The Weird and The Wonderful

The Weird and The Wonderful forum is a place to post Coding Horrors, Worst Practices, and the occasional flash of brilliance.

We all come across code that simply boggles the mind. Lazy kludges, embarrassing mistakes, horrid workarounds and developers just not quite getting it. And then somedays we come across - or write - the truly sublime.

Post your Best, your worst, and your most interesting. But please - no programming questions . This forum is purely for amusement and discussions on code snippets. All actual programming questions will be removed.

Re: VB 6

Richard A. Dalton6-Sep-10 1:43

Richard A. Dalton

6-Sep-10 1:43

OriginalGriff wrote:
No, it doesn't! Try with an empty catch would only work the same if you surrounded each and every single line of code with it's own, independent, try...empty catch block. Not even the laziest programmer on the planet would do that...

All you need is a try with an empty catch above the top level code, e.g. in a Button Click event, and all lower level code is covered.

So...asking again...

Should every language that has a mechanism for swallowing exceptions be pulled from the market?

I don't use classic VB any more except where maintenance is needed and that is needed less and less.

I do use VB.Net although I prefer C#.

Both C# and Java have their share of "features" that could attract every bit as much criticism as the features that people obsess over with VB.

And yet, I rarely hear those languages called into question to the same extent.

There's something about that word 'Basic' that just brings out the religious zealots on both sides of the debate.

To me VB has always been a tool, like a Hammer. I might feel a little sentimental from time to time, like a carpenter would about his first hammer, but it's just a tool. It has good and bad.

It revolutionised Software Development and it deserves a bit more respect for that than it gets.

More importantly, while it included features that allowed bad programmers to create complex code, it also included enough features to allow good programmers to write good code.

Very few of the features that people are critical of were absolutely needed. Create and enforce a few coding standards and VB could be used quite well for even complex systems.

The most important point to remember is that right now, out there in the wild there is code written in C# and Java that is 100 times more complex and difficult to read and maintain than anything that was produced in VB.

As a profession we should have enough self respect and pride to realise that code quality is predominantly a function of the developer not the tool.

Prior to college my only experience of programming was Basic. On my induction day for college back in the 90's I asked one of hte students showing us around if they used Basic at all.

"Basic? That's a baby language. We use C or COBOL"

When I started college I started messing with VB2.0.

A few weeks later that same guy approached me and asked me if I could show him VB, he wanted to use it for one of his assignments.

When I started work I used VB3.0. After a year or two I got a new manager who wanted us to start building Prototypes using an early version of Visual C++/MFC. He had VB programmers, but wanted use to only use VC++ (even for prototyping).

I quit, because think what you like about languages, some tools are just better for some things, and if you let ideology lead you into making bad decisions then I don't want to work with you.

No more excuses people.
It's not the tools....that are to blame for 'bad' code.

At some point we as a profession have to accept that for perhaps 15 years now there have been exceptionally good high level languages that can be used to build good quality maintainable code.

Let's stop wondering about which languages have dodgy features and start asking why we as a profession still produce so many coding horrors.

-Rd

Re: VB 6

OriginalGriff6-Sep-10 1:58

OriginalGriff

6-Sep-10 1:58

Richard A. Dalton wrote:
All you need is a try with an empty catch above the top level code, e.g. in a Button Click event, and all lower level code is covered.

It's not the same: On Error Resume Next causes execution to continue from the statement after the one that cased the error. An empty catch block will continue from the statement following the catch.

On error resume next
x = 3
x = x / 0
x = x + 1

would give an x of 4

try
   {
   x = 3;
   x = x / 0;
   x = x + 1;
   }
catch {}

would give an x of 3.
To duplicate the VB:

try { x = 3; } catch{}
try { x = x / 0; } catch{}
try { x = x + 1; } catch{}

I could argue that empty catch blocks are bad, but they can be justified under some circumstances (if they are documented sufficiently)

Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together.

Re: VB 6

Richard A. Dalton6-Sep-10 2:17

Richard A. Dalton

6-Sep-10 2:17

OriginalGriff wrote:
It's not the same: On Error Resume Next causes execution to continue from the statement after the one that cased the error. An empty catch block will continue from the statement following the catch.

The empty try..catch is infinitely worse than On Error Resume Next.

On Error Resume Next leaves the flow of the code relatively untouched. If the Resume next is a bad idea the program flow will continue and will blow up some time later, but you can have some idea where the problem originated.

