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--------- ---- -- ---- ----- --- ---- ----- COPYRIGHT 1975 BY BILL GATES AND PAUL ALLEN --------- ---- -- ---- ----- --- ---- ----- ORIGINALLY WRITTEN

by pan69 6y ago

--------- ---- -- ---- ----- --- ---- ----- COPYRIGHT 1975 BY BILL GATES AND PAUL ALLEN --------- ---- -- ---- ----- --- ---- ----- ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ON THE PDP-10 FROM FEBRUARY 9 TO APRIL 9 1975 BILL GATES WROTE A LOT OF STUFF. PAUL ALLEN WROTE A LOT OF OTHER STUFF AND FAST CODE. MONTE DAVIDOFF WROTE THE MATH PACKAGE (F4I.MAC). I love comments like these. They also say that the GW refers to Bill Gates, as in Gates William but I don't know the details on that. https://github.com/microsoft/GW-BASIC/blob/master/GWMAIN.ASM https://github.com/microsoft/GW-BASIC/blob/master/GWMAIN.ASM Edit: Forgot to say, I was 3 years old when they wrote this code, wow! and I learned programming with GW-BASIC in the late 80's.

kranner 6y ago
The meaning of "GW" is controversial according to the Wikipedia entry for GW-BASIC [1]: > There are several theories on what the initials "GW" stand for. Greg Whitten, an early Microsoft employee who developed the standards in the company's BASIC compiler line, says Bill Gates picked the name GW-BASIC. Whitten refers to it as Gee-Whiz BASIC and is unsure if Gates named the program after him. The Microsoft User Manual from Microsoft Press also refers to it by this name.[citation needed] It may have also been nicknamed Gee-Whiz because of its numerous graphics commands. Other common theories as to the initials' origins include "Graphics and Windows", "Gates, William" (Microsoft's president at the time), or "Gates-Whitten" (the two main designers of the program). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GW-BASIC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GW-BASIC
- kristopolous 6y ago
  Those are all too clean for 1983 Microsoft. I'm more likely to think it's some cutting inside joke, maybe an IBM insult. If they said it was say, something like George Wallace Basic, because they segregated it from IBM basic and only put it on the clones as a "separate but equal basic" I wouldn't think twice. I can even imagine the meeting "We can't say this is George Wallace basic, no". "Fine, it's GW basic. Say it means gee wiz or some shit, just make something up"
m463 6y ago
Another interesting project: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DONKEY.BAS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DONKEY.BAS
sradman 6y ago
The PDP-10 comment hints at a key innovation by Paul Allen: BASIC was originally ported to multiple 8-bit CPU architectures by first writing an emulator for each CPU that ran on DEC systems.
- miohtama 6y ago
  There is file OEM.h that gives a hint how porting worked.
lalalandland 6y ago
;The following block of externals was added on Dec 19, 1982 when BINTRP was ; Split up after the freeze of GW-BASIC Version 1.0 ; This Split-up was not reflected in the PS1:<BASIC>BINTRP.MAC source. ; See Tom Corbett if you have any questions.

by pan69 6y ago

kranner 6y ago

The meaning of "GW" is controversial according to the Wikipedia entry for GW-BASIC [1]: > There are several theories on what the initials "GW" stand for. Greg Whitten, an early Microsoft employee who developed the standards in the company's BASIC compiler line, says Bill Gates picked the name GW-BASIC. Whitten refers to it as Gee-Whiz BASIC and is unsure if Gates named the program after him. The Microsoft User Manual from Microsoft Press also refers to it by this name.[citation needed] It may have also been nicknamed Gee-Whiz because of its numerous graphics commands. Other common theories as to the initials' origins include "Graphics and Windows", "Gates, William" (Microsoft's president at the time), or "Gates-Whitten" (the two main designers of the program). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GW-BASIC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GW-BASIC

kristopolous 6y ago
Those are all too clean for 1983 Microsoft. I'm more likely to think it's some cutting inside joke, maybe an IBM insult. If they said it was say, something like George Wallace Basic, because they segregated it from IBM basic and only put it on the clones as a "separate but equal basic" I wouldn't think twice. I can even imagine the meeting "We can't say this is George Wallace basic, no". "Fine, it's GW basic. Say it means gee wiz or some shit, just make something up"

m463 6y ago

Another interesting project: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DONKEY.BAS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DONKEY.BAS

sradman 6y ago

The PDP-10 comment hints at a key innovation by Paul Allen: BASIC was originally ported to multiple 8-bit CPU architectures by first writing an emulator for each CPU that ran on DEC systems.

miohtama 6y ago
There is file OEM.h that gives a hint how porting worked.

lalalandland 6y ago

;The following block of externals was added on Dec 19, 1982 when BINTRP was ; Split up after the freeze of GW-BASIC Version 1.0 ; This Split-up was not reflected in the PS1:<BASIC>BINTRP.MAC source. ; See Tom Corbett if you have any questions.