Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-26944223-20150301140550/@comment-24854750-20150307182322

The problem with learning how to program (at least, as far as I have seen it) is that programming feels very abstract, but programming also has a lot of rules and requires a lot of details. So what I would recommend is going through the in-game help manual. When you find a command (such as PRINT, VSYNC, etc.), write a couple lines of code and try to make it work. If you get an error, go back to the manual, and see if you didn't include information or didn't type it in correctly. When you feel like you have mastered a few commands, try writing a short program that uses all of them. This is how I taught myself how to use Petit Computer. It took awhile, and even though you may not immediately produce a game that is superawesometastic, you may be able to eventually.

As far as what things you should probably learn first, I'd recommend the commands PRINT, INPUT, WAIT, and VSYNC. Something else that is also helpful to know is how to create loops so the program will repeat itself. To do so, you will need to create a label and use the command GOTO. A label is created by typing the "@" symbol and following it with a word. In larger programs, it's helpful to use words that are logical or easy to remember. A good example of a label, especially if you are creating a loop, is @LOOP. To use the GOTO command, all you need to do is write GOTO and then any label in your program. For instance, GOTO @LOOP.

Supposing that you know/learn how to use PRINT, you could create a small program, like what you see below, by using what you know.

@LOOP PRINT "HELLO WORLD" GOTO @LOOP

This program will print the words "HELLO WORLD" down the side of the screen over and over very quickly.