Q27856: "Formal Parameter Specification Illegal" from BC But Not QB

Article: Q27856
Product(s): See article
Version(s): 6.00 6.00b 7.00 | 6.00 6.00b 7.00
Operating System(s): MS-DOS | OS/2
Keyword(s): ENDUSER | B_QuickBas | mspl13_basic
Last Modified: 2-FEB-1990

For the following statement, the BC.EXE compiler correctly generates
the compile-time error message "Formal parameter specification
illegal," while the QuickBASIC QB.EXE editor does not produce any
error messages:

   DECLARE SUB prompt (prompt$)

This error message results from the requirement in QuickBASIC Versions
4.00, 4.00b, and 4.50, in Microsoft BASIC Compiler Versions 6.00 and
6.00b, and in Microsoft BASIC Professional Development System (PDS)
Version 7.00 that procedure and variable names must be different.
Therefore, programs may not contain functions or subprograms whose
names are the same as those of variables.

Note that the QB.EXE environment of QuickBASIC Versions 4.00, 4.00b,
and 4.50 and the QBX.EXE environment of BASIC PDS 7.00 correctly gives
you a "Duplicate Definition" error on the following CALL or SUB
statement:

   CALL PROMPT(PROMPT$)

Therefore, the lack of warning of "Duplicate Definition" for the
DECLARE statement is a minor issue.

An error message occurs even in the case in which the variable and
procedure names differ by a data-typing character (for example, %, &,
!, #, $). The error message displays because the compiler makes no
distinction between the variable "prompt$" and the subprogram name
"prompt".

The requirement that procedure and variable names be different was
introduced in QuickBASIC Version 4.00 and BASIC compiler Version 6.00.
This was not a requirement in earlier versions.

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