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DarkBASIC Discussion / Had an Idea. Tell me what you think.

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TKF15H
21
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Location: Rio de Janeiro
Posted: 23rd Jul 2003 23:39
Hi. I'm planning a program that will act much like MSN messenger but will connect to the DarkBasic forum instead. That way you can chat with other users online and post messages in the forum. The login would be the same as the Dark Basic login, and there would be areas where you can help others, request help, monitor a thread to see if your post has been answered, and all the other features (i think) of the DB forum (request team, 3D chat, etc.) Before making this monsterous thing, I want to know if anyone would actually USE it. It wouldn't be any fun chatting alone....
I would like to know if any one has any objections to this project (from the makers Dark Basic especially).
Any advice would also be welcome.
I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Kentaree
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Location: Clonmel, Ireland
Posted: 24th Jul 2003 01:37
Actually, this is a cool idea. If it can show you real-time what messages are being posted etc it might be very useful. Oh, and maybe it keeps a list of your last 20 or so posts, so you never forget where you promised to post a reply on ^_^

Cheers,
Kentaree

Whatever I did I didn't do it!
Pazza
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 01:43
sounds like an awesome idea, but i have no idea how u'de go about implementing your idea

"Bite my shiny metal ass!" - Bender
Magpie
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Location: Otherland! Cos it rocks!
Posted: 24th Jul 2003 01:49
Can you actually use DarkBasic to connect to the internet and interact with it?
Sorry, you guys probably all know the answer and this'll only serve to annoy you.

TKF15H
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 02:33
OK! I plan to make part of the program in Visual Basic (connecting and downloading messages with winsocket) and mabe the interface in Dark Basic. I think an interface in dark basic would be anoying and would be easier to make in VB. What do you think? And you can make DarkBasic connect (but you have to use a dll and I don't know how ). The other way to make DB connect would be FTP, but that won't do any good in this case...
And about the recent posts list: Kentaree will be listed in the credits.
Thanx for the comments.

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Magpie
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 18:37
Could you have a whole forum in DarkBasic without any websites like this one involved?

TKF15H
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 19:09 Edited at: 24th Jul 2003 19:30
That's what I'm planning to do.
Is anyone out there good at making graphical interfaces in DB? I suck...
I have started working on the program and I allready got it to connect to DB's apache server (I'm so happy!). All you have to do is type in your user name and password. It's alot faster than going into internet explorer, typing an address, waiting for the page to load...
Now I have to make an interface between the visual basic and dark basic

This post should be in the beta page but I didn't want to make another post about the same thing.

Anybody like cowboy bebop? You know the computer program Ed uses to serf with the VR glasses? Do you think you can make an interface similar to that one? It would be really cool! e-mail me if you think you can do it!

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Preston C
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 21:06
Hmm, your going to try and make an interface like the one Ed fron Cowboy Bebop uses to surf the web? Cool, always wanted to try that!

At first glance, I'm a mediocre mech pilot. Look again and you will see my battlemech's computer code rushing through my eyes. My Mech And I Are One!
TKF15H
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 22:06
Me too. That's why I'm making it!
Soon an alfa version will be out with no interface
Its gonna be pure Visual Basic I'll add the Dark Basic interface later.

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Magpie
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 22:29
I am okay at interfaces, I'll put a sample of a little menu subroutine I wrote on here later. By 4 nau.

TKF15H
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 22:50
ok! thanx.

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Pazza
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Posted: 24th Jul 2003 23:45
So how do you link Visual Basic into your DarkBasic Progs then??

"Bite my shiny metal ass!" - Bender
TKF15H
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Posted: 25th Jul 2003 00:45
I'm going to make it the easiest way possible (That I know of):
You run the DarkBasic program, and it will run the VisualBasic program. Then darkbasic writes in a file what it wants, the VB reads it, and answers in another file.
I plan to make it like this because that way people can easily create there own interfaces without knowing anything about the internet or dll's!

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Magpie
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Posted: 25th Jul 2003 20:35
You can definately run Db progs from a vb prog, but I don't think you can start a vb program from inside a db one. If so, what is the command?

(ignore the red face at the bottom: it's my signature)

Magpie
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Posted: 25th Jul 2003 20:37
How about releasing that "alfa" version then?
Can you also give us a snippet of the code - I'm dying to know how you got into the internet with your program!

TKF15H
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Posted: 25th Jul 2003 22:58 Edited at: 26th Jul 2003 04:38
helix, you were right about dark basic not having a command for running a program. I had two ideas on how to run a program from DB:
1) I THOUGHT DB had that command because every other language I know has some way of doing it.
2) Depending on how DB loads DLL's, renaming an EXE to DLL would have the same effect as starting a program. I tested this theory later and found out it didn't work. Then I stopped programming for the day 'cause I was too angry with my pc. (And it was real late too)
So I can either:
1) Do it the other way around... VB calls DB.
2) Make a DLL in VB (if I figure out how)
3) Make a DLL in Euphoria (I know how, but it's a pain. This is the last option I want to try.)

Helix, all I got right now is the VB protion of the code (and it's not done yet). Is that what you want me to post?

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Magpie
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Posted: 26th Jul 2003 17:51
No, I haven't got vb on this machine (I think) it would be easier to post an exe file and a text file with some code snippets in it. I appreciate that this is making your job harder. Sorry.

Magpie
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Posted: 26th Jul 2003 18:00
Ok sorry about the wait.
My Menu System:

menu:
selected = 1
sync on
completed:
cls
if selected = 0 then selected = (options)
if selected = (options+1) then selected = 1
ink rgb(50,50,50),0
box 19,1,639,20
ink rgb(200,200,200),0
box 1,1,19,20
ink rgb(255,0,0),0
text 20,1,Menutitle$
if m = 1
ink rgb(255,0,0),0
text 400,1,"P1: "+str$(MoneyOne)+"u P2: "+str$(MoneyTwo)+"u"
endif
for opt = 1 to options
ink rgb(255,0,0),0
if Left$(Opts$(opt),6) = "Denied" then ink rgb(100,0,0),0
text 20,(opt * 20),Opts$(opt)
if Sub = 1 then text 400,(opt*20),Subtext$(opt)
next opt
ink rgb(255,255,255),0
if Left$(Opts$(selected),6) = "Denied" then ink rgb(100,100,100),0
text 20,(selected * 20),Opts$(selected)
sync
wait 70
repeat
if downkey() = 1 then selected = selected + 1: goto completed
if upkey() = 1 then selected = selected - 1: goto completed
if Left$(Opts$(selected),6)= "Denied" then goto denied
if returnkey() = 1
sync off
Dim Subtext$(22)
for s = 1 to 22
Subtext$(s) = ""
next s
Sub = 0
return
endif
denied:
until escapekey() = 1
end

what you do is at some point in the program, you
put in the code:

dim Opts$(22)
Options = 5
Menutitle$ = "Who invented the lightbulb?"
Opts$(1) = "Albert Einstein"
Opts$(2) = "Stephen Hawking"
Opts$(3) = "Thomas Edison"
Opts$(4) = "Dmitri Mendeleev"
Opts$(5) = "Pythagoras"
gosub menu
if selected = 3 then right = right + 1

or similar. It's a really quick way of making
great menus.

TKF15H
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Location: Rio de Janeiro
Posted: 26th Jul 2003 23:30
Thanks, helix. I'll test the code later. Windows is messed up so the graphics drivers work when they want to (and they don't want to right now).
Quote: "You can definately run Db progs from a vb prog, but I don't think you can start a vb program from inside a db one. If so, what is the command?"

DBPro has the "execute file" command. DBC doesn't.

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Mentor
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Posted: 26th Jul 2003 23:47
I think DBC has the execute file command if you have the enhancement pack, but I no longer have DB classic installed so I may be wrong there, it`s not something I ever used.

Mentor.

TKF15H
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Posted: 2nd Aug 2003 15:51
OK. Here is the Pre-Alfa version. It is very primitive so don't expect it to do much yet.
http://www.flatface.net/~bugeyes/
It is pure VB with source.
If it asks for a DLL or some file, tell me so I can upload it.

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Wik
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Posted: 2nd Aug 2003 19:26
Component 'MSWINSCK.OCX' or one of its dependencies not correctly registered: a file is missing or invalid

p.s cool idea

Intel P4 2.66 GHz (533MHz), Radeon 9000pro 60Gb hd...Self-Built
ReD_eYe
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Posted: 2nd Aug 2003 19:49 Edited at: 2nd Aug 2003 19:50
i'm as far as request ok waiting for data, be nice to see a progress bar or something

I have a website!!!
So go there: http://www.freewebs.com/darkb/index.htm
on second thought you probably shouldn't
ReD_eYe
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Posted: 2nd Aug 2003 19:53
whats supposed to happen how long should it take?

I have a website!!!
So go there: http://www.freewebs.com/darkb/index.htm
on second thought you probably shouldn't
TKF15H
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 00:37 Edited at: 3rd Aug 2003 00:40
It's supposed to be VERY fast. In my computer it takes less than 3 seconds to connect. I don't know why it's happening like that on yours. Are you behind a firewall? If not, mabe a different version of winsock???

I'll update the ZIP file with the missing OCX...

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
TKF15H
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 00:51
Ok, check it again.
Does any one know how to look thru a large string for certain HTML commands? I need to find out how for VB.
Note:The pre-alpha version only connects to the server, lets you pick a forum, then shows the response given by the server. You can't really use it for anything yet.

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Shock
AGK Developer
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 00:59
i'm 100% positive that DBC without expansion has the exectute file command, as i can remember using it in old projects

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.
Shock
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 01:09
BTW the alpha looks VERY promissing

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.
TKF15H
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 01:38 Edited at: 3rd Aug 2003 01:57
Thanks ShockForge.
And ReD_eYe, It got stuck on "waiting for DATA" because the server didn't respond. It wan't my fault . Try again later. MSN Messenger waits a few seconds for a server response then gives you an error if it doesn't get one. I just didn't make that error yet...
SCREEN SHOTS!!!!



I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Lecks
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 10:59
very impressive
make it customisable for different forums, and u could make money off it . I'm not saying i'd buy it, but some ppl arent as cheap as me

Shock
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 15:54
Free for personal use on the DB website

Charge for a similar application that allows people to add a similar system to their own website and their own creations

that sounds fair. or ofcourse you could shove a nice 468x60 banner at the top of the window, just like iMesh or the real Kazaa have in their programs

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.
TKF15H
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 16:54
Making it compatible with other forums would be way too dificult. The program has to be writen specificaly for the forum it will be used in. So the only way I'd get to make money off it is if a forum owner were to contact me and show me his forum.

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Lecks
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 17:05
a lot of forums are very similar though, you could load the page and show the user what it would look like using several templates. or even let people write their own templates.
just an idea anyway, there would have to be a huge consumer base for this type of thing, as a hell of alot of people use forums

freak
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 17:16
it's a very kewl idea, but I think it will be way too slow when u use darkbasic for it... it should be just a background application, but it will take much of your system resources

and you'll have to quit your program when you start a game, because there can be only one directx/opengl(?) application running at the same time

it would be cool if you added support for plug-ins, so people can write plug-ins for other forums...

[href]www.bernardfrancois.com[/href]
TKF15H
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 19:03
OK, Let me explain how the thing works a little better and why I won't be able to add compatibility with other forms:
When the program connects to the DB server, it gets the same HTML page your browser does. Then it will (it doesn't yet) look through the code for the links to the threads. This changes from page to page and won't be easy to adapt. To look through the code it will use the right$() and left$() commands to find the "<" and ">" that have a sertain code in them. I might have problems also because the server responds with one big HTML as a string... the problem this causes is that I think there is a limitation of how many bytes long a string can be. In other words only part of the page will be loaded!
Mabe I'll add support for other forums later. I want it to work first, then I'll add the "bells and whistles".

