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Locomotive BASIC

No change in size, 18:43, 17 December 2007
Also there was simple interface for memory management, with MEMORY and LOAD commands. The latter allowed for loading of raw screen data, thus providing easy picture showing. Both through this (combined with CALL, PEEK and POKE) and the firmware's [[RSX]] system, it was easy to mix BASIC and assembly code, thereby speeding up programs by coding the slowest parts directly in machine code. Many successful programs, including games such as [[Radzone]] and applications such as [[PowerPage]], made use of this technique.
With DEF FN, ON variable GOTO and ON variable GOSUB, Locomotive BASIC provided the rudiments of "structured programming", though nowhere near the extent of the PROCedures of [[BBC BASICBasic]].
All in all, if you compare BASIC interpreters of that era, the Locomotive's seems to be the best 'all-rounder' regarding the combination of speed and complexity, and still some of its features were unmatched by others.
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