Wow, Microsoft are really going full-in on open source. I think this means Open Source has won?
Wait until the Current Branch of Windows 10 becomes open source.
I'd be content (happy, even!) with Windows 2000.
The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983
201–210 of 272 posts
Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983
#202I loved QBasic. Did Numerical Analysis homework in college with it and wrote a clone in the late 90s that integrated with the web/CGI. It was my favorite until Turbo Pascal came out.
Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983
#203My first programming language was AppleSoft Basic. My Aunt gave me a book, they have Apple II at work, and I read it and learned it even though I dont have an Apple II at that time or even a computer.
Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983
#204My first foray into BASIC was BBC BASIC. I was an 11 year old in the eighties and attending comprehensive secondary school in the UK. We had a school 'computer room' which hosted ten BBC Micros. The mathematics teacher at the time ran an after school computer club and it was alleged that the last 30 minutes were unstructured and some students had managed to get a cassette tape copy of Elite (now Elite Dangerous) load…
Another BASIC adventure game writer checking in. Thanks for sharing your story. It brought a smile to my face.
Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983
#205The 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…
I recently found my copy of the Precomputer 1000 manual that I learned BASIC with around 1993. It's now mounted in a shadow box!
Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983
#206Earlier quoted context omitted.
Borrowed mine from the library at age 13 (`98) when i got a hand-me-down Apricot from a friend. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot_Computers
Just realised we have Apple computers, Apricot computers, Blackberry phones, Raspberry (Pi) computers – is there some kind of fruit obsession in IT I've missed out on?
There was Apricot too, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot_Computers.
And Cherry made peripherals/components, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_(keyboards).
I guess such names make for simple logos.
Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983
#207I wasn't particularly aware of it, but it looks like the TRS-80 BASIC that introduced me to programming was also probably developed by Microsoft, and I'm pretty sure that AmigaBASIC was as well. I think I also used QuickBASIC on the Mac a little, but what I particularly remember was a demo for it that visually showed different sorting algorithms, that inspired me to do something similar in Pascal.
My introduction to computers was standing in front of a TRS-80 at a Tandy store (Australia's outlets for Radio Shack). I would visit sometimes after school and spend 15 minutes or so typing things in from the manual and adjusting them to see the effect. A few times when I went with my Dad I was hoping he would buy me one. Eventually I got the VZ200 from Dick Smith Electronics. I ended up studying electrical engineeri…
Oh wow, I never imagine seeing VZ200 ever mentioned in HN. One of the high school mates also had a VZ200. Unfortunately, the computer snobs at school treated him quite badly for having one. High school kids can be a*seholes! Hope you had fun with yours!
Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes." - Edsger Dijkstra
That quote is misattributed and I also think it is not something Dijkstra would have said. Quite the opposite actually. However, I think this quote from him is much more beautiful: In their capacity as a tool, computers will be but a ripple on the surface of our culture. In their capacity as intellectual challenge, they are without precedent in the cultural history of mankind. (Turing award lecture, 1972)
He did say it because I heard him say it. The sentence just before was: "Our field should be called 'Computing Science' rather than 'Computer Science.'"
Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983
#209I love that the "Initial commit" is timestamped to 1983 :)
Re: The original source code of Microsoft GW-BASIC from 1983
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
That quote is misattributed and I also think it is not something Dijkstra would have said. Quite the opposite actually. However, I think this quote from him is much more beautiful: In their capacity as a tool, computers will be but a ripple on the surface of our culture. In their capacity as intellectual challenge, they are without precedent in the cultural history of mankind. (Turing award lecture, 1972)
He did say it because I heard him say it. The sentence just before was: "Our field should be called 'Computing Science' rather than 'Computer Science.'"
In my language most university courses/majors are actually named like that.
Common names:
"Ciências da Computação": Computing Science
"Engenharia Informática": (Informática is usually translated as computer or computing science, or just computing) CS Engineering
Less common:
"Ciencias dos Computadores": Computer Science
"Engenharia Informática e Ciências dos Computadores": I bet you can translate this one