Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

I know that this list is not the best for this type of question but in
the real old days (forgetting PL/1 and Fortran) basic was used a lot
in programing s. I have recently become interested in programming
not for money just for fun (converting some old old games) from apple
II basic to win98se platform. Does visual basic replace the old basic
?. I have stopped looking at languages years ago so excuse by budding
questions. Also what does a lounge cost and I hope one does not have to
buy a separate compilers.
Thanks for any help

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] rgharper@gmail.com
* In fond memory ... Alex, you shall be sorely missed
* http://www.aumha.org/alex.htm



"lon" <lcasino@Joimail.com> wrote in message
news:42392C09.EE7C85C2@Joimail.com...
>
>
> I know that this list is not the best for this type of question but in
> the real old days (forgetting PL/1 and Fortran) basic was used a lot
> in programing s. I have recently become interested in programming
> not for money just for fun (converting some old old games) from apple
> II basic to win98se platform. Does visual basic replace the old basic
> ?. I have stopped looking at languages years ago so excuse by budding
> questions. Also what does a lounge cost and I hope one does not have to
> buy a separate compilers.
> Thanks for any help
>

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

lon wrote:
> I know that this list is not the best for this type of question but in
> the real old days (forgetting PL/1 and Fortran) basic was used a lot
> in programing s. I have recently become interested in programming
> not for money just for fun (converting some old old games) from
> apple II basic to win98se platform. Does visual basic replace the
> old basic ?.

You can still get "old Basic". Numerous versions. RealBasic, Qbasic,
xBasic, ChipmunkBasic, PowerBASIC, LibertyBasic, PureBasic, et al.
Google will reveal all...

In fact, you most likely already have QBasic (for DOS). Don't know if
it is what interprets Windows "scripts" or not.

VisualBasic is considerably different than "old Basic". I haven't
messed with it much but find it strange. I doubt that would be the case
if I didn't know old Basic well. Too used to the linearity of the old,
I guess.


--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

lon <lcasino@Joimail.com> wrote:

>I know that this list is not the best for this type of question but in
>the real old days (forgetting PL/1 and Fortran) basic was used a lot
>in programing s. I have recently become interested in programming
>not for money just for fun (converting some old old games) from apple
>II basic to win98se platform. Does visual basic replace the old basic?

Not really. Visual Basic is a wholly owned by Microsoft. It's marketed
as a quick way to build graphical Windows programs. It's part of
Visual Studio.

>?. I have stopped looking at languages years ago so excuse by budding
>questions. Also what does a lounge cost and I hope one does not have to
>buy a separate compilers.

A lounge?

If you're talking about a language interpreter, it varies all over the
place. The languages that are part of Visual Studio all come with
tools to help you build Windows programs (complete with windows,
menus, dialogs, etc, etc...), and are fairly expensive.

There are also free compilers for C and C++. No doubt you'd have to
work a bit harder to make a Windows program with them, but it's
perfectly doable.

There are also scripting languages like Perl (www.perl.org,
www.perl.com for lots of language information,
http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePerl/ for a version of Perl
that runs on Windows), and Python (www.python.org). Perl is superb for
doing various kinds of manipulation on text files especially, and
Python is another excellent scripting language. Perl and Python are
both free.

Java is also free, from http://java.sun.com. You can build anything
from quick command-line utilities to full-fledged graphical programs
with Java.

Any of these requires some study to master. With these or any computer
language, the more you use it, the better you get with it.

--
Tim Slattery
MS MVP(DTS)
Slattery_T@bls.gov

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion (More info?)

dadiOH wrote:

> lon wrote:
>
>>I know that this list is not the best for this type of question but in
>>the real old days (forgetting PL/1 and Fortran) basic was used a lot
>>in programing s. I have recently become interested in programming
>>not for money just for fun (converting some old old games) from
>>apple II basic to win98se platform. Does visual basic replace the
>>old basic ?.
>
>
> You can still get "old Basic". Numerous versions. RealBasic, Qbasic,
> xBasic, ChipmunkBasic, PowerBASIC, LibertyBasic, PureBasic, et al.
> Google will reveal all...
>
> In fact, you most likely already have QBasic (for DOS). Don't know if
> it is what interprets Windows "scripts" or not.
>
> VisualBasic is considerably different than "old Basic". I haven't
> messed with it much but find it strange. I doubt that would be the case
> if I didn't know old Basic well. Too used to the linearity of the old,
> I guess.
>
>
> --
> dadiOH
> ____________________________
>
> dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
> ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
> LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
> Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

QBASIC was on some of the Windows 9x installation CDs, but it wasn't
installed with the OS setup. If QBASIC is on the Windows 9x CD you
should be able to locate it by putting the CD in your drive and using
Windows search. Search for files with "qbasic.*" in the file name. To
install QBASIC, just copy the two QBASIC files to a folder on your hard
disk and create a shortcut to the EXE file. You could even copy the
files to a Floppy, Zip disk, CD R/W or CD-R and double click the EXE
file (could even run off the Windows CD, but I wouldn't reccomend it).
As high as CPU clock speeds have been for the last several years I don't
know if game port joysticks would work properly for QBASIC applications.
I would be supprised if QBASIC could use USB game controlers at all.

To do very much graphicly within the Windows interface you would need
the DirectX SDK (Software Development Kit). I don't recall the link, but
the DirectX SDK (for DirectX version 8) was available for free download
from Microsoft's web site. To use the DirectX SDK you would also need a
Windows compatable programming language. The DirectX SDK would be most
compatable with Visual C++ 6 or, to a slightly lesser extent, Visual
Basic 6 (MS doesn't capitalize all of BASIC). Programming for the
Windows interface is A LOT different than what could be done with
Applesoft ][, or any of the DOS BASICs, including Quick Basic and
QBasic(lacks Quick Basic's compiler and a few other advanced features).
Visual Basic makes common tasks like option buttons and text boxes
almost trival, but graphics involves the extensive use of Objects. Most
current programming languages combine nested data structures and the
related code for manipulating those stuctures in a combined unit refered
to as an "object".

For a while there were books on the market about elementary Visual Basic
programming that included a "light" version of Visual Basic. Such
books might also be available in college book stores, intended as texts
for programming courses. Those light versions included the ability to
create and compile programs, but lack the ability to create custom
ActiveX controls or automated instalation disks. Strictly speaking, the
versions included with the books don't license the user to distribute
applications produced with them to third parties, as compiled
applications would include copyrighted code modules. The elementary
Visual Basic books don't usually cover the graphic functions you would
need for any games requiring graphics.