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Post by James Grubbs (Jimmy) on Mar 20, 2019 21:07:52 GMT -5
I started programming with the BASIC language in 1984 when I was 14 years old. I'm not 100 percent sure when was the first time I ever programmed in BASIC. Probably it was at the local Radio Shack. They had a TRS-80 Model I with Level I BASIC, which is essentially a version of Tiny BASIC. I seem to remember going in there with my brother Ernie and messing around with it a little. It was either that or else it was at the public library where in the summer anyone would sign up for 30 minutes of free time sharing to a local college to connect to an HP-3000 minicomputer which had BASIC and Fortran. Yeah, Those were the days indeed. We used the TRS-80 in our high school computer class. The class was a complete waste of time for me but was an easy grade. I knew more than the teacher who was a football coach LOL. Guess he went to a junior college to learn enough to teach the class. We had an assignment to make a cash register program. Everyone liked how you could just press a specific key to do a task on the program I wrote. It must have been a newer version of the TRS-80 because I don't think the machine you described had that capability yet but I could be wrong. I really like how your father was into working on computers because it was hardly heard of back then plus I grew up in the sticks where a computer to most folks was just a hard to understand TV LOL. |
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Post by darrintn on Sept 17, 2019 9:21:23 GMT -5
Hello Everyone,
Well hmmm i am getting on up there now, but first started into basic with my old trusty TRS-80 Model 1 4K Ram tape drive, went a long time with TRS-80 and COCO, then went to IBM PC XT and gwbasic, then purchased QB45 and PDS7.1.. done a few things mostly simple task. then when QB45 quick working with pc's i just sorta quit. Now since i have found Liberty basic i would like to know more about Liberty Basic and see if i can get back on the train again doing very simple tasks. I would like to hear from some of you that control hardware like parallel ports and maybe do some simple serial port things, like send a list of commands serial port to a serial controlled device like some machine control devices for simple things like a few commands as example " sending chr$(10);chr$(45);chr$(36);chr$(08) " to just a simple listening device for those commands...... By the way my name is Darrin Johnson .. and i am pleased to meet you!
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Post by Rod on Sept 17, 2019 11:26:57 GMT -5
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Post by Carl Gundel on Sept 17, 2019 11:54:05 GMT -5
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Post by David Drake on Nov 1, 2019 10:50:51 GMT -5
How did you start programming?
My dad built a Heathkit (I think) computer kit. We learned together how to program it to make music, turn lights off and on, and other things. I thought that was amazing! As a young teenager I had a TRS-80 Color Computer. I learned how to write ColorBASIC programs like a pro! Later in life I returned to my BASIC roots with Liberty BASIC.
How did you first stumble on Liberty BASIC?
I have no idea. Maybe I was tired of MS-BASIC.
What kinds of programs do you like to write?
Back when I still wrote programs (sorry folks, it's been a long time) I enjoyed working on everything: work-related stuff (linear programming, databases), tweaking and updating FreeForm, games, experiments, and even a comprehensive Bible program. Those were the some fun days. Alas, I haven't had time to put finger to keyboard (to create programs) in years.
What do you like most about Liberty BASIC?
For me it was the simplicity. After you have the basics (pun intended) down, you could code to your heart's content. With version 5 well underway, I am looking forward to (maybe) getting back into the hobby.
David
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Post by Rod on Nov 1, 2019 13:43:36 GMT -5
Mr Drake, you had some great stuff online for a while, I remember being inspired by the code. Life moves in big cycles, perhaps your back!
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Post by Carl Gundel on Nov 2, 2019 10:34:34 GMT -5
How did you start programming? My dad built a Heathkit (I think) computer kit. We learned together how to program it to make music, turn lights off and on, and other things. I thought that was amazing! As a young teenager I had a TRS-80 Color Computer. I learned how to write ColorBASIC programs like a pro! Later in life I returned to my BASIC roots with Liberty BASIC. My father also built a Heathkit computer. I wrote a version of the popular Star Trek game in BASIC on that computer. Ah memories! After that I used to hang around at a computer store in my town. They sold many different brands and models. I would write demo programs for them. One day a local businessman walked in and bought an Apple II+ to do business software development. He wasn't a programmer, but on the recommendation of the people at the store he invited me to write software for him. I was only 15 years old, but that is how I got my start. |
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Post by David Drake on Nov 5, 2019 10:54:27 GMT -5
Mr Drake, you had some great stuff online for a while, I remember being inspired by the code. Life moves in big cycles, perhaps your back! That is very kind of you to say, Rod. Can't say I ever been called "inspirational." Perhaps I am back! |
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jordi
Full Member
A simple solution is the smarter one.
Posts: 106
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Post by jordi on Feb 27, 2020 16:08:38 GMT -5
Hi everybody!
I bought LB last week and the book about it. I have done several programs with it already and I love it.
I started with basic in the C64, althought it was hard because all the peek/poke stuff.
