Back in the day

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beenz

444 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 162068 28-Jan-2015 10:47

I remember some 35-40 years ago when I was a young man growing up in the UK and the advent of the PC.

I used to go in to the local electronics store and play on one and from what I remember you programmed it in Base 10, as in the screen looked something like this

10:

20:

30:

etc etc and you typed in your commands.

I can also vaguely remember that you could get an endless loop going by typing in a command at "10" then one at "20" and then at "30" typing in go to 10.

Now this is a looong time ago and my memory might not be spot on so can other geeks throw some light on this, would love some more details, makes of PC, the actual year and any other relevant info would be great.

Thanks

Bernard

Stu

Hammered
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# 1223865 28-Jan-2015 10:54

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Sounds like Basic.

10 PRINT "THIS IS ANCIENT"
20 GOTO 10
RUN

THIS IS ANCIENT
THIS IS ANCIENT
THIS IS ANCIENT
THIS IS ANCIENT
THIS IS ANCIENT
THIS IS ANCIENT
THIS IS ANCIENT
THIS IS ANCIENT

etc

Had a Sinclair ZX81 and Commodore 64 back in the early 80s. Don't remember much of it now.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

TLD

700 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1223867 28-Jan-2015 10:55

I don't remember that. What sort of computer? I had a BBC Micro (serial number 00050) and it just used BBC Basic or Assembly. Actually, I only used the Basic, so it might be that Assembly looked more like you describe.

Also programed Commodore Pet at work, and that was just basic as well.

Trevor Dennis
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Dynamic

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# 1223874 28-Jan-2015 11:00

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That sounds like the BASIC programming language to me. This language ran on a huge variety of hardware from IBM PC Compatibles to the ZX Spectrum to early Apple hardware.

The 10: 20: etc were the line numbers of the program that you were entering. You could use 1: 2: 3: but if you forgot a line and had to enter one in between two other lines, rather than having to change the numbers on the lines below, you could enter 15: between 10: and 20:. I have fond memories of typing a couple of pages of program code from a hobby magazine to get a basic game running on more than one occasion.

Interesting links:

BASIC on Wikipedia

Why was BASIC the dominant hobbyist language in the 1970s–1980s?

Fifty Years of BASIC the Programming Language That Made Computers Personal

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beenz

444 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1223882 28-Jan-2015 11:12

TLD: I don't remember that. What sort of computer? I had a BBC Micro (serial number 00050) and it just used BBC Basic or Assembly. Actually, I only used the Basic, so it might be that Assembly looked more like you describe.

Also programed Commodore Pet at work, and that was just basic as well.

I seem to remember that it was a BBC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Micro#History

Brings back memories

robjg63

2979 posts

Uber Geek

# 1223899 28-Jan-2015 11:23

Try going to http://www.quitebasic.com/
Copy Bighammer's 2 lines of code into the panel on the left hand side and click the "|>" button up the top.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler