[Coco] Sock Master Demos

[Ward Griffiths]

On Friday 19 December 2003 12:47 am, Roger Taylor wrote:

> One reason of having an ASCII BASIC format and a tokenized/binary
> format is to allow BASIC programs to be portable between different
> computers.  BASIC is a common language, so it's not uncommon for
> people to want to attempt to run programs on machines the code was
> not written for/on.
>
> The CoCo and most other computers do not run these programs in their
> ASCII form, but instead use a compression format called tokenizing
> that enables the interpreter to recognize commands very quickly,
> since they are stored as a single byte, or sometimes 2 bytes for
> functions.
>
> So, a BASIC program is always tokenized while it's inside the CoCo
> being edited or ran.  You can choose to save it out in their format. 
> When you save out a BASIC program, it defaults to the binary save
> unless you use the "FILENAME",A  modifier.
> You're probably saving in ASCII so you can move this BASIC program
> over to another computer, or even edit it in any text editor, etc.
>
> Loading and saving in ASCII is much slower and you'll definately know
> why it's not the preferred method.

An ASCII csave was also the best way to move a program from the real 
Cocos to the MC-10, as that machine had a different token table for 
BASIC keywords, yet it understood the tape data format.  A language 
about halfway between Color BASIC and Extended Color BASIC.  (It had 
the string capabilities of ECB, but not the graphics, IIRC -- haven't 
touched an MC-10 in close to two decades).
-- 
Ward Griffiths				wdg3rd at comcast.net

The Yen Buddhists are the richest religious sect in the universe.  They
hold that the accumulation of money is a great evil and burden to the
soul.  They therefore, regardless of personal hazard, see it as their
unpleasant duty to acquire as much as possible in order to reduce the
risk to innocent people.           -- Terry Pratchett, _Witches Abroad_