QB64

If you miss the days when you used to develop programs in Quick Basic or Qbasic, you probably understand that your projects might have a little trouble running on newer versions of Windows, but that can be solved by turning to the appropriate software solution.

QB64 is a specialized third-party application that enables you to create programs that are compatible with Windows XP, Vista and newer or even turn existing projects into versions that are fullycompatible.

This application is actually a modern alternative to the Basic programming language and serves both as a BASIC-compatible editor and a C++ compiler. It enables you to generate working executables from programs that were developed with Qbasic or Quick Basic 4.5 and make them compatible with 32 or 64 bit Windows systems.

It provides you with several handy features, including the ability to play music or sound files, stereo sound, TCP/IP Internet communication, email messages and improved graphics. You can access a set of example programs from the application's "programs" folder so that you can study the app's capabilities before creating your own content.

QB64 comes with an interface that resembles the all-time classic DOS and packs intuitive functions, available in its traditional menus. Unlike other applications with DOS interfaces, this one lets you use your mouse in order to select content or interact with menus or buttons.

It also provides you with a comprehensive help section that can help you understand its functions and operate them without breaking a sweat. Given that this program was designed to help users generate compatible executables out of Qbasic BAS files, you need medium-to-advanced PC skills or at least previous experience with similar software to benefit from its full array of functions.

Since this application is portable, you don't need to install it on the target computer. Simply unpacking its contents and launching the executable grants you total access to its controls. However, you need to be patient as the archive packs a lot of files, which can make the decompressing process take a while, depending on your computer.

QB64 won't create any additional files or folders on your computer without your explicit permission, nor will it tamper with any of your Windows registry entries.

All things considered, if you're looking for an efficient way to make programs created with Quick Basic 4.5 or Qbasic compatible with newer versions of Windows (XP and newer) or even develop new projects, QB64 might just be what you're looking for. It packs a wide variety of functions, comes with a handy help manual and requires no installation.