macOS hmm RealBasic vs. Xcode

[TouchOfClass]

I don't have a particular project in mind, I am just interested in people's opinions of these two development platforms.

I have used RealBasic in the pas witht v5 and found the language easy to learn. Being able to deploy on Mac and Windows is a huge plus. The large file sizes that Real produces doesn't bother me in the era half terabyte drives and broadband connections. Code Performance, especially snappiness(tm) of the interface is very important. Stability is another area of concern for me with RealBasic. I don't want to spend half my time doing workarounds.

Xcode with Cocoa is free plus it gives me access to all of OSX's goodies. But the language looks very complicated to learn let alone the frameworks.

so what are people's experiences and opinions?

 

[elppa]

If you want to develop real OS X apps then you want XCode and Objective C and you have identified the benefits.

Obviously there will be a learning curve if you've only developed in one language before.

If cross platform is what you want, then XCode isn't that good, because it is a tool for delivering first class Macintosh applications and Real Basic or Java would be better bets.

 

[DavidLeblond]

If cross platform is what you want, then XCode isn't that good, because it is a tool for delivering first class Macintosh applications and Real Basic or Java would be better bets.

XCode is just fine at cross platform apps, just as long as you don't use Cocoa.

 

[lazydog]

There's some things I would naturally do in RealBasic, eg in house tools that need to be cross-platform etc. I quite like the IDE. I think the main feature of the environment is its simple way of editing event handlers for UI elements. But this has its down side. With any reasonably complicated project I find that I quickly end up with loads and loads of windows open, 1 for each function/method, and I soon end up wishing for the traditional file based method, eg 1 window with all the code for a class. As an IDE I find RealBasic self contained and quite complete… but that might be because I've not had to write anything with requirments that go much beyond the libraries that RealBasic provide. As for stability, that's not been too much of a problem either. I've had the odd strange behaviour in the IDE but the apps it builds seem to be okay. I know the list of bugs fixed for each release is long but I can't say I've ever ran into a show stopper.

As for X-code, I love it and use it all the time for everything else including server side Java, JavaScript and C++. I find it a joy to use really. I know there are other IDEs, eg Eclipse, which probably are better, but part of being a programmer I guess is being productive and that means using what ever tool you feel comfortable and happy with. Speak to different people and they will give you different opinions, like RealBasic is a pile of ***, or you should really use xxxx for Java etc. But I find X-code realy nice and intuitive to use and RealBasic a handy and quick development environment which is perfect for certain projects. So I say go with both and use the one which suites a particular project best.

Well I don't think I've got anything else remotely helpful to add so I'll shut up now.

b e n

 

[LogicalVue]

REALbasic is very easy to learn and use. The IDE was completely redesigned when REALbasic 2005 was released; it looks nothing like the 5.5 IDE. If you haven't used it lately you should definitely check it out.

I don't work with XCode/Cocoa, because I like creating cross-platform applications. I also haven't had an urge to learn Objective-C.

As the REALbasic Community Evangelist, I am a bit biased, though.

Anyway, here are some REALbasic resources for you to peruse:

RBDevZone
REAL Software Forums

If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask.