---
title: "Wink"
id: 57332
type: "computer_media"
slug: "wink"
url: "http://localhost/computer_media/wink/"
markdown_url: "http://localhost/computer_media/wink.md"
published_at: "2024-10-04T08:21:05+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-30T21:18:33+00:00"
author: "David Anderson"
featured_image:
  url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/180_Wnk.png"
excerpt: "A three-frame ASCII face blinks and opens its mouth in a tight animation loop, using FOR–NEXT timing and a clever border design."
category:
  - name: "Archived Media"
    slug: "archived-media"
    taxonomy: "category"
    url: "http://localhost/category/archived-media/"
post_tag:
  - name: "Downloadable"
    slug: "downloadable"
    taxonomy: "post_tag"
    url: "http://localhost/tag/downloadable/"
  - name: "TS 1000"
    slug: "ts1000"
    taxonomy: "post_tag"
    url: "http://localhost/tag/ts1000/"
model:
  - name: "Timex/Sinclair 1000"
    slug: "ts-1000"
    taxonomy: "model"
    url: "http://localhost/model/ts-1000/"
genre:
  - name: "Demo"
    slug: "demo"
    taxonomy: "genre"
    url: "http://localhost/type/demo/"
media_contents:
  - id: 56735
    title: "Timex Sinclair Public Domain Library Tape 1004"
    type: "computer_media"
    url: "http://localhost/computer_media/timex-sinclair-public-domain-library-tape-1004/"
media_type: "Program"
mediadate: "198x"
images:
  - url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/180_Wnk.png"
media_type_tags: "Demo"
---

# Wink

This program displays a simple animated face constructed entirely from ASCII-style characters, cycling through three frames in a continuous loop. Each frame is drawn inside a border of asterisks and parentheses, with the face alternating eye and mouth states to suggest blinking and an opening mouth. The delay between frames is achieved using a short FOR–NEXT loop from 1 to 10, a common timing technique on machines without a dedicated delay command. The animation loops indefinitely via a GOTO at line 280 returning to the start.

***

## Program Analysis

### Program Structure

The program is divided into three nearly identical blocks, each occupying roughly 90 lines of code. Every block clears the screen, prints an eight-row bordered face, then pauses using a short `FOR`–`NEXT` loop before the next block begins. After the third frame, `GOTO 10` at line 280 restarts the cycle indefinitely.

| Block | Lines | Eyes | Mouth |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Frame 1 | 10–95 | (O) (O) | — |
| Frame 2 | 100–185 | (O) (-) | O |
| Frame 3 | 190–275 | (O) (O) | O |

### Animation Logic

The animation mimics a winking or blinking sequence. Frame 1 shows both eyes open with a closed mouth (`---`). Frame 2 changes the right eye to a closed dash (`-`) and opens the mouth to an `O`. Frame 3 returns both eyes to open while keeping the mouth as `O`. This three-step cycle creates a subtle wink-and-speak effect.

### Timing Mechanism

Each frame uses a `FOR X=1 TO 10 ... NEXT X` loop split across two lines (e.g. lines 90 and 95) purely as a software delay. The loop body is empty, so it simply burns CPU cycles. The delay is very short — only 10 iterations — which on a machine of this era produces a rapid animation rather than a slow one.

### Key BASIC Idioms

- Splitting `FOR` and `NEXT` across adjacent line numbers (e.g. 90/95, 180/185, 270/275) is a stylistic choice with no functional difference from a single-line loop.
- Each frame reuses the same border string `"()***********()"`, making the outer frame consistent across all three states.
- `GOTO 10` rather than `GOTO VAL "10"` is used for the infinite loop, which is straightforward but slightly less memory-efficient than the `VAL` idiom.

### Anomalies and Notes

Lines 290 and 300 (`SAVE "1018%0"` and `RUN`) appear at the end of the listing but are never reached during execution because the `GOTO 10` loop at line 280 never exits. These lines exist outside the runtime flow and serve a purpose unrelated to the animation itself.

The variable `X` is shared across all three delay loops, but since each loop runs to completion before the next begins, there is no conflict. After each loop, `X` holds the value 11, but this is never read.

## Source Code

```
  10 CLS 
  20 PRINT "()***********()"
  30 PRINT "**           **"
  40 PRINT "** (O)   (O) **"
  50 PRINT "**           **"
  60 PRINT "**     V     **"
  70 PRINT "**           **"
  80 PRINT "**    ---    **"
  90 FOR X=1 TO 10
  95 NEXT X
 100 CLS 
 110 PRINT "()***********()"
 120 PRINT "**           **"
 130 PRINT "** (O)   (-) **"
 140 PRINT "**           **"
 150 PRINT "**     V     **"
 160 PRINT "**           **"
 170 PRINT "**     O     **"
 180 FOR X=1 TO 10
 185 NEXT X
 190 CLS 
 200 PRINT "()***********()"
 210 PRINT "**           **"
 220 PRINT "** (O)   (O) **"
 230 PRINT "**           **"
 240 PRINT "**     V     **"
 250 PRINT "**           **"
 260 PRINT "**     O     **"
 270 FOR X=1 TO 10
 275 NEXT X
 280 GOTO 10
 290 SAVE "1018%0"
 300 RUN
```