I’m new to Xojo, but have been aware of it from my experience using the Clarion environment many years ago.
I’m looking to rewrite an existing Clarion app using a different environment so that it runs on both Windows and MacOS and generally does the following:
Step 1: The user picks a drive or folder and the app generates a list of files as a preview step. (Bonus if the app can show thumbnails efficiently for image files.)
Step 2: The user manipulates the filenames in that preview (renaming, etc.)
Step 3: The app copies and renames the files based on the user’s actions in step 2.
Step 4: The app zips up the result.
How feasible is this with Xojo? Is Xojo fast with file operations? (A quick Google search showed that it can be slow reading folder contents.)
If you were new to Xojo, how would you go about tackling the learning curve for an app like this? Is there a robust developer community that is available for contracting to do the heavy lifting of the development, which I can then tweak?
Fast enough, but if you have a folder of hundreds/thousands of files, you may be tempted to shell out to get list of filenames, or make use of MBS plugins extension, which is faster.
If you were new to Xojo, how would you go about tackling the learning curve for an app like this?
Describe your Clarion code in pseudo code, and replace parts with methods as you go along.
Is there a robust developer community
Yes.
for contracting to do the heavy lifting of the development, which I can then tweak?
Maybe.
This isn’t a particularly heavy lift job.
Many would help for some kind of fee.. a lot depends upon what the app is worth to you.
I’m another, at j_fritschle@seafortyone.com. It should be said, though, that I’m less than two weeks from hernia surgery. So for a while, I won’t be good for anything–or on the other hand, not good for anything else.
Good to see a fellow Clarion developer here. Keep in mind that Clarion is a 4GL and creates the code for you unless you decided to wirte it manually. With Xojo you have to do all of the coding yourself. I do miss Clarion but it’s Windows only.
I can get things done very quickly in Clarion because of that code generation (plus that I’ve been using Clarion since the DOS version). Some things have lagged (like modern UI features), but the big reason for looking at alternatives for this app is that it’s Windows only. I just bought a Mac so I’m looking for cross-platform abilities.
Does Xojo have any code-gen features like Clarion? What about AI integrations to help out?
Since I’m a full-time photographer (i.e. not a full-time developer), I’m very mindful of whatever environment will have the smallest learning curve, greatest support resources, and hopefully a helpful culture within the community.
Clarion’s developer community is small, so many people are willing to help each other because so many devs know each other. That seems rare.
None that I’m aware of. I do remember once seeing a 3rd party app the claimed to be a 4GL for XOJO written by a former Clarion user. I don’t remember the name though.
It looks like your example requires an MBS plugin but it’s still helpful to give me an overview of how to do this with Xojo.
To confirm, this codebase would run as is on both Mac and Windows? In your experience, does it get complicated addressing the nuances of more than one OS?
//if you have MBS plugins:
try
var p as picture = fc.IconMBS(20)
listOfFiles.RowImageAt(listoffiles.LastRowIndex) = p
catch
end try
Indeed
So if you DONT have the MBS plugins, comment or remove these 5 lines.
All you lose is the file icon preview in the list.
Yes, it runs on Mac and Windows.
Getting the file icon if you need it, is where the platforms differ, and (why I used the MBS plugins as they shield you from that)
Comment out the lines above, step through the code. See what it is doing, then assemble questions.
