Small Basic

What is the Best Programming Language to Learn?

Ed Price - MSFT — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:35:32 GMT

Today's guest blogger is Jibba Jabba (Rick Murphy)...

About Rick Murphy... amateur programmer. Began with Small Basic in Dec 2012. Last job was as a kitchen supervisor for 8 years. Now taking a break. Like cooking, love programming.

Rick wrote this great bit about what programming language you should learn...

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After doing a bit of reading it seems a lot of teachers at all levels, school to university/college level, have observed that one of the most common questions a student asks is:

"What is the best programming language to learn?"

So far (as a nOOb for 4 months) I've learnt a more useful question to ask would be? "What do I need the language to do?"

Define and clarify your objective then select a language designed for that kind of task. You'll most likely go on to learn several languages suitable for different purposes (paradigms) and each one will become easier to learn as your experience builds. Practice = Experience.

e.g. if you want to code firmware for a new 3d TV or something like that then you might choose a language like C, as it is close to the hardware. But this kind of language requires at lot of skill and prior experience to code in.

So if your objective is to learn how to become a good programmer and you're new to the wonderful world of programming or returning after a considerable break, then it's wise to select a language designed specifically for that task.

Small basic is a high level and considerably powerful language simplified for that purpose. It is simplified and as a result makes the programmer work out ways of doing things that might otherwise be a feature in another language. It provides a good grounding for skills that you'll need to be a good programmer. Totally suitable for all ages.

nOOb Alert: If you don't agree with any of this or think is inaccurate in anyway pls reply. I've only been back into programming for 4 months, but this what I've read and now share.

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If you'd like to agree/disagree with Rick, please go check out the forum thread on this subject:

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/smallbasic/thread/e22ddc96-a46c-4df6-a066-cef92f47ad30

Thanks!

- Ninja Ed

How is Small Basic different from QBASIC and VB.Net?

Ed Price - MSFT — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:36:00 GMT

The answer comes from the creator of Small Basic, Vijaye Raji...

How is Small Basic different from QBASIC?

Unlike QBASIC, Small Basic is based on .Net and can consume (not produce) "Objects".
It supports distinct Operations, Properties and Events.
It doesn't have GOSUB :)

How is it different from VB.Net?

Small Basic is small - much smaller than VB and supports just a subset of what VB.Net supports. Besides, you can actually write a compiler using VB.Net.

Got any other explanations as to how Small Basic is different from QBASIC and VB.NET? Is there anything else we should compare/contrast it to? Leave a comment with your answers!

Thanks!

- Ninja Ed

Chomper Man - Small Basic Featured Game

Ed Price - MSFT — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:17:00 GMT

Today's featured program is SB Chomper, a packman clone. It's fantastic! You can play it here:

Chomper (Packman) - by Anthony Yarrell/QBasicLover

Who is Anthony Yarrell (goes by QBasicLover)? Here is his bio in his own words...

"I (Anthony Yarrell, a.k.a. QBasicLover) am an office support worker in the health insurance industry. I became a hobbyist (amateur) programmer starting with QBasic under MS-DOS 6.22 "back in the day". Now I program primarily in Microsoft Visual Basic 2010, Microsoft Small Basic, and Java. My goal is to create my own versions of the classic games that I grew up with in the 1980s & 90s (Atari games, Commodore 64 games, early Nintendo games, Vectrex, etc), not only for my own pleasure, but also for educational purposes in the Microsoft Small Basic forum."

And here is the import code and the release notes...

These notes are about the final version (he may work out any remaining bugs when he does a version 2 in the summer):

BFN681 (import code)

Known Bugs (that remain to be fixed):

SBC (the packman character) sometimes doesn't appear when the level starts. Just press one of the arrow keys to show him.

Bug Fixes:

Fixed collision detection based on code in the "Animation & Timing" chapter of Starting Microsoft Small Basic.
Fixed issue with monsters getting stuck in the monster pen.
Fixed the issue with the tunnels.
Fixed the issue where the splash text isn't removed completely.
Fixed an issue I found with the way the score was being calculated (I made a math goof)

Added the following features:

Changed the syncronization method I was using which improved performance a little bit. Later, I will post this code in the forum because I've found it useful for dynamically managing the speed of sprites in a game.
The points you get for eating a monster appears at the point on the screen where the monster was eaten (like in the real pacman).
You get an extra life if you exceed 50,000 pts.
You get an extra life on levels 4 and 8
You get an extra life if you eat 16 monsters per level.
Figured out how to get the monsters to slow down when at tunnel entrances (like in the real pacman)
Used Graphicswindow.PenWidth to brighten the colors a little bit.

