More information: Joan Arnedo-Moreno et al, Programming Fun (damentals): Using commercial video games to teach basic coding to adult learners, Entertainment Computing (2024).

You might assume that a programming language whose primary purpose was to help almost anybody become computer-literate would be uncontroversial—maybe even universally beloved. You’d be wrong.

This is why I’ve long argued that BASIC is the most consequential language in the history of computing. It’s a language for noobs, sure, but back then most everyone was a noob.

Software Tech Culture programming BASIC's 60th anniversary reminds us of the language that democratized programming, as AI threatens to automate coding The language that paved the way for ...

Since the 1960s, BASIC has introduced countless beginners to computer programming. Here's how the language got started, the paths it cleared for Windows and Apple, and where you can still find it ...