1. Before Word: The Need for WYSIWYG

In the early days of computing, word processors required users to insert cryptic formatting codes like:

.nf
.ll 4.0i
.in 2.0i
Dear Sir,
.fi
      

This was tedious and error-prone. There was a growing demand for a graphical, interactive system where what you see on-screen matches what prints—also known as WYSIWYG—to make document creation intuitive.

2. The Genesis: 1981–1983

In 1981, Bill Gates and Paul Allen hired Charles Simonyi and Richard Brodie, both veterans of Xerox PARC and contributors to its first WYSIWYG word processor “Bravo,” to build a new word processor at Microsoft :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}.

Work began under the name Multi-Tool Word, and in October 1983, Word 1.0 was released for Xenix, MS-DOS, and IBM PCs. It supported mouse input and basic bold/italic/underline editing even before Windows existed :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}.

Interestingly, the first bundled copies appeared on disk with PC World magazine in November 1983, marking the first such distribution method :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}.

3. Evolution: DOS, Macintosh, Atari & Windows

• Versions 2.0 through 5.0 (mid-1980s): Improved functionality and user experience :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}.
• 1985: Port to Macintosh added true WYSIWYG, fast cut-and-paste, unlimited undo via “piece table” data structure :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}.
• 1986: Version for Atari ST (as “Microsoft Write”), based on Mac Word 1.05 but never updated :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}.
• 1989: First native Word for Windows released. With Windows 3.0 in 1990, Word soared in popularity :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}.

4. Market Domination: 1990s Onwards

By 1993, with Word 6.0—using the same code on Windows, Mac, and DOS—Word took over the word–processing market, eventually generating 50% of revenue for Word for Windows. By the late 1990s, it commanded an astounding ~90% market share :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}.

From the mid-1990s onward, Word was released roughly every two years—Word 95, 97, 2000, XP, then year-based versions like 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, and onward into Office & Microsoft 365 era :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}.

5. Why Microsoft Built Word

In the early PC era, Microsoft anticipated that powerful applications—like a proper word processor, spreadsheet, and database—would drive the platform more than programming languages alone. They aimed to consolidate dominance in applications to enhance PC adoption and lock in users to the Microsoft ecosystem :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}.

6. Technical Foundations: Languages & Compilation

The Word for Windows 1.1a source (from 1991) was released by the Computer History Museum in 2014. It shows the code is mostly in C, with parts in x86 assembly, including tools, batch files, and documentation—revealing how Word was built under tight hardware constraints :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}.

Developers would compile the C and assembly code using Microsoft’s compilers and assemblers of that era to generate Windows executables. Running on limited CPU speed and memory (e.g., 8 MHz, 1 MB RAM), Word was a highly optimized “technical marvel” for its time :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}.

7. Open (Historical) Source – What That Means

Although Microsoft Word is not open-source, historical source code has been made available under restricted (non-commercial) licenses. In March 2014, the Computer History Museum published Word for Windows 1.1a’s source for educational use :contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12}.

This means you can explore how early Word worked at the code level—but you cannot redistribute or modify it freely for commercial use. In Microsoft’s “Shared Source” program, they selectively share code while retaining IP—still not open-source in the GPL sense :contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13}.

8. Key Features & Innovations

• WYSIWYG interface, mouse support from Day 1
• Unlimited undo & “piece table” for efficient editing (Mac version)
• AutoCorr ect and AutoFormat introduced with Word 6.0 (1993)
• Spell-check, word-count, fast editing across versions
• Real-time collaboration and cloud features added in Microsoft 365 era (since ~2013–2014) :contentReference[oaicite:14]{index=14}

9. Real-World Example & Milestones

• 1983 launch: Word’s initial release on DOS/Xenix.
• 1985 Mac port: True WYSIWYG, elegant interface.
• 1989–1990 Windows: Catapulted Word to the top.
• 1993 Word 6.0: Unified codebase, AutoCorrect/AutoFormat.
• 2000s–2010s: Yearly Office versions, cloud collab features, part of Microsoft 365 suite.
• 2014: Source code release of Word 1.1a for educational purposes.