Basic

Dumb question
Years ago I did a lot of work in dBase and still have the programs and
databases.

I also have a copy of the Basic that it ran on. Is there any chance
that I could get the basic to run on Windows 10 and run dBase?

--
2017: The year we learn to play the great game of Euchre

On Sat, 25 Nov 2017 14:44:10 -0500, Keith Nuttle
wrote:

Dumb question
Years ago I did a lot of work in dBase and still have the programs and
databases.

I also have a copy of the Basic that it ran on. Is there any chance
that I could get the basic to run on Windows 10 and run dBase?

What era of Basic are you talking about? The 1980's stuff with line
numbers? Early 90's QuickBasic? Later 90's Visual Basic?

In article , Keith Nuttle
writes
Dumb question
Years ago I did a lot of work in dBase and still have the programs and
databases.

I also have a copy of the Basic that it ran on. Is there any chance that I
could get the basic to run on Windows 10 and run dBase?

I wrote a dos basic accounts program for my Video Genie II, transferred
it to an Amstrad CPC 6128 and then a PC, I last ran it on Windows 7
under DosBox, not tried it on 10 although I have an ancient copy of
Sherlock which runs adequately on 10 with DosBox, my accounts programme
would probably do the same.

Mike

--
Michael Swift We do not regard Englishmen as foreigners.
Kirkheaton We look on them only as rather mad Norwegians.
Yorkshire Halvard Lange

On 11/25/2017 3:32 PM, Pat wrote:
On Sat, 25 Nov 2017 14:44:10 -0500, Keith Nuttle
wrote:

Dumb question
Years ago I did a lot of work in dBase and still have the programs and
databases.

I also have a copy of the Basic that it ran on. Is there any chance
that I could get the basic to run on Windows 10 and run dBase?

What era of Basic are you talking about? The 1980's stuff with line
numbers? Early 90's QuickBasic? Later 90's Visual Basic?

I am talking the basic compiler from the late 80's The piece that was
installed on top of DOS, Once the BASIC piece was installed you then
loaded the dBase part.

It has been a couple of years and I don't remember exactly how the dos
computer was set up May be dBase ran directly on the DOS OS.

If so has any one tried to run the old dBase III or IV on Windows.


--
2017: The year we learn to play the great game of Euchre

On 25/11/2017 19:44, Keith Nuttle wrote:
Dumb question
Years ago I did a lot of work in dBase and still have the programs and
databases.

I also have a copy of the Basic that it ran on. Is there any chance
that I could get the basic to run on Windows 10 and run dBase?


There is Microsoft Visual Basic that you can use free of charge. I
suggest try downloading Visual Studio Community Edition and when
installing it, you need to use Custom installation so that you can
choose programming languages. You want to select Visual Basic from the
list. Nothing else.

Visual Studio is a very big application and can take hours (in fact it
took two days for one user - he posted his experiences on Stack Exchange
forum and on ASP.Net forum) to install if you don't do it the correct
way. I have installed all versions since 2010 so I know how to do
things the correct way!!!!!!!



--
With over 500 million devices now running Windows 10, customer
satisfaction is higher than any previous version of windows.

"Stefan Ram" wrote

| BASIC is characterized by typical commands like
|
| REM ...
| LET ...
| DATA ...
| READ ...
| INPUT ...
| PRINT ...
| DEF FN...
| GO TO ... (or maybe GOTO ...)
| GOSUB ...
| RETURN
|
| and, sometimes,
|
| MAT ...
|
| . I think that "Visual Basic" does /not/ support most of
| these commands. So I wonder why it's called "Basic".
|

It supports a number of them, though most
are now archaic. There's an interesting read he

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC

VB grew very gradually out of BASIC roots. MS
eventually made it more capable to accomodate
more uses. They designed it so that corporate
employees with limited experience could do things
like write a UI for a database.
With VB5/6 it became capable of nearly anything
that could be done with C++, as programming in
general was increasingly being done commercially
and often didn't need to be accessing the hardware
directly, but there was a big call for desktop
software. Similarly, commercial variants of Basic
developed, some of which are fully capable for
writing compiled desktop software.

MS kept the name to market VB.Net, despite that
being something altogether different. But there is
a commonality that runs through it: VB is not case-
sensitive, tends to be verbose, doesn't use semicolons
to end lines, and is generally safer than C insofar as
there's memory management, garbage collection, and
limited direct access to memory. That is, it's "high level",
in the sense that it's abstracted from the level of
true functionality at the processor and memory.

There's been a general trend in that direction over
the years. First there was programming to the CPU.
Then OSs wrapped that and provided a set of easier
functions. That's basically what Windows is: A function
platform for software to run on, abstracted slightly from
the hardware. Java and DotNet are both sandboxed
wrappers around that -- another level removed. Microsoft's
"universal apps" are at a further level removed, something
like scripted webpages. As computers get more powerful
and so much code has already been optimized, it makes
sense to write software that uses wrappers. By analogy,
you can grow your own wheat and grind it to make bread.
Or you can buy flour to make bread. Or you can go to
the store and buy a loaf to make your lunch. Or you
can go to a restaurant and just buy a sandwich all made.

The latter is like buying software. Buying bread is like
using object-oriented languages: You make a meal by
putting together pre-made parts. For most purposes
these days, those approaches make sense. They're a lot
easier and more adaptable than growing your own crops.
Not everyone can be a farmer.

