CBASIC
 The workflow of compiler and interpreter | |
| Developer | Gordon Eubanks |
|---|---|
| First appeared | 1976 |
| Implementation language | PL/M |
| OS | CP/M |
CBASICis acompiledversion of theBASICprogramming languagewritten for theCP/Moperating systembyGordon Eubanksin 1976–1977. It is an enhanced version ofBASIC-E.[1][2]
History
[edit]BASIC-E was Eubank's master's thesis project.[1][2]It was developed inPL/Mby Eubanks forGary Kildall's new CP/M operating system while both men were at theNaval Postgraduate SchoolinMonterey, California.[1][2]BASIC-E was based on a BASIC compiler originally written by Gary Kildall in 1974.[1][2]
Because it was developed at public expense, BASIC-E is in thepublic domainand cannot be marketed exclusively.[1][2][3]Seymour Rubinstein,the marketing director ofIMSAIcontacted Eubanks and asked him to create a saleable version under contract for theIMSAI 8080microcomputer.[4]Eubanks developed CBASIC in his spare time while he was still a naval officer stationed on the submarineUSSGeorge WashingtonatVallejo, California.He retained joint ownership of the program with IMSAI, and sold the program through his own company,Compiler Systems,until it was acquired byDigital Research[1][2]in 1981.
- CBASIC COMPILER VER 2.07
- CRUN VER 2.38 / COPYRIGHT 1981 COMPILER SYSTEMS INC.
Features
[edit]BASIC-E and early versions of CBASIC compiledsource codeinto an intermediatep-codefile, which was then executed by a separaterun-timeinterpreter program. CBASIC could execute in a minimum of 24 KB of memory. Line numbers in the program source were optional, unless needed as a label for a program jump. CBASIC proved very popular because it incorporated 14-digitbinary-coded decimal(BCD) math which eliminatedMBASIC's rounding errors that were sometimes troublesome foraccounting.
CBASIC2 adds the following features:
- Integer variables
- Chaining with common variables
- Additional pre-defined functions
- Cross referencecapability
Reception
[edit]InfoWorldin 1980 described CBASIC as the "primary language for the development of commercial CP/M applications", because of developers' widespread familiarity with BASIC and ability to distribute royalty-free binaries without source code to CBASIC owners. The magazine stated that the language had become popular "despite serious drawbacks", including the requiredpreprocessorfor interpreted source code making debugging difficult, slow speed, and incompatible changes.[5]Jerry Pournellesaid in May 1983 that Digital Research had "practically ruin[ed]" Eubanks' CBASIC manual after acquiring his company, but that the new edition was much better.[6]
References
[edit]- ^abcdefShustek, Len (August 2, 2016)."In His Own Words: Gary Kildall".Remarkable People.Computer History Museum.
- ^abcdefKildall, Gary Arlen(August 2, 2016) [1993].Kildall, Scott;Kildall, Kristin (eds.)."Computer Connections: People, Places, and Events in the Evolution of the Personal Computer Industry"(Manuscript, part 1). Kildall Family.RetrievedNovember 17,2016.
- ^CPM User GroupThe source code can be found on Volume 30
- ^Gordon Eubanks oral history transcriptArchivedAugust 24, 2006, at theWayback Machinep. 9, November 2000, Computerworld Honors Program
- ^"Editorial".InfoWorld.Vol. 2, no. 15. August 18, 1980. p. 8.
- ^Pournelle, Jerry(May 1983)."Ulterior Motives, Lobo, Buying Your First Computer, JRT Update".BYTE.Vol. 8, no. 5. pp. 298–324.
External links
[edit]- Gordon Eubanks own storyof BASIC-E and CBASIC, Computer World oral history transcript, November 2000
- BASIC-E Reference Manual(December 1976)
- CBASIC 2 Reference Manual(Table of contents on p. 115) November 1981
- Another CBASIC description
- Alternate CBASIC historyat theWayback Machine(archived May 4, 2006)
- cbc – a CBASIC to C converter
- Interpreter in 6502 assembler
- CBASIC 2.8 = CBASIC-86 1.00Posting by Emmanuel Roche
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