Thanks to LitDev for nominating Chomper in this forum thread: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/smallbasic/thread/c75994be-5ecd-4f72-83a5-39ce66ebadfb

Enjoy!

- Ninja Ed

How to teach yourself programming in Two Words!!!

Ed Price - MSFT — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:36:52 GMT

Read this

Why does Small Basic exist?

Ed Price - MSFT — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:08:51 GMT

We've spoken to college students about Small Basic in the past and I've heard Small Basic explained and presented. That led me to realize that we need a short and concise explanation for the existence of Small Basic...

Small Basic exists to help students as young as age eight learn the foundations of computer programming and then graduate to Visual Basic via the free software, Visual Studio Express, where they can continue to build on the foundation by learning Visual C#, VB.NET, and Visual C++.

And here is a more feature-oriented explanation from the Small Basic founder, Vijaye...

What is Small Basic?

Small Basic is a project that is focused at making programming accessible and easy for beginners. It consists of three distinct pieces:

The Language
The Programming Environment
Libraries

The Language draws its inspiration from an early variant of BASIC but is based on the modern .Net Framework Platform. The Environment is simple but rich in features, offering beginners several of the benefits that professional programmers have come to expect of a worthy IDE. A rich set of Libraries help beginners learn by writing compelling and interesting programs.

Who is Small Basic for?

Small Basic is intended for beginners that want to learn programming. In our internal trials we've had success with kids between the ages of 10 and 16. However, it's not limited to just kids; even adults that had an inclination to programming have found Small Basic very helpful in taking that first step.

Small Basic Curriculum

Ed Price - MSFT — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:57:00 GMT

Learn all about Small Basic by using the curriculum. With the curriculum, you can lean Small Basic with separate lessons - just like you would in a classroom. You can download the curriculum, which includes PowerPoint decks to teach from. As a teacher or as a student learning Small Basic on your own, the curriculum will guide you step by step.

	Use the curriculum online
	Download the curriculum
	Find international curriculum

Related Downloads

If you do not have Microsoft Office PowerPoint on your computer, you can view the curriculum by installing the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer at no cost:

Download the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer

Other Small Basic Learning

See the latest/updated version of this article (list of curriculum) here:

Small Basic Curriculum

Enjoy!

- Ninja Ed

Small Basic E-Books

Ed Price - MSFT — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 02:09:00 GMT

Learn more about Small Basic and find detailed samples by reading sample chapters from one of three e-books that we are providing to you at no cost. If you like using the e-book format, we have links on each page to where you can purchase the complete e-book.

	The Developer's Reference Guide to Small Basic
	Beginning Microsoft Small Basic
	Basic Computer Games Small Basic Edition

We're starting with these three ebooks from Phil Conrod. Let me know if you've written a Small Basic book and would like it featured like this.

See the latest/updated version of this article (list of ebooks) here:

Small Basic E-Books

Enjoy!

- Ninja Ed

Some answers about Small Basic Education (Kodu Community Spotlight Part 2)

Ed Price - MSFT — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 01:21:58 GMT

As one of the many collaborations we're working on with the Kodu team, they featured me in their Community Spotlight.

Click here to read my interview with the Kodu team

I feature some of my answers here: What sort of lessons can students learn in Small Basic? (Kodu Community Spotlight: Part 1)

Here is part two, with some more of the questions they asked me...

We love success stories! Would you share with us your favorite success story surrounding Small Basic?

In my passion to see more girls educated in software engineering, here is one of my favorite stories... A key community member and Small Basic Forum Moderator, LitDev, has 2 daughters (in Scotland) who he taught Small Basic to, at age 8. He said, "They use [Small Basic] mainly to create little graphical programs, lots of bright colors. The first extension I wrote was for them that speaks text - [and they created their own programs that] mostly insult each other! Here are examples: GQL381 (look for the hidden message) and FVV083 (must run locally; uses LitDev extension) of the kind of thing they wrote."

So there you go. Small Basic is useful for insulting your siblings. Oh, and education! That too.

(Feel free to check out the Small Basic Student Testimonials for more great stories.)

Phil Conrad (Small Basic Partner) on location, teaching Small Basic.

What sort of options are available for teachers who may want to give students the additional challenge Small Basic can offer?

Check out Get Started with Small Basic. We have the free Getting Started Guide and the Small Basic Curriculum (which includes written materials and professionally made PowerPoint decks for teaching in a classroom, and low-cost books and camps from our various partners). We hope to update that page with more curriculum strategies and options as we continue to pursue integrating Small Basic into education.

