---
title: "Payroll"
id: 57236
type: "computer_media"
slug: "payroll-2"
url: "http://localhost/computer_media/payroll-2/"
markdown_url: "http://localhost/computer_media/payroll-2.md"
published_at: "2024-10-04T06:59:24+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-30T21:19:09+00:00"
author: "David Anderson"
featured_image:
  url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/126_PayR.png"
excerpt: "A simple payroll calculator that applies hourly and time-and-a-half overtime rates, looping until a negative sentinel value signals the end of input."
category:
  - name: "Archived Media"
    slug: "archived-media"
    taxonomy: "category"
    url: "http://localhost/category/archived-media/"
post_tag:
  - name: "Downloadable"
    slug: "downloadable"
    taxonomy: "post_tag"
    url: "http://localhost/tag/downloadable/"
  - name: "TS 1000"
    slug: "ts1000"
    taxonomy: "post_tag"
    url: "http://localhost/tag/ts1000/"
model:
  - name: "Timex/Sinclair 1000"
    slug: "ts-1000"
    taxonomy: "model"
    url: "http://localhost/model/ts-1000/"
genre:
  - name: "Business"
    slug: "business"
    taxonomy: "genre"
    url: "http://localhost/type/business/"
  - name: "Finance"
    slug: "finance"
    taxonomy: "genre"
    url: "http://localhost/type/finance/"
media_contents:
  - id: 56734
    title: "Timex Sinclair Public Domain Library Tape 1003"
    type: "computer_media"
    url: "http://localhost/computer_media/timex-sinclair-public-domain-library-tape-1003/"
media_type: "Program"
mediadate: "198x"
images:
  - url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/126_PayR.png"
media_type_tags: "Business, Finance"
---

This program calculates an employee’s gross pay based on hours worked, applying a standard overtime rule. For up to 40 hours, pay is computed at a flat rate of $7 per hour. Hours beyond 40 are paid at time-and-a-half ($10.50/hour). Entering a negative value for hours terminates the program via STOP at line 70. The program loops continuously via line 65, prompting for successive payroll entries until a negative sentinel value is entered.

***

## Program Analysis

### Program Structure

The program is a short, self-contained loop with a single input/output cycle. It prompts for hours worked, branches based on the value entered, computes pay, prints the result, and repeats. A negative input value serves as a sentinel to exit the loop.

1. **Lines 10–12:** Prompt, accept, and echo the hours value.
2. **Lines 15–20:** Two conditional branches — exit on negative input, jump to overtime calculation if hours exceed 40.
3. **Lines 30–40:** Standard-time pay calculation (`P = 7 * H`), then skip to output.
4. **Line 50:** Overtime pay calculation with time-and-a-half for hours over 40.
5. **Lines 60–65:** Print result and loop back to line 10.
6. **Line 70:** STOP — reached only by negative input sentinel.

### Pay Calculation Logic

The base rate is $7.00/hour. The two pay formulas used are:

| Condition | Formula | Line |
| --- | --- | --- |
| H ≤ 40 | `P = 7 * H` | 30 |
| H > 40 | `P = 7 * 40 + 1.5 * 7 * (H - 40)` | 50 |

The overtime formula correctly pays the first 40 hours at the base rate and applies a 1.5× multiplier only to the excess hours. This is a textbook application of a piecewise pay function.

### Key BASIC Idioms

- **Sentinel value:** A negative hours value (line 15) is used to signal end-of-data and branch to `STOP`, a common idiom when `EOF` detection is unavailable.
- **Unconditional loop:**`GOTO 10` at line 65 creates an infinite loop, relying entirely on the sentinel to exit — there is no FOR/NEXT or conditional loop structure.
- **Echo of input:** Line 12 prints `H` immediately after input, providing visual confirmation of the entered value before processing.

### Anomalies and Minor Issues

- **Zero hours:** An input of `H = 0` is valid and will correctly return a pay of $0, though it may not be meaningful in practice.
- **No input validation beyond sign check:** Fractional or very large hour values are accepted without further bounds checking.
- **Line 90 (`RUN`):** A `RUN` statement following a `SAVE` is a common idiom to restart execution after saving, but since `SAVE` is on line 80 and `STOP` is on line 70, normal program flow never reaches line 80 — these lines are only reachable if the user manually runs them or if execution falls through in an unusual way.

## Source Code

```
   1 REM PAYROLL
  10 PRINT "ENTER HOURS WORKED"
  11 INPUT H
  12 PRINT H
  15 IF H<0 THEN GOTO 70
  20 IF H>40 THEN GOTO 50
  30 LET P=7*H
  40 GOTO 60
  50 LET P=7*40+1.5*7*(H-40)
  60 PRINT "PAY IS:$ ";P
  65 GOTO 10
  70 STOP 
  80 SAVE "1012%6"
  90 RUN
```