Editing ASIC programming language (section)

== Features ==
ASIC is strongly impoverished in comparison with its contemporary BASICs. The features of ASIC are selected to make a program be easily and directly compiled into [[machine language]]. Thus, many language constructs of ASIC are equivalent to constructs of [[assembly language]].

=== Program elements ===
Neither indetifiers, nor keywords are [[case-sensitive]].

Any <code>DIM</code> statements, if specified, must precede all other statements except <code>REM</code> statements or blank lines.

All <code>DATA</code> statements must be placed at the beginning of the program, before all other statement types, except <code>DIM</code>, <code>REM</code> statements, or blank lines). 

==== Expressions ====
ASIC does not have the [[exponentiation]] operator <code>^</code>.

ASIC does not have [[Boolean expression|boolean]] operators (<code>AND</code>, <code>OR</code>, <code>NOT</code> etc.).

=== Arrays ===
The size of [[Array (data structure)|array]] specified in the <code>DIM</code> statement must be a literal constant. A single <code>DIM</code> allows to declare only one array.

=== Input and output ===
<code>PRINT</code>'s arguments must be a literal or variable. <code>PRINT</code> does not allow to use combined expressions as its arguments, nor does it allow to use [[String (computer science)|strings]] [[concatenation|concatenated]] with <code>;</code> or <code>+</code>.

If a <code>PRINT</code> command ends with <code>;</code> or <code>,</code>, then the next <code>PRINT</code> command will resume in the position where this one left off, just as though its argument were appended to the argument of the current <code>PRINT</code> command.

The <code>PRINT</code> statement prints [[Integer (computer science)|integer]] values six characters wide. They are aligned to the right (no trailing spaces).

; <code>LOCATE row, column </code> : Moves the text cursor to the position (<code>column</code>, <code>row</code>), where 0 ≤ <code>column</code> and 0 ≤ <code>row</code>. The position (0, 0) is the upper left corner.

=== Graphics ===
; <code>PSET (row,column),color</code> : Turns on the pixel of the color <code>color</code> at position (<code>column</code>, <code>row</code>), where 0 ≤<code>column</code> and 0 ≤ <code>row</code>. The position (0, 0) is the upper left corner.

=== Control Structures ===
A boolean condition may be only a comparison of numbers or strings, but not a comparison of combined expressions. A literal cannot be the left operand of comparison (e.g. can be <code>X = 2</code>, not <code>2 = X</code>).

==== Decisions ====
After <code>THEN</code>, there may be a sequence of statements delimited by <code>ELSE</code> or <code>ENDIF</code>. An example:
<syntaxhighlight lang="basic">
IF X < 0 THEN
  PRINT "Negative"
ELSE
  PRINT "Non-negative"
ENDIF
</syntaxhighlight>
Contrary to other BASICs, statements cannot be put between <code>THEN</code> and the end of the line.

An if-statement can realize the conditional jump. In this case, after <code>THEN</code> there may be a label.

==== Looping ====
In <code>FOR</code>, after <code>TO</code> there may be only a number - literal or variable - but not a combined expression. The <code>STEP</code> clause does not exist in ASIC.

==== Branching ====
In a <code>GOTO</code> statement, the label must be followed by a colon.

==== Subroutines ====
In a <code>GOSUB</code> statement, the label must be followed by a colon.