MICROSOFT LANGUAGES NEWSLETTER VOL. 2, NO. 6

News about the Microsoft Language FamilyNew Microsoft® QuickBASIC 3.0 Includes Integrated Debugger and Editor Enhancements

It's hard to improve on a great product like Microsoft QuickBASIC, but we've added and enhancedfeatures in Version 3.0 that make developing programs faster and easier than ever. Integrated debuggerenhancements let you pinpoint errors by tracing or animating through your source code. Now you canobserve the contents of your program's variables as the program is running. And set dynamic breakpoints at runtime to easily stop the program where you want. You don't have to add STOP statementsto your programs and wait for another compilation anymore. With the debugger completely integratedinto the compiler, you can start debugging your program while it's running simply by pressingCTRL-BREAK.

Microsoft QuickBASIC's built-in editor has been enhanced to support overtype as well as theexisting insert mode so editing your programs is easier. In contrast to other compilers that give up afterfmding a single error, Microsoft QuickBASIC keeps track of all errors found during compilation. Youcan correct all the errors at once instead of recompiling for each error. And the Microsoft QuickBASICVersion 3.0 editor is compatible with SuperKey,® ProKey,™ and SideKick® programs.

As in Version 2.0, Microsoft QuickBASIC 3.0 supports multiple-module programming. Separatecompilation lets you divide your program into pieces that are compiled independently. These pieces canbe integrated into other BASIC programs without recompilation. The linker in Microsoft QuickBASICmakes it easy to add Microsoft Macro Assembler object files to your BASIC programs. Just assembleyour Microsoft Macro Assembler routines and let the linker incorporate them into Microsoft QuickBASICautomatically. There's no need to convert your Microsoft Macro Assembler routines into COM filesor write them as hexadecimal numbers in your BASIC source file as in other compilers.

Math Coprocessor Support in Microsoft QuickBASIC 3.0 Speeds ProgramsMicrosoft QuickBASIC now has support for the 8087 and 80287 math coprocessors. The full 80-bit

IEEE math support of the math coprocessor is needed for programs that demand the most precisecalculations. In addition to this, you may use the existing Microsoft Binary Math support for fast 64-bitmath or the new 8087 emulation routines for more accuracy when you don't have a coprocessor.

There have also been many dramatic speed enhancements in Microsoft QuickBASIC 3.0, especiallyin graphics and math. For example, Version 3.0 is 118% faster than Version 2.0 for circles. And with8087/80287 math coprocessor support, the floating-point math is 160% faster than in Version 2.0.

New Microsoft QuickBASIC Language Extensions Make Programs Easier to ReadA number of new control structures such as SELECT CASE, DO WHILE, DO UNTIL, LOOP

WHILE, LOOP UNTIL, and EXIT have been added to Microsoft QuickBASIC 3.0. These are statements similar to those found in Microsoft C and Microsoft Pascal. These statements, in addition to theblock IF/THEN/ELSE/END IF (which was incorporated in Version 2.0), make structured programming easier.

The new named constants make your programs more readable and easier to maintain. Subprogramsand multi-line functions have true local variables and allow you to call them by name and pass themparameters. These C-like structures let you write programs that are more well organized.

For more information on the products and featuresdiscussed in the Newsletter,write to: Microsoft Languages Newsletter16011 NE 36th Way, Box 97017, Redmond, WA 98073-9717.Or phone:(800) 426-9400. In Washington State and Alaska,caH (206) 882-8088. In Canada, call (416) 673-7638

Microsoft and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. ProKey is a trademark of HoseSoft, ISideKick and SuperKey :uv n-t^tered trademarks of Borland International, Inc.

Look for the Microsoft Languages Newsletter every month in this publication.

Latest DOS Versions:Microsoft C Compiler 4.00Microsoft COBOL 2.20Microsoft FORTRAN 4.00Microsoft Macro Assembler 4.00Microsoft Pascal 3.32Microsoft QuickBASIC 3.00

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