Installing QB64 for Linux:
1. Make sure G++ is installed
G++ is a C++ compiler. It may already be installed, type g++ in a console window to check if it is. If not, you'll need to locate it (or a package containing it) for your version of Linux. QB64 requires G++ so it can convert the C++ code it generates from your basic code into an executable program.
2. Optionally, install the TIMIDITY library
The TIMIDITY library is a large library with many dependencies which your Linux version will/should automatically install as well. It is only needed by QB64 for the purpose of playing .MID MIDI music files. QB64 will run perfectly without this library, less the ability to play MIDI files.
3. Download QB64
http://www.qb64.net/qb64v0841-linux32.tar.gz(approx. 3MB)
After downloading, extract the .tar.gz file and run qb64.exe in the qb64 folder (for compatibility, Windows file extensions such as .exe have been retained, but rest assured this is a Linux program)
V0.841 Specific
============
Again, QBASIC compatibility has been improved.
New commands supported: DRAW, $INCLUDE, KEY OFF(does nothing), ENVIRON, LEN(of variables/types/arrays)
Many minor bugs/incompatibilities have been addressed.
V0.84 Specific
===========
Stability & QBASIC compatibility have been significantly improved. Many problems not listed here have also been addressed.
New commands specific to QB64:
_ICON imagehandle 'changes the program's icon
_TITLE string$ 'changes the text in the title bar
_DELAY x 'waits for x seconds (accurate to nearest millisecond), relinquishing cpu cycles to other applications
_LIMIT x 'limits the fps/rate of a program to x loops/frames/etc per second, relinquishing any spare cpu cycles to other applications
t=TIMER(0.001) 'returns TIMER value rounded to nearest 0.001 of a second (highest accuracy possible is to the nearest millisecond)
_DISPLAY (no parameters) 'This command manually updates the monitor using the data of the currently selected display page. The command also disables the autodisplay of display page data to the monitor (the default) if it is on.
_AUTODISPLAY (no parameters) 'This command enables autodisplay so the display page data will automatically be updated to the monitor.
x=_ERRORLINE 'Returns the source code line number that caused the most recent runtime error
Added support for QBASIC commands:
CALL INTERRUPT
CLEAR
COMMON (when used in programs without multiple modules)
RUN
Other improvements:
-Severe memory leaks fixed
-can PEEK timer bytes at &H46C-E (46c+46d*256+46e*65536)
-division error fixed [(tx<2)/2.0 VS print (tx<2)/2]
-INP(&H3C9) for palette reading
-power-of [^] bug (related to order of operations)
-Reading "" in DATA statements
-Many fixes/improvements to referencing/allocating variables (including user defined types) in conventional memory
-SUBs/FUNCTIONs requiring variables in comventional-memory now supported
-Problems calling CALL ABSOLUTE addressed
IDE improvements:
-Severe memory leak which affected the IDE fixed
-Uses 50% less memory (RAM)
-Minimal CPU usage
-Many freeze/crash related problems addressed
A repository of QBASIC programs which run without modifications has been started in the \qb64\samples\ folder. See \qb64\samples\info.txt for more details.
