Commodore Basic

Commodore Basic was developed in the late 1970s by Microsoft for Commodore's line of 8-bit home computers. It was created to provide an accessible programming environment for users, enabling them to write and execute programs, perform calculations, and control hardware peripherals. It became widely used on systems like the Commodore PET, VIC-20, and Commodore 64.

Strengths of Commodore Basic included its ease of use, built-in commands for hardware control, and widespread availability on popular home computers. Weaknesses were its limited graphics and sound capabilities, lack of advanced language features, and slower execution speed. Competitors included AppleSoft BASIC for Apple II computers, Atari BASIC for Atari 8-bit systems, and Microsoft BASIC on various other platforms.

A Commodore Basic expert must have skills in writing and debugging BASIC code, understanding memory management on 8-bit systems, manipulating hardware registers, and using PEEK and POKE commands for direct hardware control. They should also be proficient in creating and managing data structures such as arrays and strings within the language's constraints.