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

Ah, PowerBasic, what're they up to these days?

--
 Thanks,
    - Win

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

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

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

...Jim Thompson

--
|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
|  Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
|  Phoenix, Arizona            Voice:(480)460-2350  |             |
|  E-mail Address at Website     Fax:(480)460-2142  |  Brass Rat  |
|       http://www.analog-innovations.com           |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.      Sometimes I even put it in the food.

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

--
|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
|  Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
|  Phoenix, Arizona            Voice:(480)460-2350  |             |
|  E-mail Address at Website     Fax:(480)460-2142  |  Brass Rat  |
|       http://www.analog-innovations.com           |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.      Sometimes I even put it in the food.

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

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

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

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

This is the legacy of VB.

--
I love the smell of code compiling in the morning.  It smells like... Freedom.

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

About how big is the source code?

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

#include #include

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

--
"it\'s the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com

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