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Thread: VB7 On IOS and Android?

  1. #1

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    VB7 On IOS and Android?

    On Android, I seen plenty of complilers that compile real APK files that install and run the app after coding it on the device itself, not on a PC. Neat concept I must say. Because you can literally program on the go off your phone and tablet. Java-N-IDE is a prime example of this. Only its Java.

    Now with the right code, is it possible to create a TRUE VB7, only for on the go which could then compile to files that could run on Android / IOS? Could this potentially not lead to copyright infringement since its not a Windows Platform? What are your thoughts?

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    https://www.nsbasic.com/

    https://www.b4x.com/

    etc

    If you want to do mobile apps, you'd be better off using flutter, react native, xamarin, etc.

  3. #3

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    Xamarin you dont code on your phone / tablet. Im refering to coding on the go. No PCs.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    I suppose anything is possible but it is such a convoluted workflow

    1. Create the new vb7 language, copy all of vb6s functions, functionality, controls, etc

    2. Write an ide using native code or a framework, copying the ide capabilities and form designers

    3. Then you would need to transpile to the new language to both xcode and java

    It would be easier to just learn java or c# and skip vb7 (which is what Microsoft did)
    Last edited by DllHell; Apr 27th, 2018 at 11:26 AM.

  5. #5

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    Well I know Java. Im writing my own games in it now using Java and Open GL es 2.0. I just need to understand how Android and IOS compiled apps work to get started on a true VB7.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    Hint: They are far more similar to a WinRT application than a normal Windows application.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    most of the existing frameworks are open source so you may be able to get some decent info looking at their source.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    It is easier to to read about writing Android programs in Java. That will explain the way the callback architecture works, process lifetime, state storage, and other topics you'd have to understand.

    Maybe start here: https://developer.android.com/guide/...vity-lifecycle

  9. #9

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    But on the other hand there are tons of VB6 resources out there to help with VB7 programs

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    A true VB7? I hate to tell you this but MS owns the VB name so unless it comes from MS it is not a true VB and they have already made a VB7 many years ago.

    People say that later versions of VB 7,8,9 and so on are not really VB because they changed it to use the .Net framework so if that be the case how could it really be VB if it uses Java and runs on something other than an MS platform. Even if it still used mostly the same syntax it would be even more different from VB6 than the various versions of VB.Net.


    btw The latest versions of VB can create apps for Android and iOS or at least I think they can. I know C# can.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    Buuuuuut they are made on a PC.

    Im refering to coding on a tablet or phone to compile on the same platform you are using, which is Android or IOS.

    Remember this is Coding on the go!

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    Some people seem to think VB6 is its language syntax, but that's only a fraction of the story. If that's all you want then look at something like FreeBasic.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    Is it possible that what you want is something along the lines of RFO Basic?

    That's been around quite a while.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    Quote Originally Posted by dilettante View Post
    Is it possible that what you want is something along the lines of RFO Basic?

    That's been around quite a while.
    Thats what I mean, except creating my own using a similar if not exact syntax to VB6. So what I should do is study the guts of android and ios applications to see how they are compiled.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    It's probably technically possible on Android.

    It's against the rules on iOS: nothing is allowed to compile or execute code. Yes, Apple has released Swift Playgrounds on iPad. They're Apple, they get to break Apple's rules. So far anything that even pretends like it lets you write code on an iOS device gets stripped from the App Store as soon as Apple finds out. This manifests itself if you get too clever in Xamarin: a handful of things that indirectly use code generation (like dynamic types in C#) will get you burned.
    This answer is wrong. You should be using TableAdapter and Dictionaries instead.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    I found this after doing some Google searching:

    How Android Apps are Built and Run

    Basically the Java source code (or another language if you prefer, but mainly Java) is run through the compiler and interpreter, which spits out a .class file thats in the Oracle JVM Java byte code format. But Android doesn't use the Oracle JVM format. Instead it uses Dalvik, which is Androids own byte code format. So now the class files and the jar files are converted to dex files using the dx command, and dex files are the Dalvik byte code format. Then these files, along with the resource files, are packed into a zip like file, which are the APK files using the Android Asset Packing Tool (aapt).

