Basic income programs are gaining momentum nationwide as local governments and nonprofits test this bold alternative to traditional welfare.

There was a time when anyone could try programming, thanks to the ubiquity of Basic. But Basic's a nonstarter these days, so what will entice a new generation?

Many people, one way or another, got started programming computers using some kind of Basic. The language was developed at Dartmouth specifically so people could write simple programs without much … ...