Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ginosko!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!walt.cc.utexas.edu!jonabbey From: jonabbey@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Jonathan Abbey) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Amiga Origins & Trivia Message-ID: <19951@ut-emx.UUCP> Date: 22 Oct 89 23:07:41 GMT References: <1921@nigel.udel.EDU> <1973@sactoh0.UUCP> Sender: news@ut-emx.UUCP Reply-To: jonabbey@walt.cc.utexas.edu (Jonathan Abbey) Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas Lines: 32 In article <1973@sactoh0.UUCP> hrlaser@sactoh0.UUCP (Harv R. Laser) writes: >In article , ms0p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Gordon Shapiro) writes: >> >> ABasic was the sluggish, lo-res precursor to AmigaBASIC, and it modeled >> its alleged editor on that of the TRS-80 (I think). > >Yes, ABasiC used a "line editor" quite similar to the TRS-80 >Basics, and yes its initial running interface used big fat >40 column characters so it looked C64-ish, although that was >easily changed with one command. But have you ever actually >USED ABasiC? If so I don't see how you can call it sluggish >when comparing it to AmigaBasic which often reacts as though >it's running in slow motion under water. As one who did a good deal of programming in ABasiC way back when (no software! 8-)) I have to agree. For me, ABasiC defined the Amiga feel and style, along with those balloon icons from the orig. Workbench demos and the multitasking demo. ABasiC had style.. I would much rather have had an improved ABasiC over the crippled, unsupported AmigaBasic we have now. (although a *lot* of nice things have been done with it). ABasiC made the power of the machine (sound especially) available to the user better than anything that's come out since in terms of power versus difficulty. > >-- >| Harv Laser | SAC-UNIX, Sacramento, Ca. | >| People/Link: CBM*HARV | UUCP=...pacbell!sactoh0 | // /\ /\/\ | Jonathan Abbey - jonabbey@doc.cc.utexas.edu - (512) 926-5934 \X/ / \ / \ | Wanted: Programmers interested in 3d graphics/modem games.