sinclair
====== Sinclair BASIC ======
{{tag>sinclair}}

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== Keywords ==
**{{backlinks>.#keywords}}**
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The extremely popular and successful computers from England-based legendary **Sinclair Research** were shipped with BASICs developed by Nine Tiles Networks Ltd, also an English company. These BASICs were pretty similar among its own evolutions and also to [[.:ms80basic:|Microsoft BASIC-80]]-based interpreters which were so common at the time. It was not hard to port programs written for the Sinclair Spectrum to a [[:basics:MSX:]] machine, for example.

Most keywords from its first version, the 4KB BASIC for the tiny ZX80, were ported to its later versions (though with different capabilities sometimes), so the ZX80 version is the Sinclair baseline referred to by this site's [[:keywords:|Keywords]] section. It was an incomplete implementation of [[:basics:ansi:ansimin|ANSI Minimal BASIC]] with integer-only arithmetic in order to fit into 4KB of ROM.

===== Where it is/was used =====
/* TO DO: Machines and emulators which ran this BASIC. */
  * Sinclair ZX-80

===== Noteworthy characteristics =====
/* TO DO: a list or prose text about this BASIC's features, quirks, Easter eggs, tricks, singularities... */

  * In the 4K version, //every// line of code must start with a command, due to the way the REPL interface and keyboard entry were implemented. This made [[:keywords:LET]] mandatory in assignments, unlike most other BASICs.

===== Environment and usage =====

/* TO DO: notes about the REPL or IDE used, keyboard shortcuts and commands, command-line options for compiling and linking, environment variables which might be set... */


===== Extensions =====
/* TO DO: Famous libraries tools and extension packages made for this BASIC */
Several extensions were published by third-party companies and by Sinclair itself.

===== Curiosities =====
/* TO DO: Historical notes, anecdotes, what people said about it */


===== Related to... =====
/*   * **[[basicTagName|basicTitle]]** - TO DO: a brief description of the relation they have with this one */


==== Influenced by ====
/*  * **[[basicTagName|basicTitle]]** - TO DO: which are the noticeable or assumed influences */


==== Influence for ====
/*  * **[[basicTagName|basicTitle]]*** - TO DO: which are the noticeable or assumed influences */


===== Versions and successors =====
/*
  No much need of prose here, just links. Notice the different patterns to create the links:
    * **[[basics:versionTagName|versionTitle]]** - for versions (created under this page)
    * **[[successorTagName|successorTitle]]** - for a successor (created as sibling of this page)
*/
  * [[.:sinclair:zx81|The ZX-81]] brought a number of new keywords and a mostly complete BASIC for its time
  * [[.:sinclair:spectrum|Spectrum]] BASIC got colors and graphical instructions


===== References =====
/*
  If the ((citation)) syntax was used elsewhere, they will be listed below this section.
  You can prepend this with a list of books, magazines and web pages with information
  used in this page
*/
  * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX80
  * https://www.petervis.com/Sinclair/Sinclair_ZX80_Manual/4k-basic.html , last check 2023-03-02


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