freebasic/fbc

Health v2 · maintenance only

Flags: no_license no_readme

Adoption not part of the score

1105 stars · 168 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded

FreeBASIC (fbc) is a free, open-source, self-hosting multi-platform BASIC compiler with syntax similar to MS-QuickBASIC, adding modern features like pointers, OOP, and inline assembly. It uses GNU binutils as a backend and can produce console and GUI executables as well as static and dynamic libraries, with support for calling C libraries.

Use cases

• compile quickbasic programs on modern systems
• learn programming with a basic compiler
• port legacy dos basic code to windows and linux
• build console and gui apps in basic
• call c libraries from basic code
• write games with a simple graphics library

When to choose

• you have legacy QuickBASIC/QB code you want to compile and run unchanged
• you want a free, lightweight BASIC compiler for Windows, Linux, or DOS
• you need C library interop from a BASIC language
• you prefer a simple, case-insensitive language close to classic Microsoft BASIC

When to avoid

• you need a modern mainstream language with a large ecosystem and package management
• you require first-class support for platforms beyond x86 Windows/Linux/DOS/Xbox
• you need advanced tooling like IDE integration, refactoring, or async concurrency
• your project depends on full C++ library support, which is only partial

Facets

cli-tool · maturity active

compiler programming-language cli graphics programming-languages compilers developer-tools cross-platform windows cross-platform cli basic quickbasic self-hosting gnu-binutils c-bindings retro-computing linux dos

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