Frequently Asked Question

What are the essential BASIC commands I should know?

Last Updated about a month ago

Essential Commodore BASIC Commands

Master these commands and you will be programming like a pro!

Program Control

Command	Purpose	Example
`RUN`	Execute the program	`RUN`
`LIST`	Display program lines	`LIST 100-200`
`NEW`	Erase program from memory	`NEW`
`STOP`	Halt program execution	Press RUN/STOP key
`CONT`	Continue after STOP	`CONT`

Your First Program

Type this exactly as shown, pressing RETURN after each line:

NEW
10 PRINT "HELLO, WORLD!"
20 PRINT "I AM LEARNING BASIC"
30 PRINT "ON MY COMMODORE 64"
40 END
RUN

Making Decisions with IF-THEN

10 INPUT "ENTER A NUMBER";N
20 IF N > 100 THEN PRINT "THAT IS A BIG NUMBER!"
30 IF N < 100 THEN PRINT "THAT IS A SMALL NUMBER"
40 IF N = 100 THEN PRINT "EXACTLY 100!"

Loops with FOR-NEXT

10 FOR I = 1 TO 10
20 PRINT I; " COMMODORE 64 IS GREAT!"
30 NEXT I

Pro Tip: Use line numbers in increments of 10. This leaves room to insert lines later (15, 16, 17...)