Getting the ball rolling. Which VB6 projects are you working on?

[yokesee]

good job Frank looking forward to seeing you on codebank

[fafalone]

Very nice -Franky-!

Definitely should wrap some of these in a UC... do you think it's possible to make it generic enough to load different controls from one UC? (Not asking you to do it, just your opinion on the possibility)

[-Franky-]

So far I've been working on this project alone and in my free time. It will still be a long time before there is an upload to the codebank.

I don't know yet how far I'll get and what's possible in the end. One possibility would of course be to make corresponding UCs out of them. There are several ways to create XAML controls. Via XAML string, completely via XAML COM interfaces (button, grid, stackpanel, etc.) or via XamlDirect.

Status: The XAML COM base classes (Inspectable, XamlReader, DesktopWindowXamlSource, WindowsXamlManager) are completely translated. This allows XAML controls to be created using strings. The XamlDirect class is completely translated. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/uw...ew=winrt-22621 This can also be used to create XAML controls. Currently I'm translating everything from the Windows.UI.Xaml.Media Namespace https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/uw...ew=winrt-22621 At the moment there are already 80 translated WinRT XAML classes. I estimate that in the end there will be around 400 to 600 classes.

[gaouser]

New features for Windows XP RePlus? / PERFECTXP Plus! which will include the VB7 thingy i said in 2021 or 2022, and more and more stuff like HTML editor based on DHTMLED that will be smilar to Frontpage but more compatible

VB7 is a VB6 Add-In
VB7 houses my another project of Adobe Flash alike VB
VB7 will archive useful VBForums, Tek Tips and VBHelper codes

[yereverluvinuncleber]

New features for Windows XP RePlus? / PERFECTXP Plus! which will include the VB7 thingy i said in 2021 or 2022, and more and more stuff like HTML editor based on DHTMLED that will be smilar to Frontpage but more compatible

VB7 is a VB6 Add-In
VB7 houses my another project of Adobe Flash alike VB
VB7 will archive useful VBForums, Tek Tips and VBHelper codes

This thread is about pictures, post a picture of your app, or it did not happen.

[-Corso->]

Monstergirl! Resonance. Mini game update.

Doing some armour testing. Short story version, draw armour, apply gradient map, makes metal/leather/cloth, export to PNG, and colourize on the fly (in the inventory). I've remodelled the materials/armour, so it will require a bit more drawing work from me (including 2d papermodel), but, I only have to draw things once to get all the Photoshop Styles made (via script and filters). So that's a good comprimise.

The Inventory Page is mostly working, except for resizing(max-min) and arrow sliders still need their code copied over from the Pre SQL version. Otherwise SQL is insanely good(!!!) Holy crap, most important thing ever for this type of game.

As it's being rewritten from scratch, I've been updating it's clothing/meshing, so, the Monstergirl character handles all that better now. Items can be picked up and placed on tables/beds etc. And, she talks a lot when she does stuff now, so if she can't place something due to a wall in the way, she'll say so.

Have to stop programming till I get confirmation of direction now. So I'll be paper planning instead. Currently due to the character being central to the screen with all overlays on, it's running at 16 frames a second, so it's unplayable (unless off, and that's still slow too).

To everyone else, NICE VB WORK DUDES! Just know I lurk a lot.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

Impressive graphics. Good to have the combination of graphical and development skills.

[-Corso->]

Slowly getting there with it. Decisions to be made now for actually building it for real, with Steam Page and all the bits. Tell you what though, I was enlightened about coding 2 days ago. Feel like I've been coding like a rock-smashing chimpanzee, despite clean and orderly code. Tried a test last night, and, yup, 'this is how you code' epiphany occurred. Short story version. Upper level clear English Text style Subs, Mid level Sequencers, Lowest level 1 bit code routines and functions (but all strictly universal).
Feels like I’m building in Lego this way. Little 1 bit blocks at the bottom, Rows of one bits at mid level, and Asking for complete blocks at the top.

That boils down to, Character(User) want to do something, you only handle full English Text sub names at the top, and NO code. Like Can_I_Pick_That_Thing_Up(data), or What_The_Hell_Is_That_Thing(data).

