PB app breaks 3 million mark !

[Davide Vecchi]

I'm always skeptic about using Windows (any version) for apps that - for their nature - need to run reliably and unattended.

Curiously, many years ago i wrote the sw for a similar app, a machine with a sheet picker (medical recipes), 3 barcode scanners on serial ports and 2 trays for bad and good sheets. It was PB/DOS 3.2, it used to run for many months without a reboot and it never needed a reboot.

About Windows programming, you made the right compiler choice .

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Davide Vecchi
[email protected]



[This message has been edited by Davide Vecchi (edited March 08, 2006).]

[John Twomey]

Cheers Davide -

I am sick of .NET at this stage am going to make a few apps using
PB for windows to run a few of my machines - as a comparison..



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[Davide Vecchi]

Way to go John!

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Davide Vecchi
[email protected]

[John Twomey]

Hi to all,
Thought you might be interested to Know.Back in 2002 I built
an automated print and apply machine .It has com port barcode scanner
which scans 3 barcodes per product, A com port label printer with
custom applicator.Serial connection to an F50 unix server.Pneumatic
conveyor reject flap and applicator head - and conveyor motor.
All control outputs are through the Parallel port (D0 - D8)
which are optically coupled to the driver stage for protection.
Inputs are via com ports,keypad and game port(sensors e.t.c ).
The pc is an AMD 500 with 64Mb solid state hard drive running 'FreeDos'
the application which controls this is a PB (power basic for Dos)
application 100Kb compiled.

Last week I was called to the machines first 'problem' - the
brushes in the conveyor control motor had worn out !While there I checked
the remote log file. It had processed over 3 million products !!!

I have built many machines with complicated control - 32bit op sys and
IDE's with pretty GUI's but this one I hold close to my heart - it has
surpassed all my expectations.

It goes to show that complicated controls and operating systems that
require constant updating/patching and fancy applications are not always
the order of the day. I offered an upgrade to a 'Fancy' (.NET) system but
got an emphatic 'NO' at which point a CD was produced (which i made years ago)
and I was asked could the 'Proposed new system' be completely restored in
under 5 mins like this one can ?. - I had to answer no !

2 Things learned -

1) I have to get PB for windows today - Don't know why I never went
down this road ?

2) Simple works !


Who says Dos is dead ?

What better testament can I give.......

Well done to all at PowerBasic what can I say.

PB (Power Basic for Dos) has kicked some serious ass !


John Twomey


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