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  2.1 Entering the Environment
  To enter the BASIC environment, type the DCL command
  BASIC and press Return. An identification line and the
  Ready prompt appear.
  $ BASIC
  BASIC V n.n
  Ready

  In the BASIC environment, you can interact directly with the
  compiler. In this mode of operation, you can enter any of the
  following:

  .
        BASIC program lines
  .
        Immediate mode statements
  .
        Compiler commands and qualifiers

  When you enter program statements, VAX BASIC stores
  them in ascending line number sequence as part of the cur-
  rent program in memory. If you enter a program line with
  the same line number as an existing program line, the new
  line replaces the old line.

  When you create a program in the environment, the first
  line of the program must have a line number. If you enter
  a subsequent program line without a line number, you must
  precede it with a space or a tab. Inside the environment, only
  those program lines that begin with line numbers can start in
  the first character position on a line.


                                            Note

        To develop programs in the environment that have
        no line numbers, you must use an editor or copy
        your program into the environment with the OLD
        command.

  If a program line is too long for one text line, you can con-
  tinue it by typing an ampersand ( & ) and pressing Return.
  (Note that only spaces and tabs are valid between the amper-
  sand and the carriage return.)

  See Section 2.3 for more information about immediate mode
  statements and Section 2.5 for more information about BASIC
  compiler commands.