hptsb
====== HP Time-Shared BASIC ======
{{tag>hptsb}}

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== Keywords ==
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One of the earliest and most influential deviations from the original [[.:dartmouth:|Dartmouth BASIC]], the Hewlett-Packard Time-Shared BASIC was a cheaper, minicomputer-based and very popular alternative time-sharing system for the late 1960s.

===== Where it is/was used =====
/* TO DO: Machines and emulators which ran this BASIC. */
  * HP 2000 minicomputers line by Hewlett-Packard

===== Noteworthy characteristics =====
/* TO DO: a list or prose text about this BASIC's features, quirks, Easter eggs, tricks, singularities... */
Probably the first big split caused in early BASIC implementations was HPTSB's way to manipulate string variables. All string variables had to be explicitely declared with [[:keywords:DIM]], and from then on they should be dealt with as "arrays of characters", much like the C language would work when created some few years later. As a side effect, arrays of strings were not supported.

"HP-style strings" were adopted by some early microcomputer BASICs such as [[.:a2int|Apple BASIC]], [[.:atari:|Atari BASIC]] and [[.:sinclair:zx80|Sinclair ZX-80]], in contrast with implementations which took inspiration from [[.:decbasic|DEC's BASIC-PLUS]] string handling, especially those derived from [[.:altair:|Micro-Soft BASIC for the MITS Altair]].


===== Environment and usage =====

/* TO DO: notes about the REPL or IDE used, keyboard shortcuts and commands, command-line options for compiling and linking, environment variables which might be set... */


===== Extensions =====
/* TO DO: Famous libraries tools and extension packages made for this BASIC */


===== Curiosities =====
/* TO DO: Historical notes, anecdotes, what people said about it */


===== Related to... =====
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==== Influenced by ====
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==== Influence for ====
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  * [[.:a2int|Apple BASIC]]
  * [[.:atari:|Atari BASIC]]
  * [[.:sinclair:zx80|Sinclair ZX-80]]

===== Versions and successors =====
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    * **[[successorTagName|successorTitle]]** - for a successor (created as sibling of this page)
*/



===== References =====
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  If the ((citation)) syntax was used elsewhere, they will be listed below this section.
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  used in this page
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  * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Time-Shared_BASIC
  * http://bitsavers.org/pdf/hp/2000TSB/22687-90001_AccessBasic9-75.pdf - The //HP-2000/Access BASIC Reference Manual//, last checked 2023-03-02

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