Ms Quickbasic Learning

Companion References on PCjs

• MS QB 4.5 Language Reference — Statement and function syntax reference
• MS QB 4.5 Programming in BASIC — In-depth programming topics with examples
• MS BASIC 7.1 Programming Guide — Advanced BASIC programming (PDS 7.1)
• MS BASIC 7.1 Language Reference — Complete language reference (PDS 7.1)

Chapter Reference

Part 1: Getting Started

• Chapter 1: Setting Up Microsoft QuickBASIC — SETUP program, installation, QB Express, getting into QuickBASIC
• Chapter 2: Using Menus and Commands — Starting QB, menu bar, reference bar, on-line help, dialog boxes, shortcut keys
• Chapter 3: QuickBASIC's Windows — View window, Immediate window, Watch window, Help window, saving programs
• Chapter 4: Interlude: BASIC for Beginners — Variables, data types, PRINT, INPUT, arrays, operators, IF/THEN, loops, DO/LOOP, FOR/NEXT

Part 2: Hands On with QuickBASIC

• Chapter 5: The QCARDS Program — Loading programs, module-level code, SUB procedures, structured programming
• Chapter 6: Editing in the View Window — Smart editor, automatic formatting, syntax checking, Cut/Copy/Paste, Find/Replace
• Chapter 7: Programming with On-Line Help — Help Index, hyperlinks, QuickSCREEN, symbol help, constructing statements
• Chapter 8: Using Example Code from On-Line Help — Copying examples from Help, DO...LOOP, SELECT CASE, context-sensitive help
• Chapter 9: Debugging While You Program — Debug menu, breakpoints, Watch window, single stepping, creating EXE files

Part 3: QuickBASIC Menus and Commands

• Chapter 10: Getting Around in QuickBASIC — QB command options, windows, Immediate window, Watch window, mouse, on-line help
• Chapter 11: The File Menu — New/Open/Save/Merge, Create File, Load File, modules, include files, Print, DOS Shell
• Chapter 12: Using the Editor — Text entry, cursor movement, selecting text, indentation, smart editor, syntax checking
• Chapter 13: The Edit Menu — Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Clear, New SUB, New FUNCTION
• Chapter 14: The View Menu — SUBs command, Next SUB, Split, Next Statement, Output Screen, Include Files
• Chapter 15: The Search Menu — Find, Selected Text, Repeat Last Find, Change, Label
• Chapter 16: The Run Menu — Start, Restart, Continue, Make EXE File, Make Library, Set Main Module
• Chapter 17: Debugging Concepts and Procedures — Preventing bugs, tracing, breakpoints, watchpoints, watch expressions, single stepping
• Chapter 18: The Debug Menu — Add Watch, Instant Watch, Watchpoint, Delete Watch, Trace On, History On, Toggle Breakpoint
• Chapter 19: The Calls Menu — Using the Calls menu, active procedures
• Chapter 20: The Options Menu — Display, Set Paths, Right Mouse, Syntax Checking, Full Menus
• Chapter 21: The Help Menu — Index, Contents, Topic, Help On Help

Appendices

• Glossary — Definitions of terms used in the documentation

Quick Reference

Starting QuickBASIC

QB                          ' Start QuickBASIC
QB program.bas              ' Start and load a program
QB /RUN program.bas         ' Start, load, and run a program
QB /B                       ' Black-and-white monitor mode
QB /H                       ' High-resolution display (43/50 lines)
QB /G                       ' Faster screen updates (CGA)
QB /NOHI                    ' Disable high-intensity characters
QB /L libraryname           ' Load a Quick library
QB /AH                      ' Allow dynamic arrays of records >64K
QB /MBF                     ' Microsoft Binary Format for MKSNGL$/MKSMBF$

Essential Shortcut Keys

F5          Run/Continue program
F8          Single step (into procedures)
F10         Procedure step (over procedures)
F9          Toggle breakpoint
F4          View output screen
F6          Switch between windows
F1          Context-sensitive help
SHIFT+F1    General help
ALT+F1      Previous help screen
F2          SUBs dialog (view/switch procedures)
SHIFT+F5    Restart program
CTRL+BREAK  Stop running program

BASIC Language Quick Reference

' --- Variables and Types ---
DIM x AS INTEGER            ' Integer (2 bytes, -32768 to 32767)
DIM y AS LONG               ' Long integer (4 bytes)
DIM z AS SINGLE             ' Single precision (4 bytes)
DIM d AS DOUBLE             ' Double precision (8 bytes)
DIM s AS STRING             ' Variable-length string
DIM f AS STRING * 20        ' Fixed-length string (20 chars)
DEFINT A-Z                  ' Default all variables to INTEGER

' --- Arrays ---
DIM Scores(1 TO 100) AS INTEGER
DIM Grid(10, 10) AS SINGLE
REDIM DynamicArray(n) AS INTEGER  ' Dynamic (resizable) array

' --- User-Defined Types ---
TYPE Person
    Name AS STRING * 30
    Age AS INTEGER
    Salary AS SINGLE
END TYPE
DIM emp AS Person

' --- Control Flow ---
IF condition THEN
    ' statements
ELSEIF condition THEN
    ' statements
ELSE
    ' statements
END IF

SELECT CASE expression
    CASE value1
        ' statements
    CASE value2 TO value3
        ' statements
    CASE IS > value4
        ' statements
    CASE ELSE
        ' statements
END SELECT

FOR i = 1 TO 100 STEP 2
    ' statements
NEXT i

DO WHILE condition
    ' statements
LOOP

DO
    ' statements
LOOP UNTIL condition

' --- Procedures ---
SUB MySub (param1 AS INTEGER, param2 AS STRING)
    ' statements
END SUB

FUNCTION MyFunc% (x AS INTEGER)
    MyFunc% = x * 2
END FUNCTION

CALL MySub(5, "hello")     ' Call a SUB
result% = MyFunc%(10)       ' Call a FUNCTION

' --- Screen Output ---
CLS                         ' Clear screen
PRINT "Hello, World!"       ' Print to screen
PRINT USING "##.##"; 3.14   ' Formatted output
LOCATE row, col             ' Position cursor
COLOR foreground, background ' Set text colors

' --- File I/O ---
OPEN "data.dat" FOR OUTPUT AS #1
PRINT #1, "Hello"
CLOSE #1

OPEN "data.dat" FOR INPUT AS #1
INPUT #1, text$
CLOSE #1

OPEN "data.dat" FOR RANDOM AS #1 LEN = LEN(record)
PUT #1, recnum, record
GET #1, recnum, record
CLOSE #1

' --- Error Handling ---
ON ERROR GOTO ErrorHandler
' ... code ...
ErrorHandler:
    PRINT "Error"; ERR
    RESUME NEXT