Date: Tue, 10 Nov 92 13:48:38 PST From: "Anthony E. Siegman" Subject: Programming the Mac in BASIC Here for what it's worth is an annotated list of books and other references on programming the Mac in QuickBASIC and other BASICs. Most of these are several years or more old, but some of them could still be useful, especially for more novice or amateur programmers. Publish, archive, or ditch as you see fit (about 150 lines total). ********************************************************** Programming the Macintosh in BASIC (Recent References) ********************************************************** % Harvey M. Deitel and Paul J. Deitel, Microsoft Macintosh QuickBASIC: A Structured Approach (Prentice Hall, 1991). One reviewer says: ``This (might be) a good book for a person who has never used BASIC on any machine and is learning on the Mac, but I would not recommend it to either an experienced BASIC programmer or someone already familiar with programming on the Mac in another language.'' Another reviewer says: ``This is a good learning book for beginners. Unique Macintosh functions that are provided with BASIC keywords are covered, but the CALLed ToolBox functions and the use of the ToolBox command are not addressed at all, and advanced programming techniques are only addressed lightly if at all. For a book with a subtitle `A Structured Approach' I was disappointed with their examples which I feel are not good examples of structured programming in BASIC.'' % Michael Halvorson and David Rygmyr, Learn BASIC for the Apple Macintosh Now (Microsoft Press, 1990, paperbound, $39.95). Another introductory book on BASIC that looks OK, but pretty elementary also. % Ross W. Lambert, ed., ``Inside Basic'' (monthly magazine from Ariel Publishing, Inc., P. O. Box 398, Pateros WA 98846, phone 509-923-2249). This is a new (as of January 1991) magazine which provides articles, discussion and sample code related to three of the four current versions of BASIC available for the Macintosh, namely Microsoft QuickBASIC, ZBasic, and HyperBASIC (which is not really a free-standing language, but is used for writing extended commands for HyperCard in BASIC). It does not provide coverage of True BASIC, which is a very good and modern machine-independent version of BASIC that runs on several different types of personal computers, but because of its machine-independent character does not take full access of the Macintosh environment. Since I'm a strong proponent of Microsoft QuickBASIC as a Macintosh programming environment for amateur, beginning, or even professional programmers, I'm fond of this magazine despite its occasional quirks. ********************************************************** Programming the Macintosh in BASIC (Older References) ********************************************************** [All of the following texts are dated 1986 or earlier and were written with a focus on the earlier versions of Microsoft BASIC whichlater evolved into Microsoft QuickBASIC. They are thus somewhat dated at this point, although several of them, notably the ``Microsoft Macinations'' book by The Waite Group, may still be very useful for novice QuickBASIC programmers.] % Sharon Zardetto Aker, MacBits: Utilities and Routines for the BASIC Programmer (Compute! Publications, 1986, paperbound, $16.95). This slightly specialized but useful book describes some 100 programming tools and utilities written in BASIC which can be used to simplify writing other programs in MS BASIC 3.0. Includes 18 code-writing utilities to generate BASIC code for making windows, programming buttons, etc., plus approximately 80 other routines which can be copied and used in finished programs. The programs are also available on a Macintosh disk. % Sharon Zardetto Aker, Microsoft BASIC Programming for the Macintosh (Scott, Foresman, 1985). Perhaps a bit out of date? % Bitter and Goodberlet, Macintosh QuickBASIC for Business (Pretice-Hall, 1987). I haven't seen this one. % James S. Coan and Louisa Coan, Basic Microsfot BASIC for the Macintosh (Hayden Books, 1985). Also probably now fairly out of date. % Philip Calippe, Advanced Macintosh BASIC Programming (Compute Publications, 1985, paperbound, $16.95). This is a reference guide useful for programmers already familiar with elementary BASIC programming. It discusses and gives examples of the more advanced Macintosh-specific features of Microsoft BASIC, including especially the Macintosh ROM routines that are available directly from BASIC. However, it does not cover the many additional Macintosh toolbox routines that become available by using the MS BASIC ToolLib. A program diskette is also available. % Dietel and Dietel, Microsoft Macintosh BASIC (Prentice-Hall, 1988). I haven't seen this one. % Walter A. Ettlin and Gregory Solberg, The Microsoft BASIC Book (Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1985, paperbound, $18.95). This seems to be primarily an elementary introduction to BASIC programming, with only a very little on the special features of BASIC on the Macintosh. % Larry J. Goldstein, Garry Helzer, and David Schneider, Microsoft BASIC for the Macintosh (Brady Books/Prentice-Hall, 1986, paperbound). This is essentially a fat handbook giving an introductory tutorial on BASIC, and then a detailed description and summary of all the standard commands in MS BASIC, presented in alphabetical order. Contains little or nothing on the toolbox routines accessed through the MS BASIC ToolLib. % David Kater, Macintosh Graphics and Sound: Programming in Microsoft BASIC (Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1986, paperbound, $17.95). One of the many paperbacks giving a simple introductory description of how to use the graphics and sound capabilities of the Mac from MS Basic 2.0 This one is OK, but nowhere near as detailed or extensive as Microsoft Macinations described below. % Steve Lambert, Creative Programming in Microsoft BASIC (Microsoft Press, 1985). Also now likely to be out of date. % Richard C. Vile, Jr., Macintosh Programming Using MS-BASIC 2.0 (TAB Books, 1985, paperbound, $16.95). This book gives a good introduction to the more sophisticated Macintosh capabilities available through MS BASIC, for programmers who already know elementary BASIC programming. It contains numerous helpful hints and demonstration programs, and a separate program disk is also available. The coverage is primarily limited to the commands built into BASIC itself however, plus the QuickBASIC ROM routines; it does not cover the additional ToolBox capabilities provided by the MS BASIC ToolLib. The book does have an interesting QuickDraw Trainer program for demonstrating the ROM QuickDraw routines accessible from BASIC. % The Waite Group (M. Waite, R. Lafore, and I. Lansing ), Microsoft Macinations: An Introduction to Microsoft BASIC for the Apple Macintosh (Microsoft Press, 1985). Now partly out of date because of the emergence of QuickBASIC; but still a clear and fairly detailed coverage of how to use MS Basic and the Toolbox extensions on the Macintosh. Still recommendedQclear explanations for the beginner, clever illustrations and examples for the slightly more advanced programmer. % The Waite Group (M. Waite, D. Putterman, D. Urquhart, and C. Blanchard), Macintosh Midnight Madness: Utilities, Games and Other Grand Diversions in Microsoft BASIC for the Apple Macintosh (Microsoft Press, 1985). Haven't seen this one.