GRAPHICS

The GRAPHICS command can be used for setting the graphics mode of the screen. This command is generally an alias of SCREEN. But, if OPTION DIALECT ATARI BASIC is used and you are under ATARI, it changes the behavious of the command to be more similar to the one of the ATARI BASIC. In that BASIC, it offered several graphics modes, each with different resolutions and color depths. GRAPHICS allowed you to select the one you wanted.

Depending upon how old your ATARI is, the GRAPHICS command gives you access to different graphics modes. The reason for the difference is that a different video chipset has been used on older and newer real ATARI hardware. The chips are fully compatible, but the latest adds three new graphics modes.

So, you have either nine or twelve basic graphics modes to choose from. In addition, most of them have two variations, for a total of up to 20 modes.

The modes are of two main types: pure graphics modes and text modes. The first three modes -- GRAPHICS 0, 1, and 2 --are text modes. When you switch on an ATARI, it defaults to GRAPHICS 0. GRAPHICS 0 has 24 horizontal rows of up to 40 characters each on the screen. The graphics modes generally used for creating pictures are GRAPHICS 3 through 8.

Note that, after executing the GRAPHICS command, the screen will be automatically cleared. The graphics mode also affected the output commands such as PRINT, PLOT, and DRAW. Depending on the graphics mode, the color management also changes.

EXAMPLE

 GRAPHICS 0