Compact Scharffbasic 32-bit compiler engine with 32 processing chambers
V1 BETA
Windows x86 / 32-bit
Native compiler
PowerBASIC-style

Familiar PowerBASIC style. Developed for greater resilience.

Scharffbasic is a mostly PowerBASIC-compatible 32-bit alternative for native Windows programs. Existing BASIC source can often be reused directly, while additional language features and more robust compiler diagnostics open a practical path forward.

V1 Beta is intended for developers who want to preserve, test, and gradually modernize classic 32-bit projects. The beta label is deliberate: compatibility is broad, but not yet complete in every edge case.

Download Scharffbasic V1 Beta English CHM help
ZIP downloads: --  |  Help downloads: --

For pragmatic work on 32-bit BASIC projects

PowerBASIC-style syntaxFamiliar data types, procedures, DDT, graphics, file, array, DLL, and SLL features provide a broad foundation for existing projects.
Native Windows outputThe compiler produces native 32-bit Windows programs and supports the classic EXE, DLL, and SLL workflows.
More robust error handlingProblematic source should end with actionable diagnostics, including cases that may terminate the original PB compiler during compilation.

Broad compatibility without a false completeness claim

The focus is practical source compatibility with PowerBASIC for Windows. Many programs can compile directly or after small adjustments. Rare language forms, libraries, or runtime assumptions may still differ in this beta.

Migration with manageable riskStart from a project copy, inspect includes and dependencies, treat warnings as useful findings, and qualify the generated program with your existing tests.
Measured speed claimsSelected compilation workloads may be faster than the historical compiler. The beta does not make a universal speed claim for every project.

Important for SLL libraries

Existing SLL binaries built with PowerBASIC cannot be used directly with Scharffbasic programs.

To use a PowerBASIC SLL with Scharffbasic, recompile its original PowerBASIC source with Scharffbasic. The host application and every related SLL should then be tested and shipped together from the same compiler line. The #COMPILE SLL language mechanism and common procedures remain available.

Additional commands for current projects

SBYTEA native signed 8-bit data type using one byte of storage with a range from -128 to 127.
JSON string functionsJESCAPE$, JSLASH$, JSTRING$, JUNESCAPE$, and JUNQUOTE$ extend string processing.
Automatable command lineSwitches including /Q, /L, /C, /I, /D, /T:n, and /ASMOUT support repeatable builds and diagnostics.

Find the source problem instead of losing the compiler

The bundled help documents compiler diagnostics and maps error messages to relevant language areas. The goal is a controlled stop with an actionable cause, allowing developers to correct the source instead of investigating an unexpected compiler exit without context.

This is an engineering objective, not a promise that a beta behaves flawlessly for every possible input. Reproducible problem cases are especially valuable for continued hardening.

AI-generated historical illustration: Hanns Scharff walks in a park with two Allied airmen held as prisoners and offers a sandwich
Namesake

Hanns Scharff: treating people with respect

The name refers to Hanns Scharff (1907-1992), a German Luftwaffe interrogator during the Second World War. He became known for a rapport-based approach without physical violence: listening, organizing known information carefully, and treating prisoners as human beings.

While and after the war, Scharff worked as a mosaic artist. Programming is a similar craft: individual commands are carefully placed like mosaic stones until they form a coherent, working program.

Impact on modern interrogation

The High-Value Interrogation Group was established in 2009 and has investigated Scharff's techniques. The FBI and others have now adopted the technique, and research of the technique funded by the High-Value Interrogation Group was published in 2015.

This is an AI-generated historical illustration, not an original photograph. Sources: biography and modern impact, research on the Scharff technique, and Raymond F. Toliver's book The Interrogator: The Story of Hanns-Joachim Scharff, developed from Scharff's memoir material.

Test V1 Beta

ReleaseV1 Beta dated July 19, 2026. ZIP size: approximately 1.2 MB.
Package contentsScharffBASIC.exe and the English ScharffBASIC_Feature_Guide.chm.
IntegritySeparate SHA-256 checksums are provided for the ZIP and CHM files.
V1 Beta ZIPCHM helpSHA-256

More compilers

PBXB64 remains the primary download product for the 64-bit compiler line. Scharffbasic adds a separate 32-bit beta to the workshop.

PBXB64 V14View all compilers

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