AmigaBASIC was a BASIC programming language implementation for the Amiga, designed and written by Microsoft. AmigaBASIC shipped with AmigaOS versions 1.1 to 1.3. It succeeded ABasiC, which was included in AmigaOS 1.0 and 1.1, and it was replaced with ARexx, a REXX-style scripting language, from AmigaOS version 2.0 onwards.

AmigaBASIC provided not only the common BASIC language, but also attempted to provide an easy-to-use API for the Amiga's unique graphics and sound capabilities. It could also be extended to use external libraries with the DECLARE FUNCTION LIBRARY command.

Compute!, a popular computer magazine published while AmigaBASIC was still being shipped, included many AmigaBASIC programs in their articles. Compute! readers could type the source code into the AmigaBASIC editor to add new software to their Amiga. The source code listings were typically implementations of simple programs, such as rudimentary games, analog clocks and address books.

Many of today's successful computer programmers got their start on AmigaBASIC, including a few that work at Valve Software, the company that makes the Half-Life series of games.

Hello World in AmigaBASIC

' Hello World for AmigaBASIC
PRINT "Hello, world!"

Other BASIC languages for AmigaOS

• ACE was a BASIC compiler, written by David Been, that was designed to work with the AmigaBASIC language. The compiler produced Motorola 68000 assembly language which could be assembled and linked into native Amiga executables. The primary benefits were performance, lower run-time memory requirements, the ability to execute software without AmigaBASIC, and the ability to distribute software without having to release the actual source code. ACE also provided additional APIs to expand the capability of the AmigaBASIC language.
• Cursor was another AmigaBASIC editor and compiler.
• GFA BASIC, originally developed for the Atari ST, was ported to the Amiga platform by its author, Frank Ostrowski.
• HiSoft BASIC was another BASIC variant ported from the Atari ST to the Amiga.
• AMOS BASIC, developed by François Lionet, was a commercial language which provided extensive support for the Amiga's graphics hardware and was designed primarily for games programming. It was used to write several commercial games and educational software.
• Blitz BASIC was a direct commercial competitor to AMOS, published by Acid Software. Like AMOS, it was targeted at games programming. Its successor, Blitz Basic 2, was used to write several commercial games, including the popular Team17 game Worms.

Example AmigaBASIC code

• COMPUTE!, August 1987, pg 89 Fractal Mountains For Amiga Source code listing of a fractal mountain generator.
• COMPUTE!, October 1987, pg 71 A Button Command Source code listing for enhanced buttons, such as radio-style buttons.
• COMPUTE!, November 1987, pg 86 Masked Input For The Amiga Source code listing for a masked text input box.

BASIC programming language family | Microsoft BASIC | Amiga software