MCXi Basic vs BASIC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MCXi Basic
This application provides a development environment for a dialect of the BASIC programming language, designed to be flexible and expandable. It features a command-line interface similar to Dartmouth BASIC, where program lines require numbering.
- BASIC programming language dialect
- GW-BASIC compatibility
- Flexible and expandable design
- Command-line IDE
- Numbered program lines
- Direct mode commands
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MCX BASIC is a dialect of the BASIC programming language. MCX BASIC is designed to follow GW-BASIC, which is one of the standard BASICs running on 16-bit computers. During the creation of MCX BASIC, a major effort was made to make the system as flexible and expandable as possible. MCX BASIC development environment is very similar to that of the Dartmouth Time Sharing System associated with Dartmouth BASIC. It has a command line-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) system; all program lines must be numbered, all non-numbered lines are considered to be commands in direct mode (i.e., to be executed immediately). The user interface is almost completely command line. The original BASIC language was designed on May 1, 1964 by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz and implemented by a team of Dartmouth College students under their direction. The acronym BASIC comes from the name of an unpublished paper by Thomas Kurtz. BASIC was designed to allow students to write mainframe computer programs for the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System. It was intended specifically for less technical users who did not have or want the mathematical background previously expected. Being able to use a computer to support teaching and research was quite novel at the time. The language was based on FORTRAN II, with some influences from ALGOL 60 and with additions to make it suitable for timesharing. Initially, BASIC concentrated on supporting straightforward mathematical work, with matrix arithmetic support from its initial implementation as a batch language, and character string functionality being added by 1965. The designers of the language decided to make the compiler available free of charge so that the language would become widespread. (In the 1960s, software became a chargeable commodity; until then, it was provided without charge as a service with the very expensive computers, usually available only to lease.) They also made it available to high schools in the Hanover area, and put a considerable amount of effort into promoting the language. In the following years, as other dialects of BASIC appeared, Kemeny and Kurtz's original BASIC dialect became known as Dartmouth BASIC.
BASIC
Learn and experiment with the classic BASIC programming language. This app provides a user-friendly environment to write, run, and understand BASIC code, complete with examples for various commands and functions. Ideal for beginners and those nostalgic for early computing.
- BASIC code interpreter
- Interactive programming environment
- Examples for PRINT, INPUT, IF/THEN
- FOR/NEXT loops and GOTO/GOSUB
- Graphics commands (TEXT, CIRCLE, RECT, LINE)
- Mathematical functions
- SOUND and DELAY commands
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BASIC: THE FEELING OF THE GOOD OLD TIMES ! 10 INPUT A 20 B = SIN(A) 30 PRINT "ANSWER: ", B 40 END BASIC USER'S GUIDE: • PRINT 10 PRINT "HELLO WORLD !" 20 END • INPUT 10 INPUT “A=”, A 20 PRINT A 30 END • IF...THEN... Number Comparison: 10 INPUT A 20 IF A>90 THEN B=“A” 30 PRINT B 40 END Conditional Operators: > greater than < less than >= greater than or equal to => equal to or greater than <= less than or equal to =< equal to or less than = equal to == equal to <> not equal to != not equal to THEN can be followed by GOTO, GOSUB, INPUT, PRINT. String Comparison: 10 INPUT A 20 IF A=“TOM” THEN PRINT “BOY” 30 END Conditional Operators: = is == is <> is not != is not • FOR...NEXT... 10 FOR I=1 TO 4 STEP 2 20 PRINT “HELLO”, I 30 NEXT I 40 END STEP specifies the counter increment for each loop. If STEP doesn’t exit, the default increment is 1. FOR...NEXT... loop can be nested. 10 FOR I=1 TO 5 20 FOR J=1 TO 4 30 PRINT I, J 40 NEXT J 50 NEXT I 60 END • GOTO 10 ... 20 ... 30 ... 40 GOTO 10 50 ... • GOSUB 10 PRINT “H” 20 GOSUB 100 30 PRINT “L” 40 END 100 PRINT “A” 110 RETURN • SOUND 10 SOUND C, M, 0.5 The line 10 plays Middle C piano note for 0.5 seconds. Note: C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B Pitch Range: L (low), M (middle), H (high) Lasting Time: specifies how long a note lasts. C, D, E, F, G, A, B can also be labeled as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. (C# as 1#). • TEXT 10 TEXT “HELLO”, x, y, size (x,y): position of the string “HELLO”. • CIRCLE 10 CIRCLE x, y, radius (x,y): the center of the circle. • RECTANGLE 10 RECT x, y, width, height (x,y): top-left point of the rectangle. • LINE 10 LINE x1, y1, x2, y2 (x1,y1): the starting point of the line. (x2,y2): the ending point of the line. • POINT 10 POINT x, y (x,y): the position of the point. • CLR: clear the edit window. • CLS: clear the graph window. • DELAY 10 DELAY 0.5 0.5:lasting time in seconds This function is used to suspend execution of a program for a particular time. • CURVE 10 CURVE x, y, radius, 0, PI 0: starting angle PI: ending angle The curve draws clockwise with center (x,y). • Mathematical Functions: SIN(X), COS(X), TAN(X), COT(X), ASIN(X), ACOS(X), ATAN(X), SINH(X), COSH(X), TANH(X), ASINH(X), ACOSH(X), ATANH(X). SQR(X): square root of x. ABS(X): absolute value of x. FCT(X): x factorial. LOG(X): natural logarithm of x. LOG10(X): base-10 logarithm of x. LOG2(X) :base-2 logarithm of x. EXP(X): base-e exponential of x. ERF(X): the error function of x. ERFC(X): the complementary error function of x. ROUND(X) :integral nearest to x. CEIL(X): the smallest integral that is not less than x. FLOOR(X): the largest integral that is not greater than x. TGAMMA(X): the gamma function of x. LGAMMA(X): the natural logarithm of the absolute value of the gamma function of x. • Reserved Variables: INKEY : once a key is pressed, the value of INKEY changes. RND : a random number. PI : π • Some Tips: 1. Undo & Redo typing on iPhone with a shake. 2. Copy an Emoji or some character from other places (like Notes), then paste them on the edit window. 3. Exponentiation is expressed as X^Y.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: BASIC at 2.7 against MCXi Basic's 2.0. BASIC also leads on review sentiment (28% vs 0%). MCXi Basic's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 4 months) and price ($0.99 vs $2.99). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
MCXi Basic costs $0.99 and BASIC $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BASIC holds the better App Store score, 2.7 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of MCXi Basic's written reviews are positive against 28% of BASIC's.
MCXi Basic ships an update every 9 days, BASIC every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MCXi Basic | BASIC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 2.0 (4 ratings) | 2.7 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 27.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Aleksei Neronov | 俊 姜 |
Customer experience
MCXi Basic
BASIC
In-app purchases
MCXi Basic
No in-app purchases
BASIC
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is MCXi Basic free?
Is BASIC free?
Which has better reviews, MCXi Basic or BASIC?
Do MCXi Basic or BASIC have ads?
Which is updated more often, MCXi Basic or BASIC?
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