STAZ Software has released the newest version of their version of the reborn BASIC programming language, FutureBASIC^3. The new version promises a significant speed enhancement, along with a host of other improvements. According to STAZ Software:
Both the compiler and runtime are even faster than before. This was no small feat for a product that was already the fastest BASIC in MacDom. We've added a new "toolbox only" runtime for seasoned hackers that want nothing more than to touch the heart of the machine. There are new binary operators like NAND and NOR.
The source level debugger has been greatly enhanced. It is more than 100 times as fast as the previous release and includes displays for global and local variables. You can click an item in the function window to see the variables used by a particular routine.
The function menu has been redesigned to be more compact and to include a new option for displaying routines as unsorted, with bookmarks shown as separators.
Shared Libraries may now be embedded in a project by dragging them into the project window. We have added support for the URL manager, the USB manager, and sprockets.
In addition to standard numeric constants, Release 2 now supports string constants which may be assigned as quoted strings (_myString$ = "Hello") or as ASCII values (_cr$ = 13). New preference options allow quoted strings to be routed to STR# resources and provide the optional ability to eliminate duplicated strings.
Strings can also be handled as standard ASCII, as smart strings (that properly detect and handle mixed single and double byte scripts like Kanji), and as separate handlers that must be told what system is in place (as MID$ and KMID$). Inline input for two byte systems has also been improved and streamlined. There are Kanji numeric conversion routines that translate numbers from Arabic to Kanji or Zenkaku text.
