Legacy program for PowerBASIC?

[Antti J Ylikoski]

I have a large legacy program of the QBASIC era and style -- the program
is so old that it even has line numbers in the style of the original
Dartmouth BASIC. The program is compatible with the old QBASIC.

Can this program be compiled with a suitable switch with the PowerBASIC,
or easily be converted to PowerBASIC, or something corresponding? I
will immediately purchase the PowerBASIC if I can use it for this legacy
program of mine.

kind regards, Antti J Ylikoski
Helsinki, Finland, the E.U.

[Auric__]

Antti J Ylikoski wrote:

> I have a large legacy program of the QBASIC era and style -- the program
> is so old that it even has line numbers in the style of the original
> Dartmouth BASIC. The program is compatible with the old QBASIC.

It was probably written for GW-BASIC.

> Can this program be compiled with a suitable switch with the PowerBASIC,
> or easily be converted to PowerBASIC, or something corresponding? I
> will immediately purchase the PowerBASIC if I can use it for this legacy
> program of mine.

PowerBASIC for DOS may or may not be able to compile it unchanged. PowerBASIC
Console Compiler would likely need *some* changes; PowerBASIC for Windows
would likely need *lots* of changes.

As much as I like PowerBASIC, I recommend trying FreeBASIC instead:
http://www.freebasic.net/

FreeBASIC will probably be able to compile your program as-is using this
command:
fbc -lang qb sourcefile.bas
If it can't compile, you should get some meaningful error messages telling
you what to do.

--
How about NO!?

[Bob Zale]

Hi Antti --

It all depends upon the reason you're converting. While PowerBASIC/
DOS will likely compile it with almost no changes, I imagine you're
looking to move it to a Windows platform so it can be used with the
latest 64-bit operating systems. In that case, I'd suggest you
consider the PowerBASIC Console Compiler. It creates executables
which are compatible with every 32/64 bit Windows from Win95/98 to
Win7 and even the upcoming Win8. You'll find it supports familiar
functions like PRINT, LOCATE, COLOR, LINE INPUT, even FIELD, LPRINT
and line numbers. While some changes are needed, thousands have done
so easily and very successfully. In fact, a major international bank
recently converted over 3 million lines of source code with
comparative ease. With PowerBASIC, you'll have a commercial product
with committed support. In fact, you'll get free technical support by
email for life. I would invite you to visit the PowerBASIC Forums.
Just GOTO www.powerbasic.com and click FORUMS. There are currently
some 400,000 posts from good programmers just like you. Questions?
Just email sup...@powerbasic.com

Best regards,

Bob Zale
PowerBASIC

[Antti J Ylikoski]

Thank you. I actually have tried the FreeBASIC for this purpose and
rejected it because it has bugs. Probably those bugs won't be seen in a
toy program, but in a big and nontrivial BASIC program they will
annoyingly show.

So I can even at the time of writing this recommend the PowerBASIC
instead of the FreeBASIC. I will see the www pages for the purchase if
it is not very expensive (I expect not.)

kind regards, Andy Ylikoski
Helsinki, Finland, the E.U.

[Bob Zale]

> > Just GOTOwww.powerbasic.comand click FORUMS.  There are currently

> > some 400,000 posts from good programmers just like you.  Questions?

> > Just email supp...@powerbasic.com

>
> > Best regards,
>
> > Bob Zale
> > PowerBASIC
>
> Thank you.  I actually have tried the FreeBASIC for this purpose and
> rejected it because it has bugs.  Probably those bugs won't be seen in a
> toy program, but in a big and nontrivial BASIC program they will
> annoyingly show.
>
> So I can even at the time of writing this recommend the PowerBASIC
> instead of the FreeBASIC.  I will see the www pages for the purchase if
> it is not very expensive (I expect not.)
>
> kind regards, Andy Ylikoski
> Helsinki, Finland, the E.U.

Thanks, Andy, we'll look forward to seeing you. If any questions come
up, you can always email us... or just visit our secure messaging
page. GOTO www.powerbasic.com and click FEEDBACK.

[Olav]

Den 13.02.2012 19:26, skrev Antti J Ylikoski:
> On 13.2.2012 13:10, Bob Zale wrote:
>> On Feb 7, 1:27 pm, Antti J Ylikoski<antti.yliko...@tkk.fi> wrote:

> Thank you. I actually have tried the FreeBASIC for this purpose and
> rejected it because it has bugs.

Then you probably should reject almost every piece of software out there.

> Probably those bugs won't be seen in a
> toy program, but in a big and nontrivial BASIC program they will
> annoyingly show.

So you can tell in advanced what kind a application these bugs will
appear in. Are you clairvoyant?

>
> So I can even at the time of writing this recommend the PowerBASIC
> instead of the FreeBASIC.

How on earth can you do so? You havn't even tried PB yet.

I will see the www pages for the purchase if
> it is not very expensive (I expect not.)
>
> kind regards, Andy Ylikoski
> Helsinki, Finland, the E.U.

