I think I'll stay on neutral grounds with this one. Both Melanie & Kenpo have made some points that I agree with.

BASIC - Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code - as its name suggests is a language primarily directed towards the beginner. However, because of its sheer ease-of-use and RAD nature Rapid-Application-Development, many professionals also continue to use it.

Traditionally, BASIC has always been a function orientated language. Much like buttons on a calculator, entire complex and length procedures are preserved behind simple syntax. (This is BASIC's strength)

It also has a very big weakness too. Not such a big deal with say Visual BASIC, because nowadays, you have what seems like an infinite amount of storage at your disposal. But when a lack of a few bytes can put an entire project on ice, you really don't want any protocol that's bloated.<br/>