[Ham-Mac] REALBasic Programming?

[Chris Smolinski]

>Anyone using REALBasic and having any success?
>
>Any ham radio applications?

I've written a the software for the GM-10 and GM-45 radiation detectors
http://www.blackcatsystems.com/GM/ in RB. I'm also looking at using RB when
I re-write Diet Sleuth, and perhaps my antenna design program, Mac Antenna
Master.

The positive aspects of RB include the cross platform support, and quick UI
development. I can throw together a basic application very quickly with RB,
or indeed any application can get a quick start, while I flesh out the
details.

The negatives include the fact that Windows support, while better, is still
sub standard, and applications (Mac and Windows) are slow, and very bloated
(the linker doesn't strip out unused code, and you end up with more than
1MB starting application size - before any of your code/data is added.

Writing something like MultiMode or Audiocorder in RB would be impossible.
It's too slow, it's not possible to get sound input data on a isochronous
basis, etc.

Also, the pricing is somewhat, ah, interesting. The price for the complete
version is $369. RB has has twice a year update - most bug fixes are in
these updates, and you need to buy all the updates, if you miss one, you
need to buy the full package over again. Updates are $129 each. When you do
the math, it isn't cheaper than CodeWarrior. (If you won't be building
Windows versions, or need the database features, there is a cheaper version
you can buy)

RB does have a bit of a poor reputation in the Mac world, due to the large
number of poor quality applications released by beginning programmers. Take
a look at Version Tracker sometime, and you'll see what I mean. This isn't
RB's fault of course, it's just the tool that allows someone to slap
something together and release it.

I find RB a useful tool. Much like any tool, it has good uses, and poor
ones. It is not a "one size fits all, the only development system you
need", in the same way that while you could theoretically put in a screw
with a hammer, you may not like the final result.





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Chris Smolinski
Black Cat Systems
http://www.blackcatsystems.com
Macintosh Software
GM-10 Radiation detection system