Beginner’s Guide to XBasic: Getting Started Fast

Beginner’s Guide to XBasic: Getting Started FastXBasic is a lightweight, modern programming language designed for beginners and experienced developers alike. It blends familiar BASIC-style syntax with contemporary features like modular libraries, a simple package manager, and straightforward concurrency primitives. This guide walks you through everything you need to start building with XBasic quickly: from installation and tooling to writing your first programs, understanding core language features, and learning best practices.

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What you’ll learn

• How to install XBasic and set up your development environment
• The basic syntax and structure of XBasic programs
• Common data types, control flow, and functions
• Working with modules and packages
• Simple concurrency and I/O operations
• Tips for debugging, testing, and deploying XBasic applications

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Installing XBasic

1. Download the installer for your platform from the official XBasic website (Windows, macOS, Linux).
2. Follow the platform-specific instructions — most installers add the xb compiler/interpreter to your PATH.
3. Verify installation by running:

   
   xb --version 

   You should see the installed version printed.

If you prefer a manual build from source, clone the Git repository and follow the build instructions in README.md.

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Your First XBasic Program

Create a file named hello.xb with the following contents:

module main func main() {     print("Hello, XBasic!") } 

Run it:

xb run hello.xb 

Expected output: Hello, XBasic!

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File structure and modules

• module declares the module name. main is the entry point for programs.
• func defines a function. main() is executed when you run the program.

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Basic Syntax and Data Types

XBasic favors readable, concise syntax.

• Variables: let for immutable, var for mutable.

  
  let pi = 3.14159 var count = 0 

• Primitive types: int, float, string, bool.
• Arrays and maps:

  
  let nums = [1, 2, 3] var dict = {"a": 1, "b": 2} 

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Control Flow

• Conditional:

  
  if score > 50 { print("Pass") } else { print("Fail") } 

• Loops: “`xbasic for i in 0..5 { print(i) }

while condition {

// ... 

}

--- ## Functions and Error Handling - Functions: ```xbasic func add(a: int, b: int) -> int {     return a + b } 

• Multiple return values and simple error handling:

  
  func readFile(path: string) -> (string, error) { // returns content, or error if failed } 

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Modules and Package Management

• Create reusable modules and publish them to the XBasic package registry using the xbpm tool.
• Example module layout:

  
  /myapp /src main.xb xb.toml 

• Install packages:

  
  xbpm install utils/logger 

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Concurrency Basics

• Lightweight coroutines (spawn) and channels: “`xbasic let ch = channel(10)

spawn func producer() {

for i in 0..9 {     ch.send(i) } 

}

spawn func consumer() {

while val, ok := ch.recv(); ok {     print(val) } 

}

--- ## Input/Output and File Operations - Read/write files with simple APIs: ```xbasic let content, err = read_file("notes.txt") if err != nil {     print("Read error:", err) } else {     print(content) } write_file("out.txt", "Hello World") 

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Debugging and Testing

• Use xb test to run unit tests. Tests are written in files named *_test.xb.
• Simple logging with log levels:

  
  logger.info("Starting app") logger.error("Failed to connect:", err) 

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Building and Deployment

• Build a standalone binary:

  
  xb build -o myapp 

• Cross-compile using target flags, or create Docker images for deployment.

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Best Practices for Beginners

• Start small: build CLI tools before web apps.
• Write tests early and often.
• Use modules to keep code organized.
• Practice reading and contributing to small open-source XBasic projects.

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Resources

• Official docs and tutorials on the XBasic website
• Community forums and package registry for libraries and examples
• Sample projects on the XBasic GitHub organization

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XBasic offers a gentle learning curve with enough modern features to scale beyond toy projects. Try building a small CLI or file parser as your next step—it’s the fastest way to get comfortable.