It’s pure freedom I tells ya.

[-Corso->]

Ouh! Ouh! Ooga Booga! My first Gif, ever!
Thought I would test out the Lego-like construction and build a rudimentary Radial Menu.
I was planning on taking the day to do it, but this only took a couple of hours.
It's ugly and deficient but it works. I'll pretty it up and add labels in some other day. Just gotta get the scaffolding done first.
Let me know if the image doesn't show up.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

Looks good.

[-Corso->]

Some more updates. I was planning on stopping, but can't help it, since I'm coding in Lego-Like-Bits and pieces.
Now one can Click-To-Wear armour/clothing.
The cloth boots and metal armour has been hand drawn, the other flat stuff needs work.

Note, the small corner image changes as you go, in case the inventory covers the map screen.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

When you draw by hand, which tools do you use (hardware/software)?

[-Corso->]

Potatoshop (Photoshop 6, I refuse to update), with a 12inch Cintiq, that I leave the screen turned off of.

I used to have a giant twin screen Cintiq setup on a mechanical swing arm for the longest time, but I don't need it for this kind of stuff. Your body gets trained to small incremental space and the tiny Graphire-like tablets are handy. The giant system was for deep detail, big pictures and rapid speed. Can't beat it.

Fluff stuff like above is best done, sprawling on the couch, looking at a giant projector screen, nibbling on chips cola, listening to rock and dance, while scribbling on a tiny device. Then watching Cairo f**k it all up on you, because you forgot some hyper irrelevant thing.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

I am similar in my use of Photoshop. I use ver 8.0 which was that which I became familar, I also refuse to update, though I do occasionally move to a machine that has a later version installed just for the improved grouping facility and some of the later effects. I prefer the faster, more efficient, earlier versions of Photoshop over the slower, bloated and sometimes buggy later versions. I also prefer to avoid the cash extraction subscription model.

I fly on the older version and it runs beautifully on slower machines running XP, Win 7 &c.



I have purchased Wacom tools in the past but I was stung when they made my tablets obsolete and soon they stopped working altogether with later Windows o/s. Once stung, you learn quickly. I now have a mere artist panel of the old style, A4 sized, from XP pen, a good bit of kit. I tend to use it with illustrator.

I previously used a javascript Photoshop tool to extract the layers and layer sets from the PSD, extracting them as PNGs with transparency. It is a very useful tool to extract graphics, it also creates an XML file with the elements named with X,Y co-ordinates &c. Could be useful to you.

I used this in co-ordination with the YWE engine which could take these resources and build a desktop widget immediately (whole process took 5 mins). I could then use the PNGs and XML to convert to Xwidgets, another javascript engine.

I am now using Olaf's simple PSD parser which is an equally impressive utility.



This is one I am playing with next.

[-Corso->]

Gawddahm, lookee at yehr ole programmee thair suhnnee.
Yeah, I understand with Wacom cutting support. $3k+ down the toilet after a couple of years. But, reviving the old drivers worked for me & still does. Ah that's alright with the parser, don't require it just now, until, y'know, that I know, what's happening with respect to the future of it.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

I generally tend to buy some second hand kit when I want to trial something I haven't tried before, as splashing out on a new Cintiq and finding I don't get on with it, would be cash down the drain. I would buy a second hand Cintiq to try it but as we have encountered, Wacom tend to make their older kit obsolete so it probably wouldn't work in some critical way. I am going to stick with my pen pad for the moment.

Would you be able to suggest a particular version of such a device for me to have a look at? (Cintiq)



I am just remaking my Panzer stopwatch gauge from the newer version of my Panzer gauge codebase. On the left is the Yahoo widget version, blurry on 4K monitors, the right hand gauge is crisp and clear in comparison and it uses VB6 and RC6 with DPI awareness switched ON.

Top right is the clock gauge it was based upon.

