Why Can't We Put a BASIC On the Phone?

theodp writes "In the Sixties, we could put a man on the moon. Nowadays, laments jocastette, America's tech giants can't even put a BASIC on the phone. Woz managed to crank out a BASIC interpreter for the 6502 in the '70s. As did Bill Gates and Paul Allen. So, why — at a time when development has never been easier — can't Google, Apple, and Microsoft manage to support a free BASIC or other programming-for-the-masses development environment on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones?" My limited experience with Android development showed using Java to be obtuse and downright obnoxious to do anything (at least without Eclipse, and even with it doing anything non-standard required digging through horrendous ant buildfiles). And, of course, without a REPL things were even more obnoxious. There is the android-scripting project, but it doesn't provide particularly exhaustive access to the platform.

Comments

Attention Old People

[realinvalidname]

Today's BASIC is JavaScript. And it's already on all the mobile devices. Even evil control-freak Apple's stuff. Young people already know this and do not need your Commodore/Apple/Atari nostalgia trips.

Also, parachute pants are no longer a thing.

Please update your expectations and wardrobe appropriately.

you are the dumbest shit imaginable

[Anonymous Coward]

How the fuck is a person looking for BASIC on phones going to be the one who writes an interpreter?

Stuff your Ayn Randroid bullshit up your fat geek filth ass, you dumb motherfucker.

Re:you are the dumbest shit imaginable

[Roachie]

Damn, this thread went apeshit fast.