A-Shell Consolidated Reference

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ASB Keywords

Notes on the "Source" column:

•	Says where this particular keyword was first used.

•	Abbreviations used: "AB" = AlphaBASIC; "Plus" = BASICplus.

Notes on "Switches:"

•	The column entry shows the compiler switch(es) required to enable this feature.

•	When more than one switch is listed, "or" is implied—i.e., just one of the switches is required.

Keyword	Switches	Category	Description
ABS		Numeric Function	Returns the absolute value of a number.
.ACCOUNT	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns the user’s current ppn (e.g. "100,22").
ACS		Trig Function	Returns arccosine.
ALLOCATE		File I/O Statement	Allocate a random file.
AMOS	X:1	Control Statement	Execute AMOS commands as subroutines.
AND		Operator	Logical AND.
.ARGCNT	X:2	Dot Variable	Number of parameters passed in the last function, procedure call, or SBX.
.ARGSIZ	X:2	System Function	Returns the size of the specified argument.
.ARGTYP	X:2	System Function	Returns type of specified argument passed to the current SBX, function, or procedure.
ASC		String Function	Returns numeric value of first character.
ASN		Trig Function	Returns arcsine.
ATN		Trig Function	Returns arctangent.
AUTO_EXTERN	X:2		Enables or disables the visibility of variables defined globally.
AUTOCAP		String Function	"Intelligently" capitalizes the specified string.
.BINDSTRUCT	X:2	Dyn Struct Function	Binds the specified DYNSTRUCT variable to the structure definition.
BYTE			BYTE(X) reads memory-mapped ports.
CALL		Control Statement	Unstructured subroutine call.
CASE	X:1, RC		Label option within SWITCH.
.CCYYMMDD	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns current date in CCYYMMDD format.
CHAIN			Provides the ability to pass command line arguments. CHAIN <string expr> is supported in all compiler modes, including the ability to include command line arguments in the <string expr>, which must start with a program name, optionally followed by an arbitrary string of arguments, e.g. CHAIN "progxx /hard and /fast". Use CMDLIN or Xcall LSTLIN to retrieve the parameters in the target program.
CHR$		String Function	Returns the OEM or Latin1 character of specified string.
.CLEAR	X:2	Array Statement	Removes all the elements of the array without destroying the array itself.
CLOSE		File I/O Statement	Close file.
CMDLIN	X:1		Retrieve command line.
COS		Trig Function	Returns cosine.
DATA		General Statement	List of data elements with program.
DATE		System Variable	Returns system date.
.DATE	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns date as a decimal number which displays as MMDDYY.
DATN		Trig Function	Returns double arctangent
.DDMMYY	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns current date in DDMMYY format.
DEBUG	X:2		See TRACE and DEBUG Statements.
DEFALIAS		Compiler Directive	Allows aliases to be defined for the names of functions and procedures.
DEFAULT	X:1, RC		Default label option within SWITCH.
DEFINE	X:1, RC	Compiler Directive	Define a symbolic constant.
DEFSTRUCT	X:2	Compiler Directive	Define a structure.
DEFTYPE	X:2	Compiler Directive	Defines an alias for a data type.
.DEVICE	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns the user’s current device (e.g. "DSK0:").
DIM			Deprecated; use DIMX instead. Dimension an array at runtime.
DIMX	X:2		Enhanced dynamic array allocation.
DIVIDE’BY’0	X:1		Treat division by zero as zero rather than error.
DO	X:1, RC	Ctrl Struct Statement	Repeat loop while (or until) a condition is (or becomes) true.
Dot Variables	X:2		Read-only system variables.
DPRINT	X:2		Like PRINT but creates a static text control.
.DYNOFFSET	X:2	Dyn Struct Function	Returns the offset to the specified DYNSTRUCT member.
.DYNOFFSIZE	X:2	Dyn Struct Function	Same as .OFFSIZ$() except that it operates at run time instead of compile time.
ECHO	X:1		Set terminal echo mode; same as Xcall ECHO.
EDIT$	X:1	String Function	Returns a modified version of a string, based on option bits set in flags.
++ELIF			Conditionals based on evaluating a constant expression.
