NS Basic/Desktop is a complete BASIC development environment. It uses Microsoft's standard VBScript engine (a subset of Visual Basic) as its core, combined with extensions to create a complete development and runtime environment. NS Basic/Desktop provides a full, modern implementation of BASIC, with proper subroutines, variant data types and no line numbers. VBScript is a standard part of Windows, keeping memory requirements low.

Extensions provide support for file I/O, serial I/O, WINSOCK, database I/O and a set of standard screen input and output objects and dialog boxes. Microsoft technologies such as ADO and ActiveX are supported. Applications you create are freely distributable and are write-once, run anywhere. It includes a 130 page spiral bound Handbook and lots of sample code.

The environment features a Visual Designer, which allows you to graphically lay out your objects and set their properties.

NS Basic/Desktop (and the programs it creates) run on

• Windows 2000 (all variations)
• Windows XP (all variations)
• Windows Vista (all variations)
• Windows 7 (all variations)

How similar is NS Basic/Desktop to NS Basic/CE? How about NS Basic/Palm?

NS Basic/Desktop and NS Basic CE are both based on the VBScript runtime engine. They are highly compatible: you can save a project as a text file in one product and open it in the other. Of course, you'll want to resize your screen and all your objects to account for the difference in screen size. In addition, many of the controls have differences in how they are implemented on the Windows Desktop and in Windows CE.

NS Basic/Palm is somewhat more different: the underlying Palm OS is quite different from Windows operating systems, so the user interface, file I/O, communications and other OS dependant features need to be adapted.

The BASIC language itself is pretty much the same.

What we can do is stick with our core objective: make a development tool that is easy and rewarding to use. With good documentation and support, it isn't too bad to move from one platform to the other.

Where can I buy it? What does it cost?

The regular price of NS Basic/Desktop is $99.95 USD. You can order it from NS BASIC Corporation's website.

Has fast is it?

NS Basic/Desktop executes over 1,000,000 loops/second on the current Windows desktop computers. That's quick enough for most anything but very heavy number crunching. If you need to crunch, you can create ActiveX controls in C++ using Microsoft's development tools, which can be called from NS Basic/Desktop programs.

What support is there?

NS BASIC provides support by email and on a very active web board. We post bug fix updates to our ftp site on a regular basis. Check the web board for the latest announcements.

What documentation comes with it?

We provide a 130 page handbook with NS Basic/Desktop. It's spiral bound, so it lies flat. The Language Reference section is under the Help menu.

Can I distribute my applications?

Yes. The programs you write will run on any Windows XP or 2000 system. No runtime is required and distribution of apps is royalty free. In many cases, you won't even need an installer.

Can I use third party add ins?

Yes. Tech Note 02 describes how you can use ActiveX controls developed by third parties (or yourself) in your NS Basic/Desktop programs. ActiveX controls provide you with a wrapper for your C++ code, so it can be easily accessed in your NS Basic/Desktop program.

How does it compare to Visual Basic (VB)?

It's a subset of Visual Basic 6. We've left out some of the advanced features to make it easier to get started with and use. The result is still a very rich and complete language. See the NS Basic/Desktop Specifications for a list of statements and functions supported. It's pretty easy to take most VB projects and convert them to NS Basic/Desktop.

Compared to VB.NET, NS Basic/Desktop is much easier to get started with. It also does not have the runtime enviroment requirements that .NET has.

If it's based on VBScript, why not use the Windows Scripting Host?

VBS and the Windows Scripting Host is designed to make simple scripts for system administration. You use NotePad to create a .vbs file: clicking on it caused WSH to run your script.

NS Basic/Desktop does much more than this. The development environment has a look and feel of Visual Basic. It supports a wide range of on screen objects, has additional statements and functions to make the language a complete tool, supports the use of third party visual controls and produces standalone exe files. Anybody can look at your VBS script: this is not so with NS Basic/Desktop.

The applications you produce have a real Windows look and feel.

While you can certainly do just about anything that you can with VBS, NS Basic/Desktop lets you do a great deal more. Go ahead and use the ideas in VBScript samples to make better NS Basic/Desktop applications!

Does NS Basic compete against Microsoft?

No - we're not foolish! We've designed NS Basic/Desktop to be complementary to Microsoft's development products. It's easy to integrate apps developed using Microsoft's tools with NS Basic/Desktop applications.

With its ease of use, short learning curve and quick development, NS Basic/Desktop is a great way to get started programming on Windows.

The time you spend working with NS Basic/Desktop will not be wasted if you later on move up to Microsoft's products. The principles and methods you learn will transfer directly and give you a head start.

Who is NS BASIC Corporation?

NS BASIC was formed in 1993 to create applications for developers using hand held computers. More than 15,000 developers in over 70 countries use our tools.

The initial product, NS BASIC for the Newton, started shipping in 1994 and has consistently been one of the top selling packages on that platform. In late 1997, NS BASIC released its next product, NewtCard, a product inspired by Apple's HyperCard application. NewtCard has probably garnered more "Best of" awards than any application produced for hand held computers. NS Basic/Newton and NewtCard are two of the three software products to garner a "First Class Award" from Mobile Computing.

NS Basic/CE was first released in 1998. It has been continuously been enhanced and improved since that date. Apart from the free eMbedded tools from Microsoft, it is the most widely used dev tool for Windows CE. In 2004, it was chosen Best Development Tool by Pocket PC Magazine. In 2003, it was named Best Development Tool in the Microsoft Solutions Challenge.

NS Basic/Palm was released in 2000 and has become the most popular non-C development tool for those devices.

NS Basic/Desktop was released in late 2004 and is already winning praise for its ease of use and compact size.

Over the years, NS BASIC Corporation has developed a large body of special expertise in creating development environments. Combining effective user interfaces for small, pen based screens with efficient use of resources built into the ROM, NS BASIC's applications are surprisingly powerful, small, and easy to use. You can contact NS BASIC Corporation by email at info@nsbasic.com, phone at 1 888 NSBASIC (416 264-5999) or fax at 416 264-5888.

So what does the "NS" stand for, anyhow?

Nice & Smart.