Which is the best tool for RAD?

the.weavster · Post by **the.weavster** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 6:56 pm

I have an old version of Runtime Revolution which was free on the cover disc of PC Plus a while ago. The syntax is more like writing English rather than code, for example when you want the contents of a text box you use the 'Get' command you then have the value in a variable called 'It' which you can 'Put' somewhere else. Unfortunately the help system was pants which made learning irritating and so I didn't persevere.

I don't know whether you've completely ruled out REALbasic but there's going to be a serious price reduction by the end of April, RB Standard is going down to USD 75- and RB Pro is going down to USD 299-

thanos · Post by **thanos** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:57 pm

the.weavster wrote:I have an old version of Runtime Revolution which was free on the cover disc of PC Plus a while ago. The syntax is more like writing English rather than code, for example when you want the contents of a text box you use the 'Get' command you then have the value in a variable called 'It' which you can 'Put' somewhere else. Unfortunately the help system was pants which made learning irritating and so I didn't persevere.

I don't know whether you've completely ruled out REALbasic but there's going to be a serious price reduction by the end of April, RB Standard is going down to USD 75- and RB Pro is going down to USD 299-

I tried the demo and samples of Runtime Revolution v 3.0 and i really like it.
Of course it is very waffler but its language is plain english and has a real cross compiler which is working (at leas for the demo projects).
Regarding to RealBasic, i think it is an overpriced not robust product which produces bloatware. I was registered user until the version 5.5 (if i remember well). Beyond this, i do not like its upgrade policy. 4 versions for each year, with unspecified features. When you buy the product you will have access for the next 2 updates. And of course you need another license for the Real Sql Server
I tried the Delphi and i like it. It is powerful but its future it is not transparent.
Regards

Thanos

the.weavster · Post by **the.weavster** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:03 pm

thanos wrote:Regarding to RealBasic, i think it is an overpriced not robust product which produces bloatware.

The entire framework is bundled with every executable which does make simple programs seem disproportionately large. I think the revised prices will be a much fairer reflection of the products value.

5.5 was the first addition I had and only because REAL gave it away free when Microsoft pulled the plug on VB6, I didn't like that version much either but it did give me the impetus to try their following release (2005r1 I think it was) which I really liked.

thanos wrote:And of course you need another license for the Real Sql Server

I wouldn't bother with that thing - just carry on using FireBird, it's a different level to Real SQL Server.

Trond · Post by **Trond** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:22 am

thanos wrote: What about Delphi?
Is there anyone Delphi programmer in the forum?
Regards

Thanos

Delphi is good, although I haven't used the latest versinos.

thanos · Post by **thanos** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:05 pm

the.weavster wrote:
thanos wrote:Regarding to RealBasic, i think it is an overpriced not robust product which produces bloatware.
The entire framework is bundled with every executable which does make simple programs seem disproportionately large. I think the revised prices will be a much fairer reflection of the products value.

5.5 was the first addition I had and only because REAL gave it away free when Microsoft pulled the plug on VB6, I didn't like that version much either but it did give me the impetus to try their following release (2005r1 I think it was) which I really liked.

thanos wrote:And of course you need another license for the Real Sql Server
I wouldn't bother with that thing - just carry on using FireBird, it's a different level to Real SQL Server.

Because, i am respecting your opinion i will give to RealBasic a try.
I will download the demo edition on the weekend.
Regarding to Real SQL Server or any SQL Server* i totally agree with you, Firebird and nothing else!
Regards

Thanos

the.weavster · Post by **the.weavster** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:57 pm

thanos wrote:Because, i am respecting your opinion i will give to RealBasic a try.
I will download the demo edition on the weekend.
Regarding to Real SQL Server or any SQL Server* i totally agree with you, Firebird and nothing else!

If you're going to try RB have a little go with my new prototype database server: http://www.oneledger.co.uk/download/SQL4Sockets.zip

it will serve SQLite databases or ODBC data sources
it has client classes that present an api very similar to RBs built in database classes
it should work with RB standard (I haven't tested that though)
the client requires no middleware
installation of the server is as simple as copy and paste (unless you want to run it as a service)

OK, it's not FireBird but I think it's starting to get quite cool.

thanos · Post by **thanos** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 5:34 pm

the.weavster wrote:
thanos wrote:Because, i am respecting your opinion i will give to RealBasic a try.
I will download the demo edition on the weekend.
Regarding to Real SQL Server or any SQL Server* i totally agree with you, Firebird and nothing else!
If you're going to try RB have a little go with my new prototype database server: http://www.oneledger.co.uk/download/SQL4Sockets.zip

it will serve SQLite databases or ODBC data sources
it has client classes that present an api very similar to RBs built in database classes
it should work with RB standard (I haven't tested that though)
the client requires no middleware
installation of the server is as simple as copy and paste (unless you want to run it as a service)

OK, it's not FireBird but I think it's starting to get quite cool.

Congratulations!
I tested your prototype and i found it very good and fast.
It is an excellent idea. Could you expand it to serve lightweight database files like .dbf?
I also checked your classes for accessing Firebird from REALBasic but unfortunately the link http://www.oneledger.co.uk/download/db_Postings.rbp does not working.
I do not decide yet about Real Basic but i am researching for it.
Regards.

