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GW Basic compiler

GW Basic compiler

GW Basic compiler

(OP)
Hi Guys,
I am looking for a windows based BASIC compiler.  I used to be good at programing in basic and also I have some design programs that I want to use now.
Thanks for any information.

RE: GW Basic compiler

I used to use Microsoft Quick Basic years ago. There have been so many changes to computers that I don't even know if programs compiled under Quick Basic or GW Basic will even run any more.

My suggestion is to try using the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) available in Microsoft Excel. If you are crunching numbers, Excel makes a new user interface: put your input data in the spreadsheet, then read it and work with it using VBA. You can report the results back to the spreadsheet or to a text file (you can even have Excel VBA open up the output file in Windows Notepad).

RE: GW Basic compiler

Overall, I'd question the need to use BASIC.  What do you need to do that can't be done directly in Excel?  BASIC was a great tool in the days when there were few other programming languages and hardly any mathematical tools.

Nowadays, you have Excel, Mathcad, Matlab, etc.  You can get public-licensed clone of Matlab for free, which does all the math and has some degree of user interface capability:
http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/FAQ.html#What-is-Octave_003f

For almost everything I'd done in the last 10 yrs, Excel, Mathcad, and Matlab pretty much covered.

TTFN

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RE: GW Basic compiler

Hi there:

Just do what TomBrash is telling you to do and you cannot go wrong.

Get a copy of MS Office and use MS Excel.  VB (Visual BASIC) compiler is there for free.

Do regular spreadsheet work and when needed use VB.  Even spreadsheet cells can take input date from given cells and present the output in another cell.

Programming will never go away.

Knowing how hard it used to be, it is unbelievable what is available today and how far you can go ...

What else can you ask for?

Thanks,

G. Feric, PE
http://engware.i-dentity.com

RE: GW Basic compiler

GregLocock:

Unfortunately, as of now, QBasic programs do not run under Vista as is.

Thanks,

G. Feric, PE
http://engware.i-dentity.com

RE: GW Basic compiler

Compiled Quickbasic DOS programs run in XP. GWBASIC run too. You can get the free DOSBOX program that creates a DOS environment and run even DOS graphic programs.

RE: GW Basic compiler

There's also VBScript.  Your computer comes with a VBScript interpreter built in.  The programming is pretty similar to VB/VBA.  You can run a VBScript program directly without being inside another program like Word or Excel.  Of course, it's not going to be as powerful or flexible as VBA in Excel or VB Express, especially in the area of GUI.

RE: GW Basic compiler

IRstuff:

Yes, you are right.

It is an interpreter not a compiler for VB.

Thanks,

G. Feric, PE
http://engware.i-dentity.com

RE: GW Basic compiler

What is the best way to learn the basics and get started using VBA for Excel?

I use Excel spreadsheets for a lot, however I have never tried a macro or VBA. I used to use macros for Quattro Pro in my DOS days.

RE: GW Basic compiler

IRstuff is wrong about VBA.
It is indeed compiled.  The code is compiled and saved as part of the workbook.  What distinguishes VBA from VB is that VBA needs a host application.  As such it can not be run as a stand alone application like VB.

RE: GW Basic compiler

VBA for Excel has a great utility, which is the macro recorder.  Just about anything that you might want to do in Excel can be macro recorded, which gives you a great starting point for coding.

The VBA help files are generally useful, although the structure of the objects in VBA for Excel can be obscure, at times.

TTFN

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RE: GW Basic compiler

There may be some misinterpretation of the term 'compiled' in relation to computer jargon. The VBA code in a spreadsheet is included in the spreadsheet itself, but is not compiled in the computing sense. That would imply converting the instructions irreversibly into machine code. VBA code is interpreted afresh with every run of the code, so is not compiled in the normal sense.

Excel VBA is fairly well documented in Excel VBA help which can be accessed from an Excel VBA code window (ALT-F11 from a spreadsheet) and MSDN has documentation currently here http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa272254(office.11).aspx but liable to move

Good Luck
johnwm
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RE: GW Basic compiler

You don't need a compiler.  

E.g. QBASIC just screams on a modern computer, even a 'slow' one.  

Those old programs that used to give you time to get coffee will finish before you can stand up.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: GW Basic compiler

To All:

Change in the computer world is just amazing.

What used to take for ever, today it is done in a few seconds or even less ...

It is good to read posts from people who know more than I do and have been doing computer calculations for many, many years.  It is always good to read such engineering and computer opinons and experiences.

I have to admit that every day I can learn and hear something new about computing and computers and the whole thing just keeps getting beter and better.

Thanks,

G. Feric, PE
http://engware.i-dentity.com

RE: GW Basic compiler

VBA is a bit of a mixed bag.  

While it is not a traditional "compiled" language that goes to machine code, it does compile to a psuedocode that's similar to the basic infrastructure used in VC++ and VB.

However, the psuedocode is itself interpreted in Excel, so for VBA, it's still an interpreted result.

TTFN

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RE: GW Basic compiler

(OP)
Thanks for all the comments,  
What is the best way to teach this old dog, (GWBASIC programmer) to lear and use the VB in excell.  I have been told that all the calculations I want to do, can be done in excell.
Where do I start?
regards,

RE: GW Basic compiler

Your best bet is to turn on the macro recorder in Excel, do a sample calc, and look at the generated code.  

