DSE Software Publishing Post Office Box 96 PB/VISION(tm) Willits, CA 95490-0096 PB/WORKSHOP(tm) Voice: (707) 459-4358 FAX/BBS: (707) 459-4484 FidoNet: 1:125/123 InterNet: dse.software@genie.geis.com PB/VISION & PB/WORKSHOP - MAKING PowerBASIC A VERY "VISUAL" BASIC ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear PowerBASIC 3.0 User: As one of the multitude of PowerBASIC users, there can be no doubt that you have come to enjoy its tremendous enhancements to the BASIC language. At the same time, you have probably been waiting for a quality set of development tools to go with it. The wait is over... With the "PB/VISION Visual Interface Library" you get a complete set of interface tools, including windows, menus, data entry forms, and more. Nothing is left out. Combine that with our "PB/WORKSHOP Visual Designer" and you can quickly draw your user interfaces and incorporate them into your own programs. Within hours, you could be writing professional looking programs at top-notch speeds. Here is what you get: PB/VISION FEATURES ----------------------------------------------------------------------- o Graphic Mapped GUI for that entirely graphics look and feel, but the blazing speed and low overhead of text mode. o Data Entry Forms. With PB/VISION you will have the most advanced data entry system in the industry. Data entered into a form is automatically placed into user-defined TYPE variables so there is no need for you to perform any data conversion whatsoever. Standard data entry controls include masked text fields, command buttons, option buttons, check boxes, scrolling lists, scroll bars, and more. All button operation is fully automatic and there is no need to write button management code. o Menus. Included are all of the standard Pulldown and Popup menus. Multiple simultaneous menus are also possible. o Common Dialogs. We provide drop-in routines for all of the standard common dialogs, including FileOpen, Print, Search/Replace, Calculator, PenColor, Palette, and others. Full source is included. o Context-Sensitive Help. To make it easier for your customers to find the information they need, you can include fully context- sensitive help via our hypertext-based help system. Use your favorite editor to create the files, and our help compiler to compress and convert them into distributable .HLP files. o .INI File Management and COMMAND$ Line Parsing. Two of the most requested (yet neglected) tools requested by BASIC programmers are standard features of PB/VISION. The INI functions allow the creation and manipulation of industry standard text initialization (.INI) files and the command line parser allows you intuitively read the command line parameters provided when your program was executed. o Event Driven. None of this does much good without efficient program control, so that is why PB/VISION is event-driven. You concentrate on making your programs look good, and the event-driver makes it work good. You can manage entire user-interfaces with the simplest control code. As you become an advanced user, you can even implement PB/VISION's object-oriented multi-threading features. o Miscellaneous Routines. We also include the full gambit of low- level file access, disk, keyboard, and video access routines. o Online Documentation. There is no need to hunt through the PB/VISION documentation to find help for any routine. The entire manual has been compiled into a PowerBASIC compatible help file that can be instantly accessed while editing your programs in PB.EXE. Nothing could be easier. o Small .EXE Files. You rarely see the big guys bragging about this, be we sure do. Most of PB/VISION is written in optimized assembler. An example bare-bones program with 5 virtual windows and full mouse control compiles to 58K. An example data entry program compiles to 78K. We even include a public domain program that will reduce the file size by 30% to 50%. o NO ROYALTIES. NO RUNTIMES! PB/WORKSHOP FEATURES ----------------------------------------------------------------------- o Includes the full PB/VISION library as described above, plus the following: o Visual Designer. No more "Trial and Error" interface design. From within PB/WORKSHOP, you can create, edit, and test your forms, windows, menus, and status bars before (or even after) putting them into your programs. o Resource files. Why include hundreds of lines of code just to draw the interface? PB/WORKSHOP saves your windows, forms, menus, and status bars in a single compressed "resource" format so you can instantly load them when needed. You can even edit the look and feel of your program after it has been compiled, without the need to re-compile any source. o Source Generation. To get you productive fast, PB/WORKSHOP takes all of your interface resources and generates a "fill-in-the-blanks" ready to compile skeleton program for you. All you have to do is put your own code behind the interface objects. It's that easy. STILL NOT CONVINCED? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- o Working Demos Available by BBS. If you have a modem you can call our BBS at 707-459-4484 (1200-14,400 baud,8,N,1). Logon as GUEST for immediate no-nonsense access to our file area. FidoNet users can "file request" (FREQ) these files under the "magic names" of "PBVISION" and "WORKSHOP". These demos will also be carried by most major online networks and BBS'. WE ARE ALWAYS HERE TO HELP YOU ----------------------------------------------------------------------- You don't have to worry about becoming an orphan. As with all DSE products, technical support is a phone call away. You can talk with us by voice, or you can communicate with us and other PB/VISION programmers on our free technical support BBS. Most times, you can talk with the actual programmers. There is always help available. KEEPING THE COST DOWN ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The bulk of software costs today is in the production of the manuals. The trouble is that most manuals sit on the shelf, seldom touched. We do not want to pass this unnecessary cost on to you, so all of our documentation is provided on disk and is formatted for printing with any dot matrix or laser printer. Remember, all of the PB/VISION documentation (with the exception of the tutorial) is built into the PowerBASIC help system so you should rarely ever have to refer to (or even print) the manuals. MEET THE CHALLENGE ----------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can see, PB/VISION will make you look good, and PB/WORKSHOP will make you productive. At such a low cost, you will re-coup your investment the very first time you use them. They're that good! Sincerely, Daniel P. Stasinski Author of PB/VISION & PB/WORKSHOP ### Developer Requirements: IBM PC or compatible running DOS 3.1 or higher, 640K of memory minimum, CGA/EGA/VGA color monitor, and a hard disk drive with 2MB of free space. A mouse is highly recommended, but not required. ### PB/VISION(tm) and PB/WORKSHOP(tm) are trademarks of DSE Software Publishing. PowerBASIC is a registered trademark belonging to PowerBASIC, Inc.