Intro

Hey fellas, welcome back to Selfish Dev Blogs

Today, we’re stepping away from the usual stuff.

This time, it’s something totally new.

Say hello to MiniBASIC

Now you might be wondering:

"Selfish Dev, what even is MiniBASIC? Why should I care?"

Great question—and that’s exactly what we’re diving into today.
So let’s not waste any more time…

Let’s jump right in!

MiniBASIC

What is BASIC

If you’ve been into programming for more than a year, chances are you’ve heard of BASIC — a classic language from the past that laid the groundwork for a LOT of what we do today.

It was born on 1st May, 1969 (yep, just turned a year older a few days ago 🎂).
Go ahead—drop a "Happy B-Day BASIC!" in the comments 🎉

Created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz, BASIC was made for one reason:

Make programming easy for everyone.

Back then, most programming was really hard…

  • FORTON & COBOL - were powerful but required deep knowledge of math (FORTRAN) or business systems (COBOL).

  • Pascal (1970) came later and was structured but still academic—meant for teaching proper programming, not quick results.

Thats why BASIC was Game-Changer at its time

Why BASIC Was a Big Deal

BASIC was the first language meant for people who had never coded before, with:

  • Simple English keywords (PRINT, GOTO, IF-THEN).

  • No complex syntax (unlike ALGOL or PL/I).

  • Instant feedback (on early time-sharing systems).

BASIC Ran on Tiny Computers (When Others Couldn’t)

  • In the 1970s–80s, home computers (like the Apple II, Commodore 64) had very little memory (often just 4KB–64KB).

  • Languages like Pascal and C needed compilers that were too big for these machines.

  • BASIC was tiny—it could fit in ROM and boot immediately.

BASIC Was Interactive (Others Were Batch-Processed)

  • Early FORTRAN/COBOL programs were written on punch cards, submitted to a mainframe, and took hours to get results.

  • BASIC let you type commands and see output instantly—revolutionary for students and hobbyists.

BASIC Was Everywhere (Thanks to Microsoft)

  • Bill Gates and Paul Allen wrote one of the first microcomputer BASICs (Altair 8800, 1975).

  • Soon, almost every PC came with BASIC built-in (IBM PC, Atari, TRS-80).

  • No installation, no expensive compilers—just turn on the computer and start coding.

What is MiniBASIC

Alright, now let’s come back to the topic of this blog—MiniBASIC.

It’s basically a modern implementation of the old BASIC language inside Mini Micro.

If you don’t know Mini Micro, it's like a retro-style fantasy computer where you can make games using MiniScript (or now... MiniBASIC 😎).

Why do we need MiniBASIC?

Writing BASIC code on old computers was easier at that time but not now... its now painful:

  • You needed to type everything perfectly.

  • Saving your work? That was a pretty hard.

  • No color coding, no auto-complete. Just pure BASIC.

MiniBASIC takes that nostalgic goodness and gives it modern vibes:

  • Syntax stays true to the original BASIC.

  • Runs inside Mini Micro, which means instant game dev potential.

Who Should Try MiniBASIC?

You don’t need to be a programming nerd to try this out. In fact...

If you’re:

  • A beginner curious about programming history

  • A hobbyist who loves retro-style dev

  • A game developer who wants a simple but powerful scripting experience

  • Or just someone who wants to vibe with BASIC and make stuff

…Then MiniBASIC is for YOU.

It might even teach you how far programming has come, and why simplicity still matters today.

Let’s Talk!

Ever used BASIC before? Tried out MiniBASIC yet?
Drop your thoughts in the comments or share what you’ve built!
And of course, follow me for more cool dev content.

Until next time—
Stay curious, stay selfish 😈