Suggestions for creating a PWA from existing VB6 project using RC extensively

[tmighty2]

Hello Olaf,

I'm developing a new Progressive Web App (PWA) that seeks to emulate the functionality of a VB6 application which extensively uses RC6. The goal is for this app to operate offline, handling graphics and database tasks similar to the original.

Given your expertise, I'm reaching out to see if you have any broader insights or suggestions on how this transition could be managed within a web environment. Are there technologies or strategies you envision that could facilitate integrating the functionalities of RC6 into a PWA?

Your guidance would be invaluable as I navigate this development.

Thank you for your time and insights!

[jpbro]

This thread might be of interest.

[tmighty2]

Sorry to ask, but... does it actually work?

[jpbro]

It works in doing what it shows in the thread. For the PWA part you would have to register a domain name, get an SSL certificate, and create a web app manifest for your PWA. You'd then need to configure a web server as a reverse proxy to the RC6 HTTP app.

What you won't get is a 1:1 rendering of your existing RC6 app in the browser, but you can re-use a lot of your existing VB6/RC6 code and ship the results back to the browser for rendering on a web page. See the QR code example in the linked thread for an example.

[tmighty2]

I understand it now... RC6 is being used for SQLite, etc, and not for visuals.
This is a gap that is not filled yet, right?

[Schmidt]

I understand it now... RC6 is being used for SQLite, etc, and not for visuals.
This is a gap that is not filled yet, right?

In a PWA (in any WebApp really) - you have to draw a line between:
1) serverside code (which can be written in any language the (Web)server-Host supports)
2) and clientside code, which runs in the Browser(or WebView2)-context

1) requires a Windows-Host, to run RC6-based COM-Objects serverside (or a Wine-installation on a Linux-Host).
2) is platform-independent - and does not allow you to run any VB- or RC6-based code - it supports only JavaScript/HTML5/CSS -
.. (leaving WASM aside for the moment)

Graphics-Outputs are only happening in 2) -
whilst 1) is working "headless" basically (responsible for serverside Data-access + transformations to JSON by reacting to "ajax-RPCs").

Therefore, advanced 2D-Graphics have to be re-implemented via the HTML5-Canvas-Object
(which is comparable to a cCairoSurface/cCairoContext - even having a similar, Path-based API-interface).

Olaf

[tmighty2]

Can you elaborate on WASM, as this is one you left out intentionally?

In a PWA (in any WebApp really) - you have to draw a line between:
1) serverside code (which can be written in any language the (Web)server-Host supports)
2) and clientside code, which runs in the Browser(or WebView2)-context

1) requires a Windows-Host, to run RC6-based COM-Objects serverside (or a Wine-installation on a Linux-Host).
2) is platform-independent - and does not allow you to run any VB- or RC6-based code - it supports only JavaScript/HTML5/CSS -
.. (leaving WASM aside for the moment)

Graphics-Outputs are only happening in 2) -
whilst 1) is working "headless" basically (responsible for serverside Data-access + transformations to JSON by reacting to "ajax-RPCs").

Therefore, advanced 2D-Graphics have to be re-implemented via the HTML5-Canvas-Object
(which is comparable to a cCairoSurface/cCairoContext - even having a similar, Path-based API-interface).

Olaf

[Schmidt]

Can you elaborate on WASM, as this is one you left out intentionally?

WASM (WebAssembly) is in the meantime supported on all Browser-engines -
and an (even faster) alternative to the (already pretty optimized) modern JavaScript-engines.

Though to walk this "parallel/alternative path" to "plain JavaScript" with near "native-speed",
you have to have a compiler which supports "wasm"-output (instead of producing "normal binaries" which target certain CPU-architectures.

Many modern compilers support such a command-line-switch already for some time like:
CLang, GCC, Rust, Go, Zig, V-lang, Nim... just to name a few...

JFC - there's also a "dotnet.wasm" module out there, which provides the Browser with the Core-
functions of the .NET-framework ("Blazor-Apps").

There's also a direct path (IIRC) which supports direct wasm-emission from LLVM -
so even TB could produce such output at some time in the future.

Olaf