TwinBasic

The latest twinBASIC IDE BETA is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

If you're NOT using Windows 11, you might need to download and install the WebView2 Runtime (32-bit). When you run the IDE it will show a message if the WebView2 Runtime isn't installed.
Download it here: https://tinyurl.com/twinbasicwebview2runtime
(in case of difficulty download from here https://developer.microsoft.com/en-u...wnload-section - you want "Evergreen Standalone Installer" > "x86")
Some products, like Office 365, now pre-install WebView2 for you, so you might not need this step.

When you build the exe add the option to build to use a custom name.
-The builds run 50% slow that vb6

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Originally Posted by Episcopal

Perhaps the translations by Google or difference in custom or culture, can generate a malaise.

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Why did i just read "can generate a mayonnaise"......

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Originally Posted by Zvoni

Why did i just read "can generate a mayonnaise"......

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I decided not to make my own mayonnaise.
I didn't want to whisk it.

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Originally Posted by Zvoni

Why did i just read "can generate a mayonnaise"......

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Originally Posted by VB6 Programming

I decided not to make my own mayonnaise.
I didn't want to whisk it.

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It'd be a Miracle to Whip it up...

-tg

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Originally Posted by VB6 Programming

I decided not to make my own mayonnaise.
I didn't want to whisk it.

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Would you risk it for a biscuit?

I wasn't bready for a return to the food puns.

A new twinBASIC IDE - BETA 61 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases
Click on "Assets" for the latest release
Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

fantastic work
Add the option to make the final exe. where you can choose the exe name:wave:

A new twinBASIC IDE - BETA 62 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases
Click on "Assets" for the latest release
Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

Had no idea TwinBasic was progressing so quick. Looking great!

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Originally Posted by Niya

Back in the day this is something I wanted badly in VB6. However, in hindsight it was a very good thing for me that VB6 didn't have it because if it did, I'd have never dared to learn C/C++. Then I would have never believed in myself enough to know that I could learn other languages besides BASIC. I grew up in BASIC, started when I was like 8 to 10 years old and before I ever wrote my first piece of C code, I was incapable of conceiving that I had the smarts to learn anything else. Non-BASIC languages scared me for the longest time until I wrote C code for the first time. Today I've familiarized myself with many languages including C, C++, C#, Python, Assembly, JavaScript, HTML, CSS etc. I'm far from being an expert in any of these but I'm no longer afraid of them and it all started with my first adventure into C.

Anyways, this feature is long overdue. The ability to create standard DLLs is something Visual Basic should have had a long time ago. It's a very good thing TwinBASIC has it because even in 2022 we still mostly have to rely on C to do this. It is nice to have another language that could do it.

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VB6 can absolutely make standard DLLs. It's a hack, but it's an old hack... earliest descriptions of how to modify the compilation instructions and addins to help go back to at least 2001 with vbAdvance. These days you even have The trick's method for creating multithreaded standard DLLs (here).

twinBASIC status update

Highlights include container support, IDE bug fixes, and a modest request for a complete backward-compatible rewrite of MS Access in twinBASIC.

https://nolongerset.com/twinbasic-update-june-26-2022/

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Originally Posted by fafalone

Had no idea TwinBasic was progressing so quick. Looking great!

VB6 can absolutely make standard DLLs. It's a hack, but it's an old hack... earliest descriptions of how to modify the compilation instructions and addins to help go back to at least 2001 with vbAdvance. These days you even have The trick's method for creating multithreaded standard DLLs (here).

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I was 100% aware of this even back then. Thing is though, scared as I might have been of C/C++, I felt it was just easier and far better to learn C than to learn these VB6 hacks that many times had a lot of limiting conditions. I have never ever had a favorable disposition towards hacking something to get it to do something it's not meant to do and I have this attitude with everything, not just with programming. The only time I'd ever choose that option is if there is no other option. It was the same with multi-threading. Even though I was not aware at the time that it was possible to write working multi-threaded code in VB6, I still would not have chosen to do that because there was another option, move to .Net which had exactly what I wanted no complicated hacks required. In fact the lack of an easy way to do multi-threading in VB6 was the final straw for me. It was the thing that moved me to finally abandon it.

