Editing MBASIC (section)

== Environment ==
[[File:MBasic 5.21.jpg|thumb|MBasic 5.21 running on a Z80 CP/M system displayed on a monochrome monitor typical for that time]]
MBASIC version 5 required a CP/M system with at least 28&nbsp;KB of [[random-access memory]] (RAM) and at least one diskette drive.

Unlike versions of [[Microsoft BASIC-80]] that were customized by [[home computer]] manufacturers to use the particular hardware features of the computer, MBASIC relied only on the CP/M operating system calls for all input and output. Only the CP/M console (screen and keyboard), [[line printer]], and disk devices were available.

MBASIC in the uncustomized form had no functions for [[Computer graphics|graphics]], color, joysticks, mice, [[serial port|serial communications]], [[Ethernet|networking]], sound, or even a [[real-time clock]] function. MBASIC did not fully support the features of the host CP/M operating system, for example, it did not support CP/M's user areas for organizing files on a diskette. Since CP/M systems were typically single-user and stand alone, there was no provision for file or record locking, or any form of [[computer multitasking|multitasking]]. Apart from these limitations, MBASIC was considered at the time to be a powerful and useful implementation of BASIC.