Basic4GL

Infobox programming language
name = Basic4GL

paradigm = Procedural
year = 2002
developer = Tom Mulgrew
latest_release_version = v2.5.6
latest_release_date = 6 September 2008
dialects = BASIC
influenced_by = QuickBASIC, GW-BASIC
operating_system = Windows, Linux
license = Gpl
website = http://www.basic4gl.net

Basic4GL is an interpreted, open source version of the BASIC programming language which also features support for 3D computer graphics using OpenGL. While being interpreted, it is also able to compile the users programs on top of the virtual machine to produce executable programs.

It uses a syntax similar to traditional dialects of BASIC and features an IDE and a very thorough and comprehensive Debugger.

Basic4GL is not designed to compete with programming languages such as C++; it was intended to replace older languages such as QBasic or GFA BASIC.

Basic4GL features the usual commands that you would expect to find in a version of BASIC such as...

*PRINT
*INPUT
*GOSUB

It also includes a few features that C programmers will be familiar with, such as support for pointers, structures and most importantly the entire OpenGL v1.1 API.

Platform

Basic4GL was designed to run on the Windows operating system but a version is being developed for Linux.

Example

Dim AFor A = 0 To 4Printr "Hello "; ANext

When the above code is entered into Basic4GL and executed, you should see the following output on your monitor screen.

Hello 0Hello 1Hello 2Hello 3Hello 4

upport for sound and music

When Basic4GL was first released it could only play sounds but in 2006 support for music was added using the Open Al sound engine but later replaced with Audiere.

Functions and subroutines

When Basic4GL was first released it had no support for functions. That changed however when version 2.5.0 was released in January 2008. Now Basic4GL has full support for local variables, parameters, forward declaration and recursion.

Plugins

In August 2006 support for Plugin DLL's was added to Basic4GL. This means that you can write your own commands and include them in the Basic4GL programming language, all you need is a C++ Compiler.

Basic4GL for Linux

Currently Basic4GL is being ported over to Linux. The major difference between Basic4GL for Windows and the new Linux version is that it uses the SDL library rather than Windows specific libraries to initialize an OpenGL enabled window. There is also a Linux based project to create an extended version of Basic4GL that wraps more closely to the SDL library known as [http://p13.wikispaces.com/B4SDL Basic4SDL] .

Basic4GL for Mac

Is currently under development. No working versions have been released.

ourceForge

Both Basic4GL for Windows and the new Linux version have been placed on SourceForge, this means that people are free to develop the languages and make improvements to them.

Basic4Games

A successor to Basic4GL is currently being developed dubbed "Basic4Games". Only one preview has been released.

ee also

*Brutus2D
*Blitz Basic
*Darkbasic
*FreeBASIC
*Game maker
*ThinBasic
*GLBasic
*List of BASIC dialects
*List of BASIC dialects by platform

External links

* [http://www.basic4gl.net/ Official site]
* [http://b4gl-linux.wikispaces.com/ Basic4GL for Linux]
* [http://basic4gl.wikispaces.com/ Basic4GL wikispace]
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/basic4gl/ Basic4GL on SourceForge]
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/basic4sdl/ Basic4GL for Linux on SourceForge]
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/audiere Audiere on SourceForge]