BASIC-256 / News: Recent posts

I've recently returned from deployment and will be able to continue work on Basic-256. It looks like there are a number of folks using it and I appreciate the response. Developers who are still interested in working on this project, please shoot me an email.

BASIC-256 is an easy-to-use version of BASIC designed to teach young children the basics of computer programming. It has a built-in graphics mode which lets them draw pictures on screen in minutes, a step-through debugger, and a set of easy-to-follow tutorials that introduce programming concepts through fun exercises.

Version 0.9.2 fixes a number of bugs and adds the following features:

- Anonymous arrays
- SOUND command (Windows only, for now)
- Improved translations, documentation, and examples... read more

BASIC-256 is an easy-to-use version of BASIC designed to teach young children the basics of computer programming. It has a built-in graphics mode which lets them draw pictures on screen in minutes, a step-through debugger, and a set of easy-to-follow tutorials that introduce programming concepts through fun exercises.

Version 0.9.1 adds some much requested features:

- Syntax highlighting
- Variable watch window
- Syntax improvements
- New and updated examples... read more

BASIC-256 is an easy to use version of BASIC designed to teach young children the basics of computer programming. It has a built-in graphics mode which lets them draw pictures on screen in minutes, a step-through debugger, and a set of easy-to-follow tutorials that introduce programming concepts through fun exercises.

Major feature enhancements include:
- User interface redesigned and enhanced
- File access commands added to the language
- New "poly" function to draw complex shapes
- Three new string manipulation functions... read more

BASIC-256 is an easy to use version of BASIC designed to teach young children the basics of computer programming. It has a built-in graphics mode which lets them draw pictures on screen in minutes, a step-through debugger, and a set of easy-to-follow tutorials that introduce programming concepts through fun exercises.

Major feature enhancements include:
- A "Debug" mode which allows you to step through the program line by line
- A line number indicator in the editor
- Improved error messages
- A PAUSE command which halts execution for a specified time
- A LINE command which draws lines... read more

It's been brought to our attention that another software product has used the name "KidBasic", prior to the creation of this one.

We're therefore immediately changing the name of our project to BASIC-256 to avoid any confusion.

The change may take a few days as we change every part of the project (web site, source code, etc.) with the old name. Thank you for your patience and continued support.

KidBASIC is an easy to use version of BASIC designed to teach young children the basics of computer programming. It has a built-in graphics mode which lets them draw pictures on screen in minutes, and a set of detailed, easy-to-follow tutorials that introduce programming concepts through fun exercises.

Version 0.7 fixes a number of outstanding bugs, adds internationalization support, and adds a number of menu options including a fully functional edit menu.... read more

KidBASIC is an easy to use version of BASIC designed to teach young children the basics of computer programming. It has a built-in graphics mode which lets them draw pictures on screen in minutes, and a set of detailed, easy-to-follow tutorials that introduce programming concepts through fun exercises.

Version 0.6 adds a number of mathematical functions: sin, cos, tan, abs, rand, floor, ceil, and int. Also included is a string() function to convert numerical values to strings.... read more

KidBASIC is an easy to use version of BASIC designed to teach young children the basics of computer programming. It has a built-in graphics mode which lets them draw pictures on screen in minutes, and a set of detailed, easy-to-follow tutorials that introduce programming concepts through fun exercises.

Version 0.5 fixes minor bugs and adds support for arrays and logical operations AND, OR, XOR, and NOT. New examples are included which demonstrate arrays.... read more

KidBASIC is an easy to use version of BASIC designed to teach young children the basics of computer programming. It has a built-in graphics mode which lets them draw pictures on screen in minutes, and a set of detailed, easy-to-follow tutorials that introduce programming concepts through fun exercises.

With version 0.4.1, performance and stability under Linux and Unix systems has been significantly enhanced. New graphical functions are available, and the keyboard can be tested to see which key is being pressed. This release allows simple video games, like pong and breakout, to be programmed. More examples have been included and tutorials have been updated to incorporate the new features.... read more

KidBASIC is an easy to use version of BASIC designed to teach young children the basics of computer programming. It has a built-in graphics mode which lets them draw pictures on screen in minutes, and a set of detailed, easy-to-follow tutorials that introduce programming concepts through fun exercises.

Version 0.3.1 adds two functions to speed up graphics performance and eliminate flicker. Also, the compiled byte code now runs in its own thread, increasing performance and responsiveness significantly.... read more

KidBASIC is an easy to use version of BASIC designed to teach young children the basics of computer programming. It has a built-in graphics mode which lets them draw pictures on screen in minutes, and a set of detailed, easy-to-follow tutorials that introduce programming concepts through fun exercises.

Version 0.3 eliminates the line-numbering syntax of previous versions, replacing it with labels. Performance has also been increased slightly. Linux source tarballs are now available.... read more

Version 0.2 of KidBasic has been released. This version adds some drawing functions, many bug fixes, UI improvements, and some extra examples.

KidBASIC is a simple BASIC IDE written to introduce young children to computer programming.

For more information, see our web site at http://kidbasic.sourceforge.net

This is the initial release of KidBASIC, an easy-to-learn version of BASIC, targeted at young children.

Many BASIC features are implemented, such as PRINT, INPUT, GOTO, GOSUB, algebraic expressions, variables, FOR loops, simple graphical commands, etc. More functions are on the way.

KidBASIC will be rigorously documented with plenty of tutorials that children can do on their own.

Help is welcome, please see the project page for details.