Q36808: Line Number 65,529 Is the Maximum Supported by QuickBASIC

Article: Q36808
Product(s): See article
Version(s): 4.00 4.00b 4.50
Operating System(s): MS-DOS
Keyword(s): ENDUSER | B_BasicCom | mspl13_basic
Last Modified: 3-MAY-1989

The maximum allowed line number is 65,529; therefore, line numbers
above 65,529 should not be used. Descriptive line labels can be used
as a substitute.

This information applies to Microsoft QuickBASIC Versions 4.00, 4.00b,
and 4.50 for MS-DOS, and to Microsoft BASIC Compiler Versions 6.00 and
6.00b for MS-DOS and MS OS/2.

If a block IF THEN ENDIF statement begins on a line with a line number
greater than 65,539, BC.EXE will produce a "Must be first statement on
the line" error message. The program will run properly inside the
environment. Also, BC.EXE will NOT produce the error if the source
file is saved as text rather than in Fast Load format.

The sample program below will work properly inside the editing
environment. However, if the program is saved using the Fast Load
format and compiled using BC.EXE, the error message "Must be first
statement on line" is produced on line 79,000. Also, the END IF
statement will generate a "END IF without block IF" error message.

If the file is saved in text format, BC.EXE compiles the program
correctly. Also, if the line number is changed to a number less than
65,540, the program will compile, regardless of the save format.

The following is a code example:

GOSUB 79000
END
79000  IF x < 0 THEN   ' This line causes the error in BC.EXE
        BEEP
       END IF
RETURN

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