BUG: VB for MS-DOS Changes Basic PDS 7.0 STRINGs to LONGs

MORE INFORMATION

The Microsoft Basic Professional Development System (PDS) version 7.0 supports a Binary Fast Load and Save format option under the FILE : SAVE and FILE : SAVE AS menu options. When upgrading from PDS version 7.00 to Microsoft Visual Basic version 1.0 for MS-DOS, programs that had been saved with the Binary Fast Load and Save format option cause an incorrect change in the type for string parameters and functions defined to return a string if either is declared using the STRING type specification ($).

When saving a file from Microsoft Basic products (the Microsoft QuickBasic series, Basic PDS, and Visual Basic for MS-DOS), you can choose to from two save formats -- text and binary. The files you save with the binary format are actually partially compiled code. They are faster to load because they have already been through the first phase of parsing.

Steps To Reproduce Problem

1. In Basic PDS version 7.0, type in the following code:

      DECLARE FUNCTION myfunction! (a$)
      DECLARE FUNCTION mystringfunction$ ()
   
      FUNCTION myfunction! (a$)
      END FUNCTION
   
      FUNCTION mystringfunction$()
      END FUNCTION
   
      SUB mysub(b$)
      END SUB
   						

2. Save the file in Binary - Fast Load and Save format. From the File menu, choose Save As. Type in a file name, and select the 'Binary - Fast Load and Save' format option
3. Exit from Basic PDS version 7.0.
4. Start Visual Basic version 1.0 for MS-DOS, and load the file saved in step 2.
5. The code appears as follows:

      DECLARE FUNCTION myfunction! (a#)
      DECLARE FUNCTION mystringfunction# ()
   
      FUNCTION myfunction (a#)
      END FUNCTION
   
      FUNCTION mystringfunction#()
      END FUNCTION
   
      SUB mysub(b#)
      END SUB
   						

Note that all STRING type specification characters ($) have been changed to LONG type specification characters (#).