The PBASIC
Program will contain a command called DEBUG, which you can use to make the
BASIC Stamp Send messages to your Computer.
After entering the entire program into the BASIC Stamp Editor, you
will be able to download and run the program by simply clicking the BASIC
Stamp Editor’s run button. The BASIC
Stamp Editor will also open a Debug Terminal window to display the message it
receives from the BASIC Stamp. |
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The BASIC Stamp
Editor Installation program should have placed its icon on your desktop, and
it should look like this. You can
double-click this icon to run the software. |
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The best way to
start a program is to make some notes about what the program does. This is called a comment. To make a comment, type the apostrophe
character, then add your notes to the right of it. |
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There are two
“directives” that you will have to add to each of the programs you try from
this book. The first directive is
called the Stamp Directive, and you can use it to tell the editor which BASIC
Stamp it will be programming. Since
all our programs will be for the BASIC Stamp 2, we can click this green
button right here, and it will insert a directive that reads “$Stamp BS2
inside a pair of braces. |
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By clicking the
button with the number 2.5 in front of the gear, you can insert another
directive that tells the BASIC Stamp Editor you will be programming with the
PBASIC 2.5 language. |
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Now, let’s try a
program that sends a message to the computer.
The DEBUG command is used to send messages to the computer. If you send a text message, simply type it
between quotes after the debug command.
Here’s an example. We’ll type
DEBUG, then the message “Hello, it’s me, your BASIC Stamp” in between quotes. |
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You can also add
the END command to tell the BASIC Stamp that the program is done running, and
it can go into low power mode. This
will help save your batteries. |
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When you run the
program, the BASIC Stamp Editor’s Debug Terminal should appear and display
the message from the BASIC Stamp. |
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So, when you
click the Run button, the message you get is what’s shown on the right. |
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What’s really
happening is that the DEBUG… command causes the BASIC Stamp to Send that
message to the BASIC Stamp Editor using the serial cable. |
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Reset button
thing. |