Description

Full featured Object oriented
Modern BASIC language
Full featured IDE
State of the art interface designer
Complete documentation
Get the power of Objective-C with C and Carbon or Cocoa
Extend native Objective-C classes using inheritance
Create small and fast native executables without runtime dependencies
Create universal binaries
No vendor lock when using Objective-Basic,
You always have got your Objective-Basic program in Objective-C as well

Objective-Basic enables you develop full features modern GUI applications with well known BASIC syntax in a modern fashion. It comes with truly Objective-C object orientation and backward support for Objective-C and C. Objective-Basic combines the expressive power of object-oriented languages like Objective-C with the familiarity and ease of use of BASIC.

The Objective-Basic Manual: this book contains detailed information about Objective-Basic. It is included as pdf file. So if you are interested in a line-by-line coverage please refer to The Objective-Basic Manual.

Feature Overview

Deploy native applications for Mac OS X
OOP RAD features deliver high productivity
Much cheaper than other BASIC's. It is FREE for non-commercial development.
"backward" support for Objective-C and C and "forward" support for inheritance and other OOP features
Familiar development process and environment
Similar syntax as VB, Java and Objective-C
Easy to learn: language reference and many examples
Low price for Professional Edition
Familiar language features: OOP, single inheritance, exceptions, etc.
Drag & drop GUI development with Interface Builder (the best GUI editor on Mac)
Native Mac OS X widgets (third party controls not provided by Apple can be used as well)
Familiar editing features: easy and fast browsing of your source code
Familiar editing features II: Auto-Completion of builtin-functions and datatypes
A Lots of Documentation!

Objective-Basic comes with extensive documentation. It ships with lots of small and some medium-sized example programs that teach you how to implement various tasks with Objective-Basic. Most of them will show how to use a certain class, others aim at programming techniques and basics, and some of them simply want to show you what is possible.
Note that most of the examples assume that you have some experience with Objective-Basic and Object-oriented programming and therefore are not commented extensively. If you are interested in a line-by-line coverage please refer to the The Objective-Basic Manual.
Open File Format
Objective-Basic's files *.b, *.i, *.m, *.h are text based non-binary files, which means you can easily access and edit them. A project is a directory containing all files of that project. The project directory is logical structured and easy to use. You can easily add and remove files with Apple's Finder like Images or other resources.
Visual Design Tools
Use Objective-Basic's design tool to create instantly your Aqua interfaces in a few minutes (it is Interface Builder, the best GUI editor on Mac, provided by Apple).
It is very powerful and easy to use.

Feature Detail

is object oriented with objects and classes, single inheritance and polymorphism and private, public, protected scope of objects' elements
named arguments [mySub(param1 := 23, param2 := 100)]
label and goto
modern error management through exception handling

Objective-Basic is not only one programming language but also three.
Through one of the following command you can switch Objective-Basic into one mode.

If you want to use Objective-Basic
<b ... b> or just leave out it

If you want to use Objective-C code use
<c ... c> or [ ... ] e.g. [NSString init]

For pure C code use:
<c ... c> or @ before every commad e.g. @printf("hello")

It is possible to use all three modes in one of your program, e.g. one source file uses one mode and the source other file of your program use another mode. You can mix the languages in your file as well. Having Objective-Basic, Objective-C and C code in one source file!

The @ is needed in front of constanst, variables or function calls, if they are declared in a library written in C/Objective-C or in source parts, which are declared as C/Objective-C code. If you use Cocoa classes, functions or methods you do not need to write it in front of calling Cocoa methods.

If you declare variables etc in Objective-Basic code, you do not need to use @ as well.

Of course like other programming languages, Objective-Basic comes with commands for control flow, conversion/casts, error handling, events and library functions like for gui, input or output, maths and so on. See the examples for more.