I think Andy is a fake. Created by Bob Zale.
--

[Auric__]

Olav wrote:

> Den 13.02.2012 19:26, skrev Antti J Ylikoski:
>> On 13.2.2012 13:10, Bob Zale wrote:
>>> On Feb 7, 1:27 pm, Antti J Ylikoski<antti.yliko...@tkk.fi> wrote:
>
>> Thank you. I actually have tried the FreeBASIC for this purpose and
>> rejected it because it has bugs.
>
> Then you probably should reject almost every piece of software out there.

It *is* a non-trivial concern. The last thing anyone wants in their compiler
is bugs. Personally, I've never found bugs in FreeBASIC -- not that I've
looked very hard -- but I know of one in PowerBASIC (at least through PB/Win
9) regarding QUADs.

>> Probably those bugs won't be seen in a
>> toy program, but in a big and nontrivial BASIC program they will
>> annoyingly show.
>
> So you can tell in advanced what kind a application these bugs will
> appear in. Are you clairvoyant?
>>
>> So I can even at the time of writing this recommend the PowerBASIC
>> instead of the FreeBASIC.
>
> How on earth can you do so? You havn't even tried PB yet.

I used to recommend PowerBASIC before I ever tried it, based solely on its
features.

> I will see the www pages for the purchase if
>> it is not very expensive (I expect not.)
>>
>> kind regards, Andy Ylikoski
>> Helsinki, Finland, the E.U.
>
> I think Andy is a fake. Created by Bob Zale.

Andy's IP is a legitimate Finland address. Shrug.

--
Somehow she put an indulgent chuckle into a birdsong.

[Basic Guy]

Auric__ wrote:

> >> kind regards, Andy Ylikoski
> >> Helsinki, Finland, the E.U.
> >
> > I think Andy is a fake. Created by Bob Zale.
>
> Andy's IP is a legitimate Finland address. Shrug.

Could be a using a proxy.

I do find it odd that Zale would come in here to answer the question
posed by "andy" and not respond to the "3'rd party OCX" thread-
especially to counter the "have not gotten a reply (from PB)" part of
the thread.

[Auric__]

Basic Guy wrote:

> Auric__ wrote:
>
>> >> kind regards, Andy Ylikoski
>> >> Helsinki, Finland, the E.U.
>> >
>> > I think Andy is a fake. Created by Bob Zale.
>>
>> Andy's IP is a legitimate Finland address. Shrug.
>
> Could be a using a proxy.

The thought had occurred to me, but... shrug.

> I do find it odd that Zale would come in here to answer the question
> posed by "andy" and not respond to the "3'rd party OCX" thread-
> especially to counter the "have not gotten a reply (from PB)" part of
> the thread.

IIRC, he's always been somewhat selective about what he will answer.

--
Tease: reshape by going against the natural inclination.

[Auric__]

I wrote:

> Personally, I've never found bugs in FreeBASIC -- not
> that I've looked very hard -- but I know of one in PowerBASIC (at least
> through PB/Win 9) regarding QUADs.

Found the bug. Try this line in PB/Win or PB/CC:
? FORMAT$(1000000000000000001&&,"#_")

(I can't figure out how to get PB/DOS to print the number without scientific
notation, even with STR$.)

For some reason, for values of 19 decimal digits (the largest numbers; 20
digits not possible with QUAD), the compiler thinks it's only 18 digits long,
so the last digit is always changed to 0. (In the above example,
1000000000000000001 -> 1000000000000000000.)

This returns 0:
1000000000000000001&& MOD 10&&
but then, so does the EXTENDED version (1000000000000000001## MOD 10##). (I
can undertand a loss of precision in fp ops, but not integer ops.)

--
I'm tired of "diplomatic solutions" because THEY DON'T FUCKING WORK!!!

[Antti J Ylikoski]

On 14.2.2012 15:28, Olav wrote:
> Den 13.02.2012 19:26, skrev Antti J Ylikoski:
>> On 13.2.2012 13:10, Bob Zale wrote:
>>> On Feb 7, 1:27 pm, Antti J Ylikoski<antti.yliko...@tkk.fi> wrote:
>
>> Thank you. I actually have tried the FreeBASIC for this purpose and
>> rejected it because it has bugs.
>
> Then you probably should reject almost every piece of software out there.

Not all of them are as bad as the FreeBASIC. That argument seems to be
the classic straw man: attempt to make the other individual ridiculous.

>
>> Probably those bugs won't be seen in a
>> toy program, but in a big and nontrivial BASIC program they will
>> annoyingly show.
>
> So you can tell in advanced what kind a application these bugs will
> appear in. Are you clairvoyant?

I have seen bugs in the FreeBASIC in at least one big, nontrivial BASIC
program.

>>
>> So I can even at the time of writing this recommend the PowerBASIC
>> instead of the FreeBASIC.
>
> How on earth can you do so? You havn't even tried PB yet.

I have seen that the FreeBASIC is bad. I have seen enough of the
PowerBASIC to trust it to a large extent.

