Microsoft open-sources its 6502 version of BASIC from 1976

After years of unofficial copies of Microsoft’s 6502 BASIC floating astir connected the internet, the bundle elephantine has released the code nether an open-source license. 6502 BASIC was 1 of Microsoft’s archetypal pieces of software, adapted successful 1976 by Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and aboriginal worker Ric Weiland to tally connected the 6502 CPU that powered the Apple II, Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Commodore 8-bit series.

Microsoft’s open-source merchandise of 6502 BASIC is simply a throwback to the archetypal days of coding, arsenic the bundle helped standardize programming connection implementations and allowed immoderate of the archetypal developers to usage a Commodore instrumentality and larn programming by typing 10 PRINT “HELLO” and 20 GOTO 10.

“In 1977, Commodore licensed it for a level interest of $25,000, a woody that placed Microsoft BASIC astatine the bosom of Commodore’s PET computers and, later, the VIC-20 and Commodore 64,” explains Microsoft in a blog post announcing Microsoft’s 6502 BASIC unfastened root news.

While 6502 BASIC and Microsoft’s different aboriginal bundle projects helped with the improvement of MS-DOS and established the company’s bundle licensing concern model, involvement successful this aboriginal codification and the MOS 6502 CPU is inactive precise overmuch live astir 50 years later. Preservationists and hobbyists person been experimenting with FPGA-based re-creations and emulator projects, and the 6502 BASIC codification has besides appeared successful depository archives.

“Over the years, dedicated preservationists person reconstructed physique environments and verified that the humanities root tin inactive nutrient byte-exact ROMs,” says Microsoft. “This open-source merchandise builds connected that work, present with a clear, modern license. It follows Microsoft’s earlier merchandise of GW-BASIC, which descended from the aforesaid lineage and shipped successful the archetypal IBM PC’s ROM.“

If you’re funny successful experimenting with the assembly connection root codification of Microsoft’s 6502 BASIC, the implicit root codification is present available connected GitHub.