1. Introduction

Despite the increased availability of languages like PL-1, C, and COBOL, BASIC still remains the language of choice within the medium-sized computer business programming community. This loyalty stems from BASIC’s ability to adapt to changing needs in the business-programming environment.

Thoroughbred Basic is a Business BASIC programming language that has proven to be an excellent base for software development across many lines of computer systems, operating systems, and business environments. We at Thoroughbred Software International wish you success and enjoyment using Thoroughbred Basic, and suggest that you take a few moments to become acquainted with the Thoroughbred Basic Developer Guide.

Operating System Support: UNIX, Linux, and Windows
For specific information, please contact your Thoroughbred Sales Representative.

The BASIC language

BASIC is a programming language whose development is credited to two professors at Dartmouth College in the early 1960’s. As a programming language, it is best classified as a relatively unstructured, third-generation language.

From the beginning several companies and institutions have created their own subsets or supersets of the original BASIC syntax. Unlike COBOL, whose national standards shortly followed its introduction, BASIC was not standardized in any universal sense until the first American National Standard was introduced in 1987 (ANSI X3.113-1987). By this date, there were several standard versions of BASIC available, none of which could claim full adherence to the newly published standard.

Thoroughbred Basic

One type of standard BASIC is known as Business BASIC. This term is used to describe a few versions of BASIC whose syntax is designed with functions and features that are important to developers of business applications. For example, more emphasis is placed on the demands of accounting in mathematical processes than on engineering’s needs.

Thoroughbred Basic is classed among the Business BASIC versions. It offers program developers varied syntax to address the specific needs of the business community. Thoroughbred Basic has formed the base structure from which several business applications have been developed and within which several higher-level development tools have taken root. Today several hundred vertical accounting applications, multiple database management systems, varied office automation products, and a fourth-generation language are available, all built around Thoroughbred Basic.

Thoroughbred Basic is available on over seventy lines of hardware. The options range from single-user MS-DOS applications on a PC to several hundred users on multiple-CPU and RISC architecture systems. The fact that common syntax is used across multiple operating systems and hardware environments allows the software developer to build and maintain applications that span many types of systems. These products can be installed and run successfully and efficiently on almost any standard hardware system.

Overview of this Manual

Although Thoroughbred Basic uses English syntax statements, there are still some rules of grammar, which must be understood in order to program successfully. This manual is designed to help you understand the grammar, syntax, and constructs of Thoroughbred Basic and to act as a quick reference guide for experienced programmers.

The following list outlines the information covered in each section of the Thoroughbred Basic Developer Guide.

Data Representation: begins with some simple definitions, which are necessary to fully understand the language syntax. You will learn the difference between a numeric, a string, and arrays as used in Thoroughbred Basic.
Program Control: discusses the concepts of:

Program flow.
What constitutes a task.
The subroutine-like concept called public programs.
Ghost tasking, which is similar to a terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) routine under DOS or a background task under UNIX.
The use of Thoroughbred Basic Windows within a program to allow pop-up menus, pull-down screens, and segmentation and overlap of screens within screens. Thoroughbred Basic Windows can make terminal interaction very impressive and easy to use.

In addition, this section discusses the error processing capabilities available in Thoroughbred Basic to allow the developer to handle errors as they are detected during operation. The options that are available in each situation are also discussed.

Input/Output Processing: describes what channels of communication are offered by Thoroughbred Basic to and from floppy disks, hard disks, the monitor, terminals, printers, and general communication ports.

You are shown the different data file types available with Thoroughbred Basic that allows you to save and retrieve data to and from storage media in a variety of ways. You learn how to define the different data file types, how each is best used, and the restrictions or limitations of each.

Thoroughbred Dictionary-IV Interface: discusses how Thoroughbred Basic can make use of resources defined in Dictionary-IV. Briefly, data dictionaries represent a concept that evolved from early database management systems. They provide a system-wide backbone of "maps" showing:

The relationship of one piece of data to another.
The interfaces to system peripheral devices like terminals and printers.
The interfaces to screens, menus, reports, and other data presentation tools.

These maps are separate from the actual data they describe. This allows the developer to change a map without changing the actual data, or to change data without changing the map. Thoroughbred Dictionary-IV is bundled with Thoroughbred Basic. A Dictionary-IV Reference Manual is available under separate cover.

Thoroughbred Basic Language Overview: introduces Thoroughbred Basic directives, functions, and system variables. A quick reference provides syntax and brief descriptions of each language statement. For more detailed information on directives, functions, and system variables, please refer to the Thoroughbred Basic Language Reference.

For more information on the Thoroughbred Basic development environment please refer to the Thoroughbred Basic Utilities Manual. This manual describes how to use Thoroughbred Basic utilities. For more specialized information on technical issues, please refer to the Thoroughbred Basic Technical Appendices.

Thoroughbred Basic is available in a variety of operating system environments including UNIX, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. Although the language syntax is portable across all environments, subtle differences exist in those directives and functions that are operating system dependent. Those differences are described in the descriptions of directives, functions, and system variables in the Thoroughbred Basic Language Reference.

We suggest that you read the chapters on Data Representation, Program Control, and Input/Output Processing to develop a good base of understanding of Thoroughbred Basic. You can then refer to the descriptions of directives, functions, and system variables as you begin programming. The additional chapters provide a more in-depth understanding of Thoroughbred Basic and more insight into the techniques available for problem solving.

On-line help

Thoroughbred Basic provides on-line help. To use on-line help, you must have Dictionary-IV and the Developer Reference module installed.

On-line help contains extensive information on a variety of subjects, including syntax examples for directives and functions, information on Dictionary-IV API Services and product release notes, as well as specifications for some technical features not detailed in the manual.

To select the on-line help system, enter /8H at any Dictionary-IV menu, or enter RUN “8H” from Thoroughbred Basic Console Mode. From any location in the on-line help system, you can press the F6 key for help or the F4 key to exit.

From the Thoroughbred Basic Developer Guide, version 8.9.1. Open this page in the PDF