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From: "Talbot Andrew" <ACTALBOT@mail.dstl.gov.uk>
To: "LF Group \(E-mail\)" <rsgb_lf_group@blacksheep.org>
Subject: LF: FW: Programming !!!HELP!!!
Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 11:33:24 +0100
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Have a look at Power Basic, produced by Spectra Publishing.   When Borland
decided not to continue with Turbo Basic in th eearly 1090s, this
organisation took it over and developed PB into a very good programming
language indeed.  It can hold its own against C quite comfortably, and in
tests of the 16 bit versions of both, I found PB on average to be just 10%
slower and created files about twice the size of C. A small porice for not
having to programme in C !  I have used PB for about 13 years now, mostly in
the 16 bit DOS environment and the speed is more than adequate for real time
DSP operations. I have never tried Sound Card applications with the DOS
version, though it ought to have been possible and others managed, it always
seemed too complicated to try to drive the SB from DOS

Spectra do now do a 32 bit Windows version and I have an early copy of that,
but have never felt the need for a Windoze interface to any software I
write, so apart from some initial playing around it just sits on the
computer looking for an application.  This ought to be as easy to use as C
for Soundcard programming, in fact a lot of the calls to Windoze, given as
examples in help files etc, have a lot in common with the standard C calling
routines to the same functions.

Spectra claimed in the early days that PB will 95% understand QB code - the
only problems I had in translation related to keywords being used as
variable names; a practice allowed by QB but not PB.

Andy  G4JNT


-----Original Message-----
From:	Brian Rogerson [SMTP:brian@esoterica.pt]
Sent:	06 June 2002 15:09
To:	rsgb_lf_group@blacksheep.org
Subject:	LF: Programming !!!HELP!!!

Hello Group,

Having assembled some hardware I am now trying to drive it
from the Com port of a computer.  I am not a programmer
but have used QB45.  I find that a simple QB45 routine will
run under DOS:

via COM1 at 9600Bd but not COM2 or at 19200Bd.

I assume this to be a limitation of QB45 since the computer will
successfully run a test proramme under DOS on both ports at
both speeds.

A quick look at Visual Basic cut down v4 off the front of a
magazine circa 1995 talks about MSCOMM32.  Further
a search of www turns up a vast array of information on the
deficiencies of VB and others in relation to serial communication.

Is there a later version of QB45 or variant which will successfully
run under 95/98/ME or new drivers which will allow QB45 to run?
Is it time to forget QB45?  If so which language should I start learning
(has to be simple).  Or is it time to change operating systems?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

73, Brian
73 Brian     CT1DRP     IN51QD     41 09 58N  08 39 11W
http://homepage.esoterica.pt/~brian


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