http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/7348/vb6win8.jpg
:p :thumb: :D
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http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/7348/vb6win8.jpg
:p :thumb: :D
Since I don't see VB6 on the stack there... does that mean support for it is finally dead, done and over?
-tg
...and can you at least tell us where did you get that picture from?
Fuzzy, looks like maybe some sort of phone camera photo. Same slide here: Microsoft to developers: Metro is your future.
WinRT is native code, it is probably no harder to use from VB6 than any other huge new API. In other words... could be rough. But VB6 lives in those boxes marked C/C++.
The killer would be if there are no WOW64 thunks for it on 64-bit systems, and 32-bit Windows 8 systems might be rare birds. There is nothing there to suggest VB6 programs as we write them today can't run though.
See Win32 thats what VB6 needs, but VB6 wont run on Arm based PCs.
no camera, i have taken screeshot of the webcast.Quote:
Fuzzy, looks like maybe some sort of phone camera photo. Same slide here: Microsoft to developers: Metro is your future.
Win8 will run all apps that ran on Windows 7 thats their aim. VB6 Runtimes wont be there in Win8, nor any x86 apps will run on Arm based Windows 8, they have said they are going to provide compilers to C, C++ to compile for Arm Windows 8.Quote:
The killer would be if there are no WOW64 thunks for it on 64-bit systems, and 32-bit Windows 8 systems might be rare birds. There is nothing there to suggest VB6 programs as we write them today can't run though.
The ZD article is misleading, they are not telling Metro style apps are the future, they are just adding additional UI to Windows for touch based devices.
I haven't seen a thing to support that statement and you've contradicted yourself already:
True enough, but they already provide C/C++ compilers for ARM to support WinCE development. Also there won't be any ARM support in the dev release of Win8 coming out at 03:00 UTC "tomorrow." Might be 2013 before any ARM-based Win8 reaches the first consumers too. I see nothing to panic about.
Summary:
* No specific mention of VB6 or other legacy technology.
* Win32 and COM still available.
* VB6 Runtimes wont be there in Windows 8.
* Windows 8 will run all application that ran on Windows 7.
* x86 application wont run on Arm based Windows 8, including VB6 Apps.
* They are going to provide compilers to C, C++ developers to compile for Arm Windows 8.
Windows 8:
* Available for x86, x64, Arm
* Hardware requirement same as Windows 7
* Target of running all application that ran on Windows 7
* Includes new UI style called Metro
* Includes new Metro UI style Touch based Desktop (Along with Old Desktop)
* Metro application are written in HTML5, JavaScript, XAML (.NET)
* New APIs (WinRT) for Metro apps callable from JavaScript similar to desktop gadget engine.
--
abhishek
vb6zone.blogspot.com
XAML isn't .Net anymore though. It moved into the native WinRT and .Net gets to it through wrapper code. They even have a C++ XAML compiler today for the native Ribbon control:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...).aspx#compile
Hope everyone bought some double-layer DVD media if they want to try the dev tools Preview download.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/home/
Hmm, no product keys there. Makes you wonder...
Already downloading, will try it in VirtualBox.
yes, No product key, no activation.
It's a preview... which means it's not necessarily fully functional... and it'll probably expire after a certain amount of time... doesn't surprise me.
-tg
Use VirtualBox, one user reported BSoD on Virtual PC. i am downloading 32-bit version sized 2.8 GB.
Just In: in this release VB6 runtimes are included in the OS.
Source: microsoft.public.vb.general.discussion
That's a good thing. There really isn't any reason to kill off the runtime. If they're going to still include ActiveX/COM in the environment, killing off VB6 runtime support would be nuts. Yeah, the thing is long-in-the-tooth (VERY long) but it's still a good tool for many things and there's a ton of code written in it.
I think VB6 will be like COBOL (except COBOL actually has newer supported variants!). It will never completely die.
Yes, the 32-bit ISO does blue-screen in Virtual PC. I'm not sure another VM product will make much diffrence but we'll see.
