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free basics?
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 6:40 am
by doodlemunch
hi at school they were going to teach visual basic but we al complained abut it
so i wuld like ti know wich free basics are out there that are good or similar to PB
they could buy pb but they already bught vb so that is no negotiabel
liberty basic? freebasic? what?
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 7:31 am
by Dare2
Not sure how this fits with what you want, but there is something called KPL which is specifically for teaching.
http://www.kidsprogramminglanguage.com/
KPL stands for "Kids Programming Language" but it is not something dumbed down and cutesy. It is actually quite nice. Can't create an exe though.
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 7:33 am
by doodlemunch
not useful tehn because we must provide the compiled progrie and the source to our profesors too
i wonder if any of the mentionet basics are good enouhg?
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 7:58 am
by Dare2
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:10 am
by blueznl
can't you use the demo version of pb?
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:26 am
by doodlemunch
i gues ? but they bught full copies of vb y wuld we work with a limitded version of pb tehn?
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:45 am
by blueznl
because pb demo is free?
dunno the limitations though, you'd have to read the license
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:52 am
by Dare2
doodlemunch wrote:i gues ? but they bught full copies of vb y wuld we work with a limitded version of pb tehn?
If they bought full copies of vb why would they work with [Insert any version of any compiler name here] then.

Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:57 am
by doodlemunch
cause vb sucks?
i like pb
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:04 am
by Dare2
Now I have no idea of what you are looking for. They (the educational institution) have vb, and will only use that? Or they don't have vb, and want it? Or they have vb but the students don't and don't want to fork out for it?
If there is a actually a choice here and we're not just chewing the breeze about a foregone conclusion, then blueznl's idea is a good one (subject to licence). Wish I had thought of it.
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:15 am
by doodlemunch
well they got vb and we dont want to learn it we want somethin like pb but they wont buy it so i say why not a free basic then ?
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:18 pm
by dracflamloc
Really no basic is like PB. Since PB isnt really lik a "BASIC" anymore. However I really think your school should just teach C. You'll learn more about computers and proper programming doing console apps in C than by drag and drop forms in a basic. It'll also help you keep those bad coding habits at bay, since classical BASIC languages pretty much create bad habits just by looking at the code.
Its not that hard even for complete beginners, just dont use pointers until you are ready. When I was in high school my freshman year we had a C++ course. Pretty much everyone got it just fine, and even the ones who struggled had no problem finding help from other students.
I really don't understand this whole "learn basic or java first" craze. If you absolutely must do basic, then pb is a good choice. Why not put your teacher or whoever says you can't purchase PB in contact with Fred. Maybe they can work out an educational license or edition.
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 7:01 pm
by Brice Manuel
The folks at Dark BASIC Software (or whatever they call themselves now) will generally give FREE copies of DarkBasic Classic to schools and other teaching institutions.
Liberty BASIC has a very liberal scholastic policy. The Teacher purchases it for normal price and the registration covers the entire class.
Both of the above have been taught in many schools over the years.
FreeBASIC is nice, but a little difficult for complete beginners due to the lack of a decent IDE.
PB & Blitz are great, but neither have an established and published policy when it comes to educational licensing.

Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:26 pm
by dracflamloc
By the way, even if DarkBasic is free for schools. DONT BOTHER. Its buggy, slow, and awful for a school environment (hell... any environment).
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:30 pm
by Sebe
http://www.glbasic.com is also free for schools.