This document explains how to use the NewBASIC visual builder tool to create
simple applications. It contains an overview of the Form Builder, the Editor
and the Debugger as well as detailed information about the components that
make up the language.
This New Deal Application Development Manual is both an introductory manual
for new NewBASIC programmers and a reference guide to experienced users of
the tools in the New Deal operating system.
You can find the following information in this manual:
- Introduction: An overview of working with the program and the NewBASIC
components.
- Getting Started with NewBASIC: A simple tutorial which covers laying
out a window design, editing the properties of the buttons and windows, and
adding some code to the program. By the end of this chapter, you will have
created a simple program which you can test, run and edit.
- Concepts: Some definitions of technical terms and an overview of the
following concepts:
- applications
- component trees
- focus and active windows
- text and mouse input
- time features
- using color
- The NewBASIC Language: A detailed description of how to use the NewBASIC
language. Many of the components are introduced here along with a review
of the syntax, and an introduction to the Editor window.
- Component Types: A description of the NewBASIC component types, their
actions, events and properties.
- The NewBASIC IDE: an introduction to working with the New Deal Builder.
This chapter explains how to put what you learned about the NewBASIC tools
and the language together to create and test a program. It reviews the entire
process from creating the initial program, to compiling and testing.
In this manual we use special formatting to help you identify parts of the
code. Some conventions we include in this manual are the following:
Format |
Description |
example |
Examples are displayed in this style. |
bold text |
New terms and routine names are identified with bold text. |
italic text |
Italics are used both to emphasize important points and to identify variable
and constant names. |
code sample |
This style is used to show examples of code. Most browsers will display
this in a mono font. |
bad code
|
This style is used to show examples of bad code. Do not try to use this
code. Most browsers will display this text in a red mono font. |
link text |
If you are working with this manual in an electronic
format, you'll notice heading names and page numbers sometimes appear in
this style. This indicates areas of text which act as hotspots, or hypertext
links. You can click on this text and jump to its reference in the file. |
|
This style identifies tips for working with New Deal. |
There are several terms used in this manual which are important to understand
as you read through some of the descriptions. These are some of the more
important ones.
- If you encounter terms with which you are unfamiliar, you might want to try
finding its definition in the manual by looking in the
index.
- gadgetry
- A generic term referring to parts of a form. For instance a gadget could
be a list of options shown by radio buttons, a text box in a form, or a checkbox.
- handle
- To process a generated event. Event handlers are pre-defined BASIC routines
that will execute when an event is generated. Handling is a passive
process, whereas calling a routine is a proactive process.
- invoke
- To call or run an action or routine. For example, Events invoke module routines.
- UI
- The user interface. This term describes the components of a
program's window. It is what you see when you interact with a program. This
is sometimes called the screen design.