Difference between revisions of "Gambas"

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(→‎Flaws: more flaws; tried minor reformat on table)
(→‎How To: install the latest version)
 
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[[Computing]]: [[Software]]: [[Gambas]]{{seedling}}
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<hide>
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[[Gambas]] is a programming language and [[IDE (programming)|IDE]].
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[[page type::article]]
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==Overview==
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[[thing type::programming language]]
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* intended to fill the same niche as [[VB]], though not intended to be code-compatible
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[[thing type::integrated development environment]]
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[[category:software]]
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</hide>
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==About==
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[[Gambas]] is a [[programming language]] and [[IDE (programming)|IDE]].
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It is:
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* intended to fill the same niche as [[Visual Basic|VB]], though not intended to be code-compatible
 
* currently only available for [[Linux]] and other Unix-derivatives (there is a partially-functioning Windows version)
 
* currently only available for [[Linux]] and other Unix-derivatives (there is a partially-functioning Windows version)
 
* [[open-source]]
 
* [[open-source]]
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==Articles==
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==Pages==
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* [[Gambas Reference]]
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* [[/authoring]] -- developing Gambas itself
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==Reference==
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* [[/flaws]]
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* [[/help browser]]
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* [[/questions]] answered and unanswered
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* [[/reference]]
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* error messages:
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** [[Not enough arguments]]
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==How To==
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* '''Installation''':
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** [https://www.htlinux.com/install-gambas-3-5-via-ppa-in-ubuntu-linux/ Install Gambas 3.5 via PPA in Ubuntu & Linux]: how to install the latest version (which may not be available in your default repositories)
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* '''Develop with''':
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** '''Responding to right-clicks''': the standard Click event also responds to right-clicks
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** '''Showing a pop-up menu''': ''still looking into this...''
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** [[/nesting forms]]
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==Links==
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===Official===
 
* [http://gambas.sourceforge.net/ Gambas homepage]
 
* [http://gambas.sourceforge.net/ Gambas homepage]
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** [http://gambasdoc.org/help Gambas wiki] is apparently written ''in'' Gambas, but lacks a search function (and many other common [[wiki]] functions), and requires an account in order to edit, which in turn requires an email to the author.
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** official documentation (on the [[/wiki|Gambas wiki]]): [http://gambasdoc.org/help/?v2 version 2]; [http://gambasdoc.org/help/?v3 version 3]
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* [[Wikipedia:Gambas|Wikipedia]]
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===Reference===
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* [[wikibooks:Gambas|Wikibooks]]
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* {{wikipedia}}
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* [http://www.laclavedefa.org/codigo_abierto/gambas_tutorial/ tutorials] (English, Spanish)
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* {{wikibooks}}
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===Projects===
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* [http://howtogambas.org/index.php?page=cedi&type=misc&id=3 HowTo Gambas: Building GUI Applications]
 
===resources===
 
===resources===
 
* [irc://irc.freenode.net/#gambas Gambas] IRC channel
 
* [irc://irc.freenode.net/#gambas Gambas] IRC channel
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===Defunct===
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==Stumbling Blocks==
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* <s>[http://www.laclavedefa.org/codigo_abierto/gambas_tutorial/ tutorials]</s> (English, Spanish)
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===Unanswered===
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** defunct as of 2007; [https://web.archive.org/web/20061012095644/http://www.laclavedefa.org/codigo_abierto/gambas_tutorial/gambas_tutorial_en.html archive]
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* '''Q''': How do you access [[kioslave]]s in code?
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* <s>[http://www.linuxbasic.net/ Linux Basic]</s>
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* '''Q''': Is it possible to do [[continuous forms]] as in [[MS Access]]? It seems likely that it can be done with some coding...
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** seems to have gone defunct in late 2013; [http://web.archive.org/web/20130509005418/http://www.linuxbasic.net/ archive]
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* '''Q''': Is there any equivalent to the line-continuation syntax (space + underscore) in VB?
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** was a forum: ostensibly for "the new breed of Basics coming out for the Linux operating system", but the focus seems to have been mostly (or entirely) on Gambas
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* '''Q''': Is there a general language syntax tutorial or reference anywhere?
 
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===Solved===
 
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* One of the more confusing aspects of Gambas (for a Visual Basic user, anyway) is that Gambas's events do not pass parameters; instead, you have to know where to fetch them from:
 
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** '''Form resize''': the size is easily available as a form property ("ME.")
 
