Retrocoding fun with BBC BASIC #BASIC #VintageComputing
BASIC is a fun, easy to learn language that was standard on 80s home computers and inspired a generation to program. The best implementation of the era was BBC BASIC created by Sophie Wilson for the 8-bit BBC Microcomputer found in 80s UK schools. (She later designed the ARM architecture – the most widely used CPU architecture on the planet.)
The BBC Micro bot runs BBC BASIC code from a Tweet. They now have a learn page to teach people to code in the language.
BBC BASIC had a revival beyond the die-hard retro heads in 2020 thanks to BBC Micro Bot – a Twitter bot that runs your tweet as code and replies with a video. It was featured in Gizmodo, IEEE Spectrum and Xataka, and gained fans in comedian Dara Ó Briain, science writer Ben Goldacre, and Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton. It’s run over 10,000 BASIC programs and a talented, friendly community has grown around it. As a result people have created truly awesome programs in one tweet of a 40 year old language.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: CircuitPython 8.1.0 and 8.2.0-beta0 out and so much more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
