Atari Pascal — Atari Computers

Structure on an eight-bit Atari

The APX Atari Pascal Language System brings typed variables, procedures, and block-structured programming to the Atari 800 era. Programs are edited and compiled on disk and executed through its runtime system. The original system’s two-drive setup made it a more involved investment than a plug-in language cartridge.

Example: a countdown

APX Atari Pascal — a simple console program

program AtariCount(output);
var
  count: integer;
begin
  writeln('ATARI PASCAL COUNTDOWN');
  for count := 5 downto 1 do
    writeln(count);
  writeln('READY TO PROGRAM')
end.

Expected result: a countdown from fiveIllustrative preview

ATARI PASCAL COUNTDOWN
    5
    4
    3
    2
    1
READY TO PROGRAM

The numbers count down from 5 to 1, followed by the final message. Leading spaces are illustrative: the runtime’s default integer field width controls numeric alignment. The runtime resumes when the program ends.

Create a source file with the Pascal system’s editor, compile it using the compiler disk, then run the result with the execution system. The integer variable counts down from five; writeln prints each value on its own line. The final period closes the program.

Reference: Atari Pascal Language System manual (PDF).

Other eight-bit Pascal systems

Kyan Pascal and Draper Pascal offered additional Atari implementations, with their own editors, libraries, and execution models. Simple structured examples can look similar, but graphics routines and build steps are specific to the package.

Reference: Kyan Pascal user’s manual (PDF).

Reference: Draper Pascal manual (PDF).