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PowerBASIC
PowerBASIC, formerly Turbo Basic, was the brand of several commercial compilers by PowerBASIC Inc. that compiled a dialect of the BASIC programming language. There were both MS-DOS and Windows versions, and two kinds of the latter: Console and Windows. The MS-DOS version had a syntax similar to that of QBasic and QuickBASIC. The Windows versions used a BASIC syntax expanded to include many Windows functions, and the statements could be combined with calls to the Windows API.
The compiler was originally published as BASIC/Z, the first interactive compiler for CP/M and MDOS. Later it was extended to MS-DOS compatible operating systems. In 1987 Borland distributed it as Turbo Basic.
Turbo Basic was originally created by Robert "Bob" Zale (1945–2012) and bought from him by Borland. When Borland decided to stop publishing it (1989), Zale bought it back, renamed it PowerBASIC and set up PowerBASIC Inc. to continue its support and development; it was later called PBDOS.
PowerBASIC went on to develop BASIC compilers for Windows, first PBWIN — their flagship product — and then PBCC, described below.
On November 6, 2012, Robert Zale, the creator of PowerBASIC, died. For a time, it was assumed that the company would quickly cease operations. His wife, Vivian Zale, posted on 8 March 2014 to the PowerBASIC forums that the company would continue operations. On May 10, 2015, Vivian Zale announced that work was continuing on new versions of PowerBASIC compilers.
On November 2, 2016, Vivian Zale announced her intention to seek a buyer for the company.
On January 31, 2017, Adam Drake announced Drake Software had acquired PowerBASIC source code from PowerBASIC, Inc., with the intention of updating and improving the functionality of the product. This was later confirmed by Vivian Zale with a forum post thanking the members for their support.
When Bob Zale died, PBWin11 and PBCC7 were in beta testing, and 64-bit compilers and PB/Pro (PBWin and CC in one compiler) were in the alpha stages. However, development of PowerBASIC products stopped. No new version has been released since v10.04 (14 years ago as of May 2025). No 64-bit version or beta release has been announced. No development activity has been reported. No corrections (such as adding the correct DPI settings for the IDE) have been released. PowerBASIC Tools LLC no longer sells new licenses for the 32-bit Windows compilers. The PowerBasic website was taken down in 2025.
Hub AI
PowerBASIC AI simulator
(@PowerBASIC_simulator)
PowerBASIC
PowerBASIC, formerly Turbo Basic, was the brand of several commercial compilers by PowerBASIC Inc. that compiled a dialect of the BASIC programming language. There were both MS-DOS and Windows versions, and two kinds of the latter: Console and Windows. The MS-DOS version had a syntax similar to that of QBasic and QuickBASIC. The Windows versions used a BASIC syntax expanded to include many Windows functions, and the statements could be combined with calls to the Windows API.
The compiler was originally published as BASIC/Z, the first interactive compiler for CP/M and MDOS. Later it was extended to MS-DOS compatible operating systems. In 1987 Borland distributed it as Turbo Basic.
Turbo Basic was originally created by Robert "Bob" Zale (1945–2012) and bought from him by Borland. When Borland decided to stop publishing it (1989), Zale bought it back, renamed it PowerBASIC and set up PowerBASIC Inc. to continue its support and development; it was later called PBDOS.
PowerBASIC went on to develop BASIC compilers for Windows, first PBWIN — their flagship product — and then PBCC, described below.
On November 6, 2012, Robert Zale, the creator of PowerBASIC, died. For a time, it was assumed that the company would quickly cease operations. His wife, Vivian Zale, posted on 8 March 2014 to the PowerBASIC forums that the company would continue operations. On May 10, 2015, Vivian Zale announced that work was continuing on new versions of PowerBASIC compilers.
On November 2, 2016, Vivian Zale announced her intention to seek a buyer for the company.
On January 31, 2017, Adam Drake announced Drake Software had acquired PowerBASIC source code from PowerBASIC, Inc., with the intention of updating and improving the functionality of the product. This was later confirmed by Vivian Zale with a forum post thanking the members for their support.
When Bob Zale died, PBWin11 and PBCC7 were in beta testing, and 64-bit compilers and PB/Pro (PBWin and CC in one compiler) were in the alpha stages. However, development of PowerBASIC products stopped. No new version has been released since v10.04 (14 years ago as of May 2025). No 64-bit version or beta release has been announced. No development activity has been reported. No corrections (such as adding the correct DPI settings for the IDE) have been released. PowerBASIC Tools LLC no longer sells new licenses for the 32-bit Windows compilers. The PowerBasic website was taken down in 2025.