From QBASIC to BASIC Stamp 2 or BASIC Atom / Pro?

Hello.

I am a relatively novice roboteer. So far I have had experience with Mini SSC II, which was able to be controlled using software written in an older BASIC, such as QBASIC (as I have used). Since Mini SSC II is not maufactured anymore, switching to the newer controllers means switching to another language as well.
I have tried both BASIC Stamp 2 and BASIC Atom / Pro and discovered that BASIC Stamp 2 is somewhat closer to QBASIC, at least syntactically. However, there are still major differences, for example in the area of data types and message sending.

Could you please give me some advice? Should I try to convert the BASIC Stamp 2 code into QBASIC code? Or am I better off completely upgrading to the new formats? If so, where can I find information about it? Furthermore, would I need to install certain software, such as BASIC Stamp 2 or BASIC Atom / Pro compilers? If so, where to find them?

I have both the SSC-12 and SSC-32 controllers. I know that there is software that comes with them (RIOS), but I need to be able to control the robot directly, from program code, because of the nature of my work.

Cheers.

Lots of questions:

A Basic Stamp II is A good starting MCU only because there is enormous support available.

The Atom line of MCUs are also good and offer a lot more power, but you will find support for these MCUs is not as abundant as the BS2s.

I started on a BS2, and I am currently learning the Basic Atom Pro as my next MCU. Code is around 99% compatible with a BS2 but it also includes features the BS2 does not offer. It is really not that hard to transition from Pbasic (not Qbasic) to Mbasic (Atom basic language).

The IDE for the atom MCU’s are available at Basic Micro’s website www.parallax.com

IDE = Integrated Development Environment. The program interface.