[Gambas-user] windows and gambas

[Rob Kudla]

On Thu March 16 2006 09:31, mike webb wrote:
> anyone have any expericense with a "basic" programming laugage
> that runs under windows.
> it needs to be as much like gambas as possible and open
> source.

It's funny, but while there are dozens and dozens of BASIC 
dialects out there, I don't think any fit your bill yet.

There are a number of "cheapware" BASIC RAD environments for 
Windows, like RapidQ (free but discontinued and not open 
source), KBasic (25 bucks a copy, cross-platform, looks a lot 
like Gambas, but I've only heard poor reviews) and a ton of 
others listed below:

http://www.thefreecountry.com/compilers/basic.shtml

But to my knowledge, you have your choice between "open source" 
and "as much like Gambas as possible".... the only open source 
Windows BASIC compilers I know of (and listed there) are command 
line only, except XBASIC which feels like something from 1985.  
It may be that mbas (BASIC for Mono) will get there eventually, 
but it wouldn't surprise me if the occasional efforts to port 
Gambas made it there first.

We've been using the same approach as you for deploying Gambas 
apps under Windows.... run it through a vnc server with a 
minimal window manager.  We may eventually switch to freenx, 
which I think would provide a more native-like experience, if 
the version incompatibilities between it and nxclient ever go 
away.  I personally don't use Windows at all or I'd be working 
on the port myself.

I just found another site that seems to be a more current and 
comprehensive list of BASICs, though its author doesn't seem to 
care about price or whether they're open source or not:

http://basic.mindteq.com/List.asp

They give Gambas 3.5 stars out of 5. ;)

Rob