FBeginner Preview

rdc · Post by **rdc** » Sep 05, 2006 19:09

Some of you may have noticed that I have discontuned this project, at least for the moment. I thought an official explanation was in order as to why.

The main reason is that it has become increasingly difficult to keep up with the changes to the compiler and to accurately reflect those changes in the book. As v1c has said more than once, the compiler is a work-in-progress, and this is to be expected.

I have decided that it would be more cost-effective of my time to wait for at least a 1.0 release of the compiler. This will put everyone on the same page, and provide a benchmark that me, or anyone else, can work from. Right now there are too many differences between released versions, CVS versions and old versions.

This is not a negative comment on v1c and crew. They have made it clear that this was, and is, going to happen. It is the price we must pay to have an advanced, consistent and useable programming language.

The second reason is that I have a growing desire to get back to my fiction writing. It has been my goal since elementary school to be a full-time fiction writer. In high school I managed to publish some of my work in a couple of teen magazines, and really got the bug then. When I fell into programming, my fiction writing was superceded by technical writing, but I never lost the desire to be a fiction writer. However, as you may know, being a writer means being poor, and programming was a way to pay the bills. The problem was that programming also left little time for anything else, especialy when I started doing technical writing.

When I semi-retired from programming a couple years back, I decided it was time to get back to my roots and work on my fiction writing. With new avenues of publishing like Lulu.com, it seemd like a resonable idea. But lately I have been getting sidetracked again, first with the various interesting free programming langauges available, and then with my journey back into technical writing. The main reason I quit programming, was to write, and I need to get back to that.

I do not consider myself a good writer; I have read, known and worked with good writers. But the only way to become a good writer is to write, not talk about it, so that I what I will be concentrating on for the near future.

However, I thought it only fair that since I have decided to change directions at this point, I would release the source manuscript in case someone wanted to pick it up. If someone does, they have my blessing. Finish it, open up an acount on Lulu and I'll buy a copy. :)

This does not mean that the project is necessarily dead even if no one wants to continue. I may revisit it when FB reaches version 1.0 and becomes a stable product. We'll have to see what happens then.

Shadowwolf · Post by **Shadowwolf** » Sep 05, 2006 19:46

good luck .

and it does kind of make senses to wait until FB reached a truly stable state.

Fragmeister · Post by **Fragmeister** » Sep 06, 2006 16:02

hey, that's cool, just remember that when you do need someone to proofread a rough draft, i'm still here. Good luck!

Post by **Imortis** » Sep 06, 2006 16:06

I, too, would like to be a fiction writer and have no time to do so. I feel your pain and wish you luck in your endeavors.

anonymous1337 · Post by **anonymous1337** » Sep 06, 2006 17:01

You rock dude ^_^;; This is good enough to wait for, if you do wish to get back to it later on.

rdc · Post by **rdc** » Sep 06, 2006 17:05

Thanks guys. If someone doesn't pick it up, I'll will certainly try and complete it when we reach a stable compiler version.

hartnell · Post by **hartnell** » Sep 06, 2006 19:30

You know... Charles Platt was a fiction writer too... :) -hartnell

sir_mud · Post by **sir_mud** » Nov 17, 2006 2:33

Hello rdc, first let me congratulate you on your excellent start for FBeginner. I was hoping to contact you and reveal my plans. I have been working on bringing this project up to date and reorganizing it a bit. I believe that the project is at least 70% complete and would like to see it's completion. Once I feel it is done, I will start post the book for purchase on LuLu.com with all th e proceeds going to support the FreeBASIC project ( I would like the price point for the completed book to be around or under $20 USD ). I feel that the book, once completed, will be able to evolve with FreeBASIC to always provide a comprehensive start for beginners and a valuble reference for seasoned programmers. Here: Download FBeginner_preview.odt is a preview of the rearranging I have done already. I haven't added very much content at the moment, but it is coming. I would welcome people's submissions for chapters or appendices they would like to see like relsoft's graphics tutorials and what not. I can be contacted directly at ebben[dot]feagan[plus]fbeginner[at]gmail[dot]com.

rdc · Post by **rdc** » Nov 17, 2006 4:16

Wow, that's great. I didn't think anyone was interested in this, so I am glad to see your work on this. Your organization looks great, and I expect the rest to be good as well. Feel free to change anything I have in there, it really needs a good edit. You have my thumbs up on this, and I will be one of the first to grab a copy. :)

mrToad · Post by **mrToad** » Nov 18, 2006 4:13

rdc wrote:Just another note. If you are a writer and want to get published, then you should check out Lulu:

http://www.lulu.com/

....

rdc--thanks. wow. how cool.

ytwinky · Post by **ytwinky** » Nov 18, 2006 12:33

rdc wrote:I didn't think anyone was interested in this

..if I had no interest in FBeginner, why should I have put a link on it on the links-page of ytwinky.freebasic.de(though the link doesn't link atm, because you stopped the further development..).
Especially now that I have installed FB0.17b>01.11.2006 I think there is a need for an explanation of the new facilities(though I'd prefer it in german :D)
So, please keep in mind, what ytwinky.freebasic.de says to FBeginner:
a MUST-READ not only for newbies..
Best regards
ytwinky

rdc · Post by **rdc** » Nov 18, 2006 14:38

ytwinky wrote:if I had no interest in FBeginner, why should I have put a link on it on the links-page of ytwinky.freebasic.de

Heh, I appreciate the comment. I meant interested in continuing the project, since I never heard from anyone about it, but it does seem there was some interest after all. I too think FBeginner is a needed resource, and if the project hadn't been picked up, I would have tried to complete it when .17 reached a stable point.

It appears to be in good hands, and I am glad to see the project continuing.

sir_mud · Post by **sir_mud** » Nov 19, 2006 3:00

Thanks for your comments rdc, I have a very good start thanks to you. I would welcome a german and english speaking individual(s) interested to translate. I can run it through an automated translating service, but it would be best for a native language speaker to do it.

Fragmeister · Post by **Fragmeister** » Dec 02, 2006 2:27

rdc wrote:It appears to be in good hands, and I am glad to see the project continuing.

who is currently working on it? I'm still quite available for proofreading :)

sir_mud · Post by **sir_mud** » Dec 02, 2006 2:33

I'm working on it now, I haven't done much on it recently because I've been sick so the website : http://freebasic.hmcsoft.org should have almost the latest version and say where i'm at. I think i have chapters 1 to 6 or 7 done atm. Feel free to proofread it.