<s>
BASIC	O
(	O
Beginners	B-Language
 '	I-Language
All-purpose	I-Language
Symbolic	I-Language
Instruction	I-Language
Code	I-Language
)	O
is	O
a	O
family	O
of	O
general-purpose	B-Language
,	O
high-level	B-Language
programming	I-Language
languages	I-Language
designed	O
for	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Language
original	I-Language
version	I-Language
was	O
created	O
by	O
John	O
G	O
.	O
Kemeny	O
and	O
Thomas	O
E	O
.	O
Kurtz	O
at	O
Dartmouth	O
College	O
in	O
1963	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
program	O
language	O
,	O
Kemeny	O
and	O
Kurtz	O
developed	O
the	O
Dartmouth	B-Operating_System
Time	I-Operating_System
Sharing	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
(	O
DTSS	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
multiple	O
users	O
to	O
edit	O
and	O
run	O
BASIC	O
programs	O
simultaneously	O
on	O
remote	O
terminals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
general	O
model	O
became	O
very	O
popular	O
on	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
systems	O
like	O
the	O
PDP-11	B-Device
and	O
Data	B-Device
General	I-Device
Nova	I-Device
in	O
the	O
late	O
1960s	O
and	O
early	O
1970s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
emergence	O
of	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
in	O
the	O
mid-1970s	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
multiple	O
BASIC	B-Language
dialects	I-Language
,	O
including	O
Microsoft	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
in	O
1975	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
tiny	O
main	O
memory	O
available	O
on	O
these	O
machines	O
,	O
often	O
4KB	O
,	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
Tiny	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
dialects	O
were	O
also	O
created	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
PCs	B-Device
almost	O
always	O
had	O
a	O
BASIC	B-Language
interpreter	I-Language
installed	O
by	O
default	O
,	O
often	O
in	O
the	O
machine	O
's	O
firmware	B-Application
or	O
sometimes	O
on	O
a	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
BASIC	O
declined	O
in	O
popularity	O
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
as	O
more	O
powerful	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
came	O
to	O
market	O
and	O
programming	O
languages	O
with	O
advanced	O
features	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Pascal	B-Application
and	O
C	B-Language
)	O
became	O
tenable	O
on	O
such	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1991	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
,	O
combining	O
an	O
updated	O
version	O
of	O
BASIC	O
with	O
a	O
visual	O
forms	O
builder	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
reignited	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
language	O
and	O
"	O
VB	O
"	O
remains	O
a	O
major	O
programming	O
language	O
in	O
the	O
forms	O
of	O
VB.NET	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kemeny	O
and	O
Kurtz	O
had	O
made	O
two	O
previous	O
experiments	O
with	O
simplified	O
languages	O
,	O
DARSIMCO	B-Language
(	O
Dartmouth	O
Simplified	O
Code	O
)	O
and	O
DOPE	B-Language
(	O
Dartmouth	O
Oversimplified	O
Programming	O
Experiment	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
New	O
experiments	O
using	O
Fortran	B-Application
and	O
ALGOL	B-Language
followed	O
,	O
but	O
Kurtz	O
concluded	O
these	O
languages	O
were	O
too	O
tricky	O
for	O
what	O
they	O
desired	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Kurtz	O
noted	O
,	O
Fortran	B-Application
had	O
numerous	O
oddly-formed	O
commands	O
,	O
notably	O
an	O
"	O
almost	O
impossible-to-memorize	O
convention	O
for	O
specifying	O
a	O
loop	O
:	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Is	O
it	O
'	O
1	O
,	O
10	O
,	O
2	O
 '	O
or	O
'	O
1	O
,	O
2	O
,	O
10	O
 '	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
comma	O
after	O
the	O
line	B-Application
number	I-Application
required	O
or	O
not	O
?	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
any	O
sort	O
of	O
immediate	O
feedback	O
was	O
a	O
key	O
problem	O
;	O
the	O
machines	O
of	O
the	O
era	O
used	O
batch	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
and	O
took	O
a	O
long	O
time	O
to	O
complete	O
a	O
run	O
of	O
a	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Kurtz	O
was	O
visiting	O
MIT	O
,	O
John	O
McCarthy	O
suggested	O
that	O
time-sharing	B-General_Concept
offered	O
a	O
solution	O
;	O
a	O
single	O
machine	O
could	O
divide	O
up	O
its	O
processing	O
time	O
among	O
many	O
users	O
,	O
giving	O
them	O
the	O
illusion	O
of	O
having	O
a	O
(	O
slow	O
)	O
computer	O
to	O
themselves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
increasing	O
interest	O
in	O
a	O
system	O
using	O
time-sharing	B-General_Concept
and	O
a	O
new	O
language	O
specifically	O
for	O
use	O
by	O
non-STEM	O
students	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
language	O
was	O
heavily	O
patterned	O
on	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
II	I-Application
;	O
statements	O
were	O
one-to-a-line	O
,	O
numbers	O
were	O
used	O
to	O
indicate	O
the	O
target	O
of	O
loops	O
and	O
branches	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
