QBASIC and other languages.

[Phydaux]

Phydaux said that Basic is a good stepping-stone language. ...

No I didn't. Re-read my post.

I personaly feel that its easy to learn another language if you already know one. Because even the most different languages share simmilar traits (like variables, basic programming structures etc.)

I'll give you one example:
With SimCity 3000 there is a scenario builder, that *really* tries to help the non-programmer but has loops and if's and variables. It's practically it's own language.
I was able to pick it up very quickly (it took me about an hour to make a complex scenario, using most of the functions of the scenario builder)
My Girlfriend tried to understand it but gave up as you needed some fundamental programming knowlege.

This is where my knowelege of QBASIC helped me understand another language quicker than someone who had never learnt a language. Even tho QBASIC was never designed to be a stepping-stone to the SC3K scenario builder.

[Moneo]

PHYDAUX.

Ok, you actuaally said that Basic was designed to be a stepping-stone language.

That was a good example about SimCity. Glad it worked out for you. My point is that had you learned any other language first, that knowledge would have helped you equally well.

Don't get me wrong --- I love Basic. But, if I were starting out today, I don't think I would want to start with Basic. Just like if I was starting out to learn about cars, I wouldn't want to learn about carburators, I would want to learn about fuel injection.
*****

[Agamemnus]

Nay. Your girlfriend gave up because she got impatient and didn't want to spend an hour figuring it out. But we, we programmers, already spent countless eons on this sort of thing and it's natural. (or at least it would be if most scripting languages didn't suck--AoM's and AoK's, and all of those RTS scripting languages SUCK)

[oracle]

Nay. Your girlfriend gave up because she got impatient and didn't want to spend an hour figuring it out. But we, we programmers, already spent countless eons on this sort of thing and it's natural. (or at least it would be if most scripting languages didn't suck--AoM's and AoK's, and all of those RTS scripting languages SUCK)

RTS scripting engine? Railroad Tycoon's engine was one of the worst... but I figured it out, not because I had time but because I realised that like QBasic there must have been some login behind it.

[Agamemnus]

right, but it takes time to figure out the messed up logic these scripting engines have.

[Aries]

DVAlan wrote:

Once I learn the art of programming and a language is it alot easier to then learn other computer program languages?

Well yes, (in all truth QBasic is the hardest langauge I know for some reason...) but if it is easy for you they use it to gather and understanding of re-drawing screens, moving characters on layers, working with character masks and such and then when you learn a new language it will be like learning other commands instead of learning a new programming language. Though most other languages have some other things QBasic dosent have.

[Moneo]

Aries, I'm glad you cleared that up for us. :humm:

[na_th_an]

Be serious, you should learn a complete language first. Pascal is a good start. C is the best deal.

Qb is just for fun. If you plan on serious proffesional developing, learn C.

[Agamemnus]

Part of Agamemnus's CRant™:

If you learn C first, you just perpetuate the big lie that wordwrap doesn't exist (therefore semicolons are used instead of line-ends).

You perpetuate another big lie, too, which is that humans serve compilers and not the other way around.

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[na_th_an]

C'mon, Aga, you code in the wrong way LOL