--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 214 POWER BASIC Ref: E2B00000 Date: 02/05/97 From: TIM HUTZLER Time: 08:53am \/To: DONALD BLAKE (Read 3 times) Subj: Re: Education/Employment DB>Thank you for your concise and detailed explanation :) DB>My original interest in programming was to see if it was a viable DB>career path. As with many people I'm still at a point where i'm DB>trying to identify a "pathway" in life and detirmine what skills DB>I'll need to succeed, being able to program (even on a rudimentary DB>level) would boost my employability considerably. May I ask your age? Your comments clearly indicate that you are considering several avenues. And, I agree that if you are interested in systems design and/or support, programming will be helpful and sometimes very much so. It used to be that programming commanded big $$$. But, now with so many entering the market, the pay has dropped considerably. It's still good pay, but it seems that programmers are not paied much more than clerks at the local union grocery store. [grin] DB>I get the impression from your response to my question that you DB>make a living programming. Nope. I've made very little on it, it's a hobby, a love, a passion. DB>How did you learn programming? I'm considering taking an evening DB>course to learn how to program on a I've taken some cources in collage: FORTRAN, BASIC, and C I recall. I am currently taking a course on C++ and assembly, but I am already familar with assembly, that one is self-taught. But, it's still a required cource for my BS. DB}What are the most economically viable languages (c++...?) to learn? C++ is probably going to be the old standard for another decade. Borland Turbo-C++ 5.0 is a complete development package for DOS and Windows. It supports Java. That will be standard for years. DB> P.S.--just wondering, what would an example of a "low level DB>language Machine code and assembly are low level languages. I'm old enough to remember the days when hand coding instructions in boxes bigger than a 30cu/ft refrigerator with the brains of a 286. DB>after reading this over I wonder if I went overboard DB>with the questions.... :) Nah, we're friendly, damit! [grin] cya 'round, friend... --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Madman BBS * Chico, California * 916-893-8079 * (1:119/88) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 214 POWER BASIC Ref: E2B00001 Date: 02/05/97 From: OLIVIER DAGENAIS Time: 04:45pm \/To: TIM HUTZLER (Read 3 times) Subj: Re: Assy access of strin OD>as well.. (I guess.. Which is first in the far method: segment or OD>offset?) TH>Segment is adx+1. OD>Huh? What is ADX? It is the 32bit version of DX, as EAX is of AX? TH> Sorry, "adx" is short for the address of the instruction data, and Address of the instruction data? Please elaborate... TH> oops, I ment adx+2. My point was that the segment of the address is TH> two bytes higher than the offset. And, ofcourse, I am refering to the TH> 16-bit model. adx+2 ....because both are expressed as Words? TH>favoriate functions, mostly screen/keyboard IO. The largest programs TH>sorce code is under 200k, and i have not taken a speed hit, yet. [grin] OD>"not taken a speed hit, yet"... meaning your routines are fast???? TH> On a 586 they sure are. But, what I ment was that compile times are TH> only two or three seconds for even those file sizes. PowerBASIC is a Yup. My Quick-Basic compiler happens to be fast, too. The largest I compiled must be my SamsalP demo... Didn't take THAT long to compile... TH> true compiler and produces machine code. As for how effient it is, I TH> have not performed any analysis. What, there are "fake" compilers? See ya around! Omega@inorbit.com --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Hyper BBS (613)257-7636 (1:163/557.2) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 214 POWER BASIC Ref: E2B00002 Date: 02/04/97 From: LAWRENCE GORDON Time: 09:19am \/To: JOSE MEJUTO (Read 3 times) Subj: TRH_PBEDIT On 01-31-97, Jose Mejuto wrote to LAWRENCE GORDON: LG> programmers. I hatched FirstBASIC into it a few months ago by LG> sending the file to Janis. Her fido address is 1:2320/38. JM> Is this TIC available in any site of InterNet ? Spain is so far JM> from EEUU ;-) You might try contacting www.powerbasic.com, Jose. --- GEcho 1.20/Pro * Origin: Toast House Remote (1:100/560.