The previous topic got me to thinking. What do most of the people here use Purebasic for?
Would be interesting to know what people use it for mostly.
As for me I suppose you could call it a hobby mainly. But its also a bit more than that because I have used PB and other programming tools to create applications I need in my work, that either don't exist or there isn't an application that does things the way I want it. I also use my coding to create applications I want for leisure and family needs.
I have never yet put out an application to the public. Although many of them are probably good enough to put out as freeware, I wouldn't want the burden of maintaining and debugging them. I'm just too busy doing other things.
Hope to hear what others are using PB for.
Am I the only hobbiest
"What you are is what you have been. What you’ll be is what you do now.” -Buddha
rrpl wrote:many of them are probably good enough to put out as freeware, I wouldn't want the burden of maintaining and debugging them. I'm just too busy doing other things.
That's why you charge for them, and also for updates. Coding is hard work, and who works for free? Just because it's electronic doesn't mean you should just give it away, no matter how noble it sounds.
rrpl wrote:many of them are probably good enough to put out as freeware, I wouldn't want the burden of maintaining and debugging them. I'm just too busy doing other things.
That's why you charge for them, and also for updates. Coding is hard work, and who works for free? Just because it's electronic doesn't mean you should just give it away, no matter how noble it sounds.
Yes I fully support this position. I have bought many useful software products over the years. Of course value for money is important also.
Personally I would not be able to do a commercial application at the moment due to work commitments, Hence a limited amount of coding time. One of the reasons I use PB, since I can put together an application(read solution) quickly with it.
"What you are is what you have been. What you’ll be is what you do now.” -Buddha
I use it because it is one of the few systems out there that:
a) is a true multiplatform - code once, compile everywhere (true compile - not some interpreted language!)
b) is quick and easy to put an application together
c) does not require you to um and ah over many many additional libraries to get required functionality - it's all built in
d) is well supported (i.e. it won't disappear overnight due to the developer having enough)
e) is something that I could afford
As I wanted something that I could whip up quickly, I discarded C, C++ and all versions of that avenue.
Then I looked at the multiplatform aspects - to be able to program in Linux and Windows on the same code and it works the same... well, that then brought in many languages, but then was also discarded just as quickly as I wanted to be able to distribute without having to install a massive framework just to run it (Java, Python, .net)
Then I was left with what was compilable on all platforms, and then I made the decision to stick with what I know - Basic. Knowing that I whittled my options down to three: FreeBasic, RealBasic and PureBasic.
FreeBasic - Price - perfect! but no ide for Linux, and no support for Mac.
RealBasic - Price... wtf?!? And I couldn't get the demo to work in Linux. At all.
PureBasic - Price - affordable! The same IDE on all platforms, support for Mac, tiny executables and rapid compiler speeds, but no GUI form builder.
RealBasic really needed to blow me away with something magical for me to pay their asking price, and they blew their chance with a broken install.
FreeBasic... I really really wanted to use this, but the lack of IDE for Linux and no Mac support turned me away from them.
PureBasic, well, the only real issue was the lack of a GUI builder that integrates the GUI with the events. Indeed the only reason that I haven't written a large form based project is due to the lack of a good GUI builder. Sure there are 3rd party tools that you can use, but none of them can be used with Linux, so they are out of the running.
So at the end of the day, none of the options were perfect, but PureBasic was (and still is) the closest and with the GUI builder in the works by the team, it can be guaranteed that it will be cross platform.
And yes, when the GUI Builder comes out, I have an enterprise level solution for businesses to write. In the mean time, I dabble with learning OpenGL, networking, DB access, encryption, compression... and the list goes on and on and on...
I don't actually use it for anything yet! I guess...
I guess it is mostly a Hobby thing for me.. But maybe one day the right opportunity will present itself to let me make money off an Application or Game I develop.
Right now I am still getting used to things, and learning as I go. But I guess planned uses would be..
I'm writing a pretty bare-bones video editing application, that will use Avisynth and its various plugins as a backbone for allowing the user to perform a manual Inverse Telecine operation on Anime DVD's and other troublesome Telecined sources, and then produce a variable frame rate video file and accompanying timecodes for correct playback.
I'm also planning on writing a Text RPG, which I hope will provide a more MUD-like experience, even though it is not played online.
I've also been thinking about writing a web stats parser, since I don't want to pay for Deep Log Analyser, the only program I ever really was happy with, when I tried out software for this purpose. It's just prohibitively expensive for me.
