 TO 3

100 REM ** PICKS VALUE FOR N

110 N=INT (256*RND (1) )
~ 120 H ~ INT(16*RND(1)+l)
130 SETCO LOR 4, H , 10

150 REM *** LINE DESIGN

160 X=INT( 160*RND( 1))
170 Y=INT (96*RND (1) )
180 PLOT X, Y
190 DRAWTO 75,40

200 REM ** PLAYS THE NOTE

205 FOR L= 15 TO 3 STEP -3
210 SOUND V,N , 10,L
215 DUR=INT (10*RND ( 1) )
220 FOR P= 1 TO OUR
230 NEXT P
235 NEXT L

240 REM ** ANOTHER VOICE ANOTHER NOTE

250 NEXT V
550 GOTO 50

In the next section we'll build a new program , but we suggest you have
this one on your ATARI 410 Program Recorder or ATARI 810 Disk Drive
system.
144 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

RANDOM ELEMENTS WITHIN FORM

The use of random elements in an artistic program raises one of the most
misunderstood concepts in the creative process. That is the concept of
improvisation or free form. It is often thought that improvisation means "no
form." On the contrary, a truly well-crafted improvisation is one that makes
use of a deeper understanding of form without obviously manifesting
structure. This is truly the essence of art.
We won't get into the question of whether or not a computer can impro-
vise, but the program below is an exa mpl e of how you can use the RND
function to create a piece with slight variations in form each time it runs.
The program draws a mountain range that always consists of twelve
mountains . The peaks of the mountains, however, are randomly placed,
and the base points from which the sides are drawn are also randomly
selected. To get started , ENTER and RUN this initial program :

oREM *** MOUNTAIN RANGE

10 GRAPHICS 24
20 COLOR 1
30 SETCOLOR 2,8,4

40 REM *** THE TWELVE HILLS

50 FOR MOUNTAIN = 1 TO 12
100 REM *** TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN
110 A=INT (320*RND (1) )
120 B=INT (70*RND (1) + 10 )

200 REM *** TWELVE SIDES PER HILL

210 FOR SIDE =l TO 12
250 REM *** SELECTS BASE POINT
260 X=INT(320*RND( 1))
270 Y=INT(40*RND( 1) + 100)

300 REM *** DRAWS FROM BASE TO TOP

310 PLOT X, Y
320 DRAWTO A, B
499 REM
510 NEXT SIDE

900 REM *** DRAWS ANOTHER MOUNTAIN

910 NEXT MOUNTAIN
990 GOTO 990

After setting up the initial graphics mode and colors in lines 10 through
30 , the FOR-NEXT loop for "Mountain" establishes a cycle in which twelve
mountains are drawn. All other routines will be nested within this larger
loop .
 CHANCE MUSIC AND GRAPH ICS 145

Lines 110 and 120 randomly se lec t values for the columns and row (A for
column and B for row) in which a given mountain peak is to be plotted. The
mountain peak is actually determin ed a bit later by line 320. Line 110
chooses from any of the 320 co lumns available, but line 120 limits th e
location of the mountain peaks to the upper part of the screen. The first part
of the RND function in that lin e picks an integer from 0 to 69, and then the
second part of the express ion adds 10 to give a value between 9 and 79 for
the row.
The FOR-NEXT loop in li nes 210 through 510 randomly plots points
from which twelve lines are drawn to the peak of each mountain. Again line
260 allows these base points to occur in any column , but line 270 limits the
row in which a base point is plotted to those from 39 through 139, an area
towards the bottom of the screen.
As the FOR-NEXT loop for "s ide" goes through its tw e lve cycles, twelve
randomly sel ec ted base points are plotted at line 310. Line 320 draws a line
from each of th ese points to the mountain's peak , se lected in lines 110 and
120. It is important that the mountain peak (point A,B) is selected before the
beginning of th e FOR-NEXT lo op for the sides. This is necessary to have
one point to which each of the sides is drawn (i. e., the peak point A,B).
Finall y, when this cycle is comp leted and one mountain with its twelve
sides is drawn , line 910 goes back for the "next mountain " beginning at line
50. Th is larger cycle also occurs t"velve times to draw a total of tw elve
mountains with t"velve sides.
Run this program several more tim es to see how it draws a slightly
different mountain range eac h tim e.
As you develop your programming ski ll s and strive for more and more
sophisticated programs, you must be aware of the time required for the
machine to make certain calculations and perform certain functions. To get
a sense of this , we wi ll add a sequence of notes to the program after each
mountain is drawn and then have you see w hat happens when yo u move
this sequence to within the lo op to draw the sides. Begin by making the
additions to the program shown below :
146 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

oREM *** MOUNTAIN RANGE

10 GRAPHICS 24
20 COLOR 1
30 SETCOLOR 0, 10 , 10

40 REM *** THE TWELVE HILLS

50 FOR MOUNTAIN = 1 TO 12

100 REM *** TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

110 A=INT (320*RND (1) )
120 B = INT (70*RND (1) + 10)

200 REM *** TWELVE SIDES PER HILL

210 FOR SIDE=l TO 12
250 REM *** SELECTS BASE POINT
260 X=INT(320*RND( 1))
270 Y=INT (40*RND ( 1) + 100)

300 REM *** DRAWS FROM BASE TO TOP

310 PLOT X, Y
320 DRAWTO A, B

510 NEXT SIDE

600 REM *** NOTE CYCLE

610 FOR NOTE = 1 TO 50
620 N=INT (50*RND (1) )
630 FOR L= 15 TO 0 STEP -5
640 SOUND 0, N , 10 , L
650 NEXT L
690 NEXT NOTE

900 REM *** DRAWS ANOTHER MOUNTAIN

910 NEXT MOUNTAIN
990 GOTO 990

Now when you run the program, you should hear a rapid sequence of
notes played after each mountain is drawn . This sequence will be different
each time.
This routine randomly selects a note value between 1 and 5 at line 620
and then plays the note with a decay in lines 630 through 650. The
FOR-NEXT loop in lines 610 through 690 repeats this cycle a total of 50
times.
Run this program a few more times to fully absorb how it is functioning .
 CHANCE MUSIC AND GRAPHICS 147

Ideas for Exploration

Change line 620 to randomly select note values from 1 to 100.
Have line 620 randomly select note values between 100 and 150.
In line 110, limit the values for column that are randomly chosen to
values between 100 and 200.
Finally, remove lines 610 and 690 and move line 510 down to line 710.
This will cause a single note to be played as each line is drawn-a signifi-
cant change in the program.
Most likely you have had some other ideas you 'd like to explore with this
program. Please try them and don't be afraid to make some mistakes. It's
part of learning to program creative ly.
When you've finished your exp lorations , return to this listing for the
program:
148 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

oREM *** MOUTAIN RANGE

10 GRAPHICS 24
20 COLOR 1
30 SET COLOR 0, 10 , 10

40 REM *** THE TWELVE HILLS

50 FOR MjUNTAIN= 1 TO 12

100 REM *** TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

110 A=INT (320*RND ( 1) )
120 B=INT (70 * RND (1) + 10)

200 REM *** TWELVE SIDES PER HILL

210 FOR SIDE = l TO 12
250 REM *** SELECTS BASE POINT
260 X=INT(320*RND( 1))
270 Y= INT (40 * RND (1) + 100)

300 REM *** DRAWS FROM BASE TO TOP

310 PLOT X, Y
320 DRAWTO A, B

510 NEXT SIDE

600 REM *** NOTE CYC LE

610 FOR NOTE = l TO 50
620 N=INT (50 * RND (1) )
630 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP -5
640 SO UND 0 , N, 10, L
650 NEXT L
690 NEXT NOTE

900 REM *** DRAWS ANOTHER MOUNTAIN

910 NEXT MOUNTAIN
990 GOTO 990

THE PICTURE FRAME

We can take advantage of the fact that in graphics mode 24 the SETCOLOR
command all ows us to change the hu e of the perimeter of the screen to
make an "e lectric fram e" for our picture in this program. This is done by
using color register 4 in th e SETCOLOR command , which allows changing
the hue of the screen perim eter and then creating a FOR-NEXT loop for hue.
This can be accomp lished with the following program :
 CHANCE MUSIC AND GRAPHICS 149

oREM *** MOUNTAIN RANGE

10 GRAPHICS 2:4
20 COLOR 1

30 SET COLOR 0, 10, 10

40 REM *** THE TWELVE HILLS
50 FOR MOUNTAIN = l TO 12

100 REM *** TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

110 A=INT (320*RND ( 1 ) )
120 B=INT(70*RND( 1) +10)

200 REM *** TWELVE SIDES PER HILL

210 FOR SIDE= 1 TO 12
250 REM *** SELECTS BASE POINT
260 X=INT (320*RND (1) )
270 Y= INT ( 40 *RND ( 1 ) + 100)
300 REM *** DRAWS FROM BASE TO TOP
310 PLOT X, Y
320 DRAWTO A, B

400 REM *** MODERN PICTURE FRAME

410 FOR H=4 TO 9
420 SETCOLOR 4, H , 4
490 NEXT H

510 NEXT SIDE

600 REM *** NOTE CYC LE

610 FOR NOTE = 1 TO 50
620 N=INT (50*RND ( 1 ) )
630 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STE P - 5
640 SOUND 0, N, 10 , L
650 NEXT L
690 NEXT NOTE

900 REM *** DRA WS ANOTHER MOUNTAIN

910 NEXT MOUNTAIN
990 GO TO 990

A va lu e of 9 for hu e as the loop is fini shed gives th e perimeter of the

screen th e same hu e as the rest of th e background. This creates th e effect of
h av ing the frame occur off and on during the program.
RU N it a few times to full y ap prec iate the effect.
150 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

EXPLOSION SOUNDS

Since the process of a mountain range evolvi ng is really a verY 'stormy one
with many volcanic eruptions and such, let's add some explosion sounds
to the program. Make th e chan ges in the program as follows:

oREM *** MOUNTAIN RANGE

10 GRAPHICS 24
20 COLOR 1
30 SET COLOR 0, 10, 10

40 REM *** THE TWELVE HILLS

50 FOR MOUNTAIN=l TO 12

100 REM *** TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

110 A= INT(320*RND( 1))
120 B = INT (70*RND ( 1 ) + 10)

200 REM *** TWELVE SIDES PER HILL

210 FOR SIDE= 1 TO 12
250 REM *** SELECTS BASE POINT
260 X=INT(320*RND(1))
270 Y= INT (40*RND (1) + 1(0 )

300 REM *** DRAWS FROM BASE TO TOP

310 PLOT X, Y
320 DRAWTO A, B,

400 REM *** MODERN PICTURE FRAME

410 FOR H= 4 TO 9
420 SETCOLOR 4, H , 4
490 NEXT H

510 NEXT SIDE

600 REM *** NOTE CYC LE

610 FOR NOTE=l TO 50
620 N= INT (50 *RND (1) )
630 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP -5
640 SOUND 0, N , 10 , L
650 NEXT L
690 NEXT NOTE

700 REM *** SOUND TRACK

710 EXPL = INT (3*RND ( 1) + 1)
720 IF EXPL = l THEN GOSUB 20 10
 CHANCE MUSIC AND GRAPHICS 151

9~~ REM *** DRAWS ANOTHER MOUNTAIN

91~ NEXT MOUNTAIN
95~ GOSUB 2~1~
99~ GO TO 99~

2~~~ REM *** EXPLOSION SOUND

2~10 N= INT( l~*RND( 1) + 1) *1~
2~2~ FOR L= 15 TO ~ STEP -1
2~3~ SOUND ~ , N , ~ , L
2~4~ SOUND 1 , N + 1 , ~ , L
2~5~ SOUND 2,N+2,~,L
2~6~ SOUND 3 , N/2, ~ , L
2~7~ FOR p = 1 TO 5~
2~8~ NEXT P
2~9~ NEXT L
3~~~ RETURN

Now RUN the program. Occasionall y it shou ld stop after it has drawn a
mountain and create an explosion-type sound. If you RUN the program a
few times, you'll notice that this explosion occurs at different places in the
sequences of mountains being drawn and that the exp losion sounds a little
different each time.
Line 710 picks a random value between 1 and 3 for "EXPL." The IF-THEN
statement in line 720 says if EXPL equals 1 , then go down and exec ute the
explosion subroutine at line 2010. If the random va lu e chosen for EXPL is 2
or 3, then it goes on to line 910 with no explosion before it draws the next
mountain.
Whenever th e "explosion " subroutine is activated, line 2010 randomly
selects a value between 1 and 10 and th en multiplies this integer by 10 to
give N a random value of 10 , 20 , 30 , ... up to 100.
An explosion sound is actually a very complex wav e form often called
white noise in psycho-acoustics. This can be approximated as we have
done here by using a value of 0 for th e tone parameter , and playing note
values very close to eac h other with voices 0, 1 , and 2 (lines 2030 through
2(50) while voice 3 plays a note one octave high er than voice 0 (line 2(60).
The addition to the decay cycles (li nes 2020 through 2(90) with the slight
pause at each loudness (lines 2070 and 2(80) creates the loud percussive
beginning with an explosion that decreases in vo lum e.
The purpose of choosing different values for line 2010 is to give each
explosion a slightly varied effect. This would naturally occur if you were
located in one place and exp losions were happening around at different
distances and coming from different directions.
152 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Ideas for Exploration

The formula we have us ed for creating the exp losion sound in subroutine
2010 is not an absolute formula. You can make variations of your own to get
just the sound you want for an explosion. Here are some ideas .
Change line 2010 to randomly select som e other values for N. Remember
there are 256 values to choos e from.
Put INPUT statement before lin e 10 of the program and change the tone
parameter to a variable so yo u can exper iment with different values for tone
in the ex plosion subroutine. Ca n yo u think of a way to INPUT different tone
values in different SOUND statements here?
Vary the length of th e pause in lines 2070 and 2080 .
When you've finish ed your exp lorat ions , make sure yo u have the listing
for the next section.

oREM *** MOUNTAIN RANGE

10 GRAPHICS 24
20 COLOR 1
30 SETCOLOR 0,10,10

40 REM *** THE TWELVE HILLS

50 FOR MOUNTAIN = 1 TO 12

100 REM *** TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

110 A=INT (320*RND (1) )
120 B=INT (70*RND (1) + 10 )

200 REM *** TWELVE SIDES PER HILL

210 FOR SIDE=l TO 12
250 REM *** SELE CTS BASE POINT
260 X=INT (320*RND ( 1 ) )
270 Y=INT (40*RND ( 1) + 100)

300 REM *** DRAWS FROM BASE TO TOP

310 PLOT X, Y
320 DRAWTO A, B

400 REM *** MODERN PICTURE FRAME

410 FOR H=4 TO 9
420 SET COLOR 4, H , 4
490 NEXT H

510 NEXT SIDE

 CHANCE MUSIC AND GRAPHICS 153
- - - - -- -- - - - --- - - -_._--- - - -

600 REM *** NOTE CYCLE

610 FOR NOTE = 1 TO 50
620 N= INT (50*RND ( 1 ) )
630 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP -5
640 SOUND 0 , N, 10 , L
650 NEXT L
690 NEXT NOTE

