31 comments

  • ktpsns 2 days ago

    I remember that not having the right VB DLL was a frequent issue when trying to run EXE files produced by people with visual basic. For me, this Windows "nocode" environment was a big gatekeeper which hindered me in learning programming. It may sound a bit sentimental, but I learned C with Linux, because docs where readily available and open. I literally read man pages.

    Today the tooling is just better. Just think, for instance, of the go and rust tool chains which easily produce ready to ship EXE files. Classical toolkits such as Qt still are around.

    • kwanbix 2 days ago

      If you did it in Delphi it will work no matter what.

      • gaigalas 2 days ago

        "no matter what" is pushing it.

        It was very common for Delphi programs to use stuff that required external DLLs.

        • kwanbix 14 hours ago

          Only if you wanted to include database options.

          • gaigalas 14 hours ago

            Connectivity to databases was one of Delphi's main selling points.

            I think one dude spread the myth of no DLLs in the Twitter thread, lots of people repeated it, and since Delphi 6/7 is not around anymore and it's hard to check, they got away with a slight historical innacuracy.

    • hippo22 2 days ago

      I remember not being able to get my C++ compiler to work on Windows and I remember struggling to get basic Linux functionality working. Software was hard back then.

  • satiric 2 days ago

    Someone replied to that post "notice how fast everything is to launch", but did Visual Basic really start up that fast back in the day? I'm old enough to have used XP as a kid, and I remember the languorous boot times, but I never programmed on it. My guess is that XP is running in a VM on modern hardware in this GIF.

    • Bratmon 2 days ago

      I can confirm that it took way longer than that on actual contemporary hardware.

    • gaigalas 2 days ago

      VB6 was old by the time XP appeared, and XP lasted for a long time. It was fast.

  • amatecha 2 days ago

    Can view without subjecting yourself to "X": https://xcancel.com/tsoding/status/1998403967718400376

    • coldtea 2 days ago

      [flagged]

      • amatecha 2 days ago

        Was there an actual point or are you just being contrarian for the sake of it?

        • coldtea 2 days ago

          [flagged]

          • danielbln 2 days ago

            You cannot read the full thread unless you have an account and are logged in. That's reason enough to appreciate a mirror link like that.

          • morshu9001 2 days ago

            I have no issue with Twitter's values or ownership. The website is just annoying and laggy, so I appreciate a readonly mirror.

          • amatecha 2 days ago

            Did I say anything about morals or compromise or anything? Now you're just ranting to the void about a straw man, not furthering conversation in any way. I think you're the only one who needs to get over something here: the fact that people might not want to visit a certain website. The shock and horror! Take your negativity elsewhere.

            • coldtea 2 days ago

              >Did I say anything about morals or compromise or anything

              So many have that it's an obvious deduction, and the bit 'subjecting yourself to "X"' alludes to the same.

              Do you rather claim that X's UX is uniquely horrible than an alternative link was needed for those that can't bear it? If so, well...

              Anyways, I just said we can handle the original link just fine. You asked for further clarification.

  • SilentM68 2 days ago

    There was a time when there were some VB clone languages including Envelop Basic: https://members.tripod.com/joe__shmoe/indext.htm These tools did a pretty good job of creating forms and software. Rebol was another language that was sleek at making UI Form: https://www.rebol.com/index-lang.html Now a days, you need to master many technologies to create one UI component. Too much bloat.

  • treesknees a day ago

    There is a modern compiler/ide that’s improving (but also preserving compatibility with) VB6 https://twinbasic.com/

    I was able to load up a VB6 project I worked on in high school and it compiled and ran with no changes. Pretty neat.

  • JaggerJo 2 days ago

    You can still do this!

    The only difference is that a lot of apps prioritize cross platform UIs over good, fast native UIs.

    WinForms and WPF are still well supported.

  • morshu9001 2 days ago

    Would've thought the explosion of web apps would kick MS and Apple in the pants, but here we are. Native dev is still annoying and is arguably getting harder. There's no reason making an app work for just one specific platform should have more friction than doing it for all of them.

  • istillcantcode a day ago

    I tried this using RosettaCode examples awhile ago and its still possible in quite a few languages. I was trying to find examples where you could just copy the code in, click run, and get a GUI.

  • dham 2 days ago

    I used PureBasic back in like 2003 or 2004. It was super simple. Looks like it's still around and the site looks unchanged since then. Probably crazy fast on modern hardware

  • kop316 2 days ago

    I mean...at least for GTK on Linux, you still can? It won't be 10 seconds (probably closer to 30-40 seconds) since you have to go through a couple of prompts to name it, decide a license, etc., but with:

    https://apps.gnome.org/Builder/

    You can do the same thing. In fact, this was the exact method I used to make a few GTK apps.

    • morshu9001 2 days ago

      but then GTK has issues with some DEs supposedly

      • kop316 9 hours ago

        I saw this comment a while ago, and even now, I have no idea what point you are trying to make.

  • joeld42 2 days ago

    Take a look at Slint or Avalonia if you miss this experience.

    And I'll take needing an internet connection over having to install Visual Basic from a stack of CDs.

  • gabrielsroka 2 days ago

    In HTML

      <button onclick="alert('Hello')">Command1</button>
    • jaredcwhite 2 days ago

      Sure, but that's not a native GUI app.

      • gaigalas 2 days ago

        Save that as `app.hta` on Windows (from XP up to this day!), then double click it.

        Not native GUI, but as fast and useful as one.

        It's more limited nowadays, but you can still do a lot.

  • nwhnwh 2 days ago

    twitter.com?

    Is that from OP or HN?