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 214 POWER BASIC Ref: E2D00000 Date: 01/26/97 From: HANS LUNSING Time: 08:47am \/To: TIM HUTZLER (Read 3 times) Subj: SHELLing to a memory hog Hello Tim On Monday, 20 January 1997 10:59:22, you wrote to All: TH> Sometimes I want to shell out to another program, but I can't TH> because it requires more memory than the PowerBASIC SHELL command TH> will permit. It's too bad that the SHELL command didn't come with TH> swap options, but alas it doesn't. I adapted Marty del Vecchio's swap procedure for PowerBasic, and it works fine. The package (swap) includes a MS-DOS assembly-language routine that can be called from a PowerBasic 3.1 program. It will swap most of the current program to extended memory (supplied by an XMS driver, such as HIMEM.SYS), expanded memory (EMS version 4.0), or disk, thus freeing up more memory for DOS. It will then execute another program in its place, and re-load the original program to its original state. This allows large DOS programs to execute other programs without the original program taking up DOS memory. Interested? --- Terminate 4.00/Pro # Origin: BBS De Lauwers For BASIC Programmers! ++31594688407 (2:282/610.12) * Origin: Gate United Bbs Systems < - > Fido USA (119:119/0.0) / (1:100/560.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 214 POWER BASIC Ref: E2D00001 Date: 02/06/97 From: MARCEL VELDHUIZEN Time: 05:37pm \/To: TIM HUTZLER (Read 3 times) Subj: Passing an array. Hi Tim Hutzler, hope you are having a nice day Tuesday, 28 January 1997 22:06:12, Tim Hutzler wrote to All Subject: Passing an array. TH> How does one pass an array to a SUB as in the following? Try this modufied version: ' We actually spell Aray as Array DIM Aray1(100) AS STRING 'different arrays, each passed to the same DIM Aray2(50) AS STRING 'function. Aray1(1) = "Hello" Aray2(2) = "to" Aray2(3) = "you!" PRINT DoAray (Aray1()) PRINT DoAray (Aray2()) END FUNCTION DoAray (tAray() AS STRING) 'don't know what goes here FOR x=1 TO UBOUND(tAray) 'depends on the aray passed IF LEN(tAray(x)) THEN INCR SCnt NEXT FUNCTION = SCnt END FUNCTION _ _ _ _ ( | )arcel |/eldhuizen .!. Air Geordis - TNG footwear --- Terminate 4.00/Pro # Origin: BBS'ing at Warpspeed * Bodegraven * Offline (119:3102/105) * Origin: Gate United Bbs Systems < - > Fido USA (119:119/0.0) / (1:100/560.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 214 POWER BASIC Ref: E2D00002 Date: 01/31/97 From: MARCEL VELDHUIZEN Time: 02:32pm \/To: CHARLES GODARD (Read 3 times) Subj: Looking for Command Line. Hi Charles Godard, hope you are having a nice day Thursday, 23 January 1997 01:01:58, Charles Godard wrote to Octavio Alvarez Piza Subject: Looking for Command Line. CG> See if this will work for you. CG> PRINT ENVIRON$("CMDLINE") This will only work in Windows 95... Use a routine to read the PSP like ExeName in the PB DOSUNIT example, then add COMMAND$ to it and you'll have the text of the command line, or at least something very similar. So, it depends what the pupose of getting the command line is:-) _ _ _ _ ( | )arcel |/eldhuizen .!. ۲ In C I N E M A S C O P E with TerMail & TMNice --- Terminate 4.00/Pro # Origin: BBS'ing at Warpspeed * Bodegraven * Offline (119:3102/105) * Origin: Gate United Bbs Systems < - > Fido USA (119:119/0.0) / (1:100/560.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 214 POWER BASIC Ref: E2D00003 Date: 02/07/97 From: CHARLES GODARD Time: 11:45pm \/To: LAWRENCE GORDON (Read 3 times) Subj: Wordy reply LG>I think your QUIK_BAS echo is still crosslinked with POWER_BAS, Charles. My apologies again, Lawrence. This time I'm reasonably sure it was my fault. I'll try to keep a close eye on it from now on. Delhi, La., Gateway to: Poverty Point Archaeological Center Site of the oldest pre-historic civilization in North America HTTP://cust.iamerica.net./ggodard...........cgodard@iamerica.net -- SPEED 2.00 #2781: Cut my pizza into six pieces please. I can't eat eight. --- Telegard/QWK v3.02 * Origin: The Circle Circus * Dale City, VA * 703-730-3115 (1:265/124) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 214 POWER BASIC Ref: E2E00000 Date: 02/07/97 From: DAVID ROPER Time: 06:50am \/To: OLIVIER DAGENAIS (Read 3 times) Subj: ASSY ACCESS OF STRIN