lbjoseph
Jun 30, 2011
=Basics of Programming= //[[user:lbjoseph]]// [[toc|flat]] ---- =Introduction= ==Why?== I remember having the desire to learn programming when I was 12 - I just wanted to make my own games. Sound familiar? Thinking it would be educational, my mom bought me a copy of [[@http://www.libertybasic.com|Liberty BASIC]]. It was educational, mind you, but it was so engaging to me that she had a hard time getting me to do anything else for the next few years. Yes, I was a normal teenager and did things with friends, but most of my spare time alone was spent programming or reading about programming. Learning and experimenting pays off, however. As you can see, I am now writing this article to help //**you**// learn the basics of programming. ==The Problem With Programming Tutorials== If you try to find a good beginner's programming tutorial online, you'll usually run into one of the following problems: * They're not youth friendly. For all I know, you could be an aspiring preteen programmer like I was. * They expect you to already know a different programming language. * They start by teaching very difficult and often boring programming languages. Instead, this tutorial tries to do the following: * Aims to be easily understood by youth and adults alike. * Doesn't expect you to have the slightest clue about programming. * Teaches the fun and easy to learn Liberty BASIC programming language. ==Free Version== Yes, you don't actually have to purchase Liberty BASIC to follow this tutorial. You will probably want to, though, once you see what all it can do. There is a free version of Liberty BASIC known as [[@http://justbasic.com|Just BASIC]]. It's missing a few features, but it's great fun nonetheless. All the code examples in this article will work in Just BASIC - I promise. ==Where to Find Help== Liberty BASIC and Just BASIC have great online forums with dedicated supporters who are very helpful. You can find them here: [[@http://www.libertybasic.conforums.com|Liberty BASIC Forums]] [[@http://www.justbasic.conforums.com|Just BASIC Forums]] Also, Liberty BASIC has an online version of the help file. This is //**the**// reference to have. [[@http://www.libertybasicuniversity.com/lb4help/|Liberty BASIC Online Help]] ==Before We Start== Liberty BASIC will be referred to as LB in this article. If you're using Just BASIC (JB), the steps are the same as they are in LB. So just follow along and pretend to know what you're doing, and everything will be good. Experimenting is a great way to learn how to program. If you have an idea of your own, try it. Also, none of the provided code in this article will hurt your system. [[code format="lb"]] 'code here [[code]] =Second Part Title= Text here. [[code format="lb"]] 'code here [[code]] =Third Part Title= Text here. [[code format="lb"]] 'code here [[code]] ---- [[toc|flat]]