FreeBASIC and Basic

[kenshizl]

How close is FreeBASIC related to Basic? Is there any relation or is Basic a completely different programming language?

[Merick]

FreeBASIC is basic - in as much as american english, british english, and austrailian english are all english. There are as many different dialects of basic as there are regional dialects of english. They all have the same general format, but the finer details are different depending on who wrote the compiler

In syntax and code structure FB most closely resembles Microsoft's version - quickbasic

[Richard]

FreeBASIC extends beyond the original BASICs since it keeps up to date with the evolving hardware and software technology standards.
BASIC is an acronym of Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. BASIC is usually capitalised.
So I believe the question should be; "FreeBASIC and BASIC". The connection then is clearer. One is Free.

[Destructosoft]

So far as I'm concerned, this is the spiritual successor of Microsoft's BASIC "standard" when they dropped the ball with VB.NET.

They could even be said to have dropped the ball earlier-- when they stopped including BASICs in Windows. For free.