BBC BASIC for SDL 2.0 v1.01a released

[Richard Russell]

(apologies for the long post but I'm running out of places where I can make announcements!)

I have today released version 1.01a of BBC BASIC for SDL 2.0, the cross-platform programming language for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi, Android and iOS. The changes in this version are as follows:

• IDEs / Compiler:
  
  SDLIDE's 'Immediate Mode' has been modified so that it opens with the current program (if any) loaded, so for example a PROC can be run from the command prompt.
  
  SDLIDE's 'Save As' command opens the file selector in the directory containing the most recently loaded or saved program.
  
  The SDLIDE GUI has received minor cosmetic improvements, including PgUp and PgDn working more conventionally.
  
  Fixed a bug in the cross-reference utility causing it to misbehave if the current program has no procedures or no functions.

• BASIC Interpreter / Run Time Engine:
  
  VDU 23,23... sets the line thickness used for plotting outline circles, ellipses and arcs (as well as straight lines).
  
  The RECTANGLE SWAP statement has been implemented, compatible with that in BB4W.
  
  Blitting operations such as scrolling, RECTANGLE .. TO and MODE 7 double-height characters have been speeded up.
  
  Fixed a bug in the ARM and 64-bit editions (only) causing them not to accept a unary '+' before the exponent in E-notation numeric constants (d'oh!).

• Libraries:
  
  The angled-ellipse library has been updated so that it does not leave BBCSDL in an unstable state if interrupted with ESCape.
  
  The treeview library has been updated to fix a minor bug which allowed 'navigation' beyond the end of the tree.
  
  The dlglib library has received minor cosmetic improvements, and supports Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End in a List Box.

• Example Programs:
  
  The following example programs have been added:
  
  slitscan.bbc: A demonstration of how GPU shaders can be used to mimic an effect traditionally achieved optically, in this case one used in the opening titles of Doctor Who and also in 2001 A Space Odyssey.
  
  disco.bbc, surks.bbc and swirl.bbc (with thanks to David Williams): Colourful demos making use of RECTANGLE SWAP and 'thick' circles/ellipses and arcs respectively.

Clarification: SDLIDE.bbc will run in BBC BASIC for Windows (v6.12a only), if dlglib.bbc is copied into its LIB directory, but compatibility with BB4W is a low priority and you may notice minor graphical glitches when running on that platform.

iOS users: Please update BBCBasic to this version because the certificate used for the previous release is about to expire and the app will stop working when it does. Apple Ad Hoc iOS distribution certificates last for a year.

This new version may be downloaded, for all the supported platforms, from the usual location. The GitHub repository has been updated (used to build the MacOS, Raspberry Pi, iOS and 64-bit Linux editions, currently).

[alex_farlie]

Thank you for your continued efforts in supporting this :

[dhg2]

I'm glad to hear this. Thanks, Richard.

[RobMcK]

Hi Richard,

Thank you for your continued support of BBC Basic.

Will you be adding the icon files used to build the Mac Version of BBC BASIC for SDL to the github repository?

Regards

Rob

[Richard Russell]

Will you be adding the icon files used to build the Mac Version of BBC BASIC for SDL to the github repository?

I could do, but isn't it just as easy to extract them from the BBCBasic.app package once you've installed it on a Mac?

[RobMcK]

Hi Richard,

I can do that.

The reason I spotted they were missing is that one of my responsibilities at work is ensuring that everything required to build a product is checked into git.

Regards,

Rob

[Richard Russell]

The reason I spotted they were missing is that one of my responsibilities at work is ensuring that everything required to build a product is checked into git.

That may well be appropriate in the context of your work, but my interests are not best served by doing so. The only information I feel obliged to make available at github is what is necessary to build and run BBCSDL, not to package and distribute it! Release scripts are quite deliberately excluded (not least because of code-signing considerations).