This Standard establishes:
- The syntax of programs written in ECMA BASIC.
- The formats of data and the minimum precision and range of numeric representations and the minimum length and set of characters in strings which are acceptable as input to an automatic data processing system being controlled by a program written in ECMA BASIC.
- The formats of data and the minimum precision and range of numeric representations and the minimum length and set of characters in strings which can be generated as output by an automatic data processing system being controlled by a program written in ECMA BASIC.
- The semantic rules for interpreting the meaning of a program written in ECMA BASIC.
- The errors and exceptional circumstances which shall be detected.
Although the BASIC language was originally designed primarily for interactive use, this Standard describes a language that is not so restricted. This Standard is not meant to preclude the use of any particular implementation technique, for example interpreters, incremental or one-pass compilers.