Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!dogie.macc.wisc.edu!vms.macc.wisc.edu
From: gilmore@vms.macc.wisc.edu (Neil Gilmore)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Languages!!!
Message-ID: <2700@dogie.macc.wisc.edu>
Date: 17 Nov 89 18:52:40 GMT
Sender: news@dogie.macc.wisc.edu
Organization: University of Wisconsin Academic Computing Center
Lines: 30

In article <3289@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>, esp_05@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Stdnt 05) writes...

>Strikes me that older versions of GFA Basic are in the public domain.
>Although I don't know a whole lot about it because I don't use it, it
>strikes me that it has full GEM support, and that it's really easy to
>use. The one time I looked at it, I was also impressed by its editor.
>If I used BASIC I would probably be happy with it.  (I must say, way
>back when I got my 520ST in what, '86 I guess, ST BASIC was a real
>disappointment.)

Well, GFA is currently one of my 2 regularly used languages (assembly w/ 
Assempro the other). The editor is, quit simply, the best I have ever 
used on any system, for any language. I have used a lot of editors in my 
time (vi, EDT, EMACS variants, .......), but I now find the 
autoindenting, syntax-checking, atuo-capitalization indispensible. The 
language is pretty good, too. Buying the current revision is a good 
idea, as it has a CASE, and supports more variable types (byte, short 
int, etc. ) The ability to import ASCII is nice too (I have a few tools 
which output ASCII for importation). It's rather fast as well, and there 
is a compiler which is fairly good.

I wouldn't reccommend it for professional projects, but it works well as 
a prototyper, or for those throwaway programs which are needed quickly.

>Eric Ruck
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Kitakaze Tatsu Raito	Neil Gilmore     internet:gilmore@macc.wisc.edu | 
| Jararvellir,          MACC, UW-Madison bitnet: gilmore@wiscmac3       |  
| Middle Kingdom        Madison, Wi                                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+