Hello everyone does anyone write in BASIC here?
Please reply and indicate your dialect. Thanks.

Which BASIC? Sure not QBasic, turbo basic and the likes. You'll be lucky to see one person that will do serious work with them. But talk about visual basic and similar flavour, you'll find many in a short time. I am one. Wait for more.

Used GW-Basic since 2002. Basic is out dated but still use it sometimes to write my assignments in school - just to see the way basic handles it.

I will recommend python to you - started using it last 3 months ago. It's very simple compared to Java and C++. Easy to learn even than basic and very powerful such that NASA, gmail and yahoo use it. Check out www.python.org

Yes, i still program with QBASIC, althoughi use VB most of the time. It's interesting.

Definitely not QB
I write BASIC (actually JustBASIC - check out www.justbasic.com) and I intend to step up to VB then maybe Python. Does someone mind giving me info on where to start from on VB?
Thanks
Tayo

@ajiboyet
You are in to a good place. There will be sure many people to tutor you here. You should decide which flavour of vb you want, the classic vb6 or vb2005 which is the in-thing. Then get the studio for whichever you want and let's know. If you want to go with vb2005 (which I will advice) you can download the vbexpress studio (the watered down version of the real thing though, works beautifully well, a learner won't know the difference, until he starts reaching for bigger fish.) free from here http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/support/install/

vb6 studio is not free, microsoft doesn't support it again, VB2005 is built on .NET framework which is microsoft's latest technology (and for the future!). Somewhere down the line vb2005 makes your job easier, writting comparatively fewer lines of codes (if you will be able to compare both). But then vb6 is arguably easier to learn.

Lets know what your decision is.

Hello,
I literally forgot that QB existed when I found JB because of the GUI capabilities.
I learnt it pretty fast also.

@alexis
I think it isn't fair to say BASIC is outdated. It's wonderful for peoplewho are learning.
@parosky
QB, Turbo Basic,GW-Basic, Just Basic, Liberty Basic, Visual Basic, ALL ARE BASIC
Thanks for the URL newayz. Do u use VB?

Tayo

@ajiboyet
Yes I write vb6 and now vb.net. All those flavours are basic but if you try vb.net you'll be in for a wonderful surprise . Many vb people wonder why they still call it vb. It gives you the power to go into those areas that were the exclusive of c,c+++. But then it is still very simple. It is totally object oriented. In fact you are the only one that limits yourself
Bad I've not tried any other flavour of basic, but I intend making out a weekend out to check Liberty basic. I've been hearing about it.

Hello
Liberty Basic is the elder brother of Just Basic. Any code that works in Just Basic works in Liberty Basic, but it's not the other way round, because Liberty Basic has more functions than Just Basic. You can copy and past code from JB to LB, but not the other way round.

Check www.libertybasic.com to download LB. The trial version is free, but to create stand-alone programs you have to buy the full version for $49.95 (approximately $50). Anyhow I don't think it'll be better than VB even though I've not tried VB. When I tried to install I got a message that my system doesn't meet the requirements so I was directed to a Windows XP update site which I'm doing right now. Once again, thanks for the URL.

Tayo

ajiboyet,

To tell you the truth, BASIC is outdated - it's a procedural language, more like structured programming (it still gets somethings done). It is good for beginners though but I will advice you learn C instead.

I see that alot of people are recommending you start using VB.NET, vb2005, vb studio .NET. To tell you the truth, .NET is pretty powerful and it will greatly increase your development time and make you do alot of cool things you never could do. I still use asp now because it's session management is still powerful compared to php and I could easily connect to MS-Access and other data source. It was recently in php 4 that sessions came in.

That been said, I will advice you to use something that is platform independent. All apps you write in Basic, vb2005, C# will only run on windows OS, you can write codes alot faster but you will lag behind when you intend to port those codes to other platforms or start writing enterprise applications. Also, those tools hide alot of things from you - how you connect to the dbase, hows you put controls on the form, how you call methods and create objects are all hidden from you. Get your text editor and start doing it the old way.

Try Java or python instead - I will recommend python, it is just like java but much simplier - if you can write strict english, you will start writing python apps in no time. It runs on windows, unix, macs etc.

Hey
I think you guys don't notice the stuff that comes after each of my posts - I'm 13, and someone is already telling me to learn C. E o ni pa mi fun iya mi o.
I think I want to try python - the vb is messing up.

Tayo

Gosh!
I've downloaded Python, and frankly, I've never ever ever ever ever ever seen a user interface so unfriendly. I think I'll just dump it.

