I have been programming using PB for a few years now, but want to switch to VB instead. (VB is Visual Basic Express 2008)
I know these languages are different, but here is the question:
What can I do in PB that I cannot do in VB.?
PB vs VB
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Joakim Christiansen
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Re: PB vs VB
From my perspective I have the feeling that doing stuff in PB is easier, I have done a lot stuff my dad programming in VB would stay away from.utopiomania wrote:What can I do in PB that I cannot do in VB.?
I would rather ask YOU what can you do in VB that you can't do in PB? Since you want to switch there must be a reason.
I like logic, hence I dislike humans but love computers.
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Digital Wargames
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Re: PB vs VB
> What can I do in PB that I cannot do in VB
Take your exe to ANY computer and run it without failure. Good enough?
This really cannot be overstated. A self-contained exe is the best feature of
any programming language. You just can't assume that the target computer
will be able to run a VB app without installation first.
Today, I reinstalled XP and needed to run one of my apps. Done! If it were
written in VB5 (which I owned before PureBasic) then I'd need to install the
app first just so all the dependencies would be installed first. So I add bloat
to my PC when my PureBasic app adds none. Think about that for a second.
Anyway, why do you want to switch? Give us a compelling reason and I bet
we can find you an easy workaround in PureBasic.
Take your exe to ANY computer and run it without failure. Good enough?
This really cannot be overstated. A self-contained exe is the best feature of
any programming language. You just can't assume that the target computer
will be able to run a VB app without installation first.
Today, I reinstalled XP and needed to run one of my apps. Done! If it were
written in VB5 (which I owned before PureBasic) then I'd need to install the
app first just so all the dependencies would be installed first. So I add bloat
to my PC when my PureBasic app adds none. Think about that for a second.
Anyway, why do you want to switch? Give us a compelling reason and I bet
we can find you an easy workaround in PureBasic.
I compile using 5.31 (x86) on Win 7 Ultimate (64-bit).
"PureBasic won't be object oriented, period" - Fred.
"PureBasic won't be object oriented, period" - Fred.
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DarkDragon
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Great that this forum have such enthusiasm towards these types of questions, but let me add my 2 cents to this:
I believe you have good reasons to go for Visual Basic, whether personal or not, so let's make the comparison between the two languages regarding Microsoft Windows only. Sure PureBasic is available on other platforms, but it doesn't really count as a pro here (neither as contra). Also, whether the final executable is self-contained or not counts here as a plus only. I believe utopiomania wants to know what can he as a programmer achieve in PureBasic that he can not in Visual Basic. There is not much. Both languages can make use of Win32 API and are essentially the same at the core (read: both are BASIC languages after all). I am not the best to argue about which code is more easier to work with, so let's assume both are just as easy to read and write. With Visual Basic there are certainly things you can do that with PureBasic you can't (easily); ActiveX/COM and DirectX 10 come to mind (though both can be used in PureBasic to some extent by means of 3rd party add-ons, ActiveX plugins for example are readily available for Visual Basic and the same type of integration with ActiveX is simply not possible with PureBasic).
It boils down to what you want to do in either programming language though. As I said, I believe you have your (good) reasons to choose Visual Basic, but you also seem to be experienced in PureBasic so why not compare both on your very own PC and see the difference yourself?
Do remember though, that with PureBasic you can do most (if not everything) that Visual Basic as well, plus it gives you very efficient self-contained executables and allows you cross platform development. As I mentioned above though, these might not be of such importance to you, so decide all by yourself and trust your intuition.
All the best,
talisman
I believe you have good reasons to go for Visual Basic, whether personal or not, so let's make the comparison between the two languages regarding Microsoft Windows only. Sure PureBasic is available on other platforms, but it doesn't really count as a pro here (neither as contra). Also, whether the final executable is self-contained or not counts here as a plus only. I believe utopiomania wants to know what can he as a programmer achieve in PureBasic that he can not in Visual Basic. There is not much. Both languages can make use of Win32 API and are essentially the same at the core (read: both are BASIC languages after all). I am not the best to argue about which code is more easier to work with, so let's assume both are just as easy to read and write. With Visual Basic there are certainly things you can do that with PureBasic you can't (easily); ActiveX/COM and DirectX 10 come to mind (though both can be used in PureBasic to some extent by means of 3rd party add-ons, ActiveX plugins for example are readily available for Visual Basic and the same type of integration with ActiveX is simply not possible with PureBasic).
