Happy Birthday BBC BASIC
Added: (Fri Jun 23 2006)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
EMBARGOED UNTIL 1st August 2006
Happy Birthday BBC BASIC
Programming language still going strong after 25 years
BBC BASIC, the programming language specified by the BBC for its
groundbreaking Computer Literacy Project, is 25 years old this
month. Designed originally for the BBC Microcomputer, BBC BASIC
has since been implemented on at least seven different processor
types and 30 different computer platforms. Today it is still,
in the form of BBC BASIC for Windows, a popular language for
programming PCs.
In the early 1980s the BBC set out to educate the public in the
use of computers. It was soon realised that the wide variety of
different machines, operating systems and languages of the day
would cause difficulties. The decision was made to target the
educational material at a standard machine running a standard
language, thus the BBC Microcomputer and BBC BASIC were born.
The original version of BBC BASIC was written by Sophie Wilson
of Acorn Computers; she later developed a more sophisticated
implementation for the Acorn Archimedes. Other versions,
including those for the Cambridge Computer Z88, Amstrad Notepad
range and Microsoft Windows were written by Richard Russell, until
recently a Senior Research and Development Engineer with the BBC.
Asked why BBC BASIC had remained popular for so long Russell
said: “No other language combines so effectively the simplicity
necessary for a beginner with the power and sophistication to
develop complex applications; with BBC BASIC you need never
learn another programming language”. The language is still under
active development and Russell is optimistic for its future:
“At 25 years old it has barely reached its prime!” he says.
For more details contact Richard Russell:
Tel. 01375 892445, Mobile: 07860 344041, Email: richard@rtrussell.co.uk
Web links:
http://www.bbcbasic.co.uk/products/bbcbasic/birthday/
http://www.bbcbasic.co.uk/products/bbcbasic/history.html
http://www.bbcbasic.co.uk/products/bbcwin/bbcwin.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_BASIC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Micro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Wilson