As has been clarified many times Microsoft never said they had plans to leave VB6 runtimes out of any OS.
I just tried the 32-bit ISO - yup, blue screen in Virtual PC. Will try it in Virtual Box.
** UPDATE **
Doesn't run in Virtual Box either. Running 64-Bit Seven. Maybe I'll give it a shot on my 32-bit system.
Setup is running in VirtualBox here with settings: NX/PAE & IO APIC enabled, 2 cores assigned. Installing to a VHD, so I'll probably see if it will boot in VPC from there later too.
Thread moved to the 'General Developer' forum.
Any more updates on what it runs on?
Even on VirtualBox it is a struggle, though I haven't used that product in a long time.
They "hid" the necessary drivers compressed in a subinstall mentioned in a .txt file buried in a folder of their "VM Extensions" (VBoxGuestAdditions.iso) virtual CD so you have a Wumpus Hunt to go through to get networking set up to activate, etc.
Also it seems very easy to get an "immersive" (intrusive?) full-screen tile you can't get past, behind, or through via KB/mouse leading to hard shutdowns, recoveries, and reinstalls. This thing has been a tremendous time waster and waiting for somebody to post a few cookbooks on basic use may not be a bad idea at all.
And of course there is about ZERO stuff to read to get a head start. The doc:
Windows_Developer_Preview-Windows8_guide.pdf
From the same site as the download is nothing but marketing fluff.
You can't miss the new intelligence-insulting BSOD with its mocking emoticon frown. You'll see it enough, and it's probably the most-posted screenshot on the Web right now... often captured at "reboot in 1 sec" where it will typically hang.
Nothing like pre-beta preview code, eh? But it doesn't have the advantages of Apple's shallow gene pool of fixed hardware specs either.
Using any development software on a system that resembles a mobile phone operating system will be interesting.
When you "open the desktop" (hide Metro) the Windows key or the Start-orb replacement on the Taskbar brings up the Metro overlay again. Sheesh. I have not found the Start Menu yet but most of my time has been fighting to get things like network connectivity, display, etc. working right.
And to clarify: the VB6 programs I have tested are working fine.
Seems the Start Menu as we knew it is there (in the filesystem sense, for compatibility?) but gone (in the sense you can't get to it, policy blocking in effect?). Instead you end up having to search for applications if they have no Metro tile I guess. Sort of a return to Win 3.1 or something.
This may help explain some of it: What’s New In Windows 8 Desktop, Start Search, And Start Menu [Review].
I've had enough for today!
Just installed and tested my VB6 Apps and VB6 IDE, everything running fine. Win 8 32-bit running in virtualbox.
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/1818/vb6.png
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/9206/startyq.png
Yeah. I decided to download the 64-bit Dev Preview and run it in Virtual Box on my XPS (i7 with 8G). Installed and runs fine. I couldn't get it to run on the dual-core (also 64-bit Win7) but that's OK ... as long as I could bring it up on one of the boxes.
Kind-of interesting. They've got a ways to go with it, which isn't unexpected. I'm reading the how-to documentation in VS2011 right now to see what's up with Metro development. I'll chew on it for awhile.
Will a "Metro" front-end ever run on a primary system in my lab? I doubt it. If I buy a tablet I can see some value there but so far "Metro" strikes me as an imitation of iOS. I like iOS on my iPhone4 but on a desktop or notebook it ain't gonna fly. Also ... once a Metro app is running it's like an iOS app ... you can't "exit" the application, it stays running until you can it from task manager. At least I couldn't find any way to shut an app down.
More later...
-Max
Here is the download link (link is in the first post).
Edit:
Just hope you don't encounter any Blue Screens of Death.
I'm geussing this means that anything that runs on Windows XP -> Windows 7, runs on Windows 8?
Is Windows 8 currently best ran on VirtualBox/VMWare or is it good too run as the main OS on a computer?
As with any pre-release software you should never run it on your main production system as it will be buggy and usually not upgradeable to the RTM version when its out