[W/K] :: Microsoft Basic

  Microsoft Basic
       
           (MS-BASIC) A dialect of BASIC from Microsoft,
          originally developed by Bill Gates in a garage back in the
          CP/M days.  It was originally known as GWBasic, then QBASIC
          and finally MS-BASIC.
       
          When the MS-DOS operating system came out, it incorporated
          the GWBASIC.EXE or BASICA.EXE interpreters.  GWBASIC ("Gee
          Whiz") incorporated graphics and a screen editor and was
          compatible with earlier BASICs.
       
          QBASIC was more sophisticated.  Version 4.5 had a full screen
          editor, debugger and compiler.  The compiler could also
          produce executable files but to run these a utility program
          (BRUN44.EXE) had to be present.  Thus source code could be
          kept private.
       
          From DOS 5.0 or 6.0 onward, MS-BASIC was standard.
       
          Current version: 1.1, also produces stand-alone executables
          and can display graphics.
       
          Usenet newsgroup: news:comp.lang.basic.misc.
       
          [Relationship to BASIC in ROM on first IBM PC?]
       
          (1995-05-12)