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From: darin@tmq.UUCP (Darin Adler)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Re: MAC Basic vs MS Basic?
Message-ID: <192@tmq.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 8-Jun-85 11:50:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: tmq.192
Posted: Sat Jun  8 11:50:43 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 10-Jun-85 21:26:47 EDT
References: <2387@decwrl.UUCP> <648@wanginst.UUCP>
Organization: tmq/ICOM Buffalo Grove, IL
Lines: 28

> > I've heard of a product, (from Apple, I assume) called MAC Basic.
> > Yesterday in the MIT Coop I ran across a nice thick book about it,
> > better than the average DEC language manual (ok, folks, that's a high
> > standard), from SYBEX publishing. It didn't say one word about
> > MicroSoft. I checked some syntax and keywords against an MS Basic
> > manual. Clearly different.
> 
> The story I've heard is that MS Basic, version 1, was based on the typical
> MS Basic for typical PC's, which is why it was so lousy on the Mac.
> According to the story, MS Basic, version 2, *is* Mac Basic, after Microsoft
> bought it from the original developers.  I'm not sure this is entirely true,
> but there is a striking resemblance.  I haven't checked in much detail.
> I bought MS Basic a few weeks ago, but I've been tied up with other things
> and haven't done a lot with it.
> 

NOT TRUE.  MacBasic is a product which Apple has been developing for a long
time.  It is by Donn Dennsmore, the author of Business Basic for the Apple ///.
It is a great deal more sophisticated than MS-Basic (even version 2).  The most
recent versions I have seen (with version numbers in the .8's and .9's) have had
auto-refreshing windows, extensive debugging aids (similar to those in Macintosh
Pascal), considerable toolbox support (for an interpreter), and a number of
other goodies.  If you are interested in BASIC, I am sure it will be a worth-
while product, however I am not sure when Apple will make it available (or even
if it will ever be).

Darin Adler
ihnp4!tmq!darin