Beginning Microsoft Small Basic - A Computer Programming Tutorial

2017·14.61 MB·english

by  Conrod

®
Beginning Microsoft Small Basic
A Computer Programming Tutorial
Illustrated Color Edition v1.0

BY PHILIP CONROD & LOU TYLEE

Kidware Software
PO Box 701
Maple Valley, WA 98038
http://www.computerscienceforkids.com
http://www.kidwaresoftware.com
Copyright © 2014 by Philip Conrod & Lou Tylee. All rights reserved
Published by Kidware Software LLC
PO Box 701
Maple Valley, Washington 98038
1.425.413.1185
www.kidwaresoftware.com
www.computerscienceforkids.com
All Rights Reserved. No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
nd
ISBN-13: 978-1-937161-54-5 (Color - 2 Print Edition 2014)
ISBN-13 978-1-937161-21-7 (Glassbook PDF)
Illustrations: Kevin Brockschmidt
Copy Editor: Stephanie Conrod
Compositor: Michael Rogers
This copy of the Beginning Microsoft Small Basic book and the associated software is licensed to
a single user. Copies of the course are not to be distributed or provided to any other user.
Multiple copy licenses are available for educational institutions. Please contact Kidware Software
for school site license information.
This guide was developed for the course, “Beginning Microsoft Small Basic,” produced by
Kidware Software, Maple Valley, Washington. It is not intended to be a complete reference to the
Small Basic language. Please consult the Microsoft website for detailed reference information.
This guide refers to several software and hardware products by their trade names. These
references are for informational purposes only and all trademarks are the property of their
respective companies and owners.
Microsoft, Visual Studio, Small Basic, Visual Basic, Visual J#, and Visual C#, IntelliSense, Word,
Excel, MSDN, and Windows are all trademark products of the Microsoft Corporation. Java is a
trademark product of the Oracle Corporation. JCreator is a trademark product of XINOX
Software
The example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos,
people, places, and events depicted are fictitious. No association with any real company,
organization, product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or
should be inferred.
This book expresses the author’s views and opinions. The information in this book is distributed
on an "as is" basis, without and expresses, statutory, or implied warranties.
Neither the author(s) nor Kidware Software, LLC shall have any liability to any person or entity
with respect to any loss nor damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the
information contained in this book.
Praise For Beginning Microsoft Small Basic – First
Edition
“The Beginning Microsoft Small Basic Programming Tutorial by Philip
Conrod and Lou Tylee is a fun read and covers all the fundamentals of
Small Basic programming. I would recommend it to all my friends who
want to learn Small Basic. They do a great job explaining Small Basic
programming in an easy to read self-paced tutorial. I liked it so much, I
got one for myself!”
– Vijaye Raji, Creator of Microsoft Small Basic
"This book is an excellent guide to getting started with this language.
There are plenty of excellent illustrations and example snippets of code for
the student to enter and try out. The first couple of chapters provide an
excellent introduction for a student who knows the essentials of Windows
and the PC but has no prior programming experience. New concepts are
introduced in a logical way. First, the standard text window is discussed,
then simple looping and subroutines are covered, and this leads to the
graphics window and how events, like clicking the mouse or pressing a key,
are handled. Techniques of animation are covered, because most kids are
in love with games. By reading the text and following the coding examples,
students will be able to create their own simple games. What better way
for kids to learn programming than to use it to create something they love!
One chapter contains the code for 9 interactive programs to show how all
of these programming structures and features can be combined to create
really interesting programs, and the final chapter takes sample programs
and shows the code for these programs in five popular programming
languages: Small Basic, Visual Basic, Visual C#, Java, and a generic
Basic. The book covers it all, from a great introduction to what
programming is all about to the specific syntax and structure of a Small
Basic program. The advice and suggestions given in the book are spot on. I
think this book is valuable in two ways. For a self-motivated student who
wants to learn a nice beginning programming language, the book provides
an excellent tutorial. Everything the student will need to create and run
text window or graphics window programs is here. Secondly, this book can
be used as a complete curriculum for teaching students about introductory
programming. I currently am using the book to teach programming to
middle-school students (ages 11-14), and the book is also excellent in that
regard. Microsoft does make freely available a "curriculum" consisting of
a series of PowerPoint slides, but I don't believe that using these slides