700 REM *** SOUND TRACK

710 EXPL = INT (3*RND ( 1) + 1 )
720 IF EXPL =l THEN GOSUB 2010

900 REM *** DRAWS ANOTHER MOUNTAIN

910 NEXT MOUNTAIN
950 GOSUB 2010
990 GO TO 990

2000 REM ** EXPL OSION SOUND

20 10 N=INT( 10*RND( 1) + 1) * 10
2020 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP -1
2030 SOUND 0, N, 0 , L
2040 SOUND 1 , N+ 1, 0, L
2050 SOUND 2,N+2,0 , L
2060 SOUND 3, N/2 , 0 , L
2070 FOR P= 1 TO 50
2080 NEXT P
2090 NEXT L
3000 RETURN

For a final addition to our program let's make use of the technique we
learned in the last chapter to move th e same figure from one place to
another on the screen. We 'll hav e a UFO fly across the bottom of the screen .
154 ATAR I SOUND AND GRAPH ICS

First del ete lin e 990 and th en ad d the following lines:

10'00 REM *** UFO

1010 FOR A= 10 TO 300 STEP 3
1020 B=170
1030 COLOR 1
1040 GOSUB 4010
1050 COLOR 0
10'60 GOSUB 4010
1070 SOUND 0, INT (25*RND ( 1 ) ) , 10, 10
1080 NEXT A
10'90 SOUND 0,0,0,0
1095 GO TO 10'95

The UFO:

2000 REM ** EXPLOSION SOUND

2010 N= INT ( 10* RND ( 1) + 1) * 10
2020 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP -1
2030 SOUND 0, N, 0, L
2040 SOUND 1, N+ 1 , 0, L
2050 SOUND 2,N+2,0,L
2060 SOUND 3, N/2 , 0, L
2070 FOR P = 1 TO 50
2080 NEXT P
2090 NEXT L
3000 RETURN

4000 REM *** DRAWS UFO

4010 SET COLOR 4 , INT ( 15 * RND ( 1) ) , 10
4020 PLOT A, B
4030 DRAW TO A + 2, B- 2
4040 DRAWTO A+6,B
4050 DRAWTO A+2, B+2
4060 DRAWTO A, B
4090 RETURN

RUN the program with th ese lines added , and you should see the figure
move across the bottom of th e screen with a high note played and the
perimeter of th e screen changing each tim e th e figur e appears .
The FOR-NEXT loop in lin es 1010 establi shes p lot points for column (Al
at 10,13 , 16 , etc ., across th e scree n to column 300. The value for row (Bl is
constant at row 170.
Lines 1030 and 1040 enter COLOR 1 and then execute the subroutine to
draw the figure. Lines 1050 and 1060 erase the figure . After the figure has
been drawn and erased, a random note is played . Then the cycle begins
aga in. The value of COLOR 1 in line 1030 isn 't really necessary the first
 CHANCE MUSIC AND GRAPHICS 155
- -- - -- - - - -- -- -- - - - - - - - - - - -- ._ - -
tim e through the cycle si nce it has been entered in line 20. However, once
the machine has used COLOR 0 at line 1050, it wi ll stay in COLOR 0 until it
is given another va lu e for co lor. So li ne 1030 becomes important after the
first time thro ugh the cycle.
Lin e 4010 of the " Draws UFO " subroutine is th e one that causes the
perimeter of the screen to change co lors. We've us ed an RND func tion to
choose one of the sixteen possible va lu es for hu e each tim e the subroutine
is executed .
Here's the com pl ete listing of the program:

REM *** MOUNTAIN RANGE

10 GRA PHI CS 24
20 CO LOR 1
30 SETCOLOR 0 , 10 , 10

40 REM *** THE TWELVE HI LL S

50 FOR MOUNTAIN= 1 TO 12

100 REM *** TOP OF THE MOUNTAI N

11 0 A= INT (320*RND( 1 ))
120 B= I NT(70*RND ( 1 ) +10)

200 REM *** TWELVE SIDES PER HILL

210 FOR SIDE= 1 TO 12
250 REM *** SELE CTS BASE POINT
260 X= INT (320*RND (1) )
270 Y= I NT(40*RND( 1 ) + 100)

300 REM *** DRAWS FROM BASE TO TOP

3 10 PLOT X , Y
320 DRAWTO A, B

400 REM *** MODERN PICTURE FRAME

410 FOR H= 4 TO 9
420 SETCOLO R 4 , H , 4
490 NEXT H

510 NEXT SIDE

600 REM *** NOTE CYCLE

6 10 FOR NOTE = l TO 50
620 N= INT (50*RND (1) )
630 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP -5
640 SOUND 0, N, 10, L
650 NEXT L
690 NEXT NOTE
156 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

700 REM *** SOUND TRACK

710 EXP L = INT( 3*RND(1)+1)
720 IF EXPL = 1 THEN GOSUB 2010

900 REM *** DRAWS ANOTHER MOUNTAIN

910 NEXT MOUNTAIN
950 GOSUB 2010

1000 REM *** UFO

1010 FOR A=10 TO 300 STEP 3
1020 B=170
1030 CO L OR 1
1040 GOSUB 4010
1050 COLOR 0
1060 GOSUB 4010
1070 SOUND 0, INT (25*RND ( 1 ) ) ,10,10
1080 NEXT A
1090 SOUND 0,0 , 0 , 0
1095 GO TO 1095

2000 REM ** EXPLOSION SOUND

2010 N= INT( 10*RND( 1) +1) *10
2020 FOR L =15 TO 0 STEP -1
2030 SOUND 0, N , 0, L
2040 SOUND 1, N+ 1,0, L
2050 SOUND 2,N+2,0, L
2060 SOUND 3, N/2 , 0, L
2070 FOR P= 1 TO 50
2080 NEXT P
2090 NEXT L
3000 RETURN

4000 REM *** DRAWS UFO

4010 SETCO LOR 4, INT (15*RND ( 1) ) , 10
4020 PLOT A , B
4030 DRAW TO A+2, B-2
4040 DRAWTO A +6, B
4050 DRAWTO A+2, B+2
4060 DRAWTO A, B
4090 RETURN

In this chapter you have learned several ways to use RND functions to
create varations in the sound and graphics of a program. Although th e two
programs in this chapter might be cons idered "fine art" (th at is they have no
particular purpose other than to be enjoyed), the techniques can just as
easily be us ed in "functional" programs, such as ed ucational aids or games.
 CHANCE MUSIC AND GRAPH ICS 157

We'll make use of these tec hniques and others in the coming chapters to
create a pitch-matching game.
Heraclitus , the ancient Greek philosopher, was believed to hav e once
said:

" You can't step in the same river twice."

By this he meant that the river is always changing, and so are yo u.

When we introduce the RND function into a program we might para-
phrase Heraclitus and say:

"You can 't run th e same program twice."

The program is alwa ys changing, and so are you .

Self-Test

1. What range of numbers will th e following program PRINT?

10 PRINT 20*RND ( 1 )
20 GO TO 10

2. What must be added to line 10 above to PRINT only random integers?

3. What must line 10 of the same program be if you wish to PRINT
random integers from 1 through 20?
4. What must line 110 be in this program to randomly generate an even
integer from 0 to 14 for tone?

1¢¢ REM *** RANDOM TONES

110-----------------
120 SOUND 0,20 , T, 10
130 FOR P= 1 TO 100
140 NEXT P
150 GO TO 110

5. Graphics mode 19 has 40 columns [0 through 39) and 24 rows (0

through 23). Add lines 110 and 120 to the following program to
randomly choose plot points for co lumn [AJ and row (BJ:

10 GRAPHICS 19
20 CO LOR 1
30 SETCOLOR 0,8, 10
130 PLOT A, B
140 GO TO 10
158 ATAR I SOUND AND GRAPH ICS

6. Will the notes in this program be high or low notes?

100 REM *** FLIGHT OF THE HONEY BEE

110 N=INT (25*RND ( 1) +225)
120 SOUND 0, N, lliJ' , 10
130 FOR P= 1 TO 5
140 NEXT P
150 GOTO 110

7. How would you change line 710 of the final program in this chapter to
make it equally likely that the explosion will or will not occur?
8. Change line 1020 of the final program from this chapter so that it picks
from all of the 256 possible note values.

Answers

1. From 0 through 19
2. Make line 10:

10 PRINT INT ( 20*RND ( 1) )

3. Line 10 becomes :

10 PRINT INT ( 20*RND ( 1 ) + 1 )

4. Line 110 should be:

110 T = INT (8*RND ( 1) ) *2

5. Lines 110 and 120 become :

110 A = INT(39 * RND(1))

120B = INT( 23* RND(1))

6. Low notes
7. Make line 710 :

710 EXPL = INT(2*RND ( 1 ) + 1 )

8. Lines 1070 becomes:

1020 SOUND 0, INT (256*RND (1) ) , 10,10

 CHANCE MUS IC AND GRAPHICS 159

Challenges

1. Change line 1020 so that the fi gure stays in th e bottom area of the
screen but moves up and dovm instead of going straight across . HINT:
You need to randoml y select values for rows between about 150 and
180.
2. Add some blinking stars to the picture.
 CHAPTER NINE

String Variables

As you'v e been exp loring and learning aboll t your ATARI 400 or S00
Computer, you've made frequent use of INPUT statements to enter num eric
variables . You 've also learn ed to have th e comp uter compare different
numeric values and respond according to condition s yo u establish with
IF-THEN statements.
In this chapter we w ill look at ways to wo rk with strin g variables. This
will allow you to have the comp uter res pond to words and letters as
variables also. As yo u w ill see a bit la ter in th e chapter, thi s w ill be va luab le
when working with musical notes th at are usually defined by letters like C
or F#.

STRINGS

Although yo u may not have seen th e term before, yo u have already worked
w ith strings quite a bit in some of th e programs yo u' ve been using. Often
when you 've u sed a PRINT sta temen t, yo u have actuall y had the machine
print a string. For examp le:

110' PRINT " MUS I C I S MORE THAN JUST NOTES','

~'--------------v~------------~
'--
The informati on betw een th e quotation marks is the string. The quota-
tion marks are not part of the string.
Another example of a strin g would be:

110' PRINT " C2 "

In this case the strin g includes both a letter and a numb er.

160
 STR ING VAR IABLES 161

A string may include:

Numera ls (0 ,1,2 ... )

Letters (A,B,C , ... )
Special characters (-, + , =, # ... J

Combinations of th ese are also appropriate as strings. For examp le, the
following are all strings:

C#
C MAJOR 7
F# MINOR
C2

Since the quotation marks are not part of the string, you can 't use them in
the string. For example , if you try to say:

110 PRINT "THIS" PRINT STATEM ENT" WON T WORK " I

you get an ERROR message . So if you are typing in an elaborate string, be

sure to avo id using the quotation marks as symbols.

String Variables
In ATARI BASIC the sym bol for a string variable is a letter of the alphabet
followed by a dollar sign ($). You might use someth in g like:

A$
Z$
P$

Before you use a string variab le , you must tell the comp uter how long the
string might be. That is , you must reserve a place in the computer's memory
to put the string wh il e it is wa iting to be used . This is done with a
DIMension statement. For examp le , th e following DIM statement tells th e
computer to make room for a string of up to five characters in length.

10 DIM A$ (5)
/
Dimens ion
t
String
~
Of fi ve ch aracters
162 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

To see the string A$ used as a variable, ENTER and RUN the following
program:

10 DIM A$ (5)
110 A$= "MUSIC"
120 PRINT A$
130 GO TO 120

Pretty soon the screen looks like this :

MUSIC
MUSIC
MUS IC
MUSIC
MUSIC
MUS IC
MUSIC
MUSIC
MUSIC
MUSIC
MUSIC
MUS IC
MUSIC

Line 10 dimensions the string for up to fi ve characters. That is, it reserves

space for five characters in the computer's memory.
Line 110 says the string A$ is MUSIC, and then lines 120 and 130 print
the string over and over.
A string may be dim ensioned for more characters than it will contain, but
it cannot be dimensioned for fewer characters. For example,

10 DIM A$ ( 10)

would work in the program above, but if you entered:

10 DIM A$(4)
 STRING VARIABLES 163

it would print:

MUSI
MUSI
MUSI
MUSI
MUSI
MUSI
MUSI
MUSI
MUSI
MUSI
MUSI
MUSI
MUSI

Try making line 10:

10 DIM A$(2)

and RUN the program to see what that does.

The computer will accept onl y as many characters for a string as you tell
it to in the DIM statement. If you type in a longer string, it ignores any
characters beyond the number for which it has been dimensioned .
Spaces also count as characters when you dimension a string. The string
NEW MUSIC is nine characters long (eight letters and one space).
ENTER and RUN this program to print NEW MUSIC.

10 DIM B$ (9)
110 B$= "NEW MUSIC"
120 PRINT B$
130 GO TO 120

Now change line 10 to:

10 DIM B$(4)

and RUN the program to see what happen s.

You may use more than one letter to define a string variable:

AZ$
PD$
164 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

or a letter and a numb er:

A1$
G4$

but if you try to u se the symbol s at the top of the keyboard such as:

A%$
A#Z$

you'll get an ERROR message. Don 't get co nfus ed here between the symbol
for the string variabl e and the ac tual information in the string. For example :

I
10 DIM A#B$ ( 10 )
20 A#B$="MUSIC"

---~

w ill give yo u an ERROR.

But this works :

10 DIM A$ ( 10)
20 A$= "MU SIC #4"

~
 STR ING VAR IABLES 165

ASK FOR MUSIC

You can use strings as variables in many of the same ways that you've been
using numerals as variables in other programs. The following program uses
the string Z$ with an INPUT statement , an IF-THEN statement , and a
PRINT statement:

oREM *** ASK FOR MUSIC

----.. 10 DIM Z$( 10)

100 REM *** INSTRUCTIONS

110 PRINT
120 PRINT
130 PRINT "TO HEAR THE MUSIC"
140 PRINT "TYPE THE WORD I MUSIC I "
150 PRINT" AND PRESS RETURN"

________ 200 REM *** ENTER STRING

~ 210 INPUT Z$

300 REM *** LOOKS AT STRING

310 IF Z$ = "MUSIC" THEN 510
320 IF Z$ <> "MUSIC" THEN 410

400 REM *** NO MU SIC

410 PRINT
420 PRINT "SORRY I DON I T KNOW"
430 PRINT "HOW TO PLAY"
- - - - . 440 PRINT Z$
490 GO TO 110

500 REM ** PLAYS THE MUSIC

510 FOR CYCLE=l TO 50
530 N= INT( 25 * RND( 1) +1) *12
540 SOUND 0,N, 10, 10
550 FOR P= l TO 25
560 NEXT P
570 NEXT CYCLE
580 SOUND 0 , 0,0,0
590 GOTO 110

ENTER and RUN this program . After the instructions appear on the
screen, type either the word MUSIC or something else and press RETURN.
166 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Whatever you type is stored as the string Z$ by the INPUT statement at

line 210. If you type MUSIC, the IF-THEN statement at line 310 compares
the string Z$ to " MUSIC" and then goes to lin e 510 and p lays some music.
If, however, you type something else, the INPUT statement at line 210
stores that at Z$. Let's say you type DOG. It stores the string DOG at Z$. In
line 310 it sees that DOG is not equal to MUSIC , so it doesn't play any
music , but goes to line 320. In line 320 the proper conditions for the
IF-THEN statement are met. That is , the string Z$ , which is DOG , is not
equal to MUSIC , so it goes to lin e 410. The PRINT statement at line 410 just
prints a blank space to separate what follows from any previous text on the
screen. It then executes th e PRINT statements in line 420 and 430. Then it
prints Z$ , which in this case is DOG. The result on the screen is:

SORRY I DON'T KNOW

HOW TO PLAY
DOG

Line 490 goes back to line 110 where it prints two blank spaces and then
the instructions again.

