I/O & Time
1. Output (print)
print "Text": Prints text to the console and adds a new line.print update "Text": Overwrites the current line (useful for progress bars).
Interpolation:
Name = "User"
print "Hello $Name"
2. User Input (take & wait)
BigC uses a synchronized two-step process for handling user input.
The Input Loop (take response & wait type export)
The take response command tells the engine to pause and wait for the user to type something. However, to ensure the program is perfectly synchronized, you must bridge it with wait type export.
When the engine sees these two together, it performs an Auto-Sync:
- It pauses the program.
- It waits for the user to press Enter.
- It automatically captures the input and stores it in a special system variable called
export.
Standard Pattern:
print "Enter your name:"
take response
wait type export
# Move the data from 'export' to your own variable
Name = export
print "Welcome, $Name"
3. Debugging (Live Status)
To see exactly what the engine is doing in real-time, you can enable the BigDebug flag.
Syntax: BigDebug = 1
When enabled, the console will print a + [STATEMENT] every time a variable is set or modified. This is the best way to track "bugs" and "found" values in your logic.
4. Time & Clocks
Delays
wait [Number] s: Pauses the program for X seconds.wait 2 s
Unix Timestamps
Get the current time in seconds since 1970.
get time "unix" & set as {Now}