BASIC interpreter

A BASIC interpreter is an <a href="/facts/Interpreter_(computing)/JB85fbyb">interpreter</a> that enables users to enter and run programs in the <a href="/facts/BASIC/ELoTkjnM">BASIC</a> <a href="/facts/Programming_language/cWTYbgWa">language</a> and was, for the first part of the <a href="/facts/Microcomputer/ETW22UTv">microcomputer</a> era, the default <a href="/facts/Application_software/YQuj7Kog">application</a> that computers would launch. Users were expected to use the BASIC interpreter to <a href="/facts/Type-in_programs/sTumWqhs">type in programs</a> or to load programs from storage (initially <a href="/facts/Cassette_tape/w8I5uyfs">cassette tapes</a> then <a href="/facts/Floppy_disk/rShxfuxa">floppy disks</a>).
BASIC interpreters are of historical importance. <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a>'s first product for sale was a BASIC interpreter (<a href="/facts/Altair_BASIC/sVh7yKyt">Altair BASIC</a>), which paved the way for the company's success. Before Altair BASIC, microcomputers were sold as kits that needed to be programmed in <a href="/facts/Machine_code/bgdQ1Fxf">machine code</a> (for instance, the <a href="/facts/Apple_I/MCLPkKgE">Apple I</a>). During the Altair period, BASIC interpreters were sold separately, becoming the first software sold to individuals rather than to organizations; Apple BASIC was Apple's first software product. After the <a href="/facts/Altair_8800/6wMGsRlW">MITS Altair 8800</a>, microcomputers were expected to ship bundled with BASIC interpreters of their own (e.g., the <a href="/facts/Apple_II/se82CNvK">Apple II</a>, which had multiple implementations of BASIC). A backlash against the price of Microsoft's Altair BASIC also led to early collaborative software development, for <a href="/facts/Tiny_BASIC/Gvglhjku">Tiny BASIC</a> implementations in general and Palo Alto Tiny BASIC specifically.
BASIC interpreters fell from use as computers grew in power and their associated programs grew too long for typing them in to be a reasonable distribution format. Software increasingly came pre-compiled and transmitted on <a href="/facts/Floppy_disk/rShxfuxa">floppy disk</a> or via <a href="/facts/Bulletin_board_system/22d9c9s2">bulletin board systems</a>, making the need for source listings less important. Additionally, increasingly sophisticated <a href="/facts/Command_shell/Sa67elS7">command shells</a> like <a href="/facts/MS-DOS/fVrrz1uN">MS-DOS</a> and the <a href="/facts/Mac_(computer)/8GhnXTK0">Mac</a> GUI became the primary <a href="/facts/User_interface/e9sPEWVD">user interface</a>, and the need for BASIC to act as the shell disappeared. The use of BASIC interpreters as the primary language and interface to systems had largely disappeared by the mid-1980s.

BASIC interpreter open-in-new

BASIC interpreter