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What is VB good for?
Overview comparison of VB and RB
Issue: 3.5 (May/June 2005)
Author: Owen Yamauchi
Author Bio: Owen Yamauchi is a freelance programmer who has been programming REALbasic since version F4. He is the Lead Programmer for Domain Softworx, a company that produces developer tools for REALbasic.
Article Description: No description available.
Article Length (in bytes): 8,548
Starting Page Number: 36
Article Number: 3516
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Excerpt of article text...
As a convert to REALbasic (RB) from Visual Basic (VB), you'll definitely find that your development process works differently, both in good and bad ways. Sometimes you'll find that VB is more adept at something than RB, and vice versa. Before you start a project, it's always good to consider which tool is more appropriate for the task. RB and VB are like Phillips and flat head screwdrivers; there are times to use one and times to use the other. In this issue, I'll detail some of the times when you'll want to use VB instead of RB, and vice versa.
A major advantage of VB is the fact that it is made by Microsoft. How is that an advantage? Microsoft makes Windows, so you'll probably find that VB is better suited for tasks that require complex interaction with Microsoft Windows. RB can compile programs for Windows, but the interaction between VB and Windows is rather like that between iTunes and the iPod. Both products are made by the same company, so the company can create features in one product that only the other product can access. Also, when Microsoft updates Windows, a patch for VB that goes with the changes will always come out before an update to RB, simply because Microsoft can have the Windows and VB development teams coordinating closely with each other. If your program interacts closely with Windows, you'd be well advised to consider using VB instead of RB.
As I discussed in a previous column, however, RB's method of making API calls (Toolbox calls, as they are called on the Mac) is much easier and less frustrating than VB's. However, if the API ever changes, it will be easier to update your program accordingly if it's written in VB.
Another practical advantage of programming in VB is its ability to create very small executable files compared to RB. However, this convenience comes with a disadvantage. VB's executable files are so small because they are built with dependencies on DLL (Dynamic Linkage Library) files that must be installed on the user's machine. By contrast, RB builds in all the code that the program will need, so it can run on any Windows system regardless of which DLLs are installed.
Still, VB comes with a tool that can look through your program's code and build an installer program with all the necessary DLLs. This will of course increase file size, but the resulting installer will still be smaller than an RB executable file. So, if having as small a file size as possible is a major issue, I'd suggest you consider using VB.
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