Free BASIC compilers Visual BASIC Express vs JustBASIC? - Electronic Circuits Projects Diagrams Free

William At MyBlueRoom · 3rd January 2007, 10:42 AM

I've used and like the free JustBASIC http://www.justbasic.com and it's a teriffic program with COM support but I was interested in hearing from anyone who can rate Microsofts free Visual BASIC Express http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vb/download/
I need COM (serial port) support and the documentation for VB is very common.
Opinions?

gramo · 3rd January 2007, 01:52 PM

VB is definitely worth learning, and its not hard at all, esp. if you have almost any type of programming experience imho

Try this file, i put it together a while ago, demon straights how to interface with a pic via the com port (in this case COM1)

http://users.tpg.com.au/gramo/PICBASIC/9600 baud.zip

its written in Proton+, but will compile with the Lite version of P+

For wiring, I used the DS275 as its a single component interface for RS232,

http://users.tpg.com.au/gramo/Site/rs232.htm

evandude · 3rd January 2007, 03:29 PM

for what it's worth, I would definitely go with VB because you're working with something that's very popular and well supported - much bigger user base, documentation, abilities, etc... I make it a general rule to try to avoid less-common, proprietary compilers or development environments for this reason; you never want to hit a wall where there's something you just can't do with it, and have to wait around for developers to add new features that may never come. You seem to like BASIC, but if you ever decided to use a C-based language down the road, C# is very similar in functionality to VB, practically the same except it uses C-based syntax instead of BASIC, so it would be a pretty easy migration.

And I can say from personal experience that serial port interfacing is really easy with .NET 2.0 - little more than drag and drop, tweaking a few parameters, and writing a small handful of code. It's far easier than the older methods using MSCOMM or proprietary, third-party DLL's or anything like that. The Express edition you linked has all that stuff built right in, and I'd say it's a good choice. I made a little two-way serial terminal application a year or so ago (in C#, but again, practically the same thing) in just an hour or so, on my first try.

William At MyBlueRoom · 3rd January 2007, 08:17 PM

What is the .net replacement for mscomm? I recall it was a little telephone icon once upon a time.

evandude · 3rd January 2007, 09:29 PM

System.IO.Ports.SerialPort
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...erialport.aspx

And yeah, if memory serves, it still looks like a little telephone icon when you drag and drop the object onto your form, if you go that route

gramo · 4th January 2007, 04:51 AM

I didnt realise that when I converted my old VB6 (VB6 is older than VB5 EE) program, it didnt convert over the MSCOMM1 controls properly - i've done a quick fix to display how to open a port, define its settings and interface with a pic, the pic basic file can be compiled with Proton+ Lite, so you can edit/produce the .hex files to burn to your pic.

See the following links for the files/examples on how to connect a pic micro to a pc!

Download The VB Files & Proton File Here

Guide to simple wiring connections from PC to PIC

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3rd January 2007, 10:42 AM	#1
William At MyBlueRoom	Free BASIC compilers Visual BASIC Express vs JustBASIC? I've used and like the free JustBASIC http://www.justbasic.com and it's a teriffic program with COM support but I was interested in hearing from anyone who can rate Microsofts free Visual BASIC Express http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vb/download/ I need COM (serial port) support and the documentation for VB is very common. Opinions? __________________ Bill Home of the Firefly PIC Tutor Inchworm ICD2 http://www.blueroomelectronics.com

3rd January 2007, 01:52 PM	#2
gramo	VB is definitely worth learning, and its not hard at all, esp. if you have almost any type of programming experience imho Try this file, i put it together a while ago, demon straights how to interface with a pic via the com port (in this case COM1) http://users.tpg.com.au/gramo/PICBASIC/9600 baud.zip its written in Proton+, but will compile with the Lite version of P+ For wiring, I used the DS275 as its a single component interface for RS232, http://users.tpg.com.au/gramo/Site/rs232.htm __________________ digital-diy.com - Hobby microcontroller projects and tutorials. Assembly, PICBasic and C examples. Last edited by gramo; 3rd January 2007 at 02:11 PM.

3rd January 2007, 03:29 PM	#3
evandude	for what it's worth, I would definitely go with VB because you're working with something that's very popular and well supported - much bigger user base, documentation, abilities, etc... I make it a general rule to try to avoid less-common, proprietary compilers or development environments for this reason; you never want to hit a wall where there's something you just can't do with it, and have to wait around for developers to add new features that may never come. You seem to like BASIC, but if you ever decided to use a C-based language down the road, C# is very similar in functionality to VB, practically the same except it uses C-based syntax instead of BASIC, so it would be a pretty easy migration. And I can say from personal experience that serial port interfacing is really easy with .NET 2.0 - little more than drag and drop, tweaking a few parameters, and writing a small handful of code. It's far easier than the older methods using MSCOMM or proprietary, third-party DLL's or anything like that. The Express edition you linked has all that stuff built right in, and I'd say it's a good choice. I made a little two-way serial terminal application a year or so ago (in C#, but again, practically the same thing) in just an hour or so, on my first try. __________________ EEgeek.net Last edited by evandude; 3rd January 2007 at 03:33 PM.

3rd January 2007, 08:17 PM	#4
William At MyBlueRoom	What is the .net replacement for mscomm? I recall it was a little telephone icon once upon a time. __________________ Bill Home of the Firefly PIC Tutor Inchworm ICD2 http://www.blueroomelectronics.com

3rd January 2007, 09:29 PM	#5
evandude	System.IO.Ports.SerialPort http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...erialport.aspx And yeah, if memory serves, it still looks like a little telephone icon when you drag and drop the object onto your form, if you go that route __________________ EEgeek.net

4th January 2007, 04:51 AM	#6
gramo	I didnt realise that when I converted my old VB6 (VB6 is older than VB5 EE) program, it didnt convert over the MSCOMM1 controls properly - i've done a quick fix to display how to open a port, define its settings and interface with a pic, the pic basic file can be compiled with Proton+ Lite, so you can edit/produce the .hex files to burn to your pic. See the following links for the files/examples on how to connect a pic micro to a pc! Download The VB Files & Proton File Here Guide to simple wiring connections from PC to PIC __________________ digital-diy.com - Hobby microcontroller projects and tutorials. Assembly, PICBasic and C examples.