HotBasic™ News Continued 2004
Dec 27 HotBasic 1.63 and 3.6d add (1) REDIM and INITARRAY statements and (2) HIWORD and LOWORD numeric functions. v3.6d upgrades BITMAP, so additional BITMAPHEADERINFO data such as .SizeImage is available.
MILESTONE: Dec 19 HotBasic 3.6b adds arrays of Objects: FILE, FONT, RECT and 23 FORM objects: BUTTON, CANVAS, CHECKBOX, COMBOBOX, DATETIME, EDIT, FILELISTBOX, GRID, GROUPBOX, HEADER, IMAGE, LABEL, LISTBOX, LISTVIEW, PANEL, RADIOBUTTON, RICHEDIT, RICHEDIT2, SCROLLBAR, TABCONTROL, TRACKBAR, TREEVIEW AND UPDOWN.
Dec 18 HotBasic 1.62 and 3.5j modify RUN to return the new process handle with MyHandle=RETFUNC after RUN statement. v3.5j fixes .Color when the source is an Object. HotIDE 2.4b adds a new Design Mode, toggled from the HotBasic menu or with F9, where the Enter key updates the design display based on current source code. Design Mode requires v1.62 or v3.5j or higher.
MILESTONE: Dec 13 HotInclude 2.2 brings Windows COM programming to your doorstep, as shown in the DxDraw.inc example. Pick your COM object and code it as shown in this COM template. "Black-box" libraries are no longer needed. This and others (e.g., ShellEx.inc, RichEd2.inc) also illustrate use of new BYREF statement and function.
Dec 12 HotBasic 3.5i completes BITMAPINFOHEADER read/write BITMAP object properties, adding .ClrImportant, .ClrUsed, .Compression, .SizeImage, .XPelsPerMeter and .YPelsPerMeter. HotIDE 2.3d includes these new keywords.
Dec 10 HotBasic 3.5g and 1.61 further streamline code generation for shorter, faster executables. 3.5g adds (1) WINDOW(handle).property/method syntax for both source and destination values. That is, the WINDOW keyword can be a statement or a numeric or string function. (2) statement BYREF(address) = value to store value at address. (3) numeric function value = BYREF(address) to get value at address (dereference). HotIDE 2.3c has these new keywords. HotFind 1.7 upgrade and HotBasic Help 3.1 also posted.
Maj. Hog: "And it's HotBasic by three lengths!"
Reportor to reporter: "What is he talking about?"
Nov 26 HotBasic.lib stamped Nov 26: (1) fix GRID .Cell(i,j) string function hangup after several cells retrieved, (2) fix LIST .Item(0) if it is null string, (3) improve GUI app message queue handling, so you may see more (or less) .OnMessage items as a result of this improved "routing".
Nov 20 HotBasic ups the ante again. v1.6z and v3.5e compile faster. HotIDE 2.3 further increases compile speed (about 66% of previous times). The compiler versions and HotIDE also completely remove screen flicker upon compile (from child windows).
Nov 17 HotBasic 1.6y and 3.5d further streamline executable code for speed and small size. 1.6y fixes a glitch with DECLARE only in 1.6x. 3.5d improves DECLARE ... LIB parsing and adds an ERROR message for embedded replacement text found when ALIAS is used.
Nov 9 HotBasic 3.5b adds (1) SQLDATA Object to access Windows Data Sources (ODBC), (2) FORM .Cursor as a read/write class property, (3) BITMAP .BMP may be a resource bitmap or a bitmap handle, (4) CONSOLE .KeyState (also in v1.6x). Please see Manual updates, new HotQuery download and updated HotIDE 2.2j with keyword updates and focus restore after resize.
GATES VISIT UPDATE:
Reporter: "Is Mr. Gates too busy with billion dollar deals to visit?"
Maj. Hog: "Nothing compares with a coveted photo-opportunity with the HotBasic Manor elves."
Nov 5 HotBasic 1.6w and 3.4b expand the possible range of ARRAY subscripts from SHORT (-32768 to 32767) to LONG (-2147483648 to 2147483647). Maximum ARRAY size (about 4 gigabytes or available RAM) and maximum subscripts (5) remain unchanged.
Nov 4 HotBasic 3.4a upgrades DOEVENTS in GUI applications. Now infinite loops containing DOEVENTS will better process messages. Please see test code to be posted in Yahoo! HotBasic group. Also, API's in the HotBasic.lib can be declared without conflict.
Oct 30 HotBasic 3.3i and 1.6v improve overall performance by reducing stack arguments for .lib modules and by upgrades in FILE and REGISTRY modules (see HotReg 1.3).
Oct 29 HotBasic 3.3h adds FORM .OnMouseMove event, .Cursor method and .Pixel numeric function, so now .Pixel is RW and classified as a property. Please see updated hotform.txt and HotWin 2.6. HotDraw shows read use of .Pixel.
