Editing Tiny BASIC (section)

===4K BASICs===
[[Altair BASIC]], 4K BASIC, could run within a 4&nbsp;KB RAM machine, leaving only about 790 bytes free for program code.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.virtualaltair.com/virtualaltair.com/vac_Altair_BASIC.asp |title=4 Altair Language Systems |website=Altair BASIC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.virtualaltair.com/virtualaltair.com/PDF/AltairBasic_1275.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.virtualaltair.com/virtualaltair.com/PDF/AltairBasic_1275.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Altair BASIC |date=25 August 1975 |publisher=MITS}}</ref> The Tiny BASIC initiative started in response to the $150 charge for Altair 4K BASIC.

In 1975, Steve Wozniak joined the newly formed [[Homebrew Computer Club]], which had fellow members [[Li-Chen Wang]] (Palo Alto Tiny BASIC) and [[Tom Pittman (computer scientist)|Tom Pittman]] (6800 Tiny BASIC). Wozniak concluded that his [[Apple I|machine]] would have to have a BASIC of its own, which would, hopefully, be the first for the [[MOS Technology 6502]] processor. As the language needed 4&nbsp;KB RAM, he made that the minimum memory for the design.<ref>{{cite web
 |first=Steven |last=Wozniak
 |title=How Steve Wozniak Wrote BASIC for the Original Apple From Scratch
 |website=Gizmodo
 |url=https://gizmodo.com/how-steve-wozniak-wrote-basic-for-the-original-apple-fr-1570573636
 |date=1 May 2014
}}</ref> [[Integer BASIC]] was originally published on [[Compact Cassette (data)|Compact Cassette]] in 1976.

In 1977, [[Radio Shack]] (as it was known then) released their first computer, the [[TRS-80]], a [[Zilog Z80|Z80]] system with [[Level I BASIC]] in a 4&nbsp;KB ROM. [[Tandy Corporation|Tandy]]-employee Steve Leininger had written the first draft of the NIBL (National Industrial Basic Language) interpreter for the [[SC/MP]] while employed at [[National Semiconductor]].
<ref name="NIBL"/> Unable to take that source code with him, he adapted [[Li-Chen Wang]]'s Palo Alto Tiny BASIC for the original prototype of the TRS-80 Model I. He extensively revised the interpreter, adding floating-point support, simple black-and-white graphics, and {{code|READ/DATA/RESTORE}} statements.<ref name=pump>{{cite book |last1=Welsh |first1=David |last2=Welsh |first2=Theresa |title=Priming the Pump: How TRS-80 Enthusiasts Helped Spark the PC Revolution |date=2007 |page=7}}</ref>

Originally developed in 1979, [[Sinclair BASIC|Sinclair 4K BASIC]], written by John Grant, used as its language definition the 1978 [[American National Standards Institute]] (ANSI) Minimal BASIC standard, but was itself an incomplete 4&nbsp;KB implementation with integer arithmetic only.<ref>{{cite web|title=ZX80 – 8K BASIC ROM UPGRADE|url=http://www.fruitcake.plus.com/Sinclair/ZX80/ROMUpgrade/ZX80_ROMUpgrade.htm}}</ref>