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30 years later, QBasic is still the best

nicolasbize.com

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Re: 30 years later, QBasic is still the best

#211

Post by acomjean »

GregBuchholz wrote: post #30

No love for Logo? I currently have my kids experimenting with ucbLogo and FMSLogo. And one of our latest endeavors is to hook it up to Minecraft [1], but that is certainly quite convoluted, with having to run minecraft servers with various plugins, and then working around the borked networking capabilities of FMSLogo, etc.. I wonder what other simple approaches there are to programmatically control Minecraft. [1] htt…

I learned through logo in middle school. A language sophisticated enough to later (high school) write programs that would take equations and graph them.

Plus who doesn't love writing software to create spirograph graphics.

Re: 30 years later, QBasic is still the best

#212

Post by recursive »

mark-r wrote: post #192

So who will do an equivalent of QBasic for the web? It seems that the language is simple enough to be implemented entirely in Javascript. Then you wouldn't have to deal with the hassle of installing.

You mean javascript? It's already implemented in your browser.

Re: 30 years later, QBasic is still the best

#213

Post by jgamman »

dragonbonheur wrote: post #62
smilekzs wrote: post #20

I am curious what's there to stop a kid from starting a Jupyter notebook (or even Mathematica with all the FullSnakeCaseNames) and firing away? Sure it isn't complex at least wrt. the basics (pun intended)?

Grandpas know BASIC and they can teach any version of it to their grandkids in under 2 weeks tops, they don't necessarily know Jupyter notebooks or Mathematica (how much does that cost these days?).

$250 for home use or free in browser via the learning lab

Re: 30 years later, QBasic is still the best

#214

Post by bitJericho »

anexprogrammer wrote: post #169
jbandela1 wrote: post #67

For young children, QBasic and goto may indeed be superior to more structured languages. From a neuro development perspective we know that young children are very concrete and have limited abstraction ability. With Basic and goto, a program is more concrete (you run a line which is more or less 1 command) and linear (no nested structures). With structured programming, it is more abstract, and has an recursive structu…

Agree with this, there's also another big advantage that the article doesn't mention - the instant response and lack of distraction. 30 years ago you turned on, and in seconds were at a DOS prompt. Now you had to load something, to do just that. A C64 or other 8 bit turned on instantly to BASIC. Everyone could program enough to make scrolly insults of their sister or swear and beep on the demo machines in the store.…

This is why I collect, maintain and most importantly, make available at a whim many old consoles and computers. Anyone can experience the joy of instantly available basic, duck hunt, Mario paint and many other classic and historically significant games and programs more easily than even when I was a kid.

I use LG auto switchers to connect everything so anyone just has to turn on the equipment they want to use. On top of that I also have an av switch reversed so one can choose between the big screen or the crt.

Re: 30 years later, QBasic is still the best

#215

Post by evincarofautumn »

david-given wrote: post #179
todd8 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real problem is there is no ISO Standard for the appliance interfaces. Do you press power level first? Or time first. Is it Forth like, numbers then operation or Haskell like, Function then number. My refrigerator has illuminated bars indicating how cold it is set for. Even after downloading a pdf of the user guide I can't figure out if I'm setting it correctly. Placing a thermometer inside and using trial and er…

My microwave has two knobs. One for power, one for time. It turns on automatically when you turn the timer and turns off automatically (sounding a mechanical bell) when the timer hits zero. I believe the timer is clockwork.

My family had a microwave like that for ages, and I loved it. I think it was over 20 years old by the time they got a new one, because it was so rugged and easy to use.

Re: 30 years later, QBasic is still the best

#216

Post by unexistance »

anexprogrammer wrote: post #169
jbandela1 wrote: post #67

For young children, QBasic and goto may indeed be superior to more structured languages. From a neuro development perspective we know that young children are very concrete and have limited abstraction ability. With Basic and goto, a program is more concrete (you run a line which is more or less 1 command) and linear (no nested structures). With structured programming, it is more abstract, and has an recursive structu…

Agree with this, there's also another big advantage that the article doesn't mention - the instant response and lack of distraction. 30 years ago you turned on, and in seconds were at a DOS prompt. Now you had to load something, to do just that. A C64 or other 8 bit turned on instantly to BASIC. Everyone could program enough to make scrolly insults of their sister or swear and beep on the demo machines in the store.…

OK, now I need to know what that curated PC specs / hardware / software :D

Re: 30 years later, QBasic is still the best

#218

Post by bemmu »

nsxwolf wrote: post #129
todd8 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real problem is there is no ISO Standard for the appliance interfaces. Do you press power level first? Or time first. Is it Forth like, numbers then operation or Haskell like, Function then number. My refrigerator has illuminated bars indicating how cold it is set for. Even after downloading a pdf of the user guide I can't figure out if I'm setting it correctly. Placing a thermometer inside and using trial and er…

And why does every single key press have to beep??

I once spent half an hour reading the microwave manual (in Japanese) looking for some hidden way to disable the beeps. If you hold down one of the keys for over 5 seconds it puts you in silent mode, also disabling the annoying melody when heating is finished.

Re: 30 years later, QBasic is still the best

#219

Post by voltagex_ »

zeckalpha wrote: post #183
DanBC wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

qbasic: SCREEN 13 LINE (X1, Y1) - (X2, Y2), COLOUR

Maybe there's room for a qbas.js which introduces some helpers like this?

turtle.js please (see another comment about import turtle in Python)

https://github.com/davebalmer/turtlewax

http://berniepope.id.au/html/js-turtle/turtle.html

Re: 30 years later, QBasic is still the best

#220

Post by voltagex_ »

acomjean wrote: post #211
GregBuchholz wrote: post #30

No love for Logo? I currently have my kids experimenting with ucbLogo and FMSLogo. And one of our latest endeavors is to hook it up to Minecraft [1], but that is certainly quite convoluted, with having to run minecraft servers with various plugins, and then working around the borked networking capabilities of FMSLogo, etc.. I wonder what other simple approaches there are to programmatically control Minecraft. [1] htt…

I learned through logo in middle school. A language sophisticated enough to later (high school) write programs that would take equations and graph them. Plus who doesn't love writing software to create spirograph graphics.

I come back to Logo probably once every 2 years, for about 15 years now. First used it in primary (elementary) school but never really progressed past spirographs.

I think I'll fire it up again this weekend - any hints?

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