Which PB Compiler should I choose?

PowerBASIC offers three commercial compilers, each of which may fit your needs in a different way. It's not surprising that we often hear the question "Which compiler should I choose?" Well, the answer depends upon your personal goals, and the type of application you need to create.  Stay with us for a minute, and we'll work out your particular answer.

In this article, we'll concentrate on the differences in these compilers, so you can make an informed choice. We won't try to talk about every possible feature here. Of course, complete specifications are available in the PowerBASIC Product Catalog, so it would be good to visit there soon. For a chart of every statement and function, and a comparison to other compilers, check out the PowerFeatures, as well.

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PB/DOS generates 16-bit programs that run under the DOS operating system. That includes MS-DOS, PC-DOS, DR-DOS, Caldera DOS, etc. All version of Windows, even WinXP, include a DOS emulator. So do some other platforms like OS/2, Macintosh, Unix and Linux. PB/DOS programs can be readily executed in all of these emulators.

DOS is an older operating system, with limited support from some vendors. In fact, many competing compilers for DOS have been abandoned, but not PowerBASIC! Our product is fully supported, with many improvements planned for the future. It's 99% compatible with GW-Basic and TurboBasic, and very similar to Microsoft's QBasic, QuickBasic, and PDS. It offers a built-in assembler, 16-Megabyte virtual arrays, huge string space, extended precision floats, and much more. PB/DOS offers both text and graphical capabilites, and some features, like PopUp programs, which are unique to the DOS platform. For complete technical details, visit the PowerBASIC/DOS product page.

Why choose PowerBASIC for DOS? Many possible reasons...  PowerBASIC/DOS is our lowest cost compiler, and runs well on older, less expensive computers. An outstanding choice for students and those on a budget. Obviously, it's required for those who must write or maintain code on the DOS platform. That might be older programs, or even new ones for the embedded single-board computers in gas pumps, vending machines, even robots and toasters!

That said, before embarking on a DOS project, keep in mind the limitations of the operating system itself: Less Memory. Slower execution. Less availability of new hardware, as many manufacturers no longer create device drivers for DOS. As a general rule, most new projects are likely best targeted towards 32-bit Windows instead.

PowerBASIC offers two compilers for Windows. In many respects, they're quite similar. Both generate fast and efficient 32-bit executables. Both offer a complete macro facility, regular expressions, and a 32-bit assembler. Both offer client support for Automation COM Objects, access to 2 gigabytes of memory,  and TCP/UDP to communicate with other computers, including mail servers, FTP servers, time servers and more! Both can access any industry-standard DLL, while PB/Windows can create them, too! Both have a great IDE, and debugging with Step, Trace, Animate, Profile, and Call Stacks! So what's the big difference? It's all in the user interface. It's just that simple.

Windows offers two distinct forms of user interface. The graphical user interface (GUI) is the form normally associated with Windows. It uses icons, buttons, list boxes, edit boxes, and other graphical elements to communicate with the user. It makes heavy use of the mouse, which is a virtual necessity.  It requires that you structure your code in an "event-driven" fashion -- that is, it must be written to respond to the occurrence of a predefined event, like a mouse click on a button. The second form is the text-mode interface, which uses the Console Window for display. "Console" is the correct name for the "DOS Box" in Windows, because the Console can be used to run either 16-bit DOS programs or 32-bit Windows Console programs.  When you run a Console program, it executes in text mode and looks just like a comparable DOS application.

The PowerBASIC Console Compiler is well suited for porting DOS code to Windows. Or for applications which need little or no user interface, like Web Servers and utility code. Just like its DOS cousin, PB/CC uses a console interface, and programs look very similar. But don't let that fool you! Behind that blinking cursor is a progam connected right to the heart of 32-bit Windows. As a true 32-bit Windows application, your PB/CC programs can use up to 2 gigabytes of memory, with multi-threading and multi-megabyte strings. It can access Windows devices like printers, modems, and networks (even the Internet!) For display, PB/CC uses familiar functions like PRINT, LOCATE, COLOR...  even LINE INPUT and LPRINT! You even get STDIN, STDOUT, and STDERR -- instant communication for CGI apps on your web server!

With PB/CC, the bottom line is very simple... If you don't need a fancy user interface, don't waste time, money, and effort creating one. Write 32-bit Windows code quickly that you can use today! You don't need to spend time on event-driven programming, callbacks, or other advanced concepts, until you decide you're ready to do so. For complete technical details, please visit the PowerBASIC Console Compiler product page.

PowerBASIC 8 for Windows is our flagship compiler with DDT™: Dynamic Dialog Tools™. It creates GUI applications and DLLs with the Windows "Look and Feel"... Dialogs, Buttons, ListBoxes, and so forth. Everything you need for a state-of-the-art Windows application! DDT is a unique set of functions which allow you to create Dynamic Forms! With DDT, you'll easily add, change, or remove any control while your program is running. You'll resize, change colors, display hundreds of different "looks" on-the-fly. All without megabytes of run-time code in external DLLs. Further, PowerBASIC executables are downright tiny! They can be 10 times, 20 times, even 100 times smaller than what you get from BloatWare Compilers. You know, using PowerBASIC 8 for Windows, it's not unusual to deliver a substantial 32-bit GUI application, even multiple applications, on a single floppy diskette.

In a sense, PB/Win is actually two compilers in one. In addition to great executables, it also creates industry standard DLLs. These code modules can be used with PB/Win, PB/CC, Visual Basic, Delphi, or virtually other programming language to keep code modular, or add capabilities that just aren't possible elsewhere.  That's the way VB programmers use PowerBASIC DLLs to speed up critical portions of their code! Of course, PowerBASIC for Windows is a great complement to PB/CC, as it can compile DLLs compatible with console applications. For all the details, please visit the PowerBASIC for Windows product page soon. And don't forget, you can team up PB/Win with PowerBASIC Forms, our drag'n'drop Visual Designer, for the quickest GUI generation in town!

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