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Why Teach Programming With BASIC?

Posted by timothy on from the because-of-the-great-name dept.

chromatic writes "To answer the perennial question 'How can we teach kids how to program?', we created a web-based programming environment. As we began to write lessons and examples, we surprised ourselves. Modern languages may be powerful and useful for writing real programs, but BASIC and Logo are great languages for demonstrating the joy of programming."

12 of 709 comments (clear)

  1. Can't get there from here by icebike · · Score: 3, Funny

    There is still the theory that once you teach someone basic it becomes impossible to teach them programming. /running and ducking...

    --
    Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    1. Re:Can't get there from here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      section .text
              global _start

      _start:

              mov edx,len
              mov ecx,msg
              mov ebx,1
              mov eax,4
              int 0x80

              mov eax,1
              int 0x80

      section .data

      msg db 'Teach them in assembly, you insensitive clod!',0xa
      len equ $ - msg

    2. Re:Can't get there from here by syousef · · Score: 1, Funny

      Basic is fine if you're just wanting to quickly introduce it, but anything beyond that is just going to convince them to go to arts college.

      10 REM ARTS COLLEGE
      20 PRINT "HELLO WORLD"
      30 GOTO 10

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    3. Re:Can't get there from here by c0lo · · Score: 4, Funny

      I still find multi-threading and C/C++ easier than Basic.
      ...
      Computer's just manipulate math, one problem at a time. Crazy easy.

      I wonder what did you understand from multi-threading?

      --
      Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
  2. Re:BASIC by plover · · Score: 5, Funny

    10 print "hello"
    20 goto 10

    This is why we can't have nice things.

    --
    John
  3. BASIC Programmers Never Die... by Blackwulf · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...They GOSUB and don't RETURN.

    1. Re:BASIC Programmers Never Die... by RoverDaddy · · Score: 3, Funny

      Hooray! My sig is finally on-topic.

      --
      RETURN without GOSUB in line 1050
  4. Web-based programming environment... by windcask · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Here, son, let's look at this Wordpress site that hasn't been updated in 18 months. Now, this is called 'SQL Injection' and 'Cross-site Scripting.'"

    Nothing better than learning by example...

  5. Re:Slashvertizement by outsider007 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I came for infotainment but was disappointed to find an edutizement

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  6. Re:Use C# by Sam36 · · Score: 0, Funny

    Java VM is written in C idiot

  7. Re:BASIC by Abstrackt · · Score: 3, Funny

    This reminds me of the joke about the programmer who died in the shower: "the shampoo bottle said lather, rinse, repeat".

    --
    They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
  8. Re:yeah but by camperdave · · Score: 3, Funny

    You aren't allowed to use peanut butter as an example in schools anymore. Too many kids are allergic.

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