fabasic is a BASIC interpreter for AROS AArch64 (Raspberry Pi). The language follows the ANSI/ISO Full BASIC core with QBasic-style extensions, and adds modules for modern programs:

- classic BASIC: structured code, SUB/FUNCTION, TYPE records, libraries (MODULE / USE), sequential and random access files
- windows with Zune: buttons, lists, tables, menus, tabs, dialogs, timers, events
- games: canvas, sprites, collisions, tile maps (also isometric and from the Tiled editor), path finding, smooth frame loop
- sound through AHI: tones, WAV and 8SVX samples
- network: HTTP/HTTPS, JSON, TCP, UDP, MQTT
- Raspberry Pi hardware: GPIO, I2C, BME280, DS18B20, OLED, VideoCore firmware readings
- pack: interpreter and program in one executable
- faedit: editor and IDE - syntax colours, themes, F5 runs the program and jumps to the line of an error

About 50 example programs are included, from small console programs to games and a Home Assistant reader. Manual in English and Polish.
This archive contains AROS AArch64 programs only - they do not run on Linux, Windows, AROS x86 or AmigaOS, and programs made with -pack run only on AROS AArch64. fabasic for Linux and Windows is a separate program, not included here; the same .bas programs run on it unchanged.

This is an ALPHA release: the language may still change. The hardware functions (GPIO, I2C, sensors, OLED) are experimental and have not been fully tested - wrong wiring can damage the Pi or the connected devices. Use them at your own risk.

HTTPS connections are encrypted, but the server certificate is not verified.

Installation: unpack anywhere, double-click faedit, or run from the Shell, e.g. fabasic examples/gui/calculator.bas
See README.txt inside the archive.

Freeware, provided "as is" without any warranty (see LICENSE.txt and LICENSE-faedit.txt).
Written with help from an AI assistant (Claude).
Includes Mbed TLS (Apache 2.0) and the PiSensors library (MIT).
Example graphics (CC0): Kenney, Buch, Luis Zuno.

To download from https://archives.arosworld.org/?function=showfile&file=development/language/fabasic.aarch64-aros.lha

After reading the manual, I didn't fully understand the principle of creating an executable file. I took the easy way out and asked Gemini to analyze it. Here's the result:

fabasic doesn't have a traditional compiler that translates code into machine language, because fabasic is an interpreter. However, it does have a built-in packer that allows for easy distribution of the program as a single file.

The -pack switch is used for this, e.g., fabasic -pack myprogram.bas

How it works exactly:

Standalone executable: The interpreter combines itself, your script, and the included modules (from USE) into a single executable file (e.g., .exe on Windows, and generates a file with an .info icon on AROS). To run such a file, the user doesn't need to install fabasic.

Code protection: By default, the program code is "obfuscated" (obfuscated) to hide it from prying eyes. If you want to keep it readable, you can also use the -src flag.

Application Appearance: On Windows, adding the -console flag will leave a black window in the background. Without it, graphical programs (using USE GUI or USE GAME) will run as native applications without a visible console.

External Files: It's important to remember that only the code is packaged. Any graphical or audio resources (e.g., PNG, WAV files) must be located in a separate folder next to the created executable (the program locates them using the PROGDIR$ variable).

The end-user experience is therefore almost identical to that of traditional compilation.

I ran fabasic -pack calculator.bas from the shell and created a calculator file with an icon. It runs! Even from RAM! Rafał!! You've created a new Hollywood! At least in terms of portability between Linux<->Windows<->AROS. If only MacOS still existed... I could try writing something using AI. What an interesting project. Keep developing it!