BASIC

Revision as of 00:41, 10 July 2011 (view source)

Nickm (Talk | contribs)

(→The Ethic vs. The Corporation)

← Older edit

Revision as of 00:51, 10 July 2011 (view source)

Nickm (Talk | contribs)

(→Commodore BASIC)

Newer edit →

Line 116:

== Commodore BASIC==

−

One of the programmers who wrote Commodore 64 BASIC became the richest person in the world.

+

The Commodore 64 BASIC on which 10 PRINT runs is a Microsoft product and a descendant of Altair BASIC, although the first step for achieving this BASIC was creating a version for the Commodore 64's chip, the 6502. (The Altair used the Intel 8080, which had a different instruction set.) The task of developing a 6502 version of Microsoft BASIC was undertaken in 1976 and fell mainly to Richard Weiland. When a user types "A" in response to the startup question "MEMORY SIZE?", the version of Microsoft 6502 BASIC that was licensed to Ohio Scientific replies "WRITTEN BY RICHARD W. WEILAND." Version 1.1 for the KIM declares "WRITTEN BY WEILAND & GATES." But the first version of Microsoft's 6502 BASIC that made its way into the ROM of a shipping system, in 1977, was a version for Commodore -- not for the Commodore 64, but for the company's first computer, the Personal Electronic Transactor or PET.

−

The Commodore 64 BASIC on which 10 PRINT runs is a Microsoft product and a descendant of Altair BASIC, although the first step for achieving this BASIC was creating a version for the Commodore 64's chip, the 6502. (The Altair used the Intel 8080, which had a different instruction set.) The task of developing a 6502 version of Microsoft BASIC was undertaken in 1976 and fell mainly to Richard Weiland. When a user types "A" in response to the startup question "MEMORY SIZE?", the version of Microsoft 6502 BASIC that was licensed to Ohio Scientific replies "WRITTEN BY RICHARD W. WEILAND." Version 1.1 for the KIM and subsequent versions declares "WRITTEN BY WEILAND & GATES." But the first version of Microsoft's 6502 BASIC that made its way into a shipping system, in 1977, was a version for Commodore -- not for the Commodore 64, but for their first computer, the Personal Electronic Transactor or PET.

+

The BASIC included with the Commodore PET was very similar to Commodore BASIC 2 for the Commodore CBM and the BASICs included on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. (The version history of Commodore BASIC is a bit complicated, as the "COMMODORE 64 BASIC V2" that appears on the top of the screen indicates the second release of BASIC V2.0; it was originally provided with a model of the PET 2001.) Other aspects of Commodore computers, such as the PETSCII character set, are similar across models as well. For these reasons, 10 PRINT will run without modification on a Commodore PET or a VIC-20. The only thing suggesting that the program should be identified with the Commodore 64 is the presence of 10 PRINT variants in a Commodore 64 manual and a later magazine.

−

The BASIC included with the Commodore PET was very similar to Commodore BASIC 2 for the Commodore CBM and the BASICs included on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. (The version history of Commodore BASIC is a bit complicated, as the "COMMODORE 64 BASIC V2" that appears on the top of the screen indicated the second release of BASIC V2.0; it was originally provided with a model of the PET 2001.) Other aspects of Commodore computers, such as the PETSCII character set, are similar across models as well. For these reasons, 10 PRINT will run without modification on a Commodore PET or a VIC-20. The only thing suggesting that this should be called a Commodore 64 program is the presence of 10 PRINT variants in a Commodore 64 manual and a later magazine.

+

Versions of Microsoft's 6502 BASIC were used not only on the PET and Commodore 64 but also on competing computers: the Apple II series and Atari's 8-bit computers, the Atari 400 and Atari 800. Microsoft certainly benefited from selling the same product to many computer computer companies, but didn't manage to make the usual licensing deal with Commodore. As the founder of Commodore, Jack Tramiel, explained at a 25th anniversary event honoring the Commodore 64, Bill Gates "came to see me. He tried to sell me BASIC. And he told me that I don't have to give him any money. I only have to give him $3 per unit. And I told him that I'm already married." Tramiel told Gates he would pay no more than a $25,000 flat fee for BASIC -- an offer that Microsoft ultimately accepted.

