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512K BASIC for 128K and 512K computers (C) 1988 Microcom Software
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512K BASIC Version 1.0
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512K BASIC will give you more memory for your BASIC programs on a CoCo 3.
On a 128K CoCo you can get as much as 88K of "total storage space", and on a 
512K CoCo, as much as 464K.

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Operating instructions
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First, make two backup copies of the 512K BASIC disk, and write-protect both of
them; store one copy in a safe place (in case the original becomes corrupted),
and store the other copy with your development tools. 

Label that copy as your WORKING DISK; we will call this copy your WORKING DISK 
from now on. 

Since it is write-protected, you won't accidentally modify it, and thus it can 
be considered the "canonical and unmodified" copy of 512K BASIC that you can 
make customised WORKING DISKs from.

We suggest that you make and keep a separate customized WORKING DISK for each 
BASIC program you write to be used under 512K BASIC. Before you write your pro-
gram, first determine the following:

    Does your BASIC Program use:

        PMODE Screens?
        HSCREENs?
        High Resolution Text Screens (40/64/80 columns)?
        HPUT/HGET/HBUFF Commands?
        High Speed Mode?

The more options (such as the ones above) your BASIC program uses, the less mem-
ory is avaible for the BASIC program.

Insert your WORKING DISK copy you intend to customize into your drive and type: 

RUN "SETUP"

...and press ENTER. When the menu appears, select the options your BASIC program 
will be using. By default, all options are pre-selected, and selection is indi-
cated with a "====>" arrow displayed to the left of the option.

To select or deselect an option, type in the number of the option at the bottom
"======>" prompt, and press ENTER.

When the "====>" arrow to the left of an option is missing, that means the opt-
ion is deactivated (meaning you will not use that option in your 512K BASIC pro-
gram, leaving the space available for you program). 

Typing in the option number again, and pressing ENTER, will re-activate that 
option, and the "====>" arrow showing the selection of the option will reappear,
indicating it's activated (and you can use it, at the cost of some memory).

If you have Option 5 (High Speed Mode) selected/activated, 512K BASIC will auto-
matically activate the CoCo 3 high speed mode when you are typing or executing 
(running) your BASIC program under 512K BASIC; 512K BASIC will also automatical-
ly slow-down the system when performing functions that require the normal speed 
mode (printer and disk operations).

When you are done selecting options, select option 6 and press ENTER to save 
your selections to the WORKING DISK; this will only take a few moments, and the
system will show "FILES UPDATED ..." and then exit back to BASIC.

This action will customize the 512K BASIC system for your needs. 

If you do not wish to save any alterations, select option 7 and press ENTER. You
will exit back to BASIC to an OK prompt, with the flashing cursor below, and be
in direct mode.

Note: You do NOT have to use RUN "SETUP" every time you want to use your BASIC 
      programs. You only need to RUN "SETUP" when you want to make alterations
      to your WORKING DISK.

We advise you to label your WORKING DISK in such a manner as to indicate which
options it is configured for, then write-protect the disk. This will enable you
to build a "library" of customized 512K BASIC WORKING DISKS to use with your 
BASIC programs as needed.

You could also use these customized disks to make additional copies with those
options; you could then put your BASIC program(s) you intend to use with 512K 
BASIC on these copies, too (there's plenty of free space); if you do this, it is
recommended that you delete the SETUP.BAS program from the disk using the KILL 
command:

    KILL "SETUP.BAS" <ENTER>
    
That way, you or another user of the software and disk can't modify the 512K 
BASIC system accidentally.

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From now on, use RUN "BOOT" <ENTER>. This will load and execute 512K BASIC with 
your selected options (the program will automatically clear itself from memory). 

Note: You can rename the "BOOT" program to something shorter and/or more mean-
ingful, if desired for your needs, especially if you want to keep your custom-
ized 512K BASIC and your program(s) on the same floppy.

When booting is complete, your system will display a banner and copyright, then
an OK prompt.

Your 512K BASIC system is now ready to use!

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First time users might want to try the command:

    PRINT MEM

Depending on your options, the following will appear on a 128K computer:

    64K BASIC PROGRAM SPACE
    FREE VARIABLE SPACE: 16170

The BASIC program space might be less or more than 64K, depending on your sel-
ected options, and if you have 128K or 512K.

In the above case, the total space availible is 64K + 16170 (approximately 16K) 
bytes (for variables) for a total of 80K.

If you are operating under the high speed mode, you will notice that the cursor 
flashes much faster. 512K BASIC will automatically slow down for printer and
disk operations as these devices will not work properly under the high speed 
mode.

Most BASIC programs running under 512K BASIC will work the same as they do under 
normal BASIC. The only conflict you might have is when you use the higher pages 
of PMODE 4 (eg. PMODE 4,5 etc). Check the "Other Useful Information" section be-
low, for more about this and other restrictions.

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We suggest you SAVE your BASIC programs to disk regularly. Even though 512K 
BASIC has been tested under various programs, any small unforseen quirk can 
cause unpredictable results to your BASIC programs. Please keep plenty of back-
ups.

If you wish to exit to normal BASIC for some programs that will not operate un-
der 512K BASIC, simply type: 

    POKE 113,0: DLOAD <ENTER>

This will exit from 512K BASIC to normal BASIC. 

NOTE: THIS ACTION WILL ERASE ANY BASIC PROGRAM IN MEMORY!

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Other Useful Information
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The cassette and DOS commands have been disabled to allow maximum memory.

If you intend to market your programs written under 512K BASIC, you can do so 
without paying any royalities. Contact us for more information.

Even though 512K BASIC will give up to 464K of space, you are still limited by 
your storage device capacity: 

A normally formatted blank floppy will handle up to 150K of BASIC programs.

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Technical Information and Warnings
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1) Your BASIC program is stored in various banks and always occupies memory loc-
   ations 8192 to 16384 ($2000 - $4000). Variables are stored between 16385 to 
   327xx ($4001 - ~$7FB0).

2) 512K BASIC uses locations $D900 - $DFFF (55552 - 57343), the locations of the 
   various cassette commands, and locations $F3 to $FF, $76, $114. Modifying 
   these locations may result in unpredictable damage to your BASIC program.
   
3) If you do not intend to use the PMODE screens, memory locations 3584 to 8191 
   ($0E00 - $1FFF) are unused and may be used for machine langauge routines.

4) The bottom portion of a PMODE 3 or 4 screen is stored in hidden memory. A few 
   ML programs expect the PMODE 3/4 memory area to be "in memory" all the time 
   and therefore might not work properly. In such cases, try POKE &HA1, &H39 and 
   then executing the ML program. Only type in this POKE from the direct mode. 
   If you are not using PMODE 3 or 4 screens, then this issue can be ignored.

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A new program from the Big C. For better CoCo software...
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