The Basix Fanzine
Internet Resources
email: basix@dewarr.globalnet.co.uk
www: http://come.to/basixfanzine
Click one of the links below to go to a specific section of the Internet Resources page, or just scroll down and read it all...
From here, you can download all issues of the Basix Fanzine in text or HTML format, download useful utilities and documentation, read issues online, and get up-to-date news and information.
The Basix Fanzine is posted when it is released to alt.lang.basic, alt.lang.powerbasic, comp.lang.basic.misc and microsoft.public.basic.dos, in a zip file containing the HTML files for that issue. If you want it posted to any other BASIC newsgroups then please let me know. You can download the old-fashioned text format versions of the HTML issues at the Basix Fanzine website, URL above.
To get the Fanzines as they are released, join Tony Relyea's mailing list by sending an email to the new address of fanzine@vt.edu with subject "subscribe basix-fanzine". This mailing list is completely separate from the Basix Fanzine so I cannot accept responsibility for any emails you do - or don't - get when you join the mailing list.
To read more information about a particular site, click the [info] link next to the URL.
-PowerBASIC (also FirstBasic,
PB/DLL and PB/CC): http://www.powerbasic.com
-EMS (old MS compilers): http://www.wdn.com/ems/oldtools/ms.htm
-Provantage (old MS compilers): http://www.provantage.com
-Old compilers: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~bpwilson
-BASM: http://www.users.uswest.net/~sdiggins/basm.html [info]
-The Beginners Basic Homepage: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~basic/
-QBasic.com: http://www.qbasic.com
-The Programmer's Page: http://www.professionals.com/~peterp/
-ABC Packets (bi-monthly collections of useful BASIC code): http://come.to/abcpackets
-ABC Packets UK mirror: http://www.cvnet.co.uk/o.cook/abc
-PowerBasic Archives: http://www.xs4all.nl/~excel/pb.html
-Tim's QuickBasic Page: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/8967/
-QBasic Programming Corner: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/9964/qbasic.html
-The QBasic Site: http://hem.passagen.se/hedsen
-DMAPLAYH.BAS (WAV player): http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~horie/project.html
-The QuickBasic Enhanced Programming Page: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/7303/
-Blood 225's BASIC stuff: ftp://users.aol.com/blood225
-Alex Warren's BASIC page: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~dewarr/basic.htm
-Zephyr Software (SVGA Library):
http://www.zephyrsoftware.com
-MOD Library: http://www.fortunecity.com/millenium/celesteville/23/index.html
-QMIDI (MIDI player): http://members.tripod.com/~jdorland/qmidi/
-Ralf Brown's Interrupts List: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/ralf/pub/WWW/files.html (also available at http://www.ctyme.com/rbrown.htm)
-Programmers' File Formats Collection: http://www.wotsit.org
-Basix Fanzine: http://come.to/basixfanzine
-X2FTP: ftp://x2ftp.oulu.fi/pub/msdos/programming/ [info]
-PCGPE (PC Games Programmers' Encyclopaedia): ftp://x2ftp.oulu.fi/pub/msdos/programming/gpe
Add your site to this list by sending an email to basix@dewarr.globalnet.co.uk. Also, if any of the sites disappear or move address, please send an email so I can update this page when I release the next issue.
QBasic:
QBasic is free and available on DOS disks (versions 5.0 and up),
the Windows 95/98 CDROMs, and within http://www.microsoft.com/windows/download/olddos.exe.
QBasic supports a lot of what QuickBasic does, except that it does not compile and has no built-in support for interrupts.
GW-BASIC:
Versions of DOS prior to 5.0 included GW-BASIC rather
than QBasic. The last version was v3.23. If you have any really
old DOS disks, look on those, or you can search for it on the
web. I think there is a link to it at Ollie Cook's ABC UK Mirror
- address above. GW-BASIC is rather inferior to the likes of
QBasic, which is compatible with it, so I wouldn't bother with
GW-BASIC, personally. Unless you hate user-friendliness and have
a bizarre fetish for line numbers, of course.
Commercial Microsoft
BASICs:
You can order new and used copies of QuickBASIC, PDS 7.x, VBDOS,
etc. online at http://www.wdn.com/ems/oldtools/ms.htm, http://www.provantage.com and http://weber.u.washington.edu/~bpwilson.
These usually cost upwards of US$100. QuickBASIC is the "big older brother" of QBasic. PDS is the "even bigger brother" and VBDOS is a BASIC flavour that allows the easy creation of user interfaces (UIs). It is more-or-less compatible with Visual Basic for Windows - you can port VBDOS code to VB5 if you have the patience. It is worth noting that Microsoft is no longer supporting its DOS versions of BASIC.
PowerBasic:
You can buy PowerBasic, FirstBasic, PB/DLL and PB/CC from http://www.powerbasic.com.
PowerBasic (current version 3.5) is fairly compatible with Microsoft BASICs but has no support for Screen 13, for some reason I've never bothered to find out about. Libraries are available for this though. FirstBasic is a shareware version of PowerBasic 2.1 and supports most of what QuickBasic does, though with some syntax differences. PB/DLL and PB/CC work with Windows (PB/CC will soon have versions for other operating systems). PowerBasic flavours all have the advantage of the MS flavours that they are still being supported.
There are other freeware/shareware compilers available such as OmniBasic, Liberty Basic (for Windows), and more. One day I'll even give you the links :)
If you want to compile very few programs which have been made using QBasic, and don't want to shell out loads of money for a compiler, you can pay $5 a time for compiling at http://members.aol.com/qbasicnow. Email qbasicnow@aol.com for more information on this. NEW: "Simcop" tells me he will compile programs for free. His email address is simcop2387@aol.com, and his homepage is at http://members.aol.com/simcop2387/index.html.
QB4.5 and several other compilers can be also be downloaded illegally from various websites. The Basix Fanzine does not accept responsibility for any damage caused to your computer or your life through downloading illegal software - you have been warned.
If you know of any other compilers or would like to advertise yours here, send an email to basix@dewarr.globalnet.co.uk, or post a message on one of the BASIC newsgroups and hope that I see it.