msqb ====== Microsoft QuickBASIC ====== {{tag>msqb}} == Keywords == **{{backlinks>.#keywords}}** Microsoft QuickBASIC was released in August 1985 and, while not the first BASIC which did not require line numbers (not even by Microsoft), it quickly became the practical reference of what was to be the second generation of BASIC. With ideas which were part of the [[.:ansi:|ANSI standardization effort]], but mostly influenced and bothered by the Pascal hype of the early 1980s, it was a [[structured]] BASIC, with proper subroutines and functions, modularization support, user-defined data types (UDTs) like Pascal's //record// and C's //struct// — and, leaving the line/screen editors behind for good, a remarkable, friendly IDE, starting from its 2.0 version. Even more than its predecessor on the IBM-PC, [[gwbasic|GW-BASIC]], QB still lives in many modern BASIC dialects in various degrees. [[freebasic|FreeBASIC]] still maintains a ''-lang qb'' compatibility mode and [[QB64PE]] has the fundamental goal of becoming a legitimate and complete successor with added features. By its official lifetime until 1999, QuickBASIC had a number of versions, from stripped-down to souped-up ones, even for the Apple Macintosh. ===== Where it is/was used ===== * IBM-PC with MS-DOS (and compatibles) and OS/2 * Apple Macintosh with System 6 ===== Noteworthy characteristics ===== /* TO DO: a list or prose text about this BASIC's features, quirks, Easter eggs, tricks, singularities... */ ===== Environment and usage ===== /* TO DO: notes about the REPL or IDE used, keyboard shortcuts and commands, command-line options for compiling and linking, environment variables which might be set... */ ===== Extensions ===== /* TO DO: Famous libraries tools and extension packages made for this BASIC */ ===== Curiosities ===== /* TO DO: Historical notes, anecdotes, what people said about it */ ===== Related to... ===== /* * **[[basicTagName|basicTitle]]** - TO DO: a brief description of the relation they have with this one */ ==== Influenced by ==== /* * **[[basicTagName|basicTitle]]** - TO DO: which are the noticeable or assumed influences */ * **[[msmac|Microsoft BASIC for Macintosh]]** became earlier, apparently in 1984 ((https://archive.org/details/creativecomputing-1985-05/page/n47/mode/2up)), and may have been the first released Microsoft BASIC in which line numbers became optional * **[[msamiga|Amiga Microsoft BASIC]]** was developed at around the same time of the Mac version, to which it was often compared and said to be very similar; its interface brought glimpses of what QB was to be * **[[basics:ansi:|ANSI BASIC]]** is //said// to have been an influence: according to some, Microsoft had to prove a certain degree of adhesion to an official standard in order to be able to sell QuickBASIC to the United States government. ==== Influence for ==== /* * **[[basicTagName|basicTitle]]*** - TO DO: which are the noticeable or assumed influences */ * **[[basics:freebasic|FreeBASIC]]** was born with a goal to be a free compiler fr QB code. It later evolved into a dialect of its own under strong C++ influence, but a "compatibility mode" with QB remains as an option. ===== Versions and successors ===== /* No much need of prose here, just links. Notice the different patterns to create the links: * **[[basics:versionTagName|versionTitle]]** - for versions (created under this page) * **[[successorTagName|successorTitle]]** - for a successor (created as sibling of this page) */ When QuickBASIC is mentioned unversioned at this site, it is a reference to its (final) version **4.5**, probably the most successful one. Other notable versions were: * [[.:msqb:qbasic|QBasic]] was a limited, linker-less, compiler-less version of QuickBASIC 4.5, which was distributed for free with MS-DOS 5 and 6, some versions of Windows 95 and 98 and as a command-line interpreter until Windows versions 2000 and Me. In spite of several cuts, it still supports most of the keywords of its bigger brother. * [[.:msqb:mspds|Microsoft Professional Development System (PDS)]] had parts of it called "QuickBASIC Extended", and had its final version, 7.1, released in 1990. * **[[basics:qb64pe|QB64PE]]** is not a version, but an active free successor which, decades later, turned QB programs portable among multiple desktop platforms and added modernities to the language. ===== References ===== /* If the ((citation)) syntax was used elsewhere, they will be listed below this section. You can prepend this with a list of books, magazines and web pages with information used in this page */ * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QuickBASIC * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QBasic /* ===== Page tags ===== Follow the example below. Some tags might be useful for a to-be-implemented search mechanism. Separate tags with spaces, use quotes for a multiple-word tag {{tag>Compilers Microsoft Windows Linux}} */