TH> true compiler and produces machine code. As for how effient it is, I TH> have not performed any analysis. OD>What, there are "fake" compilers? The old CLIPPER COMPILER for Dbase simply grabbed everything up and wrapped it with the interpreter and called it an EXE file. Then, remember the $495 "uncompilers" that would give back the SOURCE CODE for any CLIPPER compiled EXE files? That's how they did it so easily A true compiler produces machine code. They question is how efficient is that code, and PowerBasic does a damned fine job. ;-) ____oOOo__/0-0\__oOOo____ DavidRoper@USA.Net 1997 \___/ 201 Winding Brook Dr, Garner NC 27529, USA --- FLAME v1.1 * Origin: Full Internet Access $15.00, (919) 779-6674 or MMS.NET (1:151/102) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 214 POWER BASIC Ref: E2E00001 Date: 02/09/97 From: TIM HUTZLER Time: 04:47pm \/To: OLIVIER DAGENAIS (Read 3 times) Subj: Re: Assy access of strin OD>as well.. (I guess.. Which is first in the far method: segment or OD>offset?) TH>Segment is adx+1. OD>Huh? What is ADX? It is the 32bit version of DX, as EAX is of AX? TH>Sorry, "adx" is short for the address of the instruction data, and OD>Address of the instruction data? Please elaborate... Well, the effective addresses for instructions requiring a far address are always in the form [segment:offset]. The offset is the first two butes and the segment follows. Instructions that come to mind are the LEA, LDS, LES, and the various FAR jumps and calls. These instructions get their data either as an imediate operand, or are referenced from some other location, ie. indirect. In either case it is the instructions data, ie. the pointer. TH>oops, I ment adx+2. My point was that the segment of the address is TH>two bytes higher than the offset. And, ofcourse, I am refering to the TH>16-bit model. OD>adx+2 ....because both are expressed as Words? They are words, yes. And, the offset is in bytes, hence '+2.' OD>"not taken a speed hit, yet"... meaning your routines are fast???? TH>On a 586 they sure are. But, what I ment was that compile times are TH>only two or three seconds for even those file sizes. PowerBASIC is a OD>Yup. My Quick-Basic compiler happens to be fast, too. The largest OD>I compiled must be my SamsalP demo... Didn't take THAT long to OD>compile... I used QuickBasic before. I don't think I know the internals of either to opin on which one is better overall. PowerBASIC has some nice built in features QuickBASIC doesn't have. PB also has some irritating bugs. I gusee what I like about PowerBASIC is that it comes with a command line compiler. I like that, because PowerBASIC, like QuickBASIC, come with crummy IDEs, IMHO. I wrote an IDE much more to my liking. TH>true compiler and produces machine code. As for how effient it is, TH>I have not performed any analysis. OD>What, there are "fake" compilers? Well, of course there are no 'fake' compilers. [grin] But, some compile 'P-code' files which are not executable. They are tokens and data that an interpreter can follow more effiently than the old interpreters of the old days like GWbasic and IBMs basic, but are not as fast as true compilations. That's what I ment. cya --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Madman BBS * Chico, California * 916-893-8079 * (1:119/88) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 214 POWER BASIC Ref: E2E00002 Date: 02/09/97 From: TIM HUTZLER Time: 04:52pm \/To: ALL (Read 3 times) Subj: CHDRIVE command not work Has anyone encountered a program hang when CHDRIVE is used? I used it in the following way: File = "B:\*.*" CHDRIVE File Now, CHDRIVE is not listed in the Reference guide under "Command Summary" in the front of the book, but it is in the reference directory. It states that the first character of a string is used as the drive letter, implying that it will take a string the same way ASC("ABC") does. However, I noticed that programs if I try to use it, even though it IS NOT actually executed. That seems to indicate that the compiler is not calculating the correct jump addresses. I have not had the time to more thouroly test this problem, I just wanted to know if anyone else discovered this quark. Any comments? --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Madman BBS * Chico, California * 916-893-8079 * (1:119/88)