BASIC

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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," while 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. The first step for achieving this BASIC was creating a version for the Commodore 64's chip, the MOS 6502 processor. The Altair had used the Intel 8080, which had a different instruction set -- meaning BASIC required a different interpreter to speak to the machine. The task of developing a version of Microsoft BASIC to work with the MOS 6502 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 6520 BASIC licensed to Ohio Scientific replies "WRITTEN BY RICHARD W. WEILAND," while version 1.1 for the KIM declares "WRITTEN BY WEILAND & GATES." 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 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; this version 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. What mainly suggests 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.

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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. This was a very good deal for Commodore, since about 12.5 million Commodore 64s were ultimately sold (Steil).

+

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 multiple computer manufacturers, 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. This was a very good deal for Commodore, since about 12.5 million Commodore 64s were ultimately sold (Steil).

−

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.

+

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

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. Paul Allen is not far behind in wealth; he left full-time work at Microsoft in 1982. Gates are Allen are notable philanthropists today. The other coder who contributed to the original Altair BASIC, Monte Davidoff, did not strike it nearly as rich but, according to an interview, was still active as a programmer in 2001. Davidoff was then running Linux and preferred to program in Python (Orlowski).

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   Insert BASIC timeline or family tree
-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," while 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. The first step for achieving this BASIC was creating a version for the Commodore 64's chip, the MOS 6502 processor. The Altair had used the Intel 8080, which had a different instruction set -- meaning BASIC required a different interpreter to speak to the machine. The task of developing a version of Microsoft BASIC to work with the MOS 6502 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 6520 BASIC licensed to Ohio Scientific replies "WRITTEN BY RICHARD W. WEILAND," while version 1.1 for the KIM declares "WRITTEN BY WEILAND & GATES." 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 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; this version 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. What mainly suggests 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.
-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. This was a very good deal for Commodore, since about 12.5 million Commodore 64s were ultimately sold (Steil).
+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 multiple computer manufacturers, 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 $25,000 flat fee for BASIC -- an offer that Microsoft ultimately accepted. This was a very good deal for Commodore, since about 12.5 million Commodore 64s were ultimately sold (Steil).
-The features of BASIC that are seen in 10 PRINT and are fairly specific to the Commodore 64 version are seen in the specifics of RND, discussed in the Randomness chapter, and in the character set that CHR$ refers to, discussed in the Commodore 64 chapter.
+The features of BASIC highlighted by 10 PRINT and which are fairly specific to the Commodore 64 version are seen in the RND command, discussed in the Randomness chapter, and in the PETSCII character set that CHR$ refers to, discussed in the Commodore 64 chapter.
 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. Paul Allen is not far behind in wealth; he left full-time work at Microsoft in 1982. Gates are Allen are notable philanthropists today. The other coder who contributed to the original Altair BASIC, Monte Davidoff, did not strike it nearly as rich but, according to an interview, was still active as a programmer in 2001. Davidoff was then running Linux and preferred to program in Python (Orlowski).