"After years of unofficial copies of Microsoft's 6502 BASIC floating around on the internet, the software giant has released the code under an open-source license. 6502 BASIC was one of Microsoft's first pieces of software, adapted in 1976 by Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and early employee Ric Weiland to run on the 6502 CPU that powered the Apple II, Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Commodore 8-bit series."
"Microsoft's open-source release of 6502 BASIC is a throwback to the initial days of coding, as the software helped standardize programming language implementations and allowed some of the first developers to use a Commodore machine and learn programming by typing 10 PRINT "HELLO" and 20 GOTO 10. "In 1977, Commodore licensed it for a flat fee of $25,000, a deal that placed Microsoft BASIC at the heart of Commodore's PET computers and, later, the VIC-20 and Commodore 64," explains Microsoft in a blog post announcing Microsoft's 6502 BASIC open source news."
Microsoft has released the source code for its 6502 BASIC under an open-source license after unofficial copies circulated online. 6502 BASIC was adapted in 1976 by Bill Gates and Ric Weiland to run on the 6502 CPU used in machines such as the Apple II, Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Commodore 8-bit computers. The release highlights the role of 6502 BASIC in standardizing early programming language implementations and enabling beginners to learn coding with simple programs. Commodore licensed the interpreter in 1977 for $25,000, placing Microsoft BASIC in PET, VIC-20, and C64 machines.
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