Re: Here's a question then... (one for the techies)

[Kip]

Thanks for the replies to this, I think he's going to have a go at QBasic, then probably try out a freeware C++ compiler of some sort.   Couldn't convince him to change to Linux, though, bizarrely enough, he's found a guy who makes a PCI card which emulates the QL system, so that might be a way forward. My uncle is convinced that his QL and it's version of basic is better than windows, and I have a sneaking suspicion he may be right.   Kip ----- Original Message ----- From: Richard Ayres To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Sent: Monday, December 04, 2000 9:52 AM Subject: RE: Here's a question then... (one for the techies) It depends on how hard-core he wants to be in programming, whether he wants to continue using basic, and whether he wants to be able to faff about with windows & dialog boxes - easily. VB is pretty good at knocking up windows for the basic programmer; my Grandfather was extremely happy with this (the rest of Windows is another matter;) he wrote all sorts of stock-tracking software for his self. If your Uncle fancies learning about programming on a "real" operating system, and how a computer really works, then C or C++ on Linux could be the answer (Visual C++ on Windows is extremely expensive, I believe) - if he wants to develop GUI applications and stuff then he could stick a scripting language (such as Perl or Tcl/Tk) on top of that - this could be a challenge!   On the practical front, how much RAM does he have? Linux will need _at_least_ 8MB - and will run like a dog if X is loaded, in only 8MB Windows 95 could also be a problem. If he has Win3.1, getting hold of compatible version of VB could be a problem.     rich    -----Original Message----- From: Kip [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 03 December 2000 21:12 To: multiple recipients of Subject: Here's a question then... (one for the techies) My Uncle, who up till now has been quite happy programming basic with his Sinclair QL (yes, that's right), has just been given a fairly old Windows machine (486), and wants to know how he can start coding stuff with it, and not being much of an applications person myself, I didn't know what to tell him.   So, do you reckon he should get Visual Basic and have a go with that, or is it better to learn C++, or should he just forget about Windows and stick Linux on it?   Thanks,   Kip