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Show HN: I built a minimal Forth-like stack interpreter library in C

This weekend I created stacklib.h - a single-header library that brings Forth-style stack operations to C. It implements a basic interpreter with: - Stack operations (push/pop/dup/swap/over/drop) - Arithmetic (+, -, *, /) - Output (., emit, cr) - Stack inspection (.s, depth) Example usage: Stack s; stack_init(&s); dict_init(); exec(&s, "10 20 + ."); // Prints "30" exec(&s, "1 2 3 4 .s"); // Shows stack contents The library is self-contained, requires no dependencies, and handles basic error c

Microsoft Goes Back to BASIC, Open-Sources Bill Gates’ Code

In the era of vibe coding, when even professionals are pawning off their programming work on AI tools, Microsoft is throwing it all the way back to the language that launched a billion devices. On Wednesday, the company announced that it would make the source code for Microsoft BASIC for the 6502 Version 1.1 publicly available and open-source. The code is now uploaded to GitHub under an MIT license (with a cheeky commit time stamp of “48 years ago”). Microsoft called the code—written by the com

MS-BASIC 1.1 introduced programming to a generation - now you can download it for free

Doug Wilson/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Microsoft open-sourced the MS-BASIC language. Bill Gates would never have seen this coming back in the day. MS-BASIC 1.1 was many developers' first language. If, like my ZDNET colleague David Gerwitz and I, you were tinkering with computers in 1975, you badly wanted an MITS Altair 8080 computer, the first PC. To build software on it, most of us used Altair BASIC. A pair of

Action was the best 8-bit programming language

There were many programming languages available for 8-bit computers, the most common being BASIC and Assembly Language, but there were also other lesser-used languages such as Logo, Forth, and Pilot. The languages that would go on to dominate 16-bit computing, C and Pascal, were also available but were usually severely limited. An 8-bit computer generally did not have enough horsepower to run those more complex language compilers. By 1983 Optimized Systems Software (OSS) was renown in the Atari

Microsoft open-sources Bill Gates’ 6502 BASIC from 1978

On Wednesday, Microsoft released the complete source code for Microsoft BASIC for 6502 Version 1.1, the 1978 interpreter that powered the Commodore PET, VIC-20, Commodore 64, and Apple II through custom adaptations. The company posted 6,955 lines of assembly language code to GitHub under an MIT license, allowing anyone to freely use, modify, and distribute the code that helped launch the personal computer revolution. "Rick Weiland and I (Bill Gates) wrote the 6502 BASIC," Gates commented on the

Microsoft open-sources its 6502 version of BASIC from 1976

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. After years of unofficial copies of Microsoft’s 6502 BASIC floating around on the internet, the software giant has released the code under an open-source license. 6502 BASIC was one of Microsoft’s first pieces of software, adapted in 1976 by Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and early employee

ExpressVPN switches to multi-tiered pricing with more feature options

ExpressVPN has tripled its subscription options by switching to a tiered pricing structure, effective today. The new system includes three levels of service, the cheapest offering basic VPN service and the others adding extra features. Each one of those levels — Basic, Advanced and Pro — can be purchased for monthly, yearly or two-year durations. In total, you've now got nine different options for subscribing to ExpressVPN. The company also says legacy plans will remain active "for now," and cu

Microsoft BASIC for 6502 Microprocessor – Version 1.1

Microsoft BASIC for 6502 Microprocessor - Version 1.1 Historical Significance This assembly language source code represents one of the most historically significant pieces of software from the early personal computer era. It is the complete source code for Microsoft BASIC Version 1.1 for the 6502 microprocessor, originally developed and copyrighted by Microsoft in 1976-1978. Why This Document is Historically Important 1. Foundation of the Personal Computer Revolution This BASIC interpreter

Microsoft Releases Historic 6502 Basic

Microsoft BASIC for 6502 Microprocessor - Version 1.1 Historical Significance This assembly language source code represents one of the most historically significant pieces of software from the early personal computer era. It is the complete source code for Microsoft BASIC Version 1.1 for the 6502 microprocessor, originally developed and copyrighted by Microsoft in 1976-1978. Why This Document is Historically Important 1. Foundation of the Personal Computer Revolution This BASIC interpreter

