QBASIC is an acryonym for "Quick Beginner's All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code" developed by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz. You can find several versions and editions and publishers of BASIC language. Out of Microsoft QBASIC is console (DOS-mode) teaching and learning general purpose High Level Language; released by MICROSOFT(R) QuickBASIC Version 4.5 for IBM(R) Personal Computers and Compatibles. Though its purposed for teaching and learning its supports lots of features. It is vey simple to learn. Any beginners in programming start their journey of programming from QBASIC. It helps a lot to understand programming concepts upto Structure, Procedural as well as Modular programming paradigms.
One can incorporate Mouse in the programs being developed in QBASIC, more can use file, graphics, multimedia, event and error handling codes in QBASIC. These may be little tough for High Level School students.
For academic purpose upto Nepal SLC Board student have to excel their knowledge in following topics of QBASIC:
(1) Fundamentals of Programming
(2) Programming BASIC Terms and Terminologies
(3) Variables and Constants
(4) Data and their types
(5) Naming conventions
(6) Operators, Expressions and their variations
(7) Input/Output Statements
(8) Control Flow Statements - Branching and Looping constructs
(9) Library functions and their types, syntax and use
(10) User Defined Module as well as Procedural based Functions
(11) Procedural Programming approach- Subprograms, Function procedures, etc
(12) Symbolic constant, data validation testing, declaration of sub and function
(13) Data File Handling - Sequential (Must for exam) and Random (only for concepts - not for exam)
(14) Sequential File Handling programs - appending, inserting, modifying, deleting records
(15) Menu-Handling
(16) Project Work- Required to be Menu, Data File and Procedures (atleast 10) based programs
If student serious works enough to acquire knowledge on following topics then it will be very beneficial to exam point of view as well as will be helpful in learning programming futher in higher academic studies (C, C++, Java) or learning professional programming (Visual Basic 6.0, Visual Basic .Net, J2EE).
