What ever happened to Basic? Until a few years ago, just about every home computer sold came with a version of Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, a computer programming language so easy to use that millions of adults and children worldwide used to write programs on their Sinclair ZX80s and ZX81s, BBC Micros, Apple IIs, and later on Apple Macs and PCs. And then suddenly, like Slade, it was gone.
Writing programs in Basic was once the whole point of owning a home computer, but today, only a tiny percentage of computer users are bedroom coders, according to Ivo Salmre, the product manager in charge of programming tools at Microsoft. So what has changed? "A computer today is a tool for everyone, not just for computer programmers," Salmre says. "Software is also much more customisable now. In the past, if you needed a program to do just what you wanted, you had to get out your programming tools."
But programming has also become much harder: writing a program that can take advantage of Windows' mouse-driven graphical user interface is more demanding than writing one that simply displays text, and 3D games often need whole teams of highly skilled programmers to create them. The truth is that Basic in its original form is totally unsuitable for writing these types of programs. Now they are often developed in C, C++ and Java, languages almost exclusively used by professional programmers.
So does this mean the end of home programming? Not necessarily. That's because 40 years after its introduction, Basic refuses to disappear completely. It lives on in powerful new programming languages that still use Basic-like commands, but which are capable of producing top-notch programs and games.
Microsoft's Visual Basic.Net is essentially a souped-up version of Basic designed for writing Windows programs, web applications and internet-based programs called web services. And although it looks daunting, it turns out to have many familiar Basic commands. A working knowledge can certainly be picked up in a few hours and, unlike most versions of Basic, Visual Basic can also make programs for PocketPC-based handheld computers and the next generation of Smartphone mobile phones.
But writing games has usually been highest priority for home programmers, and Visual Basic is not much use for this. But Dark Basic is a version of Basic that has been specifically designed for writing games, generating fast-moving 3D landscapes using a handful of simple commands. Usually, it is only possible to generate these sorts of graphics by programming a computer's graphics card using a set of programming standards such as Microsoft's DirectX. Dark Basic simplifies this, using Basic commands to generate graphics using DirectX automatically.
"We've found our market is mainly teenagers or people who grew up in the 80s with Basic who want to try their hand at games," says Rick Vanner, the commercial director for Lancashire-based Dark Basic. "Learning C++ and how to use DirectX can take months, but if you know Basic, it is possible to get up and running making 3D games with Dark Basic in a few minutes."
Programming may be a little harder today than it was 20 years ago, but with a little Basic knowledge, it is certainly still possible for anyone to whip up a program on a variety of platforms. That is the experience of Stuart Yate, a chef who also writes software. "I wrote my first programs 20 odd years ago in Basic on a Sinclair Spectrum and an old Amstrad machine," he says. "Then I stopped for a while, but after I went in to catering, I couldn't find the software I needed for my business so I decided to write my own. It might have been easier if I had gone on a course as I have made just about every mistake imaginable, but I taught myself and succeeded in the end."
But if the newer, more powerful Basics aren't to your taste, you can still download a free version called Chipmunk, which will run on a PC or Macintosh, and bash out lines of classic Basic. Or for an authentic retro coding experience, download an emulator and turn your computer into a virtual BBC Micro, a ZX81, or even a MITS Altair 8800 - the first personal computer back in 1975 - and recreate the glory days of Basic programming in old-fashioned, low resolution monochrome.
Dark Basic
www.darkbasic.com
Microsoft Visual Basic
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic
Chipmunk Basic
www.nicholson.com/rhn/basic
BBC Micro emulator
www.mikebuk.dsl.pipex.com/beebem
Altair 8800 emulator
www.schorn.ch/cpm/intro.html