[-Corso->]

Hmm, Cintiq recommendations. Actually, I don't think I can anymore. I bought mine brand new, and being in Australia (hot weather), the screen burned black in certain areas. Hard to see with naked eye, but moving the page contents made it feel like nails entering your brain. Incredibly distracting. Thing is, they replaced the screen 3 times in my main unit because of this. Eventually I realised that it's how you hold the Wacom device to let heat flow out. So, getting one outside of warranty is risky. BUT, there are so many they are relatively cheap. And the overheat technology has changed too. Frankly, I've been buying a crap tonne of stuff off AliExpress, and despite most people's reviews (over here), I've received everything in good order (it's not fast though). I've noticed there's a lot of devices which are comparable to Cintiq, so if you want to try your luck, you might find a decent enough thing there? "Drawing Tablet Screen" brings up several that are under $200. For my own personal activity, huge screens allow you to work fast and detailed, small screens feel like a cage. But, screen-less tablets on a big monitor feel pretty dam good truth be told.

If you do go an old model system, you'd need to check the physical gouging on the screen. Glass, under heat, with hard plastic drawing nibs does and will permanently scar (plastic overlay sheets are a must!). Also, the older Wacoms colours all 'look great', but when you bring the same image to a calibrated high res monitor, it's all shot-to-****, literally, like night and day. But if you can find a barely touched older model, and find the early drivers, it's not bad.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

I have just updated my github profile, spurred on by Fafalone who had done a decent job on his.

https://github.com/yereverluvinunclebert

Not completely finished yet but largely happy with it.

As an aside I am drinking a glass of port (Taylor's LBV) and enjoying this 10th day of Advent.

[yokesee]

beautiful profile Yerever
Happy Holidays to all

[yereverluvinuncleber]

beautiful profile Yerever
Happy Holidays to all

- and to you and all!

[Episcopal]

i have just updated my github profile, spurred on by fafalone who had done a decent job on his.

https://github.com/yereverluvinunclebert

not completely finished yet but largely happy with it.

As an aside i am drinking a glass of port (taylor's lbv) and enjoying this 10th day of advent.

beyond excellent

[fafalone]

I have just updated my github profile, spurred on by Fafalone who had done a decent job on his.

https://github.com/yereverluvinunclebert

Not completely finished yet but largely happy with it.

As an aside I am drinking a glass of port (Taylor's LBV) and enjoying this 10th day of Advent.

Thanks

As always though, yours now looks so much nicer. I'm afraid I'm not much of an artist

[yereverluvinuncleber]

Thanks
I'm afraid I'm not much of an artist

Well, I'm not much of a coder... which is far more important and relevant here.

[xiaoyao]

Years ago, python was number one on the list of popular programming languages.
There are only the 20 VB，Maybe in a few years, it will be ranked 50th again.
It could be the last 10.
If the VB family had been cross-platform and statically compilable 20 years ago, py would never have evolved.

The advantage of Py is that it can be used with only twenty or thirty megabytes of decompression.
Vbs, VB6, just this one can kill it.
Think of how difficult it was to install a new version of ie in XP or win7.
In fact, Google or a few hundred million can be decompressed to run, with a volume of only 200 megabytes.
Download 20 seconds. Install for 5 to 10 seconds. Things that can be done in one minute are abruptly turned into 10 minutes and half an hour by Microsoft.


This shows that PowerShell is absolutely 100% wrong. In fact, it is very important for VBS to support the call of.net class library, just do your own thing well. As a result, VB6 (which can be compiled statically) was abandoned, and VB. Net, it was stopped three years ago. No support for static compilation.vbs has added little functionality in 20 years. The excel VBA was also replaced by python. He abruptly gave up his first place to py and became the twentieth, which may never happen again.

[Shaggy Hiker]

That is not at all on topic with this thread, but I'm inclined to argue against it anyways, since the thread has wandered around a bit already. I disagree that Python would not have arisen had VB taken a different course. We have any number of languages that have been developed despite already having perfectly adequate languages already in existence. One might even say that of VB. I wouldn't, but one might, especially one who was overly fond of C.

What I'd say didn't really have a place was VBS. At the time it was developed, I can understand why it was developed, but it wasn't all that impressive and rather quickly lost out. It probably shouldn't have gone on.

[xiaoyao]

Maybe a tool that runs bat command line scripts wrapped in VB6 would be good too.

