Business Basic

Business Basic

Business Basic Logo

Business Basic is a programming language that was developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was primarily used for business applications and was popular during the early days of computer programming. Business Basic was designed to be easy to learn and use, making it accessible to non-programmers as well.

History

Business Basic was created by a team of programmers led by Charles Bachman at General Electric (GE) in the late 1960s. It was initially developed to simplify the process of writing business applications for GE's mainframe computers. The language gained popularity due to its simplicity and ease of use, and it was soon adopted by other companies as well.

In the 1970s, Business Basic was further developed and enhanced by several other companies, including Honeywell and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). These companies added additional features and capabilities to the language, making it more powerful and versatile.

Features

Business Basic was designed to be a high-level programming language that could be easily understood by non-programmers. It featured a simplified syntax and a set of built-in functions and commands that were specifically tailored for business applications.

Some of the key features of Business Basic include:

1. English-like syntax: Business Basic used a syntax that resembled the English language, making it easier for non-programmers to understand and write code.

2. Built-in functions: The language included a wide range of built-in functions that could be used to perform common business calculations and operations, such as mathematical calculations, string manipulation, and date/time handling.

3. File handling: Business Basic had built-in support for file handling, allowing users to easily read from and write to files. This made it well-suited for applications that required data storage and retrieval.

4. Database integration: Business Basic had built-in support for integrating with databases, allowing users to easily retrieve and manipulate data stored in a database.

Usage

Business Basic was widely used in the 1970s and 1980s for developing business applications. It was particularly popular in industries such as finance, manufacturing, and logistics, where there was a need for simple and efficient programming languages.

However, with the advent of more advanced programming languages and technologies, the popularity of Business Basic declined. Today, it is mostly used in legacy systems that were developed using the language.

Legacy

Although Business Basic is no longer as widely used as it once was, it still has a dedicated user base. Many companies continue to maintain and update their legacy systems that were built using Business Basic. Additionally, there are still a few companies that offer modern versions of the language, providing support and development tools for existing Business Basic applications.

See Also

• Programming language
• Legacy system
• Computer programming