Powerbasic is there a future?

[Theo Gottwald]

Everybody know that original Powerbasic (is dead) together with its founder.
But the Syntax from Powerbasic will survive. Let me share what i have heared.

Jürgen - is close to having a Powerbasic-Syntax Compiler for x64.
Lets call it JK-X64 Compiler,

He had some breakthrough lastly and could improve the compiletimes dramatically. I could possibly help a bit with that. It can now compile itself instead of in 8 Minutes to below a half Minute.

His Compiler can already "compile it self" this is called "self hosted" and seems to be generally the first target of many compilers. Including mine. This will also proof the degree of code-compatibility with the old (Power)BASIC-Syntax.

He is now hunting final "complex errors" so lets see. He says:

Du musst deine Sachen auch auf Nullwerte, falsche Werte, Eckwerte (um
fence-post errors zu vermeiden) testen - das ist ganz wichtig.

So we can really hope to soon get something that can bring Powerbasic-like Syntax
of course with another Name, maybe "JK-Compiler"? Into the next century.

What I love about this project is that it's completely hand-optimized from start to finish! 🙌 We all know his legendary JK Editor—arguably the best editor ever created for PowerBASIC 🖥�, and it's still going strong, used by many (myself included).

He's also built the best debugger ever, even if it isn't compatible with my project (yet!). Still, it's outstanding, and we're all eagerly waiting for him to finish this masterpiece. I can't wait to see the final result! 🚀

Let me share a bit about my project! 🚀 Progress often comes in waves 🌊—sometimes the AI I'm using surprises me by breaking or deleting code that was already working, so I end up starting over in spots. 🛠� Right now, I'm not entirely sure what the compiler's current state is, but its output tells me it's fixated on the C interface. The architecture is special: I aim to support PowerBasic-like syntax ✍️, both C and Assembler interfaces, all feeding into the same pipeline. This means you can mix C, Assembler, and PowerBasic-style code in one source, but in the end, it all becomes hand-optimized Assembler ready to link into EXEs or DLLs! 🏗� There is an intermediate code layer, but it's nothing like .NET.



Unlike Jürgen, who's focused on translating Basic to Hi-Speed Assembler-Code, my approach is more like a university-level compiler project 📚—classic best practices and theory.
Its not optiimized for Compiling Speed. I am quite sure it will now be much slower then Jürgens project.

for the final code we will be competing, because i am trying to use university standard optimizations, while he generates hand-optimized code.

Honestly, it's a side project for me, and going a radical route would take a lot more learning time.

Why do this? I've used PowerBasic since version 3 or 4, and fellow fans know each new release felt like Christmas 🎁—two-pass compilation, smarter code elimination, all that magic!

My biggest frustration was not being able to add my own features to the compiler since vendors have their own priorities.

That's why I'm building this: to create something where I can finally add all the features I wanted in PowerBasic!

Just wanted to share and give you a peek at my compiler architect's world today. 😄🖥�

PowerBasic may have little future, but a compiler with a similar syntax that supports 64-bit is definitely needed. We hope Jürgen can deliver it soon.

PS: Lets use this thread to share upcoming news about it.

#PowerBasic #64bitCompiler #ProgrammingLanguages #Jürgen #CodeFuture

#HandOptimized #PowerBASIC #JKEditor #CodeDebugger #SoftwareDevelopment #Coding #Tech #Innovation #Programming #Developers #Tools #Optimization #Excited 😍🛠�🔍📦🔥💡🖥�🤩✨

[Theo Gottwald]

If you would ask me "Where is your project by now?"
I don'tknow.
Thats different from manual development.

It is like beeing on a ship sailing to another continent, and all you see is Ocean. That describes the situation best.
There is not yet land in sight and the captain (he looses his brain all few hours) also starts over each time he remembers what he should do.

In such projects someone - like Charles or Jügen - who knows the way to the other continent alreadyy (because the"swim there" manually) would be of advantage. If someone knows not so much - like me i have to learn things on the fly. Just like with MCP-Servers - i knew nothing when i started, now i have an overview what happens inside.




So let me tell you something i know.
I will do some extensions to the regular PB-Syntax so i am not doing a copy but of course improving it.

1. UDT's will also be able to contain dynamic string
2. UDT's will also be able to contain a
- Constructor (function that is called after creation of that UDT)
- Destructor (function that is called before release of that UDT)
3. I will have an #DEBUG HOOK ON/OFF Feature
Syntax will be like this:

Code Select Expand

HOOK([Varname or UDT-Name[,opt 1 parameter))
...
Debugging code can access HOOK_*
...
END HOOK

That will be called whenever a Variable/Array/UDT is changed.
There will be 2 Types, a general "per Variable" Hook, and a "per Type Hook.