A zx81 emulator to run on a ql plus various software. Once installed, simple use the bluetooth console tool to connect and start coding on the device using good old basic. These machines almost always had a basic interpreter installed by default, often in the. This is an implementation of the bbc basic programming language for windows pcs. Theres been an enormous amount of software programmed in various basic dialects over. The project was inspired by experimenting with the hm10 modules a cheap ble module and a need to provide an easy way to prototype ideas. Free, secure and fast windows interpreters software downloads from the largest open source applications and software directory. The sinclair basic was especially bad with that stupid mode cursor that kept changing to a different letter of the alphabet making trying to operate the computer a real pain. Sinclair basic taking its name from innovator sir clive sinclair is a dialect of the basic programming language used in the 8bit home computers from sinclair research and timex sinclair. The heart of the floppy disk system is the fdc100 controller board. If you need to convert your own cassettes, there is some software for windows that will convert audio input from a cassette player into a. It needs a sinclair zx81 or emulator equipped with 32k ram you need to enter the commands. The amstrad cpc range of z80 machines shipped with a rom basic, designed and implemented by locomotive software. Specbas is a remake of sinclair basic its faster, far more powerful and more colourful than sinclair basic has ever been.
Compare the best free open source windows interpreters software at sourceforge. Originally written for the zx80, it is now available for a wide range of computers in native versions or via emulation. The zx81 is a home computer that was produced by sinclair research and manufactured in dundee, scotland, by timex corporation. One of the designers of superbasic, jan jones, released a reference guide to the basic interpreter which complemented the information in sinclair s manual. Sinclair hired nine tiles network to write the software for the zx80, including a new basic interpreter as opposed to paying microsoft to license its basic that would fit on the zx80s 4. It is completely free and it is suitable for creating all kinds of applications for business, industry, education and entertainment. Freebasic is a freeopen source gpl, basic compiler for microsoft. Sinclair basic is a popular version of the basic beginners all purpose. The basic in question is specbas, is a project run by a chap called paul dunn. It was launched in the united kingdom in march 1981 as the successor to sinclair s zx80 and designed to be a lowcost introduction to home computing for the general public. Sinclair basic, developed by nine tiles in cambridge is a rather conventional basic, based on the standards set by microsoft regarding functionality. John grant of nine tiles in april to discuss the software requirements of the zx80. If you need to browse some basic interpreter code, you can find many projects listed below.
Chipmunk basic presents a vintage traditional commandline console programming environment, and supports a very simple oldfashioned and easytolearn basic programming language syntax but line numbers are not required in basic programs written. Basic is a family of generalpurpose, highlevel programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use. It was envisaged as a small black box with a rom slot in the front, says stephen berry, the sinclair software engineer martin brennan got working on the lc3s os and basic interpreter while he. Its a learning resource but has also become a celebration to the early days of personal computing. Basic 1 is a family of generalpurpose, highlevel programming languages whose. The sinclair basic interpreter was made by nine tiles networks ltd. The controller plugs into the edge connector of the computer, drawing it power from the computer, and has cables for interface with two floppy. There are hundreds of programsmajors to choose from at sinclair community college. Sinclair basic is a dialect of the programming language basic used in the 8bit home. There is zxlist by jack raat iirc and it will convert.
The 80s are so now, as hot on the heels of the risc os raspberry pi debut comes the equally retrotastic news that the basic version used in the sinclair zx spectrum can also run on the pi. Betasoft also produced a regular newslettermagazine, betanews. Feb 19, 2014 it was envisaged as a small black box with a rom slot in the front, says stephen berry, the sinclair software engineer martin brennan got working on the lc3s os and basic interpreter while he. This is a list of software titles produced for the sinclair ql personal computer. Perfect for timing relevant game programming, but a bit more work for the programmer of more mundane tasks. When porting bbc basic programs to locomotive basic, only the bbcs approach to somewhat structured programming is a hurdle. Brief details of virtually every expansion developed for the original zx spectrum are available from the sinclair hardware index. Sinclair basic is a dialect of the programming language basic used in the 8bit home computers from sinclair research and timex sinclair. Take a moment, and find the one major thats right for you. The system variables that are stored out actually include enough state for the basic interpreter that you can cause loading the program to automatically run.
Oct 21, 2019 this is a utility that, among other things, runs sinclair basic 48k source code programs in a pc. The spectrum version is a straight evolution from the 4 kib basic of the zx80, over the 8 kib zx81 basic, which grew out of the fp version for the zx80, to the 16 kib spectrum rom. Generally speaking, basic programs written for the zx spectrum will run on timex machines without modification. I found vintage basic the other day its an interpreter that makes it possible to run ms basic 2. X11 basic x11 basic is a dialect of the basic programming language with graphics capability that integrates fe. Sinclair basic was introduced in 1980 with the sinclair zx80, and was later. There are 48k of random access memory ram and 24k of read only memory rom that combine to provide onboard memory capacity of 72k. If you need to convert your own cassettes, there is some software for windows that. Use them for inspiration or to learn how others are writing basic interpreters.
It is often said that the launch of the machine went some way to killing off the computers chances of success launch delays, unfinished operating system, bugridden basic interpreter, partly finished software supplied with the machine, and the use of sinclair s microdrive tape cartridges instead of the floppy disk drives that most would have. Official sinclair college catalog including programs, courses, policies and catalog archives. The turbo basic compiler and utilities, now freeware. The bywater basic interpreter bwbasic implements a large superset of the ansi standard for minimal basic x3. Was locomotive basic significantly better than sinclair basic. It combines the simplicity of basic with the sophistication of a modern structured language, allowing you to write. Mar 17, 2016 sinclair was a name of varying association through the 60s, 70s and 90s. Machines like the sinclair units, ti99, and scores of others who wrote their own seemingly intentionally different basic interpreters suffered and died off. It can use a fullfledged soundkeyboardscreen interface with the user, or a much simpler text. Beta basic was a basic interpreter for the sinclair research zx spectrum microcomputer, written by dr andy wright and sold by his oneman software house betasoft. Just basic is a simplified version of our liberty basic software.
