Language – INPUT command (More Details)

Allowing a string expression for the prompt will give flexibility. However, if using a single string variable for the prompt's string expression can lead to possible confusion. Consider these INPUT statements where the variable P$ is meant to contain the prompt string:

INPUT P$;A,B
INPUT P$,A,B
INPUT A$;

For the first statement, it is easy to determine that the P$ is a prompt since a semicolon is separating the prompt from the input variables. However, in the second statement, is the P$ the prompt or is the first of the three variables to input? The later will be assumed because otherwise there would be no way to input a string as the first of two or more variables.

The Translator will determine if the first parameter is a string expression or a string variable by checking if the reference flag of the token is set. The reference flag will not be set for an actual string expression. To override this behavior, the statement can be written as “INPUT (P$),A,B” where the parentheses will clear reference flag of the P$ token forcing it to be interpreted as a string expression and therefore as a prompt.

In the third statement, since no variables follow the semicolon, this statement will be interpreted as inputting a single string variable, keep the cursor on the same line after the input is entered.

I have been doing some reconfiguring/upgrading of my computer (adding a larger and faster hard drive), which didn't go as smooth as it should have. At the same time a board was removed and the system wasn't stable until it's drivers were removed (duh). And there was an error on the system partition that proved to be a great pain to correct until the correct procedure was figured out. Finally the system partition corrected, defragmented and copied to the new hard drive. Work can now continue on this project.

Language – INPUT command

After looking at QBasic (GW-Basic, QuickBasic and FreeBASIC have the same features on the INPUT command) and TrueBASIC (similar to ANSI Basic) for inspiration, a set of desired features for the INPUT command was selected. There's no reason to get too elaborate with the INPUT command as there is a better solution for inputting values (more on that later). The syntax chosen for the INPUT command implementation is:

INPUT [[<string-expression>] {,|;}] <variable>[,<variable> ...][;]

QBasic (and GW-Basic, etc.) supports an optional prompt string, but it must be a string constant. TrueBASIC (ANSI BASIC) allows a string expression but it is preceded by the PROMPT keyword (followed by a colon and the "? " is suppressed). ANSI BASIC has some other options in additional to PROMPT (perhaps TrueBASIC does now too, but not in the 1985 version).

A string expression will be used for the prompt so that anything can be used for the prompt, not just a string constant (which is too restrictive). Similar to QBasic, a comma separator after the prompt outputs just the value of the string expression, and a semicolon will add "? " after the prompt. If there is no string expression or separator, then the standard "? " is output. The prompt is optional, and if there is just a separator, then there will just the "? "  (semicolon) or no prompt (comma). Using just the semicolon is pointless because it is the same as not having the semicolon. Using just the comma will have no prompt (which gives errors with both QBasic and GW-Basic).

The trailing optional semicolon will keep the cursor on the same line after the input is entered. QBasic (and the others) accomplish this with the optional semicolon directly after the INPUT keyword. This is weird and it makes more sense to put the optional semicolon at the end just like with the PRINT statement.

Note: Debugging will resume on the error reporting issues, but I have little time available during this week and wanted to get started with the background for the INPUT command.

Translator – PRINT Command (Release)

The original plan was put all the command test inputs into one set, but the set grew quite large when the PRINT tests were added and especially when all the error test inputs were also added. Therefore, new separate sets were created for the PRINT tests and the error tests. The lone PRINT statement at the end of the LET command tests remains (though it no longer causes a “BUG: not yet implemented” error).

One last thing, it was previously mentioned that the standard C libraries being used with GCC include a command history of the inputs entered in the interactive test input mode, accessed by the up and done arrows. I accidentally discovered a few more features using the function keys (found when F7 was entered in the MSYS window instead of the VIDE2 window where it is the build program shortcut key). These features are:

F1 – Copy one character from previous input at current position
F2 – Pops up a window asking for a character, then copies characters from current position from previous input up to that character
F3 – Copies all characters from previous input at current position
F4 – Pops up a window asking for a character to delete to, then deletes up to the character
F5 – Does the same thing as up-arrow
F6 – Puts Control-Z into buffer (not sure what this is for, possibly Control-Z is an end of file marker from the old DOS days)
F7 – Pop up a window showing are previously entered inputs (each numbered), which can then be selected
F8 – Display previous input (same as up-arrow except rotates around, but only when cursor is a beginning of line)
F9 – Pop up window asking for a Command Number

The Page Up and Page Down go to the first and last inputs saved. I also noticed it seems to remember the inputs even between runs, I'm not sure where it stores this between terminating the program and starting it back up.

