Welcome to the introduction! We take it that you, the novice programmer, are interested in QBasic. Well, although QBasic is a simple language, naturally, one will need some help in attempting to understand the basics of programming. Here, we will teach you all the skills you will ever need for QBasic. There is an added advantage to this: these concepts can also be applied to other programming languages like C and C++, and they will help you to understand these other languages more easily. From the bare basics to advanced animations, we provide it all. So sit back and enjoy!
What in the World is QBasic?
What is QBasic, you may ask. Basic stands for Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. The very first Basic was written by Bill Gates himself for the Alatair Computer. I seem to recollect that he did it last-minute on the plane, but I can't be too sure. If Bill Gates is reading this now, please don't sue me for defamation. I'm sure you don't do last-minute work. Anyway, QBasic is just a simplified and refined version of GW-Basic, an older Basic for older computers like 286s. It is meant for beginner programmers as it introduces many key aspects of programming like directional control and SUBs, while at the same time being easy enough for a average human to understand.The whole concept of QBasic is based on commands; keywords that you have to learn to make the computer do something. There are about 200 over QBasic commands, but naturally we don't have time for them all. Still, QBasic is a great language. I'm sure you will be amazed at the types of programs you can create with it.
What in the World is this Webpage?
This page is basically a QBasic reference aimed at teaching you QBasic. There are 3 Modules of Lessons, namely Module 1, 2 and 3. Each Module comprises of about 2-5 lessons, excluding Module 3, and the Modules are ranked in order of difficulty. In short, Module 1 starts off with basics, Module 2 teachs graphic skills and other more advanced control flow, while Module 3 deals with the future of QBasic. Furthermore, the tutorials give a good outline of guidelines to follow while programming. So you can see that we offer a pretty comprehensive course here.What in the World should you have to program QBasic?
For the best programming enviroment, I recommend the following:
- a 80386 Intel Processor running at 33Mhz or above
- 4 MB of RAM or more
- 10 MB of free hard disk space
- a VGA monitor (although EGA is barely acceptable)
- at least a 14.4 Kbps modem
How in the World do you use this Webpage?
From there to here, and here to there,
funny things are everywhere.
-- Dr. Seuss
True to his teachings, we have created a funny diagram for you.
Look at the diagram on the right. What do you see?
Child1: A Bird!
Child2: A Plane!
Child3: Superman!
Dr Mobius: A Food Web!
QBasic Programmer: A graphical explaination of this page!
Actually, it's a graphical explanation of this Webpage. As you can see, we have 3 Learning Modules in our page. These Modules are further divided into Chapters that we call Lessons. Each Lesson deals with a specific topic and after every Module, we will have a test. Usually you will be asked to apply what you have learnt in the Module and program a QBasic .bas file. When you have done that, you can compare your answer to our answer, accompanied with helping notes, and learn from your mistakes if any. Obviously, sometimes your answer may not match and you'll have to figure out what went wrong.
During lessons, you may at anytime go to the Reference section to check up the meanings of common commands or keywords you have forgotten, or just to study for your test. But please don't study for your blood tests. All you have to do is to click on your browser's Back button to continue your lesson after reference.
Of course, the lessons and tests will get harder as you progress through the Modules. And if you still want to learn more after our artillery barrage of lessons, we have provided links to other pages for further learning. So we can satisfy even the most hungry programmer!
When we give you code samples in your lessons, they will be accompanied by funny-looking icons which look like Mars Bars.
Well, only 3 funny-looking icons, and they're blue, not brown. And they don't seem to be edible, I just broke my tooth biting them. Anyway these buttons are the Raw Code, Dissection, and Program Output bars. In lessons, QBasic Code will look like this.
This is QBasic Code.
Anyway, lets have an example here, and you'll see how they work.
