QB64 : Basic Programming for Modern Computers

Not many people know but Microsoft Quick Basic was a very popular programming languages in 1980s. There were tons of books written about programming using Microsoft Quick Basic. They published regularly about it in the computer magazines of that era. And of course, Quick Basic was also part of the syllabus in schools and colleges. But as 1990s came, Microsoft focused more on Windows and left Quick Basic behind. Last version released by Microsoft was Quick Basic 4.5 in 1990.

Now the open-source community has brought it back on the modern computers in the form of QB64. It is a modern extended BASIC programming language that maintains compatibility to the older Quick Basic 4.5 but adds more features. It can compile native binaries for Windows, Linux, and macOS.

QB64

When launched, it shows the same old familiar IDE that Microsoft Quick Basic was known for. If you have used Quick Basic before, you will find right at home. The IDE makes for creating and editing the Basic programming source code. As you type the code, the IDE continuously checks your code for syntax errors.

It will display errors or warnings depending on the severity of the problems in the source code. If your source code is problem free, then it will display OK in the status. In order to run the program, you can simply press the F5 key in the IDE. It will then compile the source code and create a binary (EXE in Windows) and runs it for you.

If you are new to Quick Basic then you can surely find many Quick Basic tutorials online. In addition, you can look for the Quick Basic books over the online stores such as Amazon and eBay. The QB64 comes in a portable package and you can start running Quick Basic in just a few seconds.

You can download QB64 from https://www.qb64.org/portal/.