A tool to convert BASIC to C seems more niche than 'nice'. I mean, I'm not normally one to criticise other peoples choice of languages, but I can't think of many occasions when I'd find such a tool useful. And if I was forced to recommend a simple language with C-like performance, I certainly wouldn't suggest BASIC even with this converter. But each to their own I guess.
As long as it can call external DLLs it's OK. It would not be hard work to use IUP or GTK+ with QB64 if one wanted to. QB64 offers a better environment than python so it's not that plain - one does not need to look for an external library to make games for example. It's a compiler that can compile to Windows and Linux too, as well as Android. A very versatile tool.
No, I don't work for them but, has no one here heard of PowerBasic?
it started out as BASIC/Z, the first interactive compiler for CP/M and MDOS. It was then extended MS-DOS/PC-DOS and was then published in 1987 as Turbo BASIC by Borland. When Borland discontinued it - the Author, Bob Zale, re-released it as PowerBasic.
A very modern compiler with extremely similar syntax to QB (at least in the text-mode version). Comes in a Windows version as well.
Both compilers are written in assembly.
No runtime.
Extremely small, fast executables.
Supports inline assembly (mix BASIC and assembler in the same procedure).
Windows version creates stand-alone executables or DLLs.
Supports user-defined marcros.
Regular Expressions.
Supports both OOP and procedural style programming.
Too many features to list here.
Complete manuals available for free on their site (powerbasic.com)
This would be a good BASIC to start a kid off with.
Check out the forums. Especially the source code forum. There are some very talented people there.
Not free but very reasonably priced compared to MS products.
The thing is that while I learned BASIC in a ZX Spectrum back in 1986, I came to appreciate the Xerox PARC ideas of live coding, some of them present in current IDE environments and environments like IPython and Mathematica.
