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1991-02-26
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ApBasic Latest Features Feb 26, 1991
─────────────────────── ────────────
(c) 1987-1990 Comptech Software and Consulting, Inc.
By Keith Murray Compuserve 71601,3673
(813) 980-2087
Nov 1,1987 Version 1.00
Editor Changes:
■ <Alt-N> can be used to change the current file name.
Dec 1,1987 Version 1.00a
Editor Changes:
■ A bug was fixed that corrupted the source program in the edit
buffer whenever a drop-down menu was used.
Dec 18,1987 Version 1.1
Language Changes:
■ Line numbers are now accepted before statements as per normal BASICA.
They are also acceptable wherever a normal line label is used as well
as :
IF Expression THEN line.number
■ The VAL() function now recognizes &H, &O, &B and & preceding a number
and does the necessary conversion.
■ Included on the master diskette is a program called 'SOUND.INC'. This
file contains a SOUND procedure similiar to the BASICA SOUND statement.
The file can be included into a program using:
$INCLUDE "SOUND.INC"
There is a test program also on the master diskette called 'SIREN.BAS'
that demonstrates the SOUND statement.
■ Single precision floating point variables are now supported. Those
variables with a type character of '!' or defined as single precision
by using the DEFSNG statement occupy 4 bytes. All floating point math
is done in double precision. Single precision numbers are converted when
used or stored.
■ Four new functions were added to aid in reading and writing data files
that contain floating point numbers in the Microsoft format.
Summary: CVDM(String$)
Description: The String$ is a double precision floating point number in
the Microsoft format. The number returned is in IEEE format
used within ApBasic.
See Also: CVSM()
CVD()
CVI()
_________________________________________________________________________
Summary: CVSM(String$)
Description: The String$ is a single precision floating point number in
the Microsoft format. The number returned is in IEEE format
used within ApBasic.
See Also: CVDM()
CVD()
CVI()
_________________________________________________________________________
Summary: MKDM$(Numeric)
Description: This function returns an eight byte string that is the value
of the numeric expression converted to the Microsoft format.
See Also: MKSM$()
MKD$()
MKI$()
________________________________________________________________________
Summary: MKSM$(Numeric)
Description: This function returns a four byte string that is the value of
the numeric expression converted to the Microsoft format.
See Also: MKDM$()
MKD$()
MKI$()
April 11,1988 Version 1.12
Editor changes:
■ When function keys were pressed with a menu dropped down, the screen
would be corrupted but the program was not disturbed.
Compiler changes:
■ Metacommands are now allowed on lines with line numbers.
■ String garbage collection routines were speeded up.
■ Expression using OR/AND/XOR/SHL/SHR with non-integer types
would produce code that would crash if the expression was executed
many times (ie. loops).
■ The FRE() function was not returning the correct amount of free string
space.
October 1, 1990 Version 1.13
Editor changes:
■ Bug with on-line help would sometimes corrupt the display.
■ The /M option can be used when starting ApBasic to force it to run
in monochrome mode. For example:
C:\>apb /m
This is for users who are running laptops that APB.EXE thinks is color
but is in reality a mono LCD screen.
December 14, 1990 Version 1.5
Editor changes:
■ Some Wordstar keys are now accepted. The following are allowed:
^A : Word left
^E ^D ^S ^X : Cursor up, right, left and down
^R ^C : Page up / Page down
^F : Word right
^G : Delete character under cursor
^L : Search again.
^U : Undelete line
^Y : Delete line
^KD : Save file and exit
^KQ : Exit
^KR : Append a file
^KS : Save file
^KX : Save and exit
^QA : Search and replace
^QC : End of file
^QS ^QD : Beginning and end of line
^QF : Search for a string
^QR : Beginning of file
■ Because of adding the WS keys, the Ctrl-R command that previously would
compile and run now is used to do Page Up. The F9 key is now
assigned to the compile/run task. The 'Run' drop-down menu was
changed to reflect this change.
Compiler changes:
■ REM and REMARK are now allowed. Before, the only way to put a comment
into the program was to use a '. All are now valid.
■ The ENV$() function was left out of the manual. It's definition follows.
Summary: ENV$(String)
Description: This function returns the evironment data for a given
environment variable.
Example:
print ENV$("COMSPEC") ' print COMMAND.COM path
■ Fixed length strings are now supported. The data area for these variables
is shared with the numeric data. See following note about the DIM and
DEF/SUB command changes. Whenever data is assigned to a fixed length
string, the new data is padded with spaces or truncated to fit within
the declared size.
■ Changes were made to various commands to allow variables to be declared
as a type without having to use the standard Basic type identifiers.
The DIM command has been changed as follows:
DIM X AS INTEGER ' X is an integer variable
DIM Y(1 to 10) as SINGLE ' Y is an array of 10 single precision #'s
DIM S AS STRING ' S is a variable length string
DIM T AS STRING * 10 ' T is a fixed length string of 10 characters
The DEF/SUB declarations can now define the type of data being returned
from the DEF and the type of parameters being passed. For example:
DEF F(X AS INTEGER) AS SINGLE
' Code goes here
END DEF
SUB S(A(1) AS STRING * 10)
' Code goes here
END SUB
The F() function takes a single integer parameter and returns a single
precision number. The S subprogram takes an array of 10 character fixed
length strings.
■ Several bugs were corrected in the debugger. If LOCAL, STATIC or SHARED
variables were used in a SUB or DEF and the debugger option was selected,
the compile would crash. The debugger also had problems with finding
variables.
January 23, 1991 Version 1.6
Editor changes:
■ Bug was fixed when loading programs with long lines. The size of the
longest line was increased from 180 to 255.
■ Fixed editor help screen to reflect KBD changes made in last version.
■ Fixed problem that caused lines to be highlighted while scrolling through
the program.
■ The Search and Search Again would not position the cursor correctly when
they found text past column 80.
Compiler changes:
■ The GOSUB command was enhanced to be more like GWBasic. Multiple labels
can be specified by:
GOSUB LABEL1, LABEL2,.., LABELn
■ The ON ERROR GOTO statement now accepts a number as a line label.
■ The RETURN statement would fail if used in the following IF statement:
IF (expression) then RETURN else (statement)
The ELSE would be signaled as an error.
■ Bug in compiler would generate bad code for a unary operation. For example:
M%=-25 : PRINT -M%
This prints "24" instead of "25".
February 26, 1991 Version 1.7
New Files:
■ A new program was added to the system. STRIPHLP.BAS will create a APB.DOC
file from the APB.HLP file. The file can be sent to the printer. A form
feed is output after each statement or function.
Compiler changes:
■ A bug was introduced in 1.5 that would build incorrect .EXE files.