BASIC translation to Python

Question

I have written a few very basic programs in Python but have not done much program translation.

My friend asked me to translate his heating program from Basic to Python.

Is there an easy way to do this? I haven't tried anything yet?

Tha Basic code is below:

1:PRINT"HLOSS85.1":PRINT"":GOTO 3

 

3:"N"INPUT"INPUT NOTES> ";B$(0):PRINT B$(0):GOTO 3

 

4:PRINT "":IF L>0 END

 

5:GOSUB 9:GOTO 104

 

9:PRINT"------------------------":RETURN

 

10:"=" PRINT=LPRINT:PRINT"":END

 

20"L"PRINT=PRINT:PAUSE "PO":END

 

50:"S" CLEAR:USING

 

60:DIM B$(0)*24

 

70:DIM S(6),W(6),G(6),V(0),Z(0),P(0),Q(0),O(0),K(0),N(0):N=1:A(27)=25:R=25:T=600

 

80:M=21:J=-4:U=5.6:A(30)=55:A(32)=3:GOSUB 9:GOTO 1

 

104:INPUT"INPUT OUTSIDE TEMP C ";J

 

105:PRINT"OUTSIDE TEMP ";J;" C

 

106:INPUT"INPUT ROOM TEMP C ";M

 

107:C=M-J

 

108:PRINT"PRINT TEMP ";M;" C":PRINT"TD = ";C;" C

 

114: GOSUB 9

 

115:"C"B$(0)="":INPUT"INPUT ROOM NAME ";B$(0)

 

116:IF B$(0)="" GOTO 115

 

117:IF B$(0)="*" GOTO 320

 

120:PRINT B$(0)

 

125:Y$="N":INPUT"SAME AS LAST ROOM? ";Y$;:IF Y$="Y" GOTO 252

 

130:S(5)=0:P=0:Q=0:B=0:O=0:K=0k:V=0:O(0)=0:K(0)=0:A=0:G(5)=0:W=0

 

140:USING:L=0:W=0:H=0:INPUT"INPUT ROOM LENGTH M ";L,"INPUT WIDTH M ";W,"INPUT HEIGHT M ";H

 

165:Z=LW:V=ZH:IF V=0 GOTO 140

 

175:PRINT"L=";L;"M W=";W;"M H=";H;"M

 

176:PRINT"AREA ";Z;" M2

 

177:PRINT"VOLUME ";V; M3

 

180:S=1

 

190:S(S)=LH:GOSUB 500

 

200:S(S)=WH:GOSUB 500

 

210:S(S)=S(1):GOSUB 500

 

220:S(S)=S(2):GOSUB 500

 

230:S(S)=LW:GOSUB 500

 

240:S(S)=S(5):GOSUB 500

 

245:USING:D=M-J:INPUT"INPUT AC/HR ";N;"INPUT TD C ";D

 

246:PRINT N;" A/C @ ";D;" C TD":B=.33VND

 

247:INPUT"INPUT SAFETY % ";A(33)

 

248:IF A(33)>100 GOTO 247

 

249:A(36)=INT B+INT P+INT Q

 

250:A(34)=INT((A(33)/100)*A(36))

 

251:PRINT"SAFETY ";A(33);"% ";INT A(34);"W

 

252:K=INT A(34)+INT A(36)

 

253:Y$="":INPUT"IS INFO CORRECT ? ";Y$

 

254:IF Y$="N" GOTO 115

 

255:IF Y$<>"Y" GOTO 253

 

256:Z(0)=S(5)+Z(0):P(0)=INT P+P(0):Q(0)=INT Q+Q(0):V(0)=INT B+V(0);O(0)=O+O(0)

 

257:N(0)=V+N(0):K(0)+K+K(0):A(35)=A(34)+A(35)

 

258:PRINT"- ROOM HEAT LOSS -

 

260:PRINT"FABRIC ";INT Q;"W":PRINT"WINDOW ";INT P;"W":PRINT" VENT ";INT B;"W

 

