BASIC
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(→CHR$ and the Dollar Sign in BASIC (Sidebar)) | (→Altair BASIC and Micro-Soft) | ||
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== Altair BASIC and Micro-Soft == | == Altair BASIC and Micro-Soft == | ||
| − | The computing revolution that followed time-sharing would change industry and reshape everyday interactions with computing. It was the beginning of the home computer or minicomputer era. The face that launched a thousand ships was a panel of switches and LEDs on the cover of the January 1975 ''Popular Electronics.'' -- the visage of the Altair 8800. This $395 machine ($495 assembled) was described consistently on the cover and throughout the magazine as a "minicomputer," rather than a "microcomputer." The article about this device also describes the many virtues of a useful computer for individuals and the headline of the editorial on page 4 proclaims "THE HOME COMPUTER IS HERE!" ''Popular Electronics'' was hardly a novelty publication by the time this issue came out; the magazine was founded in 1954 by Ziff-Davis Publications and was a well-known, widely-distributed magazine by 1975. The year did mark an inflection point for home computing and for the magazine, which came to focus increasingly on computing. In November 1982, the magazine would be renamed ''Computers & Electronics.'' | + | The computing revolution that followed the development of time-sharing would change industry and reshape everyday interactions with computing. It was the beginning of the home computer or minicomputer era. The face that launched a thousand ships was a panel of switches and LEDs on the cover of the January 1975 ''Popular Electronics.'' -- the visage of the Altair 8800. This $395 machine ($495 assembled) was described consistently on the cover and throughout the magazine as a "minicomputer," rather than a "microcomputer." The article about this device also describes the many virtues of a useful computer for individuals and the headline of the editorial on page 4 proclaims "THE HOME COMPUTER IS HERE!" ''Popular Electronics'' was hardly a novelty publication by the time this issue came out; the magazine was founded in 1954 by Ziff-Davis Publications and was a well-known, widely-distributed magazine by 1975. The year did mark an inflection point for home computing and for the magazine, which came to focus increasingly on computing. In November 1982, the magazine would be renamed ''Computers & Electronics.'' |
The article describing the Altair 8800 claims that the computer can be used as a "Sophisticated intrusion alarm system," an "Automatic IC tester," an "Autopilot for planes, boats, etc.," a "Time-share computer system," a "Brain for a robot," and a "Printed matter-to-Braille converter for the blind," among other things, noting that "many of these applications can be performed simultaneously." (p. 38) As it happened, even the applications that were within the capabilities of the device were rather difficult to realize since the system, as delivered or assembled, could only be programmed in machine language. Unless one happened to have a Teletype or other terminal lying around, the programming had to be done using the toggle switches on the front panel. From the outset, it was clear to many that the Altair 8800 could really use was a programming language that facilitated experimentation. The ''Popular Electronics'' article actually mentions four programming languages by way of explaining the hardware/software distinction (p. 34); one of these is BASIC, which was the language of most interest to early Altair 8800 users. | The article describing the Altair 8800 claims that the computer can be used as a "Sophisticated intrusion alarm system," an "Automatic IC tester," an "Autopilot for planes, boats, etc.," a "Time-share computer system," a "Brain for a robot," and a "Printed matter-to-Braille converter for the blind," among other things, noting that "many of these applications can be performed simultaneously." (p. 38) As it happened, even the applications that were within the capabilities of the device were rather difficult to realize since the system, as delivered or assembled, could only be programmed in machine language. Unless one happened to have a Teletype or other terminal lying around, the programming had to be done using the toggle switches on the front panel. From the outset, it was clear to many that the Altair 8800 could really use was a programming language that facilitated experimentation. The ''Popular Electronics'' article actually mentions four programming languages by way of explaining the hardware/software distinction (p. 34); one of these is BASIC, which was the language of most interest to early Altair 8800 users. | ||
