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BASIC for Android

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Re: BASIC for Android

#21

Post by arikrak »

chipsy wrote: 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…

Microsoft has something like that: https://www.touchdevelop.com/ People have also built tools off of Google Blockly: https://developers.google.com/blockly/about/showcase

Re: BASIC for Android

#22

Post by sspiff »

pjmlp wrote: post #14
chipsy wrote: 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.

I think LISP is an excellent fit for the poor text input facilities that touchscreens offer.

Structuring, wrapping an navigating code bodies is very easy, thanks to the simple syntax structure of the language, and you need very few uncommon characters (parens, quotes and dashes being the most common ones), buttons for which would easily be fitted into the touchscreen UI.

auto-completion is also pretty simple, since most of the time the first entry of a non-quoted list will be a function listed somewhere near in a defun, and other entries will often be an identifier nearby. Other cases, such as constants, new identifiers or unknown functions, will need more input work from the user, but this is still feasible.

Re: BASIC for Android

#23

Post by dTal »

nurettin wrote: post #2

"This item cannot be installed in your device's country" (Turkey) Is this intentional?

You can download the latest .apk here:

http://dl.bintray.com/rfo-basic/android/v01.78/Basic.apk

(Don't take my word for it though - that would be a security risk. I could be a malicious actor! Poke around on the site and you'll find the link.)

Incidentally, I always do this (or use F-Droid). Google Play gives me the creeps. It angers me when supposedly "free" (as in libre) software only offers binary downloads through Google Play, or makes the .apk difficult to find. Prominent links to a downloadable .apk, people!

Re: BASIC for Android

#24

Post by S4M »

matkam wrote: post #3

This is great. BASIC was my first programming language on a TI-92 calculator. It provides an invitation to new would-be programmers to explore writing code. Having it available on Android just opens the door for more people to try.

I thought TI calculators used Pascal, and Casios used BASIC.

Re: BASIC for Android

#25

Post by qwertyuiop924 »

S4M wrote: post #24
matkam wrote: post #3

This is great. BASIC was my first programming language on a TI-92 calculator. It provides an invitation to new would-be programmers to explore writing code. Having it available on Android just opens the door for more people to try.

I thought TI calculators used Pascal, and Casios used BASIC.

No, the TI-8x series used in high schools use TI-BASIC, a version of BASIC that makes most other BASIC dialects look good by comparison. Seriously, it's rubbish.

Re: BASIC for Android

#27

Post by pjmlp »

drdaeman wrote: post #18
pjmlp wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Doesn't look as user friendly.

Check the iPad screenshots, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lisping/id512138518?mt=8#

However I never tried it, just saw a demo of it a while back.

Re: BASIC for Android

#30

Post by esoteric_nonces »

dTal wrote: post #23
nurettin wrote: post #2

"This item cannot be installed in your device's country" (Turkey) Is this intentional?

You can download the latest .apk here: http://dl.bintray.com/rfo-basic/android/v01.78/Basic.apk (Don't take my word for it though - that would be a security risk. I could be a malicious actor! Poke around on the site and you'll find the link.) Incidentally, I always do this (or use F-Droid). Google Play gives me the creeps. It angers me when supposedly "free" (as in libre) software only offers binary downloads throug…

HTTPS link: https://dl.bintray.com/rfo-basic/android/v01.78/Basic.apk

(I have done no verification of the contents here, merely added an 's' and checked that the download still works).

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