WIDTH¶

Implementation Note¶

⚠️ Not Implemented: This statement is parsed for compatibility but performs no operation.

Behavior: The simple "WIDTH " statement parses and executes successfully without errors, but does not affect output width (settings are silently ignored).

Why: Terminal and UI width is controlled by the operating system or UI framework, not the BASIC program. The WIDTH statement cannot actually change these settings.

Limitations: The "WIDTH LPRINT" syntax is NOT supported and will cause a parse error. Only the simple "WIDTH " form is accepted as a no-op.

Alternative: Terminal width is automatically handled by the UI. For custom formatting, use PRINT statements with TAB() and SPC() functions to control output positioning.

Historical Reference: The documentation below is preserved from the original MBASIC 5.21 manual for historical reference. The WIDTH statement syntax and behavior is documented for reference even though it is not implemented.

Syntax¶

WIDTH <integer expression>

⚠️ UNSUPPORTED SYNTAX - Original MBASIC 5.21 also supported:

WIDTH LPRINT <integer expression>  ' ⚠️ NOT SUPPORTED - will cause parse error

Purpose¶

To set the printed line width in number of characters for the terminal or line printer.

Remarks¶

If the LPRINT option is omitted, the line width is set at the terminal. If LPRINT is included, the line width is set at the line printer.

<integer expression> must have a value in the range 15 to 255. The default width is 72 characters.

If <integer expression> is 255, the line width is "infinite," that is, BASIC never inserts a carriage return. However, the position of the cursor or the print head, as given by the POS or LPOS function, returns to zero after position 255.

Example¶

Note: The example below shows historical MBASIC 5.21 behavior. In this implementation, WIDTH is a no-op, so the output would be the same before and after WIDTH is called.

Original MBASIC 5.21 behavior:

10 PRINT "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ"

Output (default width):

RUN
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Ok

After setting width to 18:

WIDTH 18
Ok
RUN
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQR
STUVWXYZ
Ok

This implementation: Output would be identical in both cases (WIDTH has no effect).