When Dartmouth College launched the Basic language 50 years ago, it enabled ordinary users to write code. Millions did. But we've gone backwards since then, and most users now seem unable or unwilling to create so much as a simple macro
I agree entirely, especially as modern systems massively ballooning the required knowledge and skill.
However, I do think there could’ve perhaps been a happy medium, where OS’s retained and continued to develop a simple, built in way to program easily and without setup to retain the spirit of what BASIC provided.
I guess I’m imagining a sort’ve evolved version of Hypercard, which seemed to be on the path of providing something like that.
The beauty of HyperCard is that it lets people program without having to learn how to write code — what I call “programming for the rest of us”. HyperCard has made it possible for people to do things they wouldn’t have ever thought of doing in the past without a lot of heavy-duty programming. It’s let a lot of non-programmers, like me, into that loop.
David Lingwood, APDA
There seems to be Decker as a spiritual successor, which is pretty neat.
I agree entirely, especially as modern systems massively ballooning the required knowledge and skill.
However, I do think there could’ve perhaps been a happy medium, where OS’s retained and continued to develop a simple, built in way to program easily and without setup to retain the spirit of what BASIC provided.
I guess I’m imagining a sort’ve evolved version of Hypercard, which seemed to be on the path of providing something like that.
There seems to be Decker as a spiritual successor, which is pretty neat.
🤯