Line Number 65,529 Is the Maximum Supported by QuickBasic (36808)

SUMMARY

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.

MORE INFORMATION

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