Small Basic 1.1 is here!
Starting last year, we began the journey of continuing development on Microsoft Small Basic. It's a new team assembled across Microsoft in a new world of devices and platforms.
As you can imagine, we're taking one step at a time. This is not a large step, but it's an important step. Please join us in trying out Small Basic 1.1, and post your feedback in the comments below!
We now offer two choices for downloading Microsoft Small Basic:
- Small Basic 1.1 - If you're using Windows 7 / Windows Vista or newer operating systems
- Small Basic 1.0 - If you're using Windows XP or prior operating systems
Microsoft Small Basic 1.1
Small Basic 1.1 is upgraded to .NET Framework 4.5, and it includes a fix to the Flickr API bug (1.0-17). It is compatible with Windows 10 Tech Preview, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Vista. If you have Windows XP, you'll need to download Small Basic 1.0. Any extensions built for Small Basic 1.0 will need to be rebuilt on Small Basic 1.1. You have two options to download:
- Direct English Download - After you download and run the MSI file, the other languages are still available through the English installation wizard.
- Download Center Page - You can directly select and download your language from this page. You'll also see more information about what's new.
You can also find the release information in the Microsoft Small Basic 1.1 Release Notes.
Microsoft Small Basic 1.0
Small Basic 1.0 is compatible with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. and older operating systems. It requires .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. It does not include the Flickr API fix in Small Basic 1.1. You have two options to download:
- Direct English Download - After you download and run the MSI file, the other languages are available through the English installation wizard.
- Download Center Page - You can find more information about the installation. (The only language option is English.)
What's New in Microsoft Small Basic 1.1
New Updates
NET Framework 4.5 - We upgraded to .NET Framework 4.5 from 3.5 SP1. Although this causes some breaking changes (see below), it's necessary in order to build out new objects that take advantage of new devices, operating systems, and capabilities.
Modernized UX: Controls - The design of the program controls (button, scroll bar, arrows on the control bar) in the GraphicsWindow is now flat (modernized). And the window title font is also updated.
Language Downloads - You can now directly download your language from the Download Center. See the Download Center Page .
Bug Fixes
- Flickr Object (1.0-17) - Flickr changed their API, which broke the Flickr Object. This has been fixed for Small Basic 1.1.
Breaking Changes
- Windows XP - Due to the upgrade to .NET Framework 4.5, Small Basic 1.1 does not work on Windows XP and older operating systems. We will continue to offer Small Basic 1.0 for users of Windows XP and older operating systems.
- 1.0 Extensions - All extensions built for Small Basic 1.0 will need to be recompiled on Small Basic 1.1 and re-released.
Other Changes
- We're experimenting with modernizing the graphics. Currently it affected the installation wizard, with some temporary modernized images. These will be updated again in future releases.
System Requirements
Supported Operating Systems:
Windows 10 Tech Preview, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, Mini-Mac (Windows 8.1 / Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac / Mac OS X Yosemite), Lifebook (see installation instructions)
.Net Framework 4.5: Required for Windows 7 and Windows Vista. It comes installed with Windows 8 and newer.
Installation Instructions
- If you have Small Basic 1.0 installed, uninstall it. You'll need to delete all the files in the "smallbasic" folder.
- NOTE: If you previously set your web browser to block the "C:\Users\xxx\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft" folder, you'll need to remove that block.
- Download and Install Microsoft Small Basic in your preferred language.
- Launch by clicking the Microsoft Small Basic program shortcut.
Thank you for joining us in our Small Basic journey. We've come a long way, but as you can see, we're just getting started!