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** '''Mouse clicks''': use the [[Mouse object (Gambas)|Mouse object]]
 
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** '''Key presses''': use the [[Key object (Gambas)|Key object]]
 
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** '''Controls in a group''': use the [[LAST (Gambas)|LAST]] keyword
 
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*** The most obvious solution would have been for the event to pass the control as a parameter; Gambas events don't seem to use parameters. Another intuitive solution would have been for the group itself to appear on the form's list of controls/methods, as an alias for the currently active/effective control. Finally, if the form had an ActiveControl property, I could pull the .Tag value from there, although I would expect to run into problems using this technique under some circumstances. '''Answer''': The LAST keyword refers to the control which generated the current event.
 
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* Another minor thing to remember is that calls to Gambas subroutines always put parentheses around the parameter list (VB subroutines do not, unless the subroutine is a function or property and the return value is being retrieved).
 
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* '''Q''': How do you open a file-browsing dialog that uses KDE's [[kioslave]] feature? ([http://gambasdoc.org/help/comp/gb.form/dirchooser DirChooser] in gb.form lets you choose a local folder only.)
 
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** '''A''': [http://gambasdoc.org/help/comp/gb.qt.kde/dialog/selectdirectory Dialog.SelectDirectory] in [http://gambasdoc.org/help/comp/gb.qt.kde gb.qt.kde] provides this.
 
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* An "invalid assignment" error can be caused by an undeclared variable, e.g. "A = B" if A has not been declared.
 
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==Flaws==
 
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* (Major but livable) Hovering over variables at runtime does not display their current value, as in VB
 
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* (Major but livable) Help is not context-sensitive
 
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* (Major but livable) There is no equivalent to the VB right-click "Go to definition" menu command
 
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* (Minor) SHIFT-TAB does not unindent
 
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* (Minor) Although the syntax for accessing field data is nominally similar to VB's syntax, a variant which works under VB does not work in Gambas:
 
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{|
 
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|-
 
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| valign=top |
 
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<center>'''works in VB'''</center>
 
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'''with''' objData
 
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    intID = !ID
 
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    strName = !Name
 
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'''end with'''
 
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| valign=top |
 
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<center>'''required form in Gambas'''</center>
 
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intID = objData!ID
 
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strName = objData!Name
 
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|}
 
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* (Minor) Identifiers are not automatically capitalized to match their declaration, as in VB; fortunately, identifiers are not case-sensitive for compilation, so this doesn't make things ugly the way it does in C/C++. (The pop-up list of methods/properties/events ''sometimes'' won't show up, however, unless the object's name is properly capitalized.)
 
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* The field-list popup isn't smart in certain circumstances:
 
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*# Type me.controlname.field (use a real control name and a real field name)
 
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*# Move cursor somewhere else
 
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*# go back to same line, and highlight the "." between "controlname" and "field"
 
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*# type "."
 
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*#* (minor) The list doesn't automatically select the field which was there already
 
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*#* (annoying) When you select the field you want, it is inserted between "." and the fieldname that was there before. This follows logically from the editing rules, but is not what we want to happen; the selected fieldname should replace the old fieldname.
 
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
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* The Help system appears to be wiki-based, possibly feeding directly off the Gambas wiki -- so any errors found can be corrected by anyone, in theory. Not sure how easy this is in practice. (Edit buttons do not appear in the Help app, so you would have to find the correct page on the wiki.)
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* The Help system appears to be wiki-based, possibly feeding directly off the Gambas wiki -- so any errors found can be corrected by anyone, in theory. Not sure how easy this is in practice. (Edit buttons do not appear in the Help app, so you would have to find the correct page on the wiki, and get editing permission from the webmaster.)

Latest revision as of 14:37, 27 August 2015

About

Gambas is a programming language and IDE.

It is:

  • intended to fill the same niche as VB, though not intended to be code-compatible
  • currently only available for Linux and other Unix-derivatives (there is a partially-functioning Windows version)
  • open-source

Pages

How To

  • Installation:
  • Develop with:
    • Responding to right-clicks: the standard Click event also responds to right-clicks
    • Showing a pop-up menu: still looking into this...
    • /nesting forms

Links

Official

Reference

Projects

resources

Defunct

  • tutorials (English, Spanish)
  • Linux Basic
    • seems to have gone defunct in late 2013; archive
    • was a forum: ostensibly for "the new breed of Basics coming out for the Linux operating system", but the focus seems to have been mostly (or entirely) on Gambas

Notes

  • The Help system appears to be wiki-based, possibly feeding directly off the Gambas wiki -- so any errors found can be corrected by anyone, in theory. Not sure how easy this is in practice. (Edit buttons do not appear in the Help app, so you would have to find the correct page on the wiki, and get editing permission from the webmaster.)
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