BLooP vs. Java vs. Small Basic vs. ruffus Comparison Chart

Welcome to the Dictionary of Programming Languages, a compendium of computer coding methods assembled to provide information and aid your appreciation for computer science history. BLooP was a very simple recursive block structured language invented by Douglas Hofstadter for his book Godel, Escher, Bach. It features simple subroutine structure, very simple number and boolean handling, and recursion. The interesting aspect of BLooP was that it offered only bounded loop constructs, and was therefore incapable of expressing certain general recursive computations.

Small Basic is the only programming language created especially to help students transition from block-based coding to text-based coding. By teaching the fundamental elements of syntax-based languages in an approachable manner, Small Basic gives students the skills and confidence to tackle more complex programming languages such as Java and C#. You can also build applications for Kinect, Lego Mindstorm, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Oculus Rift, and more using Small Basic. Small Basic combines a friendly environment with a very simple language and a rich and engaging set of libraries to make your programs and games pop! In a matter of a few lines of code, you will be well on your way to creating your very own game! Share your programs with your friends and let them import your published programs and run them on their computers. Using the Silverlight player, you can even post your games on your own blogs and websites and play them in the browser.