Author Topic: What flavors of basic? (Read 32494 times)

mouser · « **on:** April 20, 2006, 08:49 AM »

I'm not sure if we should have different sections for the various flavors of basic, like:

Miscrosoft's visual basic - http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/
Gerome's FBSL (Freestyle Basic Scripting Language) - http://www.fbsl.net/phpbb2/index.php
And others..

f0dder · « **Reply #1 on:** April 20, 2006, 08:52 AM »

Perhaps start with a single section and see if there's demand for more? One lesson we learnt at http://www.asmcommunity.net is that too much fragmentation makes people confused.

mouser · « **Reply #2 on:** April 20, 2006, 08:57 AM »

i definitely believe that too many sections is bad, and can lead to less conversation..
in this case the programming school is a bit different since its really meant mainly just for people to get and submit assignments so its not a big deal to have a bunch of sections i think.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #3 on:** April 20, 2006, 11:01 AM »

How about having a sticky "Before posting here read this" topic stating the posting code in the Basic section (by the way that should be BASIC, all capitals) should be prefixed by the BASIC flavour at the beginning of the thread title. Same for C/C++ etc. that way similar issues in different flavours are dealt with in one place rather than scattered where many won't look?

eg. if someone is using VB then they are only likely to look in the VB section, whereas a thread "FSBL how do I ..." may have application to more than one language flavour.

Tekzel · « **Reply #4 on:** May 03, 2006, 07:00 PM »

Maybe you should have seperate sections for vb.net and the rest, since in the .net version Microsoft really changed quite a lot of stuff. In fact, I recently discovered the MS Visual Studio Express 2005 apps and downloaded them all and decided to get back into programming. Right now, I am working on visual basic, but I think I am going to move over to C# when I feel pretty secure in VB.

mitzevo · « **Reply #5 on:** June 19, 2007, 12:10 AM »

I think what Carol said is good, then again not every one is going to follow that scheme, that's if any one even posts in this child board

On second thought, BASIC usually refers to the old days of BASIC.. so VisualBasic, and etc. should be in a different board while this one contains BASIC, FreeBASIC, and varients.

yup, and it should be BASIC

Target · « **Reply #6 on:** September 11, 2007, 01:20 AM »

simple question (compounded by the above thread...)

I assume when I read basic, you mean BASIC, but the references to VB makes me wonder.

if we're talking BASIC, is there a preferred flavour?? I've been experimenting with Emergence Basic (no reason, it's free, and it was handy...), but if there's a better/preferred option I'd rather know now...

mitzevo · « **Reply #7 on:** September 11, 2007, 01:29 AM »

basic usually means basic != vb

vb/visual basic are just the opposite.

jah · « **Reply #8 on:** September 11, 2007, 01:52 AM »

simple question (compounded by the above thread...)

I assume when I read basic, you mean BASIC, but the references to VB makes me wonder.

if we're talking BASIC, is there a preferred flavour?? I've been experimenting with Emergence Basic (no reason, it's free, and it was handy...), but if there's a better/preferred option I'd rather know now...
-Target (September 11, 2007, 01:20 AM)

Target, I would highly suggest you to avoid IONICWIND, their website, forums, applications because after all you get is grief! Paul Turley, the founder will keep stopping and taking back on the development.

He gave to his users numerous of excuses, for instance(and this is true) "My dog needs to go to the vets bla bla i need money if not i won't be able to work on the language"...So they did contribute...People on there are more like followers then users, so please do not pay him a dime! Maybe you could check out the following:

FreeBasic - it's free
PureBasic - it's 99bucks for life time updates(excellent language)
REALBasic - expensive and buggy
PowerBasic - a little pricey but not that bad!

I'll think of more later...

mitzevo · « **Reply #9 on:** September 11, 2007, 02:01 AM »

Their are tons of BASIC variants.. I myself like regular QuickBASIC 4.5, and I've come to like FreeBASIC - well I that's what I did use back in the day

But check out FreeBASIC, it's pretty cool =)

f0dder · « **Reply #10 on:** September 11, 2007, 06:26 AM »

Stay away from PowerBASIC, it's users are zealots and the product is extremely overhyped, it's way too expensive, and has pretty lousy code generation. It's also not very flexible, and has pretty bad documentation.

mrainey · « **Reply #11 on:** September 11, 2007, 07:19 AM »

I would highly suggest you to avoid IONICWIND, their website, forums, applications because after all you get is grief!

That's a little rough.

I've been using IBASIC and/or EBASIC for the past five years and have managed to stay happy and be productive with them. I'm not a "follower" any more than some people here are mouser's "minions" (from an alt.comp.freeware post). There have been some rough moments on the Ionic Wind forum, I agree. Hopefully the new freeware business model will make things better.

Those languages, along with Aurora (OOP) and the new CBASIC interpreter, are powerful, stable, and fun to use - and all are now freeware.

Target · « **Reply #12 on:** September 11, 2007, 07:52 PM »

Whoa!! and I thought that was a simple question...

I'll take it that the answer is no, there is no officially preferred option

many thanks to all who responded, I shall look into the nominated alternatives

with respect to emergence, I have no particular allegiance here, I just started using it. I will say that so far, so good. The documentation is reasonable for a beginner, though it could be better. I have yet to venture into the forums (you need to register first, and they screen your application)

Thanks for the various heads up, but I tend to lurk more than anything as most forums seem to have a number highly active and responsive members who are far more skilled/experienced than I (and I tend to avoid rabid or elitist groups like the plague - I just can't be bothered with that sort of nonsense)

FWIW, I'm also working with FBSL, and it's driving me crazy!!

