What Is A Program?
A computer cannot perform any task by itself. Like a car without gas, a computer has potential, but without a program, it isn't going anywhere. Most of the programs published in COMPUTE! are written in a computer language called BASIC. BASIC is easy to learn and is built into most computers (on some computers, you have to purchase an optional BASIC cartridge).

BASIC Programs
Each month, COMPUTE! publishes programs for many machines. To start out, type in only programs written for your machine, e.g., "TI Version" if you have a TI-99/4. Later, when you gain experience with your computer's BASIC, you can try typing in and converting certain programs from one computer to yours.
    Computers can be picky. Unlike the English language, which is full of ambiguities, BASIC usually has only one "right way" of stating something. Every letter, character, or number is significant. A common mistake is substituting a letter such as "O" for the numeral "0", a lowercase "l" for the numeral "1", or an uppercase "B" or the numeral "8". Also, you must enter all punctuation such as colons and commas just as they appear in the magazine. Spacing can be important. To be safe, type in the listings exactly as they appear.

Brackets And Special Characters
The exception to this typing rule is when you see the curved bracket, such as "{DOWN}". Anything within a set of brackets is a special character or characters that cannot easily be listed on a printer. When you come across such a special statement, refer to the appropriate key for your computer. For example, if you have an Atari, refer to the "Atari" section in "How to Type COMPUTE!'s Programs."

About DATA Statements
Some programs contain a section or sections of DATA statements. These lines provide information needed by the program. Some DATA statements contain actual programs (called machine language); others contain graphics codes. These lines are especially sensitive to errors.
    If a single number in any one DATA statement is mistyped, your machine could "lock up," or "crash." The keyboard, break key, and RESET (or STOP) keys may all seem "dead," and the screen may go blank. Don't panic - no damage is done. To regain control, you have to turn off your computer, then turn it back on. This will erase whatever program was in memory, so always SAVE a copy of your program before you RUN it. If your computer crashes, you can LOAD the program and look for your mistake.
    Sometimes a mistyped DATA statement will cause an error message when the program is RUN. The error message may refer to the program line that READs the data. The error is still in the DATA statetments, though.

Get To Know Your Machine
You should familiarize yourself with your computer before attempting to type in a program. Learn the statements you use to store and retrieve programs from tape or disk. You'll want to save a copy of your program, so that you won't have to type it in every time you want to use it. Learn to use your machine's editing functions. How do you change a line if you made a mistake? You can always retype the line, but you at least need to know how to backspace. Do you know how to enter inverse video, lowercase, and control characters? It's all explained in your computer's manuals.

A Quick Review
1) Type in the program a line at a time, in order. Press RETURN or ENTER at the end of each line. Use backspace or the back arrow to correct mistakes.
2) Check the line you've typed against the line in the magazine. You can check the entire program again if you get an error when you RUN the program.
3) Make sure you've entered statements in brackets as the appropriate control key (see "How To Type COMPUTE!'s Programs" elsewhere in the magazine.)