

(e.g., DEF FNLOG(base,number) = LOG(number) / LOG(base)). There is little support for structured programming in GW-BASIC.Īll IF/THEN/ELSE conditional statements must be written on one line, although WHILE/WENDįunctions can only be defined using the single line DEF FNf(x)='mathematical function of x' statement You can use these commands also as program statements. LIST the current program, or quit to the operating SYSTEM The GW-BASIC command-line environment has commands to RUN, LOAD, SAVE, The format of program source files is normally binary compressed with tokens replacing commands, or optionally ASCII text form. Structured programming such as local variables, and GW-BASIC programs executed relatively slowly,ĭue to the fact that it was an interpreted programming language.Īll program lines must be numbered, all nonnumbered lines are considered to be commands in direct mode to be executed immediately. Like other early microcomputer versions of BASIC, GW-BASIC lacked many of the structures needed for

It also includes function key shortcuts at the bottom of the screen. GW-BASIC has a command line-based Integrated Development Environment Therefore, this language was inappropriate for large projects. The main limitations of GW-BASIC are the 64kB program size limit and the lack of structured programming. Since it was included with most versions of MS-DOS, it was also an inexpensive way for many would-be programmers to learn the fundamentals of computer programming.Ī cut-down version of the separately available QuickBASICĬompiler, took eventually GW-BASIC's place. The language was suitable for simple games, business programs and the like. Microsoft also sold a BASIC compiler, BASCOM, compatible with GW-BASIC, for applications requiring more speed. Microsoft bundled GW-BASIC with MS-DOS operating systems on IBM PC compatibles. GW-BASIC is compatible with Microsoft/IBM BASICA, but was disk based and did not require the ROM BASIC.

Portions copyright Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia (for the Altair 8800), originally for Compaq. GW-BASIC was a dialect of BASIC developed by Microsoft from BASICA,