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Originally Posted by VB6 Programming

twinBASIC status update

Highlights include container support, IDE bug fixes, and a modest request for a complete backward-compatible rewrite of MS Access in twinBASIC.

https://nolongerset.com/twinbasic-update-june-26-2022/

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Only last week playing around in tb I noticed that that the Frame Control could not host a group of option buttons and now this week it can!

A new twinBASIC IDE - BETA 63 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases
Click on "Assets" for the latest release
Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

And another new twinBASIC IDE - BETA 64 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases
Click on "Assets" for the latest release
Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

Add auto update feature :bigyello:

twinBASIC IDE - BETA 65 and BETA 66 now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases
Click on "Assets" for the latest release
Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

twinBASIC en Español

Mike Wolfe's presentation on twinBASIC to the Spanish Access User Group is now available on YouTube.

https://nolongerset.com/twinbasic-en-espanol/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8UxHQUFQsk

A new twinBASIC IDE - BETA 67 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases
Click on "Assets" for the latest release
Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

twinBASIC status update

Highlights include added support for the VB6 `End` statement, shape controls, and double-click to change property values in the IDE.

https://nolongerset.com/twinbasic-update-july-3-2022/

A new twinBASIC IDE BETA 68 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

If you're NOT using Windows 11, you might need to download and install the WebView2 Runtime (32-bit). When you run the IDE it will show a message if the WebView2 Runtime isn't installed.
Download it here: https://tinyurl.com/twinbasicwebview2runtime
(in case of difficulty download from here https://developer.microsoft.com/en-u...wnload-section - you want "Evergreen Standalone Installer" > "x86")
Some products, like Office 365, now pre-install WebView2 for you, so you might not need this step.

twinBASIC IDE BETA 69 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases
Click on "Assets" for the latest release
Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

twinBASIC IDE BETA 70 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

If you're NOT using Windows 11, you might need to download and install the WebView2 Runtime (32-bit). When you run the IDE it will show a message if the WebView2 Runtime isn't installed.
Download it here: https://tinyurl.com/twinbasicwebview2runtime
(in case of difficulty download from here https://developer.microsoft.com/en-u...wnload-section - you want "Evergreen Standalone Installer" > "x86")
Some products, like Office 365, now pre-install WebView2 for you, so you might not need this step.

twinBASIC status update

Highlights include new shape controls, code-signed twinBASIC IDE and compiler executables, and twinBASIC's first appearance on HackerNews.

https://nolongerset.com/twinbasic-update-july-10-2022/

The developer.microsoft.com link in post #1064 above doesn't work.
"We are sorry, the page you requested cannot be found."

twinBASIC IDE BETA 71 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

If you're NOT using Windows 11, you might need to download and install the WebView2 Runtime (32-bit). When you run the IDE it will show a message if the WebView2 Runtime isn't installed.
Download it here: https://tinyurl.com/twinbasicwebview2runtime
(in case of difficulty download from here https://developer.microsoft.com/en-u...wnload-section - you want "Evergreen Standalone Installer" > "x86")
Some products, like Office 365, now pre-install WebView2 for you, so you might not need this step.

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Originally Posted by 2kaud

The developer.microsoft.com link in post #1064 above doesn't work.
"We are sorry, the page you requested cannot be found."

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Fixed now, thanks.

The link is https://developer.microsoft.com/en-u...wnload-section

twinBASIC IDE BETA 73 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

twinBASIC IDE BETA 74 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

If you're NOT using Windows 11, you might need to download and install the WebView2 Runtime (32-bit). When you run the IDE it will show a message if the WebView2 Runtime isn't installed.
Download it here: https://tinyurl.com/twinbasicwebview2runtime
(in case of difficulty download from here https://developer.microsoft.com/en-u...wnload-section - you want "Evergreen Standalone Installer" > "x86")
Some products, like Office 365, now pre-install WebView2 for you, so you might not need this step.

