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> What a joke, where are the visual designers for HTML/CSS, with automatic binding generation for database backends? Did you ever actually use a PowerBuilder (

> What a joke, where are the visual designers for HTML/CSS, with automatic binding generation for database backends? Did you ever actually use a PowerBuilder (or similar RAD tool) application? The experience was horrible, slow, and basically a waste of titanic amounts of money. I once saw half an accounting department quit after a switch to a RAD financials package. There’s a reason all those 1990-2005 era vertical-market app companies got bought by PE firms and are just basically dead except for milking maintenance revenue. Building “data-model centric” apps with RAD tools optimizes for ease of the developer instead of the end user. Which is exactly backwards.

pjmlp 7y ago
Yes, for Delphi, C++ Builder, Forms, WPF/UWP, QML, iOS, Android, Symbian. Parallel to that I have been doing Web projects since 2000 as well. HTML 5 / CSS 3 has nothing that compares, that is why Flash took off and is coming back in the form of WebAssembly, now with everyone racing to support it with their favourite runtime + WebGL.
- tatersolid 7y ago
  I think you misunderstood. I get that you built apps using the various RAD frameworks, but did you actually use one as part of your daily job?
  - pjmlp 7y ago
    I fail to see the point. Either the developers are able to use the tooling at their disposal to deliver awesome products or not. Skype was originally coded in Delphi, so yeah.
    - tatersolid 7y ago
      If you think Skype’s user experience was ever in any way “good”... what do you consider “bad”?
      - pjmlp 7y ago
        Yes, Skype UX was great before MS acquisition and rewrite into React Native. Anything written with Electron is pretty much bad. I only put up with Slack and VSCode due to job requirements.
  - FpUser 7y ago
    I have used many. PowerBuilder is absolutely atrocious. Delphi is brilliant and there is a whole range in between. I do not mind creating GUI in code either for applications that work with GPU but would still prefer Delphi like environment,

pjmlp 7y ago

Yes, for Delphi, C++ Builder, Forms, WPF/UWP, QML, iOS, Android, Symbian. Parallel to that I have been doing Web projects since 2000 as well. HTML 5 / CSS 3 has nothing that compares, that is why Flash took off and is coming back in the form of WebAssembly, now with everyone racing to support it with their favourite runtime + WebGL.

tatersolid 7y ago
I think you misunderstood. I get that you built apps using the various RAD frameworks, but did you actually use one as part of your daily job?
- pjmlp 7y ago
  I fail to see the point. Either the developers are able to use the tooling at their disposal to deliver awesome products or not. Skype was originally coded in Delphi, so yeah.
  - tatersolid 7y ago
    If you think Skype’s user experience was ever in any way “good”... what do you consider “bad”?
    - pjmlp 7y ago
      Yes, Skype UX was great before MS acquisition and rewrite into React Native. Anything written with Electron is pretty much bad. I only put up with Slack and VSCode due to job requirements.
- FpUser 7y ago
  I have used many. PowerBuilder is absolutely atrocious. Delphi is brilliant and there is a whole range in between. I do not mind creating GUI in code either for applications that work with GPU but would still prefer Delphi like environment,