I've bought MANY VBA books, but the end result is that I always record some kernel of code and then use the VBA help files for the rest.

And bear in mind that the basic structure of VBA is still BASIC.  The only annoyance is the object structure that you have to slog through to reference things on the worksheet.

The following isn't terribly relevant, but it shows flow of the program and the ability to reference MS Word documents and copying stuff and pasting back into Excel

CODE

Sub LT7()


'++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Dim ColIndex, RowIndex, StartRow, Done
    Dim FileName, SheetName
    
    Dim WordApp As Object
    Dim Trans As String
       
    Set WordApp = GetObject(, "word.application")
    
    FileName = ActiveWorkbook.Name
    SheetName = ActiveSheet.Name
    
    Sheets(SheetName).Select
    Done = False
    ColIndex = ActiveCell.Column
    RowIndex = ActiveCell.Row
    StartRow = RowIndex
    
    Cells(RowIndex, ColIndex).Select
    With WordApp.Selection.Find
        .Text = "transmittance ="
        .Replacement.Text = ""
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = False
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
'++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    For Index = 1 To 25
        WordApp.Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
        WordApp.Selection.Find.Execute
        WordApp.Selection.MoveRight unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
        WordApp.Selection.MoveRight unit:=wdSentence, Count:=1, Extend:=wdExtend
'        WordApp.Selection.Copy
        Trans = WordApp.Selection.Text
        WordApp.Selection.MoveDown unit:=wdLine
        
        Cells(RowIndex, ColIndex).Select
'        ActiveSheet.Paste
        ActiveCell.Formula = Trans
        
        RowIndex = RowIndex + 1
    Next
    Cells(StartRow, ColIndex).Select
End Sub

TTFN

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RE: GW Basic compiler

Emergence Basic is what I use to write all my commercial programs.  It creates standalone Windows executables that run on anything from 98 up to and including Vista.

It's free.

http://www.ionicwind.com

Software For Metalworking
http://mrainey.freeservers.com

RE: GW Basic compiler

I use VB (not VBA) for stand alone .exe programs.  There is no real equivalent in Excel or VBA for ease and flexibility of programming.  I open, read and create Excel documents, Word documents, Access databases, AutoCAD files, etc - all within a stand alone program that has input and output screens easily defined and used.  The user gets what they need, I send them an EXE file and my work is protected.

RE: GW Basic compiler

IFRs: What VB are you using? VB6? Do the *exe files work in Vista environment?

RE: GW Basic compiler

Hi there:

As long as you work with Microsoft applications, the source code will always be upgradable.

Current EXE may not work, but source code can always be pulled in the latest and the greatest version of the application.

I work with MS Office Suite applications.

From my experience, 32 bit applications will run under Vista. 16 bit appllications have a question mark in terms of the compatibility with Vista.

The best thing is to do a test on a Vista PC.

Thanks,

G. Feric, PE
http://engware.i-dentity.com

RE: GW Basic compiler

I still own and use a very old version of Turbo-Basic - probably 20 years old.

It runs circles around Visual Basic for anything that is number intensive.  Works in Windows XP

They still make a version of it - for Windows.  Not sure of the speed.  You might be able to get an old copy from somewhere.  Best BASIC I ever used.....for crunching numbers.


RE: GW Basic compiler

I thought the difficulty with GWbasic not running is that they have removed the dos component from Windows.  I thought there was a DOS kernel available that would allow you to run GWbasic.  I worked with a guy that did almost all of his programming in GWbasic and he did not want to convert the hundreds of programs.  Sounds like you.

RE: GW Basic compiler

dosbox, probably. Dosbox provides a stable DOS system running inside Windows, and provides a variety of methods for coping with advanced hardware.

Cheers

Greg Locock

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RE: GW Basic compiler

I have a basic.exe file dated 2004 that allows me to run
basic programs on my XP.  Do not know where I acquired it from but it is identified from Tandy in the description
when it opens.  Maybe it has the dos kernel embedded in it.
The properties says it will run on Win95.

RE: GW Basic compiler

For all who think programming is difficult to learn:
Do this:

1. Start a blank MS Excel file
2. Press Alt+F11 to start VBA windows.
3. On menu, choose Insert/Module
4. In the blank module window, type this:

sub myFirstProg()
  msgbox "Hello, I am your first program"
  cells(2,1).value=444444444
end sub

5. Press the play button to run it.
6. If it works, and you really like it, go and buy a book "vba programming for excel"-J walkenbach(?)
7. I am thankful I discovered it by accident.

RE: GW Basic compiler

It's the step _after_ "Hello, World" that frustrates most people.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: GW Basic compiler

Mike, that's a great one!

RE: GW Basic compiler

Golestan and others: I think an entry I made in another thread applies here. If the old BASIC programs are reliable (read bug free) and sizable it might make sense to try to stay with BASIC. Even switching to another dialect of BASIC might introduce issues (bugs) that would require testing/debugging. Please see my comments in thread227-192717: need to run some code in FORTRAN IV Otherwise please accept my thanks for the various bits of information provided. Regards. JVJ

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