Explorations
1. Could Z$ be dimension ed for fewer characters in line 10 and have the
program run the same?
2. Add a line at 520 to have the computer PRINT Z$ .

Answers

1. Yes , it cou ld be as sma ll as:

10 DIM Z$( 5)

since the string "MUSIC" has only five characters.

2. Line 52fi) should be:

520 PRINT Z$

RUN the program like this and see what happens .

TWO STRINGS IN ONE PROGRAM

You can use more than one string in a program, but you must be sure to
dimension each string you use . Here's an example of a program that has two
strings, A$ and B$:
 STRING VARIABLES 167

95
REM *** OLD AND NEW
1 REM *** MUZIO CLEMENTI
2 REM *** HERB MOORE
Dimensions each - - - - - . 10' DIM A$ ( 10')
string 2(0 DIM B$ ( 1(0)

1(0(0 REM *** THE STRINGS

_---0-
Defines th e strings _ _ _ __. Uri'f1 A$ = "OLD MUSIC"
... 12(0 B$ = "NEW MUSIC"

2(0(0 REM *** PICK S OLD OR NEW

21(0 X=INT(2*RND(1)+1)
22(0 IF X = 1 THEN 51(0
23(0 IF X = 2 THEN 61(0

5(0(0 REM *** OLD SONG-CLEMENTI

51(0 PRINT
515 PRINT
Prints "old music " - - - - 52(0 PRINT A$
53(0 FOR CYCLE = l TO 16
535 READ N

Reads notes from

Clementi theme
~ 54(0
545
SOUND (0, N, 1(0, 1(0
FOR P=l TO 25
55(0 NEXT P
555 NEXT CYCLE
56(0 DATA 162,121 ,96,8 1
565 DATA 91,96,1(08,121
57(0 DATA 72 , 81,91,96
575 DATA 1(08,121 , 128,144
Restores notes - - - ' - - - - 58(0 RESTORE
59(0 GOTO 21(0

6(0(0 REM *** NEW SONG-HERB + RND

61(0 PRINT
615 PRINT
Prints "new
music" ------. 62(0 PRINT B$
63(0 FOR CYCLE = 1 TO 16
64(ON = INT(25*RND(1)+1)*12

I
Randomly se lects 65(0 SOUND (0, N, 1(0 , 1(0
and pla ys notes for - - - 66(0 FOR P = 1 TO 15
new musi c 6795 NEXT P
68(0 NEXT CYCLE
69(0 GO TO 210
168 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

ENTER and RUN this program and you hear the computer randomly
choose between a theme by the Italian composer Muzio Clementi (1752-
1832) and some modern sounds. When it plays Clementi, it prints OLD
MUSIC on the screen; when it plays the modern theme , it prints NEW
MUSIC on the screen .

FANCY PRINTING

Since we've been using graphics mod es 3 through 8 so far, yo u may have
wondered about graphics modes 1 and 2. These modes are text mod es that
allow you to print information on the screen with fancy , colorful letters.
They will print information in the text window that is just like the text in
other graphics modes, but if you want to use big, co lorful letters in the
graphics display area, you must use a device numb er.
Many of the pieces of equipment associated with your ATARI Computer
are called input/output devices (sometimes abbrev iated I/O) . As th e name
would imply, th ey let you INPUT information to the comp uter and/or
OUTPUT information from the computer. The keyboard with which you
enter information into the computer's memory is an input device. The
AT ARI 400 Cassette Recorder and the AT ARI 800 Disk Drive system are
input/output devices. The TV monitor is also an input/output device.
It is not within th e scope of this book to give a detailed description of the
ATARI Computer 's hardware, but it is valuable to know that each of these
devices has a device number that must be used in certain operations.
In order to print in th e graphics display area in modes 1 or 2, the PRINT
statement must take the following form:

10' GR. 1
20' COLOR 1
110' PRINT #6; "NEW MUSIC"

ENTER and RUN th e following program to see what the fancy printing
looks like in graphics mod e 1:

0' REM *** F'ANCY PRINTING

10' GRAPHI CS 1
20' COLOR 1
30' SET COLOR 0' ,8,8

10'0' REM *** TEXT IN GRAPHICS DISPLAY

120' PRINT #6; "MUS IC"

20'0' REM *** KEEPS IT ON SCREEN

 STRING VARIABLES 169

You should see something like this appear on the screen:

MLJS I c:

I ~EADY

Now change line 10 to:

10' GR. 2

and RUN the program .

This tim e it should print letters of th e same height, but twi ce as wide .

I~EADY

If you think of each letter takin g up one plot poi nt, the word MUSIC
appears in columns 0 through 4 and in row 1. The number of columns and
rows avai lab le in graphics modes 1 and 2 is:
170 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHI CS

Graphics Mod e Columns Rows

1 (0 through 19) (0 through 19)
2 (0 thr ough 19) (0 through 9)

To print several lin es in graphi cs mod es 1 and 2, yo u must us e the

punctuation #6 ; in each PRINT stat ement. For exa mpl e:

~ REM *** FANCY PRINTING

l~ GRAPHICS 2
2~ COLOR 1
3~ SETCOLOR ~, 8, 8

l~~ REM *** TEXT IN GRAPHICS DISPLAY

12~ PRINT #6; "NEW"
14~ PRINT #6; "MUSIC"

2~~ REM *** KEEPS IT ON SCR EEN

ENTER and RUN this program.

Which columns and rows are being used in the PRINT statements in lines
120 and 130?
The string "NEW" appears in columns 0 through 2, row 0.
The string "MUSIC" appears in columns 0 through 4, row 1.
You can also e liminate the text window in grap hi cs modes 1 and 2 by
adding 16 as you did w ith other mod es.

GRAPHICS 1 + 16 or GRAPHICS 17
GRAPHICS 2 + 16 or GRAPHICS 18

Try the program above in grap hics modes 17 and 18.

 STR IN G VAR IABLES 171

POSITION YOUR PRINTING

In the "Old and New " program from earlier in this chapter, we printed
spaces between lines by adding PRINT statements with no strings, as in
lines 510 and 515 . AT ARI BASIC also has a command that allows you to
place text at different lo cations on the screen; it is the POSITION command.
If you wish to center th e strin gs "NEW" and "MUSIC " on the screen, you
can use the POSITION command like this:

oREM *** FANCY PRINTING

10 GRAPH ICS 18
20 COLOR 1
30 SETCO LOR 0,8,8

100 REM *** TEXT IN GRAPHICS DISPLAY

110
POSITION 7,3
120 PRINT #6; "NEW"
____ 130 POSITION 6, 5
140 PRINT #6; " MUSIC"

200 REM *** KEEPS IT ON SCREEN

210 GOTO 210

RUN the program and the screen should look like this:

NEW
MUSI c:::

Lin e 110 tells the computer to begin the string "NEW" at co lum n 7 and
row 3.
Line 130 te lls it to beg in the string "MUSIC" at co lu mn 6 and row 5.

- - - - - - - --- ---
172 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Explorations
See if you can create this on the screen:

MUSIC
OLD AND NEW
MU51C

BACK TO THE "OLD AND NEW"

Now let's go back to the "Old and New" program we were u sing earlier in
this chapter and instead of printing OLD MUSIC or NEW MUSIC in normal
text as it plays th e sounds like thi s:

NEW MUSIC
OLD MUSIC
OLD MUSIC
NEW MUSIC
OLD MUSIC
 STRING VARIABLES 173

we 'll have it print either OLD MUSIC or NEW MUSIC in big letters in the
center of the screen like this:

OLD MUSIC
174 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

First look at the version of the program that prints in normal text:

(il' REM *** OLD AND NEW

1 REM *** MUZIO CLEMENTI
2 REM *** HERB MOORE
1(il' DIM A$ ( 1(il' )
2(il' DIM B$( 1(il' )

1(il'(il' REM *** THE STR INGS

ll(il' A$="O LD MUSIC"
12(il' B$= "NEW MUSIC"

2(il'(il' REM *** PICKS OLD OR NEW

21(il' X=INT(2*RND(1)+1)
22(il' IF X=1 THEN 51(il'
23(il' IF X=2 THEN 6W

5(il'(il' REM *** OLD SONG-CLEMENTI

51(il' PRINT
515 PRINT
52(il' PRINT A$
53(il' FOR CYCLE= 1 TO 16
535 READ N
54(il' SOUND (il', N, 1(il', 1(il'
545 FOR P= 1 TO 25
55(il' NEXT P
555 NEXT CYCLE
56(il' DATA 162,121,96,81
565 DATA 91,96, 1(il'8 , 121
57(il' DATA 72,81,91,96
575 DATA 1(il'8, 121,128,144
58(il'RESTORE
59(il' GO TO 21(il'

6(il'(il' REM * * * NEW SONG-HERB + RND

61(il' PRINT
615 PRINT
62(il' PRINT B$
63(il' FOR CYCLE=1 TO 16
64(il' N=INT(25*RND( 1) + 1 ) * 12
65(il' SOUND (il', N , 1(il' , 1(il'
66(il' FOR P= 1 TO 15
67(il' NEXT P
68(il' NEXT CYCLE
69(il' GO TO 21(il'
 STRING VARIABLES 175

Now add the following lines:

30' GRAPHICS 18
40' COLOR 1
60' H= INT ( 16*RND ( 1 ) )
70' SETCOLOR 4, H , 4

Now replace line 510 and change line 520 as follows:

510' POSITION 5,4

520' PRINT #6; A$

and do the same with lines 610 and 620.

610' POSITION 5 , 4
620' PRINT #6 ; B$

Since we're using the POSITION command to place the text on the
screen, we no longer need the PRINT statements at lines 515 and 615 which
had been used originally to print blank lines in the text. Delete lines 515
and 615.
Finally we want to get rid of the previous text on the screen each time
another passage of music is played. This can be done by changing lines 590
and 690 to:

590' GOTO 30'

690' GOTO 30'

In this way, once the machine has finished playing either passage , " Old"
or "New," it will go back to line 30 and enter graphics mode 18 again . Any
time you enter a new graphics mode , what was previously on the screen
will be erased.
176 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Here's a complete listing of the program:

oREM *** OLD AND NEW

1 REM *** MUZIO CLEMENTI
2 REM * * * HERB MOORE
10 DIM A$( 10)
20 DIM B$( 10)
Fan cy print: no - - - - - . 30 GRAPHICS 18
text window
40 CO LOR 1
60 H= INT( 16*RND( 1))
Random hue for
background screen - - - - . 70 SETCO LOR 4, H, 4

100 REM *** THE STRINGS

110 A$ = "OLD MUSIC"
120 B$= "NEW MUSIC"

200 REM *** PICKS OLD OR NEW

210 X=INT(2*RND(I)+I)
220 IF X=1 THEN 510
230 IF X=2 THEN 610

500 REM *** OLD SONG- CLEMENTI

Places text • 510 POSITION 5,4
______ 520 PRINT #6; A$
Device #6; gives 530 FOR CYCLE= 1 TO 16
fancy print 535 READ N
540 SOUND 0, N , 10, 10
545 FOR P= 1 TO 25
550 NEXT P
555 NEXT CYCL E
560 DATA 162,121,96,81
565 DATA 91 , 96,108,121
570 DATA 72,81,91,96
575 DATA 108,121,128,144
580 RESTORE
590 GO TO 30

600 REM *** NEW SONG-HERB + RND

Places text - - - 610 POSITION 5,4
620 PRINT #6; B$
630 FOR CYCLE = 1 TO 16
640 N= INT (25*RND (1) + 1) * 12
650 SOUND 0, N, 10, 10
660 FOR P = 1 TO 15
670 NEXT P
680 NEXT CYCLE
690 GO TO 30
 STRING VARIABLES 177

Explorations
Instead of printing OLD MUSIC or NEW MUSIC , have the computer print
CLEMENTI or RANDOM NOTES each time it plays a passage.
HINT: You need to change lines 110 and 120.
The string RANDOM NOTES is a little longer than the other string in the
program. Change the POSITION statement in line 610 to center this string.

ENTER AND PLAY NOTES

In the remainder of this chapter, we will begin to develop a program that

plays a note from the C major scale each time you enter the letter name of
that note. First it will just play the note; th en we 'll draw a music staff and
the notes will appear on the staff.
Begin by entering the following program:

oREM *** NOTE PRACTICE

1 REM *** HERB MOORE

Dimension string - - - -. 10 DIM A$ (5)

20 GRAPH I CS 7
30 COLOR 1
40 SETCOLOR 4, 11 , 12

100 REM *** ENTER NOTE

110 PRINT "TYPE C, D, OR E"
120 PRINT
Assigns letter 130 PRINT" AND PRESS RETURN"
ty ped to string A$ - - - - - 140 INPUT A$

200 REM *** COMPARES STRING

Compares A$ Ie ( 210 IF A$ = "C" THEN 310
the strings "C." - - _ . 220 IF A$ = "D" THEN 410
" 0 ," and "E"
230 IF A$= "E" THEN 460
290 GOTO 910

300 REM *** PLAYS "C"

310 N= 121
If A$ = "e" - - - - [
350 GOSUB 2010
360 GO TO 110

400 REM ** * PLAYS "D"

410 N=108
If A$ = " 0" - - - - [ 430 GOSUB 2010
440 GO TO 110
178 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

45(,3' REM *** PLAYS "E"

46(,3' N=96
If A$ = "E" - - - - [
48(,3' COSUS 2(,3'1(,3'
49(,3' COTO 11(,3'

9(,3'(,3' REM *** INVALID CHOICE

910 PRINT "SORRY, I CAN'T PLAY"
Some other str ing - 92(,3' PRINT A$
93(,3' FOR P = 1 TO 5(,3'(,3'
94(,3' NEXT P
99(,3' CO TO 11(,3'

2(,3'(,3'(,3' REM *** TELLS YOU THE NOTE

2(,3'1(,3' PRINT "THIS IS THE NOTE"
2(,3'2(,3' PRINT "YOU HAVE ENTERED"
2(,3'3(,3' PRINT A$
Prints and plays _
note
3(,3'(,3'(,3' REM *** PLAYS THE NOTE
3(,3'1(,3' FOR L=15 TO (,3' STEP -1
3(,3'2(,3' SOUND (,3',N, l(,3',L
3(,3'3(,3' FOR P=l TO 15
3(,3'4(,3' NEXT P
3(,3'5(,3' NEXT L
3(,3'6(,3' RETURN

Now RUN the program and when the instructions appear in the text
window, type C, D, or E and press RETURN.

