Expert: Don Schullian - 10/19/2000

Question
Dear Don,

I was wondering if you could comment on the feasibility of a programming project that I am working on with another student.

Background: The local Community College Accounting department is no longer able to use a DOS based financial management simulation program since the school switched over to Windows NT. Although the program will accept input at the command prompt, it does not output the printed reports that it did under Windows 95/98.

We had planned to just re-write the program in VB 6, but the formulas for the simulation model are difficult to replicate. The source code is not available. The program was compiled in GWBasic (8 bit code)but seems to be locked with a password. We only have the student disks, not the setup disks. The publisher does not have any of the original code either.

Question: Is there a way to unlock the program that I now have to look at the code? (This is on the up and up with regard to copyright.) If not, is there a way to build a shell or container around the DOS application to feed the input in a VB form and intercept the output to a file, database, or form? It would seem that there must be a way, but I have not been able to find any info.

I have had only one vb course so I am definitely a newbie to this.

Thanks in advance for any help:)

Kathy

Answer
Wow! You're stretching my "guru" status here! Ok.. If (and I mean IF) the origial language is GW-BASIC then the code can be unlocked. The process is a simple one and I'll see if I still have the answer laying around some where. (can't seem to locate it now)

Personally I'd scrap the VB idea and go with PowerBASIC Console Compiler. First of all the price is MUCH lower and the language is much easier to use and (ahem...) more powerful! The final point would be that a good portion of the GW-BASIC code would (almost) transfer with very little (or no) change.

Please contact me at d83@DASoftVSS.com and I'll see if I can chase that unlocking code down. If not I'll get ahold of a friend that will have it.

C'ya,