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|A |6Brainware |A ^1The BASIC Quiz |Aͺ |6Brainware |A
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^Cby
^CScott Miller

   Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code -- known better by its 
acronym BASIC -- was devised back in the 1960s for use on the Dartmouth time-
sharing system by students.  It rapidly became a popular language for 
educational computing on mainframes; and, when microcomputers came along in the 
mid 1970's, BASIC was the language included with just about all computers (or 
at least those which were more advanced than the early hobbyist kits where the 
owners would toggle in programs in binary using switches on the front panel). 

   Since then, BASIC has been attacked mercilessly by programming purists for 
what they consider its encouragement of non-structured, messy programming style.  
Pascal is generally preferred for educational use -- though, as a compiled 
language, it doesn't have the "instant gratification" of interpreted BASIC, 
which lets you type in a command and see it executed right away.  There are 
others who are advocates of COMAL, a language with Pascal-like syntax but BASIC-
like immediacy; this language is standard in the schools in some European 
countries, but has never caught on in the United States. 

   But, like it or not, BASIC is still the most widely-available language for 
micros; and it is the language most novices who wish to begin programming their 
PC's must learn.  BASIC compilers, such as Microsoft QuickBASIC, bring BASIC 
into the realm of professional programming -- although at the cost of 
sacrificing the immediacy of the BASIC interpreter.  (ZBASIC combines some 
elements of both; the immediacy of an interpreter and the speed of a compiler.)

   This quiz tests your knowledge of BASIC.  In particular, it centers on BASICA 
(or GW-BASIC), the form of BASIC used on IBM PC's and compatibles.  This is a 
Microsoft BASIC, the descendant of the original Altair BASIC that gave Bill 
Gates his start in the software field in 1975, when he was still a college 
student.  The first Microsoft BASIC spawned later versions for: CP/M; the Apple 
II (Applesoft); the Commodore Pet, 64, and 128; and the Macintosh.  However, the 
IBM-and-clone version proved the most popular, riding on the coattails of 
another successful Microsoft product, MS-DOS.

   Try BASIC Quiz to see if you're a PC BASIC wizard, or if you can stand to 
learn a few things from more grizzled "hackers."

   To run this program outside ^1Big Blue Disk^0, type:  ^1QUIZ2^0.

DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES:
^FQUIZ2.COM
