What a fascinating trip back in time. I had almost forgotten all the time I spent typing up code listings from the back of Usborne computer books as a kid in the late 80s.
It was really a great way to learn programming, although I remember the frustrations trying to work out which variation of BASIC (Commodore, Spectrum, BBC Micro or another one) would work on my ’286 with GWBASIC.
It is interesting that reading a bunch of good books is considered a crucial part of learning to write well, but in programming classes we tend to just explain the syntax and then say “so here are some projects…”
It was really a great way to learn programming, although I remember the frustrations trying to work out which variation of BASIC (Commodore, Spectrum, BBC Micro or another one) would work on my ’286 with GWBASIC.