Instruct ions
I TYPE C, D, OR E
~~D PRESS RETURN
 STR ING VARIABLES 179

Let's say you type th e letter D. Here's what should happen. The text
window changes to:

I THIS IS TH E NOTE
b~U HAVE ENTERED

whi le the note D is played. Then th e instructions appear again on the

screen.
The INPUT statement at line 140 gives the string A$ the va lue D. The
IF-THEN statement at line 210 finds that A$ is not eq ual to C, so it goes on to
line 220. At 220 th e conditions of the IF-THEN statement are m et. That is,
A$ is equal to D.
The program then branches to line 410 where N is given the value 108
(the value for the note D). At lin e 420, it goes to the subroutine at line 2010
where it prints the information telling you what note you've picked. The
string D for A$ is used aga in here , in line 2030. Then in lines 3010 through
3050, the note is played.
The RETURN statement at lin e 3060 causes th e program to pick up again
at line 440. Since this is a GOTO statement, it wi ll immediately go back to
line 110 and type the instructions again.
If you look at the blocks for the notes C,D, and E at lines 300,400, and 450
respectively, yo u 'll see that they are quite sim il ar and work similarl y in the
program depending on which IF-THEN statement in lines 210 through 230
is ab le to find the right match for A$.
But what if you type some letter other than C,D, or E in respons e to the
instructions when they appear in the text window? Suppose, for example,
you type H. In this case none of the IF-THEN statements in lines 210
through 230 wi ll find a match and th e program wi ll go on to line 290. The
GOTO statement at li ne 290 branches the program down to line 910 where
it prints the text "SORRY , I CAN'T PLAY " along w ith whatever you've
entered for A$. This appears in the text window. Since you've typed H, it
will look like thi s:
180 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

I~~RRY I CAN 'T PLAY

RUN this program a few more times to m ake sure everything is working
as it should , and then we 'll make some additions.

Draw Staff Lines

Our goal is to have the notes appear on the music staff as they play , so add
this subroutine to draw th e music staff:

1000 REM *** DRAWS MUSIC STAFF

1010 FOR ROW=36 TO 60 STEP 6
1020 PLOT 10 . ROW
1030 DRAWTO 140. ROW
1040 NEXT ROW
1050 RETURN

Then add line 50:

50 GOSUB 1010
 STRING VARIABLES 181

RUN this program now, and you should get this on the screen.

I TYPE C, 0 OR E
~~D PRESS RETURN

Otherwise it will operate the same as it did before. We'll add some lines
to plot the notes soon , but first let 's look carefully at how the staff was
drawn.
Putting the GOSUB statement at line 50 causes the subroutine to draw the
staff to be executed immediately after the graphics mode and color com-
mand have been executed .
We've used a FOR-NEXT loop for ROW. The first time through the lo op,
it plots a point at column 10, row 36 at line 1010. Then at line 1020 it draws
a line to column 140, row 36 . That's the top line of the staff. The second
time through the loop , it draws a line from column 10 to column 140 at row
42. This continues until all five staff lines are drawn. The RETURN state-
ment at line 1050 causes the program to pick up at line 110. From there it
operates the same as it did before this subroutine was added.
Make sure you have this listing before go ing on.
182 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

(.3' REM *** NOTE PRACTICE

1 REM *** HERB MOORE

1(.3' DIM A$(5)

2(.3' GRAPHICS 7
3(.3' COLOR 1
4(.3' SET CO LOR 4 , 11 , 12
We've added - - - - . 5(.3' GOSUB 1(.3'1(.3'

1(.3'(.3' REM ENTER NOTE

11(.3' PRINT "TYPE C,D,OR E"
12(.3' PRINT
13(.3' PRINT" AND PRESS RETURN"
14(.3' INPUT A$

2(.3'(.3' REM *** COMPARES S TRING

21(.3' IF A$="C" THEN 31(.3'
22(.3' IF A$="D" THEN 41(.3'
23(.3' IF A$=IIE" THEN 46(.3'
29(.3' GO TO 91(.3'

3(.3'(.3' REM *** PLAYS IIC"

31(.3' N=121
35(.3' GOSUB 2(.3'1(.3'
36(.3' GOTO 11(.3'

4(.3'(.3' REM *** PLAYS 110

11

41(.3' N= 1(.3'8
43(.3' GOSUB 2(.3'10'
44(.3' GO TO 11(.3'

45(.3' REM *** PLAYS liE"

46(.3' N=96
48(.3' GOSUB 2(.3'1(.3'

9(.3'(.3' REM *** INVALID CHOICE

91(.3' PRINT IISORRY , I CAN I T PLAY II
92(.3' PRINT A$
93(.3' FOR P = 1 TO 5(.3'(.3'
94(.3' NEXT P
99(.3' GO TO 11(.3'

1(.3'(.3'(.3' REM *** DRAWS MUSIC STAFF

1(.3'1(.3' FOR ROW=36 TO 6(.3' STEP 6
We've added - - _ 10'2(.3' PLOT 1(.3', ROW
1(.3'3(.3' DRAWTO 14(.3', ROW
1(.3'4(.3' NEXT ROW
1(.3'5(.3' RETURN
 STRING VARIABLES 183

2000 REM *** TELLS YOU THE NOTE

2010 PRINT "THIS IS THE NOTE"
2020 PRINT "YOU HAVE ENTERED"
2030 PRINT A$

3000 REM *** PLAYS THE NOTE

3010 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP-1
3020 SOUND 0, N, 10, L
3030 FOR P= 1 TO 15
3040 NEXT P
3050 NEXT L
3060 RETURN

Put Notes on the Staff

Rather than drawing each note on the staff separately, we can use the
techniques we learned in Chapter 7 to draw a figure of the same size and
shape at different places on the screen. Begin by adding the following lines
to subroutine 2010:

2040 REM *** DRAWS NOTE

2050 PLOT COL, ROW
2060 DRAWTO COL+3, ROW-3
2070 DRAWTO COL+6, ROW
2080 DRAWTO CO L +3, ROW+3
2090 DRAWTO COL, ROW

As you can see, we 've made the values of both column and row variables.
We want to plot in different rows dep ending upon the note played. This
will determine on which staff line a note appears. But we want to plot the
notes at equal distances from each other going from left to right across the
staff. Let's start with column 15 and put notes at columns 15, 25, 35, . . . 125.
This can be done with a FOR-NEXT lo op for COL at lines 80 and 890. Add
these lines:

70 REM ** MOVES NOTES ACROSS STAFF

80 FOR COL=15 TO 125 STEP 10

and:

810 REM ** MOVES NOTES ACROSS STAFF

820 NEXT COL
184 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Since the value for ROW wi ll vary depending on the note played, it
should be entered in the main body of the program. The block for each note
played w ill have a different value for ROW. The note C presents some
additional considerations, so we'll look at D first.
The note "D" should appear just below the bottom line of the staff. Row
63 is the appropriate row to use, so add line 420:

420 ROW=63

The appropriate ROW for E is row 60, which is right on the bottom line of
the staff. Add line 470:

470 ROW=60

Now when the block for a particular note is executed, for example, line
410 through 440 for the note D, we don't want the machine to go directly
back to line 110. Instead we want it to finish the FOR-NEXT loop for COL at
line 810 . So change line 440 and 470 to:

440 GOTO 810

470 GO TO 810

We're still ignoring the block for C, but we'll get to it soon.
 STR ING VARIABLES 185
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---- - - - - - --- - ---- ---- ----

Here's what we've don e so far:

oREM *** NOTE PRACTICE

1 REM *** HERB MOORE

100IMA$(5)
20 GRAPHICS 7
30 COLOR 1
4 0 SE T COLOR 4 , 11, 12
50 GOSUB 1010

Puts note at next

70 REM *** MOVES NOTE ACROSS STAFF
pos ition on staff 80 FOR COL= 15 TO 125 STEP 10
go ing left to right
100 REM ENTER NOTE
110 PRINT "TYPE C, 0 , OR E"
120 PRINT
130 PRINT" AND PRESS RETURN"
140 INPUT A$

200 REM *** COMPARES STRING

210 IF A$="C" THEN 310
Co l value is used 220 IF A$ = "0" THEN 410
in 2050 throu gh
2090 230 IF A$= "E" THEN 460
290 GO TO 110

300 REM *** PLAYS "C"

310 N=121
350 GOSUB 2010
360 GOTO 110

400 REM *** PLAYS "0"

Puts note just
below bottom 410 N= 108
staff lin e 420 ROW = 63
430 GOSUB 2010
440 GOTO 810

450 REM *** PLAYS "E"

Next col - - - - - 460 N=96
470 ROW = 60
480 GOSUB 2010
490 GOTO 810

Puts note on bottom 800 REM *** MOVES NOTE ACROSS STAFF
staff lin e 810 NEXT CO L
186 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

9(0(0 REM *** INVALID CHOICE

91(0 PRINT "SORRY , I CAN'T PLAY"
92(0 PRINT A$
93(0 FOR P= 1 TO 5(0(0
94(0 NEXT P
99(0 GO TO 11(0

1(0(0(0 REM *** DRAWS MUSIC STAFF

1(01(0 FOR ROW=36 TO 6(0 STEP 6
1(02(0 PLOT 1(0 , ROW
1(03(0 DRAWTO 14(0 , ROW
1(04(0 NEXT ROW
1(05(0 RETURN

2(0(0(0 REM *** TELLS YOU THE NOTE

2(01(0 PRINT "THIS IS THE NOTE"
2(02(0 PRINT "YOU HAVE ENTERED"
2(03(0 PRINT A$

2(04(0 REM *** DRAWS NOTE

2(05(0 PLOT COL, ROW
2(06(0 DRAWTO COL+3, ROW-3
Draws note - - - - - - -
2(07(0 DRAW TO COL+6, ROW
2(08(0 DRAW TO COL+3 , ROW+3
2(09(0 DRAWTO COL, ROW

3(0(0(0 REM *** PLAYS THE NOTE

3(01(0 FOR L = 15 TO (0 STEP -1
3(02(0 SOUND (0, N , 1(0 , L
3(03(0 FOR P= 1 TO 15
3(04(0 NEXT P
3(05(0 NEXT L
3(06(0 RETURN

RUN this program and ENTER eith er D or E when the instructions

appear. For the sake of illustration , let's say yo u enter D, E, D, D the first few
times through. You should get:
 STRING VARIABLES 187

o o o o
ITYPE C, 0, ORE
?~D PRESS RETURN

As you enter each new note, it app ears at the appropriate line of the staff
and to the right of the previous note.
The correct position on the music staff of the note middle C is shown
below:

o
partial/"
line ' " Middl e C

It appears one line below the bottom line of the staff and is generally
shown with a partial line as it has above . So when we plot the note middle
C, we want to include this partial line. This can be done by adding the
following lines:

320 PLOT COL-1, 66

330 DRAWTO COL + 7,66

Line 360 should also be changed to:

360 GO TO 810

as in the blocks for the notes D and E.

Now if, for example , the note C is played as the first note before plotting
the note,line 320 will plot a point at column 14 (that is 15 -1), row 66, and
draw a line at column 22 (15 + 7), row 66. This will draw the partial line for
the note middle CLines 340 and 350 cause the note to be drawn just as it
was drawn in the blocks for D and E. If several notes have been played
188 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

before middle C is played and the FOR-NEXT loop for COL is over to
column 55, for examp le, here 's what happens. Line 320 and 330 plot and
draw this:

COL - 1 66
PLOT 54, 66 55 - 1 66
DRAWTO 62, 66 55 + 7 66

Make sure you've added lines 320, 330, and 360 as shown above and
RUN the program. You'll now be able to ENTER C, D, or E and have the note
appear on the correct staff lin e whi le it plays.
One further addition can be made to improve this program. After you've
entered twelve notes , the staff will be full and the FOR-NEXT loop for COL
will be finished. It would be nice to have it erase the notes and start over .
Easily done. First renumber lines 800 and 810 so they become:

82(0 REM ** MOVES NOTES ACROSS STAFF

83(0 NEXT COL

Now add lines 800 and 810

8(0(0 REM * * *
810 IF COL = 125 THEN 2(0

With th ese lines added , each time a note is played it checks the va lu e of
COL before going on to line 830 for the n ex t co lumn. When it gets to column
125, line 810 goes back and enters the graph ics mode again, thus erasing
everything and starting over.
You may have already noticed this , but if you try to enter another note
while one is playing, the computer may get a little confused and go to the
invalid choice subroutine in lin e 910. If this happens, just wait until the
instru ction appears in the text window and you can carryon.
 STRING VAR IABLES 189

Here's a complete listing of the program:

oREM *** NOTE PRACTICE

1 REM *** HERB MOORE

10 DIM A$ (5)
20 GRAPHIC S 7
30 COLOR 1
40 SETCOLOR 4, 11 , 12
50 GOSUB 1010

70 REM *** MOVES NOTES ACROSS STAFF

80 FOR COL = 15 TO 125 STEP 10

100 REM *** ENTER NOTE

110 PRINT "TYPE C, 0 , OR E"
120 PRINT
130 PRINT" AND PRESS RETURN"
140 INPUT A$

200 REM *** COMPARES STRING

210 IF A$ = "C" THEN 310
220 IF A$= "0" THEN 410
230 IF A$= "E" THEN 460
290 GO TO 910

300 REM *** PLAYS "C"

310 N= 12 1
Draws lin e seg- {
m en t below staff 320 PLOT COL-1, 66
for middle C --_. 330 ORAWTO COL+7, 66
340 ROW =6 6
350 GOSUB 2010
360 GO TO 810

400 REM *** PLAYS "0"

410 N= 108
420 ROW=63
430 GOSUB 2010
440 GOTO 810

450 REM *** PLAYS "E"

460 N=96
470 ROW =60
480 GOSUB 2010
490 GOTO 810
190 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Checks column. If 800 REM *** IS THE STAFF FULL YET?

last column , start - - - - . 810 IF COL = 125 THEN 20
over

820 REM *** MOVES NOTES ACROSS STAFF

830 NEXT COL

900 REM * * * INVALID CHOICE

910 PRINT "SORRY, I CAN I T PLAY"
920 PRINT A$
930 FOR P= l TO 500
940 NEXT P

990 GO TO 110
1000 REM *** DRAWS MUSIC STAFF
1010 FOR ROW = 36 TO 60 STEP 6
1020 PLOT 10, ROW
1030 DRAWTO 140, ROW
1040 NEXT ROW
1050 RETURN

2000 REM * ** TELLS YOU THE NOTE

2010 PRINT "THIS IS THE NOTE"
2020 PRINT "YOU HAVE ENTERED"
2030 PRINT A$
2039 REM
2040 REM *** DRAWS NOTE
2050 PLOT COL, ROW
2060 DRAWTO COL + 3, ROW-3
2070 DRAWTO COL+6, ROW
2080 DRAWTO COL+3, ROW+3
2090 DRAWTO COL, ROW

3000 REM ** * PLAYS THE NOTE

3010 FOR L = 15 TO 0 STEP-1
3020 SOUND 0, N, 10, L
3030 FOR P=l TO 15
3040 NEXT P
3050 NEXT L
3060 RETURN
 STRING VARIABLES 191

In this chapter you've learned some techniques for manipulating string

variables and you've app li ed these techniques in beginning to build a
program to put notes on a music staff.
Your challenge for this chapter is to add the remaining notes to enable the
user to enter any note of the C scale from middle C to one octave above
middle C. You'll need to us e the note chart in Chapter 1, and you'll also
need to figure the correct row for each note. Start at line 510 for the note F
and model the block for each note after the blocks for D and E. Here are the
notes on the staff:

0 0
0 0
0 0
-4- 0
Middle C D E F G A B C' - One octave above
middle C

Self-Test

l. What is the minimum value that can be placed in the parentheses for
this program to work?

