The Basics' page

Not sure about HotBasic but the guy (and "HotBabe") behind it is quite, erm, unique, just went through the "story in pictures" part on his site. Wow…

With other Basics available, you may wonder "Why
bother?" I can't answer that, but I keep coming back to it, because it is likeable. Most things are terse in HotBasic, so reading it is less of a challenge. It benefits form having people who support it with their own IDE and Help file additions, but there is a lack of a good forum for the exchange of ideas. There are two groups on Yahoo for HB, as it is referred to. One named HotBasic, and the other named HotBasic_Linux. Yes, there is a Linux version out there now, much of the code between the two versions is remarkably similar.
The moderator for both Yahoo groups is the HotBasic developer. This guy is pretty sharp, and if something is not right with either version, he gets to it pretty fast and his fixes work. We are at version 6.0 now, and other than the kitchen sink wasn't thrown in as well, there is not too much left to do. It has more file types that one compiler can make, and more focus on GUI support than most BASICs even consider, and it is reasonably priced.
When a new release comes out, you are told about it and you just download it onto your PC. A little tricky there, but you learn your way. The thing that throws some people is the www.hotbasic.org website. Prepare yourself. It is packed with information, and txhe color scheme is pink, white, and black. Some people get turned off by that, but you have to look beyond the colors. This is a smart guy, he has a great product, and just because he does not share your taste in colors should not be held against him.

PROS: Extremely fast compilation speed. The source is converted behind the scenes to ASM which is then fed to a public domain Microsoft Linker. As such raw ASM code can easily be sprinkled throughout the HotBasic source. This results in very tight stand alone executables with no dependencies. This is unlike some older compilers that generate byte code requiring an internal interpreter to run. HotBasic can also create standard OBJ, DLL or LIB files. Another big plus is the elimination of "almost" all pre program declarations. The author is extremely prompt to answer question and is friendly to a fault. The price for HotBasic is also typically half of what the nearest competition charges. CONS: There is no GUI trial version although the authors makes it possible to create executables using 3000 or less lines of code vi his website at http://208.0.224.52/hotcomp.html HotBasic occasionally uses 21st century syntax that bugs many seasoned old school coders. HotBasic's documentation is basically limited to hundreds of snippets of code on his website that are there to demonstrate the use of HotBasic's many library functions. HotBasic lacks a Form generator or Debugger (which isn't of consequence to seasoned coders). Some 3rd party Form and Debug utilities are available but most have problems or are incomplete. Some professional coders state they are unwilling to invest time with HotBasic because its creator and support system is essentially a one man show.