Of you swallow an exception at a high level and that exception originated at a low level, you are at a complete loss. Not to mention the fact that there could be any number of Empty try catch swallows in between.

But like you said the empty catch clause can be justified and so we don't slam an entire language because you can do it.

Guess what, classic VB didn't have Try..Catch. It had what it had. And like empty Catch blocks if you abused what it had you could write horrible code.

VB.Net and C# have better error handling mechanisms than classic VB....SHOCKER!!!!

If you worked with what you had you could use things like On Error Resume Next to write good code that could be understood.

There are many credible criticisms of classic VB, most of which seem to completely miss the point that VB was what it was and came from where it came.

It's like blaming your 1980 Toyota for you constantly getting lost because your 1980 Toyota didn't come with built in Sat Nav.

-Rd

Re: VB 6

leonej_dt1-Sep-10 12:49

leonej_dt

1-Sep-10 12:49

3. VB has an integer division operator: 9 \ 4 returns 2, not 2.25.

4. Propagating the null value in expressions is correct. Technically, there is a difference between

Dim a As Variant
a = long_expression_possibly_returning_null
If a = True Then
some_code
Else
more_code
End If

and

Dim a As Variant
a = long_expression_possibly_returning_null
If a = True Then
some_code
ElseIf a = False Then
more_code
End If

And the difference consists on how the program handles the case in which a Is Null.

Still, I agree that VB is a very horrible language:

1. Default ByRef parameters? What were VB designers smoking?
2. No support for object-oriented programming would have been better than the weak support VB offers.
3. Weak support for value data types, which does not include operator overloading. (Java is guilty of this as well.)
4. Fairly common data structures such as collections and dictionaries are a mess.
5. ~~Even more common~~ Generic data structures such as stacks, queues and trees are simply not supported. And there is no clean, efficient way to implement them.
6. The only way to take full advantage of the power of the Win32 API is use gross hacks à la Bruce McKinney's Hardcore Visual Basic, aka, C (not even C++!) programming in VB.

If you can play The Dance of Eternity (Dream Theater), then we shall make a band.

Re: VB 6

Kirk21129-Sep-10 8:41

Kirk2112

9-Sep-10 8:41

Interesting line of conversation. A number of years ago I lead a team of programmers to build and deploy an enterprise scale, COM based VB6 app. In the end we had thousands of classes with a few hundred dlls and exes. All told our code base was estimated at well over a million lines of hand written code. Our first deployment was in 2001 and the application is still in service and recieves yearly updates.

Wouldn't choose to that again but...

All that being said, I no longer use VB6 for any new projects and I agree with all of the concerns raised here over the loose and sometimes illogical behavior of VB as a language. It can be used as a powerful development tool, as we proved, but only with skilled and experienced programmers to reign-in the language. Its a shame when the language makes you work harder to be a good programmer. In twenty years of programming I think the programmer and his/her skill is more important than language.

Re: VB 6

xperroni1-Sep-10 4:24

xperroni

1-Sep-10 4:24

I worked on VB6 for some three years, and while I did see a lot of ugly code, I never found the language itself (or its IDE for that matter) to be particularly at fault. Sure it missed a decent array initialization mechanism, and its concept of "object-orientation" was laughable when compared to Java - but between a couple good practices (such as always using Option Explicit to enforce variable declaration) and a bit of boilerplate code to abstract away the worst idiosyncrasies, it wasn't bad at all to program; I for one didn't find it any more hard to program modular, loosely-coupled, highly-cohesive classes in VB than in Pascal.

Perhaps VB's ugly code base was more a consequence of the target public it was aimed at? Microsoft marketed it as a tool for novice programmers to write simple applications with, so it's no wonder we find a lot of bad code written in VB.

Re: VB 6

Fabio Franco1-Sep-10 5:05

Fabio Franco

1-Sep-10 5:05

I remember my early days in programming. I started with VB5 at the age of 15. Oh my...

The fact that I didn't need to declare a variable simply knocks me out today. I remember when I realized that this was really bad, I remembered to always use "Option Explicit". The more I got skilled in programming the farther I got away from VB. It was like a calling to code horrors.

Soon enough though, I abandoned VB two to three years later in favor of C++.

The fact is that VB draws many people who either are not born to code or suck at coding because they are just starting.

Re: VB 6

Bigdeak10-Sep-10 1:56

Bigdeak

10-Sep-10 1:56

My first language was C/C++. With my knowledge of this language, starting program in C# was really easy for me.

