Imagesource: https://joystickandcursorkeys.github.io/

BASIC might well be one of the most important languages ever. Not that it was the first or best higher level language - by far not.

But BASIC was an integral part of most home computers in the 80's, abstracting away some of the difficulties that came with assembly and machine language. Thus the language opened the door to not only playing with a computer, but actually becoming creative and productive, and implementing one's own ideas.

Today it's hard to imagine, but at that time it was something special to get your own creation - of any kind - onto a monitor or TV ... today literally child's play.

Dusty Wilhelm Murray is definitely a friend of the language and especially of the C64 version. And even if it looks different at first sight, his project is not a C64 emulator. 

Basic64.JS is a BASIC implementation directly in Javascript. And a more than successful one.

If you start the interpreter, you feel at home quickly. 🏡 The first BASIC programs are written in no time, and the emulator feels pretty damn fast - unlike some fully fledged machine emulators. Extended commands do exactly what their name promises, and the documentation is excellent.

You can save your own creations in the browser's LocalStorage and load them later on to continue.

It’s time for the BASICs!