Editing Tiny BASIC (section)

==History==
=== Altair BASIC ===
[[File:Altair BASIC Paper Tape.jpg|thumb|right|A paper tape containing the expanded 8K version of Microsoft BASIC]]

The earliest [[microcomputer]]s, like the [[Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems|MITS]] [[Altair 8800]], generally had no built-in [[input/output]] (I/O) beyond front-panel switches and [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] lamps. Useful work generally required the addition of an I/O [[expansion card]] and the use of some form of [[computer terminal|terminal]]. At the time, video-based terminals were very expensive, costing much more than the computer, so many users turned to mechanical devices like the [[Teletype Model 33]]. The Model 33, like most [[teleprinter]]s of the era, included a [[punched tape|tape punch]] system intended to allow operators to pre-record their messages and then play them at "high speed", faster than most individuals could type the message live. For the early microcomputers, this provided a convenient [[computer data storage]] format, allowing the users to write programs to paper tape and distribute them to other users.<ref name="tv_typewriter">{{cite web|first=Don|last=Lancaster|url=https://www.tinaja.com/ebooks/tvtcb.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.tinaja.com/ebooks/tvtcb.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=TV Typewriter Cookbook|date=1976|pages=210–211}}</ref>

The [[Homebrew Computer Club]] met for the first time in March 1975, and its members soon used the meetings to swap software on punched tape. At the June meeting, a tape containing a pre-release version of [[Altair BASIC]] disappeared. The tape was given to Steve Dompier, who passed it on to Dan Sokol, who had access to a high-speed tape punch. At the next meeting, 50 copies of Altair BASIC on paper tape appeared in a cardboard box.{{sfn|Manes|Andrews|1994|p=81}} When [[Ed Roberts (computer engineer)|Ed Roberts]], founder of MITS, learned of this, he stated "Anyone who is using a stolen copy of MITS BASIC should identify himself for what he is, a thief."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Letter from the President |journal=Computer Notes |last=Roberts |first=H. Edward |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=3–4 |publisher=MITS |location=Albuquerque NM. |date=October 1975 |url=http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=75_10&p=3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323162008/http://startup.nmnaturalhistory.org/gallery/notesViewer.php?ii=75_10&p=3 |archive-date=March 23, 2012}}</ref> [[Bill Gates]] made this more formal, writing "[[An Open Letter to Hobbyists]]", complaining that "As the majority of hobbyists must be aware, most of you steal your software."{{sfn|Manes|Andrews1994|p=91}}

===Tiny BASIC===
The complaint was not well received. Among the many responses, Bob Albrecht, another Homebrew member and founder of the [[People's Computer Company]] (PCC), felt the best response would be to produce their own BASIC that was completely free to use by anyone. He approached [[Dennis Allison]], a member of the Computer Science faculty at [[Stanford University]], to write a specification for a version of BASIC that would fit in 2 to 3 kilobytes of memory.{{efn|At the time, the most common memory size for the 8080 was 4&nbsp;KB, which cost hundreds of dollars.}} To aid [[porting]], the design was based on an [[Intermediate representation#Intermediate language|intermediate language]] (IL), an interpreter for the interpreter, which meant only a small portion of the total code had to be ported.

Allison's initial design was published in the September 1975 edition of the PCC newsletter, along with an [[Intel 8080]] version of the IL interpreter. The article called on programmers to implement the design on their computer and send the resulting [[assembly language]] version back to the PCC. They stated their plans to publish three special newsletters containing these user-submitted versions, along with bug fixes, programs written in the new BASIC, and suggestions and enhancements. The concept gained further notice when it was republished in the January 1976 edition of the [[Association for Computing Machinery|ACM]] Special Interest Group on Programming Languages.<ref name="Allison 1976">{{Cite journal|last=Allison |first=Dennis |title=Design notes for TINY BASIC |journal=SIGPLAN Notices |volume=11 |issue=7 |pages=25–33 |publisher=ACM |date=July 1976 |doi=10.1145/987491.987494 |s2cid=18819472 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Submissions poured in. Among the notable early versions was Tiny BASIC Extended by Dick Whipple and John Arnold which ran in 3K of RAM, added [[For loop|FOR...NXT]] loops, and allowed a single numeric array. They avoided the use of the IL and wrote it directly in machine code, using [[octal]].<ref name="TB Code Sheet"/>

