MacBASIC

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MacBASIC
Original author(s) Donn Denman,
Marianne Hsiung,
Larry Kenyon,
Bryan Stearns
Developer(s) Apple Computer
Initial release1985;40 years ago (1985)
Platform Classic Mac OS
Type Programming tools
License Proprietary

MacBASIC was a programming language and interactive environment designed by Apple Computer for the original Macintosh computer. It was developed by original Macintosh team member Donn Denman, [1] [2] with help from fellow Apple programmers Marianne Hsiung, Larry Kenyon, and Bryan Stearns, [3] as part of the original Macintosh development effort starting in late 1981. [4] [5] Andy Hertzfeld said, "A BASIC interpreter would be important, to allow users to write their own programs. We decided we should write it ourselves, instead of relying on a third party, because it was important for the BASIC programs to be able to take advantage of the Macintosh UI, and we didn't trust a third party to 'get it' enough to do it right." [6]

MacBASIC was released as beta software in 1985, and was adopted for use in places such as the Dartmouth College computer science department, for use in an introductory programming course.[ citation needed ] In August 1985, Apple abruptly ended the project, annoying book publishers that had published three books on the language with cooperation from the company. [7] Apple discontinued MacBASIC as part of a deal with Microsoft to extend the license for Applesoft BASIC on the Apple II. [8] [9] Although Apple retracted MacBASIC, unlicensed copies of the software and manual still circulated, but because MacBASIC was no longer supported by Apple and was not designed to be 32-bit clean, interest eventually died out.[ citation needed ]

Benchmarks published in Washington Apple Pi Journal suggested that MacBASIC had better performance as compared to Microsoft's MS BASIC for Macintosh. [10] The language included modern looping control structures, user-defined functions, graphics, and access to the Macintosh Toolbox. The development environment supported multiple programs running simultaneously with symbolic debugging including breakpoints and single-step execution. [2]

References

  1. ↑ Williams, Gregg (February 1984). "The Apple Macintosh Computer". BYTE. pp. 30–54.
  2. 1 2 Kamins, Scot (April 1984). "Macintosh BASIC". BYTE. Vol. 9, no. 4. pp. 318–330.
  3. ↑ "Mac GUI :: Re: Re: MAC Basic vs MS Basic?". macgui.com. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Folklore.org: MacBasic". folklore.org. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Hertzfeld, Andy; Capps, Steve (2005). Revolution in The Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made. O'Reilly Media, Incorporated. p. 254. ISBN   9780596007195 . Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  6. ↑ Lorenzo, Mark (2017). Endless Loop: The History of the BASIC Programming Language. Philadelphia: SE Books. p. 98. ISBN   978-1974-27707-0.
  7. ↑ Maremaa, Tom (1985-08-19). "Apple, Publishers at Odds". InfoWorld. p. 23.
  8. ↑ Manes, Stephen; Andrews, Paul (1994). Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry--and Made Himself the Richest Man in America. Touchstone. ISBN   9780671880743.
  9. ↑ Bill Atkinson interviewed on the TV show Triangulation on the TWiT.tv network
  10. ↑ Norling, Richard (May 1984). "Macintosh BASIC Speed Comparisons" (PDF). Washington Apple Pi: 26. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
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