Tayo

ajiboyet,

Don't let the user interface fool you bro - you can download 1001 free pythoon editors that can make you do a lot of cool stuffs but I will advice you to start with the python interface or use notepad to start writing python apps.

Make sure you read the tutorials and documentations on pythons website

its good to hear that people still write in VB i attend a computer lesson and now the course we just startedis VB6. plz could u guys start a tutorial here on VB2005. also i stopped learning python although it seemed free initially but it seems its just a scripting language and cant be made into executable.

@adewaleafolabi
There is a lot of difference in VB6 and VB.NET(VB2005), as much different as 6 is to 2005
In fact VB 2005 is a language that only support VB6 just for backward compatibility and probably to ease the pain of migrating from VB6. Microsoft is no longer interested in VB6, So depending on what you're looking for choose just one of them(I advise VB2005)

I noticed people start teaching a programming language in this forum and later abandon it, so I wonder if I won't get tired if I start. You can ask questions for people to answer.

To wet your appetite for VB2005 I'll try and post a write up on what .NET framework is all about by the end of the week. Sure we'll get many people to put in their contributions

thanks. i would prefer VB 2005 since i want to build windows based programs and not web based application.

sorry i made a mistake my bad. i just realised that VB.Net is the same as VB 2005 anyway i just want to make normal applications not something that u would need an internet connection before it starts
thanks

No .Net does not mean it will need internet to run, though .NET waswritten with the internet on mind. It makes it web easily accessible from your desktop application

Read this about .NET Framework. Sorry I can't go into much detail now, may be later but this is the basic

You know Microsoft is interested in being a dominant force in the world of computing, so they can not stand anybody out-doing them. Seeing java has a lot of appeal to people because of it’s pure object orientation and cross platform portability once you have the java virtual machine installed, they probably hope (personal opinion) to be able to get a kind of platform that will be so fundamental and core to their O/S that will give access to the same objects and functions in a similar way and offer comparable performance for different programming languages. Windows API prior to .NET were written in C, so do not provide an easy access from all programming languages. Also calling API comes with some problems with C data types used. So they thought of .NET. So .NET is the future of Microsoft and we will do well go along with them, at least for now.
Their flagship programming language VB6 has been bashed by programmers for (among other shortcomings) being not fully object oriented. So it was literarily thrown away and new programming languages built from top down on .NET framework - VB2005, C# (you’ll think you are writing java).

The .NET principle is well illustrated by the diagram below.



.NET framework consists of the common runtime library (CLR) sits directly on top of Windows O/S.—it is the engine that drives key functionality. It includes, for example,
(i) A common system of data types. These common types, plus a standard interface convention, make cross-language inheritance possible. E.g a class/app in VB can inherit / reference a class written in C# or C++ without even knowing the language in which it is written.
(ii) Allocation and management of memory, the CLR
(iii) Reference tracking for objects. There is usually a conflict among different versions of DLL stored by various installed applications when referenced in traditional windows programming. An app may not know which version to use. But .NET addressed this DLL Hell in that there will always be a single “copy”
(iv) CLR monitors your variables and handles garbage (variables without any reference) collection. This will free resources for re-use



The next layer includes the next generation of standard system Services such as classes that manage data and Extensible Markup Language (XML). These services are brought under control of the Framework, making them universally available and making their usage consistent across languages. It somehow reduces the lines of codes you’ll need to write, but your knowledge of OOP must be sound, at least to a level, to get the full benefit of al these.
Class libraries are organized into namespaces that make referencing them easy and unambiguous. Having the libraries as part of the .NET Framework simplifies deployment of .NET applications. Once the .NET Framework is on a system, individual applications don’t need to install base class libraries for functions like data access.
Programming languages use the same set of classes so codes of .net programs are compiled first to the same Intermediate language (IL) before they are run.

The last layer comprise of your programming languages, which sits on and uses the same class libraries. The differences between .NET languages are merely superficial as they are compiled to the same IL, a look at their code readily disclose a lot of similarity in their style, just differing in syntax.

thanks parosky for shedding more light on the .net issue. however i started vb6 since that was the course content and it did seem easy.

QBASIC

@Parosky
Thanks so much for your word which I call "Intro, to VB 2005" and the illustrative diagram you attached along with your post.

But then I will still plead like afolabi that some tutorial session be made available in this forum on VB 2005 (and probably other Studio.Net languages) since the world of programming is tending towards the .Net framework

Once again thanks to all and very importantly thanks to Tayo for raising his finger looking for BASIC Coders - I also code BASIC since its my first language in programming, but I code more in VB 6.0 nowadays.

Tayo I want you to relax 'cause you have enough people here to solve your dilema.

Bye.