Anyway, the Translator now has support for the PRINT command and PRINT functions and ibcp_0.1.13-src.zip has been uploaded at Sourceforge IBCP Project along with the binary for the program. A lot of changes were required to get the PRINT command implemented, the implementation of next command (INPUT) should be easier. Now to get the rest of the error handling working correctly...

Translator – PRINT Working, But...

This release seems to be living up to its unlucky number. I'm going to just put it out shortly and move on. The PRINT command and its error tests are working properly, so there's no reason to do an interim developmental release.  However, not all the error messages are correct.  But first, a few changes need to be described.

A while back, an AssignList flag was added to table entries to identify that the code is an assign list code. This flag was used when processing an operator to identify it as an assign list operator. A temporary flag is set if the operator is an assign list operator before the find code function was called (which only handles the last value in the assignment list and the expression). Upon returning, if this temporary flag is set, then the rest of the assignment list operands are processed.

It turns out this table entry flag is not necessary. Since the temporary flag is set before the find code function (which may change the operator code depending on the data types), the temporary flag can simply be set if the operator code is AssignList.

One other change was made related to list assignments. Previously the AssignList operator was not pushed to the hold stack until the equal token was received, the comma tokens were just deleted. This was changed to push an AssignList Operator token to the hold stack when the first comma token is received (the comma token was changed). This occurs when the mode is changed from Assignment to CommaAssignment (on the first comma token, subsequent comma tokens are still deleted). When the equal token is received, the mode is still changed from CommaAssignment to Expression (but the equal token is now just deleted). This change was necessary to aid in identifying which specific error message is needed when an error occurs (which is still not working correctly).

Translator – PRINT Command (Still Testing)

Wow, as the remaining errors were corrected, I thought of more errors to try, and of course they did not work either and needed to be corrected. Right now there are three more errors that are not being reported correctly (and none of these were known before this evening). All of the previously known error reporting issues had been corrected plus a few more that were discovered. The various error test inputs were put into there own group, which has grown to 79 different tests (though there maybe a few duplicates). Hopefully one more day...

Translator – PRINT Command (Testing)

Sorry for the lack of posts but it has been quite an effort trying to get the desired error messages for the different errors. The simple approach would be to simply report “Syntax Error” like GW-Basic does for errors, but that defeats the idea of a Beginner's programming language – it should be helpful. After seeing how well QBasic identifies errors (though not perfect), the decision was made to do an even better job than QBasic.

There has been a little backtracking on the scheme that all error codes (and messages) should be unique. There was starting to be a lot of similar messages except for subtle differences like a “; not semicolon” or “; not comma” at the end. The decision was made that this was unnecessary, since the location in the code could be identified by the token being pointed to (comma, semicolon, or EOL), so there's really no point to having multiple unique errors for these.

It would require too much space to try an explain all the details of the changes, but here is a summary of the major changes:

1. Print-only functions are checked if invalid immediately upon receipt instead of waiting until the function is processed at the closing parentheses (without this, a statement like A=TAB(B$) would report that the argument is invalid possible implying that the TAB is okay in the assignment).
2. The counter stack was modified to hold both the operand counter it previously held and a new number of expected arguments value that is set for internal functions. This value is used to determine if another argument is expected or no more arguments are expected for a given internal function.
3. The comma and semicolon token handlers were reorganized for better error reporting.
4. The expression end check function was modified to check if a comma or closing parentheses is expected for internal functions (complicated by functions having different number of arguments).
5. Many checks of the current mode were required in the different locations in the Translator code so the correct error could be reported.

There is still a few errors that are not being reported as desired. A little more work is required to clean these up and a release can finally be made...

Translator – PRINT Command (Testing)

A statement like “Z=A+” was reporting the “BUG: expected operand on done stack” error because the add operator (emptied at the EOL) consumed two operands from the done stack, the A and then the Z. The EOL empties the assignment operator next, which is expecting two operands, but there  was only one, the result of the add operator, thus the bug error.

To fix this problem, a new FirstOperand state was needed. This state is set at the beginning. After the first operand, the Operand state is used (except after an assignment operator, comma in a PRINT statement, and semicolon in a PRINT statement). When an operator is received in operand mode that has the end expression flag set (comma, semicolon and EOL), only if the state is not FirstOperand (meaning operands have been received yet) does an error occur. The error message was changed from “operand expected” to “expected expression” since more than just an operand is expected (unary operator, parenthetical expression, etc.).

Upon more comparing with Qbasic's error checking behavior, it became evident that the current error messages could be more helpful in explaining what is expected. Therefore many of the error messages were updated and some new messages were added. In keeping with the current scheme, all error codes (and messages) are unique – in other words, occur in only on location. This makes it much easier to identify what part of the code generated the error.