ExpressVPN switches to multi-tiered pricing plans, letting users tweak features to plan duration

ExpressVPN has tripled its subscription options by switching to a tiered pricing structure, effective today. The new system includes three levels of service, the cheapest offering basic VPN service and the others adding extra features. Each one of those levels — Basic, Advanced and Pro — can be purchased for monthly, yearly or two-year durations. In total, you've now got nine different options for subscribing to ExpressVPN. The company also says legacy plans will remain active "for now," and cu

A Unique, High-Tech (Family) Computer

There’s a concept that many people have tried, with varying effects: the “educational computer”, a device that a parent can buy for their children to learn the basics of the computer, which everyone will need to know in the future, and can also play games, so the children will actually want to use it. These have ranged from plasticky VTech toys with little more than an electronic organizer, to the Wonder Computer of the 1980’s, the Commodore VIC-20, which was a full computer. This is a prime mar

How to slow down a program and why it can be useful

Most research on programming language performance asks a variation of a single question: how can we make some specific program faster? Sometimes we may even investigate how we can use less memory. This means a lot of research focuses solely on reducing the amount of resources needed to achieve some computational goal. So, why on earth might we be interested in slowing down programs then? Slowing Down Programs is Surprisingly Useful! Making programs slower can be useful to find race conditions

Slowing down programs is surprisingly useful

Most research on programming language performance asks a variation of a single question: how can we make some specific program faster? Sometimes we may even investigate how we can use less memory. This means a lot of research focuses solely on reducing the amount of resources needed to achieve some computational goal. So, why on earth might we be interested in slowing down programs then? Slowing Down Programs is Surprisingly Useful! Making programs slower can be useful to find race conditions

How to Slow Down a Program? and Why It Can Be Useful

Most research on programming language performance asks a variation of a single question: how can we make some specific program faster? Sometimes we may even investigate how we can use less memory. This means a lot of research focuses solely on reducing the amount of resources needed to achieve some computational goal. So, why on earth might we be interested in slowing down programs then? Slowing Down Programs is Surprisingly Useful! Making programs slower can be useful to find race conditions

X pulls the ability to like and follow from its developer API’s free tier

In an effort to cut down on abuse and fake engagement, Elon Musk’s X is removing access to two key features of its developer API for those on the free plan. Now, free users will no longer be able to use the API to like posts on behalf of a user, nor follow other users. The company says these changes will help protect X’s platform from “spam, bots, and manipulative activities” that degrade the user experience. Developers on paid plans like the Basic, Pro, or Enterprise tiers will be unaffected.

The Creator of ‘Severance’ Just Explained a Key Logistical Question

When it comes to Severance, there are rarely simple answers. Everything is wrapped in mystery and intrigue. Which, admittedly, is kind of the best part about it. We love to explore and speculate about what’s going on at Lumon. And yet, getting an answer, even a small one, here and there is nice. Which is what the creator of the show, Dan Erickson, just did. Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Erickson dodged questions about big topics like the structure of season three or the ultimate length of

Tech in the Classroom: A History of Hype and Hysteria

If you’re a parent, an educator, or just someone who’s been to school, you’ve probably developed an opinion about generative AI in classrooms. You might fear the demise of the five-paragraph essay, the ever-increasing ease of cheating, or, worse, the end of critical thinking altogether. But don’t worry: The anxiety surrounding large language models in schools is anything but unprecedented. In 1975, teachers fretted that handheld calculators would undermine students’ capacity to “handle basic sk

Comparison of different C libraries providing generic containers capabilities

Introduction The goal of this project is to compare several C libraries that provide some STL like capabilities of the C++ (container template) but are targeting classic C language. A STL like library for C is a C library providing several classic generic containers for the C language, like vector, list, sorted set, unordered_map, and so on. A small benchmark to compare their performance is includes in the bench directory. To do this, the same simple programs will be implemented by the librar