It boils down to what you want to do in either programming language though. As I said, I believe you have your (good) reasons to choose Visual Basic, but you also seem to be experienced in PureBasic so why not compare both on your very own PC and see the difference yourself?
Do remember though, that with PureBasic you can do most (if not everything) that Visual Basic as well, plus it gives you very efficient self-contained executables and allows you cross platform development. As I mentioned above though, these might not be of such importance to you, so decide all by yourself and trust your intuition.
All the best,
talisman
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utopiomania
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Mostly the OOP stuff which I really find easy, the rich IDE, the size of the user baseI would rather ask YOU what can you do in VB that you can't do in PB?
Since you want to switch there must be a reason.
and staying power of MS and the Visual Basic language itself.
Mind you, I love PureBasic, and will not stop using it. I'm just unshure where the catch is with VB.
BTW, there's no problem distributing VB express apps, but you need the built in ClickOnce
or a third party installer.
Well, there is RealBasic which is very similar to the old Visual Baiscs which also has comes in Windows, Linux, and Mac versions.DarkDragon wrote:Well PB has Linux and Mac (and old Amiga) support. VB doesn't natively create Linux and Mac executables. Thats another point you forgot.
The one feature VB6 has over PureBasic is its IDE, I would love for PureBasic to have an IDE like that.
> the OOP stuff
PureBasic doesn't have that natively, but that doesn't make it less capable.
There are third-party solutions to get OOP in PureBasic if you really want it.
> the rich IDE
The form designer, you mean? Fred and co are working on a new one,
according to previous posts. Try PureFORM in the meantime, or check
out http://sourceforge.net/projects/visualpurebasic/ . Screenshot here:
http://sourceforge.net/dbimage.php?id=186095
> the size of the user base
The "split" user base. Half stayed with VB Classic, half moved to VB.NET.
Besides, most source code sites with VB can be used with PureBasic too.
I use them all the time to convert VB sources to PureBasic code. Those
sites and user base have been a great help to me even though they're
written for an entirely different Basic.
> staying power of MS
That's debatable. IE losing share to FF, Word can't be distributed at the
moment due to XML issues, people hating Vista... hmm. And they don't
always stand by their products: they've ditched VB Classic, and ditched
Money, and ditched other apps in the past not deemed worthy anymore.
> the Visual Basic language itself
It's okay, but not compelling (to me). The apps that I once coded in VB
are so much smaller and better since I converted them to PureBasic.
I never had anything like Macros and the excellent debugger in VB.
And when is Microsoft going to add a feature to VB for you like Fred?
Still, whatever floats your boat. Once you go to VB and have to start
declaring your API calls and creating setup apps for every software
you write, you'll come back to PureBasic.
PureBasic doesn't have that natively, but that doesn't make it less capable.
There are third-party solutions to get OOP in PureBasic if you really want it.
> the rich IDE
The form designer, you mean? Fred and co are working on a new one,
according to previous posts. Try PureFORM in the meantime, or check
out http://sourceforge.net/projects/visualpurebasic/ . Screenshot here:
http://sourceforge.net/dbimage.php?id=186095
> the size of the user base
The "split" user base. Half stayed with VB Classic, half moved to VB.NET.
Besides, most source code sites with VB can be used with PureBasic too.
I use them all the time to convert VB sources to PureBasic code. Those
sites and user base have been a great help to me even though they're
written for an entirely different Basic.
> staying power of MS
That's debatable. IE losing share to FF, Word can't be distributed at the
moment due to XML issues, people hating Vista... hmm. And they don't
always stand by their products: they've ditched VB Classic, and ditched
Money, and ditched other apps in the past not deemed worthy anymore.
> the Visual Basic language itself
It's okay, but not compelling (to me). The apps that I once coded in VB
are so much smaller and better since I converted them to PureBasic.
I never had anything like Macros and the excellent debugger in VB.
And when is Microsoft going to add a feature to VB for you like Fred?
Still, whatever floats your boat. Once you go to VB and have to start
declaring your API calls and creating setup apps for every software
you write, you'll come back to PureBasic.
I compile using 5.31 (x86) on Win 7 Ultimate (64-bit).
"PureBasic won't be object oriented, period" - Fred.
"PureBasic won't be object oriented, period" - Fred.