10DIMA$( )
20A$= "SOUND SCULPTURE"
30PRINT "SOUND SCULPTURE"
40GOTO 30

2. What will this program do?

10 DIM Z$ ( 100)
20 INPUT Z$
30 PRINT Z$
40 PRINT Z$

3. What will this program print?

10 DIM H$(5)
20 H$ = "SOUND SCULPTURE"
30 PRINT H$
192 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

4. What must be added to this program to have the text in lines 110 and
120 appear in the graphics display area of the screen?

10 GRAPHICS 2
20 COLOR 1
30 SETCOLOR 0,8,6
100 REM ***
110 PRINT" AUDITORY"
120 PRINT "TICKLE"
130 GOTO 130

5. In the program above, what command might you add to position the
text in the center of the screen?
6. In the "Note Practice" program from this chapter, if yo u type H, will a
note value be entered?
7. If you enter D in the "Note Practice" program, which value for N wil l
be used in the sound statement at line 3020?
8. In the same program , if you type "SOUNDS GOOD ," what will be
printed at line 920?

Answers

1. 15
2. It allows you to enter a string of up to 100 characters , and then it prints
that string twice.
3. It prints the word SOUND since the string H$ is only dimensioned for
five characters.
4. Lines 110 and 120 must become:

110 PRINT #6 ; "AUDITORY"

120 PRINT 6; "TICKLE"

5. The POSITION command

6. No, because lines 300 through 490 will be skipped .
7. N will be 108 because the block at lines 410 through 440 will be
executed when the conditions A$="D" are met in line 220.
8. SOUND. The rest of the string will be dropped since A$ is only
dimensioned for five characters.

Challenges

1. Add a title to this program using fancy letters in the graphics display.
2. Complete the blocks for the rest of the notes in the C major scale as
described at the end of the chapter.
 CHAPTER TEN

Watch the Music Play

In Chapter 9 we built a program that allowed the us er to ENTER the letter

name of a single note. This note was then played as its position on the
music staff was displayed on the screen. In this chapter we will create a
program that enables you to enter a sequence of notes that the computer
will keep track of in its memory. After a specified number of notes have
been entered, the computer will play th em back as a melody.

SUBSCRIPTED VARIABLES

A particularly useful tool for creati ng musical passages is the subscripted

variable, which takes th e following form:
_ _ Subscript
N(4)
Variable - -

This expression is said: "N sub 4."

A subscripted variable co nsists of a letter (any lett er from A to Z),
followed by a subscript enclos ed in parentheses .

N(4) is a subscripted variab le.

N4 is not a subscripted variable.

Suppose you want to store a number of different note values in the

machine's memory and us e anyone of these values later in the program.
This can be done with a set of sub scripted variables ca lled an array. You
ca n think of each note va lue as being stored in a box that represents a
particular location in the computer's memory . For example, note values for
C, E, G, and B might be rep resented:

N(0) 12 1
N( 1) 96
N(2) 81
N(3) 64

193
194 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

You can ha ve an array of more than four subscripted variables if yo u

wish . For exa mpl e, if yo u wante d to be ab le to store an array of eight
possible note va lu es, it wo uld con sist of eigh t memory lo ca tions in which
to store note values:

N(0) 12 1
N(l) 96
N(2) 81
N( 3) 64
N(4)
t - - -- . - ---I
N(5)
t - -- - -- - - I
N(6)
r---------j
N(7) L -_ _ _ _ _ ~

Using the note ch art from Chapter 1 , add four more note values to this
array to get an idea of th e process by w hi ch numbers are assigned to
subscripted variables.
In Chapter 9 yo u learned that it is n ecessary to use a DIM statement to
reserve space in th e comp uter's memory for th e strings th at were ass igned
to string variables. In a similar fashion , you must dimension arrays for the
maximum numb er of va lu es to be entered as su bscripted variables.
For the array of four note values we used as our original exampl e, yo u
would use a DIM state ment like this:

l~ DIM N (3)
Variable for w hi ch /' Maximum
space is being _ _ _-' ~ subscripl lo be
reserved per mill ed

The value for the maximum subscript permitted ca n be greater in the

above statement . For example:

l~ DIM N ( l~ )

But if you try to us e:

l~ DIM N( 2)

yo u'll get an ERROR message w hen yo u try to use N(3).

Before going on, see if yo u can ans wer these questions.

1. For the preceding exampl e in which we used an array of eight

subscripted variables (numbered 0 through 7), what is the
smallest value yo u can use betwee n the pare ntheses in yo ur
DIM statement?

l~ DIM ( ?)
 WATCH THE MUSIC PLAY 195

2. What is the sma ll est numb er yo u can use in the parentheses to

dimension this array:

N(5)~
N(6)

N(7)
N(8)

1. DIM(7 )
2. DIM (8)

No matter how man y sub scripted variab les are being used , you must
dimension for the maximum subscript to be permitted.

ENTER NOTE VALUES IN AN ARRAY

Once yo u 've dimension ed the su bscrip t, you can u se several different ways
to store values for the subscripted variabl es in th e array. Here's the long
way of using subscripted va riabl es to play th e notes of the C major scale .
Rather than spending a lo t of tim e typing thi s, ju st study it carefull y:

(0 REM *** THE LON G WAY

1(0 DIM N(8 )

1(0(0 REM *** ASSIGNS NOTE VALUES

1(01 REM *** TO SUBSCRIPTED VARIABLES
11(ON(1 )=121
12(ON(2)= l(08
13(ON ( 3 )=96
14(0 N(4 ) = 91
15(ON(5 )=81
16(ON(6) =72
17(0 N(7 ) =64
18(0 N(8) =6(0

2(0(0 REM *** PLAYS NOTES

2(01 REM *** "E" IS VALUE OF SUBSCRIPT
2 1(0 FOR E= 1 TO 8
22(0 SOUND (0, N ( E ) , 1(0 , 1(0
230 FOR P = 1 TO 2(0(0: NEXT P
24(0 NEXT E

3(00 REM ** * PLAY IT AGAIN

3 1(0 GOTO 11(0
196 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

First , each of the note va lu es in the scale is assign ed to a subscripted

variable in lines 110 through 180. Then as th e FOR- NEXT loop in lines 210
through 240 is executed :

When E is 1, N(E) is N(l ). Its valu e is 121.

When E is 2, N(E) is N(2). Its value is 108 .
And so on ...

A more efficient way of ass ignin g note va lues to subscripted variabl es is to

us e READ and DATA stateme nts. ENTER and RU N this program and you
will h ear the notes of a C major scal e played:

10' DIM N (8)

100 REM *** READS NOTE VALUES
110 FOR E= l TO 8
120 READ N

150 REM *** PUTS NOTE VALUES I N ARRAY

160N(E )= N
170 NEXT E

200 REM *** PLAYS NOTES

210 FOR E= l TO 8
220 SOUND 0 , N ( E ) , 10, 10
230 FOR P= 1 TO 200. NEXT P
240 NEXT E

300 REM *** PLAYS IT AGAI N

31 0 GOTO 2 10

400 REM *** NO TE VAL UES FOR C SC ALE

410 DATA 1 2 1 , 108 ,96,9 1
420 DATA 8 1, 72,6 4 ,60

Lines 200 throu gh 240 of thi s program are the same as in th e previous
program listing. Their operati on has alread y been described .
Lines 110 thro ugh 180, however, have bee n rep lace d with a loo p that
reads note valu es from the DATA statement in lines 410 and 420.
The FOR-NEXT loop in lines 110 throu gh 170 assigns va lues of 1 through
8 to the subscript E in line 160 . At th e same tim e th e READ statement in line
120 gives N a note va lu e from th e DATA sta tements in lines 410 and 420.
The fi rst time through the loo p E is given a va lu e of 1 and N is given a value
of 121. In line 160 we get :

160N(E )= N
Says .. 160N(1 )= 12 1
 WATCH THE MUSIC PLAY Hl7
----------- --------------------------------------------------
The second time through the loop:

160N(E)=N
160 N (2) = 108

The third time:

160N(E)=N
160N(3)=96

In the same way that we 've just demonstrated, show what values wil l be
assigned to E and N in line 160 on the fifth and seventh time through the
loop.
The fifth time through the loop:

160N(E)=N
160 N( 5) =81

The seventh time through the loop:

160N(E)=N
160N(7)=64

If you wish to play onl y a part of the scale, you can make line 210
something like:

210 FOR E= 1 TO 5

which would play the first five notes. Or to play notes from the middle of
the scale, line 210 might be:

210 FOR E=3 TO 6

Which note values do you think this version of line 210 will play?

96 , 91 , 81 , and 72

You can use the STEP function to skip notes and go either up or down the
scale . For example, make line 210 :

210 FOR E=l TO 7 STEP 2

198 ATAR I SOUND AND GRAPHICS

and add lines:

25(0 REM *** DESCENDING LINE

26(0 FOR E=8 TO 2 STEP -2
27(0 SOUND (0 , N (E) , 1(0 , 1(0
28(0 FOR P= 1 TO 5(0 : NEXT P
29(0 NEXT E

We' ve also changed the REM statement in line 200 to better describe what is
happening with the new line 210:

2(0(0 REM ** ASCENDING LINE

The program listing should now be:

1(0 DIM N(8 )

1(0(0 REM *** READS NOTE VALUES
11(0 FOR E = l TO 8
12(0 READ N

15(0 REM *** PUT S NOTE VALUES IN ARRAY

16(ON(E) =N
17(0 NEXT E

2(0(0 REM *** ASC ENDING LINE

21(0 FOR E= 1 TO 7 STEP 2
22(0 SOUND (0, N ( E ) , 1(0 , 1(0
23(0 FOR P= 1 TO 5(0: NEXT P
24(0 NEXT E

25(0 REM *** DESC ENDING LINE

26(0 FOR E=8 TO 2 STEP - 2
27(0 SOUND (0, N ( E ) , 1(0, 1(0
28(0 FOR P= 1 TO 5(0: NEXT P
29(0 NEXT E

3(0(0 REM *** PLAYS IT AGAIN

31(0 GOTO 21(0

4(0(0 REM * * * NOTE VALUES FOR C SC ALE

41(0 DATA 121,1(08 ,96 ,91
42(0 DATA 81, 72,64,6(0

Make sure yo u have the correct li stin g and RUN th e program .

As the loop in lines 210 through 240 is exec uted, va lues for the sub-
scripted vari able used in line 220 will be N(l), N(3), N(5), and N(?). The
notes playe d will then be:
 WATCH THE MUS IC PLAY 199

N (l) = 121 Midd le C

N(3) = 96 E
N(5) = 81 G
N(7) = 64 B

Lines 260 through 290 wi ll co m e back down the sca le. Rep lac e the two
ques tion marks with the correct note values :

N(8) = 6(i) C above middl e C

N(6) = ? A
N(4) = ? F
N(2 ) = 1(i)8 D

RANDOM CHOICE OF NOTES AND DURATION

If you 'd like to h ear the co m p uter make an attempt at something a little
more musi cal than simply go ing up and down the scale, rep lace lines 200
through 290 of the previo us program \,vith:

Ran dom ly chooses ______ 2~~ REM *** PLAYS NOTES

a subsc ript ----..... 2 1 ~ E=INT (8*RND(1)+1 )
~ 22~ DUR=INT( 4 *RND( 1 ) +) *2 ~
Gives notes a ran- ________ 23~ SOUND ~, N ( E ) , 1~, 1~
dom duration - 24~ FOR P = 1 TO OUR : NEXT P

The co mp lete listing w ill be:

1~ DIM N (8)
1~~ REM *** READS NO TE VA LUES
ll~ FOR E= 1 TO 8
12~ READ N

15~ REM *** PUTS NOT E VAL UES IN ARRAY

16~N(E )=N
17~ NEXT E

2~~ REM * * * PLAYS NOTES

2 1~ E= INT (8*RND(1)+ 1 )
22 ~ DUR = INT (4 * RND ( 1 ) + 1 ) *2~
23 ~ SOUND ~ , N ( E ) , 1~ , 1~
2 4~ FOR P= 1 TO OUR: NEXT P

3~ ~ REM *** PLAYS IT AGAIN

31~ GOTO 2 10

4~~ REM *** NOTE VALUES FOR C SCALE

410 DATA 121 , 1~8 , 96,91
4 2 ~ DATA 81 , 72,64, 6~
200 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Line 210 randomly chooses a value for th e subscript E. For the sake of
illustration, let's say it picked the number 5. The subscripted variable in
line 230 then becomes N(5). Since the READ and DATA statements have
given N(5) a value of 81, note value 81 will be played in the sound
statement.
Line 220 picks a random number from 1 to 4 and then multiplies that
number by 20 to give DUR possible values of 20, 40 , 60, or 80. Using the
variable DUR in the pause loop in line 240 results in one of these values for
the duration of the note. Keep this program because we'll add to it in a
moment.

