Is there a good BASIC compiler for ubuntu?

[Bernard Peek]

In message 
<77520bee0603121436j58879b8fraf1cfd3909d3a56a at mail.gmail.com>, Eric 
Dunbar <eric.dunbar at gmail.com> writes
>> Take a look at Gambas. It's very similar to VB in many ways. It's
>> available for Ubuntu. There have been some tutorials on it in one of the
>> recent Linux magazines, but I can't remember which one.
>>
>> If you are already familiar with VB it is probably the best way to learn
>> to program on Linux. If you haven't already committed to Basic then
>> Python, as suggested by others, is probably a better starting point if
>> you intend to learn serious Linux programming. If you just want to put
>> together simple utility programs for your own use then Gambas is quite
>> possibly the right choice.
>
>Is Python transferrable to other operating systems?

Yes, probably more so than BASIC. You can find a dialect of BASIC for 
pretty much any platform but because there is no single standard for 
BASIC you would have to rewrite the code every time you switched. If you 
want a really portable language then C is probably the single best 
option.

>It seems to me that for basic programming BASIC is an admirable
>solution. I've seem some pretty impressive programs written in BASIC,
>and, for simple data manipulation it can't be beat (if you already
>know the language).

Indeed. The best language for almost any job is likely to be the one you 
already know - if you only have a hammer everything looks like a nail. 
To understand its strengths and weaknesses you only need to expand the 
acronym. Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It's a 
beginner language designed for training people in how to think like a 
programmer. It can do that. But remember that it is intended as a 
beginner's language and if your aim is to become a professional 
programmer BASIC may not be the best place to start, there are newer 
beginners' languages. Some of the things that programmers now want to do 
are difficult at best using BASIC.

It is an All-purpose language and can be used to write both simple and 
complex applications. But if your aim is to write complex programs there 
are better languages. If you are happy the remain at a hobbyist level of 
proficiency then you may never reach the point where the advantages of 
other languages makes a difference. In that case BASIC is an excellent 
choice. The language snobs find it difficult to accept that there's a 
niche that BASIC fits very well. You only have to notice that there are 
dialects of BASIC for pretty much every platform to see that lots of IT 
professionals have other ideas.

>Just because programming snobs don't like it doesn't mean that people
>shouldn't be using it.

True. I use it myself. I'm not a programming professional and I don't 
want to be. BASIC fits my particular needs quite nicely, but I do 
recognise that it's not a universal solution.

>
>I'm sure there are plenty of other languages out there that are now as
>easy to use as BASIC, but, the advantage to using BASIC is that if you
>learned how to program in the language 15 years ago (as I did) and you
>never needed to learn another language (I stopped at BASIC & Pascal),
>then you _still_ know how to use it.

Yes. For many people BASIC is as much as they need. But if they aim to 
become highly proficient programmers then it's probably best to start 
with something else.

>
>The other problem with advocating for Python or JAVA is that they
>don't seem to have particularly good (i.e. basic & easy to use)
>interpreters. JAVA is a sluggish language and I've only ever seen
>Linux geeks extolling the virtues of Python.

That doesn't mean it's a bad language. It just happened to evolve at the 
same time as Linux started to become mainstream.

>
>If I had to do something which required data manipulation that I
>couldn't easily do in SAS, or if I didn't have SAS available to me,
>then I'd fire up a BASIC interpreter since I still know the language
>(since I don't earn my keep by programming I see no reason to devote
>brain cells to learning aother language... I started on C a few years
>ago and didn't find the exercise particularly useful... learning Bash
>scripting was more useful ;-).

That's what I would do too. There are not enough people with the level 
of programming ability required to write simple applications.



-- 
Bernard Peek
London, UK. DBA, Manager, Trainer & Author.