Thanos

Intrigued · Post by **Intrigued** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 8:59 pm

Check out Autoplay Media Studio 7.5.

http://www.indigorose.com/autoplay-medi ... ia-studio/

It started out mainly as a CD-ROM menu creation product. But, it's gone considerably beyond that now. I have used it mainly for .exe creations that I share via download links, etc.

I've looked at all of the others mentioned here. I have used AMS for over five years now and have no complaints. The service from I.R. is top notch, the forums are helpful.

Others, myself included, have also put up our own domains to share projects, plugins, etc.

Someone has had luck in running AMS on a Mac (Wine). Otherwise, this is a Windows-only solution... for now.

bembulak · Post by **bembulak** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:05 am

What about Delphi?
Is there anyone Delphi programmer in the forum?
Regards

Not Delphi, but Lazarus/FPC for about 2 years now.
I like it - especially the option of having ARM/WindowsMobile Apps without any Runtime like CompactFramework, JVM.

thanos · Post by **thanos** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:14 pm

Intrigued wrote:Check out Autoplay Media Studio 7.5.

http://www.indigorose.com/autoplay-medi ... ia-studio/

It started out mainly as a CD-ROM menu creation product. But, it's gone considerably beyond that now. I have used it mainly for .exe creations that I share via download links, etc.

I've looked at all of the others mentioned here. I have used AMS for over five years now and have no complaints. The service from I.R. is top notch, the forums are helpful.

Others, myself included, have also put up our own domains to share projects, plugins, etc.

Someone has had luck in running AMS on a Mac (Wine). Otherwise, this is a Windows-only solution... for now.

Thanks for the response.
I checked the Autoplay Media Studio. Very interesting application, excellent for its specific purpose but i think it is very limited compared with other tools for generic application development (Delphi, VB, Lazarus etc.).
As i saw from its features it has not have database features.
What kind of applications do you develop with this tool?
Regards.

Thanos

thanos · Post by **thanos** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:34 pm

bembulak wrote:
What about Delphi?
Is there anyone Delphi programmer in the forum?
Regards
Not Delphi, but Lazarus/FPC for about 2 years now.
I like it - especially the option of having ARM/WindowsMobile Apps without any Runtime like CompactFramework, JVM.

Thanks for the post.
I am a partial user of Lazarus and it seems to be a very interesting project.
I found the ide well done and robust.
Unfortunately, i do not like very much the Pascal's syntax but nothing is perfect.
Regards.

Thanos

the.weavster · Post by **the.weavster** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:28 pm

thanos wrote:Congratulations!
I tested your prototype and i found it very good and fast.
It is an excellent idea. Could you expand it to serve lightweight database files like .dbf?

It can serve any ODBC data source the machine it's resident on has a driver for and Windows comes with a driver for *.dbf files installed, so yes.

thanos wrote:I also checked your classes for accessing Firebird from REALBasic but unfortunately the link http://www.oneledger.co.uk/download/db_Postings.rbp does not working.

I may have removed them in error, I'll check it out and let you know.

thanos wrote:Unfortunately, i do not like very much the Pascal's syntax but nothing is perfect.

I completely agree, even simple things like If... Then... Else... gets messy if there's multiple options. I wish there was an alternative version of Delphi that used BASIC.

Intrigued · Post by **Intrigued** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:36 pm

thanos wrote:
Intrigued wrote:Check out Autoplay Media Studio 7.5.

http://www.indigorose.com/autoplay-medi ... ia-studio/

It started out mainly as a CD-ROM menu creation product. But, it's gone considerably beyond that now. I have used it mainly for .exe creations that I share via download links, etc.

I've looked at all of the others mentioned here. I have used AMS for over five years now and have no complaints. The service from I.R. is top notch, the forums are helpful.

Others, myself included, have also put up our own domains to share projects, plugins, etc.

Someone has had luck in running AMS on a Mac (Wine). Otherwise, this is a Windows-only solution... for now.
Thanks for the response.
I checked the Autoplay Media Studio. Very interesting application, excellent for its specific purpose but i think it is very limited compared with other tools for generic application development (Delphi, VB, Lazarus etc.).
As i saw from its features it has not have database features.
What kind of applications do you develop with this tool?
Regards.

Thanos

Actually it does, SQLite is used as the database feature. Which transacts very quickly. It's not for enterprise level applications though. But, there is a plugin out for ODBC as well.

Plus you get FTP, standalone editor, command-line support, and plenty of plugins, etc., etc., and standalone assemblies to use that others have created.

I'd recommend a closer inspection, it seems you may have just glanced it over on first sight.

garretthylltun · Post by **garretthylltun** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 1:27 am

http://www.jabaco.org/ <--- a Java VB like clone. Can convert most any VB6 source code.

thanos · Post by **thanos** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:17 pm

Intrigued wrote:Actually it does, SQLite is used as the database feature. Which transacts very quickly. It's not for enterprise level applications though. But, there is a plugin out for ODBC as well.

Thanks a lot. I did not saw it.

Intrigued wrote:Plus you get FTP, standalone editor, command-line support, and plenty of plugins, etc., etc., and standalone assemblies to use that others have created.

I downloaded the demo and i "played" with it a little. It seems like an interesting project but the produced executables are a little bit bloatwares.

Intrigued wrote:I'd recommend a closer inspection, it seems you may have just glanced it over on first sight.

I will. As you write it is "not for enterprise level applications" but it is interesting. To my opinion, a disadvantage is its high price ($395 for a single developer license).
Regards.

Thanos