Goal: Replace power shell

Main function loop. Gosub, run a batch of command lines.Return after each command line has been run. Running the second command line.
You can call the. net class library, you can design forms, you can package into setup. Exe.

[fafalone]

Since IMHO tB is just as on-topic as VB 1, 2, or 3; I started this project a while ago but I've been finishing it up recently. I've been making my own Device Manager:



This is an example of "Things you can't do in 32bit."... The SetupDiCallClassInstaller API to perform the enable/disable/some others functions return ERROR_IN_WOW64 if you try to call it from a 32bit app on 64bit Windows, it's not allowed. So you need twinBASIC and 64bit for all of this app's features to work. The Resources tab you see in the system device manager is absent from the above picture--- it's also only available in 64bit mode; the above screeshot was running in 32bit, in 64bit, you get the extra tab:



I got stuck for a while on how to show the properties then gave up for a few months while working on other things, until a week or so ago I came across DeviceProperties_RunDLL and DevicePropertiesEx, which show the properties popup you see with a simple call, much easier than the method I had been trying (pulling the prop pages manually). With that working I'm just about finished now; principal coding is done and about half of the features have been tested. So it should be out next week, since I probably won't get much done over xmas weekend.

The last few weeks I had gotten back into hardware when I found another interesting feature: undocumented radio management interfaces/coclasses. A couple days ago I released a small app capable of turning on/off individual radios, as well as the system radio master switch-- 'Airplane mode', complete with having the airplane icon in the system tray.







RadioMan was released the other day:

VBForums: [twinBASIC] RadioMan - Undocumented Radio Management interfaces

GitHub: RadioMan Repository

The interfaces used by it are in the current release of WinDevLib (formerly tbShellLib) for twinBASIC, and will be included in the next oleexp.tlb release for VB6, but that new version has not been posted yet. Stay tuned.

[Erwin69]

I admit this is not really on topic, but hope that it will still be allowed:

I wish everybody contributing to this thread a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Thanks to everybody for their support, insights, and interesting views on life in general, and VB-development and all that's more or less related in particular.

Looking forward to continue this in 2024!

[yereverluvinuncleber]

I admit this is not really on topic, but hope that it will still be allowed:

Of course it is allowed! Best wishes back at you and hopefully bouncing around until it hits everyone on this forum.

- as is Faf's TB post. I agree with Faf. that TB=VB6 as far as this thread is concerned.

[xiaoyao]

Microsoft gave up VB6 20 years ago.
Now VB. Net is also said not to recognize it as a programming language.

Now the only programming language like Vb6 is twinbasic.
Why Bill Gates, why forum administrators always want to exclude them.

[xiaoyao]

It's the most difficult to make a hardware management tool, but I don't think it's useful. What's the use of spending so much effort on it?

If this time is used to make a NPM. Exe,
Many packages are VB6. Both VBA and twinbasic can be used

If we wait for the government to do this, it may be far away, and sometimes we need the strength of the open source community.
We can do all the things that Ide officials don't do, so as to maintain the ecology.

[xiaoyao]

The function that I have used is. The use of a third-party software, command-line calls, you can directly remove a specified ID of the U Disk or other hardware.

Often install the system, the drive letter on the computer is chaotic.
Multiple hard disks, each drive letter can be renamed automatically by software.
I haven't been able to solve it. I don't know if you have any experience in this field.

Perhaps the easiest way is to use the Diskpart command line.

I don't know if the development of twinbasic IDE also uses some techniques of decompiling vb6.exe to understand its design principle from the inside.

[fafalone]

Often install the system, the drive letter on the computer is chaotic.
Multiple hard disks, each drive letter can be renamed automatically by software.
I haven't been able to solve it. I don't know if you have any experience in this field.

Are you talking about setting the label on a drive, or changing the drive letter?

The former can be done, among other ways, with IShellFolder.SetNameOf (my ucShellBrowse control allows changing drive labels this way).

The latter can be done by GetVolumeNameForVolumeMountPoint (to get the drive GUID) -> DeleteVolumeMountPoint (to clear the existing mapping) -> SetVolumeMountPoint. You'll need to be running as administrator. Or yes, shelling out to diskpart is easier.

