The Weird and The Wonderful

The Weird and The Wonderful forum is a place to post Coding Horrors, Worst Practices, and the occasional flash of brilliance.

We all come across code that simply boggles the mind. Lazy kludges, embarrassing mistakes, horrid workarounds and developers just not quite getting it. And then somedays we come across - or write - the truly sublime.

Post your Best, your worst, and your most interesting. But please - no programming questions . This forum is purely for amusement and discussions on code snippets. All actual programming questions will be removed.

Re: VB 6

M i s t e r L i s t e r1-Sep-10 5:54

M i s t e r L i s t e r

1-Sep-10 5:54

VB should just be put out of it's misery !

Re: VB 6

bwallan1-Sep-10 8:08

bwallan

1-Sep-10 8:08

Beautiful! Just absolutely beautiful...

bwa

Re: VB 6

JasonPSage1-Sep-10 8:37

JasonPSage

1-Sep-10 8:37

This is a response to all the posts in this topic before mine... you might know what I'm referring to if you read this thread up until this post...

I've written miles of VB5,6 code and folks can knock it all they like but I think it was one of the best products Microsoft has made alongside forcefeedback joysticks, access 2003, excel 2003 and DirectX in my opinion.

It is one of first totally RAD programming languages in my opinion: True Binary, tons of widget addons, ADO, ODBC, RDO .. tons of ways to communicate with databases and whip up applications quickly with integrated set up and deployment tools - all wrapped into one seamless package if you wen corporate - not to mention it supports various client/server (two tier/three tier systems easily.

On error resume next? You can test the error result after that command - SO? what's the problem? How is that different then try catch? You can do the same thing... and frankly - there is a time and place for any code construct - even GOTO.

I love when folks get indignant about GOTO and other coding philosophy. I truly believe users just want software that works - less flash and more "DO" ... and

* If you write beautiful code that is easy to read and performs great: AWESOME!

* If you write ugly code that works.. well.. I wouldn't recommend it but before I chastise ya: How much time did you have to get it done? Boss breathing down your neck? Simply didn't care? All valid reasons to write crap and "Git-R-Dun" in my opinion... Example: Coder: I need two days to do this right! Boss: I need it NOW.. an Hour! Worker: Sure thing boss!

VB6 is pretty darn sweet and I say if they had a vb7 by the same development team with better multi-tasking - I would chose it over .Net any day!

--Jason

Know way too many languages... master of none!

Re: VB 6

Max Peck2-Sep-10 4:05

Max Peck

2-Sep-10 4:05

I concur.

We have a time & attendance system that was originally developed in VB6 that serves thousands of clients on a daily basis. (Some of these clients have > 10,000 employees). The current enterprise-level solution is now a mix of the VB6 stuff and .Net. Since 2005 the management kept saying "in 6 months we'll get rid of VB6 code". Now, years later, the ratio of the VB6 code to the .Net section is about the same. Why? The stuff just plain works, that's why.

Agreed, .Net is far more refined a product than VB6 is - it had better be, it's 12 years newer (in its latest version that is). However even now the VB6 code continues to ensure that paychecks are accurately produced and the system continues to hum along.

VB6 may wind up being the next COBOL. It will eventually fall off the radar but in the background will continue to get results for years to come.

One developer said that he'd never take another job where he would have to deal with VB6. That's all right son, just send that work my way. I won't turn my nose up - they pay me big bucks to fix systems that the kids don't want to bother with anymore. Smile | :)

I love .Net (absolutely crazy about C#) but, at the same time I find it a breath of fresh air sometimes to go back to VB6. Besides being a competent development environment it is just plain FUN.

-Max Smile | :)

Re: VB 6

Matt McGuire1-Sep-10 13:15

Matt McGuire

1-Sep-10 13:15

true, that does hurt. but you should have seen some c code I had to take over when I first arived at the company I now work for.

something along the lines---

void _add{
int a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n;
int aa,bb,cc,iiii,iii,ii,i;

if {z==0}n=3; /*declared in globals*/
b=1
}

all of the code was like this, with vars never even refrenced in the code, except for one var that is assigned a variable, but never actually used. the names of the functions had no correlation to the body of code inside of them!

yes, most of it was scrubbed, as no one could follow the majority of the logic.

