Liberty BASIC for OS/2 beta version 0.6 release notes:

Copyright 1992, 1993, 1994
Shoptalk Systems
Al Rights Reserved
Aug 13, 1994

Liberty BASIC was originally released for the MS Windows platform almost two
years ago as shareware.  This is the _sixth_ beta release of a port from Windows
to OS/2 platform.  Eventually the two versions will converge and provide an easy
way to write native apps for both Windows and OS/2 and to port between the two
environments.


What's New?

- 32 bits!  It has been a few months since our last release.  We've been busy.
This new version is the first 32-bit version of Liberty BASIC!  The older
versions were 16-bit only!

- This new version is almost 40% smaller and is also 40% faster than verion 0.5!

- Bitmapped buttons are supported now.  See the DRAW1.BAS program for an
example.

- This is the first OS/2 we are collecting registrations for!  Registration for
this beta version is purely voluntary; no one will be obligated to register any
version of Liberty BASIC for OS/2 version numbered less than 1.0.  We hope you
like what you see here and that you are willing to help speed development by
sending us your monetary support.  See the file REGISTER.TXT for more details.

- An additional window style has been added called graphics_nsb_nf.  This
style opens a graphics window without scroll bars and without a sizing frame.
Cut and paste this example:

    ' draw some ellipses

    open "Ellipses" for graphics_nsb_nf as #1
        print #1, "down"
        print #1, "place 130 130"
        for x = 30 to 230 step 10
            print #1, "ellipse "; x ; " "; 260 - x
        next x
        print #1, "flush"
        input r$
    close #1

- A "Kill BASIC Programs" option has been added to the Source menu, so that
if you have a program that misbehaves, and won't close, you should be able
to shut it down from here.

- When you are debugging, you can close the program you are debugging by
closing the debugger window.  This will cause the program and its windows
to close as well.


Bug fixes:

- Array bounds checking is now perform at runtime, instead of at compile-time.
Message for the error is also improved.

- Sometimes a red box containing a 'PM out of resources' error message.  This
has been largely eliminated.

- Some bugs in the editor have been repaired, in particular the bug involving
the File/New menu item.

- You can now use LPRINT.  The output is buffered, so when you are finished
and want to commit to paper, use the DUMP statement, like so:

    lprint "Hello"
    lprint "World!"
    dump


-------------------------------------------------

Liberty BASIC for OS/2 beta version 0.5 release notes:

Copyright 1992, 1993, 1994
Shoptalk Systems
Al Rights Reserved
March 12, 1994

This new 0.5 release gives you several enhancements.  The most exciting is the
ability to make *.TKN files of your programs!  This lets you run large programs
without waiting for the compile.  Each BASIC statement is compiled only as it
is needed.  If you build very large programs, and only use half of its features
in a sitting, it doesn't even need to compile the other half.

To make a *.TKN file of a BASIC program, pull down the Source menu and select
Make *.TKN File.  Then once the file is created, running it is just as easy.
Just pull down the Source menu and select Run *.TKN File.

In addition, these *.TKN files will run interchangeably with the files in the
Windows version of Liberty BASIC.  Because some small differences are sure to
exist between both versions of Liberty BASIC, and between Presentation Manager
and Windows in general, two system variables Platform$ and Version$ have been
added to both the OS/2 and Windows versions.  Platform$ will contain the
string "OS/2" or "Windows", and Version$ will contain the version #, for
example: "1.1".  This allows you to add exception code when needed by testing
to see what version of Liberty BASIC is running.


Other additions:

- Trapclose now works with the graphics window type.

- The new rule command provides the ability to control the way graphics are
drawn in graphics windows.  An xor (exclusive or) mode lets you draw an object
once, and then just redraw it to erase it without disturbing other objects
that intersect it.

  code example:

  ' switch to exclusive or
  print #chart, "rule xor"

  ' switch to over-draw (the default mode)
  print #chart, "rule over"

See the included DRAW.BAS (new version) for an example of the rule graphics
command.

