Microsoft is keen to have its products used, but it is also very important to people who study and want to work in computer science as programmers. Learning the Visual Basic language then becomes simple using Small Basic, a simplified and guided programming interface with interactive support elements.
SmallBasic is a platform for learning to program in Visual Basic without having to work with long and boring manuals but using the type approach, learn as you do.
Some old computer science teachers might say that before programming you have to do courses and you have to study manuals and instead with this Small Basic, Microsoft offers a tool to program and immediately see the results, even without having ever done it, starting from absolute zero .
So, I who am not a programmer at all, I start, download SmallBasic from the Microsoft site and start it.
Opening Small Basic I find that it is in Italian and this is very comforting but I am presented with an empty interface, like a notepad, without any button, where you just have to write.
Without knowing the commands and without having any programming experience, I stare at the blank screen for a while, look for some help buttons or online help, nothing!
I then go to the Start menu, scroll through the programs, search for Small Basic and find that there is a pdf file called Introducing Small basic.
I open it, very upset because I hoped to become a professional programmer without studying, and I scroll through the pages written in English quickly, I get to page 3 and I read that, to start, you can try writing this command: TextWindow.WriteLine ("Hello World ") .
I go back to my white sheet, I start writing T ex ... and I discover with great surprise that there is an autocompletion of the commands.
Not only that, for each command listed, there is also a brief explanation, in Italian, of what it does and what it is used for.
Basically, therefore, every time you try to write a code or a command, a list of options is shown that you can scroll using the up and down arrow keys.
Each element has a short description alongside so that it can decide if it is what you need, and how to use it.
Once the correct term has been found, just press the Enter key and it will write itself.
Once you have finished writing a programming code, you can press the "Run" button to see its effects.
In this case, the "Hello World" program opens a CMD or DOS window, with the words "Hello World" written on it.
Now, speaking objectively, this Small Basic is the most simplistic and rudimentary that can be found around the development platforms.
The aspiring programmer, the one who wants to learn, finds himself in front of an environment that can be used immediately with which he can practice without having to study entire manuals and without having to disturb expert people.
In just 69 pages, the introduction pdf document teaches the new programmer the basic concepts of variables, matrices, conditions, branching, and loops.
Practically it provides the user with the main programming notions with which, in the future, he will be able to develop most of the work on other environments such as Visual Basic.
The merit of Small Basic is the interactivity it provides the user with the ability to create graphics and use colors.
Recommended for everyone, both those who want to learn a trade, and those who want to write and create their own programs for pure pleasure or passion.
