FLORENCE Y'ALL On Mon, Jan 6, 2020 at 4:37 PM Ken Pettit <[email protected]> wrote:
> Yeah, me too ... oops! ;) > > It has been so many years since I even thought about BASIC ... I'm not > sure I would have a good recomendation for a book. I learned BASIC in 1977 > when I was 12 standing at a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 1, reading the BASIC > for beginners book they had sitting next the the computer (which had a > whopping 4K RAM). My parents were checking out the (then) newly built mall > in Florence KY ... I never made it past the 2nd store (Radio Shack) and I > stood there for 5 hours playing with the Model 1. I was hooked from that > point on. > > Ken > > On 1/6/20 4:22 PM, John R. Hogerhuis wrote: > > > > On Mon, Jan 6, 2020 at 4:01 PM James Zeun <[email protected]> wrote: > >> As cool as Google is, you know neither of you actually suggested a >> programming book :-P >> >> I'm hoping for hints, help, suggestions guys lol >> >> >> > Oops, sorry about that. > > The way I learned was from the "Getting Started with Color BASIC" manual > for the Color Computer. It was really fun and easy. > > You could learn from the Model 100 manual, it has has all the commands > described. But it is not as easy. If I recall correctly it's more of a > dictionary of commands than a tutorial on BASIC. > > I think the thing for the Model 100 is the Lien book > > > https://archive.org/details/Model_100_Portable_Computer_Learners_Manual_1983_Compusoft_Publishing > > > You could go through the whole thing from the beginning or start in the > BASIC section. > > You're on the right track though, in my opinion. You're not thinking about > programming so much as what you want to accomplish functionality wise. > > Maybe flesh out your goal as to how you want the program to function, and > then we can guide you to syntax and concepts you will need. > > In general, programming comes down to understanding: > > a) Storage / Variables > b) Sequential flow of control (one statement executing after another) > c) Conditional control flow (alternate statements being executed depending > on conditions) > d) Loops > e) Data structures > f) Input/Output > > As a fun-down learning approach most programmers start with I/O. Print > statements, graphics, sound commands, sending data in and out of ports, > controlling lights and motors. > 10 PRINT"I'M A PROGRAMMING GOD"; > 20 GOTO 10 > > In BASIC, each program line starts with a "line number". This is the order > in which BASIC will run your code unless you give it commands to the > contrary. And each line consists of one or more program "statements" or > instructions telling the computer what to do next is it executes your > program. > > For a first version of your program, let's do a simplified program > specification. > > Clear the screen > Pick a random number between 1-20 > Print it out > Pick another random number between 1-20 > Print it out > > The commands to research are > > CLS > RND > PRINT > > No loops or variables or anything complicated here. The simplest possible > (and least flexible) version of your program specification. > > -- John. > > > -- Ron Hale-Evans ... http://ron.ludism.org <http://ur1.ca/4iaf3>
