PureBasic 6.40 alpha 1 est disponible, avec une surprise !

**comtois** · 23/01/2026, 18h56

Hi everyone !

That's it, we finally decided to rework the internal stringmanager from the ground up ! The stringmanager hasn't changed since the PureBasic
creation almost 30 years ago, so it wasn't an easy decision to make because major modification for the compilers were needed and all the functions returning a string were impacted. But it's here with the 6.40 alpha 1, only available for the C back-end on Windows x64. The idea is to validate the new stringmanager to see if there is any showstopper before porting the modification to the x86 and x64 asm compilers which will takes time.

I will share some internal information about it:

- It should be 99% backward compatible. We will discuss edge case below.

- All strings are now prefixed by their length (except the strings in DataSection). The last bit of this prefix is used for a temporary flag.
That means than all string operation will have instant length information resulting in faster operation as iterating byte by byte on the string to find the null terminated char is no more needed.
The strings are still null terminated, so no change are needed in client code.

- Still no garbage collector

- The string manager doesn't have a per thread shared buffer anymore for temporary strings. That means there is no global variable to save the current position and the thread mode will have no performance hit. All is now done as new temporary string which will be used as final string if assigned. That removes useless string copy and is much more streamlined.

Example:

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

a$ = b$+c$

Old:

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

1
2
3
4
SYS_PushStringBasePosition(); // current position in the shared buffer is saved (costly in threaded mode)
SYS_CopyString(v_bS); // string is copied on the per thread shared buffer 
SYS_CopyString(v_cS);
SYS_AllocateString4(&v_aS,SYS_PopStringBasePosition()); // Position is restored and string is allocated

New:

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

1
2
s1=SYS_ConcatString(v_cS,v_bS); // A temporary string is created here
SYS_NewString(&v_aS,s1); // The temporary string is directly used (temporary bit removed)

It's a very basic case, but it shows the improvement by avoiding useless string copy and global variable preservation

- Optimized procedure parameters passing. If a string parameter isn't modified in the procedure, it will not be duplicated in the procedure. For example

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

1
2
3
Procedure.s a(a$, b$)
  ProcedureReturn UCase(a$) + LCase(b$)
EndProcedure

Here the a$ and b$ are just referenced and won't be duplicated. In the older system, all the string parameters were duplicated.

Even better, the procedure 'a()' will return a temporary string which will be directly assigned to Result$ (no extra allocation/copy):

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

Result$ = a("Hello", "World")

Here are the case where the parameters will be duplicated

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Procedure.s a(a$, b$)
  a$ = "-"+a$ ; Here, the a$ will be duplicated at procedure start, as it's modified.
  ProcedureReturn UCase(a$) + LCase(b$)
EndProcedure
 
Procedure.s a(a$, b$)
  *Cursor = @a$ ; Will also be duplicated as getting the pointer allow modification
  ProcedureReturn UCase(a$) + LCase(b$)
EndProcedure

- The string functions don't have an hidden parameter anymore, allowing better code generation

c$ = Str(150)

Old:

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

1
2
3
4
SYS_PushStringBasePosition();
SYS_PushStringBasePosition();
PB_Str(150LL,SYS_PopStringBasePosition());
SYS_AllocateString4(&v_cS,SYS_PopStringBasePosition());

New:

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

1
2
void *r5=PB_Str(150LL);
SYS_NewString(&v_cS,r5);

- For PureBasic function returning a string, it's possible to tag a parameter as 'reusable' to avoid extra allocation when a temporary string is passed. For now, only LCase() and UCase() uses this, but it greatly improves their performances:

Ex:

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

a$ = UCase(b$ + c$)

The allocation is done when concatenating 'b$' + 'c$', then the UCase() function directly change the buffer with upper case character and returns the same buffer which is assigned to a$. So only one allocation occurred and no extra copy were performed.

- The 'mimalloc' memory manager has been integrated in PureBasic for all dynamic allocation to have a very fast and optimized memory allocator for all internal functions. More info here: https://github.com/microsoft/mimalloc

- Overall the performances should be much better, but there will be probably some case were it won't ! Feel free to test it and bench it with your own code (my speed test suite show major improvement (up to 10x) on most tests). For example this one is 9x faster:

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Start = ElapsedMilliseconds()
a$ = "World WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld WorldWorld World"
For l = 0 To 1000
  b$ = b$ + a$ 
Next
 
PrintN("Final length = " + Str(Len(b$)))
PrintN("Large concat: "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")

- Edge cases:

We tried to do the migration as painless as possible, but there is some case where code change will be required. Basically if you patch a string by putting a zero in it, the Len() function will be wrong, and the concat functions will fail. You will need to use PeekS() for this.
You can take a look to the needed modification for the IDE to work with the new stringmanager, it's very light: https://github.com/fantaisie-software/p ... /344/files

Using Win32 API with Space() for example will require an extra PeekS(). If you find other issues, don't hesitate to share it, so I can take a look if it can be addressed or not.

