Microsoft’s original source code

(www.gatesnotes.com)

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stkai ◴[03 Apr 25 22:45 UTC] No.43576376[source]▶

The source code is such a fun read (for the comments). I found some source code for GW-BASIC, and here are two of my favorites:

  ;WE COULD NOT FIT THE NUMBER INTO THE BUFFER DESPITE OUR VALIENT
  ;EFFORTS WE MUST POP ALL THE CHARACTERS BACK OFF THE STACK AND
  ;POP OFF THE BEGINNING BUFFER PRINT LOCATION AND INPUT A "%" SIGN THERE

  ;CONSTANTS FOR THE RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR FOLLOW
  ;DO NOT CHANGE THESE WITHOUT CONSULTING KNUTH VOL 2
  ;CHAPTER 3 FIRST

Edit: GW-BASIC, not QBASIC (https://github.com/microsoft/GW-BASIC)

replies(2): >>43576945 #>>43579555 #

deathtrader666 ◴[04 Apr 25 08:17 UTC] No.43579555[source]▶

>>43576376 #

Shouldn't it be "valiant" ?

replies(2): >>43579805 #>>43584969 #

1. jimbob45 ◴[04 Apr 25 16:50 UTC] No.43584969[source]▶

>>43579555 #

The best programmers I’ve known have all been deficient at spelling. I don’t know why it so uniformly appears among them.

replies(3): >>43587168 #>>43588020 #>>43593320 #

2. AdmiralAsshat ◴[04 Apr 25 20:14 UTC] No.43587168[source]▶

>>43584969 (TP) #

A popular t-shirt illustrates this point:

https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/637761-i-write-code-progra...

3. themadturk ◴[04 Apr 25 21:52 UTC] No.43588020[source]▶

>>43584969 (TP) #

Humans in general, even writers, are deficient at spelling. This is the reason we need spellcheckers.

replies(1): >>43590535 #

4. psychoslave ◴[05 Apr 25 03:44 UTC] No.43590535[source]▶

>>43588020 #

I am far more confident at spelling any Esperanto word that I have never faced before than I am with many common word in French which is my native language.

We can do better than blaming people for falling in pitfalls of a system full of odd traps.

replies(1): >>43616358 #

5. ptspts ◴[05 Apr 25 13:28 UTC] No.43593320[source]▶

>>43584969 (TP) #

Absolutely not true about the best programmers I know.

6. themadturk ◴[07 Apr 25 21:54 UTC] No.43616358{3}[source]▶

>>43590535 #

Of course you are; Esperanto is a manufactured language designed to a certain standard; French, like our unfortunate English, is naturally evolved and has all the variants and inconsistencies that implies.

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