BASIC 8

BASIC 8 is a language extension for BASIC version 7.0 on the Commodore 128. It makes most of the typical BASIC bitmap-type commands (from a Plus/4 or the 40-column mode of the C128) work on the 80-column VDC... and it adds many new possibilities too! It is the only 80-column bitmap programming language that I know from back in the day. It was written by LR Wallace and DP Darus and released by WalruSoft in 1986 (or 1987?)

Some of the best features of BASIC 8 are:

3-D coordinates
Multiple video modes
Virtual screen (an image in RAM larger than than physical display... smoothly scroll on a real monitor!)
"copy and paste" to/from a disk file
Supports REU (CBM "RAM Expansion Unit")
Supports many printers

Below is a nice example (borrowed from Mircosoft):

Dithered color image (psudo-3D) rendered by BASIC 8

However it has some serious issues too:

Syntax is 100% incompatible with earlier BASIC (like v3.5 or v7.0)
Requires 64K V-RAM
Dramatically alters the memory map (important for those who combine BASIC with ML)
Coordinates must be 3-D, and translation from "classic" 2-D to 3-D is not as simple as it could be...
It will crash if you attempt to use most (any?) 40-column bitmap command!

BASIC 8 has, over the years, got a lot of publicity and mostly positive reviews because (like I said) it was unique back in 1980s (and 1990s). An alternative, recently written by me, is called BASIC 7.80... it doesn't have any of the cool 3-D stuff of BASIC 8, but it is 100% compatible with the syntax of BASIC v3.5/v7.0, does not move the "start-of-BASIC" (easy to work with ML), works with either 16K or 64K V-RAM, and works fine with both 40 and 80 column screens (great for dual-monitor applications).

Downloads

For historical / educational purposes, I give two links below that should help if you want to experiment with this powerful language. (If you are the copyright holder and wish this material removed, please Contact Me.)

BASIC 8 ZIP file (contains two D64 disk images and a TXT file)
BASIC 8 documentation (simple TXT file)

Compare?

If you love hacking these old 8-bit machines, and would like to compare WalruSoft's BASIC 8 with my BASIC 7.80, then please Contact Me or post your thoughts on the (new) C128 Forums.

Links

Find out more about BASIC 8 on Wikipedia!