BASICally still alive: Classic language celebrates 60 years with new code and old quirks
(2024/05/03)
- Reference: 1714764614
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/05/03/basic_60th_birthday/
- Source link:
May Day 2024 was the 60th anniversary of the BASIC programming language, and multiple FOSS BASIC-related projects released new versions in celebration.
Three very different flavors of BASIC seem appropriate for a language that spawned more different and subtly incompatible dialects than any other – but at Vulture Towers we choose to interpret that as a sign of its success rather than a failing.
Small Visual Basic – not to be confused with SmallBASIC
[1]Small Visual Basic 3.0 is the latest version of Mohammed Hamdy's enhanced version of [2]Microsoft Small Basic , whose [3]tenth birthday The Reg noted in 2018. Small Visual Basic is an enhanced version of Microsoft's FOSS language and environment, which adds a GUI designer and language extensions to interact with it. It's implemented entirely in [4]Visual Basic .NET , making it exclusive to Windows platforms, and it's [5]available for free on the Visual Studio Marketplace.
(It is entirely in keeping with the way BASIC has diversified over the years to note that Small Basic, and thus Small Visual Basic, are unrelated to the independent [6]SmallBASIC project – note, no space, and the language name in CAPITALS. SmallBASIC started out on PalmOS, and the 2004-vintage SmallBASIC 0.8 still supports PalmOS 5. [7]Version 12.27 just appeared last week and these days SmallBASIC supports x86 Linux, Raspberry Pi, Windows, and a variety of handheld platforms.)
Chloe 280SE System 1 and SE BASIC 4.2
If you install one of the ZX Spectrum emulators included in Debian, you will probably find it comes preconfigured with the [8]OpenSE BASIC firmware package . The image contains an open source replacement ZX Spectrum ROM, based around [9]OpenSE BASIC by [10]Source Solutions .
[11]Youtube Video
Although OpenSE BASIC can run on real ZX Spectrum hardware as well as emulators, it [12]developed into a larger project: an open source Z80-based computer called the [13]Chloe 280SE . This started out as a design for an improved ZX Spectrum called the [14]ZX Spectrum SE , but has since grown into something less compatible – but more ambitious.
[15]PiStorm turbocharges vintage Amigas with the Raspberry Pi
[16]ZX Spectrum Next Issue 2 ships out, chip shortages be damned
[17]At last: The BBC Micro you always wanted, in Mastodon form
[18]40 years since Elite became the most fun you could have with 22 kilobytes
The latest release is [19]SE Basic IV 4.2 , and it forms part of [20]version 1.0 of the system software for the Chloe 280SE. SE Basic IV is closer to MS-BASIC than its predecessor, which targeted Sinclair BASIC. The Chloe 280SE is supported in several FOSS Sinclair emulators. It's an option in [21]Cesar Hernandez Baño's ZEsarUX , and, with some manual setup, it can run in [22]Retro Virtual Machine as well. To run it closer to the metal, you can load it on the [23]ZX-UNO FPGA machine and its offshoots such as the [24]ZX-TRES . Developer Andrew Owen is funding the project [25]on Patreon .
QB64 Phoenix is freshly reborn
As we [26]covered in last year's BASIC roundup , there are two main FOSS BASIC compilers that offer compatibility with Microsoft's classic QuickBASIC: the [27]FreeBASIC Compiler , and [28]QB64 .
As we said last time, disagreements among the QB64 project members led to a fork, the [29]QB64 Phoenix Edition , which is in [30]active development on GitHub and just released [31]version 3.13.0 . It looks to be a fairly modest bugfix release with an auspicious date, but since the progenitor project hasn't released anything since 2021, and the [32]QB64Official fork nothing since 2022, it's good to see that at least one offshoot is releasing new versions.