German court declares Karl Marx's teachings unconstitutional

A court in Hamburg, Germany, has stated in the details of a ruling concerning a Karl Marx reading group that Marx’s teachings may be contrary to the “free democratic basic order.” On April 8, the “Marxist School of Politics and Culture Forum” (Masch) won its case against the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV) in the Hamburg Administrative Court. The court ruled that the authorities could no longer classify the Hamburg-based association as “left-wing extremist.” Masch had

People kept working, became healthier while on basic income: report

Participants in Ontario's prematurely cancelled basic income pilot project were happier, healthier and continued working even though they were receiving money with no-strings attached. That's according to a new report titled Southern Ontario's Basic Income Experience, which was compiled by researchers at McMaster and Ryerson University, in partnership with the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction. The report shows nearly three-quarters of respondents who were working when the pilot projec

NINA: Rebuilding the original AIM, AOL Desktop, Yahoo and ICQ platforms

NINA Remember AOL, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, even Q-Link? We do too. That's why we're bringing them back. Let's go back to the basics - when you hoped your modem would connect to the internet, when you changed your away message to tease someone, when you used to chat endlessly with people from all around the world. It's back, baby! We're working to primarily rebuild the original AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), AOL Desktop, Yahoo and ICQ platforms as close to the originals as possible, and document the

Topics: aim aol basics icq yahoo

IntyBASIC: A Basic Compiler for Intellivision

IntyBASIC: a BASIC compiler for Intellivision I was working in Space Raid for Intellivision when I wondered about possibilities to make easier the development of games for Intellivision. There is a full set of tools for emulation ( jzintv ) and programming in assembler (as1600) created by Joseph Zbiciak (intvnut). But in every program you need to start almost from zero and there are few libraries. The Intellivision console The Intellivision console The Intellivision being created in 1979

The economics behind "Basic Economy" – A masterclass in price discrimination

Basic Economy fares are ultra-restricted airline tickets that offer a lower base price in exchange for fewer benefits than standard economy class. Introduced by major U.S. carriers in the 2010s, these fares have become a widespread strategy for market segmentation - a textbook example of price discrimination in practice. By design, Basic Economy compels travelers to self-select based on their willingness to pay and tolerate restrictions, thus allowing airlines to maximize revenue from different

The Economics Behind "Basic Economy" – A Masterclass in Price Discrimination

Basic Economy fares are ultra-restricted airline tickets that offer a lower base price in exchange for fewer benefits than standard economy class. Introduced by major U.S. carriers in the 2010s, these fares have become a widespread strategy for market segmentation - a textbook example of price discrimination in practice. By design, Basic Economy compels travelers to self-select based on their willingness to pay and tolerate restrictions, thus allowing airlines to maximize revenue from different

I Wrote a Compiler

I have a Computer Science degree. I attended a whole course of lectures on compilers (and have a certain fondness for “the red dragon book” as a result). However, I had never actually written a compiler from start to finish until a rainy day last weekend. Yes, this is what I do for fun. I wanted to make a compiler for a real language, but a simple one so I could complete the project in a few hours. I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for BASIC - it’s the first progamming language I learned as

Just How Many More Successful UBI Trials Do We Need?

Just How Many More Successful UBI Trials Do We Need? Another major experiment, another set of predictable results Katie Jgln Follow 10 min read · May 27, 2025 -- 41 Share Image licensed from Shutterstock To some, the idea of a guaranteed, unconditional monthly check from the government to cover basic needs is the pinnacle of socialist evil. And the first stop on the express train to the collapse of civilisation as we know it. Take away the sacred struggle to survive, the logic goes, and soci

Topics: basic day idea income ubi

Unveiling the EndBOX – A microcomputer prototype for EndBASIC

Published on: June 6, 2025 Remember when turning a computer on meant instantly jumping into code? No bloat, no distractions—just you and a prompt? That’s the experience I’ve been working to bring back with the EndBOX: a small, resilient, nostalgia-packed, all-screen computer that boots straight into the retro-inspired EndBASIC environment you already know. And today, six months after its inception, I’m excited to formally show you the first working prototypes—though they are still rough and ne