Why do you continue to use Small Basic? - An EPIC ANSWER
Let's ask that question to our community member, Jibba Jabba. Here's his response:
"I think it's important to continually consider the value/usefulness and future of anything that one uses.
I don't develop extensions but with a bit of a stretch I suppose I add to the languages ecosystem by using Small Basic and participating with its related resources, like this forum.
The reason I use Small Basic is because I want to become a software developer and hopefully a successful one. So I continually evaluate how effective Small Basic is in being a means to this end. So far for me it has been an excellent language choice, I just keep learning and speculate that this will only grow.
Small Basic's simplified IDE and small library is the best feature for learning. It allows me to concentrate on a few powerful classes without having to sift through 100's of IDE features. This gives me a chance to concentrate on core programming techniques right at the outset and forces me to learn how to create and manage my own methods of doing things.
Using Small Basic has given me a solid grounding and has allowed and forced me to explore more advanced stuff before I go on to learn more languages.
The fact that the community is alive and well, the Wiki's growing and people continue to develop extensions is probably a good indicator why Small Basic is a good choice for learning. Also I speculate that .NET has a great future (probably more cross platform support coming) and a growing store. Products have life-cycles and I think MS is in a good place. Testimonials are another thing worth looking at. (Click here to read 47 testimonials from kids, age 8-13.) There's a lot and they're all good.
So after 14 months of learning with Small Basic and its abundant learning resources, I'm stoked! I still use it and suspect I will for sometime to come.
Eventually (5 year plan here) I aim to develop useful and entertaining applets and apps and post them on the stores and my own website, generate interest and hopefully recoup any modest outlays. I figure that getting off to a solid start will set me up well and reduce the incidence of creating my own technical debt.
I reckon, get a solid start. I researched what I was embarking on and I'm glad I chose Small Basic. This article discusses what I found out: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/18192.development-map-for-becoming-a-good-programmer-using-small-basic-and-msdn/revision/14.aspx
It seems obvious to me that the Small Basic project is supported and valuable. I wouldn't be surprised if an upgrade was on the horizon. I have no bug or platform issues.
I think the Small Basic environment is a top candidate for those learning to program.
I've learnt lots. Programming is a fantastic craft. I'm more enthusiastic than ever and I can only attribute this to Small Basic, its community, and the support, encouragement, and broad experience that its members bring.
I can't wait to post an app on the store (but I will 'cause I've got more I want to learn yet).
That's why I continue to use Small Basic. It's fun and the best learning environment I could find to become a .NET dev."
Wow, talk about an epic answer! Thanks, Jibba Jabba. You can follow the forum thread here.
- Ninja Ed