Many more test inputs were added with all kinds of errors to see if the error messages produced was sufficient and pointing to the proper token. The same statements were tried with QBasic. In some cases, I feel the QBasic message is insufficient. There was even one error statement “A B = 1” that QBasic did not catch as an error until the program was run (oops). There are still more adjustments to the error messages required (including two bug errors that are still occurring and two that are not pointing at the correct token). Hopefully this will be cleaned up shortly and the next release, with the PRINT command, can be made...

Translator – PRINT Command (Still Debugging)

And speaking of QBasic, out of curiosity of how it handles invalid commas in function arguments for comparison to IBCP, QBasic detects the wrong number of arguments at the first comma that shouldn't be there (the “expected )” error occurs pointing to the comma) or the closing parentheses when there should be another argument (the “expected ,” error occurs pointer to the closing parentheses. IBCP doesn't catch the error until the closing parentheses (and points to the function name with the “wrong number of arguments” error). The QBasic behavior is better.

This behavior was not difficult to replicate. The count stack (that keeps track of operands, i.e. commas) was modified to hold a count stack item, which contains the current number of operands (commas) counter and a new expected number of arguments that is set if the token is an internal function. The comma token handler then checks if too many arguments have been entered if the expected number of arguments is set.

To make this work with internal functions that have multiple number of arguments (MID$, INSTR and ASC), the entries in the table needed to be rearranged where the code with the more number of arguments moved first, so that the number of expected operands was set high enough not the have an error reported before getting to the closing parentheses.

One more bug needs to be fixed, a statement like “Z=A+” reports the “BUG: expected operand on done stack” error. Bug errors are programming errors that should not occur. The statement “Z=(A+” does correctly report the “operand or closing parentheses expected” error. This appears to be the final bug...

QBasic (Another Incremental Compiler)

I discovered that QBasic 1.1 is available as a free download. Version 1.0 came with DOS 5.0 as a replacement for GW-Basic and with Windows 95, NT 3.x and NT 4.0. Version 1.1 came with DOS 6.x, Windows 95, 98, and Me. QBasic was based on QuickBasic 4.5. I was fascinated with the features of QuickBasic 4.5 when it came out, the incremental compiler aspect was intriguing, but did not think they took the user interface concepts far enough (one of the intentions of IBCP).

After getting familiar with QuickBasic 4.5, I never used it much afterward since it's compiled programs were much slower than when compiled with QuickBasic 3.0 (not an incremental compiler) for the project I was involved with at the time and continued to use GW-Basic for development and the QuickBasic 3.0 compiler for production.

QBasic does not contain any of compiler or linker elements of QuickBasic 4.5, however, the incremental compiler remains. The lines are compiled as they are entered and errors are reported immediately. QBasic is good inspiration for IBCP and will be used for comparison, both for features and run-time (though possibly unfair since QBasic is not 32-bit). QBasic will be mentioned frequently from here on (along with GW-Basic, QuickBasic 3.0 and FreeBASIC), though there is no intention of making IBCP a clone of QBasic (see FreeBASIC for that, which is just a compiler).

Translator – PRINT Command (More Debugging)

A dummy semicolon token was being appended after a print-only function, which is not necessary. A new semicolon sub-code flag was added for this case along with a new print function command flag, which is set when a print-only function is appended to the output. If the semicolon token handler sees this command flag set, it will set the semicolon sub-code flag of the print-only function token (the last token appended to the output). This command flag is cleared by the semicolon and comma token handlers to prevent further semicolon from seeing it set.

This change was also necessary for print-only functions at the end of a statement, because there was no translated difference between a print-only function at the end or one followed by a semicolon.  To reproduce the ending semicolon, the semicolon sub-code flag is set when there is a semicolon after the print-only function at the end of the statement (the semicolon is not necessary since the print-only functions at the end keep the cursor on the same line).


The check for the end expression flag (set for comma, semicolon and EOL tokens) was put at the beginning of the state is operand or operator check to skip this section when the flag is set. The check was necessary because otherwise an “operand expected” was occurring when a comma or semicolon followed another comma or semicolon, or one of these was at the end of the statement. In this case, the Translator was expecting an operand when the comma, semicolon or EOL was received.

After several failed attempts to get this right, the check was removed to see what error came up for the different test input errors that have been added to test all the possible cases. In all cases, the “operand expected” occurred. This pointed to the location where the end expression flag needed to be.

The location for the check was in the operand section between the “is not an operator” and the “is a unary operator” sections (remember that unary operators are accepted when the Translator is expecting an operand). Making the comma, semicolon and EOL codes unary operators to get is past this section did not work (they were processed incorrectly later in the code), so a separate check was added.

