How to Make Your Own Computer Programs

Becoming a successful computer programmer principally requires two things that don't traditionally go hand in hand: creativity and math skills. Before you write off your programming career because you're not great with either of those, learning to program is a great way to boost both of those skills while creating something useful.

Things You'll Need

• Computer

Instructions

1. Download QB64 (see Resources below). QB64 is a modern compiler of BASIC that can run on Windows XP and Vista. BASIC stands for "Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code" and is a programming language that was designed for novice programmers. A compiler is a program that can read code and run programs based on the code you create.

2. Open qb64.exe in your downloaded QB64 folder. A window with an empty blue screen should pop up; this is the main QB64 screen.

3. Type the following:
   cls
   print "Hello, World!"
   end
   The first line stands for "Clear Screen" and means that your program will start out each time with a blank screen--the remnants of the last program you ran won't appear.
   The second line features one of the most simple commands in BASIC--the print command. It displays "Hello, World" on the empty screen.
   The third line, "end", ends the program.

4. Press "F5" or go to "Run" and the "Start." Your program should run as described above.
   Why "Hello, World"? It's a tradition among programmers that whenever you learn a new language, that should be the first program you learn how to write. See? You're already learning programming inside jokes.

5. Save your program by going to "File" and then "Save." Save the program wherever you like. Congratulations, you just wrote a computer program.

6. Learn the BASIC language to write more complex programs now that you know the fundamentals. QB64 is based on a form of BASIC called QBASIC (or QuickBASIC). Search for QBASIC tutorials online (see resources below).

7. Practice. To create more complex programs, pay particular attention to variables and loops. A variable is a value that can change. A loop is a construct that implements a set of circumstances until a certain event happens, for example, display a graphic until the user presses a key.

8. Branch out to more complex programming languages once you've mastered BASIC. The most common is C or its successor, C++. Other popular languages include Java, Perl, Ruby, and Visual BASIC.

Tips & Warnings

• It's enormously helpful to examine other people's code. If you want to figure out how to do something specific, find a program that does it and look at the source code. A number of websites offer many QBASIC games free for download (see resources below).

Resources

• Download QB64
• Beginner's QBasic Tutorials
• More Basic and QBasic Tutorials
• QBasic Games
• More QBasic Games