We hope this major rework will increase the PureBasic app efficiency. Don't hesitate to test it but don't use this build in prod, it's indeed not production ready yet !

Have fun,

The Fantaisie Software Team

Source de l'information

**comtois** · 31/01/2026, 11h57

Comme d'habitude, je ne traduis pas votre anglais est meilleur que le mien.

2026-01-31: alpha 3 is available for Windows x64 ! A few more bugs has been fixed, and a new StringBuilder library has been added for very fast string concatenation ! Here is a small example:

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

1
2
3
4
5
6
a$ = "Hello, World !"
CreateStringBuilder(0, 64000)
For l = 1 To 2000
  AppendStringBuilderString(0, a$)
Next
b$ = FinishStringBuilder(0)

Don't hesitate to test this version if you can as we believe it's ready for larger tests.

**comtois** · 12/02/2026, 10h44

2026-02-12: alpha 4 is out, the assembly x64 backend is back in business ! If you can, please test it to see if everything works as expected.

**comtois** · 27/02/2026, 14h36

2026-02-27: beta 1 is out, the assembly x86 backend is also fully working, on Windows and Linux ! All packages are now availables for testing, as usual.

**comtois** · 11/03/2026, 16h48

2026-03-11: beta 2 is out ! Please test is as much as you can, we have ironed out some more bugs and should be better now. The procedure string parameter optimization has been disabled as it doesn't always work as expected.

Source de l'information et liste des bugs corrigés

**comtois** · 18/03/2026, 20h04

Avec un peu de retard, voici l'annonce de la beta 3

2026-03-13: beta 3 is out, with a few fixes and mimalloc activated for Raspberry PI ! Don't hesitate to test with your own projects, so we can have a stable release.

Et là c'est tout frais, ça vient de sortir, la beta 4 est dispo avec la doc en anglais (en attendant la traduction en français).

2026-03-18: beta 4 is out, only one fix in it, we're getting there ! Please test with your own projects, so we can have a stable release. The doc for StringBuilder has been added (English) only.

And another small string benchmark, focused on some string functions

v6.40b4 (Threadsafe ON):

Left(): 58 ms
Right(): 51 ms
Len(): 3 ms
InsertString(): 113 ms
RemoveString(): 466 ms
ReplaceString(): 731 ms
ReplaceString() no matches: 151 ms
ReverseString(): 85 ms
LTrim(): 11 ms
RTrim(): 225 ms
LSet(): 243 ms
RSet(): 263 ms
StringField(): 303 ms
Mid(): 306 ms
Finished

v6.30 (Threadsafe ON):

Left(): 1427 ms
Right(): 1238 ms
Len(): 1033 ms
InsertString(): 308 ms
RemoveString(): 579 ms
ReplaceString(): 1041 ms
ReplaceString() no matches: 448 ms
ReverseString(): 240 ms
LTrim(): 201 ms
RTrim(): 518 ms
LSet(): 761 ms
RSet(): 891 ms
StringField(): 941 ms
Mid(): 1003 ms
Finished

Code :

Sélectionner tout - Visualiser dans une fenêtre à part

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
CompilerIf #PB_Compiler_Debugger
  CompilerError "Please disable the debugger"
CompilerEndIf
 
OpenConsole()
 
big$ = "Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello HelloHello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello HelloHello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello HelloHello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello"
 
