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Description
Artisan BASIC is an extension created by Zoran Majcenić, a Croatian coder.
I! is targeted at MSX1 systems with 64kB of memory and a floppy controller. It extends BASIC functionality in areas of memory access, sprite control, animations, sound player and software bitmap operations.
The screens that are directly concerned by this extension are SCREEN 1, 2 and 3. On MSX2 and higher, you can also use SCREEN 4, but don't forget that this screen uses sprites type 2 that are not supported by Artisan BASIC.
The extension exists in 2 versions:
- one using CALL instructions lwhich it's detailed below)
- one using the DEF USR instruction to handle all provided functions - this version can be combined with the run-time compiler X-BASIC - Using of DEF USR to call the Artisan routines is explained on pages 63 to 67 of the manual
You can find it here: https://github.com/zmajcenic/ARTISAN-BASIC - A demo-game in both versions and several other examples are included on the ARTISAN.DSK disk image.
Installation
According the version, the installation can be made by
- BLOAD"ARTISANE.BIN",R for the CALL version
- BLOAD"ARTISAND.BIN",R for the DEFUSR version
Do not install it several times, it would lead to unexpected results. It is recommended to use CALL ARTINFO in an AUTOEXEC.BAS file to check if the extension if already present and load it only if is not the case.
The extension will be installed in page 1 from &H4000, what preserves the space for BASIC programs in pages 2 and 3.
Instructions (general info)
Artisan BASIC in its CALL version adds 36 new instructions.
Note: CALL can be replaced by the character underscore (_). A space is not required after this character. See CALL for more info.
Instructions (ordered per category)
Animation
| Instruction | Description |
|---|---|
| CALL ANIMSTART | Starts automatic execution of an animation sequence |
| CALL ANIMSTEP | Manually cycles through a stopped animation sequence |
| CALL ANIMSTOP | Stops automatic execution of an animation sequence |
| CALL AUTOSGAMDEF | Defines automatic sprite group moves and animations with boundaries |
| CALL AUTOSGAMSTART | Starts automatic sprite group moves and animations |
| CALL AUTOSGAMSTOP | Stop automatic sprite group moves and animations |
| CALL SGAM | Starts manual sprite group moves and animations |
Characters
| Instruction | Description |
|---|---|
| CALL ANIMCHAR | Associates a character with an animation sequence |
| CALL ANIMDEF | Defines a sequence of animation items |
| CALL ANIMITEMPTR | Defines single animation state based on pattern data |
Debugging
| Instruction | Description |
|---|---|
| CALL ARTINFO | Provides infos about the extension (version, compilation flags, free memory start in page 1) (*) |
| CALL GENCAL | Returns values in Z80 registers when executing a routine with predefined values in these registers |
(*) Also available in the DEF USR version of Artisan BASIC
Graphics
| Instruction | Description |
|---|---|
| CALL BLIT | Applies monochrome bitmap described with a mask and data to a memory buffer |
| CALL COLL | Checks collision detection between a single object and a list of sprites or predefined rectangles |
| CALL TILERAM | Copies monochrome bitmap to a memory buffer in a tiled fashion |
| CALL TILEVRM | Copies monochrome bitmap to VRAM in a tiled fashion |
RAM Access
| Instruction | Description |
|---|---|
| CALL BLIT | Applies monochrome bitmap described with a mask and data to a memory buffer |
| CALL BOXMEMCPY | Copies memory window from one location in RAM to another |
| CALL BOXMEMVRM | Copies memory window from RAM to VRAM |
| CALL FILRAM | Writes a value to several bytes of the memory (RAM) |
| CALL MEMCPY | Copies memory block from one location in RAM to another |
| CALL MEMVRM | Copies a block of the RAM to the VRAM |
| CALL TILERAM | Copies monochrome bitmap to a memory buffer in a tiled fashion |
| CALL VRMMEM | Copies a block of the VRAM to the RAM |
Sound and Music
