RetroBASIC

Basicprogramming(.org) => General questions and discussions => Topic started by: Richly on December 22, 2015, 11:56:21 PM

Title: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: Richly on December 22, 2015, 11:56:21 PM
The more I use SpecBAS the more I love it  :)

It just gets better with each new version.

Paul - I know you are concentrating on finishing the Arcade Game Designer (when do you think that will be available?) but where do you see SpecBAS going next when that is done?
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: ZXDunny on December 23, 2015, 03:42:00 PM
Hi Richey :)

AGD is about 80% done now - but I had a setback (lost my job, had to find a new one - done that, so back to development at full-tilt again in the new year), so had to let it drop for a while. I'm ploughing on, but only getting an hour or so a day to get it done.

After that, SpecBAS will be back at the forefront and that means new stuff. So...

32Bit graphics will be finished off - it's already working for most things. WINDOW DEPTH 0,32 will activate 32 bit mode for the default window. The only thing that doesn't work is 32bit texturing with GRAPHIC banks.

3D will be featuring quite heavily with the next major release. I'm planning on building around the old Freescape engine (with the usual SpecBAS-style enhancements, so that means texturing and animation etc).

A new editor is on the way. This (optional!) editor will be more like a traditional text editor. If you've ever used BASin then you'll have a pretty good idea as to what it will be like. It will also include stuff like on-the-fly syntax information.

I added menus to the system back earlier this year - that's so that the editor can get a nice menu for things like File, Edit, Tools etc. Tools will all be written in SpecBAS and be launchable from that menu. Stuff like UDG editors and Painting apps - things like that.

I've a fair bit more to do. The language itself is settling down now; aside from optimisations to the engine (And a compiler) there's not a lot to do in that direction.

Unless anyone has any suggestions.... :)

D.
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: Richly on December 23, 2015, 11:03:17 PM
Sorry to hear about your job - but glad you got another one.

I'm really looking forward to the new SpecBAS stuff (and AGD too) but still got plenty to explore in the current version while I wait  :)

Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: ZXDunny on December 23, 2015, 11:37:18 PM
Sorry to hear about your job - but glad you got another one.

I'm really looking forward to the new SpecBAS stuff (and AGD too) but still got plenty to explore in the current version while I wait  :)

The new job is ace - I'm working from home (so I can be out of bed by 08:55am and at my desk by 09:00, with coffee on tap and no need to even get dressed) and earning more than I was previously. It's win-win. I'm also now one of the developers of one of the most successful music studio software packages ever created, which is great fun. And the rest of the team are pretty bonkers too :)

Keep the bug reports coming, and any suggestions too. I'm making notes of what people ask for, ready for when I get time to return to it. I fix bugs immediately, mind!

D.
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: jj2007 on December 24, 2015, 09:53:54 AM
I'm also now one of the developers of one of the most successful music studio software packages ever created, which is great fun. And the rest of the team are pretty bonkers too :)

So you got a big Xmas present ;-)
Congrats, Paul, you deserve it!
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: Cybermonkey on December 24, 2015, 11:10:14 AM
Sorry to hear about your job - but glad you got another one.

I'm really looking forward to the new SpecBAS stuff (and AGD too) but still got plenty to explore in the current version while I wait  :)

The new job is ace - I'm working from home (so I can be out of bed by 08:55am and at my desk by 09:00, with coffee on tap and no need to even get dressed) and earning more than I was previously. It's win-win. I'm also now one of the developers of one of the most successful music studio software packages ever created, which is great fun. And the rest of the team are pretty bonkers too :)

Keep the bug reports coming, and any suggestions too. I'm making notes of what people ask for, ready for when I get time to return to it. I fix bugs immediately, mind!

D.

Congratulations! Today I am also working from home - but that is an exception, because I am the only one who works today.  ;) Actually I am working in a call centre for the technical support for different clients.
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: ZXDunny on December 25, 2015, 10:14:26 AM
Quote from: Paul
lost my job, had to find a new one - done that

Are you still in the medical field?

No, I am now writing Music software, as I said. I work from home. I don't get kicked, punched, bitten, spat at, urinated on or daubed with faeces on a regular basis. It's heaven compared to what I was doing before :)

D.
Title: Re: SpecBAS - i am not the only....
Post by: Aurel on December 29, 2015, 07:59:45 AM
from spec bas forum...

Quote
Maybe splitting it in two windows, editor and display.
So that you can have a display that looks like a standard windows application were you can load and run the .bas. The editor would be optional.

Maybe it is even possible to "compile" the .bas into an exe wrapper that loads the display application and runs the program, in order to be possible to distribute a program just as one file, the run-time will have to be installed of course, but it would be much easier than install specbas, place the .bas in the correct place and run it.

I haven't give a lot of thought about this, I just think that as it is it only interest old zx programmers, but it could be a very easy way to write windows programs.

soooo?
Title: Re: SpecBAS - i am not the only....
Post by: ZXDunny on December 29, 2015, 05:18:17 PM
from spec bas forum...

Quote
Maybe splitting it in two windows, editor and display.
So that you can have a display that looks like a standard windows application were you can load and run the .bas. The editor would be optional.