A LITTLE MUSIC THEORY

Any time you go from one note to another in a musi cal scale, you are
playing an interval. For examp le, from D to E is an interval. Each interval
has a name derived from how far you move within the scale. You name an
interval by counting how many notes you jump up or down th e scale.
Include the note you start with and the note you finish with. For example:

C Major Scale
C. D , E, F, G, A, B, C
Jump From Interval Name

goin g up D to E seco nd
going up E to G thircl
going up F to G seconcl
going clown G to D fourth
going clow n B to F fourth
going up D to A fifth
goin g clown G to E third

The interval from any note to the note with th e same name going either
up or down is an octave ofthat note. From middle C to the next high est C is
an octave. If you start with D and go up or down to th e next D, then you are
playing the octave of D.
Fill in the names of the following intervals:

Jump From Interval Name

goin g up C to G
goin g down A to F
goin g up C to B
goin g clow n B to D

fifth
third
seventh
sixth
 WATCH THE MUS IC PLAY 201

We won't go into an elaborate discussion of music theory , but suffice it to

say that the real building blocks for conventional harmony in our culture
are thirds .
Now, looking again at th e program we've been using, we can make a few
changes to play in thirds.
First add:

250 SOUND 1, N (E + 2 ) ,10 , 10

260 FOR P= 1 TO OUR: NEXT P
270 SOUND 2 , N ( E + 2) , 10 , 10
280 FOR P = 1 TO OUR: NEXT P

Then change line 21 (i) to:

210 E=INT(6*RND(1) + 1)

This listing should now be :

oREM *** ENDLESS SONG

1 REM *** BY HERB MOORE
2 REM *** AND THE RANDOM NOTES

10 DIM N( 10)
100 REM *** READS NOTE VALUES
110 FOR E = 1 TO 8
120 READ N

150 REM *** PUTS NOTE VALUES IN ARRAY

160N(E) = N
170 NEXT E
180 RESTORE

200 REM *** PLAYS NOTES

210 E=INT(6*RND(1) + 1)
220 DUR=INT (4*RND (1 ) + 1) * 20
230 SOUND 0, N ( E ) , 10, 10
240 FOR P= 1 TO OUR: NEXT P
250 SOUND 1 , N ( E + 2 ), 10, 10
260 FOR P = 1 TO OUR: NEXT P
270 SOUND 2, N (E + 2) , 10,10
280 FOR P = 1 TO OUR: NEXT P

300 REM *** PLAYS IT AGAIN

310 GO TO 210

400 REM *** NOTE VALUES FOR C SCALE

410 DATA 121,108 , 96 , 91
420 DAT A 81,72 , 64 , 60
202 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

RUN the program to hear the computer 's idea of music for around the
campfire.
Line 210 picks a subscript from 1 to 6 that is used in line 230. It was
necessary to reduce the choices for Eta 1 through 6 since in lines 250 and
270 we are using subscripts of E -I- 2.
If the subscript 4 is chosen at line 2Hl and then at lines 250 and 270, note
value 72 (A, which is a third above F) is played.
If it picks 2 for the subscript E, you ' ll hear note values 108 and 91; that 's
the third D and F. Lines 260 and 280 give each note a random duration.
What note values are played in line 250 if the subscript E is:

Subscript E N o te Valu e

4
6
3
5

72
60
81
64

If you want someone who Llses the program to be able to specify the note
sequence and the duration of the notes , you can Llse an INPUT statement.
ENTER and RUN the following program to see an example of how an
INPUT statement can be used to assign values to subscripted variables:

10DIMN(10)

100 REM *** ENTER NOTES IN ARRAY

110 FOR E=l TO 8
120 PRINT "ENTER NOTE VALUE"
130 INPUT N

170N(E)=N
190 NEXT E

200 REM *** PLAYS NOTES FROM ARRAY

210 FOR E=l TO 8
220 DUR = INT (4*RND ( 1) -I- 1) *20
230 SOUND 0, N ( E) , 10 , 10
240 FOR P= 1 TO OUR: NEXT P
250 NEXT E

300 REM *** PLAY NOTES AGAIN

310 GOTO 210
 WATCH THE MUS IC PLAY 203

Each time through the loop in lin es 110 through 190 these instructions
will appear on the screen:

ENTER NOTE VALUE

?

The first time through th e loop , th e not e value that is entered will be
assigned to N(l). For exampl e, s uppo se yo u enter 108. Here's what happens
at line 170:

170 N ( 1) = 108

Let's say the next time the instruction appears you type 91. This time
line 170 becomes:

170N(2)=91

This will happen eight times before the melody is played, so, if you
haven't done it already , add six more note values of your own choice .
After you've entered a total of eight note val ues , th e program continues at
line 210, which begins a loop to pla y the eight not es . Lin e 220 establishes a
randomly chosen duration for each note.
RUN this program again and ENTER a sequ ence of notes using several
thirds. For example :

C E G F A C G B
121 96 81 91 72 60 81 64
[ 1 [1 [1 l 1 [1 [1 l1
3rd 3rd 2nd 3rd 3rd 4th 3rd

Explorations
Make up some sequences of mostly thirds for yourse lf.
Try a sequence of mostly fifths.
Try one of mostly fourths.
Mix thirds, fourths, and fifths.

Adding More Notes

You don 't have to confine yourself to th e eight notes we 've shown . The note
chart in Chapter 1 shows note values for three full octaves of the key of C, so
help yourse lf.
204 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

If you want to be able to ent er more notes, you can change lines 110 and
210 something like this:

110 FOR E = 1 TO 16
210 FOR E = 1 TO 16

But yo u 'll have to change the DIM statement in line 10 to:

10 DIM N( 16)

In the program as it exists now , yo u are ab le to determine th e note values,

but the computer selects th e duration for you.
You can dim ension another subscripted variable for the note duration
and assign values to it in the same loop as N(E). Let's call this subscripted
variable DUR(E).
Make sure you hav e this listing for the program to play notes:

10 DIM N (10)

100 REM *** ENTER NOTES IN ARRAY

110 FOR E =1 TO 8
120 PRINT IIENTER NOTE VALUE 11
130 INPUT N

170N(E) = N
190 NEXT E

200 REM *** PLAYS NOTES FROM ARRAY

210 FOR E = 1 TO 8
220 DUR = INT( 4*RND (1) + 1) *20
230 SOUND 0, N ( E ) , 10, 10
240 FOR P= 1 TO DUR: NEXT P
250 NEXT E

300 REM *** PLAY NOTES AGAIN

310 GOTO 210

Now add:

20 DIM DUR( 10)

140 PRINT IIENTER DURATIOW 1
150 INPUT bUR
180 DUR (E) =DUR

And remove line 220.

 WATCH THE MUSIC PLAY 205

We've ad ded a REM statement for clarification at line 160.

16(0 REM *** SUBSCRIPTED VARIABLES

The comp lete listing should now be:

1(ODIMN(l(O )
2(0 DIM DUR ( 1(0 )

1(0(0 REM *** ENTER NOTES IN ARRAY

11(0 FOR E = l TO 8
12(0 PRINT "ENTER NOTE VALUE"
13(0 INPUT N
14(0 PRINT "ENTER DURATION"
15(0 INPUT OUR

16(0 REM *** SUBSCRIPTED VAR IABLES

17(ON(E )= N
18(0 OUR (E) = DUR
19(0 NEXT E
2(0(0 REM *** PLAYS NOTES FROM ARRAY
21(0 FOR E = l TO 8
23(0 SOUND (0, N ( E ) , 1(0, 1(0
24(0 FOR P= 1 T O OUR ( E ) : NEXT P
25(0 NEXT E

3(0(0 REM *** PLAY NOTES AGAIN

31(0 GO TO 21(0

Now when you run th e program , yo u 'll have the opportunity to enter a
note valu e and a duration for each note. For examp le, suppose the first time
through the loop you ENTER 96 for the note va lu e when the instruction:

ENTER NOTE VALUE

appears on the screen.

Then when you see:

ENTER DURATION

you ENTER the value Hl!il.

206 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

At line 17!il, a value of 96 is assigned to N(l), and at line 18!il a value of l!il!il
is assigned to DUR(l).

170 N ( E) =OUR

becomes:

170 N ( 1) =96

and:

180 OUR (E) =OUR

becomes:

180 OUR( 1) = 100

Suppose the next time through the loop you enter 6!il for the note value
and 5!il for the duration. What will happen at line 17!il and 18!il?

170N(E) =N

becomes:

170 ?

and:

180 OUR (E) = OUR

becomes:

180 ?

170 N (2) =60

180 OUR (2)=50

We'll leave it to you to compose melodies you like with this program.
Remember you can increase the maximum value of the subscript in the DIM
statement in lines l!il and 2!il and then make the 8 in lines ll!il and 12!il a
larger number if you want to play more notes.
 WATCH THE MUSIC PLAY 207

USING STRING VARIABLES WITH AN ARRAY

You've learned how to assign note va lu es to subs cripted variables in an

array and have the computer play the notes back for you ei ther randomly or
in the order that you ENTER them. But rather than having to look up the
note values in the chart each time, it would be convenient to be able to
ENTER the letter name of a note.
The following program lets you type a C, D, or E and assigns the note
value for that letter to a subscripted variable:

10 DIM N(8)
20 DIM A$ (5)

100 REM *** ENTERS NOT ES IN ARRAY

110 FOR Z=l TO 8
120 INPUT A$

200 REM *** FROM A LETTER TO A NUMBER

210 IF A$="C" THEN N=121
220 IF A$= "0" THEN N= 108
230 IF A$= "E" THEN N=96

300 REM *** SUBSCRIPTED VARIABLE

310N(Z)=N

350 REM *** NEXT SUBSCRIPT

360 NEXT Z

400 REM *** PLAYS THE NOTES

410 FOR Z=l TO 8
430 SOUND 0, N (Z) , 10,10
440 FOR P=l TO 100: NEXT P
450 NEXT Z

500 REM *** PLAY IT AGAIN

510 GO TO 410

ENTER and RUN thi s program and type C, D, or E each time the question
mark and the cursor appear on the screen.

7.

After you ENTER eight notes , the computer will play them back for you.
208 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Line 10 dimensions a variable with a maximum subscript of 8. Line 20

dimensions a string variable. Lines 110 through 360 form a loop similar to
the ones we've been using. This loop assigns values to the subscript E in
line 310.
Suppose you type the letter D the first time through the loop. At line 120
the string variable A$ becomes "D." As th e computer goes through the
IF-THEN statements in lines 210 through 230, it finds A$="D" in line 220.
It then assigns N a value of 108. In line 310 we get:

310N(Z)=N

becom es:

31(a'N(1)=1(a'8

What will happen if yo u type C th e second time through the loop?

Line 310 becomes :

31(a'N(2)=121

Using the not e chart from Chapter 1 , add IF-THEN statements at line 240
through 280 that w ill allow you to ENTER th e notes F, G, A, B, and th e
octave G 1 when the program is over.
 WATCH THE MUSIC PLAY 209
-------------------------------------
The program listing will look like this:

10 DIM N( 8)
20DIMA$(5)

100 REM *** ENTERS NOTES IN ARRAY

110 F'OR Z=l TO 8
120 INPUT A$

200 REM *** F'ROM A LETTER TO A NUMBER

210 IF' A$= "C" THEN N=121
220 IF' A$="D" THEN N=108
230 IF' A$= "E" THEN N=96
240 IF' A$= "F''' THEN N=91
250 IF' A$= "G" THEN N=8 1
- 260 IF' A$="A" THEN N=72

1 270
280
IF' A$= "B" THEN N=64
IF' A$= "C1" THEN N=60

300 REM *** SUBSCRIPTED VARIABLE

310N(Z)=N

350 REM *** NEXT SUBSCRIPT

360 NEXT Z

400 REM *** PLAYS THE NOTES

410 F'OR Z= 1 TO 8
430 SOUND 0, N( Z), 10, 10
440 F'OR P= 1 TO 100: NEXT P
450 NEXT Z

500 REM *** PLAY IT AGAIN

510 GOTO 410

Now RUN the program and make up some note sequences from all eight
notes.
210 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

MAKE YOUR OWN MELODY

In Chapter 9 you learned how to have each note play and appear on the
music staff immediately after it was en tered . The following program uses
many of the same con cep ts . But this time, as th e letter for eac h note is
typed, the note value for that letter is assigned to a subscripted variable and
stored in an array. You are also able to determine the duration of each note.
After ten notes, each with a specific duration , have been entered, the entire
melody is played and shown on th e staff as it plays. This will repeat until
you stop th e run. Then you can ENTER another melody .
This may seem like a fair amount of typing, but it will be valuable to you
to take the time to ENTER this program , both for th e sake of your computer
education as well as the fun of making your own melody.

oREM * * * MAKE A MELODY

1 REM - = - HERB MOORE
10 REM *** STRING VARIABLE
20 DIM A$(5)
Dimension
subscripted
variable for note , 30 REM *** SUBSCRIPTED VARIABLES
duration, and row 40 DIM N( 10)
50 DIM DUR( 10)
60 DIM ROW( 10)

Subroutine to en ter 70 REM *** DOES GRAPHICS

graphics mode and - - - -_ _
.. 80 GOSUB 1010
draw staff
 WATCH THE MUSIC PLAY 211

100 REM *** ENTERS NOTES IN ARRAY

110 FOR Z = 1 TO 10
For-next loop to 120 PRINT "TYPE C, D , E, F"
assign va lues to
s ub scripted 130 PRINT "G, A , B , OR Cl"
va ri ab ies 140 INPUT A$

200 REM *** FROM A LETTER TO A NUMBER

210 IF A$ = "C" THEN 310
215 IF A$= "D" THEN 320
220 IF A$ = "E" THEN 330
225 IF A$= "F" THEN 340
230 IF A$ = "G" THEN 350

/ 235
240
245
IF A$="A" THEN 360
IF A$= "B" THEN 370
IF A$ = "Cl" THEN 380

\
Gi ves letter a note
290 GOTO 910
va lu e and a ro w
300 REM * * * VALUES FOR NOTE AND ROW
",'"' 310 N= 121: ROW=66
3 15 GOTO 510
320 N= 108: ROW=63
325 GO TO 510
330 N= 96: ROW = 60
335 GOTO 510
340 N= 91: ROW=57
345 GOTO 510

350 N= 81: ROW=54

355 GO TO 510
360 N=72 : ROW=51
365 GOTO 510
370 N=6 4 : ROW=48
375 GOTO 510
380 N=60 : ROW=45
Assigns no te va lu e
385 GOTO 510
to subsc ri pted
var i ab le 500 REM *** SUBSC RIPTED VARIABLES
510N(Z) = N
520 ROW (Z) = ROW
Assigns row to / 530 PRINT "TYPE 1 TO 4 FOR DURATION"
subscri pl ed
variab le
540 PRINT" 1 IS A SHORT DURATION"
550 PRINT "4 IS A LON G DURATION"

Assigns duratiOl1
to subscrI pled
va ri ab le
r 56rt REM *** ASSIGN DURATION
'P
570 INPUT DUR
580 DUR (Z) = DUR*25
590 NEXT Z
212 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Mo ves column 600 REM *** PLAYS THE NOTES

w ith each new ~ 610 FOR Z= 1 TO 10
s ubsc ript ~ 620 SOUND 0 , N( Z ) , 10, 10
630 COL = 12 * Z
Loop to
From lin e 520 - - _ . 640 ROW=ROW (Z )
- pl ay notes
650 IF N( Z ) =121 THEN 810
660 GO SUS 2010
670 FOR P= 1 TO DUR (Z) : NEXT P
680 NEXT Z
Middl, Cn" d'/
extra staff lin e
700 REM *** PLAYS IT AGAIN
710 GOSUS 1010
790 GOTO 610

800 REM *** STAFF LINE FOR MIDDLE C

810 PLOT COL-I, 66
820 DRAWTO COL+7, 66
{
830 ROW=66
840 GOTO 660

900 REM *** INCORRECT LETTER

910 SOUND 0 , 10 , 2 , 10
920 FOR P=1 TO 25: NEXT P
930 SOUND 0,0 , 0 , 0,
Wrong lett er - 940 PRINT "SORRY, I CAN"T PLAY"
950 PRINT A$
960 PRINT "WAIT FOR NEXT INSTRUCTION"
970 FOR P= 1 TO 400: NEXT P
980 GOTO 120

