Comments on: NS Basic 4.0 For Palm OS Released

NS BASIC Corporation has released NS Basic/Palm 4.0. Major new features include improved shared library/API function support and closer ties to POSE and the Palm OS Simulator. There is also support an e-commerce plug in, and enhancements for OS 5 devices and larger screens.

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Woo Hoo

Hal2000 @ 11/20/2003 6:24:37 PM #

First Post! Woo Hoo
I guess this is not important.

"One hour martinizing! Who is this guy martin anyhow?"

RE: Woo Hoo

RhinoSteve @ 11/21/2003 5:34:45 PM #

http://www.martinizing.com/

Learn it, live it, love your polyester.

Any NS Basic apps out there?

twocents @ 11/20/2003 6:17:32 PM #

Can anyone list apps made whit this tool? Also, are you required to install a VM or runtime?

RE: Any NS Basic apps out there?

pilot1000 @ 11/20/2003 8:44:48 PM #

I have messed around with version 1 and 2 but haven't gone for any of the upgrades since then. You need to install 2 libraries in order for most programs to run.

RE: Any NS Basic apps out there?

rmhurdman @ 11/21/2003 9:20:51 AM #

I made a trading game with NS Basic 2.2. I admit that a lot has probably changed since then, but I was totally unimpressed with everything but the ease of writing the program. It was huge (comparitively) because I decided to compile with the library, instead of requiring it to be loaded seperately. And it ran really slowly. I also found it very restrictive in what it allowed the programmer to do. I switched right away to Metrowerks CodeWarrior and have never looked back.

Robert Hurdman
www.iquebec.com/roberthurdman

RE: Any NS Basic apps out there?

nsbasic @ 11/21/2003 9:48:13 AM #

It's tough to know which apps are done with NS Basic unless you look at a hex dump. With the number of people using it nearing 10,000, it's a safe bet that there are a good number of apps out there using NS Basic.

There is no need to install libraries with an NS Basic program. There is an option to build them into your program so you have a single prc file.

RE: Any NS Basic apps out there? (2)

nsbasic @ 11/21/2003 9:48:13 AM #

Codewarrior is a vastly different tool than NS Basic. We use it in house and it's a great development environment. It's also C, which is a far tougher language to program in and it takes a lot longer to do projects. We've had many people tell us it what takes a day in NS Basic takes a month in Codewarrior.

Speed has come a long way since when you tried it. An NS Basic program runs 6 times faster on current devices than it did on the Palm III generation you were probably using, a combination of improvements in hardware and NS Basic. We're continuing to improve this, but our priority has always been easy of use and functionality.

Here are some comments from users:
http://www.nsbasic.com/palm/info/kudos.html

What a bunch of BS

acorntree @ 11/21/2003 1:19:52 PM #

Gee comparing a 16Mhz processor to a 400Mhz processor.
How nice. Why don't you compare apples w/ apples. Anyways, I won't be buying NSBasic.

RE: Any NS Basic apps out there?

nsbasic @ 11/21/2003 3:33:20 PM #

You can't compare 68k machines to StrongArm machines based on mips. Palm OS 5 essentially runs apps in a 68K emulator, so you only get a small part of the benefit of the faster CPU.

RE: Any NS Basic apps out there?

Edward Green @ 11/23/2003 6:35:03 AM #

I wrote kHiTeAnim very quickly in NSBasic
http://tinyurl.com/w6s0

I loved the environment.

The only reason I don't use NSBasic now is that I have very little time to develop - and a hobbiest choose not to spend my money on such things.

However if i was ever looking to produce a bespoke application - especially presentation or information for a Palm device NSBasic would be a real consideration alongside HTML and Flash.

Edward Green
--
http://www.khite.co.uk

Try HB++

margerum @ 11/21/2003 10:00:18 AM #

I've been playing around with handheld basic all week. It looks absolutely incredible. It compiles to native code and use the real palm controls. It doesnt try to be multiplatform which is a good thing IMHO. There's no runtime and no royalties. Its a little pricey at $1,000 but if basic is what you need it may be worth it. Check it out www.handheld-basic.com