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ah yes GFA Basic. I loved it. Wrote a lot of dumb and some quite useful applications with it. I had the ignorance back then to think I could write my own dat

ah yes GFA Basic. I loved it. Wrote a lot of dumb and some quite useful applications with it. I had the ignorance back then to think I could write my own database system. Which I did. But it lacked almost all attributes of a real database system Eventually I got Lattice C and that was the start of a long and close relationship with C that helped me through academia and later on jobs. Every now and agan I download and play with an ST emulator. I dont get the magic I felt back then. The low resolution even black and white is just too limiting now. I only had a BW monitor for my ST. I did find a way to get an emulator to run as a TT (oh how I wanted that back in the day). TT can be fixed to run at a semi decent resolution. Unfortunately, not much software could run on it. Most crashed right away.

jhallenworld 5y ago
>But it lacked almost all attributes of a real database system Did it support ISAM files? If BASIC had ISAM support from the beginning, maybe it would be as widely used as COBOL..
- pjmlp 5y ago
  Big boys BASIC had support for ISAM, http://neilrieck.net/docs/openvms_notes_vms-basic.html#demo2 http://neilrieck.net/docs/openvms_notes_vms-basic.html#demo2
  - icedchai 5y ago
    Almost wants to make me boot up my AlphaServer! I have a DS10 rotting away downstairs.
  - cmrdporcupine 5y ago
    Wow, that's a stylin' basic
Cockbrand 5y ago
I, as an Amigan, was always envious of GFA Basic for the ST. Then GFA Basic was ported to the Amiga, and I found it amazing how easy it was to fairly neat stuff with it.
- pjmlp 5y ago
  We had AMOS instead. :)
  - Cockbrand 5y ago
    Fair point! I personally only bought AMOS when I was already slowly on my way out from the Amiga, so I never really got into it.
icedchai 5y ago
Lattice C was where I got started with C, also. (On an Amiga, though.) 30 years later, most of that knowledge is still useful.
- ThinkBeat 5y ago
  I have not kept up with the new versions of C the language but I can still pick up recent code and understand most of it That is a blessing With C# 2 --> 9, the code can look entierly different.

jhallenworld 5y ago

>But it lacked almost all attributes of a real database system Did it support ISAM files? If BASIC had ISAM support from the beginning, maybe it would be as widely used as COBOL..

pjmlp 5y ago
Big boys BASIC had support for ISAM, http://neilrieck.net/docs/openvms_notes_vms-basic.html#demo2 http://neilrieck.net/docs/openvms_notes_vms-basic.html#demo2
- icedchai 5y ago
  Almost wants to make me boot up my AlphaServer! I have a DS10 rotting away downstairs.
- cmrdporcupine 5y ago
  Wow, that's a stylin' basic

Cockbrand 5y ago

I, as an Amigan, was always envious of GFA Basic for the ST. Then GFA Basic was ported to the Amiga, and I found it amazing how easy it was to fairly neat stuff with it.

pjmlp 5y ago
We had AMOS instead. :)
- Cockbrand 5y ago
  Fair point! I personally only bought AMOS when I was already slowly on my way out from the Amiga, so I never really got into it.

icedchai 5y ago

Lattice C was where I got started with C, also. (On an Amiga, though.) 30 years later, most of that knowledge is still useful.

ThinkBeat 5y ago
I have not kept up with the new versions of C the language but I can still pick up recent code and understand most of it That is a blessing With C# 2 --> 9, the code can look entierly different.