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PRINT

Writes to the screen or a sequential file.

Syntax

PRINT [# file_number,] [output_list][{; ,}]

Comments

file_number is the number of the file to which output is written. If you omit file_number, QBasic writes the data to the screen.

output_list is a list of one or more expressions to output.

If a semicolon ends the PRINT line, the next PRINT statement continues on the same line in the next character position. If a comma ends the line, the next PRINT statement continues on the same line in the next print zone. Print zones are 14 characters in length. Omitting a semicolon or comma causes the next PRINT statement to begin on the next line.

BASIC divides the line into print zones of 14 spaces. The position of each item printed is determined by the punctuation used to separate the items in the list:

Separator Print Position
, Beginning of next zone
; Immediately after last value
space(s) Immediately after last value

If a comma, semicolon, or SPC or TAB function ends an expression list, the next PRINT statement begins printing on the same line, accordingly spaced. If the expression list ends without a comma, semicolon, or SPC or TAB function, a carriage return is placed at the end of the lines (BASIC places the cursor at the beginning of the next line).

A carriage return/line feed is automatically inserted after printing width characters, where width is 40 or 80, as defined in the WIDTH statement. This results in two lines being skipped when you print exactly 40 (or 80) characters, unless the PRINT statement ends in a semicolon.

When numbers are printed on the screen, the numbers are always followed by a space. Positive number are preceded by a space. Negative numbers are preceded by a minus (-) sign. Single-precision numbers are represented with seven or fewer digits in a fixed-point or integer format.

See the LPRINT and LPRINT USING statements for information on sending data to be printed on a printer.

Example

X$= STRING$(10,45)
PRINT X$"MONTHLY REPORT" X$
----------MONTHLY REPORT----------

See Also