From:	"Michael L. Smith" <mlsmith AT vax2 DOT rainis DOT net>
Newsgroups:	alt.lang.basic,comp.lang.basic.misc,comp.os.msdos.djgpp,comp.os.os2.misc,comp.os.msdos.misc
Subject:	Re: OmniBasic Announcement
Date:	Sun, 25 May 1997 14:56:24 -0500
Organization:	Computer Design Lab
Message-ID:	<33889968.4148@vax2.rainis.net>
References:	<3385F0D6 DOT 1DCE AT vax2 DOT rainis DOT net> <3387D4FD DOT 303D AT hotmail DOT com>
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To:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
DJ-Gateway:	from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

X-Bios wrote:
> 
> Michael L. Smith wrote:
> >
> > OmniBasic is available for download at:
> >
> > http://www.bmtmicro.com/catalog/omnibasic.html
> HAHA. OmniBasic claims "OmniBasic is the ONLY truly portable BASIC
> compiler in the world!"
> If that isn't the biggest pile... Look:

Looks like an advanced case of cranial rectosis! Reference the excerpts
from the GFA FAQ below.

First: It does NOT mention OS/2 as a ported platform

Second: It mentions 'syntactic vaiations' This is called NOT portable!

Third: It states that is is not sopported (at least in some cases)

Fourth: There are warnings in the FAQ (not reproduced here) that some
statements will not work in the compiled mode on some platforms...read
the FAQ for yourself. This is called NOT portable.

Fifth: OmniBasic is C output and is written in itself. This means it can
be ported to AND platform in a matter of hours... especially if the
target platform supports gcc.

Sixth: When we say portable, we mean the source code will compile
correctly and run correctly on ANY supported platform WITH NO
MODIFICATION WHATSOEVER! 


> 
> OmniBasic: Linux, MS-DOS, OS/2, OS-9000, OS9/68000, and OS9/68020
> GFA-BASIC: UNIX, MS-DOS, OS/2, Windows, Atari, Amiga
> 
> And some of Omni's platforms are just about the same, just for different
> computers. Lame...

And just what do you think different computers are if not different
platforms?
> 
> -- X-Bios

Q: Which other platforms does GFA BASIC exist for? 

     A: Apart from Atari, there was GFA BASIC for Amiga (v 3.0), MSDOS
(286, 386, 486), and Windows 3.1.

Excepts from GFA FAQ:

Q: Is GFA BASIC still supported? 

     A: That depends ;) Officially, no, not for the Atari. There are
however many knowledgable people who (still)
     regularily code in GFA BASIC, and help can often be found on the
comp.sys.atari.programmer newsgroup, or
     in other network echo areas, such as NEST's N.ST.PROG.GFA. Q: Is
GFA BASIC still supported?

Q: Can GFA BASIC source be moved between platforms?

     A: Again, yes, if this is done in *.LST format. The program
     structure and general commands will be the same, with perhaps a
     few syntactic variations.

     Since the PC (and Amiga) have different operating systems, most
     of the system specific calls (GEM, VDI, AES) will have to be
     rewritten in the importing interpreter, often as procedure
     extensions. However, the BIOS and XBIOS calls of the Atari are
     largely DOS-based, and so most of these will be unchanged and
     work fine.

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