Microsoft BASIC for 6502 Microprocessor – Version 1.1

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Git History, Timestamps, and Archival Fidelity

  • Many liked the “48 years ago” initial commit as a charming touch, though some noted it’s obviously backdated and anachronistic (.md, .gitignore, etc.).
  • Thread explains how Git author/committer dates can be manually set, but Git doesn’t really support pre‑1970 timestamps.
  • Some argue historical repos should distinguish between original file dates and later changes (e.g., when the MIT license was added) for accuracy.

Authorship, Lineage, and DEC Influence

  • Discussion over who really wrote 6502 BASIC: evidence in comments and hidden credits points strongly to specific early Microsoft employees, with others contributing ports and floating‑point changes.
  • Debate over whether Microsoft BASIC is “based on” DEC BASIC:
    • One side stresses DEC BASIC’s strong influence, especially REPL/immediate mode.
    • Others say implementation details (compiled bytecode vs tokenized interpreter) are very different and there’s no clear evidence of copyright violation.
  • Some lament lack of explicit credit to DEC despite conceptual influence.

Impact of BASIC: Democratization vs Commercialization

  • One camp feels early microcomputer BASIC “democratized” programming by putting a language in everyone’s living room and school, well before GNU tools were accessible to most.
  • Another argues it mainly commercialized software; real “democratization” came later with free software and GCC.
  • Multiple nostalgic accounts: PETs, C64s, typing programs from magazines, BASIC as a gateway to assembly and later languages.

AI‑Generated README and Corporate Process

  • Several commenters are convinced the README is AI‑generated (tone, phrasing, plagiarism checks) and dislike that for a historical artifact.
  • Some worry this implies AI may have touched more than docs; others push back as baseless speculation and note the code comments are clearly original.
  • People poke fun at mandatory SECURITY.md and previously auto‑generated GitHub issues on a 1970s interpreter.

Code, Tools, and Quirks

  • Notable source comments and Easter eggs: “BLOW HIM UP” error handling, profanity, “MORE BULLSHIT,” hidden “MICROSOFT!” triggered via WAIT 6502,X.
  • Discussion of the unusual assembler syntax (addressing mode baked into opcodes) versus more standard 6502 assemblers.
  • Surprise that the whole interpreter is one ~162KB file; questions about 1970s editors (TECO, EMACS, SOS) and build times.

Licensing, ROMs, and Hopes for More Releases

  • This is seen as important because it’s the original source under MIT, not just a disassembly; enables legal reuse and ports.
  • Conversation about fragmented IP around Commodore/Amiga/C64 ROMs and Philips P2000 BASIC, and how this release might ease or inspire further openings.
  • People hope for other Microsoft BASICs (Z80, 6800/6809, BASIC‑80) and even tools like VB6 or old DOS Visual Basic to be released next.