@Jayenkai You're right that #Commodore licensed it from #Microsoft, but IMO Microsoft #QBasic (Quick BASIC) was the best #BASIC, as much as I would rather it have been #CBASIC.

If I could learn #ed, it would make it much easier for me to write #CBASIC programs for my #OsborneOne, but... it's so weird!!!

This is a big reason why most #CBASIC programs were also lost to time where #MBASIC ones are ubiquitous. If you have a #CBASIC binary, you have to match the hardware and can't patch it if it's broke or discover how it works without documentation unless you're willing to reverse engineer it.

The same thing will be true of our current "open source" vs proprietary/SaaS stuff in a decade or two. Do you know how many obscure old databases I have that no one has heard of?

Many shops still used #CBASIC since it has a major computational performance advantage over #MBASIC, but hobbyists largely used Microsoft #BASIC for the convenience and relative portability. It also meant you could share source code and the other person could just run it without having to compile it or worry about a precompiled binary not running due to different hardware where the source was otherwise compatible.

Running #CBASIC on #OsborneOne was quite the chore and although way ahead of its time, I see why #MBASIC won. CBAS2 compiled the program but didn't have an IDE. You were supposed to write the #BASIC in #WordStar in binary mode (or ED), so you'd have the be constantly swapping the floppy in A: to go back and forth between the text editor and the compiler. #MBASIC could be compiled but it way mainly interpreted and shipped with a much friendlier editor.