ELSE		Ctrl Struct Statement	Final alternative clause within an IF statement.
ELSEIF	X:2, RC	Ctrl Struct Statement	Intermediate alternative clauses an IF statement.
END		Control Statement	Terminate execution of program.
ENDFUNCTION	X:2		Marks end of a function.
ENDIF		Ctrl Struct Statement	Terminates IF...ENDIF blocks.
ENDPROCEDURE	X:2		Marks end of a procedure.
ENDSTRUCT	X:2		End of a DEFSTRUCT ... ENDSTRUCT block.
ENDSWITCH	X:1, RC		End of SWITCH statement.
EOF		System Function	Returns end-of-file status for file channel.
EQV		Operator	Logical equivalence.
ERF		System Function	Returns error/status information about the last operation on an ISAM file.
ERR		System Function	Returns various err codes.
ERRMSG	X:1	System Function	Returns the text of the error message.
++ERROR	X:2		Force error within compilation.
$EXIT	X:2		Special exit label within function / procedure.
EXIT	X:1	Control Statement	Exit from inner-most loop or block (DO, FOR, SWITCH).
EXITFUNCTION	X:2	Control Statement	Exit the current function.
EXITPROCEDURE	X:2	Control Statement	Exit the current procedure.
EXITPROGRAM	X:2	Control Statement	Exit the current function or procedure to label $EXITPROGRAM
EXP		Numeric Function	Returns the natural log of a number.
.EXPERIENCE	X:2	Dot Variable	See Dot Variables.
.EXTENT			Returns the "extent" of the subscript number.
++EXTERN	X:2		Exposes individual global variables.
FACT		Numeric Function	Returns the factorial of a number.
.FALSE	X:2	Dot Variable	See Dot Variables.
FILEBASE		File I/O Statement	Set numeric offset for first file record.
FILL$()	X:1	String Function	Copies the given expression up to the specified length.
FIX		Numeric Function	Returns the integer part of the floating point value.
.FN	X:2	Dot Variable	Alias for the variable holding the return value of a function.
.FN'xxx	X:2	Dot Variable	Simplifies referencing the result of a previously called function.
FOR	X:2	Ctrl Struct Statement	See FOR … NEXT.
FOR		Ctrl Struct Statement	See FOR … NEXT.
FOREACH	X:2	Ctrl Struct Statement	Used to iterate through Ordered Maps.
.FSTAT	X:2		Returns the file status for the last ISAM-A operation on the specified channel.
FUNCTION	X:2		Begin definition of function.
GETKEY	X:1		Input a character.
GOSUB		Control Statement	Same as CALL.
GOTO		Control Statement	Jump to specified line number, label or variable.
GRIDMAP	X:2	GRIDMAP	A variation of ordered map with two keys and one value.
IF		Ctrl Struct Statement	Traditional form of IF statement.
IF	X:1, RC	Ctrl Struct Statement	Block-structured form of traditional IF statement; see IF … ENDIF.
++IF		Ctrl Struct Statement	See Conditional Compilation.
IFE, IFE$	X:2	Ctrl Struct Statement	Shortcut for IF/THEN/ELSE statements.
IFELSE, IFEKSE$	X:2	Ctrl Struct Statement
++INCLUDE			Include specified file at compile time; see INCLUDE.
++INCLUDE	X:2		Include specified file at compile time; see INCLUDE.
INPUT		File I/O Statement	Input field(s) from keyboard or file; see INPUT.
INSTR			Substring search; see INSTR().
INSTR	X:2		Extended version substring search; INSTR().
.INSTRR	X:2	String Function	Searches a string for a pattern, like INSTR(), but in reverse.
INT		Numeric Function	Returns the largest integer less than or equal to x.
IO			IO(X) pseudo reads from memory-mapped I/O port.
.ISDEF	X:2	Dyn Struct Function	Returns TRUE (-1) if the specified dynamic structure ds contains the specified member.
.ISEMPTY	X:2	String Function	Reports whether the specified string or unformatted expression is empty,
.ISNULL	X:2		Tests for the NULL condition. See Ordered Maps > Special ORDMAP Functions.
.JOBNAME	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns the jobname.
.KEY	X:2		Returns the key associated with the element currently indexed by the iterator.
KILL		File I/O Statement	Delete a file.
.LAST_LABEL	X:2	Dot Variable	See Dot Variables.
.LAST_ROUTINE	X:2	Dot Variable	See Dot Variables.
LCS$		String Function	See String Functions.
LEFT$		String Function	See String Functions.
LEN			Returns length of a string. See String Functions.
LET			Assignment statement.
