BASIC (Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code)

BASIC is a high-level programming language that was developed in the mid-1960s to provide computer education to non-science and non-mathematics students. It became the dominant language for early personal computers.
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Definition

BASIC (Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. Originally developed in 1964 at Dartmouth College by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz, BASIC was intended to enable students in non-scientific fields to have access to computer programming. Its simplicity and versatility eventually led BASIC to become one of the most prevalent programming languages in the era of early personal computers.

Examples

  1. Hello, World! Program:

    1PRINT "Hello, World!"

  2. Simple Addition Program:

    1INPUT "Enter the first number: ", A
2INPUT "Enter the second number: ", B
3C = A + B
4PRINT "The sum is: ", C

  3. Loop Example:

    1FOR I = 1 TO 10
2    PRINT I
3NEXT I

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is the primary purpose of BASIC?
A: BASIC was designed to allow students from non-scientific and non-mathematical backgrounds to learn programming easily.

Q: What made BASIC popular during the early PC era?
A: Its simple syntax, ease of learning, and the capability to provide immediate visual feedback made it very approachable for beginners.

Q: Can BASIC still be used today?
A: Yes, although it isn’t as common as it once was, variations of BASIC (like Visual Basic) continue to be in use for educational and certain professional applications.

Q: What are the limitations of BASIC?
A: BASIC’s early versions lacked advanced data structures and the capability to support modern software engineering principles, which limited its usability for complex applications.

Q: What are some derivatives of BASIC?
A: Some well-known derivatives include Visual Basic, QBASIC, and freeBASIC.

  • FORTRAN: A high-level programming language used in scientific computing and engineering applications.

  • COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language): A high-level programming language designed for business, finance, and administrative systems.

  • Assembly Language: A low-level programming language that has a strong correspondence between its instructions and the machine code instructions of a computer.

Online References

Suggested Books for Further Studies

  1. “BASIC Programming for Beginners: An Introduction to Programming Using Berkeley Softworks CBM BASIC” by Stephen R. Covey
  2. “Learning to Program in BASIC” by Peter Grogono
  3. “Visual Basic 2019 in 30 Days” by Tamás Harangi
  4. “Programming in BASIC” by William R. Pasewark
  5. “The Beginner’s Guide: How to Program in Basic with example” by Tommy Barfeild

Fundamentals of BASIC: Computer Science Quiz

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Thank you for exploring BASIC and its foundational role in the history of computer programming. Continue your learning journey in programming languages and their applications!

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