Show HN: Thoreau BASIC – What if BASIC hadn't gone out of fashion?
Thoreau BASIC is a modernized GW-BASIC-style dialect featuring 64-bit support, JIT compilation, built-in multimedia commands, and a UEFI bootloader that runs without an operating system.
summary is enough A quick read gives you the full scope of this nostalgic project; dive deeper only if you want to experiment with bare-metal BASIC.
summary
Thoreau BASIC modernizes traditional GW-BASIC syntax for contemporary hardware while preserving line numbers and straightforward commands. It bundles 64-bit data types, networking, 24-bit graphics, and an extensive audio wavetable directly into the language runtime. Crucially, the interpreter can compile down to standalone executables or boot directly on x64 machines via UEFI without requiring an underlying operating system. Commenters discussed the historical evolution of BASIC, alternative dialects like PureBasic, and the architectural limitations of old-school BASIC design.
key points
- Features modern capabilities including native x64 JIT compilation, TCP/IP networking, sprites, and complex number math including quaternions and octonions.
- Can run as a standard Windows program, package into a standalone EXE, or boot directly on bare metal via UEFI firmware.
- Retains classic line numbers and GW-BASIC syntax while baking graphics, audio playback, and file management directly into core language commands.
who should read it
Retro computing enthusiasts, systems programmers, and developers interested in alternative language runtimes and bare-metal execution.
discussion positive
consensus
Commenters are fascinated by the UEFI bare-metal capability and nostalgic for early programming days, though many debate whether traditional line-number BASIC is viable for modern projects.
pushback
Some critics strongly disliked the verbosity of the added multimedia command syntax, arguing it highlights why the language rightly faded out of fashion.
The interesting thing would be if someone made a lookalike for Visual BASIC for DOS (not Windows) that ran as a standalone EFI application.
That is the real 'what if it had not gone out of fashion' path. VB/DOS definitely went out of fashion. GUI BASICs became fashionable, instead. Everyone who does a 'visual' BASIC nowadays does a GUI one.
The headlined BASIC is nothing like a VB/DOS for EFI, though.
Provides historical perspective on how text-mode DOS BASICs evolved and contrasts them with the UEFI approach taken here.
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