commands	O
were	O
similar	O
or	O
identical	O
to	O
Fortran	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
the	O
difficult	O
to	O
remember	O
DO	O
loop	O
was	O
replaced	O
by	O
the	O
much	O
easier	O
to	O
remember	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
line	B-Application
number	I-Application
used	O
in	O
the	O
DO	O
was	O
instead	O
indicated	O
by	O
the	O
NEXT	O
I	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Likewise	O
,	O
the	O
cryptic	O
IF	O
statement	O
of	O
Fortran	B-Application
,	O
whose	O
syntax	O
matched	O
a	O
particular	O
instruction	O
of	O
the	O
machine	O
on	O
which	O
it	O
was	O
originally	O
written	O
,	O
became	O
the	O
simpler	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
changes	O
made	O
the	O
language	O
much	O
less	O
idiosyncratic	O
while	O
still	O
having	O
an	O
overall	O
structure	O
and	O
feel	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
received	O
a	O
$	O
300,000	O
grant	O
from	O
the	O
National	O
Science	O
Foundation	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
purchase	O
a	O
GE-225	B-Device
computer	O
for	O
processing	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
Datanet-30	O
realtime	O
processor	O
to	O
handle	O
the	O
Teletype	B-Application
Model	I-Application
33	I-Application
teleprinters	O
used	O
for	O
input	O
and	O
output	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
BASIC	B-Language
language	I-Language
was	O
released	O
on	O
1	O
May	O
1964	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
BASIC	O
concentrated	O
on	O
supporting	O
straightforward	O
mathematical	O
work	O
,	O
with	O
matrix	B-Architecture
arithmetic	O
support	O
from	O
its	O
initial	O
implementation	O
as	O
a	O
batch	O
language	O
,	O
and	O
character	O
string	O
functionality	O
being	O
added	O
by	O
1965	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
made	O
it	O
available	O
to	O
high	O
schools	O
in	O
the	O
Hanover	O
,	O
New	O
Hampshire	O
area	O
and	O
regionally	O
throughout	O
New	O
England	O
on	O
Teletype	B-Application
Model	I-Application
33	I-Application
and	O
Model	O
35	O
teleprinter	O
terminals	O
connected	O
to	O
Dartmouth	O
via	O
dial-up	O
phone	O
lines	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
put	O
considerable	O
effort	O
into	O
promoting	O
the	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
following	O
years	O
,	O
as	O
other	O
dialects	O
of	O
BASIC	O
appeared	O
,	O
Kemeny	O
and	O
Kurtz	O
's	O
original	O
BASIC	B-Language
dialect	I-Language
became	O
known	O
as	O
Dartmouth	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
emergence	O
of	O
BASIC	O
took	O
place	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
wider	O
movement	O
towards	O
time-sharing	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
General	O
Electric	O
,	O
having	O
worked	O
on	O
the	O
Dartmouth	O
project	O
,	O
wrote	O
their	O
own	O
underlying	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
and	O
launched	O
an	O
online	O
time-sharing	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
known	O
as	O
Mark	O
I	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
companies	O
in	O
the	O
emerging	O
field	O
quickly	O
followed	O
suit	O
;	O
Tymshare	O
introduced	O
SUPER	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
in	O
1968	O
,	O
CompuServe	O
had	O
a	O
version	O
on	O
the	O
DEC-10	B-Device
at	O
their	O
launch	O
in	O
1969	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
the	O
early	O
1970s	O
BASIC	O
was	O
largely	O
universal	O
on	O
general-purpose	B-Language
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
time-sharing	B-General_Concept
services	O
with	O
BASIC	O
were	O
successful	O
for	O
a	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
widespread	O
success	O
predicted	O
earlier	O
was	O
not	O
to	O
be	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
emergence	O
of	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
during	O
the	O
same	O
period	O
,	O
and	O
especially	O
low-cost	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
in	O
the	O
mid-1970s	O
,	O
allowed	O
anyone	O
to	O
purchase	O
and	O
run	O
their	O
own	O
systems	O
rather	O
than	O
buy	O
online	O
time	O
which	O
was	O
typically	O
billed	O
at	O
dollars	O
per	O
minute	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BASIC	O
,	O
by	O
its	O
very	O
nature	O
of	O
being	O
small	O
,	O
was	O
naturally	O
suited	O
to	O
porting	O
to	O
the	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
market	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
emerging	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
as	O
the	O
time-sharing	B-General_Concept
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
machines	O
had	O
very	O
small	O
main	O
memory	O
,	O
perhaps	O
as	O
little	O
as	O
4KB	O
in	O
modern	O
terminology	O
,	O
and	O
lacked	O
high-performance	O
storage	O
like	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
that	O
make	O
compilers	O
practical	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
these	O
systems	O
,	O
BASIC	O
was	O
normally	O
implemented	O
as	O
an	O
interpreter	B-Application
rather	O
than	O
a	O
compiler	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