Start = ElapsedMilliseconds()
For l = 0 To 100000
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
  b$ = Left(big$, 15)
Next
PrintN("Left(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
Start = ElapsedMilliseconds()
For l = 0 To 100000
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
  b$ = Right(big$, 15)
Next
PrintN("Right(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
Start = ElapsedMilliseconds()
For l = 0 To 100000
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
  a = Len(big$)
Next
PrintN("Len(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
Start = ElapsedMilliseconds()
For l = 0 To 10000
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
  a$ = InsertString(big$, "Inserted !", 120)
Next
PrintN("InsertString(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
Start = ElapsedMilliseconds()
For l = 0 To 10000
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
  a$ = RemoveString(big$, "Hell")
Next
PrintN("RemoveString(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
Start = ElapsedMilliseconds()
For l = 0 To 10000
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "Hello", "Bye")
Next
PrintN("ReplaceString(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
Start = ElapsedMilliseconds()
For l = 0 To 10000
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
  a$ = ReplaceString(big$, "NotHere !", "Bye")
Next
PrintN("ReplaceString() no matches: "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
Start = ElapsedMilliseconds()
For l = 0 To 10000
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
  a$ = ReverseString(big$)
Next
PrintN("ReverseString(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
Start = ElapsedMilliseconds()
For l = 0 To 10000
  a$ = LTrim(big$, "H")
  a$ = LTrim(big$, "H")
  a$ = LTrim(big$, "H")
  a$ = LTrim(big$, "H")
  a$ = LTrim(big$, "H")
  a$ = LTrim(big$, "H")
  a$ = LTrim(big$, "H")
  a$ = LTrim(big$, "H")
  a$ = LTrim(big$, "H")
  a$ = LTrim(big$, "H")
  a$ = LTrim(big$, "H")
Next
PrintN("LTrim(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
For l = 0 To 10000
  a$ = RTrim(big$, "o")
  a$ = RTrim(big$, "o")
  a$ = RTrim(big$, "o")
  a$ = RTrim(big$, "o")
  a$ = RTrim(big$, "o")
  a$ = RTrim(big$, "o")
  a$ = RTrim(big$, "o")
  a$ = RTrim(big$, "o")
  a$ = RTrim(big$, "o")
  a$ = RTrim(big$, "o")
  a$ = RTrim(big$, "o")
Next
PrintN("RTrim(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
For l = 0 To 10000
  a$ = LSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = LSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = LSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = LSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = LSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = LSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = LSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = LSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = LSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = LSet(big$, 1000, "x")
Next
PrintN("LSet(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
For l = 0 To 10000
  a$ = RSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = RSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = RSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = RSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = RSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = RSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = RSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = RSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = RSet(big$, 1000, "x")
  a$ = RSet(big$, 1000, "x")
Next
PrintN("RSet(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
For l = 0 To 10000
  a$ = StringField(big$, 50, " ")
  a$ = StringField(big$, 50, " ")
  a$ = StringField(big$, 50, " ")
  a$ = StringField(big$, 50, " ")
  a$ = StringField(big$, 50, " ")
  a$ = StringField(big$, 50, " ")
  a$ = StringField(big$, 50, " ")
  a$ = StringField(big$, 50, " ")
  a$ = StringField(big$, 50, " ")
  a$ = StringField(big$, 50, " ")
Next
PrintN("StringField(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
 
For l = 0 To 10000
  a$ = Mid(big$, 700, 1)
  a$ = Mid(big$, 700, 1)
  a$ = Mid(big$, 700, 1)
  a$ = Mid(big$, 700, 1)
  a$ = Mid(big$, 700, 1)
  a$ = Mid(big$, 700, 1)
  a$ = Mid(big$, 700, 1)
  a$ = Mid(big$, 700, 1)
  a$ = Mid(big$, 700, 1)
Next
PrintN("Mid(): "+Str(ElapsedMilliseconds() - Start) + " ms")
 
PrintN("Finished")
Input()

Source de l'information

**comtois** · 27/03/2026, 11h56

Dans l'annonce ci-dessous Fred parle de community PR, voici le lien https://www.purebasic.fr/english/viewtopic.php?t=88615

2026-03-27: beta 5 is out, with updated doc (thanks Andre and Mesa !) and all the community PR ! Also all the requested API constants and structure have been added (https://www.purebasic.fr/english/viewtopic.php?t=64838). Don't hesitate to test as it could be the last beta before the final release !

Community improvements
Added: Sort arrays, lists, and maps in variableViewer https://github.com/fantaisie-software/p ... c/pull/342
Added: Sort and Filter Project Files https://github.com/fantaisie-software/p ... c/pull/341
Added: Detect elementaryOS file manager "Files" https://github.com/fantaisie-software/p ... c/pull/350
Added: Support for explicit gadget IDs & explicit window IDs in the PureBasic Form Designer https://github.com/fantaisie-software/p ... c/pull/347

Community fixes
Fixed: IDE tab moving on new MacOS https://github.com/fantaisie-software/p ... c/pull/356
Fixed: FontRequester() missing args so Style is passed in correctly https://github.com/fantaisie-software/p ... c/pull/352
Fixed: The IDE is no longer closed when an open file is overwritten https://github.com/fantaisie-software/p ... c/pull/345
Optimized: Less resize on splitters changes https://github.com/fantaisie-software/p ... c/pull/346

Source de l'information et liste des bugs corrigés

**comtois** · 30/03/2026, 17h10

2026-03-30: beta 6 is available, with some fixes and rework on the StringBuilder lib (english doc updated).

Changed: FinishStringBuilder() to GetStringBuilderString().
Added: AppendStringBuilderStringN().

Source de l'information et liste des bugs corrigés

**comtois** · 10/04/2026, 19h07

2026-04-10: Final version is out ! Thanks a lot to everyone for the tests and enjoy the increased speed for string related functions ! It's been a long time we didn't rework a very old core component and while the work was huge, the results are here

.

Télécharger une version démo

PureBasic 6.40 alpha 1 est disponible, avec une surprise !

PureBasic

Discussions similaires

Partager

Partager