There's no requirement to post source code for the forums here, though it is greatly recommended.
The problem with just posting an EXE tends to be:
1) It limits the user base who can run the code. QB64 is cross-platform compatible, so BAS files can be compiled and ran on Linux, Mac, and Windows all. Compiling and simply sharing a Windows EXE eliminates the other platform users from being able to run or test the code.
2) Many people are hesitant to run stray EXE files from the internet. False positives are common with antiviruses and a large portion of the user base simply won't run compiled EXE programs unless they have *absolute* trust in you. There's a *few* members here who have posted for years and years, shown themselves to be outstanding and exemplary members of the user base, and *those* fellows might get away with something like, "Hey guys, here's an EXE of something I'm working on, but I'm not ready to share the source yet..." For most everyone else, that type of statement is just going to get the old stink eye response.
And perhaps most important of all, to my way of thinking at least, this is a forum dedicated to QB64 -- which is a *COMPUTER LANGUAGE MEANT TO COMPILE CODE TO EXECUTABLE*. The whole point is to talk about the source. Showcase the process behind the exe. Talk over the code, view the logic, inspect the method behind the finished product.
Just sharing the EXE is like going into a forum that focuses on sharing recipes and cooking tips and then simply displaying a perfectly designed cake and saying, "I made this!" Everyone on that forum is going to say, "Woooo.... That looks AMAZING! What's the recipe for that?" They're not so much interested in the final product itself; they're more interested in the *process* that created that final product.
There's a million sites on the web to share compiled and completed games with the world. That's not us though. We're a site dedicated to sharing and talking about QB64PE and the steps which take us from a blank screen to produce those finished executables. It's not WRONG to just share an EXE or a finished work here; but you also have to remember -- We're not the target audience for that type of thing.
Many won't grab your EXE as it's worthless on their system. Many more won't grab it as they simply don't trust executables from the interweb. Several just won't be interested in whatever you're promoting as they're not really into games at all. If you're interested in having people try it, review it, and offer any sort of feedback on it here, you'd almost have to share the source for the program -- as *THAT* is what everyone here is interested in, rather than the finished product itself.
So feel free to just share the EXE of things you've created. Just be realistic in your expectations on how people react and how interested they are in such things. We (as the site admin) don't prohibit it, but the user base itself surely doesn't encourage it or readily accept it.
The problem with just posting an EXE tends to be:
1) It limits the user base who can run the code. QB64 is cross-platform compatible, so BAS files can be compiled and ran on Linux, Mac, and Windows all. Compiling and simply sharing a Windows EXE eliminates the other platform users from being able to run or test the code.
2) Many people are hesitant to run stray EXE files from the internet. False positives are common with antiviruses and a large portion of the user base simply won't run compiled EXE programs unless they have *absolute* trust in you. There's a *few* members here who have posted for years and years, shown themselves to be outstanding and exemplary members of the user base, and *those* fellows might get away with something like, "Hey guys, here's an EXE of something I'm working on, but I'm not ready to share the source yet..." For most everyone else, that type of statement is just going to get the old stink eye response.
And perhaps most important of all, to my way of thinking at least, this is a forum dedicated to QB64 -- which is a *COMPUTER LANGUAGE MEANT TO COMPILE CODE TO EXECUTABLE*. The whole point is to talk about the source. Showcase the process behind the exe. Talk over the code, view the logic, inspect the method behind the finished product.
Just sharing the EXE is like going into a forum that focuses on sharing recipes and cooking tips and then simply displaying a perfectly designed cake and saying, "I made this!" Everyone on that forum is going to say, "Woooo.... That looks AMAZING! What's the recipe for that?" They're not so much interested in the final product itself; they're more interested in the *process* that created that final product.
There's a million sites on the web to share compiled and completed games with the world. That's not us though. We're a site dedicated to sharing and talking about QB64PE and the steps which take us from a blank screen to produce those finished executables. It's not WRONG to just share an EXE or a finished work here; but you also have to remember -- We're not the target audience for that type of thing.
Many won't grab your EXE as it's worthless on their system. Many more won't grab it as they simply don't trust executables from the interweb. Several just won't be interested in whatever you're promoting as they're not really into games at all. If you're interested in having people try it, review it, and offer any sort of feedback on it here, you'd almost have to share the source for the program -- as *THAT* is what everyone here is interested in, rather than the finished product itself.
So feel free to just share the EXE of things you've created. Just be realistic in your expectations on how people react and how interested they are in such things. We (as the site admin) don't prohibit it, but the user base itself surely doesn't encourage it or readily accept it.