Small and Basically yours,
- Ninja Ed
Other Languages
- This blog post is also available in French: Small Basic 1.1 est arrivé ! (fr-FR)
Comments
Anonymous
March 27, 2015
Congratulations, Small Basic 1.1 !Anonymous
March 27, 2015
Good news !!Anonymous
March 27, 2015
Perhaps we need to clarify we need uninstall old version before ?Anonymous
March 28, 2015
This is great news! I've been away for awhile (looking for work and also doing personal C# projects) and the arrival of Small Basic 1.1 was the first thing I saw when I logged back in. Glad to hear of the new version.Anonymous
March 28, 2015
Nice work. SB is addressing a big gap!Anonymous
March 28, 2015
Yan, okay, I'll update the Release Notes with the instructions to uninstall 1.0 first.Anonymous
March 28, 2015
Thanks, Anthony! Glad to give you some good news! Thanks, Congrats! This will get us moving in the right direction (with.NET 4.5). It's also a better international experience (being able to directly download your language), and it's good to be able to use Flickr again! We'll get the Dictionary Object fixed in the next version (similar API problem that Flickr encountered). Thanks everyone!Anonymous
March 28, 2015
Yan, I updated the System Requirements and added the Installation Instructions. These changes are also in the Release Notes: social.technet.microsoft.com/.../30514.microsoft-small-basic-1-1-release-notes.aspx A lot of these changes were also submitted in this forum thread: social.msdn.microsoft.com/.../announcing-the-release-of-small-basic-11 Thanks!Anonymous
March 28, 2015
This is excellent news! Ed, thanks for sticking with smallbasic over the years and congrats on achieving this milestone. I am looking forward to what the future holds....Anonymous
March 28, 2015
Everyone, here's the French version of this blog post: blogs.msdn.com/.../small-basic-1-1-est-arrive-fr-fr.aspxAnonymous
March 28, 2015
You're welcome, OzJerry! And special thanks to the rest of the Small Basic team behind the scenes! Michael was critical for the Framework update and the Flickr fix. Alma helped me with the language downloads, and Li was helping us with the development environment. We had some great teamwork on v1.1, and even more people have been helping on the next release!Anonymous
March 28, 2015
I installed it on two Win8.1 machines which previously had SB1.0. And then on two Win 10 machines, one of which previously had SB1.0 and the other was a new install. On the new install it prompted me to install .Net Framework 3.5 and wouldn't complete without it...does this sound right? CheersAnonymous
March 29, 2015
OzJerry, No, I don't think that's expected. Let's see if we can figure out what happened... over on the forum thread: social.msdn.microsoft.com/.../announcing-the-release-of-small-basic-11Anonymous
March 29, 2015
OzJerrry, Do you think it means .NET Framework 3.5? And not 4.5? We're discussing on the forum thread. Thanks!Anonymous
March 29, 2015
Responded on the forum thread.Anonymous
March 30, 2015
Today I'm using the Small Basic on tablet with wireless keyboard without numpad for the first time and it is uncomfortable on the Czech keyboard. I cannot write "*", because AltGr + - makes the text smaller instead of writing the * character. And when I want to make the text big again, I cannot as AltGr + + is used for writing "~" instead. However, good to know the Small Basic in not abandoned.Anonymous
March 30, 2015
Great. Thanks, OzJerry!Anonymous
March 30, 2015
Kvok, interesting. Is this any different between Small Basic v1.0 and Small Basic v1.1? I'll see if the council thinks this is a bug. Thanks!Anonymous
March 30, 2015
I updated the installation notes. I also added images from Nonki over on the Release Notes: social.technet.microsoft.com/.../30514.microsoft-small-basic-1-1-release-notes.aspxAnonymous
March 30, 2015
I added the second item in the New Updates list to this blog post and to the Release Notes: Modernized UX: Controls - The design of the program controls (button, scroll bar, arrows on the control bar) is now flat (modernized). And the window title font is also updated.Anonymous
April 01, 2015
Very excited about the new 1.1 version. Many Thanks Ed and the rest of the Microsoft Small Basic V-Team!Anonymous
April 18, 2015
Thank you very much for this great program. I ask them if they will continue completing small with some essential basic commands that are needed. For example FileExist , DirectoryExist , CopyDirectory , FileRename , DirectoryRename , etc. Thank you very much and I encourage you to continue working in small basic.Anonymous
April 18, 2015
Thanks for your feedback, Diego! I'm running the ideas by the Small Basic Council to see what they think. Thanks!Anonymous
April 18, 2015
Thank you, Philip! And thank you for all your help evangelizing the Small Basic community through your curriculum!Anonymous
April 19, 2015
This blog post was featured by Greg at Coding4Fun: channel9.msdn.com/.../Small-Basic-Gets-a-Not-So-Small-Update-v11Anonymous
April 24, 2015
(translated by Google-translator) I am very glad to see this update. Small Basic is very pleasant and comfortable as a favorite toy. Now, BASIC became so good that I really want to create some small program. But, I could not come up which program to create. Fortunately, I saw a topic "Small Basic Challenges". This is what I need so. Thank you for this.Anonymous
May 08, 2015
Evgeniy, that's great! Glad to see you're working on the Small Basic Challenges!Anonymous
July 16, 2015
Nice to see updates to this language.Anonymous
July 20, 2015
Thanks ExtraSix!Anonymous
September 05, 2015
I have just upgraded my Windows 7 to Windows 10 (using the free upgrade option). Everything is working fine. However, when I try to run SmallBASIC nothing happens. I am not getting the prompt screen. There is a flicker in the background and if I keep pressing Run( F5) and try to read it, the message goes something like telling me to closing something otherwise to use Task Manager. When I check in my Task Manager there is nothing running in the background. I have just installed the Samll Basic 1.1 and have tried both versions "Direct English Download" and "Download Centre Page". I did not change any settings during the installation procedure and simply continued with the installation. Please note that I uninstalled one installation then restarted the PC before installing the second option so there is no element of conflict between the two options. Can you please tell me where I am making a mistake or is it that SmallBASIC is not yet fully compliant with Windows 10? I am running Windows 10 Pro on a 32 bit machine having 2GB RAM. Appreciate any help that I could get.Anonymous
September 23, 2015
Riz420, can you ask in the forum? I'm thinking you might need to uninstall and then reinstall after the upgrade. But best to get lots of suggestions from the forum: social.msdn.microsoft.com/.../threads