The Howdy Glossary

BASIC is a high-level programming language designed to help students learn code. The acronym stands for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. When it first appeared in the 1960s, BASIC made computer programming more accessible to non-expert users. It achieved this by providing simple commands and clear syntax, which encouraged early adopters to write their programs using line numbers as markers instead of complex addressing systems found in other languages at the time. While it has evolved over time into different dialects, BASIC still is used today in educational environments and quick coding scenarios.