Getting Started with Curses UI

Welcome to the MBASIC curses text interface!

What is the Curses UI?

The curses UI is a full-screen terminal interface that provides:

• Editor window (top) - Write your BASIC program
• Output window (bottom) - See program output
• Status line (bottom) - Commands and messages

Your First Program

Let's write a simple program:

1. Start MBASIC with curses:

   mbasic --ui curses
   

2. You'll see the editor window at the top

3. Type your first line:

   10 PRINT "Hello, World!"
   

4. Press Enter to save the line

5. Type the next line:

   20 END
   

6. Press Enter

7. Press {{kbd:run:curses}} to run

8. Output appears in the bottom window!

Essential Keys

You don't need to memorize everything. The status line shows common commands:

• {{kbd:help:curses}} - Help (you're here now!)
• {{kbd:run:curses}} - Run program
• {{kbd:quit:curses}} - Quit

No function keys needed!

Navigation

• Up/Down arrows - Move between lines
• Left/Right arrows - Move cursor within line
• Enter - Save current line

What's Next?

Now that you've run your first program:

• Editing Programs - Learn line editing
• Running Programs - More about execution
• File Operations - Save and load programs
• Keyboard Shortcuts - All shortcuts

Or jump to the BASIC language:

• Getting Started with BASIC - Language basics
• BASIC Statements - Full reference

Tips

• Press ESC to clear error messages
• Press {{kbd:help:curses}} to open help
• Status line shows available commands
• Lines auto-increment by 10 for easy editing