[33]
QB64 includes a recreation of the original QuickBASIC IDE, which means it looks like the old DOS package – but it can build code for Windows, Linux, and macOS, and there's an optional GUI builder called [34]InForm , which has [35]its own QB64-PE edition . ®
Get our [36]Tech Resources
[1] https://github.com/VBAndCs/sVB-Small-Visual-Basic/
[2] https://smallbasic-publicwebsite.azurewebsites.net/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2018/10/24/microsoft_small_basic_at_10/
[4] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/
[5] https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ModernVBNET.sVBInstaller
[6] https://smallbasic.github.io/
[7] https://github.com/smallbasic/SmallBASIC/releases/tag/12_27
[8] https://packages.debian.org/bookworm/opense-basic
[9] https://zxdesign.itch.io/opense
[10] https://sourcesolutions.itch.io/
[11] https://vimeo.com/381014664
[12] https://andrewowen.net/blog/reusing-code-reverse-engineering-and-collaboration/
[13] https://www.patreon.com/posts/introducing-new-33762097
[14] https://sinclair.wiki.zxnet.co.uk/wiki/ZX_Spectrum_SE
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/12/pistorm_accelerated_amiga_pi/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/19/return_of_spectrum_next/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/18/bbc_micro_bot/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/18/elite_game_retro/
[19] http://source-solutions.github.io/sebasic4/
[20] https://github.com/source-solutions/system-280se/releases
[21] https://github.com/chernandezba/zesarux
[22] https://www.retrovirtualmachine.org/
[23] https://zxuno.speccy.org/index_e.shtml
[24] https://antoniovillena.com/product/zxtres/
[25] https://www.patreon.com/chloe280se
[26] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/28/nostalgic_for_basic/
[27] https://www.freebasic.net/
[28] https://qb64.com/
[29] https://qb64phoenix.com/forum/index.php
[30] https://github.com/QB64-Phoenix-Edition/
[31] https://github.com/QB64-Phoenix-Edition/QB64pe/releases/tag/v3.13.0
[32] https://github.com/QB64Official/qb64/
[33] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZjVefOtn1MSZuumYkywr3AAAAMI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[34] https://qb64.com/inform.html
[35] https://github.com/FellippeHeitor/InForm
[36] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Three very different flavors of BASIC seem appropriate for a language that spawned more different and subtly incompatible dialects than any other – but at Vulture Towers we choose to interpret that as a sign of its success rather than a failing.
Small Visual Basic – not to be confused with SmallBASIC
[1]Small Visual Basic 3.0 is the latest version of Mohammed Hamdy's enhanced version of [2]Microsoft Small Basic , whose [3]tenth birthday The Reg noted in 2018. Small Visual Basic is an enhanced version of Microsoft's FOSS language and environment, which adds a GUI designer and language extensions to interact with it. It's implemented entirely in [4]Visual Basic .NET , making it exclusive to Windows platforms, and it's [5]available for free on the Visual Studio Marketplace.
(It is entirely in keeping with the way BASIC has diversified over the years to note that Small Basic, and thus Small Visual Basic, are unrelated to the independent [6]SmallBASIC project – note, no space, and the language name in CAPITALS. SmallBASIC started out on PalmOS, and the 2004-vintage SmallBASIC 0.8 still supports PalmOS 5. [7]Version 12.27 just appeared last week and these days SmallBASIC supports x86 Linux, Raspberry Pi, Windows, and a variety of handheld platforms.)
Chloe 280SE System 1 and SE BASIC 4.2
If you install one of the ZX Spectrum emulators included in Debian, you will probably find it comes preconfigured with the [8]OpenSE BASIC firmware package . The image contains an open source replacement ZX Spectrum ROM, based around [9]OpenSE BASIC by [10]Source Solutions .
[11]Youtube Video
Although OpenSE BASIC can run on real ZX Spectrum hardware as well as emulators, it [12]developed into a larger project: an open source Z80-based computer called the [13]Chloe 280SE . This started out as a design for an improved ZX Spectrum called the [14]ZX Spectrum SE , but has since grown into something less compatible – but more ambitious.
[15]PiStorm turbocharges vintage Amigas with the Raspberry Pi
[16]ZX Spectrum Next Issue 2 ships out, chip shortages be damned
[17]At last: The BBC Micro you always wanted, in Mastodon form
[18]40 years since Elite became the most fun you could have with 22 kilobytes
The latest release is [19]SE Basic IV 4.2 , and it forms part of [20]version 1.0 of the system software for the Chloe 280SE. SE Basic IV is closer to MS-BASIC than its predecessor, which targeted Sinclair BASIC. The Chloe 280SE is supported in several FOSS Sinclair emulators. It's an option in [21]Cesar Hernandez Baño's ZEsarUX , and, with some manual setup, it can run in [22]Retro Virtual Machine as well. To run it closer to the metal, you can load it on the [23]ZX-UNO FPGA machine and its offshoots such as the [24]ZX-TRES . Developer Andrew Owen is funding the project [25]on Patreon .
