README FILE
========================
TI Extended BASIC Manual
Microsoft Word Format
========================
Manolis Kiagias 

sonic2000gr@99er.net

Visit our website: www.win-setup.com for advanced Windows installation tips. 


Disclaimer: The TI Extended BASIC Manual is copyrighted by Texas Instruments. This electronic version may not be sold. It is offered as a contribution to the worldwide TI Community. 


Introduction
============

The TI Extended BASIC is a popular cartridge for the TI-99/4A (and 99/4) computers. TI-99/4A was a popular home computer of the 80s. It was equipped with a BASIC language, called TI BASIC. TI Extended BASIC was released as an enhancement to the built in TI BASIC and offers many improvements. It quickly became the de-facto standard for TI-99 programming.

Use of this Manual
==================

Quite a few of TI Extended BASIC cartridges are sold every day in ebay and other auction sites. Since these items are 15-20 years old, it is no surprise their manuals are lost.
People buying their first (used) 99/4A now, need a reference for Extended BASIC if they are to make any use of it. And yes, even today, TI Extended BASIC is a very good language to start programming. It was way ahead of its time when introduced and still holds well (Has subprograms, local variables, hardware supported sprite commands, advanced display and input management, sequential and random file management, etc)
I also suspect there are quite a few people owing a 99/4A since the 80s that have misplaced or lost their manuals.

This electronic version of the Extended BASIC manual, is an accurate  (hopefully!) reproduction of the original manual supplied with the cartridge. I scanned and OCR the complete manual, added diagrams and pictures and converted it to Microsoft Word format. The document was written in Microsoft Word XP (version 2002). I believe it is readable in Word 2000, but I have not tested it.

The original version came in A5 format, and I preserved this. I also preserved the page breaks and numbering. Page 107 refers to the INT command both in the original manual and in this downloadable version.
The only missing section of the manual is the Index (A table of contents is included however). I never thought this index was of much help anyway, but if there is demand for it I will include it in a future release.

It will be very useful to print and bind this book. You may scale to A4 format when printing by selecting the appropriate option in the Print Dialog of Microsoft Word. 

Errors and fixes
================

Since the bulk of the document was produced by OCR of the original book, errors were introduced. I tried to correct most of them,I have certainly missed a few. Therefore I urge anyone encountering an error to report it to me for corrections in future versions. My email address is:

sonic2000gr@99er.net

Errors that will be most likely encountered are:
1s been written as Is or the opposite
The number 1 substituted by the letter l (especially in listings)
The letter O substituted by 0 or the opposite. 

The lines in some listings may appear like this:

>100 CALL CHAR
(128,"3C7EFFFFFFFF7E3C")

This is actually one line and not two and should be typed like this:

>100 CALL CHAR(128,"3C7EFFFFFFFF7E3C")

The ">" symbol is used by the TI to show the current line being edited. You should only press ENTER at the end of a line if the next line also starts by ">". This is true for almost all examples in the book. (However the program in Appendix M does not have ">" at all)

The original Extended Basic manual has a few errors of its own. Some of them have been corrected, but not all. I never intended to rewrite this manual, just reproduce it.

Your comments and corrections will be appreciated. Please use the email address above. 

License
=======

The TI-99/4a was the computer that started it all for me. I have produced this electronic version of the Extended Basic manual as  a tribute to the TI-99/4A and a contribution to the many people still using it.(I  own three consoles, including my original one, all functional) 
This electronic version may NOT be sold, but must be given away free. 
The text in this book is copyrighted by Texas Instruments. I can hardly tell you what to do or not do with it. The document is editable, I would however ask you to not distribute any modified versions of it. If there are any corrections, amendments or additions please report them to me, so they can be incorporated in the next revision. This will ensure everyone has a valid version and there are no multiple versions in multiple sites.


Version History
===============

First Release - 27/10/2001