twinBASIC programming - Beta releases

[yereverluvinuncleber]

Well, I have to say TwinBasic, in its current pre-release form is extremely impressive. It is already a valid replacement for VB6. I am running two separate instances of my code in parallel, with TB in one window and VB6 in the other. Running side by side allows me to see which features in TB I like and which missing features I desire. It proves the worth of TB and immerses me in the environment. So far, nothing negative and plenty of positives, a bug or two found which I am in the process of raising. Some feature requests will be raised too in the near future.

[VB6 Programming]

Here is the list of changes expected in the next release of twinBASIC (due in a few days) ...

- fixed: IDE evaluating custom class enumerator (NewEnum) for Locals/Watches panel during debugging could cause recursion problems
- improved: many form/UserControl/ActiveX behaviours reworked to better match VBx
- fixed: accessing array element of fixed-length array inside a UDT with bounds-checks OFF would ignore the lower bound index [ https://github.com/twinbasic/twinbasic/issues/1920 ]
- added: project setting 'Codegen Model' for refining the generated code (size vs speed)
- improved: codegen output size reduced (in all models) from previous builds ('Smaller' model ~20%, 'Balanced' ~10%, 'Faster' ~5%)
- fixed: not all ByVal params should be copied in the implicit function prolog [ fafalone, discord ]
- fixed: (regression) LLVM compilation not working on `Sub` routines
- added: project setting 'Include Runtime PNG Support' (default YES), set to NO to reduce final built executable size
- added: project setting 'Project: Strip PE File Relocation Symbols' (default YES for EXEs, NO for DLLs)
- added: project setting 'Project: Enable Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR)' (default YES)
- added: project setting 'Project: PE File Image Base Address', allowing to override the EXE/DLL image base address
- fixed: 'Trace procedure entry and exit points' project setting could cause floating point return values of standard module procedures to be set to zero on Win64 target
- fixed: DIAGNOSTICS panel now hides the file (group) nodes when all of its children are hidden
- improved: added IDE option 'Check referenced packages are up-to-date' default YES [ Krool, discord ]
- improved: the IDE will now remember the Win32/Win64 target architecture for a project and restore the last used architecture when loading the project
- fixed: some issues in importing some VBP projects, causing 'circular reference' compilation errors after import
- added: error TB5246 'Bad JSON Syntax' for when a designer underlying JSON is not parsable (e.g. corruption or bad import)
- added: error TB5247 'Unable to find matching form designer JSON' for when a class form designer is missing or wasn't parsed (rather than generic 'circular reference' error)
- added: 'View as Markdown Preview' context menu option for .MD files in the IDE
- improved: (VBP import) IMPORT_LOG is now a markdown file with better formatting
- fixed: 'block not closed' compilation errors could sometimes prevent auto-correction of other lines, such as 'EndIf' -> 'End If' [ wqweto, discord ]
- fixed: 'Ctl' suffix is now added appropriately to AX Control type library symbol names when LIBFLAG_FCONTROL is not set and 'Use ActiveX Controls' flag is set in project references
- fixed: delegate defined as 'Sub' would cause a crash if you try to use the (void) value as part of an expression [ loquat, discord ]
- fixed: if the icon of a built executable has changed, Windows should now update the icon cache immediately
- added: project setting for 'Icon Form' to match VBx support for specifying the form icon to use as the EXE build icon
- fixed: passing a LongPtr value to a function delegate parameter would cause a compilation error rather than a warning [ fafalone, discord ]
- improved: runtime controls now use 'ThunderRT6' class prefix rather than 'Thunder' (e.g. ThunderRT6CommandButton) to match VBx
- improved: now using a common base WNDPROC for all controls to match VBx
- improved: position of IDE color picker when near the bottom edge of the IDE window [ sokinkeso, discord ]
- improved: IDE form designer mini-toolbar now available for AX controls to allow opening of property sheets
- fixed: (regression) clicking anywhere in the monaco editor whilst using the 'View As JSON' feature caused an IDE Internal Error
- fixed: String to numeric type conversions could sometimes ignore regional settings, not matching VBx behaviour [ kimpos, email ]
- improved: form-designer has been reworked to use live backed form designers, rather than isolated control rendering [ fixes lots of AX controls like SSTab ]
- fixed: Controls.Add now works with AX controls

[yereverluvinuncleber]

Looking forward to testing.

[AAraya]

Was this released and I missed the announcement? I believe it was projected to be released at the end of the month of November?

[VB6 Programming]

Not released yet, but very soon

[WaynePhillipsEA]

Was this released and I missed the announcement? I believe it was projected to be released at the end of the month of November?

Unfortunately the release has been delayed. Hopefully won't be too long off now.

[Argus19]

WaynePhillipsEA, It would be very good to release another beta release. This could get feedback on its performance, which in turn would help fix the bugs.