Subject: GSoft BASIC Ships From: mikew50@aol.com (MikeW50) Date: Wed, Jul 29, 1998 0k06(H EDT Message-id: <1998072904065900.AAA24268@ladder01.news.aol.com> The Byte Works, famous in the Apple II world for its line of programming products and commitment to the Apple II community, is pleased to announce the release of GSoft BASIC, a new programming language for the Apple IIGS. It's a great choice for anyone who knows Applesoft but wants to go beyond its limits, as well as any programmer who wants a fast, easy to use language for creating text, graphics or desktop applications on the Apple IIGS. Here's a few early comments from some Apple II luminaries who have used GSoft BASIC: ------------ GSoft BASIC feels like home to anyone who knows Applesoft, but its also an escalator that carries you up past anything that BASIC could do on a GS before. Larger, more elegant programs, Super Hi-Res graphics, more accurate calculations, Toolbox programming, Desktop programs, and even the Internet. Wherever you want to go today, you can go with GSoft. -- Gareth Jones FOR X%=$00 to $FF PRINT "It's hard to believe that GSoft is an interpreter, especially when comparing it to some of the BASIC Compilers that were written for the GS. It's fast and very easy to use. GSoft seamlessly incorporates GS/OS and the Toolbox, giving it the power of a compiler when developing Desktop applications!" NEXT X% It's also the only basic that let's you use Hexadecimal in a FOR/NEXT loop! :) -- Richard Cain I've been waiting for an improved BASIC programming language for my IIGS for years and GSoft BASIC is it. Easy to learn and use, near Applesoft compatibility (but with none of the limitations), all the benefits of modern structured BASICs, full access to GS/OS and the IIGS Toolbox routines as well as the ability to add assembly language routines through user tools. GSoft BASIC has all of it and more. No more Applesoft for me! -- Jeff Blakeney ------------ GSoft BASIC is available for immediate shipment. If you act now, you save $10 off of the cover price! For all orders received before August 31st, 1998, you get GSoft BASIC for just $50, a $10 savings from the retail price of just $60. Include $5 for shipping in the U.S. and Canada; contact the publisher for shipping rates to other countries. Incidentally, our shipping rate of $5 is per order, not per product. Save even more by ordering from our list of over 80 Apple II programs! If you don't have a list, just e-mail a request. We can send a price list by e-mail, or a printed catalog by snail-mail. Here's a detailed description of this exciting new package, as well as contact information for the publisher: --- technical information --- GSoft BASIC A BASIC Interpreter for the Apple IIGS ======================================================== GS-25 GSoft BASIC 1.0 $60 Includes: 329 page spiral bound manual, index, table of contents; 2 800K ProDOS disks. System Requirements: Apple IIGS System 6.0 or better 1.125M RAM (2M recommended) 3.5 Floppy Disk Drive Additional 3.5 Floppy Disk Drive or a hard drive Companion Products: GS-12 Talking Tools GS-11 ORCA/Debugger Contact: Byte Works, Inc. 8000 Wagon Mound Dr. NW Albuquerque, NM 87120 Phone 505-898-8183 Fax 505-898-4092 AOL MikeW50 GEnie ByteWorks Internet MikeW50@AOL.COM GSoft BASIC is the long-awaited answer to the Applesoft programmer who wants to move to GS/OS, or the programmer who needs a quick way to create a program without the hassle of a full compiler. You can choose between an extended Applesoft-like environment that will feel comfortable to any Applesoft programmer, but that includes extensions like RENUMBER and a full screen editor; or a version that runs from any ORCA compatible shell. (The ORCA shell is not included.) Either way, you can turn finished programs into applications that launch from the Finder using a simple utility that adds a run-time module to your BASIC program. GSoft BASIC has all of the extensions you'd expect from a modern BASIC, like optional line numbers, PRINT USING, LINE INPUT (no comma problems!), structured statements and true subroutines and functions. It can use all of your available memory, so you can write huge programs that use lots of variable space. Strings can be up to 32767 characters long, double precision floating-point is available, and GSoft uses integer math for speed, supporting both short and long integers. Unlike any other Apple IIGS BASIC, GSoft BASIC truly supports toolbox programming. Toolbox programming requires the use of pointers and records, something other BASICs don't have. GSoft BASIC has both. While GSoft BASIC is an interpreter, and doesn't link directly with compiled and assembled programs, it still supports many of the popular ORCA programming tools. The Applesoft-like shell that comes with GSoft BASIC can use any ORCA compatible editor; you get a version of GSoft BASIC that will work from any ORCA compatible shell; GSoft BASIC works with ORCA/Debugger and Splat!, as well as any other ORCA compatible debugger; and GSoft BASIC supports user tools for adding subroutines written in other languages. There are even samples of user tools written in assembly language. So whether you are an experienced programmer looking for an environment for quick prototyping or a BASIC programmer from way back who wants a familiar language with all of the features you need to take advantage of the Apple IIGS, GSoft BASIC is a program you'll want to have for your Apple IIGS. Here are just some of the major features you'll find in GSoft BASIC: Language Features * Full access to the Apple IIGS Tools. * Write desktop programs, text programs or graphics programs that use QuickDraw without using the entire toolbox. * Define and access your own libraries using User Tools. * No fixed limit on program or variable space. * Optional line numbers. * Modern control statements, including: IF-THEN-ELSE DO-LOOP WHILE-WEND SELECT CASE * PRINT USING * LINE INPUT (For reading text with imbedded commas.) * Named subroutines and functions with passed parameters and local variables. * Disk I/O commands. * Data types include SINGLE, INTEGER, LONG, DOUBLE, BYTE and STRING. Strings can be up to 32767 characters. * Create types with names for easier to read programs. * Supports records and pointers. * Dynamic memory commands, including ALLOCATE, DISPOSE and SIZEOF. * Loads Applesoft programs. Incompatible lines are flagged for manual change. * Full toolbox support, including support for GS/OS, the ORCA shell and Talking Tools. * Access to other languages via user tools. * Includes two User Tools Libraries, with source code: Game Paddle for accessing the game paddle ports. Time and Date for reading the system clock.