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 PBX-Compiler V10 English CHM help All-in-One: PBXA32, PBXA64, PBXB64, PBXC64, ScharffBasic and PBX-Editor Previous bundles: V9 · V8 · V7 · V6 · V5 · V2 · V1 (optional)

Bundle downloads: -- | ScharffBasic 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.

Speed claims kept realisticSelected 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

ReleaseScharffBasic V1 Beta dated July 19, 2026, now part of the PBX-Compiler (ZIP about 355 MB).

Package contentsThe bundle contains ScharffBASIC.exe alongside PBXA32 V24, PBXA64 V10, PBXB64 V24, PBXC64 RC50, and the PBX-Editor. The English ScharffBASIC_Feature_Guide.chm remains available separately.

IntegritySeparate SHA-256 checksums are provided for the ZIP and CHM files.

SHA-256

Older Versions

V2 Bundle ZIP V1 Beta ZIP

More compilers

PBXB64, PBXA64, and PBXA32 are available together with ScharffBasic in the shared PBX-Compiler. ScharffBasic adds a separate 32-bit beta to the workshop.

PBXB64 V24 View all compilers Help with migration License

Free for private use, cleanly licensed for business

Private, non-commercial use is free. Business, team, and commercial usage goes through Smart Package Robot or by email to info@it-berater.org.

Download Activity

Daily activity for every offered download over the rolling last 28 days. Each downloadable file has its own persistent color.

Current download and release boundaries

PBX Compiler V10: about 355 MB. Includes PBXA32 V24, PBXA64 V10, PBXB64 V24, PBXC64 RC50, ScharffBasic and the PBX Editor with help, includes and examples.

ScharffBasic remains labelled V1 Beta. The actual shipped executable has a valid signature; the V10 package includes ScharffBASIC_Help.chm as its current reference. The current reference contains English topics and an English index; its CHM locale metadata is 0407; the older English feature guide is retained as a separate supplement.

Current CHM reference V10 package checksum