So the iOS framework is out now for what, 4 months? I wondered, did this tremendous effort of the Xojo team create the so long anticipated leverage? Did it pay off? Did it attrack more programmers who were scared away by the steep learning curve of Objective-C? Or is this void filled by Swift?
I picked up Xojo about three years ago. As a diehard Delphi programmer I felt the need to create products for OSX and the FireMonkey framework could not satisfy me. Not really native (ugly rendered controls) and a lot of effort to get it working. So I looked around and picked up Xojo (I think it was even called RealStudio).
While getting used by things the Xojo way I received two big requests for Win32 applications (months of work). I decided to use Xojo. Despite the lack of gridlike controls (DevExpress) and i.e. an RTF editor component I built it with Xojo. Mmmm…
Recently I received a new request for a Windows application. So with the fresh experience in mind I switched back to Delphi (XE3). Wow… Speed-speed-speed.
Things I like about Xojo:
The IDE - it’s way of organizing things is very clever, structured and logical;
the one-file-project approach (I hate all these units all over the place);
the helpful community.
Things I dislike:
the speed of compiled programs - too slow. It is ok for business-like applications with some database interactions but once you have to calculate things the slowliness becomes a pain in the neck;
I use components like treeview and listview (with its different views) a lot - no Xojo counterparts. Yes I can use Listbox and code for three days and then I might have something alike.
the lack of decent 3rd party components like DevExpress;
the lack of support of anything other than the Win32 API - users want modern, goodlooking screens (WinRT). You have to impress them and yes, I can use declares but I consider that an unwanted detour.
Components build-in in Delphi take days to construct in Xojo (container controls). So my productivity in Delphi is much higher.
I do agree that most of my criticism is facing Windows development only. That is true as I generate most of my business in this domain. Is Xojo the right choice for this? I don’t think so. No hard feelings - just the way it is.
So, I wondered - did Xojo manage to penetrate the iOS/XCode community with the iOS framework?
I am probably far from being the only one who left Visual Basic a while ago to use RB/RS/Xojo and find it adequate. I am even in the process of completing a fully touch enabled application based on the Metro Design Guidelines. And I do know true new API RT compatible applications : I have half a dozen on them in the Windows Store written in VS VB. NET.
Coding is culture. As you very well point it out, you are coming from Delphi. You probably kept a rather strong Delphinic accent in Xojo maybe enough not to embrace the full richness of it. That’s allright. I would probably not get the best results from Delphi either.
What works for you is just fine. Live and let live. But do not tell people who have been making a living from years with Xojo. They my teach you a thing or two.
Especially a TreeView made by a prominet member of this forum
I have a few things that bother me about Xojo, but speed isn’t one of them. ON the Windows version of our products, they are actually a bit faster than the Visual Basic programs they replaced, Mac I have nothing to compare to, but it is certainly acceptable under most things using Cocoa.
OK. Some fellow asked me to write a program that calculates primes and to plot the found primes on a canvas. It is called the Prime Spiral. I used a found plug-in for managing big integers but it takes long to calculate. Same with calculating PI. Delphi is quicker.
But hey! No hard feelings. I still like Xojo. Leaves the question about the iOS framework. I’m just curious…
[quote=178192:@Alexander van der Linden]OK. Some fellow asked me to write a program that calculates primes and to plot the found primes on a canvas. It is called the Prime Spiral. I used a found plug-in for managing big integers but it takes long to calculate. Same with calculating PI. Delphi is quicker.
But hey! No hard feelings. I still like Xojo. Leaves the question about the iOS framework. I’m just curious…[/quote]
For calculus, whenever possible, use XojoScript. It is way faster. Elementary benchmark a while ago showed some 65% improvement.
That said, every language has it’s strong points. It is possible that Delphi be faster in direct coding, admitted the best possible programmation was adopted on both sides. Yet, Xojo could be much better for overall cross platform application development.
When I switched to RB over a decade ago, VB already had mostly flicker free .NET and a heatlhy environment. Yet, it was not terribly user friendly, MS support and forums were, well, what they are still today (as friendly as Social Security) and I needed to support Mac. After creating my first app for Mac in no time, I quickly switched Windows developement as well, and even if occasional flicker made me put .NET support on top of feedback, it remains my absolute preferred RAD.
But once again, software and coding are culture. Beyond rational reasons, once can prefer a language for its music. Just like for human languages.
Thats because XojoScript is compiled with LLVM.
We should see 64bit this year for OS X (and Windows?) and therefore will use LLVM too. So calculus opps will be very fast too.
[quote=178237:@Christoph De Vocht]Thats because XojoScript is compiled with LLVM.
We should see 64bit this year for OS X (and Windows?) and therefore will use LLVM too. So calculus opps will be very fast too.[/quote]
Indeed LLVM is coming. But for Windows that may still take a while. From Geoff’s declarations, Linux should come first. Chances are OS X be next given the events in the iOS App Store and the prospective Apple requires 64 bit in the AS one of these days. Windows will probably come last, since it is a whole lot less pressing : 32 bit apps run very smoothly under 64 bit versions of Windows. That includes Windows 10 Pro tech preview 64 bit I am using daily with Xojo.
