The author reflects on their experience programming in GW-BASIC on an IBM PC clone running MS-DOS, highlighting the simplicity and effectiveness of the language. They provide examples of basic programming principles, such as loops and conditional statements, and demonstrate how to draw windows using ASCII characters. The author defends BASIC against criticism from Edsger Dijkstra, stating that it serves as a useful introduction to programming before transitioning to more modern languages. They recommend PC-BASIC as a cross-platform interpreter for GW-BASIC and showcase the possibility of writing advanced programs, like a Tetris clone, in this minimalistic language.
https://lackofimagination.org/2024/07/teaching-programming-with-basic/