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Microsoft Open-Sources their BASIC Code from 1983

posted by Fnord666 on Saturday May 23 2020, @10:46AM   Printer-friendly
from the statute-of-limitations-has-run-out dept.

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for chromas:

Microsoft Has Now Open-Source Their BASIC Code From 1983 - Phoronix:

Microsoft GW-BASIC is now open-source following their prior open-sourcing of older MS-DOS versions. This original Microsoft BASIC version being open-sourced is from 1983 and is simply being open-sourced for historical purposes.

This Microsoft BASIC interpreter is written in Assembly, to no surprise considering the ivntage[sic] of the software. But Microsoft did push this code through a translator in order to make use of newer x86 ISA capabilities. As such, the code being open-sourced is that derived from their original source code.

More details on this Microsoft BASIC open-sourcing via their dev blog while the code is on GW-BASIC via GitHub.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by RandomFactor on Saturday May 23 2020, @03:57PM (2 children)

    by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 23 2020, @03:57PM (#998171) Journal

    Subject: Re: Unofficial CP/M Website/licensing of CP/M material
    To: gaby@gaby.de
    Date sent: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 10:36:31 -0600

    Let this email represent a right to use, distribute, modify, enhance and otherwise make available in a nonexclusive manner the CP/M technology as part of the "Unofficial CP/M Web Site" with its maintainers, developers and community.

    I further state that as Chairman and CEO of Lineo, Inc. that I have the right to do offer such a license.

    Lineo and its affiliates, partners and employees make no warranties of any kind with regards to this technology and its usefulness or lack thereof.

    ---
    Bryan Sparks
    CEO Lineo, Inc.
    " rel="url2html-17651">http://www.lineo.com

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2020, @06:29PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 23 2020, @06:29PM (#998207)

    You are confusing the platform with the utilities. The utilities are things that run ontop of the command shell. BASIC would be one of the utilities shipped with it. Usually on a DOS system you would find this file in a folder named DOS/MSDOS/PCDOS/FDOS depending on which DOS you bought. BASIC is clearly a MS product. They pretty much were the OEM to goto to get a decent BASIC for your platform up and running in the late 70s early 80s fairly quickly. They would sell it as a one time source code dump no strings attached (not preferred) or a recurring per unit shipped cost. If you are shipping 200k of something the per unit cost is silly. If you think you are going to ship 200 of something the other way makes more sense. Commodore went with the first and changed it as needed. They even used it as the 'entry point' to their systems using it as an OS and utility.

    • (Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Saturday May 23 2020, @10:12PM

      by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Saturday May 23 2020, @10:12PM (#998281) Journal

      Yeah fair, I had a similar thought not long after posting thinking about the dos 1.x/2.x open sourcing they have done.
       
      But even so, I think the underlying skepticism of MS in regards to 'open sourcing' is not entirely unwarranted :-)

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