Oct 10 HotBasic 3.3b and 1.6u revise DATA statement coding to better conform to widely accepted standards (see hotdata.bas in HotTrial 1.1).
Reporter: "Is Mr. Gates miffed with HotBabe?"
Maj. Hog: "This rumor is without foundation. Mr. Gates will receive a warm welcome from HotBabe and the elves at HotBasic Manor."
Oct 6 HotBasic 3.3a and 1.6t fix PLAYWAV from .wav file as resource. v3.3a (1) fixes a .FillRect, .FillEllipse and .FillCircle alignment issue, (2) eliminates the need to use FORM .BeginPaint and .EndPaint in .OnPaint routines for FORM (or any other object that might use the WM_PAINT message), (3) now has default Bitmap data readable (.Height, .Width, .Planes, .BitCount), (4) redefines BITMAP .Clear as a new lightening-fast bitmap clearing using HB's own MEMSET procedure, and (5) the previous use of BITMAP .Clear has been renamed to .Recreate -- better describing the true action of this method.
MILESTONE: Oct 5 HotBasic 3.3 fixes gdi32 drawing methods (.Line, .Rectangle, .Circle, etc) which previously would "hang" on W9x machines.
Sep 30 HotBasic v3.2d updates BITMAP properties after .loadfromfile or load from resource.
Sep 26 HotBasic v3.2b adds .Paint method for, and extends the .CopyRect method to, BITMAP, PRINTER and FORM objects.
Sep 24 HotBasic 3.2a upgrades BITMAP, adding BMPINFO properties .BitCount (color resolution) and .Planes and read only .Pointer for address of bitmap data and the BITMAP .CopyRect method.
Sep 20 Trial Version 1.6r corrects several bugs specific to that version. HotTrial 1.0 presents source code tested to compile and run with v1.6r.
Sep 18 HotBasic 3.1c adds (1) .MultiSelect and .ExtendedSelect styles (= true/false) to LISTBOX and FILELISTBOX; (2) .HideSelection, .Number and .ReadOnly styles (= true/false), RW .ItemIndex, .TextLimit, .SelText, .SelStart, .SelLength and .SelEnd properties and .ScrollCaret method to EDIT, RICHEDIT and RICHEDIT2, with related updates to RichEd2.inc in HotInclude 1.9.
Sep 16 revised HotBasic 1.6q Trial Version posted for download.
Sep 14 HotBasic 3.1b adds .Bmp property to TOOLBAR and TREEVIEW (see HotToys 1.4); .Modified property to EDIT, RICHEDIT and RICHEDIT2; .TextColor property to RICHEDIT2; .LoadFromFile and .SavetoFile for RICHEDIT and RICHEDIT2; WINDIR$ string function and corrects a few very arcane bugs.
Maj. Hog: "How many times do I have to tell you that the forged documents are not fake?"
Sep 12 MILESTONES: (1) HotBasic 3.1a further improves numeric expression evaluation removing several previous limitations. (2) HotBasic evaluation upgraded. With the manual, numerous examples of source code and executables and include files posted for download, it is no longer necessary to download long files and set up a "trial version" in order to evaluate HotBasic. With this quick start to HotBasic evaluation, viewing the source code examples and running the executables is easier than ever!
Sep 7 HotBasic 1.6p and 3.1 eliminate the -H switch (see new hb.bat), clean up some bugs and make use with HotIDE or other IDE easier.
Sep 4 MILESTONE: HotIDE provides color-coding of HotBasic source code and baseline IDE functions.
Maj. Hog: "I deny involvement in the Visual Basic Veterans For Truth ads promoting HotBasic."
Aug 31 GATES VISIT WATCH: 1 month. Still no clear response to invitation to HotBasic Manor.
Aug 18 HotBasic v3.0 adds TREEVIEW, HEADER, and UPDOWN Objects and a LISTBOX/FILELISTBOX .TabStops method to establish columns in these "boxes".
Aug 13 HotBasic 1.6n and 2.9n add VERSION Object with read only .Major, .Minor, .Build and .Platform numeric properties and a .Info (additional information) string property.
Aug 12 v2.9m adds (1) COMBOBOX .Edit = true/false; (2) EDIT .Password = true/false; (3) BOOLEAN (alias BOOL) numeric function; and (4) IIF numeric and string functions.
Maj. Hog: "It is not correct to report that a date has been set for the Gates 'dinner and movie' visit to HotBasic Manor."
Aug 7 HotBasic "h" versions adds different function for FORM .ShowModal and .Show methods.
July 31 HotBasic "d" versions address an "unnecessary parentheses" issue in conditional expressions. v2.9d fixes GAUGE and SCROLLBAR .Vertical = true.
BREAKING NEWS: Mr. Bill Gates of Microsoft Corporation invited to HotBasic Manor.
July 30 HotBasic v2.9c revises PAGEDIALOG Object replacing .Margin and .MinMargin rectangles with RW access to specific items, e.g., .MarginLeft, .MarginTop, etc. PrintDev.inc adds RW access to DevNames data (PrintDev 1.1).
