STAZ Software, Inc. today announced the release of FutureBASIC 6. The BASIC programming environment gains a number of changes under the hood.
FutureBASIC Release 6-built apps now run transparently under Mac OS X or Mac OS 9, according to STAZ Software. The new version also provides access to all Appearance Manager buttons and implements all window types including sheets, floating windows, and windows with toolbars.
STAZ Software notes that FutureBASIC’s biggest change is with a new runtime environment called the Appearance Runtime. A new source code level library supports new keywords like APPEARANCE BUTTON and APPEARANCE WINDOW to run alongside current BUTTON and WINDOW statements.
“This minimizes the learning curve for those wishing to begin writing programs for Mac OS X. At the same time, a collection of new utility functions empowers a programmer to make full use of new Appearance Manager and Carbon items,” said the developer.
Additionally, standard BASIC applications can be recompiled to run in Mac OS X “with minor changes,” according to STAZ Software. And where FutureBASIC users absolutely have to make changes, STAZ has provided “glue code” that works with System 7, Mac OS 8, 9 and X.
FutureBASIC Release 6 also adds automated features that move Quit and Preferences menu items to the application menu when a program runs under Mac OS X. Error trapping is now provided to check that each toolbox call’s address is valid before running an application.
FutureBASIC carries a suggested retail price of US$169. Sold by subscription, FutureBASIC’s renewal price is $99 after the first year.