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> the VB executables themselves were tiny (in P-Code form, which was the default, they were also much more compact than machine code) Now that you mention and
by acqq 7y ago
> the VB executables themselves were tiny (in P-Code form, which was the default, they were also much more compact than machine code)
Now that you mention and I think about it, as VB was compiled to the p-code and depended on the big common runtime which executed it, it can be seen as one Windows-specific spiritual precursor of... Java.
- Crinus 7y agoYeah, actually Microsoft used P-Code way before VB1 - AFAIK their C compiler was able to emit it and several of their products were compiled as P-Code instead of machine code, which helped to save disk space (a premium at the time, especially considering it could make a difference on how many floppy disks they shipped) and quickly port their applications to other emerging platforms at the time (like the Macintosh). Both Microsoft's P-Code and Java were really inspired by UCSD Pascal which only emitted P-Code to be executed by a runtime they implemented quickly in a lot of systems (including the original IBM PC).
- acqq 7y ago> Both Microsoft's P-Code and Java were really inspired by UCSD Pascal which only emitted P-Code Yes, and I've actually experimented with UCSD Pascal on a 8-bit machine (Apple II). Turbo Pascal was, of course, much faster on it (using Z-80 card).