.LINENO	X:2	File Function	Returns the current line # within the current page for sequential output files.
.LOCATION	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns the current program location counter.
LOG		Numeric Function	Returns the natural log of a number.
LOG10		Numeric Function	Returns the decimal log of a number.
LOCK
LOOKUP			Return size of file in blocks. See File-Related Functions.
LOOKUP ("fspec")			Function version of LOOKUP statement.
LOOP	X:1, RC		See DO / WHILE / UNTIL.
LSTRIP		String Function	Returns the specified string with leading blanks and tabs removed.
MAP			Variable declaration.
MAX		Operator	Maximum of two operands.
MEM		System Function	See System Functions.
++MESSAGE	X:2		Output message during compilation. Also see ++ERROR.
.MICROTIME	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns number of microseconds since midnight.
MID$		String Function	Returns substring starting in position x and extending y characters or until end.
.MILLLITIME	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns number of milliseconds since midnight.
MIN		Operator	Minimum of two operands.
MLIST	X:2	Multi-level List	A bidirectional linked list.
.MMDDYY	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns current date in MMDDYY format.
MOD		Operator	Modulo.
.MONTH	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns the three character abbreviation for the current month.
.NEST_LEVEL	X:2	Dot Variable	Number of levels deep with nested function/procedure calls.
.NEXT	X:2	Ordmap Function	Advances the iterator, returning the associated key or .null if no more.
NO’DIVIDE’BY’0	X:1		Force divide by zero to generate error 10 (default). See DIVIDE'BY'0.
NOECHO	X:1		Set terminal noecho mode. Same as Xcall NOECHO.
NOT		Operator	Logical NOT.
.NULL	X:2	Dot Variable	See Ordered Maps > Special ORDMAP Functions.
NUMEXPR			Treat argument as numeric.
ODTIM()	X:1	String Function	See String Functions.
.OFFSET	X:2	System Function	Returns the offset to the specified member variable.
.OFFSIZ$	X:2	System Function	Returns the combination of the specified structure member's offset and size.
ON - GOSUB			Call one of list of subroutines, based on value.
ON - GOTO			Goto one of list of labels, based on value.
ON ERROR GOTO		Control Statement	Specify error handling routine.
OPEN		File I/O Statement	Open file.
OPEN for APPEND	X:1		Enhancement to OPEN #CH, FSPEC, APPEND.
OR		Operator	Logical OR.
ORDMAP	X:2		An associative array that maps keys to values
ORDMAPM	X:2		Same as ORDMAP but supports multiple keys of the same value.
PAD()	X:2	String Function	Pad a string with spaces (function).
.PAGENO	X:2	File Function	Return the current page number for sequential output files.
.PGMNAME	X:2	Dot Variable	See Dot Variables.
.PGMVERSION	X:2	Dot Variable	See Dot Variables.
POP			Deprecated. Pops the current GOSUB return address from the stack.
.POPBACK	X:2	Multi-level List	Remove last element from an MLIST.
.POPFRONT	X:2	Multi-level List	Removes first element from an MLIST.
++PRAGMAs	X:1		Compiler Directives.
PRINT		File I/O Statement	Output variables and expressions to screen or file.
PROCEDURE	X:2		Start definition of a procedure.
PROGRAM			Program header declaration.
RANDOMIZE		Numeric Function	Initialize Random Number Generator with a randomly selected seed.
READ		File I/O Statement	Read from file.
READL			Read record and lock. See file access statements
READ'ONLY		File I/O Statement	File open mode modifier. See OPEN.
.RECNO	X:2	File Function	Returns the current record number for the specified file channel.
.RECSIZ	X:2	File Function	Returns the record size for the specified open file channel.
REDIMX	X:2	Array Statement	Re-dimensions an array originally created with Dynamic Arrays (DIMX).
REPEAT	X:1, RC	Control Statement	Jump to top of loop structure to begin next iteration.
RESTORE		General Statement	Reset DATA access pointer to beginning.
RESUME		Control Statement	Resume to line after last error.
RESUME WITH ERROR	X:2		Special version of resume used with functions and procedures.
RETURN		Control Statement	Return from unstructured subroutine (see GOSUB, CALL).
