BASIC

Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

Programming language developed at Dartmouth University designed to be a simple means of introducing students to computer programming. The language was small enough that it could be implemented via interpreters built into PROM's in small early handheld or personal computers. There was a famous implementation known as 8K BASIC in which the interpreter was totally implemented on an 8K PROM. The original IBM PC contained a BASIC interpreter built into the machine. If the user did not insert a floppy disk when booting the computer it would "boot to BASIC."  The language has evolved into countless variants over the years. Modern languages  such as Microsoft's Visual Basic have very little to do with the original simple language designed as a pedagogical instrument.