The BASIC programming language turns 60 Easy-to-use language that drove Apple, TRS-80, IBM, and Commodore PCs debuted in 1964.

This is why I’ve long argued that BASIC is the most consequential language in the history of computing. It’s a language for noobs, sure, but back then most everyone was a noob.

SmileBASIC, the Nintendo 3DS application that lets users make games with BASIC programming language, is now on the Nintendo eShop.

Once upon a time, knowing how to use a computer was virtually synonymous with knowing how to program one. And the thing that made it possible was a programming language called BASIC.

The language that made that all possible. They called it the Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code— BASIC. Before BASIC, life in the computer programming world was complicated.

Since the 1960s, BASIC has introduced countless beginners to computer programming. Here's how the language got started, the paths it cleared for Windows and Apple, and where you can still find it ...

More information: Joan Arnedo-Moreno et al, Programming Fun (damentals): Using commercial video games to teach basic coding to adult learners, Entertainment Computing (2024).

The history of basic computer programming languages dates back far. Learn more about the BASIC & C coding languages that got everything started.