Also, see Small Basic E-Books.

In your opinion, what specific elements of Kodu help prepare students for Small Basic?

Kodu can help you get excited about what's ultimately possible in the world of development. You’ll also build a foundation of key programming concepts like conditions and variables. Small Basic provides the next logical step after you get a taste of what's ultimately possible.

Small Basic is unique because it introduces code as a first class concept, which is how you'll eventually have to approach computer science. Kodu is something you can always come back to in order to easily create fun worlds and 3D environments.

Do you have any general advice for someone who might want to transition from Kodu into Small Basic?

The biggest step is the first step. Try to devote a minute a day to checking out Small Basic. Install it and explore what's possible. Before long, you'll be in the software or game industry creating our next generations of technology.

Thanks to the Kodu team for the interview!

- Ninja Ed

What sort of lessons can students learn in Small Basic? (Kodu Community Spotlight: Part 1)

Ed Price - MSFT — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 00:40:51 GMT

As one of the many collaborations we're working on with the Kodu team, they featured me in their Community Spotlight.

Click here to read my interview with the Kodu team

Here are a few of the questions they asked me...

What sort of lessons can students learn in Small Basic?

You learn the core concepts quickly and easily because you learn them in the simplest environment. BASIC was started in 1964 and stands for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It was created to teach software development. So we've provided a version that's even more simplified and better suited to get you up and running, writing your own code, and understanding core programming concepts, even faster. These core concepts include Variables, Conditions & Branching, Loops, Graphics, Shapes, Subroutines, Arrays, and Events & Interactivity.

Follow one of our tutorials, and you'll likely pick up these concepts much more quickly on your own (and even faster with a mentor helping you) than you would in a classroom, where you might learn the concepts for the first time, in a more complicated language. You'll learn all the foundational building blocks of languages like Visual Basic, C++, C#, and many more.

In your opinion, what’s the coolest thing about Small Basic?

Small Basic was originally designed by Vijaye Raji, and its success is derived from three pillars of value.

First, it's Simple. Small Basic is imperative and doesn't use or expose beginners to concepts like scopes, types, object orientation, etc. The language consists of just 14 keywords. There isn't a type system. You can create string and numeric constants and assign them to variables. Operations performed on these variables will be interpreted according to the content. All variables are global and are always initialized. They can be used before they're assigned! You can create a sub-routine and assign it to an event. The libraries provide static "Objects" that group operations, properties and events. New libraries can be created using other .Net Languages and added to the Small Basic runtime. If you're new to programming, this doesn't sound very simple. A lot of these details are what helps make Small Basic easier to learn and you can read more in the Small Basic FAQ.

Second, it's Social. Share your programs with your friends; let them import your published programs and run them on their computer. You can even post your games on your blogs and websites for them to play your creations in the browser! Check out the Small Basic Program Gallery, listed by category for examples. After you work together in making your game, you can discuss it with the
community in the Small Basic MSDN Forum. And then we might feature it on the Small Basic MSDN Blog.

Third, it's Gradual. Small Basic is based on .NET and what you learn here could be easily applied to other .NET programming languages like Visual Basic. When you do “graduate” to Visual Basic, just click the Graduate button, and you can bring your existing programs with you into Visual Basic via the free Visual Studio Express download. Using this system, you can learn Visual Basic,
C++, and C#, without ever spending a dime.

Thanks to the Kodu team for the interview!

- Ninja Ed

The Arrow Can See You - Small Basic Monthly Challenge

Ed Price - MSFT — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:41:23 GMT

For the challenges this month...

March Challenge of the Month

Here is a challenge from Litdev...

Graphical Challenge 2

Write a program with an arrow that rotates to always point towards the mouse.

I'm featuring a solution created by Zock77:

SFP468

Have a great day!

- Ninja Ed

Small Basic

What is the Best Programming Language to Learn?

How is Small Basic different from QBASIC and VB.Net?

How is Small Basic different from QBASIC?

How is it different from VB.Net?

Chomper Man - Small Basic Featured Game

How to teach yourself programming in Two Words!!!

Why does Small Basic exist?

What is Small Basic?

Who is Small Basic for?

See Also

Small Basic Curriculum

Related Downloads

Other Small Basic Learning

Small Basic E-Books

Some answers about Small Basic Education (Kodu Community Spotlight Part 2)

What sort of lessons can students learn in Small Basic? (Kodu Community Spotlight: Part 1)

The Arrow Can See You - Small Basic Monthly Challenge