For the end expression token check, a new “operand or closing parentheses expected” error was added (neither “operand expected” nor “missing closing parentheses” made sense for all cases where this error can occur). The error only occurs if the counter stack is not empty (inside a parenthetical expression or inside an array or function), otherwise the error will be caught by the respective token handlers. Debugging continues...

Translator – PRINT Command (Debugging)

The code that handles checking the done stack and appending the necessary data type specific code was also put into a new add print code function so that it can be called from the comma token handler, semicolon token handler and new print command handler. Once the changes were implemented and made to compile, testing was started with the new regression test script.

The first problem encountered was that at the end of the line for the expression tests reported that the done stack was not empty, which was true because the expression only mode leaves the result on the done stack. The code was modified to save the expression mode from the start function and the end-of-line token handler checks for the expression only mode and makes sure there is one item on the done stack.

The next problem encountered was that the single PRINT command (the last test of the current test inputs) reported an “expected operand” at the end of the line. This occurred because after the PRINT command token was received, the mode was set to Expression and the state was set to Operand. The EOL token received next was considered an operator and therefore caused the error.

To correct this, a new EndExpr table entry flag was added and set in the EOL code table entry. This flag is also needed for the Comma and SemiColon codes and will be used for other codes that end expressions (for example, Colon, THEN, ELSE, END IF, etc.). If a token is received that has this flag set, then the normal operand/operator sections are skipped. The stack emptying section follows next where these codes will empty most of the operators from the hold stack. All of these codes will have token handlers.

Once all the existing test inputs worked, several PRINT test inputs were added. The next issue discovered was that both the comma and semicolon token handlers must switch Translator state back to Operand from Operator (an “expected operator” error was occurring). The are many other bugs in the PRINT statement code; debugging continues...

Translator – Command Handlers

The command handlers will be called at the end of the statement, which the end-of-line token handler is current performing. This will change when the end-of-statement is implemented (soon with the colon operator). For now, the end-of-line token handler will call the command handler for the command on top of the command stack.

The command handler functions are friends of the Translator class, like the token handler functions; necessary so that pointers to these functions can be put into the table entries. The interface to these functions are similar to the token handlers except a pointer to the command stack item is passed for the second argument instead of a reference to a token pointer. This gives the command handler access to the code and flag information in the command stack item in addition to the token pointer of the command. If an error occurs and a different token needs to be pointed to for the error, the token pointer can be changed (the original token needs to be deleted first).

1. Command handlers will now be in charge of checking if an expression has been ended correctly and will make sure the done stack has been emptied.  The end-of-line handler is responsible for:
2. Checking if the command stack is not empty (otherwise a “command stack empty” bug error occurs).
3. Checking if the command on top of the command stack has a command handler (otherwise a “not yet implemented” bug error occurs).
4. Popping the command item from command stack and calling its command handler.
5. Popping the initial null token from the hold stack.
6. Checking if the done stack is empty.
7. Checking if the command stack is empty.
8. Deleting the EOL token and return a done status.

Some of this functionality will be moved to the end-of-statement routine and the end-of-line token handler will be changed once multiple statements per line is implemented. There also needs to be an assignment command handler that does nothing more than return a good status. Now on to implementing the PRINT command handler function...

Translator – End of Statement Processing

The end-of-line processing currently performs the check if an expression was ended correctly, that is, checks if the hold stack contains only the initial null token (meaning all operator have been processed). The comma and semicolon should empty all operators from the hold stack, except lower precedence opening parentheses, functions, and array token. Except for the null token which acts as a buffer, if any of these are still on the stack, there is a missing closing parentheses. Finally, any pending parentheses needs to be processed.

This end of expression code needs to called by the comma and semicolon token handlers, so it will be moved into its own function (duplicating code is a bad programming practice). This function will also be called by future token handlers. In other words, it needs to be called at the end of a statement. The end-of-line is also the end of a statement, which currently contains this code.

However, the end of expression should not be called by the end-of-line token handler, which should instead be calling the command handler for the command that is currently being processed (on top of the command stack). The command handler will then do the end of expression call if required (some commands don't have expressions). The end-of-line token handler will pop the command from on top of the command stack and call the command's command handler.

Currently, when an assignment operator is appended to the output, the pointer to the output item is pushed to the done stack. There is no reason to push this to the done stack because it is not needed there (it is just popped at the end of the statement). The reason for pushing onto the done stack is so that the output item can be referenced by another token (for example, operands of functions for checking data types).

