Small Basic: Interactive Learning with Xamarin Workbooks

  • Article

This article introduces Xamarin Workbooks with SmallBasic.Workbook 1.2.0.  Xamarin Workbooks is an interactive learning tool for C#.  SmallBasic.Workbook is a package to allow using Small Basic library in Xamarin Workbooks.  C# and Small Basic are programming languages running on Microsoft .NET Framework.

Install Xamarin Workbooks

Xamarin Workbooks can be downloaded from https://developer.xamarin.com/workbooks/.  Following instructions are for installing Xamarin Workbooks. 

  1. Click [Download Now].
  2. Click [Xamarin Workbooks for Windows]. (Or [Xamarin Workbooks for Mac].)
  3. [Run] XamarinInteractive-1.3.0.msi. (Or download XamarinInteractive-1.3.0.pkg and run.)

Add SmallBasic.Workbook Package

Add SmallBasic.Workbook with following instructions.

  1. Run Xamarin Workbooks.
  2. Select [WPF] for a new workbook.
  3. Push [CREATE WORKBOOK] button.
  4. Select [File] [Add Package] menu.
  5. Type "SmallBasic" in Search NuGet text box.
  6. Select "SmallBasic.Workbook 1.2.0".
  7. Push [ADD PACKAGE] Button.
  8. Then you can see the following code.
#r "SmallBasicLibrary"

Add Code

Type following code.  When start typing, IntelliSense candidate will be displayed.  So, hitting Enter key will complete the keyword.  Between two lines Shift+Enter will add new line.

using Microsoft.SmallBasic.Library;
Clock.Date

After typing the code above, hit enter to show the result of Clock.Date.  Push [+] button to insert a new executable C# cell.

Add Document

Push ["] button to insert a new document cell.  In document cell, comments or instructions can be described as rich text.

Samples

Following samples are available in TechNet Gallery.  Select [Run] [Run All] to run all executable cells.

Known Issues

This list is for Xamarin Workbooks 1.3.x.  Known issues in SmallBasic.Workbook 1.2.0 are listed here.

  1. After saving the workbook, content after Horizontal Rule in document cell disappears.  Workaround: Remove redundant --- from .workbook file with a text editor.  This issue is filed in Bugzilla as 59452.
  2. While pasting text in document cell, it sometimes causes Script Errors.  Workaround: Push Yes button again and again.  This issue is filed in Bugzilla as 60035.

See Also

Additional Recourses

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