In 2022 we had a Pascalated BASIC competition but with interpreted BASIC.
This time we have a competition with compiled Pascalated BASIC which is much better:
Advantages:
Programs run faster.
There are local variables and routines can have arguments.
Disadvantages:
It's not ZX Spectrum BASIC - you need to learn a little
of the new language (especially those who have never used the Boriel compiler).
Summary of rules:
Do not use GOTOs!
Do not use line numbers
Use PROCEDURE and FUNCTION
Use REPEAT-UNTIL and WHILE-ENDWHILE
Use IF-THEN-ELSEIF-ELSE-ENDIF
etc.
A bit of History
1958 - The ALGOL 58 language appears in Germany, the first structured programming language.
1970 - The Pascal language designed by Niklaus Wirth appears in Switzerland - the most famous structured language.
1975 - COMAL (Common Algorithmic Language) appears in Denmark - the first structured BASIC. Available for the ZX Spectrum since 1984.
1976 - SBASIC (Dartmouth Structured BASIC) appears in the USA.
1981 - The BBC Micro appears in England, with one of the first structured BASIC languages.
1983 - Structured programming became widely known with Turbo Pascal 3 from Borland (USA).
1984 - Sinclair QL appears with structured BASIC in England.
1985 - QuickBASIC (later QBASIC) appears in the USA, the first structured BASIC without line numbers.
1987 - Pascalated BASIC (for the ZX Spectrum) appears in MicroSe7e magazine (Portugal).
2021 - The Pascalated BASIC Converter for ZX Spectrum (javascript) appears in Portugal.
2023 - Compiled Pascalated BASIC appears (Portugal), made with the ZX BASIC compiler (Boriel) (Spain).
Rules
The prize
The first prize is a Tauon PC-1 emulator offered by Arca Lusitana archive. The other prizes will be announced soon.
The Tauon PC-1 is an amulator for the ZX Spectrum (and others).
The Tauon PC-1 has HDMI output and the ability to fetch games from the internet.
Deadline
The deadline is September 30, 2024.
Programming language requirements
Do not use line numbers.
Do not use GOTO, RUN, DO, LOOP, EXIT, SUB and GOSUB. RETURN can only be used on the last line of a function.
Constants and global variables must be declared at the beginning of the program.
Each routine must not have more than 100 lines.
The main routine must be invoked at the end of the program.
Do not use assembly (machine code) - except direct access to ROM routines with the USR command.
For more information about the language and how to compile the program, see the page Pascalated Boriel ZX BASIC.
It is also possible to compete with the rules of the previous competition, except that it is not permitted to run the program at a higher speed than normal..
Human language
The program can only have 2 languages: Portuguese and/or English (both on the screen and in the listing).
Program submission
The program must be sent to the email: concurso@ArcaLusitana.org
The following files must be sent: source code (.BAS), binary (.TAP), command to compile (.BAT, makefile), file with instructions (if the program does not have them).
Many programs
You can send as many programs as you would like.
You can send as many versions as you want within the deadline.
The last version will be the one that will enter the contest.
Copyright
You can retain the rights to the program but
the Planeta Sinclair blog and
the Arca Lusitana archive
will have the right to place copies on the internet.
Jury
The jury (in alphabetical order): André Leão (blog Planeta Sinclair), Zé Oliveira (site Arca Lusitana), João Ramos (museu LOAD ""), Mário Viegas (blog Planeta Sinclair), Filipe Veiga (blog Planeta Sinclair).
Games will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
aesthetics (visual), playability (keys), entertainment capacity and program structuring.
Programs of other genres will be evaluated according to their own characteristics.
The jury may change the deadline and/or the number of prizes if the quantity and/or quality of the work so requires.
Jury members cannot compete.
Participants of the 2024 Pascalated BASIC Contest
Handwritten Pascalated BASIC (c) 1987 by ZarSoft
Pascalated BASIC Converter (c) 2021 by ZarSoft
Compiled Boriel Pascalated BASIC (c) 2023 by ZarSoft
Email: info@ArcaLusitana.org