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The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983

devblogs.microsoft.com

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Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983

#51

Post by jmspring »

tobinfricke wrote: post #3

Wow, what a blast from the past. I learned to program with BASICA.EXE and GW-BASIC as a kid in the late 80's. I just noticed that microsoft has also released the source to MS-DOS 2.0: https://github.com/microsoft/MS-DOS I don't think I ever imagined that I'd be able to "look behind the curtain" like this, let alone that Microsoft would come to embrace open source. From there I moved on to Turbo Pascal 3.0, and then B…

I recall GW-Basic as well. I ended up with a bunch of random software from my dad at the time. One of the included items was a basic compiler. Showed me how much faster compiled code could be.

I then went on to use the various Borland products.

Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983

#52

Post by ArtWomb »

tobinfricke wrote: post #3

Wow, what a blast from the past. I learned to program with BASICA.EXE and GW-BASIC as a kid in the late 80's. I just noticed that microsoft has also released the source to MS-DOS 2.0: https://github.com/microsoft/MS-DOS I don't think I ever imagined that I'd be able to "look behind the curtain" like this, let alone that Microsoft would come to embrace open source. From there I moved on to Turbo Pascal 3.0, and then B…

Am actually totally digging JS DOS, the emscripten build of the DOSBox emulator. The performance is phenomenal in the browser, including vsync. Here is an example (CPU intensive) of multiple 64k demos running simultaneously on a single web page ;)

https://js-dos.com/6.22/64k/index.html

Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983

#53

Post by mrlonglong »

arbuge wrote: post #44
HenryBemis wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And me! (and a few hundred/thousand people in this great forum)!! Oh I still remember that Amstrad PC1512!!! What a carefree age that was...

I learned Locomotive Basic on a CPC464, then moved up to a PCW8256 before transitioning to a PC1512. Those were the days :)

I learned to core in C on a PC1512, using Walter Bright's rather nice Zortech C compiler. TP3 was indeed the dog's bollocks back then, too.

Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983

#54

Post by ncmncm »

Poked around a fair bit. Didn't find any hint what the GW is/was supposed to stand for.

Micro-soft BASIC on Apple ][, as on other 8-bit targets, infamously did a linear search from the beginning of the program to locate the target of a GOTO or GOSUB statement, so that programs ran faster if frequently called subroutines (what we now call functions) were close to the front. I wonder if or when that behavior was ever corrected in GWBASIC. Also, did the NEXT statement do it too?

Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983

#56

Post by linguae »

The funny thing about this announcement is that a week ago I just found my old QBASIC textbook that I learned how to program with back in 1998. QBASIC was my very first programming language; I was a nine year old kid who loved computers and would read anything computer-related that was available, including my mom's textbooks (she was returning to college at the time and took some courses on computing and applications such as WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3) and software manuals. When we finally got Internet access in 1998 via AOL, I used the message boards to get resources on how to program. I was recommended to learn QBASIC, and I was told that QBASIC could be found on the Windows 95 install CD. I remember initially learning QBASIC through some web tutorials. My mom happened to have a friend who recently took a QBASIC programming course; her friend gave my mom her QBASIC textbook, which my mom then gave to me.

I'm now a researcher at an AI lab in Silicon Valley, and I just finished a five-week stint as a section leader for Stanford's CS106A "Code in Place" introductory Python course (https://www.stanforddaily.com/2020/05/07/students-instructor...). There's nothing like the joy of programming for the very first time, the realization that you can create something that works with code. Teaching those sections as well as finding my QBASIC book has reminded me of the feelings that I have from when I started learning how to program roughly 22 years ago. This release of GW-BASIC was quite timely for me.

Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983

#57

Post by Tehdasi »

bluedino wrote: post #28
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #17

From a comment in the source > ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ON THE PDP-10 FROM FEBRUARY 9 TO APRIL 9 1975 Wow! I did not realize that it was written so quickly. Two months that literally changed the PC landscape forever.

Well...remember it is 'just' a BASIC interpreter. Woz wrote Apple integer BASIC in the evenings while working at HP in just a few months. Guys were writing crazy stuff at the time. The original version of DOS that Microsoft bought to license to IBM for the PC was written in 6 weeks.

Expectations of complexity were much less in those days. Like, a programming language that is limited to 40 character variable names would be considered amateur hour, but back in the day it was prolly considered luxuriant. Also given the memory constraints, it also limited the amount of complexity you could put in your code.

Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983

#58

Post by tobinfricke »

ncmncm wrote: post #54

Poked around a fair bit. Didn't find any hint what the GW is/was supposed to stand for. Micro-soft BASIC on Apple ][, as on other 8-bit targets, infamously did a linear search from the beginning of the program to locate the target of a GOTO or GOSUB statement, so that programs ran faster if frequently called subroutines (what we now call functions) were close to the front. I wonder if or when that behavior was ever c…

> Didn't find any hint what the GW is/was supposed to stand for.

Hah! This is the real mystery, isn't it? I noticed Wikipedia has a section on the topic (without resolution): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GW-BASIC#Name

Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983

#59

Post by [deleted] »

4cao wrote: post #7

It's really enjoyable to look at the source. These days one I feel it's quite rare to see assembly code not as an output from a tool like IDA Pro. If I remember correctly, the size of a compiled GWBASIC.EXE file was about 80 kB. What feels weird though is seeing all the files on GitHub last modified "38 years ago," which by the way, also includes the file CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.

[deleted]
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