DGbasic: A Retro-Style IDE built 100% in PureBasic

[Kwai chang caine]

So, to Kwai chang caine—thank you, but I am definitely not the "master" you mentioned!
I’ve been more of a director on this project, while my AI co-pilot (Gemini)

Oh well, never mind...it's already honest to acknowledge that the real coder is AI.
I didn't even know there were multiple AIs I only knew about ChatGPT.
But they're truly wonderful tools , and this one... I can never seem to exhaust it... it always asks more questions... it's a miracle!

It's much better for Purebasic than ChatGPT!

I recently asked ChatGPT for help with a function that was too difficult for me, or that I didn't know how to do.

Once, he offered to build my entire program from scratch.
I was surprised, but I said yes because I believed him, since he hadn't made any mistakes before.

And then... I was disappointed because nothing worked. I wasted a whole day copying and pasting for nothing, and I told him we were stopping there, because nothing was working.

And I later realized that after a certain number of lines, it's best to close the thread, take what works, and ask other questions for the next step.

Since then, I've gone back to asking him simple questions, and he gets me out of a jam very often.
That way... it saves the other forum members from having to deal with ALL my stupid, ignorant questions.

[Rinzwind]

As for the AI integration, it took me about 3 hours to build the Gemini API directly into the IDE to generate code on the fly. Honestly, the trickiest part of that process was figuring out how to dynamically inject all the possible DGbasic commands and rules into the API request. I had to make absolutely sure Gemini strictly followed my custom syntax, rather than hallucinating standard PureBasic commands and crashing the compiler!

Maybe time to create a PB IDE plugin for just that if you indeed have gathered enough experience.
Though nothing is published yet. Road map? or just a for fun project with chatbot? Well, have fun any way.

[DaveG]

We seem to be drifting a bit off-topic from the retro IDE theme and turning into an AI support group, haha!

I think this is a good moment to clear up exactly why I started the DGbasic project in the first place. Back in the day, people like me were called "script kiddies," and copying/pasting someone else's code was practically an insult in the programming community. Today, you don't even need to copy; you just politely ask an AI to write it from scratch. For the true PureBasic veterans who have spent their entire lives mastering this language... this might be the moment you want to close the thread and look away!

So why did I start this project? It comes down to two main reasons:

• I'm old These days, I only program occasionally using DAX or the Arduino IDE. My real programming experience comes from my teenage years, typing away on a ZX Spectrum and later making simple games on an XT using GW-BASIC. That’s exactly why I chose this specific slice of nostalgia for the project.

• Learning to use AI and pushing its limits
  I work in technology and engineering. With the current exponential development of AI, I firmly believe our jobs are going to be hit hard by these advancements within a matter of months. Just five months ago, AI wasn't capable of writing flawless code. Now, as you can see, even a non-programmer can piece together complex logic. Instead of resisting this change or trying to convince myself it won't happen that fast, I decided to dive in, embrace it, and figure out how to use it in my daily life.

But back on topic: Developing DGbasic is turning out to be an incredibly fun hobby project. If there are still people here who are interested in following the development of the IDE itself, let me know! I’d be happy to post occasional updates and screenshots in this thread.

Cheers,
Dave

[TassyJim]

Thank you for starting this project.
Recently I have seen what AI can do in the right hands.
When I see what can be achieved, it amazes/frightens me.

A few weeks ago I asked Google how to reset my modem.
The AI (?) gave me 3 choices.
1 Reset button - sorry there isn't one.
2 Dial this magic number. Correct except it gave me the wrong number.
3 through the web interface - that one was true but I had no access.
On another search, It told me Australia was partially in the northern hemisphere. BS

So thank you for boosting my confidence in the future.

I am also interested in the results. I spend my time programming RPi pico chips with a version of basic that you would feel very comfortable with.
I wrote an IDE for it in PB but have not gone as far as trying a simulator/emulator.

I think I am too old and too slow to get comfortable with AI.
But I might change my mind one day.

Please keep up the good work and let us follow the progress.

Jim