Porting VB6 to Linux

[Vero44]

Has anyone ever managed to get their VB program ported to run under Linux? Have looked at Real Basic, are there any other contenders out there? I'm after something that converts rather than requires a complete rewrite. Ideally I'd like to make the program run on a bootable Linux CD.

[Hack]

I think the Linux folks would be in a better position to answer this, so I'm moving it the Linux section.

Moved

[Vero44]

Rather than risk getting flamed for not reading/searching the forum, I have had a look and it seems Mono could be a decent choice. My VB6 app is tiny (300KB)and needs no installation on Windows to run so has few files it depends on, it needs no .Net framework. It runs in PE mode but I'd like it to run from Linux bootdisks.

Is mono overkill and does a better and faster converter exist? Have also had a quick look at RealBasic and a Diamond Edge's VB to Java converter ($695).

[kfcSmitty]

I believe Mono is only for .NET programs. If your program is simply an .exe and does not have any dependencies on Windows other than that, then Wine or Winex should run it just fine.

[Vero44]

Cheers for that. So any idea if I can boot into Linux, start Wine automatically and then automate my program to start within Wine? The more seamless the better. I'm ideally aiming at a bootdisk kind of feel; manually starting Wine then my program may feel too fragmented.

[grilkip]

vb6 on linux, some may have a heart attack.

On topic:

Yes, you'll probably have to install the vb6 runtimes manually by running those installer .exe's under wine.

If this is a GUI app, you can just add an entry to your startup list in the desktop environment (wine <path>). If it's a console app that you want to run without an X session then it can probably still be done but don't ask me.

The latest Fedora has tools to create your own Live CD's, that could be useful to your bootdisk scheme.

[kregg]

I have responded (http://www.vbforums.com/showpost.php?p=3046287&postcount=7) to a similar question like this before. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[Dely]

I have installed VB6 on openSUSE 10.3 with WINE and it works well, except I cannot create VB6 Enterprise Edition projects, but the Standard EXE works well. In the attached screenshot is shown, how VB6 Enterprise Edition looks in openSUSE 10.3.

[kregg]

To be honest, VB6 is an aging language that's so nearly obsolete now, so there is no real point using it. However, if you do want to use some form of Visual Basic on Linux, try RealBasic (http://www.realsoftware.com/) or Gambas (http://gambas.sourceforge.net/).

Gambas is worth a look if you are into good programming practices.