BASIC vs. PascalABC.NET vs. Webots vs. Wing Python IDE Comparison Chart

BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. Initially, BASIC concentrated on supporting straightforward mathematical work, with matrix arithmetic support from its initial implementation as a batch language, and character string functionality being added by 1965. The emergence of BASIC took place as part of a wider movement towards time-sharing systems. Some dialects of BASIC supported matrices and matrix operations, which can be used to solve sets of simultaneous linear algebraic equations. These dialects would directly support matrix operations such as assignment, addition, multiplication (of compatible matrix types), and evaluation of a determinant. BASIC declined in popularity in the 1990s, as more powerful microcomputers came to market and programming languages with advanced features (such as Pascal and C) became tenable on such computers.

Cyberbotics' Webots is an open source, multi-platform desktop application designed for modeling, programming, and simulating robots. It offers a comprehensive development environment that includes a vast asset library with robots, sensors, actuators, objects, and materials, facilitating rapid prototyping and efficient robotics project development. Users can import existing CAD models from tools like Blender or URDF and integrate OpenStreetMap data to create detailed simulations. Webots supports programming in multiple languages, including C, C++, Python, Java, MATLAB, and ROS, providing flexibility for diverse development needs. Its modern GUI, combined with a physics engine and OpenGL rendering, enables realistic simulation of various robotic systems, such as wheeled robots, industrial arms, legged robots, drones, and autonomous vehicles. The platform is widely utilized in industry, education, and research for tasks like robot prototyping, and AI algorithm development.