But my biggest mistake in my live...
...One day, i asked my boss how to do something in vb6, because i only wanted to see how another language works. This question was unfortunately the start of a big chaotic long-live and important project written in vb6 by my boss and other programmer, that have been left the firm long time ago. So my job was to step back from a modern language to a frumpish language.
My fun to program has been decreased a lot since that day, it's not mainly the difficult to work with vb6 in relation to C#. The syntax is okay, because at my young days i played with BlitzBasic. The hardest thing was the predominant bad-formed code in this project that has been written by unexperienced programmers (yes my boss included).

I said to my boss, that i don't like vb6 and instead of upgrade this old long-live project with new important features, we should create new projects with this features in a newer language instead of increasing the longevity of a old vb6 project. He answer with sentences like: "I don't give a sh*t, you get paid for this work.", or: "The customer needs this tool for work." etc.

There are some approaches in this projects, some features for this project has been developed in .NET, but because of the missing downward-compatibility and some problems to access them from vb6, this modern solutions had to be developed in vb6 to make the access easier. Because my boss dont have the time for this and i'm the only one who can do this, i had to destroy the .NET approaches and develop it in vb6. Its hardly imaginable how reluctant i'm with this, develop a done and working .NET feature with an older language, because the boss want to have it.

Re: VB 6

Fabio Franco10-Sep-10 2:03

Fabio Franco

10-Sep-10 2:03

I feel really sorry for you. Bosses usually really don't care about the details, maintainability, etc. All they want is what the client wants.

And I often see they miss many opportunities because they are reluctant to improve things that are already working. With this kind of mentality, that companies like Microsoft gets owned by companies like Google.

Improve always, think before the client.

Re: VB 6

M i s t e r L i s t e r1-Sep-10 5:54

M i s t e r L i s t e r

1-Sep-10 5:54

VB should just be put out of it's misery !

Re: VB 6

bwallan1-Sep-10 8:08

bwallan

1-Sep-10 8:08

Beautiful! Just absolutely beautiful...

bwa

Re: VB 6

JasonPSage1-Sep-10 8:37

JasonPSage

1-Sep-10 8:37

This is a response to all the posts in this topic before mine... you might know what I'm referring to if you read this thread up until this post...

I've written miles of VB5,6 code and folks can knock it all they like but I think it was one of the best products Microsoft has made alongside forcefeedback joysticks, access 2003, excel 2003 and DirectX in my opinion.

It is one of first totally RAD programming languages in my opinion: True Binary, tons of widget addons, ADO, ODBC, RDO .. tons of ways to communicate with databases and whip up applications quickly with integrated set up and deployment tools - all wrapped into one seamless package if you wen corporate - not to mention it supports various client/server (two tier/three tier systems easily.

On error resume next? You can test the error result after that command - SO? what's the problem? How is that different then try catch? You can do the same thing... and frankly - there is a time and place for any code construct - even GOTO.

I love when folks get indignant about GOTO and other coding philosophy. I truly believe users just want software that works - less flash and more "DO" ... and

* If you write beautiful code that is easy to read and performs great: AWESOME!

* If you write ugly code that works.. well.. I wouldn't recommend it but before I chastise ya: How much time did you have to get it done? Boss breathing down your neck? Simply didn't care? All valid reasons to write crap and "Git-R-Dun" in my opinion... Example: Coder: I need two days to do this right! Boss: I need it NOW.. an Hour! Worker: Sure thing boss!

VB6 is pretty darn sweet and I say if they had a vb7 by the same development team with better multi-tasking - I would chose it over .Net any day!

--Jason

Know way too many languages... master of none!

Re: VB 6

Max Peck2-Sep-10 4:05

Max Peck

2-Sep-10 4:05

I concur.

We have a time & attendance system that was originally developed in VB6 that serves thousands of clients on a daily basis. (Some of these clients have > 10,000 employees). The current enterprise-level solution is now a mix of the VB6 stuff and .Net. Since 2005 the management kept saying "in 6 months we'll get rid of VB6 code". Now, years later, the ratio of the VB6 code to the .Net section is about the same. Why? The stuff just plain works, that's why.

Agreed, .Net is far more refined a product than VB6 is - it had better be, it's 12 years newer (in its latest version that is). However even now the VB6 code continues to ensure that paychecks are accurately produced and the system continues to hum along.

