Ask HN: Modern, easy-to-start with alternatives to Visual Basic | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Modern, easy-to-start with alternatives to Visual Basic

14 pointshachesilva11 comments

I'd like to create a GUI utility to work with ID3 tags on mp3 files. I was looking for options and found out that programming for Windows is a daunting experience.

I can recall starting programming using Visual Basic a long, long time ago. By then I found it very easy to start with because of the drag-&-drop nature of the GUI, out-of-the-box events, etc.

What are some modern, free alternatives to Visual Basic that would allow me to easily create a GUI and attach scripts and events to its controls?

Please excuse my dated references, I am a web developer unfamiliar with programming for the desktop

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"What are some modern, free alternatives to Visual Basic that would allow me to easily create a GUI and attach scripts and events to its controls?"

There isn't anything really. It's pretty amazing that in 2022 there isn't anything for creating Windows GUI desktop apps that matches your description: easily create a GUI and attach scripts and events to its controls?

Another poster (wdurden) mentioned Delphi - a cross-platform tool with a drag-and-drop GUI builder. However, the free "community edition" of Delphi comes which restrictions. Read the restrictions here:

https://www.embarcadero.com/products/delphi/starter/free-dow...

The open source version of Delphi is called Lazurus (built with FreePascal). It also features a GUI builder but the documentation is uneven and scattered. If you get stuck, the forums are the main source of getting help.

https://www.lazarus-ide.org/

>It's pretty amazing that in 2022 there isn't anything for creating Windows GUI desktop apps that matches your description: easily create a GUI and attach scripts and events to its controls?

Windows Forms is still there, has been for 20+ years. It's easy to use, fast to put a complex app together, and intuitive. Here's a reasonably complex app I built with WinForms a few years ago:

https://www.smart-edit.com/Writer/Details/Gallery/

> There isn't anything really.

Umm... Visual Basic.NET via Visual Studio Community Edition, which is free.

Just like VB of old, you can drag controls onto a blank form, double click the control, and type some attached code in. Other than the language being massively improved, it's the same process as old Visual Basic was.

VB.net still exists and to the developer, still works much like VB6 and earlier.

If you are comfortable with C#, you can do the same there, too.

To use either, when you create a new project, you'll want to choose the Windows Form option, which will drop you into a more-familiar rapid application development (RAD), which works as you describe.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/ide/create-a-v...

Visual Studio Community is free for personal use: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/community/

Livecode works in that fashion but it might be too costly to explore. The learning curves are always steep in just finding out if an environment can do what you need. XOJO is another option, again for whatever reason, these types of tools lost out in the last Cambrian explosion. The free-ish versions of Delphi are out there, but again, by the time one factors in the cost of just sorting out the options, a lot of water has passed under the bridge.

Here are some comments related to ID2 from a Livecode forum ...

https://forums.livecode.com/viewtopic.php?t=8816

I recommend and use PureBasic[1] for the exact same reason. Give it a try, they have a full working demo to test before consider purchasing. They also have a showcase[2] section on the website where you can see various apps developed with it.

For even more RAD oriented, you can also consider AutoPlay Media Studio[3] from IndigoRose, I use this also and it's very easy to use. For example, I've built SidePage in it[4]

[1] https://www.purebasic.com/

[2] https://www.purebasic.com/showcase.php

[3] https://www.indigorose.com/autoplay-media-studio/

[4] https://www.alexdragusin.com/sidepage/

Since you're a web developer, I wonder if something like Electron or one if its variants would be good (but maybe overkill).

I've used HTA HTML Applications[0] to make small utilities. They're also web-based but apparently only compatible with Internet Explorer and I don't know if there's a future in it, though Microsoft tends to keep old technologies around for backwards compatibility. But if you are already know how to support Internet Explorer today, it might not be much of a stretch. There might be other products similar to this.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_Application

You're a web dev, maybe look into electron (https://www.electronjs.org/)? It powers apps like Slack, VS Code, etc.

I'm sure like most tech choices there are those that hate it and think its a performance drag, etc. If you just want to produce something, seems like an easy pick with your skill set. That is unless part of your intent is to learn something new.

This is what we used in a GUI class I took two semesters ago. Maybe it helps answer your question.

https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/community/

You can search for things like "rapid application development" or RAD.

As an individual you can use Visual Studio Community. It’ll even let you write Visual Basic.

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