Remember the LET command was popped from the command stack (if there) by the assignment operator. The assignment operator, should instead be pushed onto the command stack since it is a command. It will be more clear why once the compound commands are implemented (like IF-THEN-ELSE). The assignment, being a command, will not get popped from the command stack (like all commands). The assignment command doesn't need a command handler, so it will have a NULL command handler function pointer.

Translator – Commas with PRINT

Currently a comma is not valid within an expression if the comma is not inside an array or function.  The comma has a low precedence, below all operators, but above end-of-line, close parentheses and commands, so it will empty all other operators from the hold stack. No lower precedence tokens will be on the hold stack except for an open parentheses, identifier with parentheses (function or array), function (internal or defined), or an assignment operator.

The comma token handler will be updated to check for a PRINT command on top of the command stack. Any other command will still cause an “unexpected comma in expression” error to occur. The hold stack needs to be checked to make sure it is empty (has the initial Null token on top), otherwise a “missing closing parentheses” error occurs. This check is the same that is performed for in semicolon token handler and also in the end-of-line token handler, so this code will be put into its own function for all to call. An assignment won't be on the hold stack if there is a PRINT on the command stack.

For a PRINT command, the handler will process any expression on top of the done stack. The expression on the done stack will be handled by the find code function as previously described. The flag for the PRINT command item on top of the done stack needs to be set in case this is the last comma in the PRINT statement, to tell the PRINT command handler not to append the Print code to the output (to keep the cursor on the same line).

If the done stack is empty, then there was no expression before the comma (allowed), which means to skip to the next column. The comma token will be appended to the output. For now, the PRINT command is the only reason a comma token is put into the translated output, therefore the execution routine called during run-time for the comma will be to advance to the next column. There is no need for a PrintComma code unless there will be another reason to put a comma in the program.

Translator – Semicolons with PRINT

Up to now, the Semicolon (an operator) has not been implemented (in fact, causes the program to crash if entered in an expression because its table entry has no expression information structure). The semicolon will have a low precedence, the same as the comma since it is also an expression separator, so it will empty all other operators from the hold stack. No lower precedence tokens will be on the hold stack except for an open parentheses, identifier with parentheses (function or array), function (internal or defined), or an assignment operator.

The Semicolon will have a token handler function, which is called after the hold stack is processed.   The handler will check the command on top of the command stack. If the command stack is empty, then an “unexpected semicolon” error will occur. For now, only a PRINT command needs to be processed. Any other command will also cause an “unexpected semicolon” error to occur. The hold stack needs to be checked to make sure it is empty (has the initial Null token on top), otherwise a “missing closing parentheses” error occurs. An assignment won't be on the hold stack if there is a PRINT on the command stack.

For a PRINT command, the handler needs to process any expression on top of the done stack. If the done stack is empty, then there was no expression before the semicolon (allowed). In this case, a dummy semicolon token is appended to the output so that it can be reproduced. Adding a sub-code for this situation is a wasted effort (because there may be no token before the semicolon in the output, which would complicate matters in using a sub-code).

The expression on the done stack will be handled by the find code function as previously described. The flag for the PRINT command item on top of the done stack needs to be set in case this is the last semicolon in the PRINT statement – to tell the PRINT command not to append the Print code to the output (to keep the cursor on the same line).

The PrintTmpStr (which will be named PrintTmp to stick with the 3 character data type naming convention for code names) is not being added at this time. PrintStr is a code that takes a string operand, and as such, whether it's operand is a String or a TmpStr can't be determined by the Translator, so it will have it's operand saved for later determination by the Encoder.

Translator – Print-Only Functions

There are currently two print-only functions, SPC and TAB. Both functions may only be used in a PRINT statement and are not valid in any other expression. There needs to be a new table entry Print flag that will be used for these print-only functions, which are defined as internal functions.

When internal functions are processed (arguments checked and necessary hidden conversion codes inserted), a check is needed that if a function has the Print flag, then the current command on top of the command stack must be a PRINT command otherwise an “invalid use of print function” error occurs. In additional, print-only functions do not have return values, so no result value is pushed onto the done stack. These print-only functions also need to set the flag in the PRINT command item on top of the command stack in case these are the last item in the PRINT statement (to prevent the PRINT code from being appended to the output, which will keep the cursor on the same line at run-time).

During execution at run-time, these functions perform their action directly to the output, which is the reason no result needs to be pushed back on the evaluation stack (the result is outputted instead).

Bug Fix:Upon making the changes for print-only functions, I realized there was an unrelated bug where a command would be accepted after receiving an operand (for example: A LET ...) because the mode was still set to Command. Therefore, when an operand token is processed, if the mode is Command then the mode is set to Assignment – this will prevent a command token from being accepted after an operand.