| Appeared in | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Microsoft (for Compaq) |
| Stable release | 3.23 (1988) |
| Influenced by | IBM Cassette BASIC, IBM Disk BASIC, IBM BASICA |
| Influenced | QBasic, QuickBasic |
| OS | DOS |
GW-BASIC is a dialect of the programming language BASIC developed by Microsoft from BASICA, originally for Compaq. It is otherwise identical to Microsoft/IBM BASICA, but is a fully self-contained executable and does not need the ROM BASIC. It was bundled with MS-DOS operating systems on IBM PC compatibles by Microsoft. Microsoft also sold a BASIC compiler,
BASCOM, compatible with GW-BASIC, for programs needing more speed. The
language is suitable for simple games, business programs and the like.
Since it was included with most versions of MS-DOS, it was also a low
cost way for many would-be programmers to learn the fundamentals of computer programming. With the release of MS-DOS 5.0, GW-BASIC's place was eventually taken by QBasic, the interpreter part of the separately available QuickBASIC compiler.
