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πŸš€ Introducing GCSuperIDE: The Future of GCBASIC Development Environment for New Users

Anobium
2025-05-27
2025-06-01
  • Anobium

    Anobium - 2025-05-27

    Hello GCBASIC Community,

    We are delighted to announce GCSuperIDE designed to enhance the GCBASIC development experience for new users! πŸŽ‰ GCSuperIDE has modern features, improved usability, and seamless integration with GCBASIC workflows, making it the ideal choice for those just beginning their journey with our beloved GCBASIC compiler.

    πŸ’» What is GCSuperIDE?

    GCSuperIDE is a new, lightweight, and powerful Integrated Development Environment (IDE) tailored specifically for GCBASIC. It is an open-source project, meaning users can contribute features, customise functionality, and access the source code on GitHub.

    The IDE is actively supported, ensuring ongoing updates and community-driven improvements. πŸ”§ GCSuperIDE aims to provide a streamlined, user-friendly interface with enhanced code editing, debugging, and programming capabilities. Whether you are writing your first programme or diving into complex microcontroller projects, GCSuperIDE will make your coding experience smoother and more intuitive.

    🌟 The Future?

    The future of GCBASIC development lies in GCStudio, our vision for a unified ecosystem featuring two powerful IDEs: GCCODE and GCSuperIDE. GCCODE is the premier IDE, designed for users who require robust tools, extensive customisation, and advanced debugging for complex projects. In contrast, GCSuperIDE is tailored for new starters, offering a simplified, beginner-friendly interface to ease the learning curve.

    Both IDEs share the same toolchain, language support, and compiler support, ensuring consistency across your projects. Whether you choose GCCODE for its depth or GCSuperIDE for its accessibility, GCStudio delivers a cohesive and powerful development experience for all GCBASIC users.

    πŸ”‘ Key Features

    🌟 Modern Code Editor: Syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and error checking optimised for GCBASIC.
    πŸ› οΈ Integrated Tools: Built-in support for compiling, flashing GCBASIC programmes.
    🎨 Customisable Interface: Layouts, and shortcuts to suit your coding style, fonts, fonts size, button bar, button bar resizable.
    πŸ“š Beginner-Friendly: Guided setup and tutorials to help new users get started quickly.
    🌍 Cross-Platform: Support for Windows, macOS, and Linux to ensure accessibility for all.

    ⚠️ For Existing SynWrite Users: Time to Consider Upgrading

    If you are currently using SynWrite, you can continue to use it, as it remains available. However, SynWrite is now out of support and lacks many modern features essential for efficient GCBASIC development. 🚨 Security vulnerabilities in SynWrite will not be addressed, leaving your computer potentially exposed to risks. The absence of updates means compatibility issues with newer systems or GCBASIC versions may arise, and you will miss out on new tools and enhancements. While SynWrite served our community well, we strongly recommend transitioning to GCSuperIDE for a secure, feature-rich, and supported development experience. πŸ”„ GCSuperIDE is designed primarily for new users but offers a modern solution for all GCBASIC developers.

    ❓ Why GCSuperIDE?

    SynWrite was once a cornerstone of our community, but GCBASIC has evolved, and modern development demands a more advanced toolset. GCSuperIDE addresses this by reducing the learning curve, boosting productivity, and incorporating community feedback to create an IDE that evolves with you. 🌱

    πŸ“’ What is Next?

    We are have completed the initial development and would love to hear your thoughts! What features would you like to see in GCSuperIDE? Are there specific pain points in your current workflow that we can address? Share your ideas, suggestions, or questions in this threadβ€”we are all ears! πŸ‘‚

    For those still using SynWrite, we encourage you to explore GCSuperIDE to stay secure and up to date. For newcomers, prepare for GCSuperIDE, your gateway to mastering GCBASIC! πŸŽ“

    Happy coding,

    The GCBASIC Team πŸ§‘β€πŸ’»


    To obtain GCSuperIDE. We can give you the latest direct from release from GitHub. If you want to try the new IDE then respond to this thread - there is a small update to your compiler and the GCSuperIDE comes as a exe you can run from any folder with an exising GCStudio installation. It is intented to work out of the box.


    Enjoy

     
  • Christos

    Christos - 2025-05-27

    WELL DONE . look a step to the RIGHT direction imho!

    look simple which is a MUST for me.

    personally i am happy with small stuff like syntax hjighlight , F1 (help keyword), compiler run (F9)
    and basic stuff from editors cut/copy etc its cout full to my need

    more is welcome but not too much ! (VS code/ eclipse level)

    congrats, !

     
    πŸ‘
    1
  • HackInBlack

    HackInBlack - 2025-05-27

    very interested in taking this for a spin!

     
  • Chris Roper

    Chris Roper - 2025-05-27

    If it is independent of GCStudio and is not based on Microsoft Code then I will gladly give it a try.

    Cheers,
    Chris

     
    • Anobium

      Anobium - 2025-05-27

      GCSTUDIO is and always has been independent. I think you are referring to VS Code. GC Code is based on the Microsoft Open Source Code. There was, there is, never any link to the Microsoft analytics or any tracking.

      GCSTUDIO is the management environment for the complete toolchain.


      That all said. You will need an installation of GCSTUDIO to kick the tyres of the new IDE. We have not integrated into the installer yet.

      Another option: I do have a USB version that you could try. This is meant for a relabelled version of GCBASIC that is being released by a 3rd party, but, it works by unzipping to a USB. We have to figure out how GSTUDIO manages the USB environment over the next few weeks.

       

      Last edit: Anobium 2025-05-27
  • Samukelo Shezi

    Samukelo Shezi - 2025-05-27

    Wow! You went leaps and bounds ahead. You did it! Thank you so much Anobium!

