Complete list of Commodore PET Basic V4.0 commands

In this article, I list the complete list of commands, functions and variables reserved for the Commodore PET Basic V4.0. The computers that use Basic V4.0 are the CBM and PET series 2001, 3000, 4000 and 8000. This is a simple compendium to remember all the commands, instructions and functions, when you already know how to use them!

Compared to BASIC v3.5 of the Commodore 16, 116 and Plus/4 et al BASIC V7 of the Commodore 128, the COMmodore PET's BASIC V4.0 has no graphical controls. In fact, the CBM 2001, CBM 3000, CBM 4000 and CBM 8000 were intended for use in the office and not for home use.

Instruction	Description	Type
ABS	Returns the absolute value of a number	Function, numerical
AND	Returns true if both conditions are true	Operator, logical
APPEND	Opens the file having the specified filename, and positions the pointer at the end of the file	Instruction/command
ASC	Returns the numerical value of a char	Function, numerical
ATN	Returns the arctangent of a number	Function, numerical
BACKUP	Copies an entire diskette to another on a dual drive system	Instruction/command
CATALOG	Displays the disk directory	Instruction/command
CHR$	Returns the character corresponding to the number	Function, string
CLOSE	Closes a file	Instruction/command
CLR	Deletes variables arrays, data, ...	Instruction/command
CMD	Changes the data output to other peripheral	Instruction/command
COLLECT	Checks and repairs the file system of a disk, frees inaccessible disk space	Instruction/command
CONCAT	Concatenates two data files	Instruction/command
CONT	Resumes execution of a BASIC program	Command
COPY	Copies files from one drive to another in a dual disk drive or within a single drive	Instruction/command
COS	Returns the cosine of an angle (rad)	Function, numerical
DATA	Stores constant information in the program code	Instruction/command
DCLOSE	Closes disk file	Instruction/command
DEF FN	Defines a user-defined function	Instruction
DIM	Allocates space in array memory for a new array	Instruction/command
DIRECTORY	Displays the contents of the disk directory on the screen	Instruction/command
DLOAD	Loads a BASIC program from disk	Instruction/command
BAPTISM	Opens a disk file for a read and/or write operation	Instruction/command
DS	Gets the numeric code from the current diskStatus_string	Reserved variable
DS$	Gets the most recent error/status code from a disk device	Reserved variable
DSAVE	Saves a BASIC program to a disk file	Instruction/command
END	Ends the processing of the current program	Instruction/command
EXP	“e” with the power given by the argument	Function, numerical
FN	Executes a function defined by DEF FN	Function, numerical, special
FOR	Program loop start (FOR … TO … STEP … NEXT)	Instruction/command
FRE	Returns the number of unused bytes of BASIC RAM	Function, numerical, special
GET	Reads one or more chars from the keyboard	Instruction
GET#	Reads single characters from the specified device	Instruction/command, special
GO TO	Jumps to a line number	Instruction/command
GOSUB	Jumps to a subroutine … RETURN	Instruction/command
GOTO	Jumps to a line number	Instruction/command
HEADER	Formats a diskette	Instruction/command
IF	Tests a condition IF … THEN or IF … GOTO	Instruction/command
INPUT	Reads data from the keyboard	Instruction
INPUT#	Reads data from a file stored on peripheral device	Instruction
INT	Rounds a number	Function, numerical
LEFT$	Left chars of a string	Function, string
LEN	Returns the number of characters in a string	Function, numerical
LET	Assigns values in a variable	Instruction/command
LIST	Displays the BASIC program in memory	Instruction/command
LOAD	Loads a program	Instruction/command
LOG	Natural logarithm with the basis e	Function, numerical
MID$	Inner chars of a string	Function, string
NEW	Clears RAM and program	Instruction/command
NEXT	Program loop end (FOR … TO … STEP … NEXT)	Instruction/command
NOT	Reverses true to false	Operator, logical
ON	Contruct ON … GOTO, ON … GOSUB	Instruction/command
OPEN	Opens a file or a channel	Instruction/command
OR	Returns true if one or both conditions are true	Operator, logical
PEEK	Returns the memory content	Function, numerical
POKE	Changes the content of any memory address	Instruction/command
POS	Determines the actual position of the cursor	Function, numerical, special
PRINT	Prints data to the current output device	Instruction/command
PRINT#	Stores data in a file	Instruction/command
READ	Reads constant values from DATA	Instruction
RECORD	Positions relative file pointers	Instruction/command
REM	Comments	Instruction/command
RENAME	Changes the name of a file on disk	Instruction/command
RESTORE	Clears the pointer of the next DATA value	Instruction/command
RETURN	Finishes a subroutine: GOSUB … RETURN	Instruction/command
RIGHT$	Right chars of a string	Function, string
RND	Generates a random floating point number	Function, numerical
RUN	Starts a program	Instruction/command
SAVE	Saves a program	Instruction/command
SCRATCH	Deletes a file from the disk directory	Instruction/command
SGN	Returns the sign of a number (-1, 0, 1)	Function, numerical
SIN	Returns the sine of an angle (rad)	Function, numerical
SPC(	Sets a number of spaces into a PRINT output	Function, string
SQR	Calculates square root of a number	Function, numerical
ST	Gets I/O status byte	Reserved variable
STEP	Program loop increment/decrement (FOR … TO … STEP … NEXT)	Instruction/command, special
STOP	Breaks a program	Instruction/command
STR$	Converts numerical values or variables into a string	Function, string
SYS	Calls an assembly language subroutine	Instruction/command
TAB(	Sets the cursor column into a PRINT output	Function, string
TAN	Returns the tangent for a given angle (rad)	Function, numerical
THEN	Tests a condition IF … THEN (if true)	Instruction/command, special
OF	Gets the system time (seconds/60)	Reserved variable
TI$	Gets or Sets the system time (HHMMSS)	Reserved variable
TO	Program loop target (FOR … TO … STEP … NEXT)	Instruction/command, special
USR	Calls an assembly language subroutine with argument	Function, numerical/string
VAL	Returns the numerical value of a string	Function, numerical
VERIFY	Verifies a saved program	Instruction/command
WAIT	Waits for a memory location to assume specific values	Instruction/command
+	Sum	Operator, numerical/string
–	Subtraction	Operator, numerical
*	Multiplication	Operator, numerical
/	Division	Operator, numerical
^	Exponent	Operator, numerical
>	Greater	Operator, logical
=	Equal	Operator, logical
<	Less	Operator, logical

On the website www.valoroso.it and on the ValorosoIT YouTube channel, I am publishing several episodes to learn how to program in Basic, with the Commodore 16, Comodore 64, Commodore 128, GwBasic, QuickBasic, QB64, Atari, etc...

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