The Howdy Glossary

BASIC (Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages. IBM released its own variant on their systems for different models starting in the 1960s. Simple to use and easy to learn, BASIC's early versions offered line-numbered code and GOTO statements allowing sequential execution. Over time, it evolved to include support for structured programming with procedures, loops, and conditional statements like IF/THEN/ELSE constructs. Its accessibility made it popular for introductory computer science courses and personal computing during the 1980s through languages like QBASIC on DOS systems.