July 30 HotBasic v2.9b expands the scope of Custom Object EXTENDS to include all objects -- dimensioned or not-dimensioned: APPLICATION, CLIPBOARD, CONSOLE, FILEREC, FPU, MOUSE, PRINTER, PROPERTIES and SCREEN.
MILESTONE: July 28 HotBasic v2.9a adds EXTENDS Object to Custom Objects, which can now add/modify properties, methods and functions to native HotBasic Objects. Test code posted in Yahoo HotBasic group; Manual update later.
MILESTONE: July 26 HotBasic v1.6c and v2.8c:
(1) Guarantee unique string buffer usage in string expressions;
(2) Fix a mixup in reading FORM .Enabled, .ExStyle, .Style and .Visible numeric values in "b" versions (example in HotWin 2.5);
(3) Add $DEFINE/$MARCO list rescan if a "hit" is found (hi, Don!);
(4) v2.8c adds FORM .Destroy and .Create methods, which must be used in .Destroy - .Create order.
Maj. Hog: "It is not my fault if the candidate you vote for is elected."
July 25 HotBasic v1.6b and v2.8b: (1) added or improved FORM numeric functions .Enabled, .ExStyle, .Style and .Visible, so that applications may better monitor these "properties" of FORM objects. (2) revised $DEFINE/$MACRO where symbol2 may be anything -- e.g., "$DEFINE symbol1 x1 or x2 or x3" and in code, "x = symbol1". For symbol2, now quoted strings need not and should not be used. (3) now $UNDEF is not necessary before a $DEFINE/$MACRO which redefines a previous $DEFINE/$MACRO of symbol1. (4) a $DEFINE statement may contain a comma-delimited list of symbols to define. (5) added FORM numeric functions/properties .MENU, .FONT and .STATUS (StatusBar) to get the handles. (6) Please see revised "FORM" help hotform.txt.
July 21 HotBasic 1.6a (new build) and 2.8a add (1) OBJECT keyword (alias for TYPE); (2) OBJECT/TYPE Constructor syntax to set default values; and (3) in v2.8a, hbObj variable with address of dimensioned OBJECT.
MILESTONE: July 21 HotBasic 2.8 expands UDT's (properties) with "As SUB" (methods) and "As FUNCTION". In brief, HotBasic TYPE structures can create "full function" custom OBJECTS. There are hundreds of .dll's; now custom Objects can be produced for use as HB interfaces, just like the regular objects in HB.
Maj. Hog: "Me? I want a "Rover" object. It would sure help NASA programmers to just "Dim MyRover as ROVER" to write the control software for upcoming space probes.
July 20 HotBabe brought home a PROPERTIES (alias PROP) Object in v2.7. Please see new hotprop.txt help file.
Reporter: "Is it possible that you could be the next HotBasic CEO?"
Maj. Hog: "The legal department finds that the CEO does not have to be human, citing the precedent that swine have already served as CEOs in major companies."
July 19 HotBasic 1.6a and 2.6a: (1) improved numeric expression evaluation correctly compiles more complex expressions (please see new prec.bas in hotpro18.zip); (2) new NEG numeric function and FPU method (alias for FPU.chs) where NEG(x) is the same as -(x); (3) new QUOTE string function -- same as CHR$(34) but faster; (4) revised SHOWCONSOLE hopefully allowing command-line redirection and working across all Windows versions; (5) fixed EXTRACTRESOURCE -- which broke somewhere recently (see hotextra.bas); (6) renamed common GUI symbols like hForm, hMenu, hIcon, etc, to avoid conflicts with user source code.
July 11 HotBasic v1.3e and v2.5f add two ERROR messages -- "Incomplete statement" and "Expected end of statement" -- indicating missing or extra code respectively. v2.5f adds SPLASH, a new FORM Object.
July 8 Hotbasic v1.3d and v2.5d add (1) hyperbolic math HCOS, HSIN and HTAN as numeric functions and as FPU Object methods; (2) .Handle property gets memory handles for data in STRING, MEMORY, ARRAY and LIST Objects. v2.5d (3) adds STRING, MEMORY, ARRAY and LIST .LoadFromHandle method to load data by its memory handle; and (4) enhances the PRINTER Object to include properties and methods in the PRINTDIALOG Object. Please see Manual updates for details.
July 4 v1.3c and v2.5c add FREECONSOLE statement. v2.5c adds PRINTER Object (please see PRINTER in Manual).
July 2 v1.3b and v2.5b (1) extend maximum array size to about 42 megs and (2) change GUI class .background default to 16 (COLOR_BTNFACE+1).
MILESTONE update: PureBasic site forum officials have done the right thing in deleting the unethical and flaming thread, which wrongfully brought shame to PureBasic and its users.
Copyright © 2003-2004 James J Keene PhD
HotBasic™ is a trademark of James J Keene
Original Publication: May 29, 2003
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