Porting from old, old Winbatch

[Staudenmaier]

I've been programming in Winbatch since about 1992.  Since about 2007, I've never had any real impetus to upgrade.  The language interpreter is v97d dated 2007.  It has always worked perfectly up to (at least) Windows 8.  I've always considered it the most reliable piece of software I have.

The problem is, I lost the key to both the Interpreter AND the (pseudo) compiler.  Do you have records of registration that far back?

My other option would be to port my old code to your new code.  The problem there is that I have about 700kb of source code to port.  I would have to ask you about any structural changes you've made (my Winbatch is most like a structured Basic) AND how you've changed the function names.

It would be most helpful if I could get a list of the current functions to reference.

Morrie passed away didn't he?

Thanking You,
Bob Staudenmaier

[jmburton2001]

Hi Bob!

A few years ago I found myself in the same position you're in. I've been using Winbatch and their compiler since the mid 1990s. Same as you it had worked perfectly and I had way more than 700kb worth of scripts. I also had a registration hiccup.

Tony (AKA Island Lake Consulting), the current owner and maintainer, didn't have registration records going back that far. Since they've kept the purchase price very affordable, I purchased a new license.

As far as your old scripts? I've opened some very old ones in Winbatch Studio with great success. My old scripts only need to point to any new extenders and they've compiled and run just fine. If I do have any issues it's been nice having this forum to ask questions. The debug and "step through" functions in Studio also help immensely!

I would have to ask you about any structural changes you've made (my Winbatch is most like a structured Basic) AND how you've changed the function names.

In my experience there are no changes to structure and very few (if any) changes to previous function names. As I mentioned, my old 1990s scripts work just fine. I'm happy to report that Tony's dedication to maintaining and improving Winbatch have given my old scripts new capabilities in new Windows versions.

As far as what's new or updated? The WIL help file is posted at https://docs.winbatch.com/

I think you'll find that the upgrade is well worth it!

[td]

As has been already mentioned we do not have any license information earlier than mid-year 2017 so you are out of luck with regard to license retrieval. All the changes made to WinBatch and WIL from around 1995 are available by following the "What's New" link on the WinBatch site's home page. Happy reading...

<edit> The WinBatch installation includes a file called "Read Me Now.txt". The file contains a description of any breaking changes made to WinBatch over the years.

[kdmoyers]

I confirm all that jmburton2001 said.
I can add that I think it's a great value.
-Kirby

[Staudenmaier]

Thanks very much, people!  This should be an easy port.  Since I write my own extenders, the only thing I have to worry about are any changes to the protcocol that references an extender function.  (That calls the extender.)  With Morrie's protocol, you just had to number the functions.  e.g.

COMMEXTSTRUCT CommandExtTable[] =
{

/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Maximum of 5 parameters per function.
                                         Name
  ID   Type      Params/Value  Size  123456789ABCD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

  { 0,  CONSTANT,  MAX_PATH,     0,  "@maxpath"  },    // is equal to MAXPATH=260
  { 1,  CONSTANT,  WB_ERROR,     0,  "@error"    },    // is equal to 3
  { 2,  CONSTANT,  WB_LICENSE,   0,  "@license"  },    // is equal to 3
  { 3,  CONSTANT,  WB_OK,        0,  "@ok"       },    // is equal to 2
  { 4,  CONSTANT,  MAX_STRSPACE, 0,  "@MAX_STRSPACE"}, // is equal to 15,000

  {10,  FUNCTION,  0x001F0001L,  0,  "xextenderinfo"}, // xExtenderInfo(n)
  {11,  FUNCTION,  0x001F0001L,  0,  "initextend1"  }, // InitExtend1(s)
  {12,  FUNCTION,  0x001F0002L,  0,  "yesnoquery"   }, // YesNoQuery(s,s)
  {13,  FUNCTION,  0x001F0001L,  0,  "fetchfilename"}, // FetchFileName(s)

[chrislegarth]

Ditto to everything said about the usefulness and reliability of WinBatch through the years.
It has been a steadfast, rock solid staple to my working environment since 1995.
I have some compiled programs well over a decade old that just chug along never missing a beat.
This support forum is unmatched and I have never had an issue upgrading from version to version.

