I rediscovered QL only few months back, while testing XorA "qdos-devel" docker compilation of my small C project. Then 14 days ago, I discovered QPC2/SMSQ/E and started to investigate more about internals and entire history of this computer and QDOS and all things past that... Because QPC2 is FAST, in fact ED editor behaves like "embedded hardware" on my Win10/NUC10 core-i7. I now understand surface of PE/WMAN/HOTKEY above QDOS, so integrated SMSQ/E but most interesting for me is SBASIC interactive interpreter for FAST PROTOTYPING. I know its simple language, only integers/strings (I ignore floats, intentionally), only arrays, no structs, no hastables/dictionaries (sad?), the raw SBASIC integrates/mixes commands for text display IO, at least some colors (not much, but again, its FAST), but these are all nice constraints for simple/old language which mimics quite lot something I need to develop for my VMEX engine (RV32EM-like) as native "high-level assembler, slightly below C". And I can use SBASIC as transpilation target to model/prototype this thing, while having existing (G)UI features inside, having some real example app (yours great QLC, as norton-like commander is for me simply mandatory shell for everything with CPU inside ... on win, TotalCommander for decades, with notepad replaced by FAST SciTE). So, having QLC in source, right under hands to experiment and use INTERACTIVE INTERPRETER for quick changes/experiments with access to FAST ED (I wish to have this editor with almost "embedded speed" had syntax highlight, indentation awarenes, for "lineless ssb or my own syntax" ... this is something I can imagine to write as compiled extension, ya, but can live without that).
For me, this interpreter interactivity is KEY now. SBASIC is mixture of myriad commands, ya, no structs/records, no hash/dict but you DID real application in it - 4K lines is not bad for norton-like commander, IMHO, its now for me more readable and I can try some more refactorings around it, I can imagine more constants/styles/sharing for UI, even more simplified - sure, SBASIC has not "C printf", its now probably harder to externalize messages (but simple indexed preloaded array may be OK for this), it absolutely is OLD hairy style of mixture of logic and UI, so no MVC, no passive views, data model and controller (but I have some experience with this, as I in fact injected MVC-style in early 90ties into pascal-like interpreted DB environment and it WAS EASY... the final result). I simply saw QL(X)C as great example of REAL application with that simple features, where I can try to develop/model behavior of my own language, more near to "C" in syntax, but even simpler (targeting in fact VMEX "processor" in future, elsewhere, out of QDOS/SMSQ/E ...), testing whats possible to express in it, how easy and READABLE it is (for me, the KEY for swdev; forth-guys, excuse me ))).
I am also quite fine with simple text IO and few colors, while 4/8 is not much, but text screen is okay - as the VMEX is in fact mostly "embedded" thing, down to 8bit MCUs, while there I can imagine more terminal-style serial channel with few FAST control codes (even simpler than ADM/ANSI, may be near to C-Plus/4 only or so). Again, in SBASIC its integrated/glued into language. I only need to maintain more separation of things by organizing code, if possible, at least to try it, with so low lang features. BTW, in my lang, the ASLIX, even "for is considered harmfull; and goto is back;"
))So, to not clash with the QLC, I will probably name it really QLXC, I understand my approach of "eXperimental reseaarch, almost" can be confusing for oldtimer QLer's... nearly crazy, ya )))
