Yabasic (Yet Another BASIC) is a free BASIC programming language interpreter for the Win32 and Unix platforms. As of version 2.760, colour line graphics have been introduced. It is also relatively small in file size at around 250 kilobytes. In hacker jargon, the use of Yet Another as a way of padding out an acronym is fairly common. ... BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of high-level programming languages. ... Windows API is a set of APIs, (application programming interfaces) available in the Microsoft Windows operating systems. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Guide to Unix Unix or UNIX is a computer operating system originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of AT&T Bell Labs employees including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Douglas McIlroy. ... 2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models (such as 2D geometric models, text, and digital images) and by techniques specific to them. ... A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix kilo-, meaning 1000) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to either 1024 or 1000 bytes. ...

Beyond "conventional" features, Yabasic offers structured programming (various block structures, named subroutines with return values, code modules with separate namespaces; on the other hand, composite data structures are missing). Passing of arguments is always by value, except for arrays, which are always by reference. The interpreter is very lenient in syntactical matters -- for example, both color and colour are legal variants for the same command. Likewise, there is a number of different versions for if and for constructs, giving the programmer freedom of choice in his design. In computer programming, a statement block is a section of code which is grouped together, much like a paragraph; such blocks consist of one, or more, statements. ... In computer science, a subroutine (function, procedure, or subprogram) is a sequence of code which performs a specific task, as part of a larger program, and is grouped as one, or more, statement blocks; such code is sometimes collected into software libraries. ... In general, a namespace is an abstract container, which is or could be filled by names, or technical terms, or words, and these represent (stand for) real-world things. ... The structure of a thing is how the parts of it relate to each other, how it is put together. This contrast with process, which is how the thing works; but process requires a viable structure. ... Parameters are a way of allowing the same sequence of commands to operate on different data without re-specifying the instructions. ... Parameters are a way of allowing the same sequence of commands to operate on different data without re-specifying the instructions. ...

Compiling at Runtime

The interpreter features also the possibility to take string variables and "compile" them at runtime. For example

 x$= "sub printme: print "Hello world!": end sub" compile(x$) 

would create a new procedure,

 sub printme() ... 

This procedure can be invoked the 'traditional' way,

 printme() 

or via the slightly more clever This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary. ...

 y$= "printme()" execute(y$) 

Other Features

Another useful feature is the bind-command, allowing creation of standalone executables by linking the interpreter to the source code. (Size for the executables starts around 250 kByte.)

Execution speed of the interpreter is reasonably high.

A version of Yabasic is available for Sony's PlayStation 2. It comes free with the console in Europe and Australasia. The demo disc containing the Yabasic interpreter is a PAL disc and is not intended for the United States or Japanese PlayStation 2 markets. It is recommended to have an additional USB-compatible keyboard for the PlayStation version of Yabasic because programming with a control pad is rather impractical. Yabasic programs created on a PlayStation can be stored on memory cards for later retrieval or swapping with friends. Sony is a Japanese leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ... A video game console is a dedicated electronic machine designed to play video games. ... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Oceania. ... Demoware is a term of distinction used to differentiate between types of shareware software. ... PAL, short for phase-alternating line, phase alternation by line or phase alternation line, is a colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in large parts of the world. ... Note: USB may also mean upper sideband in radio. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral modeled after the typewriter keyboard. ... Memory cards are solid-state electronic flash memory data storage devices used with digital cameras, handheld and laptop computers, phones, music players, video game consoles and other electronics. ...

External links

• Yabasic Official Website - Interpreter download and more information about Yabasic.

• Wiki pages at markhobley.yi.org A YaBasic Wiki

• yab interpreter yab - BeOS/yellowTAB ZETA Version of yabasic

• yab Forum yab - BeOS/yellowTAB ZETA Version of yabasic