Microsoft® Small Basic

Sharing Code

Estimated time to complete this lesson: 1 hour

In this lesson, you will learn to:

Share your Small Basic programs.

Download and run Small Basic programs.

Publish Small Basic programs for the Microsoft Silverlight ® browser plug-in.

Sharing Code

Convert your Small Basic program into an equivalent program in the Microsoft Visual Basic® development system.

Sharing Code

Small Basic provides you the capability to share your programs by uploading your code to the Internet.

Now that you have explored Small Basic to create fun games and applications, it is time to share your creations with your friends and colleagues.

To do so, you can use the Publish button on the toolbar.

When you click the Publish button, your program is published instantly!

Small Basic generates and displays a unique ID for your program. Using this ID, you can share your program with others.

Additionally, you can assign a suitable title to your program, provide a brief description, and define the category for your program.

Uploading The Code

To access your program in a different Small Basic environment, you can use the unique ID that is assigned to your program. You can also view your program online by accessing the displayed URL.

You must then specify the unique program ID in the displayed box and then click OK.

Downloading a Program

Now, let’s explore how others can access your published program within the Small Basic environment.

To access your published program in Small Basic, you click the Import button on the toolbar.

The particular program is imported from the Internet and displayed in your Small Basic environment.

Running a Program

Once you import a program in your Small Basic environment, you can run the program. Alternatively, you can edit the code, if required.

OUTPUT

Click the button on the toolbar.You can also save the imported program, by clicking the Save button on the toolbar.

The Web page also displays the code sample for your program below the program output.

Moreover, you can access your published program online!

When you publish a program, the program gets uploaded to the Small Basic Web site. By browsing to the Web site and specifying the unique program ID, you can access your program online, anytime, within a Web browser supporting Silverlight. So have fun creating Silverlight applications and games right from within Small Basic!

Accessing Your Program Online

You can simply embed your program within your website. The HTML code exclusively for your program is provided on the Small Basic website.

As you know, you can view your published programs on the Small Basic website from within a web browser that supports Silverlight. Well, Small Basic has more to offer!

Embedding your Program Online

This enables you to host your published program on your own website or blog by simply copying the code into your website code. Simple, isn’t it?

Converting Small Basic Programs to Visual Basic Programs

Using the Small Basic environment, you can also convert your Small Basic program into an equivalent Visual Basic program.

A friendly wizard asks you to specify the location where you want to save your converted program.

Consider a Small Basic program that you have just written or downloaded. To convert this program to a Visual Basic program, you simply have to click the Graduate button on the toolbar.

Otherwise, it displays the following message:

If Visual Basic is installed on your computer, your converted program opens in Visual Basic when you click Continue.

Converting Small Basic Programs to Visual Basic Programs

Let’s Summarize…

Congratulations! Now you know how to:

Share your Small Basic programs.

Download and run Small Basic programs.

Publish Small Basic programs for Silverlight.

Convert your Small Basic program into an equivalent Visual Basic program.

It’s Time to Apply Your Learning…

Now that you know some facts about Small Basic, it is time to check your learning. Answer the following questions:

How can you share your Small Basic program online?

How can you access your published program in another Small Basic environment?

How can you convert your Small Basic program to Visual Basic?