Hi Thomas,
I have been programming in one Basic IDE or another for over thirty years. You
know like Microsoft Extended Basic for the T.I. 99 4A, Microsoft Extended Basic
for the Atari 800 XL, BasicA for the IBM PC Jr, GW Basic, Quick Basic 4.5,
PDS7, VB4 and now VB6 for over ten years. So I am really really not looking to
start programming in anything other than a Basic IDE. But thank you very much
for the information.
BFN
Jim
Today is the day for Americans to get drunk and play with explosives.
j...@kitchensinc.net
http://www.kitchensinc.net
(440) 286-6920
Chardon Ohio USA
----- Original Message -----
Hi Jim,
I'm afraid not. The Basic programming languages never really were that
popular with Unix and Linux developers. The closest thing to Basic on
Linux would be Python which is fairly easy to learn, and is the
closest thing to an entry level programming language for Linux. The
majority of applications and tools are written in C or C++ with some
increasing use of the Open Java JDK for Linux.
I think that is due to the fact Linux has never really been popular
with the average home user or amateur programmer like yourself. Linux
is, and has always been, primarily used by IT professionals and has a
much stronger market on business machines rather than with personal
computer users. Although, that is changing somewhat the fact still
remains Linux's primary core of users are highly trained professionals
who may have skills in C, C++, Java, and may have professional
training in one or more of those languages. As a result they never
really had a need for a Basic programming language per say.
That's not to say their aren't some good alternatives though. As I
mentioned above Python is fairly easy to learn, and you can do quite a
lot with Python these days. There are a number of free amateur games
for Linux written in Python using the cross-platform PyGame API, and
it is totally possible to add text to speech support using PyTTS for
Linux. Basically, all the necessary components are in place if you or
anyone else wanted to write games in Python.
In fact, the RS Games Client for Linux is written in Python, speaks
text via ESpeak, and so on. SoundRTS is written in Python, uses
PyGame, and although it takes some fiddling to install the correct
dependencies it is a fairly decent game written in pure Python as
well. Point being that if you were ever thinking of a replacement for
VB Python for Windows, Linux, or Mac is probably the next best thing.
As for myself personally if I weren't a C++ man I'd probably choose
Python. It is simple to learn, is quite powerful, and has been used
for everything from simple shell scripts to full blown apps like the
Orca screen reader. More importantly, for you I think, is that Python
doesn't require any type of formal training or education. It was
intentionally designed to be used by amateur developers, and you don't
have to worry about many of the advanced types of programming concepts
like data types, pointers, and so on that you would have to know in a
language like C/C++.
Cheers!
---
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