BASIC language.

Dear all:

In the old days of programming, I used to be able to write a few
useful programs for my own personal use using BASIC. I had a commodore
and I could write in BASIC.

Heck, even the friends I had who used IBM 86 series computers had
those computers with basic language.

What happened to that language? All of a sudden, it has been 20
years since I have thought about BASIC. But I now have some programs
that I would like to write. I don't know any other language.

I tried to search for BASIC. However, I came up with qBASIC or
VBasic. They are not exactly the same. They don't have to good old:

10 Print "x"
20 input y
30 ? y*10
40 end.

Does anyone know where I can get the good old fashioned BASIC
which still uses the 10, 20, 30 notation?

I have some simple programs that I want to write and I'd like to
be able to just write them without having to learn a whole new
language. I guess you can call me a simple, home programmer who is an
amatuer and who does not need the complexity that comes with learning
something like Java or Visual C++. [You might think of me as a
computer Simpleton who is not savvy with any real languages--I am sorry
to say].

Please help point me to the right direction. Is there a place I
can still get good old BASIC?

thx in advance.

signed: HobbyProgrammer

Re: BASIC language.

> Please help point me to the right direction. Is there a place
I
> can still get good old BASIC?
http://www.freebyte.com/programming/
Lots of free languages - Basic included.. have a browse

OT: Re: BASIC language.

tang91766@yahoo.com wrote:
> In the old days of programming, I used to be able to write a few
> useful programs for my own personal use using BASIC. I had a commodore
> and I could write in BASIC.
>
> Heck, even the friends I had who used IBM 86 series computers had
> those computers with basic language.
>
> What happened to that language? All of a sudden, it has been 20 years
> since I have thought about BASIC. But I now have some programs that
> I would like to write. I don't know any other language.
>
> I tried to search for BASIC. However, I came up with qBASIC or
> VBasic. They are not exactly the same. They don't have to good old:
>
> 10 Print "x"
> 20 input y
> 30 ? y*10
> 40 end.
>
> Does anyone know where I can get the good old fashioned BASIC which
> still uses the 10, 20, 30 notation?

The programs GWBASIC.EXE or BASICA.EXE are probably the closest the x86
arch has had to the classic BASIC of Commodore 64/128. It's worth
noting, though, that every version of the BASIC language had unique
extensions. Commodore 64 BASIC != Apple ][ BASIC != TRS-80 BASIC !=
MS/PC-DOS BASIC. So while most "FOR I = 1 TO 10" and generic PRINT
statements will work between both systems, more advanced programs may
not work with (possibly significant) changes. Just be warned.

> I guess you can call me a simple, home programmer who is an amatuer
> and who does not need the complexity that comes with learning
> something like Java or Visual C++.

The only likely thing you're going to hear from this group is that your
question doesn't relate to Perl.

Though it did raise the question in my mind if there was any Perl filter
for BASIC, a la Lingua::Romana::Perligata? :)

HTH,
Tim Hammerquist

Re: OT: Re: BASIC language.

Tim Hammerquist wrote:

>
> The only likely thing you're going to hear from this group is that your
> question doesn't relate to Perl.
>
> Though it did raise the question in my mind if there was any Perl filter
> for BASIC, a la Lingua::Romana::Perligata? :)
>
> HTH,
> Tim Hammerquist

Hi all:

I know I am a little off-topic: I am the original poster of this
thread. With some people's help, I was able to locate BLASSIC
(Blassic.org), which is a free classic BASIC language that runs in
WINDOWS xp. It is nice and I was able to write some simple stuff for
myself using BASIC. However, this is a slow language which does not
compile. I wrote a program with a 20 layered loop sequence. The loops
take about 4 to 5 hours to run. And it causes my computer to run out
of virtual memory (900 MB). In fact, I am not able to complete the
calculations I need because the computer just runs out of memory.
Hence, I obviously need to look for a different language.

My question is: being that I am only a modest BASIC programmer,
what do you think is a logical next language for me to learn? Ideally,
I would like a simple compilable language that is free--I think JAVA is
free. Do you think JAVA is a language that I can easily transition to?
What about C? I am open to suggestions. What about Perl? Is PERL
something that I should look into what will meet my needs?

I also read about Liberty BASIC. I have two concerns: 1. the web
site says it only partially compiles, which means it compiles to an
intermediary language. Hence, even though you can write stand-alone
applications, I worry about the speed of execution. I need programs
with a lot of Loops (ie: FOR x=1 to n : NEXT x). These are large loops
that take a long time to run in BASIC (BLASSIC). I worry that Liberty
BASIC would be still very slow because it isn't truly compiled. So my
question is: Is Liberty BASIC fast? How much faster is it compared to
uncompiled BASIC?

My other concern is that Liberty BASIC costs $54. Being a home
programmer, I don't know that I'd want to spend that kind of money on a
language that I may use two or three times a year.

In summary: what is the next logical language for me to try to
learn? I am looking for a free, compiled language that a person with
BASIC background can easily transition to. I do hope that such a
language exists. I am open for suggestions.

thx in advance.

signed: HomeHobbyProgrammer.

Re: OT: Re: BASIC language.

Hi,

Liberty BASIC is not a particularly quick performer, but I think the
real question in your case may be is it fast enough for what you're
trying to do? It's hard to know unless you give it a try.

So, if $54 (where did you get that figure?) is too much, how about
$29.95? That's Liberty BASIC's starting price. If $29.95 is still too
much, have a look at Just BASIC, which is Liberty BASIC's free little
brother. http://www.justbasic.com

-Carl Gundel, author of Liberty BASIC and Just BASIC
http://www.libertybasic.com