why do computer scientists say 1KB=1024 bytes?!!

[Winfield Hill]

John Larkin wrote...

So does PowerBasic. Plus 80-bit floats.

Ah, PowerBasic, what're they up to these days?
http://www.powerbasic.com/

 

[John Larkin]

John Larkin wrote...

Ah, PowerBasic, what're they up to these days?
http://www.powerbasic.com/

The Console Compiler lets you do 32-bit Windows apps, very easy. I did
a binary-packet TCP/IP thing in a couple of hours.

They also have PB/Win and PB/Forms, lets you design real windows apps
with all the goofy controls. It works sort of like Visual Basic, but
compiles a small, true EXE file.

John

 

[Jim Thompson]

The Console Compiler lets you do 32-bit Windows apps, very easy. I did
a binary-packet TCP/IP thing in a couple of hours.

They also have PB/Win and PB/Forms, lets you design real windows apps
with all the goofy controls. It works sort of like Visual Basic, but
compiles a small, true EXE file.

John

Does it need those !@#$* DLL libraries like Basic, or are the
executables stand-alone?

...Jim Thompson

 

[John Larkin]

Does it need those !@#$* DLL libraries like Basic, or are the
executables stand-alone?

...Jim Thompson

Single .exe, no other crap, no "install"; even our company logo is
inside somehow so it shows up in the window. We just did a program to
control a digital delay generator via RS-232 or Ethernet, pretty
spiffy, compiled to about 100k. The guy who did this one did a pretty
extensive HELP thing on the side, as a .chm (compiled HTML) file, but
that's optional. Wanna see it?

John

 

[Jim Thompson]

Single .exe, no other crap, no "install"; even our company logo is
inside somehow so it shows up in the window. We just did a program to
control a digital delay generator via RS-232 or Ethernet, pretty
spiffy, compiled to about 100k. The guy who did this one did a pretty
extensive HELP thing on the side, as a .chm (compiled HTML) file, but
that's optional. Wanna see it?

John

Sure. I've got to go back to writing my own stuff.

My son is too busy to help Dad :-(

I haven't written anything since Pascal ;-)

...Jim Thompson

 

[Linønut]

After takin' a swig o' grog, John Larkin belched out this bit o' wisdom:

Single .exe, no other crap, no "install"; even our company logo is
inside somehow

================

This is the legacy of VB.

 

[John Larkin]

Sure. I've got to go back to writing my own stuff.

My son is too busy to help Dad :-(

I haven't written anything since Pascal ;-)

...Jim Thompson

I'll post the .exe to abse, just to show you what it looks like.

But true Windows apps are still a huge pita; you spend more time on
the interface than on getting things done. I like the old DOS version
of PowerBasic, v 3.5, for engineering apps. The entire "Hello World"
program is...

Print "Hello, world!"

which compiles to a 14k exe. It's a true compiler, runs usefull FOR
loops at 20 MHz on by piece-o-crap Dell.

John

 

[Bob Stephens]

But true Windows apps are still a huge pita; you spend more time on
the interface than on getting things done.

FWIW, Borland's C++ Builder takes most of the heartache out of Windows GUI
development if you like to write in C - drag and drop Windows controls onto
a form until it looks really stupid, then move on and write code like a
grownup.


Bob

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

I'll post the .exe to abse, just to show you what it looks like.

About how big is the source code?

But true Windows apps are still a huge pita; you spend more time on
the interface than on getting things done. I like the old DOS version
of PowerBasic, v 3.5, for engineering apps. The entire "Hello World"
program is...

Print "Hello, world!"

which compiles to a 14k exe. It's a true compiler, runs usefull FOR
loops at 20 MHz on by piece-o-crap Dell.

John

In C, a console program created with the Bloodshed IDE, this is a
Hello world:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
printf("Hello, world\n");
system("PAUSE");
return 0;
}

The one printf line is the only part I typed, the rest appeared when I
opened a new project. The exe is 16K.


BTW, I've recently found a good book for people like me who are EEs,
but have to manage or implement smallish high-quality software
projects:

_The Pragmatic Programmer_ by Hunt and Thomas (39.99 US)

Lots of good tips from the trenches on testing and test harness
strategies, modern methods ("methodologies") such as DBC, the use of
CVS systems etc. A good read-- you'll probably find you were already
doing 1/3 of the things they suggest such as source code generation
programs, 1/3 are not applicable, and 1/3 are useful and can be added
to the repertoire at the appropriate time. They go into their
philosophy in the justifications so you can mold their approach to
your language and your situation if you agree with them. It doesn't
try to teach you to program, their aim is more to show you how to
program better.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[John Larkin]

FWIW, Borland's C++ Builder takes most of the heartache out of Windows GUI
development if you like to write in C - drag and drop Windows controls onto
a form until it looks really stupid, then move on and write code like a
grownup.


Bob

PB Forms does that, too. You drag/drop/tweak all the cute Win toys
into a window, and then you save it. What you save is a PowerBasic
source program full of API calls that, when compiled, shows that same
window. Then you add the actual code. Any time you want to go back to
the forms fiddler, you just do it and it all still works somehow.
Still, for math-intensive stuff, it's a lot more work than old
dos-mode programming.

Being a not-programmer, I prefer the dumb dos-like way, sort of one
step up from a programmable calculator.

John

 

[John Larkin]

I'll post the .exe to abse, just to show you what it looks like.

About how big is the source code?

But true Windows apps are still a huge pita; you spend more time on
the interface than on getting things done. I like the old DOS version
of PowerBasic, v 3.5, for engineering apps. The entire "Hello World"
program is...

Print "Hello, world!"

which compiles to a 14k exe. It's a true compiler, runs usefull FOR
loops at 20 MHz on by piece-o-crap Dell.

John

In C, a console program created with the Bloodshed IDE, this is a
Hello world:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
printf("Hello, world\n");
system("PAUSE");
return 0;
}

The one printf line is the only part I typed, the rest appeared when I
opened a new project. The exe is 16K.


BTW, I've recently found a good book for people like me who are EEs,
but have to manage or implement smallish high-quality software
projects:

_The Pragmatic Programmer_ by Hunt and Thomas (39.99 US)

Lots of good tips from the trenches on testing and test harness
strategies, modern methods ("methodologies") such as DBC, the use of
CVS systems etc. A good read-- you'll probably find you were already
doing 1/3 of the things they suggest such as source code generation
programs, 1/3 are not applicable, and 1/3 are useful and can be added
to the repertoire at the appropriate time. They go into their
philosophy in the justifications so you can mold their approach to
your language and your situation if you agree with them. It doesn't
try to teach you to program, their aim is more to show you how to
program better.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

Our Win prog is posted to abse as an .exe. It talks to one of our
products via RS232 or Ethernet. An old friend, who had never used PB,
did it for me in a couple of weeks. The source is a tad over 2 kloc,
80k bytes or so. It's available privately. Like most "professional"
(and largely machine-generated) code, it's a mess to read.

John