- Support for radiobutton controls is added.  The syntax is the same as for
checkboxes.  See the included RADIOBTN.BAS program.

NOTE:  For now, groupboxes are not supported, and so all radiobuttons in any
window belong to the same set, and only one checkbox can be SET at any one
time.  Until groupboxes are supported, the checkbox control can be used to
imitate radiobuttons when more than one set of them is needed in a window.
See the IMITATE.BAS program for an example of using checkboxes to imitate
radiobuttons.

- The File/New menu has been repaired so that no error message is returned.

-------------------------------------------------

(Notes from previous version of Liberty BASIC)
Liberty BASIC for OS/2 beta version 0.4 release notes:

This new 0.4 release provides powerful new dialog box definition facilities.
You can now create your own dialog boxes containing the following controls:

 - entry fields, using the TEXTBOX command
 - buttons, using the BUTTON command
 - statictext, using the STATICTEXT command
 - listboxes, using the LISTBOX command
 - comboboxes, using the COMBOBOX command
 - checkboxes, using the CHECKBOX command

Other controls (like texteditors, bmpbuttons, radiobuttons, and more) will be
added in future releases.

Look at the sample programs CHECKBOX.BAS and CONTACT.BAS for examples of how to
use dialog boxes and their controls.  NOTE:  In the samples the window type
dialog is used.  The graphics window types also allow use of the above controls,
but because of the way Presentation Manager handles controls in non-dialog
windows, the TAB button will not cycle through controls, nor will Alt-key
combinations work with buttons in non-dialog windows. 

----TRAPCLOSE
Any dialog box (and later windows of all types) let you define a branch point
to transfer execution when a user tries to close it.  This is done with the
TRAPCLOSE command.  See CHECKBOX.BAS and CONTACT.BAS for examples of this
technique.

----NOMAINWIN
The nomainwin command can be inserted anywhere into your Liberty BASIC programs
to prevent the appearance of the Program Named ???.BAS window that automatically
appears when you run your programs.  See how this is used with the CHECKBOX.BAS
and CONTACT.BAS programs.  Since it really is best to use TRAPCLOSE when using
NOMAINWIN, restrict its use to programs using the dialog window type (for now).

----Observant users of the DRAW.BAS program (included with v0.3) noticed that
the drawing of boxes in a graphics window was fouled up.  This has been repaired.

----BUG FIX:  Earlier versions reported an 'exitLibertyBASIC not understood'
message when Exit was selected from the File menu.  This is repaired
(and then some).

----Printing in Liberty BASIC:
Because the port from the Windows version isn't complete, the LPRINT command
produces an error.  You can still print to LPT1 though by using code like this:

 open "lpt1" for output as #1
 print #1, "this is a test"
 close #1


The next release will add the ability to create tokenized program files.  This
will enable creation of distributable programs, which will require the RUN.EXE
runtime engine, which will only be available to registered users of Liberty
BASIC for a modest fee of $35.  This will also make the Windows version
available for just $15 more.

The runtime engines for these two platforms will be able to run the same
tokenized files.  This will provide an affordable cross platform tool.

------------------------------------------

(Notes from previous version of Liberty BASIC)
Liberty BASIC for OS/2 beta version 0.3 release notes:

Copyright 1992 & 1993
Shoptalk Systems
Al Rights Reserved
Jan 22, 1994


This third release of Liberty BASIC for OS/2 includes:

1) To our embarrassment, previous versions did not have a pull-down menu for
running and debugging.  The undocumented way to run and debug was to pop up a
menu for the editor by pressing mouse button 2.  Now you can pull down the
Source menu and select Run or Debug.  Our apologies to those who were
frustrated or confused on this matter.

2) The graphics are now fourth quadrant (x0,y0 is now in the upper left), as
opposed to first quadrant (x0,y0 in the lower left), as Presentation Manager
defines it.  This makes it more compatible with the Windows version.

