Atari ST BASIC

Atari ST BASIC

Atari ST BASIC (edit-window hidden)
Original author(s)	MetaComCo
Initial release	1985; 40 years ago (1985)
Platform	Atari ST
Type	BASIC

Atari ST BASIC (or ST Basic) was the first

was bundled with all new STs in the early years of the ST's lifespan, and quickly became the standard BASIC for that platform. However, many users disliked it, and improved dialects of BASIC quickly came out to replace it.

Development

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The user interface consists of four windows:

1. EDIT, for entering source code
2. LIST, where the source code can be browsed
3. COMMAND, where instructions are entered and immediately executed
4. OUTPUT

The windows can only be selected with the

ST BASIC has many bugs. Compute! in September 1987 reported on one flaw that it described as "among the worst BASIC bugs of all time".^[2] Typing x = 18.9 results in

function not yet done
System error #%N, please restart

Similar commands, such as x = 39.8 or x = 4.725, crash the computer; the magazine described the results of the last command as "as bad a crash as you can get on the ST without seeing the machine rip free from its cables, drag itself to the edge of the desk, and leap into the trash bin". After citing other flaws (such as ? 257 * 257 and ? 257 ^ 2 not being equivalent) the magazine recommended "avoid[ing] ST BASIC for serious programming". Regarding reports that MetaComCo was "one bug away" from releasing a long-delayed update to the language, it jokingly wondered "whether Atari has only one more bug to eliminate from ST BASIC or one more to add".^[2]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The relatively low quality of ST BASIC quickly opened up a market for third-party BASICs on the ST. FaST BASIC and GFA BASIC were two of the first of these third-party BASICs to be released. As these BASICS were not free, a program written in one of these BASICs could only be listed and run if the user had that BASIC. However, compilers and run-time executables started to appear for these BASICs that produced executable code that could run on all STs, and type-in programs became less fashionable, so there was no longer a need for a standard BASIC. By then, HiSoft BASIC, Omikron BASIC and STOS BASIC had appeared. Some of these BASICs even started to be bundled with new STs in the later years.

• Knight, Tim (1986). Understanding Atari ST BASIC Programming. Sybex.
  ISBN 0-89588-344-9
  .
• Atari ST BASIC Quick Reference Guide — by Atari, copyright 1986, revision A. {DDB-G22}
• ST BASIC Sourcebook and Tutorial. Atari. 1986. Revision B. {DDB-G22}