<s>
BASIC	B-Language
8	I-Language
(	O
or	O
BASIC	B-Language
8.0	I-Language
)	O
"	O
The	O
Enhanced	O
Graphics	O
System	O
For	O
The	O
C128	B-Device
"	O
was	O
a	O
graphics	O
system	O
developed	O
by	O
Walrusoft	B-Language
of	O
Gainesville	O
,	O
Florida	O
and	O
published	O
in	O
1986	O
by	O
Patech	O
Software	O
of	O
Somerset	O
,	O
New	O
Jersey	O
,	O
USA	O
,	O
was	O
an	O
extension	B-Language
of	O
Commodore	O
's	O
BASIC	B-Language
7.0	I-Language
for	O
the	O
C128	B-Device
home/personal	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BASIC	B-Language
8.0	I-Language
provided	O
commands	O
lacking	O
in	O
BASIC	B-Language
7.0	I-Language
to	O
generate	O
(	O
color	O
)	O
graphics	O
in	O
the	O
C128	B-Device
's	O
high-resolution	O
80-column	O
mode	O
(	O
640×200	O
pixels	B-Algorithm
)	O
for	O
RGB	O
monitors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
BASIC	B-Language
8	I-Language
package	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Walrusoft	B-Language
's	O
Louis	O
Wallace	O
and	O
David	O
Darus	O
,	O
with	O
contributions	O
from	O
Ken	O
French	O
(	O
printer	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
)	O
and	O
indirectly	O
from	O
Richard	O
Rylander	O
(	O
who	O
allowed	O
his	O
3D	O
solids	O
commands	O
for	O
the	O
C64	O
,	O
originally	O
published	O
in	O
Dr.	O
Dobb	O
's	O
Journal	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
converted	O
to	O
the	O
C128	B-Device
's	O
hi-res	O
mode	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
primary	O
critiques	O
of	O
Commodore	O
's	O
computers	O
was	O
that	O
their	O
BASIC	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
dialects	O
lacked	O
easy	O
sound	O
,	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
input	O
device	O
commands	O
,	O
like	O
their	O
competitors	O
in	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
and	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
families	I-Device
requiring	O
obscure	O
PEEK	B-Language
and	I-Language
POKE	I-Language
sequences	O
,	O
or	O
machine	B-Language
language	I-Language
routines	O
,	O
to	O
generate	O
high-resolution	O
graphics	O
,	O
sound	O
and	O
music	O
,	O
or	O
read	O
from	O
joysticks	B-Device
and	O
paddles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
BASIC	B-Language
2.0	I-Language
of	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
totally	O
devoid	O
of	O
sound	O
and	O
graphics	O
commands	O
,	O
induced	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
many	O
third-party	O
language	O
extensions	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Simons	B-Language
 '	I-Language
BASIC	I-Language
,	O
enabling	O
non-expert	O
users	O
to	O
enter	O
the	O
world	O
of	O
computer	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
C128	B-Device
was	O
launched	O
,	O
its	O
BASIC	B-Language
7.0	I-Language
contained	O
a	O
host	O
of	O
sound	O
and	O
graphics	O
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
who	O
wanted	O
to	O
program	O
graphics	O
in	O
the	O
C128	B-Device
's	O
new	O
high-resolution	O
"	O
80-column	O
mode	O
"	O
,	O
primarily	O
intended	O
for	O
RGBI	O
monitors	O
,	O
found	O
themselves	O
in	O
an	O
even	O
worse	O
position	O
than	O
previously	O
with	O
the	O
C64	O
,	O
since	O
the	O
C128	B-Device
's	O
8563	O
VDC	O
graphics	O
chip	O
was	O
much	O
harder	O
to	O
program	O
than	O
the	O
VIC-II	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BASIC	B-Language
8.0	I-Language
filled	O
in	O
the	O
gap	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
came	O
on	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
and	O
ROM	B-Device
chip	I-Device
versions	O
,	O
and	O
provided	O
many	O
graphics	O
commands	O
that	O
were	O
competitive	O
with	O
the	O
C128	B-Device
's	O
opposition	O
in	O
the	O
high-end	O
8-bit	O
microcomputer	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BASIC	B-Language
8.0	I-Language
was	O
fully	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
various	O
first-party	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
video	O
RAM	B-Architecture
expansion	O
chips	O
and	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
mice	B-Device
and	O
joysticks	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
a	O
188-page	O
manual	O
,	O
the	O
included	O
software	O
package	O
included	O
a	O
BASIC	B-Language
8.0	I-Language
example	O
of	O
a	O
GUI	B-Application
,	O
and	O
a	O
BASIC	B-Language
8.0	I-Language
based	O
high-res	O
paint	B-Application
program	I-Application
,	O
Basic	O
Paint	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Source	O
code	O
of	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
BASIC	B-Language
8	I-Language
package	O
was	O
provided	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
BASIC	B-Language
8.0	I-Language
disk	O
lacked	O
any	O
sort	O
of	O
copy	B-Application
protection	I-Application
,	O
but	O
this	O
was	O
before	O
the	O
Open	O
Source	O
Initiative	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
done	O
as	O
a	O
courtesy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
of	O
threatening	O
legal	O
action	O
,	O
Walrusoft	B-Language
simply	O
asked	O
users	O
not	O
to	O
copy	O
the	O
software	O
in	O
the	O
documentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
worked	O
;	O
BASIC	B-Language
8.0	I-Language
became	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
selling	O
expansions	O
for	O
the	O
C128	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
BASIC	B-Language
8.0	I-Language
,	O
all	O
added	O
commands	O
were	O
prefaced	O
with	O
the	O
@	O
mark	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
not	O
normally	O
used	O
in	O
Commodore	B-Language
BASIC	I-Language
,	O
to	O
distinguish	O
between	O
the	O
original	O
and	O
the	O
new	O
keywords	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
this	O
character	O
would	O
allow	O
the	O
developer	O
to	O
extend	O
BASIC	B-Language
7.0	I-Language
without	O
having	O
to	O
re-tokenize	O
the	O
commands	O
as	O
it	O
was	O
done	O
on	O
the	O
C64	O
.	O
</s>
