Qbasic still alive?

**DrinkMilk** · Sep 8th, 2001, 07:12 AM

I havent messed with qbasic for like 10 years I think. Does people still mess with that?

**Skitchen8** · Sep 16th, 2001, 03:20 PM

i do sometimes... i used to use QB only, but now i have learned a lot of VB and a little C++ so i use them mostly. QB is pretty cool if your making simple DOS running programs and not wanting to learn how to do the same thing in C.

**sail3005** · Oct 8th, 2001, 07:34 PM

it's fun to mess around with on a rainy day

**filburt1** · Oct 8th, 2001, 07:41 PM

I'm trying to write an installer stub with it (QB4.5 compiles to *gasp* a standalone EXE) so I can write an installer in VB for my programs.

**sail3005** · Oct 8th, 2001, 08:14 PM

sounds like fun

. Are you saying that the qb installer willl install vb programs?

**filburt1** · Oct 8th, 2001, 08:54 PM

It will copy the VB runtimes, register anything if necessary, and then shell out my installer and kill itself.

The only problems:
1. I can't use QB to determine if a file exists
2. I can't use QB to get the Windows directory

Oops.

**sail3005** · Oct 8th, 2001, 09:11 PM

oh, i see. nice idea!

**sail3005** · Oct 9th, 2001, 03:38 PM

but, is there error checking in QB?

**filburt1** · Oct 9th, 2001, 03:42 PM

Originally posted by sail3005
but, is there error checking in QB?

There is error trapping but not inside functions.

**sail3005** · Oct 9th, 2001, 03:43 PM

well, you should be able to still check it though? right?

**filburt1** · Oct 9th, 2001, 03:55 PM

I'd have to do it within the main sub (what shows when the IDE starts) so I can't make a FileExists function.

**sail3005** · Oct 9th, 2001, 04:04 PM

oh, isee. but you should still be able to do it if you are really desperate i would think?

**filburt1** · Oct 9th, 2001, 04:16 PM

Yeah, I guess I will have to. It is a simple program so it probably won't matter.

**sail3005** · Oct 9th, 2001, 04:18 PM

hmmm...you have given me the idea to bust out QB again and start working on a similar program. i'll tell you if i come up with anything.

**filburt1** · Oct 9th, 2001, 04:23 PM

Time to dust off the 5.25" floppies!

**sail3005** · Oct 9th, 2001, 04:27 PM

hehehe, yep. hey, did you ever use QB7?

**filburt1** · Oct 9th, 2001, 04:28 PM

It was my very first language; VB was my second.

I downloaded QB4.5 after Windows no longer shipped with it. Besides QB4.5 is the only version that compiles to standalone EXEs.

**filburt1** · Oct 9th, 2001, 04:29 PM

BTW, if you want to download it: http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.p...ownload+qbasic

**sail3005** · Oct 9th, 2001, 04:47 PM

thanks, i'll just use that then

**filburt1** · Oct 9th, 2001, 04:49 PM

I was playing around at school with it today and made this wonder:

VB Code:

While 1
    Sound Rnd*5000+100, 1
Wend

Just run it.

**Motoxpro** · Oct 9th, 2001, 07:59 PM

lol....QBasic any good...i might get it

**filburt1** · Oct 9th, 2001, 08:01 PM

It is still a very capable language.

**Motoxpro** · Oct 9th, 2001, 08:11 PM

cool...ill think ill get it then

**Mr.Mac** · Oct 10th, 2001, 07:11 PM

Anyone who has used Unix knows the great power of the Unix script language, grep, piping, aux, etc.

Compare that to the DOS BAT-File language.

Like comparing a Jumbo Jet to a tricycle.

But simply add some QBasic files and insert
QBASIC /RUN XXX
where you need it and you can do everything you did in Unix.

**sail3005** · Oct 12th, 2001, 11:44 AM

Originally posted by filburt1
I was playing around at school with it today and made this wonder:

VB Code:

While 1
Sound Rnd*5000+100, 1
Wend

Just run it.

i did somehting like that before, i don't remember if it was with QB or some other language. anyway, it got so high in the loop, that i couldn't hear it, but my dog was going crazy

**EternalKnight** · Oct 12th, 2001, 06:48 PM

Originally posted by filburt1
I was playing around at school with it today and made this wonder:

VB Code:

While 1
Sound Rnd*5000+100, 1
Wend

Just run it.

