HotBasic™ News Continued 2004
June 29 v2.5a (1) "finishes" FORM .OnMessage -- all messages not used in other GUI .On... events are now directed to .OnMessage, if defined; (2) GUI SHOWCONSOLE can be redirected at the command-line. With "prog > prog.txt" and SHOWCONSOLE in prog, all PRINTs go to prog.txt.
MILESTONE: A PureBasic user emailed that the compiler's site forum contains a new thread trashing the HotBasic project. If this is not enough, the PureBasic fans also trash its author -- me -- and even HotBasic users, by name! Are these PureBasic partisans worried? You be the judge.
June 27 Ladies and gentlemen, PAGEDIALOG and PRINTDIALOG Objects in new v2.5. Please see updated DIALOGS help file.
June 26 HotBasic v2.4 lets the dogs out by adding a powerful .OnMessage event for FORM objects. Please see updated hotform.txt and tutorial to be posted on Yahoo HotBasic group.
New "a" versions improve compiler console interface and FILE .Open returns file handle which can be obtained with RETFUNC. v2.3a adds LPRINT for convenient text printing or other output to LPT1. LPRINT similarly returns number of bytes written.
June 24 Now versions 1.3 and 2.3 run on W98/ME/NT/2K/XP machines. PAUSE now responds to special keys like arrows. Array items can be used with READ; e.g., READ A(i). In v2.3, FORM .resizeable = true/false now works and position is correctly displayed with .OnResize after .Center.
June 13 HotBasic "t" versions fix problem if FOR NEXT loops are used in a SUB or FUNCTION called within a FOR NEXT loop. If this common situation occurs in your code, this is a "must have" upgrade.
May 19 HotBasic "s" versions fix problem with TRIM$. Tip: MEMSET can be used to clear any ARRAY or TYPE with one instruction.
May 14 HotBasic "r" versions fix a bug in MEMSET (also used internally in functions like STR$) which could cause RAM access errors and headaches (code compiles but crashes). Also, .libs are further streamlined.
Maj. Hog: "Due to their solid participation in the HotBasic community, countries like The Netherlands, France, Spain and Germany will be allowed to remain in the European Union."
May 7 HotBasic "q" versions fix arcane bug of false positive CASE ELSE parsing if "else" appeared in a second statement on the same line and add automatic source stream pointer advance with .Read methods.
May 3 "p" versions fix problem with .CopyFrom when the object (destination) is a STRING, LIST or MEMORY and the arguments (source) is a FILE.
Apr 30 NEW "n" versions (sorry, forgot to increment letter) (1) add TAB string function, (2) fix problem (rounding to integer) in SINGLE arrays, (3) improve string function buffer usage and (4) add error messages.
Maj. Hog: "Due to their solid participation in the HotBasic community, 10 nations were added to the European Union."
Apr 29 HotBasic "n" versions fix (1) problem (at least on w2k machines) in INPUT and INPUT$ caused by fix of faulty PAUSE-after-INPUT on w98! [and this reveals that the FlushConsoleInputBuffer API on w2k fails to preserve certain CPU registers], and (2) problem in assignment of FUNCTION result when the FUNCTION uses a TYPE structure as an argument.
Apr 19 HotBasic "m" versions updated yet again with another RAM allocation fix at a very low level (i.e., fixes many potential problems), in .lib stamped 4/19/2004.
Please note: All fixes since at least Mar 27 covered "special case" issues causing HB application crashes; that is, if your programs were running, the data was correct (i.e., these problems caused crashes, not errors in processed data). Most were derived from reports from a true "ace" and "home run hitter" in computing. Thanks! (Um, hi, Alex). This set of very low level fixes should prevent a whole range of problems, making applications much more robust!
Apr 18 HotBasic "m" versions fix very rare but important bugs in several string and list functions. To improve evaluation performance of the Trial version, the LIB and ALIAS keywords are now extra features of the Penthouse/registered version. [Performance is measured roughly by a constant or declining Trial/PentHouse download ratio.]
Apr 9 HotBasic "k" versions fix a W98 problem when PAUSE is used after INPUT, now allow $DEFINE and $MACRO symbols to be upper, lower or mixed case (but still case-sensitive) and add to $UNDEF removal of the symbol from the $MACRO list as well so that $MACROs can be undefined and then redefined.