would be as effective as using this book. All teachers know that kids learn
best when they are having fun. This book helps put the fun in this new
language from Microsoft, and it is an excellent and valuable resource.
– Donald M. Shepherd, Teacher, Louisville, Kentucky
"Terrific product; terrific service. I have never had customer service that
good! The people who run this company really care about whether you are
a satisfied customer. And the product is good. I'm a high school teacher,
and I'm teaching a first-ever computer programming class in our district.
Small Basic is a great program for high school students, but the Microsoft
provided tutorial is not enough. This book fills the gaps, and provides the
information you need to learn Small Basic and to teach Small Basic. I am a
very satisfied customer."
– George H. Seidel Jr. - High School Teacher
"I was very pleased with my purchase of the Beginning Microsoft Small
Basic tutorial. I have been using the activities provided with my GCSE
Computing students and they have served me well. The tutorials have given
my students a good insight into computer programming in a very engaging
manner."
– Munsoor Shahzad, Head of Computing and ICT Beckfoot School,
West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
"I enjoyed both books. I liked the format, Word & PDF, that way i can
teach on my iPad. I'll be back for more next year."
– Claudio Faenza, Teacher, Gainesville, FL
"I have had plenty of fun reading your books about programming for
hours. They were clearly written and very understandable. I think your
books are worth distributing in classes at schools to inspire kids, teachers
and other people in their leisure, too. Your Small Basic and Visual Basic
books are easily able to enthuse our kids during their lessons at school.
Programming lessons can be so interesting, including those important aha
moments, too."
– Gregor Burghardt, Teacher, Germany
"My 12 year old son, Cole, has never programmed before so we bought
this book not knowing what to expect. Surprisingly, my son easiy learned
how to program his home computer with just this book alone (without any
help from us). All he did was keep showing us the fun games he was
writing every few days. He had a lot of fun creating the game projects and
took a lot of pride in. Great for beginners. Highly Recommended!
– Bob Nielsen, Parent, Mercer Island, WA
"Great Book for Kids, My son Loved it!!!! My son loved the books ever
since he started reading the first chapter. He was very inquisitive, learning
and understanding more about computer programming. He is 11 years and
I am really excited he loves it so much.....thanks for making this books so
easy to understand for the kids, ITS A MUST BUY!!!!!"
– Ahmed Alam, Parent, Washington
“It is easy to use and takes you step by step through writing a code for
different applications. I loved how much fun my girls were having and I
loved how much they were enjoying learning. They enjoyed this program
so much that during non-school hours they would be in the Small Basic
application trying to write new programs based on the coding they had
previously learned. Sometimes they would go back to an older lesson and
expand the program to include coding ideas from their current lesson.
Thoughts from Tailorbear (14 Years Old, 8th grade): I have... wondered
about computer programming for a long time, but I never found the
materials needed for doing it. I liked this curriculum. It taught me how to
do cool programs that make it like you’re actually “talking to” something!
Put your name into a paragraph, or sentence, (input) and the computer
responds! Over all this program teaches me the basic computer
programming language! Thoughts from daughter Turtlegirl (15 Years Old,
10th Grade), “ I have really wanted to try computer programming, so I
was thrilled when we got this. The Classes were easy to understand (except
for some typos) and I really enjoyed doing this. I like how they encourage
you to play around with the programs and experiment. I enjoyed typing the
code and seeing what it would do as a program. I had a lot of fun using
this program. For the most part, it’s simple and easy. They start you off
with the most basic of the basics and then start introducing more difficult
concepts. I highly recommend this for those who wish to begin their study
of computer programming.” Thoughts from Boobear (17 Years Old, 12th
Grade): “ I enjoy giving the computer commands and seeing them
followed. It is very satisfying to see that I made that. This curriculum
makes it very easy to understand how this particular computer language
works. It is also interesting to know the history behind it as well. I like
creating things and seeing that they are successful, and work. It is
fascinating to create programs and this curriculum makes it easy to do.”
“I was afraid this program would have been too simplistic or young for my
teenagers; however, it has been an excellent fit. Challenging enough
because it’s new material but simple enough that they are having fun and
building their confidence. Each of them has stated that they want to learn
