QuickBasicNews Issue 1: Combining Libraries Together

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               ∫     Combining Libraries Together         ∫ 
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                    A QuickBasic specific article 

    Libraries can add a new dimension to your QuickBasic programs. 
  With them you don't have to keep reinventing the wheel. But what 
  if you have one library with some routines you like to use, and 
  another library with other routines.  Is there a way to use both 
  libraries within the same program to take advantage of the routines 
  in both libraries?   The answer is Yes and No.  You can if you 
  combine the two libraries together to form one new library that 
  contains both.  Could you do the same thing if you wanted to combine 
  three libraries?  Sure you could.  Combine the first two together 
  to form one new library containing the first two.  Then combine this 
  new library with the third.  There is even another way to break down 
  just the routines from each library you need to combine them all into 
  one individualized library.  However, this is more complicated and 
  is only mentioned here to let you know there are other ways to  
  accomplish similar goals.   

    Combining the libraries together is the easiest way to get 
  the routines you want from both libraries.   One of the biggest 
  reasons against doing this would be that potentially the library  
  could become excessively large.  While this is true, we are assuming 
  here that the length would not be too excessive to do it this way. 
  In fact next month we will provide a couple of libraries and  
  actually step you through the process of combining the two so that 
  you may use them in your programs. 

   This month we will provide the information necessary to combine 
  two libraries into one.  This should pose no problem to those of you  
  already familiar with libraries.  If you know little or nothing about 
  using libraries don't be discouraged.  Next months step by step 
  article will go into much more detail. It will not only show you how,  
  but will also provide you with a library and explain how to use it. 

     As an example - ( for those already familiar with Libraries ) Let's 
  assume you have a library called   A.QLB  and you have a second  
  library called  B.QLB     You want to combine these two into one 
  library and call that new combined library   NEW.QLB 

    The steps are as follows ( for QuickBasic 4.5 ): 

      Step 1.  Get to the DOS prompt under the QuickBasic Directory 
           2.  Enter the following command line at the DOS prompt 
           3.  LIB new +A.QLB +B.QLB ; 
           4.  Press ENTER and wait a moment for it to do its thing 
           5.  If everything went OK you should now have a new  file 
               called NEW.LIB  You still need a .QLB file for this 
               new library. That is done in the next step 
           6. Now enter the following command line at the DOS prompt 
           7. LINK /q NEW.LIB, NEW.QLB, nul, bqlb45; 
           8. Press ENTER and wait a moment for it do its thing 
           9. After it's finished you should have your new library 
              called ( In this case ) NEW.QLB 

    The steps above are really only two steps  ( 3 and 7 ).  It 
  was shown in these many steps to make it as clear as possible.   

    [NOTE] In step 7 above substitute bqlb40 if you have version 
           4.0 of QuickBasic 

    If you had any problems with the steps above, or if you are totally    
  lost be sure to examine next month's article.