reduced	O
need	O
for	O
working	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
particularly	O
important	O
example	O
was	O
HP	B-Language
Time-Shared	I-Language
BASIC	I-Language
,	O
which	O
,	O
like	O
the	O
original	O
Dartmouth	O
system	O
,	O
used	O
two	O
computers	O
working	O
together	O
to	O
implement	O
a	O
time-sharing	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
,	O
a	O
low-end	O
machine	O
in	O
the	O
HP	B-Device
2100	I-Device
series	O
,	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
control	O
user	O
input	O
and	O
save	O
and	O
load	O
their	O
programs	O
to	O
tape	O
or	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
,	O
bundled	O
as	O
the	O
HP	O
2000	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
mini	O
platform	O
to	O
offer	O
time-sharing	B-General_Concept
and	O
was	O
an	O
immediate	O
runaway	O
success	O
,	O
catapulting	O
HP	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
third-largest	O
vendor	O
in	O
the	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
space	O
,	O
behind	O
DEC	O
and	O
Data	O
General	O
(	O
DG	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DEC	O
,	O
the	O
leader	O
in	O
the	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
space	O
since	O
the	O
mid-1960s	O
,	O
had	O
initially	O
ignored	O
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
due	O
to	O
their	O
work	O
with	O
RAND	O
Corporation	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
purchased	O
a	O
PDP-6	B-Device
to	O
run	O
their	O
JOSS	B-Language
language	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
conceptually	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
DEC	O
to	O
introduce	O
a	O
smaller	O
,	O
cleaned	O
up	O
version	O
of	O
JOSS	B-Language
known	O
as	O
FOCAL	B-Language
,	O
which	O
they	O
heavily	O
promoted	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1960s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
with	O
timesharing	B-General_Concept
systems	O
widely	O
offering	O
BASIC	O
,	O
and	O
all	O
of	O
their	O
competition	O
in	O
the	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
space	O
doing	O
the	O
same	O
,	O
DEC	O
's	O
customers	O
were	O
clamoring	O
for	O
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
management	O
repeatedly	O
ignored	O
their	O
pleas	O
,	O
David	O
H	O
.	O
Ahl	O
took	O
it	O
upon	O
himself	O
to	O
buy	O
a	O
BASIC	O
for	O
the	O
PDP-8	B-Device
,	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
major	O
success	O
in	O
the	O
education	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
early	O
1970s	O
,	O
FOCAL	B-Language
and	O
JOSS	B-Language
had	O
been	O
forgotten	O
and	O
BASIC	O
had	O
become	O
almost	O
universal	O
in	O
the	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DEC	O
would	O
go	O
on	O
to	O
introduce	O
their	O
updated	O
version	O
,	O
BASIC-PLUS	B-Language
,	O
for	O
use	O
on	O
the	O
RSTS/E	B-Operating_System
time-sharing	B-General_Concept
operating	I-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
this	O
period	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
simple	O
text-based	O
games	O
were	O
written	O
in	O
BASIC	O
,	O
most	O
notably	O
Mike	B-Application
Mayfield	I-Application
's	O
Star	B-Application
Trek	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
David	O
Ahl	O
collected	O
these	O
,	O
some	O
ported	O
from	O
FOCAL	B-Language
,	O
and	O
published	O
them	O
in	O
an	O
educational	O
newsletter	O
he	O
compiled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
later	O
collected	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
these	O
into	O
book	O
form	O
,	O
101	B-Application
BASIC	I-Application
Computer	I-Application
Games	I-Application
,	O
published	O
in	O
1973	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
same	O
period	O
,	O
Ahl	O
was	O
involved	O
in	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
a	O
small	O
computer	O
for	O
education	O
use	O
,	O
an	O
early	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
introduction	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
in	O
the	O
mid-1970s	O
was	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
explosive	O
growth	O
for	O
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
the	O
advantage	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
fairly	O
well	O
known	O
to	O
the	O
young	O
designers	O
and	O
computer	O
hobbyists	O
who	O
took	O
an	O
interest	O
in	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
,	O
many	O
of	O
whom	O
had	O
seen	O
BASIC	O
on	O
minis	O
or	O
mainframes	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
Dijkstra	O
's	O
famous	O
judgement	O
in	O
1975	O
,	O
"	O
It	O
is	O
practically	O
impossible	O
to	O
teach	O
good	O
programming	O
to	O
students	O
that	O
have	O
had	O
a	O
prior	O
exposure	O
to	O
BASIC	O
:	O
as	O
potential	O
programmers	O
they	O
are	O
mentally	O
mutilated	O
beyond	O
hope	O
of	O
regeneration	O
"	O
,	O
BASIC	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
few	O
languages	O
that	O
was	O
both	O
high-level	O
enough	O
to	O
be	O
usable	O
by	O
those	O
without	O
training	O
and	O
small	O
enough	O
to	O
fit	O
into	O
the	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
of	O
the	O
