This document describes the basic aspects of ProvideX, its development language, how to use it, directives, and general facilities needed for the basic programmer to get started writing ProvideX applications. The subsequent sections of this document provide detail on some of the more advanced features.

What is ProvideX?

ProvideX is an environment that is designed to allow for the development of on-line application programs. Its development language 'ProvideX Basic' is primarily designed for use in business applications as it is oriented towards integer math and values with two decimal points (monetary values). The language includes a file/database handler that provides keyed file access with up to 16 different keys, file and record locking, and an easy to use interface for terminal and printer output.

For someone who has worked in Basic or Business Basic before, ProvideX Basic should be easy to learn. Many instructions used in other Basic systems are also found in ProvideX Basic but the language does have its unique properties. Before writing programs using this language it is suggested that the user review this manual and the detailed directive descriptions.

ProvideX and what it does

ProvideX provides an excellent environment in which to operate and develop applications. Along with the processing capabilities of the language (ProvideX Basic), the environment provides facilities for function key control, on-line help, on-line query, automatic error detection and correction, and program security. It is also a very portable environment as versions of ProvideX are available for most major operating systems (Windows, UNIX, FreeBSD, Linux, MAC-OS) and for most computer hardware platforms. Programs and data files developed on any platform are completely transportable onto any other platform. Both the programs and data files can simply be copied from one system to another without any modifications.

ProvideX Basic consists of a compiler, simple editor, program de-compiler (Lister) and run-time service modules. The complete system is integrated to provide a total environment for the end user. This integration allows applications and users to migrate from one hardware platform to another with a minimum of re-training.

The compiler portion of ProvideX Basic takes source statements and compiles them to an object code. This compile process verifies the syntax of the statement thus avoiding a problem common to some other Basic systems where errors in the source of a program go undetected until execution time. The object code produced by the compiler is used by the run-time services of ProvideX in the execution of an application. This object code is maintained in memory and can be re-converted back to program source code by the built-in de-compiler (Lister). The built in editor allows for maintenance of the programs.

In order to improve system throughput, ProvideX Basic makes use of a two pass compilation system. The first pass verifies the program statements with the second pass (which is executed when a program is saved onto disk) resolving all internal cross references. This two pass system allows ProvideX Basic to execute your application programs faster than most competitive products.