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BBC BASIC
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BBC BASIC
BBC BASIC is an interpreted version of the BASIC programming language. It was developed by Acorn Computers Ltd when they were selected by the BBC to supply the computer for their BBC Literacy Project in 1981.
It was originally supplied on an installed ROM for the BBC Microcomputer which used a 6502 microprocessor. When Acorn produced the Archimedes computer which used their ARM processor, further versions of BBC BASIC were produced. Acorn included a built in assembler, first for the 6502 and later for the ARM2 processor.
Initially the BBC specified compatibility with Microsoft BASIC. Acorn were already extending their earlier Atom BASIC to include structured programming constructs. Particularly on the later Archimedes computers as the memory constraints reduced, BBC BASIC incorporated a more complete set of structured programming constructs commonly found in the ALGOL 60 group of computer languages.
Alongside Acorn's version of BBC BASIC on the Archimedes, third party companies produced compiled versions of the language. Development and support has continued after the demise of Acorn Computers Ltd for newer ARM based computers. BBC BASIC is now available on other platforms either for emulators such as on Microsoft Windows or natively.
At Dartmouth College, two mathematics professors wanted all students to be able to program on their new college computer. The existing high-level languages, like FORTRAN and COBOL, were used by professionals and not really suitable for introductory programming by non-technical users. In 1964, they created Dartmouth BASIC (short for Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) to be a computer language anyone could use. Having a formula-based syntactic structure, it is a simplified FORTRAN.
A combination of factors led to BASIC becoming a major language in the late 1960s, and in the 1970s when the first microcomputers were being built, it was already the de facto standard for small systems. The introduction of the Altair 8800 cemented the position of BASIC as the first programming language introduced for the platform was Paul Allen and Bill Gates' Altair BASIC. As new micros were introduced, almost all of them ran some variation of BASIC as its primary interface.
During the 1970s, the BBC Continuing Education Department was considering how advancements in computer related technology would impact British society. Their Microelectronics Report in 1979 to the Manpower Services Commission describes formally their concerns about increasing polarisation and alienation in the workplace.
The BBC required a microcomputer usable for demonstrations in their programming that could be purchased by the general public to enable the viewer to themselves experiment. They decided that such a microcomputer needed to be robust, have expansion capabilities and an implementation of BASIC compatible with Microsoft BASIC VN5.
Hub AI
BBC BASIC AI simulator
(@BBC BASIC_simulator)
BBC BASIC
BBC BASIC is an interpreted version of the BASIC programming language. It was developed by Acorn Computers Ltd when they were selected by the BBC to supply the computer for their BBC Literacy Project in 1981.
It was originally supplied on an installed ROM for the BBC Microcomputer which used a 6502 microprocessor. When Acorn produced the Archimedes computer which used their ARM processor, further versions of BBC BASIC were produced. Acorn included a built in assembler, first for the 6502 and later for the ARM2 processor.
Initially the BBC specified compatibility with Microsoft BASIC. Acorn were already extending their earlier Atom BASIC to include structured programming constructs. Particularly on the later Archimedes computers as the memory constraints reduced, BBC BASIC incorporated a more complete set of structured programming constructs commonly found in the ALGOL 60 group of computer languages.
Alongside Acorn's version of BBC BASIC on the Archimedes, third party companies produced compiled versions of the language. Development and support has continued after the demise of Acorn Computers Ltd for newer ARM based computers. BBC BASIC is now available on other platforms either for emulators such as on Microsoft Windows or natively.
At Dartmouth College, two mathematics professors wanted all students to be able to program on their new college computer. The existing high-level languages, like FORTRAN and COBOL, were used by professionals and not really suitable for introductory programming by non-technical users. In 1964, they created Dartmouth BASIC (short for Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) to be a computer language anyone could use. Having a formula-based syntactic structure, it is a simplified FORTRAN.
A combination of factors led to BASIC becoming a major language in the late 1960s, and in the 1970s when the first microcomputers were being built, it was already the de facto standard for small systems. The introduction of the Altair 8800 cemented the position of BASIC as the first programming language introduced for the platform was Paul Allen and Bill Gates' Altair BASIC. As new micros were introduced, almost all of them ran some variation of BASIC as its primary interface.
During the 1970s, the BBC Continuing Education Department was considering how advancements in computer related technology would impact British society. Their Microelectronics Report in 1979 to the Manpower Services Commission describes formally their concerns about increasing polarisation and alienation in the workplace.
The BBC required a microcomputer usable for demonstrations in their programming that could be purchased by the general public to enable the viewer to themselves experiment. They decided that such a microcomputer needed to be robust, have expansion capabilities and an implementation of BASIC compatible with Microsoft BASIC VN5.