Why all 80's Computers had BASIC

[luwal]

https://www.syntaxbomb.com/8-bit-16-bit-...g347065074

A very interesting discussion.

[johnno56]

Well.. That brought back a lot of memories... Of course, while I was at school - primary, secondary and tertiary - we never saw a computer of any kind... a slide rule was my method of calculating back then... lol

I built my first two computers from kits - soldering iron, circuit boards, components - heaps of fun. The second machine had 16K of ram, 40 columns x 25 rows of text - no graphics - Microsoft Basic... As the presenter in the video said that he was "hooked", so was I and have been using Basic ever since. Not the best language; not the fastest but definitely one of the easiest... Over the last 10 years I have actually gotten used to Basic "without" line numbers! At last!

My introduction to Basic got me hooked on computers... Eventually it would lead me to a 15 year career as a Senior Mainframe Computer Operator... Best job ever! I am retired now but I still use Basic. QB64; RCBasic and Naalaa (not Basic but it is so much like it)

[luwal]

Well.. That brought back a lot of memories... Of course, while I was at school - primary, secondary and tertiary - we never saw a computer of any kind... a slide rule was my method of calculating back then... lol

I built my first two computers from kits - soldering iron, circuit boards, components - heaps of fun. The second machine had 16K of ram, 40 columns x 25 rows of text - no graphics - Microsoft Basic... As the presenter in the video said that he was "hooked", so was I and have been using Basic ever since. Not the best language; not the fastest but definitely one of the easiest... Over the last 10 years I have actually gotten used to Basic "without" line numbers! At last!

My introduction to Basic got me hooked on computers... Eventually it would lead me to a 15 year career as a Senior Mainframe Computer Operator... Best job ever! I am retired now but I still use Basic. QB64; RCBasic and Naalaa (not Basic but  it is so much like it)

Your previous work experience is closely related to computers. I think if you try to use your past work experience in computers to help promote this language, NaaLaa, you can get more people to use this language easily. No doubt.

[johnno56]

I must tell you that the computer I had the privilege of operating was huge... You may have seen similar machines on TV or in the movies of people walking through a computer room filled with large "boxes" and tape drives? One of those... Not exactly the kind of experience that is required to program games on desktop computers... Well, that was almost a quarter of a century ago... but my interest in computers has never faded... After many years of Basic, and now Naalaa, I find that I am still learning. Tinkering but still learning.

I may never reach the same level as Marcus and I am okay with that... I enjoy what I can do, even though it's not much, I enjoy it. It is my opinion that the stuff that I code would not be, suitable is not the right word, good enough would be more accurate, to be used for promotional material... but, if there is anything I can do to help, I of course will... It's after midnight and I need to be up early...