3) MORE documentation is included (SUMMARY.TXT and WINDOWS.TXT) describing
functions and commands.  This is straight from the Windows version and isn't
guaranteed to be completely accurate for this version.  Press ALT-O to open a
file selection dialog box so you can read these files.

4) We include a Tic-Tac-Toe game as a code example.  It doesn't play very
well, but makes a good demonstration of coding technique in Liberty BASIC.

PLEASE give us some feedback.  Any suggestions or bug reports are eagerly
needed!  Contact Carl Gundel on Compuserve 71231,1532 or directly at
(508)-872-5315.

Next release will add dialog box features!  Define your own without special
tools!

DISTRIBUTION POLICY:
This is a BETA version.  It is copyrighted material, but our policy for now
is to give the OS/2 beta version away.  Feel free to copy it and give it to
friends and coworkers.  Later versions will be shareware and will require
registration (like the Windows version).

------------------------------------------

(Notes from previous version of Liberty BASIC)
Liberty BASIC for OS/2 beta version 0.2 release notes:

Copyright 1992 & 1993
Shoptalk Systems
Al Rights Reserved
Dec 30, 1993

About release 0.2:

First of all, release 0.2 supports the use of the Tab key when typing and
editing BASIC source code.  Release 0.1 only let you use the space character,
and reported a syntax error when it found a Tab character.

This release adds the ability to open a graphics window and perform drawing.
It also lets you read the mouse inside of this window.  See the file
windows.txt for more information.  Later releases will add more types of
windows including text, dialog box, generic windows, etc...

Buttons can be added to the graphic window.

For examples of how to program graphics and how to use buttons, see the
files BUTTONS.BAS, DRAW.BAS, and GRAPHICS.BAS.

DIFFERENCES FROM THE WINDOWS VERSION:
- When drawing graphics, keep in mind that Presentation Manager uses the
lower left of the screen as 0,0 and Windows uses the upper left.  This
means some minor recoding on your part.  Later we might add that coordinate
translation into Liberty BASIC. (This is fixed in this version 0.3, see above!)

KNOWN BUGS:
- Don't use the first line in the source editor
for anything but a REMARK, the compiler only compiles from
the second line on.

------------------------------------------

(Notes from previous version of Liberty BASIC)
Liberty BASIC for OS/2 beta version 0.1 release notes:

Copyright 1992 & 1993
Shoptalk Systems
Al Rights Reserved
Nov 2, 1993

Liberty BASIC was originally released for the MS Windows platform almost two
years ago as shareware.  This is the first beta release of a port from Windows
to OS/2 platform.


This release does not include the multi-windowing features of the Windows
version yet.  No graphics are supported and no dialog box controls on this
platform yet.  To get a good look at what this software will soon look
like, take a look at the Windows version.  The Windows version is called
LB09D.ZIP and is available in the IBMPRO forum and the WINSHARE forum.

What is supported?  Here is a list of supported functions:

ABS()   ACS()   ASN()   ATN()   ASC()   BEEP   CHR$()   CLOSE   CLS   
CONFIRM   COS()   DATE$()   DIM   END   EOF()   EXP()   FIELD   FOR...NEXT   
GET   GETTRIM   GOSUB...RETURN   GOTO   IF...THEN...ELSE   INPUT$()   
INPUT   INPUT #   INSTR()   INT()   LEFT$()   LEN()   LET   LOF()   LOG()   
LPRINT   MID$()   OPEN   PRINT   PRINT #   PUT   REM   RETURN   RIGHT$()   
RND()   STOP   SIN()   SORT   STR$()   TAN()   TIME$()   TRACE   TRIM$()   
USING()   VAL()   WHILE...WEND   WORD$()

It is possible that a few of these do not work, but certainly most of
them will.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Carl Gundel
508 872-5315
CIS 71231,1532