TurboVs — Turbo C++ for Visual Studio Code

TurboVs

Run legacy Turbo C++ programs (<iostream.h>, <conio.h>, <graphics.h>) directly in Visual Studio Code

🚀 Overview

Many schools, universities, competitive programming curriculums, and retro developers still write code relying on legacy Turbo C++ libraries and conventions. Modern compilers (GCC, Clang, MSVC) reject classic headers like <iostream.h>, <conio.h>, or void main().

TurboVs connects the modern Visual Studio Code editor with authentic Turbo C++ 3.0 compilation:

• Pure Script Output Only: Clean integrated terminal output showing exclusively your program's stdout/stderr. All bash prompt echoes, command lines, ALSA sound card warnings, and DOSBox startup noise are completely suppressed using a custom VS Code Pseudoterminal.
• Dedicated Separate Input Panel: Scans your source code before running to detect how many inputs are needed (cin >>, scanf, cin.getline, getch) and provides individual input card fields for each variable with live piping.
• Genuine Borland TCC Engine: Real compilation using genuine TCC.EXE — no modern shims or syntax translations. Full support for classic functions: clrscr(), getch(), getche(), gotoyx(), textbackground(), textcolor(), and <graphics.h> BGI modes.
• Editor Line Diagnostics: Automatically parses compiler error messages and places squiggles directly on the offending source lines.
• Cross-Platform: Works smoothly on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

📋 Dedicated Separate Input Panel & Input Detection

No more unresponsive stdin, hanging prompts, or confusing multiline piping:

1. Automatic Input Detection: TurboVs statically analyzes the active script before execution, detecting every cin >>, scanf, cin.getline, gets, and getch call.
2. Context-Aware Labels: Extracts user-facing prompt labels from preceding cout << and printf(...) statements (e.g. "Enter first number:", "Enter operator:").
3. Separate Input Fields: Each required input gets an individual card box with its variable name, prompt label, and clear input field.
4. Live Token Preview: Displays a real-time preview of the piped sequence (e.g. Piped: [ 10 ] ↵ [ + ] ↵ [ 5 ] ↵ [ q ]) as you type.
5. Real-time Disk Sync: Keystrokes are immediately synchronized to TC_IN.TXT so your inputs are guaranteed to reach the program on run.
6. Dual Mode: Easily switch between "📋 Separate Input Fields" and "📝 Raw Multiline Stdin" with one click.

⌨️ Shortcuts & Commands

☁️ Test TurboVs in Your Browser (No Local Setup Required!)

You can run TurboVs inside a complete Cloud VS Code Server directly on GitHub Actions:

1. Navigate to GitHub Actions → TurboVs Cloud VS Code Server.
2. Click Run workflow (choose duration, e.g. 120 minutes).
3. Within 30 seconds, open the workflow Summary page for your one-click access link.
4. Click the link to open full Visual Studio Code in your browser with:
   • Genuine Turbo C++ 3.0 (TCC.EXE, TC.EXE, headers, libraries, BGI) pre-configured.
   • Pre-installed TurboVs extension.
   • Pre-loaded example programs (hello.cpp, calculator.cpp, fibonacci.c, student_db.cpp, graphics_demo.cpp).
5. Open any example and press Ctrl+F9 or click the Play button!

📥 Quick 1-Click Installation (For Local Machine)

Windows (Automated All-in-One):

1. Download install-globally.bat.
2. Double-click it. It will:
   • Install the TurboVs extension globally into VS Code.
   • Automatically install DOSBox using winget (if not already installed).
   • Verify your C:\TURBOC3 directory.

Linux / macOS:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/beyondbday69/turbovs/main/install-globally.sh | bash

Manual VSIX Installation:

1. Download turbovs-1.1.0.vsix from GitHub Releases.
2. In VS Code, press Ctrl+Shift+X → ... menu → Install from VSIX...

⚙️ Configuration Settings

Open VS Code Settings (Ctrl+, or Cmd+,) and search for turbovs:

📝 Example Turbo C++ Program

#include <iostream.h>
#include <conio.h>

void main() {
    clrscr();
    
    char name[50];
    int age;
    
    cout << "========================================" << endl;
    cout << "        Welcome to TurboVs!             " << endl;
    cout << "========================================" << endl;
    
    cout << "Enter your name: ";
    cin >> name;
    
    cout << "Enter your age: ";
    cin >> age;
    
    cout << "\nHello, " << name << "! You are " << age << " years old." << endl;
    cout << "\nPress any key to finish...";
    
    getch();
}

📄 License

This extension is licensed under the MIT License.