261:PRINT"SAFETY ";INT A(34);"W

 

262:PRINT"TOTAL ROOM LOSS ";K;"W

 

263:IF V=0 GOTO 265

 

264:PRINT INT ((K/V)+.5);" W/M3

 

265:GOSUB 9

 

266:"H"USING:INPUT"INPUT RADIATOR HT MM ";T

 

267:PRINT"RAD HEIGHT ";T;"MM

 

268:PRINT"SINGLE ";INT(544K/T);"MM LENGTH

 

269:PRINT"DOUBLE ";INT(362/T);"MM

 

270:GOSUB 9

 

310:GOTO 115

 

320:PRINT"

 

330:"G"USING:PRINT:PRINT"-------- TOTALS --------

 

350:PRINT"FLOOR AREA ";Z(0);" M2

 

355:PRINT"VOLUME ";N(0);" M3

 

410:PRINT"FABRIC LOSS ";INT Q(0);"W

 

420:PRINT"WINDOW LOSS ";INT P(0);"W

 

430:PRINT"VENT LOSS ";INT V(0);"W

 

440:PRINT"SAFETY LOSS ";INT A(35);"W

 

457:GOSUB 9

 

460;K=INT Q(0)+INT P(0)+INT V(0)+ INT A(35):PRINT "TOTAL LOSS ";INT K;"W

 

465:PRINT"AV.HEAT LOSS ";INT((K/M-J))+.5);"W/C

 

467:IF N(0)=0 GOTO 480

 

468:PRINT" ";INT((K/N(0)))+.5);"W/M3

 

470:PRINT USING"###.##";"G VALUE ";(K/(M-J))/N(0);" W/M3/C

 

480:USING:GOSUB 9

 

484:GOTO 900

 

489:A(31)=K+A(29)*1E3

 

490:INPUT"INPUT BOILER MARGIN % ";A(27)

 

491:A(28)=A(31)*A(27)/1E2

 

492:PRINT"BOILER MARGIN":PRINT A(27);"% = ";INT A(28);"W

 

493:GOSUB 9

 

494:PRINT" BOILER SIZE

 

495:PRINT USING"#######.#";" ";(A(31)+A(28))/1E3;"KW

 

496:USING:GOSUB 9

 

497:PRINT "":PRINT"

 

498:END

 

500:IF S<5 PRINT"WALL ";S

 

502:IF S=5 PRINT"CEILING/ROOF

 

504:IF S=6 PRINT"FLOOR

 

505:X=0:G(S)=0:C=M-J

 

507:INPUT"INPUT FABRIC U VALUE ";X:GOTO 509

 

508:GOTO 515

 

509:INPUT"INPUT TD C";C

 

510:GOSUB 700

 

512:IF X>0 GOTO 530

 

515:PRINT"NO LOSS

 

530:S=S+1:RETURN

 

700:IF S<6 INPUT"INPUT GLASS AREA M2 ";G(S)

 

702:IF G(S)>S(S) GOTO 700

 

705:W(S)=S(S)-G(S):IF W(S)=S(S) GOTO 710

 

707:IF S<5 LET A=A+S(S)

 

710:F=W(S)CX:PRINT W(S);"X";X;"X";C;"=";F;"W

 

712:Q=Q+F

 

715:IF S(S)=W(S) RETURN

 

717:INPUT"INPUT GLASS U VALUE ";U

 

800:IF S=5 PRINT"ROOFLIGHT":GOTO 805

 

802:PRINT"WINDOW ";S

 

805:G=G(S)UC

 

810:PRINT G(S);"X";U;"X";C;"=";G;"W

 

815:P=P+G:O=O+G(S)

 

820:K(0)=G(5)

 

830:RETURN

 

900:"D"USING:PRINT"D.H.WATER":INPUT"INPUT NO.OF PEOPLE ";I

 

905:IF I>0 PRINT 920

 

910:A(29)=0:PRINT"NONE":GOTO 489

 

920:INPUT"INPUT LITRE/PERSON ";R

 

