BBC BASIC for Windows version 6.00a released

[Richard Russell]

Today I have released BBC BASIC for Windows version 6.00a. This version includes the following modifications:

1. Support for legacy 40-bit (5-byte) floating-point variables has been removed.
   
   
2. 'Suffixless' variables are now always 80-bit (10-byte) variants.
   
   
3. A 64-bit signed integer variable type is introduced, which has a %% suffix.
   
   
4. Strings are no longer limited to a maximum length of 65535 characters.
   
   
5. PTR# and EXT#, which read or write the file pointer and length now return and accept 64-bit values.
   
   
6. The assembler now accepts the FCOMI, FCOMIP, FUCOMI and FUCOMIP instructions.
   
   
7. The command *FLOAT 80 selects that floating-point indirection and numeric data files use 80-bit variants.
   
   
8. A *HEX command controls whether hexadecimal conversion and the bit-shift operators work with 32-bit or 64-bit numbers.
   
   
9. The *FONT command supports the strikeout attribute (Q).
   
   
10. A new compiler directive REM!Fast is implemented.
    
    
11. The manifest includes the Windows 10 compatibility identifier.
    
    
12. A new menu selection Run... Debug and toolbar button are added.
    
    
13. A new Step Line toolbar button is added.
    

Other components of BBC BASIC for Windows changed in this release are as follows:

1. Updated Cross Reference, Differences, Module Viewer and Profiler add-in utilities.
   
   
2. Updated CLASSLIB, EVENTLIB, MULTIWIN and SOCKLIB libraries.

To upgrade your copy of BBC BASIC for Windows to version 6.00a, and at the same time update your libraries, utilities, example programs and manual, download and install UPGRADE.EXE from here:

http://www.rtrussell.co.uk/bbcwin/download.html

Please note that version 6.00a is not fully compatible with earlier versions. Ensure that you read the Compatibility considerations section of the documentation before deciding to upgrade.

Sadly, but inevitably, BB4W v6.00a cannot be guaranteed to be as bug-free as its predecessors, because significant modifications have been made and it has not had extensive testing over a long period. Let's hope the Beta Testers have done their job diligently!

Richard.