Using Liberty Basic

Hi everyone.

So, this is my first post on this blog. I guess this is a good time to explain why I created this blog. It's simple really, this blog is going to document my experience using Liberty Basic. At the moment I am completely new to Liberty Basic, but, seeing as I am a software engineer by profession, I'm hoping that it won't be too hard for me to get the hang of it.

So why Liberty Basic? Now that is really good question. Let's see. Well, first and foremost, I was looking for a programming language I could use to develop small programs for the PC (windows). I program in Java for a living and I am very proficient in it, so Java was definately an option. The problem with Java for me was that I really want to be able to distribute my applications as an executable (.exe). I also want to develop GUI applications that have the windows look and feel. I simply feel that the Swing components I would have used in Java have a definate Java look to them. I want my applications to look like a windows program, not a Java program that happens to be running on windows. With these kind of thoughts in mind, I went in search of another programming language to use. I definately didn't want to pay the exhorbitant prices charged by Microsoft for their latest Visual C++, Visual Basic or whatever... and I equally didn't want to pay the similarly high price for Borland's equivalent programs like Delphi or C++ Builder. No, I was definately going to need to look for something smaller... and preferably something simple too. I did teach myself a little C, just because I felt that it's important to know, but I think C is a little too low level for being able to quickly develop desktop applications. I thought about using C++... but, to be honest, I just don't like C++. It's just not elegant enough for my liking. If I was going to use C++ though, I would definately use Devshed's Dev C++. Anyway, so this left me still looking for a good development language with which to create windows programs. After much hunting around, it became clear to me that the only way I was going to know whether I liked a language or not, was to give it a go. This is where I decided to make a choice an just go with it. If I liked it, great. If I didn't like it, hopefully I would learn why I didn't like it. This is where this blog comes in. I decided that I would give Liberty Basic a whirl and write about my experiences with it. If I do really well with Liberty Basic, I will let you in on the tips and tricks I learn along the way. If I find problems with Liberty Basic, I will document them here so that others may learn from my experience. If this is the case, I will pick another language and hope for a better experience next time. Either way, I decided it was time to take action... and give something a try.

Some of the reasons for me starting with Liberty Basic are...

1. It seems to be frequently updated.
2. It appears to have a strong user base.
3. It claims to be easy.
4. It's cheap.
5. There seems to be quite a few plugins that have been developed by various users.
   
6. It has a GUI builder.
7. It can always be extended via C if need be.
   

Anyway, so that's the background for this blog. I hope you enjoy this journey with me. Please do leave some comments on this site so that I know people are reading this blog (even if the comment is... "I wish you good luck with your programming"... or... "Are you crazy... C++ is obviously the best language in existence", etc).

Thanks

Eddie.