Is there a way to do this with VB6?

**filburt1** · Oct 12th, 2001, 07:09 PM

I wish, I love that 60's style computer stereotype music.

**filburt1** · Oct 12th, 2001, 07:10 PM

Originally posted by sail3005

i did somehting like that before, i don't remember if it was with QB or some other language. anyway, it got so high in the loop, that i couldn't hear it, but my dog was going crazy

LOL

At school when we went to 12000 or something like that, it got REALLY loud (I mean you almost had to hold your ears). We let it go up to 20000 until the teacher told us to shut up.

**sail3005** · Oct 12th, 2001, 08:04 PM

it was funny as hell. you should try it sometime.

**eXterminator** · Oct 18th, 2001, 06:32 AM

I still think QB rules, even thought is isn't the best language out there, but you CAN do anything with it. Sometimes you need a libary to make it, but it's stilll possible...

QB will last forverer!!!

Hellzon · Oct 22nd, 2001, 01:52 PM

Hey Filby, thanks for the link. I've been looking for a QBasic EXEmaker for ages.

BTW, I don't want to brag, but it's possible to do some really SERIOUS stuff in QB. I made a sort of text-based adventure game in QBasic. (If you frequent ftp://ftp.gmd.de , you know what I mean.) Still have it, actually.

Now, imagine what a good programmer could make.

(Come to think of it, I had a Monopoly game for my C64, made in C64 BASIC. With graphics.)

(What the heck? No "monopoly man" smiley?

)

**filburt1** · Oct 22nd, 2001, 04:50 PM

The best reason to use QB is because it compiles to a standalone (albeit 16-bit) EXE.

Graphics and console GUIs are really hard though.

**Dillinger4** · Oct 22nd, 2001, 07:50 PM

Is there any point in learning Q-Basic other than just to learn it?

**filburt1** · Oct 22nd, 2001, 08:29 PM

Not really...

**Dillinger4** · Oct 22nd, 2001, 08:34 PM

Just as i suspected.

**fbokker** · Oct 23rd, 2001, 03:30 AM

Is there anyone alive who can claim to have actually a LICENSE for any other QBASIC than 1.0? Microsoft doesn't sell it anymore, but they are also strictly forbidding to use it without it. So it is only possible to use the really nice QB4.5 for private, non-commercial use.
I did some control program last year with it, half in assembler, half in QBASIC1.0. but now they finally gave me something more and that makes it easy to forget about qbasic.

**Sastraxi** · Oct 23rd, 2001, 07:29 AM

Ctrl - Ins and Shift - Ins actually still work!!!

**Sastraxi** · Oct 23rd, 2001, 07:30 AM

And that random sound thing seems like what they do for a "computer" sound in QB....

LOL I just had an idea... play MIDIs in QB with Sound =)

**Mr.Mac** · Jan 26th, 2002, 10:27 PM

If you want to discuss QBasic without all the hassle, come here.

**Radar** · Feb 2nd, 2002, 03:49 AM

You can still make some pretty cool apps with QB. Back in '96, I was Chief Engineer for a local broadcasting company. Wrote a program in QB4.5 that controlled all of the station's transmitters(4 of them), based on incoming telemetry thru a serial port. The program monitors up to 16 different values on each of 4 transmitter sites and automatically adjusts such things as transmitter power level, audio levels and tone, etc. all based on the readings it gets from the data stream which is generated by a unit called an "ARC-16" by Burk Technologies,inc. The program also automatically brings a given transmitter back on the air if need be if the transmitter pops off and nothing more is wrong, as well as doing legal stuff such as logging(saves to file and/or printer.) All of this with a pretty nice interface. The program is still in use today cause I haven't found much to improve on it. Could re-write it in VB6, but want to keep it 16-bit DOS so it will run on older machines, and DOS seems more reliable than Windows. Point is, I made a really pro app in QB4.5, sold it for a good price, and its still useful today. Go ahead and learn QB. Can't hurt

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