1000 REM ** * SET UP GRAPHICS

1010 GRAPHICS 7
1020 COLOR 1
1030 SETCOLOR 4 , 11 , 12
Gra phics mod e
1040 REM *** DRAWS STAFF
and s taff - 1050 FOR ROW=36 TO 60 STEP 6
1060 PLOT 10 , ROW
1070 DRAWTO 140 , ROW
1080 NEXT ROW
1090 RETURN

2000 REM *** DRAWS NOTE

2010 PLOT COL , ROW
2020 DRAWTO COL + 3 , ROW-3
Draws notes _
2030 DRAWTO COL+6 , ROW
2040 DRAWTO COL +3 , ROW+3
2050 DRAWTO COL , ROW
2090 RETURN
 WATCH THE MUS IC PLAY 213
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _ .._ - - - - - -

In the beginning, the program dimensions a string variable at line 10 so

you can enter for the note.
At lines 40 through 60, subscripted variables for note, duration, and row
are dimensioned. Line 80 executes a subroutine to enter a graphics mode
and draw the music staff.
The FOR-NEXT loop in lines 110 through 490 will assign values to each
of the three subscripted variables we are using in the program. For example,
let's say when the instructions to type a letter appear in the text window,
you type the letter F. A$ will then become "F " at line 140. Then at line 225
the IF-THEN statement will branch the program to line 340, where N is
given a value of 91 and ROW is given a value of 57.
At lines 510 and 520, these values are assigned to subscripted variables:

510N(Z)=N

becomes :

510N(1)=91

and:

520 ROW (Z) =ROW

becomes

520 ROW( 1) =57

Then the instructions to type a number for duration appear in the text
window. Suppose you type a 3 here. Line 570 becomes:

570 OUR (Z) =OUR*25

570 OUR( 1) =3*25

or :

570 OUR( 1) =75

Finally, line 580 goes back and picks the next subscript. To check your
understanding of this program , answer the following questions:

1. If the second time through the loop in lines 110 through 490
you type "B", which IF-THEN statement will find a match
and branch to another line'?
2. After N and ROW have been given numeric values at line 370,
what will happen at line 510 and 520?
3. If you type 4 for the duration when the instructions appear ,
what will be the value of DUR(2) in line 570?
214 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

1. Line 240 wi ll branch to line 370

2. 510N(Z)=N
520 N (2) = 64
520 ROW ( Z) = ROW
520 ROW ( 2) = 48
3. 570 DUR(2) = 100

Once you've entered ten notes , w ith a duration for each one , the entire
sequence is played by the loop from 610 to 710.
Since we ha ve entered "F" for N(l), th e SOUND statement in line 610
will playa note value of 91 the first time through the loop. At line 630 COL
is given a value multiplying 12 times the subscript Z, in this case:

12 * 1 = 12

Row (1) has already been given the value 57 at line 340 . Since N(l) does
not equal 121, line 650 will be ignored. Line 660 goes down to the sub-
routine at line 2020, which draws the note at co lumn 12 , row 57. It returns
to line 660, which goes back to lin e 610 and picks the next value for the
subscript Z; that is (2). Again , to check your und erstanding, answer these
qu estions:

1. Since we typed "E" for th e second note , what will happen at

lin e 620?
2. What will happen to ROW (2) in line 540?
3. Since this is the second time through the loop and Z has a
value of 2, what wi ll be the va lu e ass ign ed the COL in line
630?

1. Line 620 wi ll playa note va lu e of 64

2. 640 ROW(2) = 48
3. 630 COL = 24

Remember that middle C requires a line below the staff. Suppose on the
third time through the loop you type "C" for the note. In this case, N is given
a value of 121 and N(3 ) becomes 121 in line 510. Then when the loop to
-play the notes is being executed in lin es 610 through 680, the conditions of
the IF-THEN decision in line 650 will be met. That is , N(3) does equal 121 ,
so the program branches to line 710 and executes the routine to draw a line
below the staff. It then goes back to line 660 and continues as before.
If you type some letter other than C through C' for the note, none of the
conditions in the IF-THEN statements in lines 210 through 245 will be met.
Thus 290 will branch the program to lin e 910 and exec ute the "Incorrect
Letter" routine there. It then goes back to line 120 and lets yo u try again.
Line 610 begins the loop to play the notes. On ce all ten notes have
played , line 710 executes the subroutine to enter th e graphics mode, again
 WATCH THE MUSIC PLAY 215

drawing the staff and thereby erasing everything els e on the screen. When
the comp uter returns to line 610, it repeats the melody and the notes.
In this chapter, you have learned to assign values for notes and plot
points to a group of subscripted variables, called an array. The subscripted
variab les can then be used to p lay different sequ ences of notes and draw
them on the music staff. This is just one examp le of how an array of
subscripted variables might be used. Anot her possible u se is suggested in
the challenges at the end of th e Self-Test this chapter.
If you've worked your way carefully through this book, you have un-
doubtedly begun to realize th e enormous potential of your ATARI 400 or
800 Computer as an artistic and musical instrument. We hope you will find
yourself returning to the pages of this book again and again for ideas you
can expand upon in your own way.
Artistic programming, like many things, is something you can enjoy
more as you get better. And of course, the better yo u get, th e more you'll
enjoy.

Self-Test

1. Give th e following program an appropriate DIM statement at line 10

to store the eight notes in an array and play them:

1~~ REM *** READS NOTE VALUES

ll~ FOR E=l TO 8
12~ READ N

15~ REM *** PUTS NOTE VALUES IN ARRAY

16~N(E)=N
17~ NEXT E

2~~ REM *** PLAYS NOTES

21~ FOR E=l TO 8
22~ SOUND ~ , N (E ) , 1~, 1~
23~ FOR P=l TO 2~~: NEXT P
24~ NEXT E

3~~ REM *** PLAYS IT AGAIN

31~ GOTO 210
4~~ REM *** NOTE VALUES FOR C SCALE
41~ DATA 121 , 1~8 , 96 , 91
42~ DATA 81,72,64 ,60

2. As the note va lu es are being read from the DATA statements in the
above program , what va lu e ,,\Till be assigned to the subs cripted vari-
able N(4) in line 160?
216 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

3. Add another FOR-NEXT loop at lines 260 through 290 to play note
values:

N(7) N(5) N(3) N(l)

64 81 96 121

in that order.
4. If rath er than reading the note values into the array, you wish the user
to be able to enter val ues for eac h subscripted variables, you can drop
lines 400 through 420 , and change line 120 to:

120______________

5. In the program in Questio n 1, to have the computer randomly select

from the note values in the DATA statements, drop line 240 and
change line 210 to:

210----__________

6. Fill in line 180 in the program below to assign values to th e sub-

scripted variables for duration :

10 DIM N (10)
20 DIM DUR( 10)

100 REM *** ENTER NOTES IN ARRAY

110 FOR E=l TO 8
120 PRINT "ENTER NOTE VALUE"
130 INPUT N
140 PRINT "ENTER DURATION"
150 INPUT DUR

160 REM *** SUBSCRIPTED VARIABLES

170N(E) =N
180
190 NEXT E

200 REM *** PLAYS NOTES FROM ARRAY

210 FOR E= l TO 8
230 SOUND 0, N ( E) , 10 , 10
240 FOR P= l TO DUR(E) : NEXT P
250 NEXT E

300 REM *** PLAY NOTES AGAIN

310 GOTO 210
 WATCH THE MUS IC PLAY 217

7. If you wish to enter and p lay sixteen notes in the following program,
YO ll must change thre e lines. What changes must you make?

10DIMN(8)
20 DIM A$ (5)

100 REM ** ENTERS NOTES IN ARRAY

110 FOR Z = 1 TO 8
120 INPUT A$

200 REM ** FROM A LETTER TO A NUMBER

210 IF A$ = "C" THEN N= 121
220 IF A$ = "D" THEN N= 108
230 IF A$ = "E" THEN N= 96
240 IF A$ = "F" THEN N= 91
250 IF A$= "G" THEN N=81
260 IF A$=" A" THEN N=72
270 IF A$ = "B" THEN N= 64
280 IF A$ = " C1 " THEN N=60

300 REM ** SUBSCRIPT ED VARIABLE

310N(Z) = N

400 REM * * PLAYS THE NOTES

410 FOR Z = 1 TO 8
430 SOUND 0, N ( Z) , 10 , 10
440 FOR P= 1 TO 100: NEXT P
450 NEXT Z

500 REM ** PLAY IT AGAIN

510 GO TO 410

8. If when the program abo ve is run, you type the letter " D" for th e first
note and the letter " F" for the second note , what musical interva l ha ve
YOll p layed?

Answers

1. Line 10 becomes:

10' DIM N (8 )

Th e subscript in parentheses can be greater than 8 but not smaller.

2. 91
218 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

3. Something of this form:

260' FOR E=7 TO 1 STEP -2

270' SOUND 0' . N ( E) • 10' . 10'
280' FOR P= l TO 20'0': NEXT P
290' NEXT E

4. INPUT N

5. Line 210 shou ld be:

210 E = INT(8*RND( 1) + 1 )

6. Line 180 becom es :

180' OUR ( E) = OUR

7. Cha n ge lin es 10 . 110 . and 410 to:

10'0IMN (16)
110' FOR Z = 1 TO 16
410' FOR Z = 1 TO 16

8. A third

Challenges

1. Here are the note values and row positions of four more notes in the
next octave of th e C major sca le. Cont inu e the pattern establ ished in
lines 2 10 through 385 to ass ign the va lu es for note and row to sub-
scripted variables. Th e n RUN th e program and enjoy a wider range of
notes from which to make yo ur melody.

DI EI FI Gl
Note 53 47 45 4Vl
Va lu e
Row 42 39 33
Va lue

2. Look at Chapter 5 and see if you can think of some int eres ting ways to
c hange the s ha pe of the notes as th ey are p layed.
3. Draw a mountain range s imil ar to the one in Chapter 8 using an array
of subscrip ted variab les for the mountain peaks.
 APPENDIX A

Here are a few program listings that make u se of concepts you have learned
in this book. Some of them might be us eful to yo u as subroutines in larger
programs you are writing. We encourage you to vary diHerent parameters in
eac h of these programs and to write other programs that expand upon these
ideas.
You know best what you \lvant to see and hear and if yo u persist, you'll
probably be able to make it happ en!
This program randoml y picks an d pla ys a note va lu e from 25 to 250. Try
it with 25 notes from elsewhere in th e note s pec trum. (See Chapter 8.)

100 REM *** FLIGHT OF THE HONEY BEE

110 N=INT (25*RND (1) + 225 )
120 SOUND 0 , N , 10 , 10
130 FOR P=l TO 5
140 NEXT P
150 GOTO 110

Enter a number from 0 to 255 to hear different machine sounds. Add a

pause loop between lines 230 and 260 to get a slower machine sound.

oREM *** MACHINE SOUND

10 INPUT N
110 FOR CYCLE=l TO 100
210 FOR L= 15 TO 0 STEP -5
220 SOUND 0, N, 4 , L
230 SOUND 1 , N , 8, L
260 NEXT L
310 NEXT CYCLE
510 GO TO 10

219
220 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

If this routine doesn 't give you just the right sound for your space game ,
play around with the va lu es for N, L, and STEP in lines 110 and 120. Don't
forget to us e INPUT statements to make it easy on yourself. (See Chapter 5.)

100 REM *** STUCK IN SPACE

110 FOR N=100 TO 140 STEP 5
120 FOR L = 5 TO 15 STEP 5
130 SOUND 0, N, 10, L
140 SOUND 1, N/2, 10, 15-L
150 SOUND 2, N/4, 10 , L
160 SOUND 3, N/8 , 10 , 15-L
170 NEXT L
180 NEXT N
190 GOTO 110

The following program all ows yo u to ENTER a note va lu e. It then plays

that note and its octave with voices 0 and 2. Voices 1 and 3, meanwhile ,
playa note just slightly 10'vver than N and it's octave N/2. This creates the
pulsing sound heard when the program is run. The pulses are call ed "beat
frequencies" or s impl y " beats. "

50 INPUT N
100 REM ** PHASE SHIFT
120 SOUND 0, N , 10, 10
130 SOUND 1, N + 1, 10, 10
140 SOUND 2, N/2 , 10 , 10
150 SOUND 3, N/2 + 1 ,10,10
210 GOTO 2 10

To hear an interesting sequence of " beats," ENTER and RUN this prog-
ram, which is sim il ar to the one above but enters the values for N with a
FOR-NEXT loop. Can yo u think of a way to use the same concept w ith
READ and DATA statements to ENTER th e note values? Hm<\' about with
subscripted variables in an array'?

100 REM ** PHASE SHIFT

110 FOR N= 50 TO 250 STEP 10
120 SOUND 0 , N, 10, 10
130 SOUND 1 , N+1, 10 ,10
140 SOUND 2, N/2 , 10, 10
150 SOUND 3, N/2 + 1, 10, 10
160 FOR P= 1 TO 1000: NEXT P
170 NEXT N
210 GOTO 11 0
 APPENDIX A 221

This program creates a nice visual effect as it is being drawn, as well as

when it is completed. Get some variety by changing the STEP function in
line 110.

oREM *** MANDALA

10 GRAPHICS 24
20 COLOR 1
30 SETCOLOR 4,4,8
100 REM *** DRAWS THE LINES
110 FOR ROW= 10 TO 180 STEP 10
120 COL=150
130 PLOT 0,90
140 DRAWTO COL, ROW
150 PLOT 319,90
160 DRAWTO COL , ROW
190 NEXT ROW
200 REM *** KEEPS IT ON SCREEN
210 GO TO 210

Here's another program that's fun to watch being drawn as it fills the
screen with little diamonds. Some interesting variations can be created by
making changes in the STEP functions in lines 110 and 120. Also try
different figures in lines 210 through 320.

oREM *** DIAMOND GRID

10 GRAPHICS 24
20 COLOR 1
30 SETCOLOR 2,0,2
100 REM *** LOOPS TO REPEAT FIGURE
110 FOR COL= 10 TO 300 STEP 10
120 FOR ROW=10 TO 180 STEP 10
200 REM *** DRAWS THE DIAMOND
210 PLOT COL, ROW
220 DRAWTO COL+5, ROW-5
230 DRAWTO COL+ 10 , ROW
240 DRAWTO COL+5, ROW+5
250 DRAWTO COL, ROW
300 REM *** MOVES TO NEXT POSITION
310 NEXT ROW
320 NEXT COL
400 REM *** KEEPS IT ON SCREEN
410 GO TO 410
222 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

The fo ll owing program uses two different FOR-NEXT loops , each of

which calls on th e same subroutine to draw a series of different-sized
squares . Try it with some different figures .

