PureBasic for Mac

Wow, a lot of the reviews are so terribly out of date (last one was posted about 6 years ago!) Currently PureBasic LTS is 6.12 which has seen m****ive updates including a C backend. Combine PureBasic with either "IceDesign GUI Designer" or "PureVision Designer" and you'll have a very affordable suite to produce very small and fast GUI applications. 🚀🚀🚀 Some older reviews complained about Mac support lagging behind - this is no longer the case. Since the 5.70 release in 2019, PureBasic has maintained full feature parity across all platforms. The switch to a C backend in version 6.x has further improved cross-platform compatibility and performance. Those concerned about the old PowerPC-only builds will be happy to know PureBasic now fully supports Apple Silicon with native ARM64 builds, and has even expanded to support Raspberry Pi platforms (both 32-bit and 64-bit). While PureBasic maintains its beginner-friendly BASIC-inspired syntax, it's far from a simple beginner's language. It offers sophisticated low-level programming constructs including full pointer manipulation, function pointer prototypes, structures, inline ****embly, and direct memory management. This combination of accessible syntax with powerful low-level features makes it suitable for everything from quick utilities to performance-critical applications. The GUI complaints from older reviews have been addressed through modern theming support and the excellent third-party "IceDesign GUI Designer", which provides a much more sophisticated interface design experience than the basic form editor that was criticized in 2016. The native look-and-feel on macOS is now properly implemented with full DPI-aware support, addressing the "Windows port" complaints from ancient reviews. Development has been consistently active with regular LTS releases. Major additions since 5.70 include: Native C backend for improved performance and compatibility Enhanced JSON/REST API support with new WebView library for HTML/CSS based UIs * Modern UI framework with comprehensive DPI-aware theme support * Native Apple Silicon and Raspberry Pi support * Expanded database connectivity including native MySQL support * Advanced security features (BCrypt hashing, PBKDF2) * Improved debugging and multithreading capabilities * Comprehensive date handling (years 1601-9999) * SFTP support and enhanced networking features * Smaller executable sizes through optimized linking For developers looking for a lightweight yet powerful cross-platform development tool, PureBasic offers exceptional value. The executables remain remarkably small and fast, while the language has grown to incorporate modern programming features without losing its accessible BASIC-inspired syntax. Whether you're building simple utilities or complex applications, PureBasic's combination of simplicity, power, and cross-platform capability makes it a compelling choice in 2025.

@macupdate: 5.70 LTS out a month ago. (2 January 2019) https://www.purebasic.com/news85.php Highlight features are: Much improved Http functions and it finally has native MySQL support (rather than having to use ODBC).

@MacUpdate admins, Purebasic 5.50 has been available since July 2016 (http://www.purebasic.com/news76.php)

Also, the web version, SpiderBasic, is now at 1.40 (https://www.spiderbasic.com) - I notice there is no entry for it at macUpdate

Having had a chance to play with PB a bit now, I can say that it is a lot more powerful than might be expected. It's chock-full of functionality and yet still generates small and fast executables across three platforms. It's more like C with a Basic syntax than old school Basics. Pointers, structures, modules, events, etc etc make this a useful addition to your dev toolbox.

Although some of the functionality can be a little clunky, such as the JSON commands, the decent Help and helpful online community makes getting solutions to probems quite easy to achieve.

My one tip would be to avoid the built in form editor and use the new XML-based dialog library which is far more flexible.

As mentioned, there is a web version available, SpiderBasic (sold seperately) which I have used to build new user interfaces to our business APIs -works a charm.

@MacUpdate admins - v5.40 LTS was released a couple of days ago. The MU version number (5.22) is very out of date now. I'm really enjoying getting to know PB more and more. It is incredibly feature rich and far, far from the BASICs of the 1980s whilst retaining familiar syntax.

Note for MacUpdate admins: PureBasic is currently at version 5.31 with an LTS version at 5.24 (from October 2014).