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| PureBasic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Paradigm | Structured,imperative,procedural |
| Family | BASIC |
| Designed by | Fantaisie Software |
| Developer | Fantaisie Software |
| First appeared | 1998 (1998) |
| Stable release | 6.30 / January 12, 2026; 38 days ago (2026-01-12) |
| OS | Windows,Linux,macOS,Raspberry Pi OS,AmigaOS |
| License | Trialware |
| Filename extensions | .pb, .pbi, .pbf, .pbp |
| Website | www |
PureBasic is acommercially distributedprocedural computerprogramming language andintegrated development environment based onBASIC and developed by Fantaisie Software forWindows,Linux,macOS andRaspberry Pi. AnAmiga version is available, although it has been discontinued and some parts of it arereleased as open-source. The first public release of PureBasic for Windows was on 17 December 2000. It has been continually updated ever since.
PureBasic has a "lifetime license model". As cited on the website, the first PureBasic user (who registered in 1998) still has free access to new updates and this is not going to change.[1]
PureBasic compiles directly toIA-32,x86-64,arm32 andarm64,PowerPC or680x0 instruction sets, generating small standaloneexecutables andDLLs which need no runtime libraries beyond the standard system libraries. Programs developed without using the platform-specificapplication programming interfaces (APIs) can be built easily from the same source file with little or no modification.
PureBasic supportsinline assembly, allowing the developer to includeFASM assembler commands within PureBasic source code, while using the variables declared in PureBasic source code, enabling experienced programmers to improve the speed of speed-critical sections of code. PureBasic supports and has integrated theOGRE 3D Environment. Other 3D environments such as theIrrlicht Engine are unofficially supported.
Since version 6.00 (June 2022), in addition to compilation using ASM, PureBasic offers compilation with a C backend. This enables access to new platforms (e.g. Raspberry) and should make it easier to add new libraries in the future.
PureBasic is a native cross platform 32 bit and 64 bit BASIC compiler. Currently supported systems are Windows, Linux, macOS. The AmigaOS version is legacy and open-source. The compiler produces native executables and the syntax of PureBasic is simple and straightforward, comparable to plain C without the brackets and with native unicode string handling and a large library of built-in support functions.[2] It can compile console applications,[3] GUI applications,[4] and DLL files.[5]
The following single line of PureBasic code will create a standalone x86 executable (4.5 KiB (4,608 bytes) on Windows version) that displays a message box with the text "Hello World".
MessageRequester("Message Box","Hello World")
And the following variant of the same code, which instead uses an inlineWindows API call with no need for declarations or other external references, will create an even smaller 2.0 KiB (2,048 bytes) standalone x86 executable for Windows.
MessageBox_(0,"Hello World","Message Box",0)
The following is a console version of the Hello World example.
OpenConsole(); Open a console window.Print("Hello, World!")Delay(5000); Pause for 5 seconds
PureBasic is a "Second generation BASIC" language, with structured conditionals and loops, and procedure-oriented programming supported. The user is not required to use procedures, so a programmer may opt for a coding style which includesGoto, Gosub Label, andReturn.
Below is a sample procedure for sorting an array, although SortArray is now a built-in function of PureBasic.
ProcedurebubbleSort(Arraya(1))Protectedi,itemCount,hasChangeditemCount=ArraySize(a())RepeathasChanged=#FalseitemCount-1Fori=0ToitemCountIfa(i)>a(i+1)Swapa(i),a(i+1)hasChanged=#TrueEndIfNextUntilhasChanged=#FalseEndProcedure
Below is a sample program that displays a sizeable text editor with two menu items.
;Create Window:OpenWindow(0,#PB_Ignore,#PB_Ignore,800,600,"Simple Text Editor",#PB_Window_SystemMenu|#PB_Window_MinimizeGadget|#PB_Window_MaximizeGadget|#PB_Window_SizeGadget);Add 2 menus:CreateMenu(0,WindowID(0))MenuItem(1,"&OK")MenuItem(2,"&Cancel");Add Editor:EditorGadget(0,0,0,0,0)SetGadgetFont(0,LoadFont(0,"Courier New",10));Process window messages until closed:RepeatSelectWaitWindowEvent()Case#PB_Event_MenuSelectEventMenu()Case1:MessageRequester("OK clicked directly or with '&' mnemonic.",GetGadgetText(0))Case2:BreakEndSelectCase#PB_Event_SizeWindow:ResizeGadget(0,0,0,WindowWidth(0,#PB_Window_InnerCoordinate),WindowHeight(0,#PB_Window_InnerCoordinate))Case#PB_Event_CloseWindow:BreakEndSelectForEver
PureBasic does not escape double quotes in strings so these must be concatenated withChr(34).
Fred, the developer of PureBasic, has stated that PureBasic will never beobject oriented.[6] However, numerous users have created object oriented support systems.[7][8][9]
Variable data type specified when you first use it (and optionally - in the future), and is separated from the name of the point. There is a set of basic types -.f, .d (float and double numbers),.b, .c, .w, .l, .q (integers - from single-byte and 8-byte),.s - strings.
| Type | Suffix | Memory usage | Numerical range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Byte | b | 1 byte (8 bits) | −128 ... +127 |
| Ascii | a | 1 byte (8 bits) | 0 ... +255 |
| Character | c | 1 byte (8 bits) (ascii) | 0 ... +255 |
| Word | w | 2 bytes (16 bits) | −32768 ... +32767 |
| Unicode | u | 2 bytes (16 bits) | 0 ... +65535 |
| Character | c | 2 bytes (16 bits) (unicode) | 0 ... +65535 |
| Long | l | 4 bytes (32 bits) | −2147483648 ... +2147483647 |
| Integer | i | 4 bytes (32 bits) x86 | −2147483648 ... +2147483647 |
| Float | f | 4 bytes (32 bits) | Depending on the ratio of the decimal number. |
| Integer | i | 8 bytes (64 bits) x64 | −9223372036854775808 ... +9223372036854775807 |
| Quad | q | 8 bytes (64 bits) | −9223372036854775808 ... +9223372036854775807 |
| Double | d | 8 bytes (64 bits) | Depending on the ratio of the decimal number. |
| String | s | (String length + 1) *SizeOf(Character) | No limit. |
| Fixed String | s{length} | (String length) * SizeOf(Character) | No limit. |
In addition to basic types, the user can define the type of construction via
Structure type_name field_name.type ; Single field. Perhaps the structures attachment. field_name[count].type ; Static arrays. ; ... ; Optional construction StructureUnion .. EndStructureUnion allows you ; to combine multiple fields into one area of memory ; that is sometimes required for the conversion types. StructureUnion type_name.type ; ... EndStructureUnion EndStructure
Variables can be single (actually, standard variables),dynamic array (declared using theDimvar_name.type_name(size1,size2,...), alinked list (List()var_name.type_name), anassociative array (in new versions of language) (Map var_name.type_name())
PureBasic has its ownform designer to aid in the creation of forms for applications, but other third-party solutions are also available.[10][11] The original non-integratedVisual Designer was replaced with a new integratedForm Designer on 14 Feb 2013.[12]
PureBasic provides an online forum for users to ask questions and share knowledge. On 17 february 2025 the English language forum had 6,484 members and contained 70,174 threads comprising 578,646 posts since 17 May 2002.[13]
Numerous code sharing sites show PureBasic is used to create tools[14] and games in a fast and easy way,[15] and share large amounts of open-source code.[16]
