ID:187257
 Jan 12 2005, 3:19 am
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Anyone here ever messed around with QBasic? I am taking the introduction to programming course at my local community college, and that is what they start you out on. It seems to be a good starter language. Rather simple and it automaticly puts white space in, and tells you if you are doing something wrong on the fly(Like putting SomeVar$=2 because $ idicates a string, not numbers) I find it simple, kinda like DM. I don't like how you can create varables on the fly. No var/SomeVar needed like in DM. No start definition like char/Somevar in C++. I suppose that is why it is QuickBasic though. The name kinda says it all.
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QBASIC is good for starting to get your hands wet, though introductory C classes would be better for a future career in programming. but BASIC is still quite popular as a language, and it doesn't hurt to get some good programming habits from it (creative use of functions for example).
i'm kinda partial to ChipmunkBASIC (http://www.nicholson.com/rhn/basic/) since I can write programs on Windows, Linux, Mac, or my little Handspring Visor pocket PC with the same language. (can even run on a PlayStation it seems: http://psxdev.dragut.net/) | |
Well, I would not have chose QBasic as the first one to teach programming with. I am partial to java, but have not got anything productive out of it yet. QBasic is just what they want us to use, so it is what I will. I was playing around with it in class, the teacher was talking about the basics of variables and the PRINT command. I was looking though the F1 menu (not as good as DM's, but not bad compaired to some development suits I have seen) and was figuring out how to do ifs, sleeps, and the like. I was searching the net and found a few games made in Qbasic, they where similar to something made in DM, only single player.
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I don't like how you can create varables on the fly. Yeah I've run into several annoying bugs in my programs because I misspelled a variable name in BASIC :P. Luckily in VB there is an option to make it so you have to declare a variable before using it or you get an error. | |
Scoobert wrote:
Anyone here ever messed around with QBasic? I am taking the introduction to programming course at my local community college, and that is what they start you out on. QBasic? Why do they force you to program in that ancient language? Is the 21:th century or not? It'll only give you bad programming habits, like you already said, on-the-fly variables. And not to mention GOTO... Terrible. :( Java, C++, anything else but not Basic. When I started out, Basic was the only choice, so I had to do it, and it took me years to get rid of (or even understand) the concepts of structured programming. The next step up (object-oriented) took quite long as well, so again, I can't see at all why they teach BASIC in this day of object-oriented languages!! *a bit upset* At least force the teacher to teach how to avoid using GOTO. Well, rant mode off. Be glad you have DM. It'll teach you much more than that DOS-based ancient language ever will. /Gazoot | |
Indeed, Gazoot.
I've tried looking into BASIC, (I actually just looked at Dark and Liberty), and I pretty much laughed. It's not a nice language because it's not...well, it reminds me too much of Batch to take seriously. DM pwns Basic (yes, I know they are years apart). | |
Gazoot wrote:
Scoobert wrote: Yep. I mean really, teach a DECENT language for crying out loud! At my highschool, the Computer Science course consists of Visual Basic. It teaches Command1_Click(), Dim i as Integer, and a couple of loops. Arrays and robust code would probably scare half the students away. The curriculum also suggests, however, QBasic and a section on learning HTML. | |
Elation wrote:
It's not a nice language because it's not...well, it reminds me too much of Batch to take seriously. Yeah, that's exactly what it is. Batch++. I can't imagine making anything but crude games in basic. Applications? Haha! But I remember someone making Dune 2 in QBasic, that's a pretty good feat. Talk about patience... DM pwns Basic (yes, I know they are years apart). Oh yes! Actually I tried introducing DM to 9th graders (multimedia class) when I was teaching, but the schedule didn't allow it, it was too time consuming. Too bad, since it engaged the whole group, some were going to program, some doing graphics, other planning... could have been fun. /Gazoot | |
Jon88 wrote:
Yep. I mean really, teach a DECENT language for crying out loud! At my highschool, the Computer Science course consists of Visual Basic. It teaches Command1_Click(), Dim i as Integer, and a couple of loops. Arrays and robust code would probably scare half the students away. The curriculum also suggests, however, QBasic and a section on learning HTML. I'm not sure if the teachers can handle more than the basics of Visual Basic. How many of you have outsmarted your teacher in computer class? Anyone who hasn't? And the people doing the curriculum seems to have no knowledge about what robust programming and structured thinking is, so it'll probably stay that way. /Gazoot | |
Yes, my programming teacher liked to pretend he knew more than he did. I was usually the one to go around helping the other students with their programs. Knowing DM helped a lot, but then again, so did F1. =p
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Gah, does anyone else around here utterly hate HTML?
That's why I took flash- aside from the actionscript side, it's much easier to just draw what you want. HTML looks so ugly. And it's so much text for so little outcome. | |
Elation wrote:
Gah, does anyone else around here utterly hate HTML? HTML is fine. It's just that it's place is not in a Computer Science course. A grade 9 level, or web publishing course type of thing, but definitely not CS. | |
I started with BASIC and QBasic with my first computer, after a few years I was able to make a simple Win 3.1-like wrapper for the commandline. I'd suggest learning Java or C++, it gets you far more ready for the world.
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Yeah, that's exactly what it is. Batch++. I can't imagine making anything but crude games in basic. Applications? http://www.pharaoh-productions.com/demise/ A very awsome commercial game made in Visual BASIC 6 :). | |
Theodis wrote:
Yeah, that's exactly what it is. Batch++. I can't imagine making anything but crude games in basic. Applications? Oh, the patience of some people. :) Myself, I break into a cold sweat just thinking about doing what they have done... /Gazoot | |
Jon88 wrote:
At my highschool, the Computer Science course consists of Visual Basic.*insert envy here* You have a computer science course... we don't. *sniff* (I think we used too...) I'd take that in a split second if we did, even if it was bad... if for nothing but using it on a resumé. And we call ourselves the #1 public school in the state. (Which we are... show's the quality of public education, doesn't it?) Arrays ... would probably scare half the students away.Arrays! Aw, come _on_, arrays are nothing! They'll think that easy as soon as you pull the cover on something more complicated, say, dynamic memory allocation and (especially) pointers. :-) The curriculum also suggests, however, QBasic and a section on learning HTML.I started on QBasic. Not powerful enough, imho. Parents bought me a book on Java afterwards, but I never really understood it. (I've gone back lately to re-read it, it's starting to make sense.) Then I took up HTML. (Too easy... sad the web can't write real HTML. *Goes off on rant about how all pages should validate, or at least come mildly close*) Somewhere after all that followed C (gcc), and PHP. Someday I'll sit down and learn more than just the basics of C++... | |
Oh, the patience of some people. :) Myself, I break into a cold sweat just thinking about doing what they have done... Yeah it is quite impressive and you really can't tell it was made in VB since the quality of the interface is very proffesional. Though from what I hear for the sequal they're switching over to C#. | |
I remember messing around in Qbasic on the 'new' 386's in middle school, and on the Apple IIe's while others were playing such games as Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
It's... basic, but if you take Q/v basic, you'll have an easier time learning C/Pascal..etc. | |
Elation wrote:
Gah, does anyone else around here utterly hate HTML? HTML is only ugly when you use frames. Other than that its great. But PHP is way better. | |
Like the name suggests it's very visual and very basic. =P