I don't know if the development of twinbasic IDE also uses some techniques of decompiling vb6.exe to understand its design principle from the inside.

As I understand it no; that would create legal issues. Also, it's the more complicated route, vs simply matching behavior. Trying to replicate VB internals instead of behavior and end result would be very limiting for new features too I think.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

Just getting the chat back on track with what we are doing in VB6. I am just finishing my VB6 stopwatch desktop 'widget' adding the zeroing rotation of the stopwatch hands when reset.

The stop watch code will then be re-used to create a VB6 equivalent to my old Konfabulator U Boat Clock. All I need to do is create a new PSD with similarly-named layers, then a little bit of rejigging, new help imagery &c and I will have a new widget from the same code.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

Since IMHO tB is just as on-topic as VB 1, 2, or 3; I started this project a while ago but I've been finishing it up recently. I've been making my own Device Manager:

I think this is superb. I will do my best to get this working, I now will have to use TB in anger to compile it.

[fafalone]

Lol why in anger? I thought you were somewhere between neutral and positive about tB?

Anyway, I should finish it up today or tomorrow, I finished up the UI, successfully added an option to show installed but not present devices like the system DM, the enable/disable/remove functions are working now too including setting the same overlay icon, shockingly on the first try, well, after remembering it needed admin anyway; I just need to set up a VM to test uninstall since I don't want to actually uninstall my own hardware, get it onto a laptop to test the eject feature (I think; will more thoroughly check first but I think it's to eject removable media in a device; I don't have an optical drive in my desktop any more), and put in some additional error handling.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

Using something in anger, is an English-ism that may not have been carried across the pond, it means that I will really have get to grips with it. Nothing more. It's a positive!

[Shaggy Hiker]

Frankly, it's the funniest positive I have ever heard of. I very much want to use it...in anger, but it really has NOT crossed the pond, so I doubt anybody would understand me.

[xiaoyao]

After the system is reinstalled, the names of the hard disks C:, d:, and e: have changed.

I hope to manually input these names again now.
Then write a piece of code to record it, and the next time the system is reinstalled, it will be automatically reassigned according to these names.

In fact, it is necessary to implement an idE similar to Vb6 anyway.
At least we have implemented 64-bit compilation. It also fixes some problems.Add some new features.
Anyway, I think of twinbasic as a VB6 project.
Whether it is developed with VC + + or rust.

After doing this function well, we will develop a more powerful version. For example, to implement many VB. Net functions.
The two versions of the source code are stored independently.
I don't want the program to get bigger and bigger. At first it only took up 20 MB of hard disk space.

The final version became a GB.
I don't know if it's because my computer configuration is too bad. I5 8600k + 32gb RAM
It takes 10 seconds to open the vs development tool and display the form.
When you copy the form or write the code, you have to pause for several seconds.

So I like VB6 design form copy control. Super speed with a one millisecond response time.

By the time py develops a visual form designer as convenient as VB6, VB6 will be obsolete.
I once did a CPU performance test. One billion residuals took 1.8 seconds in VB6 and 13 seconds in python.
If python can also JIT, it will run scripts as fast as V8 JS.

Or even AOT directly into a standalone exE.
But VB6 has many advantages of its own.
For small.net projects, sharpdevelop is faster, but the code hints are too weak.
If the twinbasic company can extend the idE source code to it, it is also a good thing.

[fafalone]

Lol why in anger? I thought you were somewhere between neutral and positive about tB?

Anyway, I should finish it up today or tomorrow, I finished up the UI, successfully added an option to show installed but not present devices like the system DM, the enable/disable/remove functions are working now too including setting the same overlay icon, shockingly on the first try, well, after remembering it needed admin anyway; I just need to set up a VM to test uninstall since I don't want to actually uninstall my own hardware, get it onto a laptop to test the eject feature (I think; will more thoroughly check first but I think it's to eject removable media in a device; I don't have an optical drive in my desktop any more), and put in some additional error handling.

The initial release of Device Explorer is now available

Repository includes .twinproj, browsable code in Form1.twin, and binaries.

https://github.com/fafalone/DeviceExplorer