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The two major successful efforts to develop a BASIC interpreter for the Altair are important and intriguing. While this tale of two BASICs doesn't clearly show the best of BASIC and the worst of BASIC, they do show two extremes in software development: one commercial, closely coordinated with hardware manufacturers, and highly tied to licensing and cost structures; the other community-based, non-profit, and "copyleft." The BASICs that led in these directions were Microsoft's Altair BASIC, the official BASIC for the platform, which was licensed to the manufacturer of the system, MITS; and Tiny BASIC, which originated at the People's Computer Company or PCC. The Commodore 64's BASIC is directly descended from Microsoft's Altair BASIC -- it is, although this is not visible on the startup screen, a Microsoft product. At the same time, the 10 PRINT program participated in a context of BASIC sharing and exploration that was strongly influenced by the People's Computer Company. | The two major successful efforts to develop a BASIC interpreter for the Altair are important and intriguing. While this tale of two BASICs doesn't clearly show the best of BASIC and the worst of BASIC, they do show two extremes in software development: one commercial, closely coordinated with hardware manufacturers, and highly tied to licensing and cost structures; the other community-based, non-profit, and "copyleft." The BASICs that led in these directions were Microsoft's Altair BASIC, the official BASIC for the platform, which was licensed to the manufacturer of the system, MITS; and Tiny BASIC, which originated at the People's Computer Company or PCC. The Commodore 64's BASIC is directly descended from Microsoft's Altair BASIC -- it is, although this is not visible on the startup screen, a Microsoft product. At the same time, the 10 PRINT program participated in a context of BASIC sharing and exploration that was strongly influenced by the People's Computer Company. | ||
| − | The story of Microsoft BASIC, and of Microsoft, begins with Paul Allen catching sight of the now-famous ''Popular Electronics'' soon after the issue hit the stands, in December 1974. Allen read the Altair 8800 article and raced to showing it his friend and business partner Bill Gates, telling him, "Well here's our opportunity to do something with BASIC." (Wallace & Erikson p. 67) The two had already earned some limited success when Gates was still in high school. Their first venture was called Traf-O-Data and produced hardware and software to count cars. They programmed the Intel 8008 using a simulator running on a Washington State University mainframe. | + | The story of Microsoft BASIC, and of Microsoft, begins with Paul Allen catching sight of the now-famous ''Popular Electronics'' soon after the issue hit the stands, in December 1974. Allen read the Altair 8800 article and raced to show it to his friend and business partner Bill Gates, telling him, "Well here's our opportunity to do something with BASIC." (Wallace & Erikson p. 67) The two had already earned some limited success when Gates was still in high school. Their first venture was called Traf-O-Data and produced hardware and software to count cars. They programmed the Intel 8008 using a simulator running on a Washington State University mainframe. |
| − | By 1975, Gates was at Harvard University and he and Allen were ready to envision a project with broader reach. They devised the idea of writing BASIC for the Altair and phoned up Ed Roberts at MITS to ask if he would be interested in having their BASIC for his system. Roberts, who had already heard empty offers of Altair BASIC, said he would buy the first version that worked (Wallace & Erikson p. 74). As Gates and Allen had done when developing their Traf-O-Data system, they initially programmed on a university's computer system, using a simulator. What they were programming at this point was, of course, a modified and minimized version of the original 1964 BASIC. Given how often the success of personal computing software is attributed to entreprenurial and business advances and to Microsoft in particular, it's remarkable that Microsoft's first product was developed using Harvard's computer and was (as Microsoft clearly acknowledged) an implementation of Dartmouth's programming language. | + | By 1975, Gates was at Harvard University and he and Allen were ready to envision a project with broader reach. They devised the idea of writing BASIC for the Altair and phoned up Ed Roberts at MITS to ask if he would be interested in having their BASIC for his system. Roberts said he would buy the first version that worked (Wallace & Erikson p. 74). As Gates and Allen had done when developing their Traf-O-Data system, they initially programmed on a university's computer system, using a simulator. What they were programming at this point was, of course, a modified and minimized version of the original 1964 BASIC. Given how often the success of personal computing software is attributed to entreprenurial and business advances and to Microsoft in particular, it's remarkable that Microsoft's first product was developed using Harvard's computer and was (as Microsoft clearly acknowledged) an implementation of Dartmouth's programming language. |
