Small Basic is a recent offering from Microsoft based on the venerable BASIC programming language and implemented with .NET.

Microsoft has revealed it will support Visual Basic on .NET 5 but also that it has no plans to evolve the language.

Computer enthusiasts, programmers and hobbyists may be interested to know that the discontinued interpreter for the BASIC programming language, Altair BASIC has been published to GitHub.

The BASIC programming language turns 60 Easy-to-use language that drove Apple, TRS-80, IBM, and Commodore PCs debuted in 1964.

Microsoft's Visual Basic was named the "Most Dreaded" programming language for three years in a row by the Stack Overflow Developer Survey.

Visual Basic .Net might not be the coolest programming language to know, but it remains popular and has now reached its highest position on the Tiobe index of top programming languages.

Gates and his co-founder, Paul Allen, reached out to the company to pitch an interpreter of the BASIC programming language for the Altair 8800.