The most well known competitor was the sinclair zx spectrum, also a z80 machine, w. Sinclair zx81 basic is the dialect of basic resident in rom on the zx81 home computer 1981 and compatibles timex sinclair, lambda 8300, and many others. How does a single line of basic make an intricate maze. Altair basic is a discontinued interpreter for the basic programming language that ran on the mits altair 8800 and subsequent s100 bus computers. Specbas incorporates all the features of sinclair basic, but with more. To develop a usable basic interpreter, i decided to eliminate certain instructions of the zx81 dialect that had a direct reference to the zx81 computer architecture. Saving and loading from eeprom is supported, as well as autorunning a program on powerup. Under the hood, it uses a formal grammar specification that is extremely respectful of the original language, and also the zxecosystem library for interpreting programs with the original zx spectrum 48k peripherals. The project was inspired by experimenting with the hm10 modules a cheap ble module and a need to provide an easy way to prototype ideas rather than coding in c using the. Timex basic is a superset of sinclair basic, with additional commands allowing access to the hardware features found on the timex systems. Procedures, with both referenced and normal variable parameters.
At the time, nearly all use of computers required writing custom software. Out of what was essentially a back yard shed, sinclair began to produce components for hifi and scientific instruments, gradually building up the. You can create closedsource programs even commercial ones with this compiler a. Sinclair basic wikimili, the free encyclopedia wikimili, the free encyclopedia.
You can use this version in windows, but will need to install a python interpreter first. Basic programs and file formats bumbershoot software. Also a port made for the commodore 64 by aztec software, written by julian gardner. Speed instructions fast, slow memory instructions peek. The outside physically, the ts2068 is an attractive little computer. Pc basic is a free, crossplatform interpreter for gw basic, basica, pcjr cartridge basic and tandy gwbasic. The computer used bankswitched memory, allowing rom cartridges to replace or supplement the builtin rom. This is a utility that, among other things, runs sinclair basic 48k source code programs in a pc.
Starting in the 60s, sir clive, or just clive as he was known then, introduced the world to a series of breakthrough micro electronic devices through sinclair radionics ltd. I found vintage basic the other day its an interpreter that makes. Goto 10 language that defined the 8bit era celebrates half a century by neil mcallister in san francisco 1 may 2014 at 08. Pc basic is free and open source software released under the gplv3. Quite basic is a webbased classic basic interpreter. Betasoft also produced a regular newslettermagazine, betanews, which was one of the main fora of the time for advanced spectrum basic programmers. The crystal frog by gus this is an excellent text only adventure, written for the quill adventure writer, which has now been ported across from the sinclair zx spectrum version by kerian uk limited. This is an alphabetical list of basic dialects interpreted and compiled variants of the basic programming language. The coral basic interpreter reversion by carlos delhez.
Amstrad permits distribution in software only providing it is accompanied by. These changes made the 2068 incompatible with most spectrum machinecode software virtually all commercial titles. Sinclair basic comes to raspberry pi the register forums. The zx spectrum emulator for microsoft windows 910. Help us while reliving hours of fun playing those retro.
For sinclair basic based development the excellent basin package for windows gives you a good syntax highlighter, runtime virtual machine, builtin editors for fonts and udgs etc. Vintage basic is open source software, provided under the bsd license. Chipmunk basic is a fast and reliable crossplatform interpreter for the basic programming language. Primary designed to had new functionalities in vb81 screen shot and zx81 programmers tools. The timex sinclair 2068 is an 8bit personal color computer based on a z80a microprocessor running at 3. Romu6 by cesar and juan hernandez a sinclair basic interpreter for the msx. This project contains a basic interpreter which can be flashed onto a cc2540 or cc2541 bluetooth module. Basic basic interpreter commercial software in 1975 mits released altair basic, developed by bill gates and paul allen as the company microsoft, which eventually grew into corporate giant microsoft. Beta basic is a basic interpreter for the sinclair research zx spectrum microcomputer, written by dr andy wright in 1983 and sold by his oneman software house betasoft. Goto 10 and how it manages to create a complicated maze without the use of a loop, variables and without very complicated syntax. Some of the most popular peripherals produced for the zx spectrum are introduced in the sections below.
The basic supports almost all the usual features, with float and string variables, multidimensional arrays, fornext, gosubreturn, etc. For documentation, release notes and githubhosted downloads, please see the official homepage. Now that amazing snippet of code is the basis of a book, and the book is freely downloadable. Many programs written for quickbasic will compile and run in this mode with no. Many of the items listed are supported by several modern emulators. Three good basic compilers were released in supercharge, turbo and qliberator which allowed even less experienced programmers to produce surprisingly good software for the ql. This printed circuit board contains the floppy disk controller and a 2732 rom containing the disk operating system dos. Sep 11, 2015 a complete basic interpreter for the arduino, using a ps2 keyboard, and spi oled screen. The other 1k of ram on an uno is used for the keyboard and screen. Contribute to tamakichiarduinobasic development by creating an account on github. Unlike the commodore, apple, and dos basics, sinclair basic has no genetic relationship with microsoft basic.
1210 417 95 657 681 105 1010 1339 1122 391 346 1281 1195 611 1236 1216 1121 598 901 753 93 62 456 1275 940 206 1380 1119 563 695 625 254 1425 513 109 1430 1289 1109 925 772 74 367 1188 1292 307 1155