day	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
the	O
de	O
facto	O
standard	O
programming	O
language	O
on	O
early	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
microcomputer	B-Language
version	I-Language
of	O
BASIC	O
was	O
co-written	O
by	O
Bill	O
Gates	O
,	O
Paul	O
Allen	O
and	O
Monte	O
Davidoff	O
for	O
their	O
newly	O
formed	O
company	O
,	O
Micro-Soft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
released	O
by	O
MITS	O
in	O
punch	O
tape	O
format	O
for	O
the	O
Altair	B-Architecture
8800	I-Architecture
shortly	O
after	O
the	O
machine	O
itself	O
,	O
immediately	O
cementing	O
BASIC	O
as	O
the	O
primary	O
language	O
of	O
early	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
How	O
to	O
design	O
and	O
implement	O
a	O
stripped-down	O
version	O
of	O
an	O
interpreter	B-Application
for	O
the	O
BASIC	B-Language
language	I-Language
was	O
covered	O
in	O
articles	O
by	O
Allison	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
three	O
quarterly	O
issues	O
of	O
the	O
People	O
's	O
Computer	O
Company	O
newsletter	O
published	O
in	O
1975	O
and	O
implementations	O
with	O
source	O
code	O
published	O
in	O
Dr.	O
Dobb	O
's	O
Journal	O
of	O
Tiny	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
Calisthenics	O
&	O
Orthodontia	O
:	O
Running	O
Light	O
Without	O
Overbyte	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
Tiny	B-Language
BASICs	I-Language
with	O
added	O
features	O
or	O
other	O
improvements	O
,	O
with	O
versions	O
from	O
Tom	O
Pittman	O
and	O
Li-Chen	O
Wang	O
becoming	O
particularly	O
well	O
known	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Micro-Soft	O
,	O
by	O
this	O
time	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
ported	O
their	O
interpreter	B-Application
for	O
the	O
MOS	B-General_Concept
6502	I-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
quickly	O
become	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
microprocessors	O
of	O
the	O
8-bit	O
era	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
new	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
began	O
to	O
appear	O
,	O
notably	O
the	O
"	O
1977	O
trinity	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
,	O
Commodore	B-Device
PET	I-Device
and	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
,	O
they	O
either	O
included	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
MS	O
code	O
,	O
or	O
quickly	O
introduced	O
new	O
models	O
with	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ohio	B-Application
Scientific	I-Application
's	I-Application
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
also	O
joined	O
this	O
trend	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1978	O
,	O
MS	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
was	O
a	O
de	O
facto	O
standard	O
and	O
practically	O
every	O
home	O
computer	O
of	O
the	O
1980s	O
included	O
it	O
in	O
ROM	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
boot	O
,	O
a	O
BASIC	B-Language
interpreter	I-Language
in	O
direct	B-Application
mode	I-Application
was	O
presented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commodore	O
Business	O
Machines	O
included	O
Commodore	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
,	O
based	O
on	O
Microsoft	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
and	O
TRS-80	B-Device
each	O
had	O
two	O
versions	O
of	O
BASIC	O
,	O
a	O
smaller	O
introductory	O
version	O
introduced	O
with	O
the	O
initial	O
releases	O
of	O
the	O
machines	O
and	O
an	O
MS-based	O
version	O
introduced	O
as	O
interest	O
in	O
the	O
platforms	O
increased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
had	O
its	O
own	O
Atari	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
that	O
was	O
modified	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
fit	O
on	O
an	O
8KB	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sinclair	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
1980	O
with	O
the	O
Sinclair	B-Operating_System
ZX80	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
was	O
later	O
extended	O
for	O
the	O
Sinclair	O
ZX81	O
and	O
the	O
Sinclair	B-Operating_System
ZX	I-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
BBC	O
published	O
BBC	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Acorn	O
Computers	O
Ltd	O
,	O
incorporating	O
many	O
extra	O
structured	B-Language
programming	I-Language
keywords	O
and	O
advanced	O
floating-point	O
operation	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
books	O
of	O
type-in	O
programs	O
were	O
also	O
available	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
particular	O
,	O
Ahl	O
published	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
101	O
BASIC	O
games	O
converted	O
into	O
the	O
Microsoft	O
dialect	O
and	O
published	O
it	O
from	O
Creative	O
Computing	O
as	O
BASIC	B-Application
Computer	I-Application
Games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
business-focused	O
CP/M	B-Application
computers	O
which	O
soon	O
became	O
widespread	O
in	O
small	O
business	O
environments	O
,	O
Microsoft	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
(	O
MBASIC	B-Language
)	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
