AUDACIA Software - OWBasic 5.2

Changes in OWBasic 5.20 Beta 1:

New features in version 5.2 are:
The graphical user interface (GUI) was changed a little and reacts faster.
MODEICON supports a new parameter that makes possible to select between Menu and List Menu icon.
MODEVER$ is able to return the Add-In comment.
MODEINFO returns information about the given Add-In.
EXEC is able to return to the calling program after the called program has ended.
The position of the internal filebuffer pointer can be queried and set by FBBPOS.
SBDRAW draws and SBTOUCH queries a scroll bar
OWBasic recognizes and supports Add-Ins packed by AddInPacker (the new mode for Add-Ins is 32).
STRINGSIZE also counts trailing spaces.
BOX supports two new style parameter values (6 and 13).
Function pointers are able to point to built-in functions.
Characters can be subtracted, the resulting difference is an integer value.
OWBasic considers Alarm events.
OWBasic uses 3 independent timers for different purposes:
Timer 0 for the AutoPowerOff feature
Timer 1 for SYNC
Timer 2 for STARTTIMER/STOPTIMER
Because of that a call for SYNC does not affect the timer started by STARTTIMER any more.
If you need more than one timer in your program, use the Timer component in the OSL.
New operators are supported: ++ and -- in prefix and suffix versions as well as a conditional operator (?:).
The FORM functions have been improved and now cooperate with the OSL.

WAIT uses an independent timer
Visual FORM bug fixed
CIRCLE works correctly now
MODEFIND sorts out deleted Add-Ins (MODENAME does not do that due to efficiency)
SYSDLG 9 can be used to connect to PVM

The Remote Mode is no longer available
New procedure and function for serial communication: SRLSBLOCK and SRLRBLOCK()
UPCASE&() and LOWCASE&() also available for characters
TIME(8) is now equivalent to TIMER()
SYSDLG 9 (Add-In dialog) leaves OWBasic correctly after the PVM connection is finished
the LEVERPUSH() function does not reset the AutoPowerOff mechanism anymore
if a compile time evaluation raises an error, OWBasic terminates correctly
the character literal '(' does not raise a syntax error anymore

Default parameters of boolean or integer type no longer have random values
UPCASE&() and LOWCASE&() now work as advertised
FILELABEL$ now also supports mode 10 (Add-in)
It is now possible to access individual characters of temporary strings
The POWI# function now handles exponents <= 0 correctly
The integral version of the ^ operator raises an error for exponents < 0
Floating point constants with signed exponent (such as 1.602e-19, 3.4e+23) are now parsed correctly
The timer continues to run after invoking the DualWin mode
The timer continues to run after writing a file (thanks Mika)
OWBasic can now correctly load programs from the secret Memo area
When AutoButton is enabled (by calling SYS 12), the Quick Memo hardicon is queried by OWBasic and can be used to start the DualWin mode as usual
A special problem with drawing lines beyond the borders of the screen is now fixed (thanks Mika)
GETICON now supports icon widths <= 8 (thanks Mika)
"Search runtime error" now works correctly even on first invocation
"Search runtime error" works if the error occurred in a program which is not in the program category
A problem has been fixed where OWBasic repeatedly shuts down the PV after a longer time of usage (with AutoPowerOff enabled; on old PVs only)
The screen is no longer erased if the PV is woken up with the leverpush button
Permanent page scrolling (by holding down the pen) is now supported in the OWBasic program selection list
Mixed string-character comparisons now work correctly

OWBbaseE525.zip - program binaries for old PV models

OWBbaseE525a.zip - program binaries PV-S1600

OWBhtmlE525.zip - HTML documentation

buildarchives.zip - batch files for archive creation and necessary files (extract to OWBasic\release_archives)

The source code is now available and browsable at BitBucket.

Note: To view or to change the OWBasic options, use the OWBasic program OWBasic Settings and the OWBasic Standard Library.