Yeah Zinga, that's exactly what i was trying to say actually - so theirs your barrier :)

QBASIC/BASIC scripts, when 'compiled', actually arn't. It has the script compressed in the executable file, with the interpreter bundled in there.

And in regards to others saying to me not recommending it as a beginner language, i think they were biased because BASIC and QBASIC are simply old, and VisualBasic is being phased out - and only Win32 compatible and not easily cross-platform ported. If it's even able to be ported to say... NATIVE unix at all (without some kind of virtualization)?

Anyway.... yes I agree Zinga, your mastery has left me recoiling in dumbfoundedness. Hehe.