Est. 1964 Beginner

BASIC

Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code - designed for ease of use and learning.

BASIC (Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. Created at Dartmouth College in 1964, BASIC was intended to provide computer access to non-science students.

Topics Covered

  1. Hello World - Your first BASIC program
  2. Variables and Data Types (coming soon)
  3. Operators (coming soon)
  4. Control Structures (coming soon)
  5. Subroutines (coming soon)
  6. Input/Output (coming soon)

Running BASIC with Docker

We use FreeBASIC, a modern BASIC compiler:

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docker pull codearchaeology/basic:latest
docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/code codearchaeology/basic fbc hello.bas && ./hello

Historical Significance

BASIC was one of the most accessible programming languages of its era. It powered:

  • Early microcomputers (Apple II, Commodore 64, TRS-80)
  • Microsoft’s first product (Altair BASIC)
  • The foundation for Visual Basic

Running Today

All examples can be run using Docker:

docker pull codearchaeology/basic:latest

New to Docker? Get started here →

Topics Covered

Hello World in BASIC

Your first BASIC program - the classic Hello World example with Docker setup

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Variables and Types in BASIC

Learn about variables, data types, and type conversions in BASIC with practical Docker-ready examples

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Operators in BASIC

Learn arithmetic, comparison, logical, and string operators in FreeBASIC with Docker-ready examples

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Control Flow in BASIC

Learn conditionals, loops, and branching in BASIC with IF/THEN/ELSE, FOR, WHILE, DO, and SELECT CASE statements

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