BBC BASIC for Windows
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BBC BASIC for Windows version 5.91a released
Post by admin on Jan 2nd, 2010, 3:48pm

I'm pleased to announce the release of BBC BASIC for Windows version 5.91a. This is primarily a maintenance release to fix some minor anomalies reported or discovered during the last year, but a few new features have been incorporated as an added incentive to upgrade:

  1. INSTALL checks to see if the library is already loaded:

    Note that a case-sensitive comparison of the supplied path/filename is performed, so the same library being specified slightly differently will not be detected.

  2. ON ERROR LOCAL OFF temporarily disables error trapping:

    Previously you could temporarily change the error handling, using ON ERROR LOCAL, but you couldn't temporarily restore the default error handling.

  3. RESTORE LOCAL restores local variables and formal parameters:

    This is principally intended for use in ON ERROR LOCAL handlers, so you can restore the values of formal parameters and LOCAL/PRIVATE variables of a function or procedure if an error occurs during its execution.

  4. TRACE STEP ON|OFF enables or disables single-step (pause) mode:

    These behave identically to @flags% OR= &4000000 and @flags% AND= NOT &4000000 respectively (thanks to JGH for the suggestion).

  5. Fewer restrictions on the use of continuation lines:

    It is now possible to use continuation lines in single-line IF and ON statements (so long as there is no ELSE clause, or the ELSE clause starts before the first continuation character '\'). This is particularly useful in allowing ON event statements (e.g. ON SYS) to extend over multiple lines. You must not put anything (not even a comment) after the \.

  6. Improvements to benefit the assembly-language programmer:

    (a) It is now possible to open and close files, read and set PTR# and read and set EXT# from assembler code.
    (b) When there are alternative encodings of an instruction, the shortest form is now always used (previously that was not true in special cases such as 'add eax,1').
    (c) The 'no operand' forms of the 'fsubr' and 'fdivr' instructions are now accepted.
    (d) The cruncher no longer generates variables which clash with register names, giving rise to assembler syntax errors.

The following libraries, new to the BB4W distribution, are included:

ASMLIB.BBCExtending the assembler
MULTIWIN.BBCMultiple output windows
NOWAIT.BBCReplacement functions which don't stall interrupts
STRINGLIB.BBCString manipulation
XMLLIB.BBC Parse XML files

The following example programs, new to the BB4W distribution, are included:

ASMTEST4.BBCTests the assembler extensions
BANNER.BBC Scrolls a news banner across the bottom of the window
MULTIDEM.BBCDemonstrates the use of multiple output windows
PROMPTER.BBCSmooth vertical scroll, e.g. for use as a teleprompter

To upgrade your copy of BBC BASIC for Windows to version 5.91a, and at the same time update your libraries, example programs and manual, download and install UPGRADE.EXE from here:

http://www.rtrussell.co.uk/bbcwin/download.html

Richard.