Tandy Pocket Computer

In addition to providing users with scientific math functions in a small portable package, the devices also understood a form of the BASIC programming language.

They included a QWERTY keyboard, of either rubber capacitive or membrane type, to use for entering the names of scientific functions and programming commands, in addition to a traditional numeric keypad.

The models provided a short one-line dot-matrix LCD display, to show the current line of input text, or a segment of it containing the cursor.

These were only for use in PRINT statements, as lower-case commands and variables were not accepted as with almost all BASIC programming machines.

The PC-2 was a unique architecture and was the only unit in the line allowing direct memory access with POKE, PEEK and CALL.

In Run mode, the command line could be openly used to execute one-line, non-BASIC operations.

The input of simple calculations would be aggregated on the command line, and no results would be displayed until the EXE key was pressed.

In order for multiple programs to exist on the device, they had to be written in different ranges of line numbers.

Many of the devices included a special modifier key to expedite the entry of BASIC commands as well as scientific function names.

All user storage was taken from the same space, so allocation of arrays using DIM would decrease the available memory for program instructions, and vice versa.

However, the storage space for one-character alphabetical variables was pre-allocated, and as a result the A array had special significance in many units.

However, on many Sharp derived models, a special AREAD command was added to BASIC which would assign the current value on the display line to a given variable, which could then be used in a program.

The PC-3 and PC-8 had a couple of commands that were not listed in the manual, but nonetheless were recognized by BASIC and usable.