Small Basic Challenges of the Month - June 2015

[Ed Price]

First published on MSDN on Jun 02, 2015

Authored by Ed Price

These challenges are intended for people who are learning to program for the first time or for those returning to programming who want to start using Small Basic. Some will be easy, some will be hard - but they will all make you think, and more importantly be GREAT FUN!

Please post your solutions / partial solutions / questions / feedback etc. into this thread that will remain 'sticky' for the month. The only rule is that your solution must use standard Small Basic methods (no extensions).

It would be good if people could post their problems with these challenges so that a discussion can start so that everyone can learn from each other. Post here:

https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/ef1cc5ec-55d5-4ccd-a57c-3b6b5675fa14/challenge-...

Also post feedback on the kind of challenges that you want to see more of in the future.

TextWindow Challenge

• Create some ASCII art , either from an image or not.

Graphics Challenge

• Write a program to draw the phases of the moon for this month.

Game Challenge

• Write a program to play round pong.  This is just the paddle pong game played inside a circle, with bats that rotate around the perimeter, rather than up and down, for example http://www.retroflashgames.com/retro-games-online/round-pong .

Interface Challenge

• Write a graphcal interface to calculate and convert between units.

As an example convert jogging pace, speed and time for selected distances

1. Pace may be in min/km or min/mile


2. Speed may be km/hour or mile/hour


3. Distance may be km or mile, with standard distances 1km, 1mlie, 5km, 10km, 10mile, half marathon, marathon


4. Time will be in hours, minutes and seconds

The user may enter any one of pace, speed or time for distance.  The pace, speed and time are then calculated for all distances . The user can also change between metric and imperial units.

Calculating the conversions is part of the challenge, but the biggest part is designing a clear, intuative and easy-to-use interface, maybe with some graphics to make it fun to use.

Community Suggestion (By Jibba Jabba)

• Write an animation that shows how the Stack object works.

Community Suggestion (By Nonki)

• Draw a graph for y = arctan x .  Or for other functions in Small Basic.

Community Suggestion (By Coding Cat)

• Build Your Own Tetris.

My challenge to the community is to build your own take on the classic game Tetris.  Not so much rebuilding the original, but rather taking the basic idea of falling blocks on a grid and make something new that is all your own.

To get things started, and to help out the newbies I worked up a basic version that anyone can start from:

Import Code for ProtoTetris: NHH842

Do you have an idea for a future challenge? Please post it here!

Have a Small and Basic day!

Ninja Ed & LitDev