RETURN	X:2		Return value from XFUNC.
RIGHT$		String Function	Returns the rightmost x characters of a string.
RND		Numeric Function	Returns a random number.
RND2	X:2	Numeric Function	Returns a random number.
RTRIM		String Function	Returns string with trailing spaces removed.
.SBXNAME	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns name of current SBX or "" if not applicable.
.SBXVERSION	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns version string for current SBX or "" if not applicable.
SCALE			Declare scaled arithmetic.
SET'RECNO	X:2	File I/O Statement	Sets the record number of a file.
SGN		Numeric Function	Returns sign of a number.
SIGNIFICANCE		General Statement	Set output/format significance of floating point values.
SIN		Trig Function	See Trigonometric Functions.
.SIZEOF	X:2	System Function	Returns size of previously mapped variable.
SLEEP	X:1	General Statement	Sleep for specified seconds. Same as Xcall SLEEP.
.SORT	X:2	Multi-level List	Sort elements in MLIST by value.
SPACE		String Function	Returns a string of x spaces.
.SPLICE	X:2	Multi-level List	Splice elements from one MLIST to another.
SQR		Numeric Function	Returns square root of a number.
SRND2	X:2	Numeric Function	Initializes the random number generator.
STEP			Set loop counter increment. See FOR … NEXT.
STOP			Program stop, wait for CR to continue.
STREXPR	X:2	String String Function	Treats the expression argument as a string.
STR$		String Function	Convert a numeric value or expression to string.
STRSIZ		Compiler Directive	Sets the default length of string variables.
STRIP	X:1	String Function	Returns var with all trailing spaces removed. .
STRSIZ		Compiler Directive	Sets the default length of string variables.
SWITCH	X:1, RC	Ctrl Struct Statement	Conditional execution based on value of an expression.
TAB(X,Y,Z)	X:2		Extension of tab(x,y) with z indicating attributes to assign to the text.
TAN		Trig Function	See Trigonometric Functions.
.TERMINAL	X:2	Dot Variable	See Dot Variables.
THEN		Ctrl Struct Statement	Separates IF condition from statement. See IF.
TIME	X:2	System Function	See System Functions.
.TIME	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns current time in HHMMSS format.
TO			See FOR … NEXT.
TPRINT	X:2		See Expressions.
TRACE	X:2		See TRACE and DEBUG Statements.
TRIM	X:2	String Function	Returns the specified string with leading spaces and tabs removed.
.TRUE	X:2	Dot Variable	See Dot Variables.
UCS$	X:2	String Function	Returns a string folded to upper case.
UNDEF		Compiler Directive	Cancels (UNDEFines) a symbol created by a prior DEF... directive.
UNLOKR	X:2	File I/O Statement	Release lock on file or record.
UNTIL	X:1, RC	Ctrl Struct Statement	Repeat loop while (or until) a condition is (or becomes) true.
.USERNAME	X:2	Dot Variable	Returns the user name.
USING		Operator	Formatting by template.
VAL			Returns the decimal value of a string.
.VALX	X:2	String Function	Extended version of VAL.
VXCALL	X:2		Same as XCALL but uses a string expression for the subroutine name.
WEND	/D		Same as ENDIF.
WHEN	/D		Same as IF.
WHILE	X:1, RC	Ctrl Struct Statement	Repeat loop while (or until) a condition is (or becomes) true.
WORD			WORD(X) reads memory-mapped ports.
WRITE		File I/O Statement	Write to random file.
WRITECD	X:2	File I/O Statement	Output comma delimited values.
WRITEL	X:1	File I/O Statement	Write record not previously locked.
WRITELN	X:1	File I/O Statement	Same as WRITEL but leave record locked.
WRITEN	X:1	File I/O Statement	Same as WRITE but leave record locked.
WRITETD	X:2		Deprecated; see WRITECD.
XCALL			Call external subroutine.
XFUNC	X:2	General Function	Call an external (SBX) function.
XGETARG(S)	X:2	General Statement	Retrieve subroutine parameters.
XOPEN	X:2	File I/O Statement	Variation on OPEN statement fo ISAM-A.
XOR		Operator	Logical XOR; exclusive OR.
XPUTARG	X:2	General Statement	Return subroutine parameters.
XREAD, XWRITE, XUNLOKR	X:2	File I/O Statement	Allow record access via explicit record numbers.
.YYMMDD	X:2	Dot Variable	See Dot Variables.

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A-Shell Consolidated Reference