Years later I used Visual Basic, did a chatbot with ia, and some years later I used Java, did a vr java server with java and x3d, also vrml and x3d worlds, and lately some programs in C#. I liked Visual basic but in version 6, today it has become a pain.
I did some modules for Netbeans and VR/X3D.
I work as a 3d modeler with my wife together. The languages of programming that I learnt are for doing in each moment what I need to do. I just learnt them and used them. But what I feel most comfortable is basic. Actually I used C# because today it is simpler than the modern Visual Basic, that is too hard today. But both are very abstract and picky.
The worst language I have made things with is Qtscript. At least the horrible dialect that is used in the 3D application for what I do my models. Or maybe it's the lack of decent documentation that they did (I mean the one I work for).
But all these languages are a pain to do. Too much type for the same. I much prefer BASIC so I can concentrate on create and not in suffering because of the language.
I looked for a basic that allowed me to do my applications faster and having fun. Since I got it I already made several programs in just one week: a sale calculator for my business, a bonus calculator, a tool for downloading a csv for a pet supplies shop, and one that uses SAM to do robotic voices that you can configure! And did icons for them with LB!
So I'm loving Liberty Basic! Thanks to Carl and LB, programming has been so much fun for me as before.
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Post by sarossell on Feb 27, 2020 18:51:38 GMT -5
I totally agree about Visual Basic. When Microsoft went .NET, it just became more trouble than it was worth. And even at version 6 (which is far better), it had become more of a Rapid Application Development platform than BASIC. That's one of the main reasons I enjoy Liberty BASIC so much; it's BASIC! Sure, it has all of the bells and whistles when you need them, but it never forgot it's roots like RealBASIC and Visual Basic did.
Thrilled to have you on board! Sounds like you've got a strong and varied programming history.
:@)
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Post by Carl Gundel on Feb 27, 2020 19:26:11 GMT -5
I totally agree about Visual Basic. When Microsoft went .NET, it just became more trouble than it was worth. And even at version 6 (which is far better), it had become more of a Rapid Application Development platform than BASIC. That's one of the main reasons I enjoy Liberty BASIC so much; it's BASIC! Sure, it has all of the bells and whistles when you need them, but it never forgot it's roots like RealBASIC and Visual Basic did. Thrilled to have you on board! Sounds like you've got a strong and varied programming history. Yes, VB really did wander off the map. About a year and a half ago I started a BASIC group on Facebook which now has more than 400 members. The only dialect of BASIC which is not permitted for the group is VB. When people ask me why I tell them that VB isn't really BASIC, and besides that I'm concerned that VB discussion might overwhelm everything else. |
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Post by sarossell on Feb 27, 2020 23:08:01 GMT -5
Of that, I have no doubt. In the past, I've been involved with countless programming teams working with just about every computer language ever invented and, without fail, the most discussion in meetings was either Visual Basic .NET or Java and how they couldn't do this or that or the other thing while I never heard a peep out of the web guys using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Perl, Python, MySQL... And the C++ guys would just bitch about needing more CPU power to compile "sometime before Christmas...NEXT Christmas!".
I would also include XOJO and Gambas on that list of NOT BASIC. At least in their cases, they were honest enough to not CALL themselves "BASIC".
:@)
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jordi
Full Member
A simple solution is the smarter one.
Posts: 106
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Post by jordi on Feb 28, 2020 11:55:29 GMT -5
In all languages the process of making them less human friendly is like a pest. See what they did wit vrml/x3d. They turned this: #X3D V3.3 utf8 Transform { children Shape { geometry Sphere { } } } Into this: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE X3D PUBLIC "ISO//Web3D//DTD X3D 3.3//EN" "http://www.web3d.org/specifications/x3d-3.3.dtd"> <X3D profile='Full' version='3.3' xmlns:xsd='http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance' xsd:noNamespaceSchemaLocation='http://www.web3d.org/specifications/x3d-3.3.xsd'> <Scene> <Transform> <Shape> <Sphere/> </Shape> </Transform> </Scene> </X3D> People called it a "tag soup", and stopped using it.
It seems like a fashion to turn good languages into something that looks like a legal contract or something for obsessive people. Less human-friendly and more machine-friendly. |
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Post by Chris Iverson on Feb 28, 2020 13:03:50 GMT -5
People called it a "tag soup", and stopped using it.
It seems like a fashion to turn good languages into something that looks like a legal contract or something for obsessive people. Less human-friendly and more machine-friendly. Really good way of putting it. That's one of the reasons XML has fallen off in web development API communication, in favor of things JSON. JSON is cleaner, easier to read at glance, and has less overhead than XML. |
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Post by sarossell on Feb 28, 2020 14:54:53 GMT -5
I know that in the not too distant past there was a push for single source coding across platforms and devices and the solution was to tag the crap out of everything in an effort to make the languages more meta. I'm very curious to see how Carl handles this issue with LB 5. I have no doubt he will come up with something simple, congruous, and brilliant.
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