nxtBasic: A New Compiler for Basic Code on the X16

[unartic]

nxtBasic 0.4b is now released and ready to download.

Whats new?

Bug fixes:

• Fixed bug while playing multiple zcm-files in sequense
• Fixed bug with GETBMXHEIGHT and GETBMXWIDTH
• Fixed bug in custom keyboard handler
• Fixed bug in the internals of string storage in ram, causing string space to be filled rappidly
• Fixed bug reading from DATA blocks with negative integers
• Fixed bug: READ() was disabled due to build in constant READ (for OPENFILE). READ and WRITE are renamed to FOR_READ and FOR_WRITE
• Fixed bug in line draw routine, not restore vera to prev state correctly

Added:

• CURROW() -> returns the current row the cursor is on
• CURCOL() -> returns the current column the cursor is on
• PushVar() -> push the contents of a variable to the variable stack
• PullVar() -> pulls a value from the stack and assigns it to a variable
• User defined functions: FUNCTION MyFunc() as String
• User defined sub routines: SUB MySub()

New example programs:

• player.bas: file browser which plays zcm and zsm files and shows bmx images
• keyjoy.bas: demonstration of joystick and keyboard routines with multiple key presses simultaneously

https://github.com/unartic/nxtBasic

[mortarm]

...a new era is beginning now...(kamala harris...

What the Hell does that have to do with anything? Never mind, this isn't the place for politics.

[unartic]

nxtBasic 0.5b is now released and ready to download.

Whats new?

- Bug fixes

• Fixed bug while checking length of string concatanation
• Fixed bug when multiple lines seperated by a semicolon where places behind the THEN statement
• Fixed bug in BLOAD function
• Fixed bug in function/sub definition where there was as space in front of the argument.
• Fixed bug in BANK and COLOR statement when not supplying the optional argument

- New:

• Added CHAIN -> resume executing into another PRG-file.
• Added "EXIT SUB" and "EXIT FUNCTION"
• Added documentation on how to extend nxtBasic with your own assembly routines
• Added DO/LOOP/EXIT LOOP
• Added "OPTION EXPLICIT" to force declaration of variables
• Added DIRITEMDATE(), DIRITEMTIME() and DIRITEMSIZE() to retrieve all file information
• Added internal constants for 16 bit registers (r0,r1 etc) and vera-registers

- Improved:

• Moved WorkBuffer and stacktable to end of low mem space
• VERA FX multiplication output moved to non-visible piece of vram
• ADDSPRITE can now also be called with an address instead of a filename to configure a sprite which is already in vram
• ADDSPRITE returns the vram address a sprite is loaded into GETA(), GETX() and GETY()
• Added ",FORCE" at the #INCLUDE directive to force an include, even if the file has been included before.
• If BINPUT# is used to load less then 256 bytes, MACPTR is used to speed up the reading
• Syntax checking for CONST definitions on compile time.
• nxtBasic resets several internal memorylocation on run so running a prg several times should not cause an issue
• Several performance improvements regarding sprite functions
• 25% performance improvement on FOR-NEXT loops when there is no STEP defined.

Docs and download:
https://github.com/unartic/nxtBasic/ or https://nxtbasic.com/

[unartic]

nxtBasic 0.6b is now released and ready to download.

Whats new?

- Bug fixes

• Fixed bug in ASC function
• Fixed bug in left$
• Fixed bug with loading basic constants
• Fixed bug with incorrect compile time errors when two return types are possible
• Fixed bug when returning a value in a function with using EXIT FUNCTION

- New:

• Commmand: 'HLT' to stop execution of code. Handy for debugging
• Added REPLACE$ to replace a portion of a string
• Added SPLITITEM$: a 'split in place' function
• Added Tally(): counts occurences of a char in a string
• Added INSTRREV(): same as INSTR but then check from right to left

- Improved:

• Performance improvement of about 50% on PSET
• Compile time error checking on using the '+' operator on a mix between string and number
• Implemented new way to load string and float literals, reducing prg size

Docs and download:
https://github.com/unartic/nxtBasic/ or https://nxtbasic.com/