Beginning Microsoft Small Basic - A Computer Programming Tutorial - Color Illustrated 1.0 Edition

Great book for the beginner... Lots of samples

Edit: Microsoft Small Basic v. 1.2 works with Windows 7, 8, and 10. Make sure you have the correct version.I used Microsoft Small Basic in 2010 to teach my oldest how to program. I loved that it had the Turtle Graphics module in it, because it really caught my son's attention and helped to get him interested in programming. I also love that Small Basic is a simple easy language with no fluff. A student will quickly outgrow Small Basic, but the language was designed for learning how to program and is fantastic for that purpose. It is not intended to be an industry language. I had a bit of trouble with the installation of Small Basic on my Windows 7 computer when I tried to recently install it. I spoke with the author, who was very helpful, and he told me that he verified that everything works with Windows 8.1.As for the writing of the textbook, all of his textbooks are the same for each language, but just specific for each language. Since I was having some installation problems with Microsoft Small Basic on my Windows 7 computer, I ended up just going with the "Java for Kids" book. That book is so well written that my worries about the "extra stuff" that Java needs to get even a simple program running were unfounded. I using the Java series to teach my almost 10 year old and almost 12 year old programming for the first time. I plan to go through the whole Java series by this author. Java is the language used in MineCraft, Android applications, and the AP Computer Science test, so I did not need the Turtle module to get my younger kids interested in learning Java. The only negative thing I would say about the Small Basic book is that if I was writing this book, I would have taught the Turtle module first, then taught that TextWindow module, and finally the GraphicsWindow module. This book only teaches the TextWindow first and then the GraphicsWindow. It does not teach the Turtle Graphics window which kind of surprised me, because that was one of the reasons why Small Basic was originally created.If you are wondering if you should use Small Basic or a drag and drop programming language like Scratch or Alice for teaching young children to program, I would recommend Small Basic. I personally don't think that drag and drop programming help kids learn programming. Small Basic is a typed programming language with a very limited keyword set (14 keywords) that can use any .NET class, but cannot create any classes. There are no extras in the language to confuse a first time programmer.If you are an adult wondering if you should buy this textbook for yourself to learn programming, it will depend on if you already know another programming language. Most adult programming books assume that the author is moving from one programming language to another programming language. Everything that is covered in this book is usually covered in 1 chapter in a regular adult programming book, because those books assume that you already know the basics of programming languages and you want to know the specifics of the language that you are learning. This book assumes that the reader is starting from ground zero. The book is slow and meticulous, and it is the perfect format for anyone who is trying to understand programming for the very first time. All of the "kids" and "beginning" programming books by this author have this philosophy. If you already know a programming language, you can just skip to the next book in the series of the language that you are working with and just use a cheat sheet for the syntax. This author has a series for Small Basic, Visual Basic, C#, and Java. Although, I can't see anybody who already knows another language switching to Small Basic since Small Basic is intended to be a first language.

I bought the book to kickstart my long held intention to learn to program. I decided to start with BASIC as I vaguely recall the basics (pun intended...) of programming from too many years ago when I last delved into programming on a Sinclair Spectrum (Google it kids..). It made sense to start with something simple before progressing on to (hopefully) more complex languages.The book (Kindle edition) is spot on so far.....with good clear examples, descriptions and pace. The one big problem is with the source code. If you buy the Kindle version then to access this you must first "validate" your purchase by entering some basic (no pun intended..) details on their website, about your purchase - you then get access to a downloadable ZIP file of the code. You can download this a maximum of 3 times.Unfortunately immediately after downloading and unzipping the files, Norton Security software scans and identifies several files as being "threats" and quarantines them. I suspect these are just "false positives" by Norton and they are in fact fine to use. Just to be sure, I used the online contact form on their website (there's no contact email) to ask if they were aware of this and if the files are safe to use...? I received no repsonse after a few days, so I contacted them again...but I've still had no repsonse and it's been a week.Not exactly great support, especially as they pitch their books as being predominately for school use.