leading	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1978	O
,	O
David	O
Lien	O
published	O
the	O
first	O
edition	O
of	O
The	O
BASIC	O
Handbook	O
:	O
An	O
Encyclopedia	O
of	O
the	O
BASIC	B-Language
Computer	I-Language
Language	I-Language
,	O
documenting	O
keywords	O
across	O
over	O
78	O
different	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1981	O
,	O
the	O
second	O
edition	O
documented	O
keywords	O
from	O
over	O
250	O
different	O
computers	O
,	O
showcasing	O
the	O
explosive	O
growth	O
of	O
the	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
era	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
IBM	O
was	O
designing	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
they	O
followed	O
the	O
paradigm	O
of	O
existing	O
home	O
computers	O
in	O
having	O
a	O
built-in	O
BASIC	B-Language
interpreter	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
sourced	O
this	O
from	O
Microsoft	O
–	O
IBM	O
Cassette	O
BASIC	O
–	O
but	O
Microsoft	O
also	O
produced	O
several	O
other	O
versions	O
of	O
BASIC	O
for	O
MS-DOS/PC	O
DOS	O
including	O
IBM	O
Disk	O
BASIC	O
(	O
BASIC	O
D	O
)	O
,	O
IBM	O
BASICA	O
(	O
BASIC	O
A	O
)	O
,	O
GW-BASIC	B-Language
(	O
a	O
BASICA-compatible	O
version	O
that	O
did	O
not	O
need	O
IBM	O
's	O
ROM	B-Device
)	O
and	O
QBasic	B-Language
,	O
all	O
typically	O
bundled	O
with	O
the	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
they	O
produced	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
Compiler	O
aimed	O
at	O
professional	O
programmers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Turbo	O
Pascal-publisher	O
Borland	O
published	O
Turbo	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
1.0	O
in	O
1985	O
(	O
successor	O
versions	O
are	O
still	O
being	O
marketed	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
PowerBASIC	B-Language
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
later	O
variations	O
introduced	O
many	O
extensions	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
improved	O
string	O
manipulation	O
and	O
graphics	O
support	O
,	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
and	O
additional	O
data	O
types	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
important	O
were	O
the	O
facilities	O
for	O
structured	B-Language
programming	I-Language
,	O
including	O
additional	O
control	O
structures	O
and	O
proper	O
subroutines	O
supporting	O
local	O
variables	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
C	B-Language
and	O
later	O
C++	B-Language
became	O
the	O
languages	O
of	O
choice	O
for	O
professional	O
"	O
shrink	O
wrap	O
"	O
application	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1991	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
introduced	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
,	O
an	O
evolutionary	O
development	O
of	O
QuickBASIC	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
included	O
constructs	O
from	O
that	O
language	O
such	O
as	O
block-structured	O
control	O
statements	O
,	O
parameterized	O
subroutines	O
and	O
optional	O
static	O
typing	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
object-oriented	B-Language
constructs	O
from	O
other	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
"	O
With	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
For	O
Each	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
language	O
retained	O
some	O
compatibility	O
with	O
its	O
predecessors	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Dim	O
keyword	O
for	O
declarations	O
,	O
"	O
Gosub	O
"	O
/Return	O
statements	O
and	O
optional	O
line	B-Application
numbers	I-Application
which	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
locate	O
errors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
important	O
driver	O
for	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
was	O
as	O
the	O
new	O
macro	O
language	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Excel	I-Application
,	O
a	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
program	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eventually	O
,	O
during	O
the	O
lengthy	O
lifetime	O
of	O
VB3	B-Language
,	O
knowledge	O
of	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
had	O
become	O
a	O
marketable	O
job	O
skill	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
also	O
produced	O
VBScript	B-Application
in	O
1996	O
and	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
.NET	I-Language
in	O
2001	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latter	O
has	O
essentially	O
the	O
same	O
power	O
as	O
C#	B-Application
and	O
Java	B-Language
but	O
with	O
syntax	O
that	O
reflects	O
the	O
original	O
Basic	B-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IDE	B-Application
,	O
with	O
its	O
event-driven	B-Application
GUI	O
builder	O
,	O
was	O
also	O
influential	O
on	O
other	O
tools	O
,	O
most	O
notably	O
Borland	O
Software	O
's	O
Delphi	B-Language
for	O
Object	B-Language
Pascal	I-Language
and	O
its	O
own	O
descendants	O
such	O
as	O
Lazarus	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mainstream	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
final	O
version	O
6.0	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