Re: VB 6

Lutosław1-Sep-10 20:25

Lutosław

1-Sep-10 20:25

Maybe a programmer who wrote this was using a lot an early version of BASIC, where variables had to match a pattern ([A-Z][A-Z]) (identifiers not longer than two characters, not case sensitive, a-z letters can be accesed via an array A, e.g. A[3]=C as well as other "advantages").

BTW in your code i is declared twice.

Greetings - Jacek

Re: VB 6

cwp423-Sep-10 1:38

cwp42

3-Sep-10 1:38

It always depends on the coder !!!
You can do this horror in every language.

cwp42

558 Lines Of QuickBasic Glory

AspDotNetDev25-Aug-10 21:29

AspDotNetDev

25-Aug-10 21:29

This post relates to the coding horror I posted about earlier today. I dug up my old Tetris code and I found it... the following is the 558 line QuickBasic subroutine I made in high school that prints a string to the screen. Enjoy. Smile | :)

SUB PrintMain (Variable1 AS STRING, Variable2 AS STRING, FunctionNum AS INTEGER)
DIM Letter AS STRING
STATIC PrintColor AS INTEGER
STATIC Left AS INTEGER
STATIC Top AS INTEGER
IF FunctionNum = 0 THEN
        FOR i = 1 TO LEN(Variable1)
                Letter = MID$(Variable1, i, 1)
                IF Letter = "A" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, BF
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, BF
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor, BF
                END IF
                IF Letter = "B" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "C" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "D" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "E" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "F" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "G" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 4, Top + 4), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "H" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "I" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "J" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "K" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left, Top), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left, Top + 6), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "L" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "M" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(0, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 2)-STEP(0, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(0, 2), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "N" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(2, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 2), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "O" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top)-STEP(-3, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(2, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(-3, -2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 6)-STEP(2, -2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(-1, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(-1, -1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, -1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "P" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "Q" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 4), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "R" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "S" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 2, Top + 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 4)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "T" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "U" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "V" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "W" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "X" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "Y" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "Z" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(6, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(-4, 4), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 6, Top + 1)-STEP(-4, 4), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(6, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "a" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 4)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "b" THEN
                        PSET (Left, Top), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "c" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "d" THEN
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "e" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "f" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "g" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 7)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "h" THEN
                        PSET (Left, Top), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left, Top + 6), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "i" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "j" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 7)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "k" THEN
                        PSET (Left, Top), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left, Top + 6), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 6), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "l" THEN
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "m" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 1), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 5), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "n" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "o" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "p" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 7)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 5)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "q" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 7)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "r" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "s" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 4)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "t" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(0, 4), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top)-STEP(0, 5), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 5, Top + 5), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "u" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "v" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "w" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(2, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "x" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "y" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 5)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 7)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "z" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(-2, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(-2, 2), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 5, Top + 5), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "0" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 5, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 2)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(0, 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(4, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "1" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 1), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "2" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "3" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "4" THEN
                        PSET (Left + 3, Top), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top)-STEP(1, 5), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 4)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 6, Top + 4), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "5" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "6" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "7" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "8" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "9" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 3), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 3)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(2, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "." THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = "," THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 7)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = ":" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                END IF
                IF Letter = ";" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 7)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "(" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = ")" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 2), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 5)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "!" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top + 1)-STEP(0, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(0, 2), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "?" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(3, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 4)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 6)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "`" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left + 3, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "'" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 1, Top)-STEP(1, 1), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "+" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 1)-STEP(1, 4), PrintColor, B
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left + 4, Top + 3)-STEP(1, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "-" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 3)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "*" THEN
                        LINE (Left + 2, Top + 2)-STEP(2, 2), PrintColor, BF
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 1), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 5, Top + 1), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 5, Top + 3), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 1, Top + 5), PrintColor
                        PSET (Left + 5, Top + 5), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "/" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(5, -5), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 6)-STEP(6, -6), PrintColor
                END IF
                IF Letter = "=" THEN
                        LINE (Left, Top + 2)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                        LINE (Left, Top + 5)-STEP(5, 0), PrintColor
                END IF
                Left = Left + 8
        NEXT i
END IF
IF FunctionNum = 1 THEN
        Left = VAL(Variable1)
        Top = VAL(Variable2)
END IF
IF FunctionNum = 2 THEN PrintColor = VAL(Variable1)
END SUB

As you can see, I didn't even go with a chained IF... it's just a bunch of IF statements in a row. No, this code is not under copyright. Feel free to use it yourself. Roll eyes | :rolleyes: