Tom and PB header includes

José Roca · February 01, 2014, 07:51:26 PM

I began to write the headers during the beta testing of PB 9. It was not possible to test the new low-level COM support without interface definitions, was it? I suggested to use them because, otherwise, the beta testers could not test the new features, but the silence was deafening. Only James Fuller tried them. Because of this, I singlely did almost all the beta testing, except some DDT additions.

The new PB includes weren't ready until the very end of the beta testing of PB 10, and I helped to correct some mistakes and objected that there were many unneeded incompatibilities with the previous PB headers (maybe you don't have noticed it, but my headers are more compatible with the PB ones for PB 9 than the PB headers for PB 10) and many structures misaligned.

I also singlely tested the new PB COM browser, and even provided some code. Besides, they used my own browser to compare the output. Another case of wasting time reinventing the wheel, because mine was ready before they started his own and is better and faster.

Bob suggested me to add my OLE container to the distribution disc of PB 10, but I objected that it needed the use of my headers.

I also objected against the opening of my own subforum ("Jose's Corner") because it was not possible to teach low-level COM without using my headers, since the PB ones don't have the slightest support to use that technology.

I wanted to finish my work adapting the headers and wrappers to 64-bit, but...

Michael Stefanik · February 01, 2014, 08:06:37 PM

You're saying that he created those subforums against your objections? Uh... wow.

Paul Squires · February 01, 2014, 08:22:45 PM

Jose Roca, I have learned so much from you that I don't know where to begin with showing my appreciation and respect. I am by no means a COM expert, but what I know is because of the work you've done and the patience you have shown in tirelessly explaining these concepts to us dummies

José Roca · February 01, 2014, 08:38:05 PM

Quote from: Michael Stefanik on February 01, 2014, 08:06:37 PM
You're saying that he created those subforums against your objections? Uh... wow.

Yes, I did object twice. The third time I said... Well, open it and we'll see what happens.

I thought that since the use of my headers was required, it was going to be a waste of time.

José Roca · February 01, 2014, 10:16:16 PM

A recent example of a misaligned structure in the PB includes:

http://www.powerbasic.com/support/pbforums/showthread.php?p=447308#post447308

The SYSTEM_POWER_POLICY structure has a BYTE member (VideoDimDisplay) between two DWORD members. I have used DWORD FILL to properly align it, but the PB includes don't. As a result, the size of the structure in the PB headers is 229 bytes instead of 232 bytes.

Brice Manuel · February 04, 2014, 05:05:22 AM

Mike was there for the Pyxia fiasco, IIRC. Not sure who else was. Did anybody else notice that Tom followed the exact same pattern? Posts about how great he is. Late night drunken ramblings. Starting fights with more prominent users. Then disappearing?

It was odd the first time when it happened in Pyxia, but to have the exact same thing happen again many years later is Twilight Zone odd.

Michael Stefanik · February 04, 2014, 05:24:28 AM

Quote from: Brice Manuel on February 04, 2014, 05:05:22 AMIt was odd the first time when it happened in Pyxia, but to have the exact same thing happen again many years later is Twilight Zone odd.

It's like we're living in Gobbler's Knob, and it's February 2nd all over again.

Paul Squires · February 04, 2014, 08:20:38 AM

I got burned on the Pyxia thing like everyone else. Tom asked me to port JellyFish Pro to be compatible with IBasic. I wasted so much time doing that. He had big plans for the language. Many emails but then suddenly everything stopped and he disappeared.

Michael Stefanik · February 04, 2014, 07:11:40 PM

It looks like Brian has just posted in the 3rd party forum about his BasicToPHP product again, so we'll see if Tom crawls out of the woodwork to delete it (again), or if he stays on walkabout.

Knuth Konrad · February 05, 2014, 06:23:04 AM

It really is a shame how the transition has been handled (not!).

I do believe the kinds of Chris Boss, Gary Beene when they state that Vivian is willing/trying to keep PB going. But I fear she has not enough technical knowledge to tell good advice from bad advice. She might be listening to people that she knows for some time (Tom), which is human nature, instead of listening to ideas on how to progress this very inconvenient situation.

My personal dream is that a couple of the (what I feel are) key PB community members would take over the PB legacy. There's so much talent and devotion for PB around, it seems like the natural way to progress. But I also recon that a lot of bridges seem to have been burned in the past. Not just after Bob's death, but even earlier by Bob himself. He was a brilliant programmer, but a bad diplomat/moderator.

Brice Manuel · February 05, 2014, 08:17:07 AM

For some time, this has screamed of somebody trying to take advantage of a widow and run through whatever was financially left of the company. And I am not referring to her stalker.

James Fuller · February 05, 2014, 12:49:21 PM

My feeling is there is no PowerBASIC source so why would anyone buy the company.
As paranoid as Bob was he was probably the only one with access to the complete source code.
I have felt this way from the first day I heard of his death.

I believe Eric mentioned that no one could modify a forum cgi because Bob created it and there is no source.

James

Brice Manuel · February 05, 2014, 01:19:36 PM

Whatever plans Bob had in place for the continuation of the product and company, likely fell apart with Jeff's accident. I initially put the over/under at six months, after Jeff's accident, but with the staff changes, I think now there will be an announcement soon making more promises that things are being worked on and more great products coming, and near the end of the fiscal year, the plug will be pulled. I think bankruptcy is inevitable. It is simply a matter of when.

I truly do hope I am wrong, as I would love to see the languages survive and see more products released.

José Roca · February 05, 2014, 01:47:09 PM

> I believe Eric mentioned that no one could modify a forum cgi because Bob created it and there is no source.

Regrets. They have modified it after Eric's posts.

Knuth Konrad · February 05, 2014, 02:25:25 PM

Any thoughts on what the value of PB roughly is?

I'm asking for a couple of reasons:

1) I'm curious
2) I've been an employee my whole life and have nada idea how to approach such an estimate. I don't know whether to put it near $100,000 or $10,000,000
3) If 2) is (much) closer to $100,000 than $10,000,000

than I'd be willing to throw some grands into a Kickstarter/IndieGoGo kinda "user buyout". I'd know which fellow PB'ers I'd like to see leading the new PowerUserBASIC ... which doesn't mean that they would like to do it ...