| − | Gates and Allen were successful in fitting their BASIC interpreter into an austere 4 KB -- although there was a third Altair BASIC programmer, too, a sort of legendary fifth Beatle of Microsoft. This was Monte Davidoff, who wrote the floating-point routines. Gates and Allen were discussing how they needed to code these up when Davidoff, a student who was sitting with them at the table, spoke up and said he could write them. After talking it over with him, they had him contribute these. As comments at the beginning of the code declare, "BILL GATES WROTE THE RUNTIME STUFF," which he did over a period of eight weeks at Harvard. Gates told authors years later that this 4 KB BASIC interpreter "was the coolest program I ever wrote." (Wallace & Erikson p. 76-77). | + | Gates and Allen were successful in fitting their BASIC interpreter into an austere 4 KB -- although there was a third Altair BASIC programmer, too, a sort of legendary fifth Beatle of Microsoft. This was Monte Davidoff, who wrote the floating-point routines. Gates and Allen were discussing how they needed to code these up when Davidoff, a student who was sitting with them at the table, spoke up and said he could write them. After talking it over with him, they enlisted him to contribute these. Comments at the beginning of the code declare, "BILL GATES WROTE THE RUNTIME STUFF," which he did over a period of eight weeks at Harvard. Gates told authors years later that this 4 KB BASIC interpreter "was the coolest program I ever wrote." (Wallace & Erikson p. 76-77). |
| − | Allen flew to visit MITS in Albuquerque, taking the program on paper tape. Allen realized during the plane's decent that he did not have a bootloader that would allow the Altair to read the tape, so he wrote one as the plane was landing. Then, he headed to see an Altair for the first time -- all of the work he, Gates, and Davidoff had done was via a simulator. The BASIC demo, of course, was a success and the intepreter was licensed by MITS. Gates and Allen moved to New Mexico to create new versions of BASIC for the Altair and to maintain the original code, and Microsoft was booted and running. | + | Allen flew to visit MITS in Albuquerque, taking the program on paper tape. He realized during the plane's decent that he did not have a bootloader that would allow the Altair to read the tape, so he wrote one in machine language as the plane was landing. Then, he headed to see an Altair for the first time -- all of the work he, Gates, and Davidoff had done was via a simulator. The BASIC demo, of course, was a success and the intepreter was licensed by MITS. Gates and Allen moved to New Mexico to create new versions of BASIC for the Altair and to maintain the original code, and Microsoft was booted and running. |
In the book ''Invisible Engines,'' three authors develop of a theory of how software platforms can be two-sided (or multi-sided) in the sense of two-sided markets. In a predominantly one-sided market, such as a swap meet where people arrive with comics to trade, there is only one class of participant, a person interested in exchanging goods with other people. A classic land-line telephone company is also in a one-sided market, since every customer is more or less the same sort of participant, one who wants to make and receive calls. On the other hand, a credit card company has two different classes of customer: merchants, who receive payments and need terminals, and cardholders, who have a line of credit and who make purchases. | In the book ''Invisible Engines,'' three authors develop of a theory of how software platforms can be two-sided (or multi-sided) in the sense of two-sided markets. In a predominantly one-sided market, such as a swap meet where people arrive with comics to trade, there is only one class of participant, a person interested in exchanging goods with other people. A classic land-line telephone company is also in a one-sided market, since every customer is more or less the same sort of participant, one who wants to make and receive calls. On the other hand, a credit card company has two different classes of customer: merchants, who receive payments and need terminals, and cardholders, who have a line of credit and who make purchases. | ||