SCREEN 12: COLOR 15: CLS PRINT "Sun: Happy Birthday, Earth! Its New Year's Eve!" PRINT "Earth: Don't be a fool, New Year's Eve was 365 days ago." END
Sun: Happy Birthday, Earth! Its New Year's Eve! Earth: Don't be a fool, New Year's Eve was 365 days ago.
Well, note the simplicity of QBasic. Compare this to a Pascal program that does the same thing.
program Hey World;
uses
Crt;
begin
Writeln('Happy Birthday, Earth! Its New Year's Eve!');
Writeln('Earth: Don't be a fool, New Year's Eve was 365 days ago.');
end.
That's the beauty of QBasic. Which is easier to understand to a normal human, Writeln or Print??? Obviously Print! As you can see, the Print command is used here to print stuff onto the screen.
It is used as such: Print "What i want to say". Now let's have a look at the output.
As you can see, Raw Code describes the actual code you type into QBasic, Dissection describes how each line works and any new commands, while Program Output displays what you see on the screen or what the program does. Its very simple to understand, right? I'm sure you now understand how this page works.
What in the World do the Icons mean?
We have a few icons in this page, other than the QB bars. They look like enlarged versions of M&Ms. Unfortunately you can't eat them. We use them to draw your attention to juicy bits of information we want your brain to take notice of. Here are their explainations:
I noticed this bar on top of some pages. It looks like a Kit-Kat bar. What is it?
That's a very good question to ask! In fact, we were about to mention it to you. The bar in question is the navigation bar, as shown below:
Look at the labels carefully, they explain what the bar does. It's a Navigation aid designed to prevent you from getting lost in our page. Basically the Heading tells you where you are right now (or what this page is, in other words). The Sub-headings are clickable hotpots that can be reached from this topic or heading. All you have to do is to click on them to go to the appropriate area. Study the diagram; after a careful glance at them you should know what the navigation bar does. I hope that answers your question.
How can I move around the page easily?
That's an even better question to ask! We have designed this page to make it user-friendly and easily-navigatible. This is done with the help of two important buttons: the Back to Top button and the Site Map button. Basically they look like this:
These two buttons work in such a way that from anywhere in our page, you only have to click the mouse a few times to go anywhere else. The Back to Top button brings the user to the top of the page, where the Site Map button is located. From the site map, it is possible to go anywhere in the page. So all you have to do is to scroll about 2 pages in any direction (up or down) until you reach a Back to Top button, then click on it. Then you click on the Site Map button to reach the Site Map, search for the area you want, then click again to go there! It's that simple! Navigation made easy!
But what if I don't like jumping around using the buttons?
Well, if you don't like jumping around, we've created a frame system for you. Go to the Home page, and scroll down until you see the Options Menu on the left side of the screen. Click on the "Use Frames For Site Map" Option, and a frame will appear at the top. This frame can be dragged up and down, so it doesn't block your viewing. When you want to jump to another place, simply pull down the frame, click on the Site Map icon there, and you'll be transported to the Site Map! Have a look at the Options Menu below:
That should answer your question.
Where in the World should I go now?
"Come with me if you want to live." T-800, Terminator 2Hahaha. Seriously, you can start your lessons now by selecting Lessons from the Imagemap below, but you may want to wander around the page or the Reference section first. It's all up to you.
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago?
Don't ask me this question. The last time I saw her, she was in Egypt trying to steal some ancient artifact from some dead Pharaoh. Try Bronderbund Headquarters if you're really desperate.Finally, we strongly emphasize, QBasic learning is not for the faint-hearted. You must have plenty of willpower and determination if you want to learn QBasic, or for that matter, any other programming language. You must make a conscious effort to learn QBasic and become good at it, and not just slouch there all day sleeping. If you look at some of our programs, you must have noticed that it takes many lines of code to just do a simple effect. At the end of the day, it is you who gets the benefit. We can only help you this much. The rest is up to you.
Email: lccorp1997@hotmail.com
We prefer a 24-bit True Color mode with 640x480 screen mode.
This Webpage created for Thinkquest 1998.