>
> I will see the www pages for the purchase if
>> it is not very expensive (I expect not.)
>>
>> kind regards, Andy Ylikoski
>> Helsinki, Finland, the E.U.
>
> I think Andy is a fake. Created by Bob Zale.
> --
>
>
>

No, I'm a real person, with my real name.

yours, Andy Ylikoski

[Antti J Ylikoski]

On 14.2.2012 17:47, Auric__ wrote:
> -- I'm tired of "diplomatic solutions" because THEY DON'T FUCKING WORK!!!

Diplomatic solutions only work with legitimate gentlemen and legitimate
justice states.

Andy

I have criticized people intentionally a little wrong.

[Bob Zale]

Hi Andy--

I'm really sorry you've received such a "welcome" here. It isn't a
style advocated by PowerBASIC. I'm very confident PowerBASIC can
provide you with a rock solid solution. Please let me know if we can
offer any assistance.

[Bob Zale]

On Feb 14, 10:47 am, "Auric__" <not.my.r...@email.address> wrote:

> Found the bug. Try this line in PB/Win or PB/CC:
>   ? FORMAT$(1000000000000000001&&,"#_")

Hello Auric,

I'm afraid that's only partially accurate. In PowerBASIC, ASCII-
>BINARY->ASCII conversions are performed up to a mantissa length of
eighteen decimal digits, as documented. This substantially exceeds
the 16-digit limit imposed by Microsoft compilers, and it is the
design and algorithm recommended by Intel.

So, while you may have "wishes" for something different, PowerBASIC is
functioning just as designed and "advertised". If you feel an
extension is desirable, I'd recommend you submit a PowerBASIC Feature
Suggestion at http://www.powerbasic.com/support/request.html As
always, we consider the needs and wishes of our customers very
carefully. This is the best way to make that information available.

[Auric__]

Bob Zale wrote:

> On Feb 14, 10:47 am, "Auric__" <not.my.r...@email.address> wrote:
>
>> Found the bug. Try this line in PB/Win or PB/CC:
>>   ? FORMAT$(1000000000000000001&&,"#_")
>
> Hello Auric,
>
> I'm afraid that's only partially accurate. In PowerBASIC, ASCII-
>>BINARY->ASCII conversions are performed up to a mantissa length of
> eighteen decimal digits, as documented. This substantially exceeds
> the 16-digit limit imposed by Microsoft compilers, and it is the
> design and algorithm recommended by Intel.

My apologies, then. I wasn't aware of that.

> So, while you may have "wishes" for something different, PowerBASIC is
> functioning just as designed and "advertised". If you feel an
> extension is desirable, I'd recommend you submit a PowerBASIC Feature
> Suggestion at http://www.powerbasic.com/support/request.html As
> always, we consider the needs and wishes of our customers very
> carefully. This is the best way to make that information available.

Again, my apologies. I guess I just made a bad assumption. (And I almost
never use QUADs anyway; I had to dig to find the code I posted.)

The only "extension" I truly desire is for the long-ago-promised Linux
version. (I can live without 64-bit ints.) I'm using FreeBASIC *far* more
than PB nowadays simply for the Linux support.

--
Last time I got an offer like this, there were some catches.

[Bob Zale]

On Feb 15, 9:08 am, "Auric__" <not.my.r...@email.address> wrote:
> Bob Zale wrote:
> > On Feb 14, 10:47 am, "Auric__" <not.my.r...@email.address> wrote:
>
> >> Found the bug. Try this line in PB/Win or PB/CC:
> >>   ? FORMAT$(1000000000000000001&&,"#_")
>
> > Hello Auric,
>
> > I'm afraid that's only partially accurate.  In PowerBASIC, ASCII-
> >>BINARY->ASCII conversions are performed up to a mantissa length of
> > eighteen decimal digits, as documented.  This substantially exceeds
> > the 16-digit limit imposed by Microsoft compilers, and it is the
> > design and algorithm recommended by Intel.
>
> My apologies, then. I wasn't aware of that.
>
> > So, while you may have "wishes" for something different, PowerBASIC is
> > functioning just as designed and "advertised".  If you feel an
> > extension is desirable, I'd recommend you submit a PowerBASIC Feature

> > Suggestion athttp://www.powerbasic.com/support/request.html As

> > always, we consider the needs and wishes of our customers very
> > carefully.  This is the best way to make that information available.
>
> Again, my apologies. I guess I just made a bad assumption. (And I almost
> never use QUADs anyway; I had to dig to find the code I posted.)
>
> The only "extension" I truly desire is for the long-ago-promised Linux
> version. (I can live without 64-bit ints.) I'm using FreeBASIC *far* more
> than PB nowadays simply for the Linux support.
>
> --
> Last time I got an offer like this, there were some catches.

No problem, Auric. Actually, it's quite thoughtful of you to offer an
apology, but it really isn't necessary. We've all had
misunderstandings of this sort. The important thing is that the
correct information is posted now, so the folks aren't misled.

Thanks!

Bob Zale
PowerBASIC

[Antti J Ylikoski]

Today I ordered the PowerBASIC Console Compiler. At that discounted
price it is a real bargain. And I'm in no way affiliated with the
PowerBASIC company, neither pecuniarily nor in any other way.

Antti Ylikoski
Helsinki, Finland, the EU