8/28/2023 0 Comments Chipmunk basic if commands![]() GW-BASIC programs executed relatively slowly because it was an interpreted language. Like other early microcomputer versions of BASIC, GW-BASIC lacks many of the structures needed for structured programming, such as local variables. It also includes function key shortcuts at the bottom of the screen. Using the cursor movement keys, any line displayed on the screen can be edited. GW-BASIC has a command-line-based integrated development environment (IDE) based on Dartmouth BASIC. Other versions of BASICA/GW-BASIC do not support Hercules graphics and can only display graphics on that card through the use of third-party CGA emulation, such as SIMCGA. GW-BASIC 3.20 (1986) adds EGA graphics support (no version of BASICA or GW-BASIC had VGA support) and is the last major new version released before it was superseded by QBasic.īuyers of Hercules Graphics Cards received a special version of GW-BASIC on the card's utility disk that is called HBASIC, which adds support for its 720×348 monochrome graphics. Later versions support subdirectories, improved graphics, and other capabilities. It uses the CP/M-derived file control blocks for disk access and does not support subdirectories. The initial version of GW-BASIC is the one included with Compaq DOS 1.13, released with the Compaq Portable in 1983, and was analogous to IBM BASICA 1.10. For example, the AT&T and Tandy versions of DOS include a special GW-BASIC that supports their enhanced sound and graphics capabilities. Some variants of BASIC has extra features to support a particular machine. The former should not be confused with IBM BASICA, which always came as a COM file. Depending on the OEM, BASIC was distributed as either BASICA.EXE or GWBASIC.EXE. ![]() Microsoft did not offer a generic version of MS-DOS until v3.20 in 1986 before then, all variants of the operating system were OEM versions. BASIC's memory footprint was slightly increased if it was used. This feature was normally not enabled and required the optional parameter /D at startup, i.e., GWBASIC /D. BASICA also allows double-precision numbers to be used with mathematical and trigonometric functions such as COS, SIN, and ATN, which wasn't allowed in 8-bit versions of BASIC. Features not present in BASIC-80 include the ability to execute the RND function with no parameters and the ability to also save programs in a "protected" format, preventing them from being LISTed. BASICA adds many features for the IBM PC such as sound, graphics, and memory commands. The ability to "crunch" program lines by omitting spaces, a common feature of earlier Microsoft BASIC implementations, was removed from BASIC-80 5.x and BASICA/GWBASIC.īASIC-80 programs not using PEEK/ POKE statements run under GW-BASIC. Ability to save programs in either tokenized binary format or ASCII text.CALL statement for executing machine-language routines.LINE INPUT, which allowed field-separator characters like comma to be ignored.OPTION BASE statement to set the starting index of array variables as either 0 or 1.Common features of BASIC-80 5.x and BASICA/GW-BASIC include: IBM BASICA and GW-BASIC are largely ports of MBASIC version 5.x, but with added features specifically for the IBM PC hardware. On May 21, 2020, Microsoft released the 8088 assembler source code for GW-BASIC 1.0 on GitHub under the MIT License. With the release of MS-DOS 5.0, GW-BASIC's place was taken by QBasic, a slightly abridged version of the interpreter part of the separately available QuickBASIC interpreter and compiler package. Microsoft also sold a BASIC compiler, BASCOM, compatible with GW-BASIC, for programs needing more speed.Īccording to Mark Jones Lorenzo, given the scope of the language, "GW-BASIC is arguably the ne plus ultra of Microsoft's family of line-numbered BASICs stretching back to Altair BASIC – and perhaps even of line-numbered BASIC in general." Since it was included with most versions of MS-DOS, it was also a low-cost way for many aspiring programmers to learn the fundamentals of computer programming. The language is suitable for simple games, business programs and the like. It was bundled with MS-DOS operating systems on IBM PC compatibles by Microsoft. Functionally identical to BASICA, its BASIC interpreter is a fully self-contained executable and does not need the Cassette BASIC ROM found in the original IBM PC. GW-BASIC is a dialect of the BASIC programming language developed by Microsoft from IBM BASICA. IBM Cassette BASIC, IBM Disk BASIC, IBM BASICA
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