more about computer programming and learn more computer
programming languages!”
– Tess
“Hayden (age 13) was excited to try out this course! Hayden was able to
sit right down and begin the first lesson without any help from me
whatsoever. Hayden was so excited that he actually made something work!
He came running downstairs jumping up and down and couldn't wait to
show me! His enthusiasm and interest in the course began to skyrocket. He
thought that was pretty cool. He has not encountered any difficulties or
problems in completing the first 4 chapters, and he told me it has been
really easy to use and follow. I love that he can complete this course
independently. I think the cost of the downloadable course is very
reasonable, and with the enjoyment he’s gotten from using it so far I can
definitely envision purchasing the next semester course when he finishes
with this one. I would definitely recommend this course to others!”
– Kelly B.
“So far we have found working in the Small Basic environment easy and
that ease relates right back to the straight forward and uncomplicated
methods that are taught in Beginning Microsoft Small Basic. Each concept
is thoroughly explained and examples are given throughout the material.
From the download of the material to working with the material we have
had no problems, glitches, etc. So far I would have to say our favorite
lesson has been 5, Debugging, Decisions, Random Numbers. This chapter
has taught us what causes Syntax, Run-Time, and Logic Errors. Off and on
I will get Run-Time Errors on my computer. Now we know the basics of why
that might happen. I think Beginning Microsoft Small Basic is a great
product that students can learn much from and the economical price helps
too.
– Diane K.
“Having the chance to test drive Beginning Microsoft Small Basic has
been one of the highlights of our spring semester. This is a super easy to
use, easy to succeed at, beginning programming course for your
homeschool student! I've been looking for something like this for a long
time and was not disappointed! Both Feeche (12th grade)and Cub (7th
grade), with no previous programming experience have spent hours
delving into this curriculum. If your kids are like mine, go ahead and
purchase both at once; they'll love it, cruise through it, and beg for more!
A must have for any conscientious homeschooling family. Content-
excellent, Organization – excellent, Presentation – excellent.”
– Lisa N.
“I used this tutorial with my ten year old son. This tutorial was very easy
to use and very easy to follow. Computers can be intimidating, especially if
you have no programming experience, but the Beginning Microsoft Small
Basic tutorial made it quite joyful to learn. My son and I really enjoyed
using the Beginning Microsoft Small Basic tutorial together; this was our
mother/son time in the evenings. Even though my son was on the younger
end of the age spectrum for this product, I feel he did really well with it.. I
feel that this is an excellent, thorough, beginner's course for computer
programming. We plan to continue this course and then look into other
courses that Computer Science For Kids offers."
– Sarah Avila
“I knew Charles (my 12 year old) would have an interest in learning basic
programming. He took off through the lessons. There were times when he
did even more than two lessons for the week. The lessons were easy for him
to comprehend for the most part. He worked through entirely self-directed.
Despite the amount of reading, he has had only good things to say about
the program. He's very excited about all he's learning. And he often
chooses to do the program even if I haven't assigned it for the day. This
has definitely been successful for us, and I'm glad we've had the
opportunity to use it.
– Leah Courtney
"Your Small Basic books are great!"
– Neil Kendall, United Kingdom
“Liz quickly became very comfortable with the lessons and completed them
all by herself and called me {constantly} to come see her fun little
creations. I was impressed with this narrative. She likes the “games.” She
likes the control and learning how changing just one letter or character
can change the whole program. Her analytical mind at work! I love that
she is learning about computers. It’s great help to her in math since she
has to calculate the size of shapes or borders within the graphics. She was
all proud of herself and showing me all these little “games” she wrote. It’s
like a new toy!
– Jennifer Lambert
“If you have been thinking about adding programming to your lessons this
year, I would highly recommend that you check out all the courses that
Computer Science For Kids offers.
– Eddie D.
“Captain C is 13 and this is perfect for him. I don't have to sit with him
and do it all, but he does it at the kitchen table so I can be close by to help
if needed. C is really enjoying it and I'm glad we got to review this. I think
the price is very fair considering the quality of the lessons. Kids these days
have such a bend towards video games and computers so I'm thrilled to
have found this where he can still have that outlet, but be learning and
building too.
– Leslie E.