Is it 1984? Are you trying to port a BASIC ap–sorry, program–from Microsoft BASIC to the newfangled Locomotive BASIC? Well, here's the chart for you. A note on this scan indicates it was inserted in the September 1984 issue of Personal Computer World, the first U.K. magazine, which ran from 1978 until 2009.
Those rotten manufacturers still insist on making machines that won't talk to each other in the same language. Some enlightened people are having a go with MSX, but in the meantime and in response to overwhelming demand, here's the 1984 Converter Chart. It isn't possible, of course, to cover every micro nor every command supported by each of the machines included. What this chart aims to do is to provide an at-a-glance syntax comparison using Microsoft Basic as a reference point. The chart won't convert programs for you but it will save you the trouble of getting hold of piles of manuals – and even when you've got them it's often the beginning, not the end of your worries.
Update: Castor Studios published a perfect, updated recreation of the chart! It's offered as a 2,000 x 16,060 download, good for poster-sized printing.
My goal is to provide an updated and improved version of the classic PCW BASIC Converter Chart, offering a nostalgic glimpse into the computing landscape of the past while catering to modern audiences. I have painstakingly revised all the content, correcting typos, standardizing the content, and correcting errors.
Previously:
• 10 PRINT 'NOSTALGIA', 20 GOTO 10 – Wired reminisces about BASIC
• Thomas Eugene Kurtz, co-inventor of BASIC, dead at 96
• Here's a project to update classic BASIC games using modern scripting languages
• Programming language BASIC is 60 years old