Maybe it is even possible to "compile" the .bas into an exe wrapper that loads the display application and runs the program, in order to be possible to distribute a program just as one file, the run-time will have to be installed of course, but it would be much easier than install specbas, place the .bas in the correct place and run it.

I haven't give a lot of thought about this, I just think that as it is it only interest old zx programmers, but it could be a very easy way to write windows programs.

soooo?

You can already do that - use a PACKAGE to store the exe and data, then launch it from anywhere with SpecBAS.exe. It will run and then auto-close on error. The package is a virtual HDD which contains what you need to run your code and nothing more. And it can be run from anywhere.

D.
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: Richly on August 27, 2016, 11:49:07 PM
Hi D :)

Where can I get the latest version of SpecBAS; the last version I had was 0.881 64 bit.

Also, any more news of AGD and the additional learning materials promised on everychildcancode.org - or has that been affected by the shenanigans? :(
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: ZXDunny on August 28, 2016, 09:32:09 AM
Hi D :)

Where can I get the latest version of SpecBAS; the last version I had was 0.881 64 bit.

https://sites.google.com/site/pauldunn/SpecBAS_891.zip

And the demos archive now up to date:

https://sites.google.com/site/pauldunn/demos.zip

Only minor bugfixes I'm afraid as I've been busy with work too much to have any time for SpecBAS lately.

Quote
Also, any more news of AGD and the additional learning materials promised on everychildcancode.org - or has that been affected by the shenanigans? :(

Well, as they've stopped paying me for the work I've previously done I'm kind of disinclined to do any more work for them. I'm sure when they get things sorted out I'll get back to it, but they're cutting things pretty close.
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: Richly on August 28, 2016, 10:36:41 PM
Hi D :)

Where can I get the latest version of SpecBAS; the last version I had was 0.881 64 bit.

https://sites.google.com/site/pauldunn/SpecBAS_891.zip

And the demos archive now up to date:

https://sites.google.com/site/pauldunn/demos.zip

Only minor bugfixes I'm afraid as I've been busy with work too much to have any time for SpecBAS lately.

Quote
Also, any more news of AGD and the additional learning materials promised on everychildcancode.org - or has that been affected by the shenanigans? :(

Well, as they've stopped paying me for the work I've previously done I'm kind of disinclined to do any more work for them. I'm sure when they get things sorted out I'll get back to it, but they're cutting things pretty close.

Thanks D for the download and update :)
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: ScriptBasic on September 03, 2016, 08:44:54 AM
Paul,

Can SpecBAS be use in a shell script supporting STD IN/OUT/ERR ?
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: ZXDunny on September 03, 2016, 11:40:39 AM
Paul,

Can SpecBAS be use in a shell script supporting STD IN/OUT/ERR ?

Um, no?
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: ScriptBasic on September 03, 2016, 09:40:53 PM
Paul,

Can SpecBAS be use in a shell script supporting STD IN/OUT/ERR ?

Um, no?

Is SpecBAS more like a VM style BASIC?
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: ZXDunny on September 04, 2016, 08:07:56 AM
Paul,

Can SpecBAS be use in a shell script supporting STD IN/OUT/ERR ?

Um, no?

Is SpecBAS more like a VM style BASIC?

SpecBAS is a sandboxed BASIC and can't "see" the system drive anywhere outside the user's home folder/directory.

What's a "VM-Style" BASIC?
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: ScriptBasic on September 04, 2016, 07:46:19 PM
Quote
What's a "VM-Style" BASIC?

Do a Google search for Java and it will help you understand the concept.
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: ZXDunny on September 04, 2016, 08:06:56 PM
Quote
What's a "VM-Style" BASIC?

Do a Google search for Java and it will help you understand the concept.

You mean by VM Style, is it sandboxed? Are you really asking that, given previous answers?
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: Richly on May 20, 2018, 10:38:40 AM
Hi D

I realize you must be really busy with your music programming job  - where are you with Spebas development and where can I get the latest version?  :)

Cheers

Richey

Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: ZXDunny on May 20, 2018, 06:56:20 PM
I realize you must be really busy with your music programming job  - where are you with Spebas development and where can I get the latest version?  :)

Hey Richey :)

I've been busy with it but not so as you'd notice. I'm adding a full suite of UI controls such as Memos, Edit fields, buttons, sliders, scrollbars, comboboxes etc to SpecBAS. Ostensibly this is so that I can add BASin-style tools to it, but there will also be an extension that allows their use by the user too.

32bit graphics is still unfinished, but the new editor is pretty much done now and working very well.

As for the latest version, try this one:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6gXsz43xir_eV9JbWhUZ1Rxc0k

There's two in there - SpecBAS_GDI runs with no graphics hardware, SpecBAS.exe runs with OpenGL enabled. Both are 64bit. If the OpenGL version doesn't work, try the GDI.

Also, SCREEN FULL as a direct command scales the window to your full desktop size, and looks awesome in OpenGL. GDI looks a bit aliased, but there's no helping  that.
Title: Re: SpecBAS - where next?
Post by: Richly on May 23, 2018, 05:51:54 AM
Excellent  :) thanks D

Something to explore over the Bank Holiday weekend

Best wishes

Richey