930:PRINT I;"PEOPLE X ";R;"LITRE

 

940:INPUT"INPUT WARMUP - HRS ";A(32)

 

942:INPUT"INPUT WATER TD C ";A(30)

 

945:A(29)=4.2A(A30)IR/3600A(32)

 

950:PRINT A(32);"HR WARMUP @ ";A(30);"C TD

 

955:PRINT USING"#####.#";HOT WATER CYL";A(29);"KW

 

970:USING:GOTO 489

 

975:"X"USING:INPUT"INPUT FLOOR AREA M2";Z(0):PRINT Z(0)

 

976:INPUT"INPUT VOLUME M3 ";N(0):PRINT N(0)

 

977:INPUT"INPUT FABRIC W ";Q(0):PRINT Q(0)

 

978:INPUT"INPUT WINDOW W ";P(0):PRINT P(0)

 

979:INPUT"INPUT VENT W "V(0):PRINT V(0)

 

980:INPUT"INPUT SAFETY W ";A(35):PRINT A(35)

 

995:GOTO "G"

 

997:"Z"INPUT"INPUT W";K:PRINT K;"W

 

998:GOTO "H"

jomoenginer · Answer

There is no GOTO or GOSUB in Python. It is used in C but discouraged in most cases; it is quite common in BASIC. You can think of a GOTO as in an if-elif-else case or just replace the GOTO from BASIC with a method in Python. I suppose another option would be a 'try-except' but that would be more for exception handling. The GOSUB is basically the same as a method definition (def) in Python with a return. One note, when posting code, please click on the '>>' at the top of the edit window and select 'Syntax Highlighting' and the code type you are posting.

jc2048 · Answer

The Sharp 1251 seems to have been sold by Tandy rebadged as the PC-3. There's a user manual here that includes a reference for their version of BASIC. https://ia601707.us.archive.org/13/items/PC-3_Owners_Manual_19xx_Tandy/PC-3_Owners_Manual_19xx_Tandy_text.pdf

Jan Cumps · Answer

analysis updated with DEF xx entry points. If you enter the DEF key and one of the keys in the upper right corner, the program executes starting from the line labeled with that character

balearicdynamics · Answer

Jan Cumps says:

GOTOs are things from 1970 - I don't know if Python supports it.

This is the key... What you say translation is porting. The difference is important. You can translate a natural language to another when both refer to the same or similar cultural background, like English to French or German or Spanis. When the two languages refer to totally different cultures, you can't translate. Not literally. You should contextualize the meaning of one language and convert it to a different cultural reference that for the reader has the same or similar meaning., as well as with artificial languages.

So, porting means that you should understand very well the logic and behavior of the basic program, then rewrite it using a language based on a totally different semantics.

Just as an example, the basic GOTO in the source you showed (it is the case you paste the code and select the syntax highlight for better readability) send from a point to another, executes a series of instructions then GOTO back from the origin. This means that in Python you should create a function, that is called in correspondence of every GOTO ... GOTO (back). Then analyzing the source may be that all the functions with similar behavior are collected in classes to make easier the understanding of the new approach. And so on...

Enrico

Jan Cumps · Answer

Diagram.

Jan Cumps · Answer

I could not say it better, balearicdynamics . Or almost not better GOSUBs are like jump then return GOTOs are jump without a return point. Just jump.

balearicdynamics · Answer

As a matter of fact, I see the program is short, so the algorithm can't be extremely complex. Under this perspective, IMHO it is better a good description and – eventually – a flow to rewrite the things instead of a bare porting...

Enrico

Jan Cumps · Answer

The software is explained here, a bit:

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There is no talk, but after the code is shown, you can see what the input / output looks like, what it does and what it outputs. It also scrolls through the documentation. At the beginning, the creator says it was written on a morning train trip. You can enter room specifics, for multiple rooms (size, what fabric is on the floor, ...). It calculates the heat loss, then gives the size of the boiler you'd need to keep the spaces warm. About your code to build a GOTO construct in Python, I think it will be easier to try and find the story back in the code - how are all those parameters for each room retrieved, and what are those parameters - how are the calculations per room made - how is the summary calculation done at the end. Then abandon the code and implement these 3 functions in Python, using the standard functionality.

