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BBC Basic: A Retro Language with Modern Reach
During the early 1980s, BBC Basic was a programming language that achieved a lot of feats, often outperforming the competition. It included easier loop structures such as IF/THEN/ELSE and it ran faster than Microsoft’s version. Furthermore, it taught an entire generation of Brits how to code, both in BASIC and assembly language through an inline interpreter. Today, BBC Basic is available on multiple platforms, marking a considerable transition from its origin as a mail-order computer from the TV era.
BBCSDL, also known as BBC Basic for SDL 2.0, uses Simple DirectMedia Layer’s OS abstraction to make itself available on various platforms, including Windows, x86 Linux, macOS, Raspberry Pi’s OS, Android, iOS, and within browsers through WebAssembly. It recently released version 1.38a in mid-November, featuring significant fixes and improvements. On the project’s website, BBCSDL can be seen running on all these devices, although an assembler and a few other functions are not available on iOS and in browsers due to arbitrary code-execution restrictions.
Since 1983, Richard Russell has been working on different versions of BBC BASIC, starting with interpreters for Z80 and Intel processors. By 2001, BBC BASIC for Windows was available, providing graphical interface and compatibility with the original BBC Micro and Acorn computers. BBCSDL has been in development since 2015, offering wider platform support while maintaining compatibility with BBC BASIC for Windows.
Russell shared his opinion that BBCSDL’s greatest strength lies in its cross-platform capabilities, which no other implementation offers. He noted that BBCSDL’s web version will run in most browsers, but not in Internet Explorer or embedded browsers like in mobile apps.
Even after all these years, BBC Basic remains a remarkable language. It had 32-bit integers, arbitrary-length variable names, and exceptional speed. Unlike some modern languages, BBC Basic was also more tolerant of coding styles and syntax. This tolerance of spacing made it a user-friendly language, unlike the strictness of modern languages like Python.
The development, documentation, and direction of BBC BASIC were led by Sophie Wilson, who also co-designed the BBC Micro and the ARM reduced instruction set computer (RISC). ARM’s creation was influenced in part by the need to maintain BBC Micro compatibility while achieving speed gains, a significant contribution to modern technology.
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