twinBASIC IDE BETA 75 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

If you haven't installed twinBASIC before you will need the WebView2 Runtime.
When you run the IDE it will show a message if the WebView2 Runtime isn't installed.
If you're using Windows 11 it should already be installed.
Some products, including Office 365, now pre-install WebView2 for you, so you might not need this step.
You can download and install the WebView2 Runtime (32-bit) here: https://tinyurl.com/twinbasicwebview2runtime

twinBASIC IDE BETA 76 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

If you haven't installed twinBASIC before you will need the WebView2 Runtime.
When you run the IDE it will show a message if the WebView2 Runtime isn't installed.
If you're using Windows 11 it should already be installed.
Some products, including Office 365, now pre-install WebView2 for you, so you might not need this step.
You can download and install the WebView2 Runtime (32-bit) here: https://tinyurl.com/twinbasicwebview2runtime

twinBASIC IDE BETA 77 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

If you haven't installed twinBASIC before you will need the WebView2 Runtime.
When you run the IDE it will show a message if the WebView2 Runtime isn't installed.
If you're using Windows 11 it should already be installed.
Some products, including Office 365, now pre-install WebView2 for you, so you might not need this step.
You can download and install the WebView2 Runtime (32-bit) here: https://tinyurl.com/twinbasicwebview2runtime

twinBASIC status update

twinBASIC Update: July 17, 2022

Highlights include double-click to change form/control properties in the IDE, support for the Form.Show Modal argument, and a discussion about On Error Resume Next.

https://nolongerset.com/twinbasic-update-july-17-2022/

twinBASIC IDE BETA 78 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

If you haven't installed twinBASIC before you will need the WebView2 Runtime.
When you run the IDE it will show a message if the WebView2 Runtime isn't installed.
If you're using Windows 11 it should already be installed.
Some products, including Office 365, now pre-install WebView2 for you, so you might not need this step.
You can download and install the WebView2 Runtime (32-bit) here: https://tinyurl.com/twinbasicwebview2runtime

twinBASIC IDE BETA 79 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

How To's and other articles about the twinBASIC language...

https://nolongerset.com/tag/twinbasic/

twinBASIC IDE BETA 80 is now available.

Download from here... https://github.com/WaynePhillipsEA/twinbasic/releases

• Click on "Assets" for the latest release
• Download and Extract the ZIP file into a local folder
• Then run the twinBASIC.exe from that local folder.

A few questions about support for some of the advanced stuff VB6 has been hacked to support or remain major limitations...

Are LongLong, LongPtr, and Decimal the only new var types? The lack of an unsigned 2- and 4-byte type has really been a point of pain with VB6.

Now it says it supports 100% compatibility with all the quirks... how are arrays going to work? Are they going to be SAFEARRAY behind the scenes; and if so, is there an exception to that like VB6 has for 1D arrays in UDTs, because that's really important for API calls. Any added support for variable-length standard arrays, which would be extremely useful for APIs and some COM interfaces?

Multithreading isn't supported yet? Does this mean that there's just no simplified built in language feature for it, or that the CreateThread API if we wanted to do it manually will lead to a crash?

Does native code with no runtime mean we can program in kernel mode? (It does in VB6, if you remove the runtime reference and don't do anything that needs it). What about standard DLLs?

I can answer at least some of these. I haven't really played around in TwinBASIC since my clock example and there have been a lot of changes since so I'll just talk about what I know for a fact.

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Are LongLong, LongPtr, and Decimal the only new var types?

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I know for a fact there is a LongPtr type that adjusts to "bitness" of the binary. It works just like the IntPtr type in .Net. It's 32 bits wide in 32 bit binaries and 64 bits wide in 64 bit binaries. I don't know if there first class support for Decimal and I'm not 100% sure but I believe there is a LongLong type.

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Multithreading isn't supported yet?

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Multithreaded is implemented but not yet supported by language features. That's how it was back when I was testing it heavily. I don't know if that has changed since then but based on a couple comments I saw in the GitHub recently, I don't the status of multi-threading support has changed. As I understand it, the meat and bones of it is fully there, there's just no way to access it from the language as of yet. My guess is the community has to decide exactly what an interface into this system should look like. I know from personal experience that when it comes to deciding how things should work, it can cause a lot of chaos. It's very hard to get everyone to agree on what the best way to do something is. I'm just speculating though. Perhaps Wayne himself will talk about this in more detail. I think he monitors this thread.

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What about standard DLLs?

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I saw a recent update where it was stated that TwinBASIC can now build standard DLLs.

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Any added support for variable-length standard arrays, which would be extremely useful for APIs and some COM interfaces?

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What do you mean by this? Like Redim Preserve?