Editing BASIC (section)

{{Short description|Family of programming languages}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox programming language
| screenshot = AtariBASIC.png
| screenshot caption = [[Atari BASIC]] (1979) for [[Atari 8-bit computers]]
| paradigm = [[Non-structured programming|Non-structured]], later [[Procedural programming|procedural]], later [[Object-oriented programming|object-oriented]]
| designers = {{plainlist|
* [[John G. Kemeny]]
* [[Thomas E. Kurtz]]
}}
| released = {{Start date and age|1964|5|1}}
| implementations = {{flatlist|class=nowraplinks |
* [[Dartmouth BASIC]]
* [[Tiny BASIC]]
* [[Applesoft BASIC]]
* [[Atari BASIC]]
* [[Sinclair BASIC]]
* [[Commodore BASIC]]
* [[BBC BASIC]]
* [[TI-BASIC]]
* [[Casio BASIC]]
* [[Microsoft BASIC]]
* [[QB64]]
* [[FreeBASIC]]
* [[Liberty BASIC]]
* [[PowerBASIC]]
* [[QuickBASIC]]
* [[Yabasic|YABASIC]]
}}
| dialects = 
| influenced by = {{flatlist|
* [[ALGOL 60]]
* [[Fortran|FORTRAN II]]
* [[JOSS]]
}}
| influenced = {{flatlist|
* [[COMAL]]
* [[Visual Basic (classic)|Visual Basic]]
* [[Visual Basic .NET]]
* [[GRASS (programming language)|GRASS]]
* [[Xojo]]
}}
| wikibooks = BASIC Programming
}}

'''BASIC''' ('''Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code''')<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/dartmouth/BASIC_Oct64.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/dartmouth/BASIC_Oct64.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Basic: a manual for BASIC, the elementary algebraic language designed for use with the Dartmouth Time Sharing System|last1=Kemeny|first1=John G.|last2=Kurtz|first2=Thomas E.|date=1963|publisher=Dartmouth College Computation Center|location=Hanover, N.H.|language=en|edition=1st}}</ref> is a family of [[General-purpose programming language|general-purpose]], [[high-level programming language]]s designed for ease of use. [[Dartmouth BASIC|The original version]] was created by [[John G. Kemeny]] and [[Thomas E. Kurtz]] at [[Dartmouth College]] 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 [[scientist]]s and [[mathematician]]s tended to learn.

In addition to the programming language, Kemeny and Kurtz developed the [[Dartmouth Time-Sharing System]] (DTSS), which allowed multiple users to edit and run BASIC programs simultaneously on remote terminals. This general model became popular on [[minicomputer]] systems like the [[PDP-11]] and [[Data General Nova]] in the late 1960s and early 1970s. [[Hewlett-Packard]] produced an entire computer line for this method of operation, introducing the [[HP2000]] 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 [[microcomputer]]s in the mid-1970s led to the development of multiple BASIC dialects, including [[Microsoft BASIC]] in 1975. Due to the tiny [[main memory]] available on these machines, often 4&nbsp;KB, a variety of [[Tiny BASIC]] dialects were also created. BASIC was available for almost any system of the era and became the ''de facto'' programming language for [[home computer]] systems that emerged in the late 1970s. These [[Personal Computer|PC]]s almost always had a [[BASIC interpreter]] installed by default, often in the machine's [[firmware]] or sometimes on a [[read-only memory|ROM]] cartridge.

BASIC declined in popularity in the 1990s, as more powerful microcomputers came to market and programming languages with advanced features (such as [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]] and [[C (programming language)|C]]) 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, [[Microsoft]] released [[Visual Basic (classic)|Visual Basic]], combining an updated version of BASIC with a [[Graphical user interface builder|visual forms builder]]. This reignited use of the language and "VB" remains a major programming language<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2019/02/12/tiobe-feb-19.aspx|title=VB.NET Popularity Still Rising|first=David|last=Ramel|website=Visual Studio Magazine|date=2019-02-12|access-date=2023-03-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://raygun.com/blog/programming-languages/|title=40 most popular programming languages 2023: When and how to use them|website=Raygun|first=David|last=Swersky|date=2023-01-25|access-date=2023-03-25}}</ref> in the form of [[Visual Basic (.NET)|VB.NET]], while a hobbyist scene for BASIC more broadly continues to exist.<ref name="theregister_com">{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/28/nostalgic_for_basic/|title=Nostalgic for VB? BASIC is anything but dead|first=Liam|last=Proven|website=[[The Register]]|date=2023-03-28|access-date=2023-09-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/5347103/BASIC-is-Not-Dead-Time-to-Erase-the-Myths-about-Ba|website=[[Code Project]]|title=BASIC is Not Dead. Time to Erase the Myths about Basic.|first=Chris|last=Boss|date=2022-11-15|access-date=2024-01-31}}</ref>