Crossplatform in 2022

Sorry for this topic, but I’d like to hear from you.

I have been using Xojo since 2007, the first license was purchased in 2009. The latest license update is from 2019, Pro version.

Initially this platform was one of the few, if not the only one, that allowed to create crossplatform applications by writing the code only once and the compiled did not need any further installations. Everything needed to run the application on the computer was present in the compile. This was great and was the reason that drove me to develop at Xojo.

Now in 2022 there are several platforms that allow you to compile crossplatforms for macOS, Windows, iOS, Android and Web Application. I’m not talking about unknown platforms, but about Microsoft Visual Studio’s MAUI, or Google’s Flutter. Both compile in native code. Both are free.

The Pro version of Xojo costs $ 799 per year if you want to stay up to date. The Microsoft and Google platforms are free. And I also think that the number of users from Microsoft and Google is greater than Xojo.

Is it still worth continuing to develop in Xojo?
Have you ever tried Microsoft Visual Studio’s MAUI, or Google’s Flutter?

Thaks

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Hello Gabriele, well i’m in the same boat with you, i had some projects over the years that did cover up for XOJO, but recently we ended up a 8 year ongoing project in favor of WEB is way faster and less buggy than what we get on XOJO so today i was like forced to renew my pro license just because it helps me maintain my private apps that i use to keep the flow going but unfortunately it will not going to pay for the license itself, Unfortunately if XOJO wont step up on the delivery dates and bring the apps up to date in terms of Frameworks on Windows and MacOS , on Web, IOS, then it will be a future problem for them i guess .

Seeing how it goes Desktop apps will slowly disappear in favor of web apps which are easier to maintain, reduce the support headache, maintain several OS’s updates and so on . While yes, you could have 1 point of failure or less security at some point, in the end nobody cares. they just want to work .

Seeing customers , telling them , "We wait for XOJO to update " they simply say we don’t care , make it work or we leave. So that was the case in my part . I guess i will just keep it as a hobby and maybe in the future they will keep up and maybe be able to build great apps again.

As for the rest, i did try Visual Studio but using XOJO for so many years i still prefer to use that but i guess eventually i will have to move on if still does not get improved.

if these tools are free, why not try them ?
use them a few days/weeks try to make something with it
compare with doing the same thing in xojo, as you know it for years,
then check the real cross platform value
and make your mind.

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There are a LOT of users in the same boat. My last PRO licence is 2018, Web1 was not updated after that, Web2 is not up to the task (at least not yet)

And YES, the price tag is UNREALLISTIC for the current market, maybe when it was the only option, but nowadays xojo is way way way back. maui surprized me, did a little proyect on windows and then, tested in Mobile and worked without changes.

But :shushing_face:, the rules prohibit to talk about “compiting products”. And the staff is goingg to call you troll if you speak about the bugs or unreasonable price tag :upside_down_face:

if the many bugs reported in the “bug bash” for web are fixed, it could be usable and I can consider to purchase another PRO. MAUI also has plans to add web as another target, lets see who wins.

Although there will be more web apps, I don’t think desktop apps will disappear. I think there will always be a significant need for them.

Just my opinion…
Karen (the dinosaur?)

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Try to build software for many platforms with MAUI, Flutter and others w/o crying, pulling your hair etc. Then try Xojo and you known what you get for $799.

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I’m thinking the same thing. And as far as Free, well we know how the saying goes. I can see Google’s product being free, but with M$, there has to be a catch.

Post a current application made with Xojo and indicate the time you spent to make it.
Re-program it with another tool and do the same.

Personally, as a hobbyist, I think I would stop developing all my 12 applications without Xojo. Learning another development tool and re-program all my app would be a huge work.

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For desktop/console apps, I for one have way too much time invested in complex Xojo projects to justify a full rewrite in anything else. I do license multiple third party add-ons, but I did that back when I used VB6 too.

I’m not in a position to give an informed position on web apps – but I will say that I firmly believe there will be a demand for desktop/console apps for a long time. Not everything is well suited to a web interface. Plus there are things which have to work while offline.

Mobile apps are increasingly important. But I spend several times the Xojo Pro + third party add-ons fee each year for a third party SDK to add features I need. So regardless of the additional cost – if any – of the underlying development platform, in my specific case it is not relevant as it is dwarfed by other SDK fees to get functionality that is not included free with any platform. Including Xojo, Flutter, or MAUI, etc.