Apr 4 HotBasic "j" versions improve checking for "out of range" arguments in INSTR which may previously have caused crashes. For robust executables when processing string data, this is an important upgrade as INSTR may be used directly or called by other .lib functions.
Apr 2 HotBasic "i" versions fix LIST .DelItems for the last item and add "Missing RESULT statement" ERROR message (some are accustomed to compilers that do not flag this error) and improved argument checking in HotBasic.lib to create more robust executables. E.g., certain "out of range" argument values will result in "no operation" or an appropriate null/nil return value instead of possible application crash.
Mar 27 HotBasic "h" versions fix LIST .InsertItem if the index is greater than or equal to .ItemCount, which also fixes .Exchange where the last item is used (in .lib date-stamped Mar 27) and include revised ERROR message format per user request, several FOR NEXT fixes which now prevent loop code from running even once depending on run-time evaluation of source code parameters (like WHILE, but unlike DO LOOP) and removal of "missing right )" false positive error message in some "g" versions.
Mar 21 NEW! HotBasic keyword lists (link above right). Mar 20 NEW! HotInclude 1.0 (link above) with GUI constants and .inc files.
Mar 15 v2.2g upgraded to add work-around for a W98 bug which caused certain GUI programs to crash.
Reporter: "Maj. Hog, may we assume that the Mojave Desert robot software was *not* written in HotBasic?"
Mar 8 HotBasic "g" versions fix various issues re REGISTRY and .Icon. v2.2g adds (1) .TextColor for BUTTON, EDIT, RICHEDIT, LISTBOX, FILELISTBOX, PANEL, GROUPBOX and LABEL controls [.Color must also be defined], (2) .MouseX and .MouseY now have full "screen-to-client" point translation for any FORM object and (3) BITMAP .LoadFromFile.
Mar 6 HotBasic "f" versions further improve parsing of cases where both operands are functions -- e.g., sqr(x) * cos(y).
Mar 3 HotBasic "e" versions (1) improve expression evaluation (e.g., sin(x)*exp(y)), (2) conform explorer icon display to specified application icon and (3) speed up processing where immediate real values are used (e.g., x = y + .4). v2.2e has REGISTRY write methods tested and corrected (updated help hotreg.txt).
Mar 2 HotBasic "d" versions (1) can use .Icon and .Bmp to paint BUTTON and IMAGE objects, (2) fix use of STEP in FOR/NEXT with BTYE, WORD and SHORT index variables and (3) fix certain REGISTRY write methods. v2.2d adds BITMAP object (please see hotbmp.txt in Manual and HotDraw 1.4) and FORM .MouseX and .MouseY numeric functions.
Maj. Hog: "Sub-surface communities need not be concerned that the two Blue Planet alien craft will find where we put the water."
Feb 26 ALERT: Migration Gorge has flooded. HotBasic 1.2 and 2.2b add (1) ASM, BEGIN ASM and END ASM to directly insert assembler language code in HotBasic executables (please see syntax in Advanced Techniques in hotstate.txt) and (2) -C "list source code" switch.
v2.2 "activates" the CANVAS object (a transparent image) and supports .OnPaint events for BUTTON, CANVAS, COMBOBOX, FILELISTBOX, GRID, IMAGE, LISTBOX, PANEL and TABCONTROL. For these controls (unlike drawing on a FORM), .Begin/EndPaint are not used in the .OnPaint procedures (please see HotDraw 1.1). Further, a CANVAS may be placed "over" any other object to create "layers" of image which can be made .Visible at any time and can be cleared with .Clear.
Feb 25 MILESTONE: HotBasic 2.1a adds (1) drawing methods .Circle, .Ellipse, .FillCircle, .FillEllipse, .FillRect, .Line, .Pset, .Rectangle and .TextOut and (2) device context methods .GetDC and .ReleaseDC.
Feb 24 HotBasic 2.0h fixes .sorted property of LISTBOX, FILELISTBOX and COMBOBOX, adds FORM object properties .Border, .DlgFrame, .Group, .MinimizeBox, .MaximizeBox, .Resizeable and .TabStop, and numeric function .BeginPaint and method .EndPaint.
Feb 22 HotBasic "g" versions have improvements. v2.0g adds .ReDraw and .RePaint to FORM objects and .OnDialog event to DIALOG objects.
Feb 19 HotBasic "f" versions add more first-pass coding optimization and reliability (making your executables even shorter and faster) and fix use of declared TYPE arguments in API calls where the TYPE and not its address is used.
