The impact of BASIC on the digital transformation of the 20th century: from the democratization of computer literacy to the hegemony of software
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5944/reec.48.2025.45282Keywords:
BASIC, education, ICT, informal education, programmingAbstract
The BASIC programming language, developed in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, was present in many of the most influential computers of the 1975–1985 decade, significantly simplifying computer programming. Informal education practices played a key role in the learning and dissemination of BASIC. A mixed-methods content analysis (quantitative and qualitative) was conducted using a longitudinal, thematically bounded approach. The study focused on content related to BASIC in the first 16 issues (1975–1976) of Byte, a pioneering U.S. magazine dedicated to home computing. A total of 231 items were analyzed, including articles, editorials, computer advertisements, book reviews or announcements, club ads, and letters from readers.
More than half of the contents referencing BASIC were computer advertisements. Articles, which were considerably fewer, followed three distinct phases: the first was more introductory and addressed the usefulness of owning a computer and, by extension, programming in BASIC; the second phase emphasized the practical development of programs; and in the third phase, video games emerged, giving BASIC programming a new meaning.
Microsoft’s decision to promote the democratization of computing was not the most logical from a business perspective, but it positioned BASIC (and Microsoft) strategically within the emerging home computing industry. This decision reveals early signs of a form of digital philanthrocapitalism—presented under the guise of democratizing computing, but ultimately aiming to secure substantial influence
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Copyright (c) 2025 Jacobo Roda-Segarra, Ana Martí-García, Santiago Mengual-Andrés, Andrés Payà Rico
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