| Instruction | Description |
|---|---|
| CALL SNDPLYINI | Initializes the sound player with music and effects data |
| CALL SNDPLYOFF | Stops music and effects |
| CALL SNDPLYON | Starts music and disables keyclick |
| CALL SNDSFX | Plays an effect on a specified channel |
Sprites
| Instruction | Description |
|---|---|
| CALL ANIMDEF | Defines a sequence of animation items |
| CALL ANIMITEMPAT | Defines single animation state based on sprite pattern and color |
| CALL ANIMITEMPTR | Defines single animation state based on pattern data |
| CALL ANIMSPRITE | Associates a sprite with an animation sequence |
| CALL COLL | Checks collision detection between a single object and a list of sprites or predefined rectangles |
| CALL SPRDISABLE | Disables sprite handling system |
| CALL SPRENABLE | Enables sprite handling system |
| CALL SPRGRPMOV | Changes location of a group of sprites |
Variable Settings
| Instruction | Description |
|---|---|
| CALL MAXANIMDEFS | Determines maximum of memory buffers for animation definitions |
| CALL MAXANIMITEMS | Determines maximum of memory buffers for animation items |
| CALL MAXANIMSPRS | Determines maximum of memory buffers for sprite or character animations |
| CALL MAXAUTOSGAMS | Determines maximum of memory buffers for automatic sprite group moves and animations |
VRAM Access
| Instruction | Description |
|---|---|
| CALL BOXMEMVRM | Copies memory window from RAM to VRAM |
| CALL FILVRM | Writes a value to several bytes of the video memory (VRAM) |
| CALL MEMVRM | Copies a block of the RAM to the VRAM |
| CALL TILEVRM | Copies monochrome bitmap to VRAM in a tiled fashion |
| CALL VRMMEM | Copies a block of the VRAM to the RAM |
Instructions (alphabetic order)
| Instruction | Generation | Type |
|---|---|---|
| CALL ANIMCHAR | MSX1 | Characters |
| CALL ANIMDEF | MSX1 | Characters + Sprites |
| CALL ANIMITEMPAT | MSX1 | Sprites |
| CALL ANIMITEMPTR | MSX1 | Characters + Sprites |
| CALL ANIMSPRITE | MSX1 | Sprites |
| CALL ANIMSTART | MSX1 | Animation |
| CALL ANIMSTEP | MSX1 | Animation |
| CALL ANIMSTOP | MSX1 | Animation |
| CALL ARTINFO (*) | MSX1 | Debugging |
| CALL AUTOSGAMDEF | MSX1 | Animation |
| CALL AUTOSGAMSTART | MSX1 | Animation |
| CALL AUTOSGAMSTOP | MSX1 | Animation |
| CALL BLIT | MSX1 | Graphics + RAM Access |
| CALL BOXMEMCPY | MSX1 | RAM Access |
| CALL BOXMEMVRM | MSX1 | RAM + VRAM Access |
| CALL COLL | MSX1 | Graphics + Sprites |
| CALL FILRAM | MSX1 | RAM Access |
| CALL FILVRM | MSX1 | VRAM Access |
| CALL GENCAL | MSX1 | Debugging |
| CALL MAXANIMDEFS | MSX1 | Variable Settings |
| CALL MAXANIMITEMS | MSX1 | Variable Settings |
| CALL MAXANIMSPRS | MSX1 | Variable Settings |
| CALL MAXAUTOSGAMS | MSX1 | Variable Settings |
| CALL MEMCPY | MSX1 | RAM Access |
| CALL MEMVRM | MSX1 | RAM + VRAM Access |
| CALL SGAM | MSX1 | Animation |
| CALL SNDPLYINI | MSX1 | Sound and Music |
| CALL SNDPLYOFF | MSX1 | Sound and Music |
| CALL SNDPLYON | MSX1 | Sound and Music |
| CALL SNDSFX | MSX1 | Sound and Music |
| CALL SPRDISABLE | MSX1 | Sprites |
| CALL SPRENABLE | MSX1 | Sprites |
| CALL SPRGRPMOV | MSX1 | Sprites |
| CALL TILERAM | MSX1 | Graphics + RAM Access |
| CALL TILEVRM | MSX1 | Graphics + VRAM Access |
| CALL VRMMEM | MSX1 | RAM + VRAM Access |
(*) Also available in the DEF USR version of Artisan BASIC
Data storage in RAM
The 3rd parameter of CALL ARTINFO will give you the 1st address in page 1 that is free for storing user data.
With the full current CALL version (0.9), the user data can be stored
- in page 0 from &H0100 to &H3FFF (the &H0000 - &H00FF is reserved for system data) = 16128 bytes
- in page 1 from &H65E8 to &H7FFF = 6680 bytes
Pages 2 and 3 can also be used but keep in mind that
- BASIC programs are installed there, VARPTR is useful to find where BASIC variables can be stored
- the higher part of page 3 is also reserved for system data
Pages in category "Artisan BASIC"
The following 36 pages are in this category, out of 36 total.
C | C cont. | C cont. |