I think a lot of the resulting landscape is cultural. C was
for geeks and Basic was for hobbyists. Over the years,
high level, abstracted languages like Basic have become
common. It's cheaper to train programmers. There's no
reason to reinvent the wheel. It can be made safer in
terms of security.
Java, DotNet, and scripting are typical examples. Those
tend to be heavily object-oriented and even higher level
than Basic, being interpreted or sandboxed and thus an
entire extra level away from the hardware. What's the
difference between the C and B versions of DotNet? Mostly
semicolons and culture.

There are lots of
geeks doing high level coding who would still, nevertheless,
like to think of themselves as people who "drive a standard"
and not a suburban SUV like Basic. Or to use the analogy
above, they're people who buy lunch at a sandwich shop,
but still like to think of themselves as people who bake their
own bread. To a great extent that distinction has been
maintained through style. They might
be using high-level DotNet or Java, but as long as
the language uses semicolons and is case-sensitive it looks
like C. Add in some planned abstruseness by not writing
clear code and you've got something very C-esque. For
instance, VBers are likely to write a function like:

ResultingString = GetTheStringIWant(SourceText, Length)

Deliberately clear coding. C-family coders are likely to write
something like:

res=gstr(st, l);

They like to view Basic-style as baby talk. Yet most
of DotNet and Java are actually higher level than VB.
They're not even compiled but rather "just in time"
compiled -- a kind of semi-interpreted method. For
the most part they're fully abstracted from the hardware.

Which gets back to why is it called Basic? It's mostly
because it conforms to a general paradigm of simplicity
and verboseness. And no semicolons.

"Stefan Ram" wrote

| By those circumstances, people were trained to use
| short variable names explained by a commment.
| Today, they are expected to unlearn this again,
| and use the comment as the name of the variable.
|

Maybe so, but what I see is C++/javascript programmers
using terse, lower-case variables in order to make their
code look gritty. (Then of course there's the deliberate
extreme obfuscation of popular javascript "libraries" used
online, where all variables are a single letter. That's done
more for leanness and to hide what the code is doing,
but it dovetails with the general "abstruse is intelligent"
theme.)

On 11/25/2017 10:08 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
On 11/25/2017 3:32 PM, Pat wrote:
On Sat, 25 Nov 2017 14:44:10 -0500, Keith Nuttle
wrote:

Dumb question
Years ago I did a lot of work in dBase and still have the programs and
databases.

I also have a copy of the Basic that it ran on.Â* Is there any chance
that I could get the basic to run on Windows 10 and run dBase?

What era of Basic are you talking about?Â* The 1980's stuff with line
numbers?Â* Early 90's QuickBasic?Â* Later 90's Visual Basic?

I am talking the basic compiler from the late 80'sÂ* The piece that was
installed on top of DOS,Â* Once the BASIC piece was installed you then
loaded the dBase part.

It has been a couple of years and I don't remember exactly how the dos
computer was set upÂ* May be dBase ran directly on the DOS OS.

If so has any one tried to run the old dBase III or IV on Windows.


What would be the point, unless you're on a nostalgia quest? There are
ways to convert dBase-format files to something more current (MS-SQL,
Access, etc.) and compatible with programming options available in
Visual Studio.

--
best regards,

Neil

On Sun, 26 Nov 2017 08:34:00 -0500, Mayayana wrote:

Which gets back to why is it called Basic?

Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

On 11/26/2017 12:22 PM, mechanic wrote:
On Sun, 26 Nov 2017 08:34:00 -0500, Mayayana wrote:

Which gets back to why is it called Basic?

Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code


Way back when, I was quite proficient in Applesoft basic and wrote
Utility Billing programs for the Winnipeg Convention Centre tenants.
That was a few days ago, Late 1970s. :-)

Rene

"mechanic" wrote

| Which gets back to why is it called Basic?
|
| Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

I was answering "why is VB called Basic, given that
it bears little resemblance to the original?"

On Sun, 26 Nov 2017 14:08:28 -0500, "Mayayana"
wrote:

"mechanic" wrote

| Which gets back to why is it called Basic?
|
| Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

I was answering "why is VB called Basic, given that
it bears little resemblance to the original?"

Because it is the basic version of VB ?


KenW

"KenW" wrote

| I was answering "why is VB called Basic, given that
| it bears little resemblance to the original?"
|
| Because it is the basic version of VB ?
|
I couldn't tell if that was meant as a joke. VB
stands for visual basic. Maybe you knew that.
But maybe other don't.

I thought the Wikipedia piece was very interesting
and informative. The idea of a language for
non-mathematicians seems to persist through all
the various basic types. It's certainly that for me.
I love programming but I'm not a math type. I don't
do well with the hardcore stuff. VB 5/6 is nice that
way because it allows one to do anything from
beginner to advanced with the same tools.

"mechanic" wrote

Which gets back to why is it called Basic?

Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

I was answering "why is VB called Basic, given that
it bears little resemblance to the original?"

Basic runs on DOS and is still used for CNC programming; -nothing visual about
it! Only resemblance to VB is syntax related and some of its built-in
functions/methods. I have desktop software for my CNC machines but don't know
if it works on Win10, but don't see why not if Win10 supports DOS!

--
Garry

Free usenet access at http://www.eternal-september.org
Classic VB Users Regroup!
comp.lang.basic.visual.misc
microsoft.public.vb.general.discussion

On Sun, 26 Nov 2017 14:08:28 -0500, Mayayana wrote:

"mechanic" wrote

| Which gets back to why is it called Basic?
|
| Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

I was answering "why is VB called Basic, given that
it bears little resemblance to the original?"

You asked why it's called Basic, I answered. VB is something
different.