gwbasic

[[e-mail]]

I have made an attempt to assemble gwbasic:

https://github.com/microsoft/GW-BASIC

with jwasm.

Currently I have an assembly error I don't know
how to solve.

It is interesting that the source files have been
padded with NULs to a 128-byte multiple as I
think happens in CP/M with no file size in the
directory or something like that.

Anyway, when I bought my first IBM XT compatible
(Commodore PC 5) circa 1987 with monochrome
text monitor, the only programming language it
came with was gwbasic, from memory.

And if I ever go back to that point in time, what I
need is a derivative of this program:

http://www.antonis.de/qbebooks/gwbasman/Appendix%20F.html

minimal, to be typed in, I think using the gwbasic
editor rather than edlin,

to enable me to drive a modem to connect to a BBS
to download a better, but still minimal, gwbasic comms
program that does some sort of error checking, or
maybe I just download it 3 or more times until "fc"
confirms that I have two matching files, no line
noise, and then finally I can download an executable
that includes xmodem, and then use that to download
an executable with zmodem, and then download
PDOS/86, switch to that, then download PDOS/386,
and I can build a PDOS/386 floppy for use on another
computer with an 80386.

BFN. Paul.

[[e-mail]]

Ah, it's incomplete:

C:\devel\gwbasic>grepb -i RECCOM *.*
File giocom.asm:
EXTRN INICOM:NEAR,RECCOM:NEAR,SNDCOM:NEAR,STACOM:NEAR,TRMCOM:NEAR ;OEM routines
CALL RECCOM ;[AL]=input byte (if data is ready)

I was wondering how they accessed COM ports.

Still, I have 8086 COM port code. Maybe I can supply that.

BFN. Paul.