BASICA

Microsoft BASICA (abbreviation for "Advanced BASIC") is a diskette- based BASIC interpreter that was developed by Microsoft for the PC-DOS operating system . BASICA made it possible to use the ROM -based BASIC, which was in IBM PCs of the 1980s, while the DOS operating system was loaded (the ROM BASIC itself only worked if the computer was booted without the function of another program). BASICA added some functions to the existing Basic, such as saving programs on floppy disk. The program was only compatible with the original IBM PCs, as it required the built-in ROM BASIC, which was missing on other companies' IBM PC clones for licensing reasons.

The successful successor to BASICA was GW-BASIC , which had a similar structure, but did not need the built-in ROM Basic and therefore worked with any IBM PC-compatible computer .