Bottom line is the price of admission for Xojo Pro is justifiable, IMHO, even if only used for desktop/console apps. That the same license also allows me to do web apps and mobile apps is just icing on the cake, and for me at least, makes Xojo for those environments effectively no additional cost.

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The catch is, that if a big company or corporation wants to leverage Microsoft products for their business, then the business has to pay a per-seat developer license fee to Microsoft.

But for individuals or independents, Visual Studio is free, because having an ever expanding population of developers learning and using the MS platform freely; feeds the growth of the business end of their licensing model.

I believe Google and Oracle do something similar. The difference is that Microsoft is more open about it.

I know everyone’s needs and situation is different. In my case, I get to decide what I will program in and what I won’t. I really have no desire to drop XoJo and hop to another language right now, certainly one that’s not Basic like. I could see adding something like QB64 to my toolkit for things not needing a GUI, but that’s about it. I just don’t want to go down the M$ / Google road not know what nonsense they will pull next. And that’s my 2 cents :slight_smile:

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I should have added, that though some might suggest this would be a great business model for Xojo, I would point out that other developer tool vendors like JetBrains (one of the most popular) also still charges individual developers a fee (albeit a reduced one, in some cases) to maintain their business viability.

That is not true. Any one can work with the free tier as long as they wish. The business model is to promote their Enterprise tools and services, like Visual Studio Enterprise, GitHub Enterprise, Azure, personalized tech support, etc. But being free for most it means to have a huge user base, community, developers looking for a job, etc.

Of course is not. Xojo does not have enought user base to do that.

If you say so, Ivan (corporate employee here, licensed only for VS Pro, because the company doesn’t want to splurge for the Enterprise license).

Sure, at home I can use VS for free all I want, but not at work.

if you are familiar with C# the difference is substantial. Much faster and more practical, and more versatile.

I’ve already done it, I’m already using it. I also wanted another opinion from other Xojo users to know if they tried MAUI or Flutter.

Mobile? Only iOS. If you want to develop for Android you will have to wait again and pay the license again because yours will have expired.

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Well, that should be kind of obvios… If your company decided to purchase a license to have the Pro features, you cant use those in the free version.

I say it comes down to several things.

  1. If you’re more comfortable with Xojo’s (once was more) BASIC like syntax.
  2. Want to create platform native applications.
  3. Are fine with the limitations in Xojo.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Xojo is a very capable tool, in the right hands. But Xojo’s current framework can only get you about 80~90% of the way to polished platform application. If you want to go past those limitations, you’ll need plugins or to learn how to declare into the platform libraries (which is arguably one of the best features of Xojo).

I don’t know much about Flutter, but I do know that Microsoft have done an incredible job documenting the Apple frameworks that you can access with their tool, in some cases MS docs are more helpful than Apple’s. I am not surprised that many of our competitors on the Mac App Store are made with MS’s tools, and are basically Windows apps with enough lipstick to make App Store Review feel these are Mac apps.

You also don’t need and given the last few years, shouldn’t renew automatically every year. This appears to be the only way how we (Xojo’s customers) can help them focus on things that matter to us. You should ONLY renew when there is something tangible that benefits you or need to do so to fix bug in the Xojo framework.

I have been trying to guide Xojo to put attention on making better Mac apps and cross-platform overall, as we’re currently seeing some Mac heavy weights move from Apple’s own tools and choosing other cross-platform tools. Having a large Mac dev choose Xojo would be a huge boon to Xojo’s business, but it’s not something they seem interested in.

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At the risk of getting off-topic, I’ve been with my employer over 20 years. For the longest time it was a bring-your-own-laptop-and-software situation.

But because my employer is a public-traded company, they are subject to external auditors. Eventually that meant bringing the organization into compliance with all sorts of standards, including software licensing agreements. So, “deciding” to pay for licenses was not a decision; it was a must-have.

Believe me when I say, if my employer could go back to the good old days, and save a few bucks - they would mandate it in a heart-beat.

Note: There is almost nothing in the “Pro” version that is not already available in the “Community” version. The difference is, you can’t use the Community version in an organization with more than 5 users. Compare Visual Studio Product Offerings | Visual Studio

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