VB6 may wind up being the next COBOL. It will eventually fall off the radar but in the background will continue to get results for years to come.

One developer said that he'd never take another job where he would have to deal with VB6. That's all right son, just send that work my way. I won't turn my nose up - they pay me big bucks to fix systems that the kids don't want to bother with anymore. Smile | :)

I love .Net (absolutely crazy about C#) but, at the same time I find it a breath of fresh air sometimes to go back to VB6. Besides being a competent development environment it is just plain FUN.

-Max Smile | :)

Re: VB 6

Matt McGuire1-Sep-10 13:15

Matt McGuire

1-Sep-10 13:15

true, that does hurt. but you should have seen some c code I had to take over when I first arived at the company I now work for.

something along the lines---

void _add{
int a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n;
int aa,bb,cc,iiii,iii,ii,i;

if {z==0}n=3; /*declared in globals*/
b=1
}

all of the code was like this, with vars never even refrenced in the code, except for one var that is assigned a variable, but never actually used. the names of the functions had no correlation to the body of code inside of them!

yes, most of it was scrubbed, as no one could follow the majority of the logic.

Re: VB 6

Lutosław1-Sep-10 20:25

Lutosław

1-Sep-10 20:25

Maybe a programmer who wrote this was using a lot an early version of BASIC, where variables had to match a pattern ([A-Z][A-Z]) (identifiers not longer than two characters, not case sensitive, a-z letters can be accesed via an array A, e.g. A[3]=C as well as other "advantages").

BTW in your code i is declared twice.

Greetings - Jacek

Re: VB 6

cwp423-Sep-10 1:38

cwp42

3-Sep-10 1:38

It always depends on the coder !!!
You can do this horror in every language.

cwp42

558 Lines Of QuickBasic Glory

AspDotNetDev25-Aug-10 21:29

AspDotNetDev

25-Aug-10 21:29

This post relates to the coding horror I posted about earlier today. I dug up my old Tetris code and I found it... the following is the 558 line QuickBasic subroutine I made in high school that prints a string to the screen. Enjoy. Smile | :)

SUB PrintMain (Variable1 AS STRING, Variable2 AS STRING, FunctionNum AS INTEGER)
DIM Letter AS STRING
STATIC PrintColor AS INTEGER
STATIC Left AS INTEGER
STATIC Top AS INTEGER
IF FunctionNum = 0 THEN
        FOR i = 1 TO LEN(Variable1)
                Letter = MID$(Variable1, i, 1)
                IF Letter = "A" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, BF
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, BF
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor, BF
                END IF
                IF Letter = "B" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "C" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "D" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "E" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "F" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "G" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 4, Top + 4), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "H" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "I" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "J" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "K" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left, Top), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left, Top + 6), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "L" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "M" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(0, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 2)-STEP(0, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(0, 2), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "N" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(2, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 2), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "O" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top)-STEP(-3, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(2, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(-3, -2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 6)-STEP(2, -2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(-1, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(-1, -1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, -1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "P" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "Q" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 4), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "R" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "S" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 2, Top + 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 4)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "T" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "U" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "V" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "W" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "X" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "Y" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "Z" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(6, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(-4, 4), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 6, Top + 1)-STEP(-4, 4), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(6, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "a" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 4)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "b" THEN
                        PSET (Left, Top), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "c" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "d" THEN
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "e" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "f" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "g" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 7)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "h" THEN
                        PSET (Left, Top), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left, Top + 6), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "i" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "j" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 7)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "k" THEN
                        PSET (Left, Top), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left, Top + 6), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "l" THEN
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "m" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 1), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 5), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "n" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "o" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "p" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 7)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 5)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "q" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 7)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "r" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "s" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 4)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "t" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(0, 4), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top)-STEP(0, 5), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 5, Top + 5), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "u" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "v" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "w" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(2, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "x" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "y" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 7)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "z" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(-2, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(-2, 2), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 5, Top + 5), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "0" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "1" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "2" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "3" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "4" THEN
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 4)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 6, Top + 4), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "5" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "6" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "7" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "8" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "9" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "." THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "," THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 7)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = ":" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = ";" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 7)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "(" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = ")" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "!" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(0, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(0, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "?" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "`" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "'" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "+" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "-" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "*" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 2), PrintColor, BF
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 1), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 5, Top + 1), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 5, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 5), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 5, Top + 5), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "/" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(5, -5), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(6, -6), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "=" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                Left = Left + 8
        NEXT i
END IF
IF FunctionNum = 1 THEN
        Left = VAL(Variable1)
        Top = VAL(Variable2)
END IF
IF FunctionNum = 2 THEN PrintColor = VAL(Variable1)
END SUB

