DOS ain't dead

True BASIC (Developers)

posted by bocke, 24.05.2025, 17:56

Just found this while browsing the net. True Basic is a Basic by the original creators of BASIC, originally based on Darthmouth Basic. They offer a modernish version for Windows OS (and, for some reason, Mac OS Classic) and a few legacy versions including True Basic for DOS, OS/2 and Atari ST.

I asked ChatGPT about it and it said:

> True BASIC is a structured, cross-platform dialect of BASIC developed by
> John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz, aimed at providing a consistent and modern
> alternative to the fragmented BASIC landscape of the 1980s. Designed
> primarily for education, it supported structured programming features like
> procedures, control structures, and eliminated line numbers, making it more
> readable and maintainable. Unlike Microsoft’s BASIC variants (e.g., GW-
> BASIC, QuickBASIC), True BASIC emphasized portability and abstracted
> hardware details, which limited its use for low-level or performance-
> critical DOS applications. Though it offered both interpreter and compiler,
> compiled programs required a runtime, reducing its practicality for
> standalone DOS software. It found its niche in academia but never achieved
> wide adoption in commercial or hobbyist development.


TrueBasic is available here. Not free or open source, but it might be of interest to someone.

Complete thread:

• True BASIC - bocke, 24.05.2025, 17:56 (Developers)
  • True BASIC - Rugxulo, 24.05.2025, 23:49
    • True BASIC - bocke, 25.05.2025, 09:31
  • True BASIC - kerravon, 25.05.2025, 00:02
    • True BASIC - bocke, 25.05.2025, 09:34
      • True BASIC - kerravon, 25.05.2025, 14:50