−

Versions of Microsoft's 6502 BASIC were used not only on the PET and Commodore 64 but also on competing computers: The Apple II series and Atari's 8-bit computers, the Atari 400 and Atari 800. Microsoft certainly benefited from selling the same product to many computer computer companies, but didn't manage to make the usual licensing deal with Commodore. As the founder of Commodore, Jack Tramiel, explained at a 25th anniversary event honoring the Commodore 64, Bill Gates "came to see me. He tried to sell me BASIC. And he told me that I don't have to give him any money. I only have to give him $3 per unit. And I told him that I'm already married." Tramiel told Gates he would pay no more than a $25,000 flat fee for BASIC -- an offer that Microsoft ultimately accepted.

The features of BASIC that are seen in 10 PRINT and are fairly specific to the Commodore 64 version are seen in the specifics of RND, discussed in the Randomness chapter, and in the character set that CHR$ refers to, discussed in the Commodore 64 chapter.

−

A few notes on the creators of Commodore 64 BASIC. Gates's career trajectory is, of course, well-known. Richard Weiland was a grade-school classmate of Gates of Allen who joined Microsoft when the company was based in Albuquerque. He worked for Microsoft until 1988 and devoted much of his time and money from then until his death in 2006 to philanthropy. He supported the Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy, Stanford University and the Pride Foundation -- giving the largest-ever donation to the LBGT movement.

+

A few notes on the creators of Commodore 64 BASIC: Bill Gates's career trajectory is, of course, well-known. It is indeed the case that one of the programmers who wrote Commodore 64 BASIC became the richest person in the world. The other programmer, Richard Weiland, was a grade-school classmate of Gates of Allen who joined Microsoft when the company was based in Albuquerque. His contributions at Microsoft and beyond are not well-known, and Weiland did not seek acclaim for them. He worked for Microsoft until 1988 and devoted much of his time and money from then until his death in 2006 to philanthropy. He supported the Pride Foundation (with the largest-ever donation to LBGT rights), Stanford University (with the largest donation that university had ever received) and also gave to the Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004197961_weiland24.html]

== Circulating Programs in Print ==

From Maze

Revision as of 00:51, 10 July 2011

Views

Personal tools

Navigation

Search

Toolbox

@@ Line 116: / Line 116: @@
 == Commodore BASIC==
-One of the programmers who wrote Commodore 64 BASIC became the richest person in the world.
+The Commodore 64 BASIC on which 10 PRINT runs is a Microsoft product and a descendant of Altair BASIC, although the first step for achieving this BASIC was creating a version for the Commodore 64's chip, the 6502. (The Altair used the Intel 8080, which had a different instruction set.) The task of developing a 6502 version of Microsoft BASIC was undertaken in 1976 and fell mainly to Richard Weiland. When a user types "A" in response to the startup question "MEMORY SIZE?", the version of Microsoft 6502 BASIC that was licensed to Ohio Scientific replies "WRITTEN BY RICHARD W. WEILAND." Version 1.1 for the KIM declares "WRITTEN BY WEILAND & GATES." But the first version of Microsoft's 6502 BASIC that made its way into the ROM of a shipping system, in 1977, was a version for Commodore -- not for the Commodore 64, but for the company's first computer, the Personal Electronic Transactor or PET.
-The Commodore 64 BASIC on which 10 PRINT runs is a Microsoft product and a descendant of Altair BASIC, although the first step for achieving this BASIC was creating a version for the Commodore 64's chip, the 6502. (The Altair used the Intel 8080, which had a different instruction set.) The task of developing a 6502 version of Microsoft BASIC was undertaken in 1976 and fell mainly to Richard Weiland. When a user types "A" in response to the startup question "MEMORY SIZE?", the version of Microsoft 6502 BASIC that was licensed to Ohio Scientific replies "WRITTEN BY RICHARD W. WEILAND." Version 1.1 for the KIM and subsequent versions declares "WRITTEN BY WEILAND & GATES." But the first version of Microsoft's 6502 BASIC that made its way into a shipping system, in 1977, was a version for Commodore -- not for the Commodore 64, but for their first computer, the Personal Electronic Transactor or PET.
+The BASIC included with the Commodore PET was very similar to Commodore BASIC 2 for the Commodore CBM and the BASICs included on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. (The version history of Commodore BASIC is a bit complicated, as the "COMMODORE 64 BASIC V2" that appears on the top of the screen indicates the second release of BASIC V2.0; it was originally provided with a model of the PET 2001.) Other aspects of Commodore computers, such as the PETSCII character set, are similar across models as well. For these reasons, 10 PRINT will run without modification on a Commodore PET or a VIC-20. The only thing suggesting that the program should be identified with the Commodore 64 is the presence of 10 PRINT variants in a Commodore 64 manual and a later magazine.
-The BASIC included with the Commodore PET was very similar to Commodore BASIC 2 for the Commodore CBM and the BASICs included on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. (The version history of Commodore BASIC is a bit complicated, as the "COMMODORE 64 BASIC V2" that appears on the top of the screen indicated the second release of BASIC V2.0; it was originally provided with a model of the PET 2001.) Other aspects of Commodore computers, such as the PETSCII character set, are similar across models as well. For these reasons, 10 PRINT will run without modification on a Commodore PET or a VIC-20. The only thing suggesting that this should be called a Commodore 64 program is the presence of 10 PRINT variants in a Commodore 64 manual and a later magazine.
+Versions of Microsoft's 6502 BASIC were used not only on the PET and Commodore 64 but also on competing computers: the Apple II series and Atari's 8-bit computers, the Atari 400 and Atari 800. Microsoft certainly benefited from selling the same product to many computer computer companies, but didn't manage to make the usual licensing deal with Commodore. As the founder of Commodore, Jack Tramiel, explained at a 25th anniversary event honoring the Commodore 64, Bill Gates "came to see me. He tried to sell me BASIC. And he told me that I don't have to give him any money. I only have to give him $3 per unit. And I told him that I'm already married." Tramiel told Gates he would pay no more than a $25,000 flat fee for BASIC -- an offer that Microsoft ultimately accepted.
-Versions of Microsoft's 6502 BASIC were used not only on the PET and Commodore 64 but also on competing computers: The Apple II series and Atari's 8-bit computers, the Atari 400 and Atari 800. Microsoft certainly benefited from selling the same product to many computer computer companies, but didn't manage to make the usual licensing deal with Commodore. As the founder of Commodore, Jack Tramiel, explained at a 25th anniversary event honoring the Commodore 64, Bill Gates "came to see me. He tried to sell me BASIC. And he told me that I don't have to give him any money. I only have to give him $3 per unit. And I told him that I'm already married." Tramiel told Gates he would pay no more than a $25,000 flat fee for BASIC -- an offer that Microsoft ultimately accepted.
 The features of BASIC that are seen in 10 PRINT and are fairly specific to the Commodore 64 version are seen in the specifics of RND, discussed in the Randomness chapter, and in the character set that CHR$ refers to, discussed in the Commodore 64 chapter.
-A few notes on the creators of Commodore 64 BASIC. Gates's career trajectory is, of course, well-known. Richard Weiland was a grade-school classmate of Gates of Allen who joined Microsoft when the company was based in Albuquerque. He worked for Microsoft until 1988 and devoted much of his time and money from then until his death in 2006 to philanthropy. He supported the Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy, Stanford University and the Pride Foundation -- giving the largest-ever donation to the LBGT movement.
+A few notes on the creators of Commodore 64 BASIC: Bill Gates's career trajectory is, of course, well-known. It is indeed the case that one of the programmers who wrote Commodore 64 BASIC became the richest person in the world. The other programmer, Richard Weiland, was a grade-school classmate of Gates of Allen who joined Microsoft when the company was based in Albuquerque. His contributions at Microsoft and beyond are not well-known, and Weiland did not seek acclaim for them. He worked for Microsoft until 1988 and devoted much of his time and money from then until his death in 2006 to philanthropy. He supported the Pride Foundation (with the largest-ever donation to LBGT rights), Stanford University (with the largest donation that university had ever received) and also gave to the Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004197961_weiland24.html]
 == Circulating Programs in Print ==