As you can see, I didn't even go with a chained IF... it's just a bunch of IF statements in a row. No, this code is not under copyright. Feel free to use it yourself. Roll eyes | :rolleyes:

[Forum Guidelines]

Re: 558 Lines Of QuickBasic Glory

Kevin Drzycimski25-Aug-10 22:22

Kevin Drzycimski

25-Aug-10 22:22

reminds me of my first steps in BASIC

i didnt even know of functions, so all code was in one gigantic file with many GOTOs

different targets were marked by global variables:

type = 3
GOTO 2000

...

2000
IF (type = 1) THEN
  GOTO 2001
ELSE IF (type = 2) THEN 
  GOTO 2002
ELSE IF (type = 3) THEN 
  GOTO 2003
ELSE IF (type = 4) THEN 
  GOTO 2004
ELSE
...

this was truly spaghetti code

but i am not ashamed. when i learned functions later they felt so great! and even OO later, oh my god!

Re: 558 Lines Of QuickBasic Glory

AspDotNetDev26-Aug-10 10:48

AspDotNetDev

26-Aug-10 10:48

Yeah, not sure why I wrote it the way I did. Looks like I have to call the same function 3 times... once to set the color, once to set the coordinate, and once to print the text. Guess I just didn't like too many parameters. D'Oh! | :doh:

[Forum Guidelines]

Re: 558 Lines Of QuickBasic Glory

CDP180226-Aug-10 0:50

CDP1802

26-Aug-10 0:50

Well, everybody has to begin somewhere and then find out how to do it better. I really hope I can recover some of my early masterpieces from the tapes of my old computer.

Back then I had the choice between machine language (I recently recovered one of my earliest working games, a Lunar Lander 'clone') and Tiny BASIC (because the interpreter needed a little more than 2k of my precious 4k RAM). If you look at the grammar of Tiny BASIC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_BASIC[^]), then you will see that coding horrors are as good as certain with it.

A while ago he asked me what he should have printed on my business cards. I said 'Wizard'.

I read books which nobody else understand. Then I do something which nobody understands. After that the computer does something which nobody understands. When asked, I say things about the results which nobody understand. But everybody expects miracles from me on a regular basis. Looks to me like the classical definition of a wizard.

Re: 558 Lines Of QuickBasic Glory

Ian Shlasko26-Aug-10 2:57

Ian Shlasko

26-Aug-10 2:57

aspdotnetdev wrote:
IF Letter = "`" THEN
LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
LINE (Left + 3, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
END IF

Does anyone even USE that character? Seriously, man... Too much free time Smile | :)

Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

Re: 558 Lines Of QuickBasic Glory

AspDotNetDev26-Aug-10 5:15

AspDotNetDev

26-Aug-10 5:15

I'm pretty sure I just typed out any characters I saw on my keyboard. Smile | :)

[Forum Guidelines]

Me! Me! Me!

peterchen27-Aug-10 5:27

peterchen

27-Aug-10 5:27

Ian Shlasko wrote:
Does anyone even USE that character?

I have some custom HTML building routines where ` is used instead of double quotes, e.g.

s= TextTag("b,a href=`link`", _T("<Click Me!>"))

that would generate

<b><a href="link"><Click Me!></a></b>

Do I get a cookie?

Agh! Reality! My Archnemesis![^]

| FoldWithUs! | sighist | WhoIncludes - Analyzing C++ include file hierarchy

Re: Me! Me! Me!

Ian Shlasko27-Aug-10 5:41

Ian Shlasko

27-Aug-10 5:41

Yes, but it's a stale cookie.

The fresh ones came from a different site, so they were blocked Smile | :)

Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

Re: 558 Lines Of QuickBasic Glory

leppie27-Aug-10 11:18

leppie

27-Aug-10 11:18

Ian Shlasko wrote:
Does anyone even USE that character?

A lot in LISP and Scheme. I'm sure other languages use it too.

xacc.ide
IronScheme - 1.0 RC 1 - out now!
((λ (x) `(,x ',x)) '(λ (x) `(,x ',x)))
The Scheme Programming Language – Fourth Edition

Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.