Silly question

[NoCforMe]

Since we're tossing out our opinions of BASIC here, mine is still pretty much the same as it's always been.

BASIC was actually my very first encounter with computers of any sort (and I learned on a mainframe!). It was very well suited for that job, introducing newbies to computer programming. That was the intention of its creators, Kemeny and Kurtz, to be a teaching tool, not necessarily a high-level language suitable for commercial and scientific usage.

Beyond that, I've never considered it a "serious" programming language, and still don't. Oh, sure there's PowerBASIC, all tarted up to look like a "real" language, but it still isn't really, in my opinion. I mean, why use it when there are much better alternatives available that aren't like hammering a square peg into a round hole?

However, my opinion ain't gonna stop millions of people from using all kinds of weird languages. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
BTW, I hasten to add that I exempt MasmBasic from this opinion, because it's not really BASIC. JJ, wouldn't you agree? I mean, it has a lot of BASIC-like constructs, but it's really an assembly-language framework that allows some familiar BASIC operators and statements.

If it were really a BASIC dialect then you wouldn't be having all that difficulty porting a real BASIC program over to MasmBasic, now would you? It should be able to digest a BASIC program more or less as-is.

It (MasmBasic) is however a pretty marvelous thing all of its own. It's sui generis. (Look that up.)

[jj2007]

I exempt MasmBasic from this opinion, because it's not really BASIC. JJ, wouldn't you agree?

MasmBasic is inspired by GfaBasic. The latter was lightyears ahead of SpaghettiBasic aka GW-Basic. I don't know PowerBasic well, but when I tested it years ago, I felt it was clumsier than GfaBasic. But it is still far away from SpaghettiBasic, and it's blazing fast because coded in Assembly. Only MasmBasic is faster than PowerBasic (most commands, that is).

MasmBasic is Assembly with embedded BASIC. By definition, whatever gets digested by an assembler who then spits out a Windows executable is Assembly.

It continues a tradition introduced by Mr. Steve Hutchesson many years ago: cls, print, left$, right$, chr$, trim$, str$, hex$, switch, write, input, inkey and many more are BASIC commands. Check \masm32\macros\macros.asm

[NoCforMe]

Well, hats off to Hutch.

[daydreamer]

Hats off to hutch
I feel comfortable with using all those macros in mask rather than c style coding
Well old way was speed up basic code by port it to asm,result in machine code in data statements that are called from basic
I got newer ti basic and z80 asm capable calculator with cross development from PC with help of USB cable
So I can write basic code anywhere if I get an idea to code and later port to x86 ,sometimes also SIMD

[TimoVJL]

Hats off to hutch
I feel comfortable with using all those macros in mask rather than c style coding
Well old way was speed up basic code by port it to asm,result in machine code in data statements that are called from basic
I got newer ti basic and z80 asm capable calculator with cross development from PC with help of USB cable
So I can write basic code anywhere if I get an idea to code and later port to x86 ,sometimes also SIMD

One reason to choose C was, that somewhere in 80's i didn't want any spaghetti code, i wanted some static specs for programming language, that i will use rest of my life. I never have to regret that.
It is very good to know programmers backgrounds and how they behave.
TurboBasic was important language at that time, as it gave possibility to compiled code, that save code. Also TurboPascal was at one point a good language for me.
Quite funny to read some comments, when many knows in this site many people, who have been a very long time in programming world, since real PC programming started.
I used Commodore VIC 20 basic for my homeworks in technical school, so many understand, how people started to use personal computers, when those got available.

[daydreamer]

Timo
When i went engineer school,was full of computers in many computer room
They changed the rules for tests so we where     allowed ti82 grapical and programmable calculators,so me and my friends bought those calculators
Without them you had small formula books which also contained lookup tables for trigo,exp,log
Found second ti82 i had few years ago,and found info on internet about newest ti version supported z80 programs and cross developing tools on pc with usb cable

[TimoVJL]

Timo
When i went engineer school,was full of computers in many computer room
They changed the rules for tests so we where    allowed ti82 grapical and programmable calculators,so me and my friends bought those calculators
Without them you had small formula books which also contained lookup tables for trigo,exp,log
Found second ti82 i had few years ago,and found info on internet about newest ti version supported z80 programs and cross developing tools on pc with usb cable

in technical lab was an ABC computer, that only teachers used.
Advanced BASIC Computer
ABC 800

Same time in Finland:


Later i might add a photo of MikroMikko, what it looks like today, when i find one from my storage 

Some people like this photo, as it was beginning of 32-bit computing :

[NoCforMe]

Since we're reminiscing, here's my setup from ca. 1988, when a '386 was a big deal:
Notice my mascots on top of the case.


Not sure what that little Mac was doing there; I have no memory of ever using it.
I did have a very nice Panasonic flatbed scanner, seen at right. (My company developed an early OCR program, which I actually started--in assembly language!)

[daydreamer]

Thanks timo, David for showing interesting photos

While most friends got foreign gaming computers,Atari,Amiga etc
Except ,one of my friends bought ABC 802 for his student room

[NoCforMe]

Except ,one of my friends bought ABC 802 for his student room

Hmm, cute li'l computers.
(Z80-based, no less)