BBC Micro – Organising Files on a Disk

For instance to see what files and folders are on the current disk, use the following command:

*CAT

This will show a list of files on the disk.

To simulate opening a directory and hence focus on showing the files from the same group (using the same directory qualifier) use the following command:

*DIR W
*CAT

This would show all the files with the prefix W.

Using the commend prompt, type the following code (including the line numbers):

10 MODE 2
20 COLOUR RND(7)
30 PRINT "HELLO WORLD"
40 GOTO 20

This program is written in a language called BBC Basic, a language created with the aim of making computer programming accessible to beginners through a simple yet powerful language on the BBC Micro computer.

You can now run this code by pressing the following command:

RUN

⚠️ To stop this program, press the BREAK key on the keyboard.

After typing and testing your program, you will want to save it to the disk. Use the following command to do so:

SAVE "HELLO"

It will be saved on the disk with the filename HELLO.
⚠️Remember, on the BBC Micro file names cannot exceed 7 characters!

To save this file into a specific group (such as your WORK group: W):

SAVE "W.HELLO"

This saves HELLO within the W group. Remember groups are an alternative to the use of folders/directories as these cannot be created within a standard BBC Micro (DFS).

To load the program:

LOAD "HELLO"

This copies the program from disk into the computer’s memory.

You can check it loaded by typing:

LIST

You should now see your program lines on the screen.

To run the program after loading it:

RUN

Your program will now start.

You can also load and run a program in one step using:

CHAIN "HELLO"

This is very commonly used for games and larger programs.

To rename a file:

*RENAME oldname newname

Example:

*RENAME HELLO TEST

This renames file HELLO to TEST.

⚠️ Be careful — if the new name already exists, it may overwrite it.

To delete a file:

*DELETE filename

Example:

*DELETE OLDGAME

⚠️ Deleted files cannot be recovered.

If you want to edit an existing progam, you first need to make sure it is already loaded in memory:

LOAD HELLO

Then you can view the code of this program using the following command:

LIST

✏️ To change an existing line of your program

If your program has:

10 PRINT "HELLO"

and you want to change it to say:

10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD"

Just type:

10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD"

and press RETURN.

Line 10 is now replaced.

➕ Adding New Lines

To add a new line between 10 and 20, use a number in between:

15 PRINT "WELCOME!"

BBC BASIC keeps the program in number order automatically.

️➖ Deleting a Line

To delete line 15, type:

15

and press RETURN.

That line is removed from the program.

📃 Listing Part of a Program

To see only part of the program, type the following command:

LIST 10,50

This lists lines 10 to 50 only. This is very useful when working on a long program.

💾 Saving Your Changes

After editing, save again to keep your changes:

SAVE "HELLO"

This overwrites the old version with the new one.

⚠️ If you want to keep both versions, use a new name:

SAVE "HELLO2"

⭐ Extra Tip: Renumbering Lines

If after inserting and removing lines, your line numbers get messy, you can renumber the whole program:

RENUMBER

or even better, using the following command:

RENUMBER 10,10

(start at 10, count by 10)
This makes it easier to insert new lines later.