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BASIC for Android

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Re: BASIC for Android

#11
" Version 1.90 can access: Location approximate location (network-based) precise location (GPS and network-based) access extra location provider commands SMS send SMS messages read your text messages (SMS or MMS) receive text messages (SMS) Phone read phone status and identity directly call phone numbers Photos/Media/Files modify or delete the contents of your USB storage read the contents of your USB storage Storage modify or delete the contents of your USB storage read the contents of your USB storage Camera take pictures and videos Microphone record audio Wi-Fi connection information view Wi-Fi connections Device ID & call information read phone status and identity Other full network access mock location sources for testing control vibration prevent device from sleeping pair with Bluetooth devices access Bluetooth settings install shortcuts uninstall shortcuts "

Re: BASIC for Android

#12
post #9

There's also this one, which seems to be a bit more of a structured approach: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobilebasi... The trouble I always wind up having with these though is you quickly discover that it's a huge pain in the ass trying to type code on an Android touch keyboard. Even in the days you could still get physical keyboards it was hardly pleasant. I just wind up writing a couple basic…

I've used Termux (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.termux) with a Bluetooth keyboard on my Nexus 6P to write a few nodeJS apps. I'd say it's about as good as writing code over SSH. All the important stuff works - serving on localhost, npm, git, etc. Actually, the most annoying thing about it is switching between windows.

As a bit of a bonus there's an extension app for Termux that gives you access to some phone features like SMS receiving and sending, the accelerometer and GPS. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.termux.api

Re: BASIC for Android

#13
post #11

" Version 1.90 can access: Location approximate location (network-based) precise location (GPS and network-based) access extra location provider commands SMS send SMS messages read your text messages (SMS or MMS) receive text messages (SMS) Phone read phone status and identity directly call phone numbers Photos/Media/Files modify or delete the contents of your USB storage read the contents of your USB storage Storage…

It is rather obvious from the description that is required so that you can write BASIC programs that use GPS features, etc.

I know that it's quite common at HN to complain about android permissions but this is probably a wrong context to do so.

Re: BASIC for Android

#14
post #10

I remember trying this one and thinking that the language was fine(it is literally an update from the makers of the Atari 8-bit BASIC) but the UI is unsuitable as it uses generic Android text input, the same flaw shared by most every other on-device IDE I've tried. That doesn't just mean that it's crude, it's also buggy - the view desynchronizes when editing large bodies of text using that text control. What touchscr…

Lisping is a very good example on iOS of coding with touch.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lisping/id512138518?mt=8

I am yet to find something similar on Android.

Re: BASIC for Android

#15
post #10

I remember trying this one and thinking that the language was fine(it is literally an update from the makers of the Atari 8-bit BASIC) but the UI is unsuitable as it uses generic Android text input, the same flaw shared by most every other on-device IDE I've tried. That doesn't just mean that it's crude, it's also buggy - the view desynchronizes when editing large bodies of text using that text control. What touchscr…

I have tried two approaches to address these problems: "Pure" graphical programming (http://flowgrid.org) and collapsed function declarations, avoiding large text bodies (although for JS, not BASIC: https://tidejnet.appspot.com/v3/). Both are still prototype-ish, but if you take a look, let me know what you think should be improved..

Re: BASIC for Android

#16
post #7

I seem to recall that back when Android was new, Google was pitching a web based RAD tool to develop simple apps.

That's probably App Inventor. It was based on an MIT project called Open Blocks. Google shut down their version and transferred everything to MIT who now publish it independently, so it still exists.

Re: BASIC for Android

#17
post #9

There's also this one, which seems to be a bit more of a structured approach: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobilebasi... The trouble I always wind up having with these though is you quickly discover that it's a huge pain in the ass trying to type code on an Android touch keyboard. Even in the days you could still get physical keyboards it was hardly pleasant. I just wind up writing a couple basic…

Just looking around, I found a programmable calculator from the same developer with BASIC support - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.visualisat...

Re: BASIC for Android

#18
post #14
post #10

I remember trying this one and thinking that the language was fine(it is literally an update from the makers of the Atari 8-bit BASIC) but the UI is unsuitable as it uses generic Android text input, the same flaw shared by most every other on-device IDE I've tried. That doesn't just mean that it's crude, it's also buggy - the view desynchronizes when editing large bodies of text using that text control. What touchscr…

Lisping is a very good example on iOS of coding with touch. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lisping/id512138518?mt=8 I am yet to find something similar on Android.

How about https://mad.cs.fau.de/fasl/?

Unfortunately, the development seems to have completely stalled and the site's partially dead, but it's still in the Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.fau.cs.mad...., and the source's on Bitbucket: https://bitbucket.org/mad_fau/fasl

Re: BASIC for Android

#19
post #13
post #11

" Version 1.90 can access: Location approximate location (network-based) precise location (GPS and network-based) access extra location provider commands SMS send SMS messages read your text messages (SMS or MMS) receive text messages (SMS) Phone read phone status and identity directly call phone numbers Photos/Media/Files modify or delete the contents of your USB storage read the contents of your USB storage Storage…

It is rather obvious from the description that is required so that you can write BASIC programs that use GPS features, etc. I know that it's quite common at HN to complain about android permissions but this is probably a wrong context to do so.

Well, that's still a scary set of permissions. Application can be fine, but one has to be really careful with the scripts from the untrusted sources. It's not hard to sneak something in a large enough file.

Android 6 on-demand permission requests should somewhat fix this, but is still not a remedy. I've yet to see any scripting/automation tool that's able to run scripts properly sandboxed (generate APKs for them or otherwise obtain different UIDs with restricted just-enough permissions).

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