App class

The App class wraps the running application’s identity and version metadata, plus a small amount of process-level state (the module handle, the main thread ID, whether the process is running inside the twinBASIC IDE or with elevated privileges, …). It is a singleton — there is exactly one App instance per process, owned by the runtime and exposed through the global App property of the Global object. Code reaches it without qualification:

Debug.Print "Running from " & App.Path
Debug.Print "Version " & App.Major & "." & App.Minor & "." & App.Revision & "." & App.Build

If App.PrevInstance Then
    MsgBox "Another instance is already running.", vbExclamation
    End
End If

App.HelpFile = App.Path & "\help.chm"

Most properties are read-only and are populated from the project settings (compiled into the executable’s Win32 VERSIONINFO resource) at build time. The handful of read/write properties — Title and HelpFile — let code change a small amount of run-time state that other parts of the runtime (notably the form caption defaults and the F1 help dispatcher) consult.

Singleton and access

App is not creatable: there is no New App and no public coclass to instantiate. The runtime exposes the singleton through the App property on the Global app-object, which is itself accessible without qualification. References returned by App are cached and stable for the lifetime of the process.

File and module location

Path and ModulePath describe where the executable lives:

  • Path returns the folder containing the EXE, with no trailing backslash (e.g. "C:\Program Files\MyApp").
  • ModulePath returns the full path to the EXE itself (e.g. "C:\Program Files\MyApp\MyApp.exe").
  • EXEName returns the EXE’s base name without the extension (e.g. "MyApp").

When the project is running inside the twinBASIC IDE — App.IsInIDE is True — Path is the folder of the project file rather than of a compiled EXE, so it remains useful as a “where the application is” anchor for opening relative resources at design time.

LastBuildPath is a twinBASIC-specific extension that records the path the most recent IDE build wrote its EXE to — handy for build scripts that need to chain steps after an IDE build.

Version metadata

The version-info properties read straight from the EXE’s VERSIONINFO resource:

hInstance and ThreadID expose the underlying Win32 module handle and the ID of the application’s main thread — useful for interop with Windows API functions that need either.

Properties

Build

The Build component of the application’s four-part version number, as set on the project’s Make tab. Integer, read-only.

Comments

The free-form Comments field of the application’s VERSIONINFO resource. String, read-only.

CompanyName

The CompanyName field of the application’s VERSIONINFO resource. String, read-only.

EXEName

The base name of the executable — the file name minus its .exe extension and any directory component. String, read-only. When running inside the IDE, this is the project’s compile-time output name rather than the IDE host’s name.

FileDescription

The FileDescription field of the application’s VERSIONINFO resource. String, read-only.

HelpFile

The full path to the application’s help file (.hlp or .chm). String, readable and writable. The runtime consults this property when a control’s HelpContextID is non-zero and the user presses F1, and when application code calls MsgBox with a help-file argument.

hInstance

The Win32 module handle (HINSTANCE) for the executable. LongPtr, read-only. Useful when calling Windows API functions that load resources or create windows on the application’s behalf.

IsElevated

True if the process is running with administrative privileges (a “Run as administrator” elevation token), False otherwise. Boolean, read-only.

IsInIDE

True if the running process is the twinBASIC IDE host rather than a stand-alone compiled executable. Boolean, read-only. Useful for code paths that should only run at design time, or for diagnostic logging that should be suppressed in shipping builds.

LastBuildPath

The full path that the IDE wrote the most recent build to. String, read-only. Empty when the IDE has not yet produced a build during the current session. twinBASIC-specific — VB6 had no equivalent.

LegalCopyright

The LegalCopyright field of the application’s VERSIONINFO resource. String, read-only.

LegalTrademarks

The LegalTrademarks field of the application’s VERSIONINFO resource. String, read-only.

LogMode

The current logging mode, as a member of LogModeConstants. Read-only.

Note

twinBASIC currently reports only vbLogOff and vbLogAuto, distinguishing IDE-detection cases. The other VB6 logging modes (file, NT event log) are not yet honoured.

LogPath

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

Major

The Major component of the application’s four-part version number. Integer, read-only.

Minor

The Minor component of the application’s four-part version number. Integer, read-only.

ModulePath

The full path to the executable file. String, read-only. This is what GetModuleFileName(App.hInstance, …) would return.

NonModalAllowed

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

OleRequestPendingMsgText

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

OleRequestPendingMsgTitle

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

OleRequestPendingTimeout

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

OleServerBusyMsgText

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

OleServerBusyMsgTitle

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

OleServerBusyRaiseError

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

OleServerBusyTimeout

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

Path

The folder containing the executable, with no trailing backslash. String, read-only. When running inside the IDE, this is the folder containing the project file rather than the IDE host’s folder, so code that opens files relative to the application location works identically at design time and at run time.

PrevInstance

True if another instance of the application is already running, False otherwise. Boolean, read-only. Typically tested at startup so the second instance can bring the first to the foreground or exit cleanly.

ProductName

The ProductName field of the application’s VERSIONINFO resource. String, read-only.

RetainedProject

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

Revision

The Revision component of the application’s four-part version number. Integer, read-only.

StartMode

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

TaskVisible

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

ThreadID

The Win32 thread ID of the application’s main (UI) thread. Long, read-only.

Title

The application title shown to the OS (in the tasklist) and used as the default title for MsgBox, InputBox, and other system dialogs. String, readable and writable. Defaults to the executable’s FileDescription (or EXEName if no description is set).

UnattendedApp

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

Methods

LogEvent

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

Syntax: object.LogEvent LogBuffer, EventType

StartLogging

Note

Reserved for compatibility with VB6; not currently implemented in twinBASIC.

Syntax: object.StartLogging LogTarget, LogModes