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BBC BASIC

Version of the BASIC programming language

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It was originally supplied on an installed ROM for the BBC Microcomputer which used a 6502 microprocessor. When Acorn produced the Archimedes computer which used their ARM processor, further versions of BBC BASIC were produced. Acorn included a built in assembler, first for the 6502 and later for the ARM2 processor.

Initially the BBC specified compatibility with Microsoft BASIC. Acorn were already extending their earlier Atom BASIC to include structured programming constructs. Particularly on the later Archimedes computers as the memory constraints reduced, BBC BASIC incorporated a more complete set of structured programming constructs commonly found in the ALGOL 60 group of computer languages.

Alongside Acorn's version of BBC BASIC on the Archimedes, third party companies produced compiled versions of the language. Development and support has continued after the demise of Acorn Computers Ltd for newer ARM based computers. BBC BASIC is now available on other platforms either for emulators such as on Microsoft Windows or natively.

History

Precursor languages

At Dartmouth College, two mathematics professors wanted all students to be able to program on their new college computer. The existing high-level languages, like FORTRAN and COBOL, were used by professionals and not really suitable for introductory programming by non-technical users. In 1964, they created Dartmouth BASIC (short for Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) to be a computer language anyone could use. Having a formula-based syntactic structure, it is a simplified FORTRAN.

A combination of factors led to BASIC becoming a major language in the late 1960s, and in the 1970s when the first microcomputers were being built, it was already the de facto standard for small systems. The introduction of the Altair 8800 cemented the position of BASIC as the first programming language introduced for the platform was Paul Allen and Bill Gates' Altair BASIC. As new micros were introduced, almost all of them ran some variation of BASIC as its primary interface.

BBC's involvement

During the 1970s, the BBC Continuing Education Department was considering how advancements in computer related technology would impact British society.

The BBC required a microcomputer usable for demonstrations in their programming that could be purchased by the general public to enable the viewer to themselves experiment. They decided that such a microcomputer needed to be robust, have expansion capabilities and an implementation of BASIC compatible with Microsoft BASIC VN5.

Jointly the government and the BBC established a public awareness and education campaign. This Computer Literacy Project (1980-1989) used the BBC's choice of the BBC Microcomputer produced by Acorn Computers Ltd. BBC BASIC was central to the user programming experience.

Acorn's involvement

Acorn first developed System BASIC and Atom BASIC for their early 6502 microprocessor computers that were sold to kit-build customers. With the development of the Proton as a front-end processor, Acorn were designing for more powerful computing.

In order to produce a computer to satisfy the BBC specification, the Proton became the BBC Microcomputer, usable as a stand alone computer. By retaining the capability to be connected to a Z80 computer, Acorn was able to comply with the requirement of a computer supporting CP/M.

Sophie Wilson developed the implementations of BASIC at Acorn. The dialect on the BBC Microcomputer became compatible with Microsoft BASIC and so was acceptable to the BBC. It already had features from the ALGOL 60 group of computer languages that Wilson added to enable some structured programming methodology to be used.

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