cross-"compiling" BASIC to a .d64 image?

[+Rick Reynolds]

Hi again everyone.  Thanks to the community for the help in this other thread where I had asked about cross-assemblers for 6502 code targeting the PET:  

 

 

I have a sort-of-related question.  Let's say I want to write a program in BASIC targeting the PET.  Can I write the code on a modern computer and then somehow generate a .prg that has that BASIC program on it which could then be read by the PET?

 

I understand that I could write the BASIC code right on the PET in vice and then figure out how to create a blank .d64 and save the program, so that's a technique that is available.  But do folks write BASIC programs for these older computers using modern editors, saving to plain ASCII, and then somehow producing a valid BASIC saved program file in a sort-of-cross-compiling kind of way?

 

Thanks again!

Rick

[brain]

petcat in the VICE bundle. 

 

Usage:  petcat  [-c | -nc]  [-h | -nh]  [-text | -<version> | -w<version>]
                [-skip <bytes>] [-l <hex>]  [--] [file list]
                [-k[<version>]]

   -help        Output this help screen here
   -v           Same as above
   -c           controls (interpret also control codes) <default if textmode>
   -nc          no controls (suppress control codes in printout)
                <default if non-textmode>
   -ic          interpret control codes case-insensitive
   -h           write header <default if output is stdout>
   -nh          no header <default if output is a file>
   -skip <n>    Skip <n> bytes in the beginning of input file. Ignored on P00.
   -text        Force text mode
   -<version>   use keywords for <version> instead of the v7.0 ones
   -w<version>  tokenize using keywords on specified Basic version.
   -k<version>  list all keywords for the specified Basic version
   -k           list all Basic versions available.
   -l           Specify load address for program (in hex, no loading chars!).
   -o <name>    Specify the output file name
   -f           Force overwritten the output file
                The default depends on the BASIC version.

        Versions:
        1       PET Basic V1.0
        2       Basic v2.0
        super   Basic v2.0 with Super Expander (VIC)
        turtle  Basic v2.0 with Turtle Basic by Craig Bruce (VIC)
        mighty  Basic v2.0 with Mighty Basic by Craig Bruce (VIC)
        a       Basic v2.0 with AtBasic (C64)
        simon   Basic v2.0 with Simon's Basic extension (C64)
        speech  Basic v2.0 with Speech Basic v2.7 (C64)
        F       Basic v2.0 with Final Cartridge III (C64)
        ultra   Basic v2.0 with Ultrabasic-64 (C64)
        graph   Basic v2.0 with Graphics basic (C64)
        WSB     Basic v2.0 with WS basic (C64)
        WSBF    Basic v2.0 with WS basic final (C64)
        Pegasus Basic v2.0 with Pegasus basic 4.0 (C64)
        Xbasic  Basic v2.0 with Xbasic (C64)
        Drago   Basic v2.0 with Drago basic 2.2 (C64)
        REU     Basic v2.0 with REU-basic (C64)
        Lightning       Basic v2.0 with Basic Lightning (C64)
        magic   Basic v2.0 with Magic Basic (C64)
        easy    Basic v2.0 with Easy Basic (VIC20)
        blarg   Basic v2.0 with Blarg (C64)
        Game    Basic v2.0 with Game Basic (C64)
        4 -w4e  PET Basic v4.0 program (PET/C64)
        3       Basic v3.5 program (C16)

        4v      Basic 2.0 with Basic 4.0 extensions (VIC20)
        5       Basic 2.0 with Basic 5.0 extensions (VIC20)
        70      Basic v7.0 program (C128)
        71      Basic v7.1 program (C128)
        10      Basic v10.0 program (C64DX)

 

        Usage examples:
        petcat -2 -o outputfile.txt -- inputfile.prg
                Convert inputfile.prg to a text file in outputfile.txt,
                using BASIC V2 only
        petcat -wsimon -o outputfile.prg -- inputfile.txt
                Convert inputfile.txt to a PRG file in outputfile.prg,
                using Simon's BASIC

[+Rick Reynolds]

Wow, thanks brain!  Looks like I asked a very newbie question!  I appreciate the complete answer and the fact that such a tool already exists.

[Pokeypy]

For C64, I use:

Alternatively, you can write a text file "program.txt" with the BASIC code on the PC. Use lower case letters (!) and line numbers for the C64 commands and the rest of the code. Like this:

5 rem program.txt
10 print "commodore 64 basic"
20 goto 10

Then you can use the "petcat" command, that again comes with VICE, to convert your program into C64 BASIC code:

petcat -w2 -o program.bas -- program.txt

This can then again be written onto a newly created disk-file "mydisk.d64":

c1541 -format diskname,id d64 mydisk.d64 -attach mydisk.d64 -write program.bas program.prg

Where "program.prg" is the file-name on the ".d64"-disk. It has to be in lower-case letters, or the C64 will mess up the characters.

You can then launch VICE with "x64 mydisk.d64" to run and watch your program.

[jrhodes]

5 hours ago, Pokeypy said:

For C64, I use:

Alternatively, you can write a text file "program.txt" with the BASIC code on the PC. Use lower case letters (!) and line numbers for the C64 commands and the rest of the code. Like this:

5 rem program.txt
10 print "commodore 64 basic"
20 goto 10

Then you can use the "petcat" command, that again comes with VICE, to convert your program into C64 BASIC code:

petcat -w2 -o program.bas -- program.txt

This can then again be written onto a newly created disk-file "mydisk.d64":

c1541 -format diskname,id d64 mydisk.d64 -attach mydisk.d64 -write program.bas program.prg

Where "program.prg" is the file-name on the ".d64"-disk. It has to be in lower-case letters, or the C64 will mess up the characters.

You can then launch VICE with "x64 mydisk.d64" to run and watch your program.

Using that method, how do you insert special symbols like Clear Home or cursor control characters in print lines? Is there special escape sequences that petcat recognizes?

 

Still at work so I can't look it up myself right now.

[Pokeypy]

1 hour ago, jrhodes said:

Using that method, how do you insert special symbols like Clear Home or cursor control characters in print lines? Is there special escape sequences that petcat recognizes?

Yes, on this site

https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/PETSCII_Codes_in_Listings

there's a special column for petcat in the table.

For example "{$61}" can be used, to get the "spades" symbol.

[carlsson]

In the 1990's there were several competing tokenizers, like tok64, bastext and then petcat which came with VICE. Nowadays I think something like CBM prg studio has built-in tokenization, but I don't know if it uses its own engine or simply plugs in petcat.

 

While you're at it, there is something called MOSpeed which is a homage to the old Petspeed compiler. I'm not sure how complete it is, and currently it may not target the PET line but truly is a cross compiler for BASIC as opposed to "only" a tokenizer.

 

Actually, I found something more in form of XC=BASIC but I have no idea how it works. Apparently also the Basic Boss Compiler also is runnable as a Windows executable next to native C64 program if you want to try something different.

 

[ Plus of course you have C compilers like cc65 as you already noticed, but C ain't BASIC ]

Edited May 10, 2021 by carlsson