Turbo BASIC XL Compatibility

[TemplarXB]

Are programs written in Atari BASIC Rev B compatible with Turbo BASIC XL? I was working through on old Atari Basic book on an 800XL Rev B BASIC when I got the keyboard lock bug. I then loaded up the NTSC version of Turbo Basic XL. When I try to load those programs I wrote in REV B i get an error 164 which is a file mismatch error. It's not the disk, because it's an ATR file on an SD card - and it works fine when I load from REV B. Do I need to do something else to load programs from REV B to Turbo Basic?

 

As an aside, what's the best Basic to use for just working through simple basic books? I had figured just to use the default, until I got that lockup. Rev C maybe off a cartridge?

[Rybags]

Check your Dos version - Dos 2.0 can't deal with Dos 2.5 files that live beyond sector 719.

 

There were programs that copy the buggy Basic to Ram then patch it to be Rev C (quicker than loading an 8K file).

A good way to minimize the Rev A/B bug is to use LIST "D:filename" regularly to save your work.

Then ENTER "D:filename" after doing a NEW.

 

But the bug can even manifest during an ENTER load command. In that case you'd need to edit the file, e.g. add a REM somewhere to change the memory offset as the bug has something like a 1/256 chance of occurring each time you enter a program line.

[TemplarXB]

Check your Dos version - Dos 2.0 can't deal with Dos 2.5 files that live beyond sector 719.

 

 

You were right, it seems like it was a DOS issue, thanks. I was using MYDOS with the Rev B and Atari 2.5 with the Turbo Basic.

[+Larry]

You were right, it seems like it was a DOS issue, thanks. I was using MYDOS with the Rev B and Atari 2.5 with the Turbo Basic.

 

MyDos can read the entire Dos 2.5 ED disk, but cannot write beyond the first 720 sectors. That is true for 4.50 and newer, and may be true for older versions as well. If you read the directory of a Dos 2.5 ED disk, with MyDos, it will always show 000 FREE SECTORS. If you mix different dos types, Dos 2.5 ED seems to cause problems.

 

-Larry