I'm a braille programmer (no, I'm not vision impaired, and apologies to any who might be offended by that) - that is to say, I code by bumping into things (often repeatedly). I usually have the editor and the help file open side by side and switch between the 2 as I go (I seem to spend a lot more time in the help files...).

The FBSL documentation is probably fine for someone who already has another language under their belt, but I'm really struggling with it.

of course this has nothing to do with the original thread, but I really needed to vent <end rant...>

Cpilot · « **Reply #13 on:** September 11, 2007, 08:58 PM »

Target, I would highly suggest you to avoid IONICWIND, their website, forums, applications because after all you get is grief!

I think this indicates a mindset out there that is a little unseemly, programming languages are tools. No more and no less, it's one thing to be loyal too and enjoy a particular flavor/style, but it's another to be a rabid fanatic in thrall to a specific language and it's users and developer.
The mindset has become infested here too, and in reality it becomes a turnoff for a lot of people.
No one programming or scripting tool "speaks" to everyone, that's why there are so many out there.
Anyone who allows themselves to be captivated by this kind of mindset only to become bitter over the experience have only themselves to blame.
Use the tools you like and IMO respect the choices of others, if you like a particular tool but are turned off by the community then find another or create your own.
Coding/scripting is supposed to fun for the coder/scripter, just think how many potential learners become turned off by the continual trash wars that are out there.

And also think about the consequences when the much ballyhooed clique favorite doesn't "speak" to a newbie, instead of finding an alternative they are possibly just fading away in frustration, and all the rest of us are poorer for it in the loss of a future application or clever snippit that could have been shared.

mlwhitt · « **Reply #14 on:** September 18, 2007, 03:00 PM »

I completely agree with the avoiding Ionic Wind and any of Paul Turley's projects. Matter of fact I blogged about the whole deal today over on my blog http://michaelwhitt.com/blog/?p=90

I don't have anything personally against Paul. I think he is a smart man. I just think that he has no clue how business works. As the above poster mentioned he has a habit of posting all his troubles on the support forum. He likes to beg for donations. Begging just doesn't work.

mlwhitt · « **Reply #15 on:** September 21, 2007, 09:48 AM »

I completely agree with the avoiding Ionic Wind and any of Paul Turley's projects. Matter of fact I blogged about the whole deal today over on my blog http://michaelwhitt.com/blog/?p=90

I don't have anything personally against Paul. I think he is a smart man. I just think that he has no clue how business works. As the above poster mentioned he has a habit of posting all his troubles on the support forum. He likes to beg for donations. Begging just doesn't work.
-mlwhitt (September 18, 2007, 03:00 PM)

Paul contacted me asking me to remove my blog posting which I have chosen not to do . I only stated my opinion as a former Pyxia and IonicWind customer. I am sorry if there are those that get upset by others opinions. Like I said Paul seems to be a nice guy and I meant nothing again him personally. I just wanted to state my reasons for not continuing to go with his projects. As far as the language and such I have no problems, I do think that it is a stable language.

mrainey · « **Reply #16 on:** September 21, 2007, 12:08 PM »

I fully support your right to state your opinions. That being said, the title of your blog posting ("Down with Emergence Basic and Ionic Wind") strikes me as a bit tasteless.

mlwhitt · « **Reply #17 on:** September 21, 2007, 12:12 PM »

I fully support your right to state your opinions. That being said, the title of your blog posting ("Down with Emergence Basic and Ionic Wind") strikes me as a bit tasteless.

-mrainey (September 21, 2007, 12:08 PM)

I have changed it to "No longer a fan of Emergence Basic and Ionic Wind" I hadn't even paid much attention to the title I have the entry.

mlwhitt · « **Reply #18 on:** September 21, 2007, 05:50 PM »

Well looks like Paul doesn't respect a paying customer's opinion as he has banned me from using the forums. Mind you I never posted a link to my blog on the Ionic Wind forum, nor said anything bad about anything or even gave my opinions on that forum.

mlwhitt · « **Reply #19 on:** October 03, 2007, 02:14 PM »

I have made another blog entry http://michaelwhitt.com/blog/?p=127 talking about why I think Visual Basic Express is better for a beginning or low budget developer over Emergence Basic. This is the first part in a series that I am going to do comparing my thoughts on Visual Basic Express vs. Emergence Basic. I may do other ones on Purebasic, LibertyBasic and such but my first few entries will be comparing VB Express with Emergence Basic.

lanux128 · « **Reply #20 on:** December 18, 2007, 10:28 PM »

is there an off-line installer file available for Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition? the setup file from Microsoft is only good for computers connected to the internet..

What flavors of basic?

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #21 on:** December 19, 2007, 02:51 AM »

Yes you can download an IMG file and burn a DVD to install

lanux128 · « **Reply #22 on:** December 20, 2007, 10:18 AM »

thanks, found it.. the NoScript extension had blocked some of the content before, that's why i didn't notice the DVD image link..

harmonv · « **Reply #23 on:** January 22, 2008, 08:25 AM »

I've used JustBASIC (a free Windows BASIC) and it's more powerful sibling, Liberty BASIC for a while. The help file is very well done and the support forums are well run too.
It has short learning curve and it allows you to create real Windows GUI applications very easily.

Revraz · « **Reply #24 on:** September 09, 2008, 09:37 AM »

Are we allowed to use VB here?