BASIC

BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of <a href="/facts/General-purpose_programming_language/LyA5zR3M">general-purpose</a>, <a href="/facts/High-level_programming_language/smjECUhx">high-level programming languages</a> designed for ease of use. <a href="/facts/Dartmouth_BASIC/DY1M2BmI">The original version</a> was created by <a href="/facts/John_G._Kemeny/A388Exjr">John G. Kemeny</a> and <a href="/facts/Thomas_E._Kurtz/Qq8PIore">Thomas E. Kurtz</a> at <a href="/facts/Dartmouth_College/JLk2nNaN">Dartmouth College</a> in 1964. They wanted to enable students in non-scientific fields to use computers. At the time, nearly all computers required writing custom software, which only <a href="/facts/Scientist/JDvthEFM">scientists</a> and <a href="/facts/Mathematician/eaFSR8Fx">mathematicians</a> tended to learn.
In addition to the programming language, Kemeny and Kurtz developed the <a href="/facts/Dartmouth_Time-Sharing_System/e0VrIbVP">Dartmouth Time-Sharing System</a> (DTSS), which allowed multiple users to edit and run BASIC programs simultaneously on remote terminals. This general model became popular on <a href="/facts/Minicomputer/g8hvpQxe">minicomputer</a> systems like the <a href="/facts/PDP-11/9HkGUzFn">PDP-11</a> and <a href="/facts/Data_General_Nova/z4YhpLuD">Data General Nova</a> in the late 1960s and early 1970s. <a href="/facts/Hewlett-Packard/abuNSYNu">Hewlett-Packard</a> produced an entire computer line for this method of operation, introducing the <a href="/facts/HP2000/rdTIPT3h">HP2000</a> series in the late 1960s and continuing sales into the 1980s. Many early video games trace their history to one of these versions of BASIC.
The emergence of <a href="/facts/Microcomputer/ETW22UTv">microcomputers</a> in the mid-1970s led to the development of multiple BASIC dialects, including <a href="/facts/Microsoft_BASIC/SuctFIyc">Microsoft BASIC</a> in 1975. Due to the tiny <a href="/facts/Main_memory/wPHKFpdx">main memory</a> available on these machines, often 4 KB, a variety of <a href="/facts/Tiny_BASIC/Gvglhjku">Tiny BASIC</a> dialects were also created. BASIC was available for almost any system of the era and became the de facto programming language for <a href="/facts/Home_computer/CDEPVd1T">home computer</a> systems that emerged in the late 1970s. These <a href="/facts/Personal_Computer/koaYfNce">PCs</a> almost always had a <a href="/facts/BASIC_interpreter/AbVeR56f">BASIC interpreter</a> installed by default, often in the machine's <a href="/facts/Firmware/62UVKIUK">firmware</a> or sometimes on a <a href="/facts/Read-only_memory/P9QMuDLH">ROM</a> cartridge.
BASIC declined in popularity in the 1990s, as more powerful microcomputers came to market and programming languages with advanced features (such as <a href="/facts/Pascal_(programming_language)/b3yvp8bF">Pascal</a> and <a href="/facts/C_(programming_language)/Ky2No763">C</a>) became tenable on such computers. By then, most nontechnical personal computer users relied on pre-written applications rather than writing their own programs. In 1991, <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> released <a href="/facts/Visual_Basic_(classic)/7QMXM6fP">Visual Basic</a>, combining an updated version of BASIC with a <a href="/facts/Graphical_user_interface_builder/nEGfulUQ">visual forms builder</a>. This reignited use of the language and "VB" remains a major programming language in the form of <a href="/facts/Visual_Basic_(.NET)/09mPEo4q">VB.NET</a>, while a hobbyist scene for BASIC more broadly continues to exist.

BASIC open-in-new

BASIC