There is a new and very fast compiling Basic at this address:
Hotbasic is using the RapidQ language, which is a traditional Basic like Quickbasic, plus visual components which makes it easy to create the visual parts of a program, panels, buttons, menus, etc.., plus a number of new components, like QFilestream and QMemoryStream, and other methods which make object-oriented programming easier.
RapidQ Basic is a freeware compiling Basic. The language and the compiler is freeware. It was created as a freeware alternative to Visual Basic, or as a visual development of QuickBasic. It was later made commercial under the name "Realbasic".
RapidQ has more active users than any other freeware Basic.
There is at least one commercial development of RapidQ, and several non-commercial, open source lines of development.
New compilers are written for the RapidQ Basic language and new tools are added to the language, like database engines, etc..
In an IDE (Interactive Development Environment) you often have access to tools like programming editor, visual forms designer, menu designer, context sensitive help, etc..
There are several RapidQ IDE:s to choose from, and more simple compiler shells, or you can use a rapidq wordfile in an editor like UltraEdit and compile and run from UltraEdit.
The latest member of the RapidQ language group, HotBasic, is compiling directly to machine code. Freeware version.
RapidQ mailing list rapidq-at-yahoogroups.com Files area:
Another group of Basics are based on C or some C variant. Here we have XBasic, XSTBasic, BCX, etc..
If you use one of these C-based Basics you will need to learn some C or Cpp to get the most out of it. The basic components of these Basics are just translated C components.