1 REM ** COLOR SQUARES

10 GRAPHICS 24
20 COLOR 1
40 SETCO LOR 4 , 4, 14
100 REM *** SMALL SQUARES
110 FOR X= 1 TO 50 STEP 10
120 A=50
130 GOSUB 600
140 NEXT X
150 FOR Z= 1 TO 100: NEXT Z
200 REM * * * LARGE SQUARES
210 FOR X = 5 TO 95 STEP 20
220 A=100
230 GOSUB 600
240 NEXT X
250 FOR Z = 1 TO 500: NEXT Z
300 REM *** STARTS AGAIN
310 GOTO 10
600 REM *** DRAWS SQUARES
610 Y= X
620 PLOT X , Y
630 DRAWTO X+A, Y
640 DRAWTO X+A, Y+A
650 DRAWTO X, Y+A
660 DRAWTO x, Y
670 RETURN
 APPEND IX A 223

If you like the "echo effect " often used by John Lennon in his recordings ,
you'll probably appreciate th e sound made by this program. By briefly
turning the voice on and off in lines 210 through 240, just before the decay
loop starts, an echo is created.

oREM *** ECHO EFFECT

100 REM *** READ NOTES
110 FOR CYCLE= 1 TO 8
120 READ N
20'0 REM *** PLAYS NOTE WITH ECHO
210 SOUND 0, N, 10' , 15
220 FOR P = l TO 5: NEXT P
230 SOUND 0, 0, 0, 0
240' FOR P= l TO 5: NEXT P
249 REM
250 FOR L = 15 TO 0' STEP -1
260 SOUND 0' , N , 10' , L
270' NEXT L
30'0' REM *** PLAYS ANOTHER NOTE
310 NEXT CYCLE
320 RESTORE
40'0 REM *** STARTS OVER
410 GOTO 110
50'0 REM *** THE NOTE VALUES
510 DATA 91,121,72,64
520 DATA 121,81,60' , 121
 APPENDIX B

Values for Musical Notes'

Note NUllleric Va lu e

High notes C 29
B 31
A# or Bb 33
A 35
G# or Ab 37
G 40
F# or cb 42
F 45
E 47
D# or Eb 50
D 53
C# or Db 57
C 60
B 64
A# or Bb 68
A 72
G# or Ab 76
G 81
F# o r cb 85
F 91
E 96
D# or Eb 102
D 108
C# or Db 11 4
M id d le C C 12 1
B 128
A# or Bb 136
A 144
G# or Ab 153
G 162
F# or C b 173
F 182
E 193
D# or Eb 204
Low notes D 217
C# or Db 230
C 243

*Fro lll th e ATAHI 400/8 00 ' " BASIC Referen ce Manua l, page 58.

224
 APPENDIX C

Plot Points for ATARI Gra ph ics Mod es

Graphics Mode 0

-- f---
12 J -- - I - X.f- 1 - - - ce nter 20, 12

16

20

24 ~ ____________________________________________________________ ~

NOTES: Text Mode - When th e mach ine is l u rned on, i l is in Graphics Mode 0 until otherwise specified

ATAR I TE CHN ICAL SERV ICES

225
226 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Graphics Mod e 1

4 8 12 16 20

8
center 10, 10
(if you have a
text w indow)
12
center 10, 12

16

20
21
tex t w indow
24 ~ __________________________~2~
4

NOTE S: Text Mode for large colored letters. You must use device # 6. (See Chapter 9)

ATARI T EC HN ICA L SERVICES

Graph ics Mode 2

4 8 12 16 20

4 center 10,5
(if you have a
tex t w indow)

center 10,6
8

12 L l_ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _--' ~ ; i text window

NOTES : Text Mode for colored letters. You must use device # 6. (see Chapt er 9)

A TARI TECHNI CA L SERV ICE S

 APPENDIX C 227

Graphics Mode 3

4 B 12 16 20 24 2B 32 36 40

B
center 20, 10
(if you have a
x tex t w indow)
12 X center 20,12

16

20
21
t ex t
window
24 ~ _______________________________________________________________2~4

NOTES: For same size plot POiMS without tex t window, use G RAPHICS 3 + 16.

ATA RI TE CHNICAL SE RV ICE S

Graphics Mode 4

B 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80
1f-! u u u u u u u u u L

Bp

I
center 40,20
(if you have a
t ex t window)
24 P center 40,24

3 2 tJ

40 J ;:
41 o
"0
C
.~

4B u
l~ __________________________________________________________________4~B~

NOTES: For same size plot points with out text window, use GRAPHICS 4 + 16.

ATAR I TE CHN ICA L SERV ICES

228 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Graphics Mode 5

8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80
1f-l u u u u u u u u u

I
center 40,20
(if you have a
text window)
center 40,24

40P 41 ;:
,-8
c:
3
48wh__________________________________________________________________-24~8 Ix
IE

NOTES: For same size plot points without text window, use GRAPHICS 5 + 16.

ATA RI TECHNI CA L SERV ICES

Graphics Mode 6

1 16 32 48 64 80 96 11 2 128 144 160

1~--_c._--~~--_c~--~._--_c._--~~--~~--~~--~._--~

16

32
center 80,40
(i f you have a

48
I t ex t window)

center 80,48

64

80 81
text
window
96 ~ __________________________________________________________~9~6

NOTE S: For same size plot points withou t text window, use GRAPHICS 6 or 16.

A T ARI TECHNI CA L SERV IC ES

 APPEND IX C 229

Graphics Mode 7

1 16 32 48 64 80 96 112 128 144 160

l~---.~---.r----.~--~r---~~--~~--~~u--~~--~~--~

16

32
cente r 80,48
(if you have a

48
I t ex t windowl
cente r 80,48

64

80 81
t ext
w indow
96~ ________________________________________________________~96

NOTES : For same size plot points without text window, use GRAPHICS 7 + 16.

ATAR I TECHNICAL SERV ICES

Graphics Mode 8

1 32 64 96 128 160 19 2 224 256 288 320

1 r---~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~~--~

32

64 center 160,80
(if you have a
text windowl

96
center 160,96

128

160 161
te x t
window
192L-__________________________________________________________~19~2

NOTE S:

ATARI TECHNICAL SERV ICES

 APPENDIX D

Graphics Mode 1 and 2 (Text Modes With Fancy letters)

RES ULTS O N SC REEN

Value for
COLOR Valu e for l etters on Bac kground Tex t
command Col o r Register d ispl ay scree n scree n w indow

0 Changes hue Dark grey Dark blu e

1 Ora nge
2 Changes hu e
3 Dark blu e
4 Changes hu e

0
1
2
(Sa me as 3
COLOR 0) 4

0
2 1
(Sa me as 2
COLOR 0) 3
4

0
3 1
(Sam e as 2
COLOR 0) 3
4

0
4 1
(Same as 2
COLOR 0) 3
4

NOTE: A single col o r li sted in th e third , fo urth , or fi fth co lumn indi ca tes th e default co lor for th at combin ati o n of
COLOR and Color Register, For exa mpl e, in gra phi cs mode 3, a combin ati on of CO LO R 1 and Color Register 2 w ill
res ult in the fi gure remainin g orange, rega rdl ess of th e val ue entered fo r Hu e in the SETCOLOR cOlllm and .

230
 APPENDIX D 231

Graphics Mode 3, 5, 7
RESU LTS ON SCREEN

Va lu e for
CO LO R Va lu e fo r Plo t po ints Ba ckgro und Tex t
com mand Co lor Register or figu re sc ree n w indow

(I) Defau lts to Da rk grey D ark blu e

co lo r of
background
(I) 1
2 Changes hu e
3 Da rk blu e
4

(I) Changes hue Da rk grey Dark blu e

1 Oran ge
2 Changes hu e
3 D ark blu e
4 Changes hu e

(I) Ligh t gree n Da rk grey Da rk blu e

2 Changes hu e
2 Li ght gree n Changes hu e
3 Da rk blu e
4 Changes hu e

(I) Dark b lue Da rk grey D ark blu e

3 1
2 Change hue Change hu e
3 Da rk b lu e Da rk grey Dark blu e
4 Change hu e

(I)
4 1
(Sa me as 2
CO LOR (I)) 3
4

NOTE: A single co lor li sted in the th ird. fourt h. or fifth co lumn indi ca tes the defa ult co lor fo r th at co mbin ati on of
CO LO R and Co lor Register. Fo r example . in graphics mode 3. a comb in atio n of CO LO R 1 and Color Register 2 w ill
result in the figure remaining o range. rega rd less of the va lue entered fo r Hli e in the SE TCO LO R co mm and.
232 ATARI SOUND AND GRAPHICS

Graphics Mode 4 and 6

RESU LTS ON SCREEN

Va lue for
COLOR Va lu e for Plot po ints Backgrou nd Text
command Co lor Reg ister or fi gure sc ree n w indow

0 Defaults to Dark grey Dark blue

co lo r of

, bac kground

2 Changes hu e
3 Dark blue
4

,
0 Changes hue
Orange
Dark grey Dark blue

2 Changes hu e
3 Dark blu e
4

2 ,
0

(Sa me as 2
COLOR 0) 3
4

3 ,
0

(Same as 2
COLOR 1) 3
4

4 ,
0

(Sa me as 2
COLOR 0) 3
4

NOTE: A singl e co lo r li sted in the third . fo urth . or fiith colum n indi ca tes the default co lor for th at combi nat ion of
CO LOR and Color Reg ister. For exa mpl e. in graphi cs mode 3. a comb inati on of COLO R 1 and Co lor Register 2 w ill
result in th e figu re remainin g orange. rega rd less of th e va lu e entered for Hue in the SETCO LOR command.
 APPENDIX E

The GTIA Chip:

Advances and the Future

The design of the AT ARI 400 and BOO computers provides superior sound
and graphics, among personal computers . This is partly because, while
other personal computers have tried to include the normal functions of the
computer as well as the sound and graphics in one processing unit (often
called a chip), ATARI uses separate chips for sound and graphics.
As this book was going to press, AT ARI announced the existence of a new
chip, the GTIA chip, on all AT ARI 400 and AT ARI 800 computers released
in 1982.
The GTIA will replace the CTIA chip currently controlling graphics
displays in the AT ARI 400 and 800 com puters. The GTIA functions are the
same as the CTIA chip in graphics modes 0 through B. However, three new
graphics modes are available with the new chip: graphics modes 9, 10, and
11. These additional modes are graphics modes only; no text can be dis-
played on the screen. Points plotted on the screen in these modes are
rectangular in shape, about four times wider than they are high. Using
graphics modes 9 through 11 will allow for a greater variety of hues and
luminance on the screen.
Although the graphics capability of the machine will be greatly en-
hanced, most of these functions are not executed in BASIC. The new chip
does not affect functions of the graphics mode, COLOR, or SETCOLOR
commands described in this book.
If you are, or may become, a more advanced programmer and would like
more information about the GTIA chip, we suggest that you consult the
publication DE RE ATARI by Chris Crawford, which is available through
the ATARI Program Exchange (Part #9000B , $19.95 plus $2 .50 for shipping
and handling). The address is:

Atari Program Exchange

P. O. Box 427
155 Moffett Park Drive
Sunnyvale, CA 940B6

Good luck with your ATARI Sound and Graphics program .

233
 INDEX

Array. 193. 195 FOR-NEXT loop , 42 . 57. 7-1. PRI NT s tal e nlOn l, 50. 122. 166.
Arrow ke ys . 10 102. 116.118.14 5. 193 168- 17 2
AT ARI BASIC. 4. 5 nes te d . 59. 67 . 86 Program. 27. 39
AT ARI BAS IC Refere n ce
Manua l. 7 COSUB sta teme nt. 93. 94. 96. Random integers. 139. 14 1.
AT AR I keyboard. 2 97. '100 . 10 2 199
Attack. 74- 76. 78- 80 GOTO stat e ment. 41 Randall! numbe rs. 137
Graphi cs mode . 13. 15. 22- 24. RE /\D s tal e m e nl, -10. 53- 54.
Bloc ks, 33 1l7. BIl. 102. '105. '129. '1GB. BI - 132
BREAK key, 58. 59 '170. 225- 229 READY. 2. 14. 4 3
RE M sta te m e nt. 32. 33. 57
Chart s: IF-TII EN s ta te m e nt. 100.127- RESTO RE s ta te m e nt. 81
gra phi cs. 24. 102. 1 70. 225- '129. '151 RETUR N key. 2. 3. 5. 14. 18.
232 INPUT s tat e me nt. -16 . 49. 6'1. 41
n o te . 9. 224 63.6-1. 67. 76 RETURN s ta te m e nt. 94. 96
C major sca le . 177. '195. 200 Int e rva l. 200 RND function. 137- 140
Co lor luminan ce, 114 110 d ev ices. '168 gra phi cs . 141 - 142
Co lor registe r. 110 so und. 14 0- 14 1
COLOR s tat ement. 14. 16- 18. Hi gh roso luti on grap hi cs. 129- Rows. 15. 4 0. 130. 181 ,184.
31.91 , 93 . 102.1 12. 1 25. 132 '188
156 HU G. 'Ill. 11 2. 118 RU N. 28. 29. 31. 33 , 35. 36
Co lumn . 15. 40. 130. '18'1. 184.
187 Key board. 2
Com ma nd. 2 SETCOLOR. 18. 108. 110- 11 8 .
125. 1 26, 't29. 143. 145
direc t. 27 Lin e number. 27 . 93
param e lc rs . '110- 118
CONT.58 LIST. 21l. 30. 32. 62
CONTROL ke y, 10. 93 S hap e of notes. 74
Loud ness. 7. 74- 80
SOU ND s ta te m e n t. 2. 3. 4- 7.
Coun ting, 42. 65. 66
4'1. 4fl. 53.57- 85. 123.
CTRL. 10. 93 Middl e C. 3.8. 9. -11.187. '19 '1.
'150- 15 1
Cu rso r. 1. 2 '199
param ete rs. 4- 7
Mult ip le-lin e s tal ements . 52 .
Siaff lin es. 180. 187
DATA s tat emeni, 40. 53- 54. 5:1
Sirin gs. 'IGO. 166
81 - 82. 196
Strin g va ria bl es. 160, 161. 207.
Decay. 74. 76- 80. 82 Nes led loops. 59. 6B. 90
208
Defa ult. 111 Nes ted su broutin es. 91l. '106
S ubroutine. 92. 94. 96
De le te. 61. 94 NEW . 27. 29
nested, 98.106
DELETE BACK S key. 2 No te. 5. 58. [;3 . 64. G6. [;9- 72
Dev ice number, 15
Subscrip led varia bl es . 193.
c ha rt s. 9. 224
2'10
DIM stat e ment. 161. 163 . '194 va ri able. 5
S YSTEM I{E SET key . 2 . 3. B.
Direc t co mmand s. 27
19.20. 27 .41.58
DRAWTO s tatem ent. '18- 20. Oclave. :<00
37. 120
Duration, 49. 146 Param eters. 4 T ext w indow . 13.14.87,88.
SETCO LOR. nO- 11 8 105
Ed iting. 10, 1'1 SOUN D. 4- 7 THE N s la leme nt. 108. 127-
END sta tement , 3 Pause. 42. ;.i9. G1 '129. 151
Enter, 14, 15. 19, 46 Pl ease No lo. '1- 223 Third. 200 , 201. 203
Erase . 17 , 44, 96 PLOT s lalomc nl , 14, 88. 119. T one 6.70. 151
Error message . 4. 54. 102. 't 05. 90. fJ2
n2 , 't64 PO SITIO N. 17'1. 175 Vo ice. 4

234