The first of the three planned newsletters, with the title "Dr. Dobb's Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia, Running Light Without Overbyte", was published in January 1976.<ref name="TB Code Sheet">{{Cite journal |journal=[[Dr. Dobb's Journal|Dr. Dobb's Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia, Running Light Without Overbyte]] |title=TB Code Sheet |volume=1 |issue=1 |date=December 1975 |url=https://archive.org/details/dr_dobbs_journal_vol_01/page/n1/mode/2up}}</ref> It starts with a note from Albrecht, under the penname "the dragon", suggesting that three editions would not be enough, and asked the readers if they would like to see it continue. It also reprinted the original article on Tiny BASIC from PCC, included the complete listing of Extended TB, and included a number of small BASIC programs including tips-and-tricks from Allison.{{sfn|Dobbs|1976|p=5}} Response to the first issue was so impressive that the introduction to the second issue stated they had already decided to continue publishing the new newsletter under the simplified name ''Dr. Dobb's Journal''. Over the next several issues, additional versions of the language were published, and similar articles began appearing in other magazines like ''[[Interface Age]]''.

===Spread===
[[File:Copyleft All Wrongs Reserved.png|thumb|240px|right|alt=Monospaced font reads "Tiny basic for Intel 8080, version 2.0 by Li-Chen Wang, modified and translated to Intel mnemonics by Roger Rausklob, 10 October 1976. @ Copyleft, All Wrongs Reserved."|The use of "Copyleft; All Wrongs Reserved" in 1976<ref name="issue1976"/>]]

By the middle of 1976, Tiny BASIC interpreters were available for the [[Intel 8080]], the [[Motorola 6800]] and [[MOS Technology 6502]] processors. This was a forerunner of the free software community's collaborative development before the internet allowed easy transfer of files, and was an example of a free software project before the [[free software movement]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/os-openhardware/|title=Open hardware: How and why it works|website=[[IBM]] |quote=The open software movement was founded by Dennis Allison in his release of Tiny BASIC in 1975}}</ref> Computer hobbyists would exchange paper tapes, cassettes or even retype the files from the printed listings.<ref name="Warren 1976">{{Cite journal| last = Warren | first = Jim C. | author-link =Jim Warren (computer specialist)| title = Correspondence | journal = SIGPLAN Notices | volume = 11 | issue = 7 | pages =1–2 | publisher = ACM | issn = 0362-1340 |date=July 1976}}</ref>

Jim Warren, editor of ''Dr. Dobb's'', wrote in the July 1976 [[Association for Computing Machinery|ACM]] ''Programming Language'' newsletter about the motivations and methods of this successful project. He started with this: "There is a viable alternative to the problems raised by Bill Gates in his irate [[Open Letter to Hobbyists|letter to computer hobbyists]] concerning 'ripping off' software. When software is free, or so inexpensive that it's easier to pay for it than to duplicate it, then it won't be 'stolen'." The Bill Gates letter was written to make software into [[Product (business)|products]]. The alternative method was to have an experienced professional do the overall design and then outline an implementation strategy. Knowledgeable amateurs would implement the design for a variety of computer systems. Warren predicted this strategy would be continued and expanded.<ref name="Warren 1976"/>

The May 1976 issue of ''Dr. Dobbs'' has [[Li-Chen Wang]]'s Palo Alto Tiny BASIC for the 8080. The listing begins with the title, author's name, and date but it also has "@[[COPYLEFT]] ALL WRONGS RESERVED".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wang |first=Li-Chen |author-link=Li-Chen Wang |title=Palo Alto Tiny BASIC |journal=[[Dr. Dobb's Journal|Dr. Dobb's Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia, Running Light Without Overbyte]] |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=12–25 |date=May 1976}} Source code begins with the following six lines. <pre>TINY BASIC FOR INTEL 8080
VERSION 1.0
BY LI-CHEN WANG
10 JUNE, 1976
@COPYLEFT
ALL WRONGS RESERVED</pre> The June date in the May issue is correct. The magazine was behind schedule, the June and July issues were combined to catch up.</ref> A fellow [[Homebrew Computer Club]] member, Roger Rauskolb, modified and improved Wang's program and this was published in the December 1976 issue of ''Interface Age'' magazine.<ref name="issue1976">{{Cite journal|last=Rauskolb |first=Roger |title=Dr. Wang's Palo Alto Tiny BASIC |journal=Interface Age |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=92–108 |date=December 1976}} The source code begins with the following nine lines: <pre>;*********************************
;
;    TINY BASIC FOR INTEL 8080
;          VERSION 2.0
;        BY LI-CHEN WANG
;     MODIFIED AND TRANSLATED
;       TO INTEL MNEMONICS
;        BY ROGER RAUSKOLB
;         10 OCTOBER,1976
;           @COPYLEFT
;      ALL WRONGS RESERVED
;
;*********************************</pre></ref> Roger added his name and preserved the COPYLEFT Notice.