Can Python replace Visual Basic? Should it?

[Gerhard Häring]

Brad Bollenbach wrote:
> 
> Okay, sure this has been asked again and again, but I've never really seen a
> clear answer to this question:
> 
>     Can Python replace Visual Basic? Should it?

That's a difficult question. I took part in a VB6 project for about one
and a half year, and I *really* learnt to hate the language, the
environment and the habits VB programmers have. The next generation
Visual Basic, VB.NET will be quite another beast. But that's no excuse
for Microsoft for providing us with that sh*t for ten years.

IMO, VB is good for exactly one thing: integrating COM components. For
everything else, it's a mess.

I use Python for almost everything today (but I don't do much GUI work).
I only use VB as a test container for COM components. That doesn't mean,
however, that Python is a Visual Basic replacement for other people.
Face it, most VB users aren't exactly star programmers. If I were
sarcastic, I'd say they deserve their Visual Basic :->

Have you seen Boa Constructor? [1] I have played with the CVS version a
few weeks ago. A stable release of Boa wouldn't have to fear a
comparison to Visual Basic.

[1] http://boa-constructor.sourceforge.net/

> As far as I can see, they both seem close to equal in their not-so-simple
> ways of distributing apps to end-users, which VB programmers have seem to
> overcome to some degree and so Python programmers should and probably do
> likewise. What I want is a programming language that can make Windows fun
> (like C or Perl does Unix), without having to shell out the big bucks for
> full installs of VB or VC++. 

I wouldn't call C or Perl exactly fun.

> Though I don't believe in using price as an
> important criteria in deciding what language I'll like (unless of course,
> it's Powerbuilder, which is over $4000 :), I still have to admit that I like
> what Python is about, and the benefits of an Open Source language are
> obvious. As I work with Powerbuilder in my day job, I've also realized that
> "languages" that are based on an IDE are not really my thing (I hate having
> a 40,000 foot view of what I'm doing).
> 
> But really, very specifically, were YOU a former Visual Basic (or
> Powerbuilder, or Delphi) programmer that is now using Python to write the
> complex GUI's VB used to handle for you? I'm an on again, off again, student
> of Python, who really wants to give this a go, if there's a good chance that
> I'll get the return on my investment: a programming tool that can take over
> where VB, Powerbuilder, and Delphi used to play.
> 
> Again, I'm much more interested in the real world experience of those who
> used to use the big visual development tools in Windows like VB, Delphi or
> Powerbuilder rather than theoretical answers.

But your question was about spefific, real-world experiences. My answer
would be: no, not just now, but in a 6 - 12 months, maybe.

Gerhard
--
Sorry for the fake email, please use the real one below to reply.
contact: g e r h a r d @ b i g f o o t . d e
web:     http://highqualdev.com