Future Basic: It's not your father's basic



Author: George Glaser

Date: August, 1993

Keywords: programming language application software compiler review
zedcor

Text:
Programing a DOS machine is intimidating to a non-programer, but
programing a Macintosh is intimidating even to experienced DOS
programers. The programmer must work extra hard to make the Macintosh
user friendly. For example, to display ''Hello World'' to the screen on
a DOS machine is a simple Pascal program that consist of four lines of
code. To do the same simple task on the Mac, with all of the familiar
Mac interface, requires about four pages of code. This has kept many of
us enthusiastic Mac users from dabbling with Mac programing. 
A number of products have been developed to ease the arduous process of
writing ''user friendly'' Mac programs. These are referred to as high
level programing languages; they shield the programer from the details
hidden behind each command. Zedcor's Future Basic* (FB) is aimed at
both the novice & experienced Mac programers. It is a higher level
language than C, therefore it lets you do more with fewer lines of
code. FB has the deceptive ease of good 'ole Basic, but it's powerful
commands make quick work of programing the Mac. Experienced programers
have found that FB is a great tool where time is essential. Writing the
same ''Hello World'' program with FB takes about a page of code, and
that includes all of the Mac interface goodies. It still takes more
lines of code than a DOS type machine, but you are getting more out of
your program than in a DOS environment.
As a novice at programing, I found the ''Getting Started'' tutorial
clear and easy to follow. I was surprised that I never called my
programmer friend for help! That says a lot about the manuals! The
program comes on three 800k disks and is installed with an extraction
window. Future Basic is 6 MB total. The debugger is easy to use with
helpful suggestions and it highlights the line in question. Stand alone
applications created with FB carry an overhead of 5k with the trim run
time version, or 40k with the expanded version. The expanded version is
more tolerant of code deviations. 
Future Basic differs from old Basic in many areas. The most noticeable
is the way the code looks (and works). Instead of the old 10 ..., 20
..., 30 ..., there is obvious modular construction with Constants,
Globals, Functions, and Main sections of each program. This gives the
ability to store and access libraries of code for frequently used
procedures. There are many other wonderful new features that my
programer friend raved about, most of it however would only make sense
to experienced programers.
Future Basic is just what this novice needed to take the plunge into
the cryptic world of Mac Programing. For a more expert evaluation of
Future Basic, check out the following sources: MacWorld, July '93, page
176, (4 star rating). MacTechMagazine, May '93, vol.9 #5, page 56,
Tools of the Trade dept.

System Requirements:  Mac Plus or higher, 2 MB RAM recommended, Hard
drive recommended, System 6.05 or higher, fully supports System 7.0
Future Basic*  $299, Available from Zedcor, Inc., 4500 E. Speedway,
Suite 22, Tucson, AZ  85712-5305, (602) 881-8101

Copyright © august, 1993 by George Glaser