ended	O
on	O
March	O
31	O
,	O
2005	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
extended	O
support	O
in	O
March	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
February	O
2	O
,	O
2017	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
that	O
development	O
on	O
VB.NET	B-Language
would	O
no	O
longer	O
be	O
in	O
parallel	O
with	O
that	O
of	O
C#	B-Application
,	O
and	O
on	O
March	O
11	O
,	O
2020	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
evolution	O
of	O
the	O
VB.NET	B-Language
language	O
had	O
also	O
concluded	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
was	O
still	O
supported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
competitors	O
exist	O
such	O
as	O
B4X	B-Application
,	O
RAD	O
Basic	O
,	O
twinBASIC	O
,	O
Mercury	O
,	O
VisualFBEditor	B-Language
,	O
Xojo	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Gambas	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
other	O
BASIC	B-Language
dialects	I-Language
have	O
also	O
sprung	O
up	O
since	O
1990	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
QB64	B-Application
and	O
FreeBASIC	B-Language
,	O
inspired	O
by	O
QBasic	B-Language
,	O
and	O
the	O
Visual	O
Basic-styled	O
RapidQ	B-Language
,	O
HBasic	B-Language
,	O
Basic	B-Language
For	I-Language
Qt	I-Language
and	O
Gambas	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modern	O
commercial	O
incarnations	O
include	O
PureBasic	B-Application
,	O
PowerBASIC	B-Language
,	O
Xojo	B-Application
,	O
Monkey	O
X	O
and	O
True	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
(	O
the	O
direct	O
successor	O
to	O
Dartmouth	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
from	O
a	O
company	O
controlled	O
by	O
Kurtz	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
web-based	O
simple	O
BASIC	B-Language
interpreters	I-Language
also	O
now	O
exist	O
,	O
including	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Small	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
versions	O
of	O
BASIC	O
are	O
also	O
now	O
available	O
for	O
smartphones	B-Application
and	O
tablets	O
via	O
the	O
Apple	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
,	O
or	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
store	I-Application
for	O
Android	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
game	O
consoles	O
,	O
an	O
application	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
3DS	I-Operating_System
and	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DSi	I-Device
called	O
Petit	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
allows	O
for	O
programming	O
in	O
a	O
slightly	O
modified	O
version	O
of	O
BASIC	O
with	O
DS	O
button	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
version	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
released	O
for	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Variants	O
of	O
BASIC	O
are	O
available	O
on	O
graphing	O
and	O
otherwise	O
programmable	B-Application
calculators	I-Application
made	O
by	O
Texas	O
Instruments	O
,	O
HP	O
,	O
Casio	O
,	O
and	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
QBasic	B-Language
,	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Language
QuickBASIC	I-Language
without	O
the	O
linker	O
to	O
make	O
EXE	O
files	O
,	O
is	O
present	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
and	O
DOS-Windows	O
95	O
streams	O
of	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
can	O
be	O
obtained	O
for	O
more	O
recent	O
releases	O
like	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
which	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
DOS	O
5	O
,	O
the	O
Basic	B-Language
interpreter	I-Language
was	O
GW-Basic	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
QuickBasic	B-Language
is	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
three	O
languages	O
issued	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
for	O
the	O
home	O
and	O
office	O
power	O
user	O
and	O
small-scale	O
professional	O
development	O
;	O
QuickC	O
and	O
QuickPascal	O
are	O
the	O
other	O
two	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
and	O
98	O
,	O
which	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
QBasic	B-Language
installed	O
by	O
default	O
,	O
they	O
can	O
be	O
copied	O
from	O
the	O
installation	O
disc	O
,	O
which	O
will	O
have	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
directories	O
for	O
old	O
and	O
optional	O
software	O
;	O
other	O
missing	O
commands	O
like	O
Exe2Bin	O
and	O
others	O
are	O
in	O
these	O
same	O
directories	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
various	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
Lotus	O
,	O
and	O
Corel	O
office	O
suites	O
and	O
related	O
products	O
are	O
programmable	O
with	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
in	O
one	O
form	O
or	O
another	O
,	O
including	O
LotusScript	B-Language
,	O
which	O
is	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
VBA	B-Language
6	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VBScript	B-Application
variant	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
programming	O
web	O
content	O
,	O
Outlook	O
97	O
,	O
Internet	O