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Shock
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 22:06 Edited at: 3rd Aug 2003 22:07
I think it would load the HTML page in as one line = one string.
For example, if the page looked like this:



^^ That would be six different strings, while:



^^ would be one string.

I once made a very simple webpage maker in DBC, and when it wrote out the page, each line was one string. When it loaded in a page again for editing, each line loading in as one string too.

Although i doubt the webserver sends it out the same way, thats still how it worked for me lol.

Anyway, i'll do abit of looking to see how many char's a string can hold

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.
Shock
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 22:11
255 characters (that makes sense )

my example above was 125, so i wouldnt expect a big webpage if that is the way it sends it

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.
TKF15H
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 22:58 Edited at: 3rd Aug 2003 23:17
Hooray! I finally got it to read the whole thing (40 kb) into a string! I won't tell you what I was doing wrong all this time 'cause you'll all laugh at me .
VB doesn't limit the string size at all. It all depends on how much free memory your PC has. My pc has tonnes of free ram but... Oh yeah, almost forgot, I wan't supposed to tell...

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Shock
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 23:17
DBC: 255 chars

DBP: "Each string can consist of as many characters as the memory allows."

Buy DBP and make it in that lol
If you can afford it, you wont regret buying it.

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.
Shock
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 23:30
this might help you for VB:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Programming/Programming_Languages/Visual_Basic/Q_10175311.html#1519625

maybe that makes sense to you, it doesnt me

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.
TKF15H
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 23:34
DBC will not be in charge of handling the buffer so there is no problem now. And I just got DBP!

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Shock
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 23:42
so will the gui be in DBP?

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.
TKF15H
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Posted: 3rd Aug 2003 23:47
I'll think about the gui later. First I need the VB part to work perfectly. And thanks for the link, it helped a bit. What consumes less memory DBC or DBP?

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Shock
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Posted: 4th Aug 2003 00:02
well, i think DBC shoves useless stuff in memory (that you won't be using), while DBP only shoves in memory what it needs to compile your program.

I might be wrong though

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.
k0shi
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Posted: 4th Aug 2003 00:08
yes i think your right, im not sure about dbp. But i know db does. like after you compile the program in the very beginning of the exe you can see a glimps of the nasty db cursor.

Learn as if youll live forever, and give as if youll die tomorrow.
TKF15H
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Posted: 4th Aug 2003 00:18 Edited at: 4th Aug 2003 00:23
Any way, since you can make your own GUIs, if it will be in DBC or DBP is up to the user. I don't know how I'll make mine, it doesn't really matter.
I think DBPro has a larger engine so it might take up more RAM than DBC. Then again it's more optimised, so there is no way to know.

While working on the prog. I found a glitch on the forum:
I found it after mis-typing the URL...
This should give you an error but it doesn't.
http://www.darkbasicpro.com/apollo/read.php?b=0
Who should I tell about this???

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Lecks
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Posted: 4th Aug 2003 06:47
i think every board has posts in it, so you could treat this as an error?

TKF15H
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Posted: 4th Aug 2003 22:56
I updated the program so now you can see what posts there are but you cant see them yet. It's good for seeing if there are any new posts. Take a look.
[href]www.flatface.net/~bugeyes/[/href]

I need an animator!!! HELP ME!!
Shock
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Posted: 4th Aug 2003 23:04
lol, if you try posting in board 0 then you'll get an error (it looks like the old amiga-style error, the red box ).

Anyway, i'll check out the new version in a couple,..

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.
Shock
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Posted: 4th Aug 2003 23:44
it takes a very long time to connect, but the wait was worth it in the end

Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken.

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