QB64 Phoenix is freshly reborn
As we [26]covered in last year's BASIC roundup , there are two main FOSS BASIC compilers that offer compatibility with Microsoft's classic QuickBASIC: the [27]FreeBASIC Compiler , and [28]QB64 .
As we said last time, disagreements among the QB64 project members led to a fork, the [29]QB64 Phoenix Edition , which is in [30]active development on GitHub and just released [31]version 3.13.0 . It looks to be a fairly modest bugfix release with an auspicious date, but since the progenitor project hasn't released anything since 2021, and the [32]QB64Official fork nothing since 2022, it's good to see that at least one offshoot is releasing new versions.
[33]
QB64 includes a recreation of the original QuickBASIC IDE, which means it looks like the old DOS package – but it can build code for Windows, Linux, and macOS, and there's an optional GUI builder called [34]InForm , which has [35]its own QB64-PE edition . ®
Get our [36]Tech Resources
[1] https://github.com/VBAndCs/sVB-Small-Visual-Basic/
[2] https://smallbasic-publicwebsite.azurewebsites.net/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2018/10/24/microsoft_small_basic_at_10/
[4] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/
[5] https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ModernVBNET.sVBInstaller
[6] https://smallbasic.github.io/
[7] https://github.com/smallbasic/SmallBASIC/releases/tag/12_27
[8] https://packages.debian.org/bookworm/opense-basic
[9] https://zxdesign.itch.io/opense
[10] https://sourcesolutions.itch.io/
[11] https://vimeo.com/381014664
[12] https://andrewowen.net/blog/reusing-code-reverse-engineering-and-collaboration/
[13] https://www.patreon.com/posts/introducing-new-33762097
[14] https://sinclair.wiki.zxnet.co.uk/wiki/ZX_Spectrum_SE
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/12/pistorm_accelerated_amiga_pi/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/19/return_of_spectrum_next/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/18/bbc_micro_bot/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/18/elite_game_retro/
[19] http://source-solutions.github.io/sebasic4/
[20] https://github.com/source-solutions/system-280se/releases
[21] https://github.com/chernandezba/zesarux
[22] https://www.retrovirtualmachine.org/
[23] https://zxuno.speccy.org/index_e.shtml
[24] https://antoniovillena.com/product/zxtres/
[25] https://www.patreon.com/chloe280se
[26] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/28/nostalgic_for_basic/
[27] https://www.freebasic.net/
[28] https://qb64.com/
[29] https://qb64phoenix.com/forum/index.php
[30] https://github.com/QB64-Phoenix-Edition/
[31] https://github.com/QB64-Phoenix-Edition/QB64pe/releases/tag/v3.13.0
[32] https://github.com/QB64Official/qb64/
[33] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZjVefOtn1MSZuumYkywr3AAAAMI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[34] https://qb64.com/inform.html
[35] https://github.com/FellippeHeitor/InForm
[36] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
LET X=X+1
Anonymous Coward
As written on the black board by our Maths teacher who allowed us in at lunch time to have a play on the Commodore PET.
Given that he'd taught us Alegbra, it meant something completely different in this context, as he went on to explain.
I owe the roof over my head for him taking that time and effort.
Thank you Mr Sanker
BASIC
Dr Paul Taylor
Breeds Awful Spaghetti Illegible Code.
DIE!!
Re: BASIC
Dan 55
Show me on the doll where BASIC hurt you.
Re: BASIC
david 12
For 10 years I made a living as a Basic programmer -- a niche left vacant because most people who could use BASIC weren't programmers, and most programmers couldn't use BASIC.
Anonymous Coward
While not free you also have purebasic which has been in development for 20+ years, cross platform windows Linux Mac os, x86 x64 and arm m1, raspberry pi.
While it's roots are basic it's closer to c and runs just as fast as native c but it's much quicker to develop with because of its cross platform tool set, something like 1600 commands.
BBC Basic
Terry 6
This was the one I learnt to use. At school, just a few years before, we had been taught to code using punch cards. But BASIC was just so much quicker and easier to get useful programmes written. And BBCBasic could have 6502 assembly code sections. Which made the programmes that bit more sophisticated and efficient.
Not that I remember a damned thing. And programming these days is so different, All those libraries and stuff.
10 PRINT "60 years! How time flies"
20 GOTO 10