Explorer	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Windows	O
Script	O
Host	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WSH	O
also	O
has	O
a	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
for	I-Language
Applications	I-Language
(	O
VBA	B-Language
)	O
engine	O
installed	O
as	O
the	O
third	O
of	O
the	O
default	O
engines	O
along	O
with	O
VBScript	B-Application
,	O
JScript	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
numerous	O
proprietary	O
or	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
engines	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
installed	O
like	O
PerlScript	O
,	O
a	O
couple	O
of	O
Rexx-based	O
engines	O
,	O
Python	O
,	O
Ruby	O
,	O
Tcl	O
,	O
Delphi	B-Language
,	O
XLNT	O
,	O
PHP	O
,	O
and	O
others	O
;	O
meaning	O
that	O
the	O
two	O
versions	O
of	O
Basic	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
other	O
mentioned	O
languages	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
LotusScript	B-Language
,	O
in	O
a	O
WSF	O
file	O
,	O
through	O
the	O
component	O
object	O
model	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
WSH	O
and	O
VBA	B-Language
constructions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VBScript	B-Application
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
languages	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
accessed	O
by	O
the	O
4Dos	O
,	O
4NT	O
,	O
and	O
Take	O
Command	O
enhanced	O
shells	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SaxBasic	O
and	O
WWB	O
are	O
also	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
line	O
of	O
Basic	O
implementations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
pre-Office	O
97	O
macro	O
language	O
for	O
Microsoft	O
Word	O
is	O
known	O
as	O
WordBASIC	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Excel	B-Application
4	O
and	O
5	O
use	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
itself	O
as	O
a	O
macro	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chipmunk	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
,	O
an	O
old-school	O
interpreter	B-Application
similar	O
to	O
BASICs	O
of	O
the	O
1970s	O
,	O
is	O
available	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
macOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ubiquity	O
of	O
BASIC	B-Language
interpreters	I-Language
on	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
was	O
such	O
that	O
textbooks	O
once	O
included	O
simple	O
"	O
Try	O
It	O
In	O
BASIC	O
"	O
exercises	O
that	O
encouraged	O
students	O
to	O
experiment	O
with	O
mathematical	O
and	O
computational	O
concepts	O
on	O
classroom	O
or	O
home	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
turn	O
,	O
the	O
article	O
prompted	O
Microsoft	O
to	O
develop	O
and	O
release	O
Small	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
;	O
it	O
also	O
inspired	O
similar	O
projects	O
like	O
Basic-256	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dartmouth	O
held	O
a	O
50th	O
anniversary	O
celebration	O
for	O
BASIC	O
on	O
1	O
May	O
2014	O
,	O
as	O
did	O
other	O
organisations	O
;	O
at	O
least	O
one	O
organisation	O
of	O
VBA	B-Language
programmers	O
organised	O
a	O
35th	O
anniversary	O
observance	O
in	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dartmouth	O
College	O
celebrated	O
the	O
50th	O
anniversary	O
of	O
the	O
BASIC	B-Language
language	I-Language
with	O
a	O
day	O
of	O
events	O
on	O
April	O
30	O
,	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
most	O
dialects	O
of	O
BASIC	O
,	O
LET	O
is	O
optional	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
line	O
with	O
no	O
other	O
identifiable	O
keyword	O
will	O
assume	O
the	B-Application
keyword	I-Application
to	O
be	O
LET	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
dialects	O
allow	O
an	O
optional	O
line	B-Application
number	I-Application
or	O
ordinal	O
value	O
to	O
allow	O
the	O
pointer	O
to	O
be	O
reset	O
to	O
a	O
selected	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
dialects	O
only	O
allowed	O
a	O
line	B-Application
number	I-Application
after	O
the	O
THEN	O
,	O
but	O
later	O
versions	O
allowed	O
any	O
valid	O
statement	O
to	O
follow	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GOTO	B-Application
jumps	O
to	O
a	O
numbered	O
or	O
labelled	O
line	O
in	O
the	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ON	O
...	O
GOTO/GOSUB	O
chooses	O
where	O
to	O
jump	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
specified	O
conditions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
BASIC	O
functions	O
were	O
modelled	O
on	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
single-line	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
USR	O
transfers	O
program	O
control	O
to	O
a	O
machine	B-Language
language	I-Language
subroutine	O
,	O
usually	O
entered	O
as	O
an	O
alphanumeric	O
string	O
or	O
in	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
DATA	O
statements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TRON	O
/	O
TROFF	O
turns	O
on	O
display	O
of	O
each	O
line	B-Application
number	I-Application
as	O
it	O
is	O
run	O
(	O
"	O
TRace	O
ON	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ASM	O
some	O
