purchasing and using Run Basic

I can't find answers to the questions anywhere on the relevant sites, so I thought I'd try here.

I know nothing about web hosting. At all. I have several programs written in Run Basic that I want available on the Internet as part of a business. I want them accessible from a business homepage developed and written in something that is not Run Basic. How do I go about doing all this? When I purchase Run Basic, can I only do it from the computer that will be operating as the server? Or can I download it onto any computer?

Run BASIC programs only work through the included server.

You can link to the RB applications from another page.
The Wiki should have some information about embedding a RB application in a frame of another web page.

What's an included server? As I said, I know nothing about this. If I am going to make a decision to purchase, I need some answers as to how, and if, this can actually do what I need it to. Particularly, about how the purchase actually works. Can I purchase this and download it onto my home computer? Is downloading not involved? If it is, do I have to purchase it on the computer that will actually be running it online?

And no, even with the search function I can't turn up anything about "embedding a RB application in a frame of another web page. "

I would start here
runbasic.wikispaces.com/FAQs

then maybe see how there are links to other peoples RB sites here
runbasic.wikispaces.com/Links

hope this helps

Laurie

The Wiki is no help. I do not need to be pointed to the Wiki again. I need my questions answered. I thought this package was being billed as an easy to use option for people who knew little of web programming? I have already said that I know nothing of this subject. This is why I am looking into this package. Why then do the few answers I get use terminology I have no way of understanding, and ignore virtually everything I ask? Is this the level of technical support I can expect if I buy this product?

I am going to try one more time. Please, somebody who actually knows about this product, answer this question: am I buying a download that I pull off of your site and onto a computer I own? Or am I simply buying space on a server you own, and access to the Run Basic that is installed there?

Hello jlthomson,

I no expert on run basic but I will try to answer your questions.

If you buy Run Basic you will get a program, that sits on your own computer, and will serve web pages to anyone who can obtain a suitable connection to your computer. this could a home or office network linking several machines in a single localtion for example. This could be wired or wireless. I have tried this myself and it works OK.

The program could serve web pages in the internet directly from your computer, but you would need to do certain things first. You would need to obtain a domain name, from a suitable vendor, and you would also need to purchase a static IP address form the internet authorities. You would also, probably, want to leave your computer connected to the internet 24/7. All this is a hassle, and I have not tried this.

Easier than this is to rent space on a commercial server that can run run-basic (hosting). You can up-load your programs to the server and the provider will run them for you. You can link to these pages from other pages on other sites if that works for you. All this comes at a price however, in addition to the purchase of the program. I can find only one company who provides run-basic hosting runbasichosting.com/

The last news item on this site was posted over a year ago. Others will tell you if it is still active.

Colin McMurchie

Run BASIC is a free web-based programming language that can (taken from the website) write and run your own custom computer programs in the familiar BASIC language without installing any programming software on your computer!


Which editions are available

The free online edition at the Run BASIC home page www.runbasic.com/
The free edition to download and install locally, available at the www.runbasic.com/
The Personal Server edition to buy, download and install locally, available at the www.runbasic.com/


What is the difference between the editions

The online edition allows to execute your code only on the web page
The free edition allows saving your code locally for repeated execution
the personal server allows publishing your finished program to be executed from the internal network or, if placed on a web server, from the web


Supported Platforms

Windows XP and higher
Linux (any recent distribution should work)
MAC OS X (Intel and Power PC)


Is Run BASIC a server?

runbasic.wikispaces.com/WebServer


Why should I use Run BASIC?

Why Not? Run BASIC is the following:
Free
Easy to use
Powered by the very popular Liberty BASIC programming language
Web-Based, so absolutely nothing needs to be installed (unless of course you don't have a web browser)
Syntax blows the hats off Java, HTML, and other web programming languages
Allows for embedded HTML and Javascript
Much. much more...
So try it today!


How do I write my own applications?

On the main page click the 'Write your Own' tab. Delete the line that says "print 3+4" and your ready to write a powerful Web Application.


How do I learn Run BASIC?

From the tutorials on this web page or on the Run BASIC website.


How do I make changes to username and password persistent?

Try changing it again, but this time, when you go back to the settings panel, click the "Accept" button. This will write your new username/password to the preferences file.


How do I install Run BASIC under Vista?

Install into a folder like C:\Shoptalk Systems\Run BASIC 1.01 Personal Server
or C:\Shoptalk Systems\Run BASIC 1.01 Free Edition
instead of a folder inside C:\Program Files


Installation was successful, but Run BASIC does not start?

Make sure your firewall is not silently blocking rbp.exe.
Make sure to exclude rbp.exe from being blocked.
If rbp.exe is no more blocked, the Run BASIC console will be displayed, use Launch in Browser to start developing your web applications.
???

Have you tried the first 'Run BASIC' link at the top of this page? And then follow other links on that page, especially 'Learn more about Run BASIC' which opens a page which is actually generated by Run BASIC

@ Colin McMurchie: Thank you. That does indeed answer my questions.

@ everyone else: I get that to a techie, the scant and ill-defined information on the pages you keep referencing might seem like an answer. However, it is pretty much meaningless to anyone else. A site that bills itself as selling a product that is specifically for people who don't know Web Tech stuff needs a little more than that for a response.

I understand your perspective. Perhaps the information needs a little work. I don't doubt that. But I must ask, did you read the white paper?

www.libertybasic.com/RunBASICBreakthrough.pdf

If you found Run BASIC hard to approach, have you also investigated other web development systems? The difference is night and day.

However, Run BASIC is not marketed at the end user who has no interest in learning programming. Our claim is that Run BASIC makes web development as easy as programming a home computer, and it does. I was 12 years old when I started programming in BASIC on computers like the TRS-80 and Commodore VIC-20 and there are many people who were younger than I was when they started.

-Carl Gundel, author of Run BASIC

Hello jlthomson,

Let me echo Carl's points above. It would be a pity of you were to waste the work you have put in so far learning Run Basic. If you want to program truely interactive applications for the web, (rather than 'static' pages) then there is nothing that even remotely approaches the straightforwardness of Run Basic.

You have written a couple of programs that are useful to you so you probably realise that already. If you are not sure, have a look at some PHP code to see how much more work you need to do to accomplish the same thing!

As far as getting your programs published (as a hobbyist without a web site I have never had to to this) then you can choose between self hosting, which is something of a hassle, and will always be a hassle, whatever language the code is written in, or using a hosting service. There are many hosting services supporting , fore example, PHP, ASP, Perl etc, but only one or two that support Run Basic. That is a great shame, but your choice is therefore limited. The forum contains several threads about the mechanics of these different approaches.

From a business perspective, you have already invested time and effort in developing your progams, and you would not want to waste that. Also you probably do not want to invest time and effort in learning another web language, so run basic could be the way to go. I see no difficulty in linking to Run Basic pages on one server from other pages on other servers, but if you do find problems I am sure the forum members will offer what help they can.

Even if you go for external hosting, consider buying the full version of runbasic. You can then devlop programs on your own computer and view them on that computer exactly as they would appear on the internet. You could also view them through a range of different browsers, to see if they look and feel differently under Firefox than under Safari or Chrome. The investment is not great, but the business rewards could be significant.

I hope this helps your decision

Colin McMurchie

Thanks Colin. And, it's not just the language that you would need to learn. There are just more moving parts just to get started. You would need to know how to install and configure Apache and the PHP add-on right out of the gate. You would need to use your own text editor, etc.

With Run BASIC you install one piece of software. The only thing you need to do is make sure your firewall isn't getting in your way, but you would also have to do that with PHP or any other web server based system.

-Carl