Others that do: Gambas, Xojo, RAD BASIC, Twin BASIC.
FBC easily compile lots of them. Well, too bad still no macOS support.
I started learning programming in 2002 with VB, so it felt kinda amusing looking at 90s DOS stuffs (Turbo Pascal 7, QB, TASM) etc
There's a lot to learn from these old tools and it'd be nice to have this stuff opened up for tinkerers on ancient platforms. It's not like MS is going to make any money off any of this anymore, nor is it viable for use on a modern platform even with substantial effort.
orionblastar•1mo ago
FreeBASIC is like Microsoft's QuickBASIC.
More BASIC Languages: https://www.thefreecountry.com/compilers/basic.shtml
WalterGR•1mo ago
Except that it doesn't emulate Microsoft's QuickBASIC, or ... ?
banana_giraffe•1mo ago
TonyTrapp•1mo ago
vunderba•1mo ago
bencollver•1mo ago
analog31•1mo ago
orionblastar•1mo ago
pjmlp•1mo ago
vunderba•1mo ago
But all of them (QBasic, QuickBASIC, Microsoft PDS, and even Visual Basic for DOS which almost nobody remembers sadly) had the editor, interpretative execution, and built-in help.
90s_dev•1mo ago
agf•1mo ago
90s_dev•1mo ago
pjmlp•1mo ago
DCKP•1mo ago
the_af•1mo ago
klipt•1mo ago
That's why it always ran slower than Delphi.
pjmlp•1mo ago
Additionally VB devs no longer needed to rely on C++ for ActiveX controls, aka OCX, the VBX replacement.
dspillett•1mo ago
P-code was still offered as an option because some wanted the smaller output binary sizes, and the build process was faster⁰.
Some incorrectly assume that the native option wasn't really fully compiled because the main supporting library (msvbvm60.dll) was still used¹, but this was for common library functions³ and the interpreter portion was not touched.
There were unofficial tools that would statically link your exe with the relevant VB runtime (and certain other libraries) but the use of those was rare.
----
[0] Though I don't think the build speed matter was actually significant for many, if any, workflows, even on really slow kit.
[1] Some didn't distribute it after a time, to reduce download sizes, as they were included with Windows so users already had them. Windows 7 (and maybe Vista?) included msvbvm60.dll and friends by default, and most XP and 98 installs² had it too as it came with Internet Explorer updates.
[2] though there was a compatibility break at one point that meant you needed to recompile with VB6sp6 if you hadn't included a local copy in your apps directory
[3] Much like many C programs don't have glibc statically linked into them, but work because it is practically ubiquitous on the systems they target.
pjmlp•1mo ago
lproven•1mo ago
Both QuickBASIC and the BASIC Professional Development System compiled to full native DOS code, and could make standalone EXE files.
VB finally gained this with VB 6 which could also make native EXE files.
the_af•1mo ago
It didn't output p-code. You're confusing it with Visual Basic.
lproven•1mo ago
westurner•1mo ago
That's still how vscode works; F5 to debug and Ctrl-[Shift]-P like CtrlP.vim: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/debugtest/debugging
FWICS,
The sorucoder.freebasic vscode extension has syntax highlighting: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=sorucode...
There's also an QB64Official/vscode extension that has syntax highlighting and keyboard shortcuts: https://github.com/QB64Official/vscode
re: how qb64 and C-edit are like EDIT.COM, and GORILLA.BAS: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41410427
C-edit: https://github.com/velorek1/C-edit
vunderba•1mo ago
90s_dev•1mo ago
westurner•1mo ago
pjmlp•1mo ago
Ironically Borland gave up competing against Microsoft on BASIC tooling, while Microsoft gave up competing against Borland on Pascal tooling (Quick Pascal).
Both products where short lived, Microsoft killed Quick Pascal quite quickly, while Borland sold Turbo BASIC, which became Power BASIC.
orionblastar•1mo ago
It is a DOS 16-bit program.
pjmlp•1mo ago
Real BASIC seemed the only alternative to VB that was somehow still market relevant.
anthk•1mo ago
lproven•1mo ago
However, the QB64PE project does have an IDE. Some screenshots in this thread:
https://qb64phoenix.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=2469&pid=23...