QB64_GJ_LIB

GRYMMJACK'S QB64 LIBRARY

REQUIRES QB64-PE V3.12+

WHAT IS THIS?

This is a library of QB64 code which I've created to fill in some "holes" that I feel QB64 has by default. Some of these "holes" stem from my laziness and growing complacency toward other languages that I've used including: PHP, Python, etc.

The code in this repo will evolve and grow over time. However, I feel that the library and approach, while not complete to my full vision, is at least usable in it's current state.

LIBRARY	PURPOSE	NOTES
ANSI	ANSI text mode	Full ANSI.SYS support plus 256 and RGB color modes as well as a QB64 native ansi emulation mode.
ARR	ARRay Library	A high level library for working with arrays of all types in QB64
DICT	Dictionary object (sorta)	Custom type and support for arrays using .key and .val
DUMP	Debugging library	Like PHPs print_r (kind of)
INPUT	Input library	For lightbar menus, text boxes, etc.
STRINGS	Strings library for lazy programmers	Includes a lot of batteries and helpers for arrays, finding, parsing, etc.
PIPEPRINT	ANSI string DSL	Pipe (|) Print emulates Mystic BBS pipe parsing
SYS	System stuff	Contains misc. helpful utils/tools
VECT2D	2D Vector support	Thanks to William Barnes and Evan Shortiss
ASEPRITE	Adds ASEPRITE support to QB64	See https://www.aseprite.org
CONSOLE	CONSOLE object with debugging.
MISC	Miscellaneous helpful functions and subs that don't fit anywhere else :)

ORGANIZATION / GUIDELINES (may change)

• Unified include for the lazy to use everything
  • e.g. '$INCLUDE:'QB64_GJ_LIB/_GJ_LIB.[BI|BM]' ...
• Directory scaffolding that makes sense.
  • Each library in its own directory.
  • Tests and examples included for each library in same dir using .BAS extension to complement .BI|BM
    • Tests can be tested in unified mode or in isolated mode by setting
      $LET GJ_LIB_UNIFIED_TESTING = 1 within _GJ_LIB.BI
• Use of individual parts should work OK without including _GJ_LIB.[BI|BM]
  • Each library should be as atomic as possible.
  • Where needed, $IF pre-compiler guards should provide safe isolation as well as unified inclusion.
• Coding conventions
  • UPPERCASE KEYWORDS and CONST
  • Comments like PHPDoc (it's working OK)
    • File comment blocks
    • SUB / FUNCTION comment blocks
  • Whitespace
    • 3 new lines after file comment blocks and global code except for metacommands
    • 2 new lines between each SUB or FUNCTION
    • 1 blank line at the end of every file
  • words_and_underscores for library subs and functions
  • Use symbols (!#$%&) only when required and prefer over AS type
• Not guaranteed to be compatible with QB1.1 / QuickBasic 4.x / PDS / etc.
• Be compassionate
  • Best effort to not clobber anything
    • Use GJ_LIB_* names for things, where it makes sense.

INSTALLATION

Just clone the repo and refer to where you cloned it in the path_to_GJ_LIB stuff below.

USAGE

FULL GJ_LIB LIBRARY

Because I'm lazy you can use all the libs by just including them like so:

'At the top of your code:
'$INCLUDE:'path_to_GJ_LIB/_GJ_LIB.BI'

'...your code here...

' At the bottom of your code:
'$INCLUDE:'path_to_GJ_LIB/_GJ_LIB.BM'

PARTIAL USAGE

If you want to, you can include individual parts and not use the whole lib, in that case you'd include whatever you want like for example ANSI and DUMP:

'At the top:
'$INCLUDE:'path_to_GJ_LIB/ANSI/ANSI.BI'
'$INCLUDE:'path_to_GJ_LIB/DUMP/DUMP.BI'

'...your code here...

'At the bottom:
'$INCLUDE:'path_to_GJ_LIB/ANSI/ANSI.BM'
'$INCLUDE:'path_to_GJ_LIB/DUMP/DUMP.BM'

PLEASE NOTE

While I have been cautious and compassionate not to include things or name things that will clobber existing things, I'm only one nerd and so if you run into any collisions or errors in your use of the library, please feel free to report them as issues in the issue tracker.

CONTRIBUTING

I work well with others. Feel free to participate in the usual GitHub ways.

NO WARRANTY

I made this for myself, but if you want to use it just know that I may change things. I'll try to keep backwards compatibility though.

WHAT IS NEXT? (no promises or deadlines!)

• TEXT_GUI library (menus (lightbar/mouse), dialogs?, forms?)
• More STRINGS stuff (sorting, reversing, TitleCase, printf, pipeprint, etc.)
• More ANSI stuff (file loading / displaying / ANSI music?)
• Color stuff (palette cycling / dump_rgb)
• PETSCII library