PiccoloBASIC: A Beginner-Friendly Basic Interpreter for Programming Raspberry Pi Pico
The Raspberry Pi Pico has its very own Basic interpreter now. This means that you can code your Pico projects using a beginner-friendly programming language. Although the Raspberry Pi Pico lacks support for programming languages beyond Scratch and Python, PiccoloBASIC serves as an interpreter that enables you to code your Raspberry Pi Pico projects in Basic.
PiccoloBASIC is the creation of maker and developer Gary, who is a fan of both Mr. Wizard and Rick Astley - hats off to them for that. With this new Basic interpreter for the Raspberry Pi Pico, you can interact with GPIO pins and create simple projects like blinking an LED, as well as the universal Hello World program.
This project draws inspiration from another Basic interpreter called 'uBASIC,' which you may have come across in various projects that utilize the Pico or on boards like the Raspberry Pi 3. Although we don't know the creator's name, you can find more details about uBASIC in a post on the Raspberry Pi Discord community servers or on Adam Dunkels' website or GitHub page.
Interpreters like PiccoloBASIC sit on top of micro-operating systems like Linux and allow you to write code in a manner reminiscent of a Basic interpreter. While they may not be as powerful as C languages, they serve as an excellent entry point for beginners to the world of coding and enable the creation of simple projects.
We had the opportunity to speak with Gary about PiccoloBASIC over Discord. You can find instructions on how to set it up here. The first step is defining the PICO_SDK_PATH, followed by cloning the GitHub repository into a new directory named 'build.' Then, run 'cmake' in the 'build' directory and finally, use 'make' to flash the uf2 file named 'piccoloBASIC.uf2' onto the Pico. While it may seem a bit complicated, setting the PICO_SDK_PATH is the only challenging part.
If you decide to give PiccoloBASIC a try, please share your experience and any projects you create in the comments section, or on Twitter or Instagram.
Featured image credit: Make.