Feb 16 HotBasic "e" versions add the ZERO keyword to "turn off" .On... events for all FORM objects, much like can be done with App.OnFPUError; and further optimize coding for even better executables. v2.0e adds FINDDIALOG and REPLACEDIALOG. New hotpro15.zip posted.
Feb 14 All "d" versions add read-only MOUSE object with X and Y members to get cursor position.
Feb 13 MILESTONE: HotBasic 2.0c and 1.14c support local scope of variables dimensioned within SUBs/FUNCTIONs, add RECT and SCREEN objects and automate $FASTFOR detection. v2.0c adds .ColWidth to GRID.
Feb 10 HotBasic 2.0b adds COLORDIALOG, FONTDIALOG, OPENDIALOG and SAVEDIALOG objects (DIALOGS added to help files).
Feb 8 HotBasic "p" versions fix .Encrypt/.Decrypt for FILE object and a .Close bug with ram-mapped FILEs. Default $APPTYPE is now GUI. v1.9p features .OnKeyUp/Down, .OnMouseUp/Down and .OnDblClick for all FORM objects.
HotBabe: "Hi, you all, any visual form designer you have laying around can be used with HotBasic. Just get your object position numbers and paste them into your source."
Feb 1 MILESTONE: HotBasic "o" versions now support CREATE-style syntax for FORM objects. Thus, existing RapidQ-compatible IDE programs can be used with "visual" methods to design forms and generate code (example in hotdimen.txt). v1.9o adds FORM .ShowHint and .Hint!
Jan 30 Now the theoretical maximum speed in $FASTFOR FOR/NEXT loops in HotBasic "n" versions (please see hotdirec.txt) and fix of SOCKET .Block and .NonBlock.
Jan 29 HotBasic "k" versions (1) fix CLIPBOARD bug; (2) SHELL can also be used as a FUNCTION to get error level, errlvl = SHELL cmd$; (3) add TRUE and FALSE aliases for ONE and ZERO; (4) fix STATUSBAR .Color; (5) fix APP alias for Application string functions; (6) RND returns floating value 0 to 1 and RND(arg) integer from 0 to arg. v1.9k changes GRID .InsertColumn to .InsertCol for RQ compatibility and adds .Column to change column header text.
Maj. Hog: "The two alien craft without life forms do not pose an imminent threat to our sub-surface Red Planet communities."
Jan 19 v1.9j and v1.13j fix .LoadArray, add (1) CONSOLE .Cursor control, (2) Directive $INCLUDE MyLibrary.lib, (3) String function TRIM$, (4) APPLICATION .ErrorLevel get/set, used by hot.exe itself to return 5 ErrorLevels to IDEs, (5) CONSOLE .MaxWidth and .MaxHeight and (6) ability to use quoted strings as arguments in API calls if Declared As String.
Maj. Hog: "Due to the media frenzy at HotBasic Manor, we have doubled the seating capacity for the press. If one reporter shows up, there will now be one empty seat for a second reporter."
Jan 15 HotBasic 1.9f adds .OnKeyDown and .OnKeyUp functionality to LISTBOX and FILELISTBOX, fixes .LoadArray and fixes error arising from previous edit (!) in vars like hWnd, uMsg, etc. New HotWin 2.1 shows new features -- e.g., click the 2nd window and look at the source code; do keypress when LISTBOX has focus.
Jan 14 HotBasic 1.9d and 1.13d fix problem in using AS STRING and AS xyz where xyz is a TYPE, in DECLARE statements with external LIBs. In v1.9d, mouse events occur with either R or L button use.
Jan 12 HotBasic 1.9b and 1.13b UPGRADES: (1) remove limitations in using numeric expressions as arguments in string functions; (2) include Raymond Filiatreault's fix of his FPU to string module (now 0.000001 prints); (3) fix FPU.bcdpop; (4) fix UNLOADLIBRARY; (5) remove internal constant definitions to avoid conflicts with user constant names; (6) add another compiler internal stack to improve performance.
Jan 6 With well over 200 .dlls in MS Windows, you can program in HotBasic anything you have ever seen in any Windows program, using Declare statements for the APIs.
Jan 3 HotBasic 1.9: By popular demand, GRID (QStringGrid) added and LISTBOX and FILELISTBOX default to single select.
Copyright © 2003-2004 James J Keene PhD
HotBasic™ is a trademark of James J Keene
Original Publication: May 29, 2003
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