MiniBASIC v1.232
MiniBasic v1.19 | 8 Mb
MiniBasic is designed as a simple programming language, based on BASIC. If you already know BASIC then you are well on your way to learning MiniBasic, if you don’t then MiniBasic is one of the simplest programming languages to learn. MiniBasic programs are written in ASCII script. They are then interpreted by the computer. This is in contrast to most “serious” languages, which are compiled, that is, translated into machine instructions and then run. Interpreted languages are slower than compiled languages, but they have several advantages. One major one is that they are portable – a MiniBasic script will run on any computer that has a MiniBasic interpreter installed. Another advantage, especially for beginners, is that errors are much easier to identify. Finally, MiniBasic is not really intended as a standalone program, except for teaching purposes. It is meant for incorporation into other products, where the user is expected to provide functions in a general-purpose programming language. An example might be a desk calculator which can be extended to provide user-defined functions like the Fibonnaci series, or an adventure game for which the user can design his own levels. For technical reasons, this is much easier to implement as an interpreted rather than a compiled language.