MichaDec 7
acb

Borland TurboVision (the PC text mode windowing UI used in Turbo Pascal/C++) has been open-sourced and updated to work seamlessly on Linux and with Unicode:

https://github.com/magiblot/tvision

It’s all in C++, though if someone hasn’t wrapped it in bindings for Python/Rust/&c. yet, surely they will

GitHub - magiblot/tvision: A modern port of Turbo Vision 2.0, the classical framework for text-based user interfaces. Now cross-platform and with Unicode support.

A modern port of Turbo Vision 2.0, the classical framework for text-based user interfaces. Now cross-platform and with Unicode support. - magiblot/tvision

GitHub
Dec 6 at 11:33amIceCubesApp
Show threadSteinar BangDec 6

Wow! There was a blast from the past!

Good memories, even!

Show threadHalla RemptDec 6
@acb neat!
Show threadhuxley(fur) / Laelia 🔜 Furcationland DeadDogDec 6
@acb oh fuck yes what a throwback
Show threadYesterday's RoseDec 6

@acb I literally have a copy of Turbo Pascal 7.0 for DOS on my shelf!

Happy that Turbo Vision is open source.

Tomorrow: I wish all of the Borland Turbo Pascal and Turbo C/C++ compiler stuff was open source. It's MS-DOS. It's time to *let it go.*

Day after tomorrow: WHY IS WORD PERFECT 5.1 STILL CLOSED SOURCE?

[EDIT] Day after that: WE NEED TO OPEN SOURCE WORDSTAR. GEORGE R. R. MARTIN DEPENDS ON IT.

Show threadJonathan HendryDec 8

@umbraroze @acb

"GEORGE R. R. MARTIN DEPENDS ON IT."

Modify it so it refuses text entry unrelated to ASOIAF

Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPEDec 8

@umbraroze @acb We had some bits of the WordStar source code - I think it was some of the configuration files you got, as assembler language source code.

There was enough there for us to deduce the social dynamics of the team who'd written it.

Show threadSzescstopniDec 6
@acb @feijoa Maybe I should call the pub that's still using the program I wrote almost 30 years ago to sell stuff and tell them upgrades are possible :)
Show threadltningDec 7
@Szescstopni @acb @feijoa Why can't I "like" more than once?!??
Show threadFurbland's Very Cool Mastodon™Dec 15
@Szescstopni @acb @feijoa would be curious to mess around with that program myself, actually
Show threadSzescstopniDec 15
@GroupNebula563 I'm not sure I want anyone to see the code :) I have no formal programming training, there are some really weird data structures and mechanisms that allowed the program to run even on a 286, quick recovery from power losses and stuff like that. At a time it worked in about a hundred businesses. @acb @feijoa
Show threadSablebadgerDec 6
@acb Ahhh, flashbacks!
Show threadAdrian SegarDec 6
@acb So many memories…
Show threadDany [Danny]Dec 6
@acb Wooo! Turbo Pascal. Yeah. Also ping @LarsFosdal .
Show threadLars FosdalDec 7
@Dany @acb Good memories right there.
Show threadKyle DavisDec 6

@acb the weird-ass Borland legalese in the COPYRIGHT file holds this back.

Any sufficiently large company with automated license/IP compliance checking tools with spit it out, so as dependency its messy.

It’s a shame because I could spend most of my development workflow in turbo vision based tools.

Show threadmirabilosDec 6

@acb uhm, but only the CFrustFrust version, not the Pascal version?

I have a GNU Pascal (gpc) waiting for that…

Show threadReynaDec 6
@acb Now this brings back memories. My first decent compiler/env was turbo pascal 6 for dos, which used TVision as well. It was quite neat for the time :)
Show threadHiro Lynx 🐾♫🐧Dec 7
@acb huge nostalgia hit
Show threadPsySalDec 7
@acb this is really cool
Show threadMarcin WicharyDec 7
@acb Oh shit. So many memories.
Show threadTamir BaharDec 7
@acb this is fantastic!
TASM was such a fantastic piece of software...
Show threadAvery (She/Her)Dec 7
@acb what's the screen reader situation with this framework?
Show threadMark OtwayDec 7

@acb
This is the same UI used by the main risk-management platform at the world leading investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Yes, really.

Show threadRichardusDec 7
@acb that's cool.
Show threadPerpetuum MobileDec 7
@acb I loved it back in the day! Nice one!!
Show threadRaven LuniDec 7
@acb I remember coding UIs like that back in the good old days :P
Show threadNick ReynoldsDec 7
@acb I always loved this style of interface. So much so I made a similar thing for use on Arduino/microcontrollers that targeted ANSI terminals. Never got around to making it work with Unicode though, which was vaguely on my to-do list.
Show threadTill KamppeterDec 7

@acb Reminds me to my first university years, when I had a PC XT with 640kb of RAM amd 30 MB of HDD, and not having Internet, the Denial of Service attack came right from the factory: MS-DoS 3.3.

I programmed in Turbo Pascal and I also programmed with such a Text User Interface (TUI?) library (I think it was not Turbo Vision, but looked like that). My first experience of Ui programming.

Also reminds me to MS Word of that time.

Printing: 9-pin Star NL-10, each app its own printer drivers

Show threadCyberspiceDec 7
@acb @arclight Does this work with ncurses? Ie is a proper terminal library?
Show threadarclightDec 7
@cyberspice @acb It appears to work with ncurses if the release notes are to be believed
Show threadZygmunt KrynickiDec 7
@acb this is one GUI design that transcends time and can be used in any format on any device. All while using kilobytes of RAM, having extremely clear function and great performance.
Show threadWILLIAM B PECKHAMDec 7
@acb I really want to port that to FreePascal and use it as an alternative to Lazarus IDE. That would be killer.
Show threadKnut 🏳️‍🌈 🇳🇴🧸Dec 7
@acb Oh....Pascal was my first "real" language, and TurboPascal was just....I still love it.
Show threadBenjamin SchröterDec 8
@acb @stralau did you know it had dual monitor support back than? With one VGA and one monochrome card installed with DOS as the OS.
Show threadEric VitielloDec 9
@acb @Migueldeicaza MIGUEL
Show threadMiguel de Icaza ᯅ🍉Dec 9
@pixel @acb lovely!