Superbase programs may be protected

Superbase has a protection mechanism in the program that allows you to save a file with a simple form of encryption. Although the encryption is not very complicated, it is sophisticated enough to keep prying eyes out of your code.

Here is some additional information about PROTECTing a program.

The purpose of the PROTECT command is to save the program currently in memory to a disk file, in encrypted form.

Syntax

PROTECT sbpfile

Where: Represents:

Sbpfile A string expression containing the name of an SBL program

Usage

Use this command to convert a program file to a format that can't be opened in the Program Editor. It stores the program in the current buffer in a file on disk in an encrypted form that can be run, but not displayed or edited.

If the first line of a program is a REM statement, PROTECT displays that line on the screen, but hides the rest of the program.

Notes

There is no command to unprotect a protected file. Therefore, if you protect a program, you are advised to keep an unprotected copy of it in a safe place in case you need to examine or modify it.

To remove a protected program from memory after running it, type the NEW command in the Program Command dialog box.

Example

Save the current program as a protected file called Myprog:

PROTECT "myprog"

The important thing to note here is that once you PROTECT a program, you cannot unprotect it! Therefore, be extrremely careful never to protect a file that you do not have a backup copy of!