Closest language to Xojo for learning Xojo

General
1

I am new to programming in general and therefore new to Xojo, but have just purchased a Pro license in an attempt to make me learn :slight_smile:

Aside from the documentation provided by Xojo, I would like to start a library of physical books with regards to scripting, which I can turn to as reference.

After searching the internet over the last few days I have discovered that there is little in regards to third party resources for learning Xojo.

I have only this morning, purchased the back issues of Xdev, and I have purchased a few ebooks from RBLibrary, which I am sure will come in handy, however what I am really after is a physical book or two.

I have read that Xojo is similar in parts (the scripting not the IDE) to Visual Basic 6. Would I gain anything from purchasing a VB6 book to learn the basics of the scripting from? Is there another language which has similar fundamentals to Xojo which I could learn from?

Any help will be appreciated.

2

Reading about other languages while trying to learn Xojo will be hard because the differences are subtle sometimes.

That said I think Java is the closest to Xojo in terms of OO.

But I’d still recommend that you stick with XDev and RBLibrary. Especially the books from Eugene Dakin are really good (http://great-white-software.com/rblibrary/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=34). Don’t forget the webinars on Youtoube.

3

Physical books are now difficult to find, however one can still find in used books “RealBasic for Dummies”. I enjoyed it years ago when I started with that language since become Xojo.

It is but one of several still available at
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=realbasic

RealBasic is the root language used by Xojo. Although the IDE is different, and there have been numerous improvement, the basics are the same, and the examples in the book maybe of use.

IMHO, you should definitely avoid reading on other languages, as close as they be. It would only confuse you. It is like saying “I am going to learn French to speak Italian”. These languages are somewhat similar, but there are enough differences to make the experience inadequate. Better try to go step by step, hands on, with the electronic documentation provided by Xojo, with RealBasic for Dummies, with looking at the examples that come with Xojo, and soon you will be familiar enough to feel right at home. Most importantly, learning by doing will be much more rewarding than reading abstract litterature.

Use the language reference anytime you have questions about some command. http://documentation.xojo.com/index.php/ Most of us do that all the time.

And never forget that this forum is for sharing knowledge. Do not hesitate to ask questions of any level. You will always receive assistance.

4

Eugene Dakin books is what you need definatelly. I have many of his books and because they are in pdf format, they can be printed too. These are great up-to-date books, a must have for any serious programmer. At least by his “Canvas” book and how to use the “API’s”.

I also found Mark S. Choate book “REALbasic Cross-Platform Application development” and Matt Neuburg “REALbasic - The definitive guide”. Both books are very outdated, however they are still very informative and for a beginner good to have. You can find them at Amazon :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=realbasic&sprefix=Realbasic%2Caps%2C256

Also Paul Lefebvre his webinars are excellent and will give you a headstart.

Hope you will find what you need.

5

If you really want a physical book, you might be able to get hold of REALbasic: The Definitive Guide by Matt Neuburg. REALbasic is a very old version of Xojo and while most of the book is out of date, there are still a couple of chapters (3 and 4 from memory) on object-oriented programming that are very good and relevant. Try to get hold of edition 2 of the book.

Personally, I’d recommend you dive into the Examples in the Xojo folder - open them up, read the code, change a few things, break a few things.

And to reinforce what Michel said, this forum is one of the best assets Xojo has for learning. Good luck.

6

All cited books are available at the Amazon link I posted above, and indeed at the UK store as well. Actually, I was surprised to see all these titles I would have thought unavailable by now.

7

Thanks for the advice, really appreciate it.

The GUI section of the IDE is very easy to pick up it seems, my stumbling block as a newbie to programming is the actual scripting itself.

I have a personal project I want to convert from an Excel spreadsheet to a dekstop app, so it will give me a real life scenario to apply what I am learning.

I’ll get hold of the mentioned books and will see how I get on from there.

Thanks again, and apologies in advance for the masses of scripting questions I end up posting over the next few months !

8

We have a free Introduction to Programming (with Xojo) book here.

9

Also we have a ton of videos and recorded webinars here: http://documentation.xojo.com/index.php/Videos

Here is a link to our “Getting Started” video playlist with 15 videos included.