On 08-22-96, Glenn Gordon wrote to All:
 GG> I activated this echo a few days ago hoping to learn more about 
 GG> PowerBasic, but I haven't seen any messages yet.
Welcome to the echo, Glenn.
 GG> I have looked over the shareware FirstBasic briefly.  PowerBasic
 GG> looks like it has a lot of potential, being supported unlike that
 GG> MickeySoft compiler for DOS.  One thing I did notice was that the
 GG> size of the generated executables was larger than I would have
 GG> thought after all the hype I have heard about PowerBasic from
 GG> those preaching its virtues in the QUIK_BAS echo.
 GG> Are there stub libraries that could be linked from the command
 GG> line compiler in the full product to help reduce the .EXE overhead?
FirstBasic is virtually identical to PowerBASIC v2.1. The compiler is not as 
optimized as the current PB v3.2, but there are things you can do to reduce 
the size of the executable program. In the options and compiler sections on 
the main menu, you can turn off whatever libraries you don't need when 
compiling your final executable, including graphics, communications, math.  
This will help the size somewhat.  The full shareware release of FirstBasic 
has a commandline compiler that explains these options in more detail.
PowerBASIC and FirstBasic don't utilize Microsoft-type stub libraries to 
reduce program size; they use compiler directives.
The PB run-time library tends to make smaller compiled programs a little 
larger than the same code compiled in MS BASIC, but the size differential 
disappears with larger programs.
--- GEcho 1.20/Pro
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