But besides this you should be familiar with the following main parts:

Class
Sub / Function / Method
Variable / Constant
Array
Type
Enumeration

If you start working on your first Objective-Basic program keep in mind that is very similar to Objective-C and Java. You have classes and interface elements, which work together. Events/actions in your interface are triggered by the user and you can react to them within your program. That's it.

Annotations

Type

Variable / Constant / Enumeration

Variable Scope

class
local

Array

static

Sub / Function / Method

arguments by reference or by value
recursive calls are possible
non-primitive local var
exception handling

Scope

class static
class instance
local

Class

instance methods (works on variables of an object of a class)
static methods (works without any relation to an object)
instance variables (private, public, protected), variables of an object of a class
static variables (works without any relation to an object)
variables (private, protected, public)
constants (private, protected, public)
types / enum can be private or public

In other words Objective-Basic is a full featured Object oriented modern BASIC language particularly designed for Mac OS X.

Code editing

Auto-completion: Helps you write code faster with fewer errors by offering suggestions on valid syntax.
Syntax highlighting: Use different colors to distinguish between variables, keywords, code and comments.
Window creating

Drag and drop / onto a window to build your user interface.
Native support of controls of all Mac OS X Aqua interface elements including buttons, labels, lists, and much more.

Language features

Modern and object-oriented version of BASIC: Supports polymorphism and inheritance
Advanced new language: The Objective-basic language is either strongly or loosely typed depending on using Objective-C features and has try/catch exception handling
Memory management: Works automatically autoreleasepool or Cocoa's retain/release mechanism
Royalty-free
You are free to sell the applications you create with Objective-Basic or deploy them for free without ever paying a fee, if you are a license holder

Time is money as well

When creating commercial software, time is money. The longer it takes you to create an application, the longer it takes to get to market and turn a profit. Objective-Basic is a rapid application development environment that enables you to write, test and deploy software faster.

Professional Strength

Do not let the "BASIC" in Objective-Basic fool you! It is not a toy. It is a fully object-oriented language that supports exceptions, polymorphism and many other syntax features you can expect from a modern programming language.

Native look and feel

Objective-Basic creates a proper user interface using native Aqua controls. It helps you to create the best user interface with a top of the art GUI designer: Interface Builder developed by Apple.

Teaching and Learning

When you teach computer programming, you teach logical problem-solving skills students can apply wherever life takes them in the future. Using Objective-Basic, students learn programming by creating real programs like games.

Students simply use drag and drop to create the software interface, then add code snippets and see the results of their work, at once. As well, Objective-Basic's powerful features like auto-completion and extensive documentation make learning easy and fun, right from the beginning.

Prepare for the Future

Because Objective-Basic is an object-oriented language that uses a common syntax, your students' Objective-Basic skills can easily be applied to other languages like Objective-C, Java, VB.NET and C++ that they may find in the future.

Learn Step By Step

Objective-Basic is designed from the ground up to make it easy for anyone to learn to program. With Objective-Basic, simply drag and drop a button onto a window and run your first program in no time. As you need to do more, you learn more. It is a nice approach designed specifically to help you learn as you go.

The first step in programming with Objective-Basic is to design the user interface normally. With Objective-Basic, this is as simple as point-and-click. As you work on your interface, you make your program unique.

Learn Modern Programming

Learning Objective-Basic means you are learning modern, object-oriented programming. Once you learn Objective-Basic, learning other languages like Objective-C, VB6, Java or C++ is much easier. Objective-Basic can take you from learning the basics of programming to building high-quality software for you.

Lots of Help Included

Objective-Basic comes with a complete Programming manual as well as hundreds of examples to help you.

Make great use of your time

Objective-Basic is the right environment to use for fun programming projects. Programming as a hobby has never been easier or more fun. Objective-Basic is a visual development environment that makes it easy to make entertaining and useful software. Objective-Basic has tips and other features that help you along your way. Help is just a click a way. Why do not you create your own games? Create graphical games, strategy games, even action games. All you need is the right idea and Objective-Basic to get started.