    As for the IOS, XCode compiles the code into an IPA file (similar to APKs), but Im having trouble finding information on how its created.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jacob Roman View Post
    Remember this is Coding on the go!
    But... who caaaaaares? I mean seriously... who in their right mind is developing on a sub-5-inch screen with a keyboard that's known for autowrecking regular sentences, let alone trying to spell check someone's Hungarian-notation named variables? Are people that desperate to do development? You know what works really well for Coding on the go!? My laptop.

    -tg
    * I don't respond to private (PM) requests for help. It's not conducive to the general learning of others.*
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    * How to get EFFECTIVE help: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Getting Help at VBF - Removing eels from your hovercraft *
    * How to Use Parameters * Create Disconnected ADO Recordset Clones * Set your VB6 ActiveX Compatibility * Get rid of those pesky VB Line Numbers * I swear I saved my data, where'd it run off to??? *

  18. #18
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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    That's pretty much why RFO Basic resisted getting too sophisticated.

    It was realized very early on that this sort of thing is really best suited for small scale quick and dirty stuff.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    Quote Originally Posted by techgnome View Post
    But... who caaaaaares? I mean seriously... who in their right mind is developing on a sub-5-inch screen with a keyboard that's known?
    iPads have decent screens but I agree that "coding on the go" is better suited to a laptop

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    Quote Originally Posted by techgnome View Post
    But... who caaaaaares? I mean seriously... who in their right mind is developing on a sub-5-inch screen with a keyboard that's known for autowrecking regular sentences, let alone trying to spell check someone's Hungarian-notation named variables? Are people that desperate to do development? You know what works really well for Coding on the go!? My laptop.

    -tg
    My dude, one of my first relatively complex programming projects was a TI-BASIC clone of a game I'd played on another friend's calculator. We didn't have link cables, I wanted the game, so I made it on a 2 inch screen. It took me a few months, and a handy notebook so I could keep the variables straight (I only had 27 total variables to use, so I had to reuse many and keep some handy as a kind of proto-stack.)

    If it hadn't been for TI-BASIC, I might not have even realized I enjoyed programming so much.

    Not everyone sees programming as a chore. I probably spend at least 4-6 hours at week coding for fun at home. The stuff I do at work is different, and not always interesting, so I have to be paid to do it. The stuff I do at home is fun, or I abandon it!

    I don't know that I'd try pecking away at a program on my phone, but I also thought I'd never have a use for a smartphone at one point.

    Also dang, it's a VB(6) forum. The "Who in their right mind?" part is a lost cause.
    This answer is wrong. You should be using TableAdapter and Dictionaries instead.

  21. #21

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    Laptops may soon be obsolete as phones and tablets catch up technologically. Also, the idea of carrying a laptop at all times to code is less suited than carrying a tablet or a phone.

    Anyways If I want to make this IOS compatible, I need more information on how IPA files are compiled. I dont think its just a dark secret kept away by Apple.

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    It... kind of is a dark secret kept by Apple unless you are talking about beer or rooted iPhones. That's why, after more than 10 years of iOS, XCode remains the only tool people use to write iPhone apps. You can't make other tools, it might even violate license agreements (in their opinion.)

    The only way to run software on an iPhone with iOS is to get it signed by Apple. They only do that if you build it with their tools and submit it with their tools to their review process. Beta testing exists, but to do that you have to manually register the device's ID with your Apple developer account and associate it with a provisioning profile. Then you sign it with your developer ID. But you can only register 100 devices per account. (There's some newfangled thing too but I imagine it works similar.)

    Even Xamarin has to deal with this: I had to register my device with our company's provisioning profile, I have to use developer certificates they also associated with that profile, and you can't compile iOS code unless you have a Mac with XCode installed on it.

    For rooted iPhones, I don't know, but that's a small audience.

    For beer, making an IPA is easy. You start with good beer, then add hops. Then keep adding them. When it tastes right, keep adding them. No, more. That's not enough. Keep going. Heck, let's just make it easy: add 1 part Pine-Sol to 3 parts beer.
    This answer is wrong. You should be using TableAdapter and Dictionaries instead.

  23. #23

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    Re: VB7 On IOS and Android?

    So I might be stuck having to only stick with Android.

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