Jan Cumps · Answer

If you are using Python 3, someone seems to have implemented a GOTO: https://github.com/cdjc/goto This one documents it works for 2.6 -> 3.6, https://github.com/snoack/python-goto

Jan Cumps · Answer

I'd first try to find out if there's logic in the basis code, and try to understand what it's doing. You could: - draw the program logic, based on the basis program - GOSUBs become functions - fiddle out what the flow of the GOTOs does. Then do the translation, function per function.

jomoenginer · Answer

balearicdynamics wrote: Just as an example, the basic GOTO in the source you showed (it is the case you paste the code and select the syntax highlight for better readability) send from a point to another, executes a series of instructions then GOTO back from the origin. This means that in Python you should create a function, that is called in correspondence of every GOTO ... GOTO (back). Then analyzing the source may be that all the functions with similar behavior are collected in classes to make easier the understanding of the new approach. And so on... Enrico Not all GOTO statements in BASIC map to a method in Python. For instance, the 'GOTO 900' line at 484 does not imply a return; it's just go to that location and do stuff and then GOTO 489. Sort of a Jump Over. It's been awhile since I wrote any base BASIC code and just some Visual Basic in recent years, but it does appear that GOTO was deprecated in BASIC though.

Jan Cumps · Answer

If it’s a good friend, show this thread. If it is not a very good friend, show the thread then run away .

Jan Cumps · Answer

This is so true, Enrico.

Programming languages have continuously been evolving (or - in the case of Python - devolving ) .

You can never critique a programming style when the development was done before we were able to learn from the limitations.

There are good programs written in BASIC with GOTOs.

Unfortunately for tommy2k19, the code he got from his friend is not one of those. It's not a thankful job to have to port this code.

I think it's made ad-hoc, and it seems that it has been done by several people (I see 2 programming styles: the early GOTO style and the later GOSUB style).

If I had to adapt this code as a consultant, I would do it, but I would charge a bigger fee as usual because I can't assess if the logic is sound from reading the code.

Jan Cumps · Answer

How the program presents itself to the user: MENU: Principles: .... etc for each room, see video Totals:

michaelkellett · Answer

Hello Tom, In order to easliy translate a programme from one language to another you need to be expert in the languages or a very good programmer. Nothing is impossible, George Borrow (1803 - 1881) translated the Bible into Manchu - a language which he did not speak - but he was good at learning new languages and translating the Bible. However, it may be possible to avoid the need for translation - what machine did the prog run on when written and what would you like it run on now ? MK

Jan Cumps · Answer

From jc2048 's link: You are right. It's a Sharp-specific extension.

tommy2k19 · Answer

Thankyou; Here is a video of what it is meant to do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9E2rDVEvgI&feature=youtu.be I have written programs as I said, but I have no experience of GOSUB and GOTO!, and I have very little or no idea of how they become functions. Could you give me some 'starter code'?! Also, what are the functions in the above code?

tommy2k19 · Answer

It was run originally on a BBC Micro but I have been told it can run on Windows 10, which I want it to run on, if possible.

Jan Cumps · Answer

You could try to run it under this emulator, compatible with Windows 10: https://sourceforge.net/projects/pcbasic/

Jan Cumps · Answer

tommy2k19 wrote: Thankyou. It's quite a complex program, I can enter the text but I have got nothing to test it out on! I tried to run the program in the PC Basic emulator. The program loads OK, but throws an error at the second line (labeled 3). My basis knowledge is rusty, and there are 3 instructions. Are you sure that the ";" is correct? edit: it seems that the program you originally uploaded is missing spaces, when I compare it to the video. Can you please try to upload it again? You can do that by first zipping your .bas file, then editing your original post, and select the attach option near the bottom of the post. Then save, and the file will be uploaded without changes.

BASIC translation to Python

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