I had it bookmarked, but completely forgotten. Many thanks! Will definitely look into this with our son.
EDIT: wow, this seems perfect for us. A Pico-8 clone in BASIC, essentially. Even simpler.
From the manual: "LowRes NX is based on second-generation, structured BASIC. It offers all the classic commands, but with labels, loops and subprograms instead of line numbers."
Does this mean that it supports all of QBASIC? So after finishing the QB tutorial linked in this thread, we can switch over to LowRes NX with no additional learning curve needed? (This would get rid of the DOSBox layer, making the learning and exploring experience maybe more straightforward for a child.)
I'm no oldschool BASIC specs expert, hence the question.
No it do not support all of QBASIC, it's a custom language, but it is very similar.
The main difference is that LowResNX simulate a fantasy GPU chip, that only support sprite and background layers are where all the pixel source are restricted to square of 8x8 pixels, similar to NES or GBA.
The fact that each subroutine has its own dedicated window really helped me to create my first complex program when I was young. Type F2 to access any routine directly. A program was a set of subroutines rather than a set of lines.
There was an online help too, and a survival guide.
(OP here.) It really is an excellent guide. Maybe even the best introduction to programming for children I've found so far. Obviously written and structured with true care -- e.g. note that it teaches file saving and loading only in Chapter 8, not earlier. So the rationale seems to be that up to this point, the child should focus on typing in those really short programs; no need to save, yet.
Also, as a non-native speaker (and a computer hobbyist, not an educated IT guy), I would point out that the language of this guide seems really-really good.
The author seems to be a collector of old computer books for kids as well [1] -- this very probably also contributes to why his QB guide feels so well polished. The author very successfully avoids overwhelming the kids with programming terms; he is really careful in introducing those. Also, the sentences are simple, short and to the point; and somehow... warm, empathetic towards the (learning) child.
I'm actually in the process of translating this to my language (Estonian), and going through the exercises simultaneously with our 10yo son. I think we're doing great! That Blue Screen of QB really helps in maintaining a child's focus. QB is a notably good IDE for kids, maybe almost unbeatable in this regard even in 2023?
Yeah, well aware and interested in QB64. However, if the focus is on teaching children, I find QBASIC 1.1 somewhat more suitable: it provides less options, menus and other potential footguns that may scare the child away at first.
Also, most importantly, QB64 is a compiled language, whereas QBASIC is an interpreted one. I noticed that QB64 does have an additional interpreter available on the site, but it didn't feel quite as comfortable to use as the QBASIC IDE. I assume children would prefer instant results -- in this regard, waiting for an .exe generation is maybe somewhat a hindrance as compared to pressing F5 or shift+F5 in the old QBv1.1 IDE.
My plan is to first learn QB1.1 via DOSBox and maybe later, if our son shows interest, introduce him to QB64, which is definitely a more serious tool (or LowResNX which is an excellent find for sure; looks like it is somewhere in between QB1.1 and QB64 or the old QB4.5 in terms of complexity and possibilities). Also, a definite pat on the QB64 devs' shoulders for keeping that old QBASIC look! Ha.
EDIT: wow, this seems perfect for us. A Pico-8 clone in BASIC, essentially. Even simpler.
From the manual: "LowRes NX is based on second-generation, structured BASIC. It offers all the classic commands, but with labels, loops and subprograms instead of line numbers."
Does this mean that it supports all of QBASIC? So after finishing the QB tutorial linked in this thread, we can switch over to LowRes NX with no additional learning curve needed? (This would get rid of the DOSBox layer, making the learning and exploring experience maybe more straightforward for a child.)
I'm no oldschool BASIC specs expert, hence the question.
The main difference is that LowResNX simulate a fantasy GPU chip, that only support sprite and background layers are where all the pixel source are restricted to square of 8x8 pixels, similar to NES or GBA.
Have fun.
The fact that each subroutine has its own dedicated window really helped me to create my first complex program when I was young. Type F2 to access any routine directly. A program was a set of subroutines rather than a set of lines.
There was an online help too, and a survival guide.
You can try it out here: https://www.pcjs.org/software/pcx86/sys/dos/microsoft/5.00/ . It will launch MS-DOS 5 on a PC/AT. Type QBASIC to launch it.
Also, as a non-native speaker (and a computer hobbyist, not an educated IT guy), I would point out that the language of this guide seems really-really good.
The author seems to be a collector of old computer books for kids as well [1] -- this very probably also contributes to why his QB guide feels so well polished. The author very successfully avoids overwhelming the kids with programming terms; he is really careful in introducing those. Also, the sentences are simple, short and to the point; and somehow... warm, empathetic towards the (learning) child.
I'm actually in the process of translating this to my language (Estonian), and going through the exercises simultaneously with our 10yo son. I think we're doing great! That Blue Screen of QB really helps in maintaining a child's focus. QB is a notably good IDE for kids, maybe almost unbeatable in this regard even in 2023?
1: http://tedfelix.com/books/index.html and http://tedfelix.com/cs4kids/index.html
2: see also the author's additional tutorial, Sprites in QBASIC: http://tedfelix.com/qbasic/sprites.html
Also, most importantly, QB64 is a compiled language, whereas QBASIC is an interpreted one. I noticed that QB64 does have an additional interpreter available on the site, but it didn't feel quite as comfortable to use as the QBASIC IDE. I assume children would prefer instant results -- in this regard, waiting for an .exe generation is maybe somewhat a hindrance as compared to pressing F5 or shift+F5 in the old QBv1.1 IDE.
My plan is to first learn QB1.1 via DOSBox and maybe later, if our son shows interest, introduce him to QB64, which is definitely a more serious tool (or LowResNX which is an excellent find for sure; looks like it is somewhere in between QB1.1 and QB64 or the old QB4.5 in terms of complexity and possibilities). Also, a definite pat on the QB64 devs' shoulders for keeping that old QBASIC look! Ha.