     
    • Anobium

      Anobium - 2025-05-28

      @Samukelo I was inspired by you!

       
  • Anobium

    Anobium - 2025-05-30

    New release

    The IDE is getting better and better.

    See the changes below plus a PDF example printout from the IDE. Cannot do this in GCCODE. :-)

    Build 30.05.2025

    New:

    Expose the compiler timeout in the IDE Settings menu. This is a unique feature that prevents the GCBASIC from 'locking' the IDE by getting stuck. This defaults to a timeout of 30 seconds. After the timeout the IDE will gracefully close the compiler and issue a timeout message. All previous IDE would could 'lock' up.

    Added configurable gcbasic_timeout setting for GCBASIC task execution, defaulting to 30 seconds.

    Added "GCBASIC Timeout" menu item under IDE Settings/Logging to set timeout (range 5-999 seconds).

    Updated save_settings and load_settings to handle gcbasic_timeout persistence.

    Modified set_gcbasic_timeout dialog to use "GCBASIC Timeout" title and enforce 5-999 second range.

    Build 28.05.2025

    Enhancements:

    Change behaviour of Help / License to load the license.txt file from the application local folder.

    Added Enum to language file.

    Add RAR to DIST folder.

    Build 27.05.2025

    New:

    Added Installing_and_Using_GCBASIC_Essential_IDE.adoc. This covers how to create your own installation of develop the SuperIDE.

    Enhancements:

    Modified the default IDE window size for new installations to 80% of the primary screen’s width and height, centered on the screen, by updating the set_default_geometry method. This replaces the previous fixed 800x600 size, providing a more proportional and user-friendly window size based on screen resolution.

    Updated the Button Bar’s initial position for new installations to be horizontally centered on the screen (aligned with the Editor’s center) and vertically aligned with the menu bar’s Y position, by modifying the init_button_bar method. This ensures the Button Bar is prominently placed within the IDE’s client area.

    Enhanced the print behavior to apply syntax highlighting to the entire .GCB file before printing, ensuring all content (e.g., #chip 16f88) is formatted correctly in the output. Added highlight_all_blocks method to SyntaxHighlighter to format all document blocks and print_file method to IDE to trigger full highlighting for .

     
    ❀️
    1

    Last edit: Anobium 2025-05-30
  • Anobium

    Anobium - 2025-05-31

    Build 31.05.2025

    New:

    • Added line numbers to printed documents for non-empty lines using format_document_with_line_numbers method.
    • Added syntax highlighting rule in GCB.tmLanguage.json to color text between < and > or " and " (including delimiters) in blue (#0000FF), bold, and italic for lines starting with #include in .gcb files.
    • Moved case and select keywords in GCB.tmLanguage.json to the control flow pattern, styling them blue (#569CD6), bold, like do, else, etc.
    • Added highlight_all_blocks method to SyntaxHighlighter to support full-document highlighting for printing.
    • New optimized syntax highlighting in _apply_highlighting by caching regex matches and comment state for unchanged blocks, skipping unchanged visible blocks, debouncing during scrolling, batching QTextCursor operations with sorted ranges, and maintaining HIGHLIGHT_TIMER_INTERVAL at 50ms for smooth scrolling, achieving ~45–55% faster highlighting for 500-line .gcb files.
    • Added block_count_changed method to SyntaxHighlighter to detect block additions (e.g., new lines) via blockCountChanged signal.

    Enhancements:

    • Fixed highlighting for single-line comments (e.g., // GLCD Device Selection for next) in _apply_highlighting, ensuring keywords like for and next are green, italic (#008000), by prioritizing comment patterns before keywords.
    • Modified format_document_with_line_numbers to number only non-empty lines and remove vertical bar for clean output.
    • Updated format_document_with_line_numbers to skip empty lines in the printed output, preventing extra blank lines in PDF

    https://github.com/GreatCowBASIC/GCBIDE/releases/tag/05.31.2025

     
  • David Briscoe

    David Briscoe - 2025-05-31

    Will there be an update to the standard GC Studio for this new IDE. Or do we have to install a new application and keep the existing GC studio setup. Or will there be a combined/streamlined installation file at some point? Thanks.

     
    • Anobium

      Anobium - 2025-05-31

      Great questions.

      There will be an update to GC Studio with this included in the build. Angel needs to integrate into the UI.
      You will also hear of 'white labelling' where the build is USB based. This will be led by Chuck H.

      So, the goal is a streamlined/optimised installer.

      For now, as this is a new development, please use the EXE shown on the release page, plus the RAR update to you compiler(s). There is a change to the compiler to support improved logging for the new IDE.

      See https://github.com/GreatCowBASIC/GCBIDE/releases/tag/05.31.2025 for the latest EXE and the RAR ( unpack and replace your existing GCBASIC*.exe). You can run the SUPERIDE.exe from any location - it will automatically configure and run.

      Let me know how you get on.

       

      Last edit: Anobium 2025-05-31
  • Anobium

    Anobium - 2025-06-01

    Build 01.06.2025

    New:

    • Added new functionality to the IDE Tasks menu:
    • Enabled single-key selection for menu items using keys 0 to 9 and A to Z.
    • Bolded the first character of each menu label using Unicode bold characters (𝟎 to πŸ—, 𝐀 to 𝐙) to visually distinguish the prefix.
    • Ensured the bolded prefix matches the UI_font (Arial, configurable size via ui_font_size).
    • Closes the dropdown menu before launching the selected task for a smoother user experience.

    • Move all log control to the setting.json file.

    Enhancements:

    • Improved the language file to enhance syntax highlighting and support for GCBASIC
     

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