Category Scores

The quiz tracks a total score, but the player can’t see which categories they’re strong or weak in. An array — one slot per category — fixes that.

DIM — Creating an Array

  10 DIM s(4)
  20 LET s(1)=3
  30 LET s(2)=1
  40 LET s(3)=2
  50 LET s(4)=0
  60 FOR i=1 TO 4
  70 PRINT "Category ";i;": ";s(i)
  80 NEXT i
  90 PRINT
 100 LET t=s(1)+s(2)+s(3)+s(4)
 110 PRINT "Total: ";t

DIM s(4) creates four numbered slots: s(1), s(2), s(3), s(4). Each starts at zero. You can read and write any slot by its number — and crucially, you can use a variable as the number.

Scoring by Category

When the player answers correctly, the category index p tells you which slot to update:

LET s(p) = s(p) + 1

If the question was Science (p = 1), this increments s(1). If Geography (p = 3), it increments s(3). One line handles all four categories because the index is a variable, not a hardcoded number.

The Category Breakdown

 176 REM === Category breakdown ===
 178 PRINT AT 8,6; INK 6;"Science:        ";s(1)
 180 PRINT AT 9,6; INK 3;"History:        ";s(2)
 182 PRINT AT 10,6; INK 4;"Geography:      ";s(3)
 184 PRINT AT 11,6; INK 5;"Entertainment:  ";s(4)

Each category is printed with its colour and score. The player sees at a glance where they’re strong (high numbers) and where they need to study (zeros).

Arrays vs Variables

You could use four separate variables: s1, s2, s3, s4. But then you can’t write LET s(p) = s(p) + 1 — you’d need four IF statements to decide which variable to increment. Arrays turn the category number into direct access. That’s their power.

Rules

• DIM before use — declare the size before storing anything
• Starts at 1 — DIM s(4) creates slots 1 to 4 (not 0 to 3)
• All zeros — every slot starts at 0, no need to initialise
• Fixed size — you can’t make an array bigger after DIM

Try This

Best category. After the quiz, find which category scored highest. Start with LET h = 1, then loop: IF s(i) > s(h) THEN LET h = i. Print the winning category name.

Bar chart. For each category, print a row of coloured blocks: FOR j = 1 TO s(i): PRINT PAPER ci; " ";: NEXT j. The bars show the scores visually.

What You’ve Learnt

• DIM — creates an array: DIM s(4) makes four numbered slots
• Array indexing — s(p) uses a variable to pick the right slot
• One line for all categories — LET s(p) = s(p) + 1 handles any category
• Category breakdown — print each slot with its matching colour and label