compilers	O
such	O
as	O
Freebasic	B-Language
,	O
Purebasic	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Powerbasic	B-Language
also	O
support	O
inline	B-Language
assembly	I-Language
language	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
programmer	O
to	O
intermix	O
high-level	O
and	O
low-level	O
code	O
,	O
typically	O
prefixed	O
with	O
"	O
ASM	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
!	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
some	O
problems	O
and	O
restrictions	O
in	O
early	O
implementations	O
;	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
Applesoft	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
allowed	O
variable	O
names	O
to	O
be	O
several	O
characters	O
long	O
,	O
but	O
only	O
the	O
first	O
two	O
were	O
significant	O
,	O
thus	O
it	O
was	O
possible	O
to	O
inadvertently	O
write	O
a	O
program	O
with	O
variables	O
"	O
LOSS	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
LOAN	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
be	O
treated	O
as	O
being	O
the	O
same	O
;	O
assigning	O
a	O
value	O
to	O
"	O
LOAN	O
"	O
would	O
silently	O
overwrite	O
the	O
value	O
intended	O
as	O
"	O
LOSS	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
String	O
variables	O
are	O
usually	O
distinguished	O
in	O
many	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
dialects	O
by	O
having	O
$	O
suffixed	O
to	O
their	O
name	O
as	O
a	O
sigil	O
,	O
and	O
values	O
are	O
often	O
identified	O
as	O
strings	O
by	O
being	O
delimited	O
by	O
"	O
double	O
quotation	O
marks	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
dialects	O
of	O
BASIC	O
supported	O
matrices	B-Architecture
and	I-Architecture
matrix	I-Architecture
operations	I-Architecture
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
solve	O
sets	O
of	O
simultaneous	O
linear	O
algebraic	O
equations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
dialects	O
would	O
directly	O
support	O
matrix	B-Architecture
operations	O
such	O
as	O
assignment	O
,	O
addition	O
,	O
multiplication	O
(	O
of	O
compatible	O
matrix	B-Architecture
types	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
evaluation	O
of	O
a	O
determinant	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
BASICs	O
did	O
not	O
support	O
this	O
data	O
type	O
;	O
matrix	B-Architecture
operations	O
were	O
still	O
possible	O
,	O
but	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
programmed	O
explicitly	O
on	O
array	O
elements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
infinite	B-Algorithm
loop	I-Algorithm
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
fill	O
the	O
display	O
with	O
the	O
message	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
first-generation	O
BASIC	O
versions	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
MSX	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
and	O
GW-BASIC	B-Language
,	O
supported	O
simple	O
data	O
types	O
,	O
loop	O
cycles	O
,	O
and	O
arrays	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
example	O
is	O
written	O
for	O
GW-BASIC	B-Language
,	O
but	O
will	O
work	O
in	O
most	O
versions	O
of	O
BASIC	O
with	O
minimal	O
changes	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
Dartmouth	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
was	O
unusual	O
in	O
having	O
a	O
matrix	B-Architecture
keyword	O
,	O
MAT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Second-generation	O
BASICs	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
VAX	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
,	O
SuperBASIC	B-Language
,	O
True	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
,	O
QuickBASIC	B-Language
,	O
BBC	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
,	O
Pick	B-Application
BASIC	I-Application
,	O
PowerBASIC	B-Language
,	O
Liberty	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
and	O
(	O
arguably	O
)	O
COMAL	B-Language
)	O
introduced	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
features	O
into	O
the	O
language	O
,	O
primarily	O
related	O
to	O
structured	O
and	O
procedure-oriented	O
programming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Usually	O
,	O
line	B-Application
numbering	I-Application
is	O
omitted	O
from	O
the	O
language	O
and	O
replaced	O
with	O
labels	O
(	O
for	O
GOTO	B-Application
)	O
and	O
procedures	O
to	O
encourage	O
easier	O
and	O
more	O
flexible	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
example	O
is	O
in	O
Microsoft	B-Language
QuickBASIC	I-Language
:	O
</s>
<s>
Third-generation	O
BASIC	B-Language
dialects	I-Language
such	O
as	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
,	O
Xojo	B-Application
,	O
Gambas	B-Language
,	O
StarOffice	B-Operating_System
Basic	I-Operating_System
,	O
BlitzMax	B-Language
and	O
PureBasic	B-Application
introduced	O
features	O
to	O
support	O
object-oriented	B-Language
and	O
event-driven	B-Application
programming	I-Application
paradigm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
became	O
increasingly	O
accessible	O
to	O
the	O
BASIC	B-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
example	O
is	O
in	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
.NET	I-Language
:	O
</s>
