Quizmaster

QUIZMASTER is a question-and-answer quiz program that lets users enter their own questions and answers, then tests them in random order. The program stores up to m questions in string arrays c$() for clues and a$() for answers, tracking answer lengths in l(). It awards two points for a correct first attempt and one point for a correct answer after a hint; the hint reveals only the first and last characters of the answer, padding the middle with dashes. After entry, the quiz data is saved as a self-running BASIC file via SAVE p$ LINE 20, so the saved program restarts directly into the quiz loop.

Program Structure

The program is divided into two distinct phases separated by a STOP at line 9997:

1. Entry phase (lines 500–670): The user inputs questions and answers, which are stored in arrays, then the whole program is saved with SAVE p$ LINE 20 so subsequent loads jump straight into the quiz.
2. Quiz phase (lines 10–170): The saved file auto-runs from line 20, skipping the entry phase entirely. Questions are presented in random order using a shrinking index array.

The REM at line 15 (****run 500) is a human reminder to manually GO TO 500 to begin data entry during authoring. Line 9998 saves the blank template as "QUIZMASTER".

Randomisation Without Replacement

Rather than re-rolling until an unseen question is found, the program maintains a packed index array y() of remaining question numbers. At each round (lines 60–80), a random position z within the remaining x entries is chosen, the corresponding question index q is retrieved, and then the slot is removed by shifting all subsequent entries down one position. This guarantees every question appears exactly once with O(n) removal cost.

Scoring and Hint System

Variable t acts as a score token, initialised to 2 at line 90. A correct first-attempt answer adds 2 to score s; after a hint is shown, t is set to 1 (line 310), so a correct second attempt adds only 1. Maximum possible score is therefore m*2, which is shown at line 160.

The hint (line 330) constructs a masked string: a$(q,1) (first character) + a substring of dashes of length l(q)-2 from the 15-dash string b$ + a$(q,l(q)) (last character). This cleverly avoids any loop.

Key BASIC Idioms

• Partial-string comparison (line 110): i$<>a$(q)( TO l(q)) compares the user’s input only against the stored answer up to its recorded length l(q), working around the fixed-length DIM padding with spaces.
• Keypress debounce (lines 460–480): The subroutine first waits for INKEY$ to be empty (key up), then waits for a non-empty value (key down), then reads it — preventing repeated or held keys from triggering multiple events.
• Screen clearing with e$ (lines 210–280): A 32-space string is PRINTed over old text at specific AT positions instead of issuing a full CLS, preserving other screen content.
• Double-apostrophe newlines in PRINT (line 540): PRINT "Question ";q'' uses two consecutive ' tokens to print two blank lines after the question number.

Data Storage

   10 REM INITIALIZATION         
   15 REM ****run 500
   20 LET s=0: LET x=m: LET b$="---------------": LET e$="                                "
   30 FOR n=1 TO m: LET y(n)=n: NEXT n
   40 GO SUB 400: CLS : FOR n=1 TO m: PRINT AT 10,8;a$(n): PAUSE 50: CLS : NEXT n
   50 REM MAIN PROGRAM           
   60 LET z=INT (RND*x+1): LET q=y(z)
   70 LET x=x-1
   80 FOR n=z TO x: LET y(n)=y(n+1): NEXT n
   90 CLS : LET t=2
  100 PRINT AT 3,0;c$(q): INPUT i$
  110 IF i$<>a$(q)( TO l(q)) THEN GO TO 240
  120 LET s=s+t: GO TO 210
  130 GO SUB 410: CLS 
  140 IF x=0 THEN GO TO 60
  150 REM FINAL SCORE            
  160 PRINT AT 5,0;"Your score was ";s;" out of ";m*2
  170 STOP 
  200 REM PRAISE                 
  210 PRINT AT 7,0;"Well done, ";i$;" was right.";AT 9,15;e$
  220 GO TO 130
  230 REM WRONG ANSWER           
  240 IF i$="" THEN GO TO 260
  245 PRINT AT 7,0;i$;" was wrong.";e$;AT 9,0;e$
  250 GO SUB 410
  260 IF t=2 THEN GO TO 310
  270 PRINT AT 7,0;"The right answer was:";e$;AT 9,15;a$(q)
  280 GO TO 130
  300 REM HINT/SECOND TRY        
  310 LET t=1
  320 PRINT AT 7,0;"Here is a hint:";e$;AT 21,0;e$
  330 PRINT AT 9,15;a$(q,1)+b$(1 TO l(q)-2)+a$(q,l(q))
  340 GO TO 100
  400 REM ENTER TO CONTINUE      
  410 PRINT AT 21,0;"Press ENTER to continue."
  420 GO SUB 460
  430 IF CODE k$=13 THEN RETURN 
  440 GO TO 420
  450 REM SINGLE KEY INPUT      
  460 IF INKEY$<>"" THEN GO TO 460
  470 IF INKEY$="" THEN GO TO 470
  480 LET k$=INKEY$: RETURN 
  500 REM ENTER QUESTIONS/ANSWERS
  510 PRINT "How many questions?": INPUT m
  520 DIM c$(m,64): DIM a$(m,15): DIM l(m): DIM y(m)
  530 FOR q=1 TO m
  540 CLS : PRINT "Question ";q''
  550 PRINT "Type in the question or clue.": INPUT c$(q)
  560 PRINT 'c$(q)''"Type in the answer.": INPUT i$
  570 PRINT 'i$;AT 20,0;"If satisfactory, type s.","  To delete, type d."
  580 GO SUB 460
  590 IF k$="d" THEN GO TO 540
  600 IF k$<>"s" THEN GO TO 580
  610 LET l(q)=LEN i$: LET a$(q)=i$
  620 NEXT q
  650 REM SAVE AND RUN           
  660 CLS : INPUT "What is the program name?";p$
  670 SAVE p$ LINE 20
 9997 STOP 
 9998 SAVE "QUIZMASTER" LINE 1