FREE PowerBASIC compilers

[ScriptBasic]

getting a return on investment in any BASIC would be mere wishful thinking.

If it weren't for IoT and scripting languages like JavaScript in the forefront and Script BASIC already used in commercial embedded controller solutions, I would be have given up on BASIC as a main stream development tool years ago.

[Mike Lobanovsky]

The 200K bucks I voiced would probably be an expected annual salary of a US resident software developer of Bob Zale's caliber. You can divide this figure by 3 to get an idea of the rank-and-file developer's annual rate in the equivalent dev team who would be professionally able to efficiently build up on where Bob left off. Unavailability of sources (of which the machine code generation back end is the only significant part, the rest being trivial common-knowledge stuff) or deprecation of Bob's dev platform (presumably DOS if the rumours on 16-bit assembly cross-compilation are true) could set the entire project back by a couple of years, the salaries being spent on reconstructing the existing functionality of 32-bit PBCC/PBWin in a modern Windows development environment by looking into the PB user manual and scrutinizing the machine code PB emits in response to each and every keyword found there.

In Europe, you can safely divide the equivalent figures by two. But you will also have to divide my estimation of PB Inc.'s net worth accordingly.

[ScriptBasic]

I don't see the need or desire to have a BASIC compiler any longer. I feel OxygenBasic is probably the best supported and most flexible option if the need still exists. C and portability should be the foundation of any higher level language going forward.

[Mike Lobanovsky]

OxygenBasic's Public Domain engine would be Candidate #1 to re-create a 100% keyword-for-keyword replica of 32-bit only and Windows only PowerBASIC from scratch. Currently, O2 has only rudimentary BASIC-specific vocabulary of its own, happily swallows nearly 100% of raw NASM input, supports perhaps 70% of genuine ANSI C preprocessing verbatim, generates solid 32-bit machine code, and is already capable of generating (still buggy at times) true 64-bit output. And it is entirely devoid of any licensing issues (and anarchy!) you may encounter trying to move along the GNU GPL trends or using e.g. rock-solid MASM or VC as your development platform. The only challenge would be to move the O2 engine itself away from its current FreeBASIC implementation and port it to a decent and predictable ANSI C compiler platform like GCC or similar, which would also open up a truly multi-platform perspective before the projected PB "successor" (or "replacement", if you will).

And it would also be a perfectly legal alternative to otherwise wasting one's money and effort on a known-indebted PB Inc. affair.

[ScriptBasic]

And it would also be a perfectly legal alternative to otherwise wasting one's money and effort on a known-indebted PB Inc. affair.

Couldn't agree more!

When do we start?

[Mike Lobanovsky]

But first off, which way do we go, John?

Are we in for a penny or in for a pound?

[ScriptBasic]

Are we in for a penny or in for a pound?

You lead, I'll follow.