Editing Business Basic

'''Business Basic''' is a category of variants of the [[BASIC]] computer programming language which were specialized for business use on [[minicomputer]]s in the 1970s and 1980s. To the underlying BASIC language, these dialects added [[Record (computer science)|record handling]] instructions similar to those in [[COBOL]], allowing programmers to build complex file-handling applications using what was at that time a much more modern programming language. [[MAI Systems]] released the first example as [[MAI Basic Four]] in 1972,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/mai-systems-corporation?cat=biz-fin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701060836/http://www.answers.com/topic/mai-systems-corporation?cat=biz-fin |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 1, 2007 |access-date=August 5, 2020|website = [[Answers.com]]}}</ref> and several similar versions emerged through the 1970s.

Business Basics added [[indexed file]] access methods to the normal set of BASIC commands, and were optimised for other input/output access, especially [[computer terminal|display terminal]] control. The two major families of Business Basic are Basic/Four and [[Data General Business Basic]]. In addition, the Point 4 company, which developed the IRIS operating system, had their own version of BASIC. The UniBASIC owned by Dynamic Concepts of Irvine is a derivative of the Point 4 BASIC.

In the 1980s, Business Basics were ported from their original proprietary environments to many [[Unix]] platforms, [[CP/M]], and to [[DOS]]. In the 1990s, some Business Basics were ported to [[Linux]] and [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], and Business Basic [[integrated development environment]]s became available. Notably, in 1990 MAI's version was ported from their BOSS [[operating system]] to become the multi-platform Open BASIC.

Business Basic continues to be widely used due to the very large base of application software.

==See also==
* [[Apple Business BASIC]] ([[Apple III|Apple ///]])
* [[AlphaBasic]] ([[Alpha Microsystems]], AMOS)
* [[B32 Business Basic]] (Data General Eclipse MV, UNIX, MS-DOS)
* [[Rexon]]
* [[Dartmouth BASIC]] (see also [[True BASIC]])
* ProvideX
* Thoroughbred Software International, Inc., Business Basic, Solution IV Accounting; IDOL, IDOL-IV, Open Workshop
* BBx, now known as (visual) PRO/5 and its Java-running counterpart BBj, both edited by Basis Intl <ref>[https://www.basis.cloud Welcome to BASIS International Ltd. | BASIS International Ltd<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050829100546/http://www.bbpro.org/ The Business Basic Page]
*http://www.tbred.com/
*[http://www.faqs.org/faqs/business-basic/faq/ Business Basic  FAQ - Ver 1.10 (17 Feb 1997)]
*[http://www.transoft.com/universal-business-language-ubl.aspx U/BL (Transoft)]
[[Category:BASIC programming language family]]
*[https://www.basis.com/ BASIS International Ltd.]

{{BASIC}}