I can't say enough kind words...Thanks!

[JTaylor]

You might want to take a look at the latest SDK.   It has changed quite a bit and there are some new features.   Your old ones will probably still work but always good to test.    You might find it worth the trouble to move your code to the latest SDK version.

Jim

Thanks very much, people!  This should be an easy port.  Since I write my own extenders, the only thing I have to worry about are any changes to the protcocol that references an extender function.  (That calls the extender.)  With Morrie's protocol, you just had to number the functions.  e.g.

COMMEXTSTRUCT CommandExtTable[] =
{

/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Maximum of 5 parameters per function.
                                         Name
  ID   Type      Params/Value  Size  123456789ABCD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

  { 0,  CONSTANT,  MAX_PATH,     0,  "@maxpath"  },    // is equal to MAXPATH=260
  { 1,  CONSTANT,  WB_ERROR,     0,  "@error"    },    // is equal to 3
  { 2,  CONSTANT,  WB_LICENSE,   0,  "@license"  },    // is equal to 3
  { 3,  CONSTANT,  WB_OK,        0,  "@ok"       },    // is equal to 2
  { 4,  CONSTANT,  MAX_STRSPACE, 0,  "@MAX_STRSPACE"}, // is equal to 15,000

  {10,  FUNCTION,  0x001F0001L,  0,  "xextenderinfo"}, // xExtenderInfo(n)
  {11,  FUNCTION,  0x001F0001L,  0,  "initextend1"  }, // InitExtend1(s)
  {12,  FUNCTION,  0x001F0002L,  0,  "yesnoquery"   }, // YesNoQuery(s,s)
  {13,  FUNCTION,  0x001F0001L,  0,  "fetchfilename"}, // FetchFileName(s)

[Staudenmaier]

You might want to take a look at the latest SDK.   It has changed quite a bit and there are some new features.   Your old ones will probably still work but always good to test.    You might find it worth the trouble to move your code to the latest SDK version.

Says  I have to purchase the SDK.  Can someone help me out?

[Staudenmaier]

[
i]As has been already mentioned we do not have any license information earlier than mid-year 2017 so you are out of luck with regard to license retrieval. All the changes made to WinBatch and WIL from around 1995 are available by following the "What's New" link on the WinBatch site's home page. Happy reading...[/i]

You mean those 140 text files?  Sure, I can read all those!

[JTaylor]

Not sure what you are looking at but this link should work....

    https://files.winbatch.com/downloads/wb/wil-sdk.20210224.zip


The code under

    SDK\Various Samples\C++ Map Example\VC2019

is the most recent, I think, as far as Examples go.

Jim

You might want to take a look at the latest SDK.   It has changed quite a bit and there are some new features.   Your old ones will probably still work but always good to test.    You might find it worth the trouble to move your code to the latest SDK version.

Says  I have to purchase the SDK.  Can someone help me out?

[JTaylor]

There is a list of Functions in the Help file under the Content Tab.   Might save some reading in the 140 text files    

Jim

It would be most helpful if I could get a list of the current functions to reference.

Morrie passed away didn't he?

Thanking You,
Bob Staudenmaier

[td]

[
i]As has been already mentioned we do not have any license information earlier than mid-year 2017 so you are out of luck with regard to license retrieval. All the changes made to WinBatch and WIL from around 1995 are available by following the "What's New" link on the WinBatch site's home page. Happy reading...[/i]

You mean those 140 text files?  Sure, I can read all those!

The List of Fixes and Improvements is about 9178 lines long but it does require a little initiative on your part. For example, try clicking on one of the links on the "What's New" page. If you do, you will find all 9178 or so lines. Given that it is about 9178 lines it dose also require some scrolling...