VisualAge for Basic

IBM VisualAge for Basic delivers a suite of application development tools built around an implementation of the BASIC programming language for developers creating GUI clients and for DB2 application programmer who want to use BASIC to create GUI clients, DB2 stored procedures and user-defined functions. VA Basic is compatible with early Microsoft Visual Basic versions and was available in versions for both 32 bit OS/2 and MS Windows. It did have one feature that differentiate it from other Basic implementations at the time in that in addition to a client runtime it shipped with a server version as standard, this made developing client/server programs a doodle.

Version 1 is considered to be extremely buggy, this was fixed in subsequent bug fix releases alongside a host of small updates, however that upgrade was so big that it was never offered as a download by IBM but only as a free CD and few owners of VA Basic were even aware of its existence, making it very rare on the second hand market. IBM withdrew VA Basic from the market in 1998 but briefly offered the MS Windows version as a free download in 2000, although some claimed that was by mistake.

Version



 * Version 1.0
 * Communication Control
 * APPC with CM/2 1.1
 * Async
 * EHLLAPI with CM/2 1.1, PersComm AS/400
 * NetBIOS with LAN Server/Req. V4.0
 * TCP/IP with IBM TCP/IP 2.0/3.0
 * This version was also included on the IBM "BESTeam CD Library" from March 1997.


 * Version 1.1
 * Bug fix release - Update was available as a download in both client and server versions but appears to have disappeared off the net.
 * Version 1.2
 * Bug fix release - May have been released as a Beta only.
 * Version 1.5
 * Primarily bug fixes (This release may be a "version jack" and not add much in the way of changes over previous releases)

Documentation

 * Getting Started - GC26-8926-00
 * Data Access Guide - SC26-8692-00
 * Language Reference - SC26-8693-00
 * Programming Guide - SC26-8833-00

Publications

 * Rick Grehan: Visual Age for BASIC...Sort Of - BYTE Magazine (Nov 1996)

Links

 * Software Announcement: 296-420 - 1996-10-29 - IBM VisualAge for Basic for OS/2 and for Windows Version 1 Lets You Build Cross-Platform Client/Server Applications
 * VisualAge gets Basic - IBM System User international (1997-03-10)