BBC Micro:Bit

The BBC Micro: Bit is, to say the least, an outstanding product. Designed to give the youth of Great Britain a headstart in the world of computing, the device made its way outside of the UK and has been available in the US for a time now. I decided to give it a spin and, […]

Using Half-Byte Embedded Tiny Basic to Teach

It is 2017 and we have a slew of low cost or free tools available that teach anyone how to program a computer. Just for Windows, we have something called Small Basic, from Microsoft. It is free and has a bunch of material you can use to teach anyone, especially children, how to code. There […]

IT’s HERE! Half-Byte Tiny Basic 3!

One of the things I have really enjoyed since embarking on my Arduino journey and this blog, is seeing others take things I’ve worked on or created and expand upon it. This is especially true with Half-Byte Tiny Basic, something that started out as the work of Mike Field, who, himself used the work of […]

Half-Byte Tiny Basic 2: code examples, random dots

Tiny Basic can be a great way to learn how to program. It is primitive enough to be easy to learn, yet powerful enough to complex things in a small amount of memory. For today’s example, I’m going to show you how to create the random dot pattern I love to show off. As the […]

It’s here! Half-Byte Tiny Basic 2 for Arduino and compatibles

It’s back! Better than ever. Yes, that’s right, Half-Byte Tiny Basic 2 for Arduino. The first was so good, there just had to be a follow up. And this version has even more fun stuff like new graphics functionality like ARC and CROSSHAIRS. New math in SIN and COS. Enhanced LIST statement and more. Read […]

Half-Byte Console, now available

We have kits and an assembled and tested unit for sale on our eBay store. Half-Byte Console VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL For information on the Programmer’s Kit, click here. For information on Half-Byte Tiny Basic, click here. For sample HB Tiny Basic code, click here.

Happy Birthday, BASIC, you wonderful language you!

I remember when I was ten or so years old. I asked my father a question that changed both of our lives. My Dad was an engineer. He was also what we would consider now to be a nerd. A geek. Above all, though, he was very smart and he was MY Dad. He could […]

The next big thing is small, but…WADUZITDO?

A few years back, I wrote a post outlining plans to port Tom Pittman’s Tiny Basic to the Windows Mobile phone (version 5) as well as something called WADUZITDO. I did start that port, unfortunately, life kind of got in the way and it, and other projects, went on the back burner. I did, however, […]

XGS PIC development with XGS Basic-getting started

Writing in XGS Basic is a task, but the results, when run on the XGS, can be satisfying. However, the process is a bit cumbersome and the language is incomplete and the documentation was never finished. However, the source code is freely available, so there is a way to fix some of the issues. I […]

From patch cords and punch cards to GUI’s and Mice: how programming evolved

Software development has come a very long way since the early days of 1946 when Eniac was programmed via patch cords. When more modern computers, such as Univac, hit the market, programming them was better, but still required skills that were just impossible to come by. The problem was so bad, that it nearly derailed […]