| BASIC A+ | |
| Developer: | Optimized Systems Software |
| Operating System: | Atari 8-bit |
| Genre: | BASIC |
| License: | Copyright © 1983 Optimized Systems Software Proprietary |
BASIC A+ was developed by Optimized Systems Software of Cupertino, California, United States, to provide Atari 8-bit computers with an extended BASIC compatible with the simpler ROM-based Atari BASIC. This interpreter was developed by the same team that developed Atari BASIC.[1] While Atari BASIC came on an 8 KB ROM cartridge, BASIC A+ was delivered on floppy disk and uses 15 KB of the computer's RAM, leaving 23 KB available for user programs in a 48 KB Atari 800. Being an extension of Atari BASIC, BASIC A+ came with a supplement to the former's reference manual as its documentation. In addition to being faster than its ROM-bound counterpart, BASIC A+ provides extra commands for DOS operations, player/missile graphics, and debugging.
BASIC A+ was followed by the cartridge-based BASIC XL, and then BASIC XE.