Windows:
FreeBASIC Windows questions
Which IDE's are available for Windows?
At the moment three full featured IDE's have been developed specifically for FB:
FBIDE (not being updated, avoid using of old versions of FBC bundled with it),
FBEdit and
JellyFishPro. These IDE's require a minimum configuration -as path to the compiler- to work.
You can also download
FBIDE and
FBEdit as bundles (Editor+ Compiler) that install in a single operation. Notice the version of some of the components on these bundles may not be the latest available.
Commercial "general use" IDE's can be used with FreeBASIC but may require an extensive setup. They are handy for multi language programming, as they provide a unified user interface.
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Are there any guides on how to install any IDE's?
Yes, instructions for installing FB JFish Pro, FBIDE, and FBEdit can be found here:
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Can I get rid of the console / 'DOS' screen in a graphics application?
Definitely. You have to give FreeBASIC the right command for it when you compile your program.
- If you compile from a command prompt, simply add "-s gui" to the end, like "fbc myprg.bas -s gui"
- If you compile in a specific IDE, you have to edit the "Compiler Defaults".
- In Jelly-Fish Pro, its "Compiler->Set Compiler Defaults->Compiler Options". Add "-s gui" (NO QUOTES) in that box.
- In FBedit select Windows GUI in the targets dropdown list in the right of the tool bar.
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How to debug ?
FreeBASIC can use any debugger compatible with GNU GDB. Insight Win32 debugger is an user friendly wrapper for GDB.
- Get Insight from Dev-C++
- Rename the file to Insight.tar.bz2, and decompress it to an empty folder
- Compile your program with the -g switch
- Run <Your_Insight_Dir>\bin\usr\bin\Insight.exe
- Do File>Open to load your program into Insight
- From there you can watch, set breakpoints, step, examine memory and registers. Check Insight's help
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Can I use Serial or Parallel Ports in FB?
Yes, FB has built in functions to access the serial and parallel ports with no need to use a .dll to do so.
See:
Open Com,
Inp,
Out
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I get the error 'Cannot start blah.exe because xxxx.dll was not found.' or similar. What is missing?
You are trying to run a program using a third party library that resides in a dll not installed in your system.
FreeBASIC comes with the headers and wrappers required to code for a lot of third party libraries but does not provide the actual runtime dll files.
You have to download and install these from their home page. Find in
the Links thread in the Libraries subforum the URL's of the home pages of the libraries provided. You need the binaries for Win32 of the libraries. If you want to develop programs with the libs you will need the documentation too.
When releasing compiled code it's good etiquette to provide the third party dll's required to run it.
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Does FreeBASIC work with Windows Vista ?
Yes. (Write me!!!)
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Where can I find some tutorials on programming the Windows GUI ?
See the answers to this question in this
thread in the forum
More advanced use requires a frequent consultation of the reference at the
Microsoft Developers Netework. A local install of the API reference is possible, search Microsoft for the Platform SDK (a huge download) and install just the documentation.
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See also