Learning Basic4ppc?

[ArchiMark]

Hi again,

As mentioned in another recent post, I'm checking out Basic4ppc vs other basic apps such as NSBasic, etc...

One thing I've noticed as a 'Code Noob' is that while I've found some 'reference material' docs for Basic4ppc, I've found no tutorials or other 'learning materials'.

To me as a newb, reference materials are important but they do not really help one get started using an app such as Basic4ppc.

So, have I just missed the tutorials/learning materials? If so, could someone point me to them? Or do they not exist?

FWIW, while I'm a 'code noob' I have read some books on BASIC and C, etc. so understand some very basic (no pun intended...) programming concepts, but really still a noob as I haven't had the time before to really spend the necessary time practicing coding.

Which is one of the reasons I'm looking for a reasonable 'on-board development' handheld device IDE to use. As I usually carry my ppc around but not always my laptop and want to be able to take advantage of free time that I have here and there, inbetween things to practice and learn....

Thanks for any and all input!

:sign0104:

Mark
Code Noob But Eager to Learn....

 

[BPak]

Hi Mark,

I am learning B4PPC also and find that the examples that come with the program to be good tutorials.

I run the sample code and see how the program works and then go back and read through the logic of the code to understand its functioning.

Often I make changes inthe code to see the effects on the program.

Code is the best teacher in my thoughts.

 

[Cableguy]

The best leaning material you will ever find my friend, is the forum itself...
This is our 3rd attempt to a forum....the first one was logged at a users website, (Hi Geotrail) that unfortunatly durring an upgrade crashed and all info was...lost but not forever...what could be salvage is in a topic somewere in the samples forum...
The second one was almost like the first....but the upgrade worked(only a few day worth of post were lost) and so where we are today...
Always willing to help a fellow noob, as we all once were( and sometimes still are...)

The best code examples are in the help files themselfs as they explain with an example how a particular control works....
Any other doubt, don't be afraid to ask....even if in your code 2+2 is equaling 5...

 

[ArchiMark]

Hi Mark,

I am learning B4PPC also and find that the examples that come with the program to be good tutorials.

I run the sample code and see how the program works and then go back and read through the logic of the code to understand its functioning.

Often I make changes inthe code to see the effects on the program.

Code is the best teacher in my thoughts.

Excellent points and good perspective on this, BPak!

Thanks,

Mark

 

[ArchiMark]

The best leaning material you will ever find my friend, is the forum itself...
[Snip.... ]

Always willing to help a fellow noob, as we all once were( and sometimes still are...)

The best code examples are in the help files themselfs as they explain with an example how a particular control works....
Any other doubt, don't be afraid to ask....even if in your code 2+2 is equaling 5...

Great point about the forum itself, Cableguy!

And thanks for the willingness to help out a fellow noob too...I know I can use all the help I can get...




Mark

 

[Erel]

Do you plan to develop a specific application?
Maybe we will be able to give you some tips to help you get started.

 

[ArchiMark]

Do you plan to develop a specific application?
Maybe we will be able to give you some tips to help you get started.

Well, good question, Erel....

Have had some ideas...one thought I had was to try and develop an app similar to an app that I've used before. The thought being that by trying to 'recreate an existing app' it would be a good learning exercise rather than trying to create from scratch a new app that I've never seen or used before....hope this makes some sense...

So in that regard, I've thought about something that would help me in my daytime job where I manage lots of building projects.

So, maybe some sort of project tracking or task management app would be a meaningful exercise...but don't know how difficult a challenge that is or not.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[Stellaferox]

Well, another good way to learn the lingo, besides taking apart the existing examples, is to translate exisating code from other languages into BASIC4PPC. I have doen this and it is very instructive. beside the examples on the board I am sure that almost everybody has examples to him- or herself just for testing that can help you out.....
And...errr... yes maybe this project you're suggesting is a bit steep, but then again, give it a try!
Help is always swift and to the point!
Marc

 

[ArchiMark]

Well, another good way to learn the lingo, besides taking apart the existing examples, is to translate exisating code from other languages into BASIC4PPC. I have doen this and it is very instructive. beside the examples on the board I am sure that almost everybody has examples to him- or herself just for testing that can help you out.....
And...errr... yes maybe this project you're suggesting is a bit steep, but then again, give it a try!
Help is always swift and to the point!
Marc

Thanks for another great idea and support, Marc. Appreciate it!

Don't want to tackle something too difficult for starters though, I seem to get enough error messages as it is.....

:sign0104:

Mark

 

[bdiscount]

You've already got a load of good advice. Just read the help file get a chm reader on ppc and set it to a button so you can reference the help chm. I have nsbasic and at my age its too complex and doesn't make an exe file. good luck

 

[ArchiMark]

You've already got a load of good advice. Just read the help file get a chm reader on ppc and set it to a button so you can reference the help chm. I have nsbasic and at my age its too complex and doesn't make an exe file. good luck

Thanks for your input, bdiscount....

FWIW, I'm probably older than most everywhere here I'll bet....

I'll try to make clearer what I'm after and why....it may be that I'm the only one who learns this way and everyone else is OK with the approach described in the posts here by others...

NSBasic it has several tutorials on their website, plus a written manual that starts with illustrating the parts that make up a NSBasic program and then after that it walks you through making an example program both on the device and on the PC.

The advantage I see of that approach is that a noob like me can get quickly get an overview of what the IDE is all about and a basic understanding of how it works and what makes up a NSBasic program. For me at least, I find it very helpful to understand the overall framework that I'm working in before diving into working with it.

Seems odd to me that there's nothing similar available for starters with Basic4ppc, just reference materials on 'the parts and pieces', not 'the whole', so feels like a more fragmented approach for me, but again this could just be 'my problem'.....

Anyway, hope it's clearer now as to what I've been searching for and why....

:sign0104:

 

[Cableguy]

I understand your point of view, and I can only talk about my own experience with basic4ppc....

Like a few other users wondering around this forum, I've had some basic understanding of the Beginers All purpose Symbolic Instructions Code aka BASIC, and how it worked..

Then came Quick Basic and so on, an dI tryed to stay tunned...But ended by going nowere fast as the language evolved to a more complex sintax...

With Basic4ppc you get a steep learning curve as the code is very simple to follow...

To learn B4ppc you can alway try to port "old" examples that still can be found in BASIC books in libraries...Most of them sould work with minor adjustments...

About the manual thing....Anyone up to the challange?
Maybe after the Icon Editor challenge we could have it a go...

 

[ArchiMark]

I understand your point of view, and I can only talk about my own experience with basic4ppc....

Like a few other users wondering around this forum, I've had some basic understanding of the Beginers All purpose Symbolic Instructions Code aka BASIC, and how it worked..

[Snip...]

With Basic4ppc you get a steep learning curve as the code is very simple to follow...

Thanks for your understanding and perspective, Paulo...

To learn B4ppc you can alway try to port "old" examples that still can be found in BASIC books in libraries...Most of them sould work with minor adjustments...

That sounds like it would be a very constructive approach as you can learn as you go from the books...

About the manual thing....Anyone up to the challange?
Maybe after the Icon Editor challenge we could have it a go...

:sign0060:

I have a strong feeling that this would be very helpful to many other noobs besides me as a way to feel more comfortable getting started....

Thanks!

Mark

 

[bdiscount]

A manual would be nice or even on that could be printed.
now you caan print parts and sew together.

 

[agraham]

Hi Cableguy. I am impressed with your command of English but your idiom is occasionally not correct. Please forgive me but -

With Basic4ppc you get a steep learning curve as the code is very simple to follow....

A steep learning curve actually means the opposite. i.e. that something is difficult to learn, as in it is hard to climb a steep slope - which as you point out B4PPC is not.

 

[Stellaferox]

Hi Cableguy. I am impressed with your command of English but your idiom is occasionally not correct. Please forgive me but -

A steep learning curve actually means the opposite. i.e. that something is difficult to learn, as in it is hard to climb a steep slope - which as you point out B4PPC is not.

This is, in fact, not true!

See the following.....

The learning curve refers to a relationship between the duration of learning or experience and the resulting progress. Initially introduced in the cognitive psychology, over time the term acquired a broader interpretation, and the expressions "experience curve", "improvement curve", "cost improvement curve", "progress curve"/"progress function", "startup curve", "efficiency curve" etc., may be used interchangeably, depending on the context. Some of these terms may also have other meanings.

In the immediate context of learning, the expression "steep learning curve" is seen to be used in two opposite meanings. Originally it referred to the quick progress in learning during the initial stages followed by gradually lesser improvements with further practice.[1] The progress may be measured in different ways, e.g., prediction/recognition accuracy vs. the number of training samples[2]. Over time, the misapprehension has emerged that a "steep" learning curve means that something requires much effort to learn, leading to disagreements even among learned people[3], because of the natural association of the word "steep" with a slope which is difficult to climb.

Another specific context of the term "learning curve" is acquiring a new skill, e.g., an experience in usage of a new tool. In this context, expressions "fast learning curve" or "short learning curve", as well as "steep learning curve", are also in use. [citation needed] This context may involve a different interpretation of fast initial progress vs time, namely referring to the overall amount of progress required to be achieved at each stage of an activity. In this sense the term "steep learning curve" represents the need to make significant progress during the initial stages, so that a person may start using the tool with reasonable efficiency. This need is often associated with increased efforts in learning. Conversely, the expressions gradual or flat learning curve convey the meaning that the acquisition of a skill may be gradual, so that, e.g., a reasonable use of the tool possible at early stages of learning with relatively small amount of new information acquired. Thus in this context it could be said that the learning curve referred to represents the learning effort/progress required vs competency/efficiency in using a new skill or tool.[citation needed]

Marc

 

[agraham]

Over time, the misapprehension has emerged that a "steep" learning curve means that something requires much effort to learn, leading to disagreements even among learned people[3], because of the natural association of the word "steep" with a slope which is difficult to climb

I choose to disagree

 

[Stellaferox]

Let's say I am a bit conservative :sign0188:
on topic again.....

 

[Cableguy]

If I knew that a simple word could cause such a discussion (in a good way)....


By steep I ment that we can learn alot in very few time with not that much of effort....

 

[ArchiMark]

If I knew that a simple word could cause such a discussion (in a good way)....


By steep I ment that we can learn alot in very few time with not that much of effort....

Hey Cableguy, I knew what you meant!......