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Visual Basic vs. Power Basic

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8 replies

by wbecker

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In evaluating the purchase of an application built using Power Basic that I want to resell in the business market, I have been told that while Power Basic may result in an applicationn that is somewhat faster than Visual Basic, it also results in a screen look that is ancient, i.e. "main frame oriented", thus a new front end will need to be built to provide an updated, professional look. In addition, I have been told that few enterprises support Power Basic but virtually all can support VisualBasic. It was therefore suggested that the entire system should be reprogramed using Visual Basic. Is this true?

8 replies

by opatzg9

I would not sweat it, allow for screen color changes to aid the eye strain and leave it at that. We still run things here based on basic 2.1 and visual basic 1.0 for dos running in win98 and nt. Yes visual basic looks cooler and has a nicer screendesign as well as mouse support built in. It is not a necessity for a program to be written in it. I personnaly also like the compiled code for a release in basic over the packager in Visual Basic. Your release goes from a floppy for BASIC to a cdfor any VB application.
Of course be prepared to defend yourself especially in the face of your competitors.

by wbecker

This answer did not speak to the point, which is the comparison of Visual Basic to Power Basic. Apparently the responder is unaware of Power Basic.

by d_v ant

This sounds like a qustion of aesthetics and compatibility more than a comparison of the advantages or disadvantages of the two languages. Compatibility should be your first concern. Try to test the application in an environment similar to the one you will be marketing to. If the program in Power Basic doesn't live up to your expectations, can it. If it runs satisfactorily, look at the appearance of it and decide if it needs to be changed.

Bottom line is, it is your decision to make. If theincreased speed in application execution is that important, then you will definitely need to evaluate the Power Basic version to decide if it will work in the envirnment you want to sell to. If the speed isn't the most important issue, but aesthetics are, then you will want to look at the programs appearance and see if rewriting the program in VB is a viable option and all the associated cost and copyright issues involved with doing so.

by wbecker

This answer spoke to the process of how to make the decision rather than giving me any insight on the distinctions of Power Basic vs. VB from actual knowlege gained from real experience in having compared the two languages.

by opatzg9

Well now I've read your responses and the power basic site. We program in Visual Basic 6.0 for anything new here. And basically there is one question. Which will be around 5 years from now?
Do you feel power basic will continue to grow in use ordie off? If it's a dead language then your product is dead! Niche support and continuance does not a programming language make. If you start looking for more developers where do you get them???? Rewrite to VB.net. Power Basic has some nice